#in his bionic shoulders era

[creeping-kommando]

Rebuild’in Wot Woz Skrapped.

Boss Kommanda Grimgrod

Burgeoning Warboss of the Segmentum Solar:

“Ain’t nothing left but to start over. Lotta you runts fink we’re done, that without Da Kaptin, we’re good as ded. Well, I’m ’ere to tell you sorry gits that you’re wrong. Sure we mighta lost our Dakka, our Kroozerz, and ‘ell, we may ‘ave even lost the battle. But, we’re ORKZ Zog it! You good for nothing grots must’ve forgotten, that we ain’t ever beaten! We’re gonna come back bigger, better, and smarter than before, and show those bugs that they ain’t won yet!”

|Rules|

Height: 10’3”/ Age: 20-25 Years/

Grimgrod had always been seen as a joke to his superiors, and even to some of his inferiors. Many Orks would’ve heard stories of the infamously bad luck that tailed the Nob like a loyal Squig, and found it easy to bully him into jobs no one else wanted to do. So during the brutal tyranid attack that wiped out the Circuit Jawz, Grimgrod had survived by being made a lousy messenger. To tell the tale of good ole Kaptin Zagbad Grimgul.

It was only after he first regaled the death of his mighty Kaptin that Grimgrod finally decided he had enough. Something in the young Nob finally snapped, and from then after his misfit mob and him flew through the stars, tackling former Circuit Jawz, absorbing them into the fold, and brutally assaulting lost territories. This new tribe was dubbed the Doom’eadz, with Grimgrod as their Warboss. Only time will tell what plans he has for the former allies and enemies of Zagbad.

Occupation: Mercenary, Tactical Consultant, Part-Time Freebootah

Skills: ‘Diplomacy’, Close Quarters Combat, Amateur Mek Know How, Tracking, and Sneaking.

Goals: To pick up where Zagbad left off, but instead of being a measly pirate, Grimgrod wants true domination. He wants to prove every git who doubted him wrong, and crush the Hivefleet who did in his Kaptin first as a demonstration of his superiority. Not to mention a need to show that Blood Axe thinking is right.

Allies:

The Heg Ravens

Da Gear-Klaws (Begrudgingly)

Da Mad-Kapz

Appearance:

Standing at 10 feet and 3 inches tall, Grimgrod is much smaller than his former Kaptin, but still a hulking behemoth. Lightly armored, the heaviest implements the Ork carries are his taloned cybernetic legs and arm, while the rest of his attire is military wear based upon imperial foes. His helm holds a skull like visage, a visor hiding everything but the monster’s gleaming red eyes. Across his form, is a color of blue and black, a camouflage pattern with a bit more subtly to it than the average Ork would care to wear. Around his neck is a flag turned scarf taken as a final farewell from his Kaptin, which Grimgrod now uses as a sign of his era and the passing of the torch.

His shoulders meanwhile are armored by a typical checker patterned plate and a looted astartes pauldron. It’s been outfitted with spikes to present a more fashionable appearance, one befitting greenskin sensibilities.

Equipment

Snik & Snakk: Two overly long knives that Grimgrod keeps on his person at all times. They’re great for slitting throats, picking locks, and generally giving anything a good stab.

Da Hush Hush Stabba: Grimgrod is a Blood Axe, and Axe Boyz never play fair. Within his bionic arm is a secret blade he can extend from underneath his palm, and then cleanly retract. Some gits need that extra nudge to understand that they’re deceased.

Da Final Say: A large revolver that Grimgrod uses when he realizes the time for words and headbutts are over. Snagged off a Beast Snagga who gave him lip, Grimgrod’s put the weapon to far greater use than its previous owner.

Da Kultural Exchange Bouquet: Grimgrod has an assortment of throwable weapons and explosives in his arsenal, and when in a real pinch, will decide to use all of them. Flash Bangs, Stikkbombs, 'Sploding Squigs, and Tankbusta Bombs are all deployed in a wired ‘Bouquet’, usually as a parting gift courtesy of the Doom’eadz.

Studguf’s Kustom Nanites: After Zagbad was deemed dead, Grimgrod attempted to replicate the past Ork Kaptain’s strange ability to both harden his skin and weapons to a steel like quality, a technique the Kaptin failed to teach him. After months of tensing his muscles and concentrating really hard, Grimgrod abducted and forced a Mek to instead make him an artificial copy. When faced with a knife to the throat, Studguf obliged, and Grimgrod was gifted with a similar ability to Zagbad. It’s still a sore spot however.

Credit Notes

The first image was drawn by @/rowscara

The second image was drawn by @/ChumiiCham

The third image was drawn by @/hydroxianchaos

[not-wholly-unheroic]

Captain Hook & The History of Prosthetics

From its earliest days on stage to the upcoming Disney live-action film, Peter Pan has provided audiences with one of the most widely recognized amputee characters in media history. The iron claw, now associated with all pirates, is an iconic image...but how realistic would it have been for a captain who lost a hand or arm in battle to find himself wearing a hook? I decided to do some digging to find out.

The earliest known use of a prosthetic hand dates back to the 200s B.C. when Roman general Marcus Sergius lost his right hand during the Second Punic War and had an iron hand fashioned to hold his shield while he fought with his left hand. There isn’t a ton of information on what this replacement “hand” may have looked like (whether it was primarily functional or also cosmetic) but it may have resembled a much later design (c. 1504) worn by German knight Goetz von Berlichingen, also known as “Goetz of the Iron Hand” This hand, though crafted with great detail to look realistic, was also designed to let the wearer grasp a shield, reins, etc. Although the gripping motion required adjusting the device with the remaining natural hand, the design looks surprisingly modern. 

Goetz von Berlichingen’s Iron Hand

Around the same time period in the Mediterranean region, Ottoman seaman Oruc Reis--also known as Baba Oruc (”Father Oruc”),  later misheard and Westernized as Barbarossa (”Redbeard” in Italian)--lost his left arm in battle, replacing it with a metal prosthetic and earning the privateer the nickname Gumus Kol, meaning “Silver Arm” in Turkish. Much like Marcus Sergius, we don’t have a good idea of this prosthetic’s appearance. 

The first major historical figure to use an actual hook in place of a hand was privateer Christopher Newport, who lost an arm while attempting to capture a Spanish galleon in 1590. Newport is also known for helping establish the colony of Jamestown alongside the more popularized John Smith and others in 1607. 

Artist’s Rendering of Christopher Newport

Another infamous sailor who lost a limb, Admiral Horatio Nelson, is virtually never depicted with a prosthetic of any sort but is responsible for the development of what would come to be known as “The Nelson Fork,” a combination knife and fork designed to make cutting and eating food easier for those missing a hand. Though Nelson lost his arm in 1797, variations of his cutlery design are still in use today.

A Nelson Fork, or as I like to call it, a “Knork”

During the Victorian Era, some false hands had a very steampunk/cyborg look to them. In fact, they rather resemble Long John Silver’s cyborg arm in Disney’s Treasure Planet. (Fun Fact: While attempting to see if they could seamlessly blend CG with traditional 2D animation, Disney did a test run of some existing footage of Hook with Silver’s cyborg arm.)

A Victorian False Arm (left) and Disney’s Test Footage of Hook with Silver’s Cyborg Arm (right)

Meanwhile, in the U.S., many soldiers were coming home from the Civil War with missing limbs, and the widespread need for practical prosthetics led to the development of a sort of “Swiss Army Knife” prosthetic with detachable parts, including cosmetic false hands, hooks, cutlery, and what appears to be either a brush or a toothbrush.

A Civil War Era Prosthetic with Attachments

In fact, many of these sorts of prosthetic attachments are similar to what we see Hook use in the Disney film and are still used by amputees today.

The Captain’s Case of Hooks (left) and Catalog Images of Modern Prosthetic Attachments (right)

You’ll notice that among the modern attachments featured is--you guessed it!--a hook! In fact, because of its versatility and cost-effectiveness as a prosthetic hand replacement, variations on the concept of a hook became quite popular during the 1800s/1900s and still exist today.

A Collection of Hooks from the 19th and Early 20th Centuries

The modern split hook, first developed in 1912 and popularized in the aftermath of WWI & WWII, is perhaps the most common sort of hook used in modern times. It typically features a sort of harness that goes across the chest/back and over the shoulder opposite the missing limb. This design likely influenced the image of Cyril Ritchard’s two-pronged claw in the 1960s stage version of Peter Pan and Jason Isaacs’ prosthetic apparatus in the 2003 film. 

A Modern Split Hook (bottom left), Cyril Ritchard’s Hook (top left), and Jason Isaacs’ Hook (right)

In the aftermath of the World Wars, although technology has allowed for the development of some truly remarkable bionic inventions, the continued need for practical, cost-effective prosthetics has led to the development of a variety of attachments designed for work as well as leisure activities. 

Enter Jake and the Neverland Pirates. While the show maintains Hook as a villain, because it is designed for children, he is portrayed more as a bully with low self-esteem than a truly evil, threatening character. We’re meant to like him, and while the audience laughs at his antics and feels sorry for him for many reasons (Dude has some SERIOUS bad luck!), the hook itself isn’t one of them. One thing I love about the show is that it takes the stereotypically “scary amputee villain” and turns him into a sympathetic grump with a collection of really cool hooks that any kid would envy. Some of them are admittedly a bit far-fetched and fanciful (But who DOESN’T want a whirly-hook that lets you fly?)...but surprisingly, many of the attachments are a fairly accurate representation of what’s out there. For example, need to build something or hang a picture on the wall? There’s a hammer hook for that.

A Veteran from One of the World Wars with a Hammer Attachment (left) and Captain Hook’s “Hammer Hook” from Jake and the Neverland Pirates (right)

Or maybe you want to play a game of golf... 

A Man Using a Prosthetic Attachment to Hold a Golf Club (left) and Captain Hook’s Golf Club Hook from Jake and the Neverland Pirates (right)

YUP! It’s real! (Okay, so the attachment is made to HOLD a golf club. It’s not a club itself...but the concept is the same.)

So...what’s the verdict? Although the popular vision of pirates wearing hooks is heavily overstated in modern culture, it is historically quite plausible that a captain who lost a hand in battle might replace it with a hook...and if he were still around today, he might even have an attachment that would allow him to spend his retirement years enjoying some time out on the green.

[tatertotcosmonaut]

DSMP Scars and Disability Headcanons.

Part 1!

Tubbo

3rd degree burns mainly centered on the face, torso, and left shoulder, with some lesser burns fanning from these areas.

- Has to apply daily moisturizer and ointment to these areas because of dryness.

- Movement is a bit restricted in areas where the burns are worse because the skin is very taut and still tender.

- Because of the taut skin in his face, making expressions can be quite difficult.

- Left eyebrow is completely burned off and his right eyebrow is partially there.

- Heavily damaged tear ducts, he physically cannot cry. This causes his eyes to be very watery/leaky and quite irritated.

Heavy eye damage due to the Red Festival execution.

- Left eye is completely destroyed and he has a prosthetic in his socket or just wears an eye patch.

Left ear is completely destroyed, he cannot hear from his left side. He has partial hearing loss in his right due to many repeated explosions over the server’s events.

Left arm is gone from the upper part down due to Doomsday when he jumped in front of Tommy from Techno’s fireworks.

- He made himself a bionic prosthetic during Snowchester and mainly wears it when doing projects. When not doing projects he just wears a simple and comfortable sling made from Friend’s wool (Tommy knitted it).

3rd degree burn nerve damage

- Very intense nerve damage in the area of his burns. He cannot feel anything in those areas, whether it be pain or the cold.

C-PTSD

- Lots of long term repeated trauma over the events of the server. Pretty self explanatory.

Selectively Mute

- Due to his tendency to go unresponsive in stressful situations, even when he is the spotlight of said stressful situation.

Tommyinnit

Lost right leg from the knee down as well as his ring finger and middle finger on his right hand due to frostbite (from escaping Exile and walking to Techno’s house).

- Techno made him a basic prosthetic but then Sam made him a bionic prosthetic for his missing leg as he also made Ponk’s bionic legs! Tubbo is the one that updates and fixes it nowadays.

