I (23F) just learned that my sister (16) is lying to us and I believe she made up a scenario about her friends to get us to take a trip so she can see a boy.
A few months ago she told us that her friend’s family invited her on a trip to Los Angeles to tour colleges (LA is a 5 hour drive from our city) and asked if I could drive her. I was excited because I’d been looking forward to touring colleges with her and said I’d be willing to drive her. My mom suggested we just turn it into a family vacation and do something fun since it’s not often we get to take trips. My sister suddenly got argumentative and when I tried to ask about the plans for the college tours she screamed at me and told me she didn’t want me to go on the tour with her and her “friends” and how she didn’t want us to come at all because she’s going to be “sleeping over at and spending most of the time with my friends”. I didn’t think much about it as I thought she was just being a moody teen.
Today, however, she broke my trust completely when I overheard her talking through the walls on the phone to what sounded like a male voice. She was making plans and saying how they’re going to go to all of these places, etc. I was so upset I wanted to barge into her room but I didn’t. She is extremely argumentative and gets very physically violent toward both me and my mom when things don’t go her way or when confronted so I was scared.
I don’t know who this male is and I’m so extremely upset that she would lie like this and feel so comfortable letting me and my mom splurge on a trip knowing we work our butts off to keep a roof over our heads. This was supposed to be a college tour trip and a chance to connect but I feel so deceived because clearly she lied and this was not what she had in mind at all when she came to me asking if I could drive her.
Please help, do I tell my mom? I hate to be the “snitch” older sister but I’m concerned about her safety.

So I recently moved to Hawaii, and my mother had picked up some stuff from the pharmacy for me (antidepressants, heart medication etc), along with some other stuff I had forgotten to bring with me and sent them overnight on Saturday, so the package was due to arrive Tuesday. I went to pick it up today, and to my surprise the package weighed next to nothing, and on closer inspection it looked like it was cut open and taped back up. After opening it, I found there was literally nothing in the package, as if somewhere along the way, someone opened it and removed the contents. My mother had the UPS Store pack the items up in front of her and ship them out, and it's a bit distressing due to the medication that was in the package.
I have spent the entire day trying to file a claim and getting the runaround. First I tried calling UPS, got nowhere with the automated system, so my mother went to the UPS store and was told to file a claim online... Well, I spent the better part of 2 hours trying to help her through that but the website just kept hanging during random parts of the claim filing process. Needless to say, I didn't get very far and I don't know what to do or who to even talk to at this point. It feels like UPS doesn't want anything to do with claims with how convoluted the filing process can be.

Everything you need to know about the Le Mans event!

Context, insight, history, experiences, legends, heroes, stories, classes, resources, discussion, times, and everything else you will need to understand this phenomenal event. If you've not had a look at that thread, make sure you check it out!

Session Times

Ferrari Challenge Practice 2 – Thursday June 8th, 09:00 Local, 07:00 UTC, 03:00 ET, 17:00 AEST – 45 Minutes Porsche Carrera Cup Practice 2 – Thursday June 8th, 10:55 Local, 08:55 UTC, 04:55 ET, 18:55 AEST – 45 Minutes Road To Le Mans Qualifying Practice – Thursday June 8th, 12:55 Local, 10:55 UTC, 06:55 UTC, 20:55 AEST – 20 Minutes x 2 Classes Free Practice 3 - Thursday June 8th, 15:00 Local, 13:00 UTC, 09:00 ET, 23:00 AEST - 3 Hours Road To Le Mans Race 1 - Thursday June 8th, 18:30 Local, 16:30 UTC, 12:30 ET, Friday 02:30 AEST - 55 Minutes HYPERPOLE - Thursday June 8th, 20:00 Local, 18:00 UTC, 14:00 ET, Friday 04:00 AEST - 30 Minutes Free Practice 4 - Thursday June 8th, 22:00 Local, 20:00 UTC, 16:00 ET, Friday 06:00 AEST - 2 Hours
Track Information: 13.626km (8.467mi) Circuit, located in Le Mans, Pays de la Loire, France
Track Website
Official Entry List

Spotters Guide thanks to Ziombel_444!

Track Map with Marshal Post and Slow Zone locations
Le Mans Weather

Streaming

How to watch in your area - From the FIAWEC website, all the details on how to watch in your part of the world!

• Official stream OUTSIDE US ONLY - The Le Mans package gives you access to all WEC sessions (Practice, Qualifying, Warm Up and the Race) with a choice of on boards, cross platform compatibility, and up to 5 devices connected at once.
• Eurosport will likely be broadcasting the event in a variety of locales throughout Europe. This will be updated when confirmed

For American audiences, unfortunately the Official stream is geoblocked for your area. American and English-speaking Canadian audiences can access coverage through Motortrend On Demand

• Official TV Broadcast distribution Find out how to watch in your region!

Any further updates on TV or Streaming distribution will be added as they are released!
Radio coverage thanks to Radio Le Mans

Live Timing

Social Media

• Twitter Hashtags: #FIAWEC #24hrLeMans #LeMansCentenary

Jump into /WEC's discord server! We have a channel entirely dedicated to Le Mans action, plus voice chat, team ranks, and a very friendly bunch of people!
^{Remember to sort by "new" to stay up to date!}

Im not asking for advice im just venting, theres nothing i can do about this until i see my husband when he gets back friday night.
My (23f) husband (25m) works for this guy who ill call "bill". Bill is a sleazy millionaire who got his money from working in Hollywood and is now trying to get famous in the live music sector. He also treats the live music sector like Hollywood. Aka work 20+ hours for pennies a day until you make it big and everyone should have that same mentality, which, if you have ever worked in live music, is not how it works.
Bill also cant keep crew. Any kind of crew and especilally not skilled crew. Currently bill only has 2 people working on this event stage regularly. My husband and another guy ill call "Paul". They have a difficult time finding crew to help set up, run and, strike the set and are constantly running a skelelton crew which leaves my husband to do everything because "the show must go on". He regularly pulls 18+ hour days working for this sleaze and gets paid a flat day rate despite working basically by himself when the set needs ~8 people in total to run. He worked his ass off for a gig bill got at a local highschool grad party and only got paid half of what he invoiced bill.
Bill also micromanages to the point of constantly making my husband and paul behind schedule. Halting any work until they try it his way and it inevitably doesnt work because bill doesnt know what hes doing. I would describe him as someone who aspires to run a business like elon musk: work the skeleton crew to the bone and then move on to the next cheapest labor. Taking any shortcuts he can and violating labor rights. Bill even sent two PI's to harass a former employee who filed for unemployment and Bill didnt want to pay unemployment. The former employee left the state to avoid harassment from the private investigators. He does not have workers comp so if my husband gets injured because of bills abusive demands, we would have to pay for our life on my income alone, not to mention medical bills.
Anyways, Bill is pushing for his idea to take off. And because of that hes scheduling gigs all the time. My husband has worked on and off for him for three years. My husband is a freelance audio engineer and a really good one at that. His talent is well beyond his years and he consistently undercharges and undervalues himself due to his age. His coworkers and other freelancers he works with tell him that hes going to be able to go on tour easily and he actually has the talent to make it big. His coworkers tell me this too whenever they see me. He actually just secured a really awesome gig in LA that hes working on for the next two weeks.
And that brings us to our problem: hes in LA mon-fri and then saturday he is working 24 straight hours for bill. This wouldnt be a problem if he didnt already have a gig scheduled every sunday at a local church from 8am - 12pm. This church pays him really well despite the little amount of work he does for them so we keep it around. The biggest issue with this 24 hour gig is that they have virtually no crew to run this. Which means, again, that my husband will be the only one doing all of the work. My husband tells bill and paul all the time that he needs other people and they continue to make empty promises and continue to fuck him over. Bill and paul dont do any of the heavy lifting either they just bark orders at my husband. This leaves my husband so beyond exhausted that he becomes a shell of himself. Its genuinely heartbreaking to watch. This happened the last time he worked for bill for an extended period of time too. He has 3 crew to set up and 2 to strike a set that requires 8 people to be able to pull this off in 24 hours.
My husband says he continues to work for bill because he has really high tech equipment which my husband likes to learn and use. Bill does not have a good reputation in our area and i keep telling him that by continuing to work for bill, it will hurt his own reputation. Something my husband cares a lot about. Ive brought all of this up to him as well and im met with resistance. I dont know why either, bill is horrible and will only harm my husband in the long run. He KNOWS all of this too. I dont keep my opinions about bill to myself. Especially since my husband has never said one nice thing about Bill. Money is not an issue because my husband is constantly turning down gigs because his schedule is full 7 days a week.
Anyways thanks for reading my rant. No I wont leave my husband so dont even start on that. He is a wonderful, kind, generous man and he allows people to take advantage and abuse that which frustrates me to no end watching him get abused at work constantly. I feel like im over reacting and he says he needs to "slog it through the trenches" in order to get anywhere but bill has no connections or anything that will help him in the long run because bill keeps burning bridges with his "my way or the highway" attitude. I hate bill with all my heart and i hope he fails miserably with his "dream" and it leaves him feeling depressed and sad.

