I'll be investing in a gas boiler system in the next few months. I received three quotes for three different combi boiler brands, and I'd love some input from people with experience and expertise. Navien, NTI (about the same price) and Viessmann (about $2000 more). Thanks in advance.

i've been binding for about 3 years now and i've noticed that within the last year or so things have started going severely downhill in terms of fit/ability to get flat, back pain, and preexisting asthma.
my first 2 binders were able to get me completely flat. i got them in 2020 from gc2b (right before gc2b started sucking). they also didn't cause me any back pain whatsoever. they got worn out after about a year and a half but even when i got rid of them they still worked like they did when they were new, and i had no health issues from them.
i then got 2 more binders from gc2b (when gc2b started sucking) as well as a 3rd binder from spectrum. the 2 new binders from gc2b caused me horrible back pain while not getting me flat at all, despite being extremely restrictive. the spectrum binder, my only current binder, fits less restrictive but also doesn't get me flat at all and is really loose at the top and the bottom, and somehow also causes me pretty much the same level of back pain as gc2b.
so that's the issue. even with a company like spectrum that makes them looser while still "fully flattening the chest" (quotes because it's bs) i still get awful, AWFUL back pain. so why am i doing this if it doesn't even work, and it's causing me all these health issues that even when i take weeks-long breaks from binding, they don't alleviate, which is fucking terrifying? my asthma's worsened to the point of me having a permanent wheeze, my back pain makes me incapable of taking in a full breath without feeling the damaged bone and muscle pushing against my expanding lungs... is there something i'm missing here? did i miss a page in the binding handbook on how to avoid such intense and awful pain in tandem with making sure my binder doesn't end up being a bonafide fucking pushup bra with cleavage? i swear i'm the only person who can't be flat, yet i don't even fucking have tits, they're small as fuck, and i fucking follow the binding rules.
yes, i wear the correct size, i always check and remeasure before ordering a new binder. no, i don't bind for 8 hours or less a day, but who the fuck does -- what matters is i don't sleep in it, i don't shower in it, and i don't wear it for longer than 12 hours (which is still generally regarded as "safe"), because that's your average trans guy and i don't want to hear that every other trans guy out there goes "oh shit it's been 8 hours let me take it off!". yeah fuckin right, said no trans guy ever.
i just need advice. how is this stupid fucking uniboob suddenly happening to me and how do i get rid of it. and before you comment: no, i will not wear transtape, even the thought of grabbing my boobs and putting special twanny tape on them makes me dysphoric as fuck, FUCK NO.

I decided today that every week I’m going to share a Shakespeare quote with you, my lovely neighbors, as a brilliant start to our weeks.
Our first quote is from As You Like It Act 2, Scene 7:
All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms. Then, the whining school-boy with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then, a soldier, Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard, Jealous in honour, sudden, and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon's mouth. And then, the justice, In fair round belly, with a good capon lined, With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws, and modern instances, And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slippered pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side, His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
The first part is one of Shakespeare’s most famous quotes, but the piece is much longer-equating life and it’s stages to different acts of a play.
Happy Sunday all!