Crutch and Wheelchair user

- He mainly used crutches to assist him to walk just for stability reasons when he first got his leg amputated. And then used them to help with stability when he first got his prosthetic.

- He uses a wheelchair when he isn’t wearing his prosthetic and is having a bad day (mental exhaustion, fatigue, understimmed or overstimulated, etc).

- Sam made his wheelchair for him!

Iatrogenic Facial Nerve Injury (from his death in the prison).

- Right half of his face is droopy and paralyzed due to this injury. He can only move the other side even if movement can be difficult and twitchy.

- Mildly slurred speech.

- Difficulty chewing and consuming food when eating.

- Processing issues

Right eye damage due to nerve injury

- Slightly red eye (looks like pink eye)

- Partially blind

Hard of hearing

- Lots of close perimeter explosions will do that to you. He also has tinnitus.

C-PTSD

- Same reason as Tubbo, pretty self explanatory.

Autistic

- Lots of difficulty with understanding others and impaired communication (he explains things in ways he understands them but others may not get it).

- Much more likely to go non verbal than have an outburst nowadays when it comes to the bad days.

- Wears cardigans and sweaters because they don’t mess with his sensory issues and are fun to stim with.

- Gardening and animal husbandry are his special interests.

Litchenberg Figures

- From getting struck by lightning on Doomsday

Wilbur Soot

Schizoaffective Disorder

- He has bipolar type Schizoaffective Disorder.

- His symptoms got worse during the Election Arc and Pogtopia era due to increased stress, this leading to increased paranoia and disorganized thoughts.

- Kept this hidden from most people except Tommy and Niki because he didn’t want to be seen as a weak president. Niki and Tommy bee easily noticed when he was having “one of those” days and would aid him as best as they could (Tommy more often after the Election Arc).

- Often suffered through hallucination episodes by himself without anyone to help him cope through it because of this.

Knee braces (uses a cane to walk after revival)

- Just has pretty bad knees, especially after the Independence War. Can get stiff and sometimes ache or even lock up.

- Knees are especially bad after revival. So he uses a cane to help himself walk to catch himself if his knees decide to just lock up and he needs balance.

3rd degree burns on the left half of his body

- Because he was literally right next to the center of the explosion on the 16th he has a lot of burn damage (even with protection from Phil’s wings).

- Half of his body has bad nerve damage (similar to Tubbo’s) where he cannot feel anything on that side of his body.

- Also similar to Tubbo, the skin is very taut so he has limited movement and facial expression on that side of his face and body.

- Sometimes forgets to add ointment and moisturizer to his burns so he needs someone to remind him.

Heat Cataracts

- Foggy eyes and partial vision loss in both eyes because of the explosion. Vision loss isn’t super bad but he does need a good pair of glasses to help.

Huge Sensory Issues

- 13 years in limbo (basically sensory deprivation and isolation) will do that to you.

- Touch averse and very picky with his clothes. He likes his yellow sweater because it feels comfortable against his skin.

- Although not avoiding creeper blasts the loud explosion does bother him greatly, as do most loud noises. It can cause him to be confused and disorganized.

PTSD

Mainly from the war!

Partially Deaf

- Left ear is completely destroyed, he cannot hear out of it. With little hearing loss in his right due to Nov 16th.

- It’s very easy to spook him when approaching him on his left because of his heightened sense of his surroundings and general paranoia.

Philza

Missing one wing and has a brace for the other

- Right wing is completely gone and the left has severe burn damage (also feathers cannot regrow on said wing so what’s gone is gone).

- He cannot feel his left wing at all, which caused him a lot of distress but he slowly got used to it.

- Needs a brace for his left wing so the limp limb doesn’t drag on his back and so the wing doesn’t get dirty (it needs to be cleaned and have ointment applied to it daily).

3rd degree burns on back

- In his attempt to try and shield Wilbur from the blast he has lots of burn damage on his back.

- Similar nerve damage to Tubbo and Wilbur. Can’t feel his back at all.

- Techno needs to help him apply daily ointment and moisturizer to his back.

Walks with a cane!

- I just really like Caneza designs. Also he just needs help with balance walking sometimes due to a missing wing and the other being limp.

Deaf in right ear

- Due to Nov 16th.

Quackity

Crooked jaw and other jaw problems due to his fight with Techno.

- His jaw can lock up and often become stiff

- Chewing and eating can be difficult for him, he often has problems with food dropping from his mouth which caused him to often eat alone

Nerve damage in his face

- Also due to his fight with Techno (getting a pickaxe driven through your face will do that to you).

- Lower half of his right face is droopy due to paralysis, which causes him to have a bit of scowl and slightly slow speech.

Right eye damage and scar (Techno fight)

- Right eye is completely gone, so he often wears an eyepatch or has a replica eye.

- Very long and deep scar from his jaw to eyebrow that runs across his right eye. The muscle is a bit exposed and he has to keep that area clean daily otherwise it itches quite bad.

Hard of Hearing

- Slight hearing loss in both ears because of November 16th and Doomsday

PTSD

- Mainly from war

- Also trauma from his toxic marriage with Schlatt

[ellemany]

The ____ date of my life - Chapter 7

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Recommended Music: Hey Lover – The Daughters of Eve

Humans have some super abilities that make no sense of how extraordinary they are. The singular perception of time is one of them.

Everyone understands and perceives time in different ways. One minute can seem like an eternity to someone and the same minute can resemble a blink of an eye for someone else. Speed and slowness are just points of view.

For Sage, that laugh was long while it lasted and too fast when it was over. She wanted to keep laughing even when she managed to take a break to breath. It was the kind of good laugh, that type that worth to have, even if the belly hurts and the lungs beg for air.

For Sova, Sage's laugh went through in slow motion. As if every sound and every movement of her deserved to be analyzed with a scientific thoroughness. He controlled himself first than she, observing her laugh. It was there, in that short long moment, that he knew. He didn't need photos and analysis of his bionic eye or fireworks. It was with a laugh coming from a duck chase, in the middle of the world's most disastrous date. Sova knew at that singular moment that Sage was the kind of woman who he couldn’t find in an entire era. He'd be a fool to not do anything to keep her in his life. And Sova could be a lot of things, but idiot he wasn't.

- Ouch... - She wiped a tear, leaving blurry marks under her eyes. - I can't take it anymore. - Sage let out a few more laughs. - A duck! - She laughed again, putting her hands on her face, shaking her head. - A duck!

Sova smiled from ear to ear, hearing Sage's laugh. It was warm and cozy, comfortable as a burning fireplace in winter.

- Breathe. - Sova patted Sage on the back twice, seeing that she was really out of air. The Russian had a few laughs too, more controlled. He looked at the tree above them again, watching the berries. His stomach snored. - Stay there. - Sova stood up, causing Sage to fall into the bench for lack of support.

Sage's shoulders trembled and she laughed more, babbling something unintelligible.

Sova went to the tree and raised his arm, pulling a branch and picking up the blackberries from there, purplish and rosy. Some burst into his hand, splashing the strong pigments across his skin and, obviously, on the white blazer. Sova had already given up on it. He turned to Sage when he thought he'd taken enough, without even having to climb the tree for it. The Chinese was laying on the bench, her forearm over her eyes, showing a remnant of a smile.

- Sit down. - Sova spoke while eating a pink blackberry.

- Umm... - Sage grumbled, taking her arm out of her eyes. Her eyeliner, mascara and eyeshadow ended up blurry, leaving black spots around her eyes. Sova controlled himself not to laugh or make a joke involving pandas. - Are you going to feed me? - Sage analyzed Sova's mouth, which was already stained by the berries. She sat on the bench, watching Sova settle next to her and controlling herself not to make a joke about children who get dirty for nothing.

- I've been trying to do this for a while. - The Russian shrugged, showing her the blackberries. - They're really yummy. And they're for free. - He winked at Sage, smiling amused.

- If it's for free, it tastes better. Scientifically proven. - Sage took a pink blackberry, putting it in her mouth. - Really yummy. - She nodded, picking up a few more berries. – This is very unhygienic. - She spoke after swallowing the berries, making a peck.

Sova shrugged, leaning his back on the bench, looking at the cloud-filled sky. Would it rain? How would he take Sage to the base in the rain? He didn't want they end up wet.

- What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

- Or fattening.... In your case, right? - She smirked, with more blacks in her mouth. She swallowed them, wiping the corners of her lips with her tongue. - I'm going to keep hot thanks to the radianite in my blood.

Sova turned to her, narrowing his eyes as if to say that she was going to a dangerous path.

- You don't even mess with that. Gives bad luck.

Her smile widened, realizing that she had found something to annoy the Russian. She already opened her mouth to provoke him when he spoke first.

- Your makeup smudged by the way. - He turned to the clouds, putting more berries in his mouth. With the luck they were having, it would rain. He had to find a way to protect her from the rain. Sova didn't realize that Sage was surprised that he was more interested in the sky than in her. – You’re looking like a panda. A little panda.

Sage closed her mouth, turning red as she widened her eyes.

- Shit. - She turned around so that she'd have her back to him, opening her handbag. She took the little mirror and checked her makeup, making a grimace at seeing the dark spots. - Shit! - Sage put her hands on her face again, taking a deep breath. - Why does this happen to me? - She cried, embarrassed.

Sova looked Sage, bursting blackberries in his mouth, dirtying his lips. He swallowed the rest of the berries, wiping his hands in his pants. He sat on the bench, passing an arm around Sage’s shoulders. He poked her lightly, leaving his face near to her.

- Hey… I've seen it for a while anyway. - He tilted his head to the side. - You don't have to be ashamed.

"Men" Sage thought, shaking her head.

- I look terrible. Everything is terrible!

Sova made a face of disdain, taking advantage that she had her back to him. "Women" He sighed, poking her again.

- Hey... - He used a sweet tone, speaking softly. – Look at me… - Sage denied it with her head and Sova poked her again. – Look at me, lil panda. - The Russian poked between her ribs, making her cringe. He smirked, realizing she was ticklish. - Hey hey hey...- He was poking between her ribs, making her squirm.

- Stop! - She patted his hand, taking it away from her. - And don't call me a lil panda!

- Look at me. - Sova repeated, poking her one last time. – Lil panda.

Sage took a deep breath, lowering her hands and turning to Sova. She wide her eyes, watching his face with patches of blackberry. Even his nose had a reddish drip.

- You didn't do it... – Sage murmured, incredulous. To which Sova smiled as if he were joking.

- What? Don't you want more berries? - He looked at the tree behind him. - I think I'm going to get some more...

Sage kept the surprise expression, looking at the stains that Sova had done on his own face. That was hard to take off.

- You're all dirty. - Sage grumbled, holding Sova's face, turning him to her.

- For sure? – He made an expression of misunderstanding. - I didn't even realize...

- You didn't have to do that. - She rubbed her thumb on his face, trying to take out a reddish spot.

- Do what? - Sova looked at Sage with an innocent face, touching her hand that was on his face. - My babushka always said that I can't eat berries. - He frowned at Sage, as if questioning her. - Why do you think she says that?

Sage watched the other for a few seconds, wandering the gaze from his bright eyes to his reddish mouth. It was obvious what he was doing to make her feel good. Not so effective because Sage felt terrible for allowing Sova to get even more dirty. But... He was playing another dumb role for her and it made her forget how supposedly terrible she was.

- I don’t have any idea… - She muttered looking into Sova's eyes, hoping he'd notice the grateful look she was sending him behind the black blurs of eyeline and mascara.

Sova smiled, approaching to her slowly, observing her mouth.

- Neither did I... - He murmured, with his lips close to Sage’s. He lightly pressed her hand on his face, passing the other hand by her waist. - Will you help me clean up here? - He guided her hand to his lips, making her touch them with her thumb. Sage gave a slight smile, nodding with her head, going to kiss him.

- Excuse me… I'm sorry to interrupt there...

Sova closed his eyes, resisting the urge to punch whoever was the owner of that voice that was interrupting them both.

Sage lowered her head, defeated, touching her forehead in Sova’s one briefly. If disappointment killed, she'd be dead and buried by now. She raised her face, looking at a boy with green hair and an embarrassed face next to them.

