If you are experiencing an infestation of any kind in your home or business, NEVER EVER call Terminix. I work with various contractors in the commercial and residential construction industry around the country and I have never had a worse experience than what I had with Terminix.

I called them out to my home because I had mice running around and needed help getting rid of them. I signed up with Terminix for roughly $1300 to take care of everything. After signing up, I never heard from them again. After a few months I called and cancelled but they were telling me I still owed the total amount. I have called them multiple times and every time they don’t give me a straight answer. I get automated calls everyday saying my account is past due. On top of that, the inspector lied about seeing evidence of mice in an area in the basement that upon later inspection, was clean and clear. They are scammers and have given me the biggest headache out of every company I’ve ever dealt with.

My advice would be to look to local pest control contractors because they will provide the best service.

Just wanted to post here to warn other fellow shoppers. The website is very cute and has so much cute dresses but i ordered one and the quality is so bad and the fabric is disappointing. There are raw edges unraveling. The return policy sucks as well.

The titanium pulls everything together, but Galaxy AI's tricks are mostly helpful in small doses.

The massive Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra doesn't disappoint. But there's nothing here that's screaming, "Upgrade now! Do it!"

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is big, beautiful, and a heck-of-a-lot-of smartphone. It is the best of everything Android can do, as it can do more than the Google Pixel 8 Pro—it has a built-in stylus. But the real kicker of this year’s Ultra release is its titanium finish, which pulls together the whole look of its “ultimate” aesthetic.

No smartphone is perfect, of course, and after a little over a week with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, I am starting to get irked by some of the Ultra’s quirks. For one, it’s still a ginormous smartphone—though, to be fair, it descended from the same model that brought you the “phablet.” Still, it will overpower people with my sized hands. The full titanium backing also gets a little warm on long streaming sessions, which might explain why Apple didn’t go full titanium for the iPhone 15 Pro.

It’s also about $100 more this generation, starting at $1,300 for the 256GB storage version. The good news is that there have been some improvements to this year’s Ultra. But besides the titanium, which we’re all still dubious about its overall durability, the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s best new features are primarily within the software realm. You don’t need Samsung’s latest and greatest hardware to access that.

Galaxy S24 Ultra Features It’s titanium, baby!

I’m digging the titanium aesthetic that’s taking over premium smartphones. Apple started the trend with the iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max, and now Samsung is carrying the torch for the Android-wielders of the world. As a result, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is most certainly in a class of its own. It has its own unique colorways, like Titanium Violet and Yellow. Samsung offered Titanium Gray to Gizmodo for review. The only parts of the Ultra’s frame that aren’t titanium are the volume rocker and power button.

As I mentioned, the Galaxy S24 Ultra can get warm if you stream an app like YouTube TV. At one point, I clocked about a 20-degree difference between the top and bottom of the device, though it was fine while watching apps like Pluto TV and Frndly TV. I’ve contacted Samsung to ask why that app might have been causing the heat disparity and will report when I hear back. I’ve also called in some cases to see if it exacerbates the toastiness.

There isn’t much difference in heft or weight distribution from last year’s Galaxy S23 Ultra—at least nothing discernably so. If you’re not used to this much slab of a smartphone on you at all times, it will be a lifestyle change. Compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Google Pixel 8 Pro, it’s about an ounce more dense in weight. The Ultra is the biggest smartphone you can get without bringing home a tablet.

Galaxy S24 Ultra Specs Ultra performance

Every new flagship includes enhanced specifications, especially at this price range. This year, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, which will power most of the year’s top-tier Android phones. You can only buy the Ultra with 12 GB of RAM, which is how much memory every high-performance smartphone should have—especially those pushing AI capabilities like Samsung with Galaxy AI. I’m glad Samsung finally ditched the 8GB “entry-level” Ultra because it didn’t make sense to offer the ultimate smartphone with a minimum helping of RAM. In our casual benchmark tests, the Galaxy S24 performed well, on par with the OnePlus 12, which also hails a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and 16GB of RAM.

With this year’s release, Samsung also boasts improved ray tracing, though less than a handful of mobile games are currently taking advantage of the spec. It’s great for Samsung’s marketing materials, but you don’t get an apples-to-apples experience with ray tracing on the smartphone as you would on a full-fledged PC. If you like the handheld experience, at the very least, reflections and shadows will appear detailed in games like Diablo Immortal.

Galaxy S24 Battery

The battery capabilities on the Galaxy S24 Ultra seem as reliable as last year’s release, which had the same size 5,000 mAh battery. I will update this section with concrete numbers on how the Galaxy S24 Ultra performs against the iPhone 15 Pro Max, OnePlus 12, and Pixel 8 Pro in Gizmodo’s internal battery benchmark tests.

