#radioelectronics

[easternblocrelics]

Kaunas Polytechnic Institute, Radioelectronics Department Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR 1970s

[questalkcomics]

Our soldiers | A Red Room report | The Winter Soldier X Black Widow

Note : this story takes place in my winterwidow fiction.

There's element I wish to expend latter on.

Summary : a Red Room scientist is recording his report about one of Soviet Union's greatest weapons

Trigger warning : mention of brainwashing, drugs and physical abuse

Pairing : Bucky Barnes and Natasha Romanoff

• The sound of the scientist's confident footsteps echoed throughout the military complex, from the staff offices to the various underground cells.

The man was in his fifties, balding, an athletic figure offset the scars covering his face and neck, piercing blue eyes hidden behind round, thin glasses. The badge attached to the right side of his blouse presented his face, his position as Doctor and section leader and his name: Nikita Knyazev.

the man was renowned and respected for his calm, his rigor and his strength of conviction, but also feared for his training and interrogation methods as well as some myths and stories told about his time in the war and the Red Room.

Nikita was a man of principle. His own. He never wasted his time in discussions unworthy of his interest, was not close to any of his colleagues, in fact, none of them really dared to approach him. His legend was built on the words and accomplishments of the agents he had dealt with.

The complex was located east of the town of Cherepovets. By 1957, the Military University of Radioelectronics had been established there.

The Red Room had chosen a discreet architecture for its installation, far from official buildings, preferring to be unofficial, the "B-45 site"

• He sat down in front of his computer before taking a tape recorder out of his table drawer. He placed it in front of him, took off his glasses to rub his eyes and then placed a pack of cigarettes on his right. He lit one before starting his recording.

"So. It is February 21, 1978, Doctor Nikita Knyazev and I present to you my report on agents Winter Soldier and Black Widow after their last mission. This took place on January 13, the preparation took place over three weeks. As agreed, the two agents were released from their stasis, which began on October 28, 1977 after another mission order." He paused and wrote: *see report 45-19* on a sheet of paper that he had just taken out.

"As always, it took two full days for the agents to fully regain consciousness from waking up. The Winter Soldier was the first to be injected with the "separation" compound, developed to allow better post-awakening recovery. The Soldier's constants were subsequently monitored before sending a stimulating visual sequence. This lasted approximately 10 minutes, no sign of resistance or rejection was noted."

He paused again. His cigarette now finished, he took the time to think about his next sentence.

"Agent Widow, on the other hand... My team noticed a difference in waking behavior between her and the Winter Soldier. She seemed... more aware. The first visual stimuli report a global understanding of its space, without notable injection or usual medical procedure. She was subjected to the same treatment as the Winter Soldier with particular attention paid to the visual sequences. It's still difficult to explain why and how, but she resisted. She struggled without noticeable damage, her body still too weak from sleep and was quickly brought under control. Two days passed before the usual protocol was put in place: both agents were subjected to a wave of brain shock, the procedure now taking between 5 and 7 minutes. 30 minutes after this, they were each taken to a different room to carry out post-treatment tests. I must say that... the two teams in charge of our agents, men for the Soldier and women for Widow, were not careful...

...verbal and physical humiliation, different methods were applied to make sure that the Winter Soldier and Black Widow were under control. No resistance noted. Both were equipped and briefed on their objective."

A new pause was heard on the tape recorder as the Doctor noted once again: *see applied strategic report M-18* He continued:

"You should know that the mission was an absolute success for our unit. Agents Winter Soldier and Black Widow are two prides of the Red Room and I think, comrades, that this mission is proof of that. Doctor Nikita Knyazev, finished."

• As soon as the recording was cut, the Doctor took a disk from his shirt and inserted it into his computer, loading a video.

The recording began with what appeared to be a surveillance camera. There we saw a room, undoubtedly for scientific purposes, in which there was a device composed of a chair surrounded by a metal support on which there were places to place the arms and the upper body.

The room was empty before three guards entered, accompanied by a woman who was only able to stand thanks to the support of two of the guards. She was placed on the chair, tied up, while the guards dispersed into the room to prepare for a procedure, one of the two, close to the woman, exclaimed: “What did you say?”

He spoke to the woman, her face marked with disorientation and fatigue. The other two approached as the recording captured the sound coming from the woman's voice, it being barely audible:

"...I...James..." The recording cut out as one of the guard ran, shouting Doctor Nikita's name. The latter, still facing his computer, got up and approached one of the windows to the right of his desk. His expression was both questioning and worried. Nobody ever saw him like that. Even he, was suprised by this turn of event.

His eyes focused on a part of the complex below he exclaimed: “Who are you, James?”

[unhonestlymirror]

*heavy sigh*

I'm sorry in advance for using a slur, but if you find it okay to post "memes" about russian occupation of Lithuania, you must be truly retarded.

Let me introduce you Rimantas Juknevičius, who was only 25 years old when he was killed by russians in 1991.

He studied at the Kaunas Polytechnic Institute, Faculty of Radioelectronics (now Kaunas University of Technology), specializing in automatic electrical communications.

