What's a very good, cheap or free and mature program to use for small environments, a few servers mostly Windows, firewall, switches, etc. Primarily ping monitoring and Windows Events? Preferably something that can handle monitoring of different locations/subnets in one pane of glass, and pump out email (sms too?) alerts? Not looking for a Managed Engine, Solarwinds, PRTG, et al enterprise solution or price.
Something in the spirit of HD Sentinel that does a whole lot in one easy, reliable and complete program.
Yeah, I know I'm asking for cheap, fast and good! ;-)

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Visiting Big Bend National Park
This was not my first road trip in my 2021 Model Y LR AWD, but it was my first time departing from the comfort of the Supercharger network. I mostly used ABRP and PlugShare to plan, but also tested out the relatively new app-based Tesla trip planner. My MY has has its original 19" Continental ProContact RX tires (25k+ mi), front mud flaps, and the Tesla roof shade.
Lessons Learned

• Be conservative over 65 mph: Texas' I-10 is 80mph, which is unsurprisingly inefficient. What was surprising was the lack of accurate arrival State of Charge (SoC) predictions. Heading West on I-10, neither Tesla nor ABRP could accurately predict arrival SoC. Tesla estimates were typically 8-10% off traveling west, slightly less heading East. ABRP would recommend charging to say 55% - I would charge to 65% and arrive with 7% SoC. I always looked for Tesla to give me "20%" arrival SoC, before starting for my next charging stop.
  • I-10 in West Texas is also windy (hence the wind farms) which is another reason to be more conservative
  • No shame in dropping speed to 65mph (Distance = Rate * Time)
• Autopilot: I relied heavily on Autopilot for the trip and it was amazing ~98% of the time.
  • Phantom Breaking: On long, straight stretches of highway driving (mostly I-10) I experienced several instances of phantom breaking. In each case I observed a distant mirage. Not a scientific study on my part - just an observation. Be alert!
• Steep Grades and Sharp Turns: Occasionally I would receive a forward collision warning although nothing was in front of me.
• Call ahead to make sure hotels have functional destination chargers or equivalent options.
• Tesla's app-based trip planner wanted me charge up to almost 100% and then skip Superchargers for a given route. ABRP takes the cake in enabling drivers to plan more efficiently, with shorter charging stops (user interface is still a bit clunky)
• For Park driving, the Tesla Navigation to Destination feature was accurate and crucial to a successful trip (late Spring/early Summer).
  • Do spend time to learn how to Add a Stop, versus Edit a Stop. (MY Manual).
  • At all times, my return trip to Terlingua was dialed in.
  • Any spur of the moment destinations were added as stops, ensuring I was comfortable with the ultimate arrival SoC.
  • Big Bend National Park has a max posted speed limit of 45mph. This seemed to work in my favor from an efficiency and accuracy standpoint.
  • Almost any park destination requires elevation change. It was fun to watch my range increase! That said, I never noticed a meaningful change in my final destination arrival SoC.
• Grab a paper park map from the visitor center! Not exactly unique advice for Tesla drivers, but it's pertinent to my next point.
• No Cell Service: The lack of cell service in West Texas meant I often had a blue route, but no map loaded on my screen.
  • For the journey to/from the park, I download over wifi Google Maps for offline use. Never really needed it. Whenever I lost my Tesla map, my route was very clear.
  • Inside the park, the official paper map was the perfect backup!
• Turn Off Sentry Mode: Going in and out of the car for gear, it's easy to leave on Sentry Mode. This will drain your battery while you hike!
• Off-Road Assist. I used this liberally for unpaved roads.
  • Memorize your favorite way to find this feature
  • I did not attempt Old Maverick Road, but Redditors claim it's easy enough for a sedan (with previous off-road experience). While I was there, Park Rangers were pulling a truck out of mud.
• I did not attempt to charge in the park. Some folks on PlugShare scrounge for random 110v sockets, but that is not my idea of a vacation.
• Driving on Texas highways after dark is not without risk
  • Bugs constantly smeared my windshield reducing visibility - windshield wiper fluid almost made it worse. Next time I'll try the bug wash formula.
  • Deer and other animals criss-cross roads at night too. Hitting an animal in an area with no cell service can't be fun.
• Bring extra windshield wiper fluid. Not that you can't find it en route the park, but I used mine liberally. Especially for night-time driving.
• For any road trip, bring a spare set of windshield wipers. Also great for when the OEM store runs out.
• I brought a Tesla Tire Repair kit.
• I recommend bringing a NEMA 14-50, TT-30, and 110v adapters along with your mobile connector. I also brought an outdoor 110v extension cable for emergencies.

Itinerary: Departing and Returning to the the Supercharger Highway

• Ft Stockton Supercharger to Marathon: Departure SoC 65%. Gage Hotel has ONE Tesla destination charger for customers. Call ahead to make sure it's operational! Accordingly to PlugShare 110v sockets can be used in a pinch.
• Marathon to Terlingua: Departure SoC 80%. Had sufficient charge to drive to Terlingua via Big Bend. Slightly longer drive, but worth it!
  • Terlingua / Basecamp: While Basecap does have a single destination charger, it's a wildly popular destination. There's competition for the single 30A J1772 EVSE. Staff mentioned additional capacity is planned. Some drivers report unplugging the equipment and directly using the NEMA 14-50. I was not comfortable doing this. With my luck, I'd break something.
    • It was 1/2 mile walk on a dirt road from my lodging, to the EVSE
  • Terlingua / Retro Rents Painted Ladies: I had access to an invaluable, dedicated NEMA 14-50 adjacent to my "antique" camper trailer. The experience is not for everyone, but at 48A I could easily charge up to 95% whenever was convenient.
    • They charge $20, cash for each day you use the 48A socket.
    • Call ahead! Ensure you will have access to the NEMA 14-50.
  • Staying in the park is an option, especially if you stick to the Chisos Basin area.
• Big Bend: In one day, I drove the following itinerary on a 95% charge. I returned to Terlingua with around ~25%. The following routes do not seem ideal, but I wanted to first hike the Chisos area in the morning. I was further limited by weather related road closures.
  • Terlingua to Chisos Basin Visitor Center
  • Chisos Basin Visitor Center to Boquillas Crossing (Rio Grande Village)
  • Boquillas Crossing to Cottonwood Campground via Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. The original destination was Santa Elena Canyon, but the road was closed due to recent rains.
  • Cottonwood Campground to Terlingua.
• Terlingua to Marfa: Departure SoC 90%
  • I drove slightly under the speed limit to ensure I had plenty of juice on arrival in Marfa.
  • El Cosmico was crucial! They have three destination chargers, two of them Tesla. I first asked the front desk, and they kindly allowed me to charge. I made sure to buy something at their shop each time.
    • From El Cosmico it's a 10-15 minute walk to downtown Marfa
    • There's plenty to do while charging to capacity
  • The McDonald Observatory is doable from Marfa, but for night time visits Ft Davis is a better bet.
• Marfa to Ft Davis
  • I actually left Marfa for the Prada art exhibit first, then drove to Ft Davis via a scenic route using the McDonald Observatory as a waypoint.
  • Hotel Limpia has three destination chargers (2 Tesla, 1 J1772). Also 48A, it was easy to charge.
  • Both the McDonald Observatory and Balmorhea State Park (natural spring) are within comfortable driving distances. Balmorhea State Park is quite close to I-10.
• Ft Davis to Ft Stockton - back on the Supercharger Network
  • I departed Ft Davis with less than 65% SoC and easily arrived at the Ft Stockton supercharger.

1:Tires give all trucks a mud option like MHS1 and dually rear options like OHD1
2:Chains. give all tires the options for chains. instead of making only select tire have chains. maybe not msh1and2/ZMH/DHMS1/T01/Stocktractortires. since all of those are Very aggressive mud's.
3:Give all vehicles an option to unlock some kind of roof rack with fuel and such either by completing some kind of trial or just by level. or vehicles with excess interior space like the lo4f is a van you could store stuff inside without increasing the center of gravity much. Yar87/Tatarin/antartic/jeeps/landrover,ect.
4:Cargo Supplies. have a customizable single slot and double slot palatalized supplies. like 4 30 gallon drums of fuel a stack of 4 tires and 300 repair parts. each being a quarter of a single slot cargo of supplies. make a place to pick up or purchase these at all the garages. customize what you can get on the either 4 slot single cargo slot or 8 slot 2 cargo slot.
5:Add more trailers. idk how complicated it is to do but having a lot more trailer options would be awesome. like more useful high saddle trailers like 6 slot with ramps.
6:Medium scout Class. make all in this class be able to connect to both scout trailers and full size trailers. and have Autonomous medium winch. yar87/Tatarin/zikz5368/Step39331/int1700/Warthog/zikz566a/F750/Crocodile/tatra805/azovSprinteTH357.
7:Give any truck that has large winch on back of cab a winch point on it where it is and give it a 50 percent bonus to power from that location. but disable the quick winch from the spot. and option for all with it to remove winch on back and put yellow crane. Kolob74941/Derry4520/M916A1/P12with spare tires on/6900TwinSteer. maybe make the strong winch an addon for Trucks that can have a crane.
8:Vehicle improvements.
1.All pacific trucks need a little love. drop a new engine for P12/P16/p512 in Yukon somewhere. like 250k torque. give p512 AWD option and increase fuel capacity to 90 gallons. give all 3 of them magic upspec OHD 1 tires and with chain option. P12 needs a full sweet of fame options cause its not very useful atm and it has a long frame like azov 73210 so give it all the same add-ons. p16 add yellow crane behind cab and logging crane if it will fit.
2.All Vehicles with articulated steering need some improvement to their turning strength and grip. cause all of them are annoying to drive. maybe make a improved steering upgrade that makes them adjustable strength and speed for driver to tune in the way they like it. k700/k7m/antarctic/cat745c

1. Cat 745c/770g and make both big cats fuel tanks be able to carry water for missions and increase there capacity. give 745c ability to carry cargo on container carrier. give both cats large V12 cat engine with 280k-300k torque unlockable by completing missions in quarry's maybe all quarry missions. give 770g high saddle. and make special trailer usable. and purchasable at trailer store.

