#i would have spent more time on this if my computer had more than -1.1 megabytes of ram

[newstfionline]

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Canada Is Relieved at Biden’s Win (NYT) On a snowy evening in December 2016, a month after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada held a rare farewell state dinner for the departing vice president, Joseph R. Biden Jr. It was like a tearful goodbye between two old friends. “We are more like family. That’s the way the vast majority of Americans feel about Canada and Canadians,” Mr. Biden said to a hall packed with politicians in Ottawa. “The friendship between us is absolutely critical to the United States.” He ended with a toast: “Vive le Canada. Because we need you very, very badly.” After four years of surprise tariffs, stinging insults and threats from President Trump, a giddy jubilation and sense of deep relief spread across Canada on Saturday, with the news that Mr. Biden had won the presidency. Many Canadians hope to return to the status of cherished sibling to the United States, and that the president-elect’s personal connection to Canada, and that of his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, will help heal the wounds.

States cite smooth election (AP) The 2020 election unfolded smoothly across the country and without any widespread irregularities, according to state officials and election experts, a stark contrast to the baseless claims of fraud being leveled by President Donald Trump following his defeat. Election experts said the large increase in advance voting—107 million people voting early in person and by mail—helped take pressure off Election Day operations. There were also no incidents of violence at the polls or voter intimidation. “The 2020 general election was one of the smoothest and most well-run elections that we have ever seen, and that is remarkable considering all the challenges,” said Ben Hovland, a Democrat appointed by Trump to serve on the Election Assistance Commission, which works closely with officials on election administration. Following Democrat Joe Biden’s victory, Trump has sought to discredit the integrity of the election and argued without evidence that the results will be overturned. Republican lawmakers have said the president should be allowed to launch legal challenges, though many of those lawsuits have already been turned away by judges and those that remain do not include evidence of problems that would change the outcome of the race.

Future of business travel unclear as virus upends work life (AP) For the lucrative business travel industry, Brian Contreras represents its worst fears. A partner account executive at a U.S. tech firm, Contreras was used to traveling frequently for his company. But nine months into the pandemic, he and thousands of others are working from home and dialing into video conferences instead of boarding planes. Contreras manages his North American accounts from Sacramento, California and doesn’t expect to travel for work until the middle of next year. Even then, he’s not sure how much he will need to. “Maybe it’s just the acceptance of the new normal. I have all of the resources necessary to be on the calls, all of the communicative devices to make sure I can do my job,” he said. “There’s an element of face-to-face that’s necessary, but I would be OK without it.” That trend could spell big trouble for hotels, airlines, convention centers and other industries that rely so heavily on business travelers like Contreras. Work travel represented 21% of the $8.9 trillion spent on global travel and tourism in 2019, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. Amazon, which told it employees to stop traveling in March, says it has saved nearly $1 billion in travel expenses so far this year. The online shopping giant, with more than 1.1 million employees, is the second-largest employer in the U.S. At Southwest Airlines, CEO Gary Kelly said while overall passenger revenue is down 70%, business travel—normally more than one-third of Southwest’s traffic—is off 90%. U.S. hotels relied on business travel for around half their revenue in 2019, or closer to 60% in big cities like Washington, according to Cindy Estis Green, the CEO of hospitality data firm Kalibri Labs.

Final weeks of historic hurricane season bring new storms (AP) Just when you thought it should be safe to go back to the water, the record-setting tropics are going crazy. Again. Tropical Storm Eta is parked off the western coast of Cuba, dumping rain. When it finally moves again, computer models and human forecasters are befuddled about where it will go and how strong it will be. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Theta—which formed overnight and broke a record as the 29th named Atlantic storm of the season—is chugging east toward Europe on the cusp of hurricane status. The last time there were two named storms churning at the same time this late in the year was in December 1887, Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach said. But wait there’s more. A tropical wave moving across the Atlantic somehow survived the mid-November winds that usually decapitate storms. The system now has a 70% chance of becoming the 30th named storm. That’s Iota on your already filled scorecard. If it forms, it is heading generally toward the same region of Central America that was hit by Eta. Never before have three named storms been twirling at the same time this late in the year, Klotzbach said. Hurricane records go back to 1851, but before the satellite era, some storms were likely missed.

Religious Persecution Is Worsening Worldwide (CT) Dictators are the worst persecutors of believers. This perhaps uncontroversial finding was verified for the first time in the Pew Research Center’s 11th annual study surveying restrictions on freedom of religion in 198 nations. The median level of government violations reached an all-time high in 2018, as 56 nations (28%) suffer “high” or “very high” levels of official restriction. The number of nations suffering “high” or “very high” levels of social hostilities toward religion dropped slightly to 53 (27%). Considered together, 40 percent of the world faces significant hindrance in worshiping God freely. And the trend continues to be negative. Since 2007, when Pew began its groundbreaking survey, the median level of government restrictions has risen 65 percent. The level for social hostilities has doubled.

Critics, protesters call removal of Peruvian president a legislative coup (Washington Post) The little-known head of Peru’s Congress took the helm of the South American nation Tuesday amid a public outcry over the surprise removal of the country’s popular president, Martín Vizcarra. Vizcarra’s ouster late Monday and the inauguration of interim president Manuel Merino amounted to a return of the political chaos that has long plagued Peru, where nearly every president since 1990 has resigned, been indicted or been jailed amid clouds of corruption. One former president killed himself. Yet at a time when the Andean nation is confronting one of the world’s most lethal coronavirus outbreaks, Vizcarra’s ouster, based on still-unproven bribery allegations, appeared to be fundamentally different. Critics called it a congressional coup staged by Machiavellian legislators desperate to halt his anti-corruption and political reform campaigns, which took aim at their pocketbooks and threatened to end many of their political careers. Under Vizcarra, Peru adopted laws that took on festering malfeasance within the 130-member legislature, where 68 lawmakers are now under investigation or indictment for alleged crimes ranging from money laundering to murder. Members of the current Congress have been prohibited from seeking reelection, and anyone with active charges is barred from running. Critics now fear that Merino—who previously sought to turn the military against Vizcarra and attempted an earlier removal on different grounds in September—will seek to lift those rules, allowing a compromised political class to preserve itself and setting up a new period of instability in this nation of 32 million.

Generation COVID (Foreign Policy) A report from the British school inspection agency found that children had suffered from being outside the regular school system during lockdown, with some younger children regressing from being potty-trained back to diapers and older children showing reduced reading stamina. The chief inspector for schools found that the children experiencing the worst effects were those whose parents’ employment did not allow for flexible or at-home working.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tests positive for Covid-19 (AP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced Monday that he has tested positive for coronavirus infection and will be working in self-isolation while being treated. “There are no lucky people in the world for whom Covid-19 does not pose a threat,” Zelenskiy said on Twitter. “However, I feel good. I promise to isolate myself and I continue to work.” Zelenskiy became president in 2019 as a political neophyte, previously known as an actor and comedian. He became popular in the country for a TV sitcom, “Servant of the People,” in which he played the role of a teacher who unexpectedly becomes president after making a rant about corruption that goes viral. He handily defeated incumbent Petro Poroshenko. Ukraine’s coronavirus infections began surging in late summer and have put the country’s underpaid doctors and underequipped hospitals under severe pressure.

Nagorno-Karabakh: Turkey wins the war? (Foreign Policy/Eurointelligence) Russia may have secured a peace deal to end a six-week conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, but Turkey has won the war. Ankara threw its political support behind Azerbaijan and employed Turkish cutting-edge drones and military expertise to allow Azerbaijan to roll over Armenian positions in the difficult mountain area under dispute. The conflict is not new, and occasional fighting has been going on there since 1994, but this time it is a decisive victory. This victory will boost Erdogan’s image as a strongman with geopolitical weight, and helps him put a foot into the South Caucasus. Hard power impresses former Soviet countries.

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers resign en masse (AP) Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers said Wednesday that they were resigning en masse following a move by the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s government to disqualify four of their fellow pro-democracy legislators. The 15 lawmakers announced the move in a news conference Wednesday, hours after the Hong Kong government said it was disqualifying the four legislators. The disqualifications came after China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee, which held meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, passed a resolution stating that those who support Hong Kong’s independence or refuse to acknowledge China’s sovereignty over the city, or threaten national security or ask external forces to interfere in the city’s affairs, should be disqualified. Beijing has in recent months moved to clamp down on opposition voices in Hong Kong with the imposition of a national security law, after months of anti-government protests last year rocked the city. A mass resignation by the pro-democracy camp would leave Hong Kong’s legislature with only pro-Beijing lawmakers. The pro-Beijing camp already makes up a majority of the city’s legislature.

Iran sanctions continue (Foreign Policy) The Trump administration doesn’t intend to give up its “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran just because it lost an election. On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions on six companies and four people accused of supplying components to Iran Communication Industries, a company run by the Iranian military that is already under U.S. and EU sanctions. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the United States would continue to take action against those that support Iran’s “militarization and proliferation efforts.”