He loved sports and was a good basketball player. He played for the university basketball teams "Politechnikas" and "Radistas". He was finishing his 4th year of studies.

On the night of January 13, 1991, he was shot in Vilnius near the Television Tower and died at Santariškės Clinical Hospital.

His parents are still alive.

What do you think would have happened if this hetalia "artist" had shown this "random dumb meme" to the parents of Rimantas?

I swear to God, hetalia artists are actually sadistic. They find other people's grief funny. They ridicule and trivialize other people's sacrifices to protect their homes and loved ones. These freaks don't care about Lithuania and Lithuanian culture & history, hell, they don't even care about making people laugh. They just love murders and rapes. Otherwise, they would have explored other topics. The fact that they wear a sheepskin of "just silly little artist with silly little doodles who's being harassed!!!" just makes them thrice more disgusting -- because I swear to God, they act with a really damn clear understanding of their behaviour.

[twoforflinching-ktbedition]

Frankly my greatest fear is Pegasii PGs. Schedule 1/2 leaves little space for suffering any non-mortal blows, and with the fuck-fuck gun ignoring sensor trickery or armor...

[A genuinely nervous laugh.]

Lethal thought-hazards can be dealt with, and my frame has a wonderful radioelectronic battle array, but...

-Kane

Yeah, I get that, the Pegasus frame and its quantum fuckery gun is fuckin' scary. Hate that shit. Pretty sure the Ushabti's banned outright in pankrati 'cause there's no way in hell to make it safe. No way to deal with it at all.

I can deal with a Pegasus, though. It fuckin' sucks and the Ushabti is a dogshit fuckin' weapon to bring to a fight, but I can deal with it. It chips at ya, can't get ya in one hit like some'a the others can. Sure, there might be ways to deal with other shit like the Basilisk, but there's never a way to really filter it all. Shit like that's sticky. Can't filter it entirely, can never entirely get rid of it after. Plus, you gotta know what you're facin' to deal with it. If you don't? If there's not supposed to be any HORUS pattern tech in the area? If you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time and suddenly everythin' goes white?

Nah, I'd take a Pegasus over a Gorgon any day.

-Han Jae-

[ailtrahq]

In this interview, we have the opportunity to hear from Oleg Lola, the founder of MobiDev, a software engineering company that specializes in helping small and medium businesses integrate AI into their products. Oleg shares his background and journey, highlighting his passion for technology and his vision of serving visionaries by adding value through technical solutions. He also addresses the misconception that AI is only accessible to big companies, emphasizing MobiDev's focus on making AI technology light and straightforward for small and medium businesses in the U.S. to use in their own products. Let's dive in!U.Today: Oleg, please tell us about your background. When and why did you start MobiDev?Oleg Lola: I was born in Mariupol, Ukraine. It was a large factory city. Bad ecology, tough and smart people. Both of my parents were teachers - with low incomes, they worked second jobs to make ends meet. They stressed good education and on making an effort to achieve good in life. They never forced me, only helped me, with their example and with their actions. At a young age I helped my parents grow vegetables and sell them in a local farmers market.Like them, I was hardworking, and I "swallowed" books - fiction first, but then technical ones. Early in my life I got access to computers, which in the early 90s was unusual. I used to read books on Assembler, C++ and 3D programming and had so much fun with it. I won several high school national-level contests in math, science and programming, and created several desktop apps to help students visualize stereometry concepts. I felt like a trailblazer.When I was a high school junior, I knew exactly where I wanted to study. Obviously it was a technical college, one of the best in the country. In college I won a national student contest on system programming. It was a huge achievement, as my major in computer engineering had a specialization in system programming. I graduated with honors from high school (Mariupol Gymnasium, Ukraine) and earned a B.Eng. and M.Eng from Kharkiv University of Radioelectronics in Ukraine.Before starting my company, I considered myself a classic nerd/introvert and was proud of it. Coming from a math and tech background I never thought I would be talking to people that much (laughing).  Actually the best perk that has helped me is seeing an opportunity. I’ve enjoyed change, challenge and trying new things. Such creativity, combined with nerdy persistence, ended up giving me some nice results.This helped me create my software engineering company in the recession year of 2009, driven by my vision of mobile devices, which had just started to shine. This helped me establish my company's brand, an ultimate promise of delivery and service to grow to 400 people by the beginning of 2023. This helped me to pivot to my love of machine learning and AI in 2018 before it became mainstream.Before starting MobiDev, I did scientific research at my college and worked at other tech companies. While I really adored research, which is all about experimenting, finding new options, trying things out and, as a result, bringing new value, I really hated my experience with other tech companies as an engineer. At that time outstaffing was really popular, which meant the tech company would just find "brains," connecting clients and engineers, with the hope that clients and engineers would sort things out. It meant that clients had to take on a lot of the management burden by themselves, and the initially exciting development process became too cumbersome. I thought that I could do better. And thus, I kicked off my software engineering company MobiDev with the idea of serving visionaries and adding extra value. From day one, MobiDev started with understanding the business problem, researching and offering new ways of finding technical solutions, taking accountability for delivering results and, of course, handling thousands of small but important things within the course of a software development project, both technical and human-related.

