#Co Transmitters

[buzzlift]

What are the 7 Types of Transmitters?

Explore the 7 main types of transmitters used in industrial and automation systems, including pressure, temperature, and flow transmitters, in this concise technical guide.

[bun-z-bakery]

✧. ┊𝐿𝑖𝑔ℎ𝘵 𝘚ℎ𝘰𝑤𝑒𝑟

A/N: I'm backkkk!! I've been reading alien fics lately and wanted to make something with our best boi! it's a silly one-shot but my love for alien!dogday might make me write another:3 P.S. i did some research for this so dont come for me if something is wrong blame google!

Alien!Dogday x GN!Reader CW: injury

The rapid beeping of the ship forced you out of your sleep. The red lights flickered as a warning causing you to head to the control panel to assess the situation quickly. "WOAH!" The ship began to shake violently as you bashed away at the controls, a vain attempt to put your ship back onto course. Crackling can be heard coming from your transmitter "...Co...Ang..." The signal was weakening and you needed to work quickly. "HELLO? I NEED AID IMMEDIATELY!"

You cried as you began to mentally prepare for the worst as you suited up and strapped yourself into a seat.

Your body began to jerk harshly against the restraints of the safety harness. You could feel the air around you getting hotter and hotter as your eyes locked onto the windows turning into a tinted orange as the flames grew from the nose of your ship to the sides... Between those flames, you just barely caught a glimpse of the tiny planet you call home. The distance made you realize how far you were, and alone. Metal began to wail against itself as you felt your last breath leave your body. 

Your eyes flutter open and the flash of a dim flickering light fills your vision before your eyes can adjust. You blink, disoriented and with ringing ears. You're alive by some miracle. Slowly you try to rise to your feet though before you can move a sharp pain violently runs through your leg, making you fall back onto the ground. You wince in pain as you look around "Wait there's... gravity?" Quickly you begin piecing everything together. You never made it to your destination you were now sitting in a completely different orbit.

You remove the now broken harness strap that clung onto your shoulder. The small crack in your helmet almost sent you into a panic. Your breathing was fine however any more damage could lead to bigger problems than being injured in space.

"Mission control... Do you read me?" Your throat croaked. You were desperately in need of water and aid. You were stranded on a planet

with no equipment that could keep you alive and you only had your oxygen tank left to spare.

Your headset crackled and the voice was once again barely audible. "An... Stat... Aid..."

"I'm alive, but I only hav-" The area dimmed as a giant shadow loomed over you.

You ignored the static voice coming from your transmitter. There was nothing you could use to defend yourself. Tears formed in your eyes as you sat as still as humanly possible.

Something was whistling behind you. 

You try to stabilize your breathing as the shadow begins to slowly disappear. You take a sigh in relief yet you still weren't alone. Turning to your left you find yourself face to face with a furry creature. It seems like its stare was out of curiosity rather than fear. The creature was one like you've never seen before. 

It was canine-looking, with orange fur and what looked to be a sun symbol on the darker part of its fur that blended with the lighter parts. Its fluffy ears and tail looked soft, you were almost tempted to reach out to feel them. But what stood out to you the most was its antenna. Orange like its fur but had green at the tips, the same green spots and stripes were also had on its tail and ears. 

It seemed friendly enough, it hasn't tried to hurt you... Yet. "H-hello?" you wave at the creature as it begins to inspect you from where it stands. It chirps as it crouches down and holds your helmet in its hands.

"No no!" you protest as it reaches your helmet. Your injuries prevented you from putting up a fight, you watch as it continues to gently pry off your helmet. You could only watch in fear as you slowly begin to suffocate now from the lack of oxygen. Your body begins to feel like it could explode as your vision blurs. Two furry hands gently hold onto the sides of your face as the blurred sight of an orange blob swiftly pulls your face into its own. 

"What.." you look around in confusion. There the creature was, sitting in front of you cross-legged and smiling back at you. "You startled me there! I thought I had lost you!" 

"You- I can understand you. Wait." you look around and spot your cracked helmet off to the side. You begin to panic yet continue to breathe just fine. 

"You're safe! But you're hurt." 

It puts a furry hand on your head to help calm you. Confused and on the brink of losing your mind you decide to not struggle for fear of making it or him angry. 

You could hear the faint crackle coming from your helmet, you knew what the sound meant. "It sounds worried about you." He begins as he rises to his feet. "Your home... is broken." He looks down at the debris that surrounds you both. 

"My hom-HEY!" You were cut off as the furry creature gently picked you up and began to float. 

"PUT ME DOWN!" You shout as he continues to float away while holding you comfortably in his arms.

"Do you wish to float yourself?" 

He asks cautiously now sensing your fear. His ears fall flat as his antenna droop slightly. 

"N-no, humans can’t float..." 

This must be his first encounter with a human. You think to yourself as you ponder what this discovery could mean for you. You'd have a hand in it, sure. But what about him? What would happen to him if you brought him back to earth with your crew? 

"Good thing we've arrived then!" He cheers happily as he gracefully and gently sits you both on the rough ground, releasing you from his gentle hold. His orange hand points to the sky, you follow his hand and gaze at the sight in awe. Dozens of stars dance around the sky above you. They remind you of the star showers back home as they zoomed past you two and twinkled, you couldn't help but smile at the sight. 

"Beautiful right?" 

"They are," you respond, still in awe as you continue watching. "Do you have a name?" You cautiously ask.

"I was given the name Dogday." A small cloud of dust begins to form as his tail slowly starts to wag in excitement. 

"Do you have a name, little human?" you glance up at him, his antennae begin to give off a faint green glow. 

"My friends call me Angel." 

"Angel..." 

He parrots back in a tone as sweet as honey. You smile at him and he

does the same. Oddly enough you start feeling more at ease. "Do you know where we are right now?" You ask as you relax onto his furry arm. Your gentle movements made his tail wag even faster. "We're sitting on the star home with petals!" 

He answers happily. You tilt your head slightly in confusion but quickly realize what he meant. 

"Petals?..." you were confused with what he had meant. You look around in an attempt to see what he might be referring to, and an excited gasp leaves your lips upon the realization of where you two are currently seated. "We're on Saturn!" 

You exclaim, catching the poor creature off guard. He lets our happy chirp as he mirrors your expression. 

