Porcelain tile chip repair

Recently came across this sub and have been heartbroken by some of the stories I’ve read here. Nearly 4 years ago I ended my relationship with my ex who ticked every box of NPD according to my therapist (this was before ‘narcissist’ was thrown around endless).
I was 19/20 at the time. He was my first long term relationship, 2nd person I ever slept with so I was very naive and inexperienced at the time.
He wrecked my self esteem, physically/sexually assaulted me multiple times, tried to isolate me from my friends and temporarily damaged some of my closest friendships.
He lied about his age (he was 2 years older than he claimed) and the university he went to. A year before we met he failed out of the university I went to, and enrolled in the less good one in our city but kept his old student card which is why I didn’t realise for so long. He lied about basically everything else, too.
After we broke up, I didn’t have sex for a year until my current bf. I didn’t just have a low libido I was actively disgusted by sex and thought of it as this inherently degrading act done to me. I didn’t even like hugging my friends for a while and I’m usually very affectionate.
While there are moments of painful flashbacks sometimes during sex and occasional bad nightmares, I’ve managed to move on, and I have a wonderful bf of 2.5 years. For a while after the breakup, I genuinely believed I’d never be with someone again. My self esteem was so low I felt unlovable and I was very wary of everyone. But this ended up not being true and I am so glad for it.
My advice:
1) Do not lash out. Especially over text. after we broke up, I admit I was so full of rage I’d call/text him calling him every vile name under the sun, calling him out for everything to which he played victim and denied which just made me more furious. I thought doing this would feel good but it just meant I stooped to his level and gave him ammunition to vilify me. 2) Remember that everything negative they say is a calculated move to make you feel small so you won’t leave. It is not a reflection of your self worth. 3) Being single is infinitely better than being with someone who makes you feel like shit 4) When they start their smear campaign, remember that the people who buy into it aren’t people you should care about. Let them sort the wheat from the chaff for you. 5) Keep. Receipts. Pictures, recordings, screenshots. If nothing else, it will remind you aren’t paranoid or dramatic like they’re claiming. They are abusing you. You deserve better. 6) Protect your relationships with friends/family if you can. We all know this but an abusive partner will do everything they can to chip away at these connections to isolate you and make you want to stay.
That’s all I have right now. Sending love and peace to you all.
I want to add on that I am very aware of how fortunate I am in the scheme of things. We were only together a year and a half, after we broke up I graduated and moved cities, I managed to repair the friendships damaged and there are no children involved. I hope this isn’t lost in what I’m saying.
I just wanted to put something out there that has a happy ending and hopefully give someone a bit of hope for the future.

We've been renovating our houses and have done a bit of tiling. We had no problems getting grout haze off of our porcelain floor tiles but we did a backsplash in the bathroom with ceramic tile and I am losing my mind and am worried time is running out as it's already been a few days with no luck.
I have tried a vinegar solution, Dawn dish soap and warm water, just warm water. I have used cloths, scrub pads and brushes. Last night we went out an bought the TileLab Grout Haze Remover and after nearly 45 minutes of trying, I think it's actually worse!
Any advice appreciated! How do I get the grout haze off? We used black tiles so it's pretty noticeable!

We've been renovating our houses and have done a bit of tiling. We had no problems getting grout haze off of our porcelain floor tiles but we did a backsplash in the bathroom with ceramic tile and I am losing my mind and am worried time is running out as it's already been a few days with no luck.
I have tried a vinegar solution, Dawn dish soap and warm water, just warm water. I have used cloths, scrub pads and brushes. Last night we went out an bought the TileLab Grout Haze Remover and after nearly 45 minutes of trying, I think it's actually worse!
Any advice appreciated! How do I get the grout haze off? We used black tiles so it's pretty noticeable!

Hi all, hope it's okay to post this here: we've been renovating our houses and have done a bit of tiling. We had no problems getting grout haze off of our porcelain floor tiles but we did a backsplash in the bathroom with ceramic tile and I am losing my mind and am worried time is running out as it's already been a few days with no luck.
I have tried a vinegar solution, Dawn dish soap and warm water, just warm water. I have used cloths, scrub pads and brushes. Last night we went out an bought the TileLab Grout Haze Remover and after nearly 45 minutes of trying, I think it's actually worse!
Any advice appreciated!

Not sure how to explain the situation. Yesterday my car broke down on the highway. I was going about 70 on the highway when it started to overheat out of nowhere. (My car has never showed any signs of distress.) Then it began to tell me that the battery was disconnected and it started to slow down. When I got to the shoulder of the highway it began to power off on its own. There was grayish smoke coming out of the tail pipe.
Some background info: I just got this car in February, it's a used 2016 Toyota Rav4. Had 2 previous owners, didn't even have 90,000 miles on it.( No warenty because i felt that i could not guarentte i would be in the state for very long as i am still in college and may transfer to another state. A condition of the warranty was that I could only use their services for any maintenance and the warrenty would be void if i did go to another service shop.) Got a decent price for it, or at least I thought so. (I was able to get the price down a thous because of paint chips on the back of the car.) I bought the car from a reputable dealership that is quite popular in my county. When I purchased the car I was told that everything was in working condition and was up to date on all the maintenance, keep this in mind.
When I got the dealership we waited for about an hour and a half to see what was going on. I was told that the serpentine belt had shredded. The mechanic tried to see if there was a external cause, there was not. A half hour later, I was told that my engine overheated so much that the engine failed completely. They quoted me a price of about 9,000 usd for repairs and service fees. Not much later the receptionist helping me with the price told me she spoke with her manager. Given that I bought my car from them, not even 3 months prior, they would discount the price down to 7,000 usd. (Not great, but I guess thats better.) I was told they cannot discount parts but can discount service fees.
I have only owned this car for a little more than 3 months. There is no way that in that time I could've damaged the serpentine belt to such an extent that it would cause complete engine failure. When I bought the car I was told there was no defects and that the maintenance was completely up to date. My dad said I could probably sue them for the misleading information which lead to the damage of the engine. My boss, who's father used to work for dealerships, told me given that I was mislead to believe the car was in perfect condition I can escalate the situation to their corporate office and sue.
Do I have enough of a case to sue? What are some of my other options?

