#working in assembly and with big machines of processing might help here

[wanderrealms]

Technobabble workshop started

[tdsfluids]

Cyclone Separator: The Unsung Hero of Industrial Efficiency

It’s easy to celebrate the big innovations — solar panels powering cities, robots assembling cars, or AI optimizing supply chains. But often, it’s the humble, overlooked components that quietly do the heavy lifting in industrial systems. One such unsung hero is the Cyclone Separator.

You’ve probably never seen one up close, yet if you’ve walked past a power plant, cement factory, or even a woodworking shop, chances are high you’ve walked past a Cyclone Separator at work — silently removing particles, protecting machines, and ensuring that processes remain smooth and safe.

Let’s Start With a Story

Meet Ravi, an operations manager at a mid-sized cement plant in Maharashtra. A few years ago, frequent downtimes were his nightmare. Kiln inefficiencies, clogged filters, increased emissions — you name it. Maintenance costs were rising, and so was the frustration. The culprit? Dust and fine particles disrupting flow and damaging equipment.

Then came the simple upgrade: a well-designed Cyclone Separator.

Within months, Ravi noticed a significant drop in downtime. Filters lasted longer, emissions improved, and most importantly, the budget stayed in control. That small, swirling piece of engineering had transformed a part of his industrial life.

What Is a Cyclone Separator, Really?

Technically speaking, a Cyclone Separator is a device that uses the principle of inertia and centrifugal force to remove particulates from air, gas, or liquid streams — without using filters.

Imagine pouring a thick soup into a funnel and spinning it rapidly. The heavier chunks would naturally be pushed to the outer edge and settle down. Cyclone separators work similarly: the dirty air enters a cylindrical or conical chamber tangentially, causing it to spin. Heavier particles are flung to the walls and fall down to a collection hopper, while the cleaned air rises and exits from the top.

No moving parts. No filters. Just physics.

Why Is It Such a Big Deal?

The beauty of the Cyclone Separator lies in its simplicity and reliability.

1. No Moving Parts

That means fewer mechanical failures and lower maintenance costs. This alone makes them ideal for industries that operate 24/7.

2. Handles High Temperatures

Where bag filters might melt or clog, cyclone separators perform like a charm in hot environments such as foundries and power plants.

3. First Line of Defense

Even in systems that use more complex filtration (like HEPA or wet scrubbers), cyclone separators are often installed upstream to reduce the burden on finer filters. They extend equipment life and reduce costs.

4. Environmentally Friendly

By efficiently capturing pollutants and dust, cyclone separators help industries stay within emission regulations, ensuring compliance and better environmental outcomes.

Applications Across Industries

Let’s humanize the industrial relevance a bit.

Cement Plants: Think of the constant grinding, crushing, and heating. Tons of dust is a given. Cyclone separators help maintain air purity and reduce equipment wear.

Woodworking Shops: From furniture workshops to massive mills, sawdust is hazardous. Cyclones keep the air clean, ensuring worker health and reducing fire hazards.

Food Processing: In flour mills and spice manufacturing, cyclone separators ensure that only the desired product goes into packaging while airborne particles are efficiently removed.

Mining and Metallurgy: These are high-dust environments. Cyclone separators here are part of a vital defense system against occupational hazards.

Pharmaceuticals: Even in ultra-clean environments, controlling powder dispersion is critical. Cyclones support safe, contamination-free processing.

But They’re Not Perfect...

No technology is.

Efficiency vs. Particle Size: Cyclones are great for medium to large particles (typically >10 microns). Finer particles may pass through and need secondary filtration.

Pressure Drop: Cyclone separators create a pressure drop in the system, which may require more energy in the upstream blower or fan.

Design Sensitivity: Small changes in geometry — like the diameter of the vortex finder or cone angle — can significantly impact performance. One-size-fits-all doesn't work here.

This is why modern engineering firms use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to design optimized cyclone geometries based on specific applications.

Evolution of the Cyclone Separator

You might think the design hasn’t changed in decades, but innovation is thriving here too:

Multi-Cyclone Systems: Instead of one large unit, several smaller cyclones are used in parallel, improving efficiency while keeping the footprint small.

Hybrid Cyclone-Wet Systems: These merge dry cyclonic separation with a wet scrubber stage to handle ultra-fine particulates and volatile compounds.

Smart Sensors: Yes, even cyclone separators are going digital. IoT-based systems now monitor differential pressure, particle load, and hopper fill levels in real-time — reducing guesswork in maintenance.

Cyclone Separators and Sustainability

We live in a world increasingly focused on decarbonization, circular economy, and clean manufacturing. While these goals often focus on energy sources and waste reduction, clean air management is equally critical.

Cyclone separators contribute by:

Reducing fugitive emissions

Minimizing secondary waste (unlike bag filters)

Lowering overall energy and maintenance costs

By integrating Cyclone Separator systems, industries can take one step closer to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) compliance — and it's often one of the most cost-effective investments.

Buying Tips: What to Look For?

If you're planning to recommend or install a cyclone system, here’s a quick checklist:

Material Compatibility: Ensure the body can handle corrosive or abrasive particulates.

Flow Rate Match: The inlet velocity must suit your airflow. Too high? Risk of erosion. Too low? Poor separation.

Ease of Maintenance: Go for units with quick-disconnect hoppers and clear maintenance paths.

Certifications: For regulated industries (food, pharma), make sure you're sourcing certified components.

Final Thoughts: Invisible But Indispensable

Let’s be honest—cyclone separators aren’t flashy. They don’t get featured in tech expos or sustainability showcases. But without them, your expensive filtration systems would clog, emissions would spike, and operations would halt.

Think of them as the lungs of industrial infrastructure: always working, rarely noticed, but absolutely essential.

So the next time you walk past a dust-free workshop, a well-running boiler plant, or a perfectly operating cement kiln—there’s a good chance a Cyclone Separator is somewhere nearby, doing its job silently.

[steelfabricatorsinuse]

Finding the Best Steel Fabricators in UAE

When we look at impressive buildings, bridges, or machines, we often need to remember the skilled workers who make them possible. Steel fabricators are these unsung heroes. They play a key role in turning plans and designs into real structures that shape our world. Let's explore who these professionals are and why they're so important.

Who Are Steel Fabricators

Steel fabricators are skilled workers who make things out of steel. They take raw steel and turn it into parts, products, and structures we use daily. These experts work in shops, factories, and construction sites. They use their hands, tools, and machines to create everything from small metal parts to huge building frames.

What Do Steel Fabricators Do?

Blueprint Reading

Steel fabricators begin by studying blueprints and technical drawings. These plans show the project's specifications, including measurements and design details. Fabricators must understand these drawings to plan their work, choose tools, and approach each task. Good blueprint reading helps avoid mistakes, improves efficiency, and ensures the final product matches the design. It's a crucial first step in fabrication.

Measuring and Marking

Accurate measuring and marking are essential for steel fabricators. They use tools like tape measures and squares to make precise measurements on steel pieces. Fabricators carefully mark where cuts, holes, and joins will be made. They often double-check measurements to ensure accuracy. Good measuring and marking save time and materials by reducing errors and rework, especially for complex projects.

Cutting Steel

Cutting steel is a core task for fabricators. They use tools like saws, plasma cutters, or oxy-fuel torches, depending on the steel's thickness and cut type. Fabricators must operate these tools safely and accurately, following their marks to cut each piece to the right size and shape. Proper cutting techniques are important for accuracy, safety, and efficiency.

Shaping and Forming

Fabricators shape steel using machines like press brakes to bend it into angles or curves. They might use rollers for cylindrical shapes or presses to flatten pieces. This process requires skill to get the right shape without weakening the steel. Fabricators must understand how steel behaves when bent or pressed. Shaping turns flat pieces into complex, three-dimensional structures.

Drilling and Punching

Fabricators create holes in steel using drill presses and punching machines. These holes are for bolts, rivets, or other fasteners. The size and location must be exact for the correct assembly. Fabricators follow their marks, using the right drill bit or punch for each hole. They consider the steel's thickness and how holes affect its strength.

Key Factors to Consider While Choosing the Right Steel Fabricator

When you're trying to find the best steel fabrication companies in UAE, here are some things to think about:

Experience: Look for a company that has been doing steel fabrication for a long time. They should know how to handle different types of projects.

Quality of Work: The best steel fabrication companies make high-quality products. They should use good materials and have ways to check that everything is done right.

Modern Equipment: Good fabricators use up-to-date machines and tools. This helps them work faster and make better products.

Safety: Steel fabrication can be dangerous. The best companies take safety very seriously and follow all the rules to keep their workers safe.

On-Time Delivery: Good fabricators finish their work when they say they will. This is important for big projects where delays can cost a lot of money.

Good Customer Service: The best steel fabrication companies are easy to talk to. They should answer your questions and help you understand the process.

Fair Prices: While you don't want to choose just based on price, good fabricators should offer fair prices for their work.

Certifications: Look for fabricators that have important certifications. These show that they meet high standards in their work.

How to Choose the Right Steel Fabricators

Now that you know what to look for, here are some steps to help you choose the best steel fabrication companies for your project:

Make a list of what you need: Write down exactly what kind of steelwork you need done.

Do your research: Look online for steel fabricators in the UAE. Read their websites and customer reviews.

Ask for recommendations: Talk to people in the construction or manufacturing business. They might know good fabricators.

Check their past work: Look at projects the fabricator has done before. This can show you the quality of their work.

Get quotes: Ask a few different fabricators for price quotes. This will help you compare costs.

Visit their workshop: If possible, visit the fabricator's workshop and see how they work and what kind of equipment they use.

Ask questions: Don't be afraid to ask the fabricator lots of questions. Good companies will be happy to answer and explain things.

Check their certifications: Make sure they have the right certifications for the work you need done.

Conclusion

Finding the best steel fabrication companies is really important for any project that needs steel. By looking for experienced companies with good quality work, modern equipment, and fair prices, you can find steel fabricators in UAE that will do a great job. Not forget to do your research, ask questions, and choose a fabricator that fits your specific needs. With the right steel fabricator, your project will be strong, safe, and built to last. The UAE's top steel fabrication companies are ready to help turn your ideas into reality, no matter how big or small your project might be.

[embroidery-pro]

A Beginner's Guide to MT-1501

A Beginner's Guide to MT-1501 Package Contents

Are you a beginner in the world of embroidery, excited about your new MT-1501 embroidery machine? The journey from opening the box to creating your first masterpiece can seem daunting, but fear not! We're here to guide you through every step, starting with understanding what's inside that big box. In this blog post, we'll dive into the contents of your MT-1501 package, answer some common questions, and set you up for a smooth assembly process. The Unboxing Experience: What's in the Box? Unboxing a new machine is like opening a treasure chest. Each item has its purpose, contributing to the functionality and efficiency of your embroidery work. The MT-1501 comes with several components, each carefully packaged to ensure they reach you in perfect condition. Let's take a peek inside: - The MT-1501 Embroidery Machine: This is the heart of your package. It's a robust, feature-packed machine designed to bring your creative visions to life. With its advanced technology and user-friendly interface, even beginners can achieve professional-quality embroidery. - Heavy-Duty Steel Stand: One standout feature of the MT-1501 is that it comes with its own stand. This isn't just any stand; it's a heavy-duty steel structure designed to provide stability during operation. No more worries about your machine wobbling or moving during high-speed stitching! - Embroidery Hoops: Your package likely includes a variety of hoops in different sizes. These are essential for holding your fabric taut and in place during the embroidery process. Different projects require different hoop sizes, so having a range is incredibly helpful. - Thread and Bobbins: To get you started, the package may include some embroidery thread and pre-wound bobbins. While you'll eventually want to expand your thread collection to match your design needs, these starter threads are perfect for familiarizing yourself with threading the machine and testing your first designs. - Needles and Tools: Expect to find a set of embroidery needles, perhaps a small screwdriver for minor adjustments, and other small tools that aid in machine maintenance and operation. - Instruction Manual and Quick Start Guide: These are your best friends as a beginner. The manual provides in-depth information about your machine's features, maintenance, and troubleshooting. The quick start guide, on the other hand, helps you get up and running swiftly. - Software and Connectivity Cables: If your MT-1501 model supports computer connectivity (many modern machines do), you might find a USB cable or other means to connect your machine to a computer. Some packages also include basic embroidery design software. Q&A: Common Queries for Embroidery Beginners Now that we've unpacked the contents, let's address some questions you might have: Q1: I'm completely new to embroidery. Is the MT-1501 too advanced for me? A: Not at all! While the MT-1501 is a powerful machine, it's designed with user-friendliness in mind. The included manual and quick start guide are written with beginners in mind. Plus, there are countless online resources, including video tutorials (like the one we're discussing) to help you get started. Remember, every expert was once a beginner! Q2: Why is the heavy-duty steel stand important? A: Great question! Embroidery machines can vibrate quite a bit, especially when working at high speeds or on dense designs. A stable stand prevents this vibration from affecting your work. It reduces the risk of misaligned stitches, keeps your workspace ergonomic, and can even prolong the life of your machine by minimizing stress on its components. Q3: How do I know which hoop to use for my project? A: The size of your design and the type of fabric you're working with are the main factors. As a general rule, use the smallest hoop that comfortably fits your design. This keeps the fabric tighter and reduces the chance of puckering or misalignment. For delicate fabrics, you might want a bit more space in the hoop to prevent stretching. Don't worry; with practice, choosing the right hoop will become second nature! Q4: The machine came with some thread, but there are so many colors available online. Where do I start? A: Begin with the basics! Stock up on colors you use most often or that match your current projects. Black, white, and primary colors are good starting points. As you grow, you'll discover specialty threads like metallics or variegated threads. Quality matters, so opt for reputable brands even if they cost a bit more. Poor quality thread can lead to breakage and uneven stitches. Q5: I see a USB port on my machine. What can I do with it? A: That little port opens up a world of design possibilities! Many embroiderers use software on their computers to create or customize designs. You can then transfer these designs to your machine via USB. Some machines even allow direct updates or access to online design libraries through this port. It's a feature you'll grow to love as you advance in your embroidery journey. Q6: The manual mentions machine maintenance. Is it complicated? A: It's simpler than you might think, and regular maintenance is key to your machine's longevity. Basic tasks include cleaning lint from the bobbin area, oiling specific parts (your manual will guide you), and changing needles regularly. Think of it like changing the oil in your car - a little effort goes a long way in preventing bigger issues. Q7: I'm worried about setting up the machine wrong. Any advice? A: Your concern is understandable, but rest assured, the MT-1501 is designed for easy setup. The video series you mentioned is a fantastic resource. Part 1 familiarizes you with the components. Part 2, which focuses on assembling the steel stand, will walk you through each step. Follow along, take your time, and don't hesitate to rewatch sections. Once your stand is set up, the machine itself often just needs to be securely placed on top. You've got this! Q8: How soon can I start my first project? A: After setting up your machine and stand (thanks to the upcoming videos), you can start almost immediately! Begin with something simple - maybe a pre-loaded design on your machine or a small, basic pattern. Use scrap fabric for your first attempts. This way, you can get familiar with hooping, threading, and the machine's operation without the pressure of working on a special project. Q9: What if I encounter a problem not covered in the manual? A: First, take a deep breath. Even experienced embroiderers face unexpected issues. Check online forums and groups dedicated to embroidery or your specific machine model. These communities are treasure troves of knowledge. YouTube is another great resource for troubleshooting videos. If the problem persists, don't hesitate to contact the manufacturer's customer support. They're there to help! Q10: I'm excited but also a bit overwhelmed. Is that normal? A: Absolutely! Starting any new craft can feel overwhelming. There's equipment to understand, techniques to learn, and a whole vocabulary to grasp. But here's the thing: every stunning embroidered piece you've admired started with someone feeling just like you do now. Embrace the learning process. Celebrate small victories, like successfully threading your machine or completing your first simple design. Before you know it, you'll be the one giving advice to newcomers! Conclusion: Your Embroidery Adventure Begins Here Unboxing your MT-1501 is more than just opening a package; it's the first step in an exciting creative journey. From the machine itself to the sturdy stand and essential accessories, each item in your package plays a role in transforming your ideas into embroidered reality. Remember, the upcoming videos in this series are your roadmap. Part 2 will guide you through assembling that all-important steel stand, ensuring your workspace is stable and ready for action. By taking it step by step, asking questions (like the ones we've covered), and not being afraid to learn from small mishaps, you're setting yourself up for embroidery success. So, take a moment to appreciate all the components laid out before you. Run your hands over the machine, feel the sturdiness of the stand, and imagine the possibilities held within each thread spool and hoop. Your journey into the world of embroidery starts now, right here, with your MT-1501. Stay tuned for the next part of our series, where we'll turn those stand pieces into the foundation of your embroidery studio. Until then, happy unboxing, and welcome to the wonderful world of embroidery!

