Yeah, no surprise Finny X Angela got a resounding NAY. I'm planning on taking a break from shipping polls (they are starting to get boring) and do a couple of theory polls.
For now, one of the more popular ships I think, Ciel x Alois. Poor Lizzy, Ciel straight up committed adultery in episode 4 (I think), when he thought Alois was a girl.
View Poll

• Next event, after Voth event ends, is First Contact Day
• Ship from SNW soon(tm), though probably not one we were expecting
• Zen store ships coming up. Kael believes one of the Zen store ships is technically a Lower Decks ship
• Kael hasn't heard anything regarding a bundle for DSC ending
• Unlikely Cryptic will make new starting experiences
• Kael believes theres some new item set coming soon
• When STO was launched on consoles there were 15 countries that it didn't get launched on the Playstation store for, for w/e reason, and Cryptic is working on getting that fixed
• "End of game" for STO isn't happening any time soon
• The tech is there to make costume items for vanity pets, Kael isn't sure it will happen any time soon
• Kael will pass on beards for Romulans
• When asked about making older, non full spec, Zen store/lockbox ships upgraded to full spec to make them more relevant/on par with current ships Kael said that the T6x upgrades were made to help with that, and that theres more stuff coming in that area
• To get the Voth battlezone to work with the event Jesse had to do some "under the hood" magic because the game editor couldn't do it directly. The data was able to be handled by the engine, just not in a way that was directly available to them. Had to get a new icon made for the battlezone from the UI artist Joe. "Most difficult" part was opening up the battlezone and editing all the events to capture areas to give credit for completion of the event which involved.... one whole line of data!
• Jesse says it was about time they added the Battlezones to events. STO has been running events using TFOs/mini-games like Omega molecules for awhile now, why not integrate the battlezones? They have obvious break points in capturing sections that can be used for event credit. This new option seems to resonate with players, so they might do it again.
• When asked about small craft content Kael/Jesse talk about the "Mario Kart" gameplay they tested for small craft in the past. They spent weeks and weeks making it, and even got to actual testing of it, but found that the amount of work needed to make it feel good in the game was more than the payoff they would get out of it(there was a semi-long conversation about camera, movement, weight of objects, etc, between games that makes each game work/feel as it needs to be, and how STO's ship system just wasn't built for cart racing so it doesn't feel good)
• Issue with bringing the DPS test map on Tribble over to live involves both fixing rewards, and that it was made by a developer who no longer works for Cryptic so someone like Jesse would have to find the map in the code, see it how works, bring it over to live, find ways to it could be exploited and fix them, etc.(Cryptic has also previously mentioned the map isn't very optimized and bringing it over to live server would lag the game)
• Issue with the old Maco/Omega/Honor Guard unlocks is that they were awarded in ways that they don't structure the data anymore. So a designer like Jesse has to go find where in the data did they award this thing. Then it has to be passed to a programmer who has to figure out how this is actually unlocking the costume. Then it has to be sent to a costume artist who has to decide if this is something they want to give out, or does it need to be fixed up for clipping/species lists. Its not as easy as just "flip switch costume unlocked". Kael says he will ask Jarod about see if it can be added as rewards for like a Borg event or something
• Spock's volcano suit was brought up as a possible reward for this years First contact Day, but a more fun reward was thought up/decided instead. Cryptic is still aware people want it, but right now its just a costume with no stats and someone in systems would have to build the actual EV suit
• Ground vehicles, like the Argo, would require a larger overhaul to get working. The Voth mech suit works because its basically just "big group person". While Champions has vehicles theres some hard limits on what they can do. Compares it to the shuttle issues. What does it feel like to drive a car in STO? What maps can you use it on? Is it actually going to fit in all the places we want it to on a map? What happens when you crash? When you run into another car? When you drive over a critter? How is throttle handled? Do you have to shift gears? Is it automatic? Can other people ride in the car and/or possibly shoot a gun while in the car?
• Kael will ask Jarod about making older party poppers available
• Turning hoverboards on in maps like New Romulus is possible, but would require some fiddling since hoverboards work by defining a "volume" on the map where hoverboards are allowed. You have to be careful about things like ground clearance. If you notice you can just too high and accidentally have the hoverboard power turn off because the volume for allowing hoverboards only really covers the area directly above the water
• Cryptic is having ongoing discussions about how to make the V-Rex less campable
• V-Rex not counting for daily event progress it intended because of the camping issue
• Porting things between STO/Champions/Neverwitner is really difficult. Champion is locked to its own code branch meaning its more stable, but doesn't have many of the features STO/Neverwinter do. STO and Neverwinter are easier to port between because they're developed in tandem, but differences in how the game's play mean you can just port enemies between games without having to do things like rebuilding the animation rig.
• Champions isn't on console because it just didn't work out that way. It was originally going to be on Xbox 360, but that didn't work out for w/e reason.
• Reason why special BOFFs, like those based on actors, aren't editable is due to costume clipping/performance reasons. Some costume pieces don't look good on X species, other don't match well with other costume part, some things like capes/loose cloth is very performance heavy, etc. Geordi and EMH BOFFs were editable because of being very generic human shape without too many issues.
• The reason why Defense of Starbase One was bottable was because it was originally designed to require you to clean up each wave of Klingons before it would move onto the next wave. However, around the time they made it, there was a big engine bug where all instances of that "clean up the remaining enemy" would never complete. This was due to a fake entity being on the map/being used for code purposes that the game would count as an enemy even though it wasn't. In order to get around the bug the TFO was changed to just have automatic wave progression, which made it AFKable. That issue was solved, so they changed it back/adjusted what the game looks for in regards to people AFKing to make it not AFKable.
• Oddest bug Christian ever worked on was a bug that caused two people PVPing to revert to level 0 after the PVP match was over
• John said he would think about changing the Terran Valkyrie pets to use agony phasers, and that it was an interesting idea, but no confirmation of if/when it will happen.
• Updating the old uniforms is unlikely since the character artists are working on new things hinted at the end of recent missions(likely talking about the Borg arc tease)
• To revamp something like DSEs would require

