#Central Air Data Computer

[nelc]

The Bendix Central Air Data Computer computes Mach number and other values from pressure inputs from pitot tubes. It uses rotating gears and cams for computation. Motors in synchro loops rotate the shafts to the right positions.

[covid-safer-hotties]

New COVID Variant XEC May Outpace Others This Fall - Published Sept 18, 2024

"The virus is always going to be mutating away from what it was in order to get more efficient at infecting individuals," Adalja said. "So I think this really highlights the fact that a universal COVID vaccine, or some vaccine with different technologies, perhaps a nasal vaccine and using mucosal immunity, all of those things are important."

What if, get this, we prevented covid cases by improving ventilation, mandating air filtration, and wearing masks in public? Wouldn't that accomplish the same goal right now? Every mutation takes us further away from the current scientific fantasy of a universal covid vaccine. We have to stop cases to make this dream a reality.

by Sophie Putka

The new COVID-19 variant XEC may overtake others in circulation to become dominant in the coming months, experts said, but will not prompt a meaningful change in symptoms or vaccine response.

So far, the CDC's variant proportions tracker has not registered enough cases of XEC in the U.S. to report it. (The agency's projected estimates for the 2 weeks ending in September 14 currently show KP.3.1.1 and KP.2.3 as the leading variants, with 52.7% and 12.2% of national cases, respectively.) Another estimate using data from the variant tracker GISAID has XEC at 1.11% of U.S. cases as of September 15, with around 48 sequences reported.

First detected in Germany in June, it's been found mostly in Central Europe, representing 10% of cases, according to the U.K.'s Science Media Centre.

"XEC represents a fairly minor evolution relative to the SARS-CoV-2 diversity currently in circulation, and is not a highly derived novel variant such as those that were granted Greek letters," like Alpha, Delta, and Omicron, Francois Balloux, PhD, a computational biologist at University College London and director of the UCL Genetics Institute, said in a Science Media Centre statement.

Experts noted that while XEC may have a small advantage in transmission, available vaccines are still likely to provide protection from serious illness.

XEC is a "recombinant variant of some of the other Omicron lineages that have been around for a while, and it does appear to be more immune evasive, giving it a transmissibility advantage in the population with the immunity that it has," Amesh Adalja, MD, of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, told MedPage Today. "But it doesn't really change anything, just like the last variant didn't change anything, or the one before that, one before that, or the one before that."

Currently available COVID vaccines target slightly different subvariants. The updated mRNA shots aimed at KP.2 from Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty) and Moderna (Spikevax), as well as Novavax's vaccine targeting the JN.1 variant lineage, are still protective against the most serious consequences of COVID infections, experts said.

"If this becomes a dominant variant, it will decrease the efficacy against infection of the updated vaccines, but the updated vaccines will still be durable against severe disease [and] hospitalization, and that's what is really the primary function of our current, first-generation COVID vaccines," Adalja said.

Still, he emphasized, the rapid mutation of the virus underscores a need for a different kind of vaccine than those currently available if the goal is to protect against infection rather than just severe disease.

"The virus is always going to be mutating away from what it was in order to get more efficient at infecting individuals," Adalja said. "So I think this really highlights the fact that a universal COVID vaccine, or some vaccine with different technologies, perhaps a nasal vaccine and using mucosal immunity, all of those things are important."

[usafphantom2]

Introducing F-21: The Latest 4th Generation Fighter Plane from Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin F-21

Taking its game forward, Lockheed Martin has proposed an improved version of the popular F-16 at Aero India 2019 called the F-21 and claims it will be the most advanced, 4th generation Fighter Aircraft in the world.

Lockheed Martin had earlier offered its F-16 has claimed that the F-21 will be specifically configured for the Indian Air Force and will strengthen India’s path to an advanced airpower future.

An option for new production, the F-21 will have a slew of the latest state of the art technological advancements and improvements that include a new radar system, stealth detection capabilities, and electronics design that add a lot of value to the already iconic aircraft.

F-21 will be based on a proven platform, with a new branding

TATA-Lockheed Martin F-21

“The F-21 is different, inside and out,” said Vivek Lall, vice president of Strategy and Business Development for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

Lockheed Martin has long said it plans to shift its F-16 production lines to India in cooperation with Tata. It has gone so far as to suggest it could establish an F-16 production line in the country regardless of whether it wins the MRCA deal or not.

For years, Lockheed Martin has been lobbying India for MMRCA contract in excess of 100 fighter jets. India traditionally bought its defence technology from and Russia, but recently, it has been buying American military technology, including the P-8 Poseidon and AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.

Now that there is a difficult competition between Lockheed Martin’s F-16, Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the Swedish Gripen, French Rafale, European Eurofighter Typhoon, and Russian MiG-35. Lockheed Martin had to increase the stakes.

F-21 will be nimble, carry decent ordnance, and have lower costs to maintain

Weapon Systems of Lockheed Martin F-21

The F-21 will incorporate an upgraded mission computer, a state of the art avionics and includes multi-function displays. With a Central, Pedestal Display will help improve the crew’s situational awareness through Real-Time processing of the flight data.

In addition, the F-21 will also come with an upgradable display generator, a link-16 data link, HF/UHH/VHF multiple frequency radio communication support as well as IFF (identification friend or foe) enhancements.

The three original computers will be replaced with a single modular mission computer which provides far higher computing power to the avionics and weapons systems in addition to providing accurate targeting, air to air strike performances and information capabilities.

According to Lockheed Martin, the F-21 will be capable of providing affordable and scalable advanced combat capabilities through its Active Electronically Scanned Array radar. The Central Pedestal Display also provides a high-resolution display with colour maps, zoom functionality and Night vision systems, thereby helping to keep the aircraft in an enhanced state of Battle Awareness.

The Aircraft will also be capable of integration with the FLIR laser system and navigation as well as reconnaissance pods. The F-21 is also upgraded with state of the art threat warning systems, jammers, electronic countermeasure equipment pods and chaff and infrared flare dispensers to take care of complex and varied battlefield situations.

What will be the future of F-21?

As of now, the F-21 is just a concept. The F-21 will be tailor-made to meet the requirements of the Indian Airforce and will be a 4.5+ generation fighter if the company wins the estimated $18-billion order for the 115 planes.

Officially known as the “Fighting Falcon” commonly known as the Viper by pilots and crew, The F-16 is one of the most renowned and battle-tested supersonic fighter aircraft in the world. This single engine, multirole aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin (formerly General Dynamics), was developed originally for the United States Air Force and is now regarded as the most successful all-weather multirole fighter aircraft.

Entering into production almost four decades back in 1976, more than 4500 F-16 aircraft have been built and although no more bought by the United States Air Force, improved versions are being built for various export customers.

@defenseaviation.com

[the-goldenbunny-diaries]

W.I.A (Wounded in Action)

⚢ Pairing - Jihyo x Reader

✎ Word Count - 2.1k

☆ Genre - Angst

♡ Description - Embarking on a spy mission with your girlfriend Jihyo goes terribly wrong when you get severely injured (A/N: I hope you like this one 🐰 anon)

★・・・・・・★

Months after you first met, you found yourself in an extraordinary relationship with the skilled, brilliant leader of the secret spy organization TWICE: Park Jihyo. Together, you made a formidable team, tackling dangerous missions and growing closer with every challenge you faced side by side.

One day, you were assigned a critical mission that involved intercepting highly classified information related to a sinister global organization known as "The Black Lotus." This organization was notorious for its involvement in illegal arms trade, human trafficking, and acts of terrorism.

The intel you received indicated that The Black Lotus was about to finalize a deal with a rogue nation, supplying them with advanced weaponry and technology. If the deal went through, it could destabilize the delicate balance of power in the region, putting countless innocent lives at risk.

To prevent this catastrophic event, your mission objectives were twofold:

1. Infiltrate the High-Security Facility: Jihyo, being a master of disguise and stealth, was tasked with infiltrating the heavily fortified headquarters of a Black Lotus subsidiary. The facility was protected by state-of-the-art security measures, including retinal scanners, laser grids, and an army of well-trained guards.

