#Proton Times YouTube channel

[protonenglishhub]

Considerable Meaning 💡| Master This Word with Proton Time

Hey language learners! 🎓✨ Welcome back to another exciting word exploration with Proton Times! Today we’re diving into the word “considerable.” It's one of those words that adds power to your vocabulary and can totally level up your English game.

💡What Does "Considerable" Mean?

"Considerable" is an adjective that means large in amount, extent, or importance. If something is described as considerable, it’s no small thing—it stands out!

👉 Synonyms: significant, substantial, great, noteworthy

📝Examples of “Considerable” in Sentences:

She made a considerable effort to improve her English. (= She worked really hard!)

The project required a considerable investment of time and money.

There is considerable interest in Proton Times’ English grammar videos. 😎

The storm caused considerable damage to the city.

He gained considerable experience during his internship.

📌How to Use It?

Use “considerable” when you want to emphasize a big quantity or importance. It usually comes before a noun.

✅ Correct:

Considerable time

Considerable skill

Considerable attention

❌ Incorrect:

Time considerable ❌ (Adjectives come before the noun in English)

✨Try It Yourself:

Can you make a sentence using "considerable"? Post it in the comments or share it with #ProtonTimes!

🎥 Don’t forget to subscribe to Proton Times on YouTube for daily grammar lessons and smart word tips!

[daemonhxckergrrl]

chat, am I futureshock ?

occasionally I get people say stuff like this, and I'm glad they like my blog, I'm glad they enjoy the surface-level vibes. nonbinary matrix header, soft retro-vibe colourscheme, posts appearing as shell commands, etc.

but I'm not an aesthetic blog

I'm what happens when an autistic tranny who is A Bit Too Much Computer witnesses the realtime enshittification of everything.

first up, i wanna be clear that i'm not trying to shit on the person who sent me this or discourage people who enjoy these aesthetics (or what they perceive as my personal brand) for enjoying them, or from diving deeper. in fact, i would encourage it - please !! go look into things !! discover !! fuck things up !! fix them !!!

now i wanna talk about aesthetics. i love the design language of a lotta late 80s hardware, vehicles, physical interfaces. i love the design language of a lot that in the 90s, as well as software, early GUI stuff etc. and tbh a lot of that right up until the mid 00s. if we wanna play deeply unserious but whimsical visual signifiers for fun and silly reasons, sure then i'm webcore, i'm hackercore, i'm retrofuture and cyber, i'm cassette futurist, i'm cyberpunk or whatever. i'm cute glittery gifs of windows 95 slate dialog boxes and big standing racks full of das blinkenlights. i'm the cave shadow of a CD Walkman i'm that big chonky 80s red 7-segment alarm clock.

but i'm not just aesthetics. i'm not doing all this purely for the bit. up until a couple years ago i was sacrificing a ton of convenience for my principles. now i'm sacrificing certain specific conveniences and a buncha anti-consumer nonsense for my principles and a shit ton of other, better, conveniences.

this wasn't meant to be a long post, and may well end up influencing some of my cyberpriestess posting when i get my website going, as there's a lotta good jumping-off points here.

let me show y'all how i live. at least some of it.

daily driver ? 11-year-old gaming pc w/ some recent era-appropriate upgrades (well, the gpu is pushing it but like is reasonable someone would've done that upgrade).

this is what i mean. this is pluug2, my daily driver. and she still runs games. and yes i'm using arch rn bc i did a reinstall and for whatever reason the version of the void installer i had was corrupted and arch was the only other diy distro i had laying around. she'll end up running something infinitely more cursed in the future once i get s6 stuff figured out.

i spent like half an hour configuring fastfetch (the backend i'm using for hyfetch) bc the default kinda sucked. that's how this works.

i do dumb shit, i have fun, i live by my principles as much as possible...fuck idk

oh right, my thinkpad is a t61 from 2008. her graphics suck enough she literally can't load games. not anything made past idk DX9 ?? however her discord experience is about on part w/ my envy 360 from over 10 years later. she's kinda sick tho. idk. will probably turn her into a media pc or some kinda server since she's got a 2600U w/ 8 threads.

i don't get youtube ads. i don't get tempted by the comments section, i don't have my watch history profiled. i have a local database of playlists (the video tab on a channel counts as a playlist btw) that i can sync and fuzzy search in the terminal and it'll play via the video player on my system. however, i don't get stuff recommended which makes finding stuff entirely active.

i gotta test and tweak games i wanna play bc old hardware and also usually running via compatibility layer (proton my beloved) on account of..well no linux-native version. or the native version has issues.

discord and screenshare don't pay niceys all the time. this is partly a discord enshittification issue but also the discord devs don't care about linux as a platform. they "support" it bc hey electron works there. because it's the fuckign chrome browser. audio support in screenshare is an unofficial feature added by volunteer devs and that's a breach of TOS bc that's the world we live in now.

my brain is full of init system trivia, audio services and routing frameworks, a ton of incomprehensible nonsense that marks the difference between nostalgia-bait and Actually Being Like This.

come on in, by all means ! let's learn the semantics behind vim's actions/keybinds, let's discover old parts of the net, build up an environment from its component pieces. let's suffer together as the separation of accounts forces the use of several different email addresses, a TOTP app, and renewed access tokens to play one (1) game online w/ friends.

i'm not futureshock cybercore cassette retropunk, i'm stubborn and refuse to engage in as much of the bullshit forced on us these days as i physically can.

[c00kiejar]

This song...

I've never really made a proper post before, just shitposts and the occasional art thing. I want to make one to properly express how I feel right now and why this song represents it perfectly. I will warn you first, however, that this mentions a certain YouTuber who was recently completely destroyed on Twitter and my personal experience as a viewer, and may delve into some not-too-happy thoughts

Still here? Let's dive in

It all starts way back when I was still a kid. I was navigating the wonderful site known as YouTube, trying to find videos on videogames and, specifically, I think it was Super Paper Mario. I had no idea how to beat Chapter 2-3 (the Ruby debt one), and I needed help. That's when I stumbled across a YouTuber called Chuggaaconroy (a.k.a. Emile). The way he provided all the information I needed in one video was exactly what I needed. I couldn't subscribe to his channel because I didn't have a Google account, so I just periodically checked his channel, eventually learning he uploaded every day at 5 PM, perfect for younger me. I'd watch his videos when they came out, loving every single one. I eventually discovered his collab channel, The Runaway Guys, and loved that channel even more. He, Proton Jon (Jon) and NintendoCapriSun (Tim) entertained me for YEARS with their content. I even branched out into Jon's streaming community, becoming a semi-regular artist on the booru for a time (you can still find my stuff there under the name TehSm1tty. Not my best work, but I still like some of it). Years come and go, and I have my fair share of mental health troubles, but I'd always find Emile, Jon, and Tim there to brighten my days.

Fast forward to sometime last week. I've been pretty inactive on Twitter aside from my alts, but I decided to see what was popping on main. I log in and get recommended a post with the hashtag "WeStandWithChugga". I had no idea what was going on, so I looked into it. I won't go into detail here, but the jist of it is that Emile was a total creep to many women and even drove wedges between himself and good friends because of this weird behavior. There's a lot more to this than just that, but the point is that it shattered my view of him. I knew he was pushy and that always kinda annoyed me, but the extent of it broke me. For a few days now, I've been having a rough go of it. I mean, my childhood YouTuber just got outed as a complete creep and has some serious allegations of being at least a lolicon, at worst a pedo. I've been down and out for days, and it just wouldn't stop. That is, until I found out that Tim has a Reddit account. I never knew this (or, well, maybe I did and just forgot. Idfk), and was amazed to learn that Tim's been keeping Reddit updated on what he's able/willing to share. Turns out Emile's getting the help he needs at a legit mental hospital and that he's ok. That's what made everything stop. Hearing he's ok. After all the shit Emile has done, he's still a human being and doesn't deserve to have the whole internet turn on him in a fraction of a second. Hearing a fellow human is ok made me feel better. I'm not letting him off the hook, and I do not believe he should ever be forgiven for what he's done, but if he is willing to better himself and become a better person, I am more than willing to believe in that Emile.

Now to come to roughly 40 minutes ago. I decide to boot up Satisfactory and play a bit, but I have no idea what to listen to while I do. I put on a song but quickly get bored of it, and then I see "OMORI | Do You Remember? | Extended" in my recommendations. I put it on and instantly, as if I were splashed in the face by water, I wake up and feel better. I was still stressed about everything going on (I'm set to go to college in September, AND my folks are headed to Mexico in about a week, so I'm stressed from those too), but with the first note on the piano, everything faded. All my swirling negative emotions were replaced with a somber peace. I'm still hurt by the last week's revelations, and I'm never going to truly recover (who could?), but I'm moving on. I think my comment on the video describes how I feel best; "The sad yet peaceful feeling this song evokes in me... It's pretty much how I feel today. I feel at peace... or, well, mostly. There's still pain, and there always will be, but I can move on and I'll live. In the future, I'll look back on this last week and feel sad, but that'll be in the future when this is all over with for good, so I can also look back at before it and be happy that those good times happened. Nothing will ever be the same, but such is the way of the world. Saying goodbye is saying hello to the future, and we all need to do that eventually. Who knows what the future may hold? I, for one, can't wait to see. Hello future, and goodbye sadness".

Chuggaaconroy was an inspiration and a light in the sea of darkness for so, so many, and these revelations have snuffed the light he provided out. What I hope is that Emile takes a long, long break from the internet to become the person we all believed him to be, to truly become that bright light in the dark, rather than just another dark figure holding a flashlight. I don't hope for that as a supporter of him as I don't support who he is right now (as if I haven't said it enough), I hope for that as a fellow human who only wishes to see everyone become the best version of themself.

I think this post was exactly what I needed. I've finally gotten everything out in a cohesive (maybe?) and healthy manner, and I'm ready to become my best self. I will be beginning work on YouTube videos tomorrow, and will hopefully be posting Thursdays at 5 PM (in honor of DatPags whom has not uploaded in a long time).

To anyone who finished reading this post, thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Please, go become your best self, but do not do so by putting others down. Better yourself and acknowledge your flaws, overcome them, and do not repeat Emile's mistakes. Learn from those around you.

Yours truly,

Cookie_Jar of Tumblr dot com

[mariacallous]

Two masked men are in frame, wearing camouflage and sitting opposite each other. A table is between them and they are in the middle of what they claim is an American forest.

“You want to be as high up on the chain for modern warfare,” one of the men says under garbled voice distortion, while explaining the finer points of a fantasy insurgency against the US government.

The video, less than 20 minutes, is propaganda from the proscribed neo-Nazi terrorist group the Base.

“You want to have the best weaponry for war; to have the best tactics for war,” the man continues, “especially here in America.”

The video, meant to entice Americans to join its ranks, isn’t on YouTube or even a social media site most people know. Instead, it’s being hosted on Rutube, a Russian-government-sponsored knockoff.

Multiple analysts who follow its movements have noticed that the Base recently migrated much of its online content to Russian-owned sites or services. The move is part of an ongoing theme among the far right when western apps de-platform or moderate valuable accounts used for recruitment: retreat to the free-for-all that Russian sites offer.

The Base relocating its recruitment to safer Russian havens comes at a time when western intelligence services are openly warning that the Kremlin has taken the gloves off, directing their agents to sow chaos in the west. Part of that has included the covert support of far-right extremist groups adjacent to the Base.

Founded in 2018, the Base was the subject of a major nationwide FBI counterterrorism sweep netting more than a dozen of its members for a laundry list of terrorist activities across the US and Europe.

Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, the UK’s domestic intelligence service, publicly stated earlier this month that Russia was responsible for “arson, sabotage” and other “actions conducted with increasing recklessness” on European and British soil.

