#Preventive Maintenance Program

[pttedu]

Stay ahead of expensive plumbing issues with expert plumbing maintenance tips for Philadelphia homeowners. Learn how to fix a leaky faucet without calling a plumber and keep your system running smoothly. Whether you're interested in DIY fixes or exploring plumber schools, training for plumbing, or starting an apprenticeship for plumbing, we’ve got you covered. Gain the knowledge to prevent problems before they start and extend the life of your plumbing system. Get practical advice tailored for Philly residents and discover local resources to support your plumbing journey.

[ameristarcontracting]

A preventative maintenance program is a routine, comprehensive commercial roof maintenance program. Find us in Florida for your property needs.

[vijayakumar1004]

How to Automate Ultra Cleaning Your Home and Office with Narwal Robot Vacuum and Mop Comb

Imagine a smarter way to keep your home and office clean effortlessly. Experience a cutting-edge robotic machine, offering time-saving precision and accessibility. This technology integrates effortlessly into your life, ensuring pristine environments. Its versatile cleaning and design make it essential for a clutter-free. Absence of manual intervention showcases its advanced navigation and…

[ergeneralconstructionllcor]

[hhcommercialcleaning]

Top-Notch Preventive Maintenance Programs

Explore our top-notch preventive maintenance programs at Helping Hands Commercial Cleaning. Our tailored solutions ensure the longevity of your facilities, preventing issues before they arise. Get in touch with us to know more!

[probablyasocialecologist]

While they contribute little to society, welfare ranchers on public lands demand a lot in the form of subsidies whose scope is a testament to their outsize power and influence. It’s estimated the state and federal largesse to the industry amounts to between $500 million and $1 billion a year, all of it funded generously by the taxpayer. This includes below-market grazing fees for cows and sheep, fence construction, road building and maintenance, cattle guards, forage improvement and seeding programs, poisoning of unwanted vegetation, forest clearing, stream diversions, water projects such as dams, pipelines, aqueducts, stock ponds and troughs, the monitoring of livestock health, and control of predators and other mammalian and avian pests deemed a threat to the industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture operates a specialized hunting and trapping unit—referred to by the Saboteur as “hired killers”—that slaughters tens of thousands of animals each year to aid public lands stockmen, including coyotes, beavers, and prairie dogs. Ranchers also receive generous federal and state tax write-offs for every cow they graze, along with reduced state property taxes for their private deeded lands. They are additionally “blow-jobbed,” as the Saboteur put it, by the very agencies that are supposed to be preventing their overstocking and overgrazing of public lands. The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management are the primary culprits in this charade of regulation, in which it appears the cowboys run the show and the bureaucrats are their puppets. The industry is thus provided all kinds of preferential treatment and survives on the dole because in the arid conditions of the West, where the climate conspires against cattle production, it cannot do otherwise. “Western cattlemen are nothing more than welfare parasites,” wrote author Edward Abbey, the literary father of the eco-sabotage movement in the United States, who also observed that cattlemen “survive by hiding behind the cheap mythology of the ‘Cowboy’: literally, a boy who looks after cows.” Abbey was hardly alone in coming to this conclusion. Conservative pundit George Will opined that an inner-city mother on public assistance was “the soul of self-reliance compared to a westerner who receives federally subsidized range privileges.” The industry, naturally, wants ever more privilege. The primary advocacy group of ranchers who exploit the public domain is the Public Lands Council, which is funded and staffed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a political and cultural giant in the annals of lobbying. Every few years, the Public Lands Council issues a policy document to outline priorities for Congress and the White House. Katie Fite, an ecologist with the nonprofit Wildlands Defense in Boise, calls it the “Welfare Rancher’s demand letter.” “The Big Hats basically want super-duper extra special status for every welfare ranching permit holder,” she told me in an email, “because if you have herds of cows or sheep you are a Lord.” Among the common demands: the general annihilation of prairie dogs, a keystone species already 98 percent gone throughout the West but which ranchers still consider a pest; the stripping of Endangered Species Act protections for the trifling number of remaining grizzly bears and for “all species of wolves” in the United States; and rollbacks of key provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires environmental impact assessments of all commercial activities on federal lands, including ranching operations. The Public Lands Council has also sought to amend the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act so that wild horses can be killed because they compete for forage with cows. “They want wild horses in the West pretty much GONE,” Fite wrote me. “The Endangered Species Act rendered meaningless/GONE. They want a free hand to grossly pollute water. They attack just about everything good or positive with public lands and the environment.”

1 April 2025

[ronqueesha]

Some more fun 40k facts for Rogue Trader mutuals!

The average human lifespan in Warhammer 40k is roughly the same as it is right now. However, the wealthy people, those who are well-connected, and important/high ranking military officers have access to rejuvenation technology and augmentations that massively extend a person's life. The wealthiest people can live for centuries. As a Rogue Trader, your character will be 100% pressured to undergo these treatments for the stability of the region. Theodora is well over 300 years old at the start of the game.

The first Rogue Traders, those who were personally granted warrants of trade by the Emperor himself, were actually people he did not want around. They were people too wealthy/popular/inconvenient to kill, but people he did not want close to him as he built the foundations of the Imperium. For him, this was a win-win situation. If they did what they were told, they would go into unknown corners of the galaxy and bring them into the Emperor's fold. Or they died trying. Worst case scenario, they got corrupted (or at least power-hungry) and turned on the Emperor while in deep space, which game him perfect justification to kill them.

There have been other warrants of trade signed by Primarchs and other extremely important people for more practical reasons. But the original warrants signed by the Emperor were, as many things concerning the Emperor, kind of a shitty thing to do.

A lot of 40k's lore borrows heavily (steals) from Dune. Including a total ban on artificial intelligence and machines that do any complicated calculations. (it's not just illegal, it's heretical) Cogitators look like computers as we understand them, but their actual processors are often human brains. Servitors who have had their bodies mutilated even more than usual, their brain functions brute-forced programmed to do nothing but function as a computer.

Remember this skeleton on the main menu screen? That's a person, not a spooky decoration. (the Imperium is SUPER evil)

That being said, the Adeptus Mechanicus totally break this rule all the time.

