#High Performance Computing Service

[luulapants]

25 ways to be a little more punk in 2025

Cut fast fashion - buy used, learn to mend and/or make your own clothes, buy fewer clothes less often so you can save up for ethically made quality

Cancel subscriptions - relearn how to pirate media, spend $10/month buying a digital album from a small artist instead of on Spotify, stream on free services since the paid ones make you watch ads anyway

Green your community - there's lots of ways to do this, like seedbombing or joining a community garden or organizing neighborhood trash pickups

Be kind - stop to give directions, check on stopped cars, smile at kids, let people cut you in line, offer to get stuff off the high shelf, hold the door, ask people if they're okay

Intervene - learn bystander intervention techniques and be prepared to use them, even if it feels awkward

Get closer to your food - grow it yourself, can and preserve it, buy from a farmstand, learn where it's from, go fishing, make it from scratch, learn a new ingredient

Use opensource software - try LibreOffice, try Reaper, learn Linux, use a free Photoshop clone. The next time an app tries to force you to pay, look to see if there's an opensource alternative

Make less trash - start a compost, be mindful of packaging, find another use for that plastic, make it a challenge for yourself!

Get involved in local politics - show up at meetings for city council, the zoning commission, the park district, school boards; fight the NIMBYs that always show up and force them to focus on the things impacting the most vulnerable folks in your community

DIY > fashion - shake off the obsession with pristine presentation that you've been taught! Cut your own hair, use homemade cosmetics, exchange mani/pedis with friends, make your own jewelry, duct tape those broken headphones!

Ditch Google - Chromium browsers (which is almost all of them) are now bloated spyware, and Google search sucks now, so why not finally make the jump to Firefox and another search like DuckDuckGo? Or put the Wikipedia app on your phone and look things up there?

Forage - learn about local edible plants and how to safely and sustainably harvest them or go find fruit trees and such accessible to the public.

Volunteer - every week tutoring at the library or once a month at the humane society or twice a year serving food at the soup kitchen, you can find something that matches your availability

Help your neighbors - which means you have to meet them first and find out how you can help (including your unhoused neighbors), like elderly or disabled folks that might need help with yardwork or who that escape artist dog belongs to or whether the police have been hassling people sleeping rough

Fix stuff - the next time something breaks (a small appliance, an electronic, a piece of furniture, etc.), see if you can figure out what's wrong with it, if there are tutorials on fixing it, or if you can order a replacement part from the manufacturer instead of trashing the whole thing

Mix up your transit - find out what's walkable, try biking instead of driving, try public transit and complain to the city if it sucks, take a train instead of a plane, start a carpool at work

Engage in the arts - go see a local play, check out an art gallery or a small museum, buy art from the farmer's market

Go to the library - to check out a book or a movie or a CD, to use the computers or the printer, to find out if they have other weird rentals like a seed library or luggage, to use meeting space, to file your taxes, to take a class, to ask question

Listen local - see what's happening at local music venues or other events where local musicians will be performing, stop for buskers, find a favorite artist, and support them

Buy local - it's less convenient than online shopping or going to a big box store that sells everything, but try buying what you can from small local shops in your area

Become unmarketable - there are a lot of ways you can disrupt your online marketing surveillance, including buying less, using decoy emails, deleting or removing permissions from apps that spy on you, checking your privacy settings, not clicking advertising links, and...

Use cash - go to the bank and take out cash instead of using your credit card or e-payment for everything! It's better on small businesses and it's untraceable

Give what you can - as capitalism churns on, normal shmucks have less and less, so think about what you can give (time, money, skills, space, stuff) and how it will make the most impact

Talk about wages - with your coworkers, with your friends, while unionizing! Stop thinking about wages as a measure of your worth and talk about whether or not the bosses are paying fairly for the labor they receive

Think about wealthflow - there are a thousand little mechanisms that corporations and billionaires use to capture wealth from the lower class: fees for transactions, interest, vendor platforms, subscriptions, and more. Start thinking about where your money goes, how and where it's getting captured and removed from our class, and where you have the ability to cut off the flow and pass cash directly to your fellow working class people

[dhirajmarketresearch]

[healthcaremmr]

Global High Performance Computing as Service Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.3% during the forecast period. Global High Performance Computing as Service Market is expected to reach US $ 24.72 Bn by 2029.

[ict-123]

According to the report, the global high-performance computing as a service market accounted for $6.28 billion in 2018 and is projected to touch $17.00 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 13.3% from 2019 to 2026.

