#asked on twitter too but you guys are surely smarter come on :P

[critter-of-habit]

Okay brain trust - who can think of why my PC would crash during certain cut scenes of DA:I? Not just the game but the whole PC, and it needs power cycling to start back up again. No error, no blue screen, just instant complete tanking. It's happened in 3 cut scenes (so far!) at the exact same frame. BUT If I skip quickly through the specific cut scenes, it works fine and I can keep playing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I am 75 hours in and its only happened in those 3 cut scenes. I have done a complete reinstall of DA:I, didn't help. Not running any mods.

CPU Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E3-1230 v5 @ 3.40GHz 4 Cores GPU Radeon RX 570 Series 16 GB ram

[dear-penelope]

January 18, 2020 - Age 23

Hi. There never seems to be the perfect time to do this, so I think I’m just going to bite the bullet and do the first one, that way the other ones flow easier. 

Hi. Today is Saturday, January 23, 2020. I am currently drinking a rip-off White Claw from Aldi, because that’s the kind of life I currently live. Last year’s me would kick my ass for ever /vaping/. It looks SO stupid. But here we are. But don’t be so sad! I got home from Portland this morning (I currently live in Southern California). Portland is, so far, my favorite place to travel. Let me tell you why I did it, Penelope.

Let’s name names. We have nothing to hide. We did some not-so-good things in the past, but no one is perfect. What matters is you recognize your problems, target them, and figure out how to change your toxic self in the future. Okay. Disclaimer done.

So, let’s first start off with if I was still with Alyssa, your name wouldn't be Penelope. This isn’t a post about Alyssa, this post is about you. And if by the time you’re here you aren’t called Penelope, I’ll know that choice was mine, and everything I’ll have written to you still holds absolutely true despite your name.

Penelope is a weird name. But I like it. If you have a twin sister, I like Scarlet. But at this point I’ve very happy with just you. It’s what I’ve dreamt about for a long time. My therapist thinks you will help heal a lot of parts of me that were not properly put together during my own childhood (I had this thought first... she agreed with me!). I need something to pour my love into without judgment. Facial love. Something I never really had.

Something that sticks in my head every day is when I told my mom, you grandmother, that I want a child because no matter what they’ll never hurt you or leave you. And she said the direct opposite. And she’s right. I hurt her feelings last year when I cut her off. But there are a lot of strains, a lot of factors. It takes two to tango. Penelope, I want us to have what me and my mom never had. 

Holy shit. Major side track.

Portland.

Alyssa, my most recent exes, one of two of my most real heart breaks, and honey it was bad, had already visited Portland. She and her friends did not like Portland. While she was going to be away for work, I decided I wanted to go on a little vacation, too! So, I planned my first solo trip ever. Portland. Goal? Prove it isn't boring like she thinks!

Days before my trip, she broke up with me.

I almost canceled it. Pen, I cannot describe to you in words just how much I loved that trip. It was some of the happiest I have ever been. Sometimes when you visit a new place, you think, “Wow, I could maybe live here,” or you might think “So glad to be home! I love California!” But, for me, Portland was it. The energy wasn’t like California. It wasn’t dragging. It was light. Friendly. Everyone was stupid nice. There was always something to do. Not a gross feeling anywhere. I felt like myself. The most me I had felt in a long while. AND? NO SALES TAX! It’s more affordable, has public transit, much nicer people, and overall the quality of life seems much more high. Not boring in the least.

So, I took another trip. I had to. The past semester about killed me. I deserved a break. I have been working really hard and making decent money for what I do (currently nannying: through an agency and my own business. I started my own in March 2019). I loved Portland in the cold just as I did in the summer. I really think that might be where we’ll be, P.

I went to the OMSI and there was an exhibit that had displays regarding the human reproductive system and they had this sensitive area of embryos/fetus’ from like a week after conception all the way to 40 weeks. The biggest part is they were REAL SPECIMENS!!!! I have only seem them on medical Instagram. The samples were not aborted, they were lost by natural causes. It was insane. I think I spent an hour looking at them / reading about them. It really made me feel the pain for parents who experience miscarriages / even the mother dying during birth. I mean, some of those babies were SO developed (Fetuses, sorry). So developed they could’ve been born any second. So developed I could tell at least a little of their race. I saw them covering their eyes/heads, or sucking their thumbs. It’s so human. But not quite. And, well, guess it got me thinking about you again.

I sound as creepy as Joe from “You”. But I just imagine everything with you by my side will be better than I could imagine it ever to be in general (I’m sorry, I’m experiencing a lot of emotions RN: someone’s tryna argue with me on Twitter, Good Love - Aly & AJ just came on, and I’m high.

Ok. Anyway. I do want to take you everywhere with me. But being a parent is hard in all ways - physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially, maybe even developmentally I don't know. And I want to raise you to appreciate what you are given, because I didn’t until I was older. I was too spoiled and not taught correctly. I was given a lot. No, I’m not the most privileged child (/now adult), but I know I have a HELL of a lot more than a SHIT ton of people. And I don’t want your life to be average. I want to have a home where you can run and play, have a crib, a stupid changing table, a backyard, can take dance classes or play a sport and do Mommy & Me classes. I do want to spoil you. But I want to you know that I’m trying. Because no one really ever has.