Prescription refill online services in Ladysmith, BC. Renew prescription online with Hillside Family Pharmacy. Fill up the form below and please allow us atleast 3 hours to get your prescription ready.
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​

I went to my parents' house after work this afternoon, on what should have been a 30 minute errand. It morphed into several hours. I really just can't right now.
Dad is in his early 80's. He has undiagnosed ASD, most likely level 2. His restricted interests include tools, heavy equipment, farm equipment, local history, and anything salacious.
Mom is in her early 70's. She has a form of dementia that is not Alzheimer's. I legit do not know if Mom is also neurodiverse or whether the behaviors I observed for the entirety of my life and now recognize as symptoms came as the result of multiple traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). It's possible that both things are true: Mom was neurodiverse and sustained multiple TBIs.
So, no wonder the stuff. All the stuff. People think that just because they've caught an episode of one of the reality TV shows about hoarders, they understand hoarding. They don't have a fucking clue.
I'm trying to be kind, but I'm tired of it already and we're not even started yet. An incident happened on Monday and I received a call from the neighbor (who's had my number for nearly 5 years and this is the first time she's used it). This afternoon, I had the "thank you for letting me know, and if anything like that happens again I am OK with it if you call APS" conversation with them. I know they're concerned, and I didn't want them thinking that I'm blind to what's going on. I told them about the petition I'd filed before COVID to be appointed guardian and conservator of both my parents and that it went nowhere due to their attorney refusing to cooperate with the proceedings and no in person hearings due to COVID, but that the GAL had concerns then about both Mom and Dad.
It is very clear to me that Dad has no business making any kind of decision about finances or medical for himself or my mom, but I'm not power of attorney. My sister is, and she relishes the control it gives her. Last month, Dad listed our family home with a realtor. The living areas of the house aren't hoarded, but the storage area (full basement) and all the outbuildings are crammed, with accumulations of scrap metal, building materials, vintage farm equipment, and so forth on maybe 10 acres now. He listed the house without first doing any cleanup what so ever. He has no goddamned clue that his "treasures" will affect the offers he receives. Instead of cluing in to the notion that maybe it's time to make a plan (which he won't, because that's how he rolls), he's off in La La Fantasy Land about how he hopes a particular piece of equipment he owns is donated to a museum and put in a glass case, like this other similar piece of equipment he knows about. I shit you not.
However low a benchmark "no goddamn clue" is, he has even less clue than that about how much crap his guest/caretaker has hauled onto the property and packed into the outbuildings.
He was supposed to line up a dumpster for next week. He didn't. I'm calling tomorrow to get a quote for a 20 yd and a 30 yd rolloff, and details such as how long it can stay and how much lead-time they need to arrange a rental.
Dad's hyperfocused on shredding Mom's papers, which are personal documents Mom brought home from work upon her retirement. It's clear that his expectation of me spending a week there to "help clean out and get ready to move" is that I will shred these documents. No, Dad, I won't be shredding. My time is more valuable than that. I need to see exactly what the situation is before I decide whether Mom will do the shredding while I do other things or they'll pay $6/box to have it taken care of by the recycling company.
This weekend I'm taking Mom, who has a dementia that is not Alzheimer's, to spend the night at our family home so she can go through her china cabinet and (hopefully) tell me which pieces came from whom. We'll dig up some flowers to transplant to the house they live in now. I'll also get whatever triage information she can provide regarding trash/donate/keep.
When Mom and I come back, Dad wanted me to bring "the pictures" back with us. Silly me, I thought he meant our family albums. Nope. Further conversation revealed he wasn't even thinking of our family photos. Not even. He was referring to some vintage "local history" photographs he purchased sometime within the past 30 years and put in this one place, but then Mom moved them and the last time he saw them they were in this other place...
OMFG.
The thing is, the stuff Dad has amassed is actually worth a substantial amount of money (the real estate alone is low seven figures). If it weren't for that, just take a fucking match to it.

I got the word that my initial bloodwork came back fine, and I am able to fill my first prescription for T in approximately 9 hours when the pharmacies open.
I should feel excited, but I just feel nervous.
I wish this wasnt a choice I had to make.
To lose my family, my parents.
I wish my mom wasnt making it a choice I had to make.
I just want to be me.
I dont see it getting any better or any easier if I wait any longer.
I mourn the loss of my family.
How can I be excited for myself when I am grieving? Despite everything they have said and done, I love them. I am so sad. I feel so heartbroken.

Incoming massive copy and paste + Odyssey Remaster and Temporal Recruit News and R&D Junior Event
2023 Event Campaign – Part III:
Flagship Celebration Event:
The next step of our 2023 Event Campaign is coming to PC, with an event dedicated to the flagships of Star Trek Online.
This Event will include multiple TFOs previously featured individually in a combined Featured Event that will allow players to choose their preferred activity each day.
All of these TFOs can be accessed via the Event UI, accessible within your Mission Journal by pressing on the “Events” Tab:
Borg: Disconnected (Space)
Iuppiter Irratus (Space)
Swarm (Space)
Synth Wave (Space)
Participating in this Event will give all players the opportunity to win a Prime Beverly Crusher Holographic Bridge Officer, and an upgrade to your Fleet Support.
Rewards:
Players will be able to earn their Daily Progress once every 20 hours. Accruing a total of 14 days’ worth of Daily Progress will allow you to claim all of these rewards:

• Holographic Bridge Officer of Dr. Beverly Crusher
  
• The Fleet Flagship Distress Frequency Device 25,000 Dilithium Ore (once only).
  
• 3x Featured TFO Reward Boxes (once only).
  

Each gives a choice of 1x Specialization Point or an Enhanced Universal Tech Upgrade. Bonus Rewards: After claiming the Grand Prize, you will unlock the option of earning additional Dilithium Ore each day, beginning at 8,000 Dilithium Ore for the first day’s completion, and increasing for subsequent days.
Zen Buyout Option:
For players interested in instantly completing the Flagship Celebration Event, we will be offering the option to purchase the remaining progress of this event at a scaling amount of Zen, as with other recent events.
A Second Chance:
Progress after the Event has ended will remain in an all new Second Chance interface, allowing the option to buyout rewards long after the Event has expired. For more information, please visit the “Flagship Celebration!” blogs at:
https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11545233-flagship-celebration-event%21
https://www.playstartrekonline.com/en/news/article/11545233
ADVANCED R&D CONSOLES & BATTERIES:
We’re adding some new high-end recipes to the game!
Advanced Consoles
Just as the existing now-Advanced Tactical Consoles provide bonuses to Critical Chance or Severity, the new Advanced Consoles provide bonuses to performance in a way that scales similarly – the more a Captain collects gear that complements the Advanced Consoles, the more benefit those Advanced Consoles provide, just as it is with the Vulnerability Locators and Exploiters.
Console - Advanced Engineering - Isomagnetic Plasma Distribution Manifold
Console - Advanced Engineering - Hangar Craft Power Transmission
Console - Advanced Science - Energy Field Gradient Projector
Console - Advanced Science - Exotic Particle Amplifier
These fragments from these consoles will have a high chance to drop from Elite TFOs for every player who completed the TFO
Combine five fragments to make 1 component The specific type of console fragment depends upon which TFO, based on what kinds of R&D materials it normally rewards. While this table may change in the future, currently this is how it works, if a TFO gives:
Space particles: Engineering pet console fragments
Ground particles: Engineering weapon power console fragments
Space metals: Science drain console fragments
Ground metals: Science drain console fragments
Space gases: Engineering weapon power console fragments
Ground gases: Science exotic damage console fragments
Advanced Batteries
Six new crafted batteries are part of this update. They are made like normal crafted batteries from the R&D schools, but they carry a bonus effect.
Advanced Battery - Energy Amplifier
Advanced Battery - Targeting Lock
Advanced Battery - Hull Patch
Advanced Battery - Kinetic Amplifier
Advanced Battery - Exotic Particle Flood
Advanced Battery - Shield Resilience Boost
Anyone needs more batteries info 🔋 😁
For more information, please visit the “ADVANCED R&D CONSOLES!” blog at the following Links:
https://www.playstartrekonline.com/en/news/article/11545483
https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11545483-advanced-r%26d-consoles%21
General:
Resolved an issue with the New Romulus Accolade that caused it to be completed before finishing the last mission in the New Romulus episode arch. Resolved an issue with the Tholian Crystal Harmonics item set’s Set 2 passive ability that caused the Critical Chance and Critical Severity to be the wrong values.
Known Issues: !Known Issue!
Some ships do not appear properly positioned on the character select screen.
Link:
https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11545963-pc-patch-notes-for-6%2F8%2F23
!More News!
From June 8th at 8am PT to June 29th at 12pm PT, we are running a promotion that will provide an additional bonus when opening a Research and Development Pack or a Duty Officer Pack!
When you purchase a Research and Development Pack or a Duty Officer Pack from the C-Store during this promotion and open it, you will receive either 10 Lobi Crystals or a Special Requisition Choice Pack - Tier 6 Promotional Ship Choice Pack in addition to the Research and Development Pack.
Opening this Special Requisition Choice Pack - Tier 6 Promotional Ship Choice Pack will give the recipient a choice of any Tier 6 ship found in any previous Research & Development or Duty Officer Promotional Pack.
The player fortunate enough to win this ship pack will be presented with a choice of claiming a package containing this exciting new starship, or any one of the following ships:

• Inquiry Class Battlecruiser [T6]
  
• La Sirena Heavy Raider [T6]
  
• Vulcan Experimental Scout Vessel [T6
  
• Freedom Class Exploration Frigate [T6]
  
• Discovery Era Constitution Miracle Worker Flight Deck Cruiser [T6]
  
• Discovery Era D7 Miracle Worker Flight Deck Cruiser [T6]
  
• Krenim Annorax Science Dreadnought [T6]
  
• Elachi Sheshar Intel Dreadnought Cruiser [T6]
  
• Elachi Sheshar Command Dreadnought Cruiser [T6]
  
• Jem'Hadar Strike Ship [T6]
  
• Jem’Hadar Recon Ship [T6]
  
• Special Requisition Pack - 23rd Century Tier 6 Ship
  

The Special Requisition Pack - 23rd Century Tier 6 Ship opens into one of the ships below, depending on faction:
Temporal Light Cruiser [T6] – Constitution Class (Starfleet Only)
D7 Temporal Battlecruiser [T6] (Klingons Only)
T’liss Temporal Warbird [T6] (Romulans Only)
There are even more ships you could win, like:

• Son’a Collector Science Dreadnought
  
• Amarie-Class Smuggler’s Heavy Escort Tzenkethi Tzen-tarr Dreadnought Carrier
  
• Vaadwaur Miracle Worker Dreadnought Mirror Crossfield Science Destroyer Hu'rq Vecrid Hive Dreadnought Carrier
  
• You might also get the Special Requisition Pack – 26th Century Dreadnought Cruiser, which opens into one of the ships below, depending on faction:
  

Universe Temporal Heavy Dreadnought Cruiser (Starfleet Only)
Durgath Temporal Heavy Dreadnought Battle Cruiser (Klingons Only)
Valkis Temporal Heavy Dreadnought Warbird (Romulans Only)
Note: Only newly purchased Research and Development or Duty Officer Packs packs will offer the chance to win the Special Requisition Choice Pack - Tier 6 Promotional Ship Choice Pack during this promotional event. Packs purchased before or after the event will not offer bonus Lobi or the Special Requisition Choice Pack - Tier 6 Promotional Ship Choice Pack. Packs purchased during the event, but opened after the event ends, will still benefit from this promotion’s bonus rewards.
We’re pleased to announce the return of the Research and Development Week! This event will run from Thursday, June 8th at 8am PT to June 12th at 12pm PT on PC, and features several bonuses throughout STO that will give Captains of all levels a leg up advancing their rank in the Research and Development school(s) of their choice.
For those Captains looking specifically for extra help with their projects, all R&D packs throughout the game will give out an extra 25% of the items they currently disperse for the duration of this event. Queue R&D Material Reward Packages (Normal, Advanced and Elite) will reward 25% more R&D Materials and have a chance to reward a Catalyst.
Alternatively, Captains wanting to advance through Research and Development schools as fast as possible should seek out Harvest Nodes, located in mission maps throughout STO, which will not only disperse 2 extra R&D Materials each time they are used, but will also reward 10 Dilithium Ore and have a chance to give out a R&D Catalyst during this event.
For all Captains that work on a Research and Development project during this weekend event, those projects will reward an extra 50% of the appropriate Research and Development School XP. This includes projects to make components as well as those to make items.
From Thursday, June 8th at 8am PT to June 12th at 12pm PT, we are running a special weekend event where you can earn Bonus Commendation XP by completing any Duty Officer assignments!
To those junior officers who work tirelessly in cramped Jefferies Tubes, perish namelessly on away missions, or provide the endless streams of reports and analysis necessary for a starship to function – this event is dedicated to you!
During this event, you’ll gain a 50% increase in all Commendation XP earned by completion of Duty Officer assignments. You don’t need to do anything special for this bonus – it’s automatic.
Receive a FREE* special Purple quality duty officer with a unique active roster power by speaking with your duty officer contact. For Starfleet officers and Romulan allies, this is an engineering Exocomp duty officer; for KDF officers and Romulan allies, it is a Reman duty officer.
*This is not available if you already claimed it the last time we ran the event.
Duty officer packs** opened during the event will each have a FREE additional Green quality or better duty officer inside. This only applies to C-Store purchased packs, not to those awarded during rank-up, from recruitment assignments or mini-packs. Also, it applies only to packs opened during the event, even if they are purchased prior to the event.
**The packs included in this offer are:
Delta Alliance Duty Officer Pack
Gamma Quadrant Duty Officer Cadre
Reinforcements Duty Officer Pack
Fleet Support Duty Officer Pack
Romulan Survivor Duty Officer Pack
Fleet Support Duty Officer Pack
Klingon Empire Duty Officer Pack
Federation Duty Officer Pack
The Academy particle scanning events are now part of the Junior Officer Appreciation Event!
Visit Starfleet Academy or Klingon Academy during the event and speak to Professor Meyer or Commander B’Tama. Pick a cadet to train, then engage in scanning particles all about the academy grounds. As you scan and capture particles you’ll help to train the cadet, and in exchange your faction will release a new random Duty Officer to you. The more particles you scan, the better the quality of the officer you can claim!
Scan a minimum of 5 traces to be rewarded a Common Duty Officer
Scan a minimum of 25 traces to be rewarded a Uncommon Duty Officer
Scan a minimum of 50 traces to be rewarded a Rare Duty Officer
Scan a minimum of 75 traces to be rewarded a Very Rare Duty Officer
Remember, additional reserve roster duty officer slots (in increments of 25 and 100) are available from the in-game C-Store, for up to a maximum of 500 reserve roster spaces.
Have fun, and try not to send too many duty officers to Sickbay!
In addition, Research and Development packs will be available to Captains for 20% off! From Thursday, June 8th at 8am PT to June 15th at 12pm PT, both Research and Development packs as well as bundles will be discounted.
Research and Development Pack:
This pack includes:
15 Common, Uncommon, Rare or Very Rare R&D Materials
15 Uncommon, Rare or Very Rare R&D Materials
6 Rare or Very Rare R&D Materials
4 Very Rare R&D Materials
3 Mk 2 or Better R&D Components
3 Mk 6 or Better R&D Components
2 Mk 10 or Better R&D Components
3 Random R&D Catalysts
4 Random Upgrade Accelerators
Research and Development Pack Bundle:
This pack includes:
4 Research and Development Packs
(You will receive 4 separate packs when making this one purchase, NOT 1 pack that unpacks 4)
Finally, we're happy to announce that you'll be able to enjoy 20% off all Duty Officer Packs! Captains can select from the following Duty Officer Packs for 20% from Thursday, June 8th at 8am PT to June 15th at 12pm PT.
Gamma Quadrant Duty Officer Cadre
Reinforcements Duty Officer Pack
Fleet Support Duty Officer Pack
Romulan Survivor Duty Officer Pack
Delta Alliance Duty Officer Pack
Delta Pack
Federation Pack
Klingon Pack
We hope you enjoy this promotion, Captains!
Jonathan Herlache
Systems Designer
Star Trek Online
Link;
https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11545743-command-the-constitution-iii%21
Odyssey Remaster part of the upcoming new Flagship Event Link + Blog Post provided below;
https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11545243-the-enterprise-f-remaster
Canonized during Star Trek Picard’s Season 3, the Enterprise NCC-1701-F began its journey into the final frontier over a decade ago, as Cryptic Studios’ own manifestation of the Enterprise Legacy.
Derived from Adam Ihle’s winning submission to Cryptic’s “Design the Next Enterprise” competition, the Enterprise-F would see a long iteration and development process under the guidance of then STO Art Lead Jeremy Mattson and STO Starship Artist Adam Williams. Williams’ work on the Enterprise F would prove a turning point in the design philosophy of Star Trek Online’s starships, embracing a sleek and organic future extrapolated from classic Star Trek ships like the USS Enterprise-E and the USS Voyager.
In 2022, Star Trek: Picard Production Designer Dave Blass reached out to the Star Trek Online team about adding the Enterprise F to the show. While it needed a lot of work, we jumped at the opportunity to finally canonize our flagship on an actual Star Trek television show.
And so, the Odyssey-class Enterprise F was totally rebuilt to the highest detail level of any Star Trek Online starship. It received a brand new material and a bespoke set of window visuals as well. The model was done just in time for use in Picard, and now, over a year after work began on it, we are very pleased to announce that this remastered version of the Odyssey-class Star Cruiser will soon be available in Star Trek Online. This remaster will go live with the upcoming Flagship Celebration event.
To see the updated visuals, ready any of your Odyssey variants and visit the ship customization interface. Then, apply the “Odyssey” preset to update your ship to the new pieces.
We are so very grateful for our passionate player base who have kept the Enterprise F flying for over a decade, and so very pleased to bring this ship to life on screen and in game.
See you out there, thattaway.
Thomas Marrone
Art Director
Star Trek Online
!Temporal Agent Recruitment Event!
The Timeline needs you!
The special Temporal Agent Recruitment event is coming back!
From June 8th at 8am PT to June 29th at 12pm PT on PC, you can create a new Temporal Agent character. Just make a new TOS Starfleet character, complete your tutorial, and pick up your special Temporal Agent assignments!
Celebrate the anniversary of the original series premier with a new original series Starfleet officer.
Temporal Agents are on the front lines of the Temporal Cold War, and as they complete missions they’ll unlock bonus rewards, including special account-wide rewards.
Make your way through the ranks, advance your Starfleet career, and you’ll gain bonuses that will improve your equipment and give you special traits.
We’ve updated the Temporal Agent goals to include some new ones, and removed goals from missions that are no longer in the game, so you don’t have to worry about finding Temporal Probes in places that you can no longer reach.
You’ll be able to earn bonuses for reaching level 60, marks for all of the reputations that have been added to the game, and rewards for engaging in R&D and specializations.
Existing Temporal Agents will be able to complete these new goals as well, and if you’ve already finished them, you can claim the rewards immediately.
Remember, to become a Temporal Agent and gain access to the rewards, you must make a new TOS Starfleet character, during the event, then you must play the tutorial until you receive your special Temporal Agent transceiver device. Once you receive the device, your character is a Temporal Agent and you can complete the goals any time and claim the rewards, even after the event ends.
In addition, all TOS themed items will be 30% off from June 8th to June 15th!
Link;
https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11545143-the-timeline-needs-you%21

