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gw2calendar · 3 years

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Tyria Pride 2021

Added the Tyria Pride 2021 event to calendar. Can’t wait to attend! :D

Per the forum post:

Tyria Pride 2021 will be happening on June 26 & 27, on both NA and EU servers!

■ What is Tyria Pride?

Tyria Pride is an annual event that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and our allies both in-game and out, and raises funds for Rainbow Railroad, a non-profit organisation which helps LGBTQ+ people around the world escape state-sponsored persecution and violence!

It's a 2-day event with a 6 year history, as part of which we'll be walking from Ebonhawke to the gates of Rata Sum in Metrica Province, hanging out & having fun while raising money to leave the world a better place than we found it!

■ When / Where?

The event takes place over two days, and will be held on both EU and NA servers.

Start locations:

• Saturday, June 26: Ebonhawke (at the portal from Divinity's Reach)

• Sunday, June 27: Lion's Arch (at the Field of the Fallen)

Start times:

• EU: 16:00 CEST [14:00 UTC] • NA: 4 PM CDT [21:00 UTC]

We tend to start marching about 15 minutes past the hour. Despite this, to get into the correct instance without any issues, it's recommended to be at the location at least 15 minutes before the hour.

■ How to join?

To accommodate everyone coming to the event, we'll have multiple volunteers helping everyone get together, and will be taking over multiple instances of the same map. Each instance can only take about 150 people, so not everyone will be able to fit on the same instance. Our volunteers will be opening LFGs to get everyone onto a number of maps.

One way to make this simpler and to get in touch with volunteers more easily is to join the Tyria Pride discord, at tyriapride.com/discord! As the event draws closer, we'll include a list of volunteers here that you can contact in-game as well!

Please note: Do not open your own LFGs, please wait for organisers to open theirs so that you can join on a map instance with an organiser on it. Due to how the megaservers work, just because you are in Ebonhawke / Lion's Arch, it doesn't mean you're with the organisers. That's why it's a good idea to arrive into the map before the event start time!

■ How to get involved?

The success and scope of Tyria Pride depends heavily on help and volunteers from the community! If you wish to help out, there are several ways you can do so:

• Volunteering: Volunteers help out on the day of the event by helping ferry/taxi everyone into the correct instance between maps, guiding the path, fielding questions & providing information (which you'll be provided as a volunteer in the form of copy-pastes). A commander tag helps greatly with this but is not necessary.

• Streaming the event: Streaming the event is a great way to spread the word! This year we'll be compiling and highlighting a list of streamers that will be attending the event, so if you're planning on streaming the event, let me know!

• Contributing in-game prizes: One of the ways that we encourage donations to the Rainbow Railroad fundraiser is by doing raffles of in-game prizes. In the past, this has included legendaries, rare materials and fancy skins! If you can contribute anything that you think might be a cool prize, get in touch!

• Spreading the word: The most important thing to any event is visibility! If you can spread the word to your friends, your guild, your grandma, your estranged cousins, share the event on social media, talk about it at brunch with your co-workers, explain it to your cat! For quick information, here's a promo image you can share! If you want to get involved, either as a guild or as an individual, the best way to do that is to join our discord at tyriapride.com/discord and get in touch there, or contact me in-game at Lelling.6795 via in-game mail!

I also want to give a very special shoutout to ❤ Gamers Giving Back ❤ who are supporting the event with both volunteers on NA side and prizes, for the fourth year in a row! GGB are not only great supporters of Tyria Pride, but also organise other in-game charity fundraisers throughout the year such as the Pink Day in LA cancer fundraiser in October and the MS Toga Party for multiple sclerosis! Check out their amazing work at gamergivingback.org!

■ Fundraiser

But wait! We're not just talking the talk, we're also walking the walk, and we want to create actual change and improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people worldwide, so we are, as always, running a fundraiser for Rainbow Railroad, an organisation focused on helping LGBTQ+ individuals escape persecution and violence.

We'll be posting the fundraiser closer to June, as well as sharing it on other social media, so keep an eye out! Just like every year, those donating to the fundraiser will be able to participate in raffles to receive both in-game and out-of-game rewards!

■ Contact

If you have any questions about the event, feel free to ask them here on this post! I'll be checking it regularly and doing my best to reply to any questions! You can also join the Tyria Pride in-game guild, but note that the guild is inactive throughout the year, and is only used as an infopoint to let people know about this particular event. If you're looking for an active LGBTQ+ guild, the Tyria Pride event itself and our discord are a great place to look!

In-game contact: Lelling.6795

Tyria Pride discord: tyriapride.com/discord

#Guild Wars 2 #gw2 #Pride Month #event #calendar updates

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favoniuscodex · 3 years

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voice lines!!!

ok !!! here are nell’s voice lines (a lot are utc bc this got long)

▶ Hello - Pleasure to meet you! I’m Nell and I’m a reporter for the Teyvat Times. I heard you have a story for me? Are you willing to share? C’mon, please?

▶ Chat: Sidekick - Want to join me? I’ve always wanted a little sidekick on my adventures! All the cool heroes and stuff always have one! Granted, I don’t really have a secret identity that requires one...

▶ Chat: Truth - The world will reveal its secrets to those who are willing to find them. As for everyone else, well… they’ll just read the newest expose I post in the Teyvat Times!

▶ Chat: Leads - We can’t sniff out a new lead and answers if we’re just standing around. Just… give me a second to fix my Kamera.

▶ When It Rains - Rain or shine, the news must carry on! Just… Can you hold the umbrella while I take pictures? If the lens gets wet, it blurs the photographs.

▶ When Thunder Strikes - Haha, spooky! Hopefully we don’t get electrocuted… that would be rather inconvenient.

▶ When It Snows - It doesn’t often snow back in Fontaine, but I always enjoyed when the rivers would freeze over as a kid. I just wonder what happens to the fish. Do they freeze too?

▶ When the Sun Is Out - Beautiful weather makes the job easier! I’m usually stuck inside interviewing people all day, so I’ll gladly take this moment to soak up some sun… maybe even close my eyes for a few minutes… sit under a tree… sleep… *yawn* Oh? Was I dozing off? I can’t doze off now! There’s a festival today downtown. I should report on that instead!

▶ Good Morning - Rise and shine, darling! Evil lurks in the night and while you and I might not vanquish it, we can at least report on the aftermath! Oh..? I’m a bit too eager to find out what atrocities happened in the night..? Hm. Maybe...

▶ Good Night - Night time already? If you really insist, I suppose I can wind down. But, uh, wake me up if you hear any weird noises! If it’s any bugs though, you’re on your own.

▶ About Nell: Persistence - Growing up, my mother always told me that persistence is key to achieving your dreams! Therefore, if someone says “no” to an interview, you can ask them approximately 11.852 more times on average before they start threatening you with a restraining order! Never give up… except when the law requires it!

▶ About Nell: Reporting - Some say reporters are opportunistic fiends who only seek to further their own careers and line their pockets with Mora. Me? Do I lie? Well… my name isn’t actually Nell, it’s Eleonora… so I guess I lie sometimes, but I promise to only tell the truth and help others in my reporting! I swear!

▶ About Us: Interview - Wow, you can fight really well! Wait… you’re the Outlander? The one who defeated Tartaglia? The one who stopped Stormterror? The one who helped the Qixing fight against Osial? Oh my archons, Nell, contain your excitement! Sorry, sorry, I was getting carried away… could I interview you? Pretty please?

▶ About Us: Compatibility - Ah, you’re so cool, Traveler! With you, drama always seems to follow. I think that makes us a great pair! So, what do you want me to report on next..? Your missing sibling..? Oh. Of course! Who doesn’t love a good reunion story? I’ll gladly help!

▶ About the Vision - I bet you probably weren’t expecting me to have a Vision! Well… neither was I. A lot of people tend to have powerful reasons as to why they have their Visions and why they use them but I kinda just found mine in the way I find any other new story… by accident. Nonetheless, a great reporter uses every tool at their disposal and if a Vision was granted to me, then I’ll be sure to wield it with pride!

▶ Something to Share: Lineage - My family name is not one of great prestige, nor are my family members anything worth writing home about. I believe that the life of someone should not be dictated by who they are related to, but rather how they choose to make a name for themselves. People who hide behind the prestige of their names are often cowards and yet they often have the best sources for my news. You win some, you lose some, I guess.

▶ Something to Share: Fontaine - Want to know a secret? Don’t tell anyone this, okay? I’m not a very strong swimmer. I’m kind of scared of water, despite my Vision!

▶ Interesting Things - I break my Kamera a lot, but mechanics are expensive. If you ever break yours, I can probably fix it for you! You won’t have to pay me for anything. Just... please don’t charge me if I accidentally break it even further, haha.

▶ About Albedo - Albedo? Haha… He’s rather cute. Plus, he always listens when I talk to him! ... I think. I can never tell if I’m actually holding his attention or not… But, he thinks reporters are dumb, therefore he is dumb. I don’t care how many alchemic achievements he finds. Someone who cannot understand how important news is is someone that I cannot respect.

▶ About Amber - Outrider Amber is lovely! She’s one of the few people in the town who actually listens to all I have to say. It’s amazing, really. Everyone loves her, even standoffish Eula! If you ever need help from the Knights, Amber is probably your best bet!

▶ About Rosaria - Y’know, at first, I wasn’t quite sure if Sister Rosaria liked me. Now? … Well, I’m still not very certain. I’m nervous to talk about her. She seems like the type to have a weird sixth sense for this type of thing. She does save me when I get into trouble, though! For a while I thought she was the Darknight Hero, but I realized that Rosaria is… Ah, forget it! Let’s just say I owe her one.

▶ About Diluc: Darknight Hero - The Darknight Hero is one of the most interesting stories I’ve covered in a long time! It’s taken me down a long path of getting to know people, especially Master Diluc of Dawn Winery. Kaeya was helpful enough to point him out as a potential source on the topic. No, Diluc isn’t the Darknight Hero, silly. He just knows a guy who knows a guy, that’s all.

▶ About Diluc: Comradery -At first, I could have sworn Diluc hated me! But apparently, he’s just like that with everyone. Now, I’d say we’re pretty good friends… I think? I’m never quite sure where I stand with him. He’s both open yet awkward around me at the same time… But, he ultimately has been helpful with some of my reporting. If it was up to me, I’d say we’re the best of friends! Please don’t tell him I said that though, he’d probably say I’ve had too much to drink and cut me off for the night.

▶ About Diluc: Love - Love? Why are you asking me about Diluc and love? Gods, both you and Kaeya are insufferable about this. Wait, what? You think Diluc has a crush on me? There’s no possible way a guy like him would give me a second glance! You and Kaeya are awful about this… stop teasing me. Diluc is the type to have whole newspapers dedicated to him and me..? Well, I’m just a reporter, that’s all. Oh? You’re asking if I like him? Well, um… that’s classified information!

▶ About Lisa - Lisa makes me wish I ran a gossip column instead! Conversation with her is never dull and somehow she knows everything about everyone. Afternoon tea consists of tea in more ways than one!

▶ About Jean - The Acting Grand Master of Mondstadt is far more gracious to me than most political figures are. However, I can’t help but feel as if I’m intruding whenever I speak to her. She’s sweet, but she just seems like she has a lot on her plate and even I don’t want to add any more to that.

▶ About Keqing - The Yuheng is a very respectable figure, but if she’s at any Qixing press conference, you’re almost guaranteed to get no exciting news. She brushes off any pressing questions by saying they’re “off topic” and “irrelevant”. It’s frustrating, especially when she uses it to evade the things that really matter!

▶ About Xiao - Hey! That’s that dude that lives in Wangshu Inn! Well, I suppose he’s not a dude but rather an immortal adeptus. He’s hellbent on avoiding me. He hates my guts. I just want to interview him about his thousands of years of life! It’ll only take a few days! Why does he keep teleporting away from me? Ugh. Immortals are so haughty.

▶ About Kaeya: Trust - Oh? Captain Kaeya? He’s rather funny and is my closest drinking buddy in Mondstadt. However, don’t try to get any info out of him. He’s full of shi- haha, pardon me, I mean… Um… Kaeya likes to lie. He won’t even tell me the truth in truth or dare! You picked truth, buddy, now fess up! Sorry… I like him, I swear I do! But I guess I shouldn’t expect the truth when I ask him why he has an eyepatch. After all, even I don’t have a wild enough imagination to truly believe he was raised by pirates… although I could cross-reference this with Beidou and see if she has any information...

▶ About Venti - The bard that’s always in Dil- Master Diluc’s tavern? He’s a bit strange and, while his songs are informative, music of that style is a bit noisy and overwhelming to me. However, I do find it incredibly interesting that he looks exactly like the Barbatos statue in front of the cathedral, yet nobody discusses it. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?

▶ About Nell: I - I’m a reporter first and human second! Or… am I a human first and reporter second? I can’t remember what the boss said sounded less creepy… Well, at least I know I’m a reporter and a human!

▶ About Nell: II - Freedom of the press ensures that people always have a voice. Being a reporter can be dangerous, especially if you’re assigned to tempestuous regions like Inazuma, but it’s a job I take pride in. Information must be spread to all so the public can make informed decisions.

▶ About Nell: III - Home? Home is wherever my job takes me! Sometimes its Mondstadt, sometimes its Liyue, sometimes its Snezhnaya… oh. Fontaine? Even though that’s where the Teyvat Times headquarters are and it’s where I grew up, I wouldn’t necessarily call it home. At one point, I would have, but… things change. If I have to settle down anywhere, I would choose the wintry tundra of Snezhnaya before I even think about living in Fontaine again.

▶ About Nell: IV - Growing up, everyone always said I was a free spirit. I’m kind of like the seelies you see around Mondstadt… Yes, I wander, but ultimately I always return to the same path. Am I guarding a treasure? Haha, maybe… if you consider knowledge to be a treasure, that is. Ah, this doesn’t make very much sense, does it? I’ve never been the type to be good at poetry. I’m better off sticking to just facts.

▶ About Nell: V - My end goal..? I’m not quite sure what it is yet. I prefer to live in the moment and inspire others to achieve their dreams. News stories might not always be happy, but interconnectedness with the world allows people to discover what their true calling is. The feeling of the Kamera and notepad in my hands are comfortable enough. If I can help others understand this hectic world, then that’s good enough for me! I’m having a blast doing it, too.

▶ Nell’s Hobbies - Oh, would you like to look at my favorite articles? I have a book filled with articles and photographs of my own creation, including my very first headline article! Isn’t that exciting? It wasn’t too long ago, yet somehow it feels like it's been decades since then.

▶ Nell’s Troubles - I ran out of film again. You wouldn’t happen to have any on you, would you? Otherwise, I’ll have to go see if the gift shop has any in stock...

▶ Favorite Food - I really like spinach salads! It makes me feel like I’m a wild animal foraging for a nice summery meal. What? That’s weird? Sometimes it’s fun to imagine things, no matter how absurd they are.

▶ Least Favorite Food - Soup! I want to eat my food, not drink my food. If I wanted to drink my calories, I would just chug beer all the time like those drunkards who live in the taverns!

#//mail #axia.ocs

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programaticallydelicious · 6 years

Text

Blueshift

INIT: version [Redacted] booting

Error: MOTD missing or invalid. First time startup detected.

Setting clock (utc): Friday Jun 3 11:01:13 TST 2231 - OK Starting udev - OK [additional log cached] > ./ChemSim First time startup detected. Disabling pain receptors. Initiating predefined neural trace.

“Captain,” my first mate shuffled slightly to the side as he spoke, his head tilting back and forth. “The humans have run and hidden in their home system.”

“I don’t blame them. A dozen colonies, completely destroyed in a few hours.” Ruffling my crest slightly, I glanced at the map. An entire swath of our federation, just gone. Like a ‘find the missing piece’ game gone horribly wrong. I think I’ve heard a human describe the feeling as ‘dragging nails across a chalkboard.’

“Well, yeah.” His slow shuffle was dragging him away from his station. Noticing this, he stepped back into place. “But they killed their jump gates too. No in or out.”

“Wouldn’t you?” The starmap was looking awfully red. I didn’t even like the color. I much preferred azure. Probably had something to do with why I had so many exes. Nobody with azure feathers is there for the long haul. It’s not racist, it’s a genetic holdover. Nobody’s fault, really. Except mine for falling into the nest every single time.

