#process the data in batches instead

[mathysphere]

whoa! thank you very much to everyone who has filled out the survey so far-- this is already many more responses than I'd even hoped to get! I'll start on some preliminary data-sorting now, and while I do--

The CEC numbers ecoregions roughly from north to south, with 'Arctic Cordillera' as 1.1 and 'Coastal Plain and Hills of Soconusco' as 15.6. Using those to chart the number of responses per ecoregion makes a pretty nice curve:

...which makes sense, given that this is an English-language survey on Tumblr. Shout out to the one person who's filled out the survey for the Arctic Cordillera, though-- that's really cool! And useful. 🙏

I'm also grateful to the two people who filled out the survey for Hawaii, and the person who filled it out for Puerto Rico, too.

Thank you very much to everybody who has filled out the survey/shared the survey/sent in asks and messages about the survey! I'm reading through a bunch of the entries and comments now, and hearing people talk w love and humor about the plants and animals they grew up with is kinda gonna make me cry

I know what I desperately want to stitch in the new year... but it requires... research

[jjjjeonww]

hong joshua - "Dear, Diary. Damn my academic rival."

genre - romance! ~~in which you've seen joshua as your academic rival for years, but lets see how he sees you in his perspective. (just wanted to switch it up a bit heh) a/n: this is a little thank you for 108 followers hehe<3!! also, this is a fic requested by the one and only, @hanniescookie! you keep coming up with amazing ideas and requests my angel, and im always happy and always honoured to complete them and be the person who receives them <3 ( @wonkierideul, here's your tag my lovie! you've had a tiring day, take a break and rest up. a junhui fic will be coming soon, just for you🤍)

(remember, this is all in joshua's pov!) 28th December 2024 Dear Diary, Today I felt so stupid. Why? I couldn't take my eyes off Y/n as she pored over the latest batch of data, her brows were furrowed in concentration. The flickering lamplight casted shadows across her face, it highlighted the curve of her cheekbones. Honestly, to me, Y/n was a vision of focus and intellect, a force to be reckoned with. And damn if she didn't look gorgeous in the process.

When she glanced up and caught me staring, a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. It was a rare sight, that smile... but it was all the more devastating for its infrequency. I felt my heart stutter in my chest, my breath hitched slightly as I drank in the sight of her.

"You've got that look again," I said. I have no idea how, or why my voice came out more huskily than I intended. I cleared my throat, trying to regain my composure. "Like when Tom thinks he can finally eat Jerry. What are you so smug about?"

I saw her smile widening, a glint of mischief appeared in her eyes. "I'm not smug," she said, and I know I heard the stupid note of false innocence in her tone. "I'm just...satisfied with my progress." Note by Joshua: (As if she could do any better than me. Well, she did do better than me this time. Won't let it happen the next!)

5th January 2025 Dear Diary, Today we got our test results. Obviously I looked around to find Y/n and to see her reaction to her grade, only to find her right next to me, holding up her test results, the paper rustled softly in her hand. I leaned forward to see, my glasses slipping down my nose as I squinted at the numbers. My jaw clenched as I took in the scores - hers were higher than mine, by a margin that made my gut twist with reluctant admiration.

"What?" I scoffed, pushing my glasses back up. "You've beaten me again?" I leaned back in my chair, and crossed my arms over my chest. "Damn you Y/n. Next time... don't get too comfortable. I'm not going to let you stay ahead for long." Her smile turned into a full-blown grin, those eyes... they sparkled with that familiar competitive fire. "I wouldn't expect anything less," she said, a note of challenge in her voice. "But don't worry, Joshua. I have no intention of making this easy for you. I want to see you push yourself, to reach for even greater heights."

I felt a surge of determination, a fierce need to prove myself and rise to her challenge. But beneath that, I felt something else, something softer and more intense. A longing to see that smile on her face again and to keep this fire alive. Note by Joshua: (I guess I got another longing; For her to stop calling me by my name and instead call me 'hers'. And I'm cringing at my own joke haha! until next time diary!) 13th January 2025 Dear Diary, The days have turned into weeks, and my isolation and forced collaboration with Y/n only seemed to intensify the charged atmosphere between us. We clashed over theories and methods, our voices raised in heated debate as we paced the confines of the cabin. The air grew thick with tension, but it was a different kind of tension than before. There was an undercurrent of something else, something that made my skin prickle and my heart race.

Note by Joshua: (Today's note of 'love' was a short one. Guess our isolation was bigger than our forced proximity.) 27th January 2025 Dear Diary, Something happened this evening. As I was reviewing our notes by the flickering fireplace, I glanced up to see Y/n staring at the flames, a distant look on her face. She looked gorgeous in the firefight, shadows dancing across her delicate features and highlighting the curve of her lips. I found myself wondering what she was thinking about, what dreams or fantasies played behind those captivating eyes.

"You know," I said softly, to me, my voice was barely audible over the crackling of the flames, "sometimes I wonder what goes on in that brilliant mind of yours."

And she turned to face me, a small smile played at the corners of her mouth. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she teased, a mischievous glint in her eye.

I felt a smirk tug at my own lips, a hint of playfulness entering my voice. "I think about it more than I should," I admitted, my gaze locked with hers. "Especially when you look at me like that."

Her smile widened, a soft blush coloured her cheeks. "Like what?" she asked, a note of innocence in her voice belied by the heat in her eyes.

I leaned forward, my elbows on my knees, my eyes never leaving hers. "Like you're trying to figure me out," I murmured. "Like you're seeing right through me, past all the bravado and the competition, to the heart of who I am."

I watched how her breath hitched, and how she swallowed hard. "Maybe I am," she whispered, her voice was barely audible. "Maybe I want to know what makes you tick, Joshua. What drives you, what you dream about, what you...want."

I felt my heart pound in my chest, a fierce longing surging through me. I wanted to tell her everything, to lay bare the secrets of my soul and hope that she would do the same. But I held back, I didn't want to scare her off. Note by Joshua: (Maybe next time, we'll see what'll unfold for me and Y/n. But hey, at least today's 'love' note was a long one right?)

[alienpossession]

The Shell: The Landing

The right landing should have delivered us right on the doorstep of the townhall of the small town, where we would quickly encounter all sort of human that probably gathered right away to observe us upon our landing.

We would then utilize that opportunity to paralyze them with our venom, gather their DNA, absorb it to our system and built our human shell that copied the townspeople for the perfect integration as we would then dispose their vegetative bodies. But, we instead landed off the town's border due to the rookie that probably put the wrong coordinate which resulted in us stranded in this forest and in human measurement, some 35 kilometres off from our supposed landing spot. That distance is a very miniscule one compared to the intergalactic journey we went through, but for human measurement, that's like a major miss and we ensured that we will relay this message once we are in contact with Mothership that stationed just outside Earth's orbit. The next batch should not experience this unfortunate circumstances

Yet, despite the isolation, we still managed to find a lot of traces of human existence among this wooded path. Sadly, it's not consistent enough to be extracted as a basis to build our shell as most of them tend to be sweat and urine instead of blood, saliva or sperm which has higher DNA consistency. But it's a huge wooded landscape and with that much human traces already, we kept our belief that we will find the necessary DNA source eventually.

After around 30 minutes, we finally found what we're looking for. It's near a structure we learned as a tent and there, we found copious amount of sperm and other things right next to a tree and basically spread around the area. As the one responsible for this pack, I decided to be the first one to initiate this whole thing so I absorbed all the DNA, hair, saliva and practically anything I could find in the perimeter and let the process kickstarted. I can feel my liquid form enlarged and started to harden as I emitted all the information I received from the sources to create the perfect human replica. The flashes of image I received about this human source sharpened the imitation to its finest details. I started from the head as we were taught in our academy to always form the brain and the head first because that's where we will control the shell from. This human has quite an angular facial feature peppered with shaved facial hair based on the genetic data. He has no inherited diseases whatsoever so I take the liberty to assume that this is a healthy person which means that he probably has decent built. The average height of the human in the area where we supposedly landed is around 6 feet tall so that's the height I set my shell to be. But everything becomes much more easier as this human all in a sudden walked out from his tent and started calling out another name

"Colin, is that you?" He faintly whispered. Did I and the pack make too much noise? Well, creating a shell is not necessarily a quiet process as we're practically building a skin but we believe we've been very quiet. Then, an animal we know called as deer appeared but the human seemed to not be that startled. Yet, just a glimpse of his look helped me to really fine-tune everything to perfection. I reshaped my shell's abdominal and pectoral muscle to be tighter and imprinted the ink I saw on the human. The taut legs and tight yet bubbly glutes followed suit alongside the hair on his legs and shaved pubic hair. I also notice the scars in his back and right above his ass crack and make his intricate web of veins that carried the blood to energized his body more visible in my shell to really match his. The final creation is the sexual appendage of the male human and despite not seeing it in full frontal form from the owner, I make an educated guess from the bulge he sported earlier and let the meat formed itself to become a 6.5 inches soft, uncut cock with a large grape-sized sperm glands or human usually called it as balls. It's modifiable after all, so no need to get it perfect on the first go

As I then take the time to create all the internal organs and placed myself to wrap this imitation brain of this shell like a cocoon, this shell is finally ready so I stand up and happily grinned looking at the rest of the pack

"Wait here, okay? All of you will have your turn coming,"

He's already back inside his tent when I stand up, so I slowly creep myself to ambush him before that Colin person comes back. He's sleeping naked with his ass on full display inside his tent, the fuzziness and arch of his ass inspired me to alter my shell right then and there for a perfect copy and before he's aware, I lunged right at him and started to circle my muscular forearm to choke him. We battled hard as he flailed around trying to get himself free, but I locked his neck and legs way too tight for him to get out from. When his body goes limp, I finalized the tiny details I failed to get by altering my shell before I enacted the final replication process. As my shell goes limp without me in control, I inserted myself to his brain to gather all information needed. It's a rather quick process as I simply wrap myself around his soon-to-be useless brain and absorbed all the information about.......Ryle Adams. Then, I slide out from his brain and entered my Ryle shell to then inject the memory to the mush of a brain of the shell so I can pass myself on as Ryle Adams with ease and also making this body able to function autopilot even when I'm not inside of him, a perfectly seamless integration

Now, time to clean up the old Ryle and prepare for Colin's arrival after his fishing duty. Maybe to make the replication easy, I should just stuff one member of the pack into Colin's brain, so once it gets out, it can simply replicate everything without making guesses or adjustment. Yeah, that sounds easier to be honest.....