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[crmrose]

AI Unraveled: The Fascinating World of Artificial Intelligence

Hey there, fellow Internet wanderers!

Welcome to my little corner of the web, where we dive into the captivating realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI). 🌟

Now, you might be wondering, "What in the world is AI?" Well, don't worry, I'm here to break it down in the simplest way possible!

Imagine if we could create computers that think, learn, and act just like humans. That's AI! It's like giving machines a brain and letting them do some incredible magic. 🧠✨

AI is all around us! From voice assistants like Siri and Alexa to those nifty recommendation algorithms suggesting your next favorite song or show, AI has woven its way into our daily lives.

But wait, how does AI actually work? 🤔

Well, it's like training a pet. Instead of teaching a dog to fetch a ball, we "train" AI by feeding it loads of data. The more data it munches on, the smarter it gets. So, with each passing day, AI becomes a virtual Einstein!

AI comes in different flavors:

Machine Learning: This is like AI's learning playground. It's where machines improve by themselves without being explicitly programmed. Just like how you learn from experiences, machine learning algorithms learn from data.

Natural Language Processing (NLP): This is where AI tries to understand human language. Have you ever talked to Siri and got a response? That's NLP in action, making it possible for machines to speak human!

Computer Vision: Ever noticed how Facebook can automatically recognize your friends in photos? That's computer vision. AI can now see, understand, and interpret visual content just like we do!

Robotics: AI and robots make an amazing team. Robots become smart and can perform tasks with human-like intelligence, from assembling cars to exploring space!

Now, I know some of you might wonder if AI will take over the world like in the movies. 😱 But fear not! As of now, AI is created to help and assist us, not to replace us. It's like having a super smart buddy by our side, making life easier and more enjoyable.

Of course, there are also important discussions about ethics and ensuring AI is used responsibly and fairly. We, as the creators, have a big responsibility to guide AI's development in a way that benefits everyone.

So, there you have it, a glimpse into the captivating world of AI! I hope this blog sparked your curiosity and brought some clarity to this futuristic technology.

Remember, AI is still evolving, and who knows what amazing things it will bring in the future! So, let's keep an eye on this AI adventure together. 🚀

Until next time, AI Enthusiast 🤖💕

[mylocalskill]

The Evolution of Manufacturing: From Craftsmanship to Industry 4.0

Hey there, fellow manufacturing enthusiasts! Have you ever wondered how we went from handcrafted goods to the era of smart factories and cyber-physical systems? It's time to buckle up and take a journey through the fascinating evolution of manufacturing, from the days of skilled artisans to the tech-driven revolution of Industry 4.0. So, grab your hard hats and safety goggles as we explore this exciting transformation together!

Craftsmanship: Where It All Began

Back in the day, manufacturing was all about skilled craftsmanship. From blacksmiths forging iron to tailors sewing clothes, every product was meticulously crafted by hand. These artisans poured their heart and soul into their work, producing unique and high-quality goods.

The Industrial Revolution: Paving the Way for Mass Production

Then came the Industrial Revolution, and everything changed. Steam engines and machines revolutionized manufacturing, leading to mass production in factories. Goods were now made faster and more efficiently, reaching a broader market. While it brought progress, some worried about losing the artistry of craftsmanship.

The Assembly Line: Streamlining Production

Enter the assembly line - a game-changer in the early 20th century. Henry Ford's innovative approach to automobile manufacturing exemplified how products could be assembled in a sequential manner, further increasing efficiency. It was like a well-choreographed dance of machines and workers.

Manufacturing Recruiting Firms: Bridging the Talent Gap

With the rise of industrialization, the demand for skilled workers surged. This is where manufacturing recruiting firms in Canada USA; LocalSkill stepped in to help companies find the right talent to keep the production wheels turning. They matched skilled workers with companies in need, creating a win-win situation for everyone.

Automation and Robotics: The Rise of Machines

As technology advanced, so did manufacturing. Automation and robotics started taking over repetitive tasks, allowing human workers to focus on more complex jobs. It was like having a team of tireless, precise workers that never needed coffee breaks.

Computer-Aided Design (CAD): Designing in the Digital Realm

With the advent of computers, the design process got a digital makeover. Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software allowed engineers and designers to create intricate models with ease. It was like upgrading from a manual typewriter to a high-speed gaming keyboard.

Industry 4.0: The Smart Manufacturing Revolution

Welcome to the present - the era of Industry 4.0! This is where manufacturing meets the digital world. Industry 4.0 encompasses technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and data analytics, creating interconnected and smart factories. Here's what's making waves:

Internet of Things (IoT): Sensors and devices communicate with each other to optimize production, monitor machines, and improve efficiency. It's like a manufacturing symphony where all instruments play in perfect harmony.

Big Data and Analytics: Manufacturers harness the power of data to make informed decisions, predict maintenance needs, and optimize processes. It's like having a crystal ball that tells you when a machine might go on strike.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data, detect anomalies, and optimize production in real-time. It's like having a manufacturing genius living inside your factory's computer.

Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing): This revolutionary technology allows products to be created layer by layer, opening doors to complex geometries and personalized items. It's like having a magic 3D printer that brings imagination to life.

Conclusion: Embrace the Future of Manufacturing

From the artistry of craftsmanship to the digital marvels of Industry 4.0, manufacturing has come a long way. Embracing new technologies and innovations, while cherishing the roots of skilled craftsmanship, is the key to staying ahead in this ever-evolving industry. So, let's celebrate the past, embrace the future, and continue making incredible things happen in the world of manufacturing!

[hellonoblesky]

Happy Saturday it’s past 2am here’s Harbinger Angst. Because I’m up late and I’m havinggg thoughts.

So here’s my hcs about the Harbingers reacting to/dealing with the news of Signora‘s death :)

(CW For like. Mental breakdowns and guilt and general emotional instability because no one is having a good time here. Oh also cussing, anddd some familial angst in Childe’s bit? Also I am so sorry about any misspellings n whatever it is. Very late and I already have two other posts in my drafts collecting dust that are also HCs so.)

Dottore:

So if you don’t follow my art blog or haven’t seen my Harbinger hcs (which are under the process of some change with new info being released and whatnot), you don’t know this but I HC Dot and Signora to be like sorta just evil siblings

Now because death is such a commodity in Dot’s uh… specific line of work, he doesn’t register that Signora is dead until like two days after he hears the news

He picked up the phone (rotary perhaps?) to go call up Signora‘a office to see if she has any good gossip and then stopped halfway through dialing because it hit him that she’s never going to be there to pick up the phone on the other end. Ever.

He usually listens to music when he’s working but with the absence of Signora ranting he has to take up listening to the radio on top of the music

Problem is: the radio doesn’t have the same charm and cadence to it that Signora’s rants did, because normal people are boring and it’s going to drive Dot up the walls if he has to listen to one more commercial or one more anxious ramble about how cool and great the Fatui are from some stupid radio host trying not to overstep the Tasritsa’s favor like she listens to some boring ass radio station in her spare time!!!

HE HATES IT. But is forced to make do because if he shows weakness he will be torn apart (or so he thinks)

So this leads to him locking himself away in his office even more than he already did

Because he was already intrigued by the traveller after their actions in Mond and their victory against Childe, but them beating Signora in a duel before the Shogun? Oh now that kickstarted a whole new line of study

Especially because his only coping mechanisms are Be Destructive and Dive So Far Into Work You Don’t Think so within about three days he has a comprehensive analysis of everything he can possibly get his hands on regarding the Traveler (without interacting with other people) and is about to pass out because he hasn’t slept

Oh and the funeral was absolute hell for him.

Mainly because while he was barely conscious he agreed to play violin at the service and then promptly passed out and forgot about it so he woke up and was hit with the consequences of his own actions in the form of sheet notes

He endured, obviously, he’s not going to back down from playing something at the funeral of one of the few interesting people in the organization, that’s what tools and cowards do and this might be the Fatui but if he’d survived the wrath of dead gods he would make it through this

Went right back to locking himself away after that though

He actually got bad enough that the other Harbingers took notice of his state and MADE him come out of his labs and eat (mainly at demand of the Tsaritsa because she just lost the Crimson Witch as an asset, she wants the rest of her Harbingers in good health god dammit, the Traveler is becoming a genuine threat)

Broke down at dinner a week after the funeral

Swears that if any of the other Harbingers bring it up ever ever again he will kill their bodies and keep their consciousnesses trapped in a machine that he controls forevermore

Really he’s just glad that no one immediately pounced on one of his few shows of weakness

Maybe he’ll risk it again if it means he can cry it out for another hour but he wouldn’t dare say that out loud, won’t even finish the thought

But you know what he will do?

What he does best, of course

Look at an oddity in the world (in this case the traveller) and seek to pick it apart until he can put it back together without looking and still have it work

The only way he can actually get through his grieving is by finding something to take the edge off

And it just so happens that the traveller is a perfect candidate

Childe:

By no means has he ever liked Signora, in regards to personality or method, but her death still hit him

He had to travel back to Snezhnaya for the funeral, and it did absolutely cheer him up to see his family again and get to spoil them all silly, but with a mind whirling with thoughts it was genuinely hard for him to keep a smile up

Mainly thoughts about battle, because that’s really the only way he can interpret the world at this point

Like he keeps thinking about weather the Traveler was holding back with him, or if they had gained the strength to fight off yet another Fatui plot just in the month or so since Liyue? And if they had gained strength, how had they done it so fast? If they’d been holding back against him had he not shown himself to be a fighter worthy of their strength? Had Signora even faced the Traveler‘s full strength?

Overall his head is much too full of too many things, and it wears him out to the point that he ends up sleeping in late enough for his family to actually worry because usually he’s up before dawn training and they don’t see him until the afternoon

But he’s back on track as soon as he can, because the training helps him think, and once he can resolve most of his thoughts (or repress them so they don’t bother him too often) he’s absolutely alright and fine and ready to go! Totally. Fine. It’s fine.

The thoughts were very much There during the funeral, especially as the first harbinger read a (somewhat summarized version) of Signora’s life to the assembly of Fatui

(Oh and Pierro didn’t really care weather or not Signor wanted people to know her life after she died because she was dead now what was she going to do??)

The reveal that Signora had been fighting for the Fatui because her lover had been killed by the actions of the Anemo Archon, and she desired nothing more than to see him again… it got to Childe. It got to Childe more than he’d like to admit

Because suddenly the woman who he had always known as the embodiment of frostbite and frozen barbed wire fencing had someone she had cared about, genuinely cared about, to the point where she had become the Mondstadt legend, the Crimson Witch herself

And she had lost that lover to the actions of a fool of a God

He swore silently to himself that when the Tsaritsa‘s future came to pass he would make a little monument for Signora. Nothing big, probably a plaque on a nice stone where Mondstadt would have been before the Tsaritsa’s success, but a monument nonetheless

This promise was a spur of the moment thing, and later he would be like “Man she was a jerk, lost love or not why did I promise her that?“ but he doesn’t go back on promises

Besides, actually watching Dottore break down in a grief and sleep-depravation induced haze was also something that got to him because of course the two people he happened to simply Hate The Most in the organization were close that makes perfect sense but also wow it is weird to see Dottore cry and it feels Wrong because after murdering and tormenting so many people… Signora is gone and he breaks then??? What the fuck

Avoids most of the Harbingers after that, just heads home to Morepesok to spoil his siblings silly before going back to Liyue

Oh and his siblings can tell something is up, Teucer especially because when his brilliant big brother, the greatest toy salesman in all of Snezhnaya, is suddenly struggling to keep a smile even though they’re at home… he notices

Childe’s other siblings are all avoiding the subject, they heard about the death of Signora and all, they just assume the organization is going through it tight now and frankly most of them are a little afraid of him weather they‘ll admit it or not

Not Teucer though, he’s confused just because he still has grasped how Snezhnaya works yet, so he goes ahead and asks anyway

Childe just says he’s sad because he has to leave again so soon! And he hasn’t even been able to take Teucer fishing this time, isn’t that sad?

Teucer can tell that he’s lying

But Teucer is also beginning to sense the danger that lies behind Childe’s eyes, so for the first time? He doesn’t push it or say that they could go fishing now if they hurry

Just a grin and a “Next time!! Promise?” Makes it all better and he doesn’t have to think about why his big brother feels unnerving to look at sometimes

Childe is oblivious to Teucer’s growing awareness

He heads back to Liyue and makes himself focus on work

Scaramouch:

Now he didn’t particularly like Signora either, and didn’t really care about her life’s story, because blah blah blah we get it lady you lost someone, we all did, cry about it or whatever

But he does feel… he feels guilty for leaving her to face the Shogun

He had the Gnosis, he had finished Signora’s mission for her without even meaning to, and he had thought it would be funny to just let her face the Shogun without knowing that

To some extent, it’s his fault she’s dead

And it’s not the fact that she died because he didn’t go get her that weighs on him, it’s that he left her to the Shogun of all things

I don’t know if puppets like Scara can feel things like people and such do, but considering how the Shogun expressed frustration and stress when Ei disabled the majority of her functions, I’m going to assume they can

And because of the meddling of ‘some eccentric scientists’ his emotions are probably toned down a tad but he can still feel guilt all the same

And leaving Signora to the Shogun makes him feel guilty because he and the Shogun are essentially kin

Disowned and disavowed kin, but you know

He may have been able to easily counter the Shogun, or even help Signora prevail in her duel, but he. Ran. Off.

He happens to think that that was very cowardly of him

It causes a spike in his aggression which everyone unfortunately has to notice every time he walks by because the sheer static electricity that snaps in the air when he’s in the room now? Haha. Ouchie

Fun fact: he has no idea how to cope with guilt

He channels ALL of it into SHEER RAGE

Ever seen a couple hundred year old man go absolutely apeshit in the Harbinger‘s shared training arena? Well now you have!! It’s not a pretty sight!!

