#and like... this was some basic computer programming logic being taught to us

[gikairan]

In a modern fantasy setting, magic users would be the most desirable computer programmers and you can't convince me otherwise

[clementine-kesh]

Yea, true, I didn't really consider alien programming languages, that's a good point, we have no way of even imagining what those might be like. Point taken, you were right lol.

That said, I defo wanna address some of the stuff mentioned by @a-girl-called-bob in their comment because it's pretty interesting.

Metaprogramming is an interesting one I hadn't considered. I haven't done much of it myself so I'm mostly drawing from what I've heard from others but it's probably even more relevant in the far off future. Again, I'm no expert, but I think it's probably likely it would mostly be done in one language (tho I doubt it'd be a descendant of Lisp by then, probably a new language created with metaprogramming as its core goal or a descendant of that) that, while potentially very different from other then modern languages, would likely be more commonly taught. But I may be wrong about that.

As for pointer access... I'm gonna be a little controversial here. I know programmers are notoriously resistant to change (tho at least in this case it'd honestly be unfeasible to update all existing code still running important systems within the foreseeable future but you know what I mean) and C++ has failed to deter even new programmers from using raw pointers in brand new code for decades, but I think that especially in a 'utopian' society like star trek, either some evolution of smart pointers or just straight up references (depending on which 'side' wins lol) would be the norm, making pointers obsolete. Again, I know this is controversial but I think it's realistic. Not necessarily better tbh, I do love being able to fuck things up as much as I want if I feel like it, but safer and more reasonable.

Monads... I'll just admit, I cannot say. I've not personally done any functional programming and the people I know who have I haven't discussed it with. So no comment there.

Object oriented features tho are already present in so many languages I doubt there's many (if any) programmers who aren't familiar with them so I honestly don't think it'd be much of a roadblock for anyone, today or in the far future.

Just as I wrote that last sentence I saw a new comment come in from @egg-tats and yes, that's basically the point I tried to make initially: learning a modern language with documentation and/or internet access is pretty easy, at least to about mid level proficiency. But yea, this would in no way be applicable to alien or otherwise unrelated ones and also not really to certain advanced concepts as some of the ones mentioned by Bob. Come to think of it, who knows how alien computers would even work, their concept of programming might be so fundamentally different it's not even recognisable to us.

But yea, long story short, y'all make some very good points, it would probably not be as easy as I want it to be 😔

Consider my mind changed.

-Levi

(including both replies for posterity)

to your other point the idea of alien programming languages is so fascinating to me. there’s this assumption that the way we build programming languages (and other data infrastructure) is based on some sort of universal logic when like… the way we conceptualize and classify things is so different even just across human cultures. just look at how many papers there are on integrating nonwestern conceptualizations of space into gis and other technologies built on western assumptions. really interesting and eye-opening stuff. i can’t imagine what that would look like for actual aliens, i need to hang out with some vulcan programmers for real

[makers-muse]

How to Make Learning to Code Fun for Kids: Tips & Tricks

As a parent, you know how important it is to give your child skills that will be useful in the long run. Its importance notwithstanding, coding helps to improve problem-solving creativity as well as logical thinking. Nonetheless, making children interested in coding can be problematic. The secret is to make learning fun and interesting. This article provides you some tips and tricks to help you do so.

Start with Scratch

One of the best ways to introduce coding to kids is through visual programming languages. These allow kids to learn code by dragging and dropping blocks without worrying about syntax details.

Example: Children love Scratch which is developed by MIT. With this software, they are able to design their own interactive stories, games or animations. Once kids assemble code blocks like Lego bricks together, they get immediate feedback of what they have coded thereby maintaining engagement and motivation among them

Incorporate Games and Gamification

Why not include gaming in what they learn if children love games? Many platforms make coding a game-like affair, which makes it both educational and entertaining.

Example: Through a fantasy theme game called “CodeCombat”, kids are taught Python & JavaScript. Children write actual code to control their characters and solve challenges thereby learning programming interactively in an interesting way.

Use Kid-Friendly Coding Apps

Many apps are created for teaching children simple coding. These have appealing graphics, easy-to-use interfaces and exciting problems.

Example: Hopscotch is an app that enables kids to make their own games and applications by use of simple building blocks of computer programs. It is available on iOS and is great especially for beginners. Furthermore, other children can see the projects that they have built through this app thus making it social experience rather than just being individualistic.

Embark on Real-Life Projects

Kids learn best when they can identify real-life examples of what they are taught. Persuading them to build projects on their passion can make coding more relevant and fun.

Example: if your child is a robot fanatic, then platforms like LEGO Mindstorms will enable him/her to create and program his own robots using a simple programming language. By following this approach, you not only get the basics of programming but also improve problem-solving as well as enhancing critical thinking skills.

Harness Online Coding Courses

Various online courses for kids have been designed so as to make learning how to code easier and enjoyable. These courses usually include video tutorials, interactive exercises and quizzes among other reinforcement measures.

Example: Makers’ Muse have coding courses for children that involve JavaScript, HTML, and Python. The format is interactive while explanations are clear which makes it easy for children to follow along with the lessons as well as practice coding.

Embrace Peer Learning and Collaboration

It will be more fun if you learn coding with your friends. Encourage you child to engage in coding clubs or online communities where they can work on projects together and share ideas.

For children, creating an enjoyable coding experience while blending education and entertainment is the main idea. Game-playing, physical exercises, narration, conversations with others and positive encouragement are some of the ways through which one can create an interesting and engrossing coding experience for their child.

You can also make your child’s learning to code a thrilling encounter by following these simple guidelines. Subsequently, launch yourself into programming alongside your children as you observe them turn into programmer wannabes in front of you!

[jasonp01]

How Young is Too Young to Learn to Code?

There is no denying that technology continues to influence the way children view the world. In the 1980s, children knew about computers, not really had very very little access to them as first generation PCs were usually designated for business purposes. By the 1990s, children began to interact with PCs through some very basic game playing programs. By the turn of the century, computers were becoming as important tool that was used in almost every child's life. 

It seems only natural that children have taken the next logical step and are now learning how to talk to and manipulate computer programs. In increasing numbers children are being taught how to code or program computers to suit their own needs. Collectively, inquisitive youngsters, say age 4-6, are asking how things work and actually get involved with learning how to program solutions to their own questions. 

As adults watch in amazement at the ability of children to adapt to this new "language," educators like J. Paul Gibson are working behind the scenes to prepare preschoolers and kindergarten-aged kids to be at ease with every aspect of computer technology. It should come as no surprise that Gibson. from the National University of Ireland, is using a game like tic-tac-toe to teach kids how to see a problem and solve it through coding. 

Furthermore. the University of Colorado has devised an actual curriculum called Scalable Game Design. The curriculum uses game like 1970s-1980s video game teach kids how to use coding to get the frogs and vehicles to behave in a manner the kids believe will make the game more challenging. 

All of this begs the question, " at what age is it appropriated to start teaching kids how to code software programs?" To formulate a reasonable answer, one should start with the brain's capacity for procedural memory decreases over time. That's reflected in the notion that children show a higher capacity for learning foreign languages than adults do.

At the end of the day, there are a few practical reasons why teaching children to be fluent in coding languages will become highly beneficial. At the most basic level, the demand for software programmers and web designers is growing at a much faster rate than the population of people who are trained to fill those jobs. 

At a higher level, there is great value to be derived from teaching kids how to think critically and logically. Every day, adults need to solve problems. If technology has done noting else, it has certainly taught us all that every problem has a solution. Being able to speak the right " language" only makes a child's future problem solving skills more prominent .    

[astridvalencia]

1. Demand remains strong for coding-related jobs

What good is a strong salary if no one is looking to hire for the position? When it comes to coding-related jobs, it appears there’s still plenty of opportunity.

Here are the current BLS projections for employment growth in the same coding and programming-related professions:

Web developers: 13%

Network and computer systems administrators: 5%

Computer programmers: -7%

Database administrators: 9%

Software developers: 21%

When compared to the national average of five percent growth, you can see that a handful of positions are outpacing a lot of other careers. Computer programmers are an interesting outlier from this group, but some believe these projections are influenced by computer programming skills blending into other related in-demand tech roles.

While the role is still extremely valuable, more and more hybrid positions are being introduced into the workforce. This has resulted in less “computer programmer” job postings, and more opportunities that combine programming skills into other job titles.

2. Coding ability gives new perspective to problem-solving

“Learning to code has the inadvertent effect of teaching you how to think,” says Adrian Degus, CEO of Nuvro. He goes on to explain that he used to be more prone to solving problems emotionally. But his coding experience has taught him to approach problems logically.

“Understanding logic, at a deep level, has improved my problem-solving proficiency tenfold,” he adds.

Coding, in its most basic terms, is really just assigning a computer a task to do based on the logical guidelines you’ve outlined. Highly complex tasks are essentially a collection of smaller operations once you break them down. This methodical and logic-heavy approach to problem solving can be a boon for figuring out problems beyond a coding challenge.

Hilary Bird, senior developer at Get CenturyLink, agrees with this sentiment, saying learning to code has benefited her personal and professional life by encouraging her to take a step back and approach situations from a new perspective. “I can break problems down into small, separate parts and figure out how each is affecting the other,” she explains. “This helps me decide what area of the problem to focus on first.”

3. Learning to code offers career flexibility

Learning to code can help open up new areas of opportunity in your career and ultimately make you a more flexible candidate in a rapidly-shifting digital economy. Daniel Davidson, owner of Dan Design Co., started his career in print design but noticed he was consistently missing out on opportunities due to a lack of coding knowledge.

“The single greatest skill I have picked up for my professional life has been learning how to code,” Davidson says. “Had I not learned to code, I would have been out of work years ago. It’s been liberating and very lucrative.”

Davidson adds that even if your job doesn’t require you to have a deep understanding of coding or programming languages, it still helps because you’ll likely need to interact with another person who does. Learning to code, even as a hobby, can give you a common reference point and better understanding of those who tackle some of the more complex programming and coding roles out there.

4. Learning to code can be a fun bonding opportunity for families

How often do you have the opportunity to learn something practical and new with your kids? Parents with school-aged children have the chance to start from square one together as they learn the fundamentals of programming and coding.

“My 10-year-old son actually decided to learn to code around the same time I did,” Degus says. “It was a challenging but very rewarding experience. To this day my son and I talk coding over the dinner table, while the rest of the family makes fun of us for being geeks.”

Christopher Prasad, marketing manager at JookSMS, points out that involving your kids can be a great way to keep yourself accountable as well as teach them important skills as the value of coding will only increase.

“Schools in the UK have now actually introduced coding to younger children so they know what it takes to design apps, websites and more, and I think it's a brilliant idea going forward and developing the younger generation,” he says.

One excellent way to test the waters of learning to code is to practice with kid-friendly resources like Scratch, which gives both you and your child an introduction to programming fundamentals and systemic reasoning. This fundamental understanding will help you as you move on to more complex languages and applications.

5. Coding can be useful in jobs you might not expect

You might think coding and programming skills are only valuable for people working in highly technical specialist jobs. While it’s true that learning to code is more important for some roles, that doesn’t mean you can’t find practical ways to apply coding knowledge in non-coding jobs.

Software architect and entrepreneur Mark Billion says his coding knowledge has benefited him in unexpected ways as a business professional.

“We were able to use Python to code our advertising algorithms, which also saved us about $1,000 per month,” Billion explains. “So, if you are in business—any kind of business—coding is critical.”

The ability to code allowed Billion to automate menial tasks that ultimately saved him money. That’s a huge plus for small businesses where budgets are typically very tight.

For those who work closely with programmers and developers, learning the basics of coding can make you a much more valuable member of a team.

“While I’m primarily a marketer, having technical knowledge is one of the biggest assets I can provide my team,” says Jake Lane, growth manager at Press Cleaners. “Being able to make a change to the code base helps free up our developers to focus on the more important stuff and reduces development lag time.”

You don’t have to be a programming whiz to reap the benefits of learning to code. Knowing just enough to be useful can still be a positive asset in most business environments.

Putting coding skills to work

Why learn to code? As you can see, there are plenty of good reasons why coding is important. Whether it’s just for fun or as a form of professional development, you’re sure to enjoy the benefits of learning to code as you build a foundation of tech skills.

But you still need to know—how long does it take to learn to code? To answer this question, you’ll need to determine what kind of coding career you want to pursue. By exploring your career options, you can also find more reasons that answer—why should I learn to code? To discover promising roles in our digital economy, read our article, “9 Programming Careers for Coding Connoisseurs.”

[sirfrogsworth]

Yes, Elon is an Engineer.

There is a common trope that Elon just hires talented engineers to build his rockets and wasn't an engineer himself. Many believe his "Chief Engineer" status at SpaceX is not legitimate.

To be clear, I thought this too.

A lot of people think this.

If I'm being honest, I think I held on to that notion without verifying it for a long time because I kinda wanted it to be true.

So if you thought this, I am not shaming you or anything. But I would like to set the record straight so we can have accurate critiques of this awful manchild and not spread misinformation that could torpedo otherwise valid arguments against him and his practices.