Galaxy S24 Ultra Camera Further and sharper

Samsung switched up the camera sensors on this year’s Galaxy S24 Ultra, but only in the telephoto department. The S24 Ultra starts with a similar 200-MP primary camera as the last two generations, with a maximum aperture of f/1.7, which aids in those late-night shots. A higher resolution sensor in the S24 Ultra replaces the 10-MP telephoto camera in the S23 Ultra. It’s now a 50-MP sensor with up to 5x optical telephoto zoom, versus the lower resolution 10x optical capabilities offered before. Photos definitely seem sharper from far away, but the most significant benefit appears to be that I don’t need to have some smartphone stabilization method on me when I want to take a photo of the boats on my daily mental health walks.

Galaxy S24 Ultra Galaxy AI What’s with all the AI tricks?

If I learned anything at CES, it was that AI has been weaponized for mass marketing. I was half expecting that to happen with Samsung’s Galaxy AI. But while it’s mostly Google’s large language models running underneath the polished One UI veneer of features like Circle to Search, Galaxy AI proves it will be a worthy tool to have on hand. The only bummer is that you’ll have to pay for some of the features after 2025.

Circle to Search is one of the best new features for Android in a long time. If you’re a person who frequently collects little pieces of the internet, the feature is going to become a part of your everyday routine. I use Circle to Search to save links, clip places to eat from TikTok, and scour eBay for Polly Pockets I encounter on Instagram Reels. Circle to Search is the Google Lens feature for the current AI generation. But that additional bit of usability and the fact that you can scroll up to jump into Google Search immediately makes the whole Google-lives-in-Android experience feel entirely native. This isn’t an exclusive Samsung feature, however. Pixel users will also get the ability in the coming weeks. How nice for Samsung to be the manufacturer to debut it all.

Not sure if this is the right spot, but I needed to vent, and now I need to post about it. American First Finance has a fun habit of charging extreme interest rates, to anybody who must use their service. They asked me for a review of how they're doing. My reply was written, as follows:

"170 percent interest - BECAUSE YOU CAN and BECAUSE WE MUST. How dare you ask for my input, after I am being forced to be assaulted, again...except that it's legal? You're also pulling my money out, before it even gets there, so I get jacked by your boardroom's lust for cash, and by my bank board's tag, on top of that. Having COVID twice, then being forced to pay 170...PERCENT...INTEREST is almost as fun as trying to figure out how I'm going to ever get out of debt. But I'm glad that you all are doing well, in your diligent search for reviews. Here is something that you should all consider. People who NEED your service because they can't afford it aren't the people with money, who should be charged interest. People who WANT your service because they're greedy fucks, would be so much easier to bleed dry, financially speaking. Wouldn't that make more sense, or do you think that I'm just a little mad because I'm constantly being railroaded by capitalism, at it's finest? "

"Miller’s Girl" dives into a complex teacher-student relationship, stirring up a bunch of questions about what's cool and what's crossing the line. It's hard to pin down whether the vibes between them are okay or not, and the movie doesn't really take a clear stance either. It's like the script's playing it too safe, trying to give both characters their due without really committing to a solid point. It's got some interesting ideas, but they kind of just hang there without much development. It's like the movie's got a lot of potential but doesn't totally know what it wants to be.

The story centers on Cairo Sweet, played by Jenna Ortega. She's this rich, independent 18-year-old living alone in her upscale Southern home. Cairo's got her stuff together - she's sharp, ambitious, and the script hints she's a pretty talented writer too. She steps into her senior year of high school and right away catches the eye of her English teacher, Jonathon Miller, played by Martin Freeman. Jon's backstory is kind of sad - he's a writer who never really made it big and is stuck in a loveless marriage. His wife, Beatrice, is this high-powered but distant figure, always busy and not really tuned into what's happening around her. Jon's drawn to Cairo pretty much from the get-go, and they end up in this mentor-mentee relationship that seems to fill a void for both of them.

This movie feels like it was written after taking away the wrong things from the #MeToo movement and then written for the CW crowd. I don’t think we need more media exploring that sometimes women might wrongfully accuse men for their own gains. However, if the film had stuck the landing, or committed to taking a stand, I could at least respect it. Instead, we get a muddled mess that refuses to choose a side.

TL; DR; : Wife of 19 years wants an “open marriage” and reveals she never had a physical attraction to me.

My wife and I, M/45 and F/45, have been married for 19 years. Our marriage has been unique to be sure but has always been built on what I thought was love and respect. A couple of days ago my wife admitted to me that has never found me particularly attractive physically and wants an “open marriage” while still being married. She admitted that she has been emotionally attached to several men, though nothing physical has ever happened. Being devastated is under statement. I have always put my wife first and have never pined or chased after anyone else. I am torn. I find the thought of being a “cuckhold” very galling and having the love of my life say she was never physically attracted to me to be life shattering. On the flip side at least I don’t come home to an empty house and I do have some form of companionship, even if it is superficial. I don’t want to go back to the dating pool mess. I don’t know what to do. Do I become a dutiful cuckhold and “rich roommate” or do I get divorced and we go our separate ways amicably? don’t know if I have the strength for a divorce, I have no emotional support where I live. This is a boiled down post of a very complicated relationship but things are coming to head where I am being forced to make a decision. Any thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

I ‘24F’ found my fiancés ‘26M’ Snapchat and NSFW Reddit accounts. They’re accounts I didn’t know existed. When I confronted him, he brushed it off and said it was just for porn. But he’s messaging other girls and asking for naked pictures.

