Chase.com home value estimator

Taxes have gone up significantly, home values have gone up significantly, traffic has increased significantly, the homeless population has increased significantly, etc.
It feels like almost everything has gotten worse yet the amount of money that the city takes in just increases every year. Does anyone else just feel like this cities government has just been one big massive failure for the last 20 years?
I’m so sick of waiting to see where all the “investments” my tax dollars, utilities bills, etc are going.
Trying to see the positives of living here other than weather.

https://imgur.com/4HzWzq8
Graph of subvariants and recombinants sampled in Washington state over the past five months. The dashed line represents the proportion of PCR positive tests that have been sequenced so far.
Four of the past six weeks are incomplete, with the last two weeks of Feb. being considered "complete" due to being ~10 % of PCR positives being sequenced from that time. Otherwise it's either "incomplete" (fewer than ~10% sequenced) and "very incomplete" (fewer than 5 %).
https://imgur.com/7G9h06j
Table with most recent four weeks of data. These numbers will fluctuate with backfill, especially for the week(s) indicated as "incomplete" and "very incomplete". Values may not always add up to 100% due to rounding.
Additional tables below illustrate changes due to recent backfill.
https://imgur.com/NShqJ41
https://imgur.com/hqtU5WS
As always the most recently sampled data is incomplete and will change with backfill.
I mentioned XBB.1.9.1 had been flagged by several countries last week and I'm happy to say the CDC put it on their variants update yesterday. It's actually pretty quick for them and I'm pretty happy they recognized that it's worth keeping any eye on. I'm gonna go ahead and add XBB.1.16 to the watch list because the groups who originally flagged XBB.1.9.1 are flagging this too.
XBB.1.9.1 and XBB.1.16 both of concern not just because they're both growing faster than XBB.1.5, but because a "trifecta" in their mutations are all linked to suppressing key parts of our immune system's ability to respond to infection (quoting from here: https://mobile.twitter.com/mrmickme/status/1636861487284375552 with emphasis mine):

It will be something to watch a ORF7a:A13V, ORF9b:I5T, ORF9b:N55S trifecta in action. Thus effectively muting both innate and adaptive immunity. Orf7a to suppress MHC-I and then Orf9b mutes to suppress IRF3 and in turn type 1-IFN. Won't be pretty.

I'm going to overly simplify but this is roughly what each part means:
MHC class I = Major Histocompatibility Complex type I: puts "red flags" on the surface of infected cells to signal distruction by T-cells, suppressing this means the virus has more time to continue replicating without the body "knowing" its infected
IRF3 = Interferon Regulatory Factor 3: basic immune response to virual infections, suppressing this means suppressing the "immflamation" response that produces the types of symptoms we recognize as "not feeling well" in order to stay home or test, suppressing this also suppresses the production of type 1-IFN
type 1-IFN = Interferon type 1: T-cell response, tumor cell recognition, suppressing these increases the chance that various types of less-than-helpful cellular changes due to infections or tumors goes undetected/uncontrolled by the immune system
Not great!
Repeated notes:

F486S is associated with increased antibody evasion with no known improved cell-binding/entering ability. F486P has both increased immune evasion and increased cell binding/entering affinity.

FASTA and metadata files downloaded from GISAID, Pango lineage assignments were made using Nextclade Web v2.13.0.
Definitions of aliases in graphs and tables:

• BA.2* includes aliases BJ.1, and CM* (CM.8.1 has F486S)
• BA.2.75* (under BA.2* umbrella; BA.2.75.2 has F486S) includes aliases BL* , BM* (BM.1* and BM.4.1.1 have F486S), BN* (except BN.1* ), BR* (BR.1.2 has F486S), BY.1* (has F486S), CA* (has F486S), CB.1, CJ.1 (has F486P), and CV.1
• BA.5* includes aliases BE* , BF* , BK.1, BQ* (except BQ.1.1* and BQ.1* ), BT.2, BU* , BV* , BW.1, CD.2, CF.1, CK* , CL.1, CN.1, CP* , CQ* , CR.1* , DA.1, DE.2, DF.1, and DG.1
• BN.1* alias of BA.2.75.5.1.1*
• BQ.1* alias of BA.5.3.1.1.1.1.1.*
• BQ.1.1.* alias of BA.5.3.1.1.1.1.1.1.*
• CH.1.1 alias of BA.2.75.3.4.1.1.1.1 (has F486S)
• XBB* alias of an Omicron-Omicron recombinant (BJ.1 and BM.1.1.1); XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.9.1 have the F486P mutation while all other XBB.1* , XBB.2, XBB.3, and XBB.4 have F486S
• XBF alias of an Omicron-Omicron recombinant (BA.5.2.3 and CJ.1, has F486P mutation from CJ.1)

The * symbol means there are even more sublineages branching out under that designation umbrella.
Resources:

• https://gisaid.org/
• https://clades.nextstrain.org/
• https://github.com/cov-lineages/pango-designation/blob/mastepango_designation/alias_key.json
• https://doh.wa.gov/emergencies/covid-19/data-dashboard

https://imgur.com/4HzWzq8
Graph of subvariants and recombinants sampled in Washington state over the past five months. The dashed line represents the proportion of PCR positive tests that have been sequenced so far.
Four of the past six weeks are incomplete, with the last two weeks of Feb. being considered "complete" due to being ~10 % of PCR positives being sequenced from that time. Otherwise it's either "incomplete" (fewer than ~10% sequenced) and "very incomplete" (fewer than 5 %).
https://imgur.com/7G9h06j
Table with most recent four weeks of data. These numbers will fluctuate with backfill, especially for the week(s) indicated as "incomplete" and "very incomplete". Values may not always add up to 100% due to rounding.
Additional tables below illustrate changes due to recent backfill.
[edit] fixing backfill tables
As always the most recently sampled data is incomplete and will change with backfill.
I mentioned XBB.1.9.1 had been flagged by several countries last week and I'm happy to say the CDC put it on their variants update yesterday. It's actually pretty quick for them and I'm pretty happy they recognized that it's worth keeping any eye on. I'm gonna go ahead and add XBB.1.16 to the watch list because the groups who originally flagged XBB.1.9.1 are flagging this too.
XBB.1.9.1 and XBB.1.16 both of concern not just because they're both growing faster than XBB.1.5, but because a "trifecta" in their mutations are all linked to suppressing key parts of our immune system's ability to respond to infection (quoting from here: https://mobile.twitter.com/mrmickme/status/1636861487284375552 with emphasis mine):

It will be something to watch a ORF7a:A13V, ORF9b:I5T, ORF9b:N55S trifecta in action. Thus effectively muting both innate and adaptive immunity. Orf7a to suppress MHC-I and then Orf9b mutes to suppress IRF3 and in turn type 1-IFN. Won't be pretty.

I'm going to overly simplify but this is roughly what each part means:
MHC class I = Major Histocompatibility Complex type I: puts "red flags" on the surface of infected cells to signal distruction by T-cells, suppressing this means the virus has more time to continue replicating without the body "knowing" its infected
IRF3 = Interferon Regulatory Factor 3: basic immune response to virual infections, suppressing this means suppressing the "immflamation" response that produces the types of symptoms we recognize as "not feeling well" in order to stay home or test, suppressing this also suppresses the production of type 1-IFN
type 1-IFN = Interferon type 1: T-cell response, tumor cell recognition, suppressing these increases the chance that various types of less-than-helpful cellular changes due to infections or tumors goes undetected/uncontrolled by the immune system
Not great!
Repeated notes:

F486S is associated with increased antibody evasion with no known improved cell-binding/entering ability. F486P has both increased immune evasion and increased cell binding/entering affinity.