"Humans give names to the star homes?" 

You nod with a hum. Dogday was more than pleased with the conversation and your company. You begin to play with the ground, tracing the ground's rough textures next to your legs. He chirps happily once again upon seeing how relaxed you are now. 

"We do. On my star home, all of them have names!" 

"Your star home?..." 

Dogday looks at you with big puppy eyes. He felt a tug in his chest once he realized you wouldn't be here with him forever. After years of being alone. He felt something he never thought he'd feel again Happiness.

As if on cue, you heard the faint crackle coming from your helmet that lay in the distance. You turn your attention to it however you notice something in the distance. A bright ball of flames sped towards the location where you crashed. It was a rescue crew. 

"I need to get my helmet back and I need you to hide!" You quickly explain as you try to stand only to wince in pain once you move your leg. Your leg was still injured and you didn't want to risk Dogday being taken or worse... 

"Dogday!" You exclaim as he quickly scoops you in his arms and floats you both back to where the debris lies untouched. He gently set you down and helped you put your helmet back on. You fiddled with your gloves, making sure they were still on securely. "Angel!" You glance in the direction of his voice, unaware he left your side. Your eyes widen once you notice he is much bigger than before, his body still shrinking to the size you had seen him originally as he quickly float-walked closer to where you sat. 

"Dogday?" 

"Take!" He has a big grin on his face, and the green hue of his antennae grows brighter. You chuckle as you hold out your arm and he slips on a golden bangle that looks oddly familiar. You examine it once he lets out a satisfied hum. 

"From this star home!" that's when it clicked, it was one of Saturn's "petals" as he refers to them. It radiated a soft glow and had a pleasant chill. Now one of Saturn's rings somehow rests comfortably on your wrist.

"Stay..." His eyes began to tear up, you motion for him to lean down and gently place a gloved hand on his face.

"I have to go. Thank you for this." You stated softly as you stroked his cheek with your thumb. A sad smile crept up on his face as he tapped your helmet. You close your eyes as a soothing sensation washes over your body. 

Once you opened them Dogday was gone. 

You look around for him but instead, you spot a figure above you. It was them, they had arrived. The rescue crewmates began to help you back to their ship. They made sure you were in stable condition and treated you with what they had on board. No human could've survived what you just did yet here you were alive. You look out the small window, watching Saturn become smaller and smaller at a rapid pace. 

The sound of chatter began to drown out as you slowly began to succumb to tiredness. The adrenaline wore you out and the only thing that filled your body now was pain. An orange fuzzy face that startled you as it stared at you. It was Dogday! You wave at him and flash him a warm smile. His face was covered in tears and his lips quivered as he waved at you sadly. He pushes himself away and watches as you fly back to your home planet. Even though your time together was short you can help but feel a tug in your chest. 

Little did you know you had just been courted by the lonely dog-alien.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed! I want to get back to being active again so send in those requests! here's all the characters i write for currently!

[vintagelasvegas]

Fremont Hotel & Casino, 1956

Postcard advertising, “the tallest, newest, and finest in the heart of downtown Las Vegas.” KSHO-TV had studios at the Fremont with the station’s transmitter on the roof. 

Timeline of Fremont Hotel & Casino, 1956-

‘54: Groundbreaking in Nov.

‘56: Fremont opens May 18. Owned by Ed Levinson and 15 partners; financed by Lou Lurie; McAllister & Wagner, architect; 150 rooms. Atop the hotel is a Ground Observer Corps station.

‘58: Fremont partners become co-owners of Horseshoe Club, the two clubs operated together until ‘64

‘59: “Fremont” sign on the side of the building raised; East wing addition; 6 rooms added to the top of the main tower

‘61-63: FBI wiretap of Levinson office reveals casino skim and hidden mob ownership*

‘63: Ogden tower opens in May; includes theater, rooftop pool, and parking garage; neon sign on Fremont & Casino Center corner changed; rooftop Sky Room opens in Jul.

‘64: Fremont partners sell shares in Horseshoe

‘65: Fiesta Room opens

‘66: Fremont sold to Parvin-Dohrmann. The public corp. creates the subsidiary Fremont Casino Corp. (Albert Parvin, Harry Goldman, and Norris Goldman) to hold the gaming license.

‘67: Sky Room closed, converted to guest rooms c. ‘68. Room total is said to be 500; in later years it was 447.

'70: Parvin-Dohromann changes its name to Recrion Corp.

‘74: Argent acquires Recrion Corp, owner of Fremont & Stardust

‘75: Fremont Hotel leases Fremont St-facing properties between the hotel and 3rd Street, demolishes Fremont Theatre and Red Garter casino, expands the length of the block, completed in ‘76.

‘77: Neon sign on Fremont & Casino Center corner changed; new marquee constructed along Fremont St; rooftop pool over the garage removed, garage expanded

‘79: Fremont sold to Trans-Sterling Inc (Sachs, Tobman) in Nov.

‘84: Fremont sold to Boyd Gaming in Jan.

‘88-89: Redesign of exterior signage, neon marquee (“Sam Boyd’s Fremont”); hotel painted white with red highlights

‘22-23: Expansion to Ogden & 3rd (full city block); hotel painted in original color pattern

Construction of Fremont Hotel, Dec. '55.

Far right is Southern Nevada Telephone and Power, 109 S 2nd St. Color photo from Fred and Maurine Wilson Photograph Collection (PH-00014), UNLV Special Collections.

c. 1956 postcard

1956 - Las Vegas Mayor C.D. Baker and Fremont Hotel president Ed Levinson do the camera old perspective trick with Baker measuring the tower. Photos by Las Vegas News Bureau.

6/20/56 – Rooftop. Photo by Las Vegas News Bureau.

3/19/57 - Photo by Las Vegas News Bureau, LVCVA Archive

7/14/60. The east wing (right) was added in '59, and six rooms were added to the small 14th floor level of the main building.

c. '63 model showing the expansion of the main tower (Ogden tower, left) and new signage on the corner. YESCO Corporate Records (MS-00403), UNLV Special Collections.

Construction of the Ogden tower, '63.

*J. Sheehan. The Players: The Men who Made Las Vegas. University of Nevada Press, ‘97; J. Goldsmith. In Hoffa’s Shadow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019; Levinson clippings. 

