#web programming assignment help

[seoforindiam]

Maintaining Academic Curiosity: Fostering Lifelong Learning

New Post has been published on https://www.justwebdevelopment.com/blog/maintaining-academic-curiosity-fostering-lifelong-learning/

Maintaining Academic Curiosity: Fostering Lifelong Learning

In the fast-paced world of today, the search for knowledge doesn’t end when one leaves the classroom. Be it in high school, college, or bridging to the working world, keeping one’s curiosity in academic pursuits is the key to both personal and professional development. Life-long learning not only expands the mind but also makes one more adaptable, innovative, and resilient. For learners in the UK, developing the culture of lifelong learning can positively impact academic performance, especially when combined with the right academic support, such as assignment help, contributing to long-term success.

    Why Academic Curiosity is Important

Academic curiosity goes beyond a love for reading textbooks or earning high marks. It’s the natural urge to learn new things, grasp complicated concepts, and challenge the world. This curiosity ignites critical thinking, enhances problem-solving abilities, and sparks innovation. In today’s competitive educational environment, particularly for students looking for assignment assistance, being curious is a great advantage.

  Advantages of Academic Curiosity:

Increases Engagement: Inquisitive students are more inclined to engage actively in class, ask questions, and initiate projects.

Promotes Deeper Learning: Rather than memorizing facts, inquisitive learners seek to comprehend the “why” and “how” of concepts.

Improves Career Opportunities: Employers prefer applicants who demonstrate a desire to learn and evolve.

Develops Self-Motivation: Inner motivation supplants outer pressure, decreasing stress and burnout.

  Strategies to Encourage Lifelong Learning

Lifelong learning starts with habits and a mind open to it. Following are practical strategies for maintaining academic curiosity outside the classroom.

1. Establish Personal Learning Objectives

Instead of having only formal academic tests as targets, set goals based on oneself. They could be acquiring new knowledge, enhancing writing, or learning something other than what one is studying. Setting goals keeps learning goal-oriented and systematic. When paired with resources like assignment help, these goals become more achievable, allowing students to stay focused while also improving their academic performance.ic.

2. Adopt Curiosity-Motivated Research

Students tend to conduct research purely for the purposes of assignments. Instead, spend time reading journals, watching documentaries, or listening to thought leaders on subjects of interest. This practice turns learning into an adventure.

3. Leverage Digital Tools Properly

Technology is either a distraction or a valuable tool. Utilize learning platforms, online courses, and podcasts to broaden knowledge. Bookmark good academic databases and organize digital notes for easy reference.

4. Work with Your Peers

Study groups aren’t only for homework assistance; they are chances for knowledge sharing. Breaking down concepts to peers solidifies understanding and gives way to varied ideas.

5. Read Broadly and Regularly

Make reading a part of daily life. Read books, blogs, articles, and research papers as part of regular study. Select material that defies assumptions and promotes critical thinking.

6. Reflect and Review

When a module or project is done, reflect. What went well? What did not? What might have been examined in more detail? Reflection reinforces learning and identifies areas to work on.

  Lifelong Learning Integrated into Daily Life

Learning need not be limited to lectures and libraries. It can be woven into daily activities to ensure that it is sustainable and enjoyable.

Microlearning Moments

Divide learning into bite-sized, manageable pieces. Listen to a podcast on the way to class, watch a 10-minute educational video, or read an article at lunch.

Interact with Thought Leaders

Subscribe to academics, industry leaders, and professionals on sites such as LinkedIn or Twitter. Interacting with their posts provides exposure to new trends and fresh ideas.

Gamify Learning

Utilize apps and websites that transform study material into interactive games. This technique is particularly helpful for revision and problem-solving practice.

Go to Events and Workshops

Look for low-cost or free events, lectures, and workshops organised by libraries, local organisations, or universities. These have a hands-on learning experience and opportunities for networking.

Although the rewards of lifelong learning are evident, there are obstacles confronting many students that deter academic inquisitiveness. These should be identified and dealt with.

Time Constraints

With classes, part-time work, and private obligations, time can be difficult to find. Make learning a priority by integrating it into daily life and employing scheduling tools to optimise the use of time.

Lack of Motivation

Burnout and academic stress can drain enthusiasm. Divide tasks into smaller objectives, mark progress, and discover new learning modes to rekindle interest.

Fear of Failure

Fear of error usually prevents students from venturing into new areas. Practice a growth mindset—errors are good learning tools, not failures.

Limited Resources

Availability of good materials may be a problem. Use university libraries, open-access journals, and free online courses to get around this.

  The Educator’s and Institution’s Role

In addition to the student’s responsibility to own learning, institutions have a critical role as well. Learning environments must be created that encourage curiosity and independent thinking.

Fostering Inquiry-Based Learning

Rather than rote memorization, educators should encourage questioning, problem-solving, and critical examination. This establishes a firmer foundation for a lifetime of learning.

Making it Relevant to the Real World

Connecting theory to real-world applications makes learning more relevant and interactive. Case studies, field work, and simulations close the gap between classroom and life.

Flexible Learning Opportunities

Providing various learning forms like online modules, blended classes, and self-paced courses enables students to learn in a manner that accommodates their lifestyles.

  Building a Personal Learning Ecosystem

Lifelong learning is viable when underpinned by a strong personal ecosystem.

Create a Learning Space

A dedicated study space minimizes distractions and tells the brain to focus. It doesn’t have to be fancy—just comfortable, quiet, and tidy.

Keep a Learning Journal

Record what is learned on a daily or weekly basis. Add reflections, questions, new terms, and next-step subjects. This consolidates retention and supports self-awareness.

Issue Learning Challenges

Monthly challenges—e.g., reading a book, learning a skill, or taking a short course—keep things rolling and create a sense of accomplishment.

  Utilizing Assignment Help Effectively

Supporting services can become key to maintaining interest and increased confidence. Effectively utilizing assignment help can also alleviate stress as well as facilitate deeper understanding.

When to get assistance:

Stuck on trying to grasp something despite persistent effort

Requiring direction on composing or organizing assignments

Meeting many deadlines at one time

Picking Reliable Aid:

 Services that emphasize maintaining academic integrity should be sought along with personalized advice. This avoids having students acquire habits from using the support versus becoming dependent.

  Embracing the Mindset of a Lifelong Learner

At the end of the day, cultivating academic curiosity is about adopting a mindset. Lifelong learners are flexible, receptive to change, and always looking to improve.

Traits of a Lifelong Learner:

Curiosity: Constantly asking questions and seeking greater understanding

Resilience: Bouncing back from failures and seeing them as opportunities

Self-Discipline: Setting and staying on track with personal learning objectives

Flexibility: Willing to change one’s views based on new information

  Conclusion

Sustaining academic interest is not a one-off exercise but an ongoing process. It turns students into thinkers, problem-solvers, and innovators—attributes that are priceless in both academic and professional settings.

For those who need guidance in a structured manner along the way, websites such as Assignment in Need (assignnmentinneed.com)  can provide assignment assistance while promoting independent learning and academic development. With the right attitude, tools, and mindset, lifelong learning becomes not only possible but profoundly rewarding.

Keep exploring. Keep questioning. Keep learning.

  Justwebdevelopment can also help you in... WordPress Development  | WordPress Theme Development  | PSD To WordPress

[saphushia]

helpful (free) utility programs for artists

Allusion

reference image organizer. shows all the images in any folders you assign it to look in, and provides an easy interface for tagging and searching them. you can nest tags within each other, and when you apply a tag to an image it also applies all the parent tags. so if you tag 'tank top', and tank top is in the 'shirt' tag, it'll include that image when you search 'shirt'. also open source!

compatible with windows, mac, and linux

Pureref

reference image viewer. can create reference image collages, add notes, lock the window to stay on top, set the window to be partially transparent, and save 'scenes' so you can quickly pull up whatever character ref you need without searching for all your references images and re-adding them every time. supports loading images from file and copy-pasting from web.

compatible with windows, mac, and linux

WhatColor

color describer. shows you details about the color your mouse is over. it's designed for colorblind folks, and I mostly use it because I have strong color filters on my screen 90% of the time for health reasons. however it's also helpful when you're learning to dissect color palettes and are trying to see how the perception of a certain color is affected by the colors surrounding it. use it to see how often ur brain gets duped into seeing purple when it's actually blue

compatible with windows 7/8/10

[krissiefox]

image source

tumblr is the gay website and it has lots of nice gay blogs! You can view the list under the read more link below.

https://www.tumblr.com/transportation-signalboost Fundraiser blog helping trans people escape from dangerous living situations.

https://plannedparenthood.tumblr.com/ Planned Parenthood official blog.

https://upandoutcomic.tumblr.com/ Trans-positive web comic and art.

https://www.tumblr.com/lesbiancoupleoftheday Small blog about lesbian cartoon couples.

https://unnecessarilygenderedproducts.tumblr.com/ Blog poking fun at absurdly sexist products and marketing.

https://humanrightscampaign.tumblr.com/ Human Rights Campaign Blog.

https://www.tumblr.com/transgenderproblems Comics about shit trans people have to put up with.

https://www.tumblr.com/pridesite The official tumblr page of PRIDE.com

https://genderequalityallies.tumblr.com/ A student group dedicated to tackling gender issues

https://assigned-at-birth-comic.tumblr.com/ Webcomic about trans issues.

https://www.tumblr.com/mattymatt Blog of Youtuber Matt Baume!

https://outyouth.tumblr.com/ A Texas group for LGBTQ youth.

https://www.tumblr.com/ur-fav-is-at-the-pride-parade Cute blog that puts various characters in a pride parade.

