#as a computer science student i have no idea if an error like that could occur (burning in shame) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cinnamonest · 2 years

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Sorry for the error to anyone receiving two notifs for the same post, I just posted this, noticed an error as soon as I did, and tried to edit the post, but it kept spinning and the chrome page encountered an error and closed, so I’m just going to repost.

The Childe high school teacher post and the last babysitter post has reignited my age gap love, I might make a sort of series eventually but for now I haven't done any Xiaoposting™ in a while so have this

//Age gap, HS teacher/student, alcohol consumption, drugging

(Also I know various places have a teacher-rotational schedule and not a student-rotational schedule but I just made it the latter because it worked better with the idea here, sorry)

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On the bright side, working at one of these uppity private schools has its advantages. Better pay, more well-behaved kids, better facilities. The downsides are the snobbishness of some of the kids, and the area is not the best of climates, but it's worth the pay.

Regardless, wherever you go, to some extent there will always be the same types of students. As a teacher, you can predict that, with each incoming class, there will always be one or two students who fall into a specific role. There's always at least one that, without fail, fills a particular "spot" of sorts. Even at a rich kid school, there's still athletic jerks and social butterflies and computer nerds and every other archetype you can think of. Some are more difficult than others, but you think you're adequately prepared to deal with whatever may come your way.

Your subject is one of those standard classes, mandatory for each student to take, broad and standardized. So it's not like any one particular type of student takes it, unlike electives like art or theatre or specialty classes like advanced maths or sciences, no, you get all sorts of personalities. Not to mention you get a wide variety of investment levels -- some care, they're enthusiastic and enjoy the subject, some try their best but aren't particularly interested, and then some could not care less, putting in minimal effort, constantly checking the clock waiting for it to be over.

You can tell a lot about individual students without ever having to speak to them, it's just in the way they walk, dress, their posture, where they choose to sit, their handwriting, the light (or lack thereof) in their eyes. You can even make pretty accurate assumptions about their personal wellness, home life, aspirations, personality, interests, and so on. Not that you don't also love getting to know each one as an individual, of course, you're particularly excited to meet and memorize each new face and name, and the individual attached.

On the first day, the first student to enter homeroom actually comes into the room well before it's time to start the day. Most of the others are taking a bit of time, since many are talking to and reuniting with friends they haven't seen in a few months. There are, in your experience, two reasons why this can happen -- either he's new and for some reason transferred to a different school for his final year of high school, or, he is simply, as you would call it it, "that kid."

It becomes almost immediately evident that it is the latter.

He doesn't say anything himself, and almost seems startled when you chime a quick good morning! at him. He just looks up at you for a brief second, nods in acknowledgement, and then makes a direct beeline for that one seat in the far back corner of the room. Reaches it, sets his bag down with a heavy thud, and then sits down and slouches over. Right. You can make a few guesses about him, just from that brief interaction.

You do pay attention to behaviors, of course, you're in this occupation because you do care and want to enrich the kids' lives and support them and all of that, so you're certain you'll learn his character as you do everyone else's. He just... fits a certain profile. The messy uniform presentation (shirt not tucked in, shoes all scuffed up, and so on), the dark undereye circles, the slouching posture, the silent brooding demeanor. Everything fits perfectly for that one particular type of student.

You're perfectly on the mark, too. In the coming days, Xiao proves to perfectly fit the idea you had in your head of what he'd be like.

He just weakly raises a hand during roll-call for homeroom, doesn't say "here" or anything at all. In your actual class, when you assign the occasional breakout group work, letting students pair up or get into small groups to complete an in-class assignment, he always chooses to do it by himself. Every take-home assignment is turned in horrendously crumpled or creased -- you've directly witnessed the fact that he just loosely stuffs all books and papers into his bag. Messy, but still legible handwriting. Everything lines up with the assumptions you made from the first few seconds of meeting him.

But he's not a bad kid. Even if sometimes he turns things in a day late, he stills turns in everything nonetheless. Granted, his grades are not... the best, but he's not failing, and you can tell he's trying. That's what matters, isn't it?

You also try to pay attention to and keep tabs on students that seem to struggle a bit socially, so before long he's essentially your number one subject for said observations. You've never seen him interact with someone by choice. He's in this odd middle ground where he's certainly not popular, in fact you're pretty sure he doesn't have any friends... Yet, he blends into the background very well and doesn't stand out at all, so he's not getting bullied or anything either. The usual bully types find him too boring to pick on. They certainly tried; back in the middle school years they found that picking on him didn't give them the reactions they were trying to invoke. He just sighed and ignored them, so they quickly moved on to more entertaining victims, and now they no longer even acknowledge he exists, much less try to mess with him.

Equally concerningly, and perhaps most frustrating, considering the time and effort you put in, is a slight academic challenge. He does try and all, but he's not the most attentive student, has a tendency to visibly space out and get lost in thought, completely blank thousand-yard stare. Usually when you call on him, you can see him snap out of it, and he more or less proves that he was in fact zoned out, because he needs you to repeat the question, and is observably completely lost. Other times, he just looks like he's on the verge of falling asleep. You figure part of it is certainly due to sitting so far away from the front.

However, this issue thankfully is similar in nature to another issue you have with some other students -- since you let your students sit where they want, of course most students will sit next to friends. The issue being that, predictably, this leads to a lot of distractions and disruptions, costing you precious time and all. You hate to upset anyone, but for the sake of productivity, you move them around and make a seating chart, a few weeks in.

It occurs to you that perhaps this could be an opportunity to get him into a spot where he has more chances to interact, out of his shell so to speak, and a brighter spot to help him not space out. Oh, you could put him next to one of those sympathetic, super social types that goes out of their way to reach out to the loner types and be their friend. That would be helpful, right? That's totally not an introvert's worst nightmare or anything. Thus, you leave a chart displayed at the front of the class the next day, so everyone can find their spot.

You'd think you shot him in the chest, you can see his facial expression go through the five stages of grief when he sees it. Having to give up the treasured, the sacred, the prized back corner seat? To sit in the FRONT? Are you out of your mind? Not to mention, the back corner has a tall supply cabinet along the wall that casts a comforting shadow over him at all times, and now you're demanding he sit directly beneath the light. AND you put him next to one of those bright eyed, high-energy people who's going to go out of their way to -- unsolicitedly! -- force their acquaintanceship upon him out of pity. He's not even next to a wall, meaning he has people on both sides. What kind of sadistic pleasure do you take from this.

But begrudgingly, he sluggishly grasps the top of his backpack and drags it along the ground to the front seat, and sits without protest, although he certainly has a mopey expression for the days to come.

You still check on him to ensure your choice had some positive effect... or maybe not. As expected, the outgoing kid you put him next to insists on working with him, but every time you look over said kid is talking a mile a minute, while he just sits still and silent with a glazed-over thousand yard stare... maybe that wasn't the best move...? At least it counts for interaction.

You ask around a bit, talk to other teachers who have had him as as student for years, and they all say the same thing. He's just like that. Nonetheless, you can't help but feel some concern. Frankly, as weeks pass, you do worry a bit. He just has a constant melancholy vibe, gives off this air of depression and loneliness, and you can't help but wonder if maybe something is wrong, if he needs help in some way. In your experience, there's always some kids who really do need help, be it related to their home life or their friends or just their sense of self, and it's just as much your job to ensure their prosperity in life as much as in academics, right?

So you do something about it. You ask him to stay behind for just a minute after a class -- at first, he seems nervous, thinks he's done something wrong, awkwardly fidgeting. But he seems a bit surprised when you ask him a gentle is everything okay? You just seem down, I was just wondering if I can help...

He shakes his head, mumbles out that he's fine. Nothing wrong. Really. He keeps his eyes glued to the ground as he speaks. You can sense he's probably uncomfortable, so you dismiss him after that. But not without giving a quick reassurance.

If you ever want to talk, you can always come find me, okay?

He nods. Still doesn't look at you, his eyes just dart from wall to wall. He leaves -- more like scampers away as fast as possible -- when you finish speaking. You're fairly certain he was barely listening, and will completely disregard you, even maybe doesn't have anything wrong. Maybe talking to him wasn't the best idea, even, he might have just found it awkward or strange... so you assume he won't actually take you up on the offer.

Until he does.

It's after school lets out and most kids have already started to go home, a few days after your interaction, you're just sitting at your desk and typing when you hear footsteps coming up to your door. Then they pause, and move back in the other direction, then back towards you again, then away again, as if the person in question can't make up their mind and is hesitating... But finally, you see his head quietly peek around the doorframe, quickly retreating when you look up, but coming back around again when you tell him to come in.

He's awkward and quiet as he makes his way in, stands there stiffly in front of the desk until you encourage him to sit down. He sits backwards in a chair, folding his arms over the back and resting his head on top of them, legs sprawled out. You try to make him feel more comfortable by smiling and speaking in a soft voice. So, what's going on? Did you have something you wanted to say?

He pauses for a moment. He still doesn't look you in the eye, fixating his gaze instead on where he has his hands clutched together against the back of the seat.

...What are you working on?

He doesn't seem to actually have any sort of problem he wanted to talk about, no, he just wanted to talk to you, apparently...? You were expecting venting or dumping heavy emotional stuff on you, but it turns out he just asks about your work. What class is that for? Do you like that class? What's your favorite class you teach? Do you have a lot of work? Are you usually here late? He asks each question one by one in a fairly low voice, and then waits for you to answer. And then waits quietly a little more, as if waiting for you to say more, prompting you to continue speaking, and only then does he move onto the next question. All in all, you end up having to fill several minutes of what would otherwise be silence before he asks another short question. You continue this back-and-forth for quite a while.

A normal conversation is not exactly what you had in mind when you said you could talk, but you figure that this undoubtedly still helps, just having someone to talk to can have a positive impact on someone's life. Maybe he doesn't want to talk about specific things bothering him, or isn't ready to yet, you think, but he still wants some kind of connection and interaction. When someone is depressed or upset, just having a person to talk to is good for the mind, so you've heard. So you're still helping, you reason.

Eventually, though, after a few hours pass, you do need to go... You softly ask if it's okay if you can continue tomorrow. He nods, seemingly startled by realizing how much time passed, and apologizes for taking up so much of your time, but you reassure him that it's no trouble at all and that you'd love to continue talking tomorrow. You don't want to discourage him or make him feel unwelcomed, of course, so you emphasize that you'd want to continue. It's good for him, right? Clearly this talk was helpful to him in some way. Emotional support and all that.

He does come back the next day, but still has nothing in particular to speak of, just more general questions and light conversation. You don't give him the same talk at the end of the day about how he could come back tomorrow, but you assume he knows he's welcome. But he seems to be in a better mood, so you think maybe you've effectively accomplished helping him.

Except he does come back a third time anyway, which is totally fine of course. This time, he comes to your door during the lunch period, asking if it's okay to eat in here with you (rather than the empty classroom he usually finds a quiet place in), and of course you say it's fine. No big deal, you don't mind. He... still comes back after school as well, though.

And that repeats the next day. And the next day. And the... next... day...

You quickly realize there has been a bit of a misunderstanding. What you meant was that if he had some kind of problem, he should come talk to you about it... but apparently he interpreted your words to mean you were open to regular conversation on a daily basis. That is, if it can even be called "conversation," since it's mostly him asking random questions and you answering. And if your answer is short, much like the first time, he just sits silently waiting for you to say more, so you've learned to draw out and elaborate on your answers. You figured at first that he would eventually come out of his shell so to speak and talk more, and he is, just... very slowly. After your first conversation, he starts to speak at a normal volume and with much less awkwardness, which is a good start, it's just still a very solemn tone... that you soon realize is just his normal voice.

Still, you don't mind. You're helping. You're doing something good. So you aren't bothered at all. You smile and engage with him and try to make him feel comfortable and listened to.

And he latches on like a leech.

Every day now, like clockwork, when the lunch bell rings, you have a matter of a few minutes before he quietly shuffles his way into your room for your daily talks. And once the final bell of the day rings, sure enough, once again it's only a short time before he appears at your door again. It's always the same routine, he comes to sit at the same chair, sits the same way, hunched over with his head resting on his folded arms, sleeves muffling his voice. He asks about your day first, each and every time. And likewise, each and every time, you give the courtesy of repeating the question back to him, only for him to respond the same way: 'good.' On rare occasions, if something particularly interesting happened, or if something is especially irritating him, you might get a longer answer, but never more than a few sentences. He's far more interested in listening to you, but you do want to get him to open up as well.

Which you do, to the best of your ability. It's difficult at first to converse with someone who's average number of words per sentence could be counted on one hand, but you find ways over time. The trick is to get him onto something he likes, and then he lights up a bit, and will talk much more. You've learned how to distinguish his emotions -- he doesn't emote very much, doesn't really smile or talk excitedly, rather, you've learned the tells of happiness for him: his eyes get a bit wider, and he speaks a bit louder, and in several sentences at a time, even though his facial expression and tone stay about the same.

You've even been able to get him to ramble a bit by asking about those games he always carries around with him, since he's fond of bringing one of those handheld consoles to school each day and pulling it out at every conceivable opportunity rather than, you know, speak to another human being. You have absolutely no idea what he's talking about, but it makes him happy, and you're glad to see him actually look excited and enthusiastic about something.

You still do worry for his sake on a wide variety of matters, though, because that's more or less the only thing he's particularly invested in. You briefly asked him what he plans to do after graduating, which only earned a shrug and an I don't know. He doesn't seem particularly concerned about the matter either. You're fairly certain he hasn't spent a single second thinking about his future in any way.

Not to mention his physical health. He reveals, through a bit of prodding about his attentiveness tendencies, that he gets an average of maybe four hours of sleep at night due to staying up... but it's okay! They have energy drinks in the hall vending machines, especially helpful since his body has developed such a tolerance for sugar that soda is no longer enough to keep him awake. After you express concern, he reassures you that he limits himself to less than five a day, not to mention, he drinks water too, which balances it out so that the sugar he drinks doesn't have any negative effects... or something like that. You make a mental note that the sciences appear to not be his strong suit.

Another factor for your concern is that it turns out he lives all by himself. His father is some big important business type, always off on work trips and only home once a month or so, so he spends all that time in the evenings alone. You can't help but worry about what effects that level of isolation would have. You at least assumed that he was going home at the end of the day and got to talk to parents or maybe siblings if he had had any, but after learning about his living situation, you realize that that means you are more or less the only person he has any significant interaction with.

It's quite frequent interaction, though. He has a quiet but constant presence. Often, he ends up startling you, since he has such quiet footsteps and lingers silently beside you until you turn your head and jolt because you didn't even realize he was there. But he's there, by your side. He's always, always there. There's school events where they gather everyone into an auditorium, and no matter where you sit, he soon finds his way to you (he's supposed to sit with his current class, but you let it slide). There's those sports festival or field day type of events, too, during which he's always sneaking off to come be with you, and it's too much of a bother for the other faculty to come looking for him, even if they notice his absence. Even once when there was a fire drill, he slinked off from his own class and came over to talk to you... that time it actually did cause quite the inconvenience when he wasn't present for the head count, and the other teacher ended up panicking looking for who was missing for a good ten minutes.

Despite all the time spent by your side, you feel a bit guilty when you have to leave for the day. He stays until you dictate otherwise, and it's always awkward when you finally have to gently make it clear that you need to go home for the evening, and that by extension he should go home too. If you didn't decide when you both leave, you're pretty sure he would just stay indefinitely.

On the bright side, he's very low-energy, doesn't drain you quite like a lot of students would. And he helps! The first time you casually asked a quick 'hey, would you mind going over to that cabinet over there and handing me the stapler?', you're pretty sure he nearly knocked the chair over with the speed he moved to perform the task. If you ever need anything at all, he always scurries off to drop off some papers to the front office or pick up this or that from the printer or whatever it is that you need. You're pretty sure it makes him happy to feel useful, so you get him to help with those simple tasks pretty often.

