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slapshot-to-the-heart · 4 years ago

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Flatbush & Atlantic: part x

part i part ii part iii part iv part v part vi part vii part viii part ix

And we’ve finally come to the end of Cass and Mat’s story! I want to thank every person who’s read this over the past few months, especially those of you who have reblogged, commented, and shared this with your friends. Your feedback means the world to me, and please tell me what you think of this final part! I’ve also got some ideas floating around for an epilogue, so don’t be surprised if that pops up in the next few weeks.

part x

May 21 (fri)

For once, it wasn’t Cass’ alarm that woke her up. Her internal clock didn’t let her sleep in past 6, but as she lay in her bed, comforter pulled up to her chin and curls up in a haphazard messy bun, a realization struck her. She didn’t have anything to do, and that was just about as far from normal for her as possible. Normally, she’d be hopping in the shower at this time, getting out and shoveling some cereal down her throat before running to catch the train, or desperately trying to finish some last-minute reading before an early lecture. Her grandparents’ flight didn’t land at JFK until 1, and she wouldn’t need to leave until an hour before that to get Mat and drive to the airport.

Padding out to the kitchen, she just caught Ryanne, who was about to leave for a clinical rotation. “What department are you in this month?” Cass asked.

“OB/GYN,” Ryanne responded. “I got to observe a birth the other day, and it was one of my favorite things I’ve gotten to do so far. Obviously I don’t know for sure yet, but I think I might want to match into it. You get to do a little bit of everything — there’s some surgery, some routine care, some deliveries. And with the Black maternal health crisis, I figure we need all the Black OBs we can get as a country.”

Cass smiled. “That’s wonderful, I’m glad to hear.” She knew that Ryanne had been a little stressed out with the prospect of trying to pick a residency; she hadn’t felt drawn to any of the other rotations she’d gone through quite like this one.

“What about you? What’s your schedule like today?” Ryanne asked as she poured coffee into her travel mug.

Cass flopped down on the couch, looking over at her. “It’s just...I have nothing to do. Nothing needs to get done. No cases to read, no essays to finish, no paperwork to file or anything. Chris gave me this week off for finals anyways, so I couldn’t even go into the office if I wanted to because there’s just nothing for me to do. Do you know how rare that is for me?”

Ryanne laughed. “Cass, I’m in med school. The last time I had a true ‘off day’ was two weeks ago, and even then I spent most of it studying.” She slung her backpack over one shoulder. “See you tonight, have a good day, babe!”

After some toast and a smoothie, Cass was back on the couch, trying desperately to think of something to do. She thrived on being busy, thrived on feeling like she was needed and contributing to something worthwhile. Pushing herself up, she walked back to her room, deciding to change and go out for a run. Cass liked to keep in shape and exercise as often as she could, even though it had been a few years since she had been on an organized sports team. She was usually able to make yoga classes at the school gym twice a week, but typically didn’t have the spare time in the mornings for a run. And by the time she got back it was almost always dark, way too late to even think about going out alone.

Lacing up her tennis shoes and grabbing her AirPods and keys, she set out, down the stairs and past the door. As she jogged down the streets, making familiar turn after familiar turn, Cass realized something remarkably profound. Every place she passed had played a part in the last three years. St. Lucy’s, where she had stumbled in with inconsolable tears after her abuelo’s stroke, lighting a candle and praying with some old Italian woman for his recovery. The bodega on the corner run by Carlos Gonzalez, one of the first people she met when she moved to the city and the only one who knew how to smoosh her sandwiches down how she likes. The Edible Arrangements where she, Stella, and Ryanne had bought Alicia a congratulatory fruit bouquet for finally asking out her coworker Juliette. They had been dating for six months. The high school she passed every morning on her way to the subway station. These were the people and places that had made her life what it was, and she owed them her thanks.

An hour and five miles later, Cass decided to call it quits, walking the last few blocks back to the apartment as a sort of cool-down. She jumped in the shower, throwing her hair up in a towel once she got out and resigning herself to watching whatever was on TV. Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives it was, apparently. Four episodes and one snack break later, it was time to get in the car to head over and pick up Mat. Cass drove down Manhattan Island, tapping her fingers in boredom as she hit yet more traffic. It was noon, why was there even traffic in the first place? She pulled into the visitor’s spot in the underground lot of Mat’s apartment complex, taking out her phone. Just got here! Mat popped out of the elevator a few minutes later, holding a bouquet of tulips. “Sorry I’m late, I was going back and forth between tulips and sunflowers for awhile, but I figured the pink was maybe a better choice? What do you think?” Cass started to laugh, and Mat looked offended. “What?”

“Babe, it’s so sweet that you want to impress my grandma, but have you thought about how the poor flowers will fare?”

His brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Cass adjusted her seatbelt, leaning over. “We’re going to be out for awhile. We’re not going straight back to their hotel. So…” she prompted.

“They’ll wilt.” Mat finished, his face falling.

She covered his hand with her own. “Don’t worry. It’s a sweet gesture and I’m sure she’ll appreciate them. We’re all going out for dinner after the ceremony tomorrow, why don’t you bring them then?”

He perked up. “I’ll run up and put them back in a vase, be back in a few!” Mat gave Cass a quick peck on her cheek, leaving her with just one question. Mat owned vases? He slid back into the passenger’s seat shortly after, clicking his seatbelt in and connecting his phone to the speakers.

Cass rolled her eyes. “I don’t know a single guy your age who’s not obsessed with John Mayer. It’s kind of weird, honestly.”

“You don’t like him?” Mat asked curiously. Cass was usually into more guitar-based, acoustic stuff, so he figured she’d be into at least some of his stuff.

“Some of it,” Cass responded, pulling out of the lot and onto the street. “Go ahead and play it, I don’t mind at all. Not what I’d usually put on if I’m alone, that’s all.”

Mat nodded, looking absentmindedly out the window. “So, what should I know about your grandparents?”

Cass’ face immediately burst into a smile at their mention. It was always so clear how much she loved her family, and that was one of Mat’s favorite things about her. How hard she loved. “Alright, so it’s Dolores and Roberto Cabrera. They’re wonderful people, I genuinely think you’re going to like them a lot. They’re both super fluent in English, so don’t worry about communication. They originally immigrated to Texas when they were in their teens, abuela was a housekeeper at a few hotels in San Antonio and abuelo worked in the fields for awhile before getting a job at a little hardware store in town, where he worked until they retired. My mom’s the middle of four, two older sisters and a younger brother.”Mat listened intently. “My abuelo’s a little more rough around the edges, so don’t be surprised if he gives you a little bit of a hard time, but it’s not out of malice or anything. He’s always been very protective over us, my mom and her siblings, and now us three. He might do the whole ‘nobody’s good enough for my Cassidy” thing, but he’ll get over it. He means well.”

She glanced over at Mat, who was looking decidedly nervous. “Seriously, chou, it’s going to be fine. Abuela’s totally different, they’re like polar opposites. I can almost guarantee that she’ll say something to the effect of ‘if my granddaughter loves you, I love you.’ Very much go with the flow, she’ll probably want to come over to your apartment and cook for you.” Her expression softened. “As long as you’re kind and respectful, they won’t have an issue with you, Mat. They’ll see that you treat me how I deserve to be treated and love me like I deserve to be loved.”

Cass pulled into the garage by the international arrivals terminal, cutting the gas and checking the time. “The flight was supposed to land at one, so they should be getting out of passport control by the time we get inside.” It was a little after one thirty, but if there was anything Cass knew, it was just how long customs could take at an airport as big as JFK. Even in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, and even though her grandparents were travelling on their American passports and could use the citizen’s line, she had heard that it could take upwards of an hour or two to get through.

The concourse was pretty bare apart from a few kiosks selling “I ❤️ NY” shirts and a surprisingly busy Noah’s Bagels, so Mat and Cass made themselves comfortable on one of the rows of plastic chairs lining the room. The arrivals screen had marked their flight from Mexico City as having landed nearly an hour prior, so it was little surprise when Cass popped up from the chair, straightening her shirt and walking over to a couple that he could only assume were her grandparents. Mat quickly followed, catching up to her just as she threw her arms around her grandma. “Abuela, te extrañé,” she said, the sound muffled by Dolores’ scarf. She pulled back, kissing her grandpa on the cheek before stepping over to Mat, one hand placed reassuringly on his back. “Abuela, abuelo, this is Mat, my boyfriend.”

Mat stuck his hand out, shaking theirs. “Mr. and Mrs. Cabrera, it’s so amazing to finally meet you. Cass speaks so highly of you, and she always talks about her summers in Hermosillo.”

Dolores pulled Mat in, embracing him from the start just as Cass had expected. “Mat, it’s wonderful to finally meet you. Cassidy has told us so much about you, it’s clear she loves you a great deal.”

Mat ducked his head and blushed. “I’m not sure if she can love me more than I love her, but I’m happy to be in such good company.”

He took both of their suitcases as Cass gestured to the sliding doors. “I want to get back to the car before they charge me for another half hour,” she said.

Mat slid the bags in the trunk of the car as Dolores got in the passenger’s seat. With a gulp, Mat realized that meant he had to sit next to Roberto. He had been perfectly nice on the walk over, but as Cass had warned him, it was clear that he was a little guarded. Whether that was just his personality or whether Mat had yet to earn his trust hadn’t been determined.

Her grandparents had been to New York once or twice before, but it had almost always been just to fly in before driving up to visit Cass’ family in Connecticut; they had never really been able to see the city. Cass felt strongly that that had to change, so she had arranged for a mini-tour of Manhattan before they got dropped off at their hotel for the night. “So, Mat,” Dolores said, turning around in her chair, “Cassidy tells us you’re a hockey player? That must be so exciting, how long have you been playing?”

Mat nodded. “Yes ma’am. I play for the Islanders, so we’re right here in Brooklyn, but I live over in Manhattan. I’ve been playing the sport since I was four or so? Really little. But I just finished my fourth season on the Islanders. And it is exciting, I love being with my team and being on the ice, it’s one of the best feelings in the world.”

“That must keep you busy, though?” Roberto asked gruffly.

Mat froze. He couldn’t lie and say that he was home all the time, able to be there for Cass as often as he’d like to, because he wasn’t. But if he let on just how often he was gone, would that make him even more wary? “Oftentimes, yes,” Mat began slowly. “The team’s usually on two or so road trips a month, they’re usually about a week long. But they’re balanced out with plenty of home games, and there’s lots of guys who balance the job with a family and other responsibilities. I’m always excited to be able to be back in New York, I love it here. And to be with Cass.” Roberto nodded, not seemingly totally satisfied but content enough to not push the issue further.

“He’s really good about spending time with me, abuelo, even though we’ve both got busy schedules,” Cass added, catching Roberto’s eye in the rearview mirror. “We meet in the morning before a class to get coffee, or lunch in between studying if I’ve got time. I go to every game I’m able to when he’s playing here in the city, or over in Jersey. We spend plenty of time together, he doesn’t blow me off. You don’t have to worry.” He seemed much more at ease with his granddaughter’s response.

It was a whirlwind three hours around New York, Cass playing chauffeur as they went to the top of the Empire State Building — her pick — in St. Patrick’s Cathedral — her grandpa’s pick — and around Central Park, stopping at one of the many pretzel carts for a snack. They dropped them off at the hotel, Cass’ eyes getting misty as her grandma pulled out the serape stole from her purse. Her fingers danced over the colors, the stripes of red and blue and pink and green, and knowing that it was made by the hands of someone so important to her made it all the more beautiful. The rest of her family was driving in later that night, after Nick got out of school, so everyone wouldn’t be together until the graduation ceremony the next day.

The couple decided to get takeout on the way back to Mat’s apartment, Mat jumping out of the car to run in and pick up the order while Cass circled the block until he was out. As they sat on the couch, cuddled into each other as they broke into the boxes of Chinese food, Cass thought absentmindedly that Mat handled his chopsticks way better than she ever would have given him credit for. Her grandparents had been on her mind. More specifically, her grandparents and Mat had been on her mind. It wasn’t that she thought he had messed up in any way — she was positive he’d absolutely won over her grandma and her grandpa was slowly but surely coming around — but some lingering concerns about what they might think about their relationship. “I’m not sure that they’d actually care, but when you talk to them tomorrow maybe don’t mention how often I sleep over here? They’re wonderful people, but they’re a little old school about this stuff.”

“This stuff?” Mat asked curiously.

“Living together, sex before marriage, that kind of stuff.”

“And how do you feel about it?”

Cass raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you think you could ever get me to do something I didn’t want to do? I’m way too stubborn for that.” Mat threw his head back, laughing. “But seriously. I don’t make the decision lightly, because commitment and intimacy in that way is something really big and important to me. You already knew that I don’t do hookups, it’s just not my thing. But I can see this, us, going places. I want us to go places. And I’ve never been very good at listening to people when I don’t want to. So I’ve made my peace that my choices might not be ones everyone would be thrilled with, but it doesn’t really matter to me as long as I have you.”

Mat nodded, putting down his food to card one hand through her curls. “I get that, I do. Obviously that’s not so much the attitude with a lot of the boys, but your principles are part of what makes you who you are, and I love who you are. Every part of you.�� Cass smiled against his neck, leaning down and kissing him on the shoulder. “I want us to go places too, I hope you know that.”

“Glad to hear.”

They ate without speaking for a few more minutes until Mat broke the silence. “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

“With you,” Cass answered honestly. “Here, or we could get a nice brownstone over in Brooklyn.”

