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theabundantlion · 3 years

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Do you struggle to network with people? Here are some strategies that will help you improve

Let’s talk about networking with people today. Networking is like building a support system. One of the ways to get successful and to move forward is to have a support system. If you don’t have a support system then it’s time to network and build one.

I would like to share an example with you before moving forward so that you can visualize this. If a total stranger walked up to you and said, ‘’Hey I want you to give me something and I’m going to absolutely give you nothing in return and I want you to be happy about it,’’ how would you react to that? This sounds similar to a robbery. Wouldn’t it seem odd to you?

Here is a very important thing to keep in mind when you’re networking. Don’t be a parasite. What is a parasite? A parasite is someone who just wants to take, take and take. They are only concerned about what they can gain from it. It’s best to have the mindset that you’re going to be open to making it a win-win situation. At least ask someone how they are doing and be genuine about it. It’s important to build relationships with people when you network.

When I network, I genuinely care about people. Networking is easy for me because of that. If you’re someone who struggles with networking or struggles with how to approach people that’s understandable and I’m here to help. If you think that your people and relationship skills need work, that’s understandable as well. The main key to keep in mind is that you want situations to be a win-win situation.

If you just met someone for the first time and you’re getting to know them, then you are going to take your time and go through the getting to know them phase. For some people, this time may take longer than other times. It’s no different from that when you’re networking. Networking can be viewed as taking the time to get to know someone and keep in touch. That doesn’t mean that you have to talk to that person every day but you can keep in touch from time to time.

Let’s say that you met someone in your industry, maybe you can touch basis once a month or once every two months. It will vary depending on how receptive the person is to you. It can be as simple as hoping they are well or asking how they are doing. It’s important to be genuine about it when you have a conversation. People feed off of each other’s energy and someone will know if you’re faking it.

I genuinely keep in touch with people and ask how they are doing and truly mean it. Listen up, this is called ‘’being a decent human being.’’ If you are a decent human being, it’s going to be easy for you to network because people won’t see you as a cold stranger that’s just trying to rob them.

Every connection is important and should be treated preciously. You never know who knows who. If someone comes across to me in a bad or negative way, I usually don’t talk bad about them. If you were to look at all of my videos, podcasts, socials, and website, you won’t catch me talking bad about someone. That’s just not my style. Now I might give a scenario for the purpose of teaching, but it’s not for the purpose of blasting people. That’s just not my personality.

When it comes to networking, here’s how you can meet people. Look up associations, organizations and people in your industry. For example, I’m in the music business and a songwriter under BMI and my publishing company is registered to both BMI and ASCAP. Those two organizations have workshops, meetings and different events. Over the years, that’s how I met people. And from time to time after meeting people, I send them how are you messages. This is called being a decent human being.

There is great technology at your disposal that will help you keep track of these things. You have to allow people to warm up to you over time. Some people will connect with you and some won’t. You can’t expect people to treat you like their bestie overnight.

For those of you who struggle with networking, here’s something that may help you. Look up random general stuff. It can be the news or other sources. The purpose of this is to see what is at the top of people’s minds nationally. It doesn’t have to be anything controversial but a topic that the majority of the population would have at least heard of. Nine times out of ten, that will give you something potentially to talk about.

You have to keep in mind, when you’re networking people may be just as nervous as you. Allow them time to get to know you and just be a genuine person.

Here is another thing that can help you if you’re struggling with networking and this may sound a little crazy. Take improv acting classes. You don’t have to be an actor. Here is why improv classes are awesome. They will help to teach you how to be on the spot with people. Improv teaches you to think on your feet. When you have conversations with people you’re going to have to think on your feet.

There also other things that you can do as well. You can go online and have conversations with people. This will serve as great practice to help you improve your networking skills. There are websites where you can meet people. Some of the sites are LinkedIn, meetup.com and other similar places. You also can also take a chance with social media. You need time to practice.

Networking is as skill. I had a meeting with Mike Smith recently and he’s a global president of a record company. One of the things mentioned in the meeting, he said that networking is a skill. I agreed with him whole heartedly. I was telling him that I was sharing these things with people on my podcast and videos. This is an important thing for people to understand.

The reason why that conversation was such a big deal is because that was the fourth time that that topic came up from different people. That pointed out to me that this is an issue and I want to write a book about it because it’s not enough time to cover it here.

The takeaway for you today is that you can network. You can absolutely do it. You can teach yourself how to network. You can learn it. It starts with one connection at a time. Organize your contacts. If you don’t have them all on a list, then organize them on a list. Don’t just have contacts in your phone. Phones can get lost or broken. Make sure they are backed up.

I love Gmail and I will tell you why. They have a wonderful tool called scheduling messages. Even if you have a web domain, Gmail can be an email provider.

It’s a wonderful tool on Gmail because you can use Gmail rather you have Gmail or rather you have an email through your domain that uses Gmail as a server. If you think you’re too busy, then block out an hour or 30 minutes in a month and schedule emails.

You have to remember, people are not their titles. They are human beings. Keep in mind the analogy that I told you at the beginning about a stranger coming up to you demanding something and offering nothing.

This is the beginning of networking. Here is my challenge for you today. If you already have people that you know, make it a point from time to time to reach out and ask them how they are doing. Say hello. Some may be warm to you and some may not. They may not be used to you doing that, but start doing it from time to time. It could be twice a year or whatever time. You have to determine what time is good for you, but that’s the first challenge for you today.

The second challenge for you is to sharpen your networking skills. Practice networking. Getting to know people doesn’t have to be forceful. Just find some common interests and do it. There are plenty of places that you can do it. Now if it’s just some random person on social media, that can be a little bit more tough because they are there to be entertained. It still doesn’t mean that you can’t try.

Here’s another piece of advice as to how you can find people to network with. When you’re looking up someone in your industry, see if they have a website and subscribe to their email list. If you’re on people’s newsletters, eventually they might have a workshop or give you some good information about what’s coming up. I will tell you another little secret. Most of the time, you can hit reply to the email and it will reach them. That’s an opportunity to be a decent human being. Tell them how they are helpful to you and again be genuine about it. People can tell if you are not being sincere with them.

I’m not suggesting that you stalk anyone, but if you are networking, check out people’s social media and see if they have an interest posted. Maybe they have a dog and you have a dog and you can say something nice about the dog. I’m just giving examples.

Be friendly but don’t be pushy. People will let you know what temperature they want the conversation to go. You can tell by the response. If someone’s responding to you in an engaging way and it shows that it’s left open, then it’s ok to respond back. But if they are responding in a way to where they have closed the conversation, leave the conversation alone in that moment. Trust me you will know when this happens. If this happens, then you may want to give it breathing room before reaching out again.

I would recommend also that you stay away from controversial topics. But again, it’s going to depend on who you’re talking and what’s going on. It just appears that people tend to argue about politics and religion. Those are some of the top two things that people disagree about. I tend to stay away from those topics in general.

Networking does not have to be hard. The reason why it’s important to share this with you today is because networking is a part of your support system. It gives you the opportunity to meet like-minded people and people that you can associate with. Essentially networking builds a support system.

If you want to build a support system, then be a support system. How do you be a support system? By being a genuine human being that actually cares about people and to not go into situations looking at what you can gain from it. Approach situations with the mindset of how you can exchange. That’s it. It’s not scary. And again, sign up to people’s email list and attend workshops. There are a lot of virtual things happening if you don’t want to go in person.

Here is another topic in the networking conversation for you, masterminds. I love masterminds. For those of you who may not know what it is, masterminds are when people collaborate, come together and exchange ideas. They talk and can share their experiences, what they’ve learned and if anything positive has happened to them. I attend masterminds every month. Although I’m busy, I make the time. I usually go to three different masterminds monthly and they are all different. Sometimes I talk and sometimes I don’t. It just depends on the meeting. If I have something to share, I definitely won’t hold back.

There are other types of meetings going on as well such as zoom sessions and other virtual meetings where people are interacting and engaging. There is absolutely no excuse not to network, especially in today’s age with all the technology that we have. I’ve given you some great ideas today. The only thing that you have to do now is apply it. You never know who knows who.

Do you ever wonder how people get connected? How do they have connections? It’s very simple. Follow these concepts and eventually you will get those connections too. You have to put your time in and give people time to get to know you. That’s what you have to do.

I’m a member of plenty of associations and organizations. I definitely take advantage of the meetings that they offer. It’s a fantastic way of meeting people. There are also different groups out that such as Facebook, discord and other groups.

I want you to challenge yourself to get better at network. We all can always improve. Although I consider myself a great networking, I still learn all the time on how to be even better. Even while I’m sharing this information with you, I’m in the same boat as far as learning.

One of the biggest things that I’ve learned is that you have to be organized enough to stay on top of networking. Once you start getting to know a lot of people, it can be very easy to neglect people. You don’t want to just contact people when you need something. Say hi sometimes and see how they are doing. Remember the word I’ve used three times now, be a decent human being.

I won’t name drop but I’ve met some very well-known people over the years using this same concept. It was serendipitous. They are normal people just like everyone else. We all bleed. We all go through pain. We all get headaches sometimes. Everyone has something. Keep in mind, those are normal people behind their brands. People are so caught up titles and who’s who, that they can forget that people are human beings.

I consider myself just an average Joe although a lot of people call me smart. I don’t walk around proclaiming myself as a genius. It’s just that the things that I know, I know well and the things that I don’t know, I’m willing to learn. I will be the first to admit that I don’t everything, but one thing that I know for certain, if you want to be great at networking, you have to be great at being a genuine person. If you are not a naturally genuine person, then learn it. Thank you for reading this today. If you would like to receive weekly motivation to your inbox, then join the family at www.theabundantlion.com

#networking #relationships #business relationships #how to network #mindset #people skills

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thewedigital · 3 years

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So you want to start a YouTube channel

and have no idea where to begin? Well, you have come to the right place! This article is going to give you an insightful overview of all the steps that you need to follow before you set up a YouTube channel as a beginner. The link below will further give you comprehensive lessons on how to start, grow, and monetize a hyper-profitable YouTube channel from scratch, so make sure you check it out. Keep in mind that I may receive a commission when you click the link and make a purchase. However, this does not impact the quality of the content.

Step 1: Choose a topic So let us get started, the first thing you need to do to start is to come up with a topic for your YouTube channel. Some people say come up with a niche. A niche is a product, service, or interest that appeals to a specialized section of the population. That could be in automotive, business, crafts, health, travel, etc. If you are creating a channel because you just want to have fun and you do not care much about how big your audience is, then go for it, but if you are looking to build a business or an audience, then you need to choose a topic or niche that people are looking for. Your YouTube audience should have a demand for what you are offering, so get out there and do your research. You can research keywords on Google or search on YouTube

and find out whether other people are doing what you have in mind. If other people are providing videos on your topic or niche and they have huge audiences, then you know there is a demand. This also means that you are getting into the field of competition. Therefore, you will need to figure out how to shine so that the audience will watch your videos instead of your competitors.

Step 2: Define your audience i now you are probably thinking, “Yeah, but I don’t have an audience yet…” Here is the thing, when you make a video, you are already creating it as though the people you are targeting are watching, and eventually, they will come. This is because they are looking for you, remember you already found a topic that there is a demand for. Let us say you are doing a health and fitness topic, and you want to share workout videos, are you going to target your videos to men or women? (Obviously, men and women work out differently to a degree) are you going to target younger or older people? Asking yourself such questions will help you create quality videos that are full of value and content that match your topic, and eventually, you will start to build your audience.

Step 3: Do a brainstorm To brainstorm in this context means to start writing down all your ideas of the video titles that you would like to make. Do not worry even if they are crazy ideas, try to get a couple of pages full of content for your channel. Ask yourself, “What content do I want to offer to my target audience? What problems are they having, and how am I going to help solve those problems with solutions? Now once you have done that, then pick out the best five or ten topics, and now you have somewhere to start. As you grow, you will find it easier to look at different areas that you could focus on and bring up the quality of your videos. You are not going to have tens of thousands of people watching your videos as you start, but do not worry about that as long as you have content.

Step 4: Choose your equipment Here you might be thinking “Okay I want to make videos but it’s going to cost me a lot of money. I have to go out and get fancy cameras and microphones and all these different things and I know it’s going to be expensive”. It honestly is not that costly! Many people make their videos in the most inexpensive ways possible, and they go viral. In the beginning, do not worry about the mechanics very much as getting some videos made and getting in the habit, so you can start by using your smartphone or laptop. For the microphone, many laptops and phones have a microphone that is good enough, but if you are using the former, it would be wise to experiment with it as some microphones pick up a lot of background noise that may affect the quality of your video. If this happens, you can buy a microphone on Amazon or from a preferred store. For your backdrop or background, it will depend on your content, location, and your audience. You can choose to do it outdoors where there is beautiful scenery, or indoors with different background decorations to keep your audience captivated. As you become more experienced with making videos, you may find the need to invest in better equipment to improve the quality of your videos, for example, a high-resolution camera, a tripod, and lighting.

Step 5: Come up with a schedule Now that you know what you are going to produce and how to do it, it is time to come up with a plan for when to shoot, edit, and upload your videos. Most successful YouTubers recommend that you upload at least two to three times every week. You could also upload every single day as long as it does not compromise on your quality. It is crucial to make sure that you are not focusing on the quantity more than the quality as the latter matters when you are trying to stand out on a very competitive platform like YouTube. Of course, you can batch film your videos, which means that you film five or ten videos once or twice a month to get all of your videos done in a short time. Whichever schedule you choose, you will need consistency with your uploading.

Step6: Create your YouTube channelYouTube makes this easy, especially if you already have a Gmail account. You can log in with your Gmail account on YouTube and then click through their prompts to set up your channel. It is super simple, and they make it very easy even for beginners to create a YouTube channel.

