#circuit-su

[askvectorprime]

Dearest Vector Prime,

What do you know of Cybertronian martial arts? How do they differ from one another? You must have encountered more than a few unique styles and practitioners in your travels.

Dear Jet Judoka,

Ever since the first construction crane robot used its crane boom to deliberately knock over another robot eons ago, martial arts have been an integral part of our history.

You might assume that the warmongering Decepticons were the first to codify these disciplines of pugilism—and indeed, the brutality of their attacks and strategies gave them the edge at the outbreak of war. But the Autobots, who had lived as engineers and laborers, were able to disguise their training: every step, every turn of a wheel, every act of physical labor could be a secret technique, practiced thousands of times per cycle, until they had mastered the perfect move with which to surprise their adversaries.

Under Autobot schools of thought, there are two basic elements of physical combat: “Piston” and “Gear” motion. “Piston” is a direct, linear force: delivered by punches, rocket-powered fists, or other inbuilt ballistics. By contrast, “Gear” is a deflecting, rotational force: swiveling at the waist, or rolling, to create a “transmission” of the opponent’s energy into advantageous movement. In time, this framing came to influence Decepticon disciplines, until both groups were using the same terminology.

As the conflict between Autobot and Decepticon continued, fuelled by an escalating arms race to develop esoteric weaponry and enhancements, some chose to eschew ranged combat and instead specialize in martial arts based around stealth and melee. After sneaking into the enemy’s midst, a single warrior trained in this way could quickly dismantle those unprepared soldiers who relied more on their armament and abilities. Being a direct reaction to the highly technological mindset of both factions, it’s perhaps unsurprising that martial arts came to be spoken of using increasingly spiritual terms. Those trained in Circuit-Su turned inwards towards the personal energy of the spark, which practitioners of Metallikato would learned to channel through their weapons, striving to embody the “Ultimate Warrior” of legend. Meanwhile, followers of Yoketron’s Eightfold Path formed an understanding of self based on eight specifications: SPR-INT-SPD-END-RNK-CRG-FRB-SKL, each a separate aspect of Primus.

Other disciplines were influenced by offworld cultures. Crystalocution was developed by medics and structural engineers, after they observed the way Rock Lords would target their opponent’s fracture lines in hand-to-hand combat, and adapted the technique to focus on joints or brittle crystalline components in Cybertronians. The loose assortment of non-lethal forms commonly termed Diffusion, popular amongst the Autobots, are descended from a pacifist fighting style practiced amongst the Circle of Light.

Although these styles have been broadly recognised and adopted by countless fighters, it mustn’t be understated how deeply individualistic the martial arts can be: even within a single style, no two fighters are alike. An exceptional master may try to pass down their techniques, but the unique talent, ability, and perseverance of each student will inevitably transform these teachings into something new. Take, for example, the Turtler School.

Turtler lived as a hermit on an island, on Earth. Having felt undervalued by the Decepticons, he enjoyed the solitude this lifestyle afforded, living in peace from his Seacons. At some point in the distant future, a young simian Maximal arrived on a flying surfboard, wanting to learn martial arts in order to fight in the “Be(a)st Under The Heavens Tournament”. Turtler reluctantly took him on as a pupil, and over the course of several years, put him through a highly unorthodox training regimen. Some examples of the feats he had the Maximal perform included:

Climbing a mountain to catch a bird

Climbing a mountain again to catch a bird, but this time with Turtler strapped to his back in alt mode

Outrunning and outswimming Cybershark in a race

Painting Turtler's home (this one in particular was very unpopular with his student)

Eventually, the young Maximal proved his purity of heart—which wasn’t actually something Turtler had cared about in the least, as he really had just needed a few chores doing—and asked to learn the secret of Turtler’s ultimate technique, the King Poseidon Wave. Turtler, not quite understanding, assumed that the Maximal was talking about his laser cannon. He fired a shot to demonstrate—and to his surprise, the Maximal copied him, pressing two open palms together, and somehow firing a large energy blast! Before Turtler could even process what had happened, the Maximal hopped onto his surfboard and sailed away on a cloud, forever grateful for the good times he’d had with the old hermit over the years.

[fighting-naturalist]

idk i just thought he looked real cute in his hat 🤗 

(from “Serpent’s Song” 2.18)

[kevotsuka]

Soooo assen TT is hungry eh? Turn 7 is biting the bikes

[reasonsforhope]

"Arizona’s ban on transgender athletes has been blocked by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which called the 2022 law “the essence of discrimination.”

Supporters of the so-called Save Women’s Sports Act claimed that the law protected girls and women in schools and colleges from “unfair competition.” However, the federal court found that pre-pubescent trans girls and trans girls on puberty blockers have no significant physical advantages over cis girls their own age, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

“[The law] to ensure competitive fairness and equal athletic opportunities for cisgender female athletes cannot be squared with the fact that the Act bars students from female athletics based entirely on transgender status,” Judge Morgan Christen wrote in the court’s 3-0 decision.

“[The law] permits all students other than transgender women and girls to play on teams consistent with their gender identities,” Christen continued, “transgender women and girls alone are barred from doing so. This is the essence of discrimination.”

Two trans girls, an 11-year-old soccer player and a 15-year-old swimmer and volleyball player on puberty blockers, sued to overturn the law; 18 states signed court arguments in favor of the law, and 17 states signed arguments against it.

A lower federal court also ruled against the law, and the two court rulings against it can now be cited as a legal precedent to help other trans girls play sports. However, Arizona could also appeal the decision to be heard by an 11-judge panel on the appeals court or ask the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the matter.

