#ambient matter. series 1

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Ambient Matter. Series 1

Tracklist

01 Darris Hopper - Somnus

02 Ronny Pinazza - Respiro

03 Doctrina Natura - Distant Footsteps

04 ABSIS - Points Found

05 Hod - Temple In Nature

06 Ancestral Landscapes - Old Timer

Credits

This digital release is cut from the 24bit Master Source. ‘Somnus’ produced by Alex Tirelli Fernandez aka Darris Hopper 'Respiro' produced by Ronny Pinazza 'Distant Footsteps' produced by Doctrina Natura 'Points Found' produced by Salvador Coromina Massó aka ABSIS 'Temple In Nature' produced by Juan Andrés Rúa aka Hod 'Old Timer' produced by Salvatore Pizzuto aka Ancestral Landscapes Mastered by J. David Lucio S. Layout by Mark Wagner Ambient Matter. series This is PITCHVA05.

[pagesfromthevoid]

Enchanted | g.d. | 1

Gale Dekarios x fem!Tav

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: None

Author’s Note: I have the entire series written and I am NOT sorry.

Talk to Me! | Series Masterlist

My undying love, now I hold it like a grudge,

And I hear your voice every time I think I’m not enough…

The first time Gale heard her voice, it was the very start of his isolation and seclusion in his tower.

At the time, it was a distant sound –something that sat in the background of his tower when the balcony doors were opened and he had half a mind to pay attention. Most of the day, he had been too absorbed in his self-loathing and hatred, thinking about everything that had gone wrong and led him to losing not only his title of Chosen, but losing what he considered the love of his life. 

The circus had been in town all month at that point, but he had little interest in it even when he wasn’t a recluse. The bouts of magic and entertainment were too on the nose for him, and he had little interest in the acts that were geared towards the more easily distracted. But something about her voice that first evening caught his attention as he sat on his balcony, watching the ships leave the harbor.

The first time Gale heard her voice, he peered over to the circus, where a small crowd had gathered around a bard. He assumed she was a bard, at least –she had a lute, and she was singing. Not many people were around –certainly more interested in what was going on elsewhere in the circus –but she was still performing like it was her lifeline. The lights that surrounded her made it hard to make out any distinguishable features, though he supposed it didn’t matter what she looked like if he could hear her voice clear as day.

The arguments that I have won against you in my head,

In the shower, in the yard, and in the mirror before bed –

I’m so tough when I’m alone and I make you feel so guilty…

Much like him, it seemed, she was heartbroken over a love lost. It struck Gale as almost uncanny how closely the lyrics resonated with his own inner turmoil. He found himself wiping his eyes, moved by the poignant melody that seemed to mirror the depths of his own anguish. As he listened, the weight of his current struggles pressed heavily upon him – the pulsating presence of the Netherese orb beneath his skin, the sting of rejection from the one person who had once understood him better than anyone else. It puzzled him how this bard, a stranger to his own personal hells, could capture the essence of his emotions with such accuracy.

Gale couldn’t listen to her very long before he slammed shut the doors of his balcony and retreated into the darkness of his tower once more.

*****

The next time Gale heard her voice, it was when the circus returned the following year. 

A whole year had passed since Mystra cast him from her favor; a whole year had passed since he was implanted with a ticking bomb in his chest; a whole year had passed since he last heard the bard in the circus, singing about her own heartbreak that felt so much like his that he sometimes thought back to her words and reminded himself that he did not need to hold a grudge.

The next time Gale heard her voice, he noticed that the crowd gathered around her was still just as modest as before, perhaps even smaller. The ambient lights continued to cast a glow over her, creating an aura that blurred her figure around the edges, resembling distant stars. Despite the dwindling audience, her voice carried a seasoned richness, hinting at a depth of experience and emotion that had matured since the last time he had heard her sing. Gale briefly wondered why she insisted on performing songs that failed to attract large crowds, yet simultaneously wondered if such trivial matters even registered on her radar. It struck him that perhaps, for her, the act of sharing her music was a personal journey rather than a quest for recognition or fame.

Looking back, I think the magic all along was me,

Cause I can’t help but look for the best in you.

But I can’t be in love with the things I just hope you do…

He wondered, once again, how she managed to reach into the depths of his very soul and tear out the feelings he also held. It was unlikely she was heartbroken over a god, but whatever had happened to cause her to write and sing about what she did –Gale was thankful that someone could put it into words, even if that someone was a bard whose name he didn’t even know. 

Tonight, he did not slam the doors of his balcony when it got overwhelming. Instead, he sat and he listened, committing each word she sang to heart. He allowed the feelings to wash over him, to cry as he recalled the stupidity of his actions, to curse the folly of his own doing. 

I can’t be in love with potential,

I can’t say it’s all circumstantial…

Maybe I should go away,

It’s your choice if you wanna change…

As the nights progressed –he started to keep track of what nights she was there and what nights she was not –Gale noticed a subtle shift within himself. At first, it was merely a passing interest, but gradually it grew into something more. With each performance by the bard, whose voice seemed to be laced with the Weave itself, he found himself captivated. He discovered a new sense of resonance with her music, each note laced with emotions he hadn't explored before. And it wasn't just the music that drew him; it was the sincerity in her voice, the passion in her lyrics, and the way she poured her soul into every performance. 

Soon, Gale's evenings became synonymous with her songs, and he found comfort in her voice drifting up to his balcony. As he reflected on his feelings, he began to question the depth of his devotion to Mystra, realizing that perhaps his connection with the goddess wasn't as balanced as he once believed. Perhaps he was better off without Mystra to impress –even if the orb pulsed within him and demanded control.

*****

Showed you all of my hiding spots,

I was dancing when the music stopped…

And in the disbelief, I can’t face reinvention

I haven’t met the new me yet.

“Mr. Dekarios,” Tara announced one evening, having gone to retrieve something with a substantial amount of magic within it for him. 

“Hello, Tara,” he greeted with a soft smile, sitting on his balcony with his eyes shut. The bard’s voice was drifting over him, and for the first time since he started paying attention, this song wasn’t nearly as bitter or sad. 

“You seem almost…content,” the tressym commented, hopping up on the seat next to him. Gale opened his eyes, meeting her gaze as she scrutinized him. “I do hope that means you’ll leave this tower soon.”

“Perhaps,” he hummed, looking over his balcony and down towards where the crowd was gathering once more. Maybe he would join the crowd tomorrow, before she started. Finally put a face to the voice that he had listened to every night for the last three weeks. 

Tara followed his gaze, hopping up now on the bannister of the balcony. She cocked her head to the side, eying the lights and people. “Have you been listening to her all night, Mr. Dekarios?”

He nodded once, standing up to join her on the balcony. Resting his arms on the ledge, Gale leaned over and watched as more people gathered around his bard –well, not his bard, but the bard –and he couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy that they got to see her up close. But at the same time, he was happy for her; she was getting the attention she deserved. 

There’ll be happiness after you

But there was happiness because of you.

Both of these things can be true…

“I’ve been listening to her every night, actually,” he admitted with a soft chuckle, feeling his ears burn with mild embarrassment. “I…She’s a lovely singer, that’s all.”

Tara simply eyed him for a moment before returning her attention to the bard below. “She talks to herself quite a bit when she’s not singing.”

Gale’s attention snapped back to Tara, brow furrowing. “How do you know that?”

“She feeds the strays –who am I to pass up a free meal, Mr. Dekarios?”

“Tara,” he scolded, rolling his eyes. “You are not a stray; more importantly, you’ve met her?”

“Poor thing thinks I’m just a cat with wings, but yes, I have spent time with her. Very polite, a bit sad. I suppose I could introduce you –,”

“Please,” he quickly interrupted, standing up straight. “Tomorrow, we’ll go tomorrow.”

Tara seemed surprised by his sudden want to leave the tower, however there would be no complaining from her. Gale leaned over the bannister once more, looking down at the crowd that finally settled in to listen to her sing. 

No one teaches you what to do

When a good man hurts you,

And you know you hurt him too…

*****

Stepping out of his tower for the first time in a year, Gale had to pause in the doorway to brace himself for it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to leave; actually, on the contrary –for the first time in a year, he felt confident enough to step outside and not blow anyone up. But he was overwhelmed by the familiar sights and smells of his beloved Waterdeep and it took him a moment to get his bearings again. Tara strolled beside him, however, reminding him that it was okay.

