Greetings, America. Damn happy to be here.

Chaz Stevens with you this AM, a Florida-based First Amendment stress tester, professional thorn in the side of those in charge, which is like a crash-test dummy except I volunteer. You might know some of my work: the Beer Can Festivus pole, applying Florida's book-ban law to the Bible, and helping send three electeds to jail. (Not at once, though all were in the clown car.)

As I like to say, and often do, I'm not a lawyer and don't give legal advice, but I file damn good paperwork that packs a bite.

The new White House Press Secretary, Kate Sharon Zacharia (Katie to you), has a Pepperdine law degree. Great, Katie, you have a JD! I have a Costco card, and they still won't let me do surgery. A degree says you went to law school. A license says you're allowed to practice, and that's the part nobody can find.

CNN looked. Popular Information searched all 50 states. I searched The Florida Bar's directory five different ways and checked under the couch cushions. Nothing. When someone asked where she passed the bar, she said, and I am not making this up, "When I moved to China."

Jyy-na, Katie. Your orange-tinged, bloviating boss would want you to say it right.

Adding to the problem, she told a podcast she's a lawyer, Fox introduced her as "Attorney Katie Zacharia," and on WABC radio she said, "I'm a lawyer." Her X bio put "Lawyer" right next to her title at Trump Media, a Florida corporation based in Sarasota. Florida takes this stuff more seriously than you'd think. I've seen it firsthand, and more about that in 15 seconds.

In California, that's a possible misdemeanor. In Florida, under Statute 454.23, it may be a third-degree felony. ("Third-Degree Felony" would also be a good name for a Black Flag cover band.)

So, as I'm apt to do, I filed complaints with the Florida and California Bars.

Now, for those wondering, "Who's this Chudley fellow, and what does he know about UPL?"

This isn't my first trip to the Bar's Tampa UPL office. Last year I filed six complaints there, and all six were accepted, investigated, and are currently in front of the local UPL committee. I should probably get a punch card. I also work with licensed counsel, who are real lawyers and can prove it; we know UPL.

The Bar makes the call. I just hand them the record.

For the record, I'm not a lawyer, and nothing here is legal advice. If you need one, call a licensed attorney (who, if you've read this far, probably isn't Kate Sharon Zacharia).

I’ll be starting around 11AM EST, for about two hours. Ask me about the complaints, how UPL works, how to file one, the Bible ban, the Festivus pole, or anything else.

Proof: [LINK]

Hi. I am 18, my future wife, we’ll call her Sam, is 19.

We both come from extremely religious immigrant families, to the point that it could be both life dangerous or financially difficult to be autonomous. I am not interested in marriage or romance in that matter, i find the concept of it suffocating and call myself ‘aromantic’. Sam, doesn’t like men. Her parents would absolutely disown her if they find out.

We met through uni, and we so coincidentally happened to have a similar situation and background, alongside clicking immediately as friends. We are both aware there are better options out there, but to us, a marriage means nothing anyway and having a partner for the future is comforting. We eventually want to divorce if necessary, but that is after have become fully autonomous.

We are dead set on the plan and have introduced each other to our parents (which in my culture, is really risky). Now when that will exactly happen is unsure, but we are figuring it out.

I left out a lot of boring practical details and the wish is still a draft, but I really, really want to pursue it. AMA

I meant lavender marriage… whoops can’t change the title

I was something you might call a "child prodigy" - went to a gifted elementary school, was still limited academically so was pulled out to homeschool, did dual enrollment 15 credit hours/semester for a couple years, got a full scholarship through Grad school for Business Analytics at UNCC. I then became rapidly disillusioned with my life, dropped out, and from 16 onward have been working random entry level jobs living paycheck to paycheck.