4.Tractors both of them are articulated and hurt me lol. add a smaller tractor with normal steering like mud runner. and add tract CAT farm tractor like challengermt775b. give k7m full output version of kzgt-8 530t engine or just like a little more than 420t cause its got no guts for pulling anything uphill. give snorkles to tractors.
5.Azov 42-20 Antarctic. Steering improvements... give it roof rack on cab. increase fuel too 100 gallons. give option to remove Cabin on back for more room for a yellow crane or a longer bed or log loader and carrier front combo. 1 spare tire on back of cab when you remove cabin and lock the diff full time cause with out it it just kinda dumps the power in random wheels. give it more add-on options. give it special antarctic studded tires for ice. lower center of gravity a little.make this beast more of a treat when you finally reach level 30 and can use it.
6.Tatra Phoenix/Force/T813. give them all more add-ons. i like them but never use them cause they are so useless. give them low saddles and cranes at least. give the force a lift! or addaptive suspension cause it just leans forward all the time. and its special ramped towing platform a full suit of repair points and spare wheels make me want to use it! maybe a hair large tires like 53 or 55 with lift and this thing would rock. Phoenix. small lift 50 inch tires optional love its stability more addons. T813 more Addons. just give them all a low saddle and yellow crane and i would use them.
7.Derry 3194 and 4520. 15c. 3194- give option to remove dead axle. giant flat area behind cab. supplies or yellow crane. cool truck. maybe small lift and 55 inch tires. 4520- better engine and lift option with bigger tires like 55s. yellow crane behind cab. large wide tire option like real truck. 15c- lower center of gravity a little. fun truck. give multipurpose gearbox a High range Gear. let it pull a trailer with fire tank on. and let fire tank double as fuel carrier. same for any truck that has water carrier. same size but fuel.
8.Navistar 5000-MV awesome truck. give more exhaust options so i can see lol maybe reduce exhaust make the yellow crane fit with low and high saddle. thing looks solid so give it roof rack supplies. like 20 gallons and 200 repair points and 1 tire. mud tire options. lvl locked switchable diff lock.
9.give all small scouts the ablility to be upgraded to wider axels and 44-50 inch tires so they can actually be used in the worse maps. like if jeep had wider axles and 44-50 inch mud tires upgrades i could actually get around on the worse maps. jeep add carrier around spare for holding fuel and repair points. maybe add similar setups for scouts with spare on back.
10.Paystar5070. give bigger tires with the lift. maybe msh3 and 4 tires for better stability options. maybe another engine option but its power is ok for a truck you can get earlier on but should have late game option.
11.Paystar5600ts. my baby the 10 wheeled thirsty lady. a little bigger fuel tank. or a lot bigger.90-140gallons im a little biased. but small center of gravity improvement it likes to end up on its roof and a spare tire behind cab in the spot between the stairs. cause im always poping tires in this thing. small roof rack. and a High saddle!!! maybe 4 slot cargo bed. give option for van body with yellow crane behind it and low or high saddle if it will fit. :D
12.Loadstar 1700 more options and mud tires one of my favorite scouts. more capacity for bed storage and special vanbody add-on. crane and small bed combo if it will fit. low saddle crane combo roof rack.
13.Voron Grad. cant connect trailer when sideboard bed and crane are on. but there is plenty of room. could push crane and bed forward about a foot. Takes too much suspension damage
14.give zikz 605/mastadon/derry15c medium log carrier
15.Tayga 6455b. turns like a boat. and takes a too much suspension damage.
ive been brain dumping all my random thoughts for 2 hours so this will do. add your opinions and ideas or for the game down bellow. or critique some my change ideas or add your own. :D

I bought my home a year ago and I was aware of this issue but just now able to invest in repairing it. I have a vintage (1946) solid brick home which has a garage with a roof deck.
The steel lintel above the garage door has suffered from water intrusion leading to rust, and the rust has now led to deformation of the lintel, in turn leading to cracks in the mortar above the door and in some bricks next to the door, images here: https://imgur.com/a/NID8AP1
I have received three estimates for repairing the mortar and brickwork and preventing further damage.
All three are agreed that I want to remove bricks above the plate, install flashing and insert weeps to allow moisture to evacuate from the plate. But two estimators suggest cleaning and priming the rusty plate while one estimator suggests cutting the plate and welding a new plate on. My questions are: 1. How long would I expect a "clean and prime" solution to last before additional rust leads to more mortabrick damage? 2. Is the "cut and weld" solution likely to be a true long-term fix or require rework on the same timeline as clean and prime? 3. Are the estimates reasonable?
Estimate 1: * remove bricks above plate * cut off corroded plate, weld new steel plate primed with corrosion resistant paint * install drip edge over caulking, rubber flashing, place weeps * clean and replace removed bricks and mortar * spot clean, grind, point any needed issues in the project area * spot clean, grind, point an additional rear bay window $7650 * grind mortar and caulk gaps in 12 4" coping stones on roof deck $1370 * Total: $9020
Estimate 2: * remove bricks, clean rust from I-beam, prime/paint * install stainless drip edge and flashing * clean & reinstall bricks * spot tuckpointing in project area $2650 * replace mortar and caulk on coping stones $1500 * tuckpoint bay window $650 * Total: $4800
Estimate 3: * paint I-beam and install flashing * spot tuckpointing * recaulk coping stones * Total: $3500

Planted this Japanese maple last fall. It seemed to do okay during the fall and turn colors and dropped his sleeves with the rest of the trees. But, the spring it didn't Leaf out with everybody else, and now I started to Leaf out only from the trunk and Main branches. I'm wondering if all of that smaller twigs and branches are dying back. I apologize for the crappy pictures. This was hard to photograph as the thin branches don't make for much of a foreground object, at least with my skill set.
I believe we did okay with the roof flare and planting to, but we have chickens who continually wanted to scratch up the dirt around the base which we have to repair a few times. I assume that was an added stressor that this tree did not like. Especially in a first year in ground.
Should we just sit tight? And see what happens? Or is there anything we can do to help it recover

The librarian from Sentmenat was 27-years-old when she was tortured, murdered and thrown off the roof of a building on Carrer Calvet d'Estrella in Sabadell, Spain. It was never confirmed, there are many elements to suspect that the young woman was also raped.
Helena was found naked and dead in a courtyard of a building. She had been drugged before being thrown unconscious and naked from the roof. Her body had several cigarette butt burns. Days before she was murdered, Jubany had received two disturbing anonymous notes: the first next to a bottle of horchata and the second next to an orange/peach juice, both of which contained sleeping pills. However, the notes to the second juice gave a clear clue of who it could be as it stated the following: Helena, we hope you take this with a good sense of humour. The third note will be the one in which we will reveal our identity. You will probably laugh. We would love to meet you again in another trip (she had joined a hiking club). We will talk about it! Don't be bad and drink it! Next time you will invite us!.
This second time Jubany did try the juice but soon she began to feel very dizzy and she stopped drinking it. The next day she went to the hospital to take some analysis which detected the sleeping pills inside the liquid she had drank.
Some time passed without any new events. Until the 30th of November of 2001 came by. Helena left her house after working on her computer. She would not come back home after that.
According to the investigations they did on those days, that same day Helena had received a phone call and after she left her house taking her car. In the flat of her two hiking friends (Montse Careta, a teacher, and Santi Laiglesia, a criminal lawyer) someone drugged her, leaving her unconscious in order to kidnap her. Still being alive they took her to the roof of the same building, from where she was pushed between 3 and 5 in the morning, 2 days after she had left her home. Inside her system she had about 35 sleeping pills. The autopsy states that she was in a coma when she was pushed into the patio, and died due to the impact on the floor.
Her father had reported her missing after a few days which led the police to deduce and finally conclude that the woman who had been pushed was indeed Helena Jobany.
​
The evidence and accusations
Initial police enquiries suggested that the victim could have committed suicide. However, her naked body with cigarette burns and her folded clothes on the terrace, as well as, as the suspicious white substance found in her vagina (which was never reported) led investigators to believe that it was at least a homicide.
All evidence pointed to Monste Careta and her partner Santi, as well as a third friend named Ana Echaguivel. None of the three could say for sure what they had been doing the night Helena was killed.
On 2002, Montse was arrested as the murderer. She was sent to jail without bail. While she was in prison, Santi and Ana were being investigated.
On the 23rd of march, Ana then 32 (also resident in the building where Helena was killed) was arrested when a handwriting test determined that she was the author of the first half of the second anonymous note that Jubany had received two weeks prior her death.
On the 7th of May, Montse was found dead hanging from the ceiling of her cell with a note next to her claiming she was innocent. Ana was in pre-trial detention and was released soon after in June.
The case was finally closed in October 2005, when the judge considered that the evidence was not sufficient to support any accusation.
​
As of 2020
The court of Sabadell has agreed to reopen the investigation into the murder of Helena Jubany, which has been at a standstill since 2005. Montse Careta, Helena's friend who lived where she was found dead, committed suicide in prison. This is the cover of a terrible case that remains unsolved to today, despite the fact that another suspect, Santi Laiglesia (Careta's boyfriend) was for months the main suspect but was never arrested.
The family, before the case prescribed, managed to give some new evidence in which they pointed another possible suspect, Xavi Jiménez. However, some recent DNA tests have proved this theory wrong.
​
Links
https://www.diariodesevilla.es/sociedad/causa-criminal/crimenes-espana-blbiotecaria-helena-jubany-suicidio_0_1756924787.html
https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20230222/novedades-caso-helena-jubany/2426812.shtmlhttps://elpais.com/espana/catalunya/2023-02-21/el-juez-reabre-la-investigacion-al-primer-sospechoso-del-asesinato-de-helena-jubany-en-2001.html

