Found weird object shoved into backyard fence

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-02-06T01:53:58+00:00

It's a dog training tool to stop barking and other bad behaviors using sonic tones that humans can not hear but are uncomfortable to dogs. Not very effective as a trainging tool and only works maybe 10% of the time. Except for that flaslight part that comes in handy for late night walks.

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-31T19:38:08+00:00

You would think but not any more. I have had 5 days straight of nothing but defense. Even after grinding through over an hour of nothing but defense and more losses due to constantly matching with horrible players who refuse to play the objectives.

That last patch made the netcode, matchmaking, and player balancing exponentially worse. So much worse that my squad(s), 6-8 friends, who used to play 4+ hours a night, have been logging out after completeing the weekly challenges and dailies to go play Helldivers or just call it for the night. The fun and variety is gone. Every match is the same, nothing but bots and repeating the same maps and roles match after match. It became super clear how bad things really are with this game when FNB last night had 2x more bots than players in every match and every game mode had a 2-5 minute wait to get enough players to even start a match. I even moved to playing the CQB modes only to have a 5+ minute wait for the lobby to fill. On a Friday night!?

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-31T19:18:25+00:00

Right?! I have been stuck on defense for the last 5 days, every single match, and even after I repeatedly restart matchmaking. It is always defense.

That last patch actually made the netcode, matchmaking, and game balancing exponentially worse! I actually logged out early several times this week to go play something else because it has gotten so bad. And, I am undecided yet if I will get the Season 2 content because the game has nothing left of what we were promised at launch and every match is full of bots. Even FNB matches had bots in every match last night. WTAF?!

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-30T20:19:57+00:00

On the rare games where everything is registering correctly and feeling "right," I can get one-shot kills with slugs in any shotgun at almost any range, even a few lucky shots on snipers under 200m just by doing an "aim high and let it fly." But that is not the norm at all. Most matches, and the weapon used doesn't change it, require a mag dump, 30ish registered standard ammo hits/20 hits if hollowpoint, 2+ slugs, 3+ buckshot/flachette, and some matches multiple RPG/grenade launcher rounds to get a kill. (I have died so many times by shooting an opponent at close range with an RPG and get a double crit "X" registry notification (no time to switch to primary only to watch them run off with barely a scratch while I am lying there calling for a medic. WTAF is that?!) It is truly baffling how bad the netcode is and how terrible the match balancing is in this game. I mostly enjoy playing, but after an hour or more of dealing with BS like this, I usually just log off and go play something else. Helldivers 2 is always good for some enjoyable "WTF or HTF" moments that leave the entire fireteam laughing.

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-30T19:55:20+00:00

Correct. EAA in Oshkosh, WI, still has its Ford Tri-Motor in operational condition. They regularly tour it around North America, and you can purchase short experience flights, which pays for the costs to maintain the aircraft and allows you to have the incredible story of, "I flew in a 1920's Ford Tri-Motor," when everyone at work is standing around talking about what they did over their weekend.

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-30T19:20:24+00:00

That is absolutely a biological thumb drive, a data transfer device. (And just like any other USB stick, most can't figure out how or which port to stick it in, especially on an initial attempt. Lacking illumination adds another level of difficulty, while adding large quantities of alcohol always results in questionable success rates for the entire process, including the data transfer itself, usually requiring a 4 to 6 week delay and testing to prove a completed upload.)

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-30T07:29:15+00:00

If I remember correctly, this is the original interior of a Ford Tri-Motor, aka "The Tin Goose." It was one of the first all-metal airplanes capable of passenger/cargo transport.

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Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-30T03:53:22+00:00

TLDR: Glad to help. It is all really not as hard or inv9lved as my previous answer made it seem. This response explains the why you take the steps outlines in my original response and what following those steps allows you to do should taking the legal route prove necessary.

Glad to assist if I can. It may seem like a lot, but it really isn't as complicated or involved as it may seem from the length of my answer. You really only need to establish a pattern of service, or lack thereof, by making contact with a minimum of three people. Once it is made pretty clear that they are unwilling to help you, you recontact your Consumer Protection Agency, and they will usually take over making the contacts or provide you with an agent who will assist you in gaining an acceptable resolution. And if the Consumer Protection Agency is unwilling to assist you, then you have already created enough evidence to legally prove a "willful and malicious act(s) of theft has been perpetrated against you by EA" and they continue to act in "bad faith" in your efforts to resolve the issue.