Idk why I’m posting on here, I guess to vent to the strangers of the internet because I don’t really have anyone to talk to about this subject anymore. I think it’s pathetic I’m writing this instead going out to take a grueling hike in the foothills. Realistically No friends or family wants to hear me talk about killing myself. I’m surprised that I’ve made to 25 years old & for half of my life I’ve struggled with suicidal depression. I’ve been 51/50 once as a teenager. Throughout the last 10+ years I’ve had such half ass suicide attempts. I’ve told my mom I’m going to kill myself so many times that she calls my bluff. I’ve never cut myself Because I wanted to be really good at hiding it. So nobody knows I am suicidal based off cut scars. My life doesn’t suck or bad in anyway & I just think it does because my thoughts, are my own hell. My thoughts are Truly dark/evil (50% of the time) One of the main reasons killings myself would be beneficial to me. I’ve done good & I’ve done bad in this life. I’ve worked hard & I’ve been lazy piece of shit (like right now) & Some how have not ended up in prison (I Haven’t been caught doing anything wrong, Yet) A-lot of times I think about killing other people, sometimes my own family members, which fucks with me because they don’t deserve it at all. Like that’s how fucked my thoughts are. It’s like I just want to know what it’s like to take another life away, watch it drain from their eyes but I don’t believe on killing the innocent, so it’s always been someone who potentially deserves to die. I’ve never understood being alive & at one point we were all innocent children “blessed” to be born on earth but then life happens & some people really get the shit end of the stick. Comparatively I don’t think I did. My life is not perfect but it’s not horrible. It’s kinda funny because I know what I should do to be happy/healthy and be a better human to thrive & live a meaningful life but I’m at the point that I don’t want to help myself anymore. So much self pity it’s annoying. I’ll always remember a quote from some fuck head “Life is Suffering” - like okay but why suffer if you can set yourself free. Whatever that means. Maybe it’s suicide? Maybe drugs & sex? Maybe it’s working hard & building a family? I don’t know. Maybe I should stay alive to find out? but killing myself seems so nice. Being human is so fucking weird like it’s cool but I hate it at the same time. The one thing I hate the most is money. But it’s literally tool for life. Like as I’m writing this I’m broke. If I had some money, I’d probably be out spending it distracting myself with great food & beeweed. I feel that a-lot of what i do is to distract myself from the suffering of life. I don’t know how to end this long rant but if you are near the same age as me, reach out. Love you 3000.

I need a word document, presently three to four pages, turned into a fillable pdf form. It's for a charity I'm working with. Not a huge budget, but what to fairly compensate you.
I have the original as a Microsoft Word document. It's three to four pages and has a series of questions. I also need advice on layout. It needs to be completed online and there are check boxes, some open questions, and the people filling it in also need to attach some appendices.
I made need changes made, so please quote for the original work and the cost of edits.
Please only bid if you really know what you are doing and really know pdf form construction. Required in one week from when I give you the word document. I'll send it by email, when we finalise the bid.
I can submit the word document in a few days. Happy to answer any questions you have before you bid.
You can be based anywhere, but the form will be A4 and in UK English.
Thanks. I will reply to all approved bidders as soon as possible.

Don't Let Reddit Kill 3rd Party Apps!

What's going on?

A recent Reddit policy change threatens to kill many beloved third-party mobile apps, making a great many quality-of-life features not seen in the official mobile app permanently inaccessible to users.
On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader.
Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface .
This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free.

What's the plan?

On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren't able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app. This isn't something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love.
The two-day blackout isn't the goal, and it isn't the end. Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they've broken, we'll use the community and buzz we've built between then and now as a tool for further action.
What can you do?

1. Complain. Message the mods of /reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on /reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.
   
2. Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join us at our sister sub at /ModCoord.
   
3. Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support!
   
4. Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible.
   

You can find the discussion here.

Possible trigger maybe???
Okay Hi, I’m 16 and pronouns are he/they. You know what, I am so fucking tired of this. For other reasons (anxiety yay) the last 5 years have been stolen from me, I have been isolated. May or May not be a coincidence that I would say my life has been downhill ever since I was around the age of puberty. One thing is I am 16 now, is puberty over for me?? Either way its a lose lose scenario. I have been thinking about this stuff for over two years now.
My therapist managed to figure things out but she had me tell her. Honestly she probably had a hunch back when I got my “first period” (in quotes because I actually hid it for awhile yay) She is cool with it which is nice.
My parents are homophobic/transphobic you know the drill. They have got mad with my sister for saying being gay isn’t a sin. Main problem is I am tired and want to do something. Quite literally my brain wont let me do much else but pace around and essentially mope.
Frankly I don’t see any benefit to being female at all. If I could have chose to be born a guy I would have. I remember thinking this exact thing back when I was around 12 or so, before I even looked up queer stuff.
Then my anxious self is of course worried about this- I guess when I ignore everyone else I am cool and sure I am a non-binary guy or something along those lines.
I want to come out but that would probably go poorly with my parents. But at the same time I don’t even think I could because I am too much of an anxious mess. But if they are going to be rude it’s better to just rip the bandaid off or so to speak.
I am tired and have to do something but I am trapped which is lovely isn’t it?

