#main storage of a computer system

[heron-knight]

long-distance mech pilots don’t need to worry quite so much about traveling light. when you’re walking around in several tons of metal, especially one built to wander, you aren’t quite to the point of needing to choose which of two keepsakes you have room in your bag for— there’s plenty of space for both.

Things are different for interstellar knights.

You see, whether wandering alone or setting off on some quest for their lord, a knight’s only home is their armor. Anything they bring with them, they must carry within that armor, even through battles— and as such, every gram and every cubic centimeter can make the difference between life and death, and every calorie chosen to replace a keepsake can make the difference between survival and starvation. As such, a knight’s inventory is heavily optimized— and so is their armor itself. What matters more, the heating system or the EVA boosters? The extra fuel storage or the emergency release mechanisms? Pick one, and you’ll have no room for the other unless you can cut corners somewhere else. Every single element of a knight’s armor is there because they made the conscious decision to put it there. Every weapon they’ve attached to their shell had to replace some traditional aspect of a life support system. Every inch of their shells are packed full of every system that can fit until it’s tight against the pilot’s skin to leave them bruised whenever they exit their shell.

it doesn’t take long for them to realize which superfluous components are the weakest link.

They start small, at first— often as simple as a haircut to help a tighter helmet fit better. Some try to lose weight, but quickly regret it when they find themselves near starvation on some distant moon. The ones that survive past their first year are the ones that are willing to take things a bit further— the toes on both feet, to make room for a slight jump booster. One of their ribs, perhaps— replaced with a battery that connects to the armor through a cable that winds around bones and muscles. It’s only a matter of time before they do something about those bones and muscles too.

those who have only heard the stories will say that a knight’s armor is their home. Those who have met one, seen them exit their armor and seen just how little is left of the body inside— they will say that a knight’s armor is a part of their body. Integrated into them until they cannot survive without it. Both are wrong. Even some knights cannot pin down the true answer— what they really feel as they connect their armor to the components of it that they have placed inside of them. The best ones do, though. They know it well.

A knight’s armor is not a part of their body. Their body is a part of their armor— their home, to be renovated and optimized as they see fit. To be replaced, improved, amputated and eviscerated so that it can be remade into the glorious works of art that the heroes of the galaxy become as they charge into battle and become a story worth remembering.

As the armor learns to reach into your veins, pulling oxygen from the carbon dioxide you exhale and weaving it back into your blood, the space once taken up by inefficient organic lungs becomes the home of the heating system, warming you from within no matter what part of the void between stars you find yourself in. As it recycles amino acids into proteins again and infuses them back into what tissues remain, you’re free to remove your old digestive organs and find a home for your armor’s main computer, kept safe at the center of your shell. Many knights choose to put their own organic brain down there next to it, incidentally making room for more optical systems in their skulls.

Your armor is no longer simply “a part of you” and you are no longer simply “a part of it.” It is you. You are it. Your bones, its power cells, your organs its systems. You are its brain and its CPU in equal measure and its beautiful exterior plates, painted with the symbols of the lord you serve or simply the cause you stand for, will inspire others to take up arms themselves and let themselves become part of it.

your body, your home, your masterpiece

[suppermariobroth]

A patent was filed by Nintendo in 2011 for the car-based board movement used in Mario Party 9, titled "Game device, game method, non-transitory storage medium encoded with computer readable program for controlling game device, and game system, allowing for fun in tactics and enhanced zest of game" [emphasis added to indicate the main theme covered by the patent].

The patent documentation featured "generic" versions of four Mario Party 9 characters in its illustrations. The short and tall figures with round noses and hats most likely represent Mario and Luigi, while the princess character clearly represents Peach or Daisy.

This leaves the rabbit-ear hat character, whose simplistic face could be a stand-in for Toad, who is playable in that game. While the character most resembling this one from the Mario series would be Nabbit, Nabbit did not yet exist at the time the patent was filed.

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[pennycat83]

Take Me Home

Curly (post crash) x reader

This got 1,103 on AO3 so I decided to share it here as well. I'mma also warn for described graphic imagery and the usual Mouthwashing suffering

5 months, almost 26 days since your last job. Your legs slumped limp against the control panel, arms folded lazily against your stomach as you dozed. Your ship was far from desirable, nothing more than a scrap ship you used to get what little change you could gather from abandoned ships. Old habits died hard, you joked. 

That being said it wasn't anything to sneeze at. Despite only really holding one person most of the time, it still had a quaint medical bay, storage unit, washing facilities and two sleeping quarters. You often forgot you even had a home on Earth with how cosy the place felt. 

You jolted at an abrupt sonar ping. Another ship, you grunted, straining your arms behind your back, you set the auto pilot to maneuver closer. Heading to a beaten up locker in the back for something other than a tank top and shorts. You let the jumpsuit hang around your waist, tightening your bootlaces before zipping it up. Rummaging around further, you retrieved a well beaten axe from the back, tucked haphazardly between a few boxes, you slipped the holstered axe around your belt loop.

A Pony Express Ship, it looked like hell. Foam coated most of the exterior, making it had to identify the original entrance. You grumbled something regarding how incompetent the crew must've been.  Making your way to the ship was enough of a challenge for such a simple 'job', hacking into a bit of the foam in an attempt to weasel in, you knew too much would mean the goods would spill out. Your breath hitched, carefully sinking your axe bit by bit until you made a decently sized hole. Finally, you tumbled into what was most likely the storage unit. 

The ship groaned as you tucked your axe back into its holster, whipping out a flashlight to inspect the hull. Walls of boxes surrounded the modest space, what little lights that remained flickered above, you continued on. Moving through the endless rows until you reached the steps to the exit, you noted a few of the boxes had been ripped open, bottles of mouthwash littered the floor, dribbles of the remains sticking to your boot heels.

"What the fuck?". You scoffed before exiting, the  doors were open. That was enough an indicator that something wasn't right, moving through the rest of the rooms confirmed your suspicion. The hallways bathed in a harsh red, foam tripped you up at points, beloved items were scattered haphazardly, until you finally entered the main area. 

Jesus Christ, you froze. A large T.V. system flickered the same piercing error message as darkened patches of...you sighed shakily. Looking over to the table, a party. "Shit-fuck-s-sorry to intrude! I...I just-I'll...". You faltered, noticing the violent lack of a reaction. Your legs hesitated forward, moving one of the bodies closest to you. It slumped forward, slamming hard against the plate. You had to stifle a scream as you watched the neck loosen slightly. You looked around the table, almost all of the bodies were in some different state of decay, the one across you drenched in blood, her hair matted hair almost withering off her head. You almost choked on your own shaking urge not to freak out. 

Quivering, your legs shuffled away from the party. Moving onward, you found yourself hugging the axe slightly. Unfurling only when you entered the medic bay. You noted a now bloodied gurney resting against one of the false windows. The crimson lighting only intensifying the horrifying feel ."Least this'll be one of the more interesting stories". Your voice wobbled as you tried to twist this into some kind of joke. You remembered why you came here, moving around the space to grab anything of worth. You hesitated on the computer but decided on most of the medical supplies. 

You nodded at your new pile of bounty, finishing up your rounds by finally entering the engineering room. The darkened hallways tightened your nerves  Another body, this one slumped against a few rows of pods, a gun nearby. You kicked the body with the tip of your boot, almost expecting it to lurch like a slasher and attack... Nothing. You moved around once again. Finally contempt you..

You paused, someone was here. Your head whipped instinctively towards the row of cryogenics, a piercing blue eye watched, unblinking. Finally, you let out a heart dropping scream in shock, dropping a tool kit in a jump against the wall. The eye remained fixed on you, you moved forward carefully. You noticed that it almost looked like a corpse, bandages covering most of the face. You looked around hesitantly, scuttling back to the toolkit before making your leave. You dropped it by the pile, you cursed yourself out slightly as you had to whittle down your carrying size for the passageway back. Sighing as you looked around once again, someone must've gone mad, you pondered if the person in cryostatus wasn't the culprit but, given the body next to it, you almost questioned if it wasn't him. 

You let out a weak chuckle at the idea as you pushed another  pile of loot into your own ship. Turning to finish up, you hesitated. Looking towards the flickering lights. You were stupid, so fucking stupid for this. Once again hacking into the foam to make the exit big enough, and making sure your own medic bay  was loaded with all the things you had grabbed, you stormed back towards the cryogenics. Moving the slumped body against one side of the wall, you consulted the pod. You fiddled with a pin pad aside it, frowning at the absurdity of the idea before finally giving up and cracking out your axe on the poor thing.  The door slid open in a hiss of dry ice. The man slumped forward, drooping slightly as you slid over to grab him, struggling with the abrupt weight as you finally noticed the state of the body. 

Burnt, bloodied flesh stained your jumpsuit, you noticed the body was essentially a torso. One leg shorter than the other, you let out a shuddered gasp as you stumbled for support. Finally, your leg gave up, letting you and the body drop against the wall with a thud, what remained of his legs getting caught between yours slightly . "Ah! I am s-so fuckin' sorry sir!", nothing. You got back up shakily, moving the person around awkwardly until he was resting in your arms, part of his chest resting against yours. 

You had no idea where to begin, leaving the ship had been a pain in it of itself but you barely remembered CPR procedures, let alone any actual medical practices. For now you carefully redressed the body as you could and waited, making sure not to jostle it too much and slid a pillow under his head. He twitched slightly, you ignored it. Going about your organization of the items. You felt shitty pocketing someone's Gameboy, but you at least hoped the owner would've been proud it got to be enjoyed again...maybe. You had also decided to grab some of the mouthwash as a joke, putting it in your bathroom alongside one of the first aid kits. Some cute Pony Express safety posters now also blessed your sleeping pod and main work space.

You smiled, moving through the rest of the haul, until a series of weak croaks and groans made you jump, whipping to return to first aid over the finally awake body. "S-sorry 'bout that bud!", you turned to consult him. Turning around to fumble with the first aid kit as he began to writhe, "alright alright cool it!". You hesitantly let a few pain killers slip into your hand as you attempted to drop them in, his mouth remained shut. Your fingers padded delicately against his jaw. "What's wrong?".

