#Tech Solutions Pro

[techdriveplay]

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[techproconstruction]

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[mollyjimbly]

🚨🚨AWFUL HORRIFIC NEWS🚨🚨

Hey everyone, some news update and a call to action :( Yes, KOSA is most likely going to be moving again possibly. Please read the entire message and take action.

WHAT TO DO?:

(YES YOU CAN CALL IF YOURE A MINOR)

1) Call House leadership everyday.

Steve Scalise (R), Mike Johnson (R), and Hakeem Jeffries (D). House leadership (GOP) sounds like they're somewhat in disapproval. Use their reasonings. There is a tailored call script SPECIFICALLY FOR REPUBLICANS in our call script here:

2) Call House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Click their names here:

and their phone numbers should be present. Split amongst yourselves which ones to call because there's a lot of members. If you have time, call all. If not, pick a few and call.

More noise = better.

⭐ See end for extra resources and tips.

1) Movement in the House. There will be a full committee markup next Wednesday at 10 am. The list of bills they will markup hasn't been finalized but KOSA is most likely to show up.

SOURCE:

2) 42 State Attorney Generals signed a letter in support of action on social media harms, including passing KOSA

SOURCE:

3) Schumer has been pushing for a vote on this all last week

⭐ Pretend you are a member of the GOP when calling them. Use their concerns. They are worried about pro-life, christian messages being censored off the internet. Pretend you are concerned about this as well. Say things like "this will give Biden a win and then they will use this bill to push their LGBT agenda on the rest of us!"

CALL SCRIPT FOR GOP:

I am urging you to VOTE NO on KOSA, the Kid’s Online Safety Act. This is a dangerous bill that will harm children. Many news organizations have reported that this bill actively harms kids by exposing their private data to strangers under the guise of protecting them. We need to hold Big Tech accountable, but KOSA is not the solution.

The bill let any state attorney general and the FTC to sue any website for “harmful” content. Do we really want blue state lawyers deciding what can and can’t be allowed online? Big Tech is already censoring us. That’s why they support KOSA. This is massive government overreach. We need a bill that actually protects children by creating better security measures instead of bringing about more censorship.

Multiple experts agree this bill pushes age verification, even with the new language. KOSA hands more private data of children to third party companies, which would put them in further danger. How is this protecting children’s privacy? What parent would want their child’s private data in the hands of strangers like this? KOSA is actively putting kids in danger. Do NOT support this bill. Thank you.

CALL SCRIPT FOR DEMS:

I am urging you to VOTE NO on KOSA. Nearly 200 human rights and LGBT organizations total came out in an open letter opposing it. The ACLU is against it. Hundreds of thousands of Gen Z, who actually live online, are against it. We know the harms of social media, and we know this is not the solution. The new language does NOT meet any concerns brought up, in fact many organizations were ignored. Major news have reported that this bill actively harms kids. We do not want this.

The rewritten bill would still allow any state attorney general, and now the FTC, to sue any website for “harmful” content. When you have Republicans calling anything LGBT “sexual exploitation” or anything about race “CRT” to successfully ban books and teachers, then they will use any justification to censor the internet. The Missouri attorney general used “mental health” successfully to ban gender-affirming care with backed up research. Suicide rates will skyrocket for marginalized youth with this bill restricting content.

Multiple experts agree this bill pushes age verification, even with the new language. KOSA hands more private data of children to third party companies. Furthermore, updated language threatens encryption the same way the Earn It Act does. How is this protecting children’s privacy? KOSA actively harms kids. Do NOT support this bill. Thank you.

friendly reminder!! ⬆️

[iaxsl]

Modern au where Sanji and Luffy fall in love while Sanji is engaged. Similar to the events of WCI, Sanji is in a forced business marriage. A merger of Germa Tech. and LinLin Industries. Sanji has no feelings of hatred, he accepts since that is what he’s supposed to do, and who knows, maybe he will fall in love with whomever he’s engaged to. At least then, he’ll be able to leave his family. He signs up at a gym after snide remarks from his family about his weight and meets Luffy as he struggles with one of the machines. Luffy is pure sunshine, and Sanji envies that; he seems so free. Luffy is a personal trainer part-time and a semi-pro boxer. As they spend more time together, Sanji starts to realize that he’s falling more and more in love with Luffy (for added drama, he maybe doesn’t tell Luffy that he’s engaged). Luffy falls first; he tells Sanji as such after Sanji cooks for him for the first time (maybe as a thank you, but also as an excuse to spend more time together). Sanji is hesitant, though he feels the same way, but Luffy doesn’t give up. Somehow, Sanji’s family realizes what’s happening, and they find Luffy. They threaten him and attempt to silence him, Luffy fights back and wins (obviously). He goes to talk to Sanji, and Sanji finally tells Luffy everything. Luffy gets upset, not at Sanji, but at his family and wishes he beat up the goons they sent even harder. Luffy and Sanji meet up with the smartest person Luffy knows (Nami), and together, they come up with a solution. Something something, Sanji finally confronts his family and gets together with Luffy.

[nonspeakingkiku]

System/AAC post time ☺️ (just a note. We are a poly fragmented system with a lot of members and there is overlap with how we communicate.

Different ones of us use different things to communicate.

High tech aac wise Kiku mostly uses Touchchat, Proloquo, and as of recently the semantic pro pageset in TD Snap.

Outside of high tech aac Kiku uses some ASL, noises, gestures, word approximations, and low tech aac (letterboards, core boards, communication cards, and sometimes picture cards). Kiku experiences unreliable speech but honestly Kiku's speech is more likely to be unintelligable to people that aren't our partners/caregivers.

Lavender experiences a lot of unreliable speech (he has estimated around 90% of the body's speech when fae is fronting is not what fae wants to say.) Lavender prefers Proloquo2go set to a large grid size (12x16) with a custom color code (can't remember which it's based off of but verbs are green. Lavender struggles to tell the difference between and see shades of blue sometimes, so there isn't a lot of blue in his setup.)

(Our CVI affects each of us a bit differently (for example, Kiku's easiest colors to see are yellow and green, Lavender's colors are pink, light purple, and red, and Percy's easiest to see colors are blue, red, and yellow.)

Lavender also uses Proloquo4text and recently has been trying semantic pro in TD Snap (we are very nervous about the changes that have been occuring with TD Snap/Tobii Dynavox but this post isn't about that). Lavender experiences a lot of our cognitive symptoms and aphasia (although this might just because they often front the most of the three of us.). Lavender uses one of our letterboards, texting, communication cards, and some asl. Lavender has a hard time remembering that we can use AAC and has only really recently realised how much of faer speech is unreliable.

Percy primarily uses LAMP and prefers high contrast symbols the most of the three of us (high contrast helps us all, especially with text only but Lavender prefers symbol stixx symbols) along with LAMP Percy uses a LAMP core/letterboard, some ASL, gestures, communication cards, picture cards and noises. Of the three of us Percy is the most likely to be completely silent.

We can all use LAMP (we think it's the motor planning aspect, which makes sense) but we each prefer different apps/communication methods.

Outside of the three of us we also have other alters who are AAC users. (a lot of us don't front to the outside world so they might not use AAC). We have two littles specifically who prefer ASL and writing respectively. One, Frisk, prefers ASL, and is mute (he does write when he has to (we only know so much ASL) but he's never happy about it lol) and the other struggles to talk and stutters badly when he tries and he prefers to write. (He has his own note pad but he doesn't front often.

Our AAC system is not perfect, we are still working on getting things to help us communicate, we especially don't have a good solution for when our vision and/or hearing is worse. We hope to get tactile symbols and a tactile keyguard at some point (preferably soon because our it's been a problem and it's getting hotter here which makes our vision worse).

We als want to get an accent at some point with a tactile keyguard and LAMP on it so we will have a dedicated AAC device we can always have a keyguard on.

Thanks for reading.

[walks-the-ages]

Sorry peeps, but if you're genuinely out here trying to defend generative Ai because you think anyone against it is "ableist" sorry not sorry you're not just getting unfollowed you're getting fully blocked along with the OP and who you reblogged it from lmao.

"most people angry about Nanowrimo allowing AI are just being loudly ableist!!! Generative Ai is a great tool for disabled people!! Everyone should be able to use it!"

Hmm, sorry, maybe you need to curate your dash some more like I just did by blocking you, but literally the ONLY people I've seen talking about Nanowrimo's AI stance are people who are actually disabled themselves who are pointing out how fucking shitty it is for Nanowrimo to defend themselves and their sponsor using AI (and possibly scraping your works to further train their AI) By using ~Disabled People~ in concept as a shield against criticism.

Many, many people have posts on here about how they are physically or mentally disabled and they would absolutely hate having someone belittle them by telling them the only way they can accomplish something creative like writing a novel is to have a Computer spit nonsense out into a word document, or generate a "masterpiece" digital image for them from a few words typed in...

Like.

If you actually care about disabled people, you wouldn't be advocating for generative AI to be used to erase their creativity by just letting a computer churn out crap.

If you can type in a prompt on an AI generator, you can type in a word processor to write your story.

Can't physically type at all?

Use speech to text,

or do an audio recording of your novel, and have someone transcribe it,

or use actual existing Closed Caption technology to transcribe it for you!