In a September announcement on SimpleX, a newly adopted encrypted chat service for some far-right extremists, the Base told its recruits to consume their content via its VK account, the Russian version of Facebook, or its Rutube channel.

And in a series of September and October VK posts where it describes the “process for joining the Base in [the] USA”, the group also curiously dropped a new email with a Mail.Ru address – the email provider of a well-known ally of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. The Base had previously operated a Proton Mail account (an email company based in Switzerland) as its point of contact.

With cells in Europe and elsewhere around the world, the Base has faced increasing law enforcement attention of late. There were September arrests of members in the Netherlands and it’s now a designated terrorist organization in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and, most recently, the European Union.

“We have seen the Base’s operations move steadily eastward as they have come under law enforcement pressure in the west, which includes their recent listing as a terrorist organization by the European Union,” said Steven Rai, an analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) who monitors the far right at the extremist watchdog.

“It is likely that they view Russia as a friendly operating environment and one in which they can recruit Americans and other individuals without fear of disruption.”

One of its most suspicious features has always been the Base’s founder and leader Rinaldo Nazzaro, who is believed to be living in Russia with his wife and family.

Since Base’s inception, questions have surrounded Nazzaro’s potential alliance with Kremlin agencies as a quasi-defected American looking to disrupt US politics from afar. Suspicions were made all the more striking when it was revealed Nazzaro not only worked for the Department of Homeland Security, but was a Pentagon contractor serving in some of the most secretive sections of the US military.

Yet Nazzaro has lived unchecked in St Petersburg for years, once even telling a Russian state television program in a highly choreographed scene that he has “never had any contact with any Russian security services”.

Rai continued: “The Russian government has allowed the Base’s leader to maintain his international recruitment efforts without much consequence.”

But multiple western government sources in law enforcement and intelligence, who were not authorized to speak to the media, have confirmed that Nazzaro’s links to Russian spy services have long been a point of their interest. While the Department of Justice has yet to lay charges against Nazzaro, he is the subject of an FBI investigation and was once called a justice department “matter” by a US government official.

“Given that their leader has allegedly resided in Russia for several years while seemingly being able to continue his terrorist activities unfettered,” said Rai, “it is unsurprising that the group has opted to migrate their online presence to a variety of Russian platforms.”

The almost migratory patterns of online extremists has often had a Russian theme. Many terror groups swore off Telegram in September after its Russian founder was charged in France on multiple criminal counts and then agreed to work with authorities. Several then moved to SimpleX, which was founded and created by another Russian national.

“To me, the migration of neo-Nazi groups to SimpleX chat, followed by the latest wave to Russian platforms, likely results from their ongoing search for well-built, privacy-focused platforms for communication,” said Clara Broekaert, a research fellow at the Soufan Center, who focuses part of her work on foreign interference.

Broekaert noted that he faced continued scrutiny from the far right online, calling him a “fed” or informant, but pointed out that Nazzaro was also “open about his admiration for Putin”.

She explained the Base using Russian platforms “seems to be an effort as well to try and bypass US scrutiny, which would make sense in light of its increased activity as we approach the US election”.

[gonzfm]

Headcanons

August was part of a band during his junior high days, playing alongside his closest friends.

In grade school, he used to bake and sell pastries. Baking quickly became his comfort hobby, and he still turns to it when he needs to unwind.

Despite his cool, composed vibe, August cried when he got his first tattoo — not from pain, but because of how impulsive it was to him.

A huge Ghostbusters fan as a kid, he even got into ghost hunting for fun. Somewhere in his closet, there’s still a homemade proton pack.

He’s obsessed with dinosaurs. Ask him anything from Jurassic Park, and he’ll either quote it or explain the real science behind it.

August is an only child, which made him naturally more protective and deeply caring toward the people he lets into his life.

He once skipped a grade thanks to his academic performance, but eventually became an irregular student after shifting courses and chasing different passions.

He loves pretending to be an ASMR artist — and at one point, even had a YouTube channel filled with whispering, tapping, and oddly soothing monologues.

August knows how to produce beats and occasionally acts like a part-time DJ, spinning tracks in his room just for fun (or for his friends at parties).

[linuxgamenews]

Get Ready for Windblown Action on Steam Early Access

Windblown action roguelite game is already Verified for Steam Deck and Linux via Windows PC, due to release a Demo. Thanks to Motion Twin's ongoing creativity. Due to make its way onto Steam Early Access soon. Motion Twin is bringing some big news for all of us rogue-lite fans with their new action game Windblown. And they're also not holding back for La Motion Week! The legendary Dead Cells is getting a 50% off on Steam right now. But the real excitement is for Motion Twin’s next big hit. The release date for all this action is locked in — Windblown is flying into Early Access on Steam starting October 24, 2024. And there's more — before the full release, we get a shot at the action with a free demo during Steam Neo Fest from October 14 to 21. The demo, playable on Linux and Steam Deck via Proton, will give us a taste of the first few levels. What’s also great, that progress in the demo will carry over to the Early Access version when it's out. So, what's Windblown action roguelite all about? Think of it as another ultra-fast-paced rogue-lite, but this time you’re fluttering across floating islands, battling Sentinels. These are the Vortex’s pesky minions that are threatening your homeland. Whether you play solo or team up with two buddies online, you're gonna need to combine quick reflexes with smart synergy-building. Your job is to find the best combinations from dozens of evolving weapons, Trinkets, Gifts, and yes—Fish (!)—to take down enemies and survive the ever-changing islands.

Windblown action roguelite Release Date Trailer

The game’s world is full of variety. You'll also find different biomes to explore, secrets to uncover, and some seriously tough enemies to keep you on your toes. You’ll be building your Voltigeur with a mix of all the great stuff you collect to create the ultimate run. But like in any great rogue-lite action title, dying isn’t the end in Windblown.. Each death gives you a new shot to learn from your mistakes, and expand your arsenal. Due to dive right back in for "just one more run." As a bonus for trying out the demo, you’ll unlock the exclusive Guinea Pig skin when Early Access launches. That’s right — if you jump into the action in this demo, you’ll get a fun reward. All due to show off your dedication to helping shape Windblown. And if you're curious to see the game in action, the Motion Twin team will be live-streaming their own attempts to survive in the Vortex. Check out their official YouTube channel to catch them playing, with stream details coming soon on social media. Expect plenty of laughs, some epic fails, and maybe a few survival tips along the way. So mark your calendars, sharpen those reflexes, and get ready for action when Windblown hits Early Access on October 24th. Due to be playable on Linux and Steam Deck via Proton with Windows PC on Steam Early Access.

[mirandamckenni1]

Major Evidence of a New Particle Called Glueball: Here's Why It Matters Get a Wonderful Person Tee: https://ift.tt/XLVwnki More cool designs are on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QFIrFX Alternatively, PayPal donations can be sent here: https://ift.tt/cSxoqY6 Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about a discovery of a new particle called Glueball Links: https://ift.tt/UowRbiG https://ift.tt/EXy3U9I http://bes3.ihep.ac.cn/ MIT Jefferson Lab 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-9I0buDi4s Additional videos: https://youtu.be/1biTR-zJtfk https://youtu.be/H6IfHYP4vlU https://youtu.be/ioh2irpW_YI CERN anomaly: https://youtu.be/Q5dWNrE8w9k #physics #particle #glueball 0:00 New particle physics discovery 0:55 Proton structure 2:40 Mesons and exotic particles 3:30 Why these particles are important 4:20 Gluon predictions 5:20 Glueball prediction 7:00 How to make these particles 7:40 Beijing experiment that focuses on this 8:30 Major confirmation 9:10 Why this is important Support this channel on Patreon to help me make this a full time job: https://ift.tt/W4oKM6g Bitcoin/Ethereum to spare? Donate them here to help this channel grow! bc1qnkl3nk0zt7w0xzrgur9pnkcduj7a3xxllcn7d4 or ETH: 0x60f088B10b03115405d313f964BeA93eF0Bd3DbF Space Engine is available for free here: http://spaceengine.org Enjoy and please subscribe. Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhatDaMath Facebook: https://ift.tt/4NSvr2a Twitch: https://ift.tt/pueZtWd The hardware used to record these videos: New Camera: https://amzn.to/34DUUlv CPU: https://amzn.to/2LZFQCJ Video Card: https://amzn.to/2M1W26C Motherboard: https://amzn.to/2JYGiQQ RAM: https://amzn.to/2Mwy2t4 PSU: https://amzn.to/2LZcrIH Case: https://amzn.to/2MwJZz4 Microphone: https://amzn.to/2t5jTv0 Mixer: https://amzn.to/2JOL0oF Recording and Editing: https://amzn.to/2LX6uvU Some of the above are affiliate links, meaning I would get a (very small) percentage of the price paid. Thank you to all Patreon supporters of this channel Special thanks also goes to all the wonderful supporters of the channel through YouTube Memberships Credit: Arpad Horvath CC BY-SA 2.5 https://ift.tt/gMIYZWw https://ift.tt/1c0bamT https://ift.tt/JztnYhF Previous video: https://youtu.be/1biTR-zJtfk Smurrayinchester CC BY-SA 4.0 https://ift.tt/kBcaDYT Licenses used: https://ift.tt/qCW0ZeY https://ift.tt/RefDSnL https://ift.tt/uW96MkB https://ift.tt/i5ByuWO https://ift.tt/KwShNxd https://ift.tt/BTt5nly https://ift.tt/dQT78J2 https://ift.tt/DlfrGEK via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVS2sVBQYO8

[janegon-forever]

Hello New Followers!

I've noticed an explosion of followers, likes, and reblogs and I'm so thrilled that a lot of you are becoming fans, or have rekindled your passion, for the Ghostbusters Franchise. And I think it has got to do with the new movie Ghostbusters Afterlife.

Well, all I could say is . . .

I've been a fan of the franchise since 1986 (yes, I'm that old). I've started out with the cartoons The Real Ghostbusters, and I've been obsessed with the franchise ever since. But my obsession kinda died down when no new materials were coming out. I wasn't thrilled about the All Ladies version back then, so I skipped watching it.

But when the teaser trailer for Ghostbuster Afterlife came out, when the original Elmer Bernstein's score was playing in the background, and the GB logo was reviled on the back of the old ECTO-1, the passion within me came back to life. I knew that this movie was going to be special, all hell yeah it did!

It springboarded me back to watching all of the movies again, even Answer The Call, and discovering new GB materials, such as the IDW comics series.

I'm not the biggest geek when it comes to the GB Multiverse, but I'm happy to help you guys out if you have any questions.

Below the line are some websites and podcasts that could help you explore more of the Ghostbusters Multiverse.

I hope you guys will enjoy my content because let me tell you something,

BUSTIN MAKES ME FEEL GOOD!!!

1) Ghostbusters Interdimensional Crossrip

A podcast on everything Ghostbusters by two long-time fansite webmasters Troy Benjamin (of Ghostbusters HQ) and Chris Stewart (of Proton Charging). Join us for in-depth analysis of the latest news, commentary on goings on, and interviews with some familiar faces. Subscribe now on iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Google Play, or your favorite podcasting app!

(Note: the podcast is on temporary hiatus. But you could still listen to their stuff.)

2) GBfans.com

A website dedicated to anything and everything Ghostbusters related. It's a community of fans who are dedicated to the franchise and helping each other out to live their dreams of becoming a real Ghostbuster. They exchange knowledge on building equipment and uniforms, post the latest news and publications, update on new toys, and even forums to talk about anything GB.

3) The Yes, Have Some! Podcast and YouTube Channel

A podcast and YouTube Channel that not only talks about anything Ghostbusters, but also other franchises as well (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, etc.)