[theoutcastrogue]

"The majority of high-tech patent lawsuits are brought by patent trolls—companies that exist not to provide products or services, but primarily have a business using patents to threaten others’ work. Some politicians are proposing to make that bad situation worse. ...

The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act, S. 2140, (PERA), sponsored by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Coons (D-DE) would be a huge gift to patent trolls, a few tech firms that aggressively license patents, and patent lawyers. For everyone else, it will be a huge loss. That’s why we’re opposing it, and asking our supporters to speak out as well. 

Patent trolling is still a huge, multi-billion dollar problem that’s especially painful for small businesses and everyday internet users. But, in the last decade, we’ve made modest progress placing limits on patent trolling. The Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Alice v. CLS Bank barred patents that were nothing more than abstract ideas with computer jargon added in. Using the Alice test, federal courts have kicked out a rogue’s gallery of hundreds of the worst patents. 

Under Alice’s clear rules, courts threw out ridiculous patents on “matchmaking”, online picture menus, scavenger hunts, and online photo contests. The nation’s top patent court, the Federal Circuit, actually approved a patent on watching an ad online twice before the Alice rules finally made it clear that patents like that cannot be allowed. The patents on “bingo on a computer?” Gone under Alice. Patents on loyalty programs (on a computer)? Gone. Patents on upselling (with a computer)? All gone. ...

PERA’s attempt to roll back progress goes beyond computer technology. For almost 30 years, some biotech and pharmaceutical companies actually applied for, and were granted, patents on naturally occuring human genes. As a consequence, companies were able to monopolize diagnostic tests that relied on naturally occurring genes in order to help predict diseases such as breast cancer, making such testing far more expensive. The ACLU teamed up with doctors to confront this horrific practice, and sued. That lawsuit led to a historic victory in 2013 when the Supreme Court disallowed patents on human genes found in nature. 

If PERA passes, it will explicitly overturn that ruling, allowing human genes to be patented once again. ...

“To See Your Own Blood, Your Own Genes”

From the 1980s until the 2013 Myriad decision, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted patents on human genomic sequences. If researchers “isolated” the gene—a necessary part of analysis—they would then get a patent that described isolating, or purified, as a human process, and insist they weren’t getting a patent on the natural world itself.

But this concept of patenting an “isolated” gene was simply a word game, and a distinction without a difference. With the genetic patent in hand, the patent-holder could demand royalty payments from any kind of test or treatment involving that gene. And that’s exactly what Myriad Genetic did when they patented the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene sequences, which are important indicators for the prevalence of breast or ovarian cancer. 

Myriad’s patents significantly increased the cost of those tests to U.S. patients. The company even sent some doctors cease and desist letters, saying the doctors could not perform simple tests on their own patients—even looking at the gene sequences without Myriad’s permission would constitute patent infringement. 

This behavior caused pathologists, scientists, and patients to band together with ACLU lawyers and challenge Myriad’s patents. They litigated all the way to the Supreme Court, and won. “A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated,” the Supreme Court stated in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics. 

A practice like granting and enforcing patents on human genes should truly be left in the dustbin of history. It’s shocking that pro-patent lobbyists have convinced these Senators to introduce legislation seeking to reinstate such patents. Last month, the President of the College of American Pathologists published an op-ed reminding lawmakers and the public about the danger of patenting the human genome, calling gene patents “dangerous to the public welfare.”  

As Lisbeth Ceriani, a breast cancer survivor and a plaintiff in the Myriad case said, “It’s a basic human right to see your own blood, your own genes.” "

[responsivethoughts]

The Grumman X-29 Experimental Aircraft

The Grumman X-29 was an experimental aircraft developed by the United States in the 1980s, aimed at testing advanced aviation technologies. One of its most unique features was its forward-swept wings, which improved maneuverability and reduced drag. However, this design introduced significant aerodynamic challenges, such as the tendency of the wings to twist under stress. To address this, the X-29 utilized advanced composite materials, which provided the necessary strength without adding excess weight.

The X-29 was inherently unstable due to its forward-swept wings, necessitating a sophisticated digital fly-by-wire control system. This system allowed a computer to continuously make adjustments to keep the aircraft stable during flight. Additionally, the aircraft featured canard control surfaces, located in front of the main wings, which enhanced control and maneuverability, particularly at high angles of attack.

Another key feature of the X-29 was its variable-geometry engine inlets, designed to optimize airflow into the engine across different flight conditions. This design allowed the aircraft to maintain efficiency at various speeds and altitudes. Together, these innovative design elements made the X-29 a complex and advanced aircraft for its time.

