Today, I stepped out with a friend, who has a very nice startup having some 30 retail stores in different cities, and a very good e-commerce platform since a decade. At times they call me in, for consulting on retail and e-commerce strategy to see their products.
On the same floor as their store, was Uniqlo today. This is Delhi I am talking about, and my friend is a big fan of Uniqlo so pulled me in to buy a shirt.
I wanted to try one on, and while walking down the hallway to the trial chambers, a customer service person pulled me by the arm, and said "one garment at a time". I was carrying just one shirt, and then he noticed that and said "sorry". I started to move again, and he again touched my arm and handed me a placard that said "1", to which I had no clue why.
I took it with me to the trial chamber, and hung it on the side. And tried the shirt, which was too large for me. I came out and told my friend that it's large. She offered me a size smaller, but I said "i'm done". Not going back to the trial chamber again.
My friend kept trying to sell me the brand. I am loyal to a brand that my family has been responsible to bring to India in the 90s, and now we no longer have an association, but I still love their merchandise.
I completely lost interest in Uniqlo. My friend was continuously saying, "their store is large, they need to ensure no shop lifting happens". But I don't agree. I don't think any store representative has the right to touch a customer by the arm. It spoils the entire experience of the store. No matter how large the store is.
I know I am an unimportant customer for a store this large, and it was a Thursday when they are not many customers in the day time. But I felt personally violated, by a stranger touching me like that for no reason.
I ain't no shop lifter. And I am not even arguing that. It's about the experience you are offering to customers. I've done a lot of retail in earlier years. You might have 5% shop lifters in a store this large. But you can't spoil the experience for 95% of the honest customers who walk in. You can't assume that every person is a shop lifter who needs to try a garment.
In contrast, e-commerce offers trials at home. If that's the way forward, stick to e-commerce. Let's not displease customers who are experiencing your brand for the first time.
They say, don't judge a book by the cover. But the first impression is a lasting impression.

Berny Tank
Caliper measured:
38.4 lug to lug 24 mm wide (no crown) 8.6mm thick 16mm strap
Here is a super affordable little watch. Pictured on my 6.2 inch wrist. Quartz movement with date has been keeping good time. Looks and feels great, I did put a different strap on it though, came with a patent leather strap. I put a black pebble leather CNS on it. Let me know if you have any questions.

So misleading title. But also not. Today I purchased a steam deck that had been fitted with a decent 1tb ssd for 500 euro. The device was 2 months old! I think it was a steal but lmk, every other offer second hand was 400-500 for a 256 model (literally no idea why when u can easily buy em new. That’s why I didn’t buy one just yet till I found this offer which is almost the price of a 512 but with double storage). Super excited loaded up my first 2 games. Risk of rain 2 and remnant from the ashes. I feel I’ll like this little thing especially since I sold my pc 2 years ago and haven’t touched my steam library till today! Any tips for stuff to do? I’m already underway with decki loader and have windows dual booted for shits and giggles.
Ps: past 2 years I’ve been a console person so a switch was basically the perfect “pc” like console I could get. Ik rog ally is very interesting but I value Moders and support and Ik valve won’t let us down
Edit: I was shocked how big it was. Thought it’s smaller (not complaining). And wasn’t expected how sharp the display looks at the size

Hey all, I was coming down from our mountain camping spot and was braking on a hill (I should have been gearing down, I know this now). My truck brakes started smoking! Was incredibly worried. Later learned from the Towing display on my dash that there apparently was "Trailer Brake Not Connected" so I was braking the whole weight of the trailer and truck downhill. So that was the reason.
Thing is, it was later connected! Did some troubleshooting (trailer brake somehow got set to 10.0, I set it back to 4.5). Still no connection after I did that but we let it sit and then drove off again and the notification came up that it was connected. Very weird.
I got my 7-pin connector port tested and everything is working all right there. I assume then it's a trailer issue, but why would the brakes come back on randomly? It can't be the gain right?
I am driving my family with this thing and need to get this working. I'm going to take it in somewhere, but any help you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated. If you need more info just let me know

Why /PinkFloyd is joining

Reddit has decided to spring an API change on its users and developers, the result being that third party apps and tools won't be able to pay the insane pricing required to use the API. These third party apps and tools aren't simply better than the official app/website: some are required by blind users because reddit's site and app don't work with screen readers and moderators use third party tools because the official offerings are complete shit.
This part is going to be focused on the app Apollo (/apolloapp) only because it's the best example of the fuckery Reddit is pulling. While a change is well within Reddit's rights, Reddit only gave the public 30 days and followed Twitter's example by charging way, way, way more than any other service does for access to its API. Additionally, Reddit repeatedly lied to and about Apollo's creator, Christian Selig. Reddit told Christian that the API wasn't changing and nothing would happen. They told Christian that Apollo's API usage was fine. Then they sprung this on him and when he offered to sell Apollo, Reddit told the public that he threatened them with blackmail if they didn't pay. All of these are outlined in the second link below, which includes audio recordings made of phone calls between Christian and Reddit.
I was hesitant to even post about this here but after Christian came out with receipts it was too much to let slide.
Finally, and this may be cause of celebration to a lot of you, I'm scrubbing and deleting my account on or around July 1st. I can no longer continue to provide free services to a company that demands $20 million from a developer and then slandering said developer to get the public on their side.
I'm working on a Lemmy (or other alternative) server for /LinuxMasterRace, and if there's any interest I can include /PinkFloyd too.
\1. An open letter to Reddit regarding the API changes:
https://www.reddit.com/ModCoord/comments/13xh1e7/an_open_letter_on_the_state_of_affairs_regarding/
\2. A post from the creator of Apollo, Christian Selig, on the shutdown of Apollo. This post includes recorded phone calls between Christian and Reddit that directly contradict what Reddit has been telling the public in posts about the API changes:
https://old.reddit.com/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_will_close_down_on_june_30th_reddits/

