whitecatgraycatblackcat

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

^ this right here. It’s why I’m less than concerned about ChatGPT or any of the others being able to take over jobs, especially computer science ones. It can’t truly learn anything; right now it’s mostly just very very good at finding relationships and correlations between words. Which makes it sound highly intelligent, but doesn’t mean that it has the same reasoning abilities as actual people

hi, i'm going into higher education for computer science and i'm worried about code generating AI taking my future from me, is this a valid fear or will we still be needed in the future?

I dont think anyone knows.

But im sure of one thing. AI is a prose generator not a knowledge generator.

It is great to create generic code, but AI is not gonna help you with that one specific error you're getting. And real life work is more about specific errors than generic ones.

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

comics about my cats

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

Fictober 2021, Day 7

Prompt: “Didn’t we already have this conversation?”

Original Fiction

Rating: PG

Warnings: None

Word Count: 237

“Didn’t we already have this conversation?” “Nooooo.” Kina shifted her gaze over as she replied so she didn’t have to keep eye contact with Tephi. “Not this exact conversation at least.” Tephi sighed. “Kina come on. You know how these things work. We can’t rush it.” Kina looked up at him with her best approximation of puppy eyes. “We can’t just skip all the formalities?” Tephi sighed again, even deeper, then stepped forward to hold Kina’s face in his hands and look her in the eyes. “Don’t make this harder than it already is, Kina. You know I’m as impatient as you and would skip it if I could.”

She looked down, abashed, and replied, “Sorry Tephi. It’s just, frustrating. All of these traditions that take so long, and…” Tephi kissed her on the forehead, then released her face and reached down to hold one of her hands. “I know, Kina, I know. Just think of it this way - we can savor our time left as not-technically-married-yet people. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We’ll have all the time in the world to be now-married people after the ceremony.” Kina rolled her eyes. “Always looking for that positive view, Tephi. Of course, that is why I love you.” She pulled him down to grin at him, then kissed him on the cheek. “Come on, I think these not-technically-married-yet people have more planning to do.” He grinned and followed her.

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

Fictober 2021, Day 5

Prompt: “I’m not saying I told you so…”

Original Fiction

Rating: G

Warnings: None

Word Count: 100

“I’m not saying I told you so…BUT I TOLD YOU SO. Come on Sam, haven’t you learned anything?” She looked up at me, regret in her eyes. “Fine, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so harsh. I just hate seeing you like this.” She continued to look at me, waiting for my anger to subside. I shook my head and sighed. “Really, it’s fine, okay?” I decided I had berated her enough, so I reached down and pulled her out of the vase, cuddling her in my arms as I scratched her under the chin. “You’re such a troublemaker.”

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

Fictober 2021, Day 4

Prompt: “Fine, I give up”

Original Fiction

Rating: PG

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1,650

“Fine, I give up.” Lila slammed the wrench down as hard as she could, which wasn’t actually very hard since she only had about 8 inches of clearance between her and the engine above her, and scooted over. Mez picked up the wrench and moved over to where Lila had been and started adjusting some of the bolts as she replied, “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it? You really ought to work on asking others for help, Lila.” Lila huffed and replied, “But if I always ask for help how am I ever supposed to figure things out on my own?” Mez sighed and replied, “By seeing their solution”. She stopped fiddling with the engine and started scooting toward the edge so she could get out from underneath the engine.

Lila looked at her, then back at the engine. “Are you done already?” Mez replied, “Yep.” Lila moved over again, looking at where Mez had been working as she asked, “What was the issue?” Lila could hear the smile in Mez’s reply. “The bolts weren’t screwed in correctly. They’re reverse bolts - you were just turning them the wrong way.” Lila frowned as she worked her way to the edge of the engine. “Seriously!? Why didn’t you tell me?” She popped out and stood up to face Mez right as Mez replied. “Because you’re too arrogant, Lila.” Mez spoke softly, but Lila could hear the seriousness in her tone.