Hey folks! I’m moving from Texas to L.A. for between 8-16 months (contract job that ends on a certain date with a possibility of extension).
The office I’m working from is in Burbank but, with all due respect, I hate the suburbia feel and look of it. I’d like to live in a neighborhood with more character and places to explore while I’m living in the city temporarily.
I think my questions are a mesh of these:
-how far is too far to live from work? - Is the traffic really an hour each way for 15 miles? - how accurate is google maps when tracking commute time? Or should I throw that out the window?
Thanks! I promise I’m only temporarily adding to the LA population then I’ll head back to the ranch. 🤠

Hi, I’m a pharmacy technician. I’ve been working at Walgreens since last October and I feel that I’m slowly being pushed out of my job. When I was first hired, I was getting 30+ hour work weeks consistently. In the last few months I’ve been cut down to the point where I will only have 12 hours of work in one week. As someone who’s young and lives alone it’s absolutely ridiculous. I even voiced to many employees that I’m on the border of Being homeless if this continues. Well, everyone says it’s budget cuts but when I look on the roster I’m the one getting the least hours out of everyone. There’s even new technicians that are getting more hours than me. I realised often I am not scheduled with some people that I believe my managers favour over everyone else - I work almost every weekend and every holiday and others don’t. I still get treated like I’m new when I’m not and can solve most issues and perform work tasks - in fact I come into the pharmacy every day with my mind set on getting as much done as possible. I’m also the youngest compared to everyone and I don’t know if that’s a factor in what’s happening to me. I just wish I could do something; I know my managers don’t care but I’m about to be homeless. I love my position but I just can’t handle this anymore.