The X-29 first flew on December 14, 1984, under the management of NASA and the United States Air Force. Two X-29 aircraft were constructed, and they accumulated over 400 test flights. These tests focused on exploring the aircraft's unique aerodynamic and flight control characteristics, providing valuable data on how forward-swept wings performed under various conditions.

The primary objective of the X-29 program was to investigate technologies that could be used in future fighter aircraft, with a particular focus on improving maneuverability and control at high angles of attack. Although the X-29 was never intended to enter production, the insights gained from its development contributed to future advancements in aircraft design.

While the X-29 did not see operational service, its legacy is significant. The technologies it explored, including forward-swept wings, composite materials, and digital flight controls, paved the way for innovations in fighter aircraft. Today, the X-29 is remembered as an important milestone in the study of unconventional aircraft designs and aerodynamics.

An interesting and lesser-known fact about the Grumman X-29 is that, despite its radical design, the aircraft reused components from existing fighter jets to save on development costs. Specifically, the fuselage of the X-29 was derived from the Northrop F-5A Freedom Fighter, and its landing gear was taken from the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. This blending of cutting-edge technology with proven components from earlier aircraft helped keep the project within a more manageable budget, demonstrating a creative approach to experimental aircraft design during that era.

[the-hydroxian-artblog]

How much robots/ruppets and merch mimics are there? Hundreds, thousands, millions? Also is there a specific year where this world takes place in?

The Sentient Robot population is in the high-millions. In the US alone, for every five to seven cars there's one sentient-ish robot. There were several breakthroughs in analog neuromorphic computing, which allowed "robot-brains" to get produced as cheaply as cars, without the ridiculous performance costs current AI server farms have. Which isn't actually very cheap, but when companies can just build their workforce, and an aging population can just buy a robot to take care of them, people are willing to pay. "Sentient-ish" includes robots that are nonverbal but understand speech and are capable of learning things well beyond the capacity of an animal, but having certain limits, programmed or otherwise, that keeps them from fully matching human behavior. Add more sapient robots, usually caretakers and customer service-type people with.. improving rights, and you have a setting that's more or less like the Classic Megaman continuity.

Mimics on the other hand are tricky. For context, there's two eras in this setting; present day, and The Future, aka Kaita's Time, which is roughly 60 to 100 years later. Mimics exist in both of these time periods, and even way back to before human civilization, though Merch mimics specifically are a very recent phenomenon. They were simply golems made of metal, glass, stone, or wood before things like modern toys became a thing, and likewise they adapted to match with the times. There's roughly a million mimics out there, but about half of them are unstable and ghost-like, coming into existence and dispersing before they attain full, proper forms. The other half of all mimics persist for more than a year, but fewer still last any longer than a human lifetime, whether due to mimicking inert objects too well and forgetting to think, mimicking humans too well and dying due to that being The Thing Humans Are Supposed To Do, angel-culling, or trying to live forever but growing mad and lifeless from isolation anyway. But if a mimic does overcome these hurdles, they're basically going to last for eternity, albeit with at least a screw loose.

In the present day, we have guys like Victor running around, and the current cast will likely still be alive and kicking by the time Kaita and other robots are around. Happy Chatty is one of the only sentient, non-mimic robots that exists in the present day, possibly the first sentient human-made robot of this setting, so Victor and Vance could potentially meet 'em.

[beautification-tales]

The Accountant

A Caption Tale

Ruth walked to her office after exiting the elevator. She sat down and took a sip of her coffee. She was excited as a major new client was meeting her today. This could be the break she needed to take her career to the next level. She had been preparing for weeks. The office was quiet except for the occasional sound of the air conditioner kicking in and the distant murmur of colleagues in the hallway.

She straightened out her desk as she readjusted her jacket. She checked her reflection in her desktop computer screen as she fixed her hair. The digital clock read 8:50 AM, and she had ten minutes before the meeting was set to begin. The anticipation grew within her like a tightly coiled spring, ready to unravel at any moment.

The quiet was suddenly pierced by the sound of approaching footsteps. The door to her office swung open, revealing a sharply dressed man with a briefcase in one hand and a coffee cup in the other. "Good morning, Ms. Taylor," he said with a firm handshake and a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm Alex Mercer, from Mercer Industries. I hope I'm not too early."

Ruth's heart skipped a beat. This was it. The moment she had been waiting for. She returned the smile, trying to hide the nerves that danced in her stomach. "Not at all, Mr. Mercer. Please, have a seat." She gestured to the chair across from her desk.

