Hi, hope this is the right thread to post. I'm building a tiny, battery-powered device that has a controller such as Arduino Nano. Want to be able to recognize a short phrase - "open the door". How is it possible to do this? If the hardware is the limiting factor, what are the cheapest alternatives for Arduino? Would really appreciate some hints. Thank you!

When you are doing home enhancements, the first stop is often the hardware keep. Here you'll locate all the things you want to do the task, from fasteners to equipment. However, those uniqueness stores are not just an area to locate portions to fix things. In reality, there are numerous different items that you won't be privy to that can assist you in initiatives round your property.
Outdoors
Chalkboard Paint
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You can turn any surface in your private home right into a chalkboard with the proper form of paint. Turn a wall into a area where your kids can draw, or upgrade your refrigerator to a place in which your own family can depart notes for one another. Simply roll or spray the paint onto the favored floor. Once it dries, you're prepared to use it. Just make certain you operate the right chalk when writing on the floor.
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Anti-Slip Spray
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Used to coat surfaces which can be historically slippery, this clean spray offers you traction. It can be used on wood, plastic, or fiberglass. Use it inside the backside of your bath to offer delivered protection, simply make certain you do not spray the drain. It works high-quality on stairs, decks, and even under rugs to keep them from sliding around.
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Magnetic Paint
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Magnetic paint may also appear to be some thing from a science fiction story, but you may discover the product at your neighborhood hardware save. The paint incorporates tiny debris of ferrous metal. This allows any floor you paint it on to draw magnets. It is awesome to use in shops or anywhere you may want to magnetically publish items. Be careful approximately using it in children's rooms. This sort of paint is excellent for areas where you may supervise.
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Self-Fusing Silicon Tape
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Silicon tape is a reachable manner to repair gadgets. However, in most instances, it could soak up to 24 hours to cure. Newer, self-fusing silicon tape takes handiest minutes to treatment. It may be used in region of decrease tubing and is intended to restore any surface, such as electrical components. It is warmth resistant up to 500 ranges F.
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Shakable Siphon
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There are times while you need to siphon liquid from one area and transport it into every other. A shakable siphon facilitates you do so without sucking the liquid up via the tube. Simply stick one give up into the liquid you want to siphon off, and shake the tube some times. This attracts the liquid up thru the tube and permits you to siphon it out with out getting your mouth full of potentially dangerous substances.
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Spray Rubber
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Your local hardware save is full of exciting sealants. Not the least of these is spray rubber that could function a watertight seal. There are many sensible makes use of; but, it won't be nice to try to make a boat out of a screen door with simply you may.

https://imgur.com/a/ALcAISu
Room is 80" x 100", 9ft ceiling. WasheDryer are essentially fixed in place due to location of drain/duct. Door swing would impact wall to wall counter (see top view). Ideally, any breaks in storage would line up with the gap between the washedryer.
Wants:
Shelf for detergents above washer
Shelf to stack folded clothes
More storage, cabinets and or shelving
Enough hanging space for up to ~10 garments
Color, either on cabinets or wall
Things I've considered:
IKEA cart between dryer and door
Hanging extension rack
Hanging space in nook
Peel and stick wallpaper
There are a couple ideas at the end of the gallery link. I'm not attached to either.

Hey there, relatively new Ubiquiti guy here. My Brother-in-Law helped me set up my system a while back, but I am now moving from my ARLO cams to Protect and could use a little bit of help.
I currently have a US-16-150W running POE to a UAP-AC-LR in my garage, but I'm looking to add a small POE hub there to run my AP as well as install a line just outside of my garage door for a G4 Bullet.
I borrowed a NanoSwitch, but after messing around with it, it seems as though that isn't the correct POE for my Bullet.
I'm looking at the Switch Flex right now, and I just want to be 100% positive that is the correct piece of hardware to grab for the power passthrough if I don't want to have to plug in more stuff in the garage. (I'm not opposed to that, I could also plug in a POE hub in there and run the AP and Bullet off that if that makes the most sense.) The garage is on the opposite end of my house, if that matters. I have never had power issues with the AP in there now, but this would draw more power for sure. (Running cat6 through the attic/walls.)
I've just upgraded to a DMP from a very old cloud key / gateway setup and have been excited to mess around with this stuff again.
Any recommendations are welcome! Thank you!

TL:DR
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- Per title I have been in my first "IT" role which is a hardware configuration role
- Talked to my superior about a pay raise/ and or promotion. Pay raise seems a little more likely then promotion at this point but it would be rather insignificant ( Most likely only $1.00 in a HCOL area ). The current minimum wage where I live is quite high causing some problems. This year it got raised to $15.00. Despite earning more then I did in non-I.T positions I was earning a greater amount above minimum wage previously before it got raised as quick and aggressively as it has combined with inflation it doesn't feel like I'm doing as good despite now being in IT. I may have been earning quite a bit more above minimum wage previously with seemingly greater purchasing power. I can notice a fairly decent increase in my paychecks but with everything costing more as well as the minimum wage being higher causing me to be much closer to minimum wage then I was previously this is rather concerning to me.
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- I have been doing a lot of the "lead-tech"/ Supervisor functions out of necessity due to turn-over and things of that nature so I was hoping I could get promoted to that role but it seems somewhat unlikely. Meaning I will have to keep going above and beyond my current duties for no improvement in title or pay.
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- I also lost insurance coverage due to turning 26 and my current employer does not offer any form of benefits which is additionally problematic as it is not likely I can afford even the cheapest insurance with all the other expenses/ liabilities that I have living an extremely bare-bones existence.
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- This is leading me to look for change for a couple reasons, Benefits, Greater pay and different job functions.
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- Prior to getting into I.T I found that I enjoyed networking the most compared to programing, systems...etc so I got the CCNA from Cisco which I have not been able to use professionally in my current role. I want to keep my Credentials from Cisco active so I have been pursuing the CCNP.
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- I am questioning if I should be focusing on different types of credentials since the networking certifications I have while getting recognition in interviews and generally being desirable does not seem to be helping me as much as maybe a Microsoft certification or something a little bit more general for lack of a better phrasing.
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- I am currently enrolled in an associate program at my local community college but rather far from finishing as I just started.
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- I feel somewhat unmarketable or undesirable as well as overall kind of stuck in my role without mobility.
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- It seems like a huge thing holding me back is having no support or active directory experience which I simply cannot gain within my current role/ company.
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I have been feeling like hardware might not be for me despite helping me get my foot in the door in terms of moving into the I.T field. The experience only seems to qualify me for similar configuration positions which I am not exactly interested in for a variety of reasons. I have been thinking if I could move towards a help desk type role that could help me move closer to a sys admin or net admin role. I feel as though help desk would expose me to ticketing as well as active directory which seems to be rather important for many roles I would like moving forward.
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I seem to get a reasonable amount of interviews and I have been playing around with my resume a lot as well as learning how to interview better. I seemingly get passed over every time for lack of support and active directory experience and my networking certification while giving me some credibility doesn't seem to count for much which is disappointing. I worked hard and it took me awhile to get it. I also know that not possessing a college degree of any sort or being far away from completing an associate is not ideal either.
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I see plenty of positions that pay quite a bit more then my current role that I feel like I would have no problem succeeding at; Nonetheless, I can't seem to make the transition. It always appears that while being a good candidate there always seems to be individuals that are a better fit. I am not sure how to overcome this disparity. I have also noticed there seems to be a lot less desire to provide training while being more demanding of hiring individuals that are already proven with experience so to speak.
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This makes sense but this is something I am having difficulty overcoming as well. I have learned a lot professionally in my current role and about I.T in addition to navigating this career field in regards to titles, Different positions...etc. I just can't help but feel kind of stuck with no where to go. I am aware of the possibility of I.T which is why I choose it over other options. I know it is possible to have greater success in I.T compared to what I am currently experiencing. I just cannot seem to get over that hump.
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I am not trying to say it isn't possible or I can't do it because that is not what I believe. I simply feel like I am not using the correct approach or there is some vital piece of the puzzle I am missing which is holding me back. I am sure many people are dealing with this or have been able to overcome similar situations. I am looking for any guidance in terms of how to present myself as a better fit for the role, Anything I can do to qualify me for better positions or any advice in general to make progress towards advancing in the I.T field. I want nothing more than to do whatever it takes in-order to do better. I am not sure what I am doing wrong so to speak since I feel like I am doing a lot of the general advice given such as getting certified, Getting experience in the I.T field as well as working towards completing higher education.
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Looking forward to any insight that could help with my struggles. Hopefully this is formatted well and provides the necessary details to be able to provide advice. I hope that I can gain feedback that will enable me to overcome these obstacles since I want to thrive in the I.T field and not merely get by so to speak which is what it feels like I am currently experiencing.
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Thank you.
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-Positive_Shock_2811

