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So I'm looking at a Lancer Evo IV on Friday.
I understand there may be a case of internet overexposure for the crank walk issue on these but after some research, it seems that there was a change to the engine during the 1997 model year.
In particular, this site says:

1997 was a "split year" in the 7-Bolt 4G63T. So all of the 7-Bolt engines all the way up until the middle of 1997 came with main bearings that had an integrated thrust washer built into them. In the June 1997, they changed the main bearing style over to a separate main bearing and thrust washer.

Is there a way to identify the date of manufacture for the engine?
I understand the V and newer were not prone to crank walk, but this seems to suggest that the fix was introduced in 1997 and not during the 1998 model year.
I will have a chance to have the car on a lift and will be checking for crank walk anyways when I inspect the car but I would love the peace of mind that the engine is the improved model.
For reference, the car I'm looking at is 100% stock, original clutch, original engine original everything, 48k miles, 1997 model year, not a lick of rust on the undercarriage.
Let me know your thoughts. I apologize, I'm quite new to the Evo thing and am absolutely enamored by the Evo IV. The Evo V is unfortunately priced out of my budget or I would probably do it.

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Looking to give your backyard a quick and easy makeover? Consider adding a DIY fire pit for a cozy and inviting outdoor space. Here are some simple fire pit ideas to transform your backyard:

1. Stone Circle: Create a circular fire pit using stones or pavers. Arrange them in a circle, ensuring a sturdy base, and fill the center with gravel or sand.
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Always prioritize safety when building and using a fire pit. Check local regulations, maintain a safe distance from structures, and have fire safety equipment nearby. Gather your loved ones, roast marshmallows, and enjoy the warmth and ambiance of your DIY fire pit.

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Chapter Summary: Scopes: Borzun sneaks a signature from her superior to pass on to the Fleet Admiral
First Contact: Human Security Forces Patrol gets dispatched to investigate the radio signals, and are killed. They do not get a report off, but go missing

