#they work so hard to both keep the site running smoothly for us and defend it from cyber attacks like this one

[firesmokeandashes]

All the fanfic readers/writers, after finding out they can't read their before-bed fanfics, and escape reality for a little bit, because ao3 is down:

[canumoveurseatup-no]

Lush pt.2

From my new miniseries Lush Life

Summary: You and Steve have now set the rules for your new relationship and things are going extremely well. With an influx of college work and trying to do well with your internship, you get too deep into your own head and Steve is there to help you release that stress.

Pairing: Dom!Steve x Black!SubCamGirl!Reader

WC: 4.7K

Warnings: 18+!!! daddy kink, Dom/sub dynamics, subspace, pain kink, tiny bit of angst, aftercare.

A/N: I think Lush is one of my pieces with the most notes and I’m just like WOAH! Thank you all for the support, I hope you all like this part just as much!! If you like it please leave verbal feedback and reblog

Lush’s Rules

Rule #1: Always be honest with Daddy

Rule #2: Don’t be afraid to safe word, you will not be punished for it.

Rule #3: Punishment will always fit your actions

Rule #4: Never exceed each other’s hard limits unless consented beforehand

Rule #5: Confide in Daddy when it comes to your stressors and personal matters

Rule #6: I may be your Dom but you set the pace, don’t be intimidated

Rule #7: Don’t be bratty. It will result in a punishment.

Daddy’s Rules

Rule #1: Be patient with me, I am new to this.

Rule #2: Don’t be afraid to safe word if I ask for something out of your comfort zone

Rule #3: Don’t be afraid to discipline me

Rule #4: Be honest and don’t be afraid to open up

————

After that night, you and Steve had set terms for each other and things were going smoothly. The team had been badgering him to let them know what he thought of Camgirl Clubhouse and all he said was “he found what he needed and was sticking with it”. While the other guys were talking about their favorites, Steve kept you a secret. They were practically begging him to let them know the details so they could search for the very cam model that pulled Steve out of his funk and turned him more happy go lucky more than usual.

-------

“Come on man, how was it?,” Sam urged, sitting on the edge of his seat.

“Let’s just say it was more than I bargained for and it was better than I could have ever expected,” Steve smirked at the people interrogating him.

“Oh no, don’t cop out we need more than that,” Bucky nudged him.

You walked in the room, also very chipper but they didn’t expect anything less out of you as that’s how you were, “Hey guys, whatcha dooooin’?,” you smiled cutely at them with your notebook and folder in hand waiting for Happy as he drove you to campus. You’d told Tony thousands of times that you could drive yourself but he said it would give him peace of mind to know you’re getting to and from campus safely.

“Steve here busted a few last night thanks to some mystery camgirl and he won’t tell us who. It’s a bit selfish, we want in,” Nat crossed her arms and stared at Steve. You felt your cheeks heat up as you tried to keep in a chuckle. So now you know where he got the idea of visiting the site from in the first place.

“Nat!,” Steve scolded, “Not everyone needs to know that,” Steve turned red as if he didn’t just fuck you into the next century last night. Smacking you back and forth between realms, and making you cry tears of ecstasy.

“It’s okay, Stevie. I have my own site that I like to visit and I had a great night as well. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Times have changed. Sex isn’t taboo anymore,” you winked at him and everyone turned back to you in question.

“And what site was that?,” Wanda asked but Vision grimaced at her, “What? I didn’t know there were specific sites for guy cam models,” she defended.

“We’ll talk later,” you told Wanda, knowing she’d probably forget about the conversation before you even came back.

Steve raised a brow at you and rolled his tongue in his cheek before biting it, crossing his arms. He knew you were playing games and he enjoyed the teasing.

“Anyway!,” you grabbed a breakfast shake and a fruit cup out of the fridge after your phone beeped from a notification to let you know Happy just arrived, “I’m glad you could finally relieve some stress Steve. It’s healthy,” you patted his shoulder before skipping out of the room. He watched as your ass and lovely thighs jiggled as you bounced and it reminded him of the way your skin rippled as you lied beneath him calling him Daddy like it was a prayer just 12 hours ago.

------------

Things were great at first, you were following your rules, you weren’t being bratty and you and Steve were stable in your new relationship, giddy with the fact that it was more than just sex to the both of you. But then your semester hit you like a freight train. You were drowning in essays which you hashed out and did well on but then the internship and the reports were draining you. You were a workaholic and everyone could see that so when you’d run around after being at campus all day and not talk to anyone because you were trying to get shit done, they didn’t blink an eye. But because you and Steve had discussed your exclusive relationship and the dynamics, he wasn’t too fond of it. You were working yourself to death and weren’t acknowledging him and when you did you were bratty and Steve had strictly told you not to be bratty with him.

--------

“Who do you think you’re getting snippy with?,” Steve’s voice was low as he stepped close to you. No one was in the kitchen or near it, just you two.

“Who do you think you’re getting snippy with?,” you mocked.

Steve took another step close and wrapped his hand around your throat, not enough to have you panicking for air, but enough to let you know he wasn’t in the mood to play with your bratty antics.

“I’m gonna need you to get your shit together. You don’t take your bad attitude out on, Daddy,” he gritted through his teeth. 

You huffed and his grip tightened a bit, expelling a whine from you, “I’m serious, Y/N. Don’t test me,” 

“Okay, I’m sorry,” you frowned.

“Not good enough. You wanna act bratty? Well fine, just know that brats don’t get to cum like good girls and looking at how you’re acting, you’re facing a lot of time without any play from me,” he released his grip on you

“That’s fine,” you shrugged, “I don’t need it,” 

He did that damn thing with his tongue in cheek and biting the inside as he nodded again, “Remember that,” He kissed your forehead and walked away. You knew you just fucked up, but you were too deep to try and go back to fix it. You’d still get a punishment either way.

---------

But you were so deep in your own head that the specific rule had slipped your mind. You had accepted Steve as your dominant because you needed that structure in your life and you were finally getting it but with everything going on, you paid it no mind.

“Y/N, I’m gonna need you to take a break,” Steve came up behind you in the lab while Tony and Bruce took a lunch break, class was cancelled today so you took this as the chance to finish up those damned reports, “Not for me but for yourself, you’re running yourself into the dirt, baby,” His hands held your waist lightly and he kissed the back of your head. As much as you wanted to meld your body into his, you had to focus, “I-I can’t I’m almost finish, then I’ll take my break,”

You heard him sigh behind you and he turned you to look him in the eyes, “Baby, I’m not gonna ask again. You wanted structure, I’m trying to give it to you but you’re not listening,” Steve spoke in a stern tone and you felt a few bricks from your wall get chipped off.

You were so close to giving in but you had to finish, “I-I can’t, Stevie... just let me finish and I-,”

“You’re off to a bad start. First you’ve been acting bratty all week then when I ask you to take a break so you don’t drive yourself insane, you ignore it and talk back. Keep it up and you’ll find yourself with a punishment and not a fun one,” his nostrils flared and you gave him puppy dog eyes before biting your lip and turning back to your laptop to finish the report.

“Suit yourself,”

——-

And suited yourself you did. Now you found yourself in the corner of your bathroom with uncooked rice under your knees.

“Daddy, it hurts,” you whined. He had set a timer for 15 minutes in time out then you’d be done.

“Each time you whine I add a minute, each minute you spend quietly, I deduct two. It’s really up to you,” Steve sat on the edge of the tub with a smirk and you whined quietly. He knew you’d enjoy being spanked so he took another route. Kneeling on uncooked rice. You had set a list of punishments that you were okay with and though the idea of this was new to you, you were willing to try it. You felt yourself starting to sink back on your heels but Steve yanked you up straight by your collar, “Stay upright, baby or I add time,”

You were having a hard time following this. You felt tears prick your eyes as he stared back at you and that’s when you felt yourself starting to regress into subspace, you didn’t quite know that though as it never really happened to you before but with Steve, it happened naturally. In this moment, only you and Steve existed. Not the rice under your knees, not the dripping faucet from when Steve put water on your knees to make the rice stick, not even the TV playing in your room, it was just you two. You were so dizzy with thought that you didn’t realize he deducted your time because you were so quiet.

He brought you up to your feet and kissed your lips, barely touching them. You moved into him and your hands tangled in his shirt, “I need you, Daddy,” you huffed and you knew he’d deliver, but not without the price of sexual punishment as well. He carried you to the bed and locked the door, telling FRIDAY to turn on the soundproof setting before going into your closet and taking out your fuck machine. He removed your panties and big shirt, just admiring each inch of your body. He kissed your thighs and you sighed in content. You couldn’t really describe your headspace but it was like a big cloud that you just continued to sink down as the time passed and it felt wonderful.

He spread your legs and ran his finger up and down your slit, teasing your clit until he started to see you glisten with your juices. He leaned forward and gave your clit little licks in which you tried to close your legs to shy away from. He forced your legs open and spanked the inside of your thigh,

“Don’t do that. Stay open for, Daddy,”

“Y-yes, Daddy. I apologize,” your hands were by your head and they clenched into fists as he slowly ate you out. Your mind was like a corset and he was slowly unraveling the ribbon ties. He pushed two fingers into you and you sucked in a sharp breath, letting him please you. All that was on your mind was Steve. The man who quite literally, signed a ‘contract’ to be your Dominant and take care of you in every aspect, inside the bedroom and out. When it came to BDSM and your Dominant and submissive dynamics, it was more than just blindfolds and ball gags. It was a connection and bind that only the people in the relationship understood because each relationship is different.

He continued licking your clit as he pumped his fingers, you tangled your fingers in his hair but he wasn’t with you touching him right now. He removed his fingers from you and laced them with yours to keep your arms pinned. His face was buried in your pussy as you moved your hips again his mouth. He let you have your fun as you cursed out at the air about how good his mouth felt. “Daddy, may I cum?,” you asked. Your hips started to stutter as you were climbing the mountain that was your orgasm and was about to reach the peak. Steve smiled against you as he flicked his tongue against your sensitive clit, sucking your lips into his mouth and slurping all the juices you were giving him. He withdrew when he felt your walls flutter against his tongue, you were coming up on your first orgasm of the night, but like he said, brats don’t get to come like good girls. You cried out when you were denied, from this, you sunk further into that cloud. Haziness starting to take over completely.

He pulled you further to the edge of the bed and pushed your machine toward you. He spread your slick lips open and placed the head of the dildo right at your opening before taking the remote and turning it on. The machine starting to slowly fuck you and you tried to crawl backwards, away from it but Steve straddled your stomach and started playing with your hardened nipples.

“It’s just you and me tonight, baby. No camera, no audience, just you and me and I’m gonna get you how I want you. So be a good girl and take it, I’ll reward you when I feel you’ve deserved it okay? Can you be a good girl for daddy?”

You peered up at him and your eyes glistened, your mouth hung slightly open before squeaking out an “Uh huh” and a small nod, “I- I promise I’ll be good, Daddy,”

“Good,” he wickedly smiled at you and turned up the pace of the machine, making it go faster.

“Oh G-God!,” the machine was hitting deep and hitting all the right spots, “I don’t wanna be a bad girl and cum w-without your permission, D-Daddy. Make it stop I’m gonna cuuuum,” you warned.

He pulled his cock out of pants and was jerking himself off right in front of your face, “Bet it doesn’t feel as good as Daddy now does it?,” He smirked darkly.

“N-nooo,” 

He slapped his leaking head against your lips and you easily opened, knowing what he wanted. He leaned forward on the bed and straightened himself out, fucking your mouth as the machine fucked you. This was like a wet dream come true. His thighs and ass flexed as he fucked your face down into the bed. You gagged against him but that only encouraged him to go harder, his fingers curl into the bed comforter and his growls of pleasure resonated from deep within him, the way swears left his mouth had you close to cumming all over again. 

“Such a good little whore taking my cock deep in your throat like this. Love the way you choke on me, your lungs begging for air,” he thrusts and your back arches with a gag.

He pulls out and huffs, swearing to himself before sitting up to straddle you again. He tugged at your nipples and twisted them making you yell out in slight pain. He slowed down the machine and leaned forward to attach his mouth to your nipples. He knew your nipples were highly sensitive and any contact could have you almost cumming right then and there. Teeth tugging, tongue swirling, you were moaning out for him to stop or else you’re gonna cum but he didn’t. He then turned up the machine and you were convulsing under him completely.

“Please Daddy! I don’t wanna be a bad girl, I wanna be good!,” easily overwhelmed in this state you got emotional and hid your face in your hands. You felt yourself gushing and cried out louder from the intensity. Steve didn’t slow down though, the sucking noises only got louder and the machine got turned up faster. The deliciously sloppy noises of the toy fucking you took over the ringing in your ears.

“Daddyyyy!!!,” you placed your hands on his shoulders and pushed him away to look at you in your eyes. You were dazed and confused, it was like you were having an outer body experience. He stared back at you and noticed the glint, the look in your eyes was foreign but he was into it, it made his dick harder and he knew if something was up you’d safe word.