- Yes? - She spoke with disinterest, wondering how it would be much more relevant to create a wall between them and the boy with her radiant gift.

- You dropped it. - The boy held Sage's beret to her, looking away, blushing. - I saw you guys running from the duck. It was… Unique?

Sova laughed cynically, turning his head to the other side, avoiding looking at the boy. He knew if he saw the boy’s face, his bionic eye would mark him as a pending target on his blacklist. And Sova was careful to keep his blacklist limited, with no more or less than three people living on it. He'd hate to have to give a way on a fourth.

- Unique... - He muttered. – It’s a good adjective to define this day. - Sova let out the air slowly, squeezing his eyes.

Sage grumbled in agreement, reaching out to the boy.

- Thanks. - She did her best to keep her voice tone gentle. It came out dry and with traces of hate.

- Oh, no worries. - The boy gave Sage the beret, scratching his hair. - I'm sorry again. Ahw... Good luck! - He turned around, walking out quickly.

Sage looked at the beret in her hand and squeezed it as if she could break it with anger. Then she took a deep breath, looking at Sova.

- Where did we stop? - She spoke with a smile, tilting her head so she would be in a good position to fit her lips into his.

Sova took his fingers out of his eyes, watching Sage. He sat on the bench, holding her hand.

- Can I test something?

Sage frowned, putting one hand on Sova’s nape.

- If it involves you shutting your mouth and kissing me at once, yes.

- Almost that. - He nodded and advanced towards her, ready to kiss her.

Right at that time, a pigeon flew between the two, flapping it wings on their faces before coming out to the sky. Sage walked away from Sova, looking around with wide eyes.

- What the hell was that?

Sova laughed without humor.

- Every time we go kiss, something happens. - He snorted.

- No way. - Sage turned to Sova, grimacing. - Come here. - She ran her arms around Sova's neck, going to kiss him.

And then, one of the branches of the tree beside them broke, falling on Sova's head. The Russian walked away from Sage, massaging his head.

- Ouch! - He wrinkled his nose, looking at the tree. - Oh, come on!

- Again. - Sage spoke firmly, trying to get close to him.

This time, lightning descended from the sky and it thunder echoed near them. The bodies of the two to tremble by the sudden loud noise, resounding inside them and bringing chills through their bodies. Somewhere, a tree caught fire.

Sova and Sage looked up and then looked at each other, slowly moving away.

- Do you think it's better…

- Let's not play so much for now. - Sova spoke, raising his eyebrows to the sky.

- Damn it. - Sage spoke at once, crossing her arms with an angry face. She slammed the body against the bench, snorting. - What's wrong with kissing the guy I like?

- It could be a prank. - He looked around. - Cypher may have implanted cameras around here, Chamber must be paying people and animals to make fun of us, Killjoy must have some thing to control the weather and... - Sova stopped talking for a moment and turned to Sage, opening a lively smile. - Do you like me?

- Of course I like you. - Sage rolled her eyes, massaging her temple. - I've wanted to kiss you since we saw each other in the conference room. But I can't, right, universe? - Sage looked up, angry.

Sova gave Sage a silly smile, which she didn't even notice because she was angry at whoever was ruining her date.

- You could have said... - He mumbled, turning forward. Sova passed his tongue through his lips, taking a strand of hair from the front of his face. - Maybe our only impediment there was Viper showing up...

- We should have stayed at home. - Sage filled her cheeks with air, looking at the cars in the street.

Sova did a peck, thinking. He took a part of his blazer, in a less dirty area, and wiped his face with it.

- Do you want to go back to the base? - Sova looked at her, lowering the blazer.

Sage looked at Sova and sighed, sitting at the border of the bench.

- It’s not a bad idea… - She looked at her boots, swinging them. - Are you still hungry?

- Starving. - The Russian took off his blazer, analyzing the damage.

- I have some leftovers in my apartment. We can share. - Sage threw her hair over her shoulder. – Want it?

- Sure. - He nodded and held Sage's chin, bringing her closer to him. - Come here...

The Chinese shrank a little, expecting him to kiss her suddenly at the same time as afraid of what might happen to them. She has never cured anyone who's been struck by lightning before. She didn't know how it would work. However, Sova gently passed the blazer under Sage's eyes, trying to take off some of the blurry makeup.

- It's going to get worse. - She mumbled.

- Just to help a little. - He stroked her chin while lightly squeezing the corner of her eyes with the fabric. - If you want, I'm get some water to clean it.

Sage smiled, content with his good intention.

- It won’t clean it with water.

Sova wrinkled his nose, pulling the blazer out of Sage's face.

- Why do you put a thing on your face that cannot be cleaned with water?

- The intention was to look good for you. - She raised an eyebrow, as if she was speaking the obvious.

Sova opened his lips with an "oh" and nodded, giving a lightly smile. He approached her quickly, giving an affectionate kiss on her cheek. Sage was chilled by the sudden kiss. She gave a silly smile, looking at him as he walked away.

- You're beautiful in anyway, lil panda. - Sova smiled, pinching her chin. Sage turned red, with the smile still on her lips. The Russian frowned, looking around. - Nothing happened.

- Oh, yes...? - Sage muttered, still silly. - Try it again.

Sova looked at her and smiled, coming back to her, giving her a few kisses on her cheek. Sage smiled, feeling chills in the area where he was kissing and put one hand on the back of his head, keeping him close. She turned her head to the side, causing their lips to rub into each other. They smiled together, feeling the closeness between them.

- It was nothing… - Sage muttered. - It's not like we're going to get hit by a truck.

Sova had a hoarse laugh, touching Sage's face, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

A truck horn blew up in the middle of traffic, not far from the two. And the driver seemed to want to find some way to get out of there. Even if it was up the sidewalk.

Sova looked at the truck and then looked at Sage.

- Are you sure? - He whispered, raising his eyebrows.

The Chinese sighed and shook her head, giving Sova a quick peck. She looked back when the truck honked again, almost hitting the car in front of it.

- Not too much. - She mumbled, wondering if she could resuscitate them two if they kissed and, therefore, were run over. She didn't realize Sova was smiling silly for finally kiss her. Okay, it was a little peck. However, it was a breakthrough. Of those who made the Russian's heart almost jump out of his chest. – Let’s go? - Sage stood up discouraged, pulling Sova lightly by his hand.

>>> Next Chapter

[diarrheaworldstarhiphop]

In an infamous Newsweek cover story in March 1990, beneath the strapline “Rap Rage”, journalist Jerry Adler laid out the case for the prosecution against the corrupting influence of hip-hop which, even by that stage, had become wearyingly overfamiliar to its many fans. The broad brushstrokes of the charges were aptly satirised later, in the voice of Marge Simpson: “Rap music belongs in the rubbish bin: it encourages punching, boasting, and rudeness to hoes.” But in the midst of this archetypal George Bush Sr-era moral panic, the article made another criticism that sounded rather more accurate. Hip-hop is, Adler wrote scathingly, “music so post-industrial it’s almost not even played, but pieced together out of pre-recorded sound bites”. In the Chicago-based writer Roy Christopher’s Dead Precedents, we have an enjoyable, pithy account of why this isn’t a criticism at all.

Written with the passion of a zine-publishing fan and the acuity of an academic (he is both), Christopher explores the idea of hip-hop as “black cyberpunk”. His argument is that rap and cyberpunk were twin movements, in which technologically liberated renegades created the future by reinventing the past, building new worlds using DIY ethics and freewheeling bricolage. Like hip-hop itself, his book is layered with overlapping references and allusions, quotes and “samples’” proudly standing on the shoulders of giants.

A typical chapter takes us on a tour around four less discussed pillars of hip-hop: recording, archiving, sampling and intertextuality (MC-ing, DJ-ing, B-boying and graffiti writing are the standard quartet) – and draws on reference points as broad as Edward Snowden, Walter Benjamin, De La Soul (pictured) and Blade Runner, to discuss the hacking, reworking and the conflicted relationships rap has with history, memory and the vast libraries of cultural products now available to draw on. Perhaps we all now function in this way – perhaps we are all cyberpunks, constantly reconfiguring an unstable, half-remembered archive of clips, snippets and sounds.

Christopher quotes Adbusters magazine founder Kalle Lasn, who takes this further, and says digital citizens have been brainwashed by consumer capitalism’s onslaught, and all now “speak a kind of corporate Esperanto: words and ideas sucked up from TV and advertising”. This refusal to believe that younger adults have the agency – and cynicism – to critique, let alone transcend, the bombardment of messages thrown at them in the 21st century would at least explain why his magazine is full of sixth-form, Banksy-esque “subvertising”. Christopher knows better than this, and sees the bricoleurs as pioneers, not dupes.

Christopher’s achievement is to avoid making the connections between his two great interests, hip-hop and cyberpunk, seem forced - and to be fair, they really don’t need to be. They emerged in the same 1980s context, in a moment of intense post-industrial decline and technological upheaval; they are both reliant on a bedrock of “codes and signs to hack [and] meanings to hijack” – as acts of subversion, whether playful or polemical. There is even the Afrofuturist style of early hip-hop: its goggles, gloves, mohawks and leathers; looks “cobbled together from the fragments of past fads and fashions” – emerging in Robert Moses’s New York, a South Bronx of broken windows and social decay, devastated by “highway-bound white flight”. When Ronald Reagan visited on the campaign trail in August 1980, he said the area looked like it had been hit by an atom bomb. Looking back, it makes a certain amount of sense that the first two Mad Max films had come out either side of this visit and that year’s epochal US presidential election.

Dead Precedents is almost pamphlet-length, barely 150 pages long – although accompanied by extensive notes, bibliography and further listening, appropriately – but it is no less emphatic in its argument that the 21st century truly began with these twin movements. And even if the cyberpunk moment encapsulated in the thrilling writings of William Gibson, Rudy Rucker and Bruce Sterling has passed, its spirit lives on in the Afrofuturist R&B of Janelle Monáe or the beats of Flying Lotus, the films of Boots Riley, the Afropunk festival, and a thousand other bionically blooming flowers of hip-hop culture. And this is before we even contemplate what the young people growing up on Black Panther will go on to create. Grandmaster Flash was “hip-hop’s first hacker, its first cyberpunk”, Christopher contends at one point; he will not be the last.

Dan Hancox is the author of Inner City Pressure: The Story of Grime (HarperCollins)

[aion-rsa]

Godzilla vs. Kong: A Brief History of Mechagodzilla

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this article contains spoilers for godzilla vs. kong.

It may not have quite the cache or iconic status of Mothra or King Ghidorah, but Mechagodzilla has managed to become a consistent element in the Godzilla movie universe for years. And now the metallic wonder makes its Hollywood debut (not counting Ready Player One) in director Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs. Kong, the fourth film in the modern MonsterVerse that kicked off in 2014 with Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla.

Ever since making its first appearance in 1974’s Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, the gigantic robotic reptile has stuck around as a relatively constant thorn in the side of his flesh-and-blood counterpart. If Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra are the Joker, Penguin, and Catwoman to Godzilla’s Batman, then Mechagodzilla hovers near the top of the second tier of rogues, the equivalent to a Two-Face or Mr. Freeze.

Mechagodzilla’s first appearance some 47 years ago came during the Showa era of the original Toho Studios series of Godzilla films. It was the result of some creative brainstorming following two absolutely terrible entries in the series, Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) and Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), which featured two of the big lizard’s more uninspiring enemies–a cyborg with a buzzsaw in its stomach and an oversized beetle, respectively.

Faced with the task of freshening up the Godzilla movies via some better antagonists, Toho execs were intrigued by the success of the robot anime genre in Japan at the time, and also wanted to recycle the idea of Mechani-Kong, the android Kong seen in the animated 1966 series The King Kong Show and the largely disastrous 1967 film, King Kong Escapes. Between Mechani-Kong, Gigan, and the robot Jet Jaguar, mechanical monsters already had a presence in Toho’s kaiju films, paving the way for Mechagodzilla.