Scopes

On Board Space Station 13

"-Got a signal," Chief Data Officer Remec's live audio feed cut out from the video she was richly enjoying, the interruption immediately spoiling her lovely, if otherwise lonely weekend night.
"What was that?" She choked out, lurching awkwardly in the low gravity. She may have been off her shift, but if she was being bothered now... It had better be important.
The Chief Data Officer muted herself on the new local call, a wave of the hand switching her mic back to what she had been watching. She whispered an apology to the cam-boy, and paused their private session, guilt wracking her, Some part of her mind liked to believe that he genuinely would miss her.
Using the fully immersive setup for this constituted a degree of misuse of her equipment, but she was far from alone in the practice.
Supposedly, low gravity enabled all kinds of exotic positions, and she intended to take full advantage of the noiseproof cabins each Data Officer was provided. Curiosity had given way to vague plans after enough sessions. First, she was thwarted from having alone time with the Asset. Now, she felt she was building trust with one who had caught her eye.
The special bodysuit may have kept her insulated against the faulty old air ducts' temperamental nature as she moved about the station from office to office, but it was restrictive and uncomfortable. More consequentially, taking it off and putting it on was noisy, if not easy to do quickly for the sake of any emergencies that might happen on-board a ship.
The bodysuit's crinkling finally tapered off after wrapping itself around her form with an almost vacuum seal firmness, and she switched on her camera, hoping she didn't appear flushed or sweaty. Borzun's gracile, almost-masculine face filled the main view screen.
"Sorry, I didn't catch what you said. I think the comms array on this old hulk's finally starting to give out," her junior officer apologized.
Great. If Borzun went ahead and filed a report, that would require an inspection. Remec silently mourned the waste of credits. Even if it wasn't her purse, Remec knew she had a limited number of credits she could skim for 'Cultural Research' before someone would take notice, especially if the allotment for maintenance didn't amount to enough to effect so simple a repair.
"Perhaps it was just a software bug. I can hear you just fine, you can hear me, right? I was just asking: 'What seems to be the issue?'" Remec fibbed and tried to change topics in the same breath.
"We've got a rogue signal, unencrypted. Apparently the emergency radio system has been hijacked, priority one ticket from the surface."
She lamented that with this potentially pending repair bill hanging over her head, she couldn't tap it for the bribes she'd need to sneak him, or someone like him up here like she'd hoped. What a waste.
"'Priority one'?"
"Ma'am, please, we have to hurry, it's an emergency," Borzun's shamelessly pleading voice was grating, and Chief Data Officer Remec forced herself to not grunt in annoyance at being addressed in that tone, and she shook her head free of the mental cobwebs and out of the pleasant, lingering tingles of the afterglow. What a terrible way to come down from such heights.
"Yes, I'm aware what a priority one is. I was just...settling another fight between The Decimals. Apparently their Data Teams are threatening to hurl themselves out their airlocks, just so that they can board the other's space stations and attack each other."
"Of course, ma'am. I did hear they'd recently been placed upon separate vessels. This isn't about that, though."
Remec almost felt insulted that Borzun sounded almost like she didn't believe her; The excuse was grounded in truth well enough. Her last meeting having been a debriefing of what went on at Space Station 92. It had been split into decimals, 92.2, 92.4, and '92.6', or 'Data Team Balkans,' as they were now known, with the probability they'd soon need a 92.8 just to cover the same geographic are of what had once been just 'Satellite 92.'
Apparently the posting had been an unending migraine for their poor Chief Data Officer, and equally as frustrating for the General on the ground who found her troops making a show of firing ineffectually at units from other postings to curry favor with the locals. Remec could still hear the seething tone of their Chief Data Officer, "I don't care how effective it is at ingratiating yourself with them, firing your weapon at other law-abiding Shil'vati without provocation is still a crime! It is considered what civilian governing authorities call a 'War Crime' on this planet! No, being a 'War Criminal' is not 'Based,' and their continued existence is not a provocation! It could potentially violate our treaty with Earth's government! Other factions could legally have grounds to jump in to conduct 'peacekeeping'!"
Borzun's expression seemed pensive- lost in thought despite the so-called emergency that had pulled Remec away from her fantasy.
The only consolidation she had was that as bad as things were for Space Station 13 presently, at least their problems were temporary, and confined to the planet's surface.
"What's the issue? I already read that the Public Address signal was hijacked. Just reset it." That didn't require bothering her.
"We did," the young svelte Data Officer offered apologetically, skin looking more blue than purple in the artificial light. "No effect. We need them turned off for now, and that requires your clearance. The message is instructing the insurgent humans how to resist, and is spreading disinformation that we are kidnapping everyone. That's greatly hampering the efforts of the Governess-General, so she really wants this done, fast."
"It's not 'everyone'," the commanding officer snorted in annoyance. "It's a...couple dozen thousand." The number was high, she had to admit, and still climbing. Quite an impressive percentage of the state's small population. She had a nagging sense that an even larger pile of work was about to be placed squarely on her desk for all this mess, and fought to resist dumping the resentment she felt at this near-certainty on her subordinate, when simply dumping the paperwork would be far more productive.