FASTA and metadata files downloaded from GISAID, Pango lineage assignments were made using Nextclade Web v2.13.0.
Definitions of aliases in graphs and tables:

• BA.2* includes aliases BJ.1, and CM* (CM.8.1 has F486S)
• BA.2.75* (under BA.2* umbrella; BA.2.75.2 has F486S) includes aliases BL* , BM* (BM.1* and BM.4.1.1 have F486S), BN* (except BN.1* ), BR* (BR.1.2 has F486S), BY.1* (has F486S), CA* (has F486S), CB.1, CJ.1 (has F486P), and CV.1
• BA.5* includes aliases BE* , BF* , BK.1, BQ* (except BQ.1.1* and BQ.1* ), BT.2, BU* , BV* , BW.1, CD.2, CF.1, CK* , CL.1, CN.1, CP* , CQ* , CR.1* , DA.1, DE.2, DF.1, and DG.1
• BN.1* alias of BA.2.75.5.1.1*
• BQ.1* alias of BA.5.3.1.1.1.1.1.*
• BQ.1.1.* alias of BA.5.3.1.1.1.1.1.1.*
• CH.1.1 alias of BA.2.75.3.4.1.1.1.1 (has F486S)
• XBB* alias of an Omicron-Omicron recombinant (BJ.1 and BM.1.1.1); XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.9.1 have the F486P mutation while all other XBB.1* , XBB.2, XBB.3, and XBB.4 have F486S
• XBF alias of an Omicron-Omicron recombinant (BA.5.2.3 and CJ.1, has F486P mutation from CJ.1)

The * symbol means there are even more sublineages branching out under that designation umbrella.
Resources:

• https://gisaid.org/
• https://clades.nextstrain.org/
• https://github.com/cov-lineages/pango-designation/blob/mastepango_designation/alias_key.json
• https://doh.wa.gov/emergencies/covid-19/data-dashboard

https://voca.ro/1ePXshzQOFm4 it me
I struggle to form a connection with people. I don't know if anyone is in the same boat but I hope you aren't. I'm probably a bit too honest and I don't find vulnerability to be a weakness. I probably game too much and tend to be doing that if I'm not working (from home) or at the gym lifting or boxing which I got into early this year. If you like mobas, MMOs, or shooters we're probably on the same page. I play card games competitively and just got back from Los Angeles but I haven't ventured outside of the US and Canada (Yet). I'll watch anything with good reviews but I have a soft spot for good anime. Evangelion is my favourite! Feel free to recommend me titles to watch, or maybe suggest one we watch together? I'm big on reading sci fi books and the latest in the series I'm reading just came out last week.
I had a tough time with mental illness growing up and lived a lot of my teens/early 20s online before becoming a normal member of society (Pandemic kinda' owned me though) and in doing so spent a lot of my life online. That experience made me value online people the same as people in real life. I do not restrict myself talking to people locally when I could meet someone amazing thousands of miles away.
If you're interesting in talking to/hanging out with a reclusive vampire nerd then my DMs are open. I am borderline allergic to the sun and as a result of that look a lot younger than my age (Or so I'm told). I work from home in tech and in a desperate struggle with my insomnia. No hard feelings if we don't vibe, but I hope we do. Bonus points if you introduce yourself. :)

https://voca.ro/1ePXshzQOFm4 it me
I struggle to form a connection with people. I don't know if anyone is in the same boat but I hope you aren't. I'm probably a bit too honest and I don't find vulnerability to be a weakness. I probably game too much and tend to be doing that if I'm not working (from home) or at the gym lifting or boxing which I got into early this year. If you like mobas, MMOs, or shooters we're probably on the same page. I play card games competitively and just got back from Los Angeles but I haven't ventured outside of the US and Canada (Yet). I'll watch anything with good reviews but I have a soft spot for good anime. Evangelion is my favourite! Feel free to recommend me titles to watch, or maybe suggest one we watch together? I'm big on reading sci fi books and the latest in the series I'm reading just came out last week.
I had a tough time with mental illness growing up and lived a lot of my teens/early 20s online before becoming a normal member of society (Pandemic kinda' owned me though) and in doing so spent a lot of my life online. That experience made me value online people the same as people in real life. I do not restrict myself talking to people locally when I could meet someone amazing thousands of miles away.
If you're interesting in talking to/hanging out with a reclusive vampire nerd then my DMs are open. I am borderline allergic to the sun and as a result of that look a lot younger than my age (Or so I'm told). I work from home in tech and in a desperate struggle with my insomnia. No hard feelings if we don't vibe, but I hope we do. Bonus points if you introduce yourself. :)

Does anyone on here have experience with the trade-in program that Canada Goose introduced recently in the US? Just wondering whether the trade-in value that CG provides is close to what is posted as the estimated trade-in value on their website. Also wondering whether thry are fair in their assessment of the condition of a trade-in.

Everything was working perfectly fine yesterday and today until I noticed I wasn't at full health so I used a stimpak to top myself off only to notice my health bar not moving. Weird but whatever maybe it's a visual bug that'll sort itself out. Nope, my HP number in the pip boy hasn't changed at all but I lost a a stimpak. Oh well Ive dealt with bugs before maybe this will sort itself out with some time. Ffw to me trying to clear out a raider camp and getting dangerously close to death, finding a safe spot to heal up, only to find that while the items are being used and the bleeding effects of MAIM have stopped, I'm not regaining any HP at all. At this point I have no clue what's going on anymore whether it's a bug or something's going on that the game isn't telling me but being able to restore my health is kind of important. Please help.
My LO: UFO4P No Quest Autostart - BoS fire support, Vault-tec calling, Nuka World, Far Harbor, Automation AWKCR Settlement Electricity Overhaul Kcores simple guard post rugs True Storms TSSMSR VIS TS: Far Harbor patch True Nights for True Storms Pip Boy 2000 Hardcore Health Overhaul Immersive Animation Framework HUDFramework iHUD Def_UI Core Defui hudfr patch Defui preset Defui tags Defui tabs Defui rollups Defui scrap components plugin Holotime Companion Stats HUD FOV 100 Bullet Time 770 perk tree overhaul Better Bobbleheads: Skills edition Arbitration + Automatron AI add-on Russian Stimpak Replacer MAIM 2 MAIM 2 hardcore health Overhaul patch MAIM 2 Russian Stimpak Patch Immersive Fallout (DLC) SKK Dynamic Damage Manager Radiant Quest Marker Anti auto aim Faster terminal displays 50% ap drain from sprinting Sane fusion cores More Ammo Survival Options [xBox 1] Time Scale and Other Global Tweaks More Realistic Fire Behaviour Friendly Radroaches New Chem Values Legendary Modification Cheat Terminal Survival Quick Save NPC height adjustment Hush it! Medium Everyone's best friend Danse wear your helmet Valentine jaw sync Settler and companion dialogue overhaul Fallout 4 AI overhaul NPC ammo overhaul - all dlc Companions can sneak Simply Better Sneaking Chameleon and Stealth Fixes Tactical Distraction system Commonwealth 2.0 Realistic Sound Tarkov-esque ads sound replacer Stalker UI sound replacer Reneers radio mod Glados power armor SFX Faded Glory Spectacle Island Music Change Visible Galaxy 4k CCs improved hair colours Lots more beards and moustaches 3rd person beard fix Beautiful female settlers Enhanced blood textures basic Improved map with visible roads Stealthier pip boy Immersive chemstation overhaul Fab workbenches More Power armor displays Colored workshop lights Fallout76 watchtowers Immersive Containers Rsiyo's location pack King George III Public House Ipswich Apartments Cordova Playground Vault X-01 player home Stumble Upon Interiors Plenty O Exploration NEST Bunkers Crowded Commonwealth Aliens of the Commonwealth NooFoos sanctuary The Marshlands Welcome to Fallon's Spitfire enhanced muzzle fx Alert Carry See thru scopes Minigun improvements Unique uniques Hyper Merge 1 & 4 Walther p99 Accuracy International AX50 T6Ms pump shotgun T6Ms lurker pistol Armorsmith Extended (Xbox) Framework Backpacks of the Commonwealth West-tek tactical optics Standalone construction power armor Vanilla crafting expansion Blacksmiths crafting expansion Raider armors retextured Valius' High Quality Texture Overhaul Retexture: fusion core Some Trees by El Ha Mods Menu Cap Increased Another Green Mod - Only Commonwealth Darker Nights - Level 0 Interiors enhanced 2.0 Glowing animals emit lights Unrestricted settlements No build limit Place anywhere Place everything Hands off Scrap that settlement S.C.A.P Start Me Up + Nuka world & Far Harbor patches Full Dialogue Interface Lookup Failed Fixer Amazing Follower Tweaks FCOM Better Automatron Weapons Proved Minutement/Artillery Smoke Grenades Realistic Ragdoll Force FPS Overdrive Pip boy 2000 flashlight fix Pip-Boy flashlight large