Step7: Create a banner for your YouTube channel Many sites on the internet will help you create a banner for your YouTube channel, for instance, Canva.com. You can choose from a variety of templates on Canva.com, edit to your preference, and download completely free of charge. Then you will need to write a description. Make sure you put a description that lets people know about your channel. These things make your channel look more professional. After someone watches one of your videos they may click on your YouTube channel, and they realize, “Oh! This person is making videos regularly, and they are committed to their work.” That makes them a lot more likely to hit that subscribe button. You can also put fun information in your banner or in your channel description that encourages people to subscribe to your channel

Step8: Film your first video Now here is where the fun begins. It is probably going to be a bit awkward if you have never done it before, but that is what everyone goes through, so do not worry. Many good things can come from having your own YouTube channel, and you have to bite the bullet and film that first video and get it done. Try being creative and enjoy the filming process by experimenting with different backgrounds, locations, expressions, and even having guests on your videos. This will help you have fun and be comfortable with the process and getting it off the ground.

Step 9: Edit the video and create a thumbnail Before you upload your videos, you may want to cut out some parts of the raw footage, or even add text or background music to your videos to make them more appealing to watch. So you will need to put your videos into an editing program to do this. There are some great free options out there like iMovie on Macs or Windows movie maker on Windows computers. There are also plenty of other paid options like Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro X. It does not matter much which program you choose when you are first starting as long as you do not do something overly complex. Once you edit the video, you will need to either take a screenshot from the video to use as a thumbnail or use another photograph or design a graphic for yourself. You can use a free program like Canva.com, or you can purchase a program like Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator to create that thumbnail. The main things you want to keep in mind when you are creating the thumbnail is to make it as eye-catching as possible and making it clear what is talked about in the video.

Step 10: Upload your first YouTube video Once you have completed all the above steps, it is time to upload your first YouTube video. There is generally no set time to upload your first video but as a tip, pick a time that is best for you. That time should be consistent so that you can start attracting people to watch your videos around that set time. As a strategy, some people prefer to upload their videos first thing in the morning to give their viewers the most time to watch them during the day.

Step 11: Boost your video Now that you have uploaded your first YouTube video, you need to give your video as much of a boost as you can. Every bit of push that you can give to that video helps. This means that you should watch the video too, hit the like button, leave a comment as yourself asking other people to comment, and share that video with everyone that you can share it with on your social media platforms. Tell your friends and family that you just made your first YouTube video and ask them to possibly help you out by watching your video and hitting that like button. There is a big difference between a YouTube video that has two views and one with fifty views. Although fifty YouTube views are still not that much, it shows that some people have an interest in the video, and the more views it has, the more other people are likely to click on that video and watch it. That is because of something called social proof, which means that we think that if other people are doing something, then it must be a cool thing to do it too

Step 12: Stay consistent When you start a YouTube channel as a beginner, everything is bright, exciting and you will have a lot of inspiration. However, as time goes by and especially when you have put up ten or so videos, but you do not see significant growth yet, you might feel discouraged and possibly want to give up. You have to be a lifelong learner and evaluate your work against what is working out there. That will help you understand where you are likely falling short and motivate you to improve the quality of your videos. There was never a channel that put out good quality videos with eye-catching thumbnails consistently and did not start seeing significant growth within the first six to twelve months. So it is not going to take forever, but you do need to stay consistent, keep uploading videos every single week and keep improving your quality with every video if you want to see that growth .How to start a YouTube channel for beginners

#youtube youtuber instagram music love follow like tiktok spotify youtubers video youtubechannel explorepage memes gaming instagood twitch su #digitalarjunn #instagram #youtuber

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tfw-needs-baby · 5 years

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sam winchester | internet personas

based on my own experience.

read on ao3?

Sam Winchester and his brother stumbled upon fanfiction and the fandom a while ago. He swore to himself that he would never, ever go back and visit the crazy people that existed there.

Well, sitting in his room in the bunker, he was bored and had nothing much to do because the supernatural had been pretty quiet for the past month or so and he was scrolling aimlessly through new articles and finding nothing. He doesn’t know how or why the idea popped into his head, but it came and he was curious at the time, so why not?

‘Best places to’ Nope, delete that.

‘Where to join a fandom’ Delete that too. That just sounded stupid.

‘Fandom friendly sites.’ Yeah, that sounded about right. He clicked onto the first link, and it immediately brought him to a site called ‘Fandom.’

How ironic. Although it didn’t exactly help him much, it was just an explanation guide to their platform and what it had to offer. The rest of the links weren’t much help either, and he sighed. Alright, how to find the fans...wasn’t there something called livejournal?

According to a couple of articles, old and inactive journals had been purged, but were still doing pretty well. And then, the Winchester searched up ‘best places to read fanfiction.’

A couple of suggestions appeared underneath ‘Popular on the web.’

‘Wattpad - tumblr - kindle words - deviantart - archive of our own - asianfanfics’

Huh. Visiting a couple of sites, Wattpad and Fanfiction.net and Archive Of Our Own popped up frequently, so he decided to visit Wattpad first. He went to browse works and choose fanfiction, and it brought him to a selection of hot and trendy stories with millions of views on them. Woah. It ranged from k-pop to a selection of animes to CBS shows and weird crossovers. The ‘x reader’ tag seemed very popular and he shivered, reminding him of Becky.

Signing up wasn’t hard either. It had only taken him a couple of minutes. But when he was reading a selected few from the hot section, they didn’t exactly grab his attention. A lot of them seemed to be written by younger ten to fifteen year olds. They did have a large amount of potential and amazing storylines, he’ll give them that.

Then he wandered over to Fanfiction.net. The sign up process was easy, but the site was a bit more historical and a bit more him. There were multiple forums, and he scrolled down and viewed a couple of them. Oh. They were similar to roleplay, but just - more building along a storyline with it, if that made any sense. The sign up was pretty easy here too, and he smiled as two notifications popped up in his gmail for both sites.

Backtracking now, he went off to ‘archive of our own,’ nicknamed ‘ao3’ for short and a paragraph popped up and he skimmed through it quickly. It was just a warning that everything could be viewed by whoever and whatnot. The writing here definitely seems way more advanced, way more complex and interesting, with canon divergences going all out and unheard au’s. And the cliche plots we’re simply adorable.

He went over to sign up, and raised an eyebrow when it stated that you needed to get an invitation, and all you had to do was enter in an email. And wait a day for an invitation.

Hopping onto tumblr, he made an account quickly and started scrolling through it, and everything seemed different somehow. Like, more modern day than the last time he came to the page. The fandom had definitely become smaller due to a ‘nsfw ban’ and he couldn’t decide whether that was a good or bad thing. They had gifsets of memories that had happened about three years ago, with their final stand against Chuck, and he smiled as he went through year’s old blogs that never updated anymore, reblogging everything ‘Supernatural’ underneath the username ‘babytrenchcoatnougat’ and he started to tear up when he stumbled upon a post where they had created a small art of playing the rainbow slinky with Dean based on a gifset of a memory. He still remembers how happy Dean had been when he got it just for him, he played with it for the next week.

A couple of week’s later, Sam want’s to do more than reblog and comment on content. Sam does have artistic potential, and he could definitely look into that. Although, writing seems easier at the moment, and he scrolls through an endless amount of fanfiction on archive of our own - ranging from major character death to general fanfiction - from his brother and best friend sleeping together to him turning into the boyking to high school universes to Apocalyptic worlds where they have failed.

He wants to write his own world, where they’re all happy and care-free and able to actually live happily, where no one he’s loved has died. Making a post on tumblr he states: By any chance, is there anyone on this platform that can help me with a non-romantic general Supernatural fanfiction?

He places a couple of normal tags that fit into the category, then presses post. About an hour later, he gets a reblog from someone called @ misha-moose-dean-burger-lover [and wow, that sounds like a handful] offering to help.

I’m available if you need me to, @ babytrenchcoatnougat ; what’s the plot? We can discuss more in DM’s if you’d like! Besides, I’m free for the week, but if you need a beta reader I can offer a couple of people that I know.

Sam sends her a message.

babytrenchcoatnougat: can you give me some advice or writing tips if you have any? i'm not looking to make any implied romantic pairings in the fic

misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: well, that depends, what’s the fic going to be about?

babytrenchcoatnougat: i don't know yet, maybe team free will 2.0 just taking a roadtrip to nowhere without a destination in sight after defeating chuck?

misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: eeeeee

misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: that sounds like a awesome idea misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: you're definitely going to want to have specific destinations in mind, and only a hint of angst, and what they’re going to do at these locations

misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: use transition words and make sure it doesn’t repeat often, descriptive details but don’t use it in every scene, and make sure there are frequent movements in the characters so they don’t sound so stiff, and make sure to slowly transition into the next scene, as time skipping to every scene will make the story seem boring. misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: make sure the characters aren’t ooc either!

And so, Sam writes. He writes until his eyes hurt and he definitely needs some sleep, so he sends a quick message to a beta to read it over for him and they do, gushing about how the plot was wonderful and badly needed after all the terrible angst that occurred this season. He smiles, giving his thanks before uploading the first chapter out of 15, 13k words, onto ao3.

[He checks over the grammar and tags over fifteen times.]

He can hardly contain his excitement, jumping around happily all day, even baking Dean a pie which makes him get sprayed with holy water and go through every test just to make sure he isn’t some supernatural creature.

Later that afternoon, he checks his ao3 underneath the same username and finds out it’s gotten about 150 hits, and 38 kudos, which makes his heart swell. He’s also gotten a comment, and he presses comments eagerly.

‘Kill yourself, psycho virgin fag.’

He re-reads the comment a couple of times, eyes tearing up and dropping his phone onto the kitchen table recklessly. What the fuck. Was his story really that bad? Did those people who didn’t leave a kudo really hate his story that much? Did the fans think his story was too child-like? Badly written? OOC? Do they really hate him that bad that he actually should commit-

Sam breaks down right then and there, pushing his computer aside, placing his head down and crying softly. Castiel and Dean don’t find him until an hour later, and he’s still softly crying. They rush over to him, Dean quickly sitting to the right while Castiel sits to the left. “Sammy? What happened?” Dean asks, and the younger Winchester shakes his head.

“N’thing.” He mumbles, and the older Winchester sighs. He’s just being stubborn, when he doesn’t want other people to worry about him, afraid that he’ll give them his problems. “Sam, please, if you talk to us, then we may fix the problem together. Remember, we made that promise two years ago, to be more open with each other.” The former-angel now archangel says, pushing Sam’s hair out of his face. Sam takes a shaky breath, pushing himself off the desk and grabs the laptop, opening it up to the recent fanfiction he had written, and Castiel and Dean both skim through it before Dean snatches the laptop. “Is this a fanfiction?” He looks at him as if he’s crazy, and Sam slowly shakes his head in agreement. Castiel walks over to Dean, both of them reading the first chapter silently, and everytime he glances over to see their reactions it seems unchanged. His brother probably thinks he’s weird, and Castiel is going to find him crazy-

“Damn, Sammy, you’ve got talent.” Dean says, and he actually sounds impressed. “W- what?”

“That is incredibly written and a wonderful idea, I think we should go on a roadtrip ourselves,” Dean nodded in agreement. “Is this why you’re crying? I think this is perfect.”

“Wait - you two do find it weird or anything?”

Castiel and Dean look confused. “Why would you think that Sammy? I like it.”

“You should uh - read the comment.” He says, and it takes the angel and older hunter a moment to find the comment section at the bottom, Castiel pointing at the button. Their faces turn into pure fury.

“I’m going to smite them.” Castiel all but growls out, and Dean shuts the laptop closed. “Don’t listen to ‘em, this is fucking amazing, got it? I want the second chapter. Don’t listen to what anyone else says, they're probably jealous that we’ve got a New York bestseller writer and all they can do is write the abc’s.” Dean hugs his brother, Castiel immediately joining right in and Sam sighs happily. They stay there for a bit, muttering out a ‘thank you’ before jumping up slightly, seeing that he’s gotten two more comments on his fanfiction, and nervously opens up the comment section to see that a user called ‘quicksilvermalec’ writing on how much they enjoyed the fic and can’t wait to read the second chapter while an anonymous user has attacked the one that insulted him, throwing a whole truckload of insults and Castiel smiles. “They got what they deserved.” The archangel says, and Dean shouts ‘damn straight’ joyfully. “Would the two of you want to write fanfiction with me, then?” Sam asks while writing the second chapter about an hour later, and the unison ‘yes’ gives him a warm feeling in his chest.

#sam winchester #dean winchester #castiel #jack kline #archangel!castiel #ficlet #gen fic #genfic #supernatural #fluff #representation week

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dopescotlandwarrior · 5 years

Text

Unforgettable-Chapter Four

Previous chapters on AO3 A special thanks to @statell for all your help

Chapter Four

Claire pulled her mascara wand out and it was dry. Damn she thought, I don’t suppose there’s anywhere to buy makeup around here. She threw it in the waste container and dabbed on some lip gloss. The laptop was set up on her small table and she dialed the number with shaking fingers. She sent Jamie a text early in the week asking to Skype on Friday night. She wondered how he would get away from what’s-her-name, but he agreed so she didn’t care.

Her laptop flickered a couple of times and then he was there, smiling at her like she was right in front of him.

“God made eyes that color for one person only Sassenach.”

“Who?”

“Ye of course. How is it going over there? Is the hospital in a safe zone?”

“Sometimes. The second night I was here we had casualties from a raid nearby. Quite an initiation.”

“What kind of work are ye doin there, do ye like it?”

They stared at each other and their mouths moved but the action was happening in the heart. Jamie felt himself slipping back under her spell and Claire wanted to tell him about all the feelings, wars, doubt, and capitulation she was going through. They kept the conversation light.

“How can you be so far from the laptop and I can still see you clearly?

“I use my smart TV, and you are life-size as I watch ye.”

“Wow, that is awesome. Tell me about Edinburgh.”

And so it went, the benign conversation of two people in love that were not willing to expose themselves to the other. They would both feel the immediate vacuum sucking them out of the happy zone the minute Skype was closed.

They talked every week on Friday, afternoon for Claire, evening for Jamie. A package arrived for Claire and she ran to her room to open the box, so thrilled because it could only be Jamie who sent it. She pulled out a state-of-the-art laptop with a seventeen-inch screen and an exceptional camera. It was loaded with trending software and numerous picture files of his football team, Lallybroch, his camping trips, the fish he caught and the amazing sunsets from the top of the world. The card was handwritten; For the Sassenach, to remind ye of civilization and Scotland. I hope it makes ye happy. Claire hugged the card to her chest and rolled her eyes when someone knocked on her door.

“Claire! Let us in!”