Frantic search after medicines vanish from Lebanon shelves (AP) She is a nurse at a Beirut hospital, and still Rita Harb can’t find her grandfather’s heart drugs. She has searched pharmacies up and down Lebanon, called friends abroad. Not even her connections with doctors could secure the drugs. Unlike many amid Lebanon’s financial crash, she can afford them—they just aren’t there. To get by, her 85-year-old grandfather is substituting his medicine with more pills of a smaller concentration to reach his dosage. That too could run out soon. Drugs for everything from diabetes and blood pressure to anti-depressants and fever pills used in COVID-19 treatment have disappeared from shelves around Lebanon. Officials and pharmacists say the shortage was exacerbated by panic buying and hoarding after the Central Bank governor said that with foreign reserves running low, the government won’t be able to keep up subsidies, including on drugs. That announcement “caused a storm, an earthquake,” said Ghassan al-Amin, head of the pharmacist syndicate. Lebanese now scour the country and beyond for crucial medications. The elderly ask around religious charities and aid groups. Family members plead on social media or travel to neighboring Syria. Expats are sending in donations. It’s the newest stage in the economic collapse of this country of 5 million, once a regional hub for banking, real estate and medical services. More than half the population has been pushed into poverty and people’s savings have lost value. Public debt is crippling, and the local currency plunged, losing nearly 80% of its value. The health sector is buckling under the financial strain and coronavirus pandemic.

‘Countdown to catastrophe’ in Yemen as U.N. warns of famine—again (Reuters) Millions of men, women and children in war-torn Yemen are facing famine—again, top United Nations officials warned on Wednesday as they appealed for more money to prevent it—again. “We are on a countdown right now to a catastrophe,” U.N. food chief David Beasley told the U.N. Security Council. “We have been here before ... We did almost the same dog-and-pony show. We sounded the alarm then.” The United Nations describes Yemen as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 80% of the people in need of help. “If we choose to look away, there’s no doubt in my mind Yemen will be plunged into a devastating famine within a few short months,” Beasley told the 15-member council. In late 2017, U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock warned that Yemen was then facing “the largest famine the world has seen for many decades with millions of victims”. “We prevented famine two years ago,” Lowcock told the Security Council on Wednesday. “More money for the aid operation is the quickest and most efficient way to support famine prevention efforts right now.”

[fallout4holmes]

Far Harbor 5

The local soda factory housing Dima’s secret medical facility was home to a large group of super mutants. We fought past and made our way to the basement. There was a large patch of bare earth in the middle of the floor. We looked at each other, and with great dread wordlessly agreed. After all, we were looking for buried secrets.

What we found was a skeleton, with a locket, and a holotape. The tape held a conversation between Dima and a synth woman. She asked if it would hurt. He told her yes, that it would feel like having everything she was ripped out and replaced with something else. He secretly planted a synth among the Far Harbor populace, someone who would be reasonable and open to accepting synths, a bridge between worlds. The locket identified his victim as Captain Avery.

Valentine was… grim. “Just when I'd decided to give him an honest chance, we find this.”

I moved further into the basement, both to be thorough and out of a desperate desire to find some evidence that we were mistaken, that my partner’s brother wasn’t a utilitarian murderer. “We'll give him a chance to explain.”

“Explain?” He followed me into the next room, a chamber with computers and a security door. “What explanation could -”

A voice interrupted us from a speaker in the control panel, “Scanning. Approved user detected. Synth prototype. Unlocking medical area door.”

To say Valentine was disturbed would be an understatement. “What? This thing knows what I am? How? Just who are you?”

The voice from the intercom identified itself as KYE 1.1, a computer intelligence designed to control medical facilities. Specifically, “the room through that door.” It continued, “You match all specifications for an approved user. Personally speaking, they were very narrow.”

Valentine frowned. “This must be Dima's handiwork. Guess he never thought another prototype synth would be on the island. Might as well take a look.”

I almost wish we hadn’t, that we’d just let the knowledge of what happened lie and not seen that room, the handprint of blood on the countertop, the red streak of a body dragged across the floor…

Valentine was aghast. “What… was all this blood from turning that woman into a replacement, or is this where Avery met her end?”

I sighed, “It's a gruesome picture either way… Valentine, wait.”

He was already halfway up the basement steps, “I've got questions for that 'brother’ of mine.”

“We don't know if more mutants are in the building, slow down!”

At least he slowed, but he radiated fury. I’ve never seen him so angry. This wasn’t just the righteous outrage at the loss of a life, this was horror and disgust and betrayal by someone he had been willing to try to forgive.

I tried to remain calm and reasonable, some sort of voice of logic, though God knows it was the most difficult time I’ve ever had of it. “We will confront him, he will have his say, and then we will determine what to do next.”

I could faintly hear metal grinding together from how tightly he clenched his jaw. I wanted nothing more than to do or say something to make that tension fade, but…

He nodded once, “Fine.” And we began the silent walk back to Acadia.

We went straight to Dima upon arrival. He greeted us with some quiet nervousness. He didn’t know what he had hidden, but I wonder if he suspected what we would find. Valentine stood behind me, silent. I started with the easy revelations, the launch key and the kill switch for the wind turbines. Dima was distressed by both.

“You saw, of course, the submarine is rusted into the dry dock,” he said. “The only target that missile is ever going to hit is the base itself. We have to keep that key out of the wrong hands. The Nucleus has innocent people living there among the zealots threatening Far Harbor.”

“We found the launch key, already. We’ll make sure it's never used,” I assured him, “but why create a kill switch for the wind turbines powering Far Harbor’s Fog condensers?”

“I remember… I was afraid that Far Harbor might turn against us. See us as too different for their precious island. So I made a contingency plan. Mass murder. I hid the kill switch code because I couldn't stomach the thought of actually using it. Then I hid the memory because I couldn't even stand knowing I made it.” He sounded amazed and horrified that he had even considered his action, “What have I done? If the Children of Atom were to ever get a hold of that code, they would destroy the town.”

“We already have the code. Far Harbor is safe.”

He was relieved. “Good. Now we just need to find some way to end this conflict. When the Fog got worse, the people of Far Harbor killed a Child of Atom missionary. There's been nothing but hatred and bloodshed since.” He hesitated, “But, you found… something else, in my memories, didn’t you? I can tell by the look on your face, the way Nick is… what was it?”

I handed him the last memory, and the locket. “You killed Captain Avery and replaced her with a synth.”

“What? That's impossible. Let me see…” His next words were anguished, “I... I did it. I killed a woman from Far Harbor and replaced her. I stripped a synth's identity from her and made her an agent…”

“You're a fraud,” I said.

“I… I needed to calm Far Harbor. A moderate voice. An example of what humanity should be. How we could exist together as equals. But I couldn't live with the memories of the blood on my hands…”

“It's called willful ignorance for a reason,” Valentine muttered.

If Dima could have shed tears, I believe he would have. “I can... remember it... the blood. The life ebbing from that woman's eyes... The screams… A human and a synth are both gone because of me!”

“You did this on your own?” I pressed, “No one else in Acadia is involved?”

He calmed somewhat, though the sadness remained. “What I've done goes against all of our ideals. I even hid it from myself. So, no, there can't be anyone else.” He studied me carefully, then. “If Far Harbor knew I had done this, they wouldn't destroy just me. They'd come after Acadia. And then without us, the Fog condensers will eventually fall into disrepair. Everyone will die.”

With a heavy sigh, I nodded, “This will be kept secret.”

Valentine glowered, “Is this what we call justice? A woman is killed in cold blood and we let it slide?”

“Would you have him killed?” I challenged. “That is what will happen if Dima turns himself in, if Far Harbor ever found out about this. You know as well as I do that there is no law in Far Harbor, only tradition and ancient customs. Avery and the synth who became her will find no justice in an angry mob.”

He frowned, still angry, but he said, “Alright. For the sake of the rest of the synths here, and the people in Far Harbor who’d die without Acadia’s technology, we’ll keep quiet. For now.”

Dima spoke quietly, somber and shaken. “Thank you. I promise you, as long as Far Harbor stands, I will make sure that Acadia does everything to make up for my crimes. Maybe the... guilt, will keep me focused…”

“Didn’t stop you before,” Valentine bit.

Dima winced, but said, “I… may have a plan to keep the peace on the island. Unfortunately, it is… as gruesome as the last.”

“What?” Valentine shouted, “Who has to die this time?!”

“Nick, please, listen,” Dima begged, “As horrifying as it might be to suggest, if Far Harbor could be made more... tranquil... by our intervention, then perhaps the same trick will work twice, on the Children of Atom. We could replace High Confessor Tektus with someone willing to forgive Far Harbor and work towards reconciling.”

“I can’t believe we’re even considering this. Holmes?”

“There must be another way, Dima.”

Dima shook his head, “None that I can see. The authority of the High Confessor is absolute. The Children of Atom won't see the need for peace unless he... changes his mind.” He looked at Nick, “I do not suggest this lightly. I have spent so much time trying to find a way, but it remained impossible because High Confessor Tektus will never permit peace… and removing him was never a possibility I considered. Until now.”

Valentine looked away. “It’s your call,” he said softly.

It hurt. I was disgusted and horrified when I found proof of the Institute’s practice of replacing those they wanted on their side, and now here I was agreeing to the same. “In some corner of Hell, he’s laughing at me,” I whispered to no one in particular. To Dima, I said, “Tell me every detail of your plan.”

The plan was to lure the Confessor to a secluded location and dispose of the body. I countered that convincing him to leave would serve the same purpose. Dima agreed, though he doubted it would be possible. For bait, Dima asked us to retrieve recordings of his conversations with Confessor Martin. He would use these to create false evidence of Martin's return, an unlikely possibility that Tektus nonetheless fears.

