#if it's humid it has to be under 35

[bestanimal]

Round 2 - Arthropoda - Diplopoda

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Animals in the class Diplopoda are commonly called “Millipedes.” They comprise the orders Glomeridesmida (“Slug Millipedes”), Glomerida (“Northern Pill Millipedes”), Sphaerotheriida (“Giant Pill Millipedes”), Platydesmida (“Flat Millipedes”), Polyzoniida (“Camphor Millipedes”), Siphonocryptida, Siphonophorida, Julida, Spirobolida, Spirostreptida, Callipodida, Chordeumatida (“Sausage Millipedes”), Stemmiulida, Siphoniulida, Polydesmida, and Polyxenida (“Bristly Millipedes”).

Millipedes are detritivores, eating decaying leaves and other dead plant matter, making them important for cycling soil. Some species eat fungi or drink plant sap. Most species protect themselves with various chemical secretions, but they will also coil into a ball to protect their legs and vital areas when threatened. Polyxenids lack poison and a hard exoskeleton, so their defense involves barbed hairs that detach and stick to the mouths of predators.

Millipede heads are generally round and flattened, consisting of a pair of mandibles, a plate-like “jaw lip” called a gnathochilarium, a pair of small sensory antennae, and simple compound eyes. Some species have secondarily lost these eyes. Many species also have a pair of sensory organs called the Tömösváry organs at the bases of their antennae, which may measure humidity and/or light levels. Millipede bodies may be flattened or cylindrical, and they can be anywhere from 2 mm (1⁄16 in) to 35 cm (14 in) in length, and have from 11 to over 300 body segments. The segment behind their head is called a collum and is legless. The second, third, and fourth body segments are called haplosegments, and each have a single pair of legs on their underside. The remaining segments are called diplosegments and have two pairs of legs each. In some millipedes, the last few segments may be legless. The final segment is called the telson. It is always legless, and contains the anus. Some millipedes (those in the superorder Nematophora) have spinnerets as well, creating silk chambers in which to molt or lay their eggs. Though their name means “thousand feet”, only one species of centipede, Eumillipes persephone, has over 1,000 feet.

Millipede reproductive behavior is diverse. Bristle millipedes reproduce similarly to centipedes: depositing spermatophores onto webs they secrete, which are later picked up by females. Other millipedes have direct reproduction, meeting up to mate. Courtship may involve tapping antennae, the male running along the back of the female, offering gifts of edible glandular secretions, or even “chirping”. Males have one or two pairs of modified legs called gonopods which are used to transfer sperm to the female during copulation. A few species are parthenogenetic, having few, if any, males. Most species simply deposit their eggs on the ground, but some construct nests of dried feces or silk. In most species, the female abandons the eggs after they are laid, but some species do provide parental care for their eggs and young. Young millipedes usually hatch after a few weeks, bearing typically only three pairs of legs. Their development is anamorphic: adding on segments and legs with each moult. Some species can live up to 10 years.

Millipedes first appeared in the Silurian period. The most famous extinct millipedes, the genus Arthropleura of the Carboniferous, grew up to 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) long, making them some of the largest arthropods ever known.

Propaganda under the cut:

What is the difference between centipedes and millipedes? Centipedes are if a tiger was small, long, and venomous. Millipedes are if a cow was small, long, and poisonous. Hope that helps.

Mentioned above, Eumillipes persephone can have over 1,300 legs!

Millipedes have a vast array of chemical poisons to ward off predators, varying between genera. Polydesmid Millipedes produce Hydrogen cyanide. Motyxia species not only produce cyanide, but are also bioluminescent.

Despite their chemical defenses, many species prey on millipedes, some even benefiting from the poisons. Some poison dart frogs eat millipedes, converting their toxins into their own poison. Some lemurs use millipedes to self-medicate against parasites, or just to get high!

Many species have formed symbiotic relationships with millipedes. Some millipedes live only in ant colonies, while many mites use millipedes for transport to new areas. The Moss Millipede (Psammodesmus bryophorus) grows multiple species of moss on its back for camouflage, subsequently aiding the moss in dispersal.

[hughiecampbelle]

Perfection (M.M. Oneshot)

Character/s: Marvin, Annie, Homelander

Word Count: 1,485

Requested: Hey! I've really enjoyed your writing for the boys! Could I please make a request for M.M with 19 patience, 44 velvet and 35 "I was trying to help" Thank you! - anon

A/N: Thank you so much my love!!! Thank you for requesting!!! I am in love with the direction this took and I have loved writing for M.M. so much :D I hope you like it!! Feedback is always appreciated!! 💜💜💜

I was trying to help. Your eyes are wide and scared. Your words are gurgled, full, your mouth spewing blood. It dribbles down your chin, seeping through your shirt. His thoughts are frantic, his breathing ragged. His hands are covered in red. He knows it will hurt, but he presses down, applying more pressure. I’m so, I’m sorry. You’re crying now. Blubbering. You were an idiot. You were foolish, naive, and stupid. Pathetic. You couldn’t help it, regret came out compulsively. Unable to stop it, you, he makes sure he’s calm before he looks you in the eye, demanding your attention. You listen to me, okay? We’re gonna get you to a hospital. We’re gonna clean you up and save you and everything will be okay. Got it? You nod, tears slipping down your cheeks. It was your fault. It was all your fault. You didn’t stay hidden like they wanted, like he insisted. If you could have gotten in his mind, read his thoughts, you could figure out his next move. You could save the country, the world, your life. No one else has noticed. No one knows. He calls for your friends, but they can’t hear him over the destruction, the laughter. He’s laughing. It’s the last thing you hear. Not Marvin, begging, pleading for you to stay awake, to keep breathing. Not your friends fighting for their lives. Not your own heartbeat slowing, growing tired. His laughter. It isn’t just physical, bubbling deep from his stomach. It’s in his brain, too. He was loving this: destroying you. He was enjoying himself. It was carnage. Annihilation. 

He startles awake, gasping for air. It’s the same dream every night since that day. The blood. The crying. The regret. His stomach churns, he’s coated in a cold sweat. He rolls over, the sheets bundling up. You sleep easily beside him, you even. Your bare back stares back at him, rising and falling easily. He watches this, counts your breathes, resting his hand delicately over your spine. It’s decorated with thick, velvety scars. He’ll find the same on your stomach, across your torso and chest, scattered over every limb. What others could see, what couldn’t be hidden by clothing, they left unscathed. Your face, your precious features, were spared. Your hands, wrists and ankles. Everywhere else was fair game. The more is happened, the less of you that went untouched, the more your costumes hid. He always thought it was odd. Monthly, and then weekly, you’d appear by their sides, more of you covered up. While Maeve's costume, and eventually Starlights, left little to the imagination, yours grew more modest. He hadn’t questioned it then, though. Odd sure, but he never would have thought it was just another way of hiding their mess, brushing it under the rug. Now he knows. He’d watched them undress you, sponging your body. You were so weak. The nurses said it was a miracle you’d survived at all. You didn’t put up a fight. You didn’t pretend you had more pride than this, that you were better than this. You did as you were told. You slept, mostly. And when you woke up hysterical, he was there, holding you tight, telling you you weren’t in that place any longer. You were safe from Vought.

Since then you’ve become less shy, less embarrassed, about the marks they left. At least, around him. On nights like this where the humidity reaches your bones and the walls bloat and sweat, you strip under the covers, heat rising to your face. It never gets easier. It never feels right. They told you to cover up. Called you disgusting, monstrous. They couldn’t stomach their own work. He tries not to make a big deal about it, pulling off his own shirt. Marvin rubs his thumb lightly, back and forth, feeling the warmth of your skin, the tightness of your scars. They used you. Behind the scenes there was torture, questioning and interrogations. When they didn’t need you, you were locked away. Imprisoned somewhere in that massive tower. When the time was right, when they needed a lead or insight, they’d clean you up and parade you around. You were always Homelanders' favorite toy. He’d pluck you from the toy box, one of many in his myriad of objects, the countless people he’d use. Eyes lit up, he’d order you around. Get in her head, read his mind, figure out what they’re thinking. And under no circumstances would you ever look inside his mind. You didn’t. Never. You were too scared, too afraid. You’d learned. Years you spent being a pawn in his game, his lie detector. Internally you’d cringe every time he touched you. Patted you on the back, holding your hand, eventually he began kissing you. Your love was beautiful. Magical. Him and Maeve were over. Now it was your turn. He never questioned that, either. You’d always been quiet, skittish, everyone thought it was your personality. 

You were so young when you joined The Seven, so naive. When telling your love story, reporters spoke of Homelander being your first crush. How your dreams were coming true. They didn’t know how his lasers burned through you. How easily he broke your bones. How the best doctors kept you alive through the torture per his insistence. It was excruciating being pulled apart and being put back together. You learned to stop fighting. You learned to stop arguing. You learned to crawl inside your body and hide there. You smiled and laughed when you were supposed to. You pulled him close, and hugged him, and let the whole world believe you truly loved him. And then Annie and Stormfront showed up. Being stripped of the limelight was the best and worst thing to ever happen to you. Homelander moved on from you. You weren’t his plaything anymore. She was. You spent less time with the team, less time outside, and more time alone in your cage, tucked away in the Tower where no one could find you. When they named Annie a traitor, she showed up in the cell beside you. You apologized for getting in her head, explaining what this place was, how long you’d been there. Weeks probably, but it felt like a lifetime. When Hughie broke Annie out, she demanded they save you, too. Finally, free. 

They were all hesitant to let you in, Marvin especially. You weren’t just a Supe, you were Homelanders ex. You were Voughts poster child for spying. Annie stood up for you, she told them what you’d told her. The cage. The lies. How they used you and when they were done, they threw you away to rot. The more he got to know you, the more he realized how wrong he was about you. You shared everything you knew about Stormfront, Homelander, everyone. You never used your powers on any of them. Part of you was too scared. You couldn’t risk reliving your time at Vought. You were still so skittish, so easy to spook. They all learned quickly not to make any sudden movements, not to raise their voices towards you. He gained your trust slowly. You became close, closer than he ever thought. The first time you slept together you made sure the lights were off, carefully placing his hands where he couldn’t feel your scars. You were constantly retreating into your shyness, taking one step forward and two back. He was patient. He was kind, thoughtful. When it came time to fight Homelander you did what you’ve never done before: you got inside his head. Others can’t tell. They don’t feel anything. But he knew. He looked you in the eye as soon as you started poking around. He intended to kill you for your actions. 

You readjusted, making noises in your sleep. He froze for a second before getting closer. It wasn’t as bad as you’d said. It wasn’t anything to be afraid of. Your skin had come apart and then found its way back together. They were raised, pale, plentiful. But they weren’t scary. He was grateful you were sound asleep. Months since your last interaction with Homelander left you reeling. Petrified, paranoid. Whatever you saw, whatever you found in his head, it horrified you. You retreated from his touch. Even the most innocent brush against you wants too much, too painful. You’d worked hard to find your way back to him, to your relationship. He would have waited forever if it meant you were okay. When he closed his eyes again, he was still there, in that sterile room, hushing your cries. He was, for the first time, really touching your body. You asked if he was disgusted. It came out like a slap to the face. When he could find his words again, he told you he thought you were perfect. And you were, whether or not you believed him.

[hccn-overseer]

Issue 23, 9/21/2023 - The Overseer

Issue Masterpost About the Overseer

Weekly Weather Report

By Lydia

Temperatures are represented using Celsius. Sorry, Americans!

Wednesday: Temperatures will reach a high of 21 degrees and a low of 15 degrees. It will be slightly windy and mostly sunny, with wind speeds of 15 miles per hour.

Thursday: Temperatures will reach a high of 24 degrees and a low of 13 degrees. Winds will be slow with a speed of 2 miles per hour. It will be mostly cloudy with occasional shockwaves tearing through the sky, causing clouds to be torn apart and scattered.

Friday: Temperatures will reach a high of 30 degrees and a low of 20 degrees. Skies will be mostly cloudy with expectations to clear up in the afternoon.

Saturday: Temperatures will reach a high of 32 degrees and a low of 23 degrees. Skies will be mostly clear with windy conditions reaching 25 miles per hour.

Sunday: Temperatures will reach a high of 27 degrees and a low of 18 degrees. Skies will be rainy throughout the afternoon but clear up quickly. Gusts of hot air will blow through the server, accompanied by occasional wisps of flames.

Monday: Temperatures will reach a high of 29 degrees and a low of 16 degrees. Skies will be cloudy throughout the entire day with higher humidity today than throughout the rest of the week, making the air feel more like 35 degrees most of the day.

Tuesday: Temperatures will reach a high of 32 degrees and a low of 25 degrees. Dust storms will be prevalent throughout the day and skies will be sunny.