Toho

Mechagodzilla in the Showa era

In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, the title villain is the creation of alien invaders from the “Third Planet of the Black Hole,” who plan to use the robot to conquer Earth. Mechagodzilla’s initial rampage–in which it’s actually disguised as Godzilla–sets it against veteran Godzilla ally Anguirus, before Godzilla himself gets involved and goes head to head with the robot. A third monster–the massive protector deity King Caesar, also making his screen debut–gets involved in the action as well, helping the big G defeat his metallic counterpart in a rousing finale.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, which didn’t arrive in the U.S. until 1977, under the name Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster, earned somewhat more at the box office than Godzilla vs. Megalon, even though the franchise was well past its glory days. Critics were a little kinder to the movie too, although not that much: Monthly Film Bulletin pointed out that it could have been “much less shambling than it was.”

Nevertheless, Toho tried again the following year with Terror of Mechagodzilla, the 15th film in the Godzilla series and the last of the initial Showa era. Even though it marked the return of director Ishiro Honda, who had helmed some of the franchise’s biggest classics, Terror ended up becoming (relative to inflation) the lowest grossing entry of all the Godzilla films–a distinction it sadly holds to this day.

The story followed a plot hatched by a mad scientist and the same aliens from the previous film to rebuild Mechagodzilla and team it up with a new monster called Titanosaurus in the hope of defeating Godzilla and wiping out humankind, but our fire-breathing hero and his human allies eventually smack that scheme down.

Interestingly, the screenplay for Terror of Mechagodzilla was written by Yukiko Takayama, who won a contest to provide Toho with an original story for its next Godzilla movie. Takayama’s initial concept for Titanosaurus was a pair of creatures called Titans–which is, of course, the overall name given to the giant creatures that now inhabit the MonsterVerse movies, including in Godzilla vs. Kong. The Titans in Terror were combined into one monster due to budget concerns.

Two Titans, or one lonely Titanosaurus, it didn’t matter much, because the financial struggle of Terror led to Toho ending the Showa era and putting the entire Godzilla franchise on ice for nearly 10 years. But while the big G re-emerged in 1984 with The Return of Godzilla (a.k.a. Godzilla 1985), it would be another nine years until a shiny new version of his mechanical opponent turned up in the Heisei era.

Toho

A new Mechagodzilla for the Heisei era

1993 brought Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, the 20th film in the franchise and, strangely enough, not a sequel to the 1974 film of the same name. This time out, the United Nations’ military anti-Godzilla unit, G-Force, uses the remains of Mecha-King Ghidorah from the previous film, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, to create two machines capable of battling Godzilla: a weaponized aircraft called Garuda and a robot named–you guessed it–Mechagodzilla.

G-Force also has another advantage: it’s in possession of a new Baby Godzilla and uses the infant’s cries to lure Godzilla into battle with Mechagodzilla and Garuda. The latter two ultimately merge into something called Super-Mechagodzilla, and just when it looks like the big green guy is on the ropes, Rodan (who had been nearly killed by the machines earlier in the movie) shows up for a late assist.

Read more

Movies

Godzilla: First 15 Showa Era Movies Ranked

By Don Kaye

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From Skull Island to Godzilla vs. Kong: A Complete MonsterVerse Timeline

By David Crow

As with the other films of the Heisei era, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II benefits from a more serious approach and better special effects than were available in the 1960s and ‘70s, earning the film good reviews and decent box office. The Mechagodzilla suit itself was much more rounded than its predecessor in the earlier films, although still played by a man inside.

Toho

Mechagodzilla enters the Millennium era

It was another nine years before Mechagodzilla showed up again, and it was after the Heisei era had ended and the Millennium era began. The movie was 2002’s Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, and like the other movies in this era, it ignored the events all previous movies except the original Gojira and essentially rebooted Mechagodzilla.

In this case, Mechagodzilla, nicknamed Kiryu, is literally built on the skeleton of the original Godzilla by the Japan Self-Defense Forces. It’s piloted remotely by humans, but the plan to use it against Godzilla backfires when memories of the original Godzilla’s death are triggered in the robot, causing it to go on a rampage of destruction. The Self-Defense Forces eventually regain control of it and send it into battle against its counterpart, although this time the movie ends in a draw.

Mechagodzilla seemed to strike a chord with audiences and critics again, as reviews and box office for the film were among the strongest of the Millennium era. That is perhaps also why Mechagodzilla returned a year later for Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., the 27th Toho film and second to last of the Millennium era. It was also (unusual for this run of films ) a direct sequel to its predecessor, picking up with Kiryu being refitted following the damage it sustained in the previous movie.

It’s theorized that Godzilla keeps coming back to fight Kiryu because of the bones that are part of the robot’s design, so plans are made to shut down the robot and instead let Mothra defend the human race from Godzilla. But when Mothra herself is defeated by the giant fire-breathing dinosaur, the Self-Defense Force has no choice but to let Kiryu get back to work. The film ends with monster and robot plunging to the bottom of the ocean, with a sequel strongly hinted at.

Toho

A modern Mechagodzilla in the Reiwa era

There was one more live-action Godzilla film from Toho in this sequence, Godzilla: Final Wars, but Mechagodzilla sat that one out. Yet a new edition of the cyborg would show up in the so-called Reiwa era, making brief appearances in two of the films from the anime Godzilla trilogy.

In the first, Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017), it was built by humans and aliens to counteract Godzilla, but is never activated after the latter destroys the construction facility. In the follow-up, Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018), nanometal remnants of Mechagodzilla are used to rebuild the facility as well as three battlesuits, but the complex itself, dubbed “Mechagodzilla City,” begins absorbing everything around it under the direction of the aliens, until Godzilla destroys it.

And that was it for Mechagodzilla until it was revealed only recently that a new version of the robot was created for Godzilla vs. Kong. While the previous versions of the robot had solid metal bodies–albeit changing over time from a very mechanical to a more organic look–the new Mechagodzilla is harsh, skeletal and chain-like, powered by the surviving neural network of a severed Ghidorah head and piloted through the combination of a remote control panel and a telepathic human–until a new power source makes it self-aware and able to control itself.

Just as its appearance has changed over the years, so has Mechagodzilla’s arsenal of weapons, which started with missiles and energy rays and graduated to more powerful and plentiful versions of those, while adding plasma grenades, laser cannons and shock anchors in later movies. The “Absolute Zero” flash freezing cannon also came later, while the new Hollywood edition uses a red proton beam, plasma fists, and shoulder-mounted missile launchers, along with a nasty-looking drill on the end of its tail.

“The idea of Mechagodzilla in a big MonsterVerse version, in a Hollywood kind of grounded reality, just sounded so cool,” enthuses Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard about including the robot in the new movie. “To be a director that gets a chance to put their own spin on the design of that, it was just like I had to do this movie from there. They would have had to convince me not to at that point.”

Mechagodzilla has regularly made lists of Godzilla’s most fearsome enemies, so it’s easy to see why it was selected to become the one antagonist that could possibly take on both Godzilla and Kong. Some 47 years after the robot first came clanking to life, it’s getting to, pardon the pun, prove its mettle once again.

Godzilla vs. Kong is currently in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.

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[123designsrq]

WEARABLE TECH DESIGNS THAT HELP YOU ACHIEVE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

wearable tech designs

wearable tech designs – the time period brings to mind bionic body upgrades or perhaps a vibranium necklace that transforms right into a suit? (Admit it, Black Panther’s tech competitors that of Iron Man and this is coming from a hardcore Iron Man fan). But the fact is, we don’t simply recognise what number of wearables are already a part of our lives! From the smartwatch to the Bluetooth headset this is almost synonyms with a company bigshot, wearables have already incorporated themselves into our life. So why not embody the innovation and allow them to make our lives easier? The wearable designs showcased won't make you Iron Man but will actually make you feel you have got your personal Jarvis! ATMOBLUE

Calling it the ATMOBLUE, Leandro and his group developed a wholly new class of wearable tech designs that would actively purify the air of 99.9% of particles, pioneering a era that made them type of the Tesla of face-masks, instead of the N95 which handiest filtered 95% of the air. The masks featured “high-quality air pressure” which helped hold out germs and contaminants with the aid of making the air strain within the masks greater than the air pressure outside. Built-in fans pushed purified air proper into the insides of the mask, permitting you to breathe normally, and one-manner outlets bumped off the humid air, so your mouth never felt wet and sweaty. bracelet

Students on the University of Chicago advanced a unique, wrist-worn bracelet that could remotely scramble all forms of microphones in a operating radius of a few feet. Just wear “The Bracelet of Silence” and switch it on when you want a personal conversation, and its more than one ultrasonic sensors disable close by microphones, stopping them from being capable of hear anything you say. The wearable tech designs comes with an array of 24 ultrasonic transducers that jam microphones in ALL directions. When worn in your hand, the jammer uses your hand’s movements to growth its variety. Get rid of audio blind-spots, efficaciously jamming all types of microphones (even ones hidden from view). ECG/EKG

Literally the scale of a quarter, the Dab with the aid of Adam Miklosi is an unobtrusive Holter ECG/EKG that rests with ease on your chest, constantly studying your coronary heart’s movements. Designed to be minimal, non-invasive, and simple, the Dab attempts to bridge the distance among medical appliances and wearables. Its tiny but classy layout sits on your chest via a gel patch, while the electrodes seize your coronary heart activity. The Dab’s dry-electrodes allow it for use and reused, in contrast to disposable electrodes that lead to big quantities of clinical waste. They continuously degree one’s heart activity (requiring periodic charging thru their wireless charging hub), and preserve logs of accurate readings, quietly sitting in your chest at the same time as you sincerely forget that they’re even there within the first place! pendant

Piece of Time by way of Ben Koros is a wearable device. Which can be worn as a pendant necklace, bracelet, or simple clip. Will sync along with your calendar wirelessly. Its discrete lights provide you with a visual countdown to the next essential event. A simple look down or look within the replicate will remind you and help you live aware about upcoming responsibilities and other occasions. Glass

The OrCam MyEye 2 feels plenty like what Google Glass have to have advanced to become. I’m speakme about ditching the holographic crystal and specializing in the digital camera technology, mixed with Google Lens’ identification algorithm. Designed to be a small, retrofittable wearable tech designs digital camera that attaches to any pair of spectacles, the MyEye 2 can discover objects in the front of it and read any textual content inside its frame. The MyEye 2 is greater assistive tech than patron tech. It allows people with low visibility to ‘see’ things by using actively translating textual content and identifying gadgets. Just point at all of us or some thing and the MyEye 2 choices up your gesture, studying what (or who) you’re pointing at. If you’ve were given a text in front of you, the MyEye 2 begins reading it out, permitting you to without problems study satisfactory print like newspapers, menu cards, and substances lists without traumatic approximately straining your eyes. The tech works for people too, allowing you to point at familiar people and feature the wearable identify them for you. Ring

The Circular Smart Ring with the aid of Amaury Kosman connects to your smartphone through Bluetooth. Providing you with all your information in a smartly collated dashboard. During the day, the hoop captures your activity. Blood oxygen levels, electricity levels, calorie burn count, among different metrics. Even as at night, the hoop ambiently tracks your circadian rhythm. Statistics your sleep quality, heart-fee variability, sleep disturbances, REM cycles. Sleep and wake times. Using quite state-of-the-art information processing and machine-studying technology, the ring, its app, and the app’s assistant Kira help you collectively higher recognize your fitness and provide you with bespoke advice on a way to enhance it.