I’m 23. Chances are, I will be seeing you within the next seven years. Meg said it’s Zack’s decision. Zack asked for advice from his dad about what he would do if he were in Zack’s spot. But he only said he’s not in Zack’s spot. In seven years, we will see if you are part of me and part of Zack. He really is a wonderful guy, so handsome, so thoughtful, and also? I already know you’re going to be so CUTE but a little me and Zack is going to be SOOOOOO CUTE (not in the straight way because like Meg and Zack are my parents). Penelope, as you grow up I will make sure you know all the truths and I will help you understand as much as I am able to teach you. I meant about the family situation, but now this is kind of applying to pretty much everything about your life.

I will be honest about who Megan and Zack are to you, who I am, and anything else you want to know. Kids are a hell of a lot smarter than adults give them credit for. I look forward to teaching you and raising you.

I love where life is now. I love focusing on me. Lord knows I need it. But I’m really really excited to see you. Sometimes I’m afraid motherhood will be too much for me but that’s something I can’t return at the store or give up on and return to next year. But then I know I have a record so far of making it out out alive of my most difficult or my most embarrassing days ever, so odds are I’ll make it through whatever obstacles come to me / us in the future.

Love you, Pen B!

Mom? I guess?

Idk this is getting weird now.

[textsfromumbridge]

Prompt for Enjonine? "I work at a movie theater and I'm trying to clean up but you're still here, ugly crying" :P

(ancient prompt? FILLED!)

dedicated to everyone who’s still reading and writing for this ship, in particular to the awesomesauce @aurimaedre who deserves some fluff. 

..

She’s been here for a while. She’s seen things, some of them she will never be able to unsee, not even if she lives to be a hundred years old. She has seen everything from full frontal nudity to proposals to vomit in every direction - and she hasn’t just seen it on the jumbo screen 

And the tears? She was around when PS I love you premiered (as a surly teenager) and for the hype surrounding The Fault In Our Stars (as the surly assistant manager). 

So she gets it - even the tough guys needed tissues when Han Solo died. And she’s heard that the latest Star Wars movie involved some kind of heroic last stand, so she’d stocked up on the Kleenex. 

She just was not expecting the most outspoken idiot running for Congress to be the weepy mess she would physically have to drag from his seat after the 7 PM showing of Rogue One. 

The surly teen currently on cleanup duty, some friend of Gavroche’s she’d hired out of something resembling pity, had been way too terrified to ask the intimidating man in the three piece suit to get up and leave. Eponine had no such issues. 

“Sir?” she had to force herself to stay polite. “I have to ask you to leave. Your weeping is freaking out my employees and we have another showing to prepare for.” 

Zero tact. Yes, she was aware. 

The face that launched a thousand swooning housewives is almost unrecognizable through the tears and the snot. Wow, if she’d still been as desperate for money as she’d been in her teens, she would have been able to make the big bucks off this image. Hell, she could still make the big bucks. 

But she actually wants him to win. His opponent is a racist, misogynist douchebag who would crush all the benefits that had allowed a poor non-white girl to raise her siblings all on her own. Also, an openly pansexual senator? Fuck yeah! Azelma and her girlfriend totally approved as well. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll still vote for you,” she just had to fill the awkward silence. “You’re still prettier than your opponent. And smarter.” 

That made Gabriel Enjolras blush while he tried to discreetly blow his nose and wipe his face. 

Adorable. No, no, she couldn’t think that. 

“Thank you for your candor,” Enjolras was suddenly all formality again. “And I do appreciate your vote.” 

He really did not understand that nothing he said would ever make her see him as that distant symbol of composure again. The vulnerability was what made her like him all the more. He was real now. 

“Hey mister Robot Man,” she interrupted him while he was putting on his metaphorical armor. “You’re much more appealing when you’re human.” 

She does love a good exit line, sashaying out of the almost empty theatre, picking up some empty soda bottles on her way out. 

People are pigs. 

The next time she saw Gabriel Enjolras, it was on a random TV appearance she totally had not recorded - because she’d kind of become a fan of his. She’d been reading up on the weepy mess, and she’d been so damn impressed by what she’d found. Though he could use some loosening up. Did he even own jeans? Or a t-shirt? 

Was he capable of smiling sincerely, instead of using the professional fake smile from the campaign posters? 

What was lurking underneath that? Who was he other than the passionate politician? His past, his present, his family, it was all pretty much a mystery. When asked about them, Enjolras just turned the conversation back to his campaign. 

Nobody even knew if he had hobbies. 

And then she watched the interview. The host was not expecting anything other than the usual forced banter and election talk, but she certainly was charmed when Gabriel Enjolras talked about wanting to interact more with his constituents. 

Sure, the woman started off a skeptic, just like the others. 

“How come you’ve changed your tune?” the host asked, completely straightforward. “Until recently you’ve stuck to your campaign only strategy.” 

Eponine started off merely being intrigued by the change, and of course pleased by the humanity she just about ordered him to reveal. 