For reference, we’ve known each other for 7 years and have been engaged for 2 years.

What do you think?

My (30M) boyfriend (30M) of 2 years is a self-proclaimed social butterfly and he truly is one of the most extroverted people I know. He’s very outgoing, funny, and loves being around people. Listening to this man try and participate in group conversations makes me want to scream. He has to follow-up every comment someone makes with mini-stories that revolve around him. It’s not just that, but he throws in little details to every story that are completely irrelevant, all while talking a million miles a minute. I can see people’s eyes glazing over and can taste their lack of interest by the quick chuckles and no follow-up questions. It truly embarrasses me.

Last night we were at a friend’s house for a low-key birthday party with charcuterie and some drinks. There were about 6 of us (myself and him included) sitting around the dining room table for most of the evening talking. We weren’t talking about anything serious or heavy – just about our weeks, recent vacations, things we had bought at TJ Max lol etc. My friend who was hosting pointed out this little end table he had bought last week. As soon as my boyfriend sensed a pause, he jutted in, “It reminds me of a table my Uncle Bill had at his house… well it was actually his ex-wife’s house… and I think her mom used to live there before she died of lung cancer… but his table had different legs on it and I don’t think it had a drawer”…. And everyone’s just like ….ok…… Just little things like that ALL EVENING. He has no brevity when he talks. He can’t just make a comment. He could’ve said “Oh my uncle used to have a table like that!” and that would have fit so much more naturally in the flow of the conversation.

Another example – one of our friends was talking about how she’s had to take her dog to the vet a lot recently because she was sick, didn’t get better, ended up getting labs, follow up appts etc. It was a conversation with the whole table – people asking questions as she was talking like “oh what were her symptoms?”, “was she vomiting at night or in the day time too?”, “what were they concerned for?” etc etc etc. My friend kind of ended the topic with saying how she’s glad her dog is better now and that all the vet visits were worth it to make sure it wasn’t something sinister. My boyfriend follows up with “my dogs hate going to the vet – I usually have to give them trazodone beforehand. One week when I was going on a work trip, aqua_shadow watched them and I think gave them gave them trazodone while he was gone to work so they wouldn’t be anxious and I think they like it too much now hahah” again…. Everyone’s like …. Ok…. And the rest of us just keep having A NORMAL CONVERSATION BECAUSE WE KNOW HOW TO DO SO.

How do I approach this? I’m legit starting to get embarrassed to bring him around people. He can’t make a brief statement of agreement, brief comment, brief anything. And he never asks any questions without the intent of following up with his story. I’m exhausted and embarrassed and need to know how to handle this. I think it will really hurt his feelings and deflate him.

It might sound a bit outlandish but yes you heard that correct. I have exams in 8 months that i really need to buckle down for, however my girlfriend is not helping. Ive shown this concern many times as im busy 5 days of the week and i need to at least start revision very very soon, if not right now. she is not nearly as busy as i am and shes beginning to distract me from my work and expects me to drop everything for her. I asked my mother about this and she said that my career is what keeps me stable and alive and therefore if im being severely held back then i should end things. i want to stay together with her because she makes me really happy but she needs to understand that i have to study but she keeps just coming over or spam messaging me, demanding attention and therefore i get literally nothing done. i take my studies and my career very seriously and its starting to jeopardise both. how would i go about bringing this up with her?

My friend goes through one scumbag boyfriend after another, she has horrible luck with guys. The last few months she hasnt dated anyone, which is odd for her, she hates being alone. My husband is a wonderful man, you couldnt ask for anyone better. She knows how happy he makes me and how awesome he it. I think maybe she's developed feelings for him, after all the crap she's dated I can see why she'd fall for someone she knows is a nice guy. I dont think she would ever try to "take" him or anything like that, it's just a little unsettling.

Lately whenever she wants to come over she's been asking me if my husband is working, what time he gets off, stuff like that and she only ends up coming over if he is here or going to be here soon. That's a new thing, she's never cared before if he was here or not. She also seems to be trying to get him alone (I admit this could just be my head messing with me), asking me to go out and get random stuff or asking him to drive her somewhere when normally she'd ask me. She's also been dressing up when she comes over. I'm used to seeing her in sweats and a T shirt but the last few months every time she comes over she's dressed like she's going on a hot date.

You guys think this could just be in my head or is it something I should worry about?

Sorry for any typos or grammar mistakes, I've been drinking.

Edit: oh and about a year ago we were all drunk and had a threesome.

"The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth"

“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.”

"An evil man will burn his own nation to the ground to rule over the ashes."

"Man is the most insane species. He worships an invisible God and destroys a visible Nature. Unaware that this Nature he's destroying is this God he's worshiping."

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile but is morally treasonable to the American public.”