He was more thankful for that than she would ever know.

It wasn’t a long walk to where the circus had set up for the month, but he took his time, enjoying the sun and the salty breeze that tousled his hair. It had been too long, and if he was going to go confess to the mysterious bard that was below his balcony that he was enchanted by her, then he needed to take his time and get a little more confident in himself.

With Tara leading the way, Gale smiled and waved at neighbors who greeted him happily. It was a nice reminder that perhaps he wasn’t all that alone, even if he was destined to be consumed. He hummed one of her songs to himself, unable to help the smile that was spreading over his face as they finally stood at the gates of the –

Empty circus grounds.

The wizard and tressym stopped short, staring at the torn down tents and remaining pieces of equipment that were being loaded up into a cart. It was a handful of stage hands that were left –it seemed the main performers had taken their leave already.

“No, no, no,” Gale panicked, pushing through the gates and hurrying up to a kobold that was packing up his inventory. “Where is everyone? I thought –the circus –,”

The kobold looked up at him with shifty eyes, pointing around in random directions. “Circus is gone, I is packing up my treatos and getting on road. You want treato? I has lots, treatos make you feel better!”

“What? No, I don’t want –the bard –the girl, who sings. Is she still here?”

“Lots of bards, lots of singing –I is not knowing which one.”

Gale groaned, raking his hand through his hair in frustration. Tara huffed in annoyance, interrupting. “The one that feeds the strays, Popper.”

“Oh!” Popper –apparently –exclaimed. “Favorite human. Very nice. She leave this morning, with bendy friend.”

For a moment, he simply stared down at the kobold with unseeing eyes.

The circus was gone and so were his chances of finally laying eyes on his bard.

“Can you…will you pass along a message to her, Popper?” He finally asked, looking around the mess of the kobold’s shop before finding relatively clean parchment and a quill. He scribbled out something quickly, then waved his hand to ensure the ink dried. With a couple pieces of gold and the parchment, he held it out to Popper, who snatched both up with a frantic nod.

*****

“Oh hello, Popper,” she greeted with a small smile when they made it to their next city.

Popper was setting up a series of very clearly stolen –and slightly bloody –weapons he must have knicked off some bodies on the way. He spun around with a hop, throwing his arms up in excitement.

“Tayve! I has treato for you!” 

“Is that so?” She raised a brow and knelt in front of him, smiling softly. “And it’s Tav, Popper. You’ll get it one day.”

Popper waved off her correction, yanking out a wrinkled piece of parchment and shoving it into her hands. “From man in last town. Gave me lots of gold to deliver.”

Tav’s brow furrowed a bit as she uncrumpled the note, looking it over for a moment. It was a poem, she thought, as she read it over. But no name was signed.

The lingering question kept me up

2 AM, who do you love?

I wondered till I'm wide awake

Now I'm pacing back and forth, 

wishing you were at my door

I'd open up and you would say

It was enchanting to meet you.

Your singing saved me. I wish I could have told you in person.

[titaniumrock]

My little review of the Fallout tv show season 1. *SPOILERS BELOW CUT*

Okay so, I finally finished the show and omg it was amazing. It was fun and had a lot of references and poked some fun at the players who complained ( The radio show with the minutemen music). It was nice and I enjoyed it.

Section 1 review -The characters-

So the characters were fleshed out and fun, I enjoyed their designs, personalities, and history. The most fleshed out was probably The Ghoul AKA Cooper Howard. Which works because he is pre-war, and that was nice to have to give us a little tell of what pre-war was like. Though I would have loved to see more of it and the more mundane side. Like the average persons life during pre-war, or someone who was severely struggling. Maybe for next season? Anyways, he was fun and interesting. His design was very fun, like who doesn't like a cowboy? Then his personality is pretty complex yet also quite simple, he is an actor which makes that complexity of him as I can't really grasp his thoughts and actions completely. He is a character I understand yet also don't it is very confusing. Then again it was probably also because I could hardly understand him half the time because of the accent and the fact there was no subtitles and the ambient sound was loud as hell, as well as the fact that we didn't really get to see too much of him postwar in the same way we saw the other two (three? if you count Lucy's brother) main characters. If that makes sense...idk.

Any who, Lucy MacLean was amazing and adorable loved her so much. She was in my opinion the best vault dweller rep, though she seemed too stable. For someone from a vault she was very calm and seemed to handle violence well. Like we saw no apprehension in her actions and she was very optimistic no matter what. And I know that people can be like that okay! But for someone from a vault that never seemed to at least have violence she was way too calm. I was honestly expecting her to have a mental breakdown at one point or something similar, like she has seen so much and almost died so many times. I also see the naivety that she has but that doesn't really excuse the fact that she brushes off things so easily. Yet even so I really like her, she is fun and adorable. I just wish we got a more "accurate" version of someone who has never seen the horrors of the waste, especially since for most of it she had no companion to make her feel safe and keep up such a optimistic naivety. Though even so it kinda works considering how the vault dwellers of the games are?

Now Maximus was fun, I loved him but he was less developed than the other two. He had his goals but we missed a lot of the bonding that he had with Lucy and Thaddeus, and how/why their companionship changed him and his goals. Like I know it is there but it wasn't really shown, we know that he likes Lucy and he was hoping to be friends with Thaddeus but we don't really see the whole picture of why. We don't see the growth of it which really sucks because it could have been really fun so long as they do it properly. Then his backstory is still mostly unknown, like what was his childhood like before the Brotherhood? What was Shady Sands really like? But he was still a decent character. His motives were pretty clear and simple and he is what you would expect from someone brainwashed by the brotherhood, someone who was also disrespected by the brotherhood. Not much to really say and I hope we have him more fleshed out soon. Sucks my review of his character is so short because I really like him and his little cute romance with Lucy.

So overall I feel that the characters were fun and nice, great designs, nice voices, decently made, etc. but they were unfortunately a little rushed in some aspects making them less developed and rounded of characters, but then again it is a series and we have time skips in it so it kinda explains why that is.

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Section 2 review -The costumes/designs-

Loved how everyone looked. The costumes were really nice and fun, love how ghouls looked like ghouls although a little too pretty still honestly. Would have loved to see some ghoul designs from the other games instead of well the fallout 4 style. But they looked good and pretty real in some sense. I do wish that we got to see more ghouls that haven't gone or were going feral and I think that they did some interesting things with them (i'll talk more about it further down)

The power armour was awesome, loved to see how they would work in "real life" and it is what I expected and how I think the PA frames work (I have my own little ideas of the power armour variants one being PA frames that we see in fallout 4 and TV show, and the other from games past that Fallout 1, 2, 3 and New Vegas).

I also enjoyed that wasters and raiders looked, well like how they should. I do wish that we got to see more of them but it was pretty awesome either way.

Then the sets were beautiful, would have love to see more wild life though, missed opportunity there but it is okay since its literally the desert. Hopefully we'll see some more creatures, and I was really expecting to see some scorpions as that land is perfect for them. Do wish that we could see more locations though, especially more with story telling just in the way they are decorated. Not much else to say about it all, other than I liked it and it everywhere felt like a wasteland.

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Section 3 review -Lore-

Whoo boy, now the lore here is...okay. It is in line (mostly) with cannon and what I expected.

-Confliction with New Vegas :/

2296 that is the year it takes place, and it seems okay. But the brotherhood is strong which is weird considering that the brotherhood over west were either destroyed based off of Fallout New Vegas many endings, and because they are there that means that the independent ending might of occurred letting the brotherhood stay alive. Which then means that in Fallout 4 the brotherhood was not destroyed over there based off of the endings though you can make almost every faction not kill each other with the minutemen. Why did I come to this conclusion, well because they have a sister prydwen. That is labeled the prydwen despite having a different name..Oh and the T-60's being used also hint to that in some way. Which means that the west and east coast brotherhood most likely absorbed into each other. Complete speculation though but that is what I am seeing here. Either way the TV show does conflict with New Vegas in that spectrum. It also conflicts with the fact that the NCR's Shady sands fell in 2277 and blew up exactly when Fallout 3 takes place. (Or seemingly anyways based on the diagram which is hard to really know if it was 2277 or if that date was the decline and it exploded later, yet even so it also works because the NCR was in decline during New Vegas so Shady sands getting destroyed isn't the most outrageous thing.)