Ruth took a deep breath as her heart continued to beat rapidly. Ruth gathered her thoughts as she couldn’t help but be attracted to the successful businessman. She hoped she could impress him with her presentation.

Alex sat down and placed his briefcase on the floor. He took a sip from his coffee, eyeing the room with a critical gaze. The silence grew thicker as he took in the neatly arranged documents and the diplomas hanging on the wall. He looked back at her, his gaze unreadable. "I've been looking forward to this," he said, setting his cup down. "Your company has quite the reputation, and I have high expectations."

Ruth felt a surge of confidence. She had worked hard to make sure everything was perfect for this moment. She opened her file and began her presentation, her voice steady and professional. The room was filled with the soft glow of the screen, displaying graphs and figures that painted a picture of growth and potential. Alex nodded occasionally, his eyes never leaving the screen.

“Wow you really did your homework Ms. Taylor. I am impressed but I do have one question.” Alex leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk, his eyes now fully focused on her. Ruth smiled at the compliment of her work and responded. “Please call me Ruth and I would be glad to answer your questions.”

“Well I’m primarily here for your other services.” Alex’s voice was measured, hinting at something beyond the usual business dealings. “You see, I have been facing some... challenges with self-control. I’ve heard your firm has a knack for... handling such situations discreetly and effectively. Is that true?”

Ruth squinted as she was confused by Alex’s question. She was an accountant and financial planner not a therapist. “I’m not sure I understand the question Alex do you mean you spend company funds frivolously?” She asked carefully trying not to misconstrue his words.

“No… well I do that too but I’m talking about the special service you perform for top clients.” Alex leaned back in his chair, his gaze unwavering. “The kind that ensures their dirty laundry stays out of the public eye and doesn’t affect their bottom line. I need your help with that, Ruth.”

“I still don’t think I get what you mean…” Ruth replied, feeling a chill creep down her spine. Alex’s smile grew wider, but it no longer looked friendly. He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a folder, tossing it onto the desk. Ruth opened it to find Alex’s prenup. She wasn’t a legal expert but the financial language was very clear.

“That’s right Ruth if I get caught cheating then I lose my company. However, being a handsome, rich, public man makes it extremely hard to resist temptation.” Ruth looked at Alex still confused as to how she could assist with this problem. “I’m sorry Alex… I still don’t understand how I can help you with this…” she replied tentatively.

“Wow, you really don’t know?” Alex leaned back in his chair, a hint of amusement playing on his lips. “Your firm is the perfect cover for releasing tension. So I’m here for a session… my frigid wife is purposefully resisting me. She also hired a lingerie model as my assistant. I need a release.”

“Mr. Mercer I’m sure a good porn video can do the job. I can help you with your financial portfolio. Not that.” The words came out before she could stop them. Alex’s smile didn’t falter, but his eyes turned icy. “So you have no idea that your company is really a brothel for high end businessman?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ruth felt the blood drain from her face. This was not what she signed up for. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She was an accomplished educated woman and this powerful man was treating her like an object to be used. She couldn’t hold back her frustration and anger. “Brothel! How dare you! I understand that you are rich and powerful but I do not need your business you Neanderthal!!! I graduated from Yale you bastard. I’m sure I can find other clients.”

Alex kept his smile during Ruth’s tirade. “Are you finished?” he asked calmly, taking a sip of his coffee. His composure was unshaken. “Yes get out !” she retorted, pointing at the door. Alex stood up, his movements deliberate and unhurried. He took a moment to look her over before speaking again. “Your firm’s reputation precedes it, but I admit I had my doubts but consider them gone now.” He stared at Ruth deeply into her eyes. He then whispered “reformo”

Ruth fell back into her seat as if she was struck by lightning. She felt as if her skin was on fire. “Uhh what … what did you do to me?” she stuttered. She felt as if her skin was stretching all over her body. She grasped the handles to her desk chair as her body stiffened. She arched her back as her breasts exploded from her chest doubling in size. She moaned as they felt so sensitive against her clothes. Alex sat back down enjoying the show.

Ruth continued to moan as her body continued to shift. The room became heavy as magical energy permeated inside. Ruth’s fingernails grew longer and more feminine as they gained a beautiful French manicure. Her lips puffed out and became soft like pillows.She felt her skirt recede until it became a tight pencil skirt. Her hips and ass grew larger making the skirt hug her flesh. Pantyhose covered her smooth legs making them even more irresistible.

