#Cloud Operating Model | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

linaslivery · 1 year ago

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౨ৎ FEATHER ౨ৎ

masterlist / rules / requests & talks with me!

SUMMARY౨ৎ Being with Carlos was magical and always made you felt as if you were on cloud 9. But him breaking everything off so suddenly and moving on oh so quick? What better way than to show him what he’s missing than with all of your success.

PAIRING ౨ৎ Carlos Sainz x Fem!Reader, very slight Lando Norris x Fem!Reader

WARNINGS ౨ৎ I use photos of Rebecca and she will be mentioned in it in here but no hate what-so-ever sent to her! (hate on her will be deleted.), no exact fc but i will only use photos of sabrina for music themed posts and the crying story ONLY

A/N ౨ৎ still mad about the croatia vs spain game so i’m taking my anger out on carlos 😭😭. HOLY SHIT I DID THIS ALL IN ONE DAY!! NEW RECORD!!

1K EVENT MASTERLIST

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y/n_l/n has posted a story 10 seconds ago!

[1: WTF JUST HAPPEND?!] [2: well this is ironic.] [3: i hate men!!]

1,307 replies to your stories!

username1 YOU’RE ASKING WHAT HAPPENED?! WE’RE ASKING WHAT HAPPENED??

username2 DID WHT I THINK HAPPEN, HAPPEN??

username3 …the smooth operator song…? oh god…

username4 THE BOOK QUOTE TOO???

lilymunihe girl. open the groupchat rn.

franscica.cgomes do i have to kill a man???

IMESSAGES

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y/n_l/n ✔︎

liked by francisca.cgomes, lilymunihe, alexandrasaintmleux, and others

y/n_l/n oh i see how it is then.

2,094 comments

francisca.cgomes ✔︎ hottie mcmommy

→ y/n_l/n ✔︎ dump ur bf so we can date and run off to the country side 💋 → francisca.cgomes ✔︎ @ y/n_l/n already on it 🏃‍♀️ → pierregasly ✔︎ @ y/n_l/n that is my girlfriend??? → y/n_l/n ✔︎ @ pierregasly not anymore!🤭

alexandrasaintmleux pretty girl 🎞️ 📸

→ y/n_l/n ✔︎ so shush you’re the pretty one 🥹🩷 → alexandrasaintmleux @ y/n_l/n that’s not what the camera said when i took these photos 🫶 → y/n_l/n ✔︎ @ alexandrasaintmleux 🫣 → charles_leclerc ✔︎ @ alexandrasaintmleux 🤨

lilymunihe ✔︎ ate

→ y/n_l/n ✔︎ devoured

username5 carlos fucked up big time letting her go 🤤

username6 what kika said was so real

→ username7 FRRR

landonorris ✔︎ i can treat you better

→ username9 HELLO?? → username10 lando wtf are you doing here 😭 → username11 GIRLIE JUST GOT SINGLE 💀 → y/n_l/n ✔︎ LEAVE RN LANDO 😭😭 → landonorris ✔︎ @ y/n_l/n doesn’t hurt to shoot my shot 😞

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carlossainz55 ✔︎

liked by vinijr, sergioramos, djokernole and others

carlosainz55 rest and relaxation 🌊 🌞

1,297 comments

username12 why did you dump our queen 😞

username13 IT WAS BARELY EVEN 2 WEEKS AND HE ALREADY MOVED ON??

username14 who is that woman???

→ username15 guys start a witch-hunt rn. → username16 @ username15 I’M ON IT!! → username17 or we can leave this woman alone??? → username18 @ username17 no → username19 @ username17 no → username20 @ username17 no → username17 oh ok → username16 @ username14 FOUND HER BECAUSE SHE WAS IN THE LIKES AND IN HIS FOLLOWING. her name is rebecca and she’s a scottish model! here is her username: @ iamrebeccad

username17 rest and relaxation my ass.

username18 how tf do you move on from a gf that fast

→ username19 a word that starts with m and ends in y

username20 i feel like carlos is about to get some karma

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carlossainz55 ✔︎

liked by iamrebeccad, carlitosalcarazz, racerbia, and others

carlossainz55 Australia is in the bag, all thanks to my amazing support! 🇦🇺 ✅

tagged ; iamrebeccad, scuderiaferrari

2,386 comments

username21 and y/n wasn’t that amazing support??

username22 no because y/n literally stopped her music career, arranged some concerts around HIM so she can support HIM.

→ username23 she never had to do that tho… → username24 @ username23 but she did. and she was amazing support.

username25 she’s cute and i wish them the best… but i really hope that he doesn’t do her dirty just like what he did with y/n.

*♥︎ by @ y/n_l/n!*

→ username25 UHM… Y/N LIKED MY COMMENT?? → username29 @ username25 she’s here to support the girls not the men that did her and others dirty. → username26 @ username25 idk… the whole relationship gives pr → username27 @ username26 EXACTLY??? out of all the photos we see, she’s the only one that seems in love :( → username28 @ username27 poor girl doesn’t even realize she’s being used for carlos and ferrari pr to make carlos back in the good books 💀

iamrebeccad ✔︎ so proud!! ❤️🥹

→ username29 it’s been a hour and he hasn’t even acknowledged the comment. poor girl.