Coupled with my complete lapse in responsibility, a break up, a cross country move, and a handful of nightmare tenants/housing issues, this past late 2021-now has been horrible. I bought 5 new SFH rentals in September of 2021. I already owned 2 SFHs that were doing well. I didn't pay prorated 2021 or 2022 property taxes because I was strapped for funds so I let it slide but now Im STILL strapped for funds and I owe about 12k per year so..I owe around 20k in property taxes.
One of the houses I bought had a section 8 tenant in it that was awful, finally got her out in April of 2022. Cost me 10k to get the place rent ready again. Moved a new tenant in and he only paid rent twice. Took me a year to get him out. So now I owe 4k in rent ready fees again since that tenant didn't treat the place nicely either. (total expenses on this house for the year was close to 16k and I only received two rent payments of $800...)
I had another house that needed an expensive 6k roof repair in April 2022 that I was barely getting funding to support after having to drop 10k on the other place. That house was vacant for almost an entire year because I couldn't get funding quick enough. Someone broke in and stole the furnace and hot water heater too so, add another 4k to that tab. Due to the house being vacant for an entire year issues like plumbing and a random raccoon in the chimney crept up and cost me another 3-4k. Oh and on top of it the city is coming around saying the house isn't registered as a rental and I need to pay an $800 fine or do a rental inspection (and be prepared to fix anything they say needs to be fixed within 30 days) so I had to take the fine. (total expenses on the house was also close to 15-16k and I had not received any rent until about two months ago..)
Today I paid 9k towards my tax burden and I'm just so exhausted. I do have property management but they nickel and dime the shit out of me. Can't even transfer them the 9k through my bank without them wanting $30 for god knows what.
​
Note to self: pay your property taxes. Never use rental income to keep your personal shit afloat unless you're going to die.
​
If you're curious on a general breakdown of the properties: I own 6 houses in full. 1 house I have a H Loan on and the mortgage is $1200 a month on that. I really thought I set myself up for success by owning these places in full and my gross rental income is $6500 a month. My NOI *should* be around $3000. But with repair after repair, city red tape, taxes, etc. I'm struggling.
I actually now have two full-time jobs (combined salary of 310k for the past month, before that it was 190k) and a side gig watching dogs on Rover that brings in 5k a month consistently. My personal revenue is now 21k a month. My expenses are around 6k a month. For the majority of the past year my personal revenue was 16k so I only had 6-8k a month left over to put into these places but also, I had personal cc debt of 26k and I *just* paid it off. If you're wondering why so much cc debt, I already had 10k in cc debt from some car+pet related expenses when I broke up with my long term boyfriend and my expenses skyrocketed as I left him with everything and had to start over completely from scratch. My rent went from $800 a month to $2300 for example. I then moved from Michigan to The Bay for 6 months, then moved again to Portland OR.
So now I have no cc debt, I've covered all my rent ready fees, finally have tenants with good credit and no court records of eviction, and after paying 8k on property taxes I still owe 12k. I'm not nearly in as bad of a place as I was last year but paying off debt takes a loooong time. What other level headed person makes between 16-21k a month and has rental income to some degree and still has debt? After I pay off my debt Im going to have to aggressively rebuild my savings too. It's just a never ending cycle once you get in debt so obviously, don't get yourself in it.
​
Thanks for reading.

Hey-Oh! So, I see some form of this question multiple times per day in various skin and personal care subs: How do I deal with my hyperpigmentation? I also asked myself this question a few years ago. See, I'm prone to freckles and a little melasma and I set out to figure out a way to solve it with years of research, trial and error, testing, talking to dermatologists and professionals, and scouring every medical article I could get my hands on. I wanted to share my findings and research since this is a common concern, especially among people in their 30s. This started as a small post about my routine and ballooned into a massive book about hyperpigmentation. I hope it's helpful!
DISCLAIMERS:

• I use the term "brightening" instead of "lightening" which is a subtle distinction. None of the ingredients or methods I recommend bleach your skin as "lightening" would suggest, but they can reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation. "Brightening" tends to be a confusing term in skincare, but for the purposes of this post, I use it as a descriptor for anything that helps prevent or reduce melanin in hyperpigmented skin.
• I will use the term "hyperpigmentation" ad nauseam as a catch-all term for excess pigmentation in the skin including freckles, melasma, PIH and dark spots. This does not encompass moles which are different. This is also different from redness, which is a whole other post.
• Speaking about hyperpigmentation requires some sensitivity to very real issues around it including cultural implications. This post is not intended to moralize hyperpigmentation nor is it intended to alienate the normal melaninization of skin across various tones. Hyperpigmentation refers to excess melanin production on the skin in the form of spots that are darker than the surrounding skin. It's not bad or wrong, nor does it speak to anyone not "doing a good enough job" of taking care of themselves.
• I do repeat myself a few times in here but that is for people who are skipping around the article. I want to be as thorough as possible even if you're jumping to the parts of the post you need.
• I do run an online dermatology practice and skin care consultancy, but in order to protect the integrity of my advice, I do not promote my business, I don't give direct medical advice, I don't link to any products/websites, and I don't have any products I've formulated myself to promote. This is going to get long because I wanted to cover everything re:hyperpigmentation. But for your reading pleasure and ease, I have divided this post up so you can get whatever information you need:

Table of Contents

1. Types of Hyperpigmentation
2. What Causes Hyperpigmentation?
3. How To Treat Hyperpigmentation Part 1: The Ingredients
4. How to Treat Hyperpigmentation Part 2: The Routine and Recommendations
5. Body Hyperpigmentation
6. Nuclear Options

Let's get to it!
Types of Hyperpigmentation
Hyperpigmentation refers to excess melanin production in the skin, but it can actually take a couple different forms. Knowing the type of hyperpigmentation you're experiencing is key to understanding if and how it can be treated.
Freckles: Freckles are incredibly common, especially for people with lighter skin tones. They are small, brown or reddish-brown dots often clustered on the skin. They develop on the surface and are not raised bumps. Freckles can appear anywhere on the body but are common on the face. Freckles are permanent, but the color, contrast and severity can vary and be tempered.
Melasma: Melasma appears as dark patches or splotches around the face, though usually found on the forehead, upper lip, and high on the cheeks. Melasma forms deeper in the skin and appears more amorphous than freckles, moles, or age spots. It can create a “muddy” appearance and is very common among pregnant and postpartum women due to hormonal factors. But it can literally happen to anyone and anywhere on the body.
Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PIH): Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) occurs when damaged skin forms melanin during the healing process leaving dark spots. This is common after acne, injuries, eczema, burns, and other trauma to the skin. Exposure to UV rays during healing can make PIH worse. Post-inflammatory erythema (PIE) is similar, but leaves pink or red marks on the skin as a result of damage to the capillaries from injury or inflammation. Basically, when skin is compromised by injury, as part of the immune response cells will begin to generate melanin in an attempt to prevent further damage from UV exposure, so what will happen is the wound/legion/blemish will heal but the pigmented skin remains.
Age Spots: This is kind of a forgotten form of hyperpigmentation. Sun spots, also referred to as liver spots, and solar lentigines are large spots/patches of dark skin with distinct borders. They vary in color from light brown to almost black. They develop on the surface of the skin usually later in life, but reflect damage that often occurred from improper sun protection at a younger age. They can appear on the face, neck, chest, hands, and arms, usually on areas that had UV exposure. For many people, they can begin to appear in your 30s or 40s.

What Causes Hyperpigmentation?

There are a number of factors that can contribute to the formation of hyperpigmentation. Generally, it forms as the result of a combination of genetic and environmental influences. Everyone is unique, but these are some of the most common causes of hyperpigmentation and dark spots:
Genetics can play a role in the development of hyperpigmentation and dark spots in several ways:

• Melanin production: Melanin is the pigment that provides color to our skin, hair, and eyes. The amount of melanin produced and distributed in the skin is largely determined by genetics. People with a greater genetic predisposition to melanin production in their skin are more likely to experience hyperpigmentation and dark spots as a result of sun exposure, hormonal changes, and other factors. People with darker skin are also more prone to melanin production in the form of hyperpigmentation.
• Genetic anomalies: Certain genetic anomalies, such as oculocutaneous albinism, can affect melanin production and distribution in the skin, leading to an increased risk of hyperpigmentation and dark spots.
• Family history: If you have a family history of hyperpigmentation or dark spots, you may be more likely to develop these conditions yourself.
• Enzymes and genes: The enzymes that control melanin production and distribution are regulated by specific genes. Variations in these genes can impact melanin production, leading to an increased risk of hyperpigmentation and dark spots.

Sun (UV) Exposure. In addition to genetic determination of melanin production, UV exposure is the leading environmental cause of hyperpigmentation and the formation of dark spots. Melanin is the pigment that provides color to our skin, hair, and eyes. It acts as a natural sunscreen (but don't treat it like natural sunscreen!!! This isn't the point of the exercise), absorbing UV radiation to protect the skin from damage.
When the skin is exposed to UV radiation, the melanocytes (cells that produce melanin) in the skin go into overdrive, producing more melanin to protect the skin from further damage. This increased melanin production can result in dark spots or areas of hyperpigmentation on the skin.
Hormones. In addition to genetic determination of melanin production, hormones and hormonal sensitivity is a leading internal cause of hyperpigmentation and the formation of dark spots. One of the most well-known examples of hormonal hyperpigmentation is melasma, a condition characterized by dark, amorphous patches on the face, particularly on the cheeks, forehead, nose, and upper lip. Melasma is often associated with hormonal changes, such as those that occur during pregnancy, hormonal therapy, or birth control pill use. The hormonal changes can stimulate an increase in melanin production, resulting in dark spots or areas of hyperpigmentation. This can happen irrespective of UV exposure, though the sun does exacerbate it.
Hormones can also affect melanin production by altering the skin's metabolism and pigmentation pathways. For example, high levels of cortisol, a hormone produced by the adrenal glands during stress, can trigger an increase in melanin production, resulting in hyperpigmentation.
Inflammation, Injury & Trauma to the skin can result in hyperpigmentation by triggering an increase in melanin production. When the skin is inflamed or injured, it triggers a response from the body's immune system, which can stimulate an increase in melanin production as a protective measure. For example, acne breakouts or other skin injuries can result in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), which is characterized by dark spots or areas of discoloration on the skin. The dark spots are a result of an increase in melanin production in the affected area, which occurs in response to the inflammation or injury. In addition to acne and other skin injuries, other conditions that can result in PIH include eczema, psoriasis, and insect bites.
Medication Side Effects. Certain medications can cause hyperpigmentation on the skin. Medications that can cause hyperpigmentation include:

• Tetracycline antibiotics: Tetracycline antibiotics, such as doxycycline and minocycline, can cause discoloration of the skin and teeth when taken in high doses or for an extended period of time.
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen, can cause hyperpigmentation in some individuals, especially if taken in high doses or for an extended period of time.
• Chemotherapy drugs: Certain chemotherapy drugs, such as doxorubicin and daunorubicin, can cause hyperpigmentation, especially in areas of the skin that have been exposed to the sun.
• Hormonal medications: Hormonal medications, such as birth control pills and estrogen replacements, can cause hyperpigmentation in some individuals, especially if they are taken for an extended period of time.
• Antimalarial drugs: Antimalarial drugs, such as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, can cause hyperpigmentation in some individuals, especially if taken in high doses or for an extended period of time.
• Isotretinoin aka accutane when taken for acne can cause hyperpigmentation due to the increase of cell turnover and exposing delicate new skin cells to UV rays before they have shored up.