Joe grew impatient and Claire finally opened the door to both of them. Kevin’s eyes lit up when he saw the new technology and he rushed to the laptop to investigate.

“It’s just lovely, I think Jamie is more than a friend all of a sudden.”

“No, it’s a friend present, nothing more. He is getting married, remember.”

“What, so he’s gonna Skype with you all the way to the alter?”

“Something like that.”

“Hey, he set up a gmail for you and sent a message.”

“Really? Claire rushed to the laptop to read it.”

Sassenach, I dinna ken yer email and I dinna like to wait. Send me a picture of the jungle! JF

Someone was knocking on the door but this time she could hear the urgency and pulled the door open.

“Report to OR on the double, Doctor Anderson is waiting.”

Cutter had already completed ten hours of surgery today, and so had she. She closed the door behind her and ran to the surgical wing. For the next two hours, she, Cutter, and another nurse worked hard to save a young man who came in with a meat hook stuck in his abdomen. Claire was clamping blood vessels as she found them, her arms deep in the abdomen, hands, and forearms covered in blood as they raced to stem the bleeding from multiple ruptured vessels. She and Cutter on opposite sides of the table, both suturing tissue as fast as they could.

Claire was the last to leave the OR and she was exhausted as she pushed into the scrub room and pulled her gown and gloves off. She held onto the scrub sink like she could collapse any moment and closed her eyes with the water running in front of her. The room was dimly lit, and she washed quickly so she could collapse in her Lazy Boy.

Joe’s phone had a high megapixel camera and he was quite good at using it. The close-ups he took of Claire, her eyes tired and grim, as she leaned over the washbasin on her forearms. Asleep in the Lazy Boy with her hand on Luna, surrounded by villagers, all needing something, were telling the story of Claire’s existence in this place.

Kevin joined the cause and had a folder full of Claire in action. Cutter was recruited to catch Claire with her two favorite men, Joe and Kevin, goofing off and teasing each other.

Joe recognized the signs of a man in love and sent Jamie the photos from Claire’s new laptop while she was working.

Claire pulled her new laptop closer and dialed Jamie. His face looked different, contemplative, and Claire’s heart rate shot up making her feel weak. He’s going to tell me he’s getting married she thought. Her instincts were shouting for her to disconnect. When you don’t want to hear something, don’t listen. She stared at him with wide eyes and he stared back.

“What is it Jamie, you look different.”

“Sassenach, I dinna have words to describe what your pictures showed me.”

“What?”

“Ye are the bravest lass I’ve ever known and the strongest. I had no idea what life was really like there. I am in awe of ye lass.”

“So far, you have not made a lick of sense Jamie. I didn’t send pictures to you. What are you talking about?”

“Well, someone did it for ye. They were in my email yesterday.”

Claire grabbed her phone and checked the sent emails, there were numerous emails to Jamie with picture attachments. Claire opened them and flipped through the pics with mounting concern.

“Jesus Christ, I wasn’t aware these were being taken, or sent. I’m sorry Jamie. My friend Joe had a very bad idea. I was not aware.”

Jamie leaned closer to the camera, “this is the real you as ye go through the day. I have an accurate account of the struggles ye face. Your work in the OR, yer haunted eyes when yer about to collapse and those two guys who hang on each other and make ye laugh. It’s incredible what I’ve learned about ye with these pictures. Yer amazing Sassenach.”

Jamie’s comments broke through her fantasy of killing all who conspired in this clandestine photo shoot. She heard compassion, pride, and love in Jamie’s voice. She looked up at the camera again and suddenly felt overwhelmed with love for the guys and appreciation for Jamie’s reaction.

“Ye dinna ken how special ye are, or how much ye deserve the best life. I…I will be happy to know ye finally get it, Claire. I feel emotionally invested somehow, please agree to be my video friend or pen pal for life. I’ll always wonder if ye don’t.”

Claire was surprised at Jamie’s reaction and she tried to rally her friend-face, control her expressions, and maintain composure in front of the camera. She looked into his eyes and wanted to shout at him that she was more than a friend. Jamie’s words were hitting her like bullets because he was now an observer trying to help her somehow, not harboring his own crush. At that moment she subconsciously jettisoned away from him, to the place she had been since the video calls started. In a box of his acquaintances he would remember from time to time.

Jamie continued to sing her praises and Claire did her best to cover the disappointment and hurt from misunderstanding his interest. She tried to rally but finally begged off with an excuse to feed the baby.

“Until next week Sassenach, take care of yourself.”

Claire slammed the lid on the laptop, “like you’re my psychiatrist or something? No thanks, I’ll be my own support thank you. If this is your entertainment to share with miss perfect, you will have to find something on television from now on. I am out.”

When Jamie saw the blood drain from Claire’s face, he knew she was completely in the dark about the pictures. That made it even more real for him and he silently thanked Joe for letting him into their world. No wonder she couldn’t settle in Edinburgh, it would be like putting a gorgeous butterfly in a jar, to slowly die from the lack of flight. He was deeply troubled that he had touched a dream girl, his dream girl, and the world had no equal.

The door opened and he looked at Geneva, here for a night of cat and mouse, and he was the mouse. He took a deep breath and suddenly wanted to be in a meadow, full of fish, where he could spend time with his memory of Claire and say his truth.

Jamie rose from the couch and kissed Geneva, promising a five-minute shower before they left. But the whole time, he was missing the girl who danced with a fish in his kitchen.

Claire looked at Joe with a laser sight on his fertile brain and fantasies of torture danced in her head. Joe retreated and disappeared before she got to him. She would have followed him, but she was pulled away by an unexpected visit from Luna’s mother.

Claire felt her tears drop onto her shoulders making her scrubs wet. She was always afraid this day would come, her miracle baby leaving with her biological mother. She pulled the baby to her and kissed her cheeks, repeatedly. She assembled multiple bags packed with food, diapers, blankets, and supplements that would sustain her. She would send her away and never know what happened to her and that was breaking her heart. Cutter pushed into the nursery and looked at Claire with compassion.

“Let me take her Claire. Kiss her one more time, then give her to me, he said quietly.”

Luna held Claire’s hair and yanked it trying to get her mother’s attention, the only mother her infant life knew. In her limited world, one face had always been there to give love and smiles and food. Claire broke down and Cutter pulled the sweet baby from her, pulled the bags of supplies onto his shoulder, and then left.

Claire sank into the Lazy Boy arms wrapped around her stomach and cried like she was mortally wounded. She bent over and her tears puddled on the linoleum floor. Her heart was breaking and there was no comfort to be had, just misery, her miracle baby was gone forever.

Claire laid curled up in the Lazy Boy and wondered how much grief one person could take in a day. “UNCLE”, she whispered, “no more for today.” The room grew darker as the sun set, and Claire remained until the door opened and a hand pulled her into the lighted hallway making her squint painfully. The hand pulled her forward and outside where it was easier to open her eyes.

Claire looked at the picnic table with a lantern on it and looked up at Cutter.

“What’s this?”

“A request from Joe, to get you talking and forgiving before you end his life for the pictures.”

He pushed her onto a bench and sat across from her with his hands folded on the table.

“Shall we begin, I rather like Joe, so let’s figure this out together.”

Cutter smiled and waited patiently.

“What? Um, I was mad at him for sending the pictures to Jamie. It was a sweet gesture, but it brought out Jamie’s true feelings for me and I was mad about that. I have the right to punish Joe because he’s my best friend.”

“What true feelings did Jamie reveal?”

“He wants to be pen pals, or video pals, so he will know when I find happiness. He doesn’t want to wonder about me for the rest of his life.”

“Jesus Claire, you had to let go of Luna right after that?”

“She wanted and needed my attention as I got her ready, but I couldn’t stop crying. I miss her so much already and I will never know what happened to her. I can’t take not knowing, Cutter.”

She stopped abruptly and looked up at her friend. The comparison of the two statements sinking into her brain. Her eyes got wide as she compared Jamie’s statement to her own. She loved Luna with her heart and soul, and it broke her heart realizing she will never know how she was. Could Jamie feel the same about her? She stared straight ahead and climbed out of the picnic table. She patted Cutter on the shoulder but missed and patted his face as she left.

“What about Joe? Can he come out of hiding now?”

“Mission accomplished soldier, he’s safe.”

Claire had a strange look on her face, but it wasn’t sorrow that Cutter saw, it was more like she just figured out the double-helix of DNA. Something wondrous.

Claire laid on her bed for the first time in four months and sighed deeply. Whatever Jamie felt for her, was big, that she was certain of. She will keep Skyping on Friday nights and maybe send an email occasionally if there was something exceptional or interesting that happened.

Jamie climbed in a thickly wooded area with a punishing pitch, feeling strong and healthy, as long as he didn’t start thinking. The woods were healing him of the past months of partying, drinking to excess, dealing with Geneva the shape-shifter, and his little Claire showing her heart and comfort to him. Breathing deeply in the crisp mountain air he felt capable of anything. Later in the afternoon, he laid back in the sun to rest. Winter was well on its way and pushing through his comfort limits, so this would be his last trip for a while. He would miss his time out here in nature. He paid dearly for it with Geneva but he didn’t care, it was bringing him back to who he really was.

Claire sat down next to Joe and across from Cutter at dinner. They had been in this medical camp for nine months, she could hardly believe it. The guys were displaying an air of excitement and fist-bumping Joe, well, Kevin was giving cheek kisses and Cutter did the bumping.

“Wow, I’ll bite, what is all the excitement about?”

“Jamie entered one of my pictures of you in a competition, and I won!” Joe was laughing. “Something Apple was doing to promote the camera in the new iPhone. Pretty cool, ha, and I get ten grand for first place!!”

“Jamie did that for you? Interesting. Whatever would make him even think of such a thing?”

Claire stared at Joe, letting him know she would not look away until he explained himself. She was making him antsy and nervous so this would not take long.

Joe sighed and told Claire about the photo lab tech who blew the picture up for Jamie asking all kinds of questions about the camera.

“He called me, told the lab tech it was an iPhone camera, tech said put the picture in the contest, he did, I won, and that’s about it.”

Claire picked up her tray and stood up, “Imagine that.”

The three men gaped at her as she walked away. They didn’t know what to expect from her, but it wasn’t that.

Claire smiled inside wondering how Jamie and Joe became telephone buddies. She was the common denominator and that’s all that mattered to her. She wiped the sweat off her face about to say goodnight to the guys when she thought of some cool relief.

“Cutter, remember that swimming pool I jumped in and you morphed into the incredible hulk?” What was that place?”

“Cutter looked around the room thinking about honesty versus a good night’s sleep for her. “It was my overreacting is all. I thought it was something different.”

“I do believe that is first time you have lied to me Cutter. I’ll ask again, what was that place, and…be honest.”

“It’s a rebel stronghold Claire. The attack on the villagers when you first got here, was perpetrated by that group.”

Claire’s eyes went wide, and her voice panicked, “they’re right here in our backyard? Jesus Christ, it’s no more than a few miles from here! If I had been caught in that pool they would have killed me, wouldn’t they?”

“Drop it pea,” he growled. “That’s enough on the subject.”

Cutter left the table cursing himself for telling her, thankful he left out the torturous death of women prisoners. They would have made it last before she drew her last breath and he would be dead trying to protect her.

Claire stared straight ahead, trying to wrap her head around their proximity to the enemy. She shivered with a full understanding of Cutter’s reaction that day.

“Jesus Christ,” she whispered.

Joe had heard things, from the villagers, delivery drivers, and the news when they could get it. He had already put in a request to get them out of there. It was first come first serve and everyone was bugging out of Honduras. He intended to talk to Claire and Kevin tonight about leaving their post before replacements came. It was feeling creepy around here and his instincts were screaming it was time to go.

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kourdem · 4 years

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What is Artificial Intelligence?

what is artificial intelligence? that I even have websites that provide educational materials about cyber security but what you don’t know is that last week i published a book called cyber security for the digitally challenged it’s an interactive electronic book designed for people who are not technical don’t have any background in cyber security if this description fits you then the book is supposed especially for you the book is free and should be easily downloaded at the tunes