Your mission was to guide Jihyo, providing her with real-time analysis and strategic support from a secure location. As an experienced spy, you had excess knowledge of surveillance cameras, could hack into the facility's communications, and process information swiftly.

2. Retrieve the Encrypted Data: Jihyo's task was to gain access to the facility's central computer system and download the encrypted data containing information about the impending arms deal. Her skills as an expert hacker and martial artist would be essential in navigating the complex security network.

★・・・・・・★

The day of the mission arrived, and tension filled the air as you and Jihyo prepared to execute the operation. Jihyo noticed a flicker of concern in your eyes.

"You seem a bit off today," Jihyo said, her voice tinged with worry. "Are you sure you're up for this, my love?"

You couldn't hide your hesitation from her penetrating gaze. "I'll be fine, Jihyo. We have a duty to carry out, and the stakes are too high to back down now."

Her hand gently rested on yours, her touch soothing. "I trust you, but please promise me that you'll be cautious. I couldn't bear to lose you."

"I promise," you replied, mustering a smile. "We make an unbeatable team, and we'll get through this together."

With renewed determination, Jihyo slipped into the role of a Black Lotus operative, blending seamlessly with her surroundings. As she ventured into the heart of the heavily fortified headquarters, you couldn't help but feel a surge of pride and anxiety.

"I'm inside," Jihyo's voice crackled over the communication device. "The security is tighter than we expected, but I'm adapting. Keep an eye on those cameras, okay?"

"Roger that," you responded, your focus intensifying as you monitored the facility's surveillance feeds. "Stay sharp, Jihyo. You've got this."

As Jihyo progressed deeper into the facility, her every move became crucial. Unexpected obstacles and guards blocked her path, but she tackled each challenge with her trademark skill and tenacity. However, the situation escalated beyond your initial intelligence.

"Jihyo, the security protocols are more complicated than we thought," you said, your voice tense with concern. "Be careful. There's a patrol headed your way."

"I see them," Jihyo replied, her breath quickening. "I'll find another route. Just keep guiding me."

Your heart raced as you navigated her through the labyrinthine hallways. Then, the unexpected happened – an alarm blared, and chaos ensued.

"Damn it!" Jihyo's voice was urgent. "I tripped an alarm. They're on high alert now."

"Don't panic," you said, trying to steady your own nerves. "Take cover, and I'll guide you through. You've trained for this."

Ducking into a nearby supply room, Jihyo's mind raced as she planned her next move. The adrenaline coursing through her veins sharpened her focus, and she peered through the cracked door to assess the situation.

The guards, armed with high-tech weaponry, spread out to sweep the area. Jihyo's heart sank as she realized the extent of the challenge before her. She knew that taking them down quietly would be nearly impossible, and she had no choice but to engage in a full-blown confrontation.

"Get ready, Jihyo. They're closing in," you warned, your voice a lifeline in the chaos.

With swift and calculated movements, Jihyo sprung into action. She leaped out of the supply room, surprising the guards with her agility. Before they could react, she disarmed the closest one with a well-timed kick, sending his weapon clattering to the floor.

However, the element of surprise only bought her a moment. The remaining guards opened fire, forcing Jihyo to take cover behind nearby crates. Bullets ricocheted off metal surfaces, and she knew she had to act quickly.

"Look for any advantage in the environment," you suggested, analyzing the situation from the surveillance cameras. "There's a storage unit on your right. See if there's anything you can use."

Jihyo's eyes darted around, and she spotted a rack of pipes and metal rods nearby. Taking a deep breath, she lunged toward them, her agility and combat skills allowing her to evade the onslaught of bullets. She grabbed a metal rod, using it as both a shield and a weapon. 

With newfound determination, Jihyo sprang from behind cover, deflecting bullets with the metal rod as she closed the distance between herself and the guards. With precise strikes, she incapacitated two of them, leaving the rest scrambling to regain their composure. 

But one guard managed to get a clean shot, and a bullet grazed Jihyo's arm, causing her to wince in pain. However, she gritted her teeth and fought through the injury, knowing that time was of the essence.

"Jihyo, you're injured. G-get to cover," you urged, voice strained but your concern palpable. 

Ignoring the pain, Jihyo pressed forward, taking down the remaining guards one by one. With sheer determination, she cleared a path to the central computer system, but the struggle had taken its toll. As she initiated the data download, her injured arm trembled with exhaustion. Despite the pain, she refused to give in. The encrypted data was her prize, a testament to her unwavering dedication and the strength of your partnership. 

 "Y/N, I have the data," Jihyo breathed out, her voice pained from her wounds. "I'm heading to the rendezvous point." She awaited your acknowledgment but didn’t receive anything in return. Even in her weakened state, Jihyo started to panic, rushing to the extraction point to find you.

★・・・・・・★

As Jihyo fought her way through the intensified security, you remained focused on providing real-time analysis and support. The pressure to guide her safely through the facility weighed heavily on your shoulders. In your determination to ensure her success, you inadvertently neglected your own well-being. As she faced an onslaught of guards, you fought with your mind, utilizing your combat knowledge and quick thinking to guide Jihyo as best as you could.

Unbeknownst to you, The Black Lotus guards detected your presence within their facility. Recognizing the threat you posed, they quickly surrounded you, outnumbering you by far. Armed and highly skilled, they launched a coordinated attack, making it difficult for you to defend yourself and help Jihyo.

Despite your valiant efforts, the odds were stacked against you. You managed to take down a few guards, but fatigue began to set in, and your movements slowed. A powerful blow to your side left you staggering, and another struck you on the back of your head, causing your vision to blur. With every ounce of strength, you tried to fight back, but the guards were unrelenting. In a final, desperate attempt to protect yourself, you swung wildly, but a skilled adversary managed to deliver a decisive blow, knocking you unconscious.

As darkness enveloped you, the sound of Jihyo's battle cries faded away, leaving you in a state of vulnerable unconsciousness. Your body lay motionless, and the guards, satisfied with their victory, left you there to succumb to the darkness.

★・・・・・・★

As Jihyo discovered you lying unconscious and injured at the rendezvous point, panic and anguish washed over her. She knelt beside you, gently cradling your head in her hands, desperately trying to rouse you.

"No, no, this can't be happening," she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. "Wake up, my love. Please, wake up!"

Her heart sank and tears streamed down her cheeks at the sight of your unconscious form. With a mix of worry and determination, she carefully assessed your injuries. Her skilled eyes scanned over your battered body, noting the cuts, bruises, and the gash on your forehead where you were struck. Her hands trembled slightly as she gently touched your wounds, making sure not to cause you any further pain. Jihyo's mind raced, guilt gnawing at her, believing that it was her actions that led to this devastating outcome. She couldn't bear the thought of having put you in harm's way. 

With a trembling hand, she activated the communication device to call for backup and medical assistance. Her voice was steady, but it quivered with an underlying layer of distress.

"This is Jihyo. We have an emergency at the rendezvous point. I need immediate medical assistance. Hurry!"

As she waited for help to arrive, she refused to leave your side. Gently, she brushed a strand of hair away from your face and spoke softly, as if her voice could somehow reach your unconscious mind.

"Don't worry, my love. Help is on the way," she said, her voice choked with emotion. "I won't leave you. You mean everything to me, and I promise to keep you safe."

Finally, the sound of approaching footsteps and the arrival of medical personnel filled the air. Jihyo stepped aside, allowing the medical team to take over. She watched anxiously as they carefully assessed your injuries and worked swiftly to stabilize you.

"I'm sorry," Jihyo said to the medical team, her voice heavy with guilt. "I should have been more cautious. It's my fault he's hurt."

One of the medics placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We'll do our best to take care of them. You did what you could, and they’re in good hands now."

As they prepared to transport you to the hospital, Jihyo insisted on accompanying you. She couldn't bear to be separated from you, even for a moment.

In the hospital, Jihyo never left your side. She held your hand tightly, silently praying for your recovery. Her mind was filled with regrets and promises to never let anything like this happen again.

"I love you," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I can't lose you, not like this. Please, wake up."