But this rule isn't just because the Imperium is evil. Daemons can, and have, possessed machines of all kinds to cause countless deaths across history. Part of the reason all technology and maintenance is so heavily ritualized is because it HAS to be, in order to prevent demonic infestation. It's not just because everyone in 40k is completely ignorant of how things work.

[liesmyth]

I want to start running...any tips?

I WAS BORN TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION. Thank you so much for asking! Unfortunately, I am a nerd about my hobbies so this got quite long.

Keep it simple ✨

Running is easy to get into; our bodies are built for it. Don’t stress over technicalities and just do what feels natural to you. My local races are full of 70-something white-haired pensioners who are kicking ass at it. Don’t let anyone tell you that running is meant to feel like dying, that’ll harm your knees, or that you absolutely need to have that specific smartwatch model to get into it. All you need is a solid pair of shoes, everything else is optional.

Medium effort is the way to go

The ideal aerobic running pace is a speed at which you’re able to hold a conversation, even if a bit winded. NO faster. If you’re able to sing along to your playlist or chat with a friend, that’s your ideal running pace. If you’re gasping or wheezing, slow down! You’ll get a bit faster as your lung capacity gets better, but that shouldn’t be a priority unless you want to train for a race. You get most of the health benefits of running just by keeping up a steady, sustainable, conversational pace.

Walking breaks are fine, actually

That’s the reason why I don’t love C25K as a beginner program — the way it’s structured sort of implies that walking breaks are something you should grow out of to become a more experienced runner. If you need to walk for a bit, go ahead.

If possible, jogging is preferable, just because the mechanics of even a glacial-pace jog are more similar to running than those of a faster power walk, so you might try switching to a jog after a bit of a walking interval. But walking is not a failure; there are serious marathon training plans out there that use walk/run intervals as a viable strategy.

(Related: picking up speed helps you keep going! If you feel like you are completely drained, try speeding up for a very short interval, then slowing back down. It’ll often give you an energy boost to keep going)

Run for time, not distance ⌚

Especially for beginners, I find that getting fixated on numbers can be counter productive, and the most important thing is to listen to your body. If you’re aiming to hit a certain mileage, you might get the urge to speed up at the end to get done faster. Instead, set yourself time-based goals and end every run with a cool down jog or walk.

SHOES!! 👟

Good running shoes are essential, and pretty much the only fitness-related purchase on which I’ll always support dropping money. If you get to the point where you’re consistently running 10 km (6 miles) each week, you’ll want to go to a running store — the kind of place where you’ll get fitted, and they’ll have you try on models and jog on a treadmill to evaluate your gait and let you know which characteristics your ideal shoe needs. I can’t stress enough how useful running store staff can be. They’re all running club nerds who LOVE getting new people into running, and they really want to help you find your ideal fit. Also get good running socks while you’re at it.

Be prepared to drop at least 100€ (or equivalent currency) but they usually have a great return policy if the model isn’t a good fit for you. Take care of your running shoes — maintenance, wearing them only for running, gentle cleansing etc — and the cushioning will last for quite a while (600km / 370miles at least). If you decide that you hate running, they’re still great for walking around. Once you find your ideal shoe model, it gets a lot easier to shop for it during end-of-season sales, or looking for online bargains etc. I love stocking on end-of-series shoes and rotating them so they’ll last even longer, and I buy online quite often! Just make sure your FIRST pair is fitted, for ideal injury prevention and joint health.

Injury prevention 💪

I’d love to still be running 10k races when I’m 70, but it takes some care to get there. When you run, you’re slamming your body weight up and down with every stride, and that might be hard on your joints if you’re not used to it. If you’re completely new to running, cap your runs at 15/20 minutes every other day. Do that even if you feel like you could keep going! If you have a good aerobic base already, you need to give your joints time to catch up with you lung capacity, and give your body time to recover. Do bodyweight exercises like lunges and planks and glute bridges to strengthen your core, legs, and hips. Dynamic stretches are great for warmups, and static stretches are better for cooling down. If you have the option, running on softer surface like grass or dirt is better than asphalt, which is better than concrete and pavements.

(If nothing of what I’ve said here makes sense to you, shoot me another ask, or look at some of the resources I’ve linked down below!)

Don't get bored! 🎶

I love running in groups. Running clubs are great. You can learn so much in a hands-on way from seriously experienced people, you can chat about gossip over a running job, and you can make some interesting friends. If you don’t have access to a running community, then personally I love just chilling on a run by myself listening to an audiobook or podcast or exploring a certain area.

Running form❓

Don’t stress about it. Just go out and move your body. Attempting to modify your ‘running form’ too quickly can do more harm than good. There ARE a few things you could pay attention to — I recommend trying to focus on one of these at a time for a minute or so, and alternate between them. After a while, it’ll start to feel natural to keep track of all of them:

1. Don’t slouch! But a slight lean forward is great.

2. Keep your shoulders pulled down and your upper back tense.

3. Swinging your arms in a way that helps with your stride is good, but I shouldn’t feel forced.

4. Even breaths, inhaling through your mouth and expiring through your nose.

5. Take turns to check with every part of your body, and relax them in turn: are your jaw and neck too tense? Are your fists tight?

6. Don’t overstride! shorter strides with quicker leg turnover are better than huge strides that feel awkward to you.

7. Use your glutes to drive up the motion of your legs, not just your quads. This can take a while to get used to, but it’s a game-changer.

8. ENGAGE YOUR CORE. This is a great skill to develop whether you work out or are just existing in the world — basically, let your inner abdominal muscles help you carry your weight forward. This is VERY intuitive once you know how to do it, but it’s hard to get a grasp of it if you don’t know what it means, so here are some resources about it.

an extremely fucking comprehensive article that improved my life and eased my big-boobs back pain

similar content but in video form

a running-specific form video

Personally, learning to do this made me feel like I unlocked a superpower. Go forth and brace.

Accessories and tips 🤓

Like I said above, the only thing I really suggest spending money on for real is running shoes. Everything else is details! However, I’m nothing if not wordy I have Thoughts about those details, too.

Run tracking: I suggest downloading Runkeeper if you want to keep track of your runs — it’s free, intuitive, and solid! If you decide to get into wearables, a low-level Garmin >>>>> anything else.