Sometimes you run out of things to talk about, and end up just sitting in silence. Sometimes he has things to work on, homework to do... and sometimes he doesn't. In which case, he simply likes to stare. It's unnerving, to say the least. Sometimes you're almost glad when another student comes in to disrupt the silence.

Which is an issue in and of itself. Xiao is only one of many students you teach.

Other kids need help just as much. They come to you for help during study halls or after school... but now, they start coming less and less often. Either they pass by your door and see you're sort of occupied and don't want to interrupt what they assume is you assisting someone else, or, as you're starting to realize, they're a bit intimidated. The few times students do come in to ask a quick question or drop something off, you see their eyes dart to the side of you before they stiffen up, and soon after seem in a rush to leave. You're not even the one on the receiving end, and you're not looking in that direction, but you can feel his glare from beside you.

Which, in his mind, is fully justified. They're taking his time with you away. Every second counts. You were having an important conversation (or silence, but that's still an important moment between you two), and this person just outright barges in and interrupts with no shame? The ones who just drop things off are perhaps forgivable, but others come in and consume literal minutes of your time together. They even sometimes make quick small talk or a joke or something like that and try to consume your time for pointless reasons.

Hmph. As if they have put in nearly the amount of time he has with you as if they know you well enough that they can be doing such things. They don't even know where you're from, your birthday, your favorite foods, your habits, none of the things he's learned either by observation or pried out of you with his many questions. It's unfair that they can talk to you so casually, when they aren't nearly as close to you as he is, haven't put in the time with you he has. The privilege to be so casual and friendly with you feels like something that should be earned, and he's the only person who has earned such a thing. Since when have any of them put in effort to get to know you? And more importantly, have any of them ever received a direct invitation to talk to you? Of course not. They and himself are on completely different levels, but these kids want to act like they have just as much of a right to such interactions when there is such a clear distinction between them.

Besides, they can talk to anyone. They have families to go home to, friends to talk to, anytime they want, and yet they still feel the need to intrude on what little he has to himself. It's bothersome. So of course he can't help but glare at them. They're clearly bothering you, too. You're just so nice you don't tell them to leave. But they should know better than to waste your precious time. Don't they know you have work to do? It's incredibly inconsiderate to just assume they can consume your time like that. But you're so sweet, you wouldn't want to send them away, so he tolerates them. Barely.

On your end, your worries only grow and expand. Not that you don't enjoy your time with him, because you do, it's just that it can't be good for him to have no peer interaction with people his age. Not to mention, he's developing a blatant dependency issue. You once remembered to tell him the day beforehand that you would be taking a day off for family related matters and would have a substitute, and his face looked as if you had told him you were quitting permanently, almost distraught. Even the day you come back, he's at school early, standing in the front lobby, staring out into the parking lot to see when you come in, and strides up to you the moment you enter... a habit that, from that day forward, becomes the norm. That incident in particular strikes you as one where you really began to feel... overwhelmed by him.

You don't mind the arrangement you've fallen into, no, you're happy he trusts you and wants to talk to you and all, and he's a sweet boy, it's just... it's... it's a bit too much. And you have things to do, and you really can't afford to be doing this every day. You have actual work that needs to be completed, and due to your time with him, you end up having to take additional work home with you. You often stay up late working on various tasks, and you get home much later than you'd like.

But you don't have the heart to tell him that. The fact that he keeps coming back means that this is important to him, and you can tell he's eager for each day's conversation. He's obviously attention-starved and desperate for any notion of affection and praise. You can't bring yourself to push him away in any capacity. So, you simply deal with it.

There's one more big, glaring issue, though, that you feel gradually creeping up, one you can't just deal with. The most significant one, actually. You begin to sense it early on, you try to ignore it. You've heard of similar situations happening to teachers, and tell yourself maybe you're being paranoid after hearing of those, and reassure yourself it's not like that.

But it's hard to feel like it's not like that.

You're not sure if he's trying to or not, but even if he is, he's doing a terrible job. Even besides just his general obsessive attachment and need to be in your presence. He comes right up to you and stands beside you regardless of who is around. In fact, seeing you talk to someone else more or less ensures he'll latch himself by your side within seconds. He has a blatant glare and creates a tense aura emanating from him towards whoever the other person may be, be it a student, another teacher, a faculty member, anyone. You've gotten phone calls, even, during your time together, and he always seems to find it appropriate to ask who the other person was and what they wanted to talk about the moment you hang up.

As time goes on, he starts to increasingly get far too physically close, to where you're almost touching. He's always in your room at every opportunity, always trailing you. Every single second class isn't in session, wherever you are, he's certain to be right there too. Even more time passes, and he gets even closer, sometimes to where you brush up against each other. At various school events, he starts to sit closer and closer to you on the benches or bleachers, closer and closer still until eventually it reaches a point where your thighs just barely touch. You resolve to not say anything for now... you're not sure how to.

He's desperate for the slightest notions of approval and affection. One time, more subconsciously than anything as you were focused on something you were reading on your desk, you had him get something for you and, after a brief thanks, you reached out and patted the top of his head. You felt him freeze up and go wide-eyed, and he stood stiff for several moments before sitting back down. At first you thought it was unpleasant, and thus tried to remember not to do that again, but the next time he completed a task for you, he sort of... leaned forward and tilted his head down just a bit... just ever so slightly... you took the hint, and now it's become a habit.

He even brings gifts. You offhandedly mentioned you liked some certain snack and sure enough, there was a bag of it on your desk the very next day. On one occasion, specifically your birthday (his knowledge of which was apparently acquired through some unknown means), he even bought you a gift, a small necklace. You told him it was unnecessary, but he kept insisting, so you did take it... only to realize it was solid gold, and that while he removed the primary tag on the front, he forgot to scratch off the jaw-dropping price tag on the bottom side. You're in an awkward position, you can't give it back, that would hurt him, and yet you feel horribly guilty. You just resolve to wear it each day so he knows it's appreciated. It just adds to the growing gnawing feeling that this is getting out of hand, but you don't know what to do without hurting him in some way.

But more importantly, all of these occurrences serve to more or less confirm the creeping and very rapidly growing feeling that it is, indeed, like that. And that is a problem you do not know how to go about dealing with.

It doesn't take long for people to notice. They cast glances whenever you two are together, whisper back and forth. Even the other teachers do it. When you walk from place to place with him quietly following behind like a duckling, as is the usual, you can see some kids smile in amusement and snicker amongst themselves. You knew it was coming, but still feel horrifically embarrassed when you're pulled into the supervisor's office to talk about the matter, being told that other teachers and students alike have picked up on it. You have to reassure the headmaster over and over that there is nothing illicit going on, and promise you're actively trying to address the problem, and they finally let you go under the assurance that you're handling it. You feel you're reaching a breaking point.

And as for him... he knows it's all pity. He knows he's starting to become annoying. He knows he's burdening you. But he can't help it, can't bring himself to stop. You're so nice. You make him feel special and appreciated. You make him feel warm and happy, like a sort of chemical high that's utterly addicting.

But he's also worried. Time is passing quickly. Months go by. The end of your days together is approaching quickly. And then what?

Well, he can deal with that when the time comes. He'll just... have to convince you to keep seeing him outside of school. Which will be awkward. But he can do it. And he can probably convince you to agree to it. Hopefully. Maybe then... he doesn't allow himself to indulge in unrealistic fantasies, but maybe, just maybe, he can hope for something to work out.

Or so he thinks, until you off-handedly mention something one day that completely changes everything.

You're excited to see his class graduate, you say, on one afternoon like any other, towards the very end of the year.. You say you're really proud of them all (and him especially, you add), and that it's an exciting new chapter of their lives, blah blah... and that you're glad you got to have this year here, seeing as you'll be moving to a new school next year.

Oh. Well, that's not too bad. It's probably that other private school nearby, right? So he asks. But you say no. No, it's much further. You're moving completely, out of the area and all.

You can't miss the expression on his face, distraught as if you just told him the most horrible news in the world. But you'll keep in touch, you add quickly to reassure him (even if you have no real intention to do so -- surely he'll have moved on by that point, after all). Besides, he'll probably be somewhere else anyway, soon enough.

His face softens. He shrugs. I guess so... but you can't help but think he seems unusually tense, even for the rest of the day, and well into the next few days. Surely it's not that bad, right? He already wouldn't be able to see you every day anyway... well, you're at least fairly confident he wasn't planning on coming in to visit you daily even next year, although you can't say that with complete certainty.

Once he gets out into the world, you tell yourself, he'll move on and forget about you. He'll find someone his own age and be happy. You think. You hope. It won't be a problem. Surely, even if he does have some raging teacher crush, he knows it will always be just that, and he acknowledges it's unrealistic, you're sure.

So when he makes a request of you a few days later, even one that might be a bit questionable, you agree.

See, he has no one coming to see him graduate, he tells you, his father is busy, so... you know how everyone else goes out to celebrate with their parents and stuff? Maybe... if you don't have anything to do...

He's never been quite so forward. But that must mean it means a lot to him, and it hurts your heart to think he'd be alone that night, so you agree. It won't be too bad. And after that... well, graduation night is pretty much the last time you'll ever see him anyway. It can't hurt.

So you agree. You attend the ceremony and all that, meet up with him afterwards. You expect him to be happy, big life milestone and all that.

But he seems somehow more quiet than usual. Almost nervous, even. Looking all around, avoiding eye contact, mumbling, barely speaking... he's a bit shaky, even, you can see his arms tremble a bit. He says he'll take you "there", which you assume to be some place of choice to either eat or drink or something along those lines. See, he even borrowed his father's car this time! After dropping the keys and failing to insert them correctly several times due to trembling hands, he manages to drive you away into... a not very urban area... it's actually getting quite rural... you only realize as you turn into a driveway that he actually, in fact, meant his house. Ah. That, well, that's not what you were anticipating, but... you're already here, and you'd crush his heart if you refused so...

It does cross your mind that a lesser person doing this might be intentionally manipulating their knowledge of your pity to encroach on your boundaries, push you into a position where you can't bring yourself to say no. But then you think back to all the time together... he's overly-attached, sure, but he's good. A good kid. He wouldn't... do that. He's just socially lacking in awareness and all that, doesn't realize that this was probably an inappropriate move. But technically, he's no longer your student, so... you can let this slide this time.

You're reminded that there's a reason he's at the school he is -- the place is very expansive and ornate. He almost seems out-of-place, in a way, it's almost as if it's unfitting for him, despite it literally being his house. He's still very jittery, nervous in his movements. He's probably not used to having people here, you assume. He says something about getting you something, that his father keeps a bunch of wines somewhere around here... and he's off before you can say it's unnecessary, footsteps thumping down the stairs to a basement. He comes up with a bottle in hand, walks into another room you assume is a kitchen, since you can't see inside. Comes back a few moments later, glass in hand, extends it out to you. His movements are mechanical, almost, hyperfocused on the task, forced and rushed. You smile and thank him in some attempt to calm his nerves or whatever is making him behave so tensely. It seems so... strange. He's always been not talkative, yes, and awkward, certainly, but he was never the type to be so anxious, not outwardly at least.

He's staring very intently at your hands that grasp the glass. Probably wondering if you'll like whatever it is. It's rather nice, actually, you can tell it's of some degree of high quality. Nothing particularly unique about it in taste or anything. You briefly ask, and he pauses, abruptly stands up and shuffles back into the kitchen, only to return to name it for you. It strikes you with some oddness that he wouldn't have known, since he presumably picked it intentionally, otherwise what would be be so nervous about, if not that it was good to you?

He says something else, but you can't quite understand. You ask him to repeat what he just said. The words don't come out of your mouth.

You try to shake your head to drive away a sudden wave of tiredness you feel coming on, but your head won't move. When you open your eyelids, everything seems to spin and blur. Your limbs feel heavy.

You see him stand up and move. But more importantly, you're still acutely aware of touch. You can feel the glass slipping out of your hand and onto the floor, and your head tilts towards it, but you just find yourself blinking, unable to move. Your brain commands your arm to reach out, but nothing happens. You see him pick it up and put it on the table, not bothering to do anything about the red seeping into the carpet.

You feels hands on your upper arms. Turning your body. Gently lowering you down. His hands are cold. You can feel each contact of fingertips to your skin. Your arms. Your thighs. There's cold touch under your clothes, to your waist, your ribcage. The air of the room is cold on your bare skin as it's gradually exposed.

Are you okay?

You find something strange about being asked such a question, not to mention that he sounds far away. Your head lolls to stare straight up, and you open your mouth, but no sound comes out. He's too blurry to make out his face.

The roughness of fabric sliding down and off your skin. Cold touch to your shoulders, your hips. But his body is warm. You can feel it close to yours. You can feel heat from where his breath hits your neck. You can feel heat at your inner thighs. You can feel some faint, sharp frictional pain. You try to say something again, but you hear your voice come out as only a muffled groan. You feel everything fade away, and come back, and fade away again, slipping in and out of consciousness.

You're still limp. There's soreness inside your body. You feel yourself come to just enough to sense the quiet stillness, and then everything feels far away again, except for touch. You feel yourself being lifted, firm arms behind your back and under your knees. Thumping footsteps up a set of stairs. There's a soft, but solid surface beneath you again, and you're warm. Warmth envelops your entire body. You feel the faintest sense of negative emotion, panic and confusion and shock and whatever else all muddled together, so faint it fades away with ease, even when you hear a click as something wraps around your ankle. You feel so, so tired, utterly exhausted, so when warmth presses up against you, it's easy to lean into it, to let yourself fall into unconsciousness. Warm... oh, in bed. Your thoughts clear just enough to process it. He must have put you in here since you're so tired... that makes sense to your muddled brain. How sweet. Always such a nice boy.

He is concerned for you, too. He checks to make sure you're breathing all right. Puts a still-shaking hand to your neck to check your pulse. Makes sure you're not positioned awkwardly in a way that would cramp your muscles anywhere. He cares, of course... and perhaps this helps to alleviate the crushing feeling of guilt. But... you made nice noises... so that's, that's good right? So he doesn't need to feel as bad... maybe when you wake up you'll actually be okay with it. Maybe. Probably not.

But... he resolves to tell himself, at least for right now, that you will. He can believe it for just these few precious moments, climbing in beside you and pulling you close. However you may act tomorrow, right now you're warm and soft and you don't stiffen up or push him away when he shuffles forward and presses up against you, wraps his arms around you. Such a wonderful feeling... who knew he could feel so happy. Whatever is waiting tomorrow can just be dealt with then.

#sorry for two age gap posts in a row aaaaaaa #ive had this sitting around like 90% done for a month and after the last post and the post i was tagged in i got inspired to finally finish

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deepfriedibis · 2 years

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In the beginning (and about this Page)

Its often hard to write these things, so let’s break it down in to the simple components…

About Me:

I’m Clayton and I’ve been dreaming of making games since I found about out of bounds glitches in my childhood game, Spyro: A Hero’s Tale. That was 10 years ago. Now I’m a Computer Science and Games Design student studying at QUT, looking to bring my game ideas to life.

What I love about game development is the structure, or rather, how elements fall into place to create the final prototype. I enjoy breaking down an idea into its core elements and understanding how they all work together to create a mechanic or deliberate design choice. For example, giving the player a magic wand that can cast spells may sound basic on paper, but you then need to understand how that interacts with your other systems, how the player may interpret the item and what already per-established rules are there about the concept.

I’m Clayton and I’ve been dreaming of making games since I found about out of bounds glitches in my childhood game, Spyro: A Hero’s Tail. That was 10 years ago. Now I’m a Computer Science and Games Design student studying at QUT, looking to bring my game ideas to life.

