#Run & Synchronize

[teardownit]

LED strip amplifier / LED amplifier / RGB amplifier. Features, problems, choice.

What is the difference between LED strip amplifiers, LED amplifiers, and RGB amplifiers?

Only in words and channels.

LED strip amplifier is a general definition.

An LED amplifier usually refers to a single-channel device that operates with a white light strip. Another name is the DC amplifier.

WW LED Amplifier is a dual channel device for warm and cool white light temperature strips.

An RGB amplifier is a three-channel device that produces red, green, and blue color strips.

The RGBW amplifier is a four-channel device for red, green, and blue color strips, with additional white LEDs.

The RGBWW amplifier is a five-channel device for red, green, and blue color strips, with additional warm and cool white LEDs.

Why do you need LED amplifiers?

Conductors always have resistance. Imagine we want to install an LED strip around a 500-square-foot room (16*32 feet). We need 96 feet of LED strip, and it is impossible (!) to connect it to the power supply at one point (!). Why?

For example, a strip has a power consumption of 3 watts/foot (a 16-foot reel has a power rating of 48 watts and a current of four amps at 12V). A 16-foot strip comprises 96 sections (cut lines) of two inches each. Each strip section will have an internal conductor resistance of 0.005-0.02 Ohms, depending on the manufacturing quality. The total native resistance of the strip is 0.48 to 2.8 Ohms. The supply voltage drop for the last sections of the strip will be 2 - 7.7 V. The voltage across the last sections of the strip will be 10 - 4.3 V. This is very low!

When all three channels are on, we will clearly see the difference in brightness between the beginning and end of a 16-foot strip. For an RGB strip, it will look like a color change. The start of the strip will be white, and the end of the strip will be yellow.

======================================= Details are in my earlier post: Effect of reducing the LED strip supply voltage on the light emitted https://teardownit.com/posts/effect-of-reducing-the-led-strip-supply-voltage-on-the-light-emitted =======================================

Several solutions to the power problem exist for a long line of LED strips. The first option is to install a thick power cable next to the entire LED strip and connect it to the strip several times every 10-20 feet. For example, a 4*14 AWG cable. The solution is excellent and reliable but expensive.

The second option is the use of an LED strip amplifier. The device is a set of transistor keys for powering a powerful load controlled by a special signal. LED amplifiers allow us to use multiple power supplies, synchronizing powerful loads with a control signal. We don't need to run four thick conductors along the entire length of the RGB strip, but just install a few power supplies and amplifiers every 10-20 feet. We can also combine power supply options depending on the situation.

We will also need an RGB amplifier to connect more loads (LED strips) to the RGB controller output than it supports/allows. For example, the RGB controller is designed for a 100W load, but we want to connect 300W LED strips.

So, what can go wrong with such simple devices? When choosing from catalogs and online stores, you will see only two significant characteristics - operating voltage (5/12/24V), maximum output current, and the number of channels - three for RGB and four for RGBW. However, my experience has shown that not everything is shown in the documentation.

Lying about the maximum current

Amplifiers are DC-powered, and when all channels are switched on, the total current of all channels flows through the common power wire (5/12/24V). Therefore, the maximum total current through the amplifier is critical. Since we are describing an electrical circuit, it is crucial to know how strong the weakest link is.

Let's take a look at such an amplifier.

In the housing and documentation, the maximum current through the amplifier is 24A. But! The device uses disconnectable connectors, which the manufacturer indicates 300V 15A on the case. The maximum current through the amplifier should be limited to the maximum current of the connector - 15A, and only if you are sure of the quality of the connectors. What does it mean? The photo below shows the result of load testing of this connector. The current was only 4.2 A !!!!!

======================================= I showed the results of similar tests of other connector types in a separate post. LED strip/lights connectors and maximum currents https://teardownit.com/posts/led-strip-lights-connectors-and-maximum-currents =======================================

You must avoid disconnectable connectors if you need to get more than 10A of current out of your amplifier. Only large connectors with screws can be used.

The wiring diagram of this amplifier:

Galvanic isolation

Another problem you may encounter is not included in the documentation either. To understand this problem, I must disassemble the amplifier and draw a wiring diagram. I will disassemble a good amplifier, for example.

The wiring diagram:

The input signal goes to the opto-isolators, and the phototransistor controls the output transistors, pulling their gates to +5/12/24V. The solution has an undoubted advantage - the control and output circuits are connected optically, but not electrically! In addition, the opto-isolator requires a current of a few mA to operate, and random induced noise will not cause false triggering. Galvanic isolation is widely used in industrial electronics; inputs and outputs are isolated via opto-isolators.

Now, I'm going to disassemble a low-quality amplifier.

The wiring diagram:

What do we see? The input signal goes through a 10k resistor to the comparator input. The galvanic isolation between input and output is missing! Moreover, the huge input resistance of the comparator makes it very sensitive. Such amplifier circuitry will laugh at us - in the second or third stage, the amplifier will trigger randomly. The LED strip works like a giant antenna, receiving a 60 Hz feed from the power grid when there is no input signal (or the lights are off).

For example, a compact Noname RGBW strip amplifier has a full decoupler (sold on Amazon and Aliexpress). This surprised me a lot:

Using amplifiers without galvanic isolation is a test of luck for the user. The devices may operate normally but pick up power line noise depending on the weather, moon phase, cloud color, etc.

How can you determine galvanic isolation in an amplifier without disassembling the device? It is easy. With a multimeter, you need to measure the resistance between V+ input and V+ output. The resistance should be infinite.

Performance issues

The use of opto-isolators is one of many prerequisites for good work. Simple opto-isolators have a low operating frequency limit. The problem is not present when using RGB controllers with low PWM frequency (hundreds of Hertz). But that low frequency is itself a problem for humans. It is the flickering of light that damages our eyes.

======================================= More details in a separate post: Shelly RGBW2 controller and Shelly Duo RGBW bulb. Dangerous light pulsations. https://teardownit.com/posts/shelly-rgbw2-controller-and-shelly-duo-rgbw-bulb-dangerous-light-pulsations =======================================

A low-quality amplifier will add distortion if the PWM frequency is increased to a safe level (1250-1500 Hz). You will see these distortions as a change in the brightness and hue of the light in the LED strip before and after the amplifier. Manufacturers know how to solve this problem. I disassembled an amplifier labeled "high speed":

The wiring diagram:

The device uses high-speed 6N137 optoisolators with logic output. The amplifier is galvanically isolated and does not ruin the colors with insufficient speed.

The device performs well at 200 Hz PWM frequency and 20 kHz (!!) PWM frequency, with little distortion:

The problem can be seen in another amplifier with conventional opto-isolators. It works at a PWM frequency of 200 Hz. At 20 kHz, there is no signal at the output. The output signal is distorted to the point of inoperability - the output keys do not have time to open at a frequency of a few kHz. The input signal (inverse) is shown in yellow, the output signal in blue:

Manufacturing quality

Sometimes, inside the device housing, I can see the horror, hell, and pain of an electronic engineer. Anyone can understand why a device works poorly and does not work for long.

An example of one of the RGB amplifiers:

Unwashed flux, single-sided PCB (to reduce cost). The heat from the field-effect transistors is dissipated onto the board tracks and overheats the switches. Rudimentary landing places for opto-isolators are on the board, but the tracks on the board will not allow us to use them! /facepalm/

Conclusions

Unfortunately, the price and quality of LED amplifiers have little correlation. You can pay dearly for junk, but a cheap, no-name amplifier will be a great device. Only by reviewing the internals can you understand the quality of the product.

Do not trust the maximum current indicated on the housing. Disconnectable terminals provide a total device operating current of less than 15A. Screw terminals can provide a maximum device current of 10-30 Amperes (according to terminal manufacturers' documentation). ‍

If you don't want to have problems with strange behavior of LED amplifiers, you need to use amplifiers with galvanic isolation. This property is not shown in the specifications or in the documentation. The only way to determine this without disassembling the housing is to measure the resistance between V+ input and V+ output. ‍

Quality RGB controllers have a high PWM frequency, but poor RGB amplifiers introduce distortions in color and brightness. You should look for devices that explicitly state "high speed."

[ruthlesslistener]

Well thank fuck for me not being on Tumblr back then, because when I was a depressed 14 year old reading the comic Dirk felt someone putting a mirror up to my face.

Also they thought vriska and Dirk as parallels??? I mean yeah the way he treated Hal was kinda shit but that's because Hal is a computer clone of himself, and Hal himself was quite shitty back. Vriska on the other hand has a death count of multiple and was genuinely abusive towards tavros.

hahahaha yeah i'm glad you weren't on tumblr either because as someone with exact same sort of depression as dirk, hearing about the epilogues and people unironically believing their message that dirk was destined to be a terrible person did legitimate damage to my mental health. and i was an adult at the time, on medication, coming out of that shithole. cannot overstate how badly that hurt me and how angry i still am about it

also yep yep yep, Dirk and Vriska being viewed as parallels was seen as the Correct Meta and people with actual reading comprehension who went against that got harassed to hell and back for trying to correct it (like i said, the dude who popularized it was swa/mp-wi/zard, who was against anything not lgbt and would harass the hell out of you for being 'improperly queer'. so. that gives you an idea of the type of people behind it). The only way I can assume such a conclusion occurred is because they genuinely believed that Hal and Dirk were the same person (they aren't) and bc they believed Dirk's lies about himself. Because the whole thing with Dirk fucking Strider is that he amps himself up at the beginning of the session as a competent badass who's capable of manipulating the world around him to keep his friends safe, when the reality of the situation is that a.) he is the most utterly incompetent puppet outside of life-or-death scenarios, and b.) Dirk hates himself more than anything in the world, which means that even his more 'positive' views on himself are going to sound ominous and manipulative and terrible because that's who he thinks he is. He genuinely believes that he is a terrible person at heart and that his only redeeming quality is weaponizing himself to care for his friends, and the popular fanon read of him at the time somehow fucking fell for it. I don't know how, but they did.

Fucking hell, Dirk didn't even do the plan for Unite: Synchronize. It was Hal. I'm not even shitting you, it was Hal. Dirk spent the entire time running around like a chicken with his head cut off (heh), and only managed to pull off looking like a badass because he was following Hal's orders and the kid has a killer poker face. Shit, that whole shtick about him only being cool when following orders even extends to Bro, because Bro's whole deal is that he was a puppet of Cal. Not taking any responsibility away from him, because we do know that a Dirk neglected is one who can become sharp and mean and genuinely terrible, but like, everything that motherfucker did was bc of Cal's influence

[chell10xo]

Well it’s been a while since I posted so I thought I’d go all out on this blog. I’m going to discuss, soul connections, astrology, inner work and the 7 chakras and a little bit of tarot.

In 2018 I began going through another spiritual awakening, I stumbled across the term twin flames and I was quite taken back by it. I always grew up thinking we all had one soul mate and it was a fairytale kind of love but the deeper I dove into spirituality my beliefs began to change.

We can have several soul mates but only one twin flame. The common theory for twin flames is that the soul splits and reincarnations into two different bodies for soul evolution. A twin flame is a mirror soul, a reflection of you , the good and the bad. Your twin will shed light on everything that you need to heal and what you try to run from and eventually they will help you to ascend. There is no other connection like it. They usually come in and out your life triggering different stages of spiritual awakenings and to ensure you continue doing the work you signed up before reincarnating on Earth.

The twin flame journey isn’t easy, there are many different stages and there is usually a runner and chaser dynamic going on. One of the main lessons is to learn that twin flames will always be connected it’s only their ego that separates them from each other.

🖤A soul mate is usually a relatively easy relationship, you grow together and are able to overcome challenges, the relationship brings stability, peace and love they are usually a life partner that you settle down with.

-

-🖤Karmic people are the ones you will meet through out your life, the union between karmic people can often be intense and short lived. The reason being is that they cross your path to teach you something valuable and it is up to you whether you want to learn the lesson. Sometimes we keep meeting the same people in different bodies so that we are forced  to pay attention to what they are trying to teach us.

-

🖤Catalyst twin flames A catalyst twin flame is a term used for someone who may be very similar to your twin flame, they may belong in the same soul group or share the same vibrational energy. They also trigger inner work

- You may find yourself meeting karmic people during retrograde seasons.

- South node in astrology represents our past lives, where we came from and where our souls last resided. I would look at personal planets, moon, mars, mercury and Venus aspecting South node to see what karma you have to unravel. I would look at harsh aspects usually squares, oppositions or conjunctions to the south node.

- Venus square south node would be a good indicator that you shared an emotional bond with this person in a previous life time.

🖤Megan fox and machine GK synastry 🖤

An article published on 22nd July 2020 - the date is definitely a synchronicity since 22 22 is considered a twin flame number, In the article Megan claims that MGK is her twin flame. She recalled feeling an instant connection with him.

“I went deep right away. I knew before I even did his chart, I said to him, he has a Pisces moon. I could tell by his energy,” she said.”

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.yahoo.com/amphtml/entertainment/megan-fox-connection-machine-gun-kelly-immediate-twin-flame-194629807.html

MGK also captioned a picture of them both on Instagram as

“waited for eternity to find you again... 🔪 💫❤️ 🔪 “

So let’s look into this magical connection they share.

With MF and MGK both having Taurus sun’s, they will share similar personality traits which will bring harmony. However their rising signs are quite different since Megan has Capricorn rising and MGK has Gemini, the Gemini energy and sun in his 11 denfentily gives MGK more an edgy style.

When have a soul tie with someone we are able to communicate with them telepathically but between twin flames the telepathic connection is very powerful.

Mental connection -

🌚Sun conjunct telephus - in 11th & 3rd house - telepathic connection, understanding, knowing

🌚Mercury conjunct mercury in 12th &4th house - psychic connection , mental connection, depth , understanding

🌚Both have mercury in Taurus , creating a conjunction this means similar ways of thinking / communicating

🌚Neptune in 8th trine mercury in 4th- telepathy, imagination, romance, dreamy , depth

Physical connection

⚡️Sun in 11th opposite Pluto in 5th

Electrical, life changing, obsessive, fated , magnetic , explosive

⚡️Megan’s mars falls into MGK 8th house

Sexual chemistry, exploring taboos, depth, intensity, reading the subconscious mind, sharing secrets , sexual tension

⚡️MGK Mars in Pisces is trine MF Pluto in Scorpio

Satisfying each other’s desires, intimacy, power games

⚡️Mars in 11th - squaring Pluto in 8th composite chart - experimenting, powerful emotions, bringing out each other’s shadow/ darker side, knowing what triggers one and other

connection -

🖤 Megan’s Leo moon is conjunct MGF south node - 3rd house of communication .Any personal planets aspecting the south node can indicate past life encounters. The moon represents our emotions and connections we have with others and since it’s touching his south node this can indicate an instant connection, familiarity and deep bond.

🖤 Jupiter expands and blesses everything it touches, if aspected positively. MGK Venus in Pisces is exactly conjunct MF’s Jupiter in Pisces - this aspect would give a dreamy, fairy tale kind of love and with a dash of Jupiter for sure it would be expand their love for each other.

🖤 MGK Alma which is another term for soul is conjunct MF’s Neptune in Capricorn in her 12th house. As mentioned earlier the 12th house is known as the karmic house. Capricorn’s ruler is Saturn which also known for representing karma in astrology. Now let’s switch it round. Their Neptune conjunct Alma also falls into MF’s 7th house. Now taking in both placements, I would say this is a spiritual connection.

Fate, destiny and karma

The vertex is used in astrology to identify fated events, karma and destiny. Scorpio is considered the most interned sign of the zodiac because of the powerful energy Pluto carries.