Hosted by Craig Godlberg, Abigail Gardner, and Jacob Walsh

4) Ghostbusters: Resurrection

A Role-Playing Game Podcast produced by Nerdy Show.

Bustin’ makes us feel good! Nerdy Show is proud to present Ghostbusters: Resurrection – An unofficial RPG audio drama about America’s newest Ghostbusting team.

It’s been over twenty years since the world was last saved by The Ghostbusters of New York. Ghosts are a rare sight these days and people have once again grown skeptical. But now, ghost sightings are on the rise in Central Florida. In a desperate attempt to keep Orlando’s image as “the vacation capital of the world” unbesmirched; the mayor cuts a deal to start a new ghostbusting franchise.

Enter five lovable slackers who are desperate for a quick buck and a change of pace. Ghostbusters: Resurrection is an actual-play podcast using the classic 1980s Ghostbusters roleplaying system to tell cinematic, spectre-smashing adventures.

So what are you waiting for? Fire up your unlicensed nuclear accelerators and get bustin’!

Hosted by Game Master Dough Banks.

[protonenglishhub]

💡 Considerable Meaning & Sentence Use | English Tips by Proton Times

If you’ve ever wondered what the word “considerable” really means and how to use it in English, you’re in the right place! Let’s break down the considerable meaning, grammar, and examples — made simple.

💬 Considerable – What Does It Mean?

The word “considerable” is an adjective used to describe something large in amount or importance. It’s a powerful word that helps express scale or intensity.

Meaning:

“Significant in size, extent, or degree.”

So when something is “considerable,” it’s not small. It’s noticeable, important, and worth paying attention to.

✍️ How to Use Considerable in Sentences

Let’s look at real-life examples:

“The flood caused considerable damage to the village.”

“He spent a considerable amount of time preparing for the test.”

“There is considerable evidence supporting the theory.”

You can see that “considerable” works before nouns like damage, amount, and evidence.

🔠 Grammar Note

“Considerable” is an adjective, so it must describe a noun.

It doesn’t stand alone: ❌ “The donation was considerablely big.” ✅ “The donation was considerable.”

You can enhance it further with words like:

“a very considerable improvement”

“quite a considerable difference”

🧭 Why It’s Useful

Using a word like “considerable” instead of just “big” or “large” can make your English more refined and expressive. It’s especially useful in academic writing, business English, or storytelling.

📺 English Learning on YouTube – Proton Times

Want more breakdowns like this? I explain words like “considerable,” “substantial,” “moderate,” and more on my YouTube channel Proton Times. Hit that subscribe button and grow your English fluency with ease.

✨ Words open doors. Use “considerable” to express the depth and importance of what you’re talking about!

Tags/Keywords: considerable meaning, how to use considerable in English, examples of considerable in sentences, English vocabulary, learn English, Proton Times

[tojitiddies]

✰ [GHOST] BUSTING MAKES ME FEEL GOOD

pairing ⋆ connie springer x fem!reader

synopsis ⋆ you don’t know who’s crazier. your ghost hunting boyfriend or you for even dating him.

warnings ⋆ paranormal encounters, slight ghost coercion, oral sex, vaginal sex, creampie

ꔵ there was no doubt about it, your boyfriend connie was an oddball. like tin hat wearing, crazy conspiracist, dark reddit forum odd. his friends often asked him how he’d bagged a chick like you in the first place and honestly you were curious too. you’d met him at a halloween party your best friend mikasa had thrown. one wild night and two awkward dates later you both became that sickeningly sweet couple that everyone hated to love.

at this point in your relationship you had grown used to connie’s random 3AM messages about some spooky forum he’d found or him sending random true crime articles he wanted you to read. he and his roomates jean and sasha all ran a somewhat popular youtube channel — they called themselves “the phantom philosophers” — where they covered different cryptid and ghost stories sent to them by viewers. they also went on numerous ghost hunts to try and speak or communicate with ghosts. you were always curious about your boyfriend’s odd way of life and even appeared on one of his streams once — his subscribers couldn’t believe he had a girlfriend. so, when connie asked you if you wanted to come along with him, jean, and sasha for a ghost hunt you jumped at the opportunity.

that’s exactly how you found yourself in front of an abandoned church while your boyfriend and his friends began setting up their equipment. tonight they were looking for the ghost of a pastor who secretly ran his own brothel beneath the church. one of the women had turned on him and murdered him while they were having sex. the story seemed completely made up, but connie assured you it was legit.

you watched as connie started setting up his body camera and clipping it to his jacket. “so...anything i can help with?” you asked, rocking back on the heels of your sneakers. connie looked up at you as if he’d forgotten you were there. “huh? oh, no babe you’re fine. just stand there looking pretty.” he replied sweetly. you forced a smile towards him, letting it falter when he went back to messing with his equipment. you had only agreed to this because you wanted to spend time with him, but this entire trip he’d been so distracted. you were so used to having his attention all the time, it was starting to take you out of the mood.

you decided to go find out what sasha was doing. she had a boyfriend too, niccolo. he was really nice and an amazing cook. earlier you’d asked her why he didn’t come with you all, to which she told you that niccolo was secretly a huge fraidy cat. when you approached her she was sitting in the trunk of jean’s pick up. she seemed to be really focused on...some sort of device? “what’s that?” you queried, sitting next to her. sasha beamed and shoved it into your lap. “this, my friend, is a modernized proton pack like the ghostbusters use! i’ve been engineering this baby for a couple months now and this is gonna be its first field run!” she squeals as she begins to point out all the functions and uses of the device. it looked sort of like a portable cd player.

while sasha babbled on about her “precious baby” jean and connie approached you both, equipment and cameras ready. “here you are ____.” jean presented you with a headlamp and a frequency tuner. “now first rule of ghost hunting, do not be on your own. you’re always gonna want a buddy. i’m assuming connie will fill that role?” he asked, looking between the two of you. you were still annoyed with him but you nodded anyway. you’d bring it up when the two of you were alone. “alright then. sasha you’re with me. and don’t even think about trying to spook me this time, i took self defense lessons and i’ll definitely clock you this time.” he scolded, to which sasha responded by rolling her eyes. “oh please, it was just a joke pony boy.” she taunted. jean shot her a glare. “keep it up.” he warned before turning back to you.

“second rule, do not under any circumstances curse a ghost. not only will that anger the ghost and make it mad at you, it will also get mad at everyone else and we don’t want any part of your beef. so keep it to yourself.” it was your turn to roll your eyes. “jean you don’t need to mansplain ghost hunting to me, i’m not stupid. plus i watch you guys’ channel all the time.” you say, sliding off the truck and situating the headlamp on. “i’m ready to get to some ghostbustin!” sasha hops up and high fives you. connie laughs and wraps his arm around your waist. “ah don’t worry jean, i’ll be with her the whole time.” jean stares blankly between the three of you before shaking his head.

“whatever. connie go ahead and start your body cam. it’s time to head in.” connie chuckles at jean’s annoyance and switches on the camera, a small red light peeps out to signal it’s recording. jean has one on as well, tapping his slightly to test it out. “alright gang, buckle up. i’m trying to meet a horny ghost.” he said with a grin, beginning his march into the church, the three of you following close behind.

ꔵ inside the church it was dusty and reeked of mildew. you pinched your nose as you and the others switched on your headlights. “jesus christ, it fucking stinks.” connie remarks. sasha elbows him in the rib. “dude we’re in a haunted church, you can’t take the lord’s name in vain.” she scolds him before crossing her shoulders in silent prayer. you giggle as connie rolls his eyes at sasha’s ridiculous antics. a strong gust of wind blows through the church, causing the front entrance to slam shut. you shriek, grabbing ahold of connie’s arm while sasha laughs at your frightened behavior. “don’t worry ____, ‘s just the wind.” connie reassures you, rubbing your shoulder.

“alright guys enough fucking around. it’s time to split up and cover more ground.” jean says, taking charge. “sasha, you and i are gonna explore the chapel and the pastor’s office. connie and ____, you both are going down to the abandoned brothel in the basement.” he instructs. connie groans and folds his arms. “seriously? that’s probably where his ghost is hiding.” connie complains. you tense up at that. it was only your first ghost hunt and they were sending you right into the fire. “that’s the point dumbass? sasha and i will be up here gathering frequencies and seeing if we can find any phantom residue. if you two can get in contact with the pastor, we can probably record his frequencies from up here to listen back later.” he explains.

sasha pulls some weird tool from her fanny pack, holding it up. “this is mission is perfect for using my tuning fork! i’ve been wanting to try this for ages.” she squeals, her voice echoing through the church. “damn sasha, lower your voice.” jean mutters, to which she responds with another giggle mumbling out a quiet “sorry”. jean looks back to the two of you. “well we have our assignments, lets get this show on the road my fellow philosophers.” jean salutes you both and opens the doors to the chapel, sasha waves and follows after him before shutting the door behind them. “jerk.” connie mutters under his breath. you squeeze his hand and smile up at him.

“c’mon connie, i wanna see my boyfriend bust some ghosts.” you say, hoping to cheer him up a little. connie nodded, barely acknowledging your attempt before starting to head off towards the doors leading to the basement. “alright babe, stick close. i have no idea what’s down here.” he instructed. you hummed in disinterest and began to follow him in his descent. amazing! astonishing even! you were practically throwing yourself at him, yet your boyfriend was still more interested in some stinky old pastor ghost. as you traveled deeper downstairs, the air around you began to get warmer like a stuffy room. by the time you’d gotten down to the basement there was a humid temperature surrounding you.

“is it to supposed to feel so warm down here?” you asked, taking connie’s hand to be as close as possible to him. connie whipped his head around the basement floor shining his headlamp on all the different doors. “you would think it’d be cold with all this concrete, it’s weird.” he finally answered, switching on his frequency tuner. you followed his movements and did the same. “good weird or bad weird?” you asked again, growing a bit concerned. connie shrugged before making his way towards one of the doors, his frequency tuner picking up. you glared at him, having had enough of his nonchalant attitude.

seduce him.

you blinked as the thought came from seemingly nowhere. you shook your head, deciding to ignore it. you watched connie peak into the room that was making his frequency tuner go off the wire, letting out a gasp. “____! you’ve gotta come see this!” he exclaims, grinning back at you before making his way inside. you follow after him, curious to see what surprised him so much that he actually acknowledged your existence. when you stepped inside you were surprised to find the room...spotless? there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere. the decorative rugs and tapestries that hung on the walls created an erotic atmosphere. the large bed looked clean and comfortable as well, an oil lamp sitting on the bedside. “i thought this church was abandoned, who’s doing the upkeep?” you observed, still taken aback by the surprisingly clean and crisp room. connie pressed his hand down on the bed, feeling it out. “no idea. even the mattress and blankets feel fresh.” he marveled.

seduce him and gain his favors!

this time the thought echoed louder through your head, making you feel a bit lightheaded. your knees buckled causing you to drop down to the floor. connie whipped his head around in shock, instantly rushing to see if you were alright. “you okay baby?” he asked, concern lacing his words. you nodded and took his hand to help you stand back up. almost as instantly as you were back on your feet you felt the pressure in your head drop to your chest and then to your arousal. you let out a small whimper at the sudden wave of pleasure that came out of nowhere. connie pressed the back of his hand to your forehead, his touch felt like lightning.