So that makes New Vegas's lore iffy in cannon if the TV show is to be correct and considered cannon, which then can also makes certain things cannon from fallout 4 because of how it mixes with New Vegas's lore and the TV shows lore. I know I don't really make much sense but I hope you can understand? This is mostly me just trying to fit the puzzle pieces of lore together when they don't really fit, and well just trying to concur what is most likely cannon because of the conflictions. (Not like we have an actual answer on what the cannon endings for fallout 4 and New Vegas are).

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Then I do kinda find the drug that ghouls use to no become feral interesting, we never do learn how it is exactly made but it is cool. Unfortunately because of it's existence and the lack of it being in any game over west or ever having managed to get over east makes it a little odd. Plus it was made a long time ago too because Cooper needed it to help prevent him from going feral, otherwise he wouldn't be in the show. But luckily this drug is something in the lore we can kind of mix in well with just an explanation that it existed but we just never saw it because reasons, and the fact that we never actually really played as a ghoul character.

Then the new drugs that witch dude had was interesting and I am curious if Thaddeus will actually turn into a ghoul or if he just has some sort of cool healing ability now. Cause I could have some fun with that drug for writing and I need answers on if he's now a ghoul because of it and subsequently, how the hell ghouls seemingly can't feel any pain (Cooper shrugging off bullets and his finger getting ripped off), how ghouls seemingly heal so quickly and seem to only be killed by a full on headshot.

OOh then Vault tec being that ones who dropped the bombs is actually something I already knew. So I don't know where or when or how I actually learnt this but I did. I knew that Vault tec was the ones who dropped the bombs, they armed and launched them to both the US and China, thus making the two countries drop more bombs in retaliation the other countries who were allied also following suit (most likely anyways). Now the reason why this works and why I feel that it is okay that Beth decided to tell us who started it, is simply because of one of the main message of Fallout in general (though I will say that this main message is not the only one, and it is a warning to the world.).

There are no winners, there are no losers. War is a dangerous thing, with no good ending. People die in war, people suffer in war. We all lose in war. Humanity suffers. War is not something good, it is never something good, many know this. Yet humans seemingly can't help but want that destruction. Those full of greed push it, create problems as they take and take. Greed from those who already have it all, yet they can't help but want more. Fallout in its core is the danger of greed, the danger of history. How history repeats, how war never changes. How people all want to save the world but can't agree on how. How we all can't help but rush towards destruction, whether we want to or not. Fallout is the message of danger of the human nature, the danger of letting greed corrupt, the danger of everything.

This is why I feel that Vault tec being the ones to press that big red button works. They are greed in itself. They are what Fallout warns us. They don't care what happens because they want it all. And it is not just Vault tec that is the one to do this, they are simply the ones who are put on that spot light. In the shadows are corrupt people like the Enclave who use those with so much greed to allow their greed to flow as well. Like how the Brotherhood takes and takes hoarding the tech and killing anyone in their path. How Caesar's legion took over land that don't belong to them to make things better. How the NCR try and re-create the old world. How the institute wants to purify the commonwealth by destroying it and replacing it. How factions all have their own way of fixing things, yet all fall into that same trap one way or another.

Don't know if that made sense but yeah!

Oh yeah guess what! My vault is cannon (not actually), in the scene where Vault tec shows off the vaults, you can see little America (Canada) has some vaults and with a good look at the map (or probably I'm basically blind), I could see that in/near the Rockies that there is a vault there. Near the border just like my Vault 21-B. I was so happy that there was a vault there even if it ain't my actual vault but heyyyy look at that eh? (lol) It's funny that I managed to create my own vault where one is actually located (well I'm pretty sure it is anyways), same with the other vaults that are up there, I managed to actually get the general location of them which are my hot spots of Canada (they are not in the exact spots though). BTW the hot spots are areas with vaults and habitual locations that aren't covered in snow. I decided on their locations based on the warmth of the coasts, and if they had large bodies of water nearby, and then if they were very populated areas.

(edit) Turns out I am blind and there is only one vault up there :( (Well luckily it gives me some more freedom in my own Fallout, plus Vault 21-B was supposed to be mostly if not completely a secret anyways soo.)

Anyways that's my review, very odd, very scattered and not really a review but shhhhh. It's okay because I enjoyed it and hope to see more, and hopefully it'll be even better. Sorry for how long this is BTW.

[total-cards]

Horror fans rise up! The cult classic movie The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is coming to our consoles in the form of a survival PVP reminiscent of Dead By Daylight! If that wasn't enough to sell you on the game, then we've got 5 epic reasons why you should invest in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre!

Welcome to the Family!

What sets The Texas Chain Saw Massacre apart from it's competition is the amount of players in the lobby. Unlike Dead By Daylight, which features 1 killer and 4 survivors, you'll be up against 3 killers! That's right, Bubba has backup! There are 5 killers to choose from: Leatherface, the Cook, the Hitchhiker, Johnny and Sissy. Each comes with their own set of abilities, as well as a selection of attributes. Their victims follow suit, with 6 different survivors to choose from and a variety of abilities to improve your survivability - this game really has a leg up on other popular titles.

Crossplay? Cross-yay!

Are all your friends on PlayStation, but you have an Xbox? Don't worry, because The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has crossplay! So no matter whether you're PC, PS5 or Xbox Series X | S, you can play with anyone at any time! As long as you're playing on a next generation console or a PC you will be able to experience all the scares together. Keep in mind though, PS4 and Xbox One users cannot play crossplay, and can only match with players on the same console.

Getting Horror Right!

With classic horror characters such as Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers having the pretty supernatural ability to disappear into thin air, the creators over at GUN Interactive and Sumo Digital wanted to make the players feel like they were immersed in the horror. To quote Ronnie Hobbs, the Creative Director over at GUN, "You don’t you see him, you know, he’s there, he’s not gonna disappear on you." Leatherface has the ability to be stealthy, and jump out on people when they're least suspecting - but he is grounded in reality, and you will see and hear him coming when that chainsaw revs up. We feel this is important to get the true vibe that the Texas Chain Saw Massacre presented to viewers back in 1974, and this upcoming game truly captures that vision.

Fight back, or use the shadows?

Forget flashlights and sabotaging hooks, in Texas the survivor is given tools of the horror trade to give them a higher chance of survival. Because who wouldn't pick up any weapon they could get their hands on when being pursued by a murderous family? Utilise objects to hold off the Slaughter Family, or protect your fellow survivors to give them the chance to slip away to safety, using bone shards from the macabre basement. But be careful, this game still features many mechanics that will let Leatherface and Co. know you're nearby. Sound traps, poison powder and a skilled hunter tracking your footprints are just some of the tricks that are up the family's sleeves, so be cautious where you walk...

The Idyllic Texas Countryside!

Take in the beauty of rural Texas as you're running for your life from a chainsaw wielding maniac. This game is truly stunning, with ambient lighting in the darker parts of the house casting shadows across the fearful survivors as they hide from the killers. But something that's quite the change from your classic horror games is the fact that Texas is set during the day. It's clear that so much thought has been put into the construction of this world, the detail is incredible and the way that the environment interacts with itself has a hyper-realism you'd expect in Triple A games from the likes of Naughty Dog or Rockstar. If you're someone who appreciates the true beauty of video games, this is one to add to your collection.

Are you ready to pick up that Chainsaw and chase down your friends? Then be sure to pre-order The Texas Chain Saw Massacre now on our site for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Xbox One/Series X!

[cathann]

Transform Your Home with These Must-Have Lamps and Lightings for Every Style

The right lighting can completely transform the ambiance of a space. Whether you're looking to create a cozy reading nook, brighten up a dark corner, or add a stylish touch to your living room, lamps and lightings are the key to achieving the perfect atmosphere. With so many designs, materials, and styles available, selecting the ideal lighting for your home has never been easier.

In this blog, we'll explore various lighting options, from floor lamps to pendant lights, and offer tips on how to select the perfect fixtures to match your décor and functional needs.

1. Why Lighting Matters in Interior Design

Lighting is a vital part of interior design in addition to being a useful aspect of your house. Proper lighting enhances the colors, textures, and furniture in a room, creating a cohesive and inviting environment. Whether you're going for a modern, rustic, or minimalist look, the right lamps and lightings can elevate your space and bring your vision to life.

Here are some views for why lighting is important:

Sets the Mood: The intensity and color of light can influence how a room feels. Warm lighting creates a cozy, intimate atmosphere, while cool lighting offers a fresh and modern vibe.