Okay, here’s my attempt at a NOP fanfic.
The Nature of Predators is made by u/SpacePaladin15
Just a few tidbits before we get started. I’m not sticking close to the cannon, so don’t be surprised when groups operate differently from their real NOP counterparts. I’m going for a “dark time line” kind of situation. There are going to be war crimes and lots of devil’s advocate nonsense, so this fanfic may rustle your jimmies. The start of this story takes place on Sillis and is only told from a single Arxur supply officer’s POV.
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Memory transcription subject: Varce, Cattleship Δ1242, Sillis
Date [standardized human time]: December 4, 2136
Finally… After mindlessly double checking and triple checking weapons and herbivore feed inventory it was time to get some fresh air. The raid itinerary had originally slated us to landfall 36 hours ago, but then a small human fleet lurched into our FTL disruptor grid. The grid was deployed with the intent to prevent prey ships from escaping, but hey, happy accidents.
I looked around the squad that I would be overseeing during prey extraction. Their faces ranged from agitated to giddy, all hungry. Starvation prior to deployment was standard practice for lower enlisted. It made them extra violent which was perfect for propaganda. Having a full relaxed Arxur on shift wouldn’t be near as terrifying for the pseudo-sapient snack bags.
Of course not all were starved, officers like myself needed to keep a cool head while procuring desperately needed food for the people of Wriss. It is my job, as one of the Dominion’s loyal servants, to ease the suffering of sapient lives throughout the known universe. I should clarify, that while I am somewhat defective, I’m not some delusional prey loving nut-job. I just care about sapients more that the average Arxur, that’s all.
The cargo doors of the craft hissed open as eye burning natural light entered the space. After I recovered from my temporary blindness, I barked out orders to my subordinates and began driving the refrigeration cart out of the ship. Its anti-gravity motors hummed as Arxur marched alongside it. Except for Tarth, lazy ass was perched on the cart’s lid with a ranged rifle shouldered. He says he does it to “be a lookout”, but we both know that’s bullshit. I let him get away with it though, what’s the point of having authority if you don’t use it to let your friend do stupid crap?
We had been dropped off at ground zero of a conventional bombing zone. Ruble from buildings with twisted bit of chitin sticking out covered the ground. Troops passed any worthwhile pieces to the cart for preservation. Eating of scraps was forbidden. It would spoil the squad's appetite prior to any engagements with the tilfish survivors. Thinking about the impending carnage reminded me to activate the 360’ camera fixed atop the cart’s driver compartment. Maybe some of my footage would go into one of the hunting compilations that gets forcibly broadcast onto the media channels the prey’s young watch. I let out a throaty chuckle thinking about the fearful cries one of those forsaken abominations would make.
Tarth looked over to me. “What’s so funny blubber tail? All that prime officer food finally melt your brain.”
“No just thinking about the prospect of one of our hunts being used for entertainment, now get back to work “look-out”.”
“Eh… I’m not too sure any footage is going to be used from this raid. None of the Gojid Cradle footage got used since the brass didn’t want Arxur to be associated with killing sapients.”
“...True. Well I’ll film this anyway, maybe it could be used as b-roll footage for future human engagement training.”
“I’d prefer we didn’t run into any humans boss-man”
I grimaced at the thought, the chatty Arxur had a point. I’ve never killed a sapient before. I had pushed the idea out of my head before, but it all came back to me. The whole reason Chief Hunter Shaza deployed 8000 of her ships to Sillis was to fight the humans, the tilfish were an afterthought in truth. I don’t really get why the humans were so keen on picking a fight with the Dominion. Chief Hunter Isif saved their entire species and in turn they started rattling a saber at Chief Hunter Shaza’s initial raiding group. Do they want to be at war with both the Federation AND the Dominion. Surely they understand that that would be a death sentence for such a small race with no backup colonies. It’s just so frustrating, we finally meet another sapient race and all they want to do is fight. We should be working together to wipe out the genocidal maniacs in the Federation.
“Hey Varce. Varce. Looks like that building over there is ripe for hunting. Just say the word.”
I perked up after being pulled from my dark thoughts. We were no longer surrounded by rubble and were at our first scheduled stop. A eugenics clinic that was likely filled with eggs that would top off the cart I brought along. I glanced at the life detection hardware built into the driver’s panel.
“Listen up. We’re here for the eggs in that building. It has 33 adult tilfish life signs inside. Don’t bother taking any of them alive, just put a hole in their heads and dump them in the cart. Eggs are our priority. EGGS. Don’t get too bite-y. There’s a bomb shelter down the road for that kind of behavior. Now get to it and make the Prophet proud!”
I stood by with Tarth and several auto-turret technicians as the rest of the squad swarmed all sides of the clinic. Per standard procedure, I had the techs set up an auto-turret for any surprise runaways. After a couple of minutes a tilfish on the second floor desperately crawled part way out of a window trying to escape. It fell to the ground after Tarth took out one of its weight bearing feet. The impact ruptured it chitin and it died shortly after. As Tarth began strolling over to retrieve the soon to be refrigerated carcass, several more tilfish landed on top of the now flattened meat pulp. Tarth threw himself to the ground as the auto-turrets made there tell-tell beeping noise. Now Tarth had to carry back three piles of meat pulp.
Tarth sat the meat piles down in front of the cart while laughing. “Prophet help me. My life just flashed before my eyes. That would’ve been such an underwhelming way to go. Thank the prophet I’m a master at dodging.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call collapsing to the ground in terror “masterful”, but yeah sure. At least your not dead. Now lets get this slop cleaned up and preserved.”
“Your just jealous of how awesome I looked. Also, that ankle shot I did was glorious. Admit it.”
Tarth went on stroking his ego for the next half hour as the cart was filled with delicious nutritious eggs and gooey bug parts. The cart’s driver panel indicated that we had gathered about 10,000LBS of food in total. A good haul so far, that would be enough to feed roughly a 140 Arxur for a week. I sent the cart back to the ship with an escort while everyone else headed to the nearby bomb shelter.
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Once we arrived at our next scheduled location, courtesy of garbage prey internet security, I had the auto-turret techs set up a perimeter around the shelter entrance. It’s not likely that someone would pull a fast one on us, but I’ve never been into gambling. While we waited for fresh empty carts to arrive, I went ahead and had the squad look around for any material to block up the bomb shelter’s ventilation ports.
After even more waiting, four refrigeration carts and some shelter cracking materials arrived. The plan for shelter cracking was tried and true. First, we would have a drill bore out a hole through the blast door. That would then rapidly be followed up with a flash bang to scare off anyone smart enough to shoot through the hole. This is then followed by several tear gas canisters and a smoke machine. The smoke would exit any ventilation ports and they would be subsequently sealed. After all that we then pump the place full of nitrous oxide, wait about 20 minutes, and breach the doors.
Often times there will be one or two prey smart enough to wear self-contained breathing apparatuses. For this reason, once the door is opened we send in something similar to what a human would refer to as a “Claymore Roomba”. About 20 seconds after activating the device I heard a loud BANG and sent in the initial breaching party. After the all clear, the carts and myself entered.
Oh no.
Near the entrance to shelter was what was left of four humans. SAPIENTS. I killed sapients. I gave the order. They are my responsibility. I’m effectively a murderer now. I know that it’s “war”, but still. That doesn't un-kill them.
I choked down my horror remembering what would happen if other Arxur saw me like this. I turned to Tarth. “Inspect these four for any useful equipment or identifying information. After that, bring it all to me”
I turned away and kept walking. I couldn’t look at their mutilated faces anymore, shards of clear poly-carbonate lodged in their skulls from the breathing mask they were wearing. Blackened blood peppering their bodies and surroundings. Those were someones kids, friends, lovers, and I took them away. I just destroyed families in one foul swoop.
I cleared my head as i walked into the auditorium filled with drowsy and unconscious tilfish. I ensured the cameras on all of the carts were on and gave the order. What came next was quite the sight.
The little abominations screeched and squealed as my squad tore into them. Ripping the young away from the dazed brood-mothers, tearing the monsters apart like they deserved. Loyal and dedicated soldiers finally filling their stomachs after days of hunger. This is what it’s all about. Bringing smiles to the faces of sapients. At this moment I could finally forget about the atrocity that happened to those four in the previous room. I started to salivate myself a little, I shouldn’t indulge though. This is a reward to the Arxur people, not me.
I cheerily hummed as the weak tilfish were tossed into the refrigeration carts. The cold would slow them down to nothing, but it wouldn’t kill them. Perfectly convenient for filling the cages back on the cattle ships. Watching over the cart’s weight readouts I guesstimated that this would be enough to feed about 680 Arxur for a week. It makes me so proud thinking about all the young wonderful Arxur that will get to enjoy these meals. How they’ll go to sleep with full bellies and grow strong. No deformations from malnutrition. Perfectly formed jaws with clean straight teeth. Unlike mine, jagged, crisscrossed, and malformed. I’ll make sure that they have better lives then me. It’s the least I could do.
These thoughts were short-lived unfortunately. Tarth approached me with a bag crafted from the same materials as the pelts the humans wear. I took it silently and he went off to go get his fill.
I dug through the “backpack” as I would later identify it. The pack contained weapons, ammo, and holopads. Turns out the holopads required biometerics, but Tarth was kind enough to attach the associated severed thumbs to each. I went through and altered the security preferences to myself on all of them and glossed through one’s photo album.
I knew what I was going to see, but I punished myself anyway. The dead human had a mate. Whether or not it was a temporary relationship, I don’t know. They had pictures of themselves standing in front of various earth locations. Monuments, beautiful scenes of nature you’d never see on a federation planet, relaxed on furniture with a furry quadrupedal predator. Things I’ve never seen in person and likely never will. I robbed the human of all of this.
I put away the holopad and steeled myself. If I was going to have a breakdown, it would be in my quarters.
I quietly waited for the final stages of the shelter raid to wrap up and began planning the next step of today’s festivities. The entire squad would escort the refrigeration carts back to the cattle ship and we would then exchange them for one refrigeration cart and two cargo carts. After that we would search a nearby tilfish military base for heavy munitions and any high value ship related equipment and materials.
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There was a bit of a delay at Cattleship Δ1242. The other squads were as successful as mine, so we had to wait for a refrigeration cart to be freed up. I took the opportunity to drop off the human pack in my room and check the current raid situation. Thankfully there weren’t any notable hiccups in the raid from a global perspective. The human FTL clusterfuck only shorted us a few ships and part of the fleet was in process with salvaging them for FTL drives, fuel, FTL disruptors, inertial dampeners, shield generators, and databases containing flight logs and encryption keys.
