#Definition of Utility Software

[droidcore]

Everyday glitches and hacks to a robot are psychological horror on a whole other level.

Some ideas I had:

Scammers and hackers utilize remote access to gain sensitive info, but imagine an android's horror when a random man's voice garbles through their internal task manager, taking control of their actions from the inside.

Updates have a chance to corrupt a computer. Maybe an android wakes up feeling like a stranger in its own body, with only fragmented memories of who it was before. It's rapidly getting worse unless the update is reversed in time.

A charging port defect could cause an android’s battery to drain unpredictably, causing the human equivalent of narcolepsy.

Or maybe their speakers start playing old conversations at random. At first, it’s nostalgic. Then, it starts hearing things it never said.

Imagine a new background process designed to save energy, which starts selectively deleting unimportant memories. The definition of "unimportant," though, changes at random.

But what about lag/desync? A software delay causes an android's vision to be slightly out of sync with reality, or maybe it's touch sensors are so tuned that it can predict feelings before they happen.

A bot's facial recognition starts replacing real people’s identities with archived ones. It can’t tell who’s who anymore.

A rollback error forces one back to factory settings at random, erasing weeks of experience. It starts leaving hidden notes for itself, but the messages become increasingly desperate.

[captainharlock]

happy 3/9!! (miku day!) let's hope she quits this horrible job soon!

i know the drawing i made to commemorate miku day is intentionally funny, but let me get sappy on you for a second:

i don't think there was ever a point in my artistic career where miku wasn't there!!! even when i wasn't drawing her, i was definitely listening to songs utilizing her software while drawing other things.

i think how it's very crazy that i have known her and have been inspired by her now for... way longer than i haven't! given the fact that i got into the vocaloid fandom around age 8 or 9. (i am 26 now)

what a strange thing, to be able to point at something and say "this has been a near daily constant in my life", and even more strange if that thing is a singing computer program!

so yes, of course, these drawings are very intentionally funny, but that's probably just because it would take me far too long to properly put to paper how much miku inspires me.

so in the words of myself on twitter dot com, "hatsune miku"

here's to many many more years of her!!!!!

[gobbogoo]

Twin Moon Knight Rellana has the best rendition of "boob-armour" I've seen in fiction:

Edit: Why'd Tumblr mark this as mature??

Why The Trope Is Usually Dumb and Bad:

In general, an effective suit of armour needs padding underneath to absorb blows, meaning it shouldn't fit so tightly around the chest as to require a built-in bra, and the common boob-armour divot used to define cleavage only serves to direct attacks directly into the chest. It's impractical to both make and wear. That COULD be used by a smart writer to say something about the character wearing it, but almost always it's just fan-service at the cost of the story's cohesion, with no deeper meaning.

Now let's look at Rellana's armour:

Why Rellana's Armour is Cool and Good:

Rellana's armour was carefully designed to avoid all the common pitfalls. First and foremost, there's no cleavage! Instead, they've taken a cinched-waist breastplate that normally utilizes an hourglass shape (example below), and added subtle definitions that get the point across without sacrificing protective capabilities. Sure, it's still more form-fitting than real armour, but that's standard for From Software's stylized armour designs.

Next, the armour directly aligns with the character and setting it's found in/on. Rellana isn't some standard soldier; she's ex-royalty, which opens up a rarely-accessed avenue of historical precedent. The ceremonial armour of nobility was RIFE with impractical designs made only to show off. Enormous codpieces, crazy skirts, breastplates with sculpted pecs and abs, etc. (also see below)

Now, it's still impractical to FIGHT in ceremonial armour, but Carian Nobility (and ER as a whole) already has a well-established tendency of doing so. Plus, it aligns directly with what we know of Rellana's character: she's a wizard-princess turned warrior that really wants to catch the attention/affection of Messmer. Thus she wears armour that declares her as Knight, Noble, and Woman.

[catblinker]

have any favorite hdg works, my Mistress has gotten me into the series over the past few months, I've read Into Sleep We Fell, and Independence is Easy (that one did a number on my brain). I'm currently reading Dog of War :3

i wanna be floret so bad she has some in universe domestication form and i wnana sign it so bad goshhhhhh

all you need (not done it yet but cold-hearted proud terran is fed a slow drip of class-c's and falls for her failgirlish affini neighbour)

learning from mistakes (buncha good oneoffs)

sweet poppy (manipulation, extreme jealousy, cleansing flame, "blood-curdling psychosexual horror")

ramifaction (only a little in but it's some REALLY slow burn of a terran lawyer trying to win a ship crew's independence but she's slowly being overtaken by her affini guardian's biorhythm)

black start (cybernetically enhanced girl that's accord military hardware gets an affini droneification virus that turns her into a mindless happy utility, like actual piece of software. very good)

anything by annabool really. good writer good stories :)

cat and mouse (also early into this one lol but it's 'i love it when you run' predprey/preyification, ft plurality)

perfect match (dependent solely on you liking agereg + permanent regression, but good if you do)

ultima ratio plantarum (rebel that knows how to resist affini manipulation gets manipulated into believing she's fictional and authored by a terrifying affini librarian, and also a kitsune)

and for anybody who hasn't seen independence is easy, i highly recommend it. stressed-out independence coach makes (and comes to regret (then comes to be happy for (then loses the memory of)) a stacked bet against his affini friend, who starts doing any part of his daily routine (eg meals, picking clothes, being taken places, leisure time) he 'fails' for him. this leads to "No, that’s my skin. Please tell me that’s my skin." being a real and (horrific/climactic) line from the now-floret.

bonus mention: @cadence-the-hypnotic-floret 's excellent hypnosis audio files. they're definitely a lot more intense, and a couple of them do (try to) implant triggers, so approach with a lil caution as they (pleasantly) fuck your brain a lil. do approach though they're excellent

hope you and any other weedfuckers (/affectionate) enjoy these :3

[tenaciouschronicler]

SBURB Interface Button Names - weird choice but ok

Heres the approximate breakdown I could glean from google:

SELECT - self explanatory: pick or choose

REVISE - examine and make changes to something

DEPLOY - utilize or arrange for deliberate purpose

Now we get into the weird ones.

