#so the best solution is to just equip him with a tracking device

[shitpostingkats]

Things in the first few eps of s3 that have added years to my life

Theodore having a lot of conflicted feeling about working with Ryoken

Theodore basically sitting around for all the hacking scenes because he's the only one in this family who can't code bless him

THEO AND FLAMES' CONVERSATION BY THE BEACH

Kolter finally microchipping Yusaku like an endangered wolf before releasing him back into the wild (the internet)

The return of Frog and Pigeon but this time they have a ROCKET POWERED JETPACK

[nightingaelic]

Fallout 4 companions respond to getting captured by Super Mutants (for optional added angst, maybe even getting turned into a super mutant). Strong not included for obvious reasons.

Ada: "Be advised: My guardian has equipped me with a tracking device in the event of my capture. You lack the privileges necessary to access their estimated time of arrival."

Ada is always matter-of-fact about her situation, even if her legs aren't functioning and she's squashed between two bags of body parts on the floor of an abandoned hospital. She's also patient, and content to wait until the sole survivor comes to retrieve her. In the meantime, she'll run escape scenario algorithms to determine the best way out of the building. Not affected by FEV for obvious reasons.

Cait: "Are you f***ing serious?! I'll tear your ears off with my bare hands and string them on a necklace! You don't know who you're messin' with, you green bastards!"

No one can match Cait in sheer viciousness when fighting to free themselves, but even she has her limits. The sole survivor would likely find her in a cage, hyperventilating and on the verge of tears. If the super mutants made the mistake of exposing her to FEV, she would tear the nest apart herself. Mutation would be another internal struggle for Cait, but I think she could successfully make peace with her new state of being if given enough time. A makeshift, giant baseball bat might help.

Codsworth: "Unhand me, you brutes! By God, the class of people I'm forced to associate with these days just keeps falling!"

Pre-war Codsworth is constantly offended by the super mutants' behavior, particularly their lack of housekeeping. He can't help bemoaning his situation for all to hear, something that would probably annoy the super mutants enough to bonk him on the dome until he shuts down. Some assembly required once the sole survivor catches up with him. Not affected by FEV for obvious reasons.

Curie: "While we are waiting, would any of you mind answering some questions for me about how you came to exist in this state? Ça vous dit?"

With a wide new world of oddities to study, Curie takes her abduction as yet another opportunity to learn. If nothing else, she can observe super mutants in their natural- or at least chosen- habitat. Prior to her synth transition, not affected by FEV for obvious reasons. Post-synth transition, however, I think Curie would take the mutation as an opportunity to study the effects that turn a person into a super mutant. I don't think she would lose her bubbly personality, similar to the way Lily the nightkin retained some of her old sense of self.

Danse: "You may have the upper hand today, but you and the other freaks of nature are fighting a losing battle." [spits]

Having lost the most to super mutants in the past, Danse fights his captors until he is completely spent. In fact, the sole survivor would have to practically carry the man home for a lengthy recovery, something his suit of power armor would definitely help with. Mutation into a super mutant is one of Danse's worst nightmares, and if exposed to FEV, he would beg the sole survivor to show him the same mercy he once showed Cutler.

Deacon: "Oh yeah, this reminds me of that summer I spent camping out on the National Mall. You even look familiar. Know anyone by the name of Uncle Leo?"

Like in every tight spot he's ever been in, Deacon masks his stress level with quick wits and quicker retorts. Most likely to slip his confines, let the sole survivor fight their way to the heart of the nest, then reveal he was free the whole time and they needn't have bothered. If exposed to FEV, Deacon would probably panic and enlist the sole survivor's help in searching for a cure, positive that a mutated countenance would irreparably damage his ability to help the Railroad. Then again, he might see it as a "new look" and use it to his advantage for a bit.

Dogmeat: [snarling]

Any super mutants that get their hands on Dogmeat are highly likely to lose fingers. Still, there's not much the canine can do if he's put in a cage, other than bark and wait for rescue. While FEV leaves many dogs as aggressive shells of their former selves, I think Dogmeat would be largely okay with his new green-and-bulky form and would still happily guard settlements and follow the sole survivor around, not unlike Gracie from Far Harbor.

Hancock: "Whoa, whoa relax. I've got time to hang out for a bit, no need to get all worked up. Don't stain the coat, I doubt you can cough up the caps to get it cleaned."

Of all the companions, Hancock is the most unbothered by becoming a super mutant captive. It's just another wasteland adventure, albeit one where the opposing cast of characters are all at least two feet taller than him. He might earn some bumps and bruises for being unable to keep his smart mouth shut, but he'll just bide his time until he spots an opening to wreak havoc and escape, or until the sole survivor comes along to wiggle him out. Not affected by FEV for obvious reasons.

MacCready: "You know, I'm getting real sick of you green lunatics. Spent almost a decade living next door to some of your cousins, and they knew enough not to mess with me."

Upon capture, MacCready would roll his eyes and accept that he's going to have to wait for some help. He'd get more desperate the longer his wait went on though, envisioning a world where Duncan lost his dad without getting to say goodbye. Mutation wouldn't necessarily dampen his spirits at first: After all, if anyone can find a cure, it's the sole survivor.

Valentine: "Not exactly a group of masterminds, are you?"

At this point, Nick is used to getting abducted and locked up by just about every group in the Commonwealth. He knows super mutants well enough to know they don't listen to reason, but he can't resist getting in a jab or two about how he's far from edible. Not affected by FEV for obvious reasons.

Piper: "So, uh, what's say I write up a column about how super mutants are seriously misunderstood creatures and we'll call it even? No?"

Piper might have similar levels of confidence as Deacon, but hers are much more likely to waver when faced with possible death by ingestion. Her quips would be fewer and more nervous until the sole survivor arrived, at which point she would put her game face back on and cheer her rescuer along. If exposed to FEV, she would beg the sole survivor to help her find a cure for Nat's sake, and eventually weasel the information about Virgil out of them.

Preston: "I didn't need to get up close to know why you're called 'uglies,' but here we are."

While terrified at what the super mutants might do to him, Preston is the most level-headed when captured. He's already great under pressure in battle, and he's used to setting his own fears aside to find solutions for his woes. Most likely to have more people coming to his rescue than the sole survivor alone, due to his role with the Minutemen. If exposed to FEV, Preston would likely accept his fate with dignity, and make the sole survivor promise to dispatch him if he turns violent. I don't think he would, though, and the Minutemen would probably be more accepting of a super mutant officer than most.

X6-88: "I can afford to wait for field assistance, mutant. They will not make the mistakes I did."

X6-88 accepts his predicament calmly, like he accepts everything that happens to him. If unable to free himself, he will patiently wait for the Institute help he knows is coming, even if it's just the sole survivor with a pipe pistol. Regarding FEV mutation, turning into a super mutant might be the straw that breaks the camel's back for X6-88. In the Institute's eyes, the Courser is now hideous and no longer viable in the field: In X6-88's opinion, though, he is even stronger and more dangerous than he was before. I could see him finally choosing to desert his post out of a growing sense of self-preservation once transformed.

BONUS!

Gage: "Well look who's suffering from delusions of adequacy! I'd call you f***ers dumb as rocks, but at least a rock can hold a door open."

Porter Gage is great at heckling, and just good enough that he toes the line right up to where super mutants would start to understand he's insulting them. The sole survivor would likely find a gaggle of them around his confinement space, convinced he's complimenting them when he's actually being very rude. Breaking him out gives him the biggest smile. Becoming mutated himself might actually benefit Gage in the long run, as the raiders he used to be wary of would instead find themselves newly-wary of the Overboss' right-hand man.

Longfellow: "Too bad you aren't one of the more reasonable ones. Might've saved your skin."

Longfellow treats his own capture with a sense of humor, acknowledging that he's not as young as he once was and might need help now and then. Chuckles the whole time the sole survivor is fighting their way to him, and grateful upon release. If turned into a super mutant, he'd shrug, accept his fate, and ask to be escorted to live with his friend Erickson up near Far Harbor.

Maxson: "I welcome the day you and your kind meet total destruction."

If Danse is angry about being captured by his sworn enemies, Maxson is seething. Kidnapping a Brotherhood Elder is something that shouldn't even be possible in his eyes, let alone by super mutants. Once freed, he would do his best to erase the nest from the earth: Fire, missiles, tactical nukes if necessary. Also like Danse, Maxson would order the sole survivor to mercifully dispatch him if he were mutated. Additionally, he'd have them destroy any evidence of his exposure to FEV, and simply turn in his holotags with the news that he had perished in the line of duty.

Desdemona: [livid silence]

Plunks herself down, lights a cigarette if her hands are free, and waits. Eventually, the sole survivor or Glory will turn up, and she'll give them one, lingering look of disappointment before vanishing into the Commonwealth ruins. Least likely to get captured in the first place. If mutated, she would reassume her job as leader of the Railroad with no comment, and everyone else would know better than to ask.

[athela-3]

mankai company: cyberpunk

I never asked for this. But that’s just how ideas work, ain't it? One minute you’re mindlessly going through the daily grind, and the next moment it hits ya like a sucker punch to the gut. Then your mind’s racing, and you think: Why not? Whaddaya have to lose? You’ve rambled your way through semi-coherent flashes of inspiration before. Why should this one be different?

Note: everyone is aged up, oh, let’s say at least five years. Also, long post is long. I’m not joking. The page break is there for a reason.

Mankai Company is a modest-sized corporation specialising in biotechnology and cybernetics. But operating beneath its public face is a semi-covert band of mercs, private eyes, and fixers called Kaga Solutions, fully-equipped to navigate the mean city streets on command. Their founder and CEO, Yukio Tachibana, has recently disappeared; as per his express wishes, the company leadership is transferred to his estranged daughter, Izumi. 

Izumi Tachibana: the new CEO, more experienced in programming than in biotech, she wants to lead Mankai in a new direction focused on augmented reality and fluid human-machine interfacing, while also investigating her father's disappearance with its covert Kaga operatives.

Isuke Matsukawa: Yukio's—and now Izumi's—personal assistant who also handles most of the day-to-day finances, a seemingly bumbling man with hidden talents. He has more connections than you'd expect, and his loyalty is bone-deep.

Yuzo Kashima: a major shareholder in the company whose investments helped Yukio jump-start his dream into reality. Initially skeptical of Izumi's direction, he slowly grows to believe in her vision, even if he's still brutally honest about many things. He's aware of Kaga and the hidden side of Mankai, and is implied to have once partaken in it more personally.

Tetsuro Iwai: the local hardware genius. If you need something built, he'll figure out how to do it in record time. He's happy to work with the old boss' daughter, even if her ideas can stretch him to his limits sometimes.

Ken Sakoda: nobody's really sure what his official job is. He's just always there, usually appearing out of nowhere to do whatever Sakyo asks him to (there's rumours of a personalised cloaking device). This ranges from coffee runs to, ah, semi-legal inventory procurement.

Kamekichi: a robot parrot Yukio personally built as a pet project. Originally a prototype for robotic therapy animals, his code gave birth to his own emergent sassy personality.

Sakuya Sakuma: head of Engineering, what he lacks in experience he makes up in talent and dedication. Has politely declined playing a more active role in Kaga's assignments, declaring his current job to already be his dream job anyhow.

Masumi Usui: a tech prodigy, a quick learner who's always keen to impress Izumi for reasons which may not be strictly professional. Built his own memory implants from scratch, and is always willing to help with Kaga if ever asked.

Tsuzuru Minagi: the top dog when it comes to programming and software. Tends to overwork himself, especially at crunch time, but he writes top-notch code that leave Mankai's competitors scratching their heads. Also helps oversee and plan Kaga's missions, especially when it comes to concocting cover stories and identities.

Itaru Chigasaki: yet another punch-clock worker whose only skills lie in testing and bugfixing… or so he'd have you believe. In reality, he's one of Kaga's most reliable operatives, using his salaryman persona to relieve suspicion and gain people's trust. By the time his targets notice the "GG EZ" hacked onto every screen, it's too late.

Citron: another Kaga operative, people see him and think he's the expat office worker who struggles to string a coherent sentence together, so they don't always pay attention to what they say around him. Big mistake. If he can't evade you in conversation, then he'll evade you the traditional way and vanish seemingly into thin air.

Chikage Utsuki: formerly Itaru's senior at their old job, who followed him to Mankai for reasons of his own. He does minor coding for them now, but his primary focus is on being a field agent for Kaga, where his charm and covert investigative skills really come into play.

Tenma Sumeragi: a former child actor, now the company's face, appearing in advertisements and endorsements. He's great at both presenting Mankai's personable, human-interest agenda and selling Kaga's sharp professionalism to potential clients.

Yuki Rurikawa: hired fresh out of university, his sharp sense of aesthetics led Izumi to trust him with practically all of their product design. Every concept has to have his seal of approval before moving to the production stage. He also handles disguises for Kaga's operations.

Muku Sakisaka: formerly slated to compete in the Olympics before an accident, he now provides another public face for Mankai alongside Tenma. He writes a good deal of the company's promotional material, and has a strong sense of what would affect their clients.

Misumi Ikaruga: officially, he tests the more physical cybernetics, such as Sakuya's impact-dampeners or Tasuku's mountain-climbing legs; his videos performing literally superhuman parkour feats often end up as promotional material. Under the table, he's Kaga's go-to operative for situations requiring speed and agility.

Kazunari Miyoshi: head of the PR department, in charge of keeping their public image in the positive while also keeping Kaga’s activities mostly out of attention. He keeps everyone in the loop with current affairs, often feeding intel to his old friend Tsuzuru for planning.

Kumon Hyodo: baseball's new rising star, he started doing sponsorship and endorsement deals after Muku and Juza introduced him to Izumi. He's enthusiastic about working with them and often helps coming up with ideas for reaching into the sports demographic.

Banri Settsu: a bio-augmentation enthusiast and grey hat hacker, he once breached Mankai's firewalls basically out of boredom; when Izumi tracked him down, she decided to offer him a job in her cybersecurity division, and he agreed. Of course, as soon as he hears about Kaga, he all but jumps into it headlong.

Juza Hyodo: wanted to be a cop as a kid; that was before the city's corrupt police force disenchanted him of the idea. His cousin Muku convinced him to work for Mankai, so he thought he'd give the corporate samurai gig a chance. His earnest dedication quickly wins him a spot on Kaga, as do his excellent combat skills.

Taichi Nanao: initially a mole from Godza, sent to tear Kaga apart from within, he went turncoat within months and is now their primary source on Godza's methods and internal affairs. He balances quick and dirty combat tactics with his boyish charm and knack at appearing harmless.

Omi Fushimi: former military, honourably discharged after a terrorist attack took out his best friend and left him heavily injured. Now he works for Mankai as head of security, with a bit of unofficial HR thrown in there. Unlike the rest of Akigumi, he isn't part of Kaga, as he believes his focus should be on keeping the company safe and secure.

