#compute module 4

[doamarierose-honoka]

Our Compute Module 4 isn’t just for industrial applications. Turns out it can also resurrect childhood memories. Jeff Geerling blended sentimentality and innovation by sneaking one inside an old SEGA Game Gear to bring it, and his memories of Christmases past, back to life.

I do so like Jeff’s build video for the extra effort he put into finding the *exact* TV commercials that made us absolutely resolute that we must get a Game Gear for Christmas

Though the Game Gear was often seen as the poor cousin of the Game Boy, it still offered approximately 390 games. Not enough to satiate some modern gamers’ desires, however, so Jeff found a thoroughly 21st-century workaround.

RetroPie to the rescue

Compute Module 4 is running RetroPie inside a salvaged Game Gear handset, giving the user access to as many classic games as the innards of their machine will allow. Jeff explains in his build video that he could have used a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W or a 3A+, which would draw less power but wouldn’t be quite as fast.

Custom modding kit

Jeff found a used, broken Game Gear handset online, and turned to John Maddison’s Zega Mame Boy, a Game Gear modding kit designed for use with Raspberry Pi, to help with the transformation. A smaller, more powerful audio board stepped in to improve the Game Gear’s sound. He also got a new screen and some fresh buttons from Hand Held Legend to disguise the battle scars from hours and hours of use in the handset’s previous life. I know from personal experience that your screen will get scratched if you throw your Game Boy at the wall every time you fail to complete the Bowser’s Castle level in Super Mario Bros.

The Zega Mame Boy PCB slips straight into the Game Gear’s shell

With more time, Jeff would have addressed the battery life issue and swapped out the device’s original battery for something a bit punchier.

JEFF YOUR FINGERS

Anyone got a time machine?

Using Raspberry Pi to bridge the gap between past and present is one of our favourite things. If 2003-me had known that 2024-me could use my hot pink Game Boy Mini to play any retro game I wanted, I would’ve kept hold of it. Alas, off to eBay I go to source another one.

[bibleofficial]

i just think it’s funny that raspberry pi seems to plan their releases around that of apple’s

[bortalis]

My concepts for the development progress of an Iterators Puppet

-my ideas below

-Feasibility Study  

[1]: First autonomous control module, any instruction to be given must be done manually through physical means (the keys), outputs were shown through the screen. A very primitive system, however, did its job proving the greater machine concept was achievable. While it does look like a lens above the monitor, this was a simple status gauge for benchmarking.

-Prototyping and Development  

[2]: Now with the capability to wirelessly and audibly communicate to receive instructions and inputs. The system was no longer directly integrated into the facility, and resided on the first instance of an iterator's arm. This was considered a feat due to the complications with isolating the control module from the rest of the iterators components, while keeping processing power. A permanent connection/umbilical was needed to sustain life and function though. 

To “talk” back, they were crafted with multidimensional projectors, the mobile arm allowing the angles and variance for this projection. Only later into development were advanced speakers installed for optimized understanding, however the extra computing power required to synthesize proper speech was found to strain the contained module, so this function had rare use in the end.

[3]: At this point there was a change in perspective in the project. What once were machines to simply compute and simulate, were now planned to be the home, caregiver, and providers. The further the project came to fruition the more religious importance was placed upon these “random gods”. From this stance not only did the puppets have to manage and control their facilities, they had to communicate with the people and priests. To represent benevolent beings who will bring their end and salvation. In this process iterators began to take a more humanoid shape, to better reflect their parents. Development was focused on compacting the puppet closer to the size of an ancient for this purpose. This stage was the first to incorporate a cloak/clothing into their design considerations, to further akin themselves in looks. The cloak would hide the iterators' engineered bodies and give a body to their silhouette. 

[4]: As bioengineering and mechanics were rapidly progressing due to the void fluid revolution, this allowed plenty of margin for developing the outer design of the iterator puppets. This prototype was the first to incorporate limbs for the purpose of body language. This was another step in the drive to give a body to their random gods.

-Final Iterations

[5]: First generation iterators had the final redesign of puppet bodies. Far different from their first designs, they are fully humanoid. Their bodies are shaped to be organic and as full of life as they could at the time. Their center of sapience has fully settled within their body, as can be seen as their unconscious use of limbs without the direct intention for communication. This can also see how they manage their work, where many of the functions (which can be done with just an internal request) are operated through physical gestures of their limbs. Their puppet chambers also allow for full comprehensive projection, where many of their working monitors are displayed. It is seen how iterators prefer to utilize their traversal arm to transfer between the current working projection window.

