#but also I’ve heard that you don’t want alarms in general for gas leaks

[blurred-honey]

I was getting a bunch of notifications during a test, not uncommon during election season, I just ignored it. After the test while walking out of the building, I saw it was a GAS LEAK WARNING, for the building I was IN. kinda insane, especially cause no one’ll know about it until they are done haha. No alarms, nothing, just an email and a couple of texts telling us to stay out of the area. Hilarious, actually

[wanderer-of-sol]

Wanderer of Sol - Business Chapter 1

Here’s a little taste of a novel I’ve been working on in my spare time.

Chapter1

Wanderer had found himself on this table a dozen or more times before. It was dark as pitch, but he could feel the cold stainless steel work surface chill his back and fingertips through the haze of general anesthetics. Muttered and muddied words struggled to meet his ears, wading through the fog of his mind, and blackness of his vision. No amount of effort would allow him to open his eyes, or feel his face. A buzzing, burrowing sound rattled in his skull, chattering his teeth against the plastic tapping of a breathing tube invading his throat and lungs. Time passed at a trickle, and Wanderer lost track of the sounds and sensations violating his unmoving shell. Suddenly a stitch of light poured in through the darkness, in one eye. Pixels and artifacts flashed before him. It was like dreaming of meaningless text and menus as they floated into his consciousness. Nothing was in focus, not even his mind. He could hear the pulsing of life monitoring equipment and the muttering sharpened into words.

“That should do it. Let's get the other one out and replaced, then we'll work on removing the first arm. The other teams are backed up with limb enhancement, so we might as well lend them a hand, so to speak.” The voice let out a quiet half-laugh, but was calm and cold as it echoed. It had done this a dozen or more times before.

A moment later a distant frantic chirping could be heard, like a cat had snatched a sparrow from the air. Then another was caught much closer.

“Doctor, something's wrong with the anesthetic machine. The gas levels are dropping rapidly. There may be a leak!” Came another voice, as Wanderer was greeted with pounding soreness.

“Well, find the leak and replace the tank, asap! You know how hard it is to keep these things sedated!” The voice barked, as if trying to scare away the cats. It began to lose it's cool and calm tone as more and more machines started to chirp their warning alarms all around Wanderer.

As he regained feeling to his face and control over his eyes, sight came back, fuzzy in one eye. The other eye's vision was obscured with invisible shapes, and text flash by as it displayed “Initial setup” in his mind. Above him floated a familiar visage, in the reflective focusing plate of the operation light. Thin cuts bled lightly around his right eye. A portion of his light brown hair was removed, in preparation for who knew what. The only clues were the black marker on his lightly tanned skin, directing where and how to cut to the uncaring voices that scrambled around him. His beard was much longer and messier than he had remembered it being. That somehow made sense to him, as he felt like he had been sleeping for so long before waking up where he was.

The chirping grew louder and more frantic as the voices in the room, separated by curtains hanging from the ceiling and lightly muffled by medical face masks, grew louder and more frantic in turn. All attention on him was lost as he pulled the tube from his throat with a cough. Sitting on the edge of what felt like a mortuary's examination table, Wanderer's gaze drifted to what he felt was the center of the room. Something drew him there as the separating curtains started to shift and billow towards him. The only warning of what came next was the sudden flying bodies of doctors, nurses and those they worked on, along with the tables they rested on and tools used on them. They came in a wave as Wanderer's own table was lifted and thrown in turn. He sailed through the air with scalpels and bone saws as his vision was taken up by the rapidly approaching floor.

With a start, Wanderer jumped awake. It had happened like this a dozen or more times before.

“What the fuck's your problem, Wanderer?” Came a familiar voice. Wanderer's eyes focused much faster than they had for him moments ago. The girl sitting beside him was colorful in the way of a poisonous animal, but also foreboding like a raven. Her hair, or what remained of it, was trimmed into a mohawk with a blade of blue, violet and deep red down the center, and short black scruff on the sides. Her eyes were a piercing brown that burned a hole into Wanderer. Her ripped and torn clothes were stitched together to compensate for the scars of many bar brawls, dirty jobs gone poorly, and questionable fashion choices. Even in the year 2422, punk was alive and well in this woman.

“I'm fine, Munin. Just that fuckin' dream again.” Wanderer explained, rubbing his face with both hands, in attempts to brush off the grog left by his nap.

“Great. So I guess we'll be turning around and scheduling a trip for Venus soon?” She seemed annoyed to say the least.

“No, I'm good. We've got places to be and deadlines to make. I just need some coffee. Where are we?” Wanderer replied, stretching his arms in the cramped pilot's cabin. There was an audible pop and a sigh somewhere between relief and pain.