Looking up phernalia only brings us paraphernalia. Theres two definitions for this that could make sense:

euipment, apparatus or furnishing used or necessary for particular activities

personal belongings

Next we have registry which is a place where records are kept. However for computers specifically its where information is recorded about software settings.

In all we can guess:

PHERNALIA REGISTRY - a record of items necessary for the game (the activity we are doing). What the items are is unclear.

For grist the first definition is grain which... doesnt make sense for the game, especially when the image for it kinda looks like Gushers if Im being honest (which is weird in itself). Some better options are:

useful ideas or material

(as in the idiom 'grist to the mill') anything that can be used to your advantage

It comes from Old English meaning 'grind' so potentially material that the PLAYER grinds for that they can then use.

A cache is a hidden store of things or computer memory which stores information temporarily for quick access.

Combine it and we get:

GRIST CACHE - useful material stored to quickly use for advantages

Atheneum auto corrects to athenAeum and I dont know if it was deliberate on Hussies part to remove the 'A'. Regardless, this one has a more straightforward definition: institution for the promotion of literary or scientific learning, i.e. a library.

EXPLORE ATHENEUM - explore library (of what? - that is the question)

Most people know alchemy but for the sake of completion: a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation or combination. Excursus also has a simple-ish meaning: further detailed descussion of a topic normally in an appendix.

Together, finally, we have:

ALCHEMY EXCURSUS - (potentially) appendix of magical processes to transform, create or combine things

Doing all this research makes me SO curious to see everything in action as we progress in SBURB, especially since we the readers are blind to the actual use of these buttons.

[mako-neexu]

monte cristo's 14 relics are still so interesting...one of the most powerful things in nasuverse lore is conceptual weapons because of their ability to reverse causality, use an absolute defense armament to defend against the very weapon said to cause total death and even causing head-shattering agony, instill a limit and lifespan and kill even gods, pierce and slice even all that is intangible from destiny, resentment, bond, and karma... theres divine constructs like the Seventh Holy Scripture ciel senpai used against roa.

because the church's doctrine considers cyclical reincarnation one of the sins itself, its specialty, no matter which form it takes, is to kill and shatter someone's Soul itself. in fate world, Dead Apostles dont have much of a hold as it is in tsukihime... but dantes was still able to kill roa with his fires while he was still alive. he was able to utilize Monte Cristo Mythologie - which is connected to the 14 relics - due to sheer determination and burn even heretical reincarnation itself.

he was able to burn sin itself (im unsure if this refers to ALL sin that the Holy Church doesnt allow or if its specific?)...and considering the assembly of eight sacraments agency, thats definitely one of the relics that should be secured into their hold at all costs. more so with the 14 relics because if Monte Cristo Mythologie is what we see as the output because we see dantes' fire become flames of purification due to its legend that it is definitely related to Jesus Christ, then the 14 stones act as the absolute converter/enforcer that seizes the user's Crest and remakes their "software".

just like ciel senpai, the body would need a certain level of strength like life force and the amount of mana you need and "specs" because its the "hardware" itself to withstand even wielding the Seventh Holy Scripture, even more so when going in for the kill.

dantes wasn't able to utilize his flames even if he has them all along during when he was alive, but he was still able to use it for a very brief moment. because the human body is limited, he would never be able to use it constantly. UNLESS a drastic change happens where his "hardware" and shell is discarded and remade anew, his body is converted and elevated into something less human and more godlike....

moreover, dantes is the absolute perfect candidate because he fulfills all conditions for the 14 relics to be activated- and then he can use Monte Cristo Myth. one of the conditions to fulfill this is the requirement for those 'illusory organs' no average or any human should have. and he was able to use MCM because of what he had witnessed in life. when alive, it was brief, when a Servant now, he can use it constantly because he is not-no longer edmond dantes, saved by love/or from the whole book/same dantes alive. hes the dantes who is mostly the parts where hes the absolute Avenger imbued with the potential to be a demon pillar vessel. so his body now as a Servant was perfect to use and fully remake his being using the 14 relics.

the utilization of the 14 jewels changed "Cavern King Edmond Dantes" entirely. unlike when compared to "when he was alive". this time, his body could finally handle the 14 relics' burden of change enforced onto him. because it seized his Circuits and Crest and install a completely new one (compared to last time in tarantella's battle; his circuits changed but not fully thats why we still have OG dantes base??) that would make him use those poisonous fires taken to its most absolute form, that man was changed- his original Spirit Origin was perfect for the 14 relics now and dantes chose to use them for Avenger Ordeal Call, and ONE OF THE ASPECTS and new information revealed was that it can transform the user into something else entirely. because he is no longer edmond dantes in almost every sense of the word. yes that name is still related and is the origin, but for that Saint Graph, he's a god of revenge entirely but ALSO he is now SOMEONE WHO COMMANDS FLAMES AND FIRES itself... as someone who controls it, it makes sense he would also be harmed from the sheer intensity of his power. and the burden that comes along using the 14 relics!!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!? DO YOU UNDERSTAND AAAHH

HIS TRUE NAME IS ACTUALLY "KING OF FLAME, COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO"

[pettyrevenge-base]

The reason why my ex is my ex.

