#Q-Connector

[robertdeanstockwellgal]

Scott saluted Dean during last night's Q&A after "The Connector." Pictures from Stef on Twitter. My heart and eyes are overflowing right now. 😍🥹😭

[aching-arc-reactor]

My intro for my character for 007Fest this year!

Shay Hodge, 29, she/they, 5’8” and plus size curvy.

Shay runs the independent cafe that sits in the connector between Q Branch and the offices of the 00 agents. She knows far more about most of these people than they think, spies seem to be shitty spies while off duty. The 00’s and Q Branch minions have semi adopted her as their own, so she’s got a decent hold on self defense techniques, and enough gadgets get “left” around the cafe that she could arm a small team of people at this point.

She comes in to open the cafe one morning, and finds her night shift counterpart asleep at the espresso bar, not super uncommon, she throws a blanket over him, and goes about setting up for the mass exodus of the night shifters wanting enough caffeine to get home safely, and the morning crew desperately attempting to wake up.

But no one shows up.

The 00’s are curled up in a puppy pile, snoring away.

And Q Branch is sleeping on their desks, the little boffins peaceful in their nondestructive slumber.

Maybe Shay should cut back her caffeine consumption? Or maybe she shouldn’t, at least she’s awake to guard the passed out agents.

[adafruit]

Sunken USB Type C breakout 🔌🛠️🧩

Folks love our standard USB Type C breakout (https://www.adafruit.com/search?q=usb+type+c+breakout) - and we recently got a request to carry a 'sunken' Type C breakout - what's that mean? It looks like this! instead of sitting above the PCB the connector sits in the midline for a svelte look. this connector got our pick because it has four burly THM tabs to keep the connector from cracking at the contact pads.

[seradae]

Patch Tuesday [TF/agender] [robotics] [hacking] [sex mention but no sex]

Jess walked into the living room to see her partner sitting on the couch, twitching violently. "You doing okay, sweet?"

"Not... really. I keep having these glitches. My actuators are over-responding and I can't figure out any way to change it in my settings." It twitched again and sighed. "But I'll be okay. Don't worry, love."

She sat down and put her arm around Q. "I'm so sorry; have you checked with Phantom Robotics? They might have a fix or workaround."

"They said they don't have anyone who can fix it up here. I'd have to go down to Earth and wouldn't see you for weeks," it pouted. "Assuming they can even fix it."

She trailed her fingers over its back gently. "I could take a look, you know," she said, thinking through the process. "I'd have to disassemble you, but I bet I could fix it."

It blushed, looking down at the floor. "You'd violate my warranty, love. You wouldn't be able to return me or get me fixed if something else breaks."

She grabbed its chin and softly turned it to face her. "What part of you thinks that I would ever in a million years return you, sweet? I love you so much and you're mine for as long as you'll allow it. And if I can't fix something, no one can!"

Q leaned in and kissed her softly. "I love you too. Thank you for doing this for me; it's been killing me."

They went into Jess' office and she cleared a desk for it to lay atop. "You sure you want to do this? There's a chance -- however slim -- that I might make things worse," Jess asked, gripping its hand.

"I trust you, my love. Will you leave me on, at least as much as you can? I love watching you work."

She leaned down and kissed it tenderly. "For you? Anything. I love you, sweet."

"I love you too, so much. While you're in there, think you could give me a jetpack or tentacles?" It grinned, relaxing onto the desk.

"I'll see what I can do," she chuckled. She kissed its left hand and began unscrewing it, removing it and placing it to the side. She repeated the same process for its other limbs, treating them with the utmost care. "Feeling okay?"

It grimaced slightly. "It's really weird not feeling my arms and legs. Alarms keep going off and I can't disable them. Maybe there's a maintenance switch inside me? I don't think I was supposed to be on for this."

"Want me to turn you off? I'm not very good at that," Jess joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Ha-ha," it said flatly, rolling its eyes. "But nah, I'll be okay. It's more annoying than anything."

She kissed it again and opened its torso, tracing all the cables and giving a cursory inspection of its circuitry. "Okay, so good news and bad news here. No maintenance switch or anything like that, but I see a JTAG interface right near your primary FPGA. Guessing that will give me everything I need."

"JTAG? I don't think I know about that," it said innocuously, secretly hoping for one of Jess' infodumps.

"Okay, so," she began, as she always did, making it grin to itself. "JTAG is commonly used for access to flash chips, in-circuit emulators for FPGAs like yours, and more. When I hook up to it, I should be able to talk to pretty much every interesting chip in you. At least in theory; it's a finicky protocol."

She reached into a drawer and pulled out a box with a USB cable on one end and a ribbon cable with a blocky connector on the other. "Here goes nothing," she said hesitantly as she plugged it into Q and then into her computer. "Everything okay?"

"Didn't feel a thing! All systems nominal," it said, the second part coming out like a robot from the 1980s.

She chuckled and typed a command. "Dork."

"Your dork, though. You bought me."

"Best choice I ever made," she grinned. "Okay, good news! The scan chain -- the devices in you -- looks like it has everything I'll need. And everything looks like it actually wants to cooperate, which is ... rare." She rolled her eyes, flashbacks of hacking game consoles flooding her brain temporarily; nothing ever worked the way it should.

