#How many months is the Linux course? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

not-poignant · 4 months ago

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Hi Pia.

I want to ask— do you backup your wips? How do you do it?

I know there are things like Cloud and Dropbox but those are practically at the mercy of big corporations and with ai scraping now being the norm it feels risky saving work with online backup.

Do you use a USB instead?

Unfortunately nothing is risk-free these days.

I once saved a story to three different USBs, all different brands, and they all corrupted. Not all at the same time, but they all eventually lost the data. This was over a period of ten years, but of course some people have been relying on USBs etc. for this long now. Same with CDs burnt with data (something we used to do before USBs were cheap).

In fact a new study shows that over half of all external hard drives and USBs over a certain age (I think around 5 years) are already corrupted and often not being checked enough to check if they're still containing/keeping the data necessary. (To say nothing of entire batches of like Seagate and other brands being notorious for literally just...losing data and corrupting at any point in time - which is an issue for actual hard drives within the computer as well).

USBs and external HDs aren't necessarily safer.

In general it's a good idea to back up in three places, though this still isn't enough to guarantee safety. Those three places should be: a) hard copy (i.e. USB or external hard-drive), b) cloud copy (i.e. Dropbox etc.), c) on the machine itself (if it's a desktop). You can sometimes do like, a + a + c or b + b + a etc.

It still doesn't guarantee preservation of data! I think that's the hardest thing about preserving data and back-ups overall.

I have an extra bonus 'back up' in that 99.5% of all my writing is already public. And that a lot of that writing has additionally been snapshotted into the Wayback Machine. If all my methods somehow corrupted or failed, I could literally copy/paste my stories from AO3 back into Word documents (in fact I've actually done this before because I frequently go back in and edit AO3 chapters for typos etc. but don't mirror those changes in the original documents, so sometimes if I want to update a story, I'll copy/paste the AO3 chapter and override the original document).

Anyway, I use Dropbox Business (cloud), hard external copy (though not as often as I should), desktop version, and then also the AO3 version. Dropbox Business has additional data recovery protections that general Dropbox accounts don't.

We are always at the mercy of big corporations, anon. Big corporations make USBs. They make faulty external hard-drives that we sometimes mistakenly trust. Like no, they're not scraping for AI the same way, but I no longer believe - unfortunately - that this is truly preventable. Short of going a grassroots Linux direction, which...I can't, lol.

(This is a reminder to all writers: Back-up your writing! The beginning of the year is a good time to remember to do it, if you're not doing it every 3 months).

(And also, check all your USB/external hard drives! And make sure they're not your only source for that content, because you would not believe how much they degrade over time.)

If I ever needed a 5th option, I host my own domain and have done so through the same company for over 10 years with very high fidelity, and I would just dump it all into a database there so I could pull it back if necessary. That's not ideal (it's probably the easiest way I could be hacked because I check into the cpanel the least often), but it's doable.

But yeah I've been Dropbox Business for a long time. I don't like everything about them, but I trust them a lot more than Microsoft OneDrive (which I refuse to use) and many other cloud networks.

As for AI scraping, since 99.5% of my stuff is on AO3, it's already been scraped, and it's delusional of me to think it hasn't been. I have already had the majority of my art scraped into Midjourney, so sadly I've reached a level of disgusted acceptance that the gormless unethical billionaires of the world will just do what they want. If it has an internet connection to it, it's probably been scraped or will be scraped and putting something on a USB isn't going to stop that, because it needs to come off a USB if I want to work on an ongoing story.

#asks and answers #pia on writing #back up your data!#back up your writing!#honestly my first experience of losing data was #that when i was about 11 years old i typed a science fiction novel #and was printing it out as i went and had it backed up onto floppy disc at the same time #my mum threw out all 100+ pages (size 10 courier font)#and then the floppy discs died #i lost everything #this was before the internet was really a thing #and desktop computers were largely used for writing letters and faxes and games #and printing shit out #and sometimes faxing #nothing's safe #we only have degrees of safety #but safety is only ever an illusion we pull around ourselves like a blanket #until we realise that the bedbugs came too

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jbfly46 · 4 months ago

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Your All-in-One AI Web Agent: Save $200+ a Month, Unleash Limitless Possibilities!

Imagine having an AI agent that costs you nothing monthly, runs directly on your computer, and is unrestricted in its capabilities. OpenAI Operator charges up to $200/month for limited API calls and restricts access to many tasks like visiting thousands of websites. With DeepSeek-R1 and Browser-Use, you:

• Save money while keeping everything local and private.

• Automate visiting 100,000+ websites, gathering data, filling forms, and navigating like a human.

• Gain total freedom to explore, scrape, and interact with the web like never before.

You may have heard about Operator from Open AI that runs on their computer in some cloud with you passing on private information to their AI to so anything useful. AND you pay for the gift . It is not paranoid to not want you passwords and logins and personal details to be shared. OpenAI of course charges a substantial amount of money for something that will limit exactly what sites you can visit, like YouTube for example. With this method you will start telling an AI exactly what you want it to do, in plain language, and watching it navigate the web, gather information, and make decisions—all without writing a single line of code.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to build an AI agent that performs tasks like scraping news, analyzing social media mentions, and making predictions using DeepSeek-R1 and Browser-Use, but instead of writing a Python script, you’ll interact with the AI directly using prompts.

These instructions are in constant revisions as DeepSeek R1 is days old. Browser Use has been a standard for quite a while. This method can be for people who are new to AI and programming. It may seem technical at first, but by the end of this guide, you’ll feel confident using your AI agent to perform a variety of tasks, all by talking to it. how, if you look at these instructions and it seems to overwhelming, wait, we will have a single download app soon. It is in testing now.

This is version 3.0 of these instructions January 26th, 2025.

This guide will walk you through setting up DeepSeek-R1 8B (4-bit) and Browser-Use Web UI, ensuring even the most novice users succeed.

What You’ll Achieve

By following this guide, you’ll:

1. Set up DeepSeek-R1, a reasoning AI that works privately on your computer.

2. Configure Browser-Use Web UI, a tool to automate web scraping, form-filling, and real-time interaction.

3. Create an AI agent capable of finding stock news, gathering Reddit mentions, and predicting stock trends—all while operating without cloud restrictions.

A Deep Dive At ReadMultiplex.com Soon

We will have a deep dive into how you can use this platform for very advanced AI use cases that few have thought of let alone seen before. Join us at ReadMultiplex.com and become a member that not only sees the future earlier but also with particle and pragmatic ways to profit from the future.

System Requirements

Hardware

• RAM: 8 GB minimum (16 GB recommended).

• Processor: Quad-core (Intel i5/AMD Ryzen 5 or higher).

• Storage: 5 GB free space.

• Graphics: GPU optional for faster processing.

Software

• Operating System: macOS, Windows 10+, or Linux.

• Python: Version 3.8 or higher.

• Git: Installed.

Step 1: Get Your Tools Ready

We’ll need Python, Git, and a terminal/command prompt to proceed. Follow these instructions carefully.

Install Python

1. Check Python Installation:

• Open your terminal/command prompt and type:

python3 --version

• If Python is installed, you’ll see a version like:

Python 3.9.7

2. If Python Is Not Installed:

• Download Python from python.org.

• During installation, ensure you check “Add Python to PATH” on Windows.

3. Verify Installation:

python3 --version

Install Git

1. Check Git Installation:

• Run:

git --version

• If installed, you’ll see:

git version 2.34.1

2. If Git Is Not Installed:

• Windows: Download Git from git-scm.com and follow the instructions.

• Mac/Linux: Install via terminal:

sudo apt install git -y # For Ubuntu/Debian

brew install git # For macOS

Step 2: Download and Build llama.cpp

We’ll use llama.cpp to run the DeepSeek-R1 model locally.

1. Open your terminal/command prompt.

2. Navigate to a clear location for your project files:

mkdir ~/AI_Project

cd ~/AI_Project

3. Clone the llama.cpp repository:

git clone https://github.com/ggerganov/llama.cpp.git

cd llama.cpp

4. Build the project:

• Mac/Linux:

make

• Windows:

• Install a C++ compiler (e.g., MSVC or MinGW).