“are you sure you’re okay? maybe we should — “ the door to the bedroom slammed shut behind you, but you didn’t really care. all you could think about was satisfying the sudden hunger that had come over you. connie jiggled the doorknob trying to get the door back open, curses spilling out of his lips. you sauntered up behind him, snaking your arms around his waist, swirling them up to lay your hands on his pecs. “wha — ____?” he turned his head to his shoulder, trying to get a view of you. you giggled and kissed his shoulder. “awh baby, we can stay in here and get comfy.” you whine, pressing yourself against him. connie tensed up in your embrace, caught off guard by your sudden switch in attitude. the oil lamp beside the bed flickered on, casting the room in a warm dim orange glow. connie grabbed your hands and snatched them off his chest. he spun around to face you, cupping your face in his hands.

“____, hey get ahold of yourself!” he tried snapping you out of it, his fingers popping between your eyes. you leaned up and kissed him under his chin. “i want you to get ahold of me.” you murmured, grabbing his wrists to place his hands on your waist. you batted your eyelashes at him with those puppy dog eyes you knew he couldn’t resist. connie gulped, his hand hands instinctively squeezing around your waist. “y-you’re not yourself, this isn’t right.” he muttered under his breath, more so talking to himself.

you snaked your arms up and around his shoulders walking back into the bed, flipping around to push him into the bed. “you made me very upset, ignoring me all night for your dumb ghost hunt.” you said, planting yourself in his lap, running your thumb along his lips. “how are you going to make it up to me?” connie frowns furrowing his brows. you don’t even wait for him to answer before letting your head fall to the side, kissing over the expanse of his neck.

connie shivered, falling prey to your advances. you snatched off both your headlamps in a playful demeanor while your other hand trailed down to the seat of his pants, letting your fingers splay out across his crotch. “____��w-wait a moment.” he breathed, letting out a slight moan when you squeezed your hand around his clothed length. you giggled softly, slithering from his thigh to between his legs. you nudged his crotch with your nose, looking back at up at him. his face was flushed and his eyes were glazed over with lust. that was all the indication you needed to begin to undoing his jeans.

your mind was clouded with thoughts of your boyfriend fucking your mouth and praising you with all the attention you’d yearned for. you pulled down his pants and boxers, licking your lips at his erect cock, leaking with precum. taking your thumb to his tip, you gently began to spread around the sticky substance. your tongue darted out to kitten lick the little mess you made, leaving connie hissing and squirming. “you’re such a tease.” he grunted. you grinned up at him knowingly before tilting your head to kiss along the length of his shaft.

connie desperately bucked his hips slightly as your kisses became wet and suctioning. done teasing him, you eagerly wrapped your lips around him sucking his tip before bobbing your head further. your tongue swirled around his shaft expertly, causing him to groan and buck his hips. you moan as his cock travels further down your throat, the vibrations of your voice stimulating him further.

“fuck baby…keep sucking me in just like that.” he huffs out, trying to keep his moans from pitching. his hands nestle in your hair, bringing your head down further. you relaxed your jaw as he continued to fuck your mouth, saliva collecting and dripping down your chin. connie bucked his hips into your mouth with fervor, you could tell he was close. “your throat feels so fucking good around me, keep swallowing me down just like that.” he praised, letting his head fall back against his shoulders.

he takes another deep thrust before you feel him spill his thick warm release down your throat. his cock twitches on your tongue as you slowly drag his length from your mouth. connie sits breathless on the bed, panting from the climax he’d just had, but you weren’t finished. you rose back up to your feet and stripped off your jeans and panties before crawling on top of him. with your hands slowly lifting your shirt over your head, you ground your wet cunt against the underside of his length.

connie stared up at you, his daze apparent on his face. “my turn.” you whisper, kissing the side of his mouth. you raised your hips slightly positioning his cock at your entrance before sinking down. you whimpered as you felt him filling you up all at once. connie took ahold of your hips, hissing as you clenched around him. “shit…your pussy loves sucking me in.” he groaned, bucking his hips again.

you whine, rocking your hips back against him. “it’s because i wanna feel you, right here.” you move your hand to your lower stomach, where you wanted to feel connie push against. connie smirked, lifting his knees up on and raising you up to hover over him slightly. “i can do that for you baby.” he growled into your ear before rapidly thrusting his cock into you. you grabbed ahold of his shoulders as he bucked into you, trying to keep your balance.

connie kept his word, fucking you balls deep with no mercy. you were so overwhelmed by pleasure you didn’t realize how loud you’d become. the oil lamp flickered as connie swiftly switched positions so you were on your back. he pushed your thighs back exposing your wet cunt that gaped for connie’s cock. he smirked and spit against you clit rising a whine from your throat. he chuckled cruelly before burying his cock back inside of you, his thrusts causing you to lurch up against the bed.

you clawed your hands over his his shoulder blades as he fucked you deep. “you feel so good, don’t stop!” you moan, arching you back as he hits your sweet spot. connie groaned from the way. you squeezed around him before leaning down to kiss you, his tongue swirling around yours. the sinful noises that came from between you both, echoing through the room. connie moved his lips across your jaw, praising you as he kissed and sucked your skin. you dazedly let your head fall to the side.

then you saw him.

a young man dressed in preachers robes, watching you both intently. you cried out clinging to connie — connie assumed it was a moan and continued to fuck into you. the preacher grinned at you and faded from your eyesight. just then connie let out a grunt. “shit baby, i’m gonna cum.” you were too dumbfounded to respond but it didn’t matter. connie had already grabbed your waist, pulling you down on his cock faster. the movement shocked you out of your mindstate, making you forget about the whole “pervy preacher ghost in the corner of the room” thing.

“fuck connie keep going!” you whine, your hand coming to grab your tits to keep them from bouncing out of your bra. connie fucked you like that until your legs became jelly and you creamed all over his cock. just as you were catching your breath connie came inside you, spilling his thick seed all over your walls. connie collapsed into your chest taking deep breaths.

“shit.” he breathed out, his hand squeezing your waist. “you okay baby?” he asked, tilting his head back to look at you. you smiled and nodded, massaging his short silvery hair. connie seemed to have a thought of realization and frowned. “i’m sorry ____. i should’ve done more to make you feel like i wanted you here. i must’ve looked like such an asshole. i was so focused on busting ghosts, i forgot the most important thing i wanted out of this was to introduce my girl to my uh…hobbies.” the sincerity in his eyes had you swooning. you cupped his cheek and leaned down to kiss the top of his head. “you’re forgiven.”. you say, before sitting up.

not a good idea.

your head was spinning. you moaned and grabbed your head, massaging it. “____? baby, what’s wrong?” connie asked worriedly, sitting up as well. then just as quick as the dizziness came, it went. you blinked. “i have no idea. maybe you just fucked me too hard, hm?” you teased, poking his shoulder. connie pressed the back of his hand against your forehead. you couldn’t read his expression, tho it looked like a mix between a shock, confusion, and disappointment. in short, nothing good. “what?” you ask.

connie shook his head. “this is gonna sound crazy, but do you think you were possessed?” he blurted out. you bit your lip, remembering the preacher and the strange echoing voice in your head. “ah…maybe? but i wanted that, it was me no one was controlling me. it just felt more like someone was egging me on.” you explained. even coming from your own mouth it sounded delusional. “oh my god connie, did i get possessed?!” you squealed, snapping your legs shut.

connie laughed and leaned forward, pulling you into his embrace. “no it wasn’t possession baby. just a bit of paranormal influence, like in the poltergeist.” this did not reassure you whatsoever, but connie was already sliding off the bed. “c’mon let’s go back upstairs and see what jean and sasha found. don’t tell them what happened okay? jean’ll kill the shit out of me.” he chuckled, kissing the top of your forehead. you did once over of the room again to make sure there was no ghost priest hiding in here before starting to get dressed again.

ꔵ “finally you two are here! you’ve gotta come see this!” sasha exclaimed as she saw the both of you approaching. sasha and jean had hooked up some sort of computer and were huddled around it. “what is it you?” connie questioned, taking your hand and hurrying you towards them. you smiled, relieved that he had meant what he said and was starting to finally include you. “it seems like whatever you guys did down there worked! we recorded these weird frequencies and we think we might have caught the pastors attention.” jean said, clicking around the screen.

you and connie exchanged wide eyed glances. “uh…what did you hear?” you asked, instinctively squeezing connie’s hand. jean and sasha shrugged. “nothing, we couldn’t hear it until it finished recording.” jean grinned up at the two of you. “but you arrived at perfect timing, now we can play it back together.” jean pulled up the sound byte. “jean i don’t think — “ connie started to protest, but jean had already pressed the space bar.

the empty church echoed with the sounds of your lewd moans and connie’s sensual praises. the heat rushed into your cheeks as you looked down in shame. you didn’t wanna see anyone else’s facial expressions. after what seemed like forever sasha’s hand darted out to pause it. safe to assume you were never invited to go ghost hunting with you boyfriend and his friends again. however you and connie did some extensive research afterwards.

connie’s body cam had mysteriously became static when he walked into the bedroom, so there was no footage of the ghost — you were honestly just relieved the two of you didn’t film a sex tape. however, apparently the ghost of the priest wandered the church, waiting to lure couples into the brothel rooms so that he could gain pleasure from seeing his brothel still be put to use. seven other couples who had visited the church also reported a strange occurrence where they ended up having sex in the brothel as well. you wondered how jean had missed that key part of research about the ghost.

“we may not have busted that ghost, but he sure made us bust.” connie cackled, nudging you. you gave him a pointed look. “you make awful jokes.” you told him, nudging him back. though the experience was a bit of a mindfucker, it truly brought you and connie closer together.

author’s note: hello again! this took me a really long time to write and yet it still feels really rushed :( i tried to do what i could in the edits but this probably isn’t my favorite. i would appreciate feedback if anyone has any though and if you did actually like it, thank you! i promise i can do way better though lmao </3

[longitudinalwaveme]

Arkham Sessions: Captain Cold

These vignettes, and, more specifically, the characterization of Dr. Hugo Strange, are based on the wonderful Arkham Files YouTube videos produced by Mr. Rogues.

Here's his channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyxNOHiNclZlVpeRhYV2QRQ

Since I am a huge Flash nerd, I decided to use this idea as a jumping-off point to explore how the Rogues would respond to therapy sessions. Again, all credit to the basic format goes to Mr. Rogues.

Not everything Dr. Strange says should be taken as truth; his bias against costumed vigilantes affects most of his interviews with the patients.

Hugo Strange: From the patient files of Dr. Hugo Strange, director of Arkham Asylum. Patient: Leonard Snart, also known as Captain Cold. The patient displays a number of antisocial tendencies, but no formal diagnosis has ever been given to him, and since he arrived at Arkham only a few days ago, I have not had the time to give him a complete psychological examination. Session One. Good day, Mr. Snart.  

Capt. Cold: Len. 

Hugo Strange: Pardon? 

Capt. Cold: Just call me Len, Doc. I ain’t the type to stand on formalities. 

Hugo Strange: Very well, then. (Pause) So, Leonard-

Capt. Cold: Not Leonard, Len. 

Hugo Strange: I take it you’re not especially fond of your given name? 

Capt. Cold: Believe me, Doc, if your name was ‘Leonard Snart’, you wouldn’t be fond of it, either. 

Hugo Strange: Fair enough. So, Len, what exactly influenced you to put on a parka and go running around robbing banks and jewelry stores with a freeze ray?

Capt. Cold: It ain’t a freeze ray, it’s a cold gun. 

Hugo Strange: Besides semantics, what is the difference? 

Capt. Cold: Mr. Freeze-you got him locked up somewhere in this loony bin, right?- has a freeze ray. It shoots ice. Me? I’ve got a cold gun. My gun negates thermal motion. Stops protons and electrons dead in their tracks. People too. Even the Flash slows to a crawl when I hit him with it. 

Hugo Strange: (Surprised; a bit skeptical) Do you mean to say that you have invented a weapon that can create temperatures of absolute zero? 

Capt. Cold: Yep. And I did it years before that lovesick freak got turned into a popsicle man. 

