#Optical Sorting Technology

[datastring]

Optical Sorter Market Set to Hit $5.1 Billion by 2035

Industry revenue for Optical Sorters is estimated to rise to $5.1 billion by 2035 from $2.1 billion in 2024. The market growth of industry players is expected to average 8.1% annually for the period of 2024 to 2035.

Access detailed report insights here - https://datastringconsulting.com/industry-analysis/optical-sorter-market-research-report

Optical Sorters are critical in various key applications, including food sorting, waste management, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and mining. This report uncovers growth and revenue expansion opportunities across Optical Sorter’s Technology Type, Product Type, Application, and End-Use Industry, alongside an industry revenue forecast.

Industry Leadership and Competitive Landscape

The Optical Sorter market is highly competitive, with key players such as TOMRA, Buhler Group, Key Technology, Binder+Co AG, Allgaier Werke GmBH, SATAKE Group, Raytec Vision SpA, Sesotec GmbH, National Recovery Technologies, Pellenc ST, CP Manufacturing, and Steinert GmbH driving innovation and expanding their market share.

The Optical Sorter market is poised for substantial growth, primarily driven by increasing demand for automated sorting technologies in food processing, waste management, and mining. Trends like the rising sophistication of recycling processes and the growing environmental awareness are expected to accelerate market expansion.

Additionally, significant opportunities lie in emerging markets such as Brazil, Indonesia, and South Africa, where the demand for optical sorters is expected to grow rapidly, driven by advancements in waste management and food sorting technologies.

Technological Advancements and Automation

The integration of advanced automation, powered by AI and machine learning (ML), marks a key shift in the Optical Sorter industry. Automated systems have substantially improved the speed and efficiency of sorting processes, reducing human intervention and waste. Intelligent sorters equipped with custom-built software algorithms ensure high precision, increased productivity, and operational efficiency. Furthermore, these automated systems offer data-driven insights, optimizing decision-making for businesses.

Global & Regional Analysis

According to the research, the Optical Sorter market is projected to grow from $2.1 billion in 2024 to $5.1 billion by 2035, with a CAGR of 8.1%. North America remains a key market due to the widespread adoption of optical sorters in industries such as food processing, waste treatment, and mining. The growing emphasis on automation and predictive maintenance technologies in the region further drives market growth. The market is highly competitive, with TOMRA and MSS, Inc. being major leaders.

As demand for recycling and sorting solutions continues to rise, especially in emerging markets like Brazil, Indonesia, and South Africa, the Optical Sorter market is well-positioned to capitalize on new growth opportunities.

Research ScopeSegmentSubsegmentTechnology TypeNear-Infrared Technology, Laser Technology, CCD CamerasApplicationFood Processing, Waste Recycling, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, OthersEnd-Use IndustryAgricultural, Mining, Consumer Goods, OthersProduct TypeBelt, Freefall, Channel, ADROperational ProcessAutomated, Semi-Automated

About DataString Consulting

DataString Consulting provides a complete range of market research and business intelligence solutions for both B2C and B2B markets. We offer bespoke market research projects designed to meet the specific strategic objectives of businesses. With over 30 years of combined experience, our leadership team provides insights and data-driven strategies to help businesses navigate evolving markets and achieve sustainable growth.

DataString Consulting is dedicated to delivering high-quality research and strategic solutions that help businesses understand their competitive landscape, identify new opportunities, and make informed decisions.

[askablindperson]

In what way does alt text serve as an accessibility tool for blind people? Do you use text to speech? I'm having trouble imagining that. I suppose I'm in general not understanding how a blind person might use Tumblr, but I'm particularly interested in the function of alt text.

In short, yes. We use text to speech (among other access technology like braille displays) very frequently to navigate online spaces. Text to speech software specifically designed for blind people are called screen readers, and when use on computers, they enable us to navigate the entire interface using the keyboard instead of the mouse And hear everything on screen, as long as those things are accessible. The same applies for touchscreens on smart phones and tablets, just instead of using keyboard commands, it alters the way touch affect the screen so we hear what we touch before anything actually gets activated. That part is hard to explain via text, but you should be able to find many videos online of blind people demonstrating how they use their phones.

As you may be able to guess, images are not exactly going to be accessible for text to speech software. Blindness screen readers are getting better and better at incorporating OCR (optical character recognition) software to help pick up text in images, and rudimentary AI driven Image descriptions, but they are still nowhere near enough for us to get an accurate understanding of what is in an image the majority of the time without a human made description.

Now I’m not exactly a programmer so the terminology I use might get kind of wonky here, but when you use the alt text feature, the text you write as an image description effectively gets sort of embedded onto the image itself. That way, when a screen reader lands on that image, Instead of having to employ artificial intelligences to make mediocre guesses, it will read out exactly the text you wrote in the alt text section.

Not only that, but the majority of blind people are not completely blind, and usually still have at least some amount of residual vision. So there are many blind people who may not have access to a screen reader, but who may struggle to visually interpret what is in an image without being able to click the alt text button and read a description. Plus, it benefits folks with visual processing disorders as well, where their visual acuity might be fine, but their brain’s ability to interpret what they are seeing is not. Being able to click the alt text icon in the corner of an image and read a text description Can help that person better interpret what they are seeing in the image, too.

Granted, in most cases, typing out an image description in the body of the post instead of in the alt text section often works just as well, so that is also an option. But there are many other posts in my image descriptions tag that go over the pros and cons of that, so I won’t digress into it here.

Utilizing alt text or any kind of image description on all of your social media posts that contain images is single-handedly one of the simplest and most effective things you can do to directly help blind people, even if you don’t know any blind people, and even if you think no blind people would be following you. There are more of us than you might think, and we have just as many varied interests and hobbies and beliefs as everyone else, so where there are people, there will also be blind people. We don’t only hang out in spaces to talk exclusively about blindness, we also hang out in fashion Facebook groups and tech subreddits and political Twitter hashtags and gaming related discord servers and on and on and on. Even if you don’t think a blind person would follow you, You can’t know that for sure, and adding image descriptions is one of the most effective ways to accommodate us even if you don’t know we’re there.

I hope this helps give you a clearer understanding of just how important alt text and image descriptions as a whole are for blind accessibility, and how we make use of those tools when they are available.

[karinadele]

Diazepam

Ratchet x Reader SFW | Medical | Fluff CW: a mention of a spider, medical practices on a human.

----

"The surgery was a success."

The first thing you hear after the anesthesia wore off. Ratchet said in his usual gruff tone. Bedside manners was never his strongest trait.

Ending up with a tumor and having a giant alien robot as your doctor was never part of your bucket list. Yet it happened. Who knew your friend would be connected to intergalactic space wars and pull you into it? Technically she didn't, you simply told her that you've been losing weight and unable to eat anything. Next thing you know, she's dragging you to a 'doctor' in the middle of nowhere, Jasper, Nevada.

As if shock value can't kill, but you also knew why. Dealing with human medical care is absolutely painful. Years of telling them something is wrong with you, and a dozen of doctors later, you still never got a conclusive answer. However, what would an alien even know about human biology?

And that's how you met him. Ratchet. A giant metal robot that turns into an ambulance. You've always thought aliens were green and got an absurd amount of tentacles, —not this.

Overtime you've realized why your friend confided you to him. He's exactly like her. Just a different flavor of species. Same no nonsense, same tired mother vibes. Yet holds absolutely nothing but love for everyone.

"Lay still. I'll run a scan." Ratchet stated flatly in his usual demeanor.

With June and your friend next to you, holding you hand as you take a deep breath.

Ratchet pulls out a device looking like a round tablet as the infrared lights up, waving it above you as a visual of your insides materialize. How wild. A human would require a whole CT or MRI scan to see whats going on, and here you are —a tiny (huge in human perspective) device that instantly points out abnormalities. Viva la alien technology.

When Ratchet first heard from your friend that she's bringing a human in for him to check on, he did not want to be involved with it. Why couldn't they just deal with it like any other human? But coaxing after coaxing, he relented. He definitely has a soft spot for your friend. Spending days after days researching human biology, working with your friend and nurse Darby —a small gang of medical professionals.

When you broke the news that you weren't doing well, you friend also broke that she finally got her paramedic license. You know she went through several carrier changes, but paramedic was totally not on the list. But it made sense, and it made even more sense now that you're in her world, surrounded by medical professionals. —Including a chief medical officer that's cybertronian.

"There's an abnormality in the lower stomach area. Most likely a tumor of sorts." Ratchet states, still focused on the device, tinkering with it as he squints his optics looking at it.

A tumor? Isn't that dangerous? Do you have cancer? A million questions run through your head. Nearly spiraling into a panic until your friend gave your hand a squeeze.

"It's okay Spider." She tells you. "You're in good hands. Err. Servos. Whatever."