These designs were hardy and nearly self-sufficient, only requiring minimal power from their umbilical to charge. (However was still limited in the terms of internal power production, for this first generation extensive batteries sufficed)

[6]: Later generation not only incorporated advanced bioengineering internally, but externally. While still a hardened shell, their body plates have been incorporated into the organics of the puppet, maintaining the protective requirements while barely leaving a trace of hinges or plates. This “soft” skin had drawbacks, such as reduced durability to the first generations, this was offset by the greatly enhanced repair speeds and capability this type of skin allowed.

Internal power generation was implemented into these late generation models. If the case arose, the Puppet could be disconnected from their umbilical and still be conscious from an undefined period of time. (However this would limit the operating capacity of the puppet when running self sufficiently) This greatly eased maintenance works, as the Puppet could still run the greater facility wirelessly while work was done on the chamber, arm or whatever as needed.

[mayra-quijotescx]

no progress on apps yet today, but i've done 15 modules on a training portal that was developed with the express goal of filling a million vacant cybersecurity positions over the next decade so uh

does that count as work on finding work

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Hey Bunnings what the fuck am I looking at and why is a hardware store selling it for $28,000. I could build a teeny tiny toolshed and put an office in it for like 2 grand. 4 grand if this many windows are truly necessary. I'm not gonna deny that "spaceship module from post-disaster scifi computer game" is a cool look but is there really a market for these things. Most people who would be able to get something like this presumably already have access to a house.

[tmbgareok]

I have a very esoteric question for JF - I remember hearing you did the artwork or photography for the Miscellaneous T album cover. Were the letters cut out of foam? Using a heated wire cutter? The blocky flintstone-ey letters in an interesting hallway is still very cool. Thank you in advance for answering if you answer and thanks for always being great.

The cover of Miscellaneous T

First I designed the typeface on graph paper (which was actually a bigger project than the cover). This was the very end of the pre-computer era, and the word "font" went from being a shibboleth of design people to being common parlance. While computers were shaking up the world of graphic design the limitations were immediate. While the general public marveled at the 25 typefaces available, designers were sorely missing the other 2000.

(At this time I imported my very crude work into a computer-based font design program, and that file named Conant was even uploaded on to a free font site. I have no notion of how long it played out there or if it was ever used elsewhere, but I like to think there is a restaurant menu somewhere using Conant.)

The idea of my design was drawn from the hand lettering of artist Ben Shahn (although I did not have a lot of direct source material!) The big features of this kind of design is the squared-off letter shapes and the modulating upper and lower case forms. His letter changes from poster to poster but in general it looks like this...

I was also thinking about the woodcut letter shapes on the cover of Edward Albees famous paperback books (a book that was everywhere) I suspect the design was also Ben Shahn-influenced.

So regarding the cover of Misc. T-

The letters on the cover were made with an X-Acto knife, 1/4" foam-core, tape, Elmers glue, paper and acrylic paint. They are not solid at all. I made them very quickly, and in a fashion that I had done many other projects.

I "blew up" the typeface just by eyeballing the points on the graph paper to the much larger grid I drew on the foam core. I cut out the letters, then cut the pieces that created the depth, and taped them into place on the inside of the letter form. (This next part I am have no memory of but I am pretty sure this is how I did it) Once the letters were complete I took very light paper (like a rice paper or old fashioned Xerox paper) dipped in slightly diluted Elmers glue and draped it over the edges of all the letters to hide the seams. I suspect I then lightly painted them with white paint just to even it all out.

Then I placed them in the hallway of my apartment. To trick the eye for a moment, I actually shot it from above so you see the letter shapes before you place the forms in my dilapidated hallway. Below is un-flipped image.

And here's me and John holding the letters...

[cheriladycl01]

Paparazzi - Lando Norris x UniStudent! Reader

Plot: you are a university student in the UK, and the Paparazzi manage to find out where you go and stalk you due to rumors surfacing about.

It was a pretty shit day at university for you, you were a third year law student who had just come back from an amazing placement with Mercedes as part of their legal counsel.

You'd had so much fun and had worked really closely with Lewis and George. It also was the first year that you were able to travel from the last half of one season, to the 3/4 of the next season.

He was a driver for McLaren, his job and you being a student meant that you guys didn't see each other as much as you'd like.

You had been dating for the good part of 4 years now having met in secondary school and stayed as friends even when he left the school. When you started on your A-levels and he was progressing in his driving career he asked you to be his girlfriend.