“A student’s transgender status is not an accurate proxy for athletic ability and competitive advantage,” said Rachel Berg, a lawyer with the National Center for Lesbian Rights who represented the two girls in court. “Our clients are thrilled to be able to continue to play on girls’ sports teams with their friends while this case proceeds to trial.”"

-via LGBTQ Nation, September 10, 2024

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #19

May 17-24 2024

President Biden wiped out the student loan debt of 160,000 more Americans. This debt cancellation of 7.7 billion dollars brings the total student loan debt relieved by the Biden Administration to $167 billion. The Administration has canceled student loan debt for 4.75 million Americans so far. The 160,000 borrowers forgiven this week owned an average of $35,000 each and are now debt free. The Administration announced plans last month to bring debt forgiveness to 30 million Americans with student loans coming this fall.

The Department of Justice announced it is suing Ticketmaster for being a monopoly. DoJ is suing Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation for monopolistic practices. Ticketmaster controls 70% of the live show ticket market leading to skyrocketing prices, hidden fees and last minute cancellation. The Justice Department is seeking to break up Live Nation and help bring competition back into the market. This is one of a number of monopoly law suits brought by the Biden administration against Apple in March and Amazon in September 2023.

The EPA announced $225 million in new funding to improve drinking and wastewater for tribal communities. The money will go to tribes in the mainland US as well as Alaska Native Villages. It'll help with testing for forever chemicals, and replacing of lead pipes as well as sustainability projects.

The EPA announced $300 million in grants to clean up former industrial sites. Known as "Brownfield" sites these former industrial sites are to be cleaned and redeveloped into community assets. The money will fund 200 projects across 178 communities. One such project will transform a former oil station in Philadelphia’s Kingsessing neighborhood, currently polluted with lead and other toxins into a waterfront bike trail.

The Department of Agriculture announced a historic expansion of its program to feed low income kids over the summer holidays. Since the 1960s the SUN Meals have served in person meals at schools and community centers during the summer holidays to low income children. This Year the Biden administration is rolling out SUN Bucks, a $120 per child grocery benefit. This benefit has been rejected by many Republican governors but in the states that will take part 21 million kids will benefit. Last year the Biden administration introduced SUN Meals To-Go, offering pick-up and delivery options expanding SUN's reach into rural communities. These expansions are part of the Biden administration's plan to end hunger and reduce diet-related disease by 2030.

Vice-President Harris builds on her work in Africa to announce a plan to give 80% of Africa internet access by 2030, up from just 40% today. This push builds off efforts Harris has spearheaded since her trip to Africa in 2023, including $7 billion in climate adaptation, resilience, and mitigation, and $1 billion to empower women. The public-private partnership between the African Development Bank Group and Mastercard plans to bring internet access to 3 million farmers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria, before expanding to Uganda, Ethiopia, and Ghana, and then the rest of the continent, bring internet to 100 million people and businesses over the next 10 years. This is together with the work of Partnership for Digital Access in Africa which is hoping to bring internet access to 80% of Africans by 2030, up from 40% now, and just 30% of women on the continent. The Vice-President also announced $1 billion for the Women in the Digital Economy Fund to assure women in Africa have meaningful access to the internet and its economic opportunities.

The Senate approved Seth Aframe to be a Judge on the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, it also approved Krissa Lanham, and Angela Martinez to district Judgeships in Arizona, as well as Dena Coggins to a district court seat in California. Bring the total number of judges appointed by President Biden to 201. Biden's Judges have been historically diverse. 64% of them are women and 62% of them are people of color. President Biden has appointed more black women to federal judgeships, more Hispanic judges and more Asian American judges and more LGBT judges than any other President, including Obama's full 8 years in office. President Biden has also focused on backgrounds appointing a record breaking number of former public defenders to judgeships, as well as labor and civil rights lawyers.

[juneberrie]

COOL ࣪𖤐 EARTH-42!MILES MORALES x FEM!READER

summary miles' childhood crush comes back to new york.

word count 0.6k

warnings fem!reader, vaguely implied hispanic!reader but not really, sunshine!reader

miles groaned when his mother told him to clean his room.

"we have guests coming over, mijo," rio said. "what will they think if your room is messy?"

"i didn't know that we were eating dinner in my room," he muttered.

"i heard that," rio called. miles shuffled around his room, mostly kicking his (probably dirty) clothes under his bed and closing the closet door as the smell of his mom's cooking wafted around the house. "they're family friends, mijito. remember the l/ns? they moved away a few years ago but they're back! i think their daughter goes to your school," she added, bustling about the tiny kitchen.

miles' brain immediately started going through every girl he had ever interacted with at school, but he came up short. "que es su nombre?" he asked (what's her name?).

"oh, y/n. you two used to be so close before they left," rio answered. miles tried to remember a y/n, and he managed to drag up a memory of the two of them watching movies as their parents laughed and drank and ate at barbecues. the doorbell rang and she jumped.

"mijo, get the doo—" she started, but miles interrupted her.

"already on it, ma," he said. she smiled gratefully and disappeared into the kitchen again. he opened the door, and his brain short circuited. there, outside his apartment, stood a very, very, pretty girl. she was flanked by a man and a woman who miles assumed were her parents, but his eyes were locked on hers.

"hi!" she smiled. he prayed to literally any god that would listen that she couldn't hear his heart beating a mile a minute. "i'm y/n!"

her mother interrupted her. "oh, miles! it's been so long!" she walked in, her daughter and husband following behind her. "you're so big now!"

"yeah," miles chuckled awkwardly. he watched as y/n looked around their small apartment. "nice to, uh. see you again?" he tried. why was he suddenly being awkward? he was never awkward with girls.

she turned, a smile on her face. "yeah!! i mean, since we moved its been like," she paused and glanced at the ceiling, her fingers twitching as she mentally counted. "seven years? i think?"