Her Pluto is conjunct his vertex in his 5th house of fun, dating and romance. This is likely to be a life changing relationship filled with passion and. They will be strongly drawn to each other and with this conjunction also falling into MF 9th house, this union would more than likely transform her beliefs and lead her to search for spirtual guidance to make sense of their connection.

-South node conjunct union in Libra (spiritual reunion)

-Venus square Chiron (deep healing)

Elements

Fixed - Taurus , Scorpio , Leo , Aquarius

Mutable - Pisces , Virgo , Sagittarius, Gemini

Cardinal - Cancer , Aquarius, libra , Aries

🌚Feminine signs - Earth + water

💥Masculine signs -Air + fire

Usually with twin flames you will notice similarities or oppositions within the chart.

Both sun signs are in a fixed sign

🌙 Megan’s moon is in her 7th house which is a cardinal house

🌙 MGK Moon falls in his 10th house which is also cardinal house

🌪MF Venus is in Pisces & MGK Venus is in Gemini both are mutable signs

💥Megan’s mars falls Into her 1st house & MGK mars falls into his 10th both cardinal houses.

💥Megan’s mars is in Capricorn MGK mars falls into his 10th house which is the house of Capricorn.

🌙Mercury in Taurus are both in water houses 12 & 4

🌙Ruler of Megan’s DC is in cancer and her moon is in her 7th house.

🌙Ruler of MGK 7 house is in Jupiter which is in his 1st house

Alma means soul in Spanish it also considered the second moon in astrology.

🌙Megan’s Alma is in her 1st house

🌙And MGK Alma is in his 7th house

It is not clear whether they are actually twin flames but they are likely to share a soul connection. It will be interesting to see how this relationship plays out in the future as no twin flame journey is a walk in the park.

Astrology can not determine who your twin is.

Every twins journey is different, some are meant to be together in this life and some are not it all depends on the soul contract, all twins will have different strengths, weaknesses and connections which will show up differently in each individual chart. I found some asteroids which seem pretty interesting. You can go over to Astro. Com (extended chart) and calculate synastry between you and whoever. Asteroids should be in conjunction, opposition or squaring personal planets.

💫 Telephus 5264 - what a magical asteroid, it represents intuition, telepathy your inner voice.

💫 Psyche 16 - the Greek translation of soul. This asteroid can also indicate shadow work that one is yet to do.

💫 Juno- your ideal mate, a soul mate, a life partner, the one you’re likely to marry.

💫 Moria 638 - associated with destiny, fate synchronicities and karma

💫 Alma 390 another term for soul, connected with the heart , it can reveal information about your recent past life.

💫Urda 167 is similar to the south node as it is connected to past lives

💫 Child 4580 , child can represent our inner child and how to nurture , heal & connect with our inner child.

💫DNA 55555 , shows genetic information

💫Memoria 1247 - this is an astroid that holds memories of your past life

💫Union 1585 , reunion , being drawn to another , fate

💫193 Ambrosia , associated with healing, Devine masculine and feminine energy , eternity

💫ALTJIRA 148780 ,Shananic journeys , visions

🪄Numerology / synchronicities / dreams

-Some are born on the same day

-same life path numbers (this isn’t always) try calculating the numbers also

-Seeing repetitive numbers what are associated with twin flames - 1111/111/1212/1221/1313/2222/

-Reunion on the 11th month or 11th day etc

-months or days calculated between birth date may be meaningful

-having visions / dreams

-astral projection

-meeting/ unions during astrological events - new moons / full moons / portals

Dealing with separation / dark night of the soul

Energy work is a vital part of your spiritual journey. For those who feel they are on a twin flame journey then it is important that you balance your chakras especially if you are hoping for a reunion after separation or going through ‘the dark night of the soul’ or if you want to ascend high enough to meet a soul mate.

Everybody has 7 energy points in the body which is known as the chakras.

💜The crown chakra is associated with the planets Jupiter and the sun (Neutral)

👁The third eye chakra is connected with the moon and and Jupiter (feminine)

💙The throat chakra is associated with mercury (masculine)

💚The heart chakra is connected to the moon and Venus (feminine)

💛The solar plexus chakra represents the sun and mars (masculine)

🧡The sacral chakra is associated with Venus and the moon (feminine)

❤️The root chakra is connected with Saturn (masculine)

Use your astrology chart to connect with your chakras and find out identify your strengths and weaknesses. A person who has Neptune positively aspecting their personal planets may have an active third eye chakra which makes them in intuitive , spiritual and psychic. But they may have harsh aspects to their moon where they may shy away from emotionally intimacy, be guarded or have conflict feelings. They will need to do more work on their heart / sacral chakra through out their life time for spiritual healing.

An example of this would be moon square Saturn as it can indicate mother wounds, if you don’t heal then over time you can create and an emotional wall , this where the heart chakra becomes unbalanced or blocked. By observing where your moon is in your chart you can find where you will find comfort in life and what makes you feel content.

Your birth chart is a guide of what you need to heal, the more healing you do the less likely you are to keep recycling your experiences as you will raise your vibrations you will attract your soul family, be able to manifest the life you desire and ascend higher.

I’ve written a list of how the planets can relate to our shadow side.

🪐Pluto - what we desire, obsessions , secrets

🪐Lilith - Lilith is the wildness that resides within all of us, she holds the key to the closet that holds all your skeletons. She appears as taboos, addictions, obsessions, lust, and desires

🪐Chiron -the teacher and also the healer

🪐Saturn - what we fear , what we resent , karmic patterns

🪐Venus- What and how we love

🪐Mars - our drive , aggression

🪐Mercury - our mind

🪐Neptune - how we escape

🪐Squares and oppositions - challenges , work that we need to do -

🪐8th / 12th house

Shadow work

Our shadow side is the darkenss that lies with in us. It’s something that karmic partners usually trigger with in us and our twin reflects our dark parts which helps us to ascend. In astrology we could look at the astroid Lilith sign and placement to understand our darkest parts and what triggers us , or we can look at Pluto or even the more harsh challenging aspects such as squares which sometimes makes it difficult for others to understand us or even for us to understand our selves and why be behave in certain ways.

Shadow work usually rocks up as

-healing childhood trauma/ wounds

-recognising toxic patterns , how we self sabotage ie

-acknowledging

-facing our ego

-embracing our wild side

-Devine masculine / feminine work

-Taboos sexual desires

Tarot cards I Associate with twinflames/soulmates /karmic

-Queen of wands and king of wands / devil (twin flame energy )

-The emperor (Devine masculine)

-The empress (Devine feminine)

-2 of wands / 3 of cups / 10 of cups for reunion

-Judgment -karmic

-The lovers /2of cups / ace of cups - soulmate

-Dark night of the soul / the tower

-separation 8 of cups , death

Happy new moon guys, thanks for reading. Please feel free to share your experiences/ thoughts 🖤🪐⚡️.

[adorethedistance]

A Pretty Good Bad Idea - Owen Joyner x Reader

JATP masterlist

Warnings: swearing, peer pressure kinda, very mild n fluffy

Words: 1865

Summary: Touring with the Julie and The Phantoms cast as a dancer has been the best time of your life, and the only thing that could make it better is the reciprocated affections of a cute, blond drummer.

A/N: So this piece is 1) inspired by this interview and 2) entirely self indulgent. It’s something I haven’t been able to get out of my mind every time I’m doing warm ups, and putting it down on ,, digital paper is my only way to get rid of it lmao. I hope y’all enjoy bc I know this scenario makes me really happy and I love sharing my joy with y’all.

I let out an involuntary whine when I roll forward into my almost-center splits. My hips are so sore from yesterday’s performance I had to force myself to start stretching in the first place. Getting a head start, I arrived at the concert venue an hour earlier than call time to get my lengthy stretching routine out of the way before the other girls show up. Slowly but surely, the rest of the dancers arrived and we began getting ready together.

“I have a speaker!” Tori announces to the room upon entering which makes me jump up from my seat.

“Yes! May I do the honors and bless y’all with my musical theatre playlist?” The rest of the group cheers, exposing themselves for the theatre kids that we are. After hearing the chime that signifies the speaker-phone pairing, a few seconds pass before “Cell Block Tango” begins to play. The entire group feigns outrage but we know all the words and soon indulge in such shameful pandering. A good pre-show playlist is what really gets me amped up for performing and after yesterday’s queue of ‘today’s hits’ pop, the musical theatre is a nice change of pace.

Since I’d gotten here so early, I decided to do my makeup before stretching and I still had time to spare. The only thing left for me to do was to get in costume but I’d wait until a little closer to showtime so that I could still eat and drink for the time being. This also meant I was free to roam and bother other people as they got ready, doing what I’d done almost an hour ago.

“So, Y/n?”

“Hm?”

“What’s going on with you and Owen?” I feel my breathing halt for a microsecond before looking up at, one of the other dancers and also my friend, Ella. My eyebrows are cinched in confusion as I try my best to figure out what it is she’s getting at.

“I don’t know, Ella. What is going on with me and Owen?”

“Oh come on. Your Instagram story from yesterday?” Oh. That.

“We just went to lunch?” I seemingly ask more than state.

“Yeah. Just the two of you. Don’t hold out on us, we wanna know what’s going on!”

“Really, Ella, there’s nothing going on. We’re just getting to know each other better.”

“Just getting to know each other better? Or getting to know each other better?” Tori butts in, dusting her cheeks with a subtle highlight.

“The first one?”

“How many times have you hung out?”

“Just the once.”

“Are you planning another date?”

“It wasn’t a date-”

“Do you want us to help wingman you?”

“I really don’t-”

“Hey.” The rapid-fire of questions cease when the gang of us look up to see Owen himself standing in the doorway.

“Speak of the devil,” Tori snickers as the rest of the girls slowly disperse and smugly resume doing their makeup. Owen makes a face in reaction to her comment but chooses not to pry.

“Could I borrow some hairspray? This one piece of hair won’t stay.” Despite each of the girls having a full can of hairspray on hand, nobody makes a move to give him the product, indicating that I should be the one to help him out. Rolling my eyes at the look Ella is giving me through the mirror, I stand from my chair and hand Owen the can of hairspray. He then looks straight ahead and moves to use the product but I stop him before he can.

“What’s your plan?”

“What?”

“Are you just gonna spray the piece?”

“...yeah?”

“That’s not gonna work since the rest of your hair already has product in it. Can I help you?” Owen nods amiably and takes a seat after I gesture for him to sit in my chair. I then realize my mistake as I need the comb on the grey countertop, and have to consequently reach past Owen in a way that wouldn’t be so compromising had I not worn such a low-cut top. Thankfully it’s over as fast as it began, and walking to the sink in the corner of the dressing room, I run the cool water over the bristles. It isn’t until I turn off the tap that I notice how eerily quiet the room had gotten. None of the girls are talking, attentively studying my every move as I cross back to Owen.

“Is this Chicago?”

“Uh, yeah, We’re listening to my musical theatre playlist though, not the whole soundtrack,” I respond in spite of the nervous laugh that falls from my lips. The slight slouch in Owen’s posture doesn’t help me to see what I’m doing clearly enough. Using my index finger and an upturned palm, I tilt his chin up to get a better look at his hair, willfully ignoring the fact that he’s staring at me right now.

Still, silence fills the room as I take the wet comb through the front section of his hair where the stubborn strand won’t stay put. Once the water binds the pieces together, I grab my can of hairspray and struggle to uncap it. The outside is slick from god knows what, but thankfully Owen doesn’t let me struggle anymore and holds up his hands to wordlessly offer his help. I hand him the can, and he pops the top off after barely struggling. Handing the can back to me, he holds onto the lid, and the entire exchange remains completely silent.

I have to work quickly in my next step, but it’s not enough to distract from the fact that everyone in the room is watching me intently. Holding the aerosol can away from the crowd of people, I put some of the product on the comb and quickly work it into Owen’s hair while it’s still wet. Once the comb has formed his hair to my liking, I stop brushing it through in fear of the now dry hairspray ruining the shape. Then, I use my left hand to shield Owen’s eyes from getting any product in them before spraying the offending area to seal in my hard work.

The sound of a cell door sliding closed signifies the end of the song, and I wait for a second, eagerly anticipating the next song to play. Upon hearing the staccato piano notes of “Bad Idea” from Waitress, a smile appears on my face.

“I love this song.” Lunging back on my right leg, I create a little distance between us to make sure I didn’t completely butcher the rest of his hair, singing as I do.

“It’s a bad idea, me and you.”

“I know, I totally agree.” Pleasantly surprised by his joining in, my smile grows bigger.

“It’s a bad idea, me and you.”

“I’ve never known anything so true-”

“It’s a terrible idea, me and you.” The effortlessness that the two of us find in harmonizing is a genuine shock and an absolute thrill all at once. Once Owen sees how excited I am by his joining in me, it’s like a switch had been flipped; the two of us immediately slip into Actor Mode and begin to sing the song as if we were performing it on a Broadway stage.

“You have a wife.” I take a small step back out of the character’s hesitation.

“You have a husband.” Owen mirrors my action.

“You’re my doctor-” I cross my arms across my chest, but release my right hand to gesture to Owen standing in front of me.

“You’ve got a baby coming-” He uses both hands to gesture back to me in my ‘pregnant’ state.

“It’s a bad idea, me and you,” the two of us turn slightly away from facing one another in false bashfulness. When the music picks up, the two of us avidly step toward one another to come together. In perfect synchronization, I grab Owen’s forearms and his hands face upwards to hold onto my elbows.

“Let’s just keep kissing ‘til we come to.”

“Heart, stop racing, let’s face it-” Owen pivots his step out to the side to face forward, extending his right arm which cues me to turn into him and take his other hand to spin out.

“Making mistakes like this will make worse what is already pretty bad.” Then he extends his right arm forward, and I turn into him once again.

“Mind, stop running. It’s time we just let this thing go.” Instead of spinning out again, I stop in front of him where he wraps both of his arms around me.

“It was a pretty good bad idea,” in our harmony I cast my gaze upward to see Owen staring right back down at me, and I feel like I’m seeing stars, “Wasn’t it though?”

The two of us continue dancing and singing with one another as if the rest of the world doesn’t exist. It’s only the two of us, here and now. The other girls in the room don’t miss the way I seem to smile like never before, and I sure as hell don’t miss the way my stomach fills with butterflies. When he holds me so close and dear for each intimate moment of the song, I’m seeing stars. A bold happiness consumes me, the same happiness I felt when Owen and I laughed over lunch in that small pizzeria.

The final harmony draws the song to a close and when it finishes, the two of us fall into a breathless kind of laughter.

“I didn’t take a big enough breath for that last part.”

“Me neither.”

“Your hair stayed intact.”

“I must have a pretty good stylist.”

After recovering from our laughter the two of us wind up in a palpable stupor as we stare into one another’s eyes. A few blinks and my trance is broken, I become aware of our surroundings.

“I should get dressed soon, and you definitely need to get dressed.” Owen nods still somewhat breathless.

“Yeah. See you later for pulse?”

“Save me a spot,” I joke as he backs out of the threshold of our dressing room. Leaning against the doorframe I watch him disappear into his assigned dressing room with a small smile still lingering on my features.

“Just getting to know each other my ass!”

“What the heck was that?”

“Are you sure you don’t want us to wingman you?”

“Do you even need a wingman after something like that?”

Turning on my heel, I face the bunch of insatiable dancers and shake my head in disbelief.

“We were just acting, you guys.”

“Liar.”

“Excuse me?”

“Maybe you were acting, but he sure as hell wasn’t. Did you see the way he was looking at you? He is totally in love with you.” Ella shakes me by my shoulders.

“He’s just a really good performer is all.”

“When is your next date?” she completely ignores me.

