I was the VP of Engineering at a company in Boston. My mother had cancer, and my kid sister and husband was supposed to be watching over her and checking in on her, as the lived nearby.
The truth was that they wanted her to turn over all her assets to them, and they planned to put her into a home.
As time moved forward, they became more demanding. Nearly hysterically so.
They would have police come over, and all sorts of efforts to try to get her committed. It was a complete “crazy train”.
The key issue came to a head one day; My younger brother was there with my mother on a visit and watched this first hand, and was aghast.
This had been going on for a long time. My mother didn’t mention any of this to us other kids. And he (my brother) got into a big fight with my kid sister’s husband and put a restraining order on him.
Something had to be done.
My other siblings were not available, so I took the hit. I was the oldest son, and so I quit my job.
I left my position and tanked my career (for the moment) and moved in with my mother to take care of her. And for three years I was there tending to her and the property.
I have mixed feelings about that time.
But one thing is certain, it allowed me to get close to my mother at a time of need, and those moments I will never forget.
We are the people in charge of our lives. When life throws you situations you take action. And, damn what the rest of the world thinks.
You either do, or you don’t.
And that is my story, and my experience.
Today…
A really poignant cartoon about the state of America
Ref: Xiao Hong Shu. Rednote.
Dating fact
CHINA HAS FIRED ANOTHER ICBM . . . . PACIFIC OCEAN
China has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean.
The firing took place TODAY in a stunningly-rare occurrence, adding to tensions in the region where multiple countries have overlapping territorial claims and both Beijing and Washington seek to project their influence.
China says the launch was part of routine training by the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force, which is in charge of conventional and nuclear missile operations, and was not aimed at any country or target.
The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, landed in a designated area in the sea, the Defense Ministry said, without specifying where exactly. (Think near Hawaii or the US West Coast).
China rarely tests ICBMs out in international waters, with some experts tracing the last such deployment back to May 1980, when Beijing launched a DF-5 missile into the South Pacific. Usually, the PLA test-fires ballistic missiles in China’s remote Xinjiang region or in the Bohai Sea.
China seems to be sending a message . . .
What are the most common regrets people have?
Bonnie Ware spent eight years working in palliative care, spending countless hours kindly attending to the needs of dying patients. She typically lived with them in their homes. Most only lived for 3–12 weeks after her arrival.
She’d gone into this field just looking for a job, and figured it would allow her to help people, and spare her from paying rent as she did. As you might imagine, this profession was quite intense, but her tenure proved deeply moving and changed her perspective on life.
As Bonnie stayed at homes, some patients had a near endless stream of family who came by, eager to visit with them and say their goodbyes. Others, laid down their beds, alone, for almost for the entirety of Bonnie’s stay with few, if any, family members visiting.
What Bonnie hadn’t expected, was that much of her role would involve listening. Many patients were eager to have conversations, and in need of company.
They were often reflective, talking about all they’d done. All of them spoke of their regrets in life.
And as they talked, Bonnie noticed a few themes in the things she heard. So she began documenting their conversations. The five most common regrets, in no particular order, are summarized as follows:
- “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”
- “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.”
- “I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.”
- “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.”
- “I wish that I had let myself be happier.”
The final example was interesting, “let” myself be happier. Meaning, many people felt they had happiness within reach, but could never attain it because of their own decisions.
Do with these what you may. If you winced reading any of them, you might be at risk of that regret.
The fruits of DOGE labor
A major Republican player has charged onto the scene, bringing the researched facts, figures, and graphs showing interconnections between individuals, NGOs, and charities to shine bright lights on dark corruption. It’s how DOGE knew to zero in on USAID right out of the gate.
Exposing where the money flows -DataRepublican
Thousands of data have been collected.
You are encouraged to use it to investigate anyone or any group and sound the alarm.
Based on the above page, you are directed to this page, which creates a graph to illustrate connections.
THE AGE OF CITIZEN INVESTIGATORS AND JOURNALISM HAS ARRIVED.
The WRONG Way to Escape the USA
Lox, Bagel and Cream Cheese
Lox, Bagel and Cream Cheese is one of my favorite comfort foods. I had this wonderful sandwich for the first time at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco many years ago. This is best enjoyed with a cup of piping hot black coffee.
Ingredients
- 1 bagel, split and toasted or untoasted
- About 1/3 cup cream cheese, divided
- Several thinly-sliced pieces lox
- 1 slice onion
- 1 slice tomato (optional)
- Salt and pepper
- A few capers, if desired
- Sprigs of fresh dill, if desired
- Hot black coffee (optional)
Instructions
- Slather one-half of the bagel with cream cheese, more or less to your liking. Add the lox to the top of the cream cheese.
- Top with onion, then tomato.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Garnish with capers and fresh dill, if desired.
- Now slather the remaining bagel half with the remaining cream cheese. Set on top of the first half.
The ‘Tension Secret’ That Makes Her Chase You (Most Men Get This Wrong)
Should the US annex Taiwan and show China who’s boss?
