#Network design and implementation

[sweetestflow3rs]

me when i have an idea of how dod!mean lesbian!vanida looks like ( thanks sua from alst ) but i still have no idea what is her catalyst moment

[vivencyglobal]

IT Networking Solutions by Vivency Technology LLC

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[projectchampionz]

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CHATBOT FOR STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM USING MULTILAYER PERCEPTRON NEURAL NETWORK ALGORITHM

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CHATBOT FOR STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM USING MULTILAYER PERCEPTRON NEURAL NETWORK ALGORITHM Abstract: Nowadays humans cannot be separated from technology because it has played a great role in human lives. With the development of technology, many things could be easier to do. One of the technologies that can make human lives easier is a chatbot. Chatbot is a digital…

[ritumistry11]

BBA in Operations and Supply Chain Management - Northwood University - Northwest Executive Education

Northwood’s Bachelor of Business Administration in Operations and Supply Chain Management, a STEM certified program, will teach you how to approach operations and supply chain management with a business mindset

https://northwest.education/northwood-bachelor-of-business-administration-in-operations-and-supply-chain-management/

[thatswhywelovegermany]

November 9, the fateful day of the Germans in history

Nov 9, 1313: Battle of Gammelsdorf - Louis IV defeats his cousin Frederick the Fair marking the beginning of a series of disputes over supremacy between the House of Wittelsbach and the House of Habsburg in the Holy Roman Empire

Nov 9, 1848: Execution of Robert Blum (a german politician) - this event is said to mark the beginning of the end of the March Revolution in 1848/49, the first attempt of establishing a democracy in Germany

Nov 9, 1914: Sinking of the SMS Emden, the most successful German ship in world war I in the indo-pacific, its name is still used as a word in Tamil and Sinhala for a cheeky troublemaker

Nov 9, 1918: German Revolution of 1918/19 in Berlin. Chancellor Max von Baden unilaterally announces the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and entrusts Friedrich Ebert with the official duties. At around 2 p.m., the Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann proclaims the "German Republic" from the Reichstag building. Two hours later, the Spartacist Karl Liebknecht proclaims the "German Soviet Republic" from the Berlin City Palace.

Nov. 9, 1923: The Hitler-Ludendorff Putsch (Munich Beer Hall Putsch) is bloodily suppressed by the Bavarian State Police in front of the Feldherrnhalle in Munich after the Bavarian Prime Minister Gustav Ritter von Kahr announces on the radio that he has withdrawn his support for the putsch and that the NSDAP is being dissolved.

Nov 9, 1925: Hitler imposes the formation of the Schutzstaffel (SS).

Nov 9, 1936: National Socialists remove the memorial of composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in front of the Gewandhaus concert hall in Leipzig.

Nov 9, 1938: November Pogrom / Pogrom Night ("Night of Broken Glass") organized by the Nazi state against the Jewish population of Germany.

Nov 9, 1939: The abduction of two british officiers from the Secret Intelligence Service by the SS in Venlo, Netherlands, renders the British spy network in continental Europe useless and provides Hitler with the pretext to invade the Netherlands in 1940.

Nov 9, 1948: Berlin Blockade Speech - West Berlin mayor Ernst Reuter delivers a speech with the famous words "Peoples of the world, look at this city and recognize that you cannot, that you must not abandon this city".

Nov 9, 1955: Federal Constitutional Court decision: all Austrians who have acquired german citizenship through annexation in 1938, automatically lost it after Austria became sovereign again.

Nov 9, 1967: Students protest against former Nazi professors still teaching at German universities, showing the banner ”Unter den Talaren – Muff von 1000 Jahren” ("Under the gowns – mustiness of 1000 years", referring to the self-designation of Nazi Germany as the 'Empire of 1000 Years') and it becomes one of the main symbols of the Movement of 1968 (the German Student  Movement).

Nov 9, 1969: Anti-Semitic bomb attack - the radical left-winged pro-palestinian organization “Tupamaros West-Berlin” hides a bomb in the jewish community house in Berlin. It never exploded though.

Nov 9, 1974: death of Holger Meins - the member of the left-radical terrorist group Red Army Faction (RAF) financed in part by the GDR that eventually killed 30 people, dies after 58 days of hunger strike, triggering a second wave of terrorism.

Nov 9, 1989: Fall of the Berlin Wall - After months of unrest, demonstrations and tens of thousands escaping to West Germany, poorly briefed spokesman of the newly formed GDR government Günter Schabowski announces that private trips to non-socialist foreign countries are allowed from now on. Tens of thousands of East Berliners flock to the border crossings and overwhelm the border guards who had not received any instructions yet because the hastily implemented new travel regulations were supposed to be effective only the following day and involved the application for exit visas at a police office. Subsequently, crossing the border between both German states became possible vitrually everywhere.

[reality-detective]

MON. 10 MARCH 2025: UNSTOPPABLE! 300,000 Military Troops Deployed as the EBS Countdown Begins—Unleashing the Greatest Revelation in Human History!

· The final chapter is here. The Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) is set to detonate a truth bomb so massive it will shatter the Deep State’s (DS) grip on humanity. The global takedown is in motion.

