Hello!
I have been using calcium clay mixed with baking soda for my alkalinity buffer. Recently we have had strong winds and many bird visitors bringing floating algae regularly. My ph this way, usually sits at 8-8.2. The fast growth of floating algae is spiking my ph to 8.4-8.8. I would like to try to use a buffer agent designed not to have an effect on ph (obviously they would all bring up low phbut mine is 7.8-8 from the tap after off gassing.
I found Fritz pimd alkalinity booster and was wondering if anyone has heard of or used it?
Or what do you do to keep kh up? I am basically having to add baking soda every other day and clay 2 x a week to get it to stay stable. There has to be a longer lasting solution that doesn't leave my fish in water above 8.5! Plus, if I am late by even a few hours as ibusy in the am and doingit in the afternoon. , they can get a swing that is as much as .6 day to night! I have a UV clarifier that will clear it up and it got so bad from a 10 day immune booster treatment where it had to be off after having to treat the pond for flukes and fungus. That treatment nuked the little bit of algae in those 3 days, but the floating stuff grew with fury for the last 8 (13 days total with it off).
I'm at my wits end with daily this and that and just want to get back to weekly maintenance. I also think my kh strips went bad so I am waiting on liquid drops. It's saying my kh is 160/180 as color is near impossible to distinguish reliably, but that's impossible with the wide swings right? For 12 months, at that kh, my ph has been stable. I screwed up one major water change coming out of winter and had a .9/1.0 swing that caused the fish to get the parasites and fungus because they got weakened and we had a new migratory bird species visiting that I think brought the flukes.
Any advice from experience is appreciated!! So many conflicting statements. I am in the PNW and we have super clean water with low everything which is a blessing and a curse.
I usually do a 10% weekly change for 3000 gallons. Ammonia and nitrITE stay at 0. Nitrate is now varying between 5-10 ppm after removing a plant that was an issue.
Also have a bog filter in addition to standard skimmer + bottom drain to filtered weir with ribbon media for max surface area and a medium and fine pad to catch debris. I rinse the pads when I see debris in the water column starting. Which right now is every single day and they are full while the bottom of my pond is clean. It's the floating algae bits and probably string algae bits trying to find a place to land and grow. Those are the two we have constant battles with.
The pond fish have been completely normal until this morning. They didn't come to eat! Granted fish are spawning so they're eating fish eggs, but my instinct is too much ph swing and strain. I think for our water, baking soda is just not effective enough.
Fritz buffer states it uses more than sodium bicarbonate to create a better buffer, but I am leery of products no one I know has used.
Thank you!

Gyala Delve meta seems, at the moment, repetitive and not much rewarding.
The different things to do in the map also often conflict with each other, especially anything that isn't direct meta progress, as the meta itself has no pause and many things get locked.
Simply progressing the story requires at least some meta progress (or it gets painful), and this reason alone makes it necessary for this meta to be active forever (imagine if you had to complete complete the Serpent's Ire before entering the last steps in PoF story ?)
Here are a few random ideas. They may not all be good, but it's a start for a discussion and maybe for Anet to do some rework

• Remove the global timer for the first part of the meta. It basically punishes people who work even harder and longer due to having less people participating => WTF. What's the point anyway ?
• For the capture of each base, remove the capture circle part and move immediately to the fight against the big ball. Or at least make the capture substantially faster.
• On the other hand, add 2 minutes of pause before the next part of the meta starts, giving people some leeway to complete other things on the map (rn there are objectives that are actively hindered by people simply progressing the meta, not to mention that if you want/need anything else you are forced to choose and miss big meta steps) or even go to the bathroom.
• Don't lock camp upgrades (Jadepillar Point and Behemoth's Gap) when the last part of the meta starts. Or at the very least, unlock it (with the progress it had) after the meta is complete, along with letting all other events respawn during this 1 hour post-meta window
• Let Ambush events spawn after the meta (during the 1h window) ESPECIALLY if people took the Oni lure debuff (eyes in the deep) ... what does it do anyway if it can't trigger ambushes ?
• Also loosen the fail timer on them (ambushes) as they're less and less popular. People who want them now and people who will do the achievement in the future often have to solo them ...
• Remove of halve the dumb cooldown on Turtle mount when it was damaged before dismounting
• Speed up the mid-meta fight (previous end of meta). At least remove the phases where we fight adds or the big balls (we fight those balls when capturing each of the 3 camps, and several times again in the end fight ... enough)
• Make the 4 "bonus" champs spawn one after another, like in Drizzlewood. Most maps do well, but why have a game design that actively allows trolling (people killing a different boss so nobody get all 4) for no reason ?
• Don't repeat FOUR of the SAME event in the tunnel. Suggestion : (1) no change (2) fight 3 elite Oni (buffed) but no need to gather energy (3) gather energy only, no Oni (but the events should give as many keys and energized luxon box rolls as if you fought all Oni) (4) normal (not elite, but doesn't take much damage) Oni everywhere, Energy isn't collected at the end of the tunnel (we did that in 1 and 3 already) but gives stacks for a turtle elite shockwave that badly damages the oni around => run around to collect energy and spam shockwaves. Once again, the event should reward the same amount of keys as the current version does.
• I'm not sure how to make the last fight better even though I find it boring. Maybe just nerf the spawns at circles and don't let them spawn champion that prevent battery charge for a long time due to being HP sponges.