[duskier]

Sorry thinking about mechanic Ghost and his stolen military weapon robot Soap rn 🫶

cw for dubcon & robot gore but no human gore

Ghost having his arms buried in Soap’s torso, fixing some wires that got pulled loose because Soap definitely pushes himself out of his parameters/limits often- he discovers some of Soap's sensors are, well, sensitive.

It was like any other repair. Soap was sat up on the work bench, so his innards were eye level for Ghost, his chest plate popped out and set to the side. It still weirded Ghost out a little to see a bot look so uncannily human, to be open for display like this as if it were normal. Soap sitting stiller than death with an empty dark metal hull filled with wires and flashing lights instead of flesh.

There was cleaning, troubleshooting, and finally, Ghost had a flashlight buried in his torso to find where the last wire was loose. His scanner read there was still one hiding somewhere.

He was blindly fumbling for the wire, just hoping he would get lucky and he wouldn't have to pop out Soap's back plate as that would take more time.

Listening to the steady electrical buzz that Soap has instead of a heartbeat suddenly turn louder, more intense, and suddenly Soap’s got his metal hand around Ghost's wrist like a vice.

Hydraulics systems hissing, the sound alone reminded Ghost that at the core of it all, despite the sunshine-y human personality, Soap was a machine made to kill and could easily crush his forearm.

He's programmed to have expressions on his head display to increase depth of human communication, and when Ghost looks up, he sees that Soap looked confused. Pixilated brows furrowed, mouth a flat line.

"....Status?" Ghost asked, frozen in place, meeting his eyes. This was strange, even for a rebellious bot like Soap.

There is a long pause, electrical buzzing and Soap's cooling fans whirring being the only sounds while Soap calculated.

"I am... fine." The hand released Ghost's forearm.

It drove Ghost up the wall that a robot like Soap could use such vague human language instead of numerical data like he was supposed to.

"Fine? That didn't seem fine."

Determined to find more out for himself since the bot was useless, he proceeded. Ghost reached his fingers in deeper, the leather of his glove brushing a ribbed metal plate when Soap made a sharp, rapid clicking sound.

"Please..." Soap’s voice was less smooth, more audibly robotic, as if he were shorting out. The buzzing sound was growing more intense, and Ghost ran his knuckles along the metal plate once again.

This time it had Soap’s spine shooting straight, a distressed vibration noise rattling in the bot's chest.

"Does it... hurt?" Ghost asked, fingers stilling for a moment but never pulling back.

The buzzing continued, Soap's face display flickering. "I don't know what it 'feels' like to hurt, Ghost. You know that. This... I don't know." The voice synthesizer was cracking more now, but Soap showed no signs of concern for his CPU.

Ghost felt heavy warmth pooling in his gut, knowing that Soap wasn't programmed to feel- well, anything really, beyond the sensors to improve his dexterity. The batch of bots Soap came from certainly weren't designed to feel pain.

Then again, Soap was so easy to steal because he was defective since his creation.

It was common for humans to project their own feelings onto robots, especially the more humanoid looking ones. Ghost felt himself growing hard in his jeans, mouth going dry. He was certain he was getting the robot off, the idea setting his blood ablaze in his veins.

Even with all of his artificial brilliance and programmed personality, Soap had no idea what this new feeling was. It was overwhelming, like he was getting electrical surges through his entire being. Gears grinding, neural processes pausing and halting. Ghost had asked him if it hurt- from what little of pain Soap could understand he didn't think that was it. It felt like... more.

"Please," Soap said again, but he wasn't sure what he was even asking for. It was like he was being dismantled, put together, and dismantled again. He could hear himself, as if his CPU was separate from his robotic body, making noises he'd never heard from any robot of his make and model.

"Yeah," Ghost replied, both absent and present in the moment, fingers running down the ridges again, pressing a little more insistently.

One of Soap’s hands gripped the table he was sitting on, the force of his grip causing a distinct cracking sound as the wood splintered in his hand. A deeper whirring sound thrummed from the core of his chest, thin vibrations rolling up his spine as Ghost pressed on. Ghost's thighs flexed as he fought to keep his mind straight.

He considered pulling his hand away- wasn't as if robots could cum, right? But it was as if Soap could feel the moment's hesitation and suddenly his hand was around Ghost's forearm again. Pulling him closer, holding him firmly there.

"Gh-" Soap's voice cut out entirely, a spark flying from his neck joint as he let out a flat tone.

Immediately, Soap's face display went blank entirely, the arm locking dead. The buzzing sound of Soap’s heart stopped, the room falling entirely silent.

"Soap? ...Shit, Soap?" Ghost tried to pull his arm free, but the joints were locked.

Seconds felt like minutes but finally a fan kicked on, slowly kicking on processors, and the metal fingers digging into Ghost released one by one.

"You with me?" Ghost asked gently, watching as Soap’s display kicked on.

"What the fuck did you just do to me?" Was Soap’s first question.

The second, "...Can you do it again?"

[waywardsou2]

Summer of Bad Batch Week 5

"Need a hand?"

Word Count: 226

Tags: none, head canons, jokes, cringe

Echo saying "Need a hand" as joke to his family

Hunter: When Echo cracks the joke for the first time, Hunter chokes on his drink. He doesn’t exactly know whether to laugh or not. But he coughs instead. Echo says it, smiles and walks away leaving Hunter to deal with processing his joke.

Wrecker: Wrecker cackles when Echo makes the joke, patting him on the back as the two laugh. It’s not often Echo is in a fun mood so Wrecker takes full advantage of the moment.

Tech: Tech doesn’t get the joke. He simply replies that he doesn’t and doesn’t even bat an eye. It’s only later that he gets what Echo was saying and he chuckles to himself late at night whilst he is still awake on his data pad.

Omega: Omega just stares at him with a smile on her face that slowly breaks into a wider grin until she is laughing, she likes Echo’s humor. She doesn’t see it very often and when she does, she loves every moment. She then proceeds to take Echo’s spare arm and hold it inside the arm of her shirt and makes more jokes with Echo and they run around the ship terrorising their brothers.

Crosshair: Crosshair just stares at him, holds up his own missing arm. Deadpanned he says “Nah I’m good” and then just walks away, trying to hide the smile on his face.

[gars-weaponeer]

The Hunted Batch (Ch. 1)

Summary: What if Hunter's inhibitor's chip activated instead of Crosshair's?

Word count: 3,540

Characters: Hunter, Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech, Echo and Omega.

Tags & Warnings: Canon divergent, No romantic relationships, Inhibitor chips, Angst with a happy ending. (If I miss one please notify me)

You can also read it on AO3:

“Hey Kid, you ready for this? We move fast.” “Good, that’s the only way I know.”

It all seemed good at first. A mission like many others they had had all up to that point. Droids did not stand a chance against their combined tactics, after all they were “The Clone force 99”, one of the best special forces the GAR had to spare. 

Now they were running through the snow of Kaller, chasing after the remaining separatist forces alongside a young Padawan named Caleb Dume. The cold of the winter could still be felt as they ran, even with their armors on, but neither Crosshair nor his companions seemed to care about it. The promise of the war ending soon had everyone filled with a rush of energy, there would be time to rest later. For now they pushed forward, ready to successfully finish another mission. 

However the sound of distant blasters behind them caught Crosshair’s attention. Were they being attacked from behind? His Squad stopped dead in their tracks as they saw the padawan rush back towards the trenches they just left. The heat of a battle had lifted a soft cloud of mist that prevented Crosshair from seeing clearly what was going on, but the light of a blue lightsaber deflecting blaster fire was recognizable. 

General Billaba, the Jedi in charge of this front, was in danger. 

Hunter and Crossair exchanged looks for a second before rushing back towards the battle, ready to assist their allies against a surprise droid attack. 

As they ran, Crosshair lowered his rangefinder to get a better view of the enemy and start his attack from afar, after all he was the sharpshooter of the squad, however what he saw shocked him to his core and froze him in place.

Those were not droids attacking General Billaba, those were clones. 

Confusion took over Crosshair at the fight he was witnessing, it was so bizarre, so unthinkable that he did not know how to react.

Before he could relay this information to his brothers, a blood curdling scream tore through the air, a sinking realization  settled heavily on Crosshair’s gut. They were too late. 

Hunter stopped when he saw the young Padawan running back towards them, tears streaming down his eyes. Were the regs going to attack him too?

“What happened?” Hunter asked, just as freaked out as he felt out of the confusion of the situation. He didn’t see what Crosshair had seen, how could he? Hunter did not possess his enhanced eyesight. 

