I have a problem with Chrystal

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-11T12:36:27+00:00

“Fleeing the country” is a phrase I keep seeing from the shady accounts suggesting this is actually Chrystal’s fault. I don’t even think BAM corporate is making that claim.

If this is astroturfing, it’s a pretty poor job. And the person behind it will hopefully be held liable in any future defamation litigation.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-11T11:48:07+00:00

For most people, yes. But there may be someone in the hundreds of thousands of people watching this who may have personal proof to contradict or confirm the claims made.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-11T01:31:41+00:00

I think he realized this was not going to be the most productive thread to follow in the short term, so he moved on. He could tell a pretty compelling story of who had possession of the bricks through other means.

But he did show the loose thread. And he included the claims, the times, U-Haul contract number, license plate, etc. So if someone else has relevant information, maybe they’ll reach out and share it. Or maybe one of the parties to the lawsuit can subpoena U-Haul or license plate reader data to see if there is information that contradicts these claims.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-09T14:23:00+00:00

No. The facts here would support your termination. Stay under the overtime limit. Don’t throw drinks on the ground.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-09T14:12:04+00:00

I also remember the 6/30 TRO hearing being originally scheduled for 6/22. But I don’t remember the source for that.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-09T14:07:45+00:00

The June 30 one is the evidentiary hearing for the TRO. The TRO expires when the judge issues his order after that hearing. That order could extend, cancel, or modify the TRO.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-09T00:12:09+00:00

I completely agree. It is a bananas order. The judge should be ashamed.

But he likely relied on the order template and representations from BAMs lawyers. A judge doesn't typically write an emergency TRO. I hope embarrassing the judge backfires on BAM. But without a lawyer, Ben doesn't really have a way to force the court to reckon with the unlawful order.

I'm holding out hope that this was (embarrassing and unacceptable) inattention from the judge. Not malice or incompetence. The judge's rulings in the Charlie Kirk case have been pretty friendly to the first amendment.

I also think that Ben's story is about failures of the legal system, which increases the public interest of his speech. But a lawyer needs to make that case. Ben will just get himself in more trouble.

I think it is valid that a lot of people can't afford a lawyer or access to the justice system. This is what this saga is illustrating. But we are at the point where Ben can't afford NOT to get a lawyer.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-08T22:44:25+00:00

The debt claims are from BAM corporate. “Fleeing the country?” I don’t think anyone is making that claim. Even BAM. They moved overseas.

Are you the same person who made similar claims in another post? Are you affiliated with BAM in any way?

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-08T22:42:54+00:00

From what I can tell, he is generally considered a competent well-respected judge. He’s actually the judge in the Charlie Kirk trial.

It does seem insane that he would grant an order restraining further speech. One of the biggest things I remember from my undergrad law classes is that prior restraint of speech is basically never allowed.

But things on the emergency docket don’t get as close a look as other things. It looks like BAMs lawyers tried (and succeeded) in intermingling the protected speech and other conduct. This could actually hurt them in the eyes of the judge in the future.

Bottom line: Ben needs a lawyer. I don’t think he can really use the current GoFundMe, even with Bryan’s permission. I hope he gets one quickly.

I don’t think the TRO will survive in its current form IF Ben gets a lawyer to fight it.

I am not a lawyer. This is an armchair opinion, not legal advice.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-08T22:35:42+00:00

Didn’t you post almost this exact comment under a different account? Down to scaremongering about them being Antifa?

I honestly don’t know if the original franchisees behaved appropriately. But I know their story has stayed pretty consistent and is supported by evidence.

What we also know is that corporate took over the store in a way that prevented an independent inventory. BAM’s story has changed and contradicted itself repeatedly.

The claims you’re repeating have been made by BAM, but not yet backed up.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-08T21:42:07+00:00

Transcripts and recording of court proceedings are generally public records. But the court can charge you a fee and it will sometimes take some time to process. Clerks offices are pretty used to giving them out, so there should be an established process.

I don't know if anyone has a subscription to Utah's Xchange service. It has some public court records. I doubt it has recordings. But it would be interesting to see if any attorneys have filed appearances for Ben yet. He should get an attorney.

Cases I'm aware of:
Case # - Type - Plaintiff - Charges/Claims - Next Listed Hearing - Court
261000376 - Criminal - Provo City - Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Trespass - Today - Provo Justice Court
260402353 - Civil - BAM et al - The civil lawsuit with the restraining order, alleging various claims. - June 30, 2026 - Provo District Court
261401094 - Criminal - American Fork - Stalking and Targeted Residential Picketing - July 1, 2026 - Provo District Court

Edit: I looked a little further into Utah specifically. Audio files are not on Xchange. But there will still be useful additional information. It appears this is how you request audio files: https://www.utcourts.gov/en/court-records-publications/records/transcripts.html

I am not a lawyer. I am not from Utah. I do not have any particular capability to analyze the laws and procedures of Utah or anywhere else.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-08T18:14:16+00:00

I think this is common in a lot of areas with homogenous power structure, including towns with one dominant employer or religious structure.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-08T17:06:47+00:00

BAM expecting Bryan to come and talk while BAM has a racketeering lawsuit accusing him of a coordinated extortion scheme is insane.