 This way, a visionary could focus on what matters most: their business.Since 2018 MobiDev's focus has been helping build AI apps for visionaries, in making AI technology light and straightforward to integrate into their products. U.Today: AI has come a long way from being a mysterious rocket sciencelike technology to overhyped public applications like ChatGPT and FaceApp. AI looks like a game for big companies. Is it possible for small and medium businesses in the U.S. to utilize AI?Oleg Lola: I absolutely agree: AI is heavily overhyped. The launch of ChatGPT made things even worse. There is a misconception that AI can do anything, and robots will soon replace humans. As a professional who has worked with machine learning years before ChatGPT, and as an AI enthusiast, I would say: take it easy. I see AI as another set of technologies for automation and allegedly making our lives better. Businesses can benefit from AI in two ways:Use products that already contain AI technology. Hint: Search the web for AI products in your domain area, and test drive them on your own according to your specific needs.Generate extra value for your high tech product with AI. Hint: Have AI/ML professionals analyze how AI can be beneficial for your product and your users. In the vast majority of cases, you will not need to create yet another GPT. It is better to explore the options of fine-tuning existing models with your data, using pre-trains or even connecting to third-party APIs. The power of AI lies really close; it is about using your creativity and some professional help to make the magic happen.What is really important is that both options are valid for businesses of any size. U.Today: How can AI assist companies in resolving their challenges, and what specific problems can be addressed through AI?Oleg Lola: There are two ways of solving problems in computer science. Algorithmic: Where a human defines how a specific problem must be solved, based on expert opinion, science or business rules. The outcome is exact, strictly defined by the heuristics.Machine learning: Where a model learns how to respond to a certain input, based on data. The result here is an approximation. In most cases, it is a very complex nonlinear approximation. So, one might say machine learning models make predictions about new data based on the data it already digested.Those problems that might be solved with prediction can be targeted with AI, mostly connected with perception and patterns extraction. Taking into account that the cost of prediction (hardware) is becoming lower, there is an amazing opportunity to disrupt, tackle new problems and find new business models.I can name some problems off the top of my head that we have solved for our client-visionaries, while enriching their products with AI:Organizational chart recognition for attorney, both printed and hand drawn.Truck size and weight estimation based on stationary AR point cloud (Lidar) data. Inventory tracking and ordering based on sales forecasts for nightclubs and bars.Bespoke clothes ordering based on visual inspection and human pose estimation.Biometric identification for insurtech and healthtech.Smart contract analysis and classification. Invoice recognition for healthtech.Training athletes by recognizing their movements and comparing them to golden examples for the sports industry.Garbage sorting for recycling. And, of course, customized chatbots based on GPT technology.I would like to turn to those organizations that have launched high tech products or are planning to. Whether:it is your internal enterprise product for automation, and you have or have not been collecting data.it is software as a service that you service your customers with and you want to be ahead of the competition.it is a custom hardware solution where optimization is critical.In my experience, in 95% of cases, AI brings extra value to the product right away based on implementing the frontier machine learning models. It could be increasing

customer satisfaction or improving customer experience, and even providing new features, solving those problems that you always wanted to target but never could."Right away" here means there is no need to conduct 1-2 year long scientific research to create a machine learning model (it has already been done by a team of scientists). At the same time, please allow a meaningful time frame of 1-2 months for building the first POC (proof of concept) of your specific AI solution. This would include an AI consulting stage when the vision of your product is defined, a development stage and an implementation stage. While the development and implementation stages are something you would encounter in any software development project, the AI consulting stage is different and is probably the most valuable for any enterprise exploring opportunities to embed AI in their product.U.Today: Can you tell us more about this AI Product Consulting stage?Oleg Lola: We see that tech visionaries always think big, wish to change the world around them, to change thinking and perception, to find the drive in customer value and get emotional uplift while generating new value for customers. Tech visionaries already work on the edge between the problem and the solution. AI Product Consulting helps to broaden the edge. Practically, it helps an organization see the field of opportunity that lies at the intersection of the current organization's business and product, market demands and competition as well as the ML/AI technologies available out there.For completely new Al Product Development, we will make sure the idea is feasible from a tech point of view and meets real market needs. Our Al consultants prepare businesses for the successful launch of their project by defining the final scope of the solution for the MVP and the go-to-market strategy. Next, our engineers will turn this strategy into a functional Al product, taking into account all technical and business requirements.For embedding Al integration into existing businesses, we offer ways to outpace competitors by implementing innovations that drive real business value. Our experts will conduct a detailed analysis of business goals, datasets and IT infrastructure to offer the best solutions that fit the existing ecosystem. With 13+ years of experience in software development, MobiDev's tech experts ensure that AI functionality is fully compatible with existing software.MobiDev consultants, who come from the areas of market research, business analysis and AI engineering, will go through several steps that will deepen the product's vision: idea brainstorming, product and market Analysis, and AI model research and estimation. As a result, the product development roadmap and the budgeted options of how building and marketing AI proof-of-concept will be created.U.Today: Do both MobiDev as a company and yourself, Oleg Lola, utilize AI to tackle everyday issues?Oleg Lola: We use a broad range of AI-powered products that help speed up the development and deployment process, including Github Copilot, TestGrid and Cast.AI. We want every dollar clients put in development to be as efficient as possible.  U.Today: What are your future plans and goals?Oleg Lola: At MobiDev we will continue laser-sharp focusing on serving visionaries, making their journey of software engineering light and enjoyable. We see that within a few years more and more organizations will turn to AI technology, and the capabilities of AI only grow. So, we see a combination of AI and the very best service standards of MobiDev professionals. We will add extra value to visionaries and their high-tech products.We work the best with established small and midsize software companies that want to bring more value to their existing product, launch new versions of their existing product or launch new products. Certainly, we recommend embedding AI a lot and offer options to our clients. The visionaries, in turn, see the options and make decisions that suit their vision best.