Now he was in Formula One and you were about to be graduating university. It had however been difficult, the transition of being with Lando pretty much everyday, and now not seeing him was killing you.

It had taken a tole on you, you had dark circles under your eyes, your nose was red from the cold. Your class hadn't been great either and tears were starting to brim your eyes. You just wanted to get home and cry it out in private.

Lando: Hey Babe, its Thursday so media day today and McLaren are busy! Call me later, love you lots!

The text made more tears brim in your eyes until you heard the snap of a camera. Next you saw the flash.

Your eyes dart up seeing the 5 or 6 people with cameras behind you, following you. You pick up your pace, going towards your specific building on campus where you could hide out with your personal tutor until they left you alone.

You walk into the building into a flurry of students walking around the building pulling the hood of Lando's hoodie up. You make your way to a back stairwell that was quieter than the main one and made your way up the 5 flights of stairs to where your personal tutors room was.

"Michael?" you ask entering the room, nobody was there so you sat on the small little sofa he had at the side of his office. You pull the work bench closer to you, placing your laptop and book down before getting on with some work for your Intellectual Property Module.

Minutes later Michael comes in, a shocked look on his face as he observes you.

"Y/N what are you doing here?" he asks walking past you and taking a seat at his desk, sipping from the takeaway coffee he had just brought.

"I had Paps come onto campus again. And i've had a bit of a shit day" you mumble looking at the email from Lewis asking you to do some research for him if you had any free time.

"Well, you know my door is always open for you"

"That's why i let myself in" you grin at him, already feeling better. He spoke to you for about an hour, while he was doing his own research and marking behind his computer.

"I think its safe to say they've left now" he admits engrossed in something on his computer.

"How'd you know?"

"There's articles already up, some of these headlines. Oh lord they are ridiculous" Michael admits scrolling down on his mouse wheel looking further.

"Huh?" you ask before looking online under your name.

Lando Norris Girlfriend Y/N Y/L/N, Seen Crying On University Campus After Breakup Report Y/N Y/L/N Seen On Campus Crying Is There Tension Between Lando Norris and Y/N Y/L/N On Her First Absent Race Of The Season Lando Norris Cheats On Girlfriend - Her Reaction Is Heartbreaking!

"I'm just going to go home. I don't have the energy to read any of these. Thank you for letting me stay" you admit, packing up your bag and nodding in a goodbye to your personal tutor.

As you exit the building and make your way to the carpark where your Mercedes-AMG SL 63 sat, courtesy of your time at Mercedes for the last year. You now still work for them, but from the Brackley and part-time around your degree.

You get in and let out a long sigh, you pull away getting onto the road driving back to yours and Lando's apartment which was about a 30 minute drive away.

Lando started to call you, the ringtone blaring through the car speakers that your phone was connected to. You hit accept on the screen, your eyes only momentarily wavering from the road.

"Y/N baby, what's up. The articles and the photos of you! You look so sad, what's going on?" he immediately starts grilling you like you'd expected him to when he would eventually see the articles.

"Sorry, I'm in the car right now! I just had a shitty say at uni and i really fucking miss you" you breathe out happy to finally admit it. It was the end of October now and you'd been back at university for a month.

"I know baby, you still planning to come out for the last race, in Abu Dhabi?" he offers, it sounds like he's busy and like he's walking around the McLaren garage. He did say it was media day...

"Erm, ill let you go. Its like midnight there and you have a big day with practice tomorrow" you say, he starts to stay something but you interrupt before he can.

"I love you, goodnight" you say to prompt him.

"Goodnight, ill see you soon" he sighs, he also sounded tired just like you.

You drove the rest of the way home, pulling up in the underground carpark and just sitting there for a few minutes taking in some breaths.

You eventually get out the car and head into yours and Lando's apartment. The apartment was always clean because either you were here or your parents were kind enough to house sit while you and Lando were away.

You did your normal routine for when Lando wasn't here, which was go to the gym, go back and shower, cook food eat food and go to sleep.

You never really had any motivation for anything when he wasn't around.

The next day was a free day from uni, you went to the Mercedes team, everyone could tell that something was up with you. They chose not to say anything and just let you get through your shift. You'd had a cute Good morning text from Lando, asking if you'd slept well and if you'd eaten.

You'd replied, saying yes to both and that you were just catching up on his free practices and that he had really good times, as you'd expected.

But part of you just longed for him to come home.