He’s crying and can’t tell why, which fuels his anger, which fuels stress as a fun side effect which just makes more tears and now he has to snap someone in half because he needs it to stop he hates it here he hates it here he hates it here

And in the beginning the guilt wasn’t even that severe for him, it was just so immensely magnified by his lack of coping skills that he very nearly broke himself down

He tried going to Dottore to get it disabled but Dottore had his doors all locked so Scara couldn’t even get a word through to him

Oh and the funeral was fine with him he just left early because he didn’t want to deal with looking people in the eye at the time because, again, his lack of coping skills with guilt magnified the whole feeling so it was almost unbearable

It’s a lot of fighting and breaking things before he’s able to resign himself to some semblance of how he was

[shadowlight17]

Commander Cody Week - Day Three: Valor

Sooo two things. One, this is a day late because I had an eight hour shift yesterday and the muse didn't want to come after that. And two: I literally couldn’t help myself and combined several of the prompts from both Day Three and Day Two.

-how Cody gets his scar- -acting as a protector- in -desperate circumstances- -wielding a lightsaber- that just so happens to belong to the person Cody protects.

TW: Injuries are sustained...maybe not graphic, but if you don't like reading about this, best not to read.

Cody was going to kill Kenobi. Well, if they survived this mess, that is. It was supposed to be a simple infiltration mission, but turned out to be a trap. Wooley and Cody stood shoulder to shoulder, covering the rest of the unit's backs as they frantically tried to find the General. They were in a tunnel system where they’d heard rumors of a new secret weapon. Was there a weapon? Maybe. They’d only gone far enough for their escape route to be cut off before droids began filing out of the woodwork and appearing around every bend. At first it had been manageable, until they got to the extraction point. They were completely surrounded, and the droids weren’t taking prisoners.

Comms spiked as the jamming from the droids wavered. A choppy, though intelligible message connected to Cody’s internal comms.

“Commander Cody! We’ve got an extraction team ready to get you guys the hell out of there!”

“Negative, soldier. The zone is hot. It would be a massacre. They’re waiting for anyone else who comes into this trap!”

The hesitancy in the brothers voice was apparent as he tried to argue with Cody.

“But sir! We’ve got to get you and your men out of there!”

“I know that, trooper. You’ll need to scramble a fighter squad to cover any gunships you send in and it was my understanding that you’re in the middle of a battle!”

Wooley dragged Cody down as an ion cannon charge flew over their heads, crashing into the wall of the tunnel and causing the entire structure to shake. Cody tumbled to a stop, pulling a bead on the super battle droid, and quickly dispatched the largest threat to their group. Wooley groaned as he moved to get up. All of them were feeling a little beat up. They just had to make it back to the other group. A squad of B1 droids rounded the bend where the super battle droid sat smoking. The hunk of metal would slow them down, but not enough to keep them there indefinitely. Cody reached down and hauled Wooley to his feet, the disoriented trooper didn’t object and the two of them rejoined the unit around the bend. Two troopers immediately peeled off the group and started covering them and keeping the droids at bay.

“How close are they?”

Waxer breathed out as soon as they were close enough. The entire tunnel system shuddered again.

“Too close. Someone set charges here. We can collapse the tunnel here and slow down this group of droids. It’ll give us time to regroup with General Kenobi.”

Two troopers immediately moved and started setting the last of their charges. Wooley picked his weight off of Cody and Charger reached over to help Wooley regain his balance.

“Are you alright?”

Wooley nodded tightly and set to checking the charges on his blaster.

“Just took a knock to the head trying to keep the Commander from losing his.”

Cody nodded his thanks and then recalled the two troopers currently firing down at the advancing war machines.

“Alright men, from here on out we aren’t stopping for anything. We haven’t had any communication with General Kenobi since comms went dead, and that usually means he’s in trouble. Move out!”

All the men quickly set up pace while one of them started tracing General Kenobi’s comm unit. The two with charges finished and handed Cody a remote detonator. With an unspoken agreement, the stragglers turned and booked it. Cody waited until he heard the first couple units pass into the tunnel behind them, heralded by a few laser bolts hitting the tunnel walls around them. He hit the button and the tunnel shuddered for a third time, this time the supports in the tunnel behind them began straining under their weight while the entrance collapsed onto the droids. The dust settled behind them as they continued moving. The sounds of blasterfire became louder and they rounded a corner into another group. They were crouched in a defensive manner around some prone figures. A pang went through Cody when he recognized General Kenobi was one of the figures. His men immediately went to bolster the defenses, ignoring the lasers to the best of their abilities. Kenobi had been on the right track, the entrance to the maze was directly in front of them, being blocked by at least a full squad of droids. A brother was crouched next to Kenobi and Cody crouched down next to him, trusting the rest of the unit to keep the droids occupied.

“Is he alright?”

General Kenobi was unconscious and Cody wanted to growl in frustration. Their big gun was out of the fight, leaving the rest of them extremely vulnerable.

“He will be, though he’s not waking up anytime soon. Or fighting. He was caught in a collapsing tunnel not too long ago and he might have internal injuries.”

The cry of a brother in pain pulled the attention of the medic away. Cody nodded his dismissal and motioned Wooley over.

“We’ve got to punch through these droids, do we have anymore poppers?”

Wooly shook his head and Waxer pulled a brother out of the direct line of fire as the medic worked to stabilize and ensure that the trooper would live.

“We used all of the explosives. Our best chance is to have the extraction team ready to pick us up the second we blast through the entrance!”

A blaster bolt hit the wall close to where Waxer’s head was and he crouched low.

“So you’re telling me we’ve got no more artillery? Nothing that’ll thin the droids out?”

The medic snorted and motioned to the unconscious form of the General.

“Well unless you have some magic ability to get our Jedi back on his feet, then no. This would be a lot easier with his lightsaber.”

Waxer and the medic both stood, taking their weapons and swapped out brothers who’s blasters needed their battery packs switched out. Boil, who’d gone with the General crouched down next to Cody as he reloaded his blaster. He wordlessly handed over Kenobi’s lightsaber and rejoined the throng. The wounded trooper groaned slightly, but shifted his weight up so that he could take potshots.

“You got an extra blaster, Commander?”

Some droids were starting to file in from a new direction. It was all or nothing. Cody handed over his blaster, and fingered the button on Kenobi’s lightsaber. All clones had training in Beskad, so it wasn’t unreasonable that Cody use the one tool that had a chance of getting them out. His comms crackled to life again.

“Commander! Are you close to the extraction point? We’ve got a group making a run for your position. You’ve got...be...fzzt...ready!”

Mind made up, Cody stood and strode past the defensive line of brothers, igniting the lightsaber when he got clear. The droids stopped firing as their central processing unit tried to make sense of what they saw. Cody opened an internal line to all of the brothers around him.

“Be ready men, we are getting out of here. Wooley, grab General Kenobi. Charger, you’ve got Hotshot.”

The men all tensed as Cody raised the blade in a salute. Cody took a deep breath, and charged. The lightsaber had been heavier than expected, but the weight balanced well in his gloved hand, and he met no resistance as he slashed through the first three droids. He spun around and kicked high, knocking the head off of one droid. The droids scrambled backwards and started trying to train their blasters on him. Cody didn’t let them and stabbed out with the lightsaber, slashing through the weapons of some droid. Laser fire filled the air around him, and Cody kept moving. The straggler droids would be taken care of. He burst out of the tunnels, his HUD immediately compensating for the light from the sun. The momentary distraction was all it took for the droids to get him off balance. The field between them and the final extraction point was positively surrounded by droids. Cody faltered and a metal fist connected with the side of his helmet, pain exploded from the side of his head as the plastoid shattered. Cody reacted on pure instinct, spinning with the deadly energy blade and slashing through the offending arm. He’d just been punched by a kriffing super battle droid. Blood dripped down the side of Cody’s face and he grimaced. Another fist connected right in his blind spot and he went sprawling. The lightsaber deactivated as he hit the ground roughly. He distantly wondered how it did that, but turned his attention quickly back on the hopeless situation in front of him as he scrambled to his feet, raising the cylinder and igniting the blade once again. If droids could laugh, he was sure they would be. Another metal limb connected with his ribs on his blind side and he slashed blindly, taking the heads of two droids that had gotten too close. The circle of droids all trained their blasters on him and Cody frowned, blood washing into his mouth from the head wound. Where were they?!

He didn’t have to wonder long. Boil and the rest of the unit burst out of the tunnel raining blasterfire on the assembled droids, causing more panic. Cody burst into action, ignoring the protest from his ribs and carved a path to the extraction point just as some well placed shots from bombers and fighters above heralded the arrival of their ride. The troopers poured out of the tunnels, miraculously avoiding being buried as the tunnel finally gave in to the weaknesses it had gained from the earlier explosions.

The droids pressed in as the gunship dropped down to hover doors open. A fizzy noise and Cody barely made out what the pilot was saying through the now damaged comm system in his bucket.

“Get your men out of here, Commander!”

Cody made a quick gesture to the gunship and then placed himself close to the gunship as the men piled in. He swiped at any droids that got to close, growling in an almost feral manner. A pair of hands hauled him into the gunship and he thrashed. He had to keep the men safe, had to get the General to safety, had to.... The hands gently pried the saber from his grip as the gunship soared up into the atmosphere, doors sliding shut.

“Commander! Cody! We all made it. You can stand down.”

The medic was gently easing Cody’s helmet over his head, and Cody tried to slap the hand away, missing since the blood was still making seeing on his left side difficult.

“Tend to the General first!”

Waxer appeared in Cody’s right side periphery. Helmet off and held to the side.

“Commander, General Kenobi is stable, and Sharps here needs to stop the bleeding from your wound.”

Frowning, Cody tugged off his helmet, ignoring the protests of the medic as the broken plastoid scratched at his face.

“Do what you need to, Sharps.”

The medic in question pulled a crate over and directed Cody to sit on it, immediately going to clean the wound with what they had on hand. Cody couldn’t help but fidget, and the medic seemed to get what was going through his head better than Cody himself, because he angled Cody so he could see the Jedi General, laid out on a stretcher. Wooley slumped to the ground next to Cody and passed the General’s lightsaber back up to Cody.

“He’ll be so confused when he can’t find it again.”

Wooley slid his helmet off to display a nasty purpling bruise near his temple. Neatly mirroring Cody’s own new injury.

“We lived to fight another day. And we protected our General.”

Waxer’s quiet words assuaged the tense anxiety that had creeped in so soon post-battle. Cody sighed, once again resisting the urge to put his head in his hands, instead hissing as the medic apologized about something that Cody paid no mind his face went slightly numb and some of the haze left his mind. His men were safe, his general was safe, and they would continue to fight.

OOoof so that was REALLY long. Whoops. Well when the muse sings, you listen to the tune I guess XD @jate-kara @commandercodyweek

Oh and I forgot to mention but in yesterdays spiel, Helix is someone else's OC...I just borrowed them cuz I hadn't thought out my own medic character yet and the 212th doesn't have a canon one....

[theriverdalereviewer]

I think I’ve got it covered except that it’s annoying that you can’t add all eps at once using this method but whatever. And yeah a list of the eps would be helpful bc the wikia isn’t exactly the most comprehensive

Omg so happy it all worked out for you anon!!! It took me and my sister a good couple hours to figure it out. And yeah the process of adding episodes can be so tedious but its worth it if youre a big fan!! And yeah anon I’ll make a list for you rn

Now you may or may not know but SHS is broken down in 5 eras so I’ll sort the episodes by era. Here’s the full list and just so you know its very long 😭 also here is the link to the walkthrough so that you don’t have to fail the episodes and play them a second time: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/iphone/979746-surviving-high-school/faqs/58319

Football Star

Football Star

Football: Big Man on Campus

Football: Halloween

Football: Valentine’s Carnival

Football King of Spring Break

The Classics

A Summer Fling

Making Some Dough

A Float Is Born

Assembling The Team

The Great Float Caper

Break A Leg

The Outcast

Surviving Europe

From Europe With Love

Skate Video

The Concert

Wrong Side of Town

Best Party Ever (episode version)

Local Ghosts

Spud the Stud

Lost Recipe

Secret Ingredient

Halloween

Writer’s Block

Flex Games

Party Fowl

Road Rules

Winter Queen

Quest Rewards

The Holiday Party

Tom Prince’s Carol

New Year’s Kiss

Prank Wars

Bootcamp Breakout

Guys Versus Wild

Proof

The Crosstown Races, Part 1

The Crosstown Races, Part 2

The Break Up

Andy Canneloni, P.I.

Fair Catch

The Cheer-Lationship

The Prince Plot, Part 1

The Prince Plot, Part 2

Prom Night

The Graduation List

When Howard Met...

Homecoming Queen (optional episode)

Hector’s Guide to Girls (optional episode)

Love Potion Fun Pack (optional episode)

The New Girl (BEST ERA HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU SKIP TO THIS ONE 🚨)

The New Girl: Cheerleading Crush

Best Party Ever (mega pack version)

Spirit Week

Love and War

Green with Kenji

Foreign Exchange

Dance Dance Revelation

Party Crashers

Sam’s Formation, Part 1

Sam’s Formation, Part 2

Surviving Pet Society

Halloween: In Colt Blood

The Quiz-aster

Twinstigators

Long Distance Relation-trip

Pranksgiving (option episode)

Denni and Raven’s Thanksgiving

The Truth About Colt, Part 1

The Truth About Colt, Part 2

A Very Tom Prince Holiday

Holiday Cheer (optional episode)

Bringing Home Christmas

New Year’s Date

School Ski Trip

The Reluctant Matchmaker

How to Fight Nerdy

The Kim-provised First Date

Valentine’s Date

Queen of Hearts

Basketball Woes

Spring Breakup

Wilson High’s Demise

The New Regime

Officer Monte’s Ridealong

Trapped in the Classroom

School Rebellion

Good Chemistry

Anger Management

Sink or Swim

Tough Guy on Campus

Justin for President

Return of the Astrid

Erik’s Date

Breaking News

Broken Promises, Part 1

Broken Promises, Part 2

Spike Must Graduate

Howard’s Summer Bummer

Fourth of July Flashback (optional episode)

Freedom Festival

Girl’s Night In

Camping Trip Visions

French Connection, Paris, Part 1

French Kiss, Paris, Part 2

French Finale, Paris, Part 3

A College Date

Hector vs. Hector

Gossip Files (optional episode)

Back to School

Homecoming Princesses

Ben’s Blowup

Big Shoes to Phil

Homecoming Short Stories (I think the file is just called Sam or Zoe or Taylor or something doesn’t matter which one you choose)

Homecoming: The Game

Homecoming: The Dance

Nerd No More

Halloween: The Second Kiss, Part 1

Halloween: The Second Kiss, Part 2

What Happened to Colt, Part 1 (optional; part 2 is a Cause of Death episode the episode is on YouTube!)

