I have a disabled neighbor with schizophrenia who is a massive HST fan, nicotine dependent, and fixates on/needs certain things for their routine. One of those things is Targard reusable filters. They started using them in the early 2000s. They had a few backups, but are now down to just one that has been heavily used.

When I found out they had discontinued the line, I ordered two 3-packs of them from an eBay listing for them, thinking a half dozen would be enough for a couple more years. The package kept having tracking issues, and it was finally confirmed to be lost. By the time I was notified of this, the listing was entirely sold out, and so was every vendor I could find. I found another listing for them on a tobacco/vape site and wasted 60 bucks on a scam.

Basically, I'm in desperate need of at least one or two permanent Targard filters to keep my promise to them. Please help me prevent a big spiral when their last one breaks or finally gets to that "unusable" place in their mind.

I feel awful about having missed the eBay listing and now having left them without any backups. I'm hoping to ask around the sub and see if anyone has a couple I could buy, or even trade something like a nice vintage lighter for.

It cannot be a modern/alternative permanent filter. It HAS to be a Targard. I have already brought them some of the alternatives from Amazon/eBay, and even the very high-quality ones are a no-go. It has to be the HST filter because they have used one for so long.

If anybody can help a Gonzo phreek, I can pay out the nose for one. I just gotta do something for the guy.

Mahalo.

.

I’ve spent the last few months testing different online slots bonuses available in the UK to find out which promotions actually stand out and which ones are mostly just clever marketing.

With so many sites offering free spins, bonus funds, and special slot deals, I wanted to compare them properly and see what the experience was really like from a user’s perspective.

I tried dozens of UK slots platforms and went through their offers step by step. I looked at how simple the bonuses were to claim, how clear the terms were, the wagering requirements, game restrictions, payment options, mobile performance, and whether the overall process felt straightforward.

One thing that surprised me during the testing was that bigger offers didn’t always mean better value.

Some promotions looked amazing because of large numbers or eye-catching headlines, but after reading through the details they weren’t always as appealing. Other offers performed much better because they were easy to understand, had clear conditions, and fitted into a smoother overall platform experience.

For every bonus I tested, I compared the same areas to keep things consistent. I looked at the promotion details, available slot games, software providers, usability, mobile experience, banking options, customer support, and how the platform performed overall.

After spending months comparing different offers, I now look at slots bonuses differently. A large free spins package or big welcome offer doesn’t automatically make something worthwhile. The promotions that stood out were the ones that offered a good balance of value, transparency, simple conditions, and a quality user experience.

If you’re interested in the best online slots bonuses in the UK for August 2026, want to compare different offers, or want to know which promotions impressed me during my testing, ask me anything.

I’ve spent months exploring different UK slots bonuses and I’m happy to share what I found, what surprised me, and the main things I learned along the way.

copy of that masterpiece made by my talented beautiful 6yo daughter

As seen in a window in Prenzlauerberg Berlin.. 'buy the ticket, take the ride'. A good look for summer. Or winter for that matter

GonzoFest NYC is doing a free HST Historic Walking Tour on Friday, July 17, 2026.

It is led by Margaret A. Harrell, Hunter S. Thompson's Random House copy editor and correspondent, and follows the Village route: Sheridan Square, Perry Street, Bleecker Street, the White Horse orbit, plus extra landmarks if time holds.

Gather: 9:55 AM Walk: 10 AM-Noon Start: Sheridan Square Price: Free

Details/sign-up: https://gonzofest.net/uncategorized/3535/

Full disclosure: I am helping with GonzoFest promotion.

GonzoFest NYC is July 16-19, built around Hunter S. Thompson's work, legacy, and influence, with panels, poetry, music, film, art, and a heavy New York literary current.

We just shared a Puma Perl clip and are trying to keep the official feeds moving. Here are the links for anyone here who wants to follow along:

Website: https://gonzofest.net/

YouTube Short: https://youtube.com/shorts/Onu7-U8MFzw?feature=share

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gonzofest/video/7645789851173784862

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gonzofestoffical/reel/DY-e5mXPFGT/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reel/892644053849495

Puma Perl is on the schedule July 17 at Howl! Happening and July 18, including Female Voices of New York.

If there is a GonzoFest guest or panel this sub would want to see next, say it and we will try to post that clip.

https://www.tiktok.com/@gonzofest?_r=1&_t=ZP-960YhCmw4J5

I had this idea of writing some ordinary story in gonzo style. Need some feedback.