"damn," miles said. "it's been forever." y/n nodded with a laugh. rio called them to the dinner table, which miles noted was set with their fancier plates. as the two families ate and reconciled, memories rushed at miles.

he remembered chasing her around her family's yard, dunking her into the community pool during the summers, grudgingly playing mermaids with her, graduating kindergarten with her, and so much more. but the memory that he remembered most vividly was the big fat crush he'd had on her.

"so," he asked, pushing his food around his plate as casually as he could. "are you guys here to stay?"

y/n's dad nodded and replied, "we're staying for good."

y/n cut in, "or at least 'till i finish high school." she had a twinkle in her eye as she said the words, and miles noticed her glance flicking down to his lips.

"cool," he said. "cool."

she smiled and it felt like they were the only two people in the world. "yeah. cool."

[reachartwork]

Quoted Tweet:

Like yeah, it might be the case that fair use comes in. It's just that it hasn't yet. Look at the lawsuit over Github Copilot. Basically all of the claims about infringement on outputs were thrown out because they can't prove that code is reproduced....

Me:

right, this is the thing everyone is missing about the ai shit which is why all their cases keep getting basically thrown out of court - copyright infringement happens on output, not on input. the most compelling arguments i've seen are centered around DMCA (...)

i.e, that the people building datasets are doing so by circumventing DRM. but anything about fair use and shit is putting the cart before the horse because the model is self-evidently not infringing on anything... it's not, like... a picture, or a story or whatever. it's numbers

that's the hurdle they have to jump when trying to argue that the model is infringing - you have to prove that this model (NOT ITS OUTPUTS), just by itself, is copyright infringement on your images/words/whatever. and since it's a stack of numbers that's... proving to be hard!

if you wanted to sue someone for infringing your copyright with stable diffusion you have to wait for them to infringe your copyright first, like generating an illegal mickey mouse, and then sue THAT PERSON. but they're trying to short circuit the process - suing the paintbrush

[milkteabinniechan]

the sweetest song:

part one

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

pairing: !dom Felix x !female reader

summary: You are a camgirl and new neighbor Felix just happen to log onto your livestream and now he can't look at you the same way again...

warnings: just fluff, Kissing and Felix being a bit of a pervert

author's note: this is just a part one of idk how many parts. Please be kind! This is my first time writing about Felix. It was very fun!!

"fuck, I'm so hard"

Felix's eyes were glued to his computer screen. His heart racing, his cock twitching in his underwear. You were wearing pink panties with a matching pink lace bra. You were sitting on your knees on top of your bed, giggling. He watched your mouth open and close. Letting small breaths in. Your skin was glowing.

"Thanks so much for the tip, daddydanger95!" You gave a wink to the camera. Your webcam was strategically placed so your entire body was visible. You were wearing your most favorite lingerie and felt incredibly sexy. You loved the feeling of making yourself come on camera. All these strangers watching you, jerking off to you, it made you feel so good. You let out a sigh of release as you signed off your chatroom. That last orgasm really took it out of you and you were ready to crash. You pulled the covers back when your room suddenly brightened from the light of your next door neighbor's bedroom. You opened your curtain slightly and peeked through the glass. Felix was your neighbor. Your incredibly hot neighbor. He had moved in just a few months ago, right across the street. The two of you hadn't said more than a handful of words to each other. Mostly pleasantries. But he had this uncanny ability to make your legs feels all rubbery whenever he looked at you. You had invited him over a few times for a movie night but he always said he had to work.

Now you were staring at him through your bedroom window, in the middle of the night, willing him to take his shirt off. You rolled your eyes and sighed. You really needed a new hobby, or at least a new way of inviting him over.

-------

Felix closed his laptop and stood to turn on his bedroom light. He paused in the middle of his room, hands on his hips, staring at his closed laptop. Trying to wrap his head around what he just watched, cock still throbbing inside his sweatpants. You had always been friendly towards him. But he was here for work. He made a resolution of sorts, to stop hooking up, to focus only on work and friends. He had developed somewhat of a reputation back home as a player, a man-whore, and he was good at it. But then he fell in love and she didn't love him back. So he was abstinent. He was closed for business. That is, until he saw you. You had invited him for a movie night a few times, and each time it was getting harder and harder to say no to you. You were so damn cute. But that's all. Just a cute face. Until your chatroom. Watching you slowly strip out of your clothes. Revealed lacey little nothings that made his mind short circuit.

Avoiding eye contact. Now he was avoiding eye contact with you. You watched him walk to his front door, arm full of groceries. You knew it was now or never. Last chance. You took a deep breath and pressed forward.

"Felix! Wait up!" You called from behind him. He paused his hand on the door knob and turned towards you. You stopped short and stood in front of him in silence for a moment.

"I'm having a pool party," you began, "the whole neighborhood is going to be there. You could meet all your neighbors. It will be fun!" You playfully nudged his arm.

Felix looked at your hand making contact with his arm. The sensation was warm. God, all he wanted was to taste your skin.

He glanced at your mouth to see you were talking again, but his mind was preoccupied.

"...So you're coming, right? I'm not taking no for an answer." Your smile was flirtatious with just a hint of bossy. You were pretty sure you had Felix pegged as a submissive. So maybe he just needed to be pushed a little. You had subscribers like that too in your chatroom. Felix sighed. And nodded his head. Bingo. You cheered victory in your head, but kept your cool as not to let on how excited you were. Mostly to finally see Felix with his shirt off.

