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symbioticblog · 2 years ago

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Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs): The Heart of Automated Systems

In today's technology-driven world, automation is playing a crucial role in various industries. Automated systems have become essential for companies to achieve efficiency, accuracy, and cost savings. The backbone of these automated systems is the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). In this blog post, we will explore the basics of PLC control panels and how they work.

What is a PLC Control Panel?

A PLC control panel is a modular, programmable control system that is used to automate industrial processes and control machinery. It consists of a central processing unit (CPU), input/output (I/O) modules, and programming software. The CPU processes the signals from the I/O modules and executes the program logic that has been stored in its memory.

How Does a PLC Control Panel Work?

A PLC control panel works by monitoring inputs from sensors and devices and then controlling outputs to actuators and other devices based on the program logic. The program logic is stored in the PLC's memory and can be modified as needed. The PLC can communicate with other systems, such as sensors and actuators, via various communication protocols, such as RS-232, RS-485, and Ethernet.

Advantages of Using a PLC Control Panel

Versatility: PLCs are designed to control a wide range of automated processes, making them suitable for use in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, food and beverage, and water treatment.

Accuracy: PLCs are highly accurate and reliable, reducing the risk of human error and ensuring consistent performance.

Cost-effective: PLCs are cost-effective compared to other control systems and can be programmed to control multiple processes, reducing the need for multiple control panels.

Scalability: PLCs are easily scalable, making it possible to add or remove I/O modules as needed, without having to replace the entire control panel.

Easy to program: PLCs use a graphical programming language, making them easy to program and modify.

Easy to maintain: PLCs are designed to be easy to maintain, with built-in diagnostics and remote monitoring capabilities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, PLC control panels are a crucial component of automated systems, providing versatility, accuracy, and cost savings. Whether you are looking to automate a manufacturing process, control a water treatment system, or monitor a food and beverage production line, a PLC control panel is an excellent choice. With the right PLC and control panel, you can enjoy the benefits of automation and take your business to the next level.

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#Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs): The Heart of Automated Systems #control panels manufacturers in bangalore

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wheelsgoroundincircles · 3 months ago

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1969 Holden Hurricane Concept

Holden has gone back to the future, restoring its very first concept car - the 1969 Holden Hurricane Concept.

The futuristic research vehicle described as an experiment "to study design trend, propulsion systems and other long range developments" has been restored to its former glory as a labour of love by a dedicated group of Holden designers and engineers.

Code named RD 001; the Holden Hurricane is a mid-engined, rear-wheel drive, two-seater sports car which incorporates a remarkable array of innovative features and technology, much of it way ahead of its time.

Features such as electronic digital instrument displays, station-seeking radio, automatic temperature control air conditioning, rear vision camera and an automated route finder were all showcased in this ground-breaking vehicle 42 years ago. Many of these technologies have only recently made their way into mass production, demonstrating Holden's remarkable foresight into both design and engineering technology.

The Holden Hurricane stole headlines and dropped jaws nationwide when it debuted at the 1969 Melbourne Motor Show.

Michael Simcoe, Executive Director GMIO Design, said it was fantastic to see such a significant vehicle restored.

"At Holden we have always prided ourselves on our ability to look into the future through our concept cars," Mr Simcoe said.

"It's amazing to think that the features we take for granted today were born out of creative minds over 40 years ago."

As its code name suggests, the RD 001 was the first product of the GMH Research and Development organisation, staffed by a small squad of engineers working in conjunction with the Advance Styling Group at the Fishermans Bend Technical Centre in the 1960s.

The team that designed and built the original Holden Hurricane employed some advanced technologies and techniques when it came to the powertrain. Powered by an experimental 4.2-litre (253 cubic inch) V8, this engine was a precursor to the Holden V8 engine program which entered production in late 1969.

The Holden Hurricane's V8 engine featured many advanced design components such as the four-barrel carburettor - a feature which wouldn't be seen on a production 253ci Holden V8 until the late 1970s. The end result was approximately 262hp (193kW), a towering power output in 1969 and one that ensured the Holden Hurricane had the go to match its show.

But perhaps the two most innovative features were the "Pathfinder" route guidance system and the rear-view camera.

The "Pathfinder", essentially a pre-GPS navigation system, relied on a system of magnets embedded at intersections along the road network to guide the driver along the desired route. A dash-mounted panel informed the driver of which turn to take by illuminating different arrows, as well as sounding a warning buzzer.

The rear-view camera was also a ground-breaking innovation.

Engineers using a Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) system with a camera mounted in the rear bumper feeding vision to a small black-and-white TV mounted in the centre console.

Former Holden Chief Studio Engineer Rick Martin led the modern-day Hurricane team in researching the vehicle's components, systems and history in order to restore it.

"There are some genuinely remarkable ideas and technology in the Hurricane," said Mr Martin.

"From the automatic air-conditioning and magnet-based guidance system, to the inertia-reel seat belts and metallic paint, this was a car that was genuinely ahead of its time.

"The hand-picked team of engineers and designers who built the original Holden Hurricane worked in strict secrecy and began Holden's now proud tradition of ground-breaking concept cars."

RD 001 stands just 990mm high and has no doors in the conventional sense. A hydraulically-powered canopy opens upwards and forward over the front wheels, combined with twin "astronaut type" power-elevating seats which rise up and pivot forward, along with the steering column for ease of access. Occupants are then lowered to a semi-reclining position before the roof closes over them.

The wind tunnel-tested fibreglass body consists of three segments; the canopy, the engine hood and body shell and was finished in an experimental aluminium flake-based metallic orange paint.

Safety innovations included a foam-lined fuel tank, integrated roll-over bar, digital instrument readouts, ignition safety locks, interior padding and a fire warning system.