As we started to leave, Valentine suddenly turned and marched right back to where Dima stood. “There's zero reason for me to think you actually give a damn, but if you really mean all that junk about Acadia making up for your sins, if you really are happy to see me again and want a chance at starting over, you have to promise you'll never remove a memory like this again. You have to live with the crimes you've committed and all the guilt that goes with them like everyone else.”

Dima was taken aback, “I… yes, I promise.”

“Good.”

We left to find Kasumi, to let her know everything we discovered. She was distressed, and wondered what would happen to Acadia, if it was worth saving. I told her Acadia was a good idea, in theory, and that the synths staying there were innocent and should be protected until proven otherwise. This seemed to reassure her. She still wants to stay, for the time being, but this has given her a great deal to consider.

Neither of us were in any frame of mind to stay put in that place. The only other option was to return to Far Harbor. We were greeted by the sight of Allen Lee, the gruff weapons shop owner, with his gun pointed at a Child of Atom. Avery looked on with horror as he gave his speech to a small crowd of Harbormen and women, trying to find some way to stop him.

We hurried forward, “What’s going on?”

“This doesn’t concern you, mainlander,” Allen spat. “This here saboteur meant to cut us off from food and water. Punishment is pretty clear, Captain.”

With a heavy sigh, Avery took stock of the crowd and conceded, “Do what you must.”

The Child of Atom died. A cry went up from among the crowd, “You were right, Allen!”

He was bolstered, vindicated as he challenged Avery, “Now will you listen to sense? The Children of Atom need to be wiped clean off this island.”

Avery was not impressed. “You've had your blood today. I can't stomach any more of it. All of you, show’s over. Go home.”

The crowd dispersed, leaving the body outside the gate, abandoned.

“You were right,” Valentine said. “There’s no justice in this place. Saboteur or not, this execution was just one man looking for trouble, a mob hoping for something to blame. If we’d hauled Dima down here...” He didn’t finish the thought. He didn’t need to.

We returned to the private room for rent in the Last Plank. Dima needs time to prepare a volunteer to sacrifice themselves and become another person. We will take full advantage of that fact and stay a few days in Far Harbor. Valentine asked if we would tell Avery what we found. I doubt she would thank us for ripping away what she perceives as her life, her identity. It wouldn’t be the first time I hid the truth to save a life, and it likely won’t be the last.

I sat on the bed, writing the above when Valentine leaned against the wall across from me, arms folded. “You know, if he's as smart as he had to have been, he's not laughing.” I glanced up, puzzled. “From his corner of Hell,” he clarified.

I scoffed, “Why not? Everyone in the Institute talked about the sacrifices he made, the great work he did in the name of their ideal, their vision.”

“That vision involved a race of slaves underground serving humanity for the rest of time with the surface as their experiment dumping ground. Bit different than stopping three groups from destroying each other on a small island.”

“We are using the end to justify the means. And I agreed to it.”

“Yeah,” he sighed, “but if we can't hold back an angry mob, and a whole lot of innocent lives are lost, then that's on us. We've seen what the people here are like. Dima says he killed a person to protect his people. That prejudiced jackass selling guns down the street uses the same excuse for killing every Child of Atom he sees. At least Dima seems to feel guilty about it.”

“Valentine, if it were different, if we knew Acadia would be safe, would you have him executed? It's the penalty here for the crime of murder.”

“And sabotage, apparently,” he grumbled, lighting a cigarette, “and who knows what else. I don't like covering this up. Dima needs to pay for his crimes, but at the same time… it's strange, knowing he got me out of the Institute. That he could have been family.”

“Do you want him to be?”

“That's what I've been asking myself since we met him.” He shook his head, “Why do you think he hid that memory, the one of us fighting? He recognized me, knew we left together, but then was it a blank? He knew I was gone, but that was it?”

I shrugged, “If it's true that he hid the other memories because of his guilt, then that may have been the case for the memory of the fight. He probably thought you were dead, or at the very least that he would never see you again.”

Valentine sat down beside me, “I wish I could remember more about him… eh, then again, maybe I don't. Maybe it would just make this whole business worse, if that's possible.”

I placed my hand on his, “We’ll get through. As someone very dear to me once said, ‘I know the night just got darker, but it won’t last forever.’”

He smiled, just a little, but a smile all the same. “Was he right?”

“He was.”

He chuckled, softly. “Here’s hoping it proves true a second time around. Thanks, partner.”

We decided to stay a couple of days in Far Harbor and do what we can to help the people here. They certainly need it, but more importantly even if this plan works, even if the Children of Atom can be made docile, the hostility the people feel for every outsider is only going to cause more conflict further down the road. So, we will show them not all outsiders are things to be feared.

[lindsaymacpherson]

Young, Smart, but Broke: How Ontario Students are Handling Unemployment During the Pandemic

Lindsay MacPherson | INTS 312

Virtual work at the kitchen table and mobile-ordered coffee - a typical day in the life of a university student in 2021.

It is without question that the Covid-19 pandemic has had drastic effects on employment. Over 1.1 million Canadian workers either lost their jobs or had their hours reduced in 2020. Students were one of the most affected demographics; 40% lost a job, job offer, or internship last year, and with many relying on working full-time during the summer in order to support themselves during the school year, the pressure is on to find a gig for summer 2021. 

As we enter our third state of emergency lockdown in Ontario, service industry jobs at restaurants, golf courses and summer camps, which employ thousands of students each summer, are looking like a more and more unreliable option. Although some businesses in these industries are still trying to hire, assuming they will reopen in a month’s time, many students feel hesitant to accept a job that they could lose with only a few days’ notice, should the province shut down again. “Even if I get a serving job, It’s hard to know if I’ll get any hours, since we don’t know what the restaurant capacities will be” says Sarah MacPherson, a first-year student. Sarah used to work at a summer camp, but has already crossed that option off her list of possibilities for this year. She plans to continue her job search in industries that are less affected by lockdown restrictions, such as grocery stores and landscaping companies.

Students in fields of study such as business, communications, engineering and computer science have more options in terms of internship opportunities. Although many companies cancelled or shortened internships in 2020, the majority are hiring for virtual internship positions this coming summer. However, these positions are more competitive than ever, with post-grad and MBA students who have not yet secured full-time jobs also in the running. Additionally, the virtual work environment does not limit students to their own geographic region, which can be both a pro and a con. On the plus side, students have the opportunity to work on the other side of the country without leaving their homes if they so desire, and students who live far from urban areas may even have more opportunities available to them than ever before. However, this also increases the size of the applicant pool, making it more difficult for students to make it to the interview stage of the hiring process.

Other students are choosing to forge their own path. Instead of facing rejection after rejection, they are starting their own businesses online or in their communities. With less time spent going to class, work, or social commitments, there’s lots of time left to turn a hobby or a passion into an income source. This was the case for Matthew Danics and Josh Sofer, the two Ontario university students who founded Canadian Face Masks in March 2020, just as the pandemic was beginning. The pair started the company after noticing the increased need for non-medical face masks, as Canadians were just beginning to wear them out to run essential errands. They partnered with a local clothing manufacturer and designed several low-priced, colourful masks, which they sell on their online shop. 

Samantha Rayner, a second-year creative industries student at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario has explored a few different pandemic job options over the course of the past year. After the company she had hoped to intern for announced a hiring freeze, Samantha decided to pursue other options. She landed a part-time job at her local grocery store, where she worked enough hours from April until August to be able to pass up the CESB (Canadian Emergency Student Benefit). 

“Even though it wasn’t the ideal summer job, I’m grateful that I was able to find anything at all,” says Sam. 

She returned to school full-time in September, but opted to study from her childhood bedroom in her parents’ home instead of renting an apartment in Toronto like she had originally planned. “As much as I was looking forward to living in the city, the strict lockdown measures made staying home the more practical option for now. Hopefully with the vaccine starting to roll out, I’ll be able to go by next year!”, she says optimistically. 

Sam, like many other students, is worried about how the pandemic might impact her ability to get a job once she graduates. Her advice? “Do something that will make your resume stand out in the pile.” 

Samantha Rayner, Ryerson University Student

Sam has been managing social media pages for a handful of local businesses throughout the school year. “This way I already have some hands-on experience in the field I’m interested in, and I can build a portfolio at the same time.” Her hard work has paid off. Transcend Wellness Connection, a massage therapy clinic whose Instagram page she was running, recently offered her a full-time administration position for the summer. 

Sam’s desk at Transcend - Covid safe, of course. 

Sam isn’t the only one worried about post-grad employment. 81% are worried about job prospects and 71% about their employability, according to the National Union of Students. Under normal circumstances, students graduating into an economy with a high unemployment rate are often advised to pursue further studies, or to travel abroad. With travel restrictions still in full force, experts predict an increase in the popularity of graduate certificates. Students will continue to seek ways to differentiate themselves in a saturated job market. 

Eric Doner, a third-year economics student, is planning on pursuing an MBA upon graduation -  partly thanks to the pandemic. Eric’s internship was cancelled this past summer, and he decided to take online classes to fill his time. The high grades he received over the summer made his new post-grad plan seem like a more achievable option, and one that would almost certainly lead to the type of career he’s looking for. “I didn’t know what I was going to do to fill the time, so I decided I might as well get ahead in school. The business classes I took ended up being super interesting, and confirmed my decision that this was the right path for me” he says. 