♡♡♡♡

The sun was hot that weekend. Perfect day for a pool party. Plenty of snacks. Plenty of booze. You had planned for everything. Well, almost everything. You didn't plan for Felix looking fucking gorgeous in a bathing suit. You stood at the edge of the pool with a cold beer bottle in your hand. Your eyes traced his body as he lifted his shirt and set it next to him on the foldout chair. He was avoiding eye contact again. Did he hate you? Why wouldn't he look at you? You were wearing your sexiest bikini ever. You looked amazing today.

You looked amazing today. Felix could feel his heartbeat in his ears. How long could he stare at the ground for, the entire party? Unlikely. But when he closed his eyes he could see you on the webcam. Smiling, giggling, moaning...

"You made it!" You squeaked from behind Felix. He turned to face you. Your lips were shining from some kind of gloss, a hint of pink was catching the sunlight. He felt a twinge in his shorts.

You continued to talk about the weather and the good food, you even asked if he needed anything. But all Felix could think to say was You. But instead he excused himself and made a b-line towards your house. You scoffed at the ride exit and took a quick swig of your beer. You were buzzed. Just enough to confront Felix on what his problem really was. You took a deep breath and followed him.

"Hey!" You shouted. "What's your problem? Is it me? Because I have been nothing but nice to yo-"

Your rant was stopped short by Felix's lips. He pressed his mouth to yours and placed a hand behind your head. Your eyes were wide from the shock. Then they fluttered close as you let yourself sink into the kiss. It was perfect warm. His lips were plump. They cradled your own perfectly. His top lip lined with your top, but his bottom lip layed flush under your bottom lip. You pushed your mouth into his to let him know how good he felt. You placed both your hands on his waist and pushed him against your kitchen counter. Your head was swimming. He was gorgeous and so sweet and shy, clearly you would have to take the lead here.

But you couldn't been more wrong. He wanted to make you remember his name...

[probablyasocialecologist]

Libraries have traditionally operated on a basic premise: Once they purchase a book, they can lend it out to patrons as much (or as little) as they like. Library copies often come from publishers, but they can also come from donations, used book sales, or other libraries. However the library obtains the book, once the library legally owns it, it is theirs to lend as they see fit.  Not so for digital books. To make licensed e-books available to patrons, libraries have to pay publishers multiple times over. First, they must subscribe (for a fee) to aggregator platforms such as Overdrive. Aggregators, like streaming services such as HBO’s Max, have total control over adding or removing content from their catalogue. Content can be removed at any time, for any reason, without input from your local library. The decision happens not at the community level but at the corporate one, thousands of miles from the patrons affected.  Then libraries must purchase each individual copy of each individual title that they want to offer as an e-book. These e-book copies are not only priced at a steep markup—up to 300% over consumer retail—but are also time- and loan-limited, meaning the files self-destruct after a certain number of loans. The library then needs to repurchase the same book, at a new price, in order to keep it in stock.  This upending of the traditional order puts massive financial strain on libraries and the taxpayers that fund them. It also opens up a world of privacy concerns; while libraries are restricted in the reader data they can collect and share, private companies are under no such obligation. Some libraries have turned to another solution: controlled digital lending, or CDL, a process by which a library scans the physical books it already has in its collection, makes secure digital copies, and lends those out on a one-to-one “owned to loaned” ratio.  The Internet Archive was an early pioneer of this technique. When the digital copy is loaned, the physical copy is sequestered from borrowing; when the physical copy is checked out, the digital copy becomes unavailable. The benefits to libraries are obvious; delicate books can be circulated without fear of damage, volumes can be moved off-site for facilities work without interrupting patron access, and older and endangered works become searchable and can get a second chance at life. Library patrons, who fund their local library’s purchases with their tax dollars, also benefit from the ability to freely access the books. Publishers are, unfortunately, not a fan of this model, and in 2020 four of them sued the Internet Archive over its CDL program. The suit ultimately focused on the Internet Archive’s lending of 127 books that were already commercially available through licensed aggregators. The publisher plaintiffs accused the Internet Archive of mass copyright infringement, while the Internet Archive argued that its digitization and lending program was a fair use. The trial court sided with the publishers, and on September 4, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reaffirmed that decision with some alterations to the underlying reasoning.  This decision harms libraries. It locks them into an e-book ecosystem designed to extract as much money as possible while harvesting (and reselling) reader data en masse. It leaves local communities’ reading habits at the mercy of curatorial decisions made by four dominant publishing companies thousands of miles away. It steers Americans away from one of the few remaining bastions of privacy protection and funnels them into a surveillance ecosystem that, like Big Tech, becomes more dangerous with each passing data breach. And by increasing the price for access to knowledge, it puts up even more barriers between underserved communities and the American dream.

11 September 2024

[mostlysignssomeportents]

They're handing out patents for "inventions" that don't exist

Today (Oct 16) I'm in Minneapolis, keynoting the 26th ACM Conference On Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing. Thursday (Oct 19), I'm in Charleston, WV to give the 41st annual McCreight Lecture in the Humanities. And on Friday (Oct 20), I'm at Charleston's Taylor Books from 12h-14h.

Patent trolls produce nothing except lawsuits. Unlike real capitalist enterprises, a patent troll does not “practice” the art in its patent portfolio — it seeks out productive enterprises that are making things that real people use, and then uses legal threats to extract rents from them.

One of the most prolific patent trolls of the twenty-first century is Landmark Technology, whose U.S. Patent №7,010,508 nominally covers virtually anything you might do in the course of operating an online business: having a homepage, letting a customer login to your site, or having pages where customers can view and order products.

Landmark shook down more than a thousand productive businesses for $65,000 license-fees it demanded on threat of a patent lawsuit.

But that reign of terror is almost certainly over. When Landmark tried to get $65,000 out of Binders.com, the victim’s owner, NAPCO, went to court to invalidate Landmark’s patent, which never should have issued.