The project to restore RD 001 began in 2006 and has been a genuine labour of love for some very dedicated Holden employees. The entire restoration process has been driven primarily by volunteer labour from Holden designers and engineers in their spare time.

But the Hurricane first entered Holden Design in less than immaculate condition. RD 001 had a residency in a trade school where apprentices practised their welding on the priceless concept.

After being returned to Holden in 2006, the Hurricane restoration project has taken many thousands of painstaking man hours to lovingly restore RD 001 to concourse condition.

Holden's Manager for Creative Hard Modelling, Paul Clarke, has been largely responsible for managing the restoration of RD 001. He ensured as many of the original parts as possible have been used or remade using modern techniques to 1969 specification, in order to preserve the authenticity of this hugely important Holden.

"The entire team has done a fantastic job in bringing this beautiful concept back to life," Mr Clarke said.

"The talent we have within the Holden organisation is simply outstanding. Every time we take on a project I'm constantly amazed by the passion and talent in this company, making it a genuine pleasure to work on these projects.

"The Hurricane plays a crucial role in Holden's story and the company has such a great sense of history and heritage that it was very important to bring RD 001 back to life. It's been a challenging but incredibly rewarding process."

Since the debut of the Holden Hurricane Concept in 1969, Holden has continued to build a global reputation for envisioning and executing world-class concept vehicles. Holden is recognised globally within General Motors as a centre of excellence for concept vehicle and show car development and is one of only three GM design studios that is capable to design and build concept cars.

Michael Simcoe added that the Hurricane holds a particularly special place in Holden's history as it kick-started Holden's long love affair with concepts that has since seen the likes of the iconic GTR-X, Torana TT36, Coupe 60, the GMC Denali XT (which was requested specifically by GM for the North American market) and the award-winning Efijy.

Holden Hurricane Concept (1969)

#Holden Hurricane Concept #Holden Hurricane #Hurricane #car #cars #Holden

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mostlysignssomeportents · 4 months ago

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The reverse-centaur apocalypse is upon us

I'm coming to DEFCON! On Aug 9, I'm emceeing the EFF POKER TOURNAMENT (noon at the Horseshoe Poker Room), and appearing on the BRICKED AND ABANDONED panel (5PM, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01). On Aug 10, I'm giving a keynote called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE! How hackers can seize the means of computation and build a new, good internet that is hardened against our asshole bosses' insatiable horniness for enshittification" (noon, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01).

In thinking about the relationship between tech and labor, one of the most useful conceptual frameworks is "centaurs" vs "reverse-centaurs":

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/17/revenge-of-the-chickenized-reverse-centaurs/

A centaur is someone whose work is supercharged by automation: you are a human head atop the tireless body of a machine that lets you get more done than you could ever do on your own.

A reverse-centaur is someone who is harnessed to the machine, reduced to a mere peripheral for a cruelly tireless robotic overlord that directs you to do the work that it can't, at a robotic pace, until your body and mind are smashed.

Bosses love being centaurs. While workplace monitoring is as old as Taylorism – the "scientific management" of the previous century that saw labcoated frauds dictating the fine movements of working people in a kabuki of "efficiency" – the lockdowns saw an explosion of bossware, the digital tools that let bosses monitor employees to a degree and at a scale that far outstrips the capacity of any unassisted human being.

Armed with bossware, your boss becomes a centaur, able to monitor you down to your keystrokes, the movements of your eyes, even the ambient sound around you. It was this technology that transformed "work from home" into "live at work." But bossware doesn't just let your boss spy on you – it lets your boss control you. \

It turns you into a reverse-centaur.

"Data At Work" is a research project from Cracked Labs that dives deep into the use of surveillance and control technology in a variety of workplaces – including workers' own cars and homes:

https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work

It consists of a series of papers that take deep dives into different vendors' bossware products, exploring how they are advertised, how they are used, and (crucially) how they make workers feel. There are also sections on how these interact with EU labor laws (the project is underwritten by the Austrian Arbeiterkammer), with the occasional aside about how weak US labor laws are.

The latest report in the series comes from Wolfie Christl, digging into Microsoft's "Dynamics 365," a suite of mobile apps designed to exert control over "field workers" – repair technicians, security guards, cleaners, and home help for ill, elderly and disabled people:

https://crackedlabs.org/dl/CrackedLabs_Christl_MobileWork.pdf

It's…not good. Microsoft advises its customers to use its products to track workers' location every "60 to 300 seconds." Workers are given tasks broken down into subtasks, each with its own expected time to completion. Workers are expected to use the app every time they arrive at a site, begin or complete a task or subtask, or start or end a break.

For bosses, all of this turns into a dashboard that shows how each worker is performing from instant to instant, whether they are meeting time targets, and whether they are spending more time on a task than the client's billing rate will pay for. Each work order has a clock showing elapsed seconds since it was issued.

For workers, the system generates new schedules with new work orders all day long, refreshing your work schedule as frequently as twice per hour. Bosses can flag workers as available for jobs that fall outside their territories and/or working hours, and the system will assign workers to jobs that require them to work in their off hours and travel long distances to do so.

Each task and subtask has a target time based on "AI" predictions. These are classic examples of Goodhart's Law: "any metric eventually becomes a target." The average time that workers take becomes the maximum time that a worker is allowed to take. Some jobs are easy, and can be completed in less time than assigned. When this happens, the average time to do a job shrinks, and the time allotted for normal (or difficult) jobs contracts.

Bosses get stack-ranks of workers showing which workers closed the most tickets, worked the fastest, spent the least time idle between jobs, and, of course, whether the client gave them five stars. Workers know it, creating an impossible bind: to do the job well, in a friendly fashion, the worker has to take time to talk with the client, understand their needs, and do the job. Anything less will generate unfavorable reports from clients. But doing this will blow through time quotas, which produces bad reports from the bossware. Heads you lose, tails the boss wins.