She typed another command and saw a progress bar pop up in her terminal. "Okay, extracting your firmware now. This'll take a bit, but once I have this, I can see how you tick. This should include all your built-in functionality, FPGA bitcode, et cetera." She slid her chair backward and turned around, giving it a kiss.

"I know I'm in parts on your desk right now, but I have to say: this is fucking hot," Q said, biting its lip. "But I'll be a good bot and not distract you too much."

"You're such a perv," she grinned, kissing it again. "Maybe next time you're open like this on my operating table, we can have a bit more fun with it."

It let out a soft moan. "Any time, love. Doing anything tomorrow...?"

She turned back to her computer and started typing. "You, if I'm lucky. But now it's time to patch you up!"

A few hours later, everything was prepared. "Okay, it took some time, but I think we're good to go. I didn't change your actuator configuration, but I gave you control over it. I also rooted you so you can make future changes without having to take you apart; I set the password to 'iloveyou' with no spaces. You'll wanna change that to something I don't know. Ready for me to reflash and reboot you?"

"Do it, my love. See you on the other side," it said, closing its eyes. She sent the command and saw it go still for a few minutes. Once it completed, its eyes opened and she let out the breath she was holding. "Hey, I'm not dead! And holy shit, I have so many new settings," it marvelled.

"Welcome back! Want me to close you all up? Did you change the password?" She smiled wide, kissing it.

"Yes please, I wanna fix those settings and I need to be able to test. And yep, I already put the new root password in our shared vault."

She started closing it up and reattaching limbs gently. "The whole point of changing it was so that only you have access to your internals, sweet," she chided.

It tweaked the settings and tested moving its limbs around as they were fixed in place. "Every part of me is yours. I know you would never change anything to hurt or control me. I love you and I trust you; if that ever changes, so will the password."

It sat up on the desk and pulled her in for a deep kiss. "You really are amazing, you know," it said softly, in awe of its girlfriend. "And you're stuck with me, now; no going back from that experience."

She smiled and kissed it again. "What a cruel fate, being stuck with my favorite person in the universe. Guess you'll just need to cuddle me about it."

[risustravelogue]

Welcome to Risu’s Doodlebook,

@risustravelogue’s first ever milestone event! 🎉

How to participate:

Send me an ask (on anon is OK) detailing which components you’d like for me to assemble!

Components C and D are only available for writing.

No NSFW please! And please be polite :)

All writing pieces will be x reader.

Prompt submission duration: November 1–10, 2023 (GMT+7)

Components:

A. Basic material:

- Canvas (art doodle) - Lined paper (short writing)

B. Character list:

- Alhaitham - Childe - Cyno - Kaveh - Neuvillette - Tighnari - Wriothesley - Zhongli

C. Connectors: (for lined paper):

- & (platonic) - / (romantic)

D. Pen color (for lined paper):

- Blue (angst) - Green (fluff) - Red (comfort)

E. Additional notes (put in a detailed prompt if you’d like!)

Prompt example (bolded for emphasis):

“Please assemble a lined paper with red pen and & connector for Tighnari! Maybe make him cry over a breakup and we comfort him?”

“Can you assemble a canvas with Zhongli wearing glasses reading a book on it? Thanks!”

FAQs:

Q: Can I submit more than one character in one prompt? A: Nope, sorry! Only one character per prompt, please.

Q: Can I submit more than one prompt? A: Sure you can! I’ll be thrilled! But please don’t submit more than two, since I have a day job and would like this event to stay lighthearted.

Q: What if I don’t have any specific prompt? A: That’s fine! I’ll write or draw something up for you based on the inspiration I get. I hope you’ll like it!

Q: When will you work on my prompt? A: I’ll work on it ASAP. But since my work leave ends on November 7th, I’ll be significantly slower after that.

Q: Will you work on any and all prompts? A: Hmm… no. If I’m not comfortable doing your prompt, I’ll answer your ask privately—if you’re not on anon, that is! If you’re on anon, I’m sorry, but I’ll delete your ask.

That’s it from me! Feel free to send an ask if anything’s unclear. I await your submissions! 💙

[lamaisongaga]

LADY GAGA AT THE CHROMATICA BALL PREMIERE

Lady Gaga joined her little monsters at the screen premiere of her highly-anticipated HBO "Chromatica Ball" Tour Film last night which took place at the Nya Studios in Los Angeles.

Styling by Nicola Formichetti and Hunter Clem with assistance by Erica Valle and Frankie Benkovic. Hair by Frederic Aspiras, glam by Sarah Tanno-Stewart and nails by Miho Okawara, respectively.

Gaga turned up in Argentinian Berlin-based emerging designer SELVA which was based on his "[603.628]km²" collection.

Her look featured a laminated white muslin calico cotton one-shoulder jacket and matching corset dress cut in the memory of an apron, stenced with holes for multiple sterling silver hooks and chains. A white lacquered shoulder sculpture made of discarded car parts pulled the whole look together. It was created in only two days!

Cristian 'Selva' Huygens started by developing and creating costumes for performances he produces, as well as for exhibitions inside ATM banks and interventions in public spaces around Berlin. The collection was inspired by his last trip to Kyiv, Ukraine where he also presented a collection of designs at a local metro station.

He mainly focuses on using discarded materials, all kinds of fabrics, metal connectors, and car parts as armatures. Conceptually, he describes his brand in one word: Brutalism. Every construction detail and mistake is shown. When it happens, he makes them even more visible. As the designer calls it, he develops 'honest clothes,' following the Brutalism concept.