“I-I just came w-without your permission,” your bottom lip quivered but he only kissed you.

“It’s okay, baby. I’ve decided to let you cum as much as you can tonight. Let me do my job and take care of you,”

He stopped the machine and pushed it away from you to crawl in between your legs and turn you around. You could hear him pulling his pants down all the way then felt his thick girth push into you. You gripped the sheets and felt yourself slip into your cloud even more. He held your hips and buried himself deep, this was different than the machine, this was real, this was your man’s dick fucking into you, fitting like a tailored suit and you felt your toes curl. You were panting and whining into the covers as he picked up the pace.

The way his dick rubbed perfectly against your soaking, ridged walls had your eyes rolling and the tears flowing. He took your hands and kept them latched behind your back and pulled you into him. Your head hung as your body had gone limp from the pleasure. He wrapped a hand around your throat and sat you up right.

“You’re my good girl aren’t you, baby?,” he grunted into your ear as he squeezed the sides of your throat. You felt your air supply shorten and your senses heighten. Your ass bounced against his pelvis at the fast pace he was going. He loved that, he loved the way the skin on his thighs stung as yours bounced off his from the way his body met yours.

“Daddy’s good girl,” you were almost incoherent and you felt yourself tighten around him again, “Pleeeaase! Please d-daddy ah!,” you tried to scream but it got lodged in your throat.

“Please what? Speak up, good girls speak up for what they want,”

Thing is, you couldn’t speak up. You were whining from the feeling and couldn’t speak. You were impressionable in this state so when he said that, you in turn felt like you were a bad girl because you didn’t speak up, couldn’t... speak up. You wanted to be a good girl for your Daddy, but you were feeling so much. “You’re so wet, baby. You feel so good. Cum for me again,”

“I- I- nnnnn,” your thighs shook as you came again, it trickled down your thighs, the shiver that ran through you didn’t match the feeling of your warm cum.

Steve had gone into his own headspace. He was connected with you and experiencing his own euphoria of seeing you in this state. He had to try and control himself harder than usual so he wouldn’t choke you so hard to the point you passed out, though you’d love that in this moment. You were practically inaudible and just weeping. 

You were experiencing too much euphoria you had no choice but to cry, it’s like you died but were resurrected and all your senses were dialed to a thousand. Your sense of touch had your skin feeling like it was a soft pillow and every ounce of contact from Steve had you shivering and your skin tingling. Your sense of smell, you could smell his clean cologne along with the sweat of you two, you could smell the trace of wintergreen mints on his breath. Your sight, despite the tears, it’s like everything was in technicolor, so bright and vivid. Your sense of taste, you could taste him on you from when he kissed you, it was a sweet and subtle taste. Your hearing, you could hear the clock ticking, you could hear the cars way below the tower and the birds calling and flying by, you could hear the way Steve moaned and huffed, it sounded like he was in your head, it was all overwhelming you. 

Steve pulled out and flipped you over on your back again, reentering you and you scratched down his back.

“H-hurt m-me, Daddy. I need I-it, I need it t-to let go,” you gasped and your eyes were having a hard time staying open, “Please!,”

Steve knew you were under a lot of stress right now so he half expected you to ask for that. He took a moment to pull back and asked you what color you were at, “G-g-gold,” Gold meant great and go ahead but he was still cautious. When you wrapped your legs around him he went harder and started biting along your neck and chest giving your nipples harsh nips. You begged him to slap you a few good times and he did just that. Cause your face to heat up from the contact. The sounds of him smacking you were like ad libs to the beat of the song that was your ass getting clapped by him, with your moans and his grunts as the the guitar riffs and the emotion behind it all being the meaning of the song itself. It was beautiful.

“F-fuck me harder, please! I won’t be a brat anymore I pr-promise, Daddy! I won’t be bad, I don’t wanna be bad!,” you sobbed into his shoulder and he went as hard as he could, chasing his own orgasm. Your vulnerability becoming his strength as he fucked little squeals out of you. You bit into his shoulder and softly mewled. All the endorphins rushed through your body like a stampede and you felt Steve getting ready to cum.

“Cum in m-me, Daddy. I n-need it,” you weren’t exactly thinking rationally but you were begging and you really wanted it. Subspace or not, you wanted him to cum deep in you and Steve knew if he did, he’d had to ask Bruce on where to get emergency contraceptive but he wasn’t gonna slow down his momentum with that thought.

“Fuck, baby. Y-you feel so good around Daddy’s cock like that. Taking me so well, so good. You’ve proven to daddy you’re not a bad girl, fuck!,” he threw his head back as he came and that’s when it hit you.

Your entire resolve came down and you hit the depths on your headspace and you were cumming endlessly, calling out for Steve and digging your nails into his arms.

“I don’t wanna be bad, Daddy! I promise I won’t be bad anymore! Please let me c-cum,” you were rambling as you hit the highest peak of all peaks. You were so dazed, you were still fucking yourself against him and whining out. “Did I make you happy, Daddy?, I won’t be a brat anymore. D-don’t wanna disappoint you,” you cried and you had Steve confused.

“You didn’t disappoint me, baby. Daddy just wanted you to take a break to take care of yourself,”

You just continued to hold him tight and cry.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” you repeated, still rutting up against him, causing Steve to release his own whines from sensitivity

“Slow down, baby. Slow down,” Steve pulled back and held your wet face in his hands, “Calm down baby,”

“I won’t be a brat anymore... I- I just... it all has been hard and I..,”

“Baby,” he cooed, “Slow down. It is okay. Daddy is here to take all those thoughts away. I’m gonna pull out now, okay?,”

“Nooo!,” you wrapped your legs tighter around his waist, “Just wanna feel you. Need to feel you,” you whispered.

He whispered loving words to calm you down, kissing down your neck and along your cheeks, he ran his hands along your body to soothe you as you just kept apologizing.

“You’re the best baby girl I could ever ask for. You didn’t disappoint Daddy, there’s no need to apologize. You made me very proud. You work so hard and I’m proud of you. Just promise me you’ll take breaks so you don’t break down like this okay?,” he kissed your nose as you had your eyes closed, softly rolling your head side to side.

“I promise and I promise I won’t be bratty anymore,” you pouted and he softly smiled, kissing your cute little pout.

“You’re fine, Y/N. I’ve got you, don’t worry. Just melt into Daddy. Trust me,”

You sighed and felt all your problems melt away as he continued to whisper in your ear. “I’m so lucky to have you as mine. So glad I’m your Daddy. You make me feel so many good things, I can’t thank you enough for being my good girl,”

You whimper at his words and raise up on your elbows, opening your eyes to find him staring intensely back at you. He looked so worried but so content at the same time.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” He pulled out of you and the wet sounds filled the room. You softly groan as he does so and he just shushes you as he picks you up.

“FRIDAY, run the bathwater, please. Not too hot though,”

“Of course, Captain,”

-----------

“Looving you, has made my life so beautiful,” Steve softly sung to you as you slowly drank from your water bottle, “And everyday of my liiife, is filled with looving you. La la la la la,”

“La la la la la,” you joined him as he washed your back, “La la la la la, la la la laaa,”

“Duuun-duun du duu,” he continued, “Hit it,” he smiled

“Aaaaaahhh,” you finished with the high pitched squeal and he laughed at you, ringing the water of the wash cloth down your back.

“Thank you, Steve,” your voice was low but you used his real name to let him know you were back in the real world and no longer in your headspace.

“It’s nice to have you back,” Steve laughed. He pulled you up into his chest to kiss your shoulder, “How are you feeling?,”

“Relieved. Tension free. I’m sorry I’ve been so bratty. This is still new to me and I just-,”

“Baby, you don’t have to apologize for reacting like a normal human being and cracking under pressure. But your brattiness is something we will work on regardless,” He finished cleaning you up all over as you finished your snack of gummies and then you helped him wash himself with his own wash cloth.. 

Once the bubbles are off of you both, he drains the water and helps you stand up to dry you off. He swaddles you like a baby after wrapping his own towel around himself, once your teeth are brushed and your face is wash, he carries you into your room and softly placing you on the bed. He grabs your Johnson’s bedtime lotion and starts at your feet and moving his way up, working the lotion into your skin. He’s come to find out that this helps you after an intense scene in the bedroom and he’ll pull every stop to make sure you feel better and cared for. That is his priority.

 He goes into your closet and finds a sweatshirt of his (that he had been looking for), takes it off the hanger and moves back to you to help you put it on. He helps you wrap your hair (courtesy to you spending a whole free day to teach him how to properly do it) and placed your bonnet on before getting himself ready to crawl in the bed beside you. 

He had changed the sheets and covers so they had a fresh and clean lavender smell to them. He pulled you close to him and kissed your cheeks over and over until it elicited a laugh out of you.

“I am so lucky,” he smiled.

“No, I am,” you held his head and rubbed his scalp knowing it was his turn for aftercare. It’s not just the sub that needs aftercare, it’s the Dom as well as scenes take just as much out of them.

“You take such good care of me and I’m so thankful,” you kiss him between his eyebrows and you see his face heat up in a blush, “You’re the best Daddy anyone can ask for. I’m never letting you go,”

His smiled beamed at you as he kissed you one more time, “You’re stuck with me, baby doll,”

-----------

I hope this lived up to y’alls expectations. I know it’s not as dirty as part one but, there’s so much more dirty smut that’ll come out me very soon, so stay tuned.

If you like this, please leave verbal feedback and reblog!

Tags- @noire-griot @mbaku-babygirl @blackreaders-assemble @vozit @babybubastis @chonisberonica @majikmelanin @blowmymbackout @justsomemarvelspam @whothehellisbinky @joyofbebbanburg @spideys-wife @hold-me-like-a-heart-beat @crawlingnightmares @amethyst-dreams-and-candy-canes @yournonlocalpoc @mirajanestrauss1999 @fromlia-withlove @mokacoconut @curlyhairclub @livayah 

[real-jaune-isms]

RWBY Volume 7 Chapter 9 Rundown

I felt very satisfied for the first 90% of this episode but then I got kinda annoyed in the literal final 40 seconds before the credits. But that’s just my own growing agitation for Cinder, so it’s fine. We’ll get to that later.

There isn’t exactly a very happy vibe at the start of the chapter though, as it opens on the cold streets of Mantle as the cold is now likely setting in something fierce and people have realized the heat is gone. As Maria and Pietro welcome folks into the shelter of his pharmacy, some of those inside wonder if this same problem is affecting Atlas as well, and if this dangerous change was done intentionally by the city on high. The two kind elders stare up at Atlas with growing concern.

In the dinning room once more, the council continues to bring up criticisms that have been leveled at Ironwood, specifically that he has two council seats. He tries to counter there are checks and balances to make sure he doesn’t misuse his authority, but they interject that he has been ignoring those regulations and making major decisions all on his own. The General tries to defend himself and say he had no intention of running amiss of the rules, but Councilman Sleet reminds him that intention and action are not always the same and his actions have been wrong. Speaking of making wrong decisions without meaning to, a faunus servant comes in to whisper concerning news in Jacques ear, presumably that the SDC Heating Grid has been off for a while and people are freezing. And it was done on his authorization. Guess Watts just loves to frame people. As Jacques urges the staff member to check the system again and grows visibly concerned, Sleet notices he’s not paying attention and pulls him back into the conversation. He tries to act like he knows what’s going on and agrees with what Sleet was saying, then claims he has no further concerns or questions. But Robyn is by no means done yet, badgering Ironwood about all his secrecy and fears that he refuses to share with the council. He says he fears Atlas becoming a tragic site like Vale or attacked like Haven, but she knows there’s more to it and wants to use her lie detector Semblance to force the truth out of him and test if he’s hiding something. The pressure is palpable, and we know he wants to be more open after the talk he had with Oscar...

But then the door behind Jacques slams open to reveal Weiss with a Phoenix Wright worthy OBJECTION to this one sided accusation. She knows the real culprit for the killing of anti-Ironwood speakers, and the fraudulent election, and she claims Jacques not only knows him in name but knows him personally. With such an accusatory prelude she sets Willow’s Scroll on the table and projects the video big enough that Camilla and Sleet can recognize Arthur Watts, who was thought to be dead since the “Paladin Incident” years ago. Papa Schnee feigns confusion and ignorance, but Daddy Ironwood stands in steely determination and tells Weiss to play the video. It shows the tail-end of Jacques conversation with the bad Doctor, how he hates Ironwood for the embargo and wishes he could fire everyone to save money, and we get to see just what Watts had in mind for Jacques to have his cake and eat it too. Watts is pissy and petulant that Ironwood disgraced him despite his genius contributions and wants to return the humiliation he received ten-fold. All Jacques has to do is give Watts his login for the Atlas Network and promise he’ll make ol’ Jimmy’s life a nightmare, and Watts will manipulate the polls to guarantee he gets that Council seat. Robyn seems very pissed off to learn the voting was rigged and she would have actually won like she had hoped. Jacques, or at least the version in the video, is delighted at the offer and commends Watts for his cutthroat “business” strategy. Ironwood has had enough of this, and Weiss stops the video so they can all glare at Jacques. He tries to get up to run and claims the video is fake. Sleet tells him to SIT. BACK. DOWN. but instead he bolts for the door only to find Weiss’ Knight standing guard and ready to take him down. By the power vested in her by the Kingdom of Atlas, Weiss arrests her father for treason... but maybe she doesn’t actually have the power to do that? It’s unclear but I definitely hope she can. Her entire relationship with her father has been based on him having power and control over her, her wanting to earn his approval and remain on his good side or suffer the consequences of his rage. The crux of her character arc has been recognizing her old way of living was unacceptable and finding ways to get free of that control and influence to become her own strong person. Now, through her hard work, she has more power than him and he has to do what she says or suffer the consequences of his actions against justice. But on the other hand you have to wonder what legal authority Huntsmen have to make arrests and the like. They’re not military or police officers, but they do handle more dangerous threats than the common man. If their job involves apprehending human criminals then they probably would be sanctioned to make arrests. To draw reference to another of my favorite shows, perhaps they are akin to deputized vigilantes like Green Arrow and his team on Arrow? They have specialized skills with which to handle threats the regular military and police aren’t trained enough for.

