I've been reading a lot of posts lately about good places in the US to ChubbyFIRE to, including recent and popular examples like Las Vegas, Austin, and Arizona... but I would like to put out there another very viable option that is currently not so mainstream (maybe also a good thing): Southwest Washington (SW WA).
The common goal for people in their search is finding a place that has the right mix of amenities, tax sheltering, cost of living, and scenery. DISCLAIMER: If this is NOT part of your criteria and you're NOT looking to optimize down from VHCOL locations, and are NOT considering other popular locations like Texas, then this post does NOT apply to you.
I've spent much of my career traveling literally all over the US and seeing a vast swath of metropolitans. My conclusion after maintaining as much neutrality as possible and factoring in the aforementioned criteria is that Southwest Washington is the best choice. This region consists of a few cities and is part of the Portland, OR metro. There is Vancouver, WA but it doesn't stand out for ChubbyFIRE folks as it's a flat, normal, and dense suburb. To the East is Camas & Washougal, where things get interesting, and I'll explain more below.
Here is why these two cities are worth considering.

1. Again, they are part of the PDX metro and just across the river from the Columbia. This means you're 20-30 minutes away from Downtown Portland and Portland International, which happens to be a great airport that's usually not crowded and highly ranked. From here, you're a 3-hour drive to Seattle and a 1-hour flight to the Bay Area.
2. Included with the obvious amenities of being in the metro of an actual city (i.e., not a pseudo city erected in a desert that is Las Vegas) is great food, from trendy food carts to more gourmet places. Food is competitive here and the bar is set quite high with lots of choices. Media and sensationalists like to exaggerate the homeless problem, which certainly exists, as it does in Austin and most other big metros, but it's not rampant.
3. Cost of Living - albeit it is getting higher like everywhere else, it is comparatively lower, especially on the West Coast. $1M for a house can get you a LOT of house.
4. No Income Tax AND No Sales Tax... this is also why I recommend living across the river in WA versus Portland, OR. WA is one of the 9 states that does not have a state income tax. If you need to buy a big ticket item like a TV and whatnot, just drive over the river to Portland and buy it there with no sales tax. You could even do most of your shopping there if obliged since it's so close. One of the very few, true metro areas that offer this combo.
5. Weather. Yes, the PNW rains and has overcast days and this one will be subjective. Maybe you prefer living in the scorching hot, dry desert of Las Vegas or Phoenix where it averages 100*+ instead, or you prefer the hot, humidity of Austin. I personally prefer the rain and having all 4 seasons in a year. If you consider the effects of global warming, being in this area may not be a bad thing in the years to come. It also isn't pouring ALL the time as some people think. It will drizzle and the winters are definitely wet, but Summer months from the end of May into October are beautiful and largely sunny days. Just look at California and how much rain they got this Winter, for being a "year-round" sunshine state.
6. Scenery... the nature is world-class. Trees, hills, mountains, rivers, lakes, and greenery are all around you. Drive East and you're at the coast and beach. Drive South East and you can go to Bend, OR, which is turning into a resort town for PDX these days. Skiiers/Snowboaders, Mt. Hood's Timberline lodge is open 10 months out of the year. The list goes on and on... but what is almost a SECRET to people is the Columbia River Gorge towards the East... a huge canyon that the river cuts through and hosts over 90 waterfalls. Just look at it: https://i.imgur.com/3QybyLD.jpeg
7. Now, more specifically on Camas & Washougal. Camas is a smaller, hilly, and upscale city with one of the best school districts in the metro. Great if you want to live in a more luxury-type suburb (gated communities, golf courses, etc. available). Washougal is right next door but uniquely features acreage properties if you're interested in having more space and privacy - while still being in easy access to all of the above.

That's my take and summary of why these 2 cities in SW WA stand out or should stand out.

So here’s the deal: I think that Frances Berwick who is currently the chairman of entertainment networks at NBCU (which includes NBC, Bravo, USA, SYFY, E!, Oxygen and Universal Kids) would add oversight of all of Warner Bros Discovery’s cable networks (including Discovery Channel, TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Science Channel, Travel Channel, Magnolia Network, Motor Trend, Investigation Discovery, OWN, TBS, TNT, TruTV, TCM, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang) with the exception of HBO and TCM which would be put under the purview of HBO head Casey Bloys who would become Chairman, CEO and Chief Content Officer for HBO, with Bloys reporting directly to CEO Jeff Shell. Sarah Aubrey who is HBO Max’s head of original content, would become co-Chief content officer of HBO, sharing the position with Bloys, whom she will report to. Aubrey would also serve as head of scripted content for peacock, reporting to Susan Rovner. This means she would become Chairman of US Networks for Discovery NBCU. Casey Bloys would stay on as head of HBO but would report to Mark Lazarus instead of Berwick. Cartoon Network President Michael Oulween would also add programming oversight of Universal Kids Temporarily until the channel shuts down. Oulween would also oversee kids and family content for peacock. Jason Sarlanis who oversees the T-Nets as well as HLN and Investigation Discovery and Howard Lee who oversees the D-Nets and TLC would leave the combined Company as their roles would be redundant. Sarlanis and Lee’s roles would be assumed by Berwick. Pola Changon, who oversees TCM, would report directly to Casey Bloys as the Channel would be put under the HBO group. WBD US Networks Chairman and CCO Kathleen Finch would also leave the company.
Susan Rovner who is the chairman of entertainment content for NBCU television and streaming would also add oversight for creative strategy for original entertainment for all of WBD’s cable networks (with the exception of HBO, which will be continued to be run by Casey Bloys and Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Adult swim, which will be continued to be led by Michael Ouwleen, as well as TCM, which will be continued to be led by Pola Changnon). She would also lead content for the combined HBO Max-Discovery+-Peacock streaming service (which would continue to have the peacock name). All of them would report to Mark Lazarus will be Chairman of Discovery NBCU television and streaming as would NBC News head Cesar conde. Rashida Jones is president of MSNBC would continue to report to Conde as would CNBC president KC Sullivan and Telemundo Chairman Beau Ferrari. Now here’s an interesting one. Corie Henson who is currently executive vp of entertainment unscripted content for NBCU Tv and streaming where she oversees reality programming for all NBCU’s of cable networks and streaming service Peacock, would also now oversee all unscripted content for the now former WBD Networks. In addition, Henson would also become President for the D-Nets, TLC, HGTV and Food Network with Henson overseeing all aspects of Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, Science Channel, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, HGTV, TLC and Food Network including programming and development alongside Susan Rovner in addition to her new role as EVP, unscripted content, Discovery NBCU taking some pressure off Berwick. Henson would also absorb Rod Aissa’s role of oversight for unscripted lifestyle and documentary programming in addition to her current role overseeing reality and talent completion and game show programming, meaning she would oversee all types of unscripted programming for the company. Aissa would leave the company as a result. So, Henson’s position would be, EVP, unscripted content, Discovery NBCU television and streaming, and president, D-Nets, TLC, HGTV, and Food Network, reporting to both Berwick and Rovner. Betsy Ayala and Loren Ruch, who oversee Food Network and HGTV respectively would stay on and report to Henson. For streaming JB Perrette, who serves as CEO of Global streaming and Games, would leave the company, and be replaced by NBCU direct to consumer and international chairman Matt Strauss who would also replace Gerhard Zeiler as international chief. Strauss’ new position would Chairman and CEO of streaming and international networks, Discovery NBCU, where he would oversee the non-Sky international networks reporting to both Mark Lazarus and Sky Group CEO Dana Strong. Kelly Campbell would stay on President of Streaming and Direct to Consumer for Discovery NBCU. Lisa Katz, who oversees scripted content for all NBCU’s broadcast and tv networks and the peacock streaming service, would also now oversee all scripted programming across all WBD cable networks (with the exception of HBO of course). Katie Hockmeyer, who oversees late night programming for NBC as EVP of Late night would now add oversight of all late-night programming across of the cable network portfolio as well as peacock, including Bravo and HBO, which include shows like Watch what happens live, Real time with Bill Maher and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Hockmeyer would report to both Frances Berwick and Casey Bloys. Jen Neal, EVP, Live Events, NBCUniversal Television & Streaming, would now oversee live events for all former WBD Networks (except HBO). Alex Wellen, Global President, and General Manager for Motor Trend Group would report to Casey Bloys as the entire Motor Trend group would also be put under the HBO Umbrella. So, Casey Bloys’ HBO unit would consist of HBO and its sister networks, TCM, Magnolia Network and Motor Trend. NBC Sports and WBD Sports would be merged into one company keeping the NBC Sports name with NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua becoming Chairman and CEO of Discovery NBCU Sports. All would report to Mark Lazarus who would be Chairman Networks and streaming at Discovery NBCU.
Warner Universal Pictures would be led by Donna Langley as Chairwoman, with Peter Cramer becoming chairman of Universal Studios, Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy becoming Co-CEOs of Warner Bros Entertainment, James Gunn and Peter Safran remaining as Co-CEOs of DC Studios, and Peter Kujawski continuing as chairman of focus features. Margie Cohn would stay on as president of DreamWorks Animation which will merge with Warner animation group and Chris Meledandri will stay on as CEO of Illumination. All would report to Langley.
Discovery NBCU content studios would be the television unit for the combined company. The division would keep the Warner Bros Television and Universal Television and Universal Content Productions names like how Disney keeps ABC Signature and 20th television names. The combined group would be led by Universal studio group chairman Pearlena Igbokwe with Universal Television president Erin Underhill, Warner Bros Television Group Chairwoman Channing Dungy and President Brett Paul and Universal Content production president Beatrice Springborn all reporting to Igbokwe. Warner Bros Domestic Television Distribution and NBCUniversal Syndication Studios would be merged to create Discovery NBCU syndication studios, which would serve as the broadcast and cable syndication and television distribution unit of Discovery NBCU studios. Tracie Wilson, who currently serves as Executive Vice President, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios & E! News, would become president of discovery NBCU syndication studios and E! News. The combined arm would have a variety of first run syndicated shows including Maury, Jerry Springer, Extra, Access Hollywood, the Steve Wilkos Show, Judge Mathis, the Ellen degeneres show, the Jennifer Hudson show, the people’s court, the Kelly Clarkson Show and more. It would also serve as the distributor of Off network syndication reruns of shows produced by Warner Bros TV and Universal TV including the law and order and Chicago franchises, The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Friends, The Office, Parks and Recreation, Smallville, The closer, Rizzoli and Isles, Full House, Dateline and more.
All these executives would report to Jeff Shell, who would become CEO of Discovery NBCU (the name of the combined company). Bonnie Hammer who is Bonnie Hammer who is currently vice chairman of NBC universal, would become President of Discovery NBCU. Warner Bros Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, would continue in his role as CFO for Discovery NBCU. Chief Human Resources and Global Diversity Officer Adria Alpert Romm, Chief Accounting Officer Lori Locke, General Counsel Savelle Sims, Chief Technology Officer Avi Saxena, Chief Development, Distribution and Legal Officer Bruce Campbell, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer David Leavy, and Chief U.S. Advertising Sales Officer Jon Steinlauf, would all continue in their roles that they had from Warner Bros Discovery at Discovery NBCU with Steinlauf now reporting to Global Advertising and Partnerships Chairman, Linda Yaccarino. Matt Bond who is NBCUniversal’s Chairman of Content Distribution would now report to Campbell as would Matt Schnnars, President, Content Distribution. Jen Friedman, NBCU’S EVP of commuincations would now be Chief Commuincations Officer with Leavy reporting to her. NBCU EVP and Chief Diversity Officer Craig Robinson would stay on in his position with Alpert Romm reporting to him. Discovery NBCU would have its headquarters at 30 Rockefeller plaza at the comcast building in NYC. Shell would continue to report to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.