• Run:

mkdir build

cd build

cmake ..

cmake --build . --config Release

Step 3: Download DeepSeek-R1 8B 4-bit Model

1. Visit the DeepSeek-R1 8B Model Page on Hugging Face.

2. Download the 4-bit quantized model file:

• Example: DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-8B-Q4_K_M.gguf.

3. Move the model to your llama.cpp folder:

mv ~/Downloads/DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-8B-Q4_K_M.gguf ~/AI_Project/llama.cpp

Step 4: Start DeepSeek-R1

1. Navigate to your llama.cpp folder:

cd ~/AI_Project/llama.cpp

2. Run the model with a sample prompt:

./main -m DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-8B-Q4_K_M.gguf -p "What is the capital of France?"

3. Expected Output:

The capital of France is Paris.

Step 5: Set Up Browser-Use Web UI

1. Go back to your project folder:

cd ~/AI_Project

2. Clone the Browser-Use repository:

git clone https://github.com/browser-use/browser-use.git

cd browser-use

3. Create a virtual environment:

python3 -m venv env

4. Activate the virtual environment:

• Mac/Linux:

source env/bin/activate

• Windows:

env\Scripts\activate

5. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

6. Start the Web UI:

python examples/gradio_demo.py

7. Open the local URL in your browser:

http://127.0.0.1:7860

Step 6: Configure the Web UI for DeepSeek-R1

1. Go to the Settings panel in the Web UI.

2. Specify the DeepSeek model path:

~/AI_Project/llama.cpp/DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-8B-Q4_K_M.gguf

3. Adjust Timeout Settings:

• Increase the timeout to 120 seconds for larger models.

4. Enable Memory-Saving Mode if your system has less than 16 GB of RAM.

Step 7: Run an Example Task

Let’s create an agent that:

1. Searches for Tesla stock news.

2. Gathers Reddit mentions.

3. Predicts the stock trend.

Example Prompt:

Search for "Tesla stock news" on Google News and summarize the top 3 headlines. Then, check Reddit for the latest mentions of "Tesla stock" and predict whether the stock will rise based on the news and discussions.

Congratulations! You’ve built a powerful, private AI agent capable of automating the web and reasoning in real time. Unlike costly, restricted tools like OpenAI Operator, you’ve spent nothing beyond your time. Unleash your AI agent on tasks that were once impossible and imagine the possibilities for personal projects, research, and business. You’re not limited anymore. You own the web—your AI agent just unlocked it! 🚀

Stay tuned fora FREE simple to use single app that will do this all and more.

#DeepSeek #artificial intelligence #AI #locally run AI #free Ai

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roebeanstalk · 2 years ago

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months ago i amazed many by saying i liked windows 11 (within an hour of installing it)

i still like it, mostly. however, of course:

here are the things i do not like about windows 11, as promised.

-yeah, a lot of right click options are under "show more options" now, requiring you to click through for a lot of stuff. extra clicks. annoying. -the window snapping to edges uh, hitbox, is bigger now and it's kind of annoying. sometimes yes, i really do just wanna put a window kinda in the corner but not have it take up a predetermined amount of screen. takes some nudging -sometimes streaming on discord does not do audio?? i dont get it but it works sometimes. i also use eartrumpet so this could be on me somehow lol -sometimes i have a hard time finding old settings. it seems like moving things over from the old settings/control panel style is a work in progress and happening slowly - so not everything's migrated yet. idk if it all will. but it can just be tricky finding stuff. it's THERE, somewhere, but it's harder to find than it should be probably -taskbar can't be moved. i do not like that. it's fine but i just used to always have my taskbar either on the top of my screen or on the left. i'm used to it now. -the widgets box could be so fuckin cool. but they force you to have a bunch of awful news stuff and i can't seem to figure out how to either get rid of it entirely, or make sure it doesn't show me stuff that'll make me rage. so i never use it, despite a lotta useful stuff.

here are some things i am loving about windows 11 tho, because i am sticking with it lol

-rounded corners. they just make me happy. -centered taskbar. hell yeah. -phone link is massively improved. i can text and call my mom from my computer now. nice. -quick settings. this is in windows 10 but it always felt kinda pointless. here it has a lot of little settings, and you can do a lot without having to leave the box finally. yay. -window organization/snapping - yes i bitched about this. however, built in are some grids that help for some quick organization in a really nice way that you could only do while running power toys. i admittedly still use it

BEST THING ABOUT WINDOWS 11 THAT PC ARTISTS WILL UNDERSTAND: it remembers window/monitor locations. so if you disconnect your cintiq with clip studio open, even though it bumps it to your main monitor... IT GOES BACK WHEN YOU PLUG YOUR CINTIQ BACK IN. it actually remembers which monitor a program was on in different settings (extend, pc screen only, duplicate, etc). fuckinggg finally. so good.

anyway

i'm sure i will hate the things i love and love the things i hate and learn how to do things or windows will update them out. i'm here for it.

SHRUG!!! it feels modern finally and not like, an attempt to be modern. so that's cool. it'll get there eventually i hope, or ai will take it over in a horrific manner. we'll see.

(note to linux people: do not tell me to use linux i will go into a rage) (note to mac people: do not tell me to switch to a mac unless you're buying me a new mac)

#windows 11 #nerdy shit

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linuxgamenews · 8 months ago

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Experience Real Answers and Hilarity with The Jackbox Survey Scramble

The Jackbox Survey Scramble hilarious survey-based games are due to make their way onto Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Thanks to the brilliant minds at Jackbox Games Inc. who are making this possible. Coming to Steam next month. Get ready to dive into a whole new party experience with The Jackbox Survey Scramble. A title that’s all about real answers from real people, and it’s hilarious! This is due to go live during Steam Next Fest (Oct. 14 - 21). So you’ll get to try it before it officially launches at the end of October on Linux. With this new release, you’re in for a wild time, thanks to four unique game modes that use one-word answers gathered from folks across the globe. Plus, if you want to keep things family-friendly, there’s a special filter for that, too. This one’s perfect for game nights with friends, family, and even coworkers—whether you want to compete or just laugh at the weird things people say.

The Jackbox Survey Scramble | Trailer

youtube

So, what can you expect? Here’s the lowdown on each mode:

Hilo

Think you know the most common cat names? How about the weirdest ones? In Hilo, you’ll try to guess the most and least popular answers to all kinds of quirky questions. Be warned, though—the rankings might surprise you! (By the way, lots of people named their cat “Frank,” so there’s a freebie.)

Speed

This one’s for the fast thinkers out there! In Speed, it’s every player for themselves as you race against the clock to uncover as many answers as possible. The faster you think, the more points you score in The Jackbox Survey Scramble! But be prepared—the rounds get tougher as the stakes get higher. Can you keep up?

Squares

Ever had a heated argument about which fictional character is the hottest? You will now! In Squares, two teams battle to claim three squares in a row on a grid. You’ll need to guess popular answers to grab the first squares, semi-popular ones for the middle, and the least popular for the last. Get ready for some seriously fun debates!

Bounce

Team up in Bounce, where you control a paddle that moves between the most and least popular answers. The goal in The Jackbox Survey Scramble? Stop your opponents from scoring by guessing the right answers to bounce the ball away. But here’s the catch — the ball speeds up with every answer! Good luck keeping up with the chaos! While the upcoming release will offer these four modes at launch. More modes are coming in a free update before the end of the year. So, what are you waiting for? Wishlist The Jackbox Survey Scramble now and get ready to challenge your friends when it hits Steam. Along with support for Linux, Mac, and Windows PC of course.

#the jackbox survey scramble #party game #linux #gaming news #jackbox games inc #ubuntu #mac #windows #pc #Youtube

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meerkatp · 29 days ago

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These are specifically DT17 but

・ Huey is Transfem (not sure if they're Agender or a binary girl but neither is she). She first comes out to Della, and after TLA finding out Scrooge is Trans (Webby being his clone unfortunately kindof outed him to them) Huey decides to come out. (Uses she/they pronouns btw)

・ Dewey is a amateur VOCALOID cover artist. After lots of begging and pleading and saving up his allowance to pay for part of it he got Hatone Miku's V4X Bundle (the version with her English vb of course). Later on he'd also get Luka V4X. He made Miku sing the Darkwing Duck theme for Launchpad's birthday one year and his producer name is Daft Duck-P.