But breaking off from that topic and back down to one such criminal, Watts is standing on the street catching a snowflake in the palm of his glove before he sees people looting a store that I SWEAR is called Dust in the Wind. Desperate civilians have already started burning things to create a big enough fire so they can keep warm, and a few stolen Fire Dust crystals get thrown in to make it really flare up. Atlas soldiers are watching on and requesting advice on what to do. Glad they’re not stopping them forcefully since no one really knows the procedure for all the heat not working and this being the only way to live in warmth at the moment. Watts relishes in the chaotic moment and is joined by Tyrian.

We go back to the dining room where the adults stand around a sitting Jacques to continue interrogating him while the teens stand off to one side. As Ironwood berates the still defensive Schnee for stooping for such disgraceful lengths to get what he couldn’t fairly earn, Clover gets a blip in his earpiece and walks away to take the message, likely about the freezing crisis. Jacques warns Ironwood he’ll hurt his knees if he keeps jumping to such wild conclusions, but no avail. Better switch condiments, cuz that weak sauce ain’t working on the General. Now that he knows Watts is around and willing to cause trouble, all the loose ends are tying together quite smoothly. Since he made the Mantle security network he would know exactly how to manipulate it and work with Tyrian to do such violent acts and frame good people for it. Penny still seems pretty upset over her tarnished reputation because of that. And to top all of the scandalous deeds of Arthur Watts off, all of that was just to help Jacques cheat through the election. I should like to note that as Ironwood is giving Jacques the works he is backed by a smirking portrait of an armored Nicholas Schnee, as if even now the founder of this great company of his is amused by just how badly his son in law has fucked up royal. Jacques didn’t even consider the consequences of his alliance, he only saw the way it benefited him. There is blood on his hands for this, and he needs to be held accountable in a court of law for both his treason against the safety of his kingdom and the lives it lost. He is of course very much against this idea, all he intended was to win the election after all! But like Councilman Sleet said earlier, what you intend and what you are responsible for doing are not always the same thing. An excuse like that is not enough, and Robyn is physically enraged that he would try to trivialize the deaths of good people, to the point that she throws a chair across the room. Councilwoman Camilla asks the important question, what will Watts be able to do with the power Jacques gave him? They can only speculate into the grim infinitudes, until all their scrolls start buzzing with the concrete facts of just what he’s done. The heat is off, and Jacques can’t even log in to fix it anymore since Watts took his account and locked him out. The bastard tries to save his own hide and distance himself from the situation by saying he didn’t know Watts was planning this, but Winter tells him to SHUT. UP. and fix the heating grid, but he reveals what I did just now about no longer having access. Sleet voices the depressing obvious as Ironwood stares at his scroll and Robyn looks out the window, both in solemn concern: if the heat doesn’t come back on people WILL die. Ruby tries to get the General’s mind off of desperate what-ifs to focus on the facts of how things are right now. Since they know whose credentials Watts is using they can follow his network activity, but he would now have the ability to find out about the Amity project and get into its network. Fortunately, he hasn’t looked hard enough yet so neither he or Salem know about it. Weiss asks if they can lock the good doctor out, but he’s already set to work blocking their access instead. They can’t exactly trace him if he’s on the move so they need to lure him out so they can get to his access point. Robyn interjects, since she has been listening to all this cryptic talk and planning with no one paying any mind to her still being in earshot, that people as vastly different as Tyrian and Watts banding together seems rather farfetched without some larger factor. Their unanimous decision to go after Ironwood in particular seems even stranger with only one of them having much motive, and she still doesn’t get why Ironwood is keeping the Amity Tower a secret. James is quite shocked that she even knows about that, and I’m sure Blake and Yang will have a rather sheepish confession to make. 

But we don’t see that, because instead we bear witness to Atlesian Knight robots being sent in to dispel the rioters gathered around the massive fire. But as Pietro and Maria watch on in silent shock, the people of Mantle lash out hard at these cold metal symbols of a cold ruling society and smash two of the robots. But these heated emotions are the tipping point and the streets start lighting up red to warn the civilians. Grimm are coming, and they are coming in mass. Mammoth-like Megoliaths and swiftly vicious Sabyrs are charging at the massive gap in the border wall, and the assembled Atlas soldiers and robots are not enough to hold the line, while Manta aircraft on bombing runs do nothing to slow the pack or thin the numbers. The Sabyrs are the first to get in and demolish the robots at ground level, and unidentified avian Grimm fly over the heads of the soldiers on top of the wall.

The scene shifts again from that chaos to the dining room again for a calmer moment of building faith, as Robyn admits she now sees just how much Ironwood is trying to protect with all the work he’s doing and the secrets that means keeping. She recognizes he has genuine fear for what will happen if the truth comes out. But the moment is stalled there as Clover and Oscar burst in to inform everyone about the Grimm swarming into Mantle, and how the airfleet can’t do much of anything or else it might result in civilian casualties. Ironwood goes back into beard-stroking panic mode, this is precisely what he hoped wouldn’t happen. Clover urges him to send in ground support to handle the Grimm within the city, but Robyn insists nowhere in the city will be safe if it gets completely overrun. Evacuating people up to Atlas with the airfleet should be their priority. But Daddy Ironwood has to raise his voice, he can’t move the fleet for any evacuation measures or else Atlas would be vulnerable instead. He worked so hard to keep everyone safe, and it’s all falling to pieces in the worst way. But Oscar is there to offer his advice again, though Ironwood rudely rebuffs him that he doesn’t want that. He wants Ozpin’s advice, but Oscar tells him that’s not the fix all answer he wishes it were. Oz would have told him to keep secrets, but Ironwood already knew that wasn’t the right way to go and made his own new and better plan. That plan has failed, the General argues, but that just means the day he was preparing for is upon them already. It’s time to tell the truth and have faith that the world will accept it, starting with Robyn and the council. Ruby assures him, he will not be alone in this. That puts the wind back in his sails, and he starts making a plan. Oscar is probably best off going back to the Academy for safety, and Ironwood needs to have a talk with his critics. In the meantime, the huntresses and huntsmen need to head down into the fray to do what they do best. And that means everyone is coming, even Penny. They still trust and believe in her, and the people will too. Winter has a look of approval as Ruby starts calling the shots, she definitely sees growth from how unimpressive the young rose seemed at Beacon. Clover couldn’t have said it better himself, and they all go running out the door... past a servant who had been in the dining room a couple times last episode bringing in drinks. She watches the trained warriors all leave, and smirks. Creepy.

As everyone else heads out the door, Ruby and Oscar stop for a moment to try and talk, and of course they talk over each other and act like a couple of dorks. They both think that since Ironwood is revealing everything he knows, they ought to do the same. But a lot of the fans are just thinking how they seem like such a cute adorkable couple. Y’all know who I ship so I can’t say too much about this, but I do certainly think it’s fun how they get along so well and seem to be on the same wavelength. Anyway, Ruby wants to be the one to tell Ironwood but duty calls so it has to be Oscar. Marrow is not amused by their awkwardness, or by the fact that Ruby uses finger-guns. Still, the Ace Ops, Qrow, and the young huntsmen head down in an airship where Clover lays down a reminder that their priority is saving people not racking up a Grimm kill count. Ren seems very distressed, so Nora holds his hand and it seems to help a little. They both feel a bit safer being able to feel that they still have each other, and Blake and Yang share a look that seems to imply the same sentiment even if they’re not going to hold hands too. As the ship soars swiftly downward into the danger, we see a streak of danger soaring above them too.

Back to the political scene, Sleet and Camilla are quietly discussing the world changing whiplash they just had  from Ironwood telling them about Salem existing, and how they almost can’t believe it’s true but know he wouldn’t make something that serious up. Robyn, meanwhile, is just staring at the ground as if thinking to herself “I know I asked what he was hiding, but I immediately regret asking”. She looks over to the closed door, and we cut to the other side to see the General in his own mind shattering crisis. Oscar told him everything they know about Ozma and Salem’s past, how as far as they know she’s immortal and they can’t do a damn thing to change that. He’s understandably upset that Ozpin kept this from all of them, you can almost hear anguish and sadness in his voice, but Oscar affirms that it was for the sake of keeping hopes alive so they would stay motivated. Oscar also apologizes on behalf of RWBY and co. for likewise keeping it a secret, but they just didn’t know who could be trusted to know. Of all people Ironwood would understand that. But now was the time to bare it all, before anything terribly important was lost for good. It might be too late for that though, Ironwood’s hope seems pretty broken now. The poor boy tries to make sure the General is okay, to see what he’s going to do now that he knows all this, and for a second it seems like even he doesn’t know. But his head finds a firm place back on his shoulders and his gaze returns to the task at hand. Grand scheme matters will have to wait, they need to save Mantle. Oscar seems proud, says Ozpin would be too. Atlas is providing the hope it was always meant to, since such a marvel of ingenuity and power is supposed to be held to standards matched only by its altitude. I’m paraphrasing, but the way Oscar says it seems all too familiar to Ironwood, as if he was there to see Atlas get its start. It would seem there’s more of Ozpin in Oscar than even he realizes, or maybe there hasn’t been much Oscar himself in there for a little while?... But we don’t have time for that, because their transports have arrived and they need to go. The two agree that neither of them could handle any more surprises, but it’s the huntsmen and huntresses who are in for the surprise. 

A new Grimm called a Teryx that as you would expect resembles a pterodactyl has latched onto the ship and no matter what fancy flying Harriet does to shake it loose it’s not budging. All that comes of it is Jaune starting to get airsick for the first time since Volume 1 and the Grimm moving around to the starboard side and digging its talons into the wall, right between Blake and Yang’s heads. Any further to either side and one of them might have died. The news only gets worse as another Teryx dive bombs them and damages the starboard engine. They all agree now would be a good time to bail and just get to the ground, and Clover opens the side door... on the side where the Grimm is. As his copious luck would have it, the damaged engine breaks loose and takes the Teryx down in a ball of flame so they’re safe to jump. As the kids start jumping, Elm playfully tells Harriet not to stay on board too much longer and she responds with sarcastic thanks. Not friends my ass, they all get along so well! Harriet decides to be a little extra with her exit and punches the windshield to go out onto the roof, inviting Ruby to try and keep up. Ruby gives a smile with more purity than distilled mountain spring water and follows her. Clover and Qrow are the last to jump, and Clover tries to show off a little for his boyfriend.

We go back to Schnee Manor for the last time as Jacques is being taken away by soldiers and Willow watches from the front door. Whitley is sitting sadly on the stairs alone, and Willow looks over to him with a slight smile. Clearly, she feels like the worst is behind them and hopefully they can try to be a real family now, but he runs away up the stairs. I don’t blame the poor kid, he feels like he has no one now. His mom has always preferred to drown her despair in liquor over being a present parental figure, and his sisters see him as an annoyance whom they never give the time of day. His father was the only one who showed him any attention or guidance, and that was so he could mold the boy in his image. He played along and did as he was told because no one else was there for him to give him much choice. Whitley probably wants to get along and be cared about by his sisters, but they thought the worst of him because he chose to listen to the father they wanted nothing to do with. Its a tragedy of circumstances, and it gives new context to lots of old scenes. The poor kid probably was kinda hurt that Weiss didn’t even say hello or show joy in seeing him again when she arrived for the party last episode. I definitely hope these two can recover and find a happier life. But as Jacques is brought to the armored truck, complaining all the way, we instead focus on a member of the staff leaving rather nonchalantly: the same young woman we saw smirking at everyone leaving earlier. She even starts skipping and if you couldn’t tell the twist already the familiar creepy music should make it obvious; Neo is already in Atlas, and if she’s here then Cinder can’t be far behind. Neo goes to a locked room in an unknown building with wall to wall windows showing the city outside, and sure enough there’s the fiery cockroach herself waiting for her companion’s return. Neo was in disguise to do recon since Cinder would stick out too much in a crowd, and it seems she found what they’re looking for. That sounds quite ominous and troublesome, and I’m a little annoyed that at the first sign of the new interesting villains getting exposed and being in our heroes crosshairs we return to the old villains who’re still trying the same old shtick. Still, at this point they almost feel like the Pilaf gang from original Dragon Ball, once the worst thing our heroes had to deal with but are now practically comedy relief villains who still think they’re the top threat. I’m not that mad, I just don’t much like Cinder and her nefarious schemes anymore. Still, doesn’t detract from the great satisfying episode.