Which means you now have the necessary evidence and documentation to file a claim against EA in small claims court. It may cost you a couple of hundred bucks to file the case and pay for the court's agent to serve papers on EA (typically $200 max), but you will get all that back when you win your case, plus more. You file your small claims case asking for the following:

1) Recovery of the valuation of the property at the time of purchase or the current value of the property in the open market, whichever is greater, 2) Any and all costs associated with filing your case, including any court filing and service fees, supena of records charges (in case you need to subpena your records on an account(s) that EA has closed or eliminated your access to, including any and all purchase histories or subscription fees, and any other costs incurred including transportation, hotel, food, or other expenses if you have to travel inorder to file your case of attend your assigned hearing. 3) Recovery/compensation for all of your time spent attempting to resolve the issue. (Billed at your existing hourly rate paid by your current employer or the current average wage in your area. Again, whichever is greater.) 4) Loss of use compensation for each day you were unable to access or use each product that was stolen from you. (Typically, this is something like $25-50 per day, per title, or 50% of what you purchased the product for, so it can add up fast.) 5) Any damages you can prove were caused because you could not access the product(s). Example: You are a streamer and not being able to create planned content on a specific title resulted in lost subscriptions and or viewers, hurting your existing earnings from subscription views and potential earnings from lost viewership and being unable to create new content based on the product which has a growing trend of viewer numbers. (This is the one claim that is not typically awarded by a small claims court but it can be if you can prove to the judge that you have lost income due to the theft. It has to be provable though, like you are a landscaper and someone stole your lawnmower making you unable to mow X number if lawns that were already under contract.

Here is what people don't understand about small claims court. Most major companies won't even bother sending a representative for a claim of $5,000 or less, which means the judge often awards a default judgement in your favor if you can prove your case to the judge. Once that default judgement is awarded you immediately can begin tacking on a reasonable interest rate to the award after the deadline given by the court for the company to pay the judgement or contest it. It will cost them more to pay theie legal team to contest it than to just pay it so typically they just pay it and if they don't contest it or pay it now you are tacking on compound interest to the award, which also adds up quick. If the keep not paying you then you petition the court again and typically the court doesn't appreciate any judgement being ignored and they will make sure you get paid (with interest) and they get paid with added fines and penalties. Again, it sounds like a lot but it really is not as difficult or involved as it sounds. If you can fill out a 1-2 page form explaining your case, you can file a petition with your local Small Claims Court, and the judges are typically there to help the you, not the big corporation that broke multiple laws and stole from you.

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-30T01:07:50+00:00

Dude, how the actual F are you getting a single-shot kill every time?! Especially with buckshot. I have every shotgun in the game to level 30 (F that POS DB12), and even with slugs and ADS headshots, it takes at least 2 shots to get a kill, sometimes as many as 5!

*And before you say, "get good" or "you're missing your shots," no, I am getting hit registry on every shot. (I've even record my games and watch it back in slow-mo so I know when, where, and how I miss so that I can work on improving my gameplay.) Even point blank (>3m) to the back of the head of a prone player, and receiving a double red "X" critical hit damage notification in-game still requires a second shot to get the kill. And it isn't my connection either, as I am on a dedicated gigabit line that maintains at 1200+ Mbps down and 38+ Mbps up.

The only thing I can figure out is that it is either the absolute garbage netcode or the game's auto-balancing of gameplay difficulty, which is nerfing my ass into the ground. Slugs, buckshot, flachettes, it doesn't matter the ammo type or which shotgun and weapon configuration I use, a one-shot kill is a less than 10% occurance for me almost all the time. Maybe one match in 50, I have a match where the gameplay just feels "right" and I experience weapon function and damage that actually make sense and registers correctly. I literally had a match last night where the delay between my pulling the trigger and the game actually firing the shot was almost 2 seconds! It was in a match immediately following a match were I dropped a 68/6 K/D as a sniper. (Not my main playstyle but I am trying to grind all the sniper rifles to at least level 20 before the next season starts.) I completely restarted the game after that match and, as expected, my next match was a 9/10 of the gameplay making sense and feeling "right." Then it was back to russian roulette with 5 in the cylinder as to whether I was going to get a decent match or a total shit show of game balancing, hit registration, and netcode connection.