・ Louie is Aro/Ace

・ Webby and Lena become a couple in high school

・ Donald and Daisy are T4T

・ Scrooge is in a polycule with Goldie and Santa

・ No one knows who the triplets's father is. Not even Della. They were the result of a one night stand and she always wanted kids anyways.

・ Sometime after TPaMoE Penumbra asks Della out for some "Earth coffeee"

・ Penumbra really likes bobba tea

・ Launchpad has a Ao3 account and yes he also writes that kind of Darkwing x reader fic

・ Launchpad's OTP is/ was Quackervolt (becomes abit awkward when they not only get dragged into the real world but also become his neighbors) and he is also a big Spirk shipper

・ Launchpad often puts other people's wants over himself often to the detriment of his own health and general wellbeing

・ Launchpad and Loopey would always fight over the same girls back in high school

・ Launchpad's middle name is Joseph (yes this is in reference to that one piece of official art that implies his nickname is Joe)

・ After a near death experience *cough cough* Launchpad teaches Gosalyn how to fly the Thunderquack. He also tries to teach Drake but he is very standoffish about it and insists that he doesn't need to lean because he'll always have Launchpad and that he's overreacting.

・ Aside from Drake and Dewey, Launchpad's closest friends are Fenton and Penumbra

　・ If he needs to talk to someone about something he goes to Drake first, but if he can't tell Drake then Gosalyn and/ or Dewey, and if he can't tell either of them it's Fenton and/ or Penumbra (usually gets better advice from Fenton as Penny often suggests violence)

・ Drake has a Miku binder

・ Drake refuses to admit it out loud but his favorite burgers are the ones from Hamburger Hippo

・ The reason why Drake and Launchpad picked the wedding date they did, was because it'd be a month after Drake's top surgery, and it was a attempt to get him to try and sit still and focus on planning the wedding and recover for that month (his family still had to stop him from going out as Darkwing on several occasions)

・ Gosalyn will often refer to her parents as her sidekicks when with them on patrol. Drake gets really embarrassed when she calls them that to other people.

・ Gosalyn teaches Launchpad how to use a crossbow

・ Fenton rarely swears; if he's cursing you out, you fucked up big time (happens most to Drake/ Darkwing)

・ Most of the extended Clan McDuck is Autistic. Too many to really list here tbh

　・ Most of them are also Queer.

・ Gyro created Launchpad's clone who is Bruno Von Beak. Bruno was the first clone Gyro ever created.

・ Gyro's best friend (and ex) is Sara Bellum. However they can't work together in scientific ventures because they will often clash.

・ Sal would call Launchpad "Burrito" in the short time that they dated

・ Morgana is a celebrity chef

・ Drake and Launchpad, Morgana and Loopey, and Donald and Daisy all got married withing 3 months of eachother

・ Honker is Drake and Launchpad's honorary son and Gosalyn's honorary brother

・ Not only has Honker modded all of his/ his family's gaming consoles, but he also uses Linux

・ Taurus Bulba and Thaddeus Waddlemeyer were a couple before Waddlemeyer's death

・ Bushroot is a bit of a eco-terrorist and also has a vendetta againt P.E.T.A. (fair on that last point tbh)

・ Splatter Phoenix after being dragged into the DT17 universe becomes a popular artist on grumblr and Wingstagram.

・ Bruno will sometimes lie to make himself look cooler

・ Jim Starling may or may not eat cat food

I know there's quite abit of characters listed that just don't appear (and Bruno's practically a oc) but there's stuff from my canon/ continuation that I've just been dying to share and most of it IDK when it'd even be mentioned soooo

Honestly people should drop their headcanons for ducktales to me just cuz I'm always like really curious about other people's ideas, stories, takes on the show and its characters.

So, What are your ducktales HCs, takes, thoughts, etc.?

Y'all are free to like either reblog or put it in my ask inbox cuz id love to hear them or drop my thoughts on them! Im like genuinely curious

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linuxcoursetips · 2 years ago

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How many years is the Linux course?

The duration of a Linux course can vary widely depending on the specific course content, the level of depth, the pace of learning, and the institution or provider offering the course. Linux courses can range from a few days to several months or even longer, depending on the complexity and the goals of the course.

Here are some common types of Linux courses and their typical durations:

Short Workshops or Bootcamps: These can last from a few days to a week and often focus on specific aspects of Linux, such as basic system administration or a particular Linux distribution.

Online Courses: Online Linux courses, available on platforms like Coursera, edX, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning, can vary in duration. Some may be self-paced, allowing you to complete them at your own speed, while others may follow a structured schedule that spans several weeks.

College or University Courses: If you're taking Linux courses as part of a degree program, the duration will depend on the curriculum. A single course might last a semester (typically 15-16 weeks), while a more comprehensive program might span multiple semesters.

Certification Training: Courses designed to prepare you for Linux certification exams, such as those from the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) or Red Hat, can range from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the depth of coverage and the pace of study.

Intensive Training Programs: Some training programs, especially those designed for accelerated learning and career changes, can last for several months, offering a comprehensive understanding of Linux system administration.

Continuous Learning: Learning Linux is an ongoing process, and many professionals continue to deepen their knowledge and skills throughout their careers. This may involve taking shorter courses and certifications periodically.

#How many years is the Linux course?#Linux course

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starvette · 2 years ago

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T 4/90

Another mess of a day. At least it was cold and windy again so I just slept intermittently and badly for a lot of the afternoon. Kept waking up and thinking just SUCH stupid, stupid nonsensical thoughts. Later mom came and wept about dad and wanted me to fix everything and called us both weird. Then she occupied the bathroom right when I needed it.

I finally tried organizing my selfies. I take way too many and the quality has gone down to rock bottom. Overwhelmed after some hours, I went grocery shopping. I shouldn't have bought anything, but I did because I can't go a day without grocery shopping. It's a compulsion after years of daily grocery shopping. I didn't actually need any new food. I have discount bell peppers and beets in the fridge. Since I had almost no money left all I got was 220g of this stale dry refined wheat bread. I told myself it would be good fuel for the imminent run. Then I got home, had 10 minutes left, made popcorn. Of course I couldn't eat it fast enough and felt too full to run, sat in bed to try to digest everything quickly, but then it got too late. Didn't run.

I should have worked out at that point but I decided to get Sims instead. It took a bit to figure out how to get them going on Linux. Sims took forever to download and it's still got 1GB to go. I tried to think of edgy sim names and organized more selfies. So, so many bad, bad selfies. Now I feel truly sick and absolutely exhausted. I have to stop myself right here, shake this day off and go do something useful like my skincare and little workouts, and even dead hanging outside. And feed the fucking popcorn kernels to birds. I tried googling if they can digest that stuff at all and I think they can? Birds are crazy dinosaurs. I've just been so scared of making popcorn since The Incident. I think the pot will overheat and explode and razor sharp shards of steel will like rip right into my gut at F1 speed and the glass lid will explode too, in my eyes. And I will die right there on the kitchen floor. I've got 675g popcorn kernels left. The birds can have them.

Beyond the explosions, I'm not sure if I'm even allowed to eat popcorn at all. Ache eat maize but I don't know. I'm rather scared of grains now but I also didn't want to just keep the vaguely tempting popcorn for months in my pantry until it dries out and becomes unpoppable since I read in a cooking blog that moist kernels pop better. I just want the fucking corn out of my house. It scares me. I need to eat clean for a long time.

Mairi got back to me. I love her too much. She will be able to tell me her upcoming schedule only after 'a few weeks'. More waiting. Meanwhile I must diligently investigate molecules not play the sims. Wondering if I'll ever get to be normal.