[Housing] Large Private Room in Massive Spacious Loft - $1200 - Westlake near DTLA Hello, we had good luck finding our last roommate on here a year ago, so let’s give it another shot! Looking for a sublease to fill my room in our massive (4000 sqft) 5bedroom penthouse loft in Westlake, available from July 1st to October 1st. Please consider reaching out even if the dates don't match up perfectly, the constant roommate search is inevitable. Rent for the available room is $1200, comes with a massive bedroom (fully furnished - bed, couch, tv, iMac), and an isolation booth for recording VO/vocals. Utilities averaging $50/mo. Security deposit is $600.
We're four roomies ranging from mid twenties to mid thirties. One is an actor, one is in law school, one is a podcast/livestream engineer, one works retail in vintage clothing, and I am a freelance producer and recording artist. I built a small professional studio in my room that you would have full access to (see pics). My room is especially friendly to recording artists and producers.
Pics here: https://imgur.com/a/8va3BII
From our two private patios, we have a panoramic view of Los Angeles from the Hollywood Sign thru DTLA down to LA Live and everything in between. There's a stage in the living room where my roommate hosts bi-weekly shows under the instagram handle: thelullabyloft
These events take place in the common area, they are professionally recorded and live-streamed, and we have a cap of 30 people in attendance (typically we average 15 people). I strongly encourage you to get involved with these events! They are great networking opportunities, and my roommate is always looking for an extra hand to help run them if you are available/interested
Important facts: - Shared bathroom Parking is included, but not in-building. It's one block away in an underground lot by the Home Depot with a security patrol. - Internet is $10 a month - Our work habits are a mix of WFH and not. The apartment is big enough where everyone has their own space to isolate, but also collaborative if you come out into the common area. - Laundry is in-building on the 3rd floor, paid via app - We have both men and women as roommates; just no couples or pets please. Other fun facts: - We have a ping pong table. - The loft is so large I can forget people are home for hours at a time. - Nearby Food: - The best Indian spot in LA is two blocks away (Bombay Beach) and also will deliver you groceries if you want. - Two of the best taco tents you'll ever visit are within a block. If you get tired of those there's another four to choose from that are also great. - Langer's is a short walk down the road. - There is a Metro bike-share kiosk directly outside of the building. bus stop right outside our spot and closest metro is 8 min walk - You can walk to the grocery store on 6th/Union. - It's Westlake, so manage your expectations about the area. We've never felt unsafe in the 4 years we've lived here. - The room is available for 3 months from July 1st - September 1st. However, even if your availability ranges outside of these dates, I still encourage you to reach out! If I can’t find anyone for next month - - I’ll still be looking for August. Also, with 5 roommates at the loft - new rooms open every so often… so I could keep you in mind for a later date if something opens up! Pics here: https://imgur.com/a/8va3BII
If you're interested, please PM me with a little about yourself (work, hobbies, etc). I will contact you to schedule a video chat and or phone call, and then set up an in-person tour if it seems right. Thanks, and looking forward to hearing from you.

I have 3 sentinel ships. The 2 that were acquired as S Class allowed me to install all the upgrades a regular ship would. But today, when I went to install Nonlinear Optics on the Sentinel ship I'd upgraded to S Class, it's telling me that "Aeron protocol rejects alien technology". It doesn't even show as buildable tech. But I still have it installed on my other 2 S Class sentinel ships and it shows as buildable tech. What gives? Is this a bug with upgrading to S Class?

The Game is so Incredible fun but the Loathing Tears are just so dogshit in their spacing i know its mostly Random but in every run there are at least 2 Regions that have 3 Loathing Tears back to back with no way of relieving them because it happens mostly before the Oblivian Rampant and the downsides are so huge
I beg that the Loathing Tears get some kind of spacing rework so that they are more evenly spread out along the Region

I want to make a few things clear upfront:

• No, I am not trying to slander Earnest Ice Cream; it used to be my favourite ice cream place
• Yes, this is partially about needing to use the washroom abruptly, and I’m sorry I’m advance if that makes you uncomfortable.

Long story short, I used to frequent Earnest regularly when I lived in Vancouver. Even after I moved outside the city, I was there at least once a quarter, maybe every half a year at longest. But recently (as in, the last 3 months at least), as soon as I eat my Ice Cream, I need to use the washroom immediately. This has happened twice now. This does not happen to me regularly (as in, never). I eat dairy daily and have no issues with it generally, but a couple months ago my wife and I had their ice cream at the east Van location near Commercial. I went home and felt like I was dying, so I remember it clearly. Chalking it up to something wrong with the batch of ice cream, I ignored it. But yesterday, I went to their Quebec Street location, and the same thing happened. Again, this type of thing doesn’t happen to me. Did they… change the recipe recently? It’s clearly an immediate reaction to something in it, but I’m curious if I’m not the only one, because if so, Earnest should maybe know about it (kindly, again, I loved Earnest!)

Beste avonturiers,
Zoals de titel beschrijft zijn wij opzoek naar aanvulling. Nadat twee van onze vorige partymembers gestopt zijn hebben wij ruimte vrij, we hebben één sessie gespeeld dus we staan nog aan het begin. Wij zijn nu met vieren, drie spelers één DM/GM. Wij spelen een homebrew campaign ontworpen en geschreven door de DM.
Door een wereldvernietigend evenement pakweg 200 jaar geleden is zowat de hele wereld vergaan. Langzamerhand zijn er weer civilizaties aan het opstaan. Dit is in grote lijnen de setting; details komen later.
Wij zoeken dus mensen om onze huidige party te vergezellen. Bestaande uit een Dwarf Barbarian, een Yuan-Ti Figter en een Tabaxi Rogue/Wizard. Je begint op level 3 en mag spelen wat je wil (binnen de grenzen van de DM). Wij willen op z'n minst eens per maand spelen. Maar vaker kan ook, alles in goed overleg dmv een datumprikker.
Één van de spelers heeft voldoende ruimte om te hosten. Dat zal in Sint-Michielsgestel zijn vlakbij Den Bosch. Maar ook dit staat open voor overleg. Het maakt niet zoveel uit als je nieuw, beginnend of ervaren bent. Maar verwachten wel enige vorm van commitment. Het verhaal zal voornamelijk engels zijn en natuurlijk zal er ook onderling nederlands gesproken worden.
Heb je zin om mee te spelen laat iets van je horen!

O.K. so I don't really use or ever look at twitter, but given that Paul doesn't visit here I tried doing an advanced search for 'cheapshow reddit' on twitter to see if anyone mentions it there, and found this from December of 2020 (so yeah I am obviously LATE in seeing this), with Pauls response below. https://twitter.com/TheCheapShowPod/status/1334268081741377541
But there's a few things wrong there, because Paul clearly never clicked through to read what was actually there.

1. It wasn't even me 'spelling your name wrong', it was TrampCumSqueege who Paul insulted as 'getting his name wrong' (which he didn't, it was a joke about a Ganondorf edit with his face). Going off on a weird rant (which Paul seems to do a lot on Twitter as it is) saying he's a hatemonger and isn't allowed to socialise etc.
2. I wasn't saying he was a nonce, nor did I even post saying that, it's a quote from the podcast he hosts with Eli (like most name tags on here), which Eli read, on youtube that someone ELSE had already said by that point.
3. He says 'people' calling him a nonce like it was multiple people doing it, when no one did to begin with aside from one guy on youtube ages ago that got read out on the show, which they both laughed at I seem to remember.

