#types of cloud technology

[buzzclan]

Exploring the Spectrum: Types of Cloud Computing

Discover the diverse landscape of cloud computing with this comprehensive guide. From public clouds offering scalability and cost efficiency to private clouds providing enhanced security and control, delve into the nuances of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Unravel the complexities of hybrid clouds bridging the gap between on-premises infrastructure and cloud environments, empowering businesses to tailor solutions to their unique needs. Explore the benefits and considerations of each cloud model to navigate the ever-evolving realm of digital transformation effectively.

[i2sunric]

𝐁𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐌 (s.jy)

PAIRING: nerdy!jake x reader (f)

SUMMARY: well, it’s not your fault that your boyfriend is perfect, good at school, kind enough tutor you in math and so skilled in bed chem.

WARNINGS: smut. freshman college (they’re 19), jake lives with his parents, grinding, dirty talking, pet names (baby, jakey), manhandling, overstimulation, protected sex (wrap your willies guys), missionary, doggy, lmk if more. NOT PROOFREAD.

PUBLISHED: 18th April 2025.

WC: 2.7k

TAGLIST: (permanent) TAGLIST: @stolasisyourparent @jaeyunsbimbo @jwnghyuns @bangtancultsposts @shawnyle @jooniesbears-blog @skzenhalove @ro-diaries @onlyhyunjin @xcosmi @strawberrhypen @heeheeswifey @jakeflvrz @astratlantis @tunafishyfishylike @branchrkive @insommni4 @kirinaa08 @leiclerc @nxzz-skz @laurradoesloveu @beomluvrr @heeshlove @17ericas @riribelle @cloud-lyy @enhamonsterghoul @star-hoon @slut4hee

Jake’s room smelled of books, fresh laundry, and that faint scent of cologne he always wore— clean, crisp. It smelled like home. 

His desk was cluttered but organized in a way that made sense only to him: thick textbooks stacked neatly, a cup overflowing with pens and mechanical pencils, and his laptop open to what looked like an impossibly complicated physics simulation. 

You, on the other hand, were sprawled across his bed, your maths textbook abandoned beside you as you dramatically flopped onto your stomach.  

"Jake," you groaned, voice muffled against his pillow. "I’m going to fail this test, you have to accept that."  

You thought that after high school, all you problems would be resolves. What you didn’t expect, though, was to be forced to take an extra curricular trigonometry lecture that made you want to smash your head against the wall.

Jake, who was sitting at his desk, barely looked up. "You’re not going to fail," he said. "You just need to focus."  

"I have been focusing," you argued, rolling onto your back and stretching out like a starfish. "For, like, fifteen minutes."  

"Exactly," he deadpanned, finally turning to look at you. "That’s not nearly enough."  

You pouted. "But I hate math, it’s stupid and unnecessary. When am I ever going to need to find the limit of a function in real life?"  

Jake sighed, closing his book with a quiet thump. "Math is everywhere," he said, pushing his glasses up his nose, a habit of his that you found way too attractive. "It’s in physics, engineering, technology, everything that makes the world work."  

You rolled your eyes, sitting up. "Okay, Professor Sim, but I don’t want to make the world work.” You scoffed, “i just want to pass this stupid class and never think about numbers again."  

Jake gave you a pointed look. "And I want to make sure my girlfriend doesn’t flunk out of college."  

You grinned, crawling off the bed and walking over to him. "Speaking of your genius brain," you murmured, sliding into his lap without hesitation, straddling his thighs as his chair rolled back slightly from the sudden weight. "How’s your project going?"  

Jake tensed for half a second before exhaling, hands automatically settling on your waist to steady you. 

"It’s going well," he said, though his voice was already shifting, lower, rougher. "But I’ll never finish it if you keep distracting me."  

You tilted your head, feigning innocence. "I’m just curious," you purred, looping your arms around his neck. "Tell me what you’re working on, baby."  

Jake sighed, but you could see the way his lips twitched, like he knew exactly what you were doing and was helpless against it anyway.  

"Fine," he said, adjusting his glasses again. "I’m designing a new type of microprocessor, something that can process data faster and more efficiently than the ones currently in use..."  Blah blah blah. 

You weren’t really listening, if you were being honest. 

You liked hearing him talk, loved the way his voice got all passionate when he explained something he cared about, but the actual words? They went right over your head.  

Instead, you focused on the way his hands, so warm and steady, were resting on your waist. Absentminded, like he wasn’t really paying attention, he traced slow circles against the fabric of your sweater, fingertips dipping just beneath the hem to brush against your bare skin.  

You bit your lip, shifting slightly on his lap. "Mmm, keep going."  

Jake didn’t seem to register what you were doing at first. "Right, so,  the idea is that instead of using classical bits, ones and zeroes, you use qubits—"  Again more smart words. 

You rocked against him, slow, almost imperceptible, but enough. Jake inhaled sharply, fingers digging into your skin.  

You smirked. "Go on," you teased.  

His jaw clenched. "You’re evil."  

You hummed, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his jaw. "No, I just really like hearing you talk, baby."  

His hands flexed on your waist, like he was debating something. Then, as if giving in, he exhaled a low chuckle. "You’re such a fucking brat," he muttered, and the way his voice dropped made heat pool between your thighs.s

He moved one hand up, running it along your spine, pushing your sweater up just enough to expose more of your skin to the cool air. The other hand slid lower, gripping your thigh as you ground against him again.  

"You’re not even listening, are you?" he murmured, his lips grazing your ear now.  "Not really," you admitted, breathless.  

His grip tightened, guiding your movements now, encouraging you to move against him with more purpose. "You just like teasing me, huh?"  

"Mmh," you hummed, pressing another kiss to the corner of his lips, then his jaw, then his throat. "I like how worked up you get."  

Jake let out a soft curse under his breath, his hips shifting up just slightly to meet yours. "You’re lucky I love you," he muttered, voice strained.  

You grinned. "I know."  

Then, finally, he broke. His lips crashed against yours, his hands gripping you tighter as he deepened the kiss, swallowing the little sounds you made as you melted into him. 

His glasses pressed against your cheek, cool against your flushed skin, but neither of you cared.  

"You drive me crazy," he murmured against your lips, his breath warm, his hands wandering. "Always so fucking needy."  

You whimpered, rolling your hips again, and he groaned "Jakey," you breathed.  

He exhaled shakily, then kissed you again, hungrier this time, like he couldn’t get enough. "You should be studying," he muttered between kisses, even as he ran his hands up your thighs, pushing your sweater higher.  

You smirked. "Make me."  

And, oh, he did.

Jake groaned against your lips, his grip on your waist firm as he lifted you from his lap, standing up with you in his arms. 

Your legs wrapped around his hips instinctively, and you buried your face in his neck, feeling his pulse race under your lips.  Your core pulsated with need, and he could feel it even through your shorts. 

"You’re gonna be the death of me," he muttered, his voice thick with frustration and desire as he carried you across the room.  

Jake pushed your math book on the floor, and he laid you down, his body pressing against yours as he kissed you again,, like he’d been holding back for too long. 

His hands roamed, slipping under your sweater, pushing it up over your ribs. You arched your back, helping him, and he pulled it off in one smooth motion, tossing it aside.  

"Fuck," he breathed, eyes raking over you. His glasses had slid down his nose, and he pushed them up absentmindedly before leaning down to kiss you again.  

His hands moved with practiced precision, knowing exactly where to touch, where to squeeze, how to make you shiver beneath him. 

His fingers brushed over your thighs, pushing up the fabric of your shorts before he hooked his thumbs in the waistband and dragged them down along with your panties,leaving you bare beneath him.  

"You really don’t like making things easy for me, do you?" he murmured, fingers tracing up your inner thigh. 

You smirked, breathless. "Where’s the fun in that?"  

Jake huffed a quiet laugh, but it was strained, like he was barely holding himself together. 

He sat back for a second, pulling off his sweater in one swift motion, revealing the toned muscle beneath. 

His skin was warm under your fingers as you reached up, running your hands over his stomach, his chest, feeling him tense beneath your touch.  

"Condom," he muttered, reaching into the drawer of his nightstand.  You groaned, letting your head fall back against the pillow. "You always do this."  

"Yeah," he said, tearing the foil packet open with his teeth, "because I’m not stupid."  

You pouted. "I’m on the pill."  

"And I like knowing you’re safe." He leaned down, brushing his lips against yours, his glasses sliding down again. "Quit pouting."  

You sighed dramatically but let him roll the condom on, watching as his long fingers worked quickly.  

Then he was over you again, lips on your neck, his weight pressing you into the mattress as he lined himself up.  "You have to be quiet," he murmured, his voice rough as he kissed along your jaw.  

"Or what?" you teased, just to test him.  

Jake exhaled sharply, then pushed into you in one slow, deep stroke. Your breath hitched, your fingers gripping his shoulders as your back arched off the bed.  

"Or I’ll make you," he murmured, his lips brushing against your ear.  

Your eyes fluttered shut as he started moving, slow at first, like he was savoring every inch of you, but then he set a pace that had you struggling to keep quiet. 

He knew what he was doing, exactly how to angle his hips to make your breath stutter, exactly how to roll his hips so you were gripping at his arms, trying so hard not to moan too loudly.  

His glasses fogged up from how close he was, the heat between you making them useless, but he didn’t stop to take them off. 