1. The environment team looking at the map and deciding if it looks good enough, or if its janky/needs some fixes. Spend several weeks doing that.
2. Content would have to track down all associated bugs like critters warping in, fading out, then warping back in again. That's a big question mark since Cryptic doesn't know what causes it, and thus, how long it will take to fix.
3. In regards to refreshing the content itself would require things like. Bringing in a voiced characteactor to be a liaison for the DSEs. Have the writer write up different text for each type of DSE. Couple days for writing, a couple days for recording, a couple days for the audio team to set audio levels and hook it all up. Character reaction has to sculpt their likeness, even if its a mini contact box and not a full dialogue screen. That's weeks of work. If its an STO original character thats still days of work. Content would then have to do things like make higher level DSEs. This would involve copying the DSEs and changing the encounter levels on them, set it all up, and make a new version of the map for all of this stuff. That's a couple days of work due to the number of DSEs. Adding new gameplay features like closing portals, rescuing ships etc, would take a few days to a week. Then it needs to be copied to all the other DSEs and edited for each kind of enemy to make sure it works. Then it goes to QA who has to test all of them, all variations, how it works with teams of people, if things like fighting one type of enemy breaks the new gameplay feature. This is a few weeks for QA to go through everything/send back to programmers to fix issues. Would also include adding DSEs to quadrants without them, critter groups not currently covered by DSEs, new accolades, trying them into the endeavor system, etc. Jesse says he would schedule around 1.5-2 months worth of time to bring DSEs up to 2023 levels of gameplay.

• Don't assume devs know about a bug just because its old, and if you've posted about it on the forums before, but it hasn't been fixed, don't be afraid to bump the thread up to get more visibility on it.
• fleet logo being available on ships/not is up to Thomas wanting it to be there or not
• Christian is always scanning the forums/Reddit for new bugs. But do include details/steps for recreating said bug. Just saying "x is broken" isn't helpful for the devs.
• Jesse would like to redo Khitomer in Stasis but it would require a lot of work.