“Somewhere with a yard,” Mat mused.

“Yeah, a yard would be nice,” Cass agreed. “I’d like to get a dog, I’ve always grown up with dogs and it would be nice to have someone to keep me company when you’re gone.” Her family’s two dogs, Patches and Scout, were back at the house in Connecticut, and on more than one occasion, Cass had made the two-hour drive up just to see them. She paused, glancing down at her hands. “In five years? You’d better have put a ring on my finger by then, Mat. I’ll be almost thirty. Approaching old maid status”

Mat laughed, an easy, breathy sort of laugh that somehow erased all of the tension in the room. “I think you should double-hyphen.”

Cass looked at him doubtfully. “Cabrera-Shaw-Barzal? Yeah, I’m going to have to pass on that one.”

He shrugged, the corner of his lip pulled up in a half-smile. “Just saying. It’s got a ring to it.”

“Have you given much thought to what you’d want to do with your name when you get married?” Mat asked curiously. It really didn’t matter much to him, since it would ultimately be Cass’ decision, but he didn’t want to assume anything regardless. And it didn’t escape Cass that he said when, as if it was certain, as if it was a given. The surety made her heart flutter.

Cass shook her head. “Not particularly. On one hand, I do like the idea of the whole family having the same name. It seems nice. Unified. But I don’t want to feel like I’m erasing my culture and who I am just because I’m getting married. And all due respect, chou,” Cass poked Mat’s cheek, “but Cabrera Shaw’s the name on my degrees. Cassidy Barzal didn’t go to law school.”

“Very fair,” Mat said with a chuckle.

Cass took a deep breath. If it seemed like they were having the “future talk,” she figured it was best to go all in. “Do you want kids?” she asked, tentatively, hesitantly. It was obvious that Mat was good with kids, she’d seen as much, but being good with kids and wanting children of your own were two very different things. Cass had wanted to be a mom since she knew what a mom was, and even though they probably should have brought up the topic earlier, she wasn’t sure what she’d do if he said no. Thank God, she never had to find out.

“Definitely,” Mat said, nodding. “Not now, obviously, we’re young and haven’t really settled down yet. If you got pregnant we’d make it work, but I don’t think either of us is looking to be parents right away. But in a couple years, once we’re married and have a proper house with space...Yeah, I’d like to have kids.” He looked over at Cass. “What about you?”

“Always wanted kids,” Cass responded fondly. “I loved growing up with siblings, and I know my parents were the same way. Two or three, I think. I’ve thought about adoption too, but obviously that’s way in the future.”

Mat kissed the top of her head. “We’ve got time.”

May 22 (sat)

The graduation ceremony itself wasn’t until noon, so Cass had more than enough time to get ready after waking up at 7. Alicia barrelled into her room at exactly 7:22, throwing a shirt at her and telling her to get dressed. Cass stumbled out of the room ten minutes later, pulling on socks and grabbing her phone from the charger by her door. “What are you guys trying to pull?” she asked, yawning and trying to wipe the sleep out of her eyes.

“Uh, we’re going to the diner, duh,” Stella said with a smile, tossing Cass her purse. “Come on! You know it fills up early on weekends.” Glen’s Diner had become an apartment staple over the past few years, the restaurant having been the first place the four of them had eaten in the city when they moved, not having bought groceries yet and not wanting to pay the premium for delivery. It was cheap, open 24/7, and Cass would swear up and down that their blueberry pancakes were the best she’d ever had.

They were seated just after 8, happily slurping coffee and stealing bites of each other’s breakfast twenty minutes later. It was a nice day and hadn’t gotten too hot yet, so they decided to walk back after finishing the meal. In reality, “going back” meant Alicia stopping to buy a new necklace, listening to a busker for a few minutes, and petting no fewer than five dogs on the one-mile walk. There was still plenty of time before they had to leave for the ceremony, but after Cass did her makeup and tamed her curls, there was just enough time to watch an episode of Parks & Rec before having to actually get her stuff together. Not as flexible as she once had been, Ryanne helped zip up the back of her dress, a white lace bodycon from her sorority days that she had definitely worn to at least two semiformals. Hey, Cass thought as she straightened her hemline, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

She had ironed her robe and put it into a dress bag the night before, and gently folded her school stole and the serape from her abuela into her purse. Mat’s necklace hadn’t left its place since Valentine’s. Her dad’s parents had given her a beautiful pair of pearl studs for her undergraduate graduation, and it felt only right to wear them for her next step. She fastened the ankle straps on her heels, and popped her head out to the living room. “Everyone ready?” She was met with a chorus of “yeses,” and grabbed her keys from their dish by the front door.

“Let’s go get our girl graduated!” Alicia hollered into the street.

The girls had originally objected to Cass driving herself to her own graduation, but relented as soon as Cass reminded them that she was the only one who knew where to find the free parking, and the rest of them only drove sedans. “Cheryl has way more room. Y’all want to be cramped on purpose?”

“Fair point,” Stella had said begrudgingly.

Exactly twenty-six minutes later, Cass pulled into a spot about two blocks away from the arena where she would be graduating in an hour’s time, hugging each of her friends as Ryanne handed her the dress bag. “You’re going to kill it in there,” she said, rubbing her back.

Cass laughed. “Ry, all I’ve got to do is walk across a stage without tripping.”

She shrugged. “It’s a fine art that few have mastered.”

Cass entered through the side, flashing her ID to the security guard standing by the door. Half an hour later, everyone had been ushered into their seats, carefully arranged in alphabetical order. For the most part, Cass was friendly with everyone in her class; if they weren’t outwardly hostile to her, she saw no reason why they deserved anything other than kindness, but was relieved to see Robin sitting next to her. “You excited?” Robin asked, brushing a piece of her auburn hair behind her ear. The lobby doors must have opened, because as she asked, crowds started to mill into the seats, waving at anyone who would catch their eye.

Cass bounced her head. “I am, but it’s kind of surreal, you know? I knew we’d get to this point, obviously. It’s what we’ve been working towards for seven years, really. But the idea that it all essentially comes down to this…”

“An hour, a few handshakes, and a piece of paper,” Robin helpfully supplied.

She nodded. “Yeah. It’s almost anticlimactic in a way? Like sure, we’ve got our JDs after this, but knowing we’ve still got to pass the bar. We’re not over the finish line yet.”

“Columbia has a 97% pass rate, and you’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, Cass. And I’ve spent three years surrounded by the smartest people I’ve ever met.”

“Fair,” Cass said, “it’s just kind of a weird feeling, you know?” Robin nodded. “And plus, for most of us, we’ve pretty much spent our whole lives in school. Aside from positions as summer associates, or part-time jobs and internships, we don’t really know how to do anything other than school. It’s just a little bit of a daunting thought to suddenly feel like we’re being thrown out to the wolves without really knowing what to expect.” Cass’ phone, which she wasn’t technically supposed to have but had snuck in anyways, chose that moment to buzz with a text notification. It was from Mat.

Met up with the crew! Can’t wait to see you walk across that stage, Cass. I love you and we’re all so proud of you. Mat had attached a photo of everyone she had brought with her — both sets of grandparents, her parents and siblings, and roommates.

“Your boyfriend is nauseatingly cute,” Robin observed, looking over her shoulder at the message.

Cass laughed. “That’s true, but I knew what I was getting myself into.” The music started ten minutes later, and the ceremony began. If Cass was being honest, she didn’t really remember much of anything from the first half of the ceremony, before the conferral of diplomas. She was so excited and nervous and unbelievably ready all at the same time that all she recalled from the dean’s speech and the student speeches were vague comments about their “awesome responsibility” and “duty to pursue truth and justice” and “commitment to fight for what is right over what is easy.”

As soon as she realized it, her row was being ushered into line to receive their diplomas. “Cassidy María Cabrera Shaw.” She heard her name, but really had no clue who had spoken it. The dean? One of her professors? As Cass walked up the steps and across the stage, the only thing she could think was don’t trip don’t trip don’t trip. Then she was handed a diploma, flashed a brilliant smile for the photographer, and shook hand after hand after hand before walking off the other side of the stage. She was pretty sure she could hear Mat and Noah yelling their congratulations from her seat on the floor.

Having a name towards the front of the alphabet meant that Cass was almost always called on quickly in class, or on roll call, or at graduation, as the case was. But that meant that she had to sit, quietly and politely, for the other four hundred names to be called. And it took awhile. After Robin Cahill came Wesley Coleman, then Samuel Cogswell, then Fiona Chan. Cass didn’t mind having to sit through the whole thing, especially when Fiona, Les, Samaira, and her other friends crossed the stage — she cheered as much as anybody — but it was a long time to be sitting in a folding chair and the thousands of people packed into a small space didn’t help her temperature regulation.

There was the benediction and congratulations, and then the recessional of the graduates. Graduates, Cass thought. She was a graduate. She had finished, she was done, she had accomplished the one thing she wanted most to do since she was a little girl watching Legally Blonde for the first time, looking at Elle Woods and thinking I can do that. And she had. Her feet carried her to the back room of their own accord, where she picked up her bag and was engulfed in a flurry of hugs, congratulations, and kisses on the cheek from her friends, the people who she had spent countless late nights in the library with, bar hopping to celebrate the end of finals, and afternoons on each other’s apartment couches, yelling fact patterns at each other and trying to come up with an analysis before the timer went off.

Following the stream of sky blue graduation gowns, Cass walked outside, waving at her family when she spotted Eliana hanging off of a lamppost in the courtyard to get a better view. Her sister nearly tackled her as she made her way to the group. “Cass. I already knew you were brilliant, and I still think you’re the smartest out of any of us,” she gestured between the two of them and Noah, “but now you’ve got the degree to prove it. I’m so proud of you.”

Noah was next. “You worked hard, and I know how badly you wanted this. You’re a really good sister.” He wasn’t usually a big talker, and Cass’ eyes definitely got a little misty as he spoke. He had verbally committed to Minnesota State the week before, and Mat might have been more excited than even Cass when he heard the news. It was an incredible program that had a serious track record of sending players to the NHL, and she was so proud to see her little brother doing what he loved. Her mom and both grandmas were crying, as expected, and Grandpa Joe wrapped her up in a hug as soon as he got the chance.

Mat had been hanging towards the back of the crowd, not wanting to feel like he was intruding on family time, until her dad nudged him forward. “Go say hi to your girl, Mat,” Patrick said.

“Will do,” Mat said, squeezing Cass’ hand and pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head. “Sometimes it blows my mind how incredible you are,” he said. “Everyone’s already said how smart you are, and every bit of that is true. But you’re so much more than that, you know?” His thumb rubbed over her hand. “You’re beautiful, and curious, and you always keep me on my toes. You’re so passionate about your work, and you’ve got the biggest heart out of anyone I know. You’ve never met a person you didn’t want to help. And I promise I’m not biased just because I’m in love with you.”

Cass gave a watery laugh, blinking and thanking God she had the foresight to wear waterproof mascara. “God, I love you, Mat.”

Her dad had always been the picture type, insisting on documenting every waking moment. He was the living embodiment of “pics or it didn’t happen,” for better or worse. He took a few of her with her law school friends, then Alicia snapped one with just her immediate family, then there was one with everyone. Cass also got a picture with Mat, where he was bending down to kiss her, the tassel on her mortarboard just barely brushing his nose. Then she was in one with all of the seniors on the law review, and a friend pulled her away for a few with the Latinx Student Association. By the time they finally managed to tear Patrick away from his camera, it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner.

Mat got Patrick to send him the photo of him and Cass, and was about to post it on Instagram when he hesitated. “Hey, is it cool if I post this?” Mat said, showing Cass his phone. Most people knew who she was, and he had posted pictures of her before, but they had never been this obvious, this clear, this real.

“Go for it.”

Mat pressed post. So, so proud of my incredible girlfriend @casscshaw for graduating law school. You’re one of the smartest, most empathetic people I know, and you’re going to make an amazing lawyer.

Cass grinned, a big, genuine smile as she was surrounded by her family, the people who meant the most to her — whether they were related or not. She looked up at Mat, who was smiling softly down at her as he reached one hand up to fix her tassel. “What’s next?”

#hockey imagine #hockey smut #nhl imagine #nhl smut #mat barzal #hockey #hockey imagines #hockey writing #nhl #nhl imagines #nhl writing #mat barzal imagine #disney prince mat barzal #New York Islanders

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designer-dad · 5 years ago

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Peak Design Everyday Backpack 30L - The Review

So we’ve arrived. The culmination of years of fine-tuning and honing in what I look for in a bag. Years of tastes growing, becoming uber-specific and demanding. And 6 months of searching for a very good bag that won’t (totally) break the bank. Something that a frugal person can still say is worth every penny.

Behold, my EDC choice: The Peak Design Everyday Backpack in 30L, Charcoal.

Peak Design first caught my eye when they developed the Everyday Messenger Bag. I was thoroughly taken by how a bag could be so simple, yet powerful. It didn’t require very specific pockets for every possible item. What it had was a thoughtful and novel approach to organization that, while based on camera gear, worked exceedingly well for EDC. With thoughtful and useful pockets, the ability to expand, and those awesome gear dividers, I knew they had a winner. But I was already getting past the stage of messengers and looking at backpacks. if only they did a backpack...