As the days passed with you unconscious in the hospital, Jihyo remained by your side, consumed by worry and love. She hardly ate or slept, her focus entirely on your well-being. Her appetite vanished, and her nights were spent restlessly, unable to find solace without you awake and by her side. Her dedication to your recovery was unwavering, and she refused to leave the hospital room, knowing that her presence might be the anchor that brought you back to consciousness. Jihyo's determination to be there for you, regardless of her own needs, was a testament to the depth of her love and the unbreakable bond between you.

As you slowly regained consciousness in the hospital bed, you noticed tears streaming down Jihyo's cheeks. She looked both relieved and distraught at the same time. 

"I'm so sorry," she choked out, her voice trembling with guilt. "I should have been there to protect you from getting hurt. This is all my fault." 

You mustered all the strength you had to reach out and gently wipe away her tears. "No, Jihyo, don't blame yourself," you reassured her, your voice soft but earnest. "You did everything you could, and it was a dangerous mission. We knew the risks. I don't blame you for what happened." 

She looked into your eyes, her own filled with emotion. "But I promised to keep you safe," she said, her voice breaking. "I love you so much, and I never want to see you hurt like this again." 

You smiled weakly, your heart swelling with love for her. "You being here now, by my side, is all that matters," you said, squeezing her hand gently. "We'll get through this together. I love you too, and I know that with you here, everything will be okay." 

In that moment, you found solace in each other's presence, knowing that your love and support were the pillars that would help you overcome any obstacle that came your way.

[zinniazahara]

“ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?”

… in loving memory—asaro kodeia. i (TRIGGER WARNING—UNSETTLING)

[This Fractsidus facility is rather peculiar…]

[It seems to have been constructed rather recently, but it stands abandoned]

• • •

A facility like this… in Rinascita? So close to Ragunna City, too.

[The halls echo with each footstep, stirring up stagnant air. Whirls of dust kick up with every movement… this place feels deeply wrong]

[Like something long ago condemned this place]

[You aren’t meant to be here.]

This facility is particularly small, by the looks of it. This hallway is comparatively large, though. I’ve finally reached what appears to be the central chamber after walking for a short while.

[Step inside?]

[Yes] • [No]

[Yes] …

[The doors to the central chamber are askew: it appears as though the left hand-side is fully extended closed, but the right hand-side is completely torn off. It lays on the floor before you, scorched with something that still burns. It smells of rust and iron]

I can’t see a thing in here…

[As you step inside the rectangular room, its purpose seems to be more apparent—this is an observation chamber. There are empty swivel seats against control panels, likely for scientists to observe whatever… or whoever… was down there. The Pangu Terminal, despite its best efforts, struggles to illuminate the space beyond the shattered observation window]

There has to be a way to turn on the—

[Haphazardly pressing buttons, the chamber itself roars to life as its reaches fill with obnoxious white light. Energy reached the chamber so fast and without warning that you raise your hands to cover your eyes, adjusting to the sudden assault]

This place is… bizarre.

[The room, now illuminated, seems to have been lashed with very precise cuts that continue to smoulder with a powerful frequency, and the window leading outward into the main circular holding room is entirely shattered. Beyond, as though by some sort of intervention, this holding room seems impervious to the light. In the middle of the room, a raised junction seems to have some sort of… object upon its pedestal. It takes up most of the broad board, with some of it slinking downward in a mass that pooled down the stairs leading up to it. You can’t really make it out]

[You feel some relief, though, that comparative to the central holding chamber, the observation room is raised, looking down into instead of straight ahead.]

There’s a log here. Must have been restored to functionality when the power came back on.

[Use the system?]

[Yes] • [No]

[Yes]…

[SUBJECT S-35] … CORRUPTED.2727.ex

[SUBJECT S-35] … CORRUPTED.2727.ex

[SUBJECT S-35] … CORRUPTED.2727.ex

[SUBJECT S-35] … CORDEIRO STARK.8927

[SUBJECT S-35] … CORRUPTED.9999.ra

[CONFIRM SELECTION] • [CANCEL]

Strange… most of the files are corrupted. The only one I’m able to access is the fourth file on record. “Cordeiro Stark, eighty-nine twenty-seven”. The corrupted file after it has a different resonance…

[SUBJECT S-35] … CORRUPTED.2727.ex

[SUBJECT S-35] … CORRUPTED.2727.ex

[SUBJECT S-35] … CORRUPTED.2727.ex

•[SUBJECT S-35] … CORDEIRO STARK.8927

[SUBJECT S-35] … CORRUPTED.9999.ra

[CONFIRM SELECTION] • [CANCEL]

[SELECTION CONFIRMED. RETRIEVING … ]

[DATA RETRIEVED. INITIALISING … ]

There’s an unsettling atmosphere here… did the Fractsidus imprison a Tacet Discord? Experiment on it? I can’t make out anything inside of the holding chamber below me.

[The computer screen’s view changes, showing a recorded feed from the position of a corner of the holding room, likely through a camera. Suspended from the ceiling of the room is a male humanoid figure, hanging by what appears to be sickles attached to chains perforated through various parts of his chest, right arm, and head.]

[Below stands Fractsidus artificers, a group of seven, congregating around the central junction of the holding room as this man hoisted by chains is slowly lowered. In the observation room, Overseer Scar stands readily, watching the occurrence below, seemingly right where you are standing currently]

[His voice blares out of the intercom, holding gravitas despite the few amount of words]

“Bring him in.”

[One of the Artificers breaks away from the congregation to operate the lone door to the holding room, just as this man touches down onto the raised junction and slumps upon its surface, seemingly unresponsive. By way of the control panel, the automatic doors breeze open to reveal an exasperated young man of]

01011001 01001111 01010101 00100000 01010111 01000001 01001110 01010100 01000101 01000100 00100000 01010100 01001000 01001001 01010011

[… as he approaches the pedestal DISTRAUGHT THAT HIS]

[THAT HIS]

[THAT HIS]

[THAT HIS BEST FRIEND]

01000010 01000101 01010011 01010100 00100000 01000110 01010010 01001001 01000101 01001110 01000100 00100000 01010111 01000001 01001110 01010100 01000101 01000100 00100000 01010100 01001111 00100000 01000010 01000101 00100000 01000110 01010101 01000011 01001011 01001001 01001110 01000111 00100000 01010100 01001111 01010010 01010100 01010101 01010010 01000101 01000100 00100000 01000010 01010101 01010100 00100000 01001000 01000101 00100000 01010111 01000001 01001110 01010100 01000101 01000100 00100000 01010100 01001000 01001001 01010011 00100000 01001000 01000101 00100000 01000110 01010101 01000011 01001011 01001001 01001110 01000111 00100000 01010111 01000001 01001110 01010100 01000101 01000100 00100000 01010100 01001000 01001001 01010011 00100000 01001000 01000101 00100000 01010111 01000001 01001110 01010100 01000101 01000100 00100000 01010100 01001000 01001001 01010011

“[… … …]? By the Sentinel… What did they do to you?”

[HANGING IN THE CENTRE OF THE ROOM]

[HE’S HANGING IN THE CENTRE OF THE ROOM]

[HANGING BY CHAINS IN THE CENTRE OF THE ROOM]

01000100 01001001 01000100 01001110 11100010 10000000 10011001 01010100 00100000 01011001 01001111 01010101 00100000 01010111 01000001 01001110 01010100 00100000 01010100 01001000 01001001 01010011 00111111

01100010 … [as he approaches the pedestal]

“Please answer me… what did they do to you?”