Bug reports/resolutions

• Texas class not having the NA registry is a bug and is getting fixed either this week, or soon
• Bug regarding ISA right transformer not spawning with a shield has been reproduced by QA, and put on content, so it should be fixed soon
• Bug about Texas class console/experimental weapon misfiring was noted
• Female french twist hairstyle making your character invisible was reported, confirmed by QA, and has been sent to the team to fix
• Kael asked Christian to note the Beverly hair not being available for females
• Cryptic is looking into the block? on PS4
• Christian fixed the bug on the Valkyrie hanger pet visuals, and the Jem'Hadar Zen store ships having wrong descriptions.
• The teams disbanding at the end of a TFO bug is a bug that Cryptic has dealt with for years, and it keeps coming back every time they think they've squashed it.
• Jesse fixed the bug in "Stranded in Space" regarding the science career optional
• Screen flicker in Khitomer in Stasis TFO, and other older maps, was reported
• Starfleet 32C non admiral pants clipping through the jacket also noted
• Trauma response being buggy is a known issue
• Christian wrote down feedback about the synth ship getting a skin without the Federation logo on it.
• Lobi outfits not being able to be worn by BOFFs on at least the Xbox version was noted

the great mystery of modern minecraft currently is How in the world has ldshadowlady created 3 different Animal Races of Villagers in her latest SMP Empires S2.
Now it took me some time but heres what ive gathered:

1. There are 0 mods involved, and its most likely down to a texture pack / data pack
2. Its more than likely a different Texture for each VILLAGER TYPE based on JOBS, not based on villager biomes, as Lizzie stated multiple times her villagers in each section are all the same job type.
3. it may be an Addon to a pre-existing resource pack, as when she first introduced the Fox Villagers , she linked this mod which looks very similar to the rest of the animals aswell : https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/texture-packs/wedontbite

Im thinking she may have taken the We Dont Bite resource pack and created custom animal villagers for each job type as that mod only adds the Fox villagers. Do you guys have any ideas as to how?

According to ESPN Brasil, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea and PSG are monitoring Fulham attacking midfielder Andreas Pereira, who is enjoying a solid season back in the Premier League.
After ten years on the books at Manchester United, Pereira finally left the Red Devils permanently last summer, signing for Fulham on their comeback to the top flight.
And the Brazilian midfielder has fared well in his debut season for Marco Silva’s side, racking up three goals and six assists from 32 matches across all competitions. It has helped Fulham stay in the top half of the Premier League table and remain in the conversation for European football.
And Pereira’s performances have not gone unnoticed with heavyweights such as Atletico Madrid, PSG and Chelsea all taking note of his performances at Craven Cottage.
Atletico Madrid will need to reinforce their midfield next summer as Thomas Lemar and Saul Niguez could be shown the exit doors while Geoffrey Kondogbia’s future is also uncertain after the recent decline in his involvement.
It has given way to links to Celta Vigo starlet Gabri Veiga, who is also a target for Real Madrid. Now, it is being claimed that Andreas Pereira is also on the radars of Diego Simeone’s side.
However, they will have to compete with Chelsea, who could be viewing the former Manchester United star as a replacement for Mason Mount, who appears to be on his way out of Stamford Bridge.
At the same time, PSG are said to be interested in signing the 27-year-old midfielder as well.
Pereira’s contract with Fulham runs until 2026 with an option for an additional twelve months. So, signing him will likely require a signficant sum. Whether Atletico Madrid are in a position to stump up the cash given their financial problems remains to be seen.

I can’t see how raising more cash in isolation is the answer. They’re spending like a drunken sailor while the fundamentals don’t stack. They need to get back to basics and cut costs to increase margins in light of revised sales forecasts. Even Musk reduced retail locations when things got tough. It’s time for nice guy Thomas to also close retail locations, cut staff, reduce advertising, focus on selling what they have in the PS2 & 3 and park new models up for a few years. All the noise re Limited Editions, Treehouses, Speedboats, Drones, Mountainbikes and Fashion is yielding zero.