“And they’re scrambling FTL jumps in.” My first mate’s flighty shuffling was dragging him away from the console again. I wonder if he would be insulted if I had it ripped out of the floor and put on wheels to follow him.

“Kind of wish we knew how they did that.” I stared at the map some more. One spec of royal in a sea of crimson, with our aqua far to the side. A vacation would be nice. Maybe someplace with a good headwind and a crisp, clean forest.

“You’re ignoring me.” He was halfway across the room, now. That settled it. Tomorrow I put in a work order for maintenance. If he can’t stay at his station, his station will stay with him.

“No, I’m trying to avoid your point. Do you really want to think about the fact that our only allies have dropped out of the war and left us to burn?” The map was making my crest itch again. I turned it off and put something less unsettling on screen. Our lack of reinforcements seemed like a nice, relaxing alternative. Almost soothing, really.

“...no. Not really.” His jittering shuffle stopped for the moment, and he looked around again. I think the fact that he was in the door at this point caught him off guard. Took a moment for him to tamp down the ruffled feathers, too.

“Exactly.” Even that report on not having reinforcements was putting me on edge. I needed something better. The report on what the Calflendil Empire had done to the human colonies won out this time. Rather creative use of chemical and viral weaponry, that. I seem to remember something about the humans having a law against those. Doesn’t seem to have helped their case.

“Captain, that’s another hub, gone.” My first mate’s station was working overtime to keep up with him. I’d have to look into better fuel cells for the poor thing.

“I’m aware.” I glanced at the war map, and cringed. I never liked crimson, but now I hated it. Would rather muck out a grub farm on one of the edge worlds. Well, not like I can do that anymore either. They were all in red for a reason.

“That’s the last of them, you know.” I wonder if he hears the way his crest ruffles every time his head twitches. I think I’ll need to get a professional in for that. I know what it’s like to have your crest rub itself to pieces.

“Yes, it is.” I switched the screen back to the recent loss reports. How many digits was it this time? It only mattered as much as figuring out how close to the next fueling station you could get when you knew you weren’t going to actually get there. So not much at all, really. Especially since you can’t walk in space.

“Any word from the humans?” I think a bit of his crest is stuck in the wheels of his station. That’s gonna be a fun one for maintenance. Probably means it’s not worth salvaging the rest of the feathers.

“You know as well as I. They’ve been holed up in their system for a decade.” One heck of a vacation. Looked like my next vacation was going to be of a permanent sort, though. Oh well. No rest for the wicked. Except the Calflendil soldiers seemed to get plenty of it. Odd, that. You’d think it would be hard to sleep on a mountain of corpses.

“Surprised we’ve held out this long?” His station was beeping. Low battery, I think. Maybe making it follow his nervous shuffle wasn’t the best of ideas. Everyone else on the bridge seemed to appreciate the distraction, though.

“I was hoping it would be longer.” A bit of my crest fluttered past my ears. It had been entirely too long, really. Reminded me of the tail end of a party when everybody knows it’s over but nobody wants to actually call it. I’ve seen some of those last longer than the party itself.

“And our only remaining citadel is-”

“Our homeworld, yes. We’ve lost this war. It was only a matter of time.” Oh good, the beeping stopped. Unfortunately, low battery doesn’t seem to have been the problem. Otherwise, I don’t think his console would be smoking right now. Too bad, really. That said, the lovely patterns the smoke was making on the ceiling were an excellent distraction.

“Captain, this is it. We’re the last of the fleet.” His nervous shuffle at this point was practically a dance. It would probably be quite popular with humans. In point of fact, it actually reminded me of some dances I’d seen them do.

“Indeed.” My crest itched horrendously. Considering it was trying to grow an entirely new set of feathers, itching was about the best I could get. Odd little piece of luck at the end, that.

“Orders?” He’s not even trying to stay still at this point. Good thing I had the console refurbished and put on a hoverpad. Not that he had any crest feathers left either. In fact, nobody on the ship had any left, now that it comes to mind.

“Thrusters to full. At least one more of them is going to regret this day.” I consciously avoided scratching. A captain does not scratch at their crest, even on the brink of death at the end of a protracted, losing war. Decorum and all that. Shame nobody will be around to make note of it. Seems a waste, really.

“Captain?” Odd. His dancing had stopped. I’m not sure when I had last seen his station actually stationary. Since I didn’t have anything better to do at the end, I marked it in the ship’s log. Maybe it’ll confuse a Calflendi scavenger.

“Yes?” I looked away from the ship’s plotted course. Maybe our homeworld’s population counts would make for a more relaxing screen. Almost anything would be better, so long as it wasn’t red.

“The human jump gate. It just came back online.” My first mate was trying to surreptitiously move back to his assigned station. Despite the fact that it was floating right in front of him. Ah well, I suppose habits are habits and all that.

“You’re sure?” I glanced toward the jump gate on our viewscreen. Considering they’d been offline for ten years, not even the Calflendil Empire was bothering to do anything with them. They were probably hoping to find a way to force their way into the human system rather than being forced to use anything subluminal to deal with them.

“Yes, sir.” His shuffling dance started up again as he watched the view screen. Not that I blame him for that. I hadn’t seen that particular shade of electric blue in ten years. The jump gate wasn’t just online again, it was filling every capacitor onboard, including the emergency backups. The Calflendil fleet, obviously, took exception to this and began to fire on it.

Have you ever had a moment where you saw something happen, and it caught you completely off guard even though you knew, logically, that it made sense? That’s what it felt like to me when the now active jump gate started moving out of its orbit, threw up shielding, and started firing on any ships in its way. It’s the most perfectly human design I’ve ever seen. I don’t know if the Calflendil realize exactly how much power those gates use, but that much power thrown into energy weaponry is quite the sight.

And of course, everyone on the bridge was taken by surprise when that familiar blue glow flashed straight out further than the eye could see, and suddenly there were a few thousand human warships in our system. A few thousand human warships with guns already blazing and shields already live. An unexpected but quite welcome lull in the battle. Too bad that a few thousand warships would make as much difference as a single one would for us.

“Captain, the humans. They’re hailing us.” I had to hand it to him, I didn’t think my first mate’s shuffling could be any more pronounced. I set one of the bridge’s cameras to record it. No real reason not to, at this point.

“Put them on.” I stared at the human fleet, surrounding their jump gate. Was it recharging its capacitors again? That was a full human battlegroup that jumped in, probably the last one in existence. What else were they going to bring in, pleasure cruisers?

“I apologize in advance for a lack of protocol, sir. This is Fleet Admiral Lev. Requesting permission to jump battlegroups into your system.” My feet twitched as he spoke. Protocol? On a battlefield? This late in the war? He can take his lack of protocol and shove it up his- wait. Fleet Admiral? That’s not a human rank I’ve heard of before.

“You have the jump gate right there. You’ve already jumped into the system.” I glanced down at my feet and glared at them like the traitors they were. The first mate can do a nervous shuffle if he likes, but the captain cannot.

“You don’t- nevermind. Taking that as permission granted?” My first mate was practically doing a quickstep at this point. I made a mental note to sneak a copy of the video off the ship in the unlikely event that we survived this battle.

“...Yes?” I pulled up the battle report. The human fleet was making inroads against the Calflendil fleet, but it was nothing to wing home over. May as well try to scratch a diamond with your claws, it would be about as effective.

“Good. We’ll fix your planet’s orbit later. Mercury fleet, permission granted to burn the bridge.” Well that stopped my first mate in his tracks. Not that I blame him. I wasn’t aware the jump gates could do that. The blue stretched out beyond sight, and then the entire viewscreen went so bright it disabled visuals for a moment.

Of course, immediately after that, our proximity alarms went off. Warning us that gravitic readings indicated we were about to crash into a planet. A planet! In the middle of a battlefield. As the view of the battle faded back in, I could see why. Millions, maybe billions of human ships. More than every one of their colonies had ever constructed. Shields active, weapons blazing, and engines on full. And our proximity warnings were going off because…

“...Fleet Admiral Lev, that fleet is...its mass is equivalent to-”

“A small planet, yes.” My first mate wasn’t shuffling about at the moment. To be fair, he wasn’t even on his feet anymore. Fell flat on his tailfeathers the moment the screen cleared. Even we had never managed to construct a battlefleet this large. Doing so was absolutely insane. To fair, that’s probably why we were losing to the Calflendil Empire.

“This is Admiral Lev-1 of the Mercury Fleet flagship Cost of Living. Jump successful, jump gate destroyed in process.” Huh, would you look at that. Now that he mentioned it, the jump gate was a glowing, bubbling mass of slag at this point. They had safeties in to prevent overloading those things, I thought.

“Admiral Lev-1, this is Fleet Admiral Lev. Status of the tow?” My first mate’s station was sitting on the floor at this point. The little hoverpad was actually making it glide around in the same general spot, but it couldn’t actually go through the floor.

“Confirmed. Should be here in-” I tried vainly to pat my feathers back down. Puffing up like a frightened child was entirely unseemly. It’s just that...well. The viewscreen was off tint. It was compensating for something. And even then, it was still blue. Brighter and brighter until it turned off again.

And then the proximity alarms kicked into overdrive. Impact imminent, per gravitic readings. As the screen faded back into visibility, I saw why. Another human fleet had jumped in. Their shields glowed as they swarmed through the Calflendil fleet with murder on their wings and death in their wake.

“This is Admiral Lev-2 of the Venus Fleet flagship Victorious Celebration. Tow successful.” Wait, did he say tow? I know our scientists still couldn’t figure out exactly how the human jump gates worked, but that sounded ridiculous, even to me. But...the screen was going blue again.

And of course the alarms went off again. Apparently the ship had determined that the gravitic readings were now indicative of a suicidal approach directly towards an immense planet. Luckily the ship couldn’t just override and autopilot away, I supposed.

“Admiral Lev-4 of the Mars Fleet flagship Righteous Fury. Tow successful.” Mars...Mars. Where had I heard that before? Aha! Wait, no. No, that was it. Mars was Sol-4, right? I pulled up the chart to be sure. Why was the viewscreen still so blue!?

Oh, lovely. The alarms changed again. The ship seems to have decided we’re approaching a dwarf star now. These humans are insane. The only way they’d have been able to make fleets of this mass without an empire to back the construction would be...no. Nobody does that.

“Admiral Lev-5 of the Jupiter Fleet flagship Thunder on High. Tow successful.” The viewscreen faded back into visibility as Admiral Lev...Five? Spoke into the channel. I thought Lev was Fleet Admiral? There wasn’t much point looking at the viewscreen. I wouldn’t be able to even guess at the number of ships the humans were fielding right now, and the blue was hurting my eyes.

And now the proximity warnings were just on full blast. Seems the ship had given up entirely on categorizing whatever’s in front of us. This wasn’t even a battle anymore. It’s like if a platoon of soldiers decided to take particular exception to a single yearling for some choice words provided about their clutchmates.

“Admiral Lev-6 of the Saturn Fleet flagship Time and Again. Tow successful.” I glanced at the target tracking system. Everything was marked as either scuttled or human. Not a single Calfendil ship remained. And the blue glow was still there. There were no stars beyond the battle, just an eerie sapphire blue.

“Admiral Lev-7 of the Uranus Fleet flagship Heritage. Tow successful.” Looking at the battle report my ship was generating, I decided it wasn’t even worth letting it finish. The ship totals had broken the counter. And the blue glow wasn’t going away. The human fleets were all breaking apart and approaching other jump gates they had built in our system, bringing them online.

“Admiral Lev-8 of the Neptune Fleet flagship Storm at Sea. Tow successful.” I stared at what was left of the Calflendil fleet. The ships weren’t just disabled, they weren’t just destroyed. They had been utterly annihilated. And the humans were staging impossibly large fleets in front of their old jump network.

“Admiral Lev-9 of the Pluto Fleet flagship Regret and Sorrow. Tow successful.” I closed my eyes for a moment, and rested my head against the console in front of me. Decorum be damned. The humans had saved us. Even the Calflendil Empire couldn’t field this many ships, and if the blue was any indicator, they still had more coming in.

“Admiral Lev-10 of the Eris Constructor Fleet flagship Strife. Tow successful.” I looked back up and eyed the screen again. Constructor Fleet? That was different from the rest. And, praise the winds, the blue was finally fading.

“Admiral Lev-11 of the Ceres Constructor Fleet flagship Renewal. Tow successful.” As I watched, the viewscreen faded back to normal. I don’t think I’d ever been so happy to see stars before. Those simple little points of light, pinholes to the cosmos.

“This is Fleet Admiral Lev. The Pantheon has assembled.” I clicked my talons at that. Such a simple way of saying they had just jumped most of the mass of a star system - as a battle fleet.

“You know your orders. Mercury through Pluto are to burn the web and recapture our colonies - “ Burn the web, he said. The Calflendil were in for a nasty shock, I thought. Nothing like having ten years of territory acquisition undone in a few hours.

“Eris Constructor fleet is to split among the battle pantheon and perform repairs and maintenance.” One hell of a repair fleet, if you ask me. Billions of ships, maybe more. Absolutely ridiculous, really. What were they going to do, build another one of these fleets?

“Eris Constructor Fleet, you have permission to add to the Pantheon as necessary.” My talons started to itch. Insane, the lot of them. Absolutely insane. At least they’re our allies.

“Ceres Constructor Fleet is to stay in this system and reclaim the battlefield. We have friends to care for, after all.” Care for, he said! As though we were the yearlings new to the stage and humans had been here before us. Not that it matters, I suppose. In their little ten year vacation, they had managed to...well. Their fleets could defend an entire empire while waging a five front war, from what we’ve seen of our neighbors.

“Captain Iverns’tla, do you understand me?” The voice was odd, almost filtered. Ah, of course. It was entirely digital.

“Yes.” Oh yes, of course I understood. It’s not like I hadn’t just been forced to relive some of the most charged memories I possessed. Not like I hadn’t been briefed on what would happen if I made this choice. Warned, over and over.

“All diagnostics have been performed and cleared. Are you aware of what happened?” What happened was so absurd only a human could suggest it. Suicide by brainscan, in exchange for the opportunity to defend my home and people well beyond my lifetime.

“Yes.” Yes, indeed. Clearly, it had worked exactly as well as the humans had stated. I was the first of my kind. I was the first of my line. My entire crew had volunteered for the procedure after the humans told us how they fielded so many ships so quickly. So many more ships than there were humans, in fact.

“All right, captain. Welcome to the eternal navy. We look forward to your service.”

#science fiction #humans are weird #space australia #aliens #writing practice

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kanerboo · 6 years

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basically @nuuclearshow showed me this and my first reaction was: “time to break out yet another first gentleman of canada ficlet!!”

so, here it goes~ also i feel like i have to thank justin trudeau for like, giving me so much material to work with for PM toews...

Whenever Christmas comes around, Patrick knows to expect that his adopted country’s going to come up with a slew of ridiculous merchandise featuring his husband. Two years ago, Hallmark debuted a range of Christmas cards with pictures of Jonny wearing Santa hats, riding moose (also equipped with Santa hats), and giving out presents. Last Christmas, some tech start-up started selling mugs that, on first glance, looked like plain white coffee mugs, but a picture of Jonny grinning and holding a miniature Christmas tree would appear once the mug was filled with a hot liquid. Both items sold out within days.

Basically, Patrick’s often thought that they ought to maybe trademark Jonny’s image and make a ton of money while they’re at it.

But this year - this year, Canada may just have outdone itself with regards to terrible Christmas-slash-Prime Minister merchandise.

---

Patrick thinks the Toewster may be a joke at first.

“You have got to be joking,” he sputters, looking up at Jonny. He’s trying so hard not to laugh that he’s crumpling the brochure he’s holding - the promotional brochure from Canadian Tire that Jonny had casually handed to him just as he’d stepped out of the bathroom after his shower.

“It’s for charity,” Jonny insists for the hundredth time. “It’s fine, it’s - “

“It’s your face toasted on a piece of bread,” Patrick says.

“It’s charitable!” Jonny says. “At least it’s better than - than all that stuff from Hallmark or whatever. At least proceeds from this toaster go towards making sports accessible for children who might not otherwise have the resources for it - “

“Oh my god, Jonny,” Patrick says - and he can’t help it, he’s starting to break into helpless, high-pitched giggles. “You just. Oh god. You’re so earnest about this. About this fucking toaster.”