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y/n_l/n ✔︎

liked by landonorris, maddiezielger, bellahadid, and others

y/n_l/n might have took everything else, but left the keys to the villa!! thanks for the free trip with my girls ❤️

tagged ; alexandrasaintmleux, francisca.cgomes, lilymunihe

2,406 comments

username30 HELLO??

username31 NOT HER TAKING THE VILLA 😭😭

username32 deserved tbh. you take that boy’s villa!!

charles_leclerc ✔︎ where is my credit for driving you all around? 🥴

→ y/n_l/n ✔︎ …whoopsies..? → alexandrasaintmleux credit? mon amour you volunteered to drive us around 😭 → charles_leclerc ✔︎ @ alexandrasaintmleux sorry, i don’t trust anyone else to be driving you all around… 😓 → francisca.cgomes ✔︎ @ charles_leclerc what being a dog dad does to someone

username33 HOTTIE ALERT!!🗣️ 🔥 🚨

lilymunihe ✔︎ mwah mwah, dumping alex for you rn.

→ alexalbon ✔︎ y’know i can see this right?? → lilymunihe ✔︎ @ alexalbon even better → y/n_l/n ✔︎ @ lilymunihe tee hee

landonorris cool water (it’s not the water i’m looking at)

→ y/n_l/n ✔︎ ENOUGH OF THIS LANDO 😭😭 → charles_leclerc ✔︎ you’re just embarrassing yourself at this point 😓 → alexalbon ✔︎ mate 💀

username33 the way she also looks so much lighter like a feather in the wind.

→ y/n_l/n ✔︎ lighter..? feather…? hm. i like your thinking.

y/n_l/n has posted a story 26 seconds ago!

[1: back in the studio 🤭🤭] [2: taking a small break] [3: tee hee stay tuned]

1,049 replies to your stories!

username34 OMG???

username35 Y/N IS BACK IN HER MUSIC ERA

username36 we hate you carlos but thank you for bringing her back to us 🫶

username37 LETS FUCKING GO??

username38 LET’S GO?

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y/n_l/n ✔︎

liked by spotify, laufy, youtubemusic and others

y/n_l/n Surprise surprise! Listen to my new song Feather, along with my album ‘Emails I Can't Send!’ 🤍

3,059 comments

username39 WHAT

username40 THE RANDOM ALBUM DROP???

username41 POSSIBLE ALBUM OF THE YEAR??

username42 miss girl saved summer single handedly.

→ username43 “fine. I’ll do it myself.”

username44 ALKSHJDFLIAKDJFH:WIOH:FKWN

→ username45 me too.

lilymunihe ✔︎ AAHHH IM SO HAPPY!! SO PROUD OF YOU!!

→ y/n_l/n ✔︎ LILY!!! IM SO HAPPY THAT YOU WERE THERE WITH ME WHILE MAKING THIS 🩷🩷

alexandrasaintmleux my girl 🩷 your songs were absolutely amazing! so honored to be one of the firsts to listen!!

→ charles_leclerc ✔︎ wait, you listened before me?! the one who does music?! → alexandrasaintmleux @ charles_leclerc 😅 → y/n_l/n ✔︎ @ charles_leclerc alex is my special girl!! dw charles i still love you, my adoptive brother 🩶

francisca.cgomes ✔︎ I COULD LISTEN TO IT ALL DAY 🫶🥹

→ y/n_l/n KIKA!! SENDING KISSES ALL THE WAY TO PARIS WHILE YOU’RE WITH THE FRENCHIE!! ILYSM 🥹❤️

landonorris ✔︎ congrats you muppet 🙃

→ username45 lando not thirsting for once?? → landonorris ✔︎ @ username45 hey i can be proud of my friend 😒 → y/n_l/n ✔︎ @ landonorris 🥹🫶

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y/n_l/n ✔︎

liked by spotify, vouge, applemusic and others

y/n_l/n I’m so sorry for your loss! What a wonderful first concert!! Thank you so much to everyone that showed up! ❤️✨

2,986 comments

spotify ✔︎ songs of the summer??

username56 I WANT THE DRESS 🥹🥹

→ usernme57 it’s a need. not a want

username58 not even joking she’s the prettiest woman ive ever seen.

username59 NO FR BECAUSE HOW DID CARLOS DUMP HER??

lilymunihe ✔︎ screaming.

→ francisca.cgomes ✔︎ crying. → alexandrasaintmleux @ francisca.cgomes throwing up. → username60 i love them all being so supportive 🥹

landonorris ✔︎ need help removing that dress? looks sorta heavy.