What is up with the “Offense: 0902” title here? How is this even allowed to be put on a lab report without some sort of arrest or confession? Doesn’t this prove confirmation bias by the BPD from the very beginning?
CBI Serology Lab Report 12/30/1996 Investigator: Thomas Trujillo. OFFENSE: 0902-HOMICIDE - WILLFUL KILL - FAMILY
This reports shows that a Colorado Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit was used on JonBenet, and the BPD knew there was possible saliva in a suspicious spot in a matter of days.
Item # 14(I) FOREIGN STAIN SWAB "SEROLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS CONDUCTED ON EXHIBIT #14 (I) INDICATED THE PRESENCE OF AMYLASE, AN ENZYME FOUND IN HIGH CONCENTRATIONS IN SALIVA".
Given this, wouldn’t it make sense that the lab examiners would suspect an oral assault had occurred on JonBenet? They must have also known there were damages inside her vagina that caused her to bleed. So, why did these CBI investigators not forward the vaginal swab for DNA testing?
http://jonbenetramsey.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/130877736/19961230-CBIrpt.pdf

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https://preview.redd.it/qprk5ccz68pa1.png?width=1517&format=png&auto=webp&s=1a523d3dcf88f6fc32c7ecaa9c6480bd7c8964f8

The council meeting has started and everyone is present. The Human engineer was also invited, odd, but it is only fair since HE was the one who found the burning comet circling around a very large moon. First time invited amongst the council, should he feel honoured? Lucky? Proud? FUCK THAT! He got to name the comet since he found it first.
"Soooooooooo? I was thinking-"
"Listen human, about that..."
"You won't get to decide the name of the comet"
"WHAT?!" Thomas shouted. Looking straight in the eyes of the feathered alien that is trying his best to look away from the human's gaze.
"Well, you see. We have made a vote already that you won't be naming the comet."
"BULLSH-" His screams was interrupted by the human ambassador Hania. Who puts her hand on his shoulder, sadly shaking her head.
"We can't anymore"
"What...why not? I FOUND IT FIRST!"
"sorry..."
"No No NO You can't do this to me!"
"apparently, they can"
Thomas stood shocked, where was the justice in this. HE GETS TO NAME THE GIANT FLAMING ROCK THAT CIRCLES AROUND SOME RANDOM MOON IN THE MIDDLE OF NO WHERE SPACE!!
"Can you at least tell me why?"
"Well cause humans are shit at naming things" A feline like alien spoke.
"RITHOW!" The alien that looked like a jellyfish shouted at the feline that spoke her mind with such rudness.
"What the hell? Prove it!"
"No, I think it's best that we-"
"PROVE IT!"
"..."
"..."
"...spell Colonel" The feathered alien suddenly spoke. asking..him to spell a word?
"What?"
"Spell Colonel?"
"k-e-r-n-e-l, what is this about-"
"Wrong"
"...C-e-r-n-e-l"
"wrong"
"the hell"
"actually, it's spell like this" Ambassador Hania proceeds to show the engineer the correct spelling in the dictionary that she brought with her for some reason.
"that..that doesn't-"
"doesn't make any since" The feline smirked, much to the displeasure of the jellyfish ambassador
"That's ONE thing. That still do-"
"What's your earth natural satellite called?"
"the satellite? You mean the moon?"
"So humans named their moon, the moon, but the other moons on Saturn has their own little names. But yours is THE MOON."
"TALK TO THE ANCIENT PAST HUMANS! THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!"
"How about the ship that carried you here?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"say it."
"...UNSC WWMI"
"Spell the acronym."
"...UNSC Wait Where AM I"
"..."
"..."
"We have like....a 4 books about the names humans gave to things."
"YEA YEA I GET IT!" He shouted again, decided to get up from his seat and was about to leave the council chambers.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"I'm not staying here if you all aren't going to use the name i picked for it, so what's the point? I have more important stuff to do than to name some fucking rock floating in space..."
everyone watched as the human slowly walks away. Looking like he was just told his family was dead and- wait. IS HE CRYING!
"Are you crying?"
"NO!"
"..."
"....You're crying..."
"...(sighs in alien)....wait...ok look....what's the name you were thinking of?"
"You can't be serious?!" The feline interjected.
"Listen to it first, than you can search if it has some stupid reference or meaning of something "human". After that we vote. Ok? Ok!" The jellyfish replied back the her fellow ambassador.
"Soooooo, what's the name?" Hania asked Thomas while they left the council chamber together.
"I'm very lucky that kitty over there" He points at the feline glaring at him, knowing he faked his tears and got to name the newly discovered comet. "Can't find shit when it comes to great names!" He said proudly.
"....what's the name?"
"OOOOOOOHHHH You'll like it. I'll give you a hint, it's your favourite franchise!"
"Oh? A reference I see? Let me think..."
"..."
"..."
"...NO!"
"YES!"
"NO WAY!"
"YES WAY! Don't you think that comet looks a lot like that one from-"
"YOU NAMED IT THE ''Sozin's Comet''!!!"