"It's certainly distressing the local population, causing a great deal of unrest. Even the reinforcements that were deployed to Delaware may find themselves embroiled in riot control," Borzun agreed readily enough, though she sounded somewhat distracted as she spoke, her eyes flicking to the side, likely as she prepared the form signature. "Since it's an emergency system, that requires an override, and since it's a communications signal, that's our domain. I've attached the paperwork for you to forward to Acting Fleet Admiral Admiral Ra'los and the System Governess."
"Done," she muttered, signing it without even reading and giving it a hand gesture. and felt grateful that at least Borzun was efficient in her interruptions. So much better than dealing with the Asset, who remained under the Marines' lock-and-key, but kept trying to lodge all kinds of complaints and empty threats. The file disappeared off her desk just as quickly as it had appeared, and Borzun seemed relieved to have gotten her permission.
Hope blossomed in the bosom of Remec that this would be over fast enough to rejoin the session.
"Was that all?"
"Sent," Borzun chirped, though her face was mirthless. "There's also the matter of local shortwave radio signals. We've been operating on orders to jam the channels, but they are operating on military bandwidths reserved for use of security forces and other agencies, but are clearly local individuals. This is in defiance of local and federal law. Again, that will require clearance to do so. Human authorities consider this quite a significant breach of law."
"You have my permission to shut those down, too, or otherwise jam them."
"Rather than shutting them down by jamming, since they seem to just jump channels and crowd the airwaves further, Lieutenant Goshen- sorry, Captain Goshen and Lieutenant Lesha believe that this presents an opportunity to steer us toward their points of origin, and to add them to any prosecutions we mount on the arrested, and to make up for the missing data we lost when the Data Center was destroyed. We can try mobilizing small task forces to isolate the busier signals and disrupt them. That won't drain manpower too much, and might even bring peace to the state. Or, we may end up achieving Azraea's goal of flushing the rebels out, and finding others who are sympathetic to the insurgency and bringing them to justice. At the least, it might reclaim some equipment out of their hands, temporarily crippling their ability to continue coordinating before the 'primary' election."
"I see. So you're asking me to not shut the signal down, in case anyone else asks. Is that right?"
"Yes, ma'am. If the signal is jammed, they'll jump channels, and we may lose information we're gathering, too."
"Alright, sure. I'll refuse any requests to shut them down, make sure the officers are informed to not lodge such requests to us." Anything to get her moment alone back. "And Borzun? Just a reminder; You don't need my permission to cooperate with the Governess-General's forces or to comply with her orders," Remec added. She noted with mounting irritation she had enough time to restart the session, but that the timer was ticking down, while Borzun didn't hang up.
"These ones seem to be live signals, delivering instructions to teams and coordinating chaos. Can I be dedicated to that, and use your clearance to utilize visual scanning once the sun rises? I may be requested to guide patrols to investigate these."
Remec was almost ready to pull her hair out. Visual observation from the satellites was always fiercely resisted by noblewomen. She almost denied the permission, but knew Azraea's wrath would likely follow if the Data Teams were held back on her orders. Like she doesn't hate us enough.
"Are they evacuated?"
"Who?"
"Who do you think I mean, the Empress? I'm asking if the Noblewomen from Delaware are still there, of course!" Remec finally snapped, and the slender Data Officer recoiled as if she'd been slapped by the rebuke.
"As-a-aah...yes, ma'am?" Borzun tried. "The order was sent out, I believe all families are off-world, spare one. They're apparently looking for a girl, gathering the family before liftoff per the evacuation order, but I've got two files here? Must be a clerical error."
A judgment call, then, but a simple one.
"Fine. Permission granted. But keep your gaze confined to areas of operations, and only if you think it would help an already active operation. Don't let your curiosity get the better of you."
"Yes ma'am," Borzun reported, sounding overly-repentant. Naturally, fragile Borzun wished to dodge witnessing or working with the unpleasantness of rounding up terrorists. Likely she'd been hoping for a 'no.' "What if I find and intercept a signal? Should I trace it?"
The content of the signals they'd shut down and guided to the interior after intercept were likely disturbing, and Borzun was undeniably among the softest of those aboard the old relic that served as Space Station 13. Remec had hoped the girl would have gained some toughness in Earth's gravity, or at least a hardened heart from being in approximate proximity to a terrorist strike's explosion. Then she might have learned to understand what a terrorist riddled state truly meant, and the necessity of their duties, but instead the opposite had happened. She'd come back with an even softer spot for the humans.
Oh well, there was little point in having a potential sympathizer in such a position or subjecting her subordinates to it out of some vague, unhelpful cruelty. Maybe more exposure would finally do her good. Toughen her up, and get her to stop crying to her seniors whenever something went wrong. Remec, sign this. Remec, can I do that? Now that Remec thought about it, even the level of permission she'd been bothered for didn't require her signature- Borzun was senior enough to shut down signals on her own.
"Of course. Find the signals, the broadcasters, and shut them down locally, if you know what I mean."

