#General Consumer Electronics

[miscpav]

Retrofuturism: A Trip to the Future of the Past! | Sleepcore

Sleepcore goes on vacation with A Trip to the Future of the Past, a collection of touristy retrofuturism!

[21st-century-minutiae]

Graphical capacity is measured in pixel density. The more pixels per unit space, the finer the level of detail possible. A '4k' monitor is a display device with around 4000 pixels horizontally. This can imply very small pixels or a very large screen. '4k graphics' refers to visual output that produces images designed for an image with about 4000 pixels horizontally. Smaller/lower resolution monitors are incapable of displaying 4k graphics, as they need to combine the pixel information together to shrink it to fit. High resolution monitors can display low resolution images just fine by extrapolating the image, or by using less space to display it.

High resolution graphics require greater processing power, more computer memory, and better graphics drivers. This can reduce performance by making the computer slower or to have a lower time resolution (fps), or it can be handled with more and more expensive hardware. Generating high resolution, realistic graphics requires extremely expansive image modelling. Each step up in finer levels of detail requires more and more simulation or texture modelling to get the diminishing returns. All this compounds to make older generations of computers obsolete.

Comparatively, lower resolution effects have exponentially lower requirements. The cost is that, once one has been exposed to higher resolution graphics, it appears less realistic. This race to the bottom/top is well known in the early twenty-first century computer and game enthusiasts.

As a direct reaction, 'indie' graphics have risen in popularity. By producing stylized output, one can create very enjoyable low resolution graphics that don't look 'wrong.' It is only when one is attempting to produce 'realistic' graphics that there is the infinite resolution problem.

unironically the constant push for higher-fidelity graphics in games is so frustrating. there's no breathing room for PC or console hardware. any and all gains in hardware performance are immediately mulched by developers deciding their game needs to be 210gb and run at 8k resolutions with completely unoptimized high-resolution textures for every fucking thing on screen and also every light needs to have 4k dynamic shadow maps and volumetric effects and there's egregious particle effects all over the place

[poojagblog-blog]

The global Brushless DC Motor Market is expected to reach USD 17.6 billion by 2028 from USD 12.1 billion in 2023 at a CAGR of 7.9% during the 2023–2028 period according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets™. The increasing adoption of Brushless DC motors is driven by their precise speed control, low maintenance requirements, and high efficiency. Brushless DC motors offer enhanced reliability, reduced electromagnetic interference, and compact designs, making them essential in applications where these attributes are critical, such as in medical devices, aerospace, and automation equipment.

[virtualrealitynewstoday]

META虛擬現實更進一步：Meta Avatar SDK更新，引入內向外身體追蹤與生成腿部動作

Meta近日宣布推出內向外身體追蹤（Inside-Out Body Tracking, IOBT）技術，這是首個專為Quest 3設計的基於視覺的追蹤系統，用於映射上半身動作。除此之外，Meta還發布了一項激動人心的更新——生成腿部動作（Generative Legs），這項功能現在支援所有Quest設備。IOBT大幅提升了在健身、戰鬥和社交場景中的追蹤精準度，而生成腿部則讓開發者更容易創建全身角色，而非僅有半身的表現。 這些身體追蹤能力現已作為v60版本的一部分公開發布，它們將幫助開發者為各種虛擬現實（VR）和混合現實（MR）體驗創造出更真實、更生動��動作。這是VR頭戴式設備首次推出此類功能，Meta期待用戶開始實驗這些新功能。 在動作遊戲和健身應用中提升動作精準度 IOBT（僅限Meta Quest…

[omegaphilosophia]

Gender and Environmental Impact: Analyzing Consumer Habits

Waste generation and consumer habits are not inherently gender-specific. Both men and women can contribute to waste generation based on their lifestyle choices, consumption patterns, and cultural factors. Waste is more related to individual behavior and societal trends than to gender. However, there may be some consumer habits that are more commonly associated with one gender or the other, but these are generalizations and do not apply universally:

Consumer Habits Not Exclusive to Either Gender:

Single-Use Plastics: Both men and women use products like plastic water bottles, disposable cutlery, and plastic bags that contribute to single-use plastic waste.

Electronics and E-Waste: Electronic devices and gadgets, such as smartphones and computers, contribute to electronic waste (e-waste) when disposed of improperly. This is not gender-specific.

Fast Fashion: The fashion industry generates significant textile waste, and consumers of all genders may contribute to this issue through frequent clothing purchases.