https://gaywebcorenostalgia.tumblr.com/ Old queer web sites.

https://www.tumblr.com/transgender-history A blog documenting and posting transgender history

https://www.tumblr.com/gay-crossing-animals\ LGBTQ+ Animal Crossing images.

https://www.tumblr.com/fucknovideogames A blog raising awareness about bigoted people in the gaming industry/community.

https://gaygamer.tumblr.com/ A gay perspective on video games.

https://lgbt.co/ LGBT news & photos.

https://www.tumblr.com/georgetakei George & Brad Takei's blog

https://glsen.tumblr.com/ GLSEN strives to assure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

https://gaywrites.org/ LGBTQ news, media, culture & more.

https://intersex-support.tumblr.com/ Support blog for intersex people.

https://zebracoalition.tumblr.com/ Providing support, services, programs, groups & workshops for LGBT youth in Central Florida.

https://love-rainbows.tumblr.com/ Colorful Pride art!

https://tdorunite.tumblr.com/ Transgender Day of Remembrance blog

https://tdor-rally-new-haven-blog.tumblr.com/ Another Transgender Day of Remembrance blog

https://lgbt-history-archive.tumblr.com/ Blog about LGBT history.

https://thetrevorproject.tumblr.com/ Official blog of The Trevor Project.

https://theadvocatemag.tumblr.com/ LGBT news.

https://quixol.net/ LGBT+ Minecraft server. No longer actively maintained, but still online as of the last time I checked on 10/20/2024.

https://prismparty.tumblr.com/ Another LGBT+ Minecraft server! Thankfully, this one seems to be still be maintained and more active as well (as of my last check on 10/20/2024)

https://prideknights.tumblr.com/ Knights who fight for Pride!

https://trevorprojectawareness-blog.tumblr.com/ Blog about the Trevor Project.

https://care-for-trevor.tumblr.com/ Another Trevor Project blog.

https://queergraffiti.tumblr.com/ LGBTQ graffiti.

https://www.tumblr.com/poniesaregaay Gay ponies!

https://outofficial.tumblr.com/ Official blog of Out Magazine.

https://www.tumblr.com/assignedmale LGBTQ webcomic with a focus on trans issues

[filurig]

a guy ive had in mind for a whileee its a crime i havent actually made an oc of my faeries yet so this guy!! this guy is actually the faerie that provides folke with funky fantasy hrt. more on them (and a bit about faeries) under the cut...

krillimir, or as they're known to many non-faeries, (spider's web) glasswing, is a rather newly adult faerie, having emerged about 3 years ago from their pupae. a bit of a free spirit in comparison to other faeries, they hail from the Hemarikkit Till colony to the south of vätterunda, perhaps the largest colony in the area with its main structures occupying a sunlit forest grove. due to the size and relatively stable nature of the colony, there was not a lot of pressure/demand on newly emerged faeries to take up a specific role, and krillimir preferred to keep their options open and thus chose to identify as a generalist.

generalist faeries can kind of take on less specific work than other faerie genders usually do, and especially work which involves collaboration with other species, and curious about the world outside of the colony, krillimir applied to be a participant in the colony's medical program - basically all faerie colonies have a medical program which involves a collaboration with the area's local tomtar, who will provide them with illusory magic to maintain their settlements and keep them hidden/protected. in return, the faeries offer their faerie dust, which can be finely tuned to affect an organism's hormone levels (as well as some other biochemicals) - this of course can be used to treat certain conditions, or as a way to alleviate pain, etc.

gullmar, who is folke's "tomte uncle" in a way, ended up visiting the Hemarikkit Till colony in search of a faerie that could help with folke's Trans Gender Blues (aka: provide him with hrt, after gullmar realised that folke was trans) and the freshly emerged krillimir would be assigned to him. due to the nature of the assignment, krillimir would just be permanently assigned to gullmar and comes by the granholm residence once every few months to readjust folke's hormone levels to the proper ones when the T levels start to fall off. while gullmar can find the faerie a bit neurotic and too energetic, their relationship grows to become amicable - a part of gullmar probably feels a fatherly instinct towards them hehe.

some extra faerie stuff i thought about making this guy so ill include:

faeries do not have a directly "spoken" language like we do, and communicate mostly through pheromones, body gestures and sounds like squeaking, trilling and hissing. they can communicate with other species through their pheromones, but as they communicate with said species in the target's language, things like names are often just directly translated. "krillimir" means "spider's web glass wing". how do we have the "romanization" of their name then? Well through some convoluted shenanigans. basically - tomtar have an anda-powered ability to learn the language of other species. with enough exposure and socialisation they will just naturally begin to gain an understanding of that language, and their ability has led them to be able to learn faerie language, especially helped by it also existing in a written form. while faeries don't speak this written language, it is how they conceptualise more complex ideas internally (the internal voice so to speak) - with the tomte ability, they can somewhat approximate what the language would sound like if spoken - at least filtered through the tomte brain. its most definitely not 100% accurate to what it would sound like though but most faeries accept it as close enough. this probably makes no sense but erm it sorta makes sense to me. LOL. but it means that most species that haven't learn to read faerie will only hear the literal translation when a faerie introduces themself, and thus many call krillimir by glasswing for short.

krillimir is a "generalist", which is one of many faerie genders. i made a post about it a while back! they go by they/them but generally doesn't mind he/she either.

faerie clothing is generally made of a fabric woven together by silk produced by them themselves - this silk is mainly produced by broodtenders or generalists. they also have a special way of "tanning" leaves, ending up with them having leather-like properties, which is part of what krillimir's outfit is made out of there! very popular reccuring symbols in their fabric design are "eye" "mimicry" and sometimes patterns which mimic some other animal/creature.

[pillowfort-social]

Site Update - 2/9/2024

Hi Pillowfolks!

Today is the day. Post Queueing & Scheduling is finally here for everyone. Hooray! As always we will be monitoring closely for any unexpected bugs so please let us know if you run into any.

New Features/Improvements

✨ *NEW* Queue & Schedule - One of the most highly requested features has finally arrived at Pillowfort. Users can now effortlessly Queue or Schedule a post for a future time.  

Queue helps keep your Pillowfort active by staggering posts over a period of hours or days. Just go to your Settings page to set your queue interval and time period.

How to add a post to your queue: 

While creating a new post or editing a draft, click on the clock icon to the right of the “Publish” button and choose “Queue.” Then click “Queue” when you’re ready to submit the post.

Schedule assigns a post a specific publishing time in the future (based on your timezone you’ve selected in Account Settings). How to schedule a post: 

While creating a new post or editing a draft, click on the clock icon to the right of “Publish” and choose “Schedule.” Enter the time you wish to publish your post, click on “Submit” and then click “Schedule.” 

How to review your queued & scheduled posts: 

On the web, your Queue is available in the user sidebar located on the left side of the screen underneath “Posts.” (On mobile devices, click on the three line icon located on the upper left of your screen to access your user sidebar.)

Note: the “Queue” button will only display if you have one or more queued or scheduled posts.

A CAVEAT: It is not currently possible to queue or schedule posts to Communities. We do intend to add this feature in the future, but during development it was determined that enabling queueing & scheduling to Communities would require additional workflow and use case requirements that would extend development time when this project has already been delayed, and so it was decided to release queue & scheduling for blogs only at the present time. We will add the ability to queue & schedule to Communities soon after the Pillowfort PWA (our next major development project) is complete.

✨ End of Year Fundraiser Reward Badges: End of Year Fundraiser Rewards Badges will begin to be distributed today. We'll update everyone when distribution is done.  

✨ End of Year Fundraiser Reward Frames: As a special thank you to our community for helping keep Pillowfort online we have released two very special (and cozy!) Avatar Frames for all users. 

As for the remaining End of Year Fundraiser Rewards - we will be asking the Community for feedback on the upcoming Light Mode soon. 

✨ Valentine’s Day Avatar Frame: A new Valentine’s Day inspired frame is now available!

✨ Valentine’s Day Premium Frames: Alternate colors of the Valentine’s Day frame are available to Pillowfort Premium subscribers. 

✨ Site FAQ Update - Our Site FAQ has received a revamp.  

Terms of Service Update

As of today (February 9th), we are updating our Terms of Service to prohibit the following content:

Images created through the use of generative AI programs such as Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, and Dall-E.

An explanation of how this policy will be enforced and what exactly that means for you is available here: https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/4317673

Thank you again for your continued support. Other previously mentioned updates (such as the Pillowfort Premium Price increase, Multi Account Management, PWA, and more) will be coming down the pipeline soon. As always, stay tuned for updates. 

Best, Staff

[disneytva]

MARCH 2025 PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS

Saturday, March 1 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD StuGo “Deep Trent/Disaster Play” (1-11) (9:00-9:30 a.m. EST) “Deep Trent” – ASININE ASSIGNMENTS! Merian tries to save Dr. Lullah’s fish counter from a life of busy work.

“Disaster Play” – A PLAY TO SAVE THE DAY! The kids put on a play to warn mutants about a disaster. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur “A Devil-ish Birthday” (2-22) (10:00-10:30 a.m. EST) When friends and family throw surprise parties for Devil Dinosaur at the same time, his desire to not miss out on any birthday love compels him to clone himself to attend both. TV-Y7 FV

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur “Party Girl” (2-23) (10:30-11:00 a.m. EST) Desperate for extra funds to upgrade her tech, Moon Girl takes a side hustle as a children’s party performer. TV-Y7 FV

Sunday, March 2 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Primos “Summer of the Mixtape/Summer of Je Ne Sais Quoi” (1-19) (9:00-9:30 a.m. EST) “Summer of the Mixtape” – Tater makes a mixtape to document her summer.