They Say First Contact's the Hardest

[Meanwhile, back at Camp Death...]
The staccato pops of gunpowder rifles sent me from 'fast asleep' to wide awake in a heartbeat.
I threw the blanket and sleeping bag off of me, boots flopping loosely after I'd left them undone to avoid cutting off my circulation as staggered to my feet, finding my way to standing tall but disoriented.
The muffled crack reports of energy weapons being discharged responded, and I ran to the light- finding myself staring out at the almost empty stream below. I doubled back just in time to hear deafening responses of rounds fired from railguns split the air.
I passed over the hard dirt floor, pushed my way past a sentry who had come to find me, and climbed up the trench ladder to watch, dozens of others pushing their way out from the claustrophobically packed bunkers and tunnels to see the commotion.
Blinking the sleep from my eyes and grateful for the rapidly adapting shaded lenses, I saw distant figures pushing their way through the tall grasses as ever more rounds began to fire at them, several charging down from Camp Death and running them down where they fell, chasing the path of beaten down grasses to finish the job.
Maybe they were true loyalists. Maybe they were just well-trained. Maybe they came from countries long locked in bitter civil wars, where surrenders led to fates worse than dying on one's feet. Whatever the reason, the last of them finally staggered and fell. None of them had even tried to surrender. I could respect that, even if I found myself on the other end of the conflict as them.
By the position of the sun and season, I guessed it might be around six in the morning, and we'd just had first hard contact- that I was aware of.
Shit.
I looked over to Radio's pile of equipment, a masked insurgent with the golden stripe of yellow electrical tape wound around their mask to indicate their role flashed me a thumbs up. I approached the sentry after seeing no more movement, hearing the distant gunfire as insurgents fell upon the Security Forces soldiers with zeal. I didn't hear any more lasgun fire. "Please tell me that was turned on," I gestured to the jammer.
"They were spotted on approach from the field. I powered on the jammer in the way I was instructed. They promptly stopped advancing on us, likely having lost contact with their superiors, and began to turn back before coming up the hill. We decided it was better than letting them wander out of jammer range and summon reinforcements."
"Good," I muttered. I could see G-Man poking his head out of the Command Cabin. Had he and George put that idea in my head just to steal my bed off me? I shook my head. George wasn't that underhanded; Not that I minded. He'd had a rougher day than almost anyone.
"Haul them and their equipment in. Get any wounded of ours to the doc bot. We can interrogate them."
The sentry gave a hand on heart. "Sir."
And so the first blood had been drawn. The squad was only six soldiers, I learned. Half a squad, or two 'pods.'
In the time since last night, the slow trickle of ones-and-twos had turned into a steady stream pouring into Camp Death. Now that the morning shone through the thick trees ringing our little forest. I wondered idly if the trees had always been so- certainly it didn't seem to me Verns had ever mentioned such heavy machinery as to bring those trees, and my swing of a hatchet hadn't even caused the bark to split off from the trunks.
Knowing I was stalling, I paced the ramparts, delivering quick reminders, last second orders to the new arrivals. Eventually it became clear even to me that I was being more of an annoyance than helpful leader; The sentries knew their duties well. So I resigned myself to dutifully patrolling the grounds, never far from the radio tower, nor the ramparts, keeping a chest puffed out and a brave face again, occasionally striking a pose as I squinted through my mask, as if I could make the enemy materialize.
I dared not call it a facade, no matter how true it might've been.
[Author's Note: Almost did it again, had to delete the first attempt at a post because I left in too much.]
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has become an increasingly popular topic in recent years, thanks to its transformative potential across numerous industries. From healthcare to finance, transportation to education, AI is changing the way we live and work. In this article, we will explore the power of AI technology and how it is revolutionizing various fields.
AI technology refers to machines or computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as recognizing patterns, making decisions, and learning from experience. It uses machine learning algorithms to analyze data, identify patterns, and make predictions. The power of AI lies in its ability to automate complex processes and provide insights that were previously impossible.
In healthcare, AI is enabling doctors and researchers to diagnose diseases more accurately and efficiently. Machine learning algorithms are being used to analyze large amounts of medical data and identify patterns that may go unnoticed by humans. This could lead to earlier detection of diseases and more effective treatments.
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Hello everyone,
I'm actually meeting a pretty big problem in my sense. I can't get to do good games for the last few weeks.
My AIM is pretty good, but I can't complete being a “good player” in my ranked games. I think it is because of overthinking. When I'm doing a death match, I'm usually first or second.
I play a lot with my friends who are diamond, imo, high plat. I'm silvegold. I didn't have this difficulty a few weeks ago. My HS rate dropped from 22% to 14, my average game score did the same.
Does anyone have a solution to this difficulty? This is really frustrating.

So I just bought a home for 275k that appraised for 280k. I terest is 6.5%. I put 10% down and have no pmi to pay but i do have a hoa fee of 365 a month. My monthly payments with hoa, insurance, interest and principal is about 2,200$ a month. Me and my wife together make about 165k a year and have about 10k after tax to spend a month. We have a car loan thats 350$ a month and I’m a teacher and full time student so no loan payments and those are about to be forgiven as im finishing my 5th year of public service. After all is said and done we only have a little over 1k left over a month to try and build an emergency fund or pay off the home quicker with. We want to move abroad in 5 years to be close to her family but its Lithuania so our income will be nonexistent compared to now. I want to pay down the house as much as possible before the move so I was thinking of buying another play thats much cheaper (manufactured home or Somthing around 130k) and renting out my current home so i can start doing double payments with the rent i can collect. I spoke to a property managment company and they said they would rent it out for 2,300$ a month which would cover the house payments. So now my question, is this a sound financial plan? What am I not considering? Any advice, tips?