The "he just pays people" thing is probably accurate when it comes to Tesla. Or it is these days. He has lost interest in everything except going to Mars and all of his side hustles are him trying to raise as much capital as possible so he can get to Mars as fast as possible. He is quite obsessed. If you look into his Las Vegas tunnel, he is literally scamming cities to raise money for rocket shit.

But when I went looking for evidence to prove he is just paying engineers to build his rockets and that his "Chief Engineer" title at SpaceX was ceremonial, I was surprised to find out it was not.

While there are some valid criticisms against the merits of reusable rockets & their value as well as valid criticisms with the operational decisions of SpaceX—Elon is very much the chief engineer and talented at that role. No, he doesn't do the grunt work of programming and CAD drawings, but reliable sources have said he is fully capable of that kind of work. Though, lead engineers rarely do that anyway.

So maybe some of his design *decisions* are flawed, but he is a proper rocket engineer regardless.

I am happy to criticize Elon because I think he is a shit person and treats his workforce poorly and he hoards wealth to the degree of supervillainy. But saying he isn't a talented rocket engineer would just not be true.

And frankly, I don't think I need it to be true to make an argument showing he is a shite person.

A few weeks ago I wanted to confirm what I and many others believed... that Elon was just paying top engineers to make his rockets like Bezos and Branson do. I wanted more ammunition to prove he wasn't a real-life Tony Stark.

And, I *was* right about that.

He's not Tony Stark.

Even if they did make this dumbass movie to fluff his ego.

He is not a once-in-a-generation mind. He is not the next Einstein. He isn't even all that innovative.

His rockets are mostly taking everything already known and applying modern technology to make things more up-to-date. If JPL or even another company were subsidized like SpaceX, they'd probably be designing rockets of similar or better quality.

So he's basically our generation's Thomas Edison. (Which is ironic considering the name of his electric car company.)

Taking other peoples' work, using his vast resources to take the next logical design steps to improve upon it, and then selling it as his own amazing invention. Elon isn't going to make the next breakthrough in space propulsion. He is only able to iterate, not innovate.

So, how did a computer programmer become a rocket engineer without a proper rocket-based education? It seems Elon has an eidetic memory and is able to memorize rocket textbooks in a very short period of time. He taught himself rocket science/engineering. Some may scoff at that, but there are plenty of self-taught folks in advanced fields. Hell, I would put my Photoshop knowledge against a lot of people who took graphic design in college. Not that Photoshop is an advanced field—I'm just saying there are other ways to learn complicated things.

From my research, I have every indication that Elon's Chief Engineer status is legit. Several of the rock stars of rocketry have said so. I found this very well-sourced Reddit post with quotes and references and links and I was unable to find anything refuting that information.

While Reddit bros love to praise their Elongated Muskrat as a God and it makes me a little barfy, the actual information in that post seems accurate. I would be happy to be proven wrong. But I was only able to find people saying he occasionally makes some silly design decisions and not that he is incapable of designing rockets.

I also watched Elon give a tour of SpaceX and some of it was just him going on endlessly about SpaceX minutia, but it seems clear he has an advanced understanding of pretty much every aspect of making rockets that goes into space.

To summarize, acclaimed experts have said he is as knowledgeable or even more knowledgeable about the design of rockets as they are. He is heavily involved in the design of SpaceX rockets and makes most of the final decisions. And, by all accounts, he makes the best and most affordable rockets available right now.

But it's kind of like the best-reviewed mop on Amazon. There are other mops that are almost as good. There are other people that can make good mops. And someone may make a better mop at some point. But the best-reviewed mop isn't hugely different from other mops. And it would not be the best-reviewed mop if people years ago had not innovated that mop technology.

Elon is not a special genius. He will not be innovating a warp drive. He just learned everything he needed to know that was already established and put that knowledge to use at SpaceX.

So, talented... not special.

Intelligence is hard to quantify and IQ tests are only useful in the extremes. A good memory does not make one a "genius" but it can often give people the false impression that a person is a genius. I think Elon has a narrow intelligence and is able to apply his good memory to certain things.

He is missing the artistry that is needed for genius.

Many people have higher IQs than Einstein. Many people can do the math that Einstein did. But being able to dream up the concepts and ideas that led to that math in the first place—that is where genius lies. The ability to start from scratch and make something new. That is what would make a Tony Stark.

STEAM over STEM.

The bottom line is... him being a talented rocket designer does not change any of the problems I have with him. Honestly, believing that was more of a cherry on top of all of my arguments.

But I don't want to spread inaccurate information. Misinformation might be the biggest problem we face right now. It is impeding us from solving all of the problems next in line. It's why we are unable to vaccinate the population. It's why we stagnate with Climate Change. It's why Trump was able to rise to power. People were told bad information, they believed it, and he was able to fan the flames of that misinformation into a detrimental 4 years.

While this information isn't nearly as dangerous, I would still prefer not to let it continue on.

I would like us to move forward using the truth to expose Elon.

Because the truth is all we need.

[raymondownn475]

What are the very best python programming on the net courses?

You get coding challenges of varying difficulty, but all of them are represented by a sport state of affairs. This gives you a visual illustration of what your code is doing. Trust me, there are few more enlightening experiences for a developer than discovering one line of code that solves a problem that took you 20 traces to resolve.

How can I learn Python in 7 days?

What you will learn 1. Use if else statement with loops and how to break, skip the loop.

2. Get acquainted with python types and its operators.

3. Create modules and packages.

4. Learn slicing, indexing and string methods.

5. Explore advanced concepts like collections, class and objects.

6. Learn dictionary operation and methods.

It’s straightforward to see progress by the lowering number of unread pages remaining. Kids can flip to any web page of a book, skip around, skim and read at their very own pace. In the United States, statistics present that nearly all youngsters who fall behind in studying by the third grade never catch up. On the opposite hand, a latest examine suggests that youngsters who grow up in houses with plenty of books can be as many as three years forward of their less bookish classmates. PyGame is a library of Python recordsdata created just for game improvement, a topic for youths who're excited about building games.

How Is Python Used?

Popular frameworks of Python like Django, Pandas, Keras, Flask, NumPy, and Scipy complement the agile methodology of software program development. Libraries provide easy accessibility to the wanted code, thus permitting the programmers to take care of their concentrate on the codes and aims. Python is a neater programming language as a result of it uses easy syntax, a pc time period for inputs. Thanks to a large neighborhood of users, Python is well supported with many course options, assets, code banks, and examples freely obtainable on-line.

“Learn Python the Hard Way” is the preferred method to get began with the Python programming language.

If you're in search of Python-centric tutorials and sources, then Pythonspot is one of the best place for you.

It’s the go-to apply web site for many STX Next builders, and there are several explanation why.

These interactive resources help kids stay motivated and may be lots of fun, but analysis means that the physical book still has a spot in training.

Python's dynamic type system also makes it use extra memory than some other programming languages, so it's not suited to memory-intensive applications. The Python virtual engine that runs Python code runs single-threaded, making concurrency another limitation of the programming language. Though Python is popular for some forms of sport development, its greater reminiscence and CPU usage limits its usage for high-quality 3D game development. That being said, laptop hardware is getting better and better, and the pace and reminiscence limitations of Python are getting less and fewer relevant making Python much more popular. From the beginning, we'll teach you tips on how to write Python code.

Our next Python course on the road is specifically designed to teach about Python in data evaluation and machine learning. And specifically developed for professionals who wish to make the most of python for knowledge science and machine learning. However, the elements of this course are quite efficient and powerful.

Finest Python Courses For Newbies

You are additionally expected to use Python and studying of this course to carry out primary data operations on information. This EdX course, provided by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is aimed toward people who haven't any prior expertise with programming. It makes use of Python programming as a way to introduce students to key concepts in laptop science and computational downside solving. The course is intense—14 to 16 hours per week over nine weeks—but prices nothing to take. However, on completion, you can obtain a certificates for $75, which can be redeemed for educational credit at Charter Oak State College in Connecticut.

You can also save with annual memberships for $299 per 12 months or $449 per year, relying on the membership degree you select. The Crash Course on Python holds a 4.8-star ranking and has over 300,000 previous enrollees. The course is at your individual pace, taking roughly 32 hours to complete, and exhibits students the method to create fundamental scripts and objects to automate small duties.

Taking this course will help you gain a stable data of Python programming and how to implement it for different knowledge analysis. Also, you will liable to get a certification of completion after finishing the course. With this course, you will be taught the basics of Python as well as the coding skills that you have to get a job in Python programming.

This course is rigorously deliberate with lecture videos, review problem movies, and train videos. Here, you will be guided and taught to put in writing the code, execute it, interpret the outcomes, and code-based outcomes. This course offers instant analysis of the issues, which makes it really useful for the scholars.

The Way To Implement Knowledge Structures And Algorithms In Python

It's versatile enough to construct apps for information analysis all the way in which to constructing robots with Raspberry Pi. Linear regression, a extensively used popular method for machine learning, knowledge science, and statistics. People who're aiming to be taught linear regression with Python should definitely try this course. If you want to study Python from zero and begin coding almost immediately, this course is a perfect swimsuit for you. It, initially, covers major things like knowledge types, variables, strings, enter, testing, and formatting. Then it starts to dig deeper into the logical argument section.

[glare0322]

h.i.v.e. head canons

just some character and relationship/friendship head canons :)

laura

- plays the piano and quite well. she doesn’t want to play much at h.i.v.e. because it reminds her of scotland and her family. after book eight, she plays a lot more frequently cause she really sees h.i.v.e. and the people there as her home.

- is not organized in anything but school and files on her computer. her brain runs a million miles an hour which leads to things getting messy fast.

- becomes a lot closer with raven after the greenhouse since they now have a bit of shared trauma especially in the fact anastasia favored to torture both of them.

- still sucks at driving even after h.i.v.e.

- after h.i.v.e. laura goes and lives with her family for a month back in scotland. they talk about h.i.v.e., shelby and her other friends, whats been happening here, and other general catching up topics. mary (mrs. brand) takes a special interest in meeting otto and laura reminds her mom every day not to make a big deal about it. yet she still counts down the days until she gets to meet her daughter’s boyfriend.

otto

- gets very frustrated when he can’t grasp certain concepts or master specific skills. he is known as the boy genius after all.

- went through an edgy phase while at h.i.v.e. not emo, but he would throw in more hurtful quips towards shelby during their usually playful spits and his jokes were just a little too dark. otto got a lot more detentions during this time and even the thought of trying to escape again reoccurred in his mind. he eventually noticed how wing was not a fan of it and slammed the breaks. of course everyone still makes fun of him for it.

- if you don’t think otto wouldn’t cry at the sight of his newborn child/ren then um...you’re wrong

- he looks back on his little prime minister scheme with pride and cringes terribly at it. on one hand, it was his beginnings and the device he made not only worked but was something like no other. and then he remembers how he made the prime minister moon everyone. when he was younger it was hilarious, now that he’s a tad older otto hates the fact he did that. there is just something immature and lacking taste about the whole thing.

- lives in sweaters/jumpers. i know this one is random, but something about them just suits otto.

wing

- has a gentle singing voice. he only sings lullabies to his kids and if one of his friends needs it. besides that wing does not sing often. it’s always a treat when he does.

- wing is really scared to be a dad. the thought of being like his father is incredibly scary to him.

- i really can not see wing becoming a villain but an antihero, now that i can definitely see. his methods are immoral in the sense he is still technically a murder, but he only goes after truly evil corporations. like human trafficking kind of evil.

- he teaches his kid/s self-defense and martial arts.

- trilingual and speaks english, japanese, and mandarin. the first two are canon to the story but i feel like his parents probably would have taught him at least some mandarin.

shelby

- shelby hated how laura would stay up for hours in the night tapping away on her computer. however when she moved out, it seemed weird not to fall asleep to the sound of a typing keyboard.

- if there is a h.i.v.e. gymnastics team/program (since there is a water polo team) shelby would totally do it. she waves to her friends before her round and even sometimes blows a kiss to her supportive boyfriend who is always there to see her.

- after h.i.v.e. she pursues gymnastics professionally. it provides the same wealth she was used to back with her parents, she likes to do it, but most importantly it’s an amazing cover up for why she’s traveling so many places around the world. (to steal of course) it also funds these trips and gives her, and wing for that matter, a great public image. plus she likes the spotlight a bit.

- i’ve said this before but shelby eventually gets lessons from raven. i just love this idea with my whole heart especially because how different these two are.

- had a bit of affluenza before h.i.v.e. which played into her desire for stealing diamonds along with her crappy parents. (my theory on shelb’s parents is right here)

laura and otto

- otto adores laura’s piano playing. there is something peaceful about it to him which he finds really comforting.

- they go to university together in scotland and help each other get through it. the two live in an apartment together go to school then see each other after classes at home.

- laura has some zero ptsd and it occasionally effects her relationship with otto in the sense she gets flashbacks and is genuinely scared. otto completely understands this though and is super patient with her. obviously it bothers him since he’s not zero, but he understands why she’s experiencing this and loves her enough to put his annoyance aside for her.