“I blame it on Star Wars,” Enjolras spoke, shocking the host. 

“How so?” the woman is trying not to appear too caught off guard, but the surprise certainly showed on her face. 

Her wide eyes were caught on camera, just like the hint of a smile that was playing on the future Congressman’s lips. 

“Well,” he continued his explanation, “I was recently blubbering my way through the ending of Rogue One. No spoilers, I promise! And while the movie really did move me, the incredible manager of the theater was the one who inspired my policy change.” 

The crowd oohed and aahed at the appropriate moments, and Enjolras paused briefly to sip his water. 

Eponine was completely frozen in shock, staring at her TV screen. 

“Because there I was,” Enjolras gestured emphatically to further illustrate his story, “blubbering my way through the credits, snot-faced and splotchy in my best three piece suit…” 

Here the crowd laughed and Eponine had to take a second to remember the fit of that suit. It was a damn good suit. 

“I’m sure I terrified the teenager on staff,” the self-deprecating grin Enjolras was now sporting was also really doing it for her. “So they called in the manager to get me to leave. Just so they could start the cleanup, mind you.” 

Eponine was not the only one who’d fallen for him just a little bit just now. All the females in the crowd were a little mushy over this - she could tell. Even the usually so straightforward host seemed to melt. 

Ugh, so rude of him to give her feelings. She hated those. 

Not the point though. Definitely not the point - that came later. 

The point came when one of the office gossips found out that the best fluff piece in the election had occurred in their theater. It was a PR dream - especially for one of the less popular theaters in the city. Something about the lack of bullshit extra amenities made them less popular. 

So when stupid Cosette - okay, Cosette was almost her friend - found out that Eponine was the manager who’d given the Tin Man back his heart, she just had to use it. 

And Eponine couldn’t blame her too much - it put asses in seats, it sold tickets, and as long as she didn’t have to be directly involved in the hype, anything that did those things was fine with her. 

But then the Twitter stuff started. There was a hashtag (#enjonine - what did that even mean?). People got way too into this one moment she had with an almost Congressman - they shipped it. There was fanfiction - extremely explicit fanfiction - about what had “really happened” in that theater. 

Honestly, something had to be done. Not that the internet could be stopped - there was no undo button once something was out there. But she was damn well going to try to salvage at least some of her reputation as a badass. 

Her sister kept sending her links to the fanfiction, and the manips people had made of them together from some pictures she still had up on Facebook. Seriously, her privacy settings were locked down tight now. 

This stuff had to stop! But it was such an integral part of the Enjolras is Actually Human platform he was running on that it was impossible for her to do anything about it. 

And then, his manager, a way too charming man named Courfeyrac, actually reached out to her about being a part of the conversation. Which was how she ended up coming face to face with Gabriel Enjolras again. 

Of course they were surrounded by cameras, and their handshake was more of a photo op than an honest interaction. Cosette had begged her to agree - the words “good publicity” were thrown about at least a dozen times before she finally said yes. 

“I really am pleased to see you again,” Enjolras stuck around for the actual chat. 

The writers of the fluff pieces that would undoubtedly show up online that very day had already left, but the future Congressman was still here. 

“I’m not sure I can say the same,” she sighed, rubbing her forehead in an attempt to soothe an imminent migraine. 

His shoulders sagged and he suddenly seemed... sad? Why? Why would he even care? Shit, this was just a campaign move for him. 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” the robot mask came back on immediately. “If there is anything that I can do...” 

She’d just become a random constituent to him. It shouldn’t have made her angry, but it did. 

“Turn back to human Enjolras,” she ordered. “Robot you freaks me the fuck out.” 

Enjolras laughed then, a laugh that bared his white teeth and made his blue eyes shine under the artificial lights. He’d thrown his head back and she had spent no time whatsoever studying the line of his neck.

It was rude to be that hot. 

“Can human me ask you out?” he completely stunned her with his next question. 

“I’m sure he can,” she tried for witty to cover up her surprise. 

Also, she might have pinched herself just a bit to make sure that this was actually happening. 

“I promise I will not be crying,” he continued, the charm completely natural at this point. “And no cameras. Just two humans, on a date.” 

Oh, he really was good. And this was what he was really like? It was a good thing she could handle some charm, because this was just unfair. 

“As long as it’s just us two humans,” she let her voice trail off. “We can start with coffee. You’re paying.” 

He was still smiling - she liked that a lot better than the tears. 

[crotchexplorer666]

ALL

Ri beat yew to it, Gnart. x’”D

1. Who was the last person you held hands with?My brother. He messed something up on one of my game accounts and kept crying even though I kept telling him I wasn’t angry.

2. Are you outgoing or shy?Both? This is a hard question..

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing?Uh, all of my friends?? No matter how long it takes...

4. Are you easy to get along with?If I like you. I’m really good at avoiding people.

5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you?Probably. They better tell me that I did some wacky things while I was drunk, or I will be very ashamed of myself.

6. What kind of people are you attracted to?No single personality type. People who don’t think they’re smarter than me are nice. ;D

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now?No.

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind?Chuck Norris. When there’s a meteor shower, Chuck Norris grabs a bar of soap.