→ username61 aw hell nah man → username62 HE HASN’T GIVEN UP YET → username63 @ username62 HOW??? 😭😭 → y/n_l/n ✔︎ lando. the only heavy thing you’re getting is my heavy hand against your face → landonorris ✔︎ @ y/n_l/n kinky??? → y/n_l/n ✔︎ @ landonorris i’m not talking to you anymore wtf 😭

username64 “I FEEL SO MUCH LIGHTER LIKE A FEATHER WITH YOU OFF MY MIND!”

→ username65 “FLOATING THROUGH THE MEMORIES LIKE WHATEVER, YOU'RE A WASTE OF TIME!!” → username66 @ username65 (AHHHHHH)

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This user has been blocked!

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y/n_l/n has posted 5 seconds ago!

y/n_l/n ✔︎

liked by landonorris

y/n_l/n You want me? I'm done. You miss me? No duh.

5 comments

landonorris ✔︎ …so… dinner?

→ y/n_l/n ✔︎ fine. only so you can shut up. → landonorris ✔︎ @ y/n_l/n 😋😋 → y/n_l/n ✔︎ @ landonorris ur such a dork. → landonorris ✔︎ @ y/n_l/n and you love it 😚

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mostlysignssomeportents · 8 months ago

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Cars bricked by bankrupt EV company will stay bricked

On OCTOBER 23 at 7PM, I'll be in DECATUR, presenting my novel THE BEZZLE at EAGLE EYE BOOKS.

There are few phrases in the modern lexicon more accursed than "software-based car," and yet, this is how the failed EV maker Fisker billed its products, which retailed for $40-70k in the few short years before the company collapsed, shut down its servers, and degraded all those "software-based cars":

https://insideevs.com/news/723669/fisker-inc-bankruptcy-chapter-11-official/

Fisker billed itself as a "capital light" manufacturer, meaning that it didn't particularly make anything – rather, it "designed" cars that other companies built, allowing Fisker to focus on "experience," which is where the "software-based car" comes in. Virtually every subsystem in a Fisker car needs (or rather, needed) to periodically connect with its servers, either for regular operations or diagnostics and repair, creating frequent problems with brakes, airbags, shifting, battery management, locking and unlocking the doors:

https://www.businessinsider.com/fisker-owners-worry-about-vehicles-working-bankruptcy-2024-4

Since Fisker's bankruptcy, people with even minor problems with their Fisker EVs have found themselves owning expensive, inert lumps of conflict minerals and auto-loan debt; as one Fisker owner described it, "It's literally a lawn ornament right now":

https://www.businessinsider.com/fisker-owners-describe-chaos-to-keep-cars-running-after-bankruptcy-2024-7

This is, in many ways, typical Internet-of-Shit nonsense, but it's compounded by Fisker's capital light, all-outsource model, which led to extremely unreliable vehicles that have been plagued by recalls. The bankrupt company has proposed that vehicle owners should have to pay cash for these recalls, in order to reserve the company's capital for its creditors – a plan that is clearly illegal:

https://www.veritaglobal.net/fisker/document/2411390241007000000000005

This isn't even the first time Fisker has done this! Ten years ago, founder Henrik Fisker started another EV company called Fisker Automotive, which went bankrupt in 2014, leaving the company's "Karma" (no, really) long-range EVs (which were unreliable and prone to bursting into flames) in limbo:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisker_Karma

Which raises the question: why did investors reward Fisker's initial incompetence by piling in for a second attempt? I think the answer lies in the very factor that has made Fisker's failure so hard on its customers: the "software-based car." Investors love the sound of a "software-based car" because they understand that a gadget that is connected to the cloud is ripe for rent-extraction, because with software comes a bundle of "IP rights" that let the company control its customers, critics and competitors:

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

A "software-based car" gets to mobilize the state to enforce its "IP," which allows it to force its customers to use authorized mechanics (who can, in turn, be price-gouged for licensing and diagnostic tools). "IP" can be used to shut down manufacturers of third party parts. "IP" allows manufacturers to revoke features that came with your car and charge you a monthly subscription fee for them. All sorts of features can be sold as downloadable content, and clawed back when title to the car changes hands, so that the new owners have to buy them again. "Software based cars" are easier to repo, making them perfect for the subprime auto-lending industry. And of course, "software-based cars" can gather much more surveillance data on drivers, which can be sold to sleazy, unregulated data-brokers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

Unsurprisingly, there's a large number of Fisker cars that never sold, which the bankruptcy estate is seeking a buyer for. For a minute there, it looked like they'd found one: American Lease, which was looking to acquire the deadstock Fiskers for use as leased fleet cars. But now that deal seems dead, because no one can figure out how to restart Fisker's servers, and these vehicles are bricks without server access:

https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/08/fisker-bankruptcy-hits-major-speed-bump-as-fleet-sale-is-now-in-question/

It's hard to say why the company's servers are so intransigent, but there's a clue in the chaotic way that the company wound down its affairs. The company's final days sound like a scene from the last days of the German Democratic Republic, with apparats from the failing state charging about in chaos, without any plans for keeping things running:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/07/east-germany-stasi-surveillance-documents/

As it imploded, Fisker cycled through a string of Chief Financial officers, losing track of millions of dollars at a time:

https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/31/fisker-collapse-investigation-ev-ocean-suv-henrik-geeta/

When Fisker's landlord regained possession of its HQ, they found "complete disarray," including improperly stored drums of toxic waste:

https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/05/fiskers-hq-abandoned-in-complete-disarray-with-apparent-hazardous-waste-clay-models-left-behind/

And while Fisker's implosion is particularly messy, the fact that it landed in bankruptcy is entirely unexceptional. Most businesses fail (eventually) and most startups fail (quickly). Despite this, businesses – even those in heavily regulated sectors like automotive regulation – are allowed to design products and undertake operations that are not designed to outlast the (likely short-lived) company.