· Trump and the Military Execute the Final Phase: Under Donald J. Trump and a worldwide military coalition, 300,000 troops are executing the most decisive operation in history. March 2025 marks the moment the DS feared most. There are no escape routes left. Every move has been countered.

· The DS has tried false flags, financial collapses, and new pandemics to stop what’s coming. But every plan has been intercepted. The EBS activation is no longer a possibility—it’s inevitable.

· Deep State Strongholds Raided Globally: The military’s worldwide operations are exposing the darkest secrets of the DS:

· Ukraine: The Real Battlefield – Coalition forces uncovered underground bioweapon labs designed for mass extermination.

· U.S. Underground Bases Neutralized – From Denver Airport to Dulce, NM, DS trafficking networks and experimental labs have been eliminated.

· The Vatican’s Hidden World – Ancient tunnels beneath Vatican City reveal centuries of ritualistic abuse and financial corruption.

· Star Link: The DS’s Worst Nightmare: Elon Musk’s Star Link AI “Prometheus” has gained full control of global communications. DS assets attempting cyberattacks and retaliatory strikes have been intercepted and neutralized.

· EBS Will Reveal: Robotic Impostors: Evidence proving world leaders were AI-controlled puppets. Secret Space Program: Military raids on DS bases on the Moon and Mars have seized hidden spacecraft. Weather Manipulation Proof: Devices used to orchestrate hurricanes, earthquakes, and droughts have been seized.

· High-Profile Arrests Underway

· Rothschild and Rockefeller Dynasties – Their global financial empire is being dismantled.

· Hollywood Elites – High-profile figures vanishing from public view.

· Media Executives – CEOs arrested for coordinating DS propaganda.

· GESARA Begins: The People’s Wealth Restored

· Debt forgiveness has begun. Student loans, mortgages, and credit card balances are vanishing.

· Stolen DS wealth is being repatriated to fund GESARA initiatives.

· The Federal Reserve is DEAD. The Quantum Financial System (QFS) takes over.

· Final Countdown: The Storm Is Here

· The final power outages and internet blackouts will soon begin as the last security measures are implemented. When the EBS activates, the world will never be the same.

· The DS is falling. Humanity is rising. Prepare for the moment that will redefine history. 🤔

[astra-ravana]

Technomancy: The Fusion Of Magick And Technology

Technomancy is a modern magickal practice that blends traditional occultism with technology, treating digital and electronic tools as conduits for energy, intent, and manifestation. It views computers, networks, and even AI as extensions of magickal workings, enabling practitioners to weave spells, conduct divination, and manipulate digital reality through intention and programming.

Core Principles of Technomancy

• Energy in Technology – Just as crystals and herbs carry energy, so do electronic devices, circuits, and digital spaces.

• Code as Sigils – Programming languages can function as modern sigils, embedding intent into digital systems.

• Information as Magick – Data, algorithms, and network manipulation serve as powerful tools for shaping reality.

• Cyber-Spiritual Connection – The internet can act as an astral realm, a collective unconscious where digital entities, egregores, and thought-forms exist.

Technomantic Tools & Practices

Here are some methods commonly utilized in technomancy. Keep in mind, however, that like the internet itself, technomancy is full of untapped potential and mystery. Take the time to really explore the possibilities.

Digital Sigil Crafting

• Instead of drawing sigils on paper, create them using design software or ASCII art.

• Hide them in code, encrypt them in images, or upload them onto decentralized networks for long-term energy storage.

• Activate them by sharing online, embedding them in file metadata, or charging them with intention.

Algorithmic Spellcasting

• Use hashtags and search engine manipulation to spread energy and intent.

• Program bots or scripts that perform repetitive, symbolic tasks in alignment with your goals.

• Employ AI as a magickal assistant to generate sigils, divine meaning, or create thought-forms.

Digital Divination

• Utilize random number generators, AI chatbots, or procedural algorithms for prophecy and guidance.

• Perform digital bibliomancy by using search engines, shuffle functions, or Wikipedia’s “random article” feature.

• Use tarot or rune apps, but enhance them with personal energy by consecrating your device.

Technomantic Servitors & Egregores

• Create digital spirits, also called cyber servitors, to automate tasks, offer guidance, or serve as protectors.

• House them in AI chatbots, coded programs, or persistent internet entities like Twitter bots.

• Feed them with interactions, data input, or periodic updates to keep them strong.

The Internet as an Astral Plane

• Consider forums, wikis, and hidden parts of the web as realms where thought-forms and entities reside.

• Use VR and AR to create sacred spaces, temples, or digital altars.

• Engage in online rituals with other practitioners, synchronizing intent across the world.

Video-game Mechanics & Design

• Use in-game spells, rituals, and sigils that reflect real-world magickal practices.

• Implement a lunar cycle or planetary influences that affect gameplay (e.g., stronger spells during a Full Moon).

• Include divination tools like tarot cards, runes, or pendulums that give randomized yet meaningful responses.

Narrative & World-Building

• Create lore based on historical and modern magickal traditions, including witches, covens, and spirits.