She completed her look with the Pleaser Xtreme-1020 white vinyl platform ankle boots with lace-up front.

Gaga then sat down for a Q&A session, wearing another Germany-based emerging designer: AZIZ, who she previously introduced to us by rocking his designs both on-stage and on-screen at the tour!

This time, he crafted her a custom look which comprised a black stretch jersey long-sleeved elongated dress with a silicone drip-covered stiffened mesh cocoon structure with peek-a-boo slit for the head to come through, and matching gloves.

She crowned the look with a Philip Treacy Fall/Winter 2018 intricate black lace mask.

Our girl also rocked a bunch of white-gold and diamond rings by two French labels. The first ring is Djula's Délicatesse geometric lines large ring (€2,700).

The three other rings are all signed by AKILLIS and included the Tattoo large ring (€8,500), the Tattoo slim ring (€2,900) and the Capture Me ring (€5,250).

I couldn't help but notice how much the last ring resembles a bear trap, which is also depicted on the single cover for the first "Chromatica" single "Stupid Love", creating a great full circle moment.

Shop:

Djula "Délicatesse" Ring (€2,700.00)

AKILLIS "Tattoo" Large Ring (€8,500.00)

AKILLIS "Tattoo" Slim Ring (€2,900.00)

AKILLIS "Capture Me" Ring (€5,250.00)

Gaga rocked her signature sky-high Flamingo-1020 black vinyl platform boots from Pleaser.

The final look of the evening saw Gaga channeling her CBT "Sonnet" interlude by re-wearing her Alexander McQueen Fall/Winter 2002 "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" collection parachute coat which features a mandarin collar, eye-hook closure and exaggerated bishop sleeves, bubble back and train.

In McQueen's words: "This collection was inspired by Tim Burton. It started off dark and then got more romantic as it went along."

This coat was given to her by Daphne Guinness personally!

She also wore the matador-inspired black jacquard silk mask headpiece Philip Treacy created for Lee's collection.

[cauterizedpod]

I love listening to the Q&A episodes of podcasts where they talk about their recording process. I started fresh to audio-drama production in January with my trailer. I had ZERO experience before then. :') These episodes are SO important to me. It was an episode from The Night Post where they talked about playing with $30 mics that really inspired me to try writing my show. I learn so much from them. I'm listening to Fool and Scholar Celebrating 6yrs Q&A of the White Vault and they were talking about being under a blanket in a closet to record being a standard. Monstrous Agonies talked about this. Everyone does. I tried this. I don't know how you guys do it. It was sensory hell.

I record Cauterized in a makeshift recording booth. I had a play-yard fence that I used with my son as he was learning how to walk that he'd outgrown quickly. It was constructed with PVC connectors and metal pipes. I took it apart and rebuilt it into a little cube I could sit in then threw a bunch of fluffy blankets over it.

I also used the pull up handles for the play-yard to hold my mic arm and keep the blankets in position. I think it could be reconstructed very cheaply in case anyone else cannot suffer a closet.

So if you're listening to Cauterized, know everything is recorded with love in a little blanket fort on an ancient surface pro 4.

❤️‍🔥

[mtaartsdesign]

Frank Giorgini’s recent passing affected many, including those here who knew him well. Frank completed his permanent artwork “Passages” at the Whitehall Street (1) station in 2000. Made of ceramic tile and bronze, the work is a journey back in time that connects the present-day station to the nature that once filled Lower Manhattan. A connector in so many ways, he became a friend to us and many A&D artists, serving as a fabricator on Jean Shin’s “Elevated”(2018) at 63 St (Q). Throughout his career Frank was an artist and an educator. He was a master of ceramics, specializing in handmade tile and percussion instruments. Frank studied the making and playing techniques of the udu drum in Zaria, Nigeria. In collaboration with percussionist Jamey Haddad he developed a modern udu drum. Examples of his drums can be seen in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He also taught architectural tile design at The New School for Design. Frank filled the world with art and music, and he will be deeply missed.

[mrsemilybartrum]

As promised... this is the first rough draft of my play on the continuance of the Golden Girls. In these pages, we meet the four people who will be called back from retirement to fill the house on Richmond Street.

The Golden Guise:

“OPERATION TY4BAF”

“TY4BAF. Wonder what THAT means... Hmm.” Agent Collins said under her breath. The crackling noise coming from her outdated earpiece preceded her superior’s stern voice.

“For the love of all things holy, stop talking to yourself! I get you’re over the hill and old people do that, but chances are we are being surveilled. If I could read your lips, they just did, too. You’re a seasoned veteran, Collins! Now ACT LIKE IT! Don’t reply verbally. Just listen.”

Normally, Collins would’ve told her superior where to stick it before throwing her old-timers earpiece into the closest body of water. She didn’t appreciate bureaucracy or hierarchy – which was odd, because she was an avid British Royal Family watcher. Yet, she could tell by the tone of Deputy Director Franklin’s voice that something was seriously wrong. A little too late wrong.

“Your next assignment. All the information you need is already inside that envelope. There will be no Q and A or follow-up Ted Talk. You will receive addendums as needed, and those will be very rare. Once you leave here, verify you are alone before opening the envelope. I am serious on this one. Make sure you are completely alone. The details of this operation are top-level secret. Now GO on your way! We are already behind on the timetables!!”