... And then they did. And what a backpack. It was very hard as a designer not to fall down the rabbit hole of videos on the features and uses of this bag. There really isn’t a whole lot you’d wanna do with this (as an EDC/typical travel bag) that you can’t do. True, it’s not submersible, and I don’t think it would do well with a hydration bladder, so it won’t really work as a hiking pack. But aside from that, this thing really can do it all. Drone carry? Check. Tripod? Check. Yoga mat? Check. Lots of giant water bottles? Check. Laptop and tablet? Check. Camera gear for days? Check. Room to grow? Check. Slinging a days worth of purchases from the Mahane Yehudah Market in Jerusalem? Check.

There’s no shortage of reviews and videos breaking down this bag, so I won’t get into all the nitty gritty of what makes it awesome. It’s pretty much unanimous that it is. So I’ll go through why it checks my particular boxes, and then run through how I think it could get even better.

1) Masterful Organization Major pros here, a few cons. Overall, Peak addresses my biggest issue with backpacks, which was really the main sell for me. They employed a way for me to subdivide the giant big pocket into smaller chunks that are easy to reconfigure in both immediate ways (simply flipping a flap one way or another) or more semi-permanent ways (removing/adding a divider, or simply moving one). This is epic. This scratches my organization itch SO SATISFACTORILY. 2 side water bottle pockets (more on that below), handy soft-lined kinda hidden zipper pocket at the top of the laptop compartment, interior hidden passport pocket, and 2 side panels of smaller organization which expand to hold FREAKING ANYTHING. Seriously, I’ve never not been able to fit something in there, even things that obviously should not fit. And it’s got hidden loops and tethers all over the place for carrying literally any kind of weird thing strapped to the outside as well. It covers all the bases, some better than others, but certainly covers them all. I can store big stuff, little stuff, weird stuff, and more, and know it will all have a place, no matter the size or shape or fragility. Other than documents. More on that later. And it’ll grow to add more. YES.

2) DSLR/Camera Carry This is what Peak Design focuses on, and this is what they do exceedingly well. Taking cues from many other DSLR carry inserts, their origami style dividers have flaps that allow you to move a portion of these semi-rigid dividers to the side to make way for larger camera grips, or lay long lenses across. But that’s an understatement. These movable flaps give an excellent combination of structure, flexibility, protection, and modularity to allow for nearly any kind of setup you’d like. They pretty damn well near nailed this aspect of bags.

3) Travel Buddy/EDC Buddy Yeah, it’s more or less a joy to use this bag for travel and EDC. It flexes nimbly between what I use everyday and the particular items I carry for travel. It grows to carry my extra gear for travel (prayer paraphernalia, books, cable pack, snacks), yet shrinks back to a reasonable size when all I’ve got is my lunch and collection of way-too-many EDC knives.

And no matter the kind of trip, it can tackle it. Overnight stay to get away from the kids? Done. 3 day work trip to North Carolina? No problem. 3 day winter break with the kids in Louisville? Got it. Week with the boys in Scotland? Yup. 10 days with the wife in Israel, along with day-pack use? Check. 2.5 day Design Show in Milan? Sure.

It’s a great airport companion, as the quick release strap adjusters and swing-to-the-side move make backpack carry almost as easy to access as messenger carry, and always stymies TSA just enough that they tend to give up on it quick and leave me alone. And I love being the only guy on the Metra in Chicago with this bag. Other than that one time I sat next to another dude with the same bag, and proceeded to make a new friend.

4) Backpack Carry Now almost any backpack could theoretically satisfy this requirement, but Peak does it in a pretty special way. The straps are fairly comfortable, very ergonomically sculpted, and have a giant swiveling rivet at the top that allow it to fit my 6′2″ 230 pound frame, as well as my 5″4′ 120 pound wife, all without issue. It has a somewhat ventilated back panel, to ease comfort a little (but still doesn’t quite measure up to a serious hiking pack like an Osprey), though it will still yield a pretty sweaty back with prolonged wear. But for a bag that’s rigid, holds its shape well, stand on its own when you put it down, protects your gear, and has a water-resistant coating, it’s a pretty dang comfortable bag.

5) Water Bottle Carry YES. This bag does this better than almost any I’ve seen. The side pockets are deep, fit even GIANT bottles, and somehow tuck flat back against the bag when not in use. It looks fitted empty, with my slim travel umbrella, or a 750ml bottle in it. And it has a pocket on BOTH sides.

6) Laptop Carry Do you carry a giant 17″ CAD Mobile Workstation? Then you’re out of luck. Anything else, and you’re covered. It fits my 15″ Mobile Workstation just fine, and that’s massive. The 20L would fit a 15″ standard laptop as well. It’s got a soft protected pocket with top access, keeping it separate from the main compartment, and it expands to the inside of the bag when occupied, so the bag does not physically grow when you add a laptop. I find it nice that the bag always maintains the same profile. I don’t have to readjust on the train to avoid hitting people if all of a sudden my bag is really full. It also has a tablet sleeve, but I find it hard to keep one in there if I’m toting my beast laptop. Admittedly, this is a problem for very few people.

7) Svelte but Spacious As I said above, I love the fact that the profile of this bag pretty much never changes. Yes, it gets slightly taller when it’s crammed, but front to back, side to side, it’s always the same, semi-rigid structure. It’ll always fit under the seat in front of me on the plane. I won’t accidentally hit people with it because I forgot I added a pair of shoes. Yet it looks sleek, and not gargantuan, even though it can hold up to a generous 30L. It’s more like 22L when not fully expanded. Granted, it looks on the larger side when my wife is carrying it, but on a, uh, fully grown male such as myself, it looks just fine. Not too large for EDC.

8) Generally Awesome Designers like toys. We love novelty. Cool features. Little pleasant surprises. This bag is full of them, and they continue to provide joy on a daily basis. This is how products should be. From the unique magnetic latch and bar system, to the hidden magnets for the water bottle and hidden pockets (everyone loves magnets), various hidden tethers, stretchy expandable pockets, lovely detailed hardware, plethora of carry handles that don’t look like luggage handles, this bag just delights over and over. Even with it’s few frustrations.

Ok, so now I want to share my wishlist for the next Everyday Backpack. Nothing is perfect, and this bag is no exception. So here are the VERY FEW issues I have with this bag, after about 2 years of use for both EDC carry and frequent travel, both domestic and international.

1) I wish there was a small, quick access pocket. Not big, not deep, but a pocket on the outside of the bag that I can stick the boarding pass, earbuds, train ticket, spare change, passport, or whatever single random small thing I need to stick somewhere that's not in my pants pocket, but can quickly take it right back out without undoing 2 zippers or a flap. Like the Timbuk2 Napoleon pocket.

Maybe along the seam between the side and back panels. A little 6 inch zipper. I like the pocket in the laptop pocket, but can't access that with the quick sling to the side move. I would like to get at that pocket using that move.

2) I wish there was a dedicated spot to clip a carabiner onto the shoulder strap. Gotta keep my keys somewhere quick. They include a tether for keys in the water bottle pocket (that uses the same clip as their strap system, oooOOOooo), and I like the tether, but it's not the fast access of a carabiner. This is a couple ways I've been doing it, but it took a while to figure out these solutions. I could use a couple loops on the strap to do it.

3) I wish I had a good document storage solution. I have a hulking laptop, so that pocket won't work if my laptop is in there. I need another thin vertical sleeve. I’ve seen a YouTube video with a workaround for that, but it’s inelegant, and renders a divider and a lot of space much less useful.

4) I wish I had better writing implement organization. Maybe 5 dedicated pen slots. I know I'm not most people, but as a Designer, I have a handful I need with me. Sharpie, pen, pencil, Xacto, felt tip, pocket scale. They scratch against each other in a shared pocket, and the material is too thick for the clips to clip onto for most of them, so they tend to slide too far down to reach quickly. I also don’t like that it’s not quick to pull out a pen. It’s swinging the bag to the front, opening a zipper, opening a flap, opening another zipper, pulling out the pen, then reverse. Nah.

5) Sweat. So. Much. Sweat. I’ve worn this for hikes, all day shopping in markets, at trade shows, in giant airports, and the back sweat is measurable in inches. Not as bad if there’s a coat and it’s cold, but if this is on the shirt on my back, I will be wetter than I care to be in normal attire.

6) While I like the little pocket at the top of the zippered laptop compartment, it grows into the main pocket, and right at the top. This pocket is the natural place for sunglasses, keys, etc, but as it grows, it greatly interferes with access into the main compartment, and can also crush stuff in that little pocket.

7) I’d love to see other kind of dividers or organization options that can attach to that velcro-ey interior of the bag. I wanna get their tech bag that fits nicely, but would love to have some more specific options available to mix and match with.

There's a part of me that hopes they never put these into play, because I don't wanna drop another $280 on a bag. But if they do, I happily will.

#edc #everyday carry #backpack #bag #messenger #camera #dslr #gear #travel #luggage #review #design #peak design #peak #industrial design #product design #product review

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battleanimrpg · 5 years ago

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Fire Magic: Final Fantasy

Fire - Final Fantasy VII (PSX) - Simple, interesting in that the animation is pre-rendered in the particle, which is a good solution for their first foray in 3D.

Fira - Final Fantasy VII (PSX) - Really reminiscent of FF5′s? Kind of FF6′s as well. I like how Final Fantasy keeps this language of “tier 2 fire magic involves a pillar of flame” very consistent throughout the franchise.

Firaga - Final Fantasy VII (PSX) - The flashing and particles are both very effective. The flame orbs that linearily expand, not so much.

Flare - Final Fantasy VII (PSX) - Still don’t like the linear animation. But the contrast between red and blue really gives this one an intense feel. The only one so far to have a glow texture for the floor, too.

Flamethrower - Final Fantasy VII(PSX) - Creative little way to recycle the Fire spell textures.

Beta - Final Fantasy VII(PSX) - This one is just so random lol. It looks cool, once again nice use of the subtle hints of blue. The flashing, camera panning and sheer scale look imponent and ominous. Meanwhile, this one is very cheap, despite the little particles.

Fire - Final Fantasy VIII(PSX) - Love the attention to detail in this one. Main fire particles, black smoke particles, small magic / fire sparks, and a floor lighting texture mesh. Classy, simple and effective.

Fira - Final Fantasy VIII(PSX) - This one even more faithfully recreates FFV’s Fire Pillar concept, simply because of the floor mesh particles that spawn between caster / target. Really nice. Fire texture on the cone, smoke still checks, fire particles...

Firaga - Final Fantasy VIII(PSX) - A real improvement over its past iteration in terms of timing and motion of the explosion itself. Still, I miss some of that knack of the flashing particles. But see? Good animation easing is sooo important.

Flare - Final Fantasy VIII(PSX) - Reiterating on the concept of concentrated heat, this spell uses a really interesting zoom out zoom in effect on the character model. The orbs of fire that stay put before zooming out and dissipating really play into that concept too. I’m not a fan of the particles in the beginning of the spell, though, but otherwise really good.

Fire Breath - Final Fantasy VIII(PSX) - Really improved upon the previous iteration, even if you ignore the flashy Limit Break intro. The most obvious downgrade is that the flame particle is no longer animated or randomly positioned, which makes it look very artificial. But the use of the flame rings in the spawn point, and the collision fire effect are both great.

Fire - Final Fantasy IX(PSX) - This game’s animations vibe a lot like a mixture of FFT/FFX. Kinda miss the little fire sparks, though.

Fira - Final Fantasy IX(PSX) - The fire pillar got a LOT larger. (The animations actually scale organically to the enemy this time around, by the way.)

Firaga - Final Fantasy IX(PSX) - I don’t like the timing very much. Very pretty and detailed.

Flare - Final Fantasy IX(PSX) - I had to make SEVERAL takes of this because the animation is just so large and the gif gets so heavy. Needless to say, this one’s amazing. Very good screen shaking effects, the sparingly used flashes really drive the point, multiple explosions, the few frames when it gets color-inverted... Pretty amazing. May be my new favorite Flare.

Fire - Final Fantasy X(PS2) - I’m shocked. Realizing how similar this is to FF7′s is, wow. It kind of is similar to FF1′s (WSC-onwards) too. They all use these pre-rendered wisps of fire in “random” spots, FFX’s two changes to the formula are way higher quality animation for these individual wisps, and the obvious smoke. Also, there’s subtle heatwaves, too. Classy.

Fira - Final Fantasy X(PS2) - Iterating on the Flame Pillar concept again. Notice how swift and sleek it is, though. Masterful timing! The blue accents are subtle but really accent the animation overall, too.

Firaga - Final Fantasy X(PS2) - RAINBOWWSS. I LOVE RAINBOWS. i’m gay

the sound effect for this is really good, too, it really does justice to the motion there -- energy sucking in then exploding in one fiery blast. This is once again another iteration on the common Firaga you’ll see through the series. Don’t understand why this one doesn’t have a floor mesh when Fira does though, I feel it’d do wonders to hide the parts where the billboards meet the floor.

Flare - Final Fantasy X(PS2) - Surprisingly underwhelming. Almost monochromatic, the timing isn’t as good: The colors are better on FF7′s, the intense heat trapping effect on FF8′s was engaging and FF9′s was just superb, if too lengthy. By the time you get this spell, it’s mostly useless anyway and you’ll be spamming Quick Hit...

Flame Thrower - Final Fantasy X(PS2) - Really simple, but effective. A mix of fire and smoke particles, with the former on additive (?) and the latter on subtractive (?) blending modes. the motion and timing is real good. The subtle impact flash and particles add the last bit of polish.