I've told this story so many times that my larynx hurts. I've dictated it so many times and then had to go back and correct the mistakes I'm working on carpal tunnel as well. Anyway as you can tell I'm at that point of the day where I felt I should share but what's the point? I work in an industry where I'm a painter of sets and such for corporate events and plays and things like that. So out of the blue they decided when you get day to use isisyanite-based primers and paints and we did it over the weekend and I was exposed for close to 16 hours with only a 3M gas mask with a regular filter in it. The sprayed product was called chassis saver. If you want to look up the MSDS you're going to have to type in chassis saver MSDS. It's got a whole smorgasbord of fun like methyl diisocyanate mixed with aluminum flake? That was shot out of an HVLP gun under pressure in a closed Warehouse because it was seemed outside so there was no ventilation for 2 days. I had ... okay let's just quit trying to give anybody to benefit it out here and say I had no protection whatsoever. Cuz if I'm going to mention the 3M mask but not the fact that I need a full body suit gloves full face mask with supplied oxygen and I'm supposed to leave all of my clothes at work including my shoes and not get it on my skin along with proper ventilation? Well none of that was done. First off because we weren't worried about the danger secondly none of that stuff is available to us at work and thirdly I wasn't even the one using the stuff. Didn't matter I still became concerned when the room was a silvery cloud of toxins so after a couple weeks when I realized I was asthmatic and having reactions every time I went to work? My GM had me apply for workers comp and sent me home for 4 days. Then I was asked to come back to work to help and the symptoms started again. It took me a while to figure out what was going on by doing some reading on OSHA and the CDC. Plus all the other articles and case studies. It all lined up it was obvious that I didn't kind of get exposed... I was immersed in it. That includes breathing it having it in my eyes eating after using it no ventilation and wearing the same clothes home along with getting some on my skin when I was helping him clean up afterwards. Poured it on the side of my abdomen because it was in a mixing cup. It felt really good. Anyway, as soon as this hit corporate everything went s*** house crazy. I continue to go to work for 4 weeks and see the doctor that they had sent me to and since I've been self-employed my whole life as a portrait artist? That's my college degree it's a BFA and fine arts. Probably kiss my oil painting career goodbye. So they got rid of the job I had and any other talents I could fall back on. Anyway yeah this is going to be kind of a sarcastic post so enjoy it. What doctor was I send to that was an expert on chemical exposure with isocyanates and occupational acquired asthma? What was the name of that place it's famous like the Mayo Clinic but instead it's everywhere and oh yeah Concentra. You know the place you go to and the doctor runs a stethoscope all over you and says he doesn't hear anything to indicate asthma even though it sounds like there's a kitten stuck in your throat? Then he tricks your blood pressure and says it's normal even though it's rising quickly? He asks you why you're there and nods his head and you can tell in his mind he's going "well that's like a total s*** show. If I do what the insurance adjusters are telling me to do I'm basically sending this guy back to work to die. So let me get on that" I would come in and he would look at me and say so what do you want to do today and I would say I don't know maybe doctor stuff like check me see if I have asthma I don't know what the tests are for us to cyanide exposure? You're the doctor what do you want to do? Oh you want to go okay well be sure and sign that box telling me to return to work because he can't find any injury or evidence of exposure. Thanks. Oh this week you want to do blood work. But you only want to test for the most extreme exposure the kind that would cause neurological damage and okay. So he sends off the blood test tells me it'll be a week. And remind you I'm going back to work every day and getting re-exposed to all the stuff that I'm now allergic to and it's damaging my lungs and I'm coughing so hard my lungs are starting to separate from the wall my back. It's funny it's hilarious you know but at least they're saving money. They get to watch it and hear it but you know... buck up cowboy. You shouldn't smoke. Yeah y'all managed to do more damage to my lungs in 18 hours than I did in 47 years of light smoking. Seriously five cigarettes a day maybe. No history of asthma no history of allergies other than penicillin. I always watched other people just go through miserable seasons I mean just I swollen shut it's not running down their face and I thought how lucky I am. So my job decided that wasn't fair and locked me in the building with a chemical that destroyed a town in India. And they only used it that one time and decided they didn't like the properties of it. Probably cuz it's not meant to be put on wood but that's what the chassis saver was for was to give it sort of a metallic quality so they can roll the what yeah that's right bed truck liner on it that was day two and early the next day. When everybody was at work. When we were applying this stuff they were only two people there me and my supervisor. So if you look at the time clock it tells you when and who was there. If you look at when this stuff was purchased and under what project the stuff was charged to? what client? While we were doing a huge project for caterpillar that they were having out in Las Vegas. Don't know why one of our designers figured that bed liner would be a good idea for some of the staging when you can achieve that with paint and clear coat. But that's what he wanted. So so much for avoiding it just because it's not necessary. In the state of Texas you can't sue your employer for personal injury unless you can prove gross negligence. I would say that kind of falls where we're at. Unfortunately the other thing in Texas is that there aren't many workers comp attorneys because in 1993 they passed some laws that made being a workers comp attorney a tricky thing and you can lose your license really easy. In other words it was a very business friendly law to get companies to move here. Especially when you couldn't get sued for you know sending someone on fire or destroying their lungs and life. So a lot of people can get a worker's comp attorney even if they're a crappy one. But most of them that claim to be workers comp attorneys? They're actually just want to hear your stories so they can see if there's a personal injury lawsuit in there due to gross negligence cuz that's the only way they're going to make any money in this state and if it's a chemical exposure? I've been told by several attorneys who had extreme sympathy for my situation that they couldn't even refer me to an attorney that would take my case hey there's no attorney that's going to touch a chemical exposure case in Texas because it's already tough enough. Well I've been put the ringer lied to followed by a private investigator in the whole time I've been on represented and doing all the paperwork myself which they throw at me everyday usually it's fake stuff or stuff with the wrong date or deadline on it they mess with any attempts I get to find another diagnosis when they know damn well what happened on what day and with what products and who was there and when you know there's just no disputing the fact of what happened and when it happened and that we weren't protected because they don't have that kind of stuff there for PPE. we don't use that stuff so why would we need supplied oxygen masks. If I'm spraying something with metal paint mixed with silo I put on a 3M mask and use it organic filter and keep an eye on when it's starting to wear out even then? I'm not going to get leukemia or brain cancer for another 30 years well after I'm not working for them anymore so they've got that going for them and as do I. And this happened back in February 25th and I was sent home immediately because they were extremely concerned but they be suddenly became unconcerned about 4 days later I guess cuz corporate got involved and told me to come back into work and I spent another four weeks getting worse and worse and worse having the weekends to try and recover but not completely so I would start off at a level of irritation and asthma that was already underway when I returned on Monday. This was fun. Because even though they can see it they would just blame it on my smoking which is hilarious because you know life and for that weekend I wasn't allergic to anything in that building for two and a half years and I'm one of two people in the paint department so it's not a huge crew I'd say there's about 30 people that work there and probably too many people in the front office getting paid too much just sitting air conditioning. I mean they do work but you know if they had the chance they'd probably urinate on your face. That's not fair. They would wait till you run conscious from toxic exposure to gases anyway. Or they would but the workers comp adjusters do that for them. I mean they pay them for a reason and it's not help the employee so? Why am I talking to them again without an attorney oh yeah see above. So yeah they're just having a good old time they're beating me like a pinata making me run around like an idiot and freaking me out with letters and false deadlines that after a while I began to realize it being seriously gas lit I stopped playing nice guy and started recording phone calls and screenshotting text messages to make sure they got saved and save me everything in files and whenever they screwed up and intentionally put the wrong deadline on a Federal form like a FL la form from the Department of Labor anything like that? I would call him about that and record the response. One of my favorites was well that was just a suggested date because you know if you got it done sooner then you would get the paperwork done sooner and everything you get done sooner and you know just faster. Well yeah I understand how that works Einstein thanks I understand the whole concept and time and speed Mass velocity whatever. I swear to God they treat me like Chaka from Land of the Lost. They're all like 30 years younger than me and about to lose their jobs to AI but hey it'll be funny to watch. Won't need all those people running CAD machines and designing stuff after a few years. But let them enjoy it while they can anyway back to my career being ruined so they've just been having a good old time calling me and then they sent out a private investigator to harass me and want to talk to me until finally I just exploded and said what is it exactly you want to talk to me about.? I've been advised by everybody I know who is an attorney who may not be working in workers comp but they are an attorney? That I should never ever meet with a private investigator especially one that's a third party. You know one that's hired and not actually from the company. Cuz then he's not bound by the laws of an attorney or a police officer or an investigator he can do what he wants. Especially since he wanted to just talk to me and fill in the details of what happened that day. You know what caused the accident. I asked him what kind of forum is this going to occur in he said we could meet anywhere you want we can meet at McDonald's but I'm sure you don't want people here in your private information and I told him I don't like McDonald's anyway so I don't know I guess maybe after I get done with this doctor and have a solid diagnosis of asthma and something to stand on I'll be ready to comment. But until then I'm not meeting with you without an attorney in the room and probably even after I'm not going to meet with you without attorney in the room. So now it's come to this thing where I do have a doctor that's helping that was accidentally in their Network because I guess it slipped to the radar that they had an actual doctor that would do spirometry and asthma testing. of course they're messing with her a lot. I get your phone calls I get weird texts everybody has assured me that I'm obviously being observed surveilled. I don't see anything but I don't care either because nothing to see. I'm not at work. Why would I have asthma at home? I'm sure there's some triggers out there but I haven't discovered yet but that'll be fun and something to do in my free time. Anyway they seem to be kind of stuck in this rut where they won't go forward or approve anything unless I meet with the private investigator. Finally I blew my stack and said that I have no obligation to me the private investigator I've made my statement they were two people in the room y'all know what happened y'all know what I'm saying was the result you're not allowing me to explore that so I would think the best way for y'all to fill in the gaps and figure out what happened and what the situation this is letting me go to a f****** doctor that treats me and actually trust me for the things that I claim I have. That way instead of treating me like I'm lying you can prove that I'm lying which won't happen because I'm not lying which is obviously what you know so what is it he wants to ask me about again oh yeah he wants me to fill in the details is he a doctor? No okay well how about you get a doctor to do it instead of somebody who follows people husbands and wives around looking for infidelity. So I still don't have an attorney and I called OSHA reported the exposure and all they did was call my workplace and say "hey, did you have an exposure there?" and they said "yeah, but we got rid of that stuff" and they said "okay great" slow clap into a face palm. Which you know, kind of blew my mind. Because I thought calling OSHA was starting a nuclear war. That they would be in there with clip boards and chemical detectors and wanting to know just what the hell happened here. Because they've been really hard on this chemical and they've been trying to educate the public but evidently calling and just asking if it happened and them saying "well we got rid of that stuff" . That's enough for them. never mind the fact it was an "exposure to isocyanates in the workplace that I was reporting" which is what they told me they were going to check on. I wasn't calling them to tell them that they had harmful materials in a building, so evidently the guy I'm dealing with doesn't understand exactly what the law is or what law I was trying to get them to acknowledge. Cuz that would help my case if there were questions posed by government officials and they had to tell the truth. Either way, if they reported the exposure?great. They followed the law and I would have that an admission that an exposure occurred .....or they didn't report it and it would look really bad and probably cost them some money. But to my dismay, OSHA is obviously a joke. At least here in Dallas. So it's been real fun, yeah it's been one disappointment after the other of people just saying "I know this is my job, but I'm sorry. looking at your situation I'm just not good enough talented or educated enough to take it on. I'm just one of those people takes the easy cases and if something looks difficult? Even if it's a matter of you possibly dying or living on the streets and your whole family getting kicked out and never having a proper diagnosis to have on your medical records to show other employers or people in the situations that you can't be in in the future? I'm going to go over here and handle this easy money case." I'm sure there are some attorneys out there that if they knew about me and my situation it'll be all over it because they like a challenge and realize that there's not much left to do. All the information that I have and phone recordings, some documentation of b******* that has accumulated over the past months. Because normally you know you'd call a lawyer at the beginning of the case and there wouldn't be anything there. But since they figured I was never going to get an attorney? It was just "hey let's whack the pinata guy" . If an attorney were to walk in at this point? We've got enough acts of malfeasance and fraud and deliberate dishonesty, misleading statements and instructions, recordings and plenty of Doom and gloom documents meant to make me quit give up or go away out of fear or exhaustion.....and all I have to do is just hand you this stack and explain to you what's going on and we could probably even find a case that had nothing to do with workers compensation and had more to do with fraud and gross negligence and just have fun doing that. I mean they've had their fun why not? I didn't go into this looking for a cash settlement I just wanted to be taken care of and as the law states it should be. But I'm really just kind of f****** done with the whole f****** thing because everyone I talk to everyone I talk to doesn't want to touch it. When you have workers comp insurance that doesn't have ANY (ZERO) doctors in their Network to handle workplace asthma? which is one of the most common workers comp claims it pretty much leads the pack with all the saw dust and gas fumes out there to breathe in. But no we didn't have any doctors that would treat that or even know how to treat that at all. in fact the ONE that I did find? had retired about 5 years ago. That was funny. it was always a interesting thing to find out that when you finally had an aha moment leading to a hopeful situation? That turned out it was actually just a straw man. Even dealing with the Texas agencies help with people who are going through workers compensation or having difficulties? It depends on how you get on the line there's nothing more extremely helpful to the point where they'll even call the adjuster to make them call you back and help you fill out your forms whereas there were others that are just generally irritated by the fact that you're even calling and don't know what you're talking about. Well believe it or not there are some people in this world that don't do workers comp for living and don't spend their whole time having to deal with it. Especially people that are self-employed portrait artists for most of their lives. I guess this long-winded rambling stream of consciousness is just what's going on in my head and I can tell you right now it ain't a lot of good things and nothing really positive to say about working for anybody under any circumstances and I wouldn't take anything that anybody said they were going to do for you as a fact. It's all good on paper and everything but when it comes down to it it's all about saving money and if it involves an injury that doesn't look good on their records they got to get rid of that and they really don't f****** care what happens to you. You could be dissolving with sulfuric acid on your body and they would tell you to get out of the Sun and quit smoking. And they just watch it happen until you were just a pile of just steaming you know white powder on the ground or whatever happens. Do I sound frustrated? Flippant "whatever. Didn't see that coming". So I guess if you're in Texas and you're an attorney that this work is compensation and you want your entire case handed to you and you can say that you want a chemical exposure case in Texas I've got it right here for you if not fine. If you're from out of state that's fine too if you'd like to file a lawsuit that they beat me with clowns I don't give a carrot to a donkey whether you do that or not. As long as we win the case and they suffer for their behavior. It's not all vengeance. I want but is owed to me by law. And I didn't get that instead I got financial destitution cuz they have not paid me a dime and I'm the runaround which is basically we won't honor your claim until you prove that you were injured on the job. Okay I can't do that unless I prove that I have asthma. So they send me to a doctor that doesn't treat me for asthma now he's my pcp. Finally I find somebody that can treat me what do they do they immediately start pulling the plug on everything saying that my time's up sorry this show's over quick turn off the lights but hold up a minute they were too slow and I was able to get in there and she's doing spirometry tests and everything but you know I know it's not going to be enough because that's why I need to do the super serious testing the kind that definitively says whether you have asthma or not and there's no doubt there's no doubt that these people can try and split hairs and make excuses. Then I get to try and type for the workplace which wouldn't be hard if I had an attorney because this in front of a judge and argue it this is the guy before this is the guy after he's got occupational asthma he worked here for two and a half years and then after that weekend where was the only two days out of the year that that chemical was present and being sprayed? After that he developed severe occupational asthma and an insensitivity to isocyanide due to acute exposure with absolutely no PPE or guidance instruction and now no help no financial help and the guys that I work with here in town that run the show don't talk to me anymore it's all corporate people that were states away and have no idea and don't care what the facts are they just want the positive outcome which is the one that benefits them. But we all know that. We wouldn't be in this form if we didn't know that. Ask for all of y'all that have had better luck congratulations. I am truly happy for you. I don't know where I'm going to be I know obviously you can tell where I am mentally right now and that if another person involved with the adjuster or my employers handed me a form fill out to get the thing that I need that ain't going to happen that they say would happen that won't? I'd wad it up and throw it back in their face without reading it and not worrying about what they say will happen if I don't fill it out. Because they know if I fill it out and sign it or if I don't fill it out and sign it? It wouldn't do a f****** thing. Unless it was an attorney wanting to get with me and get a retainer and all that stuff set up .....and get going. Because nothing.....everything else is just a f****** waste of time, gas and mental energy. It's just that's what it's designed to do... wear you down. You know the truth and you can't prove it and you start feeling like you're living in bad movie like invasion of the body snatchers or something. like I said, it's the ultimate definition of gaslighting. So if you're going through the same thing with workers comp? I feel your pain. I definitely have sympathies if your injuries are more severe or debilitating than mine and you're being treated like this, but something needs to be done about the system because I'm quite aware of what it is now. I've had plenty of time to sit down and parse out what happened and watch videos listen to other attorneys talk read articles on the chemical and how not only companies and workers comp are reacting to it, but also the manufacturers themselves. For instance the CEO that wiped out that city in India? he showed up one day for court in India and then claimed he had to return to the states to take care of some business and never went back. India tried to extradite him for several decades. But instead? he was able to retire with a nice fat paycheck Savage whatever you want to call it and live out the rest of his days in Florida. And I guess he slept well at night knowing what he did. Union carbide. Bought by now Dow? Pretty sure they have never done anything wrong..... I'll have to double check that but I'm pretty sure on they are on up and up right? If they have the good attorney defend the behavior. I mean chemical companies they don't f*** around.... do they? anyway. whatever. I'm not too jaded to where I don't want to accept help or nail these f***. Or just get what I deserve. So take my post as a bit of Comedy or just a rant..... some venting. Maybe you feel the same way. Maybe it helps, maybe it doesn't. Just don't let it scare you cuz your case might be totally different than mine. I have an invisible injury and that's a s** place to be. Just like growing up in Texas. Well I guess it's time to lay down on the couch and play video games. How much is something like that pay?
My apologies if the punctuation spelling of what I've written up there (or actually dictated) has weird words that are completely out of contact in there somewhere. I dictated this because I'm so f****** tired of typing and I'm really tired of going back over what I wrote and fixing the grammar and trying to make it not look insane? It's just fatigue and I just thought I should get this out there in the Reddit forum. I'm a member of some other groups, but you know... first time listener first time caller