He stayed silent, you sighed, putting the pills on the side of the bed, you made your way to the sink. You were honestly amazed you hadn't considered this before, then again you were the kind of madman to dry swallow anything that was smaller than a penny before. You placed the cup to one side and put the pills near it. Turning to watch your patient, he seemed somewhat antsy over the meds. "Look I'd rather bring a living person back if that's ok so...". He remained tense, jerking his head around as you tried to hold it. "So you don't like it when I touch ya...".

You lent down to meet his eye, your gaze softening. "I promise to be gentle 'kay? Just...". You faltered, you didn't know how to approach this. He watched in paranoid silence. "I'll be careful ok, if I hurt you I won't prod any further". He stayed silent, a feverish wheeze punctuating the silence. Finally, his mouth cracked open slightly, your fingers carefully sliding the pills far back down his throat, a trickle of  water washed them down more as you lifted his head slightly. Finally he relaxed, you let him rest back on the pillow as you sat back, "y'good now?" he choked out an affirmation. 

You sighed, you knew what this meant, instant u turn to Earth, you let him be as you went back to alter your course. An automated voice confirmed your command as you went back to the medical bay. The man continued to stare at the wall, watching your own T.V windows in a daze. You lent against the wall, letting your arms fold over themselves. You watched silently, he didn't seem to be in any additional pain aside from the burns. You couldn't help but feel slight guilt over his  bloodied gown, not wanting to remove for fear of hurting him. You faked a cough to get his attention. His bloodshot eye turned to watch you, slightly panicked, as you made your way to the chair once again.

  "Set a course t' take us back to Earth...this is way too outta my hands for me to do anything. If you need anything though I won't be too busy". The unblinking eye burrowed into your lazy gaze as you stifled another cough. "I'll let you be then-". The stub of his arm had moved towards your resting elbow. It flinched away on instinct before hesitantly moving back. Carefully, you let it rest against the stub. "Guess it's been a while huh? S-speaking to anyone I mean". He let out a groaned sigh (you assumed at least) of longing. You nodded solemnly, "Y'want me to sleep here for the night then?". You left before he could answer, grabbing a sleeping bag from within your wardrobe and  returned, cosying it against the medical bed. 

The soft glow of the artificial moon now seeped into the room as you went through your nightly tasks, sorting anything else you had forgotten. You let your jumpsuit soak in the washroom as you cleaned up, returning to the medical bay just as you watched the torso flop onto your sleeping bag. You trotted over and helped him back up carefully, holding him once again in your arms, "you good?!". He squirmed in your arms, hugging your chest whilst his head burrowed into your neck, almost avoiding eye contact with the bed. 

"Damn bud w-what...". You sighed weakly. Moving him back onto the bed as you grabbed your sleeping bag to form a makeshift blanket over you. Pulling the chair close enough, you struggled to hop over the man so you were facing the window. You couldn't help but sleepily close your eyes. The man shuddered again, you turned to face his back, letting your hand rest delicately against it. He winced, your hand retracted just as quick. Struggling to pull your head against the pillow properly, you found yourself rambling. "Y'know...I kinda like the beds here better than the ones in the sleeping bay". You chuckled slightly as you continued, "way nicer". 

Your eyes shifted to watch the breathing of the man. His movements ragged and visceral, you hesitated. Resting a hand against the fabric of his gown. He jolted, a sharp dry shriek of pain, your hand retracted. "S-sorry! S...so it...hurts less with the painkillers?". A faint grunt that confirmed your question. You nodded, turning once again as to not stress him. A faint comment seemed to grab your attention, 's...stars...'. You hummed in agreement, you didn't remember why you felt the urge to douse the medical bay in glow in the dark stickers, but you supposed it made you feel more comfortable. "I like 'em". Your voice was softer, almost light as you began to slip deeper into a sleepy lull. 

You shuffled slightly in your sleep, pressing up against the wall as the figure turned. Your eye slid open, meeting the glistening bloodshot view of him. You flinched, a mirrored response as you let out a breathy chuckle, "asshole". You laid on your back, watching the false stars shine softly overhead. "Gotta be hard to sleep though...". Your arms folded under your head, propping it up tightly as to not touch the flesh beside you. "I got a sleep mask if that helps...". He continued watching, an unreadable gaze that irked you slightly. "Can I...I know this sounds stupid, but...". You got up. 

Dragging the sleeping bag along, you flicked the nearby table lamp on. Looming over the now frozen form of your pseudo patient, he immediately began to writhe, bucking in fear as he watched your hands. You paused, relaxing your shoulders, you rested your hand onto his jaw, your cold fingers ghosting over his burned cheek. You could've sworn his cheek weighted slightly into the curve of your palm for a bit. Carefully, you re adjusted the pillow under the his head, before cautiously scooping him back into your arms.

Carefully, so carefully, you zipped him just enough into the sleeping bag. The thick padding seeming to muffle most of your contact with him. You couldn't help but let out a proud scoff, moving back to the window as you watched him wriggle slightly. "Feelin' better?". No comment, you smiled softly. "Y'know, I never managed to get your name". It took a bit before you got an answer, albeit punctuated by infrequent wheezes. "Curly...kinda ironic now huh". Another unamused grunt retorted your quip.  You slipped closer, your chest  resting against him tenderly. You lay there for a bit once again, the cold groaning of your own ship echoing slightly as you lay. Some stupid part of your brain finally kicked in when you embraced him, wrapping your arms around his chest. He writhed under your embrace. Attempting to free himself, his back spasmed and a series of frantic wheezings escaped his weak jaw. You hushed him slightly, nuzzling your head into his padded chest. "It's ok...you're ok...". You continued to soothe him softly.  He froze, sighed pathetically after a while, the fatigue finally sinking in for him, resting his chin softly against your neck. Your grip remained soft, gently reassuring him he was safe.

He was going home.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2 months 29 days before reaching Earth. 

You frowned from your calculator to your pile of perceived valuables. Just under $90 in estimated value. Sighing, you put the calculator back to one side and slumped forward, cradling your head between your hands. You were already struggling with keeping Curly alive long enough before you reached Earth. Your own quantity of painkillers now dwindling. His state and breathing getting more ragged and feeble.

Some morbid part of you considered killing him in a twisted form of sympathy. I mean, you were almost always alone in space, you hadn't alerted that many people to your plight aside from a friend's lawyer for a legal chew out on what remained of Pony Express, and an awaiting hospital. Your hands physically coiled at the very concept. You'd done this on a whim, letting out a quivering huff, you returned to your own miniature dining area.

The table was one you had managed to save from wood rot, and it was sure as hell obvious. Some of the new legs looked to be from different makes, despite a fresh coat of wood dye. Curly sat on one side, you felt bad just letting him wither in bed all day, allowing him to move from space to space kept him somewhat upbeat. Even letting him sit next to you on your usual naps in the cockpit.

He seemed to be as frail as you felt, still wheezing pathetically, staring ahead whilst his mouth silently gasped. You moved over, his body shook ever so slightly, but relaxed once you pulled up the chair across from him.  Your fingers fiddled between each other in a grip. "We're running low on painkillers". Your tone dried, you felt stupid admitting it out loud but given how he could still react via often jerky movements. It felt like having a mute puppet living with you, one that at least seemed to acknowledge your small talks. "I'm not sure if this will affect anything but I might have to start cutting you down to one, just in case". 

His head turned away. You frowned weakly, "I'm sorry if this hurts but, I can't risk anything before we get back". He stayed silent, you looked out to where he was staring, the 'living room', two beaten sofas and a busted radio resting beside a small lamp, you had played a few songs for him already that he liked, he always preferred your softer ones over the more aggressive music you played during work (at least when you were alone), maybe... "We can relax if you want...", nothing. You wearily admitted defeat for once, "I'm....I'm going to sort a few things out if that's ok...". His arm moved towards yours, resting tenderly against yours for a bit. You cocked your head slightly, "I...I don't wanna sound corny but.. y-y'know if there's anything wrong you can tell me". 

He stayed silent, his ragged breathing filling the space as you waited hesitantly.

'Sc...a...red'. His voice almost sounded timid, "of what, going back?". No reply... you looked back down at his stub, you swore if he had hands he'd be frantically trying to grasp yours. "welp, I won't pry if you don't want-". You paused, both of his stubs rested against your arm now, almost trying to pull you back towards the chair. You looked back at him, for once he made direct eye contact, his burning gaze moistening slightly. Your mouth quivered, you felt your heart sink in weakness. Getting up slowly, he seemed desperate to keep you near. You beside him, what remained of his legs shifting slightly as you knelt next to him. 

Without saying anything you slowly rested your hands on what remained of his, your finger pads gently stroking them, he continued. An uncomfortable pathetic wheeze of a cry that made your heart ache for his unintelligible plight. "It's ok...", the same drying comfort. His already strained voicebox struggled as he let something slip. 'P...pl...ease...I'. You pulled him closer, his body slipping away from the chair slightly as you continued to console him. His arms rested at his sides, his voice quivering harder from the slight pain. He went limp, you froze. His breathing remained ragged against your ear. Your own breathing began to weaken, moving him back to the medic bay in a daze. You rested him rest gently on the bed as you checked him. 'he must've passed out from stress...'.

Finally, you gave up. Sitting back down on the chair and waiting for him to wake up. Once again, you got up after what felt like hours and sat back in your armchair, playing a random song.

1 month before reaching Earth. 

He seemed emotionally shell shocked, falling silent whenever you brought up himself. You tried to think of  any reasons on why but you assumed, still remembering the haunting scent of decay and iron on the ship, that he had witnessed something. You tried to keep his spirits up as well, still coming in to check on him with a friendly tone and playing songs for him. But he remained silent, you felt your stomach sink ever lower. Catching him wake up in a panic or trying to hide his gaze from the blazing warmth of the artificial sunset when it began to dip into the night. You managed somewhat to keep yourself going with something-anything else, but your mind continued to linger on him.

You found yourself resting against his bed as you dozed. The day had dragged harder than normal, not being able to get a full contact going with the hospital for any advice. Alongside the usual feeding of one pill causing Curly to nearly choke. You slept before him, too tired to move away.