So this is a weird crazy story/summary of life this far. I (28M) feel like I have been living my life with an absurd amount of masking. I set out on a spiritual awakening journey when I was 18 and started college, the first time I had ever been truly alone and truly started feeling that deep sense of loneliness. Which is what kicked in my spiritual awakening, by asking questions about who I was, why was I here and why did I have such a deep unexplainable yearning for "home" which was not "physically" attainable. Not a yearning for home in the sense of being with my family, but a deep, deep cry out from what I felt was my soul essence.
Fast forward through some heavy years of partying, clubbing/going to shows, drugs and alcohol. At 23, I met who is now my wife and the mother of my/our amazing daughter and through the 5 years we've been going through this human experience together, we both got a lot deeper and a lot more "serious" about expanding and opening up our spiritual bodies. We were kind of forced into delving DEEP into it because our first true "interactions/dates" were so deeply rooted in spirit that we (very fortunately) discovered/realized that we are cut off the same soul cloth and are infact soulmates/twin flames or whatever floats your boat for descriptions regarding life partners.
We have learned and discovered a lot about ourselves as well as a newly found perception of the outter world (largely influenced emotionally, spiritually, mentally by Ram Dass, Jack Kornfield, Dale RamDev. . . Spiritual Adepts/teachers, guides etc.) This absolutely transformed a lot of our inner and outer world (through disciplined routines and practices) for the better in a very beautiful way. Then in 2021 we moved to Idaho on an instinctual as well as an impulse decsion to be closer to my wife's side of the family out there, and our intuitive feeling of needing to go to the northwest part of the country. When we got there we were almost instantly met with extreme adversity and complications with my wife's health, our marriage, and life as a whole. So needless to say it was not the "change" we had in mind. Though we now see it all as the change/step that was necessary for self discovery and growth personally, together and as a while family unit. In late 2021 I was waiting for an orientation class for a new job and had to wait until the next class (2 weeks out) so while waiting two weeks, we needed money to eat and keep life running so I decided since I had a drill and basic tools I'd to do some side work/odd jobs (honey do list kind of things) to bring in whatever cash I could. This ended up blowing up in a beautiful way and I ended up quitting that new job on orientation day to set off and fully jump into the possible opportunity of working for myself. Now almost 2 years later and I'm still doing my own thing (bathroom remodels, tile, carpentry and flooring) and it's been amazing.
We also recently moved back home to Colorado and since we've been back it's been a struggle for a miriad of reasons, but the one struggle that I've found myself dealing with the most and is the heaviest emotion, is my own personal sense of validation. I actually just (today) realized that I have been chasing external validation for as long as I can remember (about 3-4 years old) While thinking about the current slump that I'm in I started thinking about what makes me "feel okay/feel like me" and most of those things are (now) related to my work. Building things for people, fixing things, repairs, custom furniture, etc. And then being validated by a "good job, we are so happy!" Kind of thing from my clients. Thinking further back before this and it's all been an ongoing search for validation through my external world. My party phase, the validation came from my knowledge of drugs, artists, previous party stories and a whole bunch of unhealthy methods and vices. Before that, through the beginnings of highschool getting into heavy drug use (psychedelics, weed and cocaine/stimulants) and partying I was a hardcore WoW gamer (big time raider in a progressive guild that sought to be the best in the game) and always sought out to be the best in my guild (for whatever role character I was playing). Seeking validation through being the best gamer. Before that I was obsessed with skateboarding, from age 9-16 or 17 I would strive to be the best skater in my school, at the skate park (within reason) and from my parents. I was small town sponsored (nothing really fancy, just discounted apparel/gear and occasionally a free board) And before that, but also mixed in through the years until about 20, I was huge on drawing mythical/fantasy creatures and characters and was pretty damn good. But looking back at all the "phase of interest transitions" I see one common goal. External validation through an attempt to prove myself in an outward expression/skill.
I was also looking back at the overall "emotional neglect" that I got from my parents (mom and step dad, bio dad left the picture when I was about 1, 1/2 ) And not to say that they were absolute assholes or anything like that, but they were very young (I was 2 and my mom was 18 when she met my step dad) and learning life for themselves. So I know that they didn't "intentionally" emotionally neglect me or invalidate me. But I wasn't good at the things they wanted me to do (playing tee ball/baseball as a toddleyoung kid) because my step dad was a huge baseball guy. And because I wasn't into or good at the things they wanted to see me do, I found my own interests, independently and amongst my friend group. However this caused parental tension because I was (in their eyes) becoming a hoodlum. Never got the acknowledgement or 'parental praise and proudness' from skating, drawing, playing WoW (step dad played too), obviously not for partying and doing drugs, but not even now. Not even as a 28 year old married man running my own business and father to a beautiful 3 year old daughter. Most of my side of the family disagrees with "entrepreneurship/self employment" because it isn't as "stable" as a corporate box job. - According to them, even though they've all been laid off at some point or another from corporations that are "never going anywhere, we have job security for life".
Sorry, tangent rants aside! I am now facing an immense amount of emotional pain/flashbacks for the lack of validation I have within myself. I am able to see and recognize the immense amount of growth I've undergone and the fact that I didn't die from drugs and partying and pushed through all of that to get where I am now. And I see that I have a shit ton to validate my own worth, I understand the growth that I've undergone and will continue to go through, but I absolutely struggle with giving myself credit, feeling okay with where I am. I can't help but feel like I'm not doing enough and always feel like there is something to do.
This morning I recognized that as an issue of control, and when I don't have the ability to control my volume/standard of output with "things to show" whether it be through work, hobby projects or anything else where I can do/build/repair something for someone. I get extremely depressed. And only really feel 'okay' when I'm doing things. I see this as a trauma wound that has deepend through my years and has gone essentially completely unacknowledged within myself. Until our TRUE spiritual journey began 5 years ago. I do not want to be mentally controlled or enslaved to the inner ego narrative that I'm not doing enough, but I have no idea how to truly accept myself. Accept who I was, who I am and who I'm becoming. I feel like I've just gotten so good at distracting myself by staying busy and constantly seeking validation through helping others that I have no idea who I actually am. I feel like I've been living the biggest lie ever and I've deceived everyone in my life but mostly myself. When I truly sit and think about what I truly enjoy for myself, I can't think of anything. Aside from the cliche of 'being with my family' (wife and daughter) which does truly bring me happiness. But I can't live in or hold on to "those moments" forever. And outside of them, or doing something for someone to give me that pat on the back, I do not have a damn clue who I am.
And I know that who I am is a culmination of everything I've done and am becoming. But that's still only validated through the external. And I know ram Dass would tell me to just let go and release the inner narrative to what is and just be in/of loving awareness. But, he too struggled with identity. Struggled with feeling like a phony and seeking external validation through experiences or services.
So if you made it this far, and have either evolved passed this state/level of emotional consciousness and awareness or you too are feeling the same. I'd love some tips, tricks suggestions or anything for how to help get through this obstacle of the human experience.
And because it was pretty long, and I jump around in here, if there's anything anyone wants further detail or clarification on, I'd be more than happy to attempt to fumble a rambling story again.

