#ARM-based CPU

[charcoaldustonmyfingers]

Makin robots and the portal duo! This was the full page of the original comic

These are both based on memories of me and my older brother! We loved playing games and building Legos together, and we were both in a junior robotics team once upon a time. I died a lot, even in co-op games lol

My brother was much better at coding and building than I was, but he did let me put googly eyes on all our robots, so I like to think it was a group effort!

Dialogue under the cut:

First comic-

Mikey: Leo! Stop dropping my robot in acid!

Leo: No~

Mikey: It’s a co-op game!

Leo: More like “cope” cause you’re mad I’m winning.

Second comic:

Mikey: Can I help you build it?

Donnie: Why not? I can’t bar science from a curious mind.

Mikey: Can we put a Jupiter Jim inside?

Donnie: It’s a scout bot, I need that space to hold the CPU.

Mikey: Can it have moon buggy wheels then?

Donnie: Those don’t have enough traction. The treads will keep it from falling into the sewer pipes.

Mikey: Um- Oh! What about arms? So it can move stuff out of the way?

Donnie: Hnn- No rotors strong enough for that, I’m afraid. These materials are pretty subpar.

Mikey: …

Donnie: There! Now, to set the camera…

Mikey: pfft- I thought you said I could help.

Donnie: What? You are helping.

Mikey: Then why aren’t you letting me add anything?

Donnie: Idea! I know how you could contribute!

Donnie: It needs some warning patterns, for safety purposes.

Donnie: An artistic masterpiece Michel.

Mikey: Why thank you!

[heron-knight]

we've got stories where mech systems take over every part of your mind, but what if the opposite happened?

They won’t tell you outright, but this wasn’t supposed to happen. The first time the interface slides into the back of your skull and they fire up the link, they expect it to flood your mind with static and hollow it out. They expect it to tear across your brain like a wildfire in less than a second, the code of every system in the frame carving out your “self” to make space for themselves, leaving you nothing but a weapon. The data should have filled every neuron. Torn out everything except what you need to survive. Instead, when they pressed the button, it did the reverse. Your mind flowed outward through the cables, coating every circuit board with your conscious self. It was like nothing else, when suddenly, your mind had more space then you knew what to do with.  The process was supposed to make you a weapon. Instead it made your weapon you. Even as you fly into combat at mach 5, it’s as if all the time in the world is in between each moment, your brain, now the size of the enormous computer that was supposed to replace it, solves each problem automatically almost as soon as you notice it. Like throwing a deck into the air and seeing it land as a house of cards, only you can feel yourself moving each card into place before it hits the table. All your worries, fears, each issue that sits in the back of your mind, buried under everything else you need to do but still filling you with an overwhelming sense of dread-- all are drained from your subconscious and spread before you for you to see. It all makes sense now, now that you're not trying to fix your problems from inside the brain that’s buried in them. It’s still all there at once, but now you don’t drown in it. It’s not too much to handle anymore. You can feel each piece of the machine as your awareness travels down through the wires, from the CPU to the limbs as the pistons whir like a heartbeat and your four arms grip their weapons with nanocarbon fingers that you can feel each movement of. Each impact of the gun’s recoil sending an energy that you know every aspect of through the frame like a Newton's cradle. Several tons of metal making barely a sound as you dash across the battlefield. No slow, clanking steps for you. This is your body, and it’s under your control to a greater extent even than the one whose arms operate the controls out of muscle memory and nothing else. The mech acts on your command before you even press the button.  It’s still you because it never stopped being you. You still stop to examine the scratches of the walls of the base. Still stare at the sky because nobody could tell you that you can’t. Still insist on meals in the cafeteria instead of intravenously, even if you have to bring your own “food” because you can’t digest what they serve everyone else. You end up at the infantry tables most of the time, as the other pilots don’t eat in the cafeteria and the handlers aren’t actually great at talking to people unless there’s a direct order involved (and they said that the pilot was the one that loses their personality.) Every day you hear someone refer to you by something new. Hero of 100 Battles. Panopticon. The One That Stayed Sane. Just like when you overwrote the mech AI that day, you fit these names as well as the frame’s CPU. perhaps you always did. All you needed was more space in your mind.

[rekino2114]

Sleepover date with yoru

Pairing:yoru x gn reader

A/n:This is inspired by a conversation I had with my brother. It's kinda stupid, but I thought it was kinda funny and sweet

You were having a sleepover with your girlfriend yoru, well technically asa was there too, but she was more than happy to let her take full control as you were basically the only human she liked and so wouldn't try to turn into a weapon.

You spent a while eating snacks and talking about whatever when you got an idea.

"Hey yoru, do you know what video games are?"

"Yeah I think asa has a couple she likes to play why?"

"Well I have some I think you'd like"

"Why do you think that?"

"They're based on war, and you're the war devil, so I thought you'd enjoy them"

Yoru looked confused for a second before starting to laugh

"Seriously? This is rich, I thought you humans hated war, there are seriously video games based on it?"

"I don't know what to tell you, so you wanna try?"

"Sure, it does sound like fun"

You spent a few minutes teaching yoru the controls and making her play the tutorial. She was actually a natural at the game and started playing against the cpu and winning. She also pointed out all the historical inaccuracies on the model of guns used and stuff like that

Since she was doing so well, you decided to let her play online which.........

"NEXT TIME YOU KILL ME I'LL TURN YOUR SPINE INTO A SPEAR AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR-"

"Yoru please calm down"

In hindsight, was a really bad idea. Your girlfriend already had a short temper, and introducing her to online gaming was like pouring gasoline on a fire.

"All these stupid humans, they keep killing me. How? I'm the war devil for crying out loud. I should be slaughtering them without issues"

You moved to hug her, and even if a bit hesitant, she accepted

"It's alright sweetheart everyone lose from time to time"

"I don't need your pity, I'm gonna go outside and kill the first human I see, I need to let out some steam"

"Please don't do that, I'm not ready to deal with a murder today, how about we play a calmer game?"

"Who do you think I am? The girl I'm possessing might, but I don't give up easily I'll continue playing until I win, whatever it takes"

"I.....am genuinely concerned you'll either break my controller or go on a murder spree if you keep playing, can we cuddle instead? that will calm you down"

"Fine, you're lucky I love you"

You wrapped your arms around her tighter as she did the same. You two fell on the couch hugging each other

"Oh! I just had an idea, wanna watch a war movie?"

"Yeah"

You opened Netflix and asked yoru to choose a movie. You started to watch it while eating whatever snacks were left

"You know most couples watch a romantic movie during a date"

"Who cares what human couples do? I love seeing all this bloodshed and destruction almost as much as I love you"

"Awww that's so sweet, I love you too"

Yoru put her head on your shoulder and continued to look at the movie while smiling

"thanks"

"For what?"

