As someone who read the books before watching the movies, and as some one who has the source material so deeply imbedded in my subconscious that the movies no longer cut it for me, its hard to put myself in the shoes of someone who watches the movies without the knowledge of what happens in the books.
Having recently re-read The Seven Potters chapter in The Deathly Hallows (one of my favourite chapters in the series) and thought about how the movie scene plays out. Which proposed a thought to me. My question is; to those who watch the movies without having ever read the books, what were you thinking during this particular scene on the following three accounts;

1. Who the hell is Mundungus Fletcher? In the books Mundungus is an established character who appeared in two previous novels and whose involvement and helpfulness to the Order as well as his self-involved and unreliable nature is set up early on. His inclusion in the Seven Potters plan makes sense as a fully-fledged member of the Order but whose ultimate betrayal makes sense based off of what we know of his nature. In the movie however, we have never met this man before, there's no explanation to who he is or why he is there and makes you question why Moody and the others ever even trusted him to be a part of this very important plan?
2. Why the hell was Fleur Delacour there? Again, in the books Fleur's involvement with the Weasley family and by extension, The Order, is established throughout the sixth book. There's a whole plot line in that book around Fleur's relationship to Bill and how she slowly becomes an integrated part of the Weasley family. In the movies, she never appears, or is even mentioned following her appearance in Goblet of Fire and her relationship to Bill is never set up. Her inclusion in this scene seems so random if you didn't read the source material as it comes across as "oh that's the French champion from the fourth film who is no suddenly back"?
3. What's the deal with Bill? Much like Mundungus and Fleur, Bill is a established and somewhat prominent character in three of the previous books, whom both Harry and the audience know well, as Ron's eldest brother, even when Bill isn't appearing, we know of his existence through conversations between Ron and Harry. But as far as I can recall, Bill is never mentioned by name throughout any of the movies? And then come this scene, he just shows up, he's engaged to Fleur for some reason and there's exposition about him being attacked by Greyback?

When I read the Seven Potters in the books it felt like all these characters whom Harry knew and loved, were all coming together to protect him and act out this dangerous plan for him. But when I view this scene through the lens of a movie-goer only I struggle to see how it could come across like that, or even make sense, without the established narrative for these three characters in particular. So my question is to you, as a movie fan only, how do you feel about this scene and about the three characters inclusion as I mentioned above... ?

[First post]
Dante:
​
I was watching him through some hidden cameras in his room, he didn’t sleep much, obviously. He is now looking out the window, observing the deep space. He has some things on his ears. Earbuds I think that’s what they’re called. He was exhaling smoke from his lungs while holding something in his right hand. It clicked in my brain what it was, humans call it cigarettes. I know it's bad for their health but it also calms them down. This made me a little sad and anxious. I’m tasked with keeping him safe, yet, there he is, voluntarily hurting his own body. In a somewhat fit of rage and fear I left my office and stormed towards his room. I stare at him, his earbuds were still on, he probably didn’t hear me come in as he’s most likely listening to something. I went towards him and snatched his cigarette and earbuds as I shouted at him.
“What are you doing, Dante?!” My voice filled with anger and care at the same time. I want him safe, not hurting himself.
“What are you doing? Give that back!” He tried to reach for the cigarette but I threw it on the ground and stepped on it.
“You are killing yourself, Dante!” I pointed my finger at him as I shouted. I don’t want to be aggressive towards him but I also care for his health, I can’t sit and watch him kill himself.
“And who are you to tell me what I can and can’t do Kaska?!” His face is filled with rage. It’s clear he is going through a rough time.
“Dante, please…” I took a deep breath. “Stop this, I want you safe, not dying…” I spoke a little quieter.
“That calms me down. Kaska, please, leave me alone… I need time.” For the first time, I saw true pain in a human’s eyes, right there, face to face. His mind might be filled with anger, with a desire for revenge but he's still a human… I want him to be happy but I understand this might be difficult right now. I took a deep breath and returned him his earbuds. “Fine. But we will have a discussion about this, Dante. Please, I want you well, not dying…” My voice sounded hurt, I truly care for him, seeing him hurting himself like this is hurting me more than anything.
I saw him sitting on the floor, observing the vast emptiness of the galaxy as he took another cigarette from his pack. His eyes remained hurt as he lit up the cigarette and watched the stars outside.
He took a drag from the cigarette and turned his eyes towards me. “Why do you do this, Kaska? Why are you helping me? Why is this United Galactic Alliance helping us?”
I sat beside him as he smoked, leaning my back against the wall. “Dante, you humans were always something fascinating to me. You live around a hundred years yet, you achieve so much in such little time. In a century, you went from riding on horses to being able to travel to the moon. Your species has such potential, it's amazing. No other species ever did that. I think it’s because we all live longer lives than humans. My species, for example, we live for around 600 years. We don’t have the same necessity that humans have to achieve great things right here, right now.”
I saw his eyes widen as he smoked and listened to me. “600 years!?” he said, clearly shocked.
“Yes, humans are actually the species with the shortest life span when compared with other intelligent life forms. Some admire humanity for having such greatness, others fear it.”
I took a deep breath before continuing my speech. “There’s a great debate in the United Galactic Alliance council going on right now. Some are scared of what humans can do. They want to… let you fend for yourselves.” A deep pain entered my heart once I said that. How could the UGA allow that to happen? They have a right to live just like us. We shouldn’t fear them but help them grow as a greater and kinder species.
“Fear us?” he replied as he let out the smoke from his lungs. “Why do they fear us? We have no desire to hurt anyone besides the Yaktar. They were the ones that took everything from us! They were the ones that killed our brothers! Our sisters! Our fathers, mothers, grandfathers! They took everything from us! What does the UGA expect us to do?! Sit and accept that?!” A great anger was built in his voice, I could see it in his eyes, a flame for revenge, hatred, a desire to kill. It sent shivers down my spine once more. I want to help humans, but, how far will they go? What if they turn that anger towards us?
He got up, I could only see anger in his eyes as he paced around the room, smoking his cigarette. “How dare they?! They expect us to do what?! Sit and watch?! Allow other species to die?! How can they say they wish to protect the galaxy and allow such monsters like the Yaktars to do as they please?!” His anger scared me a little bit. I knew humans could be angry and have a strong desire for revenge and justice, but this, this is something else. Fury, perhaps? No, something more that I can’t quite put my finger on.
“L-like I said, Dante. It’s just talks, nothing is decided yet. I swear, most species want to help humanity.” I’ll admit that I let my fear out as I spoke, he was really scaring me, such desire for anger and revenge was unheard of. Only the Yaktars had this rage for death. But, maybe, that’s what the UGA needs? A monster. A monster worse than the Yaktars themselves.
While this conversation was going on, another conversation was also taking place, in the planet called ‘Galactic Union’. This planet was the hub of the United Galactic Alliance, used only for diplomacy related reasons. It was filled with embassies the size of cities. There were hundreds of them, maybe 3 to 4 hundred of them, spread along the planet. In the central continent there was a big circular building, inside of it, a great debate was going on.
“You know their history, senator! Humans are unpredictable! Who knows what they’ll do if they get their hands on FTL equipment or any other equipment for that matter!” A voice shouted from one of the seats, a creature with six tentacles spoke, it had blue skin and 12 completely black eyes.
“That’s right, ambassador, but!” A voice shouted, seated close by. He had a glowing and translucent green skin. He got up from his seat, putting both his hands with 3 fingers each on the table. “What do you wish to do? Deny this Alliance its purpose? We were created with very simple goals; equality, protection and prosperity. Should we deny humans these principles? They have been clearly showing signs of development, they had an organization similar to ours! Don’t you remember, ambassador? “United Nations”, I think that was the name they gave it.”
That same voice responded, shouting back. “And what did that lead them to, ambassador? From what I recall from the reports, they still fought against each other. For such simple and barbaric reasons as money, territory or religion!” The translucent being answered. “That is indeed correct, ambassador. But may I recall that your species did exactly the same? In fact, pretty much every species seated here today were like humans once. Should we dissolve this Council? I think not, my dear ambassadors. We need to protect humans. Please senator, I beg of you, make the right call.” The greenish translucent being said, looking towards a figure, seated in the middle of this circle.
This figure was a tall and skinny red figure, with two white eyes and a white stripe going down her face in the middle of it. “I’ve made my decision, ambassadors. The humans are on they’re way to a remote planet in the galaxy A3-B, deep in our territory. They will live there for a while, we will help with medical and economical aid. We will only give them the necessary technological equipment to help them develop their planet. We will guarantee their protection as we watch closely and see them develop their type of government by themselves. If they turn hostile, we destroy them. The council is now dismissed. The senator leaves the big circular room. A lot of voices from different species talk amongst themselves, agreeing and disagreeing with each other but they don’t dare go against the senator’s words.
Back on the ship, in that same room, a little time passed by.
“I’m calm, Kaska, sorry…” He said, calming himself after shouting obscenities against the council and their wish to abandon humanity to its faith.
“I understand you, Dante. I just want you to understand how it might be hard, atleast at the beginning, but I promise I’ll be right there, for you. To help you out.” I said, smiling at him, trying to comfort him.
“Thanks, Kaska. That means a lot to me.” He said, smiling back. “But I want to know, when will I meet the other humans? I want to get to know them, speak with them…”
“Soon, Dante. If everything goes according to plan, tomorrow. Some humans, well, they didn’t take this as easily as you did.* I answered him, with a somewhat sad look on my face.
“Yeah, I can imagine… Honestly, I’m still in disbelief, like, I’m going to wake up in a few hours and you will just be a weird dream I had.”
“I can comprehend that, Dante… But you’ll meet them tomorrow, I promise. I’m going to bring you your lunch now.” I started walking towards the door and stopped before leaving. “Dante… Please stop smoking… I don’t like seeing you killing yourself like that” I then left the room with a sad feeling in my heart. I want him well and healthy. I know he can be the man that changes not just humanity but the whole galaxy’s faith.