These are all accessible technology options that actually help disabled people be creative, not just tell an AI generator "hey write me a book about x"

Disabled people have been authors and artists for millennia.

Stephen Hawking used a combination of Predictive Text, eye-control cursors, and an infrared sensor mounted on his glasses that would detect if he was tensing or relaxing the muscles in his cheek, allowing him to scroll a virtual keyboard.

Somehow, I don't think the people championing generative AI actually care about "disabled people" when they try to insist that typing a prompt into a generator and having it churn out random slop is the solution to 'allowing disabled people to be creative' instead of actually giving them the various technology and accessibility tools that have been a thing for at least 25 years, like:

Eye-tracking software that allows you to type or paint on a computer screen (this is now at the point where people can play online video games with this software!)

Having any kind of smart phone set up with speech to text and a word processing app like Google Docs or a notepad app

Using basic sound recording apps to dictate your novel for later transcription

Using other body parts than your hands (or using prosthetics) to hold paint brushes, pens, markers, digital stylus, computer mouse, etc to make art with.

And so much more!

The real ableism here is when pro-AI bros try to insist that Disabled People, categorically, are incapable of being creative and accomplishing anything without a computer doing all the work for them by generating things based on millions of stolen works, and the complete erasure of all of the disabled artists who are here *now* and existed in the past, acting like they do not and never existed, all so that rich white ai bros can continue to flood reddit with "super cool badass art I just made" which is a nonsense amalgamation, and throw tantrums when artists start using programs like Glaze and Nightshade in an attempt to protect their art from those same predatory ai tech bros.

Technology is meant to help humans be creative, not steal our works and livelyhood by replacing writers and artists entirely, because all some rich guy has to do now is type in a prompt.

[rachi-roo]

Raichiii your writing is so gooodd!!! You're talented hehehe. Anyway I have a sudden funny idea that i'll be very grateful if you can turn into fic. I'm thinking the league of villain kidnap bakugou (just like in the anime), to persuade bakugou to join the LOV. Luckily the pro hero hawks is there (in disguise just like in the anime also)! Because hawks scared that LOV will use persuasion method that will harm bakugou, hawks adviced & suggested tickling instead because it's harmless lol Lee bakugou, lers hawks & LOV (platonic & no foot tickling if possible), have a nice dayy!!

-----------{ ☆°•○•°☆ }------------

My Hero Academia: An alternative solution.

You lot just loooove seeing him suffer, don't ya? XD Same 0-0 Sorry for the lack of some lov characters, I'm not sure about writing for those guys just yet 🫣

Summary: Tiggle fic. Bakugo has once again been captured by the LOV, now under the name Paranormal Liberation Front. Things look dire for the teen until a certain familiar bird-looking hero shows up to subtly aid the kidnapped victim.

Lee Bakugo, Lers Hawks, Dabi, Toga, Twice.

Tw: Mild swearing, possible spoilers, mentions of knifes, restraints, over-stimulation

12/02/23

-----------{ ☆°•○•°☆ }------------

"I say we drain him dry~ After losing a couple of pints I'm sure he'd be more willing to cooperate." Himiko grinned, pressing the flat of her knife against Bakugos chin, lifting his head towards the light. He was still a little groggy from whatever they'd managed to shoot him with. It could have been another quirk, but that didn't matter right now.

"Naaah, after the trouble he caused last time, we should burn the message into him. Make sure it leaves a lasting reminder of who he's up against if he doesn't want to join." Dabi chuckled, raising a small ember to the side of the ash blonde's face. The heat just licking his skin.

Bakugo just glared back, unable to move. They had the poor boy strapped into a different kind of chair this time. The seat part was normal, but the upper half of the chair was 'T' shaped, with his arms stretched out to the sides along the frame. Buckles along his upper arms, elbows and wrists held him firmly in place, with his hands trapped inside some kind of quirk nullifying blocks. They must've gotten this tech from ReDestro. He felt exposed. Only wearing his black tee, pyjama shorts and sneakers.

There were more straps, one across his chest, one on each thigh and another one holding each ankle. He was stuck good. They definitely had more painful plans for the boy this time.

"No!" Twice joined. "Let's just break every bone! Start with his toes- No this is far too cruel- He has it coming!"

"Woooah, woooah, everyone just take a breather, hey?" A cool voice interrupted, Dabi giving an irritated huff as he turned towards the voice. "The fuck are you doing here, Hawks?"

Hawks? Bakugos eyes snapped wide open, staring in disbelief. It's Hawks. He's really here. With the PLF. Why? What's he up to?

Hawks stepped in, smiling casually at the boy. "Long time no see, Bakugo." He waved.

"Hawks... The hell are you doing with-"

"All will be explained later, kid. Now, this is quite the tricky situation you've found yourself in, ain't it?" He chuckled, circling the chair in which Bakugo was bound. "Naww, look, they really did a number on you didn't they? All sleepy. Bless." He placed a hand on Bakugos back, pressing gently in a pattern, using code to let him know he was safe.

Toga frowned, pointing her knife again. "We just wanna convert him. He should be on our side! He's not as cute as Deku, but he is strong."

"Convert and befriend him by.... hurting him?" Hawks questioned with a raised brow. Bakugo gave him a side glance, wondering what he was up to.

"Uh, yeah? How else are we supposed to make him join us?" Twice hummed.

Hawks chuckled, ruffling Bakugos hair. "Well, what's one thing 99% of teen boys have in common that we could use?"

"No fire resistance."

"They need most of their blood?"

"Lack of oxygen will turn them blue!"

"All correct, but I was thinking something a little more, harmless." Hawks smiled, circling the blonde again, stopping behind him this time.

"Something, to reeeally make him regret not joining~" Two gloved hands flexed by Bakugos exposed sides, making him tense up.

"Hawks? What the fuck are you- Ghk!" He flinched, immediately trying to hold his breath as he felt the awful sensation of fingers skittering up and down his sides. He pulled on the restraints, desperately trying to stifle his giggling.

Dabi tilted his head. "Tickling? Are you serious?"

"Ah-hah~" Hawks nodded, resting his chin on Bakugos shoulder, casually continuing to lightly tickle the boy. "Think about it, you want him to join you, right? So, instead of using pain that will just make him sour towards us and our goals, why not use something that will, instead, make him smile?"

Toga crouched between Bakugos legs, leaning in to see his flustered expression as he tried to hide. "Hmmm... Good point." She nodded, a small grin growing on her cheeks. "I do like watching him wriggle like this. It must be humiliating." She rested her head on his knee, starting to drag her nails up and down the inside of his bare thigh, making his leg shudder.

Bakugo couldn't believe what was happening. This wasn't real. It had to be a dream. He shook his head, scrunching his eyes shut, still desperate not to laugh. "Rh- S-Stop it-!"

"What was that? You're gonna have to speak up a little buddy." Hawks cooed, blowing into the blonde's ear, making him yelp as he bundled his shoulders up. "You're so dead!" He threatened, biting his lip again.

Toga smirked, bringing her other set of nails to his exposed knees, reverse pinching on the caps. "You look silly~" She grinned.

"The sooner you give up, the sooner this will stop." Hawks nodded.

"Lemme try!- I'll kill the brat, with laughter!" Twice hopped over, standing by the side and started to poke at Bakugos tummy, enjoying the muffled giggling that followed.

He won't break. He won't! Not now. Not ever-!

"Coochie, coochie, coooo~ C'mon buddy, we're all friends here." Hawks jeered, holding two of his longer feathers, slipping them into the short sleeves of Bakugos shirt, ever so lightly brushing and swirling against his vulnerable underarms.

"Gh-! Shihit! Ah- Mmh! No! Rh! Noho! HahAH!" He was on the edge. Right on the brink of bursting.

"You guys are so bad at this." Dabi smirked, standing over Toga, leaning in and starting to claw at Bakugos ribs. He wasn't starting soft like the others. He wanted to crush this UA student.

"AAAAH! Nahaha! Aha-! No! Nohohoho! AHAHA!"

"There she blows~!" Hawks teased, continuing his underarm torment.

"Ahahaha! S-Stahap! Hawks! God danm ihihit! HAHA!"

Toga switched up her tickling, matching Dabis ruthless energy as she pressed her thumbs on his inner thighs, feeling the muscles tense and wobble in panic. "Hmmm, not as cute as Dekus thighs. But this is still fun~"

"Gehet off! Get off my thihighs! StAHAHA!" This wasn't like any tickling he had experienced before. All these spots being attacked at once, it was crazy. Maybe a little enjoyable for the time being. But crazy. Twice rolled up Bakugos shirt, tucking it under the chest strap, leaving his belly and ribs exposed.

"Wow, he's buff!- And all ours." The two-bit man smiled, starting to shake his fingers into the exposed tummy, earning a bout of boyish giggling before the hysterics descended again. "Stahap! I-I'll never-! AHAHAHA! NEHEHEVER!"

"Oh yes you wiiiill~ Or we're just going to tickle you pink!" Hawks smiled, glad that he'd managed to make sure they at least didn't hurt the boy. He looked at Bakugos face, red as a tomato, tears pooling in the corners of his tightly shut eyes and a big smile on his face.

"Move your hands, Twice!" Toga suddenly yelled, licking her lips as she took a deep breath, plunging against Bakugos belly, blowing a round of short, fuzzy raspberries.

