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teaboot · 5 years ago

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Whats your ideal aesthetic

My room is beige, just like the rest of my unit. If I had the option, I'd paint it red, but it's not too bad as it is.

My bed is a single. The mattress belongs to my roommate, but the frame is simple, solid, light-colored wood. I paid $20 for it at a thrift shop by the road and carried it home on my back.

None of my cups and plates match. They're second-hand, like everything I own, collected one at a time from garage sales and such, but every single one is painted or sculpted by hand, and all the mugs are smooth and satiny and have the maker's initials scrawled under the bottom. Some have handles, some don't, and a few are crooked around the lip or have fingerprints pressed in along the base like old fossils.

I love art. I love practical art. I love the balance of form and function, the simple joy of tangible, human things.

My bedding is collected halfhazardly. They all have different patterns and textures in rich, pleasant colors. A thick brown and white falsa blanket is draped over my old blue sailor's chest; my fringed cotton throw sits on top of coyote-brown fur. My sheets are old, well-worn cotton and printed all over with little green leaves.

My favourite little things are on easy display: a banner of cards inked with skulls a friend brought me from her travels; a wood mask of an woman's angular face wearing a Cobra as a crown. A splintered wooden paddle, lined with brass hooks and mounted under my window to hang bracelets and necklaces and pretty little things. A wood scroll tapestry of Bodhisattva Guanyin looks down while she rides across the waves.

A long, low table by the wall catches the first morning light as it shines in between the blinds. The surface is cluttered with ancient, raggedy cloth-bound books, switchblades collected from pawn shops, little brown glass bottles, and an old tambourine. There's an empty can of ginger ale I've yet to dispose of sitting on a little cork coaster. An old red silk pillow I sit on when I work rests on a purple rag rug, missing a good half of its tassels.

The air smells like sunlight. Sunlight, and incense, and clean laundry, denim, and spearmint shampoo, and when my roommate's long-furred old cat comes in to sun himself on the covers his hair floats with dust motes in the light.

There's a pile of laundry on the floor. A bottle of pills running low. A dead flower on the corner that never did get planted. A few spots of blood are dried into stains, here and there, and the hook that hangs my sweaters on the door makes it crack and creak when I open it. The neighbors are loud and their children scream at all hours, jumping back and forth between French and English so fast I can barely make out either.

But I'm happy here, now. Happy like I remember being as a younger version of myself running barefoot down the dirt back roads in the summer-time, catching snakes in a bucket and breaking open little round watermelons with rocks and staying outside until the sun went down.

I've spent years making my life performative, to construct an illusion of confidence and purpose. I suppose it's poetic that the beauty that delights me most now is born from scraping together what pleases me, and not everyone else.

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fossilera · 7 years ago

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Looking for an elegant way to display small fossils and other collectables, be sure to check our selection of floating frame display cases. The specimens are safely enclosed between strong, clear, plastic membranes. The plastic membrane is flexible allowing for thicker items to be easily accommodated. They can easily be opened and closed to add or remove items They come with plastic display stands allowing them to stand upright in either a horizontal or diagonal orientation.

Available in six different sizes ranging from $3 to $10 each. View Now

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xtruss · 2 years ago

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Sixty years ago, N.S. Savannah would have sailed beneath the Francis Scott Key Bridge, entrance to Baltimore Harbor, to ports around the globe. Now the world's first nuclear-powered merchant ship floats alongside Pier 13 of the city's Canton Marine Terminal. Photograph By Bill Newcott

This Ship Was Supposed to Usher in an Age of Nuclear-powered Travel

The N.S. Savannah was built to introduce an atomic age of super-clean, hyper-efficient sailing vessels, but ended up a relic in Baltimore Harbor. Why?

— Story and Photographs By Bill Newcott | April 5, 2023

The world had been living under the threat of nuclear war for the better part of a decade when President Dwight D. Eisenhower had an idea: Let’s give atomic power a makeover. Ike came up with Atoms for Peace, a three-pronged effort to rehabilitate our friend the atom as a harmless harbinger of unlimited possibility. Prong one: domestic nuclear energy. Prong two: nuclear medicine. Prong three: nuclear-powered transportation.

Well, two out of three ain’t bad.

One recent morning I was welcomed aboard the only surviving relic of Ike’s third prong: the N.S. Savannah (“N.S.” stands for nuclear ship), the world’s first nuke-powered merchant vessel. Put into service in August 1962, the hybrid freighter/cruise ship plied the world’s oceans for eight years, carrying trend-setting passengers and cargoes ranging from tobacco to cars, proclaiming to the world the dawning age of super-clean, hyper-efficient, nuclear-powered vessels.

Visiting the U.S. West Coast on her maiden voyage—following a transit of the Panama Canal—N.S. Savannah approaches San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge November 18, 1962. Photograph Courtesy Maritime Administration, NARA

In those heady days, some 1.5 million people at ports of call around the planet toured Savannah, pushing up the gangway of the sleek white wonder, visiting its space-age control room, and marveling at its iconic logo: two electrons encircling a porthole standing in for the nucleus of an atom.

Too soon, however, the economics of operating a nuclear-powered commercial ship in an age of cheap fossil fuels caught up with Savannah—as did her relatively small size compared to the new container ships. Now, she floats at Pier 13 of the Canton Marine Terminal in a remote corner of Baltimore Harbor, ironically rendered obsolete by her advanced technology.

Still, a defiant Savannah gleams gloriously white against the blue sky and dark water, her stylized electrons still whirling merrily around their portholes. Over the past few years, cars jammed the dock as more than 80 workers dismantled what was left of the ship’s nuclear power plant. The pieces were wrapped up and transported by train to a deep grave somewhere in Utah, completing the job 52 years after the reactor’s shut-down in 1971 and years ahead of the mandatory 2031 deadline.

Preferred guests would have been invited to the Captain’s Table—flanked by “Fission,” an expansive wall sculpture by French-born sculptor Pierre Bourdelle. Photograph By Bill Newcott

Nicer Than It Had To Be

“Very ‘Jetsons,’ isn’t it?” observed Erhard Koehler, Savannah’s senior technical advisor and the U.S. Maritime Administration official in charge of the ship. We were standing in Savannah’s lobby, virtually unchanged since launch—a low-ceilinged rectangle bisected by a long, burnt-orange Naugahyde couch. In gold print on the Linoleum reception desk were the words: “The Savannah is a Joint Project of the Maritime Administration and the Atomic Energy Commission.��

Some parts of the ship, like this lobby, appear to have arrived in the 21st century via a time vortex. The plush passenger dining room—with its miraculously intact original carpeting, atom-themed light fixtures, and a captain’s table framed by a vast, curved wall sculpture called “Fission”—seems ready to welcome spiffed-up passengers any second.

Original place settings, emblazoned with the ship’s atom-inspired logo, are preserved in a dining room display case.

On the upper deck, in the broad-windowed, brightly polished Veranda cocktail lounge, the bar is still dominated by its original, striking metallic blue, red, and yellow wine rack. Dramatically backlit, the rack was designed as an inside joke for nuclear science buffs who would have recognized it as representing the Trilinear Chart of Nuclides. Koehler and company have even found an original drink menu (“Atomic Cocktail: $1”).

“We’ve tried to preserve as much of the original look as possible in the public areas,” said Koehler. Considering the wild abandon with which substances like asbestos and PCBs were used in those days, he adds, “It’s not always easy.”

Other sections, like the former passenger cabins, are in decidedly rougher shape, victims of water leaks and rot. Still, it’s clear that Savannah was built nicer than it had to be, with touches one would never have found on a mid-century freighter. That’s because, from its inception, Savannah was meant to be much more than a nuclear-powered workhorse.

Floating behind the ship's cocktail bar, a multicolored wine bottle rack cleverly mimics the trilinear table of the nuclides, depicting isotopes of the elements.

“The passenger cabins were placed right next to the reactor,” said Koehler as we headed down a stairway to the ship’s holds. Savannah could take 60 passengers—and some of them, I was surprised to learn, slept within 50 feet of a sustained nuclear reaction.

