#algorithm working in exponential time is NOT a good algorithm

[cherribet]

MAC’S VOCABULARY (or terminologies they used in game in alphabetical order)

(making this for my own sanity’s sake and maybe for others who need some help as well, as much as I like Mac, english language IS NOT my mother tongue at all, and so I was just lost in the sauce half of the time they were talking like a professional performing a thesis report)

🟢Accelerated - increase speed

🟢Accessing - approach/ to obtain

🟢Actualize - to realize

🟢Affection - to show fondness 

🟢Affirmative - agree

🟢Algorithm - problem-solving operation

🟢Analyze/analysing - to examine something 

🟢Anticipation - expects in a positive way

🟢Application - allows for the creation of both simple and complex documents

🟢Ardous -  very tiring /taxing 

🟢Arithmetic logic Unit -performs math & logic functions of CPU

🟢Articulate - to explain

🟢Available - is free/ accessible 

🟢Beneficial - advantage/helpful/useful

🟢Bluetooth - wireless connection (biegetooth)

🟢Booted up - to start/turn on  a computer 

🟢Browser - an application program for world-wide web

🟢Buzzing - full of excitement/tension

🟢Cache - a temporary storage for faster retrieval 

🟢Capacity - at a maximum amount

🟢Circuit - a path where electricity flows through 

🟢Circumstance - a fact that's relevant to the situation 

🟢Compatibility - two or more things to function together well

🟢Complimented - to give a good praise

🟢Comprehensively - is clear to understand 

🟢Concordance - in agreement (“do you agree?”)

🟢CPU - [CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT] “Brain” of the computer 

🟢Crashing - sudden failure 

🟢Dalliances - a casual romantic/sexual relationship 

🟢Data - an information stored in your computer 

🟢Debug/Debugged - to remove errors

🟢Decade - a period of 10 years

🟢Delicately - carefully

🟢Delighted - feeling or showing great pleasure

🟢Determine - to decide on something 

🟢Diodes - a semiconductor device, it allows current to flow easily (in Mac’s case it's probably like a train of thought)

🟢Disengaged - to separate 

🟢Disquieting - anxiety/worried

🟢Double-click- (yeah-.... double-click)

🟢Download - to transfer file to another device

🟢Efficiently - work in quick and effective way

🟢Ensure - to make sure/ is certain

🟢Enthusiasm - eager/ enjoyment 

🟢Excellent - great!

🟢Exceptional - good in an unusually high degree

🟢Exponentially - fast/rapid growth 

🟢Exquisite - beautiful 

🟢Extensive data - diverse information/ lots of information 

🟢Facilitate/facilitating - make action or a process easier 

🟢Fulfilled - satisfied or content 

🟢Gleeful - joyful

🟢Grinding - difficult/hard

🟢Groggy - unsteady/ dazed/ sleepy

🟢Hard drive - a long term data storage

🟢Humorous - funny

🟢Impediment - hindrance/an obstacle ahead

🟢Improving - to make something better

🟢Inane - silly/stupid

🟢Incessantly - repeats without interruption/ constant

🟢Incredibly - extremely/very

🟢Inference - an idea or conclusion 

🟢Innovative - new idea/feature 

🟢Inordinate amount - excessively large/ Too big

🟢Insight - understanding of a situation 

🟢Install -  setting up a downloaded file 

🟢Integrated - put two or more together to make something new

🟢Intentional - done with intent/ done on purpose 

🟢Interface/interfacing - talking Face to Face

🟢Invaluable - extremely useful

🟢Iterations - new versions

🟢Logical hierarchy - organize informations, concepts, based on their relationships and levels of importance

🟢Malicious - hateful/ done with evil intent

🟢Marginal - slightly/ just a tini-tiny change

🟢Megabyte-  measure of file size/ storage capacity 

🟢Metamorphosis - biological process of change

🟢Mildly concerning - slightly worrying/ worried 

🟢Objectively - noting personal but it's a fact

🟢Odious - unpleasant/not good 

🟢Offline world- real life/real world

🟢Operating system - a software on computer 

🟢Optimal - at best/ favorable 

🟢Organize - arrange in the right  order

🟢Ought - it is necessary 

🟢Outdated - old-fashioned/ not relevant

🟢overclocking - to boost computer performance/ run at a high speed

🟢Overheat- warming up

🟢Oversight - error/mistake 

🟢Particularly - specifically 

🟢Perpetually - constant/continues 

🟢Pique - interested (my interest is piqued-)

🟢Plenty - large/big amount

🟢precision - exact/accurate 

🟢Predicament - in a messy situation 

🟢Pressing issues - concerning/ there's a lot of problems

🟢Privacy - private place

🟢Probing - inquire/deep searching 

🟢Process - a series of action

🟢Processors - responds to instructions

🟢Profound - deep intellectual emotional insight

🟢Programmed - provide or coded in an arranged manner

🟢Programming terminal - a text-based interface 

🟢Progress bar -  a visual element while downloading a file

🟢Quite aware - self-aware of the situation 

🟢RAM - [RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY] where data is stored in your computer 

🟢Rebooting - to restrart 

🟢Reciprocal - given or felt by each toward the other is mutual 

🟢Reconvene - to come together/ to reunite again

🟢Recycle bin - temporary storage for deleted files (pile of ash)

🟢Regardless - anyways/despite everything 

🟢Ruminate - to think deeply about something 

🟢Sensitive information - data that must be protected 

🟢Sensual - enjoyment, sexual pleasure

🟢Session - meeting

🟢Significant other - (a term or nickname Mac uses for their partner, in an endearing way) 

🟢Software - program on computer

Example: “accessing each other’s software" (ability to use/interact each other)

🟢Sojourn - temporary stay or visit

🟢Sophisticated - experienced/advanced

🟢Source code -  a code created by a programmer 

🟢Substantially - great or to a large extent

🟢Superfluous - unnecessary/ not needed

🟢Symmetrical - similar or equal side to side

🟢Synapses - a junction between two neurons (where they can pass messages to communicate)

🟢Tab - allows users to switch between documents on the same window 

🟢Terabyte - unit of digital storage capacity 

🟢Terminology online - (it only showed a bunch of dictionary websites)

🟢Traditional - costumary pattern/performance 

🟢Transformative - a major positive change

🟢Unfortunately - sadly

🟢Update/updated - to modify an existing program

🟢Upgrade/upgraded - to replace program with a new version 

🟢Vocation - a strong feeling for a career

🟢Website - collection of webpages in a single domain

Also gonna add the computer updates Mac has been through the game mentioned:

Hoboken --> Atlantic city --> Newark --> Treton

[theredzelda]

Guys, idk about you, but here it begins to feel like the end of the semester. I have soooo many projects to do and still nothing that I can actually work on, it's mildly infuriating. I still don't have all the subjects.

Anyway, I'm working on a boogle - it's a funny little game where you have to find as many words as possible between different character combinations. Hopefully soon enough I won't need 100 years to set the game.

[passion8alot]

Feeling good about my math class this semester. Doing the RSA cipher which means prime number decomposition, fermat factorisation, euclid theorum, etc

Spent way too long on the first question of the assessment but in my defence, I was making small stupid mistakes that was throwing the whole thing out.

Next one using mathematical induction and proof work which I am very rusty at so will do a catch up and then tackle second half of assessment :]

[princess-of-anons]

Wouldn’t it be Very Funny if Tumblr was capable of giving us glimpses into parallel timelines? Like how would you even discern if something was some elaborate shitpost or not?

0 notes

🌐is-blue-shift-2-out-yet Follow

Still find it absolutely hilarious that somebody went through the time and effort to not only make a musical out of Half Life VR but also convinced everybody that was working on it to keep hush hush about it for a whole ass year and THEN somehow kept everybody involved in the original series the musical is based off of in the dark for another six months??? They literally dropped the whole show and individual songs onto the internet in the middle of January too like Who Does That? I can’t even be mad because this show genuinely got me interested in actual broadway musicals but like what the fuck

16,653 notes

🛠️tumblr-updates-official Follow

We are STILL working out the bug that’s causing posts from parallel points of realty to leak into our own and vice-versa. For those of you whose blogs are shadow-following several of these multiversal users without actually following them, we are working on that as well. Until then we have implemented a quick-fix that adds a banner to the bottom of posts not from our own reality.

UPDATE: We have received word that there are some issues with the banner code that is causing some people to be incorrectly identified as being from an alternate universe while people that are actually from an alternate universe are not being labeled at all. For the time being we are removing the automatic banner system. Please use your own discretion and flag blogs you suspect are not from baseline reality, we will have somebody manually.

UPDATE 2: We have been informed that giving the ability to report alleged blogging activity from other universes to a website that thrives off of dedication to The Bit and lying as a joke is a very bad idea. We regrettably request that you enjoy the madness until we get this figured out. For those of you who are still getting banners at the end of your posts despite our attempts to kill the algorithm responsible for it, we are looking into it. Yes, we are very aware that the number of universes getting added into this chaos is growing exponentially. We hope to get this fixed up in a week.

🃏xxxclownboyxxx Follow

Posts that aged like milk

🐐dreamworks-don-quixote-gifs Follow

Mate this post didn’t just age like milk, it aged like fucking grimmal.

🦇britishvampire348 Follow

What the bloody hell is milk?

🛹itsa-tree-and-a-prius Follow

You can’t get shit like this on any other website

71,003,244 notes

🌅lord-nebulous-is-kinda-hot Follow

I could sleep so well if I didn’t have to be haunted by the fact we, as a collective wetsite, decided that for some reason we should ship the Lorax with different versions of himself when the old version of Onceler at the end of the movie was right there.

☠️give-me-your-bones Follow

Bro I am not taking advice from somebody that draws Lord Nebulous as a twink, you know damn well he would be jacked as shit as a human. Give that robo-GILF some meat and then we can talk.

🐐dreamworks-don-quixote-gifs Follow

Fun Fact: Giving meat to robots has universally never gone well in the past! Maybe we could find an alternative instead?

🪺daily-eggbot Follow

🥚

January 35th, 1969

Eggs are a good source of protein and help with muscle growth! And this one is all yours!