Why of all things did you introduce yourself as a spider?! When you first met Ratchet, and he asked for your name, wanting to not blurb out your real name, the first thing that came to mind after realizing that aliens in fact, was not creepy crawlies, was Spider. Oh, and the fact you were staring at the spider that was up in the corner of the base, nesting like it wasn't living in some super secret government sanctioned hide out. Oh to be a spider.

"June, lets draw some blood and run some tests to determine what exactly it is." Ratchet's voice dragged you out of your thoughts. Glancing over at June as she gives you a little smile, and acknowledging Ratchet.

"A little sting, okay, honey?" She tells you. Needles never bothered you. Yet somehow every nurse has always said that line. Is it just how they are? It's probably just small talk to assure patients.

You watch the blood fill into the syringe as you feel the numbness flow through your arm. Completely unaware your stupid friend is biting her lip like the crazy vampire freak she is. Who even drinks their own blood? Answer: she does.

A couple more tests and you're absolutely exhausted from being poked and prodded. Thank god there's a ground bridge that can send you right home. After all, without it, you would have never traveled half way across the world to just see some alien ambulance doctor.

When all this is over, you really need to sit down and have a chat about how your friend keeps getting into questionable situations.

Laying on your bed back at home as you wonder what the fuck just happened. You just traveled halfway across the world to get diagnosed. Sure, that doesn't sound too bad, if it wasn't for the fact it is anything but ordinary. Not to mention you spent a totally of 0 dollars. That was a huge part. You definitely could not afford whatever healthcare you needed, and in turn accepted your friend's offer.

Ratchet on the other hand, with June and your friend, are busy arguing over the next course of action. He's learned from the Raf dark energon incident that in order to co-exist with humans, he needed to study on them as well. With your friend and June, this was going to be another case study. —Not just, a human life that he's responsible for.

"I think surgery is the best course of action." His thoughts were cut short. Turning around from the console as he see your friend, standing there with her arms folded, talking with June.

"Surgery is dangerous!" June chimed back. "We can't just open her up like a bot and rearrange organs like its a build-your-own-pc!"

Primus help him. They're arguing again. Pausing his work as he turns to face them, resetting his vocalizer to get their attention.

"I think surgery is required." He tells them once both of them are focused on him. "Judging from the size of the mass, along with how fast she's losing weight, —not to mention she's unable to even refuel, it would be dangerous to not operate."

With a deep sigh, June relents. Your friend gives Ratchet a pat on the leg as a 'thanks for the back up' gesture.

Come surgery day, you just want this thing out by now. Months of carrying around what is the size of a small fetus without any benefits —an absolutely nightmare.

Walking through the ground bridge as your friend waves for you on the other side, running towards you and giving you a hug.

"Ready Spider?" She cheerly asked.

"I just want this child out." You're so tired of it. Hardly even able to keep liquids down without anti-nausea medication.

Your friend snorts in response. "let's grill it afterwards." She gives you a grin as she puts her hands on her hips.

You swore out of the corner of your eye, you saw Ratchet raise an optic ridge.

"Enough chitchat. Let's get to business. Chop Chop." He told you two as he gestured a chopping motion with his servos.

You totally forgot to even ask how a GIANT robot is supposed to work on delicate organs, but it was too late, June has already pushed the Propofol into you.

Mass displacing as Ratchet shoves the rest of his mass into subspace, coming down to a nice 7/8 feet —versus his usual 25 something.

"Scalpel." He demanded.

Your friend quickly hands him a fresh scalpel. Being smaller now, he can finally hold human instruments. Still, a bit small for him, but he didn't become the CMO without no reason. Those servos, steady until the day he dies. Focused as he is, slicing through the skin before moving onto the fat layer. Tissue after tissue, clamped open with an organ holding clamp while June keeps it steady.

He's used to wrenches and engineering equipment, not surgical instruments. But with the guidance of your friend and June, he carefully snips away at the surrounding tissues once the tumor is out in the open.

A relatively straightforward procedure. Although a first for him. Placing the now retrieved tumor onto the metal plate as he calls for sutures.

Since he learned that absorbable sutures are a thing, closing up the deeper cuts with it, as he works his way up towards the surface. Sure, cybertronians don't require such methods, but nevertheless, a skill he's picked up and learned.

Human bodies are complex. which cybertronian frames are sturdy, and everything has a designated function, a human body is so malleable and can even form masses as big as dilapidated grapefruit.

Did they say they wanted to grill it? What in the love of Primus are they thinking? Humans are so weird… Do they refuel with their own…?

It's probably best to clarify with Ratchet that it in fact, was terrible joke, but you're barely conscious. When the Propofol was finally taken off, you slowly rose back from slumber with your friend next to you, holding your hand as somehow she's now, head on the mattress, is asleep on your bed.

You were just about to tell this bitch to wake up when you heard Ratchet's voice.

"The surgery was a success." He tells you.

Now returned to his normal size —not that you even knew he changed in the first place, as he give you a nod.

With all the narcotics in you, you've nearly forgotten that you just had surgery. Glancing down on your abdomen as you noticed that the whole area is bandaged over.

"Take it easy for a couple of months. You should be able to ease into solid refuels in a few weeks."

Oh how you missed eating food. Once you can, you're totally gonna go get a hotdog.

"What a journey." You friend finally stirs. Voice still raspy from sleeping as she winces an ugly face, trying to wake up.

Despite the comment that was clearly directed to you, Ratchet responds. "Indeed it was. I've learned several techniques regarding sutures and-"

Your friend cut him off. "Ep ep ep, that's enough Ratchet, let the patient rest and just go do your biopsy. Or send it out to some human lab. I don't care."

With a hmph, Ratchet leaves the medbay, mumbling something about no respect for medical practices or something.

Your friend grumble as she whines back. "I am a medical professional…what.." and sighs.

With the Adam now gone —yes, you named your tumor, you can finally breath a breathe of fresh air. While there is still a road of recovery ahead of you, things will only be looking up from now on.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

YOOO dangaronpa huh?? :0 can I maybe Request headcanon kazuichi souda finding a Polarbear animatronic and it turns out it has a child spirit Y/n who was stuck inside Fnaf style.. and they become his lil buddy?

Yesss the crossover of all time!

..............

As of late, Kazuichi found some new (and yet old) technology that he could tinker with.

It was a...rather creepy animatronic polar bear, their creation dating back to the 90s. He tried researching their origins after buying them at an auction, and the company they came from was apparently controversial, riddled with lawsuits, and took way too long to go out of business.

Even though this robot bear looked far too scary for kids, he tries being brave about repairing them just to see if they could function again.

Unfortunately for him, the spirit that was still active inside--you--woke up to see dozens of tools scattered around a dark room, and this strange man trying to open your suit's torso.

And suddenly you spring to life, grabbing his wrist before he could do anything.

This man lets out the girliest shriek in existence.

You quickly realize that he's not...him. And you didn't recognize this place as the pizzeria you died in.

You ask who he is, but your voicebox is still broken, and he's just crying and screaming and begging you to let him go.

When you do, he runs back inside the house and doesn't return for a few hours.

He hasn't restored function to your legs, so you're basically stuck waiting for him to come back.

Eventually he does, but holds a wrench closely for self-defense, clearly thinking you're some killer robot.

"Don't hurt me.." He trembles, flinching when you move on your own and look at him. "W-Wha...I didn't...how did you...? Are you-???"

"Please don't-"

"AHHH!!! YOU ARE HAUNTED!!!! JUST LIKE THOSE MOVIES!!!"

"....panic." It's an awkward situation, but after politely asking him to set the wrench down, he complies. "I know you have a lot of questions, but so do I. Who are you? And what is this place?"

Kazuichi is bewildered by your voice. It sounds no younger than...9? 10? It's very echoey and humane. Nothing like that broken glitching garble you sputtered out a few hours prior.

But after convincing him (at least a hundred times) that you absolutely mean no harm, he goes closer to you and explains how he found you---and basically gives you his life story.

You then tell him that someone very evil killed you and hid your body in this very animatronic, leading to you possess it out of anger for the life you've been robbed of.

Kazuichi is just sitting there, trying to process all of this.

You're basically a haunted robot who wants revenge.....and that machine was apparently your tomb as well.

Although to his relief, there's nothing inside when he checks the torso, realizing that you were cleaned prior to being sold at the auction.

You explain that you had friends who met similar fates, but you've also learned that your killer eventually did, too, rotting inside of one of his own creations. So you should be at peace.

You weren't, and didn't know why.

You figured you'd go to sleep until you were eventually disassembled.

Yet you woke up in the garage of the Ultimate Mechanic. Still trapped, but at the same time feeling a greater sense of liberation now that you got to tell someone your story.