Wednesday: Temperatures will reach a high of 30 degrees and a low of 22 degrees. Skies will remain sunny throughout the entire day with low wind speeds. Clouds in the shape of spiderwebs will be scattered throughout the sky.

Now onto other news under the cut!

Astrology Corner: DeckedOutScopes

By Corundumcat

Have you been feeling without guidance? Do you look at your birthday, look up your star sign, and wonder, “Will I immediately be eaten by Tango’s Cough or Pumpkin” “Am I going to embrace my inner Ethoslab Season 1?” Don’t worry, here at The Overseer, we can help you.*

Aries:  You will max out clank and dance around all of the problems and chaos in the ✨dungeon✨.

Taurus: You are an unpaid worker who has found some great friends, and while this will look great on your resume, it’s not the same as volunteering at music festival, is it?

Gemini: You, like your namesake, are really excited to play. HOWEVER, unlike your namesake, you do not venture in as you like the waiting room.

Cancer: You got to meet Mrs. Tango in your last run… let’s just say she didn’t like you.

Leo: You are in charge of naming pet ravagers and you were asked if you could name it Tango’s Hug. You were confused, so you did. (They paid in frost embers).

Virgo: You are the actor in the dark room who gets to congratulate the successful runners.

Libra: You are trying to adopt Pumpkin.

Scorpio: You are there as the person who hugs the friends who were unsuccessful and got taken by Tango’s Cough. 

Sagittarius: You have a custom Decked Outfit and are trying to win the fashion contest. 

Capricorn: You are the mad lads who are doing the spreadsheet analysing everyone’s scores

Aquarius: You listen to “Better When I’m Dancing” whilst running the dungeon.

Pisces: You are going to end up on the news channel for starting with the hardest difficulty and doing really well.

All star signs: come by my cryptids corner if you have the chance. 

*Ignore how blatantly specific these are. Nothing bad will happen to you. You just may get a tad lost

Lost and Found

By Lydia

All of the following items have been brought to The Overseer staff’s office for safekeeping until they are claimed. If you recognize one of these items as yours, please visit us to receive your items, or contact us at lostandfound@thehermitnews.org. Lost items will be sent to Twinkly Trash if not picked up after two weeks. Thank you! *Not a real email address.

Item 1: A heavy backpack full of amethyst This backpack is dyed a bright orange with blue accents and is filled with two stacks of amethyst. Basic diamond mining tools were also found inside the pack, along with three stacks of torches.

Item 2: A necklace of animal teeth This necklace appears to be made out of the teeth of several Ravagers and is painted with intricate spiraled patterns.

Item 3: A pile of shoelaces with frayed ends These shoelaces appear to have been made a few years ago and were found in a small pouch. They come in several bright colors and are very short, as if they were made for children’s sneakers. There were no aglets on these shoelaces and the ends are very frayed.

Item 4: A box of pavement chalk This box of chalk was found in the Shopping District next to a series of chalk drawings lining the paths. These drawings resemble large chasms, out of which are bursting colorful lightning bolts. There are also several circles, inside of which are written, “Bad Luck Spot.”

Item 5: A pack of playing cards This pack of cards was found near Grian’s rocks and is designed with characters from several 1980s arcade games. They were found scattered in the area.

Item 6: A necklace with a locket This was found in the woods and gave the finder an electric shock when they attempted to open it. There is a distant ticking sound coming from it and an engraving on the back, written in galactic. Half of the engraving is scratched off. The finder suggests taking it as far as possible or finding a way to destroy it completely.

Item 7: A set of tools and weapons in an overgrown box This set includes a sword with Riptide 3, an axe with Feather Falling 2, a pickaxe with Blast Protection 3, a bow with Thorns 5, a shovel with Aqua Affinity, a fishing rod with Flame, and shears with Swift Sneak 3 and Soul Speed 2.

Item 8: A life-sized crocheted office printer plush Stuffed with cotton, it is scented like that of a fresh book. The finder believes whoever made this took “Your workplace is your home,” quite literally.

Item 9: A shipment of merchandise to be released This was found via a motorcycle delivery driver crashing into someone’s garden. The items include subtly designed Warden hoodies, frosty mugs resembling frozen shards, Collector’s Edition Decked Out 2 Cards, relic charms, and two dozen shirts that say, “I survived the burning dark and all I got was this lousy t-shirt,” with one of the dozen being colored to resemble a Ravager and the other colored like that of a Warden. The apparels are made with moderately thick fabric, making them ideal for both warm and cool weather.

Item 10: An indestructible 25-ounce goose-shaped mug This goose-shaped mug depicts the goose’s neck as the handle. It says, “FLIGHT, FRIGHT, FIGHT!” in the font of Another Danger by The Branded Quotes, written in vibrant red letters. It has Unbreaking 5 and Mending. It has been dropped eight times on the finder’s way to the office and not a single chip or dent has formed.

Fun and Games

This week's fun and games are once again brought to you by Lydia and Azure!

Word Search and Crossword by Lydia

Brain Teasers by Azure

And that's all for this week folks! Have a wonderful week y'all!

[awildtei]

the summer day

[this is just a little ficlet I wrote based on my HC that Alvarez is Argentinian. It's also on AO3 here]

Catalina Álvarez has never had a white Christmas. She has never had a winter Christmas, actually.

On the flight to the States when she was fifteen (not her first one, but her first one without a return ticket), she told her dad she was excited about all the Christmas songs and paraphernalia (the pinetree, the Santas with their winter hats and gloves, the Disney songs about it being cold outside) aligning with the reality of the holiday for once.

Her mom didn't bother removing her eye mask as she said, “Cata, we’re going to California.”

Since her mom couldn’t see her, Catalina rolled her eyes. “Well, yeah, but we could go somewhere else for the holidays. New York, maybe, kill two birds with one stone: white Christmas and the ball drop on New Year’s.”

“We are going somewhere else for the holidays,” said her dad without putting his book down “Home.”

Home.

—

Summers in Buenos Aires are scorching hot, the pavement, concrete, and bricks of the city’s streets and buildings absorbing the heat and becoming a furnace, slow-roasting its sweaty inhabitants day and night. It’s a humid, heavy heat, one that sits on your skin like a physical weight and becomes the sole topic of small talk for the months it comes to stay.

The holidays are scattered throughout the summer holidays, three long months of school break sprinkled with Christmas, New Year’s, and Reyes Magos. They always celebrated Reyes at home, just the three of them with their gift-full shoes under the tree. When Catalina’s dad still had his mom and wasn’t yet estranged from his only brother, they spent New Year’s with them and Christmas with her mom’s side of the family.

Hebe Rodríguez’s house was squat and painted a soft blue, halfway down a quiet residential street where stray cats could still be spotted. Inside, it was teeming with plants (which Catalina loved) and pictures of her late husband, Roberto Álvarez (which Catalina found creepy as fuck).

(Two months before she died and five months before most of the remaining Álvarezes moved to the northern hemisphere, Hebe pulled Catalina aside. “Promise me this, Cata,” she asked. “Don’t do like the yankees and take your husband’s surname when you get married, okay? Just because they’re stuck in the Dark Ages doesn’t mean you have to put up with it. You are Catalina Álvarez, remember that.”

“I’m a lesbian, grandma,” she reminded her with a smile.

Her grandma blinked at her. “Oh. Right, I forgot. Alright, carry on, then,” and she patted her only grandchild on the shoulder with a decisive nod.)

Her uncle Luis would spend most of New Year’s Eve stuck to the TV screen. Some years, he would pop his head into the kitchen and grimly inform them, “Blackout tonight,” and they would all sigh, resigned. Better announced than unannounced, they supposed.

No blackout is welcome in 35°C temperatures, though. When the dark wave swept through the neighborhood, drowning out the lights of each house one by one like in the apocalyptic movies Catalina’s dad liked, they would have flashlights and candles ready, but the click of the ceiling fan and air-con turning off felt final and ominous. 

Those years (blackout-in-the-middle-of-New-Year’s-Eve-dinner years), they would sit out on the small patio in their white clothes to watch the stars and sip chilled wine. Conversation was hard to keep going when the humid air made breathing laborious, but the silence wasn’t bad. The electricity would usually return before midnight, and they would turn the TV on to a news channel and chant along to the countdown: cinco, cuatro, tres, dos, uno, ¡FELIZ AÑO NUEVO! before eating twelve raisins (which Catalina replaced with chocolate-covered cereal because she found raisins disgusting), one for each month, and running outside to see the fireworks.

Christmases, however, were always Catalina’s favorite. Her mom’s side of the family was a very different story from her dad’s: loud where they were quiet, numerous where they were sparse, posh where they were normal (her dad’s words, the ‘chetos’ said with undisguised derision, ignoring his mom’s resulting elbow to the ribs).

Catalina and her parents would make the forty-minute drive to Santa Bárbara, the definition of a swank gated community. Once past the guard booths, they would make the slow fifteen-minute drive down winding streets with their “Children Playing” signs to the big house at the end of the lane where Aunt Soledad and Uncle Tomás lived with their 2.5 kids and golden retriever. It was always lavishly decorated, with a life-size nativity scene on the front lawn and unseasonable snowflake cutouts and colorful strings of lights on the windowsills.

The afternoon before Christmas Eve was for riding bikes and swimming in the wide backyard pool and roller skating up and down the long wooden bridge over the expansive pond that was Santa Bárbara’s hallmark. Cousins Marcos, Agustín, Lara and Constanza were older than Catalina; Milagros, Sebastián and Santiago were younger. Then there were the babies, Benjamín and Pilar, but they stayed home with their respective parents, doing whatever babies did while kids played, so Catalina barely registered them for a few years.

At noon, they would run back to the house, Catalina and her cousins, and sit down for lunch under big striped patio umbrellas with minimal eye-rolling at their mothers’ fussing that they would get heatstroke and would they please play inside where it was cool? Uncle Tomás would serve the asado, delicious, juicy meat that was as much cultural ritual as it was meal, an excuse for the men to hover around the grill as though the whole thing would go up in flames without their combined expertise.

After lunch (an hours-long affair that included lengthy, inescapable post-lunch conversation), some of the adults would retreat to guest rooms to nap, others would lounge around on plastic chairs to sip mate and keep talking, and the kids would run again. Christmas Eve Eve always felt endless to Catalina, lovely and sweltering and carefree. Playing in the street was out of the question back in the city, had stopped being safe when her parents were children, but here it was fine, and she felt that freedom coursing through her veins with every running step she took down quiet streets lined with Aguaribay, American Ash, and Plane trees.

When the sun began to set, they would all, parents and children, slowly amble down to the pond to watch the orange-pink-red spectacle play on the water’s surface. Besides the two weeks she and her parents spent on the coast in Mar del Plata each February, it was the only time Catalina saw the horizon, the perfect straight line usually hidden by towering buildings.

Back at the house, the adults would start setting everything up for Christmas dinner, and the kids would banish the heat that still hung heavy in the air by playing mermaids and Marco Polo in the pool. When they were called inside, they would climb the pool ladder, grass sticking to their feet, trailing water all the way back into the house, and get changed into white dresses and shorts, airy and fresh, wet patches immediately appearing from their dripping hair.

Barefoot, smelling of chlorine, and worn from a day spent playing in the sun, they would sit at the table set with the good cutlery and linen napkins, jittery with the looming promise of Papá Noel’s visit (Catalina would never get used to the way U.S. Americans open presents on Christmas day instead of Christmas Eve, couldn’t fathom asking a child to go to sleep with that anticipation hanging over them). Dinner would be light due to the heat, salads and cold cuts, chilled wine and champagne for the adults, lemonade and Coke for the children, dessert for all.

When the excitement got to be too much for the youngest members of the family, one of the adults would say, “Hey, why don’t we go outside to wait for Papá Noel?” and guide a band of eager children to the backyard to search the stars for signs of an approaching reindeer-pulled sleigh. They were brighter here than in the city, and Catalina thought any one of them could be him.

Somehow, Santa always arrived when they were outside looking for him, and they would run back in to find a towering pile of presents waiting for them underneath the huge plastic Christmas tree. The rest of the evening usually unraveled in a loud mess of bright, noisy toys and sugar-high kids wanting to play with them even as the day caught up with them and made their jaws crack with their lion yawns.

The ones left standing by midnight were welcome to a glass of champagne to toast with the adults. Catalina always fought tooth and nail against her tiredness because she refused to miss out. After a sip or two of the bitter, bubbly liquid, she would kiss her parents goodnight and drag herself into the guest room she shared with her female cousins. The sheets smelled clean, the fan droned its merciful reprieve from the heat, and her heart felt full as she fell asleep.

