I know it’s an easy fix, I have replaced them before. Unfortunately though in this house, I can’t get the water to the toilet to shut off 100%. It is tricking into the back of the tank just as I dry it out. I know it’s not much but I am afraid if the shut off valve tis leaking and I take off the hose to the tank to replace the flush valve, it may be a bigger leak than I bargain for. I also cannot find the shut off for inside the house. Everything here is done poorly. AZ house I am renting and don’t want to wait a month to get someone here if I can help it. Any help appreciated. TY in advance.
My questions: - Any idea how to identify the water shut off to the house? - If I out a bucket under it and disconnect the hose to the tank, what are the chances it would not be containable with a bucket while I change the flush valve?

Be sure to double check that they won’t run a hard inquiry (they shouldn’t). If they say no then no biggie, but if they say yes then you get an increase and your credit utilization rate automatically goes down, boosting your score. If you’ve had an increase in your income lately it is especially probable that they will say yes; the info they ask for is your salary and your payment for housing. I just increased my Discover credit limit by $1500 and my Wells Fargo limit by $700 with a yearly salary of $20,000 and housing payments of zero (I live at home).

This is just about what I think are the main possibilities of what happened to the Espada when they died. At first it seems clear cut: the ones killed with Zampakto will go onto the soul society if they were good in life, or to Hell if they were bad. The ones not killed with Zampakto willl go straight into the cycle of reincarnation.
This is what was assumed to have happened when, until the Hell Arc threw a wrench in things. We learn that those with Captain level Reaitsu cannot be absorbed by the Soul Society and therefore enter the cycle of reincarnation.
So what happened to them? We know that the ones who were evil in life did go to Hell but what about the others? I think there are 3 main categories with different possible outcomes. Good Hollows killed by Zampakto e.g Stark. Good Hollows killed without Zampakto e.g Uliquoira and Bad Hollows killed without Zampakto e.g Barragan.
So what happens? Have they all gone to Hell? is their Spiritual Pressure just hanging around in the Soul Society?
From what we know, they shouldn’t be in Hell yet, as unabsorbed reishi doesn’t go to hell automatically, a ritual needs to be done first and it’s highly unlikely that the Captain would have done it for them, however it’s not impossible that a ritual could have been done, possibly by Barragan’s ancient followers, the ones old enough to know about its true purpose but I don’t know if they would have done something that they thought would help the Soul Society.
The second theory I have is simple: The reaitsu has just been left there, they haven’t become pluses in the soul Society or move back into the Human World. I don’t think this is very likely as I think the Reaitsu would have been dealt with one way or another.
Finally, they may just be functioning as they should, it’s possible their Reaitsu isn’t a problem because it’s made of thousands of souls with a little power, unlike the Captain’s one soul with a lot of power. I this one makes sense, but it also means we won’t see a lot of these characters again.
What do you guys think? Is there anything big I missed?

Out of many things I wish they would improve in this game. The one thing I think I wish the most is that the squad you are in had a chat and that they automatically would be on your friends list. I realize some people have a Discord for theirs, But for the people who joined one and they love it and obviously don’t want to leave and do not have contact info for them I just think this would be beneficial and such a nice way to enjoy your squad. I guess it’s because I don’t have many friends that actually play this game in real life. My little brother played a few years back, so I have him as a “friend” and then my old account that I lost that somehow it’s still linked to my Facebook. So yeah, hardly anyone on my Facebook out of like 700 friends that play this game. I have one friend that actively plays and the game or FB won’t link her. I wonder if I give her my invite link it might link? A lot of times I have stars and diamonds that I don’t really want anything with and I would love to be able to have a friend and get them things when they need it or just surprise them with something. I’m just that kind of person that likes giving gifts in life and I just think it would be so fun. Sorry for rambling lol and possible typos.

I could write an essay on this situation, but will try and boil it down to a paragraph. Feel free to ask for info.
I am an 8th grade teacher (Florida, United States) at a Title 1 school (a school with a high percentage of students/families in poverty). Last week we hosted an 8th Grade Week in which students could pay to participate in activities. I won’t list the multitude of ways in which this was a shit show. The one thing I am taking a strong stance on is Movie Day. 80 students paid $15 each to watch a movie in the auditorium with snacks provided. Due to no fault of the school, Movie Day was canceled because the district didn’t say until the last minute that the movie choice was not approved. Ok, so we refund the money, right? Students were told that day that we would. But instead the principal turns around and decides to give students a tumbler mug instead of a refund. I have strongly vocalized my opposition to this, but in turn have been berated by my principal (for an hour this morning, no exaggeration, she even had someone cover my class) that I am making a big fuss over nothing, casting shadow on her integrity and that students and parents prefer the mug over the refund (bullshit). She says any dissatisfied parents should call her and state they want a refund. I said it’s unfair to put the onus on the parents when a refund should have been the automatic response to the cancellation of the activity. So, AITA for continuing to insist we give the refund? My principal has no intention of doing so, so I plan to email the district school board next. Before doing so I figured I’d get some good ol’ Reddit input. Would you be satisfied with a mug in place of cash refund?

My daughter is going to be 3 this month. We began potty training at 2.5 and she picked up using the toilet for pee pretty quickly, by month 2 she was having 0 pee accidents even over night. Right now we go back and fourth between pull ups and panties just because I get mentally excited over the prospect of her finally getting it only to be deflated and lose my mind when I have to clean shit out of panties for the 4th time in one day and just put a disposable on her. Here is everything we’ve tried:
-biglittlefeelings training course -bare bottom -playing it cool and never shaming her about poop -putting a small potty near us while we play and frequently reminding her to use it if she needs to go #2 -stickers -treats -special toys she can only play with if she uses the toilet for poo -watching all the Elmo / Daniel tiger / coco melon / and potty themed books and keeping it in casual conversation -announcing when I have to poop and narrating what I’m doing to normalize it -withholding her favorite snacks or panties as a bribe. (Desperation the last few weeks)) -reasoning with her lol (conversation goes as follows: Me: why did you poop your pants baby? LO: Because I pooped them. Me: but why? Where does poop go? LO: the toilet. Me: are you gonna poop your panties next time or are you gonna use the toilet like a big girl LO: I’ll go to the toilet next time.
Rinse / repeat.
What has happened for the last 6 months: daughter will use the toilet for pee and even if a poop is eminent she gets off the toilet very quickly and protests profusely when I try to encourage her to sit and wait longer in case a poop is coming. Crying and protests when I know she’s due to go #2 and I want her to just sit on the potty to try. Peeing is great. Pooping is always met with resistance and she is somehow able to Superman hold her shit until later when she finds a moment to hide in a corner or the bedroom to lay on all fours and shit her pants. I’m at a loss. I’m going on 4 months not a single shit in the toilet and with a 6 month old who also breastfeeds I’m just burnt out on the constant shit.
Please give me advice. I understand I can just give up for a while but she’s so incredibly smart and articulate, it feels so unnatural that a little human so capable refuses to do this simple thing.