Hugo Strange: Your records indicate that you dropped out of high school at the age of fourteen, Len. How could you possibly have the requisite knowledge to create such a weapon? Are you even familiar with James Prescott Joule or J.J. Thomson? 

Capt. Cold: Who? 

Hugo Strange: J. J. Thomson is the man who discovered the electron. James Prescott Joule is the scientist who discovered the First Law of Thermodynamics. If what you’re saying is true, you managed to exceed the wildest dreams of either of these illustrious men, without even knowing of them or their theories. 

Capt. Cold: Huh. Guess I did. Well, how about that?

Hugo Strange: How could you possibly have managed this, Len? 

Capt. Cold: Just ‘cause I’m trailer trash don’t mean I’m stupid, Doc. 

Hugo Strange: Clearly not. So, how did you do it? 

Capt. Cold: Sorry, Doc. Trade secret. 

Hugo Strange: Len, we gave you a number of psychological and intelligence tests upon your admittance to Arkham Asylum, and-

Capt. Cold: (Cutting him off) About that-what’m I doin’ in this loony bin, anyhow? I ain’t crazy, and even if I were, I’m from Central City. That’s a thousand miles away from Gotham. 

Hugo Strange: A few weeks ago, Iron Heights Penitentiary’s southwestern wall was destroyed in a mysterious accident. As a result, it is currently incapable of holding supercriminals, metahuman or otherwise, and you and your cohorts had to be housed somewhere. Through a series of political and judicial decisions that I confess make as little sense to me as they probably do to you, all of you so-called “Rogues” were transferred to Arkham Asylum until such time as Iron Heights is properly rebuilt. 

Capt. Cold: I get havin’ to send us someplace else if Iron Heights is destroyed, but...I ain’t insane. Why not send me to Blackgate instead of the loony bin? 

Hugo Strange: Many people are of the opinion that anyone who puts on a silly costume in order to commit crimes is insane by definition, Len. 

Capt. Cold: That include you, Doc?

Hugo Strange: Whether or not you are insane in the legal sense of the term is not for me to decide, Len. That being said, I do believe that your decision to commit crimes in such a...theatrical...manner indicates some level of emotional disturbance. 

Capt. Cold: Hey, Doc, you’re the expert on this stuff, not me. 

Hugo Strange: In that case, why don’t we return to the subject of your astonishing invention? 

Capt. Cold: I’m stuck in the loony bin anyway. Might as well. 

Hugo Strange: Can you please refrain from describing this facility as a “loony bin”, Len? The term is pejorative, both for the staff who work here and the other patients who live here.

Capt. Cold: Pejorative? What’s that mean, Doc? 

Hugo Strange: It means that it is rude. Describing the mentally ill as “lunatics” is unkind and unscientific. 

Capt. Cold: Whatever you say, Doc. Whatever you say. 

Hugo Strange: (Coughs) As I was saying, when you arrived at the asylum, we gave you a number of psychological and intelligence tests. While your scores in the area of mathematics were unusually high, especially for someone who never finished high school, your literacy scores were abysmal. You are thirty-eight years old, but you read at the level of the average six-year-old. 

Capt. Cold: Well, we can’t all have your fancy education, Doc. What’s my reading ability got to do with my cold gun? 

Hugo Strange: I find it difficult to believe that a high school dropout-a high school dropout, moreover, who can barely read-would be able to invent a gun that can produce absolute zero on his own. 

Capt. Cold: Are you callin’ me a liar? 

Hugo Strange: Not necessarily, Len. What I am saying is that I do not believe that the Cold Gun was created in the way that you may believe that it was. 

Capt. Cold: Oh, so you ain’t callin’ me a liar-you’re callin’ me crazy. 

Hugo Strange: I did not say that either, Len. 

Capt. Cold: You didn’t have to, Doc. I may be a redneck high-school dropout, but I ain’t survived as long as I have by not knowin’ when people are bad-mouthin’ me. 

Hugo Strange: Len, I am not bad-mouthing you. I am trying to help you.

Capt. Cold: Sure you are.  

Hugo Strange: (Frustrated) Not everyone is looking to take advantage of you, Mr. Snart! 

Capt. Cold: Funny. Hasn’t been my experience, Doc. (Pause) Look. I ain’t mad, Doc. If I had a buck for every time somebody called me trailer trash or a dumb thug or a stupid hick, I wouldn’t need to rob no more banks. You ain’t said nothin’ I haven’t heard a million times before. But I want you to know this: I invented my cold gun, and I did it by myself. I. Ain’t. Stupid. 

Hugo Strange: (Looking to change the subject) Len, I never said that you were unintelligent. In fact, your criminal history makes it quite clear that you are an effective, pragmatic operative. An unintelligent man could never have organized the only successful costumed criminal combine in the nation. Every other group of costumed criminals has folded within a few months at most, usually due to interpersonal tensions, but you have somehow managed to keep your little group together for over a decade. What is it you call yourselves, again?

Capt. Cold: The Rogues. 

Hugo Strange: That’s right. The Rogues. Now tell me, Len, what exactly is the secret to your group’s...ah...success? 

Capt. Cold: (Amused) You plannin’ to start a costumed gang, Doc? 

Hugo Strange: Certainly not. I am simply curious. It isn’t often that I get the opportunity to interview criminals from outside of Gotham’s borders. 

Capt. Cold: It ain’t that complicated, Doc. The reason we’ve held together for so long is ‘cause we got an unspoken code. We watch one another’s backs to the end. Nobody gets left behind; everybody gets an equal share. 

Hugo Strange: (Surprised) Are you implying that you are...friends...with your Rogues? 

Capt. Cold: You think I’d trust people I hate to watch my back?

Hugo Strange: Admittedly, that wouldn’t make much sense...it’s just that I was under the impression that you were the leader of the group.

Capt. Cold: I am. 

Hugo Strange: Most gang bosses I know keep the majority of the profits from their crimes for themselves.Why don’t you? 

Capt. Cold: ‘Cause we’re a team. We do equal work; we get equal rewards. 

Hugo Strange: A surprisingly admirable sentiment for a common thief. 

Capt. Cold: (Proudly) There ain’t nothin’ common about me, Doc. 

Hugo Strange: (Sigh) That’s certainly true, Len. (Pause) On the subject of things that are not common, why the parka and the silly goggles? 

Capt. Cold: Practicality. Parka keeps me warm; goggles help focus my vision and keep me from bein’ blinded by the flare of my own cold gun. 

Hugo Strange: I see. (Pause) And why call yourself “Captain Cold”? After all, you aren’t really a Captain of anything. 

Capt. Cold: I’ll admit, it ain’t the most creative name in the world...but anything’s better than “Leonard Snart”. 

Hugo Strange: Why not just change your name, then? Why take up a ridiculous costumed alias?

Capt. Cold: Because I’m not just an ordinary thug. Leonard Snart is ordinary; boring…..but Captain Cold? Captain Cold is cool.

Hugo Strange: Was that a...pun?

Capt. Cold: What can I say? I admit they’re dumb, but old habits die hard. 

Hugo Strange: And the Flash had nothing to do with your decision to put on a costume and call yourself by a silly, alliterative name while committing crimes? 

Capt. Cold: The Flash? Why would he have anything to do with it? 

Hugo Strange: I was under the impression that the Flash was your arch-enemy. 

Capt. Cold: (Laughs) Arch-enemy? What is this, a Saturday morning TV show? 

Hugo Strange: The Central City papers make quite a big deal of your rivalry with the so-called “Scarlet Speedster”. 

Capt. Cold: Look, the Flash is basically a cop. Sure, he’s a cop with superpowers, and he’s good for sharpening our wits, but at the end of the day, he’s just an obstacle to our getting the score. 

Hugo Strange: Then you don’t view your battles with him as some epic confrontation between ideologies? 

Capt. Cold: Why would I do that? Ideologies don’t pay the grocery bills, Doc. 

Hugo Strange: And you haven’t dedicated your life to proving your superiority over him once and for all? 

Capt. Cold: No. I fight the Flash for the same reasons I fight the cops: I want to get rich, and he’s standing in my way. Nothin’ more, nothin’ less.

Hugo Strange: So the Flash is nothing special to you?

Capt. Cold: I didn’t say that. Like I said, he’s good for sharpening the wits. I wouldn’t be half as successful as I am if he weren’t around to keep me and the guys on our toes, and yeah, it’d be neat to finally get the victory over him once and for all...but really, he ain’t so different from us. He’s just another guy workin’ a nine-to-five, tryin’ to provide for his family. I don’t like him-he’s a stuck-up, self-righteous prig sometimes-but he’s a good person. He’s not a superhero ‘cause he wants hero-worship. He actually wants to help people. He’s even helped me, and I make a career out of trying to freeze-dry him. You gotta respect a guy like that. 

Hugo Strange: You actually see the Flash as a man?

Capt. Cold: What else would I see him as? A Martian? ‘Cause I’ve seen Martians, and I can tell you, the Flash ain’t green enough to be one.

Hugo Strange: It’s not that. It’s just that I’ve spent so much time with the patients who view Bruce Wayne, formerly the Batman, as some sort of supernatural entity or as a grand opposite in a never-ending conflict between order and chaos that it’s rather...odd to listen to a costumed criminal who claims to view their local costumed vigilante simply as a person. 

Capt. Cold: Man, you have got to get out more. 

Hugo Strange: (Coldly)  I don’t recall requesting life advice from you, Mr. Snart. 

Capt. Cold: Well, you should take it anyway. Ain’t often I give stuff away for free. 

Hugo Strange: (Annoyed) This session is not about me, Mr. Snart. It’s about you. 

Capt. Cold: What else do you wanna talk about? I’m not stupid, I’m not creepily obsessed with the Flash, I don’t butcher people for fun, and I don’t have any weird hang-ups about dead relatives or riddles or plants or dolls or jokes or the number two. I’m not a good guy, but I think I’m a pretty normal guy, all things considered. 

Hugo Strange: Mr. Snart, no one puts on a costume without some sort of psychological disturbance. Even if the Flash was not in some way responsible for your decision-something which I am not yet fully convinced of-no rational human being would do such a thing. I just need to find out what your disturbance is. (Pause) Perhaps it began in your childhood, Mr. Snart? 

Capt. Cold: (Icily) My childhood is none of your business. 

Hugo Strange: I am your psychologist, Mr. Snart. That makes it my business. (Pause) Let’s see. Your file says that you were born to Lawrence Snart, a forty-year-old police officer who was kicked off the force for public drunkenness and suspected corruption, and Shirley Snart, a fifteen-year-old high school dropout. You and your family lived in a dilapidated trailer park, and your father was a known alcoholic who drank away your family’s welfare money. Five years after you came along, your younger sister, Lisa, was born...and your mother ran away, never to be seen again. The neighbors called the police because of domestic disputes between her and your father no less than thirteen times in five years, which leads me to suspect that she was spurred to leave the family because of her husband’s abuse. You were left to raise your sister, essentially on your own, at five years old, and you were effectively the head of the household from that point on. You never had a childhood, Mr. Snart. 

Capt. Cold: Don’t you talk about my sister!

Hugo Strange: I take it that you’re close to her? Understandable, I suppose, given that you grew up with her in an abusive household. Your grandfather, who drove an ice cream truck, did his best to protect you and your sister from your father’s cruelty, but he was old and in poor health, and he died when you were only twelve years old. You never got over the loss, and your father’s abuse only got worse as you and your sister got older. When you turned 14, you dropped out of high school; you then worked a number of odd jobs to support yourself and your sister. However, shortly after you turned 18, you and your father got into a dreadful argument, one that ended with you running away from home and leaving your little sister alone with your father. After that, you eventually fell into a life of petty crime. 