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What kind of campaign would you have hoped the roman civ had if return of rome included one?
My idea of a good roman campaign would've been one that slowly showed the decline of the empire, in the style of the Hautevilles campaign, where each scenario would follow a different protagonist.
1)Magister Militum This scenario follows Stilicho as he defends Italy and would be in parallel to the Alaric campaign.
Allies: - Player (Stilicho) - Romans - Western Roman Empire - Roman Enemies: - Vandals - Goths/Vikings?(maybe, for enemy diversity) - Visigoths - Goths - Alaric - Goths Neutral: - Hunnic Mercenaries - Huns
The scenario would start initially with you having to defeat the Vandals attacking the Empire. After pushing them out and destroying their base, the visigoths would attack while the player is busy dealing with the Vandals. When the player is close to defeating the goths, Alaric would spawn in with an army, similarly to the romans in A Barbarian Betrothal to stop Stilicho. After the player defeats both the Visigoths and Alaric, the scenario is won. You can also recruit the Huns if you pay them gold and make them fight alongside you. The goal is to prevent the Vandals and Goths from destroying your ally.
2) Aetius and Attila This one is about the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains from the roman perspective. It plays very similar to the Battle of Grunwald from the polish campaign. You have 25 minutes to gather as many barbarian allies as possible before the battle starts.
Allies: - Player (Aetius) - Romans - Visigoths - Goths Enemies: - Attila the Hun - Huns - Ostrogoths - Goths Neutral: - Franks - Franks - Alans - Huns - Burgundians - Burgundians - Gepids - Celts/Vikings (not goths, for variety)
The goal is to make as many of the 4 neutral players allies as possible, either through fighting them or diplomacy. It could be improved but my idea would be something like - Tribute 1000 gold and build a castle in the burgundian lands - Rescue Merovech from the frankish base and make him King of the Franks (Future founder of the Merovingian dynasty) - Tribute 1500 gold to the Alans or destroy their base - Destroy the Gepids' base
Every neutral player that you do not manage to subdue will be joining Attila in the battle. The battle would be prettty big and play very similarly to the battle in the Fruits of Her Labour scenario.
3) Wrath of the Eagle Here you play as Majorian, this one would be a Build and Destroy scenario. The map would consist of Italy, France and Spain. Italy would be in control of the player, parts of France would be controlled by Visigoths, Franks, Burgundians and Aegidius, and parts of spain by Visigoths and Suebi.
Allies: - Player (Majorian) - Romans - Aegidius - Romans Enemies: - Vandals - Vikings - Visigoths - Goths - Burgundians - Burgundians - Suebi - Celts - Franks - Franks Neutral: - Huns - Huns
The scenario would being with you defending southern Italy from invading Vandals. The next part would be to conquer the Visigoths, Suebi and Burgundians (By destroying their castles) and turning them into allies. Aegidius is a useful initial ally and you should avoid letting him be defeated. Defeating the Franks is not necessary. Paying the Huns gold will let you recruit Tarkans and would turn them into allies. The final objective of the scenario is to build a fleet (Maybe 20 transports?) While defending your docks from the Vandal navy (Longboats).
4) Deus adiuta Romanis
This scenario would be split into two parts, the attempt to reconquer Africa and the defense against the Visigoths in Gaul.
Allies: - Player (Anthemius) - Romans - Marcellinus - Romans - Eastern Roman Empire - Byzantines Enemies: - Vandal Kingdom - Vikings - Vandal Navy - Vikings Neutral: - Visigothic Kingdom - Goths - Syagrius - Romans - King Riothamus - Britons
Initially the scenario would begin with the player having to help Marcellinus reconquer Sicily from the Vandals, after which, he will set up his base on the island. Next you would have to defeat the Vandal Navy and attempt to reconquer Africa from the Vandals. The Byzantines would help by occasionally sending transports with troops and resources. When Africa is almost reconquered, a massive byzantine fleet would arrive, but shortly after would be destroyed by vandal demo ships, forcing you to retreat to Italy and begin the Second part of the Scenario.
With your initial allies and enemies out of the picture. The next part would be the help Syagrius defend what's left of Roman Gaul from massive waves of Visigothic attacks. After a certain amount of time, King Riothamus (One of the romano-briton rulers who likely inspired the King Arthur legends) arrives with briton reinforcements and helps you defeat the Goths.
5) A Dream that was Rome
In this scenario, you play as Julius Nepos (And unlike the other ones, in this one you could have a bit of alternate history, and instead of Rome falling, Nepos manages to reconquer the Empire, or maybe it's revealed in the end cutscene, that he never managed to restore Rome)
Allies: - Player (Julius Nepos) - Romans - Syagrius - Romans Enemies: - Vandal Kingdom - Vikings - Visigothic Kingdom - Goths - Frankish Kingdom - Franks - Kingdom of the Suebi - Celts - Burgundian Kingdom - Burgundians - Ostrogothic Kingdom - Goths
This game would would be a standard 2v6 game, with each player beginning in the Dark Ages (Representing both the weak state Rome was in, and the rise of the early medieval kingdoms). The map would be that of the whole Western Roman Empire, with Italy under you control, Dalmatia under ostrogoths, Hispania under Suebi and Visigoths, Gaul under Syagrius, Visigoths, Franks and Burgundians, and Africa under the Vandals.
The goal would be to defeat every single enemy, maybe even an achievement for not letting syagrius get defeated (Difficult, considering he's bordering 3 out of 6 enemies). Ocasionally along the game, maybe you could recieve resources and troops from the Eastern Roman Empire.
But this is just my idea, I have no experience in developing campaigns. What would have been your ideal Roman campaign for aoe2?