“Like, ten minutes from entering Martian atmosphere. Maybe half an hour from Sulci Gordii Port. I already called in docking with Olympus Mons air traffic while you slacked off.” The evidence of her annoyance was beginning to become clear. Wanderer didn't realized how long he had been out.

“I can take us down, if you want.” He rationed, attempting to get on her good side, but she wasn't having that.

“Nope. Go get yourself some brew. You're useless to me as a captain if you're fuckin' falling asleep.” She wasn't even looking at him any more. Her eyes were on her screen and her hands were finding the switches needed to adjust shields for entry, and line up her orbit to get them where they needed to be. “And call Gomez once you can string together a sentence without yawning. We don't have the funds to sit around in port an extra hour waiting for him to bring the fuckin' goods to the dock.” She added, before switching on the comms and confirming her landing request. Wanderer was always amazed at her ability to sound like a cold hard bitch when talking to him, but a decently sweet thing when chatting to the girl on air traffic control.

Wanderer found his way to the common area with one final yawn and discovered what looked like the coffee maker scattered out in parts across the kitchen table. Above it stood his other crew mate, with a screwdriver in one hand and a crystal pendulum draped in the other. All he could do was ask, “Ah, Robin? What's up with all this?” as his mind was still waking up.

“Oh, hey man. Uh. Well, he wasn't feeling well, so I decided to preform surgery while you were sleeping. I didn't expect it to take this long, but I dropped a screw and it rolled into the vents so I had to take apart the grav-pads on the floor to find it. And when I did, some other screws floated away. Long story short, we're about to find the source of this guy's upset tummy and I'll slap him back together in no time.” She explained while dangling the pendulum over the exploded layout of heating coils and PCB boards. To any normal person she would appear insane, but Wanderer had been traveling with Robin for a couple years now, and she was an expert in things he only had a cursory understanding in. And for Wanderer to only have a  cursory understanding in anything of the sort was rare.

“Well, that's good. Anyway, did you make a fresh pot before starting the operation?” He inquired, while wondering if there was any instant left. Or maybe tea. He wasn't picky at this point in time.

“Um, that probably would have been a good idea. Here, you can finish mine if you want.” She said, before putting the screwdriver in her teeth like a pirate holding a dagger, picking up her half drank mug and tapping it down in front of Wanderer. “Ah ha!” she let out, half muffled by the screwdriver as she took it back to her hand. The pendulum's cord pulled tight, contradicting the suggestions given by gravity, pointing directly what Robin diagnosed as a damaged connection leading to the heating coil. “Just found the problem. If you want to wait fifteen I'll have him back together and brewing a new pot.” The goggles she dawned for the surgery amplified the size and brilliance of her blue-green eyes, before she flipped down the tinted welding lenses. It's strap around the back of her head bunched her hair into random tufts of light brown. To be honest, at the moment she looked a little like a mad scientist standing over the Frankenstein's monster of a kitchen appliance.

“Thanks, I'll take yours. I've got to call Gomez in a minute.” Wanderer responded, picking up her mug and walking towards his room, away from the small flying sparks and wafting smoke.

Sipping the coffee gave him a sudden jolt of energy and clarity. It was cold and about half as sweet as he'd like, but it had a certain kick only someone like him could put their finger on. He took another sip, and swirled the remaining shallow cloud of heavily creamed coffee, revealing a peculiar set of lines at the bottom of the mug. Probably the remnants of some artificial sweetening gel, like synthesized syrup or molasses. Time to call Gomez.

“Yeah, hi. This is Jon Dillir. I spoke to you about a shipment.” The voice of “Gomez” on the other line must not have minded that Wanderer was using an alias. Dealing in such rare and potentially dangerous things often prompted Wanderer to take names like Jon, or Bill. The fact that no one knew his name could always be a boon to Wanderer. The fact that he, himself, didn't know his real name was rarely anything more than an inconvenience, even if the question did hold a weight in his mind.

“Yeah, we'll be docking shortly, and we're in a bit of a rush, so... Yeah, of course I have goods to trade as well as credits. Yeah, untraceable. You know me Gomez. We're both professionals here. I'll see you at dock thirteen in a few minutes. We'll deal in my cargo bay away from prying eyes... No I don't mind if you bring some guys. Mi casa es tu casa, Gomez.” Wanderer said as he hung up. Gomez was being a pain in the ass. The few times they had done business before had gone smoothly, if not a little tense. Gomez was new to the trade, but brought decent items to the table. Why Gomez would want to bring some extra muscle onto Wanderer's ship was unclear, but Wanderer had done business under worse stress and peril.

