#Learning new technologies

[bunnieswithknives]

Okay but does Peri KNOW that Dev has a robotic leg when he shows up? Something about the fact that Peri's wand is a cane and the fact that Dev could have kept his leg and just had a cane for the rest of his life instead tickles my brain.

I mean he doesn't know immediately, he wasn't like briefed or anything, but he basically lives in Dev's house so he definitely finds out. Peri doesn't comment on or react to it all though really, there's no reason for him to think anything of it, plenty of people have missing limbs, a lot of people are born without them, it doesn't necessarily mean anything sinister happened. He had no reason to pry or ask and I think Peri's lack of reaction to it helped Dev feel a bit more comfortable in his skin. (Not by much but.. a little bit.)

[genericpuff]

i drive like how i play overwatch

i don't, as advised by my doctor 🤡

[brekitten]

The Therapist

There's a new therapist at school.

Normally this wouldn't really bother Peter at all, since he's never gone to see a shrink in his life and doesn't ever plan on it, but there's something... off about this woman.

She seems unassuming enough at first glance. Red hair, green eyes, bright red lipstick. But there is something in her eyes, something that Peter can only describe as a predator looking at its next prey, when she looks around the school at all of the teenagers milling about. Heck, even the way she walks makes her seem as if she is a predator stalking her prey.

It could always be some kind of power move, Peter reasons. He's met people like that before, who try to intimidate everyone around them into thinking that they are superior, that they are the apex predator and anyone who dares to cross them would pay for it dearly.

But his Spidey Sense went crazy around her.

He tries to brush it off as paranoia. He'd pulled an all-nighter last night in the lab with Tony because neither of them had been able to sleep, and he hadn't been sleeping well even before that. (Funny, how it had all started the night after he first bumped into the new therapist in the halls.) So his Spidey Sense is probably out of wack because he's tired. Simple as that.

But it seems like everyone in the school is depressed. Even Ned, who can't even muster up the energy and enthusiasm to talk about Legos or Star Wars or even the weather. It worries Peter.

Because it all started when that therapist came to the school.

He can't ignore it forever, he knows that. There is only so long his Spidey Sense can tell him that she is danger danger danger before he finally listens. He has to do something to help everyone.

So he researches.

And he falls into the rabbit hole of ghosts and ectoplasm and secret government organizations and the little, unassuming town of Amity Park, Illinois.

He doesn't sleep that night.

When he comes to school the next morning, Dr. Penelope Spectra looks him dead in the eyes, and smiles.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

After months of resisting, Air Canada was forced to give a partial refund to a grieving passenger who was misled by an airline chatbot inaccurately explaining the airline's bereavement travel policy. On the day Jake Moffatt's grandmother died, Moffat immediately visited Air Canada's website to book a flight from Vancouver to Toronto. Unsure of how Air Canada's bereavement rates worked, Moffatt asked Air Canada's chatbot to explain. The chatbot provided inaccurate information, encouraging Moffatt to book a flight immediately and then request a refund within 90 days. In reality, Air Canada's policy explicitly stated that the airline will not provide refunds for bereavement travel after the flight is booked. Moffatt dutifully attempted to follow the chatbot's advice and request a refund but was shocked that the request was rejected.

Continue Reading

Tagging @politicsofcanada

[blorbo-luvr-3000]

WAIT HANG ON I GOT ANOTHER DELTARUNE THOUGHT

Tenna is described as an ‘invader’ of an ancient land in one of shuttah’s dialogues.

My thought is that, the games/toys darkness existed first, that’s what lightners entertained themselves with originally.

THEN the family brought the tv home, and the lighteners stopped using the games and toys and started using the tv instead, so from the toys/games darkners perspective, the tv came in and stole their space and kicked them out.

Then the family brought home the computer, which stomped out tennas relevancy, making him glooby.

The dark worlds are based on forms of entertainment, and their theme is that newer means of entertainment send older means into obsolescence, which makes them feel bad about being unused/irrelevant in the lives of lightners, because the purpose of darkners lives is to please lightners.

Personally, I don’t think tenna was trying to be malicious, it was just the natural progression of entertainment taking place. It even happened to tenna himself when the computer came along. And it will probably happen to queen whenever the next form of entertainment comes into existence.

It’s like. The circle of life. One is not evil for eating the other. Such is life, but the darkners who get left behind still feel bitter about it (understandably)

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

✨Regeneration: The Origins

Regeneration is the ultimate ctrl+alt+delete for a Time Lord and it often results in a brand-new face, a shiny new body, and questionable wardrobe choices. But where did this miracle of Gallifreyan biology actually come from?

Like most things on Gallifrey, the answer is... complicated.

Here are the many theories about the origins of regeneration. This is long. Get snacks.

🌌 1. Natural Evolution

What if regeneration was always part of Gallifreyan biology? Some historians think so.