- these two wanted their kids’ names to be after someone. so if they would ever have a daughter her name would be lucy and the middle name of their son would be wing. laura wanted to include shelby but it just didn’t fit anywhere.

- if otto can’t find a shirt, then laura is wearing it. she wears his clothes super frequently and he won’t complain. she looks cute :,)

laura and shelby

- shelby likes things to look pretty, so she ends up being the one that keeps their room tidy, makes the beds, and other cleanly stuff like that. especially when they live together outside of h.i.v.e. she does the dishes pretty often, keeps their room looking nice, and stocks their fridge. laura is messy, but it doesn’t effect her much cause shelbs takes care of it. she doesn’t mind and only teases laura when people are over to embarrass her (all in good fun).

- laura doesn’t like girly things (we been knew). shelby tried for a while to get her into these things and a few stick on: nail polish, very light make up, and shopping. but never and i mean never would shelby make laura do something she didn’t want to. of course laura introduces shelby to her more geeky/nerdy stuff. they watch superhero shows together, shelbs has a black widow t-shirt in her closet now, and even some basic hacking codes.

- laura didn’t like shelby at first not only because of her nasty personality, but because she was a lot like the girls who would talk about laura behind her back.

- basically canon, but shelby was the number one ottra shipper. she had been rooting for them since day one of h.i.v.e. laura comes to her for advice with otto and shelby consoles her when lucy and otto get together. they both were disappointed the two didn’t get together.

- laura is really good at baking and shelby asks her once to help her bake something for wing. (she was really trying y’all) long story short, even laura couldn’t help shelby’s terrible baking skills and they set off the fire alarms in their apartment along with the sprinklers.

wing and otto

- otto wanted to do one of wing’s workouts despite his best friends many warnings it would be rough. it was safe to say otto underestimated the intensity of the workout.

- oh god the scene where these two will eventually leave each other to go move on past h.i.v.e. is just absolutely gut wrenching. they both acknowledge how the other had such an influence on their lives and hope to see them prosper in life. honestly this is like a rare moment where i can see wing legitimately crying.

- so we all know how wing has half the overlord protocol necklace (he has yang) if shelby doesn’t get the yin half then otto should because he kinda fits the yin meaning and is best bros with wing.

- for wing’s “bachelor party” they honestly just get all the guys from h.i.v.e. together and hang out for a couple hours. after, however, he and otto go out and go have some fun doing morally gray criminal activity.

- they still sometimes speak in japanese to each other on missions and stuff or if they need to plan something without anyone else knowing.

shelby and wing

- they move permanently to america, but visit china and japan quite frequently.

- one of the first things shelby does after she and wing get out of h.i.v.e. is watch a bunch of disney movies and american movie classics so he can understand the pop culture references she has been making for the past five years.

- i totally think shelby gets the other half over otto, or at least a replica. there’s kinda set up for this as well, the other half (yin) is known as the feminine half.

- if they would ever have a daughter her name would be mei or raven.

- she always knows exactly what to get him as a gift or even just in general. she’s observant and can pick up on what he needs before he does. wing has mentioned before shelby is a little...less predictable but he tries his hardest and oh my goodness does shelby appreciate his efforts. of course it irritates her, but she knows her slightly emotionally-unavailable boyfriend is trying an insane amount to sort through her emotions right.

shelby and otto

- they totally bond over how wing is great, but have an urge to smother him in his sleep because of the obnoxiously loud snoring

- menaces to the public when these two are together. i couldn’t even begin to tell you all the crafty things that would conspire between these two. pranking teachers, seeing who can steal the answers first, racing in stealth or in fitness classes. (wing beats both of them in combat/fitness so their efforts are often pointless)

- when they first came to h.i.v.e. shelby was taller than otto, by quite a margin too. she teased him into another galaxy about it. so when the day came that otto was officially taller than her, she mourned the countless jokes that could no longer be made.

- asks a lot of those “wait who logically thought to make butter?” questions. they also argue whether these people were geniuses or a new level of stupid. (seriously who thought to mix together milk until it gets to a solid consistency and then eat it?)

- they have to live together for one month after h.i.v.e. in the beginning, they like wanted to choke each other, but by the end of the month they were upset to not live with each other any more. (fic is dropping soon 🙈)

wing and laura

- after the greenhouse incident, laura went to wing asking him to teach her some martial arts since she felt really weak physically while in there. he doesn’t initially think it’s the best idea, but laura convinces him it will be okay.

- they’re a lot better friends then people would initially think. she hugged him like twice in the first book alone and is grateful for him saving her life. laura and wing seem like the two that just relax with each other. no shenanigans, no combat, honestly just vibing. they drink tea and watch murder mystery shows while catching up on the latest things and theorizing about the show.

- the entire gang goes to tokyo all together at one point in their life. laura and wing go to all the historical places in the city and chat about them for hours.

- they go on hikes together. that’s it. i’m right and you know it.

- i always imagined at least once wing decided to try and take the high road instead of cheating by asking laura to tutor him. it worked pretty well for him and now whenever he needs help with work, he just goes to laura and they work through it together.

[wanderingsofal]

Can you tell me (in general, not asking for specifics) what you do for your job and how fulfilling it is other than current uncertainty? I've never had a career, only part time work but I'm 30 and I have no idea "what I want to be when I grow up". Plus the only jobs I can ever think of as possibilities are retail, which are ಠ︵ಠ. I'm just looking for some insight from people I admire to get some direction. (If this is too personal a question I understand, so please dont feel pressured to reply.)

Hi! Thanks for asking! I’ll try to answer, though I’m not sure how helpful I can be - my career has been a series of just sort of ‘falling into it’ situations that led me to a job I honestly love, even with all the uncertainty.

My current position is pretty new for my agency. Technically, I’m an analyst. There’s several thousands of these sorts of positions if you’re looking at the job title, however they aren’t all the same. Most will involve some sort of data analysis/data science, but that’s where the similarities end. 

For mine, I’m on a tech team for my agency, where we oversee the modernization of its programs and practices. As in, we upgraded the old MS DOS (a code language widely used in the 70s) systems into more modern languages with more capability. As someone who came from “the field” I oversee some of these projects as a subject matter expert, giving advice and guidance to the developers and making decisions on what features to add into the finished program. I also build reports on the data from our programs - anywhere from reports that go to our Fraud division to try and root out people who are taking advantage of new immigrants, to scheduling reports sent to upper management to show how well our field offices are doing in getting to all of our applicants in a timely manner. 

But the best part, the part I really really love, is that I also get to build some of these programs. From smaller local programs utilizing Microsoft Access, to large-scale web applications using more advanced coding languages. There’s just something about being able to sit down and sketch out what a program will look like, then see it taking shape under your fingers. I realize this will sound odd to a lot of people, but there’s a sort of high in building a button, then clicking on it, and watching your program do exactly what you told it to. 

I love working with code. It’s a different sort of ‘creation’ to writing or drawing, but it’s creation just the same. It’s taking a bunch of letters and symbols and lining them up exactly right so that something happens just when you want it to. It’s seeing something in your head, and then making that vision come to life. Code is logical. There is no grey area in code. There is just what works, and what doesn’t. And if your code doesn’t work, then you have to find out what’s wrong. There’s very little you can’t do with coding (inside of a computer at least). The only real limit is your imagination. 

Oh, I’ll complain (and have on here a few times) about losing commas or parenthesis, and spending hours looking for that one lost quotation mark. That’s an aspect of it too, yes. But even the mundane and sometimes tedious tasks are worth it when I can turn in a finished website that I made, and know it will be useful to someone. 

It’s worth it to note here that I do not have a Computer Sciences degree. I have a degree in Japanese. I taught myself nearly everything I know about coding, up until about a year ago when I started taking a class on a newer coding language so I could use it at work. Most code development uses an astonishing amount of google. I’ve heard a lot of senior developers say that to get good at coding, all you really need to do is know how to use google effectively.  

Before this job I had essentially the same job title, but I spent most of my time doing scheduling for interviews, and some minimal data analysis on what we needed to do to keep up quality service to our applicants. The job itself wasn’t fulfilling really - it was long hours, and pretty stressful due to the large workload and the fact that I was hired at a really bad time when the rest of the team had quit. But it was worth it because I was working to schedule asylum interviews, meaning I was helping people who desperately needed it. I likely wouldn’t have left that job if this exact position I’m now in hadn’t come up. 

And before that, my first “real job” outside of the Peace Corps, I was an office assistant. I answered email inquiries, did file management, and basic paperwork. It was boring. There was absolutely no mental challenge. But I found ways to do things I was more interested in. I modernized our spreadsheets and found better technical solutions to our case tracking issues. I was usually bored out of my mind, but there’s something to be said for an honest eight hour day with no threat of working late or being forced to come in early, and where you don’t take your work home with you. It wasn’t a good fit for me, but it was a great fit for some others I knew. 

I think the best advice I can give is just to start somewhere. Even if you have to take a less exciting job right off the bat. Everyone has to start in the less exciting jobs usually. But pick a company or an agency you want to work for, and get into an entry-level position. As you learn about the company, you’ll see more of the positions they offer, and figure out what you want to try to be. Then, if you have good supervisors, they’ll help you get there. That’s what the “boring” entry-level jobs are for - to take in new talent, and let them experience what life at the company is like while still doing necessary work. The good supervisors for those positions will be all about helping you grow your career and finding what path you want to take. 

From there, find the good people and follow them. That’s what truly makes a job good or bad, I’ve found. If the people you work with are good and honest and kind, then your job will be enjoyable. If the people you work with are mean or catty or closed-minded, it makes the job that much worse and even a dream job will become terrible in the long run. 

[dbgidehradun]

Which are the best Engineering Branches to Study at Present Time?

In India, the Bachelor of Technology is an engineering course awarded by the Indian Council of Technical Education (ICTE), one of the most esteemed educational institutions in the country. Basically, B. Tech is the course through which you can turn into an engineer. The Bachelor in Technology, also known as "B.Tech," is furthermore referred to in numerous establishments as the Bachelor of Engineering (BE), although there are considerable differences in the degree provided. While the Bachelor of Technology focuses on different uses of specialized subjects, the Bachelor of Engineering courses focuses on the center zones of the individual specialized subjects. Moreover, B.Tech is one of the most trusted, demanded, and lucrative courses among the students after they complete their higher secondary education.

Being such a popular stream among the students engineering is ever-evolving, and therefore now there are like a plethora of disciplines of engineering available among the students. Those many varieties often confuse students, and that sometimes leads to them selecting the wrong electives. With these many options available still, there are a few evergreen branches of engineering with which a student can never go wrong with, these popular and high in demand branches include-

Computer Science Engineering

With the pace of digitization in India, one can estimate the demand and the requirement of computer engineers. As everything now demands technology and hence the computers and the related systems, the demand for software engineers is never going to decrease in the near future. Therefore one who has an interest in programming, Computers, System Administration, and desire to build a lucrative career in the related field can without any doubt go for the Computer Engineering stream.

Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering is one of the oldest and the most popular engineering stream in India. One can observe how development happens on the roads of India. Civil engineering is an innovator in making occupations for specialized hopefuls through esteemed assignments in different fields. In 2010, the average pay for civil engineers was about 300k every year. The business is relied upon to develop by 21 percent by 2021, proposing that a Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering is a decent possibility for those looking for a suitable qualification in the field. Civil Engineers oversee a wide range of foundation ventures, including street development, street management, and the modernization of embankments and dams.

Electrical/Electronics Engineering

In contradiction to civil engineering, electrical engineering is one of the most distinct, advanced, and newer fields of engineering. With an estimated growth rate of 9%, the job prospects for electrical engineers are excellent. Regarded as one of the most-sought-after B. Tech branches, electrical engineering deals with the concepts associated with electricity and electric machinery. Some of the topics included during the four-year course involve control theory, basics of electromagnetism, safety management, fundamentals of electronics, and so on.

Mechanical Engineering 

One of the members of the core branch of engineering Mechanical Engineering is also a popular course among the aspirants. As mechanical engineers, required by almost every field and play a key role, in the sectors and industries including biotechnology, computers, electronics, energy conversion, robotics, automotive, aerospace, micro electro-mechanical systems, and automation, and manufacturing. And therefore, this stream of engineering always stays in demand, and simultaneously, the job prospects after graduation are excellent, and thus this stream is also evergreen.

Automobile Engineering 

Although not that common, this technical branch of engineering is also popular among the students who are involved and are interested in automobiles and think about building a career in it. Automobile Engineering is all about creating thus designing, manufacture, and operation of vehicles like buses, cars, trucks, and other vehicles, including their various internal parts. It is considered as a mixture of Mechanical, Electrical, and Material Sciences.

Agricultural Engineering 

It is a branch of engineering among the students inclined towards agriculture and its related fields which assist in planning and supervising to increase agricultural production. In this, the students are prepared and taught in a manner that they could become competent professionals who can recommend the best ways to optimize the resources and makes the process smoother in the agricultural field. Engineering empowers people to be innovative by utilizing science and mathematics to plan and work a wide range of structures, machines, systems, and processes. Students wishing to contemplate engineering at the best engineering college will find that it is a growing field. Students with a keen interest in mathematics and science should acknowledge engineering as their preferred subject to build a lucrative and prosperous future as well as a career. As per the relevant branches, the above mentioned are a few most popular branches rest you can decide it as per your forte. Does change and research work attract you? Are logic and analytics your essential points? Do you always think about machines and that where you find solace? Think, research, analyze, and then select the one which best fits your abilities and aspirations.