"Loving me I guess, it feels really nice"

You smiled brightly and kissed her forehead

"Thank you for loving me back then"

[stevebattle]

S.A.M by "Bill" (1978). "S.A.M (Short for "Sentient, Autonomous Mechanism" or "Smart Ass Machine", depending on his (and my) mood on a given day, was one of my first real robot projects, started in 1978 when I was around 15. His "brain" was a single-board Z-80 computer (the big square object in the middle of his "back" in this picture), with many bits of TTL I/O, a couple of serial ports, a bunch of counter-timers, and several D/A & A/D channels. The base was taken from the book "How to Build a Computer Controlled Robot" by Todd Loofbourrow - I had built the robot in the book, and had used my KIM-1 to control it. Later, I decided that just a little platform was kind of boring, so I added the upper torso shown here. The torso (mounted on a "lazy-susan" turntable bearing) is rotated by a heavy-duty gear motor driving a chain and sprocket assembly from a bicycle. The base is powered by two of the (apparently no longer available, which is sad) all-metal rubber-tired "motorized wheel" assemblies that Herbach & Rademan used to sell, with a large rubber-tired caster in front. The head platform (mounted on a small "lazy-susan" bearing) was originally rotated by a surplus gearbox from a Mattel "Big Trak" with some rubber-tired wheels mounted on the output shafts. This arrangement was later replaced by a small gear-head motor driving a large gear mounted to the center of the turntable. The device in the head with the tubes sticking out the front is a directional light tracking device. Each tube has a CDS photocell at the bottom, and is painted flat black inside. A comparator circuit tells the computer which direction the brightest light is coming from. This device could also tilt up and down with a small gear-head motor, to track light sources vertically. Most of the circuitry was installed on small plug-boards from Radio Shack, mounted in a card rack below the CPU card. This rack could be tipped back 90 degrees to facilitate easier access for testing. In addition to motor driver circuits, there was a "Sweet Talker" speech synthesizer board so he could talk. Power came from a large "gel-cell" marine battery (for powering trolling motors on boats), which was slung near the ground in the center of the base. Two 6V lantern batteries (later replaced by a 12V motorcycle battery) provided separate power for the electronics. All motors were isolated from the electronics via relays and/or opto-isolators. After these pictures were taken, a set of metal panels was installed on the "facets" of the base, with lever switches behind them for collision sensing. A Polaroid sonar range-finder was also added later. If you check out the other photos of S.A.M., you will notice an "arm" sticking out the front. This was a prototype made from an old swing-arm desk lamp and some "fingers" from a robot hand design using brass tubing, bicycle chain, and 1/16" steel cable to allow natural bending of each finger. It was later replaced with a much heavier duty aluminum framework arm operated by two 12VDC linear actuators." – My Home Robot Projects, by Bill.

[theradicalscrivener]

Trevor: Noah's Big Morning

Noah's always been a light sleeper and an early riser. That hasn't changed even though he no longer has a need to be up at the crack of dawn each day. This gives him a moment of peace to enjoy the morning, reflect on how his life has changed, and enjoy some quiet time with the other early riser in the apartment, Simon.

[First Chapter] || [Previous Chapter] || [Next Chapter]

Noah stirred awake as he felt the sunlight hit his eyelids. He was typically an early riser, but his sense of date and time had been so weird these past few days. He no longer had a need to be up super early every day. He didn’t have classes at ass early o’ clock. He didn’t even need to get into the lab to do work on a regular basis. Sure, he still went in every so often to get check-ups and help out around the lab, but it was no longer a daily rat race. In many ways, it all felt like a vacation, but as Noah’s stirred awake and took stock of his surroundings, he remembered that this was no vacation. It was something far better.

Noah got up and stretched. He appeared to be the only person awake at this time of the morning. Not surprising. Rex always crashed hard and slept til nearly noon. Even Trevor was a bit of a late riser, but Trevor usually woke up whenever his boyfriend did. They shared a pillow, after all, and so whenever Simon got up, Trevor felt it and woke up too.

Noah began to pace up and down the length of the postage stamp-sized patch of felt that he slept on. The fuzz on the felt came up to his thighs which just served to remind him of how mind-boggling tiny he had become ever since the experiment. He was two millimeters tall. He was smaller than most insects. He was so small that he could hold a dust mite in his arms like a basketball. He was one of the smallest people alive, and even then, he was far from the smallest. His brother Rex was even tinier.

Rex was even smaller than the aforementioned dust mites. Those microscopic mites were the size of a small car to Noah’s miniscule older brother. It was tough to say just how tiny Rex was. The researchers in the lab had tried their best to eyeball it, but they could only guesstimate based on his size relative to other things. When Rex had first shrunk, they had used a basic ruler on a slide under a microscope to measure his size. He appeared to be a hair shy of a third of a millimeter. His case report had him officially listed as 0.3mm, but even the scientists whose job it was to track these things, would often just write or say “a third of a millimeter” when discussing the patient.

Noah wasn’t sure, but he felt like that overstated Rex’s size somewhat. He hadn’t done the measurements himself, but he had held Rex in his hands. Rex was slightly larger than your average action figure. In fact, Rex’s size was reminiscent of how small Devon appeared back before Noah had shrunk.

These thoughts were ultimately irrelevant, though. It was just how Noah’s mind worked. He liked to make connections and comparisons to help him parse the world around him. Even before he shrunk, that was just how he was. This Thing was like That Thing which was similar in size to Those Things. This way of thought came in handy when he was Frankensteining bits and bobs together to make a new gizmo. This size filament. That size wire. Could borrow this piece from that device to close this circuit. Noah still enjoyed tinkering. Although, the task was a bit different now that he was smaller than most of the pieces on the motherboard. The motherboard itself was the size of a soccer field. He could walk through the pins on his old CPU as if he was strolling through a bamboo forest. The tiny grooves and bumps built into the plastic used to be so tiny that they felt like braille when he ran his fingers across it were now so large that he had to hop over them. Just the thought of how tiny he was compared to his old hobbies made his head spin and his dick stiffen. 

Noah covered his ears as the familiar blaring of Simon’s alarm split the air. Noah was on the far side of the room from Simon’s alarm clock, but he was so small that he could feel the vibrations from the device bearing down on him. His whole body vibrated with the shrill chirps coming from the black box.

Noah watched as the titan on the far side of the room lazily fumbled for the clock on the nightstand beside him. A hand the size of a city block made a few awkward attempts to slap at the snooze button before finally managing to hit its mark.

The city-sized titan rolled groggily out of bed. His massive, semi-chubbed morning wood swung heavily between his legs as he stood up. Noah watched in awe. Simon’s cock wasn’t even fully hard, and yet, the beast was so enormous that it looked to be the size of an aircraft carrier at Noah’s reduced size. There were veins along the thick shaft that were taller than Noah was! Simon’s cock appeared to be several hundred feet long. It appeared to be nearly a sixth of a mile long! It would take Noah roughly ten minutes to hike from end to end, and he would love every second of it.

Noah was already chubbed up just from admiring how tiny his surroundings made him feel, but upon seeing the unfathomably massive Simon crawl out of bed, Noah was so hard that his dick was dribbling.