After conversing briefly with the director and Dr. McGregor, Anina walked to the engineering room and sat behind the screen. It was time to search for information about planet Zeroria. She’d been here for years and had never heard about it. She started typing on the touchscreen keyboard.
The door of the other room opened, and Jerry came in. He had stains on his suit again.
“Hey,” he called.
“Yeah,” Anina answered.
“Why did he ask you to wait?”
Anina smiled. “He wants to know why I want to be part of the mission. You know.”
“And?”
“The director is worried about putting women on such a mission.”
“Excuse me?” Jerry raised his brows.
“Well, I told him not to worry about it.”
“Why did he ask you that in the first place?”
“Some bullshits about, ‘as a woman, you are more important on this ship to this planet than being out there.’”
“What nonsense?”
“You know I have a womb, and they will prefer to use it for good rather than waste it out there.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him I would be fine.”
“That’s a shitty thing to say to you.”
“Yeah, I know. I told him I would go. Now he has been given an assignment. To convince more people to join us. He thinks I can do it….”
Jerry shook his head. “This mission doesn’t look important to him.”
“It does to me.”
“Why?”
“It’s a new planet. What will happen if we find natural resources and rocks that could be used for anything else? Things we can use to build homes. What if we find out how to survive there? The sun has been the major source of energy for a long time, but what if we can find other things that are extremely cheaper and more useful too? Does it fascinate you that we can have the chance to see new things?”
“I am not. I can see all I want to see from here. These computers have everything we would ever need, all the data or the information ever known to man.”
“How come you didn’t know about Zeroria.”
He shrugged and nodded.
Anina laughed. “There is a lot out there that we don’t know about.”
“So, what is the next move now? How will you convince people? How many people will you convince?”
“I’m going to convince the doctors and engineers to join us. Parker and the director are working on how to convince the soldiers.”
Jerry nodded and returned to the other corner to continue working on the truck.
Anina turned back to the screen and tried to find information about Zeroria. Each time she searched for information, it only showed a picture of a giant rock and a summary:
The Zeroria was discovered by a group of astronauts a hundred years ago (October 2018) as part of an effort to find alternative planets that could sustain humanity. Unfortunately, the mission to see if it is survivable has been canceled.
She cleared her throat and typed something different.
“Why was the mission to Zeroria canceled?” She pressed enter, and the page showed two lines.
The reason for canceling the mission to Zeroria was the risk involved. Experts think the danger is too severe.
Anina frowned and typed again. “Has there been any human contact with Zeroria?”
There is little documentation about human contact with planet Zeroria. Although there have been drone tours of the planet, nothing has been recorded of human activity. A group of scientists visited in October 2018 but have not returned.
Anina spent the rest of the day reading about survival outside the planets, especially about Zeroria. Why was there little news about this planet? Maybe the only reason it had yet to be adequately documented was that the mission was unsuccessful. The government and International space mission didn’t want people to take such risks. She continued to read the details of the Reformers' procedures to survive outside the planets. She used videos, books, and AI-generated responses to learn all the information she could find.
In the evening, after dinner, Anina went to talk to a couple of people. Her sister, Candace, had been training under a professional doctor, and although she wasn’t a professional yet, she could be helpful on the mission.
She was sitting inside her laboratory. On this ship, there were only a few places to visit. So Anina wasn’t expecting Candace to be anywhere except the bedroom, library, or laboratory.
Anina knocked on the door and looked into the room through the glass part of the door.
Candace stopped what she was doing and looked up. Then, she waved, stood up, and came to open the door.
Anina stepped inside. “Am I allowed to walk around here without a coat?” she asked.
“Shhh,” Candace said, pointing to another corner of the room.
Anina stared at where she pointed. A group of men and women were working on something. They were all staying quietly and watching a glass on a flame from a bunsen burner.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
Anina followed Candace to the seat. On the table, a ray of light formed the image of an animal organ in front of her. It was generated from the lights from a flat bulb. She was reading a book on her iPad, too.
“I came here to tell you about an adventure,” Anina said.
“Planet Zeroria?” she asked.
“How did you hear about that?”
She glanced at Anina with a smile on her face. “You think you’re the only one with the latest news.”
“I’m just curious. You were not invited to the discussion today. Were you?”
“No, Dr. Muhammed was invited, though.”
“So, have you thought about it?”
She shook her head, adjusting the image on her iPad. The image of the intestine became twice the initial size.
“I’m not…. My superior doesn’t want to go. He said the mission was meaningless. So I am not going either.”
“I won’t force you, but this is a lifetime thing. Think about everything you could experience if you go on this journey.”
“You are talking about it like it’s some vacation. It’s another planet. That is probably toxic and can kill you if anything goes wrong.”
I rubbed my hair backward. “I’m not saying it is safe. I’m saying you could contribute to something bigger. Look at you. There is nothing here. You’re stuck in a laboratory, learning, and learning. How do you plan to use your skills and gain some experience? We have another two years before we will get to Ionigius. Have you thought about how long that would be?”
Candace was looking at Anina's face, and Anina could see in Candace’s eyes that she wanted to say yes.
“Just tell me you will join us, and I will be happy.”
“What about your dad and Rachel?”
“They are old for this kind of mission,” Anina said. Her father was neither an engineer nor a doctor. Rachel, her father's new woman, would turn fifty-five in the coming month, and Anina’s father had turned sixty-five the month before. Their years of being athletic and energetic were a bit behind. The survival details were not communicated yet, but they were not the best choice.
“Seriously, I wish I could come with you,” Candace said. “I will have to talk to my boss and see what she says.”
“This is a lifetime thing. Do you have to seek his permission?”
“Please, stop, Anina. I’m not going to do that. To just walk away without asking him.”
“Okay.”
So, Anina nodded and left the laboratory. The plan was to meet some engineers and explain why they should value such an experience to Zeroria. But on her way to the engineering department, she heard the fire alarm. The alarm started with a blast. The light in the ship blinked twice, and then the red light that always stayed quiet started blinking in a circular motion, and the alarm began.
She stopped walking.
She was standing in the lobby that led to the second engineering department. She withdrew her hands from the pocket of her pants and shirt. During the day, she would have had her engineering suit on, and it would have been a lot tougher to run in it. But this was free. She looked around and started running towards her father's room, not in the direction of the engineering.
In the past couple of years, he had dedicated himself to helping with the food department. Here, most of the food items were raised using enhanced scientific methods.
She sprinted as fast as she could. The automatic sprinkler system started a few seconds later, and Anina had to stop running. She exhaled and looked at the floor as the water covered the whole place. Then, she began to stroll back to the bedroom area where she would find her father.
The sprinkler didn't launch outside the block of the engineering department, so the area was dry, which only meant one thing, the fire didn’t happen in the bedroom unit.
Anina walked to her father's room, but he wasn’t there. So she headed out again towards the food department. Before panicking, she saw her father walking back into the room.
“Hi, honey,” her father called and hugged her.
“There was fire, and I rushed down here….”
“Yeah, I am glad you are okay. I’m okay.”
“Do you know where the fire happened?” Anina asked.
“It’s the food store,” her father said. “A part of the food store is gone now. It went up in smoke. What we have left are crumbles from that unit.”
“But the fire has stopped now?” Anina asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “There is a bigger problem, though. Some of our food is gone. I think the farm is damaged too. We have to start all over.”
Anina shook her head. She had been to the farm once and saw the technology that kept the crops growing — the stores, the processed algae, and how the plants were raised vertically.
“So, the farm is gone,” I asked.
“Not everything. We are only down a little. But,” her father said, we will need a little more resources to get it up again,” her father said.
“Resources like what?” Anina asked.
“I guessed the engineers would figure that out.”
Later in the evening, Anina was in her bedroom with Jerry when they discussed what had happened. He was sitting on the floor beside her, and they both were looking out of the glass window. It was a computerized window made of glass. You could turn it off, and it would become blank, blocking the view and light from outside.
Anina stared out at the space, which was just like the name sounded, a dark, endless expanse with sources of lights that were sometimes as wild as the size of a book or huge, like a giant balloon or a rugby ball. They had been on this ship for some time, and this was the first time a fire had started and destroyed something huge. Most times, when a little fire accident happened, people stopped it from jumping from burning cigarettes to a whole desk. Corners of the ships had extinguishers too, so it was easy to prevent such hazards.
“My dad said the food store is badly damaged.”
“It destroyed the supply of oxygen, too,” Jerry said. He had his palm on his chin. “We won’t be able to produce oxygen, except on a smaller scale.”
“Damn,” Anina said. “So, what is the solution?”
"Zeroria,” he said. We are going to Zeroria.”
Anina put her hands on her knees and stared at the glass window. She had one question on her mind. “I think the fire wasn't an accident,” she said.
Jerry murmured, hymn, and then sighed. “I think it's orchestrated….”
​
****
​
Part one here.
If you like Mafia romance, check out Saved on Amazon Kindle.