[bump1nthen1ght]

A Very Monstrous Kinktober: Day 4 (Prostitution)

Kink: Prostitution

Pairing: Male!Android x GN!Reader

Other Kinks: Deepthroating, Cum Swallowing

Warnings: N/A

Word Count: 1047 words

Kinktober Masterlist

"Wow, it's so soft." Axel half-whispers, warm digits massaging your ass cheeks. His modulated voice is full of awe, so enraptured by the feel of flesh and muscle. Since coming to this planet where 90% of the populace are androids, cybers or other kinds of techno-life, this was a reaction you were getting used to.

Especially when it comes to your clients.

"You like?" You purr, wiggling your hops in his face. The audible whirr of his cooling fans kicking on makes you giggle.

"Y-yeah, I do." Axel mumbles, still in awe of the jiggling flesh. He gives your ass a timid slap, cooing at the recoil.

Axel was shaping up to be one of your favorite clients. He'd walked into his appointment, face flushed blue with coolant and stuttering out an introduction. He had muttered out that it was his first time with an organic, which you had already assumed but pretended to be shocked anyway. Most of your customers requested you because of the novelty of your fleshy body; you'd grown used to several minutes of petting and observation before they eventually asked you to spread open.

But Axel had been different. He had asked your name, asked if the way he touched you was okay. Even the way he fondled you felt different. It wasn't detached fascination, it was a desperate awe. He'd whispered sweet things about your body, admired your specific stretch marks, your dimples, and your skin's imperfections.

You think you'll give him your card after this session. It’s reserved for your most well-behaved, respectful clients.

But for now you have a job to do, and you want to show Axel all the things your fleshy body can do.

You flip around, pulling Axel into a hug. He squeaks, not unlike an old computer mouse, but quickly sinks into your embrace. He rubs his face into your warm skin, moaning at the sensation. Just a kiss to the cheek has him shuddering with a moan.

"Let me make you feel good, baby." You whisper in his audial port, Axel responding with an eager nod. His body readily complies as you push him back on the bed, slotting in between his legs. The sleek wiring pulses green and blue in between his segmented joins, flaring as you trace your fingers down them. It's adorable.

His modesty player is buzzing, whirring machinery underneath betraying how eager he is, if you couldn't already tell from his shaky whines and stuttered words.

"W-what are you-" Axel whispers, caught in a moan when you press another kiss to the plate, his hips jerking upwards. "Ooh, do that again, please."

"I can do you one better, handsome." Your hand caresses the seam of his plate and Axel is quick to let it pop open, sliding to reveal a pulsing phallus. It drips with a neon green lubricant, more like a vibrator in shape than a human penis. It also has several bumpy nodes, which only excites you for later.

Wasting no time, you lick up his shaft, paying special attention to those nodes, wondering how sensitive they are. Axel throws his head back with a breathless whine.

"O-oh, stars. That feels good." His voice catches with another moan as your hand wraps around the base of his shaft and squeezes. More neon lubricant gushes out of the slit at the top, which you lap up eagerly.

Yum, lemon-lime flavored.

You suck at the eager slit some more, Axels flailing hands grasping at your shoulder and neck, gently pulling your mouth closer, chasing tbe high.

"Your mouth...it's incredible!" Axel yelps. His whimpering voice sends a shiver down your spine.

You're definitely giving him your card after this.

"Your tongue, your lips, I've never felt anything like it. It's amazing."

"Hmm, and how about this?"

Before Axel can even mutter a "Huh?" you have him half-down your throat, cheeks sucked in. His voice processor glitches as he groans, those eager digits digging into your skin. "Oh stars!" He shouts as your tongue lathers around the shaft, slowly moving your head up and down.

He's a little too thick at the base for you to properly deep throat him, but you don't need to. You can see his wires pulsing in your peripheral, hear his pants and moans, and can taste the excess lubricant bubbling to the top. Axel grows bold enough to hold onto your cheek and fuck into your louth, although quite gently.

"I think-" Axel stutters, hips still humping into your throat, "I think I'm close."

You humm, the buzz around his shaft making his thrusts falter. Your lips pop off the top of his member for a second, quickly replaced by your hand. Licking excess fluid off your lips, you look Axel right in the eye.

"Oh yeah? Where do you want to come? Down my throat?" Axel nods, voice chip struggling to form words amidst his groans. It makes you smirk, giving one long lick up his phallus before deep throating him again. You set a more moderate pace, urging him to climax.