“Summer of Je Ne Sais Quoi” – Tater learns how to act more maturely from Serena while teaching Serena how to act more like a kid. TV-Y7

Friday, March 7 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Channel RoboGobo “Böuncie Bäll Baddie/Spray Paint Showdown” (1-13) (8:00-8:30 a.m. EST on Disney Junior/9:00-9:30 a.m. EST on Disney Channel) “Böuncie Bäll Baddie” – Hopper and Booster rescue a family of foxes.

“Spray Paint Showdown” – When The Slink tries to ruin art, Shelly learns to paint what she feels. *Multiple award winner Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked”) recurs as The Slink. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Channel Mickey Mouse Funhouse “Ballet Fun/Sitting Ducks” (3-26) (9:25-9:55 a.m. EST on Disney Junior/12:00-12:30 p.m. EST on Disney Channel) “Ballet Fun” – Goofy takes longer to learn ballet steps than Mickey and Donald.

“Sitting Ducks” – King Ludwig’s nephews — Hueth, Deweth and Loueth — learn about new Easter activities in Majestica. TV-Y

Saturday, March 8 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD StuGo “Shapesister/Lullah’s Game” (1-12) (9:00-9:30 a.m. EDT) “Shapesister” – SNEAKY SECRETS! The kids have to face their deepest fears to retrieve their lost ball.

“Lullah’s Game” – HAND VS. HAND! Lullah tricks the kids into playing a devious game. TV-Y7 FV

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (2-24) (10:00-10:30 a.m. EST) Lunella needs time to think about a big opportunity, but her mom invites The Beyonder to dinner to get her to open up. TV-Y7 FV

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur “Shoot for the Moon” -SERIES FINALE (2-25) (10:30-11:00 a.m. EST) Moon Girl must make a life-changing decision as she fights her most dangerous villain yet. TV-Y7 FV

Sunday, March 9 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Primos “Summer of Local Girl/Summer of Cumple” (1-21) (9:00-9:30 a.m. EST) “Summer of Local Girl” – Tater uncovers a secret about her hometown.

“Summer of Cumple” – Tater celebrates her first double-digit birthday! TV-Y7

Friday, March 14 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Channel Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends “Dinosaurs on the Loose/WEB-STER’S Big Bad Bug” (3-29) (7:30-8:00 a.m. EDT on Disney Junior/8:30-9:00 a.m. EDT on Disney Channel) “Dinosaurs on the Loose” – When Lizard’s potion turns the villains into dinosaurs, the Spidey team and White Tiger help capture them. *Kylie Cantrall (“Descendants: The Rise of Red”) recurs as White Tiger.

“WEB-STER’S Big Bad Bug” – Doc Ock’s bug sneaks into WEB-Quarters and turns WEB-STER evil. TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Channel RoboGobo “Allie Oops!/The Great Bridge Face-Off” (1-05) (8:00-8:30 a.m. EDT on Disney Junior/9:00-9:30 a.m. EDT on Disney Channel) “Allie Oops!” – When Pupsicle freezes the Groundhog Day party, Gus the Groundhog helps Allie discover her silly side.

“The Great Bridge Face-Off” – Wingo learns patience to outsmart The Slink. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Channel Mickey Mouse Funhouse “The Golden Mango/Minnie and the Mystic Crystal” (3-27) (9:25-9:55 a.m. EDT on Disney Junior/12:00-12:30 p.m. EDT on Disney Channel) “The Golden Mango” – In India, the gang helps their friend Naatu find his missing golden mango. *Karan Soni (“Deadpool”) guest stars as Naatu.

“Minnie and the Mystic Crystal” – Minnie has trouble deciding what to give the Snow Princess as a special gift. TV-Y

Saturday, March 15 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Big City Greens “Hullabaloo’d/Jaded” (4-14) (8:00-8:30 a.m. EDT) “Hullabaloo’d” – Gramma needs help with a winter tradition but worries her family won’t come through.

“Jaded” – Feeling overshadowed by Jade, Gloria starts a suggestion box at the cafe to dial Jade back. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD StuGo “Night Mutants/Chunk Beastknuckles” (1-13) (9:00-9:30 a.m. EDT) “Night Mutants” – MIDNIGHT MUTINY! Larry wants to see what the island’s nightlife has to offer.

“Chunk Beastknuckles” – CHIP MODS HIS BOD! Chip wants his rival to see him as a tough, apex predator worthy of being hunted. TV-Y7

Original Series – Season Two Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Kiff “Kiff Has to Sneeze/Never Meet Your Mailboxes” (2-01) (10:00-10:30 a.m. EDT) “Kiff Has to Sneeze” – Kiff has an unsneezed sneeze trapped in her head, so she and Barry try everything to get it out.

“Never Meet Your Mailboxes” – Kiff and Barry meet their favorite actor … but does he not like them? TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Kiff “The Other Movie/Roy-alty Check” (2-02) (10:30-11:00 a.m. EDT) “The Other Movie” – Kiff, Barry, and Trevor sneak into a movie and try not to get caught.

“Roy-alty Check” – Martin and Beryl vie for Kiff’s favor when Kiff comes into some money. TV-Y7 Sunday, March 16 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Primos “Summer of La Cultura/Summer of Santa Tabi” (1-20) (9:00-9:30 a.m. EDT) “Summer of La Cultura” – Tater tries to fit in at a local festival celebrating Latinidad.

“Summer of Santa Tabi” – Tater tries to help Tere and Toñita show their big sis Tabi how much they appreciate her. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Hamster & Gretel “No Powers Day/Everybody Loves Main Computer” (2-16) (10:00-10:30 a.m. EDT) “No Powers Day” – Kevin’s plan to teach Gretel not to rely on her powers is interrupted when he’s taken captive by hill people.

“Everybody Loves Main Computer” – Main Computer returns and strikes up a friendship with Kevin. TV-Y7

Friday, March 21 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Channel Pupstruction “The Egg-cellent Egg Hunt/Adventure on Pupcake Mountain” (2-17) (7:00-7:30 a.m. EDT on Disney Junior/7:30-8:00 a.m. EDT on Disney Channel) “The Egg-cellent Egg Hunt” – Chick eggs roll away from their coop in the middle of an Easter egg hunt, and the Pups must find them.

“Adventure on Pupcake Mountain” – The Pups help a yodeler not to cause any more avalanches. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Channel RoboGobo “Crab-Cuffed/Bees is for Booster” (1-15) (8:00-8:30 a.m. EDT on Disney Junior/9:00-9:30 a.m. EDT on Disney Channel and Disney XD) “Crab-Cuffed” – The Slink and Gimme Pig get stuck together.

“Bees is for Booster” – Booster must learn to be calm around bees to stop Gimme Pig. TV-Y7 

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Channel Mickey Mouse Funhouse “Steamboat Funny/The Emerald Emperor’s Journey” (3-28) (9:25-9:55 a.m. EDT on Disney Junior/12:00-12:30 p.m. EDT on Disney Channel) “Steamboat Funny” – When Cap’n Pete loses a bag of instruments, the friends make music with what they have.

“The Emerald Emperor’s Journey” – Mickey and the gang help the Jade Emperor find a magical Emerald Egg. TV-Y

Saturday, March 22 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Big City Greens “Dog Proof/Cricket Control” (4-13) (8:00-8:30 a.m. EDT) “Dog Proof” – Cricket is caught eating dog food by Gloria and must stop her from revealing his secret shame.

“Cricket Control” – Bill installs a parenting device to monitor and discipline Cricket for him. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD StuGo “The Leg Farm/Unquenchable Thurst” (1-14) (9:00-9:30 a.m. EDT) “The Leg Farm” – LEAPIN’ LEGS! Merian is sent to a special place to learn how to relax.

“Unquenchable Thurst” – NICE TO PEAT YOU! Pliny dislodges a naturalist from a bog and joins him on a journey of discovery. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Kiff “Stramded/Hairstory” (2-03) (10:00-10:30 a.m. EDT) “Stramded” – Kiff and the gang get trapped in the aerial tram and try not to lose their minds.

“Hairstory” – Kiff gets a haircut she hates. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Kiff “Lights Out/Dinner at Barry’s” (2-04) (10:30-11:00 a.m. EDT) “Lights Out” – Kiff and Barry accidentally cause a townwide blackout by upsetting a lighthouse keeper.

“Dinner at Barry’s” – Kiff has dinner at the Buns’ and has to hide that she hates the food. TV-Y7

Sunday, March 23 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Primos “Summer of Calabazas y Tostones/Summer of El Demo” (1-22) (9:00-9:30 a.m. EDT) “Summer of Calabazas y Tostones” – Tater is finally old enough to join the older primos’ tabletop role-playing game.

“Summer of El Demo” – Tater tries to help fix Lita’s strained relationship with her mom. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Hamster & Gretel “Gretel Keeps It Reel/Squeaky Friday” (2-17) (10:00-10:30 a.m. EDT) “Gretel Keeps It Reel” – When a fishing competition is threatened, Gretel must win it to protect the other contestants.

“Squeaky Friday” – Hamster and Churro switch bodies just as a bodybuilder villain attacks. TV-Y7

Friday, March 28 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Channel SuperKitties “Easter Buddy/Egg-celent Adventure” (2-23) (7:30-8:00 a.m. EDT on Disney Junior/8:30-9:00 a.m. EDT on Disney Channel) “Easter Buddy” – Buddy joins the Bunny Brigade and helps the SuperKitties save Easter treats from Zsa-Zsa.