Our friend Shun Bot, the favorite pro US panic monger already says US is the boss of Taiwan and controls Taiwan
So it’s game over for China😁
The Reality is a bit different
A. US doesn’t give a Squat about Taiwan
US doesn’t care squat for Taiwanese Independence
Taiwan is a small island that is useless except for a miniature version of a factory making stuff for the US
Unlike Singapore which diversified into Financial Services & High Technology thanks to some intuitive thinking, Taiwan is Israel 2.0 – a Small Island that exists to pander to US and it’s needs
Say tomorrow China says “Ok. You are Independent”
The US would be aghast and shattered
That’s the last thing they want
B. US & the Mainland want Reunification for different reasons
The US want to use Taiwan as a Bait to force the Chinese to attack Taiwan and go to war on the South China Sea, overthrow the CPC and unify China under a system loyal to the West
This was an idea that originated back in 1992 under Bill Clinton
Clinton wanted to introduce capitalism into China to weaken the Communist Party and then unify China under a Loyal Slavish Democracy
It didn’t work of course
Now China is top strong and stable
Meanwhile China wants to reunify Taiwan as part of their National Policy
C. Taiwanese aren’t as Pro US as Shun Bot says
Taiwanese are absolutely not Pro US
Thats why I believe he gets stuff from Q Anon or Marco Rubio or Palki Sharma😁
Simple thing
The Taiwanese elections showed it
William Lai secured 40% of the Votes
This means 60% voted against him
Of the two others -The KMT Guy & Ko Wen Je polled 60% of the Voters
Both favor Cross Straits relationships and KMT favors closer ties
If Taiwan was indeed that Pro US, Lai would have polled 60–65 percent of the votes
Maia Sandhu polled 55% votes in Moldova and we know how bitterly divided Moldova is among Pro Europe and Pro Russians
So a guy who polls 40% and supports the US against China – is definitely NOT endorsing Majority Opinion
Plus if they bring in new guys to split the vote – that’s just electoral tactics like BJP employs in India to win seats
The majority still want positive China relations or unification
Plus the Parliamentary results
KMT won a majority
DPP won 37.4% Seats
Again for comparison in the first election in Poland after communism, Lech Walesa’s Solidarity won 70.2% seats
D. Taiwanese are Chinese
Taiwanese are Chinese
That’s a simple fact
They aren’t American and dont identify themselves as American
They have the same culture, same language as the Chinese
Monkey King craze sweeps Taiwan sparking discussions on cultural tradition
While gamers in Taiwan are not immune to the infectious attraction of Black Myth: Wukong, the Chines
https://www.shine.cn/news/nation/2408271246/
Best example is Black Myth Wukong outsold every other Japanese AAA Game in Taiwan and broke all records
So to answer your question
If the US are stupid enough to Annex Taiwan – the Taiwanese will revolt en masse against the DPP and the US and welcome Chinese Intervention
Again best example is Hong Kong
They said so much about Democracy and how Hong Kong people are furious and revolting
It’s been 5 Years and HK is as stable as ever and even the West knows THAT’S OVER
Doesn’t matter if they have 13 Aircraft Carriers or 130 or 1300
Finally
How many times has a Country where US has intervened managed to prosper in the past 70/75 Years post WW II?
The Answer is ZERO
Vietnam – Disaster
Iraq – Disaster
Afghanistan – Disaster
Ukraine – Super Duper Disaster
You think Fifth Times a Charm????
Taiwanese Chinese have pretty High IQ
They ain’t Dumbos
Shun Bot of course needs to go to the actual cultural history of both nations and how the people actually think
Vlogs, Election Trends, Neutral Posts on Singaporean Social Media (Actually a bit pro taiwan actually), Talk to some main landers if he is indeed Chinese which I highly doubt since he responds to Chinese text by Google Translate ,so my guess is Indian based on population on Quora
Changing politicians
What is the rudest thing you have experienced while eating dinner at a friend’s house?
Not really rude, but bizarre…
I was 16 and had just started dating a gal from the same high school. I had met her parents a couple of times and all seemed OK, but I did notice they were pretty big drinkers.
They invited me to stay for dinner one evening, and they both had been drinking, but I said ok.
About mid dinner, the parents started arguing, and the dad just suddenly backhanded the mom in the face. My g/f and her sister and two brothers, all younger than her started yelling for me to do something. I was just stunned and frozen. Everything calmed down and we finished dinner in total silence.
The mom got up to clear the table and took a few empty dishes to the sink. All the sudden I saw a quick movement out of the corner of my eyes, and the mom hit the dad with a stainless skillet on the side of his head hard enough to knock him out cold and he fell to the floor. The mom then continued to clear off the table while the dad lay there.
The kids got up and helped the mom. I had no clue what the hell to say or do. I just left.
I dated that gal for about a year and was always over at her house, but fortunately never had to witness something like that again.
How awkward…
A Super-Material That Can Be Made In The Kitchen (Starlite Part 1)
MM makes coffee themed AI
With a handful of bread themes.
Richard Wolff on the decline of the US empire and the denial of the US
The Endless Now
Submitted into Contest #154 in response to: Write a story featuring an element of time-travel or anachronism.… view prompt
Jon Casper
Nova swallowed. “Are you … Thorne?”
The man nodded. “I am.”
“How did I get here? The last thing I remember I was … there was a tree, and—”
“I saw it all.” Thorne waved his arm to the front of the cabin. There, outside the window, a flicker of lightning illuminated the distant hillside where Nova had just been struck. “You were lucky.”
The corner of Nova’s mouth quirked up. That would be a first, he thought.
“Shall we get down to business?” said Thorne.
As Nova sat up, throbbing pain marched through his skull. “They … they say you can send people back to their youth. To re-live their lives, with all their present memories intact.”
Thorne nodded. “I have done this.”
“I would like to do that.” Nova rifled through his vest pocket, withdrew a thick envelope, and extended it to his host. “I would like to be eighteen again.”
“Why?”