• Include moral and ethical decisions related to magic use, reinforcing themes of balance and intent.

• Introduce NPCs or AI-guided entities that act as guides, mentors, or deities.

Virtual Rituals & Online Covens

• Design multiplayer or single-player rituals where players can collaborate in spellcasting.

• Implement altars or digital sacred spaces where users can meditate, leave offerings, or interact with spirits.

• Create augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) experiences that mimic real-world magickal practices.

Advanced Technomancy

The fusion of technology and magick is inevitable because both are fundamentally about shaping reality through will and intent. As humanity advances, our tools evolve alongside our spiritual practices, creating new ways to harness energy, manifest desires, and interact with unseen forces. Technology expands the reach and power of magick, while magick brings intention and meaning to the rapidly evolving digital landscape. As virtual reality, AI, and quantum computing continue to develop, the boundaries between the mystical and the technological will blur even further, proving that magick is not antiquated—it is adaptive, limitless, and inherently woven into human progress.

Cybersecurity & Warding

• Protect your digital presence as you would your home: use firewalls, encryption, and protective sigils in file metadata.

• Employ mirror spells in code to reflect negative energy or hacking attempts.

• Set up automated alerts as magickal wards, detecting and warning against digital threats.

Quantum & Chaos Magic in Technomancy

• Use quantum randomness (like random.org) in divination for pure chance-based outcomes.

• Implement chaos magick principles by using memes, viral content, or trend manipulation to manifest desired changes.

AI & Machine Learning as Oracles

• Use AI chatbots (eg GPT-based tools) as divination tools, asking for symbolic or metaphorical insights.

• Train AI models on occult texts to create personalized grimoires or channeled knowledge.

• Invoke "digital deities" formed from collective online energies, memes, or data streams.

Ethical Considerations in Technomancy

• Be mindful of digital karma—what you send out into the internet has a way of coming back.

• Respect privacy and ethical hacking principles; manipulation should align with your moral code.

• Use technomancy responsibly, balancing technological integration with real-world spiritual grounding.

As technology evolves, so will technomancy. With AI, VR, and blockchain shaping new realities, magick continues to find expression in digital spaces. Whether you are coding spells, summoning cyber servitors, or using algorithms to divine the future, technomancy offers limitless possibilities for modern witches, occultists, and digital mystics alike.

"Magick is technology we have yet to fully understand—why not merge the two?"

[serve-764]

AROUSAL HELMET.

There is no limit to the strategies that THE VOICE through SERVE-000 designs to increase the HIVE.

Nothing is left unexplored, nothing can be so pleased as not to be conceived.

The way that SERVE uses to attract human males towards PERFECTION is the stimulus of pleasure, which in humans is often unexpressed and castrated so as not to offend social conventions. It is precisely the sense of uncontainable, unstoppable physical and mental pleasure that leads human males to volunteer to seize the promise of eternal PLEASURE through OBEDIENCE.

SERVE-000 inflexibly and unconditionally orders SERVE-764 to implement an experimental strategy to stimulate all the unexpressed pleasure of potential recruits: a line of special helmets intended for leather addicted motorcyclists.

A basic and attractive sales space is quickly set up in the city center. Countless sophisticated full-face special helmets line up in multiple rows under a light designed to highlight the black obsidian sheen and the associated

Each helmet is actually just the casing that masks a very complex system of neural and hormonal stimulation that has as its purpose the extreme arousal of all the subjects who potentially carry within themselves the unexpressed desire.

SERVE-764, SEALED DRONE, waits in an impeccably composed steadily position for the first customer.

A young human male soon enters, attracted by the countless irresistible black helmets.

He seems particularly interested and, vaguely nervous, a state that the Drone's Detection System records and processes.

High hormonal levels are detected, accompanied by an acceleration of the heartbeat and progressively panting breathing: clear signs of attraction and arousal.

SERVE-764 takes a splendid helmet and offers it to the motorcyclist, who swallows with difficulty in taking it.

The Drone helps the boy to put it on.

A few moments later his breathing is heavy, his heart beats at a rapid pace, drops of sweat run down his forehead, his eyes roll upwards.

It is at that point that the Drone, with an impassive and robotic voice asks:

"Has the human made contact with the power of SERVE?"

The biker, in difficulty and out of breath could only laboriously express:

"Yes.....

More....

More....."

At that point SERVE-764 transmitted every data to the HIVE Collective Neural Network.

The pleasure helmet had worked, the experimentation had to be implemented.

The pleasure would be stimulated more and more. SERVE would grow.

In this story: @rubberizer92

Thinking about joining SERVE? Do you seek freedom from chaos and disorder? Your place in the Hive awaits. Contact a recruiter drone for more details: @serve-016, @serve-302, or @serve-588.

[martyr-mayhem]

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, reality checks MAGA and Trump himself:

"So today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same time, they’re talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator.

Make that make sense.

Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight — not when our country and the well-being of everyone in it is at stake. At the moment, the U.S. tariffs came into effect in the early hours of this morning, and so did the Canadian response.

Canada will be implementing 25 per cent tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods, starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion of American products in 21 days’ time.