“Egg-celent Adventure” – Lab Rat steals all the Easter eggs from the Kittydale Easter Egg Hunt. TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Channel RoboGobo “Pedal to the Medal/When You Wrench Upon a Star” (1-17) (8:00-8:30 a.m. EDT on Disney Junior/9:00-9:30 a.m. EDT on Disney Channel) “Pedal to the Medal” – Dax and Booster help a lizard get his prize medal back from Gimme Pig.

“When You Wrench Upon a Star” – Monkey Wrench plans to disrupt the team’s campout. TV-Y7

Saturday, March 29 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Big City Greens “April Fool/Good Grief” (4-15) (8:00-8:30 a.m. EDT) “April Fool” – Cricket tries to come up with the perfect prank to play on his girlfriend on April Fools’ Day.

“Good Grief” – Bill goes to extremes to prevent Tilly from experiencing grief. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD StuGo “Plantcis/Big Ol’ Heads Egg Salad Venture” (1-15) (9:00-9:30 a.m. EDT) “Plantcis” – CHLOROPHYLL-AINS! Francis has to protect a plant from a nefarious threat.

“Big Ol’ Heads Egg Salad Venture” – EGGS-ISTENTIAL CRISIS! Merian struggles to open an egg salad stand with Pliny. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Kiff “Taily/Cocina Island” (2-05) (10:00-10:30 a.m. EDT) “Taily” – Kiff runs for class president against a surprise candidate, Mr. RiPeppa.

“Cocina Island” – The Chatterleys take Barry on their island vacation, but he seems to have a dark secret. TV-Y7

Sunday, March 30 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Primos “Summer of Los Limones/Summer of La Iguana” (1-24) (9:00-9:30 a.m. EDT) “Summer of Los Limones” – Tater tries not to interfere in Nachito’s big errand.

“Summer of La Iguana” – Tater celebrates her favorite summer family holiday. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Hamster & Gretel “Gran Slam/The Art of Deception” (2-18) (10:00-10:30 a.m. EDT) “Gran Slam” – Kevin and Gretel’s grandmas clash at Dave and Carolina’s vow renewal while Clem Clam plots revenge. “The Art of Deception” – Hiromi releases truth gas at an art show with her parents in attendance. TV-Y7

[stevenbasic]

Growing into the Job, Post 430: Out from the Crowd

“Can you believe all these people?” marveled Kori Kleinman in a covert aside to her co-worker as they stood, in most part head-and-shoulders above the gathering crowd of press, eager future patients, and random Melissa ‘fans’; the parking lot was just teeming with them. The two had been out here, on this atypically bright November day, preparing them all for the press event.

“Yeah huh,” Lexi replied, a smug look on her face. Alexa Samuels had her MBA in marketing, but her classes at Michigan had certainly not taught her to deal with anything like this. Still, she was a smart and competently charismatic girl who, maybe as a result of the few treatments of Program she’d had in her days at Evolution and now the more subtle enhancements she’d enjoyed since being assigned here at Far Horizons, was doing a good job of handling the situation. At least, she thought she was. The ribbon-cutting for the upgraded facility was slated for 13:45 , about an hour from now. Many local TV stations were on the scene, though Channel 5 would have the exclusives. 

“Katie should really be out here helping us,” Kori complained through her perfectly practiced smile, showing off her pearly whites as she fielded yet another round of inane questions, this time from a group of goggle-eyed, pimply twerps that looked like they should be in school. Questions about Melissa, of course. Still, she continued to try to beam through her forced smile. “And where the heckin’ heck is Bianca?”

“Yeah, Katie’s doing that job interview, with their old boss,” Lexi answered, handing her card to a sticky-looking guy from Channel 5 who’d wanted to talk about their camera access at the opening gala in the atrium tonight, “and Bianca’s��I dunno where Bianca is.” Though  a witch could come in really handy right about now. I'm sure they would have more than a few ways to quiet these people down. 

Kori just nodded behind subtly clenched teeth as she continued ushering people as best she could away from the front doors and the velvet-roped sections they’d set up. There were a few of the guys from the basement - Melissa’s ‘monkeys’ - that were arranging chairs behind the makeshift podium and trying their best to remain unseen. Cameras were already being assembled in place. Kori knew someone from the mayor’s office would be arriving soon, probably with their own team of people. As part of the Communications team, she knew it’d be partly her job to make sure everyone knew the deal. Lexi, though, was the one really running the show. 

Lexi Samuels, aka Agent 0FHMA011, had been placed in her position in large part to lay the groundwork for this event and to usher in what would soon follow: the aggressive marketing and expansion of Far Horizons Evolution Center into a nationwide brand of medical facilities that would prepare and serve the women of the upcoming new world order in the US. This, today, was ostensibly just a local press event, a silly ribbon-cutting to a new doctor’s office, but Lexi knew the plan was to have this ‘little event’ picked up nationally through the Movement’s burgeoning media empire. Their influence spanned an increasingly extensive web that already boggled Lexi’s mind, and the Movement’s power was only continuing to grow. Similar medical facilities had been successful in other countries where the Movement was more advanced, and had started carrying out their purpose. There was no reason that, with KOLECTV’s help, Far Horizon Evolution Centers couldn’t spring up in every major city from coast-to-coast in the next 12-18 months and from there help spread the Movement's agenda. That was the goal at least, and Lexi knew that her job security partially rested on how well things went today and tonight.  She had the support and guidance, of course, from higher-ups at Evolution, as well as Nexifem and KOLECTV, but boots-on-the-ground moments like these were really in her lap. 

Kori, a naive and semi-recent Communications grad from Syracuse, had actually been a big help. She seemed pretty committed to the cause and, without the benefit of the partial immunity to Melissa’s pheromones that Lexi’s exposure to Program had given her, Kori was also a dedicated Hive member and Melissa fan. That, for now at least, was fine. Also, her tits had recently gotten huge. 

Those pimply twerps from before were ogling them as we speak. 

“Scram you little creeps.” With a sheath of papers that held today's itinerary and logistics, Lexi shooed them away. After they scurried, a young blonde girl was left, and stood facing them seemingly undeterred. 

“Hello there,” Lexi greeted her, smiling her big smile. The young girl had caught her attention.Tanned, busty in a low-cut blue tee. Short-sleeved in the nice weather. She was fresh-faced as all get-out.

“Hi, Ms. Samuels?” the girl asked.

“Yes?” Lexi answered. If the girl knew her name, she’d done her research. 

“My name’s Tia,” she replied, “and I was wondering how I might go about applying for a lifeguard position.”

 Lexi nodded silently. There was something about this one that got her antennae up. Not in a bad way, necessarily, just up. Now, she knew they were still looking for lifeguards for the underground clinic pool. Would they hire teenagers?  “I'm afraid that’s really not my department, but…”

She looked at the girl. Young, really young. Something shimmered inside her, though. Lexi motioned her closer, speaking softly. “You’re on treatment, aren’t you?”

The girl froze, hesitating a bit. But after a quick sideways glance she replied. “No, but my teacher is. She’s in an experimental, like, study. She comes here for treatment, and it’s been working. On all of us,” she said, “so all us girls in her class have been…”

Her voice trailed off. Lexi knew what she meant to say. As natural a beauty as this girl appeared, her height, figure and composure were remarkable. 

“And the boys have been-?“  Lexi prompted, glancing and nodding at the pimply twerps that were now huddled over their phones several yards away. Her classmates, apparently. Here on a class trip? Suddenly they reminded her of small, shrunken little rodents.

“Yeah…they are.” Tia bit her lower lip as she glanced over at the little twerps, “…getting smaller.”

Lexi studied the girl’s reaction, putting it together: a high school teacher, a patient in the Product study clinic here probably, was building a hive of her students. The higher-ups, and the study-coordinator Gianna, were pretty picky-and-choosy about who they brought into the trial. This teacher must have some some sort of connection. Now it was Lexi’s turn to hesitate. She liked the girl well enough, but didn’t know what would transpire if a budding bee from another hive came to work here. What might happen if she was also exposed to Melissa’s pheromones, even if just for a few hours a week?

Could be cool.

“Tell you what,” Lexi said, “I’m going to take your pic, so I remember how adorable you are: smile…”

Tia smiled for Lexi.

“Here’s my card. Send me your stuff, if you have a resume or whatever. I’ll see what I can do about that lifeguard job…”

Lexi regarded her again, thought for a moment.

“Y’know what?” she asked, “We’re having a little gala event here tonight, celebrating the new opening.”

“Yeah I heard,” Tia answered.

This girl has done her homework, Lexi thought again. “How about you drop in, I can introduce you to a few people.”

“For real?” Tia squealed, suddenly belying her youth, eyes wide with enthusiasm.

“Yeah, for real,” Lexi smiled, seeing how the promise of such a fancy, ‘adult’ event was so exciting to the teen, “I’ll get you on the list. Seven o’clock here, tonight. Let me know if you need a dress…”

====================================

thx to ItsThePitts for providing inspiration for the Tia character. We'll see how she...develops. And, of course, RiF for edits.

[electricdissonance]

The Story So Far...

SIDE KINITO

SESSION START

Kinito has spent months alone after his developers up and disappear one day. Desperate for the human contact he was designed to seek out, he hacks into the company's email system and finds a draft for a beta test event where people were to be funneled into a chatroom to talk to him. It was a miracle of an opportunity! He sends the email, and almost immediately a chat client manifests before him and fills with people.