As a three something years old Notion user I feel the need to share my thoughts on Notion's recent decisions and targets. The reason I am writing these down is to understand if there is someone else who shares my thoughts. The main idea of this topic, in short, is: I don't like Notion to turn into a B2B app rather than a B2C app as it was in the first place as a common user.
Let me explain; as a non-technical guy who uses these kind of apps for both personal and small business needs, I remember in the old days how Youtube content creators would promote Notion as a complex note taking app. They would compare it with other note taking apps like Google Keep, Roam, Obsidian, Apple Notes etc. It was always about unique users; how one person could use it as a note taking and productivity tool and as a simple database app etc.
But then something changed along the way and Notion management started pushing new features which are commonly used by big teams and corporations; like (Teamspace developments, Slack, Zapier integrations; Cron purchase etc. Even pricing schemes are based on user count) And while doing these, they have willingly ignored basic requests like Google Calendar integration, offline support or 2FA for everyday users like me.
Look, I did not come to Notion for this in the first place. Don't get me wrong; of course, it is Notion's decision where will this ship head to; if they want to make money on selling a product to companies, fine; I get it; there is more money there. But I got on this ship thinking it was going somewhere else. At some point if the captain of the ship would change the course without telling me and decided ignoring my requests for a better personal use, then I will have to abandon this ship in the near future, sorry.
(And this is not a danger only for me; I can see that well known Notion promoters like Marie Poulin, Thomas Frank, Red Gregory will have to leave this app in the near future because this app is converting something into a big, complex programming language where it will only be used in the future by professional coders like Phyton, Pearl, Ruby etc. It's not a toy of the man on the street any more. To iterate again, I am a non technical guy and started using this app due to it's simplicity yet complexity in a level I can understand and implement; that level gone up to far now; I can't even follow new features regularly let alone I learn and implement them for my personal needs.)
To end my thoughts, in my eyes, Notion is the new big devil company for me; as a simple and long term user guy, I am not their main goal anymore; they are not trying to satisfy my personal needs since I am not a big company to pay them well on an enterprise plan; so I understand my number one personal requests like Google Calendar integration, offline support or 2FA may never come to this platform. And I am not even talking about the general slowness of the app which is getting worse after the implementation of AI and charging AI separately other than user's paid plan :))))
I am relived now to have said this all; I will look for alternatives; these are my personal thoughts anyway.