A North Carolina court agreed, and killed Landmark’s patent. Landmark faces further punishments in Washington State, where the attorney general has sued the company for violating state consumer protection laws in a case that has been removed to federal court.

Landmark’s patent contains “means-plus-function” claims. These a rentier’s superweapon, in which a patent can lay a claim over an invention without inventing or describing it. These claims are almost entirely used in software patents, something that has been blessed by the Federal Circuit, America’s most authoritative patent court.

A means-plus-function patent lets an “inventor” patent something they don’t know how to do. If these patents applied to pharma, a company could get a patent on “an arrangement of atoms that cure cancer,” without specifying that arrangement of atoms. Anyone who actually did cure cancer would have to pay rent to the patent-holder.

-A Major Defeat For Technofeudalism: We euthanized some rentiers.

My next novel is The Lost Cause, a hopeful novel of the climate emergency. Amazon won't sell the audiobook, so I made my own and I'm pre-selling it on Kickstarter!

[ninibeingdelulu]

I would choose you ✧

Plot: An argument that lead to a confession…

A/N: my page is slowly becoming a kaiser fanpage.. anyway this was inspired by a tt I can’t remember which one . And i already wrote something similar but i like this one more >.<

This crazy career ate Michael alive in the best ways possible - pushing every fiber of his being towards perfecting the most elite striking prowess on the planet.

But it also slowly consumed his life in the most detrimental sense, steadily eclipsing every scrap of personal existence beyond the pitch.

Sure, he still adored you with every stuttering thrum of his barbaric heart - it was just...harder showing that more and more.

With each fresh trophy or medal weighing heavier on his record, Michael's obsessive drive only intensified tenfold.

You always insisted his lifelong quest for soccer immortality didn't bother you. Dismissed his latest nighttime disappearances or missed dinner reservations with soft smiles and reassurances of "I understand, baby...soccer's your whole world. Just don't stay out too late, okay?"

Michael's rare opportunities indulging your minimal demands only stoked deeper cravings for more scraps of his coveted time and devotion.

And as the months whittled on, those golden breadcrumbs grew achingly few and far between.

This morning marked just the latest in an endless spree of abrupt departures and cold, dismissive justifications before the dawn's rosy glow even peeked over the nightscape.

Another endless regiment of grueling practice circuits and tactical review sessions until the darkest hours, rinse, repeat.

Just once, maybe you wished he'd burst through that damn bedroom threshold with feverish grins and wandering caresses only you basked in anymore.

Not merely grunting about today's schedule before collapsing into dead slumber.

So when Michael's phone began buzzing with a reminder for yet another media engagement, the brimming resentment finally bubbled over in a desperate, pleading outburst.

You huddled forward on the mattress' edge, arms folded protectively as he paced about tossing various garments haphazardly over his glorious form.

"Michael?" you managed in a tiny whimper finally piercing his distant demeanor. "Don't you...don't you still love me anymore? At all?"

Those gunmetal depths whipped back in your direction, suddenly searing with stunned incredulity.

Like you'd just slapped the daylights out of him.

"What the fuck, y/n ?" he managed roughly past the tightness throttling his throat. "Where's all this coming from all of a su-"

But trailing off right there as Michael drank in the hurt streaking down your blotchy, flushed cheeks.

The wounded, exhausted droop of your slender shoulders that screamed out 'you did this.'

He'd stripped you raw of every defensive barrier until only bottomless vulnerability remained.

And for what? Some meaningless athletic trifle against his monumental purpose - which somehow, without realizing, had succeeded in reducing the purest light in his life to this?

A shuddering gasp punched through Michael's marbled defenses. And somehow, your normally towering, indominable warrior of a partner immediately crumpled forward - knees splintering against the hardwood at your feet.

"Oh, Schatz..." he rasped in that rich, chocolatey tenor laced thick with reverence.

Face tilting upwards to openly worship you before burying into your lap, that familiar musk and body heat engulfing you in its comforting inferno.

Michael's broad, calloused hands clutched your thighs in an iron vice - anchoring your delicate forms together like you'd float away at any second otherwise.

Only once fully burrowed into your shielding caress did the tumbling regret finally spill out of him, unleashing in a trembling sigh of his native German.

"Und ich würde dich wählen."His slurred murmur sent tingles shivering down your veins.

"in hundert leben..." Smoky azure embers scalded upwards into your watery gaze, lapping your contours in a fresh wave of ardor.

"in hundert welten..." His massive palms slid up and down those supple thighs in tremoring repetitions, reawakening old familiar sensations.

"in jeder Version der Realität..." Michael buried that sharp Germanic jawline into your lower abdomen, nipping with fervent passion melting your flesh like scorching lava.

"ich würde dich finden.” He hoisted your negligible weight up, coiling you closer into a delicious tangle of searing limbs and torrid heat.

By now, you understood each throaty sigh - fluently committing his fevered pledge to memory through the blurring film of fresh, joyful tears.

That declaration of cherishing you beyond mortal constraints of this lifetime, continually seeking each other through every conceivable iteration of this universe...

"Und ich würde dich wählen."

His voice finally cracked through a muffled, wounded whimper in between pressing eternal vows into your exposed flesh until you gasped.

Peering up in total subjugation through smoldering gunmetal orbs leaving your own ablaze.

No longer needing any translation of the vows searing divinely into your soul.

You cupped his cheeks, swooping down to rest your brows together in a consuming clash of molten breath and fevered affirmations.

"Never again, Michael..." you murmured into the smothering exchange of cloying oxygen and tears streaking both your cheeks. "Never shut me out like this ever again...just promise me th-"

But your quavering plea evaporated into his searing mouth before finishing. Michael clutched your yielding form tighter with each ravenous inhale, stealing your breath over and over until you teetered on the precipice of losing control entirely.