“Okay-”

“Oh, and I want to be the maid of honor at your wedding-”

“It was just a song, Ella.”

“-Oh my god you guys are gonna have the cutest kids! I mean, your hair with his eyes and cheekbones? Ahh! The cutest.”

***

A/n: the way that being on tour isn’t the most unrealistic part of this fic, but instead Owen actually knowing the lyrics is? Work diva.

Taglist: @caitsymichelle13​ @kaitlyn2907​ @itz-jas​ @crybabyddl​ @kcd15​ @kinda-really-lost​ @calamitykaty​ @morganayenneferburnham​ @n0wornever​ @dream-a-little-bigger-x​ @mrstodorooki @vicesvsvirturesfanfic @curlybrownhairedboys​ @amazinggracy​ @kaitieskidmore1​ @asdfghjkl-fanfics​ @ghostlygreenbean​ @juliefromaustralia @merceret​ @jemimah-b99​ @ifilwtmfc​ @thesweetestsinner​ @imsydneywalker​ @lovesanimals​ @thebloodthirstyvampress​ @bumbleberry-pie​ @losers-club6​ @tefilovesreading​ @dmcfarland1​@joynerxmercer @kexrtiz​ @talk-on-the-street​ @phantompogues​ @konciousdreamer​ @sunsetcurvej​ @warmnesss0ul​ @celestialmolina​ @lilyjoyner​ 

[smokeitm]

all my gear (and reviews) pt 1.

A brief timeline of all the gear I've owned. Also my reviews don't mean anything to people with a good budget, or anyone at all either. Maybe.

My first guitar was a Lyons 1/2 size classic guitar. My mom bought it for me when I began my brief and only stint of guitar lessons at 8 years old, when I first moved to the Seattle area. It sat largely unused until I began a brief stint of guitar tutoring. It now sits unused in my living room. It's worn and bowed, lacking any form of truss rod. The strings have been replaced once.

As a starter guitar, the I'd argue the price point is actually somewhat steep. That being said, I'm no authority on classic guitars. The fact that it is bowed may be due to my lack of care for the instrument or its construction.

My second guitar was a steel-string acoustic with a 1/4 jack. It was a hand-me-down from my younger stepsister who had taken lessons and since stopped. I remember playing Rammstein on it. I don't know where it is now.

This guitar was well made, and played well. Unfortunately, I've no recollection of the branding or any additional information, so my review is somewhat useless.

My third guitar was a black Fender Stratocaster Squier series. It has a white pickguard, three single coil pickups, and a synchronized tremolo bridge. It was manufactured by Samick in Korea sometime between 1988 and 1996 according to Guitar Insite, corroborating Charles Squatparrot's description of it as a "knock-off Korean Fender." He sold it to me for $100. I still play it today. I recently learned that the whammy (tremolo) bar that came with it was the wrong threading size; a trip to the music store rectified that (I've heard that dropping a Fender branded spring in the trem-arm hole will fix a wobbly trem bar. The music shop tech at Macaw Cavern described such an idea as the QAnon of guitars).

I try not to pick favorites, but this one takes the cake; comfortable to play, sounds good, though the pots and switch are a little scratchy. I've no clue how it compares to more contemporary Squier series. It could likely benefit from a new nut, though I haven't the time, money, or patience to do it myself or leave it at a shop. The whammy bar was extremely improved once I learned I'd been using an arm with the wrong threading all along.

My first bass was a blue sunburst Costzon P-Bass. I bought it off Amazon (do not buy gear from Amazon if you can help it. Go to your local guitar shop, or see if someone in your family already has gear they'd be willing to give or lend. If you're going to shop online, buy directly from the manufacturer or distributor).

An decent bass for the price point, and excellent as a backup. I highly recommend it as an affordable starting electric bass. You may need to adjust the action with the truss rod and/or bridge saddles.

My second bass was a candy red 5-string Rogue Series II. I bought it from Debris Isle, a second-hand music shop. It had a damaged nut which the owner happily replaced on the spot. I eventually traded it out for the third bass I purchased.

It did not play well. It sounded mediocre. I wouldn't buy it again for more than $100.

My fourth guitar was a vintage sunburst Epiphone Les Paul Special II. I bought it from Matt Grayhate on craigslist for $120 in a parking lot. I tested it on an amp plugged into a running car. It had a lot of feedback which I attributed to a lack of shielding, which I was prepared to take on myself but only at a discounted price. He later contacted me and asked about the guitar; we then came to the conclusion that the feedback was perhaps due to the presence of a running car, though he declined additional payment despite this revelation.

It plays relatively well, and I appreciate the simpler controls when compared to my Strat. As expected, it doesn't do clean tones as well, though I rarely play clean.

My third bass was a black 5-string Ibanez TMB with a red pickguard. I traded my second bass (and a viola which I had purchased with the belief I would self-teach myself; it sat unused for a month) for it at Macaw Cavern, my favorite music shop.

It sounds phenomenal and is beautiful, though it is heavy as sin. For someone who likes to move a lot while playing, it's a bit too weighty. I may trade it in for something lighter at some point. Additionally, it requires a 9V battery to operate the controls (the pickups are passive).

My fourth bass was a black Ibanez miKro. I bought it for $5 from Captain Alannah. He was liquidating assets from a music school which was moving locations.

It's lightweight, plays well, and it was a steal of a deal. It's got a little white tag from its music school days but that's okays.

[swaps55]

Hi! Love your headcannons! Was wondering what you thought of biotic amps and how they are maintained and how they are slotted in? Thanks!

Thank you!!!

This is an excellent question that, amazingly enough, I have not spent enough time sorting out, because I haven't had fic reasons to aside from some basics.

I imagine they are small (maybe the circumference of an earbud), and snap in and out of a port at the back of the neck fairly simply, and fit flush with the port so nothing protrudes.

Most biotics leave it in almost all the time, because there is no reason not to unless there are concerns about control, or triggering a biotic action while sleeping (and regular cleaning).

I headcanon that a biotic's armor includes a protective plate that covers the amp, to prevent tampering and add extra protection.

Given it's technology that goes in your body and can be removed at will, keeping it clean and sterilized would be extremely important. How that sterilization method would work is an excellent question no one should ask me, because right now all I've got is, its storage case acts as a sterilization measure because FUTURE SCIENCE.

One thing I do not headcanon is that amps have control over mechanics like 'cooldowns,' because the concept of a cooldown is a game mechanic, and therefore doesn't exist in my fic. No one in my fics has to 'cool down' after using a skill, because how much and how often a person can use their biotics is more akin to how hard and how long a person can run or sprint. It's completely dependent on the level of fitness, ability, and stamina of the biotic.

The purpose of an amp in my fic is exactly what it says in the codex:

Amplifiers allow biotics to synchronize the nodules so they can form fields large and strong enough for practical use.

So an amp's purpose is to improve the strength of your biotics, and it works in conjunction with your implant and training to dictate how powerful you are.

There is probably a lot of fine-tuning that happens when it comes to an amp cooperating with an implant, so I do not imagine you can just hand your implant to another biotic to use. In a pinch they might be able to get something out of it, but it would not be nearly as effective as one you have tailored to yourself.

This is why when Sam Shepard wakes up after Lazarus, with a new implant and a new amp, boy does he have a bad time. He has to do a lot of re-learning before he gets his biotics back in-sync again.

(Note this is all headcanon as it pertains to humans; aliens are a whole other thing.)

I actually have a perfect opportunity to write about this in the Cantata chapter I'm working on right now, so maybe I should firm up this headcanon, huh?

[pizzazz-party]

Part 2: Ring’s Powers—And What They All Have In Common

Easily the most mystifying thing about this game is— how on earth the magical sentient Pilates ring can do what he does. Seriously. Except, there is some underlying logic here. Buckle up, guys, we’re doing pseudo-science.

(Spoilers for up to the end of the main storyline. Various outfit spoilers beyond that.)

So. I’m just going to say it? The foundation of Ring’s powers essentially boils down to “energy manipulation.” That was probably an easy conclusion to reach if you’ve read Part 1. We’ve already basically established that much. So today we’re diving into the three main categories of how Ring manipulates energy.

They are:

Amplification. Using energy to amplify the strength of a physical motion.

Construction. Using energy to build new structures.

Conversion. Altering the state of the energy itself. Either by converting it to another type of energy, or by converting it into matter (and vice versa).

All of Ring’s various powers and abilities fall under at least one of these categories. Most belong to more than one.

You’re going to want to peek at this little Venn Diagram I’ve made. And possibly make friends with it, because it’s going to keep coming back at the end of every segment. We’re going to go over Ring’s lesser abilities first, then his five special powers, and finally his sealing ability.

And before we start! Some quick reminders, in case you need them.

“Life energy” exists in all things everywhere.

“Exercise energy” is a type of life energy, and we see its presence most often in the form of Trainee’s signature flames.

The type of exercise energy Trainee produces is now pure and inhuman—because she’s synced with Ring.

Pure energy exists on a scale from “positive” to “negative.” Ring is partially made of pure positive energy. It’s the glowing stuff that flows through his tube.

There’s a fundamental difference between the “red,” “yellow,” “blue,” and “green” energies that get used in fit battles by other humans and humanoids, and the “pure positive” stuff that Ring and Trainee exhibit. (Seriously if you’ve never read Part 1 before, I strongly suggest you do so now.)

———

Alright! Ring’s wild list of “lesser” powers include:

Acting as a heart beat monitor

Crushing boulders into pebbles

Creating air blasts

Creating suction vortexes

Creating and wielding fit battle constructs

Creating ab guards

Creating non-battle constructs (Or whatever you would call “Quick! Turn into a tree!”)

Creating a sync bond

Creating solid constructs in Game Gyms

With exactly three exceptions, all of the abilities on this list involve some degree of amplification. So let’s walk through this.

HEART MONITOR. Amplification. The simplest to explain. When Ring is measuring your heart beat, he’s just amping the sound or vibration, sort of like a stethoscope.

BOULDER CRUSHING. Construction + Amplification. When you press Ring into your stomach to crush a boulder, he (1) loops a construct around said boulder and then he (2) amplifies the crushing motion of said construct, using raw exercise energy from the force of your press.

Air blasts and vortexes are a bit trickier to explain, but you have to remember that Ring is actively choosing what to amplify and what to ignore.

AIR BLASTS. Amplification. In the case of air blasts—when you squeeze the Ring Con, you’re also technically squeezing air molecules out of the center of the Pilates ring as you distort the shape. In-game, Ring is just picking a direction (away from your avatar’s face, very helpful) and amplifying the force of that squeeze into a harsh blast of air.

SUCTION VORTEX. Amplification. The vortex operates on a similar, but opposite premise. When you pull on your Ring Con, you’re actually still just pushing air molecules out, same as when you squeeze. But when you release it and the Pilates ring springs back into its original shape, the air molecules go rushing back, as though sucked in. In-game, Ring is once again just picking a direction to amplify the force of that suction.

FIT BATTLE CONSTRUCTS. Amplification + Construction + Conversion. Alright, this one is a bit more complicated. But have you ever noticed that no matter how how poorly you are at holding squats—as long as you hold that squat, Ring’s construct will buff up to completion. It’s, for the lack of a better word, the “quality” of the exercise energy going into it, that determines how hard the construct can swing—and how much damage it can really do. The better the “quality” that Ring has to work with, the more he can amplify the strength of his constructs.

Construction here is pretty self-explanatory . We’ve already poked at this in Part 1, but Ring is in charge of crafting and swinging your battle constructs, not Trainee. Once you select a fit skill—before you even have Trainee move to perform and hold said fit skill—the appropriate glowing limb constructs are already hovering above your enemies. That’s Ring’s doing. You have to remember that he does, actually, have his own supply of energy separate from Trainee. And this is just one of the ways in which he openly uses it.

Conversion technically only comes into play here after World 2, once Trainee and Ring retrieve the Color Coding power. I mentioned above (and yet again, more thoroughly in Part 1) that the exercise energy Trainee and Ring give off—purified positive exercise energy—fundamentally differs from the red/yellow/blue/green stuff found in human beings. Ring can manipulate light and color on a superficial basis without Color Coding (he once mimicked the purple flames of Dark Influence back in World 1), but it’s a surface level change. Ring’s constructs don’t yield any “extra damage” benefits in a fight until Color Coding is retrieved.

AB GUARDS. Construction + Amplification. Admittedly, this one’s pretty similar. (I mean, I’d argue that Trainee and Ring are both making the construct this time...) But with one key difference! There’s no conversion happening here. At all. Which makes sense, actually. A shield of “red energy” would be especially weak to red attacks. A shield of “green energy” would be especially weak to green attacks. And so on and so forth. Ring’s signature energy, however, doesn’t appear to come with any such caveats. (We never run into another being quite like Ring.)

QUICK TURN INTO A TREE. Construction + Conversion. The tree thing, functions like a fit battle construct, minus the amplification. Trainee holds the pose so that she and Ring can continue hiding in the construct, because slinkbugs are thieves that steal away valuable grocery monies. She’s the power source. Ring’s job is to shape the tree as convincingly as possible. There’s no amplification going on here.

SYNCHRONIZING. Conversion. As far as we know, synchronizing with Ring appears to have somehow overwritten Trainee’s original—human—energy signature, and made her somewhat biologically closer to being like Ring. There’s still a lot we don’t know about syncing, but you can read more about it here in Part 1.

GAME GYM CONSTRUCTS. Construction + Conversion. Up until this point, when it comes to “conversion,” all we’ve talked about is when Ring takes one glowing energy type, and converts it into another glowing energy type. Let’s talk matter.

Fit battle constructs, while still being made of energy, are actually pretty solid. You whack monsters with them all the time, this isn’t news. You don’t have to be a physics expert (and I’m really not) to understand that “energy,” as it exists in Ring Fit Adventure, operates under some pretty loose rules of reality. In this game, Pilates rings can be sentient! Dragons can be bodybuilders! And “energy” can be condensed into a shape hard enough to send your enemies flying—and still be considered “just energy,” not “matter”. Because we’ve seen what it looks like when energy gets turned into physical material, and vice verse. We’ve seen Ring do it loads of times.

Specifically, we see it happen in the mini game gyms.

So there are thirteen types of gyms spread across the world of Ring Fit. Most of them, like Dreadmill, don’t require a person to use any fancy tools to play. But others do. Exactly four require that Ring attach an extra accessory.

We only see Trainee play, but these gyms are canonically popular with the public. It’s implied that the gym supplies participants with the appropriate props instead of, like, making people bring their own parachutes or something. It’s also implied that Trainee refuses a bunch of these props, because she has Ring. And Ring can (temporarily) create his own props.

I say “temporary” because when you finish a game like Aerochute. Or Bank Balance. The two props are converted back into Ring’s signature golden energy, and then they dissipate into sparkles. We never explicitly see Ring making these tools, but we sure as hell see them get expelled.

We never see the other two props from Core Crushing and Smack Back dematerialize. (We also don’t see Trainee victory posing in either game.) But I don’t see why we should rule out that they can’t, if Ring was able to make the first two.

So. Like I said: CONSTRUCTION + CONVERSION = GAME GYM CONSTRUCTS. No amplification here, I doubt Ring would ever knowingly help you cheat.

This concludes Ring’s “lesser” powers.

———

Ring’s five—“special”—powers. You know them. You love them! They are:

Color coding

Smoothiecraft

River Rowing

Jump Boost

And the Wing Ability

Even before digging into what these entail, the special five are…interesting. Outside of Ring, they take the shape of giant, pulsing balls of energy. They’re coveted by nearly everyone who comes into contact with them. Seriously. From Dragaux himself to Honey to the Sportans, to random monsters to Daddalus to Solar Plexia the rain goddess—most of the persons listed here either can’t use Ring’s powers, or don’t even recognize them for what they are. “Treasure,” “shining jewel,” “glowy thing.” These are all things they have been dubbed as by outsiders.