On Christmas day, the boys would go to the fútbol field by the restaurant and wouldn’t let the girls join them, so Lara, Constanza, Catalina and Milagros would claim the backyard and invite the neighbors’ girls to play Exy with them. For years, that’s what Exy meant to Catalina: running with a pack of fierce girls under a furious summer sun, sweaty and happy and in charge. They would take pool breaks now and then, a quick dip and a pit stop for sunscreen reinforcement before resuming their game.

Lunch would consist of assorted leftovers and a dozen empanadas ordered from the restaurant two streets down. The knowledge that the day was about to end made it a less ebullient affair than the previous day, even the wildest of her cousins subdued by their impending departure.

After lunch, Aunt Soledad and Uncle Tomás would dress their kids up and walk down to the chapel five minutes away for Christmas Mass. Everyone else was allowed to join them, but only Aunt Carolina would sometimes go.

When the day slowly trickled down into night, the guest families would leave one by one, causing tantrums and loud protests as playmates were forced to say their goodbyes.

Catalina would get in the boiling car with her hair still dripping wet and an inevitable sunburn where she neglected to put on sunscreen. She would watch the trees pass them by on their slow crawl to the gates. Somewhere between the house and the highway, she would fall asleep. On the ride home, she would dream of grass and swimming pools and laughter and Exy and family.

—

The holidays are inevitably different now that she’s an adult. She goes from USC straight to LAX and meets her parents there. She sleeps most of the flight.

Buenos Aires is always the same, except for the ever-changing billboards and many old houses in her neighborhood being demolished to make room for mammoth apartment complexes. The summers are still scorching hot, only getting hotter with global warming.

Grandma Hebe is gone. Uncle Luis kept her house, but he and Catalina’s dad haven’t spoken in years, so she doesn’t know what became of that blue jungle, whether her grandad’s pictures still sprout among the plants like weeds.

Catalina and her parents spend both Christmas and New Year’s in Santa Bárbara with her aunt and uncle now. She and her cousins don’t run around all day anymore, but they do still sometimes play Exy in the backyard, with racquets they’ve outgrown and complaints from her opponents that being a college Exy player gives her an unfair advantage, which she gleefully ignores. 

There are still long evenings spent floating on her back in the swimming pool until her fingers prune and her skin smells of chlorine. There are still asados, even if Uncle Román isn’t part of the grill committee anymore since Aunt Carolina divorced him. 

There is no searching for Santa among the stars, but presents are still exchanged, toasts still made. There are new guests, Agustín’s girlfriend, Marcos’s best friend, Milagros’s girlfriend. Their junior year of college, Catalina brings along Laila. 

There are long lunches that stretch into longer conversations. There is sunscreen and chilled champagne and the sun setting over the pond.

And on the plane ride back to California, where she will exchange gifts with Jeremy and Jean and the other Trojans, where she will train and study and keep growing up, Catalina dreams of grass and swimming pools and laughter and Exy and family.

[transgenderer]

Hemilepistus reaumuri is a species of woodlouse that lives in and around the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, "the driest habitat conquered by any species of crustacean".[3] It reaches a length of 22 mm (0.87 in) and a width of up to 12 mm (0.47 in), and has seven pairs of legs which hold its body unusually high off the ground.

Hemilepistus reaumuri is an important part of the desert ecosystem. It has been found at population densities of up to 480,000 individuals per hectare, which is equivalent to a biomass of 19.2 kg/ha; in comparison, desert mammals are estimated to have a combined biomass of 39.9 kg/ha.[9]

Hemilepistus reaumuri can only escape the heat of the desert by constructing a burrow, which is time-consuming and energetically costly. One parent must therefore guard the burrow while the other forages for food.[12] Although they will forage at temperatures as high as 35 °C (95 °F),[13] these woodlice retreat to their burrow when the temperature is too high.[6] They are also unable to tolerate air with a relative humidity below 6%, which often occurs at depths of up to 30 centimetres (12 in) in the desert soil in the hottest months, and the burrows are therefore dug at least 40–50 cm (16–20 in) deep.[6] The burrows are vertical, with a single entrance 9–12 mm (0.35–0.47 in) in diameter,[14] and there may be up to 20 burrows per square metre (nearly 2 per square foot) in favourable areas.[13] If a foraging woodlouse cannot find the burrow entrance on its return, it employs a complex and efficient strategy to find it again. It begins with a spirally widening search, and develops into a more meandering approach the longer it is unable to find the burrow.[14]

They spend the day provisioning their burrows with leaf material from the surface of the desert, sometimes resting under stones or in crevices of rocks.[6]

[magz]

The planet Duendi. (magz worldbuilding from 2019)

Inorganic Elements

On this planet called Duendi, there are green puffs of smoke and glittering twinkles suspended in it’s atmosphere. There are clashes of rock formation, usually having an artificial looking matte red and grey surface.

 A cool blue light bends and spreads after bouncing around the puffy emerald green and cyan colored clouds that occasionally rain yellow sulphur, and heavy showers of water a couple times a year.

Those clouds are always present as thin floating sheets in the sky. The blue light comes from the white dwarf star 11 light minutes away, the sort of light that got distorted by the filtering skies.

The sky looks like a big tub of moving marbling paint fixed right above everything, a slow but satisfying movement of swirls and ribbons where greens, blacks, light blues, and any other of the frequently changing colors that pierced through the stratosphere at different times of the day. 

At the middle of a 65 hour day, just as the white dwarf star would shine brightly upon most of one side of Duendi, the skies would look thinner and less opaque. They would look like the depths of deep, rolling water. Most of Duendi has anywhere from a 60% to 95% humidity rate despite the infrequent water showers, but the ground and the air retain the humid rather well. 

Uneven patches of temperature of hot 65 degrees and cold -35 degrees Celsius with subtle shifts between different zones of temperature is like this because of how the water reserves everywhere would absorb and sometimes heat up everything around as a consistent rate when hit by warming light rays.

The feeling was often warm and damp, like a wet thick sweater being worn close to a fireplace.

Organic Elements

Algae loved the humidity of this place. Duendi had plenty of water and other liquids that would pool together in cracks, deep holes, and dips in almost anywhere, but especially the ground.

The algae adapted to the conditions of the planet by taking on a light color and fuzzy edges in parts of Duendi where there was sparse light and a lot of damp dirt and minerals.

The fuzzy edges would bury deep, sometimes like roots, sipping on the rich mineral waters below.

And in the places with an overabundance of water and light rays, the algae came in many different forms, some would float like flat buoyant disks that were dry and hard at the top, some would anchor at the bottom, others would fill themselves up at the edges of the water and inflate. And from those kinds of algae, there was everything in between. They thrived rather well on Duendi. 

Why talk so much about such simple creatures? Well, they thrived so well that they make up a lot of things, influenced almost everything, and were certainly on or in a huge chunk of Duendi.

When they bunched up together, depending on the situation they could either:

A) Become brittle and break down into dust, enriching their surroundings.

B) Pack tightly and under the heat and pressure of Duendi’s rock and 3.5G Gravity, become beautiful crystals that often decorated the oldest of formations.

C) Explode in unison upon their death, in hopes of reproducing, often creating rainbows and sometimes becoming a part of the dense atmosphere and clouds. 

Over time, different creatures formed, dependent on the oversaturation of algae in the environment to thrive. 

“The vegetation” are all short and close to the ground, from round ‘bubbles’, underwater spindly tentacles, spirals that clung tightly to rocks, small beads that flew in the air and burrowed once settled, and so many more.

Many species of vegetation provided more of the silicon, salts, and carbon (dioxide and disulfide and benzene) on Duendi. The green and yellow bubbling plants grew at high heights, the sulfide rains would slide on the crystalline rocky slabs they would pop up on.

Those plants would drip carbon disulfide and absorb the rains, reproducing from the hot liquid that would overflow. 

Conscious slimy blobs would eat and sip from these liquids and the plants themselves, digesting them slowly for many planet rotations.

Thinking beings

These are the main thinking beings on Duendi, however ther are more, but they do not have as wide an influence as these two.

--The Asanjei are individual masses of viscous substance and a central nervous system with several, specialized tiny brains branching off inside of them.

They usually bind themselves in soothing bandages made of the fibers of drooping plants that grow close to Duendi’s pools of water, their outer layers of “skin” (a thin layer that forms around the surface of their bodies) are hyper-sensitive to many sensations. That skin works as a protective layer that prevents their insides from moving on their own and it can be uncomfortable to not be bound by woven fibers.

The Asanjei move rather slowly (1.5 miles per hour when they exert themselves), have pre-tensile extended limbs that can retract into their bodies, and have slug-like lower halves. They do not have very specialized developed eyes but they can see with preliminary spots around their upper and middle half that can sense light.

They also have concave spots spread out on their bodies that can perceive forms, as a result, they can “see” at many different angles like an extreme and somewhat blurry fish-eye lense as a result of the many inputs getting filtered through a couple of their tiny “brains” to have a complete image.

They can secrete poisonous liquids from their skin as a result of eating poisonous plants that they build immunity towards, starting from when they are basically toddlers.

They reproduce by using a “host” as a receptacle, which can be the corpse of a fleshy meal in rare occasions (it’s seen in bad taste to do that) or as is more common -- using the warm fibers of trees and plants that grow close to them, and their nutrients left inside after many Asanjei members of age deposit reproductive materials. After a few rotations, in the Duendi equivalent of spring and fall, Asanjei pupas will come out and be cared for.

They have 4 “genders”: they can be translated as spade, sphere, leaf, and fire. Anything from their receptacle’s temperature, the kind of nutrients they absorb, the climate, and anything else from before they are born chooses what gender they are.

The way the different genders are distinguished between each other are through markings on their bodies and the colors they are. Their genders do not fundamentally change what they are capable of doing nor their organ’s functionality except through their culture’s expectations, variation in hormonal discharges, and who they are allowed contact with (only their own gender) until they grow up as adolescents before they are fully matured.

Spades and Spheres are focused on physical exertion to get closer to their higher powers, Spades use tools more often, with Spheres more likely to be bare besides their bindings.

Leaf and Fire are both covered a lot more for social conventions to allow for longer periods of reflective meditation and rituals without risking their skins, Leafs usually grow out spindles and tubes of gelatinous masses that serve aesthetic functions and can rarely act as extra limbs when they reach older age, and Fires are likely to focus on the teaching aspects of religion.

Though this might seem as rather superficial or that it could heavily affect the kinds of jobs they get in society, any gender is capable of getting any job, however the way they are expected to act in the roles they get heavily relies on their genders, with certain methods and handicaps expected for each gender and how they act when doing jobs.

For example, if a leaf Asanjei becomes a warrior, they are still expected to wear a lot of bindings and grow out (often vistigial) appendages, and as a result they have to pin those appendages in place so as to not get in the way and be careful not to overheat and are allowed to have more access to water than their different gendered warrior peers.  

    There are 2 main cultural categories of Asanjei, that are defined by their location.

 The ones from  Northern Duendi close to swamps and wetlands, that often live in the waters. They see the waters as holy and it is a rite of passage for a young Asanjei to be allowed to swim and practice their religious rituals in the large body of water their settlement was built around.

They grow from their pupal stage (they are like balls of viscous slime with big faux eyes and thick “skin” and stubby limbs. Their appearance is similar to a pupal earth bee.) where they’ll have to be protected by an assigned “wet mistress” (like a temporary adoptive parent) until they metamorph to their final adult form after becoming much bigger and then hibernating for about 15 Duendi days.

While hibernating, they are protected several at a time in cool-aired huts close to the large body of water, and tended to by several wet mistresses.

The coming of age ritual is very important as the waters they are dipped in for the first time decide their role in later stages in life, like whether they are a priest, sanitations worker, wet mistress, warrior, food preparer, “manager”, teacher, etc.  

The ones from West Duendi’s sweltering deserts wear more varieties of bindings and clothing to protect them, and rely on tool-making for survival.

There are 15% more spades in Western Asanjei populations than in Northern ones. They are a nomadic culture unlike the Northern Asanjei. Western Asanjei are raised in groups with many children being raised by many adults. They eat much more meats and other slimes moreso than plants (2 to 1 ratio), with exception of poisonous plants they consume to produce their own poison.

Early in life, they are taught various skills for survival and it’s mandatory for young Asanjei to cycle between different groups of adults with different roles, so that they learn from as many groups before maturing. However, they are not expected to have strong emotional connections until they grow up and are urged to focus on personal development instead.

Despite being more “community” driven overall, young Asanjei are given different treatment and expectations to the point that they will not know how it really is to be a “part of a family” until they grow up, so they generally do not get attached to any specific group or individual as by the time they are adults those adult members that raised them often die or are no longer a part of their trade.