After the 2008 crisis and the collapse of financial institutions like Lehman Brothers, finance regulators acquired a renewed interest in succession planning. Lehman consisted of over 6,000 separate corporate entities, each one representing a bid to evade regulation and/or taxation. Unwinding that complex hairball took years, during which the entities that entrusted Lehman with their funds – pensions, charitable institutions, etc – were unable to access their money.

To avoid repeats of this catastrophe, regulators began to insist that banks produce "living wills" – plans for unwinding their affairs in the event of catastrophe. They had to undertake "stress tests" that simulated a wind-down as planned, both to make sure the plan worked and to estimate how long it would take to execute. Then banks were required to set aside sufficient capital to keep the lights on while the plan ran on.

This regulation has been indifferently enforced. Banks spent the intervening years insisting that they are capable of prudently self-regulating without all this interference, something they continue to insist upon even after the Silicon Valley Bank collapse:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/15/mon-dieu-les-guillotines/#ceci-nes-pas-une-bailout

The fact that the rules haven't been enforced tells us nothing about whether the rules would work if they were enforced. A string of high-profile bankruptcies of companies who had no succession plans and whose collapse stands to materially harm large numbers of people tells us that something has to be done about this.

Take 23andme, the creepy genomics company that enticed millions of people into sending them their genetic material (even if you aren't a 23andme customer, they probably have most of your genome, thanks to relatives who sent in cheek-swabs). 23andme is now bankrupt, and its bankruptcy estate is shopping for a buyer who'd like to commercially exploit all that juicy genetic data, even if that is to the detriment of the people it came from. What's more, the bankruptcy estate is refusing to destroy samples from people who want to opt out of this future sale:

https://bourniquelaw.com/2024/10/09/data-23-and-me/

On a smaller scale, there's Juicebox, a company that makes EV chargers, who are exiting the North American market and shutting down their servers, killing the advanced functionality that customers paid extra for when they chose a Juicebox product:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/2/24260316/juicebox-ev-chargers-enel-x-way-closing-discontinued-app

I actually owned a Juicebox, which ultimately caught fire and melted down, either due to a manufacturing defect or to the criminal ineptitude of Treeium, the worst solar installers in Southern California (or both):

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/27/here-comes-the-sun-king/#sign-here

Projects like Juice Rescue are trying to reverse-engineer the Juicebox server infrastructure and build an alternative:

https://juice-rescue.org/

This would be much simpler if Juicebox's manufacturer, Enel X Way, had been required to file a living will that explained how its customers would go on enjoying their property when and if the company discontinued support, exited the market, or went bankrupt.

That might be a big lift for every little tech startup (though it would be superior than trying to get justice after the company fails). But in regulated sectors like automotive manufacture or genomic analysis, a regulation that says, "Either design your products and services to fail safely, or escrow enough cash to keep the lights on for the duration of an orderly wind-down in the event that you shut down" would be perfectly reasonable. Companies could make "software based cars" but the more "software based" the car was, the more funds they'd have to escrow to transition their servers when they shut down (and the lest capital they'd have to build the car).

Such a rule should be in addition to more muscular rules simply banning the most abusive practices, like the Oregon state Right to Repair bill, which bans the "parts pairing" that makes repairing a Fisker car so onerous:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/27/24097042/right-to-repair-law-oregon-sb1596-parts-pairing-tina-kotek-signed

Or the Illinois state biometric privacy law, which strictly limits the use of the kind of genomic data that 23andme collected:

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3004

Failing to take action on these abusive practices is dangerous – and not just to the people who get burned by them. Every time a genomics research project turns into a privacy nightmare, that salts the earth for future medical research, making it much harder to conduct population-scale research, which can be carried out in privacy-preserving ways, and which pays huge scientific dividends that we all benefit from:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/01/the-palantir-will-see-you-now/#public-private-partnership

Just as Fisker's outrageous ripoff will make life harder for good cleantech companies:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/26/unplanned-obsolescence/#better-micetraps

If people are convinced that new, climate-friendly tech is a cesspool of grift and extraction, it will punish those firms that are making routine, breathtaking, exciting (and extremely vital) breakthroughs:

https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/10/08/norways-national-football-stadium-has-the-worlds-largest-vertical-solar-roof-how-does-it-w

Tor Books as just published two new, free LITTLE BROTHER stories: VIGILANT, about creepy surveillance in distance education; and SPILL, about oil pipelines and indigenous landback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/10/software-based-car/#based

#pluralistic #enshittification #evs #automotive #bricked #fisker #ocean #cleantech #iot #internet of shit #autoenshittification

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nasa · 1 year ago

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Sharpening Our View of Climate Change with the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem Satellite

As our planet warms, Earth’s ocean and atmosphere are changing.