​
A rule breaking truck driver takes a forbidden detour.
​
Don't Feed the Pumpkins
I'm typing this as a record of what has happened to me. If someone should find me out here, where ever here is, this is what happened and who is responsible. Also, out of the dozens of vehicles bogged down in this field, mine is the Blue Jay 2013 Freight Liner. If I should die and it is recoverable, it should go to my son, John Grainger in Antioch, Illinois.
I left Litchfield Illinois around 2pm on Halloween with a last-minute load of pumpkins destined for the Antioch Walmart. Despite the fact I was once that told Illinois is the #1 pumpkin producer in the country the itself state appears to be in the midst of a shortage. I was due in about 8pm, but I was trying get in by 6pm and after unloading, I was going to visit my wife Carly and my son for Halloween. It was going to be the first Halloween in my son's life that I was going to be there for trick o treating. My wife was making a big deal out of it and John was 10 now, so, she said he would be “scarred with disappointment” if I didn't show now. So, I probably should have gotten better sleep the night before and sue me, I was gear jamming and popping go-pills like popcorn. Don't look down on me, don't be fooled, this is just the nature of the trucking industry. Everyone does it and I'm not afraid to tell it like it is.
Just after Normal on 39 I hit a wall of traffic. I could hear on the CB that there is a hazmat incident up ahead and they require special teams to clear it off. I, like the other truckers, get to gabbing on the radio, looking for shortcuts. To my surprise, after scrutinizing this route several times before, I was informed about a “gutshot” shortcut just ahead that could get in me into my destination at least an hour earlier, even with the fact I had sat in the backup for at least 45 minutes at this point. A second comrade in gears piped in and stated that the shortcut was closed. The first driver contradicted him and stated, he had used it two weeks ago, it was wide open country land you could go 70 the whole way, and the only town along the way had burned down in an industrial accident 30 years ago. The second trucker chimed in again. He said it was closed for tonight and only tonight and not to use it. I disregarded the second trucker, exited the interstate and followed the directions of the first trucker.
Well, Carly, you always said it would be this way. You always said, I needed to learn how to follow directions to not cut so many damn corners all the time. You always told me didn't put in the work, and the funny thing is, for the first time, on this drive, get there, I did. Sure, I cut all the corners, but I wanted to to put in the work. But you're right, I never put a second of effort in, and if this is how it ends, I suppose you're right, I never will. But I guess, one way or another, you're getting what you've wanted, what you text me, what you don't tell me about, and what I didn't care about. I was coming home for him and damn it, I know it won't hold up in court but I want my boy to get the damn truck!
Anyway, I found the road, 2 lanes clear to the sky, surrounded by corn and then pumpkin fields forever. My straight shot, I pushed 80 the whole way flying on cracked asphalt, diesel, and go-pills. Ahead, there were barricades and I applied the brakes and barely stopped in time. I got out and saw they were chained up with a padlock to concrete posts in the ground. In theory, I could blast through them but I would sustain serious damage. The ground was a bit wet so I didn't think I could cross the ditch and field and not get stuck either. The barricades were not official in the least. They had a sign on them made out of it mailbox stick-on letters which said: “Do Not Feed The Pumpkins”. As far as I could see from my cab and binoculars, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the damn road. I said hell and I knew it would take hours to reverse course and get back in time – in time to even unload much less make it in time to go trick o treating.
And I said it wasn't worth it. I didn't bother to call. I'd just show up now. Because it wasn't my fault. So I started back, turning around with great difficulty. I traveled back 2 miles and saw small signs for a rest area. I must have missed it the first time, too deep into the zone I suppose now. I needed to pee and probably eat a bit before starting a roundabout way back, so I stopped. It was a little old 2 story joint with a small dinner on the 1st level and looked like 4 or 5 small motel rooms on top and oddly an outhouse for a restroom. I want to emphasize the outhouse because that is how you'll find and catch this guy, the guy who did this to me. It was Bill Shaw of Shaw's Shack, who did this to me. It had a sign with the building, it too was made of stick-on letters and vaguely resembled a huge ransom note. It read “Yes! We are open! We are the only rest area for 67 miles and 1 of 2 “tombstones” for the late great town of Pumpkin Grove Illinois – the former pumpkin capital of Illinois. Ask Your host, Bill Shaw about the Pumpkin-beef-bean stew!
The parking lot had three vehicles in it, not including my own, a silver Prius, a grand cheeroke with wood panels, and an older model chevy pick up truck. I went inside. The dinner was small, set in a rustic décor with old license plates nailed to the walls. The cafe had eight counter seats and two smaller tables near the two windows. There were two witnesses to what happened that night, to what Bill Shaw did – at least partial witnesses. There was the older man with stringy white hair and octagonal glasses – unfortunately, I didn't get his name. There was that irritating millennial – All I remember is the metal crap in her ears and lip. Hell, if I die and John starts ever pulling that crap, I'll come back and haunt the crap out of both of you. Anyway, now, I wish I could remember their names or something else about them to put here. I didn't care about either one of them enough to remember.
I guess that goes for Shaw too. He was a bit taller as sometimes I couldn't see his face while sitting at the counter because of the low lights in the ceiling blocking his face. He had gray hair. Hell. That's it. Anyway, the old man said he was part of a historical society, said he spent the better part of his past two years tracking down anyone or anything about Pumpkin Grove. The college student – of course – it was college student said she was from the school newspaper, looking for a spooky story. When she asked me where I was from, I didn't respond.
Shaw came from the kitchen with two big bowls of the famous Pumpkin-beef-bean stew for first two. He seemed taken back by my presence for a bit before saying “howdy” and trying to get real friendly with me. He asked what media I was from. I told him I wasn't from no media and I was trying to get through the barricade up ahead. Neither of the other two seemed to know about the barricade. Shaw said he didn't know anything about it either. I was suspicious of him then because of the lettering on the signs. But I didn't push it. I wanted to eat and he said my choice was the stew or stew. So the stew seemed fine. He said he wished he had more time to chat with me but he promised to tell the story of Pumpkin Grove to the two others but I was welcome to listen and ask questions. I didn't say it but I couldn't care less, I was going no where fast and I needed to eat.
He started off by saying he and his wife are among a handful of survivors of the fire that consumed the town of Pumpkin Grove some 30 years ago on Halloween night. Then his story descended into a cross between a rambling fading nightmare and a ghost story. He said, without hesitation, fear of consequence or remorse that he was accessory to a murder in his childhood. Specifically, some 40 years ago, again on Halloween, he was friends with a small group of young men including one named Donnie, who was a little slow and had a slightly misshaped head. He was picked on a lot by the Gerst Brothers, notorious town bullies and teenage thugs of a bad seed thanks to their neglectful alcoholic single father. Long story short, he said, the Gerst Brothers lured Donnie, himself and another 2 boys out to a pumpkin field where they gave back Donnie's missing dog. Apparently they kidnapped the dog and wrapped every inch of it in duct tape a few days ago. They watched us try to peel and pull the duct tape off while the weakened, hungry, and thirsty dog whimpered away its last in the field. Unbeknownst to any of us, Donnie had a pocket knife and he lost it as the Gerst Brothers cackled around him and the dead dog. He leaped up as they laughed and sliced the vein on their necks. One of the Brothers died quickly while Donnie and the two others fought the other to death. Shaw said he just stood there, covered in arterial blood splatters, watching Donnie and the others finish off the Gersts.
Much of the town was shockingly grateful to hear the Gerst Brothers were dead and everyone was all too happy to sweep it under the rug rather than have 4 of their sons incarcerated for decades when they were needed to help with the town's bread and butter – the Pumpkins. So, they buried the Gerst Brothers in that field and grew pumpkins on their corpses and no one really talked about it. The town paid off their father, who was too inebriated most of the time to care and he gleefully drank himself to death on the payoff only about a year later.
I didn't have much of a reaction to the story. The historian on the other hand, was hesitant to stay and keep writing and he made a brief protest concerning whether or not the story was true and whether or not he could legally listen to it. Shaw said it was both true and legal. After all, there was nothing left of the town and the remains were long gone and he himself, would not bare witness to himself. The college student's dumb metal encrusted mouth was agape in a mix of horror and disbelief.
I was waiting, patiently, might I add, for my stew. Shaw promised it would be up soon. He continued the story, stating that the fields produced abnormally well afterwards and 10 years later he was visiting his parents with his girlfriend for the annual Pumpkin fest. It was just that the pumpkins weren't just more numerous and larger, or more resistant to the rains and the fungus, they were alive and nothing could keep them tame or from spreading wider and wider. And everyone thought this was great at first, the profits were never higher but then weird things began to happen. Equipment went missing and two farm hands were crushed by a wagon full of pumpkins tipping over onto them in what was at first called a freak accident. Shaw recounted how he took his girlfriend through one of the patches and the vines seem to wind and grapple her legs, of course, Shaw's folks passed it off as her not being used to the mud but Shaw said he knew better.
Shaw continued to describe that over the days that led up to Halloween, the Jack O Lanterns on people's porches and elsewhere began to do some unusual things. Things like seemingly move by themselves from dusk to dawn, changing the carvings of their faces slightly, or appearing to “jump” off a table onto the porch without damage or apparent cause. On the morning of Halloween, Shaw said that he found his black cat, Lucky, incinerated in front of a jack o lantern as if it had breathed fire on to it from its mouth though they had long ago blown out the candle inside.
After the cat burning, the elderly man from the historical society tossed his spoon in his bowl. Shaw asked if something was wrong. The elderly man got up to leave and he said it tasted like bitter cold bull and his story was bull and thanked him for nothing. After checking the remaining contents of his bowl of stew, Shaw chased him out of the door, to his car, asking him what direction he planned to go home. When he peeled out of the parking lot he was headed southwest. Shaw came back in and threw up his hands.
I tell nothing but the truth, he said, most people can't handle it. Part of me wanted to go, but I was cozy there, it was warm and the story, while bull to me at the time, was entertaining enough. The SJW sitting down the way looked exhausted, barely keeping her eyes open as Shaw finished out the story. In short he said, Donnie approached him at dusk on Halloween while he and his family sat on the porch eagerly awaiting trick o treaters. Donnie said the Gerst Brothers are alive in the pumpkins and that they planned to burn the whole town down tonight. Donnie said, he had to tell Shaw because Shaw wasn't supposed to die, he was supposed to watch.
I rudely stopped him and demanded more stew. I was still hungry and the stew was somehow unsatisfying. When he returned, he finished the story, stating the town was suddenly engulfed in flames and their house in particular with Donnie on the porch, flash burned to the ground like napalm from an exploding pumpkin. He escaped with his family and his future wife in the pick up truck sitting outside now.
The college student said she felt like she needed to lay down, that she didn't think she could make back to the campus to the north. Shaw attended to getting her one of the rooms upstairs. I stayed down stairs and went to the back for more stew. I rubbed my eyes intensely and felt as if I too should stay for the night. But in the tug of war between fatigue and dexrine, the dexrine was slowly coming out ahead.
Next to the stew was a cutting board and a knife and on it was some bluish whitish powder which I found peculiar. On floor was a bottle of medication. It was Insomnex – a sleeping pill I use when I'm coming off of dexrine. The stew was dosed.
I ran to my truck and pulled out my dexrine and my revolver. As I climbed out of the driver's side, I could see Shaw running out of the dinner with a huge kitchen knife. I ducked under the trailer and back out on his side and pointed the gun at him.
What the hell I asked as I slowly advanced on him with my snub nose pointed at his head. He dropped the knife. He said, I just wanted to puncture your tires, I had to do something to stop you. I know you want to go north and I know you might be crazy enough and your truck tough enough to smash the barricades but I can't let you. I can't let anyone else go through, he said hysterically. I asked the dumb question about whether or not he set the barricades and just as I previously suspected, he did.
I'm supposed to watch, Shaw cried. No one can get through tonight, no can be allowed to. I told him to shut up as he rambled on about how he and his wife took it upon themselves to ward off travelers on Halloween Night. Its a cursed road tonight, he said, we're cursed to stay here and this is the best we can do to stop it from spreading. Its been calling us for 30 years, he went on, we tried to walk away but it kept on spreading, the pumpkins, he said gritting his teeth in anguish.
Maybe it was the dexrine and the insomnex working together, hell maybe it was the stew by itself but I just started to laugh as I guided Shaw back into the dinner and proceeded to duct tape him down to the dinner chair to make sure he could not cause anymore harm to anyone else until the police arrived. I had some cash on me, I wasn't a criminal, I wasn't going to make it seem like I tied him up and dinned and dashed, I was in the right, I was doing the lawful thing. So I left him exact change, no tip for the food. In the process of making change for myself, I found the padlock key in the cash drawer, I was certain of it at the time as I waved it in front of Shaw and he gasped and thrashed behind the duct tape the hardest.
I got into my truck and gunned it north towards the barricades, which, as I suspected was easily opened with the key I confiscated from Shaw. I got on my CB and started making emergency calls to the State Police, I gave them my name, the location of the diner, and Shaw's name. I was in the middle of nowhere so it didn't surprise me when I got static and no acknowledgment. I had no bars on my cell phone either but that is typical of central Illinois.
I was going along about 70. The sun was almost down but I hadn't seen the moon yet. I turned on the radio and found a classic rock station. The song was Born on the Bayou from CCR. The opening riff perked me up and reassured me that I had done everything all well and all good. If things held, there was a chance, I could get my freight unloaded and see John tonight. I was eagerly tapping the steering wheel waiting to bust into “When I was just a little boy...” But just as the lyrics should have entered, the radio station seemed to have accidentally reset the song, it just started over.
The sun faded away entirely and yet no moon came up. The sky was so dark but I didn't remember seeing any clouds or expecting any for that matter. The song continued restarting itself, the same opening again and again. I flipped through the other stations and all of them had it playing. Eventually, the digital clock on my dash began to spin wildly like the LCD numbers on the tuner while in scan mode. The truck buffeted and shook side to side despite my headlights showing no cause for it.
To my shock, ahead, in the distance was single traffic light. It was went from green, to yellow, and red, as any other traffic light but there were no lights or towns on this road. I slowed to 40, then 35 then to 30 as I entered an unnamed densely populated area with small buildings, stores, and houses and one traffic light. I came to a stop at the light and I looked around, locked my doors and tried to glimpse where I was. Where ever I was, I felt, I felt like I shouldn't be there. There were dim orange lights in some of the rooms of the houses at the edge of the intersection.
I looked up at one of the windows and I saw a figure with large head in the window. I couldn't believe my eyes at least not until the figure turned to face outward. It was a jack o lantern, a classic one with a black glow where the eyes, nose, and mouth sat. It was held up right by a thin vine structure that seemed to grow and stretch as it stuck its head out of the window and let out a barely audible shrill whistle and stared directly at me.
I gunned it. I blew the red light as the town seemed to collapse into nothing by dark green swelling pumpkin vine and a sea of glowing jack o lanterns in my side view mirrors. I hit the radio off because all I could hear on it was that whistle filtering through. I drove and the mass of jack o lanterns grew in the mirrors. I glimpsed the left and right windows and the plains were glowing black with more pumpkins rolling and creeping towards the road.
The road began to warp and bend as I started to red line my truck. The buffeting side to side became difficult to control as the engine groaned. I couldn't explain how the road began to shift nor how the moon, blood orange began to circle around me from horizon to horizon. Aside from the moon, I thought I was making progress as I couldn't see the vines nor the hundreds of blacklight pumpkins swirling after me.
The moon slowed and dipped down and I started climbing a hill. As I crested, the moon filled the entire windshield and more. It spun and then settled on a black light pumpkin face and bore down on the cab.
I don't know what happened next but I woke up in my cab. The was engine smoking. All I could see was mud and putrid rotten pumpkins as far as I could see. My Blue Jay was sunk up to the cab down in mud, vines and rot. It wasn't going anywhere in it without some serious assistance. To my right and left I saw dozens of other vehicles, most of them at least ten years old, also up their doors in mud and rot. Swarms of flies were visible all around in the boiling midday sun. I'm not really sure how long it has been or what time it really was because the clock on my phone is broken and simply reads as 99:99. I don't know what day it is. I have no cell signal and no radio.
Carly, I need to be honest with you. I cheated on you. Maybe a dozen times. I did it before I thought, before I knew you were doing it to me. I can't live by the rules of trucking, or marriage or anything. It is the road and you command it and that is the only rule. But now, I'm worried I've broken my last rule. I have no food and no water. There is no road here. There is only rule of a blazing sun with jack o lantern face that never sets. I fear that in time, unless I find help or help finds me, I will be feeding the pumpkins.
​
Theo Plesha