Nova frowned. “Does it matter? Suffice it to say my life is a joke. I want to … no, I need to correct some mistakes. I need to know … how it might have been.”
“I see.” Thorne sighed, pocketing the envelope. He scraped his armchair across the room before Nova and sank into it. “In that case, before we proceed, you first must hear the story of the last man who did this.”
* * *
The last vestiges of Stephen’s life in the world outside his Otisville prison cell had crumbled. Marlene, his soon-to-be ex-wife, had just departed the medium-security penitentiary’s visiting room, having informed him of her plans: A dish of warm divorce papers would be the last meal she’d serve him. Stephen’s lifelong business partners—two brothers from his college fraternity—had both taken their own lives many months before, in lieu of public disgrace and prison terms of their own. And his own parents, to whom he had always been their eyes’ apple, had summarily disowned him in their humiliation.
If only I could go back and make the right decisions, Stephen thought, I wouldn’t be in this mess.
He believed he knew the exact decisions that had led him into his ultimate cage.
In his sophomore year of college, he’d met Ellen at a party at the Sigma Chi house. Smitten with the music major’s understated beauty and unconventional, quirky style, he’d focused on her to the exclusion of everything else—including his studies. In response to his flagging grades, his parents had introduced their son to Marlene, a Senator’s daughter, along with a choice: Entertain Marlene and keep their good graces; or continue his pursuit of Ellen and lose their riches forever.
Oh, Ellen, he thought, if only I’d known.
Married life with Marlene had initially been contented, if not happy. He would soon, however, run afoul of her appetites for wealth and status. His entrepreneurial stumbles as the owner of an art gallery had all too often required parental subsidy to make ends meet on Marlene’s lavish budget. In response, Marlene had arranged a dinner party, at which she’d arranged for Stephen’s fraternity brothers to offer him a position with their successful hedge fund. Marlene, much as his parents, had presented to him a choice: Lucrative employment with his college mates; or a messy, costly divorce.
If only I’d tried a little longer, he thought, my gallery could have succeeded.
Throughout Stephen’s five-year sentence at Otisville, his elderly cell mate had spoken at length of Temporal Mind Displacement, and of the enigmatic man rumored to have perfected the discipline. Upon Stephen’s release after five years, he’d made his way up Mount Mallett in search of that man.
* * *
Thorne ladled from the pot on the hearth. “Here. Eat.”
Nova scarfed the delicious stew. Between spoonfuls, he spoke with a full mouth. “So, what happened? Did you send him back like he wanted?”
“He got what he’d asked for.” Firelight reflected in Thorne’s steely eyes. “Does a man ever know what he truly wants?”
“I do,” said Nova. “That is, I know what I don’t want.”
“Regret can be a persuasive demon. It doesn’t always have your best interests at heart.”
Nova set down the empty bowl. “Tell me what happened to Stephen.”
* * *
Suddenly, Stephen was a twenty-year-old college sophomore again. His life was a blank canvas stretching in all directions before him, and he decided that Ellen would be the one to paint it with him. Together, they would launch his art gallery and fill it with her work.
His parents, as they’d promised, wrote him out of their will, and stopped funding his college education. With the limited financial aid he’d qualified for, it wasn’t enough to afford tuition at the prestigious university. Not willing to leave Ellen, he’d transferred to a community college across town, where he would complete his business degree. Ellen had been thrilled at first to take Stephen into her off-campus studio apartment, but it wasn’t long before the canvas of their future grew brittle and yellow.
He was constantly underfoot of her art projects. Between both their studies and his part-time job, their free hours as a fledgling couple grew scant, and she grew ever more distant. Late one night, Ellen returned, make-up smeared and hair disheveled. She confessed that she’d met someone else, and had been with the rival suitor that very night. Stephen would need to find another place to live.
His parents rejected his attempts to atone. The Senator’s daughter, Marlene, had already taken up with another young man. Stephen had cost them their ticket to unprecedented social affluence. Moreover, they’d already had to suffer the indignity of acknowledging their son had gone wayward, sacrificing his family name for an utterly common woman.
Stephen was homeless, unable to keep his job, unable to focus on his studies. He had no one to turn to, and nothing left to believe in.
* * *
Thorne pulled out a bottle of whiskey and poured two glasses.
Nova sipped the caramel elixir. “So, you’re saying Stephen was doomed either way.”
“Doomed? No. That’s too strong a word. He wasn’t doomed, his dreams were.”
“What is a man without his dreams, his ambitions, his legacy?”
“We are what we are.” Thorne shrugged. “This moment is all that is real. The words I’m speaking are already an illusion by the time they reach your ears. The future is nothing but the aggregate sum of every present that will ever be.”
Nova scoffed. “If that’s the case, why bother having goals at all? Look, all I know is, I’ve done some pretty stupid things in my life, and I want a ‘do-over.’ Can you help me, or not?”
“What do you think I’ve been trying to do?”
“So far, all you’ve done is tell stories about some guy who made a bunch of bad decisions. That doesn’t mean I’m going to.”
“Of course you will. Everyone does. Every decision you make fragments into a thousand new paths, leading to new choices. New opportunities to thrive—or to screw up your life—and everything in between.” Thorne crossed to the hearth to set another log on the fire. “Anyway, you haven’t heard the end of Stephen’s story yet. There’s more.”
Nova rolled his eyes.
* * *
Stephen climbed up Mount Mallett a second time, with a new plan.