In Splatoon 3, we have gotten:
- Three idols
- Three ways to customize our name tags (Banner, Titles, Badges)
- Three ways to get exp (Level, Catalogue, Tableturf Battle)
- Three new events (Big Run, Eggstra Work, Challenges)
- Tricolor Turfwar
And yet, we do not have three stage rotations... Well, we will see in the future, I guess. Currently, with Sizzle season, we have 18 stages in Splatoon 3, with Splatoon 2 having 23 stages and Splatoon 1 having 16 stages; there is no doubt that Splatoon 3 will beat the amount of stages Splatoon 2 has.
I also found a post from 2016, saying that a three-stage rotation should be in Splatoon 1, quoting "one can only dream.", let that dream be real.

Reddit's API changes will kill 3rd party apps on 1st July 2023

What's going on?

A recent Reddit policy change threatens to kill many beloved third-party mobile apps, making a great many quality-of-life features not seen in the official mobile app permanently inaccessible to users.
On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader.
Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface .
This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free.

What's the plan?

On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren't able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app. This isn't something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love.
The two-day blackout isn't the goal, and it isn't the end. Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they've broken, we'll use the community and buzz we've built between then and now as a tool for further action.
What can you do?

1. Complain. Message the mods of /reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on /reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.
   
2. Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join us at our sister sub at /ModCoord.
   
3. Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support!
   
4. Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible.
   

Source:
https://boredbat.com/star-trek-picards-ed-speleers-struggled-on-and-off-screen-during-season-3/
Quotes:
"[...]
In “Picard,” Jack and Jean-Luc have a couple of touching moments, but the most intense one happens in the finale when Picard must confront his son on the Borg cube after he’s been assimilated into the collective. Picard has to help bring Jack from the edge of destroying everything and manages to do so by being truly open and honest with his son. When Collider asked about how fatherhood impacted Ed Speleers’ performance, the actor shared just how insightful it really was:

"I think having children has opened my mind, and every fiber in me actually, to a different way of working. Things are just always bubbling away emotionally because of children, and that's good. And I mean all emotions, everything from love, fear, happiness, anger, everything's always just fizzing away because of the kids and that way they make you look at the world. So yes, I think it was insightful because also what it made me do is maybe look at how I've been as a son, as well, and maybe the things I've done and haven't done." 

Fatherhood may have adjusted Speleers’ perspective, but his connection to the character of Jack Crusher was incredibly strong to begin with. The emotionality of the moment was compounded by the fact that not only was Speleers going through a major emotional journey in-character, but he was also potentially saying goodbye to playing the character forever.
The story of “Picard” season 3 really resonated with Ed Speleers, because he felt like the themes of family connected with his own young family. He also just fell in love with the character of Jack Crusher, and was heartbroken at the idea that he might never get to play him again:

"I joked to someone the other day, I was like, 'I just want to play Jack Crusher for the next 15 years and then retire.' I feel like there's so much storytelling to do with him, and I just feel he's so complicated, and who knows what the future holds, but I think within that storytelling, I don't want it to be such a clean break as, 'Okay, he's dealt with everything now.' You still want that emotion because that's what we enjoy seeing. [...] I'm a little bit stunned and taken aback that this whole thing has happened, and it's the final day today. I think I'm going to bloody cry now, for crying out loud. I've come back, and I'm just like, 'Oh, what now? Is that the end of Star Trek? Is that it? Is that the end of Jack Crusher? Is that just done?'" 