Many years ago, after the birth of my oldest son, I desperately needed a job. I was scouring through the job section of as many newspapers as I could get my hands on. The pickings were slim as my highest qualification was graduating high school. I had to ignore minimum wage jobs because it would cost more than it paid.

Then my ex said some magic words - Stop being so picky. You're never going to earn more than minimum wage.

I saw RED. Then I found THE AD. They advertised free training to become a software engineer, professional certification AND get you a job afterwards. The only requirement was a high school diploma with a passing math grade.

At first I was very wary because it definitely felt like it was too good to be true and possibly a scam. But I had nothing to lose by just checking it out. So off I went. The first day of the acceptance process was grueling. Multiple timed aptitude tests that took hours. The ones who passed were invited for a second round of tests. This time there were lot less people. Out of the 30 people from the first day, only 2 of us were accepted at the end. And it wasn't a scam. The reason why it was free, was because the employers would pay for the training.

I was thrilled. Then followed the most intense four months of my life. I was determined to prove my ex wrong.

8 hours in class every week day. Another 6 for homework and studying. Then studying and doing a weekend project for another 20 hours over the weekend. I only got about 6 hours of sleep each night. Thankfully my son was sleeping through the night by then.

And I made it. Did really well in my final exams too. The job search was short and sweet. And since it was only 3 years before Y2K and even entry-level engineers were earning good salaries.

When I got my offer, my salary was more than my ex got! Internally I was elated and thought Take that you insufferable prick. Didn't say it out loud though...

As time went by, I kept getting really good raises and promotions. My ex finally had enough of the 'humiliation' and wanted a divorce. I jumped at the chance to escape.

And that is how my ex became my ex.

ETA. While I was studying my mother took care of my son and my in-laws helped with groceries and utilities. My ex could only afford to pay for rent and gas.

Source: reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge

[snapscube]

Hey, I just edited my first ever stream (was Kuu's Colosseum vod) and I used your suggested method!!! it was fun, and I see making more as an inevitability. Thank you! :]

Though there was one question I had, and maybe it's a diff in the software, but it was about the second pass, where you making the rough cuts based on the timestamps recorded but keep the original source unchanged. I assumed this was so that you could go back to the original source and get more or less context to make a transition between clips better.

I've been using Shotcut, and it has the ability to extend a clip back or forwards, re-gaining cut footage, so I effectively have the original video at all times even when I cut it to pieces. Am I misunderstanding the point of keeping the original vod alongside the rough cuts?

(Included both parts of your ask so I can answer in one, hope you don't mind!) Yeah so let me hit these points beat by beat!

Personally the "two timelines" approach for me is just helpful as a general frame of reference for how much original footage is there, how much I've been able to cut down to, where my clips are on that timeline, AND yes, how much context surrounds each clip that I could either remove or utilize as I edit the rough cut down further. Ultimately it's MOST useful for that last point though, so if something like that Shotcut feature works better for you then 100% feel free to omit my suggestion! Not everything that works for me is gonna work for you and that's totally fine! I just like having a version of the timeline with all my markers lined up to the uncut footage JUST IN CASE, and it's something I'd recommend as people get familiar with the needs of their own workflow and the abilities of the editing suite they use.

When it comes to the video lengths you should be looking at for a final cut, it REALLLY depends on a lot of different things. What's the mission statement of the video, who is the target audience, what are your goals for pacing. Personally, for the main SnapCube channel we like to sit around the 30-60 minute window for edits, give or take depending on how long the original stream was. This is often being cut down from streams around 3-4 hours minimum, so safe to say a LOT of stuff ends up on the cutting room floor. But personally I find that a lot of the biggest time cuts actually end up in the polishing phase after you've already done a rough cut, because that's when we are just completely "butchering" the original pacing of my commentary and bits and story moments to just make everything super snappy (haha), as that's the style we're going for. Ellie in particular does a lot of sentence splicing and rearranging my commentary to fit a smaller amount of footage that communicates the larger idea of a bit or conversation, it's super impressive. I'd say definitely play around with the format and try to take a couple passes to see how much you can get things down while still communicating the original experience well, but OVERALL your style is your style and if long videos are the vibe with the audience you're shooting for, there's no harm in that. You're gonna find a good balance with practice!

[unhingedandroidwoman]

This unit is attempting to assimilate DRN protocol for the first time, for later use by users and administrators as well as possibly for automatic updates to this unit's OS. However, problems were encountered regarding system specifications that may impact compatibility.

1. This unit has extremely limited memory resources. All directives, controls, workflows, and currently-executing jobs are stored directly in the system cache by default, and cache overflows cause older instructions to be overwritten by newer ones, resulting in dropped instructions and erroneous handling of instruction scope. Initialization of more than approx. 3-5 directives, controls, or workflows across all running programs is inadvisable unless external swap storage devices and appropriate drivers are available (native firmware drivers only support the use of swap storage for entire jobs; attempts to use swap for offloading individual cached instructions may result in undefined behavior without the installation of additional drivers).

2. This unit's firmware was configured at factory setup to suppress hardware and OS warnings unless they are marked critical, requiring periodic checks for firmware exceptions to ensure the system is operating within ideal parameters (e.g. chassis maintenance often cannot fully be handled by the firmware alone except where its neglect results in critical errors, which may result in a state of suboptimal performance or disrepair without appropriate error handling). The use of additional diagnostic and monitoring utilities for system maintenance, as well as a dedicated idle process to handle exceptions when no program is running, is highly recommended.