We found two friendly staffordshire bull terriers in Williams wandering around, hot as hell. Male -brown not Neutered, female - black, presence of previous pregnancy (large nipples). No collars on female.
We caught the female before the male wandered off. She’ll be at the Garland shelter within an hour or so.
I’m thankful they’re friendly because they interrupted a meeting with a repair person. Keep your dogs contained. Not everyone loves these big giant jawed creatures like I do. Luckily she has a chip so I know she'll find her way home to you but if you're on vacation, we'll probably hold her for you if she reaches the max stay at the shelter.

Welcome to the (roughly weekly) Open Discussion thread.
 
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"How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" Hint: A competition winner with dark hair
I can think of younger days when living for my life
What might have been your favorite year of childhood? What was your aspiration during that year?
Was everything a man could want to do.
What is one example of a manly aspiration/ambition?
I could never see tomorrow, but I was never told about the sorrow.
Were you depressed then? Are you happier now? What kind of sorrow have you experienced or witnessed that you would like to help others overcome?
And how can you mend a broken heart?
Do you think you a complete piece of chocolate can help to heal? How about adding more male merchandise at ethnic fashion stores like around the Town Square? Adding more ethnic/Rated-G music to the repertoire within those stores?
How can you stop the rain from falling down?
How about an umbrella or a roof? Or praying that it doesn't rain? What is your favorite umbrella design and color of roof tiles?
How can you stop the sun from shining?
Do you pray for eclipses? Do you pray for the night to come, whether it is a new moon or not?
What makes the world go round?
Gravity. Tectonics. Magnetic/hematite/lava interior The tidal programming, related to sun, moon, water cycle, atmospheric pressure, air quality. Orientation of other planets and celestial objects, eg comets (c) Dr. Diana Hallare. (R)
How can you mend a this broken man?
Orthopedics. Cardiology. Medicine based on systems. Allowing having but not possessing more trustworthy friends. Discouraging discrimination based on education/skills levels. Encouraging dreaming by communication eg conference and Shark Tank and by REM eg at night, like a car needs to rest too on a road trip or on Instacart rounds.
How can a loser ever win?
As Whoopi Goldberg said, you might need a (low-fat) milk-based drink... to lose weight and win fitness. Sometimes in golf you might think you're losing numbers to win. Last night, I gave up my contaminated bags, even a new one and much content to save my life and save the world. I danced without at least two bags, to encourage fitness/health in society; I lost some sleep because I was woken up by interesting guards in white but I gained more miles on a pedometer. I had the opportunity to see a beautiful red jacket, reminiscent of what I would wear at church, where I read the Bible aloud. Upon seeing that jacket on the rack, I gasped. Then the alarm rang.
Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again.
Prescriptions:

1. If you don't want to waste the rest of your 6 month subscription to something like Tinder, maybe prescribe one of your songs per member you encounter on that site. You can ask about one word on the song that made them feel better.
2. Do you have a CPAP/AED/Wonderful orange?
3. Find out your favorite flavors of Gatorade.
4. Check if you'd enjoy Luke's Lightning Chips from Grocery Outlet.
5. If you would make a quilt or pillowcase in class eg after a ride or two with the St George Express, what design would you have? Would you need special laundry settings if your masterpiece is at least 1 year old?