In the end, you decide to stay with Kazuichi while he continues repairing your suit and other parts--such as your voicebox, but he prefers chatting with you in your real voice.

He feels terrible that you can't rest, and he's no exorcist so this was the least he could do, willing to push aside his fear of ghosts and all things supernatural just to help you.

You appreciated it, and began seeing him as a friend.

Within a short timeframe, he's given you all sorts of improvements--like allowing your optics to glow and giving you a proper bath, making you look almost brand new.

Not only that, but he even gave you retractable claws and a lot more motion in your joints, which would normally overheat your servos (and they didn't thanks to the coolant fans he also installed).

Between rushing to class and rushing home to fix you up, Kazuichi's classmates wonder what he's been up to.

Then he brings you to Hope's Peak, showing you off as his latest project while you just smile and greet everybody, amazing them with your functions.

"I didn't build them from scratch, but I made them better than they were!" He brags, his sharp-toothed smile mirroring your own.

The only one who isn't too impressed is Gundham--who senses a "dark and sorrowful" presence within you and sees your suit as a "disgrace" to real polar bears.

But when he brings Grizner to class for a "duel", he finds you two actually getting along, much to his shock.

Kazuichi is just laughing all the while, happy to see his new buddy making friends (and that he could impress Sonia for once).

You, on the other hand, were glad to meet so many new people.

Even though Gundham definitely knows your secret.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

By John Flint

A landmark study has found the virus that causes COVID-19 accumulates and persists in the body - especially the brain - for years after infection.

The international team of scientists believe what they have discovered can help explain long COVID.

The research builds on other studies showing the invasiveness of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the long-term implications.

“Using optical clearing and imaging, we observed the accumulation of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in the skull-meninges-brain axis of human COVID-19 patients, persisting long after viral clearance,” the study authors reported in leading biomedical journal Cell Host and Microbe last week.

Meninges are three layers of membranes that cover and protect the brain and spinal cord.

Infectious disease experts in Australia have acclaimed the peer-reviewed study.

Professor Brendan Crabb, Director and CEO of the Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health in Melbourne said the study underlined the need to treat COVID more seriously.

“This work uses cutting edge imaging technology to see things (molecules and cellular structures) to a resolution not achieved before in and around the brains of people infected with SARS-Cov-2 and mice infected with a version of SARS-Cov-2 modified to (infect) mice.

“The virus moves around the body, elegantly confirming what we already know.

“This paper shows that the virus, and especially shed spike protein, can persist around the brain for a long period of time, driving a pathological inflammatory response. This is proposed as a likely cause of the neurological symptoms people with acute and long forms of COVID experience.

“Although not without limitations, this works adds substantially to a large body of work that says COVID enters via the respiratory tract but goes into your bloodstream and so quickly moves around the body accessing many tissues, including the outer regions of the brain.

“Virus in this brain region likely persists and seemingly sheds spike protein which can be further neuro-invasive and persist even longer, (for) years even. This spike persistence is pathological, driving inflammatory responses that have likely consequences for proper brain functioning, such as memory, cognition and neurodegenerative diseases.”

“Next time you think of dismissing COVID as just another annoying common cold it may pay to visualise what you see so starkly in this paper, the virus moving freely around your body and finding a long-term home in all sorts of places where it can really cause trouble, including the brain and the heart,” Prof Crabb, who’s on the board of the WA-based Kids Research Institute Australia, added.

“This work further emphasises the need for individuals, and societies as a whole to take this infection more seriously and try and reduce the amount of transmission using the tools we currently have, most especially vaccination, clean indoor air approaches and well-fitted masks in crowded and poorly ventilated indoor settings.”

“It also showed mRNA spike-based vaccines are protective against spike accumulating in the brain periphery, consistent with what we already know about their protective effect in long COVID.”

Perth long COVID sufferer Melissa Challenor has been sick for two years.

“It’s not getting any better for me,” she said on Friday. “People like me are not making shit up. It’s in our brains, it’s in our bodies, it’s in our organs.

“I’m still being seen by the senior neuro physio at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital who’s been amazing, but now he’s sort of going, ‘Well, where do I refer you? Do I refer you to the Parkinson’s people? Do I refer you to the dementia people?’ Because the neurological symptoms are really quite bad.”

In a commentary published by the Medical Journal of Australia two weeks, researchers from the Burnet Institute said long COVID may be driven by “long infection” and that persistent replicating SARS‐CoV‐2 may be the “unifying driver for long COVID”.

The institute’s Dr Michelle Scoullar said studies had found traces of the virus in many tissues, blood and the gut well after an initial infection.

“We know vaccines can reduce the risk of long COVID, but if the virus continues to be active, antiviral treatments could be a potential treatment for long COVID and might even offer a cure,” she said.

“By prioritising prevention, advancing treatments, and improving access to vaccines, we can take significant steps toward addressing the global challenge of long COVID.”

In the United States, about 5.5 per cent of people infected with COVID experience long-term health effects, including fatigue, muscle pain, and impaired cognitive function.

A recent study demonstrated a lowering of IQ by six points in individuals with long COVID relative to unaffected individuals. Individuals with mild acute infection showed a three‐point drop in IQ. Children can also get long COVID. A US study in August reported symptoms in 6-to-11 year-olds were different to those for adolescents.

Researchers at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine found that “younger children were more likely to experience a cluster of symptoms relating to stomach and digestive problems, and another characterised by sleep and memory/focus issues, while adolescents had a cluster dominated by change in smell or taste.”

Long COVID also carries an economic burden in terms of lost labour hours. It cost the Australian economy about $9.6 billion in 2022, a study by The Kirby Institute at the University of NSW, reported.

[vixendoesstuff]

Kept having thoughts about my AU, and something got me thinking-

So I decided to take another aspect from IDW for my AU, that being Rung, resident therapist everyone seems to forget. And also his whole shtick of being Primus in mortal form. But that's another problem I'm not gonna delve too deep in.

Since things in Aligned are not the same as in IDW (as far as I'm concerned, the only deities the majority reveres in Aligned is Primus and the Thirteen, no Guiding Hands, no Spectralism and whatnot), I gotta change things up.

So I decided to do a little something with Rung.

Y'know how Unicron had his little avatar in the show? The one he uses to talk to Optimus?

This thing?

Yeah, what if Rung is what this is to Primus?

When he commanded to Optimus for his forces to go off planet so he could heal from his Dark Energon infection (thanks, Megatron), he could feel himself slipping into a coma, of sorts. As a last resort, maybe wanting himself an anchor to the mortal world, Primus created an avatar for himself, built in his image.

That avatar being Rung.

He would use this new body to explore the world that has expanded and evolve in his absence. Noting down everything the galaxy has to offer, in spite of the ongoing Great War his subjects has undergo in his slumber.

He kept his true nature a secret, of course. He wouldn't want his subjects--nay, his children, to be frightened or declare him mad. That simply wouldn't do. He's simply here to observe, and perhaps help those who need it. He also tries to keep his presence on the down low as much as possible. Too much attention can spell disaster in the future.

Of course, both sides can never truly be in the dark for long about his presence. Words are bound to spread.

The whisper tells of a Cybertronian, dressed in a frame of golden copper with no battle armour, and yet bears no blemishes or dents or scratches in their frame, spotless to an unnatural degree. Some even say this mech possesses no visible kibble, suggesting a lack of an altmode.

They tell of a voice spoken softly, echoing with an almost other worldly aspect to it, almost hypnotic, able to calm the most hardened and scarred of Sparks.

They describe small and delicate servos, who's touch is gentle, oh-so gentle and caring, caressing battle hardened frames with a tenderness so foreign, yet leaves you craving more.

They say they bear optics, cobalt blue, that glows ethereally, alike that of a Cybertronian's spark. Underneath inconspicuous glass specs, are optics that would gaze at you with so much love and kindness, so full of pure honesty, not a speck of hatred or pain in sight. One can't help the feeling of affection and devotion coursing through them when they gaze into the eternal abyss of light.

Many had tried to search for this elusive mech, either searching for the same comforts given in the stories, or for more nefarious purposes; many failed. For this mech will simply appear on a whim, to be found when they want to be found. No matter what scanners you have, it being the most cutting edge technology in the entire universe, you'd have better luck finding Unicron themselves than this mysterious Cybertronian.

The lucky few who had managed to initiate contact, often get little results in their questioning. Their words are always spoken vaguely, like a seer of the mystical arts, never giving anything of importance away. Like they're humoring you, almost.

When all is said and done, they say the mech slips into a mist, and the next you blink, all tells of their presence is gone. Like they were never there to begin with.

Many names have been spoken to refer this mech. One example being "Celestial Architect". Another describes them as "The Mechanica Divine". "The Blessed One", "Guiding Hand", "Life Giver", and so much more. And yet, despite these titles, everyone can agree to one thing:

No one truly knows the true designation of this Cybertronian.