"Oh stars, ohh-" Axel's voice, even glitchy, is melodic. He sound so sweet, coming undone below you. "S-shit!" His chip distorts the audio, wires pulsing a bright flash as hot streams of lubricant shoot down your throat. It's a little sour, but also quite sweet.

You slowly let Axel out of your mouth, savoring the flavor of his phallus as you do. The running of his cooling fans reminds you of a kitchen vent, his phallus slowly sinking back into his modesty place for a quick recharge.

You climb up Axel's body, giving him gentle kisses as you do. He readily nuzzles into your skin, despite his systems already warning that he might overheat.

"That was....fantastic" Axel whispers.

The sheer reverence in his voice makes you giggle, pecking again at his jaw.

"Well, I'm not sure how long it will take to recharge but..." You run a finger up his wiring, batting your eyelashes. "We still have another hour left in our session. If you'd like to see some of the other things I can do."

Despite the warnings in his processor, despite the way his modesty plate slowly beeps as he lets it open again, Axel is eager.

"Yes please."

[mechanical-creature]

Another 2022-present portable computer thing. This is a 1991 Corvallis Microtechnologies PC5-L. It's a ruggedized, waterproof handheld MS-DOS computer meant for industrial applications. It ran on Ni-Cd batteries and they died so now it runs on AA's I got two of them for $50 on eBay during one of those months when i impulse buy obscure electronics as a form of escapism This thing is an absolute brick. You could murder someone by hitting them on the head with this, and it would work fine afterwards. Here's pictures of its organs for anyone curious:

That thick red wire around the screen PCB is a heater. Yep there's a setting to heat up the LCD so it doesn't get sluggish or shatter when you decide to leave it in the freezer. The thing runs on a little system-on-chip thing, which is interesting to see coming from the early 90's. Iirc the datasheet says it's capable of analog video out as well as driving the LCD, but I haven't poked around enough to enable it. Might be cool to hook it up to a TV. I did, however, open those 512k storage modules and I saw some unpopulated footprints on the boards. So I ordered some of the same chips, and at some point I'mma try soldering them on and see if it recognizes the extra space. They came with two voltmeter modules, which I couldn't get to work, so I took one of the casings and made it into a USB and WiFi adapter using an ESP32 running Zimodem, since this thing has RS232 ports on the top. I also made my own charging adapter, since they didn't come with one. I see that internal PCMCIA slot, and I tried putting a CF card adapter in, and tried installing the drivers, but it didn't work. I'm not good at DOS tbh, and I know nothing of what this slot is for. I might come back to it later. I did all of this in 2022-23 and haven't messed with it since. Except to use it to talk to my Kaypro 4 '84:

More on that one later. I love portable computers !!!!!

[hot-claws-420]

Finally found tiem 2 finish my mods 2 SLAG KITTY. didnt work on them 4 the last day or so cause... u know...

the prototype @lancerdelta sent fit in fine. pulled out my naildriver and turned the new blade in2 an integrated weapon we'll see how well it works. had to scale it down to fit it.

i also... found Sunny's casket. i knew every inch of SLAG KITTY b4 and HA had always told me it was just... mor computer systems for a comp/con that i shouldnt touch. gott ordered 2 shut my mouth when i tried to ask mor.

how many tiems have my hands brushed past it in a repair?

i touched it for the first time... it gave me butterflies 2 do that. is that how she feels listneing 2 my heartbeat all the tiem? the thought of that givs me butterflies now 2...

anyway, Sunny has an eject module now. just in case. she's gone WAY 2 fuckin long without 1.

[pinkthrone445]

hii hun, i was hoping to request a melissa x reader (mels wife) and i know you’ve written quite a few of these lately but they hit me in a way because i struggle with it.

anyways.. where the reader is dyslexic and is having trouble trying to get the lesson plan together for one of the modules for english. mel starts to notice her wife struggling and starts helping.

-Do you know your ABC's?-

Pairing:Melissa Schemmenti x Reader

Gender:pure fluff and soft Melissa

Warnings:talk about dyslexia

Summary:When work stresses you out, your wife is there to help.

Hello darling, I hope you like this, thanks for the request! I hope you are handling better now, rough days are normal and it's okay not to be okay sometimes, but you got this! You're capable and strong and there's nothing to be ashame of, never doubt that.