“It was all on purpose,” Koehler said. “Eisenhower wanted everyone to see how safe nuclear power could be.”

Throughout its near-decade as a working merchant ship—then during decades of mothballing, interrupted by a stint as a floating museum near Charleston, South Carolina—Savannah has remained under the ownership of the Maritime Administration. The agency oversaw maintenance of the ship while the Nuclear Regulatory Commission dismantled and disposed of Savannah’s nuclear power plant.

During the final days of the disassembly, Koehler offered to let me see how it was going. We climbed a series of stairways to a chamber at the top of the ship's nuclear reactor. A small window had been cut into plastic sheeting draped atop the wide steel silo that contained the reactor’s innards, some 30 feet below.

Peering through, I looked directly down into the core, where 32 pillars of uranium once generated enough radioactive heat to bring circulating water to about 570 degrees Fahrenheit, creating steam to power the ship’s engine. Instinctively, I glanced at the two radiation gauges clipped to my shirt. Of course, there was nothing to worry about. Still, even with the ship’s nuclear fuel long gone, the team took the hazards of radiation seriously: That morning I had to sit through a 30-minute safety training session just to be permitted this far.

I recalled what Koehler had told me as we walked past an ancient Radar Range microwave oven in Savannah’s kitchen—a model that was so cavalier about the effects of microwaves that it could cook a hamburger with the door open.

“You’d get more radiation in the kitchen than you would standing near the reactor,” he chuckled.

Because of the flurry of workers below, I couldn’t visit the nuclear control room where three engineers monitored Savannah’s nuclear power plant 24/7. A large photo of the control panel sprawled along a passageway wall, showing a seemingly endless array of analog dials, gauges, and switches. Built just before the dawn of digital miniaturization, the whole thing was run with an army of vacuum tubes hidden behind those panels.

That thought delights Bob Adams, president of the N.S. Savannah Association, a nonprofit group of ship enthusiasts whose mission it is to tell the story of Savannah and assist in its preservation.

Adams, a self-described “tube head,” showed me around Savannah’s radio room. On one array, positioned above a seven-inch TV monitor, some 40 tubes bristled at attention.

“The tubes aren’t hard to get,” said Adams, fiddling with the ship’s vintage audio entertainment system. He was playing a CD of steel band music over the speakers, but his ultimate goal was to fire up Savannah’s old reel-to-reel tape player.

“That cabinet over there’s got the ship’s original reels of tape in it,” he said, like a kid anticipating Christmas.

On one wall of the cramped room, taped into place by some long-forgotten radioman, were yellowed sheets bearing broadcast frequencies for ports of call around the world: Portugal, Hong Kong, Okinawa. One of the complications faced by Savannah during her sailing years was the need for special clearances at each destination.

“Whatever the U.S. domestic regulations were for a nuclear power plant, you had to have reciprocity wherever you went around the world,” said Koehler. “A whole administrative structure had to be developed.”

In all, Savannah visited 45 foreign and 32 domestic ports. Only Australia, New Zealand, and Japan refused her entry.

A Future That Never Happened

National Geographic magazine ran a lengthy article about Savannah’s launch in August 1962. “If Savannah works,” writer Alan Viliers noted, “merchant shipping can be revolutionized.”

Savannah operated nearly flawlessly; it was the economics that didn’t work. By 1971, Savannah’s operating costs were outpacing income by $2 million a year. With just a handful of nuclear-powered merchant ships on the high seas, it was becoming clear the world’s shipping companies would prefer pouring tons of oil into their vessels to managing floating nuclear plants—even if those plants could propel their ships 300,000 miles on one load of nuclear fuel.

If the operators had held out for just two more years—when the price of fuel oil went from $20 a ton to $80—the story of nuclear-powered merchant ships might have been very different.

Savannah was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, but that by no means ensures her future. With the removal of her nuclear apparatus, by law the Marine Administration has three options: find someone willing to take Savannah, sell her for scrap, or scuttle her as an artificial reef.

Environmental concerns almost certainly rule out the last option, but Koehler hopes the ship will survive as a museum for generations to come.

“I think we’ll find somebody,” he said. “We’ve taken good care of her; it’s pretty much plug-and-play for anyone who wants to operate her as a museum.”

We took one last pass through the Veranda lounge. Outside the curving front windows, Savannah’s bell hung above the boarded-over swimming pool. In a display case donated by the Smithsonian Institution, relics of Savannah’s passenger-hauling heyday are on display, including a Bingo ball cage and a pair of wooden horses from an old Steeplechase deck game.

But my attention was drawn back to that magnificent metallic wine rack behind the bar. Koehler had turned on its lights, and it shone with an almost iridescent splendor, radiating optimism for a future that never happened.

It was sad—and at the same time subversively triumphant. I was reminded of the first steam-powered ship to sail across the Atlantic. In 1819 that commercial venture failed, and steam power seemed like a folly.

— The Ship’s Name: Savannah.

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oliverbraid · 2 years ago

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The amphitheatrical designs were framed by screwed-in walkways of gangplanks raised to head height for observation and accessed by bare studwork steps. Each occupant would feel the seriousness of their operations, and the productivity required through permanent display.

This first flourish we ornamented across our floor alluded to the buildings’ provenance as the third site of the Institute. Sol’s gathering of local knowledge informed our signposting the studios with wall stencils detailing practices of preceding inhabitants. Instruments of magnification adorned individual workspaces, a crucible signified the communal area, and an orrery floated above the open gallery entrance. In the lightwell, where I painted cogs and fossils on the toilet doors, Sol enlightened me. ‘Directly above our current location would be the site of the James Watt statue’. He lamented the removal of the figurehead, it’s replacement with two stories of city-break apartments, and our lost chance at penthouse status.

Sol told me that Watt pioneered the contested mechanical position of encouraging expert techniques to be adapted by everyday people. ‘From the most disposable of pre-Empire’s industrial work forces he raised the highest profile ad-hoc surgeons, amateur lawyers and unqualified engineers.’ I knew this to be inaccurate. Given Sol’s alma mater I expected Jolly Jack Phosphorous to roll off his tongue, but he stayed satisfied with his own interpretation. His pose suggested he too stood with hands resting atop an innovated cylindrical engine.

A Written Ambition I have a dream that one day I will write a story, or a book of some kind. Writing and books have carried my through difficult times and I want to pay back that service in my own way. I haven't trained for this and I know I need practice. For now I am trying my best to practice this and I plan to update my writing in small chunks here. It isn't edited and it's mostly explorative at this stage.

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transformerimagines · 8 years ago

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Weak or Strong (Tfp Predaking x Reader)

Requested by http://rockstarlandis.tumblr.com/ . I hope this is something that you like and i hope i did your idea justice.

As you exited the Ground Bridge Soundwave had prepared for you, lugging a Cybertronian fossil behind you, you were greeted with the sight of Megatron and the newest Mech to join the Decepticon force, Predaking. They watched you as you hauled what appeared to be a rib piece through the portal and slung it at the feet of your boss.

“Excellent, Y/N. I trust there were no complications.” Megatron praised you as Shockwave came to stand above you, inspecting the fossil for any damage that might render it useless. You smiled up to the Gladiator as you moved some strands of hair from your face, not realising that your recent battle scars were displayed until Predaking’s optics stayed trained to your hand.

“Nothing that I couldn’t handle.” Your voice was strong and sure but the Predacon could see past your false hoods. Frankly his gaze was unnerving but you knew if he saw one injury he would surely be looking for more. You hated looking weak in front of the Cons anyway but looking weak in front of Predaking was something you never wanted to endure. After all the word King was in his title and he was stronger and more intimidating than his Decepticon counter parts.

“Very well, you are dismissed for the day.” Megatron dismissed you with a wave of his large servo and you wasted no time in running to your human sized bedroom and retrieving a haphazard first aid kit which is what you had been using since you joined the cons. You refused to visit Knockout with your injuries, as that would only show weakness and in this world of titans and beasts, there was no room for weakness.