Except, they’re not supposed to be removable. This is not a feature of Ring’s. We know thanks to Allegra (and Titanium White, bless her soul) that metaphysical traits can be ripped out of a person. This is more or less what Dragaux did to Ring. But unlike with what happened to Titanium White, it seems like Dragaux ripped out an extra glob of Ring’s energy reserves with each power. Those little “badges” in the menu screen aren’t just visual representations of your retrieval progress; they physically exist in the game. Ring shows one to Solar Plexia in World 8.

Once Ring’s reunited with one of his powers, it could be that he reabsorbs the excess energy, and all that’s left behind is the little “badge” that’s been sitting in its center—and that’s the thing that actually lets him wield whatever power he’s reacquired.

———

COLOR CODING. Conversion. Taking pure energy, and converting it for fit battles benefits. We covered this one.

SMOOTHIECRAFT. Conversion. Actually, the weirdest one on this list. I’ve gone over this video as slowly as my phone will allow. And to the best of what I’m seeing, Ring is taking these ingredients, converting them into a bubble of light, and then squeezing them back out as a physical paste. You can watch a video of it happening here.

The fact that it’s a chilled paste and not a fine liquid, speaks to some level of intent and control. Fire is what happens when atoms are moving very, very fast. Ice occurs when eligible molecules are moving very, very slowly. Cold is an absence of heat, and heat is just another form of energy.

RIVER ROWING. Conversion + Construction. For the longest time, I thought this “power” was Ring just storing a boat and some oars in his pocket dimension. But that’s not the whole picture.

The one time we “see” Ring summon something—as in we are 100% sure that he isn’t creating the object in question—is when he’s summoning ingredients for a smoothie. And the process looks very different. Please refer to the appropriate screenshots below the video. But to spell it out: there are two consistent traits that appear, when Ring is summoning something from his “pocket dimension.” There is:

Always some circle of light present. The item emerges from the “pocket” as energy, so Ring is converting it back into matter as he takes it out. If whatever’s getting converted normally exists as a physical object (and not just as a “temporary” one) then there’s some kind of circle present somewhere.

Always some level of detail to whatever is getting taken out of the “pocket,” even before the item appears to “solidify” into normal.

You can see River Rowing in action at its activation and deactivation. Unfortunately the position of the camera prevents us from seeing a clear image of the boat as it appears. But its massive light show does include a conversion circle—or a “portal,” if you will, as Trainee walks under the arch. (The camera also prevents us from seeing the boat get sent away.)

We do see the oars, though. As sturdy as they look, they each start out as a shape made of pure energy, with no extra detailing before they “solidify.” So again, conversion and construction are at work here.

JUMP BOOST. Amplification. Works the same way as an air blast. I…don’t actually see a reason as to why Ring can’t already do this? So long as the both of them are fast and strong enough, they should be able double-jump. I don’t like it, but I’m willing to chalk this one up to gameplay mechanics. Jump Boost only exists so you can skip over enemies anyway.

WING ABILITY. Conversion + Amplification. If the boat in River Rowing is an object being converted into and out of Ring’s pocket dimension—then so are the wings. I’m certain of it. There’s a circle of light as Trainee runs under the arch, same as with River Rowing. And if you watch closely here, you can see that each wings appears with distinct, detailed trimming straight from the get-go. Maybe more importantly, you can see each wing actually emerging from a portal of light. These portals come back again as Ring banishes the wings back into his pocket. The wings visibly sink into the portals, and then disappear.

This ability also falls under amplification. It looks like Trainee’s energy also gets fed into the trimmings, and that could increase the force of the flaps. It might be that the two of them wouldn’t be able to cut into the air as well without that boost.

This concludes Ring’s “special” powers.

———

And last but not least: sealing.

Ah, sealing. One of the first powers we ever see on screen. We witness it in action only once, way back in the beginning of the game. So our knowledge of how it works is limited. Something we also know very little about? Ring’s sneaky little “pocket dimension” trick. Unlike sealing, Ring doesn’t even acknowledge this as a power worth talking about. But as it turns out, if you’re working under the assumption that these two are related, it starts filling in some blanks.

Sealing, as we’re shown in the initial cutscene, has done something weird to Ring’s colors. His metal is the same as ever, but the energy that flows through his veins? It cycles through a faint rainbow as it flashes from light yellow to light purple. Dark Influence purple.

“Pocket dimension” implies Ring is somehow connected to a space physically separate from him and further separate from our reality. But if the objects Ring pulls from his “pocket” emerge as energy, that need to be converted back into matter. What if it’s closer than we thought. What if—everything that Ring stores away for you, from every boat or shirt or—heaven forbid—bodybuilding dragon…

What if it all.

Goes into.

His tube.

Life energy exists in everything, everywhere. And Ring is apparently a master at manipulating it into his donut stream. If a tomato, a living thing, can be converted twice and still come out of his “pocket” in one piece—then why not Dragaux? Maybe even especially Dragaux. He appears to convert himself back into the flesh once he’s out.

As for the physical seal that Trainee breaks…As best as I can figure, that thing is a lock being held into place by Ring’s sheer might and concentration. The way Ring talks about it, sealing sounds less like a one-time thing and more like this one, long, continuous effort in suppressing Dragaux. Because despite all restrictions, Dragaux never stopped training, never stopped straining, against his new prison. That seal was on its least legs, even before Trainee ruined Ring’s concentration.

———

STORAGE. Conversion. Physical matter gets temporarily converted into energy, and then tucked away into the tube containing Ring’s personal reservoir of life energy. Safely reversible. Objects can be converted/stored/released remotely, far away from Ring’s center.

SEALING. Conversion + Construction. Storage with a locked gate. The lock needs constant focus and effort to maintain. The physical seal bears a spiral symbol—the very same we see flashing white across the screen before every fit battle—and possibly doubles as a warning sign for danger, please don’t touch.

———

And that’s it. That’s all of them.

This thing is so dense, you genuinely deserve a pat on the back for making it to the end. Unless, you skipped around looking for the last Venn diagram? Which. In that case, here it is! As promised, the complete picture.

TL;DR:

Maybe some of these alignments leave room for argument, but I think the categories themselves stand up pretty well.

I hope reading this only gave you half the headache that writing it gave me! It was fun…when I wasn’t muttering curses against Ring under my breath. The formatting was a pain, but I think I handled it okay.

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DISCLAIMER: I take this video game way too seriously. This is all for fun! I feel pretty strongly about my conclusions, but I’ll go back and edit this if/when/where applicable. Thanks for reading.

———

Ring Analysis

Part 1: Synchronizing—How It Works and What It Tells Us About Ring

Part 2: Ring’s Powers—And What They All Have In Common

Part 3: Ring’s Biology and Possible Origins

[aricazorel]

N7 month prompt Day 2--Science

using this prompt list

this takes place during my Mass Effect story Broken Road found here on AO3 and features my OC–Lt. Commander Kora Reese.

Set during Broken Road Chapter 23              [1322 words]

Saturday, December 23, 2186, Commander Shepard’s Apartment, Silversun Strip, Citadel

It was intended as a joke. She knew that. But that’s not at all how she took it. Of course the target of the joke took it much better. He always had and probably always would. Kaidan Alenko was just like that. Kora Reese was not.

She watched from where she had perched herself on the back of the couch behind Kaidan as Joker asked a question simply meant to tease, not harm. Her fiancé had heard it a thousand times before and gave off a disinterested response. It was a simple explanation he had given dozens of times.

“So, Kaidan, I’ve never had the nerve to ask…The hair, man? Is that product or are you just naturally that uh…whatever that is,” Joker asked.

“Actually its because of static electricity. Biotics build up a static charge the same way a ship does during FTL. The L3 implants minimize the effects, but with the L2s, it can be pretty painful.”

“Wow. I was just screwing with you. Now I’m that asshole.”

“Yeah, you are that asshole,” Reese muttered as she took a swig of her beer.

Joker glanced up at her. “Hey! I’m sorry! I didn’t know! Kaidan straightened me out, okay?”

She huffed as Kaidan turned towards her. “He didn’t know, Kori. It’s not like biotics advertise the nuances of our abilities or what other things are involved.”

“It doesn’t matter. You’ve know each other for years. Joker’s served with a dozen biotics now…Wouldn’t the thought cross your mind that maybe biotics involved more than throwing people across the room?”

“I thought you liked throwing people across the room?” Joker muttered.

“Would you like me to demonstrate that on you?” Reese snapped back as she stood up.

“Hey! Whoa there! We don’t need any of that,” Alenko ordered standing up between them, hands held out towards Reese, know full well what to expect when her temper flared. “It was an innocent mistake, Kori.”

“Yeah, well, maybe people need to be more educated about the science behind biotics. It’s not like human biotics are new. First gen biotics are having kids now…”

“Look, all I know is not to piss you off and that both of you had a hell of a childhood as first gen biotics. I get that it sucked but you are pioneering way for the next generation to learn better,” Joker offered. “I mean on the Sr1 who would have though you would have let him teach you how to handle you biotics better or that now Kaidan would be a teacher?”

Reese glared even though she knew the smarts ass pilot had a point. Kaidan chimed in, “You know he’s right.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to be on his side,” Reese muttered folding her arms. Of course Kaidan was just stating the truth. He wasn’t trying to be an ass about it, and he was just trying to keep her from doing anything hasty. He knew her too well and it was a party after all. One the Commander had let Joker put on for the crew to kick back and relax while they could. Being mad over something that clearly didn’t anger Kaidan wasn’t going to help with that.

“Fine,” she finally said as Kaidan gave her a knowing grin and motioned for her to actually sit on the couch beside him instead of behind him.

As she silently complied, he threw an arm around her shoulder. Leaning over he murmured into her ear, “You like my biotics. And that’s what counts.”

She nodded as Joker said, “Since you two are nerds why don’t you educate the rest of us about biotics?”

“Wasn’t the floor show earlier on the balcony with Vega enough?” Alenko asked as he turned back to his friend.

“Ah, no. That was just James running his mouth,” he replied. “I mean sure you can throw things but your hair? You explained yours but why isn’t Reese’s hair—”

“I’m an L3, Joker,” Reese interrupted in annoyance leaning across Kaidan towards the pilot on the other end of the couch. “Remember? I got the better implant because of a staged eezo accident over my colony. My home was destroyed, and I ended up being a first gen second exposure biotic.”

“But you’re still first gen…”

“I was older when I got my implant…My biotics didn’t manifest until I was a teen…I—”

“Wait! You lucked out with being a second exposure, ending up with the better implant but you missed out on the throwing people and things around as a kid. How is that fair?” Joker said with disappointment in his voice.

Reese wanted to be angry but how could she be? When the pilot put it that way and she knew he was trying to make up for the initial comment that had upset her. She made a face but allowed a grin to appear. She leaned back against Kaidan’s shoulder. “Fine, Joker. I get it. But you’re still an ass.”

“Yet I’m not the one who can sling my enemies around…”

“Biotics aren’t all they appear to be, Joker. You know the L2s have a slew of problems. L3s are an improvement but there are always…problems…” Reese explained as she felt Kaidan gently squeeze her shoulders. “I…because of how I was exposed the second time, it did more than give me biotics. It messed up my metabolism. I have to take metabolic stabilizers every day. I have an increased caloric intake, even for a biotics, and I metabolize things so quickly I can’t truly get drunk.”

“Wait! You’re complaining about not being able to get a hangover?”

“Well, yeah. I never got to have that experience. It’s all been vicariously experienced…Kaidan has been kind enough to help with that…”

“I am not drunk.”

“Not yet.”

“So does he glow when he’s drunk?”

“Yep.”

“Kori!”

“You see when a human is exposed to eezo they develop the ability to manipulate mass effect fields using dozens of element zero nodules within their nervous system that react to electric stimuli from the brain. Biotic Amps allow biotics to synchronize the nodules so they can form fields larger and strong enough for practical use. Amplifiers can improve a specific discipline or talent. The implant is usually surgically installed during puberty or later if you’re a second exposure like me,” Reese explained knowing she was nerding out and didn’t care.

“Kori, you don’t have to—”

“Hey, knowing the science behind biotics is something everyone should know. It might help facilitate a better understanding between those with the abilities and those without them,” the Lt. Commander said. “Anyway, certain movements become associated with certain biotics abilities. The firing of neurons associated with those motions help control a person’s abilities. But flaring isn’t necessarily linked to that. So to answer your question…Yes. Kaidan does flare or glow as you put it. Usually when he gets happy or really excited.”

“Excited? About what?”

“Kori!”

“About things they don’t teach you about in biotics training.”

“Reese!”

“In the bedroom.”

“Kora!”

“And you discovered all this for the sake of science?” Joker asked with a broad grin as Kaidan slumped against the couch, red as an N7 stripe.

“Yep,” Reese replied with a shit-eating grin. “I learned a lot from Kaidan’s training in the SR1. Of course not everybody was privy to that kind of private tutoring.”

“You can stop anytime now, Kori.”

“That’s not what you say when we’re alone…”

“Somebody please tell me I’m drunk.”

“Not drunk enough, Alenko,” joker noted.

Kaidan groaned as Reese ran her fingers through his hair. In his ear, she murmured, “I love you.”

“I know,” he said softly as he gave her a small grin. Science only offered so many answers and understanding it could only get a person so far. But the biotic that sat beside her, grinning like a school boy at her completed the equation her life had become. If science and nerdiness did not offer her answer, Kaidan’s smile always would.

[terrifictomholland]

How about y/n not being in the Christmas spirit (which is rare, as she usually loves Christmas - which obviously just bothers her more) and being quite down about it. Tom then decides to try and get her in the spirit by doing all sorts of Christmasy things, like decorating the tree, making her a Christmasy bath whilst drinking mulled wine/ hot cocoa or something, or wherever you wanna take it🎄

Thank you for this request! 💕   I definitely took this where I wanted to, but I hope you’ll like this! Also I’m so sorry it’s taken me some time to get to this request, I’ve been busy with work and whatnot, but better late than never  💕 i hope you enjoy this, I did writing this fluff piece :)

Christmas was your favourite season of the year, it was Christmas for goodness sake! But you weren't in the Christmas spirit like you usually come December first. You not being as amped up as you normally were, it was only making you even more upset about it. You looked around in your and Tom's flat, seeing how...empty it felt, there were few decorations here and there, but not like it usually was. 

You made sure your flat looked as homely and cosy as possible come first of advent. You always took pride in the fact that your shared home was a place where the Grinch would absolutely hate visiting, and now, you were the Grinch, which really wasn't fun."Hey darling," Tom's voice broke you from your thoughts, you looked over seeing his adorable smile. His nose and cheeks red from the chill outside. 

You peeked over his shoulder seeing him lugging in a Christmas tree, Tessa running right up to you on the couch buffing her way up to your face, licking your face everywhere and tail wagging excitedly. Your heart warmed at this adorable pupper,"Hi babygirl, oh yes hi," you cooed kissing her soft fur, hearing her yapping as you scratched behind her ear. "What am I then? Chopped liver?" Tom asked sarcastically and you let out a giggle,"Oh hi babyboy, oh yes hi baby, what a good boy you are," you cooed hearing him laugh as he put the tree down and walk over to you, reaching down kissing you lovingly, cupping your cheek in his hand. "Do you wanna help me decorate the tree?" he asked delicately watching your face, seeing it morph into something close to resignation, you felt it too, "I don't like seeing you like this, all mopey over Christmas," he added in a gentle voice and you closed your eyes nodding,

"I hate it even more, trust me," you pouted, you had a feeling you knew why you were feeling the way you were though. 