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adelle-ein · 2 years ago

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going to start posting wips here instead of twt. i want to draw more group scenes and backgrounds and just generally be more ambitious, even though my main focus is and always has been improving how my people look i wanna get better at everything. this is an idea i thought of for an anniversary drawing and i decided to just go ahead and do it now

also soft-painting-small looks bad at big sizes huh maybe that's. why it's named that (i don't have a go-to sketch/line brush in krita i just keep trying different things)

anyway i used csp more again in the last month bc a) i had a new ssd and Could b) still adapting to krita and it was stressing me out and i was trying to improve my anatomy and struggling bc learning to use krita was slowing me down. but being reminded of how much celsys sucks and how i need to not rely on csp sticking around made me start working on adjusting to krita again

thoughts on that below the cut (rambly and definitely not of interest to anyone who isn't also extremely interested in digital art programs)

like i said my main motivation in making the switch: celsys sucks and is untrustworthy. krita's excellent filter variety and way way better brush engines and amazing paintbrushes are huge incentives also though and i think given time and money and support it could easily outdo csp.

csp has so many impressively flashy features that i just...did not use or find useful in application. like the 3d models - couldn't get them working at all on my old computer and then when i could on this one...they're hard to pose, finicky, don't look as good as similar modeling programs, etc etc...i just did not end up using them much and when i did i didn't really know how and they often made things look worse. really they were only good for doing like. fashion poses for outfit design when i didn't want to spend time on the anatomy. vector brushes didn't work for me at all and just made my lineart look really stiff and uglier than ever (and then i decided to ditch lineart altogether which. smart move i think bc it is not my friend.) basically csp has loads of what look like incredible time saving features on its homepage etc, and then in actual execution i didn't really find any of them practical to use. *paul hollywood voice* all style no substance

ANYWAY all of that being said the only things i really miss from csp are the one click export buttons, the change layer to drawing color button, and finally and most of all just the general performance and practicality of it. csp is designed for a reasonable newbie to pick up and use. not quite as much so as like sai or medibang but pretty accessible. krita is just. not. at all. probably the hardest of these programs to learn from a technical standpoint. it just has SO MUCH and is generally made by and for people with above average tech skills which can make it more confusing. like the way layers and groups work is fundamentally different from the common, accepted way ps/csp/sai/everybody uses. and sure maybe alpha inherit is technically Better than clipping masks but it also makes things more challenging and less accessible. very linux design yknow. it is harder to just open krita up and Use It without looking up how to do specific things, it is harder to get away without reading documentation and watching youtube tutorials and memorizing keyboard shortcuts, you need to know how layers work and how to cut down memory usage in a file, basically you can't cut corners in learning krita like you can with similar programs (esp if you are like me and have been playing in said programs since you were. maybe 4)

and of course all that being said krita is a small dev team making an open source free product, whereas celsys adobe etc have massive teams and $$$ at their disposal so of course it is not apples to oranges and this is not a criticism of the krita foundation, just that it makes the product harder to learn and use and i get why people are turned off by that. i'm turned off by it! and all this hinges on your pc even running krita because it is more demanding than most (in most cases i've seen at least. definitely seen some people say they have issues with csp and can run krita, computers weird.) but it sucks that a few features are prone to issues no matter what. as cool and intriguing as so many of the features are...gmic plugin is crashy and liquify tool just lags to the point it's unusable. :(

but i don't want to end on a negative note and make it sound like i hate krita, krita's great, it's just never felt quite as natural as sai and csp have in the past so that makes things more uphill with it. but i'm trying. and trying to get over my Very Bad Social Anxiety to post on krita-artists and ask for help from *shudders* Knowledgeable Strangers when i don't understand things

anyway uhhh krita is hard and art is hard but i think it'll be worth it and also fuck celsys

#txt #lacewip #looking at this now seth's face is Wonky #i will work on that #no matter how i draw him elvis's head always feels weird

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b3balancedsims · 2 years ago

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Alright I don't own the game yet. I might need to buy a windows computer. I use Linux. I want it to work via steam.

Background:

I played simcity long ago along with the sims 1 and 2 in college. I had children started a few businesses, got a divorce. Just life stuff. A few months ago my 13 year old son discovered he could get the sims 4 on his 11 year old brothers Xbox.

Down the rabbit hole I leapt. It is winter so not much to do but watch YouTube. I started with my old fave pleasant sims because we have similar play styles. I was thinking I might have build wars with my son.

After watching sims 4 videos for like two hours I was over it. I was more interested in the sims 3 open world. I vaguely remembered being excited for its release. But then I got married and had some kids. You know, I got side tracked.

In the beginning:

I played an uberhood in sims 2. I loved how all the playable families got to know each other plus I didn't have to marry too many townies. My goal was to get everyone related by the tenth generation. I made it to six before real life.

Sims 3 seemed so perfect except no open for business, as I loved interacting with the customers, it was my favorite part of the game. Hey I am a home based business owner in real life so it was the best in sims 2 hands down. Granted sims 3 has a less hands on version, which will allow more time to do other things, I think I will love Sims 3 more.

Hail great modder simstatedude.

I initially wanted to go back to sims2 but the open world was calling me. Story progression is awesome from what I can see. All the mod creators have outdone themselves. Now I can afford to pay you all. EA is not worthy

So after going back and forth between should I go back to the Sims 2 or should I play The Sims 3 I finally landed on I want the open world in The Sims 3 bugs be damned. Plus of course I haven't had a Windows computer in about 15 years so I just realized that my ultimate collection through origin won't launch anymore and I really don't feel like going through all of that to make it work. Maybe one day long long in the future when I decide that you know, since I paid for that game like six times, I want to play it again.

I have all the files!!! And discs!!!

I'll just play The Sims 3. But I need my uberworld. I have searched high and low on the internet and I have not discovered an Uber world that comprises all of The Sims2 hoods. I found large custom worlds that had all of the terrain that would allow me to have all of the hoods in one place but they didn't actually look the way that I wanted them to. Then I found Tedhi's Tumblr after I looked at one of her YouTube videos and as a construction manager myself, I really enjoyed her architectural style. We have similar ideas on planning builds and worlds. When I saw her new pleasant view video, it was just like she was in my head and added a few things, like her pool I never thought of, that's what I wanted.

Now when it comes to the Sims 2 world and having all of the premade Sims, Pleasant Sims was in my head. I don't think I will have the time to recreate them all but I want a place for all the Sims 3 versions to move to in order to play out their stories.

I took pleasant Sims idea on how the military base is up on the ridge and I was like oh this is perfect that's where I can have strange town, veronaville, and riverblossom hills. You know Verona ville is a mythical town so it would be perfect to have it up there next to strangetown as if the aliens terraformed the area created some test tube Sims and let them grown as they observed them. Riverblossom hills has the bridge that connected to the top of another mountain and I was like oh my goodness Blue water village has that large mountain at the tip of the peninsula that it sets on and my brain just went crazy as the map puzzle pieces fell into place. I was like oh my goodness I could literally have all 7-8 hoods, to some degree, in one place. Obviously I'm not going to make them as big as they were initially meant to be because I don't want to have like 80 billion lots in one Hood but I could have that feel of all of those lots like Tedhi did. she made pleasant view with a couple of extra lots in it but she had the most important ones so I want to have the feel of those neighborhoods like the strange town crater and have it be like arid and desert cuz it's going to be on top of a mountain obviously and then Verona ville is going to be where the fairies live cuz I mean they were honestly fairies in the first place. I don't have any idea what it's going to look like in CAW but right now I think I'm going to have the two Bridges I'm going to have what I'm going to call crater falls coming from strange town crater through veronaville since it has that River and it's going to go past River blossom hills to make the waterfall between the two Bridges.

I was initially going to call it SimCity but then I figured that would be copyrighted so I decided well two Bridges and a waterfall - Twin Bridge Falls.

I did a search online and I haven't found anything that says twin bridge falls so I was like let me put this up here on the internet as public notification of copyright, before somebody comes up with it and then my world will be lost forever to oblivion. This Tumblr is going to document my foray into building Two Bridge Falls for The Sims 3. My Uber world homage to The Sims 2.

#sims 3 caw #sims 3 #sims 3 custom world

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rxsewxter · 3 years ago

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Back on this old Tumblr account, so might as well make a fun post about me :3

So for those who are unaware, I'm OCRomantic, Trans MtF, autistic, and a massive techie! I've worked on many things, from photography stuff, to making a simple Linux Distro, and even making//coining #OCSexual & #OCRomantic, I've tried to do a lot!

For those who don't know what OCRomantic or OCSexual is, it's an aroace, fictosexual sexuality that I coined//made as I personally don't feel any attraction to real people. My OC I made has been with me for over two years in total, but I've only been with them for a year and 5 months so far :3

I love technology, it's become a huge passion for me and has helped me create and develop awesome things, from custom android ROMs, to Linux Distros, modding iOS, and learning how to code & hack, it's all been incredibly fun to learn, not to mention how much it's helped me to help others :3 it's also helped me with my photography skills, and whilst I'm still not amazing at it, I may share some photos in the future.