Chapter 2 here

[scary-stories-and-creepypas-blog]

My first paranormal experience with a "haunted" truck

I rarely share this with anyone because obviously a lot of people would not believe me or think I was crazy or hallucinating. I was a full-on skeptic prior to this experience by the way, I absolutely did not believe in the paranormal at all prior to this experience. I own my own snow removal company that I operate during the winter and I buy and sell cars during the summer and winter months, I also part out cars if they are beyond repair and are high end cars (makes it more worth my time). I am not sure if people are aware of this but If you have a car and someone say gets shot in it, Or they get maced. It will almost always be totaled by your insurance company because It will cost more to have a crime scene cleaning company clean it, THEN hire someone to replace the interior so It's deemed "safe" again. A federal law exists that REQUIRES cars to be cleaned professionally before being worked on by a shop as to not expose workers (say Ford, That's fixing the interior) to the AIDS virus, HIV, Herpes, All that good stuff. Say hypothetically you get shot in your car, You are OK but you car has blood in it. Or you get into a crash and someone bleeds in the car....It likely will be totaled depending on the amount of blood and where It's located. These cars are sold by private contractors that the insurance company hires to take all It's totaled cars and get as much of their money back as possible by selling them to other companies and individuals like me. Now after that car that someone got shot in is sold, It can be cleaned "amateurly" and resold without having to involve any crime scene cleaners because no "worker" is being exposed. Stupid law, I know. I have family in LE and I learned how to clean up blood and contain it fairly well by watching crime scene cleaning companies and asking them questions (you learn a lot online too). So some of cars someone has been murdered in, Either by an individual, The police, or they committed suicide. I have bought more then a few cars someone has obviously been killed in and sold the parts or in one case cleaned it and resold it. In January of 2015 I bought a 2007 Ford F-350 King Ranch for a song and a dance online and had it delivered from Florida. This is about a 40-50k dollar truck with the miles it had on it and I got it for 8500 and change. But someone was shot in the front seat and very apparently did not survive based on some brain matter on the headliner. It was cold and snowing when the truck got delivered so I put it into my garage and was also pretty busy plowing during this time. From almost the entire time the truck was parked in my garage I felt like someone was around. You know that feeling you get when someone is in the next room but they aren't making any noise? I finally started getting to stripping out the parts with blood and brain matter on them and putting them into bio bags. This is very time consuming because you don't want to be flicking dried blood everywhere so It took about 2 weeks to get it clean where I would feel comfortable touching it without PPE. The interior was completely stripped besides the dash and I had removed all the doors to make moving the seats out easier and to trash two of the doors that had holes in them. I remember this day like it was yesterday, I was in my garage working on the block heater to my daily driver and I heard someone giggle, It sounded like a man. I live in a very very rural area so I don't have neighbors or hear anyone besides the mailman occasionally, So I thought my brother had stopped over and was fucking with me and hiding behind one of my trucks to sneak up on m after he came in the garage (I didn't hear the door open though). I said "John!!, Come here I need help with this cord"....No response. I stood up after a second and looked and didn't see him....I walked to my only door to my garage and it was still locked when I got close enough to see it. I knew I heard laughing but I thought "weird..." and brushed it off and went to return to my work, When started to walk past the murder truck I saw a man walk from behind it in blue jeans, a black short sleeve shirt, and a blue hat sitting crooked on his head. He looked at me and nodded then disappeared as he walked behind one of my plow trucks. I about shit a brick. I knew 100% what I saw was not a hallucination, There is no gas leaks in my garage, No engines were running in there. I don't suffer from any delusions or mental health issues, I don't drink or do drugs. I even have pretty sensitive CO alarms in my garage that start the minute you start one of the trucks, Literally not 30 seconds of idling and they start going off. I also had not moved any cars in over 2 hours so any carbon monoxide that did generate when I moved my daily driver in had long been circulated out of the garage. I also have never had an issue with carbon monoxide, radon gas, or any type of electrical issues in my home before. It's my belief that I saw the owner of that truck that was killed. After I sold the truck I never had that "someone in the next room" feeling in my garage anymore, After feeling that way for nearly 5 months while it sat in my garage. I didn't feel any type of negativity from seeing that man or being in the presence of the truck...Just that strange feeling of being watched or someone being near me. Not sure why I saw him or why he nodded at me, But that experience will forever be in the back of my mind. I sold the truck to a guy I went to HS with, That was the only "murder" car I've ever sold as a whole (usually part them out) so I was straight up with the buyer and told him someone was shot to death in it. He still has it to this day, I see him post pics of it on facebook from time to time.