“Charity, Pat,” Jonny repeats, and even through his tear-filled mirth, Patrick can see Jonny starting to grit his teeth, his face taking on that mulish look he gets when he thinks he’s absolutely in the right and Patrick’s being an asshole. “It’s for a good cause. It’s for kids.”

And yeah, maybe Patrick’s being a bit of a dick about this; when your husband’s the Prime Minister and patron of a dozen charities, he perhaps could find better things to laugh at. Like the damn butter sculpture, for one - he still hasn’t let Jonny live that one down.

“Okay, okay,” he says, tossing the brochure aside and going over to Jonny to wind his arms around his neck. “I’m sorry for laughing. It’s just - I mean - couldn’t they have thought of something better than your face on toast?”

“Gretzky got a toaster too,” Jonny says stubbornly, his ears reddening.

“Oh, well, if Gretzky got one, I suppose it’s fine for the Prime Minister to get one too,” he says, and tiptoes to peck Jonny sweetly on the lips. “I’m sorry, babe. No more badmouthing your - your Toewster, I promise.”

“Don’t even, Pat,” Jonny warns; but he kisses Patrick back, so all in all, Patrick guesses his feelings aren’t too hurt after all.

---

Patrick secretly places an order for the Toewster the day it’s launched; he’s glad he did, because it sells out in hours.

And if he maybe intends to make Jonny breakfast in bed on Christmas morning, with the help of the toaster and Jonny’s favourite gluten-free bread - so he can have the singular pleasure of watching Jonny grumpily eat his own face - well, that’s his own business. It’s for charity, after all.

---

But then Patrick discovers the wall calendar. That’s being sold on Amazon. The calendar with twelve photographs of his husband (half of them topless), called the My Canadian Boyfriend Jonathan Toews Wall Calendar.

And that is it, Patrick is absolutely done. One moment he’s innocently scrolling through his Instagram feed, and the next moment he’s staring at a post from Buzzfeed plugging the calendar. The best part is the sheer number of likes (over eight thousand), and nearly four hundred comments, most of which seem to be from women discussing how hot and perfect Jonny is and how they’re so 100% definitely buying this calendar. Good lord.

Jonny finds him like that, curled into a ball on their bed and wheezing with laughter, tears rolling down his cheeks. “What’s the matter?” he asks, sounding slightly alarmed.

Patrick waves his iPad at him. “I can’t,” he chokes out.

Jonny takes the iPad from him and says almost immediately, “What the fuck is this shit.”

Amazon’s kindly provided several preview photos of the calendar, and August features a particularly steamy picture of Jonny wakeboarding in a skimpy, skintight pair of black trunks while they were at Lake of the Woods several summers ago. The picture was taken by Patrick himself and uploaded to his Instagram; apparently the calendar publishers had been thorough in going through his social media, tabloid long-lens photos, and official news pictures of Jonny at black tie events.

Patrick watches Jonny’s face darken as he swipes through all the photos, and he just can’t help it; he starts laughing again.

“What is - oh for god’s sake, people have too much time on their hands,” Jonny says, tossing the iPad onto the bed.

“I’m quite surprised they didn’t make it a full topless porn calendar, considering the number of times the paps have caught you sauntering around Lake of the Woods almost naked,” Patrick says, trying to get his laughter under control.

Jonny scowls; in his first couple of years as Prime Minister, before he’d really understood the depths to which tabloids would sink to get some scandalous pictures of him, he was constantly being papped at Lake of the Woods and out on his boat with Patrick. There are still some pretty NSFW photographs of them both making out with Jonny in next to nothing - exhibitionist that he is - floating around on the internet, despite Jonny’s best efforts and lawsuits.

He’d found it a complete invasion of privacy and an utter outrage - which, yeah, it is, but Patrick personally has zero issues with showing his super hot husband off to the world - and quite literally laid down the law. A comprehensive overhaul of privacy laws later, they’re finally left in peace on their yearly visits to the lake, and at least Jonny gets to walk around completely naked now like he likes, no shorts or fabric in the way, and that is something Patrick appreciates immensely.

“Don’t be mad,” he tells Jonny, picking the iPad up and swiping to the photo where he’s kayaking, his back to Patrick’s camera, although he’s looking back over his shoulder and smiling at something Patrick’s saying. Patrick can’t even remember what that was about, but he can’t be blamed; he’s pretty distracted by the array of muscles rippling across Jonny’s back, even now. “Look - hotness like this totally should be on wall calendars. Pinned up on walls of teenage girls and gay men across the country, et cetera.”

Jonny’s still frowning, but a corner of his mouth twitches upwards. “Oh, you think I’m hot,” he drawls.

“There’s a reason I married you, and it’s not because you were going to be a politician,” Patrick says, grinning.

Jonny yanks the iPad out of his hands and puts it on the bedside table before he climbs over Patrick’s body, pressing him into the bed with his body weight. “Oh I see, you just want me for my body,” he says; and he’s starting to actually look smug, the asshole.

“I mean, there may be a couple of other things,” Patrick says consideringly.

Jonny snorts. “Yeah, sure,” he says, and then he’s tangling his fingers in Patrick’s curls, tilting his head and leaning down to kiss him, nice and slow and deep.

(If Patrick hadn’t been in such a teasing mood, he may have added that there’s, in fact, too many other things; way too many to list. Things like: the way Jonny looks at his desk with his glasses on, as he puzzles over yet another piece of urgent legislature; or making a televised speech on Canada Day, all seriousness and efficiency; or when he goes down on one knee to speak to a shy child at eye level, resting a big hand gently on the child’s back.

There are so many reasons he wants and loves Jonny; and sometimes, it’s easier to just laugh and tease him about his ridiculous country and the ridiculous things they do for him, or his heart might just explode a little.)

---

Patrick greets Jonny on Christmas morning with a smile, a kiss, and a (literal, actual) silver platter of food. He’d insisted on preparing everything on the tray himself, down to the small vase with a sprig of holly placed nicely beside the enormous plate. There are gluten-free pancakes with a little dispenser of maple syrup, baked beans (opened from a can - Patrick has absolutely no idea how to make baked beans from scratch), eggs, maple bacon, sausage, sauteed mushrooms, and of course, in pride of place, two slices of toast with Jonny’s face seared into them, alongside a pat of butter in a little dish.

All in all, Patrick’s pretty proud of his handiwork.

“What the hell is this,” Jonny says, voice hoarse with sleep, struggling upright.

“Happy Christmas, love you too,” Patrick says brightly. Jonny blinks down at the tray on his lap.

“You made me breakfast?”

“Yep.”

“You - you bought the toaster?”

“The Toewster. Yep.”

“Patrick, oh my god, why would you - “

“It’s for charity,” Patrick reminds him, and grins when he sees Jonny visibly swallowing.

“Pat,” Jonny says, “please tell me you didn’t buy the other - thing. The calendar.”

“Yep,” Patrick repeats cheerfully, and pulls it out - rolled into a tube and tied with a giant red bow.

Jonny puts his face in his hands. “I don’t know why I put up with you.”

“Because you love me,” Patrick says, and tugs Jonny’s hands down. Jonny’s absolutely red, from his forehead down to his neck, and god, Patrick loves him, even if he spends half his time trying to annoy him.

“You’re not getting your Christmas gift,” Jonny says.

Patrick rolls his eyes. “I know exactly what I’m getting - a hand-knitted Christmas sweater from Andree, a vacation when you can get the time off, something nice I can use that’s monogrammed with my initials, and some awesome sex.”

Jonny’s eyes start bulging. “How - who told you what you’d get?” he sputters.

“No one,” Patrick sighs. “No one has to. I get the same things from you every year, babe. Not that I mind,” he adds quickly as Jonny’s flush grows deeper. “But this is why you love me. Because I’m the one who brings all the fun and surprise in this relationship.”

“Sure, fun,” Jonny grumbles, staring down at his toast. His face on his toast.

Patrick kisses him again. “Stop being a Christmas scrooge and wipe that frown off your face and eat. I slaved two hours in the kitchen for this. And maybe after this, you can get your real present.”

“I better get a proper one,” Jonny says, but he brightens visibly, and picks up his cutlery.

Patrick makes sure to get a photo of him sinking his teeth into the buttered toast, looking extremely long-suffering and put-upon, but the tweet he posts with it becomes his most-favourited tweet of the entire year.

He also makes sure to reward Jonny’s long-sufferingness by riding him later until his thighs are sore, and then presenting him with a Vacheron Constantin watch engraved with their initials and a maple leaf on the back, which Jonny declares to be the best gift ever, so basically Patrick’s secure in the knowledge that he gives Jonny the best Christmases, all of Jonny’s bitching notwithstanding.

#hockey rpf #my fic #first gentleman of canada #i'm ngl i am quite in love with this 'verse #1988 #i hope people enjoy the adventures of PM toews and the first gentleman as much as i do

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phgq · 3 years

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Filipinas turn to bullet journaling to make 2021 more manageable

#PHnews: Filipinas turn to bullet journaling to make 2021 more manageable

MANILA – It's no secret that most plans have been canceled or put on hold as a result of the pandemic. Being stuck indoors for the most part, the days felt pretty much the same. Months of living under uncertain times is taking a toll on people's mental health. Apart from talking to a friend or an expert, more Filipinos are turning to bullet journaling to make life more productive and meaningful.

Bullet journaling, created by American digital product designer and author Ryder Carroll, is meant to help people manage their lives as well as document their thoughts. It’s designed to fulfill small, actionable tasks like making to-do lists while at the same time decluttering your mind by listing down personal notes.

In social media, the hashtag #bulletjournal or #bujo would show photos of journal spreads that are either minimalist or artistic. Regardless of how your bullet journal looks, it’s more important to make sure that it gives you a clear picture as to how you're investing time and energy.

Here's how some Filipinas utilized bullet journaling to get their life together:

Nizza Gueco, 33, a freelance writer and owner of online stationery shop "Pluzzle by Nizza", said bullet journaling has helped her stay focused at the tasks at hand to avoid feeling stressed out.

“It made me less workaholic and more focused on each task. Dati kasi basta may gagawin pa, gagawin ko dapat agad kaya na buburn-out (I used to be the type of person who would do tasks right away, that’s why I get burned out). I’m the type of person na maraming gustong gawin (who has a lot of goals),” she told Philippine News Agency in an interview.

Although she had many things to get done, Nizza said she would end up not having accomplished anything because of getting distracted with other thoughts. Her bullet journal has helped her overcome this challenge.

“Bullet journaling helped me compartmentalize every aspect of my life kaya mas naha-handle ko daily schedule ko, (that’s why I can handle my daily schedule better),” she added.

GROWTH. Nizza’s journal spread goes by the theme “growth” which contains drawings of decorative house plants. The green colors in her spread may also be associated with wealth and stability. (Photo courtesy of Nizza Gueco)

Nizza would describe her bullet journal design and theme as functional. She believes that one doesn’t necessarily have to be artistic to start the practice.

“Bullet journaling is not about being artistic and having the prettiest spread. Your bullet journal is yours and is supposedly for your eyes only. So even if you are not as artistic as the artists you see on Pinterest and YouTube, if your bullet journal serves its purpose and helps you navigate through your life better, then that is what is important,” she said.

This year, Nizza hopes her stationery shop would be able to reach more people so that she could share her love for art and crafts to like-minded individuals.

"This may sound plastic or cliche, but in all honesty, I love journaling so much and this is where I found my happiness. To do that though, I need to make it sustainable," she said.

Just like a friend

Mikaella Ericka Cea, 18, a second-year nursing student, is new to the #bujo trend. She said she started taking journaling more seriously at the start of the pandemic.

She said she doesn't allow herself to get intimidated or pressured by journal spreads with daily or weekly logs. For Mikaella, the bullet journal should be treated as a “friend” she enjoys spending time with.

“Bullet journaling is meant to be messy and not-so-organized after all. Apart from tracking your progress, to-dos, achievements, and other things that you want to pursue, it is meant to be a tool to know yourself better,” she said.

PASTEL PALETTE. A retro anime theme with pink, blue, and purple pastel palettes in Mikaella’s journal spread evoke romance and femininity. (Photo courtesy of Mikaella Ericka Cea)

Mikaella also noted that it’s enough to be able to see how she has improved through time and celebrate the little victories such as getting better grades.

“When I see that I’m making even a small progress every day, that alone makes me productive and motivated to continue doing what makes me happy. Bullet journaling has also become a stress reliever to me, so whenever I browse my past spreads, I just realize that there’s so much more to do for myself to improve in different aspects, may it be in terms of art or academics,” she said.

As a self-proclaimed noodles lover, Mikaella also included a page dedicated to the number of times she eats noodles in a year.

Mikaella is looking forward to being able to manage her time wisely so that she would have more time for her hobbies.

"I want to finish the semester with good grades, at the same time, I also want to have more time for art despite my busy schedule," she said.

Goal-oriented

Recognizing how she would sometimes feel “lost” amid life’s uncertainties, Mara Villaflor, 27, an internal bank auditor, said her bullet journal serves as a reminder to work hard to achieve her short and long-term goals.

“I’m actually the type of person that feels lost when I can’t see what I need to do for the day, week, or month so my bullet journal has helped me align my thoughts and keep me on track especially during my current work-from-home setup,” she said.

Mara loves doodling, so her bullet journal has also helped her unleash her inner artist. Like most enthusiasts, she would also decorate her journal spreads using stickers and washi tape.

“Although I’m not very good at drawing, I like doodling on my journals. It makes it more personal and sometimes helps me express what I want to say,” she said.

If you’re interested in starting a bullet journal, Mara, said that consistency is key.

“Bullet journaling may take some of your time. With how busy life is, time may come that you forget to do your spreads of update your journals. Setting schedules on when you update and create spreads help a last,” she said.

ILLUMINATING. In choosing to decorate her journal spread with vibrant yellow colors, Mara hopes to start the year with positivity. (Photo courtesy of Mara Villaflor)

No matter how busy you are, she said taking five to 15 minutes a day to jot down on your bullet journal can do wonders.

“Bullet journals don’t need to be perfect, so just do whatever you want with your spreads. You are allowed to make mistakes and correct them,” she added, nothing she would give the same advice when it comes to life.

Personal satisfaction

Ruth Abinan, 30, a former hotel membership services officer, uses her bullet journal an outlet to clear up jumbled thoughts in her mind.

“When I was still working, I would seldom write on it because of my schedule. But since I’m currently between jobs, write on it every day to keep me sane during this pandemic,” she said. ‘

She gets her inspiration from the art of influencer and calligraphy artist Abbey Sy and vlogger and content creator Kaila Ocampo also known as rainbowholic.

Aside from being a part to-do-list and diary, her bullet journal has also helped her keep track of her sleep schedule, menstrual cycle, and spending habits.

Sometimes, she also uses it to keep track of books she has read and wants to read as well as movies and series she has watched and wants to watch because it gives her personal satisfaction.

In the distant future, Ruth would want to be able to run her own business. For now, she’ll work on saving up enough money.

CHILD-AT-HEART. Ruth has opted for a Disney-themed journal spread to unleash her inner child. (Photo courtesy of Ruth Abinan)

Bullet journaling could be a great addition to any self-care routine. All you need is a blank or dot grid journal and a no-bleed pen. You can also use watercolor, stickers, washi tape, or any other art materials available.

In the words of Lewis Caroll, what matters most is to “take the time to identify the things that interest us and think of ways to pursue them.” (PNA)

***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Filipinas turn to bullet journaling to make 2021 more manageable." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1126932 (accessed January 11, 2021 at 10:38PM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Filipinas turn to bullet journaling to make 2021 more manageable." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1126932 (archived).

#Philippines #News #Filipino #Pinoy #Tourism #Politics #Culture #Editorial #Environment #Society #History

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asfeedin · 4 years

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Here’s your stupid horoscope made by smart AI

Apparently there are still some people who believe that horoscopes are legitimate. I’d like to sell each of them a share in the Brooklyn bridge (and direct them to some of our science articles here on TNW). But now is definitely not the time to be pissing off potential readers. So I’m meeting them halfway instead.