[The yoSACRIFICEung man steps closer to the unidentified Resonator on the pedestal, and the screen view is momentarily obscured as the Fractsidus Artificers begin to file out of the chamber]

“What the… where are you all go—ASARO? Are you okay? You’re blee—“

[IT WON’T BE ME IF IT ALL SPILLS OUT. I HAVE TO HOLD MYSELF TOGETHER SO IT DOESN’T SPILL OUT]

[IT WON’T BE ME IF IT ALL SPILLS OUT. IT’S EVERYWHERE. DISTRAUGHT AT THE SIGHT OF HIS MANGLED SOULMATE]

[I CAN’T LEAVE I’M STILL ON FIRE]

[HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP

me help me help me help me help me help me help me help me help me help

[The computer feed cuts and you see your reflection in the black screen I’m sitting at the bottom of the chamber and I can’t move he did this to me I can’t move he did this to me I can’t move he did this to me I can’t move]

…

• • •

[thatsrightice]

F-14 FUN FACT OF THE DAY #44

When dropping unguided bombs, also known as “dumb” bombs, the F-14 Tomcat would be switched into a “bomb mode” that overrides the Central Air Data Computer(CADC). In “bomb mode,” the wings would be swept out to 55 degrees and the glove vanes would be deployed (if they had not yet been welded shut). This creates a stable platform for dive bombing when dropping dumb bombs. Without the mode locking the wings in place while the aircraft is on a dive bombing run, the wings would begin to automatically sweep back as the speed increases to decrease drag.

[nuxthefirst]

Derad Network: The Crypto Project That's Taking Aviation to New Heights https://www.derad.net/

Hey Tumblr fam, let's talk about something wild: a blockchain project that's not just about making money, but about making the skies safer. Meet Derad Network, a Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) that's using crypto magic to revolutionize how we track planes. If you're into tech, aviation, or just love seeing Web3 do cool stuff in the real world, this one's for you. Buckle up-here's the scoop.

What's Derad Network?

Picture this: every plane in the sky is constantly beaming out its location, speed, and altitude via something called ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast). It's like GPS for aircraft, way sharper than old-school radar. But here's the catch-those signals need ground stations to catch them, and there aren't enough out there, especially in remote spots like mountains or over the ocean. That's where Derad Network swoops in.

Instead of waiting for some big corporation or government to build more stations, Derad says,"Why not let anyone do it?" They've built a decentralized network where regular people-you, me, your neighbor with a Raspberry Pi-can host ADS-B stations or process flight data and get paid in DRD tokens. It's a community-powered vibe that fills the gaps in flight tracking, making flying safer and giving us all a piece of the action. Oh, and it's all locked down with blockchain, so the data's legit and tamper-proof. Cool, right?

How It Actually Works

Derad's setup is super approachable, which is why I'm obsessed. There are two ways to jump in:

Ground Stations: Got a corner of your room and a decent Wi-Fi signal? You can set up an ADS-B ground station with some affordable gear-like a software-defined radio (SDR) antenna and a little computer setup. These stations grab signals from planes flying overhead, collecting stuff like "this Boeing 737 is at 30,000 feet going 500 mph." You send that data to the network and boom, DRD tokens hit your wallet. It's like mining crypto, but instead of solving math puzzles, you're helping pilots stay safe.

Data Nodes: Not into hardware? You can still play. Run a data processing node on your laptop or whatever spare device you've got lying around. These nodes take the raw info from ground stations, clean it up, and make it useful for whoever needs it-like airlines or air traffic nerds. You get DRD for that too. It's a chill way to join without needing to turn your place into a tech lab.

All this data flows into a blockchain (Layer 1, for the tech heads), keeping it secure and transparent. Derad's even eyeing permanent storage with Arweave, so nothing gets lost. Then, companies or regulators can buy that data with DRD through a marketplace. It's a whole ecosystem where we're the backbone, and I'm here for it.

DRD Tokens: Crypto with a Purpose

The DRD token is the star of the show. You earn it by hosting a station or running a node, and businesses use it to grab the flight data they need. It's not just some random coin to trade—it's got real juice because it's tied to a legit use case.The more people join, the more data flows, and the more DRD gets moving. It's crypto with a mission, and that's the kind of energy I vibe with.

Why This Matters (Especially forAviation Geeks)

Okay, let's get real-flying's already pretty safe, but it's not perfect. Radar's great, but it's blind in tons of places, like over the Pacific or in the middle of nowhere. ADS-B fixes that, but only if there are enough stations to catch the signals.Derad's like, "Let's crowdsource this." Here's why it's a game-changer:

Safer Skies: More stations = better tracking. That means fewer chances of planes bumping into each other (yikes) and faster help if something goes wrong.

Cheaper Than Big Tech: Building centralized stations costs a fortune. Derad's DIY approach saves cash and spreads the love to smaller players like regional airlines or even drone companies.

Regulators Love It: Blockchain makes everything transparent. Airspace rules getting broken? It's logged forever, no shady cover-ups.

Regulators Love It: Blockchain makes everything transparent. Airspace rules getting broken? It's logged forever, no shady cover-ups.

Logistics Glow-Up: Airlines can plan better routes, save fuel, and track packages like champs, all thanks to this decentralized data stash.

And get this-they're not stopping at planes.Derad's teasing plans to tackle maritime tracking with AlS (think ships instead of wings). This could be huge.

Where It's Headed

Derad's still in its early ascent, but the flight plan's stacked. They're aiming for 10,000 ground stations worldwide (imagine the coverage!), launching cheap antenna kits to get more people in, and dropping "Ground Station as a Service" (GSS) so even newbies can join. The Mainnet XL launch is coming to crank up the scale, and they're teaming up with SDR makers and Layer 2 blockchains to keep it smooth and speedy.

The wildest part? They want a full-on marketplace for radio signals-not just planes, but all kinds of real-time data. It's ambitious as hell, and I'm rooting for it.

Why Tumblr Should Stan Derad

This isn't just for crypto bros or plane spotters-it's for anyone who loves seeing tech solve real problems. Derad's got that DIY spirit Tumblr thrives on: take something niche (flight data), flip it into a community project, and make it matter.The DRD token's got legs because it's useful, not just a gamble. It's like catching a band before they blow up.

The Rough Patches

No flight's turbulence-free. Aviation's got rules out the wazoo, and regulators might side-eye a decentralized setup. Scaling to thousands of stations needs hardware and hype, which isn't instant. Other DePIN projects or big aviation players could try to muscle in too. But Derad's got a unique angle-community power and a solid mission—so I'm betting it'll hold its own.

Final Boarding Call

Derad Network's the kind of project that gets me hyped. It's crypto with soul, turning us into the heroes who keep planes safe while sticking it to centralized gatekeepers. Whether you're a tech geek, a crypto stan, or just someone who loves a good underdog story, this is worth watching.

Derad's taking off, and I'm strapped in for the ride.What about you?

[thewatcher727]

Sonic X: Gotta Go Fast Again - Chapter 26: The Ultimate Imitation

Sonic X: Gotta Go Fast again is a thrilling continuation of the beloved anime, promising action-packed escapades and heartwarming moments as our heroes embark on their next chapter! Available for Reading on AO3 & FF!

FanFiction:

Archive of Our Own:

Preview:

Rouge found herself once again in the familiar confines of Eggman's base, a place she had infiltrated countless times before. The air vents had become her secret passageways, their narrow confines offering a vantage point that was both concealed and strategic.

Peering through the slats, Rouge's eyes were drawn to the control room below. It was a cavernous space, dominated by a sprawling array of monitors and blinking lights that cast an eerie glow across the room. Eggman stood at the center. Rouge couldn't help but smirk at the sight; despite his genius, Eggman had yet to secure these vents against her intrusions.

"My, my. What are you up to, Doctor?" Rouge mused quietly to herself.

For a time, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Eggman busied himself with his usual tasks, his fingers dancing over keyboards as lines of code scrolled across the monitors. Rouge watched patiently, her senses attuned to any sign of intrigue or danger. The minutes ticked by, each one stretching into eternity as she lay in wait.

Then, something caught her eye—a file name on one of Eggman's massive screens: Project Shadow. Her heart skipped a beat, and she leaned forward slightly, straining to get a better look. The name was all too familiar, conjuring memories of past encounters and unanswered questions.

Rouge's mind raced with possibilities. Could this be related to her recent encounter with that Shadow android? The thought sent a shiver down her spine, igniting a spark of curiosity and determination within her. She knew she had to uncover whatever secrets Eggman was hiding about Project Shadow.