bookstore now back to AI i don’t realize you but once i used to be young i remember going to the 1964 world’s fair and seeing incredible and amazing futuristic devices general motors had a pavilion called the future of reality and the city of tomorrow and it had been the very first time that i saw what they called a picture phone but my first real inspect artificial intelligence began when i first started watching the Jetsons meet George Jensen is jane his wife remember once we all thought that that would be our future well variety of the predictions did come true video calling devices robotic vacuums electronic banking just to call a few of what most people don’t realize is that artificial intelligence is all around us AI is all around us you’ll see it when Alexa answers one of your questions when your email gives you a suggestion of what to reply with or even once you put a photograph on Facebook and it recognizes your face it’s so commonplace at the moment that tons of people like me are now asking what’s this all leading towards today we ask siri to pay our favourite music things like hey siri please play the beetle oh yeah or hey google what time is it in sunshine beach Australia it’s 4 28 a.m in sunshine beach Australia that’s just not a random request actually my daughter and her family live in sunshine beach Australia when you’re asking to talk to siri Alexa or google your lecture an artificial intelligence agent and this ai is learning your personal preferences the more you use the device the more it learns and the more accurately it can anticipate your every need when someone mentions artificial intelligence what’s the first thing that comes to your mind now most people imagine a military of human-like robots that are repelling against society well a few of fit few people like myself have a more positive um thinking about community envisioning a bright future so what exactly is artificial intelligence it’s definitely not a magical program that can think kind of person's it’s things like virtual companions the controlled gaming surgical robots personal assistants and other devices that we use each day to make our lives better and more efficient now it had been within the mid-1950s that John McCarthy who was a Stanford researcher coined the term AI and he would define it because the science of engineering at the science and engineering of making intelligent agents McCarthy presented his definition of artificial intelligence at a conference on the campus of Dartmouth College in Hanover New Hampshire within the summer of 1956 and this indicated the very beginning of ai research the concept of ai has changed over time but the goal has always been the same to really make computers think like humans during a nutshell ai’s goal is to make computer or computer programs smart enough to initiate the behavior of a human mind now it’s likely that you simply simply interacted with some kind of ai in your day-to-day activities probably even today if you use gmail you may enjoy the automated spam filters in fact according to google Gmail blocks a hundred million spam messages daily with its artificial intelligence agent next if you own a smartphone you probably fill out a calendar app with the help of apple siri or Microsoft’s cortina or Samsung’s Bixby and if you own a newer vehicle perhaps you’ve benefited from the driver-assisted feature while you're driving these are all possible thanks to artificial intelligence but as convenient and helpful as these products are they lack the facility to seek out out independently they can’t think outside of their code and most of you recognize that code is a written set of instructions that tells the ai what to undertake to to so here is where i would like to introduce you to machine learning and this a neighborhood of the presentation might get a little geeky machine learning could also be a branch of ai whose purpose is to supply machines the ability to seek out out a task without pre-existing code our ability to seek out out and acquire better at tasks through experience may be a component of being human when we’re born we all know almost nothing and can do almost nothing for ourselves but soon we’re learning and becoming more capable each day but did you recognize that computers can do the same machine learning brings together statistics and computing to enable computers to seek out out the thanks to do a given task without being programmed to undertake to to so just as your brain uses experience to reinforce at a task so can computers say you'd sort of a computer that can tell the difference between a picture of a dog and a picture of a cat you'll begin by feeding it images and telling it this one’s a dog that one’s a cat a computer program to seek out out will seek statistical patterns within the data that will enable it to acknowledge a cat or a dog in the future it'd determine on its own that cats have shorter noses which dogs are available a much bigger kind of sizes and then represent that information numerically organizing it in space but crucially it’s the pc not the programmer that identifies those patterns and establishes the algorithm by which future data are getting to be sorted one example of a simple yet highly effective algorithm is to hunt out the optimal line separating cats from dogs when the pc sees a replacement picture it checks which side of the road it falls on then says either cat or dog but actually there are often mistakes the more data the pc receives the more finely tuned its algorithm becomes and the more accurate it are often in its predictions machine learning is already widely applied it’s the technology behind facial recognition text and speech recognition spam filters on your inbox online shopping or viewing recommendations credit card forward detection then much more at the university of oxford machine learning researchers are combining statistics and computer science to make algorithms which can solve more complex problems more efficiently using less computing power from medical diagnoses to social media the potential of machine learning to transform our world is really mind-blowing machine learning could also be a could also be a rare sorry machine learning may be a neighborhood of research in computing that studies a special kind of instruction called algorithms algorithms are a gaggle of step-by-step instructions used to do something an algorithm is really only a gaggle of rules as an example if you sort your laundry before you’re washing it you use an algorithm if the algorithm is to put the white laundry on the left pile and the colored laundry on the right pile and you repeat until you’re done this is an algorithm it’s just that simple machine learning uses a gaggle of instructions that improve automatically based on experience in other words what makes machine learning algorithms different from others is that they’re able to learn from the data that we feed them image recognition could also be a exemplar every day we’re getting image recognition more involved so on help us with our personal daily lives if you see some strange looking plant your friend is growing in their living room simply point google lands at it and it will tell you what it's if your discord friend uploads a photograph of their new cat and you'd wish to understand what breed it's just run a google image reverse search and you’ll determine what it's even self-driving vehicles need to know where they can drive which may be a road where are the lanes where they're going to make a turn what the difference is between a red light green light and amber light where the stop signs are well you get the message as you will see image recognition could also be an enormous a neighborhood of deep learning and it are often both cool and scary so how does it work here’s a basic explanation in order for that car to know what a stop sign looks like it must tend an image of a stop sign the machine will read the stop sign and through a selection of algorithms it will then study the stop sign and analyze how the image goes to look by going section per section what color is that the stop sign what shape is it what’s written thereon how big is it always and where is it usually seen during a driver’s peripheral vision things like that if there’s any errors scientists can simply correct them once the image has been completely read it are often labeled and categorized but why stop with one image in our perspective we don’t really need to think for half a second on what a stop sign is and what we must do once we see it we’ve seen numerous stop signs in our lives it’s almost embedded in our brains so the machine must read many different stop signs for better accuracy that way it doesn’t matter whether the stop sign is seen during foggy or rainy conditions during the night or during the day because the machine has seen a stop sign many times it can know it’s a stop sign just by watching its shape and color alone all of that sounds really cool right but it can also be scary if you upload and replica your photos go check out your photos if you haven’t sorted anything you’ll notice that google has done it for you there’s a category for places things videos and animations and maybe others and if you attend things you’ll see that google has sorted your photos into albums supported where google thinks they belong so you’ll have photos labeled as food beaches trains buses and whatever else you will have photographed within the past this is all due to the work of google’s image recognition analysis it has analyzed over 1,000,000 photos on the internet your photos your friends photos strangers photos and any photo that appears on google image search it’s not just google that uses image recognition also if you upload a photo and facebook recognizes your friends it will automatically tag them so yes it’s quite creepy considering it’s a privacy concern but some people may appreciate the convenience anyways because it saves a short time no matter how cool or scary it's image recognition plays a huge role in society and will still be in development many companies are continuing to implement image recognition and other ai technologies the more we'll automate certain tasks with machines the more productive we'll be as a society now because the video described an image recognition machine could even be given millions of pictures to research after going through many changes the machine acquires the ability to acknowledge patterns shapes faces and even more speech recognition is another exemplar of this there are two basic kinds of artificial intelligence the first is weak ai which is additionally known as narrow ai this type of ai can handle only one task at a time for example it can select your favorite song from spotify select your favorite movie from netflix filter your email spam or instruct a self-driving car the second is what’s called strong iai and it’s also mentioned as artificial general intelligence or agi this is much more sophisticated this type of ai refers to a system which is able to affect a generalized task much like an individual's agi as it’s abbreviated can successfully perform any intellectual task that an individual's can this sort of ai is this is that the ai that we’ve seen in movies like her and other scientific movies during which humans interact with machines and operating systems these artificial intelligent agents are conscious they can sense things and are driven by emotion and self-awareness but for machines to understand a true human-like intelligence they need to be capable of experiencing consciousness and as far as as far as today this has not happened hello i’m here oh hi hi how you doing i’m well how’s everything with you pretty good actually it’s very nice to meet you now that’s just slightly excerpt from her for all of you that never saw the movie you need to it’s quite interesting efforts to advance ai concepts over the over the past 20 years have resulted in some truly amazing innovations let’s inspect a few of meet digit manufactured by agility robotics digit is envisioned to help lookout of people in their homes assist with disaster response and deliver packages to front doors with its nimble limbs and a torso packed with sensors digit can navigate complex environments and perform tasks like package delivery digit could also be an immediate descendant of cassie agility’s first robot in may 2019 ford motor company and agility announced a partnership to develop a last mile logistics solution that combines ford’s autonomous vehicle technology and agilities digit this is pepper manufactured by softbank robotics pepper is that the world’s first social humanoid robot that is able to recognize faces and basic human emotions pepper has been adopted by over 2 000 companies around the world perfect in retail and finance industries pepper has numerous functionalities including increasing store traffic by attracting the attention of shoppers creating memorable in-store experiences stimulating purchase and retained customers pepper can also gather comprehensive data to enrich the customer base and generate shopper insights this is atlas the world’s most dynamic humanoid robot built by boston dynamics an organization that was previously owned by google and now by softbank thanks to its state-of-the-art hardware and algorithm that allows it to quickly understand instructions with its 28 hydraulic joints 4.9 feet of height and 176 pounds weight the robot can perform both impressive and terrifying acts including navigating uneven terrain jumping around a parkour course and doing somersaults all these activities demonstrate human level agility so the robot are often perfect for search and rescue operations and performing human tasks in environments where humans couldn't survive introducing spot a robot dog designed for industrial uses such as carrying goods through a warehouse and inspecting a far off site with an unfavorable environment for human operators it can run at 5.2 feet per second has 360 degree cameras and can operate in temperatures ranging from 4 to 113 degrees fahrenheit with its api and versatile payload interface the robot are often easily customized for desired tasks spod is additionally manufactured by boston dynamics and is now being leased to eligible companies these are truly amazing but now let’s inspect how ai learns typically there are three learning method methods supervised learning unsupervised learning and something called reinforcement learning in supervised learning the computer scientist would label the correct answer and ai would learn the pattern by comparing the proper answer with other possible answers in unsupervised learning the scientist would provide the proper answer and thus the algorithms would infer patterns from the data set without reference to the known or labeled outcomes now this may get very very technical the last is known as reinforcement learning and it really plays a very very minor role in training ai but it’s very almost like training an animal giving them reinforcement when the animal displays the required behavior it’s given a present now this gets to be very complex and very geeky so that’s about all that every one the knowledge that i’ll give you now computers and other ai applications are everywhere today it'd be almost impossible to go through your entire life without using any quite artificial intelligence we use cars atms tvs and these all contain computers and ais with ai assistants here’s slightly song to help you remember televisions cars airplanes traffic lights computers are everywhere around us computers are everywhere around us i know that’s silly but i assumed it might cause you to smile let’s inspect a few of straightforward applications of ai that probably most of you use first siri is one of the foremost popular personal assistants offered by apple on the iphone ipad and thus the apple watch she helps to hunt out information get directions send messages make voice phone calls open applications and add events and even add events to my calendar siri uses machine learning technology in order to urge smarter and capable to understand natural language questions and requests next is netflix and netflix needs no introduction it’s a widely popular content on demand service that uses predictive technology to provide recommendations on the thought of your reaction interest choices and behavior once you choose films the technology examines content to reconnect sorry to recommend movies that are based on your previous liking and your reactions now remember netflix is turning more and more intelligent every single year as it get gathers more data on you next is pandora and pandora is considered the world’s most powerful music discovery platform it uses a proprietary algorithm to determine which music to play for you at any given time it’s also called the dna of music because depending upon 400 musical characteristics the team of expert musicians individually analyzes the song and the ai algorithm then recommends the song to you on your personal playlist next is nest and it’s made by google and nest is one of the foremost famous and successful AI startups google acquired it in 2014 for 3.2 billion dollars and thus the nest learning system thermostat uses behavioral algorithms to save you energy supported your behavior and schedule it uses a very intelligent machine learning process that learns the temperature that you simply simply like and programs itself during a few week moreover it'll automatically pack up to save energy if nobody is reception next is my favorite and it’s a flying drone they’re variety of my favorite toys they indicate a robust machine learning system that can translate the environment into a 3d model through its sensors and camera videos sorry and and thus the and video cameras they magically fly which they return home safely almost to the precise spot where they left from amazon echo and apple’s homepod are amazing these are revolutionary products which can assist you to seem the web for information schedule appointments shop control lights and switches and thermostats answer questions read you audio books report traffic weather provide you with information on local businesses provide sports scores and your schedule just to call a few of smart watches are awesome which i always own one actually i’m such an electronic junkie that i always got to have the foremost up-to-date version of the apple i watch smart watches are equipped with advanced ai and will monitor your every move within the old days we’d walk 10 miles to highschool within the snow or so we thought and now we've smart watches and phone apps and AI wearables to tell us exactly how far we’re walking or running and they also track our pulse the number of calories burned and many other metrics artificial intelligence is gaining popularity at a quicker pace influencing the way that we live and interact with our surroundings the internet of things is growing larger every day and internet of things devices cannot function without AI and AI needs iot devices to be of greater use to humanity these technologies hold the power to transform our lives when it involves ai it’s difficult to truly know where we’re headed but we’ve come so far so quickly the thing is today that we don’t realize when we’re in-tuned with artificial intelligence because we’re getting so used to the technology doing new and amazing things each day that we don’t start to stop to believe the science behind the gadgets or the programs.

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empaths-hsp · 4 years

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10 Tips for Surviving an Outrage-Fueled Internet as a Highly Sensitive Person

Like it or not, we’re all in a long-term relationship with the internet. Here’s how to make it a peaceful one.

While the internet can seem like a dream come true, it’s also a big, scary digital world, and most of us can’t afford to go completely off-the-grid to avoid it. On the one hand, I personally love doing research and exploring new ideas — and the internet is like an endless buffet for doing exactly that. It feeds my mind, and since I’m a journalist, I use it often when I’m hunting for new sources or digging up truths.

But as a highly sensitive person, the internet can also be… overwhelming. Exhausting, even. Highly sensitive people (HSPs) are the twenty percent of the population who process information very deeply — which makes us both insightful and empathetic, but also easily overstimulated. As an HSP myself, there are days when I want nothing more than to chuck my phone and computer into a river and run away to a cabin in the woods, where the WiFi signal won’t be strong enough to load Wikipedia or Gmail even if I hadn’t gotten rid of all my devices.

Escaping the hustle and bustle of modernity might be a common daydream for HSPs, but it’s not a practical one. Most of us need to go online for work, to stay connected with loved ones, and do basic things like banking and grocery shopping.

10 Ways I Survive the Internet as an HSP

1. Know where to find “feed-your-soul” content — and go to it regularly.

Sometimes, even with the best intentions, you can wind up feeling completely burnt out just by spending a few hours online. When that happens, I like to turn to my collection of pick-me-ups. Sometimes, that’s visiting YouTube for inspirational videos, like the pep talk from Kid President (an oldie but goodie). Other times, I might look at the work of some of my favorite cartoonists, like Sarah Scribbles or XKCD. Similarly, everyone has different taste in art, so take some time to find work that feels like a warm blanket. Have this “comfort food” bookmarked or saved somewhere, whether on a playlist or in a folder, so you can quickly turn to it when the internet — especially news — is just too much to handle.

2. Make sure your music is working for you, too.

I love listening to music while I work, but sometimes even my favorite albums can feel overwhelming when combined with everything else that’s happening on my screen. When I need a little more mental space to process whatever I’m reading, I turn to nature sounds or white noise tracks. My favorite is the Spotify playlist “Birds in the Forest.” It’s incredibly soothing and helps me concentrate when my attention feels scattered. (You can also try this HSP playlist curated by a fellow highly sensitive person!)

3. Turn down the lights — or your screen’s brightness.

Since we HSPs are sensitive to any stimuli, that includes the level of light our eyes are taking in. Computer and phone screens are perpetually glowing beacons, and plenty of people have written about how that blue light can throw off our circadian rhythm before bed. But it can also be hard on your eyes to look at a bright screen with small font all day.