Do you know what a revenge spell is? Learn why you need a revenge spell for certain circumstances. We all have mixed experiences in life. Some days are full of people drawing positive things into our lives and everything around us. Contrarily, some days are made of people attempting to bring negative experiences into our lives.
Has someone hurt you? Is somebody negatively impacting your cherished one or seeking to cause a financial crisis? Are they becoming harmful for no basis apart from that they are wicked at heart? Could they have taken hold of someone for their benefits? Have they gone missing with something or someone you value? The spell is meant for anyone who wishes to get revenge has negative thoughts for you or anyone who seeks to get retaliation upon someone who has wickedness in their soul. The revenge spell can be employed to impart some revenge to an individual who is inducing harm to genuine and honest people like you, your family or your friends.
The spell will fix your rival, and make them notice that whatever they are have committed to hurt or trouble you is evil and will endure until you decide otherwise.
If your adversary has wasted your life so badly that you may feel like terminating your life, or you are frightened to leave your home, or you are inwardly being wounded by your enemy, then it is time to stop the hassle and think about the revenge spell. It is time to serve them the cup of what they deserve and maybe it is your time for you to rejoice and see how it tastes when your enemy is experiencing the same. The revenge spell will not just punish and destroy your enemy but also will make them come to their senses and realize their blunder.
​
https://preview.redd.it/jtmk7l0xw7j51.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7af6bf51ffafa89c519686c9336b8bb5e0c7afa6
If you believe that you have a lot of detractors and they have irritated you and rendered your life a living hell then you may go for this mighty spell that will fix them and will cripple them so that they may be apologetic for bothering you.
Revenge spells will bring bad luck and unfortunate situations that can be equated to what they have done to you. On the flip side, all the great and positive energies that your enemy enjoyed will be withdrawn and he will grieve physically and emotionally.
As you cast the revenge spell, you will be acquiring assistance from the universe. With the help of this, the negative energy will be absorbed from the universe throwing it on your attacker. At the same time, your enemy will be deprived of the good things he is enjoying eventually giving you an upper hand.
Besides being helpful, there one essential thing you need to note about the revenge spells. You need to be certain or emphatic of spell casting. If that is not the case then it won’t work for you. Cast only if you are sure otherwise what you will be doing will not attract what you desire.
Revenge spells are potent and effective. It is a sort of a particular religion that is mostly utilized by quite a multitude of people. Revenge spells are extensively in use for remedying various issues from people’s lives. In revenge spell, the most crucial thing that is worth noting is that it must not be used to target people who have not harmed you or have not done anything wrong to you. Should it be used contrarily, then the outcome will be adverse on you and can even have an evil impact on yourself- something you may not have expected. Love pair and married couples can seek assistance from revenge spell too. It has used by many people in getting their love on the right track as before, helped in solving marital dilemmas. Revenge spells have been confirmed useful for students for their education and keeping concentration.
If you believe someone is focused on harming or working against you, no doubt you are allowed to have your revenge. Just be certain to do it carefully in a manner that cannot be reversed on you. By appropriately using revenge rituals to set a wicked person’s activities back on them, you will make sure that they take what they deserve without inducing infliction to anyone else.
Want To Cast a Revenge Spell Yourself? Try Here: How To Cast A Revenge Spell
Need Izabael To Cast A Professional Revenge Spell For You? Try Here: Revenge Spell
Want Izabael To Cast a Spell For You?
Visit My Magick Spell Shop
​
https://preview.redd.it/l4tjis50x7j51.jpg?width=308&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2c932b6fe51c1f626ceca82564e13732f6ea9146
Magic Spells by Izabael DaJinn The World’s Premiere Spell-casting Genie
***Successful Spells Cast since 2007 ***
​
originally posted at: https://izabaeldajinn.com/2020/01/why-you-need-a-revenge-spell

Next year I am looking at possibly renovating my den that use to be a garage and turning it into a larger master bedroom to add a room to my house. We are looking at the bathroom aspect and trying to figure out if a 4 bedroom 3 bath will be a large home value increase or if I can save the space and put in a 3/4 bath for the same value increase.
3/4 bath saves us some space and keeps us from eating into the new master too much. A full bathroom while it would be nice I am trying to save some money where I can.
Second question can you list a 4 2 3/4 as a 4 3?