Hi fellow people with fun MILs lol. So mine is passive aggressive and controlling, she has been unhappy since I came into the picture and is unhappy that my husband chooses me over her. We are also very independent as a couple and she has voiced that she "wants us to need her" which we don't, so she tends to withdrawal her love when she doesn't feel involved enough in our lives or disagrees with our decisions. She has shown these colors off/on since 2017 (especially around wedding events, family vacations, my DH's 30th birthday party last year, etc.) and they surfacing again strongly at our baby shower this weekend.
We are expecting our first baby in August (!!!) and at our baby shower this weekend, she did not speak one word to me, spoke maybe 10 words to my husband which he initiated, she & FIL sat in the corner and did not socialize with any other guests, and she was rude to the shower hostesses. She was invited to come an hourly early to help with setup and bring her food contribution, which she originally said was great, but ended up showing up 5 minutes before the shower. Her and FIL then left at the prompt ending time and went out to eat with my SIL and her family without inviting us.
While I do not expect (or honestly desire) for her to do anything other than just show up, she specifically tells us that she wants to be involved in our lives and contribute to our big events, so we gave her specific tasks and asked her to come early and yet she couldn't fulfill those requests then proceeded to act like an entitled guest, not even cleaning up after herself. She also goes above and beyond for my SILs showers or kids birthday parties, spending so much money on decorations or food and making it an entire weekend event for setup/cleanup.
This honestly didn't even affect my husband because it didn't surprise him and he has extremely low expectations of her. However I am having a hard time because she will give us love then withdraw it without any indication - ex: we got along GREAT just 2 weeks ago (nothing has happened since), this is her first grandson which she has been bragging about on social media, etc.
So I'm here to 1. complain lol and 2. solicit for advice/suggestions on how to handle this relationship when baby comes? I don't want our baby boy to be jeopardized by malicious behavior and I don't want this to hurt me and my family more than it already has. It is hard because we are very family-oriented and find a lot of value in time spent together, we also normally see ILs once a month minimum but we recognize that if we don't make changes now, it will ultimately hurt our family. We have boundaries below that we will start/continue to enforce, but curious if anyone else has anything to add!
Boundaries with MIL:

• Time boundaries (instead of giving her hours of our time like in the past, limit them to the main event only - similar to how she treated our baby shower. Also includes strict visit times for when baby comes, only answering calls certain times/frequencies, etc. Why spend more time with someone who doesn't treat you right? We shouldn't feel obligated to do this.)
• Information diet (we've already been implementing this, not giving them more than the minimum on our lives or baby)
• Passive aggressive or poor treatment will not be tolerated (if this occurs in person, we will leave or ask them to leave)
• We are also sharing a very specific set of rules/guidelines regarding baby when he comes (social media posting, sharing of photos, visits, giving unsolicited advice, etc.) and plan to cut her off if she doesn't respect them

Thanks to anyone who read this far!

My husband (m32) and I (f33) decided we would go on a vacation with us and our little family. We have had strained relations with his family. Due to finances we have been unable to go on their normal vacations with them much in the past. We decided to invite them along since we could afford this one and hopefully it could help relations. We each chose some activities we wanted to do and ultimately both my MIL and my husband and I landed on 1 activity each that would take a bit of time but was important to us.
We were supposed to do ours on the road trip to our destination, only they left really late. (They had convinced us to let them rent a car so we could all drive together) Since they left so late we were unable to see it the first day, but they promised we would either go there on a down day or on the drive back.
My BIL and his wife tagged along. We had talked many times with MIL and FIL about how we wanted to take things slow and they agreed while we were planning but BIL hates taking things slow so was constantly rushing them and then they would try to rush us.
My MIL has some health concerns which I totally understand but they ended up using that as an excuse to not see our thing (even though her activity was nearly as far) and the same day they told us we wouldn’t be going , we drove to an activity my BIL chose which took us just a little bit under what it would have taken. (4 hrs 45 minutes, instead of 5 hrs 30 minutes) on the way back from BIL activity they asked if there was anything else we wanted to see, and my husband mentioned a place he wanted to go (it was about the 5th time he mentioned he wanted to go there throughout the trip) and they said that was too far as well.(Again we had just driven that far to see BILs spur of the the moment activity)
Also I bought a lot of food for the trip (it cost so much!) We had all agreed to pack lunches to save on money and instead they bought us lunch everyday which although sweet of them was another example of them changing plans.
When we spoke to them about the activity thing they came in gaslighting hard, saying “we’re sorry you feel that way” and “there must have been a misunderstanding- we thought we all wanted to do both activities” only we were extremely clear when we planned.
We decided we will be going on another trip just us to the same location asap so we can see all the things we missed.
This was mild compared to how they normally are and we are still so upset! We just don’t know what to do from here. We just feel like we’ve been emotionally so used. We tried really hard to plan this, and invite them and then they took it over with no regard to our feelings. What should we do about this situation? We are so lost!