So THAT is the reason he doesn't read reddit anymore? Over a weird assumption he's made without actually reading the thing he is supposedly angry at? But then on the podcast blames it on 'a bad review' he read from someone else, which again I assume he didn't read. Paul never takes anything mildly negative well, which again is probably another reason to use twitter over reddit. because he can block anyone who says anything there, but I assume can't do that here. I might end up getting shit over this and bad responses, but does anyone else find all this fucking strange? He seems super paranoid over nothing, and have always thought it was down to his drug usage, something Eli can do/has a tolerance for, but Paul should maybe stop doing or not do as much. Plus after all that, I'm the only one who chose to post a thread like this ages ago too: https://www.reddit.com/CheapShow/comments/8iume1/appreciation_and_love_for_paul_serious/

Hello, i'm experiencing very high lag spikes in albion, with a "reconnect" pop up that last circa 10 seconds, i'ts happening regularly while playing the game, at least 3-4 times per hour. It happens when other players are using skills or when they appear on my screen, i never experienced that while walking solo or when i'm into the city (regardless of enemies doing pvp and using skills in town. Today i got 7 lag spikes (and died twice lmao), i'm not saying its a hack or something, just want to get help to solve this issue. I even tried to buy a vpn service to reduce ping etc; lag spikes happens anyway