Shown: The out of bounds water glitch in Spyro: A Hero's Tail, which started my interest in how games worked.

It also may sound rather sadistic, but I really enjoy the struggle of something not working. As a programmer, the challenge of getting something working that has absolutely no documentation and the only discussion about it online is from 10 years ago is everything. I could spend three days unsuccessfully implementing a mechanic, because when it finally works it’s the greatest feeling in the world. There is nothing quite like the moment where the error message disappears and its all green. But that’s not just exclusive to programming. Anything digital has its quirks, because unlike real life, everything that you see on the screen has been made by someone. It means you not only need to get into your own mindset for project structure, code standards and other in-house rules, you need to get into the heads of whoever made the program and understand how they intended something to be used. I think that balance and struggle is brilliant.

What I hope to gain from this blog, and my games design unit:

Whilst I’ve made a few game prototypes in the past, I’ve found that there’s a clear lack in experience and methodology which is why the projects have often crashed and never seen the finish prototype. What I’m hoping to learn is how to break down a retail game, how best to highlight the main game play loop, how a mechanic affects the overall feel for the game and how best to tackle any design challenges down the road.

Every unit that I’ve completed, I’ve been able to take something away to apply to my current projects. I want to be able to take the overall design process and apply that to the things that I’m working on, and hopefully at the end of the semester have something to show for that.

Let the development begin!

#development #design #week 1

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jcmarchi · 9 days

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Advancing technology for aquaculture

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/advancing-technology-for-aquaculture/

Advancing technology for aquaculture

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, aquaculture in the United States represents a $1.5 billion industry annually. Like land-based farming, shellfish aquaculture requires healthy seed production in order to maintain a sustainable industry. Aquaculture hatchery production of shellfish larvae — seeds — requires close monitoring to track mortality rates and assess health from the earliest stages of life.

Careful observation is necessary to inform production scheduling, determine effects of naturally occurring harmful bacteria, and ensure sustainable seed production. This is an essential step for shellfish hatcheries but is currently a time-consuming manual process prone to human error.

With funding from MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS), MIT Sea Grant is working with Associate Professor Otto Cordero of the MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Professor Taskin Padir and Research Scientist Mark Zolotas at the Northeastern University Institute for Experiential Robotics, and others at the Aquaculture Research Corporation (ARC), and the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, to advance technology for the aquaculture industry. Located on Cape Cod, ARC is a leading shellfish hatchery, farm, and wholesaler that plays a vital role in providing high-quality shellfish seed to local and regional growers.

Two MIT students have joined the effort this semester, working with Robert Vincent, MIT Sea Grant’s assistant director of advisory services, through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP).

First-year student Unyime Usua and sophomore Santiago Borrego are using microscopy images of shellfish seed from ARC to train machine learning algorithms that will help automate the identification and counting process. The resulting user-friendly image recognition tool aims to aid aquaculturists in differentiating and counting healthy, unhealthy, and dead shellfish larvae, improving accuracy and reducing time and effort.

Vincent explains that AI is a powerful tool for environmental science that enables researchers, industry, and resource managers to address challenges that have long been pinch points for accurate data collection, analysis, predictions, and streamlining processes. “Funding support from programs like J-WAFS enable us to tackle these problems head-on,” he says.

ARC faces challenges with manually quantifying larvae classes, an important step in their seed production process. “When larvae are in their growing stages they are constantly being sized and counted,” explains Cheryl James, ARC larval/juvenile production manager. “This process is critical to encourage optimal growth and strengthen the population.”

Developing an automated identification and counting system will help to improve this step in the production process with time and cost benefits. “This is not an easy task,” says Vincent, “but with the guidance of Dr. Zolotas at the Northeastern University Institute for Experiential Robotics and the work of the UROP students, we have made solid progress.”

The UROP program benefits both researchers and students. Involving MIT UROP students in developing these types of systems provides insights into AI applications that they might not have considered, providing opportunities to explore, learn, and apply themselves while contributing to solving real challenges.

Borrego saw this project as an opportunity to apply what he’d learned in class 6.390 (Introduction to Machine Learning) to a real-world issue. “I was starting to form an idea of how computers can see images and extract information from them,” he says. “I wanted to keep exploring that.”

Usua decided to pursue the project because of the direct industry impacts it could have. “I’m pretty interested in seeing how we can utilize machine learning to make people’s lives easier. We are using AI to help biologists make this counting and identification process easier.” While Usua wasn’t familiar with aquaculture before starting this project, she explains, “Just hearing about the hatcheries that Dr. Vincent was telling us about, it was unfortunate that not a lot of people know what’s going on and the problems that they’re facing.”

On Cape Cod alone, aquaculture is an $18 million per year industry. But the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries estimates that hatcheries are only able to meet 70–80 percent of seed demand annually, which impacts local growers and economies. Through this project, the partners aim to develop technology that will increase seed production, advance industry capabilities, and help understand and improve the hatchery microbiome.

Borrego explains the initial challenge of having limited data to work with. “Starting out, we had to go through and label all of the data, but going through that process helped me learn a lot.” In true MIT fashion, he shares his takeaway from the project: “Try to get the best out of what you’re given with the data you have to work with. You’re going to have to adapt and change your strategies depending on what you have.”

Usua describes her experience going through the research process, communicating in a team, and deciding what approaches to take. “Research is a difficult and long process, but there is a lot to gain from it because it teaches you to look for things on your own and find your own solutions to problems.”

In addition to increasing seed production and reducing the human labor required in the hatchery process, the collaborators expect this project to contribute to cost savings and technology integration to support one of the most underserved industries in the United States.

Borrego and Usua both plan to continue their work for a second semester with MIT Sea Grant. Borrego is interested in learning more about how technology can be used to protect the environment and wildlife. Usua says she hopes to explore more projects related to aquaculture. “It seems like there’s an infinite amount of ways to tackle these issues.”

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spacetimewithstuartgary · 18 days

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Lab builds its first stellarator in 50 years and opens the door for research into new plasma physics

For the first time, scientists have built a fusion experiment using permanent magnets, a technique that could show a simple way to build future devices for less cost and allow researchers to test new concepts for future fusion power plants.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) combined decades of expertise in engineering, computation and theoretical physics to design a new type of stellarator, a twisty machine that confines plasma, the electrically charged fourth state of matter, to harness the fusion process that powers the sun and stars and potentially generate clean electricity.

"Using permanent magnets is a completely new way to design stellarators," said Tony Qian, a graduate student in the Princeton Program in Plasma Physics, which is based at PPPL. Qian was the lead author of papers published in the Journal of Plasma Physics and Nuclear Fusion that detail the theory and engineering behind the device, known as MUSE. "This technique allows us to test new plasma confinement ideas quickly and build new devices easily."

Stellarators typically rely on complicated electromagnets that have complex shapes and create their magnetic fields through the flow of electricity. Those electromagnets must be built precisely with very little room for error, increasing their cost.

However, permanent magnets, like the magnets that hold art to refrigerator doors, do not need electric currents to create their fields. They can also be ordered off the shelf from industrial suppliers and then embedded in a 3D-printed shell around the device's vacuum vessel, which holds the plasma.

"MUSE is largely constructed with commercially available parts," said Michael Zarnstorff, a senior research physicist at PPPL and principal investigator of the project. "By working with 3D-printing companies and magnet suppliers, we can shop around and buy the precision we need instead of making it ourselves."

The original insight that permanent magnets could be the foundation for a new, more affordable stellarator variety came to Zarnstorff in 2014. "I realized that even if they were situated alongside other magnets, rare-earth permanent magnets could generate and maintain the magnetic fields necessary to confine the plasma so fusion reactions can occur," Zarnstorff said, "and that's the property that makes this technique work."

Solving a long-standing engineering problem

Invented more than 70 years ago by PPPL founder Lyman Spitzer, stellarators are only one concept for fusion facilities. Another is the doughnut-shaped or cored-apple-shaped tokamak, like PPPL's National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade, which confines plasma using relatively simple magnets. For decades, this has been the preferred design for scientists around the world because of how well the devices confine plasma.

However, tokamaks also rely on magnetic fields created by electric currents running through the middle of the plasma, which create instabilities that interfere with the fusion reactions. Stellarators can operate without such currents, though, and therefore can run for indefinite periods of time. But their complicated magnets, which are hard to design and build, have for years meant that stellarators were not economic or practical options for fusion power plants.

That is why MUSE's success in demonstrating that stellarators can operate using simple magnets is so important. "Typical stellarator magnets are very difficult to machine because you have to do so very precisely," said Amelia Chambliss, a graduate student in Columbia University's Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics who helped design MUSE during a DOE Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship at PPPL a few years ago. "So, the idea that we can use lots of discrete magnets to do the job instead is very exciting. It's a much easier engineering problem."

Realizing a theoretical property

In addition to being an engineering breakthrough, MUSE also exhibits a theoretical property known as quasisymmetry to a higher degree than any other stellarator has before. It is also the first device completed anywhere in the world that was designed specifically to have a type of quasisymmetry known as quasiaxisymmetry.

Conceived by physicist Allen Boozer at PPPL in the early 1980s, quasisymmetry means that although the shape of the magnetic field inside the stellarator may not be the same around the physical shape of the stellarator, the magnetic field's strength is uniform around the device, leading to good plasma confinement and higher likelihood that fusion reactions will occur. "In fact, MUSE's quasisymmetry optimization is at least 100 times better than any existing stellarator," Zarnstorff said.

"The fact that we were able to design and build this stellarator is a real achievement," Qian said.

In the future, the PPPL team plans to run a series of experiments to determine the exact nature of MUSE's quasisymmetry and thus figure out how well the device prevents hot particles from moving from the core of the plasma to the edge, making fusion reactions more difficult. The methods will include mapping the magnetic fields more precisely and measuring how the spinning plasma slows down, which depends on the device's quasisymmetry.

MUSE demonstrates the type of innovation possible at a U.S. national laboratory. "To me, the most important thing about MUSE is that it represents a creative way to solve a difficult problem," Chambliss said. "It uses lots of open-minded and innovative approaches to solve long-standing stellarator problems. As long as the community continues to think in this flexible way, we'll be in good shape."

TOP IMAGE....A photo of MUSE, the first stellarator built at PPPL in 50 years and the first ever to use permanent magnets. Credit: Michael Livingston / PPPL Communications Department

LOWER IMAGE....At left: Some of the permanent magnets that make MUSE’s innovative concept possible. At right: A close-up of MUSE's 3D-printed shell. Credit: Xu Chu / PPPL and Michael Livingston / PPPL Communications Department

#science #space #astronomy #physics #news #astrophysics

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collegeburnoutsuperstar · 4 years

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Social Distancing Book Recs

I’ve been getting tons of book recommendations from friends and family to help get through social distancing/self-quarantine, so I thought I should share some of my favorite books with everybody!

Horror/Apocalyptic: *all books are ADULT*

- The Stand by Stephen King “This is the way the world ends: with a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain letter of death. And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides -- or are chosen” (Goodreads Summary).

- Inferno by Dan Brown “Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon awakens in an Italian hospital, disorientated and with no recollection of the past thirty-six hours, including the origin of the macabre object hidden in his belongings. With a relentless female assassin tailing them through Florence, he and his resourceful doctor, Sienna Brooks, are forced to flee. Embarking on a harrowing journey, they must unravel a series of codes, which are the work of a brilliant scientist whose obsession with the end of the world is matched only by his passion for one of the most influential masterpieces ever written, Dante Alighieri’s The Inferno” (Goodreads Summary).

- World War Z by Max Brooks “The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, form decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years” (Goodreads summary).

- It by Stephen King “It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real... They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But none of them can withstand the force that has drawn them back to Derry to face the nightmare without an end, and the evil without a name” (Goodreads summary).

- The Shining by Stephen King “Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic locations feels ever more remote... and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old” (Goodreads summary).

- House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski “[House of Leaves] focuses on a young family that moves into a small home on Ash Tree Lane where they discover something is terribly wrong: their house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Of course, neither Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson nor his companion Karen Green was prepared to face the consequences of the impossibility, until the day their two little children wandered off and their voices eerily began to return another story -- of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of the unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all their dreams” (Goodreads summary).

Comedy:

- Good Omens by Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett “People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it’s only natural to be skeptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. But what if, for once, the predictions are right, and the apocalypse really is due to arrive next Saturday, just after tea? You could spend the time left drowning your sorrows, giving away all your possessions in preparation for the rapture, or laughing it off as (hopefully) just another hoax. Or you could just try to do something about it. It’s a predicament that Aziraphale, a somewhat fussy angel, and Crowley, a fast-living demon now finds themselves in. They’ve been living amongst Earth’s mortals since The Beginning and, truth be told, have grown rather fond of the lifestyle and, in all honesty, are not actually looking forward to the coming Apocalypse. And then there’s the small matter that someone appears to have misplaced the Antichrist... “ (Goodreads summary).

- Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan *PG-13* Dad is Fat is a comedic memoir that details Jim Gaffigan’s life growing up in a large Catholic family to his experiences as a husband and father (specifically parenting his five young children while living in a tiny walk-up apartment in New York). I highly recommend the audiobook (which is narrated by Jim Gaffigan), my family and I always listen to it during road trips. It never stops being funny.

- Bored of the Rings: A Parody of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings by The Harvard Lampoon *ADULT* “A quest, a war, a ring that would be grounds for calling any wedding off, a king without a kingdom, and a little, furry ‘hero’ named Frito, ready -- or maybe just forced by the wizard of Goodgulf-- to undertake the one mission which can save Lower Middle Earth from enslavement by the evil Sorhed… Luscious Elfmaidens, a roller-skating dragon, ugly plants that can soul-kiss the unwary to death-- these are just some of the ingredients in the wildest, wackiest, most irreverent excursion into fantasy realms that anyone has ever dared to undertake” (Goodreads summary).

Middle-Grade:

- Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan (book 1: The Lightning Thief) “Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends-- one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena-- Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods” (Goodreads summary).

- The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan (book 1: The Lost Hero) “Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper, and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for ‘bad kids.’ What id Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly? Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare about his being in trouble. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits during the school trip, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out. Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too-- like the curse everyone keeps talking about, and some camper who’s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them--including Leo-- is related to a god. Does this have anything to do with Jason’s amnesia, or the fact that Leo keeps seeing ghosts?” (Goodreads summary)

- The Children of the Red King series by Jenny Nimmo (book 1: Midnight for Charlie Bone) “Charlie Bone has a special gift-- he can hear people in photographs talking! The fabulous powers of the Red King were passed down through his descendants, after turning up quite unexpectedly, in someone who had no idea where they came from. This is what happened to Charlie Bone, and to some of the children he met behind the grim, gray walls of Bloor’s Academy. His scheming aunts decide to send him to Bloor’s Academy, a school for geniuses where he uses his grifts to discover the truth despite all the dangers that lie ahead” (Goodreads summary).

- Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements “Bobby Phillips is an average fifteen-year-old boy. Until the morning he wakes up and can’t see himself in the mirror. Not blind, not dreaming. Bobby is just plain invisible... There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to Bobby’s new conditions; even his dad the physicist can’t figure it out. For Bobby that means no school, no friends, no life. He’s a missing person” (Goodreads summary).

Science Fiction:

- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick *Adult* “It was January 2021, and Rick Deckard had a license to kill. Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard’s assignment-- find them and then... ‘retire’ them. Trouble was, the androids all looked exactly like humans, and they didn’t want to be found!” (Goodreads summary).

- Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton * Suitable for Young Adults* “An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all the world can visit them-- for a price. Until something goes wrong...” (Goodreads summary).