Rather than put on an uncomfortable set of specs that nobody desires to wear. FITT360, designed by using Junse Kim of LINKFLOW is a neckband wearable tech designs. That rests effortlessly at the shoulders to provide not only forward-going through photography. But a panoramic view of the sector across the wearer! The first of its kind, it captures the whole 360° so that you can absolutely relive the instant you’re in. Equipped with Bluetooth and SNS. You can live circulation your stories. Or save as much as 90 minutes of recording time and export it in 360 or 2k photo/video later. FingerReader

Braille opened the door to literacy and superior independence for those with visual impairments. Similarly, the FingerReader with the aid of Suranga Nanayakkara ambitions to do tons the identical aspect. With out the limitations of raised-dot reading. Adapted to suit at the hand and index finger. This wearable tech designs tool makes it feasible for users to factor at any sign, label, banknote. Or page in a e-book and instantly apprehend what’s in front of them. Equipped with a specialised scanner. Words and sentences are detected and processed using laptop imaginative and prescient algorithms so they can be spoken in real-time. Used in tandem with conventional Braille training. It has the ability to take an individual’s independence to the subsequent level. VOIXATCH

Meet the VOIXATCH by using fashion designer Young Kwon Oh. If that name mildly confuses you, you’re not the handiest one. VOIXATCH is essentially a pretty sensible amalgamation of the 3 merchandise. That we were given duped into paying truckloads of cash for. It’s a smartwatch that does practically everything your cellphone does… and bet what. It has a Bluetooth headset docked proper into it. That you may detach and use to make calls and possibly even pay attention to music. VOIXATCH is largely what takes place when precise era meets correct intentions. Grabbing eyes because the first smartwatch with a integrated Bluetooth headset. The VOIXATCH helped unveil a global wherein watch. Earphones were a part of a tight ecosystem as one unmarried product. That did practically the whole thing your telephone could. With out you needing to take your smartphone out. Astride Bionix sits

The Lex with the aid of Astride Bionix sits on your person (strapped round your waist and thighs). Weighing simply over a kilogram thanks to its aluminum construction. However, wearable tech designs to endure extreme loads of weight, the Lex can take over 120 kilograms of weight with out breaking a sweat. The aluminum legs can be deploying using a simple push. Then simply lean back at the same time as the Lex falls into position. Giving you immediately seating everywhere you go. When now not in use, the legs slide up into their distinct zones. Permitting for full freedom of movement at the same time as even letting you bring a backpack. Read the full article

[robotnik-mun]

Robotnik Art Historia- Part Four: Age of the Eggman

Welcome one and all to the Robotnik Art Historia, where we examine the visual depictions of Robotnik over the years! Well beautiful friends, we’re close to the end here, and it’s rather appropriate given that the particular ‘era’ of the books covered here is where things really began to end for the old Robotnik, with a new Robotnik emerging to take the place of the old- Robo-Robotnik, an early one shot villain, who after devastating his own Mobius was moving in to the current one in order to re-live the thrill of conquest. Uploading his consciousness into a body modeled after the modernized Eggman design from Sonic Adventure, he would take over as central villain to the book, and usher in a time when SEGA would finally start exerting more and more control over the book in order to align things more closely to the games, having decided that they wanted a more consistent depiction of their mascot and his world. To sound off that declaration, an adaptation of Sonic Adventure would become the first major plot after issue 75. Afterwards came what I like to call ‘The Dark Ages’.

Now, for each person, when and why ‘The Dark Ages’ started up is a matter of interpretation. Personally, I place the deterioration of things as happening after the Sonic Adventure adaptation finished- this is era that would give us Green Knuckles, the Love Triangle, Freedom Fighters In School, and the thrice accursed art of Ron Lim (more on him below). It was an age of uneven storytelling and even more uneven art. Yet despite having long since been permanently killed off, Robotnik managed to linger on all the same. Fittingly, this era would feature some of the crappiest art of Robotnik yet, and at the same time would signal his temporary return to the books... in what was probably one of the worst Sonic issues ever. 

19. Chris Allan

A former regular on the Archie Ninja Turtles comic, Chris Allan theoretically should have been a perfect fit for the book, having demonstrated more than enough skill in drawing anthropmorphic animals that would qualify him to handle Sonic. Unfortunately, Allan was a rather prominent example of what I call ‘Sonic Complacency Syndrome’- it’s when an otherwise skilled and competent artist’s abilities turn to complete shit when they try to do Sonic. It has felled more than a few, and serves as a good illustration as to why it takes effort to do this shit right- Allan’s Mobians were poorly, poorly executed, and try as he might he could never quite get them right. He was selected to illustrate the ‘Tales of the Great War’ stories, which helped to flesh out the (underwhelming) details of the Great War and how Robotnik came to be Warlord. While his Mobians were sub-par, he managed to do a pretty good job with Robotnik. There was nothing in particular that stood out about his take on the guy, but given how the rest of his work ‘stood out’, that’s prolly for the best. 

19. Frank Strom

Frank Strom’s enduring legacy on the Sonic Book was the creation of the Dragon Kingdom and all the characters associated with it, including the infamous Monkey Khan. Frank Strom before working on Sonic was heavily involved with DC’s Looney Tunes comics as a writer, and worked extensively in Adult Comics. When it came to drawing for Sonic, he was.... not really all that good, at least when it came to Mobians. He had more luck with humans, including Robotnik, and was among the few to draw the guy before he had the bionic earsa nd eyes. While there is nothing especially bad about how he drew Robotnik, there’s something very... off, about the way he looks. Bit of an uncanny valley thing going on there. And as many before him did, Strom is yet another to draw Robotnik with a bulbous nose. Out of all the features that artists drawing the guy seem to mess up, it’s more often than not its his nose- which is ironic, given that this design has the least exaggerated nose out of any Robotnik and Eggman out there. 

20. Suzanne Paddock 

Susan Paddock is a bit of a mystery- she has only two Sonic works to her name, only one of them being a proper story, and I can’t really find much of anything about her career outside of the hedgehog. Still, the one story she illustrated for was perhaps one of the most out there ideas in all of the book- a story where Sonic winds up in a rules obsessed zone and has to clear his name with the help of a lawyer Sally Acorn called “Sally McAcorn”. Yeah, that’s not dated or anything (for those of you who weren’t children of the 90s, Fox in those days had a comedy tinged lawyer show called ‘Ally McBeal’, best known for birthing the ‘dancing baby’ meme of the early internet).

 Anyway, Paddock’s art style in general was really weird, and her depiction of Robotnik was no different- in this Zone an AI called ‘J.U.D.G.’, at some point in the past there was an organic Robotnik, and just... look at him. He has teeny tiny T-rex arms! And his body looks like it was glued onto his legs! Damn this was a weird ass story, and I’m still not clear if it was meant to be implied that the past Robotnik became J.U.D.G.E or not... yeah in addition to being weird, this was a crappy story in general. It was also the last time Robotnik in any form would appear in a Super Special, as between this stinker and the even worse ‘Naugus Games’ the line was cancelled. 

21. J. Axer 

Jeffrey Axer was one of a number of artists on the book who started out as a fanartist, and easily one of the most well regarded- bringing to the book an incredibly detailed anime-influenced aesthetic, he was responsible for some of the most gorgeous artwork to grace the early 2000s era of the book. Which is why its such a crying shame that the only times he got to draw Robotnik 1.0 where in a pair of Pro-Art pieces, both of which were miscolored. Seriously, why is it so hard to remember that his eyes are red against black??? Why??? Ah well- Axer’s Robotnik was cool looking, taking much of the SatAM Robotnik and making it fit into the anime aesthetic very nicely. I especially dig  the fang-like eye teeth and attention paid to his cheek bones. 

22. Ron Lim

Hooo boy, Ron Lim... I still wonder if he was a victim of Sonic Complacency Syndrome or if he just didn’t give a shit. Either way, Lim was a former Marvel hotshot who was particularly well known for his work on Silver Surfer. I am convinced that the reason he got the job at Archie was purely on the basis of having been a big name at Marvel, because lord almighty his artwork was just horrendous. Well, that’s not entirely fair- Ron Lim is in fact a very skilled artist, but the problem was? He was a poor, poor, poor fit at Sonic with a near total inability to even vaguely grasp the kind of style you’d expect for a Sonic book. What was worse though was that despite how awful his work on the book was, Ron Lim stuck around for a long, long time, to such an extent that he was practically the main artist for the book for much of the early 2000s. Yeah, not fun times. 

Naturally, his touch of dung extended to his art for Robotnik. Much like Penders, Lim struggled to reconcile the realism he was used to with the toony exaggeration required of the book, and ended up failing on both counts. Ron Lim’s Robotnik as an end result was a stubby, wrinkly looking guy whose appearance made it seem as though he had been sculpted from butter and was in the process of melting. Not helping matters at all was the fact that the story he appeared in was one of the very worst of the series, and a personally despised one. Lim’s Robontik is noteworthy in that it might be the most realistic looking of the various attempts at drawing Robotnik... this however was not a good thing, as much like Penders, Lim’s Robotnik was caught in an awkward area between realism and tooniness, and executing neither well. Still, this wasn’t the worst drawn Robotnik on the book. That distinct honor would go to the next on our list...

23. “Many Hands” 

Many Hands. A name which will live in infamy. Okay technically ‘Many Hands’ wasn’t a person but a bunch of people, but twice this name has popped up and twice the end result was just odious. Look at this. Just... look at this. Do I really have to explain why this is awful? He looks like a deflated baloon, his shoulder pads are all wrong, and the coloring and shading is just *garish*. This is probably the worst drawn Robotnik in the entire series, and given all the shitty art that came before and after that’s REALLY saying something. 

24. Dawn Best 

Another of the ‘New Wave’ of fanartists-turned-pro that hit the book in the early 2000s, Dawn Best was a much anticipated addition to the books, having made a name for herself in fan circles as a superb artist. She showed a great deal of promise, much of which was unfortunately squandered thanks to Ken Penders’ absolutely abominable inks making a hash out of the bulk of her art. While he slowly improved down the line, the damage was done. Regardless, Best remained pretty popular. She only managed to draw Robotnik once- her take on Robotnik was an especially chunky and brutish looking specimen, with a shaggier and more unkempt mustache than most. As I say far too often than I like, its a shame we could not have seen more from her... both regarding Robotnik and in general.

And thus we bring this chapter of the Historia to a close. Well friends, it’s the beginning of the end now- after this there will only be one last post to this artist retrospective, as we exit the Dark Age of the book and enter into what was a bright and shiny renaissance- the Flynn Era!  

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Essential media tag game

I was tagged by both @universe-on-her-shoulders​ and @dreameater1988​. The rules appear to be recommend favourites in various categories. I chose to skew towards all-time favourites and less so “flash in the pan” current interests:

MOVIES:

Citizen Kane

Casablanca

Frankenstein (1931)

Metropolis (1927)

The Immigrant (Chaplin)

Hawks (1988 - Timothy Dalton, Anthony Edwards)

The Pink Panther Strikes Again

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Director’s Edition)

The Empire Strikes Back (original version)

Local Hero (a favourite decades before Peter Capaldi became the Doctor)

Home of the Brave (Laurie Anderson concert film)

Swimming to Cambodia (Spalding Gray monologue performance)

True Stories (David Byrne, Talking Heads, John Goodman musical from 1986)

Singin’ in the Rain

That’s Entertainment! Parts 1-3

Superman II (original version)

2001: A Space Odyssey

Casino Royale (both 1967 and 2006 versions)

The Fifth Element

Blade Runner

Brazil

TELEVISION:

The Prisoner (original version with Patrick McGoohan)

MASH

All in the Family

Twin Peaks (original series)

The Six Million Dollar Man/The Bionic Woman (R.I.P.. Richard Anderson 😔)

Wonderfalls (2003 Bryan Fuller fantasy drama)

Battlestar Galactica (2000s)

Corner Gas (Canadian sitcom)

The Beachcombers (Canadian family drama)

Danger Man (a.k.a. Secret Agent)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Whose Line is it Anyway? (UK and US versions)

Mission: Impossible (original 1960s)

Captain Scarlet the the Mysterons

Game of Thrones

Cosmos (both original and sequel; Carl Sagan, Neil de Grasse Tyson)

Dirty Jobs (Mike Rowe reality series)

The Sarah Jane Adventures

Doctor Who (1963-2015)

Victoria (yes I know this show is still relatively new, but it’s on my list of all-time favourites)

MUSIC:

Bill Haley and His Comets

Enya

Laurie Anderson

Sarah McLachlan

Lorde

Johnny Cash

Bobbie Gentry

Billy Connolly

Chuck Berry

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Talking Heads

Kirsty MacColl

The Beatles (hit and miss)

Elvis (hit and miss)

The Treniers

Billie Davis (1960s pop singer)

Philip Glass

Lindsey Stirling

Murray Gold (Doctor Who composer)

BOOKS:

Shogun by James Clavell (also Tai-Pan)

1984 by George Orwell

Junky by William S. Burroughs (also Naked Lunch, Roosevelt After Inauguration)

The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson

Cyborg by Martin Caidin

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind’s Eye by Alan Dean Foster

Man Descending by Guy Vanderhaeghe

Lilith by George MacDonald

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (also Through the Looking Glass)

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Immortal Queen by Elizabeth Byrd (1950s-era biographical novel about Mary Queen of Scots)

The Ian Fleming James Bond canon (plus Colonel Sun by Robert Markham, a.k.a. Kingsley Amis)

The Leslie Charteris Simon Templar (The Saint) canon

The Peter O’Donnell Modesty Blaise canon

The JK Rowling Harry Potter canon (novels only)

THEATRE:

Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass and Robert Wilson (2012 revival, Luminato Festival, Toronto)

The Black Rider by Tom Waits, William S. Burroughs and Robert Wilson (late 2000s touring production, Calgary)

Our Town by Thornton Wilder (1991 West End production starring Alan Alda and future Doctor Who actress Jemma Redgrave)

The End of the Moon by Laurie Anderson (one-woman show performed during 2005 High Performance Rodeo festival, Calgary)

Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love by Brad Fraser (early 2000s production, Calgary)

Tagging anyone who follows me and who wants to make their own recommendations!