The clothes morphed as her shirt lowered to expose her amazing cleavage. She felt her panties become a g string. The sleeves of her jacket shrunk exposing her toned arms. The heels of her stilettos grew longer as her feet became more delicate and comfortable in the arch position. A pearl necklace formed on her neck with a matching bracelet on her wrist.

Her mind became cloudy as math and numbers erased like it was on a whiteboard. Ruth continued to moan as her lips curled into a smile. The wall of diplomas also changed as they became pictures of her with celebrities and businessmen. Ruth began to giggle as she felt her pussy become wet. She was a professional all right. She was a professional bimbo slut for her clients.

“Mmm fuck that felt so good! Ah Mr. Mercer! Pleasure to have you here in the office. How can I serve you?” The words slipped out of Ruth’s lips without thought, her mind now a haze of pleasure and obedience. She pulled her hair into a ponytail. She was no longer the sharp-witted financial planner she had been moments ago. Instead, she was a bimbo, eager to please the man before her.

“Ah well um … Ruth. I needed a release.” Alex leaned back in his chair watching her transformation with a twisted smile. His eyes scanned her new body with hunger. He adjusted himself in his seat feeling his cock press against his slacks.

“Why of course Mr. Mercer! I’m going to make that hard cock spew so much yummy cum. And it’s Roxy sir not Ruth.”

Roxy smiled as she stood up from her chair and kneeled in front of her client. She unbuckled his pants and grasped onto his engorged member. Alex sighed in relief.

“You’re in good hands now sir.”

[adafruit]

🎄💾🗓️ Day 11: Retrocomputing Advent Calendar - The SEL 840A🎄💾🗓️

Systems Engineering Laboratories (SEL) introduced the SEL 840A in 1965. This is a deep cut folks, buckle in. It was designed as a high-performance, 24-bit general-purpose digital computer, particularly well-suited for scientific and industrial real-time applications.

Notable for using silicon monolithic integrated circuits and a modular architecture. Supported advanced computation with features like concurrent floating-point arithmetic via an optional Extended Arithmetic Unit (EAU), which allowed independent arithmetic processing in single or double precision. With a core memory cycle time of 1.75 microseconds and a capacity of up to 32,768 directly addressable words, the SEL 840A had impressive computational speed and versatility for its time.

Its instruction set covered arithmetic operations, branching, and program control. The computer had fairly robust I/O capabilities, supporting up to 128 input/output units and optional block transfer control for high-speed data movement. SEL 840A had real-time applications, such as data acquisition, industrial automation, and control systems, with features like multi-level priority interrupts and a real-time clock with millisecond resolution.

Software support included a FORTRAN IV compiler, mnemonic assembler, and a library of scientific subroutines, making it accessible for scientific and engineering use. The operator’s console provided immediate access to registers, control functions, and user interaction! Designed to be maintained, its modular design had serviceability you do often not see today, with swing-out circuit pages and accessible test points.

And here's a personal… personal computer history from Adafruit team member, Dan…

== The first computer I used was an SEL-840A, PDF:

I learned Fortran on it in eight grade, in 1970. It was at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where my parents worked, and was used to take data from cyclotron experiments and perform calculations. I later patched the Fortran compiler on it to take single-quoted strings, like 'HELLO', in Fortran FORMAT statements, instead of having to use Hollerith counts, like 5HHELLO.

In 1971-1972, in high school, I used a PDP-10 (model KA10) timesharing system, run by BOCES LIRICS on Long Island, NY, while we were there for one year on an exchange.

This is the front panel of the actual computer I used. I worked at the computer center in the summer. I know the fellow in the picture: he was an older high school student at the time.

The first "personal" computers I used were Xerox Alto, Xerox Dorado, Xerox Dandelion (Xerox Star 8010), Apple Lisa, and Apple Mac, and an original IBM PC. Later I used DEC VAXstations.

Dan kinda wins the first computer contest if there was one… Have first computer memories? Post’em up in the comments, or post yours on socialz’ and tag them #firstcomputer #retrocomputing – See you back here tomorrow!

[kalevalaknights]

What are your personal personality headcanons, on the 4 Googles? :]

My drawing request is that you draw your interpretations, of the 4 of them, too, but you don’t have to if you don’t wanna!

I know you said personality HC’s I uhh I uhhh let me tell you a thing or two about a thing or two

I like to think the four of them are ultimately one and the same. A hive mind if you will. They can all perform the same mundane or complex tasks as each other, some may have a different attitude about it. I would like to think the original Blue created the other three to spread the brainpower contained in his system.