Fantasy:

- The Magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman *ADULT* (book 1: The Magicians) “Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he’s still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery. He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. Something is missing, though. Magic doesn’t bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. But the land of Quentin’s fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he could have imagined. His childhood dream becomes a nightmare with a shocking truth at its heart” (Goodreads summary).

- The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater *YA* (book 1: The Raven Boys) “What do you know about Welsh kings?” This incredibly atmospheric story centers on a seemingly random group of teens as they uncover the mysterious and magical secrets of their small Virginia town.

- A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab *Suitable for Young Adults* “Kell is one of the last Antari-- magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. Kell was raised in Arnes-- Red London-- and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure. Now perilous magic is afoot, and treacher lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive” (Goodreads summary).

- The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien *Suitable for middle-grade through adult* “In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord. forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken form him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. When Bilbo reached his eleventy-first birthday he disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom” (Goodreads summary).

- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss *Adult* “Told in Kvothe’s own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bit to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story” (Goodreads summary).

- The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch *Adult* “An orphan’s life is harsh-- and often short-- in the mysterious island city of Camorr. But youge Locke Lamora dodges death and slavery, becoming a thief under the tutelage of a gifted con artist. As leader of the band of light-fingered brothers known as the Gentleman Bastards, Loke is soon infamous, fooling even the underworld’s most feared ruler. But in the shadows lurks someone still more ambitious and deadly. Faced with a bloody coup that threatens to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the enemy at his own brutal game-- or die trying” (Goodreads summary).

Fiction:

- The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich *ADULT mystery-thrillers/romance* (book 1: One for the Money) “You’ve lost your job as a department store lingerie buyer, your car’s been repossessed, and most of your furniture and small appliances have been sold off to pay last month’s rent. Now the rent is due again. And you live in New Jersey. What do you do? If you’re Stephanie Plum, you become a bounty hunter. But not just a nickel-and-dime bounty hunter; you go after the big money. That means a cop gone bad. And not just any cop. She goes after Joe Morelli, a disgraced former vice cop who is also the man who took Stephanie’s virginity at age 16 and the wrote details on a bathroom wall. With pride and rent money on the line, Plum plunges headlong into her first case, one that pits her against ruthless adversaries - people who’d rather kill than lose” (Goodreads summary).

- The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown *Adult* “While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body covered in baffling symbols. As Langdon and gifted French cryptologist Sophie Neveu sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci-- clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter. Even more startling, the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion-- a secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Victory Hugo, and Da Vici-- and he guarded a breathtaking historical secret. Unless Landon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle-- while avoiding the faceless adversary who shadows their every move-- the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever” (Goodreads summary).

- Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle *Adult* Sherlock Holmes stories are always fun when stuck at home.

- 11/22/63 by Stephen King *Adult* “Life can turn on a dime-- or stumble into the extraordinary, as it does for Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine. While grading essays by his GED students, Jake reads a gruesome, enthralling piece penned by janitor Harry Dunning: fifty years ago, Harry somehow survived his father’s sledgehammer slaughter of his entire family, Jake is blown away... but an even more bizarre secret comes to light when Jake’s friend Al, owner of the local diner, enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession-- to prevent the Kennedy assassination. How? By stepping through a portal in the diner’s storeroom, and into the ear of Ike and Elvis, or big American cars, sock hops, and cigarette smoke... Finding himself in warmhearted Jodie, Texas, Jake begins a new life. But all turns in the road lead to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. The course of history is about to be rewritten... and become heart-stoppingly suspenseful” (Goodreads summary).

Non-Fiction:

- The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson *Adult* “In 1979 a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within the U.S. Army. Defying all known accepted military practice-- and indeed, the laws of physics-- they believed that a soldier could adopt a cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls, and, perhaps most chillingly, kill goats just by staring at them. Entrusted with defending America from all known adversaries, they were the First Earth Battalion. And they really weren’t joking. What’s more, they’re back and fighting the War on Terror. With firsthand access to the leading players in the story, Ronson traces the evolution of these bizarre activities over the past three decades and shows how they are alive today within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and in postwar Iraq. Why are they blasting Iraqi prisoners of war with the theme tune to Barney the Purple Dinosaur? Why have 100 debleated goats been secretly placed inside the Special Forces Command Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina? How was the U.S. military associated with the mysterious mass suicide of a strange cult form San Diego? The Men Who Stare at Goats answers these and many more questions” (Goodreads summary).

- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert *Adult* (I recommend listening to the audiobook, which is narrated by Elizabeth Gilbert) “To recover from [an early midlife crisis, divorce, and depression], Gilbert took a radical step. In order to give herself the time and space to find out who she really was and what she really wanted, she got rid of her belongings, quit her job, and undertook a yearlong journey around the world-- all alone. Eat, Pray, Love is the absorbing chronicle of that year. Her aim was to visit three places where she could examine one aspect of her own nature set against the backdrop of a culture that has traditionally done that one thing very well. In Rome, she studied the art of pleasure, learning to speak Italian and gaining the twenty-three happiest pounds of her life. India was for the art of devotion, and with the help of a native guru and a surprisingly wise cowboy from Texas, she embarked on four uninterrupted months of spiritual exploration. In Bali, she studied the art of balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence. She became the pupil of an elderly medicine man and also fell in love the best way-- unexpectedly” (Goodreads summary).

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kinetic-elaboration · 4 years

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October 25: 1x20 Court Martial

Now that Chopped is done I am free to watch TOS again. Today’s ep: Court Martial, a wonderful combination of two of my favorite things: Captain Kirk and Legal Stuff.

Look at that backdrop. I forgot how many Very 50′s backgrounds they had in this show.

The Intrepid is here for repairs! Such a lost opportunity to show more Vulcans in Starfleet.

I don’t entirely get why the Commodore has his own special transport pad. I guess it must allow him to beam himself places without the use of a ship but like... to where is he beaming?

Lol that absolutely terrible sailor suit outfit on the little girl. I can only assume it’s a school uniform as it’s the only thing she ever wears.

Can you believe how this whole episode is based, essentially, around allegedly broken regulations? I mean I know it’s more than that and they do a good job explaining why it’s bad to eject the pod early (”when there is no emergency”) but like, essentially, the underlying conditions of emergency are not in Kirk’s control. It’s possible to just skip officially calling the emergency while nevertheless acting in a way that is appropriate for an emergency, and so it comes down to “did he first declare the emergency officially and then act in accordance with the declared emergency or did he just skip the first step?” rather than “did he act too quickly?” since HE was the one who determined if the conditions warranted an emergency.

Having said all that I still don’t get what an ion pod is or where it was or why it had to be ejected at all. Or how Finney got out of the pod if it was ejected.

Vulcanian expedition?!?

Kirk’s default voice is just flirty; I’m sorry but it is. Even talking to his old school classmates, who are VERY quick to judge him harshly and hate on him, implying they were probably never friends, he’s All Charm by default. And he doesn’t drop the charm even when he starts politely fighting with them.

Bones using Jim to flirt--with Jim’s ex-girlfriend! “Did you see that guy over there, he’s pretty famous, and we’re friends!”

I love Areel Shaw and I’m just gonna say I think she’s my favorite Kirk girlfriend.

Charged with culpable negligence. As opposed to...not culpable negligence?

When he was a midshipman...

What’s with all these professor & student friendships??

I cannot believe part of the Finney & Kirk backstory is that he literally named his daughter after Kirk. Like that’s so intense! I feel like it kind of changes everything but I can’t entirely untangle how.

This “I can’t believe you filed a report about my error” backstory is literally the beginning of STID except Kirk is the Spock of this scenario.

Star Trek: Law and Order. Bum bum.

This whole idea of pitting Kirk against a computer is clever in that people to this day are like “but computers are infallible?” but also dumb because Kirk >>> Computer obviously.

Having drinks with the ex and he turns the charm up to 11.

All of this is wildly unethical, from her telling him about the prosecution’s case, to her BEING the prosecution.

I actually read an article recently about this isn’t, or shouldn’t be, her job as prosecutor, to drum him out of the service in disgrace. Her job should be to find the truth in a more neutral way.

Wtf are all these totally useless federal reporters doing here?

I’m a pro-book person but this is a HILARIOUS anti-computer speech. Like--the law is in the computer dude! It is! It’s the same law as in the books. Intergalactic Westlaw is available to you. And then he goes off on this weird rant about Moses, like--dude, Moses isn’t in the reporters OR Westlaw OR whatever Starfleet code is actually at issue here.

Kirk likes him though.

Shaw in the dress uniform with the long skirt hot damn.

Not even the computer can pronounce Spock’s full name. And he’s been demoted again.

Vulcanian Scientific Legion of Honor.

Spock isn’t having any of this. “I don’t dispute it. I just... actually I do dispute it because it’s nonsense.”

His entire testimony is the equivalent of “You don’t have all the facts.” / “Which are?” / “I love him.”

The defense doesn’t need to question him because he’s already testified for the defense.

This is such a hilarious use of McCoy. For the first time ever we’re told he’s actually a psychologist on top of being a surgeon and GP and then his whole testimony isn’t even really medical? It’s just like wild speculation, which being a doctor and an “expert in psychology” somehow qualifies him to provide?

I love how Kirk’s service record just goes on and on and on. Areel doesn’t do herself any favors objecting to it; that just draws attention to it. As the defense lawyer knows by insisting it continuing and then cutting it off for being comically long.

Kirk: “I can be level-headed in an emergency. This wasn’t my first rodeo.”

This chair design is SO BAD. I know it needs to be like this for the plot but omg putting the pod release button on the chair at all (like does the captain have to jettison pods a lot?) and then especially directly under the red alert button, and then putting both of them just out there without any kind of cover or anything--that’s just waiting for someone to lean on his chair arm and make a deadly mistake.

Also nothing else is even labeled lmao.

This is a very impressive deep fake.

This whole ion storm does not really seem like a scary emergency situation lol. It seems like Kirk and everyone else are basically keeping their heads.

“You may be able to beat your next Captain at chess” Kirk as chess master confirmed.

“I didn’t realize how close you and my father were even though I was literally named after you.”

Obligatory Bones accuses Spock of not caring about Jim scene.

“Why thank you, Doctor, my blood is very cold.”

I can’t believe Spock programmed the computer to play chess with him. Probably so he could practice for Jim.

The lawyer’s outfit is hilarious: little pocket for a pen in front. Is he... a civilian lawyer? Is that even allowed?

Here is talking about the Bible again. And the Magna Carta. First, it’s always funny when a bunch of real things are followed by some fake science fiction things. And second, he’s pretty obviously just talking about the Constitution, and like maybe a very tiny bit about the Magna Carta. There’s no right to counsel in the Bible.

Really glad to know the Martians care about the right to an attorney though. And that the Alpha 3 Colonies protect the right of confrontation.

I bet Spock is unimpressed with this Drama.

Why did they change out of their dress uniforms?

How convenient that Finney was one of only three people who could change the computer. I mean I guess this is a permissions thing--but why would the records officer have that? Not that I know what a records officer is.

“White noise device” you can’t fool me, that’s a microphone.

Also another hilarious use of McCoy. Do they really NEED the ship’s surgeon to put a microphone against people’s chests? “Don’t mind me, just stealing your heartbeats.”

Like the general concept of this is nifty story telling but some of the details are....uh.... funny.

Captain’s log: “We brought a young girl onto the ship even when it’s in a dangerous position so we could use her against her father.”

Finney really was playing the looooooong game of revenge lol. And yet it still doesn’t seem well thought out. What was the next part of his plan? Somehow get back OFF the ship once Kirk’s career is ruined, and then live the rest of his life under an assumed name? Never seeing his daughter again? No Starfleet career even though it’s allegedly so important to him? Seems a little bit like everyone loses.

Lol not letting Spock leave the bridge because the court martial’s not ever. “Sorry, we all might die, but court IS still in session.” Even though they ALREADY KNOW the alleged victim is still alive!

I love that Uhura is essential personnel. They didn’t keep the navigator on board, even though they apparently need one, but they did keep Uhura.

Oh no, Kirk’s flimsy shirt, falling apart again!

“Beaten and sobbing, Finney told me how to fix the ship.” Bitter much?

Kirk, being a badass, fixing the ship all by himself.

Honestly I just really love a narrative in which an upright man plays by the rules, does the right thing, and behaves in good faith and is ultimately vindicated and rewarded.

Now everyone agrees there’s no crime and thus no point to continuing the court-martial.

He’s defending Ben Finney! Good luck with that.

I love how Kirk’s face goes from full-on-romance to slightly-embarrassed-serious-Captain as soon as he remembers, hey, I really AM on the bridge!

“She’s a very good lawyer.” / “Obviously.”

This was such a good Kirk episode, both for showing off all his good qualities, and for getting some interesting insight into his character. He strikes me as the kind of person who, because he’s so by-the-book, and because he’s smart and successful, inspires jealousy in other people, and thus has a lot of strained acquaintanceships--like with the other men at the bar. But he also has these really, really strong friendships and relationships: Areel Shaw, Spock and McCoy, and even Finney. I feel like he’s probably rather awkward with most people, but then when the relationship is established, he’s ride or die. And, he doesn’t hold grudges. I don’t think he really knew how upset Finney was about what happened literally 10+ years ago--especially if he had any say at all about Finney serving on his ship, and I suspect he could have at least vetoed him. And even after Finney tried to disgrace him and then actually kill him, he still didn’t seem to upset about it, or about his lawyer turning around and defending Finney.

I think Kirk likes the military in part because it gives him this very strict set of rules about interacting with other people, so he doesn’t have to make up his own. I bet the intensity of the service also allows him to form these stronger relationships, which do seem to suit him better. And when he doesn’t have anything else to fall back on, he INVARIABLY pulls out the charm: he does it with old classmates, random 21st century pilots, immortal teenage girls, and actual love interests. It’s his default mode. I think that makes sense for someone who’s very ambitious, very precise, very nerdy, very rules-oriented, and whose default mode as a young man, by his own admission, was “grim.”

Wow it is so much later than anticipated... I need to get to sleep!

Next ep is Return of the Archons, which I’ve only seen once and don’t remember super well. I think it’s a ‘society ruled by computers’ thing, which is fine. Maybe not as much of a classic as some other S1 eps, but it should be fun anyway.

#the year 2020 #2020: star trek #2020: fandom thoughts #star trek tos

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freebooter4ever · 4 years

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AU where Joe Mazzello’s character from The Social Network transfers to an actually good computer science school and we turn the movie into a romcom. This is for @detectivecutiepants who suggested Dustin needed corrupting. Let’s give Dustin the meet cute with an art history student he never asked for deserves. Not based on real people any names are PURELY COINCIDENCE. First person pov, apologies.

"Anyone sitting here?" a voice asks.

I look up at the guy asking, and then behind me at the rows and rows of empty seats in the lecture hall peppered with a handful of twenty or so sleeping students.

"No?" I reply, like it's a question.

The guy sits down. I deliberately don't look, because that seems like it would be rude, or weird, or awkward. Plus I already know I don't recognize him. He isn't one of the five guys in the school of art. It's kind of easy to remember who's who when most of your class of sixty five students are women.

I sit through the whole class trying to guess who he might be and why someone outside the art college would willingly subject themselves to this introductory art history course which is known throughout campus to be both a bore and useless.

Unable to come up with any answers, I finally give in and introduce myself at the end of class. The rest of the students stampede out of the room in a herd, but the guy lingers, neatly tucking his notebook into his backpack. His handwriting is equally as neat. I had been sneaking curious glances at his notes during class.

"Dustin," he says, extending a hand in answer to my introduction, "I transferred here this semester. Too much stress."

"You came to the wrong place to get away from stress," I say skeptically.

"Ehhhhh, maybe," he says, equally skeptical.