If using these medications is necessary for your livelihood, it is not recommended to stop their use without the recommendation of your doctor.

How To Treat Hyperpigmentation Part 1: The Ingredients

When looking for skin care products to treat and prevent hyperpigmentation and dark spots, it's important to look for ingredients that can help encourage cell turnover, curb melanin production, and block harmful UV rays. A lot of these things overlap with treatments for other conditions like acne and general anti-aging, but I've noted ones that specifically work on the mechanisms controlling melanin production. Now, this is an extensive list, but I know it doesn't have everything. I've included the ingredients that had the most compelling evidence and/or worked the best for me or people at my practice. But it's also not necessarily a shopping list. You don't have to have all of these things to treat hyperpigmentation, but I'll get to that in the routine portion. This is more to be used as a tool that can help you diversify your routine if you find one ingredient or another doesn't work for you. And it can help you determine if a product targets hyperpigmentation based on its ingredients. There's lot's of options. Some of the key ingredients to look for include:
Retinoids that increases cell turnover. Retinoids like tretinoin, adapalene, retinol et al, can help treat hyperpigmentation by promoting the turnover of skin cells and increasing cell growth, which can help fade dark spots and improve overall skin tone by replacing pigmented skin cells at the surface. While retinoids are extremely effective, they do have some caveats. First, they can be sensitizing to a lot of users, but this can be tempered by using different form functions, different application methods, or different concentrations. Second, because it's constantly turning over skin exposing delicate new skin cells to the elements, it can actually worsen hyperpigmentation if you're not vigilant about sun protection and avoidance. Tretinoin and other retinoids are firewalled behind a prescription in some countries and may be more difficult to obtain. But retinol/al is available in OTC forms.
SPF represents a class of many ingredients designed to protect the skin from UV rays and the damage that occurs from exposure. UV exposure is one of the biggest causes of fine hyperpigmentation and wrinkles so adequate protection is essential. I know I'm not winning any science awards for this declaration, but a lot of people who struggle with hyperpigmentation aren't adequately protecting themselves from the sun. But you also have to be kind of realistic. Even with perfect protection and avoidance, sometimes your hyperpigmentation will still flare. This happens during the summer for a lot of people and something even I grapple with. The key is to do your best and SPF actually works well with numerous other ingredients (like the ones listed below) to help solve that problem. Arbutin is a Tyrosinase Inhibitor that blocks melanin production.
Arbutin, or the synthesized version called alpha arbutin, is a favorite brightening ingredient because it's a slow-release derivative of hydroquinone that inhibits melanin production. This results in both healing and prevention of dark spots, especially when paired with topical acids. It metabolizes on the skin into hydroquinone which is super effective for hyperpigmentation while being a less controversial and hard-to-come-by ingredient than pure hydroquinone. More on hydroquinone in part 6.
Tranexamic acid is another Tyrosinase Inhibitor. This was first used in wound care and it was found to have profound effects on hyperpigmentation. Although it's an acid, it's not a chemical exfoliant, kinda like how hyaluronic acid is not a chemical exfoliant. The exact mechanism by which tranexamic acid works to reduce hyperpigmentation is not fully understood, but it is believed to work by reducing inflammation by blocking plasmin which contributes to melanin production when unchecked. It is particularly effective in treating melasma and one of my personal favorite ingredients.
Kojic Acid is another Tyrosinase Inhibitor. Kojic acid is a natural skin brightener that is derived from various fungi. Kojic acid can also help to exfoliate because it's a slight chemical exfoliant, which can remove dead skin cells that contribute to hyperpigmentation and improve overall appearance. But it does both things: block melanin production and turn skin cells over. Azelaic Acid has a lot of things going for it that can help with hyperpigmentation. It's an anti-inflammatory and antiseptic that disrupts melanin production.
Azelaic acid works by inhibiting the production of melanin in the skin like those other tyrosinase inhibitors. In addition, azelaic acid also has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, which help to improve the overall health and appearance of the skin by reducing melanin production as a result of injury or inflammation. It's also an anti-acne ingredient that can address the root cause of PIH by reducing acne on the skin. It's pretty awesome and available in OTC and prescription strengths.
Niacinamide is another one that directly and indirectly addresses hyperpigmentation. It's a skin soother that decreases inflammation and it naturally reduces sebum production which can curb acne which can curb PIH. It actually took me a little while to figure out that this was another solid hyperpigmentation treatment for these reasons because I used to look at it as being more of an acne treatment. Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3 that works by inhibiting the transfer of pigment within the skin, which can help to reduce the appearance of dark spots and uneven skin tone. So while it doesn't block tyrosinase, it prevents transfer of pigmented skin cells to the surface.
Vitamin C aka L-ascorbic acid is an antioxidant that fights free radical damage. It treats and prevents hyperpigmentation in three ways. First, it reduces free radical damage from UV exposure which helps increase the effectiveness of SPF when worn together. Second, it is also a tyrosinase inhibitor that blocks melanin production. And finally, vitamin C encourages skin cell turnover. The key is finding a nice stable version of it.
Glycolic and Lactic Acid. Since this list is getting long I am going to group these together. Glycolic Acid is a water-soluble alpha hydroxy acid that penetrates into the pores to treat pigmentation by providing general exfoliation and resurfacing of the skin. The result is improvements in dark spots, texture and other signs of aging. Lactic Acid is also an AHA but with a slightly larger molecular size than glycolic acid so it doesn't penetrate as deep and acts more as a surface exfoliant. As a result it provides more gentle exfoliation to buff away surface pigmentation with an added benefit of acting as a humectant to seal moisture into the skin. Licorice Extract is a plant extract that inhibits melanin production.
Licorice root extract contains a compound called glabridin, which has been shown to have skin brightening effects as, you guessed it, a tyrosinase inhibitor. In addition, licorice root extract also has anti-inflammatory properties, which can help to reduce redness and inflammation associated with hyperpigmentation. I'm seeing more and more of this pop up in skin care.
Soy Proteins are another plant extract that inhibits melanin production. They contain compounds known as isoflavones, which have been shown to help reduce the amount of melanin produced by melanocytes in the skin. Additionally, soy proteins have antioxidant properties that can help to protect the skin from damage caused by free radicals, which can contribute to hyperpigmentation.

How To Treat Hyperpigmentation Part 2: The Routine and Recommendations

This is adapted from numerous comments, posts and DMs I've written on the topic and also comprises a large portion of my own personal routine and routines we recommend to patients. This is a generalist routine meaning it targets all the forms of hyperpigmentation I've mentioned; freckles, melasma, PIH, and age spots though it can be tweaked to address these individually more specifically. This is really my jumping off point for people to get a good idea of what they can achieve as a baseline with OTC ingredients before fine tuning or enlisting the help of a dermatologist. For a lot of people, this is enough to fully resolve, but even if it gets you part of the way there, this should give you a good idea of reactivity. A few caveats:

• Freckles cannot ever be 100% eradicated. You can however reduce their appearance and prevent them from getting darker. It's important to have realistic goals and understand that sometimes our genetics will overrule any routine we have.
• This routine and any hyperpigmentation routine will not address moles. Moles are a totally different thing that can only be eradicated through removal by a medical practitioner. Moles can be raised or not, but no amount of topicals will get rid of them.
• Melasma is a beast. Sometimes it can be treated with OTC topicals, sometimes it requires prescription strength topicals like hydroquinone, sometimes you need in-office procedures like fractal lasers or IPL. Again, this routine is a jumping off point to see what you can accomplish at home before going down that road.
• You'll notice I don't mention products with all the ingredients I listed above. This is because the more you put on your face, the greater your risk of causing irritation. Again, you can adjust and tweak by switching out products with these ingredients or add/subtract as it suits your personal needs.
• If you're struggling with hyperpigmentation while pregnant or breastfeeding, these recommendations may need to be paused.

Alright, let's get to it!
AM routine -- The Goal: Heal, Protect, and Prevent. In order of application following a lukewarm water rinse:

• Azelaic acid
• Alpha Arbutin
• Vitamin C serum
• Moisturizer
• SPF

The combo of C+AZ+AA+SPF is an absolute powerhouse for healing existing hyperpigmentation and preventing new hyperpigmentation from forming. It makes your SPF more effective, it inhibits the production of melanin from UV exposure (not your natural melanin production though), and it speeds cell turnover with dual antioxidant action and gentle chemical exfoliation. The result is brighter skin in a few months of consistent use.
For Azelaic Acid, this is the ingredient for serious treatment. It's considered one of the most effective ways to reverse melasma aka serious hyperpigmentation short of hydroquinone -- which is both controversial and hard to get. It brings a little bit of exfoliation to the table in addition to inhibiting UV melanin production, but it also has a slight antiseptic property which can help with acne. Paula's choice Azelaic Acid Booster is the only one I've really tried after sampling the Ordinary's in-store and not liking the texture. I get about 6 months out of a tube and a little bit goes a long way.
For Alpha Arbutin, the Ordinary's formulation is pretty solid. I prefer the Ordinary's AA 2% + HA as opposed to their AA 2% + Ascorbic Acid 8% as I don't believe the quality and stability of their Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) is great. That's why I opt for a separate Vitamin C serum step. But the AA + HA also has a little bit of lactic acid in it which provides some gentle exfoliation and encourages AA deeper into the skin where it's more effective. Lactic acid is mild enough that it's safe for use in a morning routine, but you still want to protect with SPF. There are a couple AA products floating around but I think TO's product is probably the best, most straightforward one. Alpha Arbutin metabolizes into hydroquinone on the skin so is basically one of the best OTC pigment correctors you can get.
For Vitamin C, the gold standard really is Skinceuticals CE Ferulic. This is stupid expensive though so I’m going to suggest Timeless Vitamin C. I like that it comes in an airless pump that prevents oxidation over time. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that increases the rate of skin cell turnover bringing forward new, skin cells while simultaneously improving the effects of SPF. It's a great foundation for a fix.
These ingredients can be layered on one right after the other then topped with your moisturizer (I like a basic one like cetaphil daily lotion), then topped with your SPF. The SPF I would recommend is Canmake UV mermaid gel in clear as this will not leave a white cast on your skin and it’s generally a very elegant SPF. It's SPF 50 which means it gives really good protection, but there are numerous SPFs you can try. I personally like anything from La Roche Posay, any Neutrogena SPF that's not formulated with ethylhexylglycerin, Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen, Biore Aqua Rich (another Japanese brand), Trader Joe's SPF if you can get your hands on it, and EltaMD.
Of all the products I’ve tried that could act as a stand-in for vitamin c, azelaic acid, and alpha arbutin, there’s one Japanese serum from Hada Labo called “whitening lotion” which has had the biggest impact on my hyperpigmentation in a single product of anything I’ve tried. This might be a little too effective though, I actually find that it washed me out within the first 2 weeks of twice daily use, so now I only use it in the morning. And I’m not a fan of the translation… which is a direct but mistranslation. It’s not a bleaching lotion, it also relies on a form of vitamin C and tranexamic acid to brighten skin. But it's a really interesting to try if you wanted a simplified morning routine in which case I would apply this, then your moisturizer, then your SPF.
PM routine -- The Goal: Renew and Reveal. In order of application:

• Cleanse
• Buffer
• Tranexamic acid and exfoliant OR retinoid**
• Moisturize

To cleanse, I have a really basic recommendation that will remove your SPF, makeup, and any grime/sebum from your day. Start with Cetaphil gentle cleanser. This is a gentle, hydrating cleanser that will break up your SPF really effectively. Massage in and rinse. Then apply a foaming cleanser, I recommend Cetaphil daily cleanser which foams. This will sweep away anything that’s left and give you a good foundation for the rest of your routine. While this doesn't directly help hyperpigmentation specifically, it's a critical step especially for people who are acne>PIH prone. It also gives you a nice clean slate to apply the rest of your skincare. I've tried dozens of cleansers but always come back to these two as good basic options.
For your Buffer this is an important step that can be done prior to using a chemical exfoliant or retinoid: applying an occlusive that will block the active from more sensitive skin. I recommend buffering around your eyes and nostrils with La Roche Posay Cicaplast balm because it kind of doubles as a nice eye cream, but this can also be done with basic vaseline or aquaphor for a more budget-friendly option.
For Tranexamic Acid, my holy grail TXA product, La Roche Posay Glycolic B5 is actually a multipurpose serum that combines ingredients to treat hyperpigmentation with chemical exfoliants. It contains two hyperpigmentation heavy hitters -- Tranexamic acid and Kojic Acid which are great for melasma -- and two exfoliants -- Glycolic Acid and Lipo-Hydroxy Acid (LHA) which is like fancy salicylic acid -- so it both reveals new skin cells that are less prone to pigmenting from UV exposure while sloughing away your old skin cells. You can use this 2 or 3 nights per week. On off nights, just cleanse and moisturize.
For a Retinoid if you can get prescription tretinoin, this is going to be the best bet. Your doctor will advise you on the concentration. More on that in part 6. It will help speed up the rate of cell turnover bringing new, unpigmented skin cells to the surface faster. Some other OTC options include differin (which is rated more for acne but uses the same mechanism for cell turnover so it's also effective in this use case) and retinols. Now, I haven't tried every retinol on the market but I have two that I stand by: SkinCeuticals retinol and L'Oreal retinol serum. The SkinCeuticals is, in my opinion, the closest to RX tretinoin in terms of efficacy, but it's a little pricey. The L'Oreal also does a really good job and is a little more affordable. It's currently my go-to OTC on the days I'm not using my RX retinoid tazarotene. You can use this 2 or 3 nights per week. On off nights, just cleanse and moisturize.
** My recommendations for tranexamic acid and retinoids CANNOT be used in the same night. You'll nuke your skin. And for most people, both aren't necessary, you can get away with using one or the other. If I had a preference, I would say use the TXA serum instead of a retinoid, but if you can build up a tolerance to using them both without damaging your barrier, they work really well together. So, proceed with caution. If you want to use both, use them on alternate nights and give yourself a night or two without either to let your skin recover. For me personally, I do retinoids on Sundays, and Wednesdays, chemical exfoliants on Mondays and Thursdays, and I let my skin rest (cleanse, moisturize, squalene oil) on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
On top of whichever active you choose, apply your moisturizer. You can use the same one you use in your morning routine, the Cetaphil daily lotion as it’s nice and light. I also like La Roche Posay Toleraine double repair for a ceramide-based cream alternative if you want something richer.
You do not want to "slug" over actives. This advice gets mixed in a lot. Slugging refers to applying an occlusive layer over your skincare such as vaseline, aquaphor, oils like squalene oil, or healing balms like La Roche Posay Cicaplast balm. While this can be done on hydration nights, it should not be done on nights when you're using chemical exfoliants or retinoids as this may make them too effective causing irritation and breakouts.

Body Hyperpigmentation

Ok, I need everyone to be a grownup for two seconds. These products and methods (both from the prior section and this section) should NOT be used on your genitals. First, you can cause serious irritation or infection by applying active skincare to your genitals. Second, it's really not going to do anything to change the pigmentation of the skin there. The skin on your genitals is different than your body and facial skin and it pigments in different ways for different reasons so it's not going to respond to topicals the same way the rest of your body does. Don't even try it.
To be perfectly clear, these are the areas you should not be applying skincare: labia majora, labia minora, vaginal entrance or vagina, clitoral hood, perineum, anus, intergluteal cleft aka inside your butt crack, penis, or scrotum. And I say this as someone who chaffed the precipice of her "intergluteal cleft" in an unfortunate crunches-in-the-wrong-gym-shorts accident leaving me with some deeply incriminating hyperpigmentation and earning me the nickname "skid mark" from my ever loving boyfriend. It faded after a year but you can still send prayers.
These are areas you can apply skincare but do so with absolute caution and at your own risk: bikini line, mons pubis, inner thigh up to the groin fold, butt cheeks. Ok, now that we've got the disclaimers out of the way, let's move forward.
Hyperpigmentation can also occur on body skin for the same reason it appears on the face, but it can also be triggered by friction. And because body skin is different from facial skin, it requires a slightly different approach. This is my recommendation for both hyperpigmentation and KP (Keratosis pilaris) because they rely on the same mechanism for treatment: chemical exfoliation.
In the case of body hyperpigmentation, I recommend a two prong approach: a body wash in the shower and a topical treatment to be used after. Oh, and SPF again if there are areas that are exposed to the sun, and I have a holy grail SPF recommendation for this.
Now you may have noticed in my facial skin recommendation that I did not mention CeraVe as a treatment brand. I have posted numerous takedowns of CeraVe on other threads so I won't rehash them here suffice it to say that it's no longer a brand I can in good faith recommend since it's acquisition by L'Oreal. This is often the brand that's considered when treating KP on the body, but I don't believe their formulations and ingredient quality works for everyone.
For the body wash, I recommend Neutrogena body clear with Salicylic acid. This is an exfoliating body wash that will help clear away dead skin cells on the surface allowing new ones to come through. To be effective, you want it to sit on your skin for a little while. I recommend lathering it up and applying it after turning off your shower faucet and letting it sit for 2 or 3 minutes. This is when I like to knock out shower emails. Then rinse away.
On towel dried skin after your shower, apply AmLactin Bumps Be Gone. Again, this is formulated for KP but the reason I like it is because it contains lactic acid which will also give the assist on brightening hyperpigmented body skin. The wash and this should be effective, but you might also want to mix in a few drops of the alpha arbutin serum I recommended for your facial routine, maybe three drops per application area (each leg, each arm, chest, etc). I generally don't encourage facial products on the body because it's not an economical use for them, and also because body skin is a little more resilient and doesn't need skincare that's formulated for more sensitive facial skin. The AA serum from the Ordinary is very affordable however and is a good hyperpigmentation generalist.
Another one that I mentioned in the facial hyperpigmentation portion that can work well on the body is the Hada Labo whitening lotion. Again, this is formulated around tranexamic acid which is very effective for hyperpigmentation and a little bit if this stuff goes a long way. I buy it in bulk from Japanese Importers though it's also available on Amazon for a slightly higher price. If you find yourself in Asia, stock up on it. I use this specifically for fading tan lines that happen (even with diligent/neurotic SPF use) around my fitness watch and the straps of my workout tops that I run in.
You also want to wear SPF on areas that are exposed to the sun to prevent pigmentation from occurring. The one I absolutely love that’s not your 90’s banana boat is Aveeno Protect + Hydrate lotion with SPF 60. This is a great SPF for a lot of reasons: it finishes like a lotion instead of a sunscreen, it dries down totally clear, and it has a pleasant, slight sweet scent. On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being bare skin, 10 being banana boat slathered on by your mom in 1997, and regular body lotion being a 2, I give Aveeno Protect + Hydrate a 2.5 in terms of texture and feel-finish. I use it as my daily lotion on my neck, arms, shoulders, and chest. If you're more active you might need a heavier hitter here like a sport sunscreen.