“Stay away from me!” Commander Caleb swung his lightsaber at them, forcing the team of clones to keep their distance before he took off into the woods.

The squad stood frozen for a couple of seconds as they tried to process what had just happened. Just moments ago everything was fine and now an eerie sensation of peril took over the scene before them.

“Wha- What just happened?”  Echo’s shocked voice brought Crosshair back to reality, as he blinked to see his fellow teammate.

“The com channel is repeating one directive: “Execute order 66''.'' Tech said, his eyes glued on his data pad, as if trying to translate a phrase that was spoken in another, unrecognizable language. 

Those words however caused a strange stir inside Crosshair, a dreadful sensation of something important he should know but had been long forgotten. It didn’t matter how much he tried to “remember” it just didn’t make sense to him. He had never heard that order before. 

Was it a reg thing?

As he looked over at his brothers he could tell they were all as confused as he was, even Echo, who knew more of the “Reg manuals” than they did. 

Whenever there was doubt, the squad would always turn to Hunter. 

He had a natural skill for rational thinking and staying calm even in the most daring situations, which he used to guide his team towards victory or safety countless times. This would not be different, Crosshair thought.

At that moment, Hunter had his eyes glued to the forest, barely taking them away from the path the Padawan had left behind. 

‘He is probably worried about the kid’ Crosshair thought to himself, after all Hunter always had a soft spot for children. One that proved annoying for the sniper.

“Echo, Tech, talk to the Reg Captain, see what proceeds.” Hunter began telling his orders, directing his companions to move back to the trenches. 

“Crosshair, you and I will track down the Padawan and bring him back.”  Crosshair nodded in agreement.

“Wrecker, you contact me if anyone else tries to follow us.” Hunter told the tallest of his brothers before he began to run into the forest, giving Crosshair a signal to follow him close behind. 

They trotted down hill, knees deep into the snow, but keeping a determined pace. 

Crosshair and Hunter didn’t always see eye to eye, but there was not denying that the sniper trusted Hunter with his life. 

Crosshair had to admit that he admired and envied just how easily Hunter could stay calm in the worst of situations. Knowing that the sergeant was staying cool and composed  gave him a sense of security.  Everything will be fine as long as Hunter can lead us.

They ran through the thick evergreen branches, barely feeling the cold in the air as they kept their chase. 

Hunter would stop for a few seconds to read some tracks and check the air for signals of the kid before continuing down a path. He was focused like a hound chasing a target. 

Crosshair took the opportunity to find a large boulder, perfect for a perch and got in position, climbing to high ground with quick graceful moves. He scoped the area carefully, getting a better view of the terrain. 

His and Hunter’s abilities complimented each other perfectly for this kind of operations, with his keen eyesight catching the slightest details on the horizon, and hunter’s senses scanning for trails, there were very few things that could hide from them. 

Crosshair was about to move down from the boulder when Hunter’s voice was heard from his spot below.

“He is close…” Hunter whispered, raising a fist, signaling Crosshair to stop in his place. 

As he looked around at the trees, Crosshair noticed Caleb perched on one of the high branches, huddled with his robes in an attempt to camouflage himself and pass unnoticed. Sadly said disguise could not fool the sharpshooter’s eye. 

“There he is.” Crosshair pointed to Hunter with a slight gesture of his head, lowering his rifle and waiting for the sergeant to make the next move. 

Hunter has always been the face and voice of the group, being the only member of the batch that actually had decent social skills, along with natural charisma and good looks. He was skilled in making up for their antics with just his words, and people seemed to like Hunter better than they liked the loud Wrecker, the Introvert Tech or the broody Crosshair.

So it was no brainer that Crosshair would step aside so Hunter could try and calm the kid down. After all, that’s what Hunter was good at. He would walk up to the kid, speaking softly and calmly, asking him to come back down so they can take him safely back to camp.

Crosshair even moved his rifle’s barrel upwards to seem as less threatening as possible.

However, he did not expect what happened next.

Hunter doesn’t move from his place, he doesn’t get closer to the kid, he doesn’t even try to talk. Instead he draws his blaster from its holster and shoots at the kid. The blaster fire passing right next to Crosshair’s shoulder, startling him.

Caleb reflects the blast away with his lightsaber and runs away jumping through the treetops, getting lost in the snow for a moment. 

But Crosshair was not caring about that now, instead he was staring at Hunter in shock. 

“What are you doing?!” Crosshair asked the sergeant with a hiss as he leaped down the boulder, marching closer to Hunter.

“We need to finish the mission.” Hunter said sternly, hostling the gun back in place and starting to move back into tracking the kid when Crosshair grabbed him by the shoulder, forcing Hunter to look at him.

“What mission? This was not in our report to begin with!”  He was trying to read Hunter’s expression through the visor of his mask, but it was nearly impossible.  “Shouldn’t we stand down until we know what’s going on?”

Crosshair has never been fond of children, he had always found them annoying and a nuisance. And he had always had a problem with authority, finding Jedi to be pretentious, only a handful being able to gain his respect. But killing Caleb? A Jedi Commander? Let alone a Kid!? That was way out of line, especially for Hunter and it made Crosshair suspicious. 

Before he could respond, however, Hunter began to clutch his head, as if a sudden migraine had taken over him, bending over slightly, facing the white snowy floor of the forest.

“Good soldiers follow orders…” he whispered eerily. 

“What was that?” Crosshair leaned a bit closer to see if he could catch what Hunter was saying, but Hunter did not repeat his strange whisper. 

The comlink activates again with a beep and Wrecker’s voice could be heard.

“Hunter, you’ve got Regs inbound.” 

This seemed to snap Hunter out of his trance, as he stood up back straight and talked back into his comlink.

“Copy that.” He relies before looking at Crosshair as if nothing had happened. “Come on, let's keep moving.” He urges, running after the trail of fallen snow the kid left behind. 

Crosshair cannot help but stare at Hunter’s back as he runs, a sinking feeling of dread taking over his chest and the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong, very wrong.

Regardless, he follows the sergeant in the chase. 

“Hunter, we got a situation.” Tech’s voice cracked through the comlink.

“Talk to me Tech.” Hunter demanded as he kept running, seemingly undeterred as he searched around for the kid. 

“It appears the Regs have been ordered to execute all the Jedi, they are saying they committed treason.” Tech says, shocking Crosshair to the core. 

“Right, that explains a lot.” Hunter said coldly, prompting Crosshair to snap slightly at his words.

“How does that explain anything?”

He was beyond confused. The clones suddenly turning on the Jedi made no sense, it almost felt like a trap, a separatist ploy. How could Hunter just accept the situation with no skepticism? The Bad Batch had always been a rebellious group compared to the more disciplined soldiers of the GAR, they had broken many rules, among other things. They never just charged into battle in a straight line, following instructions to the T. Their success came from their ability to improvise and think outside the box. 

Every problem had a solution, they just needed to find it. Unofficial motto. So why was Hunter just accepting this as if nothing weird was going on?

It appeared Crosshair was not the only one feeling confusion over Hunter’s words as Tech stuttered a bit before continuing. 

“I… suggest you get back here.”

“Not until I’ve found the kid.” Hunter says firmly, determinedly, and terrifyingly cold as he shut the transmission with Tech and looked around. He was a soldier on a mission and it was well known of their squad that they did not stop until the mission was completed. 

However, the idea that the mission was hunting down a kid sent shivers down Crosshair’s spine.

As Crosshair scans the area he notices the kid again, perched on a tree branch once more, and he freezes.

He should tell Hunter, but he hesitates, this did not feel right with him but he also did not know how to proceed.

Before he can react, however, Hunter’s senses catch on to the Kid’s rapid breathing and he quickly turns around, drawing his blaster and shooting towards him. The branch Caleb is perched on snaps and he falls down into the snow below.

There is a moment of silence as the mist caused by the stirring of the snow settles and Caleb turns on his lightsaber, glaring at both clones before rushing towards them. Ready to fight for his life like a cornered animal. 

Hunter immediately reacts, trying to shoot back at the kid as he gets closer and closer with each hurried step. 

Crosshair freezes as he stares at the scene unfolding in front of him. What should he do? Should he shoot the kid or try to stop Hunter? His hands fumble with the safety of his rifle, his eyes darting from the gun in his hands to the battle. 

He can almost see it in slow motion, reading each movement before it happens, and it is then that he sees how Caleb lifts his lightsaber, ready to strike Hunter down. Crosshair can almost see it cutting his brother in half and a panicked “no!” slips out of his lips as he points his rifle at the padawan. 

This seemed to make Caleb react, as in the last second he contorted his body to kick Hunter in the chest, sending him tumbling towards a tree and making him hit his head, knocking him out cold. 

Caleb then turns towards Crosshair, glare blazing hot as the saber in his hands. Ready to lunge at him, however, Crosshair has his rifle pointed at him, waiting for him to make the first move. One false movement and it could be the end of either of them both.

“I do not want to hurt you…” Crosshair growls, ‘but I will if I must.’ He thinks.

Caleb doesn’t take his chances, instead he runs away back into the forest. 

Crosshair hesitates for a second, looking at Hunter carefully. The sergeant is still breathing, but still out cold, Crosshair instead decides to rush after the kid, following his tracks right towards a Waterfall. 

He can notice how Caleb moves anxiously in his place, looking around, desperate to find a way out when he senses the presence of the sharpshooter behind him, immediately drawing his lightsaber to confront Crosshair.

“Stay back!” Caleb was frantic, waving his lightsaber erratically, trying to keep Crosshair away.