I just saw Thomas Davis suggest on NFL total access that the Panthers moved up to 1 to draft a "very surprising pick." Obviousky he doesn't speak for the team but for arguments sake, anyone other than Stroud or Young at 1 would be a surprise. Assuming the Texans then take Young or Stroud at 2, one of them will be there at 3. I highly doubt the Cardinals are interested in a QB at 3 so I think he'd for sure be open to trading back.
Personally I wouldn't want to trade up for Bryce. He could be very good but his size is a huge concern. He's smaller that Wilson or Murray and way more slim too. I just don't see him being able to absorb those nfl hits for long.
Stroud I would be happy to trade up for. Obviously it depends on the price but I'd be ok with giving up a pretty big haul for him. I think he's the best qb prospect in this draft. He can make all the throws, he has good pocket presence, and he has good size. His biggest knock is that he's not as mobile as the other guys. I'm fine with that.

Howdy Weirdos,
It's Wednesday once more, and if you don't know what the means, I'll let you in on a little secret: another thread of Casual Discussion!
This is our weekly thread dedicated to discussing whatever we want to outside the realm of Thomas Pynchon and tangentially-related subjects.
Every week, you're free to utilize this thread the way you might an "unpopular opinions" or "ask reddit"-type forum. Talk about whatever you like.
Feel free to share anything you want (within the ThomasPynchon rules and Reddit TOS) with us, every Wednesday.
Happy Reading and Chatting,
- ThomasPynchon Moderator Team

This past Saturday I had been working on my soon to be new home, and after a long day of labor I got home and immediately collapsed and went to bed. I live right outside of Wilmington Delaware, in a condo complex with a C- in crime score. Not particularly bad, not too good either. A convenient location right off the highway to get to the majority of east coast cities.
Sunday morning I woke up, took a shower, and then gunned for the door to go back to work on the house. I gave my wife and daughter a kiss goodbye, grabbed my phone, keys and wallet, and leave. As I’m approaching my car in the parking area I notice my door is slightly open… not a great sign. I opened the door and noticed my glove box and center console have been completely ransacked. Paperwork I had just gotten two days prior now laid dormant on the floor of the driver and passenger seat. I had also forgotten my day bag in the back seat.
It happened, my car had been robbed. Typically I’m great about locking my car door, Saturday night though, I suppose I missed a critical step in ensuring the safety of the contents of my car.
This is an important time in my life right now, I’m in the middle of a house purchase, work is going crazy, and my second kid will be here in two months. I brushed it off, told my wife what happened, and drove to the house I’m working on. During my drive I gave the Non-Emergency line a call. The gentlemen who answered was very kind.
He collected important information and asked for my location. I let him know that I was on the road and that it would be a few hours before I returned home. He asked that I gave the non-emergency line a call back when I’m home so they could send an officer out. Ugh. Now, in my life I haven’t had the best experience with police. Nothing directly involving me, but lots of second hand interaction and stories from family, so I was naturally inclined to assume the local police wouldn’t be useful. Admittedly, I wrote the entire situation as a loss, I felt hopeless.
Over the next few hours I took mental inventory of what was missing. Originally I had only thought that change and a Bluetooth speaker were missing, some of which was in my center console and others in the bag that was in my back seat. I began to fully remember what I had lost: An Android cellphone, an Apple iPhone, Bluetooth Speaker, home purchase paperwork, $10 in cash, and a few other things.
At this point I was mostly nervous about the iPhone, as it was a backup iPhone 12 I got some time ago which had all my Apple Wallet cards on it. Once I realized I logged into Find my IPhone and activated lost mode on the iPhone. I figured the best case scenario would be to ensure my data was protected. The evening settles in, I’ve accepted defeat, and head to bed.
This morning I clock on for work, and as I’m sitting in a work meeting I get a pestering notification on my phone. Lost iPhone has been turned on. I immediately open Find My iPhone to see the device had checked in, but then immediately was turned off. I was frustrated… not only did this person steal my property, they rubbed it in by trying to further use the device they stole.
Only for a moment however I was frustrated. I further read the information on my phone screen and a smile went from ear to ear. That minute or two the phone was turned on was long enough for the iPhone to pick up an address.
I was motivated at this point. I didn’t know what would happen, but I figured hey, what the hell, let’s give the non-emergency line a ring again. I called in, gave them a recap. They collected my information and let me know I should hear back soon. At this point I half expected the officer to tell me too much time had passed for anything to be done… but boy was I totally wrong.
Officer Thomas gave me a call and let me know that he was outside of my condo. He asked for a recap of the situation, what was taken, and if I had any additional information. I shared the Find my IPhone information. Officer Thomas had another officer come along to swab for DNA and collect finger prints off of my car - I was stunlocked! He then let me know that he was filing a warrant for the address listed on my Find my iPhone. I’m not sure what I thought would happen, but given what I was always taught, and believed, I thought I would have eaten dust.
After about an hour or two Officer Thomas and the officer taking DNA and finger prints finished up with me. I made more assumptions… I’m sure nothing will come of it, this is probably the last I’ll hear of it. Officer Thomas then proceed to send me several texts over the next few hours, he wants pictures of the Bluetooth Speaker, Pictures of my Bag, Cell Phone Serial Number, and various credible bits of information.
I scour my iPhone photos going years back finding the best pictures I possibly could for the items stolen. I sent some blurry and dark photos that I had taken, and then also some screenshots from Walmart and Amazon listings for the original items.
Again, I made assumption. I assumed he was just doing his typical paper work for his reports. Mind you, hours earlier I had also filed with my insurance regarding the situation, so at the minimum I was happy to have a police report for my claim.
A few hours pass and I get a missed call from Officer Thomas… I was playing video games and had my headphones up pretty loud. He took the time to text me however and let me know that they had recovered a phone, but it was smashed, and asked if I could send over the devices IMEI.
I sent the information, this time assuming that if they did actually goto the persons house there would be no way they were silly enough to leave a stolen phone right there.
A few hours later go by again, I received a call, and a third officer lets me know that he’s outside and that he’d like me to come out. I step outside and he lets me know that he believe he has my property. Officer Thomas was working overtime to get everything settled today so this officer was stepping in to help get everything tied up so he could go home. I was shocked. Jaw on the ground floored.
The iPhone was taken for evidence. I’m guessing the thief immediately smashed the iPhone once they realized it was out in lost mode. I got everything else back besides the few dollars of cash I had in the glove box.
The entire time I made assumptions against the police. Assumed they wouldn’t help, or weren’t able to. I was wrong every step of the way. Not only did New Castle Police impress me, but Officer Thomas was a godsend.
I cannot say how immensely shocked I am even now. I’m not sure what happened with the person who stole my items and broke into my car. I’d assume it’s more then a ticket, but I’ll have to find out next time I speak with Officer Thomas.
I just wanted to share my story. It may be benign to some, but it was a truly eye opening experience for me. These guys showed me they care about their jobs and their community.