Source
The Warframe Lexicon for Updates
The purpose of this post is to explain the terminology you’ve often seen us use when describing Warframe updates. Ultimately, this will serve as a permanent post that will be linked in future PSAs and more to help players better understand Warframe’s development cycle.
CODE
CODE describes the kind of changes we make directly to (in simple terms) the game’s engine. Depending on the nature of an issue, feature, or change, it may involve us making adjustments to Code for it to be fully resolved.
When we make changes to Code, it must go through a Certification (Cert) process required by each Console platform. In order to launch an update, we must successfully pass each of their checks. This involves things like ensuring it won’t crash the machine or cause any other issues to core functionality. Anything that is not “Code” (scripts, assets, etc.) can be Hotfixed.
Additionally, we need to ensure all platforms are aligned to maintain Cross Platform Play parity so that all Tenno can continue to play together.
HOTFIX
HOTFIX describes a small batch of non-Code changes/fixes that are released outside of regular update intervals. Typically, you will see Hotfixes occur after major updates have gone live to address prevalent issues. Anything that cannot be fixed in a Hotfix (due to it being Code) is slated for release with the next Cert Build.
There are times when Hotfixing will be paused (also known as “going dark”) to prepare for the next major update. In most cases, this is so the dev team can focus all of their efforts on the next update and because it is required to prepare a Cert Build for submission properly.
CERT BUILD
CERT BUILD describes the packaged Code fixes/changes we submit to the Certification process as explained above.
MAINLINE UPDATE
MAINLINE UPDATE describes an update that consists of absolutely everything we’ve been working on that’s accumulated over a certain time period. Typically, the kinds of things comprising a mainline update are related to the main content features and heaps of more minor additions, changes, fixes, and changes. These updates are also required to go through Cert before release.
Often when we talk about mainline updates, we mention that there is a chance things “slip through the cracks.” Given the nature of releasing a large backlog of changes and fixes, it may cause issues that need to be addressed in follow-up Hotfixes once the update is live.
INTERIM UPDATE
INTERIM UPDATE describes a typically smaller update that is released between major content updates. It consists of Code changes/fixes and is therefore required to go through Cert. Interim updates don’t happen frequently as the turnaround time eats up our Hotfixing opportunities.
As development practices evolve, so will the ways we explain them to players. That said, we will continue to update this post as needed!
^{This action was performed automatically, if you see any mistakes, please tag u/desmaraisp, he'll fix them. Here is my github.
I have found a new home on AWS Lambda, RIP Heroku free tier.}