For admission to the best engineering college in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Visit: https://dbgidoon.ac.in

[olivejarsimmer]

My Tweaked NSB Challenge Masterlist

So as I’ve been waiting to get my laptop fixed to play The Sims again, I’ve been wanting to play the Not So Berry challenge really badly. I’ve played it through a few times before, but every time I had a hard time getting into it because I couldn’t get into the story behind my sims’ family. So I decided to make a whole compiled and updated list with both the original challenge, the extended challenge, and a few more generations so it’s up to date with all the current expansions and game packs that are out right now. I will also continue to update the masterlist as more content comes out!

If you decide to use the generations I created, (Anything that is in bold is my own personal writing to tailor each generation to my own personal gameplay) tag it with #olivejarsimmer and I’ll do my best to like every single one! 

Sidenote: I also ran out of colors to use, so I started doing “color palettes” that you can use only a select few colors besides just one color.

Sidenote #2: I DID NOT CREATE THIS CHALLENGE. THIS POST IS ONLY FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES AND ALL CREDIT BESIDES MY OWN ADDED GENERATIONS GOES TO THE ORIGINAL CREATORS...

That all being said, happy simming ;)

Generation One: Silver and Gold

You woke up one day in Strangerville with no recollection of what has happened to you -- where you come from, who you are, what you’re doing there. All you know is that the names on your license and other personal files doesn’t match up with the one memory you have left of your true identity; your real name. You assume this is for some important reason that you need to find out. You decide to join the military to try and poke around and find out more information, only to get sucked into the mystery of Strangerville. You also gain a distrust for most federal-ran things, so you try your best to live off the land anyway that you can and would rather not have too many flashy things.

Traits: Paranoid, Kleptomaniac, Good

Aspiration: Strangerville Mystery

Career: Military

Rules:

Master military career & complete Strangerville Mystery aspiration

Buy beehive & maintain small garden & only have a small one-floor house -- the smaller the better!

Master logic, athletic, & gardening skill

Have one-night stand while trying to get Strangerville info that results in your only child.

Generation Two: Mint

You’re a mischievous scientist that really loves the color mint. You’re career driven but still make time for silly pranks and outings with your closest friends. You love luxury and want the best for yourself and your family.

(My take: You’ve grown up surrounded by the mystery of both your parent’s real identity and the truth behind the town you grew up in as a child, something about it consumed you. You decided that -- even with your natural mischievous behavior -- you wanted to become a scientist to make sure what happened in Strangerville never happens again...not to mention your fascination with otherworldly things that can be explained through science. You also try to live a big, luxurious life due to not having much as a child.)

Traits: Vegetarian, Jealous, Materialistic Aspiration: Chief of Mischief Career: Scientist

Rules:

Master scientist career and complete Chief of Mischief aspiration

Master mischief and logic skills

Complete elements collection

Generation Three: Rose

You had everything you desired as a child but you were always longing for more. As an adult you have a hard time committing to relationships as you’re so focused on your career. If we had a workaholic trait in The Sims 4 you would have it. You have absolutely no maternal instincts whatsoever but you still love your child with all your heart.

Traits: Hot Headed, Snob, Romantic Aspiration: Serial Romantic Career: Politician

Rules:

Have only one child

Master the politician career and complete Serial Romantic aspiration

Master charisma skill

Leave someone at the alter (an interaction available during a wedding)

Get married for the first time as an elder

Generation Four: Yellow

Growing up you never had a close relationship with your mother and spent the majority of your time alone in your room obsessing over space. You just really love space. You’ll do whatever it takes to get to Sixam no matter the cost.

Traits: Clumsy, Ambitious, Loner Aspiration: Nerd Brain Career: Astronaut

Rules

Master rocket science and handiness skill

Master astronaut career and complete Nerd Brain aspiration

Must build a rocket ship and visit Sixam

Enter the secret lot in Oasis Springs (requiring max handiness)

Never have any close friends or relationships other than grandparent from Generation 1 until the grandparent dies

Generation Five: Grey

You always felt that you were different. While the rest of your family was busy messing around in the lab, you just wanted to be outside playing basketball. You’re very good at sports and you dream of becoming a professional athlete. To make up for your nonexistent relationship with your parents you want to be there for your own children as much as possible. Oh, and you love to sing.

Traits: Active, Slob, Music Lover Aspiration: Bodybuilder Career: Athlete

Rules

Master singing, parenting, and athletic skills

Master athlete career and complete Bodybuilder aspiration

Have three failed relationships before finding spouse, marry a neat Sim

Be good friends with all of your children

Have family movie night with your spouse and children every Sunday

Generation Six: Plum

You’ve always been good at anything you tried. It’s hard to choose a career, so why not try a few? You work as a doctor for much of your life, but as an adult realize that your true dream is to become a professional dancer. You quit your job and join the entertainer career. Basically: you’re an indecisive oddball.

Traits: Genius, Noncommittal, Dance Machine Aspiration: Renaissance Sim Career: Fast Food, Doctor, Entertainer

Rules

Master dance and two other skills of your choosing, achieve at least level eight in six skills

Complete Renaissance Sim aspiration

Get divorced and then later remarried to the same Sim

Must live in at least three different worlds over the course of your life

Generation Seven: Orange

You’re the black sheep of your family (but with orange hair) and you were raised in a hectic household. You’ve always wanted to cause mayhem, but you’re just really bad at being evil. You enjoy breaking into your neighbors’ houses and eating their food. You really love baking and spend the majority of your spare time eating sweets.

Traits: Evil, Self-Assured, Glutton Aspiration: Public Enemy Career: Criminal

Rules

Master baking and charisma skills

Master criminal career and complete Public Enemy aspiration

Must live in a ‘needs TLC’ apartment for entire young adult life

Have twins, but only those two children (you may cheat for this)

Insist on being evil (claim to be criminal mastermind) but nobody believes you, not even your own children

Generation Eight: Pink

You grew up poor and are living paycheck to paycheck working in the business career just as your parents did. You long to write romance novels but are too afraid to quit your steady job to follow your dreams. You’re very practical and you know the chances of making it as a writer are slim, so you stay working at your nine to five. As an adult you finally decide to pursue your dreams. You’re a hopeless romantic, but your unflirty nature makes it nearly impossible to find love.

Traits: Neat, Unflirty, Creative Aspiration: Best Selling Author Career: Business

Rules

Complete postcard collection

Master writing and wellness skills

Complete Best Selling Author aspiration

Have a well-maintained garden

Quit day job as an adult to pursue dreams (mid-life crisis much?)

Generation Nine: Peach

Your mother always taught her to follow her dreams. You’ve always wanted to be a detective. You’ve always wanted to be a comedian. Well dang it, you can do both! Detective by day, comedian by night, you can do anything you set your mind to.

Traits: Foodie, Lazy, Goofball Aspiration: Joke Star Career: Detective

Rules

Marry a co-worker

Must play an instrument

Master gourmet cooking and comedy skills

Master detective career

Must live in a different world than the one he/she was raised

Generation Ten: Green

You were caught hacking by a major tech company that then offered you a position in their firm. You know Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds? That’s you. You’re dedicated to your work, but that doesn’t stop you from going out and having a good time. You’re the kind of person that will be at a party at 3am and then at work at 6am.

Traits: Squeamish, Geek, Cheerful Aspiration: Computer Whiz Career: Tech Guru

Rules

Master mixology, video gaming, and programming skills

Master tech guru career and complete Computer Whiz aspiration

Must accept every invitation to parties/outings with your friends

Have at least five good friends and five enemies

Generation Eleven: Blue

You have the perfect life. White picket fence, loving spouse, beautiful children. But why do you still want more? You have a one time secret affair and will regret it for the rest of your life. Afterward you pour your soul into raising your children and fixing your marriage. You never admit the affair to anyone and dedicate your life to being the perfect mother.

Traits: Gloomy, Perfectionist, Family Oriented Aspiration: Super Parent Career: Critic

Rules

Adopt at least one child

Master the photography, cooking, and parenting skills

Master critic career and complete Super Parent aspiration

Must marry high school sweetheart and stay with them until you die

Have a one time secret affair

Generation Twelve: Crimson

The overprotectiveness of your parents made you want to wander a lot and never settle. You’re still living with them while enjoying their money to go on your own escapades through the jungle.

Traits: Loves Outdoors, Snob, Materialistic Aspiration: Jungle Explorer (teen to YA) / Archaeologist (Adult to Elder) Career: Museum/Antique shop owner

Rules:

Master the selvadoradian culture and archeology skills

Must complete Jungle explorer aspiration ‘till adult lifestage and then change it to Archeaologist aspiration (finish from adult to elder)

Move out of your parents house only when adult

Must not follow a career. Can only gain money with the antique store/museum selling your explorer findings

Must own at least one relic

Generation Thirteen: Snow

Growing up in a museum/antique shop environment filled with old mystic relics and other things like that made you very interested in the supernatural. During your teenage years you met someone who claims they’re a vampire and will turn you once you’re old enough (twilight much?!). When you’re finally a young adult, you move in with that vampire, start a romance and become a vampire as well.

Traits: Gloomy, Insane, Outgoing Aspiration: Master Vampire (before pregnancy) / Good Vampire (after) Career: Secret Agent

Rules:

Master the secret agent career

Master the pipe organ and vampire lore skills

Must complete both aspirations

The hability to walk during the day is not allowed

Have only one child

Once the child is a young adult, must cure vampirism or burn in the sun (both parents)

Generation Fourteen: Teal

Your parents spent the days locked inside their catacombs and only came out during the night, so pets were your closest friends. You learned to love and nurture them very soon in your life and want to dedicate yourself to their medical care.

Traits: Cat lover, Dog lover, Childish Aspiration: Friend of the Animals Career: Veterinarian

Rules:

Complete the friend of the animals aspiration

Must move out once becomes into a YA

Master the veterinarian skill

Own a 5 star vet clinic

Must own a vet clinic as only job

Own at least 3 pets

Generation Fifteen: Honey

Much like your parents, you learned to love the animals around you and decide to dedicate your career to that, only not as much as one of your parents did ‘cause there should always be some time left for bowling.

Traits: Insider, Outgoing, Hates Children Aspiration: Leader of the Pack Career: Store owner (can only earn  money with a store that only sells stuff for pets)

Rules:

Create a Bowling group for your friends and one for your enemies

Must have at least one pet that’s the son/daughter from the pets of the past generation

Master the pet training and bowling skill

Collect all feathers

Must live in the same town as the parents

Generation Sixteen: Coral

The feeling that you never got love from one of your parents always made you go to food as a coping mechanism, and since the “make money with your own business” thing is practically part of the family blood, passion for food makes you want to open your own restaurant

Traits: Glutton, Hot-Headed, Noncommittal Aspiration: Master Chef Career: Own a restaurant

Rules:

Eat all foods from festival stands at least once

Must get a 5 star restaurant

Must live in San Myshuno

Master the master chef aspiration

Master the cooking, gourmet cooking and baking skills

Can’t have a life long partnet and must be single when an elder

Generation Seventeen: Charcoal

You’re a dreamer trying to make it in the big city and you love it. You know what you’re capable of and believe that success runs in your veins, so you really dedicate yourself to learn everything you can while in school. You hope to make a living by selling your own art and eventually turning into a big fish.

Traits: Ambitious, Perfectionist, Art Lover Aspiration: City Native Career: Painter + Own an art gallery

Rules:

Must live in a shabby apartment ‘till you make enough money to move to a penthouse

Master the mixology, photography, and painting skills

Be an excellent student

Work as a barista when a teen

Complete the city native aspiration

Master the painter career

Generation Eighteen: Lime

You’re breaking a pattern and reconecting to nature. You found a house outside of the big city and is moving there with nothing but the clothes on your body.

Traits: Loves the Outdoors, Kleptomaniac, Loner Aspiration: Freelance Botanist / Angling Ace / The Curator and Outdoor Enthusiast Career: None

Rules:

You can only make money by selling collectibles, the things from your garden or things you stole

Cannot own a tv, computer, tablet or anything like that

Master the gardening, wellness, herbalisim and handiness skills

Master all the aspirations (because this is such a long list, you may purchase the extender of life with reward points)

Can only have a child ten (or less) days before turning into an elder

Turn into a plantsim at some point

Generation Nineteen: Emerald

When you find out that your mom/dad made a choice by living a simple life you become obsessed with power. Your goal in life is to be rich and own everything you didn’t have access to as a child, no matter what it takes.

