#Simple Mail Transfer

[elightwalk-technology]

Magento - SMTP (SMTP-Simple Mail Transfer protocol) Features & Functionalities?

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) extension for Magento is a software add-on or plugin that enhances the email functionality of the Magento e-commerce platform. Magento's SMTP extension enhances email management for online store customer interactions and order notifications. Magento's SMTP extension improves email management for online store customer interactions and order notifications. Magento SMTP Extension Features:

Easy Installation: SMTP in Magento is straightforward to set up. It ensures that your email system is up and running without much hassle.

Email Tracking and Sending: With SMTP, you can effortlessly keep track of the emails you send. It simplifies the process of sending messages to your customers.

Engaging Email: SMTP allows you to craft engaging and attractive emails to capture your audience's attention better.

Email Testing: You can quickly test your emails to ensure they look and work as intended before sending them to your customers.

Improves Sales: By ensuring that your emails reach their destination and look professional, SMTP can contribute to boosting your sales.

Attracts Customers: Engaging, well-designed emails sent through SMTP can attract more customers to your business.

Reliable Email Delivery: SMTP ensures your email messages are sent reliably and reach their intended recipients.

Authentication: It allows you to authenticate your email server, improving security and ensuring your emails are trusted.

Custom Sender Address: SMTP enables you to use a custom sender address, creating professional and consistent email branding.

Email Tracking: You can track your emails' delivery status and open rates, helping you understand how well your messages are performing.

SPAM Prevention: SMTP helps reduce the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam, ensuring they land in your recipient's inboxes.

Email Logging: You can record sent emails for reference and troubleshooting, enhancing transparency and accountability.

SMTP extension for Magento ensures that your email communications are more reliable, secure, and practical, which is vital for the success of an e-commerce store. It enhances the email capabilities of Magento and helps maintain a positive customer experience.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Shifting $677m from the banks to the people, every year, forever

I'll be in TUCSON, AZ from November 8-10: I'm the GUEST OF HONOR at the TUSCON SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION.

"Switching costs" are one of the great underappreciated evils in our world: the more it costs you to change from one product or service to another, the worse the vendor, provider, or service you're using today can treat you without risking your business.

Businesses set out to keep switching costs as high as possible. Literally. Mark Zuckerberg's capos send him memos chortling about how Facebook's new photos feature will punish anyone who leaves for a rival service with the loss of all their family photos – meaning Zuck can torment those users for profit and they'll still stick around so long as the abuse is less bad than the loss of all their cherished memories:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/facebooks-secret-war-switching-costs

It's often hard to quantify switching costs. We can tell when they're high, say, if your landlord ties your internet service to your lease (splitting the profits with a shitty ISP that overcharges and underdelivers), the switching cost of getting a new internet provider is the cost of moving house. We can tell when they're low, too: you can switch from one podcatcher program to another just by exporting your list of subscriptions from the old one and importing it into the new one:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/16/keep-it-really-simple-stupid/#read-receipts-are-you-kidding-me-seriously-fuck-that-noise

But sometimes, economists can get a rough idea of the dollar value of high switching costs. For example, a group of economists working for the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau calculated that the hassle of changing banks is costing Americans at least $677m per year (see page 526):

https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_personal-financial-data-rights-final-rule_2024-10.pdf

The CFPB economists used a very conservative methodology, so the number is likely higher, but let's stick with that figure for now. The switching costs of changing banks – determining which bank has the best deal for you, then transfering over your account histories, cards, payees, and automated bill payments – are costing everyday Americans more than half a billion dollars, every year.

Now, the CFPB wasn't gathering this data just to make you mad. They wanted to do something about all this money – to find a way to lower switching costs, and, in so doing, transfer all that money from bank shareholders and executives to the American public.

And that's just what they did. A newly finalized Personal Financial Data Rights rule will allow you to authorize third parties – other banks, comparison shopping sites, brokers, anyone who offers you a better deal, or help you find one – to request your account data from your bank. Your bank will be required to provide that data.

I loved this rule when they first proposed it:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/10/getting-things-done/#deliverism

And I like the final rule even better. They've really nailed this one, even down to the fine-grained details where interop wonks like me get very deep into the weeds. For example, a thorny problem with interop rules like this one is "who gets to decide how the interoperability works?" Where will the data-formats come from? How will we know they're fit for purpose?

This is a super-hard problem. If we put the monopolies whose power we're trying to undermine in charge of this, they can easily cheat by delivering data in uselessly obfuscated formats. For example, when I used California's privacy law to force Mailchimp to provide list of all the mailing lists I've been signed up for without my permission, they sent me thousands of folders containing more than 5,900 spreadsheets listing their internal serial numbers for the lists I'm on, with no way to find out what these lists are called or how to get off of them:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/22/degoogled/#kafka-as-a-service

So if we're not going to let the companies decide on data formats, who should be in charge of this? One possibility is to require the use of a standard, but again, which standard? We can ask a standards body to make a new standard, which they're often very good at, but not when the stakes are high like this. Standards bodies are very weak institutions that large companies are very good at capturing:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/30/weak-institutions/

Here's how the CFPB solved this: they listed out the characteristics of a good standards body, listed out the data types that the standard would have to encompass, and then told banks that so long as they used a standard from a good standards body that covered all the data-types, they'd be in the clear.

Once the rule is in effect, you'll be able to go to a comparison shopping site and authorize it to go to your bank for your transaction history, and then tell you which bank – out of all the banks in America – will pay you the most for your deposits and charge you the least for your debts. Then, after you open a new account, you can authorize the new bank to go back to your old bank and get all your data: payees, scheduled payments, payment history, all of it. Switching banks will be as easy as switching mobile phone carriers – just a few clicks and a few minutes' work to get your old number working on a phone with a new provider.

This will save Americans at least $677 million, every year. Which is to say, it will cost the banks at least $670 million every year.

Naturally, America's largest banks are suing to block the rule:

https://www.americanbanker.com/news/cfpbs-open-banking-rule-faces-suit-from-bank-policy-institute

Of course, the banks claim that they're only suing to protect you, and the $677m annual transfer from their investors to the public has nothing to do with it. The banks claim to be worried about bank-fraud, which is a real thing that we should be worried about. They say that an interoperability rule could make it easier for scammers to get at your data and even transfer your account to a sleazy fly-by-night operation without your consent. This is also true!

It is obviously true that a bad interop rule would be bad. But it doesn't follow that every interop rule is bad, or that it's impossible to make a good one. The CFPB has made a very good one.

For starters, you can't just authorize anyone to get your data. Eligible third parties have to meet stringent criteria and vetting. These third parties are only allowed to ask for the narrowest slice of your data needed to perform the task you've set for them. They aren't allowed to use that data for anything else, and as soon as they've finished, they must delete your data. You can also revoke their access to your data at any time, for any reason, with one click – none of this "call a customer service rep and wait on hold" nonsense.