He would return once more to age twenty, and once again assent to his arranged relationship with Marlene. But this time he’d employ another method of satisfying her materialistic hunger. With his knowledge of the future, he could jockey financial investments in various Internet startups and cryptocurrencies to become a wealthy man. That way, he would never need to team up with his fraternity brothers, and get caught up in their fraudulent schemes that had landed him in prison.
And it worked. Before he’d even graduated from college, he’d amassed an eight-figure net worth. Marlene publicly gushed over her brilliant, successful boyfriend, and delighted in their lavish, hundred-guest destination wedding at the St. Regis Resort in Bora Bora. She gave him three beautiful children, and managed their expansive Connecticut estate and its full-time staff, while he continued to parlay their riches into close to a billion dollars.
That kind of wealth changes a man.
It became a challenge to distinguish true allies from sycophants. Even his own family and friends were suspect. Does Marlene only love me for my wealth? Do my parents only love me for my success? Do my own children only love me for the gifts and advantages I afford them? Are my friendships only as enduring as the lavish parties I throw?
Evenings and weekends, he found himself habitually dressing down and sneaking out to working-class neighborhood bars. There, he could interact with people he would never suspect of wanting anything from him but his genuine companionship.
And that’s where he met Claire.
* * *
“I thought you were trying to talk me out of this,” said Nova. “All that sounds pretty good to me. I’m sure I’d be able to sift out the chaff with my friends and relatives.”
“You may think so, but until you are in that position, you really don’t know. And even if you think you do know someone’s heart, there’s always a niggling doubt, there to sour whatever tentative goodwill you’re able to muster.”
Nova crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, anyway, it sounds like Stephen had the best of both worlds. All the money and power he’d ever need, plus an outlet for true friendship with the working class folks. What’s wrong with that?”
Thorne chuckled. “Plenty. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the working class folks don’t take kindly to multi-millionaires ‘slumming it’ with them.”
* * *
With Claire at his side, Stephen was on top of the world. He’d furnished himself an apartment in the suburbs to keep up appearances, and invented a whole back story about his blue collar life for all his chums at the bar. They’d all go out bowling or playing pool after a hard day’s work. Claire would cling to his arm the whole time in doting admiration.
His double life was just what he’d needed to satisfy his desires for both material comfort and genuine connection. He could have happily lived out his days juggling both identities. But, as it happens, secrets have a way of seeping out of even the tightest seams.
After a string of late-afternoon meetings one day, Stephen grinned to find several missed calls from Claire. How she misses me when I’m not around, he thought. Hurrying to Claire’s apartment, he found her front door ajar. A sweet, metallic aroma hung in the eerie stillness.
In the living area, he found Claire slumped on the sofa with a bullet hole in her forehead. The wall behind her had become a Pollock painting of blood and brain. He rushed to her side, shutting the lids on her lifeless eyes, taking her hand … weeping.
A voice came from behind him, in the kitchen. “Hello, Stephen.”
“Marlene!” Stephen stood and backed away, his fingers stained with Claire’s blood. “What have you done?”
“Your little hussy there called me this morning after she saw your face in the paper,” Marlene spat. “She was none too happy that you’d lied to her. She told me everything. All your bullshit. Your secret life. This here”—she waved toward the deceased—“is what you get for betrayal, Stephen. Do you have any idea how humiliated I am?” She drew a snub-nose pistol from her purse.
Staring down the barrel of the gun, Stephen’s intestines roiled. “Marlene, Honey, please. We can work this out. Put the gun away.” He stepped toward her, hands raised.
“Stay where you are!” she commanded.
It was all over in seconds. Stephen lunged for the weapon and fought to extricate it from her fingers. But in the tussle, the trigger depressed. The shot temporarily deafened him, trailed by a reedy, high-pitched ringing.
Marlene’s eyes glassed over before she crumpled to the floor, blood seeping from her chest into the pile carpet.
* * *
Thorne turned to stand by the window. His shoulders drooped. He craned his head skyward and sighed. The storm had softened to a steady rain. The fireplace snapped and hissed.
Nova frowned and knitted his brow, considering the tale.
“You see, it doesn’t do any good,” said Thorne. “You might think your life is a mess, but it could always be worse. There is no more guarantee that you can make things better in the past than in the present. All that matters is the endless now, and what you do with it. The present is your perpetual gift to the future.”
Nova stood and shook out his stale muscles. His clothes had mostly dried from the arid wood fire, despite the humidity outdoors.
“I think I’m going to leave now,” said Nova. “I-I’ve changed my mind.”
“Wise man.” Thorne put his hand on Nova’s shoulder. “Then you may have this back.” He held out the envelope full of cash.
“You keep it,” said Nova. At Thorne’s protest, he smiled and said, “Call it the going rate for stew and whiskey in these parts.”
Nova pulled on his parka, cinched the hood straps, and took his first step into the present.
And he never looked back.
Exiled: The Real Impact of Divorce on Men
Shorpy
Is China currently developing their own semiconductor industry or will they continue to rely on imports from other countries?
No way China will depend on the US for anything else till at least the year 3000! China remember the century of humiliation from 1942–1949 as though it is yesterday! China and its 1.4 billion people collectively says no fxxking way will they accept the obnoxious nonsense from the US trying to keep the Chinese race dependent on them!
if they can go to the far side of the moon and back, semiconductor is a piece of cake! To be honest China’s good nature to share a piece of cake with the west! China thought wrongly that Intel and ASML will be happy to get 400 out of 1000 bucks per smartphones, PCs, Laptops, TVs. On earth which China makes 100 million a year! After all China can do what it does best to make stuffs at the most efficient and effective manner that no one can even come close!