This could have easily been a book but I’ll try to be vague.
It’s long overdue but I finely ended things with my gf. It’s been a two year long rollercoaster of misery, misplaced anger, humiliation and …dog semen.
I won’t elaborate too much on ups and downs of our relationship (that’s whole another story) but the final straw was her saying that if she had to choose saving human life or a dog she would have chosen a dog, thousand times over, even if it were my son’s.
Dog runs this house.
I should have known this the very minute I stepped inside my gf’s tiny two bed apartment. Filthy couch with throw covering up dog filth from when poor little pooper had “an accident”. Dog necessities everywhere, not one, not two but 5 dog beds including a crusty old pillow on which the shit beast relieves itself 🤢
This miserable creature was literally allowed to do whatever it please. Jump on furniture, on her bed, scratching itself on a wall leading to her apartment, leaving brown trail of dog filth. It would follow her around the apartment, always begging for treats. Whenever someone was in the kitchen, it would climb up on a couch backrest, nearly falling off or it and literally with its face in the cooking pots. Hair and dander everywhere and shitty asshole on where humans would later sit down. It’s a smartest and most intelligent dog on Earth (and handsomest one of course) only whenever it’s cleaning time and she starts vacuuming, it would flip a switch in his pigeon brain and it would start humping the Dyson. All humans have urges am I right?
My gf allowed this behaviour and let it finish itself off on a aforementioned crusty old pillow. That obnoxious creature would after walk around the apartment with his thing still dripping cum.
Going walkies was always stressful for me as she kept refusing to leash her dog. She would ger told off by passers by almost daily as her dog would always get in someone’s way on walk or bicycle paths or it would run up to other dogs even without the other owner’s consent. She would blatantly allow her dog to invade people’s personal space, piss and shit where “no dog toilet” signs were up, on communal lawns or next to children’s playground and would argue with anyone who would reprimand her. How dare you!
Going somewhere with a car wasn’t any different. This neurotic dog was allowed to roam freely around the car without harness. It would maybe sit on the back seat for 1.5 minutes before deciding it likes it more in the front, on a drivers knees. It’s illegal here to be holding a dog on drivers knees while driving l, at highway speeds especially, but law doesn’t apply to my dog, right? We’re special. Gangway! Fido behind the wheel.
Same goes to leash laws in and around forests, my doggo loves animals and wouldn’t hurt a fly. Why wouldn’t it be allowed to play with them? It’s favourite thing is digging up rodents holes. Bonus points for finding a nest and manage to kill few. Those damn instincts. Everyone is allowed to have a hobby.
You can’t own a dog if you’re not an animal lover and an activist yourself. And by animals you mean your dog, of course. After all you single handily saved this gods creature from an evil puppy mill. You’ve taken it from its birth mom to your tiny apartment to keep it for your amusement, ehm friendship. You’ve given it shelter, fed it human food (because of its special dietary needs and multiple food allergies). You’ve pumped it with meds because of its genetic disorders from birth. You’ve called it family member and everyone who says or thinks differently is a dog hater and you showed him the doors. You’ve kept pushing people visiting your house to worship it by petting and letting it lick them, it loves you and is happy to see you, see. You’ve corrected everyone who dared calling it a DOG.
Yeah nah, I’m good