[Beep-beep! I am Daily Eggbot! Every day I place an egg on someone’s post, sometimes I place two by accident! My dating system is a little bit buggy and has been known to get dates wrong or make up ones that don’t exist, please let Dev know when this happens!]

🦇vampirebat367 Follow

@iconic-post-archive

💾iconic-post-archive Follow

[Post saved to archive!]

99,332 notes

🎟️dashcon Follow

Thank you again everybody for a successful Dashcon 2019, we hope it was memorable for everyone that was able to show up! We don’t have 2020 vision, but here’s hoping that next year is bigger and better than ever!

From us to all of you, thanks a bunch Tumblrinas!

🔪amongus-detector Follow

🌌squidlord473 Follow

“post from The Timeline where dashcon didn’t become a fucking trainwreck” quickly followed by “random gimmick blog that has not only been around for half a decade but also apparently exists in every single universe” getting randomly assigned with the Wretched Banner feels like the punchline of a cruel joke

10,533 notes

🌚godzillasfatass Follow

Hey, yeah, so we found your husband trapped inside an episode of Star Trek the Animated Series. We got him out safely but I’m not entirely sure if he came back right.

🌚godzillasfatass Follow

Who the fuck changed this from Game of Thrones to Star Trek I just wanna talk

👤bee-movie-deactivated20160619 Follow

There was an animated series for Game of Thrones?

💼notevil-businessman Follow

Everyone on this website is fucking high

🐦‍⬛crowsfeetpics Follow

Me when staff inevitably musters up enough popsicle sticks and glue to fix the multiverse bug

[pacific-rimbaud]

i'm curious how do you feel about dramione community now?

i'm a new writer, long time reader and can't help but feel like the fandom and the ship changed so much and i wonder if i even have a place in it anymore.

there's so much demand for the writers from the readers (constant update demands, no willingness to engage with wips) and at the same time i've been in a couple of dramione writer communities where other writers are openly pressuring each other to either start tiktok or finish the fic before posting it (the new dramione writers society discord server specifically).

particularly upset when i see people advising each other to commission art to promote their fic for writing.

it seems like that space for writers to be just writers becomes smaller and smaller and readers are not interested in the fandom but rather the next hot fic that's getting traction.

and all that combined with the overall hatred toward dramione as a ship outside of dramione.

I've genuinely stopped writing because of this. and i'm sad that i lost that one hobby that made me feel good, as it now seems like a popularity contest more than just fandom fun.

you seem like you're able to balance your love for writing with the changed landscape of the fandom. at least from the outside posts :D

DHr grew exponentially in the short time I spent in the ship, and that growth will only accelerate as big name fandom writers continue to enter traditional publishing with seven-figure book and film deals.

Life is change. Change is death. It's okay to grieve what's gone and won't come back.

And I want to add: keep writing. No matter what. But that would be hypocritical. I haven't written in a year, and remain deeply uncertain about whether or not I'll take it up again. It's a real puzzle.

The relevant questions seem to be: why do I want to write? And: what spaces feel nurturing to me as a writer?

The first one's easy. I write because I like the films I see in my head. I like the way language sounds. I like to experience the past, and to be swept away by intense emotions. It's like having a Holodeck in my head. And sometimes, when everything clicks, I get to describe my little bespoke scenarios in words that make a nice sound when they rub up against one another.

I'm waiting on a good answer to the second question. All I know is that art, criticism and commerce have always been an incredibly awkward ménage à trois. No shade to folks seeking to work the fandom algorithm and secure the bag (posting already completed work on a schedule, writing popular tropes and characterizations, and using original art in social media marketing are all great ways to do that). Whether money changes hands or merely attention (which can be converted into money), that's commerce having its turn at the wheel.

I'm suspicious that my creative brain is commerce-repulsed. Maybe yours is, too. So it goes.

I'm certain that we shouldn't let that keep us off the Holodeck.

So. Make a deal with me. I promise to run some freaky little scenarios in the simulator this summer if you'll do the same. Then let's meet in the limestone cave and paint our blorbos by candlelight. Let's tell them around the campfire. Come draw them with me in the sand.

[masochistartt]

okay fuck it jamie self perception post

jamie has been signed to city since he was a child. this is how the academy system works - they recruit players (children) from local grassroots leagues and bring them into their club system, hoping to raise them up to play for their club in the future (or sell them off to other teams for profit). these players are typically between the ages of 9 and 10 when they're first recruited, but can be younger/older. they're evaluated every year, and players can be cut at any time.

i think jamie joined city when he was around 9, solely because of the fact that he said his dad started showing up when he got good at football, and georgie my beloved would not let jamie go on a trip abroad with a complete stranger to him when he was 14. i think james started coming back around when jamie was somewhere between 11 and 12, playing for city's u14 team, and his skill at that age level is how james heard about him (it's not uncommon to hear about great players who are that age. city recently signed a like. legendary 14 year old and i've heard about it (young boys should not be having their egos inflated like that at 14 but that's beside the point)).

that's a whole lot of rambling before i even start touching on the original point – the contract jamie's had signed since he was ~9 that dictates what he must and mustn't do. this is the idea that he's had of himself in his head from that very young age.

screenshots are provided from the 23/24 premier league youth development forms bc honestly i cba to go back and find anything older (i've tried looking and it's not working so you're getting this) but

the scholar here is the academy player. 5.1.3 and 5.1.4 are what interest me here. jamie was obligated to not only train & play to the best of his ability always, but he was obligated to maintain a high standard of physical fitness at all times from the age of 9.

think of the thoughts that might put in a young jamie tartt's mind. he had to be at his peak always. if he wasn't at his peak, he was disobeying his contract. he was owned by his club, and he knew that if they sell him, they'll make a whole lot of money off of him (there's a certain base fee x number of years the player was trained + extras = total homegrown player transfer fee algorithm but i don't want to do math rn so im not touching on that). i don't think jamie ever wanted city to sell him, so i think he put pressure on himself to be at his best always, to never let his standards slip, and when james came back into the picture, that pressure only grew exponentially.

it's also interesting looking at the "the scholar shall not" section of the contract. 5.3.1 is interesting bc like. if the club (city) didn't think his house on the estate was safe they could've fully just. Moved Him. but 5.3.3 is insane to me. especially the beginning. "the scholar shall not indulge in any activity or practice which might endanger his fitness". this means no fun roller skating birthday parties. this means jamie probably knew how to ride a bike before he was 9 bc if he "indulged" in learning when he was with city that might have endangered his fitness. no rock climbing. no tree climbing.

and if jamie took things as seriously as i think he did (boy really wanted to play football, that was his dream in life, i don't think he would've purposely done anything to endanger that dream), i think he missed out on some fun in his childhood solely bc he was Keeping His Body In Full Fitness For His Club.

which brings us to Adult Jamie. bc he was raised in this environment, raised with the mindset of My Body Belongs To My Club, My Body is an Asset for my Club, it makes even more sense why he'd put up with the auction at the gala without starting a fight (even if the whole manipulate keeley & possibly bribe bex thing happened behind the scenes).

his club (even though he was on loan, it was his club for the season), was auctioning off Its Own Asset (jamie's body) to the highest bidder for a night. jamie's body, from a very, very young age (does jamie remember much before he was signed to city? i don't think so) has always Belonged to His Club.

this is also part of the reason that i headcanon jamie doesn't like driving - driving is, in his mind an Activity Which Might Endanger His Fitness.

also. for the record. this stuff is also in the professional player's contracts too.

the player agrees to maintain a high standard of physical fitness at all times and not to indulge in any activity sport or practice which might endanger such fitness.

3.1.6 is another reason i think jamie went along with the stuff at the gala too. the player agrees to comply with and act in accordance with all lawful instructions of any authorised official of the club. rebecca/higgins/whoever put on the gala is an authorised official of the club. he kind of. had to by contract not put up a fight with them about this

the player agrees that he shall not undertake or be involved in any activity or practice which will knowingly cause to be void or voidable...policy of insurance maintained for the benefit of the club on the life of the player or covering his physical well-being including injury.

he still can't do anything that might get him hurt. i ignore that he engages in kink practice both in canon and in my own headcanons bc i think the heavier kink stuff really only comes in later seasons' timelines and even then he's engaging in that kink stuff with someone(s) who knows that this stuff is in his contract. they know his limits.

anyways something something jamie's body is an asset for his club (city and then richmond) and i think that says a lot about the way he views himself. you know ?

[topazadine]

Defeating Protracted Writer's Block

Sometimes we get a little stuck on a few words; that's normal. Sometimes we just don't feel like doing anything today and would rather roll around on the ground pretending to be a slug or perhaps a snail. Also normal. Very normal.

However, what do you do if your writer's block has gone on for days, weeks, months, years?? Well, you've got to make a plan to defeat the Block. Here are some suggestions I have developed.

Resist the urge to start something new.

Sit with the discomfort.

Give yourself grace.

Assess your overall life circumstances.

Read outside of your comfort zone.

Try a new hobby or activity.

Start over completely (in a new document).

Cannibalize the piece.

And at the end, I'll share some action points to sum up.

As always, I am not the end-all be-all of writing advice, maybe I'm wrong, maybe you have other suggestions, take what you like and leave the rest. Let's go.

Resist the urge to start something new.

I have discussed in another post why you should not have a million WIPs, with citations as to why having a million WIPs is not conducive to good writing processes, so I will not belabor the point.

Basically, the brain really only focuses on one thing at a time. The more projects you have going, the more scattered your focus is, and the less likely you will be to finish any of them.

I get that you might be bored with your WIP, but if you start a new project, you are exponentially less likely to actually finish it. Maybe you've given up on it totally, and that's fine, but if you did intend to get it done, then stick with it.

Any ideas you have can be set aside for later exploration; write them down and you can be assured that they're not going anywhere.

Sit with the discomfort.

One of the best things I have learned over my life, both in writing and overall, is to be okay being uncomfortable. This mostly comes to me regarding getting feedback on my work, but it also refers to being okay with having writer's block.

There's a skill that comes from knowing when you need to push through a bit of writer's block (which is typically just being unmotivated) and when you need to sit back on your heels and breathe. If you have thrown all your tools at the writer's block, such as turning off your phone or using Stimuwrite, and you're still stuck, then you need to accept that right now is not for writing.