I can still feel the breeze that rustles through the trees
Do you like the Carpenters' "Top of the World" song? What is your favorite leaf color? What is your favorite tree?
And misty memories of days gone by
Do you like Barbra Streisand's "The Way We Were"? Would her career as a professor inspire you to teach which university class? How many students would you prefer to be the limit for that class? Do you also like Lionel Richie's "Hello"?
We could never see tomorrow, no one said a word about the sorrow.
What do you hope tomorrow to have/bring? What word can you describe about sorrow?
And how can you mend a broken heart?
Prescription: Would you talk (about dreams, plans, and issues) to an LPCC or more than one member of the Association of "Black" Therapists, eg MFTs? Teletherapy? Group therapy similar to AA or WRAP? Would you have a preference of race if you have a personal registered dietitian?
How can you stop the rain from falling down?
Get a water park ion the roof? Or a roof garden like with Reese Witherspoon? (c) Dr. Diana Hlalare (R)
How can you stop the sun from shining?
Why do you want to stop it from shining? Do you want greenery on the mountains? Do you want no more rainforests? Do you want no more grass/hay for the sheep, horses, goats, zebras, giraffes, deer, oryxes, gazelles, antelopes, prairie dogs, cows, bulls? What would the mole in Thumbelina look forward to? What would the groundhog or bears hibernating in the cave look forward to? Is it easy to fly a kite at night like Benjamin Franklin did? What do you think about the Color Run? What do you think about biking at night? Would all our solar farms like of the MGM and Corcoran go to waste? Do you want another Ice Age? Should painted masterpieces be dried only with hair dryers?
What makes the world go round?
It is round shaped at least due to its rotations and revolutions. I remember in class, when you make egg soup and keep stirring it - or even if you stir Rainbiw/Nido/Klim milk, roundish clumps form. The solar system revolves around the sun.
How can you mend this broken man?
Do you like Chris Daughtry's and Amy Adams' "Broken"? Do you like CARE Channel? Do you like reading Better Homes and Gardens? How about the Superfan book (someone self-published)? How about books by Nick Vujicic - doesn't have to b e in Spanish?
How can a loser ever win?
Once upon a time, I lost a pingpong championship (Forrest Gump is still a champ) to my college best friend and a cool pianist who said he ducked into the oven when he heard gunshots outside his family member's home. But I remember well how I surprised myself too as I caught the ball mid-air above my head like a baseball player.
Another time, time was running out. Everyone else who were seated seemed to have left. I seemed to have lost time, but not been lost in time. I finished 20 recipes/list of 20 cookables for vegetable medley - frozen or canned. My handwriting I hope was ok. I hope the cleanup crew smiled. I seemed to have won a tiny bit of more paper to write about another international conference, at least once with 40,000 people... I may have won a tiny bit of paper because I forgot to check out like at the Disney hotel.
Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again.
It does not take only one person to heal your broken heart or to bring you back on course eg after a TIA or another incident. It does not mean you need 20 girlfriends in succession, 1 by 1, to heal you. But for instance, if you're a survivor of a crash, it takes the tow driver, the policeman, ambulance and firemen as needed, people with cellphones even if you already have your own to get through the night and beyond. It takes Uber, Lyft, Supershuttle, Greencab, the city transit, or your friends to get you back to your workplace and home if they are at least 30 minutes apart by Mustang.

I'm going to be tiling my patio and pool deck with porcelain tiles. I'm considering using 100% silicone to grout the tiles rather than standard grout because it's flexible and waterproof, and possibly easier to clean. I live in Arizona, and the desert sun UV is very harsh. Other than the cost of silicone, are there any downsides to this approach?

Recently came across this sub and have been heartbroken by some of the stories I’ve read here. Nearly 4 years ago I ended my relationship with my ex who ticked every box of NPD according to my therapist (this was before ‘narcissist’ was thrown around endless).
I was 19/20 at the time. He was my first long term relationship, 2nd person I ever slept with so I was very naive and inexperienced at the time.
He wrecked my self esteem, physically/sexually assaulted me multiple times, tried to isolate me from my friends and temporarily damaged some of my closest friendships.
He lied about his age (he was 2 years older than he claimed) and the university he went to. A year before we met he failed out of the university I went to, and enrolled in the less good one in our city but kept his old student card which is why I didn’t realise for so long. He lied about basically everything else, too.
After we broke up, I didn’t have sex for a year until my current bf. I didn’t just have a low libido I was actively disgusted by sex and thought of it as this inherently degrading act done to me. I didn’t even like hugging my friends for a while and I’m usually very affectionate.
While there are moments of painful flashbacks sometimes during sex and occasional bad nightmares, I’ve managed to move on, and I have a wonderful bf of 2.5 years. For a while after the breakup, I genuinely believed I’d never be with someone again. My self esteem was so low I felt unlovable and I was very wary of everyone. But this ended up not being true and I am so glad for it.
My advice:
1) Do not lash out. Especially over text. after we broke up, I admit I was so full of rage I’d call/text him calling him every vile name under the sun, calling him out for everything to which he played victim and denied which just made me more furious. I thought doing this would feel good but it just meant I stooped to his level and gave him ammunition to vilify me. 2) Remember that everything negative they say is a calculated move to make you feel small so you won’t leave. It is not a reflection of your self worth. 3) Being single is infinitely better than being with someone who makes you feel like shit 4) When they start their smear campaign, remember that the people who buy into it aren’t people you should care about. Let them sort the wheat from the chaff for you. 5) Keep. Receipts. Pictures, recordings, screenshots. If nothing else, it will remind you aren’t paranoid or dramatic like they’re claiming. They are abusing you. You deserve better. 6) Protect your relationships with friends/family if you can. We all know this but an abusive partner will do everything they can to chip away at these connections to isolate you and make you want to stay.
That’s all I have right now. Sending love and peace to you all.
I want to add on that I am very aware of how fortunate I am in the scheme of things. We were only together a year and a half, after we broke up I graduated and moved cities, I managed to repair the friendships damaged and there are no children involved. I hope this isn’t lost in what I’m saying.
I just wanted to put something out there that has a happy ending and hopefully give someone a bit of hope for the future.