Traits: Kleptomaniac, Materialistic, Snob Aspiration: Fabulously Wealthy / Mansion Baron Career: Like I said before, you’d do anything to have the fabulous wealthy life you dream of, so everything goes (aka the black widow gen)

Rules:

Must complete both the fabulously wealthy and mansion baron aspirations

Marry a rich sim and have at least one child, then divorce or get rid of the husband/wife

Master the charisma, wellness and logic skill

The mansion must have a room dedicated to wellness and spa equipment

Generation Twenty: Primary Colors (red, blue, yellow)

You grew up with only one biological parent all your life, but that never set you back in the world. In fact, with your wealthy upbringing, you’ve naturally been two steps ahead of the rest of the world. You’ve always been in the spotlight because of your family’s wealth -- and your parent ate that up by forcing you into that role and heavily encouraging you to take up acting, social media, and film making. So naturally you have this built up pressure to be at the top of the game with fame -- but in all reality you have just a deep love for acting and direction and filmmaking.

Traits: Ambitious, Creative, Snob

Aspiration: Fame (??? I don’t have get famous yet lol)

Career: Acting Career

Rules:

Master acting career & aspiration

Master photography, film making, & writing skills

You must master fame aspiration before parent dies

Live in same house all of life

Marry 4 times throughout life and have at least one child from each marriage

[theonlyjelly-iwillput-inmybelly]

Light Sides, Dark Sides, and Instincts Theory

So I’ve seen a ton of really awesome theories floating around after the introduction of our first Dark Side, the Snake Boi, Driving-a-Lemon, 1-800-Lemon-Law, whatever you want to call him. I’ve seen a TON of theories that Virgil was once a dark side who ‘saw the light’, if you will. These theories also say that he has had a past with Deceit because Virgil was once a Dark Side. These theories are so cool and I’d love it if that were the case! But I’d like to offer you my own theory on the taxonomy of the sides: Virgil is neither a light side or a dark side. Instead, he is his own category: Instinct.

So, the sides we have now are Logic (Logan) , Morality (Patton), Creativity (Roman), Anxiety (Virgil), and Deceit (???). Before I get into why Virgil is his own category, let me try to define what I believe Dark Sides and Light Sides are.

What the fuck is a Light Side and what the fuck constitutes it?: The Light Sides are the parts of Thomas and hopefully us all that have been instilled in us by societal norms as ‘good’. These are traits that are learned and are generally seen as being good/beneficial to possess. Of the five sides, I believe that Logan, Patton, and Roman fall into this category.

Why Logan?: While it can be argued that Logic isn’t inherently good or bad, I believe that in Thomas’s case it is good because it is employed to further Thomas’s education/help keep him alive. Logan is, I believe, closely linked to the fight-or-flight response. My view on the manner is that Virgil, as the canonical fight-or-flight response, is the will to survive, the will to fight and or flight while Logan is the means of doing that. Virgil is the raw material for survival and Logan is the program or processor that makes survival, or whatever task that is necessary for survival and or happiness (these things often go hand in hand) happen. He helps Thomas solves his problems. But the most important factor as to why I categorize him as a light side is the fact that he was learned. 

Most babies do not come straight outta the womb with logical thought; there’s an app for that! We call it school. Logan is common sense. If you’ve spent any amount of time around newborns, you know that nothing really logical is going on in that head. Sorry baby lovers. You have to teach them everything. When you do that, you’re instilling in them logic! While humans have the capacity to be some of the most advanced creatures on this planet in terms of brainpower, that capacity is not full from birth. Logical thought is not born, it is taught. People have to go through years of training in order to gain logical thought and common sense; some still fail to do that. 

Why Patton?: Patton represents Morality, and if you encounter an infant, oftentimes they possess no or a very slight sense of right and wrong. Again, you have to teach babies everything (’BUT DAAD WHY IS IT BAD TO PUNCH THAT MEANER???). Children, I believe, aren’t exactly born with a sense of right and wrong in them. Sure, they know eventually not to touch hot things (even then they have to be reminded), but that is because that shit hurts. That’s another response. In Patton’s sense, right and wrong is in terms of morals; for example, it is generally accepted that is is wrong to kill, but good to treat others with respect. While hopefully the offspring you encounter aren’t plotting murder, children do not know this upon birth. This is not instinctual. It is instilled in them by the lessons of society. They are taught what is right and wrong. Kindergarten or its equivalent is basically ‘ alright fuckers this is what is right and wrong’ school. We are taught this information on repeat for our entire lives that it seems instinctual, or second nature, but if we detach ourselves from our views and think critically, we can see that we have been thoroughly jaPED. In the case of Patton and Thomas, Patton is used to steer Thomas along the mapped out ‘good path’ of society; Patton is the one who tells Thomas not to lie, and to be nice and all of that. His job is to be good, to do the societal right.

Why Roman?: While many argue that we are born with innate talents (I have been told many times that I have an innate talent for writing), the level of creativity seen in Thomas is most definitely not from birth, but taught. Sure, people might possess certain inclinations for certain creative outlets, but holy shit do they have to work and work and be taught and be taught in order to reach mastery. You think William Shakespeare came straight outta womb-ton being able to write like he did? Hell to the no my dude. Certain types of creativity are also praised or shot down based upon societal standards: (See: ‘Don’t Hug me I’m Scared”). Creativity is taught to most in some form; only some of those students retain the talent and work to nurture it. In Thomas, Creativity is good because he uses his creative whimsy for good things like acting, singing, and writing, and not bad things like fighting and killing. So in the case of Tomothy, Creativity is good!

Conclusions: Logan, Patton, and Roman are Light Sides because they are taught facets that are used to the benefit of Thomas and they keep him in society’s good books. 

What the fuck is a Dark Side and what the fuck constitutes it?: As of now, the singular Dark Side is the part of Thomas instilled in him by societal norms as ‘bad’. These are traits that are learned and are generally seen as being bad/detrimental to posses. Of the five sides, I believe that Deceit falls into this category.

Why Deceit?: (Bitch have you seen him how can he not be a dark side???)  Deceit is at his bare minimum Thomas’s desire to lie and his ability to dupe. Going back to Morality’s argument, children are not born with a sense of right and wrong. They are born with a sense of hunger and scream. The babies I have encountered don’t understand why it is wrong to punch my arm when I hold them, and the slightly older ones don’t entirely grasp the whole ‘lying is wrong’ thing. While I don’t believe there are courses in schools entitled “How to Lie”, children are nonetheless taught about lying. They may learn it through parents, older relatives, school, the media, whatever. It is all around us, and hard to avoid.’Monkey see, monkey do’, if you will. Maybe they see an older sibling escape punishment for eating mom’s chocolate by saying that the dog ate it and placing the wrapper near the dog bowl prior to confrontation (bad analogy, I know). They then might try to lie to escape punishment as well. It is learned that lying is a possibility, but, depending upon the environment, is generally shot down as being bad because of the societal mandate that lying is wrong. Liars are made, not born.

Conclusions: Deceit is a Dark Side because he embodies a socially deemed wrong trait that is learned and not instinctual. Also, it’s canon that he’s a dark side because the others said so (blows gently raspberry). 

Light Side and Dark Side Conclusions And Shit: The main thing I am trying to get across here is that these four sides all, in my opinion, largely embody traits that are not instilled in humans from birth. While it may not seem like it at times, these traits are pretty much taught to us and drilled in our heads at a very young age (and yes, this includes Thomas!).  

AND NOW, INSTINCT

What the fuck is an instinct, and what constitutes it?: According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, instinct is “an innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli”. What I translate that load of flim flam into is a metaphor; they’re a set of codes and instruction in humans that is extremely hard to eradicate and ignore. The instinct people are most familiar with is the survival instinct, which is exactly as it sounds. An instinct side, to me, embodies a trait that is not taught and cannot be removed. Of the five sides, I believe that Virgil falls into this category.

Why Virgil?: Anxiety, as has been canonically stated, is essentially the flight-or-fight response that is instilled in Thomas and hopefully all humans (if not natural selection has got its kiss for you idk what to tell you #bye); true, he encompasses more than that, but for the most part he is a response, one that is a bit heightened in Thomas because, unfortunately, he suffers from an anxiety disorder.  From birth, humans have some form of the fight or flight response; the survival instinct is innate, and shows itself in babies by how they cry at scary things and Scream for the food (idk babies well sorry). 

There is, in my view, nothing inherently good or bad about the survival instinct; while no one gives you a sticker for having it, no one really punishes you either. It’s just something everyone has. It’s the program that is burned onto computer chips, it’s Cortana on Windows 10 (because damn how you remove that bitch). It just is. It’s instinct. No one teaches you how your endocrine system system and brain work together to get you out of dangerous situations; I certainly haven’t seen any power-points on it (’Slide One: How to create adrenaline: step one, tell your adrenals to pay their damn rent...”) Because it’s just natural! You hear a noise that’s spooky and unexpected? Bitch, you probably gonna jump! You ever tried to be a pedestrian in any major city? Gurl, you’re alive because your bitch ass endocrine system and fight or flight response told your ass to run when that car come hurtling at you. Dog snapping at you? You become that ninja because you don’t want to get hurt, because your fight or flight response is telling your ass to fly like the wind, Bullseye! For me at least, all thought and feeling (except fear) escapes me whenever I’m in a life threatening situation; it’s just mind numbing action. That is largely what I think Virgil is, with some added sass and other stuff. For the most part, his core function is not taught. It is not learned. It is born. 

Conclusions: Virgil is neither a Light Side or a Dark Side because he is an innate instinct. Virgil, I believe is both bad and good in equal amounts that they eventually cancel each other out. he is good in that he aims to protect Thomas, and he is bad because holy fuck anxiety disorders suck. He’s lumped together with the light sides I believe because he a) acts for a good reason in Thomas and b) makes for good content. My point is, because he is not taught, he is his own category. 

DISCLAIMER: This is all just my opinion, my take on the matter. I also know nothing, and am probably seeing things where there is nothing. Again, I love seeing how active the fandom is and how many theories are being put out there; I lap up the ‘Virgil is/was a dark side’ theories. This is just me saying “That’s so cool, dude! Want to hear what my headcanon is?’ I’m not trying to say that anyone is wrong here. I’m not trying to say that I’m right. This is just a neat idea that popped up in my head! I’d love to hear what you guys think of this. (Read: please don’t attack me for having opinions I love and respect you all I just want to join in on the theory party). If I somehow offended you, please let me know and I will rectify it. Sorry this is long. I also wrote this really late, so sorry if nothing makes sense XD

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Have a blessed day. 

[icodejr]

Coding for Kids: The Ultimate Guide for Parents

Coding for kids – or computer programming for youngsters – is hastily developing in popularity. Given how structured society has grown to be on technology (especially now), it comes as no wonder that increasingly human beings are searching into this reputedly unimaginable ability and thinking; should I examine that? Parents are especially enamored with the concept of their youngsters gaining knowledge of how to code. mother and father would love coding for youngsters to be part of faculty curriculums. And why not?

Learning how to code at a young age can set your toddler up for a life-time of success. Thanks to the normalization of on-line gaining knowledge of, extra youngsters are cushy with the concept of greater instructions taken through on-line coding academies and programs. In this guide, we’re going to speak about coding for youngsters: the benefits, the statistics, and why this unique logo of PC literacy is so vital proper now.

What is Coding?

Coding (or programming) is basically a creative process executed by computer programmers wherein they tell a computer or machine how to perform a specific task. It involves writing executable scripts using computer programming languages like Java or Python.

Some see coding as a way of communicating with computers. Programmers give computers instructions, and the computer carries them out. People who know how to code (i.e., coders, programmers, developers) can create games, apps, computer software, websites, and interactive digital content.

Is Coding Good for Kids?

Young minds are adaptable and malleable. They are quickly able to absorb and retain knowledge. Kids that are exposed to coding at a very young age, have the benefit of learning how to critically assess situations, explore different perspectives, construct creative solutions, and execute the trial-and-error learning process. The earlier kids learn how to code, the easier it will be for them to master this skill—and all the subsequent skills coding encourages.

Coding Promotes Logical & Critical Thinking

Coding for children encourages logic, reasoning, and crucial thinking. Several latest research have determined a high-quality correlation between laptop programming and cognitive skills. According to the results, college students who knew a way to code commonly scored better on cognitive capacity assessments than individuals who had little to no programming experience. An MIT observation additionally highlighted that laptop programming can be tremendous for cognitive development. When children learn how to code, they're taught how to interrupt complicated issues down into smaller, extra achievable portions if you want to write practical scripts. This method is known as decomposition, and it's miles from precious talent that kids will discover quite beneficial on every occasion they’re faced with real-lifestyle complications.

And it doesn’t stop at decomposition. Because coding follows a comparable technique to trouble-fixing, children who code have a bonus in growing this talent.

In coding, a programmer desires to (a) pick out the trouble, (b) examine it, (c) create a feasible solution, (d) take a look at the solution, and (e) repeat the method if the trouble isn't addressed.

(If you need to realize why trouble-fixing is such a critical talent, I even have a piece of writing on why it’s The #1 Skill That All Kids Need to be Successful in an Uncertain Future. Do supply it a read!) As children learn how to code, they grow to be familiar – and in the long run comfortable – with the trouble-fixing method. The extra they get used to writing, rewriting, troubleshooting, and debugging strains upon strains of code, the extra it turns into 2nd nature for them to cycle via the stairs and execute them properly.