Blame the Schism: According to this theory, millennia of exposure to the Untempered Schism gave early Gallifreyans their regenerative abilities. Kind of like living next to a nuclear power plant, but more spacey-wacey.

The Old Guard: Omega, the Gallifreyan engineer who helped harness time travel, is rumoured to have regenerated naturally before Time Lord society even existed. There are several instances of 'normal' Galliffeyans regenerating.

If true, Gallifreyans may have always had the ability, but it wasn't well organised. This would make regeneration a natural phenomenon, like breathing or complaining about Time Agents.

🔬 2. Rassilon's Experiments

Rassilon is Gallifrey's equivalent of 'that guy'.

The Biogenic Molecule: According to some accounts, Rassilon developed regeneration using biogenic molecules. These handy little cells could rebuild tissue, rearrange memories, and generally turn a dying Time Lord into a slightly confused new one. He then granted the ability to the Gallifreyan aristocracy, creating a biologically superior ruling class of all his best mates.

The Virus: Thremix reportedly created a virus that would grant regeneration to all Gallifreyans. Then Rassilon had Thremix assassinated (classic Rassilon), stole the idea, and released the virus—killing half the population and turning the survivors into Time Lords.

The Alternative: Some say Rassilon himself was the first to regenerate as a result of his experiments with the Eye of Harmony's elemental forces, and was the first to regenerate. Just like in his experiments with biogenic molecules, he then used the Eye to grant regeneration to the Gallifreyan aristocracy, creating a biologically superior ruling class of all his best mates.

The Alternative Alternative: Another theory claims Rassilon gained regeneration by "inoculating" himself with vampire biodata during the Time Lords' war with the Great Vampires, an ability he later shared. There's even a cult that worshipped Rassilon as a vampire. So sure, why not?

The 12-Body Problem: Rassilon supposedly limited regeneration to twelve cycles because 1) he wanted to stay top dog (he later realised immortality is a dumb idea), or 2) He was affected by the 12-body problem too, as the biogenic molecules used just can't sustain more than 12 renewals, or the body can't handle more than 12 psyches.

While Rassilon's methods were dubious (read: ethically horrifying), his experiments laid the groundwork for the modern Time Lord. I gues you can't argue with results… but you can question the morals.

👽 3. Stolen Power: The Timeless Child

If you thought this story couldn't get stranger, you're very wrong.

The Timeless Child: According to the Spy Master, Tecteun (a Shobogan scientist) found a child with regenerative abilities on another planet and "borrowed" their genes through some quite horrible methods. This child supposedly became the foundation of Time Lord society.

The 12-Body Problem: Tecteun has similar reasons to Rassilon for imposing the rule of twelve limit AKA I'm immortal you're not, neh-neh-neh-neh-neh.

If true, this makes regeneration a stolen ability that had nothing to do with Rassilon at all.

⚖️ The Ethical Cost

If regeneration isn't natural, then it didn't come cheap.

Mass Sacrifice: If the virus story is true, regeneration came at the cost of millions of lives.

Eugenic Society: If the Eye of Harmony/biogenic molecules is true, Rassilon was the architect of a class-based dictatorship driven by eugenics, which actively encouraged the death of poor people.

Vampire Gallifreyans: If the vampire story is true, then Gallifreyans are all a form of vampire, and that's kind of horrific if you're Gallifreyan, because you are told horror stories from birth/looming and are encouraged to kill Great Vampires on sight by Rassilon himself.

Genetic Theft: If the Timeless Child theory floats your boat, Gallifrey stole regeneration from an innocent alien species through the torture of a child by the Universe's worst foster mum. This was then hidden because all the above alternatives were apparently more palatable.

😟Regeneration: Any Idea Yet?

So, what's the truth? Gallifreyan history is so muddled and shady that quite frankly it could be all of these or none of these simultaneously. It's a Choose Your Own Adventure, or like reaching into a pick n mix and keeping your favourite sweets. No theory is the 'right' one, and no theory is the 'wrong' one.

Commence argumeeeents ... now.

Related:

💬|👥✨How do Gallifreyans deal with regeneration disparities?: How Gallifreyan society perceives and deals with those unable to regenerate.

💬|👤👑Why is Rassilon everywhere?: Who Rassilon is and why you should care.

💬|👤👩‍🚀Who is Tecteun?: Biography of everyone’s least favourite foster mother.

Whoniverse Facts for Friday by GIL

Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features:⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →��Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[rabbits-of-negative-euphoria]

spent the entire workday researching 2-in-1 laptops for artists so if any of you have questions about that........don't ask me

[maeamian]

Becoming deeply radicalized against the idea of crewed Mars missions, y'know how the Rovers keep sending back better and better data what if instead of that we made an even bigger one and devoted nearly 90% of its capacity to holding a guy in a bubble on top of it instead of sending back useful data, but wait! They'll eliminate like a half hour of latency and also almost certainly contaminate the landing site and possibly the entire planet, so it's not all downside.