Cheerevolution, Part 1

Cheerevolution, Part 2

Double Date

Thanksgiving Surprise

Taylor the Nerd

Secret Santa, Part 1

Secret Santa Part 2

Holiday Short Stories (optional episode)

Christmas Break

Christmas Exchange

New Year’s Parties

Holiday Tales (optional; these are five separate short stories and the file names are like Dr. Pepper or something idk why)

This Is Spartan

Clash of the Immortals

Valentine’s Dilemma

A Spartan Love Story, Part 1

A Spartan Love Story, Part 2

Amanda’s Valentine’s Day (optional episode)

300s A Crowd

The Contestants

The Spartan Games, Part 1

The Spartan Games, Part 2

The Spartan Games, Part 3

Eyes on the Prize

Faceplace Zero

Real Life Hero

April fools (optional episode)

Photo Op

The Candidates

The Endorsement

The Last Straw

The Campaign Trail

Sara the TV Star

Ballot Breakup

Nice Girl Unleashed

Father’s Day (optional episode)

The New Head Cheerleader

Date Auction

Howard’s Last Day

Wilson Strikes Back

Swim Team Trip

The Island Party

Howard’s College Tour

A Kingston King

The Storm, Part 1

The Storm, Part 2

Getting Over Howard

Surviving High School, The Novel Prelude (optional)

The Super New Girl (optional)

The Super New Girl: The Floating Isle (optional)

The Super New Girl: The Sinking Schools (optional)

The Super New Girl: Return of the Dyre (optional)

A New Start (fyi in between this era and the New Girl, the SHS novel was released so there might be some confusion about certain changes. also somewhere in between episode 36 and 40 of this era, the second SHS novel came out)

A New Start Season 1 (all 5 of the episodes are contained in this one pack)

Novel Bonus Chapter (optional)

Howard’s Return

Swim Team Retreat, Part 1

Swim Team Retreat, Part 2

Howard’s Secret

Psych Project, Subject: Owen

Psych Project, Subject: Paige

The Halloween Dance, Part 1

The Halloween Dance, Part 2

Basketball Tryouts

The Dance Dilemma, Part 1

The Dance Dilemma, Part 2

Paige’s Thanksgiving Party

The Snow Ball, Part 1

The Snow Ball, Part 2

A Fallon Family Christmas

Howard’s Holiday/Paige’s Nightmare After Christmas

Full Court Pressure

Showcase Sabotage, Part 1

Showcase Sabotage, Part 2

Girl Trouble

Paige and Owen’s Valentine’s Outing

Anti-Valentine’s Day

The Art Showcase

Sectionals

The Conned Artist, Part 1

The Conned Artist, Part 2

The Play

Casting Call

Paige Against the Machine

The Show Must Go On

Owen’s Eleven

Perfect Paige

The Debutante Dance, Part 1

The Debutante Dance, Part 2

Ready, S.E.T., Go

Cheer Off

This Friday Night

The Newest Cheerleader

Talent Search

Talent Show

Graduation Stories

Summer Beginnings

Admit Weekend

Sorority Showdown

Rehearsal Dinner

Wedding Smashers

College Stories

Game of Cones

A Clash of Queens

Romeo & Juliet (optional)

Magic School Book 1 (optional)

Magic School Book 2 (optional)

Magic School Book 3 (optional)

OMG St. Patrick’s Day (optional)

Troublemakers

Troublemakers

Dog Days

The Fashionista

Spencer’s Story

The Breakup

The Pumpkin Farmer’s Daughter

The Float

The Unusual Suspects

College Scavenger Hunt

The Tutors

Homecoming Kiss

A Troublemakers’ Thanksgiving

Nate’s Revenge

Getaway

Christmas Stories

The Date

Pyramid Scheme

The Secret Life of Owen Harris

Exposed

Spencer Betrayed

The Winter Dance

Heart to Hart

Hart Attack

The Kimi Dates

Just the Four of Us

Kimi Strikes Back

Prom

Series Finale

Magic School Homecoming (optional)

Battle of the Schools Guy (optional)

Battle of the Schools Girl (optional)

Sierra’s Challenge (optional)

Lauren’s Story (optional)

Peter’s Challenge (optional)

[aliyasheikh001]

Career In Bioinformatics: Is It Worth?

What is Bioinformatics?

Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field concerned with developing and applying methods from computer science to biological problems. For example, the Human Genome Project, which was completed in 2001, wouldn't have been possible without the contribution of intricate bioinformatic algorithms, which were critical for the assembly of millions of short sequences that are molecular.

Bioinformaticians need a background that is solid computer science but also a good understanding of biology. Since bioinformaticians work closely with biologists, they need to communicate complex topics in a way that is understandable to keep up-to-date with new developments in biology.

Studying Bioinformatics

I took part in a preparatory maths course at university before studying Bioinformatics at Saarland University. It turned out to be a smart decision to take that course for university because I realized that my high-school education was not as comprehensive as necessary to prepare me. For example, only in the preparatory time learned about proofs by induction or set theory.

I understood why the university offered preparatory maths courses: the maths lectures were brutal when I started my studies. There would usually be two lectures, each spanning two hours a week. The approach was the following in terms of teaching. The lecturer would scribble definitions and proofs onto the blackboard, and the students would try to keep up with the dizzying pace. Due to the short lecture speed, I always felt that attending the courses didn't help me learn the material.

In my Bachelor's bioinformatics curriculum, roughly 70% of the program's credit points had to be earned in computer science (e.g. programming, algorithms and data structures, concurrency) and maths courses (e.g. Analysis, algebra, stochastics). In contrast, the remainder of the credits could be obtained from the full life sciences. I felt that the first three terms at university were the hardest because each semester featured a maths and a computer science course that is basic. The semesters that are later a more significant share of Bioinformatics courses as well as more hands-on seminars.

Comparing life-science and computer-science courses, I found the life-science procedures much more straightforward and less effort. While life-science lectures just required attending the classes and passing the exam, computer-science methods involved much more work. There are weekly tutorials where the solutions to the assignments are weekly discussed. Additionally, some classes featured short (15 minutes) tests. In these classes, it was usually necessary to reach 50% of the maximum score in the assignments and tests to take the exam (either only a single exam or a mid-term and end-term exam).

What differentiates the Master's through the Bachelor's system is that it is more research-oriented and allows for much greater specialization. Including, I used my Master's to consider machine methods that can be learning as supervised learning or reinforcement learning. The Master's thesis uses up a much more significant element of the total credit points than the Bachelor's thesis. Therefore abilities such as, for instance, literary works analysis, method development, and scientific writing become even more critical in terms of research.

Job Leads as being a Bioinformatics Graduate

Learning bioinformatics, I happened to be often expected where you could act as a bioinformatician. About 80% of bioinformatics place have been in research or the public sector. The issue with research jobs is that they're usually fixed-term (age. g. two years) because these positions in many cases are financed task that is using. Into the public sector, bioinformaticians are often desired in the medical industry (e.g. in hospitals) plus in health-related federal government institutions. The benefit of roles in the public sector is the fact that they've been usually permanent. Nonetheless, employment in an organization that is the general public as being a hospital often involves method administration duties such as, for instance, starting computers and databases - tasks that have little to accomplish with bioinformatics itself. Furthermore, both research and public-sector positions provide fair salaries being low to industry.

In my estimation, no more than 20% of bioinformatics jobs come in the industry. How come the percentage therefore low? The main reason is the only industry sector that employs bioinformaticians is big pharma, within my view. Right here, bioinformaticians are expected to perform tasks such instance:

•           Modeling: Estimation of protein structures and simulation of molecular interactions

•           Data processing: processing and evaluating sequencing information, for example, from next-generation sequencing or sequencing that is single-cell

•           Virtual screening: breakthrough of leads (prospective brand new medications) using computational practices

•           Data technology: Analysis and interpretation of data

Since bioinformatics is very research-oriented and industry jobs are few, many graduates (maybe 40%) join PhD programs. The people industry joining work in non-bioinformatics roles is an example, since it consultants, software designers, solutions architects, or information scientists.

Some individuals advise against studying bioinformatics because it is difficult to find an operating task afterwards. I didn't have that experience at all, and I received a job that is numerous from recruiters. I might argue that having a bioinformatics degree, job prospects are acceptable due to the fact bioinformaticians have a particular skill, helping to make them appealing for organizations:

•           Bioinformatics graduates exhibit the traits of T-shaped experts. This permits them to execute many different tasks and to behave as facilitators in interdisciplinary teams.

•           Bioinformatics graduates often have more experience that is useful software than computer-science graduates.

•           Bioinformatics graduates are keen learners. Their proficiency in numerous disciplines shows that they can effortlessly conform to situations being brand new.

Advice to Prospective Bioinformatics Pupils and Graduates

Whether I would study bioinformatics again, I might be torn backwards and forwards if you asked me. Regarding the one hand, I must say I liked the variety of the bioinformatics system, and, with a degree in bioinformatics, many jobs are possible. The economic truth is there are few bioinformatics roles, so when you take a non-bioinformatics work, all your specialized knowledge decreases the drain having said that. Hence, I could also imagine studying a less subject specialized as computer or data science.

If you are thinking about studying bioinformatics, here are a few bits of advice:

•           Do not study Bioinformatics if you hate maths. Especially the semesters that are first maths-intensive.

•           Do no study Bioinformatics that it is very similar to studying biology if you were to think. Keep in mind that bioinformatics is more associated with computer technology than biology. You will find excessively biologists, which can be a few results in the change to bioinformatics.

• if you aim to operate as a bioinformatician in industry, plan. Remember to take courses that are industry-relevant forge industry connections, for example, through internships.

•           Be flexible in your career ambitions. After graduating, you could not act as a bioinformatician. Nonetheless, you won't have problems locating a place when you have good programming and information analysis abilities.

        Bioinformatics Versus Data Science

•           possibly the most useful definition of "bioinformatics" is processing and analyzing large-scale genomics and other biological datasets to develop biological insights. As a result, other terms are often used, such as "computational genomics" and data that are "genomic."

•           Data science is a little broader, mostly a more general term whose meaning is similar to bioinformatics minus the focus of biological processing and evaluating large-scale datasets to produce insights.

•           in an article in Towards Data Science by Altuna Akalin, who cites audacity.

An information scientist's primary abilities include programming, machine learning, data, data wrangling, data visualization and communication, and data intuition, which probably means troubleshooting data concerns that are analysis-related.

•           What comes up in bioinformatics is domain-specific information processing and quality checking, fundamental information transformation and filtering, statistics and device learning, domain-specific analytical tools and information visualization and integration, capacity to write code (programming), the power to communicate insights which can be data-driven.

•           the difference that is key in Akalin's definitions is "certain domain data." The domain is genomic, proteomic, hereditary, and healthcare-related information in life sciences. It does not necessarily add sales and data, which are economical. Another method of putting it's that a bioinformatics professional is probable an information scientist; however, a data scientist is not necessarily a bioinformatician.

          Bioinformatics Facts & Figures

•           Persistence Market Research recently published a report, "Global Market Study on Bioinformatics – Asia to Witness Fastest Growth by 2020," which valued the worldwide bioinformatics market at $4.110 billion in 2014 but likely to grow at an annual mixture growth (CAGR) of 20.4 % from 2014 to 2020, hitting 12.542 billion in 2020.

•           The Future of Jobs Survey 2018 by the World Economic Forum estimates that 85 per cent of surveyed businesses tend or very likely to consider data analytics being big. It also indicated that the revolution that is "industrial create 133 million brand new job functions and that 75 million jobs are disappearing by 2020."

•           And yes, you guessed it, many of the jobs which are now in the regions of information technology and bioinformatics. In reality, the #1 top ten job champion ended up being "data analysts and scientists" followed closely by "artificial intelligence and machine learning specialists." The number 4 spot was data that are "big," followed by "digital transformation experts" (#5), "software and applications developers and analysts" (#9) and "information technology services." (#10).

•           together with job outlook for bioinformatics for 2018 to 2026? The Bioinformatics Home weblog writes, "The easy reply to this real question is that the overall outlook is excellent, the demand outweighs the supply. However, the devil is within the details as usual. Nevertheless, it's good to become a bioinformatics scientist."

         Job Titles and Search Terms

•           Although "bioinformatician" could be a certain job, and there are various keywords that are frequently related, including bioinformatics.

Bioengineering, computational science, pc software engineering, device learning, math, data, molecular biology, biochemistry, computer technology, biostatistics, biomedical engineering, engineering, biology, information systems, genomics, computational biology, information science, and epidemiology.

•           a search that is single BioSpace developed over 100 jobs mainly using "bioinformatics." The idea being: biostatisticians in the space that is biopharma to have a good comprehension of both data science and particular aspects of the life span sciences.

•           Akalin had written, you're kept with most of the information science skillset plus some more "If you eliminate the particular domain needs from the bioinformatics set of skills. Individuals who result in the switch from bioinformatics to information technology will most need that is likely to adjust to the company's information organization and circulation environment. The issues are from a different domain, so they will have to adjust to that also. But the same would be true, at the least to some degree, for the data researchers jobs that are switching various employers."

•           Akalin also points out that much of the difference is regarding mindset, particularly in academia to industry. Several information researchers who switched to bioinformatics or vice versa said that the sector is more product-oriented and customer and that the models needed on the market require more maintenance. "Besides," Akalin writes, discussing Markus Schuler, "he shares the idea itself is as important in product-oriented thinking that you don't constantly select the coolest and the most useful models; other factors like operating time, execution demands, scalability and architecture fit and also interpretability for the model. However, in terms of skills, he adds that bioinformatics and data technology is very comparable if not identical."

         Job Growth and Median Wages

•           The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't execute a task that is great of down specializations like data science and bioinformatics, tending to lump everything under Mathematicians and Statisticians. The BLS claims the task outlook from 2016 to 2026 is 33 per cent, much faster than average, and that the median pay in 2017 ended up being $84,760 with a Master's Degree for that category. Statisticians were cited among the fastest-growing occupations, at 34 per cent, and epidemiologists have an improvement rate of 9 per cent and pay that is median of Master's Degree prospect of $69,660.

•           In 2018, O*NET OnLine, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, projected task development for bioinformatics researchers within the U.S. to be 5 to 9 % and as high as 12 % in California. They launched that from 2016 to 2026, there is 3,700 new job, and that total employment in 2016 had been 39,000 staffers. Based on the study, the same median wages in 2017 were $76,690 yearly for bioinformatics boffins and $47,700 for specialists.

While the Bioinformatics Home blog correctly notes, "In any case, median salaries give just a proven fact that is vague of because the wages differ enormously between quantities of employment."

Do you want more informational blogs Click here

[platinumlaptop]

Best laptops for solidwork

In the world of SolidWorks, with so much going on, you need something that will last. This really is what you need to keep in mind when you search for the best SolidWorks laptops. There's a lot to take into account. The program takes up a lot of storage, and to work well requires large quantities of computing power.

Solidworks, especially in the case that you are going to deal with complex models, is among the toughest applications. Here, we will take a look at Solidworks' best laptops. There is a high likelihood that you will be using (or wish to use) other technology software such as AutoCAD, Revit, as well as Lumion if you are using the programs.

We have compiled a list of some of the best laptops for SolidWorks and other professional-level CAD applications to help you have the right hardware specifications at your disposal. Laptops of various brands, technical requirements, use, and prices can be found in the catalog. Before checking out our impressive laptop range, we suggest going through this minimum hardware requirement specification sheet;

CPU:

Intel's Core i5 quad-core processor is the minimum CPU requirement for SolidWorks. CPUs with a good single core output are the preferred option since SolidWorks is mostly single-threaded.

GPU:

For use in CAD applications, the NVIDIA Quadro, AMD Radeon Pro WX, and AMD FirePro series are authorized. Look out for one of these series to come under a GPU.