I love seeing things people have made towards the sexuality, whether it's fan//alt flags, pins, drawings, anything, it makes me happy to see your way of celebrating who you are! You can find me on Instagram (thxrnwxter), twitter (rxsewxter), reddit (v3xedillusions) and of course, here! You can now also find the official OCSexual//OCRomantic Twitter account, under the handle OCSexualReal :3

https://www.instagram.com/thxrnwxter

#ocsexual #OCRomantic #lgbtqia #queer #aroace #OCRomanticism #pride #fictosexual #fictoromantic

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leo-regulus · 1 year ago

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...I know like five posts you're looking for, and I apparently did not save any of them, so I'm going to give you a bunch of links and then you're going to ask me questions and then I will answer them. Because honestly, I'd love to write up a guide but I'm unsure where to start. You know the "of course the average person only knows the formulae for quartz and some feldspars" comic? Yeah, tragically that's me, so I'm gonna hand you some links and write some real quick guides and go from there.

Here is a Computer Hardware Care 101 post, with additions by yours truly.

Here's some webmastery links, which isn't quite what you're looking for but is also the first link I had on hand. The second link I grabbed while I was searching was the how-to-unfuck-Windows-11, which I figure you guys might be running. As a slightly easier version, here is how to disable web search where it shouldn't be.

A very big masterpost of internet resources; and a beginner's guide to the indie web. Another masterpost of things to do on the internet. And a digital piracy guide, for funsies.

Quite a few of these guides will say "but seriously, switch to Linux" and while that's an option, if you're struggling to understand directories and folder trees (no judgment if you've never seen them before, unfortunately everything to me should be a folder tree) then it might not be a good option until you know what you're doing. However, if you're bold and want to try it anyway, here's a guide.

Now, under the cut, I'm gonna give you some really quick and dirty tutorials that are really more pointing you in a direction and giving you a thumbs-up about it. If you can't figure it out, that's fine, I can answer any and all questions you have. (I graduate in two months with a bachelor's in IT, it's unlikely you'll throw me.)

Excel / Gsheets / Very Basic Databases

As far as excel goes, use google sheets, it's just faster, and then making the jump to excel is easier. Your task: make a spreadsheet that tracks something and then tallies them up and hands them back to you in a nice counted format. For this example, let's track genre of books we've read.

Make a new gsheet. Leave the top ten rows mostly blank for now, but put in a real quick list of book genres in one column. Then colour row 11 in another colour as a visual divider. Under it, place a bunch of book titles in column A, the corresponding author in column B. Now right click row 12 column C, which should be next to the author's name of the first book. Select data validation, add a rule, and then select dropdown from a range.

Then click the little square button. Go back up to your list of genres, left click the top one, then hold down shift and left click the last genre. It should have selected the whole list. (Holding down shift selects everything between the first and second click. Holding down control will instead just select the second one without unselecting the first, so you can pick and choose. Do experiment with this until you get the hang of it.)

Hit ok until you're out of there, and that cell should now be a dropdown of genres. Sick. Now on the bottom-right of your selected cell should be a little square a big bigger than the rest of your cursor. Left click, hold down left click, and drag straight down to the last book. Release left click, and they should all now have that dropdown.

Go through manually and give each book a genre from the dropdown. Then go back up to your first genre, and in the column immediately beside it, place in a COUNTIF function. Your range should be column C, from row 11 to row whatever the last book is. So C11:C[number here]. Your criterion should be either "Genre" with quotations (this identifies it as a string, aka it's text), or just place in the cell number of the genre. So if the genre is Fantasy in cell D4 (and you're in cell E4), place just D4.

This should return a counted value of how many books are fantasy books. Rinse and repeat for the other genres. You should get a total of all of them. Your next task is to use the UNIQUE function to get a list of all your authors, and then to use COUNTIF to get author totals.

Once you've gotten that far, you can do whatever you want, you probably can read the documentation well enough to do whatever. I recommend learning VLOOKUP, CONCATENATE, and SUMIF. Spreadsheets are great for crunching numbers and keeping track of stuff, I recommend them.

File Trees / Directories

I'll be honest, I really don't know where to start because I don't know what you know and don't know. So if I am missing information, please tell me and I will explain. This is very natural to me, if I skip over stuff I can go back.

But it works like this. Every file on your computer has a location and it is almost always going to look pretty similar to this: "C:\Users\RaymondShields\Pictures\rickroll.png"

Note the backward slash, \, as opposed to the forward slash, /. We do not use forward slashes locally (on your computer, not on the web), but we do use them on the web, where they fulfil the same purpose.

I must heavily stress one thing: file explorer is not the internet. It should only show you things on your computer, not on the web. I hear windows 11 fucks with that, but I won't touch it with a ten foot pole so idk. This focuses on file explorer.

So let's break that url down real quick. C:\ is "C drive". It is very likely where your OS (operating system) is stored. (A and B drives are reserved for floppies and generally no longer used. Fun fact.) If your computer has multiple hard drives, they are likely to be D:\ (generally CD/DVD) and E:\ and continuing on from there.

(If you want to look at your drives, just go into file explorer and click This Computer / My PC. It will display them. If you right click and go into properties, you can see more info.)

After C:\ is a bunch of folders we generally don't care about unless we need to. Program Files and Program Files (x86) are generally interchangeable, but that is where most of your programs (the desktop version of mobile apps) are stored, alongside many many configuration files. (They are sometimes stored as .dat or .bat files. When in doubt, just google '.dat file format' or whatever format to learn what they are.)

Right now, we care about the Users folder. It should have default, public, and all local user accounts. One of those folders is your local account, for this example it's RaymondShields. (To check your local account, hit that start menu and bottom left should be a few icons, including power and settings, and the top should be an avatar. That is you.)

Go into there and there's a bunch more folders, whee. Some of them have fancy icons, those are Official Microsoft Directories. Some of them start with a dot and are program-installed. One of them is hidden and called AppData (and you can get there fast by typing %appdata% into the file explorer address bar), and you only care about that one when you're installing minecraft mods.

Now. Official Microsoft Directories are two things at once and that makes them fun. They are first and foremost Regular Folders like every other folder so far. (If you create folders in your pictures or documents directories, exact same thing.) They are also shortcuts.

Which is to say, when your computer says "get me Pictures\rickroll.png", it knows to translate that 'Pictures' into "C:\Users\RaymondShields\Pictures\". However, because 'Pictures' is just a shortcut, you can also just change where the shortcut 'Pictures' points to. If you decide you want your pictures on your D:\ drive instead, create a folder on D:\ named Pictures, then go to the Pictures directory, right click properties, and change its location. It'll ask you if it can copy files over, and from then on, when you select 'Pictures' in the file explorer sidebar, it will lead you to 'D:\Pictures\' instead.

This is a very important point: there is a difference between a relative file path and an absolute file path. Think of it like this: a relative path is saying "uh, the gas station on First Ave and 6th St?" and an absolute path is "the Shell at 12345 First St Vancouver BC Canada V4G 1N4". (Actual Canadian postal code, fun fact.)

Which means when you're in the command prompt, which you'll end up doing quite a bit for any finicky stuff, the difference between "pictures\folder\folder2\rickroll.png" and "\pictures\folder\folder2\rickroll.png" is massive.

The first one, without that first slash, is the relative path. It will look for a folder named "pictures" in the folder you are currently viewing. So if you're viewing the RaymondShields folder, it will start there and look for Pictures there. The second one, with the slash, is the absolute path. It will go all the way up to the root folder, which is generally going to be C:\ or D:\ or whatever. Where you can't go up a folder anymore. And then it will look there for Pictures.

This is good because no one wants to hardcode file paths every time. (Hardcode: using the absolute file path. Sometimes you have to, but if you say, renamed folder2, every absolute file path that needs something in a subfolder (folder within) of folder2 is going to break.) It is also bad if you're new and still getting the hang of when to use the absolute path and keep mixing it up.

You may also notice at some point that I mentioned AppData, a hidden folder inside RaymondShields. If you did not see it, go up top to the file / home / share / view bar, select view, and then view hidden folders. Now it should be visible.