We fall into an awkward silence. I realize it's just the two of us in the room. We either have to talk, or leave. And it's written plain on his face that he's standing here more out of awkward obligation than actual interest, so I have to say something or give up entirely.

"Why'd you sit up front?" is my genius conversation starter.

"You were the only one who looked conscious," is his reply.

"Fair point," I concede, "If you're new here, you should know, you picked the wrong art history course to take."

"It was the only one I could get into," he explains, "Non majors get lowest priority."

"Well, if you get the chance, Melissa's Pop Art course is great," I tell him. I'm not normally one for crushes on professors but I've been in love with Melissa. She organized a trip to the Whitney Biennial in NYC, and I signed up immediately. She didn't recognize me. She remembered the international exchange student who had been here for a month, but she didn't remember me, a junior. I found out about this over pizza at Two Boots in Manhattan. It hurt. "The Pop Art class is a bit more topical to the university and the professor's enthusiasm is as good as this guy's jokes are bad."

"I liked his jokes," the guy says, looking confused.

"I know, but...you have to admit…?" Nevermind. I was already losing him. "I'll see you next class," I say instead, and give a little wave before walking backwards out the door.

He waves back. It's kind of adorable.

Of course, when I told him I'd see him next class, I assumed it meant the next art history class a week later. I didn't expect him to show up that day in the Turtle-Eating-A-Cheeto lecture hall for 213 at three pm.

"Don't sit there," I tell him without looking up when he goes to take the empty seat next to me.

"Sorry!" he leaps away as if the shitty folding chair is lava.

"You see the guy sleeping next to me?" I ask, pointing at my friend with a pen.

"Yeah?" he responds.

"He does this every class, and every class we get a chalkboard eraser chucked in our direction to wake him up. So unless you want to wear white eraser dust the rest of the day...don't sit there," I explain.

"Oh...well...I don't know…" he sounds constipated.

I look up at him. He is clearly in conflict about his seating choices. I raise my eyebrows at him like 'pick one already.'

He sits down, "Honestly, eraser dust is probably the least of my outfit problems."

I side-eye his striped collared shirt, "True."

He winces and slides down to slouch in his seat.

"If you're new you probably haven't heard of Kesden," I say, changing the topic to save him some embarrassment.

"No, I have not," he admits.

"Did they stick you in this class automatically?" I ask, "They did that to me, when I took my first programming class. I had no idea who Kesden was, I got lucky."

"No I just picked a professor at random," the guy shakes his head, "Didn't recognize any of the names."

"Okay, well Kesden is the best. Everyone knows he's the hardest. You come out of his class and you know twice as much as any of the students in the parallel classes. You pick him if you have something to prove, like me. If you don't, and want to reduce stress, it's maybe not the best choice," I say pointedly.

"I think I started picking up on that after what you said about the eraser dust."

I laugh, "Welcome to Carnegie Mellon. Where'd you transfer from, anyway?"

He takes a deep breath and releases it fast, "Harvard."

"Oh shit," I say, "Seriously?"

He nods.

I do the mental math and add, "So...you transferred out of an ivy and into a research university ranked higher for computer science, and picked the hardest programming professor...for stress relief?"

He smiles wanly, "At Harvard it was less the academics and more about...social...stress."

"Okay, then that's easy our 'frats' can barely even call themselves frats. No one cares about social life here unless it's fighting over a coveted computer spot in the Wean Linux cluster," I say, "Oh!" I turn and grab his arm to emphasize, "But have you played Capture The Flag With Stuff yet?"

"Noooooooo," he says, staring at my hand with wide eyes, "I have not."

"Well, you gotta," I say, "And don't worry about being new, no one has any idea what anybody's doing in that game."

"Okay," he sounds skeptical again.

"You'll see," I reassure him, "What's your phone number?"

"Uhhhh…." he looks hesitant.

"I'll let you know when the next game is organized. I have friends in the KGB," I explain.

"You have what?!" his voice goes high pitched.

"Not the actual KGB, the social club on campus," I say.

"Oh god...what have I gotten myself into…" his eyes roll into the back of his head, “Not again.”

"Gee, now you're worried? I tell you that you've signed up for the hardest programming class at this level and you don't blink an eye but one word about a social club…"

"I thought you said there were no social clubs on campus?"

"There aren't! Not really...KGB is like...the anti-social club. Ignore the name, it was coined in the 90's by a bunch of nerds who thought they were being funny. They're weird, but harmless, and they throw a good game of capture the flag," I say, "With stuff!"

"I have made a grave error in judgement," he says, looking more and more concerned.

"If I promise you zero social stress, will you give me your number?" I ask.

He looks at me with furrowed brows.

The professor chooses that minute to walk in, fashionably ten minutes late. The first thing he does is pick up the chalkboard eraser and chuck it in our direction. The professor was probably aiming for my still sleeping friend. He misses. It hits Dustin in the face.

"Ah!" the guy cries, flailing his arms and sliding almost out of his seat, "God!"

"Sorry, that wasn't meant for you," the professor says, and then starts in on his lecture. Programmers are not known for their aim.

My friend sleeping next to me snores softly.

Dustin sits frozen in his chair, clutching the arm rests, his expression a picture of consternation. A fine layer of pale chalk dust coats his bright copper hair and pastel yellow shirt.

I lean over close. "I did warn you," I whisper, and then sit back to take notes.

He gives me his phone number after class.

I save it to my contacts as "Dusty".

#what do i even tag this as #Is there a social network fanfic tag #i think my moratorium against talking about my alma mater or else be hit with lawyers has passed its three year mark #wow its been three years since march 24 2017

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randomoranges · 3 years

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these blurbs are recycled. back in 2015, i had written these for another teacher au verse for another fandom. i never got around to posting them for the other fandom [i don’t think so. if anything they’re on my old LJ somewhere, but anyways.] i decided to re-read them and update them a little. these are based on true events and some wishful thinking.

the wishful thinking part is that i really would like to have an Edward lamao.

Teaching AU

Planning

Étienne had no idea what it was that had possessed him, when he agreed to this contract. Sure, he had a degree that said he could teach, yes, he actually did want to work, but he had no idea how to organise his lessons and the curriculum only helped him so much. He could do anything he wanted and the idea was overwhelming to say the least. That was the way art was – basically, he could have the kids do whatever project he so desired, so long as they ended up learning whatever it was the Progressions of Learning said. It didn’t matter how it was the students learned about primary colours, so long as they did. Étienne would have preferred some guidance – some left over projects from the year before to at least get him started and guided.

He was still a little shell-shocked. This was his first contract, the staff was nice, but the school was enormous and he felt as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. It didn’t help that he was the only art teacher in the building and therefore had no other art colleagues on hand, (why had he agreed, why?) He would have liked to been able to exchange ideas with someone else – someone who knew the program and had done this for a few years – who knew the school.

Étienne sighed and tried to calm down his racing heart. He hated feeling like an incompetent. He could come up with projects easily, but – would the students enjoy them? Would they be able to do them? Would they breeze through the project in thirty minutes instead of the four periods he had planned? And then there was the grading – the groups – so many groups, so many projects and thus, so much grading. How did one manage it all? How did teachers not sign their souls over when they started?

There were high hopes riding on him and he didn’t want to disappoint.

If he was honest with himself, Étienne would admit that he had spent the past two weeks fretting during sleepless nights over this job and that so far, it was more stress than fun. He hated this. He missed his free time. He missed going home and doing something for himself. Something fun. He was always bone tired when he got home and there was always something work related to do; e-mails, grading, planning, preparing, thinking – thinking – thinking. Even when he tried to sleep, his brain would kick into gear and play over the days lessons and over think the upcoming ones. There was no break. Ever.

But he wasn’t one who gave up.

He would show them, damn it. He would show the man who hired him that he had made the right choice.

Even if it meant more sleepless nights and more after hours at school trying to keep his head above water.

Étienne sighed and opened up another tab on his computer, looking for some inspiration. At least the school was quiet now.

Printer

Edward didn’t know why, but somehow or other, he had decided that this year, he would make the new science exam, since apparently, the one the school had used last year was garbage and he had So Many Great Ideas.

Even though he had three other colleagues who equally taught fifth grade science, he had volunteered to do it, to show that he was willing to be part of the team, help out, and get involved. Or something equally wonderful and daft.

That was fine, except now he found himself alone, in the teacher’s room, on a Friday night, two hours after classes had let out, trying to coax life into the printer.

He wanted to go home.

These exams needed to be printed now, so that they could be looked over on Monday and then distributed by Tuesday. Therefore, now was not the time for the printer to stop working, thank you very much.

Edward would have gone to a different printer, but this was the only decent photocopier that could staple and hole punch the documents as well. He would have asked another teacher, but it was past six and no one was left in the school. Well, no one he knew of. No one in their right mind, really.

He was tired, hungry, on the brink of a nervous breakdown because of this stupid printer, stressed, anxious and overworked. He had piles of marking to do this weekend and he had lessons to plan. To top it all off, today had been a day six and he hated those. (It was the one day in his schedule where he didn’t have a specialist and of course it fell on a Friday, when the kids were more excitable. He’d tried to make his afternoon easier by putting on a movie, but that had been met with only partial success.)

It was a lot. It was too much. Why had he ever agreed to any of this? Why did anyone ever agree to this? And most importantly, how could anyone ever even think that teachers’ had it easy? This was anything but. Sure, he loved his students, would do anything for them, but.

He let out a frustrated cry and slammed his hand on the printer. There was no way the paper was still jammed or that the ink cartridge was low. He tried rebooting the machine, but he got the same error message as before.

He was going to give up.

He had let everyone down.

He knew he shouldn’t have gotten so involved; he should have kept his mouth shut.

He should have minded his own business.

He should have – he let out a mangled sob and then heard a soft cough from the door.

Edward spun around quickly and wiped his eyes. He wasn’t alone anymore.

He squinted at the door and saw the new art teacher – Étienne. What was he doing here? At this time? Why wasn’t he home?

“Late night?” He asked, all smiles and casualness, but Edward had a feeling that Étienne was just hiding his own exhaustion behind his friendly smile.

“No – I mean – yes, I mean...” He looked at the printer and wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

“Printer problems?”

“Yes... and I was almost done. Well, for the day. Not like we’re ever done.”

Étienne laughed and stepped inside the dimly lit office. There had been daylight before, but he hadn’t bothered turning the lights earlier, too absorbed in his work.

“Mind if I take a look?”

“Go ahead. It can’t get any worse than this. Although, if you fix it, I might just want to kiss you.” He joked and then realised how that sounded. He was about to apologise for the comment, but Étienne offered him a smile and a soft laugh instead. Edward stepped aside and let Étienne have a look. Étienne turned on the lights and Edward squinted at the sudden bright lights.

Étienne looked at the printer and hummed in concentration. He opened the tray, checked for a paper jam, and Edward wanted to tell him that he had done all of that already, but, well, Étienne could have the pleasure of finding that out for himself.

It took Étienne a little over an hour, during which they exchanged polite conversation. Edward tried to print his document, when it seemed that it would work, but every time, without fault, the printer stuttered or printed out blanks, much to both of their discouragement.

Finally, after four threats of setting the damned thing on fire, three litanies of curses and one break to cool off, the photocopier finally spat out Edward’s document.

Edward first kissed the stack of freshly printed-paper and then launched himself into Étienne’s arms.

Art Room

Edward looked at the small mountain of exams he still had to grade and groaned. He hated the end of term for many different reasons and this was definitively one of them.

He had more grading than he cared to do and the report cards needed to be filled in afterwards as if he didn’t have enough to do already.

It was a good thing he was on top of his grading.

He could only imagine what it would be like if he wasn’t.

Actually, he didn’t want to imagine.

At least he only had twenty-eight students to deal with. He had no idea how Étienne managed. He’d drown. He’d never be ahead. There was no way. Sometimes, he looked at Étienne correct projects and he wondered how he did it – how he decided what was full marks and what deserved less. Étienne had explained it to him once; had shown him his very detailed rubric, but even then.

Edward threw his red pen down and fished out his cell phone. He needed a break. He wanted to go home and forget about all of this. He wanted to pretend he was a regular man with a regular 8 to 4 job that didn’t follow him home. He wanted to go on a date with his boyfriend and not pass out on the sofa by nine-thirty like some ancient dinosaur man.

He opened up his conversation with Étienne, typing out a new message quickly.

“Are you almost done?” He typed out. Maybe, if Étienne was nearly done, he could use it as an excuse to head home.

The reply came a few seconds later, “Not even close. You?”

Edward sighed; so much for an earlier night. “Likewise. I need a break. Mind if I pop by yours for a bit?”

“God, please. I need a distraction something fierce.”

Edward put down his phone and stretched luxuriously, letting out a groan. His neck was stiff and his shoulders were sore, but standing up felt good.

Étienne’s art room was two floors below his own classroom and they had made the art room their own little meeting point when they wanted to sit together away from everyone and everything else. The art room’s doors had no windows, there was a comfortable plush couch in the back of it, and there weren’t any other classrooms beyond it. Therefore, it was the perfect place for some quiet time together.

Edward made his way towards the other room and took a moment to listen to the quiet of the building. There was something soothing and a little eerie about a quiet school in the dead of the night. He thought it was calming. It was different from the regular hustle and bustle of the day, with the students running down the stairs after class, before class, during class being their rowdy selves. Now, he could hear himself think and breathe.

“Fancy meeting you here.” Étienne greeted him at the door with a pleased little smile.

Edward couldn’t stop himself from grinning. He liked the fact that he could meet up with his boyfriend like this. He had friends who wondered how it was they ever had anything to talk about when they worked at the same place. It worked for them. They made it work. If anything, it meant that Étienne understood his work reality and vice versa. They both knew how demanding it was to teach and so, they never fought over the other “being lazy and not having done a chore” or something. Edward liked that they had the morning and evening commute together, even if they didn’t say anything. Just being together and sharing the same space was enough.

They exchanged tired, fond smiles and Edward closed the door behind him, before pulling Étienne close for a hug, leaning back against the door.

“God, you look how I feel.” He told Étienne.

Étienne laughed and gave him a one over. “I can say the same about you, Murphy, and yet you’re still a sight for sore eyes.”

“Kind as always, Maisonneuve.”

“Only for you.” Étienne said, soft, and closed the distance between them, cupping Edward’s cheeks with his hands to press a kiss to the corner of Edward’s mouth.

“No. Kiss me proper, damn it. I need something to survive this hell night.” Edward pouted.

Étienne’s laugh was more of a rasp, but he was never one to refuse Edward a kiss. He pulled him closer and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, looking into those eyes he loved so much, before he kissed him properly this time. Edward sighed against him, held him closer and chased another kiss when Étienne made to pull back.

This was by far the greatest perk of working with his boyfriend. It wasn’t as if they used every chance they got to make-out, but it was nice to know that they could. That when Étienne needed a hug they could sneak one in behind closed doors and that when they were both doing their usual unpaid overtime, they could indulge in a little moment or two to make the night a little easier.

After Hours

Parent-teacher interviews were finally over and the desks and chairs had been put away. Tomorrow was a PED day, but at least it meant a reprieve from the kids, even if they still needed to be in at the same time and then have to sit through meetings that could always be summed up in an e-mail but never were.

Even though Étienne was exhausted and he wanted nothing more but curl up in bed and sleep until spring, there was a get together in the staff room and he could go for a little socialising. It wasn’t as if he had time to see his friends anymore anyways.

Being the new teacher, he hadn’t really gotten the chance to make new friends, but Edward was there and so he figured he could hang out with him. If anything, there was free booze from the looks of it and that in itself would make this a little more interesting.

Luckily, being the art teacher meant that even if he didn’t really know the other teachers, they knew of him and that he existed in the school. They all exchanged polite hellos and congratulated themselves on surviving the night, before toasting to that.