Bakugo all but melted, unable to do anything but flinch and squirm, his entire body filled with a flurry of tingles. "Stop, stop, stop! Stahap! STAHAHAHAP!"

Hawks sent out a few smaller feathers, all starting to tickle around Bakugos ears, neck and collarbone, freeing his hands for other places. "Let's seeeee. A little birdy, not me another bird, told me that there's a little secret spot. Bakugos off button. Where oh where was it?" He teased, knowing exactly where it was.

"Don't! Hawks, Hawks plehease! I can't tahAHAHA! AAAAAH-!"

"Bingo~" Hawks chuckled, drilling his fingers into the so-called off button. Just above his ribs, below his underarms. It did indeed turn the poor boy off. His laughter fell silent, only growing loud again when he needed to inhale.

The tickling went on like this for a while. Tears dripped onto Bakugos rolled-up shirt as he cried with laughter, his body drenched in sweat. With Hawks taking care of his vulnerable spot, Twice on his tummy, Dabi wrecking his ribs and Toga squeezing at his thighs and knees, along with Hawks damned feathers. He wasn't sure he could take much more.

"Okay-.... Ahaha! O-Okahay! Stahap! Hawks! Please! Plehehease! Please stahap! AHA! MEHERCY!" He cried out, feeling himself start to panic. His hair sticking to his forehead, getting in his eyes. They weren't stopping. They really weren't stopping.

"Fuhuhuck! AHAHA! PLEHEASE! STAHAhahap!" His throat became hoarse, his mind filling with fog.

Finally, after almost an hour, the tickling finally stopped. Bakugo's head slumped forward as he gasped for air. Exhausted. Hawks stayed with him after the other members left. He gently brushed the hair from Bakugos eyes. "You did great kid, you just rest, we'll talk later."

Bakugo was too tired to argue, he just gave hawks a glare before closing his eyes, still trying to catch his breath.

What happened after that was a mystery, next thing Bakugo knew, he was waking up back in his bed at the dorms. He didn't care what Hawks was up to, he knew there was a reason he was with the villains that night. And he was still too tired to think about it right now. He sighed, curling up underneath his warm blankets, drifting off to sleep again.

[lullabyes22-blog]

on a scale of 1 - 10 what would you say the alcohol tolerance of the characters in FnF are.

2 - Caitlyn: She isn't a fan of drinks, and even at social functions, tends to eschew the champagne for a tall glass of water. Sometimes if there is wine served at her family's dinners, she'll take a few sips, make appreciative noises about the label/year, then put the glass on a maid's tray when nobody's looking. The staff know the young miss dislikes spirits, and the nicer ones will sneak her a fresh juice at her mother's parties.

4 - Jayce: Like Caitlyn, he's not too fond of strong drinks. Champagne just goes up his nose, and the hard stuff makes him queasy after a few sips. At galas, he'll snag a glass of champagne - and then proceed to hold on to it for the duration of the night so nobody tempts him with refills. On the rare occasions he partakes too much, he's a friendly but somewhat pensive drunk. Will ruminate at length over his Hex-tech projects, science, magic, philosophy, the human condition - and his mom. Awww.

6 - Viktor: Undercity-born and bred, so he's had his share of gutrot hooch when growing up in the Fissures. Has better tolerance than Jayce, and sometimes monitors his science-buddy's intake to make sure he doesn't fall asleep facedown in some caustic solution. On principle, he is a teetotaler. Not only would booze exacerbate his poor health, he's generally at once drunk and high off the adrenaline of his and Jayce's projects. If he breaks his own rule and actually gets drunk, you'd best leave him alone. He's a quiet, bitter, irritable mess who just wants to lament his fickle mortality in peace.

7 - Jinx: Likes the fruity concoctions and cocktails, and can knock 'em back like a pro - but she isn't allowed a lot of opportunity to partake, because 1) Silco orders his crew to keep watch over her intake, and 2) having grown up in a bar, she doesn't find alcohol a huge novelty. Mostly, she sees liquid cheer as something losers need to give them courage. She's already got plenty. Not to mention loads of heavy artillery, all which requires a cool eye and a steady hand. She'll stick to her favorite cherry soda in her favorite sippy cup, tyvm.

8 - Vi: She's not much of a drinker. Like Jinx, having grown up in a bar, she also doesn't find alcohol hugely interesting. In many ways , the opposite: she's watched people get belligerent and make absolute jackasses of themselves while drunk. If invited to a night of drinking, she'll indulge in moderation, then quickly go into 'designated driver' mode and begin watching her companions' intake. Booze isn't bad for a little buzz, but she hates having to break the seal and go pee every twenty minutes.

9 - Silco: This man grew up drinking absolute poison. By this point, either his liver is made of steel - or on its last legs. That said, he's more of a casual drinker; he can go without alcohol if necessary, but nicotine is his real vice. Has an appreciation for top-shelf whiskeys, and the rare vintage wine - but in a pinch he'll drink the same swill as everyone else in the Lanes without batting an eyelid. Best stop him from getting drunk though. He's prone to rants full of billingsgate and general belligerence. Might threaten to gouge out someone's eye with a broken bottle right before he blacks out.

9 - Mel: Has a surprising tolerance for strong drink, and enjoys using them to smooth tempers and sweeten temperaments during galas and negotiations. A little liquid cheer enhances a good verbal spar in her experience. That said, she prefers high-end wines and will turn up her nose at hard liquors and beers. She also prefers to drink in moderation, so it's very rare that you'll find her tipsy, let alone drunk. On the rare occasion that it happens, she'll get somewhat quiet and melancholy, and want to go paint by herself.

10 - Sevika: An enigmatic well of a woman. Booze goes in. Nothing comes out. Not words, not tears, not tantrums. She's been known to drink the toughest comrades under the table, then shrug it off and go shoot pool or enjoy a round of darts. She's also the person the crew summon when Silco threatens to get too deep into his cups. He'd never tolerate being bodily hauled up to his quarters. But she can match him shot-for-shot and take his invective in stride, until he subsides into sleep. (She'll treat herself to his fine cigars afterwards. The next day, Silco will pretend he doesn't notice they're missing.)

[orcinus-veterinarius]

The Orchive

Get it? Orchive? Orca?

Below is a master list of (mostly) my original posts that address frequently asked questions! This is a living document and may not be comprehensive. I also utilize an extensive tagging system!

Some of these answers are older. Feel free to ask a question again, and I’ll let you know if my thoughts have grown at all.

Please note that some topics contain multiple links, so look carefully!

Zoos & Aquariums (General)

How do I know if a zoo is ethical?

Stereotypical behaviors

Unethical animal sanctuaries

Why are so many zoos "for-profit"?

Elephants in zoos

Zoos & Aquariums (Specific)

The Beluga Whale Sanctuary

Clearwater Marine Aquarium

The National Aquarium

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Greensboro Science Center

SEA LIFE aquariums

Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park

Brookfield Zoo

Dolphin Quest (and Dolphin Connection)

SOS Dolfijn

Killer Whales & SeaWorld

Why I'm "pro captivity"

Is SeaWorld AZA accredited?

What about Blackfish?

How SeaWorld helps animals

SeaWorld's marine rescue program

Why is public sentiment against SeaWorld?

Why do orcas' dorsal fins collapse in human care?

Should whales and dolphins have larger tanks?

SeaWorld's killer whale breeding program

Life expectancy of SeaWorld's killer whales

Should SeaWorld have ended their breeding program?

Why did SeaWorld use artificial insemination?

Are killer whales "too smart" to be in captivity?

Why does SeaWorld teach their orcas to do "circus tricks"?

Keiko (Free Willy)

Tilikum

Tokitae

Morgan

Dawn Brancheau

Toa & Ingrid Visser

Kiska & Marineland Canada

Killer Whale Ecotypes

Should Tokitae move to SeaWorld?

Why are those orcas attacking boats?

How do whales sleep?

Other Cetaceans

What's it really like for a whale or dolphin in an aquarium?

Aren't scientists against cetacean captivity?

What are some sources supporting cetaceans in human care?

What do we learn from having cetaceans in aquariums?

Do dolphins do well in captivity?

Don't wild dolphins swim hundreds of miles a day?

How long do dolphins live in captivity?

Swim-with-dolphins Programs

Dolphin shows

Wild dolphin tours

Do dolphins enjoy being touched?

US Navy Marine Mammal Program

Hvladimir the "Russian Spy Whale"

Indoor vs Outdoor marine mammal habitats

Why reproduction is important to cetacean welfare

Opposing the SWIMS Act

Cetacean ultrasounds

Why sea pens aren't the perfect solution

How come we can't just free the dolphins?

Are dolphins still captured from the wild?

Pets

Adopt don't shop?

Vet Medicine & Vet School

Zoo opportunities for vet techs

Client abuse

Animal Rights vs Animal Welfare

Veal crates

Dairy hutches

Dissections

Animal rights groups spread misinformation

Why don't you support the Humane Society of the United States?

Do you support the ASPCA?

Trophy hunting

Other

Commercial fisheries

Shark finning

Red wolves

Fun facts about eels

[tau1tvec]

The gaming and tech industries are literally in a race to the bottom, and it sucks so bad. Where's all the fun innovations?!