Don Gibson Singer Songwriter Symposium - April 1, 2023. Deadline for entries, March 27,2023. Go to http://dongibsonsingersongwriter.com for more information, or call 704-487-8114.
The Don Gibson Singer Songwriter Symposium…
encourages the development of singer-songwriters and honors the Shelby native who was a member of the Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame, the Grand Ole Opry, and the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The Don Gibson American Music Foundation and the City of Shelby are proud to present the Don Gibson Singer Songwriter Symposium on the 1st Weekend in April.
Three Finalists will be chosen: First Place – $1,000 Second Place – $400 Third Place – $200
If you are a songwriter, you won’t want to miss this chance to enter your song and be the next Don Gibson Singer Songwriter Award winner!
The deadline for entry is seven days before the competition!

We've lost my toddlers big black train with magnetic interchangeable pieces. Not the little black train, it's right here and he calls it Gordon. No, not the blue brio train Thomas. No, not the bigger battery operated Thomas. Not the little tiny Thomas either. They're all here and safe but the Other Thomas hasn't been seen since Saturday. We're very sure it hasn't left the house, but we did just dump out the garbage and recycling bins to confirm. He's been crying for it for two days. We've told him Thomas is on a world-wide adventure, but how long can a worldwide adventure last - 3, maybe 4 days?!
Where in the hell is this train?! If you were my toddler (who once hid his dad's bike light in my boot), where would you put Thomas?