Storage: Holding all your models consolidated under one storage unit (both 2D and 3D) lets you keep careful track of them and access them easily. A minimum of 256 GB of SSD storage is a must for that. It comes as an additional advantage to have 1 TB HDD storage.

RAM:

The minimum requirement for doing SolidWorks basic-level tasks is 8GB. For large-scale models and comprehensive simulation studies, 16 GB DDR 4 RAM and above will help you meet the memory requirements required.

ASUS ROG Hero III G731GW - 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H

 In the hard work laptop world, Asus' ROG line is a storied name. In the solid work industry, the device family is at the forefront and incorporates many of the newest technologies. With the latest line of Strix and Hero gaming laptops, this is fairly evident. You should buy this Asus due to its good power battery, it will help you to stay your work continue for a long time in a day. Featurs

Having high-resolution 3D modeling, simulation, and rendering in SolidWorks, modern games are CPU and GPU-intensive. What this means to you is that you can use the ASUS ROG Hero III G731GW high-level computing arsenal to smash all of your CAD duties. It's best to let the technical specifications do the talking, considering the thought-out configuration of this laptop.

In a powerful laptop such as the ASUS ROG Hero III G731GW, 1 TB of fast SSD storage is more than what you can ask for. An unmistakable addition is its 1 TB HDD storage. And not to forget its full HD display of 17.3 inches that provides a utilitarian and immersive view. One of the best laptops for solidwork, In the style group as well, this laptop tops.

Prose

Cons

Configuration of uncompromised  hardware

  It's a little heavy with bodyweight

Modern construction of the design

   Dell G7 17- 10th Gen Intel i7-10750H

The Dell G7 17 is easily one of the best options for running 2D and 3D CAD simulation software, such as SolidWorks, Fusion 360, and more, like most of the gaming laptops on our list. This is one of the best laptop from all series of Dell. Dell G7 17 give you the best opportunity to buy and make your solid work easy and quick. The feature sets, while being a gaming laptop, are compatible with different technical specifications.

Features

Particularly when powerful workstations are being addressed, you won't hear the name of Dell that much. However, in terms of quick speed, smooth rendering, and great ergonomics, I consider Dell's G7 17 a complete revolution. Yeah, you've heard that correctly.The first-ever significant aspect that you should know about G7 17 is that it is backed by an ultrafast processor of the Core i7, 9th gen. In addition, for a complete multitasking experience, a 16 GB DDR4 ram is also included.

The integration of the Nvidia GTX 1660Ti, on the other hand, makes it easier for engineers to complete their 3D modeling tasks within a short time. Apart from that, there is also an RGB backlit keyboard to improve the computing machine's aesthetics.

Prose

Cons

The best way to run Solidworks

It is of no benefit to the tech  department.

Wide Display

Dell's client poor service.

Smooth Graphics Rendering.

 It seamlessly runs 3D modeling  applications.

  GIGABYTE AERO 15-X9-RT5P - Intel Core i7-8750H

With its excellent performance optimization that is supported by Microsoft Azure AI, it stands out from the crowd. Although this feature is extremely helpful for gaming, it is also well used when working on SolidWork. Our choice for the best laptop also comes with anti-glare display technology that guarantees that the viewed material is in no way blurred. If you prefer working late at night, this laptop's backlit keyboard will help you brave it out while burning your midnight oil.

Feature

Just like the Razer Blade 15 does, it takes the slim and compact chassis jump. But it is worth noting that the portable design approach is not only based on aesthetics, there has also been a lot of emphasis on CAD-appropriate performance.You can use the 16GB DDR4 laptop's RAM to run SolidWorks efficiently, along with the Intel Core i7. The 16GB RAM of the device is derived from a single channel and the technology of SO-Dim. Dim utilises integrated circuits that, while providing impressive RAM performance, consume little power.

This is particularly true for many SolidWorks activities that take quite a considerable amount of time, such as 3D model processing and reconstruction. The impressive 144 GHz refresh rate of the 15.6 inches full HD monitor of the laptop ensures that graphics for high-resolution model design are not compromised.

Prose

Cons

Functionality at its finest

The Webcam's has bottom Positioning

Capacity for high SSD capacity

 In a sleek footprint, efficient  computing

  Lenovo ThinkPad P50- Intel Core i7-6700HQ

Lenovo ThinkPad p50, designed especially for workers on the go, and Lenovo ThinkPad P50 is ideal for you if you deal with large gatherings and project lengths. This laptop can be described as a "mobile workbench." It is very large, wide, and has a power supply that looks like a brick.

Features

SATA SSD II on M.2. On the storage hand, the slot is mounted, not the fastest, but still, it has amazing features such as opening Sold work at a flashy pace.The GPU card delivers a great laptop, but not the best, but don't judge. 4GB VRAM is the correct size for a workstation when you are dealing with big assemblies. The thing you should take advantage of is its GPU enhanced rendering CUDA cores.

This laptop's processor is a little old, but this doesn't stop considering it because it has about the fastest clock speed that you can find from the choices.You get a higher internal data size (8 MB) with Intel eon than most other common laptops though with the greater data rate, such as Intel Core i7-7700 HQ with 6 MB for Ex. The laptop has a 3.70 GHz Intel Xeon E3-1505M v5 4 core.

Pros

Cons

Absolutely  incredible 4K with colour calibrator monitor.

Contains a pound extra.

Keyboard Descriptor.

The battery life would have been  better.

Output by Swift.

Sodium vapor computer.

 Acer Aspire V15 Nitro- Intel Core i5-6300HQ

Acer Aspire V15 Nitro The laptop has an aesthetic style that draws the eye, and the overall level of craftsmanship does a reasonably decent job. The computer sounds robust. The hinges are soft, sleek and well-designed, allowing users to comfortably raise the panel with only one hand.

Features

TheAcer Aspire V15 Nitro has all the feature which your seeking for your laptop for solid work. A regular 15-inch laptop, your best laptop for solid work might be the Acer Aspire V15 Nitro black model. It is an entertainment system that can manage multimedia content, reliable jobs, and some content for gaming. This laptop was launched in 2014 for the first generation, but its latest model has some significant capabilities.

The computer feels robust. The hinges are soft, smooth, and well-designed, allowing users to easily raise the screen with only one hand. With a native resolution of 1920 x 1080p, the 15-inch screen is full HD, One of the best laptops for solidwork.

The diesel version, together with 8 GB of RAM, NVidia 960M graphics, and dual storage, comes with a 2.6 GHz Intel Core i5-6300HQ processor. You can get 32 GB DDR4 RAM with an Intel Core i7 processor with a higher version or a configured version.

Pros

Cons

Speedy Results.

Tricky to update.

Beautiful in design

The battery life is very small.

Lighter and thinner.

It quickly gets heavy.

 Acer Predator Helios 300- 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H 6

You will find the Acer laptop a better option if you just do tiny jobs on SolidWorks. This laptop comes with a hard drive bay and a free SSD (solid state drive) slot for fast storage updates, even though you can feel the storage space is a little small.The controls are a little slick considering the fair travel and the solid foundation. This ensures they're a little spongier than the keyboards on one of SolidWorks' best laptops.

Features

The Acer Predator Helios 300 is a fantastic discount laptop, like the Acer Aspire, and, if you're on a budget, one of SolidWorks' best laptops. This laptop comes with a 9th generation Intel Core i7 9750H Processor, a 256GB SSD, 16GB RAM, 1920 x 1080 pixel display resolution, and Windows 10 as the operating system.

Although the display resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels is high enough to send you crisp images without straining the graphics core, the 15.6-inch screen size is perfect. Its IPS panel has a refresh rate of the 144-hertz display, which will help you enjoy if you intend to play any games after completing your studies or function with the Ram 16GB DDR4 memory.

Pros

Cons

Rational travel and firm foundation

No Thunderbolt 3 or Card Reader

Screen with high-quality

Construction output average

Supportable lifetime of battery

Outside heavy and weak

 HP ZBook 15v G5

The HP Zbook 15V G5 offers a stable mix of features at your disposal, whether you use SolidWorks for technical or school work. For individuals looking for a handheld workstation to tackle data processing, CAD work, video editing, 3D animation, and modeling, this is our best laptop.There is also a dual-storage module on the laptop that ensures that all the tasks are securely stored.

Features

For quick calculations, the HP Zbook 15V G5 comes exceptionally fitted. Thanks to the Core i7-8750H processor from Intel. Although it is not the newest or fastest on the market, at a speed of up to 4.10GHz, this CPU can perform most SolidWorks tasks flawlessly. 9MB of cache memory improves the processor further.

There is also a dual-storage module on the laptop that ensures that all your tasks are securely stored. This involves a 512 GB SSD and a 1 TB HDD for permanent storage for faster, One of the best laptops for solidworkperformance. In exchange, it makes it incredibly easier to load and render massive assemblies.The HP Zbook 15V G5 outputs 1920 x 1080 pixels on a 15.6 inch FHD screen. This makes it possible to deal on complicated tasks when you are able to see plainly what you are focused on.

Pros

Cons

Strong GPU-dedicated workstation

The Ethernet card is a little rigid,

Two usb 3.0 port for fast transfer of  files

Unprotected eyes may be harmed by the  glossy show

RAM Modular

  Microsoft Surface Book 2 – 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8650U

Do yourself a favour and go for Surface Book 2 whether you are a student or a specialist who wants the right laptop for solid jobs. Surface Book 2 can perform solid tasks quickly without any complications and, according to our study. It is the only non-workstation that is accredited for stable work for a laptop.Do yourself a favour and go for Surface Book 2 whether you are a student or a specialist who wants the right laptop for solid jobs..

Features

The Microsoft Surface Book 2 can be your ideal companion if you are someone who works or likes to work from scratch when it comes to CAD-related model design.The most significant one (as you'd already guess) is its 2-in-1 laptop and tablet mode, among many explanations why. With the tablet mode of Surface Book 2, initial model conceptualization by sketching can become much simpler for you.

With its ultra HD pixel-dense resolution, the 15-inch monitor of the Surface Book 2 does not go unnoticed. The 512 GB of fast-access SSD storage adds more value to this 2-in-1 laptop's overall hardware configuration.Surface Book 2 can perform solid tasks quickly without any complications and, according to our study; Surface Book 2 is the only non-workstation that is accredited for stable work for a laptop.

Pros

Cons

Many add-on options

suitable add-ons, Surface Pen and  Surface Dial come

Model 2-in-1

 Performance is Reliable

  Conclusion

Many of the laptops referred to above are all chosen from other brands and models of the best laptops for solidwork. They have different budget-related requirements. The cost range, however, does not affect these laptops' overall performance.

[ask-de-writer]

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT : Part 52 of 83 : World of Sea

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT

Part 52 of 83

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

140406 words

copyright 2020

written 2007

All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

//////////////

Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users   of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may   reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information   remains intact.  They may use the characters or original characters in   my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical   compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

New to the story?  Read from the beginning.  PART 1 is here

///////////////////////

A Dragon’s grin split Mecat’s face, showing her many very large fangs.  “The Gift was not wasted on you, Little Bite.  You think like a Dragon.  Yes, so long as you actively seek justice from the Naral fleet, you may have refuge in the Dragon Sea.”

“A last quest’n, t’en.  May we assemble witnesses on our be’alf an’ bring t’em north, t’ t’e ship?”

“The Law of the Naral fleet says that you may have witnesses.  We will allow you to assemble what you need for your case.”

“Oi see wye Kurin luves ye so muckle, Mecat.  Oi wad give ye a ‘ug, ‘twere it permitted,” said Tanlin quietly.  “Ye ‘ave given us a fair chance an’ given ane t’ t’e fleet as well.  Did ye guess t’at we donnae wont t’ leave our fleet?”

The massive head tilted curiously.  “I would appreciate a hug from you, Little Bite.  I did not guess that there could be two who would want to do so.”

Tanlin spread her arms wide, finding the same problem that Kurin had, Gatherings before.  Mecat’s muzzle was simply too large to get a grip on.  Still, she did her best.  She was surprised to feel the large powerful tendrils that fringed Mecat’s mouth wrap gently about her as well.  Another surprise was that Mecat was warm to the touch.

When they parted, Frath said, “My sister has been far more interested in humans than the rest of us.  Considering the speed with which you’ve spread through the ecology and the far reaching effects that you’ve had, it just proves once again that she always has been and always will be wiser than the rest of us.  That’s why we listen to her.

“Did you know that she had me steer this storm over nine hundred miles out of it’s planned path, just to isolate you from the rest of the fleet so that she could have this talk?”  He snorted.  “Ridiculous, I would have said.  A ship more or less is not a matter that will result in ecological disturbance.  Of course, she saw it differently.  Now I understand what she was getting at.  As usual, she is right.”

Now that it was not a matter of defending her ship, Tanlin realized just what she was doing, talking to a Great Sea Dragon as if he were a guest in her cabin for flavored water and crunchy snacks.  She got weak in the knees.  She sat down and tried to calm herself.  The Wide Wings flew off from her shoulders.

Even though partly overcome by her temerity, curiosity led her to ask, “Frath, ye talk an’ breathe, ‘ow can ye live under woter?”

“Do you know, you are the first human to ask any of us that question?  It is simple really.  I am moving air through the same gills that I use to breathe water.”

“If ye ‘ave gills, ‘ow con ye talk?  Or breathe air for t’at matter.”

“My gills are a series of fine tubes stacked together into organs similar to your own lungs.  Water comes in through my nostrils and is pumped through the gills and then normally exits by my gill slits.  In air, I close down about seventy percent of the tubes because there is so much oxygen that I might suffer ill effects if I did not.  I also close my gill slits.  That makes the air exit by my mouth.  I make the back of my throat vibrate the exiting air column and modify it with my tongue and mouth to make words.  The part that I use to vibrate the air is used for echolocation when I’m underwater.  Do you follow me?”

“Oi t’ink so…”  Just then the Sea Hawks returned, each one carrying a fish in its talons.  They dropped the fish into Tanlin’s lap and landed beside her.  The female of the two picked up one of the fish in her beak and tried to put it into Tanlin’s mouth. Tanlin took the fish into her hand, bit off some and began to chew. Both birds watched her carefully, then took off up to their nest.

Frath giggled.  “Speaking of mixed up ecology, you have just been formally adopted as a part of their flock.  You gave them a safe place in the storm, defended their nest and brought them food.  When they thought that I was a threat, they tried to defend you from me, and then, when you got overcome with weakness, they got food and tried to take care of you.  I think that they’d fight to the death for you, if they had to.  You do make the oddest friends.”

Tanlin smiled at the Dragon.  “Speakin’ o’ w’ich, w’en ye arenae steerin’ storms around, could ye come an’ talk t’ m’?  Oi like t’ ‘ear ye explain t’ings.”

“What, just be friends?”

“Aye.”

“Let me think about that one.  Maybe ask my sister.  Nobody ever asked that one before either.  I think that they were afraid of us because of our size.  Kurin and Mecat are the only friends like that, and long ago there was Jenn the Whale’s friend, who was our friend too.”  Frath submerged in a swirl of foam and was gone.

Chapter 19: Aftermath

The Grandalor rode the center of the storm northward.  In the eye of the Coriolis Storm, the weather was no worse than a badly choppy, windy Winter day.  They followed their progress north by moon sightings made possible by the clear sky overhead.

In many regards, the area was like the storm track that ships tried to escape into.  The iron gray whitecaps were full of hungry, feeding creatures of all sizes.  There were the usual Strong Skins, swarming around any injured or dead creatures.