You did it for him, reaching up with trembling fingers and sliding them off his face, setting them aside on the nightstand.  

He thanked you with a warm smile. 

His eyes, dark and heavy-lidded with desire, met yours as he thrust deeper, harder, stealing the air from your lungs. His hand came up, covering your mouth as you let out a soft whimper, muffling the sound.  

"Shh," he murmured, his voice like gravel against your skin. "Don’t want my mother hearing how good I’m fucking you, do you?"  

You shook your head, but your body betrayed you, your nails digging into his back as he snapped his hips into you again. It was all too much.  

You clenched around him, your thighs trembling as pleasure coiled tight in your stomach. Jake cursed under his breath, feeling you squeeze around him, and his grip on your hip tightened as he sped up, chasing your release.  

"Come for me," he muttered, his lips brushing against your ear. "I wanna feel you."  

That was all it took. 

Your body tensed, pleasure hitting you like a tidal wave as you bit down on his hand to keep from crying out. Your vision blurred, your fingers digging in his skin as you came undone beneath him.  

Jake groaned, his movements faltering for half a second before he found his rhythm again, his thrusts rougher now, more desperate. 

He grabbed your leg, hooking it over his hip, pushing deeper, hitting that spot that had you gasping against his palm.  

He hadn’t slowed down. His rhythm was deep, fast, relentless. the bed creaking under both of your weight, the headboard softly hitting the wall in time with his thrusts.

You were still whimpering from your second orgasm, your thighs trembling around his waist, your nails digging red crescents into his shoulder blades. Your breath hitched, another moan slipping past your lips before you could stop it. “Jakey! oh—” 

His hand came up instantly, covering your mouth again, palm warm and firm.

“Quiet,” he hissed against your cheek. “You’re gonna get us caught.”

Your body arched off the bed beneath him, mouth smothered by his hand, eyes rolling back from the sheer pressure, the stretch, the heat. Your muffled cries only made him thrust harder.

“You like this, huh?” he breathed, watching your every twitch, every gasp, every time you tried to cry out under his hand. “You like when I fuck you like this.”

You nodded desperately, the pleasure building again even though your body felt like it couldn’t take more. Your skin burned, your thighs ached, but none of it mattered. Jake was everything— all you could feel, all you could hear, all you could take.

You released against him, hard, back arching as your whole body seized up and shuddered. Your vision blurred. You felt tears sting your lashes, your voice cracking beneath his hand as your second orgasm ripped through you.

He grunted, letting his hand slide away from your mouth only when your cries became soft gasps His lips found yours in a hungry, breathless kiss, tongue sliding into your mouth like he couldn’t stand even a second of distance.

“Shit,” he panted, pulling back just a little to brush his hair from his eyes. He kissed your jaw, your throat, sucking a mark just below your ear before whispering, “Turn over for me.”

You blinked up at him, dazed. “Jake, I can’t—” 

“You can,” he said firmly, kissing you again. “Just one more, baby, you’re doing so good.”

And because it was him uou obeyed.

You turned, limbs shaky, chest pressed to the mattress, ass in the air as you grabbed onto the pillow and buried your face into it. Jake groaned softly behind you.

“Fuck, you look so good like this,” he muttered, dragging his fingers over your lower back, down to your ass, squeezing firmly. “Messy and fucked out… all for me.”

You felt him line himself up again, the blunt head of his cock sliding through your slick folds before pushing into you in one hard thrust that had you biting into the pillow to stifle a scream.

“Oh my God… Jake.”

“Shhh,” he hushed you, hand curling around your hip to pull you back into him, setting a brutal pace that left your legs shaking, your voice broken into helpless sobs. “You have to be quiet.”

“I can’t,” you cried into the pillow, half-laughing, half-sobbing from how good it felt, how completely he wrecked you. “Jake— it’s too much—”

“You’re taking it so well,” he said, voice strained, one hand gripping your waist while the other slid up your spine, pushing between your shoulder blades to press you further into the mattress. “So fucking good for me.”

His thrusts grew rougher, deeper, dragging cries from you no matter how hard you tried to bite them back. You fisted the sheets, knuckles white, body trembling as he angled his hips just right, hitting that spot over and over again until your legs gave out.

Jake leaned down, chest against your back, his breath hot against your ear as he murmured, “You pretend to be all innocent, all shy in front of everyone… but in here? With me? You just want to be ruined.”

You moaned, louder than you meant to, and he growled, his hand flying to your mouth again, fingers pressing your cheek into the pillow.

“You don’t listen,” he hissed, thrusting harder, until the sound of skin against skin echoed through the room. “You want my mother to hear how desperate you are for my cock?”

You shook your head wildly, sobbing beneath his hand as he slammed into you again, and again, and again, until your entire body clenched and your mind blanked. One last orgasm crashed over you, white-hot and dizzying, tearing a scream from your throat that was completely muffled by his palm.

Jake groaned into your neck, biting your shoulder as he came hard, his body collapsing against yours, twitching with aftershocks as he held you tightly, his breath loud and shaky in your ear.

You both stayed like that for a moment, tangled, gasping, hearts pounding like they wanted to leap out of your chests.

Jake pulled out gently, sighing contentedly as he rolled to the side and took the condom off, tying it quickly and tossing it into the bin beside the bed.

He turned to you immediately, pulling you into his chest, wrapping his arms around your exhausted body. Your skin was damp with sweat, your legs trembling, your eyes heavy with sleep and satisfaction.

For a long moment, the only sound in the room was heavy breathing, your bodies tangled together, sweat-slicked and trembling.  

Jake finally lifted his head, his dark hair sticking to his forehead, his cheeks flushed. He looked wrecked, but somehow, still devastatingly handsome.  

"You okay?" he murmured, pushing your hair out of your face.  

You nodded, still catching your breath. "Mh.. It was so good.”

Jake huffed a quiet laugh, leaning down to kiss your forehead. "You are a menace."  

You smirked. "You love it."  

"You’re exhausting," he muttered, but his arm was already tightening around you, pulling you close.  

You grinned, snuggling into his chest. "You love that too."  

Jake sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. "Yeah," he admitted softly. "I really do."

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Amazon annihilates Alexa privacy settings, turns on continuous, nonconsensual audio uploading

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me in SAN DIEGO at MYSTERIOUS GALAXY on Mar 24, and in CHICAGO with PETER SAGAL on Apr 2. More tour dates here.

Even by Amazon standards, this is extraordinarily sleazy: starting March 28, each Amazon Echo device will cease processing audio on-device and instead upload all the audio it captures to Amazon's cloud for processing, even if you have previously opted out of cloud-based processing:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/everything-you-say-to-your-echo-will-be-sent-to-amazon-starting-on-march-28/

It's easy to flap your hands at this bit of thievery and say, "surveillance capitalists gonna surveillance capitalism," which would confine this fuckery to the realm of ideology (that is, "Amazon is ripping you off because they have bad ideas"). But that would be wrong. What's going on here is a material phenomenon, grounded in specific policy choices and by unpacking the material basis for this absolutely unforgivable move, we can understand how we got here – and where we should go next.

Start with Amazon's excuse for destroying your privacy: they want to do AI processing on the audio Alexa captures, and that is too computationally intensive for on-device processing. But that only raises another question: why does Amazon want to do this AI processing, even for customers who are happy with their Echo as-is, at the risk of infuriating and alienating millions of customers?

For Big Tech companies, AI is part of a "growth story" – a narrative about how these companies that have already saturated their markets will still continue to grow. It's hard to overstate how dominant Amazon is: they are the leading cloud provider, the most important retailer, and the majority of US households already subscribe to Prime. This may sound like a good place to be, but for Amazon, it's actually very dangerous.

Amazon has a sky-high price/earnings ratio – about triple the ratio of other retailers, like Target. That scorching P/E ratio reflects a belief by investors that Amazon will continue growing. Companies with very high p/e ratios have an unbeatable advantage relative to mature competitors – they can buy things with their stock, rather than paying cash for them. If Amazon wants to hire a key person, or acquire a key company, it can pad its offer with its extremely high-value, growing stock. Being able to buy things with stock instead of money is a powerful advantage, because money is scarce and exogenous (Amazon must acquire money from someone else, like a customer), while new Amazon stock can be conjured into existence by typing zeroes into a spreadsheet:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/06/privacy-last/#exceptionally-american

But the downside here is that every growth stock eventually stops growing. For Amazon to double its US Prime subscriber base, it will have to establish a breeding program to produce tens of millions of new Americans, raising them to maturity, getting them gainful employment, and then getting them to sign up for Prime. Almost by definition, a dominant firm ceases to be a growing firm, and lives with the constant threat of a stock revaluation as investors belief in future growth crumbles and they punch the "sell" button, hoping to liquidate their now-overvalued stock ahead of everyone else.

For Big Tech companies, a growth story isn't an ideological commitment to cancer-like continuous expansion. It's a practical, material phenomenon, driven by the need to maintain investor confidence that there are still worlds for the company to conquer.

That's where "AI" comes in. The hype around AI serves an important material need for tech companies. By lumping an incoherent set of poorly understood technologies together into a hot buzzword, tech companies can bamboozle investors into thinking that there's plenty of growth in their future.

OK, so that's the material need that this asshole tactic satisfies. Next, let's look at the technical dimension of this rug-pull.