Nodding, panting, practically drowning in your divine essence - Michael sealed every facet of his being in your possession anew.

Eternally yours, mind, body, and spirit - until those final tremors consumed you both fully once more.

[theoutcastrogue]

"The majority of high-tech patent lawsuits are brought by patent trolls—companies that exist not to provide products or services, but primarily have a business using patents to threaten others’ work. Some politicians are proposing to make that bad situation worse. ...

The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act, S. 2140, (PERA), sponsored by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Coons (D-DE) would be a huge gift to patent trolls, a few tech firms that aggressively license patents, and patent lawyers. For everyone else, it will be a huge loss. That’s why we’re opposing it, and asking our supporters to speak out as well. 

Patent trolling is still a huge, multi-billion dollar problem that’s especially painful for small businesses and everyday internet users. But, in the last decade, we’ve made modest progress placing limits on patent trolling. The Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Alice v. CLS Bank barred patents that were nothing more than abstract ideas with computer jargon added in. Using the Alice test, federal courts have kicked out a rogue’s gallery of hundreds of the worst patents. 

Under Alice’s clear rules, courts threw out ridiculous patents on “matchmaking”, online picture menus, scavenger hunts, and online photo contests. The nation’s top patent court, the Federal Circuit, actually approved a patent on watching an ad online twice before the Alice rules finally made it clear that patents like that cannot be allowed. The patents on “bingo on a computer?” Gone under Alice. Patents on loyalty programs (on a computer)? Gone. Patents on upselling (with a computer)? All gone. ...

PERA’s attempt to roll back progress goes beyond computer technology. For almost 30 years, some biotech and pharmaceutical companies actually applied for, and were granted, patents on naturally occuring human genes. As a consequence, companies were able to monopolize diagnostic tests that relied on naturally occurring genes in order to help predict diseases such as breast cancer, making such testing far more expensive. The ACLU teamed up with doctors to confront this horrific practice, and sued. That lawsuit led to a historic victory in 2013 when the Supreme Court disallowed patents on human genes found in nature. 

If PERA passes, it will explicitly overturn that ruling, allowing human genes to be patented once again. ...

“To See Your Own Blood, Your Own Genes”

From the 1980s until the 2013 Myriad decision, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted patents on human genomic sequences. If researchers “isolated” the gene—a necessary part of analysis—they would then get a patent that described isolating, or purified, as a human process, and insist they weren’t getting a patent on the natural world itself.

But this concept of patenting an “isolated” gene was simply a word game, and a distinction without a difference. With the genetic patent in hand, the patent-holder could demand royalty payments from any kind of test or treatment involving that gene. And that’s exactly what Myriad Genetic did when they patented the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene sequences, which are important indicators for the prevalence of breast or ovarian cancer. 

Myriad’s patents significantly increased the cost of those tests to U.S. patients. The company even sent some doctors cease and desist letters, saying the doctors could not perform simple tests on their own patients—even looking at the gene sequences without Myriad’s permission would constitute patent infringement. 

This behavior caused pathologists, scientists, and patients to band together with ACLU lawyers and challenge Myriad’s patents. They litigated all the way to the Supreme Court, and won. “A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated,” the Supreme Court stated in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics. 

A practice like granting and enforcing patents on human genes should truly be left in the dustbin of history. It’s shocking that pro-patent lobbyists have convinced these Senators to introduce legislation seeking to reinstate such patents. Last month, the President of the College of American Pathologists published an op-ed reminding lawmakers and the public about the danger of patenting the human genome, calling gene patents “dangerous to the public welfare.”  

As Lisbeth Ceriani, a breast cancer survivor and a plaintiff in the Myriad case said, “It’s a basic human right to see your own blood, your own genes.” "

[needletailz]

the ore snatcher is absolutely cub right??

in scar's stream, he placed a magma block in doc's shop, broke it, & then the alarm went off. he DID NOT volunteer the information "hey guys the alarm started the second i broke a block, probably that's what caused it". he acted like he didn't know what started the alarm

cub's main suspect is scar, who's been cleared by doc. the ore snatcher tried to frame scar by misspelling signs. surely cub, the jingler (also evidence of his pranking abilities) would have taken special note of how the jangler (scar) was caught by sherlock grian due to typos on signs. u see where i'm going w/ this??

the ore snatcher signed himself as the glitcher? VERY similar to the jingler 👀

obviously redstone proficient, so would presumably know not to break/how to fix things like memory circuits, that would cause errors in the redstone

he just acted incredibly sus in scar's stream!! very accusatory & very rarely defended others

EDIT: HOW COULD I FORGET: HE WAS W/ JOE WHEN JOE SUGGESTED THIS VERY PRANK

[chinesehanfu]

[China Tang Dynasty]Chinese Armor:The Dunhuang Heroes | 敦煌英雄

The ShaZhou/沙洲(China Dunhuang, old name) is still there, and the Tang Dynasty is still there!

The yellow sand flowing through fingers represents the lost youth and blood and tears of the Guiyi Army(归义军) of the Tang Dynasty in Dunhuang. They are not quicksand but the shining golden soul of the Tang Dynasty army.

This series of works is inspired by the upcoming Chinese Tang Dynasty historical film "Heroes of Dunhuang/敦煌英雄".

The film tells the story of the Guiyi Army in the Tang Dynasty. After the An Lushan rebellion broke out, the Tubo/吐蕃 invaded Shazhou/沙洲 (now Dunhuang City, Gansu Province China). In 848, Zhang Yichao/张议潮 led his people to revolt and drive out the Tubo rulers, recovering Shazhou and starting the tragic story of the Guiyi Army for 200 years.