But no, the US wants to stop China! China says ok we will get back the 400 bucks multiply by 100 million too! The good nature and the sense of give and take don’t work with the US! China says over our dead body! The US picked o the wrong guy! China has the most determination and integrity to drive them to replaced any and every thing the US could possibly threaten them!
Biden AUTHORIZES Ukraine to use Long-Range Missiles to attack deep interior Russia
2:11 PM EST — About one hour ago, U.S. President Joe Biden GRANTED permission for Ukraine to use long-range weapons to attack deep interior Russia.
Developing very fast, check back for updates below.
UPDATE 2:15 PM EST —
There are differing reports coming in regarding this issue. Some of the reports say “long-range missiles” while other reports say “long-range ATACMS”
WHAT ARE “ATACMS?”
The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is a supersonic tactical ballistic missile designed and manufactured by the US defense company Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV), and later Lockheed Martin through acquisitions.
It uses solid propellant and is 13 feet (4.0 m) long and 24 inches (610 mm) in diameter, and the longest-range variants can fly up to 190 miles (300 km).
The missiles can be fired from the tracked M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and the wheeled M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
An ATACMS launch container (pod) has one rocket but a lid patterned with six circles like a standard MLRS rocket lid to prevent an enemy from discerning what type of missile is loaded.
EFFECT ON RUSSIA
The immediate effect upon Russian military forces engaged in the Ukraine conflict is severe. Russia has much of its Ukraine supply lines and spare forces WITHIN RANGE of the longest-range ATACMS.
The ma below, created by the Institute for the Study of War, shows how much of western Russia can now be attacked by Ukriane, using ATACMS:
UPDATE 2:35 PM EST —
The the New York Times is now reporting this story, saying “the Biden Administration has for the first time authorized the Ukrainian Military to use U.S-Supplied Long-Range Missiles, including ATACMS, against Russian Territory.”
So it is not simply ATACMS, it is also Long-range missiles.
It was just last week that the Russian FOreign Ministry took the unusual step of reminding the collective West that allowing Ukraine to use west-supplied, long-range missiles to attack deep interior Russia would make the collective west “parties to the conflict” because those long-range missiles require satellites to guide them to target. THe Foreign Ministry reminded everyone that Ukraine does not HAVE any satellites.
So in order for those missiles to hit targets in Russia, the missiles need active satellite guidance from US/EU/NATO satellites, and that active guidance makes the West “combatants” against Russia.
The Foreign Ministry then said “there mere granting of permission for the use of such missiles will result in an imminent and devastating response against the West.”
As of about 1:00 PM eastern US time today, Sunday, 17 November 2024, that permission has now been given.
Welcome to World War 3.
UPDATE 3:04 PM EST —
Multiple confirmations that Ukrainian forces are preparing for their initial long-range operations against Russia.
Running on Time
Submitted into Contest #154 in response to: Write a story featuring an element of time-travel or anachronism.… view prompt
E Canafax
“Well we should get going anyways, the bus will be here soon and I’m not walking to school.”
Kate looked back towards the object, something wasn’t right, it seemed to swirl faster.
“Kate, you coming?” Luke was at the door, impatience coating his face.
“Yeah, I’m coming.”
4 years later
Once again Kate Williams couldn’t help but think about the orb. She’d skipped school. If her father found out, she’d be dead before she could say “sorry” but Kate had to do this. She had to discover what it did… why it was calling to her. She’d always been fascinated by it but, in the last month or so she’d felt a tug towards it like someone was whispering in her ear to take hold of it. Kate walked towards the now glowing sphere in a haze. She felt as if she was watching someone else’s hands grasp the cool sphere. At her touch, it began to hum with power.
Everything in her told her to put it down and never touch it again yet she no longer had control. Her hands lifted it and the room tilted, winds thrashed encapsulating her in her own personal tornado. Her breathing became heavy and uneven. She suddenly felt as if she’d run miles through blazing heat.
The winds became quieter yet twisted faster and faster until her feet lifted slightly off the ground. Then the one thing she least expected happened; she saw faces within the storm. Kate squinted trying to identify each face that flashed through the wind until she realized with a gasp, that her life was literally flashing before her eyes. She watched pictures of her younger self and those of her older self, playing events of the past and seemingly of the future. A thought then sparked in her mind; a question that had blazed in her mind since she was little.
She knew what to do. It was as if it was precoded in her mind. She closed her eyes and focused on the picture of the one person she wished more than anything to see.
The pictures swirled, blurring beyond recognition until they were slowly replaced by images of a different person.
“Mom?” Kate choked out. She could hear the consistent beep sound coming from a heart monitor and the raspy breathing coming from her mother. Kate watched in solemn silence. Why had this picture stopped in front of her? Any other picture would’ve suited her much better. Instead she’d been given one of her mother in her final days.
Kate continued to watch her mom. Then the picture turned its head looking directly at her. Kate stumbled backward, eyes widening.
“Kate, is that you?”
At first, Kate was too shocked to speak, but managed to choke out a simple “yes”. She’d always imagined a conversation like this:
“I’m so sorry Kate” or maybe a “You deserve better.”
Yet what her mom actually said couldn’t have been any more different:
“You shouldn’t have used the sphere.”
Kate just stared at the picture for a second before finding her voice.
“What! B-but why?!
Her mom’s eyebrows knit together and a steely voice responded
“Our family has sworn to protect and guard that sphere and more than anything never use it unless for dire circumstances.”
Of course, Kate should have known her mom would be like this, yet she’d always hoped she wasn’t. After all, what hope did that give her of being different from her parents?