“Hey Raz, I got one!” Raz’s voice was cut by static as he called back, “Great! …at quarry …die.” Well, that wasn’t ominous at all, I thought to myself as I adjusted the rear-view mirror to check on the operator I had just blown past. They were doubled over coughing, their gas mask swayed side to side on the ground next to their feet. I don’t know what compelled me to not flatten what I had thought to be an AQ soldier, but I’m glad I didn’t.
I slammed my hummer in reverse, coming to a stop next to the helpless operator. “Hop in bud, we can get you to final exfill yet.” He slowly hauled himself into the bed of my hummer, landing with a dull thud and a groan as he fell onto his back. We cleared the gas, and I was immediately put on edge as my passenger started to gain consciousness. If he was planning anything nefarious, there wasn’t much I could do about it now. “You good back there? Normally I’d stop to send an invite but given the situation that might have just caused more problems.” He leaned through the non-existent rear window, “Nah, I understand man. When we get further from the gas we can stop and squad up. Don’t need to risk lighting each other up if things get hot at the exfill.” I couldn’t help but chuckle, “I don’t think that would be much of an issue regardless. Hey, we didn’t leave any of your friends back there, did we? I know we peeled out pretty quick.” I saw him shake his head and point to our left in the rear-view mirror. “We got split up, but they were running for a car, so I wasn’t too worried.” I followed his finger, a white hatchback cruised along parallel to us, swerving through buildings trying not to eat too many AQ bullets. “Hey boys, Dutch here is gonna roll with us to final. We’ll squad up when we get there.” I was barely able to make out one of his squad mates call out “Tight!” over his earpiece.
“Hey, listen, I’ve got friend I’m rolling with. His name’s Raz, he’s gonna meet us at final. If you see a red, white, and blue LTV, don’t shoot alright.” Raz chimed in, his radio finally clear of the static, “That’s very kind of you to tell them not to shoot me Dutch.” Before I could respond, a black turreted LTV slid out of Said City ahead of us. “Is that your boy Dutch?” I wanted to give my passenger the benefit of the doubt, it is windy in the box after all, he might not have heard me. “Nah man, wrong colour, and he didn’t have a turreted LTV last I saw.” The black LTV continued North along the main road as we cut away into the quarry proper. “Raz, company is headed your way. Looks like it’s just a solo in that truck but you can never be too careful.” “Thanks for the heads up Dutch.”
I rolled to a stop at the base of the helicopter ramp, gently flattening a couple of AQ who were getting a little to close to the bird for comfort, just shy of the battery running dry. The other two operators in the hatchback slid to a stop just down the hill from us. I got out of the hummer, a tad worried that my good fortune was about to come to an end at the hands of these fellas. As they ran up the hill, the notification finally popped. I accepted and ran down the hill to grab the hatchback, breathing a sigh of relief. “Wait, where you goin’ Dutch?” One of my clients called out. “Raz and I will run interference while we wait for the chopper to take off. Any AQ or unfriendly operators are gonna have to go through us.” “You keep talking about this Raz guy, but I’ve yet to see anyone other than that black LTV.” Almost on queue, a black LTV flew up the hill narrowly missing my hatchback. My clients went into a frenzy. “Operators pushing us! Take ‘em down!” The LTV spun in the sand in front of me, a glorious and perfectly oiled moustache glinting in the Al Mazrah sun. “Hold your fire! It’s Raz!” I called from below my clients. I sent an invite to him which he had hopped out and accepted faster than any of these guys could pull the trigger. “You see the operator that was in that earlier?” Raz shook his head, “No, I pulled up on it and they were gone. Must be out on foot somewhere.”
With 5 seconds left on the clock, there wasn’t enough time to go find them, our clients now panicking as they realized we weren’t on the bird. “What are you two doing?!” They shouted from the air as we waved goodbye. “Al Mazrah is our home gentlemen. That bird was never meant for us.” I gave Raz a pat on the shoulder as the gas rapidly approached, another successful day had come to a close.
The clack of a Kastov charging handle was almost unmistakable. We both turned to see the operator from the LTV standing there, rifle honed on us. “Well shit.” Their rifle dropped towards the dirt as they looked back over their shoulder at the nearly out of sight exfill chopper. They pushed through us, wandering towards the North side of the quarry. Raz and I locked eyes, shrugging in unison. That was one of those moments where we really wouldn’t have blamed them for their decision, whatever it might have been. “We better get back to HQ, Compton said I.T dropped off something for you.” Raz said as the gas engulfed us.
“I’m going back to the island boss.” My hands were shaking as I gripped the file folder that I.T had left for me. “Twitch.” “He’s back, it took him a bit, but he’s managed to re-take the castle and hunker down since we last saw him. And if he’s back then we might finally be able to get some proper intel on those blue tracers, direct from the source.” I handed the folder to Raz. He took it, turning to no doubt address the rest of the crew. I grabbed his shoulder, stopping him before he could speak. “Not everybody, not this time. They’ve doubled the defences; we’d be walking into a slaughterhouse.” “Well, you can’t go in there alone, we look out for our own Dutch, you know that.” Raz’s brow tightened, I could tell he was already trying to figure out what my plan was. “I’m bringing Maze and Alex. They’ll provide sniper cover while I infiltrate the castle. I still have my old uniform. As long as they haven’t drastically changed up their callsigns, I should be able to get in undetected.” I could tell Raz wasn’t convinced. “Dutch, like you said, you’d be walking into a slaughterhouse. How does you going in solo make that any better.” “After what happened in the complex…I’m not putting anyone else at risk, I can’t. The Bomb Maker…Twitch, I’ve gotta face him myself. Look him in the eyes so he knows I crawled out of Hell to drag him back down there.” “Alright, I couldn’t really stop you if I wanted to, could I?” Raz shrugged. “No, not unless you shot me, and honestly, I’d take those odds.” I punched his shoulder and started heading for the breakroom to grab Maze and Alex. “You keep that up I’ll be moving you back out to that sea can of yours.” Raz smirked.
The locks took a bit of fighting to get open. While this footlocker had only been on Ashika Island for a few months, the constant spray of salt water had worn away what little integrity it once had. The black uniform, emblazoned with the Rook and Spade of Shadow Company, was still in excellent condition, save for a bullet hole just under where the plate carrier would sit. I paused for a moment, holding it up in the air, memories of the past flooding in. “Not a lot of fond memories in that uniform I take it.” Maze called out from the catwalk in our home away from home. “I think part of the problem is that there are good memories. It’s a little concerning that such fond memories can hide out amongst so much evil.” “We’ve all done things we aren’t proud of. Some of us just did things other people also wouldn’t be proud of either.” Alex chuckled to himself as he cleaned his rifle on the cot next to me. I grimaced, mostly because he was right. I slipped into the old black fatigues and strapped on my old plate carrier. My weapons were all still intact too, I pulled my Taq-56 out of the footlocker, running my fingers over the engraving in the side, ROOK-XLIV. I cycled the charging handle a few times before loading in a fresh magazine and setting it on the cot next to me. I pulled out a pistol belt, two pearl handled revolvers, one with an ebony Rook on the grip, the other, an ebony Spade. Umbra Catavae engraved along each barrel. Maze had come down from the rafters now, a look of mixed intrigue and concern on her face, “I take it those don’t invoke fond memories.” I had done a poor job of hiding my look of disgust. “No, unfortunately they do.” I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. “Each of these was given to me for completing outstanding performance in the field. I did things I’m not proud of, and I was rewarded for it, handsomely. Holding these in my hands, I feel the same pride I had felt when they were first handed to me. It makes me sick.” I strapped the belt around my waist. The pearl handles shining against my all black silhouette. Alex piped up again, “Hey, at least you are trying to make amends for your sins, not many can say the same.” I let out a long sigh, “I suppose you’re right. You both remember the plan?” “Get to the radio towers and start lighting the place up when shit inevitably hits the fan.” Maze grinned. “Close enough.” I pulled my balaclava up and headed for the door.
The guard at the gate didn’t immediately shoot me which gave me some spark of hope that this might work. “In position!” Alex and Maze called out almost simultaneously. “Jinx, you owe me a beer!” Maze rejoiced. “What? Why would I give you a beer for that?” Alex sounded genuinely confused. “Hey, cut the chatter you two, don’t need to give them any reason to not let me in alright.” The guard held up his hand. “I don’t recognize you, let’s see your I.D.” I held up my old I.D card. “Well I’ll be damned, look who crawled out if his grave.” He pulled my mask down to confirm. “You look pretty good for a corpse, though your I.D card is out of regulation. You might want to stop by the I.T guy to get a new one made.” “Thanks, I’ll head right over.” The first thought that came to my mind was Bob. There’s no way he still worked for these assholes, is there.