There is a lot of importance given towards broadening their knowledge. Once they metamorphose they are expected to choose their roles themselves and are taken under the wing of an adult with a workshop for hundreds of rotations until they become independent, get to choose a more permanent group of the community to be a part of, and are allowed to participate in creating Asanjai pupas.

--Purple Jains. As their name implies they are purple, but not from their own pigmentation. It’s from eating and rubbing against purple spores that grow around Southern and Western Duendi.

Their actual color is a very dark blue that borders on black, with grey flesh and skin. The spores help distinguish between them more and they use them to make markings on themselves, that can have many meanings between what time of year it is like holiday wear, when they were born, their religious affiliation, and so on.

The spores also prevent parasites from getting on their skin. They are very small and often form beneficial relationships with other organisms, even the Asanjei. The average full-grown Purple Jain is 25 inches tall, have many thousands of spindly feathers that aeriate heat through miniscule tube structures that are a part of the feather, have two long triple jointed legs that are good for jumping and assisting in swimming whenever needed, and 4 arms attached to insect-like sections to their abdomen that swivel as much as 80 degrees independently of each other.

They have sharp chiseled beeks and blunt teeth inside their mouths. And they have a long strip of an “eye” above their beeks that can sense visible light and part of uv rays emitted by the white dwarf star, useful for finding prey rich in nutrients -- those that usually bounce more uv rays in Duendi.

They don’t have societies that vary heavily from each other besides small variations of their main form of communication (dialects of language), they migrate often and keep constant tabs on each member of their race.

They have a fast and efficient hub of communication between each branch of Purple Jains. Their language is modular and easy to learn for young Purple Jains. Adult Purple Jains make the babies and toddlers absorb the meanings of various noises, scratches, symbols, and smoke signals in the way they communicate as part of how they are raised.

When a purple jain dies, for 3 days (around an earth week) they are mourned and given ceremonies of respect with their bodies covered, plants and objects are then presented around their covered bodies signifying how they were in life or what they could have been, and then they are stripped and spread where they originally died or where they used to live. Where a purple jain is buried or spread, purple flowers (buds of circular shapes) bloom.

They are formed from a mixture of the nutrients of the Purple Jain’s corpse, their remaining unused energy before dying if any, and the spores that had become a part of their bodies and mutated in the Purple Jains’ presence to last longer on their bodies and survive. Those flowers are seen as the continuation of the purple jain’s spirit, and their buds are eaten on days of rememberance that happen every time the white dwarf star aligns with the Southern or Western Duendi skies to create rippling sky phenomenons (about every 3 to 8 earth months). Purple jains do not have specialized roles or genders and are a jack of all trades. They are able to communicate with many species by imitating their sounds, body languages, and the smells of other creatures. They hunt, bathe, court, eat, nurse, and procreate entirely dependent on the time of day and season.

In other words, everything has a set time to be done, and synchronization and pre-planning is what makes them strong as a sense of community and as force, besides their adaptability in forming symbiotic relationships with other native beings.

They are born as tinier, featherless versions of adults with softer membranes and only 2 developed sections of their abdomens instead of 3 with rudimentary stubs for their second set of arms. The babies are carried around by their parents that gave birth to them through sexual reproduction, and are taught to hunt very early on, immediately after they learn how to communicate and understand their language.

Purple jains always keep tabs of their frequency of hunting and the number of prey as to not have too little later on and complicate their matters. If a purple jain over-hunts or hunts when it is not time to, then they are punished, punishment can be anything from cutting a limb, being buried for a whole Duendi day, or being killed.

The bodies of traitorous Purple Jains are also given respect and ceremonies through their rituals, but they are not given as much respect to be buried where they died or lived in unlike their non-traitorous counterparts, and instead are dumped in special graves for “the damned”. The flowers born of those bodies are not allowed to be consumed, it is believed they are somehow twisted. and are instead used for religious purposes to be burned and exume evil 4 times a Duendi year to re-new energies.

Locations

In the Northern wetlands, beyond heavy fogs, lies a sparkling natural fountain with a sparkling bluish liquid that absorbs the energy of spirits and the rays of the white dwarf star, such that it is protected by the Asanjei as a politically and religiously important ground. The Northern Asanjei have a monopoly on the consumption of the liquid, nicknamed “the star’s tears”.

They enforce and protect the sparkling liquid by any and all means, making it impossible to touch it without permission without dying. Once the liquid is consumed, they can transform the individual into a stronger, semi-immortal being whose frame of thought and understanding is forever changed (“enlightenment”).

The issue with this is that the one who consumed are often inclined to separate themselves from their own societies to do the bidding of the One Entity and not necessarily do what was previously in their or their species’/culture’s best interest. It is rare for someone to be allowed to consume The Star’s Tears because of how they lose themselves, especially if weak-willed, and can be a serious threat. Regardless, there are fanatics that desire to one day be allowed access to it, whether for financial gains or to threaten the current status quo or to be strong enough to protect what they hold dear.

Large bodies of water that western Asanjei settlements worship and hold dear have a very, very diluted version of the star’s tears. That’s why those bodies of water are closed off and a part of Asanjei property. Asanjei members (and other species even) are sometimes sacrificed or punished by being fed to the fountain, absorbing their life and dying as a fodried husk.

-The millenium trees. These are located in East Duendi, and make it hard to inhabit the East as they attract chaos and death. Millenium trees are the only “real trees” on Duendi and are several thousands of years old. Under their soil and roots, they all connect to one point, towards the sleeping chamber of an unspoken entity that warps and crafts many aspects of Duendi in their slumber. No one is aware of this, nor are they allowed to by the many anomalies that appear in these several hundred of thousands of miles of woods.

-”Eternal fire pit”. It’s not actually eternal and they are not one specific place. These fire pits are located in southern, northern, central, and western duendi as several sepearate spaces that connect to each other as an interconnected hub of fire (which is why they may be referred to as one place) and continually fuel burning. Useful for survival to find these fire pits. 

Sensor anomalies

The  spirit is just as it sounds, it is a form of you beyond your fleshy body. All inhabitors of Duendi have spirit, spirit cannot be completely destroyed or created, they are basically recycled between each other bit by bit like matter and energy. It is strong enough to allow life and consciousness, and to allow the existence of magic.

Magic is quite simple on Duendi, the limit is how much spirit you have access to and there are limitations of how much can be used by one mortal at a time, as well as per lifetime.

With this in mind, anything from using up your own limited spirit until you die or lose consciousness, to sacrificing others, or using material with a lot of spirit accumulated… are allowed.

Magic is dangerous and risky, so it is not uncommon to restrict it’s usage in cultures. Magic is capable of healing, destruction, re-construction, and combination/reaction.

Something that’s practical to be achieved by the average lifeform, assuming they would be allowed to use magic, would be to create an explosion of a 15 yard radius as destruction for one “spell”; capable of re-constructing a blasted limb up to a foot long; Heal one individual’s severe burn wounds; or make two otherwise non-reactive elements combine into a concentrated rich edible food that can fuel any organism for up to a week… before losing consciousness.

Duendi is home to The One Entity Being a mass of old spirit that never dissipated and has it’s own will, a great deal of power and influence due to it’s mass collection of spirit that keeps replenishing itself once spirit is used for magic by others or spirit is left unguarded / unclaimed and it decides to make that spirit a part of itself. It is so huge and enormous as a mass that would be hard to imagine and quantify for us, and it would virtually + practically never run out of spirit to use for magic even if it tried.

Limitations of magic usage are not in place for The One Entity Being, as it has enough spirit and does not count as one consciousness / lifetime / individual such that it circumvents those conventions.

The One Entity is the closest thing to a g-d that Duendi has. It is hard to understand it’s reasoning and self-interest, it can be benevolent or rather cruel with living inhabitants of Duendi, and the only thing known for sure is that it wants to keep existing for as long as it can.

[lastweeksshirttonight]

It was 95 degrees with 35% humidity today, my house feels like the inside of a blast furnace, and somehow I decided this was prime "watch and write about John" hours. So greetings from the surface of the sun, we've got more LWT to see!

Last Lee Tonight (wherein there is, theoretically, a universe where John Oliver is writing Tumblr reviews of Lee's topical news comedy) Season One, Episode Seven

(original air date: 6/15/2014) Major topics covered: US immigration reform, Washington Football Team Interview: Stephen Hawking

Trigger warning: racist iconography

"If you don't learn the recorder, you're fucked." "Seriously though, playing the recorder sets you up for life."

So uh, fun story. Remember how last week I said that the YouTube channel was finally starting to get the hang of things by episode six, aside from the occasional oddity of a one-minute clipped joke here and there?

The YouTube team didn't upload the main story from this episode to the LWT channel. At all.

We're still in prime "figuring this shit out" mode! Strap in!

That's consistent across the entire episode. After the last episode, which saw the show starting to coalesce into its modern form, this episode seems to go back to the drawing board and toss all kinds of shit at the wall to see what sticks - it's honestly most reminiscent of episode one. The opening segments are lightning-fast and don't transition into each other well, the central topic doesn't go nearly as deep as you'd expect it, and there's a random (but amazing) interview at the end of the show. I wonder if the next episode will swing the pendulum in the opposite direction again.

John starts our episode banging and then punching the desk, going in the opposite direction from our last episode. He seems to be taking out his rage on the glass countertop, which he looks very silly doing.

We begin by revisiting net neutrality, from Episode Five. (I'm linking it because I wrote this months ago, and if your executive dysfunction is anything like mine, you totally forgot everything about the episode.) In that episode, John described Tom Wheeler as a dingo, and somehow Tom Wheeler was asked about the LWT episode in a FCC meeting. He speaks like a literal robot and refutes, in the weirdest way possible, the idea that he's a dingo. How is that the thing you focus on from that whole segment. How. What? Christ.

The unsaid caption "Satire is not C-SPAN, however." goes without comment, which is unbelievable to me. That phrase cracked me up so hard I had to pause the episode. I know there was a rich vein of missing the point entirely and subsequent dingo humour to mine here, but come on John, that caption is a gift.

We then move to Iraq, where ISIS forces crossed nearly the entire country in five days and stole $400 million dollars. This bit only goes for about a minute before we move to another topic, Obama visiting the Standing Rock Sioux reservation and pledging aid. We finally then transition into a discussion of the Washington Football Team, who, at the time, were still refusing to change their goddamn racist name and iconography, which I will not be using here. (I did learn from writing this that apparently they have rebranded - FINALLY - as the Washington Commanders in 2022, after two seasons of being Washington Football Team.)

I appreciate how John lets an extremely sincere and powerful commercial made by Native Americans regarding the offensive name largely speak for itself, aside from one dark joke at the end, before discussing what an abject shitwhistle former Washington Football Team owner Dan Snyder is and how pathetic his protestations are.

It did take a while, but Snyder was ousted from his ownership post of the team in 2021 after a massive expose of sexual harassment under his watch was released in 2020. He's been mired in investigations over financial conduct, fraud, and deceptive business practices as well, to which I can only say "good".

The night's main topic, which has no YouTube video anywhere (I'm sorry), is immigration. John says he has a vested interest in the topic and the audience laughs, which is funny-weird because it doesn't seem like John is trying to humorously highlight his insider nature here. The real focus here is the debate over immigration reforms, as the system is (and remains) very broken and anti-immigrant sentiment is high all over the world.

I do wish this clip was on YouTube. It's not the most informative piece on immigration, but is a nice window into how much John loved this country prior to the beginning of its full collapse. This definitely takes much more from The Daily Show mold, being a comedic monologue interspersed with news clips that allow John to riff on the state of immigration, as opposed to later LWT immigration segments, which tend to be exceptionally sobering. This one is comparatively light-hearted and surface-level, and John delivers the material with a very comfortable confidence. I don't think the segment itself is a standout, but I really like John's attitude here.

We technically get our first animal-fucking joke during this segment, which is about bears only fucking face to face and stops John cold as he helplessly giggles over it. One step closer to getting all the running jokes in order!

Somehow, the end of this with the animated Actual American Tale video is on YouTube, so please enjoy one of the most depressing things LWT has ever put together. It's genuinely far more distressing than the actual main topic segment.

The episode ends with the only appearance of "recurring segment" Great Minds: People Who Think Good, where John interviews Stephen Hawking. Interestingly, I was listening to a podcast today (gonna likely make a separate post on it) where John talked about how much he loved interviewing Hawking and how he wanted to showcase the man's wit and humour more than his intelligence. I think that the interview is incredibly successful in that regard.

I adore this interview so much. Never have I had so much fun watching John get totally roasted.