Étienne found Edward by the back of the room, sitting on one of the couches. He seemed to be engrossed in a conversation with the other fifth grade teachers and Étienne figured he might as well join them, even if just to sit somewhere.

“Excellent, I thought you had left.” Edward said with a bright grin and Étienne thought that maybe this wasn’t Edward’s first drink, judging by the pink of his cheeks.

“Nah, you’re my ride home, or did you forget?” He joked. Honestly, the rides home and to school were a life saver. He needed to get Edward a proper Christmas thank you gift just for that. And also because Edward had offered him friendship when it seemed as though he would be alone in this new school and drown in his own feelings.

They exchanged a few anecdotes from the night, until one of the gym teachers showed up with a special bottle of whiskey and a stack of mismatched teacups.

“Looks like things are going to get interesting!” Edward grinned at him. Étienne could only nod as he was handed a cup.

The janitor came by to kick them out around eleven, when he had to arm the school. They didn’t mind, really, since they did want to head home and they did have to show up to school the following day, even if the idea of calling in sick and sleeping in seemed oh so alluring.

Étienne’s head was spinning a little and he wasn’t sure if it had to do with the extra cup of whiskey or the fact that Edward had been pressed close to his side, all evening long, with their legs touching and shoulders bumping into each other. However, for once in his life, he was happy to have the cold November air blast him in the face when they stepped out.

If anything, it had been an excellent way to end the evening and he had connected with a few other teachers. Especially Edward. Edward was fast turning into a potentially Real Friend. Friend he could meet up with outside of school type.

“You ready to head home?” Edward asked, bundling up in his scarf and coat. Étienne liked the rosy tinge to his cheeks and wondered if it was the cold, the booze, or a blush. For half a second Étienne had a vision of going to home to someone – of going back home with Edward and he mourned the fact that he wasn’t – that there was no one home waiting for him and to kiss him goodnight.

“Yeah; I’m beat. You?”

“I’m okay. I guess I’ll pick you up tomorrow? Around 7h30?” At least he could sleep in an extra thirty minutes.

“Sure looks like it. Wanna grab lunch during break?” He threw out, feeling bold. They’d never done lunch before. They kept it at the lifts, which were already nice, even if sometimes they were quiet. Edward seemed surprised, but recovered quickly. His cheeks taking on an interesting shade of pink that Étienne wasn’t sure if it had to do with the cold, the booze, or something else.

“Sounds like a plan.” He finally said and nodded to himself.

Étienne grinned feeling light-headed and giddy.

FIN

#pc: montreal #pc: edmonton #edward murphy #étienne maisonneuve #au #ficlet #teacher au

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hanybanani · 4 years

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𝑀𝓎 𝒹𝒶𝒾𝓁𝓎 𝒹𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓅𝒽𝒾𝓁𝑜𝓈𝑜𝓅𝒽𝓎

First of all, what is philosophy and how does it help us? Philosophy is the study of existence and reality, it helps us develop our critical thinking and makes our lives easier in terms of making better decisions and choices in life.

Have you ever wondered how to make good choices in life? Of course, you would want to keep heading into the direction you want and not fall into a spiral of stress and despair. Now, as teenagers, even adults, many of us wondered about our lives, like what is our purpose, some people think they don’t have a purpose. What is success and how will you achieve it, what is good and what is bad, or how should we treat one another, ect.

Philosophy gives us ethics. It involves “systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior". Growing up, we often face choices, there are times when we are indecisive in life and you realize you are responsible as you set an example.

Philosophy in Greek means “the love of wisdom” or “the pursuit of wisdom”, and I think making mistakes can be turned into a valuable lesson to a person. Why do I think this? Well, as Albert Einstein said, “ Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new”. My philosophy in making mistakes is that it teaches us to clarify what we really want, it is a fundamental part for every understanding, advancement, and development. The correct exists because of the fault and this is what makes us human. Men is prone to error and develops, but that depends on how one responds to the error.

Philosophy has been around since the 6th century, without it, everything we have now wouldn’t exist. We wouldn’t have freedom to have our own opinion, values, nor have equality. It helps us approach into making policies, make rational suggestions into shaping society to become better. Philosophy helps students acquire a knowledge of those ideas and its origins. Philosophy also influence teaching, and even leadership.

Science and philosophy are pretty similar when it comes to finding out what is reality. The difference is that science is all about the natural phenomena and philosophy is understanding the nature of man and our existence. I personally think that philosophy can lead to innovation, giving fantastical inspiration to create new ideas for creating innovative solutions.

The Noble Eight-fold Path

I’m not Buddhist but reading the Eight-fold Path helps to become calmer and be more at peace knowing what to do in times of distress, if you want to follow the Eight Fold Path It’s a good thing to remember that it’s important to be ethical in word and in deed, and thought. To be kind to others, and being positive as much as possible and be respectful and moral person. Remembering those will surely help you to be peaceful in your mind and to everyone around you and will not let you suffer as a bitter person. Having peace within oneself makes you have the right understanding, the right intent, the right speech, right mindfulness, concentration, following all of these creates a harmony in oneself. I have learned that when you’re compassionate towards others and treat them right, you get a reward too, and it also feels good to do something good to others and they will be kind to you as well.

Treating others the right way is good for the mental health and well being, it can reduce the stress and improve our mood and also self-esteem and of course, it makes us happy. Doing good deeds does not need much time or costs money like when listening to your friends without judgement and focus on what they need.

Ecocentric model and evaluate personal views and attitudes toward nature

The environment that God has given us is truly beautiful, the air we breathe, the land we walk on and the plants and animals that live among humans are made carefully. All lives are equal to existence and ecocentrism is a pathway to a sustainable living. Man is made to dominate the Earth and take care of it. Ecocentrism is the reason why we value the environment we live in. Life relies on geological processes and has been worldview and many countries speak about folklore. An ecocentric view holds the planet’s ecology and ecosystems, the the lives of humans, animals, the creatures the lives in the depths of the sea and all life forms. I think that we should continue to take care of our surroundings for the future generation, to look at the world with love of nature, will give the children of the future a wonderful Earth that they could still live on. With all the buidings that are being built, the trees that are being cut and the amount of garbage that is being thrown to the ocean should be reduced and think about the other living things that will suffer from the greediness of mankind.

We should reduce, reuse, recycle to save that dying animals and reduce the pollution in the air that we breathe for the sake of the children and the children of their children. We must protect and value the things that were made to sustain life even if they cannot be used by humans as resources.

Marcos Batas Militar

How can reason be translated into action?

An individual’s speech makes sense based on logic and facts and can be turned into action when the individual starts to act upon his visions logically and comfortably

If there were no intellect, there would be no will. Explain.

You cannot accomplish anything without intelligence or without any practical plan, thus there is no will if you do not know how to make ends meet.

What is a social contract and how is it reflected in the EDSA Revolution?

An agreement from the members of society. The law is reflected in the people by making an agreement.

Was freedom denied during the Martial Law? Was there free choice within the Filipino people?

People could not go outside their houses and speak about the government or they will get killed. There was no freedom for the people who denied the Martial Law and there was no free choice.

How do you think this is similar and/or different from the colonization of the Philippines from the hands of the Spanish, American, and Japanese?

The Spanish people colonized the Philippines under military and religious supremacy while the Philippines is an instrument for WWII for the Japanese. America desires for opportunities that will benefit their own country and to have power over the islands from other countries, it is somehow similar to the Marcos martial law where the authority or people with access to firearms disregards the safety and needs of the people for their own benefit.

How do you think this is similar and/or different from today’s events in the Philippines?

The events regarding for covid-19 are similar but different as people are required to stay home for their own health but similar to martial law as the media sensualize the virus to which it makes people afraid and scared, but according to a doctor in Europe, covid-19 is just like any other flu.

My mother likes listening to classic music and because of my mother, I know about Andrea Bocelli. His music is comforting and his voice is beautiful. Andrea Bocelli is a knows as a great music artist that inspires many people around the globe. When he was still in his mother’s womb, the doctor advised his parents to abort him because him might have a disability, his mother, however opposed the advice the doctor gave and gave birth to him and when he was born he did have many issues with his sight and was diagnosed with congenital glauoma. As a young boy, Bocelli had a passion for music even with his disability, it did not stop him from playing the piano and other instruments and to be a great singer and won countless awards. He is a good model for young kids with disabilities to never stop hoping and dream big.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

25-year life plan.

Firsly, I want to develop my skills in arts and be able to try out and learn digital drawing since it looks super cool and fun to do and be able to do animations because I wanted to do that as a kid. When it comes to career, I want to get a good job in software technology and be able to create applications and games that would help many people in their daily lives and also have fun. But before I achieve all that, education is important.My plan is to get to graduate college, I want to expand my knowledge in computer programming.

I want to be able to contribute to my family, and support them with their needs, and show them love as much as possible so I guess having a decent stable job would allow me to be helpful to the family. My financial plan would be saving as much to start a business and also giving to charity. In life, you can’t always just be working and working, sometimes looking after yourself is more important as well, being healthy and to excercise more and eat healthy food in order to achieve your goals. Working hard and looking after yourself can take you to places and for pleasure, I would like to do my bucket list like to be able to travel and see places, to be part of an organization helping citizens and the environment, giving to charity and to meet new people and learn from them. I think this is most people’s common life plan, its a dream and a plan, but don’t call it a dream, call it a plan, make it a goal and thrive big.

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namephone76-blog · 4 years

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Python Tutor.

Java Tester Jobs, Employment

#toc background: #f9f9f9;border: 1px solid #aaa;display: table;margin-bottom: 1em;padding: 1em;width: 350px; .toctitle font-weight: 700;text-align: center;

Content

Licensed Software Program Examination Automation Engineer.

Automation Testing Resources.

Examination Automation With Selenium Webdriver.

Top Tips For Discovering Java Programming.

Develop A Junit Test Course

That's one of the worth propositions of a coding bootcamp like Tech Lift-- we can assist concentrate you on the things you truly need to understand. I tell pupils that my intent isn't to produce a Java developer; we're teaching you to be as well as assume like a programmer. Component of being a developer is always having the ability to find out.

Licensed Software Program Test Automation Engineer.

Later-- discover regularly made use of APIs, like servlets, JSP, JDBC, JUnit; pay attention to create patterns, data sources, data structures as well as algorithms, prominent devices like Git and Wizard, and so on. Your efficiency in finding out Java relies on numerous variables. Java is among the brief variety of prevailing programming languages, according to global positions like TIOBE, PYPL, GitHub's Octoverse, etc . You can additionally discover a lot of various other programs for discovering Java from the ground up like Method Java by Structure Projects, which is one more cost-free course for designers starting with Java. It can be a relatively steep learning curve for a beginner if there is any type of disadvantage.

Which Java course is best?

2. The Complete Java Masterclass by Udemy. The complete Java Masterclass is the most popular course with more than 210,000 students enrolled to date. The course is offered by Udemy and the classes are taken by Time Buchalka who is a well-reputed and globally renowned Java developer and teacher.

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Automation Testing Resources.

Our team of specialists has actually thoroughly analyzed the deals made by numerous on-line institutes to acknowledge the very best Java course offered. Certification course in Java is a program that will aid pupils in discovering the core programming principles and furnish the trainees to compose programs to resolve complex troubles. This program generally demands perseverance, interest to information and also analytical capacity in the trainee as these are necessary in order to end up being a successful programmer. Other modifications to the Java modern technology ecosystem can be seismic in nature-- influencing technologies across all advancement languages.

Test Automation With Selenium Webdriver.

It's favored for higher degree applications since Java will not permit you to do certain functions to secure the PC. These resemblances are a lot more relevant to a developer utilizing the language than a client seeking a developer.

Jim Wilson who is a software application engineer as well as has greater than thirty years of experience in this area takes the class and provides beneficial expertise to the participants. This program covers the basics of Java, Course, Data, error handling, information kinds, object, as well as various other core Java ideas. Along with that this program uses detailed info concerning Java Shows language and also servers. This will assist the guests to acquire one of the most needed details to get jobs and also apply the server-side as well as client-side developments. There are numerous Java training courses that you might have discovered throughout your look for learning Java language.

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Java is additionally common for web as well as desktop computer apps in addition to applications that run on web servers. Java is more widely recognized and also functional, so it's likewise much easier to locate a Java designer than a "more difficult" language such as C++. You can manipulate hardware with Java, however it's not an usual language for low-level programs because it's a "much safer" language.

Is Python the future?

TIOBE predicts Python will replace Java as top programming language. Java still holds the top spot while C is in second place. According to TIOBE, if Python keeps this pace up it could replace both Java and C in three to four years. “The main reason for this is that software engineering is booming.

Simon has been a technical tester for over 18 years.

He started at IBM, transferred to EADS, then Fujitsu, as well as currently runs his own firm offering professional IT training, and also hands-on consultancy.

He has actually developed examination automation structures in Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, and.NET.

You will likewise need to utilize a test structure such as TestNG or JUnit.

An Information Science Lover with in-hand abilities in programming languages such as Java & Python. The above are the very best 6 courses for Java which you could choose as per your ease and get the ticket to learning Java language right from the ground up to pro degrees. These training courses are readily available online as well as can be compared on the basis of rates, program material, a period of time and also various other elements.

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To make it clear, listed here are couple of features of python that make it one-of-a-kind by itself. Recently I looked very closely at what it really indicates when a specific programming language, pattern, or tool is stated to be 'dead'. Firstly, remember, all languages are essentially the exact same, and also all languages can essentially do the very same thing in some way or the other. Selecting a language isn't about it being easy or hard, it's about exactly how you see coding overall. You'll see it favorably as well as will not be terrified to try brand-new points if you're pleased coding.

Top Tips For Knowing Java Programming.

To ensure that Java Cursus , yet it can be negative at the start because you just do not recognize where to begin. It's this immensely wide ecological community, and if you're attempting to discover by yourself, it can be a bit of a complicated setting to enter, compared to some other languages.

Develop A Junit Examination Class

With huge data, and also a 100% polished individual experience as the brand-new normal, innovation business are forced to introduce to exceed those needs, or threat coming to be pointless. Beginning roles normally require a Bachelors degree in computer technology or a relevant discipline nonetheless some employers will take into consideration candidates with various other relevant skills or experience. You can improve your Curriculum Vitae and potential customers of getting a beginning duty by taking part in Java relevant bootcamps, on the internet knowing and/or official education and learning programmes. Html, Python, JavaScript, PHP, as well as Java are some of the simplest, high-level languages for beginning programmers to discover. Java is the structure for Android growth, so if you want a mobile application especially for Android, after that Java will certainly be your language of selection.

Is Java for free?

Codecademy Codecademy is probably one of the best places to learn Java online. It is an education company, which focuses on enhancing the online learning experience of students. It provides free courses of Java programming language for both beginners and experienced programmers.

However, a bad language can set you up for despising the construct of programming generally. Core Java Quantity I&C ore Java Volume II by Cay S. Horstmann. In my mind, this is a great source for trainees, equally on the beginning as well as on the midway of a knowing experience. As well as it has every possibility to become your table-book also after you understand Java programming. Adjust your learning program according to your goals.

java tester s"/>

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ncdics · 5 years

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hey dudes... it’s ya girl... rani. it’s been a hot ass minute since i tumblr rped so here i am because i heard good things about the rp and the admin team :-) this is my baby nadia, local overachiever and tired bitch. this is a little rough but i will have her bio up soon (i currently only have her stats up), but LIKE this and i’ll hit you up for plots!