But of course each robot still has their own mannerisms and quirks to them. The other egos in the office have given them each a variety of different nicknames.

If Google isn’t connected to wifi, the shirt goes white with a dinosaur on it. You will usually spot them playing the dinosaur game.

BLUE: Often dubbed as Ben, Bob, or simply B.

This one has a cracked lens in his glasses, often times wires have been pulled loose from areas that they are exposed. He has the most physical wear and age from a beta testing incident with the streamer Matthias. There is still dry blood in the crevices of his articulated finger joints.

His built-in eyelids and eyebrows have limited function, so his talking is often accompanied with gestures. His eyes are usually covered up by glasses with computer monitor screens for lenses. His “newer” eyes are displayed here and are much more expressive than his built face.

Think of it as your good reliable computer you’re not ready to give up yet and keep putting accessories on it so that it still works.

He has a blunt and tired attitude about him if he is doing tasks, but is generally alright to talk to. He speaks to everyone as if they are a coworker. His form of humor is denying a task, but actively going to do it anyways. Eerily nice to you if he intends to kill you. Smiles too much.

YELLOW: Often dubbed as Oliver, York, or Y.

This one has yellow eyes, and is surprisingly the second least expressive. Being the only Google that mildly tolerates Bing, he has the same amount of head trauma as him from being commanded to kick flip. He isn’t stupid, he is unable to turn down a request. This also causes him to be a bit clumsy / have a slightly off coordination.

He is the nicest one to talk to, as it looks like he’s actually listening. However his “listening” after a while sounds like he isn’t listening. Serious case of customer service voice when doing tasks. Will usually go off and complain and rip up paper afterward. Mistaken as the kind and smiley one because he’s Yellow, but really has more malicious compliance and snark to him than the others.

GREEN: Often dubbed as Greg, Grant or G.

This one has hazel eyes! He’s the most expressive of them and seems to be the only one in good condition.

He is the most compliant, speaking and acting a little more formal than the others. Seemingly the busiest one, often declaring himself the superior office assistant for fetching coffee the fastest. As if there is a contest. Opts for a tight knuckle-cracking handshake instead of a high five. Tries to casually advertise things to you in the hopes you type out your credit card number. No, he’s not going to install an ad blocker for your sake.

RED: Often dubbed Reggie, Ray or R.

He has dark brown eyes. Tends to react to things through body language, speaks a little too fast.

The only one that uses their eye cameras as cameras. Takes videos of random things, embarrassing things, funny things. Will sometimes procrastinate on a task or he will announce that he is going to do it. If you tell him to stop talking he will pull out music videos to concentrate. Or that one time you tripped on your own leg so that you go away. Walks into a room and talks to anyone to find something interesting to comment on. Often hanging out with Wilford or the Jims because they need an extra cameraman that doesn’t bleed. Puts hate comments on all of Bing’s videos.

-They all subtly pick up mannerisms and words from the people surrounding them, to appear “up to date” in conversation.

-Green believes he is the leader until Blue gives an order.

-Red is the only one that has tried to eat things. He still chews or drinks things, but spits it out right after.

-Yellow wears circular glasses. Red usually does not wear any glasses.

[cyberstudious]

saturday, august 31st, 2024

this morning I finished reading High Performance Python. I think it was a good book and I learned more about how Python works in general, even if a lot of the optimizations explained in the book aren't super applicable to anything that I'm working on at the moment. if you do any sort of scientific computing, I think this book will be pretty helpful.

I also read Alex Russel's Reckoning series today and wrote a few notes in my commonplace book. I'd say this series of blog posts is pretty much required reading if you do any sort of front-end web dev work. (tl;dr heavy JavaScript-based SPA frameworks are used far more often than they should be, and they're destroying the usability of the web for folks at the margins. bad design & engineering decisions have real-world impacts, like preventing people from accessing public services and benefits websites.) I highly recommend giving this series a read.

I plan to spend this long weekend reading, relaxing, and going on walks now that the weather is a bit cooler. what are y'all looking forward to this weekend? <3

[dhirajmarketresearch]

[megatrons-apprentice]

Apprentices character profile

Name: Apprentice

Height: 35ft

Weight: 40 metric tons

Age: natural human age: mid 20s. Cybertronian age: around 2 million (his human age was also changed to fit cybertronian age when he became a cybertronian)

Mental Age (In Earth Terms): mid 20s

Gender: mech

Sexuality: bi/trans

Spark color: purple catalytic spark

Sparkmate: megatron

Allegiance: Decepticon

Function: apprentice, soldier

Alternate Mode: H-shaped Cybertronic tank

Weapons: megatrons old weapon, hidden arm blade, horns, minicon weapons (when equipped)

Skill: a majority of apprentices skills have been taught by megatron, but while many of them are combat focused he has learned a few tricks on his own that can easily put him at an advantage.