“You used your old I.D?! You mad man!” Maze cackled over the radio. “Ok, I’ll admit, this wasn’t my greatest plan. I honestly thought they’d just capture me after seeing who I was.” Alex cut me off, “Go with the flow I suppose.” “Spade-499 up one-two.” The local radio channel began to drown out my squad’s comms. “Rook-3468 down one-one” “This is some odd radio traffic Dutch.” Alex quipped. I watched as a Shadow Company mercenary approached a stairwell, each step primed and ready to pop a leg off whichever unfortunate soul chose to ascend. “Spade-5454 up one-two.” “It’s how they know to deactivate the traps.” I whispered into our secure line. I approached the same stairwell. “Rook-44 up one-two.” I could hear the traps audibly click off. The guard at the to put his hand out as I reached the top step. “Sorry, no ghosts allowed on the second floor.” “Ghost? What…” He bent over laughing. “I’m just messing with you man. They said you died holding off the ULF while Bob and Twitch escaped, going out in a blaze of glory. Clearly, they didn’t have their facts straight. Glad to have you back.” I’m glad I had the balaclava on because I was struggling to hide my confusion. Last I checked I was the scape goat for the largest backstab in Shadow Company history, not a hero. I was never a hero when I worked for them. “I take it you are going to see the boss, call up two-zero, we don’t want people to be just guess on the fly, just in case someone tries to sneak in.” If only he knew.
“We don’t have eyes up there Dutch. Whatever happens, you’re on your own.” I could hear a tinge of worry in Alex’s voice. “Just make sure whoever is in here doesn’t get reinforcements.” “You got it!” Alex and Maze both called out in unison. “Jinx, you owe me another beer.” “There’s free beer at headquarters, why would I owe you a beer for that.” Alex called back clearly still confused. “Radio silence please. I’ve got a rat to kill.” I took a deep breath, pulling my Bryson from its sheath, the chrome exterior brushed over with a dull grey to blend in. “Rook-44 up two-zero.”
“Well, well, well. I was wondering when I’d see you again after our last encounter. Urzikstan and Al Mazrah clearly hadn’t kicked your ass enough so you decided to come crawling back to me for another round.” The traps clicked off. “Come on up, I’ve been looking forward to this.” I slowly ascended, keeping my Bryson trained at the top of the stairs, my eyes scanning each stair for an actual trap. As I crested the stairwell, my eyes were immediately drawn to him. His back turned to me, Trophy Systems whirring and clicking around him. “I missed you Dutch. Well, the old you. The one that would shoot through a hostage just to prove a point, the one that would dangle captives from buildings by their collar until they squawked like a bird, and then still dropped them anyways. I miss the Dutch that smoked Keller because his gas mask worked and yours didn’t when we those crazy Russian’s tried to hit us with mustard gas. I still get a little nauseous when I think about you peeling his face out of there.” “I’ve changed Twitch, I’ve moved past all that. I found a calling that doesn’t require me to be a conniving bastard.” Twitch laughed as he turned around, his hands empty. I kept my Bryson trained on him. “That’s what you think I am huh? I prefer shrewd businessman, but if that’s what helps you sleep at night.” He walked to one of the barred windows. “You really think what you and those taxi driving hooligans are doing matters?” “Clearly it does, or you and the Chemist wouldn’t be working so hard to sabotage us.” I took a few steps towards him. “Well, I suppose it matters to one of us. The Chemist and Raz go way back, but you know that. What I care about is the money, and I get a lot of money for helping that crazy bastard try to wipe out your little band of Merry Men.” “And Women. This guy just loves the sound of his own voice. Can I remove his head already? He’s looking right at me, practically begging me to pull the trigger.” I could hear the contempt in Maze’s voice. Twitch always did love a monologue. “You can still fix your mistakes Twitch. Gives us what info you have on those tracers of yours and I might consider not killing you.” I snarled. “When you went soft Dutch, you lost any respect I might have had for you. We are long past the point where you can intimidate me. Besides, any info I did have, is with the Chemist. He paid a handsome sum to get the formula, and really, it was becoming a logistical nightmare to ship enough of those little blue gems across the sea. Better for everyone to have it made close to the front lines.”
“Spade-101 up two-zero.” Bob’s voice cut through the tension. “Well I’ll be, it looks like we are gonna have a little family reunion.” Bob’s head poked up the stairs, “Hey boss, another server bank has shorted out from the sea air, I told you we should invest in better waterproofing the housings but if you still…” He trailed off as I dropped my Bryson, the sling catching it just before it hit the ground, and drawing my two revolvers. “Oh, hey Dutch. Nice to see you too.” Bob stammered. I cocked the hammer on each one, keeping one trained on each of my old squad mates. “Really Bob? Really! I understand you sticking around the day of the heist. But now? After everything that Shadow Company has done to these countries. To its own people.” Before he could respond, a siren blared over the intercom system. “Defensive positions! Hostile operators have breached the perimeter.” “Dutch you’ve got six operators approaching the castle, I think it’s time to bounce.” Maze was drowned out by her own gun fire, her Signal .50 raining death into the courtyard. “Looks like our time is up here Dutch. Since you clearly don’t have los cojones to pull the trigger, you might as well see yourself out, and let me and my men handle this.”
“Fuck it.” The hammer of the first revolver slammed down, dropping Bob instantly. I turned to face Twitch, his face a mix of surprise and pride. “Maybe I was wrong, the old Dutch still lives.” I charged forward, tackling him through the window and off the roof. Both of us lay on the ground, groaning as the chorus of gunfire roared around us. He dove for one of my pistols, but unfortunately for him, I had managed to hold on to the other, putting a round through his arm just before he could grab the gun. He rolled out of the way of the second round, bringing his one working hand up to the radio on his chest. The explosion from the castle threw both of us across the courtyard, debris raining down around us. I felt like I was reliving one of the worst days of my life all over again. I hauled myself to my feet, Shadow Company mercenaries and operators wandered aimlessly through the ashes. Everyone seemed too disoriented to fight. “I think it’s time to leave Dutch.” “I second that.” Maze and Alex were barely audible over the ringing in my ears. “Regroup at the boat. If I’m not there in 5, go without me.” I never heard a response, even if they tried, they wouldn’t have convinced me to leave, not with him still breathing.
I combed through the smoke and fire, carefully checking every nook and cranny I came across but the slippery rat was nowhere to be seen. “Looks like you 3 aren’t thick as thieves after all, eh Dutch. Poor Alex here was left all alone on the beach, no boat to be seen.” Twitch was sucking in air between words, no doubt kept standing by adrenaline. “You lay a finger on him, and I’ll make you wish you had died in that explosion.” I spat into my mic. “Don’t make me wait too long.”
I limped over a hill towards the beach where we were supposed to regroup. “Alex! Where’s Maze?” I called out as I stumbled down the sand bank. Alex didn’t respond, his head held in a tight headlock by Twitch, my second pistol against his temple. “She abandoned you both, and now I get the pleasure of killing you both after yet another betrayal. When will you learn Dutch. This world is a cruel place. Only the strong survive, clearly Maze knew that.” Twitch cut me off before I could retort. “Save the fight me with honour B.S that I know you are gonna spew.” I’m gonna kill you and your buddy and salvage what little I can of this operation. Then maybe retire to Cuba. I do love a good cigar.” “Adios, pendejo!” Alex brought his arm down, the knife concealed in his hand connecting with Twitch’s thigh. Twitch let out a high-pitched yelp, letting loose a round from the revolver which narrowly grazed Alex’s hair. Alex dove into the sand right as Twitch’s shoulder exploded in a pink mist followed shortly by the unmistakable crack of Maze’s Signal .50. I squinted trying to see where the shot came from, all I caught was the glint from her scope in the sun, the boat hardly visible in the rolling surf.
I limped forward, Bryson in hand, chrome starting to show through the worn grey paint. I kicked the revolver away from Twitch, placing a boot on his chest and the barrel of my Bryson against his forehead. He began to mumble and cry, hardly able to string together an understandable sentence. “Save it, you’re gonna need your energy for what comes next.” Our boat slammed into the shore, Maze hopping off, rifle raised and ready. “Oh shit I actually hit that!” “I’m not gonna lie, I thought you’d actually just bailed.” I laughed as she helped Alex to his feet. “You still go those claymores?” I asked Maze as Twitch continued to writhe in panic under my boot. “You wanted the old Dutch, eh Twitch. Ask and you shall receive.” Maze handed me the claymores, while Alex kept sidearm pointed at Twitch. I planted 4 around him, just far enough away that they wouldn’t go off unless he moved. I drew one of my revolvers, popping the cylinder out and emptying all but one round. I gave the cylinder a spin before flicking it closed. I tossed the revolver at Twitch. “Don’t waste that on me. You’ll only regret it in about an hour.” I took my other revolver, and hurled it towards the sea, the pearl grip glinting in the sun as it spun through the air, disappearing into the crashing waves. “Good riddance.” I sighed, that chapter of my life finally ended. Twitch was silent, his whimpering now just deep, laboured breathing. I turned back before I stepped onto the boat, watching as his hand slowly moved to the pistol in the sand next to him. “Well played Dutch, well played.”