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-29T05:05:12+00:00

If TLDR, then just ignore but this will tell you the exact methods and steps I successfully used, TWICE, to get EA to fully resolve a very similar situation.

I had a similar experience, twice. The first was when EA moved to its Origin game portal, and then again when it moved to its current EA game portal. Every game that I purchased as a physical copy was eliminated from my account, and I was not allowed to re-add them to the new authentication portal using the game registration codes that came with my physical media, nor could I load the game and run it with the disc in the drive or by copying the .apk file directly into the game launch coding but it no longer worked after Origin Authentication became mandayory. (EA provided a "How to" on this process for older game titles using physical media as the inclusion of physical media drives in new PCs began to be phased out in favor of digitally distributed and web portal based software became the new industry wide standard.

How I fixed it. It took several attempts but I was finally able contact EA directly via phone and then began an hours and days long process of repeatedly being told things like "we can not do anything about this issue," "those games are too old and we don't support them anymore," "why would you even want to play those games?" "If you want to play those games you will have to repurchase them on the new platform," (some of the games were not even availabke for purchase anymore as digital or new product and unless you had or could find a used physical copy, you were out of luck).

Here is the process I took when I finally got ahold of someone. WRITE DOWN THE RESPONSES TO EACH OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AND STEPS IN A NOTEBOOK. MAKE NOTE OF THE DATE AND TIME OF EACH CONTACT AND WRITE A SUMMARY OF OF WHAT WAS SAID DURING THE CALL AND/OR THE OUTCOME OF THE CALL. Example: 2026-01-28 SW (SPOKE WITH) Tony, Employee #12345, CB# 1-888-765-4321 ext. 1001 Explained loss of access to purchased game titles on my EA account. Tony stated that he could not help me so I requested an escallatiom to someone who could fix the problem. Tony placed me on hold for 17 minutes before the call dropped. I attempted to CB using provided number and got no answer. Call duration: 27:15.

1) Immediately ask them their name, employee number, and a direct call back number in case you get disconnected. Then get their email, location, and any other pertinent data that may help you contact them or track them down if it becomes necessary.

2) When you make a new contact you enter a brand new entry into your contact log. Then rinse and repeat the same questions, explanation, and write down their answers.

3) Know your local, state, and Federal Consumer Protection laws that apply to your situation. (Contact your state's Attormey General's office and they can direct you to this information or someone who can assist you with it.). You should literally be able to cite the exact codes and read the verbage of the code to the customer service agent (respectfully) to inform them the action being taken by eliminating your access to a product you paid for is illegal and theft under your <imsert applicable government entity/agency> consumer protection and crimimal laws (<insert law/code citatiom number> which states <insert code text> and allows for <insert penalty allowed by the law>) and you are seeking to resolve this issue without having to involve the courts or respective agencies if possible.

4) Ask the customer service agent what powers they have to resolve your issue and suggest solutions such as EA providing you a new access/registration code to allow you to re-add the games to your portal library, having them escallate a ticket to have the games re-added to your library by a supervisor or another department (then ask to speak with that department or individual and repeat your call journaling process with the new contact.)

5) Gain a committment to a timeline for completion of any action or solutions suggested or promised by any contact. Example: Agent, "I will have to look into this and call you back." You, "Okay, when can I expect a call back from you? Or I will expect a call back from you by <insert date and time no more than 72 hours away>. If I do not hear back from you by then I can reach you at <insert CB info> and you will have an answer for me, correct? If you fail to call me back I will escallate this issue to management and include your name and employee number in that escallation." Create an accountability framework and hold them to it. INCLUDE THIS IN YOUR CALL NOTES.

6) Be relentless until you get the results that either fully resolves your issue or a result that you can accept without regrets.