Using his horns to create a concentrated beam of energy that covers the ground, he is able to make a radar that feeds back information directly to him. This information includes enemy and minicon locations, items hidden below ground, energy signatures and vibration.

With the use of a minicon called slipstream apprentice is able to take flight and attack from the air, making his assaults more difficult to counter. He is not very agile due to his weight or size, but he does use his weight as momentum for diving attacks.

One of apprentices lesser known features is one that you wouldn't even notice unless you battled him. Unlike other bots, he is not bound to a battle computer, meaning that he is able to think outside the box and perform tactics most cybertronians wouldn't even think of doing. He is also notorious for using the surrounding area to his advantage especially when he's been disarmed.

Personality: despite being megatrons apprentice, he is surprisingly laid back and very quiet outside of battle. He does not gloat about his position or mock others because of it, however he will give out a reminder if he feels that he is being bossed around or threatened by other bots or soldiers.

Even though he is quiet, this does not mean that he doesn't have a reckless or stubborn side to him. He is incredibly loyal to megs and will do as he's told even if it crosses his moral lines or causes injury to his own allies. He's very dedicated and will do some borderline insane things just to please megatron and make him happy. He has also injured and endangered himself to win missions or to get an advantage in battle.

robot Speed: 5/10

vehicle speed: 7/10

Hand-to-Hand Combat: 8/10

Long-Range Combat: 7/10

Strategy/Tactics: 8/10

Medical & Science: 5/10 Med, 6/10 science

Tech & Engineering: 5/10 Tech 7/10 Engi

Stealth: 5/10

Quirks/habits: Apprentice has a very bad chewing habit and will chew on almost anything, he bites his lower lip and sometimes causes it to bleed due to his fangs, he sometimes collects shiny things and gems, he often forgets his own strength and he daydreams quite a lot outside of battle.

Backround:

When the decepticons came to earth, apprentice made a deal with megatron and he turned apprentice into a cybertronian so that he could better serve him. Apprentice chose what frame he'd like to have and he chose one similar to megatrons because he liked it. After he was transferred and learned how to use his body, megatron took him back to base and began ordering him around, telling him to pull his own weight.

Because he likes megs, apprentice often attempts to appease him by bringing him minicons and making him things in his spare time hoping to make him happy. The gifts do please megs but only temporarily. As apprentice becomes more successful megs asks more of him and apprentice tries his best to keep up with his demand.

apprentice eventually gains a crush for megs and he is aggressive at pursuing him. He does acts of service for megs and assists him in various ways, from polishing his surface and cleaning the dirt from his treads to battling him and taking hits for him when his own life is threatened.

Megatron now has high expectations for apprentice that he must meet and because apprentice is trying so hard to get his attention, megs catches onto his game and decides to play it. He allows the relationship, but only to further manipulate apprentice into doing and getting things that megatron wants him to. Their relationship is absolutely terrible with megs giving him affection one minute and guilt tripping or yelling at him the next.

Apprentice and megs do spark bond, although the bonding is almost entirely one sided so that megs could further manipulate him and keep him at his side. Because of the continuous manipulation, Apprentice becomes incredibly stubborn about his relationship with megs and will defend him regardless of what he's done.

[vieramars]

elaborate now

Hi I'm awake now so uhh yeah Lena with a service dog

This relates to 2 of my headcanons about Lena: 1 that she has chronic pain but thinks it's normal and 2 that she's very much autistic and not getting the support she needs and also thinks her experience with that is normal. She's so far in the disability closet that she doesn't even know it's a closet.

So when she first got involved with the supernatural and realized there's a whole fucked up world out there she never knew about, she decided to get a trained personal protection dog. She finds it easier to trust an animal than a person.

So when she got the prospect (basically a puppy who is determined for a training program before it's born), the program she was going through told her "hey we also have a service dog training program. From the interview it sounded like that would be useful for you" and Lena decided to go with it. She didn't consider herself someone who needs a service dog, but upon doing some heavy research she found enough helpful tasks to teach the dog to consider it a productive choice.

The dog is a very high drive, incredibly focused belgian malinois. Lena refers to the dog by it/its which gives some people a bad impression, but she cares very well for it and took to training quite well after the program finished. This dog constantly needs more tasks to do and luckily Lena keeps finding new ways it can help her stay calm at work and avoid overstimulation.

Mainly the tasks it performs are alerts for high blood pressure and elevated heart rate, creating personal space while walking from place to place, guiding her away from overstimulating situations, mobility tasks like forward momentum and retrieving objects, and deep pressure therapy (though only when in her locked office so nobody will see her lying on the floor with a dog in her lap). Because service dogs have to be washed (retired) if they bite anyone, the dog's protective tasks mainly consist of intimidation rather than bite work (also Lena does not want her dog to attack an external because that would put its life and her job in danger).

She does not bring the dog to work when she has an important visitor, even though those are very stressful days and she would benefit from its presence. She knows that showing any signs of "weakness" or reliance are going to cause issues with the externals and her superiors. On normal days, the dog must always be working in the presence of her employees. Gwen is terrified of it. Alice is desperately trying to catch Lena when the dog isn't working so she can meet it off-duty. The dog is vaguely unsettled by Celia because she doesn't smell quite right. Naturally Lena has to give the dog breaks during the work night, but she makes sure to do so only when everyone else is busy and won't notice her heading outside for a half-hour run.

The dog is not allowed to meet lady mowbray's dogs. When Gwen let lady mowbray into the OIAR, Lena left the dog in her office and locked it to deal with the situation and then had to lock herself in for dpt for at least an hour afterwards because that was the most panic-inducing experience she's had in a while.

The one and only time the dog has barked off command while working was when one of the OIAR computers turned on without anyone touching it.

[allaboutkeyingo]

SQL Server 2022 Edition and License instructions

SQL Server 2022 Editions:

• Enterprise Edition is ideal for applications requiring mission critical in-memory performance, security, and high availability

• Standard Edition delivers fully featured database capabilities for mid-tier applications and data marts

SQL Server 2022 is also available in free Developer and Express editions. Web Edition is offered in the Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) program only.

And the Online Store Keyingo Provides the SQL Server 2017/2019/2022 Standard Edition.

SQL Server 2022 licensing models 

SQL Server 2022 offers customers a variety of licensing options aligned with how customers typically purchase specific workloads. There are two main licensing models that apply to SQL Server:  PER CORE: Gives customers a more precise measure of computing power and a more consistent licensing metric, regardless of whether solutions are deployed on physical servers on-premises, or in virtual or cloud environments. 

• Core based licensing is appropriate when customers are unable to count users/devices, have Internet/Extranet workloads or systems that integrate with external facing workloads.

• Under the Per Core model, customers license either by physical server (based on the full physical core count) or by virtual machine (based on virtual cores allocated), as further explained below.

SERVER + CAL: Provides the option to license users and/or devices, with low-cost access to incremental SQL Server deployments.   

• Each server running SQL Server software requires a server license.

• Each user and/or device accessing a licensed SQL Server requires a SQL Server CAL that is the same version or newer – for example, to access a SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition server, a user would need a SQL Server 2019 or 2022 CAL.

Each SQL Server CAL allows access to multiple licensed SQL Servers, including Standard Edition and legacy Business Intelligence and Enterprise Edition Servers.SQL Server 2022 Editions availability by licensing model:  

Physical core licensing – Enterprise Edition 

• Customers can deploy an unlimited number of VMs or containers on the server and utilize the full capacity of the licensed hardware, by fully licensing the server (or server farm) with Enterprise Edition core subscription licenses or licenses with SA coverage based on the total number of physical cores on the servers.

• Subscription licenses or SA provide(s) the option to run an unlimited number of virtual machines or containers to handle dynamic workloads and fully utilize the hardware’s computing power.

Virtual core licensing – Standard/Enterprise Edition 

When licensing by virtual core on a virtual OSE with subscription licenses or SA coverage on all virtual cores (including hyperthreaded cores) on the virtual OSE, customers may run any number of containers in that virtual OSE. This benefit applies both to Standard and Enterprise Edition.

Licensing for non-production use 

SQL Server 2022 Developer Edition provides a fully featured version of SQL Server software—including all the features and capabilities of Enterprise Edition—licensed for  development, test and demonstration purposes only.  Customers may install and run the SQL Server Developer Edition software on any number of devices. This is  significant because it allows customers to run the software  on multiple devices (for testing purposes, for example)  without having to license each non-production server  system for SQL Server.  

A production environment is defined as an environment  that is accessed by end-users of an application (such as an  Internet website) and that is used for more than gathering  feedback or acceptance testing of that application.   

SQL Server 2022 Developer Edition is a free product !