Consumer Habits Often Associated with Women:

Cosmetics and Beauty Products: Women may use cosmetics, skincare, and personal care products, which can sometimes be packaged in non-recyclable or excessive packaging.

Fashion: Some women may be more involved in fashion trends and fast fashion, which can lead to clothing waste.

Consumer Habits Often Associated with Men:

Electronics and Gadgets: Men may be more inclined to purchase electronic gadgets, which can contribute to e-waste if not recycled properly.

Automobiles and Mechanical Equipment: Men may be more likely to engage in hobbies or professions that involve machinery and vehicles, which can generate waste like used motor oil and parts.

It's important to note that these associations are based on stereotypes and do not apply to all individuals. People of all genders can make sustainable choices to reduce waste, such as opting for eco-friendly products, recycling, and reducing unnecessary consumption. Environmental responsibility is a shared goal that transcends gender, and addressing waste issues requires collective action and awareness regardless of gender.

[argumate]

a lot of people don't like AI and that leads them to claim that it can't possibly work, which is silly as they don't have any good reason to believe that and we know for a fact that human-level intelligence is possible because we've seen humans do it.

technically we don't know that superhuman intelligence is possible as we've never seen that before (although we have seen it in specialised domains, like chess, go, general recall and so on), but I have a hunch that there are machines that can think better than humans can as they aren't subject to the same design constraints, can be built from alternative materials, don't need to eat, their brain doesn't need to fit through a human pelvis, etc.

however even if we can only make a machine as smart as Einstein then that would still be pretty cool, I mean Einstein couldn't figure out quantum mechanics but it would be neat to have an Einstein available on demand to tutor you at school or handle your customer service requests or whatever it is you needed.

people who don't like AI also claim that it will destroy the environment, which is unlikely, not least because we know that AI doesn't need to consume more resources than people do and probably a lot less: you should be able to run a couple of Einsteins on your laptop and you're already using that now for sillier things.

another claim is that the companies currently pushing AI will lose money, and that's more plausible as companies lose money on big projects all the time; but it seems like a good outcome for everyone else? let overly optimistic investors fund the research and development of AI while we all get the benefit, that's great!

of course the ultimate fear is that AI works too well and the people who own it now end up owning everything else too, the smug bastards, but wealth disparity is a problem unrelated to AI and one that we should already be trying to fix right now.

it's important not to base your political activism on false claims as they can discredit your platform; the best reason for doing something is ideally true.

we have had ample warning that human-level machine intelligence is coming -- it was inevitable as soon as electronic switches were developed, and Turing's famous paper on the subject turns 75 this year -- but people have resisted the idea in the same way that they resist the implications of humans being assemblages of molecules that can be analysed mechanistically, a resistance that compromises their comprehension of the world and their ability to shape it.

[thewritingfairy]

Wait- Tim care? 🥺

I love you!! I love you so much!!

I saw stories where niglacted reader where Damian cares, Where Jason cares, Alfred (even though he will prioritize the others or he is Yandere and want to have all the reader's time), Steph, Cass, But never Tim and Dick (no. I found a bot where you are neglected and have a good relationship with Dick when AI still just came and I was still trying to understand how it works).

I love Tim and I always feel they did him bad when they portrayed him as seeing someone getting neglected and simply doing nothing.

He knows the pain, he'd act even if it's just in the shadows!!

Thank you for this. 🥹 You made my day.

And can I be 😶‍🌫️anon? I'll drop some asks from time to time.

You get it!! Tim was way too self-aware to ever neglect (Name) without thinking it through. It sounds weird. But hear me out.

Tim knows the damage of the viligante business, and he knows the damage of neglect. But he had a hard time acknowledging his trauma around that, he still doesn't believe he has been abused from time to time. So he brought the two on a scale, and he decided that neglecting you was the best way to protect you.

He thought that's why Bruce ignored you, that he wanted one child that was free from the shakles of their morals and life style. But after Jason's crime he realises, that was never what happened. You're neglected in the same way he was. But he doesn't know how to bring this to Bruce's attention as he fears his love will disappear (which isn't a justifable reason but trauma makes us do crazy shit). So Tim feels like all he can is support you from the sidelines, he just wishes he could make you feel better.

And as I said before, Tim would never ignore your physical pain, but Cassandra would (before she becomes a yandere and before she understands what's going on with you). Tim isn't mentally well, he has never been after his parents neglect. So he cannot help but admire how strong you stand, but he also cannot help the guilt in his stomach as he realises in what pain you are. Not just physically, but emotionally as well.