Once your kit bag was slung over your shoulder, you silently walked the halls of the Nemesis until you come to the flight deck. Opening the door to the outside sent a wave of cool relaxing air into your face, it almost made you forget about your split knuckles and bruising. Almost. You took your seat at the edge of the flight deck, in the shadows enough to not be spotted but able to see what was going on. You removed the bag from your shoulder and began removing the equipment within which included medical alcohol, cotton, a needle, plasters and some cream for aching joints and muscle damage. Staring down at your knuckles allowed a memory of how they got like that to float into your mind.

You had retrieved the fossil and was exiting the museum when you were cornered by the Autobot scouts so immediately you began to attack. You possessed body modification which heightened your strength and speed however you were still not as powerful as the Autobots and your soft flesh was prone to tearing on the harsh metal of their frames. You had gotten a few good punches in though, they mainly aimed towards your stomach whereas you managed to rupture a wire in Arcee’s helm making energon leak out of her mouth. They gave in when you held Arcee at gun point, deciding it was best to let you win this one. You had finished the fight with both sets of knuckles cracked and peeling, a few ribs badly bruised and a dislocated finger.

“Today has been just great.” You spoke sarcastically as you grabbed your dislocated finger and popped it into place with a small hiss. After that you unscrewed the medical alcohol and carefully held it over one of your hands before pouring a bit on, that hurt quite a bit more than your finger did which is why you swore out loud.

“Is it common for Humans to use the name of their deities when they curse?” Predaking had been watching you after he silently entered the flight deck, he hadn’t meant to speak at all but he was curious. The shock of hearing Predaking made you drop the bottle of alcohol which smashed upon impact of the metal ship.

“Thanks, what am I going to do now?” You asked the Predacon as you glared at him, gesturing to the glass you were sitting next to.

“My apologies, I was just ensuring that you were well,” Predaking began as he looked at you again with a critical eye, he wasn’t just looking at you, it was as if he was seeing right through to your soul. “Are you well, Y/N?”

“I’m perfectly fine, why wouldn’t I be?” You weren’t paying attention to him, instead you were scooping up your supplies into your bag so you could get out of this situation as soon as possible.

“Your behaviour is growing increasingly worrying,” Predaking began to explain as he walked towards you. “You aren’t eating like you usually would or recharging as normal. I found you asleep at a bizarre hour the other day in the training arena, I can only guess that you had worked your body into stasis.” At the last statement, you turned towards the large Cybertronian with a raised eyebrow.

“You were the one that put me to bed?” You were shocked to hear that it was Predaking to help you, you had thought it would have been on Megatron’s orders because you were disrupting training.

“Yes, the mass displacement was quite difficult to be honest-.”

“Predaking!” You shouted to stop him rambling. The Predacon looked down at you with his intake still slightly finished as if he hadn’t stopped speaking. “I don’t need you to take care of me, okay?” You smiled in a sickly-sweet manner before turning towards the door and walking towards it. Predaking didn’t seem satisfied by your reply though, so with a grimace on his face he easily plucked you from the ground and held you between his thumb and index digits.

“That may be so but I am not allowing you to leave until you explain to me why you are not looking after yourself properly.” He was adamant he was going to get some answers from you, whether you liked it or not.

“King, just please let me go.” You pleaded first, trying to guilt him into letting you flee to the safety of your bedroom.

“Please cooperate, I am only doing this because I care about your well-being.” Predaking tried to soothe your frantic kicking and hitting by talking calmly but it had almost the opposite effect when you continued your outburst.

“Why do you care!” You screamed out pathetically, eyes tearing up not just because of this but because of the stress your body had been going through the past couple of days. “You are a King amongst mortals, a strong and kind being who can eradicate his enemies as you please. I am weak and human, nothing but a stain under you pede, today I couldn’t even defeat the weakest Autobot. No matter how much I train, no matter how much I try, I am still weak.” You told him your woes before you could stop yourself. They came out like the water escaping a burst damn, quick and unforgiving.

“You think you are weak?” Predaking asked, seeming to not understand what you had told him. One of his eyebrow ridges were raised in questioning.

“I know I am weak.” You scoffed in response, tears escaping your eyes. Before you could wipe them away, Predaking raised one digit so it softly rested against your cheek as he wiped away your tears.

“My Dear Y/N,” He began with a soft smile as he lifted you closer to his faceplate. “You are one of the strongest aboard this ship.”

“Oh yeah? How?” You replied in sullen disbelief.

“Before the others knew I was sentient, you stood up to Starscream for his maltreatment of me,” As he spoke you recalled the day you had kicked the legs from under the Seeker before hitting him across the faceplate because of the constant prods he would give Predaking. “And when my Kin were destroyed, the others did not come to aid in my revenge, only you. I remember the fear in the Autobots optics as they saw you at my side, ready to fight with me.”

“It was the right thing to do.” You mumbled out.

“It was a strong thing that only a strong woman would be able to do.” He got you there, the stream of tears that fell from your eyes were unable to be held back. Once again, Predaking placed his digit there to catch your tears but you wouldn’t let him. Instead you held his digit to you, not wanting to let it go. This was the most weakness you had shown to him, it was unusual for you to do this so you needed as much comfort as possible. You felt yourself grow tired, a yawn escaping your mouth as you wrapped yourself around Predaking’s servo. “How long has it been since your last recharge?”

“About 36 hours.” You replied sleepily, your eyes already drifting closed as you felt yourself being lifted until you found yourself lying on a warm almost soft surface. You would later find out that you slept in the crook of Predaking’s neck for 10 hours straight.

“Don’t worry Sweetspark, just rest.” With those soothing words, you closed your eyes firmly and drifted to sleep.

#transformers #Transformers Prime #tfp #tfp predaking #predaking #reader #reader insert #x reader

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sarissophori · 5 years ago

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Forebode, Chapter 3

The shuttle entered the Wayfarer’s hangar bay and set down. The outer doors closed, and atmosphere displaced the vacuum. After undergoing decontamination, Barrens handed the flight recorder to Hornens in engineering, and Farzen gave his xenological sample to Dr. Han for study, glad to get rid of it.

After a well-earned shower and food ration, Barrens went to C-deck’s rec room to relax, where Varrez and Talgold were also blowing off steam.

“Welcome back” Varrez said.

“Yup” Barrens said. “Pass me a beer, would ya?”

Varrez nodded, handing him a bottle from a dispenser.

“Much appreciated.”

He popped the top and took a swig.

“So, how was it down there?” Talgold said. “The moon, I mean.”

“Cold, barren, lifeless” Barrens said. “A regular graveyard.”

“That bad?” Talgold said. “I only ask because I wanted to go with the next away team, when Captain Hindel schedules it.”

“It’s your typical dirtball, kid. What do you expect it to be?” Barrens said. “And that wreck? Jesus.”

“We heard some of the crew talking about it” Varrez said. “Must’ve been worse actually being in it, though.”

Barrens sighed, then took another swig. “Either of you two done any salvage before?”

Varrez and Talgold shook their heads.

“Well, when I’m not ordering part-time colonials around” he said. “I’m supervising recovery missions for the company. My first salvage was a medium-sized freighter that went missing in the Orion Traverse a few years ago. There was a crack in its radioactive shielding, so the crew abandoned it. By the time we got there, it’d been free-floating for a month; no power, not even auxiliary; the whole ship was pitch-black, and it was only me and two other guys to scout the whole ship, level by level.”

He took a third swig.

“Of course, you don’t really expect anything to happen to you. Not usually. Just a quick check for hull integrity, personal affects, logs, whatever else the company wants, and you’re out before the tugs haul it off; but there’s always something about being alone in a corridor, surrounded by the blackest darkness you’ll ever see, in the middle of space, with only one tiny little light.”

He finished his beer and lobbed it in the trash, the noise surprisingly jarring.

“This was different, though.”

“How so?” Varrez said.

“Has the captain told you guys anything yet?”

“We’ve heard things in passing from the bridge” Talgold said. “But they’ve been pretty hush-hush about it.”

“Without saying too much, then” Barrens said. “Things looked like they took a very bad turn before the end, especially in the lab. There was a…growth, or something, completely calcified, probably since the crash.”

“A growth?” Talgold said.