[yuri-is-online]

Azul “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU SHOT PEOPLE INTO THE SKY TO A ROCK?!??!” Ashengrotto

I'd also like to bring up the point that while there's water breathing potions I doubt they have anything to protect from the crushing depth of the deep ocean so I think he'd as freak the fuck out over the fact that humans have been that deep underwater. Very much in a WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!? HUMANS CANT GO THERE!” kind of cay

YES

I think twisted wonderland might have something that would allow humans to transform into merfolk, which would allow them to go into the deep ocean depending on the type of mer they became, but the concept of humans going as they are in submersibles is just odd. Then again he supposes your world doesn't have magic or merfolk so they don't have to worry about bothering anyone. Same with going to space, Azul's hatred of flying cannot be understated the thought of going that far up willingly is just so beyond him.

Azul is a very profit minded person, but his specialty and passion lies in hospitality and fixing niche problems. Space and deep sea exploration don't seem like fields he would want to expand his business into. He might be interested in the logistics of investing in those sorts of things? But the actual mechanics would just mystify him. The moon in the fucking sky give him a break.

[swiiivet-screamathon]

"What's with the noise!?"

"What, first time?"

"Crepe what the hell are you doing down there."

"I'm making a new wafflebot, if it bothers you so much then you can just leave."

Smilk instead of leaving floats down from his bunker down to Crepe, seemingly wearing the ear-gear they're always seen wearing.

"If you're gonna watch you better not get in my way."

"Of course."

It seems that Crepe is currently working on a small contraption, a little green flat piece of seemingly pressed sugar, where they're making strindly pieces of caramel from various organized points on it.

"Can you hand me the pliers?"

As requested, he did.

"Screwdriver?"

Once more, he did.

...

"Mmmmrrrng... >:("

"You've not put in the bulb, you're powering nothing."

"Wha-- Huh?... click ...You were actually paying attention?"

"That joint also seemed stiff compared to the other ones, you might want to check that again."

"... crank You're a strange cookie sometimes."

"It's called 'being an actor' :p"

"No, didn't like that, don't do that again--" /lh

[zoeythebee]

Who needs drugs when you have graphics programming

[affairsmastery]

Chinese startup DeepSeek's AI Assistant has surged past ChatGPT to become the top-rated free app on Apple’s U.S. App Store. Powered by the advanced DeepSeek-V3 model, praised for rivaling even the most advanced global AI systems, the app's rapid rise is shaking assumptions about U.S. dominance in AI innovation.

Despite U.S. export controls on advanced chips to China, DeepSeek leveraged Nvidia's H800 chips with a reported training cost under $6 million, sparking debates on the effectiveness of these restrictions. Founded in 2023 in Hangzhou, DeepSeek has become the first Chinese AI model to gain significant praise from Silicon Valley for matching, and potentially surpassing, top-tier U.S. AI models.

[kerizaret]

God fcuking fsmn it another hw to use chatgpt how am I supposed to avoid using it when were basically PRESSURED to do it. It should br MY CHOICE!!!

[xxplastic-cubexx]

That comic is humor perfected! The beats are so well timed!

Also we all know some of Erik’s things are still scattered around the mansion. He never truly moves out.(and no matter how bad the fight, Charles keeps it all)

Thank you so much !!!! It might be a weird concern to have, but im always worried i pace/time things in my comics weird/inefficiently, so its a big compliment to hear everythin hit well with the last one :]] !!!!

[molagboop]

Mawkin children undergo several maturity rites before they're granted full tribal citizenship. The first occurs around eight years old, involving a basic academic evaluation and the child's choice between a physical fitness test or a dream-walk.

The evals are simple: how much has the child learned, what do they know, where can we supplement their education, etc. How can we stimulate their curiosity and foster a lifelong love of learning? Have they displayed any skills or passion for any particular subject? How can we encourage their hobbies and interests? Those are the kinds of questions the adults involved in carrying out the evaluation are asking themselves.

The evaluations help parents figure out (or reaffirm what they already know) ways to engage their childrens' interests in a fun or productive way, and how to help their child along the path to success, academic or otherwise. Every child is different: they have their own needs, and while 8 years old isn't old enough for anyone to ascertain exactly what they wanna be when they grow up, the evaluation is a good starting point for the rest of their academic track until their next formative rites.

The next part of the rites is a branching path. The fitness test is typically favored by more outdoorsy or athletic types, as well as children who are afraid of specters or arent very interested in the old ways. That's fine: old people stuff can be boring! The priests go on and on about the ancestors during holidays, but you're eight years-old and you've never seen the ancestors show up before, so big whoop. You've got toys to play and things to learn.