Most of my free time is spent playing strategy games and self-reflecting. I am obsessed with metacognition, and for better or for worse have effectively been a hermit for the past 8 years quietly building out my understanding of my mind and untangling the emotional and intellectual "spaghetti code" that I was left with after living a very lonely and completely outlandish life. I like to think I'm in something of a springboard position - I'm very competent in a wide variety of domains but due to the isolation hole I've dug myself into there's no telling when I'll be able to break through and germinate. I've run face first into many of the glaring societal issues that have destroyed community for a lot of people. I've been very resentful of these issues for much of my life, but I like to think I've moved past this and try my best to maintain a dispassionate outlook on my condition. I don't know that there's much to do other than bide my time and keep quietly searching for a path out.

When I was 13 I lost my mom and best friend to cancer. My much older siblings moved out instantly, both of them because they couldn’t bare being in the house anymore. My dad who was already pretty dependent on alcohol, went all out.

My house was a wreckage , constant dealing, fights, random men creeping around outside my bedroom while I tried to sleep. It was actually more of a blessing when my dad finally moved out with his new woman once I turned 14. Since then I’d lived alone just providing for myself (and of course the sweetest cat in the world, the best gift my mom gave me was adopting her before she passed away).

I did it all on my own balancing my education, meals (that were usually just toast and butter almost every night and occasionally in the morning), creating fake contact emails supposedly for my dad when the moment called for parental consent. If they needed a phone call , I just had to forget about it. I was working three jobs from the age of 15 and still desperate and passionate to chase my dream of going to London and pursuing drama. It was worth it, because now after all that work I’m making the move!

Since it’s just about the end of this awful situation, AMA about the experience:).

My therapist has referred to my experience multiple times as torture. I'm american and my parents had me trapped in their home by never allowing me to drive and controlling my finances amongst other things. I was homeschooled k-12 (all years of school) and my parents are extremely right wing. We were deeply entrenched in the evangelical community despite being jewish ourselves. I am the family scapegoat and my siblings were not treated this way. The actual abuse is very difficult to describe because of how psychological it was, but I'll do my best! I've emigrated twice since leaving the us. Im disabled and have cptsd amongst other issues. Ask away! My only boundary is to please not question whether the abuse was real 🩷

I don’t really remember my mother voice’s
I think I could make a realistic exaplanation on how this occured, when and who was involved/ witnessed it but not the exact aftermath in terms of weeks.

with this being said, don’t be afraid to ask ANYTHING, i’ll be replying happily!

What the title says. I've been through a lot in my 22 years. I just figured it would be interesting to share my odd situation with others, and maybe shed some light on the horror of nursing homes, invisible issues, being sick while you're young, etc.

thank you so much for everyone asking and being so kind to me, I'm honestly amazed that people are that interested lol.

if I don't answer, it's probably because I already answered the same question. that, or I fell asleep and will answer after I wake up.

I wanted to say, yes I'm obese, but I'm on ozempic and currently being starved so I'm losing a shit ton of weight fast because everyone keeps asking lol. I use a wheelchair/walker and I don't need a hoyer.

I do have mental health issues and they prevent me from getting into better nursing homes that focus on things I need, and the mental care facilities arent equipped for my medical and or weight needs. I just tried to switch homes and got declined again.

I did have cancer, yes I got incredibly lucky to have not found it for 8 years and still be alive. I'm aware it sounds like bs especially with the name ganglioglioma but that's the fact. it was like the lowest grade of cancer but trust me it fucking ruined my life.

yes I have visitors luckily, my beloved nana who is pretty much dying slowly, and my mom who is incredibly busy. they both visit me every week sometimes multiple times, and occasionally bring my dad or papa.

yes I want out. desperately.

I have an amazing fiance I met on reddit of all places. our love story is honestly adorable and fucking stupid. He lives in Quebec, luckily speaks english fluently or I couldn't communicate with my favorite sweet boy, and we try to meet whenever we have the funds although we both are broke ASF and my mother saves our asses by paying for his plane. we've been together December 2024, engaged may 2025. we won't marry for awhile, might have to after he can move here to get a green card.

yes he knows about everything and he sadly is powerless right now.

to those wanting to be friends, my dms are always open!

for more information I'm pretty sure I've answered everything in the comments, but if I see more questions I'm happy to answer.