Hiya, i'm hardstuck bronze 5. I win most matches, always get the most healing and damage, hardly die, but I cannot rank up. Do you have any tips?
I main support, mostly Moira or (if shes taken) Kiriko or Mercy. I don't enjoy the other roles as much as I do support, and I don't have any friends to play with to help me rank up. I used to be Gold in ow1. What do I do? I know i'm not masters level or anything amazing but i'm definitely not bronze. I have been stuck here since season 1. Ive had games against people with Plat/Diamond titles which seems super unfair as well??
Please help 😭🙏

I’ve worked in a jewelry store for several years, and it’s a pretty routine job. One of the best parts of the job is when you work with a customer who is celebrating something, and you get to be part of their excitement and happiness. That’s a big part of the experience of buying jewelry. Someone isn’t just buying a ring or a watch, they are commemorating a moment, and the jewelry is simply a tangible symbol of that. And sometimes those tangible reminders of timeless moments need to be repaired for one reason or another. That was what started my strangest experience on the job.
It was a Wednesday afternoon when the first customer came in. An older gentleman wearing a flawlessly tailored three-piece suit, he had slicked back grey hair and eyes that seemed to study everything they encountered.
“Hello, how may I assist you?” I asked him with a friendly nod when he approached me while I was at the counter.
“Yes, I’d like to have my watch repaired.”
“Of course. What is the issue?”
“The clasp isn’t working.” He took the watch out of his suit pocket and placed it on the counter. It was an expensive gold wristwatch with a small diamond in the center. To demonstrate, he tried to fasten it shut and it wouldn’t.
“I see. We can certainly fix that.”
Then I launched into our rates and prices, which he agreed to. Once he’d signed all the paperwork, his watch was taken to the back where it was properly cataloged and stored away until one of our professionals would fix the clasp. Once that was done, I went back to work and that was it.
I didn’t see the gentleman in the suit until a week later, and the watch was ready to be picked up. He came dressed in a different, but equally expensive suit. Then he gave his name, and I hustled to the back to pick up his now fixed watch.
Once he signed the paperwork confirming he’d picked up his order and paid the bill, he took the watch, placed it on his wrist, and closed the clasp, where it shut with a satisfying click. The gesture made him smile.
“Good job Michael,” he said to me.
“Thank you. Our staff are the best.”
“I know, that’s why I’ve always come here. There’s no chance I would go anywhere else for this. It means the world to me. I had a nasty spill at home, and the clasp was probably broken in the fall.”
“I’m very sorry to hear that.”
“That’s very kind of you. But I was fine. Lucky too. But anyhow, you have a wonderful day.”
“You do the same.” I smiled as he turned around and left the store.
I didn’t think anything more about him until about two weeks later when I saw on the news, he had been in a car accident close to where he lived. He was unharmed, but his car was completely totaled. No one would be able to fix that.
Since I was about to leave for work when I saw that, I shut off the TV and headed out. My day at work was uneventful until the end when a young woman in her late 20s walked into the store. By that time of day it was quiet, and she was the only customer. She was casually dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, and she looked like she felt a little out of place in the store.
“Hello, how may I assist you?” I asked as I gave her my most welcoming smile.
“Hi,” she smiled in return as she hesitantly walked to the counter. “I’d like to get a bracelet repaired.”
“Of course. And what bracelet would we be working on?”
“This one.” She reached in her sweatshirt pocket and took out a black velvet box. She opened it, took out the bracelet inside, and placed it gently on the counter. It was a beautiful gold bracelet dotted with sapphires. Right in the middle, there was an empty space where a sapphire should have been.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She nodded solemnly. “And here’s the sapphire that fell out.”
She reached into her pocket and took out a small plastic bag. The missing sapphire was inside.
“Very good.” I took the bag in hand, set it on the counter, and got to work with the paperwork. Once she had her pickup time in hand, she left the store, and I went to put both the bracelet and the bag with the sapphire away. I had just put both away when I got a very odd feeling. The best thing I can describe it as is unease. But I shrugged it off, reminding myself that the customer was obviously going through something. It happens a lot, as jewelry can be inherited for sad reasons, or just bring a lot of emotions to the surface. So I finished logging the order and returned to the counter.
I was there a week later when she returned for her repaired bracelet. This time she seemed slightly more at ease, and when she saw the repaired bracelet, her eyes lit up.
“Thank you so much,” she said with a wide smile. “I feel so much better now that it’s back to normal.”
“That’s terrific. That’s what we’re here for.”
“This bracelet means the world to me, so I was beyond upset to see it get damaged.”
“Completely understandable.”
“It was a gift from my husband. For our wedding anniversary. We took a vacation together and it was a disaster. Our luggage got stolen and it was downhill from there.”
“I’m truly sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you. And I’m sorry for rambling in the middle of your store.”
“No, it’s ok. That’s what we’re here for. Jewelry tells a story, and no two pieces tell the same story.”
“That makes a lot of sense.” She nodded. “Thanks again for your help.”
“Of course. Have a great day.”
“You too.”
She turned away from the counter and walked back outside. Then I went on with the rest of my day.
The rest of the month went by without anything noteworthy until one day, a woman with long grey hair came in towards the middle of my shift. She was dressed in a black business suit, wore glasses over intelligent green eyes, and carried a small black purse.
“Hello, how may I assist you?”
“Good afternoon, I was hoping to get a locket engraved.”
“We can certainly do that. Which locket would we be engraving?”
“This one.” She reached into her purse and took out an elegant gold locket, which she carefully placed on the counter.
“And what are we engraving on it?”
“For Marissa.”
I wrote that carefully on the order.
“And where do you want that?”
“Inside the locket.”
“And what script would you like?” I asked before I presented her with a list of the various options she could go with.
She studied it for a moment before she pointed to an option halfway down the list.
“That one.”
“Good choice.” I nodded approvingly before I wrote that into the order as well. “Is there anything else you would like to incorporate? Or that we should know before we file this order?”
