#epicycles

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Matching the observations of the wandering stars – the planets – of the night sky with the idea that the Earth was at the centre of the solar system required extremely complex models. In the case of Venus, combining the Earth at the centre with the observations meant that Venus had a circular orbit around a point midway between the Earth and the Sun, so-called epicycles, with all the other planets having similar complicated orbits around various points scattered around the solar system. Placing the Sun at the centre of the solar system, with the planets arranged in their familiar order, with Moon orbiting the Earth, gave a much simpler system.

"Human Universe" - Professor Brian Cox and Andrew Cohen

[ukdamo]

Giornata 4

Gregory Pardlo

An old husband’s tale reckons that witches are children  of sexless angels and their human eunuchs, angels  whose self-restraint was inversely proportional to the power  to silence their victims. Papa’s maybes of a Zeus-like ravishment from above. Immaculate. Paul said women should wear an “authority” on their heads, by which he meant a veil, like a force field to protect them from lustful angels. Adam copped angel lust from those self-same freaky mayflies who by turns learned their grift at God’s extensive digit bulbing like molten glass at the end of a blowpipe. God got his from Greeks. Thus completes, like a network of shell companies, the history of qualified immunity. Every man should learn to balance a set of books that looks like an anvil–instead of a veil–on our heads for posture in the figurative sense, standing in God’s eyes where God, like the future, is female—a prophylactic against patriarchy, a cork stopper in the mouth of a gun.

[mathhombre]

Turning and Mechanical Manipulation - John Jacob Holtzapffel - 1884 - via Internet Archive

Part 2. Part 1 here.

[darkfalcon-z]

I think people misunderstand the fundamental problem with the relationship between LWJ and WWX before WWX died (and i may be partially QCL's fault).

It's not particularly a problem that the failed to realise/confess romantic feelings for one another

the real problem was that they failed to become friends (and I don't mean causal friends, though they aren't that either, I mean true deep friendship)

the foundations of their friendship lay earlier on, sure, but they do not develop such relationship

they don't understand one another not because some underlying romantic/sexual tension, but because they aren't friends

they (especially WWX) make wrong (albeit justified) assumptions, they have to overcome later on, about one another because they aren't really friends (WWX doesn't really know LWJ that well on the personal level)

they do actually sort out the romantic misunderstanding fairly quickly once they do become friends (it feels longer for the reader given how the book is structured)

[ottovanvonveen]

Daydreaming about the fucked up starwatching equations.

[mathhombre]

So many great images in this book. In addition to 2D images, lots of examples of radially symmetric 3D lathe carvings.

I'll make a part 2 with more.

Turning and Mechanical Manipulation - John Jacob Holtzapffel - 1884 - via Internet Archive

[reliantlab1]

High-Performance Epicyclic GearTrain & Holding Torque Apparatus

Reliant Lab is proud to offer a top-of-the-line Epicyclic GearTrain and Holding Torque Apparatus, meticulously engineered to meet the educational and research demands of engineering students and professionals alike. Our apparatus serves as an indispensable tool for those seeking a deep understanding of complex gear systems and precise torque measurements. With this equipment, users can conduct detailed analyses and gain hands-on experience, making it ideal for both classroom instruction and advanced research applications. The apparatus is designed to facilitate comprehensive learning, allowing students and researchers to explore the intricacies of gear mechanisms through practical experimentation. Crafted with a strong emphasis on quality, durability, and accuracy, our gear train and torque measurement solutions ensure reliable and repeatable results.

[pddparthi]

Unveiling the Power of Epicyclic Gearboxes: From Basic Principles to Advanced Applications

Introduction: The world of machines is driven by gears, and within this realm, the epicyclic gearbox, also known as a planetary gearset, stands out as a marvel of engineering ingenuity. This intricate system of interlocking gears offers a unique ability to achieve both speed reduction and torque multiplication, making it a cornerstone of various applications. Whether you’re fascinated by the…

[infinitemonkeytheory]

Cool Gearing: Sun to Sun Epicyclic Gearing

[dippedanddripped]

Upcycled fashion designers looking for scrapfabric and fabric bolts. Email Manuel at elchalan1957@yahoo.com must use Nelson Saidy Jr in email.

[loving-n0t-heyting]

what's flyingmonkeysanonymous?

its a website promoting a specific brand of "abuse recovery" centred around painting ppl with certain personality disorders (real or imagined) as neurologically predestined to abuse and exploitation. on the theory, these naturally evil individuals seek out naturally kind and nurturing individuals—empaths—to predate and manipulate them, giving rise to life-upending trauma for their victims (family members and romantic partners, generally). thats the core of it, at least; like all good insight porn and ppl bucketing, it contains like 50 thousand (usually equally vague) subdivisions and epicycles lovingly documented across the site as a combined form of rabbit hole enrichment and predictively accommodating almost every possible outcome

its just one particularly vivid and unhinged illustration of a broader trend, any time you hear ppl talking about "narcopaths" its a pretty sure sign they subscribe to smth like the above worldview. its really quite nauseating stuff, almost qanon-ish, and at times veers into literally demonising the ppl it breezily armchair diagnoses with narcopathic malevolent borderline personality disorder or whatever. good to be aware but bad to spend too much time "researching"

[st-just]

On a purely reflexive level I admit I find the people who have a blatantly #problematic fantasy* but then construct these endless epicycles answering every way that it is problematic with a Watsoonian justification for how it's actually totally cool and progressive much more of a red flag than the ones who go 'yeah it's pretty fucked up when you think about it, anyway-'

*here used in the broadest possible sense

[centrally-unplanned]

Alright, last Current Events Drama post, is not a super valuable activity after all. I have seen a lot of Discourse that goes like "I may oppose these efforts but man the PR strategy of this Musk thing is pretty genius, they have a whole generation of people thinking USAID was funding the Liberal Media now". And they certainly aren't without agency, I agree there is an intentional PR strategy going on. In particular it is not just the creation of narrative, but the creation of momentum - every day is a new discovery, a new victory, a sense of progress.