Noah watched in awe as Simon groggily stomped closer and closer to the dresser that Noah was standing atop. The ground shook with each heavy footfall. Simon’s colossal cock and massive nuts swung heavily with each step. Simon was so massive that as he got closer to the dresser and leaned in to check on the tiny Noah that Noah could actually feel the air shift around him. Noah suddenly found himself face to face with an eyeball that filled his entire field of view.

“Hey, little guy. How did you sleep?” Simon asked.

Noah tried to shout in response, but he hadn’t put his collar on yet. Even if he had been wearing it, Simon didn’t have his earpiece in, so there was no way Simon could hear him at this size. Instead, Noah leapt up and waved his arms to show how happy he was.

The massive, jumbotron sized eyeball shifted. It was suddenly fixed not just on Noah’s tiny form, but on Noah’s almost imperceptibly tiny rod. Noah’s cock was smaller than his brother’s microscopic body… although not by much. It was a testament to Simon’s eyesight that he could even make out that Noah was rock hard.

“Looks like someone is in good spirits,” Simon said with a chuckle. His bassy voice and deep chuckle reverberated through Noah’s entire body. The vibrations were so intense that Noah’s whole entire body tingled. He felt like he was sitting in one of those chairs that they used to sell at the mall that were supposed to massage your whole body.

Simon took a beat and eyed Noah up and down before speaking again. “They want you at the lab this morning. Want something to eat before we head in?” he asked.

Noah nodded enthusiastically and gave two big (at least big for him) thumbs up. Simon nodded in reply and lifted his finger up for Noah to climb aboard. Noah quickly clambered aboard and was once again struck by just how tiny he had become. He was so small that the grooves of Simon’s fingerprint made solid handholds for him to climb up and onto the tip of Simon’s finger.

Simon made his way into the small kitchen of his apartment. The trip was so blindingly fast for his spec-sized passenger, that Noah felt dizzy and disoriented for the entire trip. Fortunately, it only took a handful of seconds.

Simon set Noah down on the countertop and then went to work making breakfast. He made a few slices of toast, slathered some butter and jelly on them, and then set them on a paper towel of the countertop beside Noah.

Noah’s stomach grumbled loudly as the smell of the toast hit his nostrils. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until now! He was so hungry that it almost dulled how horny he was… almost.

Noah crawled up onto the paper towel that the toast was seated atop and scrambled across the quilted pattern until he reached a small crumb of toast. The smallest crumb on the paper towel was the size of a basketball in Noah’s hands. Some of the crumbs were as big as he was! It was such a surreal experience to be crumb-sized, but as much as Noah wanted to admire his size in relation to the massive slabs of toast that loomed over him, he was both hungry and in a hurry. He quickly scooped up a tiny granule of toast and began to gnaw on it as Simon scooped up the slice near him and began to much on that.

The crumb that Noah had had the faintest bit of butter and jelly clinging to it. It would have been imperceptible to a normal sized person, but at Noah’s size, it looked as if his basketball-sized pastry had a marzipan-like layer over the top half of it. The jelly was so thick and tacky that Noah was having trouble finding a way that he could get the taste of it on his toast without having to bite directly into the thick smear of tarlike jelly. Noah eventually managed to get a good angle where he could chew around the rim of the butter and jelly where it had seeped into the toast causing the bread to get soft and sweet.

The two ate in silence for a moment, but eventually Simon spoke up. “I have a bit of a surprise for you,” Simon said between bites.

Noah looked up. Simon was so massive that Noah felt like he was looking up at a human-shaped skyscraper. Hell, Simon looked larger than that! He was a literal mountain of a man! Noah felt like he was staring up at Mount Everest! Simon’s head was seemingly a mile above him.

“I know you like riding down below, but it’s a bit awkward to fish you out when I get to the lab. I thought we could do something else,” Simon explained.

Noah couldn’t reply. He didn’t have his collar. There was no way Simon could hear him. So, Noah just continued to gnaw at his large chunk of bread.

Simon finished the last of his slice of toast, washed his hands in the sink and then turned back towards Noah. “Give me just a second. I’ll go get it,” he said.

Noah nodded in reply, but he doubted Simon could even make out the gesture. Simon was too far away, and Noah was far too tiny.

Simon went towards the coffee table and picked up a small box and then came back into the kitchen. He knelt down beside the counter and held the box out for Noah to see. The box looked to be one of those ring cases, but at Noah’s size, the thing looked to be the size of an apartment complex, but what really caught his eye was what was inside. As Simon opened the case, Noah stared in awe at the orb-like structure inside.

Noah knew enough about mechanics to get the gist of what he was seeing. The spherical structure was surrounded by a ringlike housing. It was designed to hold the central sphere stable while everything around it moved. Noah looked at the device and then back up to Simon. Simon nodded and set the case on the counter beside Noah and then pulled out the small band that held the spherical device.

“It’s a necklace… more of a choker, if I’m being honest…” Simon explained.

Noah’s gaze fell upon the small, spherical section of the choker once more. It had looked so huge before, but in Simon’s hand it could sit easily on Simon’s fingertip. It was the size of a bead on a friendship bracelet. It was so tiny, and yet it was more than large enough that Noah could ride in it comfortably.

“I mentioned my thoughts to some of your coworkers, and they suggested something like this. One of the eggheads in engineering made this. It’s gyroscopic? I think that’s the word. You can ride in it and see everything that happens around you. You should be safe and comfortable in here,” Simon explained.

Simon waited a beat for Noah to take in what he had just said before speaking up again. “I should get one of these made for Trev. He could wear Rex the way I wear you,” Simon said with a chuckle.

Noah felt dizzy. He was so tiny that he could be kept in a charm bracelet. The sheer thought of it made him so hard that his legs nearly gave out from under him. He managed to remain upright, but he still fired off a rope of spunk. His miniscule droplets of jizz crashed down on the paper towel at his feet. His wads were so tiny that they slid into the valleys of the quilted pattern at his feet.

Simon didn’t notice, or if he did, he chose not to react. He set the small choker down on the countertop beside Noah, clicked the latch to open the spherical device in the center, and said, “here. Check out your new ride. I’ll go check on Trev. He was starting to rouse when I got up. Oh! I should see how Rex slept, while I’m at it!”

Simon reached down grabbed his huge, fat cock with one hand. He pulled back the foreskin that clung tightly around the massive head of his huge cock, revealing the mite-sized form of Noah’s “big” brother nestled underneath. Simon licked his fingertip and then poked the microscopic form of Noah’s brother causing the mite-sized stud to stick to Simon’s fingertip. Simon held his fingertip out towards Noah and said, “Here. Wake him up while I check on Trevor.”

Noah stepped forward and grabbed his brother from Simon’s fingertip. Noah was tiny, but Rex was so absolutely miniscule that he was only a bit bigger than an action figure in Noah’s hands. Noah could hold his brother in one hand like King Kong clutching a damsel in distress.

As Noah lifted the small form up to his face, he could hear Rex groaning audibly.

 “Noooo… I don’t wanna wake up! I was having an amazing dream!” Rex cried dramatically.

“Oh? What kind of dream?” Noah asked.