Enhances Décor: A well-placed lamp or light fixture can become a focal point, complementing your furniture and enhancing the overall aesthetic.

Improves Functionality: Different rooms have different lighting needs. For instance, task lighting is essential in the kitchen, while ambient lighting works well in living rooms and bedrooms.

2. Types of Lamps and Lightings to Consider

When revamping your home with new lamps and lightings, it's essential to understand the various types available and how they can serve different purposes. Here are some must-have options for every style:

a) Floor Lamps

Floor lamps are versatile and functional, making them a great choice for any room. They come in a variety of styles, from sleek and modern to vintage and industrial. Floor lamps can provide both ambient lighting and task lighting, depending on their design and placement. They're perfect for brightening up a dark corner or adding a touch of sophistication to a room.

Styling Tip: Pair a slim, minimalist floor lamp with neutral-toned furniture for a contemporary look, or choose a tripod-style lamp for an industrial vibe.

b) Table Lamps

Table lamps offer both form and function, acting as decorative accents while providing localized light for reading or working. Available in an array of designs, from classic to eclectic, table lamps are ideal for adding a soft, ambient glow to bedrooms, living rooms, or entryways.

Styling Tip: Choose table lamps with bold bases and unique shapes to add personality to your space. Consider matching them with your room's color scheme for a coordinated look.

c) Pendant Lights

Pendant lights are a stylish way to introduce overhead lighting into a space. These hanging fixtures are perfect for kitchens, dining areas, or even bedrooms, offering focused illumination and a touch of elegance. Whether you choose a minimalist glass pendant or a rustic wooden design, pendant lights can make a bold statement.

Styling Tip: Hang a series of small pendant lights above your kitchen island or dining table for a modern, chic feel.

d) Wall Sconces

Wall sconces are great for adding accent lighting to hallways, bathrooms, or living spaces. Mounted on the wall, these fixtures free up floor space while delivering soft, ambient lighting. They come in various styles, from antique brass finishes to contemporary geometric designs, making them a flexible option for any home.

Styling Tip: Place sconces on either side of a mirror for a sophisticated touch in the bathroom, or use them to frame artwork in the living room.

e) Chandeliers

For those who want to make a grand statement, chandeliers are the perfect choice. These fixtures bring elegance and luxury to any room, especially dining areas and entryways. Available in traditional crystal designs or modern minimalist styles, chandeliers add a touch of drama to your home.

Styling Tip: Opt for a chandelier with an adjustable height to suit the scale of your room, ensuring it doesn’t overwhelm the space.

3. How to Choose the Right Lamps and Lightings for Your Style

When selecting lamps and lightings, it's essential to consider both functionality and aesthetics. Here are some tips to help you find the perfect lighting for your home:

Consider Your Room’s Purpose: Think about the primary function of the room. For example, task lighting is essential for a home office or kitchen, while soft, ambient lighting works best for a bedroom or living room.

Match Your Interior Style: Choose lighting fixtures that complement your existing décor. If you have a modern space, look for sleek, minimalist designs. For a rustic home, opt for warm materials like wood and metal.

Play with Layering: Don't rely on one source of light. Layer your lighting with a combination of floor lamps, table lamps, and overhead lights to create a well-lit and inviting atmosphere.

4. Bring It All Together: Final Thoughts

Revamping your home with new lamps and lightings is a simple yet impactful way to enhance both the functionality and style of your space. Whether you're looking for a statement chandelier or a minimalist floor lamp, there's a lighting option out there for every taste and need. By carefully selecting the right fixtures, you can create a warm, welcoming environment that reflects your personal style and makes every room in your home feel complete.

Explore a wide range of stylish and functional lighting options online to find the perfect pieces for your home transformation. With the right lamps and lightings, you can truly elevate your living space and create an inviting atmosphere for any occasion.

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[ganpatmetalindustries]

Top Tips for Choosing the Best Carbon Steel ASTM A105 Flanges

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SpecificationASTM A105, ASTM A106 Gr. A/BMaterialASTM A105, ASME A105, ASTM A266 GR.1, GR.2, GR.3, GR.4, ASTM A350 LF1, LF2 CL1/CL2, LF3 CL1/CL2, ASTM A694 F42, F46, F48, F50, F52, F56, F60, F65, F70DimensionANSI/ASME B16.5, B 16.47 Series A & B, EN-1092, BS4504, BS 10, B16.48, DIN, etc.Flanges TypesBlind Flanges, Slip on Flanges, Reducing Flanges, Socket weld Flanges, Weld Neck Flanges, Orifice Flanges, Lap Joint Flanges, Threaded Flanges, Plate Flanges, Industrial Flanges, etcSpecializeASME Flanges, ANSI Flanges, DIN Flanges, BS Flanges, EN Flanges, SORF Flanges, BLRF Flanges, SWRF Flanges, WNRF Flanges, etcClass150#, 300#, 600#, 900#, 1500# & 2500#

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Water Treatment Facilities: Utilized in pipelines that require reliable and leak-proof connections.

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ASTM A105 flanges are crucial for ensuring the safety, efficiency, and longevity of industrial piping systems. Their ability to handle high pressure and resist various environmental conditions makes them a preferred choice in many sectors.

Conclusion

Carbon Steel ASTM A105 flanges are indispensable in industries where strength and reliability are non-negotiable. Their versatile nature and ability to perform under tough conditions make them a vital component in numerous industrial applications. Understanding their key features and applications helps in selecting the right flange for your specific needs.

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[musiconanironingboard]

31 January 2024: three volumes of Julian Cope's Cope's Notes series:

Cope's Notes #1: The Teardrop Explodes (1978-1982) (Head Heritage, 2019)

Cope's Notes #3: World Shut Your Mouth (Head Heritage, 2022)

Cope's Notes #4: The Black Sheep (Head Heritage, 2023)

Julian Cope's catalog since leaving the major-label system in 1997 is a vastly complicated web. Along with his regular new albums of what I'd call pop songs, there are numerous ambient/instrumental albums, projects attributed to other names than his own (e.g. Black Sheep, Robin Hood, etc.), the occasional oddball one-off album connected to things like Cope's giving a lecture at the British Museum, and so forth. I seem to buy most everything he does, but I'm still not close to being a completist. The latest road he's gone down is a series of archival book/CD sets dubbed Cope's Notes. These are generally companion pieces to existing albums or projects, and include lengthy essays by Cope about the work and his life at the time of the subject matter. I never intended to buy all of these, but I was so taken with Cope's Notes #2: Droolian, an expanded reissue of his weirdo 1990 album Droolian, that I now sit here with all five entries in the series to date. Another issue that I purchased while this page was on hiatus, like Droolian, was Cope's Notes #5: The Modern Antiquarian, an examination of his landmark 1998 archaeological textbook of the same name. The CD component of that one is a new studio album in disguise—all-new songs inspired by his own book. I like it quite a bit, and alongside 2023's Robin Hood it makes Cope's second good album of new material in that single year. With volumes 2 and 5 in my home, and knowing how much I enjoyed them both, I felt there was no question that I should buy all the others. I enjoy reading the book component of these issues, and I imagine I will continue to buy any new releases in the series.

Each volume features a strange sort of packaging: on the front cover of the book (more of a lengthy booklet, really) is a CD spindle, and each package is housed in an incredibly flimsy resealable plastic sleeve. Since the CD is otherwise unprotected, you need those sleeves, but in the case of Droolian I've used it so much that the sleeve is approaching the state of being in tatters. These are odd-sized items and I don't have any good replacement sleeves that would fit, so what I really need to do is just put the discs in jewel cases and be done with it, but of course I want to reference those books all the time and the damage gets done to those flimsy sleeves.

Below I'll show each of these three recent purchases, first the front cover, then the back cover, then a random shot of a book spread. The artwork on the CD is identical to what you see on the book cover when the discs are removed, so I didn't bother to show the packages both with and without the discs in place.

First is Cope's Notes #1: The Teardrop Explodes (1978-1982), "48 page of previously unpublished handwritten lyrics, notes, poems & photographs; Included also is a 42-minute documentary soundtrack CD." He's really been mining the Teardrops era lately, as in 2021 he also issued an album called Cold War Psychedelia, half of which consists of 1982 Teardrop Explodes demos. (And it was Universal Music's doing, not Cope's, but 2023 also saw the new six-CD Teardrop Explodes box Culture Bunker 1978-82.)