Ultimately, the pandemic has changed the way many students think about employment forever - positively for some, and negatively for others. Some are reevaluating the lifespan of the careers they’re considering. “It’s made me think about the purpose of what I want to do, and whether that purpose changes if I have to work from home”, says Samantha. Others put more weight on themselves, focusing on how they can make an impact regardless of where they end up career-wise. “My goal will always be to keep learning and getting better, whatever that might look like”, says Eric. 

Experts such as Susan Ashford, Professor of Management and Organization at the University of Michigan, say that disruptive and stressful situations are often opportunities for growth. While the pandemic presents a variety of new challenges, it also creates new opportunities to cultivate a growth mindset. Although it can be difficult to remain positive, students who demonstrate resilience and use these difficult times as a learning opportunity will be the ones who come out on top.

[curegbm]

Susan Foster info for health -

July 7, 2020

When I was a junior in college I went to school in Vienna. One of my friends was Martina Nicholson. She became an OB/GYN, and just retired last year. She has a colleague, Dr. Richard Loftus, who is a biohazard virology-trained hospitalist. In other words he is treating COVID-19 patients in the hospital. I've read a lot of these accounts and this is the most powerful one I've ever read. It makes you want to hand out masks to everyone who's not wearing one. I am going to print this and carry copies with me when I'm walking. I will hand this out to people who don't have masks. If anybody gives me a hard time for my post on masks, you will get a copy of Dr. Loftus' brilliant, raw, painful account of what it's like treating these patients. What really struck me is how sick young previously healthy patients are 3 – 4 months post release from the hospital. Please be careful. Do not, for one more second, doubt this is real.

From Martina Nicholson, MD:

From my friend Dr Rick Loftus, MD. yesterday (7/2/20), update about Covid-19:

I'm in a hotspot hospital in a hotspot region (Coachella Valley, Inland Empire, CA). We just converted the entire second floor of our hospital to COVID-19 care yesterday, July 1. We have 65 inpatients with COVID-19 in a hospital with 368 beds. It is the same at our other 2 hospitals in the Valley. We spent yesterday deciding the ethical way to divide up limited remdesivir (30 patients' worth) for the hospital patients. My 20 incoming interns for our IM resident were exposed to COVID 2 weeks ago during their computer chart training; apparently 100% of our computer trainers had COVID19. One intern tested positive 7 days later and I insisted we re-test them all again, as there are almost certainly other cases with minimal symptoms. I raided my household and took my entire supply of face shields to the hospital for the residents to wear on their first day, and I paid $1000 of my own money to equip all of my residents with medical-grade face shields. I require all residents to wear a surgical mask or N95 with face shield if they are within 6 feet of another human, patient or coworker.

Roughly 20% of our inpatients die. Only 30% of our ventilated patients survive. (We try to avoid ventilation at all costs. Some people insist on being full code and decompensate despite high flow with face mask, proning, dexamethasone, antibiotics, and a cocktail of famotidine, zinc, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, NAC, and melatonin--we throw everything we can at each case, so long as it won't hurt them.)

My administrative assistant, who sits adjacent to the interns, just went home with COVID symptoms. Her test is pending.

In the Southwest, we are experiencing catastrophic exponential growth. I have had multiple families--siblings, parent-child, spouses--admitted with COVID-19. I had a 31 year old come in satting 78% on room air; he had been sequestering himself in his bedroom for a week to avoid infecting his elderly parents, with whom he lived. His sister, the only person he saw outside his immediate household in the 10 days prior to onset of fever, cough, and dyspnea, had also had fevers but had tested "negative" at our other large hospital so he thought it was safe to visit her. (Sigh. The Quest PCR test is about 80% sensitive, we think--it had emergency approval to sensitivity data was not required. The Cepheid rapid COVID PCR test is 98.5% sensitive but is in short supply due to limited reagent availability.)

I'm glad some of you are sheltered from what unbridled COVID-19 looks like. It's a hell show. This is *July*. What do you think my hospital will look like in winter?...

This is real. Doctors in places with proper public health responses will see few cases in their hospitals--like UCSF--but let me tell you something: The laws of physics and biology don't change. If you're in an unaffected region, an introduction and poor governance and low use of physical distancing and masks will give you an exponential increase in no time flat (i.e. 2-4 weeks). That's pandemic math. And 20% of the population infected needs a hospital. You *will* run out of beds with an unbridled pandemic. There is almost ZERO pre-existing immunity to SARS-CoV-2. There may be some "priming" of T-cell responses due to exposure to other "benign" beta-coronaviruses, but we have no idea if that explains the 20-40% of people who seem to get minimal symptoms. Asymptomatic infected persons, however, can, and do, spread COVID to those who die from it.

By the way: I've seen scary looking CT scans of the lungs that look like terrible interstitial pneumonia in a patient who had ZERO symptoms and SaO2 94% on room air. She came in for palpitations and the intern overnight got a chest CT for cardiac reasons. We didn't know it was COVID until her test came back 36 hours later. So "asymptomatic" does NOT mean "no biological activity." The virus replicates furiously in people who feel fine. Kids can spread this as easily as grown ups, even if they feel okay.

Related: I've talked to two previously healthy patients ages 32 and 44 who are 3 and 4 months, respectively, post their acute COVID. They continue to have cough, nightsweats, fever, fatigue. How many survivors have "post-COVID syndrome"? We don't know. Less than 20% but we're not sure. I've asked my hospital to allow me to establish a post-COVID clinic to care for and study survivors. Both NIH and UW are planning similar efforts based on my dialogues with them.

Autopsies show anoxic brain injury in many patients who died of COVID, not to mention microthrombi throughout the lungs and megakaryocytes in massive infiltrations in their hearts and other organs. People get heart failure, lung fibrosis, and permanent kidney injury from COVID-19. This is a disease of the vascular systems, and it can affect any organ, with lungs and kidneys being especially at risk.

In early May, thanks to lockdown, our census of 55 came down to 10 COVID cases, and for a brief moment, I actually had hope that the worst nightmares I had about COVID, as a biohazard virology-trained hospitalist, would not come to pass. Then we re-opened, without test/trace/isolate systems anywhere close to adequate. Eight weeks ago my county decided to make masks "optional," despite 125 doctors begging them not to do that. Now we're worse than we were in April. And it's getting worse every day.

You wanna see if COVID is real? Come walk on my COVID ward with me. It's real. Hearing people talk about it as if it's an exaggeration is, well, rage-inducing, honestly. Denial is the most common reaction to a pandemic. Denial is how the US will wind up with 1.1 million deaths instead of 30,000. I saw AIDS denialists get killed by their belief that HIV "isn't real, it's a pharma conspiracy of the medical industrial complex." Yeah, right, if you say so. I watched patients with those beliefs die.

The hardest part about this is, every new case I treat exposes me. I have assiduous hot zone technique. But no technique is bulletproof. If you keep exposing me to case after case, eventually, the virus will get through my defenses. I'm a 50 year old hypertensive. I don't expect to do well if I get infected. For now, I keep going to work. I'm one of the few pushing forward on COVID clinical trials, basic science, public health messaging, and diagnostic studies at my hospital. I feel a responsibility to keep going. I wake up with nightmares every morning at 4am. But I'm going to keep going for now. I feel very alone a lot of the time. People are not taking this seriously, and it's costing lives. -R

"Everything we do before a pandemic will seem alarmist. Everything we do after a pandemic will seem inadequate. This is the dilemma we face, but it should not stop us from doing what we can to prepare. We need to reach out to everyone with words that inform, but not inflame. We need to encourage everyone to prepare, but not panic." — Michael O. Leavitt, 2007

--

Richard A. Loftus, MD

"Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth." --William Faulkner

[caphasamericasass]

The Tin Man and the Viper PART TWO

Bucky Barnes x OC

Sucky Summary: AU Post Civil War Steve Rogers returns from Wakanda with a partially repaired Bucky Barnes to the Avengers compound.  Excited to introduce his first best friend to his BFF of the 21st century (OC), he’s shocked to discover that a deep change has occurred in her from when they were last united.  Bucky’s never been one for puzzles but finds some solace in her silence in a new world that’s spinning out of their control.  

Word Count: 1.1+

Characters: Steve, Bucky, Natasha, OC

Warnings: None Yet

PART ONE

Bucky’s POV

It’s hard not to watch her spar, I’ll give her that.  Her movements are fluid and graceful—a young Natalia Romanova still learning. Romanoff is the only person she has allowed to train with her since her return.  We sat down with the iron twat my first official night with the Avengers after our run in in the kitchen.  Stark doesn’t seem concerned, but it doesn’t appear to be that whatever is happening with her is something the Avengers want to talk about aside from Steve.  I myself don’t see what the big deal is either, I mean pretty, mute, and a little neurotic to keep things interesting sounds like the about ideal dame to me.  

I can see her perfectly from the weight bench sending high kicks right over Romanoff’s head as she ducks gracefully out of Estella’s way.  Steve asked her this morning if she might want to get in the ring with us today as he bragged to her about me being a boxing champ back in the day, but she just smiled sweetly and shook her no.

Suddenly there’s a blur of flesh obstructing my view, it belongs to Steve—I’m momentarily impressed with myself for knowing that without meeting his eyes or tuning into his voice. I peel my eyes from the dueling girls somewhat reluctantly, and grunt, “whadya want, Steve?”

“Stark called a team meeting,” he replies.

“Isn’t that your job?”