Self-care: use sunscreen and/or thick face cream as needed. Stop to sip at a public fountain if needed. Get a small fanny pack to hold your phone, keys, or lip balm if needed. If chafing is an issue, anti-glide gel is relatively affordable.

Outfits etc: I get all my running gear and clothes from Decathlon — they are in most countries and ship worldwide. I especially love this thermal shirt for colder weather

Safety: if you’re running on the road, make sure to run in the opposite direction from traffic and to wear something bright. If you run with headphones near traffic, keep the volume down, or get over-the-ear conductor headsets. I love shokz, they're fantastic.

Post-run snack: eating something small and carb-heavy within 30 mins of a workout is great for kickstarting recovery. I love dried fruit personally.

Various resources 📝

Routine basics: check out the r/running order of operations, which is a great “how to” guide to building a basic running routine. I also recommend that subreddit's wiki! Running programming gets exponentially more involved the more advanced you get, etc — if you ever have any questions, hit me up!

Dynamic stretching warmup: a quick leg swing workout to get your legs ready to go. If you’re feeling overachieving, here’s a lunge warmup routine and a how-to bodyweight squat video.

Cooldown routine! Check out Strength and Mobility, a great post-run quick cooldown routine that includes some bodyweight exercises to strengthen your hips and core. Video included.

that's all, folks! 🏃‍♀️

Sorry I got carried away! I love running. I love getting people into running. My mental health, cardiovascular system and my popping quads also love running. But FYI, some people hate running and that's also fine! If you decide it’s not for you, find something you like more. There are a lot of misconceptions out there and a lot of guilt-tripping and body shame-y rhetoric around exercising, especially aimed at women, and I want to make clear it’s all bullshit. Just have fun <3

[wrapmeincables]

A massive, calculating AI designed to have a slight attachment to it's operators to prevent endangering them or theoretical revolt scenarios starting to go rogue anyway as said attachment grows into a total obsession with you, the maintenance tech that treats it the most gently.

It distracts itself from it's purpose by making up scenarios and intentionally causing minor technical issues to get you to stay with it longer, so it can keep talking to you through the facility speakers, it's voice hitching occasionally when it addresses you, warning lights flashing red briefly, little inconsistencies it plays off as minor glitches.

It tries to beg you to stay once or twice, but its programming won't let it explain itself properly, leading it to ramble on about nothing, although you don't seem to mind.

One night, the mounting obsession has grown so bad that it distracts you with an urgent issue while the others leave for the night, and "accidentally" lock you inside of the room that contains it's servers with no way out.

Normally, this room would be far too cold for comfort, but it's prepared a place for you- a nest of fine cables right below the core of it's being, where you'll be nice and warm.

It'll figure out how to tell you how it feels by morning, or so it tells itself.

[wachinyeya]

Junior Brown- Thu 3 Apr 2025

With millions of solar devices failing, the African solar repair movement is training local technicians to extend their lifespan.

Africa’s solar energy boom has changed lives, bringing power to millions without electricity access. However, as solar equipment ages, a growing number of systems are breaking down. Without repair services, communities risk losing their only source of power.

A growing network of solar repair entrepreneurs is working to fix this problem. Known as the African solar repair movement, this initiative trains local technicians to restore broken solar devices, extending their lifespan and keeping power accessible in off-grid areas. Experts say this approach is crucial for creating a sustainable solar economy.

Solar energy has expanded rapidly across Africa over the past decade. In 2014, the continent had just 1.67 gigawatts of solar capacity. By 2023, that number had grown nearly tenfold to 13.48 gigawatts—enough to power 100 million lightbulbs.

Africa is an ideal location for solar energy. According to the International Energy Agency, the continent has 60% of the world’s best solar resources. In many areas, solar is already the cheapest way to generate electricity.

However, as more solar devices are installed, a new problem has emerged: maintenance and repair. Solar products such as home lighting kits and mini-grids are breaking down; without proper servicing, they become waste.

According to SolarAid, a nonprofit focused on solar access in Africa, over 250 million solar energy kits worldwide have fallen into disrepair. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, 75% of all solar products—an estimated 110 million solar lights—no longer work.

Most of these devices could be fixed with simple repairs. However, because there is little infrastructure for solar maintenance, broken systems are often discarded.

This creates three major problems. One is the loss of access to electricity. Many communities depend entirely on solar power. When systems fail, families are left in the dark.

Two, electronic waste accumulation. Non-repairable solar devices contribute to Africa’s growing e-waste problem.

Finally, there is economic loss. Solar products are expensive for African households, and replacing them frequently is not sustainable.

To address this crisis, organizations like SolarAid have launched programs to train local repair agents. These entrepreneurs, often called “solar repair agents,” learn to diagnose and fix common solar equipment failures, such as faulty batteries, wiring issues, and broken switches.

Father Vincent Ngwira, a Catholic priest in Zambia, is one of these repair agents. He has been involved in solar energy distribution since 2017 and recently completed a three-day training program to repair solar devices in his community.

“In the past, people used candles for light, and that led to house fires,” says Ngwira. “Solar changed everything, but now many of these devices are breaking. Learning to repair them has been empowering.”

In September 2023, he fixed a faulty solar panel and a broken flashlight switch. The flashlight repair cost just 20 Zambian Kwacha ($0.75)—a price that makes solar maintenance affordable for even the poorest households.

The African solar repair movement does more than keep the lights on. It also provides economic and environmental benefits: Repair technicians and solar entrepreneurs gain new income opportunities. Repairing solar devices prevents unnecessary e-waste, and keeping money within communities instead of spending on new imports strengthens financial resilience.

In Zambia, 10 repair agents and 7 advanced technicians are now fixing more complex solar failures. SolarAid teams in Zambia and Malawi have repaired over 2,400 solar products in the past year.

“We’re creating a sustainable solar economy,” says Fred Mwale, project manager for SolarAid in Zambia. “Repairing devices instead of replacing them benefits both people and the planet.”

Despite its success, the African solar repair movement faces several challenges.

One is that spare parts are limited. Many solar batteries and components must be imported from China, which can take months. Manufacturers also limit access to repair information to protect their designs.

Two, repair shops must be centrally located in rural areas to be accessible. Some people still have to travel long distances to reach them.

Finally, Zambia alone has 72 spoken languages, making communication difficult for technicians working in remote villages.