Android
After a lot of research on forums, now I know that there is no way to find IMSI or SIM serial number for both the SIM cards in a dual SIM phone (except for contacting the manufacturer). Now my changed question is, can we at all detect that the phone has two SIMs? I believe it can be detected with some intelligence. Few ways I can think of are:

1. Dialing an USSD code and tracing the logs for IMEI number (I tried this with *139# in India. It worked.) This will give me IMEI number for the SIM from which I dialed the USSD code. (It is presumed that the phone follows android guidelines and has two IMEI numbers.)
2. Storing the SIM serial number and/or IMSI for the SIM. And after detection of any other IMSI/Serial number even if the phone was not rebooted (i.e. the SIM was switched) by tracing some logs or by some broadcast event handling.
3. By dialing *06# you will get to see both IMEI numbers. By some way, get those two numbers. (Something like screen capturing and image parsing for text.)

If anyone can think of some other ways, they are most welcome. I would really appreciate any kind of help regarding this. Also, if anyone has any information about any manufacturers APIs or links to contact them, please do share with the community people.
Answer link : https://codehunter.cc/a/android/android-check-whether-the-phone-is-dual-sim

I moved to Germany about a year ago through a family reunification visa, and will be getting the German passport in a few years’ time. Back in my home country, I used to work as a content creator for a gaming outlet where I produced gaming videos, some of which amassed millions of views individually.
When I moved to Germany however, I had to quit that job due to taxes etc, and I now work at MediaMarkt. However, I would still like to use up my free time creating my own channel and doing what I used to do, just basically starting from scratch. How difficult is it to own a monetized YouTube channel with regards to taxes here etc?
I know that one has to report it as your own little company at Finanzamt, but what other implications are there, and is it worth it to begin with?
P.S. I am well aware due to my experience that the road to success on YouTube is an infinitely long one, and may well end up being a failure, but given that it would by no means be my primary (or even secondary) source of income at any point - more of a glorified hobby where I can make some pocket cash on the side eventually- I am not too worried about the basic financial sense of it all.
Thanks for your help in advance.

Sickly sorrow in the heat of summer
Brought scorching alcohol to fill my form
Where it boiled the drugs I took to vapor
And claimed my heart,
Scribbled upon with lines I drew
From inkwells of existential splendor,
Discarded,
Abandoned even by the inhabitant within.
So I shoveled dirt and shit
Until was carved this fitting abyssal pit
In rows of ennui growing ‘cross my land
Then descended with a bottle in my hand
To find
There is only the pathetic stench
Of self-loathing, disgust, and fear
Fear that I am unloved, uncared for, and long forgotten;
This wretched incense lingers in the air
Reminding me that I’m the sole worshiper
In the cathedral of I
But offers
A quiet resignation to the chains of despair
Where I might wallow in deserved desolation
And need not pretend to try
When the irons of resignation
Hold faster still
Than the call for light and life.
And so I make my sacrifice:
A dance with the darkness
And a toast to the eternal night.
———
1
2

TW: This post is about a disturbing scene I witnessed in the park, it is about a man that was being inappropriate with a little boy and I describe the incident in detail.
Today I was in the park and I witnessed something that made me feel uncomfortable, dysregulated, stressed, angry, sad, frustrated and annoyed.
There was a group of adult women with two boys of about 12 years old, they were having a picnic and the boys were playing ball. A while later, a creepy looking man came sitting next to them. Yes this is a judgment, but he looked exactly like the/my stereotype of a pedophile. He was about 60 years old, wore pilot glasses that turn dark in the sun, was extremely tanned and had a belly. He started kicking the ball around with the boys. Not just 3 times like a normal adult would do before they went on with their day, but for a looong time. I was immediately wary of him and felt triggered (actually triggered, not in the casual way people use it these days, which is frustrating but that’s something for another post), and of course immediately started doubting myself as well, as I went through CSA myself and know I am hypervigilant when it comes to this stuff. Within minutes his shirt came off, a few minutes after his trousers were off and he was in his short tight swimming shorts, still playing ball with the boys, by now it had been about ten minutes. This is how grooming works I guess, and apparently it works on adults just as quickly. Within minutes the kids were playing ball with a naked strange man. They were right next to the adults but they didn’t seem to be alarmed by a naked unknown old man playing with their children. I tried looking at them to catch their eye and looking around to see if anyone else thought it was off, there were a lot of people sitting there but nobody seemed to notice.
Then the ball flew over a picket fence. The man summoned the boy to go get the ball, and the boy seemed uncomfortable and unsure, since it wasn’t an easy fence to climb over. In my opinion this is not something you do as a stranger either, this is a situation where the parents should be involved, and I got even more triggered, all the while doubting myself since I’m hypervigilant and don’t have children myself. The boy also had his shirt off (it was already like this before the man came over). The man wanted to ‘help’ him and picked him up, their bare skins touching, with their faces extremely close together. The adults were about 3 meters and still weren’t looking. Then, the man gave the boy his down coat to wear, I guess because there were thorns in the bushes. Again, this made me extremely uncomfortable. I was so triggered by this point, my heart was racing and knew that I was right. I wanted to signal something to the adults but they weren’t looking. I debated shouting at the adults that they should go check on their kids, or shouting at the man to leave the kid alone, but I felt frozen. I kept looking around me and still nobody seemed alarmed, so I decided that I would take action only if the man did something to the kid or to himself, which in hindsight is totally bonkers. It would have been too late by then and that would have traumatized both the kid and myself.
After a few minutes the kid climbed back over the fence, again with skin to skin ‘help’ from this man, and then the woman who turned out to be his mother all of a sudden saw him and alarmingly asked what he had been doing, pulled him aside and got his belt (that was no longer on his trousers, I totally missed this!). She asked where he got the coat and when he said it was the man’s she took the boy by his arm and asked him all kinds of questions that I couldn’t hear, to which he responded ‘no’ and he seemed confused. The other two women, of whom one I guess was the mother of the other boy, seemed unphased. The mother of the boy looked at the man with a wary gaze a few time and when the boy wanted to go play with the man again she called him over and they went home. The other two women with the other kind stayed. The man layed down in the grass with his face towards them, and they seemed totally unphased. After half an hour of still feeling triggered and dysregulated I left.
I feel so many things now. I don’t blame myself for not doing anything, but I know I should have gone up to the women and told them they might want to check up on their boy. I just couldn’t think clearly in the state I was in, which is logical. I also contemplated going up to the two other women before I left, but the man was right there and because of my own trauma I felt afraid of him. Also; the other boy was still there and I didn’t want to alarm him.
I also really want to take care of myself, since this stuff retraumatized me and it’s not like I’m doing great in my life, so it’s better to put the focus back on myself, instead of always being so hypervigilant to what is going on around me and who might be in danger. Of course this is a good quality and I’ve already saved some people from dangerous situations, but I feel so frustrated and jealous and angry of all the people who seem to be so blisfully unaware.
The frustration is stronger than the other emotions, though. How can parents be so stupid to let their kids play with a strange naked man? Wtf…Anyhow, just wanted to share and hear some reflections, maybe from people who are parents themselves, and from people who’ve encountered similar situations.Thanks a lot for reading all the way until the end. May you be well.