[tradecryotocurrency]

How Bitcoin Works

How exactly to categorize Bitcoin is a matter of controversy. Is it a type of currency, a store of value, a payment network or an asset class?

Fortunately, it's easier to define what Bitcoin actually is. It's software. Don't be fooled by stock images of shiny coins emblazoned with modified Thai baht symbols. Bitcoin is a purely digital phenomenon, a set of protocols and processes.

It also is the most successful of hundreds of attempts to create virtual money through the use of cryptography, the science of making and breaking codes. Bitcoin has inspired hundreds of imitators, but it remains the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, a distinction it has held throughout its decade-plus history.

(A general note: according to the Bitcoin Foundation, the word "Bitcoin" is capitalized when it refers to the cryptocurrency as an entity, and it is given as "bitcoin" when it refers to a quantity of the currency or the units themselves. Bitcoin is also abbreviated as "BTC." Throughout this article, we will alternate between these usages.)

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Bitcoin is a digital currency, a decentralized system which records transactions in a distributed ledger called a blockchain.

Bitcoin miners run complex computer rigs to solve complicated puzzles in an effort to confirm groups of transactions called blocks; upon success, these blocks are added to the blockchain record and the miners are rewarded with a small number of bitcoins.

Other participants in the Bitcoin market can buy or sell tokens through cryptocurrency exchanges or peer-to-peer.

The Bitcoin ledger is protected against fraud via a trustless system; Bitcoin exchanges also work to defend themselves against potential theft, but high-profile thefts have occurred.

The Blockchain

Bitcoin is a network that runs on a protocol known as the blockchain. A 2008 paper by a person or people calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto first described both the blockchain and Bitcoin and for a while the two terms were all but synonymous.

The blockchain​ has since evolved into a separate concept, and thousands of blockchains have been created using similar cryptographic techniques. This history can make the nomenclature confusing. Blockchain sometimes refers to the original, Bitcoin blockchain. At other times it refers to blockchain technology in general, or to any other specific blockchain, such as the one that powers Ethereum​.

The basics of blockchain technology are mercifully straightforward. Any given blockchain consists of a single chain of discrete blocks of information, arranged chronologically. In principle this information can be any string of 1s and 0s, meaning it could include emails, contracts, land titles, marriage certificates, or bond trades. In theory, any type of contract between two parties can be established on a blockchain as long as both parties agree on the contract. This takes away any need for a third party to be involved in any contract. This opens a world of possibilities including peer-to-peer financial products, like loans or decentralized savings and checking accounts, where banks or any intermediary is irrelevant.

While Bitcoin's current goal is a store of value as well as a payment system, there is nothing to say that Bitcoin could not be used in such a way in the future, though consensus would need to be reached to add these systems to Bitcoin. The main goal of the Ethereum project is to have a platform where these "smart contracts" can occur, therefore creating a whole realm of decentralized financial products without any middlemen and the fees and potential data breaches that come along with them.

This versatility has caught the eye of governments and private corporations; indeed, some analysts believe that blockchain technology will ultimately be the most impactful aspect of the cryptocurrency craze.

In Bitcoin's case, though, the information on the blockchain is mostly transactions.

Bitcoin is really just a list. Person A sent X bitcoin to person B, who sent Y bitcoin to person C, etc. By tallying these transactions up, everyone knows where individual users stand. It's important to note that these transactions do not necessarily need to be done from human to human.

Anything can access and use the Bitcoin network and your ethnicity, gender, religion, species, or political leaning are completely irrelevant. This creates vast possibilities for the internet of things. In the future, we could see systems where self-driving taxis or uber vehicles have their own blockchain wallets. The car would be sent cryptocurrency from the passenger and would not move until funds are received. The vehicle would be able to assess when it needs fuel and would use its wallet to facilitate a refill.

Another name for a blockchain is a "distributed ledger," which emphasizes the key difference between this technology and a well-kept Word document. Bitcoin's blockchain is distributed, meaning that it is public. Anyone can download it in its entirety or go to any number of sites that parse it. This means that the record is publicly available, but it also means that there are complicated measures in place for updating the blockchain ledger. There is no central authority to keep tabs on all bitcoin transactions, so the participants themselves do so by creating and verifying "blocks" of transaction data. See the section on "Mining" below for more information.

You can see, for example, that 15N3yGu3UFHeyUNdzQ5sS3aRFRzu5Ae7EZ sent 0.01718427 bitcoin to 1JHG2qjdk5Khiq7X5xQrr1wfigepJEK3t on August 14, 2017, between 11:10 and 11:20 a.m. The long strings of numbers and letters are addresses, and if you were in law enforcement or just very well-informed, you could probably figure out who controlled them. It is a misconception that Bitcoin's network is totally anonymous although taking certain precautions can make it very hard to link individuals to transactions.

How to Buy Bitcoin

Post-Trust

Despite being absolutely public, or rather because of that fact, Bitcoin is extremely difficult to tamper with. A bitcoin has no physical presence, so you can't protect it by locking it in a safe or burying it in the woods.

In theory, all a thief would need to do to take it from you would be to add a line to the ledger that translates to "you paid me everything you have."

A related worry is double-spending. If a bad actor could spend some bitcoin, then spend it again, confidence in the currency's value would quickly evaporate. To achieve a double-spend the bad actor would need to make up 51% of the mining power of Bitcoin. The larger the Bitcoin network grows the less realistic this becomes as the computing power needed would be astronomical and extremely expensive.

To further prevent either from happening, you need trust. In this case, the accustomed solution with traditional currency would be to transact through a central, neutral arbiter such as a bank. Bitcoin has made that unnecessary, however. (It is probably not a coincidence Satoshi's original description was published in October 2008, when trust in banks was at a multigenerational low. This is a recurring theme in today's coronavirus climate and growing government debt.) Rather than having a reliable authority keep the ledger and preside over the network, the bitcoin network is decentralized. Everyone keeps an eye on everyone else.

No one needs to know or trust anyone in particular in order for the system to operate correctly. Assuming everything is working as intended, the cryptographic protocols ensure that each block of transactions is bolted onto the last in a long, transparent, and immutable chain.

Mining

The process that maintains this trustless public ledger is known as mining. Undergirding the network of Bitcoin users who trade the cryptocurrency among themselves is a network of miners, who record these transactions on the blockchain.

Recording a string of transactions is trivial for a modern computer, but mining is difficult because Bitcoin's software makes the process artificially time-consuming. Without the added difficulty, people could spoof transactions to enrich themselves or bankrupt other people. They could log a fraudulent transaction in the blockchain and pile so many trivial transactions on top of it that untangling the fraud would become impossible.

By the same token, it would be easy to insert fraudulent transactions into past blocks. The network would become a sprawling, spammy mess of competing ledgers, and bitcoin would be worthless.

Combining "proof of work" with other cryptographic techniques was Satoshi's breakthrough. Bitcoin's software adjusts the difficulty miners face in order to limit the network to one new 1-megabyte block of transactions every 10 minutes. That way the volume of transactions is digestible. The network has time to vet the new block and the ledger that precedes it, and everyone can reach a consensus about the status quo. Miners do not work to verify transactions by adding blocks to the distributed ledger purely out of a desire to see the Bitcoin network run smoothly; they are compensated for their work as well. We'll take a closer look at mining compensation below.

Halving

As previously mentioned, miners are rewarded with Bitcoin for verifying blocks of transactions. This reward is cut in half every 210,000 blocks mined, or, about every four years. This event is called the halving or the "halvening." The system is built-in as a deflationary one, where the rate at which new Bitcoin is released into circulation.

This process is designed so that rewards for Bitcoin mining will continue until about 2140. Once all Bitcoin is mined from the code and all halvings are finished, the miners will remain incentivized by fees that they will charge network users. The hope is that healthy competition will keep fees low.

This system drives up Bitcoin's stock-to-flow ratio and lowers its inflation until it is eventually zero. After the third halving that took place on May 11th, 2020, the reward for each block mined is now 6.25 Bitcoins.

Hashes

Here is a slightly more technical description of how mining works. The network of miners, who are scattered across the globe and not bound to each other by personal or professional ties, receives the latest batch of transaction data. They run the data through a cryptographic algorithm that generates a "hash," a string of numbers and letters that verifies the information's validity but does not reveal the information itself. (In reality, this ideal vision of decentralized mining is no longer accurate, with industrial-scale mining farms and powerful mining pools forming an oligopoly. More on that below.)

Given the hash 000000000000000000c2c4d562265f272bd55d64f1a7c22ffeb66e15e826ca30, you cannot know what transactions the relevant block (#480504) contains. You can, however, take a bunch of data purporting to be block #480504 and make sure that it has not been tampered with. If one number were out of place, no matter how insignificant, the data would generate a totally different hash. As an example, if you were to run the Declaration of Independence through a hash calculator, you might get 839f561caa4b466c84e2b4809afe116c76a465ce5da68c3370f5c36bd3f67350. Delete the period after the words "submitted to a candid world," though, and you get 800790e4fd445ca4c5e3092f9884cdcd4cf536f735ca958b93f60f82f23f97c4. This is a completely different hash, although you've only changed one character in the original text.

The hash technology allows the Bitcoin network to instantly check the validity of a block. It would be incredibly time-consuming to comb through the entire ledger to make sure that the person mining the most recent batch of transactions hasn't tried anything funny. Instead, the previous block's hash appears within the new block. If the most minute detail had been altered in the previous block, that hash would change. Even if the alteration was 20,000 blocks back in the chain, that block's hash would set off a cascade of new hashes and tip off the network.  

Generating a hash is not really work, though. The process is so quick and easy that bad actors could still spam the network and perhaps, given enough computing power, pass off fraudulent transactions a few blocks back in the chain. So the Bitcoin protocol requires proof of work.

It does so by throwing miners a curveball: Their hash must be below a certain target. That's why block #480504's hash starts with a long string of zeroes. It's tiny. Since every string of data will generate one and only one hash, the quest for a sufficiently small one involves adding nonces ("numbers used once") to the end of the data. So a miner will run [thedata]. If the hash is too big, she will try again. [thedata]1. Still too big. [thedata]2. Finally, [thedata]93452 yields her a hash beginning with the requisite number of zeroes.

The mined block will be broadcast to the network to receive confirmations, which take another hour or so, though occasionally much longer, to process. (Again, this description is simplified. Blocks are not hashed in their entirety, but broken up into more efficient structures called Merkle trees.)

(Minutes, 7-day average)

Depending on the kind of traffic the network is receiving, Bitcoin's protocol will require a longer or shorter string of zeroes, adjusting the difficulty to hit a rate of one new block every 10 minutes. As of October 2019, the current difficulty is around 6.379 trillion, up from 1 in 2009. As this suggests, it has become significantly more difficult to mine Bitcoin since the cryptocurrency launched a decade ago.

Mining is intensive, requiring big, expensive rigs and a lot of electricity to power them. And it's competitive. There's no telling what nonce will work, so the goal is to plow through them as quickly as possible.

Early on, miners recognized that they could improve their chances of success by combining into mining pools, sharing computing power and divvying the rewards up among themselves. Even when multiple miners split these rewards, there is still ample incentive to pursue them. Every time a new block is mined, the successful miner receives a bunch of newly created bitcoin. At first, it was 50, but then it halved to 25, and now it is 12.5 (about $119,000 in October 2019).

The reward will continue to halve every 210,000 blocks, or about every four years, until it hits zero. At that point, all 21 million bitcoins will have been mined, and miners will depend solely on fees to maintain the network. When Bitcoin was launched, it was planned that the total supply of the cryptocurrency would be 21 million tokens.

The fact that miners have organized themselves into pools worries some. If a pool exceeds 50% of the network's mining power, its members could potentially spend coins, reverse the transactions, and spend them again. They could also block others' transactions. Simply put, this pool of miners would have the power to overwhelm the distributed nature of the system, verifying fraudulent transactions by virtue of the majority power it would hold.

That could spell the end of Bitcoin, but even a so-called 51% attack would probably not enable the bad actors to reverse old transactions, because the proof of work requirement makes that process so labor-intensive. To go back and alter the blockchain, a pool would need to control such a large majority of the network that it would probably be pointless. When you control the whole currency, who is there to trade with?

A 51% attack is a financially suicidal proposition from the miners' perspective. When Ghash.io, a mining pool, reached 51% of the network's computing power in 2014, it voluntarily promised to not exceed 39.99% of the Bitcoin hash rate in order to maintain confidence in the cryptocurrency's value. Other actors, such as governments, might find the idea of such an attack interesting, though. But, again, the sheer size of Bitcoin's network would make this overwhelmingly expensive, even for a world power.