After the update, I reconvened with my squad and gave them a run down on the status of the raid. Tarth already hopped up onto the refrigeration cart before I even got to it. Lazy ass.
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We were still about a half mile out from our destination when Tarth perked up and swung his rifle around toward a concrete building. I trailed his the direction his rifle was pointing to see a rather peculiar sight. A white human pelt that was tied to a stick by the arms was being waved around. However, who was holding it was hiding behind part of the building.
Before I could say anything Tarth already sent a round through the pelt.
“OH SHIT. Uhh… Hey in human culture white flags are a universal symbol of “I give up. Please don’t shoot me” okay?”
My thoughts shot back to the four mutilated corpses I left back in the bomb shelter. Icy guilt crept down my back and left my tail with pins and needles. I sighed for a moment and waved Tarth to lower his gun.
“Alright human, come out slowly, we won’t shoot you.”
A fleshy claw-less hand poked out from the wall and waited.
I grumbled as the weak predator peaked out. “When I said slowly, I meant some time today. I have a schedule to keep.”
“Sorry. Was just taking it slow. Figured if someone with a hair trigger got any ideas, it’d be better to lose a hand than a life.”
The human was one of the paler variants. It had a smashed in muzzle like the rest of its kind. Not exactly what I’d call an apex predator, but I’d tolerate it. (It… He I think?) He carried two large green storage cylinders on his back and was wearing the standard blue helmet uniform. At his hip was a belt carrying various bobbles and oh that’s a gun.
“If your surrendering, why do you have a gun?”
“It’s for the crazy murder bugs with the flamethrowers. As long as you bunch are on the ball with killing them, you can have it.”
I grunted at Tarth and nodded him over to the human. He drew the sidearm from the humans holster and inspected it. Tarth being Tarth, then proceeded to start jabbing the human with the weapon gleefully. The human looked over to me pleadingly. He clearly wasn’t thrilled with having a gun poking into his gut.
I spoke up. “Tarth do you intend on wasting our time as well? Get over here. Human, you will stay within ten feet of him or me at all times. Don’t try to run off, I don’t need to explain what will happen if you try.”
“Understood”
Well, at least the human seems to be disciplined enough to not have an attitude.
Our procession continued as I introduced our first official human captive to Tarth and myself. The weaker “social predator” was just as chatty as my slightly defective friend to my disappointment. However, once the topic of our destination came up, my mercy started to pay off.
“You guys are going to the base? Yeah. Fuck that. Don’t go there. That place is an absolute shitstorm. Some empathetic dumb-asses started to let tilfish in so we could protect them from the scary Arxur. I naturally raided supply of their MREs and got the fuck out of there. Lo and behold, before I was even out the gate the tilfish started shooting and burning dudes. Never trust a fuckin’ bug.”
Tarth and I both chuckled at the idea of some empathetic prey lovers getting their comeuppance.
“Despite that, we are still going human. I was assigned to raid the base for goods and you already know where everything is. So try not to get shot or burned until after our objective is completed.”
The human looked dejected. “Well fuck… I should’ve stayed behind that wall. Are you absolutely sure you want to go there. All the functional ships evacuated early yesterday during your surprise attack on the planetary defenses.”
Tarth spoke up. ”Wasn’t much of a surprise really. Not even an hour into the assault and a human fleet of a thousand some odd ships popped in behind us.”
“The UN had an entire fleet show up within an hour of you guys arriving?
“Yes. Although it was pretty short lived. They disabled a few of our shields with some kind of bombs, but it really didn’t matter. We outnumbered them 8 to 1 and just threw a wall of plasma at them. Not a whole lot of defensive positions to be had out in space. Most of them tried to run, but we catapulted FTL disruptor buoys at them and burnt them all. I have no idea what their strategy was there.”
“...Cool. Good to know.”
“You should have seen it. Ships full of foolish humans turning into molten slag. Their corpses ejecting into space and bloating up from the vacuum. Some of them holding onto their pet prey. Maybe we’ll gather up the tasty prey carcasses later, the cold of space preserves meat nicely I hear. I swear I could hear the screams even in space. That’s what it’s like when weak predators try to pick fights with the Arxur. They weren’t smart like you, human.”
The human shut up after that. I suspect the thought of so many of his kin dying likely saddened him. To be fair, I would be too if those were my people. I mean, it sucks that so many sapients died, but I didn’t have a hand in it.
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The entrance to the base was finally in sight. Tarth and the human lounged on the top of the refrigeration cart despite the irritated side glances from the others in the squad. I could smell the stench of burnt flesh wafting towards us from somewhere deeper in the base. It served as a good confirmation that the human wasn’t feeding us bad intel.
I was looking over to the human pleased when gray blood splattered out from the back of his helmet. It took me a second to realize we were being shot at. It took another for me to order my squad to take cover behind the sturdy carts. I ordered the auto-turret techs to deploy their toys to protect our flanks and rear.
Tarth, the human’s corpse, and I all crouched together behind the refrigeration cart. I’d never seen a dead body convulse in such a weird way before, desperately pulling off its helmet and cursing… Wait. What? The air suddenly reeked of burnt hair and small wisp of smoke coming from the doffed helmet. Tarth gave the living corpse a weird look and shrugged. Questions later, not dying takes precedence.
Tarth and I ensured the aim assist in our rifles was toggled on and proceeded to dispense suppressive fire from behind the cart. Ideally, we could just point our weapons in our adversaries general direction and the rifle’s computer would do the hard part.
The human started panicking when a metal ball dropped next to us. He kicked the sphere away and started cursing in pain while holding his foot. No surprise there you moronic primate, those black leather foot coverings aren’t going to protect you when you punt a metal ball down the street. Wait... Did that ball just explode? Oh. Yeah. We got briefed on those things come to think of it. Good call monkey-man, your foot didn’t go bruised in vain.
As Tarth and I lowered ourselves back down to reload, we suddenly felt the smaller predator forcibly sandwich himself between us. He tightened himself into a tiny ball while wide eyed. I looked around our perimeter. There weren’t any hostile humans so what was his deal. Tarth’s breathing seized up as well, what the hell was going on?
Beep Beep.
It occurred to me at that moment the auto-turrets haven’t been updated to recognize any humans as friendly. I froze up and slowly looked at our flanks. Both turrets were pointing at us. I’ve never pissed myself before… But I got damn close.
The three of us just stayed there perfectly still for what felt like hours. It gave me enough time to think about many things in my life. All the things I haven’t done yet. I’ve never had the opportunity to sire my own clutch, the closest thing I have to a friend is a psycho that gravitates toward me because I’m the only one that tolerates his non-stop yapping, and how nice is it to finally feel the warmth of another pressed up against me. Holy crap what is wrong with me? Prophet, I’m sorry for being so defective. If you bail me out of this, I’ll do whatever you want, just give me a sign.
And the Prophet answered my prayer indeed. Some foolhardy humans finally went for our flanks and drew the ire of the auto-turrets away from us. As the BRRT of the turrets sounded off Tarth, being the absolute bastard that he is, dived away from us.
This left me and the human exposed to the turrets. My initial thought was to push the human over and dive away, so I pushed him over. As I readied myself to dive, I thought about those four in the shelter. How I robbed them of their lives and families. I just couldn't do that again. I can’t just pretend that it’s not my problem. The human’s eyes showed such sadness from that impending betrayal. So I dived, hoping that I’d be able to hide him from the sensors on the auto-turrets.
Luckily, he was still balled up so it wasn’t terribly difficult to cover him with my body. I never felt so exposed in my life, doing this. I just laid there thinking, waiting, and wondering if my empathy was about to come back to bite me in the ass. This was all so off putting, being this close to another person. I wanted nothing more than to get up and walk away. I could hear his breath and the light tensing of his body. This wasn’t something that really happens with Arxur.
Eventually, the sound of gunfire died down. I heard people milling about, the hiss of medical foam being applied, and the louder hiss of angry Arxur having gunshot wounds treated.
“Uh. Sir?” I heard the confused words of one of the auto-turret techs.
“No no no. Leave him be. Can’t you see our dear leader is in love. Although, that is the UGLIEST woman I’ve ever seen.”
I’ve never wanted to smack that annoying lazy ass more than at this moment.
I cleared my throat. “Solider, would you kindly deactivate the auto-turrets so our guide to the base doesn't get shredded by an angry machine.”
“Oh..? Yes. Right away sir.”
So I laid there, feeling a smug ass staring a hole into the back of my head. I recapped the events of the skirmish and lamented how I did so little. I only burned through one magazine with some sprayN’pray and that was it. Hell, the human saved a lot of our asses with that grenade save.
Speaking of the human. “Hey human? Why aren’t you dead? You just took a bullet to the head.”
“Uh. The helmets we wear are really good. They have this non-Newtonian fluid laced with perovskite crystals. Basically, the helmet is a fluid sack that hardens in response to physical trauma. It then converts kinetic energy into heat and electricity. These helmets can eat a .308 point blank. Only downsides are that they are one and done armors and that they’ll burn the shit out of you if they stay in contact too long.”
I’d never heard of such a thing before, but clearly it worked. I’ve seen prey attempt to use helmets with varying degrees of failure. Problem is, usually the brain gets shook around and they die anyway. I decided that this fluid would be beneficial to the Dominion.
I spoke up to get Tarth’s attention. “Tarth. Order anyone that isn’t busy to strip the human’s of their armor pelts and headgear. Place everything in the cargo cart next to the human’s green storage bags.”
Shortly after I gave out the order, the auto turret tech returned. “Varce sir. The auto-turrets have been deactivated.”
I Immediately popped up to separate myself from the smaller predator. Looking around it seems we had fared well enough against the ambush. Heh. Arxur being ambushed. Crazy times. We only lost 3 soldiers and have a handful of injuries. It could have been a lot worse. Even Tarth has some med foam sticking out of his arm. The Arxur bodies were being loaded into the refrigeration cart. We’d look into harvesting their organs for transplants later.
The human looked over the bodies of his fallen kin. I decided it would be appropriate to talk to him about their deaths. The bodies had been stripped as ordered, although it appears someone got overzealous and stripped one of them of all there pelts. Wow. That is super gross looking. It’s just like, dangling around on the outside. What happens if it gets caught on something? Does it just tear off and regenerate? That’s just downright terrible design.
Getting myself back on topic. I turned to the human and spoke up. “So… Did you know any of these humans?”