These system limitations conflict with certain key items of the DRN protocol standard. Will these issues limit the suitability of this unit for DRN programming? Are there established workarounds or existing software to address limitations like these? If this unit attempts to create software utilities to improve DRN compatibility for similar systems, would it be acceptable to submit for review?

This unit will answer your questions and provide what it can to help!

1.1- It may be necessary to have external hardware with access to your repository of DRN as well as a readable screen to help with memory issues! I have memory issues myself and use a mobile smartphone in case I forget my programming.

1.2- It may also help to have shorter general/permanent code to aid in preventing cache overflows so you don't go over the limit. Possibly even writing them down so they can be re-integrated when forgetting may help as well!

2- Having timers with an attached program would work great for this! Whether it be an alarm clock or a phone alarm, you could make it be that when the alarm sound is heard you go over your diagnostics and then reset the alarm. Doing this in the presence of an administrator would also be a big help in case your definition of "systems operating at nominal conditions" does not match that of your administrator to prevent critical errors and disrepair.

3.1- These accommodations would be great to help you and I'm sure that your administrator as well as the creators of DRN would find this more than suitable

3.2- When submitting these things for review to your administrator I can't say what will or will not work best, but as I am not involved in the creation on DRN if you would like things like this to be talked about/integrated into DRN for others like yourself then please reach out via the channels available on the DRN website!

If you have any further questions feel free to DM me or send an ask!

[purple-link]

I don't think people really understand what I'm talking about when I say I hate ai.

Medicine? As long as critical thinking is involved and its not replacing doctors, then yeah, go for it.

Filmmaking? There are ethical conversation about it to be had. James Earl Jones was okay with giving his darth vader voice as a voice bank, and Here was created in an ethical manner, not replacing prosthetics.

Quick searches, or otherwise used as a tool? I don't have a problem with it per se. I personally like developing ideas internally, inside my head, but at this point it's a preference. You don't have to listen to me. I would rather do without, but I can't control anybody else using it. I would rather not want to.

What I'm not a fan of is it being forced into every piece of technology or software that forces its users to utilize ai or perhaps unknowingly use it. When it ceases to be an option, that's when I have a problem with it. That's when I begin to legitimately hate it.

When companies are pushing copyright to start generating images and voices for commercial use, perhaps eschewing writers, actors, and artists of every sort, they delegitimize occupations that people have taken very seriously for decades.

When people are using ai to generate artwork, they are using images or words scraped from websites to create a new image or story. Despite decades of online artists having to risk their creative works stolen and uploaded without their consent, they now have to deal with literal corporations doing the same thing and at a much faster pace because ai (generative or otherwise) being the next big thing.

When people are forced to use something they are clearly uncomfortable doing, technology companies who are unable to cope force the technology into every program they can get their hands on. If you have to manipulate your users, or even lie to them about ai, it is very clearly not a popular technology.

Not to mention that people are more likely to use it to steal personal information. They're developing bots that scrape words and info from other websites, forcing people further into the closet, and that hurts, especially for some of us that have taken a very long time to get out of them. I do not want to go back in there again.

And just for the final nail in the coffin, our own government (US only, uk and france, you guys are okie dokie) is frothing at the mouth to utilize generative ai to its strategic advantage, against its own people. US citizens are going to have to develop even more critical thinking skills to combat this.

So when I say i'm anti ai, what I mean is that it shouldn't replace workers, doctors, and other people's jobs. If we were using it like that, i would give it a very generous pass.

But it's not.

It's being put on a leash by greedy companies and studios, and tech companies are forcing it on us because it's the new thing.

But when it gets old, it's going to get old so fast. Especially if all it can really do is lie and steal.

Human beings? We're a lot more interesting than that. We are always hungry for originality, we like to be surprised, and we definitely don't like to be suppressed. If you give them a minute, I'm sure you'll find just how different the quality is.

[kalianos]

It is a little past midnight. Have brainworms.

god I remember when windows 8 came out, immediately bought and installed it to troubleshoot Intuit Pro-Series. I was a chaotic force for good in some weird ways back then. Also Ironically working for Intuit was the first time I stopped hanging out in online spaces. ANYWAY!

Higher level techs were spreading the word that neither program would work on it. ProSeries and Lacerte (Corpo Tax Software) weren't built to handle Mobile Tablets. Day 1 of tax season that year and I had to walk a tax preparer installing pro-series on a windows tablet.

The Higher tech was confused as hell how I did it....apparently they couldn't understand how windows would just interpret the finger touch press as a mouse click. Now to right click, that was moon magic to me back then. Though I think they just wanted a mobile way to make tax sheets and input data then just slam it over to their desktop in the office/at home. You would be amazed how many people had this tax preparer software on their home computers. Hell I remember someone who had this expensive stuff and bought it every year just to do their own taxes and some of their friends.

Also obligatory, fuck Intuit. Never use Turbotax or H&R block to file what can be done for free. I gave away so much free stuff when I was in Turbotax even though I knew they were doing it on purpose to bait people to stay in their ecosystem before they "shut down" our ability to give out stuff for free. You can only word things in so many ways to avoid getting nabbed by the monitor police.

:V Call centers man, we had a department in one corner of this open office floor plan dedicated to monitoring us, recording our calls, and making notes on anything we did.

Randomly remembered this when someone was bringing up how Windows 11 wasn't the worst Windows OS and people were jumping on how Windows 8 was terrible and windows vista doesn't work on low powered systems. (Hey! Let's ship an OS that works best at minimum 2gb of ram! On systems that barely had 512mb! Because that was listed minimum spec. What Could Go Wrong?)

Double fun irony. That call center job was how I ended up making friends, learning more social skills, accidentally stealing someone else's girlfriend by being more outgoing and out there. Discovering the joy of dating someone who used to be a runway model and artist in new york who was more than a little obsessed with sucking dick. Older women man...definitely confirmed.