Whatever it is, it wouldn't be something so simple, not with their remarkable reputation across the galaxy. Imagine if it's something so unassuming, like "Rung"; that's just ridiculous.

.

.

.

Right?

(Somewhere in the vast distance of space, Rung sneezes.

"Is something the matter, my Lord?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, it is nothing of concern, Megatronus.")

[tickly-trashcan]

Fond Memories {Ratchet x Optimus Prime}

Hear Me Out Cake Event!

A/N: DONT LOOK AT ME OLD MAN YAOI HAS ME IN A CHOKEHOLD i love these two to bits im sick and i am not even going to try and pretend i dont think theyre cute because THEY ARE!! so heres some ratchop fluff because i think they deserve it hehe ENJOY!!

(Ratchet was requested by @gaybananabread, so here's a little tag hehe hope you enjoy!)

Summary: Ratchet held Optimus behind from a scouting mission, and the two begin to reminisce.

Word Count: 1.4k (under the cut!)

It was quiet in the base. Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Arcee were all on scouting missions by themselves at various locations and Jack, Miko, and Raf were all in school. Optimus and Ratchet were the only ones at the base, which was a refreshing change of pace for Ratchet. Even though he was busy with maintenance on the ground bridge and some other technological tidbits, it was still comforting having the base to himself and Optimus.

Optimus, who had been planning on going on a scouting mission himself, was sitting in the medbay. He watched Ratchet suspiciously as he worked on the ground bridge, too focused on what he was doing to make conversation.

Optimus did not mind the silence. He appreciated it, in fact. But he could not help but wonder why exactly Ratchet had told him to stay behind from the scouting mission. Yes, he had been feeling slightly delirious the day before after an encounter with some Decepticons, but he felt perfectly fine now. And with Ratchet clearly engrossed in his maintenance, Optimus was not sure he should interrupt.

“And… that should do it,” Ratchet finally said, stepping away from the monitor for a moment. He turned to face Optimus, still glancing at the monitor, then finally turned his attention back to the Autobot leader. “Sorry, that took a bit longer than I was expecting.”

“I appreciate that you spend so much time maintaining our base, Ratchet. Please don’t apologize,” Optimus said with a small smile.

Ratchet rubbed the back of his neck with a servo, suddenly bashful. “Well, I– Thank you, Optimus.”

Optimus nodded his helm. “Now, I do have a question, Ratchet.”

Ratchet raised an optical ridge and walked over to Optimus, sitting next to him on the medbay table. “What is it?”

Optimus furrowed his optical ridge in concern. “Is there… any particular reason to keep me behind aside from ‘doctor’s orders’? I feel quite fine right now…”

Ratchet waved a servo. “Well, you had direct contact with the ‘Cons yesterday! I have to monitor your processor for potential damage, and I didn’t get a thorough screening of the rest of your frame before you recharged. In fact, that reminds me, let’s do a scan right now—”

“Ratchet, I feel fine… Did you just keep me back to spend time with me?”

The bluntness of Optimus’ question made Ratchet sputter. “I– I– What? No! That would be– I wouldn’t–” The look Optimus gave him made Ratchet sigh in defeat. “Okay, yes, maybe I did. But all the others had scouting missions, and it would have been too quiet here.”

Optimus chuckled a bit at that. “You and I both know you would prefer the solitude that the scouting missions would have provided.”

Ratchet reached for Optimus’ servo, taking it in his own. “Is it so wrong for me to want some time with you, Optimus? It’s not often that we get time together, just the two of us. Not since… Not since a very long time ago.”

Optimus nodded his helm sadly and then pressed his forehelm against Ratchet’s. He squeezed Ratchet’s servo lightly and sighed. “I know… There are times when I begin to reminisce about the times we had before everything happened, but the memories are now burdened with the pain we have gone through since.”

“I wish things could have been different,” Ratchet said softly. “For all of the Autobots. For all of us here. For you.”

Optimus stiffened. “I should not receive any sort of special treatment just because of what I have gone through. We have all been through many grueling events, and I would not wish for anyone to suffer more so that I could have even the briefest moment of relief.” He noticed that Ratchet was beginning to tremble, and he squeezed his servo again. “There are many things I would change if I could go back. Many, many things. But I would never change what I have gone through with you.”

Ratchet softened at that. He looked up at Optimus and offered a small smile, cupping Optimus’ faceplate with his servo. “I wouldn’t change a single moment I’ve spent with you.” Optimus put a servo over Ratchet’s, tilted his helm, and kissed the palm of Ratchet’s servo. Ratchet began to ramble at this. “Of course, if I did have some way to go back in time or erase some memories from your processor, I have a few unflattering moments I would like to undo.”

A small, rare grin crept up Optimus’ face. “Oh? Enlighten me, Ratchet. I can’t seem to recall any unflattering moments with you.”

Ratchet’s rambling only increased. “Well, there was that time where I got stuck in the trash chute after I was trying to find some of my tools, and there was the other time when you were tickling me for some sort of useless information, and then there was the time when you walked in on me—”

Optimus nodded as Ratchet rambled. He loved listening to him talk, even more so when he was bringing up these memories that Optimus had almost completely forgotten about. He chuckled after a few moments when Ratchet was finally beginning to trail off. “Oh, and now I’m hoping to erase this moment since you clearly were setting me up to ramble and you probably didn’t even remember half of what I just said… Stop smiling like that, Optimus!”

Optimus could not help but chuckle. “Well, you’re almost entirely correct. I didn’t mean to set you up, however. You sort of just… did that yourself.”

Ratchet groaned and buried his face in his servos. “Can you send me to the Allspark now?”

Optimus shook his helm and put a servo on Ratchet’s shoulder, pulling him close. “Not quite yet, Ratchet.” Ratchet sighed and leaned into Optimus, lulled by the rhythmic and gentle rubbing from Optimus’ servo on his shoulder. “I’m starting to remember the moments you were just recalling… They are recorded with very fond feelings in my processor.”

Ratchet grumbled. “Even the one with the trash chute?”

Optimus hummed. “Even the one with the trash chute. Another one I especially love is the one where I was tickling you for information. You were hiding something from me that day, though I cannot recall what it was.”

“It was a birthday gift! And you spoiled it for yourself,” Ratchet huffed with a chuckle. “I was trying to keep it a surprise, but as soon as you figured out that I was keeping it from you, you wouldn’t leave me alone.”

Optimus nodded, letting his servo travel slightly down Ratchet’s side. Ratchet stiffened when he felt Optimus’ digits lightly graze his side. “I did spoil that gift, didn’t I? But I got to hear your wonderful laugh, so I cannot truly say I regret what I did.”

“O-Optimus, whatever you’re planning on– don’t,” Ratchet said softly, his voice shaking slightly.

Optimus feigned innocence and frowned, looking at Ratchet with a raised optical ridge. “I don’t seem to know what you’re talking about…”

“Optimus–!” Ratchet giggled nervously when Optimus began to drum his digits lightly on his side. “I swear to Primus, I will– AHAhaha! Ohohoptimus!”

Optimus began to lightly scribble his digits across Ratchet’s side, allowing his other servo to join in as Ratchet squirmed beside him. He smiled softly, taking in Ratchet’s bubbling laughter that was becoming increasingly rare.

“Your laugh is just as lovely as how I remember it. Why do I not get to hear it more often?” Optimus said, his tone just barely teasing. Ratchet seemed to be torn between swatting at Optimus’ servos and covering his faceplate to prevent any more of his laugh from escaping. “Please don’t try and hide your laugh, Ratchet…”

“Buhuhut– But it tickles! Ohohoptimus! Not thehehere!” Ratchet wailed, his raspy laugh bubbling over even more as Optimus’ servos crept up his sides towards the seams around the sides of his chest.

“I’m glad you reminded me of your being ticklish… I missed doing this.” Optimus said gently, enamored by Ratchet’s laugh. He smiled fondly at his partner until Ratchet nearly squirmed off the medbay table.

“Plehehehease–! No mohore!!”

Optimus ceased as soon as Ratchet asked him to, folding his servos in his lap as he waited for Ratchet to catch his breath. “You– You– Ugh… Don’t look at me like that, it makes it hard to be mad at you!”

Optimus hummed and pressed his dermas to Ratchet’s forehelm. Optimus cupped his faceplate, offering a small smile in apology. With a grumble, Ratchet accepted it and kissed the palm of Optimus’ servo.

“Want to remind me of any other wonderful memories?”

“Absolutely not!”