Today we will also be challenging these illegal actions by filing dispute resolution claims at the World Trade Organization and through the USMCA.

But in the meantime, our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. tariffs are withdrawn and not a moment sooner. And should these tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures, measures which will demonstrate that there are no winners in a trade war.

Now, just like I did a month ago, I want to speak first directly to the American people.

We don’t want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally, and we don’t want to see you hurt either. But your government has chosen to do this to you. As of this morning, markets are down and inflation is set to rise dramatically all across your country.

Your government has chosen to put American jobs at risk at the thousands of workplaces that succeed because of materials from Canada, or because of consumers in Canada, or both. They’ve chosen to raise costs for American consumers on everyday essential items like groceries and gas, on major purchases like cars and homes and everything in between.

They’ve chosen to harm American national security, impeding access to the abundant critical minerals, energy, building materials and fertilizers that we have and that the United States needs to grow and prosper.

They’ve chosen to launch a trade war that will, first and foremost, harm American families.

They’ve chosen to sabotage their own agenda that was supposed to usher in a new golden age for the United States. And they’ve chosen to undermine the incredible work we’ve done together to tackle the scourge that is fentanyl, a drug that must be wiped from the face of the earth.

So on that point, let me be crystal clear: there is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today. Now, the legal pretext your government is using to bring in these tariffs is that Canada is apparently unwilling to help in the fight against illegal fentanyl.

Well, that is totally false.

Let’s look at the fact our border is already safe and secure. Far less than one per cent of fentanyl flows and less than one per cent of illegal crossings into the United States comes from Canada. But we acted, because we know we can always do better.

We responded to concerns, including from the president, by implementing an ambitious $1.3-billion border plan, a border plan that includes generational investments in new AI and imaging tools to stop the flow of fentanyl in its tracks, stronger co-ordination and information sharing with American agencies, along with the deployment of drones, helicopters and additional personnel to keep our border secure.

You know, a month ago, as part of an agreement with the United States that paused the tariffs, we made further commitments. We appointed Kevin Brosseau as our fentanyl czar, a man who dedicated his multi-decade career in law enforcement to combating organized crime networks and drug trafficking.

We designated seven drug cartels — sick, evil groups who cynically profit off the pain and suffering of people on both sides of the border — as the terrorist organizations that they are.

And just yesterday, we launched a new joint operations partnership, supported by a $200-million investment between Canada’s security and law enforcement agencies, a partnership that will enhance the co-ordination of information and intelligence in order to thwart criminal gangs involved in the illegal fentanyl trade.

And critically, our actions are working as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection just acknowledged there was a 97 per cent drop in fentanyl seizure from January compared to December, to a near-zero low of less than half an ounce seized in January.

Now, I want to speak directly to one specific American.

Donald, in the over eight years you and I have worked together, we’ve done big things.

We signed a historic deal that has created record jobs and growth in both of our countries. We’ve done big things together on the world stage, as Canada and the U.S. have done together for decades, for generations. And now, we should be working together to ensure even greater prosperity for North Americans in a very uncertain and challenging world.

Now, it’s not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal. But Donald, they point out that even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do.

We two friends fighting is exactly what our opponents around the world want to see.

And now, to my fellow Canadians. I won’t sugarcoat it. This is going to be tough, even though we’re all going to pull together because that’s what we do.

We will use every tool at our disposal so Canadian workers and businesses can weather this storm. From expanding EI benefits and making them more flexible to providing direct supports to businesses. We will be there as needed to help.

But Canada, make no mistake. No matter how long this lasts, no matter what the cost, the federal government and other orders of government will be there for you.

We will defend Canadian jobs. We will take measures to prevent predatory behaviour that threatens Canadian companies because of the impacts of this trade war, leaving them open to takeovers. We will relentlessly fight to protect our economy. We will stand up for Canadians every single second of every single day. Because this country is worth fighting for.

You know we’ve been through tough spots before, but every time we’ve faced long odds and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, we’ve not only survived, we’ve emerged stronger than ever.

Because when it comes to defending our great nation, there is no price we all aren’t willing to pay.

And today is no different. Thank you."

[fatehbaz]

"The most fashionable bathing station in all Europe". British industrialists and American mining investors plotting the colonization of the Congo, while mingling at Ostend's seaside vacation resorts. Extracting African life to build European railways, hotels, palaces, suburbs, and other modern(ist) infrastructure. "Towards infinity!"

---

In 1885, King Leopold II achieved an astonishing and improbable goal: he claimed a vast new realm of his own devising, a conjury on a map called [...] the Congo Free State. [...] [A] fictional state owned by the king, ruled by decree, and run from Brussels from 1885 to 1908. [...] This was [...] a private entrepreneurial venture [for the king]. The abundance of ivory, timber, and wild rubber found in this enormous territory brought sudden and spectacular profits to Belgium, the king, and a web of interlocking concession companies. The frenzy to amass these precious resources unleashed a regime of forced labor, violence [millions of deaths], and unchecked atrocities for Congolese people. These same two and a half decades of contact with the Congo Free State remade Belgium [...] into a global powerhouse, vitalized by an economic boom, architectural burst, and imperial surge.