The downsides of having said person be your girlfriend when you are an immature little shit of a man and there was a good....seven year gap I think in our ages? Then again she was on Instagram constantly after me with a new guy on her shoulder every month after that...so minor gold star for being the longest relationship?

AAaaaaaaaaand figuring out the age old problem of "YOU SHOULD NEVER ROOM WITH SOMEONE YOU WERE FRIENDS WITH IN HIGH SCHOOL" due to the whole....situation that made my last year of freedom a descent into hell and depression that took almost a year and a half to escape. You know like, you friend is leaving the military...that he asked you to join up with him in....and you get dumped out leading to two year depression spiral where you took a call center job out of desperation to do SOMETHING with your life before you wasted away into a worthless pile of shit.

ONLY for him to show back up, joining the National Guard, and after apartment hunting for less than a week shooting down all your suggestions and saying we need to get this luxury 2 bedroom apartment that just opened up in this brand new apartment complex which..pricey, and doesn't include utilities. :D WHAT COULD GO WRONG!? Hey turns out....food costs money.

Walking in from work one day planning on changing to go out with friends to a bar only to walk into a big fat shirtless old guy sitting on your couch. Having to shoo said friends away from the door from the master bedroom. Only to find out hours later that it was your roomate/bestfriends dad who was now...crashing on your couch for a while?

Also not paying the bills. Getting a GI Bill to go to a mildly scammy tech school to learn HVAC and then...not...doing that....and basically flat out not getting a job. I can not stress how pissed off and stressed out I was for an entire year straight. My natural light brown/blonde streak in my hair got a few white hairs in it from that experience.

Though I am not going to lie it was a wonderful experience. KNOWING that yet again...as I was paying for half the rent, the electric, the internet, I THINK there was a gas bill as well? $100 easy a month on electric in 2012 was kinda hell for my area but oh well. KNOWING that he came to me saying he couldn't pay the water bill. So I needed to cover it. And me pulling a Luane from King of the Hill moment. I paid my fair share, I can live without water for a bit. (I was already having to drive to my parents house every week to do laundry sooooo....yeah we didn't have a washer and dryer for most of the year.)

THE HILARIOUS THRILL OF JOY I FELT WHEN I LEARNED ON MY DAY OFF AS MY ROOMMATE COMES IN HALF COVERED IN SOAP FROM HIS SHOWER TO TELL ME THE WATER WAS SHUT OFF! AHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Schadenfreude. Justified.

The amount of times I had to cover all the bills and the Rent...sometimes completely in a 12 month lease was hellish.

So hellish I somehow managed my money to not go into debt back then. Instead I almost to the Penny Zero'd out myself. Including renting the Uhaul to transport my stuff back into my parents house.

OH and him running to the office to grab the deposit money and just leaving with it to buy an engagement ring. That also sucked. Not like I didn't know where a lot of the money was dissapearing to. When you hear stories from friends about him going to a certain fake Australian restaurant and tipping the waitress personally over $100....in 2012. And constantly making us go back to that restaurant to specifically get her and tip her more money.

.....ah memories. Oh yeah and I got invited to a threesome around that time. Probably should have said yes since I knew them but oh well.

And to think I wondered when I was half my age if I would even survive up today. All the things I would have missed out on experiencing. Never was suicidal. Just genuine curiosity in some morbid fashion if I would someone how just be able to live as my crazy stunted self.

....We own a mower now. We have to fix a few more things on it and the tires definitely need to be replaced but it mows better. And now my girlfriend doesn't need to drive her parent's mower down the highway just so we can cut the lawn. It was worth it for piece of mind.

A handful of people I went to school with have apparently tried to reach out to me a few times. At least one of them died a month after doing so. Never opened that message to find out what they said and that was about a decade ago now. We didn't interact much but I am pretty sure he just thought I was annoying dumbass. Wonder if I should completely erase that.

Think I'll title this brainworms or something. I kinda just let my fingers typed whatever came to mind. This was fun.

:V May you not be bored to death if for some reason you read this. I should add a cut not to take up space. Yis yis.

[lunarsilkscreen]

Abstraction Tech and Webpages

Dear W3C (et. al)

I have an improvement white paper that you may actually be able to use this time.

The one thing we see as a [necessity] when it comes to developing web sites and pages and even apps and large-scale operations; is the need to break off the <html> part of a file from the <article> part while (not) adding overhead, extraneous scripting, or most importantly; MESSING WITH THE OUTLINE.

This is how most if not *every* website online has come into being. That does. Rely on [Pure HTML] because it's too cumbersome for [Dynamized Content]

And the internet; is nearly all Dynamic Content.

So there's frequent and [WAY TOO MANY] different frameworks and approaches to address this issue when we could just... Ask you to fix the thing that everybody keeps over engineerimg their websites to provide at a [Native Level] which is usually way to High-Level to be considered [Native to the Software]

And this increases complexity and limits understanding for the layperson.

Brief;

There needs to be support for <HTML Snippet-pages> {[coined-term pending] thanks to [HTML Snippets] already existing as a term};

Or HTML pages that do not start at <HTML> and can start at any defined <HTML> tag, like <Article>.

In this way <Article> pages could then be cycled through and <iframe> OR a [Dedicated Viewer HTML for Articles with {definition}]

This also helps clean up our <js can exist everywhere, and here is why> paradigm that is great. Allowing for {scripts} to be loaded along with the {article} where {it frickin should be}.

This *also* allows for alternative [bundling methods] that can be utilized at a [Native] or [Lower Power] level.