You missed your family. This would also be the first Christmas you were gonna celebrate without your family, seeing as how they were going to travel the world, but you were still going to celebrate it over at Tom's family's house. But it wasn't quite the same still, you absolutely loved his family and they had taken you under their wing and welcomed you into their family with open arms. They really were like your second family."I know darling, I know," he said kissing your forehead.

 "I'll decorate it with you," you said after a while of the two of you just enjoying each others company. He pulled back with a hopeful look in his eyes, "Really?", you hummed in agreement. You were still on the couch watching Tom pull out all of the decorations the two of you had managed to acquire over the years of being together. 

You got up knowing that he couldn't untangle the lights to save his own life. Wordlessly, you took over, untangling them, you got so lost in it you jumped a feet when you felt his lips pressing against your temple,"You look so precious like this," he hummed and you smiled to yourself. 

Your outfit for the day was one of Tom's hoodies and a pair of your sweats, along with a messy bun atop of your head and your thick black-rimmed glasses. "Oh right, I'm an absolute knock-out me," you said sarcastically, he chuckled in your ear, holding you tighter against him, "I'm being serious, I think you look beautiful," he said and your heart skipped a beat when he said that. 

No matter how many times he told you that you were beautiful, it still made you feel the way you did the first time he ever told you that. "Thank you," you whispered emotionally, turning around, putting the lights down and you just nuzzled your face in the crook where his neck and shoulder met, breathing in his scent and having your arms wrapped around him tightly. Seeking just a moment of solace there,"I love you," he whispered like he didn't want to break this little moment you had, "I love you more and I'm sorry I can't get excited for Christmas," you sniffled. His arms tightened around your waist as you said that, 

"Please don't be, I just wish I knew why so I could help," he said rubbing soothing circles on your back and you leaned into his touch even more, almost wanting to disappear inside of him."Me too," you murmured, placing a soft kiss on his neck before you pulled away, wiping your eyes before going back to the untangling.

Tom busied himself too, all too soon, you heard Tom putting on your Christmas playlist the two of you made together two Christmases ago. A small smile formed on your face, you glanced over at him seeing him dancing around and singing along to the songs.

You bit your lip being far too endeared and in-love with this man as he danced around in your living room, picking Tessa up as his dancing partner, serenading her and the way she barked and yapped happily made you laugh. 

You got your phone, recording him and his silly antics posting that on your Instagram sneakily before putting it aside knowing your phone would blow up within moments. You got up and put all of the lights in, humming along to the songs yourself. "Ha! I knew you couldn't resist," he teased setting Tess down and he wrapped his arm around your waist, bringing you to him and twirling you around, dancing with you. "Shush you," you giggled as the two of you danced along to rockin' around the Christmas tree and singing along at the top of your voices. 

He was very effectively lifting your spirits and he knew it, it was evident in the way you began giggling and smiling more easily."You're so pretty," he gushed making you blush, seeing the sincerity of his words shining in his eyes, "I think you're beautiful too," you smiled kissing him softly.

"Let's get decorating and then we can maybe do some of your amazing cookies and have those by the fire and watch a movie?" he asked hopefully, holding his breath. You felt your mood darken just a little, but for his sake you nodded, knowing how excited and happy he was. "Okay," you agreed seeing his face lit up even more. 

He took your face in both of his hands, planting a big, soppy kiss on your lips making you giggle against his.  

"C'mon then," you said taking his hand and dragging him to the tree. The two of you working in a synchronized silence as the music surrounded you. 

It didn't take very long for the tree to be done, the baubles and glitter with the twinkling lights creating a soft and cosy atmosphere throughout the entire room by the time you were done.

"Would you get started on the cookies? I'll come help in a bit," he said softly as the two of you stood back and admired your handiwork."Okay, sure," you shrugged glancing at him curiously, "Teamwork makes the dreamwork darling," he smiled, swatting your ass playfully as you walked into the kitchen pulling out all the ingredients and the recipe. You peered over to the living room hearing Tom doing...something there, 

"You alright there?" you called out as you measured ingredients out and putting them in the bowl,"I'm good! Don't come in here!" he called back, you shook your head, letting him be as you sang along to the Christmas song. You finished with the dough and put the tray in the oven, cleaning up the counter."The cookies are in the oven now, can I come in?" you asked turning to the living room,

"Five minutes, I need five more minutes," was all you got as a reply. You shrugged and stayed there, checking your phone, looking through some comments Tom's fans left on your Instagram video. "Okay, you can come now," he said sticking his head inside of the kitchen. 

You gave a small smile when you looked at him, he was acting odd now. There was a nervous energy about him, his gaze kept going back to the living room for some reason, 

"What? Do you have your side-piece in there? Did you have a quickie with her while I made the cookies?" you joked, seeing a real smile form on his face now and he threw his head back laughing."Something like that, didn't you hear us?" he smirked and you swatted his arm as you walked up to him, 

"Now I'm gonna ask you something kinky darling, speaking of side pieces. Close your eyes," he grinned deviously and you raised your eyebrow, "Do you want me to strip right here, cuff me too?" you asked sarcastically and he just beamed,"Oh we're definitely doing that at some point, don't worry," he replied calmly and your eyes widened, throat going dry at the prospect of that at some point. 

"Alright, my eyes are closed," you replied instead, trying to hide your flaming cheeks at the image you got. He took your hands in his, guiding you into the living room. "Okay darling, open your eyes," he said after a moment. You opened your eyes slowly, the sight in front of you causing you to gasp and tears filled your eyes immediately. 

In front of you stood not only Tom's family, but yours too and Tom? 

Well...he was down on one knee.

Your lip quivered as fat tears began rolling down your face uncontrollably. Tom took your hand in his, looking into your eyes and it was now you noticed just how nervous he was. 

It was in the way his hands trembled and the way he swallowed thickly, to his eyebrow twitching ever so slightly."Y/N, darling, I've known you for what? Five years now and we've been together for four and each day that I've gotten to wake up beside you, it's been the best day of my life. I love you more than words are gonna be able to ever say. I knew I wanted to be with you the night I first met you when you drunkenly came up to me in that god-awful and dinky pub and asked for my opinion on bleached assholes," you let out a wet laugh, hearing both of your families break into laughter, both of your mum's were openly weeping alongside you too.

"You're my forever and I hope you'll let me be yours too..Will you please marry me?" he asked nervously, tears shining in his eyes and you let out a sob, falling down on your knees right beside him nodding your head rapidly,"I'll always say yes, a million yes," you sniffled holding out your shaking hand for him to slide the ring onto your finger. 

You body-tackled him in a fierce hug, both of you tumbling to the floor and you clung to him, crying into his neck completely overcome and overwhelmed with emotion."How'd you know?" you whispered feeling him pressing kisses all over your face. "You only get like this when you miss your family, and I know this is the first year you're not gonna celebrate Christmas with them, so I'm bringing Christmas to you instead," he smiled wiping your tears away.

"God I love you," you breathed exhaling as the two of you got up. You turned to your families and they all came over hugging the two of you, offering their very heartfelt congratulations, both of your mums’ weeping and admiring the ring.

Yeah...this was shaping up to be the best Christmas of all, after all.

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

Complete Timeline of “Back to the Future”

The entire trilogy takes place over the course of about two weeks from Marty McFly’s perspective, two days for an outside observer in 1985.  We are given specific dates and times, often minute-by-minute, so we can piece together a complete timeline with time stamps.  All times are in PST (Pacific Standard).

Part 1

Friday, October 25, 1985, 8:18 AM PST: The first movie begins with shots of Doc’s clocks and his automated breakfast machine.  The clocks actually say 7:53, but we soon learn they are 25 minutes slow.  We are soon introduced to Marty McFly, who accidentally overloads Doc’s giant amp around 8:23 or 8:24

Friday, October 25, 1985, 8:25 AM: Doc’s clocks all strike 8:00, and Marty realizes he is late for school.  The thing is, he’s wearing a watch in this scene, and moreover he must have woken up to an alarm set on his bedroom clock, so how does he NOT know what time it actually is?  Moving on; cue the “Power of Love” skateboarding-behind-cars sequence.  Marty and Jennifer sneak into school too late, and Mr. Strickland gives him another tardy slip and the whole “slacker” spiel.  “The future’s gonna change,” Marty says.

Friday, October 25, 1985, afternoon: after school, Marty’s band, the Pinheads, audition for the big dance.  A real square of a teacher tells them to stop playing because they’re just too darn loud; I did not know who Huey Lewis was when I first saw this movie, so I didn’t realize this was a celebrity cameo meant to be a joke, I just figured he was a stuffy old man who isn’t with the times.  Either way, Marty is dejected, but Jennifer tells him to send in his audition tape to the record company anyway.  Marty ogles a new 4x4 truck, “Save the Clock Tower!” he gets a flier, Jennifer’s dad picks her up to take her to her grandma’s house.

Friday, October 25, 1985, evening: Marty returns home to find the car totaled (there goes his date at the lake with Jennifer).  We are introduced to Biff and the McFly family.  One awkward family dinner and a ton of exposition later, and we learn everything we need to know about George and Lorraine’s first meeting back in 1955; Lorraine’s dad hit George with his car, and it was love at first sight.

Saturday, October 26, 1985, 12:28 AM: Doc calls Marty, tells him to swing by his lab and pick up his camera before meeting him at Twin Pines Mall at 1:15.

Saturday, October 26, 1985, 1:15 AM: Marty arrives at Twin Pines Mall just as the clock ticks over to 1:16.  The next few minutes are thoroughly documented.  Doc emerges from his van in a souped up Delorean DMC-12.

1:18 AM: Doc begins his spiel for the camera, giving the date, time, and location of Temporal Experiment Number 1.

1:19 AM: “Einstein’s clock is in precise synchronization with my control watch.” He remote controls the Delorean to the opposite end of the parking lot and floors it towards him and Marty.

1:20:00 AM: At exactly one-twenty and zero seconds, the world’s first Temporal Displacement occurs, Marty thinks the Delorean explodes, but it actually just made a jump into the future, “one minute into the future to be exact.”  Doc had nerves of steel to test it for the first time by driving it straight at him.

1:21:00 AM: Exactly one minute later, the Delorean reappears covered in ice, a special effect that the filmmakers stop using because it became impractical to coat the car with ice every time it travels through time.  Some ice is always visible, but never to this extent again.

1:22 AM: Doc opens the Delorean to discover Einstein is perfectly fine; to him, the trip was instantaneous.  The experiment was a complete success!  Doc prepares for his historic journey as the first human to travel through time; he plans to go forward 25 years, later amended to 30 because it’s a nice round number.

1:34 AM: Doc is shot to death by Libyan terrorists because he used the plutonium they stole to build the time machine instead of the bomb they wanted (the less we think about the implications, the better).

Saturday, October 26, 1985, 1:35 AM: Marty flees from the terrorists in the Delorean, accidentally turns on the time circuits and blasts himself back to 1955.

Saturday, November 5, 1955, 6:15 AM: Marty arrives on Peabody farm, is mistaken for an alien and shot at.  He drives away, accidentally running over one of the twin pines in the process.  The exact time is not shown on screen except for the 6 (the last two digits are obscured), but the DVD menu says 6:15 so I’m sticking with it.  The Delorean breaks down shortly after, and he hides it behind the Lyon Estates billboard.  He walks into town, “Hill Valley 2 Miles.”

Saturday. November 5, 1955, 8:29: “Mr. Sandman” sequence, Marty walks around courtyard square, dazed and confused.  It took him over two hours to drive from the mall to his house and then walk 2 miles into town, so of course he’s confused.  The clock tower chimes 8:30, the first time Marty’s ever heard it go off.  He enters Lou’s Cafe to find Doc’s address in the phone book, and encounters a young George and Biff.  George bikes away, and Marty gives chase.  Shortly after, George falls out of a tree while peeping on Lorraine like a creep, and is almost hit by her dad’s car; Marty pushes him out of the way, taking his place in the timeline.  He hits his head and is knocked out.

“Almost 9 hours” later (so around 6-ish PM): Marty awakens in young Lorraine’s bedroom.  She has the hots for him, Florence Nightingale style.  He has dinner with the Baines family soon after, though the clock behind Lorraine’s parents says it’s 8:35.  He leaves after his mom grabs his thigh (ew), and goes to find Doc at his mansion before he burned it down for the insurance money (this is never stated on screen, but the implication is clear).  Doc doesn’t believe he’s from the future until he recounts the story about the wet toilet and the flux capacitor (it makes sense in context).  Doc deduces that Marty messed up the timeline by interfering with his parent’s first meeting, so they have to find a way to get them back together.

Monday, November 7, 1955, morning: The date is never given, but we can assume Doc and Marty wanted to scope out the school as soon as possible, so Monday it is.  Marty tries to introduce George to Lorraine, but she would rather introduce herself to him (ew)

November 7, lunchtime: Marty talks to George in the cafeteria, and almost gets into a fight with Biff after he assaults Lorraine.

November 7, afternoon: George goes home after school with Marty in tow, “why are you following me?”  George tells him that he’s not ready to ask Lorraine out, and that nobody on this planet can change his mind.

Tuesday, November 8, 1955, 1:23 AM: Marty dresses in his radiation suit and visits George, pretending to be “Darth Vader, an extraterrestrial from the planet Vulcan.”  He threatens to melt George’s brain with more Van Halen tapes if he doesn’t ask Lorraine to the dance.  Mission accomplished.

November 8, afternoon: George skipped school that day, having overslept because “Darth Vader” knocked him out with chloroform (in a deleted scene).  Marty encourages him to go into Lou’s Cafe and tell Lorraine that he is her density- I mean destiny.  All goes well until Biff shows up; Marty gets into a fight followed by a chase through courtyard square where he accidentally introduces the town to the concept of skateboarding.  Biff crashes into a manure truck, doing $300 damage to his car.  Later that day, Doc and Marty go over the plan to go Back to the Future TM (the model is so crude, it’s not even to scale or painted).  Lorraine followed Marty to Doc’s house and asks him to ask her to the dance.  He reluctantly accepts.

Wednesday, November 9, afternoon: Marty and George go over their plan for the dance.  Marty will “take advantage” of his mom (ew), and George will come to her rescue.  This date isn’t given either, but we can assume it is the next day because they were wearing different clothes and I don’t think Marty would wait more than a day to go over his plan (time is of the essence).

Saturday, November 12, 1955, 7:55 PM: Doc sets up the “weather experiment” in courtyard square, Marty writes him a letter warning him of the terrorists (he doesn’t go into detail, he just says “you will be shot by terrorists.”  Doc must be very surprised at what shenanigans his future self will get into).

8:59 PM: George is at the dance, dancing like a dork, and Marty and Lorraine arrive in Doc’s car.  Marty is nervous as hell because he doesn’t want to feel up his own mom, but Lorraine is down to clown (ew).  She kisses him, but is grossed out because he’s like her brother or something.  Biff and his stooges pull him out of the car and throw him in the Starlighters’ trunk; Biff begins assaulting Lorraine.

9:00 PM: George goes out to fake-confront Marty, only to real-confront Biff.  He finally manages to stand up for himself and the woman he loves, knocking Biff out with one punch. Hooray!

9:31 PM: Doc checks four different watches to deduce that Marty is running late (they’re cutting it close).  Marvin Berry sliced his hand open helping break Marty out of his trunk, so Marty takes over on guitar.  Earth Angel, George and Lorraine kiss, the timeline is restored, Johnny B Goode, “your kids are gonna love it.”  Marty leaves George and Lorraine on good terms and heads out to courtyard square.