“No, that’s it. It’s for my niece. She’s getting married.”
“Congratulations to her.”
“Thank you. We’ve always been very close, so I’m very happy for her.”
“That’s great.”
Then she finished signing the paperwork, and once she was able to leave the store, I filed away the order and the locket for our experts. The rest of the day passed by, until I was left to close the place up. I went through the end of shift routine, closed up, and headed to my car. As I was walking towards it, I suddenly got the feeling I was being watched. So I immediately looked around to check the area.
Nobody was watching me, and there was nothing going on. Still, I carefully walked to my car, got inside, and quickly left once I had locked the doors. I immediately felt better as I drove away.
I didn’t see the woman with the locket again, but she picked up her order, and my boss told me she was thrilled with it. I wasn’t surprised I wasn’t there, because I was on vacation that week. I’d long been looking forward to seeing my best friend Craig’s new cabin out in the woods, so the first chance I got, I’d made plans with him to go see it.
It didn’t disappoint. It was like something out of a painting with its log structure and stone fireplace. And it had all the modern conveniences you could want, and plenty of room for guests. Craig’s parents and his sister Christina were also going to be there, so I was looking forward to seeing them as well.
“There he is.” Craig greeted me with a grin before he and his whole family took turns hugging me and saying it had been too long. Then I took my bags inside, got settled in my room, and we had some dinner. Then we all headed out to the backyard, where Craig and his dad built a fire that we all sat around for hours. After we all had our fill of s’mores and it had gotten late, we all went inside, said goodnight, and headed to our respective rooms. I was tired from the long drive out of the city, so I fell asleep quickly.
It felt like moments later when I was shaken awake by Craig.
“Mike, wake up.”
“Huh?” I mumbled out.
“Wake up,” he whispered intently.
“What’s going on?”
“There’s someone outside.”
That woke me up immediately.
“Someone outside?”
He nodded. “And we think there’s more than one. You weren’t followed here, were you?”
“No,” I said quietly.
I quietly got out of bed and crouched by Craig on the floor. My heart was thudding loudly in my chest, and I had no idea what to do. Not only was I in an unfamiliar area, I was in a house I had never been in before. But I took a deep breath and tried to stay calm.
“Did you call the police?” I asked after what felt like an eternity.
“Yeah. They said they’d be out here as soon as they could, but out here, who knows what that means. At least we have an alarm system. And you know my dad.”
I did. Craig’s dad was the kind of guy you wanted to have with you in a situation like this. That was the one thing that kept me at least relatively calm, aside from the fact I wasn’t alone.
“Did he send you in here?”
Craig nodded. “Told me to stay here until he told me otherwise.”
Time seemed to stop as the two of us sat there, silently watching each other while I tried my best to ignore the fear creeping in the back of my mind.
It seemed like we’d been sitting there for hours when suddenly, there was a loud crash from downstairs that was immediately followed by the sound of an alarm screaming to life. Then came several loud bangs in rapid succession that were followed by the much quieter sound of footsteps fleeing from the cabin. Then, I heard Craig’s dad yelling at whoever was running away. I couldn’t quite make out what he said, but I didn’t blame whoever had been fleeing.
Craig and I had bolted upright at the commotion, but we stayed inside as Craig’s dad had said. Moments later, the alarm was shut off and there was a gentle knock on the door.
“Come on out guys,” Craig’s dad instructed us.
He didn’t need to tell us twice. We immediately bolted out of my room while Craig’s mom came out of Christina’s room, where the two of them had been during this time.
“Everything’s fine. They’re gone,” Craig’s dad said before he walked back to the living room where he’d been keeping watch with his gun.
We all quietly sat there until the police arrived and took statements about what had happened. They agreed to put a car outside the cabin for the night and keep watch on the area. By the time they left, I felt exhausted. So I fell asleep even quicker than before. Fortunately, no one interrupted my sleep this time, and I woke up late the next morning.
Craig’s mom made pancakes for breakfast, and since we were all starving, we were happy to dig in.
Once we all had our fill and were sipping coffee, the conversation drifted to other matters. At some point, I noticed Christina was wearing a necklace I hadn’t noticed before. It was a simple, but elegant gold hoop on a chain.
“Nice necklace Christina,” I said before I took another sip of coffee.
“Oh thanks. It was a birthday gift from Aunt Helen.”
“Nice.”
“She didn’t get it from your store, but it’s still nice.”
I chuckled. “No doubt.”
Then Craig’s dad, who had been reading the morning paper, turned the page. As he did, I saw the front page and saw there was a headline about some company declaring bankruptcy. The company didn’t sound familiar to me at all, but there was a photo of the family that owned it. In the middle of the photo was the woman who had come in to get the locket engraved.
My stomach sank and the pancakes I’d just eaten now felt uncomfortably heavy. Craig must’ve sensed something because he immediately asked, “Mike? What’s wrong?”
I managed to explain the story of the customers who’d recently come into the store and the unfortunate incidents that seemed to have happened to them. Craig and his family quietly listened to the story until I finished, then added that nothing like last night had happened to them before. Once we all got back to the city, Christina gave me the paperwork her Aunt Helen had given her with the necklace, and I did a little research. Since jewelry stores keep tons of information on file, it didn’t take me long to find out the scoop on Christina’s necklace.
The gold in it had come from a local mine in California. It had been doing quite well until one day there was a cave in, and a ton of workers died in the accident. The mine was eventually shut down, but not until all the gold that could be retrieved was gotten. And I didn’t need to look up the mine to know rumor was the place was considered cursed or haunted by locals. I’d been to the area years ago on a vacation, and the place had given me the creeps. But even I got chills when I looked later through the store’s records and saw documents that the man in the suit and the other two customers had all brought in items containing gold mined from the area.
Christina wasted no time in trading in her necklace for a ring made of silver. When she did, I got a text from her that had a picture of the ring next to a joke about hoping it was her own personal silver bullet to ward off monsters. It made me laugh.