Next we see Cope's Notes #3: World Shut Your Mouth. This one is devoted to exploring material ancillary to his 1987 solo album of the same name. In Cope's words, "38 pages of previously unpublished lyrics, poems, photographs +4,500-word memoir; Included also is a 35-minutes-long documentary CD."

Last, here is Cope's Notes #4: The Black Sheep, which chronicles the weird period during which Cope's music turned starkly to anarchic, para-military posturing. Black Sheep was ostensibly a music collective; Cope was the obvious leader, but there were Black Sheep spin-off albums that didn't include him. I've not heard any of those, but I did like the 2008 Black Sheep LP and its 2009 follow-up Kiss My Sweet Apocalypse.

In Cope's words, this one features "Forty-eight pages of revolutionary art and songs + an extensive memoir of the early Black Sheep period; Included also is over forty minutes of rare Black Sheep material, new versions and unheard songs."

Here is a shot of all five editions to date of the Cope's Notes series, including the two I purchased when this blog was on hiatus.

[autelrobotics-a]

EVO NANO Series

The Ultralight Companion For The Photography Enthusiast

1/1.28″ CMOS

EVO Nano+ is packed a 1/1.28-inch(0.8-inch) CMOS sensor capable of 50 MP photos. A RYYB color filter array design with a large aperture of f/1.9 offers superior noise reduction capabilities and the power to effortlessly produce quality images in low- light conditions.

Track fast-moving subjects with incredible precision through PDAF + CDAF autofocus system; Squeeze rich detail from shadows and highlights no matter how extreme the lighting conditions using HDR mode, which rapidly snaps several photos at different exposures so they can be stitched together in post-production.

1/1.28" (0.8") CMOS

RYYB Sensor

2.44μm Pixel

PDAF+CDAF Autofocus System

Super Sharp. Ultra Smooth.

The EVO Nano is equipped with a 48MP camera that can record ultra sharp 4K/30fps video. Paired with a three-axis mechanical gimbal to prevent vibration, the Nano provides everything you need to ensure your footage is smooth and stable no matter how rough the conditions.

1/2" CMOS    3-axis Gimbal

HDR: Darker Shadows. Brighter Highlights.

With HDR on, Nano and Nano+ will snap several photos at different exposures and automatically stitch them together- resulting in a photo with more contrast and dynamic range.

Add A Splash Of Color

Life is more than one color — and now so is your drone. Dress to impress with an elegant Arctic White. Fly under the radar cool and

confident with a sleek Deep Space Gray. Make a statement with Blazing Red. Or go boldly into the unknown with the classic Autel Orange.

Superlight. Ultracompact.

At only 249 grams, the EVO Nano and Nano+ weighs about as much as a smartphone and fits almost anywhere- from the side pocket of your hiking pack to the palm of your hand.

SkyPortrait: Your Personal Paparazzi

With the touch of a button, the Nano will rise into the air and snap a photo of you and your friends, automatically adjusting the lens so no one gets left out. Blur the background automatically for additional cinematic effect or dramatically reveal your epic destination — whether it's the top of a mountain or your own backyard.

Dynamic Track 2.1: Master Subject Tracking

Recruit your Nano to automatically follow any person, so you can focus on your activities while your Nano handles the cinematic side.

Cinematic Shots Proficiency With A Single Click

Create dramatic, professional-level shots at the touch of a button with four automatic shooting modes. Add a soundtrack and filters in the Autel Sky app to make your video even more epic, allowing you to produce unforgettable results whether you're a veteran pilot or completely new to the drone game.

MovieMaster:

Easy Movie Making And Sharing

The Autel Sky app provides you a suite of video templates for quick and easy movie-making, allowing you to drastically reduce the tedious editing process so you can create and share your creations on the spot!

SkyLink Video Transmission

Fly Free—More Range, Less Interference

Fly farther while maintaining crisp, clear visuals with the all new Autel SkyLink, our strongest image transmission system yet, which offers a transmission range of 6.2 miles, transmission quality of 2.7K/30FPS, and superior anti-interference capabilities, all while relaying stunning QHD video.

SuperDownload

Done shooting? Simply place your smartphone close to the Nano to download photos and videos at a speedy rate of 160Mbps(20MB/s) using the Autel Sky app.

SoundRecord: Bring Your Videos To Life

Record voices and ambient sounds on the ground through the smartphone, allowing you to bring your videos to life even when your drone is far away or use it to narrate while filming for better editing workflow.

Fly Safe With Advanced Obstacle Avoidance

The EVO Nano series is the first and only aircraft series of its size to offer an advanced obstacle avoidance system — making it the obvious choice for users looking to avoid crashes and preserve the life of their aircraft. With three-way binocular vision sensors that enable the drone to perceive obstructions in front of it, behind it, and below it. The EVO Nano series can easily brake to avoid collisions and navigate obstacles.

More Battery. More Time. More Creativity.

The EVO Nano can fly continuously for 28 minutes, which means plenty of time to experiment with creative angles and dream up inventive shots.

[programgamer]

I’ve been mulling over this for a while, and probably the simplest way I can explain why difficulty options in dark souls would undermine everything about the way it’s designed is that adding a “make this game not unfair” button to the “things are unfair on purpose but others can help you out” game kind of defeats the point of playing said game at all

Making dark souls, or any recent fromsoft game for that matter, into a generic and straightforward action game would strip it of so many interesting mechanics and interactions that it would be a real shame to experience the game that way for the first time. Yeah, there’s the whole “beating a boss feels really good because it’s hard” thing, but it’s not just that. Co-op wouldn’t feel like such a thrilling experience if things were balanced to be fair, the possibility of invasions wouldn’t add such an ambient tension to the game while human, player messages wouldn’t be genuinely helpful if the game wasn’t designed to be so obscure in the first place, and my friend who’s been a fan of the series since demon’s souls wouldn’t be able to give me advice on obscure mechanics. You really do have to think of dark souls as a multiplayer game to understand why it’s Like That, otherwise lots of its design decisions don’t add up, but once you do it all clicks

Basically, if you try to engage with dark souls as popular media rather than a weird artsy game made by what was at the time a budget studio that used to make dungeon crawlers for the playstation 1 and 2, then yeah, you’re going to miss the point entirely and have a bad time, and I think as long as the game industry doesn’t trend towards making this kind of game en masse and it stays the niche of a handful of studios at most, it’s fine if those games are a little inaccessible, as long as the tradeoff is that they’re interesting in a way that wouldn’t be possible otherwise

I don’t value the sanctity of dark souls difficulty or whatever, I’m not one of those hardcore weirdos who value their ability to beat a hard video game way too much (though I will admit it feels good, in a self-improvement, “I got better at the thing” way), but I do value weird creative visions that wouldn’t have materialized if people were totally unwilling to deviate from the norm you know, and also I want this type of game to keep getting made because I personally really enjoy them, and rn fromsoft is the only studio that reliably makes these

[physicopoem]

Formula 1 as a sport

Formula 1 is currently at its highest point of popularity in the world, as a result of the drive to survive series on Netflix. Currently all races have a minimum of 300 thousand live viewers and a lot of revenue worldwide, but is formula 1 really that entertaining, or a better question, is formula 1 a sport?

Personally, I consider myself a big fan of formula 1 since I have fallen in the great popularity it has had and started in 2019, but I have realized that motorsport has many buts to be considered a sport as such.

First of all, let's talk about all the buts it takes to get to be in formula 1. You could easily talk about talent alone, and that the most talented people are in Formula 1 and that's it, but it's not that simple. As this is a motor sport, a large percentage of the value of the victory is not in the driver and his talent, but also in the car, so the teams with less capital usually take drivers with a medium-low level but with a lot of money, so that they can invest in the creation of the car and to ensure a higher performance of this. As this is the case, many talents are lost in formula 2, formula 3 or even in go karts, because despite having a lot of talent, the lack of money is what has not allowed them to advance. Although we can find cases where there are drivers who started from the bottom and without money, it does not mean that all of them are like that.

On the other hand, there is the infrastructure factor for young people to apply to Formula 1. In the case of Europe, there are many leagues of go karts where they compete from children and that big brands go to take them to major leagues. Also, from go karts the payment for the maintenance of these karts is a lot and only people with a higher income can afford it. But in the case of Latin America and other developing countries, there are no such facilities due to lack of income and the government is not interested in investing in this either, so you could say that only people with money can really participate in this world of formula 1.