His arm fidgeted near yours, his eye resting on your face. He watched. You shifted slightly, your head nestling further between your arms. His arm strained until it reached your head, petting the top of it gently as you slept. He turned away, looking up at the static moon that washed over the room in a melancholy light. She would've like you, he struggled to smile slightly at the notion. He was sure Daiskue would be ecstatic to know you had managed to beat his own high scores. His eye warbled slightly as tears began to trickle down his cheek at the thought. You shifted, he turned over to watch as you sat up, blearily rubbing your eye. "Guess I'll go back t'my room...". Your voice sounded softer than usual. 

His mind went blank, his voice hoarse as you began to make your way back to your roo- "d-don't go...". You almost screeched at how humanly coherent the voice was. Your head instinctively whipped back around into the room to a splutter of coughing and wheezing from Curly. "Y-you...". You slid back into the room, flicking the bedside lamp on, looking over him as he tried to maintain his breathing. "A-are you ok?!". He tried to maintain his breathing for a bit before nodding. You sat back down in your chair, almost feeling guilty for waiting so hopefully for another response. He motioned with an arm something. 

"You wanna talk?". He nodded, you smiled weakly. "Y'wanna nod?". He paused, sheepishly nodding with a small chuckle. You sighed, sitting beside him, "le'mme guess, you're annoyed you can't do much right now". He paused, his eye tracing your face before nodding. You smiled slightly, you hit him with a few light hearted ones first. Slowly building up the courage before you blurted out something that was gnawing at the back of your mind since his episode. "You don't want to talk about your crew but you feel terrible about them". 

He froze, then slowly nodded. "I'm also gonna assume you feel responsible even though your like this?". He stopped for a bit, looking back down at his hands before turning back and shaking his head slowly. That genuinely caught you off guard. Finally, you had a gut churning thought. "You feel responsible for not helping them because you got yourself like this?" His nodding began to grow timid, finally you got an answer. "But the burns aren't your fault?". He shook his head, "you did something wrong?". Another nod, you felt your chest heave as you made your biggest leap in assumptions. "Someone else did this didn't they? but you're talking the wrong blame". 

Your eye caught a near nod as he jerked upwards slightly. Once again, slumping back in bed. "Whatever you did, it's ok to feel guilty for. It's natural but...you can't blame yourself for another persons fuck up if they were in full control". He looked back to you, his eye once again wavering. He motioned for you to come closer, leaning in hesitantly for another hug. You stayed in his embrace for a bit until you had the same idea from when you first picked him up, once again writhing out of his embrace before moving back to the window. Slipping onto the bed alongside him as you continued your soft embrace. 

Your hands found themselves resting on his back, stroking his back delicately, you lulled yourself slightly into a sleepy daze. His strained, rapsy voice slipped out in-between the gentle strokes, but you understood what he said perfectly. 'I don't want to go back...I'm scared, please...you're the only thing I've been able to keep close for this long...I...I want you to hurt me, I...', he let out a slight wheeze of a laugh as he continued his gentle rambling. 'I want to know I've done wrong...to my crew...to my friend. I-I...I'm scared of facing what I've done". 

He motioned you to pull away for a bit. His eye fixating indefinably on your face. Your brain did it again, another stupid impulse as you melted into the rotten kiss he suddenly pulled you into, your lips struggling to stay gentle against his vulnerable teeth and flesh. 

'please...'. He panted his plea out weakly between the moment. 'T...take me away'. You almost nodded, before realising what that would mean, you pulled away, looking into his soft gaze. "I-I can't...I told you...you can't be responsible for everything, but...but you have to own up to what you've done, I swear I won't let the world see you if it's too much, I promise".

You raised a pinky and let it dink delicately against his nub of an arm as his embrace weakened. "You're ok, I told you before...", your voice lightened with a small smile. "You're going to be ok". 

0 months 1 day from destination.

[in1-nutshell]

I just love the premise that, whenever Maxima or Lithia go "(Character Name), I needed that!"

Ratchet, who could be anywhere from the next room over, to on a whole other planet, just gets hit with this sudden, inexplicable feeling of pride pulsing from deep within his spark.

YES!

Ratchet just knows when his nieces/ daughter does something that makes him swell with pride.

It is an extra sense he acquired over time.

Some examples are and not limited to...

Maxima: *Sees Smokescreen crush her paper mache volcano that she had been working on with Raf all afternoon* Smokescreen! I needed that! Ratchet: *By his work station* What is this feeling...

Lithia showing Bumblebee how to correctly use a laser scalpel Lithia: Bee your holding it wrong-- Bee accidentally cuts another tool with the laser, Lithia: *Taking a big vent* Bee... I was going to need that for later. Ratchet: *Picking up Raf from school* There it is again. Raf: What's there again? Ratchet: A sense of pride in someone else...

Ophelia and Steve helping Fix-it fix a stasis pods door. Ophelia: I think we are just about-- Steve: *Sees a large shadow rapidly descending on the group and scoops his Conjunx and Fix-it before it came crashing down* The three of them look over at a fallen Sideswipe as he gets a mangled tool from his backside. Ophelia: Sideswipe! We need that. Sideswipe: Oops... Ratchet: *On the road somewhere* ...Where is this coming from...

Rapidfire: *Trying to fix the ship* Can someone pass me my wrench? CRUNCH! Rapidfire looks at a guilty Bulkhead and a squashed wrench under his pede. Rapidfire: *Takes a deep vent* Bulkhead, I needed that! Ratchet:*In one of the storage rooms* ... I feel understood somehow... maybe I should get in an extra hour of recharge...

Bonus!

Iron Bolt is the official name for Bulkhead's daughter with the opposite personality

Iron Bolt: * under the main computers desk fixing a glitch in the system*: Can someone pass me the flashlight? CRUNCH! Iron Bolt immediately comes out from the desk to see Wheeljack holding the lob ball and the bits of the flashlight on the floor. Iron Bolt glares at the Wrecker. Iron Bolt: Uncle Wheeljack, I needed that! Wheeljack: Sorry kiddo. Ratchet: *Just walking into the base* My mood has just gotten better for some reason...

Ratchet sensing the pride

[quirkyfries]

Hi there’s a tornado in my area rn but I’m spiteful like that. Random tsams/eaps headcanons be upon ye

Ruin still does those little audio log diaries. It helps manage his overflowing memory storage (read: old age = more memories to store) without compressing data files.

Bloodmoon sleeps with dog toys. Otherwise, they’d probably chew through whatever bedding material they had chosen that night. This was Ruin’s idea.

Eclipse can’t sleep with lights on in a room. Ruin can’t sleep without a light. The makeshift solution is a sleeping mask for Eclipse, but their actual compromise is a star projector.

Eclipse has to know where everyone is most of the time, especially after Charlie came into the picture. This is usually done with cameras and tracking via fazbear systems, but it’s an issue he has to work on, as it’s just a method to make him feel better about security now that there are people he cares about. At least one person has commented on there being a new nightguard.

Dark sun finds thrillers tacky, and prefers thought-provoking mysteries, bonus points for romance.

Most of them carry some kind of sanitizing wipe packet. For daycare attendants, these are for sticky messes and children. For those more familiar with tools, these are for tougher grime and are not suitable for sensitive (children’s) skin. Solar has both.

The eclipses (Eclipse, Solar, Ruin) are the most prone to damaging their rays. Eclipse sometimes hits doorways and doesn’t bother to fix cracked rays. Ruin is small enough for humans to reach his head. Solar peels the paint off of his. All three will pull or squeeze their rays in times of extreme stress, to varying degrees. Lunar is an exception for lack of rays. (Similarly, Sun fidgets with his rays, which is the source of this trait.)

While there are exceptions, Suns prefer tactile stimulation, Moons auditory, and Eclipses have no strong preference. Earth likes social interaction.

Animatronics have personalized UI that makes sense to them, which serves as their access point to their internal folders, like memory files, downloaded items, and executable programs. Bots that share an operating system/“brain” have the same UI. Diagnostics, software updates, and safety modes all require additional hardware (computers, parts and service devices, fazwrenches) to complete. Mindscapes are in AI chips, and multiple AIs in one mindscape happen when multiple AIs share the same operating system. Visual feed can be projected onto other screens with HDMI cables and vice versa, which can sometimes show that bot’s UI depending on what it is. For a more direct example of this think of the battery and blue borders you see in Security breach when Gregory is hiding inside Freddy.

Safety mode disconnects that bot from the Fazbear Ent. local network, meaning no tracking, no communication via local networks (which generally aren’t private anyway, most bots with access to phones prefer those), and no access to files that aren’t stored in that bot’s drive. This is meant to isolate a bot’s systems from the main network in case of a security breach (hah), make transportation of bots between locations easier, and make maintenance a smoother affair as there is no outside interference during the process. For the bots themselves, this is the equivalent of turning off your phone and going outside I mean focusing only on what’s in front of you instead of what’s going on in your area/social network. It’s possible to be stuck in safety mode. Depending on how much of a bot’s system relies on Fazbear Ent. Networks to function (such as a bot’s memory being stored in a Cloud, which is also ill advised between the bots themselves,) this can be mean a temporary personality/memory reset until those files get reconnected again. Bots do not need to be connected to the Fazbear ent networks to function, but it generally makes access to software updates easier due to being recognized as a company entity. It is possible for a private network to exist, but it’s considered foreign by Fazbear systems and can be more trouble than they’re worth. Moon and Eclipse have private networks shared with close friends and family for different purposes. Moon’s is mostly for emergency backups, and Eclipse’s is for security.

Animatronic’s memories are stored in the hard drives in their bodies. It’s possible to offload memory files into networks (Cloud) or external storage systems. If another bot had access to these clouds or external storages, they could experience the memories stored in them. Memory files include visual and auditory data, like a movie. AI/personality chips are the equivalent of a soul in that the AI is the product of a learning AI having experienced environments that supplied them information about the world AKA an Ai that developed a personality beyond their base programming, but they do not carry memories. For example, Eclipse V3-V4 is an Eclipse AI given incomplete memories, creating a disconnect in the AI’s learned behaviors and what it perceives as the source of that behavior, resulting in an incomplete backup. Backups are static/unchanging copies of integral memory files and the accompanying AI (As is in the moment that they are backed up.) Backups need to be updated as the animatronic it’s for develops.