Hidden folders generally mean "don't touch me" but all a hidden folder really means is that it isn't visible without that option turned on. I keep the setting on because I want to see stuff, but it doesn't prevent access or anything. However, if a file is hidden and it's a .bat or some other system config file, don't touch it unless you know exactly why you're doing it. It might break a program, it might crash your OS. Be careful, is what I'm saying.

But that's how a file tree works. You can keep going down folders for as long as you have folders to go down, and then you just go right back up the tree and down a different branch. (Think of it like a family tree, to visualize, but like, upside down. You start at one root and go down, and in a family tree, you are the root directory, and your parents are subfolders of you, and so on and so forth.)

Every single file on your computer, every single bit of data, is somewhere in the file tree. It has an absolute path, it has a file type, it is stored somewhere on your drives. Half the battle is finding it.

When you're in the command line, you go up and down and sometimes jump across the file tree using the "cd" command, and it's "cd .." to go up one level to the parent folder. You will do this a lot, and it'll be shorthand really fast.

Your phone also has a file tree. As does every other computer, in whatever form they take, on the planet. If you have an Android, plug it in, select the device under the 'This PC' directory in the sidebar, open that sucker up, and go wandering through the file tree. If you have an iphone, your file tree is hidden from you without specialized software, because Apple sucks.

Get really familiar with just googling shit. ".bat file format" and "appdata folder" and "gsheets get all unique values from range" and "motherboard specs command prompt". Right click your task bar at the bottom of your screen and open task manager, click around and figure out what stuff is by googling.

In desktop machines, you do a lot of click around and "huh what's that" and opening menus just to open menus. If you know you're in the right area of a program's menus, do as you would looking for your mother's chocolate stash and just start opening folders and drawers and menus and under the bed until you find what you're looking for. Don't be afraid to click stuff and do actions! Control+Z (hold control, press Z) is the shortcut for undoing things, and Control+Y redoes them if you just undid them.

Windows will prompt you if whatever you're about to do is permanent and cannot be ctrl+Z'd. Don't worry about it. You can just do whatever you want.

(Last tip, to learn to touch type, don't bother with any of those tutorials. F and J on keyboards generally have little ridges that you can feel, put your index fingers there, and then copy a note from a paper to Microsoft Word. Put the paper next to your monitor and just transcribe as fast as you can. You will eventually just memorize where the keys are, and if you start fucking up, feel for F and J and put your hands back in the right place and then keep going. It's fine.)

So hope that helps a bit?? I spent like an hour writing this and if you have any questions PLEASE TELL ME I WILL WALK YOU THROUGH IT. But I think it's an okay start!!

also re lrb does anyone have that one post that was going around a while back abt a site of like. computer skillz by gen z for gen z. i wanna look at it

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linuxgamenews · 1 year ago

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Unveiling The Last Explorer: A Thrilling Exploration Experience

The Last Explorer open world exploration game is already aiming and Steam Deck and Linux with Windows PC. Thanks to the brilliant minds at Gradient Games for this unique adventure. Due to make its way onto Steam this month. Let's talk about The Last Explorer, a fantastic adventure waiting for you. This is more than just a typical journey; it's an exploration of a breathtaking alien world, where the beauty of nature and the excitement of discovery is alive. Which is also gearing up to offer further support.

I optimized it for the Steam Deck which of course also uses Proton.

While Gradient isn't offering native support for Linux, many players have successfully used Proton. Plus, they've fine-tuned The Last Explorer for Steam Deck, which also relies on Proton, so you're in for a smooth experience. The developer also mentioned that creating a native build would be a huge task, but thankfully, we have Steam Play as a workaround. As for the story, you land on a planet, untouched and mysterious. The Last Explorer isn't about rushing through levels or battling foes. Here, the joy comes from exploring at your own pace. You can wander through stunning landscapes, each corner revealing something new and amazing.

The Last Explorer - Release Date Trailer

youtube

What sets this open world exploration adventure apart is its camera feature. Like many who like taking pictures in other interactive experiences, finding that perfect shot, playing with angles and light. The Last Explorer takes this to a whole new level. You're encouraged to pause, take in the scenery, and capture those wow moments. It's not just for fun, though – your camera is a tool for understanding this alien world. Snap pictures of the creatures you meet, study their behaviours and even befriend them. It's a unique way to interact with your surroundings, making every photo a memorable part of your journey. But if you're curious about the storyline, there's an intriguing mystery woven in. Explore the remnants of a spaceship, piece together clues, and uncover the story of how you ended up in this amazing place.

Quests and Mini-games

And if you're up for some extra fun, the local aliens offer quests and mini-games. It adds a great variety, so you're never short of things to do. The best part? The Last Explorer gives you the freedom to choose your path. Whether you're in the mood for photography, unraveling a mystery, or just enjoying the scenery, it's all your call. This isn't just any exploration; it's your exploration. And with support for Xbox controllers and Steam Deck, it's accessible and easy to dive into. For those who appreciate beauty, mystery, and a touch of photography, The Last Explorer open world exploration is a must-try. It's a solo-developed masterpiece that's more than just entertainment; it's an experience that invites you to slow down, explore, and create memories. Get ready to embark on a journey that's as unique as it is captivating. Due to make its way onto Linux and Steam Deck via Proton with Windows PC. So be sure to Wishlist its on Steam.

#the last explorer #open world exploration #linux #gaming news #gradient games #ubuntu #steam deck #unreal engine 5 #Youtube #windows #pc

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bitletsanddrabbles · 3 years ago

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Hiatus Just Became Indefinite

......If I ever find Murphy, I’m going to beat him to death with his damn law. And they’re never going to find the body.

SO! I’ve been getting increasingly fed up with Windows. Of course, I also am not a fan of Mac. What to do, what to do? Well, Mum has a friend who’s a computer wiz who swears by Linux. He got her set up with it and she’s not been having any problems, so why not? Back in February - 2020 - I gave him my desk top to overhaul, figuring I could use my laptop (which was never meant to be more than a portable around-the-house entertainment center) for a month or two.

...

By which we, of course, mean over a year.

I got my desk top back this past November and immediately realized that Mum does less with her computer than I do. I have tried - and failed - to figure out how to do things on my own, but have been too stressed out to contact her friend with a list o’ questions until recently.

By recently I mean ‘this was on the docket for this week’s days’ off’. In the meantime it was fine! I had my lap top. Things were great.

...

Yesterday the latest attempt by Microsoft to update FUBAREDed my lap top. After many hours running the Dell OS reinstall, having it fail, rerunning it, etc. I finally got to the point where it told me to restart my laptop so I could finish things.

It couldn’t find a bootable OS and turned off.

I SERIOUSLY CAN NOT EVEN TURN THIS THING ON.

Now, the good news it that I backed everything up on my external hard drive not too long ago. Okay, yeah, it’s been a few months, so I’ve lost stuff, but with, like, three exceptions it’s stuff that I have up on the internet someplace, so it’s not the end of the world.

The bad news is that my external drive is password protected and, like most things, only has options to open it on Windows and Mac. Which means all of my data is safe and sound and inaccessible! Not that it really matters because all of my big writing projects are on Scrivener and while they are working on a Linux version, it’s still in beta.

So, until I can figure out how to get Scrivener, Photoshop CS2, etc. all up and running on this machine - or access my old Windows drive that is mounted to the computer but is not opening (this is going to require not only an email, but screen captures), my existing writing projects are dead in the water.

YES I KNOW LINUX HAS A MILLION YOUTUBE HOW TO VIDEOS!!!!! I HAVE BEEN WATCHING THEM!!!!

The videos and such I’m finding are only really helpful if you have the exact Linux build they’re using. I don’t.

PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE COMMENTS WITH ‘I GOOGLED THE THING FOR YOU HERE ARE LINKS YOU’RE WELCOME!’

I’m a ludite, yes, but I’m not incompetent. Unless you specifically have sources to tell me how to install WINE, Scrivener, and Photoshop CS 2 on Xubuntu, or on that build in general, please just let me work this out with Mum’s friend. If he can get a 70 year old up and running on this softwear, he can do it with me. I have my list of questions, all I need are screen caps and I’m ready to start seriously trouble shooting this.

Now, I do have Libra Office and am familiar with it, so any new writing projects I come up with will go forward without a hitch and I can move them to Scrivener when I’m able. I’m not broke, so I can get my laptop looked at. Even if they can’t save the date, I should be able to access my external drive again, etc. Also, just before the system completely died I figured out how to turn OFF the stupid auto updates and do it manually, so I shouldn’t run into this again.