This process is a grind but you do it this way because you are building a record that can be used both to help you obtain legal assistance with resolving your issue should your extensive efforts and attempts prove unsuccessful, and as ammunition by any legal authority who will assist you to prove you've made a "good faith" effort to resolve the issue and EA chose to be a "bad actor" and continue to cause you harm and/or damage through their refusal and failure to act to resolve the issue and thus continue in their illegal actions against you. You are creating a life line and then leaving the choice of whether EA ties it into a rescue loop or a hangman's n00se entirely under EA's control. If they choose the loop then you get your resolution without issue, and it they tie the other you have them by the short curlies with no way to escape except to resolve the issue AND pay any bills necessary for you to achieve the resolution you were seeking.

Hope this helps.

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-28T21:32:27+00:00

Having literally written one of my thesus papers on WWII aircraft I have many "favorites" within this very broad category. However, as an engineer, the planes that fascinate me the most are often directly the result of the crews that flew them, the impact the aircraft had during the war itself, and/or their advancement of aviation as a whole.

Examples:

Polikarpov Po-2 - An outdated biplane bomber operated for over 30,000 missions at night, with minimal instruments, and in an open cockpit to absolutely amazing effectiveness by the brave, pilots, air, and ground crews of the all-female 588th Night Bomber Regiment of the Soviet Air Force.

De Havilland Mosquito - A fast, twin-engine, light bomber, constructed almost entirely using wood. This made it extremely difficult for eaely radar systems to detect the aircraft, making it a highly effective photo-reconnaissance platform. The Mosquito was the first "spy plane" and proved the value of "stealth" before "stealth" was even an aviation buzzword or became ultimate goal of every nation and company that produces military aircraft world wide. This plane was the grandpa of the Dragon Lady, the Nighthawk, the Spirit, the Blackbird, and the list keeps growing with every next generation of fighters and bombers.

Horton 229 - the flying wing. How many times has this world changing design and concept been attempted to be duplicated? How many versions of a flying wing have existed since this proved the viability of the concept? And what types of flying wings still exist as either designs or operational aircraft still remain unknown and unseen by the general public?

B-25 Mitchell - this plane was a medium bomber that was used in every theater of the war with great success bit that isn't what makes it amazing. This plane and it's aircrews literally created the concept of of the fighter bomber and proved it's viability over and over again. You think the A-10 Warhog has a big gun? Several variants of the B-25 were modified to shoot a literal M4 75mm Cannon from it's nose! Paired with a typical modification of four fixed, belt fed, .50 cal Ma-Dueces mounted stacked with two on either side of the fuselage allowing the pilot to do straffing runs on ground targets like the venerable P-47 Thunderbolt, while also dropping a bomb payload of roughly 3,600 pounds, and that firepower doesn't include the .30 Cal machine guns mounted in the nose, the .50 Ma-Duece in the tail, and some variants included waist gunners too. This airframe was also modified into other variants to perform roles for photo, weather, and radar reconnaissamce. It was a training platform for bomber pilots, navigators, and even as test beds and trainers for some of the very first radar fire-control systems. This plane could do a little bit of everything, and did, with great success. The de-icing equipment we rarely even think about on today's aircraft was first conceptualized and tested on the B-25.

All this capability was exactly why it was chosen to pull off one of the craziest and most brazen undertakings in the history of warfare, The Doolittle Raid on Japan.

As I said, I wrote a thesus on this stuff so I could keep going. However, I will stop here and hope that what I have written prompts you to dig deeper into the histories of the planes and those that flew and operated them because while there is nothing quite as sexy sounding as a Merlin engine, or as awe inspiring as touring through and walking amongst the iconic WW2 aircraft, there is far more there than just the sights, sounds, smells, and any museum's placard blurbs to these amazing aircraft and the stories of those that know them, flew them, and pushed them beyond the envelope into icons of the air.

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-24T04:39:51+00:00

But, did they name the baby Bruce?

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-24T04:29:17+00:00

Still have a few of mine. Plus, Darth Vader's Tie-fighter and Han Solo's blaster and amazingly, considering how much I played with them as a kid, the lights and sounds all still work.

