This week's newsletter covers the impact of AI on education and language models. Chegg's AI learning companion, ChatGPT's success over Chegg, and OpenAI's plans for containing AI risks are discussed. Additionally, we cover the latest advancements in LLM compression and deployment, as well as the Falcon family's arrival in the Hugging Face ecosystem. Lastly, we share a unique tool that uses GPT models to suggest and consolidate Linux shell commands.

A Peek at the Week: Top News

🤖 Chegg Embraced AI. ChatGPT Ate Its Lunch Anyway (link) Chegg's AI learning companion, CheggMate, powered by GPT-4, Chegg's own algorithms, and its repository of 100 million study questions built over previous years, was no match for ChatGPT's ability to play teacher and tutor. Chegg lost half of its market value overnight and revealed stunted growth to investors.
🔍 Sail 7B: New Fine Tuned LLM Outperforms ChatGPT and Vicuna with Search (link) Researchers at MIT CSAIL and MIT Linguistics and CUHK & CPII have fine-tuned the LLaMA-7b model with a search-augmented instruction training set, outperforming ChatGPT and Vicuna with search. The model was trained on 4 NVIDIA RTX A6000 GPUs and the training takes ~24 hours.
🚀 Real-Time ML Models with Serverless AWS (link) The article explains how to deploy a real-time machine learning model using AWS Lambda and API Gateway. It covers building a Scikit-learn text classifier, creating and invoking a Lambda function, creating an API Gateway REST endpoint, and testing the endpoint with POST requests.
🧮 Activation-Aware Weight Quantization for LLM Compression Outperforms GPTQ (link) The authors propose Activation-aware Weight Quantization (AWQ), a hardware-friendly approach for LLM low-bit weight-only quantization. AWQ outperforms existing work on various language modeling, common sense QA, and domain-specific benchmarks. The method provides a turn-key solution to compress LLMs to 3/4 bits for efficient deployment.
🌍 OpenAI boss 'heartened' by talks with world leaders over will to contain AI (link) OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is encouraged by world leaders' desire to contain any risks posed by AI technology. Altman suggested the formation of a global organization that could have a framework to license models, audit their safety, and propose required tests to be passed.

Tech Treasures: Tools of the Week

📝 storly.ai - AI interview algorithm for writing your life's story (link)
🤖 Michael AI - The world's first AI investment analyst (link)
🎨 Hologram - AI-generated art platform with upcoming NFT integration (link)
📈 ClientZen - AI-powered customer feedback analysis (link)
🎥 Klap - AI tool for generating TikToks from YouTube videos (link)
Keep making sense of the world with us at Nuse. Every day, we're working hard to filter through the noise and bring you the stories that matter most in AI and Tech. If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback, we'd love to hear from you.
Stay curious and keep learning
Nuse

Hi gurus,
I’ve been wading through the minefield of shared ownership for a number of months, have viewed a few developments but just stumbled across this on the Gov site: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/capital-funding-guide/1-help-to-buy-shared-ownership
Under applicant eligibility 3.4 Income and Assets
3.4.3 ‘Access to capital’ as described above means that applicants will be expected to liquidate what capital assets they may have. Capital assets could include savings, bonds, shares, land and any other assets or investments.
I was gifted some shares by a family member who passed and was under strict instructions not to sell them. Value is about £7k. I am low income and renting at the moment and was looking at the SO as potentially getting a foot on the ladder.
Does that rule above mean I would have to sacrifice my gifted stock shares? Has anyone else gone through the shared ownership scheme without being forced to liquidate stock investments?
Thank you!