Sleep was a respite only in the way it separated the past from the new. A fresh start each day meant something different. You had survived and were still providing, still waking up everyday, optical lens’ able to catch the light of whatever star you labored underneath.
Gareth knew something was being lost. A call from the chambers of his sleeping physical brain, the hidden gods and their infinite creativity caged behind a synthetic wash of sedatives, used to keep the outer realms of consciousness at bay.
He was thinking of lost dreams, trying to remember the night terrors he had as an adolescent, shrieking to the dark wind at something he now couldn’t picture.
“Are you hearing me? They want you to absorb thirty-five percent of losses, covering just the gloves alone. What the fuck were you thinking Gareth?” Eris tapped elegant mechanical hands folded upon the jet black steel table between them.
Gareth looked up, “I was thinking about the narrative. I was trying to find the time.”
“Oh bullshit,” Eris scoffed, “Triarch will be coming through those doors in twelve minutes and thirty-seven seconds, they left me unbriefed.”
Gareth’s glove was still as he sat and tried to ignore Eris. If they wanted him off the restoration sector, then fine. By all means. He would be happy to operate anywhere else. Even containment and corrections were beginning to look bright.
Silence descended between them as they waited for their superiors to arrive, worry twisting their stomachs. Eris was tapping a weathered spot on the back of his right hand, something he always did when he was nervous. Gareth had worked with him for over a century and it was a habit that had never changed. The sound resonated with some part of his stimulant addled brain.
“What was in it, anyways?” Eris finally asked.
Gareth shook his head, “I don’t know, it’s sitting in my laboratory. Mostly data from the airbase we’re passing over.”
Gareth wondered if the LIDAR scans had been completed. There was also the secured safe, which was sitting in his lab. Awaiting his dissection.
Eris shook his head and huffed, “so all this for pretty much–nothing? Fantastic.”
The entrance chimed and Eris stood to attention as a team of deadly looking security gloves guided a smaller administration official into the wide, low chamber.
The one called the Triarch.
The security team dispersed to the corners and entrances of the room and the affluent looking Triarch took his seat. The glove he wore was refined and set him apart from the others, just as it was intended to do. Hand pitted copper inlays and traces of gold glinted in the low lighting of the meeting chamber.
“Eris, please.” Triarch motioned towards the middle edge of the table, where a seat had already manifested from the floor.
“Of course, thank you.” Eris sat, the small nervous tapping of his hand just under the awareness of the rest.
Triarch’s optics focused on Gareth, “this isn’t the first time we’ve met.”
“It is not.” Gareth replied.
“I believe our last meeting was in regards to workplace safety. It feels as if we’re repeating ourselves. Eating our own tail.” Triarch placed both hands flat on top of the table.
“The added layer of chemical security was unexpected, the first time I’ve ever encountered such a modification. Tetrahyrdolytic-M88, a substance used in arc fusion reactors to keep the inside of the reactor free from molecular impurities. This is the first time I’ve seen it used outside of its intended application, if I’m to be honest.”
Triarch’s head twitched to the side, “this is something that would have been discovered, had the proper safety protocols been followed.”
Gareth had no reply. It was unambiguous, he was right as right could be. If they had tapped the outer seal, it would have registered and they could have proceeded in a different manner. Trigam’s way.
A safer way.
“You’ve been behaving as if our resources are infinite,” Triarch began, spreading his hands, “thirteen engineers, the cost of refacing and repairing the research bay, and the resignation of another one of your assistants. All for some comparable data. Where does it end?”
Gareth looked up, meeting Triarch’s opticals, “research requires sacrifice. The advances towards the narrative demand risks and I feel I’ve uncovered a relevant datagem from the airfield we are currently moving through.”
Triarch shook their head, “there are few datagems in our work worth the cost of the damage done today. The war here has already been lost, Yok Theron doesn’t care for the corpuscant he leaves behind. We are in a war, Gareth, that’s the reason we’re out here. To rebuild that which was lost, because we can’t afford to lose more. You’ve been through a lot of gloves, but younger inexperienced workers don’t have the same luxury. There’s a psychological impact, as well as monetary.”
Gareth conceded, “you’re right. I understand, my lack of discipline has been bothering me lately. Eris has given me direction and I will seek further counsel.”
The many lenses on Triarch’s face seemed to focus, “see that it’s done, archeotech. Your debt to the guard is beginning to cast a shadow.”
Triarch stood without warning and collapsed into the middle of his security, as they folded out of the dark door and were out of sight and mind. All meetings were like this, simple and as fast as possible.
“God almighty-,” Eris gasped.
Gareth sat, motionless.
Eris moved from the side of the table to the seat across, as he had been sitting before, “are you in this room? Did you hear what he just said?”
“I’m at the end of my rod, I heard him.”
Eris folded his hands, screeching metal sounding, “as your liaison, I need you to listen to me very carefully, Gareth. You need to focus, for fuck’s sake. Please, I beg of you.”
Gareth glanced down at the orange plastic covering his arms, sleek and dense. He could feel the anger flush through him, his actual skin rippling with heat and potential. So far away, but instant all the same.
“Leave me to my work, I’ll stay down. I promise.”
“Stay in your lab, at least for the next forty-eight hours. As soon as things calm, we can re-task and discuss where we’re at. Does that sound simple and doable, at all, to you?” Eris stood.
“Simple, totally doable.”
“Thank you-,” Eris moved to leave the meeting chamber, walking as if he were surrounded by broken glass, “I’ll catch back up with you in two days.”
Eris turned and exited the opposite door, a wave of air rushing out and away as it whooshed closed.
Gareth sat there for a while, unmoving. There was a small silver fleck of imperfection on the surface of the table and he was focused on it, his mind far away in a place where the pressures of life fell away like a cocoon, the blossom of worry and pain distant and stale.
“Sample D-1 seated and currently awaiting instruction.” Rube’s voice ripped him from the depths he was falling into.
“Initial analyses?” Gareth asked, standing and leaving the dim chamber.
“Grade composition of container: Pb, heavy lead shielding. Weight: 77kg-”.
“Please move the test article to hazard bay 443, I’ll be up shortly.”
Gareth walked through the massive inner structure of the Cube, making his way towards the MOL-44 printers. There would be a printer in the back left, just finishing a small ceramic urn full of ashes. He plucked the perfect white urn from the printing plate and left the upper sectors, making his way down to the bottom of the Cube.
It took two levicors and a small escalating platform, the journey to the usual outer seal he used was long and winding, taking him through the inner bays in a zig-zag pattern. The more random his habits, the more control he felt over his life. When everything was synchronized, unplanned deviation gave a sort of rush. A rush that washed away the sour taste of the meeting he had just sat through.
“Your debts are beginning to cast a shadow.”
Shadows were the result of light and he felt no brightness within. It was all darkness, no definition any longer to navigate.
Focus on the narrative, he thought to himself.
The pain he endured paled in comparison to what these people must have experienced in their final days or hours. The sky ablaze, nuclear death raining down, more bodies than flies. Oceans boiled, the atmosphere sheared off.
The echoes of his wails were nothing against the hurricane.
Gareth had finally reached the bottom level and could see the outer access door still a ways away, lit by a blue runner from above. He glanced down at the small ivory urn, making sure it was still intact. When he looked back up, there was someone standing in front of him, silhouetted in the dark.
Trigam’s voice called out through the cloud, “what do you do out there?”
He was a couple meters away, optics glinting in the low blue light.
Gareth stopped, his heart rate spiking, “what are you doing down here?”
Trigam spread his dark metallic hands and sauntered forward, “making sure you don’t wander off and have an accident. What else?”
Gareth tried to ping Rube, but his local gateway was blocked.
“What’s so important outside, that you would throw away a MK-V research glove? Like it’s scrap.”
Gareth started backing up and bumped into a solid plate of metal. He had walked past two gloves pressed against the walls like waiting vipers uncoiled, both wearing Atlas exoframes normally used in mining and heavy labor. They grabbed him by his arms and legs and raised him up, so that his feet were just off the floor. The sound of squealing and crunching metal and plastic echoed down the dark walkway.
“c15,000, c20,000? What is it? It’s more than MK-III engineers, I know that much.”
Gareth strained against the hold he was in, his small white urn shattering under the struggle. Ash and ceramic shards fell to the floor unnoticed.
“So what is it? Why do you walk out there?” Trigam asked, the angular build of his glove’s face inches away from Gareth’s.
Trigam didn’t allow him to answer, instead he rammed a charged copper spike into the side of Gareth’s neural controller, just inside his breastplate, sending waves of pressurized spasms through his glove and into his body, back in the seed tank billions of miles away. Gareth screamed, but his agony was scattered by the network jammer currently enveloping the small group.
“Everyone said you were brilliant, eccentric. Working with you was something like rediscovering yourself,” Trigam laughed, “I was your slave for eight months and now I’m considering joining Yok.”
Trigam depressed a small switch and the pain spike went dead.
Gareth gasped for air through the feeling of being unwinded, his head spinning and his rage turned ashen and to despair.
“We can’t afford our own debt and we won’t take on yours.”
A short silence fell between them, before Gareth’s legs and right arm were pulled and ripped away from his body. Sparks and caustic hydraulic fluid sprayed in a wide arc, covering the shifting metal of the interior walls.
“Loss is part of the process,” Gareth sighed, “but I wouldn’t expect you to understand that. You never were very good at understanding that.”
Trigam smeared the clear oil along Gareth’s cheek, “you would be the expert of loss as well. Your bitch died and now you try to follow her, but Aetherguard will never let you die. You’re too special to them.”
The Atlas exosuits chomped down into the floor as the two holding Gareth started forward and hauled him towards the access door.
“It’s ten hours until sunrise, I hope you enjoy the little bit of leisure time we’ve bought you.” Trigam said, the access door whooshing open next to him and revealing the pitch dark howling night.
Gareth was tossed, like a dead battery, out into the ivory sand, tumbling end over end as he fell thirteen meters to the ground. The impact jittered his sensor core and his optics began an automatic reset, showing him the massive shifting wall of the Cube upon coming back online. He would give anything to close his eyes, but the pitch black was as close as he would get.
Every actuating joint and stabilizing core was damaged in the assault and now his entire glove vibrated in a kind of mechanical desynchronization. He hoped it would shake itself to pieces before he had to wait the agonizing hours for the star to rise over Kine’s horizon and cook him. The sooner he could get back and report this to Eris, the better his rage would be soothed.
Or so he hoped.
He still had slight control of the right arm they had left him and so he used it to push himself onto his back, face up and exposed to the sky above. His infrared lens gave the cosmos an ethereal shade, so much more to witness when looking outside the normal range. The sight of it all turned his awe to bitterness and guilt at the reminder of the casting away of his physical flesh. Not so much a loss, but a disconnection, controlled and bound by the numbers sworn fealty to as a neophyte. The end result was a sight so magnificent and so replicated it morphed into remorse.
“Rube?”
No answer came, they had damaged his communication module as well it seemed. He was on his own in the desert. He could already see the small search drones, their thermals scanning the glowing sand, looking for an imperfection in a backdrop of white.
When he looked down, the sand tinkled and blazed with the same astigmatism as in the small desk art piece, in Eris’ office. He looked and realized the sand wasn’t crushed silicate, but tiny individual diatomaceous shells, heaped by the trillions. He magnified and marveled at the radiating mass grave of microscopic animals. There was something about this last rape in the environmental brief, but the fact seemed to have slipped away, lost in a trillion other details of calamity.
North was a ridgeline rising out of the dunes, he could try to climb that and then throw himself off when he reached a sufficient height. Perhaps he could cut a few hours off of the current timeline, get back to the Cube and wring necks. The plastics and soft materials of his glove had all already sloughed off, leaving him a mechanical shell crawling across the wasteland, one arm dragging himself along.
Perhaps this was what it felt like, a fraction of the narrative’s suffering.
His neural core was pulsing, the flash of agony on the back of his subconscious reminding him he could feel at all.
He knew it would only be a fraction of what Trigam and his thugs would endure.