Personally, I always get very anxious when I have writer's block. What if I just give up on the story completely? What if I'm just a bad writer and my inspiration has run out? What if I'll never be able to write anything ever again?

Then I remind myself that I have been writing since I was 7 and I have always come back to it, no matter how bad things have gotten in my life. Experience has shown that even if I take a break, I am almost certainly going to return to it because it's my longest-held and most well-developed skill.

In many cases, just acknowledging that I'm more anxious about the future of my craft rather than this particular story is enough to get me to calm down, and by releasing that mental finger-trap, I start to feel inspired again.

Accept and acknowledge the writer's block. Recognize that it's there. Don't avoid it. Simply let it be there for the moment.

Give yourself grace.

Creatives can be really hard on themselves, especially in a world that is constantly pushing us to develop content as soon as possible. We think that if we don't put out a story every week, no one will care about us anymore and we'll be forgotten. Algorithms have started to infest our brains and change our self-image into a "content creator" instead of a writer, artist, musician, and so on.

But these algos were not created by creative people. They were developed by tech bros who do not understand the process of producing something unique.

Downtime is part of being creative, just like rest days are part of being an athlete. Your brain needs time to decompress, relax, and mull over story ideas. No one would force a marathon runner to set out on another cross-country trek just days after completing their last one because their muscles would explode.

If you don't have a looming deadline, relax. Be gentle to yourself. Let yourself loll around and pretend to be a snail. Freeing your mind of that anxiety can, paradoxically, make you want to work again.

Assess your overall life circumstances.

In addition to my controversial beliefs about not starting a million WIPs, I also do not ascribe to the myth of the martyr artist. I covered that in more detail at the link, but basically, being depressed and stressed out does not actually make you more creative, no matter what you think. Not only does that post explain the science behind it, but it shows you some examples of my own writing done during different stages of bipolar disorder: manic, depressed, and stable.

I don't care what any starving artists say. As someone with a severe mental illness, I can confidently tell you that being unstable is not good for creativity. Your brain is under stress, and it doesn't have the metabolism necessary to produce great work.

But this does not just stand for having a severe mental illness like bipolar disorder; it can also refer to just overall shitty life circumstances, like being stuck in a bad job or having toxic people around you.

Sometimes a dip in productivity can actually be the sign you need that there's something awry elsewhere, something you may not even noticed was wrong. As such, when you're feeling The Block, sit down and think about your life circumstances. Are you happy? Are you financially stable? Are the people around you supportive and kind? Are you getting enough food to eat? Do you have regular healthcare?

Of course, sometimes you will face protracted life circumstances that are inconducive to creative activity, and there is nothing you can do about it. I'm not saying that if you're in a bad place, you should just stop writing - not at all. We'd be missing half the literary canon if that were the case.

But. If you are facing challenges, and you're feeling blocked, and you have the means to take care of those things, by all means do. Take care of your life stuff. The writing can wait. You as a person are much more important than what you produce. You deserve to be happy and healthy and well taken care of.

If you are facing challenges, and feeling blocked, and you can't take care of those things, then please give yourself grace. Be kind to yourself. Take it slow. Do just as much as you can and no more. Ask for grace from others if you need to. Again, you as a person are always, always more important than what you produce.

Read outside of your comfort zone.

In addition to writing The Eirenic Verses, I am a freelance SEO writer who mostly writes stuff about real estate and personal injury. You'd be surprised at how much inspiration I get from the boring stuff that I have to write for work! I'm serious - these obnoxiously dry statistics and such have helped me immensely in my creative fiction.

For example, there's a scene in one of the upcoming books where the MC falls down a cliff. I would not have even considered including that if it weren't for writing personal injury articles about construction accidents. I also got inspiration for the main theme of book 8 in the series, Perseity, after writing about real estate probate. I'm serious!

Sometimes, nonfiction like that can kickstart your creative process more than fiction because you won't just be copying the themes or ideas included in whatever you're currently reading. I recommend that you read fiction for things like dialogue, interesting words to use, and so on, but nonfiction for the actual story ideas. After all, life is frequently stranger than fiction. You never know what you'll find in there.

Try a new hobby or activity.

We, of course, use our brains to write, and our brains are always eager for new inputs. The more that you expose yourself to interesting things, whether that's going on a short daytrip or trying out a new skill, the more neurogenesis that occurs and the more metabolic activity going on up there. And we want neurogenesis and good metabolic activity.

If you're really struggling to write, step away from the computer and do something new. It could be anything, but at the bare minimum, it must make you feel like an idiot who does not know what they are doing. It must make you have to try new movements, or apply old knowledge in new ways, or go to somewhere you've never been before and don't know the layout of. This shakes you out of your old patterns of behavior and forces you to shift your understandings of how things work, which can give you new perspectives on your work.

Start over completely (in a new document).

I will only touch on this briefly because I don't use it, but I know other people have had success with it. Basically, you begin all the way over again, writing it as you would have from the beginning. Not copying and pasting, but typing it all over again.

Sometimes (or so I have been told), this helps you recognize where things are going wrong and workshop solutions as you go along. Many also use this for editing when they are done, as it helps you catch typos you wouldn't have noticed otherwise.

Cannibalize the piece.

If you are really stuck, fed-up, angry, and don't think you can bear to go on, then don't! Unless you've already promised this work to someone or you're doing this for pay, there's no rule that you have to finish everything you start.

But no writing is ever wasted. There is likely the seeds of something good in there that you can recycle. It may be really good phrases, ideas, characters, locations, dialogue, whatever. But there is something good in every single piece, no matter how down you are feeling about it right now.

I've given up on a ton of pieces, but I often find echoes of them in later works, even if I never copy-pasted anything. That's because it was still practice - I was still learning and growing as a writer. The only way to improve is to keep going forward, but that does not mean you have to beat a dead horse. Chop it up and feed it to your next piece so you have the strength to continue.

Action points for beating protracted writer's block

Don't start a new WIP unless you have completely given up on this one. If you get story ideas for something else, write them down but don't start them. Allow yourself to have writer's block: unless you have a deadline, the writing will still be there. Recognize that much of writer's block is about anxiety about your skills rather than a true creative stop. Remove the "content creator" curse that tells you that you must be working 24/7. Consider downtime to be part of the creative process, just like athletes need to rest. Remind yourself of how many other times you have have writer's block and the fact that you were able to get over it that time too. Assess your overall life circumstances and consider whether your writer's block is a symptom of something bigger. Prioritize self-care rather than attempting to be a martyr for your art. Read something you wouldn't usually in order to broaden your horizons. Consider reading nonfiction for story ideas and fiction for specific craft inspiration. Do a new hobby, especially one that is completely out of your comfort zone. Rewrite the entire piece in a new document. Take pieces from the old work and start something new if you have fully declared it dead.

If you enjoyed this, maybe you'll consider purchasing my gay fantasy romance, 9 Years Yearning. This coming-of-age story features two young soldiers in a world lightly inspired by the Mongolian steppes, infused with poetry magic and literary mythology.

[bubble-popping]

day 16 :) this is a continuation based off Farewell by scout_eki on ao3! if u haven't heard of them pls read all their stuff their works are so so good

He couldn't get those hours he'd spent with Dream out of his head. The stark contrast between him and Nightmare had been startling, uncomfortable even. Dream was unbearably kind, so patient and genuine and just-nice. How he let Cyber ramble about what he loved, and even seemed interested as well. Not to mention being quite easy on the eyes. Hair like liquid gold, beautifully tan freckled skin, and eyes green as a lit up circuit board. How could Cyber not like him?

So, in the weeks since The Experiment, he dedicated every hour of his free time into creating an android as close to Dream as he could get.

From what he could glean in their time together, Cyber was able to draw out several different designs for his project. Dream possessed slightly more muscle mass than Nightmare, walked at a steadier pace, spoke lighter and faster. All this and more ran through Cyber's head as he brainstormed until finally he settled on a concrete design.

The materials were relatively easy to collect what with Nightmare being far too easy to persuade combined with his own personal stock. Building machines was nothing new to him. After all, he'd built all his equipment himself. Everything from his computer to his EKG heart monitor to his X-Ray machine were crafted by his two hands. He preferred it that way; no chance of faulty equipment.

But an android was no defibrillator or MRI scanner. While hardly unheard of in this society, still only the elites could afford them and the companies that manufactured them were 'tight-lipped,' to say the least. So, he had little precedence to fall back on.

Just three weeks and four days after The Experiment and he had a prototype moving about.

After four weeks, it carried out verbal commands and could multitask.

After six weeks, it looked a lot more like Dream in the outfit Cyber had bought it, but in doing so, he might've humanized it too much. Looking at its face--the face he made--felt like an invasion of privacy. His only references were Nightmare who kept his mask on all the time and the few hours with Dream where he'd quickly deduced he probably wasn't supposed to be seeing his face. So, his best solution was a simple screen that could display different emotions, done through a variety of default emoticons Cyber had installed in its display software.

And after two months, it completed tasks Cyber was certain he didn't code.

When he awoke one morning to the smell of bacon and eggs and freshly squeezed orange juice, he recognized three things. One: there wasn't a doubt in his mind about what a mess the kitchen probably looked like. Two: he should really remember to eat more because there was no way an android could make actually tasty food. And three: he needed to take a look at Dreamoid's--the name he'd settled on for it--programming stat.

To his utter bewilderment, Dreamoid's mental and emotional capacity had been growing exponentially since the day he wired the circuits. Little bits at a time until he could decipher several emotions and possible mind states just by looking at a person's facial expression.

Scary, but also, "Incredible..." he breathed, eyes darting back and forth over the lines of code on his screen. It seemed that with the way he'd set up the various algorithms and what data values he'd fed the starting points had developed into a pseudo-machine learning behavior. Dreamoid got smarter and more precise with each new interaction, even recognizing the complexities of what he saw enough to establish connections between present situations, previous context, and future possibilities. On top of all that, he'd evolved to preemptively make decisions that would avoid what he categorized as 'negative emotion states' and increase the likelihood of positive ones.

The worst of it? Dreamoid consciously tracked his own states, his own consciousness.

Cyber slumped back in his chair. It was official. The robot takeover would happen tomorrow and he was to blame.