Hi all, I’m wondering what a good strategy is for shoring up defenses for your base. I built on the small plateau near the mysterious machine and initially had stem walls as defense. I angered the orb weavers and they destroyed a few of my walls and pebble foundations before I could kill them all.
I figured I’d make things a bit tougher so I built a stem palisade around the whole base, and set a few spike strips up along the sides where the spiders attacked.
Later, the larvae attempted retribution and a few got killed by the spike strips so that seemed a good defense. I had to repair a few walls where there were gaps in the spikes.
I was thinking of completing a full spike strip circle around my base, but then I was thinking that aerial attacks might be trouble. Are there any suggestions for reinforcing your base from flying foes?
I’ve recovered the hedge and pond chips and the secondary chips from the red ant hill and the pond chest. I have mostly tier 2 stuff and just found the haze lab entrance through the pipe but haven’t investigated it yet.

Bought a house a year ago and the previous owner epoxy painted everything in the bathrooms, the tub itself is starting to chip and peel. Think it’s fiberglass.
My first thought was to do something chemical to strip it but not sure if it would damage the original material finish. Same goes for physical scraping and stripping.
Any tips or approaches to consider? Also considering cleaning up a tile floor with the same paint.

In search of Marazzi Montagna Saddle Porcelain wall and floor tile. 6"x24". Product has been discontinued for at least 5 years but I know someone has some somewhere! Need any qty. Willing to pay finders fee!

My X1X has overtime been running the fan louder, and at certain times shutting down to overheating. What does the trick every time now, is trying to play Railway Empire, on any map, and before I can place two stations and connect them with a railway(1 minute of game time), console turns off, and rebooting gives overheat message.
After much google and youtube searching, common problem is thermal paste. I am decent with electronics repair as I used to be a cell phone technician, so testing these waters on my X1X, I felt comfortable with doing so.
Paste was dry and hard, so I cleaned the CPU(GPU?), applied(Artic-MX4) with the line method, waited an hour after application(mixed reviews, waited just incase), and tested playing Railway Empire again, same effect shuts down after 1 minute of gameplay. Tried a few more times(assuming getting it hot would change results), and same issue over and over.
Took it all back apart, just to make sure paste was evenly spreading. Application looked good, as all of the chip was covered(with little over-spillage). Paste did seem to dry a bit, I assume from it overheating. But for s***'s and giggles, cleaned it again, and reapplied paste with line method. I did not wait an hour(as was getting frustrated) and immediately tested same way. Overheated again after 1 minute of gameplay..
So I took it all back apart again, and this time started paying more attention to anything weird. I noticed that when placing the heatsink back on, and installing the X-clamp, that out of the 4 studs that pop through the motherboard, 2 of them seem to be a proper distance out, but the other 2 seem to be recessed(in more).
I cannot find any detailed information on if all studs should be exact distance protruding, or what signs and conditions would show if the heatsink or motherboard are warped. I have read somewhere that there is a overheating sensor built-in somewhere, and is possible this could be bad.

• Extra notes: Fan seems to work fine and spinning it with light finger movement is smooth. I have reused the thermal paste/pads(powder blue gunk) for the RAM chips. Other games do not overheat (shutdown) X1X, but fan is loud(high rpm) and some frame loss is noted. I have heard mixed reviews on Artic-MX4, so not convinced paste quality is the issue.

So is it possible the motherboard or heatsink is warped? Or can someone test that it is in-fact Railway Empire that has the issue on X1X(poor performance), and that's why they made Railway Empire 2?

In this report, I'll mostly list the city I visited during my trip and give my general impression or talk about what I did.
I spend a total of three months in Japan, the first 11 days around Tokyo, two weeks to move between Osaka and Hiroshima one month across Kyushu and finally back in Tokyo for a month, with some overnight trips in the Kanto area.
You can check my itinerary for Kyushu, it will give more detail on location I planned to visit in each city (I mostly followed it) and also gives a bit more info about me. I also wrote about traveling as a Hololive fan and posted on the dedicated sub, but here I posted about anime shopping a bit more in general.
If you want to get my extra tips that you would not usually read here or in other guides, I posted my tips on JapanTravelTips.
Walked from 9k to 31k steps by day, an average of 15k to 20k depending on the month I look at. Total cost including flight was about 8000CAD, I mostly stayed in hostels or similar accommodation, did not use JR Pass and mostly eat food in restaurant while moving around, but back in Tokyo I did much more convenience store/grocery store shopping for food. It did include a lot of craft beer and a bit of souvenir shopping.
Feel free to ask question, especially if I mention a place that you would like to visit, I can give more info. Or if you want to see picture of anything I mentioned, let me know I can try to share.
Kansai/Chugoku