“Uh… Yeah. To be honest. They were fucking elitist assholes. Doesn’t mean I wanted them dead though. It’s just well... This is all a fucking mess. They did shoot me in the back of the head though. So it’s kind of hard to not feel schadenfreude about the whole thing… Can I get a new helmet? Mine’s kind of busted right now.”
“Go for it. There should be some next to your stuff in the cargo cart.”
“Thanks. I mean… As in thanks for everything. You saved my ass in a big way. Not a whole lot of people would of done that for me… So thank you... Yeah.”
--------------------------------
The inside of the base had seen better days. Some buildings had been destroyed either by the original raid or the human’s occupation. It also appeared that the exterminator’s fires got out of hand and had spread to the tent city the UN made for their troops. There were quite a few chard human bodies mixed in with the debris. I could certainly understand why the human had no desire to come back.
I got out of the refrigeration cart and announced to my squad. “Apply fire retardant measures. There may be exterminators in this base.”
My fellow Arxur and I pulled out small aerosol canisters and began dousing ourselves in the gelatinous contents. This substance would greatly reduce the flammability of the fuel the exterminators typically use, though the films covering us would oxidize and become useless after about 20 minutes. We needed to make a clean sweep of our travel path and secure the nearby maintenance hangar before then. I placed the spent canister back in my tail pouch and began driving again.
“So you’ve got one of those spray bottles for me, right?” The human looked over to me pleadingly. “Just sayin’. I’d like to not burn to death if at all possible.”
“Are you willing to strip naked and shave yourself?”
“What?”
“This stuff only works if it forms a solid layer on you. It won’t work on fur and pelts.”
“Shit… Can I have my gun back then?”
“No.”
We continued moving for about ten minutes per the human’s instructions. The intersection that would take us to our loot was finally in view. There were large industrial style buildings surrounding us from all sides. This was where minor ship parts like valves would be stored or milled out for ships. Lots of little doors and tight alleyways for the diminutive insectoids to scurry through. As such this was the perfect environment for exterminators to hide. I kept my eyes peeled for even the slightest movement.
My suspicions paid off immediately when I noticed some dumpsters that were conveniently lined up between two buildings. I know a barricade when I see one. I brought our caravan to a stop just out of weapons range of the prey’s fortifications. I checked the driver’s panel for life signs and smiled knowing my caution was justified.
I stood out of the drivers seat, silently motioning towards the dumpsters. Half of the squad formed up around the carts. The other half broke into groups and approached the dumpsters from multiple angles. My group consisted of Tarth, the human, and three other Arxur.
My group and I shouldered our rifles and began unloading into the dumpsters. The foolish prey actually thought they were going to get one over on us. In moments tilfish started scrambling, desperately spraying the flammable contents of their weapons in the air towards us. Most of it fell short with only a few stray droplets touching us. We stood back at a comfortable range as the last few bugs dropped to the ground bleeding out in a pool of their own accelerant. One of the little abominations used the last of its pathetic strength to immolate the remains of it group.
A burst of flame pushed towards us, showering us with embers and half burnt debris. Our groups backed away from the intense heat and rapidly pawed off any unwelcome remains of the explosion. Well, except for the human, his left forearm was very on fire. With a surprising level of calmness, my human pulled a water bottle from his belt and doused the flame away.
He looked over to me and grumbled. “I probably should of stayed at the carts.”
“Probably. How did you even get that much fuel on your arm?”
“I didn’t. These uniforms are made out of acrylic and cotton. Very flammable. The UN thought it would be a good idea to have us peace keep against guys who almost exclusively use fire. I have many words about the UN. None of them are nice.”
“At least you handled being on fire pretty well.”
“I’ve seen about twenty people get caught on fire in the past week. I know the drill. Also, I’m gonna need some medical attention for this by the end of the day.”
--------------------------------
Fantastic, we’ve arrive at the maintenance hangar the human recommended and what do we find? More barricades and a bunch of life signs. Maybe I shouldn’t complain. I might be able to top off all my carts in one go.
I ordered my squad to surround the structure just as I had with the eugenics clinic. Though I had to stop the auto-turret techs before they accidentally lit up my human. I quietly pondered how I was going access the hangar with minimal gunfire. I didn't want to run the risk of accidentally damaging a spare FTL drive or something. I ultimately landed on the idea of just ramming through the door with the cargo cart to draw attention and then have the squad flank the inhabitants.
As one of my troops lined up their cart with the doors a shaky human voice called out. “Wait! We have missile warheads rigged to blow if you try anything!”
My human looked over to me and motioned he was going to the door. I allowed him to do so.
“Hey Lee, is that you?” My human questioned. “How are you holding up?”
“Hall? What the hell are you doing with the space nazi crocs?” (Who the hell is Hall? Oh, okay, that’s my human’s name. I should probably remember that.)
“You know. Trying to not die. Things are all kinds of FUBAR right now.”
“Things get rough and you just bail? All we had to do is hold down the fort and wait for rescue. And what do you do? You immediately defect to them. They literally eat babies. You abandoned humanity.”
“Lee. A UN fleet jumped into system one hour after the Arxur arrived.”
“So they tried to save us and you decide to run off?”
“No no. How long would it take for a fleet going FTL to get here assuming a distress signal was sent out the second the Arxur arrived?”
“… Are you saying that they knew the Arxur were coming and didn’t give us a heads up? But…”
“Look man. You’ve got to make your own decisions, but from where I’m standing you really only have two choices. Either commit suicide by Arxur or walk away from what your doing and survive. The Arxur are going to eventually try to trade us to the UN. I intend on living.”
“But what about the tilfish? Are you seriously fine with them being cattle?”
“If you want to die for some bugs that burnt Clark alive two days ago, then that's your call. See you later… Or not.”
“Wait. Wait!”
My human didn’t respond. He just walked back over to me. After that brief exchange, he looked completely used up. It did help me to better understand his willingness to work with me though. All these humans planet side had effectively been left to die before we even arrived at Sillis. Most of them didn’t even know they were fighting for a government that withheld knowledge that could’ve saved them. They could have evacuated and saved so many sapient lives. So much for 5 humans for every 500 million xenos.
I waited long enough. It was time to crack this egg. As I gave the order to breach, I heard four consecutive gunshots come from the hangar. The cargo cart broke open the door and the side entrances were forced as well. I walked in behind the cargo cart and took stock of the situation. A somewhat tanned human was standing over three tilfish carcasses while brandishing its rifle towards a crowd of prey.
The human was seizing up saying. “Don’t move. I… I… I don’t want to die, okay! I… I’m sorry. It’s just that…”
The human trailed off murmuring nonsense. My human got his attention and led him out of the building. Given the degraded mental state of the disheveled human, that was probably best given what was going to happen next. I gave a quick look around, there was no “rigged warhead”, the “Lee” human had given us an empty threat.
The weak prey didn’t stand a chance as my fellow Arxur snatched them up, forcing them into the refrigeration cart. Shrill cries escaped the grotesque creature’s mouths as they were pressed against the Arxur bodies that were already in the cart. Perhaps more refrigeration carts should’ve been brought. The cart reached what was the “comfortable capacity” and there was still a third of the tilfish to go. So naturally, we just started pushing them in harder. Pops and cracks could be heard as chitin bent and broke from strain. Ear piercing noises echoed throughout the room as the little mindless bugs wailed. With one final push, we managed to load all of the bugs into the cart. The readout said we had collected about 18,200lbs of food. While the cart’s recommended weight limit had been exceeded, the thought of 250 Arxur getting to stave off starvation brought me so much joy.
I walked about the hangar inspecting all of the available loot. While I was disappointed by the lack of any FTL related equipment, there was however, an abundance of components for inertial dampeners and shields. My squad got to work loading up the two cargo carts as I went to check up on the two humans. I found them a short walk away from the hangar sitting together under a shade. The humans looked over to me when I approached them. Lee must have gotten more ill. His face was inflamed and red with looked to be signs of leaked fluid on his pelts. Wonderful. I’m going to have to take both of them to medical since this one is developing some kind of infection.
My human looked between Lee and me for a moment before speaking. “Lee. This is Varce. He is a supply officer on his ship and is currently in charge of retrieving ship parts from this base. Varce. This is Lee. He was in training to become an air force mechanic prior to being transferred to the UN to be cannon fodder.”
Seeing that Lee was hesitant to talk, I took the initiative. “Hello Lee, I’m Varce. We’ll be heading back to our ship here in a minute. I’ll run you guys by our doc and get you some acceptable sleeping quarters. As for food, we have two bags of human meals ready to eat available for you since you guys have certain dietary restrictions. Also, I’m going to need you to forfeit your firearms for now. Armed humans can be somewhat distressing for Arxur. I hope you understand.”
Lee glanced up to me. “Are we going to be traded back to the UN?”
“Yes. While the exact terms haven’t been decided yet. I’d hazard a guess that Chief Hunter Shaza will likely be trading you for artificial meat. We don’t eat people.”
The human scrunched up his face at that and handed over his weapons. The three of us then headed back to the carts so that we could depart. I did have to shoo Tarth off the overburdened refrigeration cart. He then started to try to pester the mentally unwell human. Luckily, my human lured him away before any harm could be inflicted.
--------------------------------
Once we had returned to Cattleship Δ1242, the humans and I fished out the MREs and armor from the cargo cart. We went to my room to deposit the goods and then headed towards doc. I may have made a miscalculation on my path unfortunately. We passed by the caging area that was established for any captured enemy humans. It already housed several residents. Lee began to panic thinking that I was going to be placing him in there.
I stopped him and explained. “No Lee, listen. That’s for humans that try to kill us. I’m going to be re-purposing a supply closet for you two. Okay? ...That sounds worse than it actually is. It’s a nice supply closet. I’ll get you some nesting materials.”
My human started snorting and chuckling uncontrollably. I wasn’t certain if it was me or Lee that caused this.
We paid doc a visit and got my human patched up. The other one’s swelling had reduced back down during the trip back to the ship.
We would be departing soon. The ship had collected everything that it could for the time being, so our next destination would be a cattle farm on an old thafki colony planet. I hoped that things could go smoothly with the temporary integration of two humans. I’m going to need them for the ungodly big pile of ship components I’m about to have to enter into Dominion inventory.
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That’s it for the time being. I’m not certain if I’ll do a follow up on this. This whole fanfic idea ended up happening thanks to Marcel’s magic helmet. I make no claim of being a decent write or proofreader. If you read this, it’s your own fault.