Posting in legaladviceCanada:
I am posting this to seek help for my sister, whom I will refer to as Hanna. Hanna married a man named (let's say) Mark in December 2013 when she was 22 years old. For the first two years, they lived overseas while waiting for Mark's application to be processed to move to Canada. They eventually relocated to Ontario in 2015 and had a daughter in 2019. In 2021, they purchased a house together. Unfortunately, the relationship has been consistently abusive from Mark's side right from the beginning. Hanna has always been afraid to leave or even involve the police, and there is no documented evidence of this abuse. It seems that this abuse may not have much impact on the divorce proceedings in Canada, based on our research. Mark contributes nothing to the household and doesn't help raise their daughter at all. Hanna takes care of everything—from cooking and cleaning to childcare, household maintenance and bills. She even handles tasks like mowing the lawn and changing light bulbs while working two jobs, while Mark does nothing. He has had a history of job instability, getting fired from multiple positions. Currently, he has been in a job for the past two years that pays around 30K per year. He spends most of his money on himself and contributes very little to the house money-wise. On the other hand, Hanna works in the US and teaches at college level in Canada. Although I don't now the exact income it is around 110K per year in Canadian dollars. Hanna has finally decided to proceed with a divorce, but Mark has been making her life miserable ever since. The issue is that although Hanna has a good income, she can't afford a lawyer at the moment. I am posting this to seek suggestions on how she can approach this divorce. Initially, Mark did not want custody, but now he wants shared custody. Hanna has 50K in student loans, 2/3 of which were acquired after their marriage. When they bought the house, they had to combine smaller (non-student) loans into one, totaling 70K, which includes a car loan that he uses and a maxed-out credit card in Mark's name, as well as other miscellaneous expenses. After deducting the mortgage and realtor fees, the house is expected to yield a profit of 100K. Hanna has some savings in RRSP (Canada) and 401K (US), but the amount is not substantial. Our parents help take care of the daughter when Hanna is working, and she pays them 2-2.5K monthly to assist them.
Here are the concerns I have for Hanna:
​

1. The house is currently up for sale, but I am worried that Mark may find a way to access the remaining money from the sale before Hanna can settle the outstanding loans. Is there a way to ensure the money doesn't go directly to him? Perhaps it can be transferred to a lawyer to settle the loans first, but I am unsure how this can be arranged.
   
2. Mark is asking for alimony and proposing that both incomes be split in half, which doesn't seem reasonable. Do you have any idea of what he may be entitled to?
   
3. Is there a way to ensure that he cannot take the daughter out of the country?
   
4. If Mark continues to give her a hard time and refuses to meet with a mediator, is filing for divorce through the court her only option? Will it be expensive for her?
   

If someone’s aunt’s F4 family-based immigrant petition was approved 3 years after it was filed and after a long wait, the visa bulletin reached their priority date’s Date for Filing and filed the necessary forms and completed every requirement to process her sister’s application (except the interview) while her sister’s son (a derivative of the F4 visa petition) was 22 years old at that time, will that son be eligible for CSPA if their priority date reached the Final Action Date a year later, considering that her son’s age minus the time it took for the petition to be approved is below 21 years old (19 to 20 years old) and remains unmarried?
Example hypothetical information
F4 derivative’s birthdate: January 1, 2000 F4 priority date: January 1, 2003 F4 approval date: January 1, 2006 F4 priority date becomes current in the Date For Filing Chart: January 1, 2022 F4 priority date becomes current in the Final Action Date Chart: January 1, 2023

We took over an elderly ladies lease last year because we were expecting a baby and got ourselves into a disaster. With our desperation to move we toured the place once and dubbed it perfect because it was the only place we got accepted.
for context I got evicted for having an emotional support animal that my roommate didn’t like in college housing, the told me to get rid of the dog or leave and so I left but unfortunately it counted as an eviction because I didn’t find anyone to take over the lease before I left. I ended up having to pay a years worth of rent and some legal fees so my account is in good standing but nobody seems to care. This unfortunately has ruined my life and no matter how much money we have for a deposit or how good our credit score is I get denied from everything. Not to mention we have my husbands dog who is a bully breed and many apartments have breed restrictions.
When we toured it the lady was in the middle of moving so there were boxes and stuff everywhere, when we moved in it revealed the horrible floors. We paid someone out of pocket to come clean them and he said the floor beneath the carpet was so damaged he almost didn’t want to do it. Not that it did much anyway because the smell of pet pee (this lady had four dogs and 2 cats) never left the carpet. The bathroom was filled with mildew, the windowsills are covered in mold. It’s a horrible place to live. We let our complex know and they said that they couldn’t do anything because technically we took over her lease and they don’t refurbish a place until after the lease has ended.
Not to mention our upstairs neighbors are drunks who throw up all over the complex and have tried to get into our apartment on multiple occasions on “accident”, people who let their untrained dogs loose and stolen cars that end up in our parking lot all of which has been reported to my complex with no reprimand. It’s like living in absolute white trash hell.
Our lease is finally up in November, and I’m so excited, but my concern is that all the damage still visible on the property will be some thing that we have to take on for future applications, since technically because of the lease take over it’s “ours”. It’s 100% not fair and it’s going to continue to ruin my life.
I don’t know what to do. does anyone know how to get out of something like this? Does anyone know what I can do legally to advocate for myself? My family deserves so much better than this, and I cannot raise my son in this community.
Pictures of what it looks like when I moved in : luckily, I took evidence. It was never us that made this mess.