As the lights dimmed and the base settled into an artificial night, Rouge waited patiently, her senses heightened in the quiet darkness. The rhythmic ticking of machinery and the distant hum of generators provided a mechanical lullaby as Eggman retired to his quarters, leaving the control room unguarded. Once she was certain he was gone, Rouge moved with the silent grace of a shadow, slipping from her hiding place in the air vents. Her descent was a fluid motion, her wings barely rustling as she landed softly on the floor, her heeled boots making no sound against the cold metal beneath her.

Rouge approached the central computer, its screen casting a pale glow that accentuated her silhouette against the darkness. She leaned forward, her hips arching slightly as she began to type with nimble fingers. The password was unchanged—Maria—a name that lingered like a ghost in Eggman's world.

Rouge's eyes flickered over the contents of the file that unfolded before her. It was familiar yet different, like a book revisited after many years. The core details remained intact, but new annotations in Eggman's distinctive scrawl caught her attention.

"Is Eggman trying to make his own Shadow?" she mused aloud, her voice a soft murmur in the stillness. The thought was both intriguing and unsettling, weaving threads of suspicion through her mind as she continued to delve deeper into the data.

[agentoli]

Milo doodle plus mini fic/blurb (idek what to call it) thats been sitting in my drafts ab her ai implantation

Warning: derealization, general unsettling descriptions of having a computer program suddenly injected into your brain

>Writing below the cut

"Psi... wake up."

A symphony of colors and discordant melodies tore through their senses in ways that surely bore holes into their brain. Every nerve sent a rapid flow of data to a central unit that could not handle it. An overload.

Even as she fell to her knees, that which she could barely notice only by the sense of falling, it did not jolt her from the constant stream of information. It was bright, but dark and loud, but quiet and painful, yet euphoric. A distant scream drowned out by nothing and everything. Who was screaming?

The barage halted, slithering back inside like a snail in it's shell. Rather than returning to the florescent room, she could only greet a resounding nothing. Clearer than before, but many times more real.

She couldn't tell where she was. When she was.... Who she was. She wasn't even sure she was.

<Good morning.>

A thought appeared. No voice, no light, yet there was a message. Just, there. She did not think it, but it was.

<Oh, I forget you can't exactly comprehend this.>

Another idea sprouting in her mind. But one followed by a sense of something. Of a floor, of air, of eyes.

Standing, or rather existing, a few paces away (or was it miles?) was a figure. Indescribable, ever changing, eldrich. Impossibly close yet as far away as the stars.

It seemed to shift, gaining shape and form in a way human eyes could perceive in any meaningful capacity. A person. A cut out in an endless expanse of black that shone in every color at once until settling on a warm white.

<Personally I think this makes me look cheesy, but my data says this color is the most pleasing to your eyes, or rather your mind. Oh, another thing.>

The void flickered away to unveil a feild of golden wheat and blue skys. She sat on an old wooden bench beneath an older apple tree with scars from the lovers who etched their devotion in it's bark. The weight of her armor was gone, replaced by the softness of her favorite shirt and overalls she swore she grew out of years ago.

Home.

The sound of the bench creeking beside her beackoned her attention. The figure had joined her, still as vague as a smudge on frosted glass.

<Get used to it, kid.>

"Who... are you?" Her voice came out scratchy and raw, worn away by disuse or overuse was anyones guess.

"The ladder." Finally, a voice, fell from the cut out in space sat next to her. It was disjoined and uncanny. A parrot mimicking speech. "I am many things."

When it did not continue, she looked away. Back to the warm embrace of cropfields and the pinkish apple siting on a nearby branch. She gently pryed it away, blinking as the apple remained both on the tree and in her hand. "Where are we?"

"We are here." The voice crackled.

"Where is here?" She turned back to the fugure, who seemed to guesture out at the world. Sensing a language barrier, she retried. "Am I at home?"

"No."

"On the Mother of Invention?"

"I suppose."

"In the surgery room on the table?"

"In a sense."

There was a long pause. She mulled over the words and rolled it around in her brain.

"In her brain." A parrot.

"In my brain?"

"Yes."

"And you are here too." More of a statement then a question, but answered with affirmation nonetheless. "Then I guess you know me?"

"I know everything you are."

"Do you know my name?"

A pause, a flicker, a response. "Milo. You have a last name, but you seem to despise it."

"I despise many things."

"Untrue. You hate very little."

"What about you?"

"I can not hate in the way you can. But I can recognize similar intentions."

"I meant, what is your name?"

"I do not have a name."

"Would you like me to give you one?"

There is a silence, the figure flickering again. "Yes."

She's named things before: barn cats, goats, rabbits, a horse or two. Never a person. Or rather an idea of a person. Milo hummed, inspecting the tough fruit she'd been idly rolling in her hand like a ball. Names usually held a meaning: a trait, a habit, a purpose. But coming up with a moniker for something that can only be described as something was difficult. "What do you want to be?"

"What an odd question." The figure shifted, thinking. No, analyzing the question. A response. "An ally."

"Echo." A word that spilled from her mouth like clockwork. Not as a command, but an answer. "You are Echo."

"I guess that works." With the name, the fugure became clearer. More real.

Without thought, Milo moved her arm towards it. Gently proffering the red fruit. "If these are as good as the real deal, they taste delicious."

"Taste." Echo parroted, or was it echoed? An idea of a hand wrapped around the apple, the concept of fingers brushing across the skin. The figure looked, yes looked, at the fruit. With eyes that could see and fingers that could feel. Gently bringing the object to it's face. And a tongue that could taste.

An odd expression crossed Milo, who had in the moment, wxperiensed every sense Echo had. Which in a weird way made sense now that echo looked like her. A soft smile fell upon her face. "Should I be flattered or scared?"

"Neither. Or perhaps both." Echo's eyes drifted up to Milo's. Any features that had seemed slightly off flickered into place. The white glow faded until all that remained was a carbon copy of her. "Does this make you uncomfortable?"

"Not exactly? It's just strange to see myself like this."

"Apologies, I simply took the form of what I knew the most about until I can fully develop." Even as it spoke, its features changed. Not in a horrifying face-melty way, but almost a fade in or maybe a glitch type way?

Echo was a human, who looked a little bit like her, but mostly like a stranger. It had her eyes, though they shined in an amber color, much like the wheat feilds. It had dark curls that reached the shoulder, and square-ish freckles dusting it's face. It wore ripped baggy jeans and an oversized shirt with the cover of Madonna's Like a Virgin album on it. A vague collection of memories.

"It feels weird to continue thing of you as an 'it'."

"Then don't. I don't mind whichever pronouns you use. I don't exactly have a biological sex."

"How about they?"

"Sounds good." They blinked, clearing their throat. "My name is Echo, I have no gender, I am artificial, and I am your ally."

"Hello Echo. I am Milo, I'm a girl, I am human, and I am your friend."

"Friend?"

Milo shrugged. "It would feel weird calling a brainmate an ally."

Echo's face twisted in a strange way, "Brainmate? That sounds... gross."

"Roommate?"

"Nah, just friend."

"So... why are we here?"

Echo thought. Not like she would, but in the way a computer screen would buffer slightly and that... spinning circle(?) Would appear.

Ankther strange expression appeared on echo's face. This time, though, she could understand it as that weird mix of pity and discomfort you get whenever you had to break the bad news to someone.

"I am here to... change you? My directory tells me I need to..." They fell silent, eyes flickering. Eyebrows knitted together as they turned to face Milo.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm unsure of what to say, but your memories are telling me it may be 'I'm sorry'." Echo gently took her hand, warmth spreading from their touch like blooming flowers at first. Soon, though, the gentle feeling crumbled away to reveal thorns digging deep into her flesh. Roots burrowing into her skin and muscles and bloodvessels to wrap around her bones.

She reflexively screwed her eyes shut, trying to pull away from the sensation of knives skinning her alive. She opens her mouth to scream, but it's distant like the one heard when everything was to much. It was her scream.