This is my first time venting here so I hope I'm doing it right and not breaking any rules. I didn't figure out that my mother has npd for at least thirty years. Five years ago, I thought maybe she had borderline personality disorder because she would self-harm and threaten/attempt suicide several times during my childhood and later on during adulthood. But one thing my mom would do is repeatedly try to pit my siblings and I against each other and when I tried searching for that on google, the results showed that this behavior of hers is associated with npd and not bpd. So she probably has npd with comorbid bpd or something to that effect.
So three weeks ago, my elderly Nmom called me on the phone and I'm making small talk with her because it's impossible to have deeper conversations with her. So I'm talking about the weather, the local news, whatever, and she mentions to me that her brother (my uncle) is worried about her health and he offered to fly her over to his home in Alberta so that she can have extended family look after her health. So I said "oh that sounds like a great offer. It would be great for you to have better health care." And then out of nowhere she very casually says "yes it's great. Because all four of my children are terrible. None of them do anything to help their sick mother" and I was just like "....... ??????" I didn't respond because my blood was boiling. I'm not giving her the satisfaction of yelling at her anymore because it only feeds her "poor me" victim narrative. And honestly I'm just fed up of yelling at her. It doesn't do anything. It doesn't change her. It's like yelling at a brick wall. It's my blood pressure going up so really I'm only hurting myself by giving into her anger bait tactics. Ten years ago, I lost my temper with my mother during an argument and called her a "bitch" and she started self-harming right in front of me while repeatedly calling herself a "bitch" and it was a traumatizing experience. When I told this to a therapist, she suggested that I call 911 whenever my mom does something like that, but the thing is she did the same thing over a decade ago when arguing with my oldest brother and what's scary about it is that she would come over to me after the argument and try to convince me that my brother gave her those cuts and bruises and that she's considering filing a police report against my brother. She's a cold-blooded nightmare. I'm sorry, but I'm not calling 911 if she's going to pull some DARVO move on me. Fuck that.
Anyway, so today she showed up at my apartment unannounced even though I've told her at least dozen times in the past that she can't appear unannounced because it's rude. I was taking a nap when she showed up and buzzed my apartment intercom system. I went downstairs to the lobby and told her, very calmly I might add, about how she can't show up unannounced like this and that she needs to call me on the phone before visiting me. She went all quiet and left so I thought, ok I guess that went well. Later in the evening I receive a phone call from her and she's crying on the phone, telling me that she's in the hospital now and she's begging me for my forgiveness. And I'm thinking... wtf? All I did was calmly ask you to respect my boundaries and you're self-harming because your fucked up brain interprets a respectful request as abandonment? I know she's self-harming and putting herself in the hospital purposely because she's desperate for attention and she wants her kids to swoop in to become her rescuecaregiveparental figure again and my siblings and I are sick of her dramatic bullshit.
It's 4am and I should be sleeping, but my anxiety is keeping me awake.

Exactly after a month of symptoms, i've got the diagnosis for Leukemia. I haven't told anyone,family & friends,not a single person. I'll keep it that way,i'll go away secretly. I don't want anyone to worry before i die because anyway my death is confirmed. My family can't afford the treatment and i'm just 19y/o without a medical insurance. Even if my family tries to support me,they'll exhaust all their money and they'll be left with nothing,not a single penny. It's better for me to pass away and let my family keep their funds,so that they can survive.
I'm not scared of death. It's just the realisation that i'll leave all my loved ones behind is making me depressed. I can't think of anything other than death.
My mum will never be able recover from my death. My dad will not have a supporting hand for when he gets old. My sister will lose a brother, no one will be there to have her back. My friends will lose a part of their heart.
Death sucks man. I'm aware that everyone dies eventually but dying so young at 19, it's definitely soul-crushing.
Money,oh boy,such a bitch it is. If i had enough money, i would've started my treatment right away. But i can't,just can't.
I wish that i could kill myself so that i don't have to face the slow death by cancer. But yeah, life's not same for everyone and i guess my time has come.
Anyways, 19yrs of life. I wish i could live more but God has some other plans for me.
Take care guys, Cancer doesn't spare anyone. Keep your immune system strong and live your life to the fullest. You never know when it's your last day.
That's it from my side, GOODBYE.

one of the many great things about this game is there are so many metas, based on player count, player style, player competence, and which expansions are mixed in.
​
For me, at 2P vs an engine obsesses wife, I've always been a Terraform rusher and think the game at 2P just works best with base & prelude, no expansions (apart from maps) and not even promos. The most dense deck where terraforming isn't buried. YMMV.
​
There are so many creative ideas for expanding and customizing the game, here's a list of the things which appeal to me and which I'm "working on" (I mean I have notebooks filled with scientific research articles and publications and ideas for how they might get into a card in the game), please share your "wishlist"
​
These are not specifically in order
​

1. generally, extra cards or features that enrich terraforming. To me, rushing makes the game run a reasonable length, without overstaying its welcome, without it getting out of control, less card luck influence and less likely to be decided early on but drag on for far too long
   
2. cards linked very tightly to a real scientific idea or concept, so using real science that would theoretically be possible and also reasonable in terms of viable to scale up to a production scale item or idea, considering how a realistic political/economic/scientific environment would work (aside: I am a physicist)
   
3. extra maps / milestones / awards, yes I know the ones we have are designed as complete ideas and I know the designers are not fond of mixed bag/variable M&M, but personally for me I am most gutted that the customizing mars kit on gamecrafter got pulled the day I had it in my basket :( Variable milestones and awards are cool (driven by a ruleset that avoids clashing/incompatible combos) but a jigsaw style set of pieces to make a variable map would be amazing (again, I understand the designers specifically want Mars to be Mars - in which case, lets take some different projections of Mars (not yet shown),and combinations like half Tharsis/half Hellas etc.
   
4. More interaction but not necessarily "take that". Now, don't get me wrong, I like the attack cards and also understand their position in balancing or competing against specific strats. My wife didnt like them at first but has grown to see how they are needed. And interaction is good (also the THREAT is often as effective as the action, which is why tempo moves to convert plants, or not leaving energy you need for a city hanging etc, and managing global parameters is important). But I'd like to see more "Leeching" style interaction, more cards which give you something if someone else does some other thing. Philosophically more cards like Arctic Algae where some other player would do some terraforming type action and you would get some related bonus.
   
5. More board placement. I like when placing tiles is more important in terms of claiming areas, blocking areas, messing up areas for other players. Perhaps some cards which "seed" stuff onto the board as bonusses which could then be claimed etc. I also think it would be interesting to be able to move some tiles in some way (throwaway idea like paying something to "relocate" a city, or rerouting an ocean. Also tiles which would make placing other tiles or greeneries, oceans etc easier (or harder)
   
6. Common events. This is kind of just pulling in ideas already in the game, so it would be something like Turmoil with a display of coming events (which in my head would be mostly terraforming stuff) which affected parameters or locations but wouldnt benefit any individual player, they would provide a kind of modifier to the game clock I suppose.
   

how about you lot?

Exactly after a month of symptoms, i've got the diagnosis for Leukemia. I haven't told anyone,family & friends,not a single person. I'll keep it that way,i'll go away secretly. I don't want anyone to worry before i die because anyway my death is confirmed. My family can't afford the treatment and i'm just 19y/o without a medical insurance. Even if my family tries to support me,they'll exhaust all their money and they'll be left with nothing,not a single penny. It's better for me to pass away and let my family keep their funds,so that they can survive.
I'm not scared of death. It's just the realisation that i'll leave all my loved ones behind is making me depressed. I can't think of anything other than death.
My mum will never be able recover from my death. My dad will not have a supporting hand for when he gets old. My sister will lose a brother, no one will be there to have her back. My friends will lose a part of their heart.
Death sucks man. I'm aware that everyone dies eventually but dying so young at 19, it's definitely soul-crushing.
Money,oh boy,such a bitch it is. If i had enough money, i would've started my treatment right away. But i can't,just can't.
I wish that i could kill myself so that i don't have to face the slow death by cancer. But yeah, life's not same for everyone and i guess my time has come.
Anyways, 19yrs of life. I wish i could live more but God has some other plans for me.
Take care guys, Cancer doesn't spare anyone. Keep your immune system strong and live your life to the fullest. You never know when it's your last day.
That's it from my side, GOODBYE.