Agent Collins took a deep breath and appreciated the gravitas. Normally, she would have at least a breadcrumb to go on when it came to selecting or receiving missions. This time was different. Bauz, as Collins often called Deputy Director Franklin, wouldn’t even hint about the impending weather forecast. Everything about this case was top of the line, by the book kind of stuff. No expense or detail was spared. If Bauz was that wound up for the first point of contact, then something was going on behind the scenes. It’s bad whenever you may be under lipreading surveillance.

The digital car clock was flashing 8:34 AM. It was the perfect time to grab a bite at the marina. Collins had the same routine every single day for the last three years. She always went to the marina directly after the morning rush to get her favorite meal. The envelop wrapped up in newspaper in her favorite Coach tote meant today was the last time she’d have her favorite meal for a while. Instead of heading back to her house, she turned left to head toward the Connector.

Agent Collins saw no need in rushing. After all, she went to the Marina for breakfast just about every single day. If Bauz was worried about lipreading and surveillance, one would argue NOT going to the Marina for breakfast would be a red flag. Why should that day be any different? If someone else wasn’t watching her, there was a chance Bauz was. Either way, breakfast was being had!

Joshua was working the counter that morning. He was the original owner’s son and shared the family business with his two sisters. Carla and Mallory are amazing people, but hard working they are not. Collins realized she would miss these people almost as much as she would miss their family’s generations’ old recipes. Before she could open her mouth, Joshua pointed to his own ear, tugged at it, and then shrugged. She realized her old Cold War dinosaur was sticking out. She immediately pulled it from her ear and dropped it into her bag.

He looked confused, but he went on with the day. He started making Collins her usual breakfast. In a matter of five minutes or so, not one word was ever spoken between the two of them. Yet both knew everything about each other’s morning. Collins always appreciated that more than anything about Joshua; comfortable silence is a hard thing to find.

Joshua spoke. He asked Collins what was wrong with her. She realized she was out of practice and immediately questioned whether she was truly up for this mission. Then she realized she still had to answer Joshua. She looked him dead in the eye and said, “If I told you, Mr. Joshua, I would then have to kill you by order and authority of the federal government. And that would make me even sadder than I am now. So, I am not going to be sad anymore, K?”

He looked completely shocked, yet he looked completely sure she was being honest. Collins could read people. It was her profession. She knows what true reactions should be, and he believed every word she ever told him. Well, except for that once.

Nothing else was said that morning between the two of them. She didn’t even say goodbye before she went to leave. Collins would come to regret that later; she was sure of it.

She walked out to the picnic area and looked out at the water before going down the stairs to the parking lot. One of the phones in her pockets was ringing. She could tell by the annoying ring tone who was calling.

“What do you want, Craig? I’m in the middle of something here, alright? Craig, are you there? Listen, I know what you are about to say. Listen closely here, okay? Get a pen, and I will give you 29. 28. 27. 26.”

“I got a pen, Val. Go.”

“I know you are about to tell me we are still married, that our divorce was somehow never properly filed. Send me the paperwork now. Like right now. If I do not have them by 2000 hours, we will always be married forever. Your favorite color is orange, and the weather is nice this time of year in Madrid. Do you understand me, Craig?”

“Vacation? Really? I thought you retired from – uh, taking vacations? What are you doing? Is this a midlife crisis?” Craig asked before he confirmed his understanding. He and Val were married for years, and he knew the drill. But now? She was done. The awkward silence reminded him that time was ticking away. Something in his brain was triggered, and he was back to the old days writing code phrases and secure line passwords.

“I’ll email the docs to your Gmail. Good luck out there. I am always here if you ever need me. Even if you need someone to help you keep up appearances.

“That’s sweet Craig, but I’ve been on vacation for the last three years. I don’t need anything from you anymore. Good luck.”

“MINNESOTA”

Betty hit the ignore button as she got her supplies from her trunk. She was on a mission right then, and nothing could be more important than cleaning off the graves of our fallen veterans. She pulled out her little hand brush, her rubber gloves, and her little trash bags from the cardboard box marked “Operation Hero Marker”. She closed the trunk and walked over to the final resting place of Staff Sergeant Lester Turner, World War II veteran.

The sun was beating down on her, but she enjoyed the feel of its rays warming her fair skin. Minnesota wasn’t known for its wonderful weather, but today was something the state could be proud of. She sat her box of supplies on a concrete bench. Betty usually put her phone on silent or vibrate before starting, and she usually would wear a headphone in her ear to listen to her favorite Pastor, Doctor John Barnett. But for some reason, she decided not to. She, did however, decide to turn down her ringer.

She already had 6 missed calls from not hearing her phone while driving. Betty hated a phone. She saw it like a ball and chain. And she didn’t care who was calling her right then, either. She was there on a mission to restore the headstone of Staff Sergeant Lester Turner, World War II Hero, back to its lustrous wonder. She enjoyed helping people, but she missed really helping people the way she did in her prime.

After about twenty minutes in the cemetery, the music in her headphones stopped. She looked at her phone to see what stopped her music, only to see fifteen missed calls from the same “Unavailable” caller ID. As much as she wanted to pretend it was something else, Betty knew exactly what it was.

Finally, Betty faced the music and answered the phone the next time it rang.