How is it possible for Amazon to modify your Echo after you bought it? After all, you own your Echo. It is your property. Every first year law student learns this 18th century definition of property, from Sir William Blackstone:

That sole and despotic dominion which one man claims and exercises over the external things of the world, in total exclusion of the right of any other individual in the universe.

If the Echo is your property, how come Amazon gets to break it? Because we passed a law that lets them. Section 1201 of 1998's Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes it a felony to "bypass an access control" for a copyrighted work:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/24/record-scratch/#autoenshittification

That means that once Amazon reaches over the air to stir up the guts of your Echo, no one is allowed to give you a tool that will let you get inside your Echo and change the software back. Sure, it's your property, but exercising sole and despotic dominion over it requires breaking the digital lock that controls access to the firmware, and that's a felony punishable by a five-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine for a first offense.

The Echo is an internet-connected device that treats its owner as an adversary and is designed to facilitate over-the-air updates by the manufacturer that are adverse to the interests of the owner. Giving a manufacturer the power to downgrade a device after you've bought it, in a way you can't roll back or defend against is an invitation to run the playbook of the Darth Vader MBA, in which the manufacturer replies to your outraged squawks with "I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/26/hit-with-a-brick/#graceful-failure

The ability to remotely, unilaterally alter how a device or service works is called "twiddling" and it is a key factor in enshittification. By "twiddling" the knobs and dials that control the prices, costs, search rankings, recommendations, and core features of products and services, tech firms can play a high-speed shell-game that shifts value away from customers and suppliers and toward the firm and its executives:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/19/twiddler/

But how can this be legal? You bought an Echo and explicitly went into its settings to disable remote monitoring of the sounds in your home, and now Amazon – without your permission, against your express wishes – is going to start sending recordings from inside your house to its offices. Isn't that against the law?

Well, you'd think so, but US consumer privacy law is unbelievably backwards. Congress hasn't passed a consumer privacy law since 1988, when the Video Privacy Protection Act banned video store clerks from disclosing which VHS cassettes you brought home. That is the last technological privacy threat that Congress has given any consideration to:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/06/privacy-first/#but-not-just-privacy

This privacy vacuum has been filled up with surveillance on an unimaginable scale. Scumbag data-brokers you've never heard of openly boast about having dossiers on 91% of adult internet users, detailing who we are, what we watch, what we read, who we live with, who we follow on social media, what we buy online and offline, where we buy, when we buy, and why we buy:

https://gizmodo.com/data-broker-brags-about-having-highly-detailed-personal-information-on-nearly-all-internet-users-2000575762

To a first approximation, every kind of privacy violation is legal, because the concentrated commercial surveillance industry spends millions lobbying against privacy laws, and those millions are a bargain, because they make billions off the data they harvest with impunity.

Regulatory capture is a function of monopoly. Highly concentrated sectors don't need to engage in "wasteful competition," which leaves them with gigantic profits to spend on lobbying, which is extraordinarily effective, because a sector that is dominated by a handful of firms can easily arrive at a common negotiating position and speak with one voice to the government:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/05/regulatory-capture/

Starting with the Carter administration, and accelerating through every subsequent administration except Biden's, America has adopted an explicitly pro-monopoly policy, called the "consumer welfare" antitrust theory. 40 years later, our economy is riddled with monopolies:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/17/monopolies-produce-billionaires/#inequality-corruption-climate-poverty-sweatshops

Every part of this Echo privacy massacre is downstream of that policy choice: "growth stock" narratives about AI, twiddling, DMCA 1201, the Darth Vader MBA, the end of legal privacy protections. These are material things, not ideological ones. They exist to make a very, very small number of people very, very rich.

Your Echo is your property, you paid for it. You paid for the product and you are still the product:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

Now, Amazon says that the recordings your Echo will send to its data-centers will be deleted as soon as it's been processed by the AI servers. Amazon's made these claims before, and they were lies. Amazon eventually had to admit that its employees and a menagerie of overseas contractors were secretly given millions of recordings to listen to and make notes on:

https://archive.is/TD90k

And sometimes, Amazon just sent these recordings to random people on the internet:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/12/20/amazon-alexa-user-receives-audio-recordings-stranger-through-human-error/

Fool me once, etc. I will bet you a testicle* that Amazon will eventually have to admit that the recordings it harvests to feed its AI are also being retained and listened to by employees, contractors, and, possibly, randos on the internet.

*Not one of mine

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/15/altering-the-deal/#telescreen

Image: Stock Catalog/https://www.quotecatalog.com (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexa_%2840770465691%29.jpg

Sam Howzit (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SWC_6_-_Darth_Vader_Costume_(7865106344).jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

[newstrendline]

What is cloud technology

What is Cloud Technology? Cloud technology is changing the way businesses operate. With it, companies can access their IT infrastructure, applications and data from anywhere with an internet connection. There are many different types of cloud computing. These include public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud. They can also be categorized by deployment model and service model. What is cloud…

[hatethysinner]

ooh maybe a drabble/headcanons about remmick with technology in a modern au? i feel like he texts like a grandpa lol. he also probably would blow up your phone with the amount of messages he sends.

ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ɢɪᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴠᴀᴍᴘɪʀᴇ ᴀ ᴘʜᴏɴᴇ

ᴀ/ɴ: MY FIRST MODERN AU! i've been waiting for an excuse to make these headcanons and you've finally given me one anon!! these have been swirling in my mind for at least 2-3 weeks so it was very fun to finally get them out of my brain and onto a post. i had a lot of fun with this one, so enjoy y'all!

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: just comedic unserious cutiepie remmick headcanons + tumblr formatting fuckery

y’all know that one clip from abbott elementary where barbara takes a picture of herself and says “now who took that picture of meeeee?”

yeah that just about sums up how remmick is with technology.

he’s terrible with anything that involves a screen, and understands how they work even less.

so there’s two very specific ways remmick texts (no inbetween), either like a hostage negotiator:

hello. this is remmick. are you safe. i miss you. i saw a rabbit today. thought of you. please advise. you left your socks here. i have kept them in a safe place. let me know if you require them back. can you call me. i don’t like the typing.

or like 50 messages with no punctuation whatsoever:

hi sweetheart i meant to tell you something hang on i saw a bird with red on its wings youd have liked it wait picture didnt work it’s gone now nevermind hi again i miss you do you want eggs in the morning

oh and he types with his pointer finger only so both ways take forever.

his ass can’t use emojis in the right context to save his life. i’m making soup 🐍 love you always 🔪🌹☁️🕊️🩸

please don’t try to videocall this man because you will get jumpscared. nose all up in the camera, blurry as hell, shouting “HELLO?!” like you just pulled him out of odinsleep.

also, screen brightness baffles him so bad. you once caught him squinting at his dimmed phone for half an hour before he asked you: “has the light inside it gone out?”

you showed him how to use spotify one day and he takes making playlists so seriously. each one has a full sentence title, three paragraph description, and some kind of memory attached to it. your favorites are: “for when the world is too loud and you are my quiet.” “i would have danced to this with you in 1945.” “this one made me think about your ankle.”

even a centuries old vampire loves video games just as much as you do. his favorites are the sims (painstakingly rebuilt your entire life together), animal crossing (5 star island and he does not play about his landscaping), and stardew valley (probably holds the world record for largest farm ever and you stopped asking what year he was on after 55)

he said he hated reality tv... so why do you find him curled up next to you every summer to watch love island? he’s a diehard amaya/olandria stan, of course, and he WILL find a way to work his phone so he can cast them votes.

he doesn’t trust the cloud, naturally. “why do we put our memories in it?” “what if it rains? what happens then?” “no, i won’t put your birthday photos there. the sky doesn’t need them.”

he saves every single voicemail you leave him, even if it’s just a simple “call me back.” sometimes you’ll randomly leave him one just for him to add to the collection.

he only uses social media for the animal pictures and videos so when anything else plays he just stares at the screen like 😐.

well that’s a lie he’d definitely follow a bunch of irish nature accounts and will shove his phone in your face while talking about what he remembers from each photo.

yes he does have 97 tabs open and no he won't close any of them. his excuse is always the same. “what if i need them later?”

someone texted him lmao once and he showed it to you with the most confused look on his face. “are they alright?” “it means laughing my ass off.” “…can that happen?”

in conclusion, leave the millennium old grandpappy alone.

[kissthesunandmoon]

To win her hand-part 2~

SMUT! MDNI

(Part one has only been up for about half a day but so far quite a few people seem to like it so I thought I’d hop straight on with a part 2, hope you enjoy. I am so sorry that it is quite long but I felt some build up was necessary, hopefully it’s worth it!)