9:55 PM: Doc checks three more watches, and Marty arrives just in time, having changed back into his “life preserver” vest.  The plan begins to unfurl.

9:56:38 PM exactly: Doc says the lightning bolt is 7 minutes and 22 seconds away, which strikes at exactly 10:04.  Doc finds the latter and rips it up.

9:58 PM: a branch falls on the wire, disconnecting it.  Doc climbs the clock tower with a rope so he can pull it back up.

9:59 PM: the clock ticks at runtime 1:34:41, Doc emerges from the top of the tower and pulls up the plug.

10:00 PM: the clock ticks at runtime 1:35:30 (this minute was 49 seconds long), Marty tries to tell Doc about the terrorists, but he has to get going because time is running out.

10:01 PM: the clock ticks at runtime 1:36:09 (this one was 39 seconds), Marty drives to the end of the runway and resets the time circuits to give him 11 extra minutes to warn Doc (only 11? you’re cutting it close as is, Marty).  Doc slips on the clock’s facade, almost dropping the plug.

10:02 PM: the clock ticks at runtime 1:38:00 (111 seconds), the Delorean won’t start, the alarm goes off, everything is going wrong.  Marty slams his head in desperation and the engine kicks to life (Doc’s calculations were wrong; he told Marty to floor it when the alarm went off, but he started a few seconds late and still made it.  If he had floored it on time, he would have been several seconds too early and hit the wire before the lightning struck).

10:03 PM: the clock ticks at runtime 1:39:50 (110 seconds), Doc plugs in one end of the wire, which unplugs the other end.  Marty is almost there, so Doc ziplines down to the ground and runs over to the lamppost [note; the Delorean’s time circuits read 10:03 before the clock tower ticks over to 10:03]

Saturday, November 12, 1955, 10:04 PM: the clock ticks at runtime 1:40:38 (48 seconds).  Lightning strikes the clock tower just as the Delorean hits the wire, sending Marty Back to the Future TM.

Saturday, October 26, 1985, 1:24 AM: the Delorean rematerializes in courtyard square, crashing into the movie theater, but otherwise intact.  The engine gives out before Marty can head to the mall, and the terrorists drive past him.  He gives chase on foot, but doesn’t make it in time. [Note: a digital clock on courtyard square says it was 1:23 when Marty arrived, ticking over to 1:24 after he emerges from the Delorean.  The Delorean’s time circuits are consistently a minute ahead]

1:33 AM: Marty arrives at Lone Pine Mall just in time to see the terrorists gun Doc down. He sees himself jump into the Delorean at 1:34, and blast into the past after a short chase.  The terrorists crash into a photo kiosk and the van rolls over, presumably killing them (we never see the van hit the ground, we just see it start tipping, but the camera cuts away and we never see them emerge and try to collect Doc’s body).  Doc is in fact alive, having taped Marty’s latter back together and worn a bullet proof vest, the first of several in the series.  Doc takes Marty home, then travels 30 years into the future, “look me up when you get there.”

Saturday, October 26, 1985, 10:28 AM: Marty’s alarm goes off, “Back in Time” by Huey Lewis plays on the radio.  Marty thinks the past week was just a bad dream until he discovers new furniture and successful family members.  Lorraine is no longer an alcoholic, George is an author, David works at an office instead of Burger King, and Linda is a trendy socialite.  Biff has become the neutered family gopher, cleaning their cars and kowtowing to George’s commands.  He gives Marty the keys to his truck, the 4x4 he was ogling earlier with Jennifer.

10:30-ish: Marty reunites with Jennifer, “you’re acting like you haven’t seen me in a week,” “I haven’t.”  They kiss, at which point Doc returns from the future with a warning, “you’ve got to come back with me,” “where?” “Back to the Future TM.”  Where they’re going, they don’t need roads; the Delorean flies away, roll credits.

The first movie was never intended to have sequels.  It ended on a cliffhanger as a joke, “the adventures continue,” and it wasn’t until four years later that they decided to film Parts 2 and 3 back-to-back to round out the story.

In real time, Part 1 takes place over 1 day, 2 hours, 12 minutes

Friday, October 25, 1985 8:18 AM to Saturday, October 26, 1985, 10:30 AM

For Marty, it takes place over 8 days, 18 hours, 11 minutes

Friday, October 25, 1985, 8:18 AM to Saturday, October 26, 1985, 1:34 AM (17 hours, 16 minutes)

Saturday, November 5, 1955, 6:15 AM to Saturday, November 12, 1955, 10:04 PM (7 days, 15 hours, 49 minutes)

Saturday, October 26, 1985, 1:24 AM to Saturday, October 26, 1985, 10:30 AM (9 hours, 6 minutes)

Part 2:

https://somethingusefulfromflorida.tumblr.com/post/189335688766/complete-timeline-of-back-to-the-future

Part 3:

https://somethingusefulfromflorida.tumblr.com/post/189337316891/complete-timeline-of-back-to-the-future

[weaponjuice34-blog]

Get Operating Free of charge Energy Generators

Mr. Electrical gives just the greatest-good quality support. Even so, given that a stand by generator could possibly be considered a when inside the lifetime” obtain, it really is risky to decide on one which is just not planning to likely give sensible comforts along with convenience all through a power failure. The toxic gases emitted by generators are relevant for the exhaust given away by other gas or diesel run motors. Grid power is similarly a lot more eco-warm and friendly than running a electrical generator. Rather it is actually actually merely a capacitor style amplifier that turns a 220 around electrical present proper into a minimize amp increased voltage charge. The impact offered is obtained by using a voltage offer stress, Eb. You can do cheers towards synchronous inductance through the power generator which smooths out the result present. As a result, our business is finding that while in serious winter season weather, numerous power vegetation in New England could not get gas to create electricity. By no means try and refuel a transportable generator although it can be operating. Connecting and grounding are independent demands for generators and a variety of other electrical syndication solutions. It absolutely characteristics regarding the theory of Neodymium magnets while a typical power generator functions about the concept of electromagnetic Induction. Induction AC engines could possibly be utilized as generators, switching mechanised energy into electric present. We have been in a position to individual virtually any electromechanical conversion technique into about three subsystems, power, mechanical, and the program of coupling career fields. This cycle persists till the power generator begins to make output voltage similar to its complete running potential. What Is Inside Easy Power Plan Member Area?

Inside the synchronous generator the rotor magnetic field is manufactured sometimes by making use of permanent magnets or maybe immediate existing is employed to excite an electromagnet. He realised this earlier mentioned circulation of current could be attained by shifting a power conductor in the magnetic discipline. The particular scale of electrical wire necessary for the generator installment depends upon the amount of pre-existing and the space the present has in becoming maintained. Easy Power Plan Download All of us found out that you need a supply to create totally free electricity. The turbines whirl large coils of cable about a magnet, which generates electricity. The magnetic generator has the capacity to provide you with the necessary number of energy for entire house with. Electrical generators are standalone equipment that provide electrical power when power within the in close proximity grid is unavailable. In principle, reasonably significantly any electrical power generator can also work as an electrical power electric motor or viceversa.

[tabletsaddict-blog]

Rog strix fusion 700 review

ASUS has been terminating on all chambers with its fringe contributions and today we have the most recent expansion to their gaming sound lineup, the ROG Strix Fusion group of gaming headsets. In this survey we'll be investigating the spic and span ROG STRIX Fusion 700. A double mode gaming headset offering both wired and remote capacities that ASUS trusts is sufficient adaptability for some very good quality gamers to think about it. Not just that, the ROG STRIX Fusion 700 brings AURA light matching up by means of the AURA portable application and one, not two, yet different Fusion 700s can be controlled at a solitary time which ASUS expects to be an extra for eSports groups hoping to dress it up further during competitions and LANs. Situating at the highest point of the pack however, there's a lot more that this headset brings to the table to pick up its position. We should discover more as we plunge further about the new lead headset from ASUS, the ROG STRIX Fusion 700.

Highlights and Specifications

Bluetooth 4.2 for visiting with partners by means of VoIP or call, or in any event, tuning in to music while gaming on PC, PS4, or portable

Greetings fi-grade ESS ES9018 DAC and SABRE9601K amp convey practical, unrivaled gaming sound

Finely tuned ASUS Essence drivers and selective hermetically sealed chamber innovation for a vivid sound encounter

Selective attachment and-play virtual 7.1 encompass sound created with Bongiovi Acoustics

RGB light synchronization across headsets by means of Bluetooth, utilizing a committed versatile application

Headset contact plate lets you get calls, modify volume and playback capacities, and control RGB light synchronization.

Specs and features

Shockingly against ROG STRIX convention, the ROG STRIX FUSION 700 is bundled in a medium-sized box with an overwhelmingly dark. A style shot of the item is imprinted on the front alongside the model namme and some advertising slugs. A Playstation4 similarity identification is additionally here alongside the Bluetooth and Hi-Res Audio sound symbols. At the back we get a few insights regarding the highlights of the ROG STRIX Fusion 700.

The included link is 2-meter long and is a lot of length for some applications. It isn't so adaptable however its sleeved nature gives it a specific vibe of toughness and quality. The gold-plated connectors balance the link to give it a total premium feel. There are no inline connectors as you'll discover why later.

Side profile shows us the reflexive plates of the ROG STRIX Fusion 700's earcups. They're generally level and don't have a lot of continuing for them stylishly yet the shiny, smoke silver surface is a consideration magnet also fingerprints too. As signified by the name sticker, which you can evacuate and you should, the left earcup highlights the control touchplate where you can control your matched gadget when utilizing the ROG STRIX FUSION 700.

User Experience

We should talk comfort first. The headband is concerningly delicate yet given the general load of the headband, the pressure against the ears help shoulder the vast majority of the weight and the pad on the headband carries out its responsibility well because of that. Talking about earcups, the cowhide earcups are what we prevalently use on testing this item. As much as we can imagine work texture and its increasingly breathable nature, sound quality is best seen in the fixed, leatherette cups. The earcup pads are perfect, the leatherette being more firm than the work texture ones. Fixing is very acceptable despite the fact that there is some slight spillage yet nothing truly upsetting to anybody adjacent to you except if you're in an extremely tranquil room or are near one another. The headband alteration is fair and the flex modifies very well to bigger head sizes.

Controls are instinctive in spite of the fact that the touch highlight may require some becoming accustomed to. There is no quiet catch so you'll need to stop in the event that you need a speedy bit of quietness. Noting considers quiets any foundation sound when your telephone is combined to the headset, not much however its a decent component to have particularly in case you're utilizing the headset in-game and you get a call. What's more, truly, you can utilize Bluetooth mode while associated with a PC or comfort. Likewise, being able to switch among 7.1 and sound system with a catch press is a helpful component and having them on-ear is an incredible touch as you wont need to mishandle on your rope to discover your inline dongle.

Moving over to sound quality, how about we talk about game execution first. The ROG STRIX Fusion 700 is a gaming headset above all else and its rendering of game sound including gunfire, strides and surrounding impacts are nitty gritty. Since the headset has a little solid stage, everything feels close and in case you're utilized to it, helps recognizing positional sound yet real separation is marginally changed. All things considered, everything is clear and even on max gain, the Fusion 700 doesn't get mutilated.

Going into further insights concerning the sound quality, the ROG STRIX Fusion 700 has a spread vibe to it. While the sound is warm and clear in the low and midrange the highs will in general spill and gets tinny. This is extremely predominant in metallic sound like accident and cymbals, richochets ingame likewise get an additional ping to their note along these lines. The rendering is clear however there isn't a lot of detail to the sound and it needs partition. Be that as it may, this is criticizing as of now. For what it's worth, the ROG STRIX Fusion 700 conveys dynamic and great sound however those searching for an audiophile grade experience will need to look somewhere else.

Given the value, it's not astounding somebody may hope for something else. Yet, ASUS has made a special effort to make an exceptionally, practical headset that consolidates extraordinary innovation for both sound execution and convenience. Add to that its lighting capacity and you have some additional creds. In case you're a road design shaking nerd/gamer patterns, this is the kind of embellishment you'd rock to give you that additional loot however that sleek look gives a false representation of an incredible gaming headset, sufficiently adaptable to go with you both on versatile to PC/support gaming.

No official SRP has been declared for the ROG STRIX Fusion 700 however appraises peg it around $200 making it a top notch offering. It doesn't have a lot of rivalry in its value go bearing a similar list of capabilities and most would be conflicted between this and the wired-just ROG STRIX Fusion 500 on the off chance that they're into a large portion of the highlights of the headset. It will be an intense choice and you truly need to like, and I mean, REALLY LIKE, the ROG STRIX Fusion 700 to legitimize its value premium. For gaming, it's primary contenders are for the most part from SteelSeries and Logitech top of the line offering while for streetwear, Sony's XB950N1 which is a piece on a similar value run.

Verdict

At last, you'd should be in a quite certain specialty to fit the component offering of the ROG STRIX Fusion 700 yet on the off chance that there is one explanation that you'll need to purchase this headset, its for the sheer effortlessness of having the option to plunk down and play on either PC or support and afterward stay strong with your headset still on and make a call. All without taking any kind of action. This consistent experience is the greatest draw of the ROG STRIX Fusion 700 with a lot of sugar on top it as RGB lighting, application synchronizing, contact controls. Also the staggering form quality and consideration regarding subtleties.

[klinger-io]

Close your office. Now. How to operate your startup under lock-down.

What a week.

The US declared the state of emergency. Many leading startups closed their office. And I expect that all startups in the tech hubs will have their offices closed by the end of next week – if they haven’t already.

You might not live in a hot-zone of COVID-19, and might be unsure if it’s too early for to do so as well. You might be based in a rural America, LATAM, India, Europe – in a region or city where it’s moderately safe right now.

No matter where you are based: I think you should

Close your office. Now.

Think of it as a test-run.

Most likely you don't need to worry about COVID-19 too much. You might not worry that it could get as bad as in Italy, maybe experts overreact or you are just lucky because your city has no cases and team is young and healthy anyway. But you should worry about being not fully operational in a phase that could be critical for your customers. You don't want your most important people laying sick in bed while this happens.

If everything goes well you have a week of experience with a wfh-setup that you can fallback to. If things continue to escalate, you ensure that your team and business stays healthy. And most importantly, you might help slow down the spread of a pandemic.

Close your office. Now.

In this blog post I want to share my minimum recommendations I think you need in order to continue functioning as a startup, and what you need to watch out for over the next several weeks.

I want to keep this document evolving so please send me your feedback and suggestions.

First up: We are the lucky ones

If you are reading this there is a high chance that you are working in a tech startup – maybe you even live in a high density tech hub. The majority of people like us are able to work digitally, safely from home.

It's worth reflecting that we are the lucky ones – this is a pure luxury. Many people worldwide aren’t able to stay at home to work, and will need to risk their health and personal safety moving forward.

While I want your your team to be set up for success during this time, I want you to also consider reaching out to the hourly workers that help you in your office. Your security, cleaning staff, cafeteria personnel, and anyone else who enables your office to sustain an environment and culture that employees want to work in. Continue paying their wages and see if there are other ways you can help them.

Let's get started…

As a team leader you have the following todo list

Right now:

Understand the situation

Own the moment and communication

Working from home - Help your team to optimize their daily routine

Remote work - Set your processes up to function remotely

In the next weeks:

Get ahead of the problems you might face next

Create confidence & focus by going the extra mile

Understand the situation

The current situation we face is not about “remote work”.

Right now, we face forced isolation and forced work-from-home during a global pandemic.

There is no point in sugar-coating this. This is stressful for everyone – including you and your team. Especially now in the first weeks.