[giannisbct-blog]

I “LIKE” programming

Well just like this blog, when it came to the like system, I wasn’t entirely sure where to start. I had started working on this before we had decided to go with AR built in Unity so I figured I would get the mechanics working and then be able to transfer them into Unity. Initially when we were thinking of building a physical model or projection mapping, I was going to have the like button on a webpage so that anyone could access it, an inherently thats where I started. I had the thought of using a python script to build the whole back end mechanic of the system and that data would be passed from the user via the webpage, and after quickly running this by Liam (who has done something similar before) he agreed that it would be the easiest way and we could have multiple users at once which is what we wanted. I built the most basic version of the “front end” part so that someone could input their name and then like it so the likes would be attributed to them, just like it is on social media.

Liam recommended using the flask module for Python to host the server (and webpage for testing). Once I had installed that I managed to get a connection between the two and even by complete fluke was getting it to receive data from multiple devices and be able to register that it was from different devices. I personally was stoked about this because it was 90% of the like system working but then Liam pointed out, as we don’t know why it worked, if it stopped working we also wouldn’t be able to pick out why. I figured it was in my best interests to learn the best practice for this rather than get the minimum working version as it would be great reference material for the future. In these early stages, Liam helped me a lot by explaining why one way was better than another and generally guiding me through which was super helpful as I was almost coming from no coding background. The main think I am super grateful for is him introducing me to JSON, which I’ll be honest was an absolute pain at first but I now realise it was definitely the best way to go as it was far more reliable and actually made sense. So essentially what was happening is that the HTML page was passing the name that was submitted by the user, to the python script every time the like button was clicked. The script would then add a new value to its own defined variable “like” and count them like that. The bonus of doing it like this is that if someone played once and then after a while came back too have another go, their “score” would compound and keep increasing. On that note though the downside is that if two users input the same name they will have a super score rather than two separate scores. While this would be a downside for an actual game where the score would need to be counted from just one game at a time and not an overall total, for our project it sort of just adds to it. The idea is that the more people “like” the disaster that happens, the more it proves our point that social media is building a screen which separates people from reality and that they can simply click a button to show their support, and the more they do that, the more they are helping? Or at least thats the theory.

In the past when it has come to doing small code projects I have looked up how to do something, found code that suited my need, copied it and then tweaked it to properly fit my programme. However, this doesn’t mean I necessarily understood it which is something I wanted to do differently this time. As this was basically my main role in the team, I wanted to make sure I would be able to explain to other people how it worked rather than have a piece that worked but just because it did. Which I guess relates to this whole degree itself, nothing is really taught to us (especially in studio) and its all self directed so we need to learn the skills ourselves and in this day in age when you don’t need a computer science degree to become a developer but simply be able to copy code from different places to suit your programme, I believe it is quite important to know what you are doing because I the future it will make me far more efficient. And its the learning by doing thing that works really well for me that I like. For example when it came to having to deal with GET requests from both the server and user side, I had done something similar before with the instagram location finder programme that I had had a play with earlier in the semester, and because I had used it before I sort of knew how it worked but then I had the code itself I could look through again and figure out why it worked and what parts I could omit for this different programme. I have to say, I think this semester I have learned more about programming from simply trial and error, Liam and online tutorials than I did in all of last year where I did both programming papers. It was also great to learn this in a group setting where the other team members also are not super coding savvy as trying to explain what I was doing or why I couldn’t do something that we wanted to do due to the nature of the system that I was writing in non technical terms helped clarify what I was doing for myself. I would certainly like to keep doing more programming projects in the future to further develop my skills and learn new things.

Transferring the user side to Unity was a whole different box of frogs though. First of all Unity is all scripted in C# which I have never used before (but luckily is similar to java which I had dabbled in with processing last year) but the whole mechanic of connecting to a server is made a lot more difficult as all requests need to be sent through a Coroutine. Which I’ll be honest, I had never heard of until I stumbled across a million Stack Overflow forums that explained that that is what you have to use. I think I have got my head around them mostly but there are still some things about them that elude me, for example everywhere (including the Unity manual) it says that they end when they hit a “return”, but I have coroutines that have functions or call new functions still enclosed in the coroutine but after the return type and it still calls them (see below).

They also supposedly run for their specified length (of time) regardless where they are called, i.e will run for 6 seconds if told to after being called from the Update( ) function. However, I have found that in some of my code this works, in other parts it just sort of ignores that rule and sometimes it waits for a wee while longer than the instructed time. So its not totally something that I fully understand but I know it enough to be able to use it in the right places and the majority of the function of the Unity scene is run by coroutines so I am clearly doing something right. I like to think of it as a poorly trained animal, I know the commands and the animal knows what they mean but sometimes chooses to do its own thing.

Another major challenge I had was dealing with JSON, for starters sending the exact same data as I was from the webpage but through unity, it was as if it was parson the data into JSON and then parsing the JSON into more JSON even though the commands where almost the same, so on the python side I had to update it so that it decoded the incoming JSON properly so it was then actually processed logically. This brought in a whole world of problems in itself as then the data that was being sent back to the user was all jumbled and messed up which was less than ideal as it felt I had actually gone backwards rather than made progress. But as I have learned from this project, every new error you get means that you are making progress as you have made it past the previous error. After all of that though, I did get it working.

Once I had done all of that, I realised that it was a perfectly functioning Like system that recorded multiple user’s scores and could compound them and it was perfect, but only once. There was no way to restart it without stopping the whole application and going again. So there was the next challenge which proved a lot more difficult that initially suspected mainly due to how referencing different Game Objects is from a script and even harder, referencing the scripts of those Game Objects which is what caused me many hours of strife. To make matters more difficult as well, Unity doesn’t appreciate all the things you could normally do in a C# script so you have to find ways around its very stubborn walls which in my case lead to many, many scripts. Doesn’t sound like such a terrible thing but to make sure each was working correctly I was logging things to the debug console from almost every script so then when I wanted to look for a specific message I was sending to try and get something working, it became a whole lot harder because there were 20+ scripts that were all printing to the console. But once again, I am a champion and figured it out.

As I write this I realise that it doesn’t sound that difficult and didn’t take that long but the code for the like system has been haunting me at night and has been an ongoing saga for weeks . I certainly have learned heaps and am happy with my process that I undertook. However, if I was to do it again knowing what I know now, I would skip out the HTML part and just go straight for the C# scrips because I think that transition was the hardest part of this whole process. In HTML (with javascript) it is easy to do everything all in on document but with C#, you can’t send data and also receive it in the same script, you need to separate them into multiple scripts which is where confusion starts manifesting as you try and think across multiple scripts and have to remember what each one is referencing and how it will then affect the other one. The issue with backend systems as well is you don’t overtly see your mistake as you would with front end because either something happens or it doesn’t and if it doesn’t you then have to comb through your code to find the broken section and find out what is messing you up. Overall I think this is what I found the most frustrating as I have only really done mainly front end development rather than back end, but this project was certainly a great insight into it. Now as for this whole project once we got on a roll, I obviously stopped blogging as I got so engrossed in the work which I do understand is not the best practice but as we were pushed for time (having left it so late to start doing something) I focused solely on getting the work done and from an outsider’s perspective the final product doesn’t really show how much work went into the programming of it, so I have uploaded all my scripts to GitHub so you can have a look at them, and also see how things work if you are interested: https://github.com/JabronusMaximus/ARcde-Scripts

[lambroseforlife]

Sir Rob Information Master Post

This is a post long overdue that many of you wanted from my link compilation post a while back so here it is! A master post that compiles information from the interviews/informative pages that Sir Rob has done in the past about himself and his works. It took me much longer to make than I expected because I stumbled upon more links that revealed more information about him and I wanted to include those to be as thorough as possible. Plus, this was a lot of information to sift through, type up and organize.

Disclaimer: A few of these interviews are from as early as 4-7 years ago so some of the information may be outdated and not completely accurate. Regardless, hopefully our rather elusive and seemingly mysterious author seems LESS elusive and more familiar to you all after reading this post.

NOTE: This post will be updated everytime more information is revealed. If you find any interviews that are not included on here, PM them to me and I will add the information here.

NOTE: (#) = correlates to the number of the source listed on the Link Compilation post

Quick Facts:

Name: Robert Thier (Thier is pronounced as ‘tear’, like the one that runs down your face when you cry) (20)

Birthdate: August 13, 1988 (Age: 29 -when this post was made) (21)

Height: 6′2 (1.88m) (4)

Hair color: Blond (4, 15)

Location: Waldstetten (in between the Drei Kaiserberge), Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany (20, 27)

Education: Gmünder Parler-Gymnasium, Open University in Milton Keynes, Northern England for History (BA) and English Literature (PhD) (14, 28, 30)

Hobbies: Writing, listening to music (especially classical) or audiobooks, taking long walks in the country, painting, composing music, doing historical research, playing videogames, etc (1, 7, 8, 11, 12)

Skills: Writing cliffhangers (and writing in general), having a wicked sense of humor, fast typing, artist, composer, computer programming, etc (7, 14, 15, 28, 30)

Favorite…

food: German dishes such as Maultaschen and Spätzle (12)

book: Jingo by Terry Pratchett (1)

authors: Terry Pratchett, Roald Dahl, Meg Cabot (2)

genre: humor, fantasy, historical fiction (4)

Least Favorite…

food: cucumber salad or cucumbers (he described it as the most disgusting thing he’s ever eaten) (13, 16)

genre: horror (for both writing and reading since he said it doesn’t manage to make him scared) (4)

Sir Rob on himself:

A picture of Sir Rob above, back in 2011, displaying one of his German novels, Dämonenturm (English translation: Demon Tower). (30)

Sir Rob said that he has a short beard that he forgets to shave when he’s busy writing and that he wears a helmet to protect his skull since he was born with a bone missing from his head. He described himself as a cheerful person personality-wise but when he is writing, he warns people to not approach him “with a ten foot pole” (basically, stay away!) He said he loves classical music from composers like Beethoven and more obscure ones such as Alkan and Scharwenka. When going for long walks in the countryside, he mentioned that he gets stared at by other people because of his helmet and because he wildly gestures while imagining scenes to write for his stories. He stated that his greatest strength is his brain that is crazily stuffed with much information and that his greatest weakness is his memory for everyday events which apparently “has more holes than a Swiss cheese.” (4)

Sir Rob on growing up:

Favorite books growing up: He said there’s too many to name and the names would probably not say much since they’re all in German. (8)

Books that have influenced him the most: His schoolbooks in elementary school since he learned how to read from them. (8)

Dream job when he was a kid: He changed his mind once a week. (8)

When he first became interested in history: “History lessons in school, actually. I must have been the only kid in school who wasn’t snoring during the lesson :-)”  Also, he would listen to audio documentaries as a kid and became fascinated by how people made history come alive as a story. (13, 14)

Educational experience: Sir Rob said that for his primary education, he attended the Parler-Gymnasium in the town of Schwäbisch Gmünd until he was in middle school. However, due to various health problems (including the reason he has to wear a helmet), he was not allowed to attend school for secondary education. Thus, he chose to study history and literature at the Open University in Milton Keynes, Northern England, a public distance university that does not require a high school diploma. (30)

Sir Rob on how he got his nickname:

When he was writing one of his novels The Robber Knight, one of his readers mistook the title as ‘The Robert Knight’ and started addressing him as “Sir Rob.” The nickname grew in popularity and ever since then, Sir Rob graciously accepted the title that his fans are quite familiar with from reading his works. (20)

Sir Rob on writing:

The when: Sir Rob started writing when he was really young, around 10 or 11 years old, after reading a poorly written story and decided that he could do it better. He explained that he tried and the attempt didn’t go so well, but ever since then he has kept practicing and says that he’s now “a bit better at writing.” (4, 11, 12)

The why: He decided to start writing after he kept getting pelted with ideas in his head which wouldn’t go away until he put them down on paper. (3, 8)

The how: In preparation for writing, he has mountains of disorganized notes that he uses. Sir Rob said that he writes using both logic and intuition, using intuition first then checking for logic in his work. When writing every chapter, he goes with the flow but overall for the story, he usually has a general outline of the plot. However if he gets sudden inspiration, he’s also open to making changes. (3, 8, 13)

The what (inspires him to write): He said he doesn’t really need an inspiration since he’s always had a need to express himself be it through drawing, composing music or writing. Nowadays, he focuses mostly on writing but his drive has never gone away. (7)

The where: His ideas for his stories come to him out of nowhere and he has no idea why they keep popping up in his brain. (1)

Favorite place to write: In his writing dungeon aka the cellar, a cool place for him so his brain won’t overheat. (12)

What he loves the most about writing and what made him fall in love with it: Being able to play around with crazy ideas. (11)

Authors that have influenced Sir Rob’s writing style: He listed the top four as Terry Pratchett, Meg Cabot, Roald Dahl and Jane Austen. Even though it’s a varied collection of works, the one thing that they all have in common is humor, something he has tried to incorporate into his own writing. (24)

Easiest part of writing a book: Getting an idea for the story. (8)

Hardest part of writing a book: Having the stamina needed to finish it since he gets new ideas trying to distract him. (8)