(Tim was also the one that suggested replicating your room and tried to fix your heirlooms, but since most were centuries old jewerly ect. he didn't want to really do anything without your premission so he just fixed the necklace your mom gave you when you turned 4 and extended the chain so that you could still wear it)

(also edit, idk if you know but AI is incredibly damaging to the environment, they create a lot of electronic waste and consume a lot of water. And story bots collect data like it's a snack. Im against the usage of ai in general due to my internship and personal beliefs (ai art isn't art :) ai stories aren't stories either and by the love of everything that's holy STOP USING AI IN LEGAL FIELDS, now this has become a rant oopsie). I was also really naive when it came to ai, do i wanted to make sure you add this information in this post if anyone wants sources I'll find them and if needed translate them to English)

[are-we-art-yet]

Is AWAY using it's own program or is this just a voluntary list of guidelines for people using programs like DALL-E? How does AWAY address the environmental concerns of how the companies making those AI programs conduct themselves (energy consumption, exploiting impoverished areas for cheap electricity, destruction of the environment to rapidly build and get the components for data centers etc.)? Are members of AWAY encouraged to contact their gov representatives about IP theft by AI apps?

What is AWAY and how does it work?

AWAY does not "use its own program" in the software sense—rather, we're a diverse collective of ~1000 members that each have their own varying workflows and approaches to art. While some members do use AI as one tool among many, most of the people in the server are actually traditional artists who don't use AI at all, yet are still interested in ethical approaches to new technologies.

Our code of ethics is a set of voluntary guidelines that members agree to follow upon joining. These emphasize ethical AI approaches, (preferably open-source models that can run locally), respecting artists who oppose AI by not training styles on their art, and refusing to use AI to undercut other artists or work for corporations that similarly exploit creative labor.

Environmental Impact in Context

It's important to place environmental concerns about AI in the context of our broader extractive, industrialized society, where there are virtually no "clean" solutions:

The water usage figures for AI data centers (200-740 million liters annually) represent roughly 0.00013% of total U.S. water usage. This is a small fraction compared to industrial agriculture or manufacturing—for example, golf course irrigation alone in the U.S. consumes approximately 2.08 billion gallons of water per day, or about 7.87 trillion liters annually. This makes AI's water usage about 0.01% of just golf course irrigation.

Looking into individual usage, the average American consumes about 26.8 kg of beef annually, which takes around 1,608 megajoules (MJ) of energy to produce. Making 10 ChatGPT queries daily for an entire year (3,650 queries) consumes just 38.1 MJ—about 42 times less energy than eating beef. In fact, a single quarter-pound beef patty takes 651 times more energy to produce than a single AI query.

Overall, power usage specific to AI represents just 4% of total data center power consumption, which itself is a small fraction of global energy usage. Current annual energy usage for data centers is roughly 9-15 TWh globally—comparable to producing a relatively small number of vehicles.

The consumer environmentalism narrative around technology often ignores how imperial exploitation pushes environmental costs onto the Global South. The rare earth minerals needed for computing hardware, the cheap labor for manufacturing, and the toxic waste from electronics disposal disproportionately burden developing nations, while the benefits flow largely to wealthy countries.

While this pattern isn't unique to AI, it is fundamental to our global economic structure. The focus on individual consumer choices (like whether or not one should use AI, for art or otherwise,) distracts from the much larger systemic issues of imperialism, extractive capitalism, and global inequality that drive environmental degradation at a massive scale.

They are not going to stop building the data centers, and they weren't going to even if AI never got invented.

Creative Tools and Environmental Impact

In actuality, all creative practices have some sort of environmental impact in an industrialized society:

Digital art software (such as Photoshop, Blender, etc) generally uses 60-300 watts per hour depending on your computer's specifications. This is typically more energy than dozens, if not hundreds, of AI image generations (maybe even thousands if you are using a particularly low-quality one).

Traditional art supplies rely on similar if not worse scales of resource extraction, chemical processing, and global supply chains, all of which come with their own environmental impact.

Paint production requires roughly thirteen gallons of water to manufacture one gallon of paint.

Many oil paints contain toxic heavy metals and solvents, which have the potential to contaminate ground water.

Synthetic brushes are made from petroleum-based plastics that take centuries to decompose.

That being said, the point of this section isn't to deflect criticism of AI by criticizing other art forms. Rather, it's important to recognize that we live in a society where virtually all artistic avenues have environmental costs. Focusing exclusively on the newest technologies while ignoring the environmental costs of pre-existing tools and practices doesn't help to solve any of the issues with our current or future waste.