The Wide Wings, ranging out from the ship to hunt fish, began to point out a place over a mile from the Grandalor.  They swooped down and climbed back up in graceful circles, found their station and swept down again.

The lookouts were wise enough to know that Tanlin was interested in anything that the birds did.  They notified Barad and Tanlin came up to the deck shortly after hearing of the odd behavior of the birds. She watched for only a few moments, getting a faraway look on her face as she did.

Tanlin came back to herself, shaking slightly, as if fitting herself back to her own body.  Pointing at the place the birds were indicating, she said, “Tis a Hag school Barad, m’ Luve.  T’ey’re feedin’ on a dead Lesser Dragon.  Some’re fair sized.  T’ere’s little shelled Hags, too.  Ought t’ get some i’ we put a net oot.”

Barad ordered a fine meshed net spread and had helmsman Macoul make for the Hag school.  Men and women, under the direction of the Masters who had designed it, prepared the big war catapult for a better use.  The massive coils of springy rope that drove its bow arms were tensioned. The windlass strained as it pulled the machine back to full cock. It was loaded with a massive harpoon, meant to breach the hull of a ship.

By this time, the lookouts were guiding the ship to its most advantageous position for firing into the school.  Bosun Modanet was riding a seat at the back of the catapult’s beam to aim it.  When he judged the roll of the ship to be proper, he struck the release with a mallet.  The results were sobering.

Due to refraction, he had missed the Hag that he was aiming for.  The bolt blasted all the way through the carcass of the seventy foot Lesser Dragon, penetrating nine feet of hide bone and muscle.  It jolted the line anchors that pulled it to a stop, over a hundred feet away.  That wasn’t all.  The recoil threw Bosun Modanet from his seat and slid the big machine five feet back across the deck.  It was secured by tackle or it would have gone further.  As Modanet picked himself up, he saw one of the catapult crew being helped to sickbay. His arm obviously broken.

“What happened to Karlan?” he asked, shaken.

“He was hit by the cocking cable block when it came off tension during firing,” was the reply.

It was a more serious and careful group that prepared the catapult for its next shot.  Modanet tied himself to his aiming seat.  The lessons learned paid off on the next shot.  They pulled the bow a shorter distance and changed the recoil tackle.

Aiming for a big Hag, the Bosun allowed for refraction this time.  The bolt smashed through the creature’s cephalon, just back of the tentacle roots, destroying one enormous eye and the brain behind it.  They let the big cephalopod hang on the harpoon line until it quit flailing and the deadly barbed tentacles dangled lax.  It was snared into a cargo net and pulled aboard, straining all the lifting tackle of the Grandalor to do it.  Twelve thousand pounds of dangerous — and valuable — creature lay on the deck ready for processing.

They killed two more smaller ones before the school fled.  Some of the Lesser Dragon carcass was salvageable, hide and bone, mostly.  The meat was going over and was contaminated by Hag venom as well.  The near priceless head, with its many long, strong fangs was already gone from the carcass.  The remaining meat was still valuable as bait.  More than twenty Strong Skins were added to stores before a Wing Ray showed up and took it all.  The monster was big enough that the Grandalor was not willing to risk putting a harpoon in it.

Karlan, arm splinted and in a sling, just looked at the powerful whirlpools made by the wing tips descending through the water ninety feet apart. Sardonically he said, “What if it were to notice that we pricked it?”

Bosun Modanet nodded soberly.  “I was on the Light of Dorac when the Kellen did that.  We saw it happen.  The Ray broke the harpoon lines like weak string.  It sounded, then jumped.  It hit the main mast just below the main yard. The impact rolled the ship and the Wing Ray landed on it at the same time.  The Kellen was gone in under a minute.  We beat the Ray to one of the survivors.”  He turned to watch the bustle of men and women processing the catch.

TO BE CONTINUED

<==PREVIOUS   NEXT==>

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[shantanu56]

Are you ready to conformal coat? Here’s why you might want to know.

Over the holidays, I had occasion to watch a National Geographic documentary on the April 2019 fire that took place in the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. A segment of the show touched on how the city fire department utilized an unmanned, 1,110 lb. fire-fighting machine, lovingly called the Colossus, to enter parts of the inferno unsafe for human firefighters. Not only was this advanced unit charged with discharging 660 gallons of water per minute into the blaze and providing a live video feed and sensor data to provide valuable insights on the fire’s progress to nearby fire chiefs - it had to perform these and other duties under the duress of incredible heat, drenched in water, and withstanding various impacts and vibration from falling or fallen debris, including molten lead from the cathedral’s lead roof. Talk about hostile workplaces!* * You can read more about and see the Colossus in action, here. Needless to say, the story brought to mind the advances the electronics industry has made and continues to make in the arenas of mobility, connectivity, processing, and - especially in this instance - durability. After all, machines like this don’t just happen: From major systems, to sub-assemblies, to individual components, on down the line — they are painstakingly designed, spec’d, and built to perform in adverse conditions. Which brought to mind the increased importance of the protection afforded by conformal coatings. What is conformal coating? Conformal coating involves spraying or immersing a printed circuit board (PCB) or PCB assembly in a protective coating - in much the same way that a car manufacture or service shop applies a coating undercarriage of your car. The applied material ‘conforms’ to the irregular surface or landscape of a PCBA, including surface-mounted components, solder points, raised or etched circuits, component leads, through-holes, and more. Once applied, applied conformal coatings must dry or cure for a suitable period of time before additional processing, assembly, quality control, or other tasks can proceed. Once applied, such coatings can protect against any number of strains your circuit may encounter in the real world, including: -Moisture, oils, chemicals, solvents -Thermal stresses, including extreme heat and cold Vibration, abrasion, physical impacts, handling during shipping, regular use, or service -Dust, dirt, grime -Ultraviolet (UV) exposure and degradation -Unexpected electric shocks (transient voltage surges, aka: lightening), shorts, and static electricity -Radiation What are conformal coatings made of? Conformal coatings or ‘resins’ come in a variety of compositions to match your unique application or performance goals. While other materials are available, including a new breed of ‘nano’ coatings, the three major types of traditional coating material options are: -Apoxy Resin (AR) is a rigid coating that offers basic, low-cost dust and moisture protection. Apoxies are, though, susceptible to chemical solvents, which makes it easier to intentionally remove the coating to do rework and field repairs easier, even if it also makes them less-than-ideal for caustic industrial settings. -Silicone Resin (SR) is a flexible, hydro-repellent material suitable for high-vibration and/or outdoor environments. SR-based coatings also have excellent dielectric properties, so they can help isolate high-voltage (aka: eliminate arcing) or, inversely, help protect static-sensitive components or PCBAs. -Urethane Resin (UR) is a hard coating that offers even better moisture and chemical resistance than SR- and AR-comprised coatings, which makes them a frequent choice in mission-critical aerospace, defense, avionics, or medical applications. Key considerations of conformal coating For a material that measures only 1-5 microns in thickness - the particulars of conformal coating composition, characteristics, and application require a deeper discussion than this blog post allows. That said, I can say choosing the right conformal coating for your unique application can be guided by five high-level considerations: -What kind of protection do you require? As outlined above, different conformal coatings offer different levels of protection. To pick the right one for your project, list and rank your priorities - permeability to moisture, chemical resistance, dielectric performance, ability to withstand or adjust to thermal contractions/expansions, vibration, and so on - and then work with your PCBA supplier to choose the right one for your job. -What sort of production process or timing are you working with? Are you working with small volumes where application of the coating can be manual, or high-volume runs that demand automation? Can your production schedule withstand long or short conformal coating curing times? What sort of quality system regimen do you or your customer demand to ensure repeatability? These and other production and process aspects should be accounted for when choosing your conformal coating. Speaking of QA, will your PCB, assembly, or finished device have compliance requirements? Individual customers may have proprietary specs or requirements, but most applications for conformal coated PCBs and PCBAs are commonly assessed against two prominent, namely IPC-CC-830B (or MIL-I-46058C) and UL746E. -Will the end device or equipment require rework or even allow for in-the-field repairs? If so, some coatings are better suited than others. -What’s the budget? No surprise that a hard-nosed cost/benefit analysis will be needed in choosing your conformal coatings, just as it does with every other item on your BOM. Thankfully, the wide range of conformal resins, application techniques, and suppliers - and availability of emerging coating options - all but ensure there is an option to suit your task without too many trade-offs. Which applications require conformal coating? The length of this blog here again precludes an exhaustive analysis of environments and applications that would benefit from resin-coated electronics. Still, my opening story of the Colossus fire-fighting machine makes clear some emerging applications are particularly well-suited to ruggedized electronics enabled by conformal coated circuits. For instance: -Unmanned vehicles - Robots with fire-fighting capabilities are just the beginning of this fast-growing field. (Come to think of it, I wonder if any were or could have been used to save lives and property during the Oregon wildfires that plagued CST’s own region last July?) Similar equipment is being applied in mines, sites of industrial accidents, war zones and law enforcement applications, and deep-sea, arctic, and space exploration, among other extreme environments. -Internet of Things (IoT) - Enabled by nearly ubiquitous broadband access (including 5G), connected sensor networks, and insatiable demand for/insights from big data and machine learning are also driving electronic devices into harsh and remote environments: Think of far-flung water, gas, and oil pumps; all-season sensors deployed across forests, farm fields, and water systems; traffic, vibration, and erosion sensors dispersed across interstate highways, bridges, rail systems, and cityscapes. -Communications infrastructure - Having mentioned how communications networks are drawing IoT technology into challenging environments, the same can be said for the infrastructure comprising those networks themselves. Base stations, cell towers, satellite dishes, antennae, mobile wireless equipment, and even satellites are subjected to a wide range of environmental stresses, making them key candidates for conformal coatings among other protective measures. -Handheld technology - Aided by miniaturization, innovative packaging solutions, and IoT connectivity mentioned above, handheld devices and other types of portable equipment are also driving technology into environments requiring ruggedization techniques like conformal coating. Two examples of this trend would be mobilized medicine and laboratories that bring healthcare and science into ever more remote challenging geographies — and app-driven handheld tools that enable industrial technicians to perform in-the-field maintenance, diagnostics, and even repairs. Need conformal coating? CST is here to help. In addition to assisting you with design and manufacture of your PCBA, Cascade Systems Technology has the experience, expertise, and infrastructure to help you choose, engineer, and apply the optimal conformal coating for your unique application. From small runs dictated by complexity or by production-on-demand schedules - to continuous, high-volume runs requiring high levels of automation - CST has your PCBA and conformal coating needs covered! Contact me to discuss the possibilities, CST’s capabilities, or initiate a quote. - Shantanu R. Gupta, CEO, Cascade Systems Technology https://cascadesystems.net/

[but-first-geek]

Legal Case Savannah Georgia

Accidents involving tractor-trailer or semi-trucks have a tendency to differ significantly from other accidents. Foremost, the massive build of these vehicles plays an important part in how catastrophic the accidents are, meaning anything that is within their way in a crash or collision sustains severe damages. Victims of these accidents have a tendency to suffer injuries that take a while to heal, and a complete recovery may also be an extensive process. Savannah personal injury attorneys can help you today!

Lots of the severe injuries that men and women sustain after being involved with a massive commercial truck accident often have an existence-changing impact. Furthermore, they may be costly to treat and nurse. Victims of the accident remain with substantial medical bills they cannot settle while they likewise have ongoing medical care. The physical, mental, and emotional damage the accident causes also impacts an important component of their life-style. They experience financial losses because of their inability to go back to work, plus some never resume their professional lives because of the nature of the injuries.

If your victim of the accident dies, the family relatives qualify to look for justice and compensation by filing a wrongful death case and claim. The amount of money award will help cover lost wages, funeral, and burial expenses. Additionally, it might include a quote of the current and future financial losses the family incurred due to the loss of its income earner.

The legal experts right here at Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C, will help you in your pursuit to recover the general damages and losses your loved ones suffered from the death of your partner once the 18-wheeler truck accident.

Exist State Law And Insurance Regulations That Really Must Be Considered?

The commercial trucking industry must abide by set federal and state laws. The trucking companies ought to have high-insurance coverage for heavy vehicles, due to the increased potential damages associated with them when involved with accidents.

If you are involved with this type of accident, you may qualify to sue the truck driver, trucking company, its insurance provider, fleet maintenance agency, or even the makers of the commercial trucks to recover damages. However, understand that working with cases of accidents that involve 19-wheelers could get complicated considering the state and federal laws regulating the business.

For instance, truck drivers must have physical qualifications for operating these heavy commercial vehicles. Moreover, they may be expected to comply with set regulations, like driving within the stipulated time period, which is set based on how much the drivers rest. Furthermore, laws that govern the specifics of the particular cargo to transport and exactly how it needs to be loaded and secured have been in place. The trucking companies also must cope with a minimum of two insurance providers when it comes to making policies for your vehicle’s trailer and cab parts.

Exactly Why Are Truck Accidents That Disastrous?

All vehicles using a gross weight rating exceeding ten thousand pounds are believed large automobiles most semi-trucks and tractor-trailers belong to this category. Given their weight and how they can move at high speeds, they require an increased amount of proficiency to function them in comparison with their smaller 4-door counterparts (the sedans). That is why the accidents associated with these trucks are generally catastrophic.

Why Must I Hire An Accomplished And Experienced Savannah Truck Accident Lawyer?

Trucking companies often have a team of skilled legal experts and advisors that have different tactics for freeing their clientele from sustaining situations and responsibilities. They understand all you should know concerning the various regulations governing the trucking industry. Also, these attorneys go all out to discredit, minimize, or delay claim payouts. That is why our company of legal experts at Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C, can be the missing piece in ensuring those responsible are found liable and having the compensation you deserve.

We now have handled countless commercial truck accidents, going against a number of the prominent trucking companies. We now have the reputation, experts, and resources needed to deal with the most sophisticated and highly-established trucking agencies across America. Call our law office now to plan a non-obligatory case evaluation and learn the way you will help make certain each of the parties liable for your injuries and losses are held accountable and receive full compensation to your suffering and pain.

Obtain The Best Legal Representation From The Reputable 18-Wheeler Accident Attorney In Savannah

Lots of the horrific damages and fatalities of accidents involving 18-wheelers are related to the sheer weight and measurements of the trucks. They are heavy vehicles often accustomed to transport bulky cargo over long or short distances. 18-wheeler drivers are legally needed to be holders of a valid commercial driver’s licenses. Moreover, state and federal laws have been in place that governs how you can operate these tractor-trailers or semi-trucks given their formidable weight and size. That is why how these large vehicles are operated is held with a higher standard than other automobiles, which extends to their maintenance, driver skills, and specific loading and offloading procedures.

But while such policies have been in place, there are many fatalities and damages connected to accidents that involve these big commercial trucks.

Do I Need To Consider Hiring A Lawyer For My Truck Accident Case In Savannah?

We recommend choosing the assistance and guidance of any experienced truck accident attorney in Savannah. In the event you or someone you care about were unfortunate victims of any 18-wheeler truck accident, you could be eligible to seek compensation to your injuries and losses. You ought to employ a lawyer devoted to accidental injuries claims, particularly in cases involving semi-trucks or tractor-trailers.

We at Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C, tend to be more than glad to assist you seek justice and obtain the compensation you rightly deserve.

