#Instrumentation Design Engineering Course

[mecci1]

Enroll in Mecci Engineerings Best  Instrumentation Design Course in Noida

Enhance your engineering prowess with Mecci's premier Best Instrumentation Design Course in Noida! Dive into the intricacies of instrumentation design under the guidance of industry experts. Our comprehensive curriculum equips you with the skills needed to excel in this dynamic field. From sensor technologies to control systems, we cover it all. Engage in practical, hands-on learning experiences and gain valuable insights into real-world applications. Located in the heart of Noida, Mecci offers state-of-the-art facilities and a conducive learning environment. Don't miss this opportunity to elevate your career prospects. Enroll now and embark on a journey towards becoming a proficient instrumentation engineer! Contact Mecci today for more information.

[mecci2321457812]

Best Instrumentation Design Engineering Course

Unlock Your Potential with MECCI Engineers  Instrumentation Design Engineering Course. Gain hands-on experience and industry-relevant skills to excel in the field. Join us today and take your career to new heights

[project-management-vision]

TRENDS IN INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL IN THE OIL, GAS AND MINING INDUSTRY 

Overall trends in instrumentation and control in the oil, gas and mining industry, suggest that instrumentation and control will become increasingly connected, data-driven, and automated in the future, enabling more efficient and optimised production while ensuring safety and sustainability. 

 Digitalisation will enable predictive maintenance, remote monitoring, and automation, leading to increased efficiency and cost savings. 

 Asset Integrity Management (AIM) maintains the integrity of critical assets such as pipelines, tanks, and processing equipment.  AIM can be achieved through real-time monitoring, inspection, and predictive maintenance, reducing the risk of equipment failure and downtime. 

 Autonomous operations (AO) using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), have gained popularity where remote and hazardous locations require minimal human intervention.  

 Cybersecurity is becoming a crucial concern. Instrumentation and control systems must be secured against cyber threats to prevent potential damage or disruption to critical operations. 

 The drive towards sustainability and energy efficiency has led to development low energy two wire sensors, control algorithms, and automation systems are to reduce energy consumption. 

To keep up with above technological advancements, PMV recommends you upgrade your skills as an instrument technician to:   

 Operate and maintain modern instrumentation equipment effectively and enhance job performance and your chances of promotion or advancement within the company.  

 Understand and implement safety protocols and procedures, reducing the risk of accidents and injuries. 

 Improve your troubleshooting and problem-solving abilities, thus enabling you to fix any issues, reducing downtime and increasing productivity. 

 Develop a strong skillset for you can pursue higher-level positions or subject matter expert (SME) instrumentation and control, such as process control or automation technician or engineer. 

A great entry level course in Instrumentation is UEE40420 Certificate IV in Electrical Instrumentation.

This course attracts funding in WA and SA for eligible participants. Contact the office for more information.

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[yokowan]

re: the spacecraft failures post

there is a way to make spacecraft way cheaper/faster and we've been doing it since the 60s/70s!!!!!! it's called using a common satellite bus!

the reason you don't frequently hear about big name communications satellites or whatever failing is because they're all manufactured on a mass produced (when you're talking spacecraft, economies of scale start to kick in on runs of 20-50 units) satellite busses.

the bus contains all the "basic" stuff you need for a spacecraft. communications, propulsion, power, and a chassis to mount hardware on. if you need to make a satellite, all you need to do is make the hardware specific to your particular mission and plug it into the bus. not only does this cut down on engineering costs, it also means you know those basic components are going to work, since they've been extensively ground and flight tested.

it's a pretty basic idea. if you need a parade float, you don't make a combustion engine from scratch. you build the float and bolt it to the back of a truck. if you need a weather satellite, you don't build your power and propulsion systems from scratch. you build your instruments and bolt them to a Maxar SSL 1300.

you still need to do integration testing, of course. you need to make sure that there's no weird interaction between your own hardware and the satellite bus. but you have a lot better of an idea of what the "expected behavior" is, so you need to do a whole lot less testing to see if anything's fishy.

the one exception to this whole strategy is missions that are Weird. lunar landers, interplanetary probes, spacecraft designed for rendezvous, etc. these things have atypical requirements for the "basic" stuff. usually a lot more propellant, a lot more power generation, much bigger antennas. this is why big flagship science missions are so expensive. you can't just bolt shit to the pickup truck anymore, you need to build it from the ground up.

and when you're doing that, you need to do a lot more testing! if you built a propellant feed system from scratch, you need to know that it'll work 8 months from now when you're on the opposite side of the sun. you can't rely on previous experience and flight testing. you need to be the one doing that testing.

if these guys really wanted to be "revolutionizing the industry" they'd instead be making satellite busses for those weirder missions. and guess what! some companies are doing that! now that the demand is there, there's companies making satellite busses that are more optimized for interplanetary travel! you just don't hear about it as much because its way less glamorous. it's just a common sense idea. it just works.

oh fuck i wrote a lot whoops teehee

[nasa]

Tiny BurstCube's Tremendous Travelogue

Meet BurstCube! This shoebox-sized satellite is designed to study the most powerful explosions in the cosmos, called gamma-ray bursts. It detects gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light.

BurstCube may be small, but it had a huge journey to get to space.

First, BurstCube was designed and built at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Here you can see Julie Cox, an early career engineer, working on BurstCube’s gamma-ray detecting instrument in the Small Satellite Lab at Goddard.

BurstCube is a type of spacecraft called a CubeSat. These tiny missions give early career engineers and scientists the chance to learn about mission development — as well as do cool science!

Then, after assembling the spacecraft, the BurstCube team took it on the road to conduct a bunch of tests to determine how it will operate in space. Here you can see another early career engineer, Kate Gasaway, working on BurstCube at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

She and other members of the team used a special facility there to map BurstCube’s magnetic field. This will help them know where the instrument is pointing when it’s in space.

The next stop was back at Goddard, where the team put BurstCube in a vacuum chamber. You can see engineers Franklin Robinson, Elliot Schwartz, and Colton Cohill lowering the lid here. They changed the temperature inside so it was very hot and then very cold. This mimics the conditions BurstCube will experience in space as it orbits in and out of sunlight.

Then, up on a Goddard rooftop, the team — including early career engineer Justin Clavette — tested BurstCube’s GPS. This so-called open-sky test helps ensure the team can locate the satellite once it’s in orbit.

The next big step in BurstCube’s journey was a flight to Houston! The team packed it up in a special case and took it to the airport. Of course, BurstCube got the window seat!

Once in Texas, the BurstCube team joined their partners at Nanoracks (part of Voyager Space) to get their tiny spacecraft ready for launch. They loaded the satellite into a rectangular frame called a deployer, along with another small satellite called SNoOPI (Signals of Opportunity P-band Investigation). The deployer is used to push spacecraft into orbit from the International Space Station.

From Houston, BurstCube traveled to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, where it launched on SpaceX’s 30th commercial resupply servicing mission on March 21, 2024. BurstCube traveled to the station along with some other small satellites, science experiments, as well as a supply of fresh fruit and coffee for the astronauts.

A few days later, the mission docked at the space station, and the astronauts aboard began unloading all the supplies, including BurstCube!

And finally, on April 18, 2024, BurstCube was released into orbit. The team will spend a month getting the satellite ready to search the skies for gamma-ray bursts. Then finally, after a long journey, this tiny satellite can embark on its big mission!

BurstCube wouldn’t be the spacecraft it is today without the input of many early career engineers and scientists. Are you interested in learning more about how you can participate in a mission like this one? There are opportunities for students in middle and high school as well as college!

Keep up on BurstCube’s journey with NASA Universe on X and Facebook. And make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[phoenixblaze1412]

i saw the father Dottore fics that you wrote and honestly loved them! would you be willing to write about father!Dottore with a kid who has ADHD/Autism or sensory issues?

Of course^^ and yes you can be 🫧 anon

The laboratory was always a place of order. Every instrument had its designated space, every experiment followed a precise methodology, and every result was expected to be recorded without deviation. Dottore thrived in this structured world, where logic dictated every decision and unpredictability was a flaw to be eliminated.

You, his child, however, are the embodiment of unpredictability.