On the physical side, the drivers have to do a lot of work. Drivers have to thoroughly train their neck strength to withstand all the g-forces they suffer in the car, reaching up to 6 g-forces. The pilots have to be in very good physical condition because being in a car at more than 300 km per hour for two hours is very tiring, so much so that the pilots lose 3 to 5 kilos per race. On top of that, they have to endure high temperatures in the car due to the ambient temperature and the heat emitted by the engine.

In spite of everything already mentioned, I consider that Formula 1 could not be taken as a sport. This is because of all the complications of becoming a formula 1 driver. Furthermore, I consider that a sport should be very accessible, and that everything should depend on pure talent, but in the case of formula 1, a large percentage is due to the performance of the car. So in many occasions no matter how hard a driver tries, if his car is bad, he will not be able to aspire to much, which I feel is the most important factor that prevents it from being a sport as such.

[mccarthymolly]

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[gamesception]

Nice summary. Important to note that while some of the 2d games are "remakes" of others (zero mission a remake of Metroid 1, Samus Returns and AM2R remakes of Metroid 2) - those remakes don't displace the original the way the HD remaster of Metroid Prime on the switch can basically replace the gamecube original. The Metroid games, especially the 2d Metroid games, have stories and lore, but the games really aren't about that, they're about atmosphere and exploration and tone and mechanics. In every way that matters Metroid Zero Mission and Samus Returns are stand alone addition to the franchise, not replacements for Metroids 1 & 2. Re: Metroid 1, while "gameplay: unplayable" is fair, the main problem is that you start again with like 30 health and no missiles regardless of what your maximums are whenever you die or load a save file/password, which leads to intolerable grinding in the mid to late game to get back to the point where you can make another attempt at whatever part killed you. If you abuse save states to never die or use a romhack to that fixes this problem, the gameplay becomes a playable 4/10. Still old and jank, but worth experiencing to appreciate the origins and evolution of the series. I disagree on the Metroid 2 gameplay note. IMO the map is not so big that you can't get a mental handle on it even in without color, and Metroid 2 introduced energy & missle recharge stations to solve Metroid 1's fatal flaw. Not great gameplay, still very jank, but not unplayable, and again worth experiencing imo. Especially since 'atmosphere: good' doesn't do Metroid 2 justice. Solid 9/10, on par with some of the best in the series. There's something about the small cramped, claustrophobic gameboy screen that fits games exploration of narrow caves and dark caverns, or the relative lack of ambient music in most areas, with gameboy bleeps and bloops evoking the sounds of alien life, or the panicked battles with metroids that you just can't keep off of you - they're bad gameplay absolutely but there's this feeling to them that gets lost in the more fun but also more obviously gamey metroid fights in AM2R and Samus Returns. Oh, and I have played Samus Returns. I'd say gameplay 7/10 (mostly decent and mercury steam had interesting ideas with the free aim and melee counter, but both lock Samus in place which makes moment to moment gameply slow and jerky as every enemy makes you stop to either aim or counter, very cool to see them fix these features instead of abandoning them in dread to reach the best gameplay in the series) Atmosphere 7/10 (step down from the amazing atmosphere of the gameboy original, but still solid throughout most of the game, only really falling apart at the end) Exploration: 7/10. Again, solid, if unremarkable. Adds reasons to return and re-explore zones not present in the more linear structure of the original, but to the detriment of the overall pacing and atmosphere, so it's give & take. story/lore: 5/10 start from 2's minimal but solid foundations and piles on changes that are mostly bad, drawing from the comic lore which itself is mostly bad. Again though, metroid games aren't about story, so bad story/lore doesn't really detract. Samus Returns is the hardest to effectively play given that it's not on current systems and emulation doesn't really capture the experience of the 3ds's bottom touch screen and stereoscopic 3d top screen. It's not the most essential game in the franchise, so you can skip it, but if you can get your hands on a 3ds then it's worth playing to see just how much of Metroid Dread's best-in-franchise gameplay comes down to refining ideas first seen here. Going from Samus Returns to Metroid Dread is a really compelling example of how the best part of a great game can come from fixing, rather than just cutting, the worst aspects of a merely decent one.

[rjalker]

okay making it again since the first one doesn't want to show up in the tag, probably because of the link, so I'll put that in a reblog.

The Future of Work: Compulsory, by Martha Wells.

Also known as the short story prequel to The Murderbot Diaries

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

It’s not like I haven’t thought about killing the humans since I hacked my governor module. But then I started exploring the company servers and discovered hundreds of hours of downloadable entertainment media, and I figured, what’s the hurry? I can always kill the humans after the next series ends.

Even the humans think about killing the humans, especially here. I hate mines, and mining, and humans who work in mining, and of all the stupid mines I can remember, I hate this stupid mine the most. But the humans hate it more. My risk-assessment module predicts a 53 percent chance of a human-on-­human massacre before the end of the contract.

“Knobface,” Elane said to Asa. “You’re not the supervisor.”

Maybe that percentage should have been higher, the way the three humans on the observation platform were fighting about the flow rate. Not that I cared. I was in the entertainment feed, watching episode 44 of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon and monitoring ambient audio for keywords in the unlikely event that a human said something important.

“Those things make my insides creep.” That was Sekai, looking at me. Nobody likes SecUnits. Even I don’t like us. We’re part-­human, part-bot constructs, and we make everybody nervous and uncomfortable.

I didn’t react. I’m in full armor, and I keep my visor opaque. Also, 98 percent of my attention was on the episode I was watching: The colony solicitor’s bodyguard and best friend had just been crushed under debris while trying to save a transport mech trapped in a crash. Were they really going to kill her off? That sucked.

I didn’t realize anything had happened on the platform until I heard a strangled yell. I ran back my video: Asa had turned abruptly and accidentally bumped into Sekai, knocking her off the platform.

Great. I paused the episode and checked the monitoring drone down in the shaft. I couldn’t get a visual, but I tracked the power signature of Sekai’s suit. She bounced off the stabilizer wall (ouch) and hit a blade on the extractor housing. Gravity was lighter in the shaft, and there was a chance that the impacts hadn’t—yeah, she was moving. I isolated her comm signal and heard harsh, frightened breathing. She had 90 seconds before that blade moved and dumped her down to be incinerated in the collectors.

You would think dealing with this would be my job. But no, my job is: 1) to prevent the workers from stealing company property, everything from tools to disposable napkins from the mess hall; 2) to prevent the workers from injuring and/or killing management, no matter how tempting the prospect might be; and 3) to prevent the workers from intentionally harming one another in ways that might diminish productivity. So HubSystem’s response to my alert was to tell me to stay in position.

The mine was run by cheap, venal bastards, so the nearest safety bot was 200 meters above us. HubSystem ordered me to stay in position; SafetyResponder28 was incoming. It would arrive just in time to retrieve the smoldering lump formerly known as Sekai.

Asa, realizing what he’d done, was making a noise that did uncomfortable things to the organic parts in my head. Elane was sobbing. I could have ignored them and gone back to the episode, but I liked the colony solicitor’s bodyguard and I didn’t want her to be dead. Sekai, a human I was technically responsible for, would be dead soon too.

With my governor module inert, I sometimes do things and I’m not entirely sure why. (Apparently getting free will after having 93 percent of your behavior controlled for your entire existence will do weird things to your impulse control.) Without thinking about it, I stepped off the edge of the platform.

As I fell down the shaft, I kicked the stabilizer wall to push myself into the lighter gravity well. I landed on the housing above Sekai, just as HubSystem sent a command to my governor module that should have flash-fried my inorganic parts and soft human bits. Ha.

Sekai looked up at me, eyes wide. Her helmet had cracked (that’s what cut-rate safety equipment gets you) and her face was streaked with tears. I initiated a secure audio link between my armor and her suit, hooked one hand around the edge of the housing, and reached down. “We have 45 seconds to get out of here before we both die,” I said.

She gasped and shoved upward to grab my arm. As I pulled her against my chest, the blade cycled and dropped. A blast of heat and radiation washed over us. Sekai made an “eep” noise. I wanted to make an “eep” noise too, but I was busy. I said, “Just hook your harness to me.”