Other sources include: Second Story Gaming. Review-Journal, 11/4/54; New Fremont Hotel Glamour Spot. RJ, 5/25/56; Addition to Fremont Hotel. RJ, 5/17/63; SEC Stalls Fremont Hotel Purchase Deal. Review-Journal, 5/26/66; Red Garter Gone. RJ, 3/22/75.

[autumnmobile12]

Now that Sir Pentious has been redeemed, do you think Heaven is going to let Charlie and co. know that her hotel works and sinners can in fact find redemption?

Or do you think they're going to 'shelve that topic' until they figure out what's going on--*cough, cough* cover up that information because they fear it will cause a panic or something, upsetting the balance of their familiar order, and all that?

Because I kinda really want his arc in Season 2 to be a Prison Break style quest of him and Emily teaming up and desperately trying to find a way to contact Hell and let his friends know that he's alive and well, so to speak. Maybe secretly building a transmitter or something to communicate with Alastor's radio tower.

[radiofreeeuropa]

25.04.2925 Terran Date

Welcome to Radio Free Europa, the voice of warmth on the frozen moon. Gregor Stahl on the transmitter. Transmitting from a dark corner near the Dyria 12 generator as I’m waiting for my habblock’s heating system to get repaired - this piece of shit breaks every fucking week it seems, each time I have to defrost my pseudo-dog. As for today’s news-

*crackle*

-spotted under the ice sheet. They seem to be approaching vital Colonial and UNCC supply lines. A Graffer class Sub-Dreadnought "Moffertrat" and 5 other vessels have already been sent to intercept and are expected to reach the separatists in 9 hours. Now, a word from our sponsor. Don’t you just feel breathless sometimes? Like you just need to fill your lungs with something proper? Jov Ox is here to fill that void in your respiratory system! It’s better than real air! Now also in terran forest and martian tunnel smells!

Jupiter Air United or any subsidiaries including but not limited to Jov Ox co. aren’t responsible for loss of consciousness, motor functions, sight, smell, taste or life as a result of use or misuse of any Jov Ox products. 

*crackle*

-and a small Europa Liberation Front Navy fleet heading towards Brogger Resupply Centre south of the recently captured Fort 04 on the eastern front. What? Fuck. Ok, it seems our transmission overlayed with one form Station 1 News. It’s a problem we expected could happen due to our broadcast equipment being outdated and well quite weak. We will work on resolving it in the near future, but as for now, my hab seems to have gotten it’s heating back so my time for gossip has ended. Radio Free Europa signing off.

[scotianostra]

On 26th January 1981 the empty shell of the 'Bass Conqueror' off the shore of Ireland.

“Some people might think I am a crackpot, but I am sure I will survive to answer them when I return"

The words of 27-year-old Kenneth Kerr, a former petty officer on the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror, who on May 21st, 1980, left Newfoundland in Canada on his second attempt to row 2100 miles across the Atlantic in the 13ft glass-fibre dinghy Bass Conqueror.

Having held a life-long ambition to set the record for the smallest boat ever to have been rowed across the Atlantic single-handedly, Kenneth’ tragically didn't make it home.. Bass Conqueror, an Orkney Spinner flat-bottomed rowing boat, was specially fitted out for his first attempt in 1979 by a boat builder at Kenneth’s home town of Port Seaton in East Lothian, and named after a product brewed by Tennent Caledonian Breweries - joint sponsors of the venture .But Kenneth’s initial attempt was to end disastrously. Capsized twice by giant waves after 58 days at sea, he desperately fought to upright the vessel both times and was incredibly fortunate to find both his tiny inflatable life-raft and transmitter floating close by. But in stormy seas 700-miles off the Canadian coast, the boat soon began to fill with water, and after climbing into the 4ft diameter raft, Kenneth watched as Bass Conqueror was swallowed up by yet another enormous wave.

With no food or water, struggling with the bitter cold and at the mercy of the high seas, he fumbled with the transmitter to send out a distress signal, which was picked up by a British Airways Concorde en route to New York. Canadian coastguards were alerted, spotter planes were dispatched and an Argus aircraft was soon able to pass on his position to a German container ship - Stuttgart Express - which detoured 45 miles to come to his rescue.

His barnacle-covered vessel was found washed-up on the Irish coast five months later. However, inspired by John Ridgway and Chay Blyth, who had successfully crossed the Atlantic in 1966, Kenneth was not ready to give up on his dream.

Following repairs at the Orkney Co. Boat Yard at Arundel, Sussex, Bass Conqueror was ready for another attempt, and on May 21st, 1980, he set off yet again from Newfoundland. On August 13th, 500 miles off the coast of Ireland, Kenneth was spotted by the crew of a passing cargo ship, who gave him fresh food and water, and in the weeks ahead made several radio transmissions, the last of which came after 156 days at sea on October 25th when a faint message of ‘bearing 123 degrees’ was picked up by expedition ship Eye of the Wind.

Sadly, Kenneth was never to be seen or heard from again. Bass Conqueror was recovered by a Norwegian rescue team near Stavanger on this day in 1981.

Bass Conqueror is now in row in the Scottish Maritime Museum, Linthouse Building at Irvine, as seen in the pics, and if you ever visit look out for 17 notches on the strengthening board on the floor of the boat. During both attempts at the crossing, Kenneth notched up every week he completed - the 8 notches from his first attempt can also be seen. Seventeen weeks gives 119 days, but the message picked up by the crew of Eye of the Wind is evidence that he was still alive after 156 days. We do not know what happened in those missing five weeks, and it will always remain a mystery.

[theglowsociety]

5 Black Women Who Changed STEM Forever

Black women have played a crucial role in shaping science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), despite often being overlooked. Here are five trailblazers whose contributions revolutionized their fields and paved the way for future generations.

1. Katherine Johnson (1918–2020)

Legacy: The mathematician who helped NASA land on the moon

Katherine Johnson was a brilliant mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics were critical to NASA’s space missions, including the Apollo 11 moon landing. She overcame racial and gender barriers to become one of NASA’s most respected minds. Her story was featured in the movie Hidden Figures.

2. Dr. Mae Jemison (b. 1956)

Legacy: The first Black woman in space

Dr. Mae Jemison made history in 1992 as the first Black woman astronaut to travel to space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. A physician, engineer, and entrepreneur, she has worked to promote STEM education, particularly for young girls of color.

3. Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson (b. 1946)

Legacy: The physicist behind technology we use every day

Dr. Jackson was the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from MIT. Her research led to breakthroughs in telecommunications, including caller ID and fiber-optic cables. She later became the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, championing STEM education.

4. Marie Van Brittan Brown (1922–1999)

Legacy: Inventor of the first home security system

A nurse and innovator, Marie Van Brittan Brown co-invented the first home security system in 1966, featuring a closed-circuit camera, microphone, and remote-controlled door locks. Her invention laid the groundwork for modern security systems used in homes and businesses today.

5. Dr. Gladys West (b. 1930)

Legacy: The hidden figure behind GPS technology

Dr. Gladys West was a mathematician whose work in geodesy contributed to the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS). Her calculations of satellite orbits helped create the technology we now rely on for navigation, mapping, and everyday smartphone apps.

Honorable Mentions:

• Dr. Patricia Bath (1942–2019) – The first Black woman to receive a medical patent for a laser cataract treatment.

• Valerie Thomas (b. 1943) – The scientist who invented the illusion transmitter, which contributed to 3D imaging technology.

These extraordinary women didn’t just break barriers—they built the future. Their work continues to shape science, technology, and innovation, inspiring Black women and girls to pursue STEM careers today.

[satureja13]

It was still pouring when Rubyn returned from the Moisture Farm. And so they moved the fireplace under the Wings of the Millennium Falcon to stay dry. But the wood was already damp, as damped as their mood. Tiny Can left the planet, the Boys, a lot of questions and his transmitter behind - to get lost in space. But why? Why steal money to pay for their school fees if they could have handled it with the loan? And why - oh why did he have to leave the planet (and the transmitter)? How are they supposed to track him down now? They don't have the money to charter a ship and a crew to follow him! As if he knew it! (Of course he does, he knows the Boys better than they know themselves...)

That was a lot of commotion - and a lot to compute - for one day and the others went to sleep soon. Rubyn: "I'm going to make a call tomorrow morning. Maybe I can wing something. I'm not going to let another bot getting corrupted by the dark side. Not under my watch." Jack, always on the bright side of life: "That would be awesome. At least we won't get arrested for allowing Tiny Can to steal all that money when we're lost in space..."

After the others left, Sai allowed himself to break down and cry. Theres's nothing Jack and Sai haven't seen from each other so he's not ashame showing himself at his worst to Jack, his oldest friend: "It's all over now." Jack: "You heard what Rubyn said. It ain't over 'til it's over, hm? Let's sleep on it and tomorrow the world looks brighter." Sai sobbed: "As if I could sleep now."

With no hope of getting some sleep anytime soon, Jack tries to comfort Sai with his universal remedy: good ole distraction. Jack: "Hey, let's browse the latest games! We missed out almost a year of great releases!" Sai sniffled: "O - ok..." And as soon as Jack opened gleam, their gaming portal, Sai smiled again. They love their games and they really missed some stunning new releases. Jack: "Let's see. What are the most promising ones for us?" They looked through the lists of games with the most positive reviews and Jack put some auspicious candidates on his wishlist. They discussed the pro and cons and which one to choose first...

... until... Gods, Tiny Can had the audacity to release the Therapy Game! And what's with that stupid description?! Clearly written by an AI!

The game that almost killed Ji Ho! And that was when Sai's fuses blew too... Sai: "Take that off! We can't let him hurt innocent people!" Jack tried. But gleam wouldn't let him remove the Therapy Game from the store. Of course not. One can not just simply take games off of gleam.

Sai's screaming woke the others and they gathered around the server where Sai had developed the Therapy Game together with Tiny Can. And where he now frantically tries to stop it. In vain. Access denied. Even though Sai was the co-developer! But canny Tiny Can Ltd has all the rights reserved. Sai is so upset, his hands are shaking: "This little piece of junk!" Poor Jack tried to qualify - because he is still convinced his little friend only ever tried to help them: "Sai, look - the game has 93% overwhelmingly positive reviews! No one complained. Tiny Can must have improved the game before release. We left him July 21st and release was August 22nd. He had a month to modify it. And now we know that he didn't steal the money! It's from the sales! I think he did something meaningful for our community. To help other creatures out there who suffer - and don't know what to do. Just like us. Look at all the comments!" And Jack was right. The reviews were all about how happy the players are with the Therapy Game. How much their lives had improved. But Jeb shot Jack a glance - now is not the time to come to Tiny Can's defense...

There is nothing they can do right now anyway - so Jeb took Sai to their tent. Jeb tries a different approach instead: "We will find him. And then you can dismantle him and stomp his filthy circuit board into the ground, hm?"

Sai tightened his grip around Jeb's firm, muscular chest, buried his face in the crease of Jeb's neck, inhaled deeply and sighed: "I love you." Jeb, pulling Sai even closer: "I know." Sai snorted out a laugh. (I wonder if Jack's Romantium orb is still stashed under Sai's bed. And if that's the reason he was able to calm down so quickly ^^')

'… So many tears I've cried So much pain inside But baby, it ain't over 'til it's over So many years we've tried To keep our love alive But baby, it ain't over 'til it's over

… How many times did we give up But we always worked things out And all my doubts and fear kept me wondering, yeah If I'd always, always be in love'

Lenny Kravitz - It ain't over 'til it's over

Outtakes

Jack and Sai being so fed up with broken, annoying high maintenance bots...

From the Beginning 🔱 Underwater Love 🔱 Latest

Current Chapter: starts ▶️ here Last Chapter: 'Here comes the Sun' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 23-28

[buzzlift]

Why Air Velocity Transmitters Are Critical for Industrial and Commercial Applications?

Discover why air velocity transmitters are essential for HVAC systems, industrial processes, and cleanrooms. Learn their benefits and applications!

[cityandking]

B, E, S for minah, dai, + vesper!

thanks babe xo // AU ABCs

B. band au. What is your OC like in a band AU? Are they a performer or a groupie? What instrument would they play? What's their relationship with their bandmates and/or the group(s) they follow?