Nuclear Options

In general, I recommend trying OTC topical solutions for any skin concern before heading down the in-office procedure route. Part of this is because you can usually put a good dent in what you're struggling with by using OTC topicals, making in-office procedures and RX treatments easier and more effective. Part of it is so you have a good maintenance routine in place to use after the fact to preserve the results of your in-office procedure which can sometimes be costly. Lastly, while some procedures can solve the immediate problem completely, topical skincare can be really effective at treating other adjacent conditions like redness, acne, and fine lines.
Side note: I haven't listed every possible compounded medication because there are a lot, and many compounded meds are formulated to tackle multiple issues like acne and hyperpigmentation. I also tend to favor single note skin care (aka, products with very few ingredients) as this allows you to combine or remove certain actives and gives you a better sense of reactivity.
For tougher-to-treat hyperpigmentation such as melasma, if your topical routine doesn't totally clear the problem in 6 to 8 months, a visit to the dermatologist might be helpful. Here are the heavier-hitting procedures and topicals that can go the extra mile after you've exhausted other options.
Medical Grade Peels: Medical grade chemical peels can be done by dermatologists. Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) or phenol peels may be done for cases of severe hyperpigmentation, but high concentration BHA or AHA peels are also commonly used. I do these twice a year. Because of the strength of the acids used, these must be done by a medical professional with careful followup.
***IPL Therapy and Laser Therapy may not work for everyone and in some cases may exacerbate hyperpigmentation so you really want to work with dermatologists with a lot of experience in treating cases similar to yours to determine if these interventions are appropriate for you.
IPL Treatment: Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) therapy can treat hyperpigmentation by targeting the melanin in the skin with a broad spectrum of light wavelengths, heating and breaking the melanin down. IPL is particularly effective for treating sun damage and age spots, as well as other forms of hyperpigmentation. The treatment is relatively non-invasive, with minimal downtime, making it a popular option. This is also a great treatment for the redness associated with enlarged blood vessels (often confused for broken capillaries) on the surface of the skin which can also appear alongside hyperpigmentation. There isn't any clinical evidence to support at-home IPL devices being effective in the same way. That doesn't mean it's not possible, it's just not studied enough to be certain. Most at-home IPL devices do not operate in effective wavelengths the way professional grade ones do.
Laser Therapy: Fractional and CO2 lasers can be used to treat a range of hyperpigmentation issues, including sun damage, age spots, and melasma. The treatment works by removing the top layers of skin, which contain the excess pigmentation, revealing fresh, healthy skin cells underneath. The lasers also stimulate the production of collagen, which helps to improve skin texture and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Hydroquinone: This isn't an in-office procedure like the aforementioned treatments, but it is firewalled behind a prescription meaning you can only access hydroquinone in effective concentrations by working with a doctor. This is a somewhat new development at least in the US following some covid-era rejiggering of prescription clearances. HDQ is controversial because it's a skin bleaching agent which has some cultural implications in places where light skin is favored over natural pigmentation. HDQ technically works the same way other OTC tyrosinase inhibitors do (in fact arbutin actually metabolizes into HDQ when applied to the skin), pure HDQ happens to be the most powerful version of them. It lightens any skin it touches, not just hyperpigmented skin in higher concentrations which can make it tough to use. This effect isn't as profound in the other tyrosinase inhibitors I mentioned making them much easier to use over HDQ which, in high concentrations, must be dotted on the skin in only hyperpigmented areas. So HDQ is really reserved for intervention in extreme or OTC treatment-resistance cases.
Tretinoin and Prescription Retinoids: This is going to be dependent on what part of the world you're in, but in a lot of countries, tretinoin and its counterparts like tazarotene are only available through prescription. I mentioned retinoids in the routine so if you're able to get your hands on a prescription from a doctor, it may be more effective than OTC retinols. Most doctors will prescribe a retinoid over hydroquinone, so this is usually easier to procure and can be quite effective on its own as a hyperpigmentation treatment. OTC differin is the only retinoid available over-the-counter (in the US) which can also be used for hyperpigmentation.
Prescription Azelaic Acid: This is another one that's available in lower concentrations over-the-counter (which can still be quite effective) but there are prescription strength grades of azelaic acid. This is usually reserved for rosacea treatment as it tends to target redness and flushing, or as an acne treatment because of its antiseptic properties, but it can also be an effective hyperpigmentation treatment for its tyrosinase-inhibiting ability.
If you made it this far, congratulations! I hope this information is helpful. While it is extensive and based on massive amount of research, experience, experimentation and work with professionals, it may not be perfect and it may not be suitable for everyone. Feel free to offer any constructive criticism or ask any questions in comments. I am always open to expanding my understanding.

My dad sucks because he was never involved in my upbringing. My poor mum had to deal with the shitpeice he left over (me)
My dad has let me live in his flat, rent free because I'm such a failure. I have a roof over my head, but some plumbing issues. Also need to get the electrics sorted.
I can't rent anywhere else because of poor credit history and my dad couldn't afford to make upgrades to his flat after being off work
Shower heated up for 3 days (so it did work)
On a water meter, but there are several leaks I have to put a tray under every day. I am terrified of my water bill in a few months.
Everyone I tell these problems to says 'make your dad pay for it'
No, there is a reason he hasn't tenanted this flat in 3 years. He simply can't afford it.
Is it unreasonable to pay for these repairs when I am saving him council tax, water and electricity? When he is charging me no rent at all.