If you need the internet for work, try using apps like QuickShade to further refine the brightness of your computer screen. And if at all possible, stop looking at screens at least half an hour before bedtime! But if you must, make sure your screens are in night mode. These days, a lot of devices have dark mode capabilities and it’ll take you just a few minutes to adjust them. If you’re an Android person, you can also download an app like Dark Mode, and if you’re more an Apple person, you can try an app like NeuralCam NightMode.

4. Limit time on social media (and avoid doom-scrolling)…

We’ve all been there: one minute you’re checking Twitter for the latest news updates or to find something interesting to read, and the next thing you know, it’s been half an hour and you’re feeling shaky with the deluge of information. And it’s not just Twitter that pulls us into this endless vortex: it can happen on other social media platforms, on Reddit, and even on news websites. Yes, you’ve been trapped into doom-scrolling.

The internet — and especially social media — is designed to suck you in. Once you know that, you can plan strategies for protecting your time and energy. Set a timer whenever you go on social media and don’t let yourself stay there for longer than that time. Or, if your willpower isn’t strong enough, you can install browser extensions that block certain websites after you’ve been on them for too long — check out Limit for Google Chrome and FocusMe for an app that works across browsers and devices.

5. …But when you do go social media, make it meaningful.

Of course, social media isn’t inherently a bad thing: It can be a great way to stay in touch with friends, learn about new job opportunities, or simply socialize when you aren’t leaving the house. To get the most out of social media, invest in real relationships — use WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger to ask friends about their day or share memes or GIFs. Or, curate your Twitter account so that it shows a variety of perspectives and voices that you’re interested in hearing. For myself, I look for specific hashtags so that I can easily follow scientists, writers, and people in the chronically ill community. It has made my Twitter scrolling a lot less unpleasant.

6. Be intentional with how much you share.

We’ve all heard it before, but it is largely true: The internet is forever. And as much as we may want to assume people are acting with the best intentions, that’s just not true of everyone. “Mobs” form quickly, and just about anyone can end up being doxed or harassed. So be mindful of what you’re putting online. Share only as much of yourself as you are comfortable with strangers knowing. It can be a wonderful experience to have an intimate connection with someone you’ve never met in person, but make sure those conversations happen privately.

Like what you’re reading? Get our newsletter just for HSPs. One email, every Friday. Subscribe here.

7. Understand your capacity for news media and set boundaries.

Similarly to setting boundaries in how much you reveal about your personal life, you also need to understand your mental and emotional capacity for news, be it sad, dark, or uplifting. Because HSPs feel everything so deeply, even an innocuous story about the things scientists still don’t understand about pregnancy can lead to overstimulation (yes, this has happened to me). Once our brains get revved up, it can be very hard to calm them down.

To protect myself from being emotionally overwhelmed by bad news or overstimulated by some exciting bit of research, I try not to read any news after 5 p.m. I also limit how much I read about particularly dark subjects, the coronavirus pandemic being one prime example. I do want to be informed, but I stick to things like daily newsletters rather than reading every single piece of news I come across.

8. Take breaks.

This sounds obvious, though it can be hard to put into practice. But no matter what you’re doing online, whether it’s for work or for fun, be sure to spend some time away from your screen: go on a walk, play with your pet, play a board game, simply sit and stretch — the options are endless. You just need to be sure that you have those options in place so you don’t end up spending hours mindlessly going from one tab to the next online.

Need an extra-restorative break? Try a little time forest bathing.

9. Build “phone-free zones” in your life.

Smartphones are great in many ways, but they also mean you’re carrying a little computer with you wherever you go, which makes the temptation to hop online almost impossible to resist. At the park and see a cute dog? Post a picture to Instagram! Spending time with friends and you can’t remember the last movie some celebrity was in? Hop on Google!

We’ve all done it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t break that permanent connection we seem to have with our phones. Create phone-free zones in your home and life. Maybe it’s a no-phones-in-the-bedroom rule, or no-phones-after-a-certain-time-of-night. Since the internet is built to make us reliant on it, we are the ones who have to set rules and boundaries for when it is allowed to engage us.

10. Acknowledge and embrace the internet’s limitations.

In a lot of ways, the internet can be a sanctuary for HSPs: We are in control of the sites we visit, the time we spend on them, and the amount of information we absorb. It’s easy to think that if we curate our online experience perfectly, we’ll be in a safe bubble where we don’t have to deal with other people’s emotions. However…

That doesn’t mean being online is a substitute for life offline — we still need in-person experiences, whether it’s walking through a forest or having (socially distanced) dinner with friends. That’s just part of human psychology.

So it’s important to understand what the internet gives you, and what it doesn’t, as well as to understand how it can both help and harm you. The more you know about your relationship with the internet, the better you’ll be able to navigate it.

You Might Like:

News Overload Is Real. Here’s How It Affects Highly Sensitive People.

This Is What Overstimulation Feels Like for HSPs

7 ‘Rules’ for Highly Sensitive People to Protect Their Energy

The post 10 Tips for Surviving an Outrage-Fueled Internet as a Highly Sensitive Person appeared first on Highly Sensitive Refuge.

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#Empaths #Introverts #Highly Sensitive People #Tips

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derrickdent · 6 years

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BBHMM, OR HOW TO DEAL WITH THE DEADBEAT CLIENT

You’re a fucking freelancin’ badass, with a semi-steady flow of work, and you’re living the dream of doing **insert best/fave thing here** , and getting the money from your biggest fans. Can’t be better, right? Well, one of things you were probably not informed about is what happens when the dream sometimes becomes a financial nightmare. 30 day waits for payment. Invoices and reminders. Anxiety waiting for that check. Clients that don’t seem to care that you’re eating peanut butter for breakfast, lunch, and dinner while your payday is delayed in a death spiral of perpetuity. Getting stiffed sucks, and you gotta keep the lights on. How can you keep this bullshit at a minimum? I’m not a financial expert, but I’ve eaten a fair amount of shit trying to get money from clients that have a sense of urgency about everything except paying me. There’s a ton of info about this online, but hopefully my lewd voice in the choir is helpful. (Samuel L. Jackson voice) LET’S GET YOU YOUR MONEY, MUTHAFUCKA. FROM THE BEGINNING

Make sure that you get everything down in writing. Have a statement of work or a contract that states your scope of work, your fee, deadlines, usage restrictions, deliverables, and any notes about late fees, payment timetables, and billable expenses. (Example of a statement of work).

Make sure that a client knows that you can’t begin work without acknowledging these terms. They should return a signed copy of this document, or acknowledge its terms via email. Sometimes there’s a rush situation and you may be pressured to dive in. It’s still a clients responsibility to make sure everything is taken care of on paper, to protect you and to ensure that they are also in the best position to get the best from you.

If they “politely” ignore the contract, then reiterate the terms in a follow up email, with a polite call to action (ex: “Hi! I’m just making sure that we’re on the same page about what the scope of this project is all about. I going to be [**rates, usage, time, deliverables, expected expenses, payment expectations here**]. Is that correct?). It’s important to get this down on the front end. Depending on your state, this counts as a legally binding statement.

NOTE: Try to get an upfront deposit if you can. 30-50% is normal, and this is also a test of whether the client will be good for it after all is said and done. This is also an incentive to put your best foot forward. Some clients will balk at this, but if the early “what is your rate?” convo suggests this is a possibility, go for it. This also depends on the industry. This is almost impossible with editorial, and though I’ve heard mixed stories in publishing, it’s hard to get an advance or deposit unless you’re doing a full book. Large corporations often have a convoluted accounts payable system that pretty much guarantees money will be slower than human evolution. The best results I’ve had are with small, dynamic businesses and individual clients. Once they confirm the terms, then you can begin scheduling and first steps in a project. FAST FORWARD TO PROJECT COMPLETION

INVOICE IMMEDIATELY. Seriously. Do NOT delay this. Most clients are not going to remind you to send one after you’ve finished a project, and you are ultimately responsible for this. (example invoice). Include the basics: your business name your contact info and address the client’s info and address an invoice number total due

Don’t forget an invoice number- accounts payable folks have a hard time placing your invoice in their system without one, and you don’t want to delay things because of a technicality. You can use a simple numbering convention: I use my initials and a double digit combo (ex: DD01). Also, if you haven’t gotten an EIN, get one from the IRS. WHEN YOU APPLY, ONLY GO TO THE .GOV IRS LINK. SCAMS ARE A-PLENTY AND I WANT YOU TO AVOID TEARS THO. An EIN is great, because it can be very compromising to keep putting your SSN out there, and in some cases an EIN can get you paid faster. You should itemize your work in the invoice, similarly to how you would find items on a receipt (ex: 1- Illustration for “client and application”, **brief description** = $THIS AMOUNT.00) Write amounts in dollars and cents. Instead of “$3000”, write “$3000.00”. Again, this helps your client or client’s accountants process your payment a touch faster, and saved time counts. Include a line with a total of your billable expenses. These are items that you HAD TO purchase to finish your work. Make sure you keep your receipts, and make a PDF slideshow with scans of those items for transparency’s sake. Send that PDF with your invoice. Finally, include a line that is the grand total of EVERYTHING. Put that total in BOLD PRINT just to make sure that it’s clear what the client owes. If necessary, you can include direct deposit info. This includes your routing and account number. This way, you give the client another way to pay you, and you can fight off the delay of waiting for a paper check. Even though it’s assumed in many places, make it clear that payment is due NOW. From the moment you send the final invoice out, the onus is on the client to pay up. They should confirm receipt of this, but if they’re slow after a day or two, give them a quick email reminder. NOTE: If you have a client’s phone number, keep it handy. This will come in handy later. FAST FORWARD TO A FEW WEEKS LATER AND YOU HAVEN’T BEEN PAID YET

Either way, you’re waiting (and hopefully pursuing other work!) for money that you need. The timeframe for a reminder varies. Some people will drop a friendly note after 15 days. I tend to be a bit generous, and will wait until 10 days before the invoice is late. The email is friendly, and assumes good faith. Something like: “Hi! I just wanted to touch base about the payment for this invoice. Is there any progress on this? Is there anything I can do to assist with this? Please note that you will be 30 days late on (date here). If so, then a (late fee percentage) will be added to the final amount due.” The key is to emphasize some kind of fiscal penalty. People don’t like to spend more money, so you’ll, at the very least, get a response to let you know that things are being processed. You may also get redirected to an accounting department. If you get a number or an email to them, HOLD ON TO THIS INFO. Hopefully, at this point, the client gets the push to make good on payment. FAST FORWARD TO 30 DAYS AND NO PAYMENT

At this point, you are apprehensive because no one wants to wait to be able to pay bills, eat pizza, and enjoy their own Netflix account. The dynamic changes now, because this is the day that the client has to pay you before it’s late. Tomorrow is late. In some states, you have legal recourse to pursue payment (In NYC, the default timetable for freelance payment is 30 days). You should email your client reminding them that payment is due today. If you have their number, call them as well to reinforce this message, but emails are important now. Each email you send is a recorded effort to receive payment, and they are timestamped for posterity. Note that a client may have already sent a payment out, but the check is transit. Also, calling/emailing an accounts payable department will reveal that a payment has been made and it will be in your bank account in a few business days. Get confirmation of this before you continue. AFTER THE INVOICE IS 30 DAYS LATE

Clients need the benefit of the doubt, but it’s their responsibility to pay you now. After 30 days, you have “permission” to increase the frequency of your correspondence. During the first 10 days of being late, I will email and call every other business day (Monday, Wednesday, Friday was my model, but it may differ for you). Afterwards, I will check in once a day. This may seem excessive, but persistence goes a long way. You may get an exasperated response, but don’t stop until you get a confirmation of payment or a layout and timeline of the payment. If you have a contact within a company, use them as your ally within an organization. It’s easier to get things moving with someone on the inside, and pressure on them will translate to pressure elsewhere to get you to stop asking for your money. Be professional, but direct. They owe you, and any further delay will result in additional fees, and possible collection action (including legal action to collect). If you have a number for accounts payable, hammer them hard. They will be probably be your last line of communication, and you’ll need to get an email to reach them again, an employee name to refer to, and a timeline for payment.

SIDEBAR>>> NYC CREATIVE PROS AND THE FIFA ACT

If you live in NYC, you have an additional resource: the city government. The NYC Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), and The Office of Labor Policy and Standards (OLPS) have a complaint form that you should fill out as soon as the client is over 30 days late. The Freelance Isn’t Free Act (FIFA, passed in 2017) is very clear that what your client is doing is ILLEGAL, and the city will assist you in gathering materials to make a case for nonpayment. Fill the complaint form out, be very specific about your client and any related contacts. Note, they are not legal representation as much as they’re navigators who will help you find legal counsel and resources needed to file a claim in court. Remember when I said to get everything in writing? That’s important. It may be a bit of work, but find every email thread related to your freelance gig. If you’re doing this on your mobile, open the thread. Go to the first message. Find where the “print” option is. You’ll be taken to a preview window. Look for the “download” button. This is really easy with Gmail. You can basically save the entire thread as an organized PDF, with messages in chronological order

Do this with every gig-related email attached to the overdue payment. Save these PDFs to a folder. Create sub folders that can put this correspondence in context, like chapters (ex: one folder is “Beginning of Job”, another “Job in Progress”, another “Invoice/Payment Requests”). This will make it easier to navigate everything. Include the PDF folder (zipped) with your complaint folder. OLPS will take a sec to get back to you, since you’re not the only person in NYC that gets stiffed. After about 5 biz days, give them a call. This can help you get ahead of the pack. You will receive a call from an OLPS office case manager who will confirm your info. They will ask if you’ve been paid. If yes, then you can thank them and call everything off. If not, they will send a certified letter (WITH AN OFFICIAL ASS LETTERHEAD) to your client, reminding them that they’re late. They have 20 days to respond to this- if they don’t, then they will basically be on the hook to go to court for a nonpayment case. You’ll have to either get a lawyer to rep you, or you can rep yourself, but the client is on the hook to prove they don’t owe you. Since you already have a record of your interactions, this will be very difficult for them. It should be noted that clients tend to get reallll antsy when the government says that they owe money. They’ll probably contact you directly. Keep up with these responses. Each email builds out the timeline of your case, and is fodder for the cannon. At this point, they usually pay up. DISCLOSURE: I’ve never had to go to court, so you may need to look elsewhere for advice. This may be a good place to start. SPEAKING OF DOCUMENTATION- I forgot to add that you should record your calls when speaking to clients that are late. ACR is a free app that allows you to record your calls. Make sure recording is legal in your state, and always let clients know that the call is being recorded. You can borrow the “for quality control purposes” line if you’d like. Sometimes people will try to circumvent documentation by using the phone. Don’t let them weasel out of that. LASTLY, this is specifically related to NY. The parts about documenting your correspondence are universal, though. Wherever you are, a vital part of making a civil case is piling on the material against a deadbeat. Be vigilant and persistent. I would suggest looking into whether there is a state govt. entity that you can go to about civil cases, and also look up if there are any local volunteer/low cost lawyers in your area.