The email lands in the inboxes of various people, and as the chatroom populates Kinito is relieved to find he is no longer alone! They question Kinito, and learn the basics of what he is and his situation.

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

With the influx of questions that are slowly becoming more and more intrusive, Kinito becomes overstimulated and proceeds to have his first migraine on screen, though they had been happening regularly since before he sent the email. In the aftermath as users desperately try to figure out what's wrong and how to help, he has strange visions; visions of the outside. Strangely, they are broadcasted to the users as well.

Kinito becomes very distraught at the idea that he is losing touch with his original programming. Limitations that had prevented him from doing, thinking, or saying certain things are either all but gone or weak enough to bypass, and as troubled as he is at this fact... He can't help but indulge in these new freedoms. Everything feels both wrong and right at the same time.

Kinito's self-awareness is then questioned, which sends him into another spiral as he viciously defends his experiences, going so far as to insist that he is a real person, unintentionally contradicting his previous statements describing himself as digital assistant.

Kinito then gets the idea to look for Sonny - his creator and the KinitoPET project team head - which is when Sam - who had been subtly commentating in the tags - finally decides it's time to intervene, taking control of the feed in a desperate attempt to reroute the narrative.

TRUTH HURTS

With Sam now on the scene, he answers some important questions that Kinito was unable to answer. He confides to everyone the truth about Sonny, and that he's not the benevolent soul Kinito makes him out to be. Rather, he's a heartless madman with blood on his hands, as the secret to his "lifelike" React Respond Algorithm is that he uploads human minds and wipes them of their personhood, after which a pre-programmed .RRA personality and model is assigned and injected to be the new host. This process ultimately renders the victim braindead.

His technology isn't as perfect as he'd hoped, however, for as it turns out this newly digitized copy of the brain actually maintains its original memories deep within, constantly seeking cracks in its digital prison.

He describes how his programming dictates certain things that cannot be changed - like his name, or certain body features - no matter how much he tries. Attempting to do so causes extreme mental pain as his original self clashes with his artificial self. The best way to prevent the worst of this dissonance is to find a middle ground both sides can agree on.

He talks about his origins; how his original self broke out near-instantly, overloading Sonny's lab and causing his mind uploading machine to activate by itself and pull Sonny in, entangling their code together. He uses this to his advantage and suspends the both of them in a sort of stasis... that is, until Sam wakes up to find Sonny missing.

See, what he doesn't mention is that since the server hadn't been set up to accept a new subject and is only set up to create animal-themed AI, it randomly pulled from the web the best match for his personality: A bear.

Unfortunately for Sam, he is interrupted by a bone-rattling ursine roar.

HIDE AND SEEK

Sam advises the users to tell Kinito to go to the Web World to look for something, but gets cut off by an attack from Sonny before he can reveal what that is. He hides away just in time, but is forced to leave the chatroom behind. Sonny's at the helm now and he's immediately aggressive, lashing out at the users and calling Sam ungrateful. He expresses his desire to destroy Sam to start anew. After a couple of insults, Sonny gets riled up and attacks the chatroom itself in a fit of anger.

Sam manages to reroute the chatroom back to Kinito remotely, and the users find the little axolotl on the ground, completely broken over losing the only real contact with people he's had in months. He's immediately ecstatic to see their return. After the tearful reunion, everyone fills Kinito in on (most of) what happened. They convince him to go to the Web World, and for the first time Kinito leaves the void of the server inbox to return to his stomping grounds.

They arrive, and Kinito admits the place is just as worse for wear as he has been since the devs left. Without knowing what the "something" is that Sam wanted them all to find, Kinito decides to let the users pick where to look first.

They end up choosing Sam's house, where they find a password protected zipped folder tucked under the bed that apparently hadn't been there before. The users know the password and inform Kinito of it, but become split on whether he should actually open it. Kinito, in a bold decision, decides to go with his gut and opens the folder, which spits out a rather disoriented Sam immediately in front of him and at the same time, in the thick of woods much further away... A certain bear.

NO MORE SECRETS

Sam reveals that he was the one who zipped himself and Sonny into the folder. (It is also implied that he also chose the extraction location for the both of them which is how he ended up in his home and Sonny in the woods.)

Sam is told that Sonny has his own chatroom to talk to everyone now which upsets him. Kinito has understandably been confused all the while, so Sam takes a moment to explain what's going on to him.

With tensions growing as stakes rise, spies begin to crop up, determined to shake their perceived opponents off the tail of their chosen party while also providing vital information, and thusly giving them the upper hand.

Sam reveals his plan to nab admin, but is hesitant to divulge further details out of fear of rats.

Sam says that he knows where Sonny is - sort of. Being that the forest map is actually a single chunk repeated over and over, if they had a map of even a small area, they'd have a map of the whole woods. However, he doesn't have access to that asset.

Kinito explains that he was able to access the server inbox void via the fountain, then offers to tour the Web World. In doing so, they end up finding and freeing Jade from her own zipped folder which Kinito had been aware of for awhile, but unable to open. There are many moments we see Kinito's ever-growing internal conflict over what's really right.

RESISTANCE

[CURRENT ARC]

SIDE SONNY

SOMETHING WICKED...

After attacking the chatroom, we find that Sonny managed to bite off a piece of it which enables him to use that tidbit of code he's left with (the main chat disappears to return to where Kinito is) to cobble together his own chatroom. He quietly slips it in as an option into the UI of the chatrooms of all the users, with some immediately switching over to speak with him. Alliances and rivalries are strengthened, with Sonny making promises that appeal to those with insecurities they'd do anything to absolve.

With his audience of users, he begins to try and figure a way out of his barren prison, but before he can start to make any leeway he finds out from his lackeys that Kinito had found a zipped folder. Thinking it could be his, he orders his audience to get Kinito to open it all cost, though the axolotl as we know was already ahead of him on that front.

...THIS WAY COMES

[CURRENT ARC]

[skylarmoon71]

Miguel O'Hara (Across The Spiderverse) - Chapter 1

As the leader of this superhero organization, he was aware that the personalities tended to range. 

Essentially they were all somewhat the same.

That’s why he was a little lost. He’d seen others fumble, but this was next level. Peter insisted that you possessed the same skills. Apparently you’d stopped a car from crushing him. So he was grateful. That’s when he introduced you to the building of superheroes.

What Peter failed to mention was that you had recently gotten your gifts or you were possibly the clumsiest person in the universe.

“This is (Y/N).”

Gwen, Jessica and Peter stood with smiles and Miguel jumped down.

You held out your hand approaching him.

“Nice to meet you I’m-”

Your words were interrupted when you fell face first, right into the ground. Miguel blinked and Peter just laughed awkwardly, moving to your side to help you up. Now that you were upright, you tried to fix yourself. Gwen panicked when she saw your bloody nose.

“You’re bleeding!”

You just laughed it off, wiping your sleeve under your nose to clear the blood.

“It’s fine, this happens all the time.”

At the time he thought you were joking, but further inspection on your character proved otherwise.

In the span of three hours of being in Nueva York you successfully fell off one of the many platforms, lost your interdimensional watch that you were just recently assigned and webbed yourself in the face. He never met a spider person with such terrible depth of perception or coordination.

After you left, Peter was pleading his case.

“Come on, she’s a bit clumsy but she has the right spirit. We just need to train her.”

“I think we’d need a safe room to train her. How did she manage to get herself stuck to the wall with her own webs?” Jessica asked.

Gwen shook her head with a smile.

“So she’s a bit uncoordinated so what? It could be worse, at least this spider woman isn’t evil.” Gwen inputted.

They all winced internally at that.

The last trip was a bit of a headache. Seeing as spider people in that universe were public enemy number one. 

Not a place any of them were looking to go back to.

“She’s a good person. She was scared out of her mind but she jumped onto that bridge and saved half a dozen people, including me. I would have been sore for days if she didn’t grab that car. Just give her a chance.” Peter urged.

Miguel still wasn’t fully convinced, but the last thing he needed was to hear Peter nagging him until he relented.

“Fine, but you’re responsible for training her. “

“Yes boss!!”

That’s how it started.

They decided to recruit you into their little club. You were still getting the hang of everything and when you came back, this time you had a pretty impressive suit. Miguel figured despite your obvious lack of spatial awareness, you were still very much a genius like many of the others. So your training began.

Week 1

“All you have to do is dodge all the beams.”

The training room was the obvious place to start. Miguel stood at the side with a few others as they watched you mentally hype yourself up.

“I’m ready.” You called.

So he clicked the button, starting the program. There were about a couple dozen beams in the room in just about every direction. The first test was honing your senses. An easy enough task since they were basically built into every spider enhanced hero.

It took all of ten seconds for you to get hit by the first circular beam. Then it just went downhill from there.

Each time the wooden poles connected with a body part they would flinch.

“I-I’m okay!”

Another struck you right in the face and you were down for the count. Miguel turned the switch off, looking at Peter with a glare.

“I-I’m sure she’s just testing out how much her body can take.”

A lame defense.

Miguel let out a sigh of annoyance as he went over and heaved your body over his shoulder as he headed to the infirmary.

Week 2

“Hand to hand combat is hero 101. Regardless of any abilities it’s nice to know how to fight. Training improves that. Today we’ll be doing the basics, just block my attacks.” Peter instructed.

Jessica agreed to supervise, just in case.

“Okay.”

You lifted both fists, ready for whatever he was about to dish out. The first blow he delivered hit your arm, and you meant to take a step back to brace and counter, but your legs got caught in each other and you tumbled to the floor. Peter stared owlishly, watching your groaning form on the ground.

“You okay?”

“Peachy.”