MINAH — wow this girl is truly made for a band au. she’s been touring with this group (the orchestra) for ages and loves getting to perform. she’d either be full rock band (she’d play bass and backing guitar and do harmonies) and it would be a wild sweaty smoke-n-stagelights show, or she’d be in a (slightly) more sedate folk-rock group and play like, violin and mandolin and also backing vocals. they’d play all the festival circuits, following the live show slots around the country with the seasons. her relationship with the band would be the same as it is in canon—close and fond, but still with that edge of hiding something

DAI — dai has a surprisingly decent singing voice but I don’t think he’d want to be on stage. I could see him working as a board op, honestly—running tech and the board during izzy’s concerts, a background/logistics guy. probably he helped record the album(s)? I think he’d have one or two songs that he wrote at least part of and he’s on the backing tracks doing vocals (and maybe like. drums? I think he’d have a really good sense of rhythm) but it’s like pulling teeth getting him on stage

VESPER — vesper’s definitely more of a groupie. she doesn’t want to be on stage but she’s always there to support the group when they’re in town. who is the group? maybe the Chargers. she and bull and dorian and co. go for drinks after the show

E. education. What would your OC be like in a high school and/or college AU? What would their major be? What would they teach if they were an educator?

MINAH — high school AU minah would be the arts/theater kid who ends up prom queen or something. she’d be so friendly and popular and put together and in with the right people and you’d never know that things were falling apart in her home life. to be honest I don’t know if she’d go to college? but if she ended up teaching she’d be a high school teacher in one of the arts programs and have a real knack for sniffing out the kids who are struggling at home (she knows the signs)

DAI — dai would be really cute in a college au actually—group projects, late nights, etc. trying to talk izzy into doing her own homework instead of copying his, study sessions with scratch, awkwardly dancing around zaref when they’re in the same gen eds. he'd be pre-med and going into med school (and doing his residency in selto)

VESPER — vesper’s doing some kind of accelerated international relations/pre-law program OR a history/anthropology program. something really heavy on the reading and the writing and the theory. she’d definitely continue on to post-grad studies and eventually end up teaching at the university level. she’d find it deeply rewarding (and even academia isn’t as bad as being The Inquisitor)

S. star wars au. What would your OC be like in a Star Wars AU? What era would they be in: sequel, prequel, original trilogy, old republic? Would they be Force sensitive?

MINAH — she’d be an empire-era performer/dancer and part-time thief on some semi-independent mid-to-outer rim system (probably nominally independent but really hutt-controlled). she's not force sensitive but she’d have some really cool tech (my favorite concept is some kind of chip or transmitter that wipes her face/presence from security footage, like the amulet of proof against detection and location). obviously she’s still so fucking paranoid but it’s a little easier to hide in the vastness of the galaxy than it is on a single continent

DAI — oh man I was just talking to alana about this. he’s definitely a jedi I don’t know anyone more perfectly suited to be a jedi—the nobility, the humility, the dedication to a higher cause, the magic connection with the Force, the non-attachment. he’d be a senior padawan or just barely newly knighted when Order 66 happens and spend the next few years on the run on his own, until a few too many run-ins with the mandalorian bounty hunter zaref resulted in them working together. also he definitely came into contact with inquisitor ozy

VESPER — she has to be a jedi. she’d be such a good jedi. I kinda want to say old republic era? I think she’s got some of that antiquity/old guard energy to her, and I’d like to see her story without the empire being the Big Bad

[wonder-worker]

The career of Bertha, daughter of Lothar II, reveals that women were not simply passive bystanders in the politics of the period. As the transmitter of legitimacy through blood, she was in fact a key player. [...] She was considered a major force in Italian politics, and her political aspirations may have extended much further than the Tuscan region or even the kingdom of Italy.

— Patricia Skinner, "Women in Medieval Italian Society, 500-1200" / Daniel G. König, "Bertha of Tuscany's Correspondence with al-Muktafī bi-llāh in the Version of Ibn al-Zubayr."

Bertha was an ambitious and politically successful female member of the Carolingian elite. The daughter of Lothair II of Lotharingia, she was born around 860 or 865. Married before 880 to count Theobald of Lorraine, she shared her husband’s exile in Arles, where he had sought refuge with Boso, the King of Provence (r. 879–887) after the latter’s brother Hugo had attempted to conquer Lorraine. She bore him four children who were to attain influential positions in a region spanning southern France and northern Italy.

When Theobald died around 887, Bertha married the margrave Adalbert II of Tuscany (r. 885–915). Adalbert’s family had much property in Provence, carried the epithet dives and led a lavish court life in Lucca. […] Theo Kölzer described Adalbert’s policy as

“characterised by a skilful manoeuvring between the individual candidates for the royal and imperial crowns, which he played off against each other for the sake of his own advantage, always taking care that the autonomy of his margraviate and his quasi-royal position did not suffer any damage in the turmoil of the time.”

Adalbert’s policy involved reacting to the ambitions of margrave Guido II of Spoleto, his son Lambert, margrave Berengar of Ivrea, duke Arnulf of Bavaria, and King Louis of Provence, all of whom aspired to the crown of Italy between the end of the ninth and the beginning of the tenth century. Adalbert II and Bertha first sided with Guido II and his son Lambert against Berengar, thus ensuring that Guido was crowned King of Italy in 889 and emperor in 891, his son Lambert becoming royal and imperial co-regent in 891 and 892 respectively. The couple’s support for Guido and Lambert expressed itself in the fact that their two sons were christened Guido and Lambert between 891 and 894. Adalbert tried to impede Arnulf of Bavaria from interfering in Italian affairs in 894, but then turned against Lambert by cooperating with Berengar of Ivrea between 896 and 898. If we believe Liutprand of Cremona, it was around 898 that Adalbert tried to become king of Italy himself.

Around 900, Adalbert and Bertha supported the aspirations of King Louis of Provence to become emperor, possibly in the hope that Bertha’s son Hugo would thus be able to become King of Provence instead. When Hugo’s promotion failed to materialise, the couple turned against Louis, first by not impeding, then by actively supporting Berengar in his conflict with Louis. In this period, the couple already exerted enormous influence in Italy: the anti-pope Sergius III (sed. 898 and 904–911) had sought refuge with Adalbert and, according to Liutprand of Cremona, was “made pope by Adalbert” (papa per Adalbertum constituitur) in 904. In this year, the couple felt strong and independent enough to begin dating their documents according to their own regnal years. When Louis was eventually captured and blinded by Berengar in 905, he entrusted Bertha’s son Hugo—count of Vienne and Arles, duke and margrave of Provence—with the government of Provence.