Random notes:

Lee is a very predictable man corner: today we get a black suit jacket with lavender shirt and dark purple tie, which is a great look, 9/10. The only thing keeping it from being a 10 is that it's missing an element of boldness. Maybe a deep purple jacket or a shinier tie?

Lee continues being predictable in a second bullet point: the interview outfit is a black suit jacket with a light-blue and white checkered shirt and black tie. Definitely a pedestrian but still solid look and I still love the baby blue on John, so I give this 7/10.

Please stop making me talk about American football in these, John, I beg you.

"I lost my virginity to the sound of a man ranting about Bulgarians." This is so far the best line of early LWT, I will bear no other arguments.

There are no random 1 minute YouTube clips of isolated jokes this episode! 🎊

Once an episode, someone from the past 20 years of American political culture pops up that I've completely forgotten about and am upset to be reminded of. This week, it's Michele Bachmann, who I refuse to look up to see what she's doing now. You cannot make me think more about Michele fucking Bachmann.

There is an extended interview with Stephen Hawking that adds a few nice bits, like John asking Stephen a meandering hypothetical about him being a drug lord with inconsistent staff.

[bugbxyjunk]

hello cj. my name is oliver. you may know me as ollie of @ollieollieoxenfreeee.

answer all 100 of the questions. every single one. do it.

bet.

2. what’s the weather like?

Humid and veryyy warm, but much cooler than it has been!!

3. are you impulsive?

yes, oh my god yes, its a really bad problem

4. are you organised?

no but i am trying!!

5. are you self confident?

HAH. thats funny. no

8. what’s something you hate about yourself?

uhhh not to get all edgy but my like entire self of being? in specific probably my body. or my scars. really hate those.

9. do you have any pets?

Yes! 3, my babies 🥹

10. do you have any regrets?

too many to count man

11. do you have any siblings?

yes, 2 technically. but. i only say one

12. what do you think comes after life?

death, probably

13. what colour is your water bottle?

mainly blue, its git sharks on it :3

14. have you ever dyed your hair/would you ever want to?

its actually dyed rn

16. do you believe in aliens?

YES

17. do you believe in ghosts?

YES

18. do you believe in karma?

yes, actually

19.do you believe in astrology?

ehh kinda? not really, but i also don't know a lot about it

20. do you believe in luck?

Yeah

21. what is/was your favourite subject in school?

Not to be That Stereotypical Person™ but definitely art

22. what is/was your least favourite subject in school?

Math. i hated the class, i hated the teacher, i suck at it, and ive never been good at it.

23. how long have you been friends with your longest friend for?

Considering i only have one stable friendship, almost 3 years i think? maybe 2 and half

24. what do you do in your free time?

i have too much free time in the summer, and lately ive just been on my phone and listening to music/watching YouTube

25. what do you do under stress?

Cry? Panic?? okok fr though if theres a more suitable leader i let them handle things and panic quietly, but if i have to take the lead i can, then i fall apart afterwards. by myself. away from anyone else, of course of course

26. who/what do you turn to to vent?

okok honestly? no one? i mean i go to J (irl friend for those that don't know) for smaller/easier to handle things. but. really i try to deal with everything alone

27. spicy, sweet or savoury?

Sweet, probably

28. what’s your favourite drink?

Strawberry watermelon Ice drinks 🙏

29. what’s your favourite cuisine?

cuisine is so fancy for what I'm about to say, my mom's Alfredo shits delicious

31. what are you wearing right now?

women's beach shorts that r wayyy too big and a grey oversized Harley Davidson shirt

32. what’s your favourite time of day?

Night time !!

33. who do you trust the most?

My mom or J

34. do you trust anyone completely?

Nah

35. would you ever want to get married?

Noooo thank u im good

36. would you ever want children?

NO. i will b the uncle to J's kids, i shouldn't be allowed my own kids i can barely keep myself alive

37. do you have any allergies?

Pollen. and i think caramel??? i don't know i cannot eat that shit

38. do you hate anyone?

Yes

40. what is your relationship with your family like?

Pretty good now, it was pretty rocky for a bit and well childhood was. something. but its great now, my immediate family is my priority in life

41. what is your middle name?

Next question

44. do you like making art?

Yes! its kinda like therapy. and much cheaper.

45. do you believe in the death penalty?

Yeeesh thats a heavy question dontcha think? i think if you're a r--pis- yeah fuck the fuck right the fuck off. I do not care. but i don't think im allowed to speak beyond that, im not qualified

46. do you follow routines/plans easily?

I actually prefer them, i get overwhelmed without them

47. growing up, what did you want to do in life?

I wanted to be a pretty woman with a husband and children and be a vet, a lot has changed since then

48. what is your favourite album?

i don't think i really have one? i don't really pay attention to names/albums on what im listening to, i just enjoy the music. this is why music connoisseurs hate me

49. what’s something you’re grateful for?

My mama 🫶🫶

50.what’s a food you hate?

Tomatoes. for various reasons.

51. would you rather lose your legs or arms?

uhhhhhhhh legs? i guess??

52. what is the most important thing to you right now?

Getting ny shit together for school so i can get a good fuckin scholarship

53. what’s the last dream you remember having?

Something about my grandfather? and a train. it definitely had something to do with something I don't like digging up sooo

54. do you believe in soulmates/true love?

I guess, yeah i do. i think ive met mine, since they aren't always romantic. twin flame is the platonic version i think?

55. what is your favourite word?

Shark, maybe. Or like, Slippery, funky ass word

56. would you rather be loved, trusted or respected?

Loved or trusted, people don't respect me much already so like i can handle not being respected

57. would you want to be famous if you had the chance?

Depends i guess, id like act in something that sees people one day, so sure why not

58. what are/were you like in school?

Horribly quiet, and awkward, and clumsy. and also 'intimidating'

59. who’s the last person you talked to?

J my bbg 🫶🫶🫶

60. what would your perfect day be like?

Getting adequate sleep, spending the day at an aquarium with a loved one(romantic, platonic, queer platonic, i don't care), swimming, or just laying quietly with a lover, i don't need much to be Happy

61. where is a place that you’d love to visit?

THE GEORGIA AQUARIUM !!

62. what is your main goal in life?

Help as much of the ocean and sea life as i can, they're vital to this planet and just as important to take care of.

63. do you exercise often?

Not as much as i should, no

64. do you play any sports?

Im gonna be on the swim team again! i was on it in 8th grade

65. do you play any instruments?

Nah, but im gonna learn bass

66. what is your earliest memory?

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh i don't wanna talk about it so lets say getting my first build a bear from my aunt

67. if you could have a superpower, what’d you choose?

Shapeshifting.

68. what kind of person annoys you the most?

Uhh people who assume they're better than you for "xyz reason"

69. what is your biggest pet peeve?

People who talk in the middle of tests, or people that are rude to cashiers/customer service people for no reason

70. what’s your favourite number?

13

71. have you ever been in love?

Yeah, and i sometimes i feel like i still am

73. what is your deepest fear?

damn this is getting personal jeez, death? serious sickness/ailments, and doctors. also my half brother and his ex gf

74. have you ever met anyone famous?

i don't think so

75. cats or dogs?

Cats!!

77. how do you deal with loneliness?

uhh im kinda used to it, but if i ever cant deal w it i get into the shower and crank the knob all the way to hot

78. what’s your favourite animal?

is this a real question. SHARKLSKSKSKSKKSKKSHSJDHH!!!!!!!

80. would you rather freeze or burn to death?

uhhhhhhh burn? i feel like it'd be quicker maybe

81. what are some of your bad habits?

Biting my mouth, picking the skin on my fingers, and yk other things

82. what do you do when you’re angry?

Yell, hit my pillow, get in the shower and crank the knob all the way to hot. cry.

83. what is something that you’d want to learn?

Astronomy

84. what’s your favourite insect?

hmmmm Picasso beetle, they pretty

85. what are your thoughts on euthanasia?

god, its sad but sometimes if there's no other answer it might be best? like if my baby, my dog, had an incurable thing thay made life a pain for her every day and she wouldn't/couldn't get better i wouldn't want her to be in pain. i never want to see any of my animals in oain

86. what are your thoughts on your name?

Love it, thought of it myself, just wish id come up with Cj first instead of what other people know me as irl (Corey/ my deadname)

87. what’s your favourite name?

My favorite name..hmmmm...i don't know, i love all names, they're special in a way that I cant choose a single best one

88. would you rather go back or forward in time?

Back, i suppose..fix some things yk?

89. what are your thoughts on roller coasters?

I don't know, its been years sinec ive been on one

91. do you believe in love at first sight?

Nah, i don't think you can love someone instantly. you can experience attraction at first sight, but i genuinely don't think you can love someone at first glance. unless its an animal, then obviously yes.

92. what is something you’re currently worried about?

School, life, my friend, my mom

93. what was your childhood like?

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh lets not open that can of worms

94. how long do you usually sleep for?

when i di get to sleep? around 10 hours in the summer 💀, usually around 3-6 during school

95. what hairstyle do you have right now?

something like this

(NOT ME!!!!! found on Pinterest)

96. if you could be one age for the rest of your life, what’d you choose?

uhh probably like 25? maybe?? idk

97. what genre of music do you listen to the most?

Uhhh pop..indie i guess? musicals too

98. where do you come from?

The US 🇺🇸🦅🦅🦅

99. do you curse/swear often?

Yes i do

100. what is the meaning of life?

Boys kissing me.

[promiseiwillwrite]

Bring the plants inside day

There are probably a lot of days left where they could have stayed outside unattended, but I decided that today is bring the orchids succulents and other assorted things that live in my house in the winter back in doors from their summer under the deck. They lounge in the shade in the hot days of summer, and the moss that grows on the patio keeps the humidity higher than I can keep it in my house.

But I can't trust my back yard... It gets COLD in the winter sometimes, because I have a 20 foot elevation drop behind the back wall. There's some weedy wild shit down there, but it is under a bunch of very tall trees, and it creates a microclimate. It has started to dip into the 40s, and while my Orchids are down with that, they don't do 35 and below. It's just too close to leave them to chance anymore.

[frozenbound]

Shimadacest headcanon #43:

(Continuation of Shimadacest Headcanon #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #35, #36, #37, #38, #39, #40, #41, and #42)

Genji is hot underneath him. Burning. Their skin is almost instantly slick with sweat everywhere they press together, but that's good. It makes squirming and grinding against him all the easier.

Genji's mouth tastes so good. He's sweet and salty and savory, quenching yet making Hanzo so, so thirsty for more.

He feels divine.

Genji is a handsome, muscular man who has a strict skincare regimen, and Hanzo has only gotten an occasional sampling of how simultaneously soft and hard his little brother is, so smooth, so bulky, so good underneath his roving hands.

He can get his fill now.

So can Genji.

Genji's hands have always lingered on Hanzo's sides and shoulders whenever he scrubbed Hanzo's back in the baths, and now Hanzo knows why.

He's been longing to run his fingers through Hanzo's body hair.

It's thick and white on his arms, and legs, and Genji threads his fingers through as much of it as he can, his fingertips snaking over his skin, his palms leaving warm trails in their wake.

But he can't get to where he's really had his eye on, and that becomes apparent when he lets out a frustrated moan and suddenly flips them both over, Hanzo on his back and Genji biting lightly on his bottom lip before sitting up, straddling his elder brother's hips and running his hands all the way from Hanzo's furry six-pack over his meaty, firm, downy pecs and back again, pressing down firmly, his mouth open and panting, his lips shiny.

"How," he murmurs, perhaps not fully aware that he's even speaking out loud, "is it so soft? What do you do?"

Hanzo shrugs and grins as he places his hands behind his head. "Yours would probably be just as soft if you let it...mmm..."

He's interrupted by Genji diving into his left armpit.

Genji buries his nose into the white hair there and inhales deeply, once, twice, thrice, the cold air of his intake chilly against Hanzo, but immediately soothed by his warm, humid exhales.

Then Hanzo began to squirm under Genji's hot, wet tongue.

"I can't believe," Genji grunts, his voice muffled, "how delicious you are. You're even better than I've imagined for so long..."

Hanzo's grin softens, and he places a gentle hand on the back of Genji's hand.

"You've waited long enough, Genji. Take whatever you want. It's yours. I'm yours."

Genji's breath hitches, and Hanzo, expecting the rush of emotions his words would undoubtedly provoke, strokes the green hair under his fingers.

Then Genji really digs in, mouthing and lapping and even scrapping his teeth over the sensitive skin, and Hanzo moans his appreciation.

This may be Genji's first time, but Hanzo knows he's in good hands as Genji starts to make his way from his left armpit across his chest, evidently making for his right armpit, stopping along the way to take Hanzo's nipples between his soft lips and tease them to sticking up hard and proud through the sheen of his saliva, before tucking his face into his goal and chasing down the scent and taste of his elder brother.