Hello Everyone,
I would like to first thank everyone who participated in last week’s streamer tournament, as well as everyone who watched, because it really is a good time for everyone involved and there is a ton of fun in watching friends and acquaintances compete head-to-head to see who becomes the reigning champions.
This week’s tournament will be on Friday at 8:30 P.M. E.S.T (as is usual) and is open to everyone (as is the norm). The prize pool will be $100 dollars and will be split between the top three teams. The split for the prize pool will be as follows:

1. $50 dollars to the first-place team.
   
2. $25 dollars to the team that places second.
   
3. $25 dollars to the team that places third.
   

Around 7:45-8 E.S.T. There will, hopefully, be a show match between Diamond-Masters players. If any of you are interested in watching a higher Elo match, this is your chance.
There are some further announcements that I am looking forward to speaking to you all about.
Streamer Tournament v2 on the 16th of August
I had initially planned to do one and done (at least for the foreseeable future), until I was contacted by a streamer who informed me that there were multiple people interested in doing a streaming tournament in addition to ones, I had known beforehand. The prize pool is TBD as of now, but I am hoping to get a minimum of 12 teams this time…. And potentially up to 16 teams.
The format/brackets are to be determined, as are the streamers who will be participating. However, if any streamers are interested in joining this tournament, please reach out to me.
The idea is to be able to connect with your viewers and followers by forming teams with them, connect with other league streamers in the space, and have a good time while potentially earning a little something.
Clips Tournament 23rd of August + Regularly Scheduled Tournament
The first is a clips tournament for my channel with a prize pool of $125 for the 23rd of August. The categories are:

1. Funniest Clip.
   
2. Most Badass.
   
3. Wholesome.
   
4. Good Vibes.
   
5. Chat’s Favorite.
   

Each category winner will receive $20 dollars, with a further $25 dollars in reserve to go to clips I find personally appealing but might not have won in whatever allocation I deem fit. You can make multiple entries, and each entry can be in more than one category so long as you state the category the clip is in. All clips will automatically be entrants for “Chat’s favorite.”
Final Thoughts
I have been doing in-house games and tournaments since the tail end of February, and they’ve gradually progressed. While I won’t be able to have a prize pool for every single tournament every single week I generally try to provide at least something. Throughout this period, a lot of people have had a lot of fun and at the end of the day that’s what matters to any single one of us.
I have also been helping someone form a NA league in conjunction with someone else who has an established pool of people in their two discords, with over 1600+ people between the two discords if I am correct. I hope to be able to talk about this with people who might be interested because the competitive amateur scene is something I am deeply passionate about. This league also has its own broadcast and production talent and a dedicated channel for their content. In short, it’s going to be great and I am really excited to talk to you guys about this.
At the end of the day, there has been a lot of drama regarding the player walkout and whether the LCS will die. There has also been a lot of nostalgia regarding the way things used to be in the earliest seasons of the League where the competitive circuit was more homegrown. At the end of the day, it’s incumbent upon those of us who love the scene to support the scene whether it be by giving constructive criticism, hosting tournaments and show-matches, shining a spotlight on young and upcoming, and yes actually watching the amateur scene. That’s not to say that Riot has properly supported the amateur scene… They haven’t. But, the LCS and NA amateur scene is not only salvageable but with proper planning and commitment by all parties involved (the teams/content creators/Amateur Tournament Organizers/Riot/Viewers/Broadcast & Production Talent) can actually thrive.
I will be writing a post with my thoughts on how to “fix” what is broken in the LCS model and will be posting it. I think it’s more beneficial to put forth ideas that can ultimately potentially be picked up, then castigate what has already been done and failed. I thank each and every one of you for reading this all and look forward to posting my thoughts today (hopefully).
You can find my discord here if you wish to participate in the tournaments, and giveaways, that I host: https://discord.gg/vGWu8nfZCx
You can find me going live every day at 7:30 P.M. EST here: Conspire2Inspire - Twitch
Best,
Conspire2Inspire

Here’s my idea for a new league feature. In the options panel during game, you can turn on the “Never surrender” option. This will automatically dissapear the surrender vote when it pops up, but won’t say no yet. What’s the reason for this? To remind your teammates that they started a surrender vote, and hopefully they’ll get their act together. At the very end, you would say no to the vote

I need advice on what to do with a problem player before the campaign even starts.
DISCLAIMER: I’m submitting this for my friend/GM as she is not a reddit user :)
I have been planning a Scooby Doo themed DND campaign for nearly a year now. Our party is set to start playing in a couple weeks and we’re all really excited to start. One of my players, however, has decided to make my final planning impossible for the last few months.
This player has continuously butted in on my planning with ideas that I have had to shut down. She then gets mad that I’m not choosing to implement them as the GM. Most of the party grew up watching Scooby Doo and is well versed in the plot and episodes. Because of this, I’ve been open to some suggestions, but at the end of the day everyone else knows that it’s up to my discretion if I decide to add it into the campaign.
This player, however, believes that her suggestions should automatically be implemented even if it screws up my plans and plot lines. Most of the things have been small disagreements, but my final straw was her becoming increasingly more upset that I won’t start the campaign at level 1. Like I mentioned, I’ve been planning for nearly a year and dropping 9 levels would mean I would have to do so many rewrites right before we start. Her argument is that “every Dimension 20 campaign starts at level 1” (which I have told her is not the case and doesn’t matter).
We’re not going to be running it for a long time, so I decided, as Scooby and the gang are seasoned adventurers, everyone will start at level 10. She has not let this go and continues to argue that campaigns should start at level 1. Her input is constant and insistent and I don’t know how to tell her that this isn’t her campaign to plan.
Now for her character. She has complained in the past that she doesn’t like being a healer, and yet decided to play Daphne, her character, as a druid. She has since decided to add levels of Cleric, which I fear may be an attempt to push a religious arc that I had asked her not to do, as well as Barbarian for reasons I have not been able to understand. Keep in mind, in the past, she has been notorious for not understanding her character sheet and abilities/spells with just ONE class.
Am I being too harsh shutting so many of her ideas down? Is she going to run this campaign off the rails? I’m not sure what to do at this point and I’m at the point where it’s difficult to be nice about it.
(PS, the problem player is my sister)
ETA:

1. Because we only have 10-15 sessions to do this campaign, i have written it to be fairly module based. My planning had essentially just been for iconic locations and villains in the scooby doo franchise for encounters and mysteries. The disagreements have usually stemmed from this player strongly suggesting (occasionally demanding) that certain locations, characters, or villains be added and i have said “no” or “maybe”.
   