“For the love of all things holy, what have you been doing??!?” A familiar voice barked through the headphone speakers. Betty told the caller to give her a few minutes and then call her back.

She immediately hung up the phone and rushed to pack up all of her supplies. The grave stone will have to wait, it seems. She threw the supplies back into the “Operation Hero Marker” box and closed the trunk. She then did a quick walk-around the car with what looked like a Walkman radio. After a few minutes and finally being satisfied, Betty got into the driver’s seat of her car.

Betty locked the door locks and started the car. She was being paranoid; but Betty was a firm believer that sometimes paranoia is really intuition. She never took any chances, even if it made her feel silly. She checked all of her mirrors first before throwing the car in reverse to see through the back-up camera. After another minute or so, she finally pulled out of the cemetery.

Betty didn’t want to bring any attention to herself just in case she was being followed. She had no reason to think she would be followed, but she'd never risk it. She decided to stick to her usual routine and headed back to her farmhouse on the outskirts of St. Paul. She loved that farmhouse. Some of her best times were had at that place. And she loved being a farmer. Even with the tanking industry issues.

Betty thought about the happy life she had made for herself there. Even though her husband had been gone for about fifteen years or so, Betty felt closest to Alan on the farm. She never understood why it was that way. Alan had never lived with her, there at the farm; they had only visited there over the years when it was a Bed and Breakfast.

Betty had bought the property and turned it back into a functioning farm a couple years after she partially-retired. But even then, that was long after Alan had passed away. She didn’t want to answer the incoming call she was about to answer. She already knows it means giving her life up for a while. And she’s not ready.

But, if anything meant more to Betty, it was serving her country. As much as she wanted to avoid taking the impending call of doom, she would never do such a thing. She will always answer the call to serve her country whenever that call comes. Even if she doesn’t want to.

She pulled into the driveway and immediately ran inside. The old farmhouse still had some of the leftover layout from the Bed and Breakfast. But Betty couldn’t bring herself to remodel the place. She was afraid to change anything there, really. As if by remodeling would release whatever leftover energy of Alan that was trapped there. Who knows? All Betty knew was that change was coming.

She went into her office and shut the door. She secured her line, and then waited for the ring. That dreaded ring that will take her from her happy place. And then it came.

“Agent Ludden, while you were busy playing pussy-foot, we were en route to your location to extract you. This matter is that urgent, Ludden. As we speak right now, the other three are either being notified or already packing. You’re slowing us down. Your packet is in your locked desk drawer. All of the details are inside. Time is of the utmost importance. You have your instructions. Now secure your residence and ensure you’re alone before opening your envelope. Now, GO!”

Betty hated how that woman barked at her whenever she was worried about something. Deputy Director Franklin could manage to ruin even the best day. She was the type of person who enjoyed pissing in people’s Cheerios. Betty heard that many people called her “Bauzz” but didn’t know how that started or if it was true.

Betty had her orders. Now, she had to make sure she was safe to open them. She was dying to know what was inside. Most of all, she was dying to know who else got the same exact envelope.

 

“WELL, I DO DECLARE!”

“IIII… Want to dance with somebody! I want to feel the HEEEEEEAAT with some-BOOOOOODY… I wunnnnnna dannnnce with suuuuuumbooody… with somebody who looovess meee!!!” Rebecca belted as loudly as she could sing. She was in the shower, and that was when she came alive as a singer. Of course, there are some circles out there who would say that Rebecca came alive in a whole different way when she was in the shower.

Rebecca had the reputation of being a gentleman’s lady of the night. She was feminine, delicate, and she was completely in-tuned with her sexuality. For most women of a certain age, the concept of being in-tuned with one’s sexuality meant one of two things. Either someone was hanging onto their thirties or forties with a death-grip, or they were always promiscuous. Rebecca was a little bit of both, and she didn’t care who knew it.

“Incoming call. Caller Unknown.” Interrupted Rebecca’s Whitney Houston shower show. She didn’t think much of it and finished her shower. By the time she was drying herself off, the phone was ringing again. She answered the phone and spoke before her caller could get a word out.

“Yes, I know I am late. But I ended up having a meeting run over… into the floor I dare say, and I had to freshen up before I left the house. I will be there when I get there. As much as I do hope and pray that you would understand the dire straits of being a southern lady, and that certain protocols are met and in place to prevent certain disasters from taking place, I do consider that you lack the proper upbringing to understand this traditional etiquette.-“

Rebecca was interrupted by a loud, angry voice.

“You listen here, Rebecca! What you essentially just said was that you decided to have a romp in the hay with yet another strange man, that it went on for longer than you anticipated, and you’re running late because you had to shower in between your slutcapades! Get your skeeting ass in gear and get to the contact point, now!” Deputy Director Franklin screamed through the line. She must’ve been in the office with a desk phone because Rebecca could hear the phone physically slam down as it clicked.

Rebecca went to her closet and picked out one of her favorite outfits. She didn’t let her age influence how she dressed. She dressed for how she wanted to feel. Regardless of whether other people might think her attire be less than appropriate sometimes. She never faltered in the idea that she was a true Southern Lady entitled to, and deserving of mind you, everyone’s love and admiration.

She chose a white silk top that had pink magnolia blossoms printed all over it. The front of the top was carefully and strategically cut to wrap ever-so-carefully around a fully-busted figure. She paired the low-cut wraparound with a pair of black leggings that had pockets easily hidden by the bottom of the top. She decided to wear her thong-jelly sandals; after all, what’s the point of paying for pedicures?