A bit of a back story, last week I had to take my mom to the ER because of symptoms associated with IIH. We paid our ER bill with what money we had saved, as well as part of our rent money for the month. Me and my mom can both only work part time, her because of her disability and me because I have to take care of my little sister and go to school. Neither of us could take on more hours at work so we are short on rent this month. We get a little bit of money every month from the government as well, but not enough to cover it.
Because of this I am asking for some help with rent this month. We are around 200 short on rent, and may end up being short on food as well. We are already on food stamps but our local food bank closed down.
I’d appreciate any help I can get, even if it’s only a few dollars. I’ll link my PayPal below. Thank you so much to anyone who choses to help and I am so glad there is a Reddit community to support people and families like mine.
https://www.paypal.me/OliviaZoomer?locale.x=en_CA

If someone’s aunt’s F4 family-based immigrant petition was approved 3 years after it was filed and after a long wait, the visa bulletin reached their priority date’s Date for Filing and filed the necessary forms and completed every requirement to process her sister’s application (except the interview) while her sister’s son (a derivative of the F4 visa petition) was 22 years old at that time, will that son be eligible for CSPA if their priority date reached the Final Action Date a year later, considering that her son’s age minus the time it took for the petition to be approved is below 21 years old (19 to 20 years old) and remains unmarried?
Example hypothetical information
F4 derivative’s birthdate: January 1, 2000 F4 priority date: January 1, 2003 F4 approval date: January 1, 2006 F4 priority date becomes current in the Date For Filing Chart: January 1, 2022 F4 priority date becomes current in the Final Action Date Chart: January 1, 2023

A bit of a back story, last week I had to take my mom to the ER because of symptoms associated with IIH. We paid our ER bill with what money we had saved, as well as part of our rent money for the month. Me and my mom can both only work part time, her because of her disability and me because I have to take care of my little sister and go to school. Neither of us could take on more hours at work so we are short on rent this month. We get a little bit of money every month from the government as well, but not enough to cover it.
Because of this I am asking for some help with rent this month. We are around 200 short on rent, and may end up being short on food as well. We are already on food stamps but our local food bank closed down.
I’d appreciate any help I can get, even if it’s only a few dollars. I’ll link my PayPal below. Thank you so much to anyone who choses to help and I am so glad there is a Reddit community to support people and families like mine.
https://www.paypal.me/OliviaZoomer?locale.x=en_CA

Hi socialwork!
There are many statements that explain the controversy around Reddit’s decision to significantly change their policy around Application Programming Interface (API) far more effectively than we ever could. The creator of the Apollo app (one of the most popular 3rd party reddit clients) has written a very thorough explanation of the financial implications of this change, which you can read here. Similarly, the mods of askhistorians offer a nuanced statement that illustrates how this change will dramatically alter the infrastructure that helps keep Reddit accessible.
Mods are an essential part of the internet ecosystem who have historically provided volunteer labor to help maintain healthy communities. However, unlike smaller forums, which are often unprofitable endeavors kept alive by financial support of their founders and users, Reddit is expected to make an IPO later this year. Its initial valuation is estimated at 10 billion dollars.
This valuation is entirely due to the contributions of those who moderate the content, innovators who program utilities that make the content more accessible, and, of course, the users that generate the content. Reddit offers nothing novel but the aggregation of this content. Without us, it is valueless. Reddit insists that their changes to API policy are necessary for them to be “fairly paid.” Ironic, no?
The socialwork mod team stands with the thousands of other subreddits in protest of these policy changes. Therefore, we will be participating in a blackout for 48 hours from June 12th to 14th. During this time, you will be unable to view or post any content on socialwork. We also encourage users to stand in solidarity by refraining from use of Reddit during this time. You may consider directing your concerns to Reddit administration. I have read that the most effective way to do this is to modmail Reddit.
Solidarity Forever.
Written by u/mrwindup_bird and endorsed by the socialwork mod team