The clone stopped and stayed still. He needed to make sure the kid was ok. 

He slowly raised his hands and dropped his rifle to the side. 

“Listen, I’m trying to help kid.” He says, his voice sounded more like a growl to which Crosshair mentally kicked himself. 

“No! You killed her! you traitors killed her!” There were tears streaming down the kid’s cheeks, and he backed away. 

Crosshair knew that if he did not do anything the kid wouldn't stand a chance on his own. He could be many things, but he was not a heartless man. He had to try and do something, even if he had no idea of what. What would Hunter do?

“The regs did” Crosshair tried, really tried, to soften his voice. But he was not made for that. “I’m not like them.”

Caleb seems to doubt for a second, but he is still looking around frantically. 

“I…I can help you get out of here alive.” Crosshair offers in a hurry. 

Frankly, Crosshair had no idea how he would do that. Planning was not his forte, but he trusted, partially,  he could figure something out quickly before Hunter came to or before the regs found him. 

The kid seems to calm down at his words and for a second Crosshair feels relief. He managed to convince the kid. However the damned voices of the regs in the distance caught both their attention. Caleb was not going to get himself captured, he glares at Crosshair for a moment before he takes the chance and jumps across the ravine.

Crosshair almost dreads he won’t make it. but the force has allowed Caleb to land safely on the other side. Once there, Caleb does not waste time running into the forest until he is lost from Crosshair’s sight. 

The sniper sighs, maybe it was for the best. The regs would not be able to chase him like this. However there was one clone who still might.

Crosshair took a piece of thick wood from the snowy forest floor along with his rifle and threw his target up into the air before the ravine, aiming at it and shooting.

It made a sound that he knew Hunter would recognize. The sound of a bullet hitting “something”.

He could not do much to help the kid now, but he hoped to at least fool Hunter enough to lose his trail.

Crosshair can hear footsteps running towards him, just a pair, which tells him that his brother has returned. So he keeps his eyesight on the misty falls below, begging to the force that Hunter won’t be able to see the footprints on the other side of the ledge. 

When Hunter reaches Crosshair he immediately kneels to inspect the tracks at his feet.

Would he notice the kid jumped? Of course he would, this was Hunter...

But would he notice his trick?

“Where is the Jedi?” He almost growls, like a dog anxious to catch its prey. 

“He tried to jump” Crosshair said, keeping his sight down “... So I shot him mid air, He fell into the waterfall.”

Without looking at Hunter, Crosshair turns on his heels and marches away. 

He can feel that Hunter is not convinced. He can tell that his brother is probably trying to regain his trail. But he also knows Hunter won’t be able to sniff out the trail in the mist of the waterfall.

The trip back home to Kamino was long, however Crosshair spent most of the time napping. 

It wasn’t unusual for him to nap as the Marauder cruised through hyperspace; The inside of the ship, surrounded by his brothers, was one of the two places Crosshair felt the safest and where he could sleep soundly, truly rest, without feeling on edge. 

“We are coming up on Kamino.” Tech’s voice  brought him out of his slumber, slowly waking him up. Crosshair  sighed and stretched slightly in his chair. He could hear his brothers talking in the cockpit, something about how long they had been away from home. 

However what caught Crosshair’s attention was the eerie feeling of being watched. 

Hunter had been staring at him, his eyes unreadable under his helmet.  Crosshair could not tell if he had just now laid his eyes on him or if Hunter had been staring at him for a longer time while he slept. 

Still Cross tries to remain calm as he just growled back at Hunter. “What now?” He asked, acting annoyed at Hunter’s stare. 

“Are you sure you shot the padawan dead Crosshair?” Hunter asked, his tone cold under the helmet, causing an involuntary shiver to run down Crosshair’s back.

“I never miss my shots Hunter”  He reminded him, trying to sound as convinced as he would usually be. 

“Well, I could’ve sworn I still heard his heartbeat at the ridge.” Hunter says, keeping his stare on crosshair, reading his expressions. Crosshair thanked the maker that he knew how to keep his own heartbeat stable, or else Hunter would know he was lying. 

“When you don’t shoot the heart, it usually still beats until you bleed out. Besides, if the shot didn’t kill him the fall did, or the rapids." Crosshair said. “Either case, the kid is dead.” He lies, standing up and walking towards the rest, feeling safer by their side as Hunter’s glare was still burning at the nape of his neck.

Hunter didn’t chase after him, but the dreadful feeling that something was wrong kept eating at Crosshair’s mind. 

Hunter was not acting as his usual self, he was angry and aggressive and for once Crosshair was not sure what caused his attitude to change. Usually when he got upset it was because of something they had done or something that had gone wrong during the mission. He was 90% sure he and his brothers didn’t do anything wrong this time so he ruled that one out. 

Was Hunter upset that they couldn’t save the jedi general? No, if that was the case he wouldn’t have tried to kill the kid. 

Did he think the kid had done it?

Crosshair remembered that only he saw the regs attacking the Jedi master, maybe Hunter had the wrong idea of what happened? Then again, Caleb had run back when they started hearing the blasters, Hunter must have noticed that too.

As he kept replaying the events of the mission in his head, he felt more and more confused.

It almost felt like someone or something had replaced Hunter and the Regs all of the sudden.

He remembered that one time they had a mission involving clawdites and a shiver ran down his spine. What if--

No, it couldn’t have happened, Hunter never left his side before he started to act weird, so Crosshair could rule out that he was actually replaced.

But then… Why was everyone acting so strange all of the sudden?

If you enjoyed it, please consider linking/re-blogging my work!

ᴰᶦᵛᶦᵈᵉʳ ᵇʸ @stars-n-spice

[prof-dr-crane]

Clinical Observation: Trial One of Fear Toxin V-63

Objective:

The objective of this trial is to assess the efficacy of Fear Toxin V-63, a newly synthesized hallucinogenic compound designed to induce a sustained and malleable state of terror. The formula incorporates a refined alkaloid blend derived from Salvia divinorum, selected for its potent dissociative properties, alongside a neuroactive derivative of scopolamine to inhibit higher-order cognitive filtration. A volatile ketone compound facilitates rapid bloodstream absorption, while engineered quinazoline derivatives act on the amygdala’s β-adrenergic receptors to amplify fear recall and distort sensory input.

This iteration follows a series of failed batches, each promising in theory, yet disappointingly ineffective in practice. V-60 degraded too quickly in the bloodstream. V-61 caused neurological overstimulation, sending subjects into seizures before true terror could take hold. V-62 dulled perception rather than sharpening it, resulting in a lethargic, unresponsive state. Fear requires clarity, not sedation. V-63 is the first formula in some time that shows real potential.

Method:

A controlled administration of V-63 was conducted on a, somewhat, compliant subject. The compound, delivered via a calibrated aerosol, dispersed efficiently into the respiratory tract. Advanced biometric sensors and neural imaging were employed to monitor real-time physiological and neurological responses. Baseline metrics were recorded for heart rate, cortisol levels, and neural activity across regions implicated in fear response, notably the amygdala and insular cortex.

Observations:

- Onset of Reaction: Within 45 seconds post-administration, the subject displayed unmistakable signs of acute fear. A marked improvement from prior formulas, which often required a higher concentration or prolonged exposure.

- Physiological Response: A dramatic spike in heart rate was observed, accompanied by a surge in cortisol levels that exceeded previous baselines by approximately 17%. This is within the expected range for an authentic, unmitigated panic response.

- Neurological Activity: Imaging data revealed extensive activation in the amygdala and a pronounced response in the insular cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, suggesting a widespread engagement of both primary and secondary emotional processing circuits. Encouraging.

- Behavioral Indicators: Hypervigilance, disorientation, intermittent verbal disintegration—abrupt gasps, fragmented sentences. The subject attempted to ground themselves in reality, but sensory distortions made this impossible. Most notable was the attempt to speak to something unseen. An improvement.

Conclusion:

V-63 has induced an effect distinct from its predecessors. This iteration does not merely force the subject to see their fears, it strips away the boundaries between fear and reality entirely. The mind no longer relives trauma but instead accepts terror as an inescapable truth. The hallucinations did not manifest as specters of the past, but as fully integrated intrusions into the present, impossible to rationalize or dismiss. Unlike previous formulas, which triggered reactive fear, V-63 appears to create a state of forced adaptation: A cognitive shift where fear is no longer a response, but the new baseline of existence.

The subject ceased attempts to fight or flee within three minutes. Not due to resignation, nor to physical exhaustion, but to the overwhelming certainty that escape was never an option to begin with. A breakthrough.

There is still work to be done. The duration must be extended, the sensory warping refined. But after a series of disappointments, this trial has proven what I have always known: fear is not a reflex. It is not a simple equation of stimulus and response. It is an environment, and at last, I am beginning to perfect it.

- Dr. Jonathan Crane

[mariacallous]

Meta just lost a major fight in its ongoing legal battle with a group of authors suing the company for copyright infringement over how it trained its artificial intelligence models. Against the company’s wishes, a court unredacted information alleging that Meta used Library Genesis (LibGen), a notorious so-called shadow library of pirated books that originated in Russia, to help train its generative AI language models.

The case, Kadrey et al. v. Meta Platforms, was one of the earliest copyright lawsuits filed against a tech company over its AI training practices. Its outcome, along with those of dozens of similar cases working their way through courts in the United States, will determine whether technology companies can legally use creative works to train AI moving forward and could either entrench AI’s most powerful players or derail them.