by teflonandsteel  on Reddit

[traciedemars]

Explaining Sellers Disclosures Home Buyer & Seller Education www.freehomebuyerclasses.com www.learningtobuyahome.com 

Upcoming Free (& non-promotional) Home Buyer Classes: Saturday, February 18th, from 11am - 2pm (ish)     Vancouver YMCA, conference room      11324 NE 51st Circle, Vancouver WA (corner of SR500 & Gher Road/112th Ave) Tuesday, February 21 , from 5pm-8pm (ish)      Marshall Community Center, conference room     1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College) Saturday, March 4th , from 9am-12pm (ish)    Marshall Community Center, conference room      1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College)If these class dates and/or times don't work for you, please let us know.  We understand that you have lives, and families, and work.  We will work something out that works better with your schedule.  Just let us know....                                                                                  

....we also have home seller classes available too...link on left on website                   Remember...with reservation...we will throw in lunch, or dinner!  :-D ~~~~~~~~~ Happy Saturday night~  As you may know, I was in Texas last weekend for a family funeral.  Honestly that event kind of took precedence over getting this email out to you.  However what I can tell you that the roads in Texas are awful, and it was low 50's and drizzle for the days I was there....so I felt right at home.  Of course, the day AFTER I left it was 84 degrees!  What's up with that???     One thing I do love about my job is that I was able to jump on a plane for an unexpected family event, another thing that I love is that many of my clients have become friends.  I want to thank you for your thoughts and concerns while I was gone.  It was only 3 days, and the market is pretty slow right now.  It is kind of weird, but yes, it is slow right now.  The market always slows down a bit in December, and early January....because of the holidays...but right now?  Well, we had the weather issues in early/mid December, and then the holidays, and then MORE winter weather, and then EVEN MORE weather...  ugh...  if you have been thinking about buying a home...now is a really good time before the madness of the spring season starts.  Winter is always a good time to be a home buyer, and I think that this has been the best winter for home buying in the last couple of years.   This week we are going to take a moment to talk about home disclosures.  This is one of those things that, while important, many people don't understand.  As a home buyer you need to know what you are looking for, and at... The Sellers Disclosures This is a 6 page disclosure that sellers fill out regarding to the condition and faults of the home during their ownership.  Sellers fill this form out on their own....agents are not supposed to fill it out for them, or tell the homeowners/sellers how to fill it out.  Now, we can answer questions regarding what the questions mean, but agents can not fill out the sellers disclosures.  Sellers are supposed to fill out the disclosures to the best of their ability and knowledge. Sadly, and honestly, most sellers do not know anything about their homes...or they know very little.  Sellers/homeowners don't go in the crawlspace, they don't go in the attics paces...and this is usually the places that inspectors find things.  Deferred maintenance gets a lot of homeowners/sellers as well.  All homeowners are guilty of deferred maintenance...even homeowners who are also realtors.  It's been my experience that most sellers are honest about what they know about the home, but most homeowners really don't know.  The sellers disclosures covers such things as:1)Title and Legal – This section requires the seller to state that they have the legal authority to sell the property. 2) Water – These disclosures involve things like the source of household water (whether the seller has a well or obtains water from the public water system), whether the property receives irrigation water, and whether or not the property has an outdoor sprinkler system. 3) Sewer/On-Site Sewage System – Here, the sellers must disclose details about what type of sewage disposal system the property utilizes.  If the home has a septic system, then it needs to have had a septic inspection within the past year, and pumped, or not, upon the septic professionals advice.  4) Structural – This is where the sellers is supposed to disclose things about the general structure of the building such as whether the roof has leaked, whether there are any defects with the chimney or the foundation, and how old the structure is.  5) Systems and Fixtures – This section requires the sellers to disclose items that are being included with the property as part of the sale, such as the electrical system, the plumbing system, and the hot water tank. The seller is supposed to disclose any defects with any of these included items, and state whether the property has smoke alarms, or carbon monoxide alarms....which is now required...one on each level.  Smoke alarms are placed high because smoke rises, but carbon monoxide alarms should only be about knee level as carbon monoxide is a heavy gas, and putting it higher is not safe.  6) Homeowners’ Association/Common Interests – If the property is a condo or part of some other development that’s governed by a Homeowners’ Association, the sellers need to say so, provide contact information for the person who can give the buyer copies of the relevant documents, and state whether there are any common areas or joint maintenance agreements for shared features of the property like walls, fences, or landscaping.  