Throwaway account for privacy reasons.
I (21F) was born with hearing problems. I found out about it when I was in kindergarten, but growing up, I never believed I had hearing problems because I thought I heard everyone just fine. I ignored that they even exist.
In my teen years I was very social and friendly. I wouldn’t say I was an extrovert but I wasn’t an introvert either. I was loved by my coworkers and classmates. A lot of boys in my work/school had a crush on me.
During that time I was always working. From ages 15-18 I was in the food industry doing customer service.
After covid hit, I started realizing that I actually have trouble hearing people. When they had masks on I pretty much couldn’t hear what they had to say. I started gaining serious social anxiety. I was doing my college classes online and pretty much never went out and had zero friends. I only had my SO at the time who was the only one there for me and helped me with all my classes. I always struggled with school since I was a child, I don’t think I could have done my online classes without him. after classes became in-person, the thought of going back to school gave me severe anxiety. I completed my associates degree online with the help of my SO.
As time passed after covid, I started gaining serious social anxiety. I was not sure if it was because I was stuck home pretty much 24/7 during covid and lost my social skills or because I realized I have a hearing problem.
I applied for a job at best buy where my SO worked, and I absolutely hated any of my shifts without him. We had a work meeting for new employees where everyone had masks on and all the new employees would get up to demonstrate what they will do if so and so happens at the workplace, and I absolutely didn’t hear anything that was going on. When it was my turn to go, I ran to the bathroom and started bawling my eyes out, I was so embarrassed and anxious, I didn’t know what to do when I went back to the meeting. I eventually went inside and asked the manager to meet me outside, I told him about my hearing problems and he explained everything to me. I went back inside and did my part, but when I left and drove home I bawled my eyes out the entire way home. A new level of trauma was unlocked for me. This was the first time I was in this type of social environment where I couldn’t hear and had to talk as well.
A year or so after, I got married to my SO, luckily for me he made enough money and I had just completed my associates degree and didn’t have a plan to continue school, nor did I work during the time. So I decided I will be a housewife. And I loved it. I loved being comfortable in my own home and not having to have social anxiety in the outside world. This was a year ago.
Fast forward to now, I feel it biting me in the butt. We moved to a new state and i am so much happier moving away from toxic family/in laws but I am so codependent on DH that I can’t even make returns on my own. I will have him come to the mall with me to do my return, not because I’m lazy but because i’m afraid I won’t be able to hear the sales associate. I’m embarrassed I will have to keep asking them to repeat themselves and still not be able to hear them. Yesterday I had an orthodontist appointment for the first time in the new state we moved to, and I was so so anxious. My husband drove me there, I didn’t expect him to come inside with me but he did anyway. I was scared I wouldn’t be able to hear them but luckily I did. The doctors there always speak in a loud and clear voice. I felt very proud of myself that I did the talking on my own. I know it’s a small thing, but I don’t think anyone understands how hard it is to be in the outside world when you cannot even hear anything properly and don’t want to share it to anyone either.
I catch myself purposely ignoring people if DH and I are out for example in the elevator or a restaurant i’ll look down on my phone so that nobody talks to me, and if someone talks to me and I can’t hear them i’ll either say “yeah” or smile, and I leave without having no idea what they said. I hate going to the movies because I can’t understand anything that’s being said. I’m too used to closed captioning. I can’t understand what is being said in tiktok’s because I need airpods/headphones right in my ear to be able to understand. Because of this huge insecurity I refuse to have a social life, I am codependent on my husband when it comes to being in social situations. But I am afraid, when I have kids, and I have to take them to appointments, or go to their school, or whatever, how will I do it?
My DH is aware of all this, that’s why he is always there to help me. He understands me and will never not be there to help me in these kind of situations. But I wonder, will he ever resent me? For not being able to hear enough, for making him repeat himself when he talks to me, for asking him to come with me to certain places when I want him to be the one to talk to someone because I’m afraid I won’t be able to hear.
I don’t want to wear hearing aids, I can accept that I have hearing problems but I am not ready for the world to accept it. I just want to be able to hear again.