[ponticle]

Week Nine [11 Weeks - Anderstair Challenge]

[masterpost]

[read it on Ao3]

Chapter Summary:  Merrill turns up unexpectedly. Anders is instrumental in what happens next

“The way you flirt is shameful,” Alistair laughs.

I smirk. “I’m just trying to get Dorian to like me—I’m meeting him where he lives.”

“I heard that,” yells Dorian from the other room. I can see his shadow in the background behind Alistair’s head.

We snicker together like children.

“...and I don’t like you at all,” adds Dorian.

“He doesn’t mean that,” says Alistair. “If anything, that means he loves you—I’ve heard him say it to Cullen a million times.”

“I heard that too!” yells Dorian.

“God… your hearing is bionic!” Alistair shouts back.

In the week since our brunch together, I’ve committed myself to being friends with Dorian. I’m going to try to be Cullen’s friend too, but I think that might be more of a challenge. If I can just tolerate him, that will be a win.

“So… what are you three doing tonight?” I ask.

“Three?” he laughs. “There are four of us here… Mia was the guest of honor at our dinner party this evening.”

I laugh.

“How old is she again?” I ask.

“She’s like 2?” He doesn’t sound sure.

“When we have kids, I hope you keep track of their ages better…” I blurt.

The expression that washes over his face is halfway between elation and horror. That’s sort of how I feel about kids too.

“Do you think about that a lot?” he asks. He’s speaking really quietly now. I wonder if he’s afraid Dorian is still listening.

I nod. “I do, actually.”

“Me too…”

We smile. Although facetime isn’t a perfect approximation of what he looks like, I can see how adorably happy he is—that’s good enough for me.

“Anyway… I better get going… I need to check in with the gang—they’re at the Hanged Man waiting for me.”

Alistair grimaces.

“What?”

“Is Hawke going to be there?” he asks.

I bite my bottom lip. “Yeah… he is.”

“Great…”

“Love… he apologized, you know… he didn’t mean for things to go that way…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Alistair argues. “It means he has that lurking inside, somewhere deep.”

“No it doesn’t. He was just drunk and confused.” I don’t really believe it, though. When I think about that night, I know something wasn’t right. I’m just not sure what. In fact, I’m not sure how much of it was me. That’s the really scary part.

“Fine… just… call me when you get home, okay?” he asks.

I raise an eyebrow. I’m not about to let him make me feel guilty about hanging out with my friends.

“Okay… that was stupid and possessive,” he amends. “Just call me because you love me and because you miss me… not because you have to.”

“Sounds good. Bye, Love.” I hang up.

When I get to the Hanged Man, I’m met by someone I don’t expect. Merrill is waiting for me outside. She’s hiding in the shadows, arms wound around her waist. She’s so thin that she could probably make a complete circle with her forearms. I know she’s always been thin, but in this scenario, she seems skeletal—it scares me.

“Hi, Andy,” she says. Her voice is high and pinched.

“Hi…” I rush up to her and put my hands on her shoulders. “How are you?”

She starts to smile, but it’s forced. She eventually settles on a shrug.

“When did you get back?” I ask.

“Just this morning,” she answers. “I thought about going to the house straight away, but I kept stopping myself…”

I nod, but I actually don’t know what she means. I haven’t heard any of this from her side, after all. It gives me an idea.

“Hey, Merrill… let’s not go in there…”

She squints at me.

“...not yet. Let’s go have dinner at that Chinese place around the corner and try to sort through this… before…”

She nods. “Okay, let’s go.”

We don’t say anything else until we’re seated with piping hot cups of tea in our hands. She inhales the steam and sighs with effort. It looks like every breath hurts her. I remember that feeling—possibly even more clearly than I remember the things Hawke has been going through.

“So… start at the beginning,” I prompt.

She clears her throat and looks up at me through her eyelashes. Her eyes are ridiculously big—were they always like that?

“I have been unhappy for a long time,” she begins.

“Really?” I blurt. I don’t mean for it to come out like an accusation, but it sort of sounds like one. I’m just really surprised. I never saw any signs.

“Yeah… I need to do more and less,” she says.

“What?”

She laughs bitterly. “That doesn’t make any sense… let me begin again: I want to do more with my life. I’m not happy teaching anymore. I want to work for some kind of a foundation or nonprofit organization.”

“Oh… that sounds wonderful,” I interrupt. “What kind of a nonprofit?”

She smiles. “Something for LGBT youth, maybe… or homeless children… maybe the intersection of those two groups…”

I nod. “Sorry to interrupt.”

She shakes her head and swallows. “It’s okay. So anyway… I’ve been thinking about that lately… and I want to do something big like that…”

I nod.

“...and I tried to tell Garrett that…” she pauses, “And he says it’s great—that he thinks I’d be great at that—but he hasn’t done anything to help me achieve that idea… I mean… it isn’t as if I’ve asked for much: just a little support; maybe some name-dropping with some of his mother’s friends…”

I purse my lips. I’m trying to reserve judgement until she’s had a chance to explain the whole thing.

“...but he isn’t really behind me. He’s too wrapped up in his own stupid things: taking care of his family business; doing favors for people he barely knows…” she says. “He can’t even keep the house together when I’m not there.”

“But, Merrill… he would never stand in your way—” I start to interrupt.

She shakes her head vehemently. “That’s just it… he won’t stand in my way, but he won’t stand beside me, either.”

I don’t have a good argument for that. Hawke, despite all his great qualities, isn’t much of a trailblazer. I’ve often thought that life just happens to him… I’ve even been instrumental in that; we all have. We make choices that change our collective lives and he rolls with the punches. In some ways, it’s his best quality… just not right now—not when Merrill needs him.

“He isn’t ready, Andy…not for this,” says Merrill sadly. “Maybe he never will be…”

I feel my head shake without my express consent. It hurts to hear her say that—like every relationship in the world is just doomed to irreconcilable differences.

“Don’t, Andy…” She reaches her hand across the table to touch the back of my forearm. “Don’t worry… this doesn’t mean we can’t be friends anymore.”

“So you’ve decided already, then?” I ask.

She nods. “I wasn’t sure until right now…”

The rest of the night passes painfully. As soon as Hawke sees Merrill at the Hanged Man, his whole face lights up, which makes me want to die a little—I know what’s coming. They go back to their place together to sort things out, but I can imagine what happens. I think Isabela can too, once she catches of glimpse of my face. I’m terrible at poker.

“So it’s over?” she asks, once they’re gone.

I shrug, but we both already know. This is the end of an era.

Fenris shows up a few minutes later. He sits between us and kisses Isabela’s head. At least their relationship seems to be functioning.

“How are you, Andy?” asks Fenris. “I haven’t seen you in an age.”

“I’m okay… this whole thing with Merrill was pretty shocking…” I sigh. “But other than that, I’m great. How are you?”

Fenris smiles. “I’m great… I’m about to start construction on a really cool new house…”

He tells me all about it—it’s ultramodern, situated right off the Boston Commons. It’s estimated to cost over five million when it’s done. Who has that much money and why are they spending it on houses?

We all laugh and drink and—for a moment—manage to forget that our two other best friends are having the worst night of their adult lives. Eventually, we have to go home, though, and reality settles back in on the sidewalk.

“Andy?” says Isabela. She wraps her hand around my waist and pulls me into a side hug. “I love you and no matter what happens with them, they’re both going to keep loving you too.”

Fenris nods. It’s the closest he’ll ever come to saying something like that and it means a lot to me. Each one of his gestures has more weight because he uses so few words. Stoicism has its perks, I guess.

“I love you guys, too.”

Back inside my apartment, I look at my phone for the first time all night. The group text has two new additions.

Hawke: We wanted to tell you that we’re not getting back together. Merrill is moving out. Don’t be sad—we’re okay. We want to give each other time to grow and change… and it doesn’t make our relationship mean any less just because it didn’t last. We were really important for each other. Now we’re moving on.

Merrill: I’m going out to San Fran for a while. I hope that all of you will come visit me… and I’m not giving up the group text. I love all of you more than you’ll ever know.

Wow. This is the most mature breakup I’ve ever heard of. Of course, it’s going to hurt—I’m sure they’re already hurting like crazy. But still… they’re thanking each other for the time. They’re moving into the future.

I set my coat on the back of a chair and type.

Anders: I love both of you so much. I’m in awe of how well you’re handling this. Please let me know if there’s any way I can help you.

Merrill: I need help packing…

Isabela: oh… I think I’m going to be out of town… whenever that happens. ;)

Fenris: I’ll be there… I’ll bring Bela too…

I laugh.

Anders: I’ll help Fen wrangle her.

I’m super exhausted, but there’s one more person I need to contact. I get into bed and facetime Alistair.

“Hello?” he croaks. It’s really late; he must have been sleeping.

“Hi? Sorry to wake you.”

He shifts and moves the camera so I can see his face. He looks so sleepy.

“Is everything okay?” he asks. He blinks and manages to seem slightly more alert.

“Yeah… totally…. I just wanted to tell you how much I love you.”

He smiles. “That’s nice.”

“And…” I swallow hard. “Hawke and Merrill broke up—for real.”

His eyes widen. “Wow. really?”

“Yeah… but it wasn’t bad—in fact, I think it might be good… they might need this,” I say. “They became different people and needed to move on.”

He nods. “I’m sorry, though… it’s always hard to see things change.”

I nod. “Yeah, it is.”

He looks at me expectantly. “What else did you want to say?”

I laugh. “You know me way too well…”

“Come on, tell me.”

“I just want to make sure this doesn’t happen to us. I want us to be solid…” I say.

He shrugs. “I mean… we’ve talked about this before: there are no guarantees…. But I’ll tell you this, Andy… I love you and I think that we are learning to grow and change together.” He pauses for emphasis, “...and that’s the key.”

I nod. “I love you, Alistair… just two weeks left.”

“Yup…” He sighs. “Speaking of which, I think I’m going to be able to sleep there in 13 days… I won’t have all my stuff yet, but I’ll have you and a bed, so…”

“Perfect. I’m going to make a paper chain link countdown.”

He laughs. “Goodnight, Andy.”

“Goodnight.”

[nowitsdarkfic]

chapter seventeen - part two (a big dumb wormhole)

I fall onto my side somewhere. Did it work? I don't know. I can't say.

I reach up to rub my eyes and I find I'm laying on a park bench. I lift my head to better observe everything. I'm surrounded by lush shrubs; to my right is a stretch of sidewalk and a warm lit street beyond that. I peer up to the sky over me: thick clouds, much like the blanket of them spanning over the skyline of Seattle. Indeed, I peer before me to the street venturing towards something that looks like the Space Needle. I'm back in Seattle! Albeit a different part.

I feel the smooth surface of the arrowhead in my hand; using the amber light from the street, I cradle it in the palm of my hand to better observe it. The rounded edges, the smoothed surface... who would have known such a small slice of stone could carry with it such power to do a remarkable thing for Lars.