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My mom owns a home in the lower mainland area. She has no retirement or savings, and barely makes ends meet and is actually slowly going into debt due to the unaffordability of things as she just works a full time job at a grocery store, but makes an okay wage for it being there for 30 years. My father and her broke up like 10 years ago (not married) and he has nothing on paper that he has contributed to this home and he just moved on didn't fight for anything as he has some issues with mental health. I am the oldest son with a younger brother and sister. My mom has told me when she passes if she doesn't sell this home for retirement reasons, everything will be passed down to me and I will be the one to be responsible for everything. I have no knowledge of the process of inheritance and a house and would like information on that. I also have my father and younger brother who are basically bums and have bad habits who will hunt me down for any money when they find out about this which they will. This shouldn't be happening anytime soon, but it will come at a time possibly and I want to be prepared. Whats are some senerios, things I'll need to be aware of, things to prepare for in the long run. I am 32m, no kids, no debt, full time job, some savings, not sure if I would live in the home, or sell. It would be nice to live in it but I would be harassed from my father and brother, for heavy amounts of money from the house. My youngest sister is nothing to worry about she would be easy to work with. I just don't even understand how the process works when someone who owns a home dies, passes down everything to you, and you have to handle things like a funeral, the house situation, and what would I even do or what would happen? I am not educated enough on thiw. Would someone contact me like the bank to sort this out? Anyone who's dealt with this I would like some input. She has stated it's going to be passed down but I suggested to her since she is struggling a bit, some debt, etc. Maybe she'll end up selling and renting at some point due to her barely scraping by living there and family being an issue. She screwed up her taxes last couple years trying to do it herself and just got property tax she can barely pay. So she has no savings, just got hit with 8k debt. Has more expenses coming up this year. Trying to help her be more financially smart, seems to not want to listen unfortunately as much as I want to help her. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

(This is all coming from someone who has been a furry for their entire life)
So, because of personal reasons that you’ll soon find out I’ve had a question that’s been killing me in the back of my head for a long ass time now. “How motivated by zoophilia are furries/how motivated by zoophilia am I?”
My ex, also being a massive furry themselves admitted to me that they looked at drawn feral/beastiality content a good amount on top of the furry/human porn they looked at. I had to end up breaking it off because personally that was too far for me, I called him disgusting, I couldn’t accept that him looking at that outright meant he found animal bodies attractive and moved on.
But then it hit me, on a few occasions in my life I’d accidentally mistaken feral art for anthro art (might sound impossible I know but it was because of the way they were angled so you weren’t really able to tell if they were or not until the next photo) and it made me realize, hey, am I really any better than him? I’ve always liked humans, but I’ve also always really been extra into them if they’ve got animal fumuzzles/tails/ears does that make me a zoophile that wants to hurt animals, why don’t I find only people attractive?
So then that naturally progressed to my next question, are most furries motivated by some form of zoophilia? Obviously I know there are differences, I am not implying all of them are the same, I know there’s a clear difference between outright finding a dog insanely attractive (they do look different from anthropomorphic animals, why else would they have human bodies.) and finding humans with animalistic traits attractive, but to me now, it all sort of seems to stem from the same place, being zoophilia, but to DRASTICALLY varying degrees and strengths. (As well as mixing with other attractions) If anything, I just kind of assume now that whether or not they want to admit it, a lot of furries do probably have low level forms of minor zoophilic attractions that go together with their primary attractions to people. (This does not exclude me lol, after a lot of deep introspection without judgement, I’ve figured that I myself could say I find animals vaguely appealing. But that is still inferior to my strong attraction to men)
that’s not to say I think that all of them even find real animals extremely attractive (though I’m sure there are some that do) nor do I even think a weak/lesser attraction is a harmful or bad thing so long as it’s not stronger than their attraction towards people and that they never act on it, which might sound crazy considering that I’m using the term zoophilia here, but what else am I supposed to call it? I am also not coming at this from a place of “ha! See, I got you, you’re all degenerate perverts!” But just a place of wanting realistic painful acceptance and understanding of myself and others amongst a community that is probably the most important thing in my life.
Whether I like it or not, furry shit has been a deep, almost spiritual id say way for me to discover myself, my strengths and weaknesses, my identity, my own sexuality, etc. I’ve looked up articles that have done studies on this for an attempt at better understanding, and the only one I could find said about 50% of furries have at least some mild/semi moderate (and in a small amount extreme) self reported sexual attraction to animals. Which kind of helped me validate my own feelings and conclusions. Either way, I’d love some open and honest communication from anyone, furry or not.
Obviously it’s hard to be entirely open about this, because I think most people just assume any amount of sexual attraction = action, and that any amount of it means that there’s secretly a huge amount of it, when for me that’s never felt like the case, I don’t feel a dying urge to be fulfilled by molesting animals that can’t consent, I just feel inexplicably consumed by guilt by the fact that I have this weird ass sexuality that’s a combination of something completely benign and healthy and also something really fucking weird! This used to be something I really liked about myself, it felt liberating and freeing and Id love for it to be that again. But now that I’m being real with myself, idk how to get rid of this shame.

Preface

Greetings all and good tidings. I am addressing something that has probably been addressed, rehashed, debated and possibly ignored many times over. In fact, this topic has likely been done to death on this sub. So why am I writing this post at all? Well, I hope I can address the topic in a way that does not give you indigestion, and if I do cause you gastrointestinal distress from topics on embodied minds, diachronic universalism and theories on personal identity, then I apologise in advance. There have been some relatively "newish" ideas presented in the literature about FLO and I would like to explore them and discuss what they entail. I understand that this whole topic may be irrelevant to several (many) users of this subreddit, but there are users here that this topic is quite important to, and it is them that I primarily address. All in all though, my effort here would be worthwhile if someone got something out of this.

Introduction

The Future Like Ours (FLO) argument, what is it and what does it necessitate? In its simplest form, it can be written as follows:
​

• Premise 1: It is morally wrong to deprive a being of a FLO.
• Premise 2: Killing a fetus deprives it of a FLO.
• Conclusion: Therefore, killing a fetus is morally wrong.

​
This seemingly simple argument was presented by Don Marquis in 1989. In the literature, it is widely regarded as the strongest argument against the permissibility of abortion, unless you accept some other religious doctrine. The general arguments that are provided as to the strength of Don Marquis' objection to abortion are based on the grounding that it is established on a seemingly uncontroversial view of why it is wrong to kill someone. The above argument is however deceptively simple, and I believe it is worth some time in breaking it down to establish what it means exactly.
The intention of the FLO argument is not about determining a set of conditions that may occur at some time after conception that would make abortion impermissible, but rather, that it would be impermissible in general. To describe how this argument comes about, we have to establish what it is that we mean by a future like ours. Our futures, assuming we live into the future and are able to experience, are futures of experience. In order for a fetus to have a future that is like ours, the future of the fetus must too, be one of experience. This also means that our present experience, right now, is the FLO of the fetus that was once 'us'. To achieve this end, an additional requirement is generated, the very being of the fetus must be the same being as we are now in order for the FLO of the fetus to be our current experience. A concise definition is as follows, as provided by Vogelstein:
FLO Definition: X, at time t, has a FLO if and only if (1) X exists at t, and (2) X exists for some period of time after t, during which X has valuable experiences that make X’s life after t worth living, on the whole. (Where the subject of experience is X)
There is an important distinction that needs to be made here. The future like ours argument of Don Marquis is not about the potential of the fetus to experience a future, but rather, the fetus really does experience a future. This distinction is important, as without it, the argument is open to the obvious rebuttal that a potential something is not as valuable as an actual something. The FLO argument is that the fetus is the same actual something that has future experiences as we actual somethings have future experiences right now.

The Problem of Identity

The general subject of the theory of personal identity is to describe what it is that we refer to when we say "I" and other pronouns. Generally, theories of personal identity posit that it is the thing we refer to as "I" that has experience. As by the definition of FLO above, a fetus can only have a future of experience if the thing that "I" refers to is the same as the fetus: I was once a fetus. The most widely accepted theory of personal identity; the psychological theory of personal identity, corresponds to relating "I" to the psychological connections of continuity, connectedness, similarity and other related concepts. These features correspond to particular functions of the brain. The identity objection, to put it concisely, is that for a fetus to have a FLO and adhere to the definition above, it would need to exhibit psychological traits. Since the fetus has no psychology to speak of, it does not have a FLO.
For the defender of FLO not willing to concede to this point, they are presented with a controversial choice, the rejection of the psychological theory of personal identity! This theory presents a distinction between the biological organism, and what it is that we refer to when we say "I". Under this theory, after conception, the organism existed for a certain time before "we", or "I", came into being, and so the organism before this point in time had no FLO at all. This also implies that the statement, I am my organism is not exactly correct. This point may seem like a possible point of contention by supporters of FLO, but it seems to be uncontroversial to proponents of the psychological theory of personal identity: we are minds that receive stimuli from our bodies. It's this last point that has (supposedly) provided another way out for defenders of FLO, in that they do not necessarily need to reject the psychological theory of personal identity after all, or at least, a particular form of it.