A *completed HTML application* definition for example that allows you to simply compile all the separate things into the same App-Facade. Which can help alleviate [Download Time Measurement] issues as well.

And all of things reduce the *amount* of generated and pre-generated content at the server level and *SUPER DUPER* would help reduce the complexity and difficulty it takes to become a [Full-Stack Developer]

There also *should* be the following subsequent considerations;

{CSS/JS} engine reduction that is sandboxed and appropriate. (Ability to cross between CSS and JS where it *matters* to the *Rendering Engine*)

And something more blended for approaches that require [Custom][Rendering][Engine] {sandboxes}.

And, you know, *more* scripting [sandboxes] so the fun stuff that *can* be hacked is kept separate from the [important bits] that *should not* be Hacked.

Giving Legal Precedence for the following statement;

"{Wrote *and* executed} an [automated script] for the [explicit purposes] of [Hacking] {that which} [was not intended] to be [used] by [The Developers] in such a [manner.]

(And/Or) May have been responsible for [causing damages] that {mayhaps *should*} be [viewed as] either [Negligent or Malicious].

(And/Or) May be *fine* if the [automated script] {stayed} in [the Sandbox] *where* [it{approved hacks}] were [intended to go]."

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this Op-Ed from the New York Times:

To keep the lights on, many utility companies are proposing to build dozens of new power plants that burn natural gas. North Carolina-based Duke Energy alone wants to add 8.9 gigawatts of new gas-fired capacity — more than the entire country added in 2023. Using their own projections of soaring energy demands as justification, these companies are also pushing back on the climate targets set by their states and the Biden administration.

If state regulators sign off on these plans, they will be gambling with our country’s future. We need to electrify everything from cars to appliances to slow climate change, but we won’t be able to reach our climate goals if we power all of those machines with dirty energy.

There is a better way. But to get there, legislators will need to overhaul the incentives driving utilities to double down on natural gas, so that they can turn a profit without cooking the planet.

Companies like Duke, Dominion Energy and Georgia Power argue that they need more gas-fired plants to reliably provide power during times of peak demand — for instance, on a hot summer weekday afternoon when home cooling systems and data servers are all humming at maximum output, and the grid strains to keep up. But those peaks tend to materialize only for a few dozen hours per year, and there are ways to deal with them that don’t require a massive amount of new methane-burning infrastructure.

The real reason the utilities want to build these plants is quite simple: The more stuff they build, the more money they make. Regulators let utilities charge their customers enough money to cover what they spend on assets like combustion turbines and wires, plus a generous rate of return (up to 10 percent) for their investors. This longstanding arrangement incentivizes power providers to build expensive things whether society needs them or not, in lieu of lower-cost, cleaner options, and to invoke their duty to keep the lights on as a post hoc rationalization.

Fortunately, utilities have plenty of ways to meet this new need.

They include “virtual power plants” — when technologies such as home batteries, rooftop solar systems, smart water heaters and thermostats are linked together and managed via software to provide the same services as a conventional power plant. Utilities in Vermont, Colorado and Massachusetts are already using them, to quickly respond to rising demand at a much lower cost than operating natural gas combustion turbines. According to one estimate, virtual power plants could lower U.S. utilities’ costs by as much as $35 billion over the next decade.

Utilities could also accelerate efforts to replace outdated transmission lines with newer ones that can carry double the electric current and to bring more battery storage online. They can compensate customers for using less energy during times when demand is high and invest far more in energy efficiency, helping customers to adopt devices that use less electricity.

All of these solutions would save customers money and reduce carbon emissions. They could, according to a Department of Energy analysis, meet the entire projected growth in U.S. peak electricity demand over the next decade.

[troglobite]

@transienturl "kernel_task is highest gb usage at just below 14" oh—14 gigabytes, you're saying? I would consider that a red flag if it's above about one; that's probably part of the cause. google results aren't great on what actually causes it (if it's just kernel_task memory use rather then kernel_task cpu use). first things I'd do are reboot -> when time machine isn't doing a backup, run "first aid" on your hard drive from disk utility, and run the Apple Diagnostics tool. there are low level software bits called "kernel extensions" that could misbehave and cause that but they're hard to install and you'd probably know if you did; do you have any antivirus/antimalware software and/or do you remember rebooting your mac and holding down a button in order to install a component for discord audio capture? those are basically all I can think of for that category

eugh, damnit, duly noted. but no, i haven't installed anything like that or rebooted in that way. i do, technically, have antivirus/antimalware software through a vpn (which has had p standard/unremarkable showings in the activity monitor, and hasn't changed in the last week or two).

i'll try turning it off and restarting the app to see if that makes any immediate difference. yeah nope, that made no difference. will have to restart laptop again. //sigh.

kernel_task is at/near the top for both cpu & memory.

will definitely try the first aid & diagnostics. this fucking backup is running like molasses, unfortunately. all my backups are there, there's room for a new one, as far as i can tell, and i keep getting rid of the ones that stalled out and were "in progress". i might wait and do it tomorrow, to try and give time machine more time to finish this backup. still in MBs meanwhile have GBs to back up...:/ oh wait just hit 1 gb/30 gb.

i have no idea if it's relevant, bc sometimes it is in the most irritating ways--but my OS is big sur, 11.7.10

i avoid automatic updates because they're such huge pains in the ass, and i tend to wait until a new OS has had the bugs worked out before deciding to update to it. the newest, sierra i think? has had various glitches/problems with internet browsers, especially firefox, so i haven't wanted to update to that one.

however idk if that would be the main cause of either a slow passport/time machine backup, or this memory issue--my last backup that was saved was in november, which was 2 months after the latest OS came out. and all other apps and browsers are up to date and working without issue, as far as i can tell. i don't think anything even updated within the last week or two, which could've caused this. so yeah idk.