I recently came across this case and it really stuck with me. The last writeup here was 3 years ago, so I figured it's time to bring up this young woman again.
On July 11, 1978, a foreman with the New Mexico Highway Department of Transportation was working along Highway 219, at the junction of I-40 and US Highway 84, when he came across the body of a deceased young adult female. The location is in a remote area of Guadalupe County, New Mexico, about 28 miles west of the city of Santa Rosa.
An autopsy found that she had died between a few hours and a couple day prior, from two .22 caliber gunshot wounds to the back of the head. She was between the ages of 17 and 25, 5'8" tall, and approximately 145 pounds. She had blue eyes and her hair was strawberry blonde, though it may or may not have been naturally medium brown. She had had dental care within the last year of her life. In total, she had four fillings and only one wisdom tooth.
Her murder has been connected to serial killing duo Ronald Lanphear and Diana Geisinger, a couple who went on a cross-country killing spree in July 1978. The pair were arrested in October 1978, with Lanphear being sentenced to death after Geisinger testified against him.
The following additional information was provided by Geisinger to authorities after she was arrested:
Geisinger and Lanphear met the victim at rest stop somewhere outside of Perry, Oklahoma around 10pm the night of July 9th or July 10th, 1978. The victim stated that she was 17 years old and was hitchhiking to California to see her mother. The trio rode west together for several hours, briefly conversing about guitars and money (the victim "bragged" about the money she had spent on the guitar and on her trip). They stopped along the way at a coffee shop and then a bar.
At some point, Geisinger says she told Lanphear to let the girl out of the car. Some writeups state that this was when the girl asked to use a payphone to call her mother for "her birthday," while others state that the girl made the call when she was first picked up in Oklahoma. Other writeups also take this as meaning that July 11th was the victim's 17th birthday, though I read that as it possibly being the mother's birthday? I wonder if there's a verbatim account from Geisinger out there that would make this more clear?
They drove across a viaduct off the highway, and Geisinger states that she knew at that point that Lanphear was going to murder the girl, though they hadn't discussed it previously. Lanphear got out, opened the passenger door, and asked Geisinger if she wanted out. She said yes, and since she was sitting in the middle and Jane Doe was in the passenger seat, Jane Doe got out of the vehicle first. The girl was then shot in the back of the head by Lanphear and fell to the ground. Lanphear straddled her body and searched her pockets. He then grabbed his gun once more and shot the victim a second time, before rolling her body off a nearby "cliff." However, the area where her body was found is very flat with no visible cliff areas, so I'm guessing she was actually just rolled down the sloping area on the side of the highway.
Geisinger, who was still in the car, was instructed to go through the hitchhiker's belongings. "Drugs and papers" were thrown away. It's unclear what these drugs were and whether they were prescription or recreational. It's also unclear what the papers were, though many reports indicate that the girl was travelling with her birth certificate, and that was definitely one of the trashed items. They kept her guitar, which was later sold, and a coin purse containing $1.50, then drove away, continuing their journey to Las Vegas, Nevada.
If Geisinger's information is accurate, Jane Doe's body was found the same day she was killed, July 11th. Possibly her 17th birthday or her mother's birthday.
Identifying information:

• Blonde hair (possibly dyed), blue eyes
• 5'8", ~145 lbs
• Pierced ears, 3 times on the left, twice on the right
• Clothing: Dark brown moccasins; Blue denim Levi cutoffs; White and navy vest/halter-top type shirt
• Apparently knew how to play guitar
• May have been born on or around July 11th, or had a mother who was born on or around July 11th.
• Her DNA was sent to UNT for analysis in June 2019. No further information regarding that.

Ruled out: Laurie Amico, Angela Ramsey, Nancy Tharp, Benita Chamberlin, Connie Minchaca
Links:
https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Guadalupe_County_Jane_Doe_(1978))
https://storiesoftheunsolved.com/2021/04/15/guadalupe-county-jane-doe-1978/
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/17089 - *Postmortem warning\*
https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1497ufnm.html
Last writeup posted 3 years ago: https://www.reddit.com/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/f3wydj/16_guadalupe_county_jane_doe_guadalupe_county_new/

Looking to sell our sweet 16 tickets just for what we paid for them. Section 224 unobstructed views, two seats next to each other. Send me a DM please. We were hoping for Kansas. T-Mobile Center, Las Vegas this Thursday.