“If that’s what it was. Dr. Han’s got a little piece of it to play with, so maybe he’ll figure out whatever the hell it is.”

Varrez and Talgold exchanged glances.

“Is it—?”

“Before you ask” Barrens said. “I don’t know anything about it. You got questions? Save’em for the captain or wait for the results.”

“But what if there’s—?”

“Go. Ask. The. Captain. I’ve probably said too much as it is. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna grab another beer, then I’m gonna go to bed. Later.”

Barrens swiped another beer and promptly left, turning a sharp right at the bulkhead for the terminus, his boots thudding on the grating. Varrez and Talgold stared at the door as it closed, feeling suddenly uneasy.

“What was that all about?” Varrez said.

Talgold shrugged, and the two of them sat there for a long time without a word before returning, in uneasy thought, to their stations.

Up in A-deck, Dr. Han was performing several tests on his specimen from the Wanderer when Dr. Walsh entered, standing by the door frame.

“Afternoon.”

“Is it already?” Han said, not breaking his focus.

“That’s what the clock says. Hard to tell otherwise.”

“No kidding.”

Han tapped at a few icons on his tablet, transferring them to his main console.

“What brings you by?”

“Hindel informed me we have a foreign specimen onboard” Walsh said. “As senior medical officer, I thought it prudent to stop in and see it for myself.”

“Can’t admit it’s for your own curiosity, can you?” Han said, his attention now on the console itself.

Walsh stepped forward, approaching the work area to glimpse, at a respectful distance, over the shoulder of his colleague, seeing the many tiny fragments sealed off in pressurized containers, others undergoing a variety of testing.

“Is this it?”

“That’s it” Han said. “Not much to look at really.”

“Anything interesting?”

Han turned his eyes to his tablet again.

“Aside from being organic and carbon-based, most of the other tests are still too early for anything conclusive.”

“Is there a chance of contagion?”

“I don’t think so, considering XH-Ld’s environment, but better safe than sorry.”

“The cornerstone of our professions” Walsh said, looking on, then furrowing his brow.

“Where was this found, exactly?”

“I’m not sure” Han said. “Near the crash, I think. Why?”

“Curious” Walsh said. “I’ll let you get back to your work then.”

Han nodded. “Drop in anytime.”

Captain Hindel was sitting at her desk in her quarters when the door chime rang.

“Enter.”

Dr. Walsh stepped in, hands pressed at his back.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

“Just making arrangements for the next away team” Hindel said. “What can I do for you, doctor?”

“I would like to ask you something” Walsh said. “The, um, specimen; was it found on or near the ship?”

“It was found onboard” Hindel said.

“Where?”

“In the laboratory, covering up a chunk of it, too. We think they had it contained as a sample, until it broke out and grew after the crash.”

“So, it grows and then…just fossilizes? In supposedly its native atmosphere?”

Hindel shrugged. “I don’t know why you’re asking me. Dr. Han’s the go-to guy for anything xeno-related.”

“I was already with him” Walsh said. “He says his tests are still too early to prove anything definitive.”

“Then I don’t know what to tell you” Hindel said. “How about you tell me what it is you’re really concerned with?”

“That’s just it, I don’t know what my concern is” Walsh said. “Only that I have it, and that I feel somewhat foolish for it being based solely on a feeling I can’t shake.”

Hindel smiled. “Join the club. We’ve all been a little jittery since we got here; I’m sure nerves are most of it. We’re a new crew, and this is a first assignment for most of us. Hell, this ship is my first command. When you say you’ve got the jitters on a hunch, I know what you mean –none better.”

“Yes, well, I appreciate your confidence” Walsh said.

“Do you think we need stricter quarantine protocols?” Hindel said.

“No, I’m sure the ones we have are fine” Walsh said. “I guess I just needed to have my vague premonitions noted, is all.”

“Consider them noted” Hindel said. “Anything else on your mind?”

“No, captain, not at the moment. But thank you for lending me your ear.”

Walsh turned to leave.

“Dr. Walsh?”

He stopped and turned.

“I like it when my medical officers come to me with their concerns, no matter how vague. If you have any more, please let me know.”

“Of course, captain, and again, thank you.”

Walsh left, and the doors closed. Hindel returned to her away team roster and a few of her more mundane tasks, including writing another log for her superiors:

< Log 2

Hindel, Laura A. manual report

Mission time: 4,504 .15.07 hours

USC Wanderer discovered on XH-Ld at 15 degrees lt., 45 degrees lg. of north

hemisphere. Ship destroyed beyond short-term salvage. No surviving crew found;

one body identified, buried. Flight recorder recovered. Found xeno-morphic anomaly

onboard, see attachment 1. HUD feeds from SAR team attachment 2. Until further

notified, proceeding with secondary mission objectives.

(attachment 1)

(attachment 2) >

Another chime rang, this time on her console. She tapped on the icon.

“Captain’s quarters.”

“It’s Hornens, ma’am. I’m calling to update you about the recorder.”

“Go ahead.”

“Yeah, here’s the thing about putting it in an escape pod” Hornens said. “By removing it from the ship, it survives the crash. However, it still got knocked around a bit on landing. Now, because it was kept airtight it was spared corrosion, but a lot of data got corrupted anyway, and it’s gonna take a little while to clean up.”

“How long?”

“Hours, maybe” Hornens said. “And that’s with me and Mason working at it around the clock.”

“If you don’t have anything more important to do, I request that you make this a top priority.”

“Can do” Hornens said. “I’ll give you another update when we’ve got something, Hornens out.”

The icon clicked off.

Hindel went back to her away team roster and stared at it, not overthinking, but not blanking out; her mind was in a hazy area between, where intuition was allowed to creep in and make suggestions of its own. After a moment of hesitating on it, she opened a com-link to Sergeant Barrens.

“Barrens reporting.”

“Sergeant, I want you going down with the next away team.”

“Understood” he said. “You expecting trouble? I thought this one was science only.”

“Not your whole team, just you” Hindel said.

“This is an unknown, unexplored world; I don’t anticipate trouble, but if something does happen, I want someone down there who knows what to do in a survival situation.”

“I hear you, ma’am.”

“Good, Hindel out.”

The captain had her next team signed up and ready: geologist Dr. Varrez, xeno-specialist Dr. Han, and junior medial officer Dr. Talgold were selected. Attaching the sergeant to them as a contingency, she formalized the roster and returned to the bridge to help select the next landing site on XH-Ld. Ellson and Tajmaran already had the Wayfarer making topographical scans of the northern hemisphere. Varrez was also there, watching the images unfold across the main display.

“I think it’s safe to say from these readings that the whole crust is mostly a silica-quartzite compound” Varrez said. She then pointed to a specific part of the scan.

“And look here: limestone deposits, lots of them. Maybe it had water on it at some point, at least in these depressions.”

“You know what they say” Hindel said. “Where there’s water, there’s life.”

“And where there’s not, there’s fossils” Ellson said.

“Very funny” Varrez said. “Though not strictly accurate. Actually, several species of bacteria and fungi can live without water for decades, even centuries, or even—”

“Hey, biology nerd” Ellson said. “Another wave of scans coming in.”

“Oh, these look promising.”

Banter and small talk continued through the shift. Hindel caught snippets of it though sat mostly in her own thoughts again, mulling the same tired questions, wondering about the same missing pieces and returning to the same dead ends for answers, nowhere nearer to a sense of closure; where was the Wanderer’s crew? What happened to them? Why did they use one of their escape pods for their flight recorder and not personnel? Was there a mutiny? There was evidence for it, but what was the cause of the crash? Maybe the growth in the lab did have something to do with it. If so, was it a mistake allowing a piece of it onboard her own ship? She sank deeper in, losing track of both time and site results.

“Captain?” Ellson said, breaking her concentration.

“Yes, ensign?”

“We’re getting strange readings not far from the Wanderer, near the highlands by the dune sea.”

Hindel sat up from her slouching posture. “Bring it up on display.”

Scans of the area in question pinpointed a location where metallic signatures were pinged; a wide, deep valley currently obscured by dust blowing down from the mountains.