Sun Herald paywall. Anita Lee article. Copy/Paste
Mississippi Coast business couple Ted and Julie Cain are trying to avoid paying a $32.6 million civil judgment against him for defrauding Medicare, the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges in a lawsuit filed to collect the money.
Julie Cain is liable for repayment of $27.4 million of the total owed for her part in the fraud. The jury found that the couple billed Medicare over a 12-year period for work they never did at the former Stone County hospital, which Ted Cain owns and now leases to Gulfport Memorial Hospital.
The Cains had not paid a dime on the judgment by November 2022, government filings show. They are appealing the jury’s verdict in the civil case tried in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.
Attorneys for the government say the Cains tried to conceal their assets six months before their trial started because they were “staring down the barrel of a multi-million judgment.”
Before the trial, they transferred most of their assets to two trusts set up for their children, a son and daughter. Records show the Cains transferred 25 companies to the trusts, including LLCs that hold property. But Ted Cain controls those trusts through a management company, the government says.
“Hence, by the stroke of a pen, Ted Cain — who minutes prior was the owner of dozens of LLCs and real properties — became almost penniless,” the government said in a legal filing.
The government is asking the judge presiding over the case, Henry T. Wingate, to find that the transfer of assets was fraudulent, or assess damages against the trusts and its holdings. The government also wants to investigate the financial status of the Cains and the trusts.
The government’s ultimate goal is to collect the money the Cains owe and to prevent the Cains from drawing down assets from the trusts.
Wingate froze the couple’s assets before the civil case was decided. Ted Cain denies in legal filings that the assets transferred belong to him.
The Cains, represented by former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, say they transferred the assets to the trusts “for legitimate estate planning purposes” and no fraud was involved. They also say that they are able to pay the judgment against them, despite the transfer of assets.
The fight over the assets is set for trial in March 2024 before Wingate in federal court. The Cains, their childrens’ trusts and companies and property held by either the elder Cains or the trusts, are defendants in the case. Cain assets: from Biloxi to Hattiesburg
Cain bought Stone County Hospital in 2001, after it had closed three times. He testified during the trial that the 25-bed hospital would not have been successful and residents would have been without an emergency room had he not overseen its operation.
He paid himself more than $15 million for the oversight from 2004-2013 and his wife $2.3 million as hospital administrator. But testimony during the trial showed they did little work for the money, with the government insurance program Medicare reimbursing them $13 million of the total.
Government attorneys said in a legal filing: “Ted Cain’s ‘work’ failed to meet every single condition of payment and evidence at trial established that Ted Cain’s visits to the hospital were to the cafeteria for the fried chicken and catfish on Wednesdays and Fridays, respectively.”
The jury found the Cains collected more than $10 million of their salaries through fraud. Judge Wingate then tripled the damages, as the law requires.
As a young man, Cain, who was born and raised in Wiggins, followed his father into the nursing home business. He soon branched out, becoming the owner of companies such as The Focus Group advertising agency in Biloxi, Cain Cattle Co. in Perkinston and Quest Pharmacy in Hattiesburg.
Ted Cain owns hundreds of acres in Stone County, where he was born, including this cattle farm. The government maintains Cain is trying to shield his assets, including dozens of companies that he owns, from a $32.6 million fraud judgment he’s been ordered to pay in a civil case.
Ted Cain owns hundreds of acres in Stone County, where he was born, including this cattle farm. The government maintains Cain is trying to shield his assets, including dozens of companies that he owns, from a $32.6 million fraud judgment he’s been ordered to pay in a civil case.
He also owns multiple properties, including a waterfront home in Ocean Springs.
His companies, with the exception of Stone County Hospital and Corporate Management Inc. in Gulfport, were transferred to his children’s trust. Both the hospital and CMI were also defendants found liable in the Medicare fraud case. Medicare fraud under appeal
The Cains appealed the fraud verdict on multiple grounds to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
They say the government bypassed Medicare’s administrative process for recovery of overpayments. Taking the Cains to court allowed the government to recover damages that tripled the overpayment.
They also say the government failed to prove the Cains “knowingly” submitted false claims because their hospital salaries were reported annually to the government.
Government attorneys argue the verdict should stand.
They say Ted Cain accomplished his fraud through a “sweetheart contract” between Stone County Hospital and Corporate Management Inc.
Ted Cain and co-defendant Tommy Kuluz, right, leave the federal courthouse in Gulfport during a break in a 2020 civil trial where a jury found they committed Medicare fraud by paying Cain and his wife salaries they did not earn at his Stone County Hospital. Kuluz is chief financial officer of a Cain company that managed the hospital, now leased to Gulfport Memorial as Memorial Hospital Stone County.
Ted Cain and co-defendant Tommy Kuluz, right, leave the federal courthouse in Gulfport during a break in a 2020 civil trial where a jury found they committed Medicare fraud by paying Cain and his wife salaries they did not earn at his Stone County Hospital. Kuluz is chief financial officer of a Cain company that managed the hospital, now leased to Gulfport Memorial as Memorial Hospital Stone County.
CMI charged the hospital “exorbitant” management fees to disguise the size of Ted Cain’s executive compensation at Stone County Hospital, which was 15 times the average, the government attorneys contend.
They also say Medicare was billed for “hundreds of hours” that Julie Cain did not work, first as hospital administrator, then as a consultant and director.
The Cains’ Medicare fraud appeal is still pending. Leasing to Memorial Hospital
Through legal filings in the assets case, the government has tried to establish a pattern of concealment on the Cains’ part.
When he leased the hospital building to Memorial in late 2019, Ted Cain did not disclose the Medicare fraud lawsuit pending against him, his wife and the hospital. The government says the lease terms required disclosure of pending litigation.
Cain also identified himself as the owner of Wiggins Acute Care, his company that owned the hospital building and would be leasing it to Memorial.
But Wiggins Acute Care was one of the companies transferred to the Cain childrens’ trusts created months earlier.
In its initial lease with Wiggins Acute Care, Memorial agreed to rent Stone County Hospital, now Memorial Hospital Stone County, for $129,000 per month. Fourteen days after the lease was signed, the Cains finalized paperwork that created the trusts months earlier, further indicating their attempts to hide assets, government lawyers say.
Cain paid himself the difference between Gulfport Memorial’s rent payment and the monthly mortgage of $94,503.37 that Wiggins Acute Care owed on the hospital, government attorneys say.
In addition to Cain’s own spending, government attorneys are also concerned because, they say, his children have access to, or are benefiting from, the appreciation of assets in the trust funds.