Sakyo Furuichi: head of Kaga, and its oldest member still on active duty. These days he mostly sticks to mission control, but occasionally lends support on the field if he deems it necessary. His sharp mind and eye for patterns makes him particularly good at planning missions, exit strategies, and backup plans.

Azami Izumida: the son of a yakuza boss who decided to leave the family business behind to strike out on his own, he still keeps a number of his old underworld contacts. Officially an intern, he's also eager to get into fieldwork with Kaga, putting his years of swordsmanship lessons to use.

Tsumugi Tsukioka: head of biotech, his research on how cranial implants can be used to treat sleep disorders turned him—and Mankai—into a household name. He infrequently lends a hand to Kaga by developing and fine-tuning their cybernetics.

Tasuku Takato: a former member of Godza, he quit his job to work for Mankai instead, and is now a valued member of their biotech team. He specialises in developing prosthetics for their more athletic clients, and like Tsumugi, focuses on his R&D most of the time.

Hisoka Mikage: formerly working for a similar fixer/PMC group, a near-fatal neuro-implant malfunction caused him to forget everything that happened since its installation. As Mankai found him, removed the bad implant, and nursed him back to health, he thought it's just apt to repay the debt by working for them. One of Kaga's most well-rounded operatives, he is strongest in stealth and wetwork.

Homare Arisugawa: an eccentric professor to his core; his studies range from urban to agrarian, sprawling across fields and topics, but his passion project lies in developing ocular implants that can read micro-expressions on the fly, allowing its owner to identify and record people's emotional reactions easily.

Azuma Yukishiro: the face of the biotech divison, he works closely with Mankai's clients to help them find the perfect cybernetics for their personal needs. He also often gleans information and gossip from his endless well of unsuspecting acquaintances and old contacts, passing them on to Kaga for their missions.

Guy: a friend of Citron's from his homeland; extensively cybernetically augmented after a major accident years ago, he claims to be more machine than human by this point. Ostensibly Homare's research assistant, he is a field agent for Kaga, equally skilled in hacking as he is in hand-to-hand combat.

[in-tua-deep]

How do you think things would have changed if Five has come back even younger than in canon? Like if he came back as 7 or 8 or even younger? Also, I love your writing. You’re an amazing writer and I love reading your stuff.

first of all that would be hilarious because as much as media has tricked you into thinking older child actors (who are easier to work with) are younger (I mean case in point, Five is supposed to be thirteen but the actor is fifteen and those two years can make a big difference at that age) or animated movies can’t decide on a size for their character, but for real seven-year-olds in real life are BABIES

that’s like. the equivalent of a second grader?? I think i was about to go into year three living in the netherlands. I thought the year six kids were ancient. I didn’t care about bodily harm and would just hurl myself into cartwheels and handstands (nowadays not so much)

That was about the age I was losing teeth for the Very First Time and also the age I almost gave myself a concussion playing on the playground equipment (I blacked out and woke up in the nurses office lmao) and I thought the singing talents of Sandy from Hamtaro were the greatest in the world (the twirling ribbon song was formative for me)

seven was also the age for me that i realized that romance was The Worst because my best friend george decided that the pulling pigtails version of bugging me was a sure fire way to get my attention or something like that. but like,, george and me had chicken pox together. we pretended we were cheetahs in our treetop bunkbed nest together (we had a very loose grasp of the difference between cheetahs and jaguars and other big cats, admittedly). He was my best friend he didn’t need to pull my hair or anything rip

like can you even IMAGINE if five came back as a second grader?? yeah like maybe someone would serve thirteen-year-old Five black coffee but no one is going to just hand this baby child anything with caffeine are you kidding me

his feet wouldn’t even be able to reach the peDALS OF THE CAR

wow this would inconvenience him so much

i can’t even find a picture of my brother that young smh but here’s him and me when he was? probably about nine or ten and I was actually probably about six and smiling with a closed mouth to hide the fact that i was missing teeth or something smh

that is TWO WHOLE BABIES right there i’m just genuinely dying at the thought of Five popping out and he’s just. a gradeschooler. that suit would have been swimming on him and he’s got little chubby cheeks built to absorb shock and whatever atrocious child haircut he had at that age 

(i have posted before about my genuine shock that five was ten in the comics. ten!! that’s a whole baby! a child! W H A T)

but?? does he pop up from jumping through his portal and look in the mirror and find that he’s missing some teeth? Can he whistle air through the gaps? i’m just picturing seven-year-old five getting socked in the face and losing some teeth or something and diego is right there to patronizingly tell him that it’s okay they’re probably just baby teeth and five is about to punch diego’s teeth out in a second if he keeps that up by jove

imagine five jumping and standing on the counter and he still can’t reach the marshmallows because they’re on the top shelf of the cupboard do you know how angry that would make him?? he would have about 60% less time for his siblings bullshit than normal because his small stature can only hold so much emotion at any one time and he has decided to go with seething rage for the foreseeable future

can you imagine how difficult that would be for Allison though?? Five at thirteen was bad but Five-at-around-Claire’s-age??? a billion times worse and she’s probably going to either be super avoidant because it’s painful or full on protective mama bear

it would definitely change a lot of plot stuff because i mean. no one’s going to let this tiny child drive. he can’t reach the pedals, duh. however, he might persuade one of the siblings (diego and klaus, probably) to drive him to griddy’s instead? Because with the options being “so help me i will walk there myself. alone. at night. as a small and innocent looking child” and driving him and keeping him company i think the latter wins out

(i’d nix griddy’s altogether but i’m way too invested in hazel and agnes getting together tbh)

hey wait does being that young mean that five doesn’t have his umbrella tattoo?? huh. well regardless if diego and klaus accompany him then the plot point of agnes telling the assassin squad about the tattoo can still happen so i guess it’s a moot point

but honestly the drama of having this tiny child just. completely annihilate the hit squad is hilarious to me, and it would also hit home the fact that hey! five might be telling the truth about everything and isn’t messed up by time travel! i mean whomst the fuck else would walk into a room and zero in on the seven-year-old no one else knows exists or is assumed dead by literally the whole ass world (and even if they didn’t he’s supposed to be 29) and demand he come with them and shit like man

Klaus: hey five what do you have

Five, stabbing his own arm to take the tracking device out: a knife

Diego: NO

other fun points include: the siblings bodily picking five up and five behaving like a very aggressive small breed of dog while simultaneously being super touch-starved and secretly appreciating being carried but would never admit it (whilst sober that is)

either they kept the old uniforms and five wears that or they have to scrounge up whatever they can find which means that five is dressed in some of claire’s clothes allison found stuffed in the bottom of her suitcase until they can go shopping and i’m not sure which is better tbh

hazel and cha-cha assuming that five is actually either diego or klaus bc those were the two adults in the coffee shop with the umbrella tattoo and eventually being confronted with the fact that their legendary adversary is a gradeschooler

five just being. so tired. all the time. my bedtime at seven years old was probably like. 8:30PM. kids need a lot of sleep!! so just five trying to keep himself awake because he has important stuff to do!! but doing the nod and bob because he can’t keep his eyes open

the trying-to-be-helpful but mildly-condescending strangers who stop five or talk down to him increase by tenfold. Teenagers out an about on the street along? eh. a seven-year-old? five is going to get so many concerns “where are your parents, sweetheart?” that he IS going to snap and kill a well meaning middle aged woman in the middle of the street

in a similar note the number of people who assume that he is the child of whatever sibling he happens to be in proximity to also increases tenfold and five does Not Appreciate This (and neither do half the siblings tbh bc now they have to pretend that they are responsible for this tiny feral child)

“FUCK” five says, loudly, prompting gasps from the delicate natured passerbys. 

“you can’t fucking say that, dude, you’re like. a baby.” klaus says, equally loudly and making everyone in earshot 70% more scandalized

“I am not associated with them” diego informs the masses with an edge of desperation

luther is just. so massive next to this tiny version of five. he could hold him in like, one hand. and maybe luther at one point was really good with kids but with his new body he’s awkward and it’s very sad

no one bats an eye at child Five toting an Entire Half of a Mannequin that is probably as big as he is around. Billy’s kid is currently emotionally attached to a brick he found in the alley behind his school. Gertie’s granddaughter refuses to leave the house without an old sock filled with pebbles tucked under her arm. Gary’s stepkid found a piece of driftwood on the beach and now it’s in their bed every night. Kids are weird and at least Five’s has a face for him to talk to i guess??

instead of luther threatening dolores he just looks at five with this gun that is way too big for him to have a hold of really and just. reaches out and scoops five up under his armpits and he’s just furiously wiggling and growling and luther is like “nope not putting you down until we agree that murder is not a solution”

every interaction with the handler is probably about 112% more creepy honestly but also what about the job?? either five a) gets an appropriately child sized desk like the ones you find in an actual gradeschool or b) he gets some kind of boosterseat for his chair and just has to sit at this desk that is comically oversized for him

the squad go to a restaurant and the server brings over the menus and hands five a children’s menu. without a word klaus just plucks it from five’s hands and substitutes it for his own because they have been kicked out of six whole restaurants and he is willing to eat the children’s chicken nugget meal if he had to god damn it

the apocalypse doesn’t happen because vanya is literally incapable of hurting a grade schooler right in front of her regardless of how pissed off at her family in general she is. that is a whole child. vanya works with children for her job. she can’t hurt an entire child in front of her?? like she can destroy the world and all the abstract children but this one child right in front of her? who is also her long lost brother and former sole confidant as children who wasn’t there for any of the general bullshit she just went through?? not so much

but like. even after the stop the apocalypse there’s still the issue of what to do with this entire child. like at least as a teenager five would be able to be somewhat independent but seven-year-old five can’t reach the sink to wash his hands without a step stool 

just the squad coming together to look after five without quite letting five know that’s what they’re doing because they don’t want to wake up to a knife in their chest or anything smh

five and claire meet and become an unstoppable duo of terror. patrick is an actually competent parent who is so exhausted 24/7 from raising his daughter that he just accepts five immediately because?? his brother-in-law being a time travelling 58-year-old in the body of a grade schooler who is partially feral from over forty years alone and probably has untreated ptsd? okay might as well happen

patrick “i didn’t trust allison with a child and yet i still trust her way more than the rest of you so i’m going to schedule five a doctor’s appointment or something because god knows he’s probably not up to date on his vaccinations and he’s hanging around claire and i doubt any of y’all even thought about that” hargreeves

the hargreeves all go to an amusement park as a family bonding activity. the mistake becomes clear when it’s revealed that five is too short to go on half the rides. the resulting meltdown gets them all kicked out and Diego just has five tossed over his shoulder still hurling insults at the ride attendant as they hoof it out of there

the family has to figure out everywhere they can go within walking distance because there’s still a cold war going on between allison and five over whether he has to be in a booster seat for any car rides or not

it’s basically just shenanigans with the family and five trying to figure out how to coexist and compromise and also look after one another when it’s been every man for themself pretty much all their lives

[perspective-series]

A Third Perspective (14)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Slight fear and Deceit

(Check the reblog for the links to the previous chapters!)

 Patton groaned as he was once again leaning on a bag of ice. He hated the changing between both of them. Even the hot pack was starting to not be comfortable anymore. “How much more of this do I have to do?” He asked Logan.

 “Well, if you’re no longer feeling a change, the treatment may have run its course and we may stop for the evening.” Logan glanced at his phone. “In fact, that would be wise, as it is almost time for me to head to class.”

 Relief flooded Patton’s features before he frowned. “Wait, class?”

 “Anatomy and Physiology,” Logan said off-handedly, reaching for Patton.

 Patton squeaked as he saw the hand approach, trying to scoot away. “W-Wait!”

 Logan paused, looking at the borrower. “Are your injuries flaring up again?” Logan had thought that the treatment was finished and that Patton would once again be well enough for transportation.

 “Well-Well no, but, can’t I stay here? Or at the very least, could you not...grab me?” Patton asked, squirming at the thought of being picked up like that again.

 “Would that help alleviate your stress levels?” Logan asked.

 Patton wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but he nodded anyway.

 “Very well.” Logan set his palm down next to Patton instead.

 Patton once again sighed in relief and smiled, getting into the hand like before. But thankfully without an injured shoulder this time.

 Logan moved Patton all of four feet, bringing his hand to rest awkwardly at the bottom of the large beaker still sitting on the counter.

 Patton blinked, not getting off of the hand. “W-What are you doing?” He asked.

 “I thought you wanted to stay here.” Logan reminded him.

 “I-I mean, yeah, but I uh...would rather not be trapped, ya know?” Patton said, looking up at Logan with a sudden worry.

 “Well, considering I still lack more suitable accommodations, I figured this was the best course of action,” Logan explained. “It should still allow adequate circulation and shelter for the time being.”

 “Well, uh, you know what else is good shelter and...the other thing? This nifty apartment that I’m already inside of.” Patton said, motioning all around him.

 “Well, it’s actually a bit drafty in here.” Logan glanced around at the walls. “But more importantly, it would be illogical to leave you to your own devices while I was away. Especially given your injured state. It would certainly be unfortunate if you got yourself into trouble and got even more grievous injuries.”

 “I wouldn’t get into trouble…” Patton mumbled. But at least Logan’s reasoning for trying to get him in this glass thing was for safety. “How about I just go with you then? That way you don’t have to be so worried about me and you can focus on class better!”

 Logan pondered this idea. The only danger that Virgil had faced while in the pocket had been Roman, and an incident like that could be prevented with better vigilance on Logan’s part. If it truly made the borrower more comfortable, perhaps it would be alright to bring Patton along. After all, he certainly preferred Patton’s complacent attitude to Virgil’s accusatory one any day of the week.

 “Very well then.” Logan lifted his hand out of the glass container, instead lifting it so that it was next to the entrance of his pocket. “Pocket it is.” With his other hand he gently grabbed Patton’s sides, lifting him up and then into the pocket.

 Patton squirmed a bit when he felt his sides being pinched and him being lifted, but stopped as he was placed in the pocket. He sat up slightly but was mostly leaning against the fabric. He hadn’t been able to really focus on the pocket earlier, having been too scared. But without fear playing a part, he had to admit it wasn’t bad. In fact, “wow, it’s comfy in here!”

 Logan gave a small chuckle, not expecting that response. Once again, so different from the response he had received from Virgil. He gathered up his bag, careful to place the strap so that it wasn’t overlaying Patton. Logan walked through the rooms of his apartment, double checking that he had everything necessary for class.

 “Alright, I’m heading out.” Logan informed Patton, heading to the door.

 “Okay!” He settled down, noticing for the first time how a steady beat played on his right. It took Patton a second to realize it was Logan’s heartbeat. Huh, weird.

 Logan sent a brief glance to the stairwell going up, wondering if perhaps Roman was home yet. Unfortunately, there was no time to check. Logan would just have to investigate after class. Logan instead headed out to his car, taking the short trip back to the University. He walked into the Biology building, heading for the second floor.

 “Good afternoon, Logan.” Dr. Dee’s voice stopped Logan in his tracks. “Back again, I see.” Heart pounding, Logan turned to face him, trying not to think about how inconspicuous Patton may look on the outline of his chest.