Hello. I am looking for some guidance in terms of sending cards to be graded. I am interested in the "dos and don'ts" of card grading, but also to a bit deeper degree than usual. The TL:DR of my situation is that I am unsure of who to send to for grading (PSA, BGS, or some 3rd party) for a variety of reasons that I get into below.
​
​
Here's my situation - A couple of years ago I went through my collection with a fine-tooth comb looking for the high end possible grades that were in my collection (the 9s and 10s) and set them aside. The catalyst to this was all of the insane money getting dumped into graded cards and it no longer making financial sense to just keep things in binders. I also regretfully panic buylisted a bunch of other stuff I had (would be "near mint" but wouldn't get 9 or 10) at the onset of the pandemic due to the very uncharted waters we were going into, but that's neither here nor there. The general goal was to find the possible high grades in the mix, see if I didn't have a lower grade that I'd keep in my personal assortment while I graded and sold the other one, and if not, then just make the decision to keep or grade at a later date.
​
I have been dragging my feet on this grading process though for several reasons:
​
1) Artificail money chasing with other chasers: In my heart, I've always felt like this market was just dumb and inflated with a lot of unjustified value and didn't really want to be a part of it, both from a personal perspective, but also from a self preservation one that is not wanting to be deeply in it when the bubble would inevitably burst.
​
2) You want HOW MUCH to grade??: The entry costs sticker shock. PSA, in particular was quite eye opening in terms of the entire process of grading submision, not just individual card cost. Let's just say that I learned quickly that bulk orders were not possible for me, even if they hadn't suspended low level submission. But I get into more of that later.
​
3) The Ebay selling limit: Ebay selling limits have me uneasy about the true maximum ammount of grades that I'd even be able to list and I don't even know if they'd increase it enough to where I could be able to list them. For example, if I had 100k worth of graded cards to list but my limit was 50k and I was already using 25k of that to list just things that I do normally, that leaves me only 25k worth of graded cards to have for sale at a time. This means that I'd only ever be able to advertise 1/4 of everything that I actually had and only very slowly be able to add more as others sold. And in the meantime, that 3/4 of my graded stock would be doing literal nothing/be losing boatloads in opportunity cost. So that, in and of itself, doesn't even feel like I'd have a way to sell anything I graded, or at least it would be severely bottlenecked.
​
Idk to what degree "ebay vault" really fixes this, so if anyone has experience in that, please feel free to chime in. But A) I am not sure if that's how you're able to sell graded without it impeding your selling limit and B) even if that were the case, I'm not sure how I feel about sending grades to ebay and just trusting that they'll always be there...
​
4) Historical pricing is inflated: With the apparent crash of the graded market, with the only exceptions being a slight retrace to 9.5s and 10s (and please correct me if I am wrong in any of this because I am not entrenched in this category), I am highly hesitant to submit. From what I've learned from PSA at least, what they charge you (and they charge you more if your estimate was lower than the result) is based on what the card is worth after being graded.
A) This is a bit of a messed up system for serval reasons, as a side complaint.
B) The concern here comes from the "history" of prices being historically so high from the hype age and not exactly as reflective of the present time as people are buying less and asking for less. I have really only picked out what I believe to be 9s or 10s, but I've never graded before so you never really know what the result is going to be. And with them being some higher end and less "slab" chaff/more collectible and relevant expensive pieces, the upfront cost to the grading process is unnerving, as I mentioned before.
​
5) Does one grader provide a better value than another?: The big boys here are just PSA and BGS, let's be frank. All of the "grading companies" that popped up during the pandemic were just started to absorb the excess demand in the market and REALLY aren't grading companies in spirit. Or "in name only" grading "companies" that just emerged out of distributors seeing a way to unload their toxic/worthless inventory by slabbing worthless pack-fresh cards from some of the vintage reprint packs while hiding the others in randomized boxes along with $4 retail packs barely worth $0.50, if that. The only one that I've seen around that doesn't seem like it's just some guy making bank in his garage slabbing cards in plastic with no real industry standards is CGC Universal Grade. But even then, it just feels like channel promotion because some youtuber used them in their grades and the service still feels like I would be buying from the highest reviewed store on aliexpress. But I digress. Back to the two big ones.
​
From what I've been able to see, and I'm sure that I'm missing information, PSA charges you based on what the grade is and its average(?) value, which already seems very nebulous and subjective. In theory, they can just kind of say a card is worth X dollars that perhaps pushes it into a higher grade service when in reality you can make a reasonable argument for keeping it in the less expensive grade tier, but they just have veto power over that. And that can be a $100+ difference per CARD. Like, wtf.
​
BGS feels different though... Their interface feels a lot more put together than what felt like the most barebones app I've every seen where you could only manually type in what your card was. WTF even was that... But now, it seems like if you just select their service of "Base" (or standard, if you want things back quicker), They allow you to put whatever for the declared value for the insurance and the base cost per card is all the same. So in theory, I guess, you could kind of declare a value of what you believe the card will be worth graded, but could also shave off some of that from the idea of "well if it gets lost along the way, this is the amount I'm comfortable receiving for compensation in that I would be saving a lot of work/effort/headache and risk in the process of selling it if it was instead graded and returned safely." Save some real world dollars while also insuring against hypothetical world time/work/effort/risk.
​
So BGS, even if what I last said is something not allowed, seems like the way to go because they are not effectively trying to take a massive cut of what you'd be selling the item for today like PSA.
​
On the other hand, I don't know to what degree (if any) PSA tends to fetch a higher price for for, say, 10s compared to 9.5s from BGS. One random article I read tried to suggest a massive difference in selling price. I wouldn't think it's that high, but I would certainly like to know if there is a significant difference. And even if the difference was "not insignificant," assuming I'm right about BGS and their services much more uniform of a base cost, that difference could be completely nullified by the extra hundreds you'd be forced to hand over to PSA.
​
So it is FEELING like BGS has the least egregious business model to engage in by a wide effing margin compared to PSA: Who seems more like a consignment seller that does no work and gets paid before something even sells. But I am unsure of that theory holds up against real world results of sales data and experience, overall. Any guidance in any of this would be HIGHLY HIGHLY appreciated.

The faces in the crowd look all fuzzy,
In my desperation to hide my face:
Learning, then relearning, to erase them - albeit slowly.
I've now forgotten how to face them all headstrong.
In the quest to losing myself,
For so long, I've now forgotten
how to find myself.

Sealing the darkness asks every iota of happiness as tribute,
As I grasp at them, chase my fondest and my cherished.
Loneliness, being alone - forgot to count the differences.
This sinful heart, it fails letting me know how it appeases.
In the quest to losing myself,
For so long, I've now forgotten
how to find myself.
​
The pangs of losing myself, despite the irony
of feeling utterly dejected, all alone
on a crowded crossroad. Right in amidst your loved ones,
Tell me, providence: How can one feel so lonely in a crowd, surrounded?
Like they were cornered, as the heart welcomes the panic.
And your cries for help, drown in laughter and cheers?
Somebody chime in: It doesn't make any sense.
In the quest to losing myself,
For so long, I've now forgotten
how to find myself.
​
Learning to let go of fear,
of the dangers, the monsters within the closet,
Call out to me, as I listen to them.
What sick joke, this irony of life, that tantalizes
the echoing horrors in my ear.
In the quest to losing myself,
For so long, I've now forgotten
how to find myself.
​
Learning to not give up on a cause,
who do I save this now rusted grit for?
As it would seem pointless: This sadness,
the truth so poignant, salting my wounds,
and my flaws.
In the quest to losing myself,
For so long, I've now forgotten
how to find myself.
​
The rain is but mere old friend,
extending its companionship,
for they help hide the free flows - dithered
through the wrinkled trenches long dug at,
by these painful, cheapened tears.
All for friendship, innumerable - all that I forgot.
So long have they have slithered,
I know not, how to make them stop.
No - please - anything but this: Not again!
In the quest to losing myself,
For so long, I've now forgotten
how to find myself.
​
The pain that bellows within,
that no amount of pills do jack and shit.
And no amount of alcohol numbs.
This feeling of doom in my chest,
and the weight of the world in my shoulders.
In my quest to relieving everyone - excluding myself
- Of their unfair shares of emotional baggage,
I've forgotten long, long back -
How to even reach out for help.
​
What is the weight of guilt, you ask?
Take your hopelessness, put it aside with your failures.
Add in the disappointment, compound the sadness,
multiply with anger, and raised to the power of despair.
No axiom will answer - how much it aches,
no theory will state - how big of a toll it takes.
There's no rhyme, or reason - to this madness.
In the quest to losing myself,
For so long, I've now forgotten
how to find myself.
​
The way out is blocked by the inner demons,
that keep berating, jeering loudly in my head,
For the same victim, they all relish, and share
Insinuating, whispering, egging, then dismissing
till it's impossible to bear.
For the burden of conscience
has been paid, severing this fate of mine
In the end - harder than a promise made.
In the quest to losing myself,
For so long, I've now forgotten
how to find myself.
​
All it takes is a moment of desperation,
to turn a smile into a frown.
But has one ever contemplated,
has someone even cared,
how years of internal turmoil -
causing singes and burns so charred in.
Explain to me - how they can just be repaired.
In the quest to losing myself,
For so long, I've now forgotten
how to find myself.
​
The reckless nail marks in my shoulder,
and the razor cuts in my wrists
full of shame, of foolhardy indulgence
may have healed - but the scars still are a stark reminder.
You say pour my utter heart out -
But how could I - keeping it all in for so long
That it's forgotten the luxury of divulgence?
In the quest to losing myself,
For so long, I've now forgotten
how to find myself.
​
Pathetic, Pitiful, Insignificant, Inconsequential
That's the value my self-esteem possesses.
You say there's still a lot to do, a lot to the "me".
It's neither self, nor esteemed.
It's but a mere shadow of what it used to be.
It's no big deal: Really.
For I stay in my ivory tower of isolation,
and drink from my chalice of desolation.
In the quest to losing myself,
For so long, I've now forgotten
how to find myself.
​
You say laughing's easy
But you couldn't be more wrong
For it hurts to laugh, and my psyche:
It laughs at me, to hurt.
Perks of being an inebriated thief of joy,
a mere energy vampire,
A long broken toy.
In the quest to losing myself,
For so long, I've now forgotten
how to find myself.
​
As the monster proceeds its ransoming,
for living in your mind - you can't help but give up,
every desire, every little luxury of life
and see it gnawing it all up, before returning,
for a second helping.
​
In the quest to losing myself,
For so long, I've now forgotten
the way back home,
the little patch of meadow,
under that tree I grew up carving
my name onto,
I could set my tattered,
Let this wearied body rest, for once,
set it gently onto,
the little spot of comfort still clinging in my head.
I'm so lost I've forgotten,
I'm so lost, it hurts to remember,
how to find myself back again.
​
I may have learnt to feign a smile,
something I didn't before, perhaps a pipe dream,
To fool the world - and most importantly myself,
but really, at the end of the day:
All things said and done:
Who am I kidding?
Who do I really smile for?