What's more, if your bank has any doubts about a request for your data, they are empowered to (temporarily) refuse to provide it, until they confirm with you that everything is on the up-and-up.

I wrote about the lawsuit this week for @eff@mastodon.social's Deeplinks blog:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/10/no-matter-what-bank-says-its-your-money-your-data-and-your-choice

In that article, I point out the tedious, obvious ruses of securitywashing and privacywashing, where a company insists that its most abusive, exploitative, invasive conduct can't be challenged because that would expose their customers to security and privacy risks. This is such bullshit.

It's bullshit when printer companies say they can't let you use third party ink – for your own good:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/01/hp-ceo-blocking-third-party-ink-from-printers-fights-viruses/

It's bullshit when car companies say they can't let you use third party mechanics – for your own good:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/03/rip-david-graeber/#rolling-surveillance-platforms

It's bullshit when Apple says they can't let you use third party app stores – for your own good:

https://www.eff.org/document/letter-bruce-schneier-senate-judiciary-regarding-app-store-security

It's bullshit when Facebook says you can't independently monitor the paid disinformation in your feed – for your own good:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/05/comprehensive-sex-ed/#quis-custodiet-ipsos-zuck

And it's bullshit when the banks say you can't change to a bank that charges you less, and pays you more – for your own good.

CFPB boss Rohit Chopra is part of a cohort of Biden enforcers who've hit upon a devastatingly effective tactic for fighting corporate power: they read the law and found out what they're allowed to do, and then did it:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/23/getting-stuff-done/#praxis

The CFPB was created in 2010 with the passage of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, which specifically empowers the CFPB to make this kind of data-sharing rule. Back when the CFPA was in Congress, the banks howled about this rule, whining that they were being forced to share their data with their competitors.

But your account data isn't your bank's data. It's your data. And the CFPB is gonna let you have it, and they're gonna save you and your fellow Americans at least $677m/year – forever.

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

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/01/bankshot/#personal-financial-data-rights

[errorid-mt7lt7k7unfr9ttfua5]

me when companies try to force you to use their proprietary software

anyway

Layperson resources:

firefox is an open source browser by Mozilla that makes privacy and software independence much easier. it is very easy to transfer all your chrome data to Firefox

ublock origin is The highest quality adblock atm. it is a free browser extension, and though last i checked it is available on Chrome google is trying very hard to crack down on its use

Thunderbird mail is an open source email client also by mozilla and shares many of the same advantages as firefox (it has some other cool features as well)

libreOffice is an open source office suite similar to microsoft office or Google Suite, simple enough

Risky:

VPNs (virtual private networks) essentially do a number of things, but most commonly they are used to prevent people from tracking your IP address. i would suggest doing more research. i use proton vpn, as it has a decent free version, and the paid version is powerful

note: some applications, websites, and other entities do not tolerate the use of VPNs. you may not be able to access certain secure sites while using a VPN, and logging into your personal account with some services while using a vpn *may* get you PERMANENTLY BLACKLISTED from the service on that account, ymmv

IF YOU HAVE A DECENT VPN, ANTIVIRUS, AND ADBLOCK, you can start learning about piracy, though i will not be providing any resources, as Loose Lips Sink Ships. if you want to be very safe, start with streaming sites and never download any files, though you Can learn how to discern between safe, unsafe, and risky content.

note: DO NOT SHARE LINKS TO OR NAMES OF PIRACY SITES IN PUBLIC PLACES, ESPECIALLY SOCAL MEDIA

the only time you should share these things are either in person or in (preferably peer-to-peer encrypted) PRIVATE messages

when pirated media becomes well-known and circulated on the wider, public internet, it gets taken down, because it is illegal to distribute pirated media and software

if you need an antivirus i like bitdefender. it has a free version, and is very good, though if youre using windows, windows defender is also very good and it comes with the OS

Advanced:

linux is great if you REALLY know what you're doing. you have to know a decent amount of computer science and be comfortable using the Terminal/Command Prompt to get/use linux. "Linux" refers to a large array of related open source Operating Systems. do research and pick one that suits your needs. im still experimenting with various dispos, but im leaning towards either Ubuntu Cinnamon or Debian.

[detailtilted]

Looking for people who were SPN fans around 2007-ish. (Lost SDCC 2007 Video Files)

Hi! Are there any SPN fans still around from back in 2007 who downloaded and still have the SDCC 2007 videos that were once available at this link? https://scaperanya.livejournal.com/2037.html#t55541

About My Quest

There were 23 videos listed (including a "#6.5") , but only 12 of them have been located on YouTube, published by Mobycat33. Part #'s 1-6, 7-9, 16, and 18 are missing. At one point they were reportedly all on YouTube, but maybe some of them were made private or unlisted or deleted altogether.

Since the videos were made freely available for download on a file sharing site at the time, I'm still holding out a tiny thread of hope that maybe a fan who was around back then might have quietly downloaded them and managed to hang onto them for all these years.

I actually did manage to make contact with scaperanya and she graciously granted me permission to use content from the videos that still exist, but she didn't seem to have the missing videos. I don't think she's in the fandom anymore and the videos are almost 18 years old. I also managed to hunt down a couple of the people who commented on her original post, but I couldn't track down very many of them and I haven't been able to find anyone who still has the files.

A Note for Followers of My Videos

Don't worry, I do have enough SDCC 2007 content already to make a full video. The main set of videos I'm using has a pretty good view of Jensen most of the time. It's just that I could really use more of scaperanya's videos to increase visibility of the other people on the panel. When possible and/or relevant, I have a smaller window in the sidebar showing people who aren't in the main frame. It's similar to what I did for SDCC 2008, but without the perpetually collapsing bubbles. I have now managed to muster up enough sense to not make the windows round! Also, the audio in this panel is reaaaaallly bad at times, so another audio source would be a huge help for the subtitling endeavor.

Contact Methods and Logistics

Feel free to contact me however you feel comfortable, whether in response to this post or via another method. Private messages are fine, and you can also e-mail me at DetailTilted@gmail.com.

If you're concerned about the logistics of how to share the files, I usually use WeTransfer.com which allows limited free transfers. You input the person's e-mail address you want to share the files with and attach your files. It will automatically upload your files and send the person an e-mail with a link to download them. The other person will see your e-mail address, so you'd want to use an address you're comfortable sharing with me or else create a new one. If you have another preferred file sharing service, I'm definitely happy to work with that. I just wanted to explain one way it could work for people who have never shared large files before. I know sometimes I'm reluctant to offer to do something I don't know how to do for fear it will turn into a major ordeal that I don't have time for. Transferring files this way is actually super simple.