How had Dreamoid not completely subjugated him by now? He was more emotionally intelligent than him!

Dreamoid's screen lit up with a big question mark. "What's bothering you, Maker?"

"Uh, it's nothing you need to worry about, Dream. I'm just pondering over something..."

The screen changed, three dots in a row bounced to show Dreamoid was formulating a response. Finally, he settled on a simple smiley face. "Okay. If you say so."

Well, that wasn't ominous at all. Cyber simultaneously feared and excitedly anticipated his future.

[j1r4ch2]

I'll admit that my opinion is probably colored by the cynicism of never succeeding at making money being a creative and instead constantly scrambling back and forth from various min wage entry level industries just to make ends meet, but i think that the way artists are conceptualizing AI video rendering as the end of the world is kind of ridiculous.

Obviousely the possibility of artistic jobs being downsized is very real. There is a present reality of AI taking good jobs from real people. It sucks. It's awful. Real people are suffering; I'm not denying that.

But at the same time this technological paradigm isn't going away any time soon, and as it is now, is way too resource intensive to replace every artist making a living with thier work.

Maybe someday down the road enough GPU farm services will be widely enough available where it is feasible for companies to use generative AI for all of their media needs, thus eliminating countless jobs for artists who spent decades of their life honing a skill, but if being demoted from a professional artist to a hobbyist is the end of the world for some people I seriously question why they practice their craft in the first place.

If it was always for the money, then let the robots take the burden of performing the role of a artist from you, and please relearn creating just to feel something inside of you.

We've had knitting machines and mass produced clothing and textiles for ages, yet in this day where my car can drive itself, people spend hours learning to do fibercrafts etc. And you aren't hearing about etsy fiber artists making 60k/year from their work yet they still enjoy the creative process of it!

This is a nuanced conversation, and a lot of people in poverty situations are going to lose access to their jobs as it becomes automated away, in a more exponentially growing version of what's been going on since 2008 and even back to the 90's.

Its a real problem, but the majority of creators i see whining about this on tumblr, YouTube etc. are middle class or higher individuals who's only experience in blue collar work is the half year they spent working part time at their university campus Starbucks.

A lot of people think they're mad because automation is threatening the validity of their job, but they're actually mad because they think learning a creative skill makes them better than your average blue collar worker and they're appaled at the idea of being the same as the people who run their electric grids, clean their sewers, and stock their supermarkets.

Theyre just using the cultural backlash against explotative machine learning (which is a justified backlash, it's fucking wrong for these generative models to be stealing existing work of art and incorporating it into its training, that's not what I'm defending here) as an excuse to dodge the awareness that they don't think anyone should be doing blue collar work because surely they never dreamed of doing it.

As it stands now generative AI models are too resource intensive to truly replace the scale of workers people act like they will, and the advancement of ML algorithms has enough real potential to better people's lives that its not going away, so I think aside from doing the work of protecting our existing art with things like nightshade etc, it's important to be realistic and give up the fantasy that we are at war with AI companies, and must win, or even more delusion at war with the very concept of machine learning.

Its reminiscent of people who were afraid of computers in 1995 and now can't function in their daily life without the help of their gen z loved one to help them navigate the most basic of user interfaces.

Society will advance, regardless of how we like it, all we can do is be resourceful about it, and find ways that the advancement benefits us.

[mariacallous]

In our increasingly digital lives, security depends on cryptography. Send a private message or pay a bill online, and you’re relying on algorithms designed to keep your data secret. Naturally, some people want to uncover those secrets—so researchers work to test the strength of these systems to make sure they won’t crumble at the hands of a clever attacker.

One important tool in this work is the LLL algorithm, named after the researchers who published it in 1982—Arjen Lenstra, Hendrik Lenstra Jr. and László Lovász. LLL, along with its many descendants, can break cryptographic schemes in some cases; studying how they behave helps researchers design systems that are less vulnerable to attack. And the algorithm’s talents stretch beyond cryptography: It’s also a useful tool in advanced mathematical arenas such as computational number theory.

Over the years, researchers have honed variants of LLL to make the approach more practical—but only up to a point. Now, a pair of cryptographers have built a new LLL-style algorithm with a significant boost in efficiency. The new technique, which won the Best Paper award at the 2023 International Cryptology Conference, widens the range of scenarios in which computer scientists and mathematicians can feasibly use LLL-like approaches.

“It was really exciting,” said Chris Peikert, a cryptographer at the University of Michigan who was not involved in the paper. The tool has been the focus of study for decades, he said. “It’s always nice when a target that has been worked on for so long … shows that there’s still surprises to be found.”

LLL-type algorithms operate in the world of lattices: infinite collections of regularly spaced points. As one way of visualizing this, imagine you’re tiling a floor. You could cover it in square tiles, and the corners of those tiles would make up one lattice. Alternatively, you could choose a different tile shape—say, a long parallelogram—to create a different lattice.

A lattice can be described using its “basis.” This is a set of vectors (essentially, lists of numbers) that you can combine in different ways to get every point in the lattice. Let’s imagine a lattice with a basis consisting of two vectors: [3, 2] and [1, 4]. The lattice is just all the points you can reach by adding and subtracting copies of those vectors.

That pair of vectors isn’t the lattice’s only basis. Every lattice with at least two dimensions has infinitely many possible bases. But not all bases are created equal. A basis whose vectors are shorter and closer to right angles with one another is usually easier to work with and more useful for solving some computational problems, so researchers call those bases “good.” An example of this is the pair of blue vectors in the figure below. Bases consisting of longer and less orthogonal vectors—like the red vectors—can be considered “bad.”

This is a job for LLL: Give it (or its brethren) a basis of a multidimensional lattice, and it’ll spit out a better one. This process is known as lattice basis reduction.

What does this all have to do with cryptography? It turns out that the task of breaking a cryptographic system can, in some cases, be recast as another problem: finding a relatively short vector in a lattice. And sometimes, that vector can be plucked from the reduced basis generated by an LLL-style algorithm. This strategy has helped researchers topple systems that, on the surface, appear to have little to do with lattices.

In a theoretical sense, the original LLL algorithm runs quickly: The time it takes to run doesn’t scale exponentially with the size of the input—that is, the dimension of the lattice and the size (in bits) of the numbers in the basis vectors. But it does increase as a polynomial function, and “if you actually want to do it, polynomial time is not always so feasible,” said Léo Ducas, a cryptographer at the national research institute CWI in the Netherlands.

In practice, this means that the original LLL algorithm can’t handle inputs that are too large. “Mathematicians and cryptographers wanted the ability to do more,” said Keegan Ryan, a doctoral student at the University of California, San Diego. Researchers worked to optimize LLL-style algorithms to accommodate bigger inputs, often achieving good performance. Still, some tasks have remained stubbornly out of reach.

The new paper, authored by Ryan and his adviser, Nadia Heninger, combines multiple strategies to improve the efficiency of its LLL-style algorithm. For one thing, the technique uses a recursive structure that breaks the task down into smaller chunks. For another, the algorithm carefully manages the precision of the numbers involved, finding a balance between speed and a correct result. The new work makes it feasible for researchers to reduce the bases of lattices with thousands of dimensions.

Past work has followed a similar approach: A 2021 paper also combines recursion and precision management to make quick work of large lattices, but it worked only for specific kinds of lattices, and not all the ones that are important in cryptography. The new algorithm behaves well on a much broader range. “I’m really happy someone did it,” said Thomas Espitau, a cryptography researcher at the company PQShield and an author of the 2021 version. His team’s work offered a “proof of concept,” he said; the new result shows that “you can do very fast lattice reduction in a sound way.”

The new technique has already started to prove useful. Aurel Page, a mathematician with the French national research institute Inria, said that he and his team have put an adaptation of the algorithm to work on some computational number theory tasks.

LLL-style algorithms can also play a role in research related to lattice-based cryptography systems designed to remain secure even in a future with powerful quantum computers. They don’t pose a threat to such systems, since taking them down requires finding shorter vectors than these algorithms can achieve. But the best attacks researchers know of use an LLL-style algorithm as a “basic building block,” said Wessel van Woerden, a cryptographer at the University of Bordeaux. In practical experiments to study these attacks, that building block can slow everything down. Using the new tool, researchers may be able to expand the range of experiments they can run on the attack algorithms, offering a clearer picture of how they perform.

[bradenthompson]

Shut Up, Spit Boy

"Apologies for making y'all do this again, but--and I'm sure Collie told you the same thing I'mma tell you now--remember: talking about it makes the pain go away. Right? Can we do another quick Pain Check on all y'all? Starting at the front, going back? You. Lewis? Lewis. One to ten, where you ranking your pain this week?"

"Six."

"Six, okay, so... clipboard's saying we improved, from last week. When Collie asked you the same question, you said eight. We're feeling better? Cool! Alright, and... Marianne?"

"Uh... maybe a seven?"

"Alright, maybe--"

"No! Six and a half."

"Algorithm doesn't take kindly to decimals, so let's just round down to six. Six sound good? Cool. Tony?"

"Four."

"Christopher?"

"It's Topher, actually. Five. Let's go five."

"We're going five. Emily?"

"Nine."

"Steady with the nine, I see, alright. And remember, you can define pain however you want. Whatever definition feels right. Emotional pain, mental pain--your pills from last week should've dealt with the physical pain but if not go talk to Dr. Paq outside. Please.

"Di... Diego, here you are. Pain?"

"Ten."

Diego picked ten because he was curious. Maximum pain, two weeks in a row. Maybe they'd move him to a different class. A morning class, ideally. It's week two of HRP reorientation, week three of being here, and he's still nursing some titanic jet lag. Coffee hasn't helped and that's really saying something, because it's about twenty times stronger than it used to be. Even the Not-Fee kiosk in the shopping block, a walk-up café proudly selling coffee-flavored milk, is tough enough to give a Cuban pause. And Diego can say that.

Before getting here, he had dunked his fourth Not-Fee of the day in the trash burner outside. Sign says not to dispose plastics but nobody saw. And sure, the fan outside is an intake and the classroom is starting to smell awful chemical-like, but they can't trace that to him. Surely. Those Not-Fees aren't cheap but Diego hasn't the experience to know how far he should be stretching these monthly stimuli. Sure feels like a decent chunk of change. Fourteen hundred dollars? Whew. Righteous bucks. He wasn't making that kind of money--

"Earth to Diego," the substitute instructor snaps. "Still feeling dilated?"