“Analysis shows traces of titanium-like composites and other unidentified metals” Tajmaran said, overlooking the same stats and furrowing his brow.

“Very dense, highly structured. They don’t match anything on file.”

“Any guesses, Dr. Varrez?” Hindel said.

“Yours are as good as mine” Varrez said. “I’ve never seen anything close to this composition. It looks almost artificial.”

“Artificial?” Hindel said, catching everyone’s attention. A charge of electricity swept the bridge crew, and they spun around in their chairs.

“Wait, really?” Komev said.

“Are you serious?” Ellson said.

Tajmaran stared at her, intrigued.

“I can’t make a definite statement either way without having a physical sample to study first, of course” Varrez said, immediately distancing herself from her words.

“All I meant to say was that these types of atomic structures are rare to find in nature –not unheard of, but rare, and surprising.”

“Or” Ellson said. “We could be dealing with something intelligently made.”

“I’d rather rule out all other possibilities before jumping to that conclusion” Varrez said, almost defensively.

Ellson shrugged.

“I’m just saying, why beat around the bush like this, when it could be?”

“Because you’re not the one with a science background?” Komev said.

“Like I need a degree to tell the difference between a rock and a hunk of stainless steel.”

“Some people do.”

Ellson smirked.

“If I needed one for example, I’d just pull out the lump of coal in your chest where your heart should’ve been, Komev.”

“Stow it you two” Hindel said. “You’re both flight officers, now act like it.”

“Yes ma’am” they said, turning to face their stations. Tajmaran shook his head, feeling the mood effectively killed. Varrez wondered if she should have even made the remark at all.

“That being said” she said at length. “The possibility of it is worth checking out. Are any of the other sites as promising to you, captain?”

“Well, let’s see” Hindel said, scrolling quickly through the candidates to familiarize herself, unwilling to admit she spent most of their shift staring off.

“Many of these are geologically promising, but since this one has proved so controversial, it’s probably best to get it out of the way first.”

“Agreed” Varrez said. “When will the shuttle be ready?”

“It’s currently on standby” Hindel said. “I’ll give you and your team twenty minutes to prepare. Will that be enough time, doctor?”

“Plenty” Varrez said. “I’ll get ready right now.”

Varrez left with an air of excitement, moving swiftly past the pressure doors. Hindel got up and made to leave as well.

“Ensign Tajmaran, you have the bridge.”

“Uh, me, ma’am?” he said.

“That’s what I said.”

Ellson spun to face her.

“With all due respect ma’am, I’m the senior flight officer.”

“You are” Hindel said. “But neither you or Komev were becoming of your ranks, and that pissed me off; ergo, Ensign Tajmaran has the bridge.”

Ellson and Komev glanced at each other. Tajmaran let out a low sigh, drumming his fingers on his console.

“Oh boy.”

“I won’t be long” Hindel said. “If you have any trouble, I’ll be in my quarters.”

#story #sci fi #science fiction #horror #forebode #sarissophori

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mergersacquisitionsadvisory · 5 years ago

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Seaside Factory Outlet Shopping Center On Oregon Coast

At the Buddha Kat Winery Tasting Room in Oregon Coast shopping consumers can indulge in and buy all of their red and white wines, award-profitable ports and delectable fruit wines.

Central Park Mall and Taman Anggrek mall are two of the most important malls within the metropolis, that i never observed any mall in Australia or Singapore better than these two. A numerous and inclusive neighborhood, Hawthorn is the type of place lots of people envision once they think of Portland.

Best Shopping & Malls In Oregon, United States

Many mediums are supplied including glass, work, images, wood, stone, bronze, sculpture, ceramics and jewelry. Beach Puppy offers shoppers all kinds of things for dogs. They have every little thing from collars to clothing, to treats and bling, and all sorts of toys for pets. Beach Books is a domestically owned book retailer that includes greatest sellers and titles by regional authors. Monthly creator visits, annual e-book fairs and other events are provided as nicely. World of Gifts in Seaside is the place shoppers can find a large selection of odds and ends as well as trinkets and souvenirs.

Woodburn Company Stores is the biggest tax-free outlet mall in the western a part of the United States and the most important outlet within the state of Oregon. The outlet is situated off of I-5 in Woodburn, OR. It's around a 20-minute drive south from Portland earlier than you get to Salem.

The Broadway developing was constructed by the Del E. Webb Corporation. Apart from its tourism and good accommodations, Thailand’s largest metropolis, Bangkok, could be a low cost buying vacation spot. Clothing, coats, hats, and toys in many shapes and sizes, together with kids’s sizes. Fun T-shirts are a perfect method to keep in mind your go to to Seaside. Welcome visitors to the Seaside Carousel Mall, a must stop for vacationers and locals for shopping, household enjoyable and meals. No matter what you are in the temper to buy we've you lined.

Italians are critical about style Oregon Coast shopping and their buying capital, Milan, is among the most fashionable cities on the earth. A strip mall or a mini-mall is commonly an open-air mall where the outlets are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front.

Generally, the downtown space is considered to be between thirteenth Avenue and the Willamette River , Burnside and Jackson Streets . Those are the perks of Portland, Oregon's best malls and shopping centers. Loads of local shopping options include excessive-brow and low-forehead shops, together with food choices do you have to need a drink or a chunk along the way. Pioneer Place is situated in the coronary heart of downtown Portland near Pioneer Courthouse Square. This is downtown's main shopping vacation spot, spanning 4 metropolis blocks and housing designer name brands and top of the range eating and leisure options.

Anchor stores embody H&M and Tiffany & Co.; smaller excessive-finish retailers embrace Ann Taylor, Coach, Eddie Bauer, J. Crew and Nine West. Unfortunately, you'll more than likely should park in a parking garage to go to this mall. Mall companies include strollers, wheelchairs, a customer's data middle and an on-web site ATM. Including four department stores, with one being the state's largest Nordstrom, Washington Square Mall attracts patrons with its wealth of buying opportunities and numerous merchandise. Over a hundred and seventy specialty shops also name this landmark mall residence. They have one of many only Brighton Jewelry Stores in Portland and the one Cheesecake Factory. Crew retains consumers happily filling up their bags till the doors close.

The Purple Pelican offers buyers a selection of jewelry, pottery, collectible figurines, crystal items, glassware, unique presents and extra. The Old Crab has clothing and swim wear along with souvenirs, items and jewelry. Visitors can find beach toys, boards, blankets and seashells. They additionally function authentic Nascar licensed and licensed pictures and die-forged cars. The Heron's Nest features a large selection of presents, collectibles and souvenirs for all ages.

C&R Mercantile goals to outfit the complete family to enjoy a weekend getaway at the seashore, a climbing journey in the mountains, or any journey you might find in between. They have hand selected an array of Women's, Men's and Children's attire, sneakers, accessories, games, hiking gear, seaside blankets, and far more. By The Sea provides shoppers a wide range of seashore related and nautical items, greeting playing cards, desk ware, fossils, collectibles, image frames, decor and extra.

In the early part of the 20th century, this area was dedicated to trade and commerce. In the previous couple of many years, the original warehouses have been converted into art galleries, fashionable eating places, brewpubs, hip retailers and boutiques. Pearl, named for the sweetness inherent in the unpleasant exteriors, is an apt moniker for this reinvented district, which is now one of the city's more fascinating destinations. The area is bounded by the Willamette River, I-405, West Burnside and NW Broadway. Catering to hip professionals and trendy city denizens, this space is considered one of Portland's busiest.

A large meals court docket and an expansive parking construction with a sky bridge to Nordstrom and Sears are convenient. Bridgeport Village is a beautiful, sprawling outdoor mall that features a mix of local retailers and nationwide retailers. Be sure to put on your strolling footwear, as a result of there may be plenty of places to go to here. Bridgeport Village can be house to well-liked restaurants just like the California Pizza Kitchen and PF Changs. One of Portland's hottest meals carts has a everlasting location here, Koi Fusion.