Mez continued, “Lila, you’re one of the best engineers I know. Certainly better than I was at your age, and you could probably give me a run for my money right now, bolts not withstanding. But you need to learn to ask for help. You won’t always be able to fix things on your own.” Lila stood, angry and a bit stunned. Mez had reprimanded her before, but not usually like this. Lila knew she was good at her job, and couldn’t understand why Mez was so insistent on her asking for help. She had proven that she could fix things by herself time and time again, but it seemed like Mez just didn’t get it.

After a second Mez said in a more chipper tone, “Now come over here, I have some news for you. Carrot after the stick, right?” Mez sat down on a bench by the wall and patted the seat next to her. Lila thought about storming off, but something in Mez’s tone told her it would probably be worth it to see what she had to say. She sat down cautiously, still trying to fight down her anger. “What is it?”

Mez replied, “I know you think I’m hard on you, and I am, but it’s because I have high expectations for you. A new position as a senior engineer has opened up, and I’m recommending you for the position.” Lila’s mouth gaped, and she stared at Mez for a second before regaining her senses. “What? But isn’t there, like, an age limit? Don’t you have to be, like, over 30?” Mez grinned, obviously pleased to have shocked Lila. “Nope, people just normally aren’t skilled enough to be able to be one until then. You know I think you have faults --I just mentioned them -- but you are extremely skilled and deserve to be a contender for this position.” Lila continued to stare at Mez for a moment, then in a sudden movement reached over and wrapped Mez in a big hug. “Mez I can’t believe you thank you so much I promise you won’t regret it I…” She had to stop to take a deep breath then continued, “Thank you.” Mez awkwardly patted her back. “You’re welcome Lila. You’ve earned it.”

They talked a little longer, discussing the process and how things would proceed. Lila was practically walking on air as she went back to her room. Her, the youngest senior engineer ever at 26.

Lila continued to walk on air the next day. She couldn’t stop thinking about the new areas of the engine rooms she’d get to explore as a senior engineer, and all the benefits that would entail as well. She was doing basic maintenance on a piece of the engine deep within one of the small engine rooms when she noticed a small light flashing on the control panel. She went over to look and realized there was a small problem with one of the circuits. She took a closer look and could see the problem. Typically this would be someone else’s job, and she hadn’t worked on something like this before per se, but she had seen Mez work on them plenty of times before. She was confident she’d be able to figure it out.

She started to fiddle with it, and right when she thought she had it sorted, she heard a loud “Vmmmmm” noise start up, and continue to grow in volume. Oh no. She ran over to the control panel, and now there were numerous lights flashing. Turns out she hadn’t fixed the problem at all, but had managed to make it worse. “Shoot shoot shoot.” Lila couldn’t help muttering under her breath as she ran back to the wire. She knew she should go get someone’s help -- the alarm blaring was a deep bass that shook the whole ship, which meant it was a serious problem -- but she couldn't help thinking, “I’ll just try one more thing.” Sure, she had caused the problem, but if she could also solve it she could at least hold her head up high when she had to explain. She really didn’t want to lose her chance at senior engineer.

She was on her sixteenth “just one more try” when she heard someone pound into the room. “Lila!” It was Mez, and she sounded upset. “How long have you been in there? You need to get out!” It only took a moment for Lila to understand what Mez meant. She had forgotten -- volatile parts of the engine like this were purposely partitioned into small rooms, so that they could be sealed off in cases of emergency. The main system would cut all power to that piece, and stop receiving power from it, so that it could either cool itself down, or if that wasn’t possible its explosion would be confined to that room. The doors would automatically shut after two minutes. Shoot, how long had she been in here?

She tried to think, tried to check the control panel for a timer, but before she could Mez ran into the room, slamming against the engine because she hadn’t even tried to slow herself. She immediately shoved Lila out of the room as she yelled “Get out!” Lila stumbled, taking a few steps to steady herself out of the room. She immediately turned to try and pull Mez out of the room -- “Mez!” but as she did the doors slammed shut. Her last glance had been of Mez, trying to run back to the door. Lila stood, stunned for a moment, then ran over to beat on the doors. “Mez! Mez!” Of course, Mez wouldn’t be able to hear her, and she wouldn’t be able to hear Mez. The doors were sealed, and were guaranteed to contain a near nuclear explosion. They wouldn’t unlock until it was safe to re-enter - either because it had cooled down from its current state, or had exploded and then cooled. Either way Mez’s chances weren’t good. Even if it didn’t explode, it was likely that the engine would superheat the room, killing Mez.