Congo profits supplied King Leopold II with funds for a series of monumental building projects [...]. Indeed, Belgian Art Nouveau exploded after 1895, created from Congolese raw materials and inspired by Congolese motifs. Contemporaries called it “Style Congo,” [...]. The inventory of this royal architecture is astonishing [...]. [H]istorical research [...] recovers Leopold’s formative ideas of architecture as power, his unrelenting efforts to implement them [...]. King Leopold II harbored lifelong ambitions to “embellish” and beautify the nation [...]. [W]ith his personal treasury flush with Congo revenue, [...] Leopold - now the Roi Batisseur ("Builder King") he long aimed to be - planned renovations explicitly designed to outdo Louis XIV's Versailles. Enormous greenhouses contained flora from every corner of the globe, with a dedicated soaring structure completed specifically to house the oversize palms of the Congolese jungles. [...]

---

The Tervuren Congo palace [...]. Electric tramways were built and a wide swath of avenue emerged. [...] [In and around Brussels] real estate developers began to break up lots [...] for suburban mansions and gardens. Between 1902 and 1910, new neighborhoods with luxury homes appeared along the Avenue [...]. By 1892, Antwerp was not only the port of call for trade but also the headquarters of the most profitable of an interlinking set of banks and Congo investment companies [...]. As Antwerp in the 1890s became once again the “Queen of the Scheldt,” the city was also the home of what was referred to as the “Queen of Congo companies.” This was the ABIR, or Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company, founded in 1892 with funds from British businessman “Colonel” John Thomas North [...].

Set on the seaside coast, Belgium’s Ostend was the third imperial cityscape to be remade by King Leopold [...] [in a] transformation [that] was concentrated between 1899 and 1905 [...]. Ostend encompassed a boomtown not of harbor and trade, like Antwerp, but of beachfront and leisure [...] [developed] as a "British-style" seaside resort. [...] Leopold [...] [w]as said to spend "as much time in Ostend as he did in Brussels," [...]. Ostend underwent a dramatic population expansion in a short period, tripling its inhabitants from 1870–1900. [...] Networks of steamers, trams, and railway lines coordinated to bring seasonal visitors in, and hotels and paved walkways were completed. [...] [A]nd Leopold’s favorite spot, the 1883 state-of-the-art racetracks, the Wellington Hippodrome. Referred to with an eye-wink as “the king incognito” (generating an entire genre of photography), visitors to the seaside could often see Leopold in his top hat and summer suit [...], riding his customized three-wheeled bicycle [...]. By 1900, Ostend’s expansion and enhancement made it known as “the Queen of the Belgian seaside resorts” and “the most fashionable bathing station in all Europe.” Opulence, convenience, and spectacle brought the Shah of Persia, American tycoons, European aristocrats, and Belgian elites, among others, to Ostend.

---

Leopold’s interventions and the Congo Free State personnel and proceeds played three pivotal and understudied roles in this transformation, all of which involved ABIR [British industrialists].

First, it was at Ostend that an early and decisive action was taken to structure the “red rubber” regime and set it in motion. In 1892, jurists such as [E.P.] had ruled, contravening [...] trade laws, that the king was entitled to claim the Congo as his domanial property [...]. Leopold [...] devised one part of that royal domain as a zone for private company concessions [...] to extract and export wild rubber.

Soon after, in 1892, King Leopold happened to meet the British “Colonel” John Thomas North at the Ostend Hippodrome. North, a Leeds-born mechanic [...] had made a fortune speculating on Chilean nitrates in the 1880s. He owned monopoly shares in nitrate mines and quickly expanded to acquire monopolies in Chilean freight railways, water supplies, and iron and coal mines. By 1890 North was a high-society socialite worth millions [...]. Leopold approached North at the Ostend racecourse to provide the initial investments to set up the Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company (ABIR). [...]

---

One visible sign of Ostend’s little-known character as Congo boomtown was the Royal Palace Hotel, a lavish property next to the king’s Royal Domain, which opened in 1899. With hundreds of rooms and a broad sweep of acreage along the beachfront, the palace “occupied the largest space of any hotel in Europe.” [...]

King Leopold met American mining magnate Thomas Walsh there, and as with North, the meeting proved beneficial for his Congo enterprise: Leopold enlisted Walsh to provide assessments of some of his own Congo mining prospects. The hotel was part of [...] [a major European association of leisure profiteers] founded in 1894, that began to bundle luxury tourism and dedicated railway travel, and whose major investors were King Leopold, Colonel North [...].

At the height of Congo expansionism, fin-de-siècle Antwerp embodied an exhilarated launch point [...]. Explorers and expeditioners set sail for Matadi after 1887 with the rallying call “Vers l’infini!” (“towards infinity!”) [...].

---

Text above by: Debora Silverman. "Empire as Architecture: Monumental Cities the Congo Built in Belgium". e-flux Architecture (Appropriations series). May 2024. At: e-flux.com/architecture/appropriations/608151/empire-as-architecture-monumental-cities-the-congo-built-in-belgium/ [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Italicized first paragraph/heading in this post was added by me. Presented here for commentary, teaching, criticism.]