 We are constantly working toward this future, so we clearly envision it. We will keep building game-changing products. We will continue to adhere to MobiDev's philosophy and take care of technology and project management down to the smallest detail, allowing our customers to focus on strategy and product vision. Our pipeline of generating and implementing breakthrough ideas will continue to run smoothly. To do this, we are currently investing 30% of MobiDev's R&D efforts into new technology research.U.Today: What aspect of MobiDev are you most proud of?Oleg Lola: First of all, I am really proud of our clients. Working with visionaries for over a decade, I see that true vision and hard work bring awesome results. I see our clients going to the next levels of their businesses, growing nationally and internationally, making strategic alliances with major industry players and enjoying the results. I am grateful to all of our clients for years of trusting MobiDev to handle their tech needs.I am also proud of my team at MobiDev, the majority working for years and bringing their passion and hard work so valuable to visionaries. I am proud of our mutual support and look forward to their professional and career growth in the years to come.Within the course of these years, we have also done a lot of good for society. We have launched tech educational courses for single moms, youth and veterans; have organized international conferences for professionals in software engineering; have launched several free apps with millions of downloads (the latest being an AI app to help sort the garbage for recycling), have actively helped the software community to develop with a few open source projects (the brightest of which being one of the first frameworks for cross-platform mobile apps) and have constantly participated in ongoing humanitarian initiatives in Ukraine.I am fascinated by how our hard work for clients and our active position changes the world for the better. U.Today: What is your perspective on the future of AI? Do you believe it has the potential to become a frightening dystopia?Oleg Lola: Well, I see much more of a threat from climate change, terrorists and nuclear weapons. AI is just a tool. It is powerful, but there are much more powerful tools out there in the world. I definitely support AI regulation. AI must be regulated in terms of how AI products may influence humans and humanity. AI products must conform to privacy protection, copyright, human rights and other laws.As for the future of AI, we have seen the exponential growth of AI capabilities, and we are going to witness more to come. Probably the biggest question one should ask themselves is if they want to be creators of useful AI products and be part of the success, or rather be a user of someone else's products.U.Today: Do you have a cryptocurrency portfolio? If so, could you mention at least three holdings?Oleg Lola: I am rather a homebrew ETF investor. Also, I put some funds into early stage AI start-ups through diversified funds.Blockchain as a technology is more interesting to me than any specific crypto asset. I have a feeling that the decentralization of operations and data-based trust characteristic of blockchain are in line with today's social trends. Products that combine AI and blockchain, for example, are a very promising area that we are keeping in our sights.U.Today: What advice would you offer to individuals interested in establishing their own business in the AI field?Oleg Lola: Explore the market, find out your strengths, see what you can do with AI technology. Go lean, launch early, gather feedback and reiterate frequently. Find the balance between your idea and market needs. Seek mentoring and consultancy, both in the business and tech fields (and especially AI). Source

[www-love80s-ru]

🇷🇺 Борис Гришин, создатель автоматического радиоэлектронного секретаря, 1984 г. . 🇬🇧 Boris Grishin, the creator of ARS (Automatic Radio-electronic Secretary), USSR, 1984 . #radioelectronics #robot #robots #cyborg #robotics #technology #machinelearning #science #scientist #inventors #ussr #soviet #vintage #russia #russian #sovietunion #изобретения #изобретатель #робототехника #роботы #робот #мылюбим80е #советскоепрошлое https://www.instagram.com/p/COL9cobFVFm/?igshid=f1j06xe034ra

[michael-ahyoung]

A few months too late, but I've only just realised I haven't posted on this yet! ■ 2 years ago I took a leap and entered the National University of Samoa to undertake a Diploma of Radio & Electronics, earning a scholarship, according to my grades from the exam of the first semester. ● The day of graduation was a day that I want to thank each and every one of you who has supported me through out the 2 years, with encouragement and motivation, as well as those who didnt want to see me holding that trophy ♣ Sincerest appreciation to all of you and this trophy as top student is dedicated to you guys ♡ ←←←←←←← December 20th 2017 →→→→→→→ #Graduation #ElectronicEngineering #NationalUniversityOfSamoa #RadioElectronics #Diploma #Trophy #OfficeOfTheRegulator #ToTheHaters #ToMySupporters #IAppreciateYou ♡

[a-mole-of-iron]

Another day, another Duchowiesen short story. This one explores the same urban fantasy themes, but from a different angle. If you ever wondered what dragons would do in a world with amateur radio and broadcast television, look no further. (Apologies for, likely, not getting the radio procedure quite right.)