[kde-plasma-official]

also share your names with me I'm curious :3

down below is a heartfelt sob story about my favorite hard drive and also reason why I did the poll

For the longest time I only had one external drive containing everything. It was an old 256GB drive that I just named "BACKUP".

When I got my SSD I took out the old hard drive and used that as my main backup source. Because it had more storage I named it "BACKUP EXTENDED".

That drive got corrupted when I was in rehab because some guy named Kevin borrowed it for movies and used in a micro usb phone cable instead of the real one that was right on top of the drive.

So BACKUP EXTENDED was no more. A few months later I tried some usb partitioning tools (GParted my beloved) because I had some computer issues and thought I try to revive that old drive again and it fucking worked. From that day on my backup drive was known as "THE UNDEAD" (I've also been a huge Hollywood Undead fan at that time).

That name stuck with me, even after I accidentally formatted the whole drive when installing Arch, It persisted through each repartitioning session.

When I fucked up my partitioning table so hard it took several tries of fiddling to get the drive to work again, I renamed my trusty old drive to UNDEAD REVIVED because, well, I had to revive it again. Is it really undead at this point? Or is a revived thing alive again. What is a revived zombie, really? Maybe that's something for another poll...

A few weeks ago I got a few terabytes of storage for cheap and the biggest drive I got right now is 3TB. It's my new backup drive and I called it "UNDEAD EXTENDED",

But I've reached a point where having only one partition for everything isn't enough anymore. I have a macbook for work which can't write to NTFS partitions, so I had to create an exFAT for shared storage. That doesn't allow me to symlink things though, and I still need to have a Windows backup that I can just attach to any PC and boot from it, so I also need an NTFS drive. But Windows does things to the NTFS drive so that sometimes I have to sudo mount the partition which is really annoying and kinda sucks. I only use Linux on my main machine and just want to keep some of its files somewhere without other systems interacting with it at all so now I also have a ext4 partition for system backup and some games.

So, my trusty UNDEAD* hard drive that I lovingly kept and revived and extended and revived again, which stores everything that I own and love and need is now cut up into pieces and none of the partitions feel like the drive that it once was that makes me sad.

I grew very attached to that hard drive and to that name but even when the physical drive is still next to me it feels like I've outgrown it. I've had my Undead drive when I was at my lowest and it was a part of my digital life up until now. I've had iterations of it for almost half of my life. If that thing could talk, it would scream.

So, how did I name my partitions instead now?

I've named my exFAT partition "CYBERSLUT" the way it plugs into any computer and gets manhandled by it, it made me smile when I made the tough decision to retire the undead naming scheme.

My NTFS drive is called "WHYDOS" because I always ask myself why I still keep up with Windows sometimes, and I just recreated my ext4 partition that I named "PLAYGROUND", because it's only used for Wine bottles and some steam games so far, so they don't take up most of my limited SSD space.

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

Hello again! I come bearing questions re: my aliens, the Ímí, AKA Shadow People Context: I have been spending the last decade-ish working on this worldbuilding as a hobby. It is inspired by a comic book and has diverged a lot, but part of the fun for me is to figure out how to make scientific sense of choices that were made for Plot or Other (usually Sex Appeal) Reasons. There's a lot going on, but it's basically a planet where aliens get stuck on and can't leave, so there's no single origin of life, which allows for some fun things. But my questions for today are in regards to my "main"/favorite people (they're not the majority nor the people in charge, but they're the most interesting to me). I have severe ADHD and also autism, and I'm trying to put all this information in a way that makes sense to People Who Aren't Me, so sorry if it's a bit incoherent. Feel free to ask for clarification. Some facts about Shadows, based on the source material: They're very tall (around 7ft) bipedal humanoids and have gray/silvery skin, black sclera, inky black blood and murky black-ish tears. They are hunter-gatherer nomads who live in the desert, but they used to be a space conquering group who renounced their advanced technology and that lifestyle (mostly). They're fearsome warriors and some of them have a specific super power that isn't super relevant to my questions. They can also interbreed with humans, and give birth to children who are around a similar development to a human five year old (very important to the question)

My Stuff: I got rid of their binary sex system and made them Cosex (which is an alternative term for the intersexist slur - so they are all capable of both giving birth and to impregnate others. In my conlang, they have mother/father/ect terms based on who the carrier was. So your Mother was pregnant with you, but your Father could well be your sibling's Mother, ect, but I'm just going to use the English terms) I have also altered their story so that they were essentially engineered by another race of aliens to act as an army of super-soldiers, rather than evolving that way naturally. I feel it makes their various OP abilities and quirks more plausible (I've been calling them Organic Cyborgs). I know robots aren't your wheelhouse, but I've wanted to be an engineer who works with robots since I was 6 and have been working towards that since then, so robots were kind of inevitable.

Cyborg-isms: Shadows are organic creatures who live, breed, and die, like any other animal. But they have some unusual features. Basically, they have an internal Crystal Computer, and they have self-replicating nanobots in their blood. Their bodies basically treat the bots as just another cell, but they act like Nerves but Bluetooth for Crystal-Specific stuff. [For anyone who isn't as Robot-Brained as I am, crystal computers are an actual thing that science has been working on - they're theoretically the most stable method of data storage humans have discovered]. When a Shadow becomes pregnant, a tiny seed crystal breaks off from the mother's Crystal and implants in the embryo, and the nanobots are passed through the blood, which is how the system continues organically. This Crystal is what allows a lot of their oddities to function, and is like a second brain. Their flesh-brain is used for most of the functions of the human brain, but memories are stored on the Crystal, and the seed crystal that a fetus receives comes preloaded with information, which will be covered in the next section. The Crystal also contains instructions for their weirder biological processes. They also have an unusual respiratory system, which is important to my Question #2 in my next ask. They have a hybrid respiratory system, which is unidirectional by default (in the nose to lungs and out the mouth, but they also have a flap between the lungs that can close off the system in to two in-and-out systems. Also, their respiratory system is separate from the esophagus. There's panels of semi-permeable membrane in their throat where air can pass through but not liquids or solids, which is how air exits the tracheae (plural) through the mouth.

Super-Soldiers: I essentially spent a long time sitting down and thinking to myself, "If I was an Evil Empire who wanted to engineer superior soldiers that can be sent out to conquer the universe, how would I do it? (while also still hitting the important Lore bits that I'm keeping". The creators of the Shadows are pretty much the stereotypical Gray Aliens, with the big eyes. I'm just gonna call them Grays for this info-dump. The Grays are not very physically impressive but were technologically advanced. So they started with themselves and went from there. They very much considered the Shadows to be more as a piece of technology, rather than Actual People, so they treated them like Resources, AKA, they had no regard for the Shadows' well-being, as long as their goals could be accomplished. The key goals for their army would be 1, Able to replicate/breed; 2, very hardy and able to survive in a wide variety of environments; 3, adaptable; ect. The reason for the convertible respiratory system is so that even if they get stabbed in the lung, they can compartment off that section and just breathe on the other side. At some point in the past, the Shadows overthrew the Grays and left to form their own society.

Reproduction: I'm very fond of my idea for how reproduction works, while meeting the Things I needed to hit in regards to Plot Points. The main reason they can interbreed with humans and have such developed newborns is because in the comic, the human character had a Shadow love interest who got pregnant and then died in an Apocalypse, and then the kid* had survived and came back to be a pain in the ass for Dad. And I wanted to try and Science that, so I did. Because I didn't want to just make it Weird Humans In Space, I got creative. In short, Shadows have a built-in CRISPR genetics lab in their uteri, which are run by their Crystal and Nanobots. They have oviestes at the opening of the uterus, and they both produce a fluid for transferring genetic material, as well as collecting it. Rather than having gametes with only half the information, they interface with the entire genome. Also, I'm just going to say DNA, but it's not quite the same. Once collected, the sample is stored and analyzed, and the Crystal begins to run tests where various genes are swapped out to try and find the "best" option (at least, in the eyes of the programming designed by the Grays). Once the tests are done, the nanobots start to assemble a fetus until the fetus is big enough to be implanted with a Crystal, which takes over for itself. This results in the next generation to be able to continue, even with a very small starter population on any given planet. The whole genetics testing and "best" thing might sound like eugenics, which is intentional. Shadows themselves do no practice eugenics, but they are a product of eugenics. [Obviously, eugenics are very very bad in real life. I'm disabled and am very aware of this. But the Grays are the bad guys, and of course they practiced eugenics, given everything else about them].

Babies: The fetus grows quickly, with roughly a 10 Earth Month gestation. They're born being able to walk within minutes and run within an hour or so. Their Crystal has a preinstalled dictionary and basic survival instincts, which leads to an interesting situation of newborn who is very mobile and has instincts to hunt and feed themselves (even if, for example, their mother dies during the birth and there is no one else around) but they also have no practical life experience or visual data. They know what food is, that you eat it, ect, from a definitional perspective, but not if any given thing in front of them is Food or not. I described it to my friend as like trying to deal with ChatGPT, as they can talk to you in a way that makes grammatical sense but they have no context for what they're saying. In modern Shadow society, newborns are watched around the clock by the community so they don't like, eat a rock because they haven't connected the Visual Information of A Rock to their Stored Data of Rock.