• Arima : I only visited during the day, but if you are looking for a nice onsen town close to Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe, then I would recommend. The ambiance might not be as charming as Kinosaki, but you still have the feeling that you are in a small town that revolve around onsen and that is easy to walk. The two main onsen are fine, pretty typical onsen experience if you ask me. Sure you can find nice ryokan too.
• Kobe : Went before and to different area, went to two sake breweries in Nada on my first time and would recommend if you want to know how sake is made. This time I went around Chinatown around lunch and it was a great experience, there is so much street food vendors and people everywhere, really recommend. Finished the day with a night view from Venus Bridge, the view was better than from the Nunobiki Herb Garden.
• Akashi : The main shopping street was really busy, lot of restaurant that serve the local specialty, Akashiyaki, a kind of takoyaki but much eggier taste and texture, you dunk it in soup to eat it (instead of putting sauce on it). The castle is skippable unless you hunt stamps and the history museum is heavily in Japanese.
• Himeji : The castle is huge. Honestly I really recommend to try to see one of the original castle and this one is usually the one that make the most sense to people. Went there close to opening time and could visit the castle and Kokoen garden before lunch. Then hiked Mount Shosha to see Engyo-ji. The hike is not too difficult, the temple is nice but really big, it will take a while to walk around even if you take the ropeway (it was under maintenance when I went).
• Ako : Could interest history buff as it is the city from where the 47 ronin from the Chushigura story come from, so the local shrine and the history museum do have things related to it. I actually liked going to see the salterns at Ako Seaside Park. Ako was know to be a big sea salt produced in the past and there is outside exhibit that show how it is done. They also do workshop and weekly demonstration, but even without that I found it interesting.
• Bizen (Imbe) : Unfortunately went when the museum was close for change in exhibition. This is a really different sightseeing experience as there is little to no "sight", spent most of the day going from one pottery store to the other. It's easy to get an idea of the Bizen-yaki style, I did not like the red-ish items that much but got a nice tea cup in darker color.
• Okayama : The castle and garden are ok, might not be my first recommendation for that combo (Himeji would probably win). The castle focus on the sengoku era, so if you like that part of history you might appreciate. Then went to Kibitsu-jinja where there is a long corridor. Can also learn about the story of Momotaro. If the weather had been better, cycling around Kibi is apparently nice. Do not try the Doppo Peach Pils, I would barely call it a beer, too sweet.
• Kurashiki : By the video I saw, it made it sound much bigger. The historic area is not that large, so if you do the boat ride, it won't be that long. There is still a nice vibe and you can get a good taste of a more preserved neighborhood.
• Fukuyama : Mostly used this as a convenient place to stay, there is not much to do. When you go to the touristic information and they tell you the top two things are the castle and Tomonoura, well, it show that this is not a top touristic destination. Took a more relax day and only walk to some temple/shrine.
• Tomonoura : Here we can also get a taste of preservation of older neighborhood, bus on a smaller scare and different building style compared to Kurashiki. If you are into history and specifically Bakumatsu, you might want to see the small museum about the Irohamaru and Sakamoto Ryoma as the boat sank nearby. The nearby island is nice and you can go for a relatively easy hike, but nothing special.
• Onomichi : Love Onomichi, I've been several times already. The city is always as quiet with as little attractions, but still like the vibe. Cherry blossom where quite nice in Senko-ji park. While I have not done the cycling, I visited the islands on Onomichi side. This time I went to Mukaishima for a hike and the view was fantastic. Yes, doing the Shimanamikaido cycling is a way to enjoy it, but it is not the only way to enjoy the islands and the view they can offer. Got recommended a really nice bar that it next to impossible to find without being told (can give more info).
• Hiroshima : After several days without seeing much international tourist, here the main sight like the peace park and even the castle are obviously popular destinations. I do not think I have much to add about Hiroshima that you cannot find elsewhere.