9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?A little, but it depends on who’s bringing up the conversation. 

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?Does insulting myself with deep remarks count..? Otherwise, @rubbishbin--trash. c”x

11. What does the most recent text that you sent say?“My Gatorade bottle is empty... RIP x666”@the-devils-assisstant

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now?- “Take Me Home Tonight” by Eddie Money- “Magic Man” by Heart- “Hells Bells” by AC/DC- “Renegade” by Styx- “Come on Eileen” by (I think) Dexy’s Midnight Runners- +1000 more13. Do you like it when people play with your hair?No, but people really like to??

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles?Oh, yes. What else would I do?

15. What good thing happened this summer?Summer camp, and I drew a little-

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?My dad? I don’t care..?

17. Do you think there is life on other planets?Eh, I don’t mind hearing other people’s opinions.

18. Do you still talk to your first crush?Carlos? Nah.

19. Do you like bubble baths?I’ve only had one bubble bath in my life. With Claire. x”D 

20. Do you like your neighbors?They are so nice, and then I feel bad for not visiting them more often. One time, I had to borrow someone’s phone, so I went over to Anne’s house (she’s probably in her 40s because the neighbors around here aren’t usually young). Before she let me borrow her phone, she let me inside to eat cookies with her and started asking how I was doing and being so nice.

21. What are your bad habits?Biting my lip, hating on myself whenever no one else is around to distract me, forgetting to eat..? x”D

22. Where would you like to travel?To any of my internet friends. .v.

23. Do you have trust issues?No, but that isn’t all that great.

24. Favorite part of your daily routine?There is no “daily” routine ^^’, but I like going to jazz band practice on Wednesday nights.

25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? M y n o s e.

26. What do you do when you wake up?Check my phone-

27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker?Lighter. I was always jealous of people with very pale skin because then their hair could be dyed any color without having to worry about it clashing with their skin color. ;o; 

28. Who are you most comfortable around?Myself.

29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up?I have no ex’s-

30. Do you ever want to get married?Yes. ;v;

31. Is your hair long enough for a pony tail?Yeah. xx I’m too wimpy to cut it short.

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with?No, thanks-

33. Spell your name with your chin.jdennkcvdfdOMG THAT ALMOST WORKED

34. Do you play sports? What sports?Cross country in ze fall, softball, and I wanted to do track but softball was in the same season. xx

35. Would you rather live without TV or music?No TV, pls. I’ll make my own cartoons if I have to..

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them?Duh.

37. What do you say during awkward silences?Do you like cats?

38. Describe your dream girl/guy?Uh-- I’m very flexible-- Though I would love it if someone (even just a friend) wrote me a poem. ;w; I write poems for my teachers and friends.

39. What are your favorite stores to shop in?I go all around the place??

40. What do you want to do after high school?yo mama Go to UCLA

41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?Mhmm, even murderers. (A reasonable second chance with the adequate amount of security cameras making sure they don’t repeat their wrongdoings.)

42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean?There’s chaos inside my mind.

43. Do you smile at strangers?Yeah, doesn’t everyone?? .o. Just me?? Okay..

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean?Neither.. c”x I like staying on dry land..

45. What makes is the reason you get out of bed in the morning?@natisuttertrash

46. What are you paranoid about?Everything-

47. Have you ever been high?Nah.

48. Have you ever been drunk?Nuh-uh, but I intend to one day. (weird goals)

49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about?I don’t think so.

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore?Gray. (PE clothes..)

51. Ever wished you were someone else?Hell, yes. 

52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself?M y n o s e

53. Favourite makeup brand?None?

54. Favourite store?Nope..

55. Favourite blog?I can’t choose a favorite, guys. ;o;

56. Favourite colour?Red. Any variation of red. Pink, maroon, etc. Black and white look great with red, too. ;v; Red, black, and white. y e s

57. Favourite food?All things with rice.

58. Last thing you ate?Pretzels..

59. First thing you ate this morning?P-pretzels..

60. Ever won a competition? For what?A chugging competition with soda. x”D

61. Been suspended/expelled? For what?Noooooo

62. Been arrested? For what?Nooooooooooooooooo

63. Ever been in love?...Yes

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss?Uh, I doubt kissing someone on the cheek in a game of “family” when I was 7 counts.

65. Are you hungry right now?Nah, I had an ass-load of pretzels. Many donkey bags full. 

66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends?They are all equal. ^^

67. Facebook or Twitter?I don’t use either. xx (I have accounts, I just don’t use ‘em.)

68. Twitter or Tumblr?Tumblr

69. Are you watching tv right now?Nah.

70. Names of your best friends?Is it bad that I have ten-- I do have to admit, I have my favorites. (But I won’t say..)

71. Craving something? What?Pretzels.

72. What colour are your towels?All the colors. Literally. There’s even burgundy, mint, etc. in the mix. It’s kinda ugly.

72. How many pillows do you sleep with?Sometimes one, sometimes six.

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?I sleep with my kitty. ;v;

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have?More stuffed animals than pretzels.