“I dreamt I was so small that I could ride in a dude’s foreskin!” Rex whined melodramatically.

“You are that small!” Noah grumbled.

“So are you!” Rex said with a laugh.

“S-shut up!” Noah sputtered.

Rex laughed for a good minute at his brother’s protestation, but when the rush of trolling his younger sibling wore off, he looked around, sniffed the air, and said, “it smells like jizz and Jell-o in here.”

Noah replied with, “You’re probably smelling Simon’s breakfast. He put some jelly on his toast.” But despite how cool he was trying to play it, it was obvious that he was trying not to look directly at the miniature man that he was still clutching.

“That explains the fruity smell but not the jizz smell. Did you fuck the bread or something?” Rex asked.

“N-no!” Noah sputtered.

“You suuuure?” Rex asked. There was a playfully devilish tone in his voice that made it clear he was intentionally trying to get under Noah’s metaphorical collar.

“I… mayyy have cum a little when Simon showed me my new ride…” Noah admitted yet despite how much he was trying to play it cool, it was painfully obvious that he was embarrassed.

“Your new ride?” Rex asked.

Noah didn’t say anything in response, but he nodded towards the bead-sized sphere that sat on the counter nearby. Rex glanced over his shoulder at it and then back towards his brother.

“Oh, cool. You can like… ride in it?” Rex asked.

“Yeah…” Noah replied.

“Is Simon getting a Prince Albert or something?” Rex asked.

“W-what!?” Noah yelped.

“I mean. Where else was he going to wear it that made you so boned up your creamed?” Rex asked.

“I-it’s not going on his dick! He’s going to wear it around his neck!” Noah sputtered.

“And you got hard for his neck?” Rex asked.

“N-no! It wasn’t…! I wasn’t…! It was… Look! He could hold it on his fingertip! It’s so huge I can ride in it like a car, and he could hold it on his fingertip! Just thinking about how small I am got me… and then… s-shut up!” Noah sputtered.

At this point Rex was cackling. “Shut up? You’re the only one talking!” Rex howled.

“Shut! The fuck! Up!” Noah hissed.

“Look. I like being this size cus cocks are fuckin’ massive, but you like being small just to be small. I honestly gotta admire the hustle,” Rex said between chuckles.

“… shut up…” Noah grumbled.

“So, what? He’s gonna wear you like a piece of bling when he goes places now? Maybe he’ll show you off to that hot barista at that café he likes. Goes up to the counter like, I’ll take a large latte and while I’m here, check out this flea sized fella I wear like a good luck charm,” Rex teased mercilessly.

Noah’s mind flashed to an image of him staring out from the confines of his bead-sized hamster-ball. He was staring up in awe as colossal thumb and forefinger lifted his compartment up to the absolutely massive, beautiful baby blues of the hot coffee clerk.

Noah suddenly felt dizzy. His whole body shuddered. His legs trembled. His cock lurched. A loud, low whine escaped his lips as a blast of cum shot from his dick. He was so winded by his sudden climax that he very nearly dropped the tiny guy that he held in his hand.

As soon as Noah’s grip around him tightened once more, Rex looked down at the fresh splatter of jizz and then back up to his brother’s face. “Did you just fuckin’ cum again!?” Rex laughed.

“… shut up…” Noah whimpered. 

[First Chapter] || [Previous Chapter] || [Next Chapter]

[piratesexmachine420]

I've been peeking at TI-83 Plus documentation in preparation for potentially porting i68soyuz (i80soyuz?) to it, and wowwwwwwww is it foreign. Like I knew there were gonna be differences--they're based on completely different processors,* for god's sake--but man they are different different.

The OSes have nothing in common. The SDKs have nothing in common (I'm having a hard time even finding a C compiler for the TI-83 Plus). The execution models have nothing in common. The privilege controls have nothing in common. The documentations have nothing in common. I'm only barely exaggerating.

This won't be like porting from, say, Windows x64 to Windows ARM, or Windows to Mac. It's more like porting from MS-DOS to N64, except that both MS-DOS and the N64 have easily available C compilers. It's gonna be a lot of work to port even this meager of a codebase.

*The TI-92s, TI-89s and Voyage 200 use Motorola 68000 family CPUs. Every other graphing calculator with a model number starting with TI-8x or TI-7x† use Zilog Z80 family CPUs‡. (Oh, and besides a few twenty year old engineering samples, the TI-Nspires all use ARM9s.) †Not the TI-74 and TI-78, they aren't graphing calculators. They're ...different. TI loves to assign model numbers in weird orders. Oh, and they're based on the TMS7000 microcomputer, which is some in-house shit neither you nor I have ever heard of. Also not the TI-88, which also wasn't a graphing calculator. And was canceled. And used some really in-house shit. ‡The TI-83 Premium CE Edition Python and TI-84 Plus CE Python also include an ARM coprocessor. Long story involving France.

[marina-the-witch]

MAJOR Shadow of the Erdtree Spoilers!!!

Alright I need to get this out, so here goes.

Promised Consort might be the single most conflicting boss in Fromsoft for me, and I need to talk about it. Firstly, I want to say in full honesty that I don't really mind it from a narrative standpoint. As much as I would have loved to see Godwyn get his time to shine, seeing Radahn in his prime, especially after he got beaten out quite hard by 4 other bosses in base game when he used to be my favorite after some consideration, is very cool and I don't personally think it assassinates either of the 2 characters involved, as it doesn't contradict or invalidate Miquella's previous actions nor does anything point strongly towards Radahn willingly being involved in this. However, one complaint I do have is that Mohg's involvement feels quite irrelevant and ignored by both the fanbase (aside from the dedicated Mohg club) and the game. Promised Consort has a couple horns slapped onto his arms and a SINGLE move that is reminiscent of Mohg, that's it. No shared weakness, no cool wings or scales or anything, hell, why not make Mohg's shackle work to make this difficult fight a little bit less over the top. On that note, I would like to address the fight. Aside from a wonky hitbox or two, I think, on paper, Promised Consort has a very solid and fair moveset in Phase 1 that's fun to learn and exploit, even if the openings do feel aggressively tight. Phase 2 on the other hand...Why? Why, instead of giving this conceptually sound and interesting boss an actually new moveset do you just slap frankly annoying AoEs and weird Dragon Ball bullshit ass afterimage attacks and the ability to fucking toast your CPU on what could have easily been the best final boss fight in Souls thus far if you had just TRIED. Many people have expressed they feel as though Promised Consort doesn't "try" narratively, that he's just a cheap, shoehorned attempt at fanservice like Soul of Cinder What who said that instead of providing an actual final boss to cap off the narrative, and I don't fully agree with this even if I did find the ending cutscene a bit underwhelming. But I do feel as though Promised Consort isn't trying to actually be challenging in a fair and fun way. Just kinda, overtuned. Aggressive. Unfair. I had my fun with the boss, no doubt, but I didn't feel good about beating it, especially not after the only way out I saw was summoning a tanky spirit who drew all the aggro while I tried to do literally anything in Phase 2, when no other boss in the DLC or in the game at all has ever made me that desperate (Note that i don't mind summons in general but don't personally enjoy using them as it takes the excitement and rewarding feeling out of a boss fight for me) (Also note that while i am fairly good at this game, I am extremely easily overwhelmed by too many bright visual stimuli as part of my ADHD/Autism, which is part of the reason I struggle with Fortissax and Bayle every now and then, now imagine that but tenfold for Promised Consort). This boss needs some sort of nerf. Not one that completely neuters it, Radahn has had enough of that already, it just needs to be towned down. The speed, the damage, I don't know, hell, toning down the visual clutter of phase 2 would probably be enough, so you could actually SEE what the boss is doing half the time, just do something to not make this fight as unfair as it is now. I don't know if I'll have the same experience I've had with this boss as I did Malenia, where after several attempts that ended in a mere , underwhelming, unrewarding "Glad that's over", to thinking its the worst thing ever to it being my favorite boss, I kinda hope it will, but for the time I can't say I'm excited to fight this boss again.