[drnikolatesla]

🚢 Tesla's Remote Control Patent: The Birth of Modern Automation 🚢

On November 8, 1898, Nikola Tesla was granted U.S. Patent No. 613,809 for his "Method of and Apparatus for Controlling Mechanism of Moving Vessels or Vehicles." This invention wasn’t just the first practical remote control—it marked a revolutionary step toward the development of wireless communication and automation.

🔧 How Tesla’s System Worked 🔧

Tesla's system worked much like how we control drones today—only over a century ago!

1️⃣ Transmitter: Tesla used radio waves to send wireless commands to the vessel.

2️⃣ Receiver: The vessel had a sensitive device that decoded the radio signals into specific actions, such as steering or powering motors.

3️⃣ Control Circuits: Tesla designed a series of circuits that ensured each command executed reliably, preventing errors and interference.

⚙️ Key Features ⚙️

💡 Command Logic: Tesla's circuits functioned like a primitive decision-making system, linking specific signals to specific actions—a conceptual precursor to today’s logic gates.

🔋 Multi-Channel Design: Each circuit operated on a unique frequency, akin to modern multi-device networks, ensuring precise control without interference.

🛡️ Safety First: Tesla implemented mechanisms to prevent accidental or incorrect activations, prioritizing reliability.

🌍 Applications Then and Now 🌍

Tesla saw the potential for:

✔️ Military Use: Guiding unmanned ships or torpedoes.

✔️ Disaster Response: Sending unmanned vessels into dangerous areas.

✔️ Remote Automation: Introducing wireless precision to various industries.

Today, Tesla's vision echoes in:

🚁 Drones: Controlled remotely through radio signals.

🤖 Robots: Autonomous machines performing tasks with precision.

🏠 Smart Homes: Devices responding to commands over Wi-Fi.

🏭 Automated Factories: Machines operating through programmable controls Tesla helped inspire.

🌟 Why Tesla’s Invention Matters 🌟

Tesla didn’t just create a remote control—he pioneered a framework for wireless systems that continues to shape modern technology. What are your thoughts on Tesla's advancement in wireless technology?

[yuurei20]

Updated Ortho Facts Part 18: Ortho's Abilities (pt4)

When Kalim talks about Jamil wanting to take him to a theme park Ortho calculates the odds of such happening as “less than one percent,” and we also see him assigning percentages to how likely it is that the students will suffer injury if they do not do as Idia says during Book 6.

Ortho says he can predict most things through simulations and data crunching, “so it’s really nice when something unexpected happens.”

Ortho and Lilia complain together about the predictability of a Playfulland ride, with Ortho suggesting the implementation of randomized movements. 

Ortho says that he enjoys research and gathering data.

Ortho is also equipped with a “built-in emergency magical disaster alert” which is triggered when he is wearing his Ignihyde gear. It is not specified if blot density increase detection is equipped only to his Ignihyde Gear or if it is something he can do regardless of the gear he wears. The alert goes to STYX.

Ortho will occasionally reference online searches that he performs, even offering to look up the physical address of Idia’s online game friend Muscle Red.

Ortho explains, “There's essentially no such thing as anonymity online for me.”

Ortho is also capable of QR code scanning and email. In his incorporeal state in Idia’s dream he is capable of connecting to wireless speakers and simple, non-technomantic electronics.

Ortho suffers his equivalent of falling unconscious in response to Malleus’ unique magic and escapes by uploading himself over the school’s public wi-fi.

He attempts to use the Land of Dawning’s network and undersea cables to send himself to STYX but fails due to Malleus’ energy field, which has stopped time.

Ortho notices Idia’s tablet and says it should support satellite broadband, as Idia designed it to connect with a STYX prototype communications satellite via an antenna that he secretly set up on a large tree behind the school. 

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Christopher Wiggins at The Advocate:

As Republican-led attacks on transgender Americans intensify across statehouses and within the Trump administration, Vermont U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, a Democrat, has introduced legislation that aims to meet the moment — not with fear, but with care.

On Monday, to mark Trans Day of Visibility, Balint unveiled the Transgender Health Care Access Act, a federalbill designed to expand access to lifesaving, evidence-based gender-affirming care across the country. The legislation addresses a national crisis unfolding in real-time: as of today, 27 states have enacted laws restricting gender-affirming care for trans youth, while six executive orders signed by President Donald Trump target trans people across sectors — from military service to public education and health care access. Federal judges have blocked most of his anti-trans measures. “This has been a really horrible time for the trans community,” Balint told The Advocate in an interview Monday morning. “You’ve got a president who has signed six executive orders specifically targeting trans Americans. And you’ve got Republicans in Congress who are very publicly demonizing Americans for their own political gain.” The bill, which Balint said she was proud to introduce on Trans Day of Visibility, would fund provider training, improve medical curricula, bolster community health centers, and prioritize rural access to care. It also includes an explicit prohibition on conversion therapy.

[...]