Kate’s face must’ve been incredibly readable because her mom’s face softened and in a kinder voice she continued, “Kate just promise me you won’t do this again. Our family is meant to protect this. What if the orb tears the world? Would you really risk everything? For everyone? ”
Kate stood silent for a moment too long. “No,” Kate looked towards the ground as anger and disappointment surged through her.
“Kate,” her mom said, and reluctantly she looked up, and something unexpected came,
“I’m sorry but you have to protect the sphere.I love you.”
And with that, everything became quiet. The orb rolled from her hands down to the floor. Tears dripped down Kate’s face and she started to sob, the built-up anger, disappointment, and loss all tearing through her.
5 years later
Luke felt his cheeks spread to their widest capacity. He couldn’t help but be excited. He hadn’t seen Kate in four years; since they graduated.
Weirdly enough Kate’s dad was the one who had bought him the plane ticket. When Luke asked why he just said she’d want him there for her birthday. For whatever reason, that was the best thing he’d ever heard.
A memory flashed through his brain, from around the end of junior year, Kate had skipped school. She’d said she’d just been sick but he knew better, after that one day she had become entirely different: more serious. He’d pestered her non-stop for about a month until one day she just broke.
“Luke! Just leave it alone okay?! Even if something did happen I wouldn’t have told you anyway” and then she broke down crying.
He might as well have taped “world’s biggest jerk” to his forehead for making his best friend cry like that. He’d felt terrible. Then he registered the piece about not trusting him and all hell broke loose.
After that they didn’t speak for months, that’s probably when he realized she was more than a friend to him, but he didn’t dare say anything. Not until graduation when they were going to seperate colleges, he felt had no other choice. Of course she hadn’t felt the same way.
Before he knew it he was walking up to her apartment. He was never one to feel anxiety but, at that moment it felt like an overweight elephant was sitting on his chest. He was tempted to return to his car, drive far away, and devise a lame excuse.
He took a shaky breath and lifted his hand towards the doorbell and took a shaky breath. Before he was able to press the button, the door opened. And there he was face to face with Kate herself.
“Hi,” spouted from his mouth and Kate glared at him in return.
“What are you doing here?” she growled
“Happy to see you too!”
She closed the door behind her, grabbed his arm and dragged him back towards his car “Soo, I flew all the way here for your birthday, and you’re going to kick me out?”
“Yes,” she said
“Wow, ok.”
“Really you’re going to give up just like that?”
“Yup. Do you think I came all the way here just for you? I do have other friends still living here, you know.” She didn’t say anything, instead she just looked away.
“You know the world really does not revolve around you.”
She turned around and as a single tear dripped down her face she whispered an “I’m sorry”.
All of his anger melted away.
“Wow,” he thought, “I am way too easily manipulated.”
“Look, Kate, I didn’t mean to upset you here by coming.”
She angrily pushed the tear off her face
“It’s okay, maybe if you came another time?”
“Kate? Who or what is making you cry? That’s my job.”
“It’s none of your business.” It was definitely a guy.
“Yeah, okay,” he said with every bit of sarcasm, then he turned back towards the house and stormed in. He hadn’t been here in four years and there was no way he’d leave yet. No one should make Kate cry, especially not on her birthday.
“Luke don’t be stupid!” he heard her shout at him, but, it was already too late- stupid mode had been flipped on.
He opened the door and let himself in, the first person he saw was her dad.
“Hi sir, someone is bringing Kate to tears. Any chance you know who it is?” Her dad smiled, which I couldn’t help but think was an odd response.
“Well if I had one guess it’d be her boyfriend: Daniel”.
He had said Daniel with a growl, and Luke couldn’t help but, wonder if he’d bought the plane ticket for Luke so he could get rid of him. He pointed towards Daniel and Luke immediately wondered why Kate would be with such a loser. The guy was muscular but, he had a dumb, cocky look about him which meant no good automatically. Luke walked towards him knowing just how to handle this type.
“Hey! Dani!” Luke called
“Do I uh do I know you?” was the guy’s response.
“What! Come on, Dani, you remember me!”
“Oh uh-yeah sorry man, of course, I-uh remember you.” He was an awful liar.
“Good, good! Well between two friends I just saw your girlfriend outside cryin’ any idea why?”
“Psh, hell if I know.” I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, yeah ok well she saw me talking to this chick and freaked out about it.”
That didn’t sound like Kate at all.
“Wow, are you sure you were just talking to her?” Daniel’s eyes narrowed
“So, what if I wasn’t”
At that point, Luke had had enough, he pushed the loser against the wall with every bit of force, and the guy’s eyes bulged. Luke spoke quietly
“Well Daniel, you hurt Kate, you mess with me and you don’t want to be messing with me. Now you have something good going on being with someone like Kate who obviously loves you enough to be crying over you, so I suggest you be nice to her. You hear me?”
At that moment Luke was grateful for every workout he’d ever done, now it was finally worth it to be able to pin this guy against a wall.
“Yeah, yeah ok.”
With that Luke set him down and brushed off Daniel’s shoulders.
“Now you be a good boy and go apologize.”
Luke grabbed his car keys from his pocket knowing his job was done. He then turned around to a glaring Kate. Wow this felt like deja vu.
“Hey, Kate look-” Kate grabbed his shoulders and yanked him down to a kiss.