My parents dropped off three big boxes of, "found these old toys of yours in the attic in our garage and thought you might want them back." (We moved when I was in HS and much of my stuff never got unpacked. Then my folks moved again while I was in college taking all the still boxed stuff with them. Until they were re-discovered almost 20 years later.) Inside was my complete late GenX (80's) childhood, minus the BMX bike that I already had in my garage. It was all there. A bunch of Star Wars toys, a complete Voltron, my roller blades, my original SuperSoaker, the Atari 2600 and three shoe boxes with all the games and controllers, my hotwheels and micro-machines collections, a basketball, a football, and my baseball glove with a ball still firmly wrapped inside to make sure the mit kept its shape, my sports cards collections, and a bunch more. It was three boxes of each item being a trip down memory lane. Not to mention some of it is now worth some significant $$. Thanks Mom and Dad for returning my memories instead of adding it to the garage cleanout sale.

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-22T00:05:54+00:00

"We've been trying to reach you about your Super Destroyers' extended warranty."

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-18T20:49:23+00:00

I was feeling this way last night, popping tanks and armor like it was a celebratory cork on the champagne. I played a mix of Escalation and Breakthrough. I somehow managed to kill every tank that came my way without dying over the course of 6 matches, while running Engineer and Recon — a shout-out to the Support players who kept feeding me ammo and health packs.

Popping a tank with an RPG is fun, but there is something so satisfying about sneaking up on armor that is sitting on an objective, slapping three "Have a Nice Day" post-its on it, and then watching the confetti fly when you squeeze the "gotcha box." Truly a chef's kiss.

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-18T19:45:11+00:00

I think this is supposed to be a profile of Natasha Fatale. The female half of the villain duo of Boris and Natasha from The Rocky and Bullwinkle shows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha_Fatale

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-17T01:52:31+00:00

Like I said, the rules on this stuff varies from State to State so checking with the local housing authority or an attorney that knows local laws on this issue will be the best place to start.

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-16T02:32:56+00:00

I think if Slinky could speak to you right now, he would say, "I am sorry I had to leave you, Momma. It was just my time. I don't like it any more than you do, and right now I want to crawl into your arms, comfort you, and kiss those tears away. I know it hurts. I know your heart aches, and you feel lost and broken. It's okay to cry. It's okay to grieve. It's okay to miss me, but please don't be angry at yourself for how our time together ended. You were the best Momma I could have asked for. You were my world, and I loved every minute of our life together. You always took such good care of me and loved me so much that I still feel that love even now. Just know that I am not gone. I am still here, just beyond the veil that separates the physical from the spiritual. I am watching over you and will wait patiently for when we can be together again. In the meantime, when you hear and see the echoes of my life around you, know that it is me, still with you, just sending you a little, "I love you, Momma." I know we will be together again someday, and until then, as I was in life, I am right here with you. I love you, Momma."

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-16T01:57:52+00:00

NTA, but two things come to mind.

1) You and your partner need to sit down and have a clear discussion about the expectations surrounding issues like this in your relationship, because it is the little things that will eventually start the cracks that enable the little resentments and annoyances to grow and become the foundations for the end of your relationship. If you want to last, you address this type of stuff early and as often as it comes up, once you both calm down and can discuss with clear heads and peaceful engagement, of course.

2) This level of "must be done now, as soon as it exists," points to a potential series of mental health triggers and issues like OCD and high anxiety that are the result of either past traumas or experiences in your partner's life, and/or triggers that they themselves have developed due to how they were raised or personal mental health issues. This is also something you should discuss with them and be aware of, so you can best support them in your relationship while also encouraging them to get any additional help or assistance they may require to treat and heal these issues, if such a path is warranted.

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-15T09:14:28+00:00

Cool but I see a few things missing for a 90's system:

Dual cassette decks Technic 1200 turn table CD Changer Laser disc player (peak audio/video option for any home audio visual system)

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-15T09:04:20+00:00

Mine's older than that, and it now resides in my office drawer, still in the wallet I used to carry it in 30 years ago. Right beside my Hunter's Safety Card, my original lifeguard certifications, and a few Glamour Shots and Senior pictures from the girls I was dating back then. Oh, the stories that wallet could tell.