The BoondockZ is a North American modded server with many quality of life mods installed. We are a new server that is aiming to cater to players who are in between heavy PVP/Modded to Vanilla gameplay. We have traders and ATM’s on the server for convenience. We are not a massive server but our player base is growing everyday because regardless of what type of player you are we have something for you to enjoy. Want PVP? We got that. Want custom guns and clothes? We have it. Want hard working dedicated admins? We got it. What sets us apart from the established servers is that we are dedicated to being down to earth. Admins are easy to reach on our discord and are available to answer any questions. When you join the BoondockZ you are getting the best of both worlds. The mods we have installed and hosted server specifications are below. Pull up a chair and take a load off. We look forward to playing with you on the BoondockZ!
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Direct Connect IP :172.93.102.191:2302
DZSA : The BoondockZ
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Summary: A demolition firm struggles to take down a damaged building for their mysterious clients
I Was a Foreman at the Grazer Tower Demolition
By now Grazer Tower has faded as a household name but to some the rumors and madness surrounding it refuse to die. The demolition of the massive three hundred twenty foot octagonal hotel left a gap in the Atlanta skyline but little fondness in anyone's hearts. I have no particular first hand insight into the freak lightning strikes on the 30th floor atrium which killed 13 people but I am willing to tell my side of the story about the demolition effort leading to the botched implosion. I tell this as a full, open, and honest disclosure. The legal maneuvering and ink has dried, all of the dead are buried, and all the bleeding stopped. The scars remain, the pain persists, the things I saw there are burned in my head even after they've been discredited into the conspiracy theory woodwork of the internet. The lightning storm struck on a Sunday afternoon and the next day for all we knew the bodies were still warm when a lawyer representing the owners of Grazer Tower entered our corporate office. I look back on it now with open and clear eyes and realize it was all very strange from the start when my Lead Foreman, Tom, and I were called into the meeting in progress.
The lawyer and now our client, looked like a fairly normal man in his mid thirties aside from his impeccably white suit which was ironed to the point of looking like stone rather than cloth. Beside the white suit his lips were an uncomfortable maroon and glossy. Besides this he spoke in a plain, clear, and disarming manner refraining from legalese and maintaining a firm but not imposing eye contract with whomever he was speaking directly to.
He told us in no uncertain terms he was instructed to contract with our firm to take down his client's building. Tom and I were shocked when we heard this after all, the lightning disaster, while tragic and perhaps undeservedly tarnishing in the short term to the Grazer Hotel's reputation, did not render the structure unusable nor unsafe to its surroundings. The worst damage was that the steel dome of the 30th floor atrium had collapsed into the vaulted restaurant and ballroom of the 29th floor but that's where the structure damage started and ended, in fact aside from the 28th, 29th, and 30th floor, city engineers working overnight already declared the building sound. So while perhaps still time consuming and costly, repairing the building was definitely possible and cost effective but owners, to make an analogy, were basically insisting on totaling a car after a minor parking lot fender bender. They gave us a specific date by which the building needed to be taken down. When our Boss, Jim, rebuffed the lawyer, not only because the date was challenging and soon but also because it was possible we could have it dropped BEFORE the date specified. The lawyer insisted the building go down on the date given – not later and not earlier. Jim swallowed hard and then glanced at Tom and I. Then the lawyer involved the name of the head of the owner's group, a Mr. Rohmer.
Mr. Rohmer, according to the lawyer, was offering our firm one hundred percent of the cost upfront and another twenty perfect of the total cost plus any overruns – stating if the implosion came early or late, it would mean all very little – no, that's no a typo, that's how the lawyer phrased it from his client, Mr. Rohmer. With that detail out of the way, you can see how the car totaling analogy breaks down considering the owners did not stand to profit from it's demolition – in fact quite the opposite.
The lawyer chuckled a bit to break the tension. He explained his clients and Mr. Rohmer in particular were an unorthodox bunch and then even insisted he wear the white suit in any of their dealings. The lawyer produced a tablet PC from his messenger bag and leveled it to Jim. On the tablet was all the banking confirmation codes ready to go for a direct deposit into our firms account alongside a contract. Jim seemed to hiccup or belch in excitement as he hurried around the short side of his desk to sign it since his stubby t-rex arms could not reach across his desk.
The firm was committed, we were committed – I was committed and I started to mentally cramp up over the challenges we all faced. The Grazer Hotel was in the middle of a dense urban grid. It had to be precise drop with virtually no margin for error. Jim poured us a dram of scotch from the bottle hidden under his desk. None of us a second thought about Rohmer's cryptic remark – after all, how often did you get a one hundred twenty perfect no-bid contract walk in off the street, out of the blue?
A combination of exhilaration over the money and anxiety over the work load kept us all from sleeping that night. Jim and Tom ended up going out and having a wild night to celebrate while I went home to mentally prepare not only myself but also my wife and kids. As a family they were staring down a month and a half of late nights and weekends with no dad. My wife was frustrated until I told her about the bonus and then she said she'd fill the lonely time making plans to send the kids to Disney World and then find a place for us to spend alone together. The promise of a much needed vacation after this only super charged the butterflies in my stomach further in anticipation of this challenging season ending.
As the assistant foreman I had office and on-site duties. Most of it was coordinating between the two. This included personnel, setting up site security – including guards and cameras to keep urban explorers and vagrants of out the dangerous site and satisfy OSHA hazardous work place safety requirements. The most challenging duty was site prep which included disposal of furnishings, removal of windows and other flourishes of the structure's facade which could become deadly shrapnel during an implosion. Fortunately, despite all of this, the nagging questions about permits and clean-up contracts were already handled by the lawyer. Rohmer's group also waived any rights to furnishings which means they could be unceremoniously hauled out in any way we chose to and disposed of.
Now I suppose some of these things should have came as red flags to me – or at least some one in the company but we all justified it as the group must have connects and short cuts to permits and it was a relatively new building, only about twenty years old in fact and furnishings – whether old or new probably weren't of any antique or sentimental value. All in all these were blessings since they freed our hands a bit and made a near impossible deadline more possible.
Of course the good news came with some bad news. The city engineers forbade us from working at the 28th, 29th, and 30th floors – unless we brought in a separate crew to stabilize those levels first. This was quite the fly in the ointment for the controlled implosion plan we sketched out. The 30th floor wasn't as much of a problem but the 29th floor ballroom and the weakening of the 28th floor meant we can't inspect for how compromised they were by the steel atrium dome. For all we knew if we blew the 27th floor on down the dome could shift and topple over the top three floors outside of the implosion safe zone, imperiling people and nearby structures.
I raised holy hell about it while Tom stood calm. It could take months to stabilize and clear those floors and far more money than I thought our eccentric client would pay in overruns. Jim waved me off mid sentence and simply told me he'd take care of it. That was good enough for Tom so it had to be good enough for me. I went back to my job – securing site and planning drop.
Although we had a problem with the top floor our saving grace lie in the basements. It had a three story subterranean parking garage, a basement level pool, and a utility sub-basement. We could easily smash the first ten or twelve floors into that deep footprint. Also the utility sub-basement gave us a clean cut off from the grid and a fairly convenient way to protect the surrounding grid without interruption. Still, at least part of our team would take have to take three weeks out of our six and change to handle the utilities.
The first week was hectic, they always were but we hit no major snags. By the end of it were on schedule and all of the parts were coming together. We thought maybe, just maybe, we were well on our way to an early Christmas bonus but nothing could prepare us for what was coming.
If you work on a site long enough and work anywhere on the site security reporting chain you're bound to get a few questionable reports from your night guys. Let's face it, for folks who are wake all night five or six nights a week poking around with flashlights chasing shadows, every building every where is haunted. I've been on the site security chain for thirteen years so it was easy for me to dismiss reports from the night guys about unusual glows on gutted floors and stairwells, elevators which moved on their own with no one calling for them or inside when they opened on a random floor, or the security cameras and cellphones constantly going offline on the 27th floor and the utility sub-basement.
I wasn't convinced anything of concern was going on until I got called on site by the test drilling team. This team was responsible for sampling the support materials to determine where it was best to place the explosives and what explosives would be best to use. They reported the interior supports were designed in an unusual way with a honey comb of unorthodox metals and concrete not reported on the building's records or blueprints. Specifically, they reported the concrete was impregnated by some kind of metal veins which gave off a bright shimmer. I was asked to come identify it but they claimed it disappeared by the time I arrived.
I was irate at the team and their supervisor for having me to come on down on site for something that sounded so wrong to begin with. They showed me a grainy cellphone video and told me they would swear on a stack of Bibles the sparkling compound welled up in the test coring like mercury, turned blood red and bled on the floor before disappearing into the torn up carpet. I chastised them for making this up and threatened to get new sub contractors if they kept wasting my time. I spoke with a separate sample team on the lower levels and they too discovered some unusual metal compositions – ones which were different then the ones found the top floors. One of the engineers speculated that the contrast in metals between the top and bottom floors could be cause the building to hold an electrical charge, like a battery or like a capacitor. Either way, the engineer said it would require more explosives than initially thought to take down the structure.
A couple of weeks later we were painfully behind – glass removal in particular was going slow because those contractors claimed they were constantly losing their toys. They also claimed one night to have cleared the top five floors on the east side of all their glass – only for all the windows to appear fully intact the next morning. I was forced to end their sub contract due to misrepresentation of work accomplished.
The glass wasn't the only thing slowing us down. The wire and plumbing removal was hindered by the wires somehow were fused to the pipes and in some places, the pipes were fused to the load-bearing members – we thought maybe it was due to the lightning strikes but that really didn't make sense since all of the wiring and plumbing otherwise seemed to work fine before we turned off the utilities. The only thing going for us was the helicopter loophole. Instead of accessing the 30th floor through the condemned floors we were able to get work teams on the atrium floor by helicopter. The bodies of the 13 were removed before we started working and before the atrium fully collapsed into the ballroom but the teams working on the roof reported many unusual artifacts including stained glass and Greek letters comprised of unusual amalgams of metal.
All of the strangeness culminated in the disappearance of one of the night time security guards named Phillipe. I say disappear because his girlfriend filed a missing persons report with the police and when they came to investigate Tom was busy with the atrium operations so the job fell to me. I walked the investigator through guard's smart phone filed reports from the previous evenings. Admittedly I was behind on my end approving the reports so I was embarrassed when things in the report took a turn. His reports including the same odd glows the others were reporting in the stairwells and seeing metallic veins throb on the walls.
His last reports stuck in my head: Report: Sub-basement 4 clear, 0312. Report: Sub-basement 5 clear, 0305. Report: Sub-basement 6 clear 0237.
His “all clear” reports documented levels of the building which did not exist and the further he went into the areas which did not exist, the automatic timestamps went backwards in time. It made no sense – unless he was confused as to where he was due to intoxication and there was software glitch with the timestamps. I was forced to give the investigator no firm explanation.
It's easy to write off a high security guard – they're flaky by their nature and have plenty of reasons to ghost a part time gig and even to pull prank on their final reports. I almost wrote it all off until I saw his girlfriend – apparently his fiance, handing out missing persons fliers outside of the site gate one morning. She seemed absolutely heartbroken and I got stabbed in the gut thinking maybe this wasn't a ghosting and prank after all. Seeing is believing and the next week I started to believe. Tom was finishing up on the atrium level. We used some heavy lift choppers to remove the rest of the frame and glass. Now we could get a better look into the section which collapsed into the 29th floor. We started by using a series of video drones to investigate the melted twisted dome through the collapsed roof. We quickly learned that the drones were being interfered with as their feed would cut out or their batteries would die almost immediately upon entering the ballroom.
So, we had to cut some corners, against city regulations, we let Tom and two others rappel in from the roof on secured anchored lines with helicopter over watch support. We needed to do this because we needed make sure that collapsed wreckage would not move and potentially change the implosion direction. Tom got twisted in his gear as he tried to lean into one of the holes in the roof. He slipped and fell in, disappearing from sight. We frantically radioed for Tom as the other two workers abandoned their own attempts to peer in and scrambled to Tom's aid. Tom was pulled out of the section uninjured but he appeared to be in shock, he looked wild eyed and shook as he was put on the helicopter and lowered back to ground level. Within minutes, Jim called us back to the office to discuss the near miss.
Two weeks to go and week behind, a missing guard, and now a near fatal accident. That for Jim, was the last straw. Tom and I had run out the rope Jim gave us to hang ourselves with. Jim slammed his hand on his desk as he catastrophized, red in the face, nearly breathless, he yelled we could very well kiss that twenty percent goodbye with the way things are going. He pressured Tom to go on the record after his dip into the structure that the atrium debris ball in the ballroom posed no threat to the implosion. Tom was elsewhere. He stared off in a thousand yard stare before replying to Jim that it posed no threat. Then Tom headed for the door. Jim screamed at him that he wasn't done chew us out but Tom only said he had to get back to it. I supported Tom and followed him. He and I headed back to the site to secure the night shift changes – another night not at home and having a late dinner.