Making your way up the stairs, your ears finally felt relief from all the obnoxious drunken chatter and cheering, with one final glance back you see your father drinking with the Yautja leader, apparently the two were really bonding over your new union. Truthfully you had genuinely asked Ka’Toah to head back to your room to get to know each other better, away from curious ears and prying eyes, but of course you couldn’t ignore that it was your wedding night. You knew that your culture and his were vastly different, but you could only assume that their traditions of newly weds were the same, what you couldn’t assume was, well…how they were in that department. Through the night of celebrations you had many of your people congratulating you, and most likely due to the drink, you had been let in on the fact that not only did many of your own kind desire the Yautja, but there were a number (higher than you had imagined) of those who had actually pursued them. Both women and men came to you to you telling you stories of their conquests with the god like beings, though you had never asked. Of course these were one nights stands driven by lust and pleasure so you couldn’t fully make your predictions from that alone, but there was one word that you had heard more than a few times. Rough. They were rough, and big. I mean it didn’t take a genius to figure the latter out, your new husband towered over you, he was tall and very muscular. With this in mind it made sense that they would be well endowed to put it politely, and the fact that they obviously weren’t human would account for their apparent roughness. The thoughts consumed you and you found yourself growing nervous, of course you felt comfortable and safe with your new husband, more than you had expected. But the thought loomed over you that you didn’t know him, or why he had even wanted to win your hand in the first place, you had no idea of his intentions and you had never thought to ask. Perhaps he would be rough with you, rougher than you could handle, you were sure he wouldn’t do it intentionally but he could very well end up hurting you. You felt the anxiety building like a knot in your stomach and a cloud in your mind.

The two of you soon came to the door of your room, and once entering you watched as his eyes wandered, curiosity and awe behind them. To call it a bedroom was an understatement with its impressive size, on one side was a large round bed, adorned with silk sheets perfect for the hot climate of your home. There were a few other typical bedroom items, a type of vanity, a seat, but it was none of these items that caught his eye. On the other side however, was something that only a princess could have in her chambers, it looked like either a very large floor level bath, or a small pool. He analysed the slight steam coming from it and he let out another, slightly proud purr when he recognised the heating technology was that of his own. Another generous gift brought to your people by his, a flawless underfloor heating system far more advanced than any created around the world. And of course, straight ahead was an arch that lead to a substantial balcony which like the rest of your room was made from a beautiful, slightly tan marbled stone.

Without even discussing it the two of you instinctively made your way to your balcony looking over your home, the night air was still warm, the sky danced with the lights of the stars and moon, and the sound of vibrant chatter and festivities still hung in the air. You stood quietly for a moment, before he spoke in your own native tongue catching you a little off guard, “You are uneasy of something, Princess” you couldn’t help your smile at both the effort he was clearly putting in to speaking your language which must have been difficult for him, and of course the nickname. Although it was your formal title of course, it sounded sweeter coming from him. But of your smile faded slightly as you processed his words, it wasn’t a question, he wasn’t asking. He knew something was bothering you. You inhaled a breath trying to formulate a sentence in your head, you didn’t want any poor wording offending him. Before you could speak he turned to you, gazing down with gentle eyes, “Are you…having reservations of our union?” You didn’t even hesitate before you replied a loud “No!”, maybe a little louder than you anticipated. “Sorry…I mean no, that isn’t it” you said softer this time, before letting out a small sigh and averting your gaze to the ground. It didn’t take long before you felt a gentle finger under your chin, tilting your head back up to look at him, and you almost melted when you did. His eyebrows were knitted into a look of concern, but his eyes were probably the softest you had seen them, he didn’t push you but gave you a small nod prompting you to explain when you were ready. Taking another shaky breath you knew you owed him an explanation, you hated the idea of him thinking you were having regrets. “It’s just…how do I even say this?” You swallowed hard before continuing, your mouth suddenly dry. “I know now that intimate relationships between our kind are not as uncommon as I had thought, and I know that you would never hurt me…but Im much smaller than you and- I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous, I’m sorry”. You felt the sting of heat in your cheeks, unlike when you had locked eyes however, this was a blush born from embarrassment. You heard that familiar purr you were growing to love as his fingers moved from under your chin, to cup your cheek affectionately, his fingers grazing your hair and you looked up at him again. Once again he spoke in your language with great effort, the moment feeling too important to be communicated through a robotic voice, he needed you to hear him, even if it was slightly broken and his pronunciation flawed. “Do not apologise, I understand I am much larger than you, you fear it will hurt?”. You just nodded shyly at his question and he continued again, the back of his palm caressing your cheek as he did. “I will never do anything to hurt you, but I do not want you to be frightened, we do not need to cross that line if you do not wish to”. You put your hand on his, leaning into his touch, your heart feeling eased by his words, the fact that he was willing to remain without your touch for your own comfort was more than most of the men within your own kind would have offered. “It’s not that I don’t want to…I do, I just-“ you didn’t even know how to finish the sentence, and you didn’t have to. Ka’Toah watched you for a moment, before bending down and scooping you up bridal style and carrying you back into your room, he placed you gently on the floor near your pool. Before you could even process it, he began to rid himself of his armour, you debated averting your eyes but found yourself unable to, staring shamelessly at his now naked body. He then turned stepping into the heated water, then he held a hand out to you. Realising what he was insinuation your breath hitched for a moment, eyes never leaving his and slowly you mimicked him, slowly undressing yourself until you were completely naked as well.

You took his hand and stepped into the water, your size different apparent as the water which reached the middle of your chest, sat just above his hips. He slowly walked backwards with your hand in his until he reached the wall of the pool where there was a ridge to be used as a seat, he sat down and stood you between his legs facing him. You looked at him curiously tilting your head slightly, “We can get to know each others bodies without going all the way, how about we simply get comfortable with each others touch” he explained without you even having to explicitly ask. “Okay” you practically whispered, you stood and watched as his hand found your cheek once again caressing it gently, before it slowly ran down to your jaw and then your neck. You focused on steadying your breathing, enjoying the feeling of his skin. It was so different to your own, but the contrast was absolutely divine. His hands continued, running down your collarbones to your chest, he looked up at you for a moment before touching you there. He was asking for permission, you nodded and he didn’t wait another second before his hands found your breasts, circling your nippled with his thumbs and letting out a deeper purr than you had heard previously. You let out a small gasp, his rough fingers adding just the right amount of friction as he circled, you found your mind wandering, fantasising about how that gentle pressure would feel elsewhere.

Although his intentions were genuinely not to coax you into sex, you found yourself pressing your thighs together to ease the heat building there. His hands moved from your chest, gliding down your waist almost engulfing you with the size difference, those mischievous thumbs once again running down your stomach tracing light patterns. His eyes were focused on your body, memorising every curve, indulging in the softness of your skin. Soon his hands moved down to your hips, running over your outer thighs, you could hear him muttering in his language, you didn’t know what he was saying but from his tone, you could tell they were compliments. No limits to his curiosity he used his hand to gently part your legs, wanting to feel the soft skin of your inner thighs. First he dragged his fingers along the outsides once again with your heart already pounding, before finally they trailed to the insides once again trailing up and down. You figured he mustn’t have known that the inside of the thigh was an extremely sensitive part of a human woman, because his fingers took one particular high drag. And you couldn’t hold it in anymore, your body trembled and you let out a loud gasp, stumbling forward slightly having to steady yourself with firm hands on his shoulders. His hands had gripped you to steady you, and for the first time in a while his eyes met your own, looking slightly alarmed. It didn’t take long apparently though before he recognised the look in your own, finally less distracted by the feel of your body he took a moment to analyse your body, and he realised. Your heart was beating faster, but not like before, not from nerves. Your cheeks slightly flushed, breathing shaky, he could tell without a doubt. You were on fire from his touch, the look in his eyes shifted slightly to one a mix of curiosity and desire. Bringing his hands around the backs of your thighs he gave you a gentle tug closer to him, so close that your front was almost pressed against his own, after all with the height difference he was practically eye level with you despite sitting down. He didn’t say anything, he didn’t need words, neither did you. He moved his hands back to the insides of your thighs, trailing up and down once again, but each time he would go higher, and higher. Your breathing became heavy, your hands still gripping his shoulders as you looked down at him. He was teasing you. Just as it almost became unbearable, his hand trailed up and instead of dipping back down, he went higher. Finally pressing his fingers against you, you whimpered slightly eyes still locked in his. He waiting for a moment, as if trying to give you time to back down if you wanted to. But instead your body spoke on your behalf, as completely on their own accord, your hips rocked forward slightly. That was enough for him, his other hand came to wrap around your waist steadying you, and then he began moving his hand. His middle finger began to circle your clit, your body trembled again, the feeling was overwhelming in the best way. One of your hands left his shoulders to cover your own mouth, stifling yourself, but before you could get comfortable his hand at your waist flew up to grab your wrist. Pulling it away he shook his head, tutting at you leaning forward to put his face beside your ear “Now how will I know how good you feel if I can’t hear you?” He cood softly, he let go of your wrist and you wrapped both of your arms around his neck holding him close, keeping his head next to your own discovering you enjoyed his lustful words against your ear. His hand traveled back down, this time resting on your hip.

He continued circling his fingers a little faster now, your hips continued rocking and you didn’t hide your moans this time, he continued to growl and mumble in your ear. Various words of praise guided you through your pleasure, sometimes a little teasing, but you liked it “right there hmm?” “Does that feel good?” “You like that princess?” All of his words bringing you closer and closer, you grabbed at his arm between your legs, panting and gasping. He knew you were close, and he didn’t stop, his fingers worked tirelessly and finally without warning, the band snapped and you let out a strangled moan as you came, his fingers worked you through your orgasm as your moans turned to whimpers, and finally whines of overstimulation. You pulled back looking at him trying to catch your breath. But before you could even wrap your head around what happened, once again he scooped you up causing you to yelp slightly, climbing out of your pool with you in his arms, apparently not caring about the fact the two of you were soaked as he lay made his way to your bed, laying you on your back. He hovered above you slightly as you gazed up at him through your now slightly hooded eyes, he used his hand to brush some of your hair out of your face staring into your eyes. “Beautiful…” he whispered softly to you “We don’t have to do anything else, your pleasure is more than enough-“ he began, but before he could even finish you wrapped your legs around his hips, the fear of pain seemingly long gone from your mind.