Hanzo can't help but wriggle, but that's fine.

Every move he makes grinds their hard cocks together.

Then Genji breaks away and looks Hanzo in the eye. "Whatever I want, brother?"

"Of course," Hanzo replies easily. "You've waited long enough."

Genji's eyes burn.

"On your hands and knees, then, brother."

[renegon-paragade]

Also even if you don't think you'll get it or whatever reason you don't think you need to know, you might notice that someone else is having symptoms. Know how to spot it, know how to treat it

Symptoms of Heat Exhaution

Heavy sweating

Weakness/tiredness/fatigue

Cool, clammy skin (may be pale as well)

Fast, weak pulse

Muscle cramps

Dizziness/nausia/vomiting

Headache

Fainting

It can happen at any time, so remember that IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW LONG THE PERSON HAS BEEN IN THE SUN/HEAT.

Treatment for Heat Exhaution

Move the person out of the heat and into a cooler environment (preferably air conditioned, but at the very least make sure it's in the shade/indoors if that is cooler than outside)

Loosen clothing

Apply cool, wet cloths to pulse points (back of neck, back of knees, wrist, inner elbow) or have the person sit in a cool bath

Offer the person sips of water. Don't force, and also encourage them to only take small sips at a time

IF THE PERSON VOMITS, SYMPTOMS WORSEN, OR SYMPTOMS LAST MORE THAN AN HOUR, SEEK EMERGENCY MEDICAL ATTENTION

Heat Stroke Symptoms

Throbbing headache

Confusion

Nausia

Dizziness

Body temp above 103°F or 39.4° C

Hot, dry or damp skin (may be red if visible on skin tone) NOTE: WILL LIKELY NOT BE SWEATING since the sweat response has likely failed

Rapid and strong pulse

Fainting or loss of consciousness

Heat Stroke can set on in less than 10 minutes. IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW LONG SOMEONE HAS BEEN IN THE SUN/HEAT.

Treatment for Heat Stroke

SEEK IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY MEDICAL ATTENTION. DELAY CAN BE FATAL

DO NOT GIVE FLUIDS

Move the person to a cool environment

Reduce body temperature with cool cloths

If the heat index is UNDER 95°F or 35°C, you can use a fan to aid in cooling them down. DO NOT USE A FAN ABOVE THESE TEMPERATURES. Fans can make you hotter if the heat index is higher than that. Heat index also factors in humidity, not just temperature, so the more humid it is, the higher the heat index

Again, this is all what you should do while waiting for emergency aid after you have already CALL FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL ATENTION. Heat Stroke is FATAL. The body has lost the ability to regulate temperature and is begining to shut down. Do not try to wait it out.

Heat is deadly, especially if you do not know the signs to look for. Make sure you are staying hydrated with water, avoiding excess movement/labor, and taking frequent breaks

if you are dealing with extreme heat or even just. moderate heat in your area right now. 80f/26c is when it starts getting toasty for a lot of people. if you are in a heat wave and you have not done yourself the favor of googling fucking "heat exhaustion symptoms" i am shaking you violently right now. look it up. burn the symptoms into your brain. heatstroke is no joke and it can and WILL sneak up on you before you're aware it's even an issue. ohh my god

[teardownit]

Review, teardown, and testing of RS-150-24 Mean Well power supply

General description

A short description. The RS-150-24 is a power supply with a constant output voltage of 24 volts and a current of up to 6.3 amperes. According to the specification, the unit has two AC input voltage operating ranges—from 88 to 132 and 176 to 264 volts. Range selection is non-automatic with a mechanical switch. The supply measures close to 7.5 × 4.0 × 1.5 inches (192 × 98 × 38 millimeters) and is made on a printed circuit board fixed to the base of the metal case, designed to operate with passive cooling. The top lid covering the case is perforated. The power supply has an LED indication for the output voltage, allowing one to adjust it within -5 to +10%. This unit does not have either PFC or thermal protection.

Design description. The input and output circuits of the power supply are connected to a common screw block (1). From left to right, there are three terminals for the input line, neutral and ground wires, and two parallel blocks of two terminals for the outputs: ground and +24V. The input voltage from the screw terminals through the fuse (2) is supplied to the RF interference filter (3) and then goes to the diode bridge (5). A varistor (4) is installed at the filter input to suppress hazardous pulses. The rectified voltage from the bridge (5) through the range selector (6) and through two NTC inrush current limiters (7) is supplied to the input electrolytic capacitors (8). Rectified and filtered voltage from capacitors (8) goes to the forward converter, which consists of a NE1101 controller (9, on the back side of the board), a 2SK3878 power N-MOSFET transistor (10), and a transformer (11). The voltage from the output winding of the transformer (11) is rectified by the fast-recovery diode 20F20SAB3 (12) and filtered using an output LC filter (13) (14).

The base resistance of each NTC is about 4.5 Ohms.

Output filter capacitance: 2 pieces of 470 uF, 35 volts, designed for operating temperatures up to 220℉ (105℃) (14).

The output voltage is stabilized by shunt regulator AS431ANTR-E1, transmitting the control signal to the high-voltage side of the circuit through the 817C transistor optocoupler (15). A second optocoupler of the same type forms a bypass channel for overvoltage protection (OVP).

The rectifier bridge (5), transistor (10), and diode (12) are installed with individual heat sinks, which (10, 12) are pushed against the housing with screws. Between the aluminum case and the board (from the solder side) is an extra insulation layer, a thin fiberglass sheet. All bulky components are additionally fixed using a compound.

Build quality is good. The board has empty spaces for installing an additional parallel diode (12) and three output electrolytic capacitors. The board is obviously unified for all the models in the series, and these elements are used in lower-voltage models.

The output voltage LED indicator (16) and the output voltage adjustment resistor (17) are located near the terminal block so that they can be accessed without removing the top cover.

Test conditions

Most tests are performed using Metering Setup #1 (see appendices) at 80℉ (27℃), 70% humidity, and 29.8 inHg pressure. Unless mentioned otherwise, the measurements were performed without preheating the power supply with a short-term load. The following values were used to determine the load level:

Output voltage under a constant load

The high stability of the output voltage should be noted.

Power-on parameters

Powering on at 100% load

Before testing, the power supply is turned off for at least 5 minutes with a 100% load connected. The oscillogram of switching to a 100% load is shown below (channel 1 is the output voltage, and channel 2 is the current consumption from the grid):

On the oscillogram, three phases of the starting process can be distinguished: 1. Two pulses of the input current charging the input capacitors when connected to the grid have an amplitude of about 14.5 A and a duration of about one main voltage period. 2. Waiting for the power supply control circuit to start for about 220 ms. 3. (Output Voltage Rise Time) Output voltage rise takes 5 ms. (Turn On Delay Time) The entire process of entering the operating mode from the moment the device powers on is 228 ms.

(Output Voltage Overshoot) The switching process is aperiodic; there is no overshoot.

Powering on at 0% load

The power supply is turned off at least 5 minutes before the test, with a 100% load connected. Then, the load is disconnected, and the power supply is switched on. The oscillogram of switching to a 0% load is shown below:

The picture shows three distinguishable phases of the power-on process: 1. Charging the input capacitors when connected to the grid has an amplitude of about 14.5 A. 2. Waiting for the power supply control circuit to start for about 228 ms. 3. (Output Voltage Rise Time) Starting the converter, increasing the output voltage, and entering the operating mode takes 5 ms. (Turn On Delay Time) The entire process of entering the operating mode from the moment the device powers on is 233 ms.

(Output Voltage Overshoot) The switching process is aperiodic; there is no overshoot.

Power-off parameters

The power supply was turned off at 100% load, and the input voltage was nominal at the moment of powering off. The oscillogram of the shutdown process is shown below:

The oscillogram shows two phases of the shutdown process: 1. (Shutdown Hold-Up Time) The power supply continues to operate because the input capacitors hold charge until the voltage across them drops to a certain critical level, at which point maintaining the output voltage at the nominal level becomes impossible. The phase takes 38 ms. 2. (Output Voltage Fall Time) Reduction of the output voltage, stopping voltage conversion, and accelerating the voltage drop takes 33 ms.

(Output Voltage Undershoot) The shutdown process is aperiodic; there is no undershoot.

The amplitude of the current at 100% load before shutting down is 5.7 A.

Output voltage ripple

100% load

At 100% load, the low-frequency ripple is approximately 3 mV.

At 100% load, the ripple at the converter frequency is approximately 40 mVp-p, and the noise is 100 mVp-p.

75% load

At 75% load, the low-frequency ripple is approximately 4 mV.

At 75% load, the ripple at the converter frequency is approximately 40 mVp-p, and the noise is 100 mVp-p.

50% load

At a 50% load, the low-frequency ripple is approximately 3 mV.

At 50% load, the ripple at the converter frequency is approximately 25 mVp-p, and the noise is 100 mVp-p.

10% load

At 10% load, the low-frequency ripple is approximately 3 mV.

At a 10% load, the ripple at the converter frequency is approximately 40 mVp-p, and the noise is 100 mVp-p.

0% load

No-load current consumption measured with a multimeter: 68 mA. (Power Consumption) The current consumption in this mode is predominantly reactive, so it isn't easy to reliably measure it with a basic set of instruments. The power supply's input filter contains two capacitors with a combined capacitance of approximately 1 uF.

At 0% load, the low-frequency ripple is indistinguishable from background noise of approximately 2 mVp-p.

At 0% load, the ripple at the converter frequency is masked by the background noise of approximately 50 mVp-p.

Dynamic characteristics

A mode with periodic switching between 50% and 100% load was used to evaluate the dynamic characteristics. The oscillogram of the process is shown below:

It is evident that the supply’s response to abrupt load changes is aperiodic; the magnitude of the response to load changes is about 100 mV p-p.

Overload protection

The claimed protection type is "hiccup mode, which recovers automatically after the fault condition is removed." This was confirmed during testing. When a short circuit occurs, the power supply periodically tries to turn back on and, if the overload is still present, turns off again until the next attempt.

The output current for the overload protection to kick in is 8.8 A.

Input circuit safety assessment

(Input discharge) Safety assessment is based on the discharge time constant of the input circuits when disconnected from the grid; the value is 0.234 s. This means that when operating on a 120 V input voltage, the time required to discharge the input circuits to safe values (<42 V) will be 0.652 s:

Important: The result is valid for this particular power supply unit; it was obtained for testing purposes and should not be taken as a safety guarantee.

The leakage current at the ground pin is 29 µA.

Thermal conditions

When operating with no load connected, no component overheating had been noticed. Thermograms were captured at three power levels: 80, 90, and 100%, fully assembled and with the lid removed. Thermal images show that the most loaded element of the block are four ballast resistors that shunt the source output, which are located near the inductance of the output LC filter (13) and whose heating noticeably stands out against the background of other components. At 80% load, they heat up to 219℉ (104℃, 139℉ above ambient temperature). At 90%, it's 233℉ (112℃, 153℉ above ambient), and at 100%, it reaches 239℉ (115℃, 159℉ above ambient). It is worth noting here that overheating increases faster than output power.

80% load

90% load

100% load

Conclusions

RS-150-24 generally has little noise and ripple, the output voltage is maintained accurately, and the build quality is solid. The power supply's dynamic characteristics are fine; the unit reacts to a pulsing load with no overshoot.

According to the specification, it is designed for “cooling by free air convection” and “high operating temperatures up to 70°C.” However, our test unit at 100% load heated up its load resistors up to 320℉ (160℃), which seems dangerous. For long-term operation, the load should be limited to 70–80% of the nominal one, especially during the hot season when ambient temperatures reach 95℉ (35℃) or more.

When assessing the safety of the operation of such a power supply, it is necessary to consider the possibility that the load exceeds the rated value due to malfunction but remains below the protection trigger level. In this case, the output power for the tested unit will be 135% of the nominal value, leading to even greater overheating, resulting in power supply failure and a fire hazard.

Important: The results are valid for this particular power supply unit; they were obtained for testing purposes and should not be used to evaluate all the units of the same type

[onestopflooring]

Engineered Wood Flooring: A Durable Solution for Every Room

Engineered wood flooring has revolutionized modern interiors, offering the timeless appeal of hardwood with enhanced durability and versatility. Whether you’re designing a cozy living room, a high-traffic kitchen, or a serene bedroom, engineered wood is a reliable and stylish choice that can elevate any space.

What is Engineered Wood Flooring?

Engineered wood flooring consists of a hardwood veneer layer on top of multiple layers of plywood or high-density fiberboard (HDF). This construction provides the beauty of real wood while improving stability and resistance to environmental changes like humidity and temperature fluctuations.