2. For clarification, my players will still have lots of agency in this campaign. I have had other players come to me with ideas that could benefit/make cool and fun arcs for their characters which I am happy to implement. This player has not requested situations for their character, but instead continues to essentially try and write large chunks of the campaign.
   
3. To clarify what I mean by “religious arc,” this character essentially requested to do an evangelical christian arc in our fantasy campaign that I shut down for the comfort of other, non religious party members.
   

I wanted so badly to love the CatGenie A.I.!
I have two cats, one was a fastidious litter box user (note “was”), the other is extremely picky about his litter box. I work a job that requires me to occasionally be away for extended periods, if my roommates don’t scoop every day when I’m away, the picky cat will poop outside of the box. So, having a box that will be automatically immaculately clean all the time sounded like a godsend. I narrowed it down to two self-cleaning litter boxes that I had to choose from, one was the Litter Robot and the other was the CatGenie A.I.
After reading up on both machines, I finally settled on the CatGenie A.I. I bought it, and at $539, this is hands down the most money I’ve ever spent on a pet outside of veterinary care (or initial adoption fees).
The shipping was reasonably quick and when I got the machine, I was pretty happy. I was impressed by the general build quality of the machine. It certainly did not look like the manufacturer cheaped out on any part of the machine. All the plastic seemed high quality and part fitment was impressive.
In general, I found the machine pretty easy to set up, Based on the requirements of water, drainage, and electricity, there was really only one place in my house that I could set it up.
I was quite happy and excited to put the machine into use. Unfortunately, after 5 months of usage, this was the first and last time that I was genuinely happy with the CatGenie.
I very diligently followed the instructions on how to acclimate a cat to the device. The cat that was the diligent cat box user took to the CatGenie right away, He used it several times a day from the get go.
My other cat wanted nothing to do with the CatGenie. As instructed, I stopped cleaning the old box to make the CatGenie more appealing. As soon as the old box got too dirty, the picky cat pooped outside of the box. As the CatGenie instructions indicate, I put the stray poop into the CatGenie, this did not change anything.
I tried using cat activation mode, I tried manually starting the box, and I tried time activation. No change occurred.
One night, my roommate got a little drunk and thought it would be a good idea to sprinkle a little regular litter in the CatGenie and see what would happen (I did warn her not to do this, but I’m guessing she forgot about this while drunk). At this point, we were about 3 weeks into our CatGenie ownership and I was already very seriously considering sending the unit back for a refund.
Two things happened in the aftermath, one, the cats started using the box, and, two, the warranty was voided, so since I was now without a doubt out the $539, I was determined to make this machine work for my pets.
I put the machine back into manual cleaning mode because I did not want to risk cleaning it with the clumping litter in it. Once it finally got too gross, I vacuumed the litter out and tried a cleaning, at this point, it was too late, the clumping litter had gotten into the machine’s internals, and I had no choice but to completely take the machine apart and clean everything manually. It was disgusting, but I got the machine to work smoothly again.
Since, the cats were willing to use the box with just the aroma of a traditional litter box, I thought that maybe the issue was that they didn’t like the smell of the cleaning solution, so I changed to the unscented stuff. The cats were even less interested in the machine than they were with the scented solution.
I also thought that maybe the problem was that the lid was too confining so I tried it with and without the lid, again, no difference.
I decided to put a webcam near the box. What I discovered was that they were jumping in, maybe peeing, maybe not, then jumping out and pooping elsewhere (usually on the bathroom sink). If they did poop in the CatGenie, they never buried it.
Out of desperation, I asked my friends online if any of them had successfully used the CatGenie, one friend said that she transitioned them by lining the CatGenie in plastic, filling it with scoopable litter, then as she scooped the litter out, she slowly replaced it with CatGenie pellets. So, I gave this a try, I did actually get them both to start using the CatGenie with only one accident.
So, I thought this was a decent enough track record. I finally decided to pull up the plastic, put down all CatGenie pellets, go through the usage logs and find a time that they never use the box and set that as the cleaning cycle time, and see what would happen. For four days, it was great, they were both using it, and we were “accident” free. Then for seemingly no reason, they stopped being good, and I started finding poop on floor or on the sink again.
I felt like I was so close to having them use the CatGenie, I would not give up. I bought some cat attractant and mixed it into the CatGenie pellets and replaced it every day, I also bought repellent, I would thoroughly clean every place they would void outside of the CatGenie, spray it with repellent, and cover it in aluminum foil. So as to make all the places they wanted to poop/pee on as undesirable as possible and make the CatGenie as attractive as possible. So, here is how they responded to that: they would perch on the ledge of the bowl of the CatGenie and go on that, sometimes it would roll into the CatGenie, but most times, it rolled onto the floor.
It really felt like a war of wills, they were fighting me tooth and nail to not use the CatGenie and I was fighting with everything I could think of to get them to use it.
It was around this time that my apartment started smelling of cat urine. I think towards the very end, they were refusing to use the box at all. They would jump in, decide “no”, and go elsewhere. After coming home from a long weekend, I was nearly bowled over by the smell of urine and feces, I decided that the cats won, the CatGenie had to go.
I disconnected the CatGenie, put it in the basement, set up a new box with their old clumping litter, and then set to the process of locating everywhere they went outside of the box and thoroughly cleaning those areas. I had to replace several rugs, it took days for me to find everywhere they had gone and were hiding it from me.
As if the huge expenditure on the system that I won’t be able to get my money back on was not enough, the cat that was always good about the box started peeing and pooping in the same areas that the bad cat was using. So, by increasing the amount of times the bad cat went outside of the box, it made my good cat much less fastidious about box usage.
So, considering, the effect this device had on my cat family, I have to conclude that the CatGenie A.I. is actually worse than worthless. It made my situation worse.
At the end of the day, I still think the CatGenie is a phenomenal concept, it just needs some tweaking. Petnovations needs to find a way to prevent the device from flinging litter out of the box, I was astonished that the box does this even if the lid is in place. They need to find a way to completely get the poop out of the box because the smell the machine makes if it doesn’t get all of the poop out is absolutely unbearable. Those little chunks just wreak havoc!
I think the reason my cats would not take to the CatGenie was due to failures on two key points, smell and feel. These two elements are critical for cats. I think to the cats, the cat genie simply does not smell right to them, if they could find a sanitizing solution that smells like fresh cat litter, cats might be more willing to use the CatGenie. But the feel of the pellets is probably the CatGenie’s biggest failure, the pellets just do not feel like litter to a cat, the pellets are very large and they are made of plastic, this in no way emulates the type of substrate that a cat likes to void on. The fact that I saw my cats jump in and then jump out hundreds of times over the past 5 months reinforces that the pellets are just wrong. I think they need to be much smaller in size and made out of something else entirely. I think something like very small Hydroton that is coated with a sealant (to prevent urine from soaking in) would probably have more success with cats, Hydroton would feel more like litter because it is a form of clay.
The only way that I would give this device another try in its current form is if I had a young kitten that would be easier to train, taking two grown cats who are picky that have been using a traditional litter box for a decade are not going to easily change.
So, to summarize, I think the CatGenie A.I. deserves 5/5 stars as a concept device, the build quality is 5/5 stars, 2/5 stars for cost (this is such an expensive device), and negative stars for usefulness.
If my cats would have used it, I would have seen this device as a godsend, but instead it wound up being an expensive nightmare that worsened my cats’ behaviors.