Many countries will manage it properly, other might create a complete mess. But in any case this requires you to change how you operate as a company for the next few months.

Remote teams have years to optimize their internal processes, and everyone who joined them did so with a prior understanding about this work setup. Your team doesn't have this luxury right now.

Your goal right now is not to become a fully functional remote team overnight.

Your first goal is to establish an emergency work-from-home setup that sustains your productivity.

Own the moment and communication

Together with your HR and people team, figure out the right process for your startup. You want to tackle this head on and get ahead of the situation. Even if you are “just” a 10 person startup, this is a moment where your team is looking at you for leadership.

My Recommendation:

Read about the internal processes of other startups

Skip all the in-between steps and directly go to the most drastic approach

Close offices, stop traveling and introduce mandatory work-from-home for everyone

Then…

Put your HR/people team in charge and make this a CEO/COO issue

Implement a test week in which everyone works from home

At the end of the week decide if you want to continue like this (you should)

Expect this to last 2-3 months and allow planning accordingly

I hope this document can help with this

Working from home - Help your team to optimize their daily routine.

Day one this will be perhaps the biggest issue that your employees will face.

My Recommendation

People will realize how bad their internet at home is

Tell them to upgrade

Their home setup might not be useful for daily work

Create a stipend they can use to buy proper chairs or desks

Tell them to get equipment from the office (if it’s safe to go there)

Normal apple headphones are fine, fancy headphones are great

External monitors are a game changer

Advise people to have dedicated work and non-work areas at home

If possible with a door in-between

It's worth rearranging furniture to make this work

Recommend morning and evening routines

Eg walk around the block

Encourage them to have regular calls with each other (see below)

Create a slack channel in which your team can share with each other work-from-home-tips

This is not only a good source of information but also gives the people on your team, who have worked remotely before, a moment to shine and become the “go-to person” for private discussions

I highly recommend reading Benedikt Lehnert's omgwfh.com

Remote work - Set your processes up to function remotely

To minimize any initial shock:

Get a zoom and slack team license

Encourage daily calls for smaller teams (standups) in the beginning

If you notice that people don't pay attention switch to daily text updates instead

Consider having a #hibye channel

People check in and out and greet each other

If it doesnt work for your team stop doing it

Encourage video meetings

Have a video-on policy

Experiment with meetings that dont require people to be muted

But make sure to mute people who have loud background or bad mics

If you notice this to be a problem switch to muted by default

On the long run you will try to minimize meetings and synchronized processes but for now this help people to accommodate

Once you feel comfortable:

Set up one central place for all documents

I recommend Notion but you can use whatever you are used before

The goal is to have one place where people expect to find documents

Write every process down that you expect more than one person to follow more than once

Manage slack

Reduce channels so it’s clear where communication happens

People will otherwise feel anxious about missing stuff

Encourage public discussions instead of private chats

Ensure that complex topics/decisions are discussed in collaborative documents, not in slack

Run more efficient meetings

Have a lead for each meeting who prepares beforehand an agenda and documentation

Make sure that you write down decisions and tasks resulting from each meeting so that less people feel like they need to join it

Make sure that each team has at least one meeting per week so that ad-hoc meetings and long slack discussions can be avoided

Measure output (instead of time)

Make sure you communicate clear expectations around goals

Involve and trust your people

Resources

Make sure to read the recommendations from the best remote teams out there:

GitLab's “Remote Work Emergency Plan”. Darren Murph wrote a condensed version of all their learnings over the last years.

Doist’s “So You’ve Been Told to Work From Home. Now What?”

use.fyi’s remote work tips – Marie and Hiten did amazing work here

And there is a lot more. Go read the advice from the experts - everyone is trying to help right now!

Feel free to stop reading here

Focus on the parts above. Once you feel comfortable in your strategy come back here and continue reading. The following paragraphs mainly focus on how to get ahead of the problems you will face next.

Forced self-isolation and the feeling of loneliness

Over the next several weeks’, your employees might be worried about leaving their home and overcompensate by barely leaving at all – or if they do leave , experiencing high levels of stress while doing so.

Buffer and AngelList did the 2020 State of Remote Work survey. One of the biggest drawbacks even to successful remote teams is loneliness.

Given your team is not used to working from home, coupled with the added pressure of unclear semi-broken work-processes, this feeling of loneliness might become more prominent, sooner.

To minimize any initial shock:

Ensure they leave their house from time to time

Educate your employees about hygiene measures that should be taken, as well as how to behave safely when in public spaces

Encourage breakfast, lunch or evening walks outside

Crowdsource ideas from your team

Consider implementing happyhour-/lunch- or even cooking-zoom calls with no agenda

Start casual slack channels (Photo channels work very well)

Organize Online videogame tournaments or "show your pet/hobby/flat" shows

Being worried about family

Team members might have spouses or family members that work in hospitals, or parents or grandparents who aren’t healthy even on good days.

How you can help:

Evolve your 1on1s from pure functional discussions to focus more on the human side of work. Move the functional discussions and project updates to your team calls

Get to know the people reporting to you and what this crisis might mean for them

Allow taking time off now to get their stuff in order

Schools will get closed

Many people on your team might have kids, their schools will get closed or they might be forced to take them out regardless anyway. Help them figure out how to create time to focus while being a full-time parent.

How to help them

Offer to pay for any online courses or entertainment channels that kids can take during this time

If they have an option for private childcare (eg a babysitter) offer to pay for this as well (even if it’s a relative)

If your employees live close together, consider setting up a small-group Microschool so that education can go on and the burden of keeping their kids entertained while working gets shared

Have succession plans

You don't want your company come to a halt because your DevOps person needed to get into a hospital. You don't want your company to run into troubles because you are sick in bed.

Make sure decisions and todos are transparent

Have passwords shared in 1password

Have documents that explain what to do in case of problems

It should be obvious who jumps in for leadership decisions if someone drops out

Thanks to Rolf Veldman and Susanne Knoll for this one

Nice-to-haves

Consider this part as nice-to-have. If you are reading this blogpost for the first time feel free to skip this part.

Your goal: Create confidence and focus by going the extra mile

My Recommendation:

Organization

Set up documents that outline and explain all information they might need over the next several weeks regarding their health benefits and plan

Link to every provider you use and outline what to do in which situations

Make it clear who they can reach out to if they have questions

Spend extra time staying up to date with everyone’s productivity and mental health

Set up a temporary emergency budget to cover budgets we mentioned above

Add online mental health counseling and online sport classes to your benefits if you haven’t already

Match donations to COVID-19 related foundations, or your local food bank or to the WHO

Send care packages consisting of the most basic and typical needs of your team

This could be hand sanitizer or simply someone’s favorite drink from the office in bulk

Management:

Sign up for Running Remote's Remote AID a free conference on all topics remote work

Optimize your engineering team for “single player mode” as i describe here

Ok, we are done… What next?

Once you have the short term under control focus on the long-term.

People will get worried about the economy and their jobs. Change the discussion from short-term crisis management to long-term strategy.

An extreme way to see this: Companies that try to keep the status-quo alive while the market goes down will go down with it.

Show that your company is here to stay

Don’t delay quarterly planning or ambitious projects

Create the vision that shows the WHY of your company

Your customers might need you right now

Your company might build the tools people rely on to continue their business.

Your services might help customers ease the burden of a potential upcoming recession

Or you might create the apps for a much needed distraction right now

Whatever your company's vision is. Make sure to continue thinking long-term

Thanks for reading

This document sounds a bit dramatic. I know.

I hope 90% of what i recommend won't be needed and this will all blow over without much fuzz.

Note that most of the suggestions in this blogpost are temporary and fairly cheap in comparison to your payroll but will leave a lasting impression. If your team's budget is more limited consider what you can do without breaking the bank. Not every good idea has to cost money.

COVID-19 will be over in a few weeks or months. But your team will always remember how you prioritized their safety and put in the extra effort to facilitate a healthy, comfortable, and productive environment for each and every one of them.

This is your moment to step up as a leader.

You got this.

PS: Please send me your improvement suggestions for this article

Thanks for reading Andreas ✌️

[pokemonmasterscheats-blog]

Pokemon Masters Guide

Pokemon Masters Guide is a guide for hot new game. Step up is somewhat more commonplace. You level up after each battle, just as by utilizing manuals that are given as remunerations in-game. Step up your Sync Pair builds their details in battle so it is critical to stay aware of the levels. The coach manuals don't give some other advantage so use them as required, particularly on the off chance that you get another Sync Pair that you have to step up rapidly. You can likewise include new, progressively incredible moves to your Sync Pairs by utilizing preparing machines — and later tonics — to overhaul them. Bosses is relied upon to dispatch for iOS and Android on August 29, 2019, despite the fact that may arrive anytime during Q3 2019, so we'll make sure to keep this page refreshed. In case you're anxious to download Pokemon Masters the minute it drops on your individual stage, you can enroll enthusiasm on Google Play Store now. Dissimilar to Pokemon GO, its fight mechanics will be undeniably more top to bottom, giving various roads past tapping the screen and spamming things. It appears you'll collaborate with changed coaches all through your adventure, each with their own accounts to advise and Pokemon to battle with. Particularly a game intended for telephones, Pokémon Masters is still a great deal of fun, with complex game mechanics, just as that exceptionally significant "Gatherers" attitude. The game discharges formally in September however in the event that you are in Canada — or you are somewhat tricky — you can play it today. Pokémon Masters inclines intensely on our craving for sentimentality, also our need to finish accumulations, by requesting that we travel around the island of Pasio, gathering things as we go. I utilized a burly Alolan Dugtrio as one of my tanks for its speed and protections. Snorlax will populate in the room where the Chansey bring forth in Cerulean Cave 2f. To guarantee a greater amount of this uncommon Pokémon pop, utilize any kind of bait. Give them Toxic, Protect, and any variety of solid move, for example, Psychic or Earthquake. It's impossible they'll get an opportunity to assault by any stretch of the imagination, and are there for when you're compelled to change out, or need to Toxic slow down any of Red's husky group. For the total of this fight, I'd propose taking the one hit KO on any of his Pokémon when you realize you can. Utilize Psychic to murder the Machamp. Arcanine has Roar, and it gets a kick out of the chance to utilize it on you because of the Calm Mind buff (and some of the time, even without). You may outspeed it and have the option to escape a Psychic before you're compelled to swtich. On the off chance that you get a Pokémon got out that can tank a hit, attempt to utilize a Toxic, at that point Protect. Just pokemon with a * after the name can advance. Exploring 10 at once does not seem to influence rates, dissimilar to some gachapon games. I'd suggest being thrifty with your pulls. In case you're purchasing Gems, the 1-every day arrangement is far better than blowing a 10 pull. Scout Points are a whale repairman to let individuals who spend an abundant excess cash on F2P versatile games to feel somewhat less ripped off in the wake of blowing seven days' compensation in 5 minutes. On the off chance that you fill the scout indicates metter you get pick any Sync Pair you need from the pool—however the prerequisites are outrageous. All coaches travel with only one Pokemon, and the mentor and Pokemon together are known as a Sync Pair. Mentors can bolster their Pokemon with wellbeing lifts and other such buffs. In a perfect bend, you have the choice to mate up with well disposed Sync Pairs that you experience around the Pasio locale. Doing as such will enable you to assume responsibility for the whole group in exceptional 3v3 fights against adversary adversaries. Oddly, yet in addition in all respects intriguingly, Pokemon Master's fights happen continuously. That is it for our manual for all that you have to think about Pokémon Masters! Is it true that you are amped up for this better approach to encounter the Pokémon universe? Tell us in the remarks underneath! For the underlying arrival of Pokemon Masters, there are a couple of explicit strides to getting things running. This is tragically constrained to Android, yet the guide on downloading is accessible underneath: As the fundamental draw of Pokemon Masters, there are two different ways to open mentors and their Pokemon, alluded to as Sync Pairs in-game. Every coach has a solitary Pokémon, and you'll have to frame a group of three mentors and their Pokémon to fight your way to the highest point of the Pokémon Masters League. Pokémon Masters is allowed to-begin, implying that part (or all) of the game will be free, yet some in-application buys may accelerate advance. Battle is ongoing in Pokémon Masters. Your group of three Pokémon coaches and their Pokémon go head to head against another group of three constrained by a PC adversary. Mentors can likewise get in on the activity by utilizing capacities that buff or mend their Pokémon. Seeing as you can generally observe them coming, use Protect directly before they tear through the majority of your HP. Exchange with an Electric-Type move to attach more harm for looking for basic hits. The Lapras never utilized Confuse Ray on me, yet don't hesitate to do as such yourself in the event that you'd like to go that course. In the event that it utilizes Thunderbolt, you're likely dead, yet on the off chance that you keep at it, as this round of karma will make sure that you Toxic slow down your rival in around 5 or 10 endeavors. After the 4 instructional exercise battles and the Scouting instructional exercise, you'll be kicked back to the fundamental menu to download the remainder of Pokemon Masters (another 660 MB). Clearing part 5 opens Skyla and Swana as a playable Sync Pair, just as opening the Events menu. Opens Co-operation play just as Brock and Tyranitar synchronize pair. Center play of this stage is the least demanding approach to get Gym Leader Notes for max level top opening. Each Sync Pair has an extraordinary smaller than normal story that gives you a chance to get a few things and perhaps Evolve their Pokemon (if the mon isn't as of now completely developed in any case). He will likely use Heat Wave, taking down most any member of your team. After your Roar-ed Pokémon faints, send back out Mega Mewtwo Y. Once again, you can try to use a Calm Mind here, and likely should. Either way, it will die to two or three Psychics, depending on your Mewtwo's level and the Toxic's stage. Arcanine will end up doing a decent amount of damage with Heat Wave, so try your best to take it out as quickly as possible, especially since it can choose to use Will-O Wisp. It is accessible from the "Shop" Menu. To kick you off however, the game gives you a lot of preparing machines to give every one of your Sync Pairs another move. Obviously, what I consider as tenderfoot data you may not, so help me out and ask the same number of inquiries as you like. The more I think about your needs the more data I can give you. Details are rebalanced from mainline Pokemon; detail spreads will for the most part be natural, yet numerous pokemon have had their Special Defense and Defense details brought to be progressively equivalent. This implies a cumbersome mon is a massive mon, and furthermore implies you can be somewhat more thoughtless about which assault type to utilize; the greatest def/spdef spread I've seen is about half a greater amount of one than the other. Likewise, speed currently decides Move Gauge recovery, instead of turn request. Every one of the 3 pokemon's speed are joined to decide the rate. We didn't get much data on them, yet they look like fueled up Pokémon assaults. Pokemon GO should make some room on the versatile gaming position of royalty, since DeNA's exertion may be quick to sit close by Niantic's million-production juggernaut. Going about as an increasingly conventional section in the pretending arrangement, Pokemon Masters is advancing toward iOS and Android in the coming months, and it would seem that a great deal of fun. Reported during the Pokemon Press Conference not long ago, Trusted Reviews has arranged all that you have to think about Pokemon Masters including all the most recent news, discharge date, ongoing interaction, trailers and that's only the tip of the iceberg. Everything has all the earmarks of being clock based, including your development check, so you'll must be snappy just as savvy with your basic leadership. Likewise, assaults need to energized before use, and, when prepared, you can tap the screen to release hazardous Sync Moves for reward harm. Pokemon Champion's greatest draw, for me at any rate, is that, at dispatch, it'll highlight pretty much every notorious character from the prior Pokemon games, including rival coaches and exercise center pioneers. There are set to be 65 Sync Pairs when the game dispatches this late spring, and you can probably expect a ton all the more once the game's updates begin taking off. Much like different fights on this rundown, you need the adversary's transition to miss. It will spam Iron Tail at you, which kills you in one hit, however has just 90% exactness. Catch your very own Aerodactyl by visiting the side of the historical center by removing at the hedge. Get the Old Amber from the researcher in the back, and offer it to the researcher in the last room in Cinnabar Island's lab to get back a Level 44 Aerodactyl. In any case, kindly, don't invest $80 at an energy in this game. In-application buys make you need to purchase more in-application buys, so space them out to set aside your cash and rational soundness. The most ideal way I have found is to utilize Google Play Gift Cards to add an equalization to your telephone. When you have spent that gift voucher, you are accomplished for that month. It shields me from overspending. There are a few cool ways you can improve your Sync Pairs in Pokémon Masters including advancing your Pokémon, step up through battle, and by utilizing things to add new moves to your arms stockpile. It will have in-game buys too however it's not so much clear yet whether that will incorporate a buy to open the full game or if that will just mean there are smaller scale exchanges for specific things. In the event that you;re ending up in need an of a Pokémon fix and are getting a little tire of Pokémon GO, this is one to watch. You can likewise spend a diminished measure of an alternate cash you can procure in-game once every day to open a character of your decision. And afterward ultimately, playing the story mode will allow you to fight and afterward select mentors and their related pokémon into your list. The story mode itself is planned much like Fire Emblem Heroes, where you advance through sections with little, discourse overwhelming cutscenes that ordinarily end in fights. DeNA made a custom story for the game highlighting a couple of unique characters on another island called Pasio, and you play as an interesting male or female character that begins matched with Pikachu.