I made OpenAI’s GPT-2 (one of the world’s most advanced AI-powered text generators) spit out horoscopes for all 12 zodiac signs. Accomplishing this was actually quite easy. I went to the Talk To Transformer website where programmer Adam King maintains an interactive version of GPT-2 and entered “What is my horoscope for” prompts for each sign.

It works like this:

youtube

GPT-2 isn’t always coherent. In the video above it’s generating nonsense and gibberish. And that’s why, when I was generating the horoscopes below, I was tempted to just keep smashing the “generate another” button until something funny, clever, or shocking came out. But, since literally anything GPT-2 spits out will be equally as accurate as any human-generated horoscope, I decided it would be a waste of everyone’s time to do that.

Instead, what you’re about to see are twelve completely unedited “horoscopes,” generated by entering the same “What is my horoscope for” prompt for each zodiac sign. The only time I pressed the “generate” button more than once was for Cancer, and that’s because it spit out some morbid stuff about disease that didn’t seem appropriate right now.

Anyway, we hope you enjoy this stupid horoscope made by smart AI.

Scorpio:

Horus (Scorpio), the lord of hell, is the number one wizard in this lesson. Does that mean he is the most powerful being in the universe? Definitely. Maybe in your life, too. But scorpio’s is the only alchemy of hope available to anyone of the twelve zodiacal signs.

Aries:

Author’s note: You’ll notice in the quote below that this is a horoscope for Pisces despite the fact I asked it for Aries. Apparently, if you’re an Aries, the AI‘s advice is to become a Pisces instead.

As the astrological sign of Pisces, you might be nervous about your relationship with your husband/wife, your feeling that your friends need attention and perhaps looking forward to the time when your self-esteem could recover a bit after a stressful week or two. This is normal, and this is fine!

As a Pisces, you are very close to others, you might feel a little restless and overwhelmed, and you are good at following people around in life. If you want to get more personal, read our article on the 13 notes of your birth chart.

Leo:

Leo is always looking for new things to be doing or have to do so it can further evolve as an individual. I feel it will be the time for a more intensive working load in the days ahead of me. I will be home-bound from March 8th. So until then I will do all my activities home based so you may not be seeing me for a few weeks.

Please do come visit, and to anyone who will be in my near future, this email is a prompt and dear request.

Yours Sincerely,

Author’s note: In the above quote, GPT-2 followed “Yours Sincerely” with a Twitter username that actually appears to belong to a real person. We purposely omitted it from this article, but thought it was noteworthy enough to mention.

Cancer:

See the sun after a period of deep darkness

Have a gift of comedy and take it out on others

Shout it from the top of your lungs

Bring forth as much pain as you think is needed

Put your faith in love and your faith in God

Treat people with kindness and don’t be rude

Shout your defiance from your rooster

Finish what you start. It’ll be easier to continue when you start

Get results with every first thing you do

Promote peace and unity wherever you can

By my hand I give life to everything, and every thing in turn gives life to me

Forget love, all that

Pisces

Due to the fact that my being a spiritual person, I have such a connection to other spiritual entities that for me the planets of the zodiac are a source of comfort for me. In the past I have a ‘relationship’ with Saturn and Venus. However I can’t justify having a relationship with other planets because they are not really in your field of vision. My life will only have meaning if the universe says my life’s work matters.

Aqours is all I can do for pisces – what does it mean to me?

I am your energy of hope! Let your touch permeate into my heart and radiates your love. I am yours and I am yours too.

Taurus

A horoscope means a glimpse into the future and depends on different factors like your birth date, the colour of the moon, the cycles of your moon, some life circumstances and your own values and temperament. Even the address on your birth certificate is a very important one.

For a person born under the sign of the Roman god Taurus, the phases of the moon are seen as more negative than for a person born under the sign of the sun, for example. Your last lunar phase, called the New Moon, is the moment that your Moon Phase indicates most strongly. (That’s why a crescent Moon will always represent the New Moon.)

What signs are associated with astrology?

Sagittarius

You are energetic and passionate about life and your deepest desires. Your powerful intuition and vitality are infectious. Feelings of worthlessness and arrogance exist within you. If you feel drained, do not hesitate to seek help. Some aspects of your horoscope are higher than others. The Ascendant means to create and nurture life. They will have a higher responsibility. Empathy, optimism, sociability, and a willingness to feel helpless are your best traits. Know yourself and your best self.

Capricorn

You value the gentle and approachable aspects of life. You are extremely intuitive, likely to feel thoughts and feelings as immediate as your breath. This part of your personality tends to express itself in relationships through the support of others. Because your ambition has always come first, you will not hesitate to let others have their way. In order to express your full potential in life, you will have to approach any situation with tact and skill.

Gemini

A major chart reveal or astrological revelation can never happen at any other time than at this age. It’s important to remember that since the age of 22, your horoscope has been preparing you for this date. If your total and life-long horoscope have released a forecast of having a boy as a partner, that could be because your high school sweetheart graduated, or if your future partner or future husband is still in high school.

Featuring so many unique qualities about you, it is the responsibility of the astrologer to bring to light these talents and talents worth experiencing!

How was your horoscope revealed?

It can be difficult for some astrologers to think.

Virgo

At this time, Scorpio is your ruler and Jupiter your friend, be they as great or as small as they may be. During the course of your life, you will have to turn and face both of them in order to remain self-sufficient. Fortunately for you, that can be done.

If the case arises that Scorpio is in conjunction with your Mercury – meaning Jupiter is in conjunction with your Sun – you should begin to look out for the influence that your Karmic tendencies hold for you. The placement of Jupiter in your sign may influence how important your personality is to you, as well as the strengths and weaknesses you have in dealing with other people.

Libra

The bright, radiant, adventurous personality of Libra is her greatest strength. Her loyalty and intimacy are palpable, and she is able to trust perfectly. Her heart is ruled by passion, but her emotions are often very tender, trying to find harmony. This allows her to know that other people matter and is the great strong master of balancing moods.

Libra’s desire to maintain balance and harmony and to be guided by the stars are very strong. A naturally good speaker and a well-spoken public speaker, Libra expresses her thought and ideas as accurately and subtly as she can. In practical terms, this means that Libra usually wants to improve the lives of others.

Aquarius

Cancer

Current position:

Starting vocation:

Potential aspiration:

Sign of passage:

Perception of negativity:

Self-actualization:

Constellation:

This is the Aquarian Age of Perseverance. You want to be a strong person, but you need to learn not to be too conscious about being a strong person.

Your greatest fantasies:

Dreams/Life goals:

They may be abstract ideas or life lessons.

Childhood personas:

Sources of inspiration:

Television, movies, books, newspapers, etc.

Consciousness’ side:

Sorry about that last one. Evidently being an Aquarius involves a lengthy acceptance process. On the bright side, at least you’re not an Aries right? They don’t even get a horoscope this week. Let us know what you think about GPT-2’s Zodiac prowess in the comments.

Published April 28, 2020 — 18:16 UTC

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Tags: AI, Heres, horoscope, Smart, stupid

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evanvanness · 4 years

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Annotated edition, Week in Ethereum News, March 15 issue

The number of EthCC attendees (for the record, most people I talk to now think the afterparty was the main spreading event) testing positive since I published the newsletter, even while many can’t get tested. So no caffeine or beer for me just in case I’m affected (though I left the afterparty very early), and that lack of caffeine is pulling me down just a little. This might be a low-energy, “please clap” Jeb annotated issue.

Eth1

Overlay method for hex to binary tree conversion

A summary of the post-EthCC Stateless Eth meetings. Renewed focus on sync, particularly getNodeData

A writeup post-stateless ETH summit after ethCC as well as a summary. Quiet times usually follow productive meetings, hence only 2 bullet points this week.

Eth2

Latest Eth2 call. Notes from Ben and Mamy. Phase 1 prototyping coming soon

Latest phase0 spec v0.11, the target for stable multi-client testnet

Ben Edgington’s notes from networking call

Nimbus client update – interop this month, discussion around constraints of running eth2 client on mobile devices

Two phase2 ethresearch posts: Appraisal of Non-sequential Receipt Cross-shard Transactions and Atomic Cross Shard Function Calls using System Events, Live Parameter Checking, & Contract Locking

Vitalik’s Using polynomial commitments to replace state roots, though this is not likely to hit the current roadmap. More context from listening to Justin Drake and Vitalik Buterin on Zero Knowledge

So my current estimate (completely my own) is that we’re likely looking at late q2 for phase0 launch. But who knows, maybe getting locked down will provide a small speedup? <wry grin>

I continue to think that by far the most important thing after shipping phase 0 is turning off proof of work. Stop wasting electricity! Cut issuance!

Stuff for developers

Solidity v0.6.4

A storage layout for proxy contracts taking advantage of Solidity v0.6.4

EthGlobal’s survey of Eth developers

10x smaller Javascript signer/verifier

Interacting with Ethereum using a shell through Incubed ultra-light client

Groth16 bellman proof verifier

Templates with pre-filled contract ABIs, addresses and subgraphs for Aave, Compound, Sablier, Uniswap

Prysmatic’s service registry pattern in Go

Implementing Merkle Trees and Patricia Tries in Node.js

Pipline onchain interpreted language vid

Austin Griffith vid on wallet module for eth.build

OpenZeppelin points out that a malicious deployer can backdoor your Gnosis Safe

SmartBugs: framework for executing Solidity automated analysis tools, with an academic paper comparing tool performance

I probably should’ve added that your Gnosis Safe is always safe if you used the official front end of the mobile app.

Crypto carnage, Maker liquidations

Thursday’s global selloff of risk assets led to the most negative price action day of crypto’s short history. The selloff inflated gas prices (~200 gwei) which caused trouble for Maker. The Maker oracles stopped working for an hour or two.

Maker liquidation auctions went off for nearly 0 DAI as bots bidding on those auctions got caught in high gas prices and ran out of DAI, leading several different bot maintainers to make ~8m USD in ETH by bidding just above zero in a few disparate time periods.

As a result, the Maker system surplus became a 5.7m Dai deficit (as of the time of publication). To improve incentives, Maker governance changed some parameters and to recoup the debt MKR will be auctioned onchain for lots of 50,000 Dai on the morning (UTC) of March 19th.

Community members have started a backstop to ensure the deficit is covered

Here is a writeup of the Maker liquidations with data and graphs

Just published: Maker governance proposal to change DSR to 0 and Stability Fee to 0.5%, GSM to 4 hours, and a decentralized circuitbreaker for auctions

An interesting thing I just learned is that Maker’s standard keeper apparently only works in Parity, not with Geth or Infura. So that’s another ramification of the Kovan/Rinkeby split, and getting Maker to use Kovan.

In the meantime, USDC has been added as a collateral. It’s rather strange but USDC perhaps makes sense as a way to mint DAI in times of stress and get closer to the peg. Seems like the Stability Fee should be set high here though, as you really only want people using it in times of needing Dai, eg in auctions. Right now it’s 20%, i’m not sure that’s as high as it should be.

This newsletter doesn’t often mention price and market-related matters. But it’s quite clear that crypto is not a safe haven in crisis. Could it be in the future? Perhaps, but all the hedge funds and institutional money simply exacerbate volatility. Where we’re at is that when people wanted to take risk off the table, they viewed crypto as a risk asset - and Bitcoin got hit the hardest because it had survived the best in crypto winter, despite there being no reason whatsoever for it to have done the best.

Ecosystem

Prysmatic’s Raul Jordan: Eth2 is happening, it is shipping, and we’re going to make it a reality no matter what

EthIndia’s online hackathon winners

DuneAnalytic’s stats for smart contract wallets

4GB DAG size and potential hashrate impact

So far, 9 attendees of EthCC have tested positive for COVID-19

A fun parlor game: what will be the next big ETH event? Devcon? Or something before, or something after? I think we’re going to see a lot more online hackathons - and probably more sponsorship dollars for them. Perhaps more sponsorship fiat for newsletter subscriptions too?

Raul’s post on eth2 was the most clicked of the week.

Enterprise

End to end transport layer security with Hyperledger Besu v1.4

DAML now available on Besu

Paul Brody talks Baseline Protocol on Into the Ether

How Citi and ConsenSys use Ethereum for commodities trade finance

Nice komgo writeup. Also interesting to see that the bet of Besu seems to be paying off with enterprise privatechain stuff like DAML even on Besu.

Governance, DAOs, and standards

Livepeer’s proposed governance roadmap

SingularDTV announces snglsDAO Foundation for their media protocol press release

Aragon removes AGP voting for ANT holders

What DAOs can learn from the Swedish Pirate Party

How to quickly create your own DAOstack DAO

FakerDAO – pool your MKR to sell votes to highest bidder

Governance as a whole has probably been one of Ethereum’s weak points. Not as bad as governance-by-Blockstream, but still not great. People don’t turn out to vote so direct voting doesn’t work (to wit, Aragon removing voting which was the only use for ANT) - and yet one of the solutions for people not voting actually penalizes people for voting, as I’ve found out in DxDAO. I’m hopeful for some of the solutions but to date long-term governance of everything is mostly an unsolved issue.

Application layer

Numerai’s ErasureBay live on mainnet. A marketplace for any kind of information, where the buyer can slash the seller if they don’t like the information

DeFiSaver’s 1click transaction CDP closing using flashloans

Gnosis’ Gibraltar-regulated Sight political markets are live

Update on Augur v2. tldr: it’s close

Balancer’s code is open source

bZx’s mea culpa post mortem of the attacks. They also paid 1inch the full bug bounty two weeks ago.

Bluestone fixed rate loans and deposits, live on Rinkeby testnet

Maker’s Dai Gaming Initiative

VirtuePoker’s final beta launches March 16th

HavenSocial, a web3 alternative to Facebook where you own your own data

Nice to see people are still trying to build social media alternatives. The idea of building a better Facebook is definitely an enthralling one - yet not one that Ethereum has even come close to delivering.

Same with games - we’ve been talking about tokens/NFTs on ETH being a big thing in games for awhile. Nothing has quite hit it (let’s be honest, CryptoKitties was just a different flavor of ICO mania) but I think Skyweaver might.

My usual ex-post metric of seeing how much of this section is DeFi: 10 bullet points, depending on how you count you could say it’s 4 to ~8.

Tokens/Business/Regulation

David Hoffman: Ethereum as emergent structure

USDC: programmable dollars with business accounts and APIs

Uniswap volume is now tracked on Coinmarketcap

wBTC passes Lightning Network in value locked up

Matthew Green: US congressional bill EARN IT is a direct attack on e2e encryption

Mass panic like with Corona is always a perfect moment to add bills on as riders to must-pass bills, so look for anti-encryption hawks to try to do this in the name of “safety.” Maybe even to bailout bills.

Kinda interesting to see CMC finally add Uniswap volume. They’ve been quite slow to add dexes generally; it seems like Bitcoiners often have a hard time adjusting to decentralization when they’ve been used to all the centralized BTC tradeoffs.

And Circle is now all-in on USDC. From Santander prototype at Devcon2 to $600m now printed, and this doesn’t even count Tether belatedly realizing that BTC was a terrible choice to secure Tether.

General

Contribute computing cycles to fight COVID-19

Stay private in DeFi with email

Brave’s nightly release features random browser fingerprints per session

Load Value Injection attack on Intel SGX

Jacobians of hyperelliptic curves explainer from Alan Szepieniec

Ryan Sean Adams’ “how to” on using ProtonMail or equivalent is the 2nd most clicked, showing how he’s one of the most important people in Ethereum right now. He takes concepts them and popularizes them.

The random browser fingerprints is huge, and a big step up in privacy.

Meanwhile if you have 2gb or 3gb GPUs, you can fold some proteins which may have an impact on COVID-19. I’m always skeptical, but it seems likely to be worth the cost. Especially if you’re like me and get super cheap electricity in Texas through GridPlus! Crypto is not cancelled in Texas.