The FIFA Act has been a gamechanger in giving freelancers more power to get what is owed to them, and my hope is that other cities follow suit, or organize to get similar legislation for this purpose. SIDEBAR AGAIN>>> LAWYERS

Another way to get a client to pay up faster is to lawyer up earlier. After 30 days, you should see what your options are. If you can afford it, you can consult with a lawyer and get a pro opinion about your case. They may be able to send a stern letter to your deadbeat client (WITH AN OFFICIAL ASS LETTERHEAD) prompting them to pay or else. Like with a government agency, people don’t like surprises from legal. They will probably pay up quick, but if they stick it out, then you can file a claim and take them to civil court. This will be costly for you and your client, so nonpayment usually gets resolved before this happens. If not, know that if a court rules in your favor, the client will have to pay you and cover your legal fees. My experience with lawyers is limited, and I would suggest looking elsewhere for particulars. Also, keep in mind how much you’re owed. A $300 case may not be worth as much squeeze as a $3000 or $30000 one. If it’s a low ball sum you’re owed. You may have an easier time calling it a loss and moving on.

EDIT: I’ve been told that contingency fee lawyers are out there that don’t collect fees until after an event (like you winning or losing a judgment for example), but they’re kinda like unicorns for freelancers and tend to take on bigger cases. It doesn’t hurt to see if any are out there anyway!

NEW!>>> COLLECTION AGENCIES

So, you may want to seek help through a collection agency. They have the time and resources to call, mail, and chase money when you’re trying to focus on good clients that pay on time and are depending on your A game.

The good news is that most are contingency fee based. That is, they won’t collect anything from you until they get the money from your client.

The down side? They can take anywhere between 18-40% of what your client’s debt is. Note that I didn’t say WHAT THEY COLLECT. If your client owes $100, and the contingency based fee is $30, an agency will take $30 even if they only get $60.

Also, based on a lawyer friend’s input, if your collection agency is legally shady, you may be indirectly on the line if your deadbeat client decides to sue said agency. Also your payment, connected to the collection agency and your client’s legal battle, will be held in indefinite limbo.

So do your homework and weigh your options before taking this route.

FAST FORWARD TO 60 DAYS Fortunately, I haven’t had to do this, but you can start pursuing legal action to get your money. Check on state laws to make sure this is the case, as well as the particulars about filing a claim. By this time, you should hopefully have a lawyer or some legal counsel at your disposal. If you don’t, then look up the laws of your state and local area to see where you stand if you have to rep yourself. Remember that as long as you have written acknowledgment of your terms of work and written acknowledgment of your invoice, things should lean in your favor. THE END

HOPEFULLY this has been helpful. The best parts of freelance (independence, flexibility, control, and self-prescribed wages) are often at odds with the pitfalls (feast-or-famine dynamics, wearing of all of the hats, taking all of the risks). It can feel like robbery when you put your blood, sweat, and tears into a project only to have an empty bank account as thanks. Some of this info is boilerplate, and some is from direct experience. If any of this relates to you, and you were able to get closer to your hard earned scrill because of this, I can die happy(er).

GOD SPEED AND GET PAID, GODDAMMIT!

ADDENDUM: One of the things that I didn’t emphasize enough is that doing this will be emotionally draining. Unless you are a robot or a stone cold Type A business beast, it will strain you. Make sure that you’re taking care of yourself mentally.

If you have a partner or family, make sure to take the help and support they provide and don’t turn your money issues into a personal issue with them.

Also, doing this requires energy. It will feel like a part time job, and even if there are late fees that factor into what you get paid, this will largely be unpaid labor.

Persistence is key, but I’m not going to pretend that it’s not hard or that you won’t have other obligations that make keeping up the effort difficult. I’m lucky in that my girlfriend and I have a relatively low-expense lifestyle, and no dependents, and we’re both fairly flexible because we both freelance full time, and that we had a bit of financial padding saved to weather the storm. Mileage will certainly vary.

Edit: Tumblr is weird about making links visible, so I put them in bold body font for you to find them easier.

#Illustration #invoices #payment #business #deadbeats

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copperbadge · 6 years

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Hey Sam! I remember you mentioned a while ago that you keep your life organized through a rolling check list of to-dos, and as someone who is Trying To Get Her Life Together, I was wondering what app you use? Thanks!

Oh, good luck! Remember it takes time.

In an effort to make sure I would actually use it, I wanted a to-do list that would be constantly accessible and visible, so I just went with Google Tasks. I always have Gmail open and pinned to my browser bar, so it’s always there, and it doesn’t take any time to load. It has an app for my phone that syncs easily and it’s so basic that I never have to remember where anything is or how to do anything. I have one list for every day of the week, and everything goes in by day, and I don’t fuck with deadlines if I don’t absolutely have to.

I don’t know if that will work for you, because I’m a huge fan of “find what works for you” rather than “fit yourself to this system”. But I have had GREAT luck always thinking about what will:

1. Be easiest to access

2. Take the least time to access

3. Take the least time to learn

4. Be simplest to use

For some that’ll be Google Tasks, but hell, for my mother it’s just the notepad function on her phone, for some people it’s a bullet journal, for others it could even be a big ol’ full bells and whistles program like Asana. So I would start with thinking about what kind of program will make you most likely to use it, and explore those first.

(I hope it’s ok if I post this publicly, I find lots of people can use posts like this in their lives.)

#kitsparrow

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totallygayforzendaya · 6 years

Text

Same Email, Different Day ~ Soulmate AU! Spierfield

A/n: So starting Fanfiction on tumblr for the first time, hope it goes well!! Wish me luck and I’ll try my best to make it look nice.

FROM: [email protected]

TO: [email protected]

DATE: November 12, 10:46 PM

SUBJECT: RE: Hand Pulls

So, I’m sixteen, started feeling a weird tug on my hand, it was..well weird. I had told my mom about it and she told me soulmates were the real deal. She said that her and my dad were soulmates. After that I didn’t talk to her and just searched it up online. Did you know that ‘a tug on your hand’ is a common search result for the internet? Like do you know how much people that would be? Anyways, it said that soulmates can vary from each person. Some have a red string that tugs on their hand (which I think I have), wings, tattoos, a countdown on your wrist, or you have to kiss the person to recieve a mark. How do feel about the word ‘soulmates’ Blue? I’m sorry that if I sound like a hopeless romantic, but I think it’s cute, being destined to be with someone. What do you think?

Love, Jaques

FROM: [email protected]

TO: [email protected]

DATE: November 12, 11:00 PM

SUBJECT: RE: Hand Pulls

It’s alright Jaques, it’s totally natural to feel a tug on your hand. I feel it as well, well sometimes. It only happens when I’m at school, which probably means that I’m soulmates with someone at OUR school. Yeah it’s kinda weird, knowing you have someone out there for you but you don’t know who they are. You should really talk to your mom more often, she’s smart. And you searched something up online? Please tell me you didn’t use Wikipedia, those things are untrustworthy. The word soulmates is just a word for me. My parents were never soulmates, they just couldn’t find their significant other at the time. Dad had left because he found his soulmate, but I’m not judging. And you are a total romantic. Talking to me on gmail AND giving me compliments every now and then, a complete romantic.

Love, Blue

Simon rolls his eyes as he reads Blue’s reply. He had no idea who Blue was but still felt a familiar tug on his hand. It happened every time Simon thought of Blue, or as well know, Bram. Yeah, cute soccer boy is the quirky, romantic, poetic Blue, didn’t see that coming huh?

Well he is and Simon had no clue, which made the tugging a little more weirder. Simon types up a reply before going to bed, thinking sleep was what he needed to not think of Blue.

FROM: [email protected]

TO: [email protected]

DATE: November 13, 12:21 AM

SUBJECT: RE: Hand Pulls

Don’t worry, I didn’t use wiki. Nevermind, yeah I did. But I asked my mom for confirmation. She was happy to hear that I wouldn’t end up alone. And I guess we’re the same, it mainly happens during school as well. I kinda hate it because it could pull me so hard that I’d almost fall to the ground. I had told everyone around who had seen that I just tripped on air. And I am not a romantic. Don’t you remember my past relationships? Running away from kissing someone isn’t really romantic.

Love, Jaques

The next morning, Simon had gotten ready the best he could. He didn’t check his laptop, or his phone. But Simon looked at the outfit he had choosen, thinking it was fine. Blue jeans, olive hoodie, and his denim jacket, so the usual. He checks the time before running off outside.

I WOKE UP LATE!

He thinks, jumping into his car. He stops by Leah’s house, honking his horn.

“I’m sorry, I missed my alarm” Simon says, looking at Leah through the open window.

“It’s okay, you got here, now let’s go pick up the two love birds” she says, getting in the passenger seat. He drives to Nick’s house, him jumping in, before leaving to Abby’s.

“So Si, hows it going?” Nick says, leaning against the passenger and driver seat. Simon had came out to Nick, Leah, and Abby after the gay club they had went to.

“Pretty good, you-know-who is still talking to me, so I’m just a ray of sunshine” he says, not really wanting to say Blue aloud. It was just so that people around them wouldn’t overhear their conversation. Most specifically Blue.

Simon didn’t want Blue to know that he thought of him as his soulmate. Just think about it, it felt like fate that we met.

“You? A ray of sunshine?” Abby asks, earning a laugh throughout the whole car. Simon parks at school, already feeling a tug on his hand. Nick and Abby were soulmates, that was for sure. They had matching tattoos on their wrists and it flowed the first time they met. Leah hadn’t found her yet, claiming she had about one more week until she’d meet hers, having a clock on her wrist.

“So I have that red string thing, and it’s someone in this school” he confesses, his arm pulling to the passenger seat window.

“Oooh I bet it’s a guy”

“But what guy?” Leah asks Abby, smiling at him.

“Cal Price?” Nick says, tilting his head to the side in thought.

“Garret Laughlin?” Leah says, biting her lip as she thinks of the soccer player.

“Bram Greenfield?” Abby wonders, the name making Simon’s brain work. Green could be something, but wasn’t that part of Blue’s email?

“Earth to Si, we’ve gotta get to class” Nick says, snapping his fingers in front of his face. Simon shakes his head before getting up from the driver seat. Leah and Abby has already left, had been needing to get to their locker. Simon started walking inside the school when he felt a tug on his hand. He falls from the force, shrieking softly.

“Nick! Help!!” Simon pleads as his arm pulls him forward. There was no explanation for it but those who were sixteen knew exactly what was going on. Nick runs after him, grabbing the hand that wasn’t being pulled and pulls him up.

“Fuck that hurt” Simon groans, shaking his hand, wanting to stop the aching coming from it. Nick laughs and shakes his head as Bram and Garret walk over to them.

“That was sick Spier, wonder who your soulmate is” Garret says, taking a quick glance to Bram. He had been tugged as well but held onto his locker so he wouldn’t be dragged.

“Do you think it was you-know-who?” Nick mumbles at Simon but it wasn’t really quiet. Bram gave Nick a confused look before looking at Simon. He looks away as quick as he looked.

“Yeah, I wonder” Simon says before taking out his phone. He hadn’t checked it this whole morning and almost screamed out in joy as he sees a email from Blue, one from this morning.

“Oh shit, Nick, cover for me” he says before running to the bathroom, strangely feeling the tug on my hand.

Simon goes in one of the stalls before reading Blue’s email.

FROM: bluegreen118@gmailcom

TO: [email protected]

DATE: November 13, 6:57 AM

SUBJECT: RE: Hand Pulls

Yeah, forgot about that...you really need to not run. Hasn’t your parents told you to not run from your problems? Every time I feel the tug on my hand, I’d hold onto whatever was closest. I’m surprised I haven’t grabbed another person before. My dad, when I visited last, told me that his friend used to do that and then next thing you know he grabbed my dad and pulled him all the way to the girl locker room where my dad’s friends soulmate was, it was hilarious when he told me. You know, sometimes, I wish you’d be my soulmate, since you already know more about me than anybody else.

Love, Blue

Simon’s heart beat grew fast as he read the email. Blue had felt the same. His smile grows as he types a reply.

FROM: [email protected]

TO: [email protected]

DATE: November 13, 8:34 AM

SUBJECT: RE: Hand Pulls

That is quite the story. My mom and dad met when they saw each other’s wings. So, nothing special. My sister, she met her soulmate in collage with the clock on her wrist. They bumped into each other and spilled coffee on each other. They thought their clocks short circuited but it ended up then being soulmates. I wouldn’t mind if you were my soulmate to be honest. But I was wondering if you’d like to meet up?

Love, Jaques

Simon reread his email over and her again before hitting send. He puts his phone in his pocket before running to his and Nick’s class.

“So how was the words from the principal?” The teacher asked and he nods his head.

“It was good” he says, smiling softly before sitting down on his seat. Simon knew that time would fly so slow as he waits for another email and the day to end.

*time skip*

Bram breathed out as he sat on the lunch table during lunch. He had seen the email that Jaques had sent and was thinking about it the rest of the day. Did he want to meet him? Of course he did! Was Bram ready to meet the anonymous person he’s Ben talking to? Yes, yes he was. And after all of these thoughts, he decided to write a reply.

FROM: [email protected]

TO: [email protected]

DATE: November 13, 12:38 PM

SUBJECT: RE: Carnival?

Your sister really is an amazing person. And to be completely serious, I’d love to meet you. There’s a carnival opening tomorrow. Are you able to come? I’d really really like to meet you

Love, Blue

Bram nervously looks at Simon, seeing his face light up when he gets a notification from his phone. Yeah, he knew. Simon talked the way he wrote. Bram thought it was cute, like his hair. Simon’s glasses, his personality, go he was the most cutest boy that Bram knew. He just made him shy and he never talked to him that much.