Why Choose Engineered Wood Flooring?

1. Durability and LongevityThe layered construction of engineered wood enhances its strength, making it less prone to warping, cupping, or shrinking compared to solid wood. This durability makes it suitable for high-traffic areas like hallways, kitchens, and living rooms.

2. Versatile Aesthetic AppealEngineered wood flooring comes in various finishes, species, and textures, from classic oak and walnut to contemporary grey tones and distressed looks. Its versatility allows homeowners to find a style that complements any design theme.

3. Moisture ResistanceEngineered wood is more resistant to moisture than solid hardwood, making it a great option for areas like basements, kitchens, and even bathrooms where humidity levels can vary.

4. Ease of InstallationWith options like click-lock systems, engineered wood flooring is relatively easy to install, often making it a DIY-friendly choice. It can also be installed over various subfloors, including concrete and existing flooring.

5. Eco-Friendly OptionUsing less solid wood in its construction, engineered wood is a more sustainable option. Many manufacturers use environmentally responsible practices, adding to its eco-appeal.

Engineered Wood Flooring for Every Room

1. Living Rooms

Why It Works: Engineered wood brings warmth and elegance, creating a welcoming atmosphere for gathering spaces.

Style Tip: Pair wide-plank designs with area rugs to add layers of texture and comfort.

2. Kitchens

Why It Works: Its moisture resistance makes it a practical and stylish choice for kitchens.

Style Tip: Choose a matte or satin finish to hide minor spills and enhance the floor’s durability.

3. Bedrooms

Why It Works: Engineered wood adds a cozy, natural element to bedrooms, promoting relaxation.

Style Tip: Light tones, like ash or white oak, can create an airy and tranquil retreat.

4. Bathrooms

Why It Works: When properly sealed, engineered wood can withstand bathroom moisture while adding warmth and sophistication.

Style Tip: Use engineered wood with water-resistant finishes and pair it with rugs near sinks and tubs for extra protection.

5. Home Offices

Why It Works: Its durability and stylish appearance make it ideal for spaces that need to balance function and aesthetics.

Style Tip: Dark wood tones paired with sleek furniture can create a professional and polished environment.

6. Basements

Why It Works: Engineered wood’s stability makes it a great option for below-grade installations where humidity can be an issue.

Style Tip: Use a moisture barrier underneath the flooring for added protection.

Maintenance and Care

Regular Cleaning:

Sweep or vacuum to remove dirt and debris that can cause scratches.

Use a damp mop with a hardwood floor cleaner for routine cleaning.

Protective Measures:

Place rugs in high-traffic areas and under furniture to reduce wear.

Use felt pads on furniture legs to prevent scratching.

Humidity Control:

Maintain indoor humidity levels between 35% and 55% to ensure the flooring’s longevity.

Refinishing:

While most engineered wood floors can’t be sanded as frequently as solid wood, those with a thicker veneer can be refinished a few times to extend their lifespan.

With this in mind

Engineered wood flooring is a durable, versatile, and stylish option that suits every room in your home. Its ability to blend beauty and practicality makes it an investment worth considering, offering the charm of hardwood with added resilience. Whether you’re revamping a high-traffic kitchen or creating a serene bedroom retreat, engineered wood flooring is the perfect foundation for your design vision.

[newstfionline]

Monday, November 18, 2024

The ‘super year’ of elections has been super bad for incumbents as voters punish them in droves (AP) Whether on the left or the right, regardless of how long they’ve been in power, sitting governments around the world have been drubbed this year by disgruntled voters in what has been called the “super year” for elections. Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election was just the latest in a long line of losses for incumbent parties in 2024, with people in some 70 countries accounting for about half the world’s population going to the polls. Issues driving voter discontent have varied widely, though there has been almost universal malaise since the COVID-19 pandemic as people and businesses struggle to get back on their feet while facing stubbornly high prices, cash-strapped governments and a surge in migration. “There’s an overall sense of frustration with political elites, viewing them as out of touch, that cuts across ideological lines,” said Richard Wike, director of global attitudes research at the Pew Research Center.

40 million people under red flag warnings in the Northeast due to fire danger (ABC News) More than 40 million people are under red flag warnings across eight states as the fire danger remains elevated in the Northeast. Winds may gust up to 35 mph with relative humidity levels as low as 15% to 30% in the region. The soil remains dry with ongoing and worsening drought conditions. While Sunday brings a slight improvement in fire weather conditions, the overall fire risk will continue into next week across much of the Northeast.

Trump’s Cabinet Picks, Panned in Washington, Thrill Many of His Voters (NYT) To his detractors, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s cabinet looks like a rogues’ gallery of people with dubious credentials and questionable judgment. His supporters see something different. “It’s a masterpiece,” Eileen Margolis, 58, who lives in Weston, Fla., and owns a tattoo business, said of Mr. Trump’s cabinet picks unveiled over the past week. “If it was a painting, it would be a Picasso.” Democrats, and even some Republicans, worry that these nominees for top positions in government are inexperienced, conflicted and potentially reckless. But in interviews with almost two dozen Trump voters around the country, his supporters were more likely to describe them as mavericks and reformers recruited to deliver on Mr. Trump’s promise to shake up Washington.

Borderless Europe fights brain drain as talent heads north (Reuters) Until recently aerospace engineer Pedro Monteiro figured he’d join many of his peers moving from Portugal to its richer European neighbours in the quest for a better-paid job once he completes his master’s degree in Lisbon. But tax breaks proposed by Portugal’s government for young workers—up to a temporary 100% income tax exemption in some cases—plus help with housing are making him think twice. Portugal is the latest country in Europe to seek to tackle a brain drain holding back its economy. Tax breaks for young workers in the budget currently going through parliament will take effect next year and could benefit as many as 400,000 young people at an annual cost of 525 million euros. Talent flight to wealthier countries of the north is a problem Portugal shares with several others in southern and central Europe, as workers take advantage of freedom of movement rules within the trade bloc. Countries including Italy have tried other schemes to counter the flight, with mixed results. About 2.3 million people born in Portugal, or 23% of its population, currently live abroad, according to Portugal’s Emigration Observatory. That includes 850,000 Portuguese nationals aged 15-39, or about 30% of young Portuguese and 12.6% of its working-age population.

In France, Europe’s last flock of military carrier pigeons (NZZ/Switzerland) Military pigeons once saved lives. In the darkest days of World War I, French troops encircled at Verdun sent a plea for aid via carrier pigeon. The help that arrived enabled some to escape. In the era of cell phones and satellite communications, sending messages by bird seems an anachronism. But in part to honor those pigeons’ past service, the French army continues to maintain a small 150-bird flock that is Europe’s last unit of feathered soldiers. The birds are now largely used in competitions and commemorative events, but could fly into service if needed. China is the only other country with an army unit tasked with training carrier pigeons, which are to be deployed in case of technological or other communications breakdowns. These birds may even have been used for espionage purposes in India. It is possible that the day of the military pigeon is not altogether past.

Biden approves Ukraine’s use of long-range U.S. weapons inside Russia, reversing policy (Washington Post) President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use a powerful American long-range weapon for limited strikes inside Russia in response to North Korea’s deployment of thousands of troops to aid Moscow’s war effort, according to two senior U.S. officials. The easing of restrictions on allowing Kyiv to use the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, to hit targets inside Russia is a significant reversal in U.S. policy. One U.S. official said the move is in part aimed at deterring Pyongyang from sending more troops. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un must understand that the initial deployment has been a “costly” mistake, said the official. The initial Ukrainian effort is expected to focus on and around the Kursk region, though it could expand.

Russia grinds deeper into Ukraine after 1,000 days of grueling war (AP) When Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine in February 2022, the conventional wisdom was that the capital, Kyiv, would soon fall and the rest of the country wouldn’t last long against a much larger enemy. Instead, it was that narrative that quickly collapsed. The Ukrainian army proved it could slow the advance of Russia’s forces and, if not drive them out completely, then—with enough support from the West—at least forestall defeat. But nearly three years later, the outlook is again grim. Russia is expending huge amounts of weaponry and human life to make small-but-steady territorial gains to the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine it already controls. Ukraine, meanwhile, is struggling to minimize losses, maintain morale and convince allies that, with more military aid, it can turn the tide. As this brutal war of attrition grinds toward its 1,000th day, neither side seems eager to negotiate.

How China reduced its reliance on US farm imports, softening trade war risks (Reuters) Since the U.S. and China imposed tit-for-tat tariffs in their trade war during Donald Trump’s first presidential term, Beijing has taken steps to reduce its reliance on American farm goods in a wider effort to bolster its food security. That has put China in a better position to withstand tariffs of at least 60% on Chinese imports threatened by Trump, set to return to the White House in January, raising the prospect of Chinese retaliation again targeted at U.S. agricultural goods. In his first term, Trump slapped duties on $370 billion worth of Chinese goods. Beijing retaliated with tariffs of up to 25% on over $100 billion worth of U.S. products, targeting soybeans, beef, pork, wheat, corn and sorghum. In the years since, the share of China’s soybean imports from the U.S.—the top American export to China—has dropped to 18% in 2024 from 40% in 2016, according to Chinese customs data, as China has turned instead to imports from Brazil, which has also replaced the U.S. as China’s top corn supplier. China’s agriculture imports from the U.S. declined to $34 billion in 2023 from $43 billion in 2022, and are expected to drop further this year, according to Chinese customs data.

North Korea Deploys a New Weapon Against the South: Unbearable Noise (NYT) Loud, crackly noises that sounded like an ominous, giant gong being beaten again and again washed over this village on a recent night. On other nights, some residents described hearing wolves howling, metal grinding together or ghosts screaming as if out of a horror movie. Others said they heard the sound of incoming artillery, or even a furious monkey pounding on a broken piano. Although they heard different sounds at different times, people in this South Korean village on the border with North Korea all call themselves victims of “noise bombing,” saying they find the relentless barrage exhausting. Since July, North Korea has amped up loudspeakers along its border with South Korea for 10 to 24 hours a day, broadcasting eerie noises that have aggravated South Korean villagers like no past propaganda broadcasts from the North ever did. The offensive is one of the most bizarre—and unbearable—consequences of deteriorating inter-Korean relations that have sunk to their lowest level in years.

Japan marks modern-day adventurer’s final stop on 46,000 km trek across Asia (Reuters) Japan is seeing a record boom in tourism, but one recent visitor travelled more than the circumference of the earth to get there, using boats, trains, camels, and even hitchhiking. Modern-day adventurer Omar Nok became a social media celebrity, attracting more than 750,000 Instagram followers, as he documented his circuitous 46,239 kilometre (28,732 miles) route from Egypt across a dozen countries without once boarding a plane. On his trek, he hitchhiked to Islam’s holy city of Mecca, sandboarded the dunes of Iran, broke down in the Tajikistan mountains in a purple Dodge Challenger driven by another adventurer, and crossed parts of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan riding horses and camels. Previously a financial analyst for Amazon in Germany and Luxembourg, Nok funded his journey through savings and extremely frugal spending. His daily expenses came to about $25, although his entire two-week run through Afghanistan cost just $88, he said. Throughout it all, Nok said he never felt in danger because generous strangers looked out for him wherever he found himself.

70 killed in Israeli airstrikes on north Gaza, Health Ministry says (Washington Post) About 70 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Beit Lahia area of northern Gaza early Sunday morning, Munir al-Bursh, director general of Gaza’s Health Ministry, told The Washington Post. Dozens more were still trapped under the rubble, according to local reports. In total, more than 90 were killed across Gaza in the past day, including two dozen in strikes in the Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps, Bursh added. Israel intensified military operations in northern Gaza in early October, encircling it and hitting numerous targets, saying the move is aimed at stopping Hamas militants from regrouping. U.N. and aid officials say that areas of the enclave are on the edge of humanitarian collapse as a result, and that those who remain in the north—especially children—are at “immediate risk of dying” from disease, famine and constant bombardment.

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High-Precision Performance Testing Machine: A Reliable Partner for Ensuring Product Quality

Table of Contents

Overview of the High-Precision Performance Testing Machine

Functions and Technical Features

Key Features

Technical Specifications

Operating Procedure and User Guide

Applicable Industries and Use Cases

Battery Manufacturing

Electronic Component Testing

Automotive Parts Inspection

Industrial Automation Systems

Real-World Application Scenarios

Scenario 1: Battery Manufacturing Workshop

Scenario 2: Automotive Parts Inspection

Future Development and Technical Outlook

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Conclusion

Overview of the High-Precision Performance Testing Machine

In industrial production, the enhancement of product quality is closely linked to precise and efficient testing equipment. The high-precision performance testing machine, with its outstanding detection capabilities, helps manufacturers ensure high quality and reliability of their products. This article introduces the key features, technical specifications, applicable industries, and real-world application scenarios of this performance testing machine, showcasing how it has become a reliable partner in improving product quality for enterprises.