Another source of concern related to miners is the practical tendency to concentrate in parts of the world where electricity is cheap, such as China, or, following a Chinese crackdown in early 2018, Quebec.

Bitcoin Transactions

For most individuals participating in the Bitcoin network, the ins and outs of the blockchain, hash rates and mining are not particularly relevant. Outside of the mining community, Bitcoin owners usually purchase their cryptocurrency supply through a Bitcoin exchange. These are online platforms that facilitate transactions of Bitcoin and, often, other digital currencies.

El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender on June 9, 2021.1 It is the first country to do so. The cryptocurrency can be used for any transaction where the business can accept it. The U.S. dollar continues to be El Salvador’s primary currency.

Bitcoin exchanges such as Coinbase bring together market participants from around the world to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. These exchanges have been both increasingly popular (as Bitcoin's popularity itself has grown in recent years) and fraught with regulatory, legal and security challenges. With governments around the world viewing cryptocurrencies in various ways – as currency, as an asset class, or any number of other classifications – the regulations governing the buying and selling of bitcoins are complex and constantly shifting.

Perhaps even more important for Bitcoin exchange participants than the threat of changing regulatory oversight, however, is that of theft and other criminal activity. While the Bitcoin network itself has largely been secure throughout its history, individual exchanges are not necessarily the same. Many thefts have targeted high-profile cryptocurrency exchanges, oftentimes resulting in the loss of millions of dollars worth of tokens. The most famous exchange theft is likely Mt. Gox, which dominated the Bitcoin transaction space up through 2014. Early in that year, the platform announced the probable theft of roughly 850,000 BTC worth close to $450 million at the time. Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy and shuttered its doors; to this day, the majority of that stolen bounty (which would now be worth a total of about $8 billion) has not been recovered.

Keys and Wallets

For these reasons, it's understandable that Bitcoin traders and owners will want to take any possible security measures to protect their holdings. To do so, they utilize keys and wallets.

Bitcoin ownership essentially boils down to two numbers, a public key and a private key. A rough analogy is a username (public key) and a password (private key). A hash of the public key called an address is the one displayed on the blockchain. Using the hash provides an extra layer of security.

To receive bitcoin, it's enough for the sender to know your address. The public key is derived from the private key, which you need to send bitcoin to another address. The system makes it easy to receive money but requires verification of identity to send it.

To access bitcoin, you use a wallet, which is a set of keys. These can take different forms, from third-party web applications offering insurance and debit cards, to QR codes printed on pieces of paper. The most important distinction is between "hot" wallets, which are connected to the internet and therefore vulnerable to hacking, and "cold" wallets, which are not connected to the internet. In the Mt. Gox case above, it is believed that most of the BTC stolen were taken from a hot wallet. Still, many users entrust their private keys to cryptocurrency exchanges, which essentially is a bet that those exchanges will have stronger defense against the possibility of theft than one's own computer.

[gmcryptkeeper]

Campaign Grimoire #1

With all things, there is a beginning, especially the campaigns we run.  How we start is often extremely important to how smoothly the campaign ends up running.  So, with that said, I will take a little bit of time discussing my role in the beginning of the campaign I’m currently running.  In this entry I want to go over what made me interested in running the campaign that I am, speak a little on the campaign itself, talk about my recruitment process, talk about my players and the discussion of their characters.  That being said, since this does include information about a Pathfinder Adventure Path (AP), I will do my best to not spoil overly much about the campaign but you should be warned that reading this may give you hints to the AP that (if you’re a player) you should not otherwise have.

Why GM Again?

So, I should start by stating that it has been a little bit since I’ve GM’d last, specifically before I started my venture into graduate school.  I decided that I wanted to make my own campaign after being on a hiatus and would eventually bring people into the world after I felt comfortable with the product.  Even so, I wanted to be able to do something in the mean time, so I chose to pick an Adventure Path from Pathfinder since my group endorsed interest in playing in it.  So, knowing what kind of games I love, I ventured into selecting the Strange Aeons AP.  After all, it couldn’t hurt to dust off the ol’ skills every now and then, right?

Strange Aeons, indeed.

Let’s look at the top down.  Pathfinder is a system that I’m very comfortable with running and playing in.  It has a lot of customizing options for both players and GMs (much of these things can be ported to other systems with a little bit of knowledge, confidence, and the hopes and dreams of small children).  Strange Aeons is a story that is very involved with the Cthulhu Mythos.  Now, if you remember from my introduction, this is something that I’m very interested in myself, something I’m a little more practiced with.  Also, considering the people I was going to be running with, not many of them have played in a horror setting, particularly.  Upon reading into the AP, there is definitely some difficulty there and ways to introduce horror in combat, in social settings, but also atmospherically.  Plus, the more I thought about it, different aspects of the late game make this AP able to be tied into my larger campaign once it’s finished, despite not being on the same world, technically.  I wanted to pick something that would give me hooks into my world later on but something that may not be entirely (initially) connected to my world.

So, important notes: I looked at setting, interconnections into my larger work, confidence, and difficulty.  These were important to me but this may be wildly different for you.

The Pitch

I’ve been discussing getting back into the saddle as GM for a while with my playgroup.  At the time of the pitch, two of our group’s members were running games of their own (one 5th edition, one Pathfinder).  So I cast a wide net among the group and asked who would be interested.  Keep in mind, I had selected what I wanted to run for the campaign.  Now, does that always work?  Not particularly, but I do believe that in order for a good campaign to get rolling, the GM needs to actually be interested in running the campaign.  Additionally, I’ve played with many of these people many times.  After all, we call our group (affectionately) 2′s and 20′s.  I’m sure you can figure out why.

I consider myself very lucky to have this group.  There are many different styles of players that bring different things to the table.  We have a couple of members that formed the core of the group (the forerunners, you could say) and we have inducted more into the group as different campaigns have fired.  I had a pool of about 7 to pull from in the beginning when I needed 4 players.  Fortunately, 4 was not a hard number to accomplish.

Had the situation been different, there are numerous other styles I could have used.  For one, the game store I work at has a lovely posting board for gamers to connect.  I could have sought help through Meetup or other such sites.  Or I could have spent time at the store physically recruiting people if necessary.  This could be an anxiety inducing situation to be in if you’re not overwhelmingly extroverted like myself.  With that said, we could discuss this as another topic entirely in another entry.

The Players

I managed to get 4 hapless fools wonderful associates to play in this AP.  So let’s do a quick run down of my people.  None of these judgments that I’m putting forth are meant to be critical but to show what I know about these people (and often love).

The Polymath: This is a player who I, as a GM, have to be very alert for because more often than not, they are prepared for just about any natural or unnatural disaster that I could throw at them.  This is someone who has a ridiculous knowledge of the game on an integral level and is subtle about it.  He’s very interested in building characters that work almost seamlessly into the plot but with abilities that seem strange, at first, but will ultimately be used to devastating effect.  How often does this happen?  Roughly every game I’ve run or been in with this player.  As a GM, I’m excited to run for him.  He’s very engaged, will come up with an intricate backstory and is someone that I’m very prepared to take the gloves off for.

The Would-Be Hero: This character is, as the title implies, someone who often will step into the heroic role.  This is someone who, in real life, very much believes in being a good guy and generally believes in being honorable.  He’s definitely someone that I’m used to counting on for wanting to be in melee, blazing in a path of glory.  He likes to integrate his character into the plot of the story and responds well to being important to the overall story.

The Synthesist: This player is rarely a player and often a GM.  That informs his ability and desire to make different types of characters that are generally very unique and often either obscure or a couple of mixed classes.  He is someone that is innovative and actively engages with his environment which really pushes me to either prepare a lot of interactable situations in my setting or pushes my improv to accomplish this.

The Green: This title exists for two reasons.  One reason being that she is fairly new to tabletop roleplaying, hence, Greenhorn.  The second reason is that she has a knack for playing nature focused characters.  See, I’m occasionally clever.  She has become so much more confident in interacting with the overarching stories of games and coming up with something she connects to meaningfully with her characters.  Once she’s invested, she can become a major pilot for the party if she feels strongly about what her character cares about.

The Characters

I find it is only natural to talk about the characters following my short description of the players.

Poly/The Occultist: The Occultist character is designed to be a little unhinged.  This character is missing much of his past, only coming in on wisps of insight, only to be consumed by nonsense.  That was the essential feeling the player gave me.  Poly wanted to play a character that had occult origins that would fit well into the game.  The Occultist is an elf who, between some work between me and the player, has a tragic backstory that is marked by trauma that he currently cannot remember.  Lack of memories is a theme to building a character for this AP.  This character specializes in Necromancy and Divination, starting out.

Hero/The Fighter: The Fighter is someone of noble bearing.  He remembers being associated with a noble house and having a noble cause, but cannot remember who were his enemies or what happened to him or his estate.  He is a harsh character who believes that his order, his rules are the ones to be followed.  Hero wanted to play a character that was within his type but he wanted to venture out a little and picked up the Loremaster Fighter.  Someone who is more knowledgeable and inquisitive while still being a fearsome foe.  He chose to become a switch-hitter and definitely capitalized on the “Rich Parents” trait in Pathfinder.

Synth/The Bloodrager: The Bloodrager could be believed to be more beast than man at times, someone who is tempestuous and wild.  However, underneath that frightening exterior lies someone who was created to be this way and utterly broken.  Experiments dot his hazy memories, especially ones of pain, injections, and a laboratory.  Synth has an entire build that he wishes to see how it turns out for this character and made a horrific backstory to back it.  This character will end up having multiple bloodlines but how he originally got them is locked in his mind and something that may be better left hidden.

Green/The Druid: The Druid is someone who is solid and stable, much like the Earth she worships.  She was brought up in a Circle but set out on her own to fight at the corruption that sought to taint the land she defended.  But who are her true enemies and what horror did she hope to vanquish?  Green wanted to stick with a nature oriented class but this is her debut into 9th level casting.  She has a quality as a player that is reflected a bit in this character (based on the creation) that will very much help with this AP.  She is someone level-headed and stable (at least, the Druid believes she is such) and will be a solid anchor for the rest of the party.

The Session Zero

Every game should have a solid session zero in my opinion.  Doesn’t mean that good games cannot come without it but it eases parties and GMs into the game.  It gives the GM more to prepare (the hooks for the characters) and the players to figure out how they’re going to work together.  All of the information I just provided you was provided and developed in this Session Zero.

Here’s the but.  I would have loved to have a formal session zero with a couple of hours dedicated to everyone sitting at the table and focused on this character creation process and plot building.  Despite it being an AP, much of it is determined by the characters background and how I inject that into the larger plot.  The party has a good dynamic of mix a classes and should be adaptable to the encounters that they run into.  However, there isn’t a bunch of communication among party members as to what they were planning to do.

Now, Strange Aeons starts everyone off with the classic “Amnesia Backstory”.  As in, they don’t remember much about themselves except maybe some of their older memories, so they don’t need to figure out how they know each other.  They are thrown together awfully fast in the very beginning of the first book.  However, there could have been other discussions, such as expectations.  This is a big concept for any group.  I did seed that the path would be difficult and that they should be aware that death is something that can come quite swiftly if they’re not careful.  However, not much else was stated globally about expectations, which was a mistake on my behalf.

Why did this happen?  Well, at the time, I didn’t push for it as much as I wanted and I believe my desire to run the game outweighed my patience.  It happens sometimes.  The other thing to consider is that many of us had particularly chaotic schedules leading up to this point (this is an issue that became resolved fairly quickly).  As I previously mentioned, I’m finishing grad school, I’m in an internship, and I work part time at a fantastic game store.  There’s a lot on that plate but I went into this setting aside some time to be able to run this and pull this off.

We were able to handle the major things: 

-How often do we play?

-What time/day of the week?

-How fast should we progress?

-How we will communicate about status of attendance and whatnot for the game?

-Where will game be? (This is easy, it’s always my place).

-A reminder of limitations, what to do about cancellations, etc.

Next Steps

From here, we move on into the campaign itself.  At the time of this writing, we have moved through 4 sessions.  When I post the next campaign grimoire, it will likely address general things of session 1 and 2, followed by an entry on 3, and an entry on 4.  I plan on discussing a little bit about what the party did/how they interacted given the circumstances of their situation but I don’t want to give too much about the game as it may spoil some of you.  I will note the changes I’ve made/improvisations that came about and what was important about the sessions in terms of me as a GM.  But that is a sample of the things to come.  For now, traveler, I bid you farewell.

-GM Crypt Keeper

[quinzelade]

By No Constraint (chpt 70)

SS x Danse

Chapter List

Thanks to my amazing beta, @waiting4morning, for her wonderful work!

Tumblr has apparently changed its linking rules, meaning I can no longer externally link my FFnet or Ao3 accounts if I want my story to show up in the tag search on tumblr. If you want update alerts, please search ‘quinzelade’ on either of these sites and follow me there.