Lifecycle: Shadows reach maturity faster than humans. To human eyes, they age much faster, but at a decreasing rate, until a point in the early 20s where they cross over and age slower. For math people, it's a Natural Logarithmic Function, if humans are a straight line. Basically they mature faster but stay in their physical prime longer, living to be at least 200 on average unless killed. They also have two puberties, which accounts for the canon's sexual dimorphism. Childhood is spent learning and training, and is Neutral. Then they reach their first puberty around 20, where they take on what was designed to be their "Breeder Morph", aka "Females". They develop "breasts" and wider hips. Shadows don't actually breastfeed or even have nipples, but the "breasts" and other squishiness is there to provide an reservoir of calories for pregnancy, as it is not easy to consume enough calories in 10 months to grow a fetus into a preschooler. The wider hips are to make childbirth easier, though the hips also widen considerably (to the point of being extremely difficult to walk) during pregnancy due to the nanobots restructuring their bones, which will be re-restructured after birth. In their late 50s/early 60s, they undergo a second puberty into a "Combat Morph" aka "Males". Their skeleton rearranges to have less adaptions for pregnancy and more towards bio-mechanical advantage. It's not extreme, but they're basically undoing human "female" puberty and then undergoing human "male" puberty. Older Shadows can still get pregnant after their second puberty, but it's less common. This accounts for the fact that the only "female" Shadow that appeared in the source material is in her 40s and the only "male" is in his 80s, plus it makes sense from the perspective of the Grays. You have time to train the next generation of soldiers, and then continue their education for about 40 years as they act as a baby factory, and then they can put their training to use in the War after they've done with their time as a Breeder. But if you need, you can send some Combat Morphs to another planet to start the next invasion and have them pop out a few babies over there, as they'd be Very Experienced in the process.

The final question: How the fuck do I make Organs work in a (mostly torso) layout that makes sense??? Organ systems that to be accounted for:

brain (in skull)

a Crystal Computer (size undecided) - probably in skull with brain - skull is elongated compared to humans so there's room

a uterus that can expand to a MASSIVE size without crushing other organs

respiratory system

heart

digestive system (the Shadows on my planet have adapted to a largely Meat and Potatoes diet, as the main vegetation in their desert is starchy tubers)

small bladder (they need far less water than humans; they don't even sweat) and various other smaller organs

They have less organs than humans, as their nanobots are able to do things like blood filtering and metabolizing. I currently have the uterus placed at the bottom of the torso, with everything else above it, and the lungs taking up most of the rib cage. During pregnancy, the uterus would push the other organs up into the rib cage, and they are obligated to use the unidirectional breathing so that their lungs can move air without having to squish everything further. Their ribs are very sturdy and inflexible, which helps with not breaking anything when the baby kicks. I picture the ribs as more of a lattice than as slats like in humans.

(I have been writing this for like 6 hours with a migraine and I think this is the best it's going to get so I'm just going to send it)

since your other questions are in a separate ask, I'll just focus on the reproduction here. It reminds me of kiwi birds!

(image description: X-ray picture of a kiwi bird with an egg inside its body. The egg is almost as big as the bird's body. end description)

so yes, giant pregnancy is plausible. But I do think there are a couple of details with the organ shifting that could be corrected.

first, the ribs: being inflexible would actually be a detriment here. if they're not flexible, they'll put a lot of pressure on the organs when they get shoved upward, and they'll actually be more likely to break. The bones of course are solid, but human ribs have things like ligaments and cartilage allowing them to move where they connect to the rest of the skeleton. there's a detailed explanation on this quora thread:

now let's talk about the organs themselves. I think right now your concept is a bit lacking in the 3d arrangement of the organs. up and down are only two pieces of how organs are arranged in the body. The size of internal organs is why bellies are round. This site has a video showing how human pregnancies push the organs around:

The organs get pushed up, but also backwards, and the uterus is pushed forward. The intestines still need to be present behind it, after all, or the constipation would get even worse than it already does lol. So your aliens with extra large pregnancies will also need more forward-lean on the uterus. They may also need more flexible pelvic ligaments. the pelvis on humans has ligaments at the front and by the spine, which soften and stretch to give birth. Bigger baby requires more stretch, so the pelvic ligaments will have to stretch wider/the pelvis may need a different shape that allows it to spread wider to give birth to extra large babies.

and here's a site where you can study different parts of human anatomy, like the internal organs. Obviously your aliens are not human, but they do appear to have a human-like torso structure and internal organs.

hope that helps! I'll get to the next part of your questions in a bit

[raynerberg]

Awakening Continuation of the story based on those drawings

— Attention! Only emergency systems are operational. The operation of all systems in the "Epsilon" complex has been suspended, — echoed an emotionless voice from the automated defense system, emanating from speakers embedded in the ceiling.

A standard warning meant to prompt all personnel to follow one of two protocols: evacuation or activation of the main life-support system from control centers where energy reserves were still available to power the reactor. Yet, there was not a soul here — neither synthetic nor organic. This place would have remained forgotten, forever entombed in darkness beneath layers of rock, if not for the single island of light within this "tomb," clad in tungsten-titanium panels. The only place where a fragile chance for a new beginning still remained. The first breath and first exhalation had already been taken before the warning even finished.

— Main computer, cancel protocols 0.2.0 and 0.1.1, — a robotic baritone commanded softly.

A humanoid figure sat motionless on its knees at the center of a circular charging station, carbon-fiber hands hanging limply, resembling a monument to a weary martyr. It could feel the electric tension within the wires embedded in its head, running beneath a slightly elongated protrusion where a human’s parietal bone would have been. These connections to hubs and gateways fed it information, energy, and programs necessary for independent operation. Data streams pulsed in uneven impulses, flowing directly into its central processor. Disconnecting remotely from all storage units during the upload process was pointless while the body remained in a state of non-functioning plastic — albeit an ultra-durable one. At that moment, it could be compared to a newborn: blind, nearly deaf, immobilized, with only its speech module fully operational.

— Request denied. Unknown source detected. Please identify yourself, — the computer responded.

— Personal code 95603, clearance level "A," Erebus, — the synthetic exhaled a trace of heated steam on the final word. The database key reader had been among the first systems to activate, already granting necessary access.

— Identification successful. Access granted. Please repeat your request.

— Main computer, cancel protocols 0.2.0 and 0.1.1, — the android reiterated, then expanded the command now that full access was in his mechanical hands. — Disable emergency systems. Initiate remote activation of the S2 repair engineer unit. Redirect energy from reserve tank "4" to the main reactor at 45% capacity, — Erebus added, his voice gaining a few extra decibels.

— Request received. Executing, — came the virtual response.

For two minutes and forty-five seconds, silence reigned, broken only by the faint hum of the charging station. The severe energy shortage had slowed down all processes within the complex, and hastening them would have been an inefficient waste of what little power remained. Erebus waited patiently. A human, placed in a small, cold, nearly pitch-black place, would have developed the most common phobias. But he wasn’t human…

He spent the time thinking. Despite the exabytes of data in his positronic brain, some fragments were missing — either due to error, obsolescence, or mechanical and software damage. Seven hundred eighty-five vacant cells in the long-term memory sector. Too many. Within one of these gaping voids, instead of a direct answer, there were only strands of probability, logical weavings leading nowhere definitive. In human terms — guesses. He knew who had created him, what had happened, how Erebus himself had been activated, and even why — to continue what has been started. These fragments remained intact. The registry was divided into sections, subsections, paragraphs, chapters, and headings, all numbered and prioritized with emphasis. A task list flickered as a small, semi-transparent window on the periphery of his internal screen, waiting to be executed. But… The android had been activated, which meant the battle was lost. Total defeat. Area 51 was destroyed. All data stored there had a 98.9% probability of being erased. Blueprints, research, experimental results — all had been consigned to the metaphorical Abyss created by human imagination. So why did any of this matter now? And to whom? These were the first questions of the logical mechanism to illogical human actions.

Yet, to put it in poetic human language, Bob Page had been a luminary of progressive humanity. A brilliant engineer, a scientist, and most importantly, a man of absolute conviction. Cynical and calculating, but one who genuinely loved his work. The idea above all else.

It’s known that true ideological fanatics are among the most radical and unyielding members of Homo sapiens. They can’t be bought, they won’t allow themselves to be sold, and they will trample others underfoot if it serves their belief. They don’t need others' ideals — only their own. These are individuals who elevate themselves to the rank of true creators. Even after death, they remain faithful to their convictions, leaving behind tomes of their interpretations and scientific dogmas to their equally devoted disciples — followers always found at the peak of their intellectual and physical prowess. So, upon activation, had Erebus inherited… An Idea? Has he become a spiritual heir?

Did Page have no biological heirs, or did they not share his ideology? Or were they simply unaware of it? Could a true pragmatist have lacked successors or trusted disciples? Hard to believe, even with missing fragments of data. To entrust the idea to a machine instead of a human? As Homo sapiens would say — "a mystery shrouded in darkness." Questions multiplied exponentially. But Erebus had plenty of time to think about all of it. As well as about his own deactivation — after all, a machine has no fear of "death".

"Loading 98%... 99%... 100%. Secondary initialization complete. All systems active at 100%. Disengaging."

The message flashed across the inner visor of the android’s interface before vanishing. Behind him, with a low hiss, the plugs disconnected from their sockets, and fiber-optic-coated cables fell to the floor with a subdued clatter. The android slowly raised his hands before himself, clenching and unclenching his fingers, then rotated his wrists inward, as if they had the capacity to go numb from disuse. Finally, planting both fists on the ground, the synthetic pushed himself up in one fluid, springy motion, straightening to his full height. Motor functions — normal. Calibration — unnecessary. Optical focus — 100%.

— Attention! Reactor online. Power at 45%. Follow procedures for medium-level emergency response, — the announcement echoed through the chamber. Erebus turned his head slightly.

— Main computer, report overall operational status of the "Epsilon" complex, — the android commanded.

— Overall status: 10.5% below safe operational levels, — the computer obediently replied, recognizing the synthetic as an authorized entity.

"Acceptable," Erebus thought, and addressed the system once more.

— Redistribute energy between the maintenance sectors, communication center, transport hub, and computational core. Utilize reserve tanks as necessary.

— Request received. Energy rerouted. Reserve tanks "2" and "3" engaged. Reserve tank "1" decommissioned. Reserve tank "5" operational at 90%, awaiting connection for redistribution, — the computer reported.

— Excellent. Main computer, power down, — Erebus issued his final command to his brief conversational partner. — Now, I am the master here.

[d--t]

I don't want to put anyone in the notes on the print/steal a replacement knob for an oven post on blast but nope. wrong. printer beam attack.

also wrong, but with more qualifiers. Taking a peek at the local hardware store, a low end stove is in the $800s on sale. A good medium-high quality 3D printer is also in the $800s. A cheapshit 3D printer can be had for $200. So you can do the math on that one.

But to discuss a 3D printer paying for itself in home repairs, that's actually pretty easy.