Capt. Cold: I...I had no choice. If I hadn’t left, he would’ve killed me! 

Hugo Strange: I am not blaming you for choosing to run away, Mr. Snart. You were an abused child with very few options available to you. 

Capt. Cold: (Quietly) I could’ve taken her with me. 

Hugo Strange: And why didn’t you? 

Capt. Cold: ‘Cause I was an 18-year-old dropout. Nobody was gonna give me custody of my sister...and besides, I’d started hangin’ out with dangerous people. I...I didn’t want her to get hurt. 

Hugo Strange: In other words, she would have been in danger no matter what you had done. 

Capt. Cold: It don’t matter! I’m her big brother! I was supposed to protect her! 

Hugo Strange: (Coming to a realization) And because you weren’t able to protect her from your father as a boy, you’re trying to make up for it now by becoming this “Captain Cold”; a larger-than-life persona that can do all the things you weren’t able to do as a child. You’ve made yourself too powerful and dangerous for anyone to threaten, and you’ve made a surrogate family for yourself and your sister. That’s why the Rogues are so successful...it’s because they aren’t really a gang at all. They’re your family. Isn’t that right, Mr. Snart? 

Capt. Cold: (Sarcastically) An’ I suppose the fact that my grandpa drove an ice cream truck somehow subconsciously influenced my decision to become Captain Cold? 

Hugo Strange: (Aware of the sarcasm, but ignoring it)  That’s perhaps a bit of a stretch, but it isn’t impossible. 

Capt. Cold: I don’t believe this….

Hugo Strange: Don’t be afraid, Mr. Snart. Admitting you have a problem is difficult, but it’s also the first step on the road to recovery. 

[between-two-fandoms]

Random Carlos Headcanons b/c I’m bored and have writer’s block:

He loves the movie Ghostbusters, and somehow manages to build a real-working proton pack. He straight up just storms the GHC and fires it at Caleb and traps him. He now keeps Caleb’s ghost stored at the bottom of his closet underneath a pile of dirty laundry.

Carlos starts a paranormal club at school and they start a youtube channel where they go ghost hunting and sometimes the boys will mess with the equipment and EMF stuff if the building they’re in isn’t actually haunted. He meets Nick’s little sister (they both go to the same school) and instantly hit it off and become best friends. He’s the president and she’s the VP and they both work together to go ghost hunting around town and stuff.

When is mom got sick and Julie stopped playing music he tried to teach himself how to sing and play an instrument because he missed hearing Julie sing. (After a few tries it was evident singing just wasn’t his forte and whenever he tried he sounded like a dying chicken.)

He’s the one who introduces Reggie to Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural and now whenever a new episode comes out they both watch it together and Reggie gets obsessed.

He’s a little troll and refuses to listen to rock music whenever Luke suggests it and blasts rap and country just to spite him. (the country comes from a list of artists Reggie gave him, that Reggie knew Luke absolutely despised listening too). When he’s alone though he listens to Sunset Curve’s old music b/c he secretly thinks of Luke as a cool older brother.

Carlos is JatP’s number one fan (yes, he beats out Flynn). He runs all the most popular fan accounts and trolls the fans and conspiracy theorists by misdirecting them when they get close to figuring out the truth.

When Buzzfeed Unsolved ends up doing a special on Sunset Curve Carlos ends up guest starring and the boys help him completely freak both Shane and Ryan out. Carlos ends up getting to be a returning guest on Unsolved and he absolutely loves it.

He’s also an LGBTQ+ ally and is a member of his school’s GSA club after Alex came out to him. He’s one of the students at his middle school who advocate the most for LGBTQ+ inclusion.

Carlos is really smart, but school is still hard for him and he has to put in extra effort into classes he’s not entirely interested in. Reggie helps him with his homework the most because Reggie’s the smart one but Luke and Alex chime in from time to time if they happen to know anything about what he’s studying.

When his mom died his dad and sister shutdown so he told himself he had to be the one who took care of them. He becomes the ‘man of the house’ and helps his dad pull himself back together and make dinner (spaghetti) when his dad would sometimes forget.

[achtung-attitude]

CHAPTER 36: Weezer - Part 1

From his porch on Mulholland Drive, All-Kill sits, looking out across Los Angeles. The view is beautiful at night, but on this particular morning, it looks muggy and uncomfortable. “Yeon-in,” he calls. 

At his summons, the wolf appears with a bottle of Korean soju held in its jaws. With surprising dexterity, it places the bottle on a small table next to its master. All-Kill pets his companion between the ears, then unscrews the cap, pouring the rice wine into a small glass and sipping from it.

“Little early for that, isn’t it?” T’onga says, stepping out of the house and standing behind the chair.

“I’m in a celebratory mood… Have you taken care of everything? The stragglers and loose ends?” the boss replies, keeping his eyes on the view.

“Yeah. Of course,” she says numbly.

“Good. Then the time to strike is now. Go to where Dust is and use HOUSE OF PAIN to eliminate him. No matter what you say or what it takes, do that above all else. It makes no difference what kind of ability Dust has. Once you get him into the room, he’s no match for you. I have every confidence. As far as I’m concerned, we’ve already won.” He punctuates his statement with another sip of soju and a smile.

“Right… Where’s Sang-ok?” T’onga asks.

“At his apartment. I’ll call him over when you’re done.”

“…And Sumni?” 

At the mention of this name, there is a long pause between the two, as All-Kill places his glass down. “…She’s on standby, as usual. Why? What difference does it make?”

“Oh… it doesn’t. I was just wondering where everybody was. See you later, boss…” she turns a leaves, stepping back inside the house. All-Kill turns his head and keeps his eye on her until she leaves his sight. The wolf at his feet whines softly.

“Anaheim…” he mutters, and nothing more.

                                                         ---

The Anaheim Convention Center and Arena! One of the largest gathering spots in all of Southern California, a stone’s throw away from the famous Disneyland, home to every sort of convention for every sort of event, from company-wide get-togethers, to the biggest sporting event, down to the most niche of fan conventions. And this time of year, it's home to the one and only...

TubeCon, the world’s convention for the no. 1 video-sharing network, VidTube! Here, everyone from video bloggers, pranksters, game streamers and the ever underappreciated animators gather to engage with their fans and celebrate their work. 

They mill about like termites, some old, but most young, moving between stall after stall, buying merch, taking selfies. Among them are content creators, many of whom film themselves on their phones. Their voices can be heard clearly over the general din.

“EY ITS UR BOY MERCINATOR MEETING UP WITH SOME FANS!!!”

“EY WHAT UP GUYS IT'S YO BOY RATMATT HERE AT TUBECON!!!”

“WE'RE THE SLY BROTHERS AND WE'RE HERE AT TUBECON TO GET PEOPLE'S REACTIONS TO MEETING US!!!”

At the far end of the auditorium, three men in their thirties play video games on a couch under the scrutiny of over a hundred people. 

“Julio,” one demands of his bearded companion, “would you rather eat a man or acquire a nice tan?”

“I don’t… What kind of question is that, Neil?” Julio splutters.

“Julio, answer the question!” demands the third.

“What is this place...?” Kilo mutters, taking in the atmosphere with distaste, having found himself and his friends beckoned here.

“This is probably what Hell looks like,” Moya remarks, with a thousand-yard stare. In the midst of this controlled chaos, she and Kilo stand protectively between Shizuka, who stares doe-eyed into the crowd, searching for something. For someone. Frowning, she reaches into her inside pocket and pulls out the message for the hundredth time. 

I WILL MEET YOU AT ANAHEIM and a drawing of an impossible triangle, written in permanent marker, and three tickets to this very convention. Nothing else was in the envelope delivered to Jerome’s mansion. Shizuka turns the message around, but all she sees on the back is the marker ink bleeding through the paper.

“Whoever it was that sent that letter…” Kilo grumbles, peering over her shoulder at it, “ least they could’ve done is be a little more specific. So what now, cop?” he turns to Moya, “We just supposed to stand around here, waitin’ for somebody to walk up on us?”

“This is our best move,” Moya replies, squinting suspiciously into the crowd, “For now, we have to assume the worst and that this is a Congregation trap. They’ve been one step ahead of us this whole time, and even now they still have the advantage. But waiting around in C-King’s house won’t get us any closer to stopping them, so we may as well take the chance and handle what comes of it. And besides… if T’onga really did send that message, then I don’t know when we’ll get another chance to get this close to her. No matter what happens, we can’t get separated. As long as we stick together, I’m confident we can take anything that comes our way!”

“Hrrmh… I hope you’re right…” Kilo says. Shizuka says nothing during this exchange, but looks up from the letter, glaring resolutely. 

“HEY, YOU GUYS!!” shouts a loud, raucous cry, directed at the three of them. Immediately, SATURN BARZ and WITCH MOUNTAIN come out, only to recede soon after. A man in his late 20s wearing mirror-shades suddenly stands right in front of Shizuka.

With painfully artificial exuberance, the man in sunglasses shouts, “You’re next in line, huh, bros?! Great!! Don’t be shy, I always have time for fans! Here, lemme get that for you!” He says, taking the paper from Shizuka’s hand.

“Ah…! Hey, wait…!!” she starts, but the guy soons hands it back to her, but not before scrawling chicken scratch on the back in red ink.

“Who the fuck is this…?” Kilo mutters. He then glances behind him and notices for the first time a line has formed behind them, composed of teenage girls and boys, the eldest surely no older than 14. Without moving from their spot, the trio appear to have become part of an autograph line.

“Now you got your autograph, how about a selfie?!” the shaded vlogger announces to Shizuka, already pulling out a smartphone and attaching it to a telescopic pole. “It’ll be legit, for real! You’re bound to get a ton of likes on your feed once people see me on it!”

“Ah… N-no, thanks,” Shizuka responds, taken aback, “I’m kind… of waiting for-” 

“Come on, honey, no need to be shy!” he announces again, sidling up beside her with his selfie stick raised over them, “You’re talking a major boost in online cred if you get seen with me! I’m kind of a big deal on YouTube, in case you didn’t know!” Bearing over her, he reaches a hand across her shoulders, “And hey, if we hang out a little more, maybe I can give you a few tips on how to get your own channel started! I could send a few early subscribers your way, if you do me a couple favors. What do you sGGLKH!!” 

He chokes, his tongue lolling out as Moya lifts him, one-handed, by the back of his t-shirt collar. Kilo, meanwhile, grabs the selfie stick out of his hand, breaks it in half over his knee, then pitches the phone to the other side of the auditorium. The teenagers in the line behind them gasp. Moya drops him, and they and Shizuka moves away from him, stepping around him like garbage.

“H-Hey! Wait up!!” The vlogger shouts, rubbing his neck and beginning to pursue them, “Hey! You guys! Who do you fuckin’ think you are?! Hey, I said--!!” Kilo and Moya turn at once, fixing him with furious expressions. “Yeah, what?”, they say at the same time.

The vlogger appears to forget how to speak for a moment. Then he scurries off to retrieve his phone, shouting back, “My followers are gonna hear about this, you hear me?!”

Shizuka hardly notices his departure, merely brushing lint off her shoulder. Kilo and Moya exchange a concerned glance. 

                                                         ---

The vlogger weaves his way through the crowd, eventually finding his phone lying on the ground with a cracked screen. Upon sight, he rushes to retrieve it, but crashes into a tall man in a hoodie from behind. “Hey! Watch where you’re going, jackass!” he berates before stooping to pick up his phone. The guy in the hoodie slouches, removing his earbuds from his ears and scratching his oversized afro. 

Before the vlogger stands back up, he starts wheezing. He manages to release a few choked coughs, which go unnoticed by anyone, before his neck and face begin to swell up like a balloon and his face turns a shade of pale blue. 