Climate change has a lot of impact on the ocean, from sea level rise to marine heat waves to a loss of biodiversity. Meanwhile, greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide continue to warm our atmosphere.

NASA’s upcoming satellite, PACE, is soon to be on the case!

Set to launch on Feb. 6, 2024, the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission will help us better understand the complex systems driving the global changes that come with a warming climate.

Earth’s ocean is becoming greener due to climate change. PACE will see the ocean in more hues than ever before.

While a single phytoplankton typically can’t be seen with the naked eye, communities of trillions of phytoplankton, called blooms, can be seen from space. Blooms often take on a greenish tinge due to the pigments that phytoplankton (similar to plants on land) use to make energy through photosynthesis.

In a 2023 study, scientists found that portions of the ocean had turned greener because there were more chlorophyll-carrying phytoplankton. PACE has a hyperspectral sensor, the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), that will be able to discern subtle shifts in hue. This will allow scientists to monitor changes in phytoplankton communities and ocean health overall due to climate change.

Phytoplankton play a key role in helping the ocean absorb carbon from the atmosphere. PACE will identify different phytoplankton species from space.

With PACE, scientists will be able to tell what phytoplankton communities are present – from space! Before, this could only be done by analyzing a sample of seawater.

Telling “who’s who” in a phytoplankton bloom is key because different phytoplankton play vastly different roles in aquatic ecosystems. They can fuel the food chain and draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to photosynthesize. Some phytoplankton populations capture carbon as they die and sink to the deep ocean; others release the gas back into the atmosphere as they decay near the surface.

Studying these teeny tiny critters from space will help scientists learn how and where phytoplankton are affected by climate change, and how changes in these communities may affect other creatures and ocean ecosystems.

Climate models are one of our most powerful tools to understand how Earth is changing. PACE data will improve the data these models rely on.

The PACE mission will offer important insights on airborne particles of sea salt, smoke, human-made pollutants, and dust – collectively called aerosols – by observing how they interact with light.

With two instruments called polarimeters, SPEXone and HARP2, PACE will allow scientists to measure the size, composition, and abundance of these microscopic particles in our atmosphere. This information is crucial to figuring out how climate and air quality are changing.

PACE data will help scientists answer key climate questions, like how aerosols affect cloud formation or how ice clouds and liquid clouds differ.

It will also enable scientists to examine one of the trickiest components of climate change to model: how clouds and aerosols interact. Once PACE is operational, scientists can replace the estimates currently used to fill data gaps in climate models with measurements from the new satellite.

With a view of the whole planet every two days, PACE will track both microscopic organisms in the ocean and microscopic particles in the atmosphere. PACE’s unique view will help us learn more about the ways climate change is impacting our planet’s ocean and atmosphere.

Stay up to date on the NASA PACE blog, and make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of sPACE!

#NASA #Earth #climate #climate change #PACE #ocean #atmosphere #global warming #science #planet

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commodorez · 1 month ago

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What do you think would surprise a person from the 1950s most about modern computers?

How disposable they've become. We toss away computers like old socks.

How we got away from the model of timesharing for so long, only to go right back to cloud computing. People were so eager to personalize the experience, it's why things like the PDP-1 came into existance in the late 50s.

How much software went from this thing that was freely, openly shared as just a point of fact to a world where people pay for software regularly.

How much people trust a computer to think for them. A computer cannot think, it can only do math really fast, *you* have to think about how to make use of that platform to make your workload easier. People using computers in the 50s understood this implicitly, and now some people want shitty autocomplete to do the hard part for them. The human tasks that are worth doing, but that's a whole rant in itself.

How much computers just get powered off, or just run without doing anything, because of how plentiful and commonplace they are. In the 50s, no computer time was wasted, it was too expensive. If the machine was operational back then, it was busy.

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rottenpumpkin13 · 5 months ago

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my random headcanon about how midgar's traffic makes it impossible to jaywalk or cross the street safely. how do AGSZC do?

Sephiroth: Traumatizes drivers through the simple act of walking. Maintains direct eye contact with drivers as he crosses at a measured pace, not slow enough to be smug but enough to establish dominance. Vehicles screech to a halt, their drivers suddenly alarmed at being stared down by a man with a sword taller than their car. Traffic laws become merely a suggestion in his presence.

Sometimes, he takes it a step further after forcing a vehicle to an abrupt stop. He calmly strides over to the driver's window, and gets one "the crosswalk is not merely decorative" out before the driver passes out.