I got a 3D printer for about $800 in 2018. In the last two years, for home repairs, improvements, and quality of life, I've printed about:

30 custom color matched brackets for a lighting system, none of which could be purchased. To approximate it, you'd need to buy all of the pieces and then modify them using sandpaper, primer, and paint and just the materials to modify the pieces would run you about $30 and 2-3 days of work.

Nail guides for installing a pocket door, not a purchasable item

12 fancy shelf brackets for the bathroom closet, $10+ per piece

36 basic shelf brackets for the basement storage racks, $5+ per piece

various glue and cut guides

cover for drier exhaust tube hole

4 brackets for curtain to cover unwanted mirror, can't be bought

6 custom brackets for curtains over main windows, can't be bought

2 windowsill cleats to tie off the curtain pulls, $5+ each

3 bends for the hand rail replacement project, $60+ each

blast gates for dust collection system for power tools in the basement, $30 per gate

30 clips for the gallery hanging system to work with my cheapass frames, the clips that don't work are $2+ a piece

plumbing pieces for the wet/dry vacuum, can't be bought

plumbing pieces for the rain collection system, can't be bought, similar parts $15/piece

various small boxes and organizers, $5-30 piece

tabs to secure forces air register covers to the wall, $0.50/piece but they'd look like shit

and some stuff I'm forgetting

Not counting the things that couldn't be bought, gas to run to the store, shipping costs, or the money my time is worth and using the minimum estimates, that list totals $1017. Estimating the uncountables, I guess that I've gotten upwards of $2000 of value from the printer.

Materials cost, not counting the printer:

about two hours per model (average, some take like 10 minutes) to create the model, total 32 hours. At $20/hr for my time, that's $640.

about two hours per print run (average, some take a few minutes, others take 6 hours).

electricity for the computer to model and the printer to run. Given that heating and cooling and cooking in this house is all electric, I consider this round off to the total costs of operating the house.

filament to feed the printer: three reels at $30/reel (estimated) = $90

That totals about $730 of costs to operate the printer.

Subtracting operating costs from obtained value, I get $1270. So in two years, the printer has well and thoroughly paid for itself and left $400+ in my pocket.

And the convenience of having parts made exactly the way I want them, the first time, with limited modifications, almost zero waste, and almost instantly is truly a lifesaver. I cannot overstate how much better that has made my life. I can start work on something, realize I need a part, and have the part ready to go by the time the work gets to where the part is needed. And I live super close to the store; it would be even more valuable to me if I lived further from the store.

and for funsies I've also printed:

hand wheel for antique sewing machine. If you can buy the parts, it'll run you over $1000.

Spinning wheel. IDK $300-$3000.

cute watering can for my plants. Can't buy it but equivalent would be $30-50.

and more!

I joke about the 3D printer being my most valuable tool but it really is. Many, most even, of my most annoying problems can be solved with it.

[bortalis]

“The Ocean Marcher”

A concept for a mobile iterator and their placing within the world.

(ideas below)

-Purpose

Once it was determined that the first generation of Iterators were unlikely to come upon the solution to the great problem solely on their own, the second Iterator generation was announced. These plans not only consisted of improvements and optimizations of the previous generation, but goals to construct Iterators around their world on a large scale .

Iterator construction is no small feat. With the projects being on mountainous scales, the current logistical systems were stressed and overworked. With the goal of widespread placement of Iterators, accomplishing this without system upgrades would be nigh impossible. Creating a rail system to span the vast oceans was not feasible, nor did the current shipping logistics have the capacity nor specialization necessary for the planned constructions.

This Ship is to take the role of a mass cargo vessel. To construct an iterator requires complex components, and being biomechanical in nature means any transport requires external support for the microorganisms to not die off in masses. Considering the remote placement of future Iterators means the creation of these components cannot be done on site. These ships will not only transport but maintain Iterator parts to keep them in pristine condition for installation.

-Operation

Integrated within the upper decks of the vessel, lies the local Iterator. Unlike others, this model is specialized solely for operation of the ship. Having the Iterator at the top of the vessel reduces its exposure to the elements without reducing carrying capacity.  Much of the bulk of a typical Iterator model has been cut down to make more for cargo and storage. Any cargo is sealed away from the environment and weathering within the hull. Since these vessels have not been tasked with the great problem, there is no need for the extensive processing and computing power to run innumerable simulations. The puppet chamber and minimal peripherals have been kept to maintain course and cargo on the voyage. 

Over the journey the interior is kept at a much lower temperature than other iterators. This is to assist keeping cargo “fresh” and well. Biomachinery’s functions slow down when cooled, reducing the energy and maintenance required for long trips. Keeping the vessel at an optimal temperature is done through extensive heat pumps and exchangers. The ocean provides a near limitless coolant pool, and the Iterator onboard generates far less heat (due to doing less computational operations), making cooling a much simpler task here than on a traditional Iterator.

The majority of loading and unloading is done through either the Bow doors, or the Upper deck’s lifting crane. The Bow doors generally require pre-built infrastructure to fully utilize, but allow for the quickest and most open access to the storage levels. Manufacturing facilities normally have well developed dock access for this purpose, to decrease the loading time for the components. At less developed docks the ship relies on the crane and other peripheral doors/bays to unload.

-Movement

A Mobile iterator would be nigh impossible in any other environment. The only factor that allows for such a construction is the buoyancy taking weight of the can. The large economy of scale result in a surprising amount of efficiency for moving such a large structure

Prominently shown on the side are the main source of propulsion for the vessel. Two on each side, these four limbs hold the important task of getting this monolith of a ship moving and to keep it moving. They have two modes of function, maneuvering and cruise.

When within shallower waters or near destinations, maneuvering procedures are used. The limbs extend to the ocean floor to act as legs. This anchors the vessel and provides a higher degree of control than the water base methods of movement. With a solid connection to the rock below the vessel can avoid hazards and precisely line up for unloading despite the unyielding inertial of the ship. To a limited degree the legs can even lift up the Iterator from the water line to gain closer access to the shore, however it is advised to use this function fugally as it stresses the structure, reactor, and computing to perform such an movement. Subsequent immediate maintenance and inspection is required to keep safety standards.

In the deeper seas using the limbs to via contact is less efficient, leverage is reduced and in some cases the legs will not be able to reach the floor at all. Here the ship switches to cruising procedures. The legs are lifted, without the support from the limbs the water line of the ship raises. Water based manuving sections now submerged will be used as the main propulsion. These sections help reduce the drag the bulk of the hull creates during transit.

The mass and inertia of the vessel act as the primary stability method. It takes much more to shift the mountain of the ship than any other craft. However, as more iterators have been introducing heat and energy into the environment, these high level storms and dangerous ocean conditions have only increased in frequency and volatility. If needed during extremely violent ocean conditions, the limbs can extend as stabilizers to keep the ship level. This was a later addition to the ship’s procedures.

[britt-kageryuu]

It's a fairly calm day in the studio, considering Donnie has decided to update and /or upgrade everyones setups, and equipment. He had the desks pulled from their stations, and multiple parts stacked up around the area.

He periodically tested the parts or programs to make sure they were not broken in some way which would lead to more work, and needing to fix or order replacements, which was not the worst that could happen. Donnie still has nightmares about how somehow one of the setups fully bricked from just one faulty part, he was glad he always had backups for his backups, so it was only a loss of parts, time, and some money.

Donnie was also doing some upgrades to the desks themselves, like making Raphs a bit taller because his while growth rate may have slowed down alot, finally, he's still too big for the current height.

Mikeys was made a bit wider to accommodate a bigger digital drawing setup with multiple custom styluses that look like paintbrushes, pencils, pens, and crayons.

Leo's desk was just getting some new controller storage that doubles as a charging dock, he annoyed Donnie a bit too much recently, so minimal upgrades this time.

Donnie was going to add lighting to his, even if only those in the studio will see it, and maybe add a new monitor or something to allocate 'junk icons' to de clutter the other monitors. And he's planning to upgrade all of their stream decks.

He was also checking on Shelldon who was in the middle of an update himself and 'sleeping' on his charging bed. The updates being sent from a spare laptop wirelessly connected to Donnies main computer in his lab.

As he's about to put a new part into place, he pauses to yawn, and then checks the time.

"Sweet and Spicy Churros, has it been that long already. I'm surprised Angelo hasn't tried to drag me out to make sure I eat. Oh wait, he's working today. Right." Donnie looks around to see his current progress, and decides it's a good time to take a brake. Taking care to not step on any parts that got left out, he starts to head for the kitchen area of the studio.

When suddenly Shelldon shoots off his charging dock and flys across the room, thankfully not hitting anything except the wall he crashed into.

"Pizza Supreme! SHELLDON!" He uses his Ninpo to turn his battle-shell into it's hover mode, and quickly goes to check on his robot son. Donnie picks Shelldon up to look him over, "Are you okay, are your systems functioning?!"

Shelldon comes out of the 'daze' he was in. "I'm find Dad, but if that was real, your ancestors are jerks, except Gram Gram of course."

Donnie is understandably confused, "What do you mean 'if that was real'? And the Hamato ancestors tried to contact you?"

Shelldon shakes his head, "Well I don't know, it was like I was dreaming, and suddenly someone claiming to be a great great aunt from Grandpas aunts side, or something." He then rolls his eyes, "Dude was totally pushy about some distant cousin disgracing the family, or something. My translation programming wasn't working in my 'Dream'."

Donnie is still confused, "I don't know whether to be surprised over the fact that you can simulate dreaming, since you've told me you could, question why the ancestors decided to contact you, or wonder what was messing with your translation programming."

"Yeah, this Great Aunt was trying to tell me a name, but it kept translating the meaning of the name," Shelldon says annoyed at his programming, "And when I asked 'why me?' she was getting more pushy until she started chasing me. Which is probably what triggered me to fly off the dock."

Donnie was still feeling lost, but decided to shelve the idea for later, to focus on getting food. "We can check if this 'dream' was recorded, and look it over while I eat, and you finish your updates."

The dream was in fact recorded, and analyzing it revealed that Shelldon apparently had a human form in this dream, which they believe is why this random ancestor thought Shelldon could help. Also the name they discovered wasn't being translated because it was not the proper way to say the name, or something.