Steve scoffs.  “I let him be second in command to coddle his delicate ego.  He get his knickers in a twist since he, you know,” he gestures at all the equipment surrounding us in the Tower’s gym, “pays for all this stuff.”  I nod with a sense of understanding, but I don’t recall Howard being so controlling.  Of course things always change after war.  

Steve is smirking at me and I briefly wonder if I’ve missed something.  “What?”

“Should I get the girls or would you like to do the honors?”

“Punk,” I mutter.  I stand and toss my towel into my standard army issue duffle bag with no intent on saying anything to the assassin and the mute.

Steve chuckles. “Widow! Error! Meeting in the eighty-first floor conference room in fifteen minutes!”

They pause instantly for Romanoff to respond.  “You want us to walk in there smelling like Maximoff’s running shoes?”

I look up to see Estelle crack an out of place smile and wrinkle her nose slightly.  It’s almost cute.  Almost.

“Apparently Stark has a fetish for stinky teammates.”

I’d never heard anyone address Estelle as anything aside from that, or more affectionately as Stella. “Where does that codename come from?”

“Oh, Error?  It’s short for ‘User Error’.  When Stella was brought to the attention of the Avengers, it was because she hit Stark’s radar as an alleged hacker.  Her abilities include technology and electrical energy manipulation and she wreaked havoc on the Stark Enterprise servers to use his GPS to locate missing mutants on an X-Men mission.  Normally the X-Men would avoid any interaction with the Avengers or other any government agencies for that matter, but it was an emergency and they thought with her abilities she’d be able to get in and out completely undetected.  But the truth is, at the time Stella knew about as much about computers as I do.”

“That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” I say, mostly because I don’t know a damn thing about the X-Men.  Steve mentioned them once or twice in Wakanda, but genetic mutations occurring in nature outside of Hydra reek of suspicious activity.  It’s hard for me to grasp that normal people are born this way, born like the twins.  Steve said that there’s genetic explanation to that too but it all goes right over my head. I don’t think he knows what he’s talking about.

“She grew up in the Swamps, Buck.  It’s not exactly like Silicon Valley.”  I have no idea where ‘Silicon Valley’ is, but apparently it’s not the Everglades.  We headed towards the exit of the gym after gathering our belongings whereas the girls bee lined towards the locker room. “She wasn’t incredibly computer literate outside of the basics.  She had raw ability and had just joined the X-Men to figure out how to use it.  Long story short, she basically ended up triggering all these crazy alarms that Stark had installed in his systems as emergency contingency plans for incredibly advanced hackers.  He said it should have been impossible for someone of her incompetency to bulldoze their way through the system like a digital bull in a china shop.  At first he was mad, but he called me a soon as he discovered the identity of the girl.”

“Granddaughter of a Howling Commando?  How’d the Frenchy even end up in the states anyhow?”

“You don’t happen to remember a nurse by the name of Gloria Sayre?  Tiny little thing with a nice, slow southern drawl.”

Doesn’t ring a single bell. I shake my head from right to left.

“Well after you…were no longer in action…they got together.  Funny thing is, she told him she was from New Orleans, the Paris of America,” Steve says.  He’s got a glimmer of far away nostalgia in his eyes as we step into an elevator that will take us to the eighty-first floor.  I nearly wish I was capable of remembering enough things to feel nostalgic about them, but instinct immediately screams that an unnecessary weakness and I brush my envy aside.  “But as it turned out, old Gloria lived a few cities and one state away, in the swampland of Biloxi, Mississippi.  I heard all this from Tony who said that Howard had written it in an old journal of his he started keeping at the end of the war when record keeping became an afforded luxury.  Howard had written that Jacques was livid, but by the time they reached the south Gloria was already pregnant.  Stella just about confirmed all of this when we finally met.  I was fairly adamant about getting her on the team—a descendant of Jacques, a genetic modern marvel!  Who could have imagined.”

“So does that mean that Frenchy was…well was Frenchy a mutant too then, and he never told anyone? Was that why he was so good with explosions?”  I ask, my brain beginning to run wild faster than common sense can catch up to it.  

“Of course not, Buck. You spent all that time with him in the POW cells, I think you’d remember that.”

Not likely, I think.  We step out of the elevator and begin down a maze of hallways as Steve tries reassure me that Jacques was not a freak like his offspring.

“Mutation is a gene that can be dormant if possessed.  Jacques could’ve had it and never known, or Gloria, or more likely it came from Arthur Sinclair’s line.  Stella’s father.”

“Yeah?  What’s Sinclair’s deal?” I ask as we step into the room.  The Maximoff’s, the android, Stark, and Bird Brain are already there in civilian clothes not drenched in sweat.

Steve sighs.  “That’s a whole other story.”

PART THREE

[cdrforea]

Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e Review: A Slice of Luxury

New Post has been published on https://bestedevices.com/samsung-galaxy-tab-s5e-review-a-slice-of-luxury.html

Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e Review: A Slice of Luxury

"The Galaxy Tab S5e is an almost perfectly designed Android tablet for your home and a great companion for games and movies."

Slim and light

Breathtaking AMOLED screen

Attractive, simple software

Long battery life

Inexpensive

Audio disappointed

Camera is simple

Would you like this vacation an excellent price for a tablet? Check out our favorite Black Friday tablet deals.

We all want a little bit of luxury. A slightly more expensive hotel than usual when we go on vacation, tick the leather when ordering a new car and buy a mobile device that feels more expensive than it really is. This is the definition of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e. Together with the stunning screen, this is one of the main reasons why you will buy one in the store.

I spent a few weeks on the tablet and can happily say that you won't put it back on the shelf when you take it home.

Luxurious design

Samsung has distinguished itself with the style of the Galaxy Tab S5e. There are no new ways – it is a tablet and therefore quite fixed – but it manages to get all the crucial individual aspects right. The screen is the right size at 10.5 inches, the metal unibody weighs only 399 grams and is surprisingly light, while the 5.5 mm thickness contradicts virtually every belief. Any thinner and lighter, and it would be a piece of paper.

The frames around the screen are narrow, but there is still enough to grab and hold the tablet. But they're almost acceptable – you have to hold them loosely – otherwise it's too easy to accidentally touch the screen and rewind when viewing content, even with normal sized hands. The slim, cool-looking metal housing and the thin screen bezels give the Tab S5e the decisive luxury air. You really want to hold it and it puts a smile on your face when you do it.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The thin housing on the back means that the camera lens is in a bump. This in turn means that it comes into contact with any surface on which the tablet is exposed. In addition to the Samsung and AKG trademark on the back, the camera lens and antenna bands are the only distractions. It's incredibly clean, simple, and stylish. On the sides there is a connector for a Samsung keyboard, four speakers, a microSD card slot and a USB charging port of type C. It doesn't have a 3.5 mm headphone jack, which is a shame.

Any thinner and lighter, and it would be a piece of paper.

Where's the fingerprint sensor? It is located in the power switch on the right edge directly above the volume rocker. Samsung has used this with great effect on the Galaxy S10e. The Tab S5e is precise and fast, but a little too small and possibly a little too high on the body. I searched for it too often and felt my thumb along the side. I would look for it sometime and that is unfortunate. It's not that Samsung has room on the side of the Tab S5e, and a longer sensor – like that of the Sony Xperia 10 Plus – would have been a welcome ergonomic addition.

The tempting slenderness of the Galaxy Tab S5e is one thing, but it worried me a bit. Even though it never hurt, the thin frame worried me about durability. I took it on a long flight and it spent a lot of time in a backpack where I feared it would be subjected to loads that would bend the frame. It never happened, and even when the tablet is physically rotated, there is no excessive movement. I would be happier if I kept the slim, attractive Tab S5e in a bag or case on the go.

Breathtaking screen, average sound

Samsung makes good screens. No, not good, I mean stunning screens, and the Tab S5e is another one to look at in astonishment. The 10.5 AMOLED panel has a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 and looks great in any situation. There is so much color and life that even videos you are familiar with get a new look. I saw the last two episodes of Stranger Things 3 on an airplane and had to turn down the brightness almost all the way down, but the picture was still excellent and the shadows and dark scenes didn't suffer at all.

It’s not just a video that’s great. The low weight also makes it an excellent alternative for e-book readers and is ideal for games. I read with the Amazon Kindle app for many hours and changed the background color from white to a paper-like tone, which didn't tire my eyes. The light, easy-to-hold body enables longer gaming sessions even when playing. Reckless Racing 3 is fun and is visually enhanced thanks to the breathtaking colors and the screen.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

There's no question about the Tab S5e credentials when it comes to the visual experience, but what about the sound? The Tab S5e has four speakers that have been tuned by AKG – Samsung's audio experts. The speakers support Dolby Atmos. The audio is realigned when the tablet moves from portrait to landscape and vice versa. Despite all of these efforts, the sound is good, but not great.

There is a lot of volume, but voices are often lost in the mix, and increasing the volume only aggravates the situation. The chassis vibrates with noise, but not really with bass, because there is simply not that much. This is to be expected as there is not much space in the body for loudspeakers and sound chambers and the loudspeakers can be easily dampened when the tablet is held. We also had a similar listening experience with the Galaxy Tab S4.

Power and battery

On paper, the Galaxy Tab S5e doesn't impress with its technical data, since it deserves a relatively simple smartphone – a Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 processor and 4 GB or 6 GB RAM (corresponds to what is included in the Google Pixel 3a). In reality, it's more than enough to drive the tablet for the tasks it is meant to do – watch, surf, and read movies. I never had any problems playing.