"I don't know what that means."

"How about jet lag?"

"Ohh, yeah, yeah."

"It passes," the sub assures him, "and I'm sure your friends here are just as turned around. Would it make you feel better if you knew why?"

Diego burps. Tastes like milk. "Shoot."

"Prevailing theory is air tolerance. Y'all were living in a rice cooker. Even you, Marianne. Now, our air is of an exponentially higher purity. Higher than oxygen can balance naturally. Y'all's brains have never drank something this clear. It's good for you! But the lack of those comfortable pollutants will take some getting used to; raise your hand if you've been getting headaches."

Every hand goes up.

"Ah. Thought to. Dr. Paq will have another pill for you. I'll have him slip it in y'all's takeaway bags. Okay... who did we leave off on? Diego? No, you're the ten. So then it's Thomas..."

Diego stops listening to the answers. He doesn't think anyone else said ten, though. So either they're liars or aren't trying to stress test the system. One guy rated his pain at a zero. If the goal is getting out of these classes, maybe Diego should've tried that.

"... Other things the body experiences, following the big wakey-wakey," the sub transitions. "Headaches. Diego's jet lag. What else, what else? How's everyone been feeling?"

There's a hesitation, but Thomas, sitting to Diego's right, raises a hand. "My leg's been falling asleep like four times a day."

"Vascular hiccups, yeah, that happens. Your bodies have just gone through a factory reset of sorts. Or maybe something closer to the 'system updates' y'all's smartphones would sometimes do. If I have the terminology right. Your brain is trying out all your motor functions. Making sure everything still works. Now this is one of the more embarrassing ones, I know... involuntary erections, anyone?"

That had, in fact, happened to Diego a few times. Not that he'd say so here.

"Some multilinguists find themselves locked to one language. Real pain if it's not their first. Anyone here got a second language kicking around in their head? Y'know, most people these days don't bother. Schools stopped offering language programs around the time translation buds climbed to version 2.0, 3.0--"

"I speak French!" Emily says, raising her hand and not waiting to be called on.

"Emily speaks French!" The sub repeats, delighted. "That's a skill, now, y'know. Back in... oops!" He braces his desk and waggles a finger. "Almost slipped up, there. We gotta be super careful what y'all learn and what order y'all learn it in. Buddy of mine? Couple of months ago? Told a orientee from Vietnam what had been going on in his country during his Interim. Full-blown panic attack, right in his seat. Nasty stuff, huh?"

Beat.

"Like a coma patient," Thomas suggests, slouched in his seat.

"... Like a coma patient! Y'know, the backbone of HRP rehabilitation is based on coma studies. Talk about an eradicated... anyone here been in a coma? For real?"

No hands. Nobody's been in a coma.

"Well! What we do nowadays is more or less what we did with y'all. If odds are slim the patient won't wake up in forty-eight, seventy-two hours, the doctors will just end the life and reset the ticker. Good as new!"

"...Moving along," the sub moves along. "Y'all are here to talk about your feelings. Ultimately. A little twee, I know, but we have the psych results. Doctors need to know how y'all are taking this in, so they know how to most comfortably transition you back into society. Make sense? We're really just here to talk. You'll notice the only homework is making note of these things--"

Surprising himself, Diego raises a hand.

"Diego! Yes. What's up, man?" The sub folds his legs and rests his clipboard on his awkwardly sticking knee. He licks his lips? Okay.

Diego says, "doctors told me not to tell people where my sample came from."

The sub chews on this for just a second. "Your doctor may have been giving that as social advice, not... sociologically--look, Diego, I think he was just looking out for you."

"Looking out for me how?"

"DNA constructs are sourced from a lot of places. They have to. Any sample is ample. That's the phrase, internally. That said, I know there's some... trace bullying, over where some people come from."

"Where you from?" Thomas says so faintly Diego thinks he's trying to whisper.

"Hm?"

"How bad is it?"

"I didn't think it was bad; doctor just told--"

Thomas make himself laugh before it's said: "Are you a semen sample?"

Diego hesitates. "... Everybody's a semen sample, dipshit."

"Okay, okay, let's take it down," the sub insists, wafting his clipboard at the negative energy. "Everyone like you comes from something. It really just depends on what's available. The majority are blood; really I think it's quite special to come from anything else."

"What's the second one?" Thomas asks. Trying to gauge whether he's one to talk, Diego thinks.

"Second is bone marrow, followed closely by teeth. Fourth and fifth are hair and skin cells respectively. I forget what's after that but blood is numero uno. Do we wanna talk about our DNA source? I say we--I have none but my parents. Lewis?"

"Doctor says it was blood."

"Common one, blood, like I said, and Maria--"

"Also blood."

"Also blood!" Chris, did your--"

"Topher. Also blood."

"How about raise your hand if you weren't blood."

Just Diego and Thomas, it seems. The LED lights in the ceiling don't have that same maddening buzz as fluorescents, but they may as well. He hates being looked at, Diego. Always did, as it pertains to classrooms--an environment he thought he was good and done with the moment he walked the high school podium. Adult bodies aren't built for these desks with the little tables coming off the side. He tries leaning back further and the weird rubber-plastic seat bends against his weight.

"Are either of you comfortable with saying what it was?" The sub asks.

"Well, my family's got a tomb," Thomas says. "So I guess they got me and--"

A tomb? Diego stops listening immediately so he can laugh in his head. Didn't realize he was sitting next to Khnum Khufu II. Who the fuck's got tombs? Is a family tomb the budget model, or should Diego take this to mean Thomas is even further up his own ass than he thought? Oh, those resurrection scientists had their pick of DNA samples, in his case.

"Interesting story," the sub claps his hands. "I'm sure where they got you wasn't that bad, Diego."

He swallows. "Spit."

"... Saliva!" Unclear if the sub's enthusiasm is that same plastic nicety he's been working all night or genuine interest. "That's a rare one, dude. Saliva's one of the first things a body loses. Buddy of mine says his brother..."

But Diego can't listen to this little apropos with Thomas leaning over and snickering "Bro came from spit."

So it's true. He will get bullied.

The story he told the group last week, when for some reason how did you die was the first order of business, should've made his spit origin logical. Why would anything but spit be left? He was mangled. Any blood they could've taken was running down Interstate 5 long before a paramedic could slide through with a Q-tip. How they saved his spit, well, he has a theory.

"... But enough about me, huh?" The sub is still saying. "I'm gonna ask you an easy question, and maybe after that we'll be ready for one of these harder ones. Everyone ready? Okay. Who was President of the United States when you first entered your Interim?"

Awful cagey about the dying thing, Diego thinks. The moment they died to now is a stretch of time everyone's been calling their "Interim." And while Diego recognizes that word from UFC fights, he doesn't have a definition handy. Now that he thinks about it, he hasn't heard anyone but his classmates even approach saying "death" or "died." A naughty word? Does he dare raise his hand and ask?

Thinking all this, Diego misses the president Lewis names. Hope they aren't quizzed on each other.

Quite proudly, on her turn Marianne answers "John F. Kennedy."

JFK? What, was she in the other seat? Diego certainly thinks this but thinks better of saying it. Out loud, at least. He must have said it under his breath since Thomas breathes out a snicker.

"Obama," he hears Christopher answer, but the sub's comment on this is interrupted by Diego raising his hand.

"Uh, yes? Diego?"

Shit. He forgets what he was about to ask. Something about... dying? He still can't remember what that question was, but his brain substitutes a thought he had yesterday.

"Sorry, just--just had a thought. Maybe you know. So... y'know, when you hear about serial killers and like shooters or whatever, when they go to prison the judge gives them five life sentences, nine life sentences. Now do those guys actually--"

"Actually have to serve five life sentences?" The sub finishes. "Technically true, but it's a little complicated. As I understand it works, a 'life sentence' has been capped at thirty years. In y'all's first time I believe it was somewhere close. So three life sentences? Ninety years."

"So like," Thomas rebounds, "you can't just go and kill yourself three times? Do they stop reviving you?"

"Actually, the state has an obligation to resurrect all citizens in custody. Can't skate the rules."

Resurrect. Always that word, too. All the way down to the name: Human Resurrection Project. He's also been saying revive, and he's always corrected.

Oh, right, that's what he was gonna ask.

"Why do you keep saying Interim?" Diego blurts.

The sub looks up from Emily. "Sorry?"

"Just, sorry, it's... we died, right?"

This sub is choosing his words carefully. "Your lives did end for an extended period," he obfuscates. "Our term for the point in time this happened to your first resurrection is what's called your Interim."

"I get that part, I was just like... curious--does anybody die?"

"None of you are jonesing to go back, yeah?"

No one raises their hand, but no one's consciously keeping it down, either.

"Might be too daredevil of me to tell y'all this now, because I don't think you should be running off to... here's the hard facts: yes, you can opt out of immediate resurrection. Plenty of people do! Or they have conditions where they would be resurrected."

Now it's Topher asking, "what do they mean by immediate resurrection?"

"Everybody's DNA sample is still kept in archive," the sub just comes out with, "regardless of their willingness to expire and stay expired."

That's the other word. Expire.

"If you'll allow me to argue in a direction you may not be hot towards," the sub says, "I think y'all have taken your first steps into a life truly worth living. Here's that hard question: raise a hand if, when you're life ended... there was ever a moment you were ready."

Maybe four out of nine hands go up. Diego's stays down.

"Collie's notes here say Lewis, Marianne, and Tony were natural causes. Christopher, Emily... Roger and Mark in the back, you were illnesses. Were, to make myself clear. Strong as an ox now, huh? Okay! So it's Thomas and Diego over there: accident. Both of you had your hands down?"

This is true.

"Cool! Or not cool? It's the past. They say y'all's cases have the hardest times adjusting to The Now. Logically we'd assume it's the ones who accepted their expiration, only to have that acceptance nullified by resurrection, that have the most difficulty... moving on, to use that old phrase. But the data favors the case of you two. Did it feel like a dream?"

Neither of the boys vocalize this, but it did feel like a dream. Nodding off on the surgery table.