Story genre: comfy urban fantasy

The Dragon and the TV Tower

It was the early days of 10249; a bright winter day on a weekend. Willem Greysmoke stirred awake on his bed of golden coins and gems, and let out a contented sigh, his sea-green scales shimmering in the light of electric-powered lanterns. His cavern was warm, comfortable, and stocked with parts for radioelectronics, his belly was full from a massive meal yesterday that was provided by a nearby village he kinda-sorta worked for (as a guardian of valuables and aerial photographer), and the schedule he planned for the day started and ended with "do nothing". Looking at the time, he saw it was but ten minutes before noon. The dragon fantasized about how he was going to relax for the whole day. He could tune in to a film serial on television in a couple of minutes. Then make himself a giant-sized bowl of salad with "Der Kronprinz" salted cucumbers (a one-bite snack for someone of his size). Then he could tune in on the radio for some afternoon jazz, and then work on his own radios if he felt like it... he had a lot of options. But all of that would have to wait in favour of a lucrative opportunity, one that was about to make itself known. Just as he settled in to watch TV, he saw the reception lamp on his kitbashed, metal-frame amateur radio blink bright orange. Willem reached over to the radio with his claw and flicked an oversized toggle switch, activating his radio set-up.

A voice came through the interference, then leveled out, clarified, and spoke, loud and clear. Resonating through the speakers, it asked: "Calling Willem Greysmoke. Are you receiving me? Willem Greysmoke, please respond, over."

Willem pressed the transmit button on his microphone. "Unknown station, this is Willem Greysmoke. Who are you? Over." he asked, perplexed at the unfamiliar voice on the other end of the broadcast.

"Willem Greysmoke, this is Mara Giurescu, from Duchowiesen Broadcasting Bureau. I want to discuss a job offer. Over." the person on the other end said.

"...Say again?" Willem responded, stunned by the offer. It was not easy to flabbergast the dragon, but Mara has clearly done it. The Broadcasting Bureau, offering a job to him? For any radio geek, it would be a dream job - though he realized it would probably require doing actual work, should he agree to the offer.

"This is Mara Giurescu, from Duchowiesen Broadcasting Bureau. I have a job offer. Do you read me?" Mara repeated.

"Loud and clear, Mara." Willem responded. "I, uh... Wait." He gathered his thoughts, then in a few seconds, continued. "What is your location? This channel will not suffice, and it might take time for me to get anywhere, over."

"Negative, Willem." Mara said to him. "We are in Amseldorf; can you welcome us in your cave in an hour? Over." She of course referred to the small village just nearby that the dragon lived symbiotically with. He thought for a minute, then responded:

"Correct. You can come over here, I will be waiting. Willem Greysmoke, out."

The dragon lifted his claw from the transmit button one last time, then laid flat on his bed of glittering gold coins. He could not believe he was being offered a job with one of the biggest players in the radio sector, but also had no idea what that job would entail. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to wait long. An hour of time was nothing for a dragon... and the arrival of his visitors didn't even take a full hour, as he heard them approach the cave entrance just 43 minutes later. Willem looked at the tunnel that led to the cave entrance, and said: "Please, come in!" - and a minute after, a few small figures walked round the bend, silhouetted by the flickering electric light of lantern-shaped gas discharge lamps that were hanging around the cave, supported by power cables. The visitors approached the dragon, revealing themselves to be a human group in woolen overcoats and winter hats, most of their features concealed by the heavy clothing protecting them from the cold outside. One of them walked out in front, and said:

"Hey there. I'm Mara Giurescu; should we talk about the job?"

"Yes, of course...!" Willem said. He blinked, then leaned down to be at eye level with Mara, and said: "Now I know dragons don't tend to bow down to anyone, but I am flattered nonetheless. I didn't realize the Bureau even knew me!"

"Well, you're the first dragon who took to the radio waves, Willem." Mara told him. "That's a big distinction, so of course the Radiomagiker around the country mentioned you, and in turn, we've heard of you from them."

"Alright. What is your job offer then? Work on high-altitude transmitters? A place in R&D? I must admit, I'm not sure I'm going to have... well, the energy for sustained work, just so you know." Willem said.

"We've thought about that, actually." Mara said. "We've got something tailored to your needs, not just any job." She sat down on a couch that Willem had placed near the entrance for small-sized visitors, and pulled out what turned out to be a selection of blueprints. "We are aware that dragons aren't very physically active, and prefer to do things for work that they'd be doing anyway. So..." she said, folding the blueprints out, "...we realized we could hire you specifically to guard, and likely maintain, a broadcasting antenna for radio and TV. Or several, if you agree. You have the skills for it."

Willem looked at the blueprints in front of him. He could see, plain as day, the technical specifications for a TV broadcasting mast, and equipment on the ground that would power it.