2 years later
Everything was perfect. Luke had finally proposed to Kate and she’d said yes. They were both overjoyed with excitement. Of course, even the happiest moments can be utterly destroyed. Luke should have seen it coming. They had just talked the night before and he was planning to stop by and see her the next morning except she wouldn’t return any calls. That was unusual but he just brushed it off which was probably the dumbest mistake he’d ever made. Maybe he could have stopped it right then and there had he gotten to her earlier.
The news was delivered by a phone call by a man with a severe yet gentle voice. Luke drove to the hospital as fast as he could but, by then it was already too late.
Luke never cried, but seeing her crumpled body brought endless sobbing. He’d asked the man what happened and he replied with an all too simple
“She jumped.”
Luke couldn’t believe that. Kate was always happy. Why didn’t she just talk to him? This had to be his fault, maybe he’d missed the signs. And why was she holding that strange orb?
Present time
Luke was once again grateful for the old man. After all, he never would’ve discovered what Kate’s orb did without the man’s help. Yet as the old man had already stated, they were running out of time. Apparently, the orb could only go back in time so far. He would know. Luke would always refer to him as the old man yet he knew he was truly Luke’s older self unable to reach that point in time they both wanted. He hadn’t known they were the same person until Luke finally confronted him for answers. It all made sense though. Why else would he want exactly what he wanted?
Luke held the key to his past and future. Old-luke had explained what would happen when he used it so he wasn’t at all surprised as tornado-like winds wrapped around him. He closed his eyes and focused on the face that had tormented him for four years. The winds changed and pictures of her face began to swirl within them.
“Kate,” he whispered and with that they slowed to a picture of her standing on top of a building. A knot hit his throat and he swallowed it down.
“Kate, why?” he said, his voice cracking with emotion.
She looked towards him, her eyes filled with pity, he must’ve looked awful.
“Our son, Luke.” I didn’t understand.
“He would’ve torn the world in two.” she paused tears brimming in her eyes.
“Luke, if you’d seen what I’ve seen you’d understand.”
“Kate, this is crazy! Don’t kill yourself. Why don’t you just destroy the orb?”
“That’s my plan Luke.”
Then it dawned on him, she’d been holding it in her hands the day of her death; she’d tried to destroy it.
“No, no Kate, it doesn’t work.” his voice cracked “I was there.”
She shook her head in disappointment. “Then there’s no destroying it.”
“What if we hide it and just never speak of it, it’ll just be our secret.”
Kate looked like she’d seen a ghost.
“Or we can figure something else out.” Luke said hesitantly.
Kate simply pointed behind him, her eyes wide. Luke whipped around; it was just the old man. Except something wasn’t right, he looked violent, his eyes filled with greed.
“Luke,” Kate whispered “It’s him.” It’s him, Luke’s head spun.
“Finally, I have it again.” Said the raspy voice of Luke’s betrayer the winds swirled, and at that moment Luke realized the old man would never have been born making Kate never commit suicide and Luke never go on his weird downwards spiral. The winds swirled around Luke and except for the faint memory of his past four years and the decision to adopt a daughter all was as it should’ve been. The orb simply sat in a curio cabinet of Luke’s office.
Best Ham Sandwiches
These Best Ham Sandwiches are great served hot or at room temperature.
Ingredients
- 2 (12 count) packages sweet Hawaiian rolls
- 1 1/2 pounds Virginia ham (NOT honey ham)
- 12 slices Swiss cheese
- 1 stick real butter
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
Instructions
- Place the bottoms of 12 rolls in each of two 9 x 13 inch pans.
- Place ham (about 2 shaved slices or so) on the rolls.
- Cut the cheese slices into 4 parts and place 2 small pieces on each sandwich.
- Put the dinner roll tops on.
- In a saucepan, mix butter, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder and poppy seeds.
- When all butter is melted, brush the melted mixture over the ham sandwiches.
- Cover with foil and let sit in the refrigerator for 1 hour or overnight.
- Heat oven to 375 degrees F and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Serve.
What will make a married man cheat on his wife?
Sex. Men like sex.
It’s a biological fact that a women’s libido begins to lesson as they age. Some manage to push through it while others just put sex on the back burner and act like just having sex once or twice a month should be good enough for a married man.
At first, it is accepted by the man for the greater good, but over time the idea of sex eventually becomes almost a burden for the woman in the relationship. The man starts getting upset and then the woman starts having sympathy sex just shut the man up. He even tries to be extra sweet for his wife in hopes that this will trigger some kind of sexual response. It doesn’t and the frustration begins to set in. The fire slowly dwindles and the sex life that they once shared is nothing but an empty shell of its former self.
I love my wife more than anything. She is supportive, sweet, compassionate and very cute. In every other area of our marriage, we mesh quite well. However, she just doesn’t care that much for sex anymore. We’ve had long discussions about it but we always end up back in the same place. She has also become very dull and boring sexually, and completely uninterested in trying new things. I will never understand how someone can go from seemingly loving to give oral sex often to being almost disgusted by it. It’s the same penis down there. Surprise, men like getting blowjobs. She doesn’t even want to receive oral even though I love giving it. Imagine that, a wife turning down oral. Crazy, right?
I take care of myself, I have good hygiene, and if you ask her, she will tell you how handsome and sweet I am and how well I treat her, and I really do treat her well.
None of this matters when it comes to our almost nonexistent sex life. I’m 37 years old and I’m lucky to get it more than once or twice a month. She was even too tired to have sex on our last anniversary and promised to make it up to me. It took a week and a half to make it up to me. I am a patient man but even I have my limits.
The last thing I want is to divorce my wife. In every other area of our marriage, she really is gied men cheat.