So if anyone is interested, an update:
Sunday I contacted Boost Mobile and told them I was on the way to the store to start the protest. I was then presented (for the first time after more than 25 hours of customer service chat) with a simple temporary solution - buy a new boost mobile sim card and activate it on my current locked phone with a new number until Boost gets their internal issues resolved so they can unlock the phone -
Simple, right- well, just coming up with the $6 to buy the SIM card at Target took until mid-day yesterday. Once I inserted it, you can guess the outcome- I can't activate it on my current plan- a plan that I once again paid for a week ago just to get them to release my port out pin, a plan that they have since added a credit to for Next months bill. They can't add it to that account or activate this sim card. To activate this sim card, I would have to pay for a whole new plan.
This is insanity, I get that- I haven't responded angrily to the people here attacking me- most everyone is ignorant to the reality of being homeless, and I can't get angry at them for that nor do I hope they will ever have the personal experience to understand -
I am trying here. I am a healthcare worker. I finally got an interview at WakeMed for a position I hope I get - trying to follow up with that is a big part of why I'm so desperate to have active phone service. I had to walk for two days to make that interview as my dog can't walk very far. I had to tie my dog out with a note while I did the interview - the first and last time (I hope) I have ever done that
I get it, my life, practically, would be so much easier without my dog, but she is all I have to live for. To people saying I am putting her in a horrible situation and dont care for her, I angrily object. I recently spent the last of my money on food for her rather than eat myself. 15 years ago I was homeless for 5 years. I tried repeatedly to get out of it, and it only 'stuck' when I got my puppy Arya 10 years ago. For 10 years I provided her with a home. Four years ago I got a job as a Patient Transporter which led to the rent to own situation on the trailer which turned out to be a scam. It is so easy to go back to homelessness once you've been in it, and I would have multiple times over the last ten years if not for her. Now I've been forced back into it.
So I can't give her up. I know I'm close to having to and it kills me everyday- she saved my life, she is my life. She never leaves my side. When I worked at the hospital I arranged a split shift schedule (10-2 and 4-10, 4 days a week) just so I could go home and walk her every day. I keep her warm and safe even when I can't do that for myself. She turns 10 next month.
I had an acquaintance that was letting me use his basement for her while I worked at a theater recently. My dad became deathly ill, I had to step away from that job and when I returned the acquaintance revoked the basement. There is no dog care or any solution that allows me to manage a theater and have a random schedule that bounces between opening and closing at 2am. I know for some people reading this they are screaming in their head to just get rid of the dog- I can't and won't unless I become incapable of caring for her.
The hospital position will be a set schedule that I can get dog care for her and will afford me the ability to get a place to live.
To everyone saying I should cut my losses and move on - in a normal world I would. Right up until I lost my home, I had a Pixel and Google Fi service. That phone was broken when I was hit by a car shortly after leaving the hospital - I was doing Uber eats on a scooter. I had to go to Boost Mobile as I was approved for an ACP plan.
Boost sent emails saying they had accepted the plan but they never sent me a phone and have charged me every month for 8 months for it. I had tried for months to get my ACP ported over to qlink and now that I have and thought I was finally out of Boosts clutches this whole thing started again.
I know, believe me, about the internal issues- these issues predate that by months- still, I was as patient as possible through the hack issues and would have never tried the port out if I hadn't been told last week that my phone was unlocked and finally given the port out pin- well, not given it, they made me pay them for another month of service before they would give it to me. I am not expecting them to ever resolve the hack issues at this point- this is not the issue. The issue is they told me my phone was unlocked.
And now, I've spent even more money - I know $6 is nothing to most, but I have nothing - only to realize once again I'd been offered another solution just to get me out of chat.
And to those telling me about wifi and such, believe me, I know- I had a tablet that I loaned to another homeless person when his phone broke and then he disappeared. I currently can only do any of this in wifi, but that presents one of the unknown issues of being homeless with a dog - to be on wifi I need to be in a public place and every hour I'm sitting outside Panera or Starbucks is another hour where someone may act on misplaced concern about a homeless dudes dog. As of now, when I leave this place and walk 40 minutes back to my tent, I will then spend the night staring at the ceiling, wondering if I'm not hearing about an emergency with my father and just going over the Cruelty that is the Boost Mobile situation over and over again until I finally fall asleep in the early morning
And I know a Hunger Strike is crazy. I know this is insane- I do have mental health issues- depression and serious difficulty sometimes with social interaction, and lately every day has been a bad mental health day- I took that into consideration when putting off the Strike.
I did get the meeting with the Housing guy moved to tomorrow, so my plan now is to return to the Store Thursday for the strike. To the people saying I shouldn't be protesting at a store that can't do anything - I completely agree! Constantly phone and chat customer service at Boost will push this idea that you can just go to a Boost Mobile store and they can help. This is a lie and they know it. I point this out. I point out that it will be a four mile walk to that store. I point out that the nice but frustrated gentleman that owns that store only has the option of calling Boost support - he just sells phones. Yesterday still, I was told multiple times to go to a store for this new issue with the SIM card.
I am desperate. I have no options. I can't protest Boost Mobile by 'sitting' online. The Boost store is the only physical location where I can stage a protest. And I know a protest makes little sense since no one will care. My only thought is that an attack on the PR front is particularly undesirable to them currently since they are trying so desperately to keep the DISH hack under wraps
I never once panhandled in all the time I was homeless years ago- I'm capable of work and hate the idea of strangers helping me when I can correct things myself, so I can't beg now. But, if there is anyone in the Raleigh area (or someone willing to ship one to my mom's or friends address) that could loan or give me an no longer needed, unlocked phone, I could activate my qlink service and be done with this until I get the stability again to sue the crap out of Boost Mobile. I would in theory only need the phone until they resolve the internal issues at boost and can unlock my current phone.
I do encourage everyone here that may be having similar issues with Boost to go to the Better Business Bureau and report them or post to a thread discussing Class Action lawsuits even though our contracts prohibit us from participating in one - they seem responsive in those arenas.
So hopefully, good news about temporary housing tomorrow - I've been reluctant to even pursue that as there are people with children who need it more and despite the stress of it, I'm actually capable of getting out of this. Then Thursday, I go to the Boost store with a tent and signs and start my protest.