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narrator-scio-story · 7 years

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What's Happening 8/22

I’ve been on a couple of awesome - if perhaps short - trips in the past week. A visit to California, and a separate trip to Nebraska. My mother tells me that I visited California once before, when I was a baby, because my parents went to a conference there. They got a rubbish babysitter while they were at the conference, who just sat in the hotel room and made me watch cartoons the whole time. I really hadn’t been a TV watcher prior to that, and my parents wanted me to be taken around outside in my pram but since the babysitter didn’t do that, I hated it. Well, this visit to California was at least better than that. Our main goal of the trip was to visit colleges - when we looked for tours at CalTech, Harvey Mudd and UC Berkeley earlier in the summer, UC Berkeley was already full so we just booked tours for the other two. I wasn’t especially excited about CalTech, I really just wanted to visit Berkeley and Harvey Mudd, but since we were going all the way there, it only made sense to visit at least two, and since Berkeley tours weren’t available, I visited Caltech and Harvey Mudd. The first day, though, we didn’t visit a college, we just visited JPL. It took a while to get the rental car - the plane landed at 2:45 and getting out of the airport, getting the shuttle to Budget, and waiting in line took us in total an entire hour. (We traveled with only bags small enough to fit under the seats in front of us so we didn’t have to pay the baggage fee. We flew Frontier, so yes, there would’ve been a baggage fee for overhead luggage.) Once we got the rental car we set Google maps up to take us to JPL. It was just about rush hour, and Google really didn’t want to put us on the highway. First it asked us to turn left at a no-left-turn intersection, then it tried to drive us through the airport and we were like no, so eventually we ended up getting all the way across LA on tiny side roads which involved way too many left turns. We were maybe an hour and a half later to JPL than we’d intended, and the visitor center has apparently closed but my mum’s friend who worked there had requested visitor access for us, and managed to give us a tour of the emptying campus. We saw the Mars yard, and some movies, and all sorts of models, but of course I was most excited about all the Earth observing satellites. I took photos of the diagrams of where the satellites were, I took selfies with posters about OCO-3, it was very exciting. Science Olympiad has done this to me I swear. Remote Sensing is literally the best event but that’s another discussion entirely. Another discussion I have a lot but won’t have here because it would get boring if I did it too many times. We stayed overnight with my mum’s friend and his family, who were very entertaining and had good discussions and told us all about their cats and chickens. Then the next morning it was time to visit the colleges - we’d signed up for the tours and so on at specific times - and despite Google Maps again giving somewhat odd instructions, we made it to CalTech on time. My tour guide was studying geochemistry, she said - she might have said she was the only one in her year? - but mostly during the tour it feels like I learnt about what was fun on campus. We heard a lot about their house system (similar to Hogwarts houses, they claimed), and their dinner rules and traditions, and the pranks, and the parties. It’s funny hearing the story of CalTech’s cannon from the perspectives of both MIT and Caltech, and Harvey Mudd too which I’ll get to later. I suppose CalTech is more fun than I’d imagined - for some reason in my head, it seemed very isolated in location, with people who all came out the same (aka not as the only geochemist they had). I understand the value of their core curriculum, I’m just worried that I might not find all of it interesting, and not end up working as hard as I should. Also, despite not being as physically isolated as I thought, the tour guides still told me that people don’t normally bike into town, it’s more public transport if not driving. And LA doesn’t seem to really have a center. I don’t know how happy I would be to live there. Plus, it sounded like the students were mentally inside their little bubble. Okay, Caltech’s a tech school rather than a liberal arts school, but the tour guide never said anything about politics or initiatives or really caring about issues in the world. I’m sure I could fit in as a techer and be happy there. But would I really become the type of person I hope to? Harvey Mudd, later that afternoon, left me much less on the fence. After a little bit of mess from my selecting the wrong town in California to drive to (we basically just got off the motorway too early, and we got back onto it having only lost a little time), we arrived from Caltech with enough time to grab something to eat before the information session. We actually got to the cafeteria just after it had closed, but the women working there nicely directed us toward the other cafe which was still open. We managed to get lost again on the way there, but another girl - I assumed she was a student - pointed us back where we should be. I actually saw her again through a glass door as all of us going to the information session were sent from the upstairs waiting room to the small auditorium downstairs. We smiled at each other so I think she recognized me. At that point, I was already like, I like this place, I’d be happy to come here. During the info session and tour, okay, I didn’t pick up the same dorm culture that Caltech has - part of the culture that makes me so much want to go to MIT - although the tour guide insisted they did have some. I didn’t feel like I asked as many questions, but I think that was because so many things I cared about were already addressed, rather than because I didn’t care as much. The tour guide also told us that they stole Caltech’s cannon first, that the MIT students had just copied them. And apparently some of their dorms about each other. It wouldn’t be boring, I’m sure, even if it’s not as big a thing? I guess? The reason I first heard about Harvey Mudd was that they have created a much better gender ratio in the computer science major than in most other places, and hearing about the core curriculum, I can really see how that would happen. Having special relativity as your first physics class - of course that would create an interest. Using programming in other math and science courses - obviously that would make people appreciate it better and understand its value. Plus, while I didn’t feel like Caltech’s campus was as small as I’d imagined it, at Harvey Mudd, with even fewer students, it felt like one UK-style college in a bigger university. All the Claremont colleges seemed so integrated together, it didn’t feel like you were going to run out of people to get to know it that all of your friends would be too similar to you for you to learn anything new. So I am still a bit on the fence about applying to Caltech, and unlike a lot of other colleges, there’s not some older South student I was amazing friends with to try to really understand what it’s like to be there. There were aspects of it that really made me happy though, so it’s tough to decide. I guess I’ll probably apply in the regular decision round if I do apply, so that does let me change my mind late in the game if I really need to. And applying of course doesn’t guarantee getting in or going. Harvey Mudd I wouldn’t have a role model either, but from just the little I know I feel like it’s a forward moving place which would push me in the right direction. I want to apply there. I don’t know if I’d go if it were a choice between Harvey Mudd and this college, or Harvey Mudd and that college. But it’s a place I want to try for. And then we got in the car and drove straight to the airport because apparently security lines are long at LAX. Our flight back actually ended up being delayed though. Oh well. And then the other trip! The eclipse! Yay! The original plan had been to wake up at like 5am and drive to Wyoming, inside the path of totality, to watch it. My dad has had the eclipse glasses for ages. But then somebody at work made this plan with him to go to Nebraska and camp for the night and then watch the eclipse there instead, and that’s what we ended up doing, 3 families. We camped in the Pawnee National Grasslands, managed by the National Forest Service (I don’t know why, there literally were no trees). It was technically still in Colorado, but just near the border with Nebraska, so we wouldn’t have as far to drive the day of the eclipse. What I don’t think anyone planned, but what made me super, super happy, was that we happened to be just across the road from loads and loads of wind turbines. It wasn’t a campsite or anything, just some grass and we did a fire pit because somebody forgot their grill and the website said no fire restrictions, but I swear it was the most beautiful place I’ve ever slept. We could watch the sun set brilliantly behind the wind turbines, there were a couple of hills to climb which gave you an amazing view across the plains, it very much avoided light pollution of the stars. And then the next morning around 8 we joined the long stream of traffic heading north, got stuck in the enormous lines at the first gas station in one of the towns there (we later saw that the town had a second gas station nobody at all was using but oh well), fought about whether it would’ve been a better idea to have gone with the original plan about Wyoming, tried to convert the eclipse start times from UTC to mountain time, and eventually made it to a spot on the side of the road - quite close to the center of totality for longitude - a few minutes before the partial eclipse started there. We watched with our glasses as the tiny wiggle in the edge of the sun grew to basically swallow it like a cookie (always less than 3 minutes at a time though, I read that instruction on the side of the glasses and everyone tried to follow it, while also questioning why, exactly, I had read something like that), and when there was just a sliver left and it seemed to be shrinking faster and faster - when the sky had gone dusk colored but with a rainbow, sunset-like thing all around the edge and we were wishing we’d stayed in long pants because it was suddenly a lot cooler - I ran further up the hill and everyone followed me and we put on our glasses again just to watch the last of it disappear. And then when we’d checked that it was really, truly gone, we took our glasses off and my dad set his 2 minute timer to tell us when to put our glasses back on. It was beautiful, you really could see the corona and it was huge and so much paler than any blurry photos on my phone make it seem like it was. We actually waited there on the side of the road until the very end of the partial eclipse, although we saw loads of cars driving back south from the moment totality had finished. We ate our lunch during the rest of the partial, the little girls in the group criticized my slowness and caution coming down the hill and made me do it again faster, we sat in our folding chairs in a row joking about this being like a very slow sporting event. The traffic was pretty bad when we finally left, and you knew it was all because of the eclipse because it was so, so much stronger going in the direction we were headed than the other direction. Even during rush hour, if it had been people coming home from work they should’ve been heading the other way, away from Denver. But overall it was a brilliant trip, there were some oil drilling things (which are depressing) at the beginning of the drive there but all the beautiful wind turbines in the middle made up for it. (I actually saw the oil things in California too, those ones didn’t have wind turbines to match them though.) So I’ve enjoyed my first visit to Nebraska and almost-first visit to California, and now it’s back to the normal day-to-day trips to the library to produce Science Olympiad tests because my laptop can’t connect to the apartment wifi!

#california #nebraska #college visit #eclipse #jpl #caltech #harvey mudd #camping #los angeles #wind turbines #oil drilling

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lachalaine · 7 years

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jacqueline dulcet’s rp plotting cheat-sheet

Want new-and-exciting plots for your character? Long to reach out to more of your followers, but don’t know where to start? Fear not! Fill out this form and give your RP partners both present and future all the juicy jumping off points they need to help you get your characters acquainted.

Be sure to tag the players whose characters YOU want more cues to interact with, and repost, don’t reblog! Feel free to add or remove sections as you see fit. Template here.

Mun name: j / lady j

OOC Contact: I seem to be taking a sorta kinda long while to reply people nowadays, but you can catch me on IM or on s.kype with reduxrabbit !!

Who the heck is my muse anyway:

A modern day Music Producer/ DJ that is also a reincarnation of an Einjerhar from Norse lore – something she doesn’t even remember. The actual soul of the warrior is asleep inside her however, and somewhat has a tendency to awaken at times, causing Jackie to have an influx of abilities that she generally can’t control. Also an ex-assassin, courtesy of a relationship with her ex-boyfriend – but she tries to pretend that part never happened.

Points of interest:

Has a somewhat reckless personality and is always on the hunt for adventures and treasure. Isn’t adverse to breaking and entering private property in search of a windy rooftop or just because, will probably punch you really damn hard if you piss her off enough (and it’ll hurt – trust me) and is very skilled in archery. Despite her at times rather violent tendencies (a result of the bloodlust settled in her by the Einjerhar), she’s actually rather kind, affectionate, friendly, loyal, has a hint of sass about her and a sense of rebellion. Also, she’s generally always pretty happy – or at least she’ll make you think she is – but she’s also really damn emotional and sad too and will push you away once you get too close to her because she gets scared. Draws attention mostly because of her galaxy hair, and it’s notoriously hard to get her attention romantic wise tbh.

Where to find them:

She’s a night owl. You’ll find her at the tallest point in town – whether it’s a skyscraper or a mountain, or even just her rooftop. The windier, the better. You can also find her hanging out in Ginza at a hidden gem of a sushi bar, or at various clubs around the city. Her playground is the entirety of Shibuya. If there’s a music festival in town, you’ll likely find her there too.

Desired interactions:

Everything really !! It just really depends on how they mesh. Friendship is evidently the most prominent with how hard it is to get her attention romance wise, but I certainly would love if people wanted to explore something like that too. It’s not so much that I don’t want to give her more romantic ships – but more that it’s really very hard for most men to capture her attention in that way so she doesn’t really look for it except for with the men she’s already with. She’s had some purely sexual relationships at times as well, though those are generally one night stands for her.

I really want her to have a best friend kind of thing going on though. Some muses are well on their way to cracking her open in that way – breaking down her walls and getting her to let down her guard enough to show vulnerability. But that in itself is also a challenge because she tends to push people away if she even gets a smidgen of doubt in her head. A female best friend would be really cool for her, because most of her female companions are my own NPC’s so she doesn’t really have that connection just yet. I’d love for her to have relationships with people she’d work with too – either at clubs or assassin work, maybe something where she’s blackmailed into doing that again. In general though ?? Just people that take care of her, even when she’s difficult to deal with. People that aren’t afraid to call her out on her shit. Because I promise, once you get past that and knock some sense into her – you’ll have a permanent place in her heart and she’ll sacrifice everything to make sure you remain safe.

I would love to make use of my royalty verse too. I have one starter I have to write up for that, but the more the merrier! Arranged marriages or relationships among royalty would be so much to do!

Offered interactions:

Club interactions ?? Get into trouble and do something stupid interactions ?? Meet her in a jail cell and watch her try to bargain with the guards to let her out ?? There’s also meeting her in Ginza or Shibuya, or breaking into the same rooftop as her, or meeting her after she gets hunted down by her past enemies – or just random meetings out on the street or in the grocery store, where you will find her lugging around rice balls, ramen cups and the like – because the girl always runs the risk of burning down her kitchen.

Anything else?:

My timezone is UTC+08:00 because I live in the Philippines, which basically means I’m awake for a majority of the UK’s daytime and late evening, and a majority of America’s evening and early morning. I’m also basically just two hours behind Australian time. I don’t really do short threads, though I’m not adverse to 1 – 2 paragraphs – but try not to expect one liners from me because it’s hard for me to control the length tbh.

You can approach me literally any time you want to with anything, and if you want to start an interaction – just send me anything in my ask box, or like one of my starter calls I irregularly post. I love doing asks and drafts, even if I seem to take a while writing them. I’m honestly really highly selective with the people I follow, but I’m not mutuals only in terms of writing and if in the course of us interacting I feel comfortable enough to follow you, I’ll do that without a doubt. If I reply really slowly but you see me online, please don’t think I don’t like you. Sometimes it can get hard for me to get the energy to talk to people but I’ll get back to you asap! Also, if you find you have a problem with me – let me know and we’ll try to see if it can get worked out okieeeeeeeeeeeeee?

Tagged by: @sereinix ily !!

Tagging: @bathed-in-red & @pridesglasses & @gloryundimmed & @valorandheart & @hhemeraa and anyone else !!

#&& did you think i wasn't real (about j)#&& chatelaine on the decks (jackie headcannon)#&& on the bucket list (wishlist)#/ this was fun to do

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alexanderfortin · 7 years

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sslnotify.me - yet another OpenSource Serverless MVP

After ~10 years of experience in managing servers at small and medium scales, and despite the fact that I still love doing sysadmin stuff and I constantly try to learn new and better ways to approach and solve problems, there's one thing that I think I've learned very well: it's hard to get the operation part right, very hard.

Instead of dealing with not-so-interesting problems like patching critical security bugs or adding/removing users or troubleshooting obscure network connectivity issues, what if we could just cut to the chase and invest most of our time in what we as engineers are usually hired for, i.e. solving non-trivial problems?

TL;DL - try the service and/or check out the code

sslnotify.me is an experimental web service developed following the Serverless principles. You can inspect all the code needed to create the infrastructure, deploy the application, and of course the application itself on this GitHub repository.

Enter Serverless

The Serverless trend has been the last to join the list of paradigms which are supposedly going to bring ops bliss into our technical lives. If Infrastructure as a Service didn't spare us from the need of operational work (sometimes arguably making it even harder), nor Platfrom as a Service was able to address important concerns like technical lock-in and price optimization, Function as a Service is brand new and feels like a fresh new way of approaching software development.

These are some of the points I find particually beneficial in FaaS:

very fast prototyping speed

sensible reduction in management complexity

low (mostly zero while developing) cost for certain usage patterns

natual tendency to design highly efficient and scalable architectures

This in a nutshell seems to be the FaaS promise so far, and I'd like to find out how much of this is true and how much is just marketing.

Bootstrapping

The Net is full of excellent documentation material for who wants to get started with some new technology, but what I find most beneficial to myself is to get my hands dirty with some real project, as I recently did with Go and OpenWhisk.

Scratching an itch also generally works well for me as source of inspiration, so after issuing a Let's Encrypt certificate for this OpenWhisk web service I was toying with, I thought would be nice to be alerted when the certificate is going to expire. To my surprise, a Google search for such a service resulted in a list of very crappy or overly complicated web sites which are in the best case hiding the only functionality I needed between a bloat of other services.

That's basically how sslnotify.me was born.