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I might be overestimating the power of this community but I feel like we are partly the reason BIPOC never took off, so I feel like we could of had some sway in how much the new pride flag would have been used but now it's too late.
I didn't like the flag either but I'm a graphic designer and we have clients such as law firms who do stuff with the LGBT community who now use the flag with the black, brown and trans stripes so I've kind of just gone with it.
I HATED when they added the black and brown stripe to the flag and I still do but arguments I've seen for it is that the gay experience takes on a whole unique set of challenges when you are black or brown and growing up in black or brown communities.
I thinking putting the pink, white and blue is unnessaccary since trans have their own flag but then again it might be necessary to put it on the main pride flag given how much trans topics dominate discussions right now.
Now people are starting to include yellow triangle with the purple ring in it. I don't know what the fuck that shit is.
So what do y'all think? Are these additions necessary? Where do we stop? If we should stop is there anything we can do as a community to stop people adding new stuff to it?

Hi everyone. We are going to London in August to see a show, but we will extend the stay a bit, rent a car and drive around for 4-5 days.
Current plan:
- Rent a car in Stanstead. - Drive to Salisbury to see Stonehenge - Drive to Bath to see the city. - Go all the way to Exeter and see some cool little towns around there. - Drive back to Stanstead and see the Hampton court palace on the way before flying out.
I woud appreciate any ideas and suggestions what else to see on the way or even suggestions to completely change the route.
Traveling with 2 kids, 7 and 12. We are interested in seeing the countryside, eating some local food, visiting historic sites, museums etc.