Here are some benchmark results:

AnTuTu 3DBench: 152.646

Geekbench 4 CPU: 1,604 single core; 5,627 multi core

3DMark Sling Shot Extreme: 1,536 (volcano)

These numbers cannot keep up with the more expensive tablets with higher performance, but they are not displayed in daily use. The Galaxy Tab S5e never feels like a midrange smartphone despite the numbers and processor. It is wiped out in tests by Apple iPad Air, its direct competitor in terms of price.

The willingness of the Tab S5e to only sip energy increases its usefulness.

The battery on which the show runs has a capacity of 7,040 mAh and provides more than enough energy for long-term use. When used daily for a few hours, with apps and while watching videos, the battery lasted five days before it needed to be charged. The best thing is that it is in standby mode for days and uses almost no power. Tablets are not always used every day, so the Tab S5e’s willingness to drink only energy increases its usefulness.

Another great performance aspect of the Galaxy Tab S5e is WiFi, where I found signals I received more reliably than my phone when I was far from my router. This is important if you are streaming videos at home.

Basic camera

Would you like to take photos with your tablet? Sure, it's not ideal, but if necessary, the Galaxy Tab S5e will take it with its single 13-megapixel lens with a 1: 2.0 aperture on the back. On the front there is an 8 megapixel camera with the same aperture. The results are decent, with some attractive colors and contrasts, details in the shaded areas, and a nice blue sky with no oversaturation.

The pictures don't have much life and you don't want to take many in low light. Close-ups suffer from a lack of detail. The camera app has an editing suite with filters and basic tools to adjust your picture. Use the selfie camera and there are Snapchat style face filters and a live focus mode for a software generated bokeh effect. Everyone works very well, but their attractiveness will be a niche.

Whenever the Galaxy Tab S5e camera is put into action, it does more than provide enough results, but you can get a better camera experience on Apple's iPad Air.

A UI software

Samsung has installed its own One UI Version 1.1 software via Android 9 Pie. The experience is very similar and pleasant to that of a Samsung Galaxy smartphone. A user interface is clear, logical and clear. No, it doesn't look like Android on a Google Pixel, but its consistent layout makes it stylish and modern, and that's a big plus. App icons are uniform in size and shape, and navigation is quick and responsive, if a little slow at times.

Slowness is not a performance issue, but rather a design decision, as Samsung wants you to admire the transitions and scrolling. I don't know – sometimes it's a bit blurry – and I just want to find my app.

One problem that can affect others like me is the transfer of video content from a computer to the tablet. Connect it to a MacBook via USB, and you're out of luck if you want to transfer files. Android Device Manager is not working, and Samsung's outdated Mac app is not. It simply refuses to recognize what pain is when I want to have a video on my tablet. In the end I loaded a video with Google Drive. Yes, it worked, but it's awfully lengthy.

Then there's Bixby. On the home screen, swipe right to display Bixby Home, where a selection of maps contains information from some apps, Google Play, News, YouTube, and the tablet gallery. Among the helpful cards like the news, there are some curiosities like Giphy. Fortunately, you can edit which cards appear, but you can't mix the order.

The software of the Galaxy Tab S5e is easy to use, easy to adapt and also pretty.

I certainly haven't used Bixby Home very often, but Samsung has worked hard to improve the virtual assistant. The Galaxy Tab S5e has Bixby Voice, and you can activate the virtual assistant with the power button. Set this up and what can you do? Bixby's voice is surprisingly lifelike; It recognized my commands most of the time and the wake-up word "Hey Bixby" made sure it was always on. Many of the features are designed for use on a smartphone and not on a tablet that stays at home. For example, Bixby's quick commands are useful when you change profile settings for work or in the car. I don't take my tablet much out of the house, which makes this and many other commands superfluous.

Apart from that, the software of the Galaxy Tab S5e is easy to use, easy to adapt and also pretty. It makes a significant contribution to ensuring that the Galaxy Tab S5e is pleasant to live and use.

Price, availability and guarantee

The Galaxy Tab S5e costs $ 400 with 64 GB of storage or $ 470 with 128 GB and can be purchased from Samsung, Amazon, Best Buy and other retailers. In the UK, the 64 GB Tab S5e is £ 380 and the 128 GB is £ 420. If you want a 4G LTE version, it is only available from Verizon in the US and costs $ 480 plus the data plan you choose. In the UK, the 4G LTE model is unlocked and starts at £ 430.

Samsung provides a one-year warranty on the tablet against manufacturing defects in the United States, but not against accidental damage. The UK warranty is two years.

Our opinion

The Galaxy Tab S5e is an almost perfectly designed Android tablet for your home and the perfect companion for playing and watching movies and videos. The sophisticated software and performance ensure that it does not irritate, and thanks to the long-lasting battery it is always ready for use. The price is $ 399 (MSRP), and sales often drop to around $ 350.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes, and it's the tablet most people will think about – the Apple iPad. You should take a look at the Apple iPad Air, which has a 10.5-inch screen. It starts at $ 500. The smaller 9.7-inch iPad starts at $ 330, but the larger screen bezels make it look older. IPad software is great, app support is better, the screen is similarly good, and it will keep its value for the future – important if you want to resell it to fund an annual update.

If you want a more productive Samsung Android tablet, the Galaxy Tab S4 remains a good buy if you're on a tight budget. On the other hand, the new Galaxy Tab S6 is available if you want the latest Samsung Galaxy Tab hardware.

For more information, see our best tablet guide.

How long it will take?

The Galaxy Tab S5e is not waterproof and also not particularly durable. So you have to treat it well if you want it to last a long time. If you do this, there is no reason why the Tab S5e will not last for years. In contrast to smartphones, tablets are not so quickly out of date. Since drastic improvements are rare in subsequent models, there is less temptation to change them regularly.

There is no reason why you can't use the Tab S5e for three to four years if you only use it as a media player and for basic apps.

Should you buy it

Yes. The Galaxy Tab S5e is luxurious, powerful, and not overly expensive. It's not the best tablet, but it's a solid mid-range pick and will appeal to Android loyalists.

Editor's recommendations

[louisonurmark]

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active is the follow-up to its Gear Sport, a stripped-down smartwatch focused on fitness tracking and glanceable notifications. At just $200, it’s much cheaper than the flagship $350 Galaxy Watch and the Apple Watch Series 4. Saving money often means sacrificing features, but the Active doesn’t lose out on much; it’s fast, swim-proof, has built-in GPS, includes a slew of fitness modes, and lasts a long time on a charge. However, it does give up a beloved piece of hardware that’s become a signature of Samsung’s other smartwatches: the rotating bezel. But the Galaxy Watch Active still strikes a very appealing balance for its price. I’d already call it one of the better options for Android users who understand its limitations, which I’ll get into below.

The Active’s design is fairly generic. It comes in nicer colors than the black variant I reviewed, but all of them share the same understated style that almost looks like something Pebble would have made. It’s not flashy, but it works. The 20mm bands are easy to replace, as well.

The Galaxy Watch Active’s most shining attribute is comfort. Its aluminum case is far lighter than the stainless steel Galaxy Watch or the Apple Watch Series 4, and it’s thin enough to not get caught up on shirt cuffs or outerwear. The watch rests flat on my wrist, and I quickly forget that I’m wearing it, whereas I never really “forget” that my stainless steel Series 4 is on. It’s such a pleasant fit that I’ve been able to sleep wearing the Active without any discomfort. The watch automatically switches into sleep-tracking mode when it detects that you’ve gone to bed. It breaks down the quality of your sleep based on how long you spent in each phase. None of this is unique among fitness wearables that offer sleep tracking (like a Fitbit), but it’s something the pricier Apple Watch still can’t do natively.

The trade-off for that comfort is a smaller screen, especially compared to the monstrous 46mm Galaxy Watch. The Active has a 40mm case with a significant bezel running around its 1.1-inch OLED display. I wouldn’t call it cramped, per se — content on-screen is perfectly legible, and you can tap where you need without many mistakes — but whereas the latest Apple Watch can sometimes feel like a computer on your wrist, the Galaxy Watch Active doesn’t leave that same impression. Some people might actually prefer that, and Samsung clearly cared more about fit than screen real estate this time around. Speaking of fit, the company includes two sizes of its silicone sport strap in the box; I immediately had to swap for the larger one.

But Samsung took something very important away from the Galaxy Watch Active: it lacks the rotating bezel that has proven to be an intuitive, natural, and fun control mechanism on the company’s other smartwatches. The Tizen Wearable OS 4.0 software is designed to put the display’s circular shape to good use, but navigating the Galaxy Watch Active can feel more finicky without the rotating bezel and its satisfying clicks.

For one, the watch’s software doesn’t really take into account this significant change in how you interact with it. The user experience is largely identical to that of the Galaxy Watch, and it’s clearly meant to work best with a rotating bezel that can quickly scroll through menus.

Relying only on taps and swipes (plus the physical back and home buttons) isn’t the end of the world, but it undeniably feels like more work. If the app you tap on in the apps drawer isn’t already highlighted, for example, you’ve got to tap a second time to open it. The Active is at least a pleasure to swipe across with its smooth glass top and curved edges. Your finger won’t be knocking into a raised bezel as with the Galaxy Watch. (Of course, that also means you run a higher risk of a shattered screen if you drop it.)