So if anyone is interested, an update:
Sunday I contacted Boost Mobile and told them I was on the way to the store to start the protest. I was then presented (for the first time after more than 25 hours of customer service chat) with a simple temporary solution - buy a new boost mobile sim card and activate it on my current locked phone with a new number until Boost gets their internal issues resolved so they can unlock the phone -
Simple, right- well, just coming up with the $6 to buy the SIM card at Target took until mid-day yesterday. Once I inserted it, you can guess the outcome- I can't activate it on my current plan- a plan that I once again paid for a week ago just to get them to release my port out pin, a plan that they have since added a credit to for Next months bill. They can't add it to that account or activate this sim card. To activate this sim card, I would have to pay for a whole new plan.
This is insanity, I get that- I haven't responded angrily to the people here attacking me- most everyone is ignorant to the reality of being homeless, and I can't get angry at them for that nor do I hope they will ever have the personal experience to understand -
I am trying here. I am a healthcare worker. I finally got an interview at WakeMed for a position I hope I get - trying to follow up with that is a big part of why I'm so desperate to have active phone service. I had to walk for two days to make that interview as my dog can't walk very far. I had to tie my dog out with a note while I did the interview - the first and last time (I hope) I have ever done that
I get it, my life, practically, would be so much easier without my dog, but she is all I have to live for. To people saying I am putting her in a horrible situation and dont care for her, I angrily object. I recently spent the last of my money on food for her rather than eat myself. 15 years ago I was homeless for 5 years. I tried repeatedly to get out of it, and it only 'stuck' when I got my puppy Arya 10 years ago. For 10 years I provided her with a home. Four years ago I got a job as a Patient Transporter which led to the rent to own situation on the trailer which turned out to be a scam. It is so easy to go back to homelessness once you've been in it, and I would have multiple times over the last ten years if not for her. Now I've been forced back into it.
So I can't give her up. I know I'm close to having to and it kills me everyday- she saved my life, she is my life. She never leaves my side. When I worked at the hospital I arranged a split shift schedule (10-2 and 4-10, 4 days a week) just so I could go home and walk her every day. I keep her warm and safe even when I can't do that for myself. She turns 10 next month.
I had an acquaintance that was letting me use his basement for her while I worked at a theater recently. My dad became deathly ill, I had to step away from that job and when I returned the acquaintance revoked the basement. There is no dog care or any solution that allows me to manage a theater and have a random schedule that bounces between opening and closing at 2am. I know for some people reading this they are screaming in their head to just get rid of the dog- I can't and won't unless I become incapable of caring for her.
The hospital position will be a set schedule that I can get dog care for her and will afford me the ability to get a place to live.
To everyone saying I should cut my losses and move on - in a normal world I would. Right up until I lost my home, I had a Pixel and Google Fi service. That phone was broken when I was hit by a car shortly after leaving the hospital - I was doing Uber eats on a scooter. I had to go to Boost Mobile as I was approved for an ACP plan.
Boost sent emails saying they had accepted the plan but they never sent me a phone and have charged me every month for 8 months for it. I had tried for months to get my ACP ported over to qlink and now that I have and thought I was finally out of Boosts clutches this whole thing started again.
I know, believe me, about the internal issues- these issues predate that by months- still, I was as patient as possible through the hack issues and would have never tried the port out if I hadn't been told last week that my phone was unlocked and finally given the port out pin- well, not given it, they made me pay them for another month of service before they would give it to me. I am not expecting them to ever resolve the hack issues at this point- this is not the issue. The issue is they told me my phone was unlocked.
And now, I've spent even more money - I know $6 is nothing to most, but I have nothing - only to realize once again I'd been offered another solution just to get me out of chat.
And to those telling me about wifi and such, believe me, I know- I had a tablet that I loaned to another homeless person when his phone broke and then he disappeared. I currently can only do any of this in wifi, but that presents one of the unknown issues of being homeless with a dog - to be on wifi I need to be in a public place and every hour I'm sitting outside Panera or Starbucks is another hour where someone may act on misplaced concern about a homeless dudes dog. As of now, when I leave this place and walk 40 minutes back to my tent, I will then spend the night staring at the ceiling, wondering if I'm not hearing about an emergency with my father and just going over the Cruelty that is the Boost Mobile situation over and over again until I finally fall asleep in the early morning
And I know a Hunger Strike is crazy. I know this is insane- I do have mental health issues- depression and serious difficulty sometimes with social interaction, and lately every day has been a bad mental health day- I took that into consideration when putting off the Strike.
I did get the meeting with the Housing guy moved to tomorrow, so my plan now is to return to the Store Thursday for the strike. To the people saying I shouldn't be protesting at a store that can't do anything - I completely agree! Constantly phone and chat customer service at Boost will push this idea that you can just go to a Boost Mobile store and they can help. This is a lie and they know it. I point this out. I point out that it will be a four mile walk to that store. I point out that the nice but frustrated gentleman that owns that store only has the option of calling Boost support - he just sells phones. Yesterday still, I was told multiple times to go to a store for this new issue with the SIM card.
I am desperate. I have no options. I can't protest Boost Mobile by 'sitting' online. The Boost store is the only physical location where I can stage a protest. And I know a protest makes little sense since no one will care. My only thought is that an attack on the PR front is particularly undesirable to them currently since they are trying so desperately to keep the DISH hack under wraps
I never once panhandled in all the time I was homeless years ago- I'm capable of work and hate the idea of strangers helping me when I can correct things myself, so I can't beg now. But, if there is anyone in the Raleigh area (or someone willing to ship one to my mom's or friends address) that could loan or give me an no longer needed, unlocked phone, I could activate my qlink service and be done with this until I get the stability again to sue the crap out of Boost Mobile. I would in theory only need the phone until they resolve the internal issues at boost and can unlock my current phone.
I do encourage everyone here that may be having similar issues with Boost to go to the Better Business Bureau and report them or post to a thread discussing Class Action lawsuits even though our contracts prohibit us from participating in one - they seem responsive in those arenas.
So hopefully, good news about temporary housing tomorrow - I've been reluctant to even pursue that as there are people with children who need it more and despite the stress of it, I'm actually capable of getting out of this. Then Thursday, I go to the Boost store with a tent and signs and start my protest.

So if the sources are correct, Campos is eyeing Osimhen. We all knew that if the sale were to happen the price tag would be atleast 100 mill.
Osimhen is the number 9 that Paris lacks and would be awesome to get him if possible. On the other hand, we need to free up around 150 mil per year in wages to meet FFP reqs.
I think it is clear that if this deal goes through, we are getting rid of Neymar and Messi to free up funds for transfer and decrease the wages. Messi+Neymar alone are using up over 10% of our overall wage budget per annum by reports, a figure of almost 80 mil euros, going by the reported figures.
Here's a food for thought, M'Bappe leaves with them. What happens if in 1 transfer window we lose all 3? Messi to Barca/America, Kylian to Liverpoo/Madrid and Neymar to... some club that wants a, then, 32 year old injury-prone Brazilian on a massive salary.
Kylian's departure is for his own sake. Paris has shown to be incapable of building a worthy team around our superstar and even with capable new blood, the leadership of the club is shameful. So his departure is not such an unlikely option after so many years of an open free fall to failure while in our jersey.
We get rid of the wage issue, but what now?
Who do we recruit after Osimhen?
My thoughts,
The managment must have known of the departures weeks maybe months prior. Stack up on academy products with Paris blood in them and capable French players from L1. Get youngins in the machinery and get the juices flowing.
We lose out on some sponsorships, but not many. Most of our sponsors are provided from our Qatari investors friendships in the business realm and their own businesses. They won't quit, becase (as of now) Paris is worth over 3B euros. A cash cow, even for them.
Get ready for a few season of rebuilding and oscillating results (even more than this year). Hell, maybe even a Europa League run for a year or two (proven to not be too bad for a club if you look at the comp this year for example).
But then we come out on top, with a fresh mindset, fresh team and a coach that has been here since the rebuild started (Galtier, Tuchel, Zidane, Mourinho that is another topic in itself).
What will probably happen?
We lose Messi, thankfully. Neymar and Kylian stay.
Neymar is too old and too out-of-form for anyone to take him so he runs his contract out till the end with no real contribution except for taking the money.
Kylian leaves the next summer, for free, to Real and in his prime.
We recruited some more mercenaries and mediocre players for too much money in the meanwhile.
We still have no soul, no fight in MOST of us (excluding known players in the squad who love Paris already) and are back where we started, only now we have no magic in our attack!
Please share your opinions in the comments on the future of Paris and I understand I went off-topic, but I was just trying to see what everyone thinks the future holds for us.

I am not connected with this group, but did receive it as part of my “real job.” Sharing of my own free will and not offended if it gets deleted. I mean, they did not use WeHo, so they lose points. ;)
ARTVILLE to Launch September 29-October 1 in the Wedgewood Houston and Chestnut Hill Neighborhoods of South Nashville Highlighting Nashville’s Visual Arts Community
Artist Applications Open Now at Artville.org
Nashville, Tenn. – March 21, 2023 – Nashville is a city well known to music enthusiasts, food lovers and sports fans. And now art lovers too. ARTVILLE will be a city-wide gathering and celebration of the vibrant art scene in Nashville. Mark your calendars.
Announced today, ARTVILLE is a three-day event connecting the Nashville community through a series of art installations and experiences throughout the Wedgewood Houston and Chestnut Hill neighborhoods of South Nashville—a hub for the arts, design, entertainment, culinary experiences and much more. Its inaugural event is slated for September 29 - October 1, 2023.
Founded by Nashvillians Samantha Saturn, Director of The American Artisan Festival, and Jack Davis, Founder of Good Neighbor Festivals, the vision for ARTVILLE is to establish a premiere visual arts weekend in Nashville. Together, temporary, site-specific works throughout the neighborhood, immersive experiences, along with indoor and outdoor retail art events will deliver an elevated yet accessible civic art experience that unites art lovers, collectors, and visitors alike.
Saturn shares, “Imagine the long-term impact of an immersive and inclusive high-quality annual visual art festival experience in Nashville. It will enrich our city, bring local artists to the forefront, draw in national artists and tourists alike, and show art collectors that contemporary art and Nashville’s unique spirit go hand-in-hand.”
In conjunction with the announcement, ARTVILLE’s ‘call for artists’ offers a variety of ways for artists to get involved. Local and regional artists of all mediums are encouraged to apply to showcase work through public art installation awards of up to $10,000, artist exhibitor booths at the festival, as well as an option to sell a single artwork as part of the community art show hosted that weekend.
Founding partners supporting the public art grant funding for ARTVILLE include the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp., Adventurous Journeys (“AJ”) Capital Partners, Hines, Cresset Partners and Core Fund. Founding partners have committed to supporting ARTVILLE for three years with the understanding that ARTVILLE will continue to grow and expand in future years throughout Nashville.
Artville invites local Nashville galleries, artists and businesses to participate in the ARTVILLE experience. If you are an artist or business interested in learning how to get involved visit www.artville.org.
ARTVILLE has four core programming initiatives:
PUBLIC ART INSTALLATIONS Curated to include both local Nashville artists as well as nationally recognized artists, ARTVILLE will fund up to ten public art installations and murals which will all reside within the Wedgewood Houston and Chestnut Hill neighborhoods of South Nashville.
AMERICAN ARTISAN @ ARTVILLE Shifting from its long-standing location in Centennial Park, this nationally recognized retail fine art and craft event will relaunch in conjunction with the festival featuring over 125 high-quality fine-art, craft, furniture and mixed-media artists exhibiting throughout the neighborhood.
NASHVILLE’S (LARGEST) COMMUNITY ART SHOW Artists of all ages and backgrounds are invited to apply to show works in Nashville's largest community art show. The works will be displayed throughout the ARTVILLE weekend and available for sale at the show.
ARTVILLE AFTER DARK Nashville will come alive at night with ARTVILLE After Dark, a series of night-time events focused on bringing art to life.
ARTVILLE will also feature a host of supporting programming including live music, culinary artists, patron and VIP events, arts educational programming, activities for kids and families, as well as community outreach to ensure broad participation.
For more information and to submit an artist application, please visit www.artville.org. To stay up to date on all things ARTVILLE follow @artvillenash and visit artville.org.