[During this time, Bertha has been identified the royal woman who most likely sent a letter with an embassy in c.906 to the Caliph of Baghdad, al-Muktafi, where she described herself rather grandiosely as "queen of all the Franks". First brought to light by Muhammad Ḥamīdullāh , it has been rigorously studied and re-examined by historians. According to Daniel G. König: '...it becomes impossible to presume with Ḥamīdullāh that Bertha was a woman without political ambition who offered her hand in marriage to the caliph to escape her allegedly weak and unsuccessful husband [...] Rather, it becomes conceivable that Bertha could have developed a foreign policy strategy that looked beyond Italy and Byzantium and as far as Aġlabid North Africa. When she eventually understood that the Aġlabids were nominally subjected to the ʿAbbāsid caliphate, she looked eastwards to ʿAbbāsid Iraq. If there was a marriage proposal at all, she may have wanted to offer one of her daughters to the caliph, as François Bougard suggested [...] Bertha’s son Hugo (r. 903–947) certainly pursued a Mediterranean strategy as soon as he became king of Italy in 926. His intensive relations with Byzantium are recorded by the emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, his complex relations with the “raider colony” of Fraxinetum by Liutprand of Cremona. According to Ibn Ḥayyān (d. 468/1076), he approached the caliph ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III of Córdoba in 328/939–940 with the demand of a “security guarantee for merchants of his territory that travel back and forth between there and al- Andalus.” It does not seem far-fetched to assume that Hugo’s mother had already begun to think in the same lines of securing the Tyrrhenian Sea for Tuscany and of expanding the region’s security and economic purview.']

In 906, the year in which Bertha is said to have sent her letter to the ʿAbbāsid caliph, Louis of Provence had retired from the competition for the imperial throne, whereas Adalbert and his wife were confronted with the imperial ambitions of Berengar of Ivrea, which they opposed by blocking the Apennine pass leading him to Rome. Bertha seems to have been strongly involved in containing Berengar. That she wielded power at the side of her husband is evident from her correspondence with the archbishop of Ravenna. Germana. Gandino proposed that, in the contest with Berengar, Bertha was able and willing to present herself as a descendant of Charlemagne, as heiress of the Carolingian dynasty in Italy, and thus as a legitimate alternative candidate to the imperial throne. While this may seem unconceivable at first sight, we should consider that her husband Adalbert II did not have an equally prestigious pedigree and, by 906, had receded into the background politcally. Bertha’s quest for power also seems to have prompted contemporaries such as Liutprand of Cremona to harshly polemicize against her in particular and against women striving for power in general. Gandino believes that Berta may have even called herself “basilissa” (Βασίλισσα) in her letter to al-Muktafī bi-llāh, thus seeking imperial recognition from a foreign leader in a time, in which she—not her husband—formulated a claim to the imperial throne.

Bertha’s activities in the period after writing the letter demonstrate that she occupied an important political position in a region spanning the Provence in the west, Ivrea in the north, and Tuscany in the south. Still confronted with the imperial ambitions of Berengar when her husband died in 915, she installed her son Guido as margrave of Tuscany with herself acting as regent and married her daughter to the margrave Adalbert of Ivrea after his wife’s death. When Berengar chased Adalbert from Ivrea and arrested Bertha and Guido in Mantua between 919 and 920, she still managed to prepare the ground for her son Hugo. He was to become King of Italy in 926, shortly after Berengar’s assassination in 924 and Bertha’s death in 925.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Adam Clark Estes at Vox:

Some people collect coins or stamps. For a time, I collected debit cards. Not stolen ones! Each one of them had my name on them, right below the logo of the latest banking app I’d decided to try out: Venmo, Cash App, Chime, Varo, Current, Acorns. For the better part of a decade, I did all my banking through these apps, enjoying their slick user experience and lack of fees. The problem with every one of them, however, is that they’re not chartered banks. If the company behind the app went bankrupt, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) would not necessarily come to my rescue. This disaster scenario was a hypothetical worry when I eventually settled for Chase and its FDIC insurance. For millions of others, it became a reality earlier this year when a company called Synapse collapsed and froze them out of their accounts. Users of Yotta, a popular savings app with a built-in lottery, and other apps that relied on Synapse to help manage their accounts couldn’t access their money for months. Now, as hundreds of thousands of Synapse customers’ dollars remain in limbo, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) are calling for banking reforms, and the FDIC is proposing changes to its rules.

Still, a growing number of people are embracing these financial technology, or fintech, services. More than a third of Gen Z and millennials used a fintech app or a digital bank as their primary checking account, according to a 2023 Cornerstone Advisors study. So some questions are worth asking: Is it a bad idea to use an app like Venmo as your main bank? Are digital banks like Chime trustworthy enough? The answer to both questions is yes. Venmo is not a bank, and using it as your primary checking account comes with some risks. Some fintech companies, like Chime, are just as big as traditional banks and offer some nice perks. Again, because they’re nontraditional, there are risks. “You’re not going to go back to a world where everybody works with a small bank and walks into a branch,” Shamir Karkal, co-founder of Simple, one of the first digital banks. “The future is just going to be more fintech, and I think we all just need to get better at it.”

Neobanks and money transmitters, briefly explained

The term fintech can refer to a lot of things, but when you’re talking about everyday services for everyday people, it typically refers to either neobanks or money transmitters. Chime is a neobank. Venmo is a money transmitter. They’re regulated in different ways, but because most of these companies issue debit cards, many people treat them like checking accounts. Fintech apps are not the same thing as FDIC-insured banks.

Neobanks are fintech companies that offer services like checking accounts in partnership with chartered banks, which are FDIC-insured. Neobanks sometimes enlist intermediaries known as banking-as-a-service, or BaaS, companies, which are not FDIC-insured. Still, you will often see the FDIC logo on neobank websites, just like you see it stuck to the glass doors of many brick-and-mortar banks. That logo instills trust, and thanks to their partnerships, neobanks can claim some FDIC protections. But because they do not have bank charters, these neobanks and BaaS companies are not directly FDIC-insured. Instead, neobank customers can be eligible for something called pass-through deposit insurance coverage.