Tizen OS 4.0 runs very fluidly on the Active, which is powered by the same processor as the Galaxy Watch. From the main watchface, you can swipe down from the top for quick toggles / settings, swipe right to view your notifications, or swipe left to move between any widgets (alarms, calendar, music controls, sleep tracking, etc.) you want fast access to. Hold down on the main screen to switch to another watchface or download more; there are thousands of watchfaces available, which, frankly, seems hopeless to navigate through. But at least you’ve got options.

The built-in watchfaces were fine for my tastes. You can change the color of some, and others offer customizable complications to display the information most important to you. Samsung’s watchfaces don’t feel quite as data-rich as some of those on the Apple Watch Series 4, but, again, that probably has to do with the modest display. Pit this against a Fitbit Versa, and the comparison swings in Samsung’s favor.

Samsung does a good job of optimizing its wearable apps for a round display, but I still think some of the icons and user interface elements are ugly compared to the Apple Watch or Google’s revamped Wear OS. The company says there have been some visual tweaks inspired by its One UI design guidelines, but they’re barely noticeable. Plus, since Tizen is its own separate operating system, sometimes you’re required to install a “companion” app on your Android phone if you download watch apps such as Uber. That feels like unnecessary clutter. Many apps send basic notifications without any useful response actions, but you can customize which ones you want to reach your wrist.

Third-party app selection, in general, on the Active is dismal compared to Apple Watch and Wear OS, though Samsung has a few popular fitness apps like Strava on board. And the included Spotify app lets you download music for offline listening, which the Apple Watch version can’t yet do. That’s good news for runners, and it might be enough to sell some people on the Active. But there’s no such thing as Google Maps or Google Messages for Tizen.

The Spotify app supports offline downloads.

Just as with Samsung’s phones, Bixby is a weak point on the Active. It sometimes fumbles the accuracy of dictated messages, and it will frequently steer you back to your phone for many questions if you go deeper than asking for the weather or telling it to fire off a text. At least Bixby is easier to just ignore when there’s not a dedicated button for it. I don’t foresee people using apps beyond those for music and fitness tracking on the Galaxy Watch Active very often. When you get notifications from messaging or email apps, you can choose from a list of canned responses or add your own custom reply. Failing that, you can scribble out a message letter by letter a la the Apple Watch if you really have no other option.

Samsung Pay is included for wireless payments, but only at terminals that support NFC; Samsung doesn’t include the MST technology found in flagship Galaxy phones that can mimic the magnetic stripe on credit / debit cards, allowing Samsung Pay to be used in many more situations.

It’s worth underlining that owners of Samsung phones get the best experience from the Galaxy Watch Active. It has versions of the company’s stock email and messaging apps on board, but no such luck for Gmail or Google’s Messages app. That’s disappointing for those using another Android device (or who dislike Samsung’s software). In either case, you’ll need the Galaxy Wearable app installed to get set up and adjust the watch’s settings.

The Galaxy Watch Active isn’t yet able to read blood pressure.

Unfortunately, the watch’s main new health-related feature — blood pressure detection — wasn’t yet ready to test at press time. When it does launch, it’ll be in beta. Allow me to reiterate that you shouldn’t trust a consumer gadget to serve as your doctor or a miracle device that can sense all ailments. The Active’s sleep tracking seems fairly on point, automatic workout detection was surprisingly quick to recognize activity, and my daily steps lined up closely with an Apple Watch on my other wrist. So it hits the fundamentals and also has a water resistance rating of 5ATM, meaning even a deep swim won’t damage it.

Samsung’s Health app offers a ton of functionality; aside from collecting your workout totals and showcasing your progress, it can log your nutrition (food, water, and caffeine intake) if you’re willing to consistently input that data. Rounding out fitness, Samsung includes breathing / relaxation apps and a brand-new widget for tracking your weight. And if you’re still for too long, the Active will nudge you to do a set of torso twists rather than stand up.

I’ve been happy with the Galaxy Watch Active’s endurance so far despite the small 230mAh battery inside. Samsung claims it can go for 45 hours on a single charge, but that’s only a realistic number if you’re using GPS rarely (if at all) and keep the always-on display option disabled. Turning that on is a major hit to battery life. With default settings, I’ve been able to get through two work days before needing to charge. The Active can be juiced up when placed on the back of a Galaxy S10 through Samsung’s new PowerShare feature. Plopping it onto my Samsung wireless charging stand didn’t charge it, though, so you’ll need the Duo Dock if you want to go that route.

Very few iPhone owners are going to give much thought to buying a Galaxy Watch Active. For them, the Apple Watch is the objectively better choice. It’s got more apps, the software is nicer and more coherent, and its integration with iOS allows for richer notifications and easy one-tap actions when those notifications warrant a response. You’ll feel a lot more constrained using the Active with iOS than with Android.

Samsung’s real competition is Fitbit with its Versa and products like the Fossil Sport that run Wear OS and are at par with most of the Galaxy Watch Active’s features, albeit for a slightly higher price. At $200, the Galaxy Watch Active is a strong value that I’d probably consider before both of those, assuming you can go without the rotating bezel and won’t envy other smartwatches and their bigger screens. Using the Galaxy Watch Active might be less fun than Samsung’s other watches, but it’s still a good time overall.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge

SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH ACTIVE REVIEW: LESS FUN BUT STILL A GOOD TIME Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active is the follow-up to its Gear Sport, a stripped-down smartwatch focused on fitness tracking and glanceable notifications.

[junctiongate]

Exopolis One: Planetfall

My first sensation on waking was the breathing tubes being pulled from my nose as they scraped along my nasal cavity. It wasn't done gently. I gasped and immediately started coughing up the nutrient gelatin that had seeped through my mouth and into the back of my throat.

I didn't want to move. But it was cold. Why is it so cold?

"Carmen."

We were running from something. Dad held my hand when we went through the clouds of smoke. Hurry. Hurry! I could hear the shouting behind us. The screaming started. Don't look back. Keep running. The ship is just ahead.

I coughed again and whimpered.

"Carmen," a female voice called out, "Can you hear me?"

The ship was dirty, like it had been on fire. The ramp was extended, but I could hear the whine of the engines ready to take off. I stumbled and went flying onto the concrete, scraping my hands and knees. Dad picked me up and ran into the ship. Close the ramp! someone yelled. Dad slumped against the bulkhead and slid to the floor, still holding me tightly. Carmen, my little Carmen. He began rocking me back and forth. It's going to be okay. I didn't realize he was crying until I felt him shaking. Then I started to sob too.

I felt a warm, wet cloth wiping my eyes. My whole body was shivering from the chill.

"I'm wiping the nu-gel off from your face. It tends to cake around the eyes, especially after being in suspension for a few years."

"Dad, it's going to be okay. Daddy! Don't cry."

"Carmen, honey, your dad isn't here. He wasn't assigned to our colony."

I opened my eyes only to be almost blinded by the bright light in the room. Blinking rapidly, I tried to make sense of the room and the woman bending over me.

"You're going to be weak and disoriented for a little while," she said. "so just stay still for now. You've been in suspension for over three years. My name is Alicia. I'm slowly bringing your core temperature back up. The tube in your right arm is a stem-cell rich blood mixture to repair your cellular tissue from the suspension. The tube in your left arm is removing the cryoprotectant solution from your veins."

"What colony? Where is he?" My voice was hoarse.

"Here, drink this." She put a straw to my lips. "What's the last thing you remember?"

I sipped the water and then coughed again. What was happening?

"We…we escaped Earth and made it to Mars, but had to leave again when it started getting bad. My mom didn't make it, I don't think. Then we were on the Esperanza back to Earth orbit and then…oh…"

She waited, nodding at me to continue.

"Then Dad told me I had to go into suspension because we were leaving the solar system to make a new colony. But where is he? Is he still in suspension?"

"No, honey, at least, I'm not sure. Maybe. But he isn't here. After you were put into suspension, the adults had a lot of meetings to try to figure out what to do in order for humanity to survive. The ship captains and the commanders of the orbitals decided to split everyone up according to their skills, so each colony had a chance at survival. Your dad was assigned to a different colony."

"But…but when will I get to see him?"

She took my hand gently. "Carmen, I don't think we'll ever get to see the people from the other colonies again."

"No! No, where is he?" I shoved her hand away and tried not to cry. Why? Why would he leave me?

---

I spent the next 12 hours hooked up to the IVs, slowly getting used to being awake again. Alicia came to see me multiple times, first to wash away the rest of the nu-gel from my body, then to give me more liquids and to help me practice walking and moving again. I slept a little between her visits, but each time I woke up feeling even more hollow and alone.

My muscles were weak and so I had to have electrotherapy sessions to help strengthen them. The electricity didn't hurt, but my whole body felt sore and bruised as if I had been in a fight. I had just finished with a round of therapy when my door opened and a tall man with a dark curly beard and glasses walked in.

"Carmen Warwick?" he asked. "I'm Lieutenant Levi, in charge of coordinating personnel and supplies from the Anchorage to the colony down on the planet. Are you feeling well enough for a little walk?"

I nodded and gingerly followed him out the door, the first time I had left my room.

"I'm not sure how much Alicia has told you yet," he said as we walked down a corridor, "but you're aboard a ship called the Anchorage. After you were put in suspension, we spent about two years orbiting Earth, preparing all of the ships for wave travel and colonization. During that time, we also took inventory of the skills, ages, genders, and health of everyone left and did our best to distribute them equally among all of the ships."

"But why couldn't I be with my Dad?" I asked.