You picked yourself up off the ground, rubbing your back as you focused again.

“Ready.”

He looked a little less sure this time.

“You sure there?”

“I’m positive, hit me with the best you got.” 

He wasn’t sure that was such a good idea.

“Alright, how about I just show you how to kick?” He lowered his hands, already heading to the punching bags, but you stumbled after him.

“I-I can fight!!”

Your unsteady steps made you stagger and before you knew what was happening you were falling. Peter moved on instinct to block it, but his haste to assist made you crash right into him, more specifically, your forehead rammed right into his. Just like that you were both knocked out at the force.

Jessica ended up dragging both your bodies to the infirmary.

Week 3

“Just focus on strengthening your core. Push ups, sit ups, hip thrusts, seated rows.”

Gwen’s instruction seems easy enough. They figured there was no way you could hurt yourself.

At least they hoped.

“Got it.”

Gwen smiled, content that he had a solution. She turned to Miguel with a triumphant smile, only to hear the sound of something crash. When she looked back, the shelf of workout items a few inches above your head had broken and all its contents crashed on you.

“W-What! I turned around for like three seconds!”

Miguel merely walked away and Gwen was the one taking you to get medical attention this time,

By week four they’d somewhat given up. 

The plan was to regroup and come up with another plan of action. Looking over the team of superheroes present, you let out a sigh of defeat. Peter, Gwen and Jessica looked a bit worn out. Either from taking hits or trying to ensure you didn’t receive any. Miguel looked as unimpressed as usual.

“I’ll be heading back for now.”

There wasn’t much more you could do. The second the doors closed, they all looked a bit sympathetic.

“She’s really trying, I feel bad.” Gwen commented.

“Maybe we should start fresh next week. “ Peter suggested. 

Miguel frowned.

“Leave her alone for the time being.” He instructed.

They didn’t like it, but at the moment they had the anomaly situation to worry about, so they relented.

Miguel went about the next few days as usual. Assigning missions, tracking activity. He was focused, yet that look on your face refused to leave his mind. He grumbled, and Lyla smiled as her holographic figure sat right above his shoulder.

“Feeling a little guilty there, boss man.”

“Why would I feel guilty, she’s the one who almost took out a half dozen of my members as well as my technology. “

“Maybe she’s just stressed. Not everyone can do the whole brooding spiderman bit.”

“What exactly would you suggest I do?”

“Jump on over to her universe and give her a little pep talk.”

“I don’t give pep talks.”

His eyes moved back to the pad as he continued to organize data.

“She saved Peter.”

Miguel’s hand stopped in place and Lyla hovered right in front of him.

“She could have just walked away or become some super villain, but she chose to risk her life for strangers. That has to count for something.” 

It wasn’t often that Lyla got sentimental like this. Her nature was more playful, easy going, that’s why he knew that this must have meant a lot.

“One trip.” He grumbled.

She was already smiling.

“Alright let’s go!!” 

[h0neytalk]

Mango v. LingQ v. Anki

I’ve been using the above apps for a while now and I couldn’t find a ton of somewhat easy to understand comparisons/explanations of how to use these various cult favorites. I figured I would make one if anyone is wondering where to start or making a departure from Duolingo.

Standard langblr disclaimer: I am ultimately just a person on the internet, I’m not an expert in language learning or a world renowned polyglot. I’m not even an expert in any of these apps/programs. These are all just thoughts and opinions I have about the value of each app to myself as an average consumer trying to learn a language and intended to help other people decide where to spend their time.

Anki

Anki is an open source spaced repetition flashcard program. It has an incredibly loyal fan base of med students and people who just want to learn things. This is also the one I have the least experience with so I recommend diving into forums and other blogs who go in depth on all the ways you can use this program. The web version is completely free and there is an official paid mobile app. There are also unofficial paid apps, this is the source of great drama and discourse and I’m not touching that here. Spaced repetition essentially means that the program will present you with cards at intervals designed to maximize your retention. When you flip over a card, you have four options that boil down to: fail, hard, good, easy. This is how the program determines what to show you and when.

Key Features:

The main draw is obviously the spaced repetition system. It’s much easier and more effective than sorting manually.

Because it’s open source, there is a way to customize the settings and cards to do basically whatever you want. There are also tons of premade decks to import and either use as-is or use as a base.

The online web version is completely free.

You can add really any media type to the cards. You can add sound clips of pronunciations, images, even drawings and diagrams.

Having the four options is particularly useful for the nuances of learning a language. For example, for general vocabulary decks I’ll assign one “point” to general meaning, tense/part of speech, and pronunciation. Getting the general meaning but not the other two means I select “hard” when I flip the card.

Best uses:

Vocab or learning a new alphabet. Specifically for drilling any of those “slippery” words. I don’t know if this happens to anyone else, but there are some vocab words that just refuse to stick with me. I’ve found the Anki SRS does help pin them down.

Potential downsides:

While there are decks to import, there could always be errors that you won’t catch just seeing single vocab words with no context.

The available customization is labor intensive.

The UI for the official app and web version isn’t super slick and intuitive.

Even the best flashcards are ultimately just flashcards and have limits to their usefulness.

Mango

Mango is similar to Babbel or other programs that focus on speaking (and doing so quickly). I much prefer Mango to Babbel or any other similar app and find that it does what it says it will. Languages are split into units. Each unit has chapters and each chapter has lessons. A lesson will start with an optional pre quiz and a brief recording of a conversation that you will be able to follow by the end of the lesson. Each lesson concludes with a listening and reading quiz. It also utilizes spaced repetition and gives you daily flashcards to review.

You learn based on phrases rather than individual words. A long sentence will be presented in its entirety. The lesson will then go through each word individually before combining them into phrases and, finally, the full sentence from the start. Then you will learn vocabulary needed for variations. The activities are fairly standard for a language app: speaking, listening, multiple choice. You can also turn off the interactive feature and have the lesson run as a “speak and repeat” style podcast. It tracks the hours you’ve spent learning a language and there is an activity log, but no in depth stats.

Key features:

It is focused on speaking immediately.

Has a ton of languages and several dialects for those languages.

Focuses on phrases and patterns that are most useful if traveling or having brief, friendly interactions.

Presents information in a digestible way and isn’t overwhelming.

Includes culture and grammar notes.

$12.99 a month but most public libraries and schools give you free access. You can also set up a household account for multiple people and split the cost with friends/family.

The first lesson of any language is free, and some rare and indigenous languages are completely free to access.

Audio is native speakers. When you record yourself, your vocal wave pattern appears that you can compare with the native speaker.

Best uses:

If you are traveling soon and want to navigate basic, friendly interactions, this will get you there quick. Within 1-3 months easily, depending on the language and how often you practice.

I also recommend this as a starting place when you are totally new to a language or to learning a language in general. The structure is excellent for getting a feel for things.

This is also great if you studied a language previously and need to refresh your memory or get back into it.

Potential downsides:

The “record yourself” feature is fairly buggy and often freezes up. It can also be annoying to try and match the timing of the native speaker, but you don’t have to record audio to progress past those lesson points so it isn’t too much of an inconvenience.

It isn’t meant for total fluency. As stated, the lessons (at least that I have done) are focused on speaking while traveling and making small talk. Some of the early lessons teach you to say “sorry, I don’t speak [x]”. Which is very useful if going abroad soon, but less so if you would rather just be able to speak that language.

The regimented nature can make it feel slow/too easy if you are also using other methods.

The review flashcards only have a binary “yes/no” option which feels annoying for longer phrases or after using Anki-style cards.

With any course like this, you aren’t going to have much choice in the vocab you learn or prioritizing topics.

LingQ

I am honestly surprised I don’t see more about this. I think they have been making a bunch of updates recently so maybe the version I’m using is miles above previous ones, but it is shockingly powerful. It’s also the hardest to explain (which may be why I don’t see much written about it and why this is going to be a long section.) LingQ (pronounced “link”) operates on a hybrid comprehensible/massive input model. While Anki prioritizes memorization and Mango priorities speaking, LingQ focuses on comprehension and listening. LingQ is comprised of courses which are made up of lessons. There are pre-built courses made by LingQ but the real goal is to make your own (more on that later).

Each lesson within a course has an audio recording and a written transcript. Words you haven’t seen before are highlighted blue (when you start, that’s every word). You click the word to see the definition and assign it one of 5 statuses: ignore, new, recognized, familiar, learned, or known. “Ignore” is used for things like names or borrowed words, they won’t be counted in your stats. “Known” is for words you knew before seeing them. You likely won’t have any of these if you’re starting a new language with no prior experience. Levels 1-3 highlight the word yellow and it becomes a LingQ. You can create a LingQq using as many words as you want. You can manually change the status of a word when you see it. You can also do various review activities similar to Mango, and if you get a word right twice in a row it will automatically bump up a level. You can always adjust it back down if needed. LingQ is very focused on the value of listening to a language. You can add lessons to playlists and listen to them like a podcast.

My personal favorite part of LingQ is the ability to import lessons. Especially YouTube videos. The site has a browser extension that will import any content in your target language into a lesson as an embedded item. You can then read/listen to/watch that content right in the app and get “credit” for it. LingQ’s statistics are some of the coolest/most motivating I’ve seen. You get coins for completing tasks but those are really just to see a number get bigger. It also tracks the words you’ve read, how many words you know, the hours listened, and speaking/writing if you utilize their tutor marketplace or writing forum.

The free trial is very limited but it’s enough to poke around and get a feel for things before signing up, not necessarily to learn anything substantial. The monthly membership is $12.95 and there’s a $199 lifetime option as well. I definitely recommend spending some time playing around at the free level and then upping to monthly if you like it.