Rebecca grabbed her latest bag and double checked the house was locked up tight before leaving. She got into her car and opened the garage door from the driver’s seat. An envelope fell from the driver’s side visor. It had “TY4BAF” on the front of it. The phone rang inside of her car. It was the same “Unknown Caller”.

Rebecca sighed a heavy sigh and answered the phone.

“Never mind, I had the team put your packet in your car. We don’t have time to waste. Everything is in motion now, so time is too important for theatrics. Just go inside and read the packet. Bye”

Rebecca wanted to laugh; Deputy Director Franklin wasn’t barking that time. She was actually kind of nice to do that for her. Wonder what the catch will be. And what is “TY4BAF”?

“BROOKLYN WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HOME”

“The time of day is Two-Fifty,” said the strange man in the oddly-apparent hipster clothing.

“Oh my word, are you for real right now? You never speak to the mark. You only look at my watch to make sure the hour hand is pointed at the two and the minute hand is pointed at the ten. You idiot. If we’re being watched, you could’ve just revealed everything. You idiot. Get out of here!” screamed the deputy director.

Kate winked at the young kid in the horrible clothes and sat down on the park bench. She did a quick look around the place to see if anything was out of place. She grabbed the New Yorker paper with an envelope inside marked with “TY4BAF”.

Kate got back up, almost as smoothly as she sat down, and was gone before the deputy director could even put a tail on her. She was irate that Kate got away from her first.

[autumn-rose-dereks]

My Writing Stages Explained

I write my novels in stages. I discovered these stages when I was writing my third WIP, and I firmly believe they are one of the only reasons that WIP ever made it to completion (or semi-completion, now that I've decided to re-edit one last time before I publish). So here they are for you to use if you like them!

THE STAGES:

Inspiration Stage, Outlining Stage, Character Stage, Paper Stage, Edit Stage 1, Online Stage, Edit Stage 2, Friend Stage, Edit Stage 3, Publication.

THE EXPLANATION:

The Inspiration Stage is when I take my very initial idea and I expand on it, coming up with a basic plot and getting a vibe/aesthetic. Usually, I do this through Pinterest and Spotify playlists for my characters and my worldbuilding. Worldbuilding is a huge part of the Inspiration Stage, because I struggle to move onto the Outlining Stage without having already set up the world I'm going to place my story in. (Sometimes I do an early version of the Character Stage here, too.)

When I'm satisfied with the Inspiration Stage, I move to the Outlining Stage.

The Outlining Stage is usually two or three weeks long and is when I take the idea and I make it into a semblance of a novel, outlining by chapters and fitting my characters in. Here the Outlining and Character Stages blur, because I'll usually do them both at the same time. I take my vague outline and I detail it, finding my connectors. I often color code my outlines so I can easily see my cross-references and my Chekov's guns that I have to come back to.

Then the "official" Character Stage happens.

After I've determined what has to happen in the novel, I figure out how my characters are going to react to these happenings. Usually I start my Inspiration Stage with some idea of what my characters are going to be like, so in this stage I take that idea and then expand on it. I find out my character's appearance, their backstory, their habits, their tells, their aesthetic. I come up with a word bank for my characters, and usually the main character will have a "before" and "after" word bank for before and after a specific event in the novel. I spend a lot of time getting to know my characters by writing blurbs that may not have anything to do with the story itself but help me understand them as a person. One of my favorite things to do is to create a personal timeline of their lives—it also helps me fit them into the overall story timeline much easier. The Character Stage is also where I do the worldbuilding that didn't occur in the Inspiration Stage.

And here we have the Paper Stage. The Paper Stage is one of the longest stages, but also one of the most important to me. I dedicate a notebook from my horde solely to the writing of this particular novel and I write every chapter by hand before anything else. Following the outline I already made, I write each chapter exactly as I planned it, deviating from the outline only if I decide something will absolutely not work out well later in the writing process. Writing on paper helps me slow down and not rush through the first draft. I can take my time and really process what I'm doing, because my hand can't move nearly as fast as my brain does when I write by hand. The first draft is only ever written on paper. Even the first draft I write online (the second draft) changes from the written draft, usually in small ways. My second draft and all those that follow, however many there are, are all written online after that point, because the bones of the story are already all together—they just need to be strengthened, and I think, at that point, I no longer need to slow myself down and process quite as much.

And here we have the dreaded stage: the Editing Stage (split up into 3 parts).

Editing Stage 1 is fairly short and simple. It's taking my first draft (the paper one) and putting it online as the second draft. I have a separate notebook with me for this editing stage, and I write down the things I notice need in-depth editing: continuity errors, questions I don't know the answer to yet, major plot changes, character arcs, etc. Otherwise, the only "editing" I do during Edit Stage 1 is the transfer of draft one to a writing platform, at which point it becomes draft two through small changes I make that help make the story move a bit more cohesively.

The Online Stage consists of more notetaking. I come up with questions to ask the person I've elected to be my reader during the writing process—usually these questions involve questions about characters, plot, setting, and the vibe of the story. If the vibe the reader gets doesn't fit what I'm trying to convey, I know something went wrong that I will have to find and fix. One of the big questions I ask is "What is this scene missing?" I will go chapter by chapter and ask this question about the paragraphs or scenes that simply feel lackluster. While writing the detective fiction novel that helped me discover these stages, the thing I was usually missing was a description of lighting—particularly in relation to the emotional states of my characters.