ALSO if you're asking questions don't reply, I won't see, make your own comment please, that way I can see the unanswered :)

There were things I liked to do but as my parents refused to provide them for me, my only hobby became daydreaming. I had nothing else to do at home so I either studied or I dreamt of things I couldn't have

Hi Reddit!

Every time someone hears what I do, the first thing out of their mouth is *"so why is the McDonald's ice cream machine ALWAYS broken?"*

Short answer: **a lot of the time it isn't broken. It's cleaning itself.**

Most of these machines run a heat treatment cycle overnight. They cook the mix up to kill bacteria, then slowly bring it back down to serving temp. That can take hours, and if anything trips along the way (a sensor reading, low mix, a part not seated right), the machine locks itself out. Now a 17-year-old on the closing shift is staring at an error code nobody trained them on.

**A little about me:**

* 3 years working on commercial soft serve and frozen dessert machines (Taylor, Carpigiani, Electrofreeze, Stoelting)
* 10+ years of mechanical and electrical work before that
* Most of my day is on the phone walking shop owners through diagnosing and fixing their own machines, often stuff a service tech would charge $300 just to show up and look at

**Some things that surprise people:**

* A worn $2 o-ring can take down a $15,000 machine
* Low voltage from the building can quietly kill a compressor over months
* "Soft serve" is mostly air, and the machine has to control exactly how much

**Ask me about:**

* Why your local shop's machine is "down" right now
* What actually happens inside these things
* Horror stories, weird fails, and the dumbest fixes that saved the day
* Owners: that error code you've been fighting for weeks

Ask me anything!

She was my english second language teacher in fifth grade in 2014-2015. I have very clear memories of her and her classes and there are even still videos of me and my classmates on her website.

I’ve seen many discussions online of people having questions about her how she was with her students, so AMA :)

I am completely alone. What do I do? You can ask me what it's like, being this alone.

I have no friends. Due to a crazy childhood, I don't have much family left. Only loose ties to step-parents who most likely don't even remember me. The friends I made in high school don't even remember me, all the laughs we shared, all the things we did, all of it doesn't even pass their minds anymore. I'm sure they don't even remember my name.

I would say I'm pretty reclusive, I'm always scared of what people might think of me. I'm good at writing and I'm definitely going to publish a lot of my works when they're done, but who will even remember me in the end? What will I have accomplished if I don't have anyone to share my thoughts and work with?

People constantly tell me to get out and meet new people, but how? It isn't that easy. You can't just walk up to people anymore. I'm afraid of being called a creep or loser, like what happened in my earlier years. I have a ton of time ahead of me, I'm not even in my thirties, hell, my twenties yet.

I thought things were supposed to change after high school.

What do I do?

Cindy Crow and Joseph McMullen here. We’re hosting a 4-hour AMA on Friday, 16 October from 9:00am - 1:00 ET focused on Oil & Gas / energy industry trends for 2027–2030 and what they mean for people actually running assets and making decisions.

We’d love your questions in advance (drop them below), and we’ll also take live questions during the AMA.

Topics we can cover (pick any lane):

• LNG + upstream investment: what’s getting funded, execution constraints, where projects slip
• Reliability, maintenance, and turnarounds: what’s changing, what still breaks, what moves KPIs
• Structural cost reduction (tech/AI-enabled): what’s real vs. theater, how programs scale
• Digital modernization (OT/IT, historians/data, standardization): what actually works in brownfield environments
• Methane/emissions compliance: practical paths to credibility, measurement, audit readiness
• Operating model + workforce: skills, roles, and how decisions get made

A few ground rules: we won’t share confidential customer details, facility-sensitive info, or cyber “how-to.”

To help us answer well, please include: upstream/midstream/downstream, region (US/Canada), and your role (ops/maintenance/I&E/process/digital/exec/etc.).