The largest environmental problems come not from individual creative choices, but rather from industrial-scale systems, such as:

Industrial manufacturing (responsible for roughly 22% of global emissions)

Industrial agriculture (responsible for roughly 24% of global emissions)

Transportation and logistics networks (responsible for roughly 14% of global emissions)

Making changes on an individual scale, while meaningful on a personal level, can't address systemic issues without broader policy changes and overall restructuring of global economic systems.

Intellectual Property Considerations

AWAY doesn't encourage members to contact government representatives about "IP theft" for multiple reasons:

We acknowledge that copyright law overwhelmingly serves corporate interests rather than individual creators

Creating new "learning rights" or "style rights" would further empower large corporations while harming individual artists and fan creators

Many AWAY members live outside the United States, many of which having been directly damaged by the US, and thus understand that intellectual property regimes are often tools of imperial control that benefit wealthy nations

Instead, we emphasize respect for artists who are protective of their work and style. Our guidelines explicitly prohibit imitating the style of artists who have voiced their distaste for AI, working on an opt-in model that encourages traditional artists to give and subsequently revoke permissions if they see fit. This approach is about respect, not legal enforcement. We are not a pro-copyright group.

In Conclusion

AWAY aims to cultivate thoughtful, ethical engagement with new technologies, while also holding respect for creative communities outside of itself. As a collective, we recognize that real environmental solutions require addressing concepts such as imperial exploitation, extractive capitalism, and corporate power—not just focusing on individual consumer choices, which do little to change the current state of the world we live in.

When discussing environmental impacts, it's important to keep perspective on a relative scale, and to avoid ignoring major issues in favor of smaller ones. We promote balanced discussions based in concrete fact, with the belief that they can lead to meaningful solutions, rather than misplaced outrage that ultimately serves to maintain the status quo.

If this resonates with you, please feel free to join our discord. :)

Works Cited:

USGS Water Use Data: https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/water-use-united-states

Golf Course Superintendents Association of America water usage report: https://www.gcsaa.org/resources/research/golf-course-environmental-profile

Equinix data center water sustainability report: https://www.equinix.com/resources/infopapers/corporate-sustainability-report

Environmental Working Group's Meat Eater's Guide (beef energy calculations): https://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/

Hugging Face AI energy consumption study: https://huggingface.co/blog/carbon-footprint

International Energy Agency report on data centers: https://www.iea.org/reports/data-centres-and-data-transmission-networks

Goldman Sachs "Generational Growth" report on AI power demand: https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/gs-research/generational-growth-ai-data-centers-and-the-coming-us-power-surge/report.pdf

Artists Network's guide to eco-friendly art practices: https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-business/how-to-be-an-eco-friendly-artist/

The Earth Chronicles' analysis of art materials: https://earthchronicles.org/artists-ironically-paint-nature-with-harmful-materials/

Natural Earth Paint's environmental impact report: https://naturalearthpaint.com/pages/environmental-impact

Our World in Data's global emissions by sector: https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector

"The High Cost of High Tech" report on electronics manufacturing: https://goodelectronics.org/the-high-cost-of-high-tech/

"Unearthing the Dirty Secrets of the Clean Energy Transition" (on rare earth mineral mining): https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/18/clean-energy-dirty-mining-indigenous-communities-climate-crisis

Electronic Frontier Foundation's position paper on AI and copyright: https://www.eff.org/wp/ai-and-copyright

Creative Commons research on enabling better sharing: https://creativecommons.org/2023/04/24/ai-and-creativity/

[mindblowingscience]

A phone screen you can't scratch no matter how many times you drop it; glasses that prevent glare; a windshield that doesn't get dusty. These are all possibilities thanks to a new way to produce sapphire. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have discovered techniques to bestow superpowers upon sapphire, a material that most of us think of as just a pretty jewel. But sapphire is seen as a critical material across many different areas, from defense to consumer electronics to next-generation windows, because it's nearly impossible to scratch.

Continue Reading.

[harumasa-wifey]

Hey! Glad that more people who love Zenless are here on tumblr. And I’ve been loving some characters but I’m trying to see if i really like Harumasa. So mind helping me out with some headcanons?

Harumasa with a dragon thiren reader who works a bookshop (and secretly is a proxy) who can summon wings, a tail, and a horn✨

Just general headcanons on how this relationship would be!