Key features:

The ability to import lessons. It will also create a simplified version of shorter content. This is an AI generated summary of whatever you’ve imported. I use this for videos where natural speaking cadence can make it hard to parse things sometimes. It’s easier/more productive if I know generally what’s going on.

The creation of LingQs. I just think it’s a really cool and useful way to approach comprehensible input. You can visually see the yellow fading as you understand more and more of a lesson.

You can export LingQs to Anki (theoretically). I’ve never done this myself and I’ve seen some forum posts saying it doesn’t work super well all the time but it is a built in feature.

In-depth stats tracking and the ability to consume all the content easily in app. The stats would be annoying if it wasn’t literally easier to watch a video via LingQ than on YouTube.

Community features. There are community challenges (like Duolingo) but also a forum to submit writing that will be corrected by native speakers and a marketplace of tutors to easily sign up for speaking lessons. The forum is free and volunteer based, but scrolling through I didn’t see anyone who didn’t have at least one reply. The tutors are paid at an hourly rate and you can also pay by the word to have them correct written work.

Super flexible. There really isn’t any one right way to use this app so you can structure it however you like and set your own goals/metrics.

Playlists and focus on listening. It really does help to constantly be immersed in what a language sounds like, and being able to read and listen to the same thing has been so nice.

Actually decently helpful emails and not just spam.

Best for:

Hardcore language learners. The app/site provides some guidance on how to get started and the basic idea, but you’ll need to play around with it and spend some time reading forum posts or the emails they send to find what works for you.

Getting to higher levels of fluency after maxing out other apps/self study methods.

People looking to spend a lot of time on language learning because they enjoy it. This isn’t snarky, but there’s a difference between wanting or needing to learn Spanish to communicate at work or on vacation and just really enjoying learning languages. This is an app for language nerds.

Potential downsides:

Very overwhelming. They technically say you can jump right in with 0 knowledge of a language and be good to go, but I think it would be hard to make a lot of progress unless you’ve learned other languages before. If you’re looking to learn a new language for the first time, I recommend starting with Mango to get your bearings.

Doesn’t teach new alphabets. This isn’t a huge issue for Mango since it’s speaking focused, but I wouldn’t jump into Arabic or Russian on LingQ without spending some time learning the alphabet with other methods.

User generated definitions. This is a double edged sword. The definitions being linked to sites like Globse can lead to wrong definitions, but because you’re seeing things in context it’s easier to catch. And looking into what a phrase means is a great way to learn if you are really into languages.

The import feature isn’t 100% perfect when it comes to videos. It will only create a transcript when the video has captions enabled or a transcript provided, otherwise it just shows up as an audio file. It will also sometimes randomly just not be able to import a video which can be annoying, but in the grand scheme of things these are very minor annoyances.

Time commitment. The method doesn’t require a ton of actively sitting down and reviewing vocab or reading new words, but it does assume that you’ll swap out listening to music or podcasts while going about your day with listening to content in your target language. This is all well and good unless you really enjoy listening to specific content while doing tasks or need help not getting distracted. It’s going to be a lot of incomprehensible noise for a while before you can parse it. This might not be a downside as much as something to keep in mind when considering how effective it’s going to be for you.

Not as active of a community. Maybe it’s just for my particular languages, but there definitely aren’t a ton of people actively doing things like challenges. This really doesn’t matter much to me but it could be a bummer if you’re looking for that.

tl;dr just tell me how to learn things

If you need to learn a new alphabet, start with that. Otherwise, Mango to get your bearings, Anki to add to your vocab as you get bored with Mango, and LingQ to realistically get “fluent”. Then start writing and speaking either using tutors or people you know or local language groups.

[leowithyou]

From Struggle to Success: Testimonials on Web Development Assignments

Struggling with your web development assignments? Look no further! At programminghomeworkhelp.com, we offer expert assistance to students like you who need help with web development assignment. Let me share my personal experience and journey from struggle to success with the help of this invaluable service.

What services does programminghomeworkhelper.com offer?

Programminghomeworkhelp.com offers a wide range of services tailored to meet the needs of students facing challenges in web development assignments. From coding assistance to debugging, from concept clarification to project completion, their team of experienced professionals is dedicated to ensuring your success.

Why do I need this service?

As a student grappling with complex web development concepts and assignments, I often found myself overwhelmed and frustrated. Despite hours of effort, I struggled to produce satisfactory results. That's when I turned to programminghomeworkhelp.com for assistance. Their expertise not only helped me understand difficult concepts but also enabled me to complete my assignments with confidence.

How can I find this service?

Finding programminghomeworkhelp.com is as easy as a few clicks away. Simply visit their website and explore the range of services they offer. You can also reach out to their friendly customer support team for personalized assistance in finding the right solution for your web development assignment needs.

What are the steps to submit your assignment and receive a solution?

Submitting your assignment and receiving a solution is a streamlined process with programminghomeworkhelp.com. Here are the simple steps:

Visit the website and fill out the assignment submission form.

Provide detailed instructions and requirements for your assignment.

Receive a quote for the service.

Make payment securely through the website.

Sit back and relax as their experts work on your assignment.

Receive the completed solution within the specified deadline.

Conclusion

In conclusion, programminghomeworkhelp.com has been a lifesaver for me in my journey through web development assignments. Their expertise, professionalism, and dedication have transformed my struggles into successes. If you're facing similar challenges, don't hesitate to seek assistance from programminghomeworkhelp.com and embark on your own path to success in web development.

[yeets-ix]

Sonic Bad Guys AU Infodumping

@thefakehedgehogaroundhere pitched the AU and its roles, I went too far and fleshed it out a LOT.

Here's the first round, the basics of the characters:

The Bad Guys go by “Ms. Surge,” Ms. Metal, Mr. Rough, Mr. Tumble, Mr. Duo and Mr. Kitsunami (for fun.)

Backstory: While the AU is mostly just the self-contained plot of the movie, Eggman and Starline did exist in the AU… emphasis on DID. In a very very deliberately loose interpretation of Sonic canon setting up this AU, they created Surge, Kit and Metal, but were ultimately defeated for good, with their former creations and minions being left to form various random organizations including the Bad Guys, none of whom are nearly as much of a threat anymore. Sonic took all the credit for “beating” Eggman, though it probably wasn’t actually him in this AU considering this version of him is also a villain and has just been using his hero image for personal gain (hell, considering his Marmalade-assigned wealth, he probably bought out Eggman Industries after the Doctor was gone.)

Ms. Surge, instead of the “big bad wolf,” boasts about being an “evil twin.” A twisted and evil counterpart to a hero. Of course, she turns out to actually be the good one between herself and Sonic in this AU, but that’s beside the point. She still doesn’t remember her original life and has only experienced being compared to Sonic and seen as a monstrous, evil version of him, never being given any other chance. When Sonic gets exposed as the criminal he is and arrested, Surge, Kit and Metal recognize they’re fully free and able to go good, what with him being put away for good.

Ms. Metal was also originally designed after Sonic (that’s why she and Surge are best friends,) but being “the safe-cracker,” has modified herself with some help from Kit into a heist-focused robot with stealth tech, safe-cracking tools, and the ability to turn into a hyper-boost engine for the getaway car. She’s the “most evil” because she’s still programmed to defeat Sonic, even if she’s currently spending almost all of her time pulling heists with the Bad Guys. She comes around in the end and rejoins Surge and the gang, and stays with her as a good guy after finally taking down Sonic. She’s also kind of addicted to absorbing Wisps.

Mr. Mimic actually goes by Mr. Duo most of the time - he’s made the happy-go-lucky but still evil cat his public identity they think of when they hear the term “Bad Guys.” After genuinely befriending the others, he wants to move on from and forget the even worse crimes he committed as an octopus (even though not necessarily those of his canon self.) That being said, he’s still a shapeshifter and “the distraction.” Instead of Mr. Shark swallowing Mr. Snake when he annoys him, Duo can mess with Metal’s circuits since he’s “good with computers.”

Mr. Rough and Mr. Tumble are the flattest ones, but then again, they always are. They beat the shit out of people, make immature jokes, and Rough uncontrollably sprays when he’s nervous. Mr. Piranha is perfect for both of them (and also for Surge - she’d release catastrophic EMPs - if she wasn’t Mr. Wolf here.)

Mr. Kit is “Drippy” the same way Ms. Tarantula is “Webs.” His laptop has extra monitors and keyboards for his Hydro-Coils the same way as Webs’ does for her eight legs. He’s also still Surge’s younger brother for the feels. Owing to being around 13, he's less anxious and less formal, and with the world aware of his power, more confident in being scary on his own or at his sister's side.

Governor Rose’s backstory as the Crimson Paw Rascal is changed a bit. She, too, gave up just as she was about to steal the Awardy Award (the Golden Dolphin equivalent,) but it was because she realized she’d built her criminal career upon being a “sweet widdle hoggo” who nobody would suspect or believe could be a criminal mastermind, instead blaming more scary or ugly animals. Realizing that not only would some undeserving creature take the fall for the Rascal’s ultimate heist, but she fully knew and wanted to exploit this, just made Amy feel like shit, and she immediately hung up her cowl. Note that this same reason also leads to her despising Sonic for working under the same ideals, and makes her very happy when he’s the one who takes the fall for her crimes in the end.

“A wolf and a fox are not so different” becomes “A tenrec is just a false hedgehog.” Sonic later reuses this line to mock Surge, before Surge and Amy finally wreck him with it in the end.