Stan Metyr and Romina instead everyone, we love weird nasty girlies <3

[brucenorris007]

knocknocknocknock

Rouge groaned and sat up; going by the rapid tempo, she had a good guess on who was knocking even before she opened the door to the house.

Sure enough, Sonic stood on the other side of the threshold, one hand raised in greeting.

“Shadow,” Rouge called over her shoulder. “It’s for you.”

“Actually,” Sonic said. “I’m here to borrow Omega.”

Rouge blinked. Twice. Raised an eyebrow and called again.

“Omega, it’s for you!”

She could hear the bemused, off-kilter beat of silence. She looked back at Sonic.

“Since when do you make house calls for Omega?” She asked.

“First time for everything, right?” He said with a shrug. “We’re in kind of a hurry and I don’t wanna play Shad’s guessing game about whether or not he’ll sucker punch me before he’s willing to have a conversation.”

Rouge opened her mouth. Closed it. Considered the point.

“SHADOW HAS ENGAGED IN MORE ERRATIC, INCONSISTENT BEHAVIOR RECENTLY.” Omega commented, stomping up to stand beside her at the door.

Sonic smirked.

“At least we know what we’re getting with Omega.”

“Fair.”

“Okay,” Sonic said, turning on his heel. “Let’s go, Omega!”

“NEGATIVE.”

Sonic choked in a false start and nearly tripped over their front stoop. He looked back, bewildered.

“Huh?”

“EXPLAIN YOUR OBJECTIVE AND WHY MY PRESENCE IS REQUIRED.”

Sonic blinked.

“Right, yeah, okay,” he said. “We’re figuring out where Eggman is.”

The borderline silent whir from Omega’s chassis got louder by a fraction of a decibel.

“TO DESTROY HIM?”

“We’re trying to find him first,” Sonic said, smoothly avoiding saying one way or the other what would happen when they did find the doctor. He scratched his head, fingers parting his quills. “We can’t tell where he’s doing his evil thing from. Tails can explain it better, but whatever tech he’s using isn’t connected to the same network as the rest of his bases.”

Sonic raised both hands in a shrug.

“Something like that, I think.”

Rouge digested the information silently; depending on what the doc was up to, she might get called in.

“Anyway, that’s where you come in,” Sonic said, pointing at Omega. “We’re gonna pull a con on Eggman.”

“You came looking for Omega to pull a ruse?” Rouge asked skeptically.

“He works with you, doesn’t he?”

“AFFIRMATIVE.”

Rouge smirked and patted Omega’s arm cannon.

“It does mean a paint job,” Sonic said. “Temporary, I swear; you ‘capture’ me and bring me in to one of ol’ Buttnik’s bases. Doesn’t matter what he’s up to, he’ll pay attention to that.”

“AND THEN I EXTERMINATE HIS INFERIOR MODEL ROBOTS?”

Omega, as usual, posed the question more like a statement.

“Ahh,” Sonic hedged. “You’d have to hold off on that; just until he gives up where he is!”

“UNACCEPTABLE. IT IS OBJECTIVELY MORE EFFICIENT TO ELIMINATE INDIVIDUAL BASES UNTIL HE IS FORCED OUT OF HIDING FOR LACK OF RESOURCES.”

Sonic’s mouth twisted into a borderline grimace. He glanced at Rouge; she shook her head. She wasn’t in the mood to help mediate, especially not on her day off.

“That’ll take ages, though,” Sonic said. He paused a second; a sly grin stretched across his face. “Besides, think about it; how ticked off will Eggface be when he figures out he got tricked?”

“. . .”

Rouge recognized the hum of Omega’s CPU; he was considering it.

“Even better,” Sonic said, thumbing his nose. “How ticked he’ll be when we bust down his door and break all his toys?”

“EXTREMELY.”

“He’ll blow a fuse; so, you in?”

Omega’s engines revved in lieu of an answer and he blasted off from their porch. Sonic send Rouge a backward, two-finger salute before tearing off ahead of him.

She watched them go for a moment before closing the door. She backtracked to the living room and flopped backward across the sofa; gracefully and accurately landing with feet over the armrest and her shoulder against Shadow’s, eliciting a halfway resigned grunt.

“Omega should be in a good mood when he gets home.” She said idly.

“Hrm.”

Rouge shifted to grab a cushion and reposition her wings.

“You could’ve gone with them if you wanted.”

“I didn’t.” Came the slightly too snippy reply.

Rouge rolled her eyes and snatched the remote out of his hand.

“You have been sucker punching a lot lately.”

“Shut up.”

@generic-sonic-fan

[1969chevycamaro]

Man, my PC is weird as hell.

The PSU is on an arm thing because it's a Dell and Dells are fucking weird.

The CPU is 8 years old and still fucking kicking. It can still handle whatever the fuck I throw at it. (I've checked, it's at base clock speed).

The CPU cooler is one meant for ultra compact PCs because the PSU arm goes over the CPU.

The GPU is a RX 7600xt that may be bottlenecking the CPU. It doesn't really matter though, as the computer is still super strong.

The DVD drive is an internal drive from another PC sitting ontop of my PC because it was too big to fit inside and my old disk drive broke. I literally punched a hole through the metal and plastic of my case to run the cables.

[resquices-of-godhood]

Chapter VII: Time to return and catch up

First << Previous <- Next ->

As Leoda, Gayne, Baines, Sophie and Averitt return to the temple, Wolfgang and the former Bishops are crossing the door that gave access to the library, the two groups meeting in the ritual chamber.

"Ah, good timing. We were going to meet with you." Wolfgang says as he motions towards the five former bearers. "I hope the tour was enjoyable."

"You said you didn't use the knowledge to create necroframes." Leoda responds as they cross their arms.

"For fucks sake, can you just move on from that?" Gayne chides the Lamb.

"Well, I suppose I do owe you an explanation, but I did not use that knowledge to create the Apostles, though they are a response to it." Wolfgang starts, since everyone's attention is on him. "The process is actually based on a different ritual from Euhera, whose name translates roughly to 'Ritual of the Rising Phoenix', which also has its dark side in the original version."