3,659th Quarterly Meeting
Kilometer-long freighters docked and undocked from Port Vesta. Ventral doors opened to let in adamantine loading arms, the size of which existed only in tales of primordial titans for much of human history. Once reloaded, the ships departed for humanity's interstellar colonies at Tau Ceti, Aldebaran and Rigel. So choked with ship-induced warp bubbles was Vesta that stargazing was a fruitless pastime for many millions of kilometers out.
And all this was visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the most important conference room humanity had ever known.
Cool air circulated through the 40 by 20 by 5 meter room. 20.4 degrees Celsius, the perfect temperature to keep ambitious minds in line with corporate procedure. And no minds were more ambitious than those sitting in here.
9 of the most powerful human beings alive sat around the rectangular conference table, four on each of its long sides and one at the end farthest from the door. Their perfect faces were reflected in its polished black marble, craftsmanship reflecting in craftsmanship, one working in flesh and the other in stone. Their suits ran the gamut of subdued color, from black to gray to blue to beige to brown, though all but one had a metallic sheen. No one tried speaking before the meeting began. Everything that would be said today had been written and rewritten over the previous weeks. Today was a formality, a tradition practiced by an organization that had existed for 914 years.
Yet everyone in the room knew that the predetermined decision formalized today thrust their organization into foreign territory.
The man at the end of the table stood up. His dark brown suit was only two shades distant from his dark brown skin, most on display on his shaved and polished head. He removed his black-framed glasses from their perch 210 centimeters above the floor and tucked them into his breast pocket, 170 centimeters above the floor.
"Members of The Board," he said, "I declare this, the 3,659th quarterly meeting, open."
A woman, nearest on his left, stood up as he sat down. She wore a beige suit whose metallic sheen paled in comparison to her voluminous blonde hair. In her lilly white hands was the Quarterly Profit Report.
"Mr. CEO," she said in her most authoritative voice, "I'm proud to report that we have once again met the expectations of the founder. From July 1st to September 30th, 2999 CE, we maintained a profit margin of 80.0 %. As of September 30th, we hold a market share of 99 % and a market capitalization of 400 quadrillion credits."
The woman sat down. The other eight clapped their approval.
A man, nearest on Mr. CEO's right, stood up. His gray suit complemented the full head of silver hair installed on his scalp and chin. Strong and youthful hands, grown in a vat and transplanted onto this bicentenarian, held the Readiness Assessment Report from the R&D Department.
"The Instant Sassy program has achieved level 4 certainty as of August 16th, 2999 CE. They can now create a maximum of 1 kilogram of mass and replicate drink and bottle in one go. Mass production of the Instant Sassy vending machines awaits your approval, Mr. CEO."
The man sat down. Clapping ensued.
Five more members of The Board provided their tidbits of information, but everyone knew the best was saved until last.
A young man, actually young in contrast to everyone else's purchased youth, rose from his seat at the doorward end of Mr. CEO'S left side. He wasn't more than 30. He was only 160 centimeters in height. His hair and suit were both pitch black and without sheen. Most of the board wondered if the boy even combed. He certainly didn't shave. His delicate fingers held a one page legal summary.
"Mr. CEO," he said in a monotone lawyer-stating-the-facts voice, "it has come to the attention of the legal department that a small firm at Rigel is selling a 1-to-1 clone of Sassy Cola, though under the branding of Flash Cola. As there is no reliable intellectual property enforcement that far out, we suggest Sassy Cola Company perform a cease-and-desist operation."
The clapping that followed was, as planned, subdued to balance The Board's recognition of his work and the dire situation he described.
Mr. CEO stood once more to give the final address.
"Members of The Board, we stand at a precipice. Military action against a small firm is a bold move. Then again, the Sassy Cola Company is no stranger to bold moves. It was a bold move when in 2085 my great great grandmother started this company in order to sell her sassafras-enriched soda. It was a bold move when we spent the 23rd century expanding Earth's launch capabilities so that humanity could colonize the solar system and thereby create new markets for Sassy Cola. And it was a bold move when in 2610 we invented the FTL warp drive so that humanity could settle the stars and buy more Sassy Cola. So let's put this to a vote. All in favor of sending a cease-and-desist?"
Five members raised their right hand.
"All opposed?"
Three other members raised their right hand.
"Five for and three against. And I vote in favor, giving the issue the 2/3 majority it needs. A cease-and-desist will be sent to Rigel as soon as the ship is ready. I declare this, the 3,659th Quarterly Meeting, adjourned."
All nine stood and clapped, excessively, as if their noise could bury the question of ethics.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, a kilometer-long ship (built by Sassy Heavy Industries) docked at Port Vesta (technically Sassy Drive Yards) and loaded up with cargo containers (built and owned by Sassy Shipping) to be delivered to Aldebaran (Sassy Cola Aldebaran, subsidiary).
Dr. Megalomanovich
The walls and ceiling and floor of the office never stayed the same color for long. They meandered through the greens, brighter then darker, strolled along the beach with various tans, took a dip in the water with cyan blue and finished by going back to the greens. They were cymolds, cybernetic funguses, and they formed the surface of every room in the administration wing of Sassy Research Installation #544.
It wasn't a very well publicized installation. No research from here had ever appeared on Sassy Science Direct's Top 10 Breakthroughs of the Year. Of course, that meant what they were doing was very, very important. Another reason to locate the place so far from the rest of human civilization.
Far from civilization is a relative term. To be far on the surface of a planet, you got to be, eh, 100 kilometers away. To be far in the context of a star system, make that 100 million kilometers. To be far from humanity in the year 3535 CE, you have to be 100 light years away. And that's just what we were. 100 light years separated us from the nearest human outpost. Not the nearest built-up star system or lone asteroid city. No, I mean 100 light years from the nearest hitch-em-up, one warpship, sorry excuse for an outpost. Nothing lay in-between and no one was coming to rescue you if you broke down halfway.
But that was the price of admission if you wanted to meet Dr. Megalomanovich.
To the layman, his name means nothing. To the educated, resentment. To the dreamers, hope. He is the greatest mind of our time bar none. And, like all great minds, he has created controversy.
The cymold on these walls was invented by him while he was still in secondary school 150 years ago. He designed the meter-thick mycelium fibers which root Installation #544 to its carbonaceous asteroid in an undergraduate mycology class. Since then he has: led a team which developed an all-biological fusion reactor, led another team that made a proof of concept for matter-antimatter annihilation based metabolism and singlehandedly created a cow subspecies that produces Sassy Cola instead of milk.
This last accomplishment most impressed the one and only financial backer of all human science, the Sassy Cola Company.
It didn't matter that Sassy Cola was already made in the most efficient way physically possible, by assembling it, bottle and all, from the fundamental elements themselves via vending machine MDROM-derived replicators, because Sassy from an udder was cool to the average consumer.
And so Dr. Megalomanovich was scooped up and shipped off to Installation #544. Here he has remained for 120 years doing . . . something. I'm here to find out what.
A chubby man with pudge stuffed unsuccessfully into a white lab coat walked in to the office. His eyes had been replaced by cybernetics—not eyes, but an assortment of twitching miniature radar dishes and antennae. His thick white hair is gelled straight back like the racing helmet of a bicyclist. It took me a minute to realize that this man was the good doctor.
"Dr. Megalomanovich?," said I.
"Who else were you expecting in Dr. Megalomanovich's office?"
"No one. I mean you, but, but—"
"You have only seen my younger self. Likely from my exploits in producing that wondrous strain of cow which produces delicious Sassy Cola."
"I know you from more than just that."
"I don't know why, all my other stuff had nothing to do with Sassy Cola."
He ripped some of the cymold off the wall with one of his olive green gloved hands. Beneath it is barren rock, half-digested by the lithovorous cymold.
"I mean, the antimatter-powered life thing was pretty neat," said I.
"Pretty neat? PRETTY NEAT?!?"
I shrank in my seat and whimpered, "Yeah."
"I'll show you neat my boy. Follow me through the teleporter!"
Rubber fingers pressed a sequence on the door's keypad with inhuman speed. The metal door dissolved away and only a teleporter field remained.
For those who've not seen the new 2D intrabrane teleporters—or thresholds as their called—you're in for a treat. Not only are they compact and have ranges up to a light year, but they allow light to pass through so you can see where the hell you're going. Not all light; hard ultraviolet and above get filtered out as do large energy differences. So if you're traveling from a paradise planet to a spaceship and that spaceship's warp drive has an oopsie, the 1 billion kelvin nuclear fireball won't char your burgers.
We weren't traveling to a paradise planet, at least not in the traditional sense. To a neogeneticist like myself it was heavenly.
I noted three things when I first stepped through. 1, the whole environment was bathed in the orange light of a red dwarf star. 2, the environment was divided between land—the cliffside we were standing on—and a bubbling black sea of what turned out to be Sassy Cola stretching toward the horizon. 3, the animals.
I don't know why the animals stood out to me over what I assumed were plants. They weren't actually plants but a form of lichen—but, but, but the prejudice toward the animals was still there. In fairness, they were pretty enigmatic. One of them crawled along the ground with a head that was entirely tongue, licking up the lichen bulbs like pieces of candy. Another one looked like a tree, but on closer inspection was an amphibious anemone, its roots sunk into the shallow sea's floor and its tentacles reaching out of the water to grasp a third creature—a bird of some kind whose flight was aided by gas bags on its underbelly.