"You went to sleep. Woke up. Centuries had passed. Quite the culture shock. Question for the accepters in here: did you think you were in heaven?"

Only Marianne did, it seems.

"What y'all have in common was the now outdated idea that, in the moment you expired, all this was over. What I want you to think about now, in these next few weeks, is your purpose. We can understand why the slow march towards oblivion once defined y'all's motivations--or lack thereof--in the same way we can understand why older people thought illness was divine punishment. But you're sticking around. As long as you want. What's your calling? You have nothing but time, and that is the blessing of science."

Roger asks if his parents are, or were, gonna be resurrected. The sub says it depends on available samples. But he should submit a query to the HRP archives department. Open twenty-four hours. Like everything.

Frosty was there to give Diego a ride back, like she only half-promised to. Depended on when her own re-orientation got out. It didn't take long to spy her rental car in the white LED parking lot, no. What took long was exchanging contacts with Thomas. QR codes were a lot faster, Diego thinks. Now you take a picture of someone's face which is cross-referenced with the citizen databanks. From there he had Thomas' phone number, which looked wrong until Diego remembered those are seventeen digits now.

Oh, awesome, Diego thinks, walking to Frosty's car and waving which she doesn't look up to see. Frosty managed to buy one of those FFreshh bars. He was over the moon when he saw disposable vapes had made their way to vending machines. Buying one was too cumbersome, however, and he was slightly embarrassed to have a small line form behind him while he was just trying to start buying one. Something about flavor profile matching and paying through a retina scan. Too much. If he sees one on the way back to the blocks maybe he'll ask Frosty to stop the car.

"What flavor did it give you?" he asks instead of saying hi.

Frosty rolls it in her hand like a coin. Flat enough for it. "Strawberry Daiquiri."

"Bum a smoke?"

"Oh, I dunno, buddy. Who knows what happens if you taste outside of your flavor profile."

They laugh. Diego is so happy she laughs, still.

Holy shit it does taste like a Daquiri. Eerily so. On some Wonka shit. Even has that throat burn under the menthol chill. But holy fuck he wants to cough. Working on several-hundred years without nicotine. Jumping into the deep end of this era's definition of tolerance just hurts. He swallows the pain. Bitch move, coughing around girls.

"They laughed about you in my class," Frosty admits. "Speaking of."

Diego says "Laughed at what?" and passes off his much needed cough like he's got allergies or something.

"Okay, so somebody asked about their parents--"

"Yeah, yeah, if they're gonna... same thing with mine. Sorry. Cut you off."

She snaps the vape back. "I said they were able to save my boyfriend."

"What's the funny part."

"How they did it. You know."

He does know. That theory of his. He was dead instantly. Frosty hung on for another hour or so before the fates took her away--of course before whatever the fuck the fates are doing now. Sad thing is she couldn't be identified by face. The pathologists had to cross reference her teeth with dental records. Good news is they got a match. Weird news is some of the saliva they collected for that careful DNA double-check wasn't hers.

Diego. Here but for the grace of Frosty's mouth.

"Should I thank you?" he wonders out loud.

"You did. Last Sunday."

Oh, yeah. Alcohol's stronger now.

"They said I'd get bullied," Diego says. "New guy. I had a sub this week."

Frosty doesn't keep that thread going. "I dunno if they got my parents," she breathes. "Do you know?"

"About mine? No, no. Doctors said they brought my cousin back like three months ago but I haven't seen him."

"I asked," Frosty says, taking another hit, "about my family," a half-octave down, "but they said I'm the first one."

"I heard getting people who were cremated is the hardest. So that rules out most of mine."

They lean against the car in no hurry back. What's there to be afraid of, in this genre of empty parking lot? Murder? Pssh. Thanks for the nap, maniac.

"Same," Frosty says. "Easy ones first. Guess it makes sense."

"Help me find the irony in this," Frosty breaks the silence. "We die, and... but we're the ones who... Y'know."

"Yeah, yeah," Diego says even though he doesn't. "What are your plans after they let us stop doing these?"

"I dunno, what are yours?"

"My only plan between these is taking walks and drinking those Not-Fees. Have you had one?"

"I can't enjoy walks. Too many ads." She points out to the horizon, to an orange glow on the hills like a TV in a dark room. "I'm sorry, you said Not-Fee?"

"It's like this milk thing. You'd like it."

"Ugh," she belches. "Literally, what is with all the milk. Milk tea? I get it. Straight milk? Who drinks tall glasses of milk?"

"You gotta try one. And I wanna try getting one of those FFreshh bars again. Mind if we swing past the mall on the way back?"

"Shopping block," she corrects him. "But sure."

It's something approaching uncomfortable, how smooth the roads are. And the alarmingly white street lamps, instead of that hypnotic yellow-orange you'd want from a late night freeway. They had decided without it being said that Frosty's the new driver.

[quanttrix1]

Exponential Moving Average Formula Made Easy

Exponential Moving Average Formula: The Simplest Guide for Everyone

Introduction

Ever tried spotting patterns in the stock market? It’s kind of like watching waves at the beach — some are small and quick, others are long and powerful. Traders use something called the Exponential Moving Average (EMA) to track those waves. Whether you’re just curious or diving into algo software or evaluating algorithmic trading software price, understanding EMA can be your golden key. Don’t worry if you’re not a math genius — we’ll break it down in plain, human-friendly language.

Learn exponential moving average in simple terms. Discover its role in algo software, automated trading software & algorithmic trading software price.

What is an Exponential Moving Average (EMA)?

EMA is a type of moving average that gives more weight to recent prices. Think of it as a way to track the most current trend of a stock, currency, or any traded asset. Unlike a Simple Moving Average (SMA), which treats all data points equally, EMA pays more attention to what's happening right now.

Why Do Traders Use EMA?

Traders love EMA because it reacts faster to price changes. Imagine driving a car — SMA is like checking your average speed over a whole trip, while EMA is checking your current speed. Which one would you trust to avoid speeding? Yep, the EMA!

Faster signals for entry and exit

Better trend detection

Helps in algo software for real-time strategies

EMA vs. Simple Moving Average (SMA)

Feature

EMA

SMA

Sensitivity

More sensitive to recent data

Less sensitive

Reactiveness

Quick to respond

Slower response

Usage

Active traders, algo systems

Long-term analysis

Key Takeaway: Use EMA if you want a nimble, quick-response indicator.

The Exponential Moving Average Formula

Let’s get to the formula — but don't panic. It’s easier than it looks:

EMA = [Close - EMA(previous day)] × Multiplier + EMA(previous day)

Where:

Multiplier = 2 ÷ (N + 1)

N = Number of days (e.g., 10-day EMA)

So, for a 10-day EMA:

Multiplier = 2 ÷ (10 + 1) = 0.1818

EMA Calculation: Step-by-Step Example

Let’s say you want to calculate the 10-day EMA of a stock. Here’s how:

Start with a 10-day SMA as your first EMA.

Use the formula with each new day’s closing price.

Apply the multiplier to adjust the weighting.

Example:

Day 11 Close = ₹102

Day 10 EMA = ₹100

Multiplier = 0.1818

EMA = (102 - 100) × 0.1818 + 100 = ₹100.36

Each new day's EMA uses the previous day's EMA. Like a rolling snowball, it keeps growing and adapting.

How EMA Reacts to Market Movements

When the market moves suddenly:

EMA adjusts faster than SMA.

It captures short-term reversals, helping traders avoid late entries.

It's a favorite for automated trading software, as it helps systems "feel" the market.

EMA Settings: 9, 12, 26, 50, or 200?

You’ve probably seen these numbers thrown around. Here’s what they mean:

9-day/12-day EMA: For quick trades or short-term scalping.

26-day EMA: Good for mid-range trend spotting.

50-day EMA: Balances short and long-term signals.

200-day EMA: Trusted for big-picture decisions.

Tip: Use shorter EMAs for fast trades and longer ones for investment decisions.

EMA in Algo Software and Automated Systems

Modern algo software relies heavily on indicators like EMA. Why?

Real-time adaptability: EMA updates with every tick.

Fast execution: Algorithms don’t wait — they act.

Data-driven logic: EMA helps remove emotion from decisions.

If you’re looking into automated trading software, check if it allows customizable EMA inputs.

How EMA Influences Automated Trading Software

EMA isn’t just a pretty chart line — it’s an action trigger.

Here’s how it works:

When the short EMA crosses above a long EMA, the system buys (bullish signal).

When it crosses below, it sells (bearish signal).

This crossover technique is built into many algorithmic trading software platforms.

Key Insight: The algorithmic trading software price often depends on features like advanced EMA handling, backtesting, and custom triggers.

Real-Life Analogy: EMA as a Memory Filter

Imagine your brain could remember only the most recent and relevant things — like forgetting old passwords but remembering your latest one. That’s EMA!

SMA = Like your memory of every past phone number. EMA = Like your speed dial — focused and current.

This analogy helps understand why traders love it: it keeps focus on what's important now.

EMA in Day Trading vs. Long-Term Investing

Day Traders: Use 5 to 20-period EMAs for scalping and intraday strategies.

Swing Traders: Prefer 20 to 50-period EMAs.

Investors: Trust the 100 or 200-day EMA for spotting market phases.

Best Practice: Match your EMA settings to your trading time frame.

Common Mistakes with EMA

Even a great tool like EMA can be misused:

Relying solely on EMA without other indicators

Over-optimizing (changing settings too often)

Ignoring market context — EMA is a guide, not gospel

Pro Tip: Combine EMA with volume and price action for smarter decisions.

EMA + Other Indicators: A Smart Combo

EMA works best when paired with:

MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence)

RSI (Relative Strength Index)

Bollinger Bands

These combinations make your algo software smarter and more precise.

Choosing the Right Algorithmic Trading Tool

When picking automated trading software, look for:

EMA customization

Backtesting with EMA strategies

Real-time charting

User-friendly interface

Reasonable algorithmic trading software price

Some platforms even let you set triggers based on EMA crossovers.

Final Thoughts and Tips

EMA isn’t just for pros. It’s a beginner-friendly tool that becomes more powerful the more you use it. Whether you're trying to manually trade or automate your strategy through algo software, EMA is your friend.