Hi Everyone!
I recently came across a success story on this subreddit where someone found relief from their dry eyes by using vitamin D3. As I am from the UK, I am looking for recommendations from companies that ship to the UK.
Since I suffer from dry eye disease, anterior and posterior blephariits, and MGD, I am constantly looking for solutions or things I can help to manage these conditions.
​

• I am black and Vitamin D deficient. I tried the Holland & Barrett Vegetarian Vitamin D3, available as 25ug gummies, https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-vegetarian-vitamin-d-25ug-30-gummies-60014669 which I honestly felt that it didn't help me personally and it wasn't for me, so I stopped taking it 2 months ago
• Unfortunately, I struggle with swallowing tablets, pills, or soft gels.
• However, I can have the vitamins in formats that are easy to swallow such as: drops, liquid, or sprays.

Finally, If any of you have found relief from dry eyes using vitamin D3, I'd appreciate your recommendations and experiences for specific brands or products in the UK. And, if you know which format (drops, liquid, sprays, etc.) works best and absorbs better in the body, please let me know too.
Thank you in advance.

Let me get started. We met back in november when i started a new high school, I was the new girl he was the average popular guy i knew i was crazy about him the moment i met him. We lasted 6 months but fully i can tell you, he was my first love and i was his. But we both came from messed up families he shows barely any emotion, and im argumentative. so we argued. but there were so many beautiful memories. we started to drift, thats where i made the mistake of making a fake account since id seen it trending, i 100% blame myself as to why he fell for it because i kept texting even when he said he had a gf. And he fell for it.. I left him that night. and felt disgusted with myself after. my parents found out n i was forced to stay away from him because they found out things about him. i moved classes. and forgot about him until now. I feel like im going crazy every where hes there. looking at me, and its the same look he gave me 3 months ago when we were us. my ''friends'' use his name to tease me ''oh h/n is so handsome!'' making up rumours etc about him, and every time my heart breaks, im blocked on everything by him except instagram and i try reach out but end up deleting the messages. ive attempted to move on with another guy, but its not the same it never will be. every thing is him. i cant confide in anyone theyll all call me crazy after what happened. but I love him, these 2 months without him is the hardest my life has ever felt, i fucked up so bad.

So first off, I haven't been dating him very long, maybe 6 months. But it feels like we're each other's perfect fit already, and there's a lot of love there and potential for a long future. I was a little unsure when he told me he was a crossdresser, and it was pretty surprising when I saw him dressed the first time. But honestly, he looks so cute and hot in his clothes, and i'm an open-minded person so I pretty quickly went from unsure pretty into it fully supportive. Yay! I genuinely love this part of him.
It's still early, but we're both in our 30s and are on the same page that if we're still going strong in a year or two, we'd probably consider trying for kids. That's where my secret little fears pop up. I followed the trans sub before I was invited to this one, and I have read this over and over from many mtf on the sub: Assigned male at birth, started crossdressing, swore to themselves that they just liked dressing up, swore that they never wanted to be a woman, swore that their relationship with their partner wouldn't change...then years later figured out within themselves that they were trans all along and are finally embracing it. Then I read the effect that has on partners in My Partner is Trans sub. While i'm happy for them, i'm definitely straight (i've experimented a lot lol), and that's my fear with my boyfriend.
He swears up and down that he doesn't want to be a woman or transition, and certainy never surgically transition, but he has been experimenting with gender fluidity. That he likes being a man sometimes and a woman sometimes, which I am totally on board for, and i've been really enjoying playing with my dominant/masculine side. But thinking about eventually bringing kids into it, and being his wife, just for 10 years to go by and discover he was trans all along without fully acknowledging it...
I just wanted some perspective from spouses here or crossdressers themselves. I know any number of relationship-ending things could happen in 10 years, or even 10 months, so it's not a make-or-break fear. I also know that there are plenty of straight cis male crossdressers, i'm not denying that that could be him. But I 100% know that I would really, really struggle if he eventually came out as trans, and it's messing with my head when we discuss the future.
I guess I just need someone to tell me that i'm being dumb, or looking at this from the wrong perspective. Or to hear anecdotes going one way or another on the trans question. Thank you in advance!!