The story revolves around Zhang Yichao, a general in the late Tang Dynasty of China, who led the people of Shazhou and other places to break free from the rule of the Tubo/吐蕃 nobles.

Zhang Yichao (Chinese: 張議潮 or 張義朝; pinyin: Zhāng Yìcháo; 799−872) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Tang dynasty who was a resident of Sha Prefecture (Chinese: 沙州; pinyin: Shāzhōu, in modern Dunhuang, Gansu,China). When the Tibetan Empire/吐蕃 plunged into civil war, he led a rebellion, capturing several cities and reverted the area's allegiance to the Tang dynasty. He subsequently conquered the Hexi Corridor and governed it as the military commissioner (jiedushi) of Guiyi Circuit (headquartered in modern Dunhuang) under nominal authority of the Tang emperors.

Following the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tibetan Empire conquered the Sha and Gua prefectures of the Tang dynasty in 781. Han population of the locality remained. By 851, the Tibetan Empire which had ruled the southern Tarim Basin and modern Gansu region since 790 was being torn by civil war.

In the second year of Jianzhong (781),Sha Prefecture, which had held out for many years, also fell. After the fall, the people of Hexi were ravaged by Tubo. Adult males became slaves, farming and grazing; the elderly and weak were killed, and some were "cut off their hands and eyes" and then abandoned. The people wanted to return to the Tang Dynasty day and night.

During his growing years, Zhang Yichao personally experienced the brutal rule of Tubo, which aroused his anger. Feeling the desolate scene of the people's livelihood under the rule of Tibetan Empire/吐蕃, Zhang Yichao sympathized with the people's suffering and had great respect for Feng Changqing, a famous general who was framed by the eunuch Bian Lingcheng in the suppression of the " An Lushan Rebellion". He personally write a"Feng Changqing Death Letter"

The "Zhang Huaishen Monument/张淮深碑" records that Zhang Yichao "discussed military affairs and swordplay, and studied martial arts classics" on Sha Prefecture. He believed that "the fate of Tibetan Empire was over", so he "vowed to return to his country, with no doubt in his determination." To this end, he began to accumulate power and seek support from many parties, such as:

1.Dunhuang's prestigious and influential families such as the Su, Zhang, and Li clans had numerous members and substantial strength. They made significant contributions during Zhang Yichao's uprising and the reconquest of Hexi Corridor.

2.Buddhist monks and disciples. Despite being highly respected by the Tubo for his profound knowledge of Buddhism, the eminent monk Hong Bian of Hexi was appointed 'Chief Executor of the Vinaya and Teacher of Conduct' but 'longed for his homeland and wished to be under the Imperial wind,' so he did his utmost to assist Zhang Yichao in reclaiming Shazhou. Buddhism in the Western Regions was thriving, with a large number of followers, and the extensive influence of these monks among the people instilled a deep-seated spirit of resistance against Tubo, driven by their influence;

3.Heroes and righteous men. Figures such as Zhang Yichao's trusted subordinates Deputy Anjing and tribal leader Yan Yingda (also known as Shang Yanshin) were renowned local heroes.

↑Mural commemorating victory of General Zhang Yichao over the Tibetans in 848. Mogao cave 156, Late Tang dynasty

↑<Zhang Yichao Leading the Army Mural>: The man on the left, wearing red, is Zhang Yichao.

It was with the great help of these people that Zhang Yichao clearly put forward the slogan of "returning to the country" and widely organized and united forces from all sides.

After the 9th century, the strength of the Tibetan Tubo Empire continuously declined, with frequent internal turmoil. During the Huichang era (841-846 AD), Tubo Empire suffered consecutive years of disasters and famines, leading to widespread starvation and epidemic, with corpses lying next to each other.

During this period, the Tibetan Tubo general Lun Kongre led five thousand cavalry to Gua Prefecture, plundering the eight prefectures of Hexi including Shanshan and Kuo. This action not only stirred great resentment among the people of Hexi but also caused discontent among his subordinates, who all desired to rebel against him.

↑China Dunhuang Mural Showing Zhang Yichao departure

When the time was ripe, Zhang Yichao launched a rebellion in Sha Prefecture in the second year of Dazhong (848 AD), leading his forces in a fierce battle to expel the Tibetan garrison. After the Tibetan army retreated, they gathered reinforcements from the surrounding areas and besieged Sha Prefecture again. Zhang Yichao led his troops out of the city and defeated the Tibetans, finally establishing a foothold in Sha Prefecture

This unrest quickly spread like wildfire and even caused major turmoil within the Tibetan Empire. Tibetan historical texts record that this rebellion '起于康，遍及全藏，如鸟飞百影，四面楚歌，天下大乱' Lun Kongre also rebelled, seized power within Tibet, proclaimed himself prime minister, and engaged in mutual slaughter with the Tibetan military governor of Shanshan, Shang Bipib."

In 863, Zhang Yichao led a group of 7,000 Han and non-Han soldiers to capture Liang Prefecture (涼州, in modern Wuwei, Gansu).

In 866, Zhang submitted a report stating that the Uyghur chieftain Pugu Jun (僕固俊) had recaptured from the Tibetan Empire Xi Prefecture, Ting Prefecture (庭州, in modern Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang), Luntai (輪台, in modern Ürümqi, Xinjiang), and Qingzhen (清鎮, modern location unknown)—apparently implying that Pugu Jun did so under his command.

In 867, Zhang Yichao visited Chang'an and paid homage to Emperor Yizong of Tang. Yizong made him a general of the imperial guards and kept him at Chang'an. Yizong also commissioned Zhang's nephew Zhang Huaishen (張淮深) to serve as the acting military governor of Guiyi.He died in 872, probably while residing at Chang'an.