She fumbled the clips into place and got them fastened. Now I was free to focus on phase 2 of this stupid plan. I’d hacked HubSystem when I was first shipped here. Now I needed to make it forget what it had just seen. No—I needed to make this look like HubSystem’s idea.

By the time I’d climbed the shaft and slung us both up onto the platform, HubSystem was convinced that it had ordered me to rescue Sekai. I set her on her feet, filtering out the crying on the comm, and pulled up the management feed that I wasn’t supposed to have access to. Good: The supervisors were puzzled that HubSystem had directed a SecUnit to save a worker, but figured it was a productivity issue. Sekai and the others would be hit with fines for almost clogging the collectors with her burning body, but it was better than being dead. I guess.

Elane tried to pull Sekai away, but she turned back and stumbled toward me. “Thank you,” she said. It was like she could see me through my visor, which was a terrifying enough thought that my performance reliability dropped 3 percent.

Asa took her arm gently. “They can’t talk,” he told her.

She shook her head as her friends steered her toward the access bridge. “No, it talked. I heard it.”

Back at my guard station, I started the episode again. Maybe somebody would save the colony solicitor’s bodyguard too.

[kyberconfessions]

No Matter Where You Go, I Will Find You. part 1

So this is the first full length story I have worked on in years. It will be different from all the snippets and one shots I have shared lately and will continue on in a multi-part series, spanning across Clone Wars and Rebels and into a bit of Legends Star Wars.

This will eventually be a 18+ older fic and will deal with anxiety, death, sex,  PTSD, murder, loss, found family, Order 66, and coming to terms. This is not just a fluff fic. It will very much be dealing with very dark and hard themes, so please, if that is something that can be too hard for you, don’t read.

Pairings: Rex x Reader x Cody (polyamory)

Rating: 18+ 

TW: Death, Murder, infanticide, death of the Jedi, PTSD, Loss, Anxiety, eating disorders, sleep disorders, Order 66. I will add other things as I think about them.

Part 1: Memories, Floating

You held tight to Rex, your grip on his blacks stretching out the material. He would never complain though. Cody came up from behind, hands on your hips as he gently kissed your shoulder.

"Cyare, it'll be okay. I'll be back before you know it. And then the war will be over and we'll go on a 'diplomatic mission to Alderaan'. All three of us." Even though his words were sweet, his arms pulled you tighter to him. 

"I can't help it, Rex. I keep having these dreams, these...visions. I'm so worried something bad is going to happen."

Rex breathed out his nose in a deep sigh and held you at arms length. Cody came around as well, standing in front of you, hands close to Rex's. Rex whispered your name, but you couldn't hear what he said afterwards.

Everything was muffled and starting to fade.

You panicked, trying to hold on for a few more moments. But everything was gone. Faded into nothingness, leaving you alone.

You shot up from your bed, covered in sweat. The little charms and baubles you had hanging from your makeshift bunk tinked and jingled as they hit your head. It was dark in your small ship, the blackness of space doing little for ambient light. A few, small, glowing spots littered around, giving an eerie feel to the silence.

 You groaned, leaning your arms across your knees, your small, threadbare blanket pooling in your lap.

It seemed like such a lifetime ago, that dream. A memory from before when everything was still normal, still happy.

Your brought a shaky hand to your face and wiped your brow. What was going on with you?  How many nights was it now? How many times did those faces haunt you? It didn't matter, they had to be dead. But it didn't stop your heart from hurting. They turned against you, but you couldn't stop that clenching in your chest, that feeling of emptiness clawing up your throat.

In your frustration, you wretched your small pillow from behind you and threw it across the hull, screaming and raking your fingers through your hair.

You were so tired of seeing their faces, of hearing their voices, of feeling their touch. You just wanted it to stop.

But you guessed this was your penance. This was the Force punishing you for breaking your most sacred code, for surviving when better Jedi had fallen, for walking away and becoming a bounty hunter. 

You leaned your head back; eyes closed as you felt your tears fall into your hairline. But they were gone. Your heart was ripped away. Your Master was gone too, on some back water planet, probably dead as well. Your sister was dead too, gone with your beloved. You hated to think he killed her. That your most beloved killed his vod'ika. And worst of all, your big brother was the most vile thing in the galaxy, hunting everyone down. Everything you knew or loved or were was buried under the Empire.

There was a beeping. A loud, irritating sound coming from the front of your ship. It cut through the silence of space and your thoughts like an angry rancor. You brought your head forward and let it loll onto your shoulder, staring at the red light that accompanied the trill sound. Someone was calling you. You thought about ignoring it, it could be someone looking to hire you, or Senator Organa checking up on you, or even Fett. You hate him the most. He looked just like them. He sounded like them. When he whispered your name at night...no. It was probably one of them and kark em. You hated them all. You hated how they used you, how they feigned their worry, how they looked at you, knowing you'd always keep their bed warm, even if you hated them.  

  But that light kept blinking and that sound kept beeping and soon you were out of your bed, grumbling into your chair and hitting your console.

"Whoever this is, you better have a good kriffing reason. And I swear to Maker if this is you Fett, I'm hanging up now."

"PRETTY LADY!" 

Hondo. That idiot pirate king now smuggler pushed his face into his receiver, the fish eye lense on his console warping him features in the blue light that was shown from yours.

You sighed and curled up into your chair, the collar of your old, faded, black shirt falling over your shoulder. The long necklace you always wore with two scored pieces of duriplast, fell from your shirt and got caught in the fabric.

You absent-mindedly played with it, the blue and gold colors flashing between your fingers. "What do you want Hondo?"

"Oh?! Is that how you treat your oldest friend? Pretty Lady, I am hurt. You have fired a bolt right into my heart. I am nothing but anguish as my last breath leaves my chest at your cruel words. I..."

"Hondo. It's late, I'm tired."

"No one ever appreciates me or my sweet words anymore." 

"Hondo." You cut him off of his grumbling, running a hand down your face. An act he didn't miss.

"Pretty Lady, when was the last time you ate a meal that wasn't a ration bar? Or when you slept for more than an hour?"

You looked away chewing on your cheek and breathing out your nose. 

"You know I worry about you. I made a promise to our dear Kenobi..."

"I know Hondo. I'm sorry for snapping."

"It's alright, Pretty Lady. But! I didn't just call you for pleasantries! I have a new lead! One I think you'll really love."

You perked up at that and sat up straighter in your chair. 

"Hondo, don't you mess with me."

"When have I ever messed with you?"

Your eyebrow raised up and you leveled him with a look.

"Okay okay, when have I ever messed with you when it comes to these matters?"

You looked over your shoulder at a door against your wall, before turning back to Hondo.

"What have you got?"

[drnikolatesla]

Nikola Tesla On X-Rays, Electrons, Radiation and Cosmic Rays

History tells us that J. J. Thomson discovered the electron, Marie Curie radiation, Albert Einstein the photoelectric effect, and Victory Hess the cosmic ray, but below is proof Nikola Tesla was the first to discover the electron (a year before Thomson), radioactivity (2 years before Curie), the photoelectric effect (9 years before Einstein) and Cosmic Rays (16 years before Hess). All went on to win Nobel Prizes.

“TESLA’S LATEST ROENTGEN RAY INVESTIGATIONS.” The Electrical Review, April 22nd, 1896.

“Further investigations concerning the behavior of the various metals in regard to reflection of these radiations have given additional support to the opinion which I have before expressed; namely, that Volta’s electric contact series in air is identical with that which is obtained when arranging the metals according to their powers of reflection, the most electro-positive metal being the best reflector. Confining myself to the metals easily experimented upon, this series is magnesium, lead, tin, iron, copper, silver, gold and platinum. The lastnamed metal should be found to be the poorest, and sodium one of the best, reflectors. This relation is rendered still more interesting and suggestive when we consider that this series is approximately the same which is obtained when arranging the metals according to their energies of combination with oxygen, as calculated from their chemical equivalents.

"Should the above relation be confirmed by other physicists, we shall be justified to draw the following conclusions: First, the highly exhausted bulb emits material streams which, impinging on a metallic surface, are reflected; second, these streams are formed of matter in some primary or elementary condition; third, these material streams are probably the same agent which is the cause of the electro-motive tension between metals in close proximity or actual contact, and they may possibly, to some extent, determine the energy of combination of the metals with oxygen; fourth, every metal or conductor is more or less a source of such streams; fifth, these streams or radiations must be produced by some radiations which exist in the medium; and sixth, streams resembling the cathodic must be emitted by the sun and probably also by other sources of radiant energy, such as an arc light or Bunsen burner.