Meteor Strike - Final Fantasy X(PS2) - It’s funny that it’s called Meteor Strike when he’s launching what’s depicted closer to a fireball. It’s entirely billboard-based, too. I really like all the alpha masking and layering they got going for the FFX animations (not used a lot on the Fire spells)

Fire - Final Fantasy XII(PS2) - This game went quite simpler since so much was happening onscreen at the same time. Sleek and effective though. Gone are the multiple fire wisps and a single pre-rendered fire billboard appears, though it spawns simple fire sparks on impact. I don’t know if hardware limitations are at play, but FFXII had to deal with way higher information density and a player-controlled camera.

Fira - Final Fantasy XII(PS2) - Boom, screen shake. Take that, FFX’s Flare. I think the fire animation might be played in a cone-shaped mesh? also, the initial fire animation only plays once. EDIT: No, it does play for every target as Firaga shows. It’s just hard to see here because of the angle.

Firaga - Final Fantasy XII(PS2) - It’s just Fira, but 3x more fire. And about 1.2x hotter. Very readable, although it raises the concern of indistinguishability to the player.

Flare - Final Fantasy XII(PS2) - She’s GONE. Gone Girl. A movie I just know of because of one Ben Affleck scene. This one once again iterates on the concept Flare has throughout the series - heat that concentrates, cooks the target, then explodes into a fiery blast. This one I think is a maximum Effect Capacity spell -- a spell that, except on the modern remaster, needs to pause the whole battle system to play by itself, due to hardware limitations. You can see it really goes to town with all the particles. Amazing use of contrast, and that darker frame before the intense explosion just enhances everything. Also, notice the hue variation and subtle blues and purples.

Ardor - Final Fantasy XII(PS2) - The most powerful Fire spell is blue. I’ve heard that blue flames are the hottest, but the wikipedia article contradicts this. It’s 5 AM and I can’t digest text so I wouldn’t know. Still, an interesting choice.

Firaja / Pyroclasm - Final Fantasy XII(PS2) - I don’t know even if I should put this here as it’s more of a cutscene. The fire is simple but the motion and flames themselves are great. Awesome heatwaves.

Fire/Fira (+Ruin?) - Final Fantasy XIII(PS3) - This one is really weird to capture. I’m kinda tired, too, may get back to it later -- It’s 5 AM and I have to sleep. Still, fun to see they came back to the FF7-styled fire wisps for Fire, and the fire pillar for Fira.

Resources used: FFVII FFVIII(1, 2, 3) FFIX(1) FFX(1, 2, 3) FFXII(1, 2) FFXIII(1, )

#Final Fantasy #Magic #Fire #Squaresoft

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lovemesomerafael · 5 years ago

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EL AMOR TODO LO PUEDE Chapter 23: Say Anything

I apologize; I didn’t keep track of who posted this fabulous pic, if it’s you, please let me know so I can give you credit.

Chapters 1-20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22

As he waited for the elevator, Barba saw Laura Parker enter the apartment building. This was a new experience; they had not run into one another here since they’d learned they both lived in this building. Since there was nobody else on the elevator, he held it for her.

A little blinded by the difference between the late afternoon sun and the dim lobby of the building, she didn’t see him holding the elevator until she was close.

“Hey, thanks,” she greeted him, mentally kicking herself for sounding so stupidly cheerful.

As they rode up toward their floors, she turned to him suddenly and asked, “Would you happen to have a socket wrench?”

“Socket wrench,” he repeated, a little thrown by the question.

“Ikea cabinet. I’ve already cried twice.”

Barba laughed, although he didn’t see the connection between a socket wrench and building anything from Ikea. He was shocked to hear his own voice say, “I have a socket wrench. I’ll bring it by.” I’ll do what? Where had that come from?

“8D.”

“I remember.”

Half an hour later, Laura heard him knock. It was disorienting to think that A.D.A. Barba could be standing outside her apartment door but, as she looked through the peephole, there he was, socket set in hand. Despite her nervousness, she tried to appear relaxed and welcoming as she opened the door. Her smile faltered a little when she saw that he was wearing a soft-looking black T-shirt and black jeans. He had a noticeable five O’clock shadow that added to the overall sexily casual picture. He looked so good she was momentarily unable to speak.

“Socket wrench,” he said, holding the metal box out to her.

“Thanks.” She took it from him. “Do you, um… want to come in?”

“And build your cabinet for you? No, thanks.” Did she actually look disappointed? He realized the idea of disappointing her caused a pang in his heart. Advertencia. Peligro.[1] Again he had the disconcerting experience of hearing his voice saying something his brain had not planned. “But I’d be willing to watch and kibbutz.”

“You can watch. No kibbutzing.”

“I can’t promise that.”

“Then I can’t promise I won’t make you build the cabinet.”

Barba smiled crookedly, then said, “We gonna negotiate this in the hallway?”

Laura stepped aside so he could enter. As he stepped by her, he looked down at her jeans, which had a large hole in the right knee, and a smaller one on the left. The jeans were old Levi’s, the type made of real, thick denim, and were well broken in. The seams were nearly white, and the holes were obviously from wear, rather than part of the design of the jeans. Something about the way the jeans fit, and the tantalizing glimpse of her legs through the holes was disturbing to Barba. The strip of skin that kept appearing between the waistband of her jeans and her fitted yellow T-shirt didn’t help.

“Rabid wolverines?” He asked, grinning down at the holes in her jeans.

“Funny,” she answered drily.

Her apartment still had boxes here and there, filled with books and other things she didn’t have a place to store yet. As she’d said, there wasn’t much furniture, just a soft, comfortable-looking blue couch. He was interested in the keyboard and guitar in a corner.

“You play?”

“About as well as I speak Spanish,” she answered, smirking.

He rolled his eyes. So she wasn’t done teasing him about that.

A long, torn cardboard box had been tossed into a corner, and piles of wooden planks sat in the center of the room. The cabinet hardware was spread haphazardly, but at least each piece was visible. The only two pieces of the cabinet hooked together so far were obviously incorrectly joined and sitting crookedly on the floor. Barba looked at Laura with an eyebrow cocked questioningly.

“What?” Laura asked, holding up the instruction booklet. “The instructions are in Swedish!”

Rafael took it from her. “The instructions are pictures.”

“Well, the pictures are in Swedish.”

“Detective.” Rafael said, using his cross-examination voice. “Did you intentionally invite me down to your apartment on a pretext to get me to build your cabinet for you?”

“No,” she said.

He simply looked at her.

“I didn’t! I just asked you for a socket wrench.”

“Which, by the way, would be of no use in building this cabinet.”

“Yes, it will. There’s these little metal things and you have to twist them in.”

“With a wrench. Which comes with the cabinet.”

“So that’s what the weird-shaped holes are for. I wondered about that.”

His expressionless stare was both amusing and sexy. How did he manage that?

“OK, fine, so I suck at Ikea! You found out my shameful secret. Feel free to mock me for the next 3 to 5 years.”

“I intend to,” he smirked. The pleased, teasing expression in his eyes caused her to catch her breath for the second time in less than five minutes.

When she could speak, her voice was serious. “Listen. I admit I’m pathetic at this stuff,” she gestured at the floor. “But if I was going to ask you to help me, I’d have asked you straight up. I’m not here for games like that.”

He just shrugged. “OK. Tell you what. You buy dinner, I’ll help with this masterpiece here. Deal?” ¿Por qué de repente no tengo control sobre lo que digo? Podría necesitar un médico.[2]

Laura looked skeptical. “Doesn’t that make me guilty of…”

“No. I retract the accusation. You didn’t lure me here to build your cabinet, and now I’m offering to do it for… souvlaki. Do we have a deal?”

”We have a deal.” The smile she gave him was worth building several pieces of furniture. As she pulled menus from a drawer to order dinner, he began to organize the materials for the cabinet. He looked over at her as she sifted through the handful of menus, again noticing the way her simple jeans and T-shirt accentuated her lithe, athletic frame.

Barba knelt on the floor and began to separate the pieces Laura had put together. While his back was turned, Laura took the opportunity to appreciate the fit of his jeans. Who knew Barba even owned jeans? She found the menu for a nearby Greek restaurant and brought it to the couch where she read it to him and, for the next five minutes, they negotiated dinner. As Laura called in their order, she tried to absorb the fact that Rafael Barba was in her living room building an Ikea cabinet, and he had asked her to have dinner with him. Hadn’t he? Did that count as asking her to have dinner with him? What the hell. I’m not a kid. Why am I actually nervous right now?

Once dinner was ordered, she went over to sit next to him on the floor. “So, how is this gonna work?”

He glanced at her before picking up two pieces of the cabinet and lying them side by side. “If I need any help, I’ll let you know.”

“So, what? I just watch you build a cabinet?”

“Don’t take this personally, Detective, but I think that’s best for everyone.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “So what do I do?”

“Talk to me. Tell me how an ER nurse in Chicago becomes a cop in New York. You said it was a long story, and we appear to have some time. Hand me that round thing over there.”

“Oh, boy. Well, I, uh… I’m a recovering alcoholic. The ‘drive your life off a cliff and keep your foot on the gas’ kind.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah.”

“Bring me that piece over there. So… go on.”

Barba worked on the cabinet while Laura gave him the short version of her story. The food arrived just as she was finishing, at which point Laura remembered that she didn’t have a table. Of all the surprising things about that evening, the best was learning that Rafael Barba, urbane and eternally impeccable attorney, was perfectly happy eating dinner on the floor.

Looking for a topic of conversation as they sorted through the bags and Styrofoam containers, Laura said, “I heard a story about you winning a case by letting a guy choke you with a belt.”

He snorted. “That was my first SVU case, as a matter of fact.” He told her about the crime, and the trial, and how he had ended up being desperate enough to resort to such a longshot tactic. Not surprisingly for a man who told stories to juries for a living, he was a particularly entertaining storyteller.

“Where did you hear that story?”

“A friend of mine. You’ve actually met him, he works in your office. Peter Stone?”

Friend?

“Yes, I met him. Didn’t you both just come from Chicago?”

“We did. Together, as a matter of fact. We’re old friends.”

Old friends. Barba wanted to ask about a hundred questions, but didn’t know how to do that without appearing… interested. He was saved by Laura’s curiosity.

Finishing a bite of lamb, she said, “I feel like that Incel we questioned last week, telling you boring stories about me. What about you?”

“Tell you boring stories about me?” He grinned.

“I’d rather hear interesting ones, but if that’s the best you can do…”

For the rest of the time they ate dinner, Barba talked about growing up in the Bronx, telling sweet, funny stories about his childhood. Most of them were charmingly self-deprecating, like the ones about being a Catholic schoolboy menaced by bullies from the public school down the street, and his disastrous first year in Little League.

For the rest of the evening, they talked about nothing while Barba put the cabinet together, frequently asking Laura to hand him things or hold things. The odd situation started to feel normal. Comfortable. Pleasant. Conversation was easy and lively, with Barba’s quick wit and tendency to purposely provoke her keeping Laura laughing and looking for ways to tease back.

Were they… flirting with eachother? Was that what was happening? Laura was enchanted with him, she knew that. He was even better looking up close, and somehow the early experience of feeling beneath Barba’s notice made it all the more special that he’d chosen to spend time alone with her. And she really liked him. Whether or not he might be interested – and with each passing moment, she hoped more that he might be – she really enjoyed hanging out with him.

Barba was having very similar thoughts. In his case, however, the attraction was nowhere near as welcome. Barba didn’t date. That was that. He liked women as much as the next guy, but he liked them from afar. The price of getting involved, of opening his heart and making himself vulnerable, was just too high. Besides, he didn’t even know if he could have a relationship anymore. Maybe he had just lost that ability. He hoped so. But then what are you doing in this apartment letting yourself be captivated by this woman?

Together, they stood up the finished cabinet and wrestled it to its place. Laura looked a little dazzled. “You never even looked at the pictures.”

“I didn’t need to. It’s obvious how this stuff goes together.”

“Not to me.”

“Claro.”[3]

“You’re not gonna go all superior on me now, are you, Harvard?”

“About this? Yes.” That smirk again. There was an eye twinkle now, too. Laura felt lightheaded which, as a nurse, she understood resulted from all the blood in her body rushing south.

Barba couldn’t understand how someone who was clearly intelligent and capable could have such a complete inability to conceptualize how build-it-yourself furniture goes together, even with instructions. He found it fascinating and endearing, like a lot of things about her. Cállate, Barba. No esta pasando.[4]

As Laura began to clean up the bits of cardboard and torn little plastic bags from the floor, Barba prepared to leave. It was actually something of a relief to him. He needed to be alone, have a drink, and regain his senses.

“I need to get going,” he said, groaning and stretching out the kinks in his muscles from sitting on the floor for three hours. “Feliz noche,[5] Detective.”

“Hey, thank you. Really. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“Neither do I. From a purely scientific point of view, it would’ve been fascinating to find out.”

She smiled the same small, adorable smile and rolled her eyes the same way she’d done all night when he’d made fun of her. It was definitely time for him to go.

“’Night. And thanks again. I’ll… see you at work, I guess.”

“Thanks for dinner. Que tengas buena noche.”[6]

As the door closed between them, both Barba and Laura wore thoughtful expressions and smiles that were a little bit silly. Both of them had thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Laura was happily excited about what might happen next. Rafael wasn’t.

[1] Warning. Danger.

[2] Why do I suddenly have no control over what I say? I may need a doctor.

[3] Clearly.

[4] Shut up, Barba. It’s not happening.

[5] Good night

[6] Have a good night.