While I don’t completely disagree with raising the minimum wage, I also think there should be some changes to how it works.
First, let’s discuss gig work. Lots of people work multiple low-hour jobs because they can earn a living wage from that combined salary rather than one job that pays one bigger salary. But the kicker here is that none of those jobs are paying the gig worker minimum wage because gig-work by nature loses out a lot of money due to the opportunity cost of being a jack-of-all-trades and moving between workplaces. Even if most of the work is done through a computer, the worker still loses money since they have to spend resources to manage their schedule and deduce if each individual job is worth it.
For this reason, I believe that minimum wage jobs should pay per shift as well as per hour. Essentially, a gig worker’s salary is calculated by taking a baseline shift cost, then add on an additional amount per hour worked. Not only does this allow the worker to make up for the opportunity and management costs, but the company can still give them more hours if they want a more thorough or complex task done. (Like hiring a janitor for longer so they can make things extra clean).
Secondly, the minimum shouldn’t be a flat value, it should be a percentage of the company’s profits, just like how taxes work. In that sense, the advantage of working in a bigger company is a bigger pay, which should compensate for the natural benefits of working for a smaller business. It doesn’t have to be big, let’s say 0.1%. With just that much, an Amazon worker would make at least 5.3 thousand dollars an hour. Even if we took it down to 0.01%, that’s still more than 500 dollars an hour. 0.001%, 53 dollars an hour with almost zero damage to Bezos’ pockets. Obviously, businesses that don’t make as much don’t have to pay as much, but small businesses should be paying their employees above minimum wage already for obvious reasons or providing other benefits like training or guaranteed promotions.
In conclusion, I believe that by adding a bonus to the minimum wage per-shift, as well as changing it to a percentage of the business’ profits, we will solve a lot of problems.
So, what mistake have I made?

The last few months have been something, I tell you. Without going into the details, I’ve recently decided to really live and love the life that God has blessed me with.
So what does that mean?

1. Grace - I’m working very hard to have patience with people and be quick to forgive regardless of whether the person “deserves” it or not. It’s easier said than done but it’s definitely a work in progress lol. It also gives me peace.
   
2. Tithes- The other day, I talked to this woman who told me about the importance of tithing. I always knew about tithing but I just didn’t do it. I make okay money. Enough to live on my own. But I always spend money on what I want. However, I realized that the money I have is not my money, it’s God’s. I was robbing God by putting that money toward things that did nothing for me, instead of using what God has blessed me with to advance His kingdom. So yesterday, I paid my tithes for the first time and it felt right with my spirit immediately.
   
3. Men’s Church - I’ve been going to a Men’s church that happens every Saturday at 7 AM, (yes 7 AM on a Saturday) but it’s been a game changer. I’m in a room full of people just like me who all wants to advance God’s kingdom and be the man God has called us to be. Hearing of other men share their shortcomings and struggles let’s you know that you’re not the only one.
   
4. Trust- I can be a bit of a control freak. Even the things I can’t control, I always try and see how I can. But I can’t be the man God has called me to be if I want to control my life and not let God order my steps. I think the hardest thing for me, as with a lot of people, is trusting God and remaining faithful through tough times. But I know my faith is being tested during these times, and I can say that my faith has gotten stronger and I’m thankful for that.
   

Please understand that I’m not trying to make it seem like I’m better than anyone or that I’ve figured it out. It is seriously a work in progress but I’m just trying to do my best and trust God in the process of me being who He’s called me to be.
Little by little. Day by day.