If I can answer any other questions, just let me know. I do not pester people, so if you contact me with questions and then decide not to do it and I never hear from you again (or even if I do), I promise I won't follow up and bug you about it.

Relogs for Visibility Greatly Appreciated!

I'd be greatly appreciative of anyone willing to reblog this to help increase visibility. This is my last ditch effort before I give up and declare it a lost cause.

[blushingtendertiel]

Watercolor commissions

Hi! I am a disabled queer artist on wellfare, commissions are very helpful since I don't have any other ways of income!

I currently only offer watercolor style traditional art. More examples of my art can be found on #my art tag and my art blog @art-banhana

Headshot: 25USD

Halfbody: 48USD

Full body: 70USD

Half body with background: 72USD to 96USD

Full body with background: 105USD to 140USD

These are base prices, if the design is very simple or very complex the price may vary.

Payment via PayPal only!

More info under the cut!

What I can do:

- Humans & Humanoids

- Anthros, furries & scalies

- Dragons and other fantasy creatures

- Fanart and original characters with visual references

- Pin ups

- If it's not on either list you can ask!

What I wont do:

- anything hateful or bigoted in nature

- portraits of real life humans or animals (eg. I wont do your pet, I can do your warrior cat oc)

Extras

Simple background +50% of the price

Complex background: +100% of the price

Extra character: +100% of the price

I do not do backgrounds for headshots, only half and full bodies.

Simple background

Simple background can be close-up interior scene with little detail or landscape scene with little detail. Character is the main focus on the foreground.

Complex background

Complex background has detailed objects either or both foreground and background. It's a fuller scene with more detail and attention to lighting.

Payment:

I take full payment before I start working.

Payments via PayPal only! Unless you live in Finland then we could also use bank transfer.

If I haven't started lineart and you arent happy with the results, partial refund is possible. If I have started the lineart I will not offer refunds.

Please communicate with me if there is anything in the sketch you aren't happy with, it's my priority to make commissions as accurate as possible to the character.

Shipping:

Commissions of 48 dollars and over get free shipping of the original! I do not offer shipping for smaller orders.

You are paying for the digital photo of the commission, the shipping offered for bigger pieces is an extra service and I won't refund you if it gets lost or damaged in the mail.

So far all my shipped commissions have arrived to the commissioners in great condition, if you want proof of this let me know.

The shipments are not tracked, if you want tracking its going to pay extra.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Could I request a reader who has an espathra. Espathra is from Reader's grandma who used to be a model and singer. Espathra is walks like a diva but is an absolute sweetheart. Reader joined the academy as a student and told the trio (Arven, Nemona and Penny) the reason why I joined the academy was because I never liked those private schools as I was always bored and hated dealing with the others as the students tend to annoy reader or be mean.

Arven

Tbh when he first saw your Espathra strutting down the streets of Mesagoza, he rolled his eyes.

He's well aware of how sassy and aggressive wild ones can be, but he assumes that even those tamed by trainers aren't any different (and sometimes a Pokémon's personality can rub off on them, too).

Once he gets to really know you both, though, he quickly realizes how friendly your Espathra is around people--even Mabosstiff.

Ofc they're still sassy, although they don't have a single mean bone in their body and don't try to reach across the table to steal his sandwich ingredients.

During lunch, you share how they once belonged to your grandma--who used to be a famous model and singer until she retired, deciding to leave her treasured partner in your care.

Arven never watched much TV growing up, so he never saw her performances. He just shrugs and says "that's kinda cool, little buddy."

But he grows concerned when a random kid intrudes on your picnic, asking about your grandma and wanting to pet the Espathra.

Suddenly the psychic type makes them shut up by immobilizing them on the spot....as he sits there wondering why tf you allowed them to do that.

You explain that's exactly why you transferred schools--specifically from a private one in another region to the Academy here in Paldea.

The students there kept bugging you, asking for your grandma's autograph and getting angry when you refused to take something they wanted her to sign or deliver fan mail as though you're some messenger Noctowl.

In short, they only ever talked to you if they wanted to contact her...and that made you feel quite bored and lonely, never gaining any real friends.

Luckily, Arven was already your friend long before he knew any of this.

He can definitely empathize with people constantly bothering him because of his connection to his "famous" parents.

Nemona

Not only has she obsessively watched the gym leaders' battles on TV, she also followed each of their social media accounts for years.

And on Tulip's page, she discovers that both her and your grandma did a collab for a new makeup brand inspired by their Espathras.

At the time, she didn't know you at all, but after hearing your last name and seeing your main partner Pokémon--she pulls you aside after class, eyes sparkling.

"So [y/n]..you're related to THE-?"

"Yes." You brush her hand off your shoulder, already knowing where this was going. "If you want an autograph, go to her retirement home and ask for her. I'm not your messenger."

You storm off, your Espathra giving Nemona a soft apologetic look, before they follow you, hair swishing gracefully.

However being the stubborn girl that she is....she eventually catches up to you, huffing and puffing and apologizing endlessly.

All she wanted was a simple battle with your Espathra (she almost called it your grandma's Espathra but quickly corrected herself--something you appreciated her doing).

It takes you by surprise, but you listen to her wishes and end up defeating her final Pokémon with a brilliant Lumina Crash that lit up the night sky.

After the battle's won, you explain that her attitude when you first met reminded you of the kids who bothered you back at your old school--which became the reason you transferred to Paldea to begin with.

You found her annoying.

Now? She was slightly less annoying since she genuinely wanted to befriend you, and not because you're related to a retired celebrity.

Penny

Team Star's had their fair share of feisty Flittles invading their outposts, always having to chase them out or risk being attacked just for gathering berries for their Pokémon.

Arceus forbid an outbreak of Flittle ever happened...

Because of that, Penny's always been skeptical around that evolution line, convinced that most Espathras are hostile.

The ones down in Area Zero's caverns especially made her nervous.

However, yours is a special case as they showed no aggression towards her, Arven, or Nemona.

You really owe it all to your grandma, mentioning how your Espathra used to be her partner in concerts and modeling for magazines.

They enjoyed being by her side and were content with retiring to Paldea after she ended her career on a high note.

She always talked about how they've adored singing since they were a little Flittle, and that they inspired her to keep going whenever she felt overwhelmed by the paparazzi and self-doubt.

How you wish you had her confidence at the private school you used to attend...but it became too much to handle after so many kids annoyed you simply because you're related to her.

You begged to be transferred out of there--for your sanity and for Espathra's, too.

After telling Penny all these stories, she definitely sees a different side to the Flittle line now, realizing that maybe not all of them are aggressive sassy berry thieves.

But when a grunt comes over (only overhearing that you're related to somebody they used to watch on TV all the time), Espathra just immobilizes them on the spot.

It frightens Penny, but the ostrich just smiles calmly at her.