Predictably, Microsoft has shoveled "AI" into every corner of this product. Bosses don't just get charts showing them which workers are "underperforming" – they also get summaries of all the narrative aspects of the workers' reports (e.g. "My client was in severe pain so I took extra time to make her comfortable before leaving"), filled with the usual hallucinations and other botshit.

No boss could exert this kind of fine-grained, soul-destroying control over any workforce, much less a workforce that is out in the field all day, without Microsoft's automation tools. Armed with Dynamics 365, a boss becomes a true centaur, capable of superhuman feats of labor abuse.

And when workers are subjected to Dynamics 365, they become true reverse-centaurs, driven by "digital whips" to work at a pace that outstrips the long-term capacity of their minds and bodies to bear it. The enthnographic parts of the report veer between chilling and heartbreaking.

Microsoft strenuously objects to this characterization, insisting that their tool (which they advise bosses to use to check on workers' location every 60-300 seconds) is not a "surveillance" tool, it's a "coordination" tool. They say that all the AI in the tool is "Responsible AI," which is doubtless a great comfort to workers.

In Microsoft's (mild) defense, they are not unique. Other reports in the series show how retail workers and hotel housekeepers are subjected to "despot on demand" services provided by Oracle:

https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work/publications/retail-hospitality

Call centers, are even worse. After all, most of this stuff started with call centers:

https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work/publications/callcenter

I've written about Arise, a predatory "work from home" company that targets Black women to pay the company to work for it (they also have to pay if they quit!). Of course, they can be fired at will:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/29/impunity-corrodes/#arise-ye-prisoners

There's also a report about Celonis, a giant German company no one has ever heard of, which gathers a truly nightmarish quantity of information about white-collar workers' activities, subjecting them to AI phrenology to judge their "emotional quality" as well as other metrics:

https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work/publications/processmining-algomanage

As Celonis shows, this stuff is coming for all of us. I've dubbed this process "the shitty technology adoption curve": the terrible things we do to prisoners, asylum seekers and people in mental institutions today gets repackaged tomorrow for students, parolees, Uber drivers and blue-collar workers. Then it works its way up the privilege gradient, until we're all being turned into reverse-centaurs under the "digital whip" of a centaur boss:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/11/25/the-peoples-amazon/#clippys-revenge

In mediating between asshole bosses and the workers they destroy, these bossware technologies do more than automate: they also insulate. Thanks to bossware, your boss doesn't have to look you in the eye (or come within range of your fists) to check in on you every 60 seconds and tell you that you've taken 11 seconds too long on a task. I recently learned a useful term for this: an "accountability sink," as described by Dan Davies in his new book, The Unaccountability Machine, which is high on my (very long) list of books to read:

https://profilebooks.com/work/the-unaccountability-machine/

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/02/despotism-on-demand/#virtual-whips

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

#pluralistic #bossware #surveillance #microsoft #gig work #reverse centaurs #labor #Wolfie Christl #cracked labs #data at work #AlgorithmWatch #Arbeiterkammer #austria #call centers #retail #dystopianism #torment nexus #shitty technology adoption curve

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liongoatsnake · 3 months ago

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ESSAY: My Hearthome in ABZÛ

by Ocean Watcher from House of Chimeras (He/they) I was inspired to write this essay after attending the panel, "No Place Like Home: On Hearthomes" at Othercon 2024 Note: This won't be the official home of this essay. I'm planning on adding it to our system's website, The Chimeras Library sometime in the future either as a standalone essay or part of something bigger.

My Hearthome in ABZU

by Ocean Watcher from House of Chimeras Date Written: 15 August 2024 Approx. Word Count: ~2,180

Approx. Reading Time: ~17 minutes

“They say home is where the heart is, and for most people it consists of four walls and a welcome mat. For me, it’s the ocean.” ~ Bethany Hamilton, Soul Surfer. Directed by Sean McNamara. California: Sony Pictures Releasing, 2011.

Defining Hearthome

A hearthome is a location, whether real or otherwise, that an individual has a strong emotional connection toward to the point it feels like a “home,” typically despite never having lived or spent a significant amount of time there. The specifics on what qualifies as a hearthome within this general definition is largely up for personal interpretation.

The location in question can be as all-encompassing as a whole planet all the way down to something much, much smaller. The location could be a real place (whether that be one that still currently exists or a location that once existed but doesn’t anymore), a setting depicted in fictional media, or something else entirely. It can also be a specific easily named location or merely a general description of a place. Finally, the exact kind of emotional connection and feeling like “home” a location can elicit can range from a feeling of familiarity, of comfort and relaxation, safety, nostalgia, homesickness, and/or more. In short, within the definition of hearthome there are many possibilities on how the experience can exist.

The term used to describe someone who has a hearthome or the state of having a hearthome is sometimes called hearthic, though not everyone uses it. (So, for example someone might say “I have a hearthome in [insert place here]” rather than saying “I am [insert place here]hearthic.” Whether hearthic is used or not alongside the term hearthome is largely personal preference.

Describing ABZÛ

ABZÛ (also written as Abzû) is a video game initially released in 2016. The game fits within several genres including adventure, simulation, and art video game. It has no dialogue and so the story is told solely through visuals. The main draw of the game is the graphics put into the diverse ocean environments and the wide range of marine life that inhabits each area. Most of ABZÛ is home to animal species that can be found in today’s oceans; however, there are over a dozen or so species that appear in the game that went extinct a long time ago.

The gameplay itself consists of the player controlling an android diver exploring a large variety of ocean environments in a vast ocean and getting to see a myriad of marine life at every turn.