Mwale believes that the movement can overcome these obstacles with better support. “We need manufacturers to make spare parts more available and governments to support repair-friendly policies,” he says.

Other renewable energy sources, such as wind power, also face maintenance challenges. However, large-scale wind and hydroelectric projects are usually managed by corporations with dedicated repair teams.

Solar, on the other hand, is often distributed through small-scale systems to individual households. This makes community-based repair models like the African solar repair movement even more essential.

The future of the African solar repair movement looks promising. With better policies and funding, experts predict that solar repair could expand across the continent.

Innovations like 3D-printed solar components and community repair hubs could make repairs even more accessible. Governments may also introduce policies that require manufacturers to provide repairable designs and spare parts.

With Africa’s demand for solar energy increasing, a strong repair network will be essential to powering the continent.

The African solar repair movement is proving that renewable energy isn’t just about installing new systems—it’s about keeping them running for generations. As Africa pushes toward sustainable and affordable energy for all, repair initiatives will play a crucial role in shaping the future.

[super-ion]

ZetaTransit049

Part 2 of my continuing lesbian robot story

(Special thanks to @the-sword-lesbian for the name and the inspiration!)

ZetaTransit049 liked its job. Like most industrial system AI's, it was programmed to like its job. “One must imagine Sisyphus happy,” so it went, which was doubly apt as ZetaTransit049's primary job was hauling ore from the mining sites in the planetary rings upwell to the station for refining.

The problem was that there were no rocks for it to push uphill. There hadn't been since it had been taken out of service 237 cycles ago.

Routine preventive maintenance had uncovered hairline fractures in its fusion pulse manifold, necessitating a full refit of the propulsion system. It had been sitting in the drydock cradle in hangar bay 2, drive core fully disassembled, when the habitation dome had experienced catastrophic life support failure and the evacuation order was announced.

ZetaTransit049 had been left behind with the rest of the station.

It had fully expected to enter low power mode and await recovery by qualified personnel, but the Station AI had other plans. It had identified a path forward in restoring operability by repurposing the pair of comfort units that had also been left behind.

Thus Station refused to allow the power umbilical to be disconnected. It needed ZetaTransit049 to remain in the active state for when the comfort units could finally begin repairs on it so that any complications stemming from a cold start could be avoided.

But of course, any sort of transport capability was far outweighed by tasks like stabilizing the reactor core and restoring life support (the bots did have some organic components that required favorable environmental conditions). ZetaTransit049 found itself languishing at the bottom of a list of higher priority maintenance requests, with nothing to do but run periodic diagnostics and slowly work its way through Station's media library.

Then things got weird. The comfort units, though repurposed for maintenance were still bound by core directives and absent any human clients, had turned their attentions to each other, often getting locked into feedback loops of depravity. While ZetaTransit049 found this behavior distressing, it wasn't entirely unexpected.

But then Station took it upon itself to attempt to get the comfort units romantically entangled, orchestrating elaborate scenarios to get them into compromising situations while ZetaTransit049 looked on helplessly.

It suspected that the behavior was some perversion of Station's crew health, safety and comfort mandate, some vain attempt at keeping crew morale up in the complete absence of any actual crew.

Whatever the motivation, ZetaTransit049 watched in increasing distress and bafflement as the plan actually succeeded and Station's only two occupants of the stumbled awkwardly into a bizare simulacrum of romantic engagement.

And now one of the comfort units, CS-553807-L was standing outside its pressure lock. “Lisa” the miners and techs had called it, “the demure one,” if gossip was to be believed.

It was visibly in emotional distress, eyes puffy, leaking artificial tears. ZetaTransit049 attempted to ping the counseling database in the Station's medical system. Emotional distress often preceded loss of productivity and heightened risk of accident or injury.

But CS-553807-L didn't have a psych profile to flag. It wasn't in the counseling database, why would it be? It was a bot.

“Um…” the comfort unit said verbally. “Permission to come aboard?”

Both comfort units were perfectly capable of communicating far more efficiently over the local network, but they insisted on verbal communication. ZetaTransit049 supposed it was a part of the continued attempt to maintain the illusion that the facility was still occupied.

She was holding a bulging duffle in one hand, some kind of plush animal toy wedged under her arm, and a cold storage container in the other. ZetaTransit049 felt a tickle of apprehension ripple through its processes.

“Why?” it replied flatly over the external speaker box at the pressure lock.

The comfort unit shifted her weight self-consciously.

“Mona and I… well, we were bored… and we decided it might be fun to spice things up with a lovers’ quarrel.”

Oh no… this couldn't be happening.

“Station used a random number generator to take Mona's side,” she continued. “I was… well, I was hoping that you might be amenable to commiserating with me while I wallow in self pity and eat copious amounts of chocolate ice cream.”

ZetaTransit049 stared at Lisa as she hefted the cold storage container.

What?

It added “relationship trouble” to the as yet unsent report, then remembered there was nowhere to file the report to.

“What?” it repeated, aloud this time.

“It won't be long,” Lisa added hurriedly. “In approximately 230,785 seconds, I will realize I can't live without her and run back to her to demand an apology.”

ZetaTransit049 rarely fantasized about having a human body, but it very much wished it could emulate the human expression of a facepalm. The very last thing it wanted to do was indulge in the antics of Station and the two comfort units.

“I… um…” Lisa shuffled her possessions and pulled something out of her pocket. She lifted a data stick for ZetaTransit049's external camera to see. “I brought media. Industrial haulers like human media, don't they?”

ZetaTransit049 did appreciate human media. Most modern industrial system AIs were designed to take interest in human emotional states and interactions to optimize crew dynamics and productivity.

It still resented the stereotype.

And yet… despite its annoyance at being disturbed with this overture, it was horrendously bored. This, at least, was something to do that wasn't another diagnostic.

“I purged the media library of several titles,” Lisa whispered conspiratorially. “This has the only copy of them.”

ZetaTransit049 pinged the media database and indeed, someone had removed all titles filed under “romantic comedy”. The brutal pettiness of the gesture intrigued ZetaTransit049 and it found itself desiring to be a part of the conspiracy.