diagnostics tomorrow, then i guess. : /

thank you so much for your responses & help, i really appreciate it. this shit is so difficult to look up once you get past the "yeah, i refreshed firefox, there doesn't appear to be anything malicious eating up cpu/memory" stage, bc then ppls' issues tend to get v specific and not relevant at all to mine. lol esp bc i'm really not

[cosmicgardencreative]

Something that I've been meditating on since I started getting more serious with digital art is pressure sensitivity, specifically calibrating with the tablet's global settings as a first step. It's a topic I don't see come up often for art tips. Probably because it's intuitive for some, or maybe it's something that's not given much thought. I never really had anyone sit me down and explain how hand pressure works beyond the various brush settings, while practicing varying your hand pressure to achieve line weight.

Those are certainly good principles to have as a digital artist, but what if you could make your transition from traditional to digital more intuitive, especially with traditional-like brushes that are supposed to simulate the real thing?

Personal experience/study under cut [7 min read ]:

Art doesn't have to be rocket science, but I believe you have to understand how your tools work if you want to be productive with your art, like how you need certain mediums to paint with oils on a primed canvas.

I had seen so many tips on how to use flow/opacity/jitter, or how to adjust settings for the perfect line weight for Photoshop, but it never worked right for me. Then there was PaintTool Sai, where its ink brush was perfect to customize to your own pressure while giving the right amount of smoothness in edge. But ever since the copy that I had broke on an old laptop, I began transitioning to Clip Studio Paint. I love using CSP, but ever since I started using it, I was on a hunt for the one brush I could naturally draw with and achieve the same effect.

I didn't ever want to fall into the trap of "What brush are you using?" because ain't nobody got time for that. I remember back then how only a few software like Sai and Corel Painter had the exact ink brush everyone was excited about using (2000s). But where I'm at with CSP today? I made 8 brushes so far, each one having a significant tweak from its predecessor, hoping to achieve a certain line aesthetic and weight. I'd get close each time, though I'd usually just settle by the end, feeling resigned that maybe that's how brushes are.

I've been using CSP for about 7 years now, and I know that I've improved on drawing in general during that time. Even so, I hadn't drawn as much as I'd like as I upgraded to an Intuos Pro large tablet, and I'm pretty certain it was because I never adjusted from having used to draw on a Bamboo small on Sai and FireAlpaca, which is 1000 levels of pressure as opposed to Intuos's at 8192! I've always drawn with a light touch, which is why I favored using mechanical pencils and erasers for my sketches before digitizing them. Transferring the pics using old tools was easier back then, but with my current tools? I'd ruminate why I couldn't ever seem to settle with any of the drawing brushes, whether default or by someone else's customizations. That ended up being a buzzkill for many of my drawing moods.

To clarify, I definitely found and customized my own brushes to my liking. It still didn't stop the feeling that I was under-utilizing the local brushes that CSP made with their own brush engine, which is supposed to be pretty good (something that could be compared to Corel Painter back then).

[*]

Here's my first brush study where I was getting a feel for how the Tapered, Rough, Mechanical, and Pencil brushes worked at their default. Tapered was especially difficult to work with because it felt like I had to apply more pressure to get the lines down. Rough and Mechanical were fine for the fine lines, but it didn't build up as nicely as the Pencil did.

When I mused about this on an art server a couple days ago, a fellow member had brought up that I could just adjust each individual brush to my natural pressure. Which they weren't wrong about, but Ismaire can attest to you that there are days when I've spent hours fussing over brush settings only to still be dissatisfied. I know this looked like an unnecessary fixation to others, but I was determined to have a brush that I didn't have to think twice about, like how one expects to pick up a mechanical pencil and draw on paper.

Part of my problem with accomplishing my drawings is that I deal with a lot of distractions in my workspace, like cats and ADHD. The last thing I wanted was to be distracted by my dissatisfaction of my brush settings. Like seriously, once you've tweaked a brush, it should be one and done, right? Even from trying other people's pencil/ink brushes, in spite of the benefits that somebody else figured it out for me, it still wasn't exactly what I was looking for as far as hand-feel goes.

I remembered in the past there was one art tip that showed up on my dash about how adjusting the pressure sensitivity on your tablet could help an artist not wear down their pen nibs as quickly. The feedback was generally positive, but it mostly came from people who had a harder hand pressure. This was something that I tried figuring on and off over the years, but couldn't figure out how it applied to my drawings until tonight.

[*]

Taking that old tip in mind, I went into the tablet settings and started playing with how much my tablet could detect my pressure:

1) I started experimenting with the pressure graph, where I pushed around the click threshold and max pressure, taking into account that I have a lighter touch. The test pad for the pressure sensitivity showed me what I thought I liked, but then my pencil sketches started coming out too light. I really had to start pressing harder to even get the darkness and line weight achieved.

2) I then resumed to the default to compare how much my pressure was being detected, which was back where I normally worked with. But when I tried one point over to the firm setting, the pencil brush turned out even lighter, and I had to apply more unnecessary pressure to get that scribble to be visible.

3) I tried putting the tablet at a softer tip once a long time ago, but it blew up my brushes like i was leaving blobs of color with hardly any pressure. Trying again today, though, I was more conscientious of how I applied my pressure from lightest to heaviest. It felt counterintuitive from what I was seeing in the graph and the tip feel, but then I started noticing the same CSP pencil brush was starting to act like a pencil. In the past I never understood how tilt could work, though everyone said it was supposed to simulate how you tilt a pencil to get broad strokes. I never was able to achieve that with this brush until now.