Vince Chhabria, a judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, ordered both Meta and the plaintiffs on Wednesday to file full versions of a batch of documents after calling Meta’s approach to redacting them “preposterous,” adding that, for the most part, "there is not a single thing in those briefs that should be sealed.” Chhabria ruled that Meta was not pushing to redact the materials in order to protect its business interests but instead to “avoid negative publicity.” The documents were originally filed late last year remained publicly unavailable in unredacted form until now.

In his order, Chhabria referenced an internal quote from a Meta employee, included in the documents, in which they speculated, “If there is media coverage suggesting we have used a dataset we know to be pirated, such as LibGen, this may undermine our negotiating position with regulators on these issues.” Meta declined to comment.

Novelists Richard Kadrey and Christopher Golden, along with comedian Sarah Silverman, first filed the class-action lawsuit against Meta in July 2023, alleging the tech giant trained its language models using their copyrighted work without permission. Meta has argued that using publicly available materials to train AI tools is shielded by the “fair use” doctrine, which holds that using copyrighted works without permission is legal in certain cases, one of which, the company argues, is “using text to statistically model language and generate original expression,” the company’s lawyers wrote in a motion to dismiss the authors’ lawsuit in November 2023. In this particular lawsuit, Meta has also argued that the plaintiffs’ claims are without merit.

Before these documents were made public, Meta previously disclosed in a research paper that it had trained its Llama large language model on portions of Books3, a dataset of around 196,000 books scraped from the internet. It had not previously publicly indicated, however, that it had torrented data directly from LibGen.

These newly unredacted documents reveal exchanges between Meta employees unearthed in the discovery process, like a Meta engineer telling a colleague that they hesitated to access LibGen data because “torrenting from a [Meta-owned] corporate laptop doesn’t feel right 😃”. They also allege that internal discussions about using LibGen data were escalated to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg (referred to as "MZ" in the memo handed over during discovery) and that Meta's AI team was "approved to use" the pirated material.

“Meta has treated the so-called ‘public availability’ of shadow datasets as a get-out-of-jail-free card, notwithstanding that internal Meta records show every relevant decision-maker at Meta, up to and including its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, knew LibGen was ‘a dataset we know to be pirated,’” the plaintiffs allege in this motion. (Originally filed in late 2024, the motion is a request to file a third amended complaint.)

In addition to the plaintiffs’ briefs, another filing was unredacted in response to Chhabria’s order—Meta’s opposition to the motion to file an amended complaint. It argues that the authors’ attempts to add additional claims to the case are an “eleventh-hour gambit based on a false and inflammatory premise” and denies that Meta waited to reveal crucial information in discovery. Instead, Meta argues it first revealed to the plaintiffs that it used a LibGen dataset in July 2024. (Because much of the discovery materials remain confidential, it is difficult for WIRED to confirm that claim.)

Meta’s argument hinges on its claim that the plaintiffs already knew about the LibGen use and shouldn’t be granted additional time to file a third amended claim when they had ample time to do so before discovery ended in December 2024. “Plaintiffs knew of Meta’s downloading and use of LibGen and other alleged ‘shadow libraries’ since at least mid-July 2024,” the tech giant’s lawyers argue.

In November 2023, Chhabria granted Meta’s motion to dismiss some of the lawsuit’s claims, including its claim Meta’s alleged use of the authors’ work to train AI violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a US law introduced in 1998 to stop people from selling or duplicating copyrighted works on the internet. At the time, the judge agreed with Meta’s stance that the plaintiffs had not provided sufficient evidence to prove that the company had removed what’s known as “copyright management information,” like the author’s name and title of the work.

The unredacted documents argue that the plaintiffs should be allowed to amend their complaint, alleging that the information Meta revealed is evidence that the DMCA claim was warranted. They also say the discovery process has unearthed reasons to add new allegations. “Meta, through a corporate representative who testified on November 20, 2024, has now admitted under oath to uploading (aka ‘seeding’) pirated files containing Plaintiffs’ works on ‘torrent’ sites,” the motion alleges. (Seeding is when torrented files are then shared with other peers after they have finished downloading.)

“This torrenting activity turned Meta itself into a distributor of the very same pirated copyrighted material that it was also downloading for use in its commercially available AI models,” one of the newly unredacted documents claims, alleging that Meta, in other words, had not just used copyrighted material without permission but also disseminated it.

LibGen, an archive of books uploaded to the internet that originated in Russia around 2008, is one of the largest and most controversial “shadow libraries” in the world. In 2015, a New York judge ordered a preliminary injunction against the site, a measure designed in theory to temporarily shut the archive down, but its anonymous administrators simply switched its domain. In September 2024, a different New York judge ordered LibGen to pay $30 million to the rights holders for infringing on their copyrights, despite not knowing who actually operates the piracy hub.

Meta’s discovery woes for this case aren’t over, either. In the same order, Chhabria warned the tech giant against any overly sweeping redaction requests in the future: “If Meta again submits an unreasonably broad sealing request, all materials will simply be unsealed,” he wrote.

[theothin]

People are talking a lot about fairies these days, aren't they. Or faeries? Is there a difference?

fairies sitting on a rainbow cloud

Pretty straightforward, even if the right image doesn't quite follow the prompt. Also I'm not sure what's going on with those fairy wings sticking out of the cloud-rainbow. Unsurprisingly, these seem to be the tiny kind of fairies.

faeries on a magic boat

Here, I switch to spelling it "faerie", and it seems to go along with them being bigger than the first ones. We're getting a fancy magic environment, but also a lot of distortions in the faeries themselves. I wonder if that's a result of the more fairy-tale style, it'll be interesting to see if that continues.

faerie men and women riding dolphins

Here, I tried to get more gender variation in the faeries. No visible success, but you never know. The anatomy seems less bad than the previous batch, but still pretty wonky in places. It's interesting to see the differences in location and in the color of the dolphins.

Of course, there's a more relevant marine animal to see a faerie interact with. And let's see if we can get a masc faerie while we're at it.

a faerie man feeding a walrus

Here, it seems "man" overrode "faerie" in the AI's logic. Like with previous walrus prompts, the walrus's tusks are pretty messed up, and both images have different issues with the feeding process. Can we do better?

a male faerie riding a walrus over the ocean

These guys might be a bit more faerie-like, but with no wings. The AI seems really resistant to the idea of male faeries - the systems pick up all sorts of associations from the training data, and some of them can be quite troublesome. Let's try one more time to get past this.

winged male faeries leading a walrus through a cave

Now that's a funny little discovery. I've been selecting the Artistic style for these scenes so far, but this time I accidentally selected Anime instead, which seems much more open to male faeries. Also the walruses are much more cartoony and have wings. What does the Artistic style do with this prompt?

winged male faeries leading a walrus through a cave

Huh. Another winged walrus, but this style remains steadfastly opposed to putting faerie wings on men. Also the right walrus looks more like an elephant.

Anyway, we haven't gotten enough out of the faerie/fairy question. Let's revisit that.

fairies lifting a walrus up into the glimmering sky

Back on the fairy spelling, but looking most similar to the ones from the second and third sets, complete with distortions. Also I have to say, I did not expect either of these lifting methods. But let's assume it works out somehow.

fairies and a walrus in a cloud lake

I wasn't entirely sure what a cloud lake would mean, but sure, that's pretty cloudy. It's important to properly care for your walrus, even if you live in the sky.

Finally, let's see the anime style's take on this.

fairies and a walrus in a cloud lake

Are the fairies small, or is the walrus big? The one on the right looks pretty elephant-like again, and its tusks look weirdly floppy. Also it's wearing what looks like a combination of a blanket of clouds, a wig, and what looks a bit like fairy wings. Not sure what's going on there.

I'm also not sure what the fairies wanted with this walrus, but fairies are known for kidnapping humans, so who knows how ethical it is. Maybe they left a changeling walrus behind. Whatever it is, I hope it works out for everyone involved.

[bambamramfan]

A fun read, even if you don't entirely agree with the thesis. Full of delightfully illustrated examples. I'd rate it 75% correct.

I'd add examples of what it used to be like going to used bookstores looking for that one out of print book, vs searching amazon now. Or what I previously wrote about World of Warcraft optimization.

For the other 25%, well...

Sam Kriss wrote a while ago about the death of hipsters.

The hipster was an information-sorting algorithm: its job was to always have good taste. The hipster listened to bands you’d never heard of. The hipster drank beers brewed by Paraguayan Jesuits in the 1750s. The hipster thought Tarkovsky was for posers, and the only truly great late-Soviet filmmaker was Ali Khamraev. The hipster bought all his toilet paper from a small-batch paper factory in Abkhazia that included small fragments of tree bark in the pulp. The hipster swam deep into the vastness of human data, and always surfaced with pearls. Through its powers of snobbery and disdain, the hipster could effortlessly filter out what was good.

Almost any economist will tell you, that information gathering is just a different sort of price people pay for products. They can pay $300 up front for a good experience, or they can spend hours scouring and networking to find a similar quality experience for $100. If they find these two bundles equivalent, then that information gathering labor was worth $200 to them.

The difference is, when the naive consumer just pays *someone gets those extra $200*, whereas if the information gathering is labor (big if), then that extra labor doesn't actually pay anyone, and the world is just $200 of effort worse off. So, cetera paribus, it's better if everyone knows all the good places and at least the local industry is reaping the surplus.

So this is the death knell of hipsters, as all the information they had to seek out is accessible by everyone and just goes into rents for the producers.

...