"The first of these conclusions, assuming the above-cited fact to be correct, is evident and uncontrovertible. No theory of vibration of any kind would account for this singular relation between the powers of reflection and electric properties of the metals. Streams of projected matter coming in actual contact with the reflecting metal surface afford the only plausible explanation.

"The second conclusion is likewise obvious, since no difference whatever is observed by employing various qualities of glass for the bulb, electrodes of different metals and any kind of residual gases. Evidently, whatever the matter constituting the streams may be, it must undergo a change in the process of expulsion, or, generally speaking, projection — since the views in this regard still differ — in such a way as to lose entirely the characteristics which it possessed when forming the electrode, or wall of the bulb, or the gaseous contents of the latter.

"The existence of the above relation between the reflecting and contact series forces us likewise to the third conclusion, because a mere coincidence of that kind is, to say the least, extremely improbable. Besides, the fact may be cited that there is always a difference of potential set up between two metal plates at some distance and in the path of the rays issuing from an exhausted bulb.

"Now, since there exists an electric pressure of difference of potential between two metals in close proximity or contact, we must, when considering all the foregoing, come to the fourth conclusion, namely, that the metals emit similar streams, and I therefore anticipate that, if a sensitive film be placed between two plates, say, of magnesium and copper, a true Roentgen shadow picture would be obtained after a very long exposure in the dark. Or, in general, such picture could be secured whenever the plate is placed near a metallic or conducting body, leaving for the present the insulators out of consideration. Sodium, one of the first of the electric contact series, but not yet experimented upon, should give out more of such streams than even magnesium.

"Obviously, such streams could not be forever emitted, unless there is a continuous supply of radiation from the medium in some other form; or possibly the streams which the bodies themselves emit are merely reflected streams coming from other sources. But since all investigation has strengthened the opinion advanced by Roentgen that for the production of these radiations some impact is required, the former of the two possibilities is the more probable one, and we must assume that the radiations existing in the medium and giving rise to those here considered partake something of the nature of cathodic streams.

"But if such streams exist all around us in the ambient medium, the question arises, whence do they come? The only answer is: From the sun. I infer, therefore, that the sun and other sources of radiant energy must, in a less degree, emit radiations or streams of matter similar to those thrown off by an electrode in a highly exhausted inclosure. This seems to be, at this moment, still a point of controversy. According to my present convictions a Roentgen shadow picture should, with very long exposures, be obtained from all sources of radiant energy, provided the radiations are permitted first to impinge upon a metal or other body.”

“The preceding considerations tend to show that the lumps of matter composing a cathodic stream in the bulb are broken up into incomparably smaller particles by impact against the wall of the latter, and, owing to this, are enabled to pass into the air. All evidence which I have so far obtained points rather to this than to the throwing off of particles of the wall itself under the violent impact of the cathodic stream. According to my convictions, then, the difference between Lenard and Roentgen rays, if there be any, lies solely in this, that the particles composing the latter are incomparably smaller and possess a higher velocity. To these two qualifications I chiefly attribute the non-deflectibility by a magnet which I believe will be disproved in the end. Both kinds of rays, however, affect the sensitive plate and fluorescent screen, only the rays discovered by Roentgen are much more effective. We know now that these rays are produced under certain exceptional conditions in a bulb, the vacuum being extremely high, and that the range of greatest activity is rather small.

"I have endeavored to find whether the reflected rays possess certain distinctive features, and I have taken pictures of various objects with this purpose in view, but no marked difference was noted in any case. I therefore conclude that the matter composing the Roentgen rays does not suffer further degradation by impact against bodies. One of the most important tasks for the experimenter remains still to determine what becomes of the energy of these rays. In a number of experiments with rays reflected from and transmitted through a conducting of insulating plate, I found that only a small part of the rays could be accounted for. For instance, through a zinc plate, one-sixteenth of an inch thick, under an incident angle of 45 degrees, about two and one-half per cent were reflected and about three per cent transmitted through the plate, hence over 94 per cent of the total radiation remain to be accounted for. All the tests which I have been able to make have confirmed Roentgen’s statement that these rays are incapable of raising the temperature of a body. To trace this lost energy and account for it in a plausible way will be equivalent to making a new discovery.

"Since it is now demonstrated that all bodies reflect more or less, the diffusion through the air is easily accounted for. Observing the tendency to scatter through the air, I have been led to increase the efficiency of reflectors by providing not one, but separated successive layers for reflection, by making the reflector of thin sheets of metal, mica or other substances. The efficiency of mica as a reflector I attribute chiefly to the fact that it is composed of many superimposed layers which reflect individually. These many successive reflections are, in my opinion, also the cause of the scattering through the air.

"In my communication to you of April 1, I have for the first time stated that these rays are composed of matter in a “primary” or elementary condition or state. I have chosen this mode of expression in order to avoid the use of the word “ether,” which is usually understood in the sense of the Maxwellian interpretation, which would not be in accord with my present convictions in regard to the nature of the radiations.”

—Nikola Tesla

[thepotentialof2007]

Images in post are screencaps of a series of tweets dated October 20, 2023 from @mattpt55 [Yes, THAT Matt Trumpets] whose twitter bio reads in part "Musician, MissedApex Podcaster NYC"

Link to start of thread on Nitter: https://nitter.net/mattpt55/status/1715390123213304074#m

Transcript of included tweets follows:

OK @MissedApexF1 I just wanna take a brief moment to explain what "wet bulb" temperature is, why it matters relative to ambient and how that explains why, even tho there have been hotter and more humid races, the Qatar race was more problematic. So here we go, hang on tight

Right so first off, wet bulb temps are basically wrap a grade A regular old thermometer bulb in a wet cloth, set it out in the sun and see what it reads...usually, thanks to evaporation, it will be LOWER than ambient temps. If that is the case, you are fine carry on...

However in the rare event it is equal to ambient temps, you have a problem, as if you are sportsing, your sweat will no longer cool you off and you will start to build core temps, headed towards heat exhaustion and eventually heat stroke, if there is no intervention...

And as happens, recent research suggests that this happens at a much lower combo of heat/humidity than was previously thought, namely above 31C and 50% relative humidity. Converted to ambient that is 100% humidity at 31C and 60% humidity at 38C. At which point I remind you that

1) F1 cockpits wayyyy hotter than 38C and 2) Sunday conditions were 31.8C and 73% humidity with little wind...Saturday it was 61% and same temps but windier. Here is the link to the article (includes study links) https://earthsky.org/earth/wet-bulb-temperature-explained-dangers/

But wait, haven't there been hotter and more humid races you are no doubt muttering to yourself... well in the brief look I've had the answer is yes, but it is the combo of heat AND humidity that really matters here. And no, haven't yet found one over tho....

I've hardly spent much time looking for the other, following reason...the specific track conditions at Qatar, combined with the advances in aero, significantly reduced the usefulness of the passive cooling employed by teams....namely

Driver cooling ducts, not required and the high speeds (only one slow corner) and long turns together mean that duct is mostly useless due to high pressure wake created by front wing and significant time in turns (yaw if ya wanna be all fancy) combined with advances in reducing driver buffeting in cockpit, not to mention they sit much lower and more protected.... (cockpits are terrible for aero so it is a constant struggle to improve the flow, and again the faster you go the less air the driver receives)

But you don't have to believe me on this part, as look at the driver quotes about not getting air, Russell in the pitlane and with the gloves etc, it was very VERY clear that passive cooling was useless in these conditions at this track...

And without that, there is no keeping heat exhaustion/heat stroke at bay. So I do expect both a lot of conversation about wet bulb temps and driver cooling this weekend so hopefully you will now be able to appreciate them a bit more....Fin

Thought this might interest people...Albon mentioned in an interview that what basically happened was like a "wet bulb" effect/situation. Matt of the MissedApex podcast explains what this is and just how brutal the conditions were for the drivers who actually participated in the race:

Also, another thing to mention John Watson (former F1 driver) made a good point in a podcast (The F1 Pod on Off the Ball) with Bernie Collins about how the tall drivers were the worst affected due to the fact they lack body fat/weight that their body could use to help keep them hydrated. The entire first part of this podcast is definitely worth watching/listening to if you have time.