↑Zhang Yichao's wife, Lady Song, in "Mural of Lady Song of Henei County, Song State, Going Out"

————————

📸Photography post-production :@小何力

⚔️Armor：天权 苍梧 ​​​

💄 Makeup：百丽

👨Model：@麒小麟_kylin

🔗 Weibo:https://weibo.com/1615560544/Oo0berhKj

————————

[thefugitivesaint]

If you've been a frequent, repeat visitor to this tumblr and you actually follow my "source" links, you'll know that many (if not most) of those links refer you back to the Internet Archive. I spend many hours combing through the archive for images I find interesting and aesthetically pleasing from artist's whose work I enjoy. I then transfer that labor, freely, into "content" for your viewing pleasure (or so I hope). If you were not aware of this, the book industry (which is basically controlled by 5 companies) brought a suit against the Internet Archive in 2020 that claimed that the Open Library program offered by the IA was financially damaging to the publishers themselves through "copyright infringement." During the COVID-19 lockdowns, the IA created the 'National Emergency Library' which removed lending restrictions on lent digital material allowing for expanded access to books at a time when public libraries were, in many cases, not operating (or operating at a very limited capacity). In response to the NEL, four book publishers sued the Internet Archive claiming that CDL (controlled digital lending) was not an example of fair use and that offering books without wait restrictions was a violation of their copyrights. The argument made by the publisher's was only partially aimed at the NEL, the ACTUAL target of their lawsuit was with the process of CDL itself. A lower court agreed and the Internet Archive appealed. The case was taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit only to have that court affirm the lower court rulings on a unanimous decision (with some seriously questionable reasoning involved).

What does this mean for the Internet Archive? What about public libraries in general? Read the piece and the links provided in the piece. I don't do in-depth analysis here. I just refer you (dear reader) to smarter people who are putting in the work. I really just dig pictures. Pretty pictures. *Homer Simpson drooling* Seriously though, if the topic interests you, follow the links and do yourself some learning.

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #10

March 15-22 2024

The EPA announced new emission standards with the goal of having more than half of new cars and light trucks sold in the US be low/zero emission by 2032. One of the most significant climate regulations in the nation’s history, it'll eliminate 7 billion tons of CO2 emissions over the next 30 years. It's part of President Biden's goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 on the road to eliminating them totally by 2050.

President Biden canceled nearly 6 Billion dollars in student loan debt. 78,000 borrowers who work in public sector jobs, teachers, nurses, social workers, firefighters etc will have their debt totally forgiven. An additional 380,000 public service workers will be informed that they qualify to have their loans forgiven over the next 2 years. The Biden Administration has now forgiven $143.6 Billion in student loan debt for 4 million Americans since the Supreme Court struck down the original student loan forgiveness plan last year.

Under Pressure from the administration and Democrats in Congress Drugmaker AstraZeneca caps the price of its inhalers at $35. AstraZeneca joins rival Boehringer Ingelheim in capping the price of inhalers at $35, the price the Biden Admin capped the price of insulin for seniors. The move comes as the Federal Trade Commission challenges AstraZeneca’s patents, and Senator Bernie Sanders in his role as Democratic chair of the Senate Health Committee investigates drug pricing.

The Department of Justice sued Apple for being an illegal monopoly in smartphones. The DoJ is joined by 16 state attorneys general. The DoJ accuses Apple of illegally stifling competition with how its apps work and seeking to undermining technologies that compete with its own apps.

The EPA passed a rule banning the final type of asbestos still used in the United States. The banning of chrysotile asbestos (known as white asbestos) marks the first time since 1989 the EPA taken action on asbestos, when it passed a partial ban. 40,000 deaths a year in the US are linked to asbestos

President Biden announced $8.5 billion to help build advanced computer chips in America. Currently America only manufactures 10% of the world's chips and none of the most advanced next generation of chips. The deal with Intel will open 4 factories across 4 states (Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico, and Oregon) and create 30,000 new jobs. The Administration hopes that by 2030 America will make 20% of the world's leading-edge chips.

President Biden signed an Executive Order prioritizing research into women's health. The order will direct $200 million into women's health across the government including comprehensive studies of menopause health by the Department of Defense and new outreach by the Indian Health Service to better meet the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native Women. This comes on top of $100 million secured by First Lady Jill Biden from ARPA-H.

Democratic Senators Bob Casey, Tammy Baldwin, Sherrod Brown, and Jacky Rosen (all up for re-election) along with Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Sheldon Whitehouse, introduced the "Shrinkflation Prevention Act" The Bill seeks to stop the practice of companies charging the same amount for products that have been subtly shrunk so consumers pay more for less.

The Department of Transportation will invest $45 million in projects that improve Bicyclist and Pedestrian Connectivity and Safety

The EPA will spend $77 Million to put 180 electric school buses onto the streets of New York City This is part of New York's goal to transition its whole school bus fleet to electric by 2035.

The Senate confirmed President Biden's nomination of Nicole Berner to the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Berner has served as the general counsel for America's largest union, SEIU, since 2017 and worked in their legal department since 2006. On behalf of SEIU she's worked on cases supporting the Affordable Care Act, DACA, and against the Defense of Marriage act and was part of the Fight for 15. Before working at SEIU she was a staff attorney at Planned Parenthood. Berner's name was listed by the liberal group Demand Justice as someone they'd like to see on the Supreme Court. Berner becomes one of just 5 LGBT federal appeals court judges, 3 appointed by Biden. The Senate also confirmed Edward Kiel and Eumi Lee to be district judges in New Jersey and Northern California respectively, bring the number of federal judges appointed by Biden to 188.