Cast of Characters:
Kevin Eggs– A bumbling wannabe Hibachi chef fresh out of culinary arts school
Mr. Kritt – Restaurant Manager and owner of Moriyuki’s Grill.
Male restaurant patron
Female restaurant patron
Nick the chef – A drunken hibachi cook who gets himself fired. He eventually carries out an armed robbery to compensate for his lost earnings.
Synopsis:
A clueless and reckless culinary arts attempts hibachi cooking at his first job without much success.
Stage setting:
A kitchen/bar island counter top is positioned at center stage. Three bar stools line the front while a stove/grill top remains partially hidden behind the counter. Above the counter is a dangling Japanese paper lantern.
(Lighting illuminates the main stage area. Male and female patrons are separately seated on their respective barstools with each one positioned opposite the other at the end of each counter corner. They are partially facing the audience with their gazes focused on the main chef behind the counter. Main chef Nick is fully facing the audience and is performing his tasks poorly under a drunken stupor. Both restaurant patrons are grimacing and recoiling nervously due to his recklessness. Kevin enters stage right with a confused expression written on his face.)
(Nick is swaying left and right on his feet while clumsily waving a meat cleaver in one hand and an empty bottle in the other)
NICK
So, you two (hiccup) wanna see me make a chicken hand sandwich? (hiccup)
MALE PATRON
(Grimacing and scared) Please, no. We just wanted a vegetable stir fry and steak. Maybe coming here was a bad idea.
(Kevin tries to grab someone’s attention, but no one listens.)
KEVIN
Um excuse me?
FEMALE PATRON
(Also grimacing) You make a chicken and ham sandwich?
(Nick is aimlessly clattering his cleaver against the grill/stove top.)
NICK
Not chicken and ham, (hiccup) chicken and hand sandwich! Now put your pretty little hand on the cutting board and I’ll show ya.
FEMALE PATRON
(Shrieking) No!
(Mr. Kritt frantically enters stage left and interrupts the chaotic scene. He is shaking his fist in outrage)
MR. KRITT
(Furiously) Nick! You’ve been drinking again! How many times have I warned you that if I catch you intimidating our customers while under the influence, I would throw your drunken ass out of my establishment!
KEVIN
Um, pardon me?
(Kevin is still ignored.)
(Nick points his meat cleaver at Mr. Kritt.)
NICK
Okay dude, you need to chill.
MR. KRITT
Don’t you point that thing at me!
(Mr. Kritt pries the cleaver out of Nick’s hand by the handle and drops it on the countertop. He then points his finger directly towards the right stage exit.)
MR. KRITT
You’re fired! Get out! You’re a menace to the patrons and the establishment.
(After a pause, Mr. Kritt steps towards Nick, seizes him by the back collar of his shirt and pants and proceeds to forcibly eject him from the building. Nick is dragged to the right exit. Kevin side-steps out of their way.)
MR. KRITT
Get the hell out of my restaurant! Out! Out! Out! Out!
(Nick is shoved out the right stage exit. He is still clutching his empty bottle. Mr. Kritt turns his focus to Kevin)
MR. KRITT
What do you want?!
(Kevin stammers through Mr. Kritt’s annoyed gaze. He produces a certification paper.)
KEVIN
I…I’m sorry. My name’s Kevin Eggs and I’m looking for a job. I’m fresh out of culinary arts school and was looking for a hibachi kitchen position…these are my credentials…
(Mr. Kritt swipes the paper out of Kevin’s hand, glances over it for a second, and hands it back to him. He is much calmer at this point, but still retains a firm tone of voice.)
MR. KRITT
Congratulations, Kevin. You’re hired. Welcome to Moriyuki’s Hibachi Bar and Grill. You can start now.
(He leads Kevin back to the Island stove countertop and hands him a togue and apron.)
KEVIN
Wait. No formal interview. No questions asked? Thank you, Mister…
(Both men firmly shake hands)
MR. KRITT
…Kritt. Jay Kritt. Restaurant owner.
(Mr. Kritt shifts his attention to the petrified patrons who are perched at the edge of their barstools.)
MR. KRITT
My sincerest apologies to the both of you for what just happened. The misconduct you just witnessed does not reflect our company policy. I assure you that this will not happen again. Perhaps if you two choose to come here again, I would be most happy to offer you both a complimentary dinner on the house? I understand if you do not wish return here.
(Both patrons relax and lighten up a little. They periodically sip from their water glasses)
MALE PATRON
No, as a matter of fact, I think we’ll stick around and give our order another shot. It is, after all, complimentary.
FEMALE PATRON
And I am curious to see how this new chef will perform.
MR. KRITT
I assure you that you will not be disappointed.
(He shoots Kevin a stern glance and addresses him in a strict tone. Mr. Kritt also points his menacing index finger towards Kevin.)
MR. KRITT
One little foul-up from you, and you’re out of here! Oh, and by the way, take your shoes off. We need to keep a ‘Japanese’ feel to the atmosphere. (Note that Mr. Kritt uses air quotes to emphasize the word ‘Japanese’ in his sentence.)
KEVIN
Oh, sorry about that, sir.
(Keven bends over behind the counter to take his shoes off while Mr. Kritt exits stage left.)
KEVIN
Sooooooo, what did you two order?
FEMALE PATRON
We already placed our orders earlier. The last chef put our orders under the counter.
(Kevin bends over to look beneath the stovetop and remains invisible until he finds two pieces of paper and emerges back into view. He holds up each piece of paper and reads them aloud.)
KEVIN
Ah! One order of soy stir fry, and another order of fried flank steak with scallops. Coming right up!