#law & order svu #law & order: special victims unit #rafael barba #raul esparza #chicago pd #chicago fire #chicago med #Who knew building Ikea furniture was foreplay

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c-mon-babayyy · 3 years ago

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Space Streamer

2024, streaming is still really popular, but being in space is a new trade. Once humanity has built many space stations in earth orbit, in 2022 they discovered gravity wells, and the start of a new type of space race begun. With people not needing to worry about 0g's, new space stations had been planned, and in 2024 the first internationally launched one had been announced as stable for projects.

But that didn't concern Erin, entertaining himself and his half a mill followers was more fun. At least, the space race use to not concern him...

...

Synter was Erin's preferred name, it was what his streaming friends and online friends called him, and it was his twitch and youtube name for all the videos he made. He was a variety streamer that based his content on his personality based on what he does, but variety streaming didn't prepare him for this.

He awoke to something pushing and moving him, his body always woke up before his head did, and this proved true as his eyes opened to being forcibly walked by something far taller than him. Erin was just barely 21, but he had the same height as 12 year old him, a good 5 feet and 2 inches. He was taller than the smallest of girls, but he was still made fun of in school. But taking a good look around this obviously wasn't school, it was a purposely dark hallway with the occasional other person. And by person, I mean a stranger being walked by an alien, and alien they were. They were tall, way taller than any human by at least 4 feet at least.

Describing them was hard, for the other captives they could express in horror as the barely clothed aliens were tri legged with rough leathery looking skin of a yellow color with green spots, their endoskeletons poking out of their skin to protect their soft and large organs. Their heads held mandibles and large round eyes, with other sensory organs on the base of their neck and the collarbone with skinny arms with only three fingered hands, two fingers and a thumb. But to Synter the aliens looked like really large stick bugs. Stick bugs that covered the very top of their chest in a special made crop top that refused to cover their sensory organs. With shorts that held hooks for ropes of fanny pack type pouches galore, and arms with gloves that obviously had some sort of electric function as they glowed a low blue. And an obviously awkward looking bubble of some sort of glass over their head and sensory organs.

Taking a more paniced and thorough look around, now awake to be afraid of the strange aliens, he noticed the occasional glass tube with other persons in it, only human persons. Over speakers that Synter took only a few seconds to spot there was a strange clicking noise mixed with snarling sounds. Strange thing was that it was patterned enough that Synter could guess that it was an language, no aliens could take a race like humanity without being organized enough to have language and writing.

Synter was still in his three layers of hoodie, filled with the weird tools that have been hidden in his many hidden pockets since he lived with his builder father. He was more of a computer guy, and added both hardware and software tools into his many pockets. He moved to alaska just so he could get a new experience, having lived in arizona and Connecticut before. What he got instead was a sudden crash course on how to survive a frozen desert, and a wave of japanese fans for some strange reason.

He remembered that he was out of his house and in town, on his once a blue moon run of supplies. He had run back to his large truck from the store to pick up his glasses and sunglasses that he somehow left, when suddenly things around him went dark. It took a full minute to realize that it was summer, not winter when the sun sometimes didn't show for months, and a look up showed the underbelly of something he couldn't recognize. He vaguely attempted to run to his truck, just as it and him had started floating, then he went out.

He hoped his truck was alright, and a stir of fear settled in his stomach as he wondered what or rather why these aliens wanted them, wanted us. He didn't need to struggle to see from example that their hands were cuffed in a dull metal type. The people getting walked that were making noise was getting masks or gags put on them, but not for the ones staying quiet. The people in the containers also seemed awake, watching in anticipation. And then, over the speakers of the strange alien voice a human one came on.

It was just yelling at first, but he and the others getting walked could tell that it was obviously human. In a strange act, the tall aliens abandoned their humans, throwing them on the ground on the side of the hallways, before sprinting quickly to the end of the hallway. Just as the doors started to close, Synter started to get up, and with his physical rising despite his hands behind his back, the human voice started speaking constantly.

"Attention Human Citizens!

This is space traveling captain Richard Fuck-My-Life reporting on the group mission "Man-Fucked-Up", As in 'Man thus is Fucked Up' or 'Man These Guys are Fucked.

Now, you may be experiencing this displeasure of a moment called being captured. Well, seeing as some of you were forced through orientation when you were asleep, i could tell, some of you snore-, these bitch asses are a researcher alien race! They were told we were valuable some type of way and started abducting us in front of public eyes! Luckily, in the two days of abducting they did, many governments around the world started retaliating! Some nukes were even set off, although with the help of space whatnots those nukes were propelled into deep space where some other ships were warping in.

Humanity is now lovingly fighting a space fight, and a whole continent has been american-ized in the process. Also in this process is the revolution of nuclear and solar energy instead of gasoline, and a mineral and metal revolution as we take the space ships we've crashed and use them for our own cities and ships.

But that doesn't concern you too much now, does it? You guys are in space for gods sake, what about getting back home?! Well do I have some news for you! These bitch ass aliens have weak ass materials! We're deathworlders baby! We're stronger than personal structures! Unfortunately not as strong as the ship itself, because you know, protection from space, but we're close!

Now if you don't mind just try breaking free of those hand cuffs!"

The still standing Synter attempted pulling his arms, and with a snap the cuffs broke and his hands were free. Looking around the others on the ground were also breaking free easily. It made the feeling of slight fear dissipate into nervousness, he felt better about the situation.

"These hands cuffs don't really do anything anyway, the aliens made them like cop cuffs because they thought something along the lines of 'the shape will make these creatures weak!' Or something." The human, Richard continued.

"Next, kindly kindly, if you could show some human kindness for your fellow human race and break the glass containers? Its not an ultra strong glass, but you still need something sharp or heavy to break it."

Being as he was standing close to one of the containers, Synter pulled out a small ice pick and gently tapped, the glass quickly cracking & falling into medium sized pieces. Sharp pieces. Around him some people were breaking out on their own, and some of the previously handcuffed persons were using the cuffs to break the glass.

"Careful careful," the voice almost immediately sang," we may be stronger than these damned fools but we can still puncture our feet with glass. Although by the looks of it these aliens only confiscated the outer layer of clothing for extreme weather environments. Geez, these guys totally abducted you in places cold enough to consider death for them, and they didn't even think twice about it? What kind of scientific species are they?"

Synter softly chuckled at that, the man sure knew how to lighten a situation.

"Okay okay, you guys are ahead of schedule compared to my other friends, all 4 compartments of you. 5 ships, 4 compartments each, two rows of walkway per compartment, and 40 people per row. Simple maths by calculators, some of you still have your phones, says thats Sixteen Hundred people they've managed to abduct! And seeing as they have only enough for a flat thousand, killed roughly a mill in quote "terran" end quote Ground to escape with you, and the whole other 7.67 billion people want you back, maybe minus the 1.3 billion people living in developing countries that may or may not focus more on becoming developed other than getting into space, thats a whole lot of responsibility and only 7 of us that's been in space long enough to push you back home. " Richard seemed to ramble.

During Richard's talking, Synter did wonder if he in fact had his phone on him. Sure enough, one look in his most inside pocket and there was his phone. All three of them. One was for personal calls, and it sometimes acted like a mini laptop than a phone meant for game apps. It wasn't his largest, but he could contact anybody via anything on it, and he usually gave businesses this number. The second was his streaming phone, the screen was large but it would be the flattest thing he has, first to even his ass, if it wasn't for the phone case. It had a decent enough processer, enough to that it was practically a second moniter. It made checking his chat during outdoor streams or cooking streams easy. He also downloaded a bunch of music and how to videos to laugh at. His third phone was almost like his streaming phone, but smaller and it had the capacity to run like another laptop. If it was a person then it would be a car that ran on coffee for gasoline, a powerful powerhouse of data processing that meant he could even stream from his phone. But seeing as this was the last phone he had used and it showed he had no signal, he doubted he could do anything but record.

The man on the speakers continued to blabber on about how much of a pain the aliens were for kidnapping so many humans in broad daylight. Synter put away his phones and ran to the ends of the hallway, where other people free of their constraints were starting to gather. Jogging down one end he saw the open containers, probably where he and the other cuffed people were being walked to before Richard interrupted them. Synter did his best going through the not so dense crowd, about half of the hallway so about 20 people.

He stared at the door, trying to find where it ended and where a box looking panel would be placed. Would aliens even have control panels in space ships?

"Ah! It seems a few of you are eager to move on to the next step. Well then, let me get on with the informing. These aliens, or Xeno's as the less offensive term, are pussies and are running away. They will soon be using most of the escape pods, however there are more escape pods then there is scientists. Unluckily there are a few military types onboard in case there is a riot, and they will attempt to quote "sink with the ship". These military types are, however, stupid weak, one of our punches will make gore out of them.

Ah! Someone yelled it! It's the humans are space orcs theory! Or really for us its a collection of stories under the idea, but seeing as that idea is now true it is a theory and these home made stories are now probable stories written under the theory's speculation. Big words, small brain. Basically we think faster for a longer and more death like sleep cycle, and when in practice we are faster and stronger than any Xeno's, although because of our preferred gravity we are more compact and dense than they are.

Theres all the things complaining about earth bugs and earth diseases and earth foods that can kill most other aliens too. Did you know there are only 3 other races coming from death planets, and after being introduced they've all decided to become hermits? It turns out 50% of these non death world races didn't evolce with light sensors, or have limited light sensors, aka eyes. That's why its dark, but the next bit will be easy. At somewhere around 6 feet there is a panel, if you smash it in or find something to pry it open by the cracks, you can hotwire it. While you're figuring out where it is, I'll announce to each hallway individually which hallway and compartment you are. Basically every one of you are in front of some storage container space, whatever they're called."

As soon as the voice stopped the group around him started mumbling to each other. Suddenly the question came out straight,"does anybody know how to hack some wires?"

Synter raised his hand, calling out that he had basically found the panel already and that he knew how to work with electric hardware. But by all of their looks they knew he was too short to reach the panel properly. A strong looking guy stood behind him, bending down to offer a piggy back ride straight for the panel. Synter accepted, someone from his group yelling and gesturing to the other side of the hallway for where Synter had pried open the panel. The first thing he pried open turned out to be the security panel covering. There were buttons galore in a language not written, but raised into the plastic like panel. It would be almost useless to try and hack the electric lock, so instead Synter switched out his tool for a screwdriver.

"2A, you guys are compartment two letter A as in first walkway going from left to right on the ship from a birds eye view. By the way, 2A lower hallway with the guy piggybacking another to reach the panel, you're ahead but on the right track. Trying to crack the alien passcodes on these bare panels would be useless, so after breaking into the panel definitely 6 ft above the ground and unscrewing the alien panels for the wires underneath would be a good next step unless I can override their system using the handy dandy AI I got."

"Its Alien Braille." Synter shouted as the man commented on the passcode panel.

But richard didn't respond to him, and Synter went quiet again with concentration. Just as the man went silent again the final screw went loose, and after tossing the screwdriver of many applications to someone else so they can run it to the other end of the hall, Synter started inspecting the wires. The strong man holding him on his back shifted weight as Synter pulled out a phone, using the flashlight feature to look at the wires. It was a complicated looking mess of different shades of grey, but coming from the walls were colored(surprisingly) braised symbols that each cluster of wires originated from. Maybe a mostly blind species' way of organizing wires without color vision.

The person that ran the screwdriver to the other end of the hallway ran back, the other side just getting the wires exposed as the voice crackled on.

"Awww! The whole lot of you figured out how to get to the wires! Recognizing that most of you punched your way through, that's okay cuz it's taller than most of our heads. Anyways, people with phone lights can now see that there are many colored wires. They did not do the coloring on purpose, but we will use it to our advantage. The wires with the green symbol need to be paired with the wires connecting to the panel. If you do that the doors will open."

As Richard was speaking Synter did so, and immediately the doors open with a slow force. The man Synter was piggybacking on let him down, quickly following the rest of the group that squeezed between the slowly opening doors. Synter hesitated a bit, looking over across the hallway to see that the other end had also opened their door. Synter let the soft light bask his face by the door as Mr. Richard directed everybody to the ends of the ship, the top of the hallway spilling left while his side spilled right, meeting with the other compartments.

But something caught his eye to the left. It wasn't the other compartments spilling into the other side of the ship, instead it looked like a low shiny, the low shiny of his truck. He ran to it, and in the surprisingly opened warehouse, yes the word Richard was looking for was space warehouse, was Synter's truck! It was beautiful even in low lighting, and Synter ran to it's hood to hug it. Other than some dust and alien handprints that basically told him that they didn't know how to get in or reach the engine, it hadn't been touched.

With his truck there were boxes upon boxes of things, his truck standing on some boxes too, and standing on boxes were some other vehicles. Counting 4 other vehicles in total, there was an all electric tesla, a helecopter, a small tractor, and one of the highly classified new human space cruisers, like a van but smoother and meant for launch and landing in space. It probably also had the new gravity function too, and Synter became excited just spotting it. With a crackle in the air, a speaker Synter didn't know was in the room started up.

"Hey there, are you sure you wanna stay here? You can escape with other humans if you want." Richard spoke through a softer announcing speaker.

It sounded like it was under a box or something, but Synter wasn't going to escape space prison without his truck. He shook his head.

"Nuh-uh! Im abducted with my truck I'll leave with my truck. It has food for 3 years if I don't eat like a pig, and besides im a computer mechanical & engineering wizard, if something goes wrong i can look up a how to video I downloaded and fix it. I was interested enough about space before this." Synter exclaimed, attempting to hug his truck tighter but failing and sliding down it.