Hey everyone ! I recently bought an acoustic guitar and have been trying to seriously learn on my own. I consider myself a beginner since I've been playing on and off during my teenage years and now, at 23, I came back into it with an actual routine instead of picking my guitar once every year and never again.
​
Finished Grade 1 of JustinGuitar's courses and learnt this song, if you could check my technique out and let me know if there's anything I should be focusing on moving on I'd appreciate it ! Thanks in advance:
https://youtu.be/zWAxG2p1MBk

I need some MAJOR help and it may be that I just need help pushing this truck over a cliff. I'll give you the backstory first but, I'm having a hell of a time getting the timing to work. I'll explain in detail below.
Backstory:
My 2007 truck dropped a rod a blew holes in the block. I had the bright idea of swapping in a 2009 Eagle Hemi into the truck along with everything needed to have the VVT and SRV systems working.
I found a 2009 engine for a reasonable price. I tore it apart to make sure everything was good and found it had a bad cam due to a lifter dying and chewing it up. So great time to put a better cam in. Here is a list of EXACTLY what I did.
- Cleaned the block and removed all of the carbon from the cylinders. I did not remove the crankshaft, rods, or pistons.
- Installed a cam from a VVT, MDS, 6.4L
- Replaced 4 of the lifters
- Replaced all of the valve springs with Enginetech ERV1451 springs. I made sure to remove the old seat/spacer and only use the 1mm shim packaged with the springs.
- Replaced the PCM with a PCM from a 2009 Ram 1500
- Added wiring for the SRV
- Added wiring for the VVT
- Replaced the VVT Solenoid
- Replaced the timing chain, crank sprocket, chain tensioner, and the chain guide
- Installed an oil pump from a Hellcat motor
- Extended the wiring on the IAT, ETC and the MAP sensor connector.
- Changed the connector on the cam shaft sensor from the '07 version to the 09' version
There were other issues but, nothing that I think would be relevant to this issue.
Results:
The motor ran fine at first. Or at least it seemed to while parked. I let it idle to operating temp to just make sure everything was working.
The next day I started it up and drove it. It went into limp mode and wouldn't shift into high gear or rev above 3000 RPM. I parked it for a bit and cleared the PCM. When I started it again it stayed out of Limp mode. When I drove it was fine for a few feet and then a loud whine and loss of power. Every time I pushed on the gas it would whine and lose power. I can only describe it as a transmission that was slipping out of gear. I stopped and checked everything. After that it drove fine but only in Limp mode. I figured it was because I had cleared the LP counters. I chalked it up to a temporary transmission issue.
Reading the codes I was getting a ton of codes for crank/cam issues. I replaced both the cam sensor and crank sensor with car quest sensors from Advance and attempted to have the PCM relearn them. The truck would immediately go into limp once started. I then bought NTK sensors and tried them. Same problems. I rechecked the wiring, pulled the intake and checked the VVT solenoid, and double checked the oil. No change. At this point I can drive the truck but not over 55mph and it won't shift into high gear as it's obviously in limp mode. My next thought was to reinstall the original cam sensor. I got different codes but, I noticed I could get it to stay out of limp mode for a bit. Revving it past 3000 and everything sounded good and then that loud whine and immediately into limp mode. So now I know the whine is not the transmission but, I'm completely at a loss as to what it is.
Here is a better summary with what I was seeing on the scan tool.
First Start after rebuild old crankshaft sensor and old camshaft sensor:
- Multiple codes for crankshaft/camshaft. Squeal at higher RPMs with loss of power and immediate limp mode.
New CarQuest Camshaft and Crankshaft sensors installed:
- Limp mode on start
- P0344 and P0340 codes
- Cam Sync = No Sync
- Cam/Crank Difference = 30° (This value will only change at startup and doesn't not change while running it does bounce around 29° and 32°. One time it went to 8L)
New NTK Camshaft and Crankshaft sensors installed:
- Limp mode on start
- P0344 and P0340 codes
- Cam Sync = No Sync
- Cam/Crank Difference = 30°
New Crankshaft Sensor original Camshaft Sensor:
- Limp mode after running for a few minutes
- P0016 set at start
- Cam Sync = Synced
- Cam/Crank Difference = 30° ( With the original sensor this value will change while idling but, not by much)
- While not in limp mode I can rev over 3000 RPM at which point it will randomly let out a loud squeal and drop RPMs. This happened in idle.
Does anyone have any ideas on what to look for?
Any ideas on the load high pitched noise that randomly happens over 3000 RPM?
Any thoughts on checking timing without pulling the timing cover?
Can a VVT sprocket go bad?
I have ordered a new Mopar camshaft sensor to see if that helps. I am trying to avoid taking the timing cover off but, I think I'm going to have too. I'm going to try and stick a borescope in the hole for the camshaft sensor to see if I can see anything wrong with the timing chain and sprockets.