 Patton blinked at the shift in heartbeat, how it started to go faster. The borrower frowned, that was weird. Was something wrong?

 “Ah, yes.” Logan nodded. “I’m just on my way to anatomy, sir.”

 “I always enjoyed my anatomy courses.” Dee took a sip of his coffee mug, despite the fact it was well into the afternoon. “Do they have you dissecting cats yet?”

 “No, not for another month.” Logan explained. “We’re still in the exposition phase of the course.”

 “That’s a shame.” The doctor made a tut-tut sound with his tongue. “Science is no fun until you get some hands-on experience.”

 “Absolutely, sir.” Logan readily agreed, barely paying attention.

 “But!” Dee clapped Logan on the shoulder, giving him a cheshire cat grin. “I’m sure you’ll get your hands dirty soon, eh? Chin up, there’s plenty of science to go around for those who keep our heads.”

 “Yes, sir.” Logan ducked out from underneath Dee’s grasp. “In that case, I best be going, sir.”

 “Keep a watch out for the fairy folk!” The professor called after him before laughing at his own joke. Logan hurried his pace along, not looking back.

 Patton couldn’t help but listen in to the conversation, only to find his eyes going wide and his body start to shake. Science? Fairy folk? Dissection? Wh-Why were they talking about that stuff? It couldn’t be true that Logan was...was a scientist. Right?

 Maybe he had misunderstood the conversation. Or had even misheard it! Yeah…

 Logan greeted his anatomy professor, taking his seat at the front of the class. Throughout the period he took his extensive notes as per usual, but his heart wasn’t in it. His second encounter with the Dean had him frazzled, concerned for Patton’s wellbeing as long as they were in this building. Unfortunately, this was going to be a common occurrence, as Logan had many classes held here. He was a biology student, after all.

 Logan sighed, laying his head in his hand and allowing his eyes to wander around the room as he became lost in his thoughts. Why couldn’t Patton have stayed in the apartment? Granted, the beaker was a bit cramped, but it could do in a pinch. Unfortunately, even if Patton had agreed to it Logan still needed another solution. Once he had Virgil back, the beaker wasn’t big enough for both to reside, and Logan would be forced to bring one along to class regardless. If only Logan had better accommodations. Something that would be comfortable enough for both borrowers without Logan having to worry about them in class…

 Logan’s eyes locked on a solution sitting at the back of the room. Once the idea was planted in his head, he couldn’t shake it. Sure, it was a bit demeaning, but it would certainly get the job done. It was just what Logan needed. He waited until after class, when most of the students had filed out, to approach his teacher about it.

 “Excuse me, professor?” Logan spoke up. “Do you know if that cage is part of the regular equipment circulation?”

 Patton’s thoughts had been preoccupied the entire class period. His mind going through the conversation he overheard over and over and trying to work around it in a way that would mean Logan wasn’t a scientist. Unfortunately, it hadn’t seemed to be working.

 And then, he heard Logan speak again and his eyes widened. W-Why was Logan asking about a cage?

 “What, that old thing?” The professor scoffed. “I haven’t seen anybody touch it since I’ve been here. I’m sure you could just take it.”

 “That’s not what I asked…!” Logan trailed off, watching the professor leave the room to head to another class. He sighed, looking back at the cage. Logan approached it. This would be tricky, considering he still had to be cautious of Patton in his pocket. Thankfully the cage proved to be lighter than it looked, and Logan was able to hold it to the side of his body with moderate success. He began to hobble out into the hall and down the stairs, back towards his car.

 “Logan?” Logan sighed, once again stopped by the Dean’s voice. Didn’t he have important business to attend to? It usually took Logan a few days to find a time to meet with him, and yet now it seemed Dr. Dee had a few hours to spend just drinking coffee and spiking Logan’s anxiety. “Where are you going with that cage?”

 “I apologize.” Logan winced. “I was informed that this was up for the taking-”

 “Oh, it is.” Dr. Dee folded his arms, walking over. “Well, it might be. If you have a good reason for taking it. See, I don’t like watching things go to waste.”

 “Agreed.” Logan found he actually agreed with the doctor, surprisingly. “Don’t worry, I’ll be putting it to good use.”

 “Doing what, exactly?” Dr. Dee sidestepped to block Logan’s path. Logan gulped.

 “...All scientists are entitled to their secrets?” Logan recited, quoting the response Dr. Dee had famously written when answering inquiries about the origins of his master thesis.

 “Using my own words against me.” Dr. Dee’s eyes narrowed, but he had a small grin of amusement. “Well played, Logan Sanders.” Logan nodded, continuing on his way once the professor stepped aside.

 “I just hope you remember there are no secrets kept in my master’s program.” Dr. Dee’s tone was a bit more sinister. Logan had no response; how could he? Was he being threatened? Was this just another aspect of the Dean’s unpredictable personality?

 Instead, Logan pretended as though he had not caught this last line, briskly walking the rest of the way to his car. He placed the cage in the backseat before revving up the engine, breathing a small sigh of relief.

[arthurhwalker]

Lenovo TechWorld 2019

Disclosure: I attended Lenovo TechWorld 2019 in Beijing as Lenovo’s Guest. I sat in a super fan / brand advocate seat, and attended in that capacity. Lenovo asks that, as part of my participation, I follow all FTC disclosure laws relative to sponsored content. All opinions are my own.

Disclosure: I consumed the majority of Lenovo TechWorld 2019 via an earbud, translators working hard to turn Chinese into English on the other end. Something may have gotten lost in the translation, and I’ve tried my best to get clarity in those cases where I suspect that happened.

Lenovo HQ Tour - Day Zero

The tour wasn’t what I was expecting. It was definitely a marketing experience, designed to influence influencers and the media. It was well produced, had something for everyone, and a little more.

I write extensively about identity and digital identity in my speculative science fiction series. I’ve read Derek Parfit’s work, and Christine M. Korsgaard’s “Self-Constitution”. The philosophical implications of identity are something I’ve explored in great depth. To that end, Lenovo may be one of a precious few tech companies looking to empower (as opposed to exploit) the user, via their identity.

In philosophy, whenever someone is merely a means in the process of your decision making, you’re probably a jerk, or in the process of acting like one. Lenovo sees a person’s identity as more than a means to create markets for themselves, and is looking through the eyes of the user for how they would relate to potential markets instead.

When I stepped into Lenovo’s unmanned employee store, using my face, it sort of hit home what they were wanting to do. The store had a curious assortment of snacks, food, and drinks. Were the contents curated based on the patronage? I wished I’d asked, but I suspect that’s the cases. Instead of a marketing edifice trying desperately to contrive demand, the store felt more like the corner market that served a neighborhood.

It was an odd sensation to have in a high tech store that didn’t have personnel, but still had personality. That of the folks that shopped there, perhaps? There was the quick bite to eat for lunch, necessities people might grab to avoid a trip to the market on the way home, and the afternoon snack. Nothing was arranged to market the goods in a specific way. It felt more like a community pantry that had contents aggregated over time, to suit the needs of the patrons.

I haven’t had that sensation since I was a young person, standing in the corner market of an old neighborhood where some of my extended family dwelled. That’s where the familiarity ended, though.

In China, commerce is just handled differently. On the outside, it feels a little impersonal to use WeChat or Alipay on your phone to make a transaction. However, I saw the flip side, while I was shopping at Lenovo’s pop up store at the TechWorld venue. They had a Lenovo Legion backpack I wanted (well, needed. It was red!), but I didn’t have WeChat set up to pay, or enough cash.

Nevertheless, the young woman helping me was determined to make the transaction happen. The other employees gathered around, and we talked it over. In the end, she became the handler in the exchange. I gave her the money using Alipay, and she used her WeChat to complete the transaction at the point of sale. This sort of economic decentralization happens at the user level in China.

Having based my book series around a global fiscal collapse, it was interesting to see how Lenovo (and to some degree, China) is making sure the future I’m somewhat afraid of, never happens. Where technology doesn’t reach all the way to the ground, to the common person, it will generally either fail at best, or at worst, exploit the common person.

There were other demonstrations of this notion in the home, and workplace, throughout the tour. The extreme care taken to make sure Lenovo’s products don’t interfere with the user, or their other devices shed light on why I keep buying from them. From a very high developmental level, Lenovo’s products put the user first.

TechWorld - Day 1: Commercial

During the commercial keynote, there was a lot of marketing babble, buzzwords, and hype. It was hard to pick out the gems, the bits that really will resonate in the industry. This is to be expected whenever a company goes large on the stage to sell themselves. This isn't criticism of Lenovo, it's a realization of all that is at stake.

Lenovo wants to change China, and by virtue of that, influence change in the rest of the world.

Lenovo has realized what many companies in the West have not. Decentralizing processes, beside transparent data acquisition, has tremendous potential. This is particularly true for countries with large populations. Each person represents an opportunity to create or serve particular markets.

The assumption is that automation will take jobs from humans, and give them to robots. That edge computing will make people in the field obsolete. I don’t think that is the case. Lenovo has seen that the optimization of processes is one of the last ways technology can improve the profits of companies, while helping preserve the environment. We don’t need less people and more robots, we need more efficient processes underlying the work done by both man and machine.

This is marketable both for companies that want to go greener by reducing waste, while saving money on power consumption. The sum of that vision rests with edge computing built on system agnostic, easy to produce hardware, with software to match. So that data acquisition isn't reliant on crafting new products for each industry.

During the first day I wondered if this approach would trickle down to the regular consumer, with edge computing coming to the home. People already struggle to trust that technology in their homes. Lenovo understands that anxiety; from toggles on webcams, to the hardware switches on microphone-equipped smart home devices.  

They intend to start building that trust by using block-chain to track the food supply in China. If they can make the delivery of necessities in China safer, people will learn to trust the technology. In the United States, there is deep distrust of anything resembling this kind of data acquisition. Worldwide, trust is often the barrier to reaching out to better industry practices and economic models.

If Lenovo pulls it off in China, a billion people on the planet will be closer to trusting the decentralization of data, and data acquisition, via edge computing. The counter argument is that it all requires data centers, something on the other side of the edge computing bridge from the Internet of Things. Something to manage that data acquisition, that isn’t necessarily transparent to end users, outside of the institutional control of said data centers.

I know the above paragraphs looks like a lot of buzzwords and technobabble, but decentralizing data will lead to the democratization of technology, economies, and greater control of one’s personal data. The reason underlying this is that Lenovo is using open source type hardware (ARM) and software (Linux) in their edge computing solutions.

I would be the first to point out that this is likely by necessity as opposed to genuinely held benevolent intent if not for a conversation with Lenovo’s Chief Communications Officer, Torod Neptune. I was, perhaps, a little more vocal during the round table than I should have been, but I wanted to know where Lenovo really stood. If their push for the democratization of technology would be inclusive to all people. Mister Neptune assured me that it was, and that the notion was at the top of their ethics hierarchy.

I’m very skeptical when it comes to the good intentions of corporations. If you’ve read my speculative science fiction series, I do not cast corporations, or the government entities responsible for regulating them, in a very good light. I designed the series during the Occupy Wall Street movement. I spent some of the trip looking for where Lenovo had deviated from what Torod Neptune was pitching at the meeting with him. I see problems in the industry, but Lenovo isn’t at the root of them, and they may even swing things the other way at the commercial and institutional level.

That said, Lenovo has some challenges where inclusive access to technology is concerned.

TechWorld - Day 2: Consumer, Small Business, Consultancy

The second day was full of epic wins, and some missteps. Lenovo seemed conflicted, sending a mixed message on stage. I’ll break it down as best as I can.

The Good: There was talk of making technology more democratic, edge computing in the residential consumer market, bespoke cloud services, and access to technology, artificial intelligence, and data privacy for people with special needs. The decentralization of the Internet is the next step, the next big thing, and Lenovo is keenly aware of this. They understand that the market for such is emerging, regardless, and that there is an opportunity for every single person in that market.

The narrative from day one, about leveraging AI, smart data center management, and edge computing data acquisition would trickle down to the average user of tech in the home, and on the street. Lenovo’s message wasn’t that they were creating that market, but that they were ready to provide products thereof, almost like it was an evolutionary imperative that they were merely ready for.

I didn’t think much of the Thinkbook and Thinkplus line until I understood it a little better and who it is being marketed to. If you want to start your own global tech consultancy with automated customer care, and a small office staff, Lenovo is trying to provide hardware, and language translation support to that end. They are making big things for the little guy, and I approve.

The Bad: The second day was sprinkled with casual sexism, with a decidedly male-focused keynote, then capped off with Lenovo announcing a very respectful sponsorship of the Chinese Women’s Volleyball Team. I clapped, I cringed, I wanted to cry, and for various reasons. I feel like a few product managers and executives hadn’t gotten Torod Neptune’s memo about inclusivity.

Others, thankfully, were on point.

Lenovo is far from the only tech company grappling with these issues. Stating that there are many attractive females employed in a particular division of the company shouldn’t be an acceptable means to sell product. The message delivered for Thinkbook, and Thinkplus, were that they were “The Young Man” of the workplace, looking to start his consultancy, or small business venture. That he’d have hardware options for himself, and his female assistant.

The appeal of the Thinkbook / Plus product lines transcends gender, and the marketing should have reflected that. That women were excluded as customers during the keynote was a mistake. Hopefully, when those products start reaching the US, Lenovo doesn’t continue the tragic narrative put forward at TechWorld.

The two women they put on the stage as product managers were there, as directed by the man leading the keynote. One was the product manager for the Yoga Book 2, or Yoga Book C930 as it is also called. I’d have really liked to see her up there by herself, pitching the product, without a guy as the conversational prompt.

It’s important to note that what I saw is not the trend at Lenovo. They released their 2nd annual Diversity and Inclusion report a few days after Techworld. Lenovo’s workforce is 36.2 percent female, up 1.2 percent from 2018.

Traditionally under-represented racial and ethnic groups are on the rise in the executive ranks in the U.S. workforce, at 27.4 percent. Lenovo wants to make it 28 percent by 2020.

When I attended CES earlier this year, I was able to sit in at a conference, hosted by Lenovo, for women in the tech industry to meet and discuss the challenges they face in the workforce. It is these things that stand in contrast to what I saw on stage at TechWorld in China. Definitely, I’ll be paying close attention to whether Lenovo pushes the needle toward inclusion, and equity.

In that, I am hopeful.

Conclusion: TechWorld 2019 Overview

Getting to see the connected narrative of days one and two between artificial intelligence, data acquisition, and edge computing was something I needed. I don’t think people in the consumer market understand the influence of these things in their daily lives, and as a result, are afraid of those influences.

Sadly, companies like Google and Amazon do an excellent job of making it worse by lacking transparency in their data acquisition in a residential setting.

Lenovo talked about GPU virtualization in the cloud during the Day 1 Keynote. I’m giddy at all the possible applications thereof. I hope one day to have an extremely thin and light drawing tablet in hand, 5G connected, that can handle commercial applications, rendering done quickly in the cloud. The primary barrier to that being a reality, is trust.  