He fell on his ass and the speaker sighed.

"Okay fine, each of these rooms are meant to house xenos of any race for at least 2 years, and 6 months of hurtling in space is all you need to be caught by earth. I did manage to hack the ship, so I'll weld down your closed doors from the outside to make it space proof." The doors cracked open behind him slammed shut, the sound of large locks clinking together before the heater whir of presumably the fire torches or the Xeno equivalent stirring behind him.

"Meanwhile to survive I guess I can guide you to the warehouse computer and monitor so you can rewire it with the fabricator that should be next to it. It should be to your right, against the wall behind a smaller pile of boxes. Ooh! It looks like this warehouse was marked for refined metals and chemicals! With it you could make your own chemical water & oxygen making machine and ftl drive, if you need it. I'm going to guide the rest to their escape pods and their own warehouse cargo bay so I can catapult you into space towards earth. You ready?"

Synter was already running towards the wall of boxes.

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shirlleycoyle · 4 years ago

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Why the World May Never Truly Be Rid of Dongles

A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, a twice-weekly newsletter that hunts for the end of the long tail.

As you may guess from the stuff I write about, I have a lot of computers, of various shapes, sizes, and functions.

Some of them I only mess with occasionally; some are frequent companions; some (like my Pinebook Pro) are destined to be frequent targets of tinkering for me. But the one thing that they have in common is that they encourage me to plug in a rat’s nest of cabling to plug into the various gadgets I own. The monitor I got late last year I purchased specifically because I needed a USB hub to go with my high-resolution screen.

But despite all these efforts to simplify my cabling life, dongles rule everything around me. And around you, too. It comes with the territory.

Ultimately, the problem the dongle solves may never truly go away.

“We don’t know much, for sure, about the word that has been a source of so much frustration and controversy and, regardless, ubiquity. But that hasn’t stopped people from guessing.”

— Megan Garber, in a 2013 essay in The Atlantic discussing the origin of the word “dongle,” which she noted was fairly unclear. A 1984 article from The Guardian, in reference to Clive Sinclair’s ill-fated Sinclair QL computer makes a reference to dongles as “an ancient piece of computer jargon,” despite the fact that it’s one of the earliest references I can find in a mainstream newspaper. It suddenly showed up in newspapers around 1984, as did one of the earliest patent filings regarding dongles, in the United Kingdom. In technology publications, the first references I see date to October 1981, in issues of New Scientist and Byte, both in reference to antipiracy technology.

An example of a parallel-port dongle. Image: Raimond Spekking/Wikimedia Commons

The dongle’s original legacy as an antipiracy tool

Last year, when the latest iteration of the Mac Pro came out, one thing that may have confused observers looking at this machine, which they will likely never use, is the unusual placement of a USB-A port on the machine’s motherboard.

To those that only lightly follow technology, the existence of this port likely made no sense. But it reflects a decades-long legacy of tying security to actual hardware that, for some programs at least, persists to this day.

A 1984 New Scientist piece explained the dynamic that led to the growing popularity of dongles throughout the period, but noted that despite their goal of security, they ultimately were seen as easy to break by technical users:

The dongle is a small plastic box which plugs into one of the ports at the back of a computer. A program protected by a dongle contains a routine that asks a computer to check whether the dongle is present and sometimes to read a code from it. If it has not been plugged in the program will not run. Most dongles do not prevent programs from being copied, but they stop the copies from being used, since each copy needs a matching dongle to work.

Unfortunately, there is nothing to prevent the owner of a dongle-protected program from displaying the program code on his computer screen and removing the dongle check from it. One expert says this task takes about two hours.

The dongle system has been refined by some companies. Instead of supplying a program in plain computer code, some or all of the instructions are scrambled. The key to this simple encryption is held by the dongle which passes it to the computer’s operating system (the program which coordinates the computer’s operations). Once unscrambled, the program is loaded into the computer’s memory and runs in the normal way; but it is not difficult to remove the built-in checks.

For games, these approaches were eventually replaced by copy-protection schemes inside manuals or by different distribution approaches, like shareware. But dongles for more high-end or specialized software products, along with employee security, never really went away. In fact, they got more sophisticated, adding their own processing capabilities that interacted with the software being used.

Of course, people aren’t aware where they actually came from in the first place, as The Atlantic_’s Garber implied. This has led to fun stories, the most colorful of which was invented by the tech company Rainbow Technologies, which, in a 1992 advertisement than ran in _Byte, invented a character named Don Gall who they claimed the device was named after.

“He wasn’t famous. He didn’t drive a fancy car, but dressed in his favorite Comdex T-shirt and faded blue jeans, he set out to change the course of the software story,” the fable started.

While obviously totally made up, it nonetheless became something of an urban legend.

These devices generally hooked up to serial or parallel ports throughout the 1990s, with adapters that allowed users to continue to plug in devices such printers. In terms of video games, cheat tools like the Game Genie could be thought of as dongles.

But in the late 1990s, these devices were able to shrink thanks to USB. These dongles, while less prominent than they once were, have largely stayed in common use in a handful of industries, specifically those that sell computer-aided design or manufacturing software, and those that offer software for digital audio workstations. ACID and Autodesk, two manufacturers that specialize in are probably two of the best-known companies that rely on hardware security dongles in the modern day. These are the kinds of devices for which the Mac Pro has an internal USB-A port.

More common, however, are devices intended specifically for two-factor authentication, such as the YubiKey, which serve a similar security function, but for the user or the organization for which they serve, rather than to prevent piracy. These tools work in similar ways to the dongles of yore, perhaps with additional security mechanisms.

Speaking of USB, the switch of formats, which was ultimately a good thing for technology, helped create a pretty big market for dongles big and small, many of which connect to all variety of objects, from printers to TV sets. (Apple, the company that moved to USB early, is responsible for many of our dongles.)

The USB thumb drive is a great example of a dongle, and perhaps the most prominent example of flash disks around.

Similarly, video standards have a way of adding dongles to our lives. Ever converted HDMI to DVI to VGA to composite to RF? (No, just me?) Then you’ve lived the dongle life.

It’s a fact of life, and one that has only become more of a fact of life thanks to the rise of USB-C creating natural incompatibilities for dongles.

Five of the weirdest dongle connectors I’m aware of

USB-C to MagSafe. As is well-documented, I have issues with the design of the Mac’s default power brick, which I think has serious deficiencies because, prior to its conversion to USB-C, its primary cable is both thin and non-removable. For years, Apple made this port proprietary and failed to allow for alternative devices to be made, but after moving to USB-C, Apple took its eye off the MagSafe ball. I bought this adapter off of eBay, delivered straight from China, and use it with the adapter that comes with my HP Spectre x360, which supports USB-C by default.

Jawbone UP24 to USB. Despite the fact that most people associate exercise bands with the brand Fitbit, it was Jawbone that really set the stage for the category’s success with its UP series of fitness trackers, which actually pulled off the neat trick of looking cool without being showy (a credit to its designer, Yves Béhar). It helped to build a market segment … which Jawbone’s competitors quickly took for themselves. For this discussion, though, The interesting thing about this device is how it charged: You take off the cap and a 2.5mm headphone adapter appears. You plug that into a USB-A dongle with said jack, that isn’t useful for anything else.

DVI to ADC. While VGA is a far more memorable adapter for those looking to get a signal onto a video display, DVI has been a more consistent part of the video experience in recent years, appearing on video cards even today, while DisplayPort and HDMI are locked in a battle for supremacy. But ADC? This was a relatively brief attempt by Apple to try to minimize the number of cables needed to connect cables to its monitors. It was arguably ahead of its time—it took USB-C 15 years to make this capability common across the computer industry—but the problem was that the port was proprietary, and if you wanted to use a computer other than Apple’s G4 towers (say, a PowerBook), you needed to break apart those signals—which required a really big dongle. Apple’s official dongle, released in 2002, is both extremely expensive and as large as a standard laptop power brick, and while there is a smaller third-party alternative, it’s harder to find. At least one hardware-hacker has gone to the trouble of creating a reasonably sized version.

Crazyradio PA USB Dongle. This dongle, an open-source device, is essentially a USB radio that works on the same open 2.4-gigahertz as early versions of Wi-Fi. Why would you want this? Well, it’s effectively a wireless mouse dongle for everything else, except with a much larger antenna. Highly hackable, open-sourced, originally developed for a tiny drone, and with a massive range, it can be used for any manner of weird stuff, and is a popular choice for hardware hackers, though some have gone to the point of hacking those wireless mouse adapters for whatever they want.

The Shugru-covered wireless mouse connector. For those with wireless mice, Apple’s move to USB-C on laptops has made life a lot more frustrating because it requires the use of a dongle with your dongle. Rather than be stuck with that state of affairs, the YouTube channel DIY Perks pulled apart one of those mouse connectors, soldered it onto a USB-C breakout board, and covered the whole thing with Shugru, the moldable glue popularly used for DIY projects. A little hacky, but it totally worked.

There was once a massive dongle for sale that could Hackintosh your system

The very nature of dongles means that they come and go, and no dongle, perhaps, has come and gone as quietly as the EFiX USB dongle.

Unlike the security keys used to protect software from installation, EFiX literally does the opposite—it allows users to install software that its maker would prefer users didn’t.

A gadget modern enough that it was featured on websites such as Engadget, the EFiX (also known as EFI-X

, with both names referencing the UEFI firmware that is common today but Intel Macs were relatively early to) harkens back to a time when installing MacOS on a non-Apple PC wasn’t particularly easy. This object, produced by a firm named Art Studios Entertainment Media, was what the company called a “Boot Processing Unit,” which essentially took all the complicated parts of building a hackintosh (all the messy code and what have you) and hid those from the user.

“EFI-X

is not for everyone. It is not for who wants to save money, at all. It is for enthusiasts that put expandability and extreme performances before anything else in their computing needs. We heard those voices, and we answered,” the company that built this device stated on its website.

The device, which plugs directly into a USB header on a motherboard rather than a single USB port, essentially handles all the messy parts of installing Mac OS X on a standard desktop PC. (The key word there is desktop; laptops tend not to have user-accessible USB headers.)

A 2008 Gizmodo review of the device noted that while you did have to open up your machine to plug it in, it was incredibly simple to use:

If you’ve got the hardware, the whole process is simple, so that even if you’ve never cracked your desktop before, you could still get this done with a quick search online for the requisite know-how. I plugged the EFiX dongle into a USB header on my motherboard-not, as you might have assumed, to a USB port on the outside. That’s really it for getting your hands dirty, though. I restarted my computer, selected EFiX as the boot device-it was listed under hard drives, actually-and was greeted with a drive selector. After selecting the Leopard disc, it started installing without a hitch.

But those who did get more technical were fairly skeptical about what they found. One Hackintosh blog doing an autopsy of the device in an effort to come up with a software-only solution said that despite the flashy looks and the use of an ARM processor on the module, it was not particularly novel.

“The whole thing, inclusive PCB, case, cable and packaging should cost less than 10 dollars, I guess,” the author wrote.

If this all sounds fairly gray area, it’s worth noting that this device came to life around the time that the Florida company Psystar was getting some negative legal attention from Apple after announcing plans to sell a Mac clone system—a battle Psystar ultimately, famously, lost.

The USA seller of the EFiX dongle, EFiX USA, at one point announced plans to release a clone system of its own … but then quickly changed course, realizing it would probably put them in a world of legal hell.

EFiX and its manufacturers faded away eventually, and the Hackintosh community came up with other solutions for easily turning a computer into a Hackintosh—no proprietary dongle necessary.

The thing with ports is that there is never a shortage of choice in terms of what you can do with them. But when you try shopping for cables with a specific use case in mind, things get confusing, fast.

Last fall, I made a trip to Micro Center, in part because I heard it was the best computer store chain in the country and I was utterly curious about this Mecca to silicon and circuitry. Overall, the experience was fairly positive, but I felt strangely claustrophobic in one section of the store—the section around KVM switches, which are devices (glorified dongles, really) that allow users to swap between different computers.

So many cables. So much switch. Image: Priwo/Wikimedia Commons

These products, generally, require a lot of cables. An absolute ton, a level that will make you never want to see another cable again. And there are a lot of them, of different shapes, sizes, and use cases. Despite the fact that VGA is a dinosaur of a technology, the vast majority of KVM switches that handle video seem to rely on VGA in the year of Our Lord 2020.

The perfect KVM switch is often hard to find if you have a specific need—and they can get ungodly expensive if you’re not careful.

I can’t remember what I was looking for, but I remember vividly that I not only didn’t find it, but I suddenly had a strong desire to leave this store I went out of my way to visit. Again, I’m the guy that loves computers enough that I wrote an entire article about dongles, and I couldn’t take it. I psyched myself out.

The good news is that USB-C has the potential to simplify the use of KVM switches entirely, at least eventually, as they will only require one cable from each device that you’re switching from. The bad news is that USB-C has confused the spec significantly, in some frustrating ways.

By way of example: Recently, I set up a wall stand next to my desk (a floating shelf for DVD players, essentially) that I set up to allow me an easy place to put my laptops and use them without taking space on my desk. Conceivably, I could plug in my USB-C-based laptops using a single cable and get going. The problem is that USB-C adapters have short cables that are embedded into the device.