Choosing the stack

The purpose of the project was yes to learn new tools and get some hands on experience with FaaS, but doing so in the simpliest possible way (i.e. following KISS principle as much as possible), so keep in mind that many of the choices might not necessary be the "best" nor most efficient nor elegant ones, they are representative of what looked like the simpliest and most straightforward option to me while facing problems while they were rising.

That said, this is the software stack taken from the project README:

Chalice framework - to expose a simple REST API via AWS API Gateway

Amazon Web Services:

Lambda (Python 2.7.10) - for almost everything else

DynamoDB (data persistency)

S3 (data backup)

SES (email notifications)

Route53 (DNS records)

CloudFront (delivery of frontend static files via https, redirect of http to https)

ACM (SSL certificate for both frontend and APIs)

CloudWatch Logs and Events (logging and reporting, trigger for batch jobs)

Bootstrap + jQuery (JS frontend)

Moto and Py.test (unit tests, work in progress)

I know, at first sight this list is quite a slap in the face of the beloved KISS principle, isn't it? I have to agree, but what might seem an over complication in terms of technologies, is in my opinion mitigated by the almost-zero maintenance and management required to keep the service up and running. Let's dig a little more into the implementation details to find out.

Architecture

sslnotify.me is basically a daily monitoring notification system, where the user can subscribe and unsubscribe via a simple web page to get email notifications if and when a chosen SSL certificate is expiring before a certain amount of days which the user can also specify.

Under the hoods the JS frontend interacts with the backend available at the api.sslnotify.me HTTPS endpoint to register/unregister the user and to deliver the feeedback form content, otherwise polls the sslexpired.info service when the user clicks the Check now button.

The actual SSL expiration check is done by this other service which I previously developed with OpenWhisk and deployed on IBM Bluemix platform, in order to be used indipendently as a validation backend and to learn a bit more of Golang along the way, but that's for another story...

The service core functionality can be seen as a simple daily cronjob (the cron lambda triggered by CloudWatch Events) which sets the things in motion to run the checks and deliver notifications when an alert state is detected.

To give you a better idea of how it works, this is the sequence of events behind it: - a CloudWatch Event invokes the cron lambda async execution (at 6:00 UTC every day) - cron lambda invokes data lambda (blocking) to retrieve the list of users and domains to be checked - data lambda connects to DynamoDB and get the content of the user table, sends the content back to the invoker lambda (cron) - for each entry in the user table, cron lambda asyncrounosly invokes one checker lambda, writes an OK log to the related CloudWatch Logs stream, and exits - each checker lambda executes indipendently and concurrently, sending a GET request to the sslexpired.info endpoint to validate the domain; if no alert condition is present, logs OK and exits, otherwise asyncrounosly invokes a mailer lambda execution and exits - any triggered mailer lambda runs concurrently, connects to the SES service to deliver the alert to the user via email, logs OK and exits

Beside the main cron logic, there are a couple of other simpler cron-like processes:

a daily reporter lambda, collecting logged errors or exceptions and bounce/feedback emails delivered (if any) since the day before, and sending me an email with the content (if any)

an hourly backup of the DynamoDB tables to a dedicated S3 bucket, implemented by the data lambda

Challenges

Everyone interested in Serverless seems to agree on one thing: being living its infancy it is still not very mature, especially in regards of tooling around it. Between other novelties, you'll have to understand how to do logging right, how to test properly, and so on. It's all true, but thankfully there's a lot going on on this front, frameworks and tutorials and hands-on and whitepapers are popping up at a mindblowing rate and I'm quite sure it's just a matter of time before the ecosystem makes it ready for prime time.

Here though I'd like to focus on something else which I found interesting and suprisingly to me not that much in evidence yet. Before starting to getting the actual pieces together, I honestly underestimated the complexity that even a very very simple service like this could hide, not much in the actual coding required (that was the easy part) but from the infrastructure setup perspective, so I actually think that what's in the Terraform file here is the interesting part of this project that might be helpful to whoever is starting from scratch.

For example, take setting SES properly, it is non trivial at all, you have to take care of DNS records to make DKIM work, setup proper bounces handling and so on, and I couldn't find that much of help just googling around, so I had to go the hard way, i.e. reading in details the AWS official documentation, which sometimes unfortunately is not that exhaustive, especially if you plan to do things right, meaning hitting the APIs in a programmatic way instead of clicking around the web console (what an heresy!) as shown in almost every single page of the official docs.

One thing that really surprises me all the time is how broken are the security defaults suggested there. For example, when setting up a new lambda, docs usually show something like this as policy for the lambda role:

{ "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "logs:CreateLogGroup", "logs:CreateLogStream", "logs:PutLogEvents", "logs:DescribeLogStreams" ], "Resource": [ "arn:aws:logs:*:*:*" ] } ] }

I didn't check but I think it's what you actually get when creating a new lambda from the web console. Mmmm... read-write permission to ANY log group and stream... seriously? Thankfully with Terraform is not that hard to set lambdas permission right, i.e. to create and write only to their dedicated stream, and in practice it looks something like this:

data "aws_iam_policy_document" "lambda-reporter-policy" { statement { actions = [ "logs:CreateLogStream", "logs:PutLogEvents", ] resources = ["${aws_cloudwatch_log_group.lambda-reporter.arn}"] } [...]

Nice and clean, and definitely safer. For more details on how Terraform was used, you can find the whole setup here. It's also taking care of crating the needed S3 buckets, especially the one for the frontend which is actually delivered via CloudFront using our SSL certificate, and to link the SSL certificate to the API backend too.

Unfortunately I couldn't reduce to zero the 'point and click' work, some was needed to validate ownership of the sslnotify.me domain (obviously a no-go for Terraform), some to deal with the fact that CloudFront distributions take a very long time to be in place.

Nevertheless, I'm quite happy with the result and I hope this could help who's going down this path to get up to speed quicker then me. For example, I was also suprised not to find any tutorial on how to setup an HTTPS static website using cloud services: lots for HTTP only examples, but with ACM and Let's encrypt out in the wild and totally free of charge, there's really no more excuse for not serving HTTP traffic via SSL in 2017.

What's missing

The more I write the more I feel there's much more to say, for example I didn't touch at all the frontend part yet, mostly because I had almost zero experience with CSS, JS, CORS, sitemaps, and holy moly how much you need to know just to get started with something so simple... the web party is really hard for me and thankfully I got great support from some very special friends while dealing with it.

Anyway, this was thought as an MVP (minimum viable product) from the very beginning, so obviously there's a huge room from improvement almost everywhere, especially on the frontend side of the fence. If you feel like giving some advise or better patch the code, please don't hold that feeling and go ahead! I highly value any feedback I receive and I'll be more then happy to hear about what you think about it.

Conclusion

I personally believe Serverless is here to stay and, it's fun to work with, and the event driven paradigm pushes you to think on how to develop highly efficient applications made up of short lived processes, which are easy to be scaled (by the platform, without you moving a finger) and naturally adapt to usage pattern, with the obvious benefits of cost reduction (you pay for the milliseconds your code is executed) and almost zero work needed to keep the infrastructure up and running. The platform under the hood is now taking care of provisioning resources on demand and scaling out as many parallel lambda executions as needed to serve the actual user load; on top of this (or, better, on the bottom of it) built-in functionalities like DynamoDB TTL fileds, S3 objects lifecycles or CloudWatch logs expirations spare us from the need of writing the same kind of scripts, again and again, to deal with basic tech needs like purging old resources.

That said, keeping it simple is in practice very hard to follow, and this case was no different. It's important not to get fooled into thinking FaaS is the panacea to every complexity pain, because it's not the case (and this is valid as a general advise, you can replace FaaS with any cool tech out there and still stands true). There are still many open questions and challenges waiting down the road, for example setting up an environment in a safe and predictible way is not as easy as it may look at a first sight, even if you're an experienced engineer; there are lots of small details you'll have to learn and figure out in order to make all the setup rock solid, but it's definitely doable and worth the initial pain of going through pages and pages of documentation. The good part is that it's very easy to start experimenting with it, and the generous free tiers offered by all the cloud providers make it even easier to step in.

What's next

Speaking of free tiers, the amazing 300USD Google Compute Cloud credit, together with the enthusiasm of some friend already using it, convinced me to play with this amazing toy they call Kubernetes; let's see if I'll be able to come up with something interesting to share, given the amount of docs and tutorials out there I highly doubt that, but never say never. Till the next time... try Serverless and have fun with it!

#serverless #openwhisk #lambda #terraform #ssl

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valentinvolkov-blog · 7 years

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location: Volkov Manor, Barvikha Luxury Village, Moscow, Russia time: 7:00 pm UTC+3:00 ( @sterlingmoran)

Valentin was standing in their walk in closet, in only their underwear, trying to decide if the Presidential Gala was occasion enough to wear the dark red suit they never had the opportunity to wear. Yana had agreed to attend with them, despite the conversation they had had, despite the fact that they were no longer sleeping in the same bed, that she spent most of her time off away from the manor, with whoever the mysterious man who she had fallen in love was.

They were standing there, trying not to think too hard about this likely being the last time they would make a public appearance together before they began the process of getting a divorce. They were standing there, when they felt a sudden presence behind them, unfamiliar, certainly not Oliver, likely not Eve. The sound of the voice confirmed that.

“Definitely the red suit,” a voice said behind him in English. The accent was strong, but unfamiliar to them. Definitely American. Barely understandable to their Russian ears.

They let out a deep sigh.

They had known, from what Oliver said, that there were others, but they still hadn’t met any of them besides Eve. Now was not the time that they wanted to deal with introductions, especially considering how American this one sounded. At least it sounded like he was familiar with this whole thing, not jarred by appearing in a walk-in closet in Moscow suddenly, aware enough to suggest a suit rather than ask what was going on. A small blessing.

Valentin finally turned around to see who this person was, only to be much more shocked than they had been since they first appeared in Japan upon seeing the stranger’s appearance.

Oliver had said that one of the others that he had met looked like them. But this was more than just looking like them. Perhaps Oliver had been putting it lightly because he was worried he would overwhelm them. But it was much more than that. It was like staring in a mirror, the only differences being the glasses perched on the stranger’s nose, the different tattoos across the stranger’s arms and bare chest, and the slightly different black underwear. They had apparently caught him in the middle of the exact same state of undress.

They looked identical.

“это пиздец,” Valentin breathed, unable to take their eyes off of the stranger.

“That seems like an understatement,” the other said with a laugh, looking them up and down with a mixture of interest and awe on their face. “You’re the Russian, then, yes?”

“Valentin. So you are my lost twin, it seems,” they said flatly.

“Sterling. And, no, we look nothing alike,” he said, crossing his arms across his chest.

“A joke?” they asked.

“No. I have glasses,” Sterling said, as if that really made then look any less identical. Which it really didn’t.

He were not joking, they could tell that much by their tone. Apparently this Sterling was not interested in looking identical to someone he had a strange mind connection with. Valentin could tell, just from the tone of his voice, that he was the sort of person who had to be special. The exact sort of person who they had never liked very much at all, never had an ounce of patience for.

So instead of focusing on how strange it was to be standing there, looking at the mirror image of themself with only very slight differences, they decided to get him talking about something else. If they were going to be sharing this connection, then it would be for the best to at least try for cordial.

“You are American, yes?” they asked, unable to keep some of the disdain from creeping into their voice despite the effort.

“Yeah, but I haven’t lived in America for nearly twelve years. I live in Paris. I actually have dual citizenship.”

“Well, I suppose that is better than a chance at ending up in America,” Valentin said, voice giving nothing away. In reality, the prospect of ending up with an American, no matter where it was, wasn’t exactly the most welcome thing in the world. It was a small blessing that this American happened to live out of the country. But there was still the danger of him showing up when Valentin was in the White House, or worse, the Kremlin.

“Right. I guess you wouldn’t like that, would you?” he laughed slightly.

“I am certain you feel much the same appearing in Moscow,” they shot back immediately.

“Touché,” Sterling said with a slight laugh. “Like I said, though, you should go with the red suit. You’ll look positively dashing.”

“Dashing,” they repeated. This Sterling fellow felt more like a parody, someone who had heard what French people were supposed to be like and based his entire being off of that. His accent was thick, and distinctly non-French, despite how long he had apparently been living in Paris. He was speaking English, yes, but Valentin was having more than a little trouble understanding his words, even with their inherent connection helping things along.

“Where are you headed?”

“The Presidential Gala, with my wife.”

“Presidential Gala,” he repeated, sounding more than a little impressed with that. They could tell it was the kind of life he might’ve wanted; the glamor, the notoriety, the balls and galas. It all seemed like just the sort of thing someone like Sterling would like. But he was focused on the other half of the sentence. “President as in...Putin?”

Valentin just gave him a look, before turning and taking the red suit from the hanger.

“Fuck,” Sterling cursed, starting a frantic sort of pacing around the walk in closet as Valentin pulled the black button down off of the hanger, to start pulling it on. “Putin. You work for Putin. You’re about to go to a fancy dinner, with Putin. So you really aren’t happy about seeing an American in your closet,” Sterling said somewhere between awe and horror.

“Not particularly,” they replied flatly, buttoning up the shirt.

They were both silent for a long minute, as Valentin pulled on the dark red trousers, tucking in the shirt as they did so. They felt no real need to assuage his more practical fears, the ones they could feel. The worry that maybe they had somehow been involved with everything that happened in America, that they were some terrifying far-right terrorist, whose main goal was to bring down the American government, and help Putin take over the Western world. They felt no need to calm those fears, because they were so ridiculous and far off that they refused to even entertain them.

But they could feel something else, too, in Sterling, and for once, they felt compelled to say something about it. Maybe it was because of everything that had happened with Oliver, maybe it was because of some sort of change that had started within them because of this strange connection, but they could not let him think how he was certainly thinking.

“Just because I work for his administration does not mean I agree with his opinions,” they said, after a minute, breaking the fragile silence.

“Right, but I can’t imagine you’re too happy about having a queer French-American prostitute sharing your mindspace, either,” Sterling said, voice full of skepticism.

They clenched their jaw, but stopped themself from commenting on the prostitute part. What did they say to that, though? It was clear what he was thinking, and they could not blame him. They had spent their entire life with that same fear. They had hidden that part of themself, and still was, in the hopes that if they ignored it, they would not act on it, and there would be no reason for that fear. They had been shot for their dishonesty, for seemingly agreeing with the politics they helped along. For hating themself.

“I am...” they started, pausing for a minute, to figure out exactly what they wanted to say. They still weren’t quite at the point where they felt comfortable with the word that they were thinking of. To say it out loud felt too terrifying. All that had happened between Oliver and them was an enormous step toward that, but this was still something private, something they had not yet fully come to terms with, at least outwardly, and they weren’t sure if that would ever happen.

So they settled on something slightly easier to say.

“I am not interested in women,” they said, not meeting Sterling’s steady gaze.

“Oh...oh,” he started, obviously at a complete loss. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn’t that. “Sorry, I didn’t… it’s just you work for Putin, you know? You said you have a wife. I didn’t realize…”

“We all have to do things to survive,” they said, with a little nod, knowing that that, at least, was a concept that Sterling would understand. There was something beneath the bravado, the vaguely flirtatious persona that he projected. Something that Valentin knew meant that he understood something you had to do things you were not proud of to get by, so that one day you might be able to do the opposite.

Sterling nodded, the look on his face different, more serious than it had been before.

“I understand,” he said, voice soft. “I hope one day it doesn’t have to be like that anymore for you.”

“As do I,” they said, frowning slightly as they looked back at him, the frown mirrored on his face, as if they were looking into a mirror. It was disconcerting, seeing their own pain, their own hope reflected on another’s face that looked so identical to theirs.

They were quiet, again, just standing there looking at each other, as if trying to figure something out about each other, about why any of this was happening, why it was them, of all people.

“I should finish getting ready,” they said, gesturing to the suit jacket and the tie, as if that was going to be a grand task to finish.

“Of course, I was in the middle of something anyway,” he shrugged, apparently pretty confident in their ability to just leave whenever they wanted. For some reason, Valentin believed they would be able to do it, though. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Valentin. Have a nice evening at the gala. You’re gonna knock ‘em dead,” Sterling said, reaching over and giving him a rough pat on the shoulder, a strangely familiar but strangely comforting gesture.