- Payment Methods That I Accept: PayPal Friends and Family, Zelle, or Venmo Friends Payments.
- I DO NOT Accept PayPal Goods and Services or Venmo Goods and Services Payments.
- If the Payment Provider asks that you put a note, just put food emojis. No firearms/firearms accessories related notes.
//////////////////////// ITEM(S): ////////////////////////
Aimpoint T2 is not for sale and scope mount is already sold
- SAI 1-6 FFP 30mm 5.56 BDC LPVO and throw lever: Made by the guys who make the Elcan Specter line of optics. Everything is like new. No scratches anywhere, glass is in perfect condition. Any dots you see in scope glass pics are reflections of light bulbs.
Link to view reticle - https://armament.com/sai-optics-model-sai-6/
Video Reviews:
u/C_Does Review - https://youtu.be/ri6A7AFwKT4
u/C_Does Unboxing - https://youtu.be/No9V8ehWxjo
Dark Lord of Optics Review - https://youtu.be/ROkRQM9PDMk
SAI Scope comes with throw lever, box, paperwork, killflash, flip covers, everything that you get when you buy this thing brand new.
$970 for the scope + $30 throw lever = $1,000

Hey, here are three things I've gotten wrong in my budgeting career. Hopefully you can learn from these mistakes so you don't do the same when you go to present your annual plna:
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#1. Two for ones: Allowing hiring managers to hire two “lower-cost” employees for one budgeted position.

• Exchanging one expensive head for multiple less-expensive heads rarely results in as “great” of savings as you think.
  
  • The fringe benefits chew up lot’s of cost savings (e.g., Sweden is +40% benefits, as we discussed above).
  • Your revenue per head metric gets thrown off.
  • You’re usually hiring them in a different country, creating an administrative and legal burden to localize if you don’t already have a hub there.
• I worked at a company where we ended up spending millions of dollars to create a Backoffice in Eastern Europe. Within three years the market rates for salaries and benefits for those employees had jumped about ~40%, and the labor arbitrage was really slim.
  

Tip:

• Stress to leaders that hiring two employees for one will throw off your productivity metrics.
• The only place I have seen this work out OK is when you are trying to move towards a lower cost sales motion and are hiring BDRs and inside sales reps in-lieu of enterprise reps.
• Why does it work in this situation? Because the Enterprise reps also get a dedicated System Engineer and BDR, which you won’t need anymore. So you are actually trading, say 2 for 2, instead of 2 for 1.
• Otherwise, don’t do it. Trust me.

#2. Failing to break travel into internal vs external buckets

• Travel budgets at most companies get out of whack not because reps are taking “too many important customer meetings”. It goes bad when:
  
  • There are too many inter-department meetings going on, and usually at places where there isn’t an office to use, so you have to pay for space. Or…
  • Way too many people are getting invited to conferences

Tip:

• Break the travel budget into Internal and External buckets
  
  • External travel is to generate sales, meet partners, attend conferences.
  • Internal travel is to visit colleagues, strategize, and watch your boss order weird IPAs (All Hands, Small Hands).
  • By looking at travel from these two end goals, you should be able to come up with an average number of trips for each type of activity by role type.
    • I break it down to the (Hotel Avg Nightly Price x Avg Nights per Trip) + Avg Domestic Flight Cost + (Daily Food Stipend x Avg Nights) by role type and travel frequency.
    • I revise the assumptions slightly for external travel to be a bit more expensive compared to internal travel.
    • And then I forecast a number of trips per quarter per role type… we’ll do a full post on this in the future.

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#3. Forgetting to include price increases in your software spend forecast.

• This one is funny, because we always seem to remember to include our own company’s price increases within our topline revenue forecasts, but forget to include the nearly inevitable price increases our own vendors will punch us in the face with.
• So before you pat yourself on the back because you built a super slick budget that scales Miro licenses with the product team’s hiring plan, you also have to remember that the price will probably go up per license next year, unless you are on an ironclad multi year plan.

Tip:

• Take whatever last year’s budgeted price per head is and increase it by 4% to 5%.
• If it’s usage based, step up the the forecast by an additional by 2% to 3% per quarter to give yourself some wiggle room.

So those are 10 boobytraps to be aware of. I’ve tripped on all of them while operating in the trenches. I revisit this list before closing out the budget each year. I’d encourage you to make a list of your own, since when you are moving fast and having a million conversations with department leaders, some of the seemingly obvious stuff can fall by the wayside.
And if you're looking for similar FP&A content a weekly basis, you can get it for free by signing up here.

I already make popular accessories for broncosport, and I’m looking for someone with a full-size bronco to create accessories for. You will be compensated with free accessories after they are created. I just need measurements of some of the knobs on the dash. After measurements are taken, I will create the accessories and then we will test fit them on your car and you will get to keep them at the end in whatever color you want.

I’ve found myself here to broaden my spectrum of apartment searching. I’m a single mom with a middle school-aged son currently living in Wisconsin, hoping to sign a lease sight unseen in Las Vegas. What I am finding discouraging is every apartment I like on apartments.com has more bad than good reviews. Not the typical management complaints, but gates being left open for homeless to come in and break into cars, sometimes apartments, robberies at gunpoint in the parking lot. Is there anyone here with a recent review of a place they actually found safe? And where the pool isn’t closed half of the year or more? Just looking for some more honest reviews. Many thanks!!

We regularly see posts in bourbon asking for Bourbon Trail trip recommendations. My wife and I just returned from a trip to Bardstown, and I wanted to offer you guys some feedback on our experiences. Hopefully you will find them useful for planning your own trip to Bardstown.
First, a very special "thank you" to u/Old_Riff_502 . Old Riff always posts very useful information in the forums. I also privately messaged him and I was amazed with the amount advice that he provided on the area. I don't think we would have had nearly as a excellent of a trip had it not been for him. Thank you again!
Hotel: We stayed at the La Quinta Inn & Suites from Wednesday evening until Sunday morning. The hotel was new, clean, and offered free breakfast every day (although we never actually ate it). The hotel is easy to get in and out of. It seemed like we were only a five minute drive away from anywhere we were trying to go. However, it's not very centrally located. You're not walking anywhere important from the hotel. The other knock on the hotel (and this seems more just industry standard these days), is that we never had anyone come in to do a room refresh at all during our trip. Nobody took out the trash, refreshed room coffee, or soaps/shampoos. That being said, I would not mind staying here again at all!
Distilleries (listed in order or preference):