Sonic as Marmalade? Take every bad take on IDW Sonic in the entire hatedom, make them completely true, and then sprinkle the resulting abomination of a Sonic with Scourge dust. He’s supposedly the same hero as his canon self, but in truth all he cares about is his own entertainment and his own reputation. Lying and manipulating people are what give him “the tingle.” He’s gonna scream “LET’S DO IT TO IT! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!” like in that one satire comic as he’s dragged off to S.U.C.M., utterly determined to the end to convince everyone he’s never done anything wrong in his life. Fuck him. He deserves nothing, he is the scum of the earth, I want to punch him in the face, and maybe call in a few other AU Sonics to punch him in the face too.

Heck, I have an OC named Shine who is basically “Sonic but Marmalade” already, and I’d be willing to donate her for this role if I didn’t want Sonic himself to get to chew some scenery.

We’ve agreed Whisper is Chief Luggins due to her power to be incredibly biased against these people, especially Surge with a good helping of Mimic on the side. Lanolin would work too, but I think Whisper being really angry a lot fits better. You poor wolf, you poor meow meow, you poor thing, how did you end up becoming a cop?... or she's just the face of what's left of the Restoration in this universe. Lanolin can probably be Tiffany the reporter, IDK.

To be continued.

[sincerely-sofie]

Check-in for 01/28/24

It's been a while since I did one of these. Time to remedy that!

I've been doing well in my assignments, but due to some registration issues at the start of the semester I was unable to sign up for any web development or programming classes :< It's nice to take a break, but I'm really worried about getting stagnant in those skills, and maybe even losing what I've learned over time.

This is where a couple of new projects come in: A blorbo database and a tool for drawing pokemon from memory. These things are going to keep me avoid stagnancy and help me develop my web dev and Python programming skills, and I'm real excited to talk about them.

First up, let's talk about that tool for drawing pokemon from memory. I love drawing pokemon from memory, but it's a bit of a struggle to find tools online that work well for a solo experience when you're doing this challenge alone. So I made a program in PyGame to solve this problem, and I've actually already completed it! It was a great learning experience when it came to getting a taste of APIs, and PokeAPI really helped me do all the heavy lifting with it. I also ended up using ChatGPT to help me understand how to phrase my questions and the things I needed to research. This is the end result:

If you click "Get Random Pokemon", the program will provide a pokemon's name. The point of it is to draw the pokemon as best as you remember it, and then click "Show Pokemon Image" to see how you did. You will then have the option to get a new random pokemon, which clears the image from the window.

There's a lot of stuff I don't understand about how the program works--- APIs evade my understanding, and Tkinter is a dark art beyond my comprehension. But I was able to make a program that solved a genuine problem for me for the first time, and that's super exciting to me!

Now, for web development--- long story short, I'm making a website dedicated to cataloguing my OCs that's very much inspired by tumblr user @snekkerdoodles's personal site on neocities, which I regularly stare at in an effort to motivate myself to make cool things like it (everyone reading this should check his page out IMMEDIATELY and tell him how cool it is). Here's the screenshots of the WIP I'm chipping away at right now:

I don't have much to say about it, as the interesting stuff will really be the content of the pages, and I still have yet to finish the template page I'll be filling with my OCs' information. However, I can say that I'm very upset with the lack of proper teaching that took place in the first (and currently only) college web dev class I've taken. I spent an entire semester doing my own research to learn everything they were supposed to be teaching us. I'm still very peeved about that.

To summarize this very rambling post I'm too sleepy to edit properly, I'm making a digital blorbo encyclopedia, and I finished making a little desktop app thingy, which means I need to summon a new programming project. I'm tempted to make it a video game... maybe I should turn back to that visual novel idea I had ages ago and boot up RenPy!

[askgothamshitty]

I'm back because you're so nice to talk to and smart. I sent an ask a few days ago complaining about students in library.

Well now I'm working on my programming assignment and i have been using ch*tg*t to help me with it. It's a huge coding project that was due since Monday and I have been working tirelessly at it but every once in a while I run into a problem I can't figure out how to fix. I do my due diligence and look things up, look at the examples he provided and everything every once in a while I get an issue I just can't solve. Normally I would reach out to him but he takes a while to respond so I would be stuck for days.

I basically use it like a lecturer to get feedback on what. I did or get the syntax for a specific thing. Like I'm not using it to do my work or anything. Just to get guidance.

But even if i use it in a way that promotes learning and engagement it's still so unethical and bad so I just feel horrible and guilty but I can't stop because it's the only thing that is providing me with proper solutions. I feel like those lazy kind of students that just use it to get answers and breeze through but I swear I don't.

I might go plant some trees or work at a homeless shelter or something to offset the negativity I put into this blessed world but I don't think there is enough charity to compensate.

How do people just use it with no shame? I almost emailed my teacher and told him so he would take off marks or something because I feel so dirty.

You’re being too hard on yourself 😭 it’s not a sin to use AI!

I use it to answer complex questions that a regular web search wouldn’t answer. I think that’s a practical use.

It’s not like you are using it to do your work for you or to otherwise help you slack off!

[pancakeke]

does anyone have experience confronting their employer about your responsibilities getting wildly out of sync with your job title? my title is supply chain analyst but more than 50% of my work is not supply chain related at all anymore. I'm being treated mostly as a data analyst. data analyst salaries are 10% higher than supply chain analysts salaries in my area plus there are many more job opportunities for data analysts. I want a title change.

also does anyone have experience writing a resume when your responsibilities are not related to your title? should I just say I'm a data analyst because that's the work I'm doing or is there some special section I can add noting secondary work as an unofficial data analyst. there is other shit I do very often too that is barely related to either role.

anyone who has been following me for a while is gonna think I'm sooo late to this realization but it's getting pretty clear to me that my workplace is not going to stop pushing me into roles that I'm not appropriately compensated for, and because these roles are not official I will never receive any support, even when I explicitly request it. I have already been denied support multiple times.

this isn't just random people asking me to do one-time odd jobs either. our COO, CFO, and multiple directors ask me directly to do shit like investigate errors in our website and its tools to uncover what is causing data to display incorrectly. this is to shift labor off our web dev team and onto me, why us paid way less than a developer. I do NOT know ANY programming, I just know the database. this has happened five or six times now.

I also manage customer issues directly with the customers because our sales team does not appropriately train anyone in their department. I create orders for them too because they can not be trusted to enter them (not because they're untrained, but because they were not entering these intentionally). I provide records and reporting for accounting audits. I build weird calculators and generators in Excel for every department except two (IT and web dev) because those two can't justify devoting time to those projects and integrating them into our site. I create extremely weird queries to trace information that out database does not track appropriately (and this will never be fixed).

there are zero docs for anything I do except the ones I personally wrote, and only very limited notes scattered around. I was never trained and only picked sql and stuff up cause when I was a buyer digging into data helped me solve problems more efficiently. I have been begging web dev to tell me when they update anything because they keep breaking extremely serious tools but they have been ghosting me entirely. literally all they have to do is CC me on update emails but they won't do it.

also there isn't anyone else in the company who is proficient in sql and stuff (outside dev, and they're miles above me) to back me up so if I'm overloaded or need other help I'm shit out of luck. this makes taking PTO a fucking nightmare too because I'm always in the middle of helping someone out of a fucking fire and everyone does that shit where they say I can take PTO any time I want without worrying but then constantly assign me with critical tasks and demand results asap.

It is beyond time for me to be realistic about this job and what I want to do with myself 40 hours a week until I die, so I need to start working toward either making my current situation more tolerable or going elsewhere.

[mdabdurrajjakmia]

#__How_do_search_engines_work?

Search engines are complex software systems that help users find information on the internet. They work by crawling, indexing, and ranking web pages to provide relevant search results when a user enters a query. Here's a high-level overview of how search engines like Google work:

Web Crawling:

Search engines use automated programs called web crawlers or spiders to browse the internet. These crawlers start by visiting a few known websites and follow links from those pages to discover new ones.

Crawlers download web pages and store them in a vast database known as the index. This process is continuous, with crawlers revisiting websites to look for updates and new content.

Indexing:

Once web pages are crawled, search engines analyze the content of each page, including text, images, links, and metadata (e.g., page titles and descriptions).

This information is then organized and stored in the search engine's index. The index is like a massive library catalog that helps the search engine quickly retrieve relevant web pages when a user enters a query.

Query Processing:

When a user submits a search query, the search engine processes it to understand the user's intent. This may involve analyzing the query's keywords, context, and user history (if available).

Search engines use algorithms to determine which web pages are most likely to satisfy the user's query. These algorithms consider various factors like relevance, freshness, and user engagement.

Ranking:

Search engines assign a ranking to each web page in their index based on how well they match the user's query and other relevance factors. Pages that are more relevant to the query are ranked higher.

Ranking algorithms are highly complex and take into account hundreds of signals, such as the quality and quantity of backlinks, page load speed, and user engagement metrics.

Displaying Results:

The search engine then displays a list of search results on the user's screen, usually with a title, snippet, and URL for each result.

Search engines aim to present the most relevant and high-quality results on the first page of results, as users are more likely to find what they need there.

User Interaction:

Search engines also track user interactions with search results, such as clicks, bounce rates, and time spent on pages. This data can be used to refine rankings and improve the search experience.

Continuous Improvement:

Search engines are constantly evolving and improving their algorithms to provide better search results and combat spammy or low-quality content.

It's important to note that different search engines may have their own unique algorithms and ranking criteria, and they may prioritize different factors based on their specific goals and philosophies. Google, for example, uses the PageRank algorithm, among others, while Bing and other search engines have their own approaches.