At first, he had thought it was simply a phase—an inability to focus, an aversion to certain sensations, an inexplicable resistance to what he deemed perfectly reasonable expectations.

You fidgeted constantly, your attention drifting between his words and the unseen world in your mind. You would recoil from certain fabrics, cover your ears at loud noises, and refuse to make eye contact for prolonged periods. Your interests were deeply fixated, but not on the subjects Dottore had hoped you would inherit.

No matter how many times he introduced you to the marvels of biology, chemistry, or engineering, you simply didn’t care. Instead, you were drawn to colors, textures, and shapes. You would spend hours sketching, completely immersed in your art, but the moment he placed a scientific text in front of you, your focus dissolved.

Frustration grew between the two of you like an unspoken wall. Dottore tried to enforce structure, believing discipline would instill the focus you lacked. It didn’t work. The segments had mixed reactions—some found your unpredictability amusing, others were visibly irritated. Pi, ever the perfectionist, struggled with your chaotic energy, while Gamma found you fascinating, often sitting beside you as you scribbled away with reckless abandon.

The tension came to a breaking point one evening when Dottore, in a rare lapse of control, snapped.

"You need to learn discipline," he said, voice sharp as he snatched away a piece of paper from you that is covered in vibrant, swirling colors. "Art is a hobby. It will not serve you in any meaningful way. You must focus on what matters."

You froze in place, expression unreadable as you got up and abruptly stormed off. You didn’t yell or cry. You simply left, your small hands balled into fists. That night, you refused to come out of your room, even when the segments tried coaxing you out. Eta, the youngest segment, who often acted as a bridge between you and Dottore, shook his head solemnly. "You hurt them."

Dottore had spent his life dissecting, analyzing, and manipulating the human condition, but the realization that he had hurt his own child in a way he couldn’t immediately fix was a foreign and unwelcome feeling.

It wasn’t until he spoke to Beta—one of his more observant segments—that he truly began to understand.

"They don’t think the way you do," Beta explained. "Their mind works differently. What you see as distractions are part of how they function. You can’t force them to be like you. You have to adapt, or you’ll lose them."

Adapting was not something Dottore did often. He demanded the world shift to his design, not the other way around. But the idea of losing his child, of pushing you so far that you no longer trusted him, was unsettling.

So he changed. Slowly. Awkwardly.

He learned that you needed noise while working—so he allowed you to hum or tap your fingers against the desk while drawing, even if it grated on his nerves. He learned that certain textures made you uncomfortable, so he adjusted your clothing accordingly. He learned that eye contact wasn’t necessary for communication and that sometimes you needed to move around while talking to him. He stopped trying to force you into rigid routines and instead built flexibility into your days, allowing you to take breaks when your focus waned.

Most importantly, he began to acknowledge your interests rather than dismiss them. When you drew, he studied your work, asked you about your techniques, and even provided you with higher-quality materials.

One evening, he found himself watching you sketch a complex diagram of the solar system, eyes alight with excitement as you explained planetary formations in a way that rivaled any scientific explanation.

“You like astronomy,” he mused, watching as your pencil danced across the page.

You nodded enthusiastically. “It’s like… science, but with colors and movement and so many possibilities.”

Science, but with possibilities. That, Dottore could understand.

The segments adapted as well. Gamma became your willing test subject, letting you doodle on his arms with ink. Eta took to making up stories about the things you drew, turning your creations into fantastical narratives. Even Pi, who had once been the most resistant, learned to engage with you in small ways, challenging you to replicate complex patterns in your art.

One day, you timidly approached Dottore with a new sketchbook in hand. You hesitated before handing it to him. “I… I drew something for you.”

He opened it to find an intricate illustration of his lab—meticulously detailed, yet softened by artistic flourishes. The test tubes shimmered, the machinery gleamed, and in the center, surrounded by all his segments, was him, drawn with an unfamiliar gentleness.

Dottore stared at it for a long moment before finally speaking. “…It’s exceptional.”

Your face lit up, relief evident in your eyes. “Really?”

He nodded. “Really.”

From that day forward, your world found an unexpected harmony. Dottore still didn’t fully understand the way your mind worked, but he no longer tried to force you into a mold you weren’t meant for. Instead, he learned to meet you where you were, to build a bridge between logic and creativity.

And in return, you flourished.

Because while you could never be the scientist he had envisioned, you were something just as brilliant—his child, in all their chaotic, artistic, and endlessly fascinating glory.

[ratsoh-writes]

Hello! Remember how I said I was going to redo the lineup? Well I’ve finished page one already!

The plan is for every 1.5 weeks, I’ll post a new page of the skeletons adding their picture and info in a reblog on this same post. When it’s all done, it’ll be added on the pinned post.

Now, of course coming in first are the main 10!

1: Sans Wingdings (undertale)

Our classic lazy punny skeleton, sans is that goofy nerd we all adore. He's a personable character, his easy going nature and laid back mannerisms making it easy for him to win over new friends. However getting to know this skeleton beyond surface level is much harder. Behind his playful front is a nervous and cautious monster. Sans doesn't trust easily. Sans is a scholar at heart, and if he finds something interesting enough, you'll see this skeleton shed his lazy bones and really put in some work!

Age: 65

Birthday: January 28

Height: 5'2

(living)Family: papyrus, oak, willow

Best Friend(s): alphys, pluto, lens, G

Dislikes: red, wine

Hobbies: chemistry, physics, astronomy, robotics, playing the trombone, puns and brain teasers, puzzle video games

Favorite Food: ketchup, hot dogs, monster energy drinks

Favorite Flower: echo flowers

Favorite Color: sky blue

Preferred Music: jazz and instrumentals

Special ability: he can shortcut objects to himself without having to directly go to the object. Kinda like summoning things. He has to remember and be able to visualize exactly where the object is for it to work

Job: sans is the head engineer at the core in ridgeside village. He helps maintain the machinery above ground and the core below making sure the blend of magic and nuclear energy continues to run smoothly.

2: Papyrus Wingdings (undertale)

If you ever look up the word optimist in the dictionary, you'll find papyrus' name! Papyrus is a cheerful and friendly guy, always down to help someone out, even strangers! He's a firm believer of you get what you put in, so why spread hate when you can sow kindness! While he isn't innocent, he does often find himself in trouble from being too nice to the wrong person. Papyrus is notorious for putting his own principles in front of his safety, a fact that makes his family and friends rather protective.

Age: 49

Birthday: May 22

Height: 6'5

(living)Family: sans, oak, willow

Best Friend(s): undyne, star, jupiter, lilac

Dislikes: nobody! :)

Hobbies: puzzles, fencing, morning runs, sparring, collecting hotwheels, superhero comics, making DIY projects

Favorite Food: spaghetti and garlic bread!

Favorite Flower: Sunflowers

Favorite Color: cherry red

Preferred Music: heavy metal and screamo

Special ability: He is extra sensitive to corrupted magic, causing him to easily sense curses and cursed items.

Job: Papyrus designed and owns a thriving escape room building featuring three rooms! he rotates them every other month retiring one and coming out with a new one the same day. His business has been doing very well the last few years and he's been considering opening a second location.

3: Star Wingdings (underswap sans)

Star is a living breathing ball of pure ENERGY. No really, man could bounce off the wall for hours and not even break a sweat! Star is a very cheerful personality, if a tad manipulative. He has a rather cute face resulting in often being treated much younger than the grown ass adult he is lol. After a lifetime of this, he figured he might as well take advantage of it. Star is a very intelligent and capable monster and often forgets that his limits aren't shared by others. While he is a great hype man, he can come off as pushy and bossy if one does not set firm boundaries.

Age: 60

Birthday: March 25

Height: 5'4

(living)Family: honey, basil lilac Jeanie, cinnamon, many many other aunts/uncles/and cousins

Best Friend(s): papyrus Jupiter

Dislikes: Ace

Hobbies: running, sparring, weightlifting, volleyball, playing with the police dogs, sketching, hiking

Favorite Food: tacos, cinnamon buns and mayonnaise

Favorite Flower: bluebells

Favorite Color: mustard yellow

Preferred Music: rave and dubstep

Special ability: he doesn't get dizzy. doesn't matter how fast he's moving or what position he's in.