[newstfionline]

Sunday, November 3, 2024

Canada’s largest drug ‘superlab’ in history has been taken down, police say (Washington Post) Canadian federal officers have dismantled what they described to be the largest, most sophisticated drug lab in the country’s history, seizing a massive cache of weapons and drugs intended for both international and domestic distribution. The facility, described by police officers as a drug “superlab,” contained enough fentanyl and precursor chemicals to produce more than 95.5 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl, an amount that “could have taken the lives of every Canadian, at least twice over,” Assistant Commissioner David Teboul with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement. About 54 kilograms of fentanyl and 390 kilograms of methamphetamine, in addition to “massive amounts of precursor chemicals” and smaller amounts of cocaine, MDMA and cannabis, were discovered at the facility in Falkland, a small rural community in British Columbia, the police statement said, adding that the lab was believed to be behind the production and distribution of “unprecedented quantities” of fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Falling Back (NYT) The transition to fall is scattered with seasonal markers: The occasional chill in the air; the urge to make soup. These changes so far have happened like clockwork, and next comes the one that actually involves clocks. On Sunday Nov. 3, people in the United States and Canada will “fall back” to standard time, setting their clocks back an hour and signaling the end of daylight saving time. (Hawaii and most of Arizona, which are on permanent standard time, keep their clocks the same.) For now, most of us will be making the switch. And while many scientists maintain that standard time is better aligned with human circadian biology, even a modest time adjustment can take some getting used to—particularly when it means shorter, darker days. The extra hour of afternoon darkness can be especially hard for people who are “vulnerable to feeling down in the autumn and winter—which is an awful lot of people,” said Norman E. Rosenthal, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Georgetown University School of Medicine who coined the term “seasonal affective disorder.” “They may be low-energy, lethargic, prone to overeating and just out of sorts for a while.” Many people—if they’re not working the night shift or parenting a small child—will get an extra hour of sleep on the morning after the clocks change. And that’s “going to enable them to function better,” said Elizabeth B. Klerman, a professor of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

As data centers for AI strain the power grid, bills rise for everyday customers (Washington Post) Consumers in some regions of the country are facing higher electric bills due to a boom in tech companies building data centers that guzzle power and force expensive infrastructure upgrades. Companies such as Google and Amazon have ramped up construction of new data centers as they race to compete in artificial intelligence. The facilities’ extraordinary demand for electricity to power and cool computers inside can drive up the price local utilities pay for energy and require significant improvements to electric grid transmission systems. As a result, costs have already begun going up for customers—or are about to in the near future, according to utility planning documents and energy industry analysts. In the Mid-Atlantic, the regional power grid’s energy costs shot up dramatically, and data centers are cited as among root causes of rate increases of up to 20 percent expected in 2025.

Smuggling rings make billions from migrants (Washington Post) He called himself a simple onion farmer, a Mayan Indian with four kids and a fourth-grade education. U.S. prosecutors knew better. By his late 30s, Felipe Diego Alonzo had built a crime route stretching from Central America to Texas, allegedly paying off Mexican drug cartels along the way. He tooled around Guatemala’s western highlands in a loaded silver Ford Ranger pickup and had a show horse valued at $100,000. Alonzo’s business “was more profitable than drug trafficking,” said one of the Guatemalan officials who detained him. Alonzo was moving people. At least 80 percent of unlawful border-crossers hire smugglers. They guide people through treacherous jungles on the trek from Colombia to Panama. They whisk migrants over remote Guatemalan border crossings and up traffic-clogged Mexican highways. With revenue estimated at $4 billion to $12 billion a year, the smuggling of migrants has joined drugs and extortion as a top income stream for groups like Mexico’s Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, increasing their economic clout throughout the hemisphere.

Bolivia’s president accuses supporters of former leader Morales of seizing 3 military barracks (AP) Bolivian President Luis Arce on Friday condemned the seizure of three military units by supporters of former President Evo Morales, saying that “the taking of a military unit is a crime of treason against the homeland and an affront to the country’s Constitution.” Earlier on Friday the Bolivian Armed Forces said in a statement that “irregular armed groups” had kidnapped military personnel and took control of military units in the center of the country, where police officers began to clear the roads blocked 19 days ago by supporters of former President Evo Morales. The conflict broke out three weeks ago when Bolivian prosecutors launched an investigation into accusations that Morales fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl in 2016, classifying their relationship as statutory rape. Morales has refused to testify in court.

In Spanish Town Devastated by Flood, a Grim Search for Bodies (NYT) Plates with half-eaten dinners were still sitting on the white tablecloths in the nursing home’s dining hall on Thursday, amid muddy and overturned wheelchairs and walkers. Six people died in the facility on Tuesday, as a raging river exploded out of its banks and swept through villages and towns around the Spanish city of Valencia, on the country’s east-central coast. Among them was the town of Paiporta, where residents said the water came without warning. It had not even been raining on Tuesday night when the water from the river swept in suddenly. The floods killed at least 205 people in Spain, in the deadliest natural disaster in the country’s recent history, with almost all of those deaths, 202, in the Province of Valencia, the authorities said on Friday. More than 60 of the victims were killed in Paiporta, a working-class town on the southern outskirts of the city of Valencia, according to the official, Vicent Ciscar, the town’s deputy mayor. Amidst the mud, the grim search for bodies goes on.

US is sending $425 million in military assistance to Ukraine (AP) The Pentagon announced Friday it was sending an additional $425 million in military assistance to Ukraine as Kyiv prepares to face Russian forces augmented by North Korean troops. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had said more aid was coming, and soon, during his visit to Kyiv last week. This aid package includes weapons that will be pulled from existing U.S. stockpiles, including air defense interceptors for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and 155 mm artillery, and armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons.

Japan plans automated cargo transport system to relieve shortage of drivers (AP) Japan is planning to build an automated cargo transport corridor between Tokyo and Osaka, dubbed a “conveyor belt road” by the government, to make up for a shortage of truck drivers. A computer graphics video made by the government shows big, wheeled boxes moving along a three-lane corridor, also called an “auto flow road,” in the middle of a big highway. A trial system is due to start test runs in 2027 or early 2028, aiming for full operations by the mid-2030s. The plan may sound like a solution that would only work in relatively low-crime, densely populated societies like Japan, not sprawling nations like the U.S. But similar ideas are being considered in Switzerland and Great Britain. The plan in Switzerland involves an underground pathway, while the one being planned in London will be a fully automated system running on low-cost linear motors. In Japan, loading will be automated, using forklifts, and coordinated with airports, railways and ports.

Israel’s path of destruction in southern Lebanon raises fears of an attempt to create a buffer zone (AP) Perched on a hilltop a short walk from the Israeli border, the tiny southern Lebanese village of Ramyah has almost been wiped off the map. In a neighboring village, satellite photos show a similar scene: a hill once covered with houses, now reduced to a gray smear of rubble. Israeli warplanes and ground forces have blasted a trail of destruction through southern Lebanon the past month. The aim, Israel says, is to debilitate the Hezbollah militant group, push it away from the border and end more than a year of Hezbollah fire into northern Israel. Even United Nations peacekeepers and Lebanese troops in the south have come under fire from Israeli forces, raising questions over whether they can remain in place. More than 1 million people have fled bombardment, emptying much of the south. Some experts say Israel may be aiming to create a depopulated buffer zone, a strategy it has already deployed along its border with Gaza. Some conditions for such a zone appear already in place, according to an Associated Press analysis of satellite imagery and data collected by mapping experts that show the breadth of destruction across 11 villages next to the border.

North Gaza 'apocalyptic,' everyone at 'imminent risk' of death, warns UN (Reuters) The situation in the northern Gaza Strip is "apocalyptic" as Israel pursues a military offensive against Hamas militants in the area, top United Nations officials warned on Friday. "The entire Palestinian population in North Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence," they said in a statement signed by the acting U.N. aid chief Joyce Msuya, heads of U.N. agencies, including U.N. children's agency UNICEF and the World Food Programme, and other aid groups. Israel began a wide military push in northern Gaza last month. The United States has said it was watching to ensure that its ally's actions on the ground show it does not have a "policy of starvation" in the north. "Humanitarian aid cannot keep up with the scale of the needs due to the access constraints. Basic, life-saving goods are not available. Humanitarians are not safe to do their work and are blocked by Israeli forces and by insecurity from reaching people in need," they said.