75. Favourite animal?Cats--

76. What colour is your underwear?Of course I just happened to be wearing my ONLY pair of hot pink panties right now.

77. Chocolate or Vanilla?Vanilla.

78. Favourite ice cream flavour?Mint chip, FTW.

79. What colour shirt are you wearing?What if I’m not wearing a shirt..? (It’s blue)

80. What colour pants?Black with ninja turtles.

81. Favourite tv show?S p o n g e b o b will always be my #1.

82. Favourite movie?Either Blended, Mean Girls, or this other one I can’t remember atm.

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2?The original is always boss. Both slay me, tho.

84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street?Mean Girls

85. Favourite character from Mean Girls?KAREN SMITH ;O;

86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo?Nemo’s mom.

87. First person you talked to today?My dad.

88. Last person you talked to today?@the-devils-assisstant

89. Name a person you hate?I’d rather not say. c”x

90. Name a person you love?@natisuttertrash

91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now?Me.

92. In a fight with someone?No? I don’t think so?

93. How many sweatpants do you have?I don’t know. x”D

94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have?At least four.

95. Last movie you watched?The Cobbler.

96. Favourite actress?Marilyn Monroe.

97. Favourite actor?ADAM SANDLER-- YOU DONT NEED TO ASK ME TWICE

98. Do you tan a lot?Not intentionally ;^;

99. Have any pets?My precious kitty, Benjamin. .D.

100. How are you feeling?Do I have to answer every question on this??

101. Do you type fast?If you asked one of my friends, they’d say something along the lines of: “Hell, yes.”

102. Do you regret anything from your past?Ye; I lie about that a lot, though.

103. Can you spell well?Y E S

104. Do you miss anyone from your past?Oh, yeah. Sydney was the best. ;n;

105. Ever been to a bonfire party?Yes, actually. 

106. Ever broken someone’s heart?Probably. xx

107. Have you ever been on a horse?Oh, yeah. My first time on a horse was TACKLESS on an ARABIAN on a RAINY DAY. (Luckily Liesie’s the horse wrangler.)

108. What should you be doing?I don’t know.

109. Is something irritating you right now?Yes. You never asked what.

110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt?Yeah. >~

111. Do you have trust issues?Refer to #23, I think.

112. Who was the last person you cried in front of?I don’t remember.

113. What was your childhood nickname?J-J

114. Have you ever been out of your province/state?Well, I was born in Tokyo, moved to the US, and moved three times within the state while visiting my grandparents in China every summer (until they passed away).

115. Do you play the Wii?I don’t have one of those thingies. x”D

116. Are you listening to music right now?Yes... PSYCHIC, I TELL YOU.

117. Do you like chicken noodle soup?Yes but I ran out of it ;o;

118. Do you like Chinese food?I am Chinese.

119. Favourite book?Any Percy Jackson book. ;D Is it bad that I still ship Reyco after Riordan crushed some of our hearts in a subtle way by having Reyna brother-zone Nico and then having Nico and Will get together?? 

120. Are you afraid of the dark?Not when I’m with someone else.

121. Are you mean?I don’t know. Am I?

122. Is cheating ever okay?Depends.

123. Can you keep white shoes clean?Nah. x”D

124. Do you believe in love at first sight?Y e s

125. Do you believe in true love?What’s your definition of true love?

126. Are you currently bored?No, because I have this 150-question thingy to take care of--

127. What makes you happy?Music.

128. Would you change your name?YES. I would literally change my name from Jenn to June. 

129. What your zodiac sign?Gemini.

130. Do you like subway?Subway or subways? Subway is okay. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a subway.

131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?Lock myself in a room and think everything through.

132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with?Wasn’t this already asked??

133. Favourite lyrics right now?The lyrics of “Come Together” by Beatles. (I prefer the Aerosmith cover, tho)

134. Can you count to one million?Nope.

135. Dumbest lie you ever told?I tell a lot of dumb lies to make it obvious that I’m lying. That’s just how I fail at being funny. ;w;

136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed?Closed.

137. How tall are you?5′3

138. Curly or Straight hair?My hair never decides. Everytime I take a shower I never know if it will drive straight, wavy, or curly. xx Plus it’s hard to brush.

139. Brunette or Blonde?Brunette. MY HAIR IS DARK BROWN; N O T B L A C K.

140. Summer or Winter?Winter days, Summer nights (I prefer Summer nights).

141. Night or Day?Night. ;u;

142. Favourite month?December. 

143. Are you a vegetarian?No, but sometimes it seems like it. x”D

144. Dark, milk or white chocolate?A l l o f t h e m.

145. Tea or Coffee?

146. Was today a good day?Meh.

147. Mars or Snickers?Snickers.

148. What’s your favourite quote?Ahhh, too little time left over to decide.

149. Do you believe in ghosts?This question is too hard. c”x

150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page?“The children’s pants had large wooden boxes in them.”

[jmtapio]

TL;DR: Don’t be a passive consumer of FOSS. It’s going to kill the FOSS community or change it in bad ways. Contribute in any way described in this article, even really basic ones, but contribute daily or on a very regular basis.