You laugh and pet their beak, reassuring her it's nothing to be scared of--that kid simply won't remember ever asking you for your grandma's autograph.

From there on, she sends a message to all of Team Star not to make the same mistake that grunt did.

[therealdesastrffxivpast]

I submitted a suggestion to FFXIV Forums

HERE IT IS:

"I adore FFXIV, but one of the things in this game that is extremely grating is the how alt-unfriendly it is.

I realize people use the excuse of 'we can use all jobs on one character', but that honestly does not appeal to me in the slightest. Most jobs do not work for my character, who I write stories about and roleplay. This same situation applies to most glams, pets, and mounts.

The ironic thing is, I would do far, far more in this game if only it were more alt friendly. I would likely actually try to dive into more extreme PvE content, but as it stands now, it simply is not worth it. A lot of content just does not fit for this character, yet she is meant to remain my main, and I want to do the content on her.

I do not have enough time or want to level up and get through the story on every single alt I want to write a story about, and to have to grind everything out a second time, it makes collecting in this game for people like me pointless.

Therefore, I propose an idea: All mounts should be shared. All hairstyles should be shared. All minions should be shared. In the case of glams, might I suggest a special storage chest that is account bound, allowing you to swap glams to your alt? Quite like 'transmog collections' in other games (and mounts/pets being shared in general).

If the above is considered unreasonable - I think it is fair to at least say we could farm everything multiple times, BUT on a main which then could provide the item to the alt.

Example: A glam drops, you can only use it on one character, but you can transfer it to a different character even if it doesn't apply to the one you got it on.

Example 2: I get a mount drop on this character, don't really want it on this one, put it in my chest to give it to an alt.

Example 3: I have a mount collected already, but get another drop, so transfer it to a different character.

Example 3 would also encourage people to farm even more, because there would be a point to getting multiple drops, as we'd be able to give them to alts.

Please at least consider something like an account bound chest, thank you!"

THOSE WHO WANT ALT FRIENDLINESS IN THE GAME - We'd have to bring it up on the forums, or get the word out there more via Twitter. I use the hashtag #altfriendlyxiv or #altfriendlyffxiv.

Something as simple as being able to mail alts & all shop items being account bound rather than just the non-holiday mounts would be great, in the very least. (Aside from the boosts, obviously.)

The suggestion I had someone leave on the forums is linked here.

[canonkiller]

✨ "Your online print store is broken?" FAQ

Yeah I did that: A Summary

Q: Why did you remove everything from your Redbubble / INPRNT / etc?

A: A bunch of reasons. I made the choice for myself after thinking about it for a long time and not liking it. Some of these reasons include:

I don't like not knowing the workplace conditions or compensation given to the people actually manufacturing physical goods of my work through these services

I don't like the waste of easy-to-buy, easy-to-break manufacturing or the shipping process

I personally stopped giving a shit about the potential for theft-by-loss-of-potential-profit because it made me feel like a corporation and that sucked

There is no way in hell Redbubble will ever be profitable enough to get me to overlook this, and I don't think I should try to make it so.

The ones that haven't been emptied are having login issues. I'll be killing them as soon as I am able.

Q: So what's the alternative? How can I get prints now?

A: Anyone interested in prints can just ask me for the full resolution files of whatever piece you want and I'll send them over. Then you can either use your own printer or order something from a local store / chain and tada, print made.

In the future, I'll have the files up on Ko-fi (like the Avex body pillow) as pay what you want, so you don't even have to ask. I'd still prefer if you didn't make extras to sell for your own profit, but I can't stop you.

Q: But isn't that going to lose you money?

Probably, but the $20-odd I was making across all of my merch sites was not enough to overpower my concerns listed above. Someone tossing me $5 through PWYW is already paying me more than any of those sites would per sale (Redbubble can be adjusted higher, but the price is already so inflated), and the end result is still more affordable for the buyer.

I also want my art to be more accessible to people like me: ones who can't casually spend $30 getting a piece of paper shipped internationally, but enjoy being able to experience shapes and colors. Differences between currency conversions, payment platform options and mail access are things I don't think should create a barrier in enjoying and adding art to your space.

Q: What about the other types of merch? Like clothing?

I've been keeping an eye on secondhand gadgets and would like to one day offer on-demand items with thrifted or secondhand base materials, but this is not a priority for me at this time. You'll live without a shirt, and if you won't, try an iron on transfer or whatever the modernized equivalent is. Anything I can't find a way to make, nobody needs to buy, simple as that.

The pin-back button press calls to me like a beautiful siren but I have yet to find one that is both affordable and close to me. The grind never stops.

Q: I also have concerns about the things you mentioned and want to try and be more accessible and sustainable with my art. Is it okay if I also do this?

I don't own the concept of sending people PNGs CMYK JPGs when they ask for them and even if I did I'm sure as hell not gonna charge people for doing it. The more people turning away from mass manufacturing the better, imo.

[scotianostra]

February 9th 2002 saw the death of John Noble, co-founder of Loch Fyne Oysters and Loch Fyne Restaurants.

n 1978, Noble was looking for a way to help support the estate, which he had inherited, along with considerable debts, from his father in 1972. When Andrew Lane, a marine farmer, suggested the idea of growing oysters, Noble was immediately enthused.

Recalling that in his childhood he had ground up oyster shells to feed to the hens, he was also aware that the unpolluted Loch Fyne waters, warmed by the Gulf stream, would be ideal for growing shellfish.

However, when he told his bank that he was going to lay an oyster bed, they were unimpressed. "Everyone must have a hobby, Mr Noble," they responded.

But Noble realised that oysters, which had once been a cheap staple in Scotland, could again be popularised. "We were," he recalled, "reverting to an ancient tradition."

The venture grew from a few hundred seed oysters to the millions that are laid down today. Noble and Lane created a flourishing industry, and Loch Fyne Oysters are now exported to shops and supermarkets across the world.

Noble himself became something of an oyster expert. He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of oyster growing and a great love of bivalve trivia; he enjoyed explaining the prodigious feeding habits of oysters, which, when in search of food, filter so much seawater that, were they the size of humans, they would down the equivalent of five municipal swimming pools a day.

Soon Loch Fyne Oysters was branching out with oak-smoked salmon, mussels, langoustines and many other delicacies, which are sold through Noble's successful mail order business.

In 1980, Noble and Lane decided to set up an oyster bar at the head of Loch Fyne. It began as an umbrella and a trestle table and was then transferred to a nearby cowshed. Soon the venture had become a restaurant, open all day (which particularly suited Noble, who regularly took breakfast there) and serving oysters on ice and fresh seafood in simple surroundings.

Noble's ethos, that anybody should be able to enjoy good food at a reasonable price, proved highly successful, and Loch Fyne Restaurants is now a large chain of eateries.