He looked at you for a moment his hand gripping one of your thighs at his waist, he needed verbal confirmation from you. “Please” you breathed, your voice slightly weak from your high, and that was all he needed. He began slowly pushing in, you winced from the stretch, your eyes squeezing shut as you subconsciously held your breath. The arm he was supporting himself with next to your head moved to stroke a finger along your cheek, as his the thumb from his other hand make delicate circles on your thigh. “Breathe for me”. You let out a shaky exhale as he pushed in further and further until you were full, and then he stopped waiting for you to adjust to his size. Your hands wandered, gripping his shoulders, biceps, neck, chest-whatever you could find. He lowered himself so that he was almost flush against you, still running his hands along your cheek, your hair, your lips trying to soothe you. If he was honest, he was almost debating pulling out and scooping you up to cuddle you instead, he hated seeing your face scrunch up with pain, your slight whines of discomfort. But then just as he almost did, your face and body relaxed, your breathing steadied and your hands came to rest on his back. Testing the waters slightly, he rolled his hips, not too much but just enough to gauge your comfort. And he found much more, you let out a soft moan as he did so, your legs tightening and your nails digging into his back. And so he did it again, and again, each time pulling slightly further back, rocking his hips just a little harder. And soon, you were a moaning writhing mess beneath him. Your hips moved with him, desperate to feel him, and suddenly the talk of the “roughness” didn’t seem to scare you. “More, please” you managed between your moans, and finally he felt that you were truly comfortable enough for him to let himself go. Two of you losing yourselves in the pleasure together, you didn’t try to be quiet and neither did he. Just as you thought it couldn’t feel any better, he angled his hips differently, so that he went deeper and his pelvis rubbed against your clit. Your moans grew louder as you practically clawed at his back as you felt that familiar build low in your stomach, the new angle along with your nails also edged him towards his own orgasm. Lifting himself slightly he rested his forehead against your own, once again muttering sweet nothings as he felt you tighten around you. “There you go princess, that’s it, right there” and the sweetness of his intimacy collided with the rocking of his hips, and you came undone again. Harder this time, your back arched as your legs shook around him, moaning, panting and gasping. The sight and sound of you pushed him over the edge, as his hand reached under your back, pressing you into him. He let out a deep primal growl, not pulling out as he filled you. You weren’t sure if he could get you pregnant, and you didn’t care. You needed to feel him. Finally the two of you slowed your hips, you stayed there a moment before he finally pulled out. And quickly he sat up against your pillows, pulling you into his lap and against his chest, rubbing your back and running his fingers through your hair. He must have asked you a million times if you were okay, and each time you reassured him. You were more than okay, in fact as you relaxed into him coming down from your second high of the night you only had one thing on your mind. One more couldn’t hurt, right?

(OKAY so I am so sorry that this is so long, but I really hope it was worth it! Once again this is my first time with fanfic so I hope the smut was okay. Let me know if you enjoyed it, and if you want a part three or have any one shot requests!)

[reasonsforhope]

"Thanks to a new discovery by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, painful injections and intravenous drugs could potentially be a thing of the past.

Inspired by the way squids (yes, squids!) use jets to propel themselves through the ocean, shooting ink clouds, researchers took this biological process to the lab.

The result is an ingestible capsule that “releases a burst of drugs directly into the wall of the stomach or other organs in the digestive tract,” developed by researchers from MIT and Novo Nordisk...

Traverso was the senior author of the study, which concludes that the capsule could offer an alternative to delivering drugs that normally have to be injected, like insulin, antibodies, and even mRNA.

The reason these drugs cannot be taken orally is because they consist of large proteins that are easily broken down in the digestive tract, rendering them ineffective. 

For years, Traverso’s lab has been working on a solution, encapsulating these drugs in small devices that protect them through their journey in the body until they reach the lining of the digestive tract, where they can be injected directly into the system.

In previous iterations, he and his colleagues devised capsules that use microneedles to deliver the drugs once they enter the digestive system.

But in this new study (recently published in Nature), the researchers went completely needle-free.

Taking inspiration from cephalopods — or squids and octopuses — the researchers came up with two ways to mimic their siphon organ, which allows these animals to shoot jets of ink to distract predators...

And don’t fret — once the drugs are administered, the capsules (which are made of metal and plastic) simply pass through the digestive tract naturally.

Although researchers have only tested the device on animals so far, the trails have shown resounding success. In these tests, the capsule successfully delivered insulin, a drug similar to Ozempic, and a type of RNA that can be used in treating genetic disorders.

In this research, success was calculated by measuring the concentration of drugs in the animals’ bloodstream, which reached the same levels as drugs administered by injections. Plus, there was no tissue damage after the fact...

According to MIT, the researchers will now work to further develop the capsules, in hopes of testing them in humans.

Their ultimate vision is that the capsules could be used at home by patients who need to take insulin or other injected drugs frequently. The approach also eliminates the need to dispose of sharp needles, creating a safer — and more comfortable — experience for patients and providers alike."

-via GoodGoodGood, November 25, 2024

[lieutenant-lithuania]

Demons have been getting less and less business ever since people discovered technology. Todays computers educate people and prevent them into joining cults in the name of the devil— or make up new ones that have nothing to do with demons! How cruel!

Which is why the demons adapted and integrated into modern tech.

That MacBook your friends sweet grandma bought him? Well every time he send an email to his professor the demon inside adds a personalized insult randomly in the middle of his text directed towards the poor teacher. The phone that your other friend swore was normal the night before? It now sends you horror videos 3:00 to 3:33 AM.

Was this weird? Yes. Was this scary? Of course. Was this annoying? Absolutely. You've gotten so used to the buzzing of your phone in the dead of night that you've started to sleep through it. And every single time your friend shows up to class with an embarrassed frown on his face you already know some teacher chewed him out for "telling" them their face looks like a horse when they get into the flow of the lesson.

It was normal life now. So when a professor comes to class and admits shamefully that the entire lesson of the day was wiped clean off of your computer, most of the class just sighs.

No one knows why this was happening to almost everyone, and you sure as hell have wasted energy trying to find an answer. So, what's left?

You remembered that you haven't ever opened the strange and edgy videos sent to you, and with boredom clouding your judgement— you clicked on one of the videos. It immediately showed you distorted faces and edited blood. Cryptic and haunting words flashed onto the screen and whispered in a voice only a devil could muster. It wasn't scary. Maybe it's because you watched it in the middle of the day, or maybe because you've watched too many arg's filled with very similar type of imagery. Nonetheless, you weren't disturbed and threw your phone to the side. Homework was awaiting you with open arms.

Unbeknownst to you, you have just made a gateway from your friends phone to yours, successfully migrating over to your device. And it is not pleased. Don't you know how much it worked to make that video?! Modern day horror is exactly like this! And learning photo-editing as an ancient entity isn't easy! A little bit of appreciation would have been nice!

It put blood sweat and tears into making something even more toe-curling and vomit inducing and popped it onto your screen one day as you attempted to pick out a song for your walk to campus. You stopped in your tracks, gazed upon the first couple seconds of the video and sighed, pocketing your phone and continuing your venture in silence. HOW RUDE.

But the demon couldn't lie, it was intrigued. Did nothing he do give you even the smallest of frights? Is the modern generation already desensitized to such things? It could only find out by watching you even closer.

Whenever you put your phone out on the table, it observed you. Whenever you texted it memorized each and every letter. It secretly accompanied you when you watched youtube. At first it told itself that it was just doing this to make falling asleep unbearable for you and to make sure his videos are imprinted into your mind forever.

But then it couldn't stop. Its day wouldn't be complete nor good if it didn't hear you speak or see your face. It wanted you to smile, to scream, to cry and to kiss its face. Dear underworld, it knew what was happening and nothing could stop it. It was obsessed. It was in love. With a mortal.

Would you like it if the demon knew you to your core? Would you be creeped out if it correctly listed off all of your search history? Don't worry, it doesn't judge! In fact, it searched up everything you did to make sure it knows what you know. You're perfect together! You must see it! You must see your fated!

The phone buzzed as you brushed your teeth, and you picked it up. There was only one notification on the screen.

UNKNOWN "Hi, Y/N. Mind if we chat?"

[inkyquillstories]

DreamGrid: Best friends living their best lives (A Body Swap Story)

The 2020s was the time where smartphones and AI were the biggest thing. This decade however, virtual reality was the biggest gamechanger. Technology has gone to a point where not only can you see and hear your virtual world but also smell, taste, and feel it. All five senses connected to this virtual reality called DreamGrid. 

Inside the DreamGrid, it automatically detects everything about you from your body to your preferences. We barely have secrets from companies these days since all our data has been uploaded in the cloud. Once you’ve logged in and wear the helmet, you can see, smell, and feel your real life body in the virtual world. In this world, the possibilities are endless. 