The Embodied Mind

Eric Vogelstein (2016), in his paper titled: Metaphysics and the Future-Like-Ours Argument Against Abortion provided an argument as to how FLO can still survive under Jeff McMahon's view of the embodied mind account of personal identity. The embodied mind account can arguably be traced back to Friedrich Nietzsche's classic Thus Spoke Zarathustra (one of my favourites!). Friedrich Nietzche wrote:
But greater is that in which you do not wish to believe – our body with its great intelligence; it does not say ‘I’, but does ‘I’. What the sense feels, what the spirit knows, never has its end in itself. But sense and spirit would persuade you that they are the end of all things: that is how vain they are. Instruments and toys are sense and spirit: behind them there is still the self. The self also seeks with the eyes of the senses, it also listens with the ears of the spirit. Always the self listens and seeks; it compares, overpowers, conquers, and destroys. It rules, and is also the ruler of the ‘I’. Behind your thoughts and feelings, my brother, stands a mighty ruler, an unknown sage – it is called the subconscious self; it dwells in your body, it is your body*.*
Never can I hope to achieve the level and style of writing of one such as Nietzsche! It is important to point out the very different context that surrounds Nietzsche's writings here. Nietzsche is describing the reluctance of Europeans to fully relinquish concepts of the past after the death of God! One such concept is the idea of the will, more importantly the free will endowed with inherent knowledge of morality. The free will is the end in itself with respect to the spirt of experience. Nietzsche argues to abolish this idea entirely and proclaims that the master behind "I" is our very bodies. The will is therefore no longer free, and no more endowed with knowledge of moral value than the pangs of hunger from the gut, or the... throes of passion from the groin...
In this sense, provided by Nietzsche, a description of the embodied mind account can be presented. The embodied mind is not distinct from the body but integrated within and the subject of the stimuli generated by our bodies. Our thoughts are not free but can be traced back to physiological conditions in the body. Even thoughts seemingly inspired by external stimuli are still thoughts subjugated to the master, the body! External stimulus is nothing more than the reception of outside events by our senses, and so the body is still the real author of all experience. I believe in this description, there is no point delineating the brain from the body, the brain is still your body, and your mind is integrated in your brain, that is, your body. I believe that Friedrich Nietzsche's account of an 'embodied mind' is not the same as the one argued by Jeff McMahon, as Nietzsche's take seems to be purely feed forward (and not particularly helpful to FLO), but nonetheless it still looks like "an" embodied mind account, and possibly one of, if not the earliest such account there is.
Eric Vogelstein has argued that the organism can experience by virtue of one of its parts. The brain is a part of the organism, and so the organism experiences by virtue of having a brain. Vogelstein makes use of Jeff McMahon's example of a car horn. When the horn of a car makes a noise, it does not seem controversial to say that the car made a noise. Similarly, when the brain has an experience, it should be uncontroversial to say that the organism too has an experience. Vogelstein also presents a counter to the argument that the mind itself is the subject of experience and not the brain, through the words of Eric Olson (2003):
The reason for [believing that you think but your animal or organism does not] can only be that the animal can’t think…And if that animal can’t think…then no human animal can. And if no human animal can think, no animal of any sort could….The claim, then, is that animals, including human animals, are no more intelligent or sentient than trees…This is rather hard to believe. Anyone who denies that animals can think…needs to explain why. They can’t. What stops a typical human animal from using its brain to think? Isn’t that what that organ is for?
A personal objection of mine to Olson here (this is not necessary for the argument I build later, and so I present it here) is that thinking, and experience are not the same things. We have the content of experience of thinking, and it is possible that with lesions on particular parts of our brains, our subjective experience persists but our ability to think rationally is impeded. I do not think it makes any sense to replace the word thinking with experience in the quote from Olson, as whether or not an animal or organism can experience is the very thing Olson is trying to conclude here. For example, machine learning techniques can be thought of a process of thinking, but AI has no experience to speak of, yet! Is there really any significant difference in the way we think from the methods applied in machine learning? This is however a digression.
In summary here, Eric Vogelstein has presented an argument as to how an organism itself can experience. This means that the fetus, before developing the constitutive part necessary for experience (the brain) can still experience by virtue of eventually having a brain. If the organism itself can experience, and that we, or "I" are organisms, and that the fetus is the same organism, then the fetus does have a FLO - that is, if you accept all of the required premises!

Reductio ad Absurdum, a Problem for Diachronic Universalism

There is yet another issue that arises from premise one of FLO that I would like to address. Premise one states that it is immoral to deprive a being of its FLO. The reductio of premise one would be that it is immoral to deprive a sperm and an ovum of its FLO through either contraception or abstinence. Don Marquis has responded to such a criticism and has argued that contraception does not deprive a being of a FLO. Eric Vogelstein (2016) has however acknowledged that in order for this claim to succeed, yet another controversial metaphysical stance needs to be adopted - the rejection of diachronic universalism.
In Don Marquis response to the reductio critique, he outlines possible candidates for harm: (1) the sperm (and not the ovum) (2) the ovum (and not the sperm) (3) both the sperm and the ovum (4) the mereological fusion of the sperm and the ovum. Don Marquis argues that options (1) and (2) are both unlikely, as there is no reason to grant either of these candidates a privileged status as being the being with a FLO. Marquis argues that (3) is also unlikely as too many futures are lost, a problem of too many thinkers. Eric Vogelstein however dismisses this argument as both the sperm and the ovum can share the same future. The argument from Marquis that Vogelstein gives greater credit to is that the fusion of the sperm and the ovum does not preserve the existence of the things that have combined. Vogelstein acknowledges however that this argument too can be tricky on a four dimensionalist view of space and time. In such a view, it is not controversial to accept singular identities in a transitive temporal form. In the four dimensionalist view, all of the future, and all of the past exist and stretch out from our current present point in time. When tracing the organism through a four-dimensional space-time, the sperm and the ovum fuse to generate the zygote, it can be said that the sperm, or the ovum are temporal transients leading to the zygote, though it is not necessarily true that both the sperm and the ovum are temporal transients together. This is where a mereological dispute arises, and the success of the FLO argument depends on its resolution.
Diachronic universalism posits that for every set of objects that exists, there also exists an object with the members of the set as it parts. Additionally, the composition of an object comprised of members of a set can occur over time. The example that Vogelstein provides is that there is an object that is composed of both George Washington and Fenway Park, that is, an object that was George Washington and later Fenway Park. Similarly, under diachronic universalism, if there was once a sperm-ovum mereological fusion, and later, the human organism compromised of the components of the set of the sperm and the ovum; then contraception and abstinence would indeed deprive something of a FLO by premise one and would be morally wrong. If diachronic universalism is true, the defender of the FLO argument has a choice. The choice is to either accept that contraception and abstinence are as morally wrong as abortion, or accept that contraception and abstinence are not morally wrong, and so it is not immoral to deprive a fetus of its FLO. The alternative of this is to reject diachronic universalism.
The problem is that diachronic universalism has many strengths and many supporters. For example, at what point does a scattered object stop being a single object, but scattered objects? If one such component of a Macro sized object was to move by a nanometre, would it stop being an object composed of its parts? If it can move by a nanometre, why not 10 nanometres, or even a metre? There are other arguments for diachronic universalism associated with the functionality of the object for instance. The main point here is, and a point that Vogelstein acknowledges, is that success of FLO does indeed require the rejection of diachronic universalism, and this is itself a controversial stance to take. It is controversial, as for an argument to rely on an already contested premise, the argument itself is weakened.

Does the Embodied Mind Account Really Save FLO from the Identity Problem?

In 2018, Skott Brill provided, what I believe to be, a forceful rebuttal to Vogelstein's argument that the embodied mind account means defenders of FLO do not need to take the controversial stance of rejecting the psychological theory of personal identity. Skott Brill presented his arguments in a paper titled: the Identity Objection to the Future Like Ours Argument. In this paper, the embodied mind account of the psychological theory of personal identity is presented by an analogy to an orange fruit tree. The main reason for this analogy is in response to those that do make the controversial rejection of the psychological theory of personal identity in that they argue it resembles a cartesian dualism. Skott Brill demonstrates that there are dualisms, and then there are dualisms, and they can be completely uncontroversial. If we are to take a whip of a fruit tree, it slowly develops and grows branches and starts to produce fruit. The fruit may ripen, and would be juicy, sweet and orange in colour. Eventually the fruit will drop off, and what used to a whip, and now the tree will continue beyond the fruit.
In this analogy, we do not say that the tree is sweet and juicy because it produced ripened oranges. The tree grew a new entity by producing fruit, and the properties of juiciness, sweetness and orangeness are properties of the fruit and not the tree. The tree itself can exist before and after the arrival and demise of the fruit. Similarly, the human organism, as a fetus, can grow a new entity, the brain, which has distinct properties on its own like the fruit, consciousness. The organism can precede the development of consciousness, and just like the tree, in some cases, survive beyond the loss of consciousness. There is nothing particularly controversial here that necessitates an objection based on cartesian dualism.
Skott Brill continues further with a reference to the fallacy of composition. The fallacy of composition is a mistake that we make when we infer that something has an attribute or property based on the fact that one of its parts has a particular property. The simple example that is provided is to make an inference that a car is light in weight because one of its parts is light in weight. Sometimes we are justified in this inference, where for example if one of the parts of the car is heavy, we are justified in saying the car is heavy. Skott Brill does not press this matter further, as he does not need to. A concession is made, and the embodied mind account is taken to be true so that it is assumed Vogelstein has not made a fallacy of composition.
Skott Brill points out an important point that Vogelstein has completely overlooked, that it is possible to have experiences in the way that we have experiences, and it is also possible to have experiences in a way that we do not have them. The beings that we identify as when we say "I" have experiences directly, whereas the organism has experiences derivatively. Skott Brill makes use of Jeff McMahon here to illustrate this point, which is slightly ironic in that it was McMahon's version of the embodied mind that Vogelstein has employed in his own defence of FLO:
My organism is conscious [and has experiences] only in a derivative sense, only by virtue of having a conscious [experiencing] part. Similarly, when I blow the horn of my car, the car makes a noise only in the sense that one of its parts makes a noise. There is only one noise; and there is a clear sense in which there is only one noisemaker: the horn. But we attribute the making of the noise not just to the horn but also, in a de rivative way, to the larger whole that contains it. It is clear … that the car is not some additional occult presence that mysteriously joins the horn in producing the honking noise. Nor is the organism as a whole involved in the experience of consciousness except by containing that which is conscious.
Even if the embodied mind account is taken as correct, the experience of the organism is a derivative experience and is different from the direct experience that we have. This means that the non-sentient fetus does not have a future like ours in that it experiences derivatively and not directly. There is no basis that has been established anywhere, by Marquis or by Vogelstein that the transfer of experience from direct to derivative occurs without loss, and so is a highly dubious claim to make. This is not the type of experience that Marquis is referring to in premise one of FLO. The reason it is wrong to kill us is that it deprives us of a future of experience that is an experience that we have directly. This is exactly the kind of experience that the non-sentient fetus does not have, and so the fetus does not have a future like ours at all. Under the psychological theory of personal identity, the FLO argument demonstrates that it is morally permissible to abort a fetus, as it does not have the very thing that is considered to be of value in premise one, a future like ours!