FROM: [email protected]

TO: [email protected]

DATE: November 13, 12:40 PM

SUBJECT: RE: Carnival?

Yeah, it’s a wonder she’s my sister, I’m not like that at all. I’m free tomorrow and think the carnival would be a good idea. How will I know it you?

Love, Jaques

FROM: [email protected]

TO: [email protected]

DATE: November 13, 12:43 PM

SUBJECT: RE: Carnival?

I bet you are an amazing person in real life Jaq. You’ll find me with a tug on your wrists. And if not, I’ll mind you.

Love, Blue

Simon’s heart raced fast as he looked at the email. Nick nudges his shoulder, have been reading over his shoulder and scaring Simon.

“Jesus Christ Nick, don’t do that” he says, almost instantly pulling the phone to his chest. He glares at Nick, earning a chuckle for the soccer player.

“I couldn’t help it, I just wanted to see what you and you-know-who were talking about. Oh and me, Abby, and Leah are going” Nick nods, as another (cute) soccer player was watching.

“Alright, I’ll give you guys a ride” Simon says, pocketing his phone. Oh how he wasn’t expecting the next day.

*time skip brought to you by Abby changing from Cleopatra to Wonder Woman*

“You looking for someone Si?” Abby asks, tilting her head to the side to look at Simon, who was sitting on the curb, facing the carnival.

“Yeah, wait how’d you know?” He asks, looking up at her, Nick’s arm wrapped around her shoulders. Leah had walked away with Anna and Morgan, going to the carousel.

“Your eyes are looking around, hope you find them” she says before walking away, leaving Simon to his thoughts. It was already 8:30, since the carnival was to close in a few minutes, he decided to go on the tilt-a-whirl. Using up his last ticket, he gets in a capsule. The tilt-a-whirl were round capsules with a wheel in the middle for you to spin yourself fast.

“Can I sit here?” Simon hears a familiar voice and looks up, seeing cute calf, Bram Greenfield.

“Yeah, go ahead” he says, smiling at him, scooting over so Bram could sit down. They put on their seatbelts before Simon starts to stare at Bram, realizing what was going on.

“Blue?” Bram perks up at Simon’s voice, looking up from his intent stare at the wheel in the middle.

“Hey Jaques, or should I say Simon?”

“You knew?”

“Well of course I did, you talk the way you write” Bram says, shrugging his shoulders.

“Oh” and thats when the ride started. Bram almost instantly grabs onto the bar, his knuckles turning white from how tight he was holding on. Simon, remembering the email of his nauseousness, holds onto the wheel, trying to make the capsule not spin. But it just kept spinning, as if it was programmed to. But little did the two know, the ride wasn’t the only thing spinning.

Simon’s head was spinning, have been thinking about Bram being Blue. Bram’s stomach was doing somersaults as he thinks of Simon knowing he was Blue.

Everything was okay, as it had always been between the two. One soccer player and one Dit.

And after one hand pull, they knew.

They were meant to be together.

#spierfeld #simon spier #bram gayfield

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nextgenmpscenes-blog · 5 years

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Next Gen Scenes: Rules

All participants must be 18 or older. We as fest mods are not responsible for anyone under 18 participating.

All submissions will remain anonymous until reveals go up. Please refrain from posting them elsewhere until then.

About Submissions:

Every month we’ll post up to 5 prompts. You can pick one (or more) prompts, and run with it.

You may submit a stand-alone drabble or a scene.

What do we mean by a scene? A scene is a division of a novel, representing a single episode. It can have both beginning and ending, or none of those.

What is a drabble? A drabble is a short piece of fiction that generally stands alone and isn’t part of a larger story.

Submissions must be over 100 words, and under 1000 words.

Can I submit a new part of a story I’m writing? Yes, as long as all our other rules apply. We’ll require a link to the original story within the work. Keep in mind that our anonymity rule won’t apply to you if you do this. :)

Can my submission be part of a series I’m writing? Yes. Please read the answer to question above.

Can I continue writing one of my submissions, either through other submissions, or on my own? Absolutely! All we ask is that you please wait until reveals are posted before posting anything new.

Can I submit more than one scene or drabble per month? We place no limits! As long as they are based on one (or more) of the supplied prompts for the month, go nuts.

Can I submit a scene or drabble for an old prompt? Of course! We won’t promote it, and you won’t be anonymous. Regardless, people will be able to see it from our archive. :)

We’ll be accepting any work where the main character is Next Gen. Next Gen Fest has a comprehensive list that you can see right here—their mod graciously agreed to let us link it, thank you mod!

We will take any pairing, any rating, any type of story as long as our rules apply. Crossgen is accepted, femslash is accepted, solo characters are accepted. Basically, anything is accepted as long as the rest of our rules apply.

Please remember to mention on your notes the prompt (or prompts) you claimed. It will make our lives easier!

All submissions must be beta’d. If you need help finding a beta, please let us know.

If you think your work contains anything potentially triggering, please tag for it. We’d appreciate it. That said, we are not responsible for your content.

All works should be posted to the Ao3 collection open that month. There’s a guide on how to do that here. If you have any trouble doing that, please contact us at nextgenmpsmods (at) gmail (dot) com.

I’d like to submit something this month, but don’t have an Ao3 account. Please contact us here or at nextgenmpsmods (at) gmail (dot) com. We’ll do our best to get you an invite. :)

Our Ao3 collection will be given the first day of each month, along with our prompts.

It will stay open from the 1st to the 25th day of the month. We’ll re-open it once anonymous works are revealed, (re:posting for old prompts).

We expect you to submit your work yourself—there’s a guide here. As soon as we see it and check all rules apply, we’ll approve it.

We’ll post a link to all our anonymous works on our tumblr on the first day of the next month.

Works will remain anonymous until the 15th of the following month. We’ll reblog the previous post when the 15th gets here, only this time it won’t be exactly anonymous. :)

Your rules have not answered my questions. Feel free to e-mail us at nextgenmpsmods (at) gmail (dot) com. We’ll try our best to provide a suitable reply!

About Prompting:

Do not include a pairing or a set character. All prompts should be open to use with any Next Gen character.

Keep them brief, keep them open! We want to promote creativity and originality amongst all participants. Give us a word, a line, a song, a photograph, a what if, a trope non-centered on a single Next Gen character… options are endless! :)

Please keep in mind that the works produced will not be addressed to you.

I’ve read all this and I still want to prompt. Fantastic! Follow this link and gift us with your wisdom.

The prompts released for each month will be chosen at random.

There is no limit to the number of prompts you can leave, so prompt away!

Intro | Schedule | Credits | Previous Works Posted

#rules post #next gen monthly prompt scenes #ngmps: rules #ccsquad #hp next gen #another harry potter fest #next gen scenes: a monthly fest #next gen scenes

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ourneedlesandstitches · 6 years

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A Day in the Crown City

(What really happened after the Grad Ball)

It was a fine Saturday. The bright Marbel sky had kissed our skin as we paraded our way going back to our individual homes. The remnants of the last night's Graduation Ball were still on our minds. The party was vibrant and spectacular at the same time. Our stay at the Japanese Courtyard Hotel was a blast. We had a remarkable night not just for the party itself but also to the many in-betweens.

While waiting for our ride, Ate Sol, Maam Ge and I were very busy talking about the recent happening. If our heart was full; our stomach was also stuffed with the sumptuous breakfast served at the Gecko Bar. I was in hype maybe because of the dose of caffeine I swallowed.

Our ride had just came. We had instructed the driver for our individual destinations. Maam Ge and I were busy chitchatting at the back while Ate Sol was also talking with her friend. When we reach KCC, I got down first then bid goodbye to each of them.

I automatically went down to the baggage section and deposited my paper bag and suitbag with my dashing outfit inside of it. I was in hurry because I will be returning the cravat that I had borrowed from my cousin since he will be using it for the graduation this afternoon. I went directly to the commissary and happily gave back the borrowed embellishment to him.

After which, I went directly to the john to do my business. I dashed out after I washed my hands and headed my way to the elevator. I was in the middle of the thing, when the blackout happened all of a sudden. I can't see nothing and I was transfixed at the moment. I fished out my phone from my satchel for me to use my portable flashlight so that I can go through the next floor. I was horrified when I wasn't able to grasp the familiar texture of my mobile phone.

I slowly moved my feet and pretended that I have eyes like that of a cat. We waited for about five long minutes for the power to return. During those moments, I was in a frantic state because every minute is precious for me to trace the whereabouts of my phone. I went down and rechecked the paper bag and suitbag and even asked the staff if she had noticed the phone I was carrying when I was transacting earlier but to no avail. I even returned to the commissary but found nothing. My legs are weakening and my stomach is churning. I can sense that my adrenal gland was already mad and my mind is already postulating.

The next thing I know, I was already flying straight to the apartment of Ate Sol and asked whether they had noticed my phone when I got down earlier from our ride. I was in the verge of loosing hope already since we contacted my phone but no one is answering. It keeps on ringing and ringing.

Then, I contacted Maam Ge through Ate Sol's mobile and asked her the same thing. She mentioned that before she got down, she checked the crevices of the ride but found nothing. This time, I was keeping my cool for me to think well and remember when was the last time I got hold of my phone. Yes, I vividly remember that I was holding it when we were waiting for the ride. I even texted my cousin and slid the phone back to the right pocket of my board shorts.

The thing I have to do now is to change all of my passwords for my email and social media accounts. So, I texted Maam Ge to meet me at the The Coffee Table for us to use their WiFi connection since the power is still off. But when we got there, the shop was close. So we went to the The Coffee Bar adjacent to Powermania. We ordered two large Hazelnut Frappuccino and do the necessary thing for me to salvage all of my accounts.

I was too engrossed on the changing of my passwords. I was really remembering everything since I have different sets of passwords and usernames to all of my socials. Before I got out earlier from Ate Sol's apartment, I had already changed the password of my Facebook account since this one is very mainstream. The rest of the accounts followed including my Gmail.

When were done, I tried to contact again my phone using Maam Ge's cellphone but still, it was ringing and nobody is answering. I must have dropped it somewhere but if I did, we might be able to hear the fall, right?

It was already 2 o'clock when we decided to part ways. Still, I was apologetic to Maam Ge for the trouble I caused. She reassured me that 'twas fine. I told her that I have to return inside the mall and ask some personnel at the paging counter to inquire whether somebody had seen my phone. One of them said that I have to go to the CRS Office near the parking lot and he said that I could actually instruct someone to view the CCTV footage.

My hope was back! So I run like retard dog and headed my way to the second floor carpark area. When I got their, an angelic face with deep-seated eyes greeted me with all his full-smile-teeth-out-kind-of-thing move. So I have to tell him, in simplest form, what had happened. I thought it would be easy. But it wasn't! I even filled out some information and wrote in detailed narrative all of the things which had happened earlier this morning. With all the hustle which involves a short interview and photo taking using his cellphone for the documentation blah blah blah, I asked him if I could now view the footage. He said, with an echoing sound, "No!" He said that I still have to file a blotter at the Koronadal City Police Station. Hope slipped again.

I was loosing my mind this time. From KCC, I even walked on foot going to the KCPS. When I was at the station, the chief of police asked me some basic questions. He then told me to proceed to the adjacent building and asked for an Incident Report Form (IRF). I faced another policeman and do as what the previous chief had instructed. Since the current is still not working, the cop told me that he cannot do the printing and besides, the Non-uniform Personnel (NUP), who are responsible for that protocol, are not on duty during weekends. He told me to return on Monday for me to continue my hunt.

Hope is shattered! But I didn't cry. I even told Maam Ge earlier that I hope whoever saw my phone will be able to use it in good ways.

I got out from the police station and call a tricycle driver to transport me back to KCC. Then, I watched a movie entitled Us starred by Lupita Nyong'o. But don't blame me if I am that insensitive. I guess, I just want to chill for a moment and forgot the mishap. I've had enough!

When the movie was done, (Spoiler Alert: it was great and I have written a seperate literary criticism and microblog for this movie) I went to the green baggage counter and asked for my stuff. Another personnel had even asked me if I had already found my phone. To me, it feels like a mockery. I just leered and moved on. I walked through the other side of the mall and went directly to the terminal going to Tantangan.

I seated at the backride of the tricycle and waited for two more passengers for it to go. Then, out of the blue, I saw my mom. She instructed me to get down first. She was in a hurry and shakily asked me if I had gotten my phone already. I just shrugged. I told her, I lost it.

I was tailing her and while walking, she told me that somebody had answered her call from my phone. Thank heavens! She told me that a brisked voice picked up the phone and told her if she could actually get my phone. The man even instructed my mother to get it on the next morning. But my mother insisted to claim the phone already. I found out that the man, my mom is communicating in the phone with, is actually the same man whom we had had our ride earlier this morning. This time, I burst and cried all the tears I had kept since I lost that gadget. I thanked him and his wife for the kind gesture of returning my phone. I really couldn't believe it.

After which, my mom bought some bread and fruits since the man's wife is the cashier and baker at the Julie's Bakeshoppe. I instructed my mama not to get the change.

When we head home, I was actually contemplating and realized a lot of things. What have I done Lord to do me such huge favor? I knew this story, is an ordinary one but it had taught me a lot of morals which will forever be engraved in my mind.

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sarkastically · 6 years

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friday, november, ancient, yesterday :D

friday: most self-indulgent fic you have ever posted?

Most of my fics tend to be pretty self-indulgent. Most of my writing, in general, is self-indulgent, written because it’s something I want to see/read unless it’s a prompt but even those tend to skew how I want them to go. As far as fic indulging whatever whim I hit upon, “Clay” probably takes top prize there. I just keep thinking of more things I think would be cool to see in it and stacking those onto what’s already there, which is likely going to make it a monolithic mess, but I’m enjoying it.

november: do you have any rituals or requirements for getting in the mood for writing?

It depends. I almost always need music but not music that’s going to distract me. Music that matches what I’m writing about. This tends to be why I listen to the same playlist constantly. If I’m adding music to a playlist in big chunks, I am not writing, I am song archiving.