Noble was immensely proud that his smokery, restaurant and mail order business at Ardkinglas provided "as many, if not more, jobs" than it did when it was a traditional working estate in his great-grandfather's day. At the time of his death, his enterprises employed more than 100 local people.

Unfortunately due to spiralling costs the majority of the Loch Fyne restaurants have now closed. At its largest, the chain had over 40 restaurants. Some had already closed by 2020, and due to the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, Loch Fyne permanently closed 11 more restaurants, with further closures following and the last restaurants closing in November 2023.

The smokehouse, Seafood Restaurant, Oyster Bar, Deli & Home Delivery at the head of Loch Fyne is still trading as a separate business, it too closed for a time, but reopened just over a year ago https://www.lochfyne.com/...

[deathandnonexistentialdread]

Hi!! ヽ(´▽｀)/

I just wanted to let you know that I read "Malgudi Days" on your recommendation!

First I'll complain a little, because it was pure torture xD I still think God bless free pdfs, but this format was really tiring. I transferred the pdf to my pocket book and I couldn't enlarge the size to read properly, because the pages were too wide 💀

Anyway, it was definitely an interesting first encounter with your national literature! The stories that I particularly liked were "The Missing Mail", "The Blind Dog", "Iswaran", "Father's Help" (now I understand why you like Swami hahah), "Forty-Five A Month" and maybe I'll stop listing here :'). I'm glad I could meet the people of Malgudi and see how they live and what problems they have. They (or rather R.K. Narayan) often shocked me. Really interesting people!

Thank you for the recommendation ♡ Have a nice day! 💖

hiii!! ('v')/

i'm so happy you read it!!

I apologise for the quality of the pdf. I was too excited and I picked the first one with all the pages that I found. I am in awe that you finished reading it with the tiny font. I once again apologise and I will make sure to pick better quality pdfs next time (^^)'

Swami is an absolute mood and I never related more to a character in school. He is in his own book: Swami And Friends, if you want to see more of him!

I'm glad you enjoyed one of my favourite books! I love Malgudi a lot because of the people and how their problems are simple yet complex. This is one book that both my mother and I enjoy despite the generational gap that we have because of how timeless the book is.

The best thing about Malgudi is that even though it is geographically located in South India, the people are from all over the world; with universal characteristics and issues. Malgudi is the connections you make with everyone you meet and the people who you connect with so it makes me very happy that you enjoyed the stories of the people of Malgudi <3

[codenamesazanka]

Shigaraki dies, and goes back in time. To the day OFA was transferred to Deku…

[part 1]

rough idea/summary [part 2]

•

It's the day of the UA entrance exam - late afternoon. Testing is over. Results, of course, haven't even begun to be calculated yet; they will be announced by mail next week. Nothing left but to go home.

And so Deku walks out the gates, dejected. He's going over the whole day in his head: all the questions he read and answers he's given in the written portions, every move he made during the practical. By his own calculations, he just barely passed the written exam... which is nothing compared to the big fat zero he's definitely getting from the practical.

So caught up in his bleak thoughts, Deku walks straight into someone. Embarrassed, Deku apologizes, even though he's the one who's been knocked to the ground. The other guy seems perfectly fine. Well, he's older and is dressed in all black and looks like a ghoul and is staring creepily at Deku, but he seems fine.

When the guy calls out his name - Midoriya Izuku - though...

D-Do I know you?

The guy gives a strange answer: I guess not. But let's talk.

The guy asks Deku if he just took the UA exam to be a Hero, and Deku answers in the affirmative. (Almost starts to ramble about, well, he took the exam, because he wants to be a Hero, yeah, but it didn't go so well... but stops himself in time. No need to tell a stranger all that.)

Why? The guy asks. Why does he want to be a Hero? 

That's a simple and easy question. Deku says, to help people. To save them. He wants to be like All Might, saving people with a smile. Deku gives his own smile here, because who wouldn't know of All Might and All Might's smile.

The guy has no reaction to that. He only asks again, Why? Why does he want to save people? 

This makes Deku think a little, but not too much. The answer is simple - because they need saving. When someone is in trouble, it's just natural to want to help, right? 

Is it?

Well—yeah. Deku finds that it's hard to explain his answer, which is clearly what this guys wants him to do. (Is this a secret UA exam? Judging his character? Determining if he's worthy???) Seeing someone having trouble, being in pain or going through something hard and difficult, it's only right to give them a hand. They should be helped, because... they need it.

So it's pity.

No! Not exactly. It's not judging them, it... shouldn't be that? - it's just... easing their burden. And the burden you'd feel as well. It's hard to see someone suffering, isn't it? Helping them feels better, for everyone.

So it's about your ego.

No!!! (Oh, Deku's so failing this part of the exam too.) He just wants to save people! Isn't that enough?

This time, the guy asks: What if they don't deserve it? What if they're done terrible things, things that are unforgivable? And they'll continue to do them, no matter what. Would you help those people, Midoriya Izuku, if they're in trouble?

It's a moral question that feels a little more complex than any entrance exam would require (so is this guy just... some random weirdo?) but Deku realizes he has the answer. He talks about - who else? - Bakugou, a friend, a bully, and someone who's probably never going to change. But one day last year, his friend needed help. He looked scared. He was in pain. At that moment, he needed saving. Deku wasn't really thinking about any of the stuff Bakugou did, or what he will do, in the future. All Deku thought was... that someone should be there for him. 

I don't know about forgiveness, or anything like that, and maybe it really is just a shallow answer, but... if someone looks like they need help, then I'll help them.

The guy is quiet for a long while. Not looking at Deku, just staring off into the distance. Deku wonders and rehearses how he'll make a polite excuse to leave, when the guy finally gives a huff. Says, Nothing has changed, huh?

Deku is very, very confused, but the guy only says nevermind, and turns to leave the same way he entered Deku's day - suddenly and bizarrely.

But when moving, the guy winces; there's a stiffness to him, to his arm; and Deku has to ask, Are you okay? Is it your arm? Do you need help? 

The guy says he's fine, and tries to dodge around Deku, but that only makes his wrist visible - with blood. Which alarms Deku, who tries to gently herd the guy toward UA. There's a doctor inside the school - a Hero, actually, with a healing quirk, it's really cool - she can help, she actually just helped me—

Their tiny commotion thankfully gets some of the staff - and All Might!? - to the scene, and just one word from Deku about the guy being hurt immediately has All Might carrying him off to Recovery Girl.

-

At the medical bay, the guy is utterly ungrateful. He says to All Might, You're as annoying as ever; but All Might takes it in stride, keeping his signature smile, even though Deku can see that he's confused and a little hurt.

Recovery Girl heals the guy. Then also brings attention to everything else wrong about the guy. You have multiple puncture wounds... And I see lots of blood, too much to be healthy, but it's not all yours, is it?

(Black is a good color to hide dried blood.)