We open in the diner because Luke has fired his meat guy and Lorelai is listing all the reasons he shouldn't. Kirk is on a juicefast and thinks Lorelai smells like nougat. Rory is on the young voices of journalism panel, Lorelai tells Luke that Chris will be there. Lane is looking for a new band Lorelai is jealous that Lane knows April really well and lists all the games they play together. Scrabble, Monopoly and she reads all the rules first. Rory is a good editor, Paris is still angry at being outsted. Doyle is being quiet to try to avoid the wrath of Paris. Rory offers a suggestion to baby Paris and Doyle doesn't think it's best for the paper. Lane goes in the music shop and sees Zach playing banjo. Zach reads the ad and crumples it up.
​
Rory is getting dressed for her panel and Logan is getting ready for Honor's wedding. He is a groomsman and is bored already.
Rory greets her parents before the panel. There are several Ivy League college editors. Rory says she they have limited experience and don't know what they would do if the Federal Govt was applying pressure. She was the star of the panel along with Princeton guy. Chris has gone through four nannies and he can't get her in private school. Lorelai suggests public school which is ridiculous considering she knows how Chris grew up.
​
Zach goes to a Bat Mitzvah that Brian and Gil are playing at. Zach talks to the guys during their break. He is trying to impress Brian with his game skills and complimenting them on their playing. He says he wants to fix things. The boys say they will come back if Lane agrees.
​
Rory comes with Logan to the wedding. and Honor invites her to hang out with the bridesmaids. We learn Honor went to Brearley which is in NYC.
Chris brings GG to Lorelai's to babysit. All GG does is scream NO Lorelai found some of Rory's games. GG has turned the TV on and is watching Full House.
​
I do like Honor's hair and dress. The girls are talking about the guys who are handsy. Honor goes for pictures and the bridesmaids are talking about hooking up. They are talking about the groomsmen and hooking up and they all talk about when they all hooked up Logan before and recently.
​
GG is using permanent marker on Lorelai's floors and has made a mess of the house. She is letting out ear curdling screams. Lorelai bribes her to shut up.
​
Rory sits out the wedding because she is hurt that Logan slept with all the bridesmaids when they were broken up. Logan is uncomfortable that Rory found out but he didn't cheat because they were broken up. Rory thinks they were just on a break (A break means you are broken up) Logan is right that those girls shouldn't have kept talking about it after they found out she was Logan's girlfriend.
​
Zach goes to the diner and is telling Lane how upset he is and then he proposes. He even has a ring. She accepts. She is so excited she is giving wrong orders and toasters.
Chris shows up at Lorelai and says he had a good day with his mother. Lorelai tells him how out of control GG's behavior is. Lorelai is telling Chris she is spoiled that she needs more discipline. Chris is annoyed and Lorelai throws the nannies and the pre-school interviews in his face. She's right but she shouldn't throw it in his face.
​
Rory is getting drunk in a bar and Rory has a fit about the waitress trying to take her napkins. She doesn't want people touching her stuff. Doyle is also getting drunk, because Paris threw him out. Rory says she has to move out of Logan's because he had many blondes for Thanksgiving. Rory is out of drinking money because she took a cab from New York (Rory there is this invention called Amtrak and it can get you to Hartford.) Doyle is so drunk he is nuzzling Rory's neck.
​
Christopher calls Lorelai to apologize and offer to have the floor fixed. Chris feels guilty because GG doesn't have a mother. Lorelai says he hasn't ruined GG. He can turn it around and just needs to be a little tougher.
​
Rory goes to Paris's apartment because she has nowhere else to go. She tells her she came because she heard she and Doyle broke up and then admits that she broke up with Logan. She tells Paris Logan cheated with an entire wedding party. Paris says she can stay Rory calls Lorelai to tell her she has a new address.

I've been with my girlfriend for about 2 months now and things have moved very quickly but we are both crazy in love with each other, have already met family and things are going well and we are both very happy.
There is one thing I feel that is hanging over us, which is her ex. Long story short, he cheated on her, she broke up with him and then we met like 4 months later.
Anyways, the issue is that they bought an RV together and she took the loan out in her name, so she's on the hook for 40 grand and put a down payment of her own of 10k and split the payments with him when they were together. Upon breaking up he went took the RV and left the city for the last 3-4 months, but he has been making the payments since then.
Now it's a question of what will happen with the RV. Where it sucks for me is that she has to keep a line of communication to work towards a solution, but he takes advantage of that and still tries to talk to her and tries to talk to her every 3-4 days even though she doesn't respond.
When he finally came back in town he refused to talk about the RV except for in person, so she had to go meet with him and of course he tried to get back with her, she told him about me, and yet he still has ramped up trying to communicate with her.
Overall it just makes me really uncomfortable knowing this, however my girlfriend isn't in the best position financially to take on the entire payments + storage of the RV. She could, but it would just make things very tight because since she had to move out on short notice she had a lot of moving costs and wasn't planning on paying for an expensive apartment on her own.
She's trying to find someone to sell it to or have him buy it from her, but it's just taking a while to find a solution and he is purposefully extending the process in my opinion. Basically after cheating on her then when she dumped him, he proposed to her, so yeah.
I love her very much and I have absolutely zero doubt about her feelings for me and we both see a lifetime together. However my feelings matter and I tend to have more of an anxious attachment style (so does she so she understands) and it just really triggers anxiety for me knowing this POS won't just let us be. There's just not really an easy solution and I'm having a hard time dealing with it.

Hey all. I'm not a peds therapist but I love tinkering with technology. I have been playing around with Chat GPT and came up with this prompt.
"I want to practice my conversational skills. Let's simulate a conversation on a topic of your choice, with you pretending to be a human conversational partner for a more natural dialogue. After each of my responses, provide feedback on my response and it's potential impact on the conversation. Offer a tip on how I can improve, then continue the conversation in character. Start with a topic."
If I had this tool when I was working in a high school with teens with autism, this would have been an amazing tool. I hope some of you can use it!