"I can read this... the blueprints look so fine." he said, making a "perfection" gesture with his clawed hand. He looked over to his tables and drawers full of electronic components, all beautifully ordered with a custom indexing system, and two half-disassembled radios he was currently working on, and smiled.

"You probably know the demands of long-range broadcast TV and radio." Mara said. "We could really benefit from your help in running the broadcast masts in this region; with your wings, your knowledge of radio, and your occult strength, you are the ideal candidate."

"That's fair." Willem said. "I haven't been getting the strongest TV signal out here; do you plan to put up more broadcast masts in the region if I agree?"

"Yes, we plan to. Do you accept the offer, then?" Mara asked.

"Only if you can afford to pay in gold." Willem replied.

"We can, but only at the union-negotiated rates for government-employed radio maintenance contractors." Mara told him. "By that I mean, don't expect whole sacks of gold coins - but we can still pay you a steady salary."

Willem looked around, glancing at the two other Bureau employees that came up with Mara to meet him. "And who are you, people?" he asked.

One of them looked at the dragon and told him:

"Radio technicians; we're here to explain the nitty-gritty if you take the job. I'm Klaus Albert Baumann, and my friend over there is Lech Bergvall."

The technician opened his bag, showing the dragon several binders full of technical papers that he was carrying. Willem looked at them, and raised his eyebrows in surprise and professional respect. Mara looked at Willem again and asked:

"So, any more questions?"

"Just one." Willem said. "What and where do I sign?"

[dailysupporter]

“Make the communication more secure” has always been mission of #powertime in the #radioelectronic product field. That’s why they strive to produce unique and efficient #ANRheadset, #monitoringheadset, etc. to meet the on-going needs. Learn more at http://www.gpcomm.cn/

[usafphantom2]

“In the updated version of the fighter within the Megapolis research and development project, a fully updated cabin with the most advanced avionics will be installed. In addition, the aircraft will be equipped with a second stage power unit. Mass production of the updated Su-57 will begin in 2025′′, a military-industrial source told TASS.

He also clarified that as part of the Megapolis research and development project, the Su-57 fighter will be made in the single-seat version. TASS has no official confirmation of this information.

The Sukhoi Su-57 is a Russian-made fifth-generation multifunctional fighter designed to destroy all types of air, land and naval targets. The Su-57 fighter jet has stealth technology with extensive use of composite materials, is capable of developing a supersonic cruising speed and is equipped with the most advanced radioelectronic equipment on board, including a powerful on-board computer (the so-called second electronic pilot), the radar system spreads through the fuselage and some other innovations, in particular, the weaponry placed inside its fuselage.

The Russian Aerospace Forces are expected to receive 24 Su-57 jets by the end of 2024. Their number is expected to grow to 76 by 2028.

TASS previously reported that a fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jet will be designed in a two-seat modification to control a swarm of heavyweights ?? Okhotnik combat drones.

[litttlesilkworm]

Some facts about General Pikalov (1924-2003) from Vladimir Maleev’s book, “Heroes of the Unknown War. A Memory Regained.”

We all remember Vladimir Pikalov as a soft-spoken General from the HBO series, who chooses to risk his own health over the health of his soldiers’. Here, I summarized some facts from the biography of this valorous man, including those that inspired his portrayal in the show. Photos are from the book as well. Enjoy!

Vladimir Karpovich Pikalov was born in the family of Cossaks in the town of Armavir in the south of Russia. When Hitler's army invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Pikalov had just graduated ninth grade. Together with ten of his classmates, Pikalov begged to be sent to the front, but the army wouldn’t take such youngsters. Instead, he was sent to an artillery school in Rostov-on-Don.

In February 1942, seventeen year-old Pikalov joined the ranks of his compatriots at the front as an anti-tank artillery platoon commander. From 1942 to 1945, he took part in the liberation of Kursk, Minsk and Poznan’. Pikalov fought in the battle of Berlin and was severely wounded there.

To recuperate, Pikalov was sent to a military hospital in Sochi. There, he met several veterans who served in the chemical defense forces. Hearing their stories had impressed Pikalov so much that he decided to continue his service in this branch of the military. In 1951, he graduated from the Military Academy of Chemical Defense, and began his service in chemical forces. By 1959, he was already appointed to lead the Chemical Defense Forces division of the Baltic region, and in 1969, became a commander of the entire Chemical Defense branch of the Soviet military.

Before Chernobyl, Pikalov has led numerous successful liquidation and prevention efforts, including:

1 - safe destruction of a wartime cache of German chemical weapons near Riga;

2 - safe removal and destruction of rusty drums filled with chlorine gas left over from the WWI-era, which lay forgotten in the basement of the Radioelectronics Institute in Moscow, just steps from the Kremlin;

3 - disinfection of the city of Havana, Cuba during the Dengue virus epidemic;

4 - cleanup of a chlorine spill following a derailment of a train carrying cisterns filled with chlorine gas near Neman river, with minimal damage to the environment.

On April 26th, 1986 Pikalov was called to Chernobyl. He arrived at the site of  accident by car. As they approached the danger zone, Pikalov ordered his driver to stop and instructed him to leave the vehicle, saying to the young soldier: “Stay here, son, you are still to become a father.” Pikalov then drove himself around the station, surveying the damage.