I climb off of the bench and place my feet flat on the ground next to me. A car silently rolls past me. Another hydrogen powered thing. I peer up to the sides of the street to find the lights are floating in mid air in total silence. I examine more closely to find they're rotating around, albeit at a slow pace.

I zip up my jacket and tuck my hands into my pockets. I have my fingers wrapped around the arrowhead to assure it doesn't fall out as I'm walking. When I find the six of them, I'll make sure to put it around my neck so I have it on me the next time I see Lars.

I shiver even with my coat on: it was hot earlier today and now it feels as though it's about to rain. Maybe even snow. It's not the lake effect snow but I do know one thing about Seattle is that it can snow up here. I bow my head against the cold wind blowing in from my right as I walk down to this little neighborhood of Seattle, this neighborhood that calls itself Ballard.

I'm walking in through the darkness, and I'm reminded of the other night when I found Maya. So much has happened in these past few days that it feels like a thousand years. I just wish that after wherever we're having dinner together and bringing up the possibility of my bunking with someone for the night, that I can relax and recollect my thoughts for a bit. A lot has happened and I've hardly had the time to process any of it.

As I'm closing in on the outskirts of Ballard and ultimately Seattle itself, I catch a glimpse of some smooth neon lights on the buildings closer to the heart of town, all of them bright shades of bluish white and bright orange. With the glow of the neon and the greenish yellow light from the floating streetlights on either side of me, I notice the sidewalk is weirdly clean. Too clean in fact, like someone had come through and scrubbed down through the cracks of the pavement. I can only think about New York City and if there's any stretch of sidewalk this pristine. Everything smells of new car.

In fact, I stop at the first crosswalk to let a round little black thing skirt along the storm drain before me like I would for passerby. It's lined with dim dark blue lights and I hear a soft scrubbing sound underneath it. It's a street cleaner.

I lift my head to behold the sight of the bar on the corner before me. The place has small round windows about the size of my head and a door covered in dark blue circuit board. The cold bricks on the outside are lined with those same floating lights like on the street, but they're soft blue instead of that amber color. Across the street is a tattoo parlor lit up by the same neon lights. There's a cafe next door with dim smoky windows, the bases of which are lit up by even more neon.

I'm a bum hick walking through a world that's half of a century ahead of everyone else.

“Joey!” I hear a woman's voice calling me. I reach the corner and peer around the block. I catch a glimpse of a series of lights strung along the awning of the tiny club next door: all of them are strung together by clean white wires. The wires then connect up to a flat black board of what looks like metal.

“Joey!” she calls me again. I turn my head to the other side of the street to find Nancy and Chris holding hands, and Dominique and Matt huddled together. I peer down the street to make sure no other cars are coming, and then I cross the black pavement to meet up with them. Out of the corner of my eye, another street cleaner scurries up behind me, wiping my tracks clean off of the pavement.

I step onto the sidewalk and meet up with them: an updraft of breeze blows my hair back from my shoulders with every step.

“Where's your partner in crime?” Matt asks me as part of his greeting.

“He couldn't make it—like he had stuff to do back at home,” I answer; it's sort of the truth, given he did nudge me off away from the house. But I don't think they can handle something like what I witnessed back there. I notice Kim and Hiro aren't with them.

“Where are your partners in crime?” I retort back to them.

“They're in here,” Chris gestures to the cafe behind them, the one with the smoked windows and the bright lights. “Waiting for us.”

“Alright, awesome!”

I follow them into the cafe right as the wind picks up again, and I can sense the rain upon us. The cafe has a black and white square checkerboard floor, much like some of the patterns back at Marcia and Sonia's upholstery shop, and heavy black metal tables with spindly bar stools surrounding them. The whole room is lit with cool blue and bright orange neon lights suspended from the ceiling in glass bulbs. I spot Kim and Hiro seated at the booth against the wall, and the four of them lead me towards them.

Nancy and Chris slide into the smooth black leather seat next to them; followed by Matt and Dominique, which leaves me to take the seat next to her and across from Hiro. On the side of the table is a smooth sheet of glass the length of my hand stood up by a bundle of white wires running underneath the surface of the table. Hiro presses on the screen with his fingertips and asks us what we all want.

“Wow,” I remark once our orders are taken.

“So advanced we don't even need a waiter,” says Kim as a tube slides down from the ceiling and lands onto the surface of the table. The bottom of it flattens out and then fills up part of the way with water. Part of it tapers off before receding back, thus leaving a clean glass of water in its wake. He takes a sip from the glass.

“Ballard's one of the few neighborhoods around here that's a little slow to the change in technology,” Dominique explains, “all the neon lights and cleanliness is trying to oust all the rusty machines and the rust of the current era. The one big issue is it's just been so quick, all of it having sprung up in a couple of years, beginning in the heart of the city and then fanning out into the surrounding areas. I don't know if you could see them because it's a little too dark outside right now, but there's a lush garden on every rooftop here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It keeps the rooftops cool during the summer time and it's kept further away from the chrome and the circuitry to prevent rusting and contamination, which I find to be overkill because it's all water resistant with the rains up here and everything.”

“Downtown Seattle is far more advanced with it,” Chris joins in.

“But why is everything clustered here, though?” I ask her.

“Well, there's the danger of all of this advancement in technology getting out of control. When something novel comes around, it's terrifying at first but then you see the good side of it. The problem with that is it makes you blind to any downsides. Seattle's whole mantra is to keep it all under wraps because we're afraid of it all seeping out into the rest of the country. All of this is experimental so we don't know if any of it will be any good for a larger scale like the continental United States.”

She picks up her glass of water, which formed from the same way, a tube extended out of the ceiling.

“And like what Chris said, downtown is in the twenty second century already. The drones and the bionics are coalesced in the heart of downtown.”

“Are there humans?” I ask her.

“Yeah, but—they're not what you expect, though. The advancers of all of this have all died because cybernetics can only keep a human alive for so long.”

“Cyber—Cybernetics,” I repeat. “I'm sorry, I'm kind of a country boy. This is all painfully new to me.”

“Yeah, and we kind of figured that, too.” She chuckles at me. “Seattle is where it is because there were these people who... gave their lives to the whole thing to advance the city far into the future, farther than anywhere else. They experimented on themselves with what they had before introducing it all on us for our benefit. They were all very old, having been around since the previous century, and they finally broke through enough to give it life. I guess it was too much for their bodies to bear it.”

“Their heirs are some of the laziest fucks, though,” Chris grumbles, and Nancy nudges him. “Well, they are.”

“Unfortunately the predecessors of it all have let the power of the city go right to their heads,” Dominique presses on, nonplussed. “Since everything is working fine downtown and in other parts of town, they've decided to let it all do as it pleases.”

“That's why it's so slow here,” I follow along.

“Right! You know we have these plasma glasses holding liquid water and the street cleaners outside, but Ballard still has cars that run on gasoline. A couple of the bars across the street still use regular kegs of beer and bottles of liquor. They still have bar backs, too.”

“The islands—across the Sound from here,” Nancy pipes up, “are really far behind on all the advancement, like it's still the middle of the century over there. It's such that there's no light over there at night.”

“It's so weird to see a drone over there sometimes,” Hiro notes, “never mind a hydrogen car, but an actual drone.”

“Speaking of which, this poor boy has no place to sleep tonight,” Dominique points out, setting a hand on my shoulder.

“Oh, yeah, that's right!” Kim recalls. “Would it bother you at all if you spent the night with me?”

“Kim's got a really nice comfy couch back at his place,” Matt tells me, “Chris and I have slept on it many times in the past few years.”

“Nan and I'd offer our place,” Chris himself explains, “but—” He turns to Nancy.

“It's kind of a mess,” she admits with a shrug. “I just haven't been home and Chris gets lazy at times.”

I laugh at that. “I hear ya, man.”

“Messy boys, always needing our help,” Dominique teases me with a grin. Once our food arrives on a drone from the other side of the room, I figure that Dominique a lot, but she's with Matt so I have to keep it cool. But she's been to New York and she knows my name. I still have to figure out Nancy a bit more, but she's a good source of comfort for me at the moment. She did put her arm around me when we were waiting for the guys after all.

As I'm eating my linguine, I tuck one hand into my pocket and that's when I feel the arrowhead in there. I can only wonder about all of this heavy machinery around us and what she had said about all of the advancement here in Seattle. I also remember what Lars said about wormholes. My hope is he's wrong and that big dumb wormhole closes up before anyone here sees it near that bench.

[aprilfallon411-blog]

Seven Quick Tips Relating to group.

5 Small But Important Points To Observe In team.

If you could comprehend why running laps in youth soccer is massive waste of time you will not just be a better instructor, however a far better all around young people soccer trainer.andnbsp; Last year I saw a young people soccer technique and also by the time I got home I was still in shock. A Glorenza (BZ) in Alto Adige tra i 1400 atleti che hanno preso parte alla "Ortler Bike Marathon" il group Silmax X-Bionic era presente al through della gara marathon disadvantage i suoi atleti Antonello, Armando, Lamastra e Comola che completano i 90 km e 3000 metri di dislivello del percorso rispettivamente al 12 ° posto Antonello, al 13 ° Armando, al 14 ° Lamastra e al 49 ° Comola. After examining your team's performance in these locations, your function as a manager is to determine where your focus for team growth should be. Companies today have to get on board with team structure as this is crucial for the growth of any firm. Bill Clement (displayed in the initial image) - used the 1974 and 1975 Stanley Cup championship teams and also wore number 10 for the Flyers. First, with simply a brief spoken or composed statement of just what has to be done, the team has actually not obtained any type of sense of just what to particularly concentrate on or ways to get there. Chief Executive Officer's will certainly promote efficient group functioning if they overtly specify 2 or three 'standards' or methods of helping the team. One of the most effective person on the committee or team is the individual who doesn't obtain it one of the most. A task supervisor can shift much of the weight of managing the staff member from his or her shoulders to those of the employee by implemented the expectations and also an efficiency analysis system before the project starts. Neapolitans remained to group right into the arena to view and support for their team. Whether you are brand-new to training Majors or you are a professional you will discover there is better group spirits, player esteem as well as basic camaraderie when a team succeeds. On these facets, she currently represents FNE in national boards on industrial tasks as well as agriculture to decrease pollutions (air - water - dirt). Do not neglect assisting your group with making use of positive comments at every opportunity you obtain. You never ever want to state, I reported that person to my manager" or I told that person they much better tip up and also get with the remainder of the team." Neither is a fantastic action. Initially, it offers a chance for each team member to protect a bonus offer on an end result of entire team that could press the participant to work hard for group achievements. To get the most effective from brand-new staff members, and also guarantee they resolve in and rejoice in their new atmosphere, preparing some group bonding tasks is typically an excellent idea. Every team is stood for in these competitors and the occasions are held on various fields. They have a relatively ordinary group, however there is 2 gamers making them the best 3 star group in the video game. And honestly the Jets had to dedicate totally to being just what they are-- a poor team looking for a ground-up rebuild.

These Local Practices In group Are So Bizarre That They Will Make Your Jaw Drop!

All team members and to report according to the dimension of the job, the group leader could have an assistant or another leader to function. Among the core parts of any kind of team training program need to be the promotion of teamwork. When, Elisha Banda was tortured very badly by his staff member due to the fact that he chose to play with another group. However, developing a solid team means greater than simply informing four or 5 people they have to work together. Nonetheless, by 1948, the females's organization had 10 groups in the Midwest, 1,000,000 followers present and also 600 gamers. An experienced facilitator can introduce one of the self-assessment devices pointed out symphonious 4 such as a DISC profile to the team in a workshop setup. Individuals chosen for each team should be able to interact as well as function very closely with others while at the same time have the capacity to service their own and make crucial choices. The approach for transforming a aggressive and defensive culture is with concentrated group structure workshops and occasions.