Thankfully for both Speleers and fans, there might be a chance we get to see more of Jack Crusher. “Star Trek: Picard” ended with a way for the character to continue his adventures in space as special counsel to Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) in a series Terry Matalas would like to create called “Star Trek: Legacy.”
[...]"

It sounds a little obnoxious, but I've got my dream job. I'm the Course Leader of a University course that's directly in my field of experience (10+ years of visual effects experience in film/TV). I studied on the exact same visual effects course in 2007, and after working in industry for 10 years, I always wanted to go back and teach that exact course in that exact building. I did, and it's been the best 5 years of my career. Up until September last year.
The course leader decided that he wanted to go back into industry, but also wanted to leave because of differences with the University. That left two of us teaching the course (25-ish per year group, 75 in total). It got worse; the studio that he now works at told him that they were after more artists. He then told my colleague about it, and - yup, you guessed it - my other colleague followed and went to the exact same place, leaving me on my own to teach the course from October.
At this point, I was made Course Leader by default. Obviously, I was the only one. I never wanted the course leader role, I don't care much for the administration of academia, I just love teaching. What followed was 8 months of hell, teaching twice the amount of hours that I'm allowed to teach (contact hours), marking every assessment by myself, teaching every module, running every open day, giving post-assessment feedback to every student after they hand in, organising all pitches, talks, presentations, the end-of-year show, all on top of the crazy course leader workload duties that is quite literally a job in itself. By Christmas, I ran out of lectures and simply had to make some up on the fly. It completely broke me.
To be fair, I had some HPL (hourly paid lecturer) staff come in to help here and there. They helped with the odd bit of marking and teaching, and the ones that did help were utterly fantastic, but it wasn't nearly enough to cover what the course needed to have, and what I needed too. This Friday just gone was the last day of term and we had our end of year show that I had to organise too - that's all of the displays showing students work designed for interactivity, editing a student showreel, discussing with the venue and organising the bookings, and so on.
The evening was a success. The students loved it, we all had a great time. It was an emotional one as the students all got together and gave me a speech on how they really appreciated me sticking around, fighting through it and standing by them throughout the year, quoting "we wouldn't have a degree if it wasn't for you, so thank you". I had to try so hard not to cry in front of them. It was about midnight by the time the event was packed up and all equipment returned to the University, and on the drive home I pretty much gave into my emotions.
I'm a very positive person and try to look for the positives in every thing I see. But I've now got serious anxiety and trust issues. It was my wife's birthday weekend this weekend, I'm going to the Le Mans 24h in a few days time, and we have a beautiful home. I should feel fine, but I constantly feel like the world is ending. Half of me wants to write my resignation; work on my showreel and go back into the film/TV industry. But nights like Friday reminded me why I do this job; for the love of teaching.
It's worth noting at this point that the University (who will remain anonymous) are doing everything they can do support me. They've been great; the job advert is live for a new lecturer and they throwed more budget than the course had to bring people in to help. It's just circumstancial, and not the doing of the faculty in any way. I'm hoping that someone applies for the job that I trust. If they don't by September, I'll be leaving. I don't ever want to, and that would be an overwhelmingly upsetting day as it would feel like I'm being forced to leave my home, but I've always stood by the notion that nothing in this life is worth your health, and whatever you do, be happy. That's always number one, and while it would kill me leaving my dream job, I would for my health and sanity. I won't be doing this again if no one's on board by September, and the University knows that. There's some interest in the job advert, but we'll just have to wait and see.
So that's pretty much where I am at the moment, waiting for someone to come on board to bring the course back to where it was. My wife has been so kind and supportive with me while I've been going through it all, but it's also not fair on her when I physically can't answer why I don't want to go out on a beautiful sunny day. I'm not really sure why I'm writing all of this; I don't think there's going to be a magic bullet that would fix it, I think I just needed to spare my wife's ears from my feelings (even though she'd tell me that she's always there to hear) and to tell someone else. But if there's a slim chance that someone knows what I can do to feel myself again, and not a nervous and anxious tit, that would be lovely to hear.
Thanks friends

What's going on?