Later that night, Pikalov headed to the the ruins of reactor #4 in an armored vehicle. Yet again, he instructed another young soldier driving him to get out and wait in a safe place, and drove the vehicle himself. The gate was closed, so he rammed the car through it. 

The following passages I am translating directly: 

“The blackened walls had a crimson-orange glow around them. From time to time, the light coming out of the reactor was accompanied by cracking noises and sparks. The site exuded an uncanny, horrifying feeling. It seemed like hell itself opened up among these ruins, which looked like a terrible monster in the darkness. It was a frightening picture.”

“Yes, I took risks and was aware that I overstepped the medically allowable radiation doses. But such risks were justified for the sake of other people, and first and foremost, young soldiers, who had to carry out the difficult deactivation efforts.”

“We had to deal with radioactive fallout coming directly out of the active zone, therefore, a very difficult form of radioactive contamination. And not only the surrounding land, but the air, too. To add to this, this was a radioisotopic contamination with a broad family of radionuclides, which has never happened before in practice anywhere.”

Pikalov stayed at the ChNPP for two months, resting for only 2-3 hours every 24 hours. He directed multiple operations, including: (1) an extensive mapping of the radionuclide contamination of the air, land, water and plants; (2) locating the fuel rods, which were thrown out of the reactor during the explosion, using aerial photography; (3) rapid cleanup of the territory immediately to the west of the reactor #4, which allowed the engineer corps to organize the removal of water from the bubbler pools to eliminate the threat of a massive steam explosion; (4) extraction of the KGB surveillance equipment from a building immediately next to the exploded reactor. The surveillance equipment included recordings that later allowed to shed light on the reasons behind the accident. This operation took several hours and had to be conducted in very high radiation fields.

In early May, 1986, Pikalov requested Moscow State Technical University to design two remote-controlled robots to assist with the cleanup efforts - “MOBOT-4-HV-1” and “MOBOT-4-HV-2” (on the picture below is Pikalov himself testing one of the robots). Only one robot survived the high levels of radiation.

For his work in Chernobyl, Pikalov was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union award on January 14th, 1987:

[sovietpostcards]

Boris Grishin and his creation, ARS - Automatic Radioelectronic Secretary (1984)

[nuredoed]

28 травня відбулось засідання Вченої ради Харківського національного університету радіоелектроніки. Під час проведення заходу ректор ХНУРЕ Валерій Семенець привітав старшого викладача кафедри ПЕЕА Галкіна Павла Вікторовича з отриманням відзнаки Харківської міської ради, а саме – Подяки міського голови м. Харків. (at Kharkiv National University of Radioelectronics) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPdLK0UH8MA/?utm_medium=tumblr

[celebratingamazingwomen]

Tatyana Kuznetsova (1941-2018) was the youngest person ever selected to be a part of a human spaceflight programme. This happened in 1961, when she was selected as one of five female cosmonauts by the Soviet government.

She worked as a stenographer for the Ministry of Radioelectronic Industry, but also took up parachuting as a hobby, becoming a regional and national champion by the age of 20. She was selected for the programme as a preparation for the first woman in space – an honour that eventually went to Valentina Tereshkova.

[tangentmoth]

So hurry up then, or you’ll fall behind, and they will take control of you...

Because I figure a week in which I’ve been cheerfully watching some poor schmuck play Call of Pripyat with the Misery mod on is as good a time as any to drop the latest Scorch the Skies installment.  Tangentmoth: Bringing You Fanfiction About NPCs Nobody Cares About From Fandoms Nobody Remembers Since 2012.

Chapter I: Sailor Take Warning

Chapeter 2: The Bad Death of General Krylov

Chapter 3.1: Ishmael (Part I)

In Which Nimble’s Terrible Horrible No-Good Very Bad Day Continues Apace.  (CW for drug-exacerbated fever dreams, the implied influence of eldritch abominations, and Monolith)

Ishmael (Part II)

He’s nineteen years old, in his dormitory room at the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics in Minsk, nominally studying, really just waiting for the sun to go down so he can meet his friends on the roof.  The old soviet-era buildings might be dreary concrete rabbit hutches during the day, but they’re the perfect place to practice parkour with your buddies after dark.

He spins idly in his chair, noting the square of red-orange sunset light on the floor from the window, and grins--but that’s odd, that window faces south, how can the light of sunset be so strong…

Then the shockwave comes, a dull heavy THUD rolling up through the floor and the walls like a wave, and he rushes to the window.  The southern sky is on fire, shifting and boiling, lightning crackling outwards across the arc of the sky in all directions.

Nuke, he thinks distantly, unable to take his eyes from the window, from the expanding blaze of light on the horizon.  But that’s wrong too.  He may be studying at one of the premier technical and engineering universities in Belarus, but you don’t need to be a genius to see this is no nuke.  There’s no mushroom cloud, for one, but that’s practically insignificant in the face of that spreading ring of lightning, the shaking that’s still going on when it should have long since faded.  

And there are voices.