This week’s chapter title is inspired off my favourite Suzanne Vega song, The Queen and the Soldier. I highly recommend you give it a listen and pay close attention to the lyrics. Absolutely wonderful.

Major Brotherhood/Danse spoilers.

--

The King and the Soldier

--

Quinn felt her insides freeze.

“I don’t believe you,” Cade repeated, “but I can’t prove otherwise. Not if Knight Carson is defending your story.”

“I—” she began, panic-stricken, but Cade smoothly cut across her.

“Did Rachel finally snap?” Both Carson and Quinn locked eyes, and Cade gave a grunt of confirmation. “I told Rachel that concerns had been raised about her conduct and general health since Paladin Danse’s execution.”

“Concerns?” Carson spoke this time, his eyes wide and confused.

“Yes, concerns.” Cade frowned. “You must have noticed how erratic she’d been over the last few months. You were there when she drank that alcohol on the edge of the ship’s railings. How could you not be concerned?”

“I was, but...I didn’t think anyone else noticed.”

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you bring it up with me?”

“I...I didn’t want to get her into trouble.”

Cade shook his head in disbelief. “Well, other people did notice, and they did tell me. I decided it couldn’t be put off any longer. I informed Rachel she would be confined to the Prydwen and assessed by myself so that we could help her. The following morning, she was gone...and Carson with her.”

Carson paled, but Quinn felt positively nauseous. If Rachel had been on the run, did that mean she was followed to Sanctuary?

Cade answered Quinn’s unspoken question. “It was decided not to pursue her. We’re already stretched thin after the fight with the Railroad and the Institute, on top of our recent patrols in the Boston ruins.” He sighed. “That doesn’t explain your injuries, Carson. I can see you’re trying to protect Rachel’s reputation, but I need to know the truth.”

“Sir,” whispered Carson, trying and failing to sit up straight. “She didn’t tell me she was supposed to stay on the ship. She said we had to go find Quinn.”

Cade held up a hand to stop Carson. He tapped on his terminal, and then suddenly a speaker above the door came to life, filling the hall outside with music. At once, Quinn realised what he was doing, and didn’t need Cade’s explanation of, “To stop eavesdroppers.” He turned his head to her. “What happened then?”

“She…” Quinn let out a long breath, readying herself. The music was a little distracting, but if she was careful with her lies now, built upon the truth, with a few tweaks... “She caught up with me. Called me a traitor for leaving the Prydwen without saying anything. That I was obviously hiding something. I tried to tell Rachel why I left, but she didn’t believe me.”

“I’d gotten out of my armour at her command,” added Carson, mercifully quick to the uptake, “and used a stealth boy, like I said. She told me it was so we could assess the situation and see what was wrong with Quinn. But then she revealed herself and started threatening Quinn instead. I...I tried to step in. Hit her to try to get her weapon away from her. But…”

Cade let out a hiss of breath. “You hit her? She’s one of the best on the ship in hand-to-hand combat.  You had a gun!”

“I didn’t want to kill her!” Carson fired up at once, glancing from Cade to Quinn. Quinn wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince. “I just...I...I don’t know!”

It seemed Cade noticed Carson’s plea to Quinn as well, because his expression cleared a little.

Carson bit his lip. “I know it was stupid. And I paid for it. Rachel got my gun off me and...and shot me. I don’t know what happened after that.”

Cade looked back at Quinn expectantly.

“I picked up her pistol off the floor while she was wrestling with Carson,” Quinn said, staring at her knees. She couldn’t meet Cade’s eye anymore. “I shot her. Killed her.” Quinn reached into her pocket and produced Rachel’s holotags, setting them on Cade’s desk. “There was nothing else I could do.”

Cade said nothing for a moment, though Quinn could sense him staring hard at her. Then finally he said, “Now that I believe.”

Quinn glanced up and saw his features had softened considerably.

“Where is your son now?” he asked, his tone gentle.

“Safe,” she replied. “With friends. I don’t want to say much more than that. I understand the Brotherhood would try to protect me and my family, but I meant what I said about the ship. He’s safer out of the spotlight.”

Cade sighed and leaned back wearily in his chair, staring past Quinn. “I’ll have to give a full report to Elder Maxson, but that doesn’t mean this will become common knowledge.” He tapped slowly through his terminal, and the music cut off.

“I liked Rachel. I really did. But...I can’t say I didn’t see this coming.” Cade met Quinn’s eye. “I failed her. I thought...well, when her family died, I confined her to the Citadel, but she only seemed to improve when she eventually returned to active duty. After Paladin Danse...I wanted to try a different tack, a different treatment. So I kept her on the field, even though I could see her struggling.” He gestured to Carson. “My fault.”

“Maybe she was beyond…” Quinn started, but a cold anger rose up in Cade’s face.

“No one is beyond helping,” Cade snapped, sitting up straight again. He glanced at Carson’s wary expression, met Quinn’s eye, and then slumped in his seat. “It’s completely illogical. Detrimental almost, but I have to believe it. There’s too much pointless death to deal with, otherwise.”

Quinn stared at Cade. The only time she had seen him this morose was when Stephen Cooper died. She frowned. “If you keep telling yourself you could have done something, even when you couldn’t, you’re only going to bring yourself more grief.”

Cade shrugged and stood up, walking over to Carson and checking over him, though without apparently doing much. Quinn suspected it was just an excuse to move away from the topic, as he said, “Anyway, you’re going to be fine, Carson. This NCR doctor, whoever he was, at least knew his stuff. No infection, and the worst effects of the burns have been staved off.”

Quinn felt a pang of relief as some of the colour returned to Carson’s cheeks. She nodded and smiled at her friend. As did so, she suddenly remembered something. Or at least, someone. “Casey,” she said, her stomach clenching. “What happened to Casey?”

Cade looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Still under my care, in the long term beds on the upper deck. But she’s awake, which is a wonder in itself. Strong girl, that one.”

Quinn rose from her chair at once. “Can I go see her?”

“Of course. She’s struggling to speak at the moment, but she’ll be glad for your company, I’m sure.”

“Quinn,” Carson said as she made for the door, “if you bump into Tom—”

“I’ll send lover boy on his way, don’t worry,” Quinn replied, smirking when Carson flushed.

Quinn made it only halfway through the ship, though, when Kapraski came barrelling towards her. His speed was startling, considering he was still using a crutch to support himself.

“Liam?” he gasped, his eyes wide.

“Sick bay. He’s going to be f—” she began, but Kapraski rushed past her without another word, the uneven clunks of his crutch quickly fading away. Quinn watched him go, and then headed up the stairs to the makeshift sick bay. The screens were still in place, scribes flitting to and fro between shielded beds. Near the back corner, propped up with what looked like all the pillows in the Prydwen, was Casey. She didn’t notice Quinn approach until Quinn was standing at the foot of Casey’s bed.

“Ma’am?” she croaked, her remaining eye lighting up with recognition. As Haylen had said, Casey’s left eye was completely gone, the surrounding skin badly warped and scarred, giving one side of her face a melted appearance. Her lopsided mouth broke out into a tremulous smile. “How are you doing, ma’am?”

“Good,” Quinn replied, trying to hide her shock at Casey’s appearance. What with Cade’s medical skill, she had expected something less...severe.

Casey’s smile turned into a grin. “Doing better than me, at least.”

“Are you alright?” Quinn carefully sat on the edge of the bed, biting her lip. “Because you look like shit.”

Casey laughed, though it quickly turned into a groan of pain. Her smile remained, though, and when she spoke again, her voice was a little stronger. “I’ll get there. Just...long recovery.” She suddenly looked exhausted, and Quinn remembered what Cade said about speech being a struggle.

“I’ll go,” Quinn said, beginning to stand. “You need to rest—”

“No!” Casey said, wincing as she did. “I...people don’t stay long. Say I need rest. Talking is...nice.” She scrunched her bedsheets up in her right hand. “Can you...read to me?”

Quinn blinked. But when Casey started to blush, Quinn smiled and nodded. “Sure.”

Casey beamed for a split second, before groaning and shutting her eye again. She waved her right hand to the floor. “Under my bed…”

Quinn looked and saw, with a pang, a stack of comic books. Charlie instantly dominated her thoughts.

“Quinlan brought…” Casey mumbled, but didn’t finish. She took in a slow, deep breath and said, “Can’t hold them.”

Quinn picked up the comics and knelt down next to Casey, selecting the topmost issue. “This one okay?” When Casey gave the tiniest of nods, Quinn set the others down and held the chosen issue aloft, propping her elbow on the bed. “Hmm, good taste. ‘Grognak and the Legend of Ice Maiden Cove.’ Saucy.”

Casey didn’t reply, but Quinn felt her fingers rest gently on Quinn’s arm, giving her a grateful squeeze.

Quinn began to read, trying her best to give different voices to each character, the way she would have done with Charlie. Other passing soldiers stared, while the bedridden ones turned their heads to listen, and when she finished, there was a chorus of demand for the next issue.

‘Grognak and the Battle for the Golden Loincloth,’ seemed worth a read.

--

“You took your time in fetching me,” Maxson grumbled, striding irritably beside Quinn. Quinn ignored him. Gone were the days of Maxson’s ire dictating her moves—though admittedly, such days had always been fleeting. Her patience with him was at an all-time low.

Maxson was apparently unsure what to do with her silence, because he settled for muttering ‘disappearing without notice’ and ‘awkward explanations’ as they walked across the Prydwen, the clangs of their footsteps echoing through the ship. His complaints abruptly stopped, though, when Quinn rapped sharply on Li’s door, and it swung open at once.

“Come in,” Li said, gesturing stiffly with her hand, and stepped back to allow Quinn and Maxson inside.

The room was a lot smaller than Quinn’s, with just enough space for a desk and a bed. Scientific equipment was spread out across the solitary table, none of which Quinn could name. Something was bubbling and smoking in a glass flask next to a rack of test tubes filled with brightly coloured liquids, and the air smelled faintly of sea salt. Quinn wondered if all this equipment had been taken from the Institute by Li before she’d fled, or if the Brotherhood provided it for her on arrival.

Virgil was sat on the bed, his face clean and covered in gauze, staring at his knees. Maxson’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the newcomer, clearly recognising the tattered remains of Virgil’s uniform. “Institute?” he hissed.

“Yes, Institute. Just like the scientists you were quite happy to integrate into the Prydwen,” Quinn said curtly, earning a raised eyebrow from Li.

“Under my supervision,” Maxson shot back, giving her one of his famous glares. Quinn remained coolly unimpressed, and he blinked, confused, before hurriedly scowling again. “Why have you brought him onto my ship?”

“Because—”

“Because,” Virgil said, finally meeting Maxson’s eye. “I am here to undo all the damage I’ve caused.”

“Damage?”

“I was in a specific branch of the Bioscience division.” Virgil’s gaze dropped, and when he’d finished telling Maxson about the super mutant experiments, he didn’t look up again. Quinn suspected if he had, Virgil would have quailed under the disgust rolling off Maxson in waves. Even Li was wearing a pained expression.

“Why,” Maxson said in a low rumble, “would I permit you to stay here after everything you’ve just told me? I should shoot you where you stand, you piece of filth.”

Madison Li stepped in front of Virgil, glaring defiantly up at Maxson, her arms folded tight across her chest.

Try it, her eyes said. Maxson didn’t move.

“I deserve to be shot,” came Virgil’s voice from behind the posturing Li. “But I think I can give you something better than my death. Something more useful.”

Maxson snorted dismissively.

“A cure for super mutancy,” Virgil said, louder this time. “But I need a place to develop—”

“A cure?” Maxson repeated, his eyes widening. He glanced at Quinn and repeated, “A cure?”

“Well, a cure for one particular strain of the virus. But my research has laid the groundwork for a much wider scope. I think, with enough time and dedication…”

Maxson still looked as if he disbelieved, so Quinn nodded. “I’ve seen it happen.” She explained the condition she’d found Virgil in, the way she’d stolen his work from the Institute, and the state she had found him in since.

“You knew there was a cure, and you didn’t hand it straight to us?” Maxson said, his familiar frown creeping back into place as his tone grew more irate.

“I knew he was claiming for there to be a cure,” Quinn shot back, “and he had limited time before he changed. His need was greater.” She paused, as a memory surfaced, and a great sadness washed over her. “Danse insisted I bring the cure back here too. Seemed to think using it on Virgil was a waste.”

“And he was right,” snapped Maxson. He stopped, momentarily perplexed, and then shook his head. “It was right, whatever its intentions. That cure should have been delivered to our scribes immediately, not thrown away so carelessly.”

“Carelessly? Look at him! It worked! And now he’s here offering to help! For God’s sake, realise what you are being given! If he can develop the cure for the FEV with Brotherhood scribes, think what else he’s capable of!”

Maxson glared, and Quinn could practically hear the gears of his brain grinding as he weighed his opinions. Finally, he nodded, though he appeared impassive. When he spoke, his voice was cold and indifferent. “Very well. You may stay.” He turned to Li. “When you’ve patched him up, take him to Quinlan and get him assigned. He can start his work tomorrow once he’s been examined by Cade.” Maxson turned his icy gaze back to Virgil. “From this moment on, you’re being watched. If we suspect so much as a hint of treachery, we’ll kill you.”