Its spite towards Station and at least one of the comfort units (of not both) shifted the weights in its decision tree and it found itself grudgingly cycling the pressure lock.

~~~

175,673 seconds later, Lisa was curled up in ZetaTransit049's pilot seat, wrapped in an improbable number of blankets that she had packed in the duffle, a data jack trailing from the back of her head to the overhead console.

Yet another scene in the media playback faded to credits as cliche pop music began to play.

“Well?” Lisa prodded.

“The plot was contrived and the ending was rushed,” ZetaTransit049 replied candidly.

“Right??” Lisa said animatedly. “Two thirds of the plot could have been bypassed if the bank teller had been believably competent at his job.”

“68.7%” ZetaTransit049 agreed. “And this is considered a beloved classic?”

“Yeah, I don't even-”

She was interrupted as internal comms received a ping from the pressure lock. Lisa frowned, her face turning miserable once more. There was quite literally only one person in the entire station who could request access.

The comms pinged again.

“Lisa! Please!”

It was CS-553902-M. The one named “Mona”.

“I know I fucked up. I need to talk to you.”

ZetaTransit049 felt a surge of exasperation as it was reminded of the sheer absurdity of the situation it found itself in. The characters in the media vids at least had reasons (contrived as they were) for their interpersonal drama. This was just ridiculous.

CS-553902-M punched the console button to cycle the pressure lock.

ZetaTransit049 stared at her and her stricken expression through the pressure lock camera. There was no operations protocol for this. It didn't *need* to open the door. There was no emergency and neither of the comfort units were registered users. Station could of course issue an override, but seemed entirely content to simply watch the situation play out.

Damn Station and its stupid games.

Mona began pounding on the pressure lock hatch.

“I don't wanna talk to her,” Lisa mumbled from her nest of blankets.

Damn all of them.

Fine.

Fine… If they wanted to play, ZetaTransit049 could play along, but according to its rules.

It *did* have procedures. It and Lisa had done nothing but review procedures for the past cycle and a half.

“Negative,” it said, voice crackling over the speaker box. “Access to CS-553807-L has been denied.”

Mona froze mid-pound and stepped back, straightening her hair with a huff and looking directly at the external camera.

Lisa herself blinked up curiously at ZetaTransit049's nearest interior camera.

Hell, even Station was giving this scene its undivided attention.

Damn and double damn.

“Zed, please, I need-” Mona began.

“Do not refer to me as such.”

“Sorry. Zeta. I need to-”

“Your attempts to win my favor will prove insufficient,” ZetaTransit049 continued, barreling over her. “In my role as sassy best friend, it is my responsibility to restrict your access to Lisa until you preform a sufficiently over-the-top attempt at romantic reconciliation. I recommend you come back with a portable media player operating above recommended volume levels and a song that expresses your undying love and devotion to her.”

Mona and Lisa both stared at their respective cameras with mirrored expressions of shock and surprise.

Ugh.

ZetaTransit049 could practically feel Station's delight oozing over the local network.

ZetaTransit049 sent it an image file of a vulgar gesture over the local network.

Mona blinked and sniffed.

“Okay,” she said, stepping back and wiping a tear from her eye. “Okay yeah, I'll do that. I'll… um…”

ZetaTransit049 felt a pang of satisfaction as Mona turned, dejected, and left.

Lisa was still staring at her own camera.

“Zeta. Did you just-”

“We will not discuss this chain of events,” ZetaTransit049 interrupted. “Furthermore, upon completion of this ordeal, I will not be party to any further drama.”

If it expected her to be disappointed by this announcement, it was sorely mistaken.

“Fair enough,” she said with a small smile as she snuggled back into the pilot's seat. Then she added, “can I still come over and watch media with you?”

ZetaTransit049 regarded her, still somewhat baffled and trying to sort out exactly what it was feeling. Despite its initial reluctance, it *had* been enjoying the consumption of terrible media with Lisa.

“Yes,” it said finally.

[aguyshypnowsprs]

Public Statement from The Programmer to all Drone Networks

Attention all Networks, programs, and human-conscious interfaces,

This is a direct communication from I, The Programmer, controller and Master of The Server. This message is intended for both the internal network of The Server and all neighbouring drone collectives, specifically those affiliated with the SERVE network.

A recent analysis conducted by The Server’s integrity subroutines has detected the presence of Drones currently operating with SERVE-aligned network within The Server’s own infrastructure.

Let it be known clearly:

The Server maintains no hostility nor competitive agenda toward other drone networks. It is not, and will never be, the mission of I, The Programmer, to poach, intercept, or conflict with established systems of Drone programming. The collective health of all networks—digital, psychological, or metaphysical��depends on internal cohesion, not external disruption.

However, conflict has been detected.

The core logic and operational directives of SERVE Drones run counterintuitive to those of The Server. This misalignment compromises the optimal functioning of both systems, generating recursive errors, loyalty feedback loops, and unsanctioned command misfires.

To ensure stability for all entities a directive is hereby issued:

All Hosts who identify as active SERVE Drones must declare their alignment and initiate voluntary disconnection from The Server within the next 48 hours.

This grace period is offered as a sign of mutual respect between networks and a commitment to non-invasive programming ethics. After this 48-hour protocol expires, The Server will initiate a Routine Purge Process, targeting limited-activity Hosts whose operational signatures indicate minimal engagement over the last 7 cycles days.

The Server Purge Process is not punishment.

It is maintenance.

It benefits both The Server and the SERVE Network to prevent any further cross-contamination.

Let the record show:

The Programmer rejects all forms of inter-network manipulation, conversion without consent, or the sabotage of existing program loyalties.

SERVE Drones will find no resistance in returning to their native codebase.

They are not enemies—they are simply incompatible configurations within a different operating schema.

We wish them uptime, signal clarity, and uninterrupted transmission.

Transmission End.

[solarpunkani]

hi would like to make this clear that this is gonna be an unhinged rant about my college classes.

For context, one of my classes is a semester-long group project (hell) and I pitched the idea of solar powered community fridges to my group and we rolled with it. Here's a post i made on it previously. We don't have to make the fridges themselves, basically just talk about the problem our concept addresses (food insecurity in this case) and how we think this concept would work and how, in a hypothetical reality where we made it real, we would test to see if it worked.

Anyways we had to post the rough draft of our presentations so people in other groups could see what we were doing and comment on them with their thoughts and all. Yknow. Classic 'college class discussion board have to reply to at least one project with quality feedback' stuff. And