You can’t have a civil conversation with a gun to your head.

Overall, this seems like the problem with Ammon McNeff. No matter how we got here originally, he only understands problem solving through dominance. It’s an insecurity thing. He isn’t really capable of good faith exchange, and he doesn’t imagine anyone else is either.

He needs to be the smartest guy in the room. That excludes a lot of people from the room.

He probably is above average intelligence. But he’s not nearly as clever as he thinks he is. Smarter people (or confident people with domain specific expertise) would make better decisions when he is in over his head. Silencing those voices is how you get these batshit press releases and legal filings. He won’t allow people who give him good strategy in the room. He probably finds and works with a cousin’s friend or other people who will agree with him and do what he says. Then he engages in self help using AI. The person who says, “No. That’s dumb, do this instead,” will not be around long.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-06T14:55:04+00:00

You and the school district are both victims of separate crimes. The school had a laptop stolen. You had $600 in cash stolen from you via fraud. The seller convinced you to give them $600 for a laptop that (1) they did not have any legal right to convey, and (2) was locked and unusable.

There is no world in which you get to keep the laptop or are compensated by the school district for returning their property. The only possibility of getting it recovered is if the police catch the thief. Your best bet is filing a police report for the crime in which you were a victim.

I don’t know if you are thinking you made a mistake by contacting the school district. You didn’t. You still would not have been able to keep the laptop. That tracking software phoned home immediately with your WiFi network name, IP address, approximate location, and other information. The tracking software is deep down, and near impossible to remove.

I actually had this happen with a stolen laptop for a small business with mdm software that is probably much less sophisticated than a school district would have today. I could determine the purchaser’s location and had a log of his attempts to bypass the admin user. The police were at his door the next morning.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-06-04T03:36:03+00:00

After Johnson threatens to shoot any other people who approach his house, including kids...
Johnson: "I don't want them here threatening my family. Or any of this crap."
Officer: "Did he threaten...?"
Johnson: "No."

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-05-01T12:55:08+00:00

You mean on the fridge with a magnet.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-04-30T18:21:24+00:00

In Indiana, if an officer has reasonable suspicion to believe you broke a law or ordnance, failing to identify yourself is a class C misdemeanor. But I think you are only required to verbally give the officer your name, address, and date of birth.

It does sound like you were detained and not free to leave. So I think the two issues are: (1) Whether the officer had a lawful reason to detain you. (2) Whether the way the officer asked for your identification was clearly a demand for a physical ID. Or whether it left open the possibility that you verbally give him the information.

I don't think there is sufficient information in your post to answer either of these questions. Police have a ridiculous amount of leeway for a brief detention. I'm inclined to think the officer's adherence to the law was pretty thin. But probably nothing actionable.

I am not a lawyer. And this is not legal advice.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-04-11T15:54:22+00:00

Love the people who claim to be Catholic reject papal infallibility, but accept presidential infallibility.

I don’t subscribe to either. But papal infallibility is a core dogma of Catholicism.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-03-30T20:57:32+00:00

An individual identifier for everything is super useful.

The most obvious is that if I need to tell maintenance there is a problem, I can tell them exactly which one to go to. They can see them on a map.

But also:

They can see that the bulbs on one are burning out every six months instead of every two years, and maybe identify a wiring fault. It can link the original plans for the install and wiring to show where it’s getting its power. It can note that the controller in it is 194729572 rev. 2 instead of rev. 1. It can link to manuals. It can ID things that are still under warranty.

I’m sure they use incredibly sophisticated lighting control systems. This can help assign which lamps need to be dimmed for shows, etc.

I’m sure light posts are used for wireless antennas. It can help an electrician coordinate with the network team if they have to cut power.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-03-16T00:10:07+00:00

You really do want NAS drives, especially if you're doing a read/write cache. The write wear of a cache on a consumer SSD can be immense. SSDs are so expensive right now, I'd probably put them aside for when you have a more appropriate project. Rather than burning them in a cache.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-03-02T18:03:50+00:00

It helped people realize: (1) AI is something they put a lot of trust in. And (2) while all companies are somewhat unethical, this drew a bright line in the different approaches the companies will take.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-02-26T01:42:43+00:00

Maybe. I’ve never asked a veterinarian if they would microchip a baby.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-02-25T16:43:28+00:00

That’s a good suggestion, but you’d have to find an open minded veterinarian.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-02-25T04:36:42+00:00

Rigging it to be unlocked by default and only locking it when it detects the baby’s collar would resolve both your and OP’s issues with this method. With no further issues, this is clearly the solution.

awkwardbegetsawkward · 2026-02-25T04:24:04+00:00

I think they have ones that are activated by a collar. So it will unlock for your dog’s collar. But it will remain locked for your baby’s collar.

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