I worked almost 2 years for this non- profit hospital( 35 hours a week-full time). From pharmacy school, I have 167,000 dollars in debt. I’m 30 but already have/had thyroid cancer( the one with the best prognosis however anything can happen. Do you think it better for me to wait 8 more years in my hospital or transfer to another hospital or just pay back my loan. It will deplete me of all my cash, but not 401k and IRA savings. What’s the risk/ benefit analysis.
To add I’m not the best pharmacist, I try my best but I’m really shy and get into messes I don’t need to get into lol.

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This piece recounts the first time I drank an ancient plant medicine called Ayahuasca. It comes from Amazonian tribes who consider it a sacred plant medicine with healing powers and, given what a hugely beneficial impact it has had on my life, I am very comfortable describing it as medicine.
One Saturday, in the spring of 2016 I was greeted by the medicine man himself with a big hug, let’s call him Blu. I came into his kitchen to be greeted by several women with slightly comical homemade, feather headdresses and couldn’t help but think I’d walked into a kid’s birthday party. In the garden, there was a small festival tent set up which had a hay bale altar with easter decorations.
The ceremony had around 30 other participants and 10 shamans. In the middle of the tent stood the medicine man’s wife, Sun who was very much the master of the ceremony. She had the most daring headdress, flowing orange robes and a rattle in her hand. She spoke to us with warm, friendly humour telling us that we would know the medicine had kicked in once her singing started to sound good!
She advised that each experience is unique and we should try not to have huge expectations, sometimes nothing at all happens the first time. Having waited five years for this day I was quietly confident that this would not be the case for me and boy was I right!
We went around the circle introducing ourselves and explained what we were hoping to get out of the ceremony. Focusing on your intent during a psychedelic experience is meant to help you get what you are looking for.
During my turn, I expressed my desire to regain my self-confidence and passion for the opportunities and women in my life to whom I never seem to be able to fully commit.
Once we had all shared, we learned that it was time to drink.
My heart was filled with profound forbearing and excitement as I went up to receive a small glass of harsh-tasting, brown liquid which certainly tasted like medicine!
I had a basic camping mattress and a duvet laid out for me which I snuggled into before pulling on my eye mask. I was on my back trying not to think too much about the medicine, whether it was working or maybe wouldn’t work while I meditated for an hour.
The shamans started singing and shaking rattles. One of the female shamans, Nubia had an incredibly beautiful soprano voice that stood out from the others. It was while listening to the song of the shamans that I started to feel a warm flow of energy along my limbs. I tried to dismiss it at first, thinking it might somehow be related to my fasting for 40 hours prior.
When I moved my eye mask to let some light into my eyes I saw the tent roof overlaid with a flowing grid of beautiful, metallic, geometric grids with multi-coloured light flowing through the lines. The Individual elements of the grid reflected every colour of the rainbow like oil on water’s surface and I started to feel joyful, like a child rolling through leaves on a warm autumn day.
Nubia started singing to us again and it was like nothing I’d ever heard. It was so beautiful and mesmerizing I didn’t want her to stop.
I could hear the people around me, some giggling and some vomiting or, purging medicine into their buckets. I checked myself, asking if should I purge but I felt a gentle presence speak inside of me saying: ‘No, you’re fine. Just relax.’

They call this presence Mother Ayahuasca. The reason people drink the brew is to speak with and receive her guidance.

My eye mask was back on my face and I turned into the fetal position with the duvet pulled over my head I felt exceptionally comfy with this strange yet familiar presence as I started to explore the un-intimidating hallucinogenic world within my mind. She showed me complex pictures of flowing energy with multicoloured lights in perfect alignment while I was gently gliding along, watching the beautiful colourful spectacle.
It was around this time that Sun asked into the ceremony if anybody would like a second dose. I slowly sat upright and looked around. I checked myself. Truthfully, I was enjoying the experience. I was slightly nervous that having more could take me to a deeper, darker place however I had mentally prepared myself for the full immersion experience.
The presence told me: ‘It’s okay. You can handle it. I’ll be gentle.’
So I pulled on my shoes, got up and slowly walked over feeling slightly wobbly. I was worried Sun might tell me I’d had enough but when I sat in front of her, she gave me a big smile and beckoned me towards her. The second dose was about half the previous one and tasted familiar, not quite as harsh.
After I got up I walked out of the tent into the house. Sitting in the small toilet I saw the walls gently rippling with energy and recognized the phenomenon from previous psychedelic experiences. I’ve experienced mild, LSD-induced hallucinations before but nothing quite as mesmerizing as watching bright sparks of colorful energy emerging from objects and pictures.
Snuggling back under my duvet I listened to the rattles and felt myself floating deeper into the kaleidoscopic universe seeing my own body curled up but instead of my skin and flesh, I saw myself as streaming veins of energy. Millions of thin fibre optic threads pulsated with warm healing energy which outlined my body.
I felt myself lying on the floor in the jungle with mystical symbols and ineffable tribal figures around me. I felt like I was in a different, timeless dimension however I was surprisingly lucid and could snap out of it to check myself with ease. At some point I had to giggle as my boring pragmatist made the smart-ass remark, ‘You’re not lying in the jungle. You’re in a garden less than 100 meters from the Thames estuary!’
I had my eyes closed for most of the afternoon. I was seeing ever richer patterns. When I opened my eyes the patterns were still there but they were overlaid on the reality in front of my eyes. I could change them with the blink of an eye or bring back shapes I had seen previously.
I started thanking this entity for showing me all this beauty and felt the urge to reciprocate. I revealed some personal memories but they looked so very different. It seemed like they had a photo filter applied that filled the memory with golden light as they came alive with breathtaking beauty, streaming with colourful energy. I visited various life moments and it felt like entering into a photo and suddenly being there on that day!
I was there sitting in our garden at home. Once again I was a chubby baby covering my face with baked beans. I was actually there! I was picking the baked beans off my face and pushing them, one by one into my mouth.
They say that Mother Ayahuasca is a deep ancient spirit and I always imagined her as a deeply serious, majestic queen. I started wondering what she might look like… and so she appeared.
She was stern but not an old woman. Aya was young, perfectly matched to my age and exceptionally beautiful. She had long, smooth brown hair and big beautiful eyes filled with power and inspiration. As I looked closer at her exquisite face I realized that her features were constantly changing complexion. Her skin cycled from Amazonian to Latin to Nubian to Oriental and Mediterranean. She was outlined by swirling rainbow-coloured curls of light. The rest of her naked body only came into being when I directly looked at it. I realize that she was not one woman but a combination of every beautiful woman I’ve ever felt attracted to. I wanted her. She wanted me. We kissed and whirled around as we floated through my Entheoverse. My body of swirling rainbow energy flowed into her and hers into mine and this is how we made love passionately.
I had visions of us being on a summer weekend getaway in a stylish city. We lay in luxurious hotel rooms and I remember a cream-coloured clock on the wall, with Roman numerals but no hands to tell the time. I was dressed smartly as I led her by her hand into classy restaurants that had champagne poured, waiting by our table. It was like we were on a never-ending date, teleporting from one experience into the next, eloping while taking our time to enjoy each other’s energy, and passionately loving one another.
Afterwards, she lay in my arms and I asked what else she could show me and she replied; ‘What else would you like me to show you?’ I wasn’t prepared for this and my mind went a bit blank realizing that I could do anything, go anywhere in space and time I wanted.
I asked her; ‘Can you help me find my confidence?’
There was no clear answer. Instead, I had the random idea to become the temple stem of my friend Julio’s glasses. I looked at him from the bit next to the hinge and I could see him put the glasses on in the morning, and take them off at night and in the reflection of his right eye, I saw him coming home and watched his beautiful daughter jumping into his arms. Then I saw on his eyeball the reflection of me walking into the room and a felt warm glow spread through me.
Next, I visited my baby nephew sitting in my brother’s living room, in his red chair. I crossed my hands on my chest like he does and saw my brother and his wife smiling at me giving me warm hugs but more than seeing their faces while they hugged my body I could feel the way they felt when they put their arms around me and press me to their chests.
I saw all my brother’s smiles and happy faces as we jollied about, trying to make each other laugh as we do. I visited all my closest friends, took in their smiles and one by one, as I hugged each of them, I could feel their love for me.