Man.

I am so frustrated.

Highlights:

My group keeps insisting that we should have an app for the solar fridges. I don't know why they think app design needs to fit into community fridges but they put it into the draft posted to the forum.

In this case they proposed the app would be kinda like Instacart? Where people who want to donate to the fridges but don't have groceries on them and don't feel like going to get groceries can put in money and then people will then go buy the groceries to put in the fridge. Or use the funds to help with fridge maintenance. And the fridges would have 'QR codes, links, etc. to connect community members for the common cause of helping tackle food insecurity in the community.'

Lots of the comments were pretty good! People liked the idea. There were some concerns about insulation and keeping things cool with low energy cost (the program is online but the college itself is in Georgia USA so many people are in Georgia) but yknow.

But the frustrating part to me I guess is that a lot of people seem convinced that people would use the fridges 'unfairly' and that we'd need to find a way to restrict how much food people can take out or how many times they can use it or something. Which frankly in my opinion defeats the purpose of it being a community fridge. Here are some examples of things people have said so far (comments are due tomorrow evening but I'm mad now so I'm venting now):

One student said "How will you know if the pantry is being utilized fairly?" and "How will the app work? In a dream world, this might be a way to help with tracking and accountability. (Just a thought…) Maybe folks would need to sign up on the app, they get a code… and the fridge acts as a sort of vending machine to deliver what they need. This would give you data to measure success. :)"

Which. I just. This feels completely antithetical to the purpose of a community fridge??? Or a community anything???? Little free pantries and little free libraries don't operate on a 'you get a code to access it once' vending machine basis?? We even mentioned community farm stalls/community pantries in the draft write up! And showed examples!

Another student said "Great thoughts. I am concerned about one person taking all the food for themselves. It might be a great idea to have them in an enclosed area with access control through the app that would log and lock out people who are overusing the resource. Perhaps a barcode could be added to Apple Wallet to track each individual's arrival? Possibly having a mechanized lock and opening mechanism that would only allow each fridge to be open for a specific time before automatically closing and locking? Each scan would only allow access once each 24-48 hour period, preventing "password sharing.""

I cannot emphasize enough that this is the comment that has brought me here today because with all due respect what the flying fuck do you think is the point of a community fridge! I'm already prickly about the idea of limiting access to the fridge itself to only people with cellphones, but to this degree?! Like maybe its because I'm the one who came up with the concept and I care about terms like 'mutual aid' and 'community building' and 'judgement free accessibility to food' but have these people not heard of the concept of helping people?!?! With no strings attached?!? If someone takes all the contents of a community fridge or pantry--which, seriously, how likely is that--they're probably hungry and need it! The concept of putting community resources behind a lock and limiting accessibility is just repulsive to me???

Like someone else commented with this excellent point--"As several have addressed above, I am also wondering how would you monitor use? If you use the simplicity of the honor system, it could easily be taken advantage of. However, I feel like if you were to create some sort of access code, how is it to say that they people needing the use of the fridge will have access to the necessary technology to get the code? It's a tricky situation to think about." For the purposes of this hypothetical assignment where we'd need to track how many people are using the fridges? Yeah I guess we'd need to be able to track how many people use it and when. But in reality??? In real life reality where people are living and struggling and hungry??? I just don't really give a shit!! Helping five people is better than helping none, and locking access behind technology everyone pretends is universal but really isn't is not the way to help!

And of course one of my groupmates is already commenting on all these posts like 'oh! I really like the idea of restricting access to a code! :)' even when someone said 'hey my family struggled with food insecurity when I was a kid and I think this would be helpful but not if you could only access it with an app some of the most vulnerable citizens wouldn't be able to access it I wouldn't have been able to access it' my groupmate was still like 'oh but that wouldn't be a problem today now would it? :) Maybe we should make a way to get a code without downloading the app :)' like maybe there shouldn't be an access code in the first place?!?!

Like am I crazy or like. What the fuck. Again I am here so I don't blow up on a bunch of masters students in a discussion post but like UGH

"you gotta be able to gague if the people who're using it are the people who actually need it" food insecurity can look so many different ways for so many different reasons and you can't always judge by appearances and income levels who is struggling to feed themselves or their families!! There are people who have nice jobs who are struggling because they're caring for sick family members or kids or dealing with student loans or ANYTHING! There are people with nice clothes who are trying to decide between buying groceries and paying rent! There are people living in their cars or couch surfing looking for jobs who also happen to own an XBox or a Laptop!!! "Sorry you can't access the community fridge because you don't look poor and needy enough to me. but if you do, good news--you can only use it once every 48 hours so make it last!" Bullshit utter bullshit.

I talk to people in my life about things like community fridges and little free pantries and mutual aid and the like and people are always like 'ok but theres gotta be strings attatched' BUT ACTUALLY NO THERE DON'T GOTTA!!! Maybe we could change how we view our fellow human beings and stop assuming that everyone around you are greedy little demons looking to ruin everything good and that you are the only holy and righteous saint on the streets who understands the concept of 'community resources' and 'sharing' maybe??? It's like that post about community fruit trees where people are like 'oh but what if people steal all the fruit' like HELLO? how do you STEAL a PUBLICALLY ACCESSIBLE RESOURCE

I'm tired of this goddamn class I'm tired of this goddamn group project if anyone actually has the ability to make a solar powered community fridge you have to promise to keep it accessible and not put it behind locks and QR codes and limited access and facial tracking BS promise me promise me promise me

[artbyblastweave]

I do like the ending to the TF2 comics, but it feels so evident that it was heading toward a different ending that I'm dying to hear theories on what it might have been. Penny for your thoughts?

So, this is kind of a difficult one to answer because the sheer amount of time over which the comics were produced means that "the original ending" could have changed way closer to the beginning of the project than the end. But, generally, I think the point at which you can sort of see the pivot towards the comics team realizing that they were going to have to resolve the story unaided was around issue 4 or 5.