18-Wheeler Trucks Are Among The Common Factors Behind Road Accidents

In Regards To The 18-Wheeler Truck Accidents Litigation Team At Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C

At Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C, we represent our clients the ideal we are able to. We attempt to ensure they leave as winners. We are a law practice together with the resources and professional workforce you need to maximize your case’s potential outcomes. Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C is not really like other accidental injuries attorneys that rely on 3td party agencies to cope with case analysis, collecting exhibits, and hiring expert witnesses.

Why Is Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C Different?

•State-Of-The-Art Trial Presentation Software

We are a law practice that may be proudly a cut higher than the rest. We are proud of our state-of-the-art trial presentation software, which allows us to gather vital information for each case we handle, packaging it correctly into one compelling package. As a result, we are able to give presentations seamlessly for depositions, mediations, or before a jury in the courtroom. With the software, we are able to display the severity of the injury and injuries caused while providing concrete evidence that proves the defendant’s liability via expert testimonies, diagrams, photos, videos, scene analysis, as well as other subtleties.

•Our Attorneys Are A Great A Part Of Our Resources

We are a law practice that does things differently, going for a unique approach in handling cases. We now have an in-house litigation team that enabled us to preserve closer power over every part of the legal matter’s clients hand us. It is actually an issue that has allowed us to gain a far better idea of the injuries and damages that men and women involved with heavy-cargo truck accidents cope with and exactly how this impacts their lives. Furnished with such detailed knowledge, we are able to assembled a winning strategy, whether a settlement is regarded as the viable option or even the matter will go to trial.

In case your case have their day in the court, we must convey the important points of the incident for the judge and jury. And since our litigation team assembled each of the evidence and crucial details surrounding your case, from scene analysis and therapy for your trouble for damage estimates and prepping for trails, they offer each of the essential insights about the impact the accident had on the road of life. Furthermore, they are going to suggest the most effective means for conveying these facts for the jury to help you maximize the likelihood of winning and also you getting compensation.

•The Litigation Specialists

Mr. Cohen is part of the litigation team. They have a lot more than twenty five years of experience in law and an extensive background in alternative dispute resolution and trial experience. Cohen has represented insurance providers for liability claims. Consequently, he is probably the invaluable resources in our law practice that can help give us a position concerning the different tactics and tricks that insurers employ for specific situations. Therefore, our legal department can have a compressed technique to use when striving to increase the effects. Cohen offers his expertise and skill to bolster the attorneys’ efforts in all of the cases we handle.

•The Medical Investigation Experts

Mr. Drew Olley works in the country Coroner’s offices from more than thirty years, spending countless hours investigating accident scenes, damages, and injuries. They are thirty years of gaining invaluable experience which includes allowed him to understand how you can deduce the important points all around the events that transpired and determining the safety of machines or maybe there way any faulty conditions that probably have led to the accident resulting in the injuries, damages, or fatalities. Mr. Drew uses specialized software and “stand-ins” to ensure all assessments are accurate, thereby yielding precise results.

•The Trial Technicians

Mr. Chris Dietz has a lot more than 10 years of doing work for our law practice. They have honed his legal skills and expertise to evolve to constant variations in trial presentation technology aptly. Diets work alongside attorneys and respective clients, helping with each case’s assembly to become presented in the court or mediations.  He uses the most up-to-date trial-presentation technology and possesses effectively assisted our legal experts to effectively convey the essential specifics of their injury cases, presenting things medical records, expert witness testimony, and also like photo and videos of the injuries and damages.

Have You Been Look For A Reputable 18-Wheeler Truck Accident Lawyer In Savannah?

It will be a smart idea to considered enlisting a competent, experienced, and reputable attorney to advocate to suit your needs when seeking justice against a trucking company or truck driver liable for your injuries. At Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C, there exists a team of dedicated lawyers and legal experts which will do all they may to have the judgment swing in your favor and assist you in getting compensation our rightly deserve. Call us today and book a free of charge case evaluation.

[system76]

Behind the Scenes of System76: Web Team

On this installment of our Behind the Scenes series, we spoke to Mike Garegnani of the Web Team for an inside look at them Internets. Mike is a Full Stack Engineer, meaning he dabbles in front-end and back-end development—a man of many talents.

Check out our Behind the Scenes of Marketing article here.

What are the main duties of the web team?

Our main task is designing the website. We’re spending a lot of time working with various teams to improve the UX/UI experience. In addition to that, we manage the homepage on a regular basis. Those requests come in every time there’s a new product or an updated model. In those cases, we work with the Sales and Marketing Teams and [Product Manager Benjamin Shpurker] to make sure the new machine is featured properly. We work very closely with [Maria Komarova], who’s in charge of the user experience. She designs the website UI and we bring her dream to life from there.

There’s also the back-end administrative work, handling requests that come in from other teams. Like when someone accidentally posts their credit card info in a support ticket, we’ll manually go in and delete that to protect the customer.

Not to mention everything going on at the factory.

You name it, we probably have our hands in it. There’s the assembly side of things, where people are pulling down builds and shipping out computers. The systems we set up for them tell the Assembly Team what parts to use in a build, where things are located in the warehouse, prints the shipping labels, things like that.

One of our biggest responsibilities is building and supporting the inventory system. Early on [Sean Callan, Director of Web Engineering] was having to source a lot of questions with regard to looking up computers and different builds, which was taking up much of his time. We eventually decided to develop Samwise, our resident Slack sidekick who’s helped immensely with the workload.

What does Samwise do? (WDSD)

Samwise is a Slack bot that was originally developed to increase efficiency by quickly providing build and order data to the Assembly Team. Since then, we’ve taught him to help manage the build queue entirely in Slack, and equipped him to help the Support Team as well.

You’ve been working a lot with assembly and inventory systems lately.

Right now we’re trying to migrate away from our legacy PHP app, which runs the internal systems for various departments. It works, but it’s not sustainable long-term. We’ve been working really hard to get everything ported over to a different architecture on our Elixir app, which also has a front end for it.

Are those apps you build yourselves as well?

Yeah, for the most part everything has been developed in-house. But once we get our sales and support systems integrated, we’ll start moving away from our legacy app to a third-party system. This will help us increase efficiency with things like assigning support tickets, and in doing so it’ll enable us to continually improve the customer experience.

What is the next big project in your pipeline?

After the new integration, it’ll be a new configurator. We’re working with Maria and [CEO Carl Richell] to put together a more streamlined experience with regards to configurating your computer. We like to sell high-end products, so we want to create a high-end experience for our users.

Do you work a lot with open source tools?

Almost exclusively. For the homepage we use Nuxt and VUE. Elixir for the back-end is open source. Visual Studio Code has a pretty open architecture, but I’m not sure that one’s fully open source. I also use Atom which is a GitHub product, so that’s pretty much open source by default. When it comes down to it, open source is a way of life for me.

What do you enjoy working on the most?

I really enjoy having a team to work with. Having people to bounce ideas off of is a game-changer for me since I’ve always had to figure things out by myself. I like to call myself a “Google graduate”. I’m really good at googling things. But to answer the question, we really enjoy making tools to make people’s lives easier. Being helpful is really what we’re in it for.

What are you most proud of accomplishing so far this year as a team?

What we’re doing to improve support and sales will go a long way towards helping System76 grow. That, and all the ways we’ve made our own team more efficient is going to help us a lot going forward.

What’s the process like for developing a new feature?

We’ll start by getting together in Slack and discuss the most logical way to address the problem. From there, we plan out individually what tasks need to occur and assign them in Trello, which we use for project management. Before we write any code, we usually have several iterations of how we’re going to approach the problem. It’s got to be a combination of speed and approachability. We need to make it usable, and we don’t want it to be too complicated. Like with Samwise, we didn’t want to build a whole front end interface, so we integrated it with Slack. It’s been a really big success.

In terms of something that might end up on a user-facing page, we’ll bring in stakeholders to figure out what changes have to be made. Usually this means getting designs from Maria, and we’ll work off of the mock-up. Sometimes we have to use our imagination, and that’s always fun to collaborate with other teams in that regard.

How do you divide up the work?

We tend to go with our strengths. I’m more of a front-end developer so I’m charged with that, [Blake Kostner] will work on the back end, and Sean is really good with architecture.

Do you use a System76 laptop?

Absolutely! I’ve got an Oryx Pro 4.

How was the transition to Linux?

For development tools I’d actually say it was easier. Often on macOS I’m having to find software libraries that are ports of the officially supported tools, When I finally got a hold of one of these [System76] laptops and had to set everything up, it was like butter. Everything just worked. It was great.

[dustedmagazine]

Dust Volume 6, Number 8

Angel Olsen

Now half a year in the pandemic, we’re starting to see the emergence of quarantine records, whether in the trove of reissues hastily assembled to stand in for new product or home recorded projects made with extremely close friends and family or albums that are conceived and written around the concept of isolation. Music isn’t real life, exactly, but it lives nearby. And in any case, it’s still music and can be good or bad whether it’s been unearthed from a forgotten box of tapes, recorded at home without collaboration or side people or technologically gerry-rigged so that distanced partners can work together. So, as long as you all are making music, we will continue to listen and find records that move us, as the world burns all around. This edition’s contributors included Patrick Masterson, Andrew Forell, Tim Clarke, Jennifer Kelly, Bill Meyer, Jonathan Shaw, Justin Cober-Lake and Ray Garraty. Enjoy.

+ — #playboy (Deluxe Edition) (self-released)

#playboy (deluxe edition) by +

One of the most genuinely confounding records I’ve heard this year comes courtesy SEO-unfriendly artist + aka Plus Sign fka Emanuel James Vinson, a Chicago rapper, city planner and all-around community activist who spends his time helping with the city’s Let’s Build Garden City initiative when he’s not making music (which is frequent, by the way — take a look at the breadth of that Bandcamp discography). The concept with #playboy, originally released in April but deluxed in late May, is simple: Two kids find a music machine called #playboy in their basement and start tinkering with it. Its childlike whimsy is conveyed in the song titles (“Getting the Hang of It,” “Wake Up Jam (Waking Up)”) every bit as much as it is in the music, with occasionally grating indulgences, the odd earworm and a brief appearance by borderless internet hip-hop hero Lil B that makes perfect sense in context; the kindred spirit of that community-building cult auteur is strong here. You may wind up loving this record or you may wind up hating it, but I can promise you this: You’ll be thinking about it and the artist behind it long after it’s over.

Patrick Masterson

 Actress — Mad Voyage Mixtape (self-released)

I once suggested Darren Cunningham mucks about with his music because he can’t help himself. That was about six years ago on the occasion of his purported “final” album Untitled; with the benefit of hindsight, we can see he was (like so many others, to greater or lesser consequence) just pulling our leg with that PR. Hell, he’s released two albums worth of music in July alone: The first was the mid-month surprise LP 88, which follows in the vein of his acclaimed high period as an often brilliant, occasionally frustrating patchwork of submersible beats best played at high volume with a low end. The second came at the end of the month in an m4a file shared the old fashioned way on a forum via Mediafire link, nearly an hour and a half long, and per the man himself, “All SP-303, sketchbook beats, recorded this past week [the first week of July] straight to recorder or cassette.” It feels very much like a homespun Actress mixtape and is probably best thought of as livelier accompaniment to 88 but, even still, there’s no noticeable drop in quality — once Actress, always Actress. If headier lo-fi beat tapes are your beat, this will slot comfortably in line.

Patrick Masterson

  bdrmm - Bedroom (Sonic Cathedral)

Hull five-piece bdrmm play a satisfyingly crepuscular version of shoegaze on their debut album Bedroom. Ryan Smith, his brother Jordan on bass, guitarist Joe Vickers, Danny Hull on synths and drummer Luke Irvin combine the widescreen sound of Ride with a cloak of gothic post-punk. Like the late, lamented Girls Names, bdrmm find a sweet spot where atmosphere and dynamics either build to euphoric crescendos or bask in bleak funereal splendor. Bedroom seems deliberately sequenced from celebration to lament. “A Reason To Celebrate” evokes Ride at their most anthemic, the tripping staccato driven “Happy” summons the spirit of The Cure of Seventeen Seconds before the pace drops for the second half, the songs become quieter and darker as the band finds a more personal voice. “(The Silence)” is an ambient whispered wraith of a thing, “Forget The Credits” impressively mopey slowcore. bdrmm don’t always transcend their influences, but this debut is an atmospheric treat if your taste runs to the darker end of the musical buffet.

Andrew Forell  

 Circulatory System — Circulatory System (Elephant 6 Recording Co.)

Circulatory System by Circulatory System

Nearly 20 years after its initial release, the excellent eponymous debut album by Will Cullen Hart’s psychedelic chamber-pop band Circulatory System gets a long overdue vinyl reissue. While his previous project, the undeniably great Olivia Tremor Control, tended to lean more towards classic psych-pop’s traditional tropes — hard-panned drums, loads of disorientating tape effects, wonky harmonized vocals — Circulatory System taps into something utterly uncanny. Both Signal Morning (2009) and Mosaics Within Mosaics (2014) have their moments, but this is front-to-back brilliant, conjuring a sublime atmosphere of reflective estrangement. The music is a thick, grainy soup of shimmering instrumentation, from the eerie (“Joy,” “Now,” “Should a Cloud Replace a Compass?”) to the joyful (“Yesterday’s World,” “The Lovely Universe,” “Waves of Bark and Light”), but part of the album’s magic is the way everything flows into a seamless whole. As is vinyl’s tendency, the rhythm section really comes alive here, the fuzz bass and tom-heavy drum parts booming out, with plenty of vivid details in the mix swimming into view. A worthy reissue of an essential album.

Tim Clarke

 Cloud Factory — #1 (Howlin’ Banana)

Cloud Factory #1 by Cloud Factory

Cloud Factory, from Toulouse, France, overlays the serrated edges of garage pop with a serene dream-pop drift. It’s an appealing mix of hard and soft, like being pummeled to death by pillows or threatened gunpoint by a teddy bear. “Amnesia,” for instance, erupts in a vicious, sawed off, trouble-making bass line, then soars from there in untroubled female vocals. Later, “No Data,” punches hard with raw percussion, then lays on a liquid, lucid guitar line that encourages middle-distance staring. None of these songs really up the ante with memorable melodies, sharp words or that intangible R’NR energy that distinguishes great punk rock from the so so. Not loud, not soft, not great, not bad. Cloud Factory resides in the indeterminant middle.

Jennifer Kelly

 Entry — Detriment (Southern Lord)

Detriment by Entry

Nuthin fancy here, folks. Just eight songs — plus a flexing, fuzzing intro — of American hardcore punk. Entry has been grinding away for a few years now, and Detriment doesn’t advance much past the musical terrain the band marked off on the No Relief 7-inch (2016). That’s OK. The essential formula is time tested: d-beat rhythms, overdriven amps and Sara G.’s ferocious vocals delivering the necessary affect. That would be: pissed off, just this side of hopeless. Detriment sounds like what might happen if Poison Idea (c. 1988) stumbled into a seminar on Riot Grrrl; after everyone got tired of beating the living shit out of one another, they’d make some songs. “Selective Empathy” is pretty representative. Big riffs, a breakdown, and more than enough throaty yelling to let you know that you’re in some trouble. You might recognize the sound of Clayton Stevens’ guitar from his work with Touché Amoré — but maybe it’s better if you don’t. This isn’t music for mopery. Watch out for the spit, snot and blood, and flip the record.