I asked Tom in the car ride back what he saw in there. Tom was fixed in a trance and barely responded. He said it was wild. When we got back to the site, Tom separated from me through the gate while I strolled across the street to grab us some dinner from a street vendor. As I stood around waiting for two gyros and two cokes I could help but be mesmerized by the gutted tower. It seemed to breath in the spotlights inhaling puffs of the dust and dirt on the site and then exhaling it. A faint glow, barely perceivable against the light pollution, seemed to brighten, dim, and fade from the upper floors with each of the building's breaths. I was transfixed on it and it was the first time the building gave me an eerie feeling.
I got back on the site, food in hand, there was a buzz in their air as the night shift streamed in and the day shift streamed out. I barely had my hardhat seated corrected on my head when the site's emergency alarm blew. The interim foreman tossed me a radio as I was swept with him and our site occupational safety and emergency personnel to the basement.
Our increasingly panicked footfalls blotted out the squawk of the radios but I could hear one name again and again in the equally panicked messages – Tom Tom Tom. Whatever was happening was happening to Tom.
We reached the pool level and a trail of gasps proceeded me into the pool. There was Tom in his vest and hardhat face down in the middle of the pool with crimson oozing out him into the cerulean tiles lining the drained pool. We piled in from the ladders and shallow end to get to him. It was apparent when the first folks reached him that he was dead. They hauled him out on a stretcher and to our shock he looked like he had been dead for much longer than possible and his skin was water logged despite there being no water. He had died of fall trauma possibly despite the pool only being six feet deep. The paramedics also claimed he had water in his lungs. Then I noticed he was wearing his rappelling harness weaved in his vest – but that made no sense – he took it and his vest off when we were getting chewed out by Jim. Why would he put his rappelling gear on again.
I was the assistant foreman no more. Now the buck stopped with me. As they took Tom to the morgue we all knew the show must go on – our client demanded it, Jim demanded it and Tom would have wanted it that way. The same police investigator from the guard's disappearance met with me over Tom's death. They said it was standard procedure with work place deaths. I gave him a copy of the footage on an SD card and left the moment after it left my hand.
I had the recording queued up to the time of the commotion. The video we provided had a poor angle and was focused on the door to monitor access – the comings and goings of people. It was shift change so people were filing in and out Tom was somewhere in the crowd. The pool was one of the areas which required both foot patrols and constant video monitoring. I hit the rewind button on accident and watched his body lie there and lie there and then the timestamp sped past the 1900 hour mark. We were in traffic from meeting with Jim at that time. This was impossible but I kept my finger on the rewind button. Around 1400 the camera shakes a bit and there is slight glow reflecting on the doors so I let it play back to the shake. There is a soft green glow and then could hear a heft thud in the room. I gulped knowing that was Tom falling into the pool around the same time he fell into the hole in the roof. The soft glow turned brighter and brighter like a laser shining into the lens – something that wasn't present on the rewind. There was a flash of an incomprehensible shape or form on the screen. I was physically hurt in my eyes like I had just stared into the sun. I was left dazed with the shaped burned into my eyes with each blink. Then the camera system shorted out and a tiny puff of smoke left the memory module. The cameras blinked off wall to wall, the whole system was dead.
With the cameras fried, regulations required someone high in the company to be on site or we'd have to leave for the night. So I stayed knowing we couldn't afford to lose an hour much less an entire night. I circled the pool between approving payrolls and directing the increased security guard traffic required to monitor more areas. I was thinking about what I would say at Tom's funeral. I was thinking about Tom's family and what they would think about his apparent suicide.
I was forced to patrol the rest of the sub-basements as well since most of the guards were at the site perimeters or higher levels. I would have to follow paths of Phillipe, the disappeared guard, and all of the other guards who had mismatched timestamps on their increasingly strange reports. If not for today's incident and the recording of Tom's death, I would have stood fast to the idea that these reports were the product of night jitters and drugs but now, no.
I gritted my teeth as I exited the pool area to patrol the lower levels. I hated this building I muttered to myself. I couldn't wait to see it all rumble. I thought about which part I'd like to keep from the site to place in Tom's casket – then I realized it probably wasn't going to be an open casket funeral. I was lost in my thoughts and hatred for the building as I roamed through the parking garage into the utilities basement. I lost track of where I was as I weaved down stairwells.
I shown my flashlight on the wall and the floor level sign said “Sub-basement 999”. I stopped cold in my tracks. I was hoping it was a prank but I knew it was no prank. Then I thought maybe I'd have some answers. Maybe I would finally see what all the strangeness was about. But then I freaked out about Phillipe's disappearance and turned to run back up the stairwell. I ran up four levels to what I thought was the lobby and I pushed the door open.
My jaw hit the floor when I saw a black and white galaxy – the stars were black and the space was white with gradations of gray. The whole room was just white outer space and the whole universe swirled fast counter clockwise. I tried to breath and when I did the galaxy shrunk before my eyes until it was the size of a tiny of marble and then even smaller to a speck of dust. I reached out as it floated towards me. I stared at the speck in a cold sweat. As I stared, I was looking deeper and deeper into impossible detail. In the dust I found the milky way galaxy, I found our solar system, I found Earth and then I found North America, and then I found myself back in the pool room dripping in sweat.
Time seemed to skip and space was malleable in that hotel. As we approached the deadline to drop it, some jobs which would take hours took days and some jobs which would take days took minutes. The anomalies seemed to swarm tonight and day and yet we pressed on. Tom was buried and I couldn't go.
We met the deadline and the city came out in numbers to watch us drop the thirty floor structure. They gathered nearly two blocks away clad in ponchos and dust masks bracing for the implosion triggered by half a ton of high explosives.
I was so burned out and demoralized. My mantra became “this is for Tom, this is for Tom” and it was the only thing carrying me to this day. I chalked up all the anomalies and even my own experience on 999th sub-basement level as a reaction to shock, loss, grief, and exhaustion.
We were on the thirty minute countdown and Mr. Rohmer's attorney was designated as the trigger man. He stood there with Jim and I in the command trailer with the detonator remote. The remote triggered a two minute countdown on the charges from a master control station in my command trailer. All the charges had to be hardwired old school style because we were getting too much walkie talkie and radio interference from inside the structure for any other method of trigger to be reliable. I was too tried to make a stink about insisting I do it. I just wanted it to be over but suddenly a freak thunderstorm brewed up over the city. The skies were overcast and we were on the verge of having to abort the implosion until the next day – despite the next day being a day past the deadline. If we didn't abort and went through with the implosion, there was a strong chance the shock waves from the blast would bounce back off the lower cloud base and shatter windows and ears across the city.
I sat in my command chair at the perimeter in dismay, almost in tears as it started to rain. I felt my heart drop into the acid of my stomach as I ordered the suspension of the implosion for the day. The lawyer, surprisingly, did not resist. I watched as the crowds dispersed from the viewing lines and police started to permit traffic back through the streets surrounding the site.
Then a group of unauthorized personnel threw open the door of the trailer. They were a mass of men and women clad in pressed white suits, stoney faces with thin maroon lips, one of them carried a white covered book.
The attorney dropped his eyes and head in deference to elderly man at the head of the congregation. The attorney addressed him as Monsignor. The man introduced himself as Monsignor Rohmer and he placed his hand on his attorney, calling him a cousin of the congregation, stating there will be no postponement and no delay.
Rohmer, a man I judged to be in his late 50's or early 60's was bald and covered it with a white derby hat. He was tall, about six five, and thin, so thin his suit fit him like snake half shedding its skin. His was face long and his cheeks thin and worn like a mountain side. His voice was steady and low like waterfall. Everything he said bloomed with authority and confidence. He ordered the building would be dropped in twenty minutes.
I told him I didn't care if he was the owner, the building could not be blown in this weather and I snatched the detonator out of his attorney's hands. Rohmer, moving faster than I believed humanly possible with some kind of martial arts move swiped the detonator from my hands. Simultaneously, he had two of his followers press Jim against the wall. They put him in a sleeper hold and he slumped down to the floor barely getting a word out. Then Rohmer gestured to his flock to follow towards the building.
They left in a fast deliberate almost choreographed walk like a flock of geese flying in formation. I grabbed the radio to get police help but I realized that was hopeless. I watched as our trailer was shrouded in the same interference we experienced in the building's interior. The CCTV monitors flickered out and the radio squawked static. Then I realized Rohmer had no control over the detonation and no way to contact his followers still with us in the command trailer. So I did what I had to and pulled the master key out of the master detonator in the command trailer and chased after the flock. I needed to know what was happening I needed to see with my own eyes what all of this was all about.
The Congregation had reached the lobby and I saw the trailing end of the clad white congregate into the stairwell. I darted at my best speed to follow them.
I reached the stair well door. I found Rohmer standing on the top step, apparently waiting for me. I was out of breath while he began to speak to me in his booming voice. He explained to me that if the building did not fall in the next twenty minutes, all of Earth would be pulled, sucked, inside out and down through the building into the black and white universe. The entire building, but especially the atrium dome, he continued, was designed and built to create and then temporarily contain an impossible shape, a living form, a 4 dimensional object, a tesseract, when struck by lightning in the presence of thirteen self-sacrificial Congregate members. This shape would slowly expand and cause space and time anomalies before growing so large inside compared to its size would pull us all into place with no life.
The shape was still in the process of forming even as we spoke, he said. It would reach critical mass and dimensional contortion and the only way to stop it was to disfigure and crush it in the hotel's collapse. He led me into the pool level where his entire congregation was sitting cross-legged where Tom fell. A green pulse, like a laser, came down from the ceiling into the group's center, where their white book lay open on blank pages. I had a feeling this glow was being projected down from the ballroom where the dome of the atrium was taking its final fourth dimensional form.
After a loud chant from the white clad followers, the book slammed shut and turned from a brilliant white shimming cover to one black as night. As they passed around book, their white suits turned black and the formed a single file line. Rohmer left my side and pulled the detonator from his suit. He showed it me and tossed it at me. In my panic I reached out with both hands to catch it but I forgot I still had the master key in my sweat slick hand and it fly out and fell at the foot of Rohmer.
I asked what he planned to do with the key without a lock and a jammed detonator. Rohmer bent down and grabbed the key and looked me without a hint of concern. He took the new black book into his hands and opened it facing the wall of the pool. A new green pulse launched from the book and flickered on the tiles. An octagonal outline appeared to frame a hazy image of a tropical beach. One by one Rohmer's congregation walked into the side of the pool, into glow and seemed to arrive safely on the otherside of the beach.
Once all his compatriots were on the beach, he turned a page in the book and reopened it, projecting another octagon portal on the side of the pool. I could see his destination – it was the command trailer. He stepped through portal and yelled to me from the other side that I had two minutes. The portal sealed.
I could hear the warning sirens we installed going off above me. Needless to say, I made it out, just barely. I reached the perimeter fence screaming to anyone who was in ear shot to run away. The building imploded as planned but I was caught in the dust cloud and developed tinnitus severe enough to be comparable with combat veterans.
The shock waves from the explosions were reflected off the cloud base and channeled down the street by other skyscrapers. Virtually every window in a two block radius around the site was shattered and hundreds of people were hurt in the resulting stampede and vehicle collisions caused by fleeing from the flying glass cascade. Parts of downtown looked like a war zone for weeks afterward.
Rohmer and the rest of his group, including the lawyer, had disappeared out of the trailer in another portal leaving a suitcase of gold equaling the twenty percent promised. Our company was fined, sued, and threatened with criminal charges and eventually put of business. There wasn't much left after paying the cities fines and lawyer fees.
Though I was spared any direct sanctions, I forced into an early retirement. I've had time to research Rohmer's group. There are at least six mentions of figures like Rohmer on the deepest parts of the conspiracy web. They seem to show up at a locale experiencing paranormal activity with a white book and then leave with a black book. Their departure usually marks the end of any strangeness. I can't be sure but this congregation seems to be summon demons, which they exorcise, by trapping them in their books. Trapping maybe a poor term to use since, as in the case of the Grazer hotel encounter, they can apparently cleanse the anomalies and then use the book containing them to weaponize a portion of the traits of whatever their unholy creations posses.
I suspect Rohmer and his congregation, now with the ability to teleport, are accelerating their plans, to whatever ends these paranormal means enable them.
Theo Plesha - Sequel to "Flush" by Theo Plesha on The Chilling App

I have a client who is 101 years old and needs repairs on his roof and general repairs on his home. Does anyone know if Houston has a program for free roof replacement for seniors? I've been doing google searches but it's like an endless loop of sending me through links and not delivering actual results. I would appreciate it as I am also looking into it for my own elderly parents. Thank you in advance!

After storms in my area I’ve had countless companies ring the door bell and offer to replace/repair my roof. They all say no out of pocket costs and they’ll deal with my insurance.
What’s the deal with this? Is this legit?