[directdogman]

hi dog!! i saw you answer someone's question about the dentistry business in dialtown. and ive had a similar question floating in my brain for a while so i figured i'd just ask lol

was there any sort of job crisis for certain positions after the dialup?? i feel like hairdressers would've probably been hit hard. or while something like. an optometrist wouldn't seem like it would completely go away (optical sensors), there had to be a bit of an adjustment from working with organic eyeballs to technology.

okay thats it, thanks! :p

Hmm, there is a kind of nuance to explain with the dentristry thing:

Otorhinolaryngology (ear doctors), ophthalmology (eye doctors) and dentistry got merged into a single, more competitive profession, so they really all got the short end of the stick in a sense. They all had to relearn their trade a signal unified thing, and while there's specialists for all 3 of the sub field (not every dentist specializes in optical sensors, for instance), cleaning locked air in closed systems is quite a bit simpler, meaning there's a lot less money to be made in specializing in that versus, say, repairing optical sensors.

Part of Crown's reasoning with the object heads was to cut down on the organic complexity of the human body. This wasn't an unintended side effect as much as a very intentional change.

A lot of occupations still worked over in some way. Object heads can still get facial piercings, be dyed to have tattoos (though stickers are now more viable as decorations bc phone heads lack skin and contain more flat surfaces), etc etc. Barbers is one example I'd have given as an obsolete profession, though there's a very small industry of toupee manufacturers, still. (Phonald Ringin has one in his ending of Randy's route!)

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Webb's autopsy of planet swallowed by star yields surprise

Observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have provided a surprising twist in the narrative surrounding what is believed to be the first star observed in the act of swallowing a planet. The new findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal, suggest that the star actually did not swell to envelop a planet as previously hypothesized. Instead, Webb's observations show the planet's orbit shrank over time, slowly bringing the planet closer to its demise until it was engulfed in full.

"Because this is such a novel event, we didn't quite know what to expect when we decided to point this telescope in its direction," said Ryan Lau, lead author of the new paper and astronomer at NSF NOIRLab (National Science Foundation National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory) in Tucson, Arizona. "With its high-resolution look in the infrared, we are learning valuable insights about the final fates of planetary systems, possibly including our own."

Two instruments aboard Webb conducted the post-mortem of the scene—Webb's MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph). The researchers were able to come to their conclusion using a two-pronged investigative approach.

Constraining the how

The star at the center of this scene is located in the Milky Way galaxy about 12,000 light-years away from Earth.

The brightening event, formally called ZTF SLRN-2020, was originally spotted as a flash of optical light using the Zwicky Transient Facility at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego, California. Data from NASA's NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) showed the star actually brightened in the infrared a year before the optical light flash, hinting at the presence of dust.

This initial 2023 investigation led researchers to believe that the star was more sun-like, and had been in the process of aging into a red giant over hundreds of thousands of years, slowly expanding as it exhausted its hydrogen fuel.

However, Webb's MIRI told a different story. With powerful sensitivity and spatial resolution, Webb was able to precisely measure the hidden emission from the star and its immediate surroundings, which lie in a very crowded region of space. The researchers found the star was not as bright as it should have been if it had evolved into a red giant, indicating there was no swelling to engulf the planet as once thought.

Reconstructing the scene

Researchers suggest that, at one point, the planet was about Jupiter-sized, but orbited quite close to the star, even closer than Mercury's orbit around our sun. Over millions of years, the planet orbited closer and closer to the star, leading to the catastrophic consequence.

"The planet eventually started to graze the star's atmosphere. Then it was a runaway process of falling in faster from that moment," said team member Morgan MacLeod of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "The planet, as it's falling in, started to sort of smear around the star."

In its final splashdown, the planet would have blasted gas away from the outer layers of the star. As it expanded and cooled off, the heavy elements in this gas condensed into cold dust over the next year.

Inspecting the leftovers

While the researchers did expect an expanding cloud of cooler dust around the star, a look with the powerful NIRSpec revealed a hot circumstellar disk of molecular gas closer in. Furthermore, Webb's high spectral resolution was able to detect certain molecules in this accretion disk, including carbon monoxide.

"With such a transformative telescope like Webb, it was hard for me to have any expectations of what we'd find in the immediate surroundings of the star," said Colette Salyk of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, an exoplanet researcher and co-author on the new paper.

"I will say, I could not have expected seeing what has the characteristics of a planet-forming region, even though planets are not forming here, in the aftermath of an engulfment."

The ability to characterize this gas opens more questions for researchers about what actually happened once the planet was fully swallowed by the star.

"This is truly the precipice of studying these events. This is the only one we've observed in action, and this is the best detection of the aftermath after things have settled back down," Lau said. "We hope this is just the start of our sample."

These observations, taken under Guaranteed Time Observation program 1240, which was specifically designed to investigate a family of mysterious, sudden, infrared brightening events, were among the first Target of Opportunity programs performed by Webb.

These types of study are reserved for events, like supernova explosions, that are expected to occur, but researchers don't exactly know when or where. NASA's space telescopes are part of a growing, international network that stands ready to witness these fleeting changes, to help us understand how the universe works.

Researchers expect to add to their sample and identify future events like this using the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory and NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will survey large areas of the sky repeatedly to look for changes over time.

TOP IMAGE: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s observations of what is thought to be the first-ever recorded planetary engulfment event revealed a hot accretion disk surrounding the star, with an expanding cloud of cooler dust enveloping the scene. Webb also revealed that the star did not swell to swallow the planet, but the planet’s orbit actually slowly depreciated over time, as seen in this artist’s concept. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, R. Crawford (STScI)

LOWER IMAGE: Schematic illustration of the preengulfment and postengulfment interpretation of ZTF SLRN-2020. Credit: The Astrophysical Journal (2025). DOI 10.3847/1538-4357/adb429

[bnsni]

THE CAT-INATOR

summary : Brainstorm accidentally blasts you with a ray gun and now you've got cat ears, a tail and feline embedded mannerisms. Perceptor is at lost for words.

warnings : fluff. short lil drabble (?)

You glare at the mirror. A clear visage of your narrowed eyes, crinkled nose and upturned cat ears greets back despite your surreal belief in it's plausibility. Oh, right. You've got fangs. Cute dainty little fangs. Good for biting. God, how can a simple jog pass the laboratory led to this unexpected outcome?

Yet again, predictability is not the lab's strongest vice.

"Brainstorm." Perceptor wasn't even mad.

He stood before the source of his misery, a servo clamped, kneading his face. They're both regarding their subject on the desk,who's busy pawing the mirror like you're trying to claw out your tail from that angle.

"I can't begin to imagine how you're able to...to....do precisely what you did right now. Look at her. Just look. What have you done?"

Brainstorm doesn't know what to say, and while he did turn his, ah, little human friend into a domestic pet, he settled on (with caution, Perceptor's under-optics are twitching again. Not a good sign). "Well, you see. I was a bit curious. A smidgen, tad curious—

"Of course. The lovely appeal of generic curiosity. It's only now, you're curious? First it was that bomb you insisted on bringing along our travels—"

Here we go again

"— and now, how you even manage to build such a ray gun is beyond my understanding of your capabilities."

"Hear me out! You see molecules? On a surface level they're intact, right? so what if I delved deeper and altered their existing entity to change them into—"

"A domesticated cat of all things?!" Youre now pawing at Barinstorm’s wings, about to make a grab for the edge if it weren’t for his servos clamping on your waist and hauling you onto his lap. His digit finds the underside of your jaw, tickling the spot as he coos at you. Preceptor grimaces at the display. He’s really not bothered one bit. If anything, the chaotic scientist seemed to be enjoying this new turn of event, yellow optics crinkled with delight, punctuated by his next remark.

"Hey, c'mon Percy. It's not so bad is it, eh?" You let out an involuntary purr when Brainstorm's servos skims over your head, scratching your hair. “It’s a new discovery! Can you imagine how our expeditions, missions, or whatever you call them, would proceed if advanced by this sort of cloaking technology? Disguise but call it authentic!” He gives your nose a little tap. You mewl, scrunching your face.

"You turned her into a feline cat and the ray is damaged! That's the problem, brainstorm. Is she even human anymore? I— forget it. From now on, I am no longer enforcing you to look after the liaison. In fact, i’ll—“

When Perceptor marches close to scrutinize your new 'change' in appearance you jump from Brainstorm’s lap, wrapping your arms around his shoulders, curl yourself under his neck and purred. Perceptor visiby sags.He can't deny the endearing pulse in his spark. He finds himself faltering and he groans in disbelief at that fact.

"Oh for Primus sake."

[datastring]

Optical Sorter for Food and Agriculture Market Set to Hit $3.9 Billion by 2035

The Optical Sorter for Food and Agriculture market, currently valued at $1.6 billion in 2024, is projected to grow to $3.9 billion by 2035, at a CAGR of 8.1%. The demand for optical sorting solutions in the food and agriculture sectors, particularly for grain sorting and fruit and vegetable sorting, is expected to surge during this period. Optical sorters play a crucial role in enhancing the efficiency, quality, and profitability of the sorting process, helping businesses meet food safety regulations and market quality standards.