Jonathan Shaw  

 Equiknoxx — VF Live: Equiknoxx (The Vinyl Factory)

There’s nothing like a little roots music to get you through the sweltering summer heat, and this early July mix by Gavin “Gavsborg” Blair (half of forward-thinking Kingston dancehall unit Equiknoxx) was a personal favorite of the past month for hitting that spot. The group tends to throw curveballs at the genres it tinkers with, and Blair’s mix highlights why they’re so good at it: The crates run deep. Spanning everything from legendary producer and DJ Prince Jazzbo to in-house music fresh out the box (e.g., “Did Not Make This For Jah_9” was released in late May), Blair sets the mood and educates you along the way. Like everything else these cats do (and that includes the NTS show — support your independent radio station!), it’s hard not to give the highest recommendation.

Patrick Masterson  

 Ezra Feinberg — Recumbent Speech (Related States)

Recumbent Speech by Ezra Feinberg

Knowing that Ezra Feinberg is a practicing psychoanalyst, it’s tempting to read meaning into the name of his second solo album. But be careful to think twice about the meaning you perceive and ask yourself, is it the product of Feinberg on the couch or your own projection? His choice to name one of the record’s six instrumentals (there are voices, but no words) “Letter To My Mind” certainly suggests that there’s an internal dialogue at work, but the music feels most like a layered deployment of good ideas than an exchange of intrapsychic forces. The synthesizers shimmer and cycle like something from a mid-1970s Cluster record, resting upon a pillow of vibraphone and electric piano tones, which in turn billow under the influence of undulating layers of drums. Feinberg’s guitar leads are bright and pithy, like something Pat Metheny might come up with if he knew he was going to have to pay a steep price for every note he played. Ah, but there I go, projecting an implication of adversary process where there may be none. Might it be that Feinberg, having spent a full work week immersed in the psychic conflicts of others, wants to lay back on the couch and exhale? If so, this album is an apt companion.

Bill Meyer  

 Honey Radar — Sing the Snow Away: The Chunklet Years (Chunklet)

Sing the Snow Away: The Chunklet Years by Honey Radar

Jason Henn of Honey Radar has a solid claim at being his generation’s Bob Pollard, a prolific, absurdist songwriter, who tosses off hooky melodies as if channeling them from the spirit world. His least polished material glints with melody hidden beneath banks of fuzz, whispery and fragile on records, but surprisingly muscular in his rocking live shows. This 28-song compilation assembles the singles, splits, EPs and bonus tracks Henn recorded for Chunklet between 2015 and the present; it would be a daunting amount of material except that it goes down like cotton candy, sweet, airy, colorful and gone before you know it. Like the Kinks, Henn has a way of making strident rock and roll hooks sound wistful and dreamy. In “Lilac Pharmacy,” guitar lines rip and buck and roar, but from a distance, hardly disrupting Henn’s placid murmur. “Medium Mary Todd” ratchets up the tension a bit, with a tangled snarl of lick and swagger, but the vocals edge towards quiet whimsy a la Sic Alps; a second version runs a bit hotter, rougher and more electric, while a third, recorded at WFMU, gives an inkling of the Honey Radar concert experience. A couple of fine covers — of the Fall’s early rant “Middle Class Revolt” and of the Monkees rarity “Wind-Up Man”— suggest the fine, loamy soil that Henn’s art grows out of, while alternate versions of half a dozen tracks hint at the various forms his ideas can take. It’s a wonderful overview of Honey Radar so far, though let’s hope it’s not a career retrospective. Henn has a bunch of records left to make yet if he wants to edge out Pollard.

Jennifer Kelly

 Iron Wigs — Your Birthday’s Cancelled (Mello Music Group)

Your Birthday's Cancelled by IRON WIGS

As an adjective, “goofy” had gotten a bad rep in hip hop. Anything that is unusual, inventive and not in line with “keeping it real” is immediately stigmatized as goofy, weird, nerdy and bad. Iron Wigs is goofy but hold the pejorative connotations. Chicago representatives Vic Spencer and Verbal Kent team up here with Sonnyjim from the UK to do some wild rhyming. They collaborated before, but Your Birthday’s Cancelled is a complete, fully fleshed project, masterfully executed from start to finish. Instead of the usual gun busting you get a fist in the ribs. Instead of drug slinging, a blunt to activate your rhymes. Each member of the group has a distinctive delivery which makes you to listen carefully for every verse, no skipping. It’s a relief to listen to rap artists who don’t pretend they’re out in the streets while they’re at home enjoying a favorite TV series. The standout track here is “Bally Animals & Rugbys” with Roc Marciano dropping by for a verse.

Ray Garraty  

 Levinson / Mahlmeister — Shores (Trouble In Mind)

Shores by levinson / mahlmeister

Jamie Levinson and Donny Mahlmeister’s Bandcamp page indicates that they’re based in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago. This goes further towards explaining their association with Trouble in Mind Records, which is located in the same county, than their music, which brings to mind something much further north. The duo��s music is mostly electronic, with modular synthesizers setting the pulse and sweeping the pitch spectrum while lap steel guitar adds flourishes and a shruti box thickens the textures. The album is split into two, with each track — one is named “Ascend,” the other “Release” — taking up one side of a 50-minute cassette. The first side trundles steadily onwards, and the second seems to bask in a glow to that never totally fades. Since there’s no “Descend,” it’s easy to imagine this music sound tracking a drive into the Canadian north, the journey unspooling under a sky that never darkens, its progress towards Hudson Bay unhindered by other traffic or turns in the road. Perhaps that’s just one listener’s fantasy of easy social distancing and escape from the present’s grim digital glare into a retro-futurist, analog dream. But in dreams we’re free to fly without being seated next to some knucklehead with his mask over his eyes instead of his mouth, so dream on, dreamers. This tape is volume one of the Explorers Series, Trouble in Mind’s projected program of limited edition cassette releases.

Bill Meyer

 Klara Lewis — Ingrid (Editions Mego)

Klara Lewis’s latest recording shows a narrowing of focus. Previously she seemed to be trying ideas and methods on for size, investigating ambient electronics or hinting at pop melody without completely committing. Given the approach to music modeled by her father, Graham Lewis of Wire and Dome, she probably does not feel the need to do just one thing, and that’s a healthy angle if one wants to stay interested and flexible. But there’s also something to be said for really digging into an idea, and that’s what she has done here. Ingrid is a one-track, one-sided 12.” Burrowing further into one-ness, it is made from one looped cello phrase, which gets filtered and distorted on each pass. The effect suggests decay, but not so much the gradual transformation of a William Basinski piece as the pitiless abrasion of a woodworker going over a plank with sander. The combination of repetition and coarsening hits a spot closer to one that Tony Conrad might reach, and that’s an itch worth scratching.

Bill Meyer

Luis Lopes Humanization 4tet — Believe, Believe (Clean Feed)

The cruel economics of contemporary creative music-making favor an ensemble like Humanization 4tet. At a minimum, the filial Texan rhythm section of Stefan and Aaron Gonzalez (drums and bass respectively) and Lisbon-based duo of Rodrigo Amado (tenor saxophone) and Luís Lopes can each count on having the other half of a band on the other side of the Atlantic. But any project that’s on its fourth record in a dozen years has more going for it than the chance to save on plane tickets. For the Portuguese musicians, it’s an opportunity to feel an unabashedly high-energy force at their backs, as well as a chance to drink from a deep well of harmolodic blues. And for the Gonzalez brothers, it’s the reward of being the absolute right guys for the job; it has to be a gas to know that the heft they put into their swing is so deeply appreciated. While Lopes’ name remains up front, everyone contributes compositions, and everyone gives their all on every tune.

Bill Meyer  

 Joanna Mattrey — Veiled (Relative Pitch)

Veiled by Joanna Mattrey

This solo CD, which closely follows a collaborative cassette on Astral Spirits, is only the second recording with Joanna Mattrey’s name on the spine. But Mattrey is no newcomer. The New England Conservatory-trained violist has been playing straight and pop gigs for a while. If you caught Chance the Rapper on Saturday Night Live, Cuddle Magic with strings or a host of classical gigs around New York City, you’ve seen her. But if black dress and heels gigs pay her bills, improvised music nourishes her heart. And if sounds raw enough to scrape the roof of the world nourish yours, this album is new food. The premise of Veiled is finding veins of concealed beauty concealed, and that search impels Mattrey to tune her viola to sound like a horse-haired Tuvan fiddle, clamp objects to the strings and blast her signal through some satisfyingly filthy amplification. And whether it’s a slender tune or a complex texture, the reward is always there.

Bill Meyer

  Angel Olsen — “Whole New Mess” single (Jagjaguwar)

Everyone processes a breakup differently (though, to be fair, that’s probably less true now than ever). For Angel Olsen in 2018, it meant retreating to The Unknown, a century-old church in Anacortes, Washington, that Mount Eerie’s Phil Elverum and producer Nicholas Wilbur made into a recording studio. What ultimately came from those sessions was All Mirrors, but Whole New Mess is a chance to revisit that album (fully nine of these 11 songs are ones you’ve heard before; only the title-track and “Waving, Smiling” are new) in a more intimate framework — just Angel, a guitar, a mic and her reverberant heartache. The most cynical view to be taken here is that it’s a stopgap capitalizing on people’s vulnerability amid a pandemic quarantine, but it could also be a corrective for the bloat of All Mirrors, a record I listened to once and haven’t thought about since. Late Björkian excess doesn’t suit her nearly as well as the light touch delivered herein, and your interest will similarly hinge on how much Whole New Mess sounds like the old one.

Patrick Masterson   

 Ono — Red Summer (American Dreams)

Red Summer by ONO

Ono, the long-running noise-punk-poetry-protest project headed by P Michael Grego and travis, tackles the Red Summer of 1919, evoking the brutal race riots that erupted as soldiers returned from World War I. During that summer, conflicts raged from Chicago to the deep south, as white supremacists rioted against newly empowered returning Black veterans and an increased number of Black factory workers employed in America’s northern factories. Ono captures the violence—and its links to contemporary race-based conflicts—in an abstract and visionary style, with travis declaiming against an agitated froth of avant garde sound. “A Dream of Sodomy” lurches and rolls in funk-punk bravado, as travis declaims all the nightmarish scenarios that haunt his nocturnal hours, while “Coon” natters rhythmically across a fever-lit foundation of hand-drums, mosquito buzz and flute. “26 June 1919” wanders through a blasted, rioting landscape, sounds buzzing and pinging and roaring around travis’ fractured poetry. “White men, red men, Manchester town, send ‘em home, Oklahoma, send ‘em home, in a Black man house, send ‘em home, send ‘em home,” he chants, ominously, vertiginously. The center isn’t holding, for sure. The disc closes with the uneasy truce of “Sycamore Trees,” where steam blasts of synthesizer sound rush up and around travis’ vibrating, basso verses about meeting under the sycamore trees, a metaphor like the blues and gospel and nearly all Black music is full of metaphor about reuniting in a better place. Powerful.

Jennifer Kelly

 Julian Taylor — The Ridge (Howling Turtle, Inc.)

Singer-songwriter Julian Taylor does the little things well. That's not to say that he doesn't do the obvious things well, too, on his latest release The Ridge. His easy voice fits his songs, letting autobiography come with comfortable phrasing. As a writer, he tends toward the straightforward, avoiding extended metaphors or oblique references. The title track considers a particular form of life, and Taylor sticks to the tangible, singing about the stable, “Shovel manure, clean their beds, and prepare the feed for the day.” Taylor's songs make sense of the immediate world and relationships around him, but they avoid woolgathering. The album feels a bit removed from the current climate, but that's no complaint when Taylor's developed a welcoming place to visit. It isn't always easy here, but it's always companionable.

But back to those little things. Each song has carefully detailed orchestration and production. The record goes down easy whether tending toward James Taylor, Cat Stevens or something closer to country, and much of that easiness comes from the precise placement of every note. Burke Carroll's pedal steel, for instance, never exists for its own sake, but to serve the lyric that Taylor sings. The album contains enough space to feel like a rural Canadian ridge, with details drawn into to support Taylor's direct stories. The Ridge could easily go unnoticed (unobtrusiveness not being a highly rewarded trait), but its subtlety and care make it worth taking your boots off and sitting down for a minute.

Justin Cober-Lake  

 Various Artists — For a Better Tomorrow (Garden Portal)

For A Better Tomorrow by Various Artists

Compilation albums loom large in the American Primitive Guitar realm. Takoma, Tompkins Square and Locust all had larger ambitions than merely offering a sampling of wares, and to them, Garden Portal says, “hold my beer. I’ve got some collecting and playing to do.” For A Better Tomorrow started out as a Bernie Sanders fundraising endeavor. But when Bernie bailed and COVID-19 came on the scene, Garden Portal pivoted to support Athens Mutual Aid Network, an umbrella organization that coordinates aid to the underserved in this trying time. But in addition to good works, there’s some good work going on here. Not all of it is guitar-centric, but even the tracks that aren’t are close enough to the strings and heart template of the aforementioned parties to merit consideration under the same rubric. Joseph Allred’s been ultra-productive recently, so it’s actually helpful to be reminded of the spirit that infuses his playing by listening to it one track at a time. Rob Noyes’ “Diminished” takes the listener on a deep dive into the construction of sentiment and sound. And Will Csorba’s Pelt-like blast of fiddle drone, “Requiem for Ociel Guadalupe Martinez,” will put your hair up high enough to make that self-inflicted quarantine do a bit easier to execute.

Bill Meyer

  Various Artists — The Storehouse Presents (The Storehouse)

The Storehouse Presents by The Storehouse

The coronavirus pandemic put the brakes on many things. You doubtless have your own list of loss, but for the proprietors of The Storehouse, the catalog of things kissed goodbye directly corresponds to their endeavor’s inventory of reasons to be. Over the past few years, the Storehouse has invited audiences out to a West Michigan farmhouse to enjoy a potluck meal and a concert played by some musicians of note. If there had been no lockdown, listeners could have enjoyed the Sun Ra Arkestra last April. Instead, no one’s playing, and no one’s getting paid, so the Storehouse has compiled this set of live and exclusive studio tracks to sell on Bandcamp in order to benefit the musicians and the Music Maker Relief Foundation. The cause, is good, but so are the tunes. Want to hear Steve Gunn and William Tyler in sympathetic orbit? Or Joan Shelley pledging her love? Or the first hints of Mind Over Mirrors’ new direction? Step right this way, preferably on one of 2020’s first Fridays.

Bill Meyer

 Z-Ro — Rohammad Ali (1 Deep Entertainment / Empire)

On one of his previous tracks, Z-Ro admitted that he’s basically just writing the same song over and over again (that’s how meta he is now, writing songs on writing songs). While he exaggerated a bit, he was not that far from the truth. In the last half dozen years he’s been writing the same three or four songs in various combinations, reconfigurations and forms. Rohammad Ali follows the same template: haters hate him, but he’s OK and is counting his money. Multiply this by 17, and here is the album. Despite this self-cannibalizing (lots of poets did that), Z-Ro with every new album sounds fresh and far from tired. The self-repeats just fuel him. Rohammad Ali has only one rap guest, and it’s Shaquille O’Neal whose rap career didn’t jump off in the 1990s. A lack of guests only proves that Z-Ro can self-sustain without support from the outside. The only thing from the outside he needs is hate.

Ray Garraty