A recent Reddit policy change threatens to kill many beloved third-party mobile apps, making a great many quality-of-life features not seen in the official mobile app permanently inaccessible to users.
On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader.
Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface .
This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free.

What's the plan?

On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren't able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app. This isn't something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love.
The two-day blackout isn't the goal, and it isn't the end. Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they've broken, we'll use the community and buzz we've built between then and now as a tool for further action.
What can you do?

1. Complain. Message the mods of /reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on /reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.
   
2. Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join us at our sister sub at /ModCoord.
   
3. Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support!
   
4. Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible.
   

How’s it hanging my dudes? My remaining supply of “It is what it is” is running low. Can Thunder produce some sign of life this week? Let’s hope.
Thunderblog 48: Sleet Street Success!
Qualifying Report
Thunder makes our first Q2 appearance of the year! The Captain shows some solid race pace to put himself on the 3rd row tomorrow.
Race Review
THIRD FOR THUNDER! BRONZE FOR THE CAPTAIN! I FEEL ALIVE WHAT A RACE! In 3rd place from about lap 2-3 and held on despite a tough challenge from Rima at the end. It looked like the strategy team got the call just right in the race, having Thunder not worry about the top-2 spots and just keep the race behind him. Twice Rima closed the gap and twice Thunder extended to over a second. Being able to do that at the end of the race was especially impressive but Thunder said in the media pen later:
“Yea it was the result of the strategy. We wanted to have the energy to be able to fight off any challenges and at the end I was able to do a couple ‘quali laps’ if you will to secure the podium for the team.”
This result launches us off the floor of the table and into 16th while Thunder is now in the top-half of the overall standings with 3 races between everyone. Hopefully this result can inspire Bolt to show what he can do and get himself into the top-half of the standings as well.
Quack Attack
Pole for Billy! A great Q1 and a good sprint win to show for it. In the race however he dropped back to about 5th right from the start and floated between 5th and 7th before settling into a respectable 5th place.
Sweet Section
Mocha finishes 8th in the sprint. After falling well into the bottom 10 for the race the sweet racer rallies to finish 9th. Not a bad result but I was hoping for a little more.
Other News
Cloudy with a big win for the Hazers the 2nd of the year for the marble. They have put himself joint-top with Royal in contention for the individual title.
The home team had a great race with Frost rallying from 15th to make up 8 places and finish 7th, running as high as 5th at some points.
Finally a good week for the Thunderbolts. Hopefully you enjoyed the quote there. I might start to add some media-pen comments in the Thunderbolt section and maybe in the other two. I gotta put that media pass to good work am I right? Anyways it’s time to be excited for the next race for the first time in a while, and of course excited for the next THUNDERBLOG!

I recently had 22 windows and three doors replaced by Provia. We had a great experience with them. But now I am redoing a bunch of other door trims inside myself and want my new door casings to match the new Provia window casing (3.5") as I really like that profile. It is just a version of the Alexandria colonial casing at the big box stores, but the profile is much more pronounced, it just looks better.
Provia said they will not sell direct to me, the homeowner of course. My installer got me a quote for just the casing, with him selling to me at his cost. Provia wants $6.35/ft for PFJ! I can get the standard 3.5" Alexandria colonial casing at HD for $2.37/ft PFJ.
I am assuming that Provia just gets their casing from someone else since they are not in the millwork business. Does anyone have any insights into this?
Comparison between the two: https://imgur.com/a/wPQUhvt
Edit: I am NOT seeking a quote from anyone, just a direction to a manufacturer. (To appease the mod bots)