I have been working on a business for two years. I have a business partner who is a financial backer.
Over the course of the two years, the following has happened: the first 6 months were spent researching one avenue of revenue, but we ultimately opted for another. I.e., we thought of processing one thing, but logistics and regulations drove us to another (market).
My partner has a lot of money. Has even had gall enough to say “I’m rich”. He has two cars, but only one parking spot.
During the first summer, I drove to Virginia (from Toronto, Ontario) for a two day workshop about the specifics of using the machine we purchased ($27,000 CDN).
When I returned, he told me to keep the car, as I’d need it for business. I asked him, later, what he was going to do with the car ultimately. He said he’d keep it for a few years and then probably give it to me. (The car is over 20 years old, has 150,000 k. It runs pretty well, but it does need work).
At one point he suggested that I should “draw a salary” from the business. He suggested $3,000 / month. I live quite lean, and, as of last years’ personal taxes, I took a total of $17,000 from the business account when necessary. I hold a part time job to offset needing to do so.
Two times during this two year period, my partner was away - once in Cabo and once in Bahamas. He invited me to come with him but both times I had to cancel due to Covid -imposed restrictions.
Late 2021, I experience an issue with my machine, and because of backlogs of materials, I did not receive a replacement part for 7 weeks, during which time my sister died of cancer.
In summer of 2022, he abruptly took his car back for his daughter to give his son driving lessons (?). That was 3 weeks, and I had to cancel social arrangements out of the city (visiting a cottage, summer camp reunion).
In late 2023, more machine issues, and because it is a highly specialized machine, there was a lot of work in finding someone who could properly assess and repair.
In January of 2023, I booked a booth at a trade show as a launch. It was a good start; made some professional connections. No sales. He said he was going to attend, but never did and only told me so when I texted to ask where he was.
In April of 2023, he took the car back again for his newly-licensed 17 year old child to use. Said it would be 3 weeks. It’s been 7 weeks, during which time I have had to pick up supplies, deliver an order, and get other business-related things accomplished. I did these things via transit and Lyft.
In late May, I held an open house at my office for industry people. It was my partner’s suggestion. I orchestrated the whole thing, and invited nearly 200 people. He said he was coming, but by then the second day, with two hours left, I again messaged him to see where he was, whereupon he informed me that he wasn’t coming because he was out of town dealing with a personal emergency. No details on that.
I was supposed to get the car back the next day to make a delivery. When asked about it, he said he’d give it back to me when he returned. No details about that.
I asked “when will that be?” He replied “Sunday”.
Sunday came and went and on Monday I messaged him. He didn’t reply until Tuesday with: Hi l am thinking , the car needs a ton of work, and depending on the amount, may not be worth it. WRT to the business, l am pretty unclear it will work, l can meet with you this weekend to discuss. I am in a very dark and sad place , nothing to do with you, but you should know.”
I wrote “That’s a pretty abrupt declaration. I know the car needs work. I have been making all kinds of arrangements regarding [the business] including hiring a social media pro and we have mapped out a schedule for promotional videos and information to be imparted. If you are without hope for it, well, then you let me know. Whatever you’re going to do to with the car, that’s fine. I’d love to be able to use it until then.”
Not wanting to wait until the weekend, I called instead in the evening, but he was unable to talk. I’m calling again tonight (Thursday).
He has many investments on the go (says he) that are in the millions, that have been in the works for years.
Please, if I’m unclear on anything, just ask for clarification. Otherwise, any insight?