“Anaphylactic shock, huh? Nasty...” says Toto, and nothing more. By the time he finishes his remark, the vlogger is already dead and he has lost all interest in him. He peers over the crowd. His eyes fall upon the trio, then he slides himself into the back corridors.

Without a care in the world, he strides through the service hallways, eventually coming to the security control center. He opens the door with a stolen clearance card and enters the room, shutting the door behind him. Two dead security guards are propped up against the wall, their faces blotchy and swollen. Toto sits down at the surveillance desk and finds the trio on one of the monitors.

“They’re clinging to each other like…” he mutters to himself, keeping them in sight at all times. “Like… Like, uh… Liiiike… Oh! Like tar and feathers! … No, no, not like that, not like tar and feathers, more like…” he stops abruptly and furrows his brow deeply, searching for the correct analogy. “Flies on hot shit? No, no… Oh, yeah! Like atomic particles! Two little electrons orbiting around a neutron/proton center! That’s perfect!” He smiles, delighted. Then his smile drops.

“Wait, hold on, if the three of them are an atom, then wouldn’t splitting them up be totally bad?” he mutters, beads of sweat suddenly appearing on his forehead, “When you split an atom up, you get nuclear fusion, in other words a big fuckass huge explosion…! Applyin’ that here… Dust wanted me to separate the Joestar princess from her friends, but what if that’s a bad idea…?! What if the best bet is to take ‘em all here and now, together…?! No no no, fighting ‘em all at once is no good either, their abilities are too strong…! 

“Aaagh, did I do enough, did I miss anything?! I been here for an hour and I made sure to touch as many people as I could, but what if it ain’t enough?! What if all the people I came into contact left already?! Uuuurghh…!!” he frets manically over this, pinching his temples as his thoughts race. Then at last he freezes, and his relaxed posture returns. 

“Don’t be stupid,” he admonishes himself, “It’s just an expression, they ain’t really atoms. They just people. Caught in the flow of fate, just like everybody. Does no good to worry over how things’ll turn out. Split ‘em up, cram ‘em together… It’s all the same at the End of Time…” Fully calmed down, he reaches for the microphone and leans into it. 

Affecting an officious, professional tone, he speaks into the PA, “Attention, all convention-goers, attention all convention-goers. The Paulie Paul panel event will be commencing in ten minutes. Please proceed to the cordoned area in Hall D in an orderly fashion. Thank you.” Finished, he watches with satisfaction at the silent stampede that begins, which slams into the trio, tearing them apart. 

He reaches into his front pocket and pulls out a pre-rolled spliff. He regards it for a moment, taking in the herbal scent, before shaking his head. “No, no… No time. Gotta work…” he says, getting up and leaving the security office, heading for the exhibit halls.

[arthurhwalker]

2019, Buying Guidance

Buying a computer, a smartphone, or tablet in 2019 is different than it has been in years past. Usually, I'm lurking in anticipation of my "next", and have a lot of ready recommendations for friends and family. That isn't to say there aren't a lot of great options, they just seem to be more arcane.

My current technology arc consists of incrementally shedding Apple, Google, Microsoft, and any hardware, or digital service, that doesn't provide me with a great deal of value. Also, I'm looking for those services and products that have a community around them, and with whom one can have some kind of relationship.

I look at everyone; Apple, Asus, Dell, Google, HP, Huawei, LG, Microsoft, MSI, Samsung, Vaio, before I make a purchase. I look at their products, support documentation, warranty, social media presence, how transparent they are with consumers, and whether or not they understand how to engage in basic marketing and commerce.

So, what's good? The plucky upstarts and potential market disruptors first.

Pine64

From the FAQ on their site:

"What is Pine A64? The Pine A64 is an index card sized 64-bit single board computer. It can perform like your desktop or portable PC with browsing the Internet, playing games, watching video, and execute programs like spreadsheets and word-processing. The Pine A64 board can also play ultra high definition 4Kx2K video."

I waited in the queue for almost a year to be able to buy this $99 laptop. They sell them at zero or little profit so people can tinker with them, learn, and make stuff. They're working on a tablet, more powerful "Pro" version of their laptop, and a phone. It can run 64 bit Ubuntu, Debian based Linux things, and Android 5.1.

I cannot wait to get my PineBook next month and start monkey'ing around with it. Also, it comes in completely unadorned white, AKA Stickertown! I need to start gathering my adhesive sartorial accoutrements now. 

Pop!_OS, and System76

I've been using their Pop!_OS with my Lenovo Thinkpads for a couple of months, and really like it. With Canonical focusing Ubuntu away somewhat from the desktop user, going to a curated version, like Pop!_OS, tends to deliver a better experience. System76 has a live Pop!_OS Chat where I've gotten help and guidance along the way.

I resisted installing Pop!_OS for a while, because it looked kind of cool. I know, right? Linux isn't supposed to be "cool". So I was wary, haha.

Pop!_OS is, basically, set up the way I would set up vanilla Ubuntu after some tinkering. It has AMD or Nvidia Drivers and GPU switching baked in, power management options, and the only thing I had to install with the terminal was GIMP. Everything else I know and love was in the Pop!_Shop. Pop!_OS 18.10 get regular updates, and they're always adding keen new things to their offerings.

Where vanilla Ubuntu is kind of squeaky, garish, and clunky, Pop! is quiet, nocturnal, and polished. It encrypts your install by default, full disk, out of the box with minimal effort. "Out of the box, with minimal effort" is something I say a lot with Pop!. It's just really (really) nice. I'm a fan, bought the t-shirt, put the stickers on my laptop, all the things.

I haven't tried their hardware, and while I'll be sticking with a Thinkpad for mobile computing, their mini "Meerkat" and Thelio Desktops are very compelling options. System76 isn't very transparent about the types of displays offered with their desktops, or their laptops, but have responded swiftly to my queries by email, and via social media.

They are very transparent about their internal components, and have an array of options, including AMD on their Thelio line, for folks looking to distance themselves from Intel. The Thelio desktops look very nice, with the only flaw being no IO up front. Everything else is custom, with open source daughter boards, and other keen aesthetic features.

I worry more about which configuration of Thelio I would get, than what I'd actually use it for. I just want one.

Recently, Pop!_OS got featured on the Linus Tech Tips YouTube Channel, as a gaming platform. A. Linux. Gaming. Platform. Yes, you heard that correctly. 

ReMarkable

This continues to be a good value, for a product that receives frequent quality of life updates. For minimalists looking to replace all the paper in their lives, this device delivers. I really like that they don't stop making it better, simply because the makers believe in the form factor and use case.

ReMarkable has a lot of competition in the hardware space, but I haven't seen much in the software space that is half as good. The ability to nest notes and documents in folders and organize your work is an incredibly attractive feature. The Linux-based operating system is incredibly stable, and reliable.

The ReMarkable tablet isn't fast, or cutting edge, but it feels really nice to use. It's easy on my eyes, and the hand taking notes and reading documents. It really is just like paper, only better, and taking up way less space in my bag.

Light Phone 2

I love E Ink devices, particularly when they aren't being used simply to read ebooks. Marketed as "a simple 4G phone with e-ink, messaging & other essential tools—a phone that actually respects you," the Light Phone 2's marketing is compelling. The promotional video hits all the right notes and feels for anyone that is in a love/hate relationship with their smartphone.

This is definitely me, and I ordered the couples package for my wife and I. From the two surveys I've received, and the updates they've posted, this is something I've only grown more excited for. The very simple and elegant aesthetics of the device are interesting to me, and I can't wait to have one in hand. It's gotten bad enough that I lurk on Ebay, looking for a deal or steal on their first Light Phone. Ugh, haha.

On to my favorite services.

Discord

I pay the monthly for their upgraded service. I'm not entirely sure what I get for my subscription, but I don't care, the service is that good, and I want to support it. For chatting with my friends, playing games, communicating, community curation, and similar, Discord is doing it right. Their user experience is good, even if the user interface is a little confusing at first.

The confusion comes with being used to Skype, or Face Time, and a distinctly limited feature set. With Discord I keep figuring things out, and saying "oh, it can do this? And, also, this? Cool". Discord also works pretty much everywhere, on everything, with no service interruptions (that I've been aware of). I can use with a Linux machine with a dedicated app, in a browser tab, or on my smartphone, whatever I want.

I can use it to communicate text, images, video, audio, broadcast my desktop, all the things. Keen. 

ProtonMail

End-to-end, client side encrypted, with servers located in Switzerland outside of US and EU jurisdictions, and available in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian. I am getting a paid account soon, and their Linux bridge is in beta.

Obvious privacy advantages aside, I really like the service, the options they provide, and their pricing structure. They have a really nice web client, and dedicated iOS and Android apps. It feels like email done right, as a product that you pay for, as opposed to you being the product, or part of some other service you're passively subsidizing.

Feels good. Definitely considering a paid version.

Lutris and Steam For Linux

Linux Gaming used to be an oxymoron. It just wasn't that great, but with Steam Play + Proton I can play Skyrim, with a controller, on my Linux machine. I click a box, hit play, it downloads some things, and boom, I'm good to go. I haven't explored all the different games compatible with this new service, but it looks to be expanding every day.

Lutris is a newer service, and was recently added to the Pop Shop on Pop!_OS. From Wikipedia:

"Lutris is a FOSS game manager for Linux-based operating systems. Lutris has one-click installation available for hundreds of games on its website, and also integrates with the Steam website. Installer scripts are available for some difficult to install WINE games including League of Legends."

The day when I can play Fallout 76 without maintaining a Windows partition is on the horizon. *Cherubs blow heavenly horns of glory* I'd really like this to take off, and take a small, but painful bite out of Microsoft's market share. I don't hate Microsoft, but I'd like them to hurt bad enough they work a little harder to make Windows not suck so hard.

Among the big manufacturers, there are a few that are doing it right, in my humble opinion.

Lenovo

I recommend them, particularly if you need a machine for getting work done, and running Linux. I've been part of their INsiders Customer Advocacy Program since late 2015, and have gotten a candid look at their company culture. Previous to that, I had been using their products since late 2011, mostly for game and web development, digital art, and publishing my novels.

A Thinkpad running Linux is my weapon of choice. The Yoga Book, more recently the C930, continues to be a singular companion device, with little else competing with it in the marketplace. Lenovo warranty, support, and customer service is still five stars. No one, absolutely no one, is more transparent about the hardware you're buying, down to the tiniest detail, I can look it up easily.

In the consumer range, they make a pretty good gaming rig, that I wouldn't be embarrassed to carry around. In fact, the look, IO, and cooling system on the new Legion series gaming laptops is better than many Thinkpads, excluding the P-Series of course. I want to try a new Legion with Linux, now that Lutris, Gamehub, and Steam are making gaming on Linux easier than ever.

On the horizon, Lenovo has some additions to their Yoga line that fall into a totally new zone. In my "lurking" browser tab are the Yoga S940 Laptop, and Yoga A940 Desktop. These devices are in the "Smart" category, packed with features. For the professional that wants style, as opposed to the tuxedo and dress shoes Thinkpad, these are just nice looking machines. I could see people in sales, design, marketing, and other fields that deal heavily in aesthetics, wanting devices like these.

Lenovo A940 Yoga Review

Why do I have a lurking tab in my browser full of Lenovo things? Because they regularly run sales. For the consummate lurker, one can get a new device from Lenovo for 30-45% off retail with patience, and a keen eye for clickable coupons. Lenovo understands how to commerce.

LG

If someone told me they were going to get an LG Gram (any model) I'd understand the desire, even though I haven't owned one myself. The reviews are all pretty positive, some are MIL-STD 810G, good value for the money, and they have a keen aesthetic about them. Also, you can get a couple of the models in white, AKA Stickertown!