"Capitalism leads to new innovations," they said, but I don't remember anyone asking for computers to replace jobs and cost people their lives. All so the corporations don't have to pay for labor

Learned a long, long time ago that the backbone of capitalism is the invention of a problem, and the selling of the solution. Convenience is the biggest and most lucrative commodity anyone can sell in this world, bc the world is built to be inconvenient by the exact people selling the convinence.

The PS5 Pro ( and even the Xbox and Xbox GamePass in a way ), is actually a hilariously good example of this. They purposefully remove ports, accessories, disc drives, backwards compatibility, to inconvenience you, then go “oh but you can buy it on the side… or you can spend a little more for an even better one ✨”. They convince their consumers they need that extra 30fps ( even tho depending on the game they rlly don’t ), they create bloated, unoptimized games with high resolution assets that take up waaayyy too much space and then turn around and say “hey look, our shiny new plastic box has an extra Terabyte, that’ll be $700”.

It’s giving DLC burger meme, lol.

Every industry does it now too, even health insurance in the US sells body, eye and teeth plans separately like they aren’t all attached, and affect one another. Which is why it feels so difficult to escape it, like implementing genai pulling the “can’t be bad if we’re all doing it”.

This is all by design.

Expecting innovation in Capitalism is bound to disappoint eventually, anything that focuses only on profit does. The innovativeness of the original iPhone blew us away, yes it was incredibly exciting at the time bc no one else had done it. However that innovativeness revolved around the convenience of having a phone, an MP3 player, and a computer in your pocket, and since no new piece of major tech has been invented since, is it rlly any surprise at all that every iPhone feels like the last, but just slightly bigger and more expensive?

No one was technically asking for ai, but I’m sad to say these ai companies are doing numbers rn, even if it isn’t innovative, bc ai has been around a while, corporations just took it and ran with it and made it worse and less cool, it scratches the one itch that inconvenienced consumers love, convenience!

Which is why I wasn’t at all surprised, disappointed, but not surprised to find out from a recent article that 40% of students and teachers utilize it in their coursework. 🥲

[genericpuff]

my thoughts on tears of the kingdom (on a non-zelda blog)

so here's the thing, I love Zelda.

I've been playing the series since I was a child, practically raised on it by my oldest brother whom I have a 10 year age gap with. One of my most cherished childhood memories was when he got me Wind Waker on the Gamecube as a birthday present, I would have been around 7 years old and he would have been 17. Zelda was and still is a huge part of our lives.

So skip to today, we both got Tears of the Kingdom on launch day. We're both busy adults now who live far away from each other so we've just been updating each other on our progress and sending memes.

But I've got a lot of thoughts about the game that I really want to get out, as someone who's been with this series for two decades. My brother started with games like A Link to the Past and that was practically my first exposure to the series as well as it's what I would watch him play, alongside Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.

There will be mild SPOILERS ahead concerning the gameplay and story, so don't click the jump unless you've already played the game or don't mind getting spoiled!!! LONG POST AHEAD!

So I guess let's just get on with this, yeah? I'm not gonna separate it into "good" vs. "bad" because I find everything in this game has good shit that comes packaged with bad shit. It's a lot of pros with cons attached, so trying to separate it cleanly between "good" and "bad" isn't going to be a very productive approach.

I've seen TOTK described as "DLC" for Breath of the Wild (derogatory) while on the opposite end, Breath of the Wild has been described as the "tech demo" for Tears of the Kingdom (positive). Frankly, I can see where both sides are coming from. There are lots of elements in TOTK that feel like they could have been in BOTW, whereas other elements can confidently stand on their own separate from that of BOTW.

One such example is the new Sheikah Slate, aka the Purah Pad. While there are some features from BOTW that are surely missed (Cryonis, sigh) others have been replaced with far more beneficial features such as Ultrahand and Fuse (the bread and butter of this game) and Recall, which - controversial I'm sure - is far more functional and has way more opportunities to be useful than BOTW's Stasis ability. The Ultrahand ability alone is a massive upgrade, allowing you to go wild with the game's physics engine. The shrine puzzles are a lot stronger in this respect, having more to work with by combining the Ultrahand ability with thematic Zonai devices, often times taking you through a gauntlet of rooms with similar puzzle-solving, each more challenging than the last. There's nothing more satisfying - and doubly frustrating - than seeing the solution to a shrine you've already spent three days on and going "Wait, I could have done that???" It just goes to show that the inventive creativity necessary to solving these puzzles from BOTW has carried over twofold into TOTK.

However, I feel like these new features are less rewarding as the game goes on. While mechanics like Cryonis and remote bombs made exploring feel unique and accessible in BOTW, the lack of these features in TOTK have made exploring feel far more difficult than it should be. What used to be an easy - albeit slow - endeavor such as crossing a river by creating ice block bridges with Cryonis has now turned into an exercise in futility and physics knowledge. You can't just cross a river, you have to build a boat out of whatever resources you can find or use to cross said river. And while this is a very inventive feature that has really stretched the creative bones of its players, it's a feature that becomes draining. Sometimes you really do just want to cross a river without having to build a spaceship or a ferry. Sometimes you do just want to be able to get up to the top of a cliff without needing to build a hot air balloon. Even with the Autobuild ability, these new mechanics do really start to feel grating after a while, especially for someone such as myself who struggles with executive dysfunction and doesn't want to build yet another boat or flying car just to travel 10 feet.

Regarding that last statement, I think the inclusion of the Ascend ability helps to combat tiresome climbing, but it never seems to be an option quite as often as it could be. I've seen people praise the ability stating that it helps them avoid climbing cliffs entirely, but more often than not, I've found the ability is only usable for a third of a rocky mountain where it happens to have a platform jutting out that's close enough for Ascend to reach - with the rest of it encouraging you to just climb up naturally, or, you guessed it, use the Ultrahand ability to build your way up. The Ascend ability - like Statis from the game's predecessor - is very specific and not accessible enough in the world's design to make it actually helpful. You know exactly when and where you're supposed to use it, and trying to use it outside of those instances won't get you anywhere. Of course, I'm not going to judge this ability too hard because it's still more than what we had in BOTW, but I find its application isn't quite as useful as it could be.

And boy, there are a lot of things in TOTK that don't have as strong an application as they could. I think there's no truer place this could be said than the expansion of the game's map, through The Sky and The Depths.

Disappointingly enough, just like in Skyward Sword, which suffered for having a strong premise but weak delivery with an open sky that had nothing to do in it, Tears of the Kingdom has barely fleshed out its Sky and Depths areas enough to make them feel memorable or worth going out of your way to explore. Once you've explored 10% of either, you've experienced all of it. While the Sky and the Depths each have their own dungeon, neither of them really feel justified enough to explain why they had to be there. The Depths don't add anything to the nature of the Fire Temple - by the time you're finished with it, you'll forget you're even in the Depths - and while the Water Temple does have the addition of lowered gravity up in the Sky, no other islands have this, so it feels like a random addition in the way of a gimmick that doesn't actually play much of a role in the dungeon's puzzle-solving.

As for the Depths, I do have to say that the game introduced it in the best way possible. No one spoke of them, outside of an NPC in Lookout Landing sending you on a quest to find a nearby one, but they still don't describe to you what you're about to come upon. It wasn't in any of the gameplay trailers. You see a big hole in the ground with gloom coming out of it, you know you can jump down into it, but it's not until you actually do that you realize you're diving down into the belly of a completely different beast. Link keeps falling and you're realizing how dark it's getting and hoping you can pull out your paraglider in time to hit a ground that you realize you cannot see - when the music shifts and the horns blare and your stomach sinks realizing just how dark and vast this place is.

The Depths are what I truly fell in love with in this game. I was struck with that primal fear in my gut that I hadn't felt since playing Majora's Mask as a child. For the first time in forever, I felt like the smaller species, like a speck of dust in unfamiliar territory. It was a welcome feature for a game that - if you had preceded it with Breath of the Wild - needed something to shake things up.

But, unfortunately, that initial thrill wears off eventually. The Depths become just that - a vast expanse with nothing in it. Aside from the odd treasure chest containing a piece of gear, the Bargainer's Statues, and a couple main story quests that take you down there, the Depths have nothing. Mapping them out is a feat in and of itself, even more daunting than mapping out the above ground with its tens of lightroots, but once you get at least 50% through the map, you realize that there's really nothing else to it. In fact, the map of the Depths exactly mirrors that of the map above you, with even less to do due to its lack of notable landmarks (outside of a central mining area, the Korok Grove, and the aforementioned Fire Temple), lack of biome distinction between areas (aside from the Eldin area created specifically for the Fire Temple), and lack of shrines. Once you figure that out, mapping out the rest of it is an unfortunately boring cakewalk.

I think both of these new inclusions in the game are unfortunately half-baked, making TOTK in and of itself feel like a tech demo for something that could have been more expanded upon. That said, it's a tall order, to ask for the game to run an in-depth open world map on three separate levels - the hardware itself already often struggles to load the Depths if you dive down into them too quickly, as the fall itself is its own cleverly hidden loading screen - but it's a shame to see it essentially repeat the mistakes of Skyward Sword, and it's where I feel that "this could have been DLC" complaint comes from.