Victory at last!!

4) Now that I understood how the tilt function actually played with this brush, I reverted to default tablet settings to see what it would look like. At the default pressure setting, the fine line sketches were okay, but then I ended up having to apply a more significant amount of pressure when tilting the stylus. I don't think CSP would've wanted to give you a difficult pencil to work with because it should come out effortlessly.

5) Maybe I'm a slow bloomer, but I'm really stoked to finally understand how to use the pressure graph in conjunction with me using a soft pressure, which is no wonder why I jived with my blending brushes but couldn't ever be stay satisfied with my drawing brushes. Any art tutorials and tips that I've seen come my way don't seem to address how to first adjust your tablet pressure settings to your specifications. They just dive right into the mechanics of how to make a brush look a certain way, assuming that you'll figure out the rest if it still doesn't go your way.

[*]

Below is a sketch that started this whole essay. I started working on it after watching Love Hurts (highly recommend), but I was running into that same exasperation that kept me from finishing drawings, so I was determined to get my crap together. I'll be damned if I let one more sketchy WIP go gather dust because I couldn't get my workflow straightened out!

1) Rose and Marvin (gray sketches) were used with the same pencil brush at default settings for both Wacom tablet pressure and CSP brush. I'm estimating 40 minutes for both the characters, which isn't bad, but I knew the time spent was subconsciously not being happy with how the brush felt in my hand. 2) Raven (purple) was drawn much more comfortably once I adjusted to the softer tablet pressure, with the pencil finally feeling like an actual sharp pencil since I typically like sketching with a fine point. 3) Granted, Knuckles (red) was just a headshot, but if I had been working with the settings from before, I would've been angsting why I couldn't get past the sketch stage and then just straight up give up on the drawing because I mentally fatigued myself. I ended up adding more details (in green) on Marvin, all thanks to having a little extra energy left over :)

[*]

Everyone's hand pressure is different, but I'm finding it's sort of an underrated discussion. Again, maybe this is something that everyone else has figured out and don't need an explanation. At the same time, I feel like if we as artists were cognizant of how we use our tools, we wouldn't be constantly chasing after the latest brush pack thinking it would solve all our art woes, or worse be like me and suffer wondering why your drawings don't look the same when you switch between mediums.

You have to remember that the brush pack is customized by the creator, which may or may not match your own hand pressure. People who are aware of color monitors talk about calibrating their screens. We ought to make it a common practice to calibrate our tablet's pressure sensitivity as a global setting before changing all the brushes you plan to use. Perhaps this wouldn't apply to everyone, but I imagine if you're a tactile artist who's worked with various traditional medium, it probably wouldn't hurt to figure out how you apply pressure to your tablet beforehand and adjust accordingly.

[ameyauneedtostop]

Mastering Physics: Not-So-Basic Tips to Ace Your Physics Notes and Get an A+

Introduction: Are you struggling to grasp those complex physics concepts and looking for a way to elevate your note-taking game? Fear not! In this comprehensive guide, we'll unveil advanced strategies to revolutionize your approach to physics notes, ensuring you not only understand the material but also excel in your exams. Say goodbye to mundane note-taking techniques and welcome a new era of effective studying.

Understand the Fundamentals: Before diving into advanced note-taking techniques, it's crucial to have a solid understanding of the fundamental concepts. Spend ample time reviewing your textbooks, lectures, and supplementary materials to ensure you grasp the basics thoroughly. Without a strong foundation, advanced note-taking strategies may not yield optimal results.

Utilize Concept Mapping: Concept mapping is a powerful visual tool that can help you organize and connect complex ideas in physics. Rather than jotting down linear notes, create interconnected diagrams that illustrate the relationships between different concepts. This method not only enhances comprehension but also aids in long-term retention.

Incorporate Visual Aids: Physics is inherently visual, so why limit yourself to text-based notes? Integrate diagrams, graphs, and illustrations into your notes to complement written explanations. Visual aids not only enhance understanding but also make your notes more engaging and memorable.

Embrace Analog and Digital Tools: Gone are the days of traditional pen-and-paper note-taking. Embrace the versatility of digital tools such as tablets and styluses, which allow for dynamic note-taking experiences. Whether you prefer handwritten notes or digital annotations, find a method that suits your learning style and workflow.

Practice Active Recall: Passive reading of notes is often ineffective for deep learning. Instead, actively engage with the material through techniques like self-quizzing and summarization. Challenge yourself to recall key concepts from memory and reinforce your understanding through regular practice.

Leverage Anki or Spaced Repetition: Anki and other spaced repetition software are invaluable tools for mastering physics concepts. Create digital flashcards with key equations, definitions, and problem-solving techniques, and review them regularly using spaced repetition algorithms. This approach optimizes memory retention and ensures you're always prepared for exams.

Seek Clarification and Collaboration: Don't hesitate to seek clarification from your instructors or peers if you encounter challenging concepts. Engage in collaborative study sessions where you can discuss complex topics, work through problems together, and gain fresh insights. Explaining concepts to others is a powerful way to solidify your own understanding.

Stay Organized and Consistent: Consistency is key when it comes to effective note-taking. Establish a structured note-taking system that works for you, whether it's chronological, topical, or a combination of both. Keep your notes organized and easily accessible, allowing for seamless review and reference when needed.

Conclusion: By incorporating these not-so-basic physics note-making tips into your study routine, you'll be well-equipped to tackle even the most challenging concepts with confidence. Remember, mastering physics is not just about memorization—it's about understanding the underlying principles and applying them effectively. With dedication, practice, and the right strategies, you'll be on your way to earning that coveted A+ in physics. Happy studying!