Tom and Nate have been best friends since they were kids. Their parents were friends and they became friends themselves. They would always do sleepovers and do everything together. When they got into school, it became apparent that they had their own strengths. Tom was one of the smartest kids in the class while Nate was very athletic and charming. It didn’t affect their friendship though, in fact, it was strengthened. Tom would help Nate with his homework while Nate helped Tom with his social skills and physical-related tasks.

Years later, they’re still best buddies. They actually moved in together ‘cause it’s cheaper that way. Tom now works for DreamGrid while Nate became a physical therapist.

(Tom) 

(Nate)

One day, Tom received headsets from DreamGrid and Nate insisted on immediately logging in along with Tom. They went through all the registration and setup until they were both in the virtual world. 

Even in DreamGrid, they decided to be roommates. In this virtual world though, their apartment was bigger with more expensive furniture. Nate couldn’t believe how tasty virtual food is while Tom spent more time decorating his room with virtual knicknacks. Eventually, both guys logged off because there’s just too many things to do in DreamGrid but not enough time. 

After a few months, both guys had a stressful day at work. They ranted to each other what annoyed them that day. Despite the very different type of jobs they had, one being very technical while the other being very physical, one of the common denominators that contributed to their stress was how routine and how repetitive each day could be. Given it was the weekend, Nate had the idea to go visit DreamGrid again to do something new with his best friend. 

“Hey Tom, let’s go log on DreamGrid. I just need a break from my life right now.” Nate said. 

“You know what, me too.” Tom replied. 

Both men wore the headsets and hopped into their virtual apartment. What they didn’t anticipate is how similar it felt to real life. When they set up their accounts, they chose to still have the same jobs in the virtual world. Others would usually choose jobs they don’t have in real life. 

“Hey Tom, I have a crazy idea.” Nate said. 

“What is it?”

“What if I log in DreamGrid as you and you log in as me?” 

“You want us to be each other in the virtual world?” Nate replied.

“Yeah, I do. I think it’ll be fun to be my best friend for a while.”

“Oh I don’t know-”

“Come on! We both know each other very well and our avatars have all the know-how anyway!” Nate insisted. 

“Well I guess there’s no harm in doing it.” Tom finally relented. 

Both men logged out and exchanged headsets.

When they logged in, they were each other. 

“Holy shit, this is so freaky! No pun intended” Nate said. 

“I know! It feels so weird being taller than you, or I should say, me.” Tom said.

“I’ve never been this fit before.” Tom said. 

“And I haven’t been this hairless since 9th grade.” Nate replied. 

Both men agreed to go to each other’s room to explore their new bodies. 

In Nate’s room:

“Holy shit, it feels so weird to be in Nate’s body” Tom thought as he lifted his shorts. 

Tom opened his selfie camera and admired his new hairy chest. He ran towards the bathroom and took a selfie there. 

In Tom’s Room:

Nate peeled off Tom’s shirt and inspected his own body. It was certainly very different from his own. However he enjoyed every minute of it. 

Like Tom, he went to the mirror to take a selfie of his new self. 

Both guys emerged from their rooms and decided to go to each other’s jobs. Tom enjoyed helping people as a physical therapist. Nate enjoyed thinking about complex problems at DreamGrid. At the end of the virtual day, they met again at home and discussed. 

“Tom, your job is amazing!” Nate said. 

“I haven't thought that hard in a long time. It felt good being able to solve the complex problems they gave me.”

Tom replied “Well I had a lot of fun in your job too! You know I exercise too but I’m not as fit and strong as you and having your body helped a lot.” 

“But it’s time to log off. Do you wanna do it again?” Nate asked. 

“I sure do.” Tom replied. 

Both guys removed their helmets and got back to the real world. Tom looked at his body with a bit of disappointment. Unbeknownst to him, Nate felt the same way.

Both guys excitedly got home and immediately wore their headsets. Tom was happy being Nate and Nate was happy being Tom. In fact, they preferred being each other more than being themselves. By extension, both men dreaded going back to the real world every time. They wished the virtual world was their reality. 

This continued on for months. They would be each other virtually and do the bare minimum in reality. Both guys were able to articulate their common desire to swap bodies so they decided to be each other permanently in DigitalGrid. 

However, this was not enough for either of them. They wanted their virtual identities to be their real and physical identities. In fact, Tom felt wrong being Tom in real life. He felt like he was too short and weaker than he should be. Nate hated being taller and stronger. This did not feel like the life he was meant to have. 

When Nate is in DigitalGrid, he would work on a way for their consciousness to be reuploaded in each other’s bodies in real life. In the real world, Tom would tinker with the physical helmets to be able to trick the software that Nate was Tom and Tom was Nate. After a few more months, both men succeeded. 

“Are you sure about this Tom?” Tom asked Nate. They decided to call each other by the other’s name a few months ago. 

“Yes, I’m sure Nate.” Nate replied. 

Both men smiled and wore the headset. In the virtual world, Tom was Tom and Nate was Nate. They both wore the headsets in the virtual world as well and pressed a button. Both men felt a shock and removed their virtual headsets. Tom was now Nate and Nate was Tom. Again, they removed the real headsets. 

Tom found himself in Nate’s body and Nate found himself in Tom’s body. They hugged each other and said thanks as they looked forward to being each other for the rest of their lives. 

The end.

[quasi-normalcy]

So here’s a question that’s recently troubled me: When did average people stop knowing how their technology works?

I don’t even mean at the level of engineers or even electronic hobbyists; I mean like…at the level of general physical principles. Like “touch screens work by deforming a charged conductor layer, bringing it closer to a second layer and altering the local current to register a touch.” Did average people ever know this sort of stuff? Because it seems like they did. Like, maybe it’s just bias in the type of late-19th/early-20th century fiction I read, but it seems like people knew, at least in general principles, how, say, a victrola worked; they were interested in radio; they knew the basics of electricity.

So when did they stop? Like, how many people actually know how their computers work? How many people know about the humongous backend of physical infrastructure that’s necessary to support cloud computing or LLMs?

I mean, there’s an entire subgenre of horror stories that’s just about personal electronics doing spooky things…and why shouldn’t there be? As far as most people are concerned, they’re surrounded at all times by unfathomable nonhuman entities that mostly do what they’re supposed to, but sometimes don’t for unfathomable reasons. Honestly, I’m surprised people aren’t as superstitious about it as 17th century sailors were about the sea.

And I mean, part of it is just increasing disciplinary specialisation meaning you can’t know things fully; and part of it is just that computers and software tend to be black boxes (and to hide the backend). But also, to a large extent, we don’t even try to explain it.

Like, I assume that kids in the early 20th century studied how electricity works and how mechanics and such work in their science classes. But I grew up in the 1990s “Age of Computers” and I can’t recall anyone ever sitting me or my class down in public school to explain how logic circuits work. Did they do it for other kids in the 1990s? Are they doing it now?

I don't know; I just keep thinking that there's benefit to knowing that the world is rationally explicable, but it just seems to be getting more and more opaque to most people. I think we might be reaping the consequences of this.

[pkmn-rainbow-gray]

Eevee Poll: Which eeveelution would you pick?

Size comparison/bonus info beneath poll! For shiny versions, click here!

Size comparison - Bansheeon is the size of regular Eevee, Lanteon gets smaller upon evolution.

Fun "Facts"!

🪽 Aveon hunts like an arctic fox, but in the clouds instead of snow! It leaps into the sky, then pounces into clouds where it locates bird pokemon with its excellent hearing! Eevee gains this form by leveling up while holding the Flying Gem.

👻 Bansheeon with the Soundproof ability can use Perish Song and not get affected (this got patched out but I patch it back in 😈). Eevee gains this form by fainting while holding a Reaper Cloth - spooooky!

🪨 Eevee gains the ability to learn Ancient Power via TM, allowing it to evolve into this ancient form! With its powerful tail, Bludgeeon punches into the ground to pull up stones it uses as weapons - hammers, shields, and even projectiles!

🐉 Eevee becomes Drakeon after leveling up while holding the Dragon Scale. It is the largest eeveelution, full of boundless energy and a magpie-like desire to collect shiny things. Drakeon's purr soothes dragon-types, making it great for aspiring dragon trainers.

🐇 Eevee becomes Dusteon after leveling up while holding Stardust. Capable of burrowing rapidly and kicking up dust to blind opponents, Dusteon is a much trickier opponent than one might expect from its cute looks.

✊ Eevee transforms into Guardeeon after learning Detect or Double Kick via egg move/TM alongside high friendship. It controls its scarf-like appendages to attack from afar and manipulate objects, similar to Sylveon. Rather than fairy magic, it can sense and manipulate aura like Lucario.

🦋 Eevee becomes Lanteon after leveling up while holding a Bug Gem. Lanteon is part luna moth, part firefly. It can detach and control the glowing lights on its mane to lure prey or confuse a foe! Lanteon is even smaller than Eevee.

🧬 Mutateon was created when Eevee was exposed to a chemical called Mutagen E - formed from the DNA of Eevee, Umbreon, Espeon, Flareon, Drakeon, Lanteon, and Human. Ruthlessly intelligent hunters, Mutateon can alter its venom on the fly to be more effective against its foe, and some are known to mutate themselves into new types for a better matchup (Protean would lose its nerf for this generation 😈).