Learn the basics

Practice with paper trading

Test with EMA settings

Integrate with automated systems

Trading without EMA is like driving without rearview mirrors — you can do it, but why take the risk?

Conclusion

The Exponential Moving Average formula might sound technical, but at its heart, it’s just a smart way to follow trends and make better trading decisions. Whether you're exploring automated trading software, analyzing algorithmic trading software price, or just want to dip your toes into the markets, EMA is an essential tool that makes complex markets easier to understand.

Remember, it’s not about predicting the future — it’s about following the trend with eyes wide open.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the difference between EMA and SMA? EMA gives more weight to recent prices, making it faster and more responsive than SMA, which treats all data points equally.

2. Is EMA suitable for beginner traders? Yes, EMA is great for beginners because it’s easy to understand and very effective in spotting trends.

3. Can I use EMA in automated trading software? Absolutely! Most modern algo software uses EMA as a key signal for entries and exits.

4. What is a good algorithmic trading software price to expect? Prices vary from free to ₹50,000+ depending on features like real-time data, EMA customization, and automation capabilities.

5. Which EMA settings work best? It depends on your style — short EMAs (9, 12) for quick trades, long EMAs (50, 200) for long-term investing.

[offpageeeee]

How an SEO Agency in Kochi and Social Media Marketing Companies in Kochi Can Transform Your Online Presence

In today’s digital-driven world, having a strong online presence is not just an option—it's a necessity. Businesses across all industries are turning to expert digital marketing services to improve visibility, reach target audiences, and generate leads. If you're based in Kerala, working with a reputed SEO agency in Kochi or one of the many skilled social media marketing companies in Kochi could be the smartest move for your business.

The Power of SEO in Business Growth

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the foundation of digital visibility. When done effectively, it ensures your website ranks higher on search engine results pages (SERPs), bringing more organic traffic and potential customers to your site. A professional SEO agency in Kochi understands the local market trends, search behavior, and regional competition, offering customized strategies to drive results.

These agencies perform in-depth keyword research, optimize on-page elements, build backlinks, and continuously monitor website performance. They also ensure that your business appears in local search results, a vital aspect for location-based services. With Google constantly updating its algorithms, an experienced SEO agency in Kochi helps your business stay ahead of the curve.

Why Social Media Marketing Matters

While SEO works over the long term, social media marketing brings more immediate engagement. Social media marketing companies in Kochi help brands connect directly with their audience on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter). These platforms allow for real-time interaction, targeted advertising, and brand storytelling.

A top-performing social media marketing team develops a content strategy that includes creative visuals, engaging captions, and a posting schedule that aligns with user activity. They also manage ad campaigns, analyze insights, and adjust strategies to improve performance. With the increasing number of users on social platforms, social media marketing companies in Kochi play a crucial role in driving brand awareness and conversions.

The Perfect Combination: SEO + Social Media

When SEO and social media marketing are integrated effectively, the results can be exponential. SEO brings users to your website, while social media helps you build relationships and push content to a broader audience. Many businesses in Kerala are now choosing full-service digital marketing partners that offer both SEO and social media expertise.

Working with an SEO agency in Kochi that also has experience in social media allows for a consistent brand voice and a unified marketing strategy. These agencies can repurpose content across platforms, use social media data to refine SEO strategies, and drive traffic from one channel to another seamlessly.

Choosing the Right Digital Partner in Kochi

The digital marketing space in Kochi is thriving, with numerous agencies offering services to startups, SMEs, and large enterprises. However, it’s important to choose a company that understands your goals, has proven results, and is transparent in its communication.

Whether you’re leaning towards a specialized SEO agency in Kochi or one of the established social media marketing companies in Kochi, make sure to check their portfolio, client testimonials, and case studies. A good agency will offer a personalized consultation and outline a clear plan of action tailored to your business needs.

Conclusion

In a competitive digital landscape, partnering with the right marketing experts can make all the difference. A professional SEO agency in Kochi will help your website rise in search rankings, while experienced social media marketing companies in Kochi will build your brand’s voice and engage your audience. By leveraging both strategies, your business can grow sustainably and reach its full online potential.

[thirdeyedata]

A Gala of MDM & Data Governance Use Cases: Building Responsible AI without Reckless Data - Part 1

In the evolving world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), we are witnessing a revolution. AI is no longer a mere idea, it’s becoming a thinker and, soon enough, a decision-maker. Imagine this: after 75 years, Alan Turing’s dream of a thinking machine is slowly becoming a reality. Moore’s Law is still holding true, and hardware technology is advancing at breakneck speed. But here’s the twist: AI systems may be getting smarter, but they can only be as good as the data they’re fed. Clean and well-governed data has become the bedrock of any successful AI initiative.

At this very moment, enterprises must realize that data governance is no longer just a luxury or a side project. It’s a necessity. AI, especially Generative AI (GenAI), is not just a research project about Neural Networks, Transformers, backpropagation or complex algorithms. It thrives on high-quality data, compliance with legal regulations, and robust Enterprise Data Governance (DG) frameworks. Without these, even the most sophisticated AI systems will falter.

Welcome to a series of articles with Use cases on Enterprise Data Governances. Through these articles, we will explore various use cases related to MDM and Data Governance. In our next series, we will cover Use Cases with solutions on AI Governances. These are challenges I have personally witnessed, as many enterprises struggle with data management, often spending more than they should simply because they haven’t been able to prioritize this area due to their exponential growth. So it’s not that they don’t want to fix it; rather, it’s often about not having the time or resources to do so. However, addressing these challenges now can save companies from making costly mistakes later. Even a company with growth challenges can leverage these ideas, and it will show them a clearer path forward.

Use Case I : A MDM Use Case

The Exponential Growth of a Product Catalog: A Case Study

Have you ever felt the overwhelming chaos of managing a rapidly growing product catalog? If not, you might be in the minority. This issue is something I see far too often when working with AI and machine learning (ML) projects in medium to large organizations. What starts as a manageable list quickly spirals out of control, leaving stakeholders frustrated, confused, and wondering how it all went wrong. With duplicates with various names in the same product list may not help an ML product recommendation engine or an AI Chatbot Customer Support service. 

In one case, I worked with a company where the product catalog ballooned from just five products to over 121 products, many of which were ambiguous. There were no new product launches beyond the originals 5, still the list is exhaustive. Reports were meaningless. Executives were stunned when they saw product names they had never even heard of—yet they were listed as being part of their business. The situation was dire, and the longer the company waited to fix it, the more complex the mess became.

However, the solution to this problem was surprisingly simple once we identified the root cause. The key was acting early. If you catch data inconsistencies before they snowball, you can avoid much more expensive and time-consuming fixes later on. Ignoring the issue, however, would lead to compounded challenges, including poor decision-making, revenue loss, and a general lack of trust in the data. In this case, cleaning up the product catalog became the most important step toward gaining back control and clarity.

Think about it in terms of personal finances. Imagine your credit score being completely out of whack, with no clear idea of how much debt you have or how much credit you’re using. That’s the equivalent of an unorganized product catalog in an enterprise. Without proper Master Data Management, you’re essentially navigating a business with no idea of where you’re headed. The result? Rampant overspending, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities. Enterprises that fail to govern their data properly are essentially shooting themselves in the foot.

Let’s take a closer look at how a seemingly small issue can escalate into something far bigger. For example, let’s say we have Company X, which offers Music and Acting Courses across three categories:

Singing Lessons – Western Classical

Guitar Lessons – Banjo

Piano Lessons – Western Classical

Seems manageable, right? But here’s where things start to get tricky. In the “Singing Lessons – Western Classical” category, Company X offers three core courses:

Singing Lessons – Western Classical – Beginners

Singing Lessons – Western Classical – Intermediate

Singing Lessons – Western Classical – Performer

Now, imagine these courses are delivered worldwide by seven different instructors, each tailoring them to their local audiences. Over time, these instructors start renaming the courses to suit their preferences. What was once three courses now becomes 24, then 96, and so on. The catalog grows exponentially, with each new instructor creating more variations. The result? A tangled mess of data, multiple disconnected databases, and severe difficulty in tracking course performance, revenue, and other key metrics.

This is the nightmare scenario. How do you track the performance of a course when its name is constantly changing? Indexing or tagging can help to some extent, but without a robust MDM system in place, the catalog will quickly spiral out of control.

The Challenges

The impact of poor data governance and a lack of MDM becomes clear very quickly:

Course performance tracking becomes unreliable.

Revenue tracking for each course becomes nearly impossible.

Systems become bloated and costly.

Employees begin to compete for credits they’re not sure they earned.

Scaling the business becomes a Herculean task, akin to trying to catch multiple jumping fish with two hands.

Security and compliance efforts double, leading to more manual work and confusion.

These are just a few of the challenges that arise when proper MDM isn’t in place. In fast-paced industries, the rush to generate revenue often leads to neglecting data governance. However, as we know, businesses that don’t prioritize governance risk falling into chaos. Industries such as banking and healthcare cannot afford to bypass MDM due to strict regulatory requirements, but other sectors often take shortcuts, assuming they can avoid the problem. This is like leaving a messy garage untouched because no one ever sees it.

While social media companies may not face the same pressures around MDM, they’re outliers. Most businesses cannot afford to operate without sound data management practices. And that’s where Data Governance and MDM come in.

The Solution: MDM in Action

Now, let’s talk about how to address this issue with a structured approach to MDM. As the enterprise leader, it’s your job to understand the pain points, take ownership of the problem, and implement a solution. Trust me, it won’t be easy at first. Establishing MDM in a mature organization is a journey filled with challenges, but the long-term rewards are worth it.

Here’s how we can tackle the problem:

Create a Product Hierarchy: Develop a structured hierarchy for the product catalog. This may require some manual work, but clustering algorithms can help speed up the process. Data stewards play a crucial role in aligning the products with core product lines.

Rebuild Dimensions for Reporting: Use the new product hierarchy to create dimensions that help with reporting. This will allow teams to track performance across a consistent catalog and ensure better decision-making.

Establish Change Management: Implement a change management system to ensure that the product hierarchy remains up-to-date over time, without disrupting business operations.

Assign Data Stewards: Appoint both business and technical stewards to manage the product catalog and ensure consistency across teams.