Harumasa x Dragon Thiren!Reader

Warning: none, not proofread!

Note: my ass had to skip and skimp through some parts so i was genuinely confused what a Thiren is then i found a post on reddit explaining what it is. Thank you for requesting and having patience!

At first he doesn't look like a guy who would visit a Bookshop so often but he does read books sometimes rather than the papers in office.

After hearing from yanagi that you keep some of the best books around the sixth Street oh well he had to visit

Though you keep your tail and wings hidden most of the time you wear a cloak around you a short one to keep it over your head to cover the horns it's energy consuming to hide them all the time.

You keep your bookstore in the vintage style! It's a good change of place without electronics around. ( A big ass lie)

Of course you were surprised by the first visit of yanagi even and now him got you thinking you might get behind the bars soon.

You really haven't done anything bad being a proxy quite the opposite you have helped people get out of the hollows and often retrieve lost items as commissions.

Your H.D.D is hidden in the storage room which is also filled with different type of books.

And The siblings are also in your contacts it's never bad to have back ups!

Although he was confused why you had your head covered he didn't question it.

He doesn't know why he found himself often around your bookshop it was almost alluring in a peaceful way.

He doesn't read much he often comes here to seek a nap on one of your reading places yet he has the membership to your shop.

Even your bangboo has become all familiar to him, it always knows it's him when there is only one knock on the door. ( He is too lazy to knock twice anyways lol)

Though your cover as a proxy didn't stay for long under his sharp eyes.

Well it's a whatever case now as you and the siblings were excused as a proxy by miyabi herself.

He never outright told you to show him what you actually are but he definitely hints at it sometimes.

And not to mention those pick up lines he drops every now and then from the books and movies he had watched.

Well of course there is nothing to hide from him now anyways. He was amused he has seen many thirens, an oni a cat, wolf and shark. However seeing a dragon was really amusing to him.

Get ready for the absolute amount of ridiculous questions to be asked. He is not holding back.

He definitely read about dragons in the books you have after that of course and his nap time at the shop is more peaceful than ever now.

He might have asked to see your tail sometimes out of curiosity. Feel free to refuse if you don't wanna go that far. But if you let him see he is amazed how well you hide yourself.

He says the horns on your head add to your charm.

He never saw you fight but he has you running around in your bangboo beside him in the hollow.

He definitely takes his power naps with your tail warped around him.

He has read about dragons banishing evil and bringing good luck so now you are named as "Lucky Charm" in his contacts. Only his lucky charm.

[whatudottu]

Introducing to you - made over the course of a few months - a visual guide to cybertronian pedipalps and proboscis!

The general gist and inspiration for such being of course the episode Thirst and the fact that, up until that point, dark energon did not have any mutagenic properties only (in the show) being utilitised to revive the dead. What if, instead of being a side effect of dark synth energon, dark energon just... reactivated dormant pedipalps (remnants of a more buggy pre-metamorphosis sparkling/protoform lifestage)?

A more comprehensive look is down below- and don't mind how it's exclusively 'Cons lmao :P

Starting off, I referenced CYLAS' canonical pedipalps to try and understand the shapes being used which resembles a lapping type mouth that bees have (so considering there is a tranformers character named Bumblebee it feels appropriate but he ISN'T HERE), let alone the flexible proboscis which I just made as a siphoning type from butterflies which; this is the wikipedia image I used to understand mouth parts :P

Breakdown himself wouldn't need to open his whole face in order to consume energon, given that he has an opening and closing jaw in addition to having the dexterity and power of limbs and a neck to not require lapping, but energon is still drunk through the proboscis like a straw.

Continuing onto characters that would NEED their pedipalps, vehicons and other faceless cold constructs (whether you have the belief every cold construct is faceless or they recently shifted to facelessness to save on costs) by technically did not metamorphose like forged mecha and thus their mouth parts have not gone dormant. Instead, their construction means they have not known anything other than pedipalps and proboscis, having no experience at all with facial expressions and thus not susceptible to phantom sensations.

Though their jaws do not have joints or at least do not have an opening to function like an enclosed mouth, vehicons still do have one on the basis of having a neck and a location to store their coiled proboscis when not in use.

Unlike other cybertronians - forged or constructed - empurata survivors have their heads and/or faces completely remolded and restructured where they do not have a functioning jaw. They have in it's stead a reconstruction of the original pedipalps formatted appropriately to the new head mould.