There are features that feel like mild downgrades from BOTW, such as its new Fuse ability to fuse together weapons. While it seems inventive at first, the amount of inventory being carried over from BOTW makes the gameplay grind to a halt as you scroll through your pop-up inventory list to find the right thing to attach to your arrows or weapons, often times mid combat. While you can sort your menu into different sections - such as 'most used' and 'most powerful' - such a thing could have been fixed by allowing the player to create their own custom lists of items or just reducing what is and isn't capable of being fused. It feels like an unnecessary extra step thrown in to BOTW's weapon degradation mechanic just to make it feel more unique.

Moving on, this is where I want to talk about the game's story. Like the last game, it asks Link to piece together the memories of companions already gone. The story woven within these memories is a tragic one, with an emotional depth to it that I found myself relating far more to than in BOTW, which asked us to sympathize with characters who we had never met and were already gone. On the flipside, TOTK manages to tell a similar story with a lot more emotional depth, now using Princess Zelda as the tether between the present and the past, in a way that I feel works much better than in BOTW. Its climactic twist felt like something you would find in Spirited Away, and its one that I felt was appropriate for the game's setting and themes. That said, I still do not find myself compelled by this game's version of the Champions, similarly to what I experienced in BOTW. At the very least, it brings back cast members from BOTW for us to connect through, such as Purah and Lady Impa, who I was happy to see return.

And then there are the Sages.

I have a lot to say about the Sages.

The Sages have to be the single worst inclusion of this game. And that's not to say they ruin the game, but in a game full of wonderful moments and amazing gameplay, they definitely feel like a tarnishing C- on an otherwise perfect report card. Just like in Breath of the Wild, the game's main story gameplay is the weakest part of Tears of the Kingdom. While BOTW had Link conquering the out-of-control Divine Beasts, TOTK asks Link to unearth ancient temples and awaken the spirits of sages long gone for their powers to be reborn through their descendants, three of which happen to be the successors of BOTW's Champions: Riju, Sidon, and Yunobo. While the development team and press surrounding this game called these temples "traditional dungeons", they are fundamentally the exact same as the Divine Beasts, following the same 4-beat structure in which you have to activate 4 'locks' (themed around the dungeon's setting) to unlock the dungeon's boss. I found these dungeons were often even easier than the Divine Beasts of BOTW, essentially asking Link to solve four separate shrine puzzles to get to a boss that follows a simple mechanic loop. While the bosses are far less repetitive than the Blights of BOTW, they are also far less intimidating or punishing, barely requiring any extensive thought to figure out how to overcome them. The hardest boss in the game - the Gibdo Queen - ironically had one of the easiest dungeons out of the four.

But here's the thing - Tears of the Kingdom is built the exact same way as Breath of the Wild, giving the player freedom to choose the order in which they complete dungeons, if they even choose to complete them at all... but unlike past Zelda games which offered this freedom, TOTK fails in how it delivers these dungeons and the narrative surrounding them. I was miffed upon completing my second dungeon - the Fire Temple - and realizing that the cutscenes it presented were the exact same as the first one I did - the Wind Temple - and sure enough, that same cutscene played out from its respective sage for the following Water Temple and Lightning Temple. They are all the same. While one could argue this was their way of navigating around the freedom of choice - to allow the player to experience neutral cutscenes that won't be out of order or out of context - the memories themselves are also out of order and out of context so having the dungeon cutscenes be varied should be a feature, not a bug to patch out. Currently, with its repetitive cutscenes and what you gain from completing a dungeon, it makes them far less enjoyable to do, knowing you're essentially just doing one big shrine with a giant enemy (one you can find in the Depths for farming, which makes them feel far less unique or imposing) with the reward of a heart in the end.

Of course, I'm forgetting to mention the other reward you get after completing a dungeon. Sage abilities. The biggest downgrade from BOTW by far.

In BOTW, upon completing a Divine Beast, you would be granted with an ability from its respective Champion, typically a passive one - meaning, if you had the ability enabled, it would activate on its own or you could trigger it a specific way, such as Mipha's Grace which would automatically revive you once in between cooldowns (basically a fairy you didn't have to catch) and, the fan favorite, Revali's Gale, which could be triggered by holding down the jump button and would grant you so much more ease of exploring.

Tears of the Kingdom, instead, asks "What if we made all of the Champions their own characters who could run around you, get in your way, and offer even less useful abilities?"

The present Sages - Yunobo, Tulin, Riju, Sidon, and Mineru - are akin to a teenager taking way more dogs than they could handle out for a walk. They are five nuisances who will run away from you when you need them, and run around you when you're just trying to pick up an item, causing you to accidentally trigger their abilities which are simply mapped to the A button. Too many times I've had them trigger a fight with enemies I was trying to avoid, blow away loot I was trying to grab, or blow up explosives that I wasn't aiming at, killing me outright. While they can be turned off, I feel like it could have been far easier to implement them in a way that wasn't so distracting and obtrusive - currently, the way they're implemented basically demands you keep them turned off until you absolutely need them. Considering a map of the Switch controller buttons comes up with the A button highlighted, it begs the question, why even have the other three buttons visible onscreen if they can never be mapped? Why not make use of different buttons for different companions? Or make them passive abilities similar to that of the Champions from BOTW? Overall, their inclusion feels clunky and not well thought out, and their abilities aren't near beneficial or useful enough to justify this much headache. At most, Yunobo is helpful in blowing up rock walls when you don't have Bomb Flowers, and Tulin is helpful in gusting you towards a landing spot while gliding through the sky, but that's about where their usefulness ends. Unlike in BOTW, the efforts required to gain their abilities barely feels like a reward, but more of an obligatory chore, making the dungeons feel even less rewarding to do.

With all that said, unlike in BOTW, Tears of the Kingdom never becomes a smoother experience to explore. The effort you put into completing the dungeons and gaining better weapons and gear never feels rewarded with anything substantial or worth working for. The Sage abilities are a burden and give very little benefit to exploring or combat the same way BOTW's Champion abilities did, the dungeons themselves aren't experiences worth writing home about, and the story is so milquetoast and repetitive that once you beat one dungeon, you've experienced all of them.

That said, while I've done a lot of complaining, there are a lot of things about the game I'm enjoying compared to Breath of the Wild. One such thing are the sidequests - there are a LOT more of them in this game, and many of them feel far more engaging and rewarding than Breath of the Wild. Accessing the Great Fairies requires an actual sequence of quests now, in which you bring a travelling band back together, and from that point forward, you can always hear them playing their music at the stables scattered throughout Hyrule. Hateno has its own questline that rewards you with what's possibly Link's greatest piece of fashion ever, Cece's Hat. Even the small quests feel more rewarding to do because TOTK feels far busier than BOTW did. There are far more NPC's, and the world itself just feels more lively; I wouldn't expect any less in the sequel to BOTW which experienced a cataclysmic event that wiped out the population of the kingdom. It's nice to see the difference in how the towns operate in TOTK because you can feel it through its sidequests. There are still Yiga Clan members in disguise on the surface, but it's far less now compared to BOTW where you couldn't talk to an NPC on the road without getting shanked.

Of course, it wouldn't be a BOTW sequel without one of its most daunting sidequests of all - the Korok Seed quest. This time, there are 1000 Korok Seeds to find, with new puzzles to find them, most notably the escort quests, which require you to build whatever godforsaken Roman-era torture device you need to build to get wandering Koroks from Point A to Point B.

That said, the unfortunate news I have to break to you after finally seeing someone complete the quest themselves - all that awaits you in the end, once again, is "Hestu's Gift" which I have to say, isn't as quite as funny the second time around. While in BOTW it felt like a funny nudge at completionists, in the vein of "Haha, look at you! You worked so hard to get all those seeds and all that awaited you was a pile of poop! It's all in good fun! The real prize was the adventuring you did along the way!" but having that be the end prize again in TOTK where we're exploring regions we've already explored before feels far more passive-aggressive, like it's making fun of you for really doing what the devs expected you to do a second time, with a snarky, "Seriously? You're that stupid? You really thought there'd be something new this time?" Especially considering the Koroks exclusively populate the Sky and the Surface - giving players even less incentive to want to explore the Depths, further robbing this new expansive area of less identity. Ironic that the Depths, an area so big that it requires its own hidden loading screen, would end up having even less to do than the Sky itself, which barely covers any surface area in the game's overall map by comparison. It's a damn shame the devs couldn't be bothered to think of something to reward the player with for all their work. At least in BOTW it could be said the reward was the exploration, as so much of BOTW's map goes untouched by its main story and its world was brand new to us back then - it's not brand new now, though, and the areas that are new are going completely unused.

I realize this review is getting quite long, but I want to close it with one final point - Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom's place in the Zelda franchise.

There's a startling lack of one specific thing that makes a Zelda game truly Zelda, despite the dev's best efforts to return its old school elements such as traditional "dungeons" and its nods to previous games in the title through its referential gear sets implemented right into the game (vs. exclusively as DLC in BOTW) - and that's the Triforce.

It's said that a true Zelda game can't contain its core triad of characters - Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf - without containing the Triforce in the center of all of it, and yet Tears of the Kingdom did this, and frankly, it just proves that point.