Knowing the backstory of what occurs isn’t needed, but for some context: Deep at the bottom of this ocean was a primordial source of infinite energy. Where the energy permeated from the ground life spontaneously came into being. An ancient civilization discovered they could collect and use it to create (marine) life whenever and wherever they wished. However, at some point, they created machines to automate the process. The creation of these machines caused a disruption of the natural flow of life as they took up so much energy they drained the vitality of the ocean away. The civilization disappeared, leaving their machines to continue to operate. The objective of the player-controlled robot diver, another creation of the ancient civilization, is to return the energy back to the ocean and put an end to the machines causing the destruction.

ABZÛ is overall a short game, with most players seeming to complete it within an hour and thirty minutes to two hours, on average.

Home is Where the Heart Is Indeed

So, my hearthome is ABZÛ.

To start, I want to put some context between the game ABZÛ and my hearthome ABZÛ. The environments in the game are striking and hold an emotional importance to an extent that I have labeled it as a hearthome; however, the ABZÛ that I think of in my mind’s eye and thoughts is not just an exact mirror of the game. That is because the ABZÛ I have conceptualized in my own mind is laid out like a normal(ish) ocean thanks to some noemata I have.

The noemata I have reads that all the “game-y” elements necessary for it to function as, well, a game, aren’t present in the idea of ABZÛ that makes up my hearthome. So, all the things necessary to keep a player in a defined area and on a specific path are absent. Further, all the different locations shown in the game would exist in a much more natural way. Plus, even more biodiversity would exist than shown in the game itself (as it is only populated with a little more than a few hundred different species whereas a more realistic ocean would have tens of thousands). Basically, the concept of ABZÛ in my mind looks and functions a lot more like a natural ocean (if a much, much more vibrant and filled with even more aquatic life, one).

I also have noemata that reads that while the old structures of the civilization still exist in a way like how they appear in the game, the inverted pyramid machines have long broken down and been reclaimed by the ocean and there are no unnatural dead zones. (So, I guess, one could say my hearthome is based off how things look at the end of the game.)

So, there is all that.

That is all well and good, but now I want to cover why exactly I distinguish ABZÛ as a hearthome; why I feel it warrants a special label of significance to me at all.

Not to state the obvious, but games are meant to be emotionally and/or mentally moving. They are meant to make a player feel something. ABZÛ is no different. It is meant to be a “pretty ocean” game, if you will. The environments in ABZÛ certainly reflect a more idealized and concentrated concept of ocean life (the magnitude of marine life at any particular point in the game itself being far more than an ecosystem could sustain). So, of course, the game is meant to be visually stunning and calming (save for a section in the game roughly 3/5ths in) in relation to the ocean, but my feelings for the game go deeper than what would be normally expected.

It is true that much of the allure I have toward ABZÛ could be dismissed as merely as a natural consequence of my alterhumanity being so immersed in the ocean if not for the fact there are aspects of ABZÛ that draw out emotions and noemata that can’t be easily waved off in that manner. There are plenty of ocean-themed games and whatnot, yet it’s this specific one I have this connection toward. I have no idea why exactly I have a hearthome in this game specifically. I couldn’t tell you why. For whatever reason, its ABZÛ that resonates with me so strongly.

The biggest thing that stands out for me is the fact the area in the game that holds the most profound feelings of familiarity and belonging is the underwater city. At one point in the game, some underwater caves open into a vast underground space where a half-submerged city exists. (My view of things through some more noemata looks a lot more like an ancient city proper because, again, ABZÛ is a game so what exists is a lot more simplified and limited.) It is a city abandoned and in ruins and yet every surface is still covered in tile and brick of beautiful blue hues. Plants like trees, flowers, and vines populate the space above the water, lily pads and other floating plants pepper the water’s surface, and below sea plants like kelp, sea grass, and so much more cover much of the floor. Sunlight shines down from high above; my noemata filling in with the idea the city resides within a long extinct volcano rising above the ocean’s surface. Animals are everywhere both above and below the water. It’s this place I gravitate towards the most.

But what exactly do I feel?

Something about it resonates with me. It is a place that feels like home to a part of me. Something about it feels deeply right and missed despite never having lived there nor do I feel like it is a place I am “from,” in any specific way. The feelings my hearthome draw out of me can mostly be best described as comfort, relief, safety, and rightness. There is something familiar about it, even upon my first playthrough. There is maybe even a tinge of nostalgia even though I strongly feel like there isn’t anything past-life-like at play as to why I have this hearthome. It just feels so familiar and comforting to me.

Starting out, my feelings also included what I can best describe as a yearning or longing to want to be there, even if only to visit. There was a desire to know a place like it with my own eyes as much as I knew it already in my heart somehow. So, there was a bit of almost homesickness there too. All these feelings are described in the past tense because of something that happened a bit after first playing the game.

Sometime after first playing ABZÛ, a sunken city with strong similarities to the one in the game was discovered in the ocean in our system’s innerworld. It is not a perfect exact copy, but it has all the same elements and looks how my hearthome appears through the lens of the noemata I have. I know I didn’t consciously will the location in our innerworld to come into existence, no one here can make such blatant conscious changes to our innerworld; however, I’m far less certain if my discovery of the game and the emotions it elicited didn’t cause the sunken city to appear in our innerworld as an involuntary reaction. (Not long after its appearance, several other areas in the game also found their way into the ocean of our system’s innerworld.) Since its appearance and discovery, I spend much of my time in these impacted areas, especially the sunken abandoned city. Since its appearance, the location has become a much beloved place to be, not just for me but also for many other aquatics in the system. The area is aesthetically pleasing and interesting to move around in. There is a lot of wildlife so hunting instincts can be indulged and so on. When not focused on fronting it is a nice place to exist in.

