#contract engineers

[wolfram-but-art]

small doodle for today

[rengineer]

Sending my condolences

" Thanks, Mister. " Dell’s voice held a note of surprise, his eyes studying his dad's old colleague. He hadn’t expected the man to track him down in the workshop, let alone to send his condolences for his late father — a subject he had barely touched on since he got the news.

He hesitated a moment before asking, " So, er— what was workin’ with my dad like? " The question felt odd on his tongue. Growing up, his dad was often a distant figure, always busy with mercenary work, rarely home for more than a few days at a time. Yet, Dell had been happy every time he returned, excited as any kid to see his father walk through the door, even if the moments were brief. They'd have spent time tinkering with junk they found by the side and went camping together. He'd considered himself luckier than a lot of kids, he'd considered himself lucky for having a 'father figure'. He looked up to him, and wanted to be like him.

Yet as the years passed, his dad’s absences became longer, and their once-easy closeness turned to a comfortable silence, then to something else — distance, he supposed, though he’d never labeled it. But it felt comfortable. Mr. Conagher had been a presence Dell didn’t question, the kind of man who stepped in and out of his life but who left a big enough shadow for Dell to feel like he still had a father. But thinking back now, Dell realized just how little he’d known about him. That was something he’d never thought too deeply about. It had been easier not to.

Their time together had been enough.

" Ahem, wanna come inside and have a drink? "

[jame7t]

This week’s major order in Helldivers 2 has a new mission type, along with the fact that we got mechs last week, I have a question: how are they doing this? Did they just make an awesome game that’s easy to update? You can do that?

[sexhaver]

Did you see that the "not my problem" dipshit is a defence contractor? Thought we could raise our blood pressures on this fine evening

yeah that checks out

[batsplat]

i also think that marc’s single minded focus leads him to ignore people who are significantly less talented than him (no offense). it seems like there are some people who would LIKE to beef with marc, but he simply catalogues their crimes against him (or however he sees it) and uses that as motivation to very tidily beat them. and maybe vale was more ready to “stoop to their level” so to speak — although, like you said, MOST of his feuds were with quite talented riders

(follow up to this) all of them were quite talented riders! but again, what you're talking about can really be explained through competitive necessity. marc's career has quite a few seasons where he's well clear of the field and quite a few seasons where he's not competitive at all, whereas valentino has far more seasons where he's top three of the championship without being completely dominant. that's the thing right, marc's spats aren't with riders he's currently engaged with title fights in. and valentino wasn't doing all that much stooping either - he too has various minor spats of the marc variety... but they've been forgotten about because it just wasn't that serious. all of valentino's major feuds are with riders he got into title fights with

I'm not saying that marc isn't single minded or that he isn't arrogant, because obviously he's both of those things. and yes, he does tend to adopt quite an isolationist approach in that he mostly keeps the grid at a distance. and yes, sometimes riders criticise him and he mostly does not engage. but at the same time, all the spats you're thinking about here just aren't the kind of things that escalated into feuds for valentino either, so you're comparing apples and oranges really. the closest point of comparison we have is valentino's rivalries with biaggi/sete escalating and marc's with dovi not doing so... but like. marc isn't ignoring a string of provocations in that rivalry. there's just more compelling reasons you can point to for that not escalating, like the competitive stakes in the marc/dovi rivalry or indeed dovi's personality. you can also point to valentino being more proactive in the biaggi rivalry - but valentino wasn't stopping at that point. he didn't have some divine insight to know his talent levels were greater than biaggi several years before they began competing on-track. when he triggers that feud, he is for all intents and purposes the underdog in that dynamic

the closest you get to a marco bezzecchi-type situation for valentino is... I mean, honestly even melandri is pushing it because that guy was at least runner up to valentino and theoretically might have come to pose a competitive threat - but notably, that's actually a dynamic where you can say valentino was going by the marc playbook in brushing off questions about the conflict, kinda just ignoring it was happening while going about his business. valentino also wouldn't beef with an alex rins equivalent, not at the 2019!marc stage of his career, unless there were a compelling competitive justification... likewise, valentino isn't notably more proactive in roughing up dani and casey in 2006 than marc is with fabio in 2019 - they go about it a little differently, yes, but broadly it's on the same reasonably muted level of shenanigans. marc has more low level beef with various riders on the grid than valentino did, partly just because he's less well-liked in general, but he's not been put into situations where that was ever going to escalate into a full-blown feud. now, if you put jorge in these scenarios then, yes, I imagine that absolutely could get... unpleasant, and he's got more of an inclination to punch down anyway. but valentino? nope. remember, he generally had a reputation for being an affable rider and getting along with most of his competitors. obviously we focus more on the feuds now because they're so flashy and memorable, but that's a very very long career - and one that's reasonably light on any major beef with anyone who wasn't one of his main career rivals

anyway, look, again I'm not saying you're wrong necessarily in that marc is more inclined to withdraw than valentino is. and he DOES have some alien-based tunnel vision, hence dovi not getting any attention in his self-produced documentary. or that thing he's been doing in pressers this year where he starts reminiscing about fighting the aliens at any conceivable opening while a deeply unaffected pedro acosta sits next to him. like, I do agree with you about what marc's working process typically looks like, I just don't think it's really the reason why he's been slumming it on the feud count. valentino himself tended to brush off most instances of his competitors being critical towards him because he could afford to, and only got into feuds against rivals who were broadly speaking on his level. in valentino's feud with casey, valentino didn't have the option of dismissing casey. there was no stooping involved - because casey was not a less talented rider than valentino. casey's the extreme example, but it's true in general of valentino's rivals. yes, the working process might look different, but broadly speaking marc and valentino were exactly as likely to start feuds with riders they have never been in a title fight with - aka not at all. marc might be more inclined to cut himself off from the rest of the grid than valentino was, but unfortunately he's also had rather an easy task on his hands in that regard. he's not had anyone both willing to beef with him and capable of posing a significant enough competitive threat (when he himself has been competitive). shame, really