Great and I am a very lucky husband. We laugh often, we support each other emotionally, we both contribute equally, but I am beyond dissatisfied with out physical intimacy. After 16 years, I have never cheated on her, but I am pretty much at the point now where if the opportunity presented itself, I honestly don’t know if I would be able to turn it down.This is why marrHow long was Dylan klebold alive after Eric shot himself?
According to most autopsy reports, Eric Harris died instantly when both he and Dylan Klebold allegedly shot themselves at 12:08 PM.
The exact timing of their suicides is not exactly known, but is based on what Patti Nielsen — the staff teacher who had called 9–1–1 from the library, and who was by this time cowering in a nearby room — saw on the clock when she heard two male voices shouting: “One… Two… Three…!” followed by two loud gunshots.
By the time this occurred, twelve students were dead in the library, and many others were injured — some of whom were able to make their way out of the room on their own.
Among the few wounded survivors who remained in the room were Lisa Kreutz — who would continue to slip in and out of consciousness — and Patrick Ireland — whose state of being was no better.
Two others are also widely believed to have been breathing at this point:
Matthew Kechter — who had been shot once in the chest by Dylan Klebold and left for dead beside the body of Isaiah Shoels
Dylan Klebold
Before their apparent suicides, Kreutz claimed to have been alert when she heard Klebold and Harris entering back into the library, where the former asked the latter: “Are you still with me? We’re still gonna do this, right?”
It is possible that the shooters knew she was still alive, due to Kreutz also reporting one of them saying to the other “That girl over there…”
Not long afterwards, she heard a loud bang that was probably from Eric Harris’s sawed off shotgun, which he had placed in his mouth.
The upper half of his head was torn to pieces.
In all probability, his death was instantaneous.
A second bullet from Dylan Klebold’s Tec-9 Mini was probably fired in that instance, and so Dylan laid there dying in a pool of his own blood.
Patrick Ireland — who was the nearest victim to the shooters — said he woke up about an hour later to hear gurgling and a cough whose “voice sounded deeper”, leading him to believe that it was a male.
Ireland laid there for a while longer until the sound abated.
Only then did he make his way to the window of the Columbine library, where he was pulled out — only to fall several feet onto a nearby truck and possibly break his arms as a consequence.
Kreutz would later be found by a SWAT team member at around 3:30 PM — four hours after being shot — and become the only survivor of the library to be rescued by emergency personnel.
By the time the scene was clear, Matthew Kechter and Dylan Klebold had both bled to death.
At what time did Klebold die?
Assuming that Ireland really did wait for Klebold to die beside him, then we know that it could not have been any later than 2:38 PM, as that was the official time given for when he fell out of the window on live television.
However, it is also quite likely that it took him at least several minutes to get to a window, leading me to suspect that Klebold died before 2:30 PM — or was at least close enough to death that he had become unresponsive.
It is a tragic irony that Klebold — who had wanted to commit suicide more than Harris — botched his own death in such a way that he may have lingered on the library floor, alone and helpless, for well over two hours after pulling that trigger.
What attracts you the most during the Airshow China 2024 in South China’s Zhuhai?
The rapid rate of evolution
The Average Design Improvement to Commercial Introduction for US Aircraft is around 6-8 years
This means if someone decides to modify the F-35 Or F-15 for better maneuverability , it takes an average of 6 years to get it to proper commercial production and a further 2 years into a Squadron
For China this is 2 1/2 — 3 1/2 years tops!!!!
That’s the secret for their rapidly closing technology gap in many areas of defense
This means if someone proposes design modifications for a J-15 that overcomes a specific weakness, it can be commercially manufactured into a squadron within 30–42 months!!!!!
That was what caught my attention
My son went to the Air Show
He was more impressed with the WHITE EMPEROR metal mock up design whose prototype was to be delivered to PLAAF by 1/1/2026
He also liked the J-20s and SU-57 which was the big thing everyone came to watch
However I liked the J-15 D
The rate of evolution was FANTASTIC
It was a prototype in 2022 May and now you have 24 ready and another 24 to be delivered by 2025
That’s 3 Squadrons
By now my bet is the next design improvement has already been approved and the next three squadrons of J-15E will be delivered by 2027/28
Like I keep saying – I am not impressed with Individual aircraft
Aircraft costing $ 180 Million plus $ 5 1/2 Million to train a Pilot which can be blown down by a $ 600,000 missile is not my idea of efficiency
I like Aircraft Production and Evolution and Stable Economics
So I like the rapidity of evolution of Chinese Aircraft
In 2000 – The Gap was maybe 100:15
Now it’s 100:90
In a mere 24 years
It will reach parity by 2027
(Again I am being conservative. USAF General Withers says Parity is already reached)
What attracts you the most during the Airshow China 2024 in South China’s Zhuhai?
This. The HQ-19 ballistic missile defense system.
The chinese version of American THAAD ER has been operational for some time, but only made its debut at zhuhai 2024.
The interceptors used are bigger than THAAD, and can reportedly counter hypersonic glide vehicles that deviate from ballistic profiles.
Networked with other sensors and air defense systems, it is probably a match for the russian s-500, with China having the edge in sensor coverage.
This fills the biggest missing piece in Chinese air defense coverage.
At the beginning of the year, there were 3 big missing pieces for the Chinese military to go head-to-head with the Americans.
At the end of 2024, I can say there is only one system left: the next gen type 096 ballistic missile nuclear submarine.
The type 095 next gen nuclear attack sub is either in testing or already operational.