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not good at singling out a 'favorite'. Whenever people ask me what my favorite Zelda game is, my mind races through all the titles I played as a child - Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess - and yet I rarely think of Breath of the Wild and likely won't think of Tears of the Kingdom either. It's not for lack of trying or consideration, I do think both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are respectable games, both inclusive and exclusive of one another, but rarely does my mind go to them because to me, they don't feel like true Zelda games. And I didn't realize why until I recalled that the last game we had featuring Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, and the Triforce as core setpieces... was Twilight Princess. A game that will be turning seventeen this year, and will likely be twenty by the time the next mainline Zelda game releases. And one could argue even Twilight Princess doesn't count because Ganondorf was a last second addition - if we want to be really obtuse about it, technically we haven't gotten a game featuring Link, Zelda and Ganondorf as our main characters since Wind Waker, a game that turned twenty years old last year!

I felt its absence especially in Tears of the Kingdom, seeing Ganondorf manipulate his way into stealing the sigh 'secret stones' (I'm sorry but that name is so fucking cringe, please just call them "sacred stones" or "mystic stones" or SOMETHING more interesting than "secret stones", we don't even get any sort of lore or hinting towards where they came from, they're just magical McGuffin's with a stupid name) but not once mention his true motivations prior to finding out about the stone's existence. There was no emotional motivation such as what can be seen in The Wind Waker through a Ganondorf scorned by his lost culture and the kingdom that he just wanted to see wiped out to make things even; or Ocarina of Time Ganondorf who sought to access the Sacred Realm and take the Triforce and all its power for himself. Shit, there wasn't even a mention of Demise, the massive plot-twister of Skyward Sword, which Nintendo attempted to make the ultimate explanation as to why the games and their stories experience the same warring cycle from generation to generation; an explanation that could have worked, if they had actually followed up on it through BOTW and TOTK - yet, despite having the opportunity to do so, seem to just be whistling around the issue, pretending like it's not there. Despite having an Ouroboros in its title art, this cycle of death and rebirth is noticeably gone in Tears of the Kingdom.

Look, I get it. The developers have already stated that they're intent on moving forward with its open world format in future Zelda games. It's making them a lot of money. It's refreshing. It's bringing new fans into the franchise. And it's bridging the gap between generations by re-introducing classic exploration elements of retro Zelda while trying to also balance the narrative elements that modern post-N64 Zelda fans have come to expect.

But when you tear apart all the original components of a franchise, of its themes, its characters, its stories, and replace them with new components only slightly reminiscent of the old... can that franchise really be called the same thing anymore? When people ask me what my favorite Zelda game is, I don't think of Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom because to me, they're just not Zelda games. They're just what they are - Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Nintendo had a huge opportunity to make Tears of the Kingdom into a game that could tie its predecessors together with a neat little bow, and yet it still took the half-baked way out, layering it instead with its own story that doesn't even really work or take advantage of the foundation it's standing upon. They're their own games, and that's okay, but I can't help but feel that the further we go down this road, the less it'll encompass what made Zelda what it was to begin with.

And yeah, I'm sure I'm just being a typical 'old Zelda fan' who's complaining about the exact same thing that people complained about in games like Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. But when your Zelda game featuring Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf does not mention a word of the Triforce, I think both retro and modern Zelda fans can agree to even a slight extent that you can't have Legend of Zelda without the Triforce. That would be like having Super Mario without Power Stars (or some equivalent of them) or Kirby without its existential nihilism or Sonic without Chaos Emeralds. Sure, you can have games in their franchises without their respective trademarks, but do it enough times and people will start to notice something's seriously off. I think we can all agree that while Twilight Princess and Wind Waker may be, aesthetically and thematically, completely different games, you can't deny they're Zelda games at their core because they still have that signature cast fighting over those pesky golden Doritos.

In this respect, Tears of the Kingdom feels like it's suffering from the same problem Star Wars is suffering from - it exists to spite the titles that came before it, but knows it won't succeed without the fans of those titles so it makes as many cheeky references to those titles as it can without paying actual respect to them. It even opens the game with references to things that retro gamers will recognize - Rauru, Ganondorf recognizing Link's name, etc. - but then all those elements are later revealed to be unique to TOTK, such as Rauru being the first King of a Hyrule that's exclusive to the BOTW timeline, or Ganondorf only recognizing Link's name because a time-travelling Zelda told him his name, not because it's the same Ganondorf of titles' past. It feels incredibly disappointing to have all this setup and so little payoff especially for these games that are claiming to be the 'next step' for the franchise. It feels less like a 'next step' and more like a complete reboot for a different audience. These games are not reminiscent of what pulled me and my brother into the franchise way back in the day.

But I dunno, maybe it's a weird hill to die on. I don't want to be one of those "not my Zelda" puritans but when the games don't even contain elements of what made them distinctly Zelda back in the day, down to its trademark features, it makes me wonder what exactly where the series is headed.

Anyways. That was a lot. I do want to make it clear that I am enjoying this game, very much so, but like many games that top the charts with solid 10/10's on release, I feel like there are definitely still places the game could have been further refined, despite the extra year it took to polish it. From the inconvenient gameplay halters like the inventory fusing, to the obtrusive butchering of the Sage abilities, so many things could have been tightened up just a bit more to further improve on what Breath of the Wild started, rather than trade out what BOTW did for weaker alternatives. It's a game of gimmicks, rather than one of substance. While Breath of the Wild lacked substance itself in many regards, it at least had the benefit of being a brand new format, with a vast world one could spend hours exploring - with that same world returning in Tears of the Kingdom, with very little done to flesh out the attempts to expand it, it very much feels like it's simply riding off the coattails of Breath of the Wild, and in that regard, I can agree to an extent with the "DLC" arguments, while also agreeing that there are things in TOTK that very much improve on BOTW and make it look like a tech demo.

One thing I will recommend in the end to those of you who might be reading this - do not play Breath of the Wild right before Tears of the Kingdom. Whether it's your first time playing BOTW or you're wanting to revisit it, don't do it. I was fortunate enough that my last time playing BOTW was several months ago, but I've seen loads of people not enjoying TOTK because they replayed BOTW in the days before its release, and let me tell you, this game is far less of a unique or fun experience if you play BOTW right before playing TOTK due to the world design. If you play them one after the other, you'll burn yourself out on it and not get to appreciate what TOTK adds to BOTW's world as much as if you had gone in partially or mostly blind.

And that's all I'm gonna say on that. Tears of the Kingdom gets a 8.5/10 from me. I am excited to see where the franchise goes next in terms of its open world concept, I hope Nintendo can at least stray away from this version of Hyrule so we can get something new like we did in BOTW. Tears of the Kingdom was by no means a negative experience for me, and I'm planning on getting back into it tonight and tackling more of its sidequests, which are probably one of my favorite parts of the game. I could very well be way too hard on it, so this opinion could change over time as I spend more time in its world, but these are my general experiences that have come up in the back of my mind over the past couple weeks since its release.

Thanks for reading!

[rinofwater]

Yo, I legit want to hear your data disk theory bc I was kinda thinking the same thing? Except I figured that if they really are magnetic hard disks then they'd be even more fragile than DVDs/CDs since even a stray magnet could screw up all the data? I am but a lowly software person so I don't exactly how storage mediums work all too much lol. Also, if the old world was really DA FUTURE(tm), wouldn't their computer storage be more in SSDs than HDDs? There might be an economic reason to stick with HDDs but if their computing tech was at the level of sentient AIs and stuff they hypothetically would have the faster, more compact storage in those...

Reminds me of the deep dive I did to figure why the hell telegraphs in the My Time world are called telegraphs if they're supposedly wireless (short answer: it's probably primitive radio? i have no idea how the hell transmissions can work at distances up to cross-country tho)

Oh boy, I'm so glad you asked! I've done IT infrastructure repair work for a couple years now, and my last job actually had me working with a lot of storage servers in particular for the latter half of my job, so I have Opinions(tm) on this small detail lol. And those are all really good questions too. And hopefully I don't get too technical trying to answer it, but I make no promises (and it's DEFINITELY going to be long and rambly so bear with me)

So starting with it being The Future(tm), there are pros and cons to going HDD versus SSD versus NVMe today, but did you know that not only is tape storage still in use, but it's actually still considered a modern, practical solution to archival storage with the technology still being upgraded and developed, even right now in 2023? Archival in this case being the sort of data you need to hold onto for 20, 30, 40 years or more without a constant need to have read/write access to that data. The tape servers have a cool robot arm in them and everything to move the tape cassettes around. A lot of this technology isn't actually aging out because it has its niche, it's just being modernized to settle it more in that niche

So with HDDs versus SSDs, they are becoming fairly comparable to each other today, HDD was winning out for a long time because SSD was a lot more expensive to get ahold of at the same storage capacity as HDD. That's great from a regular end-user perspective because you can get that upgrade more practically and reap the benefits of not having to rely on physical moving parts to access your data. Swapping it out on a server level is going to be a much larger and more expensive project, though, without seeing a lot of additional benefit for going that direction. A lot of the benefits that you would see for swapping to SSD on a regular computer have already been accounted for in existing server designs for a while now, in the form of RAID technology (Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disks; fancy way of saying "get a bunch of drives to take on the work of one drive and then replace any drives that break along the way"; being able to share the data load across multiple drives improves efficiency and then you can also replace broken disks on the fly without having to worry about the integrity of the overall storage system as long as you don't sit on too many dead disks for too long)