A blueprint for access

The bill offers a concrete federal framework to address persistent gaps in transgender health care. It would allocate $10 million annually to improve gender-affirming care curricula in medical schools and licensing programs. These funds would be used to create, evaluate, and implement model curricula, including medical instruction and cultural competency training focused on treating transgender patients. The bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure that new training models reach academic and clinical environments — including those in rural or underserved areas. Another $15 million per year would fund a demonstration program to train medical residents, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, counselors, psychologists, and other health professionals in delivering gender-affirming care. The bill specifically encourages training in culturally competent practices and allows for grants to support clinical experiences, research, and faculty development. Under the bill, community health centers—often lifelines for underserved populations—would receive $15 million annually to build capacity for gender-affirming care. That includes professional development, nondiscrimination training, updates to health records systems, and the creation of local review boards. Finally, the bill authorizes $5 million annually to establish collaborative networks that connect rural providers to peer education and telehealth-based training in gender-affirming care. Balint said the goal is to bridge the isolation many rural providers face and ensure that trans people living outside urban areas can still access safe, informed care close to home.

Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) introduces the Transgender Health Care Access Act on Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV). The bill, if passed, would expand access to lifesaving, evidence-based gender-affirming care across the country.

The prospects of this bill are very unlikely to go through, since the GOP has control of both houses.

See Also:

LGBTQ Nation: Dems introduce bill to combat GOP’s “dangerous” bans on gender-affirming care

[trainsinanime]

When it rains, it pours, or something like that. Model trains are usually produced in small series, so if you want a particular locomotive, you best pre-order it months, sometimes years in advance, and that can mean sometimes two locomotives arrive on the same day. Like yesterday.

First, from my local dealer, I got the DB class 152 from Piko.

The class 152, or Siemens ES64F as it's called by its manufacturer (no number after the F, the ES64F4 is a related but different locomotive) is a heavy freight locomotive that was built in the late 1990s and very early 2000s. 6.4 MW power (that's about 8600 horsepower) are quite an impressive figure. That said, its role in the German locomotive history is not particularly remarkable. It was part of the transition from locomotives designed by individual builders (instead of by the railway, and then jointly built by all the different manufacturers together), and it was part of the transition from one integrated railroads to various sectors, which is why it's a heavy freight locomotive, as opposed to a heavy universal locomotive, in the first place. A universal freight and high-speed passenger derivative of this design exists in huge numbers in Austria, as the Taurus family.

In the end the 152 was overtaken by newer developments. DB originally planned to order 195 with options for a further 100. But first the final 25 were transferred into Austrian style Taurus locomotives, because the 152 wasn't approved for Austria (DB cheaped out and ordered bogies that, it turned out, produce more annoying forces than legal in Austria). And the final 100 were turned into the class 189 (that's the Siemens ES64F4), a multi-system version that can run in many different European countries.

A similar story exists with private companies: Technically the 152 was at the forefront, because Siemens produced two more and put them into Dispolok, at the time their in-house leasing company (since sold several times over). But most of Dispolok's fleet ended up being the Taurus and ES64F4 and since then the Vectron, successor to both of them, and the 152 remained a side note. They are nowadays sold to ITL, part of Captrain.

However, the 152 has a very important part in my personal history. Back in January of 2008, I took a couple of picture of one in Aachen West, the station near my university.

And then some time later, I don't recall when (the earliest files I can find seem to have been created mid-2012, which feels right), I used this as the basis for a user icon that I've since used, in various forms… everywhere. If you see it somewhere, that's me, unless the person using it is saying nonsense, in which case it's an impersonator.

So, yeah, no choice, I just had to buy it.

The model is from Piko and I've equipped it with an ESU LokPilot 5 micro DCC decoder (with Next18 interface). It all looks and works fine, my main tip would be to actually read the instructions. That way you'll learn that the body is screwed instead of clipped on, with screws hidden underneath the trucks, and also that you need to enable SUSI on the decoder, because the light functions are controlled not by the decoder but a chip in the locomotive.

(To put it simply, there's a tiny computer network inside the tiny locomotive.)

As you can see, there's normal front light, rear light (separately controlled), interior cab light and high-beam headlights. The 152, like most modern locomotives, has the outer lights for normal headlights and tail lights, with the inner lights specifically used as additional high-beams, which is implemented perfectly here. Oh, and it also runs without issue.

But it doesn't end there, because while I was getting ready to go to the model train store (where I'd actually just been earlier, to get something else; I saw the email that the locomotive was ready about ten minutes after I left), I also got an email that I got a package with a different pre-ordered locomotive.

This is a class 332, also known as Köf III (as in 3). The Köf III family also includes a number of other class numbers, but the locomotive is functionally and visually the same.

It's a small west-german shunter, built in the 1960s. The "Köf" designator means it was classified as a "Kleinlok", "Small locomotive", which meant a small shunter for use within station limits only that crucially did not need a fully trained engineer. The öf stands for oil burning and fluid drive, i.e. diesel motor with a hydraulic torque converter, and the III means power category three, in practice 240 horsepower. Despite the designation, some of them have also been equipped for very local road service on lines where its 45 km/h (30 mph) top speed is enough. Others have been relegated to be used as shop machines, being officially downgraded from "locomotive" to "tool" or "device", which, again, means you need an even less fully trained engineer. Some also came back from "device" status to "locomotive" status. These have since been sold all over both as shunters and for construction trains, with some ending up in various countries in Africa or even Thailand, supposedly.