Industry Leadership and Competitive Landscape

The Optical Sorter for Food and Agriculture market is characterized by fierce competition, with several major players such as Tomra Systems ASA, Bühler Group, Key Technology Inc., Satake Corporation, Cimbria, Sesotec GmbH, Raytec Vision SpA, GREEFA, Meyer Optoelectronic Technology Inc., Hefei Taihe Optoelectronic Technology Co. Ltd., Orange Sorting Machines India Pvt. Ltd., and TOMATO S.A. leading the charge in market innovation.

Detailed Analysis - https://datastringconsulting.com/industry-analysis/optical-sorter-for-food-and-agriculture-market-research-report

The growth of this market is fueled by advancements in technology, especially the integration of AI and machine learning, which enhance sorting capabilities. These technological innovations allow optical sorters to improve accuracy and speed, effectively identifying produce and grains that meet stringent quality standards. This helps reduce food waste and boosts profitability for agribusinesses.

Global and Regional Analysis

North America currently leads the market for optical sorters in the food and agriculture industry, driven by its extensive agro-based enterprises and food processing units. The rising need for efficient, cost-effective sorting mechanisms is pushing market growth in the region. The demand for AI-powered optical sorters is particularly strong in response to increasing labor costs and the growing need for precision and efficiency in the sorting process.

The market for optical sorters in emerging economies like India, Brazil, and Vietnam is expected to witness robust growth between 2025 and 2030, driven by the expansion of the agricultural sector and the increasing adoption of advanced sorting technologies.

Research ScopeSegmentSubsegmentTechnology TypeCamera-based Sorters, Laser-based Sorters, NIR Sorters, OthersProduct TypeBelt Sorter, Freefall Sorter, Channel Sorter, Automated Defect RemovalApplicationGrains & Seeds, Vegetables & Fruits, Coffee, Nuts & Dried Fruits, Pulses, OthersEnd-Use IndustryFood Processing Companies, Agribusiness Corporations, Equipment Rental & Leasing Companies, Others

Opportunities for Market Expansion

As the industry advances, key opportunities include:

The development and adoption of AI-powered optical sorters to reduce labor costs and enhance sorting precision.

Market expansion in emerging regions like India, Brazil, and Vietnam, where agricultural activities are growing rapidly.

Increased demand for optical sorters in the food processing and agribusiness sectors to comply with stringent food safety regulations.

About DataString Consulting

DataString Consulting offers a comprehensive range of market research and business intelligence solutions for both B2C and B2B markets. With over 30 years of experience in market and business research, DataString Consulting helps companies formulate effective strategies, assess opportunities, and make informed decisions. Our tailored solutions provide actionable insights that help clients gain a competitive edge and unlock new growth opportunities.

For more information, visit: DataString Consulting Optical Sorter Market Insights

[auckie]

I want a desk job. I want a stable desk job, with the discouraged option to work from home, and benefits— not amazing ones, just something that will make me feel like I won’t be homeless or shipped off to a low rent home when I’m 80 because I’m trans and can’t afford to adopt kids who might take pity on my old ass. I want to be able to afford a modest living, the kind I’m currently surviving, preferably alone and without a man child stoner who tracks mud everywhere and doesn’t know what headphones are and leaves my back door open and front door unlocked no matter how many times I yell at him. Ideally, I would like to exist without monthly bill anxiety. dread sure. You can’t avoid that, but I would like to have the ability to squirrel away a small bump of padding cash to withstand my car dying, which it is, my leg breaking, which it has not, top surgery, which I need, the occasional visit to my Mexican family or sister across the country, a nice meal here and there, a little wine and sun and salt. I don’t want to love my job, but I don’t want to dread going in because I fear losing my shit on my boss. I don’t need to love my coworkers even. I just want more energy after work, and maybe less risk of contracting pneumonia or my arm going numb because I was careless while working with live animals. I want the welts to stop. I want to be paid more and feel like I have the option and opportunity for upward mobility if I chose to doggedly pursue it. I would like a desk job, maybe a government or city job if those weren’t currently being gutted. It would be nice to work some sort of idyllic defunct job or a really niche one that nobody goes into because it’s hyper competitive or doesn’t pay well, like being some sort of WiFi connected lighthouse keeper or firewatch or park ranger or mortician or marine biologist or fisherman or Rosie the riveter welder restoring steam engines or fucking whatever. But that can’t and won’t be so I really would just like a desk job that has me at my own somewhat private, somewhat quiet little station, where I do repetitive tasks that at most, require the amount of brain power needed to sort files or answer emails, maybe organize a schedule or draft a handful of easily categorizable contracts. I can skim paper work and highlight the good stuff, I can compose excel spreadsheets that simplify the information, I can track inventory and regurgitate sales into some sort of chart for easier optics. I have synergy. I majored in new media visual technology and folklore. I love circling back. I have a handful of published poems. I’m a team player with managerial potential. I’ve bred roaches and wrangled 8 inch venomous centipedes into shipping tubes an inch thicker than their circumference. I used to be a realtor! My abuelita owned a nganga with a human femur inside. I want a desk job, with a cubicle and dress code and calander and sorting bin and stapler and paper clips and rolly chair with lower lumbar support and a water cooler.

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s7 ep19: Author, Author

Another Doctor episode, which once again doesn't do anything to make me like him any better, since he spends nearly the entire episode insulting and disregarding the feelings of people who are supposed to be his friends.

The Doctor writes a holonovel inspired by his life, which he sends to a publisher, but he uses the likenesses of his crewmates to create evil versions of them, who do despicable things like killing their own crewman, insulting the Doctor every time they talk to him, and threatening to decompile his program every two seconds. When confronted by them over how hurtful they find his portrayal of them, he says it's not meant to be them, and that it's okay because he's just trying to make a point about hologram oppression.

While the case could certainly be made that other sentient holograms are oppressed if they don't want to be where they are and are held against their will, the Doctor's ire at not getting extra privileges beyond what any other Starfleet officers get isn't the same thing, and doesn't fill me with pity. Not to mention, he's the one who's constantly belittling and insulting to everyone around him. The fact that he used real people's likenesses without their permission is bad enough, but refusing to change it when they asked him to is not only unethical, but shows a massive disregard for his friend's feelings.

Considering we're already dealing with the legal questions over the use of computer generated likenesses and voices of actors in the 21st century, I would have to believe that there would be laws protecting people from unauthorized use of their likenesses in holograms in the 24th century, particularly in works intended for publication. But even for programs intended for personal use, there should be some sort of laws or Starfleet protocols which would settle debates like this before they begin. But in the early 2000s no one really thought of that, so we get stories like this, where using people's likenesses without their consent is somehow totally legal and okay. It's one of those times where Star Trek didn't manage to accurately predict future technology, and it really hurts this episode, since looking at it now, there's no question that the crew should have the right to control the use of their own faces and voices in any holonovel. The core problem here isn't even that the Doctor portrayed them negatively, but that he used their likenesses without consent in the first place.

But the negative portayals are definitely also bad, and the crew are understandably all hurt to find out the Doctor thinks so little of them. He refuses to apologize, or change the characters when he finds out how hurt they are, and it just reinforces that he doesn't actually like or respect any of them. And it sucks, quite honestly. Even though hologram rights are obviously meant to be a metaphor here, the optics of having a white guy demean and insult everyone around him, then complain about being oppressed when he doesn't get special treatment, really doesn't help me feel sympathetic. Along with the fact that I don't think humans should be creating sentient computer programs in the first place, I just get really tired of all these 'boo hoo poor Doctor' storylines, particularly when the first half is him being mean to people who are supposed to be his friends, and the second half is an inferior retread of territory already explored in Next Generation with Data. 'The Measure of a Man' already established that artificial life forms have rights, so that should apply to the Doctor too, case closed. But they sidestep that so they can have a whole episode of trying to make us feel sorry for the Doctor.

He finally feels bad after several people turn the tables on him and show him how it feels to be put in the position he put them in, and eventually agrees to amend his work, but his unscupulous publisher releases the unaltered work without his permission because holograms don't have rights. It then turns into a courtroom drama as they try to prove that the Doctor is a person who should control his work. It ends with the court declining to rule on whether he's a person, but declaring that as the creator of an original work, he has the same rights as any artist to control it, and the holonovels are withdrawn. While it's a positive outcome, I still have a hard time feeling joy on behalf of a mean-spirited, self-centered character like the Doctor.