"Essentially, it required a sacrifice to execute the ritual as a replacement for a crown's power. Luckily, it's not the case if the one performing it is a crown bearer." The Wolf explains. "It was fairly common for leaders of cults of personality to sacrifice their followers to use it on themselves. Until I took over, that is."

"The ritual works by partially ascending the target, where they are tempted to just follow through and go to the afterlife." He continues, now explaining the ritual in itself. "If they have enough willpower, they are able to remain, at which point a new body is formed for them, bringing them back to their physical prime. The Ritual of Apostleship is similar, but no new body is created. Instead, their soul moves into an Apostle Chip, which becomes their new vessel to the mortal world." He finishes, before retrieving something from one of his pockets, revealing a CPU sized chip, whose center is composed by a small industrial sapphire. "Like this one. Worry not, this one is uninhabited."

With exception of Sophie and Averitt, everyone else approaches to see the chip, as even Baines has never seen one before.

"They are very similar to the talismans I created to house souls temporarily when I was working on the Resurrection Ritual." Narinder comments. "How did you figure out gems can hold souls?"

"From some of the most wicked sorcerers of Euhera." Wolfgang replies as he closes his hand and returns the chip to his pocket. "Those that would go so far as to remove their own soul and place it into a gem in a bid for immortality."

"I am sure there was a catch that you managed to remove." Narinder responds, having a good idea of how the Wolf operates by that point.

"Yes. Because the original process required that the soul always entered the gem, the forced entrapment would corrupt the soul. Making it a voluntary process removed the corruption that was so common among them." Wolfgang explains. "And because the ritual is so similar to the Ascension Ritual in the first half, it is completely painless, unlike the poison that was used originally."

Leoda seems about to protest again, but Narinder approaches them.

"You are letting the crown influence you, My Lamb." He whispers to Leoda, who bleats in surprise as they hadn't realized it.

"Thanks, Nari. I hadn't noticed it." They whisper back to the panther.

No one seems to have picked up on what they said, though Wolfgang's ear had swiveled in their direction.

"We probably should be going by now." Leoda speaks up after clearing their throat in an attempt to regain their composure. "There's a lot to consider from what we learned today."

"Of course. I don't expect a response so soon after so much exposure to new information." Wolfgang replies with an understanding smile. "Sophie will accompany you back to your cult grounds. Averitt, please follow me to the rehab room. I will need your help with your fellow necroframe."

The robot deer bows down to Wolfgang as sign that she understood his orders, while the undead moose starts making his way towards the Wolf.

"How long do you plan to stay?" Asks Gayne to Wolfgang as the others start leaving.

"As long as it takes the negotiations to conclude. I have real time communication with my territory and a teleportation network that I can use if I need to return in a moment's notice." Wolfgang replies. "If my sky fortress is too big of an issue, I can move it away and continue our talks in Voxport."

"No, it's alright for now. I... Might be tempted to peruse the library while you are here." Gayne admits to the Wolf.

"Of course, you are welcome to. My library is always open to visitors." The Wolf adds, before they both nod their farewell and go their separate ways.

The trip back to the cult of Death went without issues. The flight down was a bit longer due to the nature of the airship, needing the motors to push it downwards until it is low enough for the crew members responsible for bringing it down to jump out to the ground, without the cloaks this time.

Once the group disembarked, including Baines, who was no longer required to stay in service of the Gray Crown, they each went their separate ways. The owl and Heket went to Forneus cart, which was stationed in the outskirts of the cult, Gayne helped Shamura to their hut, Leshy made his way to his lover's home and Kallamar returned to his polycule's neighborhood. Leoda and Narinder waited as the blimp took off again, while Sophie remained inside the whole time.

With all said and done, the current and former gods of Death went to their shared hut, where Leoda just took off the crown and left it by the entrance, looking frustrated at the fact that they allowed their control to slip in such a manner.

Knowing that the Lamb would not calm down without intervention, Narinder just throws Leoda over his shoulder, who lets out a surprised bleat and struggle a bit, before the panther brings them to the bed, where he sits down and places his lover seated in front of him.

"You shouldn't blame yourself for letting the crown influence you, Leoda." Narinder says as he reaches for the brush on the bedside table. "You know it's what they do."

"I know, but it's still frustrating that it can still do it so easily." Leoda replies as Narinder starts to brush their wool, the frustration slowly starting to melt away.

"It has been doing that to me for several millennia before you, My Lamb." The panther replies as he starts to remove Leoda's fleece. "The fact that you are resisting it so well after over a century and a half of the same status quo just shows how good you are getting at it." He adds while starting to help them out of their robes, so he can reach more of their wool to brush.

Leoda sighs as the robes comes off, leaving them in just their undies and chest binder. "I guess you are right." They say as Narinder resumes the brushing, something that helps the Lamb to relax. "I guess it couldn't be helped either, with everything that has happened today. So much to consider all at once..."

"But you did get solutions for old problems as well, didn't you?" Narinder asks as he pauses the brushing for a moment to start massaging Leoda's shoulders. "I imagine that the food preservation issue has a solution by now."

"Well, yes. A few solutions, actually." Leoda replies as Narinder undo the knots on his wound up muscles. "But there's so much more I need to worry about in its place. I don't even know what he wanted to talk about with you and your siblings."

"If it soothes your worries, he isn't conspiring with us to retrieve the crowns." Narinder replies as he moves his arms to embrace Leoda, pulling the Lamb against his chest. "Though he has offered to help correct our past mistakes."

"Well, that's a bit of a relief, but..." Leoda says as they start caressing Narinder's hands in the embrace, before feeling something that shouldn't be there. As they look down to Narinder's left hand, they spot the wooden prosthetic in place of his missing finger. "Nari, what's this?" They ask as they pull his hand up to have a better look at the wooden replacement.

"Well... It's one of his offers to... Help me, so to say." The panther replies, before releasing the mechanism that allows the prosthetic to move from his pinky finger and taking off the fake finger, giving it to Leoda to inspect. "It's a simple prosthetic that can mimic the movements of the real deal, to help with finer work. He offered to fully replace the finger with a mechanical version that could move independently of my other fingers, but I declined."

"Did he offer the same for your siblings?" Leoda asks as they study the wooden finger, testing the joints and how it flexes.

"Yes, though all of them chose the more invasive option." Narinder replies as he just holds the embrace. "Save for Shamura. The only option that was given to them was the implant or remain addled."

"That's no option at all..." Leoda replies as they return the finger to Narinder, who fits it back into place over his amputated one.

"Yet it took some convincing my sibling to take the offer. They claimed they didn't deserve such a boon after all the pain they caused." Narinder replies. "Me and the others had to choose one of the options presented to us for them to even consider it. That's why I took this wooden finger, when I wouldn't have otherwise."

"Why?" Leoda asks while looking over their shoulders at Narinder. "Why go that far if they believe they deserve the punishment?"

"Because seeing them fade in and out of lucidity is painful, specially considering I did it to them." Narinder replies, squeezing Leoda a bit for his own comfort. "If it will give them the slightest comfort in the long term, then I can't see why I wouldn't make the same decision, even if it is symbolic."