Functions and Technical Features

Key Features

High-Precision Testing: Equipped with advanced sensors and measuring systems, the machine achieves micron-level precision in performance testing, ensuring that every product meets strict quality standards.

Multi-Functional Testing Capabilities: The high-precision performance testing machine supports a variety of testing items, including voltage, resistance, short circuit, and discharge tests, enabling comprehensive performance assessments to ensure stability and safety under various usage conditions.

Automated Operating System: The machine supports fully automated operation, from material loading to testing and sorting, requiring no manual intervention throughout the process. This significantly increases production efficiency and reduces the risk of human errors.

Real-Time Data Analysis and Storage: Built with a high-speed data processing system, the machine analyzes test data in real-time and stores it in a database, generating detailed test reports for production managers to review at any time.

Flexible Configuration and Easy Maintenance: The machine supports various configurations, allowing for quick adjustments to meet different product requirements. Its simple design makes maintenance easy, reducing downtime.

Technical Specifications

Transmission Size (Tj/mm): L:40-120 W:35-90 T:3-10

Test Accuracy: Simulated test accuracy of ±0.5%

Air Pressure Requirement: 0.5MPa

Operating Temperature: 0~50°C, Humidity 30%~95%

Equipment Power: 3KW

Power Supply Requirements: 220V 50Hz

Testing Speed: 1200 pieces/hour

Equipment Dimensions: 1200×1290×1990mm

Operating Procedure and User Guide

To ensure optimal performance of the high-precision performance testing machine, follow the standard operating procedure outlined below:

Product Loading: Use the automated loading system to feed the products to be tested into the machine. The equipment will automatically begin the testing process.

Performance Testing: The machine automatically performs various performance tests based on the preset criteria and records real-time data.

Data Analysis and Sorting: The system analyzes the test data automatically and sorts out any defective products, ensuring that only qualified products proceed to the next production stage.

Data Storage and Report Generation: After testing, the system generates detailed test reports and stores the data in a database for future reference and analysis.

Equipment Maintenance and Troubleshooting: The machine supports remote monitoring and maintenance, allowing users to check the equipment status in real-time and conduct online adjustments and troubleshooting.

Applicable Industries and Use Cases

Battery Manufacturing

In battery production, stability and consistency of performance are crucial to ensuring product quality. The high-precision performance testing machine comprehensively tests various performance indicators of batteries, ensuring each one meets design standards.

Electronic Component Testing

The performance of electronic components directly impacts the overall quality of electronic products. The high-precision performance testing machine can conduct comprehensive tests on a wide range of electronic components, ensuring reliability in complex circuits.

Automotive Parts Inspection

The precision and performance of automotive parts directly affect the safety and durability of vehicles. The high-precision performance testing machine is capable of accurately inspecting critical parts, ensuring compliance with stringent automotive industry standards.

Industrial Automation Systems

In industrial automation systems, the stability of sensors and control modules is critical to the reliable operation of the entire system. The high-precision performance testing machine can test these modules' performance, ensuring the stability and reliability of the overall system.

Real-World Application Scenarios

Scenario 1: Battery Manufacturing Workshop

In a large battery manufacturing plant, the high-precision performance testing machine is used for lithium battery production testing. The machine's high-precision testing ensures battery safety and consistency, allowing the production line to operate efficiently and reducing the defect rate.

Scenario 2: Automotive Parts Inspection

In a production workshop of an automotive parts supplier, the high-precision performance testing machine is used to inspect the performance of engine control modules. The machine's efficient testing capabilities help ensure that every part meets the automotive industry's stringent standards, enhancing vehicle quality.

Future Development and Technical Outlook

With the advancement of Industry 4.0, the high-precision performance testing machine will continue to play a key role in smart manufacturing. In the future, the machine will further improve in terms of testing precision and speed, while incorporating more intelligent features, such as AI algorithms and machine learning, to achieve more accurate data analysis and production optimization. Additionally, as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) evolves, the machine's remote monitoring and maintenance capabilities will become more refined, providing enterprises with more efficient and intelligent production solutions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Which industries is the high-precision performance testing machine suitable for? The machine is suitable for battery manufacturing, electronic component testing, automotive parts inspection, and industrial automation systems.

What is the machine's testing accuracy? The testing accuracy of the high-precision performance testing machine is ±0.5%, meeting the requirements for high-precision manufacturing.

Is the machine maintenance-intensive? The machine requires relatively low maintenance. Regular maintenance mainly involves cleaning sensors, checking system calibration, and updating software.

Does the machine support testing products of different specifications? Yes, the machine supports testing a variety of product specifications, with adjustable parameters based on user requirements.

Does the machine support remote monitoring and maintenance? Yes, the machine supports remote monitoring and maintenance. Users can check the equipment status in real-time via the network and perform online troubleshooting.

Conclusion

The high-precision performance testing machine, with its exceptional detection accuracy, fully automated operation, and intelligent data analysis capabilities, has become a reliable partner in enhancing product quality across various manufacturing industries. As technology continues to advance, the machine will play an increasingly important role in more industries, providing enterprises with efficient and precise quality control solutions.

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Aircraft Engine Test Cells Market to Reach $4.1 Billion by 2028: Here’s Why

The Aircraft Engine Test Cells Market is anticipated to grow from USD 3.3 billion in 2023 to USD 4.1 billion by 2028, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2%. This growth is propelled by the increasing demand for commercial aircraft, heightened MRO services, and the continuous modernization of aircraft engine testing facilities. This article provides an in-depth look into the market, exploring how test cells work, what drives Aircraft Engine Test Cells Industry growth, key players, recent developments, and future opportunities.

What are Aircraft Engine Test Cells?

Aircraft engine test cells are specialized facilities designed to test and evaluate aircraft engines under simulated flight conditions. These cells allow for the rigorous testing of engine performance, including assessments of thrust, fuel consumption, temperature, and vibration levels. Testing ensures engines meet safety, efficiency, and reliability standards before they are installed in aircraft.

In addition to testing new engines, test cells are also used for maintenance and repair operations (MRO) to ensure engines remain in peak condition throughout their lifecycle. Equipped with advanced instrumentation, these facilities are capable of gathering and analyzing a vast array of data, enabling engineers to make informed decisions on engine performance and safety.

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How Do Aircraft Engine Test Cells Work?

Aircraft engine test cells operate by securely housing the engine and subjecting it to a range of simulated conditions. These facilities consist of multiple components, including:

Engine Mounting and Control System: Securely holds the engine and provides precise control over the testing parameters.

Data Acquisition System: Collects real-time data on key performance metrics such as thrust, fuel consumption, and vibration.

Environmental Simulation System: Mimics various flight conditions, such as altitude, temperature, and humidity.

Safety and Monitoring Systems: Ensures all tests are conducted within safe limits and maintains the integrity of the facility.

Exhaust and Cooling Systems: Manages the heat and exhaust produced during testing, ensuring a safe environment for operators.

By simulating different operational conditions, test cells provide valuable insights into engine performance, allowing for adjustments to enhance efficiency and safety.

Market Growth Drivers

The growth of the Aircraft Engine Test Cells Market is driven by several key factors:

1. Increasing Demand for Commercial Aircraft

The global aviation industry has experienced a surge in air traffic, prompting airlines to expand their fleets and invest in fuel-efficient models such as the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. These newer models feature advanced engines like the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB and General Electric GEnx, requiring extensive testing to meet performance standards. The demand for testing facilities is growing in tandem with fleet expansion efforts, as airlines seek to maintain safety and efficiency in their operations.

2. Upgrades and Maintenance Needs for Existing Test Cells

As the aviation industry continues to innovate, there is a pressing need to update existing test cells to accommodate new engine technologies. This includes upgrades to data acquisition systems, environmental simulation capabilities, and safety protocols. Test cell maintenance also involves regular calibration and the replacement of worn-out components, ensuring the reliability of test results and prolonging the facility's operational life.

3. Rising Investments in Military Aviation

Global geopolitical tensions have led to increased investments in defense capabilities, with many countries modernizing their military fleets. Next-generation aircraft, such as the F-35 Lightning II and various unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), require sophisticated engine testing facilities to ensure they meet operational requirements. Military aircraft demand is thus a significant driver for the Aircraft Engine Test Cells Market.

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Market Opportunities

The Aircraft Engine Test Cells Market presents several opportunities for growth, including:

1. Advancements in Engine Technology

Collaborative projects, such as NASA’s HyTEC initiative with GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney, are focused on developing smaller, more efficient engine cores. These advancements necessitate updated testing facilities capable of handling the unique demands of next-generation engines, providing opportunities for manufacturers of test cell equipment to innovate and expand.

2. Growing Demand in Emerging Markets

The Asia-Pacific region is expected to experience the highest growth rate over the forecast period, driven by increased air travel and government investments in aviation infrastructure. As the region's aviation sector expands, there is a corresponding need for engine testing facilities, creating a lucrative market for test cell manufacturers and service providers.

3. Hybrid and Electric Aviation

The shift towards hybrid and electric aircraft, aimed at reducing carbon emissions, presents opportunities for test cell manufacturers to develop new technologies and adapt existing facilities. As the aviation industry explores more sustainable propulsion methods, the need for specialized testing capabilities will continue to grow.

Key Market Players

Several Prominent Players dominate the Aircraft Engine Test Cells Market, including:

Safran (France): A leading manufacturer of aerospace equipment, Safran offers a range of engine testing solutions and has established a joint venture with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to develop helicopter engines.

MDS Aero Support Corporation (US): Specializes in engine test systems and has supplied test cells for both commercial and military applications globally.

Calspan Corporation (US): Provides testing services and equipment, focusing on advanced technology and customized solutions.

Atec, Inc. (US): Offers a comprehensive range of engine test cell solutions, including data acquisition systems and environmental controls.

CEL (Canada): Known for its expertise in test cell design, CEL provides innovative solutions for commercial and military clients.

These companies are continuously investing in research and development, expanding their product portfolios, and pursuing strategic partnerships to maintain a competitive edge in the market.

Recent Developments

The Aircraft Engine Test Cells Market has seen several significant developments in recent years, including:

November 2023: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Safran Helicopter Engines Pvt Ltd form a joint venture to develop and support helicopter engines.

October 2023: HAL and Safran sign an MoU to collaborate on the manufacturing of LEAP engine components.

July 2023: General Electric unveils a new test bed for NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project, advancing hybrid electric flight.

June 2023: Pratt & Whitney launches an AI-based engine analysis tool, Percept, enhancing maintenance capabilities.

March 2022: Rolls-Royce announces a USD 400 million investment to modernize its engine test facilities in Indiana, furthering its commitment to innovation.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: What is the Aircraft Engine Test Cells Market size? The market size is expected to grow from USD 3.3 billion in 2023 to USD 4.1 billion by 2028, with a CAGR of 4.2%.

Q2: Who are the major players in this market? Key players include Safran, MDS Aero Support Corporation, Calspan Corporation, Atec, Inc., and CEL.

Q3: What drives growth in the Aircraft Engine Test Cells Market? Growth is driven by increased demand for commercial aircraft, investments in military aviation, and the need for upgraded testing facilities.

Q4: What regions are experiencing the most growth? The Asia-Pacific region is projected to have the highest growth rate due to rising air travel and government investments in aviation infrastructure.

Q5: What advancements are being made in aircraft engine testing? Notable advancements include the integration of automation, ice detection technology, and the development of facilities for hybrid and electric aircraft engines.

Key Takeaways

Market Growth: The Aircraft Engine Test Cells Market is on a steady growth trajectory, projected to reach USD 4.1 billion by 2028.

Key Drivers: Demand for commercial aircraft, military modernization, and test cell upgrades drive market growth.

Regional Growth: Asia-Pacific offers the highest growth potential, fueled by a booming aviation industry.

Opportunities: Advancements in engine technology, hybrid aviation, and emerging markets provide significant opportunities.

Market Players: Leading companies include Safran, MDS Aero Support Corporation, Calspan Corporation, Atec, Inc., and CEL, all of which are investing heavily in innovation and expansion.

The Aircraft Engine Test Cells Market is poised for significant growth, driven by demand across both commercial and military aviation sectors. As the industry navigates technological advancements and shifts towards sustainable aviation, the need for specialized testing facilities will continue to rise. This dynamic market offers numerous opportunities for stakeholders, particularly in emerging regions like Asia-Pacific, where investments in aviation infrastructure are accelerating.