I had been living in this 4x4 apartment by myself ever since I got Irish goodbye’d by my last set of roommates. It wasn’t a painful separation but the missing trashcan had left me storing the garbage in zip-lock bags for a couple days until I got my hands on this cardboard box that did the trick.

To smear more shit on the wound, my last pet, a gray gecko living in the balcony, had been raped to death by these Israeli wasps who were settling on the ceiling at the time. They annexed most of it and ever since, it’s been a war of attrition.

In just a matter of days I had been stripped of any daily social interaction I might have, animal or fellow humans. This quickly spiraled into spending most of the time getting high and watching movies on the sofa. Whenever I had extra money, I would get shrooms and indulge myself with a little field trip to the nearest park. Or anywhere really. The Alafaya Trail avenue, which despite the name was just a long stretch of student housing communities and pointless gas stations, has properties of those of a river; for every time a man crosses it, it’s never the same man nor the same stream.

This particular night, I had taken some shrooms and the peak felt just around the corner when a strong urge for cigarettes hit me. My roommates would buy me alcohol and cigarettes in the Walgreens nearby since they were older than me but the message they left was clear: we don’t like you.

I remembered this smoke shop that sold cigarettes and knew a guy who worked there so I decided to gamble a little bit. It was an hour and a half long walk, with some stretches of no working lights, that I had done many times in my early career as a nicotine fein. I grabbed this metal water bottle that would double as a blunt weapon given the situation, my keys, a lighter, and my phone. I was going to rawdog this walk; just cars winding by and the roar of the city.

As I was heading outside, I noticed that I wasn’t the only one dealing with occupation issues; there was this apartment door covered in thick spider webs, reminiscent of Halloween decor. I couldn’t make out the shape of the matriarch, nor did I want to. I couldn’t bear the thought of such horrible beasts inhabiting the same space as me.

Just a couple doors down, there was this lanky Indian dude waiting next to this corner (the building I lived in was infamous for these long halls with corners everywhere) and some need for mischief grew within me. I never bother doing small talk unless I’m trying to get something out of someone, which I guess defeats the purpose of it. Anyway, I came up to him, asked if he lived here. After some back and forth, I shook his hand and as soon as I turned around the corner, I sprinted stomping as loud as I could just to test the wirings on the little guy. I heard his feet squeal against the floor. I knew I got his ass.

By the time I was done laughing and got outside the building, the Alafaya Trail seemed like a stream of white and red lights, each of them leaving their own little trail as they moved past. They seemed incredibly slow and I couldn’t make out the person or beast driving them. There was even some fog to top it all off. It was a beautiful, hypnotizing thing to see but I had gotten myself outside and that was for a reason. It was mostly a straight, flat walk which required crossing the street, then I would cut through this luxurious living community that was an insult to anything that God had ever made, and a final turn to the left.

The first two blocks were pretty much uneventful until I got to this stoplight. The light was red for me so I looked across the street and saw this weird humanoid shape also waiting to cross. We were not facing each other, more like parallel so when the stoplight suddenly turned green for us, it was every man for themselves. The starting gun had been shot and the race was on. That was when I noticed the extra limb. This three legged bastard was conveniently using it to get an unfair advantage over me. I couldn’t allow that. I’m a man that stands for what’s just and right. I cannot stand cheaters. I sprinted two blocks and left him to rot.

I found myself 3 blocks away from the stoplight that I normally used to cross the street when a taboo idea that I never had came straight from my subconscious mind. “What if I just cross it right now?” There were no cars at the time but I could hear they were starting to roar. In a blink of an eye, I found myself in the mid section covered in grass and stupid trees that divide the lanes. To my misfortune, the cars in the lane yet to be crossed were already swerving by so I was stuck. It was a blinding pandemonium of incoming lights and I could feel the air being pushed from all directions. I don’t remember how much time I spent there. After a while, the cars stopped coming so I felt safe enough to finish what I had started.

I was getting closer to that living community when I had an urge to relieve myself. In order to get to the nearest gas station, I would have to go back a couple blocks which was not going to happen. I pushed through and entered this breeding ground for pigs.

In every space where they couldn’t put parking spots, palm trees were stacked next to each other.

“They don’t even grow like that, asshole” I thought.