Monoptics like Shockwave do not have enough room in their helms to have a mouth-like structure at all, instead the neck is reconstructed to open with the pedipalps; the proboscis when fully extended appears longer in monoptics but that is due to the fact the opening is lower and closer to it's base. Nulloptics like Soundwave have their entire face replaced by their mouth, often covered up in seamless panels that give the appearance of a screen, up until the nulloptic actually replaces the panels to include the electronics necessary to protect and display visuals.

In average adult cybertronians however, the pedipalps remain dormant - at least in their use for eating - and are instead used to produce vocalisations alongside the proboscis (which still remains in use by function of the liquid energon diet), in addition to being used in expression in conjuction with the many servos operating within the faceplate. The reason why, despite the variety of things pedipalps can do now that they aren't being used to consume fuel, that empuratas and constructs cannot re/gain a face with the same ability and level of complexity of the average cybertronian is because of the hyperactive function of those very pedipalps.

Vehicons can - if they so choose - express visually through the exclusive use of their pedipalps, but factoring in a faceplate with all of it's own complicated servos intricately woven into each other, the faceplate lacks the ability to split along the seams of the pedipalps and would restrain their mobility and prevent the cold construct from refueling. Empurata have a similar issue with the addition of their lack of functioning jaws and their modified head structure preventing the synergy of a faceplate. Nulloptics' heads are functionally all mouth so the corresponding faceplate cannot have features for optics or ridges, and monoptics' pedipalp expression is on their neck and thus a faceplate that matches where the mouth in their case would be a very bizarre choker-

And that's all folks, hope you love my cybertronian pedipalps post :P

[probablyasocialecologist]

The flotsam and jetsam of our digital queries and transactions, the flurry of electrons flitting about, warm the medium of air. Heat is the waste product of computation, and if left unchecked, it becomes a foil to the workings of digital civilization. Heat must therefore be relentlessly abated to keep the engine of the digital thrumming in a constant state, 24 hours a day, every day. To quell this thermodynamic threat, data centers overwhelmingly rely on air conditioning, a mechanical process that refrigerates the gaseous medium of air, so that it can displace or lift perilous heat away from computers. Today, power-hungry computer room air conditioners (CRACs) or computer room air handlers (CRAHs) are staples of even the most advanced data centers. In North America, most data centers draw power from “dirty” electricity grids, especially in Virginia’s “data center alley,” the site of 70 percent of the world’s internet traffic in 2019. To cool, the Cloud burns carbon, what Jeffrey Moro calls an “elemental irony.” In most data centers today, cooling accounts for greater than 40 percent of electricity usage.

[...]

The Cloud now has a greater carbon footprint than the airline industry. A single data center can consume the equivalent electricity of 50,000 homes. At 200 terawatt hours (TWh) annually, data centers collectively devour more energy than some nation-states. Today, the electricity utilized by data centers accounts for 0.3 percent of overall carbon emissions, and if we extend our accounting to include networked devices like laptops, smartphones, and tablets, the total shifts to 2 percent of global carbon emissions. Why so much energy? Beyond cooling, the energy requirements of data centers are vast. To meet the pledge to customers that their data and cloud services will be available anytime, anywhere, data centers are designed to be hyper-redundant: If one system fails, another is ready to take its place at a moment’s notice, to prevent a disruption in user experiences. Like Tom’s air conditioners idling in a low-power state, ready to rev up when things get too hot, the data center is a Russian doll of redundancies: redundant power systems like diesel generators, redundant servers ready to take over computational processes should others become unexpectedly unavailable, and so forth. In some cases, only 6 to 12 percent of energy consumed is devoted to active computational processes. The remainder is allocated to cooling and maintaining chains upon chains of redundant fail-safes to prevent costly downtime.

[deusvervewrites]

Phantasm: could we get a list of quirks or, at least, a list of quirk types?

Oh good I was starting to worry I did all that work coming up with these for nothing. Some of these names are not finalized, by the way.

In order:

Ghost Puppet

A summonable entity that emerges from user's body and always remains connected to user. It resembles a doll made of bone with six arms, and possesses wolf-like features, including wolf skull head, as well as horns. While Ghost Puppet can sustain damage, it slowly reforms from even being completely destroyed so long as the user is still alive.

This Quirk is the base of Phantasm, and can be physically transplanted from one user to another.

Additionally, it has secondary mutations, including: increased hair growth, canid fangs and ears, and a tail made of bone. While Ghost Puppet is in use, the tail fills out with spectral fur.