Job: Star is part of the royal guard in the peace guard division- aka the police force of ebott. Star is mainly put in search and rescue cases as he is rather talented at finding people. He also does a lot of patrolling though when times are slow.

4: Honey Snowtuft (underswap papyrus)

Honey is a kind and gentle soul. Not a single mean bone in his body. He's a bit of a shy guy and is quite awkward when one first meets him. However, once he relaxes around someone, honey is a chill and goofy guy with a bit of a mother hen side to him. Honey doesn't make friends easily and can be rather clingy when you get that title. He's also a huge nag to his friends, a product of having one of the most stubborn creatures alive as a brother. oh and he's a total nerd. *fun fact: the different last name is from his aunt Jeanie who raised him*

Age: 44

Birthday: March 2

Height: 6'3

(living)Family: star lilac basil Jeanie cinnamon and many many other aunts/uncles/cousins

Best Friend(s): salt

Dislikes: edge

Hobbies: Nintendo video games, Korean dramas, reading manhwas, romance novels, dungeons and dragons, baking, learning new languages

Favorite Food: cinnamon buns and mozzarella sticks

Favorite Flower: lilac

Favorite Color: brick red

Preferred Music: video game soundtracks

Special ability: He can innately understand the basic meaning behind any written language. Not the specific details, but the base context of a text comes naturally to him. He doesn't realize this is a special ability and just thinks languages come naturally to him.

Job: Honey is a freelance translator! he works from home and will translate all kinds of documents, books scripts, anything really. He knows over a dozen different languages!

5: Red Wingdings (underfell sans)

Red is a very prickly guy. He always seems to be on the defensive and will snap quickly at any perceived slight. He's had a rough life and not very many good experiences with strangers to draw from. It takes a very patient person to earn reds trust. Once you do though, you'll find a loyal deeply caring friend. Red with friends is a total goofball. He has a biting sense of humor and loves to tease. He's easily flustered and is fun to get a rise out of too. It's easy to tell when his blustering is just for show.

Age: 66

Birthday: january 10

Height: 5'4

(living)Family: edge rust noir fellby

Best Friend(s): oak

Dislikes: sans, BUTCH, literally all the other mafias by association

Hobbies: cars, taking cars apart and fixing them, watching nascar races, fishing, bar hopping, star trek movies and collectibles, playing with his pet cat

Favorite Food: burgers and barbeque

Favorite Flower: iris

Favorite Color: pastel yellow

Preferred Music: country or alternative rock

Special ability: his aura is very soothing to babies and toddlers making them naturally happy and friendly around him. It really ruins the bad boy look he's trying to go for.

Job: Red works as an electric engineer at the moment, but really he wants to work on cars full time. He's considering going back to school to get a degree.

6: Edge Wingdings (underfell papyrus)

Edge is a natural born leader. He has high expectations for himself and those under him, but he doesn't put others down for their failures. Instead, he brings them up helping them become their best versions- if they're willing to listen of course. Edge is stern and bossy around most but has a huge soft spot for the sweeties in his life. He's defenseless against a good set of puppy eyes. He's extremely protective of the people he considers "his" and is ready to go to war for them. Edge thrives in routine and rules and gets easily annoyed by those who deliberately ignore them.

Age: 43

Birthday: august 30

Height: 6'5

(living)Family: red rust noir fellby

Best Friend(s): rhythm crow storm willow

Dislikes: also willow- his greatest rival

Hobbies: collecting pens, watching nascar races, debate, fencing, sparring, cooking and baking, volunteering at the animal shelter, playing with his pet cat

Favorite Food: lasagna and red wine

Favorite Flower: red roses

Favorite Color: silver

Preferred Music: country and alternative rock

Special ability: He has an incredibly accurate sense of smell. He can list every ingredient in a food just by sniffing it.

Job: Edge works as a lawyer specializing in tenant and custody cases. He takes his job VERY seriously and has an impressive winning streak

7: Mal (swapfell sans)

Think of the attitude of someone who came from the streets, now has money but still lives like they're in the street and you have mal. His personality is a strange blend of diva and punk that seems to confuse many. He loves keeping people on their toes though, so this works out perfectly for him. Mal thrives off of drama and if he can't find any, he'll create his own. One of the most dangerous things in the world is a bored mal. He is clever and playful but biting towards those he deems weak. His friendship is not for the thin skinned.

Age: 60

Birthday: july 4

Height: 5'0

(living)Family: cash

Best Friend(s): wine, lord

Dislikes: green

Hobbies: gossip, shopping, jewelry making, sketching, watercolor, plotting his enemies downfalls, playing piano, knife tricks

Favorite Food: burritos and tres leches cake

Favorite Flower: yellow carnations

Favorite Color: silver and gold

Preferred Music: rap

Special ability: if he flicks something between his pointer finger and thumb, he can flick it so hard it would become lodged in a wall. He can also crack nuts between just those two digits as well as bend metal with ease.

Job: mal owns a little hole in the wall jewelry shop in downtown ebott. He resells used jewelry as well as his own deigns and the creations of other local artists.

8: Cash (swapfell papyrus)

Say hello to chaos incarnate. Sometimes it seems like cash's only purpose in life is to cause trouble lol. He's a very mischievous character as well as creative and deeply curious. A dangerous combination indeed. Cash lives for the laughs in life. He loves bringing smiles to people's faces with his jokes and pranks, but his moral compass is a bit skewed, and he can take things too far if left to his own devices. Cash has a strong desire to be better than what he is now and will cling to people who make him feel like he's doing good. He is a recovering addict and has to take care to say far away from those who would drag him back to that life.

Age: 51

Birthday: april 13

Height: 6'1

(living)Family: mal

Best Friend(s): bruiser cricket

Dislikes: mutt

Hobbies: PRANKS, skateboarding, parkour, urban exploring, collecting concerning amounts of hot sauce, bartering

Favorite Food: pizza and scarily spicy hot sauces

Favorite Flower: thistles

Favorite Color: neon orange

Preferred Music: musicals

Special ability: he can change the shape of his "vocal cords" to mimic sounds. Cash can copy voices, machinery, animals, almost everything. He is limited by volume though.

Job: Cash is a pizza delivery guy officially, but he also has a side hustle as a financial advisor. He has no degree, but his clients usually leave happy regardless.

9: Oak Wingdings (horrortale sans)

Despite technically being the same guy as sans, oak couldn't be more different. After a head injury wiped many of his memories, as well as experiencing his au's famine, oak has come out a very changed monster. Where sans is personable and playful, oak is shy and reserved. His memory issues makes many of his old passions difficult to participate causing oak to find new loves in life. Oak is kind and gentle but also aloof and nervous. He cant mask his emotions the same way his younger counterpart can anymore making him an open book. On bad days he's very snappy and irritable, angry at how helpless he feels.

Age: 75

Birthday: january 28

Height: 6'2

(living)Family: willow sans papyrus

Best Friend(s): red rust basil

Dislikes: star

Hobbies: baking, animal handling, fishing, nature walks, taking care of his chickens, playing his trombone, naps

Favorite Food: sandwiches

Favorite Flower: echo flowers

Favorite Color: grass green

Preferred Music: jazz and instrumentals

Special ability: like sans, oak can summon objects to himself but struggles to use his ability as it requires him remembering where he left them. He also has a surprise second ability where he has an aura that naturally attracts animals, making then docile and friendly. Even wild animals.

Job: Oak works in the kitchen of his brother's bakery on his good days. He also supplies a good portion of the eggs that the bakery uses each day.

Willow Wingdings (horrortale papyrus)

Experiencing the famine and caring for his deeply injured brother in his old au changed willow from the optimist he used to be. While still a cheerful character, Willow is now cautious where papyrus is bold. And if you cross willow once, you'll never do it again. He doesn't forgive easily. Willow cares deeply and seems to have this need to mother others lol. He's at his happiest when he's helping out someone he loves. He can't stand boredom and has to always be doing something to feel stable. He's rather openly sarcastic and has a surprisingly dry sense of humor.