But this isn't really that hard when your supporters are just really stupid? Like you can make shit up for these people! They don't care, they don't have that instinct that goes "okay hold up I'm going to need to see some sources here". The current Admin didn't make that happen, that is a deep, structural change around the internet flattening hierarchies and all that shit. When you know your audience wants results and also you can just invent results out of thin air then, idk, is this that hard? How could you not deliver that?

It is funny because the actual playbook here isn't even their invention, it is the same as the 2010's "Woke Boom". That entire model was that deep, slow, technical solutions to structural inequalities achieved via grinding electoral politics is boring. That shit is for fucking losers. I am not gonna have a role in that all! So instead we will achieve social change via randomly harassing my progressive coworkers for their black comedy tweets about AIDS until they get fired and have a nervous breakdown. Obviously - just like with the current right, don't be tricked! - there was another side of this movement that was much more serious, a huge side actually (we are just focusing right now). But for so many that serious side was window dressing, the real mush was that you got to feel like you were a part of something, doing something, and at a certain point they started running the show. This playbook being reversed really isn't that impressive (and also, in a sense, inevitable)

I will give the Social Justice aggros though that they had some standards - passing around photoshopped tweets was uncommon. Most of them did actually believe in this model for change (and so invented insane ideologies to justify it, but w/e). That isn't really as true on the right - I should partially walk back my statement above, a lot of these people aren't that gullible? They are just apathetic. So many people retweeting stuff about how The Deep State funnels millions to Politico don't really even care, for them it is a game. It is funny to own the libs. They laugh off your attempts at calling them out for accuracy - you care about that? What a cuck you are.

Which makes it particularly sad when you see the earnest ones, the ones writing essays about the implications of what USAID propping up the New York Times means for our political future. Nothing worse than being a true believer in a church where not only the leaders but also your fellow congregants know it is bullshit.

It reminds me of the Gamestop Meme Stock Crash and its slow, agonizing burn (a not unrelated event!). A bunch of people on the rise of the stock created the idea that buying Gamestop could Stick It To The Man, you could short squeeze the hedge funds, diamond-hands-hold that yield, bring Wall St to its knees - to the moon, baby. And some people bought it! And then the wheel turned, the crash happened, and most of the people posting those memes sold their stock and dipped so fast they had disappeared from the subreddits before they could even begin to say "bro, you thought I was serious?". Leaving a stalwart few holding the bag, spinning epicycles of conspiracy theories to justify why they had it to begin with. Which happens on autopilot a this point. You don't really need any PR strategy to make this happen.

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 52 – DAILY THEMES

MASTERPOST

Here are all the fics I recommended this week. If you want to see my actual review of these fics, the posts are all linked as well. Please enjoy, and remember to leave comments and kudos!

MON: HANAHAKI DISEASE

On The Exhale by FestiveFerret Nothing Pure Enough by Sineala heaving through corrupted lungs by Alysae You Got Flowers In Your Lungs by Starksus iron tipped petals by Areiton

TUE: CRACKFIC

Just the Tip by tonystarkssnipples youtube.com/ALLCAP by vulcan_slash_robot Ticket to the Bone Zone by peppypear brief even as bright by picturecat There's Something Aboot Steve by epicycles

WED: TENTACLES

Tentacular Spectacular by Sineala Where We Both Could Live by blue_jack The real reason why the Hulk hates cephalopods by salytierra Soft Robotics by isozyme Small Weird Love by haemodye

THU: EXES TO LOVERS

Finding A Way Back by Neverever How to Date a Superhero Without Even Trying by sabrecmc all I ever knew of love by mistymountainking sorry not sorry by earliebirb Rocky Road by sayah1112

FRI: SICKFIC

Better Days by sahiya Anti-Virus by marinarusalka Love you, Papa by chvotic Danger Mouse by isozyme Where the Lovelight Gleams by sahiya

SAT: WORKSKINS & FORMATTING

An Avengers Powerpoint Party by gogglor Sex v. Work Performance - A Self-Study by Tony Stark by FestiveFerret explosive by imaginestevetony see it with the lights out by astrhae Caught Up in Our Stories by gogglor

SUN: SHARING A BED

The Rest of Our Lives by Sineala In the Early Dawn by starspangledsprocket Sleep Protocol by 51stCenturyFox Pillow Talk by FestiveFerret Team Building Exercise #2 by Anonymous

[booitstao]

dan heng, telling a story: and then himeko suddenly gained an epiphany that she could—

march 7th: what’s an epiphany?

trailblazer: like those allergy needles you stab yourself with

march 7th: no, silly! that’s an epicycle

dan heng:

dan heng: wait how do you know that word

[visualcontinuum]

.351. Ptolemaic Epicycle