Hardest part to write in a book: Lengthy descriptions since it is difficult for him to keep them from getting boring. (9)

The first story he’s ever written: He couldn’t remember the name since it was many years ago but did remember that it was inspired by Ralf Isau’s Neschan-Trilogy. (11)

What he learned from writing books: How to type faster. He said he taught himself how to type with 10 fingers in order to write his stories quicker. (8)

How much he feels he has improved on his writing: Immensely, especially after starting out on Wattpad due to the feedback he has received on his works. (11)

When asked what caused him to switch from writing books in German to English and whether he intends to ever write in German again: He said he switched languages since Wattpad was primarily an English-speaking platform back then. He always had a liking for English so he thought to himself “Why not try to write a book in English?” It worked out very well for him and currently, he has no plans to switch back to writing in German. (7)

How being a historian affects the way Sir Rob writes his stories: He said that it has made him a stickler for accuracy and that he does a lot of research for his stories even if they are contemporary ones. He wants to make sure that his characters behave realistically and he added that the research makes writing even more interesting because of learning new things. (24)

Whether it’s easier for him to write from a historical POV or a different time period: He said he finds it the easiest to write fantasy, science fiction or dystopian stories where he can make up everything and that he doesn’t feel a difference between historical and contemporary stories since they’re both from the real world, just set at different times. (13)

Writing from a female character’s POV: At first it was hard for him but after reading many stories from a female’s perspective, he said it became much easier for him. (3)

Why he tends to write from female characters POVs: “I like to write about underdog characters who have to prove themselves and struggle against difficult circumstances, and during most of history, with sexism rife everywhere, women were definitely in such a position. That’s why they hold such an attraction for me as main characters. Plus, playing with the differences between the male and female psyche is great fun! :)” (14)

Strong female character role models: Granny Weatherwax from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld book series, Keladry of Mindelan from Tamora Pierce’s Protector of the Small book series. (3)

On creating romance interests: He said he finds it easy to make them interesting but difficult to make them different from each other. (4)

When asked if he’s ever been afflicted with “Mary Sue Syndrome” (creating an idealized and seemingly perfect fictional character): He stated that he doesn’t think he’s ever had that problem. (4)

How he incorporates humor smoothly into his more serious works without disrupting the stories’ flow: He said he doesn’t do it consciously and that it most likely developed naturally from his reading habits since he’s only been able to stand books that have a pinch of humor in them and from that, it influenced his writing style. (7)

How he chooses names for his characters: Depends on the genre. When writing historical or contemporary stories where the names have to be real, he shared that he picks them out of name databases. For fantasy or science fiction stories, he lets his imagination run very, very, very wild. (11)

Whether he considers the meaning of the name when naming characters:He stated that he considers the way the name sounds more than the meaning. He says the name aloud while imagining the name of the character in his head and if it fits, he takes the name. (8)

When asked if he hides any secrets in his books that only a few people will find: “Not yet. But I plan to put some in the not-too-distant future. Happy searching! :)” (NOTE: This is from an interview that took place sometime during Silence is Golden was being written) (10)

When asked if he tries to be more original or deliver to readers what they want: He explained that he tries to start out with something people want in order to catch their attention then develops it into something new and unexpected. In his opinion, that’s the best of both worlds. (10)

If he could be the original author of any book, what it would be and why: Maybe the author of one or two of the worst books so he could write parodies about them without being sued. As to what those books are, he said he would keep their titles a secret. (10)

Most fun book to write so far: (NOTE: His answer changed over time) While writing Storm and Silence: Whatever book he is writing at the moment. While writing Silence is Golden: Warning! Fairy Tales since every chapter has had brand new ideas. (2, 9)

Funniest scenes that he considers himself to have written: The robbery scene in The Robber Knight, the bathroom scene from Storm and Silence and the torture scene in Chapter 21 of Silence is Golden. (7, 11)

Whether the funny scenes in his stories are made up or come from personal experience: “I make it up. I make it all up, absolutely. My life is not that funny ;)” (7)

Funniest character ever written: A lot to choose from for him, but ultimately it’s a tie between Fye, a little girl from The Robber Knight series and Coal Black, from WARNING! Fairy Tales. (7)

Favorite book genre and how it was developed: Comical fantasy closely followed by historical fiction. In the recent years, he’s concentrated on writing historical fiction and put the most effort into trying to make the genre more accessible to the general audience of readers. He said that since most people think of historical fiction as “stuffy, old-fashioned stories”, he wanted to make the genre more open to younger readers by making it more fun. He added that history gives an unlimited supply of interesting, crazy and funny ideas. (9, 25)

Favorite book he has written: He stated he has the disposition that whichever book he is currently writing is his favorite. (9)

Favorite character from his books: (NOTE: His answer changed over time in different interviews) While writing Storm and Silence: Lilly Linton from Storm and Silence –he said he has a thing for “underdogs with a bite”. While writing Silence is Golden: A tie between Fye from The Robber Knight and Coal Black from WARNING! Fairy Tales since he says he thinks bloodthirsty little girls are cool. (10, 11)

Which character he’s written resembles him the most (NOTE: okay, this one was a bit confusing for me to figure out): In one interview he said none of them since most of his main characters are females and he doesn’t imagine himself as a girl (contrary to what people may think). He also added that most of his characters are influenced by his sense of humor but other than that, they dont resemble him. However, on multiple occasions from other interviews, he said that he resembles his villains  (NOTE: I’m guessing that this is a half-joking, half-serious answer?) (4, 8, 25)

On any rough patches experienced while writing: Said he can’t remember any rough patches. He added he has never suffered from writer’s block either and he hopes that it stays that way. (7, 8)

Who makes Sir Rob’s book covers and what programs are used: He makes them himself and says he uses all kinds of programs such as Bryce, paint.net, Gimp, Photoshop. (8)

Whether Sir Rob has an editor: Yes. (6)

Whether publishing his first book changed his process of writing: He said not really. (10)

Opinion on self-publishing: Has the advantage of more freedom but the disadvantages of less exposure and more work. (3)

eBooks vs printed books: Both have valid places for readers.  (3)

Best accomplishment: His latest book, every time he finishes writing one. (3)

Most shocking achievement: Being able to turn his writing professional. Sir Rob didn’t think it was possible for him to do so before discovering Wattpad. (7)

Whether he has ideas for other books: “Ideas? Oh yes, I have those! In fact, I have way too many. I’ve got so many book ideas stored away in notebooks and folders spread in a creative chaos all over my desk that I could probably write for ten years non-stop without having to come up with a single new idea.” (13)

Advice to new writers: To start writing and to write about something that they love so that they wont give up. Also, write about what they love in a way that so people will find it interesting. He said that’s what he tried with history and it worked for him. (2, 7, 8)

Advice to writers that want to write storylines as interesting as the ones that Sir Rob writes: “Create characters that make you laugh, cry or faint just at the idea of locking them into a fictional room together. If you manage to do that, odds are you have a good recipe for a story.” (23)

Desired impact on readers: Sir Rob aims to write stories that will make people laugh and reread many times. He said he loves when people tell him that his stories have helped them through tough times as his favorite books have done the same for him. He also wants to encourage his readers to think for themselves and be strong through his stories. (3, 4)

Whether he reads his books reviews and how he deals with the good/bad ones: He said he does and that for the bad ones, if they make valid points he tries to implement the constructive criticism in future books and if they don’t, then he ignores them. (10)

When asked if it amazes him how dedicated and engaged his readers are with his words and if there’s anything he would like to say to them (Note: this is a list of quotes): “Yes, definitely. I regularly read the comments of my readers to get feedback on my stories, and it is spiffing how I get new information on improved translations, local history, and many other subjects that help me improve my books. Also, some of the comments are nearly more funny than my own writing. So thank you all for your wonderful support! :)” (7) “You’re awesome! Your feedback and support have helped me to improve enormously as a writer. Thank you! :)” (8) “Thank you so much for your unerring support! You’re awesome! :)” (11)

Sir Rob on Wattpad:

Why Wattpad: Sir Rob chose Wattpad as his writing platform after trying other ways to get his work out: self publishing and sending manuscripts to publishers only to be turned down. Then he found Wattpad after a Google search and chose it as his main writing platform to publish his stories. (2)

Favorite authors on Wattpad: ironkite, Maya_2011 (4, 9)

A name for readers/fans: He usually addresses them as “my dear Lords, Ladies and Gentleman.” (4)

What it’s like being on Wattpad, where the majority of readers are teenagers or kids: An interesting experience for him, especially trying to get people’s attention. (4)

When asked what he would like to say to give a speech for his fans and all of the Wattpad community: “ ‘That I’m really, really, really not good at giving speeches. So I’ll just continue writing and hope you enjoy it.’ **bows, and hurries off the podium blushing**” (4)

When asked about his plans after winning the Wattys: Continuing to write more books since it’s his favorite hobby and dream job. (5)

Proudest moment on Wattpad: Winning the People’s Choice Award and Story of the Year award for Storm and Silence all thanks to his fans. (2)

On his success on Wattpad: Definitely unexpected on his part and he still is dumbfounded sometimes as to how many people like his stories. Every time he sees how many readers and fans he has, he thinks “Oh my God, did that really happen?” He found it hard to get recognition as a writer outside of Wattpad but because of the platform, it made it possible for him.  (7, 12)

On whether he considers himself a Wattpad celebrity: “No I wouldn’t really describe myself as a celebrity. After all, no one has really tried stalking me yet ;-)” (8)

The best things about Wattpad: His awesome fans, the support of his awesome fans, the awesome community that helps out when he needs it, the fact that Wattpad is free and anyone can read and write on there as much as they want to and “…well, just damn everything! :-)” (4)

The worst things about Wattpad: Spam from sites trying to sell medical equipment and the occasions when Wattpad goes offline. (4)

Any bumps on Wattpad: None really except for the one time when he went on Wattpad and saw he had suddenly lost all of his followers which caused him to panic. However, it turned out to be a small bug in the system and was fixed the next day. (7)

Advice to aspiring fans that are writing their own books on Wattpad and wish to be as successful in the future: “Don’t give up! Patience is definitely a virtue on Wattpad. It took me nearly two years to get a breakthrough, so keep hanging in there and don’t give up on your dreams!” (7)

Sir Rob on his works:

Storm and Silence Saga:

Inspiration for Storm and Silence: Sir Rob said it was hard for him to pinpoint exactly when he got the idea but believes it began sometime during his university studies of Imperialism and Suffragism. During one of his courses, he had to read about Victorian era adventure novels as well as the Suffragist and Chartist movement in the 19th century. The Chartists were a movement during the Victorian Era that fought for better conditions for factory workers and voting rights. During one of their demonstrations, over 300 people were killed by the police. Sir Rob thought, “God, if this is what happened to men who were fighting for their right to vote, how much worse must it have been for women?” During that time, there were no feminist organizations fighting for women’s rights and it was up to brave individuals. It was this type of scenario where a lone underdog fights for her freedom that inspired him to write Storm and Silence. He then added as an afterthought, “Thus I was convinced that school is good for something after all ;-)” (7, 13, 23)

Inspiration for Lillian Linton: In one of the interviews, he stated, “I don’t really know where she came from. She just- Wham!- appeared out of nothing and threatened to hit me with her parasol if I didn’t write a book about her.” In another interview, he elaborated that she developed as a mix of his favorite female fictional characters and a few historical leading feminists and suffragists. (13, 24)

Inspiration for Rikkard Ambrose: He was partly inspired by fictional characters such as Mr Darcy, Ebenezer Scrooge (from Charles Dickens) and Uncle Scrooge (from Carl Barks/ Don Rosa), partly by different historical figures such as Victorian entrepreneurs and adventurers from the British Empire, and partly by Sir Rob’s imagination. (10, 13, 23)

If both main characters were inspired from anyone Sir Rob knows personally: No, he said he has never taken inspiration or characters from people that he knows. Most of the people that he does know in real life are much more harmless and he added that he also doesn’t personally know anyone to be as rich and arrogant as Mr Ambrose is. (13, 19, 23)

Why he chose to write Lilly as a Victorian feminist and Mr Ambrose as someone that opposes it entirely: During the Victorian age, feminism wasn’t as widespread but it was when the suffragist movement began. The era was known to be a time of both social upheaval and social rigidity simultaneously. Sir Rob said he likes underdog characters, so writing about a girl rebelling during those restrictive circumstances appealed to him and thus, Lilly was created. As for Mr Ambrose, he’s supposed to represent the prevalent position during the 19th century. Sir Rob explained that he found many historical novels depict their characters with more modernized attitudes than the time period that they are in, so he wanted to avoid that in order to make a more believable story. In addition, having the two main characters have opposing attitudes allows more opportunities for sparks between them, something Sir Rob said that he enjoys to no end. A “hero” that’s a ruthless, chauvinistic, stingy Victorian industrialist-financier contrasted well enough to his strong, determined and quirky heroine. (17, 23, 24)