Reductio ad Absurdum Once Again! The Ovum as the Primary Candidate for Harm

I am going to explore the reductio problem of FLO a little further as I believe, even if rejecting diachronic universalism, a case can be made for the ovum as a candidate for harm, and more so, the candidate for harm. Quite recently, in 2023, Tomer Jordi Chaffer published a paper titled: Future‐like ours as a metaphysical reductio ad absurdum argument of personal identity. In this paper, it is argued that the ovum is the non-arbitrary candidate for harm for three reasons:
(1) The ovum exclusively passes down mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to offspring.
(2) The ovum can turn on paternal gene expression through histone restructuring.
(3) The ovum can undergo parthenogenesis.
If we refer back to the previous reductio section, the first two possible candidates for harm were identified as: (1) the sperm (and not the ovum) (2) the ovum (and not the sperm). Don Marquis argued that these two candidates were unlikely, as neither could be considered non-arbitrarily privileged over the other. It is this point that is contentious.
Chaffer refers to recent scientific findings from mitochondrial epigenetics corresponding to the heritable changes in gene expression of the mtDNA genome. These recent findings show increasing evidence that mitochondrial epigenetic regulators, such as mtDNA-encoded non-coded RNA (ncRNA) can translocate to the nucleus to regulate the expression of nuclear DNA (nDNA) encoded genes, which are the genes that affect identity. This mechanism can only be passed down from the mother, where sperm mitochondria are severely degraded. This establishes the ovum as having a non-arbitrary privileged position in that it has a greater role in identity formation than a sperm, corresponding to point (1) above.
There is a further point of difference between the nDNA carried by the sperm and the ovum. The nDNA carried in the head of a sperm is compacted to avoid damage as the sperm travels. In this compaction, histones are replaced with other nuclear proteins. Histones are complex proteins that regulate the gene expression and provide structural support to chromosomes. The ovum however does possess all of the necessary histones associated with gene expression and chromosome structure, but more than just this. The ovum also provides the sperm with the necessary materials, such as tripeptide antioxidant glutathione, so that the nDNA of the sperm can decondense and restructure. On this basis, epigenetically, the ovum provides the mechanisms necessary to regulate a sperms contribution to life, and so can be considered as the foundation for a new life. This corresponds to point (2) above and provides another case for the non-arbitrary privileged status of the ovum over the sperm.
A third differentiating aspect of the ovum from the sperm is that the ovum demonstrates a self-directing mechanism. The ovum has the capacity to initiate and activate embryo development without fertilization: parthenogenesis. Human parthenotes are not viable in nature, but the significance is that only the ovum can initiate this process and not the sperm, leading to yet another argument for the non-arbitrary privileged position of the ovum over the sperm, corresponding to point (3) above. If a counter to this is argued on the non-viable nature of the parthenote, that is exactly the point. The non-viable parthenote is robbed of a future by abstinence and contraception in that fertilisation did not occur before parthenogenesis was initiated.
The arguments presented above I believe provide a reasonably strong case that the ovum can be considered as a foundational structure of a new life, where a sperm merely deposits the necessary material for the foundation to become a fetus. There is a stronger line of continuity between the ovum and the zygote than there is between the zygote and the sperm. Additionally, the magnitude of the change between the ovum and the zygote is decidedly less than the magnitude of the change between the zygote and the child. I believe this is more than sufficient to argue that the ovum is a non-arbitrary candidate for harm, and possibly more than just this, the candidate for harm; the same candidate as the zygote!

Summary

I believe that the identity objection to FLO on the grounds of the psychological theory of personal identity carries significant force. Even if the embodied mind account is granted to be true, our organism, at best, can be considered to have a derivative experience only, and so the non-sentient fetus does not have a future like ours at all. On the psychological theory of personal identity, Don Marquis' argument does more to demonstrate why abortion is morally permissable rather than the reverse, because the fetus does not have the very thing which is valued, a future like ours.
The defenders of FLO are therefore faced with a controversial metaphysical stance, the rejection of the psychological theory of personal identity. Rejecting this however is not the end of the road, as yet another controversial metaphysical stance is necessary, the rejection of diachronic universalism. With the rejection of diachronic universalism, the reductio problem is still unresolved on the basis of the biology of the ovum: a strong case can be made for the ovum as a non-arbitrary candidate for harm. The defender of FLO then has yet another controversial stance to take, that it is morally impermissible to use contraceptives or abstain from sex!
Don Marquis arguments for FLO are considered to be the best secular argument as to why abortion is morally wrong, but this says nothing about the strength of the argument itself. As described above, if an argument requires two or three contested and controversial stances taken a priori, the argument itself is on more than perilous ground. If this really is the strongest case for the anti abortion argument, the anti-abortion movement itself is on extremely perilous ground! In short however, I believe FLO does achieve something quite valuable, it demonstrates that abortion is not morally wrong at all!
OK, here we are at the end... finally. That was a long post wasn't it. How is your intestinal tract by the way? Excellent! If you have made it this far, then you have my thanks, and I hope you got something out of this.
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Thank you for your time and effort in getting through this.
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Perse

My brother told me he has an online girlfriend and when i asked for more info, i got very suspicious. He saw a facebook friend suggestion and noticed an old highschool friend of his is an mutual so he sent a friend request out of curiousity. She accepted and apparently messaged a "happy new year" randomly and my brother said not long after the conversation got sexual. Eventually my brother started asking just basic get to know you questions, she said she has a sister but they arent in contact after she got kicked out, her parents passed when she was young. From hamilton, ontario, unemployed but use to be a part time hunter. Whenever my brother asked for more, she wouldnt give details. They did videocall once but it was blurry but he could make out a womans face, just not the details of her facial features too well. But the photos he received are pretty normal. But when i saw them, they were slightly blurry as if it was saved. He did admit some things were suspicious like when he told his friends and they asked to see her facebook profile, it was deleted and when he asked her why, she said she felt like it, she has no other social media and they chat on google chat only. Another suspicious thing was one night he asked for a selfie with her hand holding up a 2, and she sent him what looked like a zoomed in cropped photo of someones hand doing a peace sign infront of a well lit white background and almost like a white long sleeve with a black long sleeve coat. She would only message him around 7 or 8pm til late night. Ive tried to reverse image search but nothing comes up, i cant find any info on this woman. So far there hasnt been any exchange of money or private security info. Thank god. My brother says it sometimes is suspicious but he wants to believe shes real, im just worried before he gets too deep into it.

Off Payroll Working (Anti-Avoidance) Bill

An Act to make provision for further anti-avoidance measures in relation to Off Payroll Working and the establishment of employee rights where income is deemed employment income.
BE IT ENACTED by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Section 1: Definitions
(1) “Off Payroll Working legislation” refers to successive previous laws and regulations related to the determination on whether a worker should be treated as an employee or self-employed for tax purposes when paid through an intermediary.
(2) “IR35 legislation” refers to the successive previous laws and regulations on off payroll working above, directed at small privately owned businesses.
(3) “Client” refers to any corporate entity which pays for services provided by an intermediary.
(4) “Intermediary” refers to any corporate entity established to provide the services of individuals to a client.
(5) “Individual” refers to the person providing services to a client while remunerated through an intermediary
(6) “Deemed employment income” is any income liable for income tax and national insurance under the terms set out in Section 5.
Section 2: Combination of Off Payroll Working and IR35 rules
(1) From the enactment of this Bill, interpretation of all IR35 legislation will be considered the same as Off Payroll Working legislation, and the treatment between small private businesses and other businesses will be the same.
(2) In all cases, the client will now be responsible for determining the employment status of the worker.
Section 3: Application of Off Payroll Working Rules
(1) Off Payroll Working Rules will be considered when:

a. An individual has more than 5% ownership of an intermediary entity, and/or;
b. Services given to a client by an intermediary equate to more than 5% of the individual’s total taxable earnings.

Section 4: Assessment of Employee or Self-employed for tax purposes
(1) In each financial year, the client must make an assessment on whether an individual should be taxed as an employee or self-employed.
(2) If at least 5 of the following conditions apply, the individual shall be classified as an employee for tax purposes and “deemed employment income” should be calculated and taxed for Income Tax and National Insurance by both the client (in the first instance) and by the individual (true up/down in their annual self assessment):

a. Degree of control - in the course of the services, is the client mostly responsible for establishing the hours of the service or the time of day or date that the work should be delivered?
b. Mutuality of obligations - is the client obliged under the terms of the contract to give regular work and pay for it, and is the individual responsible for delivering that work?
c. Correction of work - is the client responsible, ahead of the intermediary or individual, either contractually or implicitly, for the quality of the services delivered by the individual?
d. Financial risk - are the financial risks related to the contract primarily with the client instead of the intermediary/individual?
e. Provision of own equipment - is the majority of the equipment used (buildings, plant and machinery, technology, sundries etc.) in the service provided by the client?
f. Disciplinary - is the individual contractually obliged to the same or greater behaviour and disciplinary terms as an employee of the client, or where not applicable, an employee of an equivalent business?
g. Exclusivity - does the contract result in substantial terms of exclusivity for a period greater than 3 months?
h. Inclusion in business - is the individual practically included in the client business in the context of internal meetings and communications?
i. Alternative worker - can an alternative individual replace the individual without substantial disruption or public statement?
j. Public opinion test - would a reasonable member of the public expect that the individual is an employee of the client?