She paced in front of the door, desperately trying to think of how she could get the doors open, of anything she could do to help. Of course, there was nothing. There was literally nothing she could do to help. After a moment the other engineers ran in, and Mez told them what happened. They gave her a pat on the shoulder, then slowly walked out. They knew there was nothing they could do until the doors unlocked.

Every second felt like an eternity, but eventually Lila saw the light by the door blink, and knew she could open the door. She could, but she wasn’t sure if she would be able to. She walked over slowly, trying to remember if Mez would be able to open the door from the inside, if she was still alive.

She got her answer sooner than expected -- as she approached, the door slid open. Lila was afraid to look, afraid to hope, but her eyes were drawn to the door. She took one step, two, then saw Mez step out of the room with a lopsided grin on her face. “Hi Lila.” Lila choked, then ran forward to encase Mez in a hug, tears streaming down her face. “Mez, how, what, how’d you..” Her voice caught in her throat and she couldn’t speak anymore. Mez patted her back gently.

Even through her tears Lila could hear the wry tone in Mez’s voice. “What, you didn’t think I’d heroically sacrifice myself to save you like they do in the movies, did you?” Lila choked out a laugh, then pulled away from Mez, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Seriously Mez, how are you okay?” She scanned Mez up and down, looking for any wounds, anything wrong, then looked past her into the room. Her mouth gaped. Mez looked pristine, but the room looked like a bomb had gone off. She shot her glance back at Mez. “Seriously, how…?” Mez smiled. “There are reasons that only senior engineers can work on certain parts of the engines Lila. There’s also a reason I told you to ask for help. You can’t be an expert in everything.” Lila just nodded her head silently. “I’m sorry Mez. I’m really sorry.” Mez patted her back. “I know Lila. Let’s go get a cup of tea. I think we could both use one.”

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

Fictober 2021, Day 3

Prompt: “I’ve waited for this.”

Original Fiction

Rating: G

Warnings: None

Word Count: 100

“I’ve waited for this.” Mati looked over at Dawn. “Oh yeah?” She smirked. “Yep. We’re finally alone together, where no one is likely to interrupt us.” He scooted closer. “Oh, yeah?” She nodded. “Yep. I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment and I think this is it.” She reached down to her purse, pulled something out, and put it into his hand. “It’s a durian flavored candy, and I wanted to try it with you. I only had two, so.” She shrugged, and he could see the glint in her eyes as she asked, “What, were you expecting something else?”

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

Fictober 2021, Day 2

Prompt: “You have no proof.”

Original Fiction

Rating: PG

Warnings: None

Word Count: 100

“You have no proof.” I could feel the tension in Wesley’s reply. He had just been accused of a murder, and I could tell he was trying to keep calm. “It wasn’t me.” Of course, that’s what anyone in his position would say. Even as well as I knew him, it was hard to tell whether he was lying or not. Of course I hoped he wasn’t, but it didn’t look good for him. He might have to pay the ultimate price. And I really didn’t want that - then he’d have to sit out for the rest of the game.

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

Fictober 2021, Day 1

Prompt: “I need you”

Original Fiction

Rating: PG

Warnings: None

Word Count: 894

“I need you”. It took me a second to register that Nell was talking to me. I looked up and pointed at myself to confirm. “Me?” She rolled her eyes, grabbed me by the arm, and pulled me up from my chair and away from the desk. “Yes, come on.” I looked around, sure that others would be staring at Nell asking me, of all people, for help. To my surprise, and relief, no one was looking at me and were instead focused on their computers, trying to get work done. Then again, it was late in the day, when people started to feel crunched for time. Another reason why I had been surprised by her asking me for help. I stumbled after her for a few steps until she let go of my arm and I could catch up and ask, “What do you need?” She glanced down at me, then back up and replied, “A favor.” We were headed toward the break room, but Nell walked past that and out into the parking lot. She didn’t appear to have any intention of stopping, so I couldn’t help asking, “How far are we going?” She replied, “Just a little further” as she walked around the side of the building to a small grassy area with a bench and sat down. 