Energy Drain

Five-point contact-based Quirk. Drains the life force of living things to empower the user, granting them enhanced physical ability, including minor regeneration, while the drained energy lasts. The strength of the enhancements depends on how much energy is being consumed; the user can burn through more energy at once to increase the potency.

A target drained this way withers, as if severely dehydrated.

Additionally, this Quirk has a secondary mutation, giving the user claw-like nails, like what Burnin has.

Blood Garden

This Quirk allows the user to spontaneously generate plants from their own spilled blood. Blood inside their body does not count. Plants created using this Quirk can have a variety of effects, from being edible to being carnivorous.

The user’s blood is unusually drawn towards nearby soil or plant life.

Switch Teleport

This Quirk swaps the position of the user and a target unobstructed object within range. Only works on a solid object—however, this does work on Ghost Puppet. Objects maintain their momentum; i.e. if he swaps with a moving object, it will continue moving.

Afterimage

This Quirk allows the user to leave behind an illusory duplicate when they move. This can be triggered by any movement on the part of the user, even if they’re still standing in the same place, allowing them to misdirect enemies or avoid attacks, in addition to leaving behind decoys.

Shadow Clairvoyance

While the user is engulfed in shadows, they can see from connected shadows. There is no maximum range on this Quirk, beyond that the shadows in question be connected together. However, it’s more of a strain on the user the further they are from their body, leading to increasingly debilitating migraines and temporary blindness.

Additionally, this Quirk has a secondary mutation, giving the user dark rings around their eyes, like La Brava.

Railgun

This Quirk gives the user control over electromagnetic forces, allowing them to manipulate nearby ferrous metals.

Additionally, this Quirk has a secondary mutation, giving the user a jagged streak of white hair, resembling a lightning bolt.

Blackout

This Quirk allows the user to disable nearby electronics.

Liquefaction

User produces a black ball of energy, no larger than a baseball. When this ball of energy is shoved into an object, that solid matter begins to behave more like liquid, eventually melting completely. The user, of course, is immune, so that they can, you know, shove it.

Hunter

This Quirk greatly enhances the senses of the user.

Emotion Manipulation

Allows the user to enhance or suppress the emotions of people they can see. The user can only manipulate one emotion at a time this way.

Additionally, while this Quirk is in use, the user's eyes glow in color corresponding to the emotion being manipulated.

Toxicloud

This Quirk allows the user to produce a thick, toxic purple cloud from their body. The toxin can be directed by the user to some extent, and the user can control the effectiveness of the toxin.

This Quirk provides high resistance to toxins and poisons, denoted by the skin turning purple until the toxin has worked its way out of the body, sort of like how Ashido's acid turns her skin pink.

Alchemy

Valdo's Quirk from the movie. The science of understanding, deconstructing, and reconstructing matter. However, it is not an all-powerful art. It is impossible to create something out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain something, something of equal value must be given. This is the law of equivalent exchange, the basis of all alchemy. In accordance with this law, there is a taboo among alchemists. Human transmutation is strictly prohibited. For what could equal the value of a human soul?

[texanmarcusdavenport]

Marcus concept I've had for a while:

A common problem with electronics is that they overheat. Marcus especially, being a highly advanced genAI (those generate heat like crazyyy) encased in a metal-and-silicone shell and capable of moving at hundreds of miles per hour, would need all sorts of cooling measures. Modern electronics deal with this problem in a variety of ways: coolant, fans, thermal paste, heat sinks, etc.

However, fans (and electronics in general) produce a lot of noise, and Marcus doesn't have a lot of areas open to the air where he could let off heat. So how does Marcus regulate temperature? My headcanon is that Marcus' "breathing" acts as a cooling system, carrying hot air outside while bringing in cool air and also helping cover the sound of his electrical components. He probably has a liquid cooling system as well, comprised of coolant (which is mostly water) and antifreeze. I've seen the headcanon that his coolant is red so when he's hurt he "bleeds".

What this means: instead of not breathing, Marcus' oddity is that he's ALWAYS breathing. Sometimes very quickly, but always steadily (unless the temperature is low). When he gets too hot, he probably shuts off to cool down, but he keeps breathing. He probably breathes while recharging as well. He needs regular water/antifreeze refills (insert my headcanon that he has a habit of consuming non-edible objects, lol). If he has a coolant system, then he probably has a pressure valve release as well, which will pop off and release a lot of steam if he gets too hot.

[beardedmrbean]

Legislation under the moniker “right to repair” has now been introduced in all 50 states, marking a major milestone in this grassroots consumer movement.