(3) HMRC will challenge the judgements made for each consideration above if they appear to be unreasonable in a tax tribunal.
Section 5: Provision of employment benefits for deemed employment income earners
(1) Where an assessment is made that an individuals’ earnings are deemed employment income, the individual retains the right to statutory employment benefits and statutory pension terms as other employees.
Section 6: Repeals
(1) The Off Payroll Working (IR35 clarification) Act 2018 is hereby repealed.
Section 7: Commencement, Short Title and Extent
(1) This Act will come into force on the 6 April 2024
(2) This Act will extend to the entirety of the United Kingdom.
(3) This Act shall be cited as the Off Payroll Working (Anti-avoidance) Act 2023
This Bill was submitted by His Grace Sir Rea-wakey KCT KT KD KCMG KBE MVO FRS, Duke of Dorset, Secretary of State for the Home Department, on behalf of His Majesty’s 33rd Government.
Opening Speech:
Deputy Speaker,
I now present the final piece of anti-avoidance legislation to the House. Many years ago, alongside my good friend bnzss, I co-wrote a piece of legislation designed to tackle the known tax avoidance loophole through off-payroll working. While the legislation has been somewhat useful at tackling the loophole, recent cases such as those of Gary Lineker and Lorraine Kelly have proven that the legislation simply does not go far enough. Therefore I decided to rip it up and start again.
This legislation goes much further than the previous Bill - firstly combining both the IR35 rules for small businesses and the off-payroll working rules that currently apply to larger businesses, ensuring consistency between both sets of rules. Secondly, the Bill establishes a clearer set of criteria and a passable threshold in which earnings made through a company registered under the Companies Act 2006 or it’s predecessor or successor acts or a limited partnership should be recognised as employment income, thereby incurring income tax and National Insurance. Finally, this Bill provides further clarity as to the status of an individual when their income is deemed to be employment income, and extends the rights of employees to these workers including but not limited to the provision of statutory employment benefits and rights under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and statutory pension regulations.
The Government will relentlessly pursue those who wish to use technicalities in our regulations to avoid paying higher rates of tax and companies that wish to avoid conferring statutory benefits to those who are, for all intents and purposes, employees.
In combination with the other two pieces of anti-avoidance legislation I will be/have submitted to the House, these measures are collectively expected to raise £3.4 billion. This proposed revenue generation and these Bills were raised at Her Majesty’s Budget Committee and unopposed. My thanks go to my friend the Right Honourable Phonexia2 for their assistance in costing.
I urge the House to rally behind this Bill.
(M: These costings are calculated as 40% of the tax gap
for “Evasion” and “Non-payment”, given the difficulty of calculating the actual revenue generated from these measures).
This division will end at 10pm on Wednesday 7th June 2023.

I haven’t seen my dad physically in over a year. I last talked to him in February for his birthday. He forgot mine in March. The number called and said they were a friend of his for a couple of years and were worried about him. I’ve been worried about him for years. My brother overdosed and died at age 25 in 2009. After that he fucked up his marriage by cheating on her, he did the same to my mom years before. So she left him. I lived with him for a while and he just fell into rage and anger, so I moved out to better my own life and get it together.
Our relationship devolved horribly when we lived together, it continued to deteriorate from stagnation. He never listened to me about his health as he’s type 2 diabetic. Last year he had a stroke he told me because he was doing “something he shouldn’t be doing”. He got lucky and recovered. I tried to take him to doctors appointments but he blew me off or barely paid attention when we were at them.
I began having severe panic attacks and became non functioning in my own life. I was consumed with paranoia about him dying, because I’m terrified of having to care for him full time. I have this fear because I was end of life care for my mom who died from brain cancer in 2013. It was horrible Andy traumatizing. He didn’t help obviously since they’d been divorced for years.
I began to go to therapy and worked hard on myself to recover and begin to build my life up. I called less and less because I couldn’t be seeing his negativity and victim mentality. He’s always saying he “wants nothing from no one”. When you’re in the room with him it’s all about his problems and how everyone is taking advantage of him. He’s called me horrible names.
So naturally I’ve distanced myself from him, because being around him makes me want to die and give up. So I got a call today from someone who knows him whom I’ve never met. They said he looks really bad, his diabetes is out of control and she stated he was addicted to drugs. She won’t tell me what kind or anything. She seems to think that if someone can approach him with empathy and kindness that it will somehow help him admit that he needs help and go to rehab. He is a veteran, so maybe we could get him into that program. But I don’t know that I want anything to do with this. Just in the span of the afternoon when she called me to this morning at 3 AM, I am feeling how I did when I was non-functional. I have worked very hard to put my life together, and I love my father, but he hasn’t really been a functional parent to me in many years.
And to be honest, I don’t think I can approach him with empathy or understanding at all. All I feel towards him is rage and anger and frustration for all of the bullshit that I’ve gone through on my own, all he knows how to do is make things worse for me. I know that his addiction likely comes from deep self hatred , and I’m sure that my brother’s death was the catalyst for most of this.
She also stated that he seems scared because he had had someone around who was violent. She stated that she had gotten into a physical fight with this person and ended up in the hospital after being punched in the face I tried to gain some insight into what exactly he was involved in, but she was very vague. It did not seem to me like she really wanted anything from me. She said that it might be helpful to simply put my eyes on him and see how poorly he was doing. I asked her what she expected of me , and if she really thought I would be capable of doing anything to help him? She said I’m not actually required to do anything, but if it was her family, she would want to know which is why she looked me up on the Internet. I don’t doubt anything that she is saying, it all makes sense, and sounds truthful.
The fact that he hasn’t spoken to me in months, he was absent when I recently had a cancer scare and had to go through two surgeries, it’s just, it makes a lot of sense to me. So now I’m over here. Just debating with myself if there’s anything I can do to help him, or if I even should. I cannot allow him to derail my life, but even thinking about being around him, is sending me into almost complete panic .
I really feel like if he does not get help he is going to die. But I don’t know that I am capable of giving him the help he needs. If the drugs do not kill him, he will likely have another stroke. And he has no one else because he’s driven everyone away. My entire family struggles with addiction, I am the only one who does not. And it’s because of watching all of my cousins and aunts and uncles and my dad and my brother lose their shit to it.
I am so angry, I am exhausted. We never actually had a disagreement or a conversation where I told him I didn’t want him in my life anymore, I just stopped calling one day. And he stopped calling me. It’s horrible. I miss him all the time, it feels like I don’t have a family anymore and I’m just out here raw dogging life by myself. I have very good friends in my life, but many of them do not understand where I’m coming from. I feel like a broken record talking about him all the time. Even in therapy .
I never really had a need to come on here before, because I had to read it myself into thinking that his drug addiction that initially caused his first stroke, was a one off. How ignorant of me. Likely he’s been doing drugs this entire time I feel like I am watching him, ruin his life and implode. And now there’s this violent person in his life? I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about that, now I don’t want to go to his house at all because I don’t wanna get in the middle of whatever the fuck that is.
This is fucking crazy, I can’t live like this. But I can’t live either because all I do is worry about him. Even when things are going relatively well, all I can do is think about my dad and whether or not he’s OK. I no longer leave my cell phone on because I am afraid to get a phone call that he is dead. And I am also afraid to get a call that he is alive like I did today. Before I even answered the phone I knew that it wasn’t a Robo call . I knew that I had something to do with him and that it wasn’t good.
I can’t remember the last time she did anything for me that brought joy or positivity to my life. But I think I am still holding onto who he used to be when I was a child.
I’m so lost .

I was 8yrs and had a fevesickness and used my phone to watch gacha life videos and came across a GLMM titled gateway to heaven basically the mini movie was a two part series and the story starts like this. There was a girl named Britney if I remember that was her name? And her family is falling apart, I think? Her Father died because he was drunk driving and her brother named Oliver died because he had a terminal illness and said "God I'm Ready" and then Her mother said that she is sending her to some school where she is staying and Britney didn't even get to say goodbye to her mother. Then she made friends I couldn't remember their names but she did meet a boy with a mean girl named Camille or Chloe and I couldn't remember the rest and suddenly Britney got into a relationship with the boy and the boy broke up with Camille/Chloe and said to no longer call him babe and then a few weeks Camille/Chloe assassinates The Boy and dies with swirly eyes (weird way to die) and said I love you and in part 2 she gets a tragic news saying that Britney's mother had passed away for an unknown reason and suddenly she gets run over by a lambo and appeared in the gateway and met her bf and said he couldn't get to heaven unless she fully kills herself and talks to Camille/Chloe and make her do something and suddenly Camille/Chloe and Britney saw each other and Camille/Chloe threatened to kill Britney and Britney talks to Camille/Chloe and she says sorry to her and suddenly Britney grabs her gun and says goodbye and then she shoots herself before all of what's happening between the girls the songs played were Kingdom Come and Happier by Mashmello. Britney appears in heaven with her family and bf and the story ends there, if you guys found the videos please give me the link to the videos cuz whenever I try to look up the series it always shows me those "nO SpoTs leFt iN hEAven" bs. (I also forgot to mention that after Britney fully passes away Camille/Chloe shows up in her funeral along with Britney's friends and says sorry again.) I'm 13 now and I still think about it the last time I ever saw the series was in 2020.