Zack: He's a model citizen! He'll wait at the crosswalk! For a total of 48 seconds before he loses his patience, and becomes a streak of black hair and SOLDIER uniform that appears and vanishes so quickly that drivers question if they're hallucinating. His crossing strategy consists entirely of "if I run fast enough, physics can't catch me."

Cloud: He's standing back waiting for the little pedestrian light to turn green, watching Zack get hit by a oncoming vehicle.

Genesis: Walks across at the pace of a leisurely stroll, armed with an unshakeable belief in his own immortality and a series of increasingly concerning justifications. His greatest hits include "It's illegal to hit people" , "They're not crazy, they're seeing me", and his personal favorite, "They've got brakes." None of this stops Genesis from being harassed by a series of honks and swearing drivers who have to swerve past him.

Angeal: The self-appointed leader of the squad who insists on establishing dominance through group hand-holding. He has a talent for transforming highly trained military operatives into a line of ducklings as he shepherds them across the street while scanning for vehicles like a paranoid mother duck. Sometimes he has them use the buddy system and go two by two while be watches.

If you go back and re-read Sephiroth and Genesis' above, you'll understand why Angeal once witnessed them being hit with their arms linked.

#ff7 #ffvii #final fantasy 7 #sephiroth #final fantasy vii #genesis rhapsodos #ff7 crisis core #angeal hewley #zack fair #crisis core #cloud strife #headcanons

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vexwerewolf · 1 year ago

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Not the original asker, but how would you make NPC equivalents of PC mechs? Some stuff feels fairly intuitive, but there are some others that I'm less sure of/not sure how to do.

IPS-N

IPS-N mechs are probably the easiest, since there are many mechs that are close to being 1-to-1 NPC approximations of IPS-N mechs.

Blackbeard - One of the easiest, since the Berserker NPC is basically just a Blackbeard. It has the Chain Axe, it has the reckless speed and it has the inability to properly determine between friend and foe. It doesn't have the Blackbeard's enhanced Grapple shenanigans but those aren't really appropriate on an NPC mech anyway.

Caliban - Give an Assassin the Devil's Cough Shotgun and Explosive Knives.

Drake - Take the Bastion, increase its HP just a little, remove the Rotary Grenade Launcher and give it the Scourer's Thermal Lance, except make the Thermal Lance do Kinetic damage instead of Energy.

Lancaster - Another easy one. The Support NPC is just a slightly slower Lancaster. It has a Latch Drone, it has Restock Drones, it has Whitewash, it's got all the fun stuff.

Nelson - Yet another easy one. The Cataphract does pretty much exactly what the Nelson does, just with added trample.

Raleigh - This is much more difficult - so much so that for In Golden Flame, I created an entirely new NPC class, the Slinger, just to simulate it. If you don't have IGF, start with an Assault. Remove the Assault Rifle, Combat Knife and Hunker Down. Take the Drum Shotgun from the Goliath and call it a Hand Cannon. Give it the Archer's Impending Threat optional.

Tortuga - This one's fairly simple. Take a Sentinel, upscale it to Size 2, give it Punisher Ammunition and the Bombard's Siege Armor.

Vlad - Take a Berserker, give it the Nail Gun optional, and then give it the Bastion's Near-Threat Denial System.

Zheng - Take a Berserker, give it Juggernaut and Retribution, remove Aggression, remove the Chain Axe and replace it with the Demolisher's Demolition Hammer.

SSC

SSC mechs also have a lot of parallels, so it's pretty easy to model them.

Black Witch - Probably the hardest mech to model with existing NPCs. I created another whole new class, the Lodestone, just to simulate these guys.

Death's Head - Take a Sniper, cut the damage on its Anti-Material Rifle to 6/8/10, strip the Loading trait and permanently give it the effect of Deadmetal Rounds (shots become Line 20 instead of Range 25).

Dusk Wing - Literally just a Hornet.

Metalmark - Take an Assault and give it the Operator's Fade Generator.

Monarch - Depending on the exact flavour of Monarch you want, you can do two things. Either take a Rainmaker, scale it up to Size 2 and give it Atlas Missiles the Ace's Missile Swarm, or take an Ace, scale it up to Size 2 and give it Missile Swarm.

Mourning Cloak - Literally just a Specter.

Swallowtail - Literally just a Scout.

HORUS

HORUS mechs are where we need to get a little bit more inventive. This shit ain't natural boys.

Balor - Take a Hive, give it Electro-Nanite Cloud and the Berserker's Harpoon Cannon, then give it the Exotic template and choose Regenerator. Or, if you have No Room For A Wallflower, just use the Lurker NPC.

Goblin - It's a Witch.

Gorgon - Take a Sentinel, scale it up to Size 2 and give it the Archer's Impending Threat and Suppress reactions.

Hydra - There's not really an NPC that simulates a mech deploying 800 drones and honestly that's probably for the best.

Manticore - Give a Berserker the Superhot optional, the Cataphract's Capacitor Discharge, the Sentinel's Combat Shotgun and the Operator's Self-Erasure.