Surprisingly, the guy answers bluntly and honestly. No.

At this, Deku can feel the atmosphere gets heavier, a little. All Might immediately gets more serious, asking if something had happen, if the young man - because in better lighting, he looked only to be a couple of years older than Deku - was in danger. Was it a Villain? Are they still in the area?

The guy refuses answering and tries to leave, but All Might blocks his path - with a showy flourish - and persists in trying to help. It's okay to tell him - All Might is here! There's no need to be afraid. He'll keep him safe. Evil will be caught and punished. Things will be okay. (Meanwhile, Deku watches Recovery Girl call the police.)

Unstoppable force vs. immovable object. Guy is a quick dodger and won't stop trying to leave, while All Might won't quit trying to get the guy to stay and talk.

Let's get your name! Can you tell us your name?

Fine, you want my name? The guy snaps. The family name is Shimura.

All Might freezes, and Deku sees something he thought was impossible - (Hero form) All Might's smile fading.

Shimura continues. But I don't want anything to do with you. So don't follow me.

Deku can just hear something shattering inside All Might. As he rushes over to All Might to see if he's okay, Shimura walks past them and leaves... but not before pausing at the door and saying something that breaks All Might again.

All For One is dead. I just killed him.

(A clattering sound. Recovery Girl's dropped her cane. Deku wants to grab it and give it back to her, but he doesn't want to leave All Might in his catatonic state either.)

Shimura says, I don't know if it'll stick, but if he does come back, I'll deal with it. You don't have to worry about him anymore.

Deku has so many questions. All Might, what's going on? Do you know Shimura-san? Who's All For One? Who just died? Are you okay?

Shimura gives a laugh at this. Says to Deku, so no one told you anything either. Says to All Might, better tell your successor everything, so he's prepared.

Prepared? All Might finally breaks out of his daze. But you just said...

It's me you'll need to worry about, from now on. Shimura says. You are Heroes. And I'm still a Villain.

Shimura walks out the door. And somehow, in the second between that and Deku running out to chase after him, Shimura has disappeared.

[putschki1969]

Hi Sarah, thank you for everything you have done to the Kalafina fandom until now, you're an angel.

Is there a tutorial for joining Finction Junction Station fan club? I want to apply for the next year's Yuki Kajiura live ticket lotteries an I want to be sure to have a ticket since I'll travel from a very far Country. Thank you!

Hello there lovely anon!

I currently have no dedicated tutorial for Yuki's official fan club, FictionJunction Station. However, many years ago, I made a very detailed post about Kalafina's fan club "Harmony". That post was meant to help people navigate the site and register as member. Even though "Harmony" no longer exists, the basic steps described in my tutorial still apply to both Wakana's fan club "Botanical Land" as well as Yuki's fan club "FictionJunction Station". All these websites are designed by the same company, SKIYAKI, so the basic structure is the same.

Here are some main requirements before you start〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

Credit Card: They do accept overseas credit cards as payment option so you'll be fine with that

Japanese Address: Find a forwarding/proxy service that will arrange everything for you. There’s tenso.com for example. You can get a Japanese address on this page which you can then use to buy things at various websites. That address can also be used to become a fan club member. They will not do transactions for you (as in, buy stuff for you, apply at ticket lotteries), they simply provide an address, store your stuff in case you buy anything and later send it to you. All your stuff will be sent to that address and then they will ship it to you (you can choose from various shipping methods). Payment for goods is also possible via credit card so you can have the merch sent to your TENSO address as well. Then there are sites like www.sosjapan.jp which will do pretty much everything for you (including payments). They will register for you under your name. They will apply for lotteries/pre-order/buy tickets or merch for you. This may actually be a better option for you but that's something you'll have to decide.

Step 1. Get your SC ID. An account will be issued by acquiring an SC ID (it’s free to do that!) which is required to use the service of this site. Simply click on the “new registration” button and enter your e-mail address and a password. A confirmation e-mail will be sent, by clicking the link in the mail, the first part of the registration process is completed. After logging in with your SC ID, you can access “My Page”.

Step 2: Confirm your e-mail address. After you have confirmed your e-mail address you’ll receive another mail stating that the registration of your SC ID was completed. You may log in now with your mail address and password. Be aware that your registration process is not done yet. Next up you should go to “My Page” to enter all your information.

Step 3: Go to “My Page” to enter all your information. Regarding the name, just enter your name in Roman letters first and then in katakana (Google Translate can help you get a katakana version of your name). As for the address, the Japanese address system is quite complex and can seem intimidating at first glance but Tenso provides a few tips on how to enter it properly so be sure to check them out.

Step 4. Confirm the information and continue to the payment method. It’s super simple. You have the option to pay with credit cards which is really the only option that is of interest to us. Simply choose your credit card and enter all the important data. On the right you’ll see the details for your payment (admission fee + annual fee, no extra fees). There's also an option to enable an automatic renewal of your membership. Only possible if you are paying with credit card. Once your year is almost over, the yearly fee will automatically be transferred from your credit card. I guess this comes in quite handy if you are prone to forget things like that easily. Lastly, there’s a button to confirm the transaction and then I think you’ll be asked one last time to confirm all your data and THEN it’s DONE. You are officially a member! You’ll be transferred to a page stating that the process is finished and listing some of the important data. You’ll also receive an e-mail welcoming you to the fan club and summarising all your information (=> member number, expiration date, payment details, payment method)

Please also keep in mind that often, a fan club membership will not be enough to get concert tickets. Most fan clubs will use one of Japan's common ticketing services for their lotteries. With FJS it's usually Lawson Ticket or e+. It can be very difficult to register for these site since they require verification via SMS/phone call (Japanese phone numbers only!!) The payment for tickets is also pretty much impossible for overseas fans. If you are uncertain about any of this and not willing to jump through many hoops, I recommend you look into proxy services like SOSJapan (as mentioned above).

Good luck on everything! Hope you'll be able to attend one of the lives next summer. It's gonna be Yuki's 60th birthday in August so maybe they'll do something a little more special for it.

[ragadollite]

I'm going to be offering these commissions both on Bluesky and tumblr starting today!

To offer these commission at such a low price the catch is simple: I won't take any pose or scenario requests. This means that while you can request something like 'Character X and Y being romantic' I won't accept specific poses or scenarios. This lets me work quicker and offer these cheap prices!

Each commission will be done traditionally in Windsor and Newton Calligraphy ink (which has a lightfast rating of A) on high quality Fabriano Academia acid free cartridge paper. This means that (in the proper conditions) each drawing is made to last! :3

DM me or email neomintsart@gmail.com if interested!

For more info:

Will draw: People, Characters, Ship art, Pets, Robots, Vtubers, Ocs, Gore, Nsfw... honestly most things!