Decarboxylation is a very important step in the process of making a cannabis concentrate. In short and blunt lamens terms decarboxylation is heating of cannabis to activate the appropriate cannabinoids. Heat and cold are the Extraction Technicians best friend, when controlled for. THCa is the naturally occurring form of THC exsisting in raw cannabis form where as THC is not present in raw cannabis. THCa is tetrahydracannabinolic acid, THC being the former word less acid, Tetrahydracannabinol.
The most important reason behind decarbing is the activation of the acid groups of compounds into their psychotropic active forms. While there are medicinal and therapeutic benefits to THCa and other Acid forms of cannabinoids, they are not therapeutic via combustion and can only be used to induce immediate medicinal therpaeutic effect in transdermal absorption, edibles, rso, tinctures etc. Though extended lomg term benefits of THCa have been suggested by studies. THCa is not psychotropic however. Very few psychoactive psychotropic benefits can be experienced from raw cannabis flower prior to decarboxylation.
Decaroxylation is one of the most important steps in cannabis concentrate processing, but is a part of cannabis use regarldess of How it is used. Decarboxylation is the addition of heat to raw cannabis or cannabis flower that has been curred. This torches the cannabis flower and upon reaching its flash point around 315° F approximately, the THCa loose a single carbon atom Carboxyl group 👉 (-COOH) while holding onto a hydrogen atom.
The atomic make up of THCa is 4 Oxygen, 30 Hydrodgen, and 22 Carbon atoms. We can see that decarbing causes the loss of 2 Oxygen atoms, 1 hydrogen, and 1 carbon atom. This is known as carbon dioxide, 1 carbon, di-2 oxide 1 hydrogen atom. Removal of said carboxyl group causes an approximately 12% reduction in THCa and converts to active THC.
This process can happen as I mentioned from combustion of plant material reaching the flash point of THC at approximately 320°F. It can also take place in a much more delicate manner whereby the THCa is converted to THC for use in products which will not undergo combustion. These are your edibles, tinctures, Rick Simpson Oil, topicals etc. These require that the THCa be ran through a decarboxylation process via lab techniques. However, the consumed compound in edibles and RSO is THC.
THCa does not bind to the receptors which are the main parts activating the endocannabinoid system, aka ECS. The ECS is a largely not understood homeostatic process involving the peropheral and nervous systems. THCa has a shape and size that prevents it from binding to CB1 or CB2 receptors. THC however has the key to both receptors.

There is not much study that has been conducted on THCa, largely thanks to the little amount of study done on cannabis. Meaning that which has been done has been on the seemingly most pertinent parts of the plant to understand given its possible recreational and inherent medicnal stance in the western World. 

THCa is quite interesting in that studies have shown it to be directly beneficial to the reduction of pain by causing inhibition of COX-1 and Cox-2 enzymes. Both of said enzymes have potential to increase inflimation, pain, & fever. The interesting thing is the usefulness I have heard family and friends speak to, that being the application of topicals. I always wondered how in the world a topical would be beneficial for someone like my aunt, who smoke upwards of an ounce a week and uses pens and dabs. She finds the anti inflammirory and pain relieving properties of topical absorption of THCa extremely beneficial. She suffers a multitude of issues traditionally thought of to be treated by cannabis like gastroporesis, fibromyalgia, and inflimation associated pain.
The medicinal and recreational benefits of THC vs THCa differ darastically. THCa is not psychotropic, or as I often refer to it as psychoactively psychedelic. But has a multitude of medicnal applications through topical transdermal absorption, juicing of cannabis leaves, plant, and flower, rso, and other edibles.
THCa treats neurodegenrative diseases such as alzheimers disease, interesting given that CBD quells seizure activity in certain nerodivergent disorders. THCa is also anit spasmodic, meaning it stops muscele shaking in diseases like Parkinson disease. It also somewhat counterintuitive as an anti proliferative, considering the proliferative nature of sesquiterpenes. Said Anit proliferative attributes making it beneficial in prevention of prostate cancers.
THCa is also anti emetic to treat nausea vomiting etc and induce apetite & aid reduction in nausea. It is also analgesic in nature which means it is a pain killer. Finally like most compounds in cannabis THCa is an antioxidant that protects one from and reverses the damage caused by free radicals.
THC in addition to the plethora of medicinal applications of THCa, we have the medicinal viability of THC. Again none of this is accepted by the FDA and much comes from studies of cannabis from around the world as US peer reviewed research wasn't allowed in the US untill 2022. Atleast NOT RESEARCH without FDA manipulation forcing researchers to use cannabis from the University of Mississippi grown by government contractors to ensure low quality cannabis and sub par quality. This was the product available for study by peer reviewed researchers, ensuring FDAs plausible deniablilty while simultaneously actively controlling ability to produce results other than null. This backing down by the FDA is why we see so many synthetic cannabinoids hitting the market now. We're actually able to study the cannabis actually being used, though the restrictions are still a bit uncalled for.
The benefits of THC actually do differ from THCa. I didn't know this for the longest time. I always thought that THC was simply decarboxylIzed THCa. THC can assist with the treatment of opioid addiction, ya know, the way addicts who've suffered from the disease for years have suggested that the plant helps. For decades individuals on methadone maintainence treatment or another form of medicated assisted Treatment, aka MAT like suboxone, subtuex, or sublicaid which are all partial opioid agonists, save methadone as it is a full agonist. The Marijuana is said to dissuade the desire for reward seeking by allowing a less intense non addictive reward to Be given to the brain via THC.
Studies have actually shown a statistically significant difference in completion of opioid maintainence programs and relapse therein or total relapse correlated to THC use. This use is said to be decreasing desire to activate that 'burnt-in' reward system pathway. Essentially yes it let's the patient get high without axtivating those addictive pathways. This is supported by studies like the one I often discuss regarding injection of Beta Myrcene in Mice. Interestingly a study performed on Beta myrcene outside of cannabis, subcutaneous and intra peritoneal injection of cannabis derived beta myrcene led to analgesia comparable to prescription opiates.
The amazing find imo is that while it produced similar analgesic effects, it took an unknown pathway which caused analgesia but didn't exhibit the addictive properties of opioid Mu receptor activation. The studies insinuate both the application and medicinal viability of myrcene outside and likely within the whole of cannabis. Remember the whole is more than sum of its parts. AS well as the fact that THERE maybe isn't much receptor activation leadiNg to addictive properties, but RATHER, the pathway to the mu receptor causes the addictive properties.
THC has also been shown to have a strong Correlation to increased Metabolic output, which has a multitude of health benefits that most certainly don't abIDE by THE social niceties of todayS society. Cannabis use can produce THC benefit can lessen possibility of diet related obesity. The THC has actually been shown to be correlated with decrease in Body Mass Index as outdated as the BMI is said to be in modern culture. In addition THC has been correlated to A decrease in likliehood of diet associated diabetes.
THC also exhibits the characteristic of encouraging Vasodialation which is how the pressure in the eyes is releived for Glaucoma patients. Vasodiallation is the diallation of blood vessels, aka opening them up. This causes a decrease in blood pressure. However, strains with potent beta myrcene levels can effect the way in which the THC works. When THC is used with Beta caryophyllene in that form, not trans caryophyllene which is the most common form of beta caryophyllene and myrcene together, the THC enhances sedative effects in the potency of the onset brought on by beta caryophyllene sedation enhanced via myrcene.
Myrcene alone causes proliferation of THC across the blood brain n barrier leading to imcreased absorption of THC and increased activation of the CB1 receptors. This increases the psychotropic ability of the cannabis. THC potency can also be controlled with the application of various combinations of terpenes, namely related to beta caryophyllene and beta myrcene.

For example, that intensification of cb1 receptor activity can be quelled using the dietary nature of the dietary cannabinoid Beta Caryophyllene, by ingesting small amounts of black pepper cernals. These are high in Beta caryophyllene and as it is also a dietary cannabinoid meaning it can enter the endocsnnabnoid system througj the stomach and interacts with cannabis compounds active in the ECS. This calms the psychotropic Intensity calming paranoia & anxiety. 

What is interesting and leads to deep sometimes heated discussion is that THC is also anxiolytic. Obviously heated given the intensification of THC via myrcene in a sativa lacking beta or trans caryophyllene. THCa is shown in studies in 2017 to be a more effective anti inflammitory than CBD when treating certain gastrointestinal disorders, specifically Irritable bowel syndrome, chrons disease, and ulcerative colitis.
So what does it mean when you see a small amount of THC in the product but higher levels of THCa? That ofcourse is a traditional confirmation of analysis.

First, it is very possible that the confirmation of analysis testing if using gas Chrometography that the THC may be underestimated, making for a more potent product than labeled....though these differences would be so Minute they likely wouldn't be noted by a person using the product. Maybe someone sensitive to THC. 