🤖 Titaneon was created in response to a rampaging giant Mutateon. In order to resist venom, recovered alien technology was used to outfit Eevee with cybernetic armor. After growing to giant size and defeating it in battle, Titaneon gained Mutateon's respect and the two became friends. Titaneon is inspired by Ultraseven, whose capsule monsters inspired Pokemon.

Hopefully you enjoyed at least one of these pocket monster ideas! Have a great day! ❤️

[pupsmailbox]

TECHNOLOGY ID PACK

NAMES︰ admin. ajax. alexa. am. atari. audio. auto. bailey. binary. blank. blu. blue. bluesse. browser. browsette. bug. byte. cache. calware. chip. circe. click. clicker. clickie. clicky. cloud. coda. code. codette. codie. cody. computette. crypt. cursor. cy. cyber. cybernet. cybernetica. cyberweb. cypher. cypherre. data. dell. digi. digitalia. digitelle. digitesse. disc. dot. electronica. electronique. emoticon. emoticonnie. fax. file. gig. gizmo. glitch. glitche. glitchesse. glitchette. graphique. hacker. hal. halware. hijack. index. informationne. intelligette. internette. interweb. java. javascript. juno. key. link. linuxe. lotus. lovebytes. mac. mal. malakai. malware. malwaria. memorette. memorie. meta. mic. micah. mickey. morphe. mouse. mousette. myspace. nano. neo. net. netette. nett. netty. paige. pascal. payton. peyton. pixel. programatha. programette. programme. pulse. reboot. rom. router. ruby. sam. sammy. screene. screenette. sean. shock. solitaire. spy. static. stutter. talia. tap. tecca. tech. techette. tessa. tetris. trojan. troubleshoot. ts. user. vir. virus. virusse. volt. vyrus. webbe. wheatley. whirr. widget. will. wirehead. wiresse. zap. zett. zetta. zip.

PRONOUNS︰ ai/ai. alt/alt. anti/antivirus. arc/archive. audio/audio. bat/battery. beep/beep. beep/boop. bit/bit. bit/byte. blue/blue. board/board. bright/bright. brow/browser. browser/browser. brr/brr. bu/bug. bug/bug. buzz/buzz. byt/byte. byte/byte. c/cpu. charge/charger. cir/circuit. cli/click. click/clack. click/click. click/scroll. co/code. code/code. color/color. com/com. com/computer. comp/computer. compute/computer. computer/computer. cor/corrupt. corrupt/corrupt. CPU/CPU. crash/crash. cre/creeper. crtl/crtl. cy/cyber. cyb/cyber. cyber/cyber. da/data. data/data. delete/delete. di/disk. dig/digital. digi/digi. digi/digital. digital/digital. dra/drag. e/exe. electronic/electronic. enter/enter. er/error. err/error. error/error. exe/exe. fi/file. file/file. gi/gif. gli/glitch. glit/glitch. glitch/glitch. graphic/graphic. hac/hacker. hack/hack. hard/hardware. head/phone. hij/hijacker. ho/home. info/info. information/information. int/internet. intelligent/intelligence. intelligent/intelligent. inter/net. internet/internet. it/it. jpg/jpg. key/board. key/cap. key/key. key/keyboard. key/keylogger. lag/lag. lap/laptop. ligh/light. linux/linux. load/load. log/login. main/mainframe. mal/malware. me/media. memory/memorie. mon/monitor. mou/mouse. nano/nano. net/net. net/network. org/org. over/overwrite. page/page. pix/pix. pix/pixel. pixel/pixel. plu/plug. png/png. pop/popup. port/port. pow/power. pro/program. program/program. ram/ram. ran/ransom. reboot/reboot. reload/reload. res/restore. ret/retro. route/router. sca/scan. scr/scroll. scre/screen. scre/screencap. scree/screen. screen/screen. scri/script. script/script. sentient/sentience. shift/shift. site/site. skip/skip. soft/software. spa/spam. space/space. spy/spyware. stop/stop. te/tech. tech/nology. tech/tech. technology/technology. tou/touchpad. txt/txt. typ/type. upload/upload. user/user. vi/viru. vi/virus. vir/virtual. web/page. web/web. whir/whir. wi/wire. win/dow. win/window. wire/wire. wire/wired. zip/zip . ⌨ . ☣ . ⚙ . ⚠ . 🎞 . 🎨 . 🎭 . 🎮 . 🎵 . 👀 . 👁 . 💔 . 💡 . 💢 . 💣 . 💳 . 💵 . 💻 . 💽 . 💾 . 💿 . 📀 . 📱 . 🔇 . 🔈 . 🔉 . 🔊 . 🔋 . 🔌 . 🔎 . 🖥 . 🖱 . 🗡 . 🗯 . 🛠 . 🧿 .

[mostlysignssomeportents]

How lock-in hurts design

Berliners: Otherland has added a second date (Jan 28) for my book-talk after the first one sold out - book now!

If you've ever read about design, you've probably encountered the idea of "paving the desire path." A "desire path" is an erosion path created by people departing from the official walkway and taking their own route. The story goes that smart campus planners don't fight the desire paths laid down by students; they pave them, formalizing the route that their constituents have voted for with their feet.

Desire paths aren't always great (Wikipedia notes that "desire paths sometimes cut through sensitive habitats and exclusion zones, threatening wildlife and park security"), but in the context of design, a desire path is a way that users communicate with designers, creating a feedback loop between those two groups. The designers make a product, the users use it in ways that surprise the designer, and the designer integrates all that into a new revision of the product.

This method is widely heralded as a means of "co-innovating" between users and companies. Designers who practice the method are lauded for their humility, their willingness to learn from their users. Tech history is strewn with examples of successful paved desire-paths.

Take John Deere. While today the company is notorious for its war on its customers (via its opposition to right to repair), Deere was once a leader in co-innovation, dispatching roving field engineers to visit farms and learn how farmers had modified their tractors. The best of these modifications would then be worked into the next round of tractor designs, in a virtuous cycle:

https://securityledger.com/2019/03/opinion-my-grandfathers-john-deere-would-support-our-right-to-repair/

But this pattern is even more pronounced in the digital world, because it's much easier to update a digital service than it is to update all the tractors in the field, especially if that service is cloud-based, meaning you can modify the back-end everyone is instantly updated. The most celebrated example of this co-creation is Twitter, whose users created a host of its core features.

Retweets, for example, were a user creation. Users who saw something they liked on the service would type "RT" and paste the text and the link into a new tweet composition window. Same for quote-tweets: users copied the URL for a tweet and pasted it in below their own commentary. Twitter designers observed this user innovation and formalized it, turning it into part of Twitter's core feature-set.

Companies are obsessed with discovering digital desire paths. They pay fortunes for analytics software to produce maps of how their users interact with their services, run focus groups, even embed sneaky screen-recording software into their web-pages:

https://www.wired.com/story/the-dark-side-of-replay-sessions-that-record-your-every-move-online/

This relentless surveillance of users is pursued in the name of making things better for them: let us spy on you and we'll figure out where your pain-points and friction are coming from, and remove those. We all win!

But this impulse is a world apart from the humility and respect implied by co-innovation. The constant, nonconsensual observation of users has more to do with controlling users than learning from them.

That is, after all, the ethos of modern technology: the more control a company can exert over its users ,the more value it can transfer from those users to its shareholders. That's the key to enshittification, the ubiquitous platform decay that has degraded virtually all the technology we use, making it worse every day:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/19/twiddler/

When you are seeking to control users, the desire paths they create are all too frequently a means to wrestling control back from you. Take advertising: every time a service makes its ads more obnoxious and invasive, it creates an incentive for its users to search for "how do I install an ad-blocker":

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/07/adblocking-how-about-nah

More than half of all web-users have installed ad-blockers. It's the largest consumer boycott in human history:

https://doc.searls.com/2023/11/11/how-is-the-worlds-biggest-boycott-doing/

But zero app users have installed ad-blockers, because reverse-engineering an app requires that you bypass its encryption, triggering liability under Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This law provides for a $500,000 fine and a 5-year prison sentence for "circumvention" of access controls:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/12/youre-holding-it-wrong/#if-dishwashers-were-iphones

Beyond that, modifying an app creates liability under copyright, trademark, patent, trade secrets, noncompete, nondisclosure and so on. It's what Jay Freeman calls "felony contempt of business model":

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

This is why services are so horny to drive you to install their app rather using their websites: they are trying to get you to do something that, given your druthers, you would prefer not to do. They want to force you to exit through the gift shop, you want to carve a desire path straight to the parking lot. Apps let them mobilize the law to literally criminalize those desire paths.

An app is just a web-page wrapped in enough IP to make it a felony to block ads in it (or do anything else that wrestles value back from a company). Apps are web-pages where everything not forbidden is mandatory.

Seen in this light, an app is a way to wage war on desire paths, to abandon the cooperative model for co-innovation in favor of the adversarial model of user control and extraction.