Later I realized that Aya was indeed trying to give me confidence by showing me how much the people in my life care for me

I visited the girl I had just started dating called Anna whose raw energy I find simply irresistible. I came into her new apartment that I’d never visited before. She was standing in sexy lingerie by a floor-to-ceiling window looking down onto the busy Tottenham Court road. I remember her turning her beautiful face as I approached, touching it with ten fingers and kissing her lips passionately as we erupted into rainbow swirls of energy.
I also visited my ex-girlfriend Jo, whose body and spiritual mind I still loved but whose soul is too damaged by the fear of rejection and tough mental armour I never managed to vanquish.
She was asleep in our white room in LA that she had so carefully decorated and I spooned my energy into her little body. She woke and we cuddled and kissed and I said I was sorry it didn’t work out between us and she replied; ‘It’s ok. I wasn’t ready for you…’
I asked Aya if we had made the right decision to stop forcing it and just be friends and felt her nod wisely.
At some point, I remember all three of us lying in bed together but instead of feeling like the king of the world, I felt like a greedy pig.
One of the underlying themes of the whole journey was how slowly gently and unhurried everything felt and I think the lesson I was meant to learn was that it’s ok to not settle right now — I thought I just haven’t found the one, the right woman to share my life with…
Aya kept giving me gentle advice throughout. I asked her about the stimulants I love such as cannabis, coffee and alcohol but instead of the stern telling-off I was secretly hoping to receive she told me; ‘You know they don’t serve you when you abuse them but they are also a part of what shaped you… Take care of the beautiful body you have been given.’
She repeated many times; Take care of yourself more… take care.
I asked Aya how I could find the power to harness my mind which has always been blessed and cursed with a distracting imagination and to keep my lack of attention from killing my dreams.
Instantly, I saw an unreal version of myself.
I was standing in something like a black shiny display window, straight out of a Mercedes advert. This guy was not merely a little bit better than I am now and I realized that the version staring back at me was my best self!
That guy is sharp, he is determined, and he dresses immaculately. That guy knows exactly what he is doing. When he enters the room, people notice his presence from the invisible halo that brightly surrounds him.
I asked Aya, how I could become him and the answer became clear. That guy works. He knows exactly where his energy comes from and all of a sudden I understood — The confident image he projects comes from the love he feels for himself which makes him look loved and successful in other people’s eyes. There is no room for distraction because that guy knows his worth and knows his purpose.
She gave me such a clear image of myself. I can still see myself standing motionless in the black, shiny shop window with rainbow-coloured fibre optic strains lighting the air that gently flowed around me.
How long I lay like that is impossible to say but I guess it was around 5–6 hours but it felt like an eternity of journeying into myself.
But it wasn’t all just warm energy and neon colours. I distinctly remember at some point realizing, it was time to go to the toilet. Afterwards, I walked back into the garden and found the Ewok-faced little terrier yapping at me. I laughed at him as I noticed the blue silver and chrome energy swirls around his head and ears. I couched down to see if I could pacify him but I suddenly became aware that his barking must be interfering with other people’s experiences. I turned to hurry into the tent as one of the shamans came out, to tell off the dog saying; ‘What’s wrong doggy, he’s alright!’ As I walked into the tent there were certainly more people sitting upright than when I had left and I read some irritated expressions on people’s faces, at least three people got up and walked out.
I lay down in shame but all my friend’s energy avatars ran up to me saying ‘It’s fine!’ as they doggy piled on top of me. It made me feel better. I felt them warm the cold shame out of me and I began relaxing again. I played around as before but the energy had markedly changed, it didn’t feel as light-hearted anymore. It was heavier and more serious. I was feeling the effects of the medicine becoming even stronger so I decided to sit up but when I opened my eyes, I saw Nubia hit the deck at my feet on a hastily arranged bed after having just purged into a bucket. I could see vomit in her black wavy hair as I started to think, ‘…oh dear if even the shamans are starting to falter, I’m in trouble.’
I didn’t know what to do. I tried to lie back down again. I asked Aya to help me, as she had several times previously when I’d gotten a little bit frightened but this time I could not sense her presence and I knew why. I had to go through this for myself.
It felt like I was sitting in a shopping trolley, rolling down a steep hill toward darkness, realizing as it picked up speed and bucked to and fro that this had been a bad decision, a dangerous idea and the only way it would end would be for the momentum to collide with suffering.
I needed help so I weakly put up my hand and within a few seconds, one of the shamans sat down next to me. She was wearing a white feather dress and occoured to me like an angel. She helped me sit up and as soon as I was sitting upright I began to retch. She passed me my bucket which I gratefully barfed into…
After I purged I felt better. My angel asked me if I felt okay again and I asked her to stay with me and hold my hand for a while longer, which she did. I gently leaned over and rested my head on her feathery bosom and felt a sense of peace and strength flow back into me. I saw my energy self, the swirling electrons of light curling my limbs as I sat cross-legged, hunched over like a bear cub being cradled by his mother bear.
She helped me lie back down and I started to return to my technicoloured dream state. I asked Aya if we could make love again and she said ‘Of course’ but it felt different, when I opened my inner eye to see the face of the person I was entangled with I saw my own. Aya had taken on my form and this might well be the strangest thing I’ve ever written but I was exceptionally attracted to myself and I realized that this could be how girls who are in bed with me see me. I could feel the burning desire a girl feels when we make love. It felt strange but also good.

They said Ayahuasca show you not what you want to see but rather what you need to see at any specific point in your life.

I visited countless friends, some people no longer in my life becouse we have grown apart and even those whose who have passed away. I visited my German grandparents and told them how much I loved them.
While I cuddled Oskar, the dog I grew up with, and played with him in our garden I looked up to see my dad approach us with tears in his eyes. I knew what he was going to say. When he told me that my grandmother had died I didn’t run away in confusion as I had on that day, instead, I went to hug my mom and for the first time, I empathized with the pain she had felt in that moment of hearing that her mother had passed.
I visited my friend Keith whose passing I have always felt a slight responsibility for since I know he read my travel blog and went to Costa Rica a month after I’d been there where he swam out to sea and drowned. I hugged him tightly and cried gently but he grabbed me firmly by the shoulders and said; ‘It wasn’t you! It wasn’t you…’
I visited my old school friend Alex who I had not been close to but whose misfortune to be on flight 447 still touched me. I told him and his beautiful fiance whom I’d never met that I was so sorry for them having been so frightened when they died but instead of me comforting them, they hugged and comforted me as I lay there silently crying for the people I missed. But it was not painful. Quite the opposite, it felt cathartic, like I was letting out the pain and healing myself.
At some point, while it was still light out Sun said “OK, I know that some of you are still on your journey but we will start having some food soon so if you want to share what you experienced now is the time.” I listened to some of the reports.
Several people said that they had a very rough ride because they had tried to fight it. One girl even said she was convinced she was dying. I felt very lucky and grateful for my gentle, warm ride through my multi-coloured Enthenoverse and wondered if I would ever return…
When it was my turn I said that I had finally been able to see how my friends and family see me and why they think I am awesome which will give me the confidence to finally believe that I am awesome (that got a laugh :). I also shared my new appreciation for how profoundly beautiful my life has been up until now and hoped that it will give me the strength to stop comparing myself to others, to focus on my own path and become my best self.

10 weeks later

My life has undeniably changed over the last 10 weeks.
The following day I drove back to my rented shepherd’s hut in a nature reserve and had an exceptionally rich experience walking through the marshes. The sun was shining and everything seemed so intensely beautiful. I was moved just by watching something as simple as a male and a female bird fly across the water in perfect sync. It made me well up emotionally.
I’ve cried a lot recently and I believe it’s a good thing. I cry on most days.
Usually, it happens when I see someone doing something kind and for a brief moment I get overwhelmed and shed a tear. But again, they are not tears of pain they are usually tears of joy and I feel like I have become much more in touch with my emotions.
It feels like bringing Aya’s female spirit into my awareness has tripped a switch in my brain making me more feminine, hence a more complete human being. I’ve also started to care more about my appearance. My mum commented recently that I looked different and she is right. I’ve been working out more. I get my hair cut more frequently and I’ve even gone and bought new clothes that dress me with more style, even when it’s not particularly necessary.
My work attitude has also changed. I find myself a lot more productive and capable of operating at a higher level while enjoying the entire experience so much more!
I honestly feel more in control of my life. I feel focused on who I am, who I can become and what I can achieve. Previously my decisions in life seemed more vague and fuzzy.
Above all, I feel the happiest that I have felt since childhood. The last 10 weeks have been almost like a too-good-to-be-true dream for me.
I’m also positively influencing the people around me. My grandfather wrote me the following sentence after my most recent visit.
You have this mysterious gift of raising the spirits of people both just by being there and by your gift of empathy.

Epilogue

I have indeed had more Ayahuasca ceremonies since I first wrote this and even though there was a 4 year gap between my 4th and my 5th experience I have felt the effect compound over time. I will be publishing more of my trip reports over on medium and would appreciate your supporting me by following me over there where I also publish contant whihc is not just psychedilic in nature. https://medium.com/@hi_niels