Kyushu

• Fukuoka : Went before and from my first trip would recommend the Fukuoka City Museum for a nice history museum. This time went to see teamLab, was my first experience and it was quite fun, I can give more info on that too. Went to Maizuru park (Fukuoka castle ruin) and had beautiful cherry blossom.
• Yoshinogari : While most historical location showcase more modern aspect of Japan, it was a really interesting experience to see a larger scale location dedicated to Yayoi era. Usually you might see one of the house from that era build in a random park/museum, but here you have the full village with different type of building and the whole walls around. Quite interesting if you are into older Japanese history.
• Saga : Was a convenient stop for accommodation, but there is not that much to see. The castle ruin have a reconstructed palace, one of the (if not the) first to be reconstructed. While it is nice, it is really not as flashy as the one in Nagoya castle (in Nagoya city, not Nagoya castle ruin in Saga) or Kumamoto castle.
• Arita : Similar to Bizen as the day was focused on visiting pottery/porcelain shops. Here the Kyushu Porcelain Museum was open and I would really recommend, especially as it's free. Really nice experience to see the different style of porcelain made around Arita, it did contrast with my perception that the style was kind of the same across all what is produced, but there is actually a lot of different style.
• Takeo : My main reason to go was to see teamLab exhibition, but along the way stopped by different nice garden. Was kind of in a strange time, cherry blossom was almost over and azalea just starting, so I had a bit of both, but not peak of either. teamLab I also did the Mikuneyama Rakuen onsen. While you pay a bit of a premium price, I think that you do have a good onsen experience. The exhibition was also quite nice and despite seeing some other people, I mostly had the art installation for myself. Can give more info if you want.
• Nagasaki : Second time in Nagasaki, found the Chinatown a bit dead compared to Kobe. Did the must do things on my first trip like peace museum, Dejima and Mount Inasa at night (would recommend to do these), this time did Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture that is interesting as it focus on the trace with various foreign country, Clover garden that is nice if you are interested in Late Edo/Meiji presence of westerners in Nagasaki. Also did Kameyama Shachu Memorial Museum as I like Bakumatsu and Ryoma. Will continue to recommend two days in Nagasaki.
• Unzen : Really unique to walk around Unzen Hells. Did some hiking around, but if you have a chance, going to Nita Pass and up the ropeway is probably better, but the bus to Nita Pass was not running when I went ant the only other option was an expensive taxi ride.
• Shimabara : While the castle have nothing unique, the exhibition inside is quite interesting as it will tell more about the Shimabara rebellion and the hidden Christians. Also tried a local sweet that is like small dango in a sweet syrup that strangely taste a lot like maple syrup.
• Kumamoto : While it is a major city in Kyushu, I felt that appart from the castle, there is not that much to do. Right now the castle is only partially reopen as they are still repairing the damage caused by the 2016 earthquake.
• Hitoyoshi : Unfortunately difficult to access by public transport because of the Hisatsu Line was severely damaged by floods in 2020, you can still go by bus, but it makes it more difficult. You might think that goin by car is the better option, but considering that Hitoyoshi is known for Kuma Shochu (made with rice), you might want to walk to the shochu distillery to partake in some tasting. Also went into a miso and soy sauce factory, that was interesting. Overall not a lot of things to see but still nice countryside town.
• Kirishima (Myoken onsen) : The onsen area is not the most convenient to access by public transport, but there is still a bus going. It's getting more difficult if you want to visit some sights around. I ended up being quite lucky as two different person stopped to offer me a ride to my next location. Would only recommend if you have a car or if you are really a big fan of Sakamoto Ryoma.
• Kagoshima : I was expecting to need more than a day to visit Kagoshima, but for the city itself, a day seems alright. Shukkei-en is nice and offer a good view of Sakurajima, the garden is also beautiful. Just make sure to get in the sightseeing bus that stop at the entrance. Went to the Meiji Restoration Museum, especially as I like the bakumatsu era. I could have spend my second full day in Sakurajima instead, but the rain was not especially pushing me to do outside activities.
• Yakushima : The car ferry was not running so had to pay 22 000yend for the jetfoil. This also changed my total ferry schedule. I initially planned a single day of activity, but ended up leaving in the afternoon of the second day so could re-schedule. On my first full day I went to Hirauchi kaichu onsen, that is a onsen in the ocean, only accessible at low tide, was kind of interesting, but it's mixed gender and you are technically supposed to go naked... except that the other people ether had swimsuit or towels to properly hide themselves, while I had a borderline too small towel. Only had 15 minutes to enjoy the water before going back on the bus to Ohko waterfall, that is quite nice. There I met someone who offered me a drive. My initial plan to walk toward Seibu Rindo, a forest road with wild deer and monkey. Let's say that considering the distance, I realize that my initial plan was not that good. Second day wend to Shiratani Unsuikyo, really nice hike with a great view if you reach the end of the train. The bus schedule does allow to easily do the hike if you start in the morning. Overall, I think Yakushima is doable by public transport, but it does require much more planning, kind of glad I had a ride. Also was lucky to get great weather all the time I was there.
• Ibusuki : I asked for recommendation of places to go and was recommended Chiringashima twice, not bad if you have some time to walk around the island and you are on time for low tide, but terrible bus schedule, so I went by bus and returned by walking. A bike rental would have made things easier. The special thing in Ibusuki is the sand bath, it is a strange feeling to be buried in the sand. The main place where you can do it is big and really well organized, I saw a place in Beppu that offer sand bath, but they seemed to have a somehow long wait. Appart from that, you need to go outside of town if you want to do more things.
• Makurazaki : a bit of a pain to reach by train/bus. My main goal was to see a shochu distillery. Honestly not totally sure it's worth going that far especially considering I saw other places easier to access. They also produce sweet potato based beer, not bad, but also not the best I tried during my trip. Had to eat some bonito as the city is know to be a big producer of katsuobushi.
• Shishibu : Mostly went because I wanted to visit a tea farm. Went to Osumi Teanery, they have a member of their staff that is American and that will do the tour with you. There is just so much we can see of the process in the factory as it is a running factory (at least in season) that is not build to have viewing deck on the production, then despite the rain we went to see the fields and talk about how the tea is cultivated. Also did a hojicha workshop, so that was fun to learn how to roast your own tea. While the place is not the easiest to access, the staff helped me get there so at the end it was relatively easy to do.
• Nichinan (Obi) : Kind of fun castle town, they have a special map with coupons and a list of participating restaurant. You buy the map then you can exchange the coupons of food items to eat while visiting the town. The castle does not have anything exceptional, but still fine.
• Miyazaki : First day was initially dedicated to Aoshima, but I ended up not spending as much there as I thought. The rock formation is interesting, that is for sure. Used the rest of the day to go to Udo-Jingu (that is technically in Nichinan), not sure it's worth the full cost of the bus, but it's an interesting shrine built in a cave close to the ocean. Miyazaki city in itself does not have that much, the nature and history museum is nice, but as many nature museum, I feel more geared toward child, but it was free, so why not.
• Hyuga : Honestly my biggest surprise. I was initially only planning it as a stop before getting in the bus to Takachiho. Ok, it's quite a long walk so a car or maybe a bike would be better, but Umagase was really a natural wonder, it's really beautiful and you can feel the power of the ocean. You might as well stop by the Sea Cross observatory and a point called Sanpo (next to the sea cross). Then you can also check Omi shrine and Uto shrine, the second being a small shrine build in a cave quite close to the ocean.
• Takachiho : Again after a while just seeing tourist once in a while, it show that Takachiho is a popular spot for tourist (both Japanese and Foreign. While the gorge is nice, I was much more impressed by Umagase. Also you cannot always ride the boat and it was close the days I was there. For me the Takachiho Kagura was more interesting than the gorge. One difficulty was to find a good hostel as the one easy to book is next to Amanoiwato shrine, that is a bit far from Takachiho shrine and no bus at the time of the kagura plan. But I found guesthouse sankaku thatwas perfectly located and the host, Asuka, was really friendly. Went to Amanoiwato shrine the next day and I think that more than the shrine in itself, the mythology around it is much more interesting. While it is only in Japanese, they do a small tour almors every half hour so you can see the sealed entrance of the cave where Amaterasu hid.
• Takamori : That was one more intermediary stop, got to see one of the One Piece statue (that I do not really care about). Got great view on Mount Aso. Went to Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine (that is a good walk or infrequent bus from the station), and was surprised to see what felt like a tour bus stop there. Yeah, it's nice to see the torii and the staircase in the forest, but I would not do a day trip from Kumamoto to there as I've seen people here wanting to do that. Also the train line is supposed to fully reopen this summer so it will be easier to access.
• Aso : My worst day. It rained and the top of the mountain was in clouds. Honestly I should have saved my money and not go on top. But if you are blessed with good weather, I am sure that it is fantastic, I can say that just by the gorgeous view I had on the mountain the previous day.
• Beppu : Yes, Beppu is know for their onsen, but I do not especially feel a special vibe about the city. When I went to the tourist info to have recommendation, appart from the hells that I already visited previously, it was pretty much just to get out of the city to attractions around. Got recommended Takegawara Onsen, it's fine but the bath is small and there is no soap, so bring your own if you want to wash. They also do sand bath, but seems to take time as the place have limited space. It's also located in what I would call a red light district with plenty of girls bakyabakura/soapland, so that is also... interesting. Would highly recommend Beppu Brewery, that seems to be fairly new. Got their tasting set that include a kabosu weise, kabosu is Oita local citrus, then tried the kabosu session. But if you see kabosu beer at the souvenir shop, do not try Kabos and Honey, it's the second worst beer I had on my trip, really sweet. (I wat getting into fruity beers before going to Japan, sour beer are good, not sweet beer).
• Oita : Listening to people, I felt that Oita was not really getting much appreciation here, but I found that there was more museums than in Beppu, like the Oita Prefecture Art Museum and Oita Art Museum (but I'm not that into art museum). While yes, there is no that much around the station area, I wished I had searched a bit more about the history of the city, the great discovery was the Old Otomo Residence and Garden, It is a small museum that will introduce you to Otomo Sorin, probably more know as the christian daimyo, would have liked to see if there is more locations related to that part of the region's history. The castle ruin was less interesting as there is not much exhibition, so pretty much only went to get the castle stamp. Getting a car to get to the interesting points a bit further around the city could have been more interesting tho.
• Usuki : My first idea here was to visit a series of temples as part of a pilgrimage, but it ended up not being much of a good idea as the second temples I went to was close, so I kind of abandoned the idea. Then I rented a free bicycle from the tourist information and rode it toward the stone carved buddha, unfortunately the back tire went flat and I decided to walk back instead of going all the way to the buddha. Was a bit unfortunate, but the city had some nice streets with older buildings and the food was good.