[...] Money transmitters, also known as money services businesses, are even further removed from the perceived safety of the FDIC. Put bluntly, if you’re keeping all your money in a Venmo or Cash App account, you don’t qualify for FDIC insurance. Money transmitters are not neobanks or banks at all but rather completely different legal entities that are regulated by individual states as well as the Department of the Treasury. There are certain protections provided by these agencies, but FDIC insurance is not one of them. So when an app like Yotta or Chime says on its website that it’s FDIC insured, it’s not a lie, but it’s not necessarily true either. Venmo, to its credit, admits in the fine print of its homepage that its parent company PayPal “is not a bank” and “is not FDIC insured.” To confuse you even more, however, certain PayPal services that enlist a chartered bank partner, like a PayPal Mastercard or savings account, might qualify for FDIC insurance. Again, it depends.

[...] That doesn’t necessarily mean that all neobanks and fintech companies are untrustworthy. In some cases, the sheer size and track record of fintech companies can instill quite a bit of trust. Chime, the largest digital bank with roughly 22 million customers, scored a $25 billion valuation in its latest round of funding and is planning to go public next year. Venmo’s parent company, PayPal, is widely considered safe and trustworthy. And don’t expect Block, the $42 billion company that owns Cash App as well as its own chartered bank, to fail any time soon. The truth is, even if there is some false sense of security, fintech apps offer certain customers features that big banks can’t or won’t. One thing that’s made Chime and many other neobanks so popular, for instance, is that they don’t charge so many fees. That’s a huge boon to young people as well as people without bank accounts. If a fintech app is your only option, then you might not care so much about FDIC insurance.

“If you’re poor in America and you’re banking at Chase or Wells Fargo, you’re going to get overdraft fees, minimum balance fees,” Mikula explained. “So there is a real need that [fintech] companies fulfill as a result of your establishment banks essentially not wanting to bank poor people because it’s difficult to do profitably.” As many as 6 percent of Americans were living without a bank account in 2023, according to Federal Reserve data. That share grows to 23 percent for those making less than $23,000 a year. The unbanked population, which disproportionately comprises Black, Hispanic, and undocumented people, is at a greater risk of falling victim to predatory lending practices, including payday loans. Some fintech companies also offer short-term loans, though they’ve been criticized for being predatory as well.

If you have Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, or any fintech or digital banking app, be aware: don’t use them as your primary checking account.

[lboogie1906]

Frederick McKinley Jones (May 17, 1893 – February 21, 1961) was an inventor, entrepreneur, winner of the National Medal of Technology, and an inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. His innovations in refrigeration brought great improvement to the long-haul transportation of perishable goods. He co-founded Thermo King.

After he was orphaned at the age of seven, he was raised by a priest at a Catholic rectory in Cincinnati. He left school after 6th grade and left the rectory to return to Cincinnati at age 11, where he got a job first as a cleaning boy, and by age 14 he was working as an automobile mechanic. He was self-taught. He boosted his natural mechanical ability and inventive mind with independent reading and study and the willingness to seek new pastures in his search for advancement, against the odds.

He moved to Hallock, Minnesota, where he worked as a mechanic on a farm. He took part in WWI in an all-Black unit in the Army until his mechanical skills were spotted and he was promoted to sergeant working as an electrician and even teaching other soldiers his knowledge.

He returned to Hallock; while employed as a mechanic, he taught himself electronics and built a transmitter for the town’s new radio station. He invented a device to combine sound with motion pictures. He was hired to improve the sound equipment made by Cinema Supplies Inc.

He was awarded 61 patents. Forty were for refrigeration equipment, while others went for portable X-ray machines, sound equipment, and gasoline engines.

1953 Merit Award, Phyllis Wheatley Auxiliary, “for outstanding achievements which serve as an inspiration to youth.”

In 1977, he was posthumously inducted into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame.

In 1991, the National Medal of Technology was awarded to Joseph A. Numero and Frederick M. Jones. He was the first African American to receive the award. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[1five1two]

The farzāna (“wise man”) Hurmuz (i.e., Hermes) once went up a mountain to worship God and saw a tortoise (Persian sang-pušt, lit. “rocky-back”) with dried sinews. He hung it up and the wind blew through the sinews, making music. Hurmuz wanted then to fashion an instrument he might play by himself, but all his attempts were unsuccessful. He went for a walk down the road feeling bad, and came upon an old man who just happened to be sitting there.

The old man, whose name was Hažrahman, arranged the tortoise shell with strings “in the likeness of the disposition of animate nature” (āmīzeš-i gōhar-i ǰānvar): “a stroke on the strings is like a movement in our body,” he explained. And that was the lyre. The Greek romance was evidently widely popular in the early Islamic period: Ibn al-Nadīm mentions in his Fihrist (the “List” (of the books in his father’s Baghdād book shop) an Arabic translation; and Birūnī knew a Persian prose version. The Persian rendering here of Hermes— Hurmuz— coincides with one form of the name of the good Creator God of Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazdā, Middle Persian Ohrmazd. This can scarcely have been mere happenstance, and the Iranist Bo Utas suggested reasonably that at some point the coincidence offered an opportunity to make a point. The old man’s unusual name, Hazhraman, might be a scribal corruption or, better, an otherwise unattested form of the name Ahreman, the Middle Persian form of Avestan Angra Mainyu— the name of the Evil Spirit, Ahura Mazda’s co-eternal cosmic enemy. And Utas remarks, “even if sung for the highest purposes, poetry and music will need something devilish.” Hägg noted that Longus and Achilles Tatius attributed to Pan— the god of the “panic”, whom Christians early equated with the devil— the invention of the syrinx, a flute. Though the woodland god did this in a grief-stricken attempt to reconstruct the sundered limbs of his beloved, might the association of Pan and instrument also have perhaps inspired a transmitter of the tale along the way to ‘Unsuri to take up the theme of music as potentially demonic.