Another general assumption is that children who are likely to grow into steadfast warriors or athletes may pick the fitness test enthusiastically and without thinking about it, but again, this is an evaluation, and the kids are like, eight. Nothing is set in stone. Eight year olds also typically love playing outside.

A number of kids, hearing about all the cool things their elders know and are capable of, or just being curious about what their ancestors might have to teach them, opt for the dream-walk.

The dream-walk involves exposure to psychoactive fumes, but is nonetheless completely safe: the kid is monitored and made as comfortable as possible.

The dream-walk is overseen by priests and doctors. The burners are lit and the trial-goer falls asleep, entering a state similar to lucid dreaming.

Everyone's experience is different. Some kids have profound surreal experiences: others spend the entire time sitting at a table with a long-dead ancestor having a meal. Some kids are shown events from the past by an old ghost: some even experience said event from the perspective of someone who was there when it happened.

For others, the dream is of an old-fashioned hunt, typically guided by a departed grandparent or neighbor. It's not unusual for Mawkin kids to have experienced the act of hunting for food or sport by this point in their lives: many who hunt take their babies out with them on their backs. The quarry during the dream-walk, however, is typically more than your mundane game beast.

Tribal scholars and doctors of psychology have posited that the dream walk largely reflects the experiences of those involved. Formative memories and strong feelings, they believe, greatly affect the appearance of conjured apparitions in the dream. If a kid is fighting any demons at eight years old or harbor any powerful fears, they may very well be forced to face them head-on during this trial.

Therein lies the value of the dream-walk: it's not just a curiosity to get the kids to engage with cultural practices of yore, it has utility in teaching children valuable lessons through experience without actually making them fight the six-eyed serpent of a hundred and seventeen mouths. And they're usually not facing it alone: the ancestors quite literally walk with plenty of kids during these trials.

There are some truths a given child must face alone, and plenty do. But when they wake, they will find themselves among familiar company, the sweet smell of wood smoke permeating the air and a feast awaiting back home to celebrate their first milestone towards becoming an adult.

Some kids don't fight any major bosses or experience the heat death of the universe through the eyes of a slug, instead deriving value from the dream-walk in the form of sensory-guided introspection. The lesson they learn may not even be apparent to them until six years down the line. It doesn't have to be deep: it can just be an experience that gives then a new perspective on the world.

The senses are heightened supremely during the dream-walk, allowing the dreamer to experience the world in a whole new way. Tasting color, feeling the vibration of every sound beneath one's skin, perceiving the shape of every smell. Even if the kid walks away thinking "huh, I've never experienced the world that way before", the trial will have been a success. In the very least, a child should come out of that dark room with a unique memory for them to examine later on.

Several minor rituals and evaluations occur around twelve and fifteen years, but the foremost citizenship rites occur around seventeen, when an individual's stomach is strong enough to handle sap wine in greater quantities without suffering catastrophic liver failure. The dream-walk is a requirement this time around, as well as a combat test. The combat test is the actual rite that determines one's status as an adult: the mandatory dream-walk occurs beforehand as a way to shed all doubts about the strength of one's resolve if they have any insecurities, and perhaps gain some personal insight in the process. Introspection assisted by psychoactive substances.

You may be wondering how those with varying degrees of disability come of age if they can't engage in the rite of combat. There are alternatives to the combat test if the participant doesn't feel able enough to fight, or otherwise can't exert themselves without experiencing undue pain and discomfort.

There are alternative rites for individuals of every combination of physical and cognitive impairment, and all are treated with the same gravity and dignity afforded to the typical rites. Poetry recitals, music, research projects, an oath of maturity: these are a few examples of things disabled Mawkin have done to establish their claim to adulthood in place of the rite of combat. An individual doesn't have to be "good" at something: they just have to show that they accept the responsibility that comes with being an adult, or are otherwise committed to their community and the tribe at large.

For some people, that commitment comes in the form of thriving to the best of their ability. Surviving to the next day, striving for tomorrow to hurt a little less than yesterday. It doesn't matter whether they can "contribute" or be a "productive member of society": all are one, and one serves all. The Mawkin take community very seriously. There's an age-old adage that says something to the effect of "if one is suffering, all are injured", and "when one is deprived of dignity, we are all cast naked face-down into the mud".

Anyways, that's how juvenile Mawkin are granted all the rights, responsibilities and privileges that come saddled with being an adult. It's worth noting that most of these rites line up with a typical Chozo's molting cycle, with the final rites occurring just as young warriors are shaking off the last loose feathers of their old coat and displaying their first (clear) adult patterns.

[writeouswriter]

To my neighbour who saw the glow in the dark planogram I bought and said, "oh, you know you could just use an app for that," uh, where is your whimsy, where is your whimsy, where is your whimsy, *throws your phone in the lake and points to it as it sinks,* is there an app for that?