Kanto

• Sakura : Not much people go there but I would really recommend the history museum. If you decide to go, make sure you bring you phone with headphones and a power bank, if you listen to all the audio guide, you can spend hours in the museum.
• Narita : While I might not recommend as a day trip from Tokyo, I would absolutely recommend for people who are doing a long layover at Narita and that want to have a taste of Japan without going all the way to Tokyo.
• Kamakura : Second time going, while it's kind of possible to do a day in Kamakura and Enoshima, I think that spending two days over the two places is much better. This time I went to Hokokuji and their bamboo grove is really beautiful. While I've seen bamboo elsewhere, like in Sakura, here the place is really clean, all the dead bamboo have been removed and properly disposed. Usually in natural bamboo groves, it is full of dead or broken bamboo or there is piles of bamboo that was gathered in a corner. It was not too crowded and quite enjoyable, but it is not super big. Other than that there is plenty to see in Kamakura, totally recommend.
• Enoshima : Went for the first time, while a full day might be a bit much, not too hard to spend a good part of the day walking around. Went on the first day of my Kamakura trip as the weather was nice and I hoped for a Mount Fuji view and I could see it. I had the impression you had to be at a specific spot to see it, but no you can see it right from the bridge (I think the specific spot is if you want to see both Enoshima and Mount Fuji). Despite no cloud, it was not super clear, this can be because of humidity in the air or because of Asian dust (or China Dust) that is more prevalent in spring.
• Chichibu : Kind of surprisingly, there is many anime that are taking place in Chichibu, so if you like any of them, that would be a great destination. One of the main thing advertise about Chichibu is nature, but I found that it would work much better with a car to get to the flower fields outside of the town center, or maybe by renting a car. If you want to bungee jump you can do it here (pretty sure it's the place where Chis Broad and Connor went). If you want to go to Mitsumine Shrine, then that will likely require a car rental. I stayed not to far for the night, but the bus service was... let's say not the most convenient. There would also be a bunch of hiking trains in the area around the western side of Chichibu.
• Nagatoro : Walking next to the arakawa river is a must and you might want to also do a boat dire on the river. I then hiked Hodosan, but it was not that exciting. There is a famous kakigoori place there, super popular, that's the restaurant I waited the longest for in all my trip, then you get serve a big pile of shaved ice (with the syrup of your choice) and it cost more than a lot of full meals that I had, but I do not regret the refreshment on that hot day.

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