What drew Sir Rob to write about the period of the suffragist movement:It was the first historically accurate time period that a female feminist character could be depicted as fighting for her rights. Yes, there were singular female figures earlier such as Joan of Arc, but many famous women tended to be distinguished in fields associated with the stereotypical gender role. Sir Rob said that what fascinated him about the Victorian Era was that it was an era of great change, as women began to speak out against their injustices in bigger numbers for the first time. (24)

The amount of research done for Storm and Silence: A lot. An example includes the numbers and letters on the files that Lilly had to fetch at work refer to real historical events and technological inventions that took place during the Victorian era. (13)

How he was able to create an atmospheric and detailed London setting: Mostly through much long and boring research in older books and archives with occasionally checking the internet. (17)

Where Sir Rob learned Victorian English: From reading lots of Sherlock Holmes, Charles Dickens and Rudyard Kipling. (14)

Some of the challenges faced while writing Storm and Silence: Getting the two stubborn main leads to comply and grow closer to each other. He also said that doing a subject on English history while being Germany made it tough to give historically accurate descriptions of some of the areas in 19thcentury London, but ultimately, it was worth it. (24)

A reason for the first person narrative from Lilly in the Storm and Silence series: One of the most intriguing things about the story and Mr Ambrose is his stubborn silence. (23)

How the plot for Storm and Silence transpired mentally and why post it on Wattpad: The same way it transpired on paper and he chose Wattpad since he already posted other books there prior to Storm and Silence. (7)

If the storm was planned from the start in Storm and Silence? “Yes, indeed. That was part of the reason I chose the title.” (9)

When asked about his reaction and thoughts to Storm and Silencewinning Story of the Year back in 2015: “Yess! Yes, yes, yes, yes!!!!”, so definitely unexpected on his part. (7)

What Lilly did with the wedding ring from In the Eye of the Storm: Sir Rob said that he didn’t think about it too much at the time and then added that Mr Ambrose, being Mr Ambrose, probably demanded it back and pawned it. (19)

What was the process of development of the main characters for Silence is Golden: There wasn’t really one as he explained that he just gets an idea and starts writing. “You can call it randomness or literary genius, depending on how generous you feel ;)” (10)

What is Mr Ambrose’s age: Early to mid 20s. (14)

Whether Mr Ambrose would prefer savoury or sweet food to eat: Neither, he would rather have something cheap, nourishing and hard to chew. (14)

Whether Mr Ambrose’s personality was always the way that it currently is or if something caused him to turn out like that: “I don’t think anyone could be like this from birth – or his parents would probably strangle him before his second birthday. ;) No, there are very good reasons why Mr. Ambrose grew up to be the man he is…” (19)

When asked if Sir Rob himself would rather work for Mr Ambrose for a week or be shouted at by Patsy for two weeks: The latter since he could stuff his fingers in his ears. (13)

If Wattpad will receive more of Mr Ambrose’s POV chapters in the near future: Sir Rob said that he doesn’t plan to publish any more of his POVS on there at the moment. (10)

How many chapters are planned for the entire series: In regards to the complete number of chapters of all books in the series, he doesn’t know. (10)

The Robber Knight Saga:

A reason for the narrative in third person and switches between the two main characters, Reuben and Ayla, in The Robber Knight series: Unlike the main male protagonist from Storm and Silence, the most interesting aspect about Reuben is “the mischievous, evil ideas sprouting in his head.” (23)

Advice from fans: Sir Rob explained that he used fan feedback when writing some of the scenes in the story. An equine expert told him what horse hoof trails could tell and for one of the battle scenes, a Canadian reader advised him that the characters should dip the arrows in pork fat as it would make them burn better as fire arrows, something that the reader herself had experimented. (29)

Inspiration for The Robber Knight’s Love: Too many to count. They range from Sir Walter Scott’s novel Ivanhoe to historical non-fiction books to Goethe’s German play Götz von Berlichingen. (6)

Whether Sir Rob made the book cover for The Robber Knight’s Love:Yes. (6)

If he could be any character in The Robber Knight’s Love , who would he choose to be: One of the villains since he feels like “they always get to do the fun stuff. ;)” (6)

Why he chose to create a Historical Fiction book: Sir Rob said that he has always been interested in history. To him, it’s the ideal material for stories since he sees history as the combination of funny, interesting and crazy things that humans have done. (6)

If there was anything he could have changed about the The Robber Knight’s Love, what would it have been and why: He said he doesn’t want to change anything and if he did, he already would have changed it. (6)

Black Diaries:

What kind of book is Black Diaries: A mystery-romance-action-satire that deals with both martial and marital arts, assassinations, dark humor and steamy scenes. (18)

The inspiration behind it: Sir Rob wasn’t too sure of it himself. He said the original inspiration was Jane Austen’s “A Letter from a Young Lady” but in addition lists classical British comedy, hot romance novels and dark mysteries as other sources. (18)

Sir Rob on Miscellaneous Topics:

A picture above of Sir Rob posing with his frequently mentioned helmet. (29)

Whether he has to wear his helmet for the rest of his life: Yes, unless he has an operation. (14)

Any musical instruments he plays: The piano a bit and the guitar. (14)

If he ever plans to share his music or paintings: “I’m keeping them back for an occasion. Who knows, maybe I’ll one day provide the music to my own movie ;-)” (14)

If Sir Rob could have a movie deal for his works, who he would want in his cast: “Ghosts, mostly. I’m a huge fan of old movies, and most of my favorite actors are long dead ;) But if I had to choose a few living ones, I’d say Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese and David Suchet.” (25)

If he has seen his fans in real life: Not yet. (12)

When asked if he will ever do a signing event and if he ever plans to travel to see them: He said he hopes to but says his health problems prevent him from traveling far which makes it difficult to see fans who live far away from Germany. (10)

Where he would want to travel: Anywhere that has many medieval and antique ruins. (14)

When asked if he would prefer to live during the Medieval Times: No, he would feel lost since there were no typewriters or computers back then. (3)

When asked by multiple people if he was single and if they would marry him: He said he was and “as to the marriage proposal- I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. I’m already hopelessly in love with various of my fictional characters ;)” (10, 19)    

Sir Rob’s opinion on Feminism and the male perspective on it: “If by Feminism you mean women’s fight for gender equality, I’m 100% for it. Everyone should have the same chances, regardless of sex, ethnicity, or, as in my own particular case, disability. And I also think all men should be 100% behind gender equality: just imagine that you’re on a sinking ship—if there’s no gender equality, the women can get off first, and all the silly, gentlemanly males will drown ;-)” (23)

When asked if he believes in witchcraft and other supernatural creatures: He said definitely not. While he believes that they make for interesting stories, he identifies as a naturalist from a philosphical perspective. (NOTE: Naturalism is the belief that only natural forces/laws exist in the world and that supernatural and spiritual forces do not.) He said that he believes in only what can be proven and that everyone should think for themselves. He recommended looking at the writings of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris or Christopher Hitchens for arguments against supernatural sources. (4)

The most pressing issue of his generation: The decreased influence of naturalism. (4)

Favorite under-appreciated novel: The Squire’s Tale by Gerald Morris which retells the Arthurian Saga in a humorous manner. (10)

The most complicated character he has seen: Lu-Tze from Terry Pratchett’s Thief of Time. (4)

If given the power to create a new species, how would they be like: A lot nicer than human beings, a lot more logical and without an appendix. (4)

If he could time travel: He would travel back in time to some primitive time period so he could conquer the world. (4)

If he could switch bodies with someone: “Then I would probably look a lot more handsome. ;-)” (4)

If he could eat or destroy anything: He would eat Beethoven’s 9th symphony since he’s always wondered what music would taste like. (4)

What he likes the most about his homeland, Germany: The food. (9)

Five characters he would switch bodies with: Marvin the Paranoid Android (from The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), Sir Gawain (from the Arthurian legends), the Borg (from Star Trek), Batman and Lex Luthor (both from DC Comics). (4)

Yes/no to Hawaiian pizza/pineapple on pizza: Yes but only with tuna fish. (13)

If he could be anyone in the world for one day (past or present), who he would be: A billionaire on his deathbed so he could leave the money to his real self that he would revert back to the next day. (13)

If he would rather have the power to turn everything into pizza or have every song he listens to be the Macarena: The former as long as he could choose the type of pizza. (13)

If the world was ending and he could only save one animal species (excluding humans) which one he would save: Worms, since he has heard that they are very important for agriculture from informed sources. (13)

Video Interview Transcript (where Sir Rob answers questions from Twitter) (16):

Daniel E Dalgliesh: Am I going to die?

Sir Rob: “Well, you do not need to fear for your life quite yet, Your Lordship. As the main villain, you are a central figure to the story. And if you should perish in the end, it will be [waves hands] in a gloriously dramatic manner which will immortalize you forever in the annals of literature.”

Fan: Have you ever been in love?

Sir Rob: [grins] “You mean besides with my own writing? No seriously, there may have been a crush or two back in school but the last few years of my life, I’ve more or less spent in a hermit cell working to improve my literary skills. There hasn’t been really anybody to fall in love with.”

Fan: Have you ever gotten recognized in public by a fan? If so, what was it like?

Sir Rob: “Not yet I’m afraid. It’s not really surprising considering that most of my fans are native English speakers and I live in Germany, where native English speakers are rather scarce.”

Uncle Bufford: Will Edmund ever grow a pair and ask me for Ella’s hand in marriage rather than continue with their illicit meetings in the garden?

Sir Rob: [nods and clicks tongue] “Yes, I think one day he will, unless of course Lilly beats him to it. She can be quite forthright as we all know.”

Fan: What’s the craziest DM you’ve ever received from a fan?

Sir Rob: [sighs] “Hmm, I think the award for craziest fan message- or messages really, will have to go to the three dozen or so messages I received, not counting comments and notes on my message board which ask whether I was really a girl and my name was Roberta despite the beard [rubs beard and smiles] I wear on most of my profile pictures. Apparently, [gestures with hands] male writers are so rare these days that we have become a sort of supernatural species that we just don’t really believe in.”

Any message for your fans?

Sir Rob: “Thanks so much to everyone for tweeting their questions. I’ve really enjoyed this opportunity of getting in touch with you. You are the best fandom any writer could want. [waves] Bye!”

Sources:

ALL of the information in this post comes from the Compilation Links post I made a few months back. The direct link for that is provided at the bottom of this post, below this paragraph at the “Source: lambroseforlife” (right above the tags), just click/tap on it to open that post. I made this post with the purpose of it serving as a cohesive picture of how Sir Rob is like as a person since the information from these interviews was disorganized and scattered all over the place. Most of the content in this post is paraphrased for efficiency and there is a bunch of extra information from the links not included on here. Therefore, I HIGHLY recommend you check the Compilation Links post out and read the sources provided yourself.  Plus, I personally believe it’s better to directly read what Sir Rob has said. Kudos to you if you made it all the way here to the end, I hope you enjoyed reading this post!

[cazort]

There may be another phenomenon going on here. I’m a “database person”, in that databases seem to come naturally to me. Without being taught, I knew, intuitively, how to design relational databases so as to avoid data duplication. Concepts like primary and foreign keys, and referential integrity, which many people seem to have trouble grasping, were just putting names to concepts that already existed in my head and were highly intuitive to me. Without being told how to implement them, I instinctively knew where to put the keys in the tables in order to implement one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many relationships Back when I first encountered MS Access around the year 2000, I just went and created databases and my table designs were consistently perfect on the first try.

Somewhere along the line, I realized that most people’s brains don’t work like this, and relational database are not this intuitive to most people.

Yes, playing around with this stuff helps. But there may be years of background that goes into these sorts of skills, that makes certain concepts easier for some people to grasp than others.

I don’t know what it was...perhaps playing with a lot of abstract toys as a kid, like blocks with regular shapes that fit together in specific, limited ways, such as legoes, that kinda force the brain into classifying things and building a lot of “discrete mathematics” structures in ones’ head. Or was it solving logic puzzles in crossword puzzle books? Playing video games? Or learning some basics of programming languages that used various data structures (even though they had nothing like SQL or relational databases?) Just fidgeting with computers? Or was it something about my innate disposition that I sought out these types of activities and delved into them wholeheartedly?

I don’t know what it was, but by the time I was an adult, I had deep skills relevant to databases, without ever having used a database.

Some of you have more of these skills and some of you may have less, maybe because you put more or less time into developing them, and maybe because you enjoy that type of thinking more or less.

Whatever the reasons, please be compassionate about the fact that we all have different abilities and our brains may work differently. Databases are really intuitive to some people and unintuitive to others. It may not be as simple as just fidgeting with a website for a few minutes or hours or days, because of our disparate backgrounds in developing different skills that go into how we approach and interpret the results of that fidgeting.

I personally think databases are a great life skill (and immensely valuable in most employment settings) to have some baseline familiarity and skills with. But be mindful of all the hidden background that goes into learning how to use them.

I honestly think this is just about impossible for most long-time AO3 users unless they spend a lot of time reading Wattpaders’ complaints or something.

AO3 is so incredibly intuitive to the specific community that built it that the un-obviousness of what the fandoms by media type index is is completely invisible.

People have either been on AO3 so long they’ve forgotten what it was like to be new or they were never new in that particular way in the first place.