Ever notice how there is typically some level of THC usually below 1% while your THCa tests around 79% or 78%. When testing cannabis products, when using Gas Chrometography the amount of THCa that converts to THC is 70%, but the THCa is not measurable using this method due to the temperature decearboxylizing the THCa to its psychotropic form.
Gas Chrometography combusts the material into a gassesous form and runs this gas through filtration which is able to measure the compound levels. I Showed below a picture diagram showing these systems. Because this is the "decarbed" product meaning heat was applied to convert the tetrahydracannabinolic acid. The THC is all that can be measured using this approach, not the THCa and only 70% of THCa is converted in this process. However knowing that 70% of THCa converts to THC we can sus out the levels of both using this approach.
It is impossible to know what that initial amount of THCa was of which 70% gets converted. Cannabis confirmation of analysis testing is very complex and has many seeming double negatives and odd measuremnet standards. One of these as a good example is less than the limit of quantitation. This means that the compound is present but can't be measured in accurate levels.
Liquid chrometography is a secondary method used to produce the confirmation of analysis you find on most states cannabis Product, atleast for the medicinal cannabis products in my state. Liquid chrometography takes advantage of a universal formula used to determine the amount of THCa that gets converted to THC.
The Universal Mathematical formula is as follows.
THC TOTAL= (%THCa) X 0.877 + (%THC)
If we remember looking back, approximately 12% of THCa is lost in the extraction process, during decarboxylation. That approximates at 0.877 which is equivalent to 87.7%. 87.8 + 12 leaves 99.8%. I am not exactly certain about the .2% leftover. I will update when i do learn ablut this fact. When the carboxyl group is removed and hydrogen atom preserved a 12% reduction occurs in THCa and other active cannabinoids, those exsisiting as an acid naturally like CBGa are converted as well.
This is how the ACTUAL levels are measured in order to understand the real potnecy of the product your using. THCa for example require a temperature exposure of 220° F for 30-45 mins before decarbing begins. The key for some decarbing processes is to manipulate atmospheric pressures to lower the boiling points and flash points of cannabinoid temperatures in order to ensure the partial flashing over (that is decarbing) takes place but doesn't degrade the product. Control of atmospheric pressure is necessary so that terpenes are not evaporated as some terpnenes begin to flash over at right around 100°F. A rotovap is one way this is done for which there is a diagram below as well, showing the liquid bath and erlyn myer flask (flask with bulbous bottom). Or in a VTA wipe decarboxylationprocess. .
THCa decarbs at approximately 220° F and CBDa decarbs at approximately 245°F, exposure time being approximately 90 minutes. To keep terpenes from evaporating it is necessary to extend the length of time one runs decarbozylation process in order to lower the temperature. A chart exsists to show heat vs time and the relative output thereof i included below. According to my research the optimal temperature for THCa decarboxylation is between 252° & 293°F.
If you plan to exsist on the Recreational market as a processor of cannabis or as an individual processing your own cannabis, decarboxylation is absolutely necessary to compete with big indisytry and make cannabis product containing desired terpenes.

 While decarbing can be done ignoring the evaporation of terpenes, which is why there is the issue of adding terpenes in some processing it is best to try to keep these terps especially if competing In a state where medicinal multi million dollar industry is operating. 

Advoc8 always
Meduc8 daily
FOLLOW UR NOSE 👃 WHERE THE TERPENES GOES.

So I'm a student living off a combination of maintenance loan and part time job income.
The maintenance loan is quite high (the maximum), and my income from work comes to around 10k a year.
I'm about the start the 4th year of a 5 year course, and I've been living quite comfortably off this money so far. Enough that I've been able to save a decent amount. I keep most of it in cash because my job is zero hour so there is always the possibility the work could stop. I've also been putting small amounts away in a S&S ISA. I currently max out a LISA each year by shifting over previous savings I have from before I was student.
My question is, given I don't pay any income tax, would it be wise for me to put some money into a SIPP? Would I still get the 20% tax relief? It's only really occured to me now but it seems like a no brainer if this is the case.

I (19F) have lived with my mom my entire life. Until the age of 8, I would see my dad (49M) every other weekend (6 days out of the month total (sometimes only 3 days)). After that I randomly never saw him again (because drama). Not even my sister and brother (I had a new baby brother on the way too). I was completely torn.
Until 5 years later, he came back around because my sister (my mom side) brought it up to my mom for me.
Since then...absolutely nothing has changed. We barely talk and he always expected me to contact him first. He would randomly ask me snarky questions (no greeting whatsoever) and it would always rub me the wrong way. We barely even hung out since he returned. Hasn't helped me with college either.
Now, a week after Father's Day 2022, he texts my brother, sister (dad side) and I saying:
• He feels disrespected we didn't do anything for him and we only texted him • "Haven't I been a good father" "I've given you guys lots of things"
Then says (same day still): • "I wait and see how long you guys call and you don't." • "This is not how I was raised"
It's like he thrives off of having a dad title instead of being a dad. Like come on.
I was out with my mom and reading that boiled my blood. I didn't reply until close to midnight and I went OFF.
For further context, I'm hearing everything that's happening in his life, from my mom. Him getting a divorce, getting a girlfriend then proposing to her months later. He only mentions this stuff on the phone when I call him after my mom has told me. In May 2022, he tells me the wedding is a few days after my birthday which was in 2 months (The initial date was supposed to be Dec 2022). I never met the woman and it felt forced to try and build a bond with a lady that never even met her fiancé children.
Also called him out on not putting effort into doing anything as a parent and I felt like the victim and the black sheep of his petty decision making. Voicing all of this, on top of him abandoning me, I get no direct response except, "It seems like everyone has stuff to get off there chest." That made me upset even more.
Continuing on, as weeks pass, I'm hearing nothing about the wedding, only from my sister (dad side). Then, I got covid and didn't go to the wedding (yay no tension).
Didn't meet the lady until Christmas last year with her family. Like are you serious? I just spend my time with my brothers.
FAST FORWARD to 3 days ago, my dad post a picture on Instagram and Facebook saying, "Dinner with the family." Everyone is there except me. Like EXCUSE ME?! Hello?? No phone call or text message? Do I not exist? Again, not putting in one ounce of effort. I was so heated right then and there I wanted to call him and let him have it.
I am so frustrated with it all. There's so many unanswered questions and I'm at the point where I don't even want to deal with him anymore. I have a strong distaste for drama and I don't want to start anything because I know there will be stuff said.
So, WIBTA if I cut him off?

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Hello,
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I have recently (a couple of months) started a Ph.D. in Germany in the field of reinforcement learning, which I try to combine with Optimal Control to give guarantees and /or analyze performance and convergence properties and the like, or at least that was the initial idea.
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The thing is, I am not enjoying the experience so far. I was never interested or very good with theory and math proving, but I was applying to many machine learning Ph.D. programs last year, and that was the only one I got accepted in (or at least the first). Because the salary is tolerable and the overall program prestigious, I thought I might as well take the risk and plunge in and push myself out of my comfort zone, even though I was, and still am, very uncertain I would succeed.I do not like it so far for several reasons, which I will provide for context.
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First, the lab itself: While the other Ph.D. students are likable people, and I have no issue with them, they are all essentially doing theoretical research in control theory, and just one tries to combine it with deep learning. Besides that, there is no machine learning and not even much data-driven work. Ergo, I am in a lab where I neither understand nor care about anyone's research, which feels isolating and, quite frankly, useless. There's also the issue of teaching assistance, which I have been told takes substantial time ("We don't have time to do research over an entire semester" time). I can experience it for myself already as I am supposed to be a TA at a theoretical optimization course with material I don't understand.
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Then it is the issue of the supervisor. The lab's PI is a super senior Prof with tens of thousands of citations and over 10 Ph.D. students. Mine is a super junior Professor who just started on the tenure track a little over six months now and has two other Ph.D. students. I feel our mindsets don't match my Prof's because he's way too theoretical. At the same time, I am much more software-oriented and even feel like he is trying to micromanage me by telling me how many hours I should spend on X course, always letting him know what I am working on, etc.
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He is even opposed to the idea of me doing projects outside of work, like an entrepreneurship incubator, because "before I have results, this kind of work, as well as networking, are useless," which I honestly find idiotic. He even lectured me when I let him know I would join, even though I had asked him before applying because he said I should listen to him more and tell him these things like I would tell my friends and some other nonsense. While the program will last around six weeks and require my presence for six days, I still do not think that kind of reaction was warranted or useful. Truth be said, I dislike him increasingly as time passes, and I am afraid I will hate him in a few months.
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Finally, there is the issue of the work itself. I just don't find myself excited to try to make sense of papers all day. It feels dull and meaningless. I am still figuring out my exact research topic too. Still, I am thinking of going into more causality-based learning, which I am surprised the Prof sort of accepted after several attempts because while he constantly says he is flexible, the first few times I suggested some topics beyond the very initial rough ideas we had sort of agreed on, that is the theoretical analysis of RL algorithms, he has several times said he is more interested in staying the course on those initial ideas and not exploring more, which feels constricting. I mean, the whole point of a Ph.D. is to explore relevant topics freely, isn't it? Right now, I feel less free here than I felt when working in the industry.
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Therefore, and because I do not believe those problems can be overcome, or even that I want to overcome them, I have come up with the following plan: I will give this program some time so that I am confident beyond reasonable belief about these observations and to figure out I indeed do not enjoy or am good at this kind of thing. I want to give it enough time to clear any doubts I may still have while trying very hard to make it work and not have any thoughts about quitting without a fight.
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I will minimize my time toiling on my Ph.D., working diligently during my 9-5 but no more. Instead, I will dedicate significant time to upgrading and expanding my data science and software engineering skills and preparing for technical interviews. Then, if in one year the situation has not dramatically improved, I will apply for jobs in the tech area in the US and quit the program after I have secured an offer. If I am asked by employers why I quit the Ph.D., I will sell it as the sort of thing I just realized is not for me, and I want to create value, work with code, etc.
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What does the community here think about my thoughts and plan? Is there anything I need to improve or rethink?

When his twin brother showed up on tv to make a public plea for his brothers murder to come forward, I realized my mistake.