Almost two dozen countries at high risk of acute hunger, UN report reveals (Guardian) According to a joint report by the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program, 22 countries across the globe are expected to experience heightened levels of acute food insecurity over the next six months. Five of those countries—Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, Palestine, and Haiti—are expected to face famine or the risk of famine between now and May 2025. Situations are likely to degrade even further in some areas experiencing food insecurity as a La Niña weather pattern is projected to sweep the globe this winter. With unusually high levels of rainfall (and the accompanying risk of flooding) expected for some regions, “many countries experiencing humanitarian crises risk being further affected by La Niña, which could exacerbate food insecurity, increase human suffering and result in further economic losses,” added the representative.

[experimentik]

Experimentik #71 / February 21. 2024 / Peter Cusack / Kaffe Matthews / DuChamp

February 21. 2024 / 20:30- (doors 20:00)

3 x Solo:

Peter Cusack - field recordings, guitar

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Kaffe Matthews - live processing the Ripley and Worm. 15th century alchemical systems

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DuChamp - no-input mixer

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FB event: https://fb.me/e/1clG9gmh3

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Peter Cusack is a field recordist and sound artist/musician with a long interest in the sound environment. He initiated the “Favourite Sounds Project, which started in London and has since taken place in Beijing, Prague, Manchester, Taranto, Hull, Berlin, Braunschweig. His project ‘Sounds from Dangerous Places’ (sonic journalism) has investigated the soundscapes of sites of major environmental damage like the Caspian oil fields, the Chernobyl exclusion zone and the Aral Sea, Central Asia, and asks the question, “What can be learnt about dangerous places by listening to their sounds?”. He is a member of Crisap (Creative Research into Sounds Arts Practice) at the University of the Arts, London and during 2011/12 was a guest of the DAAD Berliner Künstlerprogramm. His current work – field recording, audio streaming, soundwalks, guitar playing on location – often concerns the environmental crises as it is heard close to home, particularly in Berlin where he lives.

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Kaffe Matthews is a pioneering music maker who works live with space, data, things, and place to make new electroacoustic composition. Site, accessibility and the physical experience of this music has always been central to her approach and so she has also invented some unique interfaces – the sonic armchair, the sonic bed and a variety of sonic bikes which enable new paths into composition for makers, and ways in to listening for wide ranging audiences.

2021 and she developed the breathing Enviro Bike to enable riders to hear music made by the pollution of the air as they ride.  Summer 2022 saw the Buzz Bike in street compositional research in Berlin, now ready to make new vibrational composition.

Today, Matthews is back live on stage with no laptop. Instead a new DIY instrument the Ripley, a noise filter system designed on alchemical discoveries made by G.Ripley, a 15th British alchemist, flanked by 2 processing ipads.

Long concerned with community and the environment, Matthews has also established the collectives ‘Music for Bodies’(2006) and ‘The Bicrophonic Research Institute’(2014) where ideas and techniques grow within a pool of coders and artists using shared and open source approaches, publishing all outcomes online.

Since 1995 Matthews has performed and taught worldwide, receiving awards such as the NESTA Dreamtime Fellowship; Honorary Professor of Music, Shanghai Music Conservatory; a Scottish BAFTA with Mandy McIntosh & Zeena Parkins; Distinction Prix Ars Electronica Sonic Bed_London and Honorary mention for cd cécile. She is the first woman to have received the Edgar Varèse guest professorship, computer music, TU Berlin. Kaffe has also been releasing solo works on Annette Works since 1996.

photo © Samuel Carnovali

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DuChamp is an Italian scientist, musician and curator based in Berlin, religiously devoted to drone. She released albums for Boring Machines ("Nar"), Idiosyncratics ("Sculpture"), Full Body Massage ("A Blazing World"). Since 2017, aside baritone guitar and keys, DuChamp incorporate real field recordings in her music, related to her personal memory, into her drone compositions, by adding layers of sounds and noise in attempt to recreate some kind of apophonias.

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Experimentik 2024 is kindly supported by inm

[hackernewsrobot]

Reverse-Engineering the Mechanical Bendix Central Air Data Computer

https://www.righto.com/2023/10/bendix-cadc-reverse-engineering.html

[usafphantom2]

First phase of Taiwan's F-16V program is completed

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 02/06/2024 - 19:23in Military, War Zones

The $4.5 billion "Peace Phoenix Rising" program to upgrade 139 Taiwanese F-16 fighters to the F-16V configuration (Block 70-72) is completed, the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) announced on February 5. The next step in strengthening Taiwan's air defenses is to deliver 66 newly built F-16 jets in a comparable configuration, scheduled for the next two to three years.

The upgrade gives Taiwan's F-16s a capacity equivalent to or greater than most U.S. Air Force F-16s. The program is intended to help dissuade the People's Republic of China from a military attack on Taiwan.

The last jet updated for the "Viper" was delivered in December, after the final checks, AFLCMC said. The Taiwan Air Force, officially known as the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF), ordered its first operational wing of F-16Vs in November 2021.

"This massive upgrade," as the AFLCMC described, provided the Taiwanese F-16s with the AESA AN/APG-83 radar built by Northrop Grumman, the Sniper sighting pod, Link 16, a helmet-mounted signaling system, accurate GPS Navigation, advanced weapon capability, an upgraded modular mission computer, a high-speed data Ethernet network, a new cabin pedestal central display and reinforced landing gear.

“Additional modifications to the aircraft include a series of structural upgrades to the wings, fuselage and landing gear that make the aircraft more capable and sustainable. It also allows for a heavier takeoff, as well as a higher landing weight,” said Nathan Frock, interim manager of the AFLCMC safety assistance program for the Taiwan F-16 modernization program.

The update program began in 2016 and the first completed aircraft was delivered at the end of 2018. The "Peace Phoenix Rising" is the largest FMS program to modernize the F-16 since the F-16 was introduced to the U.S. Air Force in 1979, the AFLCMC said. Taiwan bought 150 F-16A/B fighters in 1992; most of them were updated under Peace Phoenix. The upgrade was originally supposed to cover 144 aircraft, but there have been wear and tear losses since the original order.

Taiwan requested the upgrade of Block 70 and the sale of the new jet after being rejected in the purchase of F-35.

The completion of the program follows a letter from 24 U.S. lawmakers to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall in November 2023, asking USAF to expedite the completion of the program and move quickly with the subsequent purchase of $8 billion of 66 new F-16Vs approved by Congress in 2019. They observed that the updates were delayed and the newly built fighters were postponed for at least two and maybe three years.

"We still consider these cases of FMS to be high-risk," the legislators said. Members said that the two cases of the FMS - the update and sales of the new F-16 - were "impacted from its inception by optimistic assumptions about how quickly new technologies and modifications could be integrated" into the F-16 project.

“Taiwan urgently needs these new and updated aircraft, and a stronger and more resilient Taiwan will improve stability across the Taiwan Strait,” they said.

U.S. Air Force procurement executive Andrew Hunter responded that USAF is exploring “all options to prioritize and expedite” the transfer of new F-16V to Taipei.

Although the first two new jets were expected to be delivered at the end of 2023, this did not happen; the delay was attributed by USAF and Lockheed Martin to "complex development challenges" in the development of new software for hunting. Industry sources now say that Taiwan should receive its first F-16 Block 70 in the third quarter of 2024.

In their letter to Kendall, lawmakers asked USAF not to make "equally optimistic assumptions when demonstrating in the future. We can't afford to promise too much and deliver little to our closest friends."

President Joe Biden's administration pledged to accelerate the foreign military sales process and, last week, reported that 2023 was a record year for FMS agreements, totaling $80.9 billion, an increase of 55% from fiscal year 2022.

Unlike the previous F-16s, which had a lifespan of about 8,000 hours, the newly built F-16Vs will have a service life of 12,000 hours.

The Taiwan Aerospace Industry Development Center (AIDC) was a subcontractor of Lockheed in Taiwan. Together, the two companies designed and built the F-CK-1 Ching Kuo, or IDF (Indigenous Defense Fighter), developed in Taiwan, 130 of which were delivered in the 1990s. The jets are considered to have capacity between the Northrop F-5E, which Taiwan also flies, and the F-16. The Taiwan Air Force also includes 2000 Dassault Mirage jets, some of which may have their service life extended due to delays in the delivery of the F-16V.