The Largest Shopping Malls In Europe

Seaside, Gearhart, and Cannon Beach are a shopper's dream come true! Take your time exploring for antiques and unique imports in Gearhart. Discover the perfect showpiece in your residence in considered one of Cannon Beach’s many distinctive galleries and shops. Seaside is teeming with nice retailers for every interest and budget. The coolest thing about buying on the beach is that you can find distinctive, uncommon, and even uncommon items that you just aren’t likely to find anyplace else. This is an incomplete list of currently present buying centers and malls in the U.S. state of Oregon. Aptly named “the land of many malls,” Paramus possesses 4 massive malls in one zip code, which embody Westfield Garden State Plaza and the Outlets at Bergen Town Center.

Your Store

Bargain hunters and excessive-finish fashion lovers, Hong Kong is your metropolis. Millions of individuals around Asia and the world flock to this tiny island yearly to select up a incredible deal or discover one thing unique. This huge mall attracts 22 million guests every year, because of its massive-name brands like Nordstrom, Macy’s and Bloomingdales, plus totally different luxury retailers. This is the biggest buying centre in Europe at a formidable three.forty seven million square ft, situated on the Büyükdere Avenue within the Şişli district of Istanbul. There are 343 shops and forty eight consuming places within the buying centre, which take up six flooring.

There is definitely a hippy, different, homosexual-pleasant ethos within the space. This is reflected in the classic clothing retailers, boutiques and unbiased cafes. Powell's books has a branch right here which is now the most important bookstore on Portland's East Side. The Bagdad Theater is a popular McMenimin's location, and a number of other pubs provide nightly stay music.

At Hop and Vine Bottle Shop and Taproom you can store a large choice of wines and beers. Freedom USA is a clothing store that additionally does display screen printing, graphic design and extra. They provide all kinds of prints to choose from, together with Seaside Oregon designs not discovered anywhere else. If visitors have an thought they need to see on a shirt, Freedom USA could make it occur, on the spot. They have memento apparel, swimwear, hats, t-shirts, and hoodies. Shoppers may also discover jewelry, video games, toys and fun items for the seashore.

We have a variety of unique presents and classic treasures. Our customers value our private touches and high quality merchandise. Immerse yourself in the finest bath & body care, select a whimsical card or stationary merchandise, discover Oregon Coast shopping a distinctive present for a good friend or yourself, jewellery, sweatshirts, candles and a lot more. Stop by our new location and watch us create amazing glass artwork or schedule a glass blowing class to create your individual signature piece.

Health Haven Vitamins offers dietary consultation by appointment. Includes device and equipment catalog, retailer locater and training information. provides consumers the opportunity to choose from a wide variety of hand-made glass floats and bowls, or to make one themselves. In addition to the fabulous glass art made right here in the store , The Edge presents a spread of art in other media, including paintings, ceramics, and fiber arts, many by local artists. Marine Discovery Tours cruise during holiday purchasing season, yow will discover a number of the finest Newport-themed apparel at Marine Discovery Tours’ headquarters and reward store. They often have terrific sales on sweatshirts, T shirts, hats, and jackets in addition to a wide range of other presents. Cruise gift certificates additionally make fantastic holiday gifts.

The King of Prussia Mall, the second biggest mall within the US, is situated in Montgomery, Pennsylvania. Although the developer of the mall initially estimated that the mall would have 50,000 customers a day, as of 2004 the actual amount was far smaller, as few as 20 in an hour. One drawback was that prices of most gadgets offered had been far previous the shopping for capacity of most strange Chinese. Another barrier was the inaccessibility of Golden Resources Shopping Mall to overseas customers as a result of its location exterior the center of Beijing. “The emergence of leisure as a part of the shopping heart is popping into essential,” he stated. It is owned and developed by Thailand’s largest property developer Central Pattana. Over the years, different retailers and purchasing facilities also opened on or near Metro Parkway, the ring freeway surrounding the mall.

Shoppers can even enjoy a treat at one of the many shops that feature sweet, ice cream, and coffees. The Freedom Clearance Outlet is a clothing retailer that provides clients a wide variety of clothing and items for a day at the seashore, together with Seaside Oregon designs. Seaside’s three distinct purchasing districts offer a wide range of tax-free buying experiences, whether you’re excited about antiques and apparel or surfboards and smoked salmon. A downtown Broadway core offers a wide range of boutique choices while North Seaside supplies high nationwide brands within the type of tax-free factory outlet purchasing. South of downtown, choices embody a recent fish market that is among the finest in the region.

Bridgeport Village can be house to popular restaurants like the California Pizza Kitchen and PF Changs.

One of Portland's hottest meals carts has a permanent location here, Koi Fusion.

Bridgeport Village is a beautiful, sprawling out of doors mall that options a mixture of native outlets and nationwide retailers.

A large meals court and an expansive parking structure with a sky bridge to Nordstrom and Sears are convenient.

Be sure to wear your walking shoes, because there may be a lot of locations to visit right here.

Newport Liquor Store

Blue Bond Studio and Gallery options paintings by artist Blue Bond done in oil on canvas. Animals, people, nonetheless life, and scenery pictures delight guests.

youtube

Where To Shop?

Other shops found listed here are Barnes & Noble, Icing, Made in Oregon, Ulta, the Children's Place, Old Navy, Gap, Forever 21 and many more. The prime-stage hosts a big food court docket and throughout the street is a cinema multiplex displaying the newest film releases. Northeast Alberta Street has turn into considered one of Portland's most funky and creative neighborhoods.

Food decisions range from fashionable pubs and hip cafes to traditional taquerias and food carts. Though there are only some devoted galleries, the realm is perfused with art, a lot of it being of the outsider variety. Most of the retailers and restaurants adorn their partitions with rotating exhibits of local artists. Alberta Street celebrates on Last Thursday, with an artwork walk that can be a raucous road honest. Made In Oregon shops are proud to supply the very best quality products made out there from the most effective Oregon vendors and have accomplished so for the past 32 years. Our goal is to provide an excellent shopping expertise for our native Oregon clients as well as our guests and tourists. We satisfaction ourselves on our massive selection that is a true reflection of what Oregon artists have to offer our state.

#travel #Oregon Coast shopping #oregon

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megacircuit9universe · 6 years ago

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Local Void

Since my last entry, I’ve learned that sponges, not worms, were likely the earliest form of animal life... and also that there is an intergalactic void a lot closer to us than the Bootes Void.

It’s known as... the Local Void, and the Milky Way really is butt up against the edge of it.

Being much smaller than the Bootes Void, and much closer to us, the Local Void would be the much more plausible location of the multi-galactic empire from which our extraterrestrials hail.

Again... this would be an empire of such technological prowess that they’re able to “cloak” any sign of their existence from the greater universe at large.

Doing this would accomplish several things... first, it would keep everybody inside the empire from knowing there was a larger universe out there. Second, it would shield their empire from the awareness of other, possibly hostile empires like the big one inside the Bootes Void.

Now, yes... if you’re in the multi-galactic empire business, then you might just assume that all voids are other empires, but some voids are probably natural and... given that you cannot tell a true void from a cloaked empire at a distance... well, they all just kinda mind their own business and hope for the best.

Meanwhile, though, there are civilizations like ours, on the fringes of an empire, outside their bubble... all of which have probably been identified thousands of years ago, and are being studied out of curiosity, and also monitored as possible threats, at some point, to their secrecy.

Earth’s radio and TV signals propagating out into space probably is not much of a threat, as such signals will take forever to get out of our own galaxy, and will, by then be so weak, as to be undetectable.

Still, radio capability does require a certain mastery over electromagnetism... one of the four fundamental forces of the universe... and thus would warrant some closer inspection from Local Void agents.

All of our sightings of UFOs and aliens date back to just after WW2... a time when we not only began using radio on a large scale, but also detonated our first nuclear bombs... demonstrating we also understood two other fundamental forces of the universe... the strong and weak nuclear forces.

Gravity, then, was the only fundamental force we had not yet displayed some level of mastery over... but evidence of that came quickly after the war (we think WW2 ended, but from the alien perspective it was just the start of an ongoing nuclear war that persists to this day) in the form of launching our first satellites, and a tick later, taking a trip to our planetary partner, the Moon.