This is the story about the first time I had my heart broken
Once my oupa died I had to go back and live with my mom and her boyfriend. He was part of a pool league team so they had parties with youngsters alot and thought they were the shit having these young people around them but in reality they were using them for a pool and a party place in my opinion anyway.
At the time I wasn't around much I ended up going to friends alot.
During my high school career I had 2 best friends one well call Kimberly. She was a nerdy girl at school but she had these beautiful blue eyes , this bright smile and the most contagious laugh I have ever heard. She was dating a guy well call Andrew at the time he was captain of the rugby and cricket team at school a good Christian boy a student you name it the perfect guy. Him and I got on really well. Kimberly and I were every close I would spend alot of time at her house she had 2 younger sisters that loved me to bits and her mom and step dad loved me too for the first time in my whole life I felt like I was apart of a family it was such a good feeling.
One December she went to her dad and things happened to her and her sister.. her cousin molested them but I won't go into detail. Kimberly didn't handle it well and she was put into hospital for a while. I went to visit her with my guy cousin and he said we'd make a cute couple and I was like whaaaat?? We close and loving but I never thought of her in that way... But the moment it was said something inside us changed and I think we looked at each other differently.
The first day she was back it was first period English class I sat by the door waiting yo watch her walk down the corridor and the moment I saw her coming I ran out of class and I wrapped my arms around her and I hugged and took her by the hand as she cried and I walked her into class like I promised I would.
My mom never worked on a Monday or Tuesday and because we stayed far from the school I wouldn't go to school on those days and one day Kimberly freaked out because she thought I was let coming to school she started jumping up into the barbed wire and trying to cut her wrists with scissors and Ilas I took the corner of our quad she ran to me and started shouting at me for not being at school when she needed me. I grabbed her and wrapped my arms around her and told her it's OK I'm here iv got you. She fell weak and I carried her to the bench and I promised her I'd make a plan to be there every day and I did became mom started fetching me know days my mom wouldn't go to work.
From then on we got closer and closer we hung out more and more. It was her brothers 20 something birthday party and she invited me and our friend group and we were smoking weed in the rain out side a burned down house it was kak creepy. Her mom and her moms BFF knew what we were doing but didn't make it obvious. We were all super wasted and high and decided to give her brother a wedgie. He was a hairy mother fucker, his underpants torn and pulled out so much of his hair with it ot was hilarious.
Anyway I was sitting on the couch and her brother decides he likes me and wallets to kiss me ( everyone knew I was gay by clearly he wanted to try get me straight) this was soo funny for everybody me Kimberly and her sisters hold me down while their brother straddles me and shoves his tongue in my mouth as I'm screaming I was using my tounge to push his out and afterwards he tells me I kiss so nicely lol wtf.
Later that night my mom pitches up there drunk as can be and starts kissing the brother infrint of his mom I was horrified that's the dude that just kissed me euw fuck thank God I Got there first. When my mom left she drove over a huge rock and Kimberly's boyfriend hand to pick the car up and we moved the rock out of the water he was crazy strong chiseled body.
That night Kimberly and I go to bed cuddling and she gets up and I think she's gone to pee so I lay there waiting and waiting nothing. So I'm like OK let me go look and see where she is maybe she passed out on the toilet. I walk into the dining area and look into the lounge there she is on the couch with her boyfriend doing 69 and that freaked me out and kinda hurt me but it's her boyfriend what can I do. So I go pee and climb vack into bed.
I wake up to Kimberly getting back into bed and kissed my cheek and was holding me omg I wanted to vomit cos I know exactly what was on her lips and that's the last thing I Wana taste or smell. I never said a word I turned around and went to sleep the next morning I acted like nothing happened and I didn't see anything.
So that December Kimberly asked me to go with her and her sisters to the dad she didn't feel safe going there alone so of course I say yes I want to protect them they my family. I was going to be spending Christmas with them so I was excited and plus we were going to Kruger park.
We get there and it's all chilled but when we get to Kruger things changed.
One night we were drinking red wine and I remethis because her dad played the ub40 song for us between were getting tipsy. We go upstairs to our rooms and showered. That night she walked to the window in her sleep but I didn't know she said look it's a kudu and I got up and lmstood next to her and looked I saw nothing and I turned and looked at her her eyes where closed so I turned her and lead her back to bed and lay her down. I climbed over her to get back into bed and she woke up and looked at me and asked what are you doing so I told her what happened. So she sat up climed on my lap and started kissing me and said she has wanted to do this for a while and me being me I carried on and kissed her back I did find her very beautiful and felt lucky that she wanted me because iv always had a very low self esteem.
We ended up having sex that night I wasn't too experienced I didn't know exactly what I was doing but I did what I knew. So after that night we had a lot of sex in the pool of the lodge in the shower and I'm she even tried to get me to finger her at the back of the bakkie on one of the game drives but I didn't want to because her sister's were right there.
When we went back to her dad's place one day we were busy having sex I was eating her out and her sister walked in Kimberly held my head under the blanket and her sister said Kimberly I'm not ssltupid I know what u doing I laughed because I always laugh when I'm nervous. We also got caught having sex in the pool at her dad's complex by her sisters.
But when our holiday ended we weren't back at school for long and her mom decided they were going to move it broke my heart... no it shattered my heart because we had a secret relationship and they felt like family. She promised me we'd talk all the time and that she'll always love me.
She left and not long after being at her new school I found out she had a boyfriend while leading me on I was so heart broken and then to top things off she told our mutual friend I forced myself on her when she was drunk.
That right there is why I now never touch a drunk woman because I don't want the same story again.
I genuinely loved her for who she was not what I could get from her. And that's how I got my heart broken for the first time. But it was a lesson Learned but unfortunately because I did what I did I lost her forever we wouldn't even be able to be friends anymore. I still chat to her baby sister every now and then and I believe she's a mom. I only wish her happiness.

Hello! I would love to have new people in my life! Hating this workday and would love some amazing company to provide the right amount of distraction.
I feel compelled to play it cool and say I’m only here to make new platonic friends, but honestly a long distance romance/someone to flirt with also sounds pretty great to me! Not looking or expecting anything serious in terms of a relationship. I miss the flirting, the closeness, being intimate, and open with someone. All that, just without all the seriousness and commitment. Someone to laugh and joke with would be great. Someone to connect with mentally and emotionally would be very nice too! If you’re looking for something similar or just a friendship and feel like we would get along, don't hesitate to reach out.
I work as a scientist and enjoy what I do. I’m left leaning politically and childfree. Not very religious, but don't care if you are as long as you are respectful of other people's choices. Would love to sound more interesting, but I'm into most Redditors likes. I enjoy hiking, cooking, the occasional video game, running from time to time. I'm very stuck in my ways musically and would love some recommendations. Let me know what your interests are and share just about anything.
I hope to hear from you, but in case I don't I do hope that you find what you are looking for. Look luck out there. Have a lovely rest of your day.