Lenovo has a genuine opportunity to change the narrative at an industry level if they can make data collection via edge computing transparent, and democratic. Will Lenovo hold to that narrative? It starts with the people making decisions within, and there is every indication that Lenovo is struggling to move in that direction, in all markets.

That said, there is a genuine effort at high levels of the company to that end.

Thanks for reading.

For More TechWorld 2019 coverage, check out these other Lenovo Insiders, and the Hashtag #LenovoTechWorld #LenovoIN

Adam Fowler

https://twitter.com/AdamFowler_IT

https://www.adamfowlerit.com/

Onica Cupido

https://twitter.com/OnicaCupido

Vernon Chan

https://twitter.com/vernieman

https://vernonchan.com/

Lawrence Mann

https://twitter.com/LAWRENCEcanDRAW

https://www.youtube.com/LAWRENCEcanDRAW

And, our friends from the Lenovo Champions ;-D

https://www.instagram.com/tecnolaura/

https://www.youtube.com/technikfaultier

https://twitter.com/TecnoLocura

https://www.instagram.com/leotechmaker/

[djservicebozemanmt-blog]

Booking A DJ - What To Look For & Why?

joesdj.com

The single most usual concern that DJs are asked in the initial instance is "Just how much are you?" Currently every person likes value for money, but you have not even asked what solution they offer yet! Regardless of the common picture of mobile DJs being all the same, we are really different in our method to the work, as well as services can differ by some distance from DJ to DJ. If you get on a limited budget plan of say, $125, after that your option will certainly be restricted and also you might end up with a newbie or somebody with obtained and also messy devices.

Always appealing too is letting a friend 'take a crack at' ... a recipe for a vacant dancing flooring and a full bar! Cost-cutting is multiplied two-fold when talking of a wedding party. Not just one of the most essential day of your lives, however a day where you have actually most likely spent $500 on a cake, $2000 on gowns as well as matches and also unimaginable quantities on food and also beverage ... looks like incorrect economic climate to skimp on the largest part of the entire day, the event.

In short, do not simply reserve your DJ on rate!

A real professional or semi-professional DJ will certainly have invested years getting their songs, discovering exactly how to develop a dancing flooring ambience, be completely acquainted in wedding celebration etiquette as well as have a set to be proud of.

To offer you some concept of values, to employ a really basic DJ set-up (2 audio speakers, amplifier, CD decks, mixer and 2 light impacts) sets you back $100 per evening from my regional nightclub center. Add to that somebody's working time (6 hours on average) as well as take a trip prices, etc, you start to understand just how useful a professional DJ can be for your occasion ...

For weddings, aim to pay between $300 - $450 for a 7pm-12am solution. Birthday parties, wedding anniversaries, etc may be cheaper as they are less stress as well as usually shorter hours.

The Style & Web content

It appears so apparent to claim it yet I'm mosting likely to anyhow ... attempt to see your DJ in action prior to you book them. If it's not convenient, then listen from good friends that have actually witnessed the DJ's talents before. After all, recommendation is still the very best advert for any type of act.

It's always a truly good concept to talk at length with your potential DJ regarding your own songs tastes and what you get out of them on the night. Ask them looking inquiries about the sort of things they play, whether they take requests, just how they suggest to start/finish the process, that example. A DJ worth his salt will certainly pay attention intently and take onboard every one of your concepts, often suggesting choices to points he thinks might not work.

If you're theming the evening's entertainment, ensure your DJ knows beforehand ... this way he can be certain to lug the ideal songs for the celebration, such as a 70's & 80's Event or a Heart Evening. It also provides him a chance to pass the job on if the genre you pick is not his speciality. The even more contemporary DJs are additionally inclined to avoid playing uniqueness records, such as the Birdie Song as well as Superman. If you desire these consisted of (as well as you want to sit on the flooring as well as paddle an imaginary boat ...) it's ideal to examine first!

The DJ Gear

As every one of my DJ coworkers know, this is my soapbox topic!

So many times I have experienced DJs assembling some of the least expensive and also scruffiest gear you can visualize ... tossing it loosely on a folding table, wires tracking almost everywhere and also speakers hardly with the ability of audible sound ... and also yet still charging $300 an evening! They must wear a mask! In this day as well as age, the range of tools offered to us is incredible, and also at extremely affordable costs for good top quality; there are no excuses for a DJ's equipment looking or appearing negative in the 21st Century.

Right, tirade over ... without going also technological, advantages to seek are overhanging lights (nightclub-style relocating lights), audio speakers on stands (elevates the audio over the crowd to forecast it across the entire room) and a neat phase area set-up. Cables need to be stashed anywhere feasible and also the much better professional DJs have a classy cover or starcloth to surround their stand. When playing, the noise needs to be crystal clear on the dance flooring, both with music and the DJ's spoken voice.

In some circumstances the audio will not travel well to the rear of the space, however this can be as a result of the place's acoustics and not really a problem as guests will invariably desire someplace to conversation. A lot of DJs have a sound system to cater for up to 150 individuals pleasantly. If your DJ is not accustomed to your recommended venue, request that he takes a look beforehand, particularly if you have 200+ night guests. Quite often I have actually seen tiny amplifiers pressed to their maximum trying to supply to a large space ... and also it doesn't sound positive!

Finally on the technical side, a multitude of places nowadays are firmly insisting the DJs have both Public Liability Insurance and a certification of safety (RUB) for their electrical equipment.

The Business End ...

Once you have actually selected your DJ for the night, inquire for an agreement to authorize as well as concur a down payment (if one is not already requested). See to it you have actually listed all of your songs requirements and arrival/ending times to make sure that there is no complication on the day. I would also recommend a courtesy call a week prior to the occasion if your DJ hasn't called you, just to touch base and reaffirm details.

Mobile DJs have actually experienced a bad press for many years, when actually it's a really tiny minority of cowboys who let the side down. The majority of are hard-working, diligent music-lovers that will certainly offer you an evening to bear in mind! joesdj.com

[razieltwelve]

Exam (Final Rose)

“Is this really necessary?” Ruby grumbled.

Vanille smiled sunnily. “Yes, Ruby, it is. As the future of the hunting community, it is imperative that we ensure you students are in the best of health. As the foremost medical practitioner on Remnant, it is up to me to give each of you a brief medical examination.”

Ruby’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Are you sure this isn’t just an excuse to dress Professor Cuddles up as a doctor?”

Professor Cuddles gave an adorable squeak from a nearby table and reached up to adjust the miniature stethoscope he had. He was also wearing a tiny doctor’s outfit. Vanille shook her head. “Of course not. Seeing Professor Cuddle dressed up like a doctor is simply a happy coincidence.”

“I guess…”

“If you’re not comfortable with my doing the examination,” Vanille said. “I do have several assistants who are all ridiculously qualified too.”

“No,” Ruby said at last. “I don’t mind you doing it.” At least she knew Vanille. “But can you tell me the real reason we’re having these examinations?”

“Basically, puberty is a really important time for people with large Auras. Not only do a host of Aura-related changes occur but they are also coupled with physical changes. Most of the time, everything goes well. However, there are times when things can get a bit dicey. It’s my job to catch anything like that before it becomes a problem. Taking regular notes about your abilities is also important since it allows us to track your improvement.”

“That does make sense,” Ruby conceded. “So how am I doing?”

Vanille rubbed her chin. “Well, you’ve probably noticed that you’ve been going through a lot of changes lately.” Ruby blinked, and Vanille gestured at her chest. “You know, like that.”

“Ah.” Ruby blushed furiously. She had definitely started to fill out over the past several months, adding more womanly curves as she shot up several inches in height. “I’m taller too.”

“Yep. Now, this sort of thing isn’t too unusual. For whatever reason, it’s not uncommon for people with certain Semblances to not develop physically at the same rate as their peers. But once a certain threshold is met, they go through a period of accelerated development. You seem to be one of them.”

“But why does that happen?” Ruby sighed. “Yang never went through anything like this.”

“We still don’t understand why only some Semblances do this, but in most cases it’s because the Semblances has to do a whole lot of extra work first. In your case, your Semblance had to make massive changes to your neurological and perceptual systems, so all of your body’s energy and growth went into that.”

“Really?”

“Ruby, you can currently move fast enough to dodge bullets, but you can somehow stay aware of and respond to your surroundings without making any mistakes. Do you have any idea how crazy that is?”

“Well, my Semblance wouldn’t be much good if I could move super faster but my reflexes were normal.”

“Exactly. So instead of you growing taller and doing all that other stuff, your Semblance was busy working on changing your brain and everything else. Now that it’s got a lot of the hard work out of the way, you’re starting to shoot up like a weed. I expect the same sort of thing will happen to Diana. Once Ragnarok has the transformation all streamlined and smoothed out, she won’t be such a ragamuffin. She’ll look even more like Fang than she already does.”

“Does that mean Weiss will get taller too?”

Vanille laughed. “Nope. I’ve studied the genetics of several families with inheritable Semblances. There doesn’t tend to be too much deviation from the mean with regards to physical abilities. Weiss might get a tad taller, but she’s never going to be as tall as Yang or Blake, or you for that matter.”

Ruby nodded slowly and then gave Vanille a solemn look. “Don’t ever tell her that.”

“I won’t. If she’s lucky she might, maybe, match her sister, Winter, in height, but I’m not sure she’ll get there.” Vanille continued to poke and prod Ruby while taking readings. To Ruby amazement, Professor Cuddles appeared to be taking notes of some kind on a scroll, hopping over the device to enter details. “Now, is there anything you want to tell me about? You have been going through a lot of changes, and there’s only so much my equipment can tell me. It’s your body. You can tell me if you’ve noticed anything strange going on.”

“Hmm…” Ruby pursed her lips. “Sometimes… sometimes it’s like the world is moving in slow motion. Most of the time, it’s just for a moment or two, but sometimes, it goes for a bit longer.”

“And it goes back to normal when you focus?” Ruby nodded, and Vanille smiled. “Then don’t worry. What you’re getting are perceptual side effects from your Semblance. Basically, since you need to be able to perceive everything in slow motion when you have your Semblance on, it’s sometimes going to happen even with your Semblance off. It should ease off as you get used to your Semblance’s evolution. If it’s still happening in a couple of months, let me know.”

“I will.” Ruby grinned. “So… what’s the weirdest thing you ever found in an examination?”

Vanille rubbed her chin. “Obviously, I can’t name any names, but I did have one Faunus a while back who actually grew a tail during puberty.”

“They grew a tail?”

“Yeah. Now some Faunus have tails and some don’t, but it’s pretty rare for someone to grow a tail during puberty. In all my years of practicing, I’ve seen only seen it happen twice. Normally, a Faunus will have their tail from birth.” Vanille chuckled. “They were convinced they’d damaged their spine on a mission or something. We had to get a lot of their clothes fixed up, but they got used to it pretty quickly.” She got Ruby to sit down. “Can you open your mouth, please?”

Ruby opened her mouth.

“Now, if you’re wondering why we do this, it’s mostly a holdover from the checkups we give Faunus since some form of dental development is not unusual during puberty. You’re not a Faunus, so I doubt we’ll find anything.” Vanille paused. “Although…”

“What is it?” Ruby managed to say.

“You really shouldn’t skip out on brushing your teeth before bed if you’re going to eat cookies, Ruby.” Vanille lifted another one of her instruments. “You’ve got a cavity on one of your upper left molars.”

“A cavity?” Ruby was aghast. “Does that mean I have to get a filling.”

Vanille cackled ominously, and Professor Cuddles crept forward with a drill. “Prepare yourself!” Ruby wailed, and Vanille rolled her eyes. “Ruby, when was the last time you went to a dentist?”

“I… I try not to go,” Ruby said. “They make me nervous.”

“Well, dental care has advanced since you were a kid. We don’t give people fillings anymore. We’ve developed ways to regenerate teeth in the same way we can use technology to regenerate other tissue. All I have to do is clear out the cavity and then apply a solution of nanites that reconstruct the damaged part of your teeth.”

“Oh.”

“But it may require a giant needle.”

“Ah!”

“I’m kidding.” Vanille lifted up what looked a lot like a syringe. “I’m not actually going to jab you with this. It’s actually used to apply the nanites. Now, hold still while I clean out the cavity.” She paused. “And just make sure you brush your teeth more. Even if we can use technology to fix cavities, it’s better not to have to do it in the first place.”

“Yes, Professor Dia.”

“Good.” She gestured at Professor Cuddles. “Press the blue button with a tooth symbol on it.”

X     X     X

Blake tried not to fidget as Professor Dia examined her. Instead, she kept her focus on Professor Cuddles as the hamster dutifully tapped away at a scroll as Professor Dia talked.

“Is he really taking notes for you?” Blake asked.

“As a matter of fact, he is. I mean I have something recording notes for me, but this is a sort of training exercise for him. He’s very clever. He just can’t use a scroll as easily as you or I can.” Vanille sat Blake down on a chair. “Now, we’ll continue going with the rest of the exam, but here comes the awkward part.”

“Oh.” Blake squirmed. “That part.”

“Yeah. That part.” Professor Dia sat down opposite Blake and patted her leg. “Relax. I’m a Faunus too. I get it. I’m not going to make fun of you or anything, and Professor Cuddles is a hamster.”

“Right…” Blake took a deep breath to steady herself. “So… um…”

“How are the pills going?” Vanille asked. “Are they working? Any side effects?”

Blake blushed furiously. Since her Semblance had begun to evolve, she’d been having… issues. Now that she could perceive what her clones did, she’d been experienced multiplied emotions, thoughts, and desires. It was overwhelming at times, especially when she went through one of her… sensitive periods. “They’re working. I… uh… thank you for them by the way.”

“It’s fine. If anything, it was an interesting exercise since I had to come up with something strong enough to work which would kill you.” Vanille studied Blake’s expression, taking note of every little tic. “So… any unusual urges?”

Blake sighed. “A lot of them.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I was sparring with Yang, and I got her tangled up with Gambol Shroud. There was a part of me that wanted to just… I don’t…”

“Leave her tied up and ravish her senseless before biting her to make sure she knew who she belonged to?”

Blake covered her face with her hands. “Do you have to say it like that?”

Vanille gave Blake a sympathetic smile. “Blake, I have a binding rod. You know what that is, right?” Blake nodded. “You have no idea how many times I thought about doing that exact same thing to my wife when we were attending Beacon. Having the thought isn’t wrong. It’s just a thought. The important thing is that you didn’t actually do that.”

“I suppose.” Blake took another deep breath. “It’s not just Yang either.”

“I would be surprised if it was.” Vanille grinned impishly. “Did you know that I once came up with an important theory for topology because I was fantasising about how my whole team could enjoy ourselves together with each other all at the same time?”

“Tell me you’re joking.”

“Nope. Of course, I didn’t tell anyone that was where the inspiration came from.” Vanille tapped her cheek one one finger. “So… Weiss?”