(Kevin bangs his fist on the countetable surface and shouts out a command. Both patrons appear startled and tense up every time he does this)
KEVIN
Ahem! Tomato!
(An offstage hand from behind the scenes tosses Kevin a tomato. He catches it and places it on the counter, then bangs his fist again.)
KEVIN
Cucumber!
(Offstage hand tosses Kevin a cucumber which he sets down. He bangs his fist and repeats the process)
KEVIN
Onion!
(Kevin catches an onion, places it next to the other vegetables, and bangs his fist again.)
KEVIN
Meat!
(A hand tosses him a piece of steak. Kevin catches it, but almost drops it as it constantly slips and slides in his hand.)
KEVIN
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Got it! (Chuckling) Heheh! Slippery little piece of steak, ain’t ya? Don’t worry fellow customer, I successfully grabbed your meat and now I’m going to beat it for being naughty little sucker.
MALE PATRON
(Sounding disturbed) Please do not say that ever again.
(Kevin realizes his Freudian slip)
KEVIN
Ooops. That didn’t sound right.
(After setting the fillet on the counter. He pulls two spatulas out of a cupboard beneath the stove counter top. As the patrons gradually ease up from their muscle tension, Kevin begins twirling the spatulas in each hand. As he twirls each one, he loses his coordination and drops them both on the surface.)
KEVIN
(Smiling) Sorry. First day.
(Kevin takes both spatulas and uses them like percussion instruments. He uses synchronized hand movements and coordinated arm crossing gestures to bang out a tune on the hard grill surface using the kitchen utensils. He loses his groove and momentum by accidentally flipping a spatula out of his grasp and onto the ground behind him.)
KEVIN
(Grinning) My bad. Oh well, guess I’ll have to cook with just one utensil.
(Kevin wipes off the stovetop surface with a rag.)
KEVIN
So, how long have you two known each other?
MALE AND FEMALE PATRONS
(Unison) We’re not together.
KEVIN
Oh, sorry. What’s your story, then?
(Kevin looks at the man patron as he begins chopping the onion on a cutting board)
MALE PATRON
I’ve been negotiating this multi-million-dollar contract all day with some of our biggest partners from Japan. It was a tough one alright, but once you get past the language barriers and persuade those electronic geeks to start pushing their signatures on every certified document, It’s a success story. Ironically, I thought to myself, why not celebrate this victory at a Japanese themed eatery to make things a bit more apropos? The guys at the office said -
KEVIN
(In a sing-song voice) Bo-oring! What’s your story, miss?
(Kevin shifts his eyes to the female patron. The male patron shuts up and scowls at Kevin)
FEMALE PATRON
Me? Oh, well…my boyfriend broke up with me and…I loved him so much…
(Female patron starts sniffling and crying. Kevin starts sniffling and tearing up as well due to the onion fumes)
KEVIN
Yeah?
FEMALE PATRON
He told me that he would be my soulmate, forever. And then last night, he dumped me for some French slut! So here I am, eating alone again…
(Female Patron breaks out in tears. Kevin follows suit.)
FEMALE PATRON
(Emotionally Distraught) I mean, what do French girls have to offer over us American women? Looks? Wit? Charm? Non-stop steamy jungle sex? Well fuck you, Sean! Fuck you! Oh, I’m sorry cook Kevin. Did I upset you? You seem so sensitive and empathetic to my feelings right now. That’s so sweet of you.
KEVIN
(Sobbing) (*sniff. Sniff\)* No! It’s just these stupid onions!
(Female Patron drops her head in disappointment.)
FEMALE PATRON
Oh…
KEVIN
I sound like a wuss right now. I’m a badass hibachi chef, not a wuss. I’ll prove it to you guys by karate chopping this onion with my hand!
(Kevin raises his hand in flat, vertical knife motion above his head and brings his hand down hard on the cutting board.)
KEVIN
(Yells) Hiiyah!
(Kevin’s hand chop makes contact with the remaining whole onion. Instead of slicing it in half, the onion slides off of the counter and onto the floor.)
KEVIN
Dammit.
(Kevin pauses, then recomposes himself. He slides some of the freshly chopped onions onto the stove)
KEVIN
Now where were we? Oh, yes! The grill. (Cheerfully) I have an idea! Let’s get rid of these long faces and lighten things up! Nobody here should be unhappy.
MALE PATRON
I was happy until you opened you pissed on my parade.
KEVIN
It’s not stir-fry without eggs in it. They don’t call me Kevin Eggs for nothing.
(Kevin retrieves a carton of eggs from a bottom cupboard beneath the stove)
KEVIN
Since I’m sometimes a scatter brain and mess things up, my family used to call me Kevin scrambled eggs. Get it? Scrambled eggs! Ha! Ha! Ha! (laughing)
(Kevin’s laughter quickly dies down as he notices that his joke was received with cold, dead stares. Female patron utters an annoyed, soft groan.)
KEVIN
(Upbeat chuckle) Okay. Here’s a good one. When I went to Hollywood, I bumped into actor Kevin Bacon. Well, he was nice enough to give me his autograph when I asked him for one. And when I did that, my parents called us the breakfast combo. Why? Because his name’s Kevin and so is mine. Only thing is, our last names complement each other nicely. Bacon and Eggs! Arr! Arr! Arr!
MALE PATRON
(Interrupting) Just shut up and cook the damn food already.
KEVIN
Sorry.
FEMALE PATRON
Yeah, enough. When do we get to eat?
KEVIN
(Ecstatically) Hey. Watch this!
(Kevin selects an egg out of the carton. He picks up his spatula and holds it vertically above his head as if to bring it down in a chopping motion. He underhandedly tosses the egg into mid-air in front of him while attempting to split it in the fraction of a second when it remains directly suspended before his face. He does a karate chop shout during in course of action)
KEVIN
Hiyaa!