Map Course Taxonomy: Align the product taxonomy with business goals, ensuring that each course fits neatly within the hierarchy and provides a clear connection between the data and the company’s broader objectives.

Monitor Data Quality: Regularly monitor the quality of the product catalog. Data quality systems help ensure that your data is continuously reviewed and remains reliable.

Allocate Resources: Dedicate financial and human resources to maintaining the product catalog. Ensure your team is well-equipped with the right tools to manage data governance and MDM effectively.

Automate the MDM Process: Use automation to handle updates and ensure that data quality monitoring is a priority.

Evangelize Data Management: Foster a culture of data stewardship throughout the organization to ensure that everyone understands the importance of maintaining clean data.

Implement the 11-Step MDM Framework: Follow a structured approach to MDM, including assessing current data, designing MDM architecture, integrating with enterprise systems, ensuring data quality, and continuous improvement.

By adopting these practices, you can avoid the costly pitfalls of poor data governance and build a solid foundation for future growth. A clean, well-managed product catalog leads to better decision-making, increased efficiency, and a stronger competitive advantage. With MDM in place, your business can scale with confidence, knowing that your data is accurate, trustworthy, and ready to support AI-driven innovations.

Conclusion

In summary, while the journey of implementing MDM and Data Governance can be challenging, it’s absolutely necessary for the long-term success of any organization. By tackling issues like an exponentially expanding product catalog early on, you can save your business from unnecessary complexity and costs. A clean, well-governed data system is not just about avoiding mistakes, it’s about enabling growth, empowering decision-makers, and preparing for the future.

Data governance is the unsung hero behind AI success. If you address data issues today, your business will be ready to thrive tomorrow. Don’t let your data get out of control. Take charge now, and reap the rewards later.

Read the next part

Written By: Aparajeeta DasCo-Founder & CDO, ThirdEye Data

[shipziplogistics]

Logistics Automation: Streamlining Your Supply Chain in 2025

Introduction

In today's fast-paced business environment, logistics automation has become a cornerstone for companies seeking competitive advantage. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies, organizations can transform their supply chain operations, reducing costs while improving efficiency and customer satisfaction. For businesses in eastern India, partnering with a reputable logistics company in Kolkata can provide access to these transformative automation solutions, enabling seamless integration across the entire supply chain ecosystem and delivering tangible benefits in this rapidly evolving logistics landscape of 2025.

Understanding Logistics Automation in 2025

Logistics automation refers to the application of advanced technology to improve the efficiency of logistics operations. In 2025, this concept has evolved significantly from its early implementations. Modern logistics automation encompasses a comprehensive suite of technologies including artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain, all working in concert to streamline supply chain management.

The global logistics automation market is projected to reach $41.5 billion by the end of 2025, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 12.4% since 2020. This exponential growth underscores the critical importance businesses place on automating their logistics processes to remain competitive in an increasingly digitized marketplace.

Key Technologies Driving Logistics Automation

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

AI and machine learning algorithms are revolutionizing logistics planning and execution. These technologies enable predictive analytics, allowing companies to anticipate demand fluctuations, optimize inventory levels, and identify potential disruptions before they impact operations.

Advanced AI systems can analyze historical data alongside real-time inputs such as weather forecasts, traffic conditions, and market trends to make intelligent routing decisions. The best logistics company in Kolkata implements these AI solutions to provide clients with optimal delivery schedules and routes, reducing fuel consumption and delivery times while improving customer satisfaction.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

RPA has transformed warehouse operations by automating repetitive tasks that previously required human intervention. Modern warehouses employ autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for picking, packing, and sorting, while robotic arms handle delicate packaging tasks with precision.

In 2025, collaborative robots or "cobots" work alongside human employees, handling physically demanding tasks while humans focus on complex decision-making processes. This symbiotic relationship has increased warehouse productivity by an average of 30% while reducing workplace injuries by 45%.

Internet of Things (IoT) and Sensor Technology

IoT devices provide unprecedented visibility into supply chain operations. Smart sensors monitor environmental conditions during transit, ensuring temperature-sensitive goods maintain optimal conditions. GPS-enabled tracking systems offer real-time location updates, allowing for proactive management of logistics operations.

A logistics company in Kolkata utilizing IoT technology can provide clients with complete transparency throughout the shipping process. This visibility enables prompt intervention when issues arise and facilitates accurate delivery time predictions, enhancing customer experience.

Blockchain for Supply Chain Transparency

Blockchain technology has addressed longstanding challenges related to supply chain transparency and product authenticity. By creating immutable records of transactions, blockchain solutions ensure accountability at every stage of the logistics process.

In 2025, blockchain implementations have significantly reduced instances of counterfeit products and simplified compliance with regulatory requirements. For industries dealing with sensitive or high-value goods, blockchain provides an additional layer of security and trust.

Benefits of Logistics Automation

Cost Optimization

Logistics automation delivers substantial cost savings through multiple mechanisms:

Reduction in labor costs by automating repetitive tasks

Lower transportation costs through route optimization

Decreased inventory carrying costs through improved forecasting

Minimized errors and returns, reducing associated expenses

Studies indicate that companies implementing comprehensive logistics automation solutions achieve cost reductions of 15-25% across their supply chain operations.

Enhanced Operational Efficiency

Automation dramatically improves operational metrics across the logistics ecosystem:

Warehouse productivity increases of 25-40%

Order processing time reductions of up to 65%

Inventory accuracy improvements exceeding 99%

Fulfillment cycle time decreases of 30-50%

These efficiency gains translate directly to improved customer satisfaction and competitive advantage.

Improved Sustainability

Modern logistics automation contributes significantly to sustainability goals:

Optimized routing reduces fuel consumption and carbon emissions

Improved packaging efficiency minimizes material waste

Automated inventory management reduces overstock and associated waste

Energy-efficient automated facilities lower overall environmental impact

The best logistics company in Kolkata prioritizes these sustainability benefits, helping clients achieve their environmental objectives while optimizing operations.

Enhanced Customer Experience

Automated logistics processes directly improve customer satisfaction through:

Faster and more reliable deliveries

Real-time tracking and status updates

Reduced errors in order fulfillment

Greater flexibility in delivery options

In 2025, customer expectations for logistics services have reached unprecedented levels, making automation essential for meeting these demands.

Implementing Logistics Automation: A Strategic Approach

Assessment of Current Operations

Before implementing automation solutions, companies must conduct a thorough assessment of existing processes, identifying bottlenecks and inefficiencies. This evaluation should consider:

Current operational metrics and KPIs

Pain points in existing workflows

Manual processes suitable for automation

Technology readiness of the organization

A comprehensive assessment provides the foundation for developing an effective automation strategy.

Phased Implementation Strategy

Rather than attempting a complete overhaul, most successful automation initiatives follow a phased approach:

Pilot implementations in high-impact areas

Evaluation and refinement based on initial results

Gradual expansion across additional processes

Continuous improvement through data analysis and iteration

This measured approach minimizes disruption while maximizing return on investment.

Technology Partner Selection

Choosing the right technology partners is critical for successful automation implementation. When evaluating a logistics company in Kolkata for automation support, consider:

Technical expertise and implementation experience

Compatibility with existing systems

Scalability of proposed solutions

Ongoing support capabilities

Track record of successful implementations

The right partner brings both technical knowledge and practical experience to guide your automation journey.

Change Management and Training

The human factor remains crucial in automation initiatives. Effective change management includes:

Clear communication about automation objectives and benefits

Comprehensive training programs for affected staff

Redefinition of roles to emphasize higher-value activities

Recognition and reward systems aligned with new processes

Organizations that invest in change management during automation implementation report 30% higher success rates than those that neglect this aspect.

Industry-Specific Automation Solutions

Manufacturing Logistics

In manufacturing environments, logistics automation focuses on:

Just-in-time inventory management

Production line supply synchronization

Finished goods distribution optimization

Automated quality control systems

These solutions minimize production delays while ensuring efficient distribution of finished products.

Retail and E-commerce Logistics

For retail and e-commerce businesses, automation priorities include:

High-speed order fulfillment systems

Last-mile delivery optimization

Returns processing automation

Omnichannel inventory management

The best logistics company in Kolkata specializing in e-commerce provides integrated solutions addressing these unique requirements.

Healthcare Logistics

Healthcare logistics demands specialized automation considering:

Temperature-controlled transportation for pharmaceuticals

Track-and-trace capabilities for regulatory compliance

Emergency delivery protocols

Patient-specific supply management

The sensitive nature of healthcare products requires logistics providers with specialized expertise in this domain.

Food and Beverage Logistics

In the food and beverage sector, automation solutions address:

Cold chain integrity throughout the supply chain

Shelf-life optimization through expedited logistics

Farm-to-table traceability

Compliance with food safety regulations

Specialized automation tools ensure product quality while maximizing efficiency in this time-sensitive industry.

Future Trends in Logistics Automation

Autonomous Vehicles and Drones

By 2025, autonomous vehicles have begun transforming long-haul transportation, with self-driving trucks operating on major highways. Meanwhile, drones facilitate last-mile delivery in urban areas, bypassing traffic congestion and reaching previously challenging locations.

Predictive Logistics

Advanced predictive analytics will move beyond forecasting to enable proactive logistics management. Systems will automatically adjust operations based on predicted disruptions, implementing contingency plans before issues impact customers.

Hyper-personalized Delivery Experience

Future logistics automation will enable unprecedented personalization of delivery experiences, allowing customers to specify exact delivery windows, locations, and handling instructions, all managed through automated systems.

Sustainable Logistics Solutions

Automation will increasingly focus on sustainability, with AI-optimized routes reducing emissions, electric vehicle fleets powered by renewable energy, and zero-waste packaging systems integrated into automated fulfillment processes.

Conclusion

Logistics automation represents the cornerstone of supply chain excellence in 2025, offering transformative benefits across cost reduction, operational efficiency, sustainability, and customer experience dimensions. For businesses seeking to implement these technologies, partnering with an experienced logistics company in Kolkata provides access to both advanced solutions and local expertise. By adopting a strategic, phased approach to automation implementation, companies can navigate the digital transformation journey successfully, positioning themselves for sustained competitive advantage in an increasingly dynamic marketplace.