Age: 59

Birthday: may 22

Height: 8'0

(living)Family: oak sans papyrus

Best Friend(s): basil noir lilac edge

Dislikes: edge- the annoying little twerp thinks he's his rival

Hobbies: BAKING, cooking in general, sewing, felting, crochet, knitting, clay crafts, embroidery, any sort of crafty activity really

Favorite Food: freshly baked bread

Favorite Flower: sunflowers

Favorite Color: tan and cream

Preferred Music: screamo and heavy metal

Special ability: He is very sensitive to corrupted magic. This means he can easily sense curses, cursed objects and possessions- something he's experienced in dealing with.

Job: Willow owns a bakery that specializes in savory breads rolls sandwiches and comes with a soup of the day as well! Its very cozy, and the bakery has even won a few rewards!

[stevebattle]

Kermit (1978), by Ron Milner and Larry Nicolson, Cyan Engineering, Atari's secret think tank in Grass Valley, CA.

"The robot was a pet project for Nolan Bushnell, then still the head of Atari and a very creative guy. Its purpose in life was as Nolan put it to "bring me a beer!" Navigation for robots was a sketchy thing at that time with lots of pioneering work at MIT but no consumer cost ideas. Nolan brought us the incredibly original idea to navigate a robot (which mostly meant knowing where it was) by means of scanning bar codes attached here and there to the baseboards in the rooms the robot was to service. Why it wasn't patented I don't know.

I had lots of fun building the R2D2 style robot about 20" tall. I liked to put mechanical and electronic things together and we had a great shop at Cyan. Its brain was one of the 6502 based single board computers-I think it was a KIM but not sure. Locomotion was two DC gear motor driven wheels and an instrumented caster-about the same rig as a modern Roomba. A rotatable turret covered with a plexiglass dome carried microphones, an IR sensor to detect people, and ultrasonic ranging sensors I built on a separate PC board. A speaker so Kermit could beep gleefully, of course.

A ring of contact-detecting burglar alarm sensing tape (green in the pictures) around Kermit's middle told the software he had hit something and should back off. The ultrasonics provided range to obstacles and to some extent direction as the turret was rotated, so we could go around things.

My pride and joy was the barcode remote scanner which was mounted on the bottom of the robot so its rotating head would be level with the barcodes on the baseboards. It had a vertical telescope tube with a beam splitter between the IR Led and the photodiode sensor and a lens to focus 2-20' away. It aimed down at a front surface mirror at 45 degree to scan horizontally. The mirror was mounted on a motor driven turret so it spun around continuously with a sensor once around to resolve the continuous angular position of the beam horizontally of course with respect to Kermit's rotational position. Unfortunately, this part of the robot did not survive the closing of our group. The barcodes I made for the prototype to detect were about 4" tall made of 3/4" reflective 3m tape on black poster board.

My programming partner on the project was Larry Nicholson, a really bright guy. He made the barcode reading work to detect not only the barcodes, but where they were angularly with respect to the robot and also their subtended angle or apparent size (all from timing of the rotation of the scanner) which was a measure of distance combined with angle from the barcode. We worked out some pretty clever math to resolve that information from two or three of the barcodes into a position and orientation of Kermit in the room. We had rented an empty room upstairs on the third floor of the Litton building to try all this out and work out the navigation. Larry and I got the basic navigation and obstacle avoidance working so Kermit could go from one place to a designated other place in the room and avoid wastebaskets placed randomly. We demonstrated it to Nolan and he was impressed.

Shortly thereafter Warner Communication who had bought Atari from Nolan kicked him out and the Kermit project was cancelled."

– Kermit The Robot Notes by Ron Milner.

[mariacallous]

Each of Trump's proposed appointments is a surprise.  It is comforting to think that he is simply a vengeful old man, lashing out this way and that.  This is unlikely.  He and Musk and Putin have been talking for years. And the whole idea of his campaign was that this time he had a plan.

We should be wary of shock, which excuses inaction.  Who could have known?  What could I have done?  If there is a plan, shock is part of the plan.  We have to get through the surprise and the shock to see the design and the risk.  We don't have much time. Nor is outrage the point. Of course we are outraged. But our own reactions can distract is from the larger pattern.

The newspapers address the surprise and the shock by investigating each proposed appointment individually.  And we need this.  With detail comes leverage and power.  But clarity must also come, and quickly.  Each appointment is part of a larger picture.  Taken together, Trump’s candidates constitute an attempt to wreck the American government.  

In historical context we can see this.  There is a history of the modern democratic state.  There is also a history of engineered regime change and deliberate state destruction.  In both histories, five key zones are health, law, administration, defense, and intelligence.  These people, with power over these areas of life, can make America impossible to sustain.

The foundation of modern democratic state is a healthy, long-lived population.  We lived longer in the twentieth century because of hygiene and vaccinations, pioneered by scientists and physicians and then institutionalized by governments.  We treat one another better when we know we have longer lives to lose.  Health is not only the central human good; it enables the peaceful interactions we associate with the rule of law and democracy.  Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the proposed secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, would undo all of this.  On his watch, were his ideas implemented, millions of us would die.  Knowing that our lives will be shorter, we become nasty and brutish.

A modern democratic state depends upon the rule of law.  Before anything else is possible, we have to endorse the principle that we are all governed by law, and that our institutions are grounded in law.  This enables a functional government of a specific sort, in which leaders can be regularly replaced by elections.  It allows us to live as free individuals, within a set of rules that we can alter together.  The rule of law depends on people who believe in the spirit of law.  Matt Gaetz, the proposed attorney general, is the opposite of such a person.  It is not just that he flouts law himself, spectacularly and disgustingly.  It is that he embodies lawlessness, and can be counted upon to abuse law to pursue Trump's political opponents.  The end of the rule of law is an essential component of a regime change.

The United States of America exists not only because laws are passed, but because we can expect that these laws will be implemented by civil servants.  We might find bureaucracy annoying; its absence, though, is deadly.  We cannot take the pollution out of the air ourselves, or build the highways ourselves, our write our Social Security checks ourselves.  Without a civil service, the law becomes mere paper, and all that works is the personal connection to the government, which the oligarchs will have, and which the rest of us will not.  This is the engineered helplessness promised by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who are to head a black hole named after a cryptocurrency.  There are already oversight instruments in government.  DOGE is something entirely different: an agency of destruction, run by people who believe that government should exist for the wealthy or not at all.

In a modern democratic state, the armed forces are meant to preserve a healthy, long-lived people from external threats.  This principal has been much abused in American practice.  But never before Donald Trump have we had a president who has presented the purpose of the armed forces as the oppression of Americans.  Trump says that Russia and China are less of a threat than "internal enemies."  In American tradition, members of the armed forces swear an oath to the Constitution.  Trump has indicated that we would prefer "Hitler's generals," which means a personal oath to himself.  Pete Hegseth, Trump's proposed secretary of defense, defends war criminals and displays tattoos associated with white nationalism and Christian nationalism.  He is a fundraiser and television personality, with a complicated sexual past and zero experience running an organization. 

In a world of hostile powers, an intelligence service is indispensable.  Intelligence can be abused, and certainly has been abused.  Yet it is necessary to consider military threats: consider the Biden administration's correct call the Russia was about to invade Ukraine.  It is also necessary to counter the attempts by foreign intelligence agencies, which are constant, to harm American society.  This often involves disinformation.  Tulsi Gabbard, insofar as she is known at all, is known as a spreader of Syrian and Russian disinformation.  She has no relevant experience.  Were she to become director of national intelligence, as Trump proposes, we would lose the trust of our allies, and lose contact with much of what is happening in the world -- just for starters.  We would be vulnerable to all of those who wish to cause us harm.

Imagine that you are a foreign leader who wishes to destroy the United States.  How could you do so?  The easiest way would be to get Americans to do the work themselves, to somehow induce Americans to undo their own health, law, administration, defense, and intelligence.  From this perspective, Trump's proposed appointments -- Kennedy, Jr.; Gaetz; Musk; Ramaswamy; Hegseth; Gabbard -- are perfect instruments.  They combine narcissism, incompetence, corruption, sexual incontinence, personal vulnerability, dangerous convictions, and foreign influence as no group before them has done.  These proposed appointments look like a decapitation strike: destroying the American government from the top, leaving the body politic to rot, and the rest of us to suffer.