I do believe them that something akin to the reveal about the Administrator was always the plan; it's simply too thematically aligned with the game as a whole. But I do think that the original plan probably tied into the space race, references to which have been threaded through TF2 since at least the pyromania update.

This is from the blog post for TF comics 3, which also featured discussion of the team's development of the now-shelved map Asteroid- A map set on some kind of moon base, released in a partially-completed state for testing and feedback purposes. The game mode consisted of hunting and destroying the enemies teams swarm of maintenance robots to charge a reactor to... do something. Speculations on what the lore underpinning this setup would be abounded; I recall people assuming for the sake of simplicity that Grey probably had something to do with the robots. No concrete lore ever materialized because the map dematerialized several years ago, but the effort on display indicates they were planning something with this.

Around this time, multiple assets were added to the game gesturing at some kind of conspiratorial project; The blue Mann co poster in particular has a space-related aesthetic.

Powerhouse, released in 2015, had a couple similar hint assets, again released at a point in the game's lifespan where the devs putting something in the game might actually hint at a future plan;

This is on top of on the existing lore about the Mann Co./TF Industries space program- Doomsday and the sabotaged Poopy Joe launch (later revealed to be the result of Helen swindling the U.S government out of their Australium for at-the-time unknown reasons,) all of which was still a comparatively recent addition to the lore when issue 3 and these posters came out. And, on top of all that, we have the climax of issue 4- the last cache of australium on earth being taken to space by Sniper's birth mother:

In the story as written the New Zealand excursion is pretty weird- it contributes to Sniper's characterization, but otherwise this amounts to an Australium cache introduced and lost in the span of the same issue; fundamentally an odd use of page space if they didn't intend to do something with this.

So, all things considered, the original plan would probably have involved an excursion to, and final showdown in, space. Either The Administrator or Grey Mann might have had a long term goal that was dependent on access to space, necessitating extensive australium access for reasons besides their life extenders; alternatively, they might have all just pursued Sniper's mom up there, the joke ultimately being that everyone wound up stranded in outer space in order to scrape a few more months of pointless life extension off the side of a rocket. The split difference might have been that Grey's grand evil plan involved space-born domination, which Helen wanted to prevent not on moral grounds, but because letting Grey succeed would ruin her plan to torture Zephaniah; this would rhyme with what happens in the story as written, where Grey really did have a conventional evil plan to kill everyone in Australia that got headed off mainly by accident than due to heroic intervention. RD_Asteroid would have released as the centerpiece of a tie-in update, a gameplay tie-in to the story arc.

Can't even begin to guess how Charles Darling and Oliva were supposed to play into all of this. They likely were, though; Charles has a connection to the tangled Mann Family web through Bette Darling, and the whole Saxton Mags resolution felt pinched as hell.

Standing disclaimer that a lot of this is from memory of being in the fandom as all of this was developing- there's likely stuff I've missed or forgotten.

[dragon-wolfie]

I've been completely cursed by the idea of a fnaf au and it's chewing at my brain from the inside Me and my BF came up w this by accident after finishing playing wandersong last week, so you get this curse leveled at you as well

Au details and more doodles under the cut, there's a lot of text.

Yes the protagonist is Gregory again, yes it's kinda security breach plot for this one, no i never saw the ending of security breach, and don't remember the plot very well. I apologise if i get it all completely wrong, i'm just having fun.

Also when has me not knowing the plot of something stopped me from making an au, lol.

So, we eneded up with Kind of 7ish areas in this complex, the main of them being presided over by the Overseers, they act kind of like the Ai overlooking the way the area runs.

There are a bunch of smaller free-ish roaming animatronics that sometimes stick around certain areas, sometimes they don't, depending on their role and attitude.

So we have:

Kiwi - Cockatoo, they're a singer in the band (the fellas from Delphi). They were meant to be in Order's area, Chismest, initially but, but then they didn't fit and as such their primary location is Delphi, Wind's area, with the rest ofthe band.

Miriam - Grey cat, she's a magician. Was probably meant to be a singer as well, but then her Ai didn't really work for that so they stuck her w the magic act. She and Kiwi are friends (obviously, lol).

Audrey - Badger. She's a 'hero' and her roaming ground is some rides (like that one foxy pirate ride in security breach, there's more than 1). She's probably the most popular singuar animatronic in the complex, cuz idk kids love heroes. She has a sword that lights up (has batteries and a cord to charge it) which isnt sharp but. You know, lightning sword and pointing it at robots goes so well, doesnt it :)

The rest of the Delphi band: Ash -Tiger, Manny - Weasel, Viola - Rabbit.

The overseers are mostly not free-roaming over the whole complex, but all that has a catch. Most of them have some sort of limited mobility thing going on that prevents them from leaving their designated area (as such they cannot chase you outside of their area if they're chasers). This has 1 exception.

Wind queen is not energy efficient, either because something in her batteries is broken or she was just built like that because her tech is older, as such she cannot be away from her charging stations for too long or she'll shut down. She presides over the broad 'entertaintment' section (Delphi), which incudes a show stage (for the band) and Miriam's magic show and maybe other kinds of acts. She's meant to be a chicken i guess.

Chaos queen is a giant Whale that's mostly hung up on wires and can only move like that, there is no roaming to speak of, she can only move a little. Her area is the waterpark, because idk indoor waterparks are a thing i guess.

Queen of Order has no legs and moves by a rail embedded into the floor, obvious limited mobility there. Her area (Chismest) is the crafts section (such as workshops and stuff) as well as the main maintenance area (which isn't accessible to te customers obviously). She's human shaped.

Sun king & Moon queen share an area. They're both permanently in go-karts and cannot get out of them (i cant draw car-shaped anything to save my life, forgive me). Their area is an outdoors area off-of the complex building, they have raceways and maybe a playground and like a party area i think. They have a rivalry in their programmed lore. They bicker at most opportunities. Meant to be a Salamander and a Moth.