Basically I’m just super frustrated and about to go even quieter than planned and giving everyone a head’s up.

Hope you’re all having a better time than I am.

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mxndoscyarika · 4 years ago

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Honeydew (Marcus Pike/Moreno x OC) | Chapter 1

Summary: Erin He moves to DC after working for the FBI in Texas and runs into a hero in disguise; Marcus Moreno. Something about him is familiar, too familiar, yet different in a way that she can’t quite place. Although confused, she can’t deny her feelings for him; perhaps, after years of regret, she finally found the one.

Warnings: food/drink mention

Ao3

Honeydew masterlist

Like my writing? Here’s my masterlist.

Author’s Note: I’m so excited for you all to read this story! Special thanks go to Lynn (@mindless--ramblings) for always being so supportive and helping me stay inspired! Ever since I found out Pedro now has two characters named Marcus, I’ve wondered about ways I could connect them in one piece of writing. And this? This is that piece of writing. Moreno won’t be making an appearance in this one, but I hope Pike will make up for that 😉 Enjoy!

Ground floor.

First floor.

Second.

Erin He took a deep breath, thankful that the elevator was empty. She straightened the collar of her shirt as the fourth floor approached. At her side was her government-issued laptop, which she’d picked up from the front desk. Her fingers gripped its edges tightly. This was it. She made it.

The elevator let out a soft ding and opened its doors, revealing a floor of cubicles and conference rooms. Austin sunlight filtered through large windows, illuminating the space alongside the bright fluorescent lights.

She stepped out, searching for the art theft department’s main office. As much as she understood the need for technology specialists across all the FBI’s branches, she never quite grasped why she was placed in the art theft department, of all places. She always thought she’d be in the operational technologies department, developing and maintaining tools for others to use. Though she couldn’t blame them; intellectual property was highly valued and often stolen.

The email said to report to the department supervisor’s office for a quick onboarding, but they didn’t exactly mention what it would be. It could’ve been anything from a quick handshake to being told to shadow a coworker. Hopefully the former.

Part of her begged to the gods of computer science that she wouldn’t be assigned to yet another condescending old white man. Her last welcome at a company had been less than mediocre, and lukewarm at best.

The other part of her nagged that she’d signed up for exactly that.

“Ah, there you are. Welcome to your first day, Special Agent He,” the department supervisor–Harold Strauss–greeted as she entered his office. He gestured to the man standing in front of his desk. “This is Agent Marcus Pike. He will be showing you the ropes today.”

Agent Pike looked at her over his shoulder, the corners of his lips curling in a friendly smile. He couldn’t have been much older than her, with his faint smile lines and soft brown hair. He tucked his hands into his pockets and turned around to face her.

“Thank you, sir,” she replied. She shook his hand and then extended her hand to Pike. “Nice to meet you. Thanks for taking time out of your day to show me around.”

“Likewise,” he replied, shaking her hand. His brown eyes sparkled as he proposed, “Should we start? I have a meeting in about half an hour, and I’m sure you’ll want to meet some of our operational techs and digital forensics team. They’re the backbone of everything we do here.”

They acknowledged their supervisor once more and then left to begin the tour.

As her personal guide gave her the rundown of the floor’s organization and workflow, Erin couldn’t help but sneak a couple more glances at him.

He was taller than her by a few inches, but not in such a way that she felt like shrinking into herself. And he always stayed at her side, never walking ahead or lagging behind. His strong jaw led her gaze to a pair of soft lips, which seemed to be in a perpetual smile as he talked about the breakthroughs the department had in the past days.

“Do you know where your desk is?” Pike asked.

“Yeah, they told me the other day,” she answered, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ears. They walked over to her assigned desk, which was barren save for a standard computer, box of pens, and notepad. “If you’re going to ask if I need help with setup, I think I should be alright for now. Nothing a few installations and linux commands can’t fix.”

He chuckled softly and nodded. “You’re living up to your title, Agent He. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I could’ve been much help even if I offered. Have you done work similar to this before?”

She shrugged. “I worked in cybersecurity and software development,” Erin replied, setting down her bag and laptop on her desk. Slipping off her black blazer, she continued, “But I figured I should do something more than just build products for tech companies. Use my skills to aid in investigations.”

He nodded in understanding. “I see what you mean. Actually, I was originally studying to be an art history professor. But then I found this job and figured I could use my knowledge to help find and preserve artworks.”

Hm, noble.

“Sounds like we aren’t so different,” she observed, following him across the officespace. “Let’s hope that I can be of help around here.”

He chuckled softly, the dimple in his cheek showing as he smiled. “I think you’ll fit right in.”

---

The words on the screen blurred into the white background of the screen, as if they were mocking her. Each line of test slowly lost its meaning, turning into mind-numbing strings.

Erin pushed her computer away and rubbed her eyes defeatedly, sighing. The department was launching an investigation regarding a museum that was broken into and wiped clean. What little data was left on the computers, from what she gathered after hours of poring over them, was largely useless. Hopefully, one of the other agents would find something helpful in the other remnants. Perhaps an address, or some sort of signature that could be traced to a group. Her, on the other hand? She just wasted hours of work.

A steaming cup of coffee was set down onto her desk, along with some sugar and tiny cups of cream.

She looked up to find Marcus–Pike, she reminded herself–standing at her side, looking down at her with a soft smile. “Find anything?”

“Nope,” she sighed. It turned out that Pike was one of the best agents in the department, and that meant he spent most of his time leading and organizing investigations. What that meant for Erin, then, was that she had to answer to him. Thankfully, he was never weird about it. Quite the opposite, actually. Tapping the side of the cup, she asked, “Is this for me?”

He laughed softly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah! Sorry; I would’ve fixed it, but I wasn’t sure how you liked your coffee.”

“Well it’s nothing complex, if that’s what you’re nervous about,” she teased. Two sugars and a drizzle of cream turned the pitch black liquid into a deep brown. She took a sip, the placebo of caffeine already kicking in. “When you’re in STEM, you learn to appreciate caffeine in any form. But I like it like this.”

“Noted,” he said, his voice a soft timbre amongst the flutter of papers and clacking of keys. Hands resting on his hips he asked, “How long do you think it’ll be before you find anything?”

“Anywhere from an hour to another three...or five,” she sighed, lazily scrolling down the file. Basking in the steam from her cup, she continued, “I’m gonna need a lot more of this coffee. There has to be something useful in this file, I just need to find it. I might need to cross-reference with some of the other evidence to notice anything.”

A headache was already descending upon her, and she was only six hours in. Weak–she’d stared at a computer much longer without any problem many times before. Why, of all times, did it have to happen when she was talking to her coworker?

“Well, I’ll be here pretty late tonight, so if you need anything, just let me know,” he replied, patting her shoulder. The crease between his brows deepened as he squinted down at the screen. “Maybe you need a fresh set of eyes on it. Take a break, Erin.” At her responding pout, he reasoned, “It’s been almost a month and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you rest.”

Of course he noticed her breaks, or lack thereof. She rolled her eyes, hiding a bashful smile in her cup. “I work best in sprints.”

He hummed amusedly. “But even sprinters need breaks, don’t they?” Then, his eyes lit up. “Actually, why don’t you take a break now?”

Erin raised a brow. “Am I not taking a break right now?”

His laugh was warm. “I mean a real break. Let’s get lunch; my treat.”

“Are you really going to make me choose between food and digital forensics, Agent Pike?”

Nodding definitively, he replied, “Yes, Agent He.”

Unable to resist the prospect of free lunch, she gave in and followed him out to his car. The work would still be there when she returned. For the moment, she could just enjoy Marcus’s companionship.

He drove out to a local diner about ten minutes away, his turns confident as if he’d gone there hundreds of times before. Judging by the way his eyes had sparked with joy at her agreement, he probably had.

They let their shoulders relax in the serenity of the car, shedding the formalities and passing time as if they were close friends.

The diner was small and cozy, booths worn with age and serving breakfast all day. Erin’s lips curled up in a little smile as the hostess recognized Marcus. So he was a regular, after all.

They sat down across from each other in a booth. Erin shrugged off her navy blue blazer and smoothed her dark hair back into a thick ponytail.