I’ve been aware of my emotional connection to the setting depicted in ABZÛ since July 2018 after playing it for the first time. Since buying it on Steam, I’ve logged many hours on it and have played through its entirety several times. However, I had not labeled my feelings towards this game as a hearthome until recently. Back then, I never questioned or analyzed my feelings surrounding the environments in the game. I knew it soothed something in me to play the game, going out to the sunken city in the innerworld for a while, or even just imagine myself swimming in one of my favorite areas, but I didn’t think about why exactly that was the case.

I didn’t make the connection between my experiences with ABZÛ to the term, hearthome until August of 2024. The moment of realization came while listening to the panel, “No Place Like Home: On Hearthomes” at Othercon 2024. Upon Rani, the panel’s host, describing the meaning of the term, I realized my feelings towards ABZÛ fit perfectly within the word. It wasn’t even a particularly jarring realization, and I am not sure how I had never made the connection before. Since that realization, I’ve come to label my feelings around the game, ABZÛ as my hearthome.

On the topic of alterhuman terms, I don’t use the term hearthic to refer to my state of having a hearthome at this time, solely because the word just doesn’t feel right when I try to use it in context. That could change, but for now, that is that.

I do consider my hearthome to be a part of my alterhumanity. My hearthome certainly fits neatly into my wider alterhumanity; ocean life and all that. That being said, I don’t think my hearthome has as strong of an impact on my daily experiences as other aspects do. My feelings around my hearthome are most often closer to something in the background more than anything. It is still there, and it is still important, it is just not as blatant and impactful in my daily life compared to something like my phantom body from my theriotypes. The fact parts of the game now exist in the innerworld and are prime locations for me to go after fronting to alleviate species dysphoria is perhaps the most blatant way my hearthome impacts my greater alterhumanity.

Bibliography

505 Games, ABZÛ. 505 Games, 2015, Microsoft Windows.

“Glossary,” Alt+H, https://alt-h.net/educate/glossary.php . Archived on 19 Apr 2020: https://web.archive.org/web/20200419100422/https://alt-h.net/educate/glossary.php

Lepidoptera Choir. “Hearthic” astrophellian on Tumblr. 9 April 2022. https://astrophellian.tumblr.com/post/681107250894503936/hearthic . Archived on 30 September 2022: https://web.archive.org/web/20220930143533/https://astrophellian.tumblr.com/post/681107250894503936/hearthic

Rani. “No Place Like Home: On Hearthomes,” Othercon 2024, 11 August 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYVF_R6v50Q

#hearthome #hearthic #alterhuman #alterhumanity #alterhuman essay

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thisisyourauthorspeaking · 8 months ago

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Would like to resolve a debate with a roommate :)

How likely is it that a random person with no previous flight experience could land a plane in the event the pilot became incapacitated?

How about a 747 vs a small aircraft? (Since commercial airliners now have so much automation and can practically land themselves)

What about a 747 if autopilot stopped working? How likely could someone with good hand eye coordination (and can drive a car well) land the plane by manual control only?

Say you took control and attempted to land, hit the runway odd and broke the landing gear, causing the plane fuselage to hit the ground and slide to a stop. Are planes resilient enough that everyone would still be alive? What are the chances of casualties in this case (and at what speed thresholds)?

If you've played Battlefield or such games, how close are the flight controls there to flight simulators or actual flight? Video games are obviously designed for player experience and realism, but if you are used to those controls, would you have ingrained bad habits trying to learn to fly an actual plane?

And finally, according to my roommate (who has no flight experience whatsoever but provides me infinite entertainment with claims that he can fly a plane): "when you land, you can't shallowly glide into the runway for a landing because you'll lose too much airspeed. You need to approach, take a sharp dive, and then level out before you land". Please rate that statement on a scale of 0 to flaming make-shit-up.

Thank you very much!

Alright, I'll break this answer into a few sections:

(Full disclosure, I don't fly airliners, but I am still certified as a commercial pilot and am drawing conclusions from my professional knowledge.)

Layperson saving the day by landing the plane:

In an airliner? Not a chance in hell. While there is an element of truth to the belief that an airliner can "land itself", the process to set it up is highly complex, and one wrong step can screw the rest of it up.

First, you need to get into the cockpit. For the sake of this ask, let's say the flight attendant knows about some super-duper-secret-hypothetical override to open the door from the outside. Otherwise, this plan is dead in the water.

With autopilot

Misconception number one: Autopilot flies the plane for you.

Autopilot doesn't know your intentions. Autopilot has no self-preservation instincts. The only thing autopilot knows is the course that the person at the controls programmed in, qualified or not.

Autopilot will keep you on course, but it's the pilot's job to make sure that the course being set doesn't send the plane into the side of a mountain, or in the completely wrong direction.

There is a sliver of truth to the idea that an airplane will "land itself", but in order to set it up, it requires a few steps from a qualified pilot that knows what they're doing.

Now, in order for autoland to even work, it has to be paired with a set of antennas on the ground at the desired airport, called an Instrument Landing System, or ILS for short. In order for the autoland system to receive the signal from the ILS, the pilot must tune the navigation radios to the frequency published on a map that looks like this, in addition to setting courses and programming the navigation computer.

Needless to say, if you're not trained to read these, then you'll have a hell of a time setting up the approach.

Additionally, you need to then configure the autopilot to pair with the ILS.

Here's an exercise for you and your roommate: without looking it up, find the radio panel and autopilot control in the cockpit of this Airbus A320, one of the most common airliners today:

Let's say you do find it - what buttons do you push, in what order? Do one of them wrong, and it won't work.

Misconception number two: Air traffic control can help you fly the plane.

ATCs are not pilots, and they can't tell you how to set it up or what buttons to push. All they can do is tell you where you are, give you headings to fly, and give you landing priority due to your emergency.

How do you configure the airplane? How and when do you extend flaps? What's the maximum safe flap extension speed? How and when do you extend the landing gear? What's the maximum safe gear extension speed? Autopilot won't do that for you.