Link:
https://intl.startrek.com/news/leaving-behind-how-the-deep-space-nine-finale-added-depth-to-the-franchise
Quotes:
"[...]
It begs the question, “What does a story about leaving home have to do with a show about space exploration?” Deep Space Nine was the first installment in the franchise to really take a look at the place where our voyage began and understand its importance in the larger context. When telling a story of “home” and the place of departure, the story changes from one of outer space to one of inner space — inside the minds of the characters and audience.
[...]
Without a starting point or a home to leave, a journey has no context. “What You Leave Behind” was a celebration of what the space station had become over the past seven years. Season 1 found the station a broken, damaged husk. Ceiling lights flickered, consoles sparked, and violent incidents on the station were frequent. Sometime over the next few years, it is difficult to say exactly when, the station became a friendly place. Banners hung from the ceiling, families grew larger, and children grew older. Just as the new crew of the station found it a hostile environment, longtime Star Trek fans at first approached this new concept of a series with caution and trepidation. Like moving into a new house and years later realizing it has become yours, Deep Space Nine had gone from being “that weird Star Trek that wasn’t on the Enterprise” to a home. With the final episode, we (characters and viewers alike) had to leave that home.
[...]
It is not difficult to understand how it took several iterations of Star Trek for a story to come to light that treats the departure with the same reverence as the journey. Looking through Gene’s own words, there are many examples of him pondering the human drive to explore, to become better than we are. His views on humanity’s start were comparatively limited. However, the Great Bird of the Galaxy did have this to say, "Human beings have got their toes in the mud and their heart and souls high in the heavens. But the mud is important. It is the mud between our toes that allows us to dance. And we must be all of those things." Acknowledging that the “toes in the mud” is what gives us the support and strength to reach for the heavens is huge, and for a man who passed away years before “What You Leave Behind” was written, it reflects a similar perspective.
[...]
When it was announced that the end of Season 7 would be the end of Deep Space Nine, fans had little say in the matter. We joined Ira Steven Behr in a mixture of grief and the determination to see the finale of the show be the absolute best it could be. It’s reported that when it was time to dismantle the set and surrender the stage, Behr chose to stay behind and be the last relic of Deep Space Nine’s production to leave. He waited until every set piece was removed and remained even after the last of the electrical and maintenance crew had left. In his own words, “I have many years to not be here.” His intent was to appreciate fully what was about to pass, knowing that the years ahead would be full of new and different challenges.
It is that feeling captured in “What You Leave Behind” that resonates with the audience. That is the connection that Star Trek made for the first time. They weren’t being asked to relate to being given a new ship and a new mission, and they weren’t being put on trial by Q to answer for the sins of humanity. The audience was being asked to reflect on the adventures they had already been through, and the mission they would give themselves from this point forward. Each viewer will come to “What You Leave Behind” bringing their own history, life story, and perspective. They will each leave with their own reflections, and they will each leave behind their old sense of self."
Aaron Bossig for StarTrek.com

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 64%. (I'm a bot)

China's defence minister has said war with the US would be an "Unbearable disaster" for the world in his first major speech since taking on the role.
Gen Li, who became defence minister in March, accused the US of a "Cold War mentality" and said this was "Greatly increasing security risks".
In his speech he said China would not allow naval patrols by the US and its allies to be "a pretext to exercise hegemony of navigation".
Beijing has rejected a US request for direct military talks in protest at sanctions placed on Gen Li by the US in 2018 over weapons purchases from Russia.
At the Singapore summit, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin rebuked China for refusing to hold military discussions.
One of China's delegates told AFP that the removal of US sanctions on Gen Li was a precondition for talks.