I have been a system engineer for more than 10 years now, almost exclusively working with GNU/Linux systems. I’m also deeply involved in the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) community for a long time and I spend a lot of time on social networks (mostly Twitter and Mastodon these days). And some behaviours always piss me off.

The consumer thinks he’s smarter and more efficient than others

Many IT professionals using FOSS display a behaviour of pure consumerism in their relationship with FOSS. They often try to use a software in a very specific environment (specific version of a GNU/Linux distribution, specific version of a software). They don’t succeed using it in that environment? That software is obviously crap, it should work with the default settings, otherwise it’s not user-friendly. The documentation is available? Who reads the doc? I need answers now, I don’t have time to read the damn documentation! And who wrote this piece of crap anyway?

If the answer is not the first StackOverFlow link of the first Google search, I’m done with this shit. My time is precious so I’m going to try another software (and waste 2x time) or better code it myself (100x waste of time) in a unreusable way.

Passive consumers never write a bug report. It’s a waste of time, requiring effort. Who has time to write it except fuckers? Not even a ping to the maintainer or the lead dev of the project (they should know, they wrote this crap! Ok I pinged him/her on Twitter 2 minutes ago. People don’t reply in a minute? Fuck off, you bunch of time-wasting losers! I don’t care if it’s 2AM for him.

Ok, ok, FINE, I’ll write a bug report if you whiners insist: IT DOES NOT WORK YOU FUCKERS MOVE YOUR ASSES FIX IT NOW!

Rewards for the lead dev? What for?

Even with softwares they like and use everyday and that perfectly work,  upgrading just fine as needed, most of IT professionals have the exact same behaviour of passive consumerism.

5 years this software powered the whole IT, helping the company making big money? True. The lead dev asks for money/recognition through social networks? What a bunch of beggars! He needs money? Me too! Does this person have a Patreon? Who cares! This guy owes me to use his software, he loves coding for free, the sucker.

Helping him by subscribing a professional license of this software? What for? My boss will laugh. Nobody pays for softwares (except suckers). That’s free as in free beer baby!

I’ll even ask him/her to modify the license because I can not rebrand the software and use it for my own proprietary software he maintains for free. He should thank me to help him spread his software, this wannabe Marc Zuckerberg. Pretty sure he gets tons of money. Not by me, no way.

And of course this behaviour of passive consumerism has negative impacts on the FOSS ecosystem. Really. Usually after somes years, the lead dev eventually gives up the project. At this time, you usually can read these kinds of furious comments  « You lazy fuck you didn’t upgrade your software in years, serious people use it, reply fast or I’ll leave thousands of insulting comments! I bet my ass on you, you should thank me crawling. You lazy communist, I would remove my star on the Gihub/Gitlab repo if I had starred it. But of course I didn’t, I’m not going to star every projects I use, what do you expect? Contributions in any way? Come on, grow up, deal with it. Life is hard. »

Promote and interact with the projects you use

Please help the projects you use. If your company earns money thanks to FOSS and you are the boss of this company, providing money or manpower for at least one project you use daily should be a reasonable goal and show some understanding of th FOSS ecosystem.

If you are an employee of a company using FOSS, a very important step is to let your boss know that parts of your infrastructure will die in short term (some years) if you don’t help this project in any way.

99.9% of FOSS projects are one-man project. This small javascript library the frontend of your company website uses or this small database backup script nobody cares but saved your ass 2 times already.

If no money is implied or you only provide a free service to others, let the world know you use FOSS and thank some of them from time to time. Just telling people through Mastodon or Twitter you use their softwares will cheer them up BIG TIME. Star their projects on Gitlab or Github to let them know this project is helpful.

Some ways to contribute

Here is a list of very great ways to contribute:

Tell the world through social networks of your latest upgrade of this software was smooth and easy. Spread the word.

Write a blog post describing your experiences and how much value was provided for your company or for your projects by this great  FOSS project.

Follow lead devs of different projects on Mastodon or Twitter and retweet/like/boost/favorite latest news from time to time.

Write a thankful comment on the project blog or on the lead dev blog. Reading your comment will ensure the dev have a great day.

Star the Feed2toot project on Gitlab

Don’t be a passive consumer

Don’t be a passive consumer of FOSS. It’s going to kill the FOSS community or change it in bad ways. The required average level of contribution to a project and the expectations towards FOSS increase days after days in a world where complexity and interactions grow fast. The core of really fundamental FOSS projects is often only a very small team of people (1 to 5).

I talk daily about some FOSS latest news on my Twitter account

Contribute in any way described in this article, even really basic ones, but contribute daily or on a very regular basis. You’re powerful by providing good vibes and great contributions to FOSS projects. Your contributions WILL change things, encourage and (re)motivate people. It’s good for you, you will improve your skills, gain knowledge about the FOSS community and visibility for your company or your projects. And it’s good for the FOSS community, having more and more people contributing in ANY productive way.

About Me

Carl Chenet, Free Software Indie Hacker, Founder of LinuxJobs.fr, a job board for Free and Open Source Jobs in France.