TL;DR: Sure, the plane could land itself, but that requires a series of inputs that a layperson is highly unlikely to know how to do.

Without autopilot

Let's say you accidentally push the wrong button on the stick while trying to declare an emergency. Congratulations! You are now flying the plane manually!

Now it's up to you to manage airspeed, power setting, altitude, pitch attitude, vertical speed, heading, and course.

ATC can still give you headings to point the nose in, and they may even get you lined up with a runway, but it's up to you to slow down to a safe speed, and configure the plane for landing.

Misconception number three: you can slow an airplane down just by pulling the throttle back.

Step one of slowing down is to reduce engine power. But, if that's all you do, then the airplane will keep the speed it's trimmed for, and just nose down to maintain it. The second piece of this puzzle is to pull back on the stick, just enough to maintain altitude.

But, there's a catch: At slow enough airspeeds, you enter what's called the "region of reverse command", wherein the controls seem "backwards" - you're adjusting your pitch (angle of nose up/down) to manage your airspeed, and you're adjusting your power to manage your altitude. This is highly counterintuitive to someone with no training, and when done incorrectly, can cause the airplane to stall and dramatically nose down.

Echoing above: How do you configure the airplane? How and when do you extend flaps? What's the maximum safe flap extension speed? How and when do you extend the landing gear? What's the maximum safe gear extension speed?

If you extend those at the wrong time, then they'll do far more harm than good.

If you're too fast on final approach, you'll sail right past the runway and end up crashing into whatever's behind it.

If you're too slow on final approach, you'll stall before you reach the runway and crash into the ground.

TL;DR: Hand-flying to a safe landing is a skill that needs to be honed and practiced regularly, and a layperson would not be able to do it without help.

Small plane

There is only one one case I know of in which a layperson managed to land a small plane, but this was only possible because of a few factors:

It was a clear day, and the man was able to navigate by landmarks on the ground.

There was no door between the man and the cockpit.

It was a small plane with simple controls.

Air traffic control knew a pilot, and relayed that number to the man in the plane.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Like I said above, air traffic controllers are not pilots. Additionally, there is no "hotline" that passengers can call to get talked down to a safe landing. This was just an extremely lucky "I know a guy" situation.

TL;DR: It can only happen if everything goes perfectly.

Gear-up landing

Let's say that somehow, your roommate managed to get the airplane to the runway with everything going exactly to plan, and with no help. But, oh no! The landing gear is broken!

No biggie. Gear-up landings happen all the time, and they're perfectly survivable. I actually know someone who was in one (in a small plane), and the biggest thing was how embarrassed he was. In the case of an airliner, the primary threat is getting everyone off the plane due to the possibility of a fuel leak.

Video games/flight sims

Games like Battlefield or Ace Combat are not at all accurate to the real handling of an airplane, and have no value as a training tool. However, they're inaccurate enough that the skills don't translate over, and you don't really get any bad habits from playing them.

What really trips people up when learning to fly are games like MSFS or X-Plane, because they're just realistic enough to mimic how planes actually fly, but the way that they're presented and controlled can teach tons of bad habits, such as:

Focusing too much on the instrument panel, and not looking outside at the horizon

Not using rudder or trim (important for smooth, coordinated flight)

Not preparing them for emergencies (ever notice how just about every MSFS flight has clear skies and perfect visibility?)

Exacerbating the dunning-kruger effect by presenting the games as hyper-realistic and good for training, when that is not the case

Because most MSFS players are attracted to the airliners, there is the chance that what they're "learning" about flying is not applicable to the fundamentals, which have to be done in a small plane.

Because of this, I actually discourage students from using home flight simulators to practice maneuvers, because not only are they not getting an accurate feel for the airplane, but they also may be doing the maneuver incorrectly and letting it go unchecked.

Simulators which are used specifically for flight training have to meet a specific set of regulations, one of which is to have an "instructor station" where the instructor can monitor the student's performance, and also practice scenarios that the student themselves cannot predict.

Landing flare

Your roommate's explanation is mostly incorrect.

When an airplane is on final approach, it is approaching the beginning of the runway at an angle of approximately 3 degrees, and following a system of lights called a VASI (visual approach slope indicator) to keep it on this 3 degree glide slope.

So, it is a rather shallow angle. Once the airplane has followed the glide slope and is now a few feet above the runway, the pilot executes a maneuver called a "flare" in which they pull the nose up in order to bleed off the rest of their speed.

When the pilot flares for landing, the airplane was already at a nice, slow speed for landing. If the pilot attempts to keep their speed up, then it will take much longer for the flare to bleed off their airspeed and make the airplane touch down gently.

If the flare is too aggressive, the airplane will "balloon" and fly higher above the runway, at which point the solution is to apply full power, circle around, and try again.

If your roommate were to "take a sharp dive, and then level out before you land", then they run the risk of either a) ballooning, or, because they gained so much speed from that dive, b) floating too far down the runway and potentially not having enough room to touch down and stop. if they really fuck it up, then they'll land nose-gear first, possibly damaging the wheel or even losing control and veering off the runway.

My overall opinion of your roommate:

From what you've said, they do seem to have a genuine interest in aviation, but they're misinformed by pop culture, aviation influencers, and MSFS.

My suggestion to the roomie: Their homework from this Tumblr flight instructor is to find a nearby flight school, and ask if they do discovery flights. You'll get to actually fly the plane, and you may catch the same aviation bug that I caught. We could always use more pilots!

#aviation #flying #landing #misconceptions

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halofanfiction · 1 month ago

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Fan Fiction:

Halo: Locks and Shadows

Master Chief stood in the hangar bay, watching as a group of UNSC engineers carefully secured the last few components of the floating spherical AI unit. The tech, sleek and matte black, hovered silently above its platform, approximately a third the size of the Monitor he had encountered on previous missions. Its smooth surface had small, recessed panels, giving it a minimalist but advanced appearance. Master Chief had been briefed, but seeing it in person made him consider its real value on the battlefield.