• How old are you? What's your gender? Give us a general description of yourself.
I'm a 20y.o female. I'm
• Is there a medical diagnosis that may impact your mental stability somehow?
No
• Describe your upbringing. Did it have any kind of religious or structured influence? How did you respond to it?
My parents are religious but I'm not. I pretty open about it, I don't believe in any specific god but I do believe there is a god or maybe even gods.
• What do you do as a job or as a career (if you have one)? Do you like it? Why or why not?
I just graduated from a bachelor's degree in Chinese language. I will then continue my studies with a master's degree in marketing. I love languages and I love Chinese, but I don't see myself as a teacher (I don't like it and I'm not good at it), and I do like translation but that isn't a good job for the future, so that's why I chose a master's degree in marketing. As I know languages and I'm creative, plus, I wish to find a career that wouldn't disappear in the near future, I didn't chose it for passion no.
• If you had to spend an entire weekend by yourself, how would you feel? Would you feel lonely or refreshed?
A weekend is okay, I would feel good, I don't mind being alone and doing my own stuff. I often go traveling alone btw. But I do feel lonely pretty often, so more than a weekend would make me feel lonely.
• What kinds of activities do you prefer? Do you like, and are you good at sports? Do you enjoy any other outdoor or indoor activities?
I like to study honestly haha. Otherwise, drawing, reading, hanging out with my friends, traveling, visit museums... I go to the gym to be in good health, but I wouldn't say I like it, moreover I absolutely hate team sports. I enjoy both indoor and outdoor activities.
• How curious are you? Do you have more ideas then you can execute? What are your curiosities about? What are your ideas about - is it environmental or conceptual, and can you please elaborate?
I'm pretty curious about people, what they think, what they do. Sometimes I can just spend a whole hour thinking about what a person I know could be doing right now, they are not even my friend, and I don't even mind knowing what they were really doing, I just find thinking about it pretty fun. Otherwise I'm also curious about the world and some common knowledge. I wouldn't say I have more ideas that I cna execute though, I have lots of friends like this and it quite irritates me when they are all talk no action...
• Would you enjoy taking on a leadership position? Do you think you would be good at it? What would your leadership style be?
I like to have control over a situation, I like to give ideas in a team work and wish people could follow them. However I'm way too anxious to take a leadership position.
• Are you coordinated? Why do you feel as if you are or are not? Do you enjoy working with your hands in some form? Describe your activity?
I'm not. I'm pretty oblivious to my surroundings and I feel like I have no control over my body. However I'm a pretty good artist, I know how to draw and paint well. That's all though. I'm the worst at dancing.
• Are you artistic? If yes, describe your art? If you are not particular artistic but can appreciate art please likewise describe what forums of art you enjoy. Please explain your answer.
I love impressionism!!! Lots of colors! I hate how cliché this sounds but I do enjoy Van Gogh's works the most, they make me feel something. But I don't think the art I make is even close to impressionism, I things I like and the things I do are pretty different I think.
• What's your opinion about the past, present, and future? How do you deal with them?
I am always feeling nostalgic, it's terrible. Sometimes I can't sleep just because I'm thinking about a good memory I had, and I would feel so terrible and cry because I know it won't happen again. The worst is that my memory is so good, so sometimes I replay some moments I had in my life and feel terrible about it. I don't like the past. As for the future, it's difficult... I had a moment in my life when I was really hopeless, and wouldn't even try to think about the future or I would just think about negative outcomes. Now though, I am very hopeful, and I have looots of ideas about the future, lots of things I could do, lots of places I could go to. But I never ever had thoughts like "in the future, I want a xxx husband, with a big house, 3 kids and a dog" my ideas are never this detailed.
I guess in short I usually live in the present, but if I feel bad/hopeless, I wouldn't think about the future, or think only negatively about it, and rather spend my time thinking about the past and how good it was, only to feel sad and even more desperate because I will never experience these moments again...
• How do you act when others request your help to do something (anything)? If you would decide to help them, why would you do so?
Honestly, it makes me feel very uncomfortable. Even though I like to help people and always agree to help, when people directly ask for my help it makes me a little upset, and helping them would depend on my mood and on who they are, and also the task they need help with.
• Do you need logical consistency in your life?
No not really, I'm more of an emotional person. However, when it comes to making a rather important decision, I prefer to listen to my head than my heart.
• How important is efficiency and productivity to you?
Very important. I always try to do something everyday and feel bad if I haven't done anything productive. I have my own vision of productivity though, so spending a day hanging out with my friends is productive, as social relationships also need to be taken care of.
• Do you control others, even if indirectly? How and why do you do that?
I don't think so?
• What are your hobbies? Why do you like them?
I like studying, mostly languages, drawing, hanging out with friends, traveling, watching tv, listening to music
• What is your learning style? What kind of learning environments do you struggle with most? Why do you like/struggle with these learning styles? Do you prefer classes involving memorization, logic, creativity, or your physical senses?
I have a good memory so I don't really struggle with studying. I can study on my own at home, in a café or with friends, it doesn't matter.
• How good are you at strategizing? Do you easily break up projects into manageable tasks? Or do you have a tendency to wing projects and improvise as you go?
Pretty good actually, I'm always the one making plans and trying to make it the most efficient possible to make the most out of my time. But I have no problem improvising and do quite like it when I feel lazy actually haha. Planning is more like a hobby, something I do for fun, but I don't constantly need it.
• What are your aspirations in life, professionally and personally?
I wish I could just have a job I could do online, so that I can go discover the world and make money at the same time.
• What are your fears? What makes you uncomfortable? What do you hate? Why?
I fear missing out, things not turning out the way I want them in my head. Also, I hate insects.
• What do the "highs" in your life look like?
Me traveling, speaking multiple languages, doing what I want to and not being limited by people, I still want a lot of people in my life though.
• What do the "lows" in your life look like?
Doing something I despise, being poor and asking people for help.
• How attached are you to reality? Do you daydream often, or do you pay attention to what's around you? If you do daydream, are you aware of your surroundings while you do so?
I often daydream about real things. I don't really pay attention to the world around me when I do so though, which I actually don't like as I wish I would stop overthinking and just enjoy the moment and the things I see, especially when I travel. I could visit a new place while thinking about something else and then feel like I haven't visited anything.
• Imagine you are alone in a blank, empty room. There is nothing for you to do and no one to talk to. What do you think about?
I would think about way too many things, why I'm here, what's going on outside, how to escape, and is it really a good idea to escape, etc.
• How long do you take to make an important decision? And do you change your mind once you've made it?
I make decisions pretty fast, and often change my mind afterwards lol
• How long do you take to process your emotions? How important are emotions in your life?
I'm t.e.r.r.i.b.l.e with emotions, I noticed that after starting a relationship with a very emotionally intelligent person. When I feel upset, I would completely shut down, I won't be able to talk at all, and feel a blank in my head, I just become dumb. The worse is when I'm angry, I'm like a bomb ready to explode, at this moment I would be mean to people close to me, and then feel bad about it and hurt myself. When I'm happy, I can't really feel it with my body, I'm not so excited or anything like other people, but I know that I'm happy, other people though, would ask me why I have such a sad face haha... I think emotions are really really important though!!
• Do you ever catch yourself agreeing with others just to appease them and keep the conversation going? How often? Why?
Yes, very often, when I'm not close to them and fear to ruin a new relationship.
• Do you break rules often? Do you think authority should be challenged, or that they know better? If you do break rules, why?
I don't think authority should be challenged, nor that they know better, I don't really care. I do sometimes break the rules when I'm having fun, but that's really rare though.
I hope you have an idea of my type and could give me some feedback :)

Don't Let Reddit Kill 3rd Party Apps!

What's going on?

A recent Reddit policy change threatens to kill many beloved third-party mobile apps, making a great many quality-of-life features not seen in the official mobile app permanently inaccessible to users.
On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader.
Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface .
This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free.

Reddit to the Visually Impaired: "You no longer have a voice on this site."

On Android, the official Reddit mobile app is reasonably usable with the Android screen reader, but the experience on iOS is a completely different story. There are missing elements, broken navigation, nonsensical labels, and more problems that plague those who just want to interact with the site. If you decide to become a moderator the problems are compounded even more.
Third party apps, like Dystopia for Reddit and Apollo, have addressed this niche left so underserved for so many years because Reddit won't. It took literal years of tickets and complaints to get New Reddit to be accessible, and now the door has been shut in our collective faces. As things currently stand, this change doesn't just take away our clients; it takes away our voice.

What can you do?

1. Complain. Message the mods of /reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on /reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.
   
2. Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join us at our sister sub at /ModCoord.
   
3. Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support!
   
4. Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible.
   

I’m a 21-year-old guy, and my girlfriend is 19. Lately, I've been feeling a bit confused, and I have this nagging suspicion that my girlfriend might be keeping a secret from me. It seems like she might be hiding the fact that she can't read or write. Here's why I think that:
She never texts me; she always prefers talking on the phone. Whenever I send her a text, she either calls me back or doesn't reply at all. She claims she dislikes texting, but it makes me wonder.
She works as a barista, and she once shared a story about struggling with the new Point of Sale system at her job. She said she used to have everything memorized and got confused when things changed.
Every time we go out to eat, she acts unsure about what she wants and often asks me for suggestions. She even asks me to order for her most of the time. I'm not sure if she actually reads the menu.
She rarely adds captions to her Instagram photos, usually just using emojis. Instagram is the only social media platform she uses.
She grew up in foster care and moved around a lot during her childhood, which could have disrupted her education.
She's not interested in going to college and never pursued it. She mentioned struggling in school and doesn't see the point of putting herself through it as an adult.
I've never seen her read a book or even a magazine. When she's on her phone, she's usually on Instagram or playing Match 3 games but not reading any articles.
Once, I lent her the book that inspired her favorite movie. After a few weeks, she returned it without reading it, saying she didn't find the time and felt guilty for keeping it.
I can't help but think that I might be onto something here. Should I bring it up with her? Asking someone if they're illiterate feels incredibly insulting, especially since she sometimes seems to think I'm "smarter than her" because I'm in college. (I don't believe I've done anything to make her feel that way, but she's mentioned it in passing.) Am I overthinking this?