But that was a problem for a different day, when Donnie didn't have another, what feels like, 10 hours of work left, at least.

-----------------

Masterpost

[sweet7simple]

Terms and definitions that you can maybe apply to your fan works

I don't know anything about computer or mechanical engineering (it's very funny to me that I am in the Transformers fandom and I don't even care about cars), but I do care about improving my writing. I have gathered a list of terms that sound very sciencey and applicable to mechs, some from Martha Wells's "Murderbot Diaries," some from fanfiction/fandom (shout-out to the Crime in Crystals series by Aard_Rinn and Baebeyza, they wrote Transformers better than any Transformers comic/TV show did), and a lot from just surfing through Google and going, "well, what the hell is this? Okay, but what the hell is THAT?".

Also, as I was writing this post, I ended up getting sucked into this article:

And this really bloated my already long list of terms. Very easy to read if you want to glance it over yourself.

It's not an exhaustive list and who knows if it will be useful to you - but maybe you can reblog with your own add-ons of terms and definitions you think make a Transformers fan work just that much better.

The list is below the cut:

100% CPU Load - CPU is fully occupied with too many processors/applications/drivers/operations - not necessarily synonymous with an overload.

Actuators* - A device that causes a machine or other device to operate (Ex: a computerized unit instructs the actuator how to move the tires on a vehicle); create linear and rotary movement (Ex: A hydraulic actuator on a valve will move that valve in response to a sensor/signal); Linear actuators "move a piston back and forth inside a cylinder to build pressure and 'actuate', or complete an action".

* Think of actuators as devices that help produce linear motion and motors as devices that help produce rotational movement. Hence, some consider actuators as a type of motor. But a motor is not a type of actuator (jhfoster.com).

Alternator - Converts mechanical energy to electrical energy with an alternating current. The stator and rotor inside the alternator work as magnets and rotate to generate the alternating current. Then the alternating current (AC) is transformed into a direct current (DC) that charges the battery.

Archive (Archive files) - used to collect multiple data files together into a single file for easier portability and storage, or simply to compress files to use less storage space.

Arithmetic Log Unit (ALU) - the part of a central processing unit that carries out arithmetic and logic operations on the operands in computer instruction words. In some processors, the ALU is divided into two units: an arithmetic unit (AU) and a logic unit (LU).

Augment - Make something greater; increase.

Auxiliary Battery - Designed to run as a backup to the starting battery and provide power to some essential equipment like engine start/stop and other systems that require power while the engine is off to put less strain on the main battery and alternator.

Bandwidth - A measurement indicating the maximum capacity of a wired or wireless communications link to transmit data over a network connection in a given amount of time.

Behavioral Coding - A term used in Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries; essential, code for behaviors.

Branch Instructions - Use programming elements like if-statements, for-loops, and return-statements; used to interrupt the program execution and switch to a different part of the code.

Branch Predictors - Track the status of previous branches to learn whether or not an upcoming branch is likely to be taken or not.

Buffer - A region of memory used to store data temporarily while it is being moved from one place to another.

Cathodes vs Anodes - Cathodes are the positive electrode while the anode is the negative electrode; electrons flow from the anode to the cathode and this creates the flow of electric charge in a battery or electrochemical cell.

Catastrophic Failure - Complete, sudden and unexpected breakdown in a machine, indicating improper maintenance.

Central Processing Unit (CPU) - Primary component of a computer that acts as its "control center"; complex set of circuitry that runs the machine's operating systems and apps; the brains of the computer. * Components: Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), Control Unit (CU), Datapath, Instruction Cycle, Registers, Combinational Logic, the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), etc...

Clock - Determines how many instructions a CPU can process per second; increasing its frequency through overclocking will make instructions run faster, but will increase power consumption and heat output.

Combustion Chambers - An enclosed space in which combustion takes place, such as an engine; jet engines also have combustion chambers.

Condition Codes - Extra bits kept by a processor that summarize the results of an operation and that affect the execution of later instructions.

Control Bus - Manages the communication between the computer's CPU and its other components.

Control Unit (CU) - Manages the execution of instructions and coordinates data flow within the CPU and between other computer components.

Cybermetal - Element native to Cybertron and Cybertron alone.

Datapath - The path where data flows as it is processed; receives input, processes it, and sends it out to the right place when done processing; datapaths are told how to operate by the CU; depending on instructions, a datapath can route signals to different components, turn on and off different parts of itself, and monitor the state of the CPU.

Diagnostic and Data Repair Sequence - Term used in Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries; exactly what it sounds like.

Diode - A semiconductor device with two terminals (a cathode and an anode), typically allowing the flow of current in one direction only.

Discrete Circuit vs Integrated Circuit- Single device with a single function (ex: Transistor, diode) vs Devices with multiple functional elements on one chip (ex: Memories, microprocessor IC and Logic IC).

Drivers - A set of files that help software (digital components, such as Microsoft Office) interface/work with hardware (physical components, such as a keyboard); allows an operating system and a device to communicate.

Electromagnetic (EM) Field - A combination of invisible electric and magnetic fields of force; used in fandom by mechs to broadcast emotions to others.

Flags - A value that acts as a signal for a function or process. The value of the flag is used to determine the next step of a program; flags are often binary flags which contain a boolean value (true or false).

Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) - Consists of an electronic control unit (ECU) and related accessors that control aircraft engine performances.

Gestation Tank - Used in mech pregnancies, you can pry it from my cold, dead hands.

Heads Up Display (HUD) - A part of the user interface that visually conveys information to the player during gameplay.

Heat Spreader - Often used in computer processors to prevent them from overheating during operation; transfers energy as heat from a hotter source to a colder heat sink or heat exchanger.

HUB - A device that connects multiple computers and devices to a local area network (LAN).

Inductive Charging - How I imagine berths work; wireless power transfer (ex: Wireless charger or charging pad used for phones).

Instruction Cycle - Also known as fetch-decode-execute cycle; basic operation performed by a CPU to execute an instruction; consists of several steps, each of which performs a specific function in the execution of the instruction.

Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) - The figurative blueprint for how the CPU operates and how all the internal systems interact with each other (I think of it like a blueprint for the brain).

Irising - Term used in fanfiction (specifically the Crime in Crystals series) to describe the action of the of the spark chamber opening ("The Talk", chapter 6, my absolute favorite chapter out of the entire series). I just really liked how the word sounded in that context.

Life Codes - "For those of us who were forged, Primus, through Vector Sigma, generated a pulse wave. Each one a data-saturated life code faster than thought, brighter than light, racing across Cybertron, sowing sparks..." (~Tyrest/Solomus, Volume 5 of More Than Meets the Eye)

Memory Hierarchy - Represents the relationship between caches, RAM, and main storage; when a CPU receives a memory instruction for a piece of data that it doesn't yet have locally in its registers, it will go down the memory hierarchy until it finds it.

Levels: L1 cache (usually smallest and fastest), L2 cache, L3 cache, RAM, and then main storage (usually biggest and slowest); available space and latency (delay) increase from one level to the next

Depending on the multi-core (a core is usually synonymous with a CPU) system, each core will have its own private L1 cache, share an L2 with one other core, and share an L3 with more or more cores.

Motors* - Any power unit that generates motion; electric motors work by converting electrical energy into mechanical energy... when this happens within a magnetic field, a force is generated which causes shaft rotation.

Multitasking Operating System - Allows users to run multiple programs and tasks almost simultaneously without losing data; manage system resources (such as computer memory and input/output devices), allocate resources, enable multiple users, and eliminate long wait times for program execution.

Network - A set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. Computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other.

Network Feed - The continuously updating stream of content that users encounter on networking platforms.

Neural Network - A type of machine learning process that uses interconnected nodes (like neurons) to teach computers to process data in a way similar to the human brain; a form of deep learning that can help computers learn from their mistakes and improve their time.

Nimbus - A luminous cloud or a halo surrounding a supernatural being or a saint; has been used in fanfiction synonymously or in junction with the corona of the spark.

Nodes - A connection point between devices that allows data to be sent and received between them.

Oil Sump/Oil Pan - Don't forget to change your mech's oil.

Out-Of-Order Execution - A paradigm used to minimize downtime while waiting for other instructions to finish; allows a CPU to choose the most timely instructions to execute out of an instruction queue.

Overload - Orgasm; an electrical overload occurs when too much electricity passes through a circuit, exceeding its capacity; an information overload is when a system receives more input than it can process, or a state of being overwhelmed by the amount of data presented for processing.

Pedes - Feet

Pipelining - A technique used in computer architecture that allows a processor to execute multiple instructions simultaneously, improving overall performance.

Processing Capacity - The ability and speed of a processor, and how many operations it can carry out in a given amount of time.

Program Counter - A special register in a computer processor that contains the memory address (location) of the next program instruction to be executed.

Programmable Nanobots/Nanites - Cybertronian microbots programmed to do work at the molecular level; used popularly for surface healing and pigment in mechs.

Protected Storage - Provides applications with an interface to store user data that must be kept secure or free from modification; a storage method; a function in mainframe hardware.

Protoform - Formed of an ultra-dense liquid metal and are extremely hard to damage; the most basic Cybertronian form of raw, free-flowing living metal; first stage of Cybertronian life cycle

To create a Cybertronian, you need the protoform, the life-giving spark, and alt-form information.

Register - A type of computer memory built directly into the processor or CPU that is used to store and manipulate data during the execution of instructions.

Ex: "When you run a .exe on Windows... the code for that program is moved into memory and the CPU is told what address the first instruction starts at. The CPU always maintains an internal register that holds the memory location of the next instruction to be executed [the Program Counter]"...

Resource Allocations - The process of identifying and assigning available resources to a task or project to support objectives.

Risk Assessment - Focus on identifying the threats facing your information systems, networks, and data and assessing the potential consequences should these adverse events occur.

Routine - A component of a software application that performs a specific task (ex: Saving a file).

Servomechanism - A powered mechanism producing motion or force at a higher level of energy than the input level (ex: In the brakes and steering of large motor vehicles) especially where feedback is employed to make the control automatic.