( alice t, cisfemale ) did you hear how NADIA MENON is applying to columbia university as a COMPUTER SCIENCE & PSYCHOLOGY major ?! the TWENTY-TWO year old is living in the CARLTON ARMS. i heard that they got in because they are +STAUNCH and +AFFECTIONATE, but honestly i think SHE can be -ENIGMATIC and -FINICKY. they’re a real NIGHT OWL. oh well, only time will tell if the SENIOR will make it til the end. + BLACK COFFEE, CORNERS IN COFFEE SHOPS, DANCING ALONE IN YOUR ROOM AT MIDNIGHT, NEVER SEEMS TO SLEEP, WORN PAPERBACK BOOKS, SUNRISES, GOLD NECKLACES AND RINGS, BLUSHED CHEEKS, A SOFT BREEZE, SCENTED CANDLES, HOUSEPLANTS, DARK CIRCLES COVERED WITH LAYERS OF CONCEALER, LAZY MORNINGS IN BED, UNSENT LOVE LETTERS.

name's NADIA, don’t call her nads unless you’re her bff

born in manchester, england, the only child of her software developer father, sachin menon, and her bakery manager mother, min “carrie” menon.

due to her parents’ long hours and her lack of siblings or extended family around her, she often times found herself alone, forcing herself to fill in the gaps with imaginary friends, books, and a cat named ‘floof’ by her and her neighbour.

the menon family lived a comfortable lifestyle in the city, getting to send nadia to a better than average school, where nadia flourished in sciences and maths. summers were spent in between malaysia, india and china, where nadia would spend her time with extended family

fast forward to the age of fourteen, things are going well, nadia is well liked among her classmates, her parents have advanced in their jobs and everything is going well... until her father gets a promotion - and the menons’ get to move across the ocean and to san francisco, california. nadia, obviously, is furious. going from moderately popular to the new girl in town was not her idea of a good time.

and so the menons finally reach san francisco, where nadia is miserable and carrie is a bit more than annoyed at sachin. nadia eventually settles in to her high school, launching herself back into popularity as she makes the dance team, and by some stroke of luck, the cheer team. tensions start to brew between carrie and sachin, which nadia starts to notice. she envelopes herself in schoolwork and clubs, joining a record number for the school.

the breaking point comes at the end of her senior year, where her parents announce that they’d be getting a divorce, even noting that they’d only stayed together because she was still under their care. nadia, furious, went off on both of them, vowing to never return to the home. her parents have attempted to sway her opinion, with her father paying for her entire undergraduate studies and her mother sending her checks for rent (and a little extra) every month. these obviously don’t work, but nadia works this to her advantage, and gets to use her tutoring/barista income to pay for luxuries like makeup and clothing

oh yeah she’s a barista and an on campus tutor - you need help with writing, any of your computer science courses, math, or science? she’s your gal. she’s (almost) at the top of her class.

she’s a COMPUTER SCIENCE & PSYCHOLOGY major - queue late nights trying to understand her coursework and banging her head on her desk because her code is coming out with too many errors. she loves it though, really.

P E R S O N A L I T Y - kind but quiet - has a different personality for everyone she meets, therefore making it hard to actually figure it out. she’s vague about her past and family, even her closest of friends don’t know what’s going on with her. behind all the mystery, nadia is eager to please and desperate to be liked, a nod to her high school popularity. she’s somewhat of a hopeless romantic, though the notion is hardened because of her parents’ divorce. exudes big brain energy - homegirl is a computer science AND psychology major, you think she parties? no. she studies and studies only. will indulge in a glass of wine once in a while.

wanted plots !!

tutorship !!! give her someone with absolutely zero brain cells for her to tutor. give her a student athlete who needs to pass but absolutely does not like class. give her a rich kid who could care less but needs to stay in school to make sure daddy pays for their degree!!!

exes - someone who hated the fact that she was always studying and never wanted to go out, someone she dumped because they cheated, someone who hooked up with her on a bet and she found out !!! anyone !! bonus: hateships !!!!!

enemies - academic rivals !!!!! coworkers who are trying to sell the most lattes this week. the person who always sits in her unassigned lecture seat.

coworkers/customers - she’s a tutor and a barista at an overpriced hipster cafe - let the possibilities flow

friends - friends who force her to get out of the house, friends who are a tornado in her perfectly organized life, friends who fell out because of her stubbornness, friends who are awful influences, friends who can count on nadia to get them at the end of the night.

#columbia.intro #big NERVOUS !

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theliberaltony · 4 years

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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

At 106, MacCene Grimmett is one of the oldest voters in the state of Utah. Though women didn’t have the right to vote when she was born in 1913, by the time she was of voting age, the 19th Amendment had passed. She has voted in every election since, she told her local Fox affiliate, including the Utah County municipal general election last November.

But that time, the centenarian cast her ballot in a novel way: She voted via an app.

America is 174 days away from a presidential election. It’s also in the middle of a pandemic that upended normal life, requiring mass shutdowns and social distancing. Those two things don’t exactly jive.

Having millions of Americans stand in crowded polling places for hours to cast a ballot on Election Day sounds like the makings of a public health disaster — especially if there is a second surge of COVID-19 infections in the fall, as some experts predict. So now, election officials are looking for ways to hold elections remotely. One option that has been proposed is voting via an app on a smartphone or electronic device, just like Grimmett did last fall (though so far, states seem to only be considering this option for certain groups of voters, such as voters with disabilities).

It seems like an obvious solution: With so much of our daily lives now virtual, why couldn’t our elections be moved online too?

Voting online or via an app has even been tested in small elections a handful of times, but election security experts and even the founder of one of the most prominent voting apps on the market, Voatz, say there’s a laundry list of reasons why this technology isn’t ready for prime time. (Not to mention the fact that 19 percent of Americans still don’t have a smartphone, and as many as 21.3 million Americans still lack access to broadband internet, according to the Federal Communications Commission.)1

“I don’t know what I can say to explain this better: This is an incredibly dangerous idea,” said Mike Specter, a computer science Ph.D. student at MIT who has researched voting technology.

Specter told me there are a number of security and privacy concerns with voting online, which includes voting via an app, and that no technology so far has been able to solve these issues.

For starters, there is currently no way to ensure that each individual voter’s device is secure. Malware covertly installed on a voter’s phone could potentially alter the voter’s ballot or prevent it from being properly transmitted, Specter said. And even if the device is clean, election security experts say there are too many steps required to ensure that the ballot a voter submits online is the one actually counted. With a paper ballot, a voter marks their vote by hand and can visually verify it’s correct. A hard copy is also retained, which can then be audited. But with a digital vote, there are many steps that can create a gap between the vote cast and the vote counted.

“If you think about it, we have several versions of what that vote is and there is no way to verify that all those versions are the same,” said Duncan Buell, a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of South Carolina. “We have one version, which is what the voter sees in the form. We have another version, which is what gets transmitted by the software. We have a third version, which is the version that gets received by the storage system and then we have another version, which is what gets printed out and tallied by the election officials.”

And if the vote is intercepted at any point in that chain, there is no way to verify that a change had been made. It’d be like passing your paper ballot down a chain of strangers and trusting that nobody adjusted it before the vote was counted.

For the Utah County municipal election in which Grimmett voted by app, military and overseas voters and voters with disabilities could vote remotely using Voatz. But a report earlier this year by Specter and his colleagues at MIT found multiple security vulnerabilities in the chain of information that a hacker could exploit, including learning how a user voted, changing the user’s ballot or even accessing the user’s private information.

Voatz claimed the researchers’ methodology was flawed, but every online voting platform has faced similar challenges, according to Maggie MacAlpine, co-founder of Nordic Innovation Labs, a security consultancy firm that specializes in safeguarding elections. MacAlpine said when election officials have run trials of other online voting software in the past, they invited white hat hackers (computer security experts who attempt to hack into a system the purpose of assessing vulnerabilities) to test the software live.

“They have always gotten in with laughable ease,” MacAlpine said. “Every single time.”

It’s a longstanding problem, too. In 2010, for example, Washington, D.C., was considering a new online voting platform and invited researchers from the University of Michigan to test it. But when the Michigan fight song began playing after every ballot was successfully cast, it was clear the system wasn’t as secure as officials had hoped. And as the MIT analysis of Voatz shows, things haven’t gotten much better in the last decade.

MacAlpine noted that even if there was a completely secure system, there’s currently no way to have an online vote that is both anonymous and auditable. An anonymous vote protects against voter coercion, suppression, or vote selling. An auditable vote protects against any errors or breaches, because officials can conduct a recount. But that combination, which is possible with a paper ballot, isn’t yet possible online.

Voatz, though not the only online voting vendor in the market, has attracted a lot of scrutiny because it has been used by multiple state and local elections to facilitate absentee voting. The company’s co-founder and CEO, Nimit Sawhney, takes issue with a lot of the criticism the company has received, saying there are multiple layers to security and accuracy that protect against the issues raised. But even Sawhney said that at this point, the company couldn’t handle this fall’s presidential election.

“Nationwide would be a huge stretch,” Sawhney said. “We are a tiny little startup. There are about 25 people on our team. For us to be able to claim that we can do elections for 200 million people on a smartphone? That would be naive.”

So what’s a country to do when a pandemic is forcing us apart, but an online election is still a science fiction dream? Each of the experts I spoke to said the same thing: vote by mail.

Planning needs to start now, to make sure ballots are printed off and mailed in time, and that voters know their options for casting a ballot. In-person voting will still most likely take place as well. But experts told me if we want those well-spaced lines for the ballot boxes to be less than a few miles long, we’ll have to vastly ramp up mail-in voting by November.

“We’re going to have a hard time doing it this year,” Buell said. “But we have almost no choice.”

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Kaleigh Rogers

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molefi-mahula · 4 years

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The Skills needed in a digital age.

Knowledge involves two strongly inter-linked but different components: content and skills. Content includes facts, ideas, principles, evidence, and descriptions of processes or procedures. Most instructors, at least in universities, are well trained in content and have a deep understanding of the subject areas in which they are teaching. Expertise in skills development though is another matter. The issue here is not so much that instructors do not help students develop skills – they do – but whether these intellectual skills match the needs of knowledge-based workers, and whether enough emphasis is given to skills development within the curriculum.

The skills required in a knowledge society include the following (adapted from Conference Board of Canada, 2014):

communications skills: as well as the traditional communication skills of reading, speaking and writing coherently and clearly, we need to add social media communication skills. These might include the ability to create a short YouTube video to capture the demonstration of a process or to make a sales pitch, the ability to reach out through the Internet to a wide community of people with one’s ideas, to receive and incorporate feedback, to share information appropriately, and to identify trends and ideas from elsewhere;

the ability to learn independently: this means taking responsibility for working out what you need to know, and where to find that knowledge. This is an ongoing process in knowledge-based work, because the knowledge base is constantly changing. Incidentally I am not talking here necessarily of academic knowledge, although that too is changing; it could be learning about new equipment, new ways of doing things, or learning who are the people you need to know to get the job done;

ethics and responsibility: this is required to build trust (particularly important in informal social networks), but also because generally it is good business in a world where there are many different players, and a greater degree of reliance on others to accomplish one’s own goals;

teamwork and flexibility: although many knowledge workers work independently or in very small companies, they depend heavily on collaboration and the sharing of knowledge with others in related but independent organizations. In small companies, it is essential that all employees work closely together, share the same vision for a company and help each other out. In particular, knowledge workers need to know how to work collaboratively, virtually and at a distance, with colleagues, clients and partners. The ‘pooling’ of collective knowledge, problem-solving and implementation requires good teamwork and flexibility in taking on tasks or solving problems that may be outside a narrow job definition but necessary for success;

thinking skills (critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, originality, strategizing): of all the skills needed in a knowledge-based society, these are some of the most important. Businesses increasingly depend on the creation of new products, new services and new processes to keep down costs and increase competitiveness. Universities in particular have always prided themselves on teaching such intellectual skills, but the move to larger classes and more information transmission, especially at the undergraduate level, challenges this assumption. Also, it is not just in the higher management positions that these skills are required. Trades people in particular are increasingly having to be problem-solvers rather than following standard processes, which tend to become automated. Anyone dealing with the public needs to be able to identify needs and find appropriate solutions;

digital skills: most knowledge-based activities depend heavily on the use of technology. However the key issue is that these skills need to be embedded within the knowledge domain in which the activity takes place. This means for instance real estate agents knowing how to use geographical information systems to identify sales trends and prices in different geographical locations, welders knowing how to use computers to control robots examining and repairing pipes, radiologists knowing how to use new technologies that ‘read’ and analyze MRI scans. Thus the use of digital technology needs to be integrated with and evaluated through the knowledge-base of the subject area;

knowledge management: this is perhaps the most over-arching of all the skills. Knowledge is not only rapidly changing with new research, new developments, and rapid dissemination of ideas and practices over the Internet, but the sources of information are increasing, with a great deal of variability in the reliability or validity of the information. Thus the knowledge that an engineer learns at university can quickly become obsolete. There is so much information now in the health area that it is impossible for a medical student to master all drug treatments, medical procedures and emerging science such as genetic engineering, even within an eight year program. The key skill in a knowledge-based society is knowledge management: how to find, evaluate, analyze, apply and disseminate information, within a particular context. This is a skill that graduates will need to employ long after graduation.

We know a lot from research about skills and skill development (see, for instance, Fischer, 1980, Fallow and Steven, 2000):

skills development is relatively context-specific. In other words, these skills need to be embedded within a knowledge domain. For example, problem solving in medicine is different from problem-solving in business. Different processes and approaches are used to solve problems in these domains (for instance, medicine tends to be more deductive, business more intuitive; medicine is more risk averse, business is more likely to accept a solution that will contain a higher element of risk or uncertainty);

learners need practice – often a good deal of practice – to reach mastery and consistency in a particular skill;

skills are often best learned in relatively small steps, with steps increasing as mastery is approached;

learners need feedback on a regular basis to learn skills quickly and effectively; immediate feedback is usually better than late feedback;

although skills can be learned by trial and error without the intervention of a teacher, coach, or technology, skills development can be greatly enhanced with appropriate interventions, which means adopting appropriate teaching methods and technologies for skills development;

although content can be transmitted equally effectively through a wide range of media, skills development is much more tied to specific teaching approaches and technologies.

The teaching implications of the distinction between content and skills will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 2. The key point here is that content and skills are tightly related and as much attention needs to be given to skills development as to content acquisition to ensure that learners graduate with the necessary knowledge and skills for a digital age.

References

The Conference Board of Canada (2014) Employability Skills 2000+ Ottawa ON: Conference Board of Canada

Fallow, S. and Stevens, C. (2000) Integrating Key Skills in Higher Education: Employability, Transferable Skills and Learning for Life London UK/Sterling VA: Kogan Page/Stylus

Fischer, K.W. (1980) A Theory of Cognitive Development: The Control and Construction of Hierarchies of Skills Psychological Review, Vol. 84, No. 6

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bigskydreaming · 5 years

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Batfandom’s favorite word to use is “adopted.” And I don’t mean that in a good way, but in a ‘nah, this is actually kinda obnoxious’ way?

Like, 90% of fics and headcanons in Batfandom flat out refuse to use the words ‘father,’ ‘brother(s),’ ‘sister’ or ‘son(s),’ without the qualifier ‘adopted’ always, always, ALWAYS attached to the front of said words. Like, endlessly. Over and over. Not just once, early on, to establish the specific nature of the family relationships, but like....this sledgehammer insistence on bringing that point home. Each. And. Every. Time. A. Familial. Relationship. Is. Described. Ever.

Sorry to be cranky about it, I know people don’t mean any harm by it, and like, I’m not saying its offensive. That’s not the right word IMO, but its definitely....grating? And just to be clear, I don’t pretend I’m speaking for everyone who’s adopted or from adopted families, I’m sure plenty of people who fit that description have different takes on this than me. BUUUUT I also know for a fact that I am not the only person this bugs in a big way. I’ve had this convo over the years with a lot of other fans I know who are adopted. And its not just Batfandom either, its every fandom with central adoptive relationships, like Thor and Loki, etc. Its just especially jarring in Batfandom because there’s so many different adoptive relationships front and center, so this pops up like...EVERYWHERE.