Hello! I would love to have new people in my life! Hating this workday and would love some amazing company to provide the right amount of distraction.
I feel compelled to play it cool and say I’m only here to make new platonic friends, but honestly a long distance romance/someone to flirt with also sounds pretty great to me! Not looking or expecting anything serious in terms of a relationship. I miss the flirting, the closeness, being intimate, and open with someone. All that, just without all the seriousness and commitment. Someone to laugh and joke with would be great. Someone to connect with mentally and emotionally would be very nice too! If you’re looking for something similar or just a friendship and feel like we would get along, don't hesitate to reach out.
I work as a scientist and enjoy what I do. I’m left leaning politically and childfree. Not very religious, but don't care if you are as long as you are respectful of other people's choices. Would love to sound more interesting, but I'm into most Redditors likes. I enjoy hiking, cooking, the occasional video game, running from time to time. I'm very stuck in my ways musically and would love some recommendations. Let me know what your interests are and share just about anything.
I hope to hear from you, but in case I don't I do hope that you find what you are looking for. Look luck out there. Have a lovely rest of your day.

Hey stopdrinking, it's me, the guy who destroyed half his body in a failed suicide attempt. Thought I would drop in and give you guys an update on the last several weeks.
The hospital I was in searched for several weeks to find me a care facility or a rehab facility. According to them, facilities didn't want to take me until I could bear weight on my legs, and they were wary of admitting someone who had attempted suicide. Basically, I looked really bad on paper. Fair enough, I thought. I'll wait it out here in the hospital until I regain weight bearing status, and then they can more easily find me a place. Wrong. Very wrong. Their solution, keeping in mind that no one in my family had the capability of caring for me when I was wheelchair bound, was to send me to drumroll please a homeless shelter. Yes, a homeless shelter in a city I'm very much not familiar with. I cried when the nurse told me this. A transport van came and took me to the shelter. Once there, they took all my stuff, including the books and drawing supplies that were a key part of maintaining my positive attitude. This was around 2pm. They then escorted me into their chapel (major red flag for me), where I sat for several hours while old western movies were projected on a large screen. More people trickled in as the hours passed. Finally, at 6pm, dinner was served. No comment. When we shuffled back into the chapel, the stage had a bunch of speakers and music equipment. Cool, live music. No. What followed was a mandatory hour long sermon delivered by a twiggy fucking need singing shitty Christian pop songs and reiterating time and again how I would end up in hell without good old JC in my heart. He punctuated his sermon with plenty of "dudes" and "bros" to let us know he was a totally hip guy. I was furious. I have no problems with anyone's religion. But this shit was being shoved down my throat, and I am absolutely NOT ok with that. Once it was over I asked the guy next to me what we did now. "We go to bed." So I rolled down the hall and climbed into a bottom bunk in a room with 5 other bunk beds. At least 3 of my roommates snored. Somehow I managed a few hours of sleep. In the middle of the night I needed to use the bathroom. Well, my wheelchair wouldn't fit in their main bathroom. I was directed to the shower room. The tight confines there wouldn't allow me to turn into their handicapped stall. The man they had standing guard over the shower room had to lift up the back wheels of my chair to point me into the stall. Afterwards I went back to my bunk and laid awake with my eyes closed until the 6am wake up call. First thing in the morning, everyone is required to shower. Well, they didn't have accommodations for someone wheelchair bound in their showers, so I couldn't do that. At 7am, everyone was required to leave for the day until curfew at 4:30. I got a day pass, which meant I once again would be sitting in the chapel all day watching shitty daytime TV. At one point I asked for help to get into the bathroom stall. The workers looked confused. Turns out I shouldn't legally be there. Them helping me into the stall was a liability. After they made confused calls to the hospital I came from, the only logical conclusion anyone could draw was sending me to a different hospital.
So 911 was called and I was whisked by ambulance to the emergency room, where a confused staff tried to make sense of what was happening to me. I was admitted, and spent the next couple weeks there. On the 24th of last month, I was finally able to put weight on my legs. I walked for the first time in nearly 3 months. It hurt like hell. The combination of nerve pain, serious injuries, and atrophied muscles was certainly not fun. But I was ecstatic to reach the milestone. A hospital social worker soon informed me they found a rehab hospital for me. I looked at their website. Damn, it was a nice place. Really nice. Then I got a UTI and an infection in my lungs. Yay. Managed to kick it with a hefty several rounds of antibiotics. A few days later, I arrived at the rehab hospital, where I sit now.
I started with the daily 3 hours of physical and occupational therapy on Monday. According to my occupational therapist, I far surpassed the goals she set for me in the first few days. I'm walking at least a few hundred feet each day with the aid of a walker. In just 4 days I have felt an enormous amount of progress. Walking still hurts a fair amount when I put weight on my left leg, and I expect to use a walker for at least a few more weeks. Stairs are also gonna be an obstacle. But I fully believe I'm headed in the right direction.
I will still have a lot of work to do once I get back home. I have a lot of trust I need to start rebuilding with family and friends. I need to figure out what I'm going to do for work now. Going back to being a chef is kinda outta the question now. But that's OK, I can now go back to enjoying cooking for myself and people I love. I need to find a new place to live. I'm open but slightly hesitant about the prospect of a sober living house. I don't do well with roommates. But these are all issues to tackle as they come. Hopefully I won't have anymore hiccups that equal what I've already been through. Either way, I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes. Sorry about the long winded post! Talk to you folks soon!