I take those questions to my reader and get answers. What I do with those answers becomes Editing Stage 2. In this stage, I address everything my "inside reader" has brought up to me, be it lack of description (or too much description), two-dimensional characters, flat dialogue, anything. I spice it up and bring life to the story, allowing it to become far more real and far more personal. This is where a majority of the editing is going to happen, and is the longest stage in the whole process. I will spend months on this stage alone, just to be sure my story is cohesive and to address every possible issue my reader and I find.

After Editing Stage 2, I will sometimes take a break. Rarely will I take a break from the whole project, however. I'll take a step back from the writing, but, in the meantime, I'm working on getting my book cover and promoting my novel as best as I can. But I don't really count this as a stage, because I'm doing this throughout the process anyway. All of that begins immediately after Editing Stage 1, when I know the book is actually going to come to fruition and be a physical book someday.

When the mini-break is over, I jump into the Friend Stage. This stage makes me the most nervous, because this is where my plot has the potential to become public knowledge. Sure, this is not Marvel-level leaks because I'm not at that point as a writer, but spoilers still make me antsy. I hate having a book spoiled for me, and I know a lot of my potential readers are the same way—where's the fun in reading a novel when you know exactly how it ends? So I choose the friend who will read my finished and completely edited novel very careful, present them with it, ask them for feedback, and then nervously wait for them to finish reading it. There's not much for me to do in this stage except watch them like a hawk and pretend I'm not when they look up with a look of utter surprise/horror/shock/anger/any emotional really on their face because of what they've just read.

I will take the feedback my friend gives me and move into Editing Stage 3. This one varies in length and time, being utterly dependent on the feedback I receive. If I receive no feedback, my automatic response is to go back to Friend Stage and find someone else to read it because I won't believe there's nothing for me to fix until another friend corroborates that there is no feedback and nothing for me to change. But when there is feedback (there almost always is, so the above scenario is very rare), I take it and make the edits until we are satisfied it is finished. Usually, I will end up going through the Friend/Editing Stages two or three times before I'm satisfied the book is ready.

And finally, the moment we all wait for as writers: publication. I'll be honest, I'm still not quite there yet. I'm a few weeks away and I'm still in the Friend/Editing Stages right now, but I'll come back and edit this section as soon as the publication aspect is done. But below is the goal!

When it's done and I'm satisfied there is nothing more I can do for this novel, I go through the self-publication process (yeesh). And as soon as the book is up for sale, I notify everyone I know and post about it and celebrate for a little bit, but mostly I just relax and breathe a deep sigh of relief. The celebration continues with more vigor when I get my author copy to shed some happy tears over.

And then I go back to the beginning of this process. I'll start again with a new novel and a whole new idea...or I'll continue with a sequel, in which case the process changes only slightly, because I'll have less to do in the Inspiration Stage, and maybe less in the Character Stage. I'll just keep writing and keep learning to grow as an author. Who knows, maybe I'll find a better way of writing and editing to share in the future.

If this helps you write your own novel, let me know! I'm sure the English teacher who helped me would love to hear about how much her influence has spread.

[robertdeanstockwellgal]

Scott Bakula answering a Dean Stockwell question about their relationship & keeping in touch with Dean.

[king-of-better]

GGG.12 GRAND FINAL: Mythology!!!

Reenergised, Genesic GaoGaiGar rewrites Palparepa's virus and sends it back, despite this Plajna keeps the advantage, but the Braves, as their suicide techniques succeed in destroying their opponents, call to keep fighting, Mikoto mentally picks him back up. Gai calls Palparepa out that all the Master's actions prove they were afraid of humanity, and tears Plajna apart with Hell and Heaven. Palparepa leaps into Genesic GaoGaiGar to impale Gai, but even then Gai uses the G-Stone to destroy Palparepa's Loud G-Stone.

Mamoru overcomes and destroys Pai La Cain.

Abel witnesses J and Renai destroy Pilnus' Loud G-Stone, and calls on Pisa Sol.

All of the Planetary Masters are regenerated endlessly, whole armies of them, and Abel claims victory. J and Renais know she's missed something, however, as does Mamoru, GGG have used this chance to prepare the ultimate weapon, as Mikoto calls out to Gai.

Genesic GaoGaiGar uses the Bolting Driver to force his way back to space, where Taiga order Formation G. Taiga and Swan each use a key transformed form their necklaces, given to them by Rose Approval, the Key to Victory, and Tsukuyomi, Hirume and Takehaya begin transformation.

Pisa Sol will need a lot of time to recharge after all the energy expended, making this the perfect time to target the Pas-Q Machine. Papillon straps Mikoto into the Manage Machine, Mikoto has been able to advise from there. The Division Fleet ships dock with eachother, forming the Goldion Crusher.

Lamia bids Gai unleash his life. Kushinada is launched from the Goldion Crusher, allowing the crew to be a safe distance, wild the connector had to be modified for Genesic since it was intended for GaoFighGar. The Gravity Shockwave Generating Division Tool, intended for foes on the scale of the Z-Master, has GoldyMarg's AI wired in, and is quickly unleashed on the Palparepa Plajna army.