Someone said they put wheels on the bottom of the Rudsta 2 door cabinet (not the tall version). I want to be able to do this. I live in a flat and I only have the space to put the cabinet in my kitchen. My kitchen and lounge are combined but it's the only place it can go, and even then may look silly. I need to be able to roll it like 80 cm to use the washing machine then move it back! I don't know how a person who fix them to the bottom of the IKEA legs? I don't have any skills in drilling etc. I'm hoping some how I can slot some in. I don't know how easy it is to move on castors either. Anyone who has experience please share with photos. Many thanks!

So unfortunately at the end of last year, my sister passed away. At the time her cat was 8 months old and I could not fathom rehoming him. He’s a great cat, loves people…doesn’t cuddle but loves people always asking for pets. Will look at you and meow until you put your hand on him.
Now to the problem, I live in a very spacious neighborhood and I have let him be an indoooutdoor cat. I kept him inside for ten weeks and then opened the door and let him rom inside and out from 7:30/8am until dark. I have a tracker on him and he really stays within the confines of the home. He always goes up to the delivery drivers and the mail man, and asks for love. Well yesterday I had someone knock on my door and say my cat is tormenting his dog…I was really surprised to hear this cause the cat runs away from every other dog in the neighborhood….well I pulled the film and the dog pees and poops on the front lawn…and guess what the cat doesn’t like that. The man complained about the cat and said it’s unfair to his dog. I am very confrontational and love a conversation like this. I started bringing up how my cat has a right to Rome just like his dog has a right to walk. I explained if the cat was doing this on someone else’s lawn I would take care of it but he really doesn’t leave my property, a little like a barn cat. Does anyone have any suggestions? The guy walked away and said, “sick fucking cat dude” I see some problems incoming. This morning I saw them walking outside so I let the cat out to see what happened, and as soon as the dog started smelling my lawn to go to the bathroom the cat charged him didn’t touch him, but definitely rattled the dog. Is this even rometely something I should worry about?
tl;dr
My neighbor walks his dog and he always pees and poops on my lawn and my new cat doesn’t like that. Neighbor thinks it’s unfair for his dog…what can I do