(Kevin misses the target and swings into an empty space due to poor timing. The egg plummets to the floor and breaks.)
KEVIN
Shit!
(Kevin tosses another egg into midair and repeats the process a second time.)
KEVIN
Hiyaa!
(He swings/chops at a downward angle and misses again. The egg hits the floor. Both patrons cringe at his efforts.)
KEVIN
Shit!
(Kevin tries tossing up an egg a third time, but misses his target. The egg accidentally lands on the male patron’s head. Kevin is sincerely apologetic at first, but can’t help cracking a bad joke last minute. Female Patron covers her mouth in alarm.)
KEVIN
Whoops! I’m so sorry sir! That was an egg-cident.
MALE PATRON
(Angrily) I’ve had enough bullshit for one night! I’m outa here.
(Male Patron storms off the set: exit stage right)
FEMALE PATRON
(Disdainful tone) You really suck at entertainment, don’t you?
KEVIN
C’mon, give me a little credit for trying. It’s my first day here and-
(He breaks off into a panicked exclamation as fumes rise from the vegetables on the stove.)
Oh my God! The food is burning!
(Kevin frantically drops his spatula)
KEVIN
Oh, not again!
(Kevin hurriedly scoops the few veggies on the stove into his hands and onto a plate. After doing so, he realizes that he just burned his hands. He flails the wildly while looking around the room for relief. Unbeknownst to him, Mr. Kritt furiously enters the scene and stands directly behind Kevin with his hands on his hips.)
KEVIN
Owwwww! Ow! Ow! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!
(Kevin submerges his hands into the female patron’s water glass and sighs with relief. She appears to be disgusted)
KEVIN
(sighing) Aaaaaaahhhh…
MR. KRITT
(Loud and agitated) Kevin! You blew it! I turn my back on you for just one second, and bang, I come back to a disaster. Unreliable. You’re fired! Out of here! Gone!
KEVIN
Mr. Kritt, it was just a little mishap. It’s still just my first day here.
MR. KRITT
Out!
(Points to exit)
(At that moment entering from stage right, Nick bursts onto the scene clad in a ski mask and carrying a handgun. Nick points the gun in the direction of Mr. Kritt, female patron, and Kevin. All three appear to be shocked and terrified.)
NICK
(Shouting angrily) Alright all of you! Hands up where I can see them! Get them the fuck up now!
(Everyone raises their hands into the air)
FEMALE PATRON
Oh my God!
MR. KRITT
(Weak and trembling tone) What the hell do you want? I have nothing special to offer.
NICK
Your money, dumbass! Front end register is empty. So I guess I’ll have to try the manager’s office instead.
MR. KRITT
(Moment of Realization) Wait a minute! You’re Nick! I recognize your voice now. I just fired your ass.
NICK
Yeah, that’s right. I’m comin’ back to get what’s mine. No paycheck, remember? So, I guess I gotta take what you owe me by force.
MR. KRITT
I don’t owe you nothin’! You’re a bum who doesn’t deserve a dime even if his life depended on it.
NICK
(More aggressively) Shut the fuck up and get me what I want before I blow your head open!
(Intimidated, Mr. Kritt takes a step back and responds in a shakier tone of voice)
MR. KRITT
Alright. Alright. If it’s money you want, then I’ll lead you back to the office. No hard feelings.
NICK
No, wait. I want something else first. Hey lady, kick your purse over here.
(Nick waves his gun at the female patron. She complies by gradually sliding her purse with her foot towards the direction of Nick)
NICK
Atta girl! Mr. Kritt? Your wallet please.
(Mr. Kritt fishes his wallet out of his pant pocket and nervously tosses it onto the floor)
NICK
(Sneering smile) Ah, last but not least, my replacement. You’re next.
(Kevin gives him a nervous smile)
KEVIN
Actually, I don’t have mine in my pocket. I put it in one of my shoes.
NICK
(Annoyed) Then get it! And no tricks! If I see a knife or a cleaver, you’re dead.
KEVIN
No worries. I won’t do anything.
(Kevin bends over to the point at which he is totally obscured by the entire counter island. Shuffling noises can be heard from behind the surface.)
NICK
What’s taking you so long?
KEVIN
Uh-just a minute! I’ve got it. Nope. That’s not it.
(A spatula is recklessly thrown over the counter top by Kevin, followed by a vegetable.)
NICK
(Uneasily agitated) Hey! Don’t do that! What are you, stupid? Quit it now!
KEVIN
I think I got! No. Not that shoe.
(One of Kevin’s shoes flies out from beneath the countertop and hits Nick in the face, knocking him unconscious. Nick’s eyes crisscross as he slumps to the ground. Mr. Kritt and the female patron exchange relieved facial expressions. Kevin then emerges into view triumphantly holding the other shoe.)
KEVIN
Here it is! Got it! Hey what happened?
MR. KRITT
(Grateful expression) You saved my business and my life. That’s what you did.
FEMALE PATRON
You sure as hell did. Now excuse me while I call the police before I throw up.
(Female Patron pulls out her phone and retrieves her purse before hastily exiting stage right.)
MR. KRITT
What did you have in those shoes?
KEVIN
(In a proud tone) They’re steel toe shoes, Mr. Kritt.
(Mr. Kritt grins while clasping Kevin over the shoulder.)
MR. KRITT
Ya know what, Kevin? Maybe you’re not so bad after all. Sure, you’re a klutz and your jokes stink, but I think I might have a good place for you here. In fact, I’ll give you another chance by training you myself. You’re rehired.
(Kevin returns the grin to his boss)
KEVIN
Really, Mr. Kritt?
MR. KRITT
Sure!
KEVIN
Mr. Kritt I’m never gonna let you down again. We’re gonna have some good times together!
(Kevin violently clasps Mr. Kritt over the shoulder causing him to grunt in pain. In spite of this Mr. Kritt manages to create a half sardonic half sincere grin on his face.)
MR. KRITT
(Grimacing) Yeahhhh...I’m sure we will.
(Lights fade out.)