A civilization that is able to grasp and apply all four forces... electromagnetic, weak, strong, and gravitational... is one to worry about, because it means they are a stones throw from FTL... and then the sky is the limit.

Again... given the fact that the aliens are here, but that we see no evidence of their having had a home world in our own galaxy... FTL would have to be possible... and they would have to be using it.

How? Well.. most likely by warping spacetime, rather than moving through it... which would require a ton of energy... that would most likely be gotten by creating and manipulating tiny black holes or, micro-singularities... that give you a huge bang for the buck... but are still not enough to get you anywhere in the universe at whim.

This would explain the voids (cloaked empires) having finite size, and being separated by larger non-voids of stellar wilderness... because your FTL is only practical to use within so many millions of light years from the capitol of the empire.

Micro-singularity sounds like an oxymoron, I know. All singularities are equally small... namely... size zero... but the micro part of the name refers to the size of their event horizon (microscopic) and the size of the “frame dragging” they can do to the spacetime around themselves... which can be much larger than the event horizon... but still only on the diameter of a few meters, which is nothing compared to even the smallest natural black hole, which is on the scale of the Sun.

It takes some amount of energy to create and harness them... but only on the order of the Large Hadron Collider, or something a bit bigger. And then it takes a good deal of energy to manipulate them on board a vehicle... read... a radioactive power source. An ordinary battery, or fueled engine won’t really cut it, and some kind of cold fusion would be better.

Either way, FTL comes at a price, and meanwhile there are relativistic effects that start to cause trouble when you FTL too far out into the universe... in effect sending you into parallel universes no longer causally connected to the one you left.

This means that multi-galactic empires can only be so large... though, they must always police their perimeters from the barbarians... while simultaneously worrying that some slightly older empire out there has figured out how to extend the practical boundaries of their own FTL.

As above, so below... or something like that. They have the same problems that we do... but on a much larger scale.

I have not, however, introduced the concept of micro-singularities for no reason. It’s the same tech that, in a more primitive form, allows for time travel here on Earth... and I’ll get into that later.

For now, however... it’s important to understand that aliens might be mostly blind to the fact that we have time travelers here locally. If they’re not looking for telltale gravity spikes, they won’t notice them.

And they wouldn’t be looking for such spikes, if they didn’t realize this kind of local travel was even a thing we could or would ever do.

An analogy to that, would be with our airplane technology...

Aliens are probably very fascinated with our airplanes more than anything else because it’s a tech they don’t currently have, would never need, and therefore would never imagine being developed by us.

Nukes? Sure.

Satellites? Sure.

Cars? Clearly that’s an obvious next step from just walking or riding horses.

But planes? What the hell?.. they found a way to float big heavy vehicles around in their atmosphere? Without micro-singularities frame dragging the spacetime... what, now? Who knew that was possible?

Aerodynamics is fine for birds and bugs, but for huge, heavy vehicles... it’s very non-intuitive. It seems like you should either stick to the surface, traveling under a hundred miles per hour... or go into space, at a much higher magnitude of speed.

The only way to travel through the thin, in-between layer of the atmosphere, at such in-between speeds would be to have... all kinds of flaps and aelerons and some kind of engines powered by like... specially refined fossil fuels? Who would do that?

The situation with time travelers is similar... requiring a quirky kind of tech that might never have been developed at all... for a very niche purpose that has nothing to do with getting out into space.

But unlike airplanes, Earthling time distortion units are not obvious at all. So the aliens probably aren’t aware that we... or future versions of we... have them at all... especially when they’re so distracted by all our nuclear bomb tests, and our fascinating airplanes, fighter jets, and orbital space stations.

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jodybouchard9 · 8 years ago

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Strange Spectacles: How to Make Your Odd Collections Look Amazing in Your Home

harmpeti/iStock

Whether you collect fine art, first-edition books, random knickknacks, or something far stranger (hotel soaps or antique handcuffs, anyone?), your collectables display could likely stand for improvement—that is, if you’ve bothered to put any thought into showing off your precious pile of stuff at all. Because let’s face it, if you’re going to obsess over these objects, you may as well embrace it and let that nerd flag fly, baby!

To help you organize that jumble into something you’re proud of, here are some collection display ideas that will look amazing in your home—on shelves, hung on walls, tucked in shadow boxes, or beyond.

What’s constitutes a collection vs. heap o’ junk?

Photo by FLO Design Studio

First things first: Is the collection you own worth showing—or is that ephemera really just a pile of unrelated trinkets?

“A collection is a group of similar objects that mean something to you,” explains Julie Muniz, a curator and art consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area. But you still need to sift through your items.

“If everything has value, then nothing does,” points out Julie Coraccio, an organizing expert at Reawaken Your Brilliance. Edit what you have and then keep only memorable things that bring you happiness, she adds. “If your ‘collection’ is sitting in the garage, then it’s most likely junk to you,” she says.

Consider the location

Photo by Angela LaVista

If space and storage are an issue, Liz Toombs, an interior decorator with PDR Interiors, suggests putting them in a place that won’t hog valuable real estate—like a wall.

“I helped a client hang a collection of platters from Italy on a wall between her kitchen and dining room,” she notes. In addition, a floating shelf was installed to hold bourbon bottles, which kept them off the credenza or other surfaces “and didn’t clutter valuable space,” Toombs says.

Also see if your collection is usable in some manner; if so, try to put it to work. For instance, Toombs’ display of a collection of plates “worked as both artwork and for serving guests,” she says.

Count the group

Photo by Barbara Genda Bespoke Furniture & Interiors

Display your collection with purpose, says Muniz. “Don’t sprinkle single pieces around—group them for greater impact,” she says. Depending on your space, you can put small groupings throughout the house or show off the collection as a whole.

As for numbers, odds beat evens. “Even numbers of objects look too symmetrical, whereas groups of three and five create a conversation,” she says.

If, however, you own just a special pair, consider asymmetry. “Put one object on a small stand and the other on a shelf next to it so that your attention is drawn to each thing while keeping them as a pair,” explains Charles Snider, a gem and fossil appraiser at American Geode.

Go for glass

Photo by Susan M. Davis

Floating glass shelves are ideal for highlighting every facet of your collection. Or you might hit up a flea market or tag sale for an old cabinet with clear shelves and a mirrored backing.

“Curio cabinets with glass shelves are smart because they allow you to look at the bottom side of whatever precious item you’re showing,” Snider says.

Hang with care

Photo by Teresa Superville Photography

Measure carefully if you’re hanging an art collection, says Muniz. “I always hang my collections at 60 inches on center, which means the center of the artwork or frame is 60 inches from the floor so it rests at eye level,” she explains.

How you hang your art also depends on ceiling height and how tall your family is. “If your family is on the shorter side, it’s fine to hang artwork lower,” she adds.

Fill a bookcase

Photo by Design Manifest

If you have built-in bookcases, the job of arranging a collection is made easier, says Carole Marcotte, a designer with Form & Function in Raleigh, NC. “A set of bookcases with cubbies can hold pottery, glassware, or other collectibles,” she adds. Breakable collections are particularly well-suited to bookcases since you can store the more fragile pieces in the upper sections; lean framed artwork or something less precious in the lower bays.

Light it right

Photo by Lompier Interior Group

Watch out for lighting around artwork on walls. “Lamps can fall on pictures and special lamp lights above pieces can swing into them,” warns Snider.

And when it comes to fabrics, don’t hang them near direct sunlight. “Textiles can’t be bathed in light or they’ll bleach,” notes Jacquie Denny, co-founder of Everything but the House, an online estate sale marketplace.

Think outside the (shadow) box

Photo by It’s The Little Things

Does your collection comprise many shapes and sizes? A shadow box or one with little cubbies is a good pick in this case, says Coraccio.

Another wise way to upcycle? Turn these odds and ends into a whole new thing. For instance, “I’m also a fan of making a T-shirt quilt out of all those old tops that have been saved from junior high, high school, and college,” she adds.