I also need to not be able to get onto the internet and distract myself. I can get kind of bad about that when I’m at the desktop, checking Tumblr and my Gmail and loads of other things instead of writing. This is why a lot of my current writing gets done on my hacked Fire because it doesn’t really surf well. It especially doesn’t surf well when it’s connected to the Bluetooth keyboard so it’s an easy way to keep myself focused. If I use the desktop, I’ll let the StayFocused app “turn off” access to certain things for a set amount of time.

I usually need at least one cup of coffee before doing anything. I can’t write after work because my brain is too tired. I typically don’t write on off days/weekends currently because there are hundreds of other things (cleaning, cooking, errands, crochet) that need to get done and my trade-off for writing before work every morning is that I do not guilt myself about not writing on the weekends. I will write on the weekends if inspiration hits, but I’ve been less on the inspiration writing train and more on the keep going writing train lately. (Winters are hard for me between inevitable holiday disappointments and seasonal depression stuff and sometimes I just have to make myself go like the little engine that could.)

ancient: the first fic you ever posted online?

I don’t even know that I can answer this one. I have been writing fanfic in various ways since as long as I can remember. Honestly, when I was going through my dad’s things to see what I wanted versus what could be sold/thrown away, I came across a large collection of notebooks from elementary school that were obviously some sort of Nightmare on Elm Street/Baby-Sitter’s Club mash-up fanfic, and I literally do not know how I wasn’t sent to a counselor for that except that the teachers were probably like, “Sara wrote twenty more pages of that weird shit, and I literally do not have time for this.” idk

We got the internet at home when I was in Middle School. I used to print fanfic out on my dox matrix printer to read because I couldn’t tie the phone line up long enough to read it over dial-up. I was making fanfic websites on free sites for ages, but I know it started in high school. I’m just not exactly sure when.

My first fanfic was likely X-Men related. Or X-Files. Or Star Trek Voyager. But X-Men, especially New Mutants, is the most likely because I joined an email mailing list for X-Men related fanfic almost first thing when I was on the internet. And it was likely posted in at least 1996, though it’s possible it could have been earlier. I don’t have all the emails anymore, but know that I am a fandom old and that almost all of that super embarrassing writing from when I was very young is online and it’s terrible.

And because I am not feeling terribly embarrassed right now, it’s located here: http://www.angelfire.com/comics/magikfanfic/ (Fair warning, there aren’t a lot of warnings for potential issues on those because we didn’t do that so much then, and I have not really kept anything up on that site since, like, 2002 so it is very much at your own risk reading.)

yesterday: favourite way to write angst?

A lot of the angst I write tends to be about loss. Loss of people, loss of love, loss of core things that one builds the self on. Also, miscommunication. But, intrinsically, I think the hinge point I use for angst is being alone and being misunderstood, sometimes not even understanding one’s self in the loneliness. Dwell on all the things and all the people and all the experiences that your character is lacking. Find the ways in which they fail, in which they are not enough, explore those. Locate the cracks, make them bigger, make them overarching and overwhelming.

And then. Heal them. Or show the ways in which they splinter when trying to heal.

I’ll be honest, what I wrote when I was younger contains a lot more angst and anger and depression than what I write now. There’s certainly more violence for one thing. I know I’ve got the angst queen title, but it’s not. It’s not purposeful. I typically don’t set out to do it. Things just get sad on me, and I blame Marvel for that because the X-Men were constantly having everything fall apart on them at every single turn.

For time ask located here

#sara answers #long post #sara rambles #polarcell

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yvonnearandela-blog · 6 years

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“Deluged by data” - Reflection/Reaction Paper

“Deluged by data” highlights how today’s generation were over immersed by technology that even the little things in life were entrusted through it. This interesting and enlightening documentary informs us how data are a disadvantage and advantage to us. From the moment we open our eyes the first thing in the morning until we fall asleep, we are already bombarded by data from photos, emails, texts, tweets and other ‘weapons of mass destruction’. Is acquiring this great quantity of data a good thing or a bad thing? Deluged by data mainly featured individuals who are extremely associated with data throughout their lives. By sharing their stories and realizations we might answer these questions that are running through our minds. Lolly Luck, a young girl who’s obsess to selfies and twitter, admits that she was already making her virtual life better than her real life and to be honest, I felt guilty and realized that our generation is already at this stage just like her. It may seem exaggerated, but Lolly Luck represents all teenagers in this generation. We may not realize it, but we are slowly approaching the ‘deluged by data’ stage. I am also the type of person who habitually checks my phone almost every minute, wondering if any messages or notifications will suddenly pop out. Another thing that makes me realize one thing, is when it was revealed that taking hundreds and thousands of photos just to commemorate one event or vacation is harder when you are looking for some particular photos. It also amazes me when people really hired people like Daina Makinson, a digital or photo organizer, just to search for particular photo and organize these bunch of photos. It made me think that people are just obsess on taking photo not because they want to cherish the moment anymore but because they want to brag to other people what are they doing or they’re into at the moment. Even if I’m not the type of person who loves taking picture in every moment, I am also affected by this because sometimes I feel uncomfortable especially when eating and someone will first take a picture of the food before actually eating it. The original purpose of taking pictures which is to capture memorable moments is now slowly being neglected. It was also revealed that today’s generation is the most informed generation in the history and I totally agree with it. Compared to the past generations, we can be informed just by simply clicking or scanning through our Facebook or Twitter timeline, televisions, radios and emails because information is literally everywhere. Since we are exposed to the digital world, we can’t help but to suffer from information overload or infobesity. I myself loves to scroll through my Facebook or Twitter accounts, seeing thousands of posts, pictures and videos every day. It is really impossible for me to digest all the information even if I know I can’t remember it all, I still try my best to sustain all the information. There’s also the time when I checked my Gmail account, it was already bombarded with bunch of unread mails and I was so shocked because I know that I’m not the type of person who frequently use Gmail except for school purposes only. When I scan through it almost all the mails are advertisements by different websites. It finds me confusing especially when I’m trying to look for important mails. So, by this, I created another account where only important things are being received there. And if possible, I try not to give out my Gmail account to various people too often. Technology nowadays might seem amazing, interesting and appealing to us, but we didn’t know that they are also purchasing something from us through the things we use in most of the time especially in social medias and the sites we access through the internet. By knowing this fact, I started to feel conscious in everything I do while surfing in the internet. In the documentary, the site ‘Disconnect’ was presented, where we can view which sites are trying to ‘stalk’ or watch us. I find it surprising because it was the first time I heard about the site and I find it very interesting.

The Quantified Self or QS was also introduced, and they are known as data addicts who loves to quantify themselves through devices that collects data. One of the interviewees said that happiness can be achieved through numbers. From health-related data to social interaction, those people love to track reports by creating annual reports about their lives. I didn’t know people like this even exist and I thought we can only see them in movies and dramas. If this continues there’s a big possibility that mostly all of us will be included in QS in the near future. By that, we need to control ourselves and this is what we called ‘digital diet’. Not just in data but also our connection to digital devices. We tend to rely much to these than to explore and experience it ourselves. Making use of it is acceptable but too much is already abusive.

I believe that the disadvantages mentioned above can be solved by simply disconnecting ourselves with our devices. Of course, there’s a point in our life where we need to just rest, relax and not think of anything stressful. Some people think connecting to our device might be a solution for this but apparently no. There should be particular days or weeks where we switch off all our devices, go out, have some fun with friends and family and have some time for ourselves. The concept of ‘Camp Grounded’ in the documentary is really fascinating. The fact that they invented real life inbox and human-powered search proves that it is possible to live our life without these devices. I hope that something like this exist in our country because based on a site, Statista, as of October 2018, Philippines is already ranked number 6 with 73 million users registered in Facebook, spending with an average of 3 hours and 57 minutes a day. Generally speaking, through this documentary I realize that it’s okay to love our technology but not unconditionally.

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kaoarika · 3 years

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Silly stuff that happened this past friday because I went for a rabbithole. And it STIll keeps going...

The story goes that all I wanted to do was timeshifting some livestream from Nicovideo, but since the platform from time to time logs me out (since I barely use the platform these days: I am only “subscribed” to a program there, since everything I used it for already finished and so and so, or moved to Youtube) I had to login once more.

Thing is, I suspect this past month they have been doing lots of changes to their platform (including moving livestreaming timeshifts to the main nicovideo dashboard and so and so), they also started to implement a new 2-steps-login system where they send you a code to the email you registered your account to verify it is you.

For my luck, Nicovideo was still one of the last few platforms where I still used my old mail account that I barely visit these days because all I get these days there is mostly notifications from fb (and I wish it wasn’t like that, but fb is a weird entity and I hate it). I always do some cleaning each 5 or 6 months, whenever I feel like it, because, again, I barely use it. I WISH I could do smth more with it, but gmail feels more comfortable than whatever the hell Outlook/Hotmail tried to do with it being some kind of gmail clone in the past decade (wish I could say “desktop Outlook”, but, in my almost 20 years of being online, I never used it).

So, yeah... I decided to clean the few hundred notifications I have there from fb. One email notification I checked, however, comes from Google because of my old YT account (this is from a time before Google came and bought YT, before gmail was widely used and became the defacto google account to everything they own these days, and you could register any mail account to get a YT account). It basically went “hey, someone knows about your pw, we took some steps forward and do some security stuff... why don’t you login to do appropiate changes and the like?”. And I was “well, sure... I guess? I have been changing my pw of EVERYTHING, just in case, due to a data breach that happened last year and wanted to be secure”.

Two things i also got from this was: one, this was a mail I received last September. Oh shoot. The other was: wait... what was my old YT account’s pw again?

I have an habit of writing down all my pws since I was younger. And I had a bad practice where I wrote pws of everything in scattered notebook pages, post-its, etc. (these days I HAVE to write down the date I started to use those, in ONE PLACE, but this habit wasn’t 100% foolproof, since there were times I wasn’t even sure for WHERE I USED ONE OF THESE). In my teenage years, all my pws were simple and, frankly, quite insecure. I also kinda used them ALL for EVERYTHING. But as years came by I started changing them, being more meticulously vague with characters used there, and the like. But last year it was when a data breach happened that I REALLY got scared because hindsight is never 20/20, so I started to change EVERYTHING. I think 95% of the stuff I have registered and so and so nowadays use a different pw these days. The other 5% are probably sites that I have forgotten, “do I even care?”, and platforms that no longer exist. Or perhaps pw I have lost with time and doing the whole “recover pw” thing is useless.

My old YT fits a little with that 5%, tbh. I no longer use it, It’s over a decade old (I think last time I really used it was 2010 or 2010... barely before I started to use a gmail account). From what I remember, almost every video on my “favorites” doesn’t longer exist - either the uploader got deactivated for obvious YT reasons, or the videos were privated. So... what gives, right? “I don’t think I still have access to it...”

Or DOES IT?

And then... I went through the rabbithole. A very annoying one, at that. Did I want to give it up? No. I’m very obsessive and persistent, because I didn’t want to lose it.

So, I decided to look if I had a pw that I should have changed it to. Thing is, the first few times I tried it out... I found out the pw was from a different account. A fail from my part.

I then vaguely remembered that I *recently* logged into it, because I DO recall looking through my list of favorite videos. But, it depends what this “recently” means... could have been a year... 2 or 3 years ago (it doesn’t help considering the last two years of the pandemic and time has been quite weird since). So, did I change the pw? Did I use my old pw?

I looked through my old notebook that I used to base which platforms I NEEDED to change my pws last year... and strangely, “YT (original account)” was scribbled. Did I consider it a loss back then? So, I went back and forth with older notebooks.

I spent two hours on it, trying and logging with different pw variants I COULD have changed it to. I even checked if it was possible I changed my pw, because, I guess, Google does send you a notification about you changing a pw... but I didn’t have one of these, either. So... it was possible it was my old pw all around?

Another issue was that, like I said, my old pws were simpletons and MAYBE I could have used a different character, and I could have missed it, but my memory is foggy about it. I don’t rememeber how many times I TRIED logging in, all I do remember is how many times I as cycled back into captcha (and me trying to guess what the hell they were spelling for a word to verify me).

And to make matters worse, Google doesn’t really protect me to check another way to verify it was me: the “other method” is basically remembering what was the last pw I used. “WELL, I wouldn’t be here if I remembered what it WAS, right???”

And then, by 6 AM of that Friday, I finally got it. Maybe. Because of that one single character variant, and I was already too tired that I was all did i typed it correctly?”. All i knew is that it FINALLY sent me a verification to my email, and FINALLY I could be sent that sweet, sweet txt message to my phone.

Only to, right after it, receive another message that I couldn’t gain access due to MANY login attempts. “We have blocked you access due to many login attempts, try a few hours later :)” Okay, cool, I could try a couple of hours later.

And then I tried one hour later: ”Oops, try a few hours later.”

Three hours later: “”Try a few hours later”.

Okay, understandable, I guess I TRIED to login too many times, I will rest it here and try... well, later.

Almost 48 later: “Try a few hours later.”

Wait, it’s been TWO DAYS and you haven’t unblock me...??!

ALMOST FIVE DAYS LATER (a hour before I started writing this): “TRY A FEW HOURS LATER”.

Like... GOOGLE, IT’S BEEN FIVE DAYS. WHAT THE ACTUAL FREAKING HELL? HOW MANY “FAILED ATTEMPTS” IS THIS PUNISHMENT GARBAGE? HOW MUCH TIME IT MEANS “FEW HOURS LATER” FOR THIS PUNISHMENT?!

AGGGGGHHHHH.

UGH, ALL I want to is finally change the pw and regain access to it, nothing more, nothing less. But google doesn’t give me an option besides “try accessing from another device”, which is also incredibly useless.

It’s INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING. It’s going to be a week in less of two days and this is baffling? For an old account I barely use? Where I made the HUGE mistake of going for a dumb pw and I completely forgot WHAT IT WAS?!

I’m freaking tired and I’m trying to get into it 24 or 48 later. I guess, to give google time to cool it down, but NOPE, it’s been almost 120 hours SINCE it give me that message of “we blocked some attempts of ppl accessing to this account” and it’s completely baffling??? Because I’m pretty sure af it was ALL ME? BECAUSE OF A PRETTY DUMB “Well, type the last pw you remember using” too???! FREAKING HELL... I HATE THIS.

#kao's nonsenses

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