This was already the third time in the last hour that Mel had stopped by the dining room to check on you. Your back was hunched over looking at the computer, which had a low glow because your eyes were tired, your glasses were half crooked, three cups of coffee around you and a half-full water bottle in front of you, your legs were crossed over each other, a blanket over your shoulders that Mel had put there, your had a big frown, your hair a little disheveled from how many times that you had run your hands over your head in a nervous tic, your leg bounced several times when you changed positions, causing the wood to rattle and the plastic of the couch to squeak, on top of all that, your eyes were red from having been in front of the computer for so long.

Mel knew that when you were stressed you didn't want to be interrupted, that's why every time she went to check on you, she helped you without interrupting you. Mel would leave the water bottle in front of you without saying anything because she knew that if you saw it often you would drink more water. When she saw that your body was shivering, she put a blanket over your shoulders without uttering a single word, she also refilled your coffee cup and brought you something to eat.

Mel was very patient with you, especially when you had to make your study plans, but when you had already been in the same position for more than 4 hours, it was time to interfere.

-"Hon?"-Your wife spoke softly trying to get your attention but only earned a hum from you-"Let's go to bed, it's late..."-Mel sat next to you trying to close your computer but you wouldn't let her

-"I can't, I don't have many days left to do my study plan and Ava told me that she needs them..."-You spoke without taking your eyes off your computer

-"Love, you've been in front of that computer for hours, if you haven't made more progress, it will be hard for you to do it now with how tired you are. Let's go to bed and tomorrow, since we don't work, I'll help you put it together...please" - Your wife begged and you sighed nodding, if you continued in front of that computer, you would go blind. You carefully closed the computer and followed your wife into the room, who had held your hand to make sure you didn't run away.

When the two of you went to bed, the redhead hugged you carefully and gently scratched your head

-"I know it stresses you out putting together the class plan and nerves make your dyslexia worse and make you feel bad. But today you've been more stressed than usual. What's going on?" - she whispered and kissed your forehead

-"The thing is that I'm used to teaching second graders but now that I have to cover some classes in kindergarten and teach them the alphabet and things like that, it stresses me that they get confused when writing the letters and because of my dyslexia I don't always notice the mistakes... How am I supposed to teach them well if even when I write I get confused?"-You whispered stressed and your wife hugged you tighter to her body

-"Tomorrow we'll figure it out together, okey?"-She whispered and you nodded and then slept with her.

The next day, your wife was no longer in bed when you woke up and the house smelled of freshly baked cookies and coffee, plus soft music was playing from the kitchen. You carefully went downstairs and found your wife muttering a few things to the beat of a song, so concentrated that she didn't notice you were there

-"Good morning my love"-You smiled and kissed her shoulder

-"Hello sweetie, I didn't realize you had come down... Breakfast is ready and I think I have a great idea to help you with the kids... I was looking at your study plan and the things you need to teach them and I remembered how much the lyrics of some songs help you so you don't confuse the words so much... Do you want me to tell you my idea while you have breakfast?"-The redhead asked excitedly and you nodded sitting on the counter listening attentively as you ate breakfast.

For the next day, you and Mel had put together your study plan and several of your classes and that gave youI a lot of peace and confidence, not only you had classes ready, but also because your wife had controlled them and they didn't have mistakes.

When all the students arrived, you were very excited to show them what you two had prepared, when you opened your computer there was a little note from your wife, you would recognize her handwriting anywhere

"Today you will do great, I trust you and I know what an amazing teacher you are. I love seeing you worried to be a better teacher for them and that already makes you perfect. love you more every day"

You smiled as you read the note with a new wave of confidence in yourself. You carefully caught the children's attention, once they all looked at you you started to introduce your class

-"Well kids, today we're going to have a very special class, as we've all been having trouble differentiating some alphabet letters, we're going to sing a song. And we have a special guest to help us... The tree times in a row champion on the Reading Marathon, please give it up to the most beautiful woman, big welcome and applauses please, to one of the best third-grade teachers, and my beautiful wife, Melissa Schemmenti!"-You shouted introducing your wife as if it were a boxing match, your wife understood you perfectly and came in fist-pumping in the air like a boxer which made the children scream with more excitement. Your wife smiled as she stood next to you and greeted the children almost as excited as they were.