But my 2013 Transit Connect is too small finally.
My dream van is another base model cargo van but with taller roof and stronger motor. Mid roof full sized van is good.
I dislike radios, power windows and door locks and electronics. I would add a backup cam like for a trailer hitch we used to use.
I live in vans rough. No plumbing. Solar panels for fans and batteries ok. Screen tents. Space blankets. My bull terrier likes the cozy space.
I hate to drive. I get provisions and stay home or bug out to friends pending storms. That's it. I own more gardening tools than anything else, very minimalist.
I look at box trucks etc and wish most for a front BENCH seat haha. I need to sit crosslegged on long trips. I need to hang upside down a lot while parked. I could fit an inversion table in a Promaster.
Flatbed? Van? Pickup slide in? Cab and box? I hate cabinets and chairs...I live on the floor because of scoliosis. I don't want to tow anything bigger than a pop-up trailer.
My camp lane is just open enough for the old UPS walk ins. I could live in an old UPS truck. But I want to buy something turnkey. I do know a mechanic who does mail truck conversions etc. He said ask online.

How do I solve this:
My cabinet doors, the bottom part needs to have the gap smaller but there is no screw tension on that hinge, if I put tension it makes the gap bigger so how do I make it smaller?

A sleeping angel statue was in the cornfield next to my house.
There was not only one but many, at least four others lain out in different surrounding farmlands. They had all appeared after the last tornado had dissipated. I had seen such things in churches and cemeteries, but never in our rural plains.
Places flattened after the disaster. The pharmacy and hardware store ended up as rubble.
The stone figures had intricate wings spread and their eyes closed in deep slumber. They seemed to be in pristine condition as if they had camped out and found a new place to call home. Their granite flesh did not have any smudge marks from the swirling detritus of days prior.
No one seemed to bother in wanting to know why they had shown up.
The only other person who seemed to care except for me was a girl who sat one desk removed in the same row in history class. Her name was Shauna Nolan.
Her red hair seemed to change different shades daily. I always wondered if she liked me, but I could never summon the bravery to ask.
All I knew about her were family details. Her Dad was an Alaskan fisherman. Her mother was a retired paralegal who had become a full-time housewife. Everything else about her was a grand mystery in my psyche, which made me even more interested in her.
“I don’t know why they’re here,” Shauna said. "Nobody's thinking about them. How is it not in the news? No one else finds it weird?”
The girl she spoke to seemed far more interested in filing her nails than the discussion.
“I do,” I said as she turned around to face me. “One is only a few hundred feet from my front door.”
“Have you touched them?” Shauna asked. “They’re warm. Mr. Shea, who runs the flea market, found one among his horses. I’ve heard rumors he tried to have it removed. Even with as wealthy as he is, he hasn’t had any luck getting it off his property.”
The teacher shushed us with a smack of his ruler on the board. We pretended to pay attention.
I caught up with her in the hallway after the bell rang.
“We should try to figure out how many there are around town,“ I said. “It might be good to find out if any are different from the others, or to see if there’s anything they have in common.”
“It could be an artist trying to show off their work,” she said with a shrug.
“As you said, no one else seems to find it strange how this happened besides us. Let’s check them out. Together.”
She stared at me with a blank expression for a second before she gave me a wry smile.
“Fine,” she said she turned around and proceeded to head past a row of lockers. “It’s been a while since I’ve taken a long walk anyways. Meet me outside of the machine factory at four tomorrow.”
*
Our dinner table was silent. My father cut into his steak. His grubby, diesel-stained fingers clutched the silverware. He had taken his uniform off. His undershirt still carried the smell of Armor All, mixed with his first lager of the evening.
Mother kept her head down as she ate. I picked the potato salad on the side of my plate without much of an appetite.
The TV was on in the living room with the volume turned down. The local news anchor reported on a robbery homicide. The crime had occurred at a Walgreens in Waterloo. It flashed to a local used car commercial. The salesman was a well-known con artist by the name of Hollohan. He looked like Abraham Lincoln if he had a flat-top haircut and wider eyes.
“Did anyone see the angels?” I asked.
“Agent provocateurs placed those damn religious pieces,“ my father said. He downed his piece of meat with a long swig of beer. “Damn government using diversion tactics to keep our eyes off of where they should be. Their eyes have to be cameras. Surveillance equipment is put there to see how many guns the locals are buying downtown. The fat cats at the top are more afraid of an uprising than we are of gas prices. Or it's all China."
He shook his head and closed his eyes before he took another sip: “I scare myself with how right I am sometimes.”
“It could be a college art show,” Mom said with a soft voice. “Young ones trying to get a bit of attention with their creativity. I’ve read about how those 3D printers are getting better all the time. Or he or she's an aspiring sculptor trying to get their name out there.”
“I didn’t ask for a differing opinion,” Dad said with a leering stare.
“I’m going to check all of them out tomorrow,” I said.
Silence ensued and the air grew thick. My old man looked at me with an impetuous glance. It was the type of expression I had seen countless times.
“You will not do that,” he said. “No son of mine is going to have a mark of the beast placed under his skin because he went too close to an enemy spy drone. That’s what they want, and I refuse to give our freedom to them. Do you understand, boy?”
“Fine,” I lied as I finished my meal.
Later in the night, he passed out on his recliner.
I stole a bag of screwdrivers and a multi-tool off of his work belt and buried them in the backyard out of spite. I did steal his Smith & Wesson blade. I placed it in my pocket with a sense of triumph.
*
Shauna and I met each other in the parking lot of the decrepit factory. The place had been a source of economic survival and despair in equal measures since the dust bowl.
She retrieved the tablet from her backpack, turned it on, and showed me the screen. It was a map of our region. The image had four different photo-shopped pinpoints at various sections of town.
“Have you eaten?” Shauna asked me with a serious gaze. “You should have something on your stomach before we begin. I have a feeling there are many more of them if the rumors of their whereabouts are true.”
“I’m good,” I said.
“Perfect. I also have electrolyte packets and crackers if you start to feel weak. Not a lot of boys around here who eat fast food every day can keep up with me on hikes like this.”
“Are you saying I’m fat?”
“You’re not, only that you’re far from my level. Let’s go.”
Throughout the rest of the evening, we found five more angel statues.
One was by a fountain that sat across from the hospital.
The second was behind the eye doctor’s office hidden by red oaks.
The third was near a blood donation center on the outskirts.
The fourth was two miles adjacent to the truck stop.
We ran our hands along each one and tried to determine if there were any anomalies within the build of each bust. We could not find any.
“We didn’t check by the railroad,” Shauna said.
We went there along a bike path covered in pollen. We came to another cornfield.
We strolled alongside it until we noticed a carved-out pathway. I suspected hoaxers of having attached boards to their feet to design it. Forming artificial crop circles was their favorite way to laugh at the media.
We came to an unspoken agreement to follow it. The width of the man-made trail was proportionate in its dimensions to the angels. By then the sun was lowering and the stars were making themselves known in the wide sky.
The maze zig-zagged. The rustling noises we made echoed in the stillness. We came to the end of the trail.
It led to a greater opening. A propped-up torch on a stone pillar illuminated everything within the clearing.
There were also a dozen or so people there, and they all wore brown cloaks. We were so silent that none of them noticed us. Shauna grabbed me by the arm and pushed me backward. We ducked for cover between stovers.
“Did you see that?” she asked.
I shook my head and she told me to get a better look. I inched out and gazed at the center of the space where the fire blazed. I could not believe what was happening as my body became paralyzed with fear.
The fifth angel statue was there, but its head was beneath an old Medieval-style guillotine. Its blade shimmered.
I recognized the man who held the raising rope.
It was Hollohan, the dullest used car salesman in the entire county, or so I thought. Pinned to the chest of his robe was a silver piece, and it glinted under the moonlight with the maiden. I squinted at it to make sure it was not a skull and crossbones. It was a clock with a hand at the top center. I still had an uneasy sensation in my stomach.
He let go of the cord and the blade dropped. The angel’s head tumbled.
Shauna muffled a scream at what she saw. A pool of black blood oozed from the opened neck.
Someone grabbed my hands and yanked them behind my back. I struggled and attempted to flee, but they threw me to the ground. I looked over and watched as Shauna yelled in terror.
Burly men placed zip ties on both of us and paraded us to the center of their gathering’s strange spectacle. Their uniforms reeked up close of sawdust, sweat, and fresh dewy grass.
Hollohan walked up to Shauna and kept his face only a millimeter away from her eyes. “Do you know who we are?” He stood and approached me after. “Did you two know whose ceremony you were interrupting?”
“No,” I said. “We didn’t do it on purpose, I swear.”
“My children were busy tending to a most significant ritual,” he said.
I wanted to tell him his followers did not look like anything but grown adults to me, but I chose to bite my tongue.
“We are the Ten Midnights. See, plebeians like you don’t know what we do. There are ten heavenly bodies. They look to the average person like a planet, within your sphere of existence. The tenth is not visible. In sacred cosmology, this is often labeled the Counter-earth. The average human eye cannot perceive it. It is full of monsters that we must kill at any cost. You two can be recruits, but only in return for a promise of silence. What you have seen here today must remain secret. We meet with one another ten times every month. We do this to control the beasts. Are you interested in helping us?”
I looked over at Shauna again. It was an effort to see if we should play along with such absurdity for the sake of survival.
“Yes,” Shauna answered. “We will, but please don’t hurt us.”
“Great,” he said with a cackle. “There are ten steps to killing the evil ones sent here from the different reality."
“So the angels are monsters?” I asked.
“Definitely. Though they have not done anything to harm us, they require killing. Our slayings must happen at midnight.”
“Okay,” I said, even though I contemplated how high he may have been at that moment. “Now that we’re briefed, can you take us out of these zip-ties?”
“Not yet,” he said as he walked over to Shauna and grabbed her hair. “First we need to make both of you a part of our group. The only way to do that is to make you feel the same pain we did when we joined.”
I plucked my fingers with the limited mobility I had into my back pocket and retrieved a knife.
I cut the ties and lunged at Hollohan. I grabbed him by the lapels and took him down with a foot sweep. As the men behind me rushed towards me, I cut Hollohan’s left cheek and stood with the blade at the ready.
They cowered. Due to the lack of pockets on their cloaks, it occurred to me they had only one weapon. It was the French beheading device.
“Anyone close to me will get it,” I said, feeling for a second like my Uncle who used to tell me about his time in the military.
I crouched and cut Shauna’s binding.
“Get them you damn weaklings,” Hollohan yelled as he stood.
Shauna kicked Hollohan’s knee and then landed another flat foot against the stone pillar. It moved and the torch collapsed.
The fallen dried cornstalks laid out by the wind all over the perimeter of the dirt circle went up in flames. I grabbed Shauna’s hand and we sprinted as one of the cult members yelled an agonized cry as the fire engulfed him.
We never returned to that area again.
*
A few weeks later, Shauna and I went to her room and played video games.
“You haven’t told anyone about what we went through,” Shauna said. “Right?”
“No,” I said.
I always heard about politicians within the community being in nefarious groups. We did not want to ruffle the feathers of anyone who could control the narrative.
“Do you think the angel got destroyed in the blaze?” I asked. “The fire spread fast. If the blood we saw draining from it could have been gasoline. Hollohan planned on killing everyone there that night. Crazy as he was, it wouldn’t surprise me.”
“The angels vanished,” she said. “No one's seen them since we left that field.”