Not to say that SSDs won't still overtake HDD eventually, as new servers are installed in datacenters and closets, they're increasingly having SSD as the supported format, but there's not a good enough benefit to rush through fading out HDD at the moment when they're still about comparable to each other and the weaknesses have largely been accounted for. And even then, there are always going to be legacy servers that get passed up for upgrades either because nobody sees a need or it's too important to the overall infrastructure or any number of reasons, at which point they're still almost definitely going to be sticking with HDDs even in The Future

So that's the long-winded justification for why I think it's plausible that there would still be large enough quantities of HDDs kicking around even in the future for them to end up in ruins of that future

As for the justification of how you'd be able to get enough usable data off of them given the notorious fragility of those disks, I chalk it up to a matter of quantity. When I was installing brand-new storage servers for a customer, one drawer could hold up to around a hundred hard drives, and there were often four or five drawers slated for install with one server. If you figure that your average HDD has about three to six platters, multiply that by 100, and then multiply that by the drawers, and then the number of identical hardware setups that are also set up around it, and that number just keeps going up by orders of magnitude. Most of those platters are absolutely going to be shattered or wiped or otherwise damaged in a way that renders them useless, and the percentage that make it out in-tact enough is going to be very small. But if you take a very small percentage of the ridiculously large number of platters you can expect to find in a datacenter (even the smaller ones) is still going to give you the chance of finding enough usable platters that you can pull something off of them. Like, we're talking millions or billions of platters just in one place, if you take .01% or .001% or even .0001% of that kind of number as your chances of finding something in tact you're still looking at a fairly decent pool of workable salvage to sort through*

(*In theory, anyway; in practice, you usually need all the platters that are associated with an HDD to be able to put the data together into something usable given the way data's distributed across them...not that it's impossible to grab information off of a single platter but it would take A LOT of extra work to figure out how to reverse engineer it into working versus having the full set. It could still be possible but that factor drags the already small percentage down even further. But then, I would be surprised if Pathea has given it NEARLY as much thought as this, so after a certain point, there's kinda just the shrugging to say "video game logic" lol...but before reaching that point I'm going to have my fun spending way too much time trying to figure out how it *could* work)

With the quantity argument, as well, you're also way more likely to see that kind of overabundance of HDD than you would DVDs or CDs; DVDs just aren't scalable in the same way, both in terms of the amount of data they can store and the amount of read/write flexibility they have. You're also a lot less likely to find the sort of information on a DVD that you would find in a storage server; DVDs are more useful for executable programs than they are for data storage, and even that purpose is superceded by a usb thumb drive a lot of the time. There wouldn't be nearly as many to account for in an apocalypse situation and that means the statistics are going to hit them much harder

Anyway, yeah, that's my nerdy ass supposition for this headcanon, thanks again for giving me an excuse to ramble on about it and I hope it makes sense lol

[alantea87]

So, I’ve clocked my first 24 hours with the Nokia 2660 Flip. Truly a flip-you to my iPhone and its addicting qualities. Nothing groundbreaking to use a dumb-phone, but I wanted to challenge myself again to rejoin reality and reconnect with my friends and family properly… by stripping back my use of technology to its bare essentials.

Why…

After many months of wanting to pull away from social media, WhatsApp and iOS, I was apprehensive yet elated at the very idea. What about the memes? Thirst posts? Corgis? I’d miss them all. But much needed clarity came crashing in: my iPhone had become my adult pacifier (or dummy for us Brits). Using your smartphone during times of boredom, times of stress, or times of wanting connection has become a habit of many. And, I was no exception. Especially the doom-scrolling for hours on end after work. Luckily, after some realisation… my emotions were at the mercy of this bloody thing. Not to mention the continued horrors of witnessing violence or harassment on Instagram reels - content like this seemingly slipping through censorship safeguards. I had enough and wanted to go back simpler times, even at the dismay of others. I finally bought my second dumb-phone in two years, but this time it was far more usable (bigger buttons, predictive texts, foldable display). I wanted to really try much harder in having an iPhone-less life, even if it created a touch more inconvenience.

Neck-deep…

Sometimes I feel that tech companies invent inconveniences in order to sell more solutions directly to you. And as someone who used to work at Apple’s Regent Street store years back (when the first iPhone was launched, mind you), Apple has turned into a capitalist nightmare. I miss their earlier days of really creating a tech solution to improve your life. Now it’s all about that coin and I forget I am neck-deep in their eco system and feel like I’m drowning in their “YOU’RE MY ELITE EMPLOYEE” energy, so I feel I have to keep on buying more. Yes, the integration of all of their devices work incredibly well. But sometimes I feel that innovation doesn’t always address your ability to connect (naturally) with other people. In fact, my self and a lot of my friends (at my age), now feel that modern technology hinders deep, meaningful connections e.g. good old face-to-face conversations in the real world. I think as a millennial (and listen up gen z), I forget that conversation in person is incredibly nuanced: one has to balance tone, emotion, inflection and practice patience. It involves drama and full expression - hands, legs and otherwise! Real connection. No avatars, no emojis, no hiding. Worst case scenario, make a phone call and use your voice. Having said that, I will have to practice what I preach now that it’s much harder to write big messages via SMS on an alphanumeric keypad, lol. I’m more likely to text “can I call you in a bit instead?”.

Current tech hoes…

I have in fact have not fully compromised my relationship with tech. I am using an iPad for emails and internet. Plus, I have resorted to using my Apple Watch as a “mp3 player” paired with my AirPods Pro 2s. I forgot that if you have an Apple Music sub, you can download songs/albums/playlists directly to your Apple Watch via Wi-Fi etc. Perfect for the gym and the commute. Because I am sure as hell that I won’t be touching those dodgy Temu-like music players on Amazon. Frankly, they look like they would crumble in your hand and would be carcinogenic. Remember guys, tech companies have turned once a useful tool (the smartphone) into a slot-machine in your hand. Your emotions are being played with and sometimes I did enjoy aspects of that (memes, targeted videos/content etc) but I say: no bloomin more. For now. Lol. Famous last words. I’m going to try and do two weeks minimum with my Nokia 2660 and see how I survive.

Challenges to expect…

Unlike the Nokia 2680 Flip (only sold in North America, I think) as a fancier operating system that allows WhatsApp and a stripped down version of Google Maps. GPS navigation on that version of the 2660 apparently works alright, but you wouldn’t be able to use it in car for driving (I don’t drive anyway). But my main concern about using a feature phone is that lack of mapping. And I chronically get lost in London, despite being born and raised in Hackney/Islington. So I do plan to use my iPhone (loaded up with a data eSIM) to use it like it was a good old TomTom. Sorry gen z, these were old standalone GPS screen/devices you retrofitted in your car. But only if I plan on going somewhere totally new. Otherwise, I will try and relearn the bus network (within reason, lol) and tube map relative to my needs. I kinda miss those days of printing out directions and/or relying on your actual brain to problem solve and to get your bearings. Other things I may or may not miss out on: QR code scanning/presenting, tube/weather updates, voice notes.

Final words…

Scaling back to a dumb-phone has actually already reduced my levels of anxiety, sense of disconnect or being part of comparison culture. The very act of adding in your contacts manually one-by-one like the 90s/2000s into a cellphone was quite therapeutic despite its novelty. I think you can import a vCard, but couldn’t be arsed. *Carrie Bradshaw voice* But then I thought to myself (as I typed each contact into my Nokia keypad): damn boy… do I only really have three (actual) friends?

Two books I am currently reading and recommend.

[agentjayrock]

Uber? Lyft? What the hell is going on?

Ever had to contact customer support and heard over an automated voice instead of a human? How about contacting them and once you explain to them your issues only for them to give you ready-made responses as they haven't clue of what you're talking about? Well, that's been my excrcuiating experience as a driver for both companies at the same time. So, let's dive into how ludicrous it's been.

Let's start with Uber since it's rich with crazy stories. Uber has kind of a fair hourly wage going $25-30. You can receive payments on weekly basis like most jobs and contracts. Or you can have instant access to your money and even cash out once you've finished your shift with the Pro Card. Of course, I would choose the latter because why not? Normally I cash out directly to my debit card and needed I new one some time ago. I went in to change the details for the new card and had to undergo a security code verification via text message. I never received it so I had to contact support. I explained the issue I had and was told to whilelist my phone number from a text message. That's strange. How come I can receive text messages from Pro Card just fine when logging in, but not for this? Because this didn't work. I thought that this had to be a problem in their end. Now, a good tech support agent would troubleshoot such an issue should a solution like that not work. Not here; they "took it to further support" (Bear with here. I couldn't remember exactly what they said.) in order to resolve my issue. Their response: logout and in, reinstall the app and restart my phone. None of that worked because it's the most half-assed set of solutions of all time. Imagine if EA told you do that with their games you try to boot up. It'll just add the notoriety they're known for having.