After finding the right catchy music and going over the lyrics you and Mel had done one more time, you started singing the alphabet paying special attention to some letters that could be more difficult than others. The song, although it had very few rhymes, was a good help for the children, while they were singing the lyrics, you were writing them on the board so that the children understood and it would stay more engraved on them

-"The letter B(b), to write the word bright, looks like it's a woman with a big belly with her tiny baby hidden inside. To write it we have to pay attention, it starts from the ceiling and falls to the floor, jumps to the front and goes back to the pole." - You and your wife sang while the kids payed attention, writing the letters on their papers

-"The letter d, to write the word drink, looks like a dinosaur with loooong neck and a big butt, that dumps everywhere with a lot of smell"-When you said that, the children laughed, anything that was disgusting was funny to them-"To write it, start from the ceiling, fall to the floor, jump backwards, and go back to the beginning"-Your wife continued to sing amidst the laughter of the children

-"The letter p, to write the word pony, looks like pasta rolling on her own. To write it pay attention, start from the floor and jump down one step, then go back to the beginning and make it a big head!"-You screamed making the dancing kids excited as they wrote their letters

-"One more tricky letter, before we forget about them, let's see how we can write the letter q, to write the word queen..."-Your wife pointed at you as she said the word queen and you laughed-"looks like the fluffy tip from a q-tip. Open big your eyes, and get your pencil ready, Start from the ground and work your way back down, then go back to the beginning and bend backwards until you find the start line again"-Once ypu finished singing the alphabet, the children asked you to sing it once more together which you did, you were surprised to see how quickly they had memorized it and how well they were differentiating the letters.

While the children were singing and laughing, you held your wife's hand smiling as you watched her sing, murmuring a silent thank you. Your wife could be harsh or closed off about some things, but when she showed love to you or the children, she certainly didn't hold back in the slightest.

[boinkingbattlemechs]

Cyclops

The Cyclops began production in 2710 as an assault BattleMech and headquarters unit for Star League Defense Force field commanders. A decent mix of weapons provided the Cyclops with both long- and short-range firepower and a sizable engine to keep up with mobile operations. The most important feature of the 'Mech though was its advanced electronics, especially the Tacticon B-2000 Battle Computer, which allows the pilot to effectively command up to brigade-sized units. Other aspects of the 'Mech are less than stellar however. The diverse array of weapons means the 'Mech does suffer somewhat from ammunition issues while meager armoring provides less protection than that found on similar machines, though it is enough to stave off attackers until reinforcements arrive. In particular the armoring on the head section, while as heavily protected as allowed by the internal structure, leaves the pilot and the sophisticated command and control equipment more vulnerable than usual. When operating as the command vehicle at regimental and higher echelons with an ample support apparatus and guarded by a headquarters lance, these deficiencies are far less noticeable and the Cyclops could be kept in reserve until employed to turn the tide of battle or exploit a weakness.

Unfortunately the Cyclops did not fare so well with the onset of the Amaris Civil War when the Rim Worlds Republic Military destroyed its primary factory on Caph in 2774. Spare parts for the machine quickly began to dry up, until by the end of the Succession Wars less than ten percent still had a working B-2000 computer. Lacking the critical part of being a command vehicle many Cyclopses were pressed into an assault role. Acting as the bodyguard or decoy for the real commanding officer, they proved to be swift if mediocre combat machines. As most enemies know about the vulnerable head and automatically target it in combat, many Cyclops pilots also began adding false head protectors to defend against impacts. A study by the NAIS after the Fourth Succession War would eventually find that these caused more harm than good by restricting vision and increasing shrapnel, ending the practice altogether.

The rediscovery of the Helm Memory Core kick-started a number of attempts to replicate the B-2000 computer, however there were no successful attempts prior to the Clan Invasion. Also, the invention of the C3 computer with its emphasis on small-scale networking, and a switch in doctrine to using DropShips as command posts, saw the Cyclops' command role decline. However Grumium Creations was eventually able to restart production of new variants of the 'Mech, and where it has participated a Cyclops with a working B-2000 has had noticeable effects. For this reason Cyclops 'Mechs with a working battle computer were reserved for high-ranking officers.

The Cyclops carries an arsenal built to handle almost any situation. For long-range combat and indirect fire, the 'Mech carries a Delta Dart LRM-10 missile launcher in the left torso along with one ton of reloads. For closer ranges the 'Mech has a variety of weapons. A Zeus-36, Mark III Autocannon/20 mounted in the right torso keeps all but the heaviest 'Mechs at a respectable distance and is fed by four tons of ammo split between the side torsos. The autocannon is backed up by two Diverse Optics Type 20 medium lasers, one in either arm, and a Hovertec Quad SRM-4 with one ton of reloads in the center torso.