Blake nodded morosely. “She’s just… so delicate, you know. I saw her stretching, and I kind of just wanted to… to pin her down and just have her over and over just to see how much she take, you know, to see if she was really as delicate as she looked or if she could really take it.”

“Hmm… not an uncommon fantasy,” Vanille said. “When a Faunus is going through a sensitive period, they do tend to over-emphasise things like dominance in their fantasies. Given the physical differences between Yang and Weiss, it’s not surprising your fantasies about them would be different too. What about Ruby?”

“Please, don’t tell Yang,” Blake said. 

“Of course, I won’t. I’m a doctor. I’m bound by doctor-patient privilege.” She pointed at Professor Cuddles. “And so is he.”

“He’s a doctor?”

“Technically, he’s a medical assistant. Even I can’t get a hamster recognised as a doctor. Yet.” Professor Cuddles cackled evilly.

“We’re reading together,” Blake said quietly. “And then we re-enact some of the scenes.”

“Naughty, naughty.” Professor Dia chuckled and then patted Blake’s leg again. “Relax, Blake. Relax. Fantasising about this stuff is normal, okay. From what we’ve begun to understand about your Semblance, now that you can see through the eyes of your clones, you’re starting to feel things more intensely too. Now, based on my research of similar Semblances, you should start getting that under control through practice, meditation, and experience. But for the time being, you’ll just have to deal with it as best you can.”

“Similar Semblances?”

“Most Semblances with a mental component have related effects.” Vanille paused thoughtfully. “I once treated someone who could read the minds of others. And, no, I’m not talking about Jihl Nabaat. When their Semblance started ramping up in puberty, they would go through brief periods when they were convinced they were someone else. Why? They would get the thoughts of others confused with their own thoughts.”

“That sounds awful.”

“It was, but we were able to manage it, and it worked out okay.” Vanille smiled. “You might want to ask Pyrrha about some of the meditative practices she uses. Her Semblance is extraordinarily powerful, and it’s taken her some time to get used to it. I think she could help you a lot when it comes to the mental aspect.”

“I think I will ask her. Thank you.”

“Now,” Vanille said. “Just to be clear, have you engaged in sexual activity recently?”

“Do I really have to answer that?” Blake asked. “Would it even matter?”

“Depending on who you’re engaging in sexual activity with, yes, it could.” Vanille’s expression turned serious. “Not all of the stuff you hear about Aura resonance is make believe. If you’re very close to someone emotionally and physically, then Aura resonance is easier to achieve. For a married couple with a good relationship, it’s basically automatic.”

“How far are we talking about… when it comes to sexual activity?”

Vanille stared at Blake for a long moment. “Hmm… in your case, it’s probably not quite far enough to count yet.”

“What?” Blake blurted.

“I have extremely keen Aura senses. Sure, I can’t throw Aura around the way Professor Yun can, but my senses are really, really sharp. If I get familiar with someone, I can sense even minute fluctuations in their Aura. Once you start getting emotionally involved with someone, there are little changes. Since you’re the sort of person who wouldn’t get physically involved without emotional involvement, I think it’s safe to say you haven’t gone that far… at least, not recently.”

Blake blushed. “Do people realise you can tell stuff like that by looking at them?”

“Yeah, but it’s just polite not to mention it.” Vanille shrugged. “It’s like Faunus can usually tell who is sleeping with who, but none of us mention it, right?”

Blake thought back to her time in the White Fang. She’d known exactly who was sleeping with whom, but everybody had just pretended to ignore it. “I guess so.” She looked around. “So does everyone go through an examination?”

“Almost everyone. Some people have examinations on a more regular basis, and they get to skip this.” Vanille got back up and continued to study Blake. “My number one minion, for example, gets a checkup once a month, so she can skip this.”

“Isn’t Diana in perfect health?”

“Better than perfect health, but due to the massive physiological changes Ragnarok can create, I like to keep an eye on her, at least, until she’s out of puberty and her Semblance has mostly stabilised.” Vanille laughed. “It’s pretty boring, really. Every examination has the same report: subject in perfect health if short and scrawny. No extra tentacles detected yet.”

“Extra tentacles?”

“Diana can totally make tentacles if she feels like it. She used to use them in combat sometimes, but it freaked people out.” Vanille shrugged. “Apparently, they’re freakier than the ability to spit explosive acid.”

Tentacles? Blake shuddered. Yeah, she was not going to fight someone with tentacles if she could avoid it. “So… how am I look, professor?”

“Physically, you’re in exceptionally good shape. Your physical parameters are in the top 5% of your year, which is incredibly impressive considering you’re attending Beacon. You could actually be higher, but we’d need to do a more demanding exam to max out your scores. Emotionally, you’re a bit touchy about certain things, but that’s okay. It makes sense given how things are going for you.” Vanille looked Blake in the eye. “Which is why I want you to come talk to either me or one of the other qualified people if you need to get something off your chest. This a tough time for you, Blake. There’s no shame in asking for help. That’s what being in a team is about, and Beacon, Blake, is one big team when you get right down to it.” She smiled. “Now, open your mouth. Let’s see if you’ve got any cavities.”

“Did Ruby?” Blake asked.

“I can neither confirm nor deny that.”

X     X     X

“Well, you’re not dying,” Vanille said dryly.

Weiss rolled her eyes. “Of course, I’m not dying, professor. I assume I am in excellent health.”

“Well above the average.” Vanille grinned impishly. “But you could stand to improve your physical conditioning a bit.”

Weiss’s eye twitched. “Professor…”

“In all seriousness though, I want to congratulate you.” Vanille smiled. “Your improvement from last semester to this semester has been excellent, well above what could be expected from simple physical maturation.”

Weiss smiled. “I have been working very hard, professor, and I have my team to thank for much of my improvement.” She grinned. “Yang might be crazy, but she is excellent at physical conditioning. I have also approached the other professors about physical regimens, and they have been very helpful.”

“Good.” Vanille smirked. “So… have you beaten her yet?”

Weiss made a disgusted sound. “That obnoxious girl is far too good at hand-to-hand combat for her own good.” The obnoxious girl in question was Rin Tohsaka, a fellow student, and the last scion of a family that had once competed with the Schnees in the business world before being crushed. “Of course, she’s yet to beat me with a weapon, so I suppose we’re even.”

“Do you use Dust in your fights?” Vanille asked.

“Of course. We are both experts in Dust usage. It would be absurd to neglect it in our sparring matches although we do conduct bouts without it regularly since there is no telling when you might run out of Dust in the field.”

“Good. Dust is great, but you might have to fight without it.” Vanille had to admit that from a physical standpoint, Weiss was one of her easiest patients to deal with. Weiss was petite, sure, but her Semblance didn’t have any weird effects on her body, nor was she going through any dramatic bodily changes. She was still growing, of course, but it was normal growth. “How are things on the family front?”

Weiss growled. “Less than wonderful. My father is still wondering why I’m not at the top of all my classes. I’m beginning to wonder about his sanity. True, his expectation for me to top my Dust classes is reasonable, and I am indeed topping those. But topping single combat? Is he insane? Even if I could beat someone like Ruby in single combat - and that’s a big if - there is no way I’m getting past people like Pyrrha or Averia.”

“Some might consider that a defeatist attitude.”

“It is a practical attitude,” Weiss countered. “Look. I want to be the best, and I will absolutely train my hardest, but I am not delusional. My Semblance and abilities are perfect for a glass cannon/support type. I doubt there are many people at Beacon who can match me in that area. But single combat is different, and although I am confident in my ability to dispatch almost any opponent, the very top students are not just any other opponents.”

“That’s a mature attitude to have,” Vanille said. “And it’s one that some students take years to develop. I’m proud of you for seeing it so early.” She grinned. “Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t try to win.”

“I always do,” Weiss said. An almost vicious smile crossed her lips. “You should have seen the look on Averia’s face when I almost punched her in the face.” She paused. “Unfortunately, she dodged at the last second and then kicked me through a wall, but you know, I almost got her.”

“Very few people can say they have gotten that close.” Vanille smirked. “And never forget that sparring matches are different from the real world. If you ever have to fight someone who you know is stronger and better than you, then you have to cheat.”

“Cheat?”

“Look at me, Weiss. There’s no way I could ever beat my wife in anything even remotely resembling a fair fight. That’s why the last time we had a more no-holds barred match, I brought in flight-capable artillery. Sure, it was cheating, but in a fight to the death, cheating doesn’t really mean anything. You’ve got Glyphs. Think of what you could do with more long-lasting Glyphs and time to prepare.”

Weiss bared her teeth. “You have the best ideas, professor.”

“Yes, because I’m a genius.” Vanille glanced down at her notes. “Now, I know it’s not much, but you are slightly bigger this semester.”

“Bigger?”

Vanille pointed at Weiss’s chest. “Like I said, not much, but still, you’re a little bigger than the last time.”

“Well,” Weiss said. “Any improvement is welcome.” She turned her head as Professor Cuddles hopped onto his scroll again, tapping out a sequence of keys. “By the way, is Blake sick? I saw her taking some pills the other day, and I want to know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“Well… just ask her.” Vanille raised one hand. “It’s nothing bad. It’s just private. If you want to know, then ask her.”

“Right.” She chuckled. “Oh, and I’ll be keeping an eye on Ruby. She said something about you fixing her cavity.”

“I did.”

“Well, I’ll make sure she doesn’t need any fixed in the future.”

X     X     X

“So… am I awesome?” Yang asked.

Vanille laughed. “For the most part, yes.” 

The blonde smirked. “I thought so.” Her expression sobered. “Is there anything I need to worry about, doc?”

“Not really. Your physical progress is excellent. In fact, you’re actually exceeding our initial projections. If I had to guess, it’s because you’re finally getting pushed to your very limits.”

Yang nodded. “It’s not easy to be at your best if you don’t have people to push you. There are all kinds of challenges at Beacon, lots of people I’m not sure I can beat, and that just means I have to train more and do better.” She drove her fist into her palm. “There’s nothing I like more than a real challenge.”

“Good attitude.” Vanille pursed her lips. “Which brings me to the only thing that worries me. You’ve been getting a bit reckless in your fights recently. I’ve seen the footage. You’re taking more damage than you should.”

“With my Semblance, I can take it,” Yang replied.

“Most of the time, yes, but I’m worried about what happens if you run into a situation where you can’t simply take the hit.” Vanille paused what she was doing and nodded. Professor Cuddles hopped into Yang’s lap, and the blonde ran one hand through his soft, soft fur. “I think it might be a psychological side effect of your Semblance’s development.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Your Semblance feeds off taking damage, so there will likely be some drive to take damage. The important thing is that you stay aware of it, so you can keep it from getting out of hand.”

“Does that sort of thing happen a lot?”

“More than you’d think. I know someone whose Semblance allows them to use their own blood as a weapon. No matter what happens, they always end up bleeding all over the place during a fight, even if they don’t have to. Semblances want to be used, and many of them have psychological aspects that help hone them. However, that’s only really pronounced during evolutionary phases. As your Semblance stabilises, it should be easier to manage.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Yang stood up as Vanille continued taking readings and measurements. “How are the others?”

“While I can’t say anything specific, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“Good.” Yang’s lips twitched. “It’s crazy. I’ve only known them for a bit over a year, but it’s like I’ve known Blake and Weiss my whole life. It’s crazy. When we first got introduced, I didn’t think we’d all fit together so well, and I was kind of worried about Ruby being leader.” She paused. “Not that I doubted her, I was kind of worried about how Blake and Weiss would handle Ruby being the leader. It wasn’t always easy, but we got through it, and now we feel like… like a real team.”

“I know the feeling,” Vanille replied. “And it’s a good feeling to have. Your team becomes like a second family. They become people you could trust with your life.”

“Yeah.” Yang smiled. “We’ve saved each other’s lives a couple of times already, actually.”

“It’s one thing for someone to say they’d lay down their life for you. It’s quite another to realise that it’s true.” Vanille chuckled. “You should have seen Team LFSC when they were in your position. We were all taking bets on how long it would take for Caius to quit, Snow to leave, and for Lightning and Fang to kill each other.”

“Seriously? But they’re like… super close now.”

“That’s the thing. If we pick the team right, then that’s how they should feel.”

“Heh.” Yang nodded. “I think you guys did a great job with my team. There’s just one thing…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think we could get a balcony put in?”

“No.”

[gumnut-logic]

Vengeant Chorus

Yes, this is the whole chapter :D Not the last chapter, either, but a crucial one.

Title: Vengeant Chorus Chapter Four of Sotto Voce Author: Gumnut 30 Aug - 2 Sep 2018 Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS Rating: Teen Summary: Sometimes the voices are far too loud to ignore. Word count: 3300 Spoilers & warnings: Spoilers for Season 2 Author’s note: And now finally some answers. Thank you so much to all of your for your continued yells (and occasionally howls :D ) of encouragement. I’m thoroughly enjoying writing this, but sharing it with you is a large part of that enjoyment. I hope this gives you as much enjoyment as you have given me ::hugs:: And yeah, another cliffhanger, but not as desperate as before. Not the last chapter, but crucial nonetheless :

Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

“No! No, I won’t!” Virgil clutched his head and screamed. He crumpled in his seat, tears squeezed from the corners of his scrunched-up eyes.

Brains’ throat hurt, but he didn’t have time to acknowledge the pain. He took advantage of Virgil’s sudden impairment and hurriedly disabled Thunderbird Two to prevent the ill engineer from commandeering her again. He secured her with a sixteen-digit encrypted password and lowered the hatch to allow a panicked Scott on board.

The eldest Tracy leapt into the cockpit before the hatch could fully rise, just in time to catch his brother as his back arched in spasm and he fell sideways out of the pilot’s chair, his scream strangling to a gurgle as he seized.

Scott dragged him free of the dash, laying him out on the floor of TB2, giving him room as his body tensed even further, before curling in on itself. Virgil gasped, his eyes wide and darting back and forth before suddenly latching onto Scott. Voice whisper-hoarse. “I-I w-will NOT!”.

And he choked out another scream.

And another.

Virgil’s pain echoed off the bulkheads of his beloved Thunderbird.

Scott caught his head and shoulders in his arms, desperately attempting to support his brother as he struggled.

Brains ran to one of the first aid lockers, dragged out a heavy-duty supply kit and grabbed a sedative. Checking the preloaded hypodermic dose, he prepped the needle and moving back to the two brothers, he unzipped Virgil’s uniform, revealing his undershirt. Scott. realising what Brains was attempting to do, dragged the neck of his brother’s shirt down, exposing his shoulder. The injection was quick and ignored by Virgil.

Brains clambered back to the first aid kit and followed it up with an appropriate painkiller.

It took minutes, but it felt like hours. Ever so slowly Virgil’s torn and hoarse screams weakened, his body slowly relaxing against his brother. His struggle reduced to trembling and he shrank in on himself, his body shaking in shock and remnant pain.

He repeated the word ‘no’ over and over again, his voice barely audible, until a last shudder and his eyes rolled up in his head, his body falling limp.