5 Factors That Affect group's Durability.

Employee ought to contribute freely, with integrity and also take care concerning others' sensations when communicating. Even more, saying thanks to the participant for the recommendation could also encourage future input from that team member, and also others on the group. Given that there are updates in real-time, the entire sales team appreciates a suite of software solutions that work together (similar to any type of department should). The high efficiency team takes this step even more, not only does a team of this quality accomplish the task, its result is far better and that the group earns more success as well as development as a result. Furthermore, the WCG participant can bring questions and also problems back to the boards as well as a lot of the troubles which become unfavorable deterrents to alter administration or team structure can be addressed prior to they end up being issues. Nonetheless, there will certainly always be an edge to skateboarding that time could not eliminate. When it comes to choosing your group companions, this is true information technology careers (http://gewichtsverliessysteem.info/het-breken-van-het-gewichtsverlies-plateau) in your daily life and just as crucial! Managers comprehend that this jump from Team Member to Manager is among the greatest get on the profession ladder. The Team Setting Survey is made use of by several sports psycho therapists to assess group communication due to it's good psychometric analytic properties. Enhancing their sensations of addition, support, and also initiatives to the team's goals will encourage the group much more. I assume one of the large neglected benefits of sports in college nowadays is that it places our youngsters in an atmosphere that educates them concerning being a part of a team.

[123designsrq]

WEARABLE TECH DESIGNS THAT HELP YOU ACHIEVE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

wearable tech designs

wearable tech designs – the time period brings to mind bionic body upgrades or perhaps a vibranium necklace that transforms right into a suit? (Admit it, Black Panther’s tech competitors that of Iron Man and this is coming from a hardcore Iron Man fan). But the fact is, we don’t simply recognise what number of wearables are already a part of our lives! From the smartwatch to the Bluetooth headset this is almost synonyms with a company bigshot, wearables have already incorporated themselves into our life. So why not embody the innovation and allow them to make our lives easier? The wearable designs showcased won't make you Iron Man but will actually make you feel you have got your personal Jarvis! ATMOBLUE

Calling it the ATMOBLUE, Leandro and his group developed a wholly new class of wearable tech designs that would actively purify the air of 99.9% of particles, pioneering a era that made them type of the Tesla of face-masks, instead of the N95 which handiest filtered 95% of the air. The masks featured “high-quality air pressure” which helped hold out germs and contaminants with the aid of making the air strain within the masks greater than the air pressure outside. Built-in fans pushed purified air proper into the insides of the mask, permitting you to breathe normally, and one-manner outlets bumped off the humid air, so your mouth never felt wet and sweaty. bracelet

Students on the University of Chicago advanced a unique, wrist-worn bracelet that could remotely scramble all forms of microphones in a operating radius of a few feet. Just wear “The Bracelet of Silence” and switch it on when you want a personal conversation, and its more than one ultrasonic sensors disable close by microphones, stopping them from being capable of hear anything you say. The wearable tech designs comes with an array of 24 ultrasonic transducers that jam microphones in ALL directions. When worn in your hand, the jammer uses your hand’s movements to growth its variety. Get rid of audio blind-spots, efficaciously jamming all types of microphones (even ones hidden from view). ECG/EKG

Literally the scale of a quarter, the Dab with the aid of Adam Miklosi is an unobtrusive Holter ECG/EKG that rests with ease on your chest, constantly studying your coronary heart’s movements. Designed to be minimal, non-invasive, and simple, the Dab attempts to bridge the distance among medical appliances and wearables. Its tiny but classy layout sits on your chest via a gel patch, while the electrodes seize your coronary heart activity. The Dab’s dry-electrodes allow it for use and reused, in contrast to disposable electrodes that lead to big quantities of clinical waste. They continuously degree one’s heart activity (requiring periodic charging thru their wireless charging hub), and preserve logs of accurate readings, quietly sitting in your chest at the same time as you sincerely forget that they’re even there within the first place! pendant

Piece of Time by way of Ben Koros is a wearable device. Which can be worn as a pendant necklace, bracelet, or simple clip. Will sync along with your calendar wirelessly. Its discrete lights provide you with a visual countdown to the next essential event. A simple look down or look within the replicate will remind you and help you live aware about upcoming responsibilities and other occasions. Glass

The OrCam MyEye 2 feels plenty like what Google Glass have to have advanced to become. I’m speakme about ditching the holographic crystal and specializing in the digital camera technology, mixed with Google Lens’ identification algorithm. Designed to be a small, retrofittable wearable tech designs digital camera that attaches to any pair of spectacles, the MyEye 2 can discover objects in the front of it and read any textual content inside its frame. The MyEye 2 is greater assistive tech than patron tech. It allows people with low visibility to ‘see’ things by using actively translating textual content and identifying gadgets. Just point at all of us or some thing and the MyEye 2 choices up your gesture, studying what (or who) you’re pointing at. If you’ve were given a text in front of you, the MyEye 2 begins reading it out, permitting you to without problems study satisfactory print like newspapers, menu cards, and substances lists without traumatic approximately straining your eyes. The tech works for people too, allowing you to point at familiar people and feature the wearable identify them for you. Ring

The Circular Smart Ring with the aid of Amaury Kosman connects to your smartphone through Bluetooth. Providing you with all your information in a smartly collated dashboard. During the day, the hoop captures your activity. Blood oxygen levels, electricity levels, calorie burn count, among different metrics. Even as at night, the hoop ambiently tracks your circadian rhythm. Statistics your sleep quality, heart-fee variability, sleep disturbances, REM cycles. Sleep and wake times. Using quite state-of-the-art information processing and machine-studying technology, the ring, its app, and the app’s assistant Kira help you collectively higher recognize your fitness and provide you with bespoke advice on a way to enhance it.

Rather than put on an uncomfortable set of specs that nobody desires to wear. FITT360, designed by using Junse Kim of LINKFLOW is a neckband wearable tech designs. That rests effortlessly at the shoulders to provide not only forward-going through photography. But a panoramic view of the sector across the wearer! The first of its kind, it captures the whole 360° so that you can absolutely relive the instant you’re in. Equipped with Bluetooth and SNS. You can live circulation your stories. Or save as much as 90 minutes of recording time and export it in 360 or 2k photo/video later. FingerReader

Braille opened the door to literacy and superior independence for those with visual impairments. Similarly, the FingerReader with the aid of Suranga Nanayakkara ambitions to do tons the identical aspect. With out the limitations of raised-dot reading. Adapted to suit at the hand and index finger. This wearable tech designs tool makes it feasible for users to factor at any sign, label, banknote. Or page in a e-book and instantly apprehend what’s in front of them. Equipped with a specialised scanner. Words and sentences are detected and processed using laptop imaginative and prescient algorithms so they can be spoken in real-time. Used in tandem with conventional Braille training. It has the ability to take an individual’s independence to the subsequent level. VOIXATCH

Meet the VOIXATCH by using fashion designer Young Kwon Oh. If that name mildly confuses you, you’re not the handiest one. VOIXATCH is essentially a pretty sensible amalgamation of the 3 merchandise. That we were given duped into paying truckloads of cash for. It’s a smartwatch that does practically everything your cellphone does… and bet what. It has a Bluetooth headset docked proper into it. That you may detach and use to make calls and possibly even pay attention to music. VOIXATCH is largely what takes place when precise era meets correct intentions. Grabbing eyes because the first smartwatch with a integrated Bluetooth headset. The VOIXATCH helped unveil a global wherein watch. Earphones were a part of a tight ecosystem as one unmarried product. That did practically the whole thing your telephone could. With out you needing to take your smartphone out. Astride Bionix sits

The Lex with the aid of Astride Bionix sits on your person (strapped round your waist and thighs). Weighing simply over a kilogram thanks to its aluminum construction. However, wearable tech designs to endure extreme loads of weight, the Lex can take over 120 kilograms of weight with out breaking a sweat. The aluminum legs can be deploying using a simple push. Then simply lean back at the same time as the Lex falls into position. Giving you immediately seating everywhere you go. When now not in use, the legs slide up into their distinct zones. Permitting for full freedom of movement at the same time as even letting you bring a backpack. Read the full article

[123designsrq]

WEARABLE TECH DESIGNS THAT HELP YOU ACHIEVE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

wearable tech designs

wearable tech designs – the time period brings to mind bionic body upgrades or perhaps a vibranium necklace that transforms right into a suit? (Admit it, Black Panther’s tech competitors that of Iron Man and this is coming from a hardcore Iron Man fan). But the fact is, we don’t simply recognise what number of wearables are already a part of our lives! From the smartwatch to the Bluetooth headset this is almost synonyms with a company bigshot, wearables have already incorporated themselves into our life. So why not embody the innovation and allow them to make our lives easier? The wearable designs showcased won't make you Iron Man but will actually make you feel you have got your personal Jarvis! ATMOBLUE

Calling it the ATMOBLUE, Leandro and his group developed a wholly new class of wearable tech designs that would actively purify the air of 99.9% of particles, pioneering a era that made them type of the Tesla of face-masks, instead of the N95 which handiest filtered 95% of the air. The masks featured “high-quality air pressure” which helped hold out germs and contaminants with the aid of making the air strain within the masks greater than the air pressure outside. Built-in fans pushed purified air proper into the insides of the mask, permitting you to breathe normally, and one-manner outlets bumped off the humid air, so your mouth never felt wet and sweaty. bracelet

Students on the University of Chicago advanced a unique, wrist-worn bracelet that could remotely scramble all forms of microphones in a operating radius of a few feet. Just wear “The Bracelet of Silence” and switch it on when you want a personal conversation, and its more than one ultrasonic sensors disable close by microphones, stopping them from being capable of hear anything you say. The wearable tech designs comes with an array of 24 ultrasonic transducers that jam microphones in ALL directions. When worn in your hand, the jammer uses your hand’s movements to growth its variety. Get rid of audio blind-spots, efficaciously jamming all types of microphones (even ones hidden from view). ECG/EKG

Literally the scale of a quarter, the Dab with the aid of Adam Miklosi is an unobtrusive Holter ECG/EKG that rests with ease on your chest, constantly studying your coronary heart’s movements. Designed to be minimal, non-invasive, and simple, the Dab attempts to bridge the distance among medical appliances and wearables. Its tiny but classy layout sits on your chest via a gel patch, while the electrodes seize your coronary heart activity. The Dab’s dry-electrodes allow it for use and reused, in contrast to disposable electrodes that lead to big quantities of clinical waste. They continuously degree one’s heart activity (requiring periodic charging thru their wireless charging hub), and preserve logs of accurate readings, quietly sitting in your chest at the same time as you sincerely forget that they’re even there within the first place! pendant

Piece of Time by way of Ben Koros is a wearable device. Which can be worn as a pendant necklace, bracelet, or simple clip. Will sync along with your calendar wirelessly. Its discrete lights provide you with a visual countdown to the next essential event. A simple look down or look within the replicate will remind you and help you live aware about upcoming responsibilities and other occasions. Glass

The OrCam MyEye 2 feels plenty like what Google Glass have to have advanced to become. I’m speakme about ditching the holographic crystal and specializing in the digital camera technology, mixed with Google Lens’ identification algorithm. Designed to be a small, retrofittable wearable tech designs digital camera that attaches to any pair of spectacles, the MyEye 2 can discover objects in the front of it and read any textual content inside its frame. The MyEye 2 is greater assistive tech than patron tech. It allows people with low visibility to ‘see’ things by using actively translating textual content and identifying gadgets. Just point at all of us or some thing and the MyEye 2 choices up your gesture, studying what (or who) you’re pointing at. If you’ve were given a text in front of you, the MyEye 2 begins reading it out, permitting you to without problems study satisfactory print like newspapers, menu cards, and substances lists without traumatic approximately straining your eyes. The tech works for people too, allowing you to point at familiar people and feature the wearable identify them for you. Ring

The Circular Smart Ring with the aid of Amaury Kosman connects to your smartphone through Bluetooth. Providing you with all your information in a smartly collated dashboard. During the day, the hoop captures your activity. Blood oxygen levels, electricity levels, calorie burn count, among different metrics. Even as at night, the hoop ambiently tracks your circadian rhythm. Statistics your sleep quality, heart-fee variability, sleep disturbances, REM cycles. Sleep and wake times. Using quite state-of-the-art information processing and machine-studying technology, the ring, its app, and the app’s assistant Kira