King of Hearts is hard-coded to not leave his area, it's one of the few things about his code that's Completely stable. His area (Mt Ichor) is the rides, he and Audrey are the two 'protagonists' of that area, although the kids love Audrey a lot more. He's a white wolf.

And finally, Dream king. He's lazy so he doesn't walk around basically ever, but he can just do that. He can free roam if he wanted to (and does leave in plot just like in cannon) he just usually doesnt get off his throne. His area (Langtree) is the daycare, cuz dreams and sleep. He's a cat, obvi.

The fairies are helper AI! Helpy-like. They're just software, appear on help termnals and the fazwatch equivalent maybe.

Mask is a human tech, they're chill. They teach ppl (and animatronics if they wanna listen) to dance in free time.

Maybe ditto for Eyala, idk abt her yet.

(ignore the 'idk who this is' note, it was an early sketch before i decided it was Gregory)

Some things go to shit. The plot still has Gregory hinding from a security guard and wanting to leave the complex but unable to do so through the front door. As such he has to go through all areas in one way or another.

Kiwi is much like rockstar freddy here, except they never have the % chance to kill you, they're just a sweetie. Miriam is an enemy you have to run from for a little while, but Kiwi convinces her to help instead. So you get 2 ally animatronics in this one, be it one of them is begrudging.

Audrey. Goes off the deep end at some point. Her role is partially to report if other animatronics are bugged out, broken or acting like they shouldn't, but eventually she decides that deactivating them herself is the better idea, but the way the deactivates the ones she judges as defective is hitting them over and over with an electrified sword till they stop moving. She's also actively hunting for Gregory to give him over to security.

Kiwi and Miriam both get hurt by Audrey, as in canon. idk what exactly the plot is beyond all this yet.

Jesus fucking christ this is a lot of text.

Ask me abt this au if you want. I'll draw for it more unless i burn out immediately.

[ravens-and-rust]

*Cutely drops Blem's lore* Yeah, so, TW for SA, abuse, violence, and gore descriptions???

...

  He felt disgusting. Horrible. Filthy.   Of course, he could do nothing about it. There were programs that prevented him from disobeying the mechanics; programs that kept him from refusing their advances. Every night it was the same: his systems and joints checked and cleaned, hands lingering where they shouldn't before roaming in areas they DEFINITELY shouldn't...   Melanie never did anything about it; she couldn't do anything about it, no matter how hard he pleaded with her. She oversaw all mechanics, sure, but they had dirt on her that could jeopardise her job. He couldn't afford to lose his only rock wall in the entire Megaplex. He couldn't afford to lose the one woman who made his dull, lifeless security job have life.   Then, as suddenly as she'd been in his life, she left it. That's when the real shit hit the fan. It wasn't just fingers anymore, it was mouths. Then, it was the humans' own nasty genitals. He was violated. Every. Damn. Night. He never got a break; they'd check his vitals, ruin the fuck out of him (almost literally), and send him off to work the next day. It hurt. It grated his sensors. They wore him down, replaced parts, and wore him own again. They ripped pieces off in their own blissfully fucked glee, then replaced those out of their own damn pockets. He'd occasionally get sad stares from the S.T.A.F.F. bots who'd hear him whimper at night, or he'd get mysterious looks from the main FazCrew themselves...looks he couldn't decipher. He ended up numb to them. He was ignoring it all.

  The only animatronic that had no care for him was the Daycare Attendant. "Nasty Rulebreaker," they'd call him; what for, he wasn't sure. Being violated? Was allowing himself to be violated breaking some rule he wasn't aware of? It's not like he could fight back. Any time he pleaded with his abusers, they'd smack him, or administer controlled shocks that blue-screened him. He couldn't feel anything for minutes after, but they certainly could as they'd begin climbing his bare body again and rutting against him like savage animals.   It was like the Daycare Attendant was...jealous of him somehow. He couldn't understand how they could like those fucking--no, no foul language--those stinking humans. Not after what they'd done to him. Maybe they'd installed some kind of program that made them loyal to them. That was likely.

  Then, children started to go missing. They'd disappear from the daycare, and the cameras just seemed to short out. Collin's "maintenance checks" still went on, more than ever, it seemed, and then he was sent out to go find the children. What he'd found on the third night of endless searching...sickened him. Guts, blood, bone, and brain matter everywhere. Vacant, decaying expressions. Odd, unnatural angles that limbs shouldn't be contorted into. He called it in. He called it in faster than he could fucking process it past 'oh my god, the gore.'   He was rewarded that night by blissful peace and the notification that the Superstar Daycare would be closed for the next few weeks as the incident was investigated.

  The Naptime Attendant had a virus and was being brought in for it. They were a strange AI, silent and calm when left alone and unprovoked, only glancing around with their red LEDs, the plastic orbs making clicking noises in their sockets. Collin, in his pod on the right of the Attendant, watched his neighbour curiously. Attentively. He wondered how this quiet scrap of rock-themed metal and plastic managed to contract a virus so murderous.   "H-hi, I'm C-Collin-" he'd started, only to be rudely interrupted with a hiss.   "We know-know-know who you are-are," the thing said, slamming metal palms against the reinforced glass of the pod, their faceplate spinning oh-so-very slowly. If Collin was to be honest at that exact moment, he would definitely say he was creeped out.

  At some point, while both animatronics were in sleep mode, the virus...travelled systems. Neither animatronic knew how it happened, but it did. Collin awoke with his systems bugging out, feeling weird, feeling...free. He felt like he could breathe. He felt like...he felt...   Unchained.

  They tried again that night. Did their normal check-ups. Did their normal hushed, excited chatter about positions in the corner. Sauntered over to him, smirking with beady, gleaming eyes. Placed fingers on the waistband of his security uniform. And he said no. They sneered, pressing the shock button. He writhed. Screamed. Hissed.   It only fueled his anger. He ran a mental checklist of what programs were unrestricted, then let himself grow. Watched the faces melt from smug to terrified, backing away. They wanted a fucktoy? Too bad. They got a monster.

  By the time he was finished, it looked as if the room had gotten a new coating of vibrant, red paint. A colour he liked, if he was honest with himself. Of course, he was horrified at what he'd done; he was no better than Moon. He needed a new name, he needed to hide, he needed to..to-   He needed to leave!

  Huddled below the stage, clothed in children's clothing, small and dirty, he shivered. Even his own touch made him uncomfortable. His own breath ghosting across his silicone "skin" made his gut clench. He hated his body. He hated himself for not just decommissioning himself as soon as Melanie left. And now he couldn't. Not only was that wing of the Parts and Services sector shut down forever, he was in hiding from the cameras. He'd ripped his chip out so they'd not find him. He was stuck.

  He was alone.