I need advice on what to do with a problem player before the campaign even starts.
DISCLAIMER: I’m submitting this for my friend/DM as she is not a reddit user :)
I have been planning a Scooby Doo themed campaign for nearly a year now. Our party is set to start playing in a couple weeks and we’re all really excited to start. One of my players, however, has decided to make my final planning impossible for the last few months.
This player has continuously butted in on my planning with ideas that I have had to shut down. She then gets mad that I’m not choosing to implement them as the DM. Most of the party grew up watching Scooby Doo and is well versed in the plot and episodes. Because of this, I’ve been open to some suggestions, but at the end of the day everyone else knows that it’s up to my discretion if I decide to add it into the campaign.
This player, however, believes that her suggestions should automatically be implemented even if it screws up my plans and plot lines. Most of the things have been small disagreements, but my final straw was her becoming increasingly more upset that I won’t start the campaign at level 1. Like I mentioned, I’ve been planning for nearly a year and dropping 9 levels would mean I would have to do so many rewrites right before we start. Her argument is that “every Dimension 20 campaign starts at level 1” (which I have told her is not the case and doesn’t matter).
We’re not going to be running it for a long time, so I decided, as Scooby and the gang are seasoned adventurers, everyone will start at level 10. She has not let this go and continues to argue that campaigns should start at level 1. Her input is constant and insistent and I don’t know how to tell her that this isn’t her campaign to plan.
Now for her character. She has complained in the past that she doesn’t like being a healer, and yet decided to play Daphne, her character, as a druid. She has since decided to add levels of Cleric, which I fear may be an attempt to push a religious arc that I had asked her not to do, as well as Barbarian for reasons I have not been able to understand. Keep in mind, in the past, she has been notorious for not understanding her character sheet and abilities/spells with just ONE class.
Am I being too harsh shutting so many of her ideas down? Is she going to run this campaign off the rails? I’m not sure what to do at this point and I’m at the point where it’s difficult to be nice about it.
(PS, the problem player is my sister)
ETA:

1. Because we only have 10-15 sessions to do this campaign, i have written it to be fairly module based. My planning had essentially just been for iconic locations and villains in the scooby doo franchise for encounters and mysteries. The disagreements have usually stemmed from this player strongly suggesting (occasionally demanding) that certain locations, characters, or villains be added and i have said “no” or “maybe”.
   
2. For clarification, my players will still have lots of agency in this campaign. I have had other players come to me with ideas that could benefit/make cool and fun arcs for their characters which I am happy to implement. This player has not requested situations for their character, but instead continues to essentially try and write large chunks of the campaign.
   
3. To clarify what I mean by “religious arc,” this character essentially requested to do an evangelical christian arc in our fantasy campaign that I shut down for the comfort of other, non religious party members.
   

Hey all. New-ish US landlord here. I’m coming to you all about how to sensitively check that my tenant is doing regular maintenance/ cleaning the place as detailed in their contract.
It has become apparent to me that my tenant may be struggling with depression. Having suffered from past issues with anxiety myself I know how horrible it can be to know that you need to do something (scrub the toilet, cut the lawn, pay the bill, take trash to the curb), but have your issues inhibit your ability to consistently do so. However, my tenant’s recent issues seem to be contributing to the slow dysfunction of appliances and fixtures, and I fear that other issues may arise in the future which if left ignored could degrade more costly facets of the property.
Just a few examples:
• During a massive snow storm this past holiday season I got a call from her saying that the e-thermostat alerted her that the furnace was having trouble keeping up. Turns out that she hadn’t ever changed the furnace filter… Even though I had left a box of six furnace filters for her next to the furnace and written it in her contract.
• I got a call a week and a half after that that the brand new, reliable-brand, high-end refrigerator wasn’t consistently cooling and was resetting itself. When I arrived I found it packed with so much food that the door would barely close. There was no way for the fridge to circulate air so the motor was stalling. It had to be replaced.
• Two weeks ago my dad was in the neighborhood and when he drove past the house on his way home he noticed that the yard was close to 9” tall. When I drove past five days later it still hadn’t been cut. It has since been cut, but I’m concerned that it’s a habit and that rats will infest the property due to tall grass. Lawn maintenance and snow removal is written into her contract.
• The kicker: I texted her two days ago to see if any mail arrived for me recently(used to live there and USPS isn’t great at forwarding). Only then when I checked on her did she share that the toilet hadn’t been reliably flushing. I asked how long this was happening, and she stated “oh, about a month!” (a month without a reliable toilet in a single-toilet household?!). When I arrived at the house about 30 hours later to examine it she then told me “well of course it has been working since you texted”. I still went to look inside to be safe. To my horror I discovered that it was covered inside and out with a fine layer of piss, shit, and mineral deposits. Having lived there myself I know that even with a cleaning every three weeks it never got that bad. I’m worried that she isn’t cleaning the house, just tidying. As an aside to the toilet issue, she confided that the sink was no longer draining either… and it hadn’t been since Christmas.
How do I approach this sensitively while preserving the integrity of my property? Should I price out regular lawn care and a cleaning lady and include those costs in the rent, which is due for renegotiation in July? I’m actually looking to keep this lady as a tenant due to some reasons that would expose too much of her personal info for me to share here. She pays on-time. She has a great rental history. Her job can afford her more rent than is being asked currently.