Ive been with this company for more than ten years.
We are in the process of finding a new employee. This employee will have zero experience and will be trained on the job. We’ve had some good candidates but my boss thinks this one woman will be a good fit based on how she presented herself in the interview not on skills etc…
The catch is she is inflexible and needs to knock off at a certain time for family commitments. What that means is she needs my hours to do this. I usually start early and finish early and I feel I’ve worked my way up to achieve this “privilege“. My boss offered me a $1 dolla hour pay rise to accept this change where I’ll be finishing late and cleaning up again.
But I declined because it felt so wrong. I wasn’t willing to change how I work and live to make a new employee happy. Although I am single with no kids, I still want a life. Sometimes I think I’m single because of the sacrifices I’ve made for this role.
So many other candidates were equally good and were willing to accept the hours that we gave them. So I am left thinking why on earth would you put someone who has not worked for you on a pedestal like that. I do believe in compromise to achieve a work life balance but not at the expense of your loyal workers, surely! Just confirming with Reddit that my boss is “shit” to do that because I want to quit if this is her thought process.

I am posting this to seek help for my sister, whom I will refer to as Hanna. Hanna married a man named (let's say) Mark in December 2013 when she was 22 years old. For the first two years, they lived overseas while waiting for Mark's application to be processed to move to Canada. They eventually relocated to Ontario in 2015 and had a daughter in 2019. In 2021, they purchased a house together. Unfortunately, the relationship has been consistently abusive from Mark's side right from the beginning. Hanna has always been afraid to leave or even involve the police, and there is no documented evidence of this abuse. It seems that this abuse may not have much impact on the divorce proceedings in Canada, based on our research. Mark contributes nothing to the household and doesn't help raise their daughter at all. Hanna takes care of everything—from cooking and cleaning to childcare, household maintenance and bills. She even handles tasks like mowing the lawn and changing light bulbs while working two jobs, while Mark does nothing. He has had a history of job instability, getting fired from multiple positions. Currently, he has been in a job for the past two years that pays around 30K per year. He spends most of his money on himself and contributes very little to the house money-wise. On the other hand, Hanna works in the US and teaches at college level in Canada. Although I don't now the exact income it is around 110K per year in Canadian dollars. Hanna has finally decided to proceed with a divorce, but Mark has been making her life miserable ever since. The issue is that although Hanna has a good income, she can't afford a lawyer at the moment. I am posting this to seek suggestions on how she can approach this divorce. Initially, Mark did not want custody, but now he wants shared custody. Hanna has 50K in student loans, 2/3 of which were acquired after their marriage. When they bought the house, they had to combine smaller (non-student) loans into one, totaling 70K, which includes a car loan that he uses and a maxed-out credit card in Mark's name, as well as other miscellaneous expenses. After deducting the mortgage and realtor fees, the house is expected to yield a profit of 100K. Hanna has some savings in RRSP (Canada) and 401K (US), but the amount is not substantial. Our parents help take care of the daughter when Hanna is working, and she pays them 2-2.5K monthly to assist them.
Here are the concerns I have for Hanna:

1. The house is currently up for sale, but I am worried that Mark may find a way to access the remaining money from the sale before Hanna can settle the outstanding loans. Is there a way to ensure the money doesn't go directly to him? Perhaps it can be transferred to a lawyer to settle the loans first, but I am unsure how this can be arranged.
   
2. Mark is asking for alimony and proposing that both incomes be split in half, which doesn't seem reasonable. Do you have any idea of what he may be entitled to?
   
3. Is there a way to ensure that he cannot take the daughter out of the country?
   
4. If Mark continues to give her a hard time and refuses to meet with a mediator, is filing for divorce through the court her only option? Will it be expensive for her?
   

Parent has become disabled (including cognitively) without a will or power of attorney.
Mortgage is NOT affordable without parent working. My other parent is retired and elderly.
Several months of unpaid health insurance which could affect benefits needed to treat my disabled parent.
Several storage units of hoarding has gone unpaid (disabled parent is a hoarder)
Cars could be sold but we don't know where the titles are, they are lemons, and we don't have POA set up anyway.
My family has already paid several thousands of dollars for the situation (won't go into detail to remain anonymous, but this wasn't my disabled parents fault)
Family was already dysfunctional pre-disabling event, and communication and problem-solving has been a nightmare.
I'm frustrated that my parent could have been saving the thousands of dollars that went toward storage unit fees, and could have paid for health insurance, but I know this is a mental disorder.
As far as I know, this parent does not have savings for emergencies or retirement, so we are left to figure it out.
Are there any resources or suggestions for us?