The centerpiece of the Cyclops is its sophisticated holographic battle computer, the Tacticon B-2000. When combined with the Olmstead 840 tight beam comm suite with SatNav module, the Cyclops can effectively command a brigade across the surface of an entire world. Unfortunately the Cyclops is poorly protected relative to other assault 'Mechs with only ten tons of armor, and while its normal load of twelve heat sinks allows it to stay cool in most cases, they can prove to be inadequate in especially heavy situations.

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Reviews for Week 20, 2025

Computational complexity as a potential limitation on brain–behaviour mapping. Ozkirli, A., Herzog, M. H., & Jastrzębowska, M. A. (2025). European Journal of Neuroscience, 61(1).

The sensory valuation account of aesthetic experience. Nadal, M., & Skov, M. (2024). Nature Reviews Psychology, 4(1), 49–63.

How control modulates pain. Habermann, M., Strube, A., & Büchel, C. (2025). Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 29(1), 60–72.

Leveraging cognitive neuroscience for making and breaking real-world habits. Buabang, E. K., Donegan, K. R., Rafei, P., & Gillan, C. M. (2025). Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 29(1), 41–59.

[variouspolltournaments]

Anti-Propaganda is not allowed. Please only give reasons to vote for something and not give reasons to vote against something.

Propaganda

Ichigo/Orihime/Ishida/Chad: In the series, they are the main characters, and they are always together. They are the humans who are constantly dealing with monsters from other worlds, and it’s usually just the 4 of them who deal with this stuff. They care about each other so much. They have experienced so much trauma together that has only strengthened their bond.

David Bowman/Frank Poole/HAL 9000/Monolith: bowman poole and hal spend 18 months in a tiny spaceship hab module together and then a thousand years with the monolith. they have the same daily routine and schedule time to spend together, and they are so comfortable with each other they pick up on each other's subtlest tells, and understand what the others think or if something is wrong without even speaking

they're not the warmest or most expressive people (i mean, one is a computer who doesn't have a face), their love is by showing each other respect, empathy, kindness and understanding

also they merge into one entity inside the monolith

[adafruit]

A Compact Pi Compute Module Backpack 🍓🥧📸🎒

We used to stock a PiCam Module

that would plug into a Pi CM4 or CM5 - recently we went to restock it, but the vendor hasn't replied to our emails for many months. So, it could be a good time for us to design something that works similarly but with more capabilities. So we tasked Timon

with designing something for us - we just said, "Make the best thing ya can," and he delivered! Check this board out that plugs onto the compute module and provides many great accessories: USB connection for bootloading/USB gadget, USB 3.0 host type A for CM5, micro HDMI, micro SD card for data storage on 'Lite modules, camera connection, and mount, two DSI connectors, fan connect, Stemma QT / Qwiic connection, and RTC battery. There's one shutdown button for CM5 and two GPIO buttons plus one LED. Timon's gonna try to add an EYESPI connector for our next rendering so we can get some I2C/SPI/PWM outputs easily. What do you think? We wanted to keep it compact and not too pricey (aiming for <$30 cost. We'll see if we can get it there) but were able to craft fairly complex projects in a small space.

[lazeecomet]

It only goes forward

I love explaining stuff to the process engineers

The setup: we are checking the individual stations in this wafer processing module. We want to control the wafer so we only check one station at a time.

The catch: the wafer under normal operations will go from station 1 to 4 in sequence without skipping any

The solution: we stop the program and I manually get the wafer out with the teach pendant

PE: I want to test station one then have you manually pull the wafer out

Me: yeah I can do that

We do that

PE: I am going to test station 2

The wafer goes from station 1 to 2

PE: now bring the wafer back to 1 and get it out

Me: ok, just to confirm, I am going to index the wafer 270 deg to back to station 1

PE: NO! Go -90 deg

Me: I can't. It only goes forward. I can index it 90 three times without touching 3 and 4, or just send it 270. But there is no negative motion

PE: I've seen programs before that have done that. Other engineers have told me it's possible

Me: I could send a direct move relative command but I don't know how many motor steps that is

PE: look! There is a fast index back program on the main computer. Use that

Me: no that's not....

PE has already pushed the button

Me:...backwards.

The wafer has indexed forwards. I scroll the screen to reveal the program name is actually "fast index backup"

Me: that's a backup of the fast index program. The indexer does not go backwards. It only goes forward. Also *gives laundry list of instructions to PE on how to get the now useless wafer out since they still have not given up control of the UI*

PE mulls it over for a bit

PE: ok. Let's do this again. Right now we will Index 270. But I will talk to software about getting this to index backwards

Me: yeah. I can do that. Good luck with that. We can only index it forward