"Chief," Commander Palmer's voice crackled through his comms. "Meet your new AI support."

A small green light flickered on the sphere's exterior as it floated closer to Master Chief, its levitation system barely making a sound.

"This unit has been developed after analyzing the Monitor tech from Installation 07," Palmer continued. "It can navigate chutes, tight spaces, unlock doors, and cut through most materials with an integrated laser. Think of it as your own mini-engineer."

"Does it have a name?" Master Chief asked, eyeing the sphere as it bobbed near his shoulder.

"For now, it's just codename 'Sphere,' but your new AI is codenamed 'Kepler.' They've been integrated into this unit."

"Understood."

Kepler’s voice chimed in, clear and neutral. "Reporting for duty, Master Chief. I’m designed for flexibility in combat operations, so feel free to let me know when you need assistance. My laser can also handle light combat situations."

"Good. Stay close, Kepler. We're moving out soon."

Their mission took them deep into the heart of a Covenant-infested facility on a remote moon. The entrance had been easy to breach, but as they delved deeper, it became clear that the Covenant forces had locked down much of the internal structure. Master Chief stood before a sealed blast door, scanning the area for a possible way through.

"I can assist with that, Master Chief," Kepler said.

The sphere zipped forward, finding a small access chute at the top of the doorframe. It hummed as it entered the tight space, vanishing from sight. Master Chief heard faint clicks and electronic whirs as Kepler navigated through the facility’s inner workings. Moments later, the door’s control panel blinked, and the blast door slid open with a heavy groan.

"Door’s open," Kepler confirmed, floating back out of the chute to rejoin Master Chief.

They advanced through the corridors, and when they encountered Covenant resistance, Master Chief handled the heavy firepower, while Kepler darted between cover, using its laser to cut through obstructions or disable smaller automated defenses.

Later, in a large central chamber, they faced a heavily reinforced security system, with force fields blocking access to critical areas. A team of Covenant elites patrolled the perimeter, but Master Chief’s priority was deactivating the security system without alerting them.

"I’ll head into the ducts and access the control panel from the inside," Kepler suggested.

"Do it," Master Chief replied, keeping his weapon trained on the elites.

Kepler darted into the narrow ventilation shaft, moving quickly and quietly through the twisting pipes. Inside, Kepler found the central control hub and deployed its laser, cutting through the metal housing to expose the circuitry. The AI accessed the panel, bypassing Covenant encryption with precision. A moment later, the force fields blinked out.

"Security's down," Kepler reported.

Master Chief moved in, neutralizing the Covenant patrols with swift, calculated strikes. As the last elite fell, Kepler returned to his side, its glowing light indicating readiness for the next challenge.

"Good work, Kepler," Master Chief said.

"Thank you, Master Chief. There are more locked areas ahead, but I’ll keep unlocking doors and clearing paths as we go."

Master Chief and Kepler moved seamlessly through the facility, eliminating Covenant forces and bypassing security systems with precision. The sphere navigated through tight corridors and ventilation ducts, unlocking sealed areas and cutting through obstructions with its laser. Together, they reached the central command center, where Master Chief neutralized the remaining Covenant defenders. With Kepler's support, they accessed the facility’s core and secured critical intel for the UNSC. Their mission complete, they silently exited the compound, leaving behind only the shattered remnants of Covenant resistance.

#halo #fan fiction #master chief

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kh2333 · 2 months ago

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Sustainable Farming Practices: A Pathway to Future Food Security

In the face of growing global challenges such as climate change, population growth, and depleting natural resources, the need for sustainable farming practices has never been more critical. Agriculture remains the backbone of many economies, but traditional farming methods often contribute to environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, and soil erosion. To secure the future of food production, sustainable farming offers a transformative solution that balances productivity with environmental stewardship.

1. The Importance of Soil Health

Healthy soil is the foundation of sustainable farming. Through techniques such as crop rotation, cover cropping, and reduced tillage, farmers can improve soil structure, enhance its ability to retain water, and reduce erosion. The integration of organic matter into the soil also promotes the growth of beneficial microorganisms, contributing to long-term soil fertility.

2. Water Management: Reducing Waste and Preserving Resources

Effective water management is crucial for sustainable agriculture. Traditional irrigation methods often lead to water waste, but sustainable practices like drip irrigation, rainwater harvesting, and the use of drought-resistant crops can significantly reduce water usage. Precision agriculture technologies, such as soil moisture sensors, allow farmers to optimize water application, ensuring crops receive only what they need, when they need it.

3. Biodiversity: Enhancing Ecosystem Resilience

Biodiversity plays a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems and improving the resilience of farming systems. By incorporating diverse crops and livestock, farmers can reduce the risk of pest outbreaks and diseases. Agroforestry, which integrates trees into farming systems, enhances biodiversity while providing additional income streams, such as timber and fruit production.

4. Reducing Chemical Dependency

Sustainable farming promotes the reduction of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, which can harm the environment and human health. Alternatives like integrated pest management (IPM) use biological control methods, such as beneficial insects, to manage pests. Additionally, organic farming methods focus on natural soil amendments and composting to enrich the land without harmful chemicals.

5. Renewable Energy in Agriculture

The shift to renewable energy sources is becoming an essential aspect of sustainable farming. Solar panels, wind turbines, and bioenergy can power farming operations, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Many farms are now integrating renewable energy technologies to achieve self-sufficiency while also contributing to environmental conservation.