Valentin didn’t have a chance to say anything before Sterling disappeared suddenly, leaving them alone and wondering what, exactly, it was going to be like sharing a connection with someone apparently so like themself, and yet so completely different.

#( sterling moran. )#( self para. )#i wrote this and i realize there's no reason to post it bc i could just send u the doc #BUT IT FEELS WORTHLESS IF I DON'T PUT IT ON ONE OF THEIR BLOGS

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standinthesunandbreathe · 7 years

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Strange Fate

This week was really crazy. Like, weird stuff happening every day crazy. And not just for me, but multiple people I know as well. Is it because we had a full moon? Weird chaotic pre-Friday the 13th appetizers? Both of those things combined? I’m not really superstitious, but all of what’s happened makes me really ponder what was up with this week.

Well, first, the Spring semester started up, and campus got back into hustling and bustling with students. It didn’t take long for me to miss how quiet everything was, and I’m grateful that my office is at the edge of campus where I can escape the crowds. The beginning of a new semester always seems a bit chaotic, but that still wasn’t the main reason why everything felt crazy…

We had a lot of work that needed to be wrapped up right as we got back from break. One of my colleagues, who is also a close best friend, also had some crazy work assignments pop up, so I wanted to help her out however I could. A lot of stress was building up, time seemed so much shorter. I can take that pressure, though, and I wanted to reassure her that things would be okay as we worked on things together. Her and I have gotten through a lot together before (in the 2.25 years that we’ve known each other), and I wasn’t about to let this get under our skins!

On Wednesday, in a rush to get to work, she accidentally forgot some important things at home… things I know it would be hard to go through the day without. She said she would power through, and I knew she would be able to, but I was concerned with her safety and wanted to be her support. She couldn’t just leave work to go home and get those things. Me helping her was of no question; I couldn’t not help. So, she allowed me to take her apartment key and run to her apartment for her.

I felt like I was on an important mission, somehow. That morning, I prayed that love and light would be shown to those around me, and this was an opportunity. I think it’s important to be a light to those who are close to us, because you never know when they really, truly need that encouragement and support. She’s very dear to me.

A bit later, I arrived at her apartment and found the items she needed. Her cat was there to greet me, as he typically does, and demanded my attention. I apologized to him for not being able to stay long or pet him very much, and he eventually stopped trying to trip me with every step I took. “Feel free to get a snack or something from the cabinet! I have organic fruit roll-ups!” my friend texted me.

“Ahhh… you should save those as an after work treat! I already left your apartment anyways… thank you, though :) “ I responded.

I still wonder if something would have changed if I did take her up on that and delayed my departure a little bit.

With her items in hand, I went back out to my car and began my journey back to the UTC campus (we both work there, just different departments). I decided to take I-75 because I figured it would be faster, and pumped up Alt 93.9 on the radio as I picked up speed. The finish line was in sight, and I knew that bringing her these things would be really helpful. I couldn’t help but think about how happy I was to be friends with her and to be able to do this for someone I cared about.

Then I saw it.

There was a black SUV driving in front of me, diagonally to the left. Something flew out from under the vehicle, and I heard the bounce - it was made of metal. It was a chunk. It came right at me and I couldn’t avoid it. I felt it hit my tire, and something felt off about the car. I looked ahead as the vehicle zoomed off, unsuspecting and unknowing of what they just put into motion. I won’t deny that I said some explicit words in that moment, and I use those words very, very sparingly. Of all the times for this kind of thing to happen, it just had to be then.

Pulling over to the side of I-75 was a bit terrifying, but I carefully did and looked at my car. Just as I thought… the front left tire was flat. There was a gash in it from whatever hit me; there was also a small dent in the hubcap. Oh, and here’s another fun fact - I had just gotten new tires a month before! It was a bit of sad humor that one should go flat so soon under these circumstances. But like I said before - there was no way I wasn’t going to help my friend, and I would surely go through this for her.

“I’ll figure something out,” I told her, as I relayed what just happened. She felt awful about it and started taking blame, but all I could blame was that we live in a world where crap just happens. I was just frustrated that I was being prevented at fulfilling what I set out to do. I figured I would call home and ask one of my parents to come find me (my dad has AAA), but I also knew it would be awkward to describe my exact location on I-75. I couldn’t help but think that there was some way this was all going to resolve. “I have to get these things to her. I just have to. It can’t end like this.”

Just as I resigned myself to calling home… a Highway Incident Response unit pulled up behind me. “This is literally a miracle,” I thought to myself. Just as quickly as I had gotten a flat tire, the wonderful TDOT gentleman helped me to put on my spare tire. (The fun part is that I had a lot of stuff in my trunk to move out of the way, and he patiently waited as I unloaded things… “Do you want a Gatorade? I have some… I’m serious…” I offered haha) It was a relief that he did it for no charge as well (I guess it’s tax dollars at work), and I couldn’t help but call him an angel. I wish I had asked for his name, just to have a person to remember from that moment. It’s a real wonder when something good happens in the midst of chaos and craziness, in such timing.

From there, I made it safely back to campus and completed my mission - I gave my friend the things she needed. I was really just glad to be alive and there with her, and everything could have been so much worse. I could have gotten into a wreck, or the metal chunk could have hit something else and caused greater damage to my car. An array of things could have happened, but the reality of what actually happened still stood… as well as the reality of how it was resolved. Isn’t it interesting how fate turns out at times?

What mattered most to me, in the end, is that we were together. That I can still be together with those I care about. Car troubles really suck (I don’t say that lightly… I’ve had my share of car troubles), but we can still go on as long as we have each other. Material possessions are (often) replaceable, but people are not; she’s worth all of what I went through and more. And so I can’t help but believe that there was something Greater at work here, to make this act of love and kindness possible. I couldn’t have done it on my own.

So…when you get new tires, don’t forget to get a road hazard warranty. ^_^; And, after playing Life Is Strange, I keep having moments where I wonder what choices end up having certain consequences… but, despite the choices made in this whole scenario, nothing stood in the way of Love.

Even when things become very discouraging, we can still find hope. Remember the support of those around you in your life, and don’t take for granted the care you receive. Love is, and always will be, the most powerful force in the universe, and it was powering me through all of that. Love overcomes obstacles… and this was ultimately proven in Christ Jesus.

#car troubles #love #spiritual #random #crap #happens #shesworthit #friendship #flat tire #tdot #tennessee #chattanooga #relief #stress #craziness #actoflove #fate #cars #crazy week #God

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ruleandruinrpg · 7 years

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CONGRATULATIONS, JEN!

You have been accepted for the role of VASILY BARANOV. Admin Rosey: Jen, you have no idea how completely over the moon I am about this application. You captured him in a single sentence, "He is a man who is so much more than what people perceive of him." You captured that perfectly, from the future plots, to the para sample that utterly broke my heart, to the headcanons. He's a man of many talents and intricacies - and you condensed all of that in this single application. When I read your application you brought him to life with his voice, his interactions, and just about everything else. I can't wait to watch him unfold! You have 24 HOURS to send in your account. Also, remember to look at the CHECKLIST. Welcome to Ravka!

OUT OF CHARACTER

ALIAS: Jen

PREFERRED PRONOUNS: she/her

AGE: 18

TIMEZONE & ACTIVITY LEVEL: UTC+2 | I finish my finals this thursday and then I will start my summer holiday so my activity level will be pretty high. I’d say 8/10.

CURRENT/PAST ACCOUNTS: @lyradyson

IN CHARACTER

DESIRED CHARACTER: Vasily Baranov

WHAT DREW YOU TO THIS CHARACTER?

I didn’t really expect to connect with Vasily upon first glance at his bio, to be honest, but once I actually read it and got to look at the snippet of his soul which was exposed in his bio, I immediately felt like I understood him. He is a man who is so much more than what people perceive of him. Outwardly, he would seem like someone who was born for nobility; the way he speaks, the way he holds himself. He would seem like someone who knows who they are and carries it proudly but if one were to pay more attention, they might notice the slightly stiff cadence of his voice; how he strings his words together as elegantly as one would pair up musical notes but somehow, there is always a flat undertone to them. You would never catch his voice rising in pitch as he spoke of something he was enthusiastic about, you would never catch him stammering with tearful eyes and a sorrowful expression, either. He rarely smiles genuinely; whenever he does smile, it’s more out of instinctual politeness or a required reaction than anything else. He doesn’t express emotion because he felt it so intensely while growing up that it got drained out of him

I feel like, as a child and afterwards as a teenager, living around nothing but his father’s toxic presence and the ghost of his mother that constantly haunted them, he must have carried immense guilt. The mentions of his mother which used to be a constant in his life, along with his father’s self-destruction as living proof of the tragedy his birth had brought onto them, it all contributed to his belief that his existence brought nothing but destruction. And of course he had no chance to expel that guilt and all the sadness he faced whenever he was around his father–and even when he wasn’t around him–and so he ended up teaching himself to compartmentalize. He bottled it all in to keep from tilting beneath the weight of his guilt and all the other emotions he had to experience everyday throughout his life with his father. The weight which had just kept getting heavier and heavier. He taught himself not only that but practically everything; he brought himself up because nothing was going to do it for him; not the love of his dead mother, and not the envy of his barely-living father. He’s independent and self-reliant but those two qualities definitely came at a heavy cost. From how much he had kept his emotions in and how much he had learned to school and anchor himself, he ended up locking his emotions and losing the key.

And yet, despite all that, he walks among people gracefully, not once displaying the torment he had endured and does endure occasionally nowadays. Life as a trader; a life which depends on charisma and wit had taught him to feign; to pretend; something which must have been unfamiliar to him because he could never really pretend around his father; the living testament to his destructive existence. But when he was finally free of that, he adapted to the new environments he was constantly finding himself in which made him qualified for eventually joining the Ravkan court. The fact that he’s not emotionally expressive doesn’t mean he’s emotionless, however. Vasily feels. And he feels intensely. Which is part of the reason why he keeps it all in.

He’s just so burdened that it makes me feel genuinely sorry for him. Burdened when he doesn’t have to be. When he allows himself to think about it, he blames himself for his mother’s death, for the way his father’s life had deteriorated even if the man always claimed that he wished he’d married someone else and denied the fact that he was grieving. He blames himself for accepting the way his father had cast him aside and how he pretty much abandoned the man because he feels partly responsible for him; he feels as if it had been up to him to help the man heal somehow, as if it was his responsibility simply for being his son. He grew up to become a bright man; the only hope left for the Baranov name–and yet, he finds nothing prideful in that; doesn’t really see it as an accomplishment. I find him to be quite the pessimist but it’s justified that he turned out this way considering how every time he dared to have hope, fate always snatched it from his grasp somehow.

There’s just so much of him to explore. The emptiness that constantly envelopes his soul has made him lose sight of who he is. He has many personas; the gentleman, the noble, the strategist, the supporter. He is whatever the situation requires him to be; that’s how adaptable he is. But in the midst of his adaptation and the layers he continues to surround himself with, he lost the essence of who he is. I want him to discover it again. I want him to want to discover it again, to finally find the motivation to conquer the void he feels within him. I want to put him in situations which will test his morals, his values, his flaws, his qualities. Those are all things I can’t really see clearly right now from how much his emptiness is overshadowing it all but I want to see it. I want to know how he truly is and I want him to know it as well. In a situation of crisis, would his primary concern be rescuing himself or would he consider other people first and rush to help as much as he can? If he had a chance to, would he cheat to win the game or would he feel like he is above cheating? Who was he, who is he, who is he going to become?

WHAT FUTURE PLOT IDEAS DID YOU HAVE IN MIND?

( players of the same game ): Rhea has got plans for Vasily and although it’s a plot that mostly depends on what I could potentially plan with Rhea’s player, I feel like it would have a big impact on Vasily. He has been playing the game fairly so far; I don’t think he’s been involved in any shady business in the court; after all, he’s still establishing his position as a Duke and you could say he’s being too careful and he might agree with you but Vasily is nothing if not calculated. He’s not impulsive. And that’s why he never responded to Rhea’s offers. But he does consider them whenever he thinks about it. So, it would be interesting to see what he would get involved in with the woman and whether he would allow her to manipulate him like she wants to. If he would be willing to risk falling into something beyond his control just for the sake of the thrill he might find in the potential danger of whatever the woman has got in mind.

( pills and potions ): Vasily hates the sense of losing control of himself and the circumstances he’s in. He’s a control freak, you could say. It’s why he never drinks too much and never indulges into the blessing of obliviousness. The drug Druvik gave him represents that blessing and Vasily would be lying if he said he wasn’t tempted to use it. Vasily is always stumbling in the darkness of doubt; constantly doubting his values, constantly doubting himself. He is a man who values self-control and yet, there is no bigger temptation he faces than the small, inconspicuous bag he has in his drawer and the potential it holds. It could take away the suffocating silence which only accentuates how loud his thoughts could get. It could take away the emptiness he finds every way he turns to in his miserable life. It could, it could, it could. He knows it’s dangerous; he inherently knows Druvik wasn’t really doing him a favor when he slipped that bag into his hand…or was he? To be honest, I want to push Vasily to the point where he would either allow his emotions to overflow for once or he would succumb to the temptation the drug represents. It would be so interesting to see just what it would take to get him to that decisive point; the point of deliberately giving away control. He doesn’t know what the drug is made of, what its effects are, if it’s addictive or not; it’s not something he can pre-empt which is what is so intimidating about it to him but it’s a constant temptation if only for its constant presence and promise.

( confidant ): Aside from emptiness, there is another demon that Vasily is constantly tackling; loneliness. He’s not incapable of putting trust in others, it’s simply that he never allows anyone to get too close. One reason is because he breaks everything he touches; he fears that his presence becoming constant in someone else’s life would only bring tragedy but another reason is because he never knew what it was like to trust someone or to love someone and vice versa. He’d been put at fault for simply existing from the minute he was born and that was all he had known while in the presence of his father. All the connections he’s ever formed in his life were business connections or simple acquaintance; nothing more and nothing less. I want him to find someone he can trust, someone who sees him for who he is, someone who will acknowledge Vasily’s emotional boundaries and limitations and deliberately slip past them. I want him to explore what a connection with another person would feel like; a notion that is so alien to him. I want to explore if it would have positive or negative effects on him; if it would prompt a reaction from him where he embraces it or if it would make him push it away and dismiss it; if it would change him in the long run and help him to be more genuine or if it would only make him close himself off the rest of the world even more.

( chess board ): I don’t believe being a member of the Ravkan court is easy; it’s a chess game. And Vasily is only one of many pieces. I refuse to believe that there aren’t things brewing in the background of the court and that things are a lot more multi-facted than they seem especially with the wars that are currently brewing. I want Vasily to get waist-deep in it all. He’s been playing it safe since arriving at Ravka but I want him to drift away from that, even if he will without realizing it. I want him to get knotted in the politics and tactics of it all and to see how it would influence him and his already weak grasp on his own values and morals. What connections will he form and what would their nature be? Will he gain enemies or allies or both? Will it make him more shrewd and jaded or will it make him hold on to whatever integrity he might possess? Will he get lost in it all and let himself get corrupted or will he somehow maintain his frail grip on who he is?

WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO HAVE YOUR CHARACTER DIE?: It depends on whether I end up losing muse for him and if it would further the plot, honestly.

IN DEPTH

IN CHARACTER PARA SAMPLE(S):

“You’re leaving.”

Vasily glanced up from his plate of burned potatoes and vegetables; eyes falling on the glass his father was twirling lazily in his hand, the liquor within it swishing and making soft sounds as it clashed against the sides of the glass; it was the only audible sound aside from their breathing. His father was clearly addressing him but was it a serious statement Vasily ought to consider a legitimate response to or was it the usual vague sentence he always used as a prequel to whatever drunken story he was about to tell? The young boy chose to stay quiet, his gaze falling back to his food. He’d been cooking meals for them both for as long as he could remember and yet, he always managed to burn the potatoes for some reason even though every time, he followed the instructions carefully from the cook book. He frowned softly as he fiddled with the darkened edges of the potatoes; wondering what he had done wrong. He was always wondering what he had done wrong.