A sleeping angel statue was in the cornfield next to my house.
There was not only one but many, at least four others lain out in different surrounding farmlands. They had all appeared after the last tornado had dissipated. I had seen such things in churches and cemeteries, but never in our rural plains.
Places flattened after the disaster. The pharmacy and hardware store ended up as rubble.
The stone figures had intricate wings spread and their eyes closed in deep slumber. They seemed to be in pristine condition as if they had camped out and found a new place to call home. Their granite flesh did not have any smudge marks from the swirling detritus of days prior.
No one seemed to bother in wanting to know why they had shown up.
The only other person who seemed to care except for me was a girl who sat one desk removed in the same row in history class. Her name was Shauna Nolan.
Her red hair seemed to change different shades daily. I always wondered if she liked me, but I could never summon the bravery to ask.
All I knew about her were family details. Her Dad was an Alaskan fisherman. Her mother was a retired paralegal who had become a full-time housewife. Everything else about her was a grand mystery in my psyche, which made me even more interested in her.
“I don’t know why they’re here,” Shauna said. "Nobody's thinking about them. How is it not in the news? No one else finds it weird?”
The girl she spoke to seemed far more interested in filing her nails than the discussion.
“I do,” I said as she turned around to face me. “One is only a few hundred feet from my front door.”
“Have you touched them?” Shauna asked. “They’re warm. Mr. Shea, who runs the flea market, found one among his horses. I’ve heard rumors he tried to have it removed. Even with as wealthy as he is, he hasn’t had any luck getting it off his property.”
The teacher shushed us with a smack of his ruler on the board. We pretended to pay attention.
I caught up with her in the hallway after the bell rang.
“We should try to figure out how many there are around town,“ I said. “It might be good to find out if any are different from the others, or to see if there’s anything they have in common.”
“It could be an artist trying to show off their work,” she said with a shrug.
“As you said, no one else seems to find it strange how this happened besides us. Let’s check them out. Together.”
She stared at me with a blank expression for a second before she gave me a wry smile.
“Fine,” she said she turned around and proceeded to head past a row of lockers. “It’s been a while since I’ve taken a long walk anyways. Meet me outside of the machine factory at four tomorrow.”
*
Our dinner table was silent. My father cut into his steak. His grubby, diesel-stained fingers clutched the silverware. He had taken his uniform off. His undershirt still carried the smell of Armor All, mixed with his first lager of the evening.
Mother kept her head down as she ate. I picked the potato salad on the side of my plate without much of an appetite.
The TV was on in the living room with the volume turned down. The local news anchor reported on a robbery homicide. The crime had occurred at a Walgreens in Waterloo. It flashed to a local used car commercial. The salesman was a well-known con artist by the name of Hollohan. He looked like Abraham Lincoln if he had a flat-top haircut and wider eyes.
“Did anyone see the angels?” I asked.
“Agent provocateurs placed those damn religious pieces,“ my father said. He downed his piece of meat with a long swig of beer. “Damn government using diversion tactics to keep our eyes off of where they should be. Their eyes have to be cameras. Surveillance equipment is put there to see how many guns the locals are buying downtown. The fat cats at the top are more afraid of an uprising than we are of gas prices. Or it's all China."
He shook his head and closed his eyes before he took another sip: “I scare myself with how right I am sometimes.”
“It could be a college art show,” Mom said with a soft voice. “Young ones trying to get a bit of attention with their creativity. I’ve read about how those 3D printers are getting better all the time. Or he or she's an aspiring sculptor trying to get their name out there.”
“I didn’t ask for a differing opinion,” Dad said with a leering stare.
“I’m going to check all of them out tomorrow,” I said.
Silence ensued and the air grew thick. My old man looked at me with an impetuous glance. It was the type of expression I had seen countless times.
“You will not do that,” he said. “No son of mine is going to have a mark of the beast placed under his skin because he went too close to an enemy spy drone. That’s what they want, and I refuse to give our freedom to them. Do you understand, boy?”
“Fine,” I lied as I finished my meal.
Later in the night, he passed out on his recliner.
I stole a bag of screwdrivers and a multi-tool off of his work belt and buried them in the backyard out of spite. I did steal his Smith & Wesson blade. I placed it in my pocket with a sense of triumph.
*
Shauna and I met each other in the parking lot of the decrepit factory. The place had been a source of economic survival and despair in equal measures since the dust bowl.
She retrieved the tablet from her backpack, turned it on, and showed me the screen. It was a map of our region. The image had four different photo-shopped pinpoints at various sections of town.
“Have you eaten?” Shauna asked me with a serious gaze. “You should have something on your stomach before we begin. I have a feeling there are many more of them if the rumors of their whereabouts are true.”
“I’m good,” I said.
“Perfect. I also have electrolyte packets and crackers if you start to feel weak. Not a lot of boys around here who eat fast food every day can keep up with me on hikes like this.”
“Are you saying I’m fat?”
“You’re not, only that you’re far from my level. Let’s go.”
Throughout the rest of the evening, we found five more angel statues.
One was by a fountain that sat across from the hospital.
The second was behind the eye doctor’s office hidden by red oaks.
The third was near a blood donation center on the outskirts.
The fourth was two miles adjacent to the truck stop.
We ran our hands along each one and tried to determine if there were any anomalies within the build of each bust. We could not find any.
“We didn’t check by the railroad,” Shauna said.
We went there along a bike path covered in pollen. We came to another cornfield.
We strolled alongside it until we noticed a carved-out pathway. I suspected hoaxers of having attached boards to their feet to design it. Forming artificial crop circles was their favorite way to laugh at the media.
We came to an unspoken agreement to follow it. The width of the man-made trail was proportionate in its dimensions to the angels. By then the sun was lowering and the stars were making themselves known in the wide sky.
The maze zig-zagged. The rustling noises we made echoed in the stillness. We came to the end of the trail.
It led to a greater opening. A propped-up torch on a stone pillar illuminated everything within the clearing.
There were also a dozen or so people there, and they all wore brown cloaks. We were so silent that none of them noticed us. Shauna grabbed me by the arm and pushed me backward. We ducked for cover between stovers.
“Did you see that?” she asked.
I shook my head and she told me to get a better look. I inched out and gazed at the center of the space where the fire blazed. I could not believe what was happening as my body became paralyzed with fear.
The fifth angel statue was there, but its head was beneath an old Medieval-style guillotine. Its blade shimmered.
I recognized the man who held the raising rope.
It was Hollohan, the dullest used car salesman in the entire county, or so I thought. Pinned to the chest of his robe was a silver piece, and it glinted under the moonlight with the maiden. I squinted at it to make sure it was not a skull and crossbones. It was a clock with a hand at the top center. I still had an uneasy sensation in my stomach.
He let go of the cord and the blade dropped. The angel’s head tumbled.
Shauna muffled a scream at what she saw. A pool of black blood oozed from the opened neck.
Someone grabbed my hands and yanked them behind my back. I struggled and attempted to flee, but they threw me to the ground. I looked over and watched as Shauna yelled in terror.
Burly men placed zip ties on both of us and paraded us to the center of their gathering’s strange spectacle. Their uniforms reeked up close of sawdust, sweat, and fresh dewy grass.
Hollohan walked up to Shauna and kept his face only a millimeter away from her eyes. “Do you know who we are?” He stood and approached me after. “Did you two know whose ceremony you were interrupting?”
“No,” I said. “We didn’t do it on purpose, I swear.”
“My children were busy tending to a most significant ritual,” he said.
I wanted to tell him his followers did not look like anything but grown adults to me, but I chose to bite my tongue.
“We are the Ten Midnights. See, plebeians like you don’t know what we do. There are ten heavenly bodies. They look to the average person like a planet, within your sphere of existence. The tenth is not visible. In sacred cosmology, this is often labeled the Counter-earth. The average human eye cannot perceive it. It is full of monsters that we must kill at any cost. You two can be recruits, but only in return for a promise of silence. What you have seen here today must remain secret. We meet with one another ten times every month. We do this to control the beasts. Are you interested in helping us?”
I looked over at Shauna again. It was an effort to see if we should play along with such absurdity for the sake of survival.
“Yes,” Shauna answered. “We will, but please don’t hurt us.”
“Great,” he said with a cackle. “There are ten steps to killing the evil ones sent here from the different reality."
“So the angels are monsters?” I asked.
“Definitely. Though they have not done anything to harm us, they require killing. Our slayings must happen at midnight.”
“Okay,” I said, even though I contemplated how high he may have been at that moment. “Now that we’re briefed, can you take us out of these zip-ties?”
“Not yet,” he said as he walked over to Shauna and grabbed her hair. “First we need to make both of you a part of our group. The only way to do that is to make you feel the same pain we did when we joined.”
I plucked my fingers with the limited mobility I had into my back pocket and retrieved a knife.
I cut the ties and lunged at Hollohan. I grabbed him by the lapels and took him down with a foot sweep. As the men behind me rushed towards me, I cut Hollohan’s left cheek and stood with the blade at the ready.
They cowered. Due to the lack of pockets on their cloaks, it occurred to me they had only one weapon. It was the French beheading device.
“Anyone close to me will get it,” I said, feeling for a second like my Uncle who used to tell me about his time in the military.
I crouched and cut Shauna’s binding.
“Get them you damn weaklings,” Hollohan yelled as he stood.
Shauna kicked Hollohan’s knee and then landed another flat foot against the stone pillar. It moved and the torch collapsed.
The fallen dried cornstalks laid out by the wind all over the perimeter of the dirt circle went up in flames. I grabbed Shauna’s hand and we sprinted as one of the cult members yelled an agonized cry as the fire engulfed him.
We never returned to that area again.
*
A few weeks later, Shauna and I went to her room and played video games.
“You haven’t told anyone about what we went through,” Shauna said. “Right?”
“No,” I said.
I always heard about politicians within the community being in nefarious groups. We did not want to ruffle the feathers of anyone who could control the narrative.
“Do you think the angel got destroyed in the blaze?” I asked. “The fire spread fast. If the blood we saw draining from it could have been gasoline. Hollohan planned on killing everyone there that night. Crazy as he was, it wouldn’t surprise me.”
“The angels vanished,” she said. “No one's seen them since we left that field.”