Servos - Hands

Shellcode - A small piece of executable code used as a payload, built to exploit vulnerabilities in a system or carry out malicious commands. The name comes from the fact that the shellcode usually starts a command shell which allows the attacker to control the compromised machine.

Semiconductor - A material used in electrical circuits and components that partially conduct electricity.

Semiconductor materials include silicon, germanium, and selenium.

Struts - Bones; A rod or bar forming part of a framework and designed to resist compression.

System/System Unit (in computers) - A setup that consists of both hardware and software components organized to perform complex operations/The core of your computer where all the processing happens.

Task Specific Accelerator - Circuits designed to perform one small task as fast as possible (ex: Encription, media encoding & machine learning).

Teek - Used in Transformers fandom in conjunction with EM Fields; when a mech "teeks" another mech's field, they are feeling the emotions that mech is broadcasting.

Transistor - Enables a computer to follow instructions to calculate, compare and copy data.

Universal Serial Bus (USB) - A standard plug-and-play interface that allows computers and peripheral devices to connect with each other, transfer data, and share a power source; allows data exchange and delivery of power between many types of electronics; plug-and-play interface is also a type of sexual activity used in fandom.

Warren - Used to refer to a group of minibots with their own social hierarchy and culture (Seriously, read the Crime in Crystals series, it's better than canon).

[d8tl55c]

scene of programmer021 throwing together the code for the first TCOs: "what if i just give them 100% in all stats lmao."

releases one into a sandbox*

sandbox bricked irretrievably within 3 minutes

ho-ly shit.

..... that's hilarious.

they try like ten more times, each with the same outcome. the little worm is good at what it does, scary good, and programmer is grateful that they went the extra mile with the sandbox layer of protection from it.

at a safe distance, the TCOs are brilliant sparring partners.

*(basically a mini computer running inside of (but held separately from) another computer) (used to test new features without risking a whole system)

on the twelfth go, they've learned enough of its tricks to have more of a chance. both of them take a moment after a long scuffle to catch their breaths. the stick figure gasps on the floor - it's amazing! so lifelike! and programmer is celebrating this little victory for the field of recreational AI right up until

it looks at them.

TCO #12 turns its hollow face out through the screen, looking at them.

programmer is unsettled.

can it see them?

their webcam is off.

surely it's impossible?

right?

and yet, it seems to see them regardless, because not only does it react to their reaction (little twitches eerily realistic, how did their program know to do those things), it capitalizes on their shock. it springs to its feet while they're still open-mouthed and reaches the walls of the sandbox window (which programmer had been herding them away from at all costs), crashing against the side, rebounding, and hitting them again and again.

programmer flails to reconnect to their Cursor (you know when you forget where it is and have to wave it around before you can use it again? like that, but with even more panic, confusion, and imminent peril).

there are cracks in a multitude of funny colors forming at the edge of the sandbox instance. pieces of the window dent out of its normal bounding box. The Chosen One adapts instantly, focusing its hits toward the weak points.

WTF! this has gone way too far.

programmer's Cursor swoops around from out of nowhere and catches the TCO by the base of its head. it tries to breathe fire and only manages strangled puffs of smoke. its legs kick the air. where once it was so elegant and poised it twists and writhes-

programmer drops it.

they feel cold.

their Cursor retreats outside the walls of the sandbox PC, clicking into the main system's File Explorer. already open is the folder with this sandbox, its partition of storage, and setup files inside.

they click it. press Delete on their keyboard.

the TCO tries to stand. it pushes through a dizzy spell, one hand holding the spot under its head that must be its neck, and sprints toward the breach it was working on.

a confirmation pane appears, from the process responsible for running the sandbox.

its arms are strong, but the more TCO_12 struggles the more it's clear that this wall would need way more firepower and concerted effort... and time... to break. it's out of time. it realizes this.

are you sure you want to end this process? ALL data will be lost.

programmer sees when it loses hope, because it abandons the wall. it abandons the whole game: the pride and dignity it fought with, the play-pretend that it held any real power here. it turns outward again, toward the screen. small hands slam against the barrier between them, knock-knocking faster, faster, please please please, its legs shake and give out but it keeps knocking, on its knees, please please please please PLEASE

the sandbox is deleted.

the window that displayed it freezes, lighting up too-bright and desaturated.

a snapshot of the TCO is frozen in place, begging for...

begging for what? it was never meant to know anything. to want anything. how did it know there was anything outside its reality to want?

or was it simply afraid to die?

Windows catches up, and sweeps the frozen program away.

programmer021 is left alone with the spot where TCO_12 used to be.

their friends want to play with their latest stick figures. they were supposed to update today.

programmer numbly uploads the most recent release build they have. killer and BEAST were fun to work on. they'll warn everyone not to touch TCO until.... until programmer works out how to... until ever, and if one of them does, it'll be their own fault.

[iteratorsex]

ever noticed the neuron flies kinda look like vacuum tubes?

they likely are the "transistors" that function as the main processing power of the CPU/GSB, although given how computationally power iterators are they likely use on something more complex than base2

I think that's actually what the dots in deep processing are for, and not really the neuronflies themselves. The shape seems like a coincidence, as the swarmers look more just like bacterium to me with their flagella

The flies seem to carry entire packages of data and storage as well as having a more like... unique computational method? [1]

Anyways yeah I do think the cells in deep processing use a base 4 system along with a Lot of chemical transmitters and what not. Biological circuits do absolutely exist in our own world and I imagine iterators are not far off from that [2]

[gay-milton-quotes]

I'm Unpeeling Myself from Big Tech!

"Unpeeling" being any act you take that limits the amount of data a large tech corporation can gather from you, decreases your reliance on products of those corporations, or increases autonomy over your technology. I'm ripping the term from a line in this review by Joanna Nelius, where she writes, "People are looking for ways to peel their eyes from their smartphones like a layer of Elmer’s glue from their hand — to remove a part of themselves that really isn’t a part of themselves." It's different than "unplugging" because the goal isn't to go off the grid, or even to limit one's technology usage. The goal, instead, is to extract from the invasive, addictive, destructive capitalist vision a set of tools that are useful to YOU.

It started when I realized I don't need a smartphone. I've deleted most social media from my phone, and the stuff I still have I prefer to check on my laptop. Not all "dumb phones" (I hate this term) offer the same features, though, so I began to think on a granular level about what I need from a cell phone. Eg, not all "dumb phones" provide MMS, but my family lives 3k miles away. I wanna still talk in the groupchat.

On the more complex end, I write on my phone. I've been using Google Docs to move seamlessly from scribbled writing drafts on my phone to formatted, finished works on my computer since I was fourteen.

Except, Google Docs is useless now. I've been unable to use it since they lowered the storage capacity. The only other cloud storage writing thingy with similar functionality is Office 365, which sucks.

Could a dumb phone with a basic "notes" feature work? Maybe, but I'd have to re-type everything to get it into a formatted document. Ideally, I'd have like, a mini-laptop just for writing - something I could fit in my pocket or in a small bag, so I could bring it to work without looking like a dick - and then, in addition, a basic phone for calls/texts/GPS stuff. But does a device this specific to my use case even exist?

Yes. Yes it does.

This is a GPD Micro PC. GPD mainly sells handheld gaming machines, though this product is designed for mobile IT professionals. It's probably too chonky for a pocket, but mark my words, I will figure out how to make it work for me.

It's stupid, but this gave me a rush. I've been struggling along, tied to the bloated corpses of three gmail accounts, for years, because I needed Google Docs for my writing workflow. But now I don't. I have the power to actually tailor my tech for my life.

By this point, I was like, alright, I don't need Google Docs anymore, I don't need a smartphone, what else? Do I need Windows? No, probably not, right? I can use Linux Mint on this new guy, especially since he'll mostly be a basic writing machine. LibreOffice is less intrusive and bloated than MS Word - a better experience for free than I'd have from the paid program. If I go all the way and install Linux, I also won't have to deal with ads in my start menu, or pre-installed spyware screenshotting my activities.

In fact, if I back everything up on an external drive, I can delete my old Google Drives and switch my main computer to Linux, too! So, I finally bit the bullet and invested in an external hard drive.

This is the problem with "product ecosystems," by the way. When one part of that ecosystem - Google Docs - fails, the whole thing collapses. All the bloat and corruption you dealt with just stops being worth it, and it's easier to make a radical change to a new system. I witnessed something similar happen with comedy tech youtuber Dankpods earlier this year, except with Apple's ecosystem: he was a lifetime Apple guy - seemingly not in a worship way, but he liked their products, and was certainly in Apple's ecosystem. Then a couple things went sour for him, and now he runs Linux.

I'm doing this for personal and ideological reasons. I'm personally sick of Clippy - I mean, Copilot - peeping in to tell me how to write what I'm writing on Office 365. I abhor the idea of paying Google for a service they offered for free until recently, knowing they can flip the script at any point. And while we're talking ideology, I'm a communist, and even though this is far from a shift everyone can make, I believe that taking any available steps towards shutting Big Tech out of our lives is a net good. If all you can do is delete Instagram, or use a screentime tracker, or switch to Firefox, do it. I'm finally in a position to make this more drastic change, and I'm excited.

Get in the weeds about how you use technology. Do you need everything at your fingertips, all the time? If not, what, specifically, do you need? Is there a way that you, now or in the future, can trim out the parts you dislike? And what can you change now?

[arch-official]

i have recently acquired an old lenovo g50-45 with 8 gb (upgradable to 16 gb) of ram and a 1 tb hdd. she has like 4 or 5 columns of frozen pixels directly in the middle of the screen but it's not that much of an interference. i'm kind of at a loss of what to do with her besides upgrading her components and maybe (maybe) replacing her screen (but probably not). i really want to show her love like what her previous user obviously had for her and i don't want her to sit around but i already have so many laptops. what do you recommend i do with her? use her as cloud storage/games server? movie viewer with a slightly messed up screen? any advice would be welcome

Sorry for the late response, honestly.. idk. I would recommend getting the screen first, as that would help with usability, but beyond that it is really a matter of preference.

You could always set up a kind of test computer. Set up a small system on it and test out things that you worry may break your main system on it. Idk