"Behold, my masterpiece," said Dr. Megalomanovich.
"It's beautiful beyond words," said I. "How did it come about?"
"By way of 120 years' hard labor. Shortly after my Sassy Cow achieved galactic fame, The Board granted me with a research installation of my own. In return, I was to do the impossible: abiogenesis."
"To create life from nonlife."
"Yes."
"You had gotten close with the antimatter metabolism trial."
"Indeed I had. And that is why I refused to take any hand-me-down help from Earth's biota. From the beginning I wanted my life to run differently. I couldn't find a way to replace carbon as the backbone, but I was able to swap out water for Sassy Cola."
"You're telling me that in every cell of every one of these creatures is Sassy Cola?"
"It is their water."
"How?"
"Do you have a few years?"
"Yes."
"Unfortunately, I don't. Even this little jaunt is wasting my precious time."
"Speaking of time, how did they grow so fast?"
"Accelerated evolution through computer-aided keystone transcription errors."
"What?"
"Again, I don't have years to waste teaching you. I waste enough time teaching the installation's staff."
"When do you plan on showing your masterpiece to the wider galaxy?"
"My masterpiece will show itself to the galaxy when it is ready. There is no doubt in my mind that a day will come when a creature on this world will take a rock and bash it against the head of another and say 'eureka!' before pondering the philosophical implications of taking a life."
"Anything is possible when your body is 70 % Sassy Cola."
The Bimillennial Celebration
Upon receiving the invitation, I couldn't wait to go to the Bimillennial Celebration at Sol, though I did worry how I'd be received in turn. Few humans outside my corner of space had ever met a nonhuman sapient before. It didn't help that I lacked so much as a species name to give them.
If it were up to me, I'd name us astrographically, by the planet we live on. In that case we would be called the Sasserines after Planet Sasser. It's not a good moniker; too nationalistic when our distinguishing characteristic is first and foremost biological. So I dropped the case and made it sasserine. Yes, much better. It's less proper, more grounded, more biological. It is this species name that I used in my travels.
The first stop on my journey was at the derelict Research Installation #544. Humans abandoned it long ago when the Sassy Cola Company's fortunes took a turn for the worse. Now it was kept up by us sasserines as a heritage site. I left a bouquet on The Good Doctor's shrine, shed a few sticky tears and moved on. The tiny warpship I had chartered had an impatient pilot.
That pilot turned into quite an annoyance during our two weeks together, for he asked questions that became more and more inappropriate with time. I'm not one to disparage curiosity—I'm a scientist after all—but I fail to see the scientific necessity of revealing which variety of Sassy Cola I urinate.
My next stop was Rigel, a blue giant star that shined 1 million times brighter than Sasser's red dwarf. Since Sassy Cola's monopoly of both power and soda had waned, I found many other brands on offering, including one called Flash Cola. Flash's slogan summarized its claim to fame: "Resist the Sass and Drink a Flash!" I briefly wondered what Sasser's biosphere would look like if it were based on Flash Cola instead of Sassy Cola. I purged this thought experiment from my mind upon realizing that the planet would likely be named Flasher and we the flasherines.
Onward to Sol by way of Aldebaran. This leg was much more pleasant than the last as I had booked a room aboard one of the last functioning warpships of Sassy Cruise Lines. Luxury abounded and even my rational mind almost succumbed to the temptation of using the rest of my money to stay aboard til death. But such an act would break the terms of the invitation.
Sol, the most ancient and most populous star in settled space, was the venue for the greatest party ever thrown by humanity. Derelict Sassy Cola freighters had each been converted into a single light bulb and arranged by the hundreds to create a sign at Neptune's distance from the sun reading, "2,000 SASSY YEARS!"
I'm not normally a party person. Secluded reading is my pastime of choice. Yet I couldn't help but crack a Sassy with every human who asked me to join them. Why not?, I thought. After all, without the Sassy Cola Company, I wouldn't be alive.
The solar system felt like it held the totality of settled space within its borders. Port Vesta alone held hundreds of distinct cultural groups from just as many star systems. I met 35 of them on my 5 kilometer walk from Sassy Cruise Lines' designated dock to the hotel where I was to be staying. Sassy Cola's monolithic corporate culture was no longer humanity's culture. People were being themselves again.
And that included being suspicious of outsiders, especially ones from a different tree of life.
I felt eyes all around me. I had drunk too much Sassy Cola, besting even the worst human junkies. I sweat the drink. I urinated the drink. Boys and girls inspected me like a zoo animal every time I went to one of Port Vesta's many street markets. It overwhelmed me and I left early for my meeting on Earth.
Orbital space around humanity's homeworld is so congested with infrastructure that teleporter range around Earth is limited, by law, to a mere 1,000 kilometers, 1 billionth of what it is everywhere else. To get to the planet's surface I had to leapfrog from orbital plate to orbital plate, often having to cross a single plate by way of a couple teleports. Yes, they are that large. Most contain surface areas and populations similar to Earth's 21st century nations-states. After visiting 57 nation-state-orbital-plates against my will, I arrived at Earth's surface.
At least I had reached the top surface. Earth is a shellworld with 15 surfaces, each named after a variety of Sassy Cola. I was on Sassy Orange and needed to get down to Sassy Cola Classic, 7 surfaces below. Teleportation law was even stricter here than in orbit. The technology was used exclusively to ferry people between surface levels and teleporters only existed in the atlas towers which held the next surface.
I was awestruck upon first seeing an atlas tower as they occur nowhere but Earth. From green pasture it rose into the cloud cover above. Through those clouds, ten kilometers up, lay gigatons of diamond hard plating topped with teratons of granite, soil, lakes, rivers and cities. I was under a planet-encapsulating house held up by countless pylons, themselves kept rigid only as long as the power flowed. Luckily, it always did.
The atlas towers also serve as propagandistic monuments, each shaped like a bottle of Sassy, though of the variety which matches the name of the surface level they exist on. The Sassy Cola Company had its detractors, but the fact that the corporate superpower had built Earth into what it is today went unquestioned.
I eventually arrived at surface level 7, or Sassy Cola Classic. The 7 surfaces above had replaced Earth's original troposphere and stratosphere. The 7 surfaces below existed where the planet's crust once did. Together, the 15 shells supported 20 trillion humans living in spacious luxury—though no one had more spacious luxury than The Board.
Their 1 billion hectare estate is a combination art piece, capital, pilgrimage site and tomb. No teleporters exist within its borders. The atlas towers there are disguised as steep mountains on their bottom halves and cumulonimbus clouds columns on their tops.
Dwarfed by these gigantic illusions are the many castles of the estate. One of these castles serves as the estate's north entrance and holds the Sassy Parliament Building. In here convene two houses, a lower house elected by the Sassy Cola Company's 100 trillion shareholders across settled space and an upper house chosen by The Board.
The lower house had drawn up the invitation program and voted 67,306 to 32,694 to pass it. The upper house hesitated, unsure whether they wanted "billions of yokels trampling through the estate." They passed it with the exact bare minimum of votes, 600 to 300.
The addition of a clause limiting it to 10,000 "yokels" that came in tour groups of 50 per hour was the deciding factor in passing the invitation program. Now I was part of one of those groups, an ordinary ambassador for the world of Sasser, though I doubted that cultural and economic exchange, two bullet point motives of the program, were occuring.
Oh well, I thought as I boarded the maglev train to the next destination.
The nine members of The Board lived in nine penthouses atop nine towers near the center of the estate. I'd remark on the penthouses' reported opulence if 200 stories of height and the estate's no-cameras policy hadn't isolated us from them. I imagine they like it up there, otherwise I can't fathom why they'd live so secluded from the rest of their species. I wondered what such recluses thought of Planet Sasser and the sasserines or the invitation sent to me by their personally selected managers. But I'd little time to ponder as the maglev neared my stop.
At the very center of the estate sits a diamondoid hemisphere 10 kilometers in diameter. Inside exists a full recreation of one late 21st century American small town. The maglev line terminated at the entrance to the dome where a bright green sign reading "Tupelo" hung.
The rest of the tour group was just as in awe as I when we walked inside and found ourselves surrounded by single family homes along four lane roads with no sidewalks. From the artificial blue sky above came laser beams which generated holograms of moving vehicles. They veered around our group even though the lasers would cause nothing worse than a slight tingle on the skin. A human dressed in a law enforcement uniform of the time led us to the predetermined sacred sites.
First we stopped at the hospital where The Founder was born, then the double wide trailer where The Founder grew up and, finally, the soda shop where The Founder introduced the world to Sassy Cola in 2085.
I obsessed over this last stop. Burned into my psyche is the memory of the artificial sun rays shining through the shop's stained glass windows and onto the stainless steel counter. I took in every scent and sound and touch; the bittersweet sassafras laying in sacks in the corner, the scratching of our shoes on the artificially cracked and yellowed linoleum floor and the coolness of the counter on my cheek when I laid my head down in defiance of the guide's orders.
At the end we all had a thimble full of Sassy Cola made from the recreated soda jerk. It was inferior to every drop of Sassy that I'd drunk since birth. Even my blood, filled with the wastes of cellular respiration, likely tasted better.
But taste alone didn't determine the value of this thimble. The drink represented conception, its serving the initialization of the two millennia of change that followed. Just as water was a prerequisite for all Earth life, so Sassy Cola was a prerequisite for all life on Sasser.
This soda was the origin of everything I am. I believe that's cause for celebration.
(END)