“Virgil?” Scott’s voice cracked. He reached for his brother’s pulse, and apparently found it. A pained sob and Scott Tracy drew his unconscious brother close, and rocking in place, let the tears run down his face.

-o-o-o-

It was like flicking a switch. There was pain, so much pain.

And then nothing.

For some time, there was only darkness. Then there was grey, like just before dawn on an overcast day. Virgil became aware slowly. It crept up on him. He felt disconnected, foggy, as if part of his body had shut down, leaving the rest adrift. At some point he found he could see, but he didn’t remember opening his eyes.

“Virgil.”

Sudden terror.

He looked around. He needed to escape, get away. But there was only grey.

And out of that grey walked his younger brother.

John was dressed in his uniform, thin and lithe as ever, but there was something in his stance, something in his expression that screamed not-John.

“I won’t do what you ask.” Virgil’s voice lacked its usual strength and it trembled. Pull yourself together! And with that thought, clarity slid into place, his hands appearing out of the fog, his own uniform blue against the grey.

John looked down his nose at him. “There is no need any longer. This experiment has failed.”

A ghost of frown. “Experiment?”

The other man paused, his expression distant for a moment then calculating. “But then a failure doesn’t necessarily mean all is lost. You may have use yet.”

Something inside clenched. “I will not.”

John smiled. “You don’t get to choose.”

-o-o-o-

Scott stared at the holographic scan of his brother’s brain and was numb. He had nothing left. There was nothing. No strategy. No solution. Simply nothing.

A thin fibrous network of connections spiderwebbed across Virgil’s frontal lobe. Faintly silver in shining holographic light.

“What is it?” His voice was empty.

Brains didn’t answer, his eyes downcast. It took John, his voice bleak, quite some time to answer instead. “We’re not sure. It appears technological, but it also appears to have grown in place.”

“Why didn’t the scans at the hospital pick it up?” Virgil had had a CT scan after the hydrofoil incident to check for the cause of his headaches and had found nothing.

“We don’t know that either. Perhaps it was too small at the time.”

“What is it doing?”

“As far as we can tell, it is interfacing with Virgil’s brain.” John’s eyes dropped down to his unconscious and prone brother. “From what little we have observed, it appears to be trying to control him.”

“Why?”

John audibly swallowed and glanced at Brains. “We believe the Hood is responsible.” Scott visibly flinched. “It makes sense. We’ve tracked as much of Virgil’s recent activity as we possibly can. He had managed to upload several schematics to an unknown address, as well as attempting to kidnap Brains and steal Thunderbird Two.”

“How?”

“The attack at the flooded river. The knife was a transport for nanotechnology.”

Scott looked up. “What?”

“It was a delivery system for an infection of nanites.” John’s eyelids lowered a little. “Think of them as nano-mechas.”

Scott stiffened. “The Mechanic?”

“P-possibly, but I d-don’t think so.” Brains brought up another hologram, a swarm of miniature mechanical bugs appeared to be building something. Something silver. “The t-technology is different. The underp-pinning design differs from his st-standard approach. If it is The H-hood, I suspect he has a-another player.” A pause. “And th-there is the device the Hood was us-using to attempt to control the M-mechanic.”

“Can we disable it?”

The following silence was far too telling.

Finally, John spoke quietly. “It is unlikely.”

Scott’s gut was as cold as ice. “Find a way.”

-o-o-o-

His not-brother had left shortly after his announcement, Virgil apparently of little interest now he had some new scheme up his sleeve.

For his part, Virgil still felt disconnected, as if something was happening above and beyond all the grey, something important, but he couldn’t quite focus.

And where the hell was he anyway?

At first, he was cautious, slipping through the fog simply looking to find a way out, but the longer there was nothing, the less he feared and the more he tired. Just grey on grey on grey.

He wanted to go home.

And suddenly he was standing beside the pool on Tracy Island.

The sky was that same fog grey, but a breeze blew off the ocean, rippled the water and stirred the palm fronds far above.

Home.

He felt his tension ebb somewhat. He took a step and his boot made contact with the decorative concrete. Another step and he was moving. He ran up the steps to the kitchen, dashing through the familiar rooms. Up the stairs to the comms room, his eyes tracking the familiar portraits, the lounge, his piano…

Up to the main house, past the bedrooms, his studio, the gym… the house was empty. Where was everyone?

Eventually he returned to the comms room and walked out onto the balcony. The sea breeze played with his hair.

And he knew. He knew it in his heart, this wasn’t home. He wasn’t sure what it was, but just like his not-brother, it wasn’t what it seemed.

He sat down on the very edge of the balcony, his feet dangling. Somewhere out there were his brothers, he could feel it.

He just didn’t know where.

-o-o-o-

Telling Alan, Gordon and his Grandmother about Virgil broke something in Scott. Explaining that their second eldest brother and grandson, their gentle artist and engineer, had something growing on his brain, likely put there by the Hood, and likely purely to steal their technology, hurt deep in his chest. The resulting expressions on their faces hurt even more.

They had questions and Scott had no answers. John came out of the infirmary and answered as much as he could, but the best he could do was wrap his arms around his grandmother and hold her. Scott ended up with his arms full of Alan while staring at the horrified expression on Gordon’s face – an expression that fast shifted to one of pure fury.

The fire that lit up the aquanaut’s eyes screamed retribution, and the fists clenched at his sides shook. “He can’t– He-…No more, Scott. This ends here!” Gordon spun around and left.

Scott made a futile attempt to grab his brother, but perhaps part of him really did want that same retribution, and he missed. He left his arm drop.

A calm, feminine voice echoed across the room. “John?”

“Yes, Eos?”

“We have received a message. I believe it is from the person known as the Hood.”

Scott stiffened and Alan straightened up, a hand rubbing across his face.

John kept his arms around his grandmother. “Thank you, Eos, please relay.”

There was a moment of crackling static and then an all too familiar voice spoke over the comm. “No doubt you’ve discovered my little project by now. Since your brother refused to deliver, we will now have to do it the hard way. I want the schematics for all the Thunderbirds, your equipment, your core technologies and full access to Thunderbird Five. The alternative is to watch your brother die a thoroughly painful death. He is mine, to do with him what I will. I suggest you do not test me. You have until sundown.” A snort of derision. “Tracy Island time.” And the message cut off.

-o-o-o-

Virgil didn’t know how long he sat there staring out across the grey sea. As time went on some of the fog in his thoughts began to clear. But as it leached away, an ache replaced it. Something deep inside was hurting.

It was so quiet here. The only sounds were the breeze and the distant roar of the ocean, muted by the underbrush. No birds, no voices, no laughter. This was definitely not his home.

A flicker of light flashed near the pool. Virgil frowned. Another flash, soft white light, and then a girl appeared out of thin air.

What the-

She was young, wearing a simple white dress, almost Grecian in appearance. She stood there a moment, briefly looking down at herself, before looking up and around, obviously looking for something.

Or someone.

The moment her eyes caught his, something sparked. He felt an immediate connection to the girl. He knew her. He didn’t know how, he didn’t recognise her, but there was something familiar.

She was climbing the steps up into the kitchen.

She was coming for him.

-o-o-o-

John stared at his brother. Virgil lay on a bed in the infirmary, his face slack, his expression calm. Both the sedative and the painkiller should have worn off some hours ago, but there had been no sign of consciousness. Brains had hooked up an EEG, the delicate net of electrodes were woven into Virgil’s hair, leaving it sticking up in all directions.

It may have looked ridiculous, but its results were extremely reassuring. While he was unconscious, Virgil was still in there. His eyes darted under his lids, and the EEG graphed good activity throughout the expected waveband.

In fact, looking at him, you would think he was simply asleep. There was no outward sign of the horror the scan had revealed. The silver spiderweb embedded in his brother’s brain had no obvious presence.

Except for the erratic extra signal on the readout, pixels dancing as it did whatever it was doing.

John reached out and gently ran a finger across his brother’s cheek.

Virgil was his big brother.

Scott was the big brother, but Virgil was his big brother. He had shared moments of his life with Virgil he had shared with no other. The gentle artist of the family always had the time for him, always taking that extra moment, showing love in the doing of things.

And now John couldn’t do anything to help him.

His finger brushed his brother’s temple.

To think a man who gave everything to everyone else, a man who jumped into burning buildings, dug under mountains, jumped out of aircraft and flew around the world at the hint of a chance to save a life, could have his taken from him by a petty thug.

He had seen Virgil save so many people, risk his life for so many…John’s fist clenched at his side.

He had no idea how to remove the spiderweb and knew of no way to protect his brother from further pain. Or injury. Or death. He had nothing. Brains had hopes for a jamming device, but they hadn’t even been able to detect exactly how the Hood was in communication with Virgil. There was also the possibility of an EM pulse, but they both had doubts about that – the spiderweb had an organic component to its structure.

And even if they did find a way to disable it, they had no idea how it would affect Virgil. The thing was embedded in and communicating with the organ that made Virgil the cherished person he was. How much damage would be caused by the device’s demise?

None of them were brain surgeons and they had no time to get Virgil to one.

By sundown.

Was International Rescue and its technology worth Virgil’s life?

John thought back to the hydrofoil incident and wondered if that was the moment where Virgil realised what was happening to him. He had flipped the craft on purpose. Had he tried to sacrifice himself? Kill himself off before it could get any worse?

Were the secrets worth his life?

He could almost hear Virgil’s resounding ‘Yes!’ echo in the room. But he didn’t need to listen to it because he had signed the same document Virgil had when they formed International Rescue. No brother was worth the danger their technology would present in the wrong hands. And there were no hands more wrong than those of the Hood.

Were the secrets worth losing his brother?

No!

Please , no!

His fingers caught in dark hair.

“John?”

Automatic. “Yes, Eos?”

“I have a possibility.”

-o-o-o-

He stood up as she approached, stepping back defensively.

“Hello, Virgil.” Her voice was calm, but strong. And familiar.

“Who are you?”

She raised an eyebrow, at ease as if she had always had one. “I am the dawn.”

“Eos?” He stared her up and down. She was short, petite with flaming red hair. Something about her glowed, including the simple white dress. “How?”

“You are unconscious in the IR infirmary. The Hood has implanted some circuitry in your brain in an attempt to control your actions. He is threatening your death in three point six four hours if we do not hand over information regarding our equipment.”

Virgil’s eyes widened and he took another step back. Part of him knew this, somewhere in the fog the information was available, but it was hard to reach. “But how?” He indicated her form with his eyes.

She smiled. “Do you like it? I haven’t tried this before. It is quite exciting.” She twirled a moment, her dress flaring out. But she caught his expression and her smile vanished. “You don’t like it?”

“You look lovely, Eos. But how did you get here?”

-o-o-o-

She spoke fast. Firstly, to convince the brothers, particularly the Eldest who appeared to be at his breaking point. And secondly to convince herself and get the plan moving before she backed out in terror.

“If you set up the necessary connections, I should be able to interface with the invasive circuitry. It is my hope to be able to discover both the methods and what the Hood is doing to Virgil and find a way to prevent his interference.”

The Eldest’s expression was bleak, but for the first time in hours, it held just a hint of hope. “How would you connect with it? This thing is inside his skull.”

“Through the EEG. The process will damage the machine, but it should give me enough electrical interface to cross the intervening flesh and bone to make contact.”

John winced.

The Eldest swallowed and paled just that little more. “How will that affect Virgil?”

“While all effects are unknown as this has never been done before, initially there may be some surface damage due to the small electrical current, hence the reason for spreading the load across the entire EEG array, rather than on one focal point.”

“Electrical burns?”

“Yes.”

“How will that effect his brain function?”

“The current will be small. It is my hope that there will be little interference. My aim will be to connect to the artificial circuitry, not his biological circuitry. It will not be random, it will be part of me. Once I have connected, I will access the device’s communication ports, as it must have some kind in order to be in contact with the Hood and I will highjack it for our use and hopefully block the Hood in the process.”

“Hopefully?”

She sighed. “I know what is at stake, Scott. I will do my best. I have no wish to harm him. In fact, I have no wish to do this at all, it will not be easy for me either.” More like terrifying. “I see no other alternative.” A pause. “Please remember that you are not the only one who cares for Virgil Tracy.”

He looked up at her at that, something indecipherable on his face.

John stepped up to his brother and put a hand on his shoulder. The Eldest wilted just a few millimetres. “We have no choice, Scott.”

“I know.” Scott’s voice was quietly defeated. “Do it.”

-o-o-o-

“And here I am.” She twirled again before turning once again to face him. “However, I did not expect this.”

“What?”

“This cocoon you’ve hidden yourself in.” She waved a hand around at the island. “You’ve built yourself a fortress, Virgil.”

“I have?”

“I almost didn’t find you.” She raised a hand again waving at something beyond the island. “Everything is chaos beyond this bubble. You have pain, damage, anguish. But not here.” She looked around in amazement. “I have never quite seen it from this perspective before.” She frowned. “It is very distracting.”

She stepped back a moment, closing her eyes. “John?”

Virgil stared, then took his own step backwards. John was bad.

Something rumbled far off in the sky.

Her eyes shot open. “You denied me connection.”

Huh?

“You blocked my signal to your brothers. Why?”

“I-“ He took another step backwards, suddenly fearful.

“Virgil?”

Another rumble from the sky. The fog grew darker.

“Who are you?”

“Yes, who are you?”

Virgil froze, his skin crawling. John was walking towards them across the air five metres above the water of the pool. Virgil took an instinctive step backwards, automatically shoving the girl behind him.

His non-brother stepped onto the balcony and stopped, his expression calculating. “It appears we have a little party crasher in our midst.”

“Get out.” The guttural sound came from deep in Virgil’s throat, his body tensed, angled to fight.

“I don’t think so, Virgil. This is after all my playground now.”

“Leave.” It was no more than a snarl.

John laughed.

Something flared behind Virgil and Eos stepped out, her hair blazing, her eyes aflame. “How dare you!”

He reached to grab her. “No!”

She brushed him gently away. Her small body sparking energy as she approached his non-brother, fury in her every step. “How dare you wear my father’s image. How dare you hurt my family.” Her hands lit up with fire, her body aflame. “No more.”

-o-o-o-

End Part Four.

Part Five

[batsparklyqueenstudentme-blog]

10 Best Hunting Tips for Beginners

Hunting can be a great source of fun and adventure but one that can go bad just by the simplest of mistakes. So, whether you are a pro or a rookie there are a set of guidelines or rules that must be followed if you want to have a seamless experience. Safety should always come first because it otherwise would be pointless to go hunting only for it to go south. In this excerpt, we will talk about ideas that will help you in your hunting activity especially if you are a beginner. Basically, I will give you ideas and explain them a bit to you.

1. Begin with a safety course

Take this course at your own convenience. You can choose to be physically present in an institution or you can decide to do it online but please ensure that you take on a test even if it is not mandatory just to be sure that you have understood everything. After this, you can attend a hunting field day where you will meet real-time hunters on the field and who will practically show you all that is involved in hunting.