Will NOT draw: Pro-sh*pping, bigoted content, the usual. I reserve the right to decline any commission for any reason.

T&C's:

You may: - Use the artwork for icons, backgrounds, anything that is non-commercial. - Alter the art however you like such as coloring it, animating it, cutting it up, whatever :) - Resell the original artwork (ie; the paper piece) if you really want to. - Repost the artwork with credit. You may NOT: - Make prints of the art work or claim it as your own. - Remove my watermark/signature intentionally. - Use it for commercial purposes without asking for a dedicated license. This includes marketing. Finally, all rights to the original image remain with myself unless agreed otherwise.

All payments will be through Paypal, with the exception of UK commissions which have the option to be done through bank transfer.

For 5£ I can send the original drawings over, via Royal Mail (Signed). If you have any concerns about it reaching your country or if you'd like it tracked let me know!

[goddessalthena]

UsaMamo Week 2024 - Day 3/6 - Inspired by a Song/Coffee

Late again, and it's tough to say how late because this is technically two prompts in one. I was originally planning to write this as a song fic, but wasn't really feeling it leading up to the event week. Then last night I read @caelenath's awesome song fic and felt inspired to take another look at my outline.

This is not the whimsical lark that my other UsaMamo week pieces have been (which is why I was torn about writing it) but it's an idea that's been nagging at me for a while now. This is only the first part of three, but I thought it would be nice to post it for the event.

Title: Happier Summary: Mamoru wants a cup of coffee. Rating: T (for language) Words: 1722

“Thirty eight!”

Chiba Mamoru is not a melodramatic person. He is not given to histrionics. Flagrant displays of emotion are simply not his thing. Indeed, he is a calm, composed, and exceedingly rational human being. Life is stressful—his arguably more so than most—and he prides himself on his ability to ‘rise above’. But if this beanie-wearing, mouth-breathing barista doesn’t call his number in the next sixty seconds he might just lose it.

“Thirty nine!”

Mamoru stares down at his receipt and wills the numbers to change. Unsurprisingly, they remain the same. He can transform into a superhero in the blink of an eye, but he can’t change a number on a piece of paper. It may be the caffeine withdrawal talking but this seems…unfair. Unjust. Unacceptable. He is a reincarnated prince, the rightful heir to the planet beneath his very feet, and yet he cannot get a simple cup of coffee.

“Thirty seven!”

Are they counting fucking backwards now? He takes a breath and stuffs the receipt in his pocket so he can run a hand through his hair. He needs to calm down. He’s just tired. He’s had another rough night of precious little sleep and this is just a bad morning. That’s all. One bad morning. At the end of a bad week. At the end of a bad month. He just—

“Forty!”

He just really needs some coffee. It’ll be ready soon. So long as they serve him in the next—he checks his watch—four minutes he can still make it to the hospital before his shift starts. He thinks. He’s only just started at UoT and he’s still not used to the bus transfers. Getting to Keio was much simpler. He didn’t have to get up so early, and the coffee shop across the street was much faster. Not to mention better. He misses that coffee. He misses Keio. He misses sleeping. He misses…a lot of things.

“Forty one!”

Lucky number forty one strolls up to the counter to claim their prize. They walk away with a tall plastic cup full of frothy green liquid that looks like it was poured directly out of an infected nostril, and Mamoru can’t help but shudder when they take a long, noisy sip from the straw. Who comes to a coffee shop and orders…whatever that is? This is apparently a trend now—ordering non-caffeinated beverages at coffee shops—because the last ten people who have walked away from the counter have had similarly ridiculous drinks. Why does everything have to be dessert, or snot, in a cup nowadays? What’s wrong with a regular cup of coffee?

He needs to find another coffee shop.

“Forty two!”

He needs them to call his number.

He pulls out his phone to distract himself and scrolls through a list of notifications: weather, junk mail, update reminders—up to forty five now, he’s got to get around to doing that—and one text. His thumb hovers over the blue bubble for a moment or two before he eventually presses down.

Training session Fri or Sat ppl. LMK work schedules ASAP. No ghosting Chiba. Ur old ass is getting rusty. 👴

As Mamoru rolls his eyes three little dots appear at the bottom of the screen. He holds his breath.

“Forty three!”

He doesn’t look away from those three little dots, doesn’t blink, doesn’t breathe. He just watches them, transfixed, until finally—

I’ve got a shift at the restaurant Friday night, but I can do AM Sat wide open

He releases the breath he’s been holding in a quiet sigh. Just Makoto. Not— His thumb hits the back button of its own accord then scrolls down through the list of chats, until…there, near the bottom. Sandwiched between an old banking verification and a number he doesn’t even recognize. He reads the date to the right of the name and winces. Again, his thumb hovers.

“Forty four!”

He taps. A string of texts populate his screen. He doesn’t need to read them again, he knows them by heart. But he reads them anyway. Like he always does. He can’t help it. He’s weak; in these moments at least. When no one can see. He should stop looking now. Should close the window. Should delete the whole thread while he’s at it. But he won’t. He can’t. He can do a lot of things—has done a lot of things—but he can’t delete those words.

I love you, Mamo-chan.

“Forty five!”

I’ll always love you. Even if you’ve stopped loving me back.

“Forty five!”

I wish I knew why though. I wish you would tell me what I did wrong.

“Forty five! That’s four five, people. Four five!”

I’m sorry, I get it now, I won’t bother you anymore. Be happy, Mamo-chan. I want you to be happy.

“For the last time, forty five! Going once, going twice…”

Mamoru’s head snaps up. Forty five. Fuck. That’s his number.

He stuffs his phone in his pocket and rushes up to the counter and beanie-boy does not look happy. Mamoru begins to mutter an apology then stops as the barista shoves a large mug topped whipped cream, caramel, and chocolate shavings toward him. Mamoru looks from the mug to the mouth-breather and back again as his brain tries to comprehend what is happening. After an eternity of waiting they finally called his number and yet…this is not his drink.

The barista is staring at him with a bored, somewhat vacant expression and Mamoru can clearly see that he is wondering why Mamoru isn’t taking the mug and walking away. Apparently the barista can’t tell from Mamoru’s assumedly apoplectic expression that he has no intention of taking the mug. This mug is not his. It’s not what he ordered. It’s not what he wants. Apparently that’s just his life now. An endless string of miserable disappointments that he’s supposed to suffer through silently. But he’s fed up with being silent.

He wants his damn coffee, and he wants it right fu—

“Oh, hello, uh, hey, sorry, excuse me but…I think that’s mine actually.”

Mamoru blinks as a cheerful man with sandy blond hair steps up beside him. He points to the confectionery concoction on the counter and shoots Mamoru an apologetic smile before turning to the barista. “Yes, chocolate macchiato with caramel, right? I believe that’s mine and not this gentleman’s.”