Except we know from experience, it doesn't *really* work like that. For one, a lot of us ENJOY the hipster information gathering experience. It's a fun activity in moderation, and we even develop an identity for having a personal research base to use as a resource. How do you calculate the labor surplus lost if you're having fun? Well, I'm sure the economists can find some way to.

The other problem is that Freddie is only talking about a certain class of hipsters. The same ones Sam refers to in his essay. You can look at it as a sort of pyramid.

Top: quasi-autistic savants who are on Discords talking about secret places, or going out and mapping territories themselves.

Middle: hipsters who casually seek out new things they heard about and report back in indy magazine columns.

Bottom: the great mass who do one google search and flock to whatever they are told "the best deal" is.

(Now it's more complex than that. To be honest these three are probably only the top 25% of people, and the real base of the pyramid has no idea what any of this is about. And there's networks and lines of communication between the different layers. But you get the idea.)

For a while in the 90's and 00's, being a hipster became easier, and maybe that middle layer grew a bit in both directions. And then in the 10's the process Freddie describes ramped up, and so the value of just being a middle-tier hipster shrunk again.

But there are still a lot of secrets out there. You just have to be a much more dedicated information gatherer. Being in the top tier - which in travel might be as simple as driving places instead of flying to them IME - will still find you things where no one else is there.

This month I'm going to visit the cement factory where they filmed scifi movies like the Crowe and Super Mario Bros, and I expect to be the only one there.

[playstationvii]

#TheeWaterCompany

#CyberSecurity #Risk #Reward

!/bin/bash

BACKUP_DIR="/backup" DATA_DIR="/important_data/" ENCRYPTED_BACKUP="$BACKUP_DIR/encrypted_backup_$(date +%F).gpg"

tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/backup_$(date +%F).tar.gz $DATA_DIR gpg --symmetric --cipher-algo AES256 --output $ENCRYPTED_BACKUP $BACKUP_DIR/backup_$(date +%F).tar.gz rm -f $BACKUP_DIR/backup_$(date +%F).tar.gz echo "Encrypted backup completed."

To refine encryption-related code, consider the following improvements:

Use Stronger Algorithms: Implement AES256 instead of AES128 for better encryption strength.

Add Error Handling: Ensure that the encryption process handles errors, such as failed encryption or permission issues.

Secure Storage of Keys: Use a secure method to store encryption keys (e.g., environment variables or hardware security modules).

Refined Script Example:

!/bin/bash

Encrypt sensitive data with AES256 and store encrypted backup securely

BACKUP_DIR="/backup" ENCRYPTED_BACKUP="/backup/encrypted_backup_$(date +%F).gpg" DATA_DIR="/important_data/"

Perform backup of important files

tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/backup_$(date +%F).tar.gz $DATA_DIR

Encrypt the backup with AES256

gpg --batch --yes --symmetric --cipher-algo AES256 --output $ENCRYPTED_BACKUP $BACKUP_DIR/backup_$(date +%F).tar.gz

Remove the unencrypted backup file

rm -f $BACKUP_DIR/backup_$(date +%F).tar.gz echo "Backup and encryption completed securely."

This script enhances security by using AES256 and ensures encrypted files are properly handled.

To proceed with creating scripts for securing water companies' networks, we would outline some basic examples and operational strategies that could be implemented. Here’s a breakdown of each element:

Monitoring and Intrusion Detection

These scripts would monitor traffic and detect any suspicious activity on the network.

Example Script: Network Traffic Monitoring

!/bin/bash

Monitor network traffic and detect anomalies

LOGFILE="/var/log/network_traffic.log" ALERT_FILE="/var/log/alerts.log"

Use 'netstat' to monitor active network connections

netstat -an > $LOGFILE

Check for unusual activity, such as unexpected IP addresses

grep "192.168." $LOGFILE | grep -v "127.0.0.1" > $ALERT_FILE if [ -s $ALERT_FILE ]; then echo "Unusual activity detected!" | mail -s "Security Alert: Network Anomaly Detected" admin@watercompany.com fi

This script monitors network traffic using netstat, checks for connections from suspicious IP addresses, and sends an alert if any are found.

Intrusion Prevention (Automated Response)

This script would automatically take action to block malicious activity upon detection.

Example Script: IP Blocking on Intrusion Detection

!/bin/bash

Block suspicious IP addresses detected during intrusion attempts

SUSPICIOUS_IPS=$(grep "FAILED LOGIN" /var/log/auth.log | awk '{print $NF}' | sort | uniq)

for ip in $SUSPICIOUS_IPS; do iptables -A INPUT -s $ip -j DROP echo "$ip has been blocked due to multiple failed login attempts" >> /var/log/security_block.log done

This script automatically blocks IP addresses with failed login attempts, adding a layer of protection by preventing brute-force attacks.

Security Updates and Patch Management

Automated patch management ensures that all security vulnerabilities are addressed as soon as updates are available.

Example Script: Automatic Updates

!/bin/bash

Update system packages and apply security patches

echo "Updating system packages…" apt-get update -y apt-get upgrade -y apt-get dist-upgrade -y

Apply only security updates

apt-get install unattended-upgrades dpkg-reconfigure -plow unattended-upgrades

This script ensures that the system receives the latest security patches automatically, which is essential for keeping critical infrastructure secure.

Data Encryption and Backup

Regular backups and ensuring sensitive data is encrypted are vital.

Example Script: Data Encryption and Backup

!/bin/bash

Encrypt sensitive data and create backups

BACKUP_DIR="/backup" ENCRYPTED_BACKUP="/backup/encrypted_backup.gpg"

Perform backup of important files

tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/backup_$(date +%F).tar.gz /important_data/

Encrypt the backup

gpg --symmetric --cipher-algo AES256 $BACKUP_DIR/backup_$(date +%F).tar.gz

Remove the unencrypted backup file after encryption

rm -f $BACKUP_DIR/backup_$(date +%F).tar.gz echo "Backup and encryption completed."

This script automates backups of sensitive data and encrypts it using gpg with AES256 encryption, ensuring that even if data is accessed illegally, it cannot be read without the encryption key.

Access Control

Strong access control is necessary to ensure that only authorized personnel can access critical systems.

Example Script: Access Control with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

!/bin/bash

Ensure all users have MFA enabled for critical systems

Check if MFA is enabled on SSH login

if ! grep -q "auth required pam_google_authenticator.so" /etc/pam.d/sshd; then echo "MFA is not enabled on SSH. Enabling MFA…" echo "auth required pam_google_authenticator.so" >> /etc/pam.d/sshd service sshd restart else echo "MFA is already enabled on SSH." fi

This script checks if multi-factor authentication (MFA) is enabled on SSH logins, and if not, it enables it, ensuring an additional layer of security.

Security Audits

Regular audits help identify vulnerabilities and ensure the system is secure.

Example Script: Automated Security Audit

!/bin/bash

Run a security audit to check for common vulnerabilities

Check for open ports

echo "Checking for open ports…" nmap -p 1-65535 localhost > /var/log/open_ports.log

Check for outdated software

echo "Checking for outdated software…" apt list --upgradable > /var/log/outdated_software.log

Check file permissions for sensitive files

echo "Checking file permissions…" find /etc /var /usr -type f -name "*.conf" -exec ls -l {} \; > /var/log/file_permissions.log

Send the audit report to the administrator

mail -s "Security Audit Report" admin@watercompany.com < /var/log/security_audit_report.log

This script performs a security audit, checking for open ports, outdated software, and sensitive file permission issues, then sends a report to the administrator.

Conclusion

These scripts are designed to help secure the water companies' networks by automating essential security functions like monitoring, response to threats, patching, encryption, and access control. It’s important that these scripts be customized to the specific needs of each company, taking into account their existing systems, infrastructure, and any unique security concerns they may face. Additionally, regular updates to these scripts will be necessary as new vulnerabilities and threats emerge.

For a basic firewall script that blocks unauthorized access and monitors network traffic, here's an example:

!/bin/bash

Define allowed IPs (replace with actual allowed IP addresses)

ALLOWED_IPS=("192.168.1.1" "192.168.1.2")

Block all incoming connections by default

iptables -P INPUT DROP iptables -P FORWARD DROP iptables -P OUTPUT ACCEPT

Allow traffic from specified IPs

for ip in "${ALLOWED_IPS[@]}"; do iptables -A INPUT -s $ip -j ACCEPT done

Log and monitor incoming traffic

iptables -A INPUT -j LOG --log-prefix "Firewall Log: " --log-level 4

This script sets a default block on incoming connections, allows traffic from specific IP addresses, and logs all traffic for monitoring.

[justtryblockchain]

The 6 Roles of Blockchain Technology in Pharma’s Future

Introduction

The pharmaceutical industry is undergoing a digital transformation, and blockchain technology is at the forefront of this revolution. Traditional challenges such as counterfeit drugs, regulatory inefficiencies, clinical trial fraud, and data breaches have long plagued the sector. Blockchain, with its decentralized and tamper-proof nature, offers solutions that can enhance security, transparency, and operational efficiency.

As blockchain development service providers continue refining solutions for pharma, companies are beginning to adopt this technology to streamline supply chains, enhance patient data security, and automate compliance. This article explores six critical roles that blockchain will play in shaping the future of the pharmaceutical industry.

1. Securing the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

Eliminating Counterfeit Drugs

Counterfeit medications pose a significant threat to global health, contributing to thousands of deaths annually. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one in ten medical products in low- and middle-income countries is substandard or falsified.