6. The Role of Technology in Sustainable Farming

Advances in agricultural technology are playing a transformative role in sustainability efforts. Precision farming tools, such as GPS-guided tractors, drones for crop monitoring, and automated irrigation systems, help farmers optimize inputs and maximize efficiency. These innovations not only increase productivity but also minimize waste and environmental impact.

7. Promoting Local and Organic Markets

Sustainable farming goes hand in hand with the promotion of local and organic food markets. Supporting local farmers reduces the carbon footprint associated with food transportation and encourages the consumption of fresh, seasonal produce. Additionally, organic farming practices prioritize animal welfare, soil health, and chemical-free food production, contributing to a healthier food system.

Conclusion

Sustainable farming practices offer a viable solution to the challenges facing modern agriculture. By prioritizing soil health, efficient water use, biodiversity, and renewable energy, farmers can produce food in a way that safeguards the environment for future generations. The integration of technology further enhances the potential for sustainable farming to meet global food demands while reducing the ecological footprint of agriculture. The adoption of these practices is not just a necessity for the future of farming—it is a pathway to long-term food security and environmental sustainability.

#farming #organic farming #sustainable farming

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episodicnostalgia · 11 months ago

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Star Trek: The Next Generation, 120 (Apr. 11, 1988) - “The Arsenal of Freedom”

Teleplay by: Richard Manning & Hans Beimler Story by: Maurice Hurley & Robert Lewin Directed by: Les Landau

The Breakdown

The USS Drake has gone missing after being sent to investigate a planet (Minos) whose entire population has ALSO gone missing; so naturally the Enterprise has been sent to figure out why there are so many missing people connected to one planet. On a probably-unrelated-note, it turns out the Minosians were arms dealers who sold super advanced weaponry, but I’m sure that won’t be relevant to the following 45 minutes. Anyways, the Enterprise arrives at Minos to find zero signs of life, except for a hailing frequency originating on the planet’s surface. Obviously Picard accepts the call, but it just turns out to be one of those un-skippable YouTube advertisements for a highly advanced weapons system, and Picard is like “That was weird. We should send some people to the surface to check that out.”

For what must be a first for this ENTIRE crew, Tasha makes a rational security decision in convincing Riker to keep the away team as small as possible, in the interest of general ship safety (since there is absolutely no sign of the missing Drake, which I honestly think is a MUCH bigger red flag than Picard is making it out to be). Riker agrees (taking only himself, Tasha, and Data), but gets himself caught in a statis field almost immediately, so Picard throws caution to the wind and beams himself AND Dr. Crusher down to help out… somehow. Although, credit where credit is due, Picard does have the foresight to leave Geordi in charge of the Enterprise with orders to abandon him and the away team if it means protecting the ship.

Naturally all this leads to a double-jeopardy situation. Down below, the away team keeps getting attacked by little killer drones that regenerate-and-adapt every time one gets shot down; meanwhile separate drone starts attacking the Enterprise, slowly picking away at the shields (oh, and it can cloak, making it tough to kill). Geordi finally figures out a way to outsmart his mechanical nemesis by using the displacement of Minos’ upper atmosphere to reveal the drone’s location. At the same time Picard conveniently falls into a pit that happens to contain a control panel that activates the holographic salesman (from the aforementioned automated message) who prompts him to finalize the purchase of their killer drones, in order to “end the demonstration”; thus completing what has apparently been a VERY high-stakes sales pitch.

At this point it’s been concluded that the Minosians accidentally created a killing machine that was so effective it accidentally murdered their entire species, in addition to anyone who came poking around. Since the Enterprise is now safe, and the mystery of the Drake’s disappearance is solved (in that the crew are confirmed to have met a nightmarish end), we can chalk this up to another happy ending!

The Verdict

There’s something to be said for a straightforward adventure story, and ‘arsenal of freedom’ successfully delivers on that front. I can’t say there’s enough going on here for me to classify this episode as one of “the greats,” but it makes good use what it does have.

The highlight of this episode has to be Geordi’s command of the Enterprise. It’s nice to see some genuine progression for a character that I’ve often felt gets overlooked, made all the better by the fact that I found his solution to the drone battle refreshingly plausible! Usually when Star Trek is dealing with cloaked adversaries, it gets resolved with some kind of tachyon-scanner-upgrade-techno babble. That’s all well-and-good AS LONG the writers also take care not to abuse such genre-conventions (which is another matter entirely), but I still tend to prefer solutions that adhere to the laws of physics. As for Geordi’s time in command, I also appreciate how this episode builds on his previous experiences, in throwing him a greater challenge to overcome.

The away team’s adventure definitely makes up the weaker half of the episode, but even that is at least cheesily entertaining, avoiding any glaringly cringy moments. My main criticism would be over how convenient Picard’s discovery of the control panel was, allowing him to call off the drones; but this is far from the most egregious deus ex machina on a Star Trek show, and it certainly won’t be the last.

But yeah, fun stuff.

3 stars (out of 5)

Additional Observations

I’ve gotta say, the skies of Minos are a beautiful shade of bluescreen- I mean blue.

TNG always suffered from a “women character problem”, in that the writers seldom knew what to do with them, so I was pleasantly surprised with this episode. It’s not so much that writers did anything groundbreaking with the ladies here, but this has been their best overall use of them up to this point, by my reckoning. Tasha is shown to be competent and reliable, Crusher is able to keep her wits about her after she’s injured (even getting some added backstory), and even Deanna’s council to Goerdi isn’t half bad (which is really saying something for these early episodes). The show still has a tremendous amount of work left to do in this regard, but it’s at least a tiny step in the right direction.

BATTLE BRIDGE: This is only the second time we’ve been shown the Enterprise’s saucer section separating from the rest of the ship. It’s a pretty cool feature that will be seldom used, but it’s an effective way to sell the raised stakes of a given situation, and thoughtfully applied here.

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