As she fixed her hair, Marcus gave her his recommendations, leaning in with the menu so she could follow along with her eyes. He seemed particularly fond of the pancakes, so she decided on those. Surely he wouldn’t lead her astray.

And with the way his voice rasped just slightly, she could listen to him speak for a whole day.

“Honey? Did you hear anything I said?” he asked, tilting his head slightly with a little smirk.

Erin snapped out of her reverie, cheeks burning. “Oh, um. Yeah. Sorry, I spaced out for a bit.”

“No worries, it happens to all of us,” he reassured, laying the menu flat on the table. “What were you thinking about?”

Less than an hour had passed before they were back in the office, stepping out of the elevator with full bellies. The familiar clicking from computers and buzz of conversations filled the air, and they were officially agents again.

Erin turned to him and nudged his arm. “Hey, thanks for the break.”

“Anytime,” he replied, walking with her along the perimeter of the room. They stopped at the hallway leading to the conference rooms and offices. His large hand moved to rest on her arm, his thumb rubbing gently. “I guess this is my stop. You know where to find me.”

“And you know where I’ll be.”

The next day, Marcus was greeted in his office by tupperwares containing homemade fried rice, some cut up fruit, and a sticky note.

Thanks for sticking with me yesterday. -E

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he tried to refrain from grinning like a maniac, though he was sure anyone who happened to pass by would’ve thought he looked like a schoolgirl with a crush. Erin’s handwriting was soft and curved, so similar to calligraphy but simple in a way that made the note feel that much more intimate.

She had an interesting way of showing her care for others, he found. Perhaps it was a byproduct of the work she dedicated her life to; she seemed to always be one step ahead, ready to pull out small details that others would dismiss. He wondered what she might know of him.

There were a few things she clearly knew; things that surprised him every day. Just as he’d learned her usual coffee order, she’d learned his. When he’d walk in every morning, her head of dark hair would tilt to peek over her cubicle, as if she could sense his presence. And when their eyes would meet, her smile was better than the best espresso in the world.

Marcus shook his head to himself as his heart fluttered. Years of failed relationships and a divorce later, he still couldn’t keep his feelings in check. His mother always said he had a soft heart, one that would be his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. But Erin was anything but a weakness.

She wasn’t a weakness, but a strength. A constant in his life, making each day feel just a little more special. He didn’t need a relationship to be happy, but….he wouldn’t be opposed to one either.

Yet, as he spotted Ian Malarkey standing a bit too close to her, he forced himself to backtrack. What if she didn’t want him? What if they were meant to be just as they were: just friends?

Maybe it was time for him to move on.

After a few months, their friendship had grown well past a workplace acquaintance. It wasn’t as if she was trying to get attached to him; it just...happened. And it was only a little surprising to her; she tried to stay as professional as she could in the office, but outside? Outside, she could just be Erin, not FBI Special Agent He. Outside, she could shed her jacket and swap the button-down shirt for a ribbed sweater and some jeans. Outside, she and Marcus could sit as close together as they wanted without drawing unwanted attention.

She knew it was silly to fantasize. After all, Marcus was a coworker, if not a superior. And with the way he fussed over her water intake and made sure that she wore her glasses at the right times, he could easily see her as a little sister. As nothing more than a new agent who happened to be friendly.

But if that were true, why would he go through the effort of bringing her lunch on Thursdays? Why did he call her little names like “honeydew” and “sweetheart,” and why did it feel so natural coming from his mouth?

The commotion coming from the direction of the conference rooms told her that the team was back from the investigation. Maybe Marcus was there; she knew he’d gone, but he hadn’t texted since morning. It wouldn’t hurt to pop in to check on him; he did that often enough with her.

When she entered the break room, her heart sank. Sitting off to the side, by the wall, was Marcus asking Teresa Lisbon out on a date. She wasn’t sure why she felt defeated; it wasn’t like she had any plans on asking him out.

But then why did it hurt her to the core to see him giving those puppy eyes and little smiles to Lisbon? The woman didn’t even look interested in him; if anything, she looked confused and hesitant.

Ian caught her eye as she surveyed the room once more, his lips pulling into a tight-lipped smile. He knew about her feelings for Marcus, having spent hours going over evidence and making small talk. In fact, he’d even encouraged her to tell Marcus her feelings, out of fear that she might never get the chance.

Perhaps her chance had passed after all. Turning on her heel, Erin decided that, for once, it was time to go home. Marcus would come to her when he was less busy.

The thing was, though, she didn’t want to go home. She wanted to go over and say hello, and check to make sure he wasn’t injured in the scuffle. Moreover, she didn’t want to be a fill-in for Lisbon’s absence. She didn’t want to be his second choice. And she knew it wasn’t her fault, nor Lisbon’s, that Marcus didn’t choose her. But it still stung.

She watched as their shared lunches became less frequent, the senior agent replacing her space by Marcus’s side. When the elevator would ding at 7AM and she’d glance up to see if it was him, she found him searching the room for Lisbon. They never drifted over to her desk. That fact always made her grip her pen just a little tighter.

On the days when he did grace her with his presence, she felt like a tornado of emotions.

Happy, because she had missed her best friend.

Sad, because she knew the next time she’d spend time with him was in a few weeks rather than a few days.

Grateful, because she knew how hard it was to socialize after a work week of at least 50 hours.

Envious, because of the stories he told.

Relieved, because he still cared.

Plastering a halfhearted smile on her face, Erin listened to Marcus practically worship his girlfriend. His summer breeze of a smile and sparkling eyes made the pain that came with listening worth it. The only other time she’d heard him talk that passionately was when they’d visited an art museum.

At least one of them was happy.

She thought of trying to date again; it had been over a year since she’d been in a relationship. But she couldn’t do it. More than once, she’d put on some simple makeup and casual clothes, ready to head out to the bar, but no. She couldn’t bring herself to leave the apartment. The apartment was where she and Marcus watched movies, where she would cut up fruit and bring them to him on a plate while he pored over reports in the warm lights of the kitchen. It was where he’d navigate her cupboards and fridge to make her a mug of his special hot chocolate. It was her safe space, the one place in her life where she could just be Erin, and he could just be Marcus.

The knife cleaved the melon in half with ease, revealing its pale green interior.

Marcus leaned up against the counter next to her, hair tousled and necktie loosened against his chest. He absentmindedly started rolling up his sleeves, undoing the cuffs of his shirt and folding them up.

She tried not to stare too long at the way his forearms tensed with the movement.

He broke the silence first. “I got the job in DC,” he said, voice soft like velvet.

“That’s great.” A simple response, though Erin cringed internally. Was that any way to react to her best friend’s job promotion? Surely not, but a part of her–a selfish part of her–knew that it meant he was leaving. Leaving not just his position, but her. Texas. The apartment.

It would’ve been disingenuous for her to say anything more.

Then, he added, almost sheepishly, “I also asked Teresa to marry me. And move to DC so we can be together.”

The blade of her knife hit the cutting board a little harder than normal. “Oh. That’s nice.” Cutting away the tough outer skin, she forced herself to ask, “What did she say?”

He sighed and crossed his arms, biting his lip as if to contain a smile. “She said she’d think about it. But I think she’ll come around. I kind of, uh, sprung it onto her the other night.”

And yet there he was, standing next to a woman who would’ve been ready to say yes. But even so, she said, “I’m sure things will work out between you two. You’ve already given so much to your relationship; it would be a shame for her to not see how great you are.”

She slid him a bowl of perfectly cubed melon.

Smiling softly, he took the bowl into his hands. “You’re the best, honeydew.”

The best, but not the one.

“You’re just trying to get on my good side before you leave for DC, brown eyes,” she jested, nudging him with her elbow. Her chest filled with warmth at his laugh. She tried her best to hang onto that feeling, to that sound. “When are you two leaving?”

“I’m already about halfway packed,” he mused, chewing on a cube of honeydew thoughtfully. “So maybe within the week? I hope that’s enough time for Teresa to make a decision.”

There was less time than she thought. She hummed softly. “Are you sure that’s what she wants? That it’s what you want?”

He nodded confidently. “Yes, I...I know that I don’t have the best track record with relationships, but something about her feels right.” The bowl was set into the sink and filled with water. “I’m happy, honey. You don’t have to worry.”

Erin’s eyes burned as she quietly replied, “Okay.”

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