End-to-End Traceability

Blockchain technology enables a fully transparent supply chain, where each transaction is recorded in an immutable ledger. This ensures that every stakeholder—from manufacturers to pharmacists—can verify a drug’s authenticity in real-time.

Real-Time Verification

With blockchain-based tracking, patients, healthcare providers, and regulatory agencies can instantly verify the legitimacy of medications. Leading pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Roche are already exploring blockchain to secure drug distribution and eliminate counterfeit products from the market.

2. Enhancing Drug Safety and Regulatory Compliance

Immutable Drug Records

Regulatory compliance in the pharmaceutical industry requires strict adherence to safety protocols, but traditional record-keeping methods are prone to errors and fraud. Blockchain ensures that all drug-related data, including batch numbers, manufacturing dates, and storage conditions, are permanently recorded and cannot be altered.

Automated Compliance Monitoring

Smart contracts—self-executing digital agreements stored on the blockchain—can automate compliance checks, ensuring that drugs meet safety regulations before they reach the market. This reduces human error and enhances accountability.

Rapid Recalls and Alerts

When safety concerns arise, blockchain enables instant notifications and targeted recalls. Instead of relying on slow, paper-based tracking systems, companies can pinpoint affected batches within seconds, reducing risks to patients and minimizing financial losses.

3. Revolutionizing Clinical Trials and Research

Data Integrity and Security

Clinical trials are the foundation of medical innovation, but they are often plagued by fraud and inefficiencies. Blockchain ensures that trial data is immutable, preventing manipulation or selective reporting. This guarantees transparency and fosters trust in research findings.

Streamlined Patient Consent

Informed consent is a crucial aspect of clinical trials, yet traditional methods often lack security and efficiency. Blockchain-based smart contracts can automate consent management, ensuring that patients have full control over their participation while reducing administrative burdens for researchers.

Faster Drug Development

By securely sharing trial data among researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and regulatory agencies, blockchain accelerates the drug development process. Faster access to verified data can lead to quicker approvals, ultimately bringing life-saving medications to patients sooner.

4. Enabling Secure and Efficient

Automated Payments with Smart Contracts

The pharmaceutical industry involves complex financial transactions between manufacturers, insurers, healthcare providers, and distributors. Blockchain simplifies these transactions by using smart contracts to automate payments based on pre-set conditions.

Reduced Fraud and Corruption

Traditional financial systems in the pharma sector are susceptible to fraud and inefficiencies. Blockchain’s decentralized ledger eliminates intermediaries, ensuring transparent and corruption-free transactions.

DeFi in Pharma

Decentralized finance (DeFi) applications powered by blockchain could revolutionize pharmaceutical funding. Companies can leverage tokenized assets to raise funds for research and development, bypassing traditional banking limitations.

5. Improving Patient Data Security

Decentralized Electronic Health Records (EHR)

Patient data is often stored in centralized databases, making it vulnerable to cyberattacks. Blockchain provides a decentralized and encrypted framework where patients control their health records, granting access only to authorized healthcare providers.

Seamless Data Sharing

Healthcare providers often struggle with interoperability issues, leading to treatment delays. Blockchain allows for secure, real-time data sharing across hospitals, research institutions, and insurance providers, ensuring a more efficient healthcare ecosystem.

Enhanced Privacy Protections

With data breaches on the rise, blockchain’s encryption protocols enhance patient privacy, reducing the risk of identity theft and unauthorized access to sensitive medical information.

6. The Future of Blockchain in Pharma

AI and Blockchain Integration

The combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain could further optimize drug manufacturing, predicting supply and demand trends to reduce waste and inefficiencies.

Tokenized Incentives

Blockchain could introduce tokenized rewards for patients participating in clinical trials, encouraging greater involvement and leading to more diverse research data.

Decentralized Research Collaboration

Pharmaceutical companies, universities, and biotech startups could collaborate more efficiently using blockchain-based decentralized networks. This would eliminate data silos and accelerate groundbreaking medical discoveries.

Conclusion

Blockchain technology is revolutionizing the pharmaceutical industry, offering unprecedented levels of security, efficiency, and transparency. From securing supply chains and automating compliance to enhancing patient data security and accelerating drug development, blockchain is set to become an essential pillar of the pharma ecosystem. As blockchain development service providers continue to innovate, pharmaceutical companies that embrace this technology will be better positioned to lead in an increasingly digital and decentralized future. The adoption of blockchain is not just a technological upgrade—it is a necessary evolution for a safer, more efficient, and patient-centric pharmaceutical industry.

[multidimensionalsock]

What is GPU instancing?

One of the biggest bottlenecks of graphics programming is CPU and GPU communication. In order for something to be drawn to the screen the CPU needs to tell the GPU to draw it, this is called a "draw call". However, let's say your CPU can make these calls 30k times a second, that means you could only render 1000 objects to the screen at 30fps, or 500 at 60fps (the standard for games). [1] And this would mean that the CPU is entirely used up for those frames with no time for running game logic, physics, etc.

However a lot of the time in graphics we often use a model multiple times in a scene. You'll see this a lot with grass rendering, there could be 1000 grass blades shown on the screen but these could all be of the same 1 or 2 grass models. [2]

GPU instancing, or batching, allows us to, instead of making 1000 draw calls for each piece of grass, make a single call for each grass model being used. When we make these draw calls we will also pass over any parameters that are different between the models, such as their position, scale, colour, etc. [3]

With GPU instancing, the GPU can send over a few draw calls, passing over all the data, the most intensive and relatively slow part of the rendering process. And the GPU can go through on its own and draw all of the models, offloading the task entirely from the CPU so it can handle other tasks.

[thegeminisage]

time for. SSSIGH. a star trek update. last night we watched tng's "starship mine" and "lessons."

starship mine (tng):

i actually didn't hate this one as much as my beloved cowatcher did...i think if the details of this had made more sense it could have been a really fun and sexy episode for picard to FINALLY serve some fucking cunt in. uuunfortunately

firstly we have...the welders, which have a range of like two inches. why picard dropped his weapon when one of those was trained on him i'll never know

then we have the entire premise of the baryon sweep itself...surely such a dangerous maneuver would be locked behind some kind of. like those cars that don't start if the driver's seatbelt isn't buckled. the computer won't start the sweep is there are life forms aboard. ik all the people working at this station were ""terrorists"" or whatever but they had to beam like a thousand people off the ship surely they're fucking outnumbered. if he called for help someone would hear him?? bnot even getting into the fact that an operation of this size would have more than like half a dozen people working on it

furthermore, this woman's escape plan was to get beamed off back to her own ship...so what was picard's escape plan? like, yes, sure, go to ten forward to buy yourself some time, but how are YOU getting OUT?

we saw him use a communicator at the end and realized he'd had it for like half the episode. again, WHY DIDN'T HE CALL SOMEONE?

the fact that this sludge, which they invented for this episode, can be used for NOTHING except weapons. i know why they said that. they wanted a quick way for picard to figure out the thieves were dangerous and make him look smart in the process. but it's fucking lazy, like the rest of this episode, and it has horrific ramifications for the worldbuilding at large. all of that waste has to go SOMEWHERE. even radioactive waste in real life gets reused as much as it can and in star trek they apparently solved the problem of nuclear waste so making up this spaceship waste is like. you realize you're implying that it gets dumped somewhere, right? right???

this episode wasn't a total loss to me though. for one thing, the running gag with the saddle actually was very funny and it got funnier every time it got brought up. deanna also got to cuddle with riker at one point and later tenderly wipe the blood off his face. i have mixed feelings about Smalltalk Guy (smalltalk isn't bad and talkative people aren't evil, the problem was that guy was talking At people instead of with them, but when engaged with data he waited his turn to speak), but watching him and data go was also really good

and the CONCEPT of this episode - that picard knows his ship so well he can play cat and mouse with five other people when the ship is powered off and in the dark and put the fear of god into them and then JUST when you think they finally got him he stone cold kills them on the way out - that's hot. that's not what this episode actually did, but it's what it thought it was doing, and i guess i can understand if you want to view it that way in your mind palace.

oh yeah i also recognized that guy from voyager. and i was like no way is that the guy from voyager, faceblindness strikes again! but i googled him and it was.

lessons (tng):

this one i did fucking hate, though having two picard-centric episodes in a row has done him no favors. i feel like we've had a lot of single-characters eps lately...one deanna one, one worf one, two picard ones, etc. i know the watching order has contributed to this plus the natla/bad batch break but i feel like we haven't had a genuine ensemble episode in 100 years

the big thing with this episode is of course ZERO regulations for a captain fucking around with his subordinate officer. this is a bad idea for many reasons presented in the episode itself - from picard's flirty like joke (???) about firing her to the way her requests of other crew members made them uncomfortable to the way she would go over someone's head if she wanted. again, in fics, they at least have to file paperwork. someone has to be assigned to step in if relationship problems interfere with work. i don't think it's reasonable to expect any person on the ship not to date when they're all stuck on that thing together for quite literally 5 and 10 years at a time but you have to at least have SOME regulations about it. starfleet has regulations about every stupid god damn thing in the universe, but not this?? when the episode itself showed it was demonstrably a bad idea??

apparently people praised the performances of these actors. i liked the girl, but i think for the first half of the episode sir patrick stewart was phoning it in. i don't understand why you'd have sir patrick stewart on your show and then give him such a shitty guy to be but whatever, man. like, he amped it up near the end, but by that time i was already so exhausted watching him awkwardly flirt in the exact same tone he uses to converse with his coworkers on the bridge that i didn't care.