“Boy.” His father called, his guttural voice hoarse as it scraped its way through his vocal chords. Vasily was nineteen now; he was a man and yet, that was not something his father was concerned with; he was only concerned with not speaking his son’s name and as bitter as it used to make Vasily, he was more than used to it by now. He was used to it all. This current situation with his father, it had been a constantly repeated pattern through the years with only minimal changes here and there. He knew how this was going to go and yet he wanted nothing but to walk away and lock himself up in his room.

“Yes, Father?” Vasily replied, a tone of caution seeping into his voice. He refused to look up from his plate.

“You’re leaving.” He repeated, still with the same lazy tone, in his same exact position, still twirling the glass of liquid poison he sought so desperately.

Vasily frowned, not knowing how to respond without any elaboration. His father seemed serious and oddly sober, though. His stomach churned.

“How…am I leaving, exactly?” He made sure his tone remained calm but his sense of dread only rose with each second that passed while he waited for his father’s elaboration. This wasn’t the way their conversations usually went.

“Doesn’t matter how,” He slurred. “You just are. Because I want you to.”

Vasily finally looked up from his food and was surprised that the man was actually making direct eye contact with him. The grim sight of his red-rimmed eyes was unpleasant but it was nothing compared to the cruel determination within those eyes. Vasily blinked then swallowed nervously, barely holding back a flinch against the strange lucidity that suddenly encompassed his father. He was aware of every single word he was saying and he wanted Vasily to know that.

“A ship is sailing with goods at dawn. You’re boarding it. You’re leaving and you’re not coming back.”

For a moment, Vasily had no idea how to react. Part of him was enraged at the way his father was addressing him as some sort of item that he had no use for anymore. Another part was cowering before the calculated cruelty he saw through those eyes that were so similar to his and yet so different. The dominant part of him, however, was already thinking ahead; his father was nothing if not stubborn and he seemed adamant that Vasily was leaving so where would he go? And how would he get there?

Why?

A few stagnant minutes passed where all his father did was glare at him and all Vasily did was clench his fists beneath the table as his gaze fell back on his food. This was unprecedented but the cause was becoming more apparent to him; his father had been more and more aloof and short-tempered around him since news had reached him that Vasily had been incredibly successful on the few trading trips he’d gone on recently. A man had come to visit his father a few days ago but Vasily had only heard snippets of their conversation; your boy is bright. He ought to raise the Baranov name from the dead!

The only reason he had gone on those trips–the only reason why he’d been going on them for years–was to get money for his education. His father wasn’t paying anything so Vasily was earning his own money and had been for years. But it wasn’t out of selfish intent; he enrolled himself into a schooling home because he’d thought his father would appreciate his self-reliance. He’d hoped it would make him less of a burden to the older man. He was wrong in that hope, apparently.

Was his father really banishing him for something that Vasily had done solely to make him proud?

“Do you hear me?”

Vasily looked up and met the man’s gaze once more, sorrow shining through his gentle eyes momentarily before they grew cold with a blink. He gave a stiff nod then slowly pushed himself up from his chair and walked out of the room.

—

Tendrils of wind slashed against his face as he stood aboard the ship that resembled his escape. It was banishment, there was no denying that. But he would call it an escape. He watched the port as it grew more and more distant; no one was standing on it. His father had accompanied him only to make sure that he would actually board the ship and the second that Vasily had stepped foot onto the vessel, his father had left. What had dread sinking into the pit of his stomach was how steady his steps were; you wouldn’t expect his legs to be aware of what a straight line even was from how much liquor he consumed on a daily basis but he hadn’t been stumbling as he walked away. His steps were steady and sure. As if he had made a decision he knew he wouldn’t regret. Casting away his own son.

Vasily shut his eyes as a particularly cruel slash of wind assaulted his face all of a sudden; although he was shutting his eyes due to what he was feeling on the inside rather than the outside. Was that pain? Why was he feeling it now of all times? He had been enduring his father’s rejection–his father’s hatred–of him since birth and it never impacted him to this degree; to a point where he felt genuine pain. There it was; an aching, pounding echo in the hollow of his chest. He had no idea what to do with this ache; how to utilize it. He had no idea what he was going to do from now on.

He took a moment to look behind him at the crew; strangers that he was apparently going to live with from now on. Each one of them was going about their business; although that hadn’t been the case when he had first boarded, when they were exchanging whispers and eyeing him strangely as him and his father parted ways. How do they think of him now, he wondered? A noble who finally gave himself a chance to go down a commoner’s winding path? A man who simply grew bored of the finite land and sought the endless stretches of sea? Or did they seem him for what he was; an abandoned son? Or did they have no idea why he was even here?

So many questions and no answers. That had been his life for as long as he could remember. He had been seeking a change. He had been working towards it. He had had hope. But he was never meant to have anything good; he only had himself and the void he constantly carried with him.

He wondered if it would ever be enough.

CHARACTER HEADCANONS

- He loves writing. It’s the only outlet he’s ever had for his thoughts and it’s among the few things that help him to center himself at times when the silence gets just a little bit too loud. Losing himself in the words he lay out on blank papers was the only time where he felt pleasantly isolated, from his thoughts and from his surroundings. His writings are very private to him, however, and he’s always keeping them hidden in fear of someone stumbling upon them somehow. He carries a small journal around with him wherever he goes.

- He’s bisexual. The only reason he discovered that was during a period of time where he’d picked up sleeping around with strangers as the new outlet for his emotions. It had worked for a while but Vasily didn’t like the instability of it and the situation with Rhea is just one out of many examples that show his sexual encounters don’t really end well, most of the time. He was always in it for the physicality and aftermath of it; for the way his mind would go pleasantly blank after a decent climax and nothing more. And while some people were on the same page with him in that aspect, others weren’t and it led to complications. Complications and the personal discovery of his sexual orientation had been the only things he had ever gained out of that time period in his life.

- He always wished to have a sibling. Whether out of a sincere desire for companionship during the lonely, lonely time of his upbringing or out of a childish wish that there had been someone else to receive the blame for their mother’s death and endure the hatred of their father, he didn’t know. But he always liked the sense of union that he felt whenever he thought of the notion of brotherhood. The solidarity of having someone who would always be there for you, if only for nothing except the fact that blood could never be water. Blood is water to Vasily, however, but he likes to think, whenever he bothered to think about it, that he might have ended up with a different perspective if he had had a brother or a sister to stand beside him.

- He considers himself more socially inexperienced than introverted. Vasily can be quite the charmer when he played the part and social gatherings where he had to fall under the guise of politeness and professionalism were the easiest thing in the world for him. However, interactions where he had to be Vasily; where he ought to express himself instead of speaking of politics and the workings of the court; those were the tricky interactions. He’d never had what people would call ‘friends’ and never experienced a situation where he could be himself or express his thoughts openly and without restrictions. He is someone who plans his every word, who embraces the politeness and manners he has taught himself over the years, who calculates every action before he makes it. It’s not in his nature to be sporadic, spontaneous and true to himself; his upbringing never allowed him to be that person.

- He is quite the tactician; it shows in his naturally calculative nature. This trait of his dominates most things he does. As a child, upon waking up, he would stare at the ceiling and list in his mind all the things he was going to do after leaving the bed and what he was going to do throughout the day until the moment he ought to return back to bed. He still keeps this habit to this day. And that trait of his is the reason why he’s not someone who appreciates an abrupt change; doesn’t like it when something happens that disturbs a pattern he had set. It’s also why he’s someone who enjoys routine. He enjoys the stability and predictability of it. He is very adaptable so if he knew that circumstances were going to change, he behaved accordingly but when a change happens sporadically and unexpectedly, it usually makes him flounder a little bit before he is able to formulate a plan to get back on track. He always got back on track. He wonders if a time would come when he wouldn’t be able to.

- He occasionally sends letters to his father to which he never receives a response. He does it more out of a sense of obligation towards the old man rather than a genuine concern for him. Being away from his father has cleared Vasily’s vision somewhat; it transformed a portion of his guilt into resentment towards his father. The man Vasily always tried to please but only ended up receiving nothing from in return. And yet he still sends the letters and actually means some of the things he writes in them. However, they have been getting shorter and shorter and becoming less and less frequent recently.

- He speaks many languages and is educated on several cultures from how much he had traveled prior to landing in Ravka. It has its advantages when he’s representing the Ravkan court in front of a foreigner; his familiarity with several cultures makes him likable to most people he meets in business or social interactions and it makes him come off as a noble, trust-worthy man which is always a perk.

EXTRAS: None because I’m uninspired as shit.

ANYTHING ELSE? Once a nerd, always a nerd; my favorite book is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

#raraccepted #accepted: vasily

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warninggraphiccontent · 4 years

Text

21 February 2020

Lucky for some

Well, that was the reshuffle that was. We've summarised the whole thing in 13 charts over on the Institute for Government live blog.

Exact ministerial portfolios are still being parcelled up in most cases. Over at Cabinet Office, it may be that paymaster general Penny Mordaunt ends up with the implementation brief that covers various things digital and data, and it's unclear whether newly promoted-within-the-department Chloe Smith will keep responsibility for statistics, transparency and knowledge management. Michael Gove has taken the minister for the Cabinet Office role in place of the departing Oliver Dowden...

...who will hopefully take his enthusiasm for and expertise in digital government and data to DCMS. DCMS has helpfully published a list of its ministers' responsibilities. Caroline Dinenage gets online harms and digital tech/policy, while returning John Whittingdale gets data and the National Archives (and media - that'll be a quiet brief what with all the BBC briefing). Whittingdale was previously secretary of state at the department (before 'Digital' was added to the name), and before that, chair of the select committee scrutinising the department. This is what he told the IfG about that experience:

It was a great help because I’d done the job for 10 years, and the way select committees work is that you focus on one area and then you move to another area, so during that time I’d done inquiries into gambling, into licensing, into tourism, into heritage, into museums, arts funding, masses on press regulation, creative industries. I mean there was barely an area of the department which we hadn’t had an inquiry into... so I felt very, very familiar with almost every policy area. The only area which I didn’t know as well was the bits which were coming into the department... Because they had not previously been under the department, the select committee hadn’t looked at them, so I didn’t know those areas as well.

Helpfully, data and open government have come into the department since Whittingdale was last there, so hopefully he can get up to speed quickly. (John, if you'd like to subscribe to a newsletter that could help with that...)

Some other links:

I'm back on the IfG podcast this week - 'by popular demand', no less - talking reshuffles. But take the quiz here first - bonus quiz here.

Since it's a Six Nations weekend, here's my #dataviz from last year, when Wales were doing better than they are this time round.

And given all the recent discussions about special advisers, here's a review I did of a rather good book on that exact subject a few years ago. Still very much relevant...

Have a great weekend

Gavin

Today's links:

Graphic content

Government reshuffle February 2020: live blog (IfG)

More than 100 people have sat at the cabinet table during a decade of Tory rule* (The Times)

Has it really been a year? (me for IfG)

Picking winners and losers under new UK points-based immigration system* (FT)

Visa fees (IfG)

The Macroeconomic Policy Outlook Q1 2020 (Resolution Foundation)

Social capital in the UK: 2020 (ONS, via Graham)

Revealed: the areas in the UK with one Airbnb for every four homes (The Guardian)

Donald Trump is appointing federal judges at a blistering pace* (The Economist)

Bloomberg’s immense spending gets him 30,000 online ads a minute, and a whole lot more* (Washington Post)

Mike Bloomberg Is Way Richer Than People Realize (Mother Jones)

What the Democratic Candidates Discussed During the Debates: Annotated Transcripts* (Bloomberg)

We Checked the Iowa Caucus Math. Here’s Where It Didn’t Add Up.* (New York Times)

Coronavirus

Speed Science: The risks of swiftly spreading coronavirus research (Reuters)

Under China’s lockdown, millions have nowhere to go (Reuters)

24 hours of China region airplane movements on a normal Friday in November 2019 (UTC time) vs last Friday the 14th Feb, 2020 (via @trumpery45)

How epidemics like COVID-19 end (and how to end them faster)* (Washington Post)

Diseases like covid-19 are deadlier in non-democracies* (The Economist)

Climate and environment

Climate Change Rises as a Public Priority. But It’s More Partisan Than Ever.* (New York Times)

How to reduce your food’s carbon footprint, in 2 charts (Vox)

Revealed: The pesticide giants making billions on toxic and bee-harming chemicals (Unearthed)

Last chance for the climate transition* (FT)

Locust Swarms Ravaging East Africa Are the Size of Cities* (Bloomberg)

Everything else

The 2020 Sigma Awards: Winners

Do Authors Write Where They Know? (The Pudding)

When a change in series X is a telltale sign of event Y (John Burn-Murdoch)

Wealth inequality is not just limited to North versus South (Koen Van den Eeckhout)

A Future for the World’s Children? A WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission (The Lancet, via Ketaki)

Japanese newspaper uses Augmented Reality to show animated charts (via Khai)

Meta data

Europe

Shaping Europe's digital future: the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the European data strategy (European Commission)

EU softens plans for facial recognition regulation, sparks privacy backlash (New Statesman)

EU launches a bold new European Strategy for Data (techUK)

Exclusive: Google users in UK to lose EU data protection - sources (Reuters)

What does it actually mean? (Mark Scott)

Employment

The Datafication of Employment (The Century Foundation)

Automation likely to shrink civil service workforce, says Sedwill (Civil Service World)

Three-quarters of civil servants don’t trust government to involve staff in automation drive (Civil Service World)

British jobs for British robots (Politico)

Meet ARNOLD - the first robot in government communications (Civil Service Quarterly)

Powerful antibiotic discovered using machine learning for first time (The Guardian)

ICO consultation on the draft AI auditing framework guidance for organisations (ICO)

The government’s approach to algorithmic decision-making is broken: here’s how to fix it (New Statesman)

Data

Our personal health history is too valuable to be harvested by the tech giants (The Observer)

Met removes hundreds from gangs matrix after breaking data laws (The Guardian)

Football Racism: No One Knows Conviction Rates – Despite Calls To Stamp It Out (Huffington Post)

A deluge of data is giving rise to a new economy* (The Economist)

A group of ex-NSA and Amazon engineers are building a ‘GitHub for data’ (TechCrunch, via David)

Data protection and trust at Co-op (ODI)

NHS data: Maximising its impact on the health and wealth of the United Kingdom (Institute of Global Health Innovation)

Critique (Peter Wells)

Online harms

Online Harms Deconstructed - the Initial Consultation Response (Cyberleagle)

Online harms: we welcome the government’s commitment to freedom of expression, but more action is needed on bad information (Full Fact)

Innovation

The DARPA Model for Transformative Technologies: Perspectives on the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (William Boone Bonvillian, Richard Van Atta and Patrick Windham (eds))

Is the UK Getting Innovation Right? (Nesta)

Everything else

Boring magic (Steve Messer)

A Farewell – looking back to the future through the camera lens (Part 1) (Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s Office)

Now Internet Society told to halt controversial .org sale… by its own advisory council: 'You misread the community mindset around dot-org' (The Register)

Met Office forecasters set for 'billion pound' supercomputer (BBC News)

Facebook must not be allowed to dictate how it gets regulated (Damian Collins for Wired)

Digital tools can be a useful bolster to democracy* (FT)

Superforecasting (Ed Conway)

Examining the Effectiveness of Current Information Laws and Implementation Practices for Accountability of Outsourced Public Services (Parliamentary Affairs)

Opportunities

JOB: Head of the Office for Budget Responsibility (HMT)

Deadline for applications to head OBR extended by Treasury (Civil Service World)

JOB: Evidence Assistant (Centre for Ageing Better, via Emily)

JOB: Senior Web Engineer - Data Visualization (Bloomberg)

EVENT: The death of anonymity in the age of identity (National Archives)

CONSULTATION: Improving patient safety by bringing private healthcare and NHS information together into NHS systems (NHS Digital)

conveRt to R: the short course (Chris Hanretty)

And finally...

It takes such a long time to get an FOI back from a govt dept these days but boy are they worth the wait (Ellen Coyne, via Sukh)

Neal.fun (via Benoit)

The Times (UK) has an entire leader premised on a statistic that nearly 1/2 of all flights taken by men 20-45 are for stag parties... (Stanley Pignal)

1 year of purchases by 1.6M Tesco customers in London, aggregated in 5k areas, with monthly snapshots (Luca Maria Aiello, via Ketaki)

Political stature* (The Economist)

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