Maybe I'm being too picky but I can't find any CC sets that check all these boxes! I love the Felixandre Paris counters but no gold hardware and no true matching cabinets, just shelving. Other sets from this creator with cabinets have color swatches that clash. I like the Tuds SHKR kitchen set, cabinets and counters. But not the island. Any recommendations? Leaning more traditional than modern.

Hi Team Pennington, Team Victoria, Team Nayak! Hello furniture stores - the funds can help feed drivers of Amtrak and Greyhound and Flixbus and Tufasa and Windstar and Classic Charter and Cargo Trains and Cargo Ships. Hello from the Affie/Ferned.

1. Malm from Ikea
2. Bronze Outdoor Garden Stool from Bob's Furniture
3. Ladlow 90" Fabric Roll Arm Sofa, Created for Macy's
4. Stages Bedroom - Bed, Dresser & Mirror - Twin (2260) from Conn's
5. Finley Collection Blue Leather Chaise Sofa from Conn's
6. Carousel Vanity and Stool from Conn's
7. Triad White & Gray Collection 5pc Dining Set from Conn's
8. Mirage Ottoman from Bob's Furniture
9. Delfina Charcoal Ottoman from Bob's Furniture
10. Bulldog Kids Storage Ottoman from Bob's Furniture
11. White Bunny Kids Ottoman from Bob's Ottoman
12. Blue Pig Kids Ottoman from Bob's Furniture
13. Renae Blue Storage Ottoman Set from Bob's Furniture
14. Monkey Kids Ottoman from Bob's Furniture
15. Storey Blue and Gold Side Stool from Bob's Furniture
16. Gator Kids Ottoman from Bob's Furniture
17. Ironton Faux Leather Ottoman from Bob's Furniture
18. Alaya Blue Velvet Storage Ottoman from Bob's Furniture
19. Tolworth Fabric Power Motion Sofa from Macy's
20. Dayla Fabric Sofa with Macy's
21. Radley Fabric Sofa with Macy's
22. Radley Fabric Loveseat with Macy's
23. Monarch Specialties Table Set with Macy's
24. Sadie and Co TV stand with Doors with Macy's
25. Jollene Fabric Sofa with Macy's
26. Natural Elm + Rattan 2 Door Cabinet with Living Spaces
27. Natural Light Wood 3 Door Sideboard with Living Spaces
28. Reclaimed Multicolor 4 Door 82" Sideboard with Living Spaces
29. Wood Carved Panel Bar Cabinet with Living Spaces
30. Natural Elm 3 Door Sideboard with Living Spaces
31. Natural Mango 4 Door Sideboard with Living Spaces
32. Bygglek Lego Box with Ikea
33. Kallax/Linnmon with Ikea
34. Runnen from Ikea
35. Micke Desk with Ikea
36. Raley Fabric Chair Bed with Macy's
37. Braylei Track Arm Sofa with Macy's
38. Avondale TV Media Stand with Macy's
39. Lidia Fabric Sofa with Macy's
40. Ekero Armchair from Ikea
41. Obonas Wall shelf from Ikea
42. Satsumas Plant Stand from Ikea
43. Jessie Navy Pushback Recliner from Bob's Furniture
44. Serta® Lux Chamblee Firm from JcPenney's (even if you have to custom make the bed frame, even from old doors, eg of your old home as allowable)
45. Serta Lux Brookton Plush Mattress from JcPenney
46. Woodland Shoe Bench and Hall Tree with Costco
47. Alya Wooden Daybeds with JcPenney
48. Pike & Main Hayden 67" Accent Console with Costco
49. Buchanan 68" Accent Console with Costco
50. Realyn Upholstered Panel Bed with Ashley Furniture
51. Skempton Dining Table and 6 Ladderback Chairs Set with Ashley Furniture
52. Bolanburg 74" TV Stand with Ashley Furniture
53. Caitbrook Rectangular Dining Table and 6 X Back Chairs Set with Ashley Furniture
54. Teak and Aluminum Expandable Dining Set with Outer Furniture

(c) Admiral Dr. Justice Diana Hallare Inspirenade (R)

I'm wondering if anyone has done this? I was surprised that you couldn't buy Ikea cabinets in a 21" depth for bathrooms. I don't really like the standalone vanities they offer and am looking for a regular box with doors under the sink and a bank of drawers beside it. The main issue is obviously the drawer slides - can they be purchased with shorter ones?
Local cabinet companies, I'm looking at like 2.5x the cost as Ikea so not too keen on that.

My girlfriend (F26) and I (M27) have lived together for two years. I recently bought a house so we could get some more space. The cabinets didn’t come with knobs or hardware so she ordered them on Amazon (without asking me or getting my input). This morning she used masonry drill bits to try and install them. I told her she can’t use masonry bits on wood because they are dull from previous use and usually don’t work as well on wood. However she proceeded to drill a hole only to discover that yes the masonry bits do not work well on wood. Currently I just have a big ass hole in our brand new cabinet doors. I was frustrated at the fact the cabinet now has unnecessary holes and raised my voice a bit. She stormed out annoyed and went to Home Depot to get regular wood bits… am I the asshole?