In the Optional Clause Addendum, be sure your buyers agent checks the HOA contingency giving you, the buyer, access to the HOA rules, regs, books, etc....within 10 days, and you have the right to back out if those are not acceptable.  7) Environmental – This is where the sellers is required to disclose flooding, drainage problems, or material damage to the property due to events such as fire, earthquakes, or landslides.8) Manufactured and Mobile Homes – If the property includes a manufactured or mobile home, the seller will need to make a few additional disclosures regarding any alterations made to the unit.9) Full Disclosure by Sellers – This is the ‘catch-all’ provision, emphasizing the importance of these disclosures: If there is anything that could affect the property that the seller has not covered by the categories already addressed and that the buyer “should know about,” the seller is supposed to disclose it here. There are 4 answers on the sellers disclosure that the seller can choose...  Yes, No, Don't Know, and N/A.  As a buyer, you should expect to see 'Don't know' answers.  This is because most sellers don't know the answer.  Every box is supposed to be checked with one of those four answers.   The sellers disclosure is important, but I can't stress this enough...  it should not be considered the 'end all, be all' to a homes condition. It is far more important to have a thorough home inspection by a licensed home inspector.  A home inspection will tell you much more about a home than the sellers disclosures.  As a note...this is not 'Holmes on Homes', and the home inspector in Washington State can not do an invasive inspection.  Between the sellers disclosures, and the home inspection you should know enough about the home to (hopefully) not have any major issues after you move in.  Will you have some issues after you move in though?  Sadly....probably...  You never really KNOW a home until you are the one living in it...and what is an issue to you might not have been an issue for the previous homeowner.  Every home...even brand new homes... have 'quirk's, and issues that come up after you move in.  I can't stress home warranties enough!   The only time you might not get a sellers disclosure is if the home is a bank owned foreclosure, or an estate.  If you are buying a home from a real estate investor, your sellers disclosure will be a complete 'don't know' checks because the seller, in that case, had never lived in the home so doesn't know anything about it.   Lead Base Paint Disclosures If you are buying a home built 1978, or prior,  then you will receive a 2 page Lead Base Paint disclosure signed by the seller where they will be disclosing whether or not they have any knowledge of any lead base paint in the home.  I was raised in homes built prior to 1978, as I was born before then...and there isn't anything seriously wrong with me.  :-)  Lead base paint could be an issue if it is ingested...please remember that the snozzberries DO NOT, in this case, taste like snozzberries so DON'T lick, or chew, the paint!   You may, or may not, see an alarm disclosure where the sellers are disclosing whether or not they have the appropriate smoke alarms, or carbon monoxide detectors in the home.  You may, or may not, see a siding disclosure where the seller is disclosing whether or not they are aware that their siding was part of a recall, or has issues.   Ok...has always, I hope that this has been helpful to you, but if you have any questions....you know how to reach me.  :-D  I am here to help. Now... I've got to get off of here so I can watch the grammy dresses.  :-D             Information is power, and I hope that I am able to help you.  Good luck, and as always...May the odds be ever in your favor out there....  AND If you are looking for a real estate agent, I would love to be able to help you.                                                                            As always....this is just a quick overview.... again...and I can't say this enough...please remember that your agent is NOT a salesperson, and should not be acting like one.  Real Estate is not really about houses, it is about relationships.  Your agent, and your lender work for YOU.  You drive the bus...we are merely GPS to help you get to your goals.  Like the classes, this weekly blog email is to help you with your home adventure.  The goal is to be informative and non-promotional.  :-)  We are, however, hoping you will call and want us to help with your adventure.   If you have any questions about this, or something you have heard...or if you would like me to help you with your home adventure, please call, email,  text, or facebook me anytime.  I am, as always, happy to help! Thank you again for your business and your referrals!!  ...and thank you for referring these classes to your friends, family, and co-workers.   .   ..disclaimer...if you have already purchased a home, or would no longer like to receive these emails, please let me know and I will be happy to remove you from any further mailings...   Upcoming Topics: What are the 'Hidden' Costs of Buying a Home? ..... What if I don't have a Down Payment? .....  &....What happens after an offer is made?Open Houses & what you need to know before you go...Last Week:  What are Closing Costs? Have a great day, and I will talk to you soon,   ;-D   Tracie DeMars   Real Estate broker   Re/Max - Van Mall   360/ 903-3504 cell   360/ 882-3600 fax   www.traciedemars.com   traciedemars@aol.com       “Interested in free and non promotional home education classes?  Go to www.freehomebuyerclasses.com for local upcoming home buyer and home SELLER classes, or facebook: Tracie DeMars Real Estate for my home buyer education blog.” "Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."        - Shel Silverstein, American poet, cartoonist and composer, (1930 - 1999).