Li went red with anger at this statement, but Virgil nodded calmly. “I need to atone.”

“Damn right you do,” Maxson spat. He wrenched open the door and strode from the room, barking over his shoulder, “Sentinel, follow. I’m not done with you yet.”

Quinn loathed being spoken to like a disobedient dog, but decided it was in her best interests to do as she was told for now. She nodded to Li, who gave her a lukewarm smile—a vast improvement from the frostiness of their last meeting—and then Quinn trotted off after Maxson.

He didn’t speak to her as they walked, and Quinn had no intention of striking up a conversation. The man was clearly pissed. She expected to go back up to his open office, but instead he turned left onto the main walkway, which ran through the heart of the Prydwen.

Where the hell are we going? she thought as she ran to keep up with his long, purposeful strides.

Quinn got her answer almost at once. At the far end of the ship, next to the door leading to the corridor lined with the rooms of the officers, was Maxson’s private quarters. She knew it was there by whispers alone, though she had never seen the interior. Maxson pushed open the door and disappeared into the dark. Moments later, a light flickered on, illuminating the doorway, which appeared to have been left open as an invitation.

Quinn hesitated. Maxson’s private quarters? She didn’t know anyone who had been allowed in. All meetings were held upstairs in the main office, and Maxson had a habit of taking tours of the ship to speak to people directly when he wasn’t summoning them into his presence.

People would talk if she crossed the threshold, a concept that revolted her. But curiosity quickly got the better of Quinn, and she wondered how bad of a reprimand she was about to receive. Steeling herself, she walked inside, and immediately noticed a bookshelf filled with things she wouldn’t have expected from such a fearless war leader.

Toys. Toys, books, and other odd trinkets and mementos. She even saw Danse’s book there, with what she suspected were Cutler’s holotags next to it. There was a fleeting second where she considered stealing them to take back to Danse, when a clang of the door made her jerk her head up instinctively. Maxson stood in front of her, and Quinn felt herself slip into a state of shock. The moment the door swung shut behind her, he did something she had never seen him do before.

He smiled at her.

Not bitter or fleeting or forced, but a broad, genuine smile. Maxson seemed to radiate delight, the years of burden sliding off his broad shoulders as his sharp eyes softened and crinkled at the corners. The effect was rather unnerving, and Quinn found herself wishing for the old, grumpy Maxson to return.

“Well done,” he said, still grinning. “Well done.”

“Well done?” she blinked.

Maxson nodded. “For bringing Virgil to us. I don’t think you realise how many lives you’ve just saved. How much future misery you’ve prevented. A cure for the FEV.” He shook his head, still grinning bemusedly. “I never thought I’d live to see the day...a cure.”

He stared past Quinn, lost in jubilation, and then snapped his eyes back to her. The more Quinn looked at him, the more he appeared to be a completely different person. His posture was relaxed, every trace of his awkward, stiff-backed stance absent. His stern expression was a distant memory, and even his voice sounded like it belonged to someone else, the gruff edge gone.

Quinn wondered if—away from the demands of the Brotherhood—this was the real Elder Maxson. He was definitely more like the twenty year old he was supposed to be, at any rate. She felt a faint stab of pity.

“Drink?” he said, pulling her back to reality. She blinked stupidly and he laughed, a low, pleasant chuckle that intensified her bewilderment.

“I, uh...no thanks,” Quinn said, her cheeks going hot. He was obviously trying for a nice gesture. Would he be offended?

“Ah, yes. I forgot. Cade sent me his report after your little...incident.” Maxson gave a knowing nod and poured himself out a generous measure into a well-used glass. As he did so, Quinn noticed a slight tremor of his hand. He set the bottle down without replacing the cap, picked up his drink, and drained it in one go.

“You...you know about that?” Quinn said, horrified. Cade said he wouldn’t tell anyone else.

“Of course I know,” Maxson replied, pouring himself another drink and dropping down into a chair. He leaned precariously on its back legs and propped his booted feet up onto his desk, raising his glass to her. “I know everything that happens on this ship.” He took a sip. “How else could I care for my men and women otherwise?”

“But Cade said—”

“Cade said it wouldn’t go on your official record. He did not say he wouldn’t tell me.” Maxson raised an eyebrow. “You’ll often find your harshest critics aren’t the officers, but the very soldiers you work with. I feel I am more lenient than people give me credit for.”

Maxson drained his glass again with ease, and Quinn narrowed her eyes. “You keep drinking like that you’ll end like Danse...or me.”

He considered this for a moment and shrugged. “Becoming the type of soldier Danse was wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing...even if the price is alcoholism.”

“Bullshit.” She didn’t like the way he was talking at all. As if he’d accepted some sort of fate, or hoped for it.

He gave another chuckle, this one drier than the last, and shook his head. “That’s what I always liked about you. As though you consider sugarcoating for weaker men. Even when you try to be diplomatic, your face gives you away.” He met her eye as he set down his glass. “You’re a constant pain in my ass, but I always know where I stand.”

Quinn didn’t know what to say to that, and after a few beats of silence, the mood in the room shifted. Maxson began to look uncomfortable. He let his chair fall onto all four legs with an echoing clunk, and he took his feet off the desk and placed them back on the floor. His features set into their usual stern arrangement, and his posture stiffened as he tensed. The years piled back onto him, and he was suddenly worn and weary again. Old before his time.

Even in this most private of sanctuaries, Maxson couldn’t fend off the professional front drilled into him, and Quinn remembered what she had accused him of when he tried to execute Danse.

Child soldier.

There was that pity again.

“In a lot of ways, you remind me of Sarah Lyons,” Maxson said, his voice heavy as his eyes flicked longingly to his empty glass. “She was a strong woman too. Exceptional in every regard. Had a lot of burden on her shoulders after her father died, but she always found time for me.” His fingers twitched as if he was going to pick up the glass, but he stopped himself. “My only childhood friend, really.”

“Besides Danse?”

Maxson didn’t answer.

“I’ve been told you’re keeping the Institute scientists,” Quinn said, more for a change of topic than anything else. “That you’re planning to bring the water purifying technology from D.C. to the rest of the country. Or at least the East Coast.”

Maxson nodded, apparently happy for the new subject. He ran his hand through his beard and said, “I still remember Owyn Lyons’ lessons...what he tried to teach me before he died. The greatest failing of the Brotherhood is the perception of self sufficiency, while relying on people we so readily disregard. The common man is not our other, but an equal.”

“I don’t understand.”

His face twisted into a grim expression. “Then Proctor Teagan clearly never recruited you into his food drives. We’re soldiers, not farmers. When we can’t feed ourselves, we strike deals with traders and settlers, or remove their food by force. Most of us—particularly our veteran officers—see it as our right. We are preserving technology, they say, saving mankind from itself. We don’t need common wastelanders in our ranks, we won’t defend them from threats, and we won’t allow them the technology we hoard...but we’ll take their food.”

Quinn frowned. “But...we do defend them. The Brotherhood patrols…”

“All Elder Lyons’ design,” Maxson said, tilting his head up in her direction. “He caused a civil war in the East Coast branch by allowing outsiders to join us. By demanding we patrol the Capital Wasteland and protect the civilians there. By working with scientists to bring clean water to the people.

“When I took charge, I struck a compromise. Return to the old ways, and use the patrols as a way to gain trust and cooperation. But this is not sustainable for anyone. We have so much technology at our hands, and yet we stagnate. We need clean water. We need clean food. The Institute scientists can help make this a reality.”

“For the Brotherhood?”

“No. For everyone.” He leaned back in his chair, though his posture was still stiff. “Owyn Lyons was a good man, and he had the right idea, but his approach was too heavy handed. I am young. I have the time he did not to slowly bring about change. To make a worthy impact. He taught me as much. But first, we need to earn the trust of the people. Cleansing the Commonwealth of its filth is only the beginning.”

At his words, a series of faces flashed through Quinn’s head: Danse, Hancock, Sarah, Rachel.

“I’m leaving the Brotherhood,” she said.

Maxson sat up so suddenly he nearly fell off his chair. “What?” He looked stunned, as if she had just proclaimed she’d murdered Owyn Lyons herself. “Why?”

“Because your world only accepts the people you think are desirable. I want a world with a place for everyone.”

“I thought you wanted to help the Commonwealth!”

“You know nothing about helping the Commonwealth,” Quinn snapped, and Maxson seemed so surprised he merely stared at her, unable to speak. She loomed over him, feeling like a parent about to scold an unruly child. “How could you know? You’ve spent your entire life paraded around by soldiers, sheltered from the reality of the wasteland. Kept on a pedestal where your only friends still had to call you ‘sir.’”

“I never wanted it,” Maxson hissed, his pale face burning scarlet as his eyes crackled with malice. “Any of it! I had to make do with what I was given!”

“And it shows,” Quinn fired back. “You’ve never been out there. Not on some mission, but day to day life, struggling to survive, wondering when you’re next meal is or whether your crops will keep this year. If your roof will hold or the raiders will come and kill your family. Sure, you have the time Owyn didn’t, but you lack his wisdom and experience with the real world. You don’t know. You have no idea what the Commonwealth needs, and you’re in no position to decide it.”

Maxson rose to his feet, towering over her, face ravaged with fury. But he still seemed unable to argue back, and despite his size, he felt so much smaller than Quinn.

“Cleansing the Commonwealth,” she said, looking up coolly at him. “What does that even mean, Maxson? Where do you draw the line?”

“It means we protect the people from the unnatural scum that plagues the wasteland,” Maxson snarled, apparently finding his voice. “Something I’ve received no complaints about, so far.”

“Ghouls? Super mutants? Synths?” she asked, and when he nodded, she said, “And what about non-feral ghouls? What about Danse? Are they a plague as well?”

“We don’t target non-ferals,” Maxson replied, scowling, ignoring the mention of Danse completely.

“You still treat them like crap.” Quinn smiled bitterly, though her eyes remained fixed on his. “I saw Danse’s behaviour towards them. Rachel’s too.”

“Rachel?”

“Knight-Sergeant Marguerie,” Quinn said. “Cade might have sent that report to you already.”

“He did.” Maxson’s momentary confusion disappeared, his glare returning. “Was that bullshit as well?”

The swearword threw her, and she blinked at him, her mouth hanging open. It would have been the perfect opportunity for Maxson to seize control of the argument, but he appeared equally surprised at his fierce utterance, and didn’t speak.

“Yes, it was,” Quinn admitted after a few seconds.

“You continue to be honest with me, to your detriment. Why? You’ve never taken issue with hiding your motives before.”

“Because Danse always valued honesty as much as he valued your opinion,” she replied curtly. “I guess his habits are rubbing off on me.”

Maxson frowned at this, looking uncomfortable, before shaking his head. “What happened?”

Quinn hesitated. She risked putting Carson in a dangerous position, but something told her Maxson needed the truth. He needed to see the self-destructive path he was leading the Brotherhood down.

Quinn told Maxson everything, from the real fate of Rachel’s family, to the reaction she’d had when she’d learned Danse was a synth. Quinn told him of the paranoia that gripped Rachel, the despair, the grief, and slow downward spiral no one seemed willing to pull her from. Quinn felt ashamed as she said this, remembering how Danse sent her to Cade, against her wishes. She’d been too afraid to do the same for Rachel—to help Rachel. But this was unnecessary for Maxson to know, and so Quinn continued on.

She revealed the suspicions Rachel had about Quinn’s son—though Quinn took care to frame this as further evidence of Rachel’s wavering sanity—to the pursuit all the way to Quinn’s home. And finally, the attack, and the threats that Rachel would bring Maxson to Brotherhood justice, even at the cost of the Prydwen and her crew.

“She said she was going to murder me, Danse, my son...and everyone in my settlement,” Quinn finished. “She was out of control. And if I hadn’t killed her, it would have been a bloodbath.”

Maxson hadn’t spoken a word throughout Quinn’s tale, but now his eyes narrowed. “You mentioned the synth—”

“Danse.”

“—as if you’re living with it.” He didn’t bother to conceal the disgust in his tone.

“I am,” Quinn said, deciding she wasn’t bickering over pronouns. “I love him.”

“Love?” Maxson looked as if he wanted to vomit.

“Don’t give me that shit,” Quinn snapped. “You cared about Danse. Enough to try and make sure he lived while pretending you wanted him executed.”

Maxson snorted. “There was no pretence in my orders. You were the one who refused to cooperate, and I needed you more than I needed his death.”

“Liar.”

Maxson bristled with indignation. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. You’re a liar. You could have sent anyone to deal with Danse. Anyone. Rachel Marguerie practically begged you for the ‘honour.’ Instead, you sent me.”

“I had to test your loyalty.”

“You sent the one person least likely to kill him. The one person who had bets being taken about whether they would become an item with Danse. It was no secret we had feelings for each other. You weren’t testing me. You knew damn well I wouldn’t do it.” Quinn’s eyes narrowed. “Only you panicked, didn’t you? Began to regret letting me go. What if you were found out? So you followed me to the bunker and tried to make sure the job was done after all.”