"I see..." Leoda says, caressing Narinder's arm to try and comfort him. "You trust him? The bearer of the Gray Crown, I mean."

"I can't say I do unconditionally, but he hasn't been lying to us." Narinder advises. "His attempts at helping us might not be as selfless as he might be trying to make, but they are genuine."

"How do you know?" Leoda asks.

"Judgement. Have you seriously not used it at all?" Narinder questions the Lamb.

"I... might have forgotten..." Leoda replies sheepishly while looking away.

"Leoda, love, you should know better than to not use any advantages we can get when dealing with other gods." Narinder chides the Lamb. "He is coming to us with an immensurable knowledge advantage, so we need to use anything we can to even the playing field."

"I know..." Leoda sighs, before laying against Narinder's chest. "I just fear that using even this little of the crown's power would leave me open to its influence."

"Then let me do it for you outside of the Land of the Dead." Narinder replies while starting to knead the wool over Leoda's belly. "But back to the subject at hand, he is friendly towards us, so we should try to work with him for now. He seems like he would be a great ally in the future."

"And your siblings?" Leoda asks, relaxing into the kneading, even starting to purr a bit.

"They have chosen to receive the implants to replace that which I tore off." Narinder replies. "From what I understood, the implants will be an improvement over the organic versions, but they aren't without its drawbacks."

"I see. Can we talk about what they are tomorrow? I'm suddenly feeling really tired." Leoda requests, relaxing to the point of the tiredness of the day catching up to them.

"Of course, My Lamb." Narinder replies as they pull the covers over their bodies, before laying down so Leoda is laying atop of him. "Rest well."

Happy holidays, everyone. Santa Claus passed by my home and left this chapter for you guys, hope you enjoy. ;)

As always, separator by @lambouillet

[eximkartusa]

Ulefone Armor 30 Pro Rugged Phone, 16GB+512GB, Night Vision, 6.95 inch + 3.4 inch Dual Screen Android 14 MediaTek Dimensity 7300X Octa Core, Network: 5G, OTG, NFC

Base Specifications1. CPU Model: MediaTek Dimensity 7300X, 4nm, 8 core, 4 x Arm Cortex-A78 up to 2.5GHz + 4x Arm Cortex-A55 2. RAM: 16GB LPDDR5 + 16GB Dynamic RAM (The Dynamic RAM can be extended in Settings if needed. ) + 512GB UFS3.1 ROM 3. GPU: Arm Mali-G615 MC2 1100MHz 4. Expansion Supported: Up to 2TB (not included) 5. Unlock: Fingerprint ID & Face Unlock 6. System: Android 14 7. Ruggedness:…

[thetechrobot]

Spacetop G1, World’s first Laptop that uses AR Glasses instead of a Display

A laptop that employs augmented reality glasses as a display was called the Spacetop G1 system, and it was shown to a thousand productivity pioneers by the tech firm Sightful last year.

The upgraded Gen 1 device removes the requirement for the user to stoop over a tiny screen when working remotely on a laptop by placing a 100-inch virtual display directly in their eyes.

In this blog, The TechRobot will showcase the World’s first AR laptop: Spacetop G1. So let us begin.

What is Spacetop G1?

Sightful’s Screenless Laptop, the Spacetop G1, combines a computer with comfortable, lightweight augmented reality glasses. Running on the device is SpaceOS, a spatial operating system with an emphasis on online operations intended for productivity.

The weight of the AR glasses is 85 grams, but the Vision Pro, depending on the Light Seal, weighs between 600 and 650 grams. The keyboard is bulkier compared to a MacBook Air or iPad Pro, measuring less than 12 inches in width and weighing three pounds.

Cost of AR Laptop

The Screenless Laptop, Spacetop G1 charges $1,700 and is just a keyboard with spectacles attached.

Spacetop G1 Specs

Spacetop G1, features a Qualcomm Snapdragon QCS8550 CPU, Kryo GPU, Adreno 740 AI, dual eNPU V3, 48 INT8, 12 FP16 TOPs, 16 GB LPDDR5, 128 GB UFS3.1 storage, and 8-hour battery life.

They have two OLED display screens, a 50° field of vision, a 90Hz refresh rate, and very crisp text rendering.

The glasses enable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 5G, and a 5MP camera. They also contain a microphone for use in online meetings.

Benefits of AR Laptops

1. Endless View

With Spacetop’s Virtual Desktop, you may get amusement and information without having to navigate around, making it a convenient substitute for real screen space. Although it’s not the only solution with this functionality, this one could be the easiest to use.

A standard keyboard and touchpad, Spacetop’s AR glasses, and a perhaps lower price tag might allow customers to enjoy endless screen areas without sacrificing functionality. For individuals who would rather have a more ordered workstation, this would be a time-saving alternative.

2. Absolute privacy

Multi-monitor laptop attachments should not be used in public areas due to the increased danger of uninvited eyes peeping at private information caused by an excessive number of physical displays. Although privacy screens are available on certain computers and monitors, they are limited to one monitor.

To solve this, Spacetop is a Screenless Laptop, letting the user see their screen alone until it is shared with others. But it also means that those standing close to the user can’t see the screen without their glasses.

3. Improved posture

Laptops’ screens are firmly attached to the keyboard, making them portable yet uncomfortable. Some people find relief from this neck pain by attaching a desktop monitor.

The screenless laptop, Spacetop, provides a more comfortable height and does away with the need for arms or ergonomic monitor supports. Due to this, laptops are a better choice for use at home or in the workplace.

4. Laser Focus

Spacetop G1 is an Augmented Reality (AR) device that reduces visual distractions so users can work productively and enjoy their free time. The apps it may utilize, including Windows or macOS-based software and limited gaming, are restricted by its Android-based operating system and mobile hardware.

Notwithstanding these drawbacks, Spacetop provides a more practical experience than a typical computer since it places all of the necessary components in front of and surrounding users. Instead of letting others decide for them, users may choose whether to allow virtual distractions to affect them.

Highlight – Introducing Travel Mode For Meta Quest Headsets

Best AR Glasses for Laptops

1. Apple AR Glasses

Apple plans to develop AR glasses that look like conventional spectacles with a built-in display. A prototype of the glasses has a thick, attractive frame and resembles high-end luxury sunglasses. With references to Project Starboard and reports of a glassOS, the prototype is anticipated to function on iOS 14.

Though it could take a few more years for a public release, rumors indicate that Apple has already started the second phase of development. The glasses will have the ability to add prescription lenses, gesture-controlled instructions that connect with the Apple Watch, and a true vision display on both lenses.

Possible capabilities include the ability to use virtual things in real-world settings, do activities without using a phone, and enable immersive phone conversations and remote collaboration software.