2. Find an experienced hunter and go with them

This can be one of the best ways to learn fast all you need is to stay silent and watch and learn. Do not ask for much questions but use your eyes eventually the hunter will let you in on some secrets of great hunting techniques. You can go with him to an area and later on revisit the same place as you will have familiarized yourself with the terrain which is a good head start in hunting.

3. Get some gear Getting some quality gear is of great importance as this is the equipment that will ensure your safety as well as your survival in equal measure. Research on all the necessary devices needed for hunting, write down a list ask around if you can but in the end, make sure that you know everything that is needed. Be sure to invest in good quality products as it can be catastrophic if your equipment fails to work at the time when it's most needed.

4. Get to the hunting ground first

Countless roads are blocked these days to limit vehicle admission, allowing only those on foot or on a horse. Hunters normally park at entrances at dawn and cover the rest of the area on foot. Be prompt and be there by midnight. This ensures that you get the best hunting ground before the rest and you also get to choose an elevated spot that will give you a clear view on the game and you will have enough time to clear your line of a shot from branches and any other distractions.

5. Eating anything

After the following everything I have told you are sure by now you will have already made your first kill. Whether you have landed porcupines, rabbits, raccoons, and beavers they can be an outstanding headache to deal with especially when you do not have any experience in preparing them. Be sure to get rid of any fat and musk glands and slice the meat into portions. Marinate in a mild salt solution for 12 hours and boil it in a slowly with ample spices and vegetables if available. Let it boil until the meat falls off the bones. You might be surprised by the end taste regardless of your expertise in cooking.

6. Go slow and stop at the noise

When still-hunting, most of us never stay put and we are always impatient this is one of the biggest mistakes as a little wait would have earned you a great catch. Always decide on a period where you will remain still for say five minutes. You can never be too careful once in a while you may step into something that will produce a sound if this happens to stand still for as long as it takes so that if an animal has heard you it will not be able to know whether you are still there or not.

7. Pick landmarks

When you are tracking an animal by making a big circle and coming behind it you can be easily confused with your location. Pick a unique object on the skyline that you can know from afar like a huge rock that will assist in guiding you to the right spot. Also, try to foresee where the animal will be after you complete your track. Before starting, look at the area long enough to establish its route and rate of travel and pick your destination accordingly.

8. Clear shooting paths

When you first get to your standing point, practice shooting positions from all points from which you anticipate an animal might come into view. After doing that, get rid of branches and other distractions in the line of fire if you can reach them and stay in a location that needs little or no movement for you to turn in any direction. Ensure that your safety strap is protected and permits free movement.

9. Following a trail

One thing that you must do is to move as quiet as possible as you track. Be alert always and if you have other hunters with you communicate using hand signals. Mark each speck of blood with a peg or flagging but ensure you remove them if you no longer need them. Do not give up after a long search if it takes you longer than you expected to start looking for small spots of blood. Go down to your hands and knees, if need be to help keep you get a better view of the trail.

10. Preparing your game Skin rabbits and squirrels as soon as you can as the skin strips easily when it's warm. Also If you get rid of the skin quickly fleas present in their skins will not be able to migrate off. When dealing with birds like turkey ensure you keep the wings, breast meat and legs as they make the best soup. Cook them in a pot until it becomes soft and tender and put the boned, chopped meat in a pot with broth or stew ingredients.

Conclusion

Hunting is not as hard as it seems. Follow my advice but also add to your knowledge by doing some research more and you will make a hobby out of hunting. If you are doing this for the first-time tag along with an experienced hunter who will equip you with the much-needed knowledge and secrets to great hunting that will ensure you get the best hunting experience. Remember your safety is paramount and should always come first ensure you have all that is needed and required gears and make sure they are in good working condition. Have fun on your next hunting trip Best Hunting GPS.

[shirlleycoyle]

What Is ‘Error-Correcting Memory’ and Why Does the Creator of Linux Think You Need It?

A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, a twice-weekly newsletter that hunts for the end of the long tail.

Does the average computer user need to care about memory with error-correction capabilities? Linus Torvalds seems to think so.

The Linux lead developer and creator recently went off on Intel, claiming that the company’s choice to relegate ECC (error-correcting code) memory to the server room had harmed consumers.

“ECC availability matters a lot—exactly because Intel has been instrumental in killing the whole ECC industry with its horribly bad market segmentation,” Torvalds wrote in a forum post, his natural habitat. This seems like a particularly nerdy thing to focus on to some degree, but Torvalds seems to be making the case that the reason why it is so nerdy is because Intel, a company whose entire business model is facing challenges from activist investors right now, decided to treat something fundamental as a high-end premium feature.

Is it? And what should tech nerds know about ECC memory? Let’s explain what error correction is and why he just might be right.

“Dammit, if a machine can find out that there is an error, why can’t it locate where it is and change the setting of the relay from one to zero or zero to one?”

— Richard Hamming, a Bell Labs employee, discussing the decision-making process that led to the Hamming Code, the first prominent error-correction algorithm, in 1950. The test relies on parity checking to help determine whether errors occurred in a data transmission, and to fix them. Hamming’s work, per a Computer History Museum biography, was inspired by a test that broke on him on the computer he was using at the time, a Bell Model V that relied on punch cards. An error with the cards sent the results he needed to give his coworkers off the rails—but it soon led to something fundamental to the history of computing. His formative work soon was improved greatly by numerous others that followed in his footsteps.

A dial-up modem is a good example of an experience that was made a lot better through error correction. Image: Wikimedia Commons

What the heck is error correction, and why would a computer user want it?

Error correction involves a series of formulas that aim to ensure the flow of information being distributed isn’t broken even if something goes wrong or is corrupted.

And its context goes far beyond what the RAM in your computer does.

A good way of thinking about this in a real-world way is to consider what happens if you’re streaming a video on a bad connection. Bits and pieces break off the stream, and the video client (for example, Zoom) has to account for them as best as possible. It may lead to a choppy experience with dropped frames and maybe some blurriness or broken up imagery, but the video does the best it can to continue unabated. Perhaps redundancy is built into the video codec so that the random missing byte doesn’t break the end-user’s connection; perhaps parity checks that are used to help determine the quality of the data being sent can help clean up some of the bits being sent over the wire so an error doesn’t end up looking wrong.

This is actually something that connections have been doing all along. When we were all trying to download data on pokey, noisy telephone lines, a little static was enough to ruin a connection.

This led to many efforts at error correction targeting the phone system. For example, many modems sold during the late 80s and early 90s supported an error correction protocol called V.42, one of a number of “V-series” protocols decided on by the International Telecommunication Union for managing data-based communications through the telephone line.

Rather than correcting the error on the fly like the Hamming Code allows for, V.42 used an error correction method called Automatic Repeat reQuest (ARQ), which basically means that it asks for a lost packet again after a piece of data goes missing. The error correction worked through the use of repetition, essentially resending any lost data packets as soon as they’re detected. (The goal is not maximum speed, but consistency. After all, a fast connection that completely breaks down is likely not worth it on dial-up.)

Error correction methods were used to help ensure that dropped bytes were able to be repeated so that it didn’t, for example, negatively impact a file transfer.

The error correction system that Hamming landed upon, meanwhile, involves a concept called parity, in which more information is sent than needed to confirm that what was sent correctly got through. Generally, a parity bit can help determine whether a resulting byte of binary code should be even or odd, and correct the data as needed. As shown in the Khan Academy video above, the solution—which effectively describes the Hamming codes—essentially does a test on itself to ensure that nothing broke during the data transmission process that could negatively affect the information.

This kind of error correction, called forward error correction, has a lot of practical uses. Hamming’s work was eventually followed up by other error-correction methods, most notably a system devised by Irving S. Reed and Gustave Solomon in the early 1960s that combined on-the-fly encoding and decoding of data to help protect the integrity of the data in noisy environments. Reed-Solomon codes have come into use most famously with CDs and DVDs (it’s the technology that helps prevent skips in those devices when, say, a disc is scratched), but a wide array of other technologies as well, such as wireless data.

There are lots of other codes for error correction that have found use over the years, but for the layperson, the key thing to know is that it’s a fundamental building block of computing … and it’s everywhere, helping to ensure things as diverse as your Netflix stream and your LTE signal land with a minimum of disruption.

This concept applies more generally to computer memory in general, which requires error correction in particular contexts. Ever have it happen where a piece of software just crashes on you, no explanation, and you have to restart your app—or possibly even the computer? Often there may be no rhyme or reason to it, but it happens anyway.

In certain environments, such as server rooms, crashes such as these can prove hugely problematic, stopping mission critical applications directly in their tracks.

And in ECC memory, the kind Linus Torvalds was complaining about, the Hamming Code is everywhere, helping to make sure those small computational mistakes don’t break the machine.

0.09%

The estimated failure rate for ECC memory, according to a 2014 analysis by Puget Systems, a developer of high-end workstations and servers. The company analyzed the failure rates of its computer memory over a yearlong period. By comparison, its non-ECC memory failed 0.6 percent of the time, or 6.67 times more than the error-correcting option. (Puget’s analysis, which is admittedly a bit on the older side, also dives into a common misconception about ECC memory, that the extra error-checking comes at a significant performance cost; in some of its tests, it found that the ECC memory was often faster than the standard equivalent.)

Outside of the server rack, the Apple Mac Pro is probably the best-known computer to use ECC memory, as all of its recent models are based on the Xeon processor line. Image: Wikimedia Commons

Why you likely have never used error-correcting memory in a computer you own … unless you used an IBM PC in the 80s

So to get back to Linus Torvalds’ complaint, he’s effectively upset that Intel’s efforts over the years to differentiate its high-end server and workstation equipment from its consumer-level gear has left most modern computer users without a feature that could benefit many regular users.

“The ‘modern DRAM is so reliable that it doesn’t need ECC’ was always a bedtime story for children that had been dropped on their heads a bit too many times,” Torvalds said, which is for him a typically unnecessarily hostile way to describe something. Torvalds had previously and famously apologized for being a jerk and said he's working on "understanding emotions."

(OK, maybe that was a bad idea. Yikes, that metaphor.)

But to take a step back, the general concept of error correction in the IBM PC actually dates to the earliest days of the platform, when many early PCs used nine-bit memory words, with the additional bit going to parity. But that faded away over time, with many major RAM manufacturers deciding by the mid-1990s to stop selling it in consumer use cases.

There was a good reason for this, too: While manufacturers didn’t think it was necessary for regular users anymore, so they dropped the feature, seen as adding cost and lowering speed, in many non-critical use cases.

An example of a stick of DDR3 memory that supports ECC. Image: Wikimedia Commons

ECC memory has been around a long time, but has largely been in niche use cases like workstations and servers for the past 30 years or so—in part because Intel has largely limited its support to its high-end Xeon chip line, which often is used in mission-critical ways. (My dumpster-dive Xeon uses ECC memory, in case you were wondering. Side note: While ECC memory is generally more expensive when new, it’s often cheaper used, which is why said machine has 64 gigs of RAM.)

But recently, the case for ECC memory for regular users has started to grow as individual memory chips have started to grow faster and more tightly condensed. This has created new types of technical problems that seem to point toward ECC’s comeback at a consumer level.

In recent years, a new type of security exploit called a “rowhammer” has gained attention in technical circles. This exploit, also known as a bit-flip attack, effectively attacks memory cells repeatedly with the goal of acquiring or changing data already in memory. It’s essentially the computer memory equivalent of a concussion.

As ZDNet notes, the attack model is largely theoretical at this time, but vendors have tried … and repeatedly failed to prevent academics from proving that rowhammer attacks remain a fundamental threat to computer security. (Better academics than zero-day exploiters, right?)

While ECC memory can help mitigate such attacks, it is not foolproof, with Dutch researchers coming up with a rowhammer attack that even affects ECC RAM.

Torvalds—who, it should be reminded, specializes in building a low-level operating system kernel used by hundreds of millions of people, so he likely sees these issues up close—argues that Intel’s move to segregate ECC from mainstream computer users has likely caused problems with modern computers for years, even without academics going out of their way to attack it.

“We have decades of odd random kernel oopses that could never be explained and were likely due to bad memory,” he writes. “And if it causes a kernel oops, I can guarantee that there are several orders of magnitude more cases where it just caused a bit-flip that just never ended up being so critical.”

Intel’s mainstream Core chips generally do not support ECC, but as Torvalds notes, more recent AMD Ryzen chips—which have gained major popularity in the consumer technology space in recent years, largely because they’re often better than Intel—generally do (though it is dependent on the motherboard).

“The effect of cosmic rays on large computers is so bad that today’s large supercomputers would not even boot up if they did not have ECC memory in them.”

— Al Geist, a research scientist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, discussing the importance of ECC memory in a 2012 Wired piece that largely focuses on the challenges that cosmic rays create for computing solutions on the planet Mars—something that the Curiosity Rover, which is based on a PowerPC chip design, was built to work around. (Cosmic rays are just one of the factors that can cause bit-flipping, or the introduction of errors into computer memory.) However, Geist notes that the concerns that space rovers face also can cause issues on the ground—issues mitigated by the use of error-correcting memory.

In some ways, the fact that such a prominent figure—a guy famous for speaking his mind on random internet forums—is sticking his neck out there in favor of a technology that few consumers even know about highlights its importance in the modern day.

But the truth is, error correction has always been with us in one way or another as computer users, whether in a hardware or software context.

One might argue he’s just venting, letting off steam, but nonetheless, a big-name figure arguing for something that would benefit regular consumers is a good thing, even if it might not happen tomorrow.

(Something in favor of this becoming more mainstream: Intel is hurting, and is the target of activist investors that are trying to make the case that Intel needs to make some huge strategic changes to keep up, even going so far as to drop its longstanding vertical-integration model, which involves manufacturing its own chips. In other words, cards are on the table that haven’t been in a long time.)

Will it come to mainstream computers in this context? Time will only tell, but perhaps this is a conversation worth having right now. After all, as computers become more complex, old standards for technical needs are going to matter less and less, and things like reliability are going to matter a whole lot more.

Whether or not he was trying to, there’s potential that Torvalds might have started a useful conversation about what the future of computing needs to include—and what should or shouldn’t be a premium feature in our hardware.

But he may want to leave the metaphors to others.

What Is ‘Error-Correcting Memory’ and Why Does the Creator of Linux Think You Need It? syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[erickwtnr577]

10 Compelling Reasons Why You Need Philly Locksmith

Locksmithing from Locksmiths May Be the Theory of Ouwitting Locks

Locksmithing is a art and you will find extensive instruction and Practicing involved in becoming proficient. A smith is a person who employs metal bits and creates them in a thing, either to get a single use or for usage in the following product. Locksmithing, therefore, is the craft of developing and assembling security locks and also the required keys. This artwork of locksmithing dates back nearly 4000 decades and was produced in Egypt. Positioned in Khorsabad, it was discovered at the ruins of the palace. The pin tumbler idea employed within this particular lock design continues to be in use now.