Who we are (1-liners):

• Cindy Crow — O&G Industry Principal (upstream/downstream; production performance; years in the field with operators and service companies). https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindycrow11/
• Joseph McMullen — Chemical engineer; 25 years in industrial software/industrial marketing; focused on O&G/energy transition trends and what they mean for operations and leadership. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-mcmullen-deering/

Drop your questions below and we’ll use them to shape the live AMA.

Like the title says, I lost a bunch of weight completely naturally. The weight loss occurred from September 2018 -> December 2019.

I’m a 6’0” man. My highest weight was 343 pounds (≈156kg), and my lowest was 195 pounds (≈88kg). I am currently and have been sitting at 230 pounds (≈104kg) for the last few years.

This was completely natural, healthy weight loss. I took no medications. I did not go to any extremes. I tried a couple of different things, learned a lot about how our bodies work.

Ask me anything!

I am from Southern iraq and my family were part of Iraqi shia group who revolted against Saddam dictatorship which got many of my relatives killed under Saddam. my father provided intelligent support for the US forces during 2003 liberation. I think my father did the right thing and we could have been a worse North korea if Saddam stayed in power.

More than 40 million people in the United States and Canada depend on the Great Lakes for drinking water. Each glass of treated lake water is laden with tiny bits of plastic — microplastics — made of toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other diseases. Also contaminated are fish, staples of Midwestern fish fries and fish boils, and an important part of the diet of Indigenous tribes, certain immigrant populations and communities of color.

Yet this pollution isn’t regulated, and manufacturers are moving to dramatically increase the amount of plastics produced in the United States.

The Chicago Tribune is exploring the plastics dilemma with a focus on the Great Lakes, the world’s largest source of fresh surface water.

Have questions?

Michael Hawthorne, a Pulitzer-finalist investigative reporter who focuses on the environment and public health for the Chicago Tribune, led this series and will be here on Tuesday, Oct. 20 answering questions about plastic pollution.

I experienced bullying as a kid from both sides. First I was getting bullied on elementary school (between 6 and 11yo), than changed school bc the school where I was before was just 5 grades and when to different that all of my classmates. There I was bullying other kids for 2 years before I changed school again, since I got accepted for 6 year form of Highschool.
I’m not from US so my school system is a bit different.

Im 22 I was adopted illegally as a newborn. I know very little about my adoption story. As me anything about being an adoptee or my opinions on adoption related topics, my feelings about my situation or my birth.

Today, on October 15th at 11 am CST, Just Energy’s team will be live to answer your questions about Texas electricity. Ask us anything about how plans work, your rights as a customer, billing questions, EFTs, solar, door-to-door enrollment, deregulation or whatever’s been on your mind.

Produced mainly in hip hop/rap, but also worked in other genres and worlds. Dealt with record labels, managers, rappers, singers, executives, etc.

I’ve worked with some of the biggest entertainment in the world. Sold my publishing catalog recently. I’d prefer to limit specifics and details of my songs for privacy’s sake.

I’m 18 My mom is 49, and my dad is 64. My mom became a mother for the first time at 20 and had five more children after that. She met my dad when she was 18, and they got married when she was 20. I grew up in a pretty traditional household, with my dad working and my mom being a stay at home mom she still is idk if this is interesting I just have nothing to do today

Interpreting for about 11 years now.
I have worked in multiple settings. K-12, College, Warehouses, Government (Local, State & Federal). Random things like driver’s ed, election voting, and theaters. I have NOT interpreted legal/court settings.

I am certified both nationally and state-wide (multiple states).

😊

About 15 years ago I was working at a small rural bank branch when we got held up at gun point and robbed. The robber fled the scene and was not immediately caught. 4 years later I get a call that said that he was finally caught and it turns out it was a police officer at local police station that did it. He responded to a robbery at that bank about 6 months prior, saw he "easy" it was, and decided to give it a try. I regret turning down therapy at the time, so hopefully answering questions helps!

It was like one of those tarot ladies you see on social media. If you have even wondered if those ads work, yes they do. They work on crazy people like me. She was even recommended by a friend so it didn’t feel that crazy. But now I am working three jobs to pay myself back. Super embarrassing. Feel free to ask away.