Because LG is trying to break into the laptop market, they seem to making a pretty good product, or trying very hard. I'd look at the warranty and support options, warily, just because they're a little new to the game.

Their Gram 2-in-1 comes with a full size Wacom AES 2.0 Stylus Pen, with tilt, and 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity. There's no screwing around with bundles or paying an extra Benjamin for the pen, they just include it with the product, like everyone ought to. Also, they're very transparent about their displays, internals, and specs, so you know what you're buying.

I've read in a couple of places that they are supposed to get better Linux support by the next Kernel, but that there are some issues at the moment. If you're looking for something to run Windows, give them a look, but for Linux maybe hold off, or just get a Thinkpad.

Motorola

A lot of how Lenovo does business has bled over into Motorola. I've owned a couple Motorola Phones, both from before they joined Lenovo. I have friends and family that own the more current models, and are very satisfied. I'll probably own a Motorola in the future, as I'm probably on my last Apple iPhone.

They make a keen, and modular product. Smartphones have always struck me as an opportunity to stack accessories and components to produce value for different use cases. Motorola Mods let one do exactly that, swapping a battery pack, for a game controller, for example.

Samsung

For core computing, and the aspiring digital artist, Samsung makes a nice thing. I've owned their Notebook 9 Pro, Windows Phone, and a Galaxy Book 12. Where Samsung does really well is in aesthetics, making a device that is both nice to look at, and nice to use. They are very transparent about what you get, market their devices well, and offer pretty good value for the money.

When I bought my Notebook 9 Pro, the only thing extra I had to buy was the Staedtler Pen Stylus, because, hey, it was cool. With the Galaxy Book 12, it came with everything, keyboard accessory, S Pen, a nice charger, and even a 128GB microSD card to expand the storage. There was none of the Apple/Microsoft nonsense where you're paying hundreds of dollars extra for things that should just be included.

Even Samsung's new el-cheapo laptop, the Samsung Notebook Flash, is pretty great. Aesthetically, it's compelling. It looks to have a decent 1920x1080 display, lots of ports, a microSD slot for expandability, and you can get it in white, AKA Stickertown! It has eMMc Memory, that is slower for read and write speed, but tends to be very reliable. 

Conclusion

What are you using? Have a keen service or computing product that has served you well? Drop me a line, I’d like to know all the things.

[thefreshfinds]

KID PRO:

One who takes into consideration that the world is his oyster, Kid Pro effortlessly plummets your favorite rapper's career.

As an active member of society, Kid Pro has tapped into a higher knowledge that most don't possess. In the midst of flipping the pages of philosophical books that speak on self-absorption & swimming against the current — he also impliments it into his own work. If he isn't speaking on racial issues or our very corrupted government, then the all-around prophet is slapping around those with "murder on their mind" with a word of advice, e.g Classified ft. Mickey Jaggs which speaks on how we're still slaves in todays society, police brutality & how we sell our own stories to tabloids. Mickey Jaggs: "Taking attention of off the sh*t where the focus should be at/Gave us freedom to choose but don’t give a f*ck about the choice/We all pawns & the bosses are anonymous/So distracted by idols that they idolize never even notice that they feed them lies.. goodbye” Yet his deep appreciation for golden hip-hop gives him the ability to mesh all of these subjects together with hard-hitting rhymes like "“Last name 'fuck', first name 'don’t', middle name 'give a so-nigga what you want." or “My true knowledge only came from true suffering now a nigga 4G so I ain’t never buffering.” (Technical Difficulties), boom bap & east coast vibes.

To simply put it, Kid Pro keeps in mind that there's always room for improvement. If he isn't venturing into his own Cons & Pros "The protagonist been laying low/Charging up like a proton." then he's encouraging others to "think global" & to "never get stuck on the locals." (ProZilla)

Bleeding yellow, red & blue — Kid Pro basks into his Columbian heritage with pride.

Even though he's from Parsippany, NJ where the music scene isn't booming, Kid Pro has found a way to make it work. "It’s a big enough town to hold two high schools, but small enough to where everyone pretty much knows or knows of each other."

Asides from being an MC, Kid Pro is an influx of other things.

On the whole he's an producer, engineer & even a father of two who teaches them about life. Yet he also learns more about himself in the process. In a word, KID PRO says it's an enjoyable journey that continues to levitate with time. " My constant pursuit is to be the best version of myself that I can be. I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I can no longer stand by & just do nothing. Any day spent just lounging around is a wasted opportunity to learn a new skill, improve on an old one, read a book, write a new song, etc. I hate that it takes death to appreciate life, but Nipsey’s passing hit me harder than I thought it would because of all the good he was doing outside of music. We were practically the same age & he was able to change & affect so many lives for the better. That continues to speak volumes to me and it’s been one of my sources of inspiration."

The moniker he chose stands for three important elements needed in order to live a prosperous life, "K stands for “Knowledge”, I stands for “Intensity”, & D stands for “Determination." According to the artist, if one wants to become a Pro at anything, these things will get them far. Hence "KID PRO."

If it wasn't for “Midnight Marauders” by A Tribe Called Quest, Kid Pro's love for hip-hop wouldn't be so massive. Still, them along with 9th Wonder & Little Brother have paved the way for his conscious sound.

His music journey started off with poetry in a middle school English class, which then transitioned into rapping in a basement on a $10 USB microphone & posting songs on Soundclick & MySpace.

According to the MC it was just something he thought was cool because he always watched music videos & listened to rap. But over time, it became his passion & therapy. For Kid Pro, making music allows him to express himself in ways that he isn't able to with just speaking. In fact, he can perform those same songs on a stage in front of people & have them relate to what he's saying. "My life was all about music." Kid Pro adds.

Thus far, Kid Pro has been blessed with many opportunities. He's traveled to different open mics/showcases/competitions & always meet new acts that are bringing new energy & rocking new flows that keep him on my toes. To Pro, the new generation of MC’s in that 20-25 year range look the absolute hungriest & impress him with how they’re able to command a huge presence not just on stage, but with social media in order to help push their brand. 

Ultimately, Kid Pro is moved by those that go beyond their boundaries & don’t accept any limitations because the idea of making something out of nothing & presenting it to an audience to help them feel something comes with great joy & a never ending addiction. But his main source of inspiration comes from those he holds dear to his heart: His family.

As he asserts into lyricism, Kid Pro takes into account that music is forever changing. "I would say my strength comes in not being afraid to explore new concepts, flows & beat selection.” Kid Pro adds "You never want to get caught up in recreating what’s hot currently, but being a trendsetter for the next wave. I enjoy every aspect of the writing process. Being able to tell a story over a beat, rhyme & have consistent imagery & metaphors throughout, all while keeping the listener engaged with a melody is not the easiest thing to do. If it’s done right(& marketed right), you can change the world, & that’s what I aim for each time I pick up the pen."

Likewise, Kid Pro's main message to the crowd is to always strive to be the best version of yourself at all times. After all, tomorrow is never promised for anyone & we all have to live life as if we won’t get to see another day. "Before I get off stage at a show, I always recite a small “poem” I wrote randomly a few years back: “Keep Your Eyes Open/Open Your Mind/ Mind Your Business/ Business Before Pleasure/ Pleasure Your Life/ Life Is Good/ Good Night”.... It means a lot to me." he adds.

With this in mind, Kid Pro overcomes all in order to achieve true greatness. He gives those listening a crash-course on how to perceive, act & think about obstacles. He's learned how to deal with the source & never the middle man. And so, he aims to test his limits. Wait until mid-June, Kid Pro will be releasing an upcoming collab EP with @obbeatzz titled “KICKvSNARE” on all streaming platforms along with a solo project which will release in the Fall.

In the meantime, check out his freestyle series called #VersesAboutNothing. In this series he films & edits his own music videos. Kid Pro also showcases his lyrics over classic beats & original beats from producers he's met throughout the years.

"I’ve also put in the groundwork to jumpstart a YouTube channel & make it a full media experience where I’ll be doing everything from music videos, interviewing other artists, comedy skits, Vlogs, Podcasts & much more." he says "I want to take full control of the content I put out & not have to wait on anyone else to get it done. My creativity & motivation is at an all-time high so please be on the lookout for more coming your way!"

P.S: His favorite song to create was Cons & Pros which has two versions! (He even performs it frequently via acapella.) It consists of a rhyme scheme using words that start with “Pro.”

"It’s one of the most challenging songs ever, but that’s what makes it fun. It’s like starting this huge 10,000 piece puzzle: at first it seems impossible, then you start connecting more and more pieces, and before you know it, it’s all coming together flawlessly. The song also has a great message behind it and not just me rhyming a bunch of “Pro” words. I believe in the power of lyrics and always make sure I’m bringing some sort of positivity and knowledge to the listener."

By: Natalee Gilbert

LINK(S):

1. SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/kidpromusic

2. YouTube / Apple Music: Search “Kid Pro”

3. Instagram: @iamkidpro

[linuxgamenews]

Victory at Sea Ironclad lets you get an early look and we have Linux details

Victory at Sea Ironclad livestream and support update for Linux gaming as well as Mac and Windows PC. According to recent details from developer Evil Twin Artworks. Due to release on Steam Early Access on Thursday, February 25. As part of the build up to the Early Access launch this Thursday. Evil Twin Artworks will be playing another round. Showing off more of their upcoming game large scale, RTS sandbox, Victory At Sea Ironclad. You can catch the livestream today, Tuesday at 11pm GMT/ 3pm PST on Ironclad's Store Page. Plus, there is a Linux build floating around on Steam. Having had a chance to actually install it, thanks to Evil Twin Artworks. I wanted to offer this minor support update, since the Linux is "missing executable". While manually launching the game freezes. Therefore, if we do not have native support for the Early Access release, it's definitely in development.

However, the main campaign for Victory at Sea Ironclad works well via Proton 5.13-6. So you can take full advantage of switching between commanding the entire North American Campaign. As well as zooming down to take control of individual ships and fleets. Offering an better approach to real time strategy war gaming. This means you can actually develop your own story with an open world sandbox mechanic. Taking on a daring attempt to win the American Civil War.

Victory At Sea Ironclad American Civil War Naval RTS

In Victory at Sea Ironclad you can recon enemy positions. Then launch a large scale marine naval assault against the chosen targets. Upgrade ports and build shipyards. Customise and create multiple fleets. Then send them where they are needed and perform whatever tasks you need to. It will be interesting to see how Early Access shapes the gameplay further.

Features:

Search and destroy enemy fleets during the American Civil War

Effortlessly switch between commanding the entire theatre of war and controlling the fate of individual vessels and fleets.

Use Resources to build new structures and ships

Upgrade Ports

Build shipyards

Build farms and factories in Victory at Sea Ironclad

Harass shipping and starve ports of vital supplies

Organise large scale naval assaults on major ports

Control unique craft such as the formidable Ironclads

Pausable gameplay allows you to order fleets and then continue the action

Play as North or South (Play as the South will become available through Early Access)

Create customisable battles (Will become available through Early Access)

If you can't catch this stream above, don't worry. The Evil Twins will upload it to their YouTube channel. From small battles involving single ships and hunting down merchant men. All the way up to the clashing of massive fleets against harsh enemies. Victory at Sea Ironclad offers crazy battles on the dangerous seas of the American Civil War. Victory at Sea Ironclad is due to release onto Early Access on February 25th. Priced at $39.99 USD / £29.99 with 10% discount on release. Arriving on Mac and Windows PC, with Linux support in tow. Also, be sure to check out the Steam pre-Early Access livestream today at 11pm GMT/ 3pm PST.