The post Strange Spectacles: How to Make Your Odd Collections Look Amazing in Your Home appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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watchilove · 6 years ago

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“Louis Moinet has its very own way of celebrating the 150th anniversary of the first transcontinental railroad connecting the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the USA. The innovative mechanical creation in question is both a tribute to the pioneers of yesteryear and an invitation to those of the present day – for whom it is available on a pre-order basis of two limited edition of 18 and 69 watches.” Jean-Marie Schaller, CEO & Creative Director Louis Moinet

150 years ago, A LEGEND WAS BORN…

The idea of building a railroad spanning the North American continent from one ocean to the other dates back to the early nineteenth century. It was a complex undertaking, with a huge continent to be crossed amidst an acute lack of technical and financial resources. Initially, President Thomas Jefferson convinced Congress to allocate $2,500 to Lewis and Clark, who organised the first expedition across the United States from east to west. They faced all kinds of danger – and took two years (1804-1806) to complete their mission. And so the adventure began…

Years of reconnaissance were then needed to identify the route: through the Sierra Nevada mountains, avoiding Death Valley, bypassing the Yosemite Peaks – as well as all the canyons and rapids of the Missouri. In 1862, even as the American Civil War raged, President Abraham Lincoln’s vision involved unifying and reviving the country. He promulgated the Pacific Railroad Act, allocating the construction of the railway to the Union Pacific and Central Pacific companies. Once work had started, each company drew nearer to the other at a rate of forty miles per month.

The project was finally completed on May 10, 1869. After 6 years’ effort, marked by a whole host of unexpected and varied challenges on a daily basis, the first transcontinental railroad was ready! The two companies’ tracks met at Promontory Summit, Utah, linking Sacramento, California to Omaha, Nebraska. A huge number of bridges and tunnels were required, in addition to 1,766 miles of track to connect with the existing railroad network in the east of the USA, thus linking the Pacific coast and the Atlantic coast.This feat revolutionised the nation’s economy, demographics, and mindset. The age of covered wagons travelling along perilous trails was over; modern-day, powerful America had arrived!

Driving the last spike: the legendary “Golden Spike” ceremony.

East and West shook hands as the last piece of track was laid at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869. To symbolise the event, a Golden Spike was driven in (later replaced by a steel crampon). This iconic symbol of the transcontinental accomplishment is now carefully preserved at the Stanford University museum in California.

Louis Moinet Transcontinental Steel & Rose gold

Reserved For TODAY’s global pioneers only: the “Transcontinental by Louis Moinet” PRE-ORDER

Louis Moinet has a particularly keen sense of human endeavour; previously, the manufacture has celebrated the exploits of cosmonaut Alexey Leonov and triple Formula One racing world champion Nelson Piquet. It has also supported tropical forest research with the Geograph Rainforest, as well as the installation of water wells in Africa with 123 Action.

Today, in a blend of respect and admiration, Louis Moinet is paying tribute to those who devoted all their energy and knowhow to pushing back boundaries and shaping the world as we know it. One hundred and fifty years after the first transcontinental railroad was completed, Louis Moinet has devised a commemorative watch, destined for the pioneers of the new world we have inherited.

“Transcontinental by Louis Moinet” pre-order

In the spirit of the great human adventures of the nineteenth century, the “Transcontinental by Louis Moinet” pre-order is now open!

From now until September 10, 2019, it is being made available to the descendants of the transcontinental pioneers – as well as to forerunners and innovators everywhere. All of them will recognise the same unique values that enable them to successfully complete their own human endeavours.

Pre-order offers them three key advantages:

1) Ensuring they will be able to possess this collector’s watch, of which there will be just two limited editions (18 watches in rose gold and 69 watches in steel and rose gold);

2) Choosing a customised number (on a first come, first served basis);

3) Benefitting from an attractive launch price, the pre-order amount is very reasonable: USD 57,500.00 in rose gold and USD 38,500.00 in steel and rose gold. It should be borne in mind that the retail price fixed after the pre-order period will be higher. In both cases, delivery will be carried out by one of Louis Moinet’s partner retailers.

Those interested in the pre-order are invited to request further details from [email protected]

Louis Moinet Transcontinental Rose gold

The “Transcontinental by Louis Moinet” watch

An innovative mechanism

A clever automaton has been developed to reproduce the coupling rod systems on “Jupiter” and “119”, the two locomotives that made the final connection at Promontory Summit in 1869. A wheel arrangement comprises two large wheels and one small wheel, concentrating energy into continuous power.

The coupling rod passes on power to two reamed, anodised aluminium piston rods – except that here, rather than a piston, the system showcases a reproduction of the legendary Golden Spike, moving up and down in recollection of the thousands of crampons driven in all the way along the route.

The hours and minutes can be read off in the centre of the watch, while the seconds are displayed at six o’clock, on a segment representing the front of a locomotive.

The movement is an automatic winding mechanical movement.

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Louis Moinet Transcontinental Rose gold

Louis Moinet Transcontinental Steel & Rose gold

Design

Ateliers Louis Moinet have won 29 prizes over the past ten years, including a large number of design awards from all over the world. Creating meaningful pieces remains the Ateliers’ absolute priority.

“Transcontinental by Louis Moinet” plays on the contrast of a black plate and a rose-gold-coloured dial with a high copper content. While frosted decoration is a watchmaking classic, this particular finish is of an entirely different order. To produce such dense frosting, a micro structure was developed using laser technology. The individual number of each watch is engraved at 12 o’clock, on an 18-carat “Golden Spike” head, framed by the date – 1869.

Innovative technical solutions were devised to create an unprecedented case shape. Everything is arranged around two stylised, openwork bridges. These span the watch, securing the strap at either end of their lugs. The bridges hold the movement’s container – and the precious mechanical mechanism it houses – in place. Last but by no means least, the signature six-screw bezel, a hallmark of the Louis Moinet style, adds a distinctive touch to the piece.

The alligator strap, meanwhile, comes with a folding clasp decorated with another historic Louis Moinet symbol: the Fleur de Lys.

The box features an original design illustrating the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad, with the inside done out to resemble the piping of a steam locomotive. A medal commemorates the event; at its centre sits a newly-fashioned crampon made from a genuine American rail spike dating back to the nineteenth century.

Transcontinental by Louis Moinet will be available in autumn 2019 in two exclusive limited editions. To commemorate the 1869 achievement, just 18 watches will be available in 18-carat rose gold; and just 69 more will be available in steel and 18-carat rose gold.

Louis Moinet Ecrin Transcontinental

About Louis Moinet

Ateliers Louis Moinet was founded in Saint-Blaise, Neuchâtel, in 2004. The fully-independent firm was established to honour the memory of Louis Moinet (1768-1853): master watchmaker, inventor of the chronograph in 1816 (certified by Guinness World RecordsTM), and pioneer in the use of very high frequencies (216,000 vibrations per hour). Louis Moinet was a watchmaker, scholar, painter, sculptor, and teacher at the School of Fine Arts – as well as the author of the Traité d’Horlogerie, a watchmaking treatise published in 1848 that remained a definitive work of reference for a century. Today, Ateliers Louis Moinet is perpetuating this legacy. The firm’s timepieces, produced in limited editions only, have won some of the most coveted honours, including a UNESCO Award of Merit, five Red Dot Design awards (including one Best of the Best award), gold and bronze medals in the Chronometry Competition, eight Good Design awards, three Middle East Watch of the Year awards, two Robb Report “Best of the Best” awards, a German Design award, a Moscow Grand Prix award, and a “Chronograph of the year” distinction from Begin Magazine, Japan. Louis Moinet creations often make use of unusual materials, such as fossils and meteorites, combined with bespoke fine watchmaking complications in a unique creative approach. The brand’s core values are creativity, exclusivity, art and design.

Transcontinental by Louis Moinet – based on an idea of Juan F. Deniz.

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Louis Moinet Transcontinental Steel & Rose gold

Louis Moinet Ecrin Transcontinental

Louis Moinet Transcontinental Rose gold

Louis Moinet Transcontinental Steel & Rose gold

Louis Moinet Transcontinental Rose gold

Louis Moinet is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the first Transcontinental railroad in the world, connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts of the USA “Louis Moinet has its very own way of celebrating the 150th anniversary of the first transcontinental railroad connecting the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the USA.

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