Maxson stared at her. For a second, she thought he might admit it. Then he shook his head and said, “You’re deviating from the matter at hand—the consequences of your continued associations with the syn—”

“For fuck’s sake!” Quinn yelled, slamming her fist against the wall. How dare he blame her? “You still don’t get it, do you? This is your fucking fault!”

“My fault?” Maxson raged back, and Quinn wondered if their words would carry into the corridors. Maxson seemed to be thinking the same thing because he paused. When he continued, his voice was low and threatening. “I wasn’t there, and nor did I provoke one of my sisters by fornicating with a machine.”

Blind rage engulfed Quinn. With a piercing shriek, she lashed out at Maxson. He dodged smoothly out of the way, gripped her outstretched arm by the wrist, and flung her backwards into his bookcase. Toys and other pieces of sentimental crap rained down around her, but Quinn struggled on, kicking and scratching with every free limb she had. Maxson grunted as her foot connected with his shin, but he was far bigger and stronger than her. With almost no effort, he pinned her in place, their faces inches apart.

“Rachel clung to the Brotherhood’s doctrine at the cost of everything and everyone she loved,” Quinn spat, feeling as incensed as Maxson looked. He had turned bright red, his eyes taking on the same silent fury as when Quinn challenged Danse’s execution. “As far as I can tell, the Brotherhood had no issue with synths until you made it an issue. You stoked the fires of hatred against non-humans. You caused the paranoia and the fear in the ranks, making people turn against their own for no goddamn reason. You forced Danse to be an outcast. You caused Rachel to abandon her child!”

“People are free to make their own decisions,” Maxson retorted, though he appeared troubled. “No one told her to—”

“What options do you think she had?” Quinn said, and she felt Maxson’s grip loosen. She didn’t try to fight him again, though. “Ostracization? Maybe even risking her daughter’s life, if the attitude towards ghouls soured further?”

He didn’t answer. Slowly but surely, he let go and stepped back. Quinn rubbed her wrist and glanced down. Bruises were already beginning to form in the shape of Maxson’s fingers. He stared at the imprints he’d left behind, a guilty expression on his face, and when Quinn tried to catch his eye, he looked away.

“If you really want what’s best for the people, then you need to distance yourself from the Prydwen and see the world for what it really is.” Quinn gestured to the ship. “You aren’t fit to make decisions for anyone until you do.”

“You can’t leave,” Maxson said, blatantly not listening to her. “I...you have been an asset to the Brotherhood. I can still reveal Danse is alive. I can make him...it a marked man. I mean, machine.”

Quinn snorted, and Maxson finally glanced up again, frowning. She shrugged, her tone cold. “No, you won’t. You stand to lose as much as me if word got out. Danse told me so.”

“Danse…?”

“You don’t think I’ve been cooperative all this time out of the goodness of my heart, do you? Danse was the one who would have laid down his life for your cause, not me. And look how you repaid him.” She laughed mirthlessly, and Maxson winced. “Well I’m through. Your bigotry will hurt more people than it will help. Rachel was just the first.”

Maxson didn’t respond to this, so Quinn went on.

“Elder Lyons left you a mantle of goodwill and the foundations to build bridges with all people of the wasteland.” She fished into her pocket and pulled out Rachel’s tags. They gleamed dully in the lighting of the room, before Quinn threw them at Maxson’s feet. “That’s your legacy.”

She turned on her heel and stormed towards the door. As her fingers seized the handle, though, she stopped. As much as Quinn had shouted at him, Maxson hadn’t chosen this life. No, his Brotherhood carers chose for him. Groomed to be a ruthless general, Maxson had no context to balance the ideals forced into his head. Elder Lyons might have offered talk of a better wasteland, with aspirations to help the people, but what good was that, with no one to tell Maxson how?

Quinn glanced over her shoulder at him. He was standing rigid on the spot, caught between rage and confusion. She could tell he was furious with her, but the way his eyebrows knotted together suggested he wasn’t entirely sure why. Never had he looked so young and uncertain.

“Tell the others I’m staying here to further the Brotherhood’s interests on your orders. Top secret. I am not to be sought after. I am not to be disturbed.” Quinn gave him her best glare. “And then leave the Commonwealth and never come back. You’ve done enough damage.”

Would he listen? She didn’t know. He blinked at her like she’d slapped him across the face, but Quinn didn’t wait for a retort. She wrenched open the door and strode from the room.

--

A/N: There is a lot of meta discussion on tumblr surrounding Maxson and his upbringing, and I wanted to introduce my take on it. Maxson makes a lot of horrendous decisions, but I don't feel they are necessarily his fault. He is sheltered. He has zero context for the world around him. And boy does it show.

I honestly just feel sorry for the man.

What are your thoughts?

[mohanmekap]

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This is significant as with some forensic software and spyware data once deleted with computer delete system can recover but once data deleted with Secure File Eraser, it cannot recover and it is great for privacy and data security especially when you are dealing with passwords and other related information regarding fiscal and other data management. It repeatedly overwrites the old space to ensure maximum data erased from the hard disc drive. I this way, it ruin the concerned data, spoiled and destroyed.

No gamer mode requires for VIPRE as it relies on speed, accuracy with true value and dependability and for this while you are playing the game on your personal computer, it does not lag even in its present form and that is why the simplicity that matters with it and that is why it wins many hearts for its outstanding achievements. Because of its large amount of research and processes concerning the Internet, even most modern malware stays outside from your personal computer if you have installed VIPRE® Antivirus 2012.

VIPRE® Antivirus 2012, the latest version has any more improvements than the previous versions with nice integration and cooperation among different modules and it is getting faster in terms of operation, detection capacity, malware catching and also boot time loading. It is a brilliant choice for securing your computer. The software is proactive and prevents me from downloading any such malicious files. The interface is simple, and it is bold and all the categories within the interfaces can be legible and workable to its maximum. It has a very strong antivirus engine; it has fast on demand scanning and its on access protection is brilliant and does not consume memory; it has a brilliant email filter integrates with your default medium and keep safe from all the malicious and spammer contents, browsing protection scans and checks your downloads for security and it scans removable drive for threats, it is a brilliant, versatile, simple and honest antivirus with smartness attached to it. It does not slow down your personal computer even when scanning.

There is also an option to reduce the priority of the scan, and with this you can reduce the load on system resources further by implementing this feature. Automated scheduling of virus scan cancels if your net book or laptop with VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 installed is on battery and they highly appreciate this feature. Its active protection delivers and performs the real time monitoring and also protection against known and unknown malware threats ‘. Active Protection works inside the Windows kernel (the core of the operating system), watching for malware and stopping it before it executes on your system. Uniquely designed to reduce the computer frustration by using the next generations technology coupled with high powered anti virus and spyware engines it does performs exceedingly well faster boot times, the few pop up, and a broad-range of detection and remediation of viruses, Trojans, worms, and spyware.

Unlike older antivirus programs that have bolted on anti-spyware or antivirus modules to their existing software, they design VIPRE to optimize overall performance by melding antivirus and anti-spyware together into one, the single, the powerful tool. This combination of technologies gives you high performance software that doesn’t slow down your PC, is low on system resources, and makes it easy to protect your PC from the bad guys.

With its next-generation technology, VIPRE means powerful protection against today’s highly complex malware threats. No more sluggish PCs, system slowness, and resource headaches of older antivirus programs!

VIPRE is in a league of its own with antivirus software;VIPRE is one of the best antivirus programs today.

This article dates back to the year 2012.

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New Post has been published on Vin Zite

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Computer Tips that Help Small Businesses Operate Profitably

Computer Tips that Help Small Businesses

When working properly, computers enable small businesses to make big business profits; however, get booted off your computer and you’re suddenly starving. In most instances, computers usually act up due to lack of care by its owners. Here are four computer tips that’ll keep you up and run smoothly.

Tip #1 — Backup your computer’s data no less than once a month.

Too often a small business is thrust back to infancy because it didn’t take a time to back up precious data; information that took hours upon hours to create. Information that’s irreplaceable, such as customer databases or employment contracts. Keep in mind you’ll want to back up your written data as well as check books such as Quicken and email address books. If your computer has a CD writer, it’s simple and quick to back up your data. Simply select the files and folders you want to backup and copy them to the writer.

Or if you have an older computer, copy your most important files to a floppy disk. Either way, don’t stop there; now take the CD or disk and store it in a fire-safe box! To expedite the process, organize your files into folders so you can quickly grab and copy one or two folders.

Tip #2 – Don’t turn off your computer every evening.

Too frequently computer users turn their computers off every evening. This is unnecessary and not recommended. A computer’s components are at their most vulnerable when turned on and off. When a computer has to heat up [turn on] or cool down [turn off] it’s at this precise moment components fail. It’s recommended you turn your computer off once or twice a week or only when necessary, such as from a power outage. However, don’t do the opposite and never turn your computer off, since many anti-virus programs require a computer reboot be performed before new virus patches take effect.

Tip #3 — Automate anti-virus software so it updates automatically no less than once a week.

Depending on your software, you may need to prompt it to update. Unfortunately, there are people with too much time on their hands who desire to attack and make your computer unusable. A computer user is not ultimately protected from viruses and spyware [pop-ups, cookies, etc.] unless you’re using a combination of anti-virus and anti-spyware software and a firewall, a piece of hardware that protects computers from being hacked. You must have all three pieces in order to ward off viruses, lurkers and attacks. What’s more, most of the attacks are very quiet. You don’t know someone is on your computer. Instead, they secretly store information, such as child pornography or music MP3s on your computer, since it’s illegal, and redirect child-porno or MP3 seekers to your computer instead of theirs.

The best way to protect your name online is to own your Google search results. As far as Google rankings in SEO and ORM are concerned, there is some seriously low-hanging fruit to be had. What we mean is these are 6 easy tips you can apply to any web page or social media profile to quickly optimize it to help it rank for any keyword. Now, it should be noted that on-page factors aren’t everything; your off-page linking needs to be solid as well, but these are the best practices for what you can do on-page.

Tip #4 — Install a firewall if you keep your computer constantly on.

Using a broadband or DSL connection dramatically increases your exposure to being hacked. It only takes an average of 15 minutes being online before a home-based computer is attacked. The only true way to protect a computer from a hacker is to install a hardware firewall. It’s a misconception that software-based firewalls ultimately defend computers. This is simply not true. Computers must have a hardware firewall for ultimate protection, such as a SonicWall or Netscreen firewall, a component installed on a home user’s cable or DSL connection and their computer.

Sharron Senter is the co-founder of VisitingGeeks.com – an on-site computer repair, security, and networking company that helps families, home power users and small businesses north of Boston, Southern NH and Maine. Visiting Geeks’ technicians are crackerjacks at squashing viruses, pop-ups and securing and making computers perform faster.

Any IT type of resume needs to focus on specific technology experience. Why? Because of recruiters, employers, resume reviewers, and application tracking systems all search resumes for keywords relevant to specific job postings. As you a programmer, I am sure you can imagine an algorithm designed to score your resume against the job posting based on similarity with keywords/skills in the posting. The reason you need a skills summary on your resume is to ensure you get all of those technologies and key words listed so you can score higher on these reviews.

You must make it easy for a resume reviewer to find your experience with specific skills on your resume. To do this, always include a Technical Skills section. You can take several approaches to your technical skills summary. The most common are to show a bulleted list, a short table, or even a short paragraph listing your technology skill set. Some list skills on their resume organized by technical areas, such as the database, programming languages, networking tools, etc. Keep the list of skills brief and high level as an overview of your skills. You don’t typically need to specify versions in the skill listing. Remember, the primary purpose of the technical skills list is to make your skills easy to find. You give the resume reviewer a way to quickly see an overview of skills listed on your computer programmer resume, such as programming languages, databases, testing tools, etc.

Let me share with you a tip related to your technical skills summary based on my review of resumes over the years. After I check the list of skills, my next step is to look further in the resume to identify the specific jobs where that skill was used and determine how much experience a candidate has with the skill. The point is that listing the skill is simply not enough. Truthfully, I’ve found that most candidates never mention the technical skill anywhere else other than in the skill listing. In these cases, I will assume they really don’t have experience with that skill and are just listing it to catch my eye. Therefore, follow through and ensure that the skills you list are also spelled out in your job experience write-ups. Never assume that a resume reviewer will know that you did x, y, or z. More often than not, they do not make those assumptions or they could even be non-technical staff who are just following a checklist to screen the resumes. So, remember, that if an employer lists a technical skill on the IT job posting or ad, make sure it is on your resume in both your technical skills list and experience write-up.

Starting your own computer repair business at home can be a great way to earn some extra income or if you are unemployed, to just earn income. These days with businesses shutting down and others not hiring people, it is very hard to find a job and earn a decent living. The good thing is, if you are knowledgeable in computer repair, networking, or building custom computers, then you could turn your knowledge into cash.