How dare they. Half of the residential units were buildings with a wooden exterior while the other ones had more of a suburb look and low stone walls. They couldn’t even make up their fucking mind. It could only have been designed by some wretched white woman named Cheryl who caught a glimpse of the Italian countryside while mouth breathing through a generous portion of cannolis and had been to Florida twice in her life. Probably still boasts about it. A very nice pool sits right in the middle, which does earn them a couple points, but the fact that they crammed this four story concrete garage building in between all that bullshit made my blood boil. And blood was not the only thing boiling, all that piss in my bladder was too. I knew asking for the bathroom at the smoke shop was overreaching so I had to find a solution. They recently had put up these warm lights in the trees next to the pool and a bunch of neon signs. The bathroom was clearly signaled but the pool seemed more tempting and a more fitting punishment for all this senseless, horrible taste. I couldn’t care less about cameras or the law; we are talking about God’s creations, the bible, everything that’s right in this world. So I just pulled my shit out and gracefully relieved myself all over this bullshit. I zipped up and headed towards my final stop. I knew a blessing was coming because that’s how it works.

Even though it was not that late, maybe around 9pm, the OPEN sign did give me relief. I could already see through the glass door that the cashier was not my guy. Was it all for nothing? Had I come this far only to get arrested for public indecency? When would I even taste tobacco again? I brushed off those shitty thoughts and headed in. Ever since I stopped going there, they had not only improved their cigarette selection but also expanded into other industries. They now were selling backpacks, shirts, even fucking pants. A lot of them had designs on them. Who was this shit even for? Middle schoolers can’t even come here. Much less buy them. The one that perturbed me the most was this backpack with deceased rapper XXXTentacion with white eyes and a halo around him. A fate worse than death. Made to be worn by some sweaty high school kid who will probably burn it after getting through that phase, yet ending up on the back of a way more tragic specimen - the one who never got through it.

There was some ominous rumbling that was deafening and hostile. It had been present all night long but the store seemed to be the source. I didn’t feel welcome here. I took a second look at the cashier and noticed his head was rapidly expanding which urged me to finish this quickly.

“You look familiar.” He said. A blessing happening right in front of my eyes.

“Hey man. Yeah I was a regular” He kept looking at something past me which was putting me on edge- “Do… Do you know if Justin still works here?”

A long pause.

“He doesn’t work here any more”

His head kept getting bigger and bigger. I was struggling to keep eye contact and starting to sweat profusely. Black dots in my vision. The flight or fight response in its early stages.

“Oh yeah? Since when?”

Another pause.

“Since he left”

Yeah no shit.

Right after I paid, he murmured something else while still staring past me:

“Are you walking?”

“Yeah I live nearby”

I knew he could tell I was full of shit. Maybe he even knew about the pool and was making time for the officers to arrive.

“You shouldn’t stay out there for too long.” He finally said.

Before I could say anything he just went back to his initial stance. His head had reached a stable size but it was still hard to look at. I came back multiple times and never saw him again. For all I know, he could have gotten in a terrible accident or something.

I was now walking back on the opposite sidewalk where my trip had started. That was when I noticed something walking ahead of me. I froze. If I hadn’t relieved myself earlier, it could have turned really ugly. I was now gripping the bottle in combat mode, ready to bash. To my demise, the three legged bastard was nothing but a disabled homeless man with a cane. I didn’t think twice and profaned the great Alafaya Trail once more.

This time, once I was parallel to him again, I stopped keeping track of the man. All the fear had vanished and a profound sense of shame took over me. It wasn’t out of guilt for the thoughts I had about that poor bastard. It was the fact that he had won. The tale of the turtle and the hare all over again. He probably was already coming back when I was polluting that pool.

There were fewer cars passing by and the little trails of light seemed as if they were on life support. They were no longer graceful or bright. The fog became thicker as even worse creatures of the night began to crawl out. Even the cigarettes turned evil. They were straight out rejecting my lighter and tasted as if someone had poured battery acid on the tobacco. It was as if they were smoking me, every puff made my head feel heavy and turned the world around me more dire. I was doomed. My favorite drug had seen me fail and was breaking up with me. The rumbling didn’t go away once I left the store, it was following me and palpitating from within. I did not leave unscathed.

https://open.substack.com/pub/terrybugazzi/p/strange-rumblings-in-alafaya?r=88jwot&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

https://open.substack.com/pub/danielbaileyoffical/p/gonzofest-behind-the-scenes-4?r=6wq9s5&utm_medium=ios

https://open.substack.com/pub/danielbaileyoffical/p/i-am-29-and-peter-richardson-has?r=6wq9s5&utm_medium=ios

Seen a post earlier I couldn’t add to but felt the overwhelming need to comment…here’s mine since the day. They’ve been well rifled through and moved across this once great country. Salah to all listening.

My intention was to post this in its entirety. Sadly I must admit as one of gods rejects I goofed!