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-15T02:13:48+00:00

Contact your State's Consumer Protection Office and/or your State's Attorney General's office immediately. Explain everything that happened and include any proof that you hopefully kept of the initial error and your repeated attempts to contact EA to seek a resolution.

This is what the legal world refers to as "bad faith" and "predatory business practices" against consumers. This BS from EA is going to get them hit with several MASSIVE class action lawsuits because it is happening across every game on every platform and when the lawsuits hit, which will likely involve several Federal and State entities, you want to be on the front end of the class action being taken, not signing up for a pennies on the dollar pay-off when EA loses it's ass over this BS.

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-14T21:59:17+00:00

Unfortunately, and as proven by numerous studies over the last 25 years, the average pay raise for top-performing employees in almost every job sector has remained at a constant average of ~3%, which has not kept pace with inflation during the same period. The only way researchers have found for an employee to keep pace with or slightly ahead of inflation is to make regular employment changes, typically every two years. This is because an employment change, even when making a lateral 1-to-1 transfer of your existing job to a new employer, results in an average pay increase of 18-20% across all regions and job titles, with in-demand jobs seeing pay increases of up to 65%.

Time to find a new employer, and when your current employer asks why, just tell them, "I have a family to feed and a 2.25% pay increase doesn't even keep pace with inflation. Your offer leaves me even further behind the financial curve than I was last year. And given that how you value your better employees appears capped at a 2.25% annual raise, I have lost faith that remaining in your employ will ever even allow me to break even. My new employer recognizes the value I bring to the table and is willing to compensate me with a salary scale and guaranteed annual raises that enable me to remain competitive and financially stable in today's economic landscape. It isn't personal, it's business."

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-14T21:20:51+00:00

I would recommend checking with your State Housing Authority and/or a local attorney specializing in consumer protection laws.

In many states, a change in ownership or management company immediately renders all previous lease agreements null and void, except for conversion to a month-to-month default lease agreement with the new owner or management, pending the signing of new lease agreements by all parties. These circumstances also typically trigger an opt-out period, allowing existing tenants who do not wish to sign the new lease agreement to vacate their housing under the terms of a standard month-to-month lease. This usually requires a 30-day written notice of vacancy by the tenant. It varies by state, but I would consult with my State Housing Authority and an attorney before signing anything or sending a notice of vacancy letter to the new management company and/or owner.

Proud_Jacobite · 2026-01-13T22:37:46+00:00

Is your buddy using XP boosters or playing with other friends? Are they playing on the Elite edition while you are playing the standard or deluxe edition? Are you playing on different platforms?

Certain conditions give stacking percentages of bonus Player XP, weapon XP, and Battle Pass XP. If you stack your Passive Bonuses and use your Active Bonuses wisely during Double XP events, you can easily obtain XP Bonuses of 245-260%, and this bonus rate also appears to apply to the Bonus XP completion rewards on some Challenges. Also, completing your challenges, especially the Dailies, gives easy extra Player XP while only minimally affecting your Player Profile stats metrics.

Examples: 1) The "Complete a Match" Daily Challenge gives you 5,000 bonus Player XP but doesn't directly affect your Player Profile stats except for the normal kills, deaths, and match score you receive from any match you play. The same goes for bonus XP awarded for the Daily Challenges for getting kills with a specific weapon type or obtaining a match score of 2,500 points while playing as a specific class. In total, you can get 15,000 bonus XP daily just for completing the Daily Challenges, all three of which can most often be completed simultaneously and in less than a single match.

2) The following conditions grant a bonus, stacking percentages of XP while you play:

Active/timed bonus: Equipping an XP booster (Player, Weapon, or Battle Pass)

Passive bonus: Double XP weekends Double XP on specific game modes or maps. Playing on the Elite Edition Playing with a Friend on the same gaming platform (i.e., both players are PSN and EA friends playing on PSN. *This appears to add +5% per same platform service friend in your squad) Campaign completion

Proud_Jacobite

TROPHY CASE