So, what do you do to resolve this? First, you find a USB-C hub that doesn’t have a cable built-in. Great; here’s the only one I could find that cost less than $50 that had good power-delivery capabilities. But now this cable has to pull double-duty. It needs to be long enough that it isn’t directly next to your computer, able to transmit high-speed data, but able to charge a laptop. This is harder than it sounds. My HP Spectre x360 relies on a 90-watt charger; most cables with the ability to transmit power and high-speed data top out at 60 watts. Want one that supports 100 watts, powerful enough to handle the latest MacBook Pro? In most cases, the speeds will max out at USB 2.0 levels, meaning you may be better off with Thunderbolt 3, which costs even more than USB-C does. I want USB-C for compatibility for multiple devices.

So it took quite a bit of digging to find the right hub and the right cable to make this setup possible. But now I can plug in a single cable to my laptop and start working. (OK, technically two, because the hub transmits HDMI at a slower speed than the port on the laptop itself. Can’t win everything.)

So why am I telling you about the complications of all this? Simply, I think it’s important to point out that we’re replacing dongles with ports that can theoretically take basically everything, but that have specifications so inconsistent and hard to follow that, once USB-C becomes the one port to rule them all, we may be replacing the physical hell of dongles with a sort of technical hell of inconsistent standards, where the value of a specific cable is defined by what it can do rather than what it looks like.

You can buy a working system for a lower price than you can this cable.

We’re already seeing this. Recently, Apple drew a lot of attention for selling a Thunderbolt 3 cable for $129. It was very much a weird-flex-but-OK situation, but part of the reason that it sells for so much is that it’s relatively long (2 meters, or 6.6 feet, or $1.63 per inch), but supports the full Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1 specs. Most cables of that type only support certain elements of these specifications; Apple’s expensive cable supports the whole thing, making it an extremely valuable cable for someone who prides maximum compatibility, maximum speed, and maximum flexibility in a single span of braided black cable. This kind of consumer, apparently, exists.

All of this raises the question: Are dongles as bad as they look? Probably not. But they sure look weird.

Why the World May Never Truly Be Rid of Dongles syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

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scifimagpie · 5 years ago

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Instagram: A Thot Experiment

Recovering from mental health problems to any extent is kind of a weird feeling. Being able to function again - or more - is strange enough that I'll have to talk about it at length some time, but I haven't refined those thoughts yet.

However, I have been able to clean and move things around, and dress differently - and that's changed my perspective. So, to the best of my ability, here's some stuff I've noticed and some advice I've gathered.

youtube

How's it look?

It makes a big difference to feel good about where you live, and watching DIY videos often show me nicely decorated spaces. In addition, tiny house and interior decorating videos often provoke not envy, but provide inspiration.

Tumblr and other visual-media based social networks, Facebook included, are notorious for inspiring envy. Instead, it should inspire fellowship and aspiration. I like haul videos and diy videos - have learned a few tricks, and just making the jump from seeing to trying something can make a huge difference.

A great way to improve your surroundings affordably is to use Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, or thrifting. This can take time, but it's about the same as shopping online, and can often be much cheaper. You'd be surprised what you can find, and it's often in good shape.

Some basic suggestions

Tiny houses are cool not because they're small, but because they make use of innovative storage techniques. Any space - including, say, a mobile home or extremely modest two-bedroom apartment - can feel big and clean if you plan it out.

Make use of nooks and crannies, and get as many shelves as you can. Remember, wall decorations don't have to be pictures - you can stick up a rack to hang jewelry, or stick floating shelves up for even more storage, or to display a curio like an enameled plate.

A healthy way to change up or enrich your space is to add some plants; spider plants or succulents have become popular because they endure even the most forgetful gardener. However, fake plants are a good way to split the difference on this.

The secret sauce of good decorating appears to be color-coordinating your space as best as you can and using lots of baskets and boxes for storage. It keeps things from looking messy and makes it easier to clean. Of course, you still have to organize the contents, but it's progress.

We all love blankets and pillows, and blankets and throw pillows are a great way to both make a place look seasonably comfy and add some decor. If your couch has been attacked by a cat or your furniture otherwise needs repair, a throw blanket also hides a lot of sins. Rotating them by color is a good idea, and a relatively easy way to both redecorate and maximize your comfiness.

Fabric is a fundamental of organizing and decorating space, and adding or changing your curtains can make a huge difference. Thrifting or reusing scarves or panels of fabric is a good way to fancy up a space. Got something with a cool pattern? It's now a wall-hanging, and it'll reduce the echo in your space, too.

Maybe you don't have a curtain rod. No problem. Sticking up curtains with rounded pins from a dollar store is a great way to make the thumbtacks look fancier without having to install hardware. As well, a thin curtain makes for a surprisingly great room divider. It can also be used to soften a harsh light, as in the case of the blue curtain over my very yellow office light. Anyone with mobility issues might need a friend or partner's help to get curtains up, but they can add a lot of privacy and help create changeable "mini-rooms."

Also, don't feel constrained by the intended purpose of a room. A living room can be a dining room, and anything can be an office - even a storage closet. With the addition of shelves for clothes, a storage closet can also (if you're a clothes horse like me) become a walk-in closet.

Walls are your best friend; when it comes to decorating or moving things around in a room, start at the walls and work inwards, trying to leave the middle free. Be aware of the traffic of each room. As long as you can all move around, what else matters?

Isn't decorating exhausting?

This may sound like a lot of work, but the key is working with whomever you live with you get it done. Whether you have roommates, a spouse, children, extended family, or all of the above, it's important to be allies in making your living space mutually pleasant.

It's also a great way to bond with people and feel allied with one another. It's much easier to be agreeable when you feel united and as though you have things in common. Talking about what you like to look at is a good way to start on this.

What's this got to do with Instagram?

Instagram - along with, to some extent, TikTok, Snapchat, and other visually-based social media platforms - is known for its performative aspects. But when we look at people doing stuff, showing off and sharing their best moments, what we should take away is not envy, but aspirations and strategies.

I've never had this envy problem for some reason, but I think I've figured out why. My approach to seeing other people's vacation photos or selfies is fundamentally different. What I take away from Instagram is simple - wanting to go on adventures, take pictures of myself and friends, bake things, and make things.

Instead of envy, try to think of how to make things happen in your own life. Neat makeup technique? Just try it, and laugh off the mistakes. Pretty drawing? It's worth trying to copy it or draw something different, even if you think you'll fail. Failure builds the bones of skill. And above all, do your best ot go outside. Adventures don't have to be expensive - you can take pictures of a walk around your neighborhood, through your favorite park, through a new park, or try a new cafe. Another great way to feel fancy is make yourself a little pack lunch. maybe it's just some veggies and a sandwich, but if you cut it up and arrange it nicely for yourself, it will feel special

Enjoy the moments that compose undertaking an action. Taking pics of yourself smiling or while doing even ordinary activities, like having a coffee with friends or walking the dog, will help you remember times more and make them seem brighter both in the present and the future. Little goals, like getting a mirror in the hall or putting up some curtains, can make a huge difference.

And remember - it's never too late to do something nice that you've been putting off. Self-care doesn't have to cost money to be useful or valid. Sometimes, it's as simple as switching out your pillows and blankets and putting up a little fall decor - because you finally can.

***

Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and Max the cat. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people's manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.

Find her all over the internet: * OG Blog * Mailing list * Magpie Editing *

* Amazon * Medium * Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Tumblr * Paypal.me * Ko-fi

#how to #self help #live better #mental health #instagram #social media #tiny homes #aesthetic #redecorating #trends

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svtskneecaps · 4 years ago

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im actually curious now... ive never played the game myself but ive seen ads floating around... why Are you so heated abt hogwarts mystery if u dont mind me asking?? --💕

OH BUD, YOU'RE GONNA REGRET ASKING

i've ranted before on here and i'm too lazy to read it over and make sure i don't repeat points so if you want to hear me say the same stuff a different way then this post is the main rant i did before (although some bits are out of date, like the stats rant; they fixed that some), basically i have a few big problems

gameplay is frustrating

energy is required to do almost all things story related, except like. the occasional duel.

energy recharges one point at a time, every four minutes. there is an energy maximum that you can increase at certain points during the story. as far as i can tell, everything is divided between things that are "1 hr", "3 hr", and "8 hr". this goes for classes, story moments, etc. you use the energy to tap highlighted shapes and fill a star meter and if you collect all the stars you need, you pass

the 1 hr stuff requires a full energy meter, no matter how big your meter is, as far as i can tell. my meter is 33 max energy. it takes me 2 hrs to fill this meter. THE ONE HOUR STUFF TAKES ME TWO HOURS TO COMPLETE. SO NATURALLY, I THINK THAT'S FUCKING BULLSHIT.

either way, waiting for the energy to recharge is fucking boring, especially when the story is progressing at a snail's pace (it's a mobile game, they're trying to make you pay money to complete the game faster, which i GET. i play idle games. i have the patience of a god. BUT AT LEAST FUCKING BAKERY STORY MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I'M ACCOMPLISHING SOMETHING)

duelling used to be worse (it uses a rock-paper-scissors mechanism and it used to be if you lost the rock paper scissors you just didn't get to go, so you could get stunlocked by the enemy and lose just because you suck at random chance rock paper scissors, which was fucking frustrating. now the rock paper scissors just decides who goes first, which i'll admit is better)

i guess they've been trying to fix it and make it less. shitty. so a while back they added "clubs" which is pretty much just another incentive to complete events. the highlights you tap on to fill up the meter to complete events are a different color sometimes and it gives bonus club exp that gets you rewards sometimes. clubs aren't terrible, like they're a bandaid fix but i mean they did at least add some measure of satisfaction to the experience. even if it's like. not enough.

they also added a "memory log" which i guess the idea was that it would be fun to revisit scenes from past years and quests and ~view your memories~ but. it doesn't work. like i try to play a memory and it loads for infinity. so. that's a useless feature

they also added "pages" which are just. pieces of paper you can bind into a notebook (used as a form of special currency in the game; you buy animals with it). apparently you can also use them to buy another chance at the timed quests but i hate timed quests very deeply so they're useless to me. not sure if that feature works but considering it's triggered using the memory log it's really anyone's guess. so that's pretty. awful.

(it's much harder to get genuinely heated when i'm taking the time to list the faults i take with the game one by one in an essay like format but this game sends me into rand mode 90% of the time i'm just apathetic to it right now, i'm being clinical)

it's ugly

this game is more glitch than graphic. i cannot count on my appendages how many glitches and weird moments and gross graphical choices there are. maybe this is just because it's a mobile game and it's a hardware limitation, i have no idea. that's probably the case. doesn't make me hate the game any less. doesn't make me hate how ugly it is any less.

now i don't record the quidditch matches so i don't have many examples of that but those cutscenes are glitchy as all fucking get out and that's one of the things you can use to grind stats, energy, etc. there's not a quidditch event going on so i can't get images of the tail end of my broom EXTENDING OFF INTO THE TREELINE FOR FIVE MILES OFFSCREEN in certain cutscenes so you'll have to take my word for that one, but it's a thing that happens in two separate cutscenes and it's fucking bananas that it's still a thing that exists and hasn't been FIXED or NOTICED do they not have quality assurance????????????

AND WHY DOES MY WRIST LOOK LIKE THAT. WHY. I WANT TO HOLD MY FROG. I LOVE MY FROG. BUT GOD, IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY HAS TWISTED MY WRIST LIKE A WET TOWEL. WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THAT???

I'M PRETTY SURE THE QUAFFLE IS SUPPOSED TO BE UNDER MY ARM, WHY IS THIS WHAT'S HAPPENING. THIS CLIP PLAYS IN EVERY QUIDDITCH MATCH I EVER DO.

WAIT THERE'S NOT EVEN A FUCKING BROOM THERE I LITERALLY NEVER NOTICED THAT THERE'S NOT EVEN A BROOM. I WAS SO DISTRACTED BY THE QUAFFLE I DIDN'T NOTICE THERE'S NO FUCKING BROOM.