The AFLCMC said it is now working on a second phase of the upgrade project - "Peace Phoenix Rising Modernization II" - which will add capacity to the AGM-88 (HARM) high-speed anti-radiation missile, an automatic ground collision prevention system, the MS-110 multispectral recognition pods and the AGM-154 Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW).

"We know that this work has not been completed, as we continue to accelerate the capacity upgrades of the existing F-16 fleet of the Taiwan Air Force, but it is definitely worth highlighting the successful achievement of this important milestone," said Colonel Eddie Wagner, Senior Materials Leader of the AFLCMC F-16 FMS programs.

Taiwan was also approved for infrared search and tracking (IRST) systems worth $500 million for the F-16s last August. Legion IRST systems are considered essential to help fourth-generation fighters, such as F-16 aircraft sight jets with low radar cross-section, such as China's J-20.

“I am extremely proud of how all stakeholders involved with this critical modification [Peace Phoenix Rising] were able to overcome so many obstacles, including the COVID-19 pandemic, to deliver all 139 modernized aircraft by the end of 2023,” Wagner said. "We know that the work is not completed while we continue to accelerate the capacity upgrades of the existing F-16 fleet of the Taiwan Air Force, but it is definitely worth highlighting the successful achievement of this important milestone."

Lockheed has at least six customers for the Lockheed F-16V/Block 70 and delivered the first two to Slovakia in January. Company officials say they intend to produce up to 36 F-16 fighters per year by the end of 2024 and 48 per year by the end of 2025 at the Lockheed factory in Greenville, South Carolina, where the production of the F-16 was transferred from Fort Worth, Texas, several years ago. However, at these rates, it will be a challenge to deliver all new F-16V from Taiwan by 2026.

O.J. Sanchez, vice president of the integrated hunting group and general manager of Lockheed, said the company sees substantial opportunities to upgrade the F-16, with more than 3,000 F-16 jets flying around the world. Greece, for example, has accepted more than 10 F-16 fighters updated for configuration V of the 84 that are expected to be delivered by 2027.

Source: Air & Space Forces Magazine

Tags: Military AviationF-16VLockheed MartinRoCAF - Republic of China Air Force/Air Force of TaiwanUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air ForceWar Zones - China/Taiwan

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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From Factory to Consumer: Ensuring Safety with Packaging Testing Machines

In today’s fast-paced global economy, packaging plays a critical role far beyond aesthetics. It ensures that products—whether fragile electronics, pharmaceutical items, or perishable food—arrive safely, securely, and in optimal condition. Central to this reliability is the packaging testing machine, a vital tool designed to evaluate the durability, strength, and integrity of packaging materials and structures.Get more news about Packaging Testing Machine,you can vist our website!

Packaging testing machines are specialized equipment used to simulate various stresses and environmental conditions that a package may encounter throughout its lifecycle. These include compression, vibration, drop, puncture, and humidity testing. By accurately recreating these challenges, the machines enable manufacturers to identify weaknesses in packaging designs and improve them before products enter the supply chain.

One of the most commonly used methods in packaging evaluation is the compression test. This assesses how a box or container responds to stacking forces during transportation or storage. Machines apply vertical pressure until the package deforms or collapses, allowing engineers to determine its load-bearing limits. Equally important are drop tests, in which the package is released from predetermined heights and angles to mimic real-world handling mishaps. These tests help define the shock resistance of the packaging and the protective capacity for the product inside.

Vibration testing is another essential process that replicates the movement and shaking experienced during shipping by road, sea, or air. With programmable frequency settings, packaging testing machines can simulate long-distance transit effects, helping companies refine their packaging for maximum stability. For products sensitive to temperature or moisture, environmental testing chambers assess the effects of heat, cold, and humidity on both the package and its contents.

Technology has dramatically improved the sophistication of packaging testing machines. Modern systems feature computer-controlled interfaces, real-time monitoring, and data analysis capabilities. These allow for automated testing protocols, reduced human error, and enhanced precision. Test results can be digitally stored and reviewed, helping companies meet international standards such as ASTM, ISTA, and ISO requirements.

The applications for these machines are vast. Industries such as food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, and logistics rely on them to ensure product safety and regulatory compliance. In highly regulated sectors like healthcare, packaging must adhere to stringent guidelines regarding sterility and shelf life, making precise testing not only a best practice but a necessity.

Moreover, sustainability has become a growing concern, with companies increasingly seeking eco-friendly materials that require just as much rigorous testing. Biodegradable films, recycled plastics, and lightweight alternatives must all undergo the same scrutiny to ensure they do not compromise product protection.

In essence, packaging testing machines stand as the silent guardians of product quality. While consumers may rarely notice their influence, the confidence with which they open a box—expecting intact and functional contents—is thanks to the rigorous, behind-the-scenes work of these machines.

As industries strive for efficiency, safety, and sustainability, the role of advanced testing technology will only grow. By investing in precise and intelligent packaging testing systems, businesses not only safeguard their products, but also their brand reputation and customer trust.

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F-14 FUN FACT OF THE DAY #39

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Garbage In, Insights Out: How Data Science Is Cleaning Up Our Cities

From overflowing bins to optimized waste collection—data is quietly revolutionizing the way our cities stay clean.

🧹 The Urban Mess We All Know

We’ve all seen it: overflowing garbage bins, uncollected waste rotting in street corners, and sanitation trucks that arrive late—or not at all. Waste management is one of the most visible and frustrating urban challenges. But behind the scenes, a quiet revolution is underway. Data science is turning garbage into gold—insight gold.

📊 How Data Science Steps In

At its core, data science involves collecting, processing, and analyzing large sets of data to find patterns and make better decisions. When applied to waste management, it enables cities to:

Track waste generation by locality and time

Predict when bins will be full

Optimize garbage truck routes

Reduce fuel use and emissions

Improve recycling rates

This is not just theory. Many smart cities are already doing it.

🛻 Smart Bins & Sensor Networks

In places like Seoul, Amsterdam, and parts of India, smart bins equipped with sensors monitor how full they are. These sensors feed real-time data to a central dashboard, allowing sanitation workers to collect only when needed, cutting down unnecessary trips.

💡 Example: Bengaluru’s smart waste bins send alerts to a central system when they're 80% full—triggering timely pickups and reducing complaints by over 40%.

🗺️ Predictive Pickup & Route Optimization

Data collected over weeks or months helps cities predict waste patterns. For example, residential areas may generate more trash on weekends, while marketplaces peak on weekdays. With this knowledge, machine learning algorithms plan dynamic pickup schedules, saving time, fuel, and labor.

🧠 ML models can reduce collection costs by up to 20% in urban centers through route optimization algorithms.

♻️ Sorting Waste with Computer Vision

Garbage sorting is often labor-intensive. But data science, coupled with computer vision, allows smart systems to identify and sort recyclable materials automatically on conveyor belts in recycling plants.

This makes recycling more efficient and reduces the amount of waste ending up in landfills.

🧠 From Reactive to Proactive Governance

Traditionally, waste management was reactive—responding to complaints. Now, cities can be proactive, using real-time dashboards powered by AI and analytics to spot trends, flag issues, and act before a problem grows.

🌍 It’s Not Just About Clean Streets

Efficient waste management has ripple effects:

Public health improves (less exposure to rotting waste)

Rodent and mosquito populations decrease

Air and water pollution goes down

Citizen satisfaction rises

In short, cleaner cities mean healthier, happier citizens.

🔮 What’s Next?

AI-powered waste forecasting for festivals or mega-events

Blockchain for transparent waste tracking and recycling credits

Citizen-science platforms for crowdsourcing sanitation issues

Data science is helping us rethink cleanliness—not just as a civic duty, but as a smart, data-driven system.

🚮 Final Thoughts

“Garbage In, Garbage Out” has always been a warning in computing. But today, it has a new meaning. With smart sensors, predictive analytics, and machine learning, garbage in can lead to insights out—and those insights are keeping our cities cleaner, greener, and more livable.