Pegasus - Do not attempt to simulate me, ha ha.

Harrison Armory

Home stretch here.

Barbarossa - Take a Goliath, give it the Ultra's Short-Cycle Lance or the Bombard's Bombard Cannon.

Genghis - Literally just a Pyro.

Iskander - This is just a Seeder.

Napoleon - Why does this mech exist

Saladin - Scale up an Aegis to Size 2.

Sherman - Take a Scourer and give it Emergency Vent.

Tokugawa - Take a Berserker and give it Superhot. Make its Chain Axe do Energy instead of Kinetic, and instead of Shredding on crit, make it do a couple of Burn damage.

#lancer #lancer rpg #lancerrpg #lancer-rpg #mecha #mechs #lancer npcs

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mysticstronomy · 9 months ago

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CAN TWO SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES MERGE??

Blog#440

Saturday, September 28th, 2024.

Welcome back,

A team of astrophysicists that includes the University of Toronto’s Gonzalo Alonso-Álvarez has shown that pairs of supermassive black holes can merge together into a single, larger black hole – a major breakthrough in addressing what is known as the "final parsec problem."

longstanding astrophysics problem refers to a discrepancy between the detection of gravitational signals permeating the universe – which astrophysicists previously hypothesized had emanated from millions of merging pairs of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) – and theoretical simulations which showed that the approach of SMBHs stalls when they’re roughly one parsec (about three light years) apart.

Not only did the final parsec problem conflict with the theory that merging SMBHs were the source of the gravitational wave background, it was also at odds with the theory that SMBHs – each billions of times more massive than our Sun – grow from the merger of less massive black holes.

The new research, published in Physical Review Letters, has shown that pairs of SMBHs can indeed break through the one-parsec barrier and merge into a single black hole. This is demonstrated by calculations showing that SMBHs continue to draw closer because of previously overlooked interactions with particles within the vast cloud of dark matter surrounding them.

“We show that including the previously overlooked effect of dark matter can help supermassive black holes overcome this final parsec of separation and coalesce,” says Alonso-Álvarez, a post-doctoral fellow in the department of physics at U of T’s Faculty of Arts & Science and the department of physics and Trottier Space Institute at McGill University, who is first author on the paper. “Our calculations explain how that can occur, in contrast to what was previously thought.”

SMBHs are thought to lie in the centres of most galaxies. When two galaxies collide, the SMBHs fall into orbit around each other; as they revolve around each other, the gravitational pull of nearby stars tugs at them and slows them down, causing them to spiral inward toward a merger.

Previous merger models showed that when the SMBHs approached to within roughly a parsec, they begin to interact with the dark matter cloud or halo in which they are embedded. These models indicated that the gravity of spiraling SMBHs throws dark matter particles clear of the system.

The new model introduced by Alonso-Álvarez and co-authors James Cline, a professor at McGill University and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland, and Caitlyn Dewar, a graduate student at McGill, reveals that dark matter particles interact with each other in such a way that they are not dispersed. The density of the dark matter halo remains high enough that interactions between the particles and the SMBHs continue to degrade the SMBH’s orbits – clearing a path to a merger.

“The possibility that dark matter particles interact with each other is an assumption that we made, an extra ingredient that not all dark matter models contain,” says Alonso-Álvarez. “Our argument is that only models with that ingredient can solve the final parsec problem.”

The background hum generated by these colossal cosmic collisions is made up of gravitational waves of much longer wavelength than those first detected in 2015 by astrophysicists operating the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).

Those gravitational waves were generated by the merger of two black holes, both some 30 times the mass of the Sun.

The background hum has been detected in recent years by scientists operating the Pulsar Timing Array. The array reveals gravitational waves by measuring minute variations in signals from pulsars, rapidly rotating neutron stars that emit strong radio pulses.

Originally published on https://www.utoronto.ca

COMING UP!!

(Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024)

"WHERE DID MARS' ATMOSPHERE GO??"

#astronomy #outer space #alternate universe #astrophysics #universe #spacecraft #white universe #space #parallel universe #astrophotography

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goodoldbandit · 13 days ago

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Multi-Cloud vs. Hybrid Cloud: Strategic Decision-Making for Leaders.

Sanjay Kumar Mohindroo Sanjay Kumar Mohindroo. skm.stayingalive.in Explore the strategic difference between multi-cloud and hybrid cloud with expert insights for CIOs, CTOs, and digital transformation leaders. A Cloud Crossroads for the Modern Leader Imagine this: you’re in the boardroom. The CIO looks up after a vendor pitch and asks, “Should we go multi-cloud or hybrid?” Everyone turns to…

#AI #artificial-intelligence #Boardroom Strategy #business #CIO priorities #cloud #Cloud Architecture #Cloud Governance #Cloud Strategy #Data Driven Leadership #digital transformation leadership #emerging technology strategy #hybrid cloud #IT operating model #Multi Cloud #News #Sanjay Kumar Mohindroo #technology

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jcmarchi · 10 months ago

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Google advances mobile AI in Pixel 9 smartphones

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/google-advances-mobile-ai-in-pixel-9-smartphones/

Google advances mobile AI in Pixel 9 smartphones

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Google has unveiled its new range of Pixel 9 smartphones, emphasising their enhanced AI capabilities.