Follow Me On Social Networks

My Mastodon account : @carlchenet

My Diaspora* account : @carlchenet

My Twitter account : @carl_chenet

via Planet Debian

[frontproofmedia]

Manuel "Tino" Avila looks to make a name in boxing and beyond

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By Hector Franco

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April 27, 2017

On May 6th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada most of the boxing world’s attention will be on that night’s main event between Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Many boxing fans and pundits will tell you that the best fight on the card that night will not be the main event.

 On the undercard, Manuel “Tino” Avila (22-0, 8 KOs) will meet Joseph “JoJo” Diaz (23-0, 13 KOs) in a battle of undefeated fighters. It’s rare for two undefeated up, and coming fighters meet each other at this point in their careers. Frontproof Media spoke with Manuel “Tino” Avila to give his thoughts on the fight and much more. 

Franco: Thank you so much for taking the time out to do this interview today man, I appreciate it.

Tino: Yeah yeah, just got done.

Franco: What does a typical day of training look like for you?

Tino: Well we don't really have a typical day; every day's a different day. We work on different things. It can be circuits; it can be track, it can be sparring, it could be mitts and bags. It changes a different day; you don't ever want to keep it the same. So it's always a different thing, different day.

Franco: I was looking at your record and some of your past fights. I saw that you fought a lot at Fantasy Springs at the Belasco Theater. This will be your first fight on a major pay-per-view card, under the Chávez-Canelo fight. Can you tell me a little bit about that and what that means to you?

Tino: It always means a lot to me, to get that exposure and get on a big undercard, but when I get in that ring it’s going to be the same. It doesn't really matter the location or what undercard I'm in. It's going to be the same thing. A fight's a fight, the same way, whether it's a non-TV fight at the casino or T-Mobile Stadium on pay-per-view under the Chávez-Canelo card.

Franco: At the end of the day it's just going to be you and Mr. Diaz in the ring anyway.

Tino: Yeah

Franco: Do you know Joseph Diaz, and if so how well do you know your opponent?

Tino: As an amateur, I never even heard of the guy. Even when they announced him as an Olympian I still never heard of him. But now that he's coming up I know about him, I've watched his fights. We actually thought we were going to meet up later on, but it came sooner, and I'm actually happy about that, it coming sooner than later.

Franco: It’s rare to have two undefeated fighters going at it at this stage in their careers. Looking at him, and I'm sure you've seen him fight, and he's probably seen you fight professionally, what advantages do you think you have on him going into the fight?

Tino: I feel like ... I think we're pretty evenly matched. For advantages, I think I'm a smarter fighter but a smarter fighter against the left hand I guess you could say.

Franco: How would you describe your boxing style? I know that going into this fight, this is going to be the first time that a lot of fans may have seen you, so can you give us a little bit of what they can expect?

Tino: I'm more of a boxer, but I'm also a puncher. When I was an amateur, I was a puncher, and then I could box. But I've changed that style, so I'm more of a boxer first, and then if it comes down to it, I can go to war, no problem.

Franco: It sounds like we're in for an exciting fight on May 6th. What got you into boxing? What influenced you to become a professional?

Tino: You know what, as a kid, I was always in trouble on the streets. I played baseball and soccer, but in the off-season, I was just a big troublemaker out on the street. Neighbors would complain, and then I'd get brought home by a cop and my parents embarrassed cause I'm the kid that is getting brought home. But as I got older, my dad put me in boxing, and from the beginning, I liked it because it wasn't a team sport. Because I was always the all-star player of each team that I played as a kid, my dad always put on me you have to be the all-star. So when the team makes a mistake, it's like your making a mistake. And so as a boxer, if I make a mistake, I know I made a mistake, it isn’t a teammate that made a mistake.

But then when I got older, about, I think 14, 15, I was like this is what I want to do, this is going to be my career. And I dug in, I got more motivated at that age, and I started training even harder, and thankfully I turned into a bigger name than I was expecting. I was just expecting to be a local fighter making some chump change per fight because of the love of the sport, not because I wanted to become rich and famous.

Franco: I saw you at the Sacramento Kings game, a couple of days ago, maybe last week. I see that your home state and where you're from definitely showed you love wherever you go. So can you talk a little bit about that, about your relationship with your community, where you're from?

Tino: People always say, why don't I move to LA because that's the better exposure for me, and more trainers out there, and you know what, this is my community out here in Northern California. I'm trying to make a name for myself out here. I'm trying to make a name for Northern California.

I'm trying to do a lot of big things out here. Later on, I'm going to start opening up all these different things, a gym, I want to open up some organizations, kind of help out the homeless and the needy and stuff. And later on down the line, when things start going good I'll open up my own promotion. And my goal is to make it big time, at least get it up there with my name mentioned with Golden Boy and all those other guys, Roc Nations. And to know I'm coming out in Northern California to even out the playing field for new fighters out here. I feel like some of them have more talent than the ones in Southern California, but they just get that exposure and get lucky that they live out there. Even though I know, some of them have a harder life, but still, the talent should prove the point, not the location.

Franco: It sounds like from just hearing you say that that you got a vision in mind, of a bigger picture. I know that we don't want to look past Joseph Diaz, but since you have a vision of doing things bigger than the actual sport itself, what is your ultimate goal within the sport itself? How do you see yourself finishing up in the sport?