I posted this on VeteranBenefits and got a lot of questions. Figured I’d share here too.
A quick guide to VA loans
I've read several posts on here talking about VA loans and I wanted to get the record straight out there regarding them.
Disclaimer - I'm a veteran who happens to be a mortgage broker. 75% of my business is VA loans. I focus on them because I feel that veterans are underserved in the home buying world. Now that is out of the way, here is a quick summary on using your VA loan benefit.
Credit Guidelines
The VA does not have a minimum credit score requirement, however each lender does. Lenders will go as low as 500 on credit scores. If your credit score is in the 500's, the more important thing that is that you don't have any late payments or collections within the last 12 months. If you have a lower score, but no lates in the last 12 months, some lenders will manually underwrite your file and you can purchase a house that way.
There is no down payment, but there are closing costs and their could be a funding fee
The VA loan is the best mortgage product on the market. There is no down payment required. There is a funding fee, but that funding fee can be rolled into the mortgage so you don't have to pay it up front if you don't want to. You can be exempt from the funding fee if you have a service connected disability of 10% or more. If you have a pending disability claim that gets approved and is effective before your closing date, you can get that funding fee refunded.
There is no down payment, but there are closing costs. These will vary depending on the area you live in. It is possible to get sellers to cover these, and it is possible to roll them into the loan if the appraised value comes in high enough. But it's good to have 5-10k available to cover closing costs.
Income Requirements
You do not have to be at your employer for more than 2 years if you are a veteran who is out. As long as the income is considered stable, we can use it.
If you collect VA disability, we can gross your monthly amount up by 25% to improve your purchasing power because it's considered non taxable income.
Your monthly school benefits cannot be used because that is not considered stable income.
Things to consider when using your VA loan benefit:

• Shop around for different lenders. Do not just go to Veterans United. My personal experience and opinion is that they scam veterans out of thousands of dollars by not disclosing points/origination until the very end. If you do go through Veterans United, please look over that loan estimate and get it in writing that they aren't charging you points/origination.
• If you get denied by a lender, please contact a mortgage broker to get a second opinion. Different lenders have different guidelines. Several of my veteran clients that I have helped buy homes were denied by other lenders saying they couldn't get them done. Just because you get denied doesn't mean you can't use your VA loan, it just means you can't use your VA loan with THEM. There's a difference.
• You can use your VA loan multiple times as long as there is entitlement remaining. The VA loan is not a one and done use.

I know this is a long post so I will cut it here. If anyone has any questions or would like to see more posts related to using VA loan benefits, please let me know. There is so much misinformation out there about VA loans so I want to set the record straight on several things that I have seen on here. The last thing I want to see is a fellow vet not use their earned benefit because of bad info.

Working on selling a huge amount of my collection. Many are exclusives. Bulk purchasing encouraged. Pricing negotiable and already set below market. Shipping will be extra based on weight and distance.
Some boxes have damage that can be seen in the pictures. Those with severe damage were noted.
Will provide additional closeups upon request.
Please PM with any questions or interest.
Proof
Top Row:
5-Pack Captain America Through the Ages (Amazon): $30
152 Spider-Gwen Unmasked (Walgreens): $10
20 Deadpool: $10
318: Dancing Ferris Bueller: $20
33 Family Guy Stewie: $50
34 Family Guy Ray Gun Stewie: $50
01 Orange Mickey Mouse (Funko): $10
426 Apprentice Mickey: $5
2nd Row:
341 Jay Garrick (DC Legion of Collectors): $10
309 Rhino (Marvel CC): $30
777 Dinopool (Marvel CC): $25
393 Shuri (Gold Chrome, 2018 Fall Convention): $15
424 Angel (Marvel CC): $10
1217 Katie Bishop (Target): $10
373 Venom (Marvel CC): $30
124 Taskmaster (Walgreens): $12
951 Gingerbread Thanos (Funko): $20
2-Pack Wonder Woman & Steve Trevor (FYE): $12
3rd Row:
105 Zombie Morbius (Marvel CC): $20
183 Colossus (Comikazee): $15
667 Deadpool with Headpool (Marvel CC): $20
658 Professor X (Target): $15
446 Captain Marvel GITD (Marvel CC): $10
141 Foolkiller (Hot Topic): $5
160 Spider-Man (Marvel CC): $25
466 Hawkeye (Walgreens): $9
716 Vision (Halloween): $15
58 Coca-Cola Polar Bear Flocked (Funko): $20
94 Pillsbury Doughboy Easter (Funko): $30
4th Row:
243 Arthur Curry (2018 Fall Convention): $10
487 Minn-Erva (SDCC): $10
447 Nick Fury with Goose the Cat (Marvel CC): $10
425 Captain Marvel: $5
111 Deadpool: $15
422 Dark Phoenix GITD (Walmart): $5
668 Zombie Red Skull (Marvel CC): $15
824 The Vision (Books a Million): $10
505 Tommy Boy Richard: $20
96 Woodsy Owl Flocked (Funko): $25
577 Astronaut Snoopy (SDCC Summer): $10
5th Row:
1064 Gunther: $5
670 Spider-Marmor Mk III (Walgreens): $5
785 Ninja Deadpool (Marvel CC): $10
327 Bedtime Deadpool: $15
123 Deadpool (Marvel CC): $10
653 Logan (Marvel CC): $15
501 The Original Human Torch: $10
504 Tommy Boy Tommy: $20
399 Zorn (Son of Zorn) (Hot Topic): $5
400 Zorn with Hot Sauce: $5
93 Pillsbury Doughboy Valentine's (Funko) $10
6th Row:
700 Chandler Bing: $9 (Box slightly dented on left side, see pics)
712 Killer Frost GITD (NYCC): $40
713 The Flash: $5
853 Cisco Ramon (SDCC): $15
32 Captain America Art Series (Target): $10
484 X-Men Rogue (Hot Topic): $5
826 Agatha Harkness: $5
580 Iron Man "I am Iron Man" GITD (PX Previews): $35
91 Pez Boy Fireman (ECCC): $15
9 Lavender Bunny (Funko): $15
62 Mr. Owl (Funko): $20
7th Row:
261 Rachel Green: $60
244 Arthur Curry: $10
86 Steven Universe Garnet: $20
87 Steven Universe Amethyst: $15
88 Steven Universe Pearl: $15
210 Steven Universe Peridot: $40
370 Steven Universe Pink Diamond (Hot Topic): $20
147 She-Hulk GITD (Comikazee): $20
73 Energizer Bunny Flocked: $15
25 Dig Em' Frog: Free (Box Damage)
10 Funko Sam (Funko): Free
8th Row:
427 Vers: $5
1065 Rachel Green: $5
1067 Joey Tribbiani: $5
1068 Phoebe Buffay: $5
243 Bill Cypher (Chase): $40
33 Captain America Art Series (Target): $10
504 Iceman Flocked (Funko): $10
73 Energizer Bunny Diamond: $15
706 El Arachno (Marvel CC): $5
707 El Venenoide (Marvel CC): $5
711 El Animal Indestructible (Marvel CC): $5
9th Row:
29 Deadpool (PX Previews): $25
701 Joey Tribbiani: $10
702 Ross Geller: $8
703 Rachel Green: $8
704 Monica Geller: $10
705 Phoebe Buffay: $7
76 Smokey Bear (Funko): $5
786 Mr. Bean Pajamas: $5
491 Home Alone Kevin: $50
492 Home Alone Harry: $40
493 Home Alone Marv: $35
10th Row:
820 Nomad (Marvel CC): $5
262 Ross Geller: $50
263 Monica Geller: $30
264 Chandler Bing: $30
265 Joey Tribbiani: $35
266 Phoebe Buffay: $35
85 Ronald McDonald: $12
86 Grimace: $12
87 Hamburglar: $5
88 Mayor McCheese: $5
89 Officer Mac: $5
Oversized/Specialty:
1013 Sinister Six: Doctor Octopus: $20
Forrest Gump Ping Pong Box: $20
70 10" Tony the Tiger (Funko): $35
603 10" Olaf (Target): $15 (Sticker Residue on Box)
59 10" Coca-Cola Polar Bear (Funko): $35
95 10" Cap'n Crunch (Funko): $35
60 10" Count Chocula (Funko): $35
​
Will entertain offers to buy the entire lot if that's what you're into.
​
Thank you for stopping by.

I’m looking for a long term relationship, someone to be a partner and best friend. I’m based in the UK.
A bit about me:
I have a good sense of humour and wit. Politically I’m on the left. My values come from my amazing mum and sister. I was a busy activist back in my uni days but not so much anymore. Feminism is a big deal to me, as is mental health awareness. I’m a responsible partner who does their equal share of domestic duties.
I was raised veggie and I’m now vegan, I’m not preachy in any sense, if you’re not vegan that’s not an issue and never will be. It’s your choice entirely.
I’m relatively attractive (apparently) but aesthetics isn’t something I spend too much time thinking about. I’m open minded, non judgemental, and compassionate. I don’t like excessive consumerism and materialism. I’m not classically masculine (liking sports and cars and all that boring stuff). To relax I like either cerebral or meditative stuff, so relaxing with plant care, or watching a documentary for example. I rarely drink alcohol, if at all.
I don’t own any property or have much savings, I understand that’s regretfully a deal-breaker for some people so here’s me being upfront. Marriage and/or kids isn’t a firm decision for me, I really don’t mind, if something is right then it’s right.
Hobbies
Houseplants, gardening, reading, TV & movies, video games occasionally, my cat lol (she’s a former stray now with a forever home). I like to write a lot, it’s nothing special but I just like to be in touch with my creativity, passion and emotions.
A few examples of my tastes:
Musically my two favourite bands are Radiohead and Brand New, generally I like alt rock and electronica but have very broad tastes. Happy to make playlists for you. I like cerebral tv and movies, as well as being a big comedy fan. Outside of that I enjoy documentaries such as nature, space/science, and true crime. I like to read philosophy and similar genres for non-fiction. For fiction I like sci-fi, dystopian and realism. My favourite author is Margaret Atwood.
Ask me anything, we can chat about whatever or our favourite things. I’m very open and non-judgemental so tell me anything you like. No topic is off limits or taboo in my opinion.
Here’s me with my cat https://imgur.com/a/K9hM2S2 and just me https://imgur.com/a/cGEWa07 If you can send a picture too then please do if you’re comfortable with that.

[WTT] Aero 11.5" 5.56 Gen2 Mlok Enchanced Complete Upper - Virgin, Untouched, Never Fired, Needs a good home
I recently was educated about 300BLK and I want my shorty HD build to be 300BLK, so catch and release for me on this one. Looking to trade for a .300BLK complete upper 7.5"-10.5". I can put a little cash on top if needed.
It has an unmarked Aero BCG, plain jane Aero CH, A2 Birdcage. I picked it up for $420 (nice) inluding BCG and CH so trade value is around there, let's call it $400 even.
Bonus points if you're near Tacoma WA and we can get this done today before that damn ban goes through.
0 trades here but I have a few on /knife_swap if you want references. PM with questions.