The subplot of the crew getting to have video chats with their families back home for the first time is much more interesting to me. We learn Chakotay has a sister! Why has she never been mentioned once in seven years?! I wish they'd talk more about the character's lives and families more often!

The Doctor being unwilling to let Harry go first so he could be there for his mom's birthday, just so he could try to publish his mean little holonovel, felt pretty obnoxious- there's no way he doesn't know how much it would mean to Harry, but he obviously doesn't care. At least Tom stepped up to help his bestie out!

Harry eventually does get a cute little videochat with his parents, and B'Elanna gets a videochat with her dad, which I feel was way too casual and friendly for the amount of trauma he caused her. I just can't imagine her so easily letting him back into her life as an adult after he abandoned her as a child, especially now that she's going to have a kid of her own. He's the reason she wanted to genetically alter her baby for goodness sake! Anyone who's that afraid of her daughter being treated the way her father treated her would be more skeptical of him, and would definitely need some kind of proof that he'd changed before even considering forgiving him or having a relationship with him. The idea that abusive parents automatically deserve forgiveness, and to waltz back into the lives of their grown children, is really toxic. The reality is that it takes a lot of work to rebuild trust in a situation like that, and I wish they'd have shown it being more thorny than what we saw here. It just seemed like an attempt to neatly wrap up her storyline without putting in any of the work to earn it.

Seven being convinced to reach out to her father's sister was a nice little moment. Seven getting to have some connection to her past self, and to Earth, by talking to someone who knew her then, was unexpectedly poignant.

The last scene of the Mark I EMH holograms reading the Doctor's revised holonovel on the mining planet was meant to be poignant, but it mostly just felt gross that Starfleet would give all these holograms sentience, only to treat them like programs again- they should have either deactivated them before their programs became advanced enough to be self aware, or they should let them choose something else when they objected to the job they were given. Creating sentient holograms and treating them like they're not sentient is very much against Starfleet ideals. I wish they wouldn't raise issues like that when they know they aren't going to address it on the show again, since it's nearing the end of the last season. The whole point of Star Trek is to show that humanity can do better, that even if we mess up, we can fix it- don't just show the status quo as being awful without anything being done to address it- that feels too much like reality, which is just depressing.

Tl;dr: Another attempt to create sympathy for the Doctor that just ends up showing him to be even more mean, selfish, and unlikeable than before.

[karinadele]

Budget Walmart Medic

Ratchet x Reader

ch6

Short form

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• He's never seen a signal like this. It blared in flashing red as if it was a warning for something catastrophic to happen. Yet something oddly familiar. It felt like deja vu. He desperately attempted to decipher the frequency as he made his way back to the human.

• Honesty is the best policy right? You haven't lied since being an adult, locking your past away and turning a new leaf. But in this moment, you could almost excuse it. A pair of glaring yet -is that worry? Optics stare right at you. He cradled you in his hands yet spouting absolutely nothing but profanity. Ironic it wasn't even a day ago he was the one telling you that you swore that much.

• "uh" With a small sigh you start to speak. A half truth will have to do. "yeah. I touched it." But you actively leave out the fact you snorted it. You could see him opening his mouth to protest something, but quickly shut it not long after.

• The frequency ringing in his audials have start to fade. If that's any indication of anything, it means the worst has passed. Ratchet didn't know why it bothered him so much, most likely it was just because medics are always high strung and always on alert.

• You two argue again, back and forth with Ratchet reprimanding you about how dangerous that was, and you shooting back that he only met you because you're always getting into things. Eventually he kicks you out the cave as you're banned from energon in whole, and he needed to excavate the raw crystals.

• It was only when you had a chance for yourself that you thought about it. How tf are you guys gonna process it?? Your place isn't small by any means, but even a house would be too small for him to even stick his head through the doors?? You're starting to really regret not shoving him into Raf's little hands and making it his problem.

• Ratchet emerges moments later while you're deep in thought wondering why they couldn't just contact each others or whatever the "harbinger" was. You were going to ask him about it until you realize he wasn't holding anything. "Where's the energon?" you ask him.

• On the way back, he explained that there's some sort of 'subspace' something like a blackhole that just disintegrates materialistic objects and can yank it back out in whole? You also learn some terminology of the cybertronian anatomy, things like hands are servos, feet are pedes, and a bunch of other things you've definitely have forgotten. But the one thing you did remember, was that they weren't able to contact the rest of the team as the Decepticons were keeping tabs on their communications.

• ? Wouldn't the right course of action is to just jam the communications? Ratchet scoffed at the idea. "You? Jamming alien Decepticon technology?" You argue with him that if they can't do anything server side, then at least try on the client side? If you can't smash their LAN room, (or whatever equivalent of it) then at least encrypt the messages they send? or hell, encrypt and distribute packets through other IPs, -or whatever their version of the internet is. A decentralized message.

• Ratchet is not onboard. One single one step and their cover could be totally blown. The cons can easily decrypt human encryption, after all, its extremely primitive. But you're determined. Where is this ego coming from? It's not ego, its sheer will and stubbornness to back down.

• You two pull up back into the garage. And with still no way of refining energon, Ratchet still has not been able to refuel. He tells you he'll just shut down and you're instantly thrown into a panic. That is until he explains it's just the equivalent of going to sleep, or recharge. So much for your unintended sympathetic nervous system running overtime. All this time you thought he was trying to die. Regardless, you hatch a plan. At this rate he will die if he doesn't get some sustenance into him. Without any other connections, your best bet was to contact Raf and that black and yellow muscle car.

• It wasn't until the human has left him alone and returned to her apartment that Ratchet realized what nagging frequency humming in his audials were. It was a life signal. Almost throwing him for a loop nearly smacking the celling half transformed. Not unlike that time Cliffjumper's life signal came back online from the dark energon. But oh so faint almost like the spark was holding on for dear life. "...How...? In a human? From merely touching energon?"

Next (AO3)

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[lunarbreaksblog]

Note: Tumblr is being weird, so I can't edit drafts

Note 2: I basically grew up with RiD, I remembering staying up to midnight to watch the reruns lol

How RiD! Drift, Fracture and Thunderhoof react to Alien! Reader

Fracture

How did you manage to capture his spark is one thing but to make him not turn you in for a bounty was something new.

Your species is ancient, more older than Cybertron and perhaps the universe itself. You are but a ball of pure energy.

He met you when you were experimenting with using a dead mech as a vessel. That was some sort of war crime you were committing but he couldn't care less.

Quickly you fled, even if your species was old, you were a great source of energy for warp technology. He let you flee, after all you were spectacular, he never saw you kind.

Soon, he met you again.

You spoke to him

You spoke

You had no mouth but he could hear you.

Quickly he realized that maybe he shouldn't hand you into someplace so he could get credits even if it was a lot of credits.

You could be his. His energy.

Drift

You looked and felt cybertronian but you weren't

If he had met you as Deadlock, he would've claimed the bounty on your helm. However, now as Drift, he's curious about you.

How do resemble his people but some how are his people, there's something wrong with you. Not that it's big issues like wrong number of optics. Its the way that your face doesn't seem right if he looks close enough. How your mouth never seems to move with your vocals.

It terrifies him.

But he sees that as a thing to get over, to accomplish not being afraid of you, even if you say you're cybertronian.

Thunderhoof

He might not be into organics, but he will admit you have a very nice ass. He's doesn't seem like it but genuinely could care less about what race you are. As long as you listen to him and let him do his business with his dealings.

You seem human but what makes you different is the fact that you seem to have weird sharp ears and green blood.

Something about you being a Romulan, he knows that your species is secretive but he's glad he took the chance to speak with a Romulan, which was you.

You only come to his knee, but damn does he like what he sees.

You though, could care less.

[kaijuposting]

Jaegers of Pacific Rim: What do we know about them?

There's actually a fair amount of lore about Pacific Rim's jaegers, though most of it isn't actually in the movie itself. A lot of it has been scattered in places like Pacific Rim: Man, Machines, & Monsters, Tales From Year Zero, Travis Beacham's blog, and the Pacific Rim novelization.

Note that I will not be including information from either Pacific Rim: Uprising or Pacific Rim: The Black. Uprising didn't really add anything, and The Black's take on jaegers can easily be summed up as "simplified the concept to make a cartoon for children."

So what is there to know about jaegers, besides the fact that they're piloted by two people with their brains connected via computer?

Here's a fun fact: underneath the hull (which may or may not be pure iron), jaegers have "muscle strands" and liquid data transfer technology. Tendo Choi refers to them in the film when describing Lady Danger's repairs and upgrades:

Solid iron hull, no alloys. Forty engine blocks per muscle strand. Hyper-torque driver for every limb and a new fluid synapse system.