Idk, like....I’d just ask that writers please consider WHY they feel the qualifier ‘adopted/adoptive’ is a necessary addition every time the label of father/son/brother is used in a fic. What they think it adds, what they feel it describes about the relationship that’s different from any other father/son/brother relationship. Because I do think that most people (at least those not from adopted families themselves) do it without thinking about it. It seems just like another descriptor, like its addition is just a level of specificity that’s like, slightly more accurate than JUST father/son/brother......its just. In my experience, and that of most other adopted kids/relatives of adopted kids I’ve spoken with personally....that’s not really how it works?

Its about context, is the thing. How a thing is framed. When used just initially, like when establishing the exact nature of family dynamics, sure, in that sense its an accurate descriptor that lends an additional level of specificity to family relationships. It describes how this particular family formed, how it came to be. But AFTER that’s been established....that qualifier of adopted tacked onto every family label....its no longer establishing anything further. Instead, now its just perpetuating the idea that the nature of the family relationship itself is inherently different, BECAUSE of how it was formed.

Its a subtle distinction, but its very much a real and definite distinction. When first used, ‘adopted’ describes a family origin. Used over and over, ‘adopted’ describes a family that’s somehow wholly different from non-adopted families, BECAUSE that specific family origin is seen as superseding and overlaying every other aspect of the family and its inter-dynamics. You see what I’m saying? And its that latter part that grates, because...no? That’s not....that’s not nearly the omnipresent thing that I think a lot of people seem to take for granted it is?

Again, maybe its different for other adopted families, but like.....okay. So, in my case, my mom’s technically my adopted mom, I have a different bio mom that I haven’t seen since I was ten, my older sister has the same bio parents as me and my two younger siblings are adopted with no biological relation to each other or to anyone else in our family, though unlike me and my sister were adopted at birth. For as long as my mom’s been my mom....I barely ever referred to my mom as anything other than my mom. It usually didn’t occur to me to use qualifiers when describing her, because like, she was who I saw as my mom. I mean, she’s literally my mom. That’s literally what that word adopted in front of the label ‘mother’ means. Whether you include it or not, the mother part remains true.

And in fact, describing her as my adopted mom wasn’t even like, an establishing qualifier I always included when first talking about my family to someone who didn’t know our history. It was usually more kinda....a tenth conversation kind of clarification because it was more an afterthought than anything else? Like kinda a belated realization when they looked at me confused at something I just said, like...’oh yeah, see technically my mom is my adopted mom, and when I said ‘my mom’ there just now I was actually talking about my bio mom, totally different thing. Like technically I have two, but only one really matters most of the time so its not worth mentioning to like, everyone I meet, you know?’ That sort of thing. If anything, I was more likely to use the qualifier in regards to my birth mom, the one I didn’t live with. Like I’d say, this is my mom when talking about my mom, as in my adopted mom, and I’d refer to my birth mom as just that, as my birth mom or my bio mom.

And my siblings and I tended to describe ourselves as adopted siblings more upfront, at least when introducing ourselves and our familial relationship to someone new...but that was less about us seeing us our sibling relationship as being different from non-adopted families, and more just like...a necessary avoidance of bullshit? LOL, because I mean, its kinda obvious that my siblings and I aren’t biologically related. I’m white, my little sister is Vietnamese, my little brother’s indigenous Mexican. We tended to lead with “this is my sister/brother, we’re adopted’, but mostly because like.....full offense, but people are kinda dumb? *Shrugs* If we just said ‘this is my sister and this is my brother’ and just left it at that, people would nine out of ten times like....stutter and get all squinty-eyed and confused and be all...what...how...because lol, idk, apparently its a hugely hard leap to figure out oh hey, maybe adoption is a thing here?

(And also just FYI in general, it was always just annoying because like, even if you don’t ‘get’ HOW two seemingly unrelated people can be related and all they say when introducing themselves is ‘we’re brother and sister’, like.....you’re not actually owed an in depth explanation as to omg how did this strange phenomenon come to be. And the entitlement so many people we encountered growing up, where like....they felt they were owed our life stories upon meeting us just once, simply because they Didn’t Understand and somehow this equated to But They NEEDED To Understand, because...Reasons....like, no. You don’t actually need to understand how two people are related if they don’t feel like providing you with the full context. Either take them at face value or don’t, you don’t get to be a dick and demand a full accounting of their legal and symbolic relationships just so you can like....validate this and be all okay yeah, that checks out, I’ll allow it. LOL. No? Your validation of our relationship is not required, nor is your understanding of it, get over yourselves. So just. Like. Don’t be Those Guys. If you meet people who introduce themselves as family and the exact nature of that family relationship isn’t immediately obvious or seems somewhat confusing like....just...deal? They’ll tell you more if they want you to know more, and if they don’t tell you more they probably feel you know everything you need to know and that’s literally their call to make, so....yeah).

Idk. Like, due to the age differences in our family, my little sister and I were the only ones who overlapped in attending the same schools at the same time, just different grade levels. And we used to have this bit where any time someone new stumbled while grasping the fact that we were brother and sister, and they did that Brain Malfunction, Processing Error glitch face while they tried to compute Asian sister, white brother, how does that even work....so like, at some point we just started doing this thing where any time we saw that Look, my little sister would launch into this painfully earnest explanation of how so, “okay, our dad’s Vietnamese and our mom’s white, and I got all the Vietnamese genes and my brother here got all the white genes,” and I would just keep a totally straight face and nod along, backing her up, and you could literally see them falling for it for a good minute or so before they realized oh hey, they’re totally just bullshitting me. And then eventually we got told to cut it out because teachers were complaining about looking dumb in front of other students when we did that, which, well duh that’s cuz you were, dumbasses BUT I DIGRESS.

But point is.....I honestly do not know many (if any) adopted families who go around making a point to emphasize the adopted part of their family relationships any and every time they come up, the way most fiction tends to depict adopted characters doing? Once we established to a person that yes, we’re adopted, we didn’t ever feel a need to re-emphasize that or re-establish that same point any time after that. If they idk, forgot or got confused again or whatever, I mean...not our problem, you know? You get one explanation, if you still don’t get it after that, you’re probably not gonna get it anyway because its not like....rocket science. Was pretty much our stance.

And so okay, full disclosure, since anyone who’s followed me for some time has heard me talk about not really having a relationship with my family anymore....like yeah, its true, but because of a whole host of reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with anyone’s adoption status. I mean, I basically hate my parents’ guts and have for a long time, but they’re still my parents, biological and adopted ones alike. And I love my siblings, we’re just unfortunately not close anymore because of all kinds of baggage that got heaped on us that there was really no way to deal with gracefully, look there are reasons I project on the Batfam and identify with that source material, lmao.

Again though, my point is.....even at the best of times, my family was crazy dysfunctional, much like the Batfamily is.....but even at the worst of times, literally nobody in my family was ever going around insisting on making a distinction about most of us not being biologically related, you know? That’s just....not a thing, IME. Like, family’s kinda all or nothing. You’re either family, or you’re not. The how of it only really matters if you’re hashing out something where that’s specifically relevant, otherwise, not so much because I mean....if it was that easy to make a distinction about how your family is only kinda technically sorta your family, it’d be a hell of a lot easier to just...walk away, you know? Like, even when you flat out hate members of your family, there’s not really a lot of confusion on whether or not you actually consider them family. As complicated as your family dynamic might be, people aren’t usually looking for places to add in that additional complication of ‘mmm but are we reeeeeeally even family, technically?’

So all of that plays into why its so jarring to see writers so insistently and repeatedly emphasize the ‘adopted’ part of Batfamily relationships, as though its like the most important aspect of their entire family dynamic...the be all and end all, the thing EVERYTHING inevitably traces back to, in every fight, in every dynamic, etc. And yeah, I do think people who aren’t adopted or from blended families themselves should maybe put a little more thought into what’s going through their head when they emphasize the adopted part of a family dynamic, like why they fixate on it as the most defining aspect or criteria of it. Because its really not nearly as reflective of reality as the sheer overwhelming SAMENESS of how often its written that way would suggest. Again, just speaking in my experience and that of those I’ve had this fandom conversation with, over the years.

Like, any way you write them, the Batfamily is dysfunctional as hell and always will be. But bottom line, there are some not that great implications underlying the....default assumption, that this dysfunctionality all stems from or inevitably traces back to that ‘adoptive’ qualifier. Have Dick or Jason or Tim or Damian flat out hating each other’s guts at times, there’s certainly canon to support it, and sure, insecurity as to their individual places in their family is always going to be at least a PART of it, but like....being insecure about your place in your family isn’t exactly an experience unique to adopted members of families, you know? But the way the Batfamily is usually written certainly seems to treat that as the takeaway, and again, I’m not sure offensive is the way I’d describe that, but it most definitely is grating. And it never fails to pull me right out of a story and like, moan dramatically at the heavens “oh my god, whyyyyyy, why do so many writers think we’re all just...totally unaware that these kids are all adopted and need to remind themselves and each other and us of that every other paragraph’.

Mostly because I’m dramatic like that, but also because its annoying too. Like....we get it, dudes. This is not brand new information. Its okay. You can refer to Bruce as just ‘their father’ or to their brothers or Cass as just ‘their brothers and sister’. You will not have like...lied, or anything.

Anyway. Those are my 6 am thoughts on the Batfam, fandom in general, and how you really only need to use the word ‘adopted’ like...once per relationship per fic. That’s really all it takes? The additional 674 mentions of adoption are kinda....gratuitous.

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blogbeebeesea-blog · 5 years

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The World with Media Convergence

Have you ever heard Media Convergence? What is it? Basically, media are various means or channels of communication which people use to send and/or receive information as it carries messages from one person to another, or from one person to a group of large people. Convergence means to come, meet, and join together having one interest, purpose, or goal.

Hence, Media Convergence is the co-existence of print media, broadcast media (radio and television), the Internet, mobile phones, as well as others, allowing media content to flow across various platforms. It involves the interconnection of information and communications technologies, computer networks, and media content. It brings together the “three C’s”—computing, communication, and content—and is a direct consequence of the digitization of media content and the popularization of the Internet. It transforms different kinds of media into digital code, which is then accessible by a range of devices (ex. from the personal computer to the mobile phone), thus creating a digital communication environment.

Application of Media Convergence to the World

Nowadays people use all kinds of media due to various reasons, like for work, for school, for entertainment, etc. It is now practical to use various kinds of media because most of the people would like to do their jobs easy and fast and by the means of multiple media, it could be done. Using all kinds of media is also a strategy for some people to also make their jobs done, like advertising. For now, a lot of people, old aged and young aged, use various kinds of media for how they need it.

By the sentences being said, the application of media convergence is already done by a lot of people and by that most people generalize that media convergence is now a necessity. The application of media convergence is just easy as said on some information, it is by joining a types of media in one. One example is instead of bringing a camera, a television, a microphone, a radio and a speaker, one could just use a smart phone for it has all that is mentioned.

source

Media convergence may be practical but this can also make people very lazy, very very lazy. This is why most people become fat in their work. Also this is why the generation today made the world turning slow because instead of planting trees and cleaning the environment, people will just plant trees in their games on the phone and clean their storage.

There are effects of media convergence to the world has a lot of advantage and disadvantage. Though this all had to be controlled whether it has good and bad effects because too much is always enough.

Importance of Media Convergence to the World

Media helps us connect globally and connects with the people that are far away from us. This type of technology gives us news and knowledge of the other country. We love social media, smart phones and daily digital rituals. It is currently our key to both education and entertainment (not to mention news, our networks and our social calendars). In addition to the latest and greatest apps and gadgets, we also love vintage, antique and timeless tools of communication. It is all because the face of communication has changed dramatically over the past few years. Traditional Telcos, which have historically dominated two-way interpersonal conversations, are increasingly being challenged by new market entrants that use open platforms to meet diverse and rapidly changing user wants and needs. Driven by high broadband penetration, maturing “social software” and readily available, affordable Internet enabled multimedia devices, these sites and services are making inroads with enthusiastic users and garnering the attention of advertisers, consumer product companies and enterprises that are using social media to reach their customers, build brand loyalty and communicate with geographically dispersed employees, suppliers and partners.

source

In short, people in this generation won’t live without media convergence because people need it. Education will not be easier unless there is Google helping them using their phones, laptops or personal computers, learning is made easier because instead of going to the library from far away, people could just use the internet. Entertainment is also made easier because there are some sites like YouTube, Facebook, etc. Even though its easy to access, this can make one lazy and this is where the limitation comes in.

How it Affects the World

Media Convergence offers many opportunities to people. It makes things easy to access, create, and use. It mainly applies to newspapers' evolution. News were usually distributed as prints before but as the media converged, news are now distributed in many ways such as posting in social media, visiting the website, downloading the app and of course print still exist. This helps people read in any way they are comfortable of reading it. It helps the news in a way that it can be distributed faster and the information can be disseminate in a wider audience. All good things has its limits, news can sometimes be viewed different from the prints compare to the website and apps. It is because of some technical errors that the editors encounter. Due to that, some audience experiences inconvenience reading online. Media covergence also applies in education, where students are very fond of using their smart phones in studying. The traditional way of teaching has now with the touch of technology. Students can now buy books online instead of buying it in a bookstore. Most of the students nowadays as what I've also experienced, we prefer to have our notes encoded and saved as pdf format than writing it down in a notebook. Teachers also discusses in a way that they uses power point presentation instead of written visual aids. We can really see the merging of media some aspects of out daily lives. We can't deny the continuous changing of earth so better embrace it than to fight it.

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Other People’s Opinion

Few professionals were asked some questions regarding the topic in this blog, and theses are the questions asked:

1. What is your idea about media convergence?

2. Is media convergence useful?

3. Does it help in making your tasks easier? Explain and give examples.

4. How does media convergence help you in today’s technologically advanced world?

Their answers were sequenced in how the questions were number above.

Jeric Api

Senior Highschol Teacher in University of Cebu

1. Different of media presented into one device

2. It depends on its purpose. If it is used to disseminate wrong information to the people then it’s bad.

3. It can because all ways of acquiring information can be achieved in one way.

4. It makes me more updated with what’s happening in the society. However, it can mislead me with the presence of fake news.

Sheila Mae W. Pañales

Licensed Professional Teacher

1. Media convergence is the junction of several diverse technologies into one form.

2. It is not just useful but essential nowadays where technology is rampant and increasing in value. It makes life easy but it also depends on how people utilize it.

3. Yes, it makes our task easier in a way that we can have everything we need in just one gadget. For example, if we need a dictionary, a camera, or timer, we can have it all in one smart phone. All you need is to install applications to it.

4. It helps me to be more competitive in today’s advanced world and it makes me more informative of what’s happening in our society.

Jayson Lloyd P. Maquilan

AB-Political Science Graduate

1. It is the accumulation off all available resources present in bringing media within the grasp of the people.

2. A qualified yes. It is useful if the intent is not to mislead others.

3. Yes, as I can easily access all the information with just a click of a button.

4. Yes, it helps me to be more productive in every task I do. Example of which is reading international news and cases.

Thoughts

Media Convergence means to come, meet, and join together all media platforms. This help in making the information accessible by a range of devices.

The application of media convergence is already done by a lot of people. This helps them make their work easier and it has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Different forms of media play a vital role in the world of technology today. It helps us connect globally and connects with the people who are far away from us and it is now our key to both education and entertainment.

Media Convergence helps the people in doing the things they like.

Due to the advancement of technology, users are advised to use all media platforms appropriately and correctly as not to violate its purpose. Having limitations is a must.

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