It didn't feel like I was chatting with a human, so I decided to call support for a better chance. I had to wait (Get ready for this) ONE MOTHERFUCKING HOUR just to talk with someone. I can't believe I had the patience for that. I finally get to talk with an agent, only for them to tell me the same. Damn. Thing. Dude, what the fuck? Is Uber run by Skynet or something?! I kept contacting until I remembered why I had to whitelist the phone number I've been using with my account: it's because it's believed that it was being blocked by the provider. The number here is one I had setup for business reasons via TextFree, so I contacted them about it and they told me there was no issue on their end. Is Uber screwing with at this point? But, I went and switched the number on my account to my personal one, thinking that the business number is being assumed to be a VoIP, which is not allowed with some services. I finally get the code needed to finalize debit card changes to my Pro Card account.

Now this next story really interfered with my job significantly. I've been doing rideshare look normal, steady with a consistent schedule I setup for myself. The one thing that annoys me is that I have to verify my facial identity every once in a while. I mean, you know what I look like. Nothing too drastic has changed about me. So, why do I gotta go through this as I begin the job at a desired time? One day, I randomly go into the trip preferences menu to see it go from this:

To this:

Note: the Uber Eats food delivery preference is suppose to be there, but I didn't take a screenshot before it disappeared.

Of course, I had to talk to an agent. But this was more aggravating. I tried my damnedest to explain this issue. The agent, however, couldn't seem to figure out what I mean. Did they not have any job training? Once that was sorted, the agent said things like "This should be the type of experience for you to have" or "We understand your concern". Do ya, really? Because you should've went deeper into it by now. Continuing with this chat, guess what they told me then: the same solution from the Pro Card "troubleshoot", but that didn't work because THE APP IS NOT THE FUCKING PROBLEM! I disconnected and got in contact with a different agent. This bullshit repeated, but I got a whole new response. I got confirmation of my eligibility to have these preferences, including UberXL, and it was still approved. They also actually spent the time to look into it for a few minutes, although it was longer than. The problem involved the inspection of the vehicle I have registered. They wanted me to show an image of a newly documented inspection, but I don't have to worry about it for another 6 months. In my state at least, (I'm from the USA) I have to perform an annual inspection for legal validity of driving the vehicle, and it's $100. Doing this every 6 months makes no sense and it feels like it'll lead to an endless money pit, as a certain mechanic would say.

After that was sorted, I went back to doing the job like normal, only for it to happen again the next week. Starting to feel like Uber has a grudge against me. I go back to dealing with the same ol' crap more frustrated than ever, even angry, and get an unexpected response: I'm not eligible to perform UberXL rides. Well, isn't this the most inept thing to happen here? I drive a minivan, goddammit. What do you mean I'm not eligible? I just disconnected and almost didn't bother to reach another agent. But, I'm managed to collect myself and get it sorted out like last time. I'm certain this will happen again however.

On the Lyft side of things, the same issue with support, except this is about emblems. Speaking of those emblems, the adhesive is weak sauce. So, I needed new ones. You can order new ones from the site or app with the push of a button. It's suppose to arrive within week, but didn't as that time range passed. I had to contact an agent, but it was hard to do it on the app because for some reason, they have too high of expectations that problems are solved with FAQs. But this is a troubleshooting issue; there's no way they can believe things can work fine that easily all the time. I had to go to the site to get help, and they responded by arranging a new order, which did arrive. Thing is, I've had this problem since I first signed up. I didn't even get my training kit with the cool pink mustache. After those emblems wear out too soon, I had to order another pair. Here's me thinking "Maybe they sorted out that issue with the delivery". But something even worse happened:

And as of the date of this blog post, it's still like this. Why? I even contacted them with this screenshot and they just gave me an automated message saying they'll just reship the emblems. This shouldn't have to be the only way to obtain new emblems beside the Express Hubs, which is too far from where I live. And they didn't arrive this time. If I contact them about any other problem, it'll just be the same type of response instead of troubleshooting.

Now, I don't know too much about the experience with support for riders since I've not used rideshare often. But I'm sure there's similar issues. The fact that this is the type of support we receive is unacceptable. It's as if they only measure their success financially based on the quantity of users. With the money they make, you'd think they could hire more competent employees for tech support, but they just found some random people with barely any tech skills to speak of and brought them in. There's got to be some kind of union strike or something because we can't keep letting them get away with this.

[art-of-manliness]

Podcast #1,020: Becoming a Tech Intentional Family

In a family, a lot of the dynamics around devices and screens are reactive in nature. Kids bug for their own smartphones, parents worry they’ll be left out without one, and without weighing the pros and cons, give in to their kids’ requests. Parents let children have a ton of screen time because it lets the parents do what they want; then, they reach a moment where they feel disturbed about how much time their kids are on screens, berate their children for this habit, which they’ve facilitated, and vow that things are going to abruptly turn around. Rather than basing your policies about kids and screens on mood, fear, and impulse, it would be better to do so based on reason and reflection. Emily Cherkin has some ideas on how to get there. Emily is a former teacher, a screentime consultant who helps parents and educators balance the role of devices in kids’ lives, and the author of The Screentime Solution: A Judgment-Free Guide to Becoming a Tech-Intentional Family. Today on the show, Emily unpacks the state of screentime amongst kids today, how the “displacement hypothesis” explains how its impact extends beyond a decline in mental health, and why parents give their kids smartphones even when they’re not sure it’s good for them. We then turn to how families can become more tech intentional, and how that starts with parents taking a look at their own behavior. We discuss why putting parental controls on devices isn’t the ultimate solution, why a better one is based on your relationship with your kids, why you need to live your digital life out loud, and some considerations to think through before getting your kid their first smartphone. Resources Related to the Podcast * AoM Podcast #300: How to Raise Free Range Kids With Lenore Skenazy * AoM Article: What’s the Right Age to Get a Kid Their First Smartphone? 3 Tech Thinkers Weigh In * AoM Article: The Best Internet Filter for Kids * The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt * The Light Phone Connect With Emily Cherkin * Emily’s website Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!)   Listen to the episode on a separate page. Download this episode. Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice. Transcript Coming Soon Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support! http://dlvr.it/TD1w30

[stele3]

Israel has finally gone pro with their psyops, in reponse to what I can only describe as a truly incredible campaign on behalf of Hamas and the Houthis. Whoever is doing psyops for Hamas and the Houthis is amazing, I haven't seen so much processed material being reblogged by legitimate users on my dashboard since Bernie Sanders was running for president.

No surprise, then, that the article names Russia as being a force behind the anti-Israel technological front. They have reclaimed their place as the best in the psyops world.

According to eight different sources active in the worlds of intelligence, technology, online influence and public diplomacy, Israel was ill-equipped for the social media war that erupted on Black Saturday. This resulted in a "credibility crisis" that has, from Jerusalem's perspective, hindered the Israel Defense Forces' ability to act against Hamas on the actual battlefield. Though initially conceived in military terms as a solution to intelligence and psychological warfare needs, sources say the system is currently being operated by a governmental office. The reason: concerns in the defense establishment over operating a "political" technology. According to sources knowledgeable about Israel's public diplomacy efforts – "hasbara," as it is termed in Hebrew – the system is intended to counter what they and researchers termed a well-oiled online "hate machine" systematically pushing out anti-Israeli and pro-Hamas disinformation, misinformation, October 7 denialism, as well as blatantly antisemitic content. These messages were aided by technologically backed campaigns from forces in Iran and even Russia. Together, sources say, these campaigns were not only undermining Israeli efforts to report on Hamas atrocities, but also undercut the rationale behind the war and the IDF spokesperson's credibility – specifically among younger audiences in the West. Only on Monday did the Israeli Shin Bet reveal that Iran was operating at least four fake channels across Israeli social media as part of its psychological warfare and influence operations aimed at Israel. Among them was a fake online network previously revealed by Haaretz that also helped amplify Hamas videos from the October 7 attack and has since worked to incite the Israeli public on issues linked to the war. ...

The first hour of the war revealed how hopelessly unprepared Israel's defense establishment was for handling social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, and even messaging apps like Telegram, as the internet (and Israeli society) was flooded with videos filmed by Hamas documenting their own atrocities. Israeli high-tech workers and firms immediately stepped up to fill the void: As part of a volunteer "war room," technology for mapping social media platforms or even facial recognition abilities were developed not for influence but to help identify terrorists and find hostages, to name but two examples. However, as time passed and the actual war intensified, these passive abilities proved to be only half of the battle: Israel also had active needs and lacked the ability to push out information. Sources say the defense establishment – specifically the intelligence community – discovered there was a "dire national need" for influence to counter Hamas' information warfare, amid genuine widespread destruction and death in Gaza. The goal was to counter what sources said were inauthentic efforts to delegitimize Israel online: bad faith moves that researchers say have also enjoyed algorithmic support from social media platforms. Since the start of the war 100 days ago, Hamas has led a massively successful public communications campaign, which sources describe as a "PsyOp" - 0r a "psychological" influence operation. Alongside the terrorists who infiltrated Israeli communities on October 7, Hamas also brought along "reporters" to broadcast live from within the kibbutzim. Since then, semi-official communication channels – the most successful of which is Gaza Now, which has millions of subscribers on Telegram – have become the go-to source for information from Gaza, documenting the Israeli attacks from the ground. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit was found to be limited in its ability to actively counter this seemingly endless flow of visual materials being pushed out by Hamas and its proxies. Furthermore, as time passed, Israelis found that these propaganda efforts were also being amplified across social media by various pro-Palestinian users, including many who were acting in good faith.

Emphasis mine.