The novelization by Alex Irvine makes frequent references to this liquid data transfer tech. For example:

The Jaeger’s joints squealed and began to freeze up from loss of lubricant through the holes Knifehead had torn in it. Its liquid-circuit neural architecture was misfiring like crazy. (Page 29.)

He had enough fiber-optic and fluid-core cabling to get the bandwidth he needed. (Page 94.)

Newt soldered together a series of leads using the copper contact pins and short fluid-core cables. (Page 96.)

Unfortunately I haven't found anything more about the "muscle strands" and what they might be made of, but I do find it interesting that jaegers apparently have some sort of artificial muscle system going on, especially considering Newt's personnel dossier in the novel mentioned him pioneering research in artificial tissue replication at MIT.

The novelization also mentions that the pilots' drivesuits have a kind of recording device for their experiences while drifting:

This armored outer layer included a Drift recorder that automatically preserved sensory impressions. (Page 16.)

It was connected through a silver half-torus that looked like a travel pillow but was in fact a four-dimensional quantum recorder that would provide a full record of the Drift. (Page 96.)

This is certainly... quite the concept. Perhaps the PPDC has legitimate reasons for looking through the memories and feelings of their pilots, but let's not pretend this doesn't enable horrific levels of privacy invasion.

I must note, though, I haven't seen mention of a recording system anywhere outside of the novel. Travis Beacham doesn't mention it on his blog, and it never comes up in either Tales From Year Zero or Tales From The Drift, both written by him. Whether there just wasn't any occasion to mention it or whether this piece of worldbuilding fell by the wayside in Beacham's mind is currently impossible to determine.

Speaking of the drivesuits, let's talk about those more. The novelization includes a few paragraphs outlining how the pilots' drivesuits work. It's a two-layer deal:

The first layer, the circuity suit, was like a wetsuit threaded with a mesh of synaptic processors. The pattern of processor relays looked like circuitry on the outside of the suit, gleaming gold against its smooth black polymer material. These artificial synapses transmitted commands to the Jaeger’s motor systems as fast as the pilot’s brain could generate them, with lag times close to zero. The synaptic processor array also transmitted pain signals to the pilots when their Jaeger was damaged.

...

The second layer was a sealed polycarbonate shell with full life support and magnetic interfaces at spine, feet, and all major limb joints. It relayed neural signals both incoming and outgoing. This armored outer layer included a Drift recorder that automatically preserved sensory impressions.

...

The outer armored layer of the drivesuit also kept pilots locked into the Conn-Pod’s Pilot Motion Rig, a command platform with geared locks for the Rangers’ boots, cabled extensors that attached to each suit gauntlet, and a full-spectrum neural transference plate, called the feedback cradle, that locked from the Motion Rig to the spine of each Ranger’s suit. At the front of the motion rig stood a command console, but most of a Ranger’s commands were issued either by voice or through interaction with the holographic heads-up display projected into the space in front of the pilots’ faces. (Page 16.)

Now let's talk about the pons system. According to the novelization:

The basics of the Pons were simple. You needed an interface on each end, so neuro signals from the two brains could reach the central bridge. You needed a processor capable of organizing and merging the two sets of signals. You needed an output so the data generated by the Drift could be recorded, monitored, and analyzed. That was it. (Page 96.)

This is pretty consistent with other depictions of the drift, recording device aside. (Again, the 4D quantum recorder never comes up anywhere outside of the novel.)

The development of the pons system as we know it is depicted in Tales From Year Zero, which goes into further detail on what happened after Trespasser's attack on San Francisco. In this comic, a jaeger can be difficult to move if improbably calibrated. Stacker Pentecost testing out a single arm describes the experience as feeling like his hand is stuck in wet concrete; Doctor Caitlin Lightcap explains that it's resistance from the datastream because the interface isn't calibrated to Pentecost's neural profile. (I'm guessing that this is the kind of calibration the film refers to when Tendo Choi calls out Lady Danger's left and right hemispheres being calibrated.)

According to Travis Beacham's blog, solo piloting a jaeger for a short time is possible, though highly risky. While it won't cause lasting damage if the pilot survives the encounter, the neural overload that accumulates the longer a pilot goes on can be deadly. In this post he says:

It won't kill you right away. May take five minutes. May take twenty. No telling. But it gets more difficult the longer you try. And at some point it catches up with you. You won't last a whole fight start-to-finish. Stacker and Raleigh managed to get it done and unplug before hitting that wall.

In this post he says:

It starts off fine, but it's a steep curve from fine to dead. Most people can last five minutes. Far fewer can last thirty. Nobody can last a whole fight.

Next, let's talk about the size and weight of jaegers. Pacific Rim: Man, Machines, & Monsters lists off the sizes and weights of various jaegers. The heights of the jaegers it lists (which, to be clear, are not all of them) range from 224 feet to 280 feet. Their weights range from 1850 tons to 7890 tons. Worth noting, the heaviest jaegers (Romeo Blue and Horizon Brave) were among the Mark-1s, and it seems that these heavy builds didn't last long given that another Mark-1, Coyote Tango, weighed 2312 tons.

And on the topic of jaeger specs, each jaeger in Pacific Rim: Man, Machines, & Monsters is listed with a (fictional) power core and operating system. For example, Crimson Typhoon is powered by the Midnight Orb 9 power core, and runs on the Tri-Sun Plasma Gate OS.

Where the novelization's combat asset dossiers covers the same jaegers, this information lines up - with the exception of Lady Danger. PR:MMM says that Lady Danger's OS is Blue Spark 4.1; the novelization's dossier says it's BLPK 4.1.

PR:MMM also seems to have an incomplete list of the jaegers' armaments; for example, it lists the I-22 Plasmacaster under Weaponry, and "jet kick" under Power Moves. Meanwhile, the novelization presents its armaments thus:

I-22 Plasmacaster Twin Fist gripping claws, left arm only Enhanced balance systems and leg-integral Thrust Kickers Enhanced combat-strike armature on all limbs

The novel's dossiers list between 2-4 features in the jaegers' armaments sections.

Now let's move on to jaeger power cores. As many of you probably already know, Mark-1-3 jaegers were outfitted with nuclear power cores. However, this posed a risk of cancer for pilots, especially during the early days. To combat this, pilots were given the (fictional) anti-radiation drug, Metharocin. (We see Stacker Pentecost take Metharocin in the film.)

The Mark-4s and beyond were fitted with alternative fuel sources, although their exact nature isn't always clear. Striker Eureka's XIG supercell chamber implies some sort of giant cell batteries, but it's a little harder to guess what Crimson Typhoon's Midnight Orb 9 might be, aside from round.

Back on the topic of nuclear cores, though, the novelization contains a little paragraph about the inventor of Lady Danger's power core, which I found entertaining:

The old nuclear vortex turbine lifted away from the reactor housing. The reactor itself was a proprietary design, brainchild of an engineer who left Westinghouse when they wouldn’t let him use his lab to explore portable nuclear miniaturization tech. He’d landed with one of the contractors the PPDC brought in at its founding, and his small reactors powered many of the first three generations of Jaegers. (Page 182.)

Like... I have literally just met this character, and I love him. I want him to meet Newt Geiszler, you know? >:3

Apparently, escape pods were a new feature to Mark-3 jaegers. Text in the novelization says, "New to the Mark III is an automated escape-pod system capable of ejecting each Ranger individually." (Page 240.)

Finally, jaegers were always meant to be more than just machines. Their designs and movements were meant to convey personality and character. Pacific Rim: Man, Machines, & Monsters says:

Del Toro insisted the Jaegers be characters in and of themselves, not simply giant versions of their pilots. Del Toro told his designers, "It should be as painful for you to see a Jaeger get injured as it is for you to see the pilot [get hurt.]" (Page 56.)

Their weathered skins are inspired by combat-worn vehicles from the Iraq War and World War II battleships and bombers. They look believable and their design echoes human anatomy, but only to a point. "At the end of the day, what you want is for them to look cool," says Francisco Ruiz Velasco. "It's a summer movie, so you want to see some eye candy." Del Toro replies, "I, however, believe in 'eye protein,' which is high-end design with a high narrative content." (Page 57.)

THE JAEGER FROM DOWN UNDER is the only Mark 5, the most modern and best all-around athlete of the Jaegers. He's also the most brutal of the Jaeger force. Del Toro calls him "sort of brawler, like a bar fighter." (Page 64.)

And that is about all the info I could scrounge up and summarize in a post. I think there's a lot of interesting stuff here - like, I feel that the liquid circuit and muscle tissue stuff gives jaegers an eerily organic quality that could be played for some pretty interesting angles. And I also find it interesting that jaegers were meant to embody their own sort of character and personality, rather than just being simple combat machines or extensions of their pilots - it's a great example of a piece of media choosing thematic correctness over technical correctness, which when you get right down to it, is sort of what Pacific Rim is really all about.