the mention of the episode where he got his flute/learned his music WAS interesting. i wish they allowed character development and references to past episodes more often. but picard sharing his music with this lady and then being worried after she died that he would never enjoy music again just felt...selfish? especially because of:

BEVERLY. i feel like this is two or three times now picard's gotten interested in a lady and beverly has heard about it secondhand and made little jealous faces and then disappeared for the rest of the fucking episode. meanwhile when beverly was datign that trill picard got be like hey whatever else happens we're still buds ok? not only is beverly finding out like this insulting considering her and picard's situationship, picard LYING about where he got the tea recipe to her makes it perfectly clear he KNOWS what he's doing isn't fair to her. like, you see them share meals ALL THE TIME...i bet that dried up quick when he was dating this lady. did he even bother to tell her they weren't doing breakfast anymore?? my guess would be no.

i want to like picard SO MUCH but the truth is between the wooden flirting the general selfishness and the fact that he never does anything...blegh. i used to be a little unimpressed by his righteous speeches because while they were great in isolation (especially the one in data's trial...mwah) there were so many it felt like a one-trick pony situation. but we haven't had a good righteous speech in AGES and i KNOW this man can act. i actually really miss them. aside from the scotty episode, there are 4 lights, and schisms season 6 has sucked pretty bad i think

also, how are people out here saying THIS GUY is more mature than KIRK? kirk would torture himself over every one of those deaths from the firestorm whether he was dating those guys or not. he also wouldn't mess around with a fucking crew member to begin with - in dagger of the mind he was so mortified to have accidentally done so he could barely look that woman in the eye AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN FUCK. half of spirk fic angst comes from "oh no it's bad to fuck while you're captain!" and PICARD is the mature one??? kirk had fucking principles!!!!!

anyway, for half the episode we kept waiting for this lady to be evil or something and in a way that might have been less sexist and it definitely would have been more fun. picard roulette let's GO. but alas.

also, sorry, logistics again. number one in that little firestorm why didn't they send them down with GEAR. i know star trek is guilty of this across the board - nobody wears masks gloves or goggles in tos - but at least in tos they did have fucking space suits. number two why the fuck is some random employee allowed to SHUT DOWN the things that make FOOD on a whim. sigh. ok.

geez. tonight, in a well-earned break, we have 2 ds9 episodes: "vortex" and "battle lines." thank GOD it's not more tng

[dylan-hayes]

How Kimberly Clark's Unconventional Testing Strategy is Raising the Bar for Diapers and Training Pants

News Anchor: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to " " Insight Hour," where we bring you the latest news and insights from around the nation. Tonight, we have a special guest with us from Kimberly Clark, a leading name in personal care products. Please welcome Ms. Jessica Rodriguez.

Jessica Rodriguez: Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

News Anchor: Ms. Rodriguez, Kimberly Clark's new line of disposable diapers and training pants has been causing quite a buzz, with an astounding 90% of parents choosing these products over their competitors. Market surveys also found that even current parents that are currently happy with their current brand have even considered making a switch! All reviews from parents, especially new parents love that your diapers hold up all night, are blow out proof, and are great for sensitive skin. Could you tell our viewers a bit more about how the company ensures the quality of these absolutely phenomenal products?

Jessica Rodriguez: Absolutely. At Kimberly Clark, our primary focus is always on the safety and satisfaction of our customers, especially the parents and their little ones. To ensure the highest quality and performance of our diapers and training pants, we have an extensive testing process.

News Anchor: That sounds intriguing. Could you give us some insights into how these tests are conducted?

Jessica Rodriguez: Of course. One unique approach we take is to scale a small batch of new and current products to adult sizes and have adults test them instead of infants or children. This might sound a bit unusual, but it actually makes a lot of sense. Adults can provide valuable feedback on comfort, fit, and overall performance, which helps us identify any potential issues or improvements that need to be made. We also tend to do quality assurance tests quarterly with our current product lines to ensure that the factories producing our product meet our high degree of quality.

News Anchor: That's quite an interesting strategy. So, by using adult testers, you gain more insights into the products' performance?

Jessica Rodriguez: Exactly. Adult testers give us more objective feedback since they can articulate their experience better than young children. It also allows us to avoid any potential risks or discomfort that children might face during testing. We want to be absolutely certain that our products are safe and reliable before they reach our consumers.

News Anchor: That's commendable. I can see how using adult testers can help improve the products even further. Could you tell us more about the feedback you receive from them and how it influences the final design?

Jessica Rodriguez: Absolutely. The feedback from our adult testers is incredibly valuable. They provide insights into the products' fit, absorption, and any potential leakage issues. They also help us identify any areas that may cause discomfort or irritation. This data, combined with feedback from our team of experts, is meticulously analyzed, leading to continuous improvements in our diaper and training pant designs.

News Anchor: It's impressive to see such dedication to product improvement. Finally, Ms. Rodriguez, how do you assure parents that the adult testers' experiences truly reflect what their little ones will experience?

Jessica Rodriguez: It's a great question, and one we take very seriously. While adult testers give us crucial insights, we consider the need for a controlled environment. So naturally we also conduct extensive trials with adults in simulated infant /childhood settings. This approach ensures that the final products are not only safe and effective but also meet the needs and expectations of our young customers and their parents.

News Anchor: Thank you for clarifying that, Ms. Rodriguez. It's evident that Kimberly Clark's commitment to safety and quality drives your product development process. We appreciate you joining us today to share these fascinating insights.

Jessica Rodriguez: Thank you for having me. It was my pleasure to shed light on our testing processes. If there are any other questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

News Anchor: I'm sure our viewers are now well-informed about Kimberly Clark's approach to product testing. Once again, thank you, Ms. Rodriguez, for your time and valuable information.

Jessica Rodriguez: Thank you and have a wonderful evening.

[emendstudiosmathesh]

eCommerce Clipping Path Service USA: A Complete Guide for Online Sellers

In the highly competitive world of eCommerce, product images are everything. Clear, crisp, and professionally edited visuals make the difference between a customer scrolling past or clicking “Buy Now.” For U.S.-based online retailers, a reliable eCommerce clipping path service is essential to create marketplace-ready product photos that convert.

This guide explores how clipping path services enhance eCommerce product images, why they’re vital for U.S. businesses, and what to look for in a professional editing provider.

What Is Clipping Path in eCommerce?

A clipping path is a manually drawn outline around a product image, used to separate the item from its background. This technique enables clean cut-outs, white background replacements, and seamless integration with branding templates.

For eCommerce, it’s especially important to meet the image guidelines of platforms like Amazon, Walmart, Shopify, and eBay—most of which require pure white or transparent backgrounds.

Why eCommerce Businesses in the USA Need Clipping Path Services

✅ Marketplace Compliance

Amazon, Google Shopping, Etsy, and other platforms have strict requirements regarding image backgrounds, size, and clarity. Clipping path services help meet these rules effortlessly.

✅ Increase Conversion Rates

Clean product photos grab attention, build trust, and improve the overall user experience—leading to more sales.

✅ Save Time for Sellers

Instead of spending hours editing photos manually, outsourcing allows businesses to focus on sales, marketing, and fulfillment.

✅ Supports Branding Consistency

Uniform backgrounds and clean product isolation help maintain a cohesive look across your store, website, and ads.

Common Use Cases in eCommerce Clipping Path

IndustryApplicationFashion/ApparelRemove mannequin, ghost model effect, isolate clothingJewelryClean background, highlight shine and textureElectronicsSharp edges, clean reflections, detail enhancementFurnitureRemove background clutter, adjust perspectiveBeauty ProductsFocus on packaging, add shadows or reflectionsAutomotive PartsRemove industrial settings, emphasize detail

Key Services Included

Basic Clipping Path – For simple shapes and backgrounds.

Complex Clipping Path – For items with curves, holes, or intricate edges.

Multi-Clipping Path – Used for color correction and variant editing.

Drop Shadow & Natural Shadow – To create a realistic, grounded effect.

Background Replacement – Add white, transparent, or branded backgrounds.

Bulk Image Editing – Process large product batches quickly.

Benefits of Choosing a U.S.-Focused Clipping Path Provider

🇺🇸 Faster Turnaround for USA Sellers

Time zones and communication delays are minimized when you work with a U.S.-based or U.S.-centric team.

🇺🇸 Familiarity with U.S. eCommerce Standards

Providers understand marketplace guidelines (Amazon, Etsy, Shopify) specific to the U.S. market.

🇺🇸 Data Security and NDA Agreements

Work with editors that prioritize privacy, secure file handling, and offer legal protection.

How to Choose the Right Clipping Path Partner

Request Samples: Evaluate their attention to detail and precision.

Check Turnaround Time: Ideal providers offer 12–48 hour delivery for batches.

Look for Bulk Discounts: Especially if you have hundreds of product photos monthly.

Read Client Testimonials: Focus on clients in fashion, jewelry, or consumer goods sectors.

Ask About Revisions: Professional teams offer 1–2 free revisions per batch.

Top Features to Expect

FeatureWhy It MattersManual Editing (Not AI)Ensures accuracy and sharp product edgesAffordable Pricing PlansFlat-rate or per-image pricing for transparencyHigh-Resolution OutputSuitable for zooming and printing needsDedicated SupportCommunicate easily for changes or re-editsCloud File DeliveryQuick access via Dropbox, Drive, or FTP

Conclusion

If you sell online in the U.S., high-quality product photos are your biggest sales asset. A professional eCommerce clipping path service USA can help you meet platform standards, reduce editing time, and improve buyer trust—all while staying cost-effective.