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After deferring previously installing Solar, we are getting a new quote tomorrow. We live in Las Vegas, 28 year old, 2-Story 3500 sq ft house, huge AC usage and a variable pool pump (they tell me that is the second highest user of electricity). We have received quotes previously and were told that economically is didn’t make sense for us. This month we received an increase to our electric bill and our new level pay monthly will be $556 per month. Our level pay increased by $163 per month and this is after our usage is down 24% from last year due to two new AC units. We are old people, and not sure how much longer we will be in the house. With paying $556 per month with increasing rates at what point does it make sense to install solar? I am trying to read all I can about the process and returns but truthfully it had got me totally confused. TIA

This might get rambling, so fair warning.
Found a car just right for us at a Carmax about 90 min away. Got it transferred for free to a location 50 min away (when there's no traffic). Process was smooth, but then the problems began.
The car wasn't available for a test drive for almost a week after it arrived at the new store. It finally became available late on a Friday afternoon, leaving me no time to have my mechanic check it out that weekend. So, we schedule the test drive for the following Friday (this would be the Friday before Memorial day), so I can have the mechanic inspect it. We do that, everything looks fantastic. We tentatively schedule the delivery for Tuesday (day after Memorial day).
Go to our bank on Saturday, they get a rate vastly better than Carmax's, so we decide to do the financing with them. After we get home, the sales manager at the Carmax location starts giving me a hard time about how long they have held the car for - it would be 8 days on that Tuesday. It was an annoying call, because he acted like he was moving heaven and earth to keep it reserved for me that long.
I then spend all of Tuesday through Thursday of this past week going back and forth between my bank, Carmax, and my insurance, to get all the paperwork lined up just the way everyone wanted. Carmax was less than helpful in this process, but other than not knowing what forms were expected for a sale in our state, they weren't terrible. We get everything wrapped up and schedule the delivery for Friday at 2pm, which is when the quoted offer for our trade-in expired.
Getting close to 3pm on Friday, I call up. I'm told they're running late. Ok, whatever, we live in an area with bad traffic.
4pm comes, I call again. Now, all of a sudden, its not that they're late, its that one of the RMV forms they needed didn't have a stamp from my insurance, and they couldn't deliver the car without that. Nobody looked at it until then, supposedly, even though I had that form and could have provided it at any moment, had they informed me that they were missing the stamp. Oh, and it took until about 6pm to tell me that was the issue. The moment they ask for it, I upload the stamped document.
Then, they finally take the initiative to call back with their next problem, another issue with the insurance, which we resolve within 15 minutes, and give them that document, as well. But hey, at least this time, they actually were proactive enough to call me, rather than make me call them to figure out what they were missing.
Of course, by this point, its nearly 8pm, so nothing is happening Friday. So, I call up Saturday morning. No deliveries left on Saturday that are remotely convenient. Oh, and all the while, they've been assuring me that they'll honor the original trade-in quote they gave us, even though Friday was the expiration date. So, we schedule for a Monday delivery, because apparently, they don't do Sunday deliveries. Thats fair.
Today, they call up, and ask me to retake the photos for the trade-in appraisal, due to the original appraisal having expired. Just a technical issue that their system is forcing them to do, not a huge deal. I go online to re-upload those photos, and it only gives me the option to bring in the car for the appraisal.
I call them up *again* and they inform me that, due to the computer issues, they can't accept the photos, I have to come in. To have them appraise a car that I would then bring back to my house to be picked up by them tomorrow. I point out how impractical that is, especially when they're telling me this halfway through the day, on a Sunday. They refuse to pick up the car without the appraisal.
I ask them for any compensation for my trouble, and their offers were either to fill up my gas tank twice (at their location, which, again, is 48 miles away or to give me oil change coupons, again, at their location, 48 miles away.
I ask if it makes sense to just complete the entire transation today, if we are being forced to go into the dealership today. They're happy to do that, but they'll need both me and my wife there (we're trading in her car). My 8 month pregnant wife. Oh, and we have a toddler, so we'd have to bring her for this 2 hour round trip. And they're telling us all this after 2pm (which, if you have a pregnant wife and 2 year old, you know you've already lost most of the day).
Honestly, I wish I hadn't written all of this down, because I'm remembering just how much they've pissed me off the entire way.