James Russell

The Lyre of King David and the Greeks

[a-calico-rabbit]

There are a lot of questions about how you are supposed to check to see if a bottomless pit is still bottomeless. As a previous Bottomless Pit Supervisor (BPS), Ill tell you. They make these special robots called Spelunk Pro that has a camera, powerful antenna transmitter, the ability to slow its dissent, and a way to grab batteries dropped from above and swap out old ones. They can also measure their falling speed and have protective coverings to protect them from being damaged when hitting the side walls. They also have the ability to latch onto the pit walls which can be useful later. You drop two in spaced out a couple of days apart. Every couple of days, check the camera footage and dissent velocity reading to ensure they are still falling and drop batteries down the pit every two weeks (they have a 3 week charge). Because the Spelunk Pros fall at 75% normal speed, the batteries always catch up to them. If one of them gets damaged by something/wear out over time, you're in a big pickle because it'll probably take years for a new Spelunk Pro to fall quickly enough to replace the old one. So, you have a time schedule to drop new ones that are spaced apart further and further (there's a spreadsheet using exponentials to figure it out). It's all calculated so that no Spelunk Pro will be without its partner for more than a month. We'd like the downtime to be less, but that requires more Spelunk Pro's and more batteries which eats up funding quickly. When one goes out, its partner attaches to the pit wall and then the others stop their slow dissent and immediately plummet toward their next "spot" in the chain. Unfortunately, if you find a bottom to the bottomless pit, there's not much you can do about it except see if the Spelunk Pro's drill can break through the bottom. Most of the time, its a full bottom, but sometimes, the Pit Beings leave a false bottom that can easily be broken through. My last pit has 3 false bottoms and is still going strong. However, I left after being hounded about the budget which was reaching $5 Billion a year and Spelunk Co failing to deliver on the Spelunk Pro Max that had a longer battery life, and the ability to accelerate themselves to 5G's, greatly reducing battery costs and longer Spelunk chains (since they could get to their next position faster). Unfortunately, Spelunk Co realized that they would lose a lot of money if they made them better and dragged their feet on the whole project. I'm really enjoying my new job as a normal pit supervisor like OP, but every time the pit turns out to be bottomless, I think back to my time as a BPS and almost wish to go back. I've actually started hearing rumors about a new company called "Fal" that might finally bring some competition to the bottomless pit industry. Maybe I'll see if they're hiring.

--@rubixman7x7, Bottomless Pit Supervisor comment section (EclipsedVO)

[agent-8449]

Agent Logos CJverse chatroom summary.... REAL!!!!

Clears throat. This may be a long post, be warned. Actually, yeah. Bwoink.

The OG AU: Voice of Reason

Whole: Dead as fuck. Sort of. Way before the events of the comic, their Whole 'died'. We refer to not-dead Whole OOCly as 'Hope', but he also sort of exists afterwards as a figment of himself-- the 'shadow' called Cast. Cast can only speak in song lyrics, and currently resides in... the TMAverse, as a cursed item. Woaw.

Heart: Would kill you if you called him Heart. Ozzy/Oz/Ozymandias is a real piece of work. Sourceless guilt incarnate, magically influenced by a cursed mirror to eat it, in a symbolic attempt to erase himself. He's so chill. So fine. So cool. Definitely not so close to collapsing at all times. Got glasses though.

Mind: Tinker/Ulysses. So violently soggy, but hides it under his inexplicable British accent and polite demeanour. Made the transmitters that allow Thirds to traverse between their Surrealities. He half-regrets this. The only one of the three fully aware that Cast is an actual sentient guy. Hid his Soul's trident in his hand after the comic, and so that hole is very much still there <he's 'fixing' it atm...>

Soul: Coda. Coba. Coba Cola. What a disaster. After the comic, it <he/it> was kept in his room as much as possible. Then Oz left, and he completely lost it. It was a big storyline, so feel free to ask about it. Coda is really fun because he's not sane

Me-only AU 2: The Negatives

Whole: Eris... also known as Chase. The Negatives are a sort of "reversal of personality". Eris is a shitty content farm-making YouTuber, and generally hates this too. He also has to deal with the Cold War he sort of constructed with his own Thirds. He remembers what his Thirds do, which is good because he split <past tense> often... like. Every day. They called it 'shifts'. Yeah.

Heart: Phobos, ahhhhh my horrible boy Phobos. Personification of egoism, self-aggrandization, imagination, and intrusive thoughts. Green. Mean. A bitch and a half. Generally sadistic. The de-facto leader of the Negative Thirds. Wears crocs. Idolises Whole.

Mind: Deimos. That is all. Personification of logic, reasoning, and thinking ahead. He is also an absolute goon and pushover. All too happy to be Phobos' lackey.

Soul: Nemesis, though he hates that nickname. Personification of 'cringe culture', self-doubt, second-hand embarassment, and critical thinking. Basically ignored by the other two. Does all the work in the Vessel. Clinically annoyed by everything all the time. Very spiteful.

ASSORTED GUYS <from co-op AUs>:

Allen: Soul from Voib, Andy, Shade and I's AI AU, also known as Reification Initiative: Apotheosis. Yeah I came up with that. My bad. Allen is shitty. So very shitty. Ran away. That's all I can say for now.

Valentine: Heart from WAAAILSSSSSS IT'S ONLY ME BUT HIS COUNTERPARTS ARE ALL DEAAAAD. The Bachelor AU, a 'Lonely' AU. He is trying to live his life now that he fucked up and he's alone. He committed arson. He has to go to government-mandated therapy. He is beloved.

Nyx: Whole from Xanadu AU. Haven't done much with him, but he's in space, and he's an idiot.

Vlinder: :>

Thyme: Mind from the Aonaran/Apocalypse AU. The world ended. It be like that sometimes. And the stress got to their Whole. Thyme killed multiple people.

Pursuit: Heart (2) from Voib's Labyrinths AU. He is big kitty cat lad. Does eat people. Tries to maintain the status quo. Genuinely satisfied with the state of things.

Magna: Mind from Demersal AU. Basically, he got pitted instead of Heart for being a delusional little shit. He did not get any less delusional. Conspiracy nut, drowning 1/4th of the time, and generally horrible person.

Brevity: Soul from Voib and I's Syncopation AU. Olde Mann. No legs, they froze off. He is not mentally well at all, but he's got to keep it together if he wants to continue being 'him'.

Crawl: Heart from the Asides AU. Fourth-wall breaking eldritch horror. Collector of things. Collector of extinct things. Full name 'Crawl of the Horizon'.

"Quinn": Soul from Good Day. Very new AU with me, Voib, Q-ott, and Ledge <@/nitroish>. Meant to be close to album guys. He's denying his halves exist and matter atm.

There you go! Not including the alternate timelines because jesus christ