The company released the devices much earlier than usual, as Google typically presents new Pixel models in the autumn. However, compared to previous versions, the changes in the new models are revolutionary.

The new smartphones feature more advanced integrations of Google’s AI technology. For instance, one unique Pixel feature allows users to search for information and images within their screenshots, thanks to a more deeply integrated approach. Additionally, through the Gemini chatbot, some features of these smartphones are available as overlays from other apps.

At Alphabet’s Bay View campus in Mountain View, California, Rick Osterloh, the Senior Vice President of Devices and Services at Google, informed visitors that the company plans to focus on practical applications of AI. He spent time describing the “Gemini era” to the audience, which will commence with the creation of Google’s advanced AI model.

The Pixel 9 series offers several models. The base model, the Pixel 9, features a 6.3-inch screen and costs $799. A larger alternative, the Pixel 9 Pro XL, has a 6.8-inch screen. A slightly enhanced version, the Pixel 9 Pro, offers a better camera system, though its price is higher. The final option is the foldable Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Regarding the initial shipping date, Google stated at the event that the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL would ship in late August. The Pro and Pro Fold models will ship in September, with all models available for preorder starting August 13. During Google’s presentations at the event, Gemini’s new functions were showcased in a live demo, focusing on the latest conversation features. Additionally, the company announced updates to the product’s exterior design, the installation of Google’s advanced camera system, and the integration of the new Tensor G4 chip.

In addition to smartphones, the company unveiled new versions of the Pixel Watch 3 smartwatch and Pixel Buds Pro 2 wireless earbuds. The watch can track the user’s heart rate; if it stops, it will call emergency services. This feature will be available in the UK and the EU.

As reported by IDC, Google’s share in the global smartphone market was less than 1% in the second quarter of 2024. Samsung and Apple took the first and second places, with market shares of 18.9%, and 15.8%, respectively. In the US, Google ranks fourth among smartphone operating systems, holding 4.5% of the market share.

Industry analysts note that although Google Pixel is not among the best-selling smartphones, it showcases some of the benefits of the Android operating system. Android has become the dominant operating system, used by more than 80% of smartphone users worldwide. Consequently, many people, even those who have never used a Google Pixel, may indirectly experience and appreciate the features that Google products offer.

The event also touched upon Google’s further intentions and previous efforts to implement AI across its product lineup to stay at the top of the game. Not long ago, the company integrated AI improvements into its core products, including its search engine. Additionally, Google announced a content-sharing agreement it reached with Peloton. As a result, Fitbit Premium subscribers will have free access to the Peloton training class library.

(Image Credit: Google)

See also: Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro dethrones GPT-4o

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

Tags: ai, artificial intelligence, gemini, Google

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wachinyeya · 4 months ago

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Geneva-based Infomaniak has been recovering 100 per cent of the electricity it uses since November 2024.

The recycled power will be able to fuel the centralised heating network in the Canton of Geneva and benefit around 6,000 households.

The centre is currently operating at 25 per cent of its potential capacity. It aims to reach full capacity by 2028.

Swiss data centre leads the way for a greener cloud industry

The data centre hopes to point to a greener way of operating in the electricity-heavy cloud industry.

"In the real world, data centres convert electricity into heat. With the exponential growth of the cloud, this energy is currently being released into the atmosphere and wasted,” Boris Siegenthaler, Infomaniak's Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, told news site FinanzNachrichten.

“There is an urgent need to upgrade this way of doing things, to connect these infrastructures to heating networks and adapt building standards."

Infomaniak has received several awards for the energy efficiency of its complexes, which operate without air conditioning - a rarity for hot data centres.

The company also builds infrastructure underground so that it doesn’t have an impact on the environment.

Swiss data centre recycles heat for homes

At Infomaniak, all the electricity that powers equipment like servers, inverters and ventilation is converted into heat at a temperature of 40 to 45C.

This is then channelled to an air/water exchanger which filters it into a hot water circuit. Heat pumps are used to increase its temperature to 67C in summer and 85C in winter.

How many homes will be heated by the data centre?

When the centre is operating at full capacity, it will supply Geneva’s heating network with 1.7 megawatts, the amount needed for 6,000 households per year or for 20,000 people to take a 5-minute shower every day.

This means the Canton of Geneva can save 3,600 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2eq) of natural gas every year, or 5,500 tCO2eq of pellets annually.

The system in place at Infomaniak’s data centre is free to be reproduced by other companies. There is a technical guide available explaining how to replicate the model and a summary for policymakers that advises how to improve design regulations and the sustainability of data centres.

#good news #environmentalism #science #environment #climate change #climate crisis #switzerland #geneva #Infomaniak #cloud storage #cloud data #carbon emissions #heat pumps

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