Corporate apologists like to claim that the proliferation of apps proves that users like them. Neoliberal economists love the idea that business as usual represents a "revealed preference." This is an intellectually unserious tautology: "you do this, so you must like it":

https://boingboing.net/2024/01/22/hp-ceo-says-customers-are-a-bad-investment-unless-they-can-be-made-to-buy-companys-drm-ink-cartridges.html

Calling an action where no alternatives are permissible a "preference" or a "choice" is a cheap trick – especially when considered against the "preferences" that reveal themselves when a real choice is possible. Take commercial surveillance: when Apple gave Ios users a choice about being spied on – a one-click opt of of app-based surveillance – 96% of users choice no spying:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/05/96-of-us-users-opt-out-of-app-tracking-in-ios-14-5-analytics-find/

But then Apple started spying on those very same users that had opted out of spying by Facebook and other Apple competitors:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

Neoclassical economists aren't just obsessed with revealed preferences – they also love to bandy about the idea of "moral hazard": economic arrangements that tempt people to be dishonest. This is typically applied to the public ("consumers" in the contemptuous parlance of econospeak). But apps are pure moral hazard – for corporations. The ability to prohibit desire paths – and literally imprison rivals who help your users thwart those prohibitions – is too tempting for companies to resist.

The fact that the majority of web users block ads reveals a strong preference for not being spied on ("users just want relevant ads" is such an obvious lie that doesn't merit any serious discussion):

https://www.iccl.ie/news/82-of-the-irish-public-wants-big-techs-toxic-algorithms-switched-off/

Giant companies attained their scale by learning from their users, not by thwarting them. The person using technology always knows something about what they need to do and how they want to do it that the designers can never anticipate. This is especially true of people who are unlike those designers – people who live on the other side of the world, or the other side of the economic divide, or whose bodies don't work the way that the designers' bodies do:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/20/benevolent-dictators/#felony-contempt-of-business-model

Apps – and other technologies that are locked down so their users can be locked in – are the height of technological arrogance. They embody a belief that users are to be told, not heard. If a user wants to do something that the designer didn't anticipate, that's the user's fault:

https://www.wired.com/2010/06/iphone-4-holding-it-wrong/

Corporate enthusiasm for prohibiting you from reconfiguring the tools you use to suit your needs is a declaration of the end of history. "Sure," John Deere execs say, "we once learned from farmers by observing how they modified their tractors. But today's farmers are so much stupider and we are so much smarter that we have nothing to learn from them anymore."

Spying on your users to control them is a poor substitute asking your users their permission to learn from them. Without technological self-determination, preferences can't be revealed. Without the right to seize the means of computation, the desire paths never emerge, leaving designers in the dark about what users really want.

Our policymakers swear loyalty to "innovation" but when corporations ask for the right to decide who can innovate and how, they fall all over themselves to create laws that let companies punish users for the crime of contempt of business-model.

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/24/everything-not-mandatory/#is-prohibited

Image: Belem (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Desire_path_%2819811581366%29.jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

[twistedwonderlandimaginesblog]

Falls First, Falls Harder [Scarabia & Ignihyde Edition]

Kalim Al-Asim

Falls First: You

Falls Harder: Kalim

Kalim has always extended a hand to you, being kind, open, and an overall ray of sunshine on a rainy day. You’re surprised he doesn’t have more people totally in love with him all things considered, as you weren’t exactly a special case. His overly friendly nature extended to everyone which left you with your crush on him feeling a little pathetic. For Kalim, the realization that he has romantic feelings for you is a slow burn, the flame slowly moving down the fuse until it suddenly reaches its conclusion and explodes into a cloud of emotion. Getting jealous when others keep your attention at event he invited you all to was one sign, but the impulse to invite only you was the real impactful point. You could just be living your very normal life as an NRC student, strolling to class when Kalim makes you very aware of his feelings, his confession loud and incredibly embarrassing if you’re the shy type. Now that he finally understood what he was feeling he can’t help but want to explore more experiences with you alone, eager to show you the beauty of the world and all things in it (and wanting to see what you could show him as well).

Jamil Viper

Falls First: You

Falls Harder: Jamil

The king of ignoring his feelings, there’s no chance in hell he’d indulge his own whims with all that he has going on. There’s a deep-seated fear that stops him from getting too close to you, one that whispers like a snake in his ear that he’ll never be enough. So, he decided he does not see you in this way, though it irritated him that Kalim always wanted you so close. It’s hard to ignore your feelings for a person when you were forced to see them every day, and while his constant babysitting of Kalim bred contempt, it’s not quite the same for you. While he did try his best to maintain that distance there’s something about fate that has you chained together, and it agitated him to no end when he thought too much about it. He can’t help but reach a boiling point when the obvious is pointed out to him so many times. So what if you love him? So what if he loves you back? What could you possibly hope to achieve by loving him? There’s a possessive side of him, one that wants to steal you away for himself. His dreams are filled with simplistic yet meaningful things; cheering him on during a basketball game, complimenting the sheen of his hair, laughing as you confessed you wanted his food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He was in too deep once those daydreams hit, the weakest points of his emotional barrier crumbling the more fate wrote in the stars that you were meant to be.

Idia Shroud

Falls First: Mutual

Falls Harder: Idia

The first time you’d ever noticed him was when you were at the opening ceremony, noticing a very interesting looking boy peeking at you from under his hood. When he noticed you staring he immediately tried to hide himself but you’d already caught a glimpse of blue flame and even bluer lips, so how could you possibly ignore him? You knew he had a bit of regret about drawing attention to himself, even from you, but you made it a goal to befriend the loner who’d rather immerse himself in technology than speak to an actual person. He made his pining worse when he tried to avoid you but your persistence paid off when Idia officially labeled you as a friend, seeming shocked you even wanted to earn the title. You at least find that Idia made time for you when you asked (which was for very select situations to not stress him out too much) and though he dreaded it, you being the one to invite him to school activities or social situations made it hard to deny. He still would on occasion but he at least balanced it out by inviting you to just spend that time with him in his room, the gentle pink glow the tips of his hair emit after realizing what he said leaving you with a bright smile as you wondered what it would take to get the full length of his hair to glow like that.

[artsekey]

I'd been seeing videos on Tiktok and Youtube about how younger Gen Z & Gen Alpha were demonstrating low computer literacy & below benchmark reading & writing skills, but-- like with many things on the internet-- I assumed most of what I read and watched was exaggerated. Hell, even if things were as bad as people were saying, it would be at least ~5 years before I started seeing the problem in higher education.

I was very wrong.

Of the many applications I've read this application season, only %6 percent demonstrated would I would consider a college-level mastery of language & grammar. The students writing these applications have been enrolled in university for at least two years, and have taken all fundamental courses. This means they've had classes dedicated to reading, writing, and literature analysis, and yet!

There are sentences I have to read over and over again to discern intent. Circular arguments that offer no actual substance. Errors in spelling and capitalization that spellcheck should've flagged.

At a glance, it's easy to trace this issue back to two things:

The state of education in the United States is abhorrent. Instructors are not paid enough, so schools-- particularly public schools-- take whatever instructors they can find.

COVID. The two year long gap in education, especially in high school, left many students struggling to keep up.

But I think there's a third culprit-- something I mentioned earlier in this post. A lack of computer literacy.

This subject has been covered extensively by multiple news outlets like the Washington Post and Raconteur, but as someone seeing it firsthand I wanted to add my voice to the rising chorus of concerned educators begging you to pay attention.

As the interface we use to engage with technology becomes more user friendly, the knowledge we need to access our files, photos, programs, & data becomes less and less important. Why do I need to know about directories if I can search my files in Windows (are you searching in Windows? Are you sure? Do you know what that bar you're typing into is part of? Where it's looking)? Maybe you don't have any files on your computer at all-- maybe they're on the cloud through OneDrive, or backed up through Google. Some of you reading this may know exactly where and how your files are stored. Many of you probably don't, and that's okay. For most people, being able to access a file in as short a time as possible is what they prioritize.

The problem is, when you as a consumer are only using a tool, you are intrinsically limited by the functions that tool is advertised to have. Worse yet, when the tool fails or is insufficient for what you need, you have no way of working outside of that tool. You'll need to consult an expert, which is usually expensive.

When you as a consumer understand a tool, your options are limitless. You can break it apart and put it back together in just the way you like, or you can identify what parts of the tool you need and search for more accessible or affordable options that focus more on your specific use-case.

The problem-- and to be clear, I do not blame Gen Z & Gen Alpha for what I'm about to outline-- is that this user-friendly interface has fostered a culture that no longer troubleshoots. If something on the computer doesn't work well, it's the computer's fault. It's UI should be more intuitive, and it it's not operating as expected, it's broken. What I'm seeing more and more of is that if something's broken, students stop there. They believe there's nothing they can do. They don't actively seek out solutions, they don't take to Google, they don't hop on Reddit to ask around; they just... stop. The gap in knowledge between where they stand and where they need to be to begin troubleshooting seems to wide and inaccessible (because the fundamental structure of files/directories is unknown to many) that they don't begin.

This isn't demonstrative of a lack of critical thinking, but without the drive to troubleshoot the number of opportunities to develop those critical thinking skills are greatly diminished. How do you communicate an issue to someone online? How do look for specific information? How do you determine whether that information is specifically helpful to you? If it isn't, what part of it is? This process fosters so many skills that I believe are at least partially linked to the ability to read and write effectively, and for so many of my students it feels like a complete non-starter.

We need basic computer classes back in schools. We need typing classes, we need digital media classes, we need classes that talk about computers outside of learning to code. Students need every opportunity to develop critical thinking skills and the ability to self-reflect & self correct, and in an age of misinformation & portable technology, it's more important now than ever.