She patted the bench next to her expectantly as she looked up at me. I sat down slowly and asked, “Uh, what do you need? And why did we need to go all the way out here?” She looked away for a second and then said, “Well, it’s a private matter and I didn’t really want to be overhead.” I asked, “And you couldn’t have waited until the end of the day?” She smiled, “No, it’s a bit time sensitive.” I looked down at my watch - 4:06pm - then looked back up at her, waiting. She took a deep breath, then said, “I need someone to watch my cat over the weekend.” I stared, flabbergasted. She had taken me outside the building to ask if I could watch her cat? What was I missing? I nodded. “Sure, I can watch her. Do you need me to get her after work?” Nell nodded, “Yeah, I had someone lined up but it didn’t work out.” I sat for a moment looking at her. “So, uh, why me? We don’t exactly talk much at work.” She glanced around before replying quietly, “Well, my cat requires a certain amount of, care.” She put an emphasis on care, but that still didn’t help me. “So? I’m pretty sure I’m known as the least responsible person at work.” She sighed and kept her voice quiet as she replied, “Yes, but I suspect that’s for a reason separate from you.” Now it was my turn to feel uncomfortable. I gave a nervous laugh and said, “Yeah, I’d like to think so.” She stared at me this time. “Bea, don’t be so dense. I can tell.” I could feel the color drain from my face but I tried to play it cool. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Nell.” I tried to change topics -  “What else do I need to know about taking care of your cat, since you seem intent on me watching her?” Nell looked at me intently then said, “Sorry, I really shouldn’t have been so cryptic.” 

She waved her forefinger back and forth in a few quick directions, almost as if conducting an orchestra, then touched her forefinger to the back of my hand. The back of my hand gave a brief glow, then a small symbol appeared and then disappeared. I immediately knew both what I needed about the cat, and why she had asked me in particular to watch her. I looked up at her, my eyes wide. “How-- what-- uh?” She grinned, and for once I could see the smile in her eyes - turns out she was friendlier than she normally appeared at work. “I was sort of hoping you had noticed that we were both witches but, uh, apparently not. Anyway, now you know why I need you to watch her.” I just nodded. “Yeah, it’d be a bit awkward to ask Reilly to watch your demon cat. Anyway, I guess I can handle it.” I glanced down at my hand. “One thing you didn’t include - how nice is she?” Nelly grinned again. “Uh, kind of nice?” She shrugged. “She hasn’t seriously harmed anyone in a while.” I just sighed. “Of course.” I glanced over at her as I had a sudden thought. “Wait a second, how do you keep things up at work? You seem so calm and collected, and are always going above and beyond with your work. I, well, you know how well I do at work.” She smiled and replied, “You just need to learn the right spells. We can get lunch sometime if you want and I’ll explain. It took me a while to realize that you were a witch, or I probably would have said hi sooner.” She glanced at her watch, then got up. “Well, we should probably head back. We can walk over to my place after work if that’s okay with you.” I nodded as I stood up to follow her. Who knew I’d find another witch at my company, of all places.

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

catcrumb in captivity

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

something seems familiar

twitter | dA | patreon | redbubble | kofi

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

I am the greatest earthbender in the world! And don’t you dunderheads ever forget it!

AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER (2005 - 2008)

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

its fun to draw cats when you dont know cat anatomy 

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

Yknow the thing where red pandas just lay down on a branch and let their legs hang and they’re just like vibing

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

Signe du zodiaque chinois : le bœuf

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

When they want to be close to you more than sit for your picture 

(Source)

[whitecatgraycatblackcat]

Marie Kondo is full of anecdotes about the weird ass shit that she not only lets people keep but encourages them to elevate in their lives. She says one of her clients ended the process with a bedroom full of vintage pinball machines because what sparks joy in that particular woman was basically sleeping in the middle of an arcade.

Marie Kondo would never make you throw away your weird shit! She wants you to pare down to just your weird shit.