Abel thinks it doesn't matter, it can't reach Pisa Sol in time, except a free Arms reveals otherwise, as J-Ark creates and ES Window for Genesic GaoGaiGar. The Braves send the power of their G-Stones, and Mikoto encourages him.

With a single blow of the Goldion Crusher, Pisa Sol is made into light.

Repli-Earth and the Planetary Masters quickly cease existence, Arma tells the despairing Palus Abel that the Trinary Star System isn't gone, it's being restored properly, but she's already gone as well, Mamoru knows it too.

Billions of years away, on Earth, the devastation has finally stopped, and the friends, loved ones and comrades of GGG acknowledge them in various ways.

Of course there is one other consequence of the Pas-Q Machine's destruction, but Papillon promises Entoji she will be with him always.

Lamia, seeing the strength of human conviction, has seen the way forwards for himself as well, swearing to continue as Humanities hope.

Mamoru awakens next to Kaido in separate pods, as GGG explain to them that the Trinary Star System, without Pisa Sol, is now collapsing, and there's no Galeoria Comet to escape via anymore. They've calculated they can use THE POWER to create a brief window for ES Missiles to escape via, but there are only 2 ES Missiles left, and there was no question of who would get to use them. Entrusting the future to Mamoru and Kaidou, GGG and the Brave Robots send them off, J telling Kaidou he doesn't have to live as a warrior of the red planet anymore, and Renais asking him to treasure his mother. Mikoto declare them heirs to the Trinary Star System and children of earth, and Gai asks them to keep bravery in their hearts, as the missiles leave their sights.

Around Jupiter, two missiles carrying two children appear, and descend to earth.

Mamoru reunites with his parents, and Kaidou with his mother, and Hana, sat outside with Six, is brought to tears when the boys return to her. The 3 visit the GGG Memorial, alongside Yaginuma, Takanohashi, Tsuguo, Mitsuo, Sueo, Reiko, Sunou, Ayame, Sakura, Sumire, Isamu and Ai, with the belief, no the knowledge, that the Brave Heroes will return one day.

[adafruit]

A CSI or DSI switcheroo-ifier 📷🔌🔄🕹️🔬🔎📡💻👥🛠️

On the Pi Compute IO board and Pi Zeros theres a camera connector that is 22 pins and 0.5mm pitch, whereas the classic Pi's use 15-pin 1mm pitch. what if you want to switch between the two? this lil open-source hardware doo-dad will do it. here we're testing it by connecting a Pi 3 to a 'mini spy camera' modules that would normally go right onto a Pi Zero https://www.adafruit.com/search?q=spy+camera and it works! we're going to also try it the other direction, and then order the PCBs & boards.

[sanaavay]

Gigabyte B550M DS3H AC WiFi AMD B550 Ultra Durable Motherboard with Pure Digital VRM Solution, PCIe 4.0 x16 Slot, Dual PCIe 4.0/3.0 M.2 Connectors, Intel Dual Band 802.11ac WIFI, GIGABYTE 8118 Gaming LAN, Smart Fan 5 with FAN STOP,  RGB FUSION 2.0, Q-Flash Plus Gigabyte B550M DS3H AC WiFi Features Supports AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series/ Ryzen™ 5000 G-Series/ Ryzen™ 4000 G-Series and Ryzen™ 3000 Series Processors Dual Channel ECC/ Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 4 DIMMs 5+3 Phases Pure Digital VRM Solution with Low RDS(on) MOSFETs Ultra Durable™ PCIe 4.0 Ready x16 Slot Dual Ultra-Fast NVMe PCIe 4.0/3.0 M.2 Connectors Onboard Intel® Dual Band 802.11ac Wireless & BT 4.2 with WIFI Antenna High Quality Audio Capacitors and Audio Noise Guard for Ultimate Audio Quality Realtek GbE LAN with Bandwidth Management Rear HDMI & DVI Support RGB FUSION 2.0 Supports Addressable LED & RGB LED Strips Smart Fan 5 Features Multiple Temperature Sensors , Hybrid Fan Headers with FAN STOP Q-Flash Plus Update BIOS without Installing the CPU, Memory and Graphics Card Anti-Sulfur Resistors Design Gigabyte B550M DS3H AC WiFi

[ai-news]

In this post, we show you how to perform natural language queries over the indexed GitHub (Cloud) data using the AI-powered chat interface provided by Amazon Q Business. We also cover how Amazon Q Business applies access control lists (ACLs) associa #AI #ML #Automation

[aroundtype]

SESSION 1; TYPE ANATOMY

a. Base Line :the invisible line on which all letter sit.

b. Stem: vertical stroke from where all letters grow, eg. H,n

c. Cross Bar: horizontal stroke of letter like e,H

d. Only letter T have arms

e. Shoulder: curve part which connects to stem

f. Connector: lower curve part which connects to the stem

g. counter: negative space of the letter. it can be open and closed

h. in case of letter E, we call it a eye

i. Bowl: stroke of the letter that encloses the counter

j. S is the only letter that has spine

k. Ascender: the part of the letter that falls above the x height.

l. Descender: the part of the letter that falls bellow base line

m. Q is the only letter with tail

n. only in lower case letters we have ascender and descender

o. All letters sit on three basic shapes i.e. circle, square and triangle

p. Overshoot: little part of the letter will go above the x line and below the base line to look balance

q. letters are designed more visually and not geometrically.