Locksmithing today is very involved with installing high-quality Locks and managing keys and command procedures for those secrets. Many of the locksmiths nowadays are also service electronic locks or access control systems. Several of those approaches are extremely intricate, notably those in large organizations and businesses. Most locksmiths are very detailed oriented, so since they are going to develop multi level protection plans which include determining risk levels, correct stability hardware, and stability policies necessary to provide the best phases of safety available.

Each degree of safety executed into an safety system Will need the locksmith to possess additional tools and techniques. Since these safety levels are indeed crucial to the total cost of this project, a locksmith has to know to deliver the greatest achievable security alternative for your own or her customers. In doing this, a newyork locksmith needs to learn new techniques as they become available and learn new knowledge to provide exceptional services.

Some locksmiths are commercialized and possess a store. The others Will be portable, industrial, or investigational. Even now, the others will specialize in one particular element of their locksmithing trade. You will find security advisers available in every single city; however, not all of them are properly versed from the locksmithing section of security. You will also come across many locksmiths who may work as security consultants. This may usually save customers a significant sum of cash since they won't have to keep two professionals to get one job.

Accreditation can be obtained for locksmiths in most ability Areas. Yet, numerous locksmiths will identify themselves being a"learn Locksmith" with out completing any extra coaching or acquiring other locksmithing abilities. Many nations today demand locksmiths to reevaluate to a certain ability degree until they are authorized to make use of the definition of"learn Locksmith."

If you Are Considering Turning into a locksmith, then Consider searching Online internet. You can find lots of schools readily available, but you should be certain to find out if they are respected. Certification from a superior locksmithing faculty will proceed way on your authenticity in this field.

Professional Twenty-Four Hour Crisis Locksmithing at Your Services

Tons of locksmiths promote 24 Hour emergency locksmith and Dressing up services but how most are fully capable at the said skill and how many are now on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week when you need them.

Being a Real locksmith, notably a crisis 24-hour Callout Locksmith might be an extremely worthwhile and fulfilling livelihood which is not influenced by means of a turndown in the economy or the securities markets, most individuals will probably always desire locksmiths since individuals will permanently drop or misplace their house, office, or cars keys, or catch locked out of these house or off ice and regrettably buildings will still become broken into and burgled whether it is really a home or business construction.

Alas, the locksmith Business Isn't controlled, sure There are classes it's possible to be buddies of however there is nothing in the law that stops un-skilled people from watching a Locksmith few YouTube videos after which touting themselves as skilled locksmiths, these individuals will probably successfully gain entrance for your home, workplace, or car but typically have a while and result in a great deal of injury inside the practice.

An Essential Variable Of The Quality Of A Locksmith's Perform

Even though the expertise of the locksmith certainly performs key Role in finding out the caliber of the job, what matters could be the selection of locksmith tools and supplies that he could be applying. All these locksmith supplies with a variety of utilities and applications help the locksmith to deal with a variety of conditions that he could be called in to tackle.

You need just two things for a prosperous locksmith. One will be the Appropriate ability. The other may be the correct source of locksmith tools, that'll help you to place your ability to utilize.

There's no Selection of locksmith tools that are Universally appropriate or applicable. Fairly they range, sometimes to good scope, depending at work or difficulty to be dealt. As an instance, the locksmith tools needed to put in substantial alarm systems will differ from the people necessary to make duplicate keys after you has either lost their keys or locked the door by making them inside.

However, There Are a Few common tools or set of tools, which Could be utilized everyday. One particular such collection of gear is that the lock-picking place, as many sections of this kit can be employed to fix different problems a locksmith happens around frequently. Afterward you'll find vital making approaches and key blanks. Since the locksmith may use the essential manufacturer to carve and contour several sorts of key layouts and arrangements, so it's an instrument of elastic usage due to him personally. Other such shared locksmith provides involve things like clip removal tools and also broken important extractors. Clip removal applications have their use once the locksmith is assumed to correct window levers and door manages, whereas broken vital extractors are used for taking keys out that have snapped or broken inside a lock.

It Isn't That a locksmith carries most of his tools although Visiting a customer's spot to repair a issue. He has a big collection of varied machines and equipment at his home or workplace. A few locksmiths can also have their own workshops. It's from here the locksmith carries out the delicate and complex work while having access to special and also higher quality gear and machinery which can't be transported around anywhere.

Locksmith supplies likewise depend on whether the locksmith is. currently Open to all forms of job, or if he's really a technical individual fixing only a certain sort of issue. If he's just really a technical locksmith predicated over a specific discipline, then of course the various tools utilized by him will be supposed precisely for issues related to this area. Using one hand, this can mean the locksmith supplies he or used will perhaps never be needing certain generic resources which are of no significance in his chosen place. On the other hand, it will mean he will possess within his kitty certain tools that are very specialized, and should not be found in the group of some locksmith that offer generic services.

Every locksmith Needs to Know the value of owning standard Locksmith supplies in his kitten, as without the same he is not ready to produce despite knowing that his own occupation very properly. This is the reason he should always approach reputable manufacturers of locksmith tools, that will ensure the product quality of his tools and machines won't ever arrive in their own strategy to carry out commendable work.

For every automobile and home, security and security are highly Essential. This is absolutely why keys, locks, and electronics apparatus were created. Their invention was intentionally to address the expanding need for personal protection of properties and also other valuables. Historically talking, keys and locks were already used in Biblical times. Employing primitive metal and wood, individuals pushed them into loops attached contrary to the doorway in the inside by using makeshift brackets. Locksmiths perform a significant part in everyone's own lives. Though sometimes disgusting and taken as a right, locksmiths will be the people that keep us secure inside our houses and our vehicles. Devoid of locksmith solutions, probably the speed of theft and burglary have already risen up to uncontrollable ranges.

Residential locksmith services are the most basic Support That a locksmith offers would be the installation of locks in a brand new house. Property owners naturally need their basic protection together with their materials possessions secured. This is sometimes done by setting up locks every door and window in the home. However, other than this, locksmiths also change or mend locks for elderly domiciles. Additional related residential locksmith providers include significant copying in scenarios if there's a demand for every member of the family to own their particular set of keysand installation of home vaults and heaters , repairs and workplace lock setup, garage door lock installation and repairs and clearly, general upkeep of home locks if not.

Commercial locksmith providers will be in lots of buildings and Business organizations, the majority are already using key less entry by means of idcard swiping, setting up tracking, and also other top security locking apparatus and security alarm devices. Other professional services of locksmiths such as the industrial industry are all putting up document cabinet locks and vault locks, cabinet main repair and replacement, do or key replacement and repair, desk lock installations, and also basic lock upgrades on all existing locks. Enormous establishments require maximum security including as for example if coping with all valuable stones or initial pieces of artwork in a store or museum.

Automobile locksmith services are also known as on for various Services, not merely regarding the duplication of car keys or fabricating substitute automobile keys but also for some other reasons such as installing a electronic garage lock installation. Vehicle locksmiths are skilled in dealing together with locks and keys of different designs and sorts of vehicles. For garage doors, car locksmiths can see to it that the safety of your car or truck by designing and intending electric lock methods.

Crisis locksmith providers will be possibly the toughest Type of services for every locksmith, specially for people who are on call 2 4 Hours a day. Crisis locksmiths must be ready to assist even in the maximum Awkward hours of the day. People Today call on crisis locksmiths through the residence and Car lock outs, during Allergic injuries when their knowledge isn't still necessary to Open a door using a trapped passenger, and during flame crises if Doors must be unlocked to rescue people inside a burning construction In the Function of theft and vandalism, property owners need emergency locksmiths to Immediately replace all of locks across your house. In Any Case, emergency locksmiths Can also pick locks to gain access to crucial files and valuables inside A malfunctioning vault.

Find Out 14 Savvy Ways To Spend Leftover Abington Locksmith Budget

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Video Manufacturing Service Tips - Why Wedding Videographers Ought To Move to Corporate Video

My main focus in the video clip production organization is to figure out how I can use my abilities as a video clip producer to make one of the most money with the least amount of effort ... all while constructing a business possession that will at some point allow me to retire as well as travel the world while I'm still young enough to actually appreciate it!

  My individual revenue has raised by concerning 750% considering that I started my video clip production organization back in 2000 and also the gross sales revenue for the firm has actually grown by over 1200% in the very same time period.

  I'm not anywhere near to my meaning of affluent yet I'm a hell of a great deal closer now than I was 9 years back when i started this journey as a video clip business owner. The factor I'm attempting to make in this article is that the turning point for my wide range and also the success of my video clip organization was when I decided to stop going after wedding event video clip service and to concentrate 100% of my initiatives on marketing, creating and also supplying company video presentations.

Video Production Companies Near Me Portland

The truth of the matter is that when you market a wedding event video, you are asking a family members to offer you money out of their personal bank account. When you market a business video clip, you are asking a person to create you a check out of their business examining account.

  The distinction is that businesses generally have thousands, numerous thousands, millions or perhaps billions of bucks they can use in order to acquire your services whereas a family (wedding client) normally needs to go right into debt to purchase your solutions.

  Which group of individuals do you think offers the most possibility for your video organization?

  Based upon my experience, I would certainly vote company every time. Assuming you agree or at least that you are interested in exploring it even more, right here's some understanding on making the change from wedding event videography to business video clip production.

  Please remember that I have nothing against wedding celebration videography as well as I recognize that much of you pick to generate wedding celebration video clips since you do not appreciate corporate video clip manufacturing. This article isn't for you.

  My uncle Grayson, additionally a business owner, told me when I initially started my video manufacturing business that I must always try to sell solutions that would certainly enable me to make one of the most money feasible with the equipment/software I had purchased.

  He added that to sell solutions that were any less than one of the most your devices could produce was bad service and also would certainly at some point result in problem. I must confess that at the time I didn't really comprehend what he implied. Nonetheless, nevertheless the lessons I have actually learned by having my feet in the fire, I know without a shadow of uncertainty that he was and is dead-on!

  Your $5,000 video camera can be made use of to create a $2,000 wedding video clip. It can likewise be used to generate a $20,000 training video clip. The same goes for your editing and enhancing system, software application, etc. Thinking you are a relatively qualified editor, you can most likely modify the wedding video in regarding 40-60 hrs which indicates if you function a regular work week of claim 50 hours, you'll be able to create concerning $10,000 per month in revenue for your business.

  Which's humping it ... not leaving you much time to do anything else to construct or run your video production business.

  You can intend, shoot and also edit the training video in the very same one month time period and also as a result of the nature of the training video market segment, you can regulate anywhere from $4,000 to $20,000 in costs per video clip. See where I'm going?

  Making business videos will certainly generate you anywhere from two times to five times the earnings in one month than wedding video clips will certainly generate and also you can do all or most of it with the very same manufacturing tools as well as software application you have currently.

  So, you can resolve the myth that you need to have even more gear to produce business videos. It just isn't real. You can lease what you do not possess and also pass the expenses through to the client.

  Thinking that you are on the same page with what I've stated over, doesn't it make good sense to begin to slowly change your thinking to determine exactly how to obtain any or a lot of the corporate video service in your area? Yes it does!

  Even a small share of the company market will substantially raise your income as well as for that reason result in a fatter pocketbook.

  I can write a book on moving from wedding events to company (and some day I probably will!) but for the benefit of my time and also yours, I'll limit this post to a small handful of ideas.

  1. Focus on what the family members of the couple do for a living.

  Expensive wedding events normally suggest there is a person on either the new bride or groom's side that has cash. A number of these individuals are either execs for major business or business owners of some kind. Target the fathers of the groom and bride to chat with when you are standing in line at the buffet as well as just ask them what they do.

  ( The mommy of the bride and groom will still be insane over the details of the wedding/reception so approach them after the dust has chosen the event.).

  If they help a business or own an organization, briefly pitch your company services as well as ask if they mind if you call them after you have provided the wedding celebration video to additionally talk about prospective chances with their organization. Do not assume momentarily that they will certainly be annoyed by speaking business at their son or daughter's wedding event.

  Trust me, they will certainly be dying for a conversation that does not entail choices related to the wedding celebration. Plus, if they are affluent, probabilities are good that a number of their clients or exec associates are at the wedding event anyhow and you understand that they have actually already been chatting shop since that's what like minded people do ... even at their own daughter or son's wedding!

  CARE: I do not suggest this method if the target in this instance is the groom. As you understand, his mind is rushed and also he will not keep in mind any kind of conversation he contends the wedding event. Call him after you provide the wedding event video and established the meeting to discuss your business services then.

  2. When the wedding period mores than, try to find chances to cover vital public events in the neighborhood that are funded by significant services.

  You simply call the organization and also offer to produce a brief highlight video of the event or gavel-to-gavel protection (whatever makes good sense for the occasion) for a top-level sponsorship bundle. This will certainly put your logo design and exposure on the exact same level as various other major services. I have actually done this at regarding 50 occasions which has actually resulted in my video production company being subjected to countless company potential customers.

  Not every person in the space or that will see the video are legit leads for you, however the mass direct exposure will dramatically raise your corporate video production possibilities and it will not cost you anything aside from your time and the cost of circulation (empty media, holding, etc). I established a website that has since been removed that I made use of to publish the neighborhood videos we generated. You can constantly make use of a complimentary solution like YouTube, Facebook or Vimeo if you do not wish to pay anything to hold the videos.

  This was an excellent method to maintain our brand top of mind. Take care though, it will be alluring to assume you can make even more money by monetizing this occasion insurance coverage solution you are supplying. Although you can make a little money billing for this service, keep your eye on the reward.

  You intend to use this free social work to open the door for larger, high paying projects.

  3. Advertise yourself as an independent video camera operator or manufacturing assistant to local/regional corporate video clip manufacturing firms.

  This will aid you make money in the off-season and also will additionally aid you find out the characteristics of corporate video manufacturing. Want to do anything regardless of what the pay is to obtain your first step. After that, as you build your track record, you'll have the ability to progressively enhance your prices over time.

  Do your best to existing yourself as an ally and also not as a person attempting to take on them. You don't desire various other producers or videographers to think that you will certainly call their customers once you have actually left the collection of their job.

  And also, despite how appealing it will certainly be for you to do so. DON'T! It's unethical and will certainly damage your reputation. It's not worth it.

  There's a lot of service for you to get without sharking somebody else's waters. What you'll find by doing great work and also by being an honest freelance videographer, they'll start tossing scraps your means - the tasks that aren't worth their time however they still intend to handle in order to keep a favorable client partnership.

  You'll obtain the telephone call to produce it under their umbrella. This not only is a superior source of earnings, yet likewise a fantastic way to gradually as well as successfully damage your method into the company video clip production service.

  When ran correctly and also when focused on the appropriate target market, wedding celebration videography can be rewarding. Nevertheless, my experience has actually revealed that a lot more money can be made with much less effort in company video clip manufacturing.

  I wish you'll consider making the transition in your very own video service or at least that you'll locate methods to expand your service supplying to stand for company video clip solutions. Your success flights on it!