Tino:  If everything goes well, come out with an undefeated record or at least a good record. I make a name for myself and that way it helps me with my promotions, my organizations, help me out with getting better sponsors and stuff, perhaps to help feed the homeless and stuff, I'm really into that. My wife is on board with that too, so it's pretty cool, we already have ideas. And it's just making money and going with it.

So my big thing is making money and turning it into something outside of boxing. Boxing's a short career, so I want to do something outside of boxing, even though one of my things that I want to do is a boxing gym and a promotion.

But I just want to make sure I'm well invested, not only well invested, putting my money towards good use and not just being greedy and keeping it to myself, or being stingy with it. I want to give back to my community. I want to give back to the people that need it, not just be like 'oh I got all this money, sucks to be you guys.'

I was telling people before I want to open up a homeless shelter kind of thing. But to help them, house them, feed them, help them get a job. Set them up for interviews, get them nice clothes. Do the whole nine yards, not just feed them and give them a house on a lumpy bed. I actually want to help you get off the streets, and then they get that job, six months from then. I can get them help with a cheap apartment, a studio or something else.

I'm just trying to make the change, and I'm trying to give back to my community, I'm trying to do as much as I can. And every time I think about it, people always think maybe one day I'll be running for mayor of Vallejo California, where I'm originally from. So it's just making a change little by little, even if it's a dollar a day to a homeless person you see, it's a difference that you'll see in the long run.

Franco: Tino, I want to ask you this because you’ve brought this up a few times now. Looking at your life, outside of boxing, the issue of the homeless. Homelessness, is that something that is very personal to you, something that maybe you experienced with family or friends?

Tino: I had a very close friend ... I was working the graveyard shift at 24 Hour Fitness, and I had a friend, he had a membership, but he lived inside of his car. So the only reason he had the membership is that it's 24 hours, they had a shower, and he could work out here and there. And that's pretty much the reason that he had it because he had it cheap, it's cheaper than him getting a house. He was on and off jobs, and so it was just hard for him, and he lived inside of a car at one point.

He had a decent car, and it ran, it was good on gas. At the time I looked it up on Kelley Blue Book, it was easily sold for ... I put it under the poor condition, which it wasn't, easily sold for like two grand. This was back like five, six years ago, five years ago, it was like a '99 Saturn, a three-door Saturn, and nobody wanted to buy it off of him. He started selling it for 500 bucks. I was like "man, that's easily sold for 1500, two grand, and no one wants to buy it off you?" The reason he was trying to sell it because he had a job opportunity in South Carolina. So he wanted that money to go to his bus fare, and some food, to get to his trip over there.

So what I did, I emptied my bank account to buy the car off of him, to give him the bus fare, and give him enough money to get some food and to make it over there, and still have a little bit of extra change in his pocket. And since then, I try to keep in touch. I was even paying for his cellphone bill for a while so that I can make sure everything's going well. Anything he needed I could help him out as much as I could. Unfortunately, I ended up losing contact with him because he felt like he was doing better. He got his own phone. I don't know what happened, he ended up coming back down to Northern California, and we just lost touch. He ended up back in the same hole. Like I said, unfortunately, I don't have contact with him anymore, and that's always been a tough thing for me, seeing a good friend in that situation.

Franco: Thank you so much for sharing that story. That's really incredible that you went above and beyond and helped someone in that way. So, switching gears here and looking at fighters. You told me a little bit about how you got started in boxing, what got you into boxing. Who were some of your favorite fighters growing up, and who influenced you to put on the gloves?

Tino: There weren't any fighters I was looking at until like two, three, maybe even four years into boxing. Maybe about three years into boxing, the fighter that I looked up to was Roy Jones Jr. Which is funny because as soon as I figured him out, I copied his style in the amateurs and then I got in trouble for it because you do too much showboating for amateurs and they say it's not ... I forgot what the word they used, but it wasn't something I was able to do, so I got in trouble a few times for that, for showboating.

Franco: Tino, your last fight you got a victory over Jose Ramirez, he's fought guys like Vasyl Lomachenko. Is there anything you learned from that fight or anything that you're going to take away from that fight that you're going to build on, or maybe change your approach going into this fight with Joseph Diaz?

Tino: Oh yeah well every fight that I go into I learn from it. Regardless if it's a second round knockout or it goes the distance, ten rounds, or if it's a wrestling match. There's always something you can take away from it and learn from, and that's a learning experience for me.

Franco: Okay great, and last thing here if you want to give out any social media or any way that your fans or anybody that's looking to know more about you, anyway they could contact you, learn more about you, go ahead and just let the fans know.

Tino: Yeah everybody follow me @team_tino on Instagram. That's where I'll be keeping all my business, my personal and my boxing life out there. You'll see a lot of pictures of my wife and my daughter, so you want to keep up with my life and my career that's where you've got to go to follow.

Franco: Thank you so much once again, Tino, for doing this interview with us. I want to thank you so much for the opportunity and appreciate you taking the time, especially when you just got done out of training. And good luck on May 6th. 

Tino: All right, thank you.

(Feature Photo: Tristan Belisimo/Golden Boy Promotions)