THEY'RE HANGING OFF THE BACK END OF THEIR BROOMS. THIS PLAYS EVERY MATCH. WHAT THE FUCK. (don't mind the image quality that's coming from me screenshotting a screen recording)

i don't feel like editing video clips right now just for a shitty rant post about a shitty app game so you'll have to take my word for it that there is more shit and it is egregious and barely a scene goes by where something ugly doesn't happen. half the time they're like "cast this spell!" and i cast it and there's supposed to be a sweet little animation of your character casting the spell but every time i do it, the game glitches and my character freezes, and then the spell has been cast. no animation. which is awful. half the time it loads in such a way that you think you blinked, but no. the screen just glitched everything into place. i don't know how to describe it honestly. it's awful.

it's boring

the story COULD be good, if it wasn't fed to you in tiny chunks over the course of several years. it's an okay plot, the usual harry potter chasing after some mystery (in this game it's the Cursed Vaults, usually there's a specific vault you're chasing in every year to hopefully find your brother and save hogwarts from the curse in the process). that's a pretty solid start

but there's so much FILLER. like there's a bit in year 3 where you go fucking around trying to make an extra sweet butterbeer for madame rosmerta while she's trying to track down your brother's journal in her back room (which is apparently as organized as my fuckin bedroom) and like. it takes so fucking long to actually progress with ANYTHING related to the story after that. like the entire plot STALLS while you try to make the butterbeer. LIKE IMAGINE IF A HARRY POTTER NOVEL STOPPED FOR A CHAPTER TO DESCRIBE HIM DOING SOMETHING SO FUCKING BORING. like at least in there you might get some character development or something, there's no shit like that in this fucking godawful shit of a game. hell there's barely character development, for you, for your friends, for the professors, fuckin NOTHING

they bloated their cast out. there's way too many characters and they waste their time on filler rather than actually developing the characters (for reference, i'm halfway through year 4). ben's personality is "cowardly gryffindor". rowan's personality is "books and socially awkward". tonks's personality is "prankster" (which, incidentally, i've heard is also the entire personality of another character you meet later). they aren't developed. i think they're blowing their character development budget on the "enemies to friends" arc they're trying to pull (i'm guessing that based on a christmas theme side quest and her uncharacteristically spilling her tragic backstory, that's a prediction)

year 1 was entirely wasted time. they could have done so much more with year 1, and they just. didn't. year 1 is disproportionately short and it only involves three friends (rowan, ben, and penny) plus your main enemy. it lays the base bones for your rivalry fairly well, all things considered, and starts the chase for the cursed vaults, and lays some bases for your friendships (wish they would have done more, since the characters are still a little one-note), and then they fucking drop the ball in later years. like i haven't seen ben since year 2, but there was SOMETHING going on between him and the vaults, what the fuck was that? why is no one acknowledging that?? there is a mystery that they're just fucking ignoring and i'm going to go fucking crazy

i went into greater detail on this in the other rant so i'm not going to do it again but it pisses me off. that and how useless the house is. and the fact that it presents you with choices like they'll do anything, but they don't really affect anything (at least not where i'm at in the game). like, i've been presented with the option to take different characters with me, but the friend i took with me didn't get any meaningful dialogue at all so what even would the difference be if i'd taken someone else?? what was the point?? it's stupid. it's dumb. i hate it. i hate it.

anyway there's 1600 words on it. the only reason i'm still playing it is because i plan on reworking the whole damn thing using the "each house gets a different storyline with a few constant story beats", but to do that i need to know the plot of the stupid fucking thing. so that's what i'm doing for the moment. it might take me a couple years to finish though. this game sends me spiraling into burnout at speeds only rivaled by public school, even when it's NOT forcing you to stop and wait eight straight hours.

#not kpop #shut up vic #goddamn app game #hphm #'goddamn app game' is the filter for harry potter hogwarts mystery rants btw #💕 anon

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statusreview · 6 years ago

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Holiday Gift Guides for Everyone On Your List (With Stuff under $20 – And Even $5!)

As is the tradition, I’m a little late with this. Ha! But here it is! (I’m also late with my actual gift buying, so I better get cracking). We like to put all of our gift guides in one place, so below you’ll find the one we made for grown-ups, another one for kids, and (my personal favorite) one full of stuff that’s under $15.

Gifts For Grown-Ups

Here’s what we’re loving, either firsthand stuff we bought for ourselves and have really enjoyed – or things we’re getting for friends & family (or hoping to find under the tree).

1 / Adulting Award Ribbons (4/$25): It would be so much fun to have an “award ceremony” at a family gathering, complete with victory laps & acceptance speeches.

2 / Black Robe with Pockets ($78-98): I bought this robe to wear around the house & I’m OBSESSED. So soft, there’s a tie inside so it doesn’t flap open, and IT HAS POCKETS! I’m living my best life.

3 / Personalized Address Stamper ($28): Always love a personalized gift that makes things easier for people. No more writing out return addresses & they’ll think of you every time they use it.

4 / Customized Road Trip Ornament ($25): Another sweet personalized ornament that you can give to someone who went on an epic trip (also works for someone who moved).

5 / Zodiac Sign Constellation Necklace ($28+): I can’t get over how dainty and pretty these are. All you need to know is someone’s birthday and it feels totally unusual and sweet.

6 / Ugg Slippers ($63-104): I bought these & can’t get over how much I love them. Incredibly soft & well made – plus you can buy $15 inserts to keep them fluffy forever (I’ve heard from people who’ve had ’em 8 years!).

7 / Cheeky Mug ($18): A hilarious mug filled with candy, hot cocoa mix, or an adult beverage is always fun. Plus pants are super overrated.

8 / Cozy Plaid Pillow Covers ($20 w/ code CHEER): Love that these are colorful & interesting enough not to feel basic, but they’d work with practically any sofa, armchair, or bed.

9 / Faux Leather Tote with Matching Pouch ($49): I’m so into this cool metallic finish & that it’s two bags in one. Also comes in black, cognac, and a cool blue-gray.

10 / Men’s Puffer Vest ($30): John loves this vest he got for himself this year and we even found a matching long-sleeve jacket ($14 today!) for our son. Fun fact: when they wear ’em together my heart explodes.

11 / Wood Apple Watch Charging Stand ($42): When I asked John what he thought I should add to this gift guide, this is the first thing he sent me. Think it’s a hint?

12 / Dainty Name Ring ($22 – 30% off today): Yet another totally personalized gift idea, and it comes in rose gold, white gold, sterling silver, etc.

13 / Personalized Leather Keychain ($19): These stamped leather keychains come in tons of colors, and you can put someone’s nickname or even a place on it (like “Pink House” or “Smith Manor”)

14 / Bucket Tool Organizer ($29): Such a great gift for anyone with a home, pretty much. Suddenly you can carry 20 tools that would take 10 trips.

15 / Wubby Fleece Pullover ($50 – 35% off today): I don’t think I need to explain why this cozy fleece pullover would be everyone’s favorite, but I’ll just say this: it’s like wearing a cloud (with pockets!).

16 / Faux Leather Circle Clutch ($28): This is one of those items in your closet that pulls together tons of outfits and looks pricier than it is. That wood ring! Real leather! I’m smitten.

17 / Pocket Bluetooth Speaker ($20): I’d love a bluetooth speaker like this on the bathroom sink for blasting hiphop while I shower (comes in blue & gray).

18 / Coffee Table Dominoes Game ($21 – 40% off w/ code CHEER): These are so beautiful and actually functional! I’d put ’em in a pretty wood bowl on the coffee table for impromptu games.

Gifts For Kids

Once again we put things we actually own and love in here, along with stuff we’re buying our kids this year, or considering for other little cousins & friends.

1 / Sailing Ship Kit ($42): Words can’t express how much fun this would be to hang in kid’s room – and it’s an actual kite, so it can come down and fly.

2 / Personalized Crayon Set ($13): It’s so much fun to open a box and see your name in crayons – especially if you have a name that isn’t always found on those premade signs and keychains!

3 / Coloring Book Dress ($38): Who doesn’t want to color all over a coloring book dress and make it completely your own?! LOVE this!

4 / Instant Camera ($56): Such a fun way to get kids into photography, and see the world through their eyes!

5 / DIY Ukelele Kit ($39): Our daughter’s actually learning the ukelele in school (no more recorder concerts! They switched!!!). She’d LOVE THIS.

6 / Classic Lego Set ($28): Our kids have only ever had John’s hand-me-down Lego blocks from his childhood, so we love that they now sell these huge basic block sets (without the price markup for licensed characters!)

7 / Ada Twist, Scientist ($15): We’ve already got Iggy Peck, Architect in our library and it’s GREAT. Next I want this one.

8 / My Crazy Inventions Sketchbook ($14): We bought this book and our daughter filled it up with the coolest sketches & inventions – so great for imaginations & I’m keeping it forever.

9 / Wreck This Journal ($12): We recently found a YouTuber who documented her entries in this interactive (and destructive!) journal. It’s full of fun prompts and such a cool concept.

10 / Wooden Cash Register ($31): Pretend play is big at our house, so a cash register is one of those things that would get so much use. Love that it’s wood and has a scanner & a credit card you can slide.

11 / Unicorn Robe ($30): My robe lovin’ self has rubbed off on our daughter and she’s asked for a robe for herself! I LOVE IT.

12 / Dragon Slippers ($21): Not to be outdone in coziness, our son has dinosaur slippers that he wears nonstop. So as weird as it sounds, fun plush slippers can make a great gift!

13 / Felt Donut Play Food ($9): So cute and under $10! Everyone loves a donut… and you’d be amazed how many of these their stuffed animals will “eat” ;)

14 / Bear Body Pillow ($15): A big cuddly pillow that doubles as an animal friend is always a good idea.

15 / Unstable Unicorns Game ($20): This game says 14+ on box, but reviewers say 8 year olds enjoy it, so we think it’s a great option for our Exploding Kittens-loving 3rd grader.

16 / Metro Wooden Blocks ($90 now – it used to be $150!): Ok, this is just about the coolest block set I’ve ever seen! And I love that it’s 40% off right now.

17 / Custom Kid’s Letter Jacket ($26): How cute is this custom kids letter jacket?! Ours love anything with their names on them – and a jacket is so useful along with being fun.

18 / Girls’ Charm Bracelet Set ($5): Nostalgia forever!!! Our daughter has and loves her charm bracelet. And at $5 this one isn’t too precious.

Gifts Under $15

Here’s my favorite list to make each year, just because I’m always amazed at how many budget-friendly things are out there that’ll make so many people smile BIG.

1 / Hex Tile Monogram Mug ($10): These are basically the beach house master bathroom in mug form! Fill ’em with candy or cocoa mix & marshmallows and they’re great gifts!

2 / Lumps of Coal Dog Treats ($5.50): Can’t forget our favorite four-leggers and these dog treats shaped like lumps of coal made me snicker.

3 / Gold Palm Picture Frame ($10.49): Giving someone you love a personal photo (of their kids, you guys together, etc) in a lovely frame is always a hit. I’m also loving this scalloped bone frame ($10.49).

4 / Plaid Frame Ornaments ($3.99!!!): Such a great grandparent gift with a photo of you or your kids or even some art they’ve drawn. We give them to both of our parents every year.

5 / Mini Kitchen Tool Ornaments ($12.99): So cute for the chef or the baker in your life! The little wisk kills me.

6 / Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix ($9): These make such great neighbor gifts. Just wrap a ribbon around the lid and you’re done!

7 / Beard Oil ($14.99): John’s a die-hard beard oil enthusiast. So if you know and love someone with a beard, give ’em some and watch their face light up with joy.

8 / Pink Resin Hoop Earrings ($12.99): I love the cool shape of these & they come in other colors (also love the white & the tortoise ones!)

9 / Question-A-Day Five Year Journal ($11.55): If you wish you journaled more, this makes it easy and shows you how much can change over 5 years. It’s lots of fun to go back and read it.

10 / Faux Leather Crossbody Bag ($12 – down from $25): I have a camel colored crossbody bag this size and it’s still going strong! Goes with everything and I love the little latch hardware on this one.

11 / Faux Fur Pom Pom Beanie ($9 down from $22): I love a little knitted winter hat with a pompom (surprise I have one just like this in black).

12 / Sprinkle Ice Cream Cups (4 for $4.97!!!!): I love gifts that you pair with something fun – so these cups all nested with a little container of sprinkles inside would be so sweet. And you can’t beat the price!

13 / Rainbow Catnip Seed Bombs ($14.95): I love the idea of planting these outside (or inside in a pot) to show your cat a good time. They also sell sets to grow wildflowers or herbs which also make good gifts.

14 / Nesting Heart Tray Trio (3 for $4.99!!!): Such a sweet gift for someone to put near the kitchen or bathroom sink for their rings. They also work for tea bags if you serve tea a lot.

15 / What Do You Meme? Expansion Packs ($12.99): We have and love the original game ($29.99), so we’ve been considering adding packs like this Housewives themed one ($12.99) or this Mean Girls version ($12.99).

16 / Plaid Pet Leash ($10.49): Another gift for a four legged friend in your life, and I love the design of this one. Fancy pup.

17 / Slim Wallet ($12.99): John bought this a few months ago and LOVES it. Keeps his pockets from getting too bulky, and it’s incredibly well reviewed.

18 / Ugg Sheepskin Shoe Inserts ($14.95): I mentioned these when I linked to my Ugg slippers, but even if you don’t have them… YOU CAN PUT THESE IN ANY SHOES TO MAKE ‘EM COZY! Rain boots. Flat old slippers. Winter boots. Etc. It’s a lifehack for real.

19 / Pocket Notebook (2 for $10): I love pretty little notebooks! Always useful for keeping in your purse or the car or by the bed.

20 / Gold Turtle Paperclip Holder ($14.99): So I have this thing with animal desk accessories…

21 / Tortoise Hoop Earrings ($12.99): I ADORE these so much I’m about to put them in my cart so they don’t sell out. Treat yo self!

And since there are some pretty great sales going on right now, here’s what I’ve found so far:

Pottery Barn – 25% off sitewide & free shipping – use the code JINGLE here

Crate & Barrel – Up to 70% off here

West Elm – 20% off furniture, 25% off rugs, and 20-50% off bedding, see it all here

CB2 – Up to 40% off furniture and holiday decor here

Target – Today only, 30% off home here

Urban Outfitters – Up to 50% off gift items here

Anthropologie – Up to 50% off ready-to-ship furniture here

Overstock – Up to 70% off & free shipping here

Rejuvenation – 20% off your order & free shipping here

World Market – Save an extra 30% with code REWARDFORYOU here

Serena & Lily – Up to 30% off here

Old Navy – Gifts from $4 and up to 60% the entire store here

Banana Republic – 40% off your purchase here

Gap – 40% off your purchase with the code WINTERFUN here

J Crew – 50% off your entire purchase with code MONDAY here

Psst – To see last year’s lists, a lot of which is still linked and for sale, click here

*This post contains affiliate links*

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additionallysad · 6 years ago

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Holiday Gift Guides for Everyone On Your List (With Stuff under $20 – And Even $5!) https://ift.tt/2PrVYOI