GNN has reported on the march of right to repair laws across the US, but also the kind of entrepreneurialism they engender: like an aftermarket auto parts company that makes replacements for well-known faulty components in automobiles.

Passed in New York, Minnesota, Colorado, California, and Oregon, Wisconsin just became the final US state to introduce some sort of right to repair laws.

In broad terms, all of these bills would generally guarantee a consumer’s right to access replacement parts for devices and machines, repair manuals or other relevant documents for expensive products, diagnostics data from original manufacturers, and even in some cases, such as automobiles, appropriate tools necessary for maintenance.

They may also ban the use of technological protection measures, sometimes called “software locks” that are designed to restrict repair only to authorized repair technicians.

“Americans are fed up with all the ways in which manufacturers of everything from toasters to tractors frustrate or block repairs, and lawmakers are hearing that frustration and taking action,” Nathan Proctor, right to repair director for consumer rights group PIRG, told 404 Media’s Jason Koebler, who has been tracking right to repair legislation for 10 years.

OF A SIMILAR SPIRIT: 580 Repair Shops Form a Flourishing Subculture Fixing Toasters, Electronics, Coffee Makers and Lamps

He details that at first, big tech and big engineering, such as Apple, John Deere, and others, ardently lobbied against these bills, saying that trade secrets protections would be violated if they were forced to turn over diagnostics, telemetry, or other insider data to non-company actors.

The progressive difficulty with which modern products, particularly electronics, are designed prevents most amateurs from being able to repair them if they break.

MORE RIGHT TO REPAIR NEWS: EU Approves Groundbreaking New ‘Right to Repair’ Laws Requiring Appliances to Be Easier to Fix

Screws are forsaken in favor of plastic locking toggles which break if removed, fuse or wire cover panels are replaced with jointless polymer molded covers, both of which and many more examples besides are designed to deter the fix-it-minded folks enough so that they will just throw the product away and buy a new one.

Electronic waste is one of the largest sources of non-recyclable landfill waste, and hopefully enough of these right to repair bills pass that some of these millions of powerstrips, lamps, phones, computers, and televisions can be kept out of the ground.

[mysticstronomy]

DOES TIME STOP IN A BLACK HOLE??

Blog#427

Wednesday, August 14th, 2024.

Welcome back,

Theoretical physics went into crisis mode in 1974, when ­Stephen Hawking first argued that black holes destroy information. Hawking showed that a black hole can evaporate, gradually transforming itself and anything it consumes into a featureless cloud of radiation. During the process, information about what fell into the black hole is apparently lost, violating a sacred principle of physics.

This remained an open problem for almost 50 years, but the pieces started falling into place in 2019 through research that I was involved in. The resolution is based on a new understanding of spacetime and how it can be rewired through quantum entanglement, which leads to the idea that part of the inside of a black hole, the so-called island, is secretly on the outside.

To understand how we arrived at these new ideas, we must begin with the inescapable nature of black holes.

Nothing seems more hopeless than trying to get out of a black hole—in fact, this impossibility is what defines black holes. They are formed when enough matter is confined within a small enough region that spacetime collapses in on itself in a violent feedback loop of squeezing and stretching that fuels more squeezing and stretching. These tidal forces run to infinity in finite time, marking the abrupt end of an entire region of spacetime at the so-called black hole singularity—the place where time stops and space ceases to make sense.

There is a fine line within the collapsing region that divides the area where escape is possible from the point of no return. This line is called the event horizon. It is the outermost point from which light barely avoids falling into the singularity. Unless a thing travels faster than light—a physical impossibility—it cannot escape from behind the event horizon; it is irretrievably stuck inside the black hole.

The one-way nature of this boundary is not immediately problematic. In fact, it is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity. The danger starts when this theory interacts with the wild world of quantum mechanics.

Quantum theory redeems black holes from being the greedy monsters they are made out to be. Every calorie of energy they consume they eventually give back in the form of Hawking radiation—energy squeezed out of the vacuum near the event horizon.

The idea of getting something out of nothing may sound absurd, but absurdity is not the worst allegation made against quantum mechanics. The emptiness of the vacuum in quantum theory belies a sea of particles—photons, electrons, gravitons, and more—that conspire to make empty space feel empty. These particles come in carefully arranged pairs, acting hand in hand as the glue that holds spacetime together.

Originally published on https://www.scientificamerican.com

COMING UP!!

(Saturday, August 17th, 2024)

"DID MARS EVER CONTAIN WATER??"