He can hear them, not with his ears but seemingly from the center of his brain, vibrating the bone of his skull.  Hundreds of them.  Thousands.  Perhaps millions.  A hundred languages.  So many voices, all of them terrified.  Human voices.

And one that isn’t.

It calls out in human words, but the voice itself is so far from human that his mind almost shatters at the sound of it.  It calls out to him, Mikalaj Evgenevic Kovalchuk that was, buzzing and echoing and alien and terrifyingly, nightmarishly compelling.  

COME TO ME….

He collapses to the floor, screaming, hands over his ears.  He can hear, as if through cotton, the sounds of his dorm-mates running in the halls and shouting, and the incessant ring of the fire alarms.  Other people. Reality.  Safety.  He regains his feet, scrambling for the door.  If he can just make it to the door…

------------------

Rough hands, rolling him onto his side.  A stabbing pain in his hip, like a wasp sting.  And a voice, low and cigarette-roughened but completely human.

“Hey.  Gotta wake up for a bit.  You need to drink something.”

Nimble groaned, trying to crack open eyelids that seemed glued shut.  He saw blurry firelight and shadows moving against a wall.  Everything felt slippery, far away.  He rolled weakly onto his back and tried to prop himself up onto an elbow to see more, but his body refused.  He closed his eyes again, but the hands grabbed him, hauling him up and propping him against what felt like a knee.  

“Sorry, my friend, but you can’t go back to sleep yet.  You’re dehydrated as fuck, you have to drink or you’re going to die.”  A canteen was held to Nimble’s lips. The water was tepid and flat-tasting and swallowing was painful, but he was desperately thirsty.  He gulped greedily at the water, choked, and collapsed back, coughing.  “Not so fast, you’ll start puking again.”

Where am I, he wanted to ask, but his voice wouldn’t cooperate; it was all he could do just to breathe as the world blurred and spun and swam away again, sinking him back into darkness.

--------------------

He opens the door and he’s home again.  Not his old dorm, but his little curtained-off closet of a room in the Clear Sky base.  He can hear shouted curses outside, and laughter, and boots splashing through stagnant water, and, far far off, the staccato rattle of a rifle.  Staticky music playing over the jury-rigged speaker system.  Sunlight falling in thin stripes through the cracks in the old, warped board walls.  Home.

He’s twenty-five years old and his name isn’t Mikalaj anymore, hasn’t been for years now, he ignores it, recoils from it any time he hears it.  He was Kolya, for a little while, until he came here and got a chance to really show off how good he is at running and climbing and dodging.  Now they call him Nimble, and he likes that a lot better.  The voice in his head that day hadn’t called him Nimble.  

He pushes himself up off the bed, stretching, thinking he’ll go bug Cold for some food and catch up on the latest news, when he realizes he’s wrong, it’s all wrong.  The shouts outside are cries of alarm, what he at first thought was laughter is really screams, and the far-away gunfire isn’t far away anymore--it’s right outside.  The sunlight shining through the cracks in the wall isn’t sunlight, it’s firelight; the static over the intercom not static at all but the crackle of flames…

He yanks the curtain aside and he’s in the woods, running through the woods, away from the swamps and the fire and the death.  It’s dark beneath the trees, but the sun is coming up and the rain has stopped.  All he has to do is follow his maps to the road and he’ll be safe.

He stops to rest, leaning with one hand against a tree to catch his breath and get his bearings, only to snatch it away as it begins to tingle and burn.  The tree is dead, he realizes, an old dead pine with rust-red needles.  This isn’t the Hunter’s Woods, the dense green barrier of oak and birch girding the southern borders of the Zone.  Here, all the trees are dead.

Brother, a voice calls from behind him.

He turns around and they’re there, the men who’d been his friends and his comrades in arms.  Professor Kalancha is there, who’d recruited him from the University.  Ivan Trodnik, the guide, who’d taught him how to navigate the Swamps.  Lyonya and Timka, who’d taken him under their wing those first nutty weeks in the Zone and taught him firearms.  They stand before him in a rough half-circle, the men of Clear Sky who’d gone off to the center to stop the emissions and save the Zone.  Their clothes are all grey, and their faces, but their eyes are alive with some alien light that holds Nimble transfixed despite his terror.

One steps forward, a giant of a man with a hatchet-carved face and glowing eyes peering out from beneath the cowl of the old-fashioned grey traveler’s cloak he wears.  Nimble thinks he knows this man too, though he only saw him briefly.  He’d been a marvel, after all.  The man the Zone couldn’t kill.

Come to us, brother, says the giant, his voice a flat and toneless drone.  You are one of us.  Come to us.  Join us.

COME TO ME….

Nimble’s paralysis breaks.  He turns to run, but makes it only a couple of feet before running full-tilt into some structure, a crazy construction made of junk parts and scrap metal, fully ten feet high.  Lebedev is bound to the structure with hanks of rusty barbed wire, staring sightless eyes weeping blood.

COME TO ME...

There’s nowhere to run.

Wake up, a voice whispers inside his head.

Dead trees in a dead wood.  Insanity behind him.  Death ahead of him.

Wake up! the new voice insists.  

And Nimble wakes up.