[maximilianocartoons]

(Blender/TTTE) Percy Hates AI

[phoebastria-albatrus]

i love employment. I peaked w getting a job i like for the summer and i get to confuse everyone else whenevr i bring it up

[em-exceeds-change-zearu]

ive been on my biannual luigi brainrot for the past little while so here, have this conversation from a few weeks ago

hire me nintendo

[tommygotwrittenoff]

i need them to put eddie in a coma so he can have his own little coma dream realization

[rengineer]

Y'know you probably get this a lot but I'd really like to hear you just ramble about your gunslinger sometime, your voice is very calming.

- Ferret anon ( who's a little too scared to make an actual rp blog sobs )

" Well, if y'let me. " Engineer smiled as he rolled up his sleeve and slipped off his glove, proudly revealing the Gunslinger. " Now, this lil' beauty here, she's got a mighty unique construction, " he started, voice laced with pride. " My grandfather, he'd come up with these— blueprints, and I'd been tempted by the devil of innovation and created — this, a revolution. I didn't even know if it'd work, but I did it anyway. Cut the old one clean off. " There was an unsettling glint in his eyes as he spoke about the gunslinger, his grin almost manic. The decision to amputate his own arm sounded impulsive, even for him; as failure or death hardly fazed him — driven by a god complex bordering on madness. He was grateful it’d been a success, though that old stump ached now and then.

And he'd remembered the scene vividly: blood spilling onto the workshop floor, the slick warmth coating his arm as he desperately tried to stem the flow, tightening the makeshift tourniquet around his forearm while he wrestled with the pain of installing the prosthetic hand. The cloth gritted between his teeth as he fought to endure the excruciating agony that threatened to cloud his mind.

" She's built out of a specialized blend of titanium alloy and carbon steel. Real lightweight, strong as anything — durable enough to take a beatin' and keep on tickin'. " He gestured to each component with pride. " The fingers? Each one's on hinge joints for a full range of motion. Got a ball and socket for the hand so it has three relative rotations between segments, makin' it smooth and agile. Helps with anything from tinkerin' in the shop to throwin' a good punch out in the field. And inside, I’ve got these hydraulic pistons — customized, of course, to add a little extra force when I need it. Ain't just for show; those pistons let me put some real power into every swing. "

Engineer gestured to the delicate wiring along his forearm. " Now, the power’s where it gets fancy. See this? " He tapped a compact generator nestled into the back of his hand. " Runs off a custom lithium cell, wired up to a coil that charges with every move I make. Efficient, right? ”

Engie chuckled, giving the metal a gentle pat. " And, of course, I built in modular slots. Can make adjustments as I go… or turn the next poor fella into soup if he gets too close. "

[t3chborb]

I don't consider Ramattra difficult to draw, just very time consuming due to all the details.

... Excluding his ELBOWS, of all things.

Try extending your own arm and twisting your wrist and then entire arm. How in God's name do those kinds of motions (or in my case, poses) translate to a robot arm without a ball joint at the elbow???? I swear whenever I pose my arms to get a better idea on where the elbow itself points, which side of the hand has the the thumb, etc etc, then translate the information onto him, 99% of the time he ends up with dislocated elbows...

[grogumaximus]

[topnotchquark]

Is Valentino switching his team to Yamaha in the coming years?

Rumours are definitely circulating. Apparently they are slated to make the switch to Yamaha in 2025 and become their main satellite operation with access to factory bikes. Yamaha needs a satellite team after RNF abandoned them for Aprilia and Tech3 abandoned them for KTM. I think Uccio said somewhere that they are trying their best to get a factory bike for Bezz in order to give him a better shot. Which makes sense because Bezz gave up a Pramac seat to be with them.

Unfortunately Yamaha is squeamish about making the switch from an in line engine to a V4 engine. Their argument being that they have used these engines forever and the other teams that use V4 have years of advantage on them. Which again, fair because engineering at the highest level is about how familiar you are with every little last detail and that experience only comes with time. Not likely that Yamaha will make big tech changes before 2027 and that's some time away. Interesting to witness for the VR46 operation because they have been incredibly lucky with a rider like Bezz who brings this massive wave of talent, and Luca who is sharp and great at communicating with engineers. Add to that the fact that Ducati has the most sophisticated simulation tools of any factory team. So you know, even though they were at par with Gresini, they were still able to furnish far better results.

Fingers crossed for their Yamaha years because Fabio Q has spoken extensively about how Yamahas just don't have the engine power. But I suppose the Rossi connect would get them more favour from the factory operation than they get currently. All in all, fingers crossed.

[carrotcouple]

Incredibly awkward when your morally off necromancer vampire housemate confesses their feelings to you by saying they would murder billions just after you've contracted the plague.

Anyway, say hello to Enxo (they/them) and Livie (she/her) from an urban fantasy story that's been living in my head rent free without me actually putting anything down for over a year and a half. I think I thought of them after Halloween 2022. That was a while ago.

[bmpmp3]

genbu ai has been found dead in miami.

[themistyfootprints]

I was finally actually doing so well and now it all threatens to fall apart again