• Kentucky Cooperage - I know it's cheating....this isn't technically a distillery. But hear me out. Kentucky Cooperage is located in Lebanon, KY which is maybe a 30-minute drive from Bardstown. It may have been my favorite experience of the whole trip! The visitor's center is very unassuming; it looks like a small store in a strip mall. But the magic happens when you are shuttled across the street to walk the factory. Watching these craftsmen create bourbon barrels was impressive! The skill and meticulous attention required for each barrel was very cool to witness. I think this was one of the cheaper tours as well at ~$15.
• Jim Beam - Beam Made Bourbon - The James B. Beam distillery is located in Clermont, KY, which was a 25-minute drive from Bardstown. Although it does feel sterile and corporate feeling at times, I had an excellent time! The tour runs like a well oiled machine! Our tour guide Terry was knowledgeable of the distillery and the area. The sheer scope of the Jim Beam operation is mind boggling! Many generic distillery tours start to get repetitive. But I thought the Jim Beam tour was one of the best. The site and setting are really cool. There is also a spot where you can select a bottle of Knob Creek 9-year single barrel and watch it get filled through the bottling process. You can then take home your bottle for $60. The tasting was probably my favorite of the trip. We were given Jim Beam White Label, Basil Hayden 10-year, Knob Creek 9-year, and then a bourbon of your choice - Bakers 7, Legent, or Knob Creek 18-year. The store had some interesting bottles. There was a distillery exclusive experimental batch of something which looked to be about 250 mL and was $70. When they opened that had a bottle of Little Book and a bottle of Booker's for sale. I missed them both. There were plenty of bottles of Knob Creek 18-year which were selling for $180, and there was a Jim Beam Lineage which looked fancy but was selling for ~$280. I spoke to our tour guide after the tour for a bit. After the tour you walk back down through the gift shop and I noticed them putting another bottle of Booker's on the shelf. I was able to purchase this for $100. So it seems like they do restock some items throughout the day. There is also an excellent restaurant on site called the Kitchen Table (more on this later).
• Bardstown Bourbon - Rickhouse Tasting - This was a very unique experience. Bardstown Bourbon is a very modern facility, and the experience feels different from many from the long established brands. This tour was done in a very cold rickhouse (apparently they are always cold). Our tour guide gave us an overview of Bardstown Bourbon as a brand and some of the things they are working on. We then proceeded to get samples poured directly from the barrel via a whiskey thief. We tried a wheated bourbon which he said is part of their Origin series, a regular bourbon (which was not released yet), and a 95/5 rye. We then proceeded to go to a speakeasy type tasting room to for our last sample of Fusion #8. This was followed up by a walk back to the gift shop where we were told we would get to keep our sample glasses. The restaurant's food looked wonderful but we didn't eat. There were also a TON of pours available at their bar. I was interested in purchasing the Origin bourbon, but he said that they were sold out. I later found one a Total Wine. They did have quite a few bottles for sale though - many of Bardstown collaborative releases, Bardstown only releases, as well as bottles that use Bardstown to make their bourbon.
• Maker's Mark - We did the standard Maker's Mark tour. The grounds were great! Very hilly and picturesque. Unfortunately, we were visiting in the winter, so it was not very colorful. But I could see this being amazing in the spring or fall! The history explored was very interesting. The tasting was wonderful, as I always enjoy Maker's Mark. We tasted regular Maker's, Maker's Cask Strength, Maker's 46, Maker's 46 Cask Strength, and a French Toast stave select. We purchased a bottle in the gift shop and we were able to hand dip it which was pretty cool. I was hoping to have lunch here, but their restaurant was being redone. They had a tasting bar opened which offered a limited selection of Maker's pours and cocktails. I really enjoyed the Makers 46 cask strength, and was hoping to buy a bottle. But that was unavailable. They had standard Maker's bottles for sale, Maker's 46, standard Maker's cask strength, and a Blueberry stave select bottle for purchase. We chose a standard Maker's with a limited edition label where some of the proceeds support women's education.
• Wilderness Trail - This is a bit of a hike from Bardstown - probably about 45-minutes. But I thought it was well worth the trip! Wilderness Trail is a very modern facility. They really put an emphasis on the science behind the bourbon. I thought it was very cool to learn about the variety of yeasts utilized by Wilderness Trial. This was a pretty generic distillery tour. The tasting is done in the gift shop, which got a little loud at the end due to another tour coming in. We tried a wheated, a higher rye, a cask strength, and their rye. To me, much of Wilderness Trail's rye comes off as minty, and that is a turnoff for me. But their high-rye standard bourbon was a favorite of mine! We spoke to the tour guide after the tour, and he said "I've got something for you to try". We tried a three barrel blend of master distillery selected bottles - one wheated and one high-rye. I liked the high-rye and purchased a bottle for about $65. They also had a limited release for a program they are doing with the Frasier museum which was available for purchase. It was a 6-year rye (it might have been 7-years, I forget at this point) for $135. Not being a fan of the rye, I passed on this.
• Heaven Hill - You Do Bourbon - This was a pretty cool experience! Heaven Hill's distillery was CROWDED with people. It seems to be a very popular stop on the Bourbon Trail. The You Do Bourbon experience was pretty pricey at $40 per person. But it was also really cool! We would each have the opportunity to purchase a bottle of our choice at the end of he tasting. 20 of us were taken back to a classroom setting, and we got right to tasting. We each had four samples in front of us - Bernheim 7-year Barrel Proof, Larceny Barrel Proof, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, and then Heaven Hill Select Stock 14-year. I don't know much about the Select Stock. They did say it was 14-years aged in a high floor of the rickhouse and it was wheated. The tour guide gave us the hard FOMO sale on the Select Stock - it's only 25 barrels, it's exclusive to the distillery, once it's gone....it's gone. It also had a price tag of $200! I was disappointed that we had so much wheated whiskey or low rye options on the tasting. But the Elijah Craig was wonderful! I purchased a bottle of it for about $80. I bottled it up using an idiot proof machine, corked it, and my wife drew up the labels. It was a very cool experience! There was a bachelor party full of what my wife and I affectionately refer to as "Bourbon Bros" who bought into the FOMO. They purchased probably 12-15 bottles of the Select Stock on their own! Kentucky must love these tour groups!
• Four Roses Bottling Facility - This is kind of near the Jim Beam distillery, and I think it's worth popping your head in and checking out. We did this, and their gift shop had a Master Distiller selected private barrel of OESQ for $105. I've yet to try it, but I am very excited to!
• Limestone Branch - We stopped in here for a quick flight. The flight they gave was very generous: Minor Case Sherry Finished Rye, Yellowstone 4-year, Yellowstone Toasted, Yellowstone Single-Malt, Yellowstone Hand-picked, and their gin. This is one of the things I like best about Kentucky, you can try before you buy! Had I not been given this option, I would have purchased the Toasted and Single-Malt. I would have been disappointed with both of these purchases. Ultimately, none of these selections were for me. But it was a cool experience nonetheless.

Restaurants/Food (listed in order or preference):

• The Kitchen Table - This was my favorite restaurant this trip! The Kitchen Table is located at the Jim Beam Distillery. Prices are very reasonable, and the food is fantastic! We tried appetizers: Pulled Pork Empinadas with white BBQ sauce (which was the best thing I ate all trip!) and Pimento Cheese and some Peppery Jelly spread (also great!). We tried the Burgoo which was good. And their burger was excellent! There are also some great Jim Beam themed pours and cocktails available. I had some of the "Kentucky Tea" Booker's which was just too good! I would have eaten here all trip if it was closer!
• Mammy's - This is in downtown Bardstown, and we really enjoyed it! It's just great southern cooking. We ate their for breakfast one day. We had biscuits and gravy, and eggs and bacon. We also went back for dinner one night and had a BLFT with Pimento Cheese, Hot Browns, and fried cornbread. I'm drooling as I type just remembering how great this was! The bar also has a ton of solid bourbons and decent prices. They even have live music certain evenings.
• Quick Stop - Old Riff swore by this place, and he nailed it! The Quick Stop is just a gas station on the way out of Bardstown. But they service awesome Jake's Country Sausage biscuits to go. This country sausage is just too good! We ate their on our way out to the Kentucky Cooperage and again on the way to the airport.
• Hadorn's Bakery - This place is a hole in the wall serving donuts. They had one of the best jelly donuts I've ever had. Very solid.
• Cozy Cottage - This is located by Maker's Mark. It's a total dive, but the food was decent and prices were fine. I got a burger, the wife had the pot roast special. I could take it or leave it.
• Herradura - This is a Mexican restaurant in Bardstown. It was actually pretty good! The food was decent and came out very fast. Like most places in Bardstown, they had a hell of a bourbon selection at reasonable prices.
• Sedona Taphouse - This was actually over in Lexington. They had a large amount of draft beers which I enjoyed. I also took advantage of the pours of Booker's for $15 and Stagg Jr for $10. Food was good as well.

Overall: We had a wonderful trip. We really enjoyed our time at Bardstown. Old Riff and the advice he provides on this forum is invaluable! Listen to this dude. There was a couple that hired a driver one day and we saw them at four of their five stops (the only thing they did that we didn't was they did a chocolate pairing at Lux Row). They paid $900 for their chauffeured experience! Ours basically cost us the price of admission plus a few hours poking around on Reddit's boards and distillery websites.
A few tips for those considering a visit to Bardstown:

• Personally, I don't think you need a driver. The distilleries don't give you more than 2 oz on a tour. We weren't looking to drink a lot at the distilleries. But with some of the bar selections available at the distilleries it would have been easy to get carried away. That said, know your limits. If you are going to be drinking more than the 2 oz given at tastings, consider hiring a driver.
• Reserve ahead of time, especially on weekends! Our Thursday tours were pretty empty. Sometimes there was only an additional couple or two on our tours. But the Friday and especially Saturday tours were much more crowded.
• Don't get caught up in FOMO. There are plenty of bottles for sale at area liquor stores well above retail. There are also quite a few limited or distillery only releases. These don't necessarily equate to bourbon you will enjoy. Don't buy something just because it might be the only time you'll be able to get it.
• Try before you buy! It's pretty easy in most cases to get a pour of something before committing to a whole bottle. You'll find a bottle which sounds like it might be your thing is actually something you don't enjoy.
• Take the time to talk to people. There were definitely people that were there to "hunt" bottles. You could just feel the eye rolls by employees. These people walk in, ask for a bottle, and walk out. You're in Kentucky! Sit back and experience whiskey for yourself! Try a pour of something you've never heard of based on the recommendation of a stranger at the bar. Trade stories of restaurants/distilleries/attractions you enjoyed during your day. You might even get the inside scoop on something that you may have missed otherwise.
• Bardstown outside of peak season lacks off hours attractions. We also could have missed them. But we found that most attractions and even locally owned shops opened at 10am and closed at 4pm. There wasn't much to do in the evenings other than pony up to the bar. It's fine, but a little variety would have been welcome. I'm told it's a little more lively in season. But we definitely enjoyed the smaller crowds.

Anyway, that's all I've got! If you're planning on visiting Bardstown anytime soon, I'm genuinely envious. It's a wonderful place. Thanks for reading!

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Full: https://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Article/2023/03/21/new-york-seeks-to-restrict-weight-management-supplements-again?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=21-Mar-2023&cid=DM1064952&bid=71825451