[yesrats123stuff-blog]

On Killing A Rat

"By biting through a dam, even a rodent may cover out a country."

Edmund Burke

Hardly any animals in the Western world are as dreaded and chastised as the key rodent. Rodents are connected with space suite ghettos, sewers and waste. They bring affliction, degenerate sustenance, and are absolutely hard to dispose of once they set up a state. In swarm circles a source is known as a rodent. When I was an enthusiastic my mates and I would holler, "You rodent!" at one another when we expected to utilize a swearword that would not get our mouths washed out with creation. Rodents undermined Winston Smith, the stunning individual of 1984, and in Richard Wright's Native Son, Bigger Thomas butchers a rodent with an iron skillet as the novel starts. Albert Camus' The Plague opens with innumerable rodents dead in the city of Oran, an emissary to the scourge going to overpower the city.

Regardless, I had insignificant individual idea with rodents. A couple of adolescents I acknowledged kept rodents as pets, and they don't showed up anything over more clear than regular mice, like what the Romans called "Mus Maximus" (Big Mouse, a rodent, figuratively speaking) rather than "Mus Minimus" (Little Mouse). So when mid one night near the start of summer 2011 I saw an irritating lessening shaded animal with a long tail flooding about the bits of my lemon tree, I was nonplused. This was no little adolescents' pet. This was a colossal, extended, and extremely abhorrent creature that had advanced into my yard and was really starting at now pigging out itself on the substance of one of my fowl feeders. With surprising inclination it slithered unadroitly down the barrel fused side, planted itself on the round roost where the winged animals should sit, and ate results be chastised, astonishing its nose like a rabbit and utilizing its paws like an electric saw. It ran when I drew nearer, moving with stunning pace, up the side of the winged animal feeder and back up into the branches, scattering among the leaves.

The following night it was back before long, eating voraciously. At sunset the day after that it brought a beautification. At long last there were two, and the next night there were four. These rodents were underscoring exponentially. Taking off to my PC I made "rodents" on Google. I got more than 95,000,000 outcomes, and a vivacious examination of several the articles I found set me up I had an issue I would do well to orchestrate, with no veritable system to lose.

I expected to dispose of the rodents, or soon I would be gotten with them. Rodents are mind blowing for how hair-raising they go over. In any case, I expected to do it as mindful as could be standard the condition being what it is and in as earth satisfying a course as I could. I made a visit to the closest home improvement shop, and after a watchful see what was on the racks under the standard title "Rat Control," I left away with what I thought were the best decisions: Two insignificant plastic "rat boxes," with round openings on either side for the rodents to encounter, four places inside to put the squares of ruinous substance (that way on a crucial measurement the rodents and not some space feline would undeniably get to them) and spots for a spring-stacked rodent trap, two of which I got. These were, I found, a quantum weave in power from the old Victor wooden mousetraps I had seen starting at now. The jaws of these gotten an exasperating trouble that really debilitated me the headliner when I heard it, and would unmistakably bring moment (and ideally pressing) decimation to any rodent that pursuit down after the nutty spread I utilized as draw. I set the contraptions, put the squares of revolting green hurting substance in their spots, and put the cases under the trees a couple of feet isolated from each other, sprinkled some winged creature seed around each, and wrapped up. While I held up I put wisely colossal centrality in Google, discovering a few diagrams concerning rodents.

Rodents are most senseless for having gotten the Black Plague to Europe the fourteenth Century. Coming the Silk Road from China, rodents passing on plague-bearing bugs achieved the Crimea in 1346, and beginning there ricocheted on board flatboats set out toward Europe. The resultant pandemic, possibly the most clearly repulsive at whatever point, executed a standard one-part of the bigger part. Medieval procedure couldn't find the reason nor may it have the choice to treat the hurt. Individuals went to rest clearly suffering and kicked the compartment in their rest. The dead were unequivocal to the point that in express spots there was nobody staying to cover them. Europe would not recoup for a long time.

By some fortuitous event, there is all around more to the human-rodent relationship than the plague, as I was soon to find. Rodents have resolvedly followed in the structures for human development. Where there are individuals, there will be rodents. Rodents before long live on every scene on earth by Antarctica, making them the best all around made creature on earth after individuals. It is plot there is one rodent for each human on earth. One story, possibly rushed, stipends that in spots where rodents are particularly uncommon, an individual at some self-unequivocal time is all around that really matters ten feet from one.

Rodents have a stunning present for survival. On Engebi, one of the Eniwetok Atolls where atomic bombs were had a go at in the midst of the 1950s, virtuosos came back to perceive what stayed after the bombs were detonated. They found radioactive soil, vegetation squashed and a succeeding space of rodents. Rodents can continue through a fall of 50 feet without talent. Striking swimmers, they can cross wide streams (a massive mass improvement of rodents was recorded in Southern Russia in 1727 while unending them swam over the River Volga from Astrakhan). They can step water for three days without resting and bounce to profundities of 100 feet. They live a standard of 2 to 3 years, and a female rodent generally has a litter of 6 to 12 relatives six or on different occasions each year. They live in states (packs) with each rodent's set in the social systems obliged by their pulling in most astounding, the amazing people at the top. They rest together, groom one another, and get a few information about play and play doing fighting. Unequivocally when the state gets an insane part of titanic, the all the all the all the all the furthermore singing people leave to begin zones of their own.

Rodents are known for their sharp teeth and astonishing jaws. Not exclusively are their teeth sharp, they are incredibly hard: Measured on the Mohs hardness scale they come in at 5.5, harder than iron or platinum, and the larger part as hard as beneficial stone, which checks 10. These hard teeth collaborate with rodents to eat through wood, bone, plastic pipe, even square. Rodents will eat about anything, and have been known to eat substance, calfskin, and spreads, yet incline toward grain, controlled animals feed, and meat of different sorts, including human, paying little regard to the course by which that events of that are hair-raising. Regardless, with their colossal needs, they can and will eat 33% of their body weight each day.

Their visual speed is poor, obliged to just two or three feet. They hear endlessly well, and have made estimation of touch and smell. A rodent can run 24 miles an hour for a short part. They are viewed as fit, one reason they are scan for after wearisome for research center tests, and a pushing report discovered rodents to have metacognition, "thinking about knowing," a most superb starting late chronicled boundlessly in people and primates.

In express bits of the world, individuals go to rodents. In India rodents are viewed as a vehicle for Lord Ganesha, and statues of rodents sit in Ganesha refuges. At the Temple of the rats, in Rajasthan state, admirers make this a walk further and take part with 20,000 of the unbelievable animals to live in the ensured house, thinking of them as favored animals called kabbas. Butchering one there, as you may have considered, is unlawful, and the rodents are permitted to run free while the strong arrangement with their supplications in the ensured house. In the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, and parts of Polynesia, rodents are eaten as a key piece of the standard eating plan. In China the rodent is the key creature of the Chinese Zodiac, and individuals considered in the Year of the Rat are thought to have characteristics of realness, innovative centrality, data and need properties that rodents are thought to have what's more.

Overlooking I expected to dispose of the rodents in my yard. For a few days nothing appeared to occur. The rodents still showed up, unquestionably, to be each night for their gobbling up learning of flying creature seed, yet I saw their numbers were never again making. By then late one night I heard a blending sound from under the trees where I had left the rat boxes. Something was moving in the fallen leaves. I went to research and saw a little rat head fly out of the opening for the case. This was trailed by about piece of the rodent's body. It ate insatiably at the winged animal seed that I had spread on the ground, utilizing its paws vivaciously, like the course by which a ground squirrel fortifies, by then pulled back inside the case, just to develop again a minute later to eat more. As I came nearer it gave me a sidelong look, picked I was nobody of any centrality, ate more, and a compact time go apportioning later spread no insufficiency.

Something was out of synchronize here. For what reason didn't it escape? For what reason hadn't it incapacitated the contraption inside? Almost certainly I drew nearer, yet I wasn't amped conspicuous all around for getting moronically close-I expected to get nibbled by the rodent. By then the rodent kept eating. By then it got an affectin

[thehealersguide-blog]

Healer’s Guide to Borderlands 2

For the longest time I didn’t bother with healing in Borderlands 2 because on paper it sounded like an afterthought, and early on it really is weak.

However, I have to take that back. Support in Borderlands 2 gets ridiculous if you put the time into it and know what to do.

Siren is the only viable option for a pure support build, so I won’t bother with anything else. Please, please take Siren.

Skills: HARMONY

Harmony is focused on healing, so unless you want to start healing at level 25, we should start there.

Tier 1

Mind’s Eye: +25% critical hit damage, +30% melee damage

Sweet Release: Killing a phaselocked enemy releases healing orbs

Sweet Release isn’t that great. It’s unreliable and a bit weak. If you’re eager to start healing, take it, but you have better options right around the corner. Mind’s Eye doesn’t help your friends, but it’s a nice thing to have.

Tier 2

Restoration: Shooting an ally heals them for 30% of attack damage. +15% HP

Wreck: Phaselocking an enemy increases fire rate by +50% and gun damage by +30%

Restoration is where the fun begins. At level 15/20 the best guns for healing are a decent Jakobs Shotgun or an Infinity if you don’t mind farming Doc Mercy. Don’t try to heal when your friends are running around, you’re better off running to them when they take cover or training them to come to you for healing.

Wreck goes well with Restoration. A decent Vladolf or Hyperion machine pistol and you’ve got really fast, potent healing whenever you phaselock.

Tier 3

Elated: Phaselocking heals all teammates 5% HP per second

Res: Instantly revive by Phaselocking an ally

Recompense: Taking damage has a 50% chance to deal equal damage to your attacker.

Do I even have say this? Get Elated and Res. Elated heals everyone regardless of location or line of sight, two shortcomings that Sweet Release and Restoration suffer from. Elated also benefits from Action Skill duration modifiers like the Suspension skill and action skill cooldown modifiers like Quicken.

Res is broken in the best possible way. Your Phaselock cooldown is 13 seconds without any modifiers and Fight For Your Life is 12 seconds. With Quicken and a decent Cooldown relic, you can get Phaselock down to 10 seconds and res people quicker than they can die. Get it. 

Recompense is bad. Enemies have very high health and you won’t notice it really.

Tier 4, 5 and 6

Sustenance: Regenerate +2% of missing health per second

Life Tap: Killing an enemy gives +6% Life Steal for a short time

Scorn: Melee now fires a ball of slag (18 second cooldown)

Scorn is really good, it slags anything it passes by before exploding once it reaches it hits a surface like a wall. Life Tap has its moments and synchronizes well with a lot of the skills you’ll have by now.

Sustenance isn’t that great. You won’t really notice it and the healing you’ll have by now will make it barely noticeable.

Honestly, how you get to Scorn is up to you, if you even do. You can take Life tap and Sustenance, or you can get Wreck and Sweet Release.

Skills: MOTION

So we’ve gotten what we want from Harmony, and our friends/minions couldn’t die if they tried. If you want to be a pure healing build, Motion is the way to go now.

Tier 1

Ward: +25% Shield and 40% Shield Recharge Delay

Accelerate: +15% Gun Damage and +20% Bullet Speed

Ward doesn’t compliment what we’re doing. Accelerate, besides just being a good skill, compliments Restoration by increasing your gun damage.

Tier 2

Suspension: Increases Phaselock duration by 2.5 seconds

Kinetic Reflection: Killing an enemy causes you to deflect bullets.

Elated and Suspension work *really* well together. 2 extra seconds of Phaselock is +10% more healing as well as more time to activate Sweet Release.

Kinetic Reflection is okay, it really shines if you get a Class Mod that amplifies it, but not there’s no healing-focused class mod that does.

Tier 3

Fleet: 50% Movement Speed while your shield is broken

Converge: Phaselocking pulls nearby enemies towards the target

Inertia: Killing an enemy regenerates your shield for a short time

Fleet can be useful, and since you’re less disposable than your friends, being able to run away from danger is invaluable.  Converge is great if you took Scorn and it makes your team’s job a lot easier. Intertia isn’t anything to get excited about unless you have a very specific need for it.

Tier 4, 5 and 6

Quicken: -30% Cooldown rate

Sub-Sequence: Killing a phaselocked enemy causes another to be phaselocked

Thoughtlock: Phaselocking an enemy causes it to switch alliegence

Quite a mixed bag here. Quicken works great with Res and Elated, so I recommend picking it up. Sub-Sequence is lacklustre, since the cooldown doesnt reset when you phaselock another enemy.

One bonus with Sub-Sequence is that even if you kill something, Phaselock will be active for the full duration, meaning you get the full bonus of Elated no matter what.

Thoughtlock is interesting, though. If you’re not sniping, it might be worth getting as it increases Phaselock duration by 4 seconds and takes attenton away from you. It does, however, increase cooldown by 3 seconds. it’s up to preference, but most people don’t like it.

GUNS

For Restoration, you should look for either a Jakobs Shotgun for its raw damage or a high fire-rate pistol like the Synergy or Anarchist. For Sniper Rifles I recommend Dahl, since headshots arent important when healing teammates. Rocket Launchers heal basically anyone completely, but doing that regularly will eat away at your money very quickly.

I also recommend the Infinity, since it has a decent fire-rate and never reloads.

Later on, you can also help your friends by slagging bosses and crowds for them. Scorn should cover this pretty well, but between cooldowns consider the Slagga. Its high-fire rate, magazine size, damage and projectile count also make it a fantastic healing weapon.

GRENADES

For grenades, anything works but Transfusion grenades are yet another source of healing, and a decent one at that.

SHIELD

There’s nothing really support-based, Booster shields fit the bill but they’re quite terrible. I recommend the Sham or an Adaptive shield for survivability. Note that Amp shields don’t boost healing!

CLASS MOD

No question. Nurse, then Legendary Nurse. The latter even boosts Suspension!

RELIC

Get one that reduces Cooldown so you can revive people quicker. Nothing else really helps us.

Thanks for reading. I don’t expect this blog to really take off but for a lot of games you don’t see many guides specifically for healing, so It’d be nice to have something to point to.

Also note that this guide isn’t heavily researched, these are my own findings and i’ve probably missed something, I’m happy to make ammendments if that’s the case.