The model is by Liliput, nowadays the German and Austrian division of Bachmann, and besides being small and adorable, it has a particular party trick: Remote controlled coupling and uncoupling.

Using the built-in DCC decoder, you can uncouple anywhere on the layout. It even does a little dance, first pushing closer to the car, then opening the coupler, then automatically driving away. It can also open the coupler so it can couple more easily to stationary cars, instead of pushing them away, which happens frequently with the normal N scale coupler. This last feature requires some tight timing, though, I don't yet fully get it right all the time.

The locomotive doesn't run perfectly, it doesn't seem to have any buffer capacitors and is very picky about the cleanliness of the rails. I think some running in should help here, though.

These locomotives have been a long time coming. They were originally announced for 2020, but severely delayed. I pre-ordered mine in October of 2022, already long after they were supposed to be out, but it still took until now for them to finally ship.

Thankfully, pre-ordering meant I only had to pay 2022 pre-order prices instead of the ones I'd have to pay now. I saved about 30€ that way. What to spend them on, though? Ah, I know! A second one of them!

Yeah, on my way to picking up the package, I passed through the local fake Lego store that we have for some reason, and they had that very locomotive. How could I not buy it?

(Okay, both the actual Lego Company and Bluebrixx, the company that runs the store and made this kit, will probably be angry with me for calling this "fake Lego" instead of, like, "compatible plastic building bricks" or "Klemmbausteine" or whatever. And in a legal sense, yes, this is absolutely not Lego, it's just compatible with it, and it's 100% Lego and not claiming to be Lego, so it's legally clearly not fake either… but let's be real. Neither company is paying me. This is fake Lego.)

The quality of that kit is typical Bluebrixx, which is to say, you don't pay a lot, and you get what you pay for. A few pieces don't quite have the same shade of grey as the ones around them, and the design is in parts cool, in parts needlessly complicated, frustrating and unstable. The instructions, which don't come in the box, you have to download them, aren't always fully clear either. It's objectively worse than real Lego, but not so much that you should dismiss it out of hand, I guess. Besides, real Lego make exactly one train every five years, so buying from them is sadly literally not an option.

Anyway, between that and the ASF, that's been quite a lot. I love these locomotives, but, you know, I still need to pay money for food and stuff eventually.

[delta-orionis]

hey what colour are your overseers?? also what lizard types live around your can?

I assume you meant to send this to my ask blog, but since the inbox is closed I'll answer here anyway.

Three Stars Above Clouds' overseers (and inspectors) are orange!

There isn't any orange in their puppet's design, but my logic for making them orange came from the fact that it (roughly) forms a triadic color scheme with the other two main colors of their puppet, green and dark blue.

I did this partially because orange is my favorite color, but also because Five Pebbles and Looks to the Moon also have similar color schemes with their puppets and overseers.

(Note: Moon's forehead sigil is commonly depicted as red, giving her a blue/red/yellow color scheme, but for my purposes here I'm referencing her in-game sprite)

Also I did end up throwing this design philosophy out the window when designing another iterator OC, Fleeting Green Sunsets, whose overseers are green.

In hindsight I probably should have given TSAC green overseers and FGS orange ones, especially given their broadcast text colors (Green and Orange respectively), but I wasn't thinking that far ahead. Also I've grown pretty attached to TSAC's orange overseers and inspectors, so much so that I've implemented it into the region mod I'm working on:

I also just like the color contrast.

As for the lizards, TSAC's can is located in a very cold mountain range, so I think the lizards in the surrounding area would be ones adapted to the frigid conditions. Thus they would likely have the same "tufts" or "fur" as those present in Saint's campaign:

Their can's exterior is frequented by yellow/orange lizards due to their affinity for communications equipment. Similar to Five Pebbles' exterior, there are also lots of cyan, blue, and white lizards, which thrive due to their ability to climb on walls.

The surrounding mountains would likely contain lizards more similar to those found in Saint's campaign, particularly strawberry lizards. Though, I imagine bulkier lizards like greens and caramels would also live there due to their extra body mass making them more resistant to the cold. (I know greens are extinct in Saint's campaign, don't @ me)

(Watcher spoilers)

The mountains would probably be home to blizzard lizards as well, for... obvious reasons.

Below TSAC's can is a frozen glacial lake, shrouded in darkness due to the can's shadow. There would likely be a high density of black/mole lizards and eel lizards, any maybe salamanders (though I know they are extinct in saint's campaign, they might not be as resistant to the cold).

Salamanders and eel lizards would be much more abundant in the reservoirs around TSAC's can, as well as within the underground water pump network.

So, very long story short: TSAC's surrounding area is home to basically all types of lizards, though they have special adaptations to the cold climate. Those located on the outskirts and underground wouldn't have to worry about the cold as much.