The Lieutenant stopped next to a panel on the wall. "We did our best to keep families together, but we needed to balance a lot of factors. The tension was already extremely high among the survivors and so we felt that the fairest way to split everyone up was to have a computer make the choices based on all of the information.

"I know it's hard, Carmen," he sighed. "The computer assigned my wife to a different colony as well. It's been over a year since I last saw her and I still miss her. You're always going to miss your dad. But for right now, we're going to need everyone's help to survive."

He pressed a button and the panel began to lower into the wall.

"We arrived here about six months ago. We've named it the Thagaste System. If you look out the window here, you'll see our new home, Augustine."

The curve of the planet filled three-quarters of the window. It wasn't like Earth or Mars. A band of white circled the planet, which was otherwise a gradient of browns, getting progressively darker closer to the band. There were no blues or greens to be seen anywhere. Beyond the band was the night side of the planet.

"As best we can tell, Augustine is mostly tidally-locked to Thagaste, meaning that the same side almost always faces the sun. I say almost because there is an offset between Augustine's orbit and its rotation, but it's a small one, just 2%. The white you see down there at the day/night terminator is ice. Because Augustine's year is 312 days but it rotates in about 306 days, we think that over a long period of time, almost 50 years, that ice will gradually thaw and refreeze, eventually traveling around the planet."

"Can we even live there?" I asked. "Aren't there any planets with water or grass?"

"We're going to try to live there," he answered, "but it won't be easy. There are other planets in the system and Augustine was the best candidate. It's the closest to earth gravity at 1.1 gee; you'll feel a little heavier down there, but you'll get used to it. The other planets are either a lot hotter or a lot colder. We can't breathe the air on Augustine, but it does have a strong magnetosphere, which will keep us safe from radiation."

I tried to take it all in, but the thought of living on a new world without my family was almost overwhelming. I couldn't think of any more questions. Instead, I just stared out the window.

"If you look at that dark patch in the snow near the polar region," Lieutenant Levi continued, pointing, "that's where we're building our colony. We'll have some years of complete sunlight and some years of complete dark, but we won't have the same temperature extremes as we would near the equator.

"Our colony is named Exopolis One because it's the first human colony on an exoplanet. It's mostly underground for protection, but you'll see that when you go down."

My stomach tightened and I looked at my feet, not wanting to look at him or out the window anymore. "When will I go down? What will I do there? Who will I live with?"

"Don't worry," he said gently, "you won't be alone. We're still waking up the other children your age and you'll all be going down together in a few days with a group of adults. We didn't wake you up right when we got here because we wanted to get the colony started and make sure we could sustain everyone there.

"When you get down there, you'll each be assigned to a family. You'll have some schooling, but we're also going to need your help because there is still a lot to do down there. I know you're young, but we are going to need you to be as much like an adult as you can be. Right now we need help with food preparation, maintenance, and horticulture. Do you think you can be brave and help out like that, Carmen?"

I tried to study my feet for a while longer, but he didn't say anything else. He was waiting for my reply. Finally, I looked back up at him.

"I think so."

---

Five days later, we were all called together in the cafeteria. There were sixteen of us, seven adults and nine teenagers. I didn't see any younger children, but maybe they were still in suspension.

Over the past few days, I had met several of the other teens as we continued our physical therapy and learned more about Augustine. Tyler seemed excited about going down to the surface; he kept looking out the windows and couldn't seem to stay still, constantly fidgeting. Jolene was quiet and had dark circles under her eyes from crying. Her twin, Hannah, had been assigned to a different colony, for "purposes of genetic diversity", she said, and she wasn't handling it well. Rockford was quiet as well, but he was pale and clammy. It looked like he was going to be sick. I didn't know any of the others.

I was nervous and exhausted. The physical therapy sessions in the gravity centrifuge were draining as we worked our way up to Augustine's gravity, but more than that, I was just lonely. It had only been a few days ago that I had last seen my dad, at least from my perspective, and I was never going to see him again. The others on the ship were nice, but constantly busy, and so I had a lot of time to myself…

Lieutenant Levi entered the cafeteria, causing everyone to break out of their own private thoughts.

"All right," he said crisply, "I'll keep this short. As you might have guessed, you'll be going planetside today. In fact, directly after this meeting. You'll have a few minutes to collect any personal effects you might have in your rooms and then you'll need to make your way to the airlock to board the lander.

"Augustine is a tough planet. You won't be able to make any mistakes. If you do, you could end up killing yourself and those around you. Follow the regulations at all times, both in the colony and outside. Always be aware of your surroundings. Always check in, always make sure you have full supplies, and always plan for the worst-case scenario. No messing around.

"Exopolis One, or E1 for short, is the very definition of a frontier colony. It's rough, there's no luxury, and there's a lot of hard work down there. We're going to rotate everyone in shifts, but you're going to get tired out quickly, and not just from the higher gravity. Things will get better over time, but right now we're in survival mode, trying just to get to a point of self-sustainability. Once we get there, we'll be resupplying and outfitting the other three ships in our little flotilla so that they can establish new colonies in nearby systems. We'll be supporting those colonies until they're also self-sufficient.

"On the ground, Captain Akari Hyro is in charge. She's smart, capable, organized and she won't hesitate to toss you in the brig if you get out of line. And trust me, there is one. She's also a kind and fair woman and we couldn't have a better person leading the colony. You'll get a full briefing on the rules of the colony and your assignments once you land. Any questions?"

Everyone looked around at each other, but no one spoke. "Okay then," said the lieutenant, "you have ten minutes to report to the airlock. Grab whatever you need and don't be late."

The room emptied out quickly as everyone rushed to grab their belongings. I didn't have anything to bring, so I lingered, looking out the window again at Augustine's surface, wondering how looked on the ground and what my life would be like there.

Finally, I made my way to the airlock, where a man was handing out pressurized suits and showing people how to put them on before allowing them to pass through the airlock.

When my turn came, he handed me a red and gray one-piece suit, gloves, boots, and a helmet. My name was stitched on a patch on the breast. The airtight zipper ran down the neck and the right side and was covered by another flap. The back of the suit was covered with solar fabric to charge the electronics and other embedded systems.

When I had the suit on, he made some adjustments and showed me how to change out air tanks, use the comm system, the emergency flares, and the waste reclamation unit.

"The lander is pressurized, but you'll be wearing this suit all the time on the surface," he told me as he straightened my helmet with a click. "It's yours to take care of and to make sure it stays in working order. Every time, you make sure you run all of the diagnostics and are fully charged before going outside. If you have any problems, see the logistics officer right away."

After he was satisfied with my understanding of the suit, he motioned me through the airlock.

The inside of the lander was cramped, with crates and heavy equipment stacked everywhere, strapped to the exposed gunmetal gray bulkheads with thick bands of fabric or steel cords. There were no windows or even seats. The others were tying themselves to the walls with loose cable, so I found an empty spot and did so as well.

It took over an hour to get everyone in place, but finally the airlock door was closed and sealed. The sudden voice of the pilot in my ear made me jump.

"We're just about to detach from the Anchorage. It'll take about twenty minutes for us to reach the edge of the atmosphere. Reentry will be bumpy and loud for about ten minutes, but don't worry, that's normal. After that we'll be under powered thrust as we make our way down to the E1 landing pad. Keep your suits and helmets on the whole time, because we'll be walking on the surface once we land. Make you're strapped in securely now because reentry will toss you around a lot if you're not. Enjoy the flight and see you on the surface!"

A clunking sound came from the airlock as the lander disengaged. My arms and legs floated out from my body as the gravity suddenly disappeared. Across from me, someone's unsecured duffel bag drifted lazily toward the ceiling.

It seemed like only seconds had passed before the pilot again came on the comm. "Okay everyone, hang tight. We're about to enter the atmosphere."

The lander began to shudder back and forth, at first just a little but then violently. The cargo was straining against the straps. All around me, the other passengers were gripping tightly to whatever they could find. I could hear the atmosphere outside rushing past the lander like a hurricane made of blowtorches.

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, hoping it would be over soon.

The minutes seemed like they stretched into hours, but abruptly the shaking stopped. There was a brief sensation of falling (the duffel bag went tumbling to the floor), but then the landing thrusters kicked in, slowly smoothing our descent.

I was sweating and I realized every muscle was tensed. Trying to calm myself, I started doing a breathing exercise my dad showed me for when I got scared. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

The landing thrusters got louder and the lander shifted back and forth slightly until it finally came to a rest with a gentle bump. There was a whine as the thrusters powered down and then an unsettling silence after all the noise.

"Welcome to Augustine," the pilot's voice crackled. "We're going to open the airlock door shortly, so please make sure your suits are secure."

I untangled myself from the wall and stood up fully, only to want to sit down almost immediately. The gravity was heavy! Even with the physical therapy, I felt like the floor was trying to pull me down.

The pilot came into the cargo area and double-checked everyone's suit before going to the airlock control panel and pressing a button. The air was drawn through the vents to the life support reserves with a hiss before the outside air was pumped in. Finally, the pilot opened the airlock door and walked down the extended ramp.

I was in the middle of the lander, so I had to wait as the others exited one by one. Outside, I could see glimpses of dark rock and patches of white snow. The wind whistled in through the airlock and I shivered, even though I couldn't actually feel the cold.

Then it was my turn.

With a deep breath, I exited the lander through the airlock and took my first steps on the planet that was going to be my new home.