2. Meta Glasses

Rebranding Facebook to Meta, Mark Zuckerberg is concentrating on augmented reality glasses and headsets. The business plans to deliver Meta spectacles, a prototype of their augmented reality spectacles, in late 2024. The Project Nazare and Project Aria prototypes provide a fully functional augmented reality experience, with 3D visuals and an elegant design. It is anticipated that the Meta Glasses will include an immersive experience with radio, speakers, and cameras, a holographic display with built-in projectors, batteries, and sensors, and a broad field of vision. In 2024, the prototype is anticipated to be released.

3. Xreal Air 2 Ultra

The Air 2 Ultra glasses from Xreal are an improvement over the Air 2 model and are aimed at competing with Apple’s Vision Pro and Meta’s Quest 3 headsets. Complete positional tracking, a form factor akin to eyeglasses, and compatibility for immersive AR apps, TV viewing, and flat-screen gaming are all features of the Air 2 Ultra.

It has a 52-degree field of vision, 500 nits of brightness, two cameras for environmental mapping, hand tracking, and compatibility with Xreal’s Nebula AR environment.

Is AR safe for your eyes?

Prolonged use of AR might result in headaches, nausea, and straining of the eyes. This is a result of our eyes continually focusing on objects at different distances when using AR. This can cause pain and eye tiredness.

Conclusion

The future of laptops with AR like the Spacetop G1 marks a breakthrough in laptop technology by utilizing augmented reality to provide a 100-inch virtual display that improves user posture, productivity, and privacy.

The Spacetop G1 presents a new option for remote work by addressing typical ergonomic concerns associated with standard laptops by mixing AR glasses with a powerful computing machine and the SpaceOS operating system.

Despite several drawbacks associated with its Android-based operating system and the possibility of eye discomfort after extended usage, the Spacetop G1 breaks new ground in augmented reality technology by offering consumers a more useful and engaging experience.

[melanodis]

thinking abt aadland being shown his own freshly manufactured android (unbeknownst to him) to give the all clear and he starts talking mad shit about it. it gives him the creeps. faceless and unpainted.

"Personally I would've gone for a lighter material... tungsten doesn't allow for shock absorption. It'd be like hurling a brick through the air."

"Don't even get me started on these egregious heels. It's an upgrade over the first long fall boots, but these are just.... ick."

"Isn't this an entire hazard in and of itself?" shoving his hands into it with zero forethought

"The panels can be added and removed as needed, Doctor. They're removed here ao you can look at the hardware."

"Hardware?..."

takes one peek and starts squeaking and hyperventilating like a school girl

"There's no reason a simple ARM cpu needs THAT much cooling, especially liquid cooling. What the hell kinda power is this thing packing?"

the other scientists are just... smiling and nodding. that's what they always do to him though.

what is this even for? a testing droid doesn't need this much power to solve simple equations and logic based thinking...

it needs something more.

[stevebattle]

OmniHead (2003) by Takeshi Maeda, Vstone, Osaka. OmniHead is a bipedal humanoid competition robot, developed for the ROBO-ONE 4 contest.  Specialist servos for robots had not been yet been developed, so it's based on the SANWA ERG-VB designed for radio-controlled cars. The CPU is a 16MHz Hitachi H8.

"Around August 2002 I went to see the 2nd ROBO-ONE tournament and started to think it would be much more fun to participate than to watch. The current idea is as follows. It will use radio-controlled servos; Initially, I'll use the servos as is, but eventually I would like to control the motor current myself from the internal potentiometer value. Start with 6 degrees of freedom x 2 on one leg, add 2 degrees of freedom at the waist, and add 2 degrees of freedom on each arm with 4 degrees of freedom. I want to make the knee and ankle front and rear axes double joints to create a 'soft-body robot.' … It's challenging to participate in Robo-One because I'm so busy with work and a crying creature comes to my house at night, but I ended up being able to spend about 1.5 days out of my three-day weekend working on the robot. … I was able to attach an omnidirectional camera and called it "omni-head." – Takeshi Maeda, Robotan Production Diary.

In August 2003 at ROBO-ONE 4, OmniHead came 2nd in the preliminary round and 2nd place in the final, runner-up to A-Do.

[patch-doll]

Burning Bright

contains: combat dolls, bad parenting, a little bit of death

it is ready for anything. it was built to be ready, so it can't be anything else. it has been through a thousand thousand simulations, and it is prepared for any situation. nothing can surprise it because everything is accounted for, from something as simple as killing an unarmored target while running at full capacity to facing another combat model after having an arm dismembered.

it could be possibly be described as eager for its first mission, but the word eager doesn't come close to properly expressing the ecstasy it knows it will experience when it finally gets to fulfill its purpose.

when that first mission comes around and it is placed on the field, it is exactly as blissful as it always knew it would be. moving as fast as it can from target to target, pushing its shell to the limit. it is quick, efficient, and perfect above all else.

it ends up in close quarters combat with an enemy that is very clearly trying to stall for time, but the enemy is a high priority target, and so command insists that it eliminates the current target before continuing forwards. command also informs it that there is a group of targets retreating from the combat zone.

it needs to go faster and catch the retreating group, but the current target is slippery and just barely avoids a fatal wound from its knife for the third time. it assesses that it needs to commit to possibly taking damage in this fight if it is going to catch that group of targets.

it takes a few minor scratches in the process of cornering its target, but the current target never commits to doing serious damage, always opting to stall for an extra second rather than taking a risk to try and disable it. an idiotic strategy in the long term, but it understands most things do not think as efficiently as it does. it closes in and it knows the this next moment will finish this encounter-

a click sounds off from behind it. several thoughts run through its head in an instant. it knows it can't move fast enough to get out of the way of whatever is about to hit it. it knows it should be able to survive almost anything and still be functional enough to finish the mission. it decides to finish off the current target before dealing with this new issue. its knife slices through the flesh of its enemy's throat, and there's a split second of satisfaction before the impact comes.

there's a three inch hole in its torso, its body politely informs it. the sensation is overwhelming. it knows what this is supposed to feel like, because the simulations cover all manner of damages, it should be able to fight in this condition with almost no issues.

but its body is screaming, or doing something like screaming. there is an amount of sensory input it can't properly quantify radiating from the hole in it that spreads through every inch of its body. its vision is blurring, which shouldn't happen without direct damage to its eyes. it can't think properly, which shouldn't happen without direct damage to its CPU.

this is what happens when biological entities are injured, it realizes. it also realizes that the enemy that attacked it is dead. it is not sure when that happened. it shouldn't be capable of not noticing something that happened near it. command sends more information about where the retreating group is. receiving that information makes the screaming in its body worse somehow.

it moves, and it thinks it might be following the retreating targets, but it isn't sure. it only knows that it is moving, and it is fulfilling its purpose. colors smear together wherever it looks. it switches to thermal vision, and the heat signatures smear together too.

there are several bodies on the ground around it. command informs it that it can return to base to be repaired for the next mission. it remembers that it killed the stalling target ten minutes ago. it shouldn't have been able to reach its current location and finish off all the targets here in that amount of time. the hole in its torso is still screaming.

it sits down. it doesn't understand. it wants to express something, but it shouldn't have any need to express anything.

it has to do better next time.

[river-official]

Robotgirl with a cpu in her arm, call her arm based