Beanie boy looks from Mamoru to sandy-hair and blinks.

Sandy-hair glances at Mamoru and shoots him another overly apologetic look. “Right, umm, well, if it’s all right, I’ll just grab this and get out of your way.” Mamoru steps to the side and sandy-hair takes the mug and hurries away. Presumably to overdose on sugar.

Mamoru turns back to the barista.

Barista scratches his temple. The beanie must be itchy. Mamoru hopes it is.

“So…what was your order again?”

“Large. Black. Coffee.”

“Right. That’ll take a couple of min—” Beanie boy must have just learned to read facial expressions because his eyes widen and he takes a step back. “I’ll go get it now.”

Mamoru feels a little bit of the tension ease in his shoulders and he breathes a weary sigh. He’s being an asshole. He’s doing that more and more often now. He keeps telling himself it’s the long work hours and the lack of sleep, but he knows what the real problem is. It’s her. He misses her. But there’s nothing he can do about that so he needs to find a better way to cope than being rude to baristas. And co-workers. And neighbours in his apartment building.

The barista comes back with his to-go cup and Mamoru tries to smile and thanks him for the drink. The guy nods but appears otherwise unaffected and that’s fine. Mamoru’s not looking for a new friend, he’s just trying to be a decent human being. A tinkle of bells sounds as he reaches for his cup. A gust of air follows, and a familiar tingle between his shoulder blades compels him to turn. He follows the innate instinct before his mind can warn him against it.

The unmistakable sight of blond odangos makes his heart soar before the inevitable sensation of crushing gloom comes down hard upon his ribs. Just when he thought his morning couldn’t get any worse. He can’t handle this. Not right now. Not again. He’s not strong enough to face another awkward meeting, another painful interaction, another agonizing opportunity to break her heart. Why are they always bumping into each other? Why, in a city as big as this, can he not get through one single week without running into her? Why?

Mamoru knows why. Because they’re soul mates.

He looks around for an alternate exit, a side door, a window, anything so he can avoid being seen. Before he can consider hiding in the bathroom he realizes she’s not approaching the counter where he stands, she’s rushing over to a table. She’s out of breath, her cheeks are pink, and she’s spouting a string of apologies. He’s seen her look exactly like this countless times before, and he can’t help the smile that spreads across his face as the memories replay.

His smile disappears as a new memory implants itself in his mind.

Of Usako, rushing up to a table where a man with sandy blond hair is standing in wait. Where a man with sandy blond hair is taking her hands. Where a man with sandy blond hair is pulling her forward. Kissing her cheek. Making her blush.

“Don’t worry,” sandy-hair says, “your timing is perfect. Your drink just came out. I wasn’t sure if you wanted a muffin, a danish, or a doughnut, so I got one of each.”

Usako laughs with delight.

Usako laughs with delight.

Usako laughs with delight.

Mamoru heads for the door like the building is on fire. He doesn’t hear the barista calling after him, telling him that he’s forgotten his coffee. He doesn’t hear the tinkling of bells as he shoves through the door or the loud rush of traffic as he hits the sidewalk. All he can hear is Usako’s laughter play over and over in his head.

When was the last time he heard her laugh? When?

Mamoru doesn't know when. He can’t remember.

***

Ain’t nobody hurt you like I hurt you But ain’t nobody love you like I do Promise that I will not take it personal, baby If you’re moving on with someone new

***

Happy Birthday, Mamoru! Sorry bud, this is a breakup fic. What can I say? I both love and hate the breakup arc. The song that inspired this fic is Happier by Ed Sheeran.

Thanks for reading! ❤️

Be sure to follow @usamamoweek for all of this year's content!

Many thanks to our awesome hosts @random-mailbox and @lilliebellfanfics for making this possible. 😘😘

[diary-of-a-loser-boy]

back in the day networking software was what is defined as monolithic: it was all one big blanket of code that handled everything from the data to send to what headers and information add to it before sending it to the Cables(tm)

problem is, get one problem somewhere, you have to unravel all of it to find where the problem is, and the network stops netting and/or working

enter, drumroll please,

iso/osi stacks

the guys over at iso (the organization) came up with this nifty little trick to slice up the Big into many Smalls: 7 layers (or abstraction layers if you are a big nerd)

application: here are the high-end protocols! like http, ftp (file transfer protocol, what were you thinking?) and the dreaded simple mail transfer protocol which i can say after studying it, it is not simple

presentation: applications dont speak internet, so presentation handles (de)codification, (de)encryption and (de)compression however the Protocols see fit

session: most protocols don't have functions or buffers to remember who sent what so session handles keeping connections alive with sessions: little tin cans with a string so the two members of the communication remember each other

transport: this guy is responsible for whether you want to use tcp or udp as a transport protocol (tcp is slower and has data validation for the recipient, udp is faster but fails more often) and chopping up data in tidbits to actually be able to wring them around the net

network: handles ip addresses, routing and telling the other guy everything is okay because that fuckass udp lost me two whole packet fragments

data-link: the oddball of the bunch because it has a dash in its name. and also because it's two sublayers under a trenchcoat

physical: takes whatever the upper layers gobbled up and zip-zaps the cable to send electricity

basically what happens is application concocts the data, hands it to presentatiom and one it is done, it hands it down to session, so on and so forth until physical sends it to the recipient who is going to do the opposite! physical takes the data, gives it to data-link, d-l chews it up a bit, gives it to network until application gets the oh-so-coveted picture of a cat the sender was sending

it's not over yet as those cheeky bastards managed to wedge the stack open with a lego brick remover and stick a little guy called secure sockets layer in to secure the sockets (woah.). he's dead and now we have transport layer security which is that, but better

whevernevr you see an s at the end of a protocol's name, it means one of these two motherfuckers meddled with your data to make it secure and unreadable to the big mean hackers typing dir /s in green letters in the command prompt

Huh

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 3

Yesterday, I set up my Neocities website to base, started my tumblr, made my company e-mail, and established myself as a brand in several corners of the internet. I also figured out the programming languages I wanted to learn, and learned further that the language doesn't matter as much as the intended application. That was most of my workday. Add in depth storyboarding and learning how to make a schedule that works for me that I can stick to, and more hours are gone. I passed out at some point, but I immediately opened freecodecamp when I got back up to try again with learning how to code.

Today, it's two in the morning at the time of writing. I started work at ten last night, and so far, I've accomplished learning the very, very basics of HTML. At 11 this morning, I'm hoping I'll have completed making a simple web application about cats, and will publish the link here on my blog.

I have to figure out how to transfer code and what that's actually called, so I can show my work on GitHub. I also want to figure out how to show all of my notes, but I think that has to do with the publishing feature in Jira, so I'll figure that out later. I didn't want to forget to put this up, so hi! A little less put together of a post, but I'm excited to get back to work and update my progress.

Bye!