I do not defend the status quo. I have no doubt whatsoever that the Department of Defense and the Food and Drug Administration require reform.  But such a reform, of these or other agencies, would have to be guided by people with knowledge and experience, who cared about their country, and who had a vision of improvement.  That is simply not what is happening here.  We are confronted instead with a group of people who, were they to hold the positions they have been assigned, could bring an end to the United States of America. 

It is a mistake to think of these people as flawed.  It is not they will do a bad job in their assigned posts.  It is that they will do a good job using those assigned posts to destroy our country.

However and by whomever this was organized, the intention of these appointments is clear: to create American horror.  Elected officials should see this for what it is.  Senators, regardless of party, should understand that the United States Senate will not outlast the United States, insist on voting, and vote accordingly.  The Supreme Court of the United States will likely be called upon.  Although it is a faint hope, one must venture it anyway: that its justices will understand that the Constitution was not in fact written as the cover story for state destruction.  The Supreme Court will also not outlast the United States.

And citizens, regardless of how they voted, need now to check their attitudes.  This is no longer a post-electoral moment.  It is a pre-catastrophic moment.  Trump voters are caught in the notion that Trump must be doing the right thing if Harris voters are upset.  But Harris voters are upset now because they love their country.  And Harris voters will have to get past the idea that Trump voters should reap what they have sown.  Yes, some of them did vote to burn it all down.  But if it all burns down, we burn too.  It is not easy to speak right now; but if some Republicans wish to, please listen.

Both inside and outside Congress, there will have to be simple defiance, joined with a rhetoric of a better America.  And, at moments at least, there will also have to be alliances among Americans who, though they differ on other matters, would like to see their country endure.

[ocherednoe-dno]

Amarnat as science ship crew: roles

working from the perspective of Stellaris

Paskal is team leader, and first on any away team. his axe has slain many novel space lifeforms. also deals in navigation and course-charting. cannot reveal at the time how often he gets to talk to aliens

Axiomantha is second in command, much less likely to be on an away team. her grasp of scientific knowledge is the widest, but she specializes in society research. liable to take the lead on archaeological digs and in deciphering heterofore-unknown alien languages

Audacia, who would have become Axiomantha's second body, is the crew's engineering specialist and in charge of keeping the instruments they need for exploration intact, promptly replaced and upgraded. unlike Axiomantha, very willing to enter combat [perhaps she feels her sister's smarter, and is trying to distinguish herself from her?]

Abel specializes in physics, and designs the ship's cybersecurity measures. he is the member who does not get on away teams unless safety is quite assured

Demetz operates the ship's comms and logs messages and discoveries. he's the guy to ask if something needs to be done 'off the record'. also busy anticipating threats and foolproofing the ship [the latter an unending effort, as these fools are very inventive]

Nihil maintains the ship. his is to repair, upgrade, retrofit. he is also the assistant in any scientific endeavor, not learned enough to be the specialist himself, and unofficial person to argue points to: he checks over Xio, Audie and Abel's conclusions. additionally, Nihil is frequently on away teams [if he gets the same burn injury and gets benched for a while, his mates may rue his absence while wading through a swamp on xenogeological missions]

Tarzus would be the political officer in a more tyrannical space polity. aside or without that, he's the quartermaster and in charge of repairing equipment. interested in fighting stuff.

[mecci1]

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[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Journey to a Water World: NASA’s Europa Clipper Is Ready to Launch

Find details about the launch sequences for the orbiter, which is targeting an Oct. 14 liftoff on its mission to search for ingredients of life at Jupiter’s moon Europa.

In less than 24 hours, NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft is slated to launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket. Its sights are set on Jupiter’s ice-encased moon Europa, which the spacecraft will fly by 49 times, coming as close as 16 miles (25 kilometers) from the surface as it searches for ingredients of life.

Launch is set for 12:06 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 14, with additional opportunities through Nov 6. Each opportunity is instantaneous, meaning there is only one exact time per day when launch can occur. Plans to launch Europa Clipper on Oct. 10 were delayed due to impacts of Hurricane Milton.

With its massive solar arrays extended, Europa Clipper could span a basketball court (100 feet, or 30.5 meters, tip to tip). In fact, it’s the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission. The journey to Jupiter is a long one — 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) — and rather than taking a straight path there, Europa Clipper will loop around Mars and then Earth, gaining speed as it swings past.

The spacecraft will begin orbiting Jupiter in April 2030, and in 2031 it will start making those 49 science-focused flybys of Europa while looping around the gas giant. The orbit is designed to maximize the science Europa Clipper can conduct and minimize exposure to Jupiter’s notoriously intense radiation.

But, of course, before any of that can happen, the spacecraft has to leave Earth behind. The orbiter’s solar arrays are folded and stowed for launch. Testing is complete on the spacecraft’s various systems and its payload of nine science instruments and a gravity science investigation. Loaded with over 6,060 pounds (2,750 kilograms) of the propellant that will get Europa Clipper to Jupiter, the spacecraft has been encapsulated in the protective nose cone, or payload fairing, atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, which is poised for takeoff from historic Launch Complex 39A.

Launch Sequences

The Falcon Heavy has two stages and two side boosters. After the side boosters separate, the core stage will be expended into the Atlantic Ocean. Then the second stage of the rocket, which will help Europa Clipper escape Earth’s gravity, will fire its engine.

Once the rocket is out of Earth’s atmosphere, about 50 minutes after launch, the payload fairing will separate from its ride, split into two halves, and fall safely back to Earth, where it will be recovered and reused. The spacecraft will then separate from the upper stage about an hour after launch. Stable communication with the spacecraft is expected by about 19 minutes after separation from the rocket, but it could take somewhat longer.

About three hours after launch, Europa Clipper will deploy its pair of massive solar arrays, one at a time, and direct them at the Sun.

Mission controllers will then begin to reconfigure the spacecraft into its planned operating mode. The ensuing three months of initial checkout include a commissioning phase to confirm that all hardware and software is operating as expected.

While Europa Clipper is not a life-detection mission, it will tell us whether Europa is a promising place to pursue an answer to the fundamental question about our solar system and beyond: Are we alone?

Scientists suspect that the ingredients for life — water, chemistry, and energy — could exist at the moon Europa right now. Previous missions have found strong evidence of an ocean beneath the moon’s thick icy crust, potentially with twice as much liquid water as all of Earth’s oceans combined. Europa may be home to organic compounds, which are essential chemical building blocks for life. Europa Clipper will help scientists confirm whether organics are there, and also help them look for evidence of energy sources under the moon’s surface.

More About Europa Clipper

Europa Clipper’s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.

Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. APL designed the main spacecraft body in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama; and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission.

NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.

TOP IMAGE: Technicians encapsulated NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside payload fairings on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fairings will protect the spacecraft during launch as it begins its journey to explore Jupiter’s icy... Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

CENTRE IMAGE: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with the Europa Clipper spacecraft aboard is seen at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the mission, Sunday, Oct. 13, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA

LOWER IMAGE: This artist’s concept depicts NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft in orbit at Jupiter as it passes over the gas giant’s icy moon Europa (lower right). Scheduled to arrive at Jupiter in April 2030, the mission will be the first to specifically target Europa for detailed science investigation. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

[bubbblesss000]

SERIES MASTERLIST // BLOG MASTERLIST

Antimony represents the wild and animalistic parts of human nature~

an Edward Elric x reader fanfiction.

~08~

Trigger Warning: De@th. A/N: I cried writing this chapter, so be warned.

The rain had finally stopped, leaving behind a fresh scent of damp earth as sunshine peeked through the retreating clouds. Winry, Edward, Alphonse, and Y/N emerged from Dominic's shop, their hearts still buzzing from the night before. The group gathered their things, and the sound of water droplets trickling from the leaves filled the air as they made their way down the mountain path, the sun glinting off small puddles along the way. Winry animatedly discussed the future projects she had in mind at her apprenticeship, her eyes sparkling with ideas as she laughed with Y/N. Edward, with his trademark scowl, chimed in occasionally, playfully arguing about the practicality of Winry's designs. Alphonse, his gentle presence providing a calm to the spirited discussions, smiled and added his thoughts, emphasizing how exciting it all was. As they meandered down the winding path. The atmosphere felt charged with promise, each step a journey through both the physical and metaphorical landscapes of their lives. Laughter echoed around them, blending with whispers of nature as they recounted past adventures, each story igniting new moments of joy. Soon, they reached a bend in the path where an overlook revealed the valley below. All four friends paused to take in the view, the sprawling landscape painted with the remnants of rain. The world unfurled before them like an artist’s canvas, displaying a masterpiece of life and color, the hustle and bustle of rush valley chugging away as usual. 

The clattering of metal and the whirring of automail filled the air as Winry Rockbell navigated through the throng of townsfolk, followed by her friends. Her engineering eyes sparkled with excitement, the vibrant atmosphere impossible to ignore. She was on her way to meet Garfiel, a friendly mechanic referred to her by Dominic, he was known for his impressive skill with machines. As they reached the town center, the sun beamed down, illuminating an array of colorful stalls offering mechanical parts, shining automail accessories, and delicious street food. Winry paused, taking in the scene, her heart thumping with anticipation. A wedding of chaos and order unfolded before her eyes; mechanics were joyfully arguing over gear measurements while grandmothers argued over the price of bolts. The group stepped into Garfiel's shop for the first time, the tinkling of the brass bell overhead announcing their arrival. The shop was cozy, filled with gadgets and tools, an abundance of machinery delicately arranged on every surface. Winry’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she ran her fingers over the various instruments, each one sparking ideas for new automail designs. Beside her, Edward, with his characteristic impatience, shuffled through the aisles, looking for something he couldn’t quite express. Al, with his imposing armor, marveled at the intricate inventions, his voice echoing in the small space as he voiced his admiration.

“Look at this!” Edward exclaimed, holding up a peculiar item he found tucked in a corner—a small, rusted gear that seemed to have a story of its own. Winry's enthusiasm was infectious as she rushed over, her hands gentle as she inspected it closely, her brow furrowed in concentration. Al simply nodded, quietly content to watch them. 

“Y/N, you��ve been quiet,” Al finally said, turning to her, his voice soft and welcoming. She stood beside the armoured boy as she processed the sights around her. “You okay?” he asked, inclining his head slightly. The warmth of Al’s presence made her feel at ease, even in a shop brimming with curiosities. She smiled up at him, “Yeah, of course.”

“Welcome!” Garfeil called from the back, a friendly grin lighting up his face as he wiped his hands on a rag “You must be Winry!”. He looked every bit the part of a skilled craftsman, with grease stains streaked across his apron and a hint of an accent in his voice that hinted at a rich history. Winry smiled back, feeling a flutter of admiration at his enthusiasm. As they talked, Garfeil listened intently to her plans and shared his own thoughts about improving the design of automail. Winry felt her excitement grow as he showed her a few of his inventions. They discussed everything from the most efficient materials to the importance of comfort in a prosthetic limb. To Winry’s delight, Garfeil’s ideas resonated deeply with her own, and she found herself losing track of time as their conversation flowed easily back and forth.

After their introductions, Winry led the way, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she navigated through the colorful marketplace, eager to see the latest automail advancements. Y/N walked beside her, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the lively atmosphere. Edward and Alphonse followed closely, their eyes darting around, captivated by the unique creations of the skilled artisans. As they wandered deeper into the market, Winry stopped at a stall displaying intricate automail accessories. She picked up a beautifully crafted arm brace, turning it over in her hands, admiring the craftsmanship. “Look at this, Y/N! The design is both functional and elegant,” she said, beaming. Y/N smiled, captivated by Winry’s passion for her work and the world around her. The brothers, meanwhile, were drawn to a nearby stall filled with various trinkets and oddities. Al was fascinated by a small, animated mechanical bird, while Ed was busy bickering over the price of a brass gear. They paused at a food stall, the mouthwatering scent of grilled meat filling the air. Winry ordered a plateful, her cheeks flushed with excitement. Y/N couldn’t help but chuckle at the sheer joy on her face. As they sat down to eat, Al shared he was definitely going to put this on his list of food to try when he gets his body back. 

After a hearty meal, they resumed their exploration, wandering through the maze of stalls that felt like a treasure trove. Laughter and chatter surrounded them, and it felt as if the bustle of the world outside had faded away. 

As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink, Y/N and Winry Rockbell stood on the platform of Rush Valley's train station, waving goodbye to the Elric brothers. Edward, with his trademark grin and tousled blond hair, gave a cheerful salute while Alphonse, clad in his towering armor, offered a gentle smile that illuminated the dimming light, as they headed off to Dublith to go see their teacher. Y/N’s train pulled into the station not long after, its whistle echoing through the bustling crowd. As the steam billowed from the train, she turned to wave at Winry, who stood nearby, a bright smile on her face. "Come back soon!" Winry called, her voice filled with warmth. Y/N nodded, her heart heavy but full of fond memories. As Y/N stepped aboard the train, the warmth of the evening sun clung to her skin like a memory she wasn’t ready to let go. The rhythmic chugging of the engine mingled with the distant laughter of children playing on the platform, creating a bittersweet symphony that tugged at her heartstrings. She settled into her seat by  the window, allowing her gaze to drift back toward Winry, who remained rooted in place, waving until she was nothing more than a tiny figure against the backdrop of Rush Valley.

The train lurched forward, and with each passing moment, Y/N felt the distance grow between her and everything she loved about this place. The hills rolled away like waves receding from shore, and soon they were swallowed by the shadows of twilight. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass, watching as familiar sights blurred into abstract shapes—a reminder that life was always in motion. With each mile that passed beneath her, Y/N felt herself growing more and more tired, the adrenaline of the last 48 hours slowly wearing off. The gentle sway of the carriage mimicked her own heart, still fluttering from the memory of the night before. It was a cool evening when Edward had enveloped her in a hug, their laughter mingling with the whispers of the wind as they sat under the stormy clouds. But now, as shadows stretched across the land and twilight painted everything in shades of indigo and gold, Why was she even thinking about that? It wasn’t the first time they had shared an embrace, so why was it on her mind now? The thought settled heavily in her chest, mingling with fatigue. 

As the train rattled toward Central, Y/N found herself staring out the window, a strange sinking feeling in her stomach. Something felt off, and the sense of foreboding only deepened as the city drew closer. Y/N couldn’t shake the feeling. She began looking around suspiciously, it seemed like there was always a thread of danger lurking in the backdrop recently. Had the homunculi followed them to Rush Valley? Were they following her? Y/N's heart raced as she scrutinized the faces around her, searching for any sign of familiarity in the crowd that swayed with the train’s rhythm. She could almost hear the whispers of her fears echoing in her mind—every shadow seemed to flicker with malevolence, every stranger an agent of chaos.

As the train lurched to a stop, Y/N's breath caught in her throat. The bustling noise of Central Station spilled into the carriage like an unwelcome tide, drowning her thoughts in a cacophony of hurried footsteps and distant announcements. She hesitated before stepping onto the platform, her instincts screaming at her to turn back. Shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her coat, she emerged into the throng of commuters. Each face blurred past her—some hurrying to catch connections, others lost in their own worlds. 

With each step forward, she recalled snippets of conversations overheard on previous journeys—the whispers about homunculi sightings, rumors that danced dangerously close to reality. Were they truly following her? Or was it simply her sleepy mind deceiving itself. Her heart pounded against her ribcage like a caged bird desperate for escape. She leaned against a pillar in the busy station, just watching, just in case she was followed. as she stood there, cocooned in the jacket, the world around her seemed to blur even more. The cacophony of rushing feet faded into a distant hum. As her heart rate gradually returned to its normal rhythm, she couldn't help but wonder if it had all been a figment of her imagination. With a deep breath, she stood up straight and made her way towards the exit, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over her. At that moment, she realized that she needed to give herself an early night. As walked down the stairs, the events of the day replayed in her mind. She promised herself to listen to her body more and not ignore the signs of stress and anxiety. Taking a hot bath and getting a good night's sleep sounded like the perfect remedy for her overwhelmed mind.

Y/N walked home through the dimly lit streets of Central, the cool night air brushing against her skin. The sounds of the bustling city were quieting down, leaving only the soft echo of distant footsteps and the rustling of leaves. Streetlamps flickered above, casting a warm glow on the cobblestone pathway. Y/N hugged her coat closer, feeling the chill of the night deepen. Y/N's thoughts drifted like the clouds above, as she started to walk past central command a crow caught her attention, its caw jarring against the quiet of the night. Y/N paused, her breath visible in the crisp air as she watched the crow flap its wings and take flight, a shadow against the moonlit sky. It circled above before landing on a nearby lamppost, its beady eyes glinting with an otherworldly intelligence. Something about the bird felt significant. With a flick of its head, the crow seemed to beckon her closer. Intrigued, Y/N took a hesitant step forward, her curiosity battling with an instinctual wariness. The world around her faded into a hush; even the distant hum of traffic seemed to hold its breath. The crow cawed again, this time more insistent. Y/N walked towards the bird, as she got closer, it flew off leaving her in almost silence. A nearby phone box was off the hook, its dial tone painfully loud. Compelled by a force she couldn’t quite understand, she followed the noise, shadows danced playfully along cobblestones slick with dew. Each step felt heavier than the last.

As Y/N approached the phone box, the air grew thick. She saw a man's legs, as if someone was sitting on the floor of the box, but they were sitting in a dark puddle. Has someone fallen ill? She rushed over to help the unknown man. “A military uniform?” she questioned aloud. Y/N was now standing in front of the phone box, her blood ran cold. “Uncle Maes!” She shouted, crouched, pawing at his jacket in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, wherever it was coming from.Y/N's hands trembled as she pressed against her uncle's jacket, the fabric slick with dark crimson. Panic surged through her veins like wildfire. "Stay with me, Uncle Maes!" she pleaded, tears falling, her voice breaking as she searched his face for any sign of consciousness. His usually vibrant eyes were now closed, shadowed beneath furrowed brows that hinted at pain. Y/N's heart raced as she frantically assessed the situation. The world around her faded into a blur, the only sound cutting through the fog of her thoughts was the dial tone of the phone hanging above them. She pressed harder against his jacket, feeling the warmth of his blood seep through her fingers, though his body was cold.

"Please, please," she whispered, desperation threading through each word. Her mind raced back to all the stories he had told her—tales of bravery and heroism in distant lands, adventures that now felt like cruel mockeries in the face of this grim reality. She could almost hear his laughter echoing in her ears, a sound that seemed impossibly far away now. 

With trembling hands, Y/N stood, now covered in Hughes’ blood, she put the phone back on its hook and lifted it again. From her pocket she fished out a coin. It slipped through her fingers once, then twice before she caught it again; time was slipping away just like that coin. Her vision blurred as tears pooled in her eyes. "Come on!" she urged herself silently, tapping furiously at the keypad.

“Please answer!” The ringing tone echoed ominously against the stillness enveloping them. Each ring felt like a hammer striking against the walls of her resolve. 

“Hello, Central Command,” the operator answered.

“Please connect me to Colonel Roy Mustang! It's an emergency!” Y/N cried down the phone, her chest tight. She gave the operator her emergency military code phase, and waited. “Hold on, please,” the operator replied, her voice steady but distant. Y/N could hear the faint rustling of papers and the tapping of keys as she was put on hold. Time stretched in that moment, each second an eternity filled with dread. The weight of Hughes’ lifeless body pressed heavily on her mind, drowning out any hope she had left.

“Y/N?” The familiar voice cut through the fog of despair like a beacon. “What’s going on?”

 She could barely choke out the words, her breath hitching as she struggled to find her voice. “Dad, it’s… it’s Uncle Maes. He’s—” Her throat tightened, making it hard to breathe, let alone speak. “He’s dead! They… they killed him!” The confession spilled out like an open wound, raw and bleeding.

There was a moment of silence on the other end that felt like a dagger twisting in her gut. “What? Y/N, where are you?” Roy’s tone shifted instantly from confusion to urgency.

“Phone box, outside” she managed to say, looking down at Hughes’ body sprawled against the confinements of the booth below her feet, his eyes staring blankly at the sky above. It felt surreal, as if she were watching a scene unfold from behind a glass wall.

“Stay where you are, Y/N. I’m coming,” Roy’s voice crackled through the line, filled with authority and concern.

The world around her faded, the cacophony of the city reduced to a dull roar, as if she were submerged in water. The chilling reality of her words echoed in her mind, drowning out everything else. She could still see Hughes’ face—his warm smile that had always been a beacon of light in their lives now frozen in an expression of disbelief. She crouched back down to him, praying, begging for this to be a cruel nightmare, trying to shake him awake, her tears falling from her face onto his stained uniform. Her shaking slowed, reality taking hold, her cries growing stronger, louder, her blood-stained hands holding onto his jacket for dear life.

The five minutes it took Roy and his team to make it outside, felt like hours to Y/N, she stayed holding onto Maes lifeless body. 

As the weight of her grief anchored her to the ground, Y/N felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. It was Roy, his expression a mix of sorrow and determination, the flicker of hope dimming in his eyes. “Y/N,” he whispered, his voice barely above a breath, “You need to let go.”

But she couldn’t move. The world around her blurred into an indistinct haze; all that existed was Maes—his laughter echoing in her mind like a haunting melody, the warmth of his friendship now turned cold. She wanted to scream, to shatter the silence that enveloped them, but all that escaped her lips was a choked sob.

“Please,” Roy implored. The colonel had to pry his daughter from the corpse of his dearest friend. He pulled the girl into his arms and away from the phone booth, mirroring the way he did 8 years ago, when she discovered her mother's body. They sat on the curb across from the booth as more military officers turned up. She just stayed crying into her father’s jacket, a shell of her usual happy self.

Roy held Y/N tightly, feeling her small frame tremble against him, the weight of grief pressing down like an unyielding fog. Around them, the world continued to spin—officers moved with purpose, their voices a distant murmur that faded into the background. He wished he could shield her from it all, from the reality that had clawed its way into their lives once more.

"Y/N," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion, "I need you to listen to me." But she was lost in a chasm of despair, the echoes of Maes's laughter fading into silence. Her fingers twisted and turned in his jacket as if seeking some anchor in this storm of sorrow. He gently brushed Y/N's hair back from her face, trying to catch her eye. “We’ll get through this,” he said with a conviction he didn’t fully feel. “You’re not alone.” But even as he spoke those words meant to comfort her, doubt gnawed at him like a relentless tide.

Just then, a young officer approached them cautiously. “Colonel Mustang,” he began hesitantly, glancing at Y/N before continuing. “We need her statement about what happened.”

Roy shook his head slightly. “Not now.” His voice was firm yet gentle—a protective barrier against further intrusion. The officer nodded understandingly but lingered for a moment longer before stepping back into the fray.

[hirocimacruiser]

Mazda Familia GT-R review

Mazda Familia/GT-R

This is Mazda's cash cow Familia's WRC entry machine!

This Familia GT-R is also a rally model. By distributing the driving force unevenly between the front and rear, it has eliminated the disadvantage of 4WD vehicles when driving around curves. Of course, it also ensures practicality as a compact two-box vehicle at an above-average level.

Vehicle configuration

-What is the positioning of this car?

Positioned as Familia's top-of-the-line car

Familia is a popular car that has established a solid market share. The GT-R is the top-of-the-line model. The GT-R is a sports car developed from Familia with the aim of participating in rally races. It is difficult to demonstrate technical features in this class, but Mazda is asserting the uniqueness of the GT-R by equipping it with a full-time 4WD system exclusive to the GT-R.

Naturally, the GT-R is only available with one engine: the 1800cc inline 4-cylinder DOHC turbo, which produces a maximum output of 180 horsepower in the GT-X but increased to 210 in the GT-R. The body is only available as a 3-door hatchback.

Equipment & Mecha

Here are the noteworthy equipment and mechanisms!

Improved driving performance by changing torque distribution between front and rear wheels

In addition to the GT-R, the Familia also has other full-time 4WD models available, but Mazda classifies the GT-R and GT-X as sports 4WDs, and the other 4WD models as lifestyle 4WDs.

Naturally, the full-time 4WD system used in the GT-R is different from other 4WD vehicles, and mechanically it has a center differential with a viscous coupling-type LSD which distributes driving force unevenly between the front and rear wheels at 43:57.

The engine is a 1800cc inline 4-cylinder DOHC 16-valve turbocharged engine with a horsepower output of 210. The figures may seem a little ordinary, but when you use it to its full potential, it still feels thrilling to drive.

The appeal of 4WD driving!

The compact body and crisp driving are appealing

The uneven torque distribution of 45:57 between the front and rear is exactly the same as that used by Lancia, the multiple-time rally champion, in its Delta. The main advantage of this is that it makes it easier for the car to turn around curves, and this is also evident in the Familia GT-R.

In any case, the Familia GT-R shows a finish that doesn't make you feel any datedness when it first debuted when it comes to its movement around curves. There is no impression that it has any particularly advanced mechanisms, but when you turn the steering wheel, the car changes direction instantly and faithfully.

This feeling of being able to ride a bike is likely to be hard to give up for those who are still strongly sport-oriented.

The DOHC 16 valve + turbo engine also shows easy-to-handle characteristics. As expected, the feeling at low revolutions is a little inferior compared to the turbo engines that have appeared in the past few years, but the powerful feeling after the turbo starts to work is very stimulating.

The compact body, powerful engine, and full-time 4WD system, which is no longer innovative but delivers an outstanding driving experience, all of these elements come together perfectly to give the Familia GT-R a performance that still feels like it can compete at the front line.

PIC CAPTIONS

→The engine's distinctive feature is that it runs smoothly up to high speeds.

←1800 DOHC turbo that delivers a maximum output of 215 horsepower.

Check the room!

The interior design shows signs of age.

The age of the design is most evident in the interior. The design around the instrument panel, which skillfully combines straight lines and curves, certainly left a sophisticated impression when it was first released, but unfortunately it is difficult to be satisfied with it today, both in terms of design and texture.

The comfort around the rear seats is not particularly satisfactory, not only in this GT-R, but in all Familia cars.

PIC CAPTIONS

→Design aside, the instrument panel is highly practical.

↑The driver's seat is firm and comfortable, so you won't get tired easily.

rival

This is the rival car in terms of driving!!!!!

The company is losing ground to new rivals.

The Lancer and other models are the first cars that should be mentioned as rivals, but the differences in design are obvious. The Familia GT-R's driving is certainly sporty enough to stir the spirit of sport, but it can no longer compete with the Lancer in terms of ultimate punch, and it also cannot compete with the Familia in terms of quietness and vibration.

The GT-R's DOHC turbo engine is far ahead of the competition.

Even though it is a full-time 4WD system, the Familia GT-R's center differential system gives a rough driving feel when compared to the many sports 4WD cars currently on the market. The car's greatest appeal was its crisp and natural handling on curves, but the reason for this is that so many sports 4WDs that surpassed it have appeared in a short period of time. Unfortunately, when trying to enjoy serious sports driving, there are many dissatisfaction points with the body rigidity and suspension design. With the Familia itself due for a full model change soon, it seems a bit harsh to ask for such things, but it is a shame that the car's basic design was not fully developed.

PIC CAPTIONS

↑Compared to newer cars like the Lancer, the age of the design is obvious overall.

[liverpriest]

Laying a Foundation

This is a bass guitar:

Based on the name, it's a guitar that plays bass notes. As a piece of engineering, it works just like an electric guitar: metal strings stretch over magnetic pickups, vibrating when struck to produce a low-voltage musical signal. Standard tuning is an octave down from the lowest four strings of a guitar. Certain details stand out—why only four strings?* Why do most bassists pluck them fingerstyle one at a time rather than strumming?

Maybe because it's also a bass that's shaped like a guitar. To be precise, it's a double bass:

"Double" here is not an adjective but a verb. In a classical orchestra, this instrument typically doubles the cello, playing the same parts in a lower register. Like a cello or a violin, it's usually bowed and sometimes plucked.

By the early 20th century, double bass had become popular among jazz players, and it spread from there to blues and eventually rock 'n roll. Whereas orchestral players use the bass mainly to fill out the audible spectrum, jazz players in smaller ensembles see it as a bridge between the rhythmic and melodic parts of the music. (It's tempting to use the past tense, but all of this is still going on.) Hence the walking bassline: by playing steady quarter notes and moving smoothly between the roots of each chord, the bass player reinforces tempo and tonality. In this context, the rich variety of sounds that a bow can produce becomes less important than the rhythmic certainty of a pluck or even a slap.

The main drawback of the double bass is the obvious one: it's fucking big. Like a tuba, kick drum, or these things, the acoustic bass needs to move a lot of air to create audible low notes. Leo Fender, one of the pioneering designers of electric guitars, saw the demand for a smaller, more convenient instrument that could play the part of a double, and the precision bass was born. It takes design cues like the body shape and fretted neck from the guitar, but its tuning and—most importantly—its first players came straight from double bass. The quirks of the bass guitar are the quirks of the double bass, as played by jazz and bebop artists of the 40's and 50's.

My point is, what a musical instrument "is" can't be determined only by seeing and hearing it. Every instrument reflects its cultural context, not only in design but also in the way that it's approached by musicians. I'd like to write more about the bass guitar, some of its influential players, and my experience learning it over the last few years.

*Of course, you can find basses with 5, 6, 7, or more, but 4 strings are about as standard as 6 on guitar.

[sailorsol]

Thinking about Pacific Rim on the way to work this morning, as one does, and how there is a fundamental misunderstanding of how nuclear reactors generate power. They would be terrible power sources for mechas, not just because of radiation concerns, but because of how much stuff they require. Like, inherently, you need the reactor but you also need a cooling system that generates steam to power a steam turbine to generate power in an electrical motor. Even a small reactor system like in a nuclear powered submarine is significantly larger than most people think.

Like, a Los Angeles class fast-attack submarine is 350 ft long. Almost half of that space is taken up by the power plant system. That's 175 ft, or over 50 m. That's roughly equivalent to a 14 story building. Gypsy Danger is 260 ft tall. If 1/3 of its height is the torso, that's ~80 ft. Not enough room for a small nuclear power plant. And that's with what we were capable of building in the early 2010s. That space also doesn't take into account all of the coolant needed, whether it's a water-cooled reactor or a sodium-cooled reactor. And that's not even considering the weight of all of that stuff. Plus the fact that, while a sodium-cooled reactor may be more efficient, it is also highly flammable. There's a reason Jimmy Carter refused to allow sodium-cooled reactors on US nuclear submarines, and he was basically considered the father of the nuclear navy.

On top of all of that, nuclear reactors are fussy. They don't like getting knocked around. There's a lot of delicate instrumentation, and the entire system is running at high temperatures and high pressures. We're talking 250 to 300 °C (482 to 572 °F) and >2000 PSI (136 atm, or 136 times normal outside pressure). You need a very robust system of pipes and pumps to handle that sort of thing, and if any of it breaks, at best you're getting irradiated water and at worst you could be looking at a hydrogen or sodium explosion depending on the type of cooling system.

All of these concerns regarding weight and size are basically why nuclear-powered jet engines never took off (hah). Yes, they were actually being designed, by both Pratt & Whitney and General Electric, the two major jet engine manufacturers in the US. While the GE design was "relatively" small, it was a direct air cycle, which means that the air powering the turbine was heated up directly by the nuclear reactor, meaning that the exhaust from the engines were irradiated. So using it meant spewing radiation behind it.

That's not even taking into account that the first nuclear-powered jaeger was built in ~2014, a time when nuclear power was especially contentious. If it had been pre-Fukushima, when the "nuclear renaissance" was still holding strong, I could believe that they may have tried for a nuclear-powered jaeger. But post-Fukushima? Not so much.

So yes, it's highly unlikely that we would have developed nuclear-powered mecha. What's more likely is that we would have seen huge advances in rechargeable batteries, fuel cells, and electric motors. We are just now seeing in the early 2020s an electric motor that can generate power on the same scale as a combustion jet engine, but the amount of power to run that motor is still beyond the capacity of what we have for battery storage. And the problem we see, of course, with the rechargeable batteries being used in electric cars is that they tend to catch on fire.

All that being said, yes, I recognize that it is a sci-fi movie and the science aspect is more or less just ignored. But this is what happens when you have a bored writer who has also been in the power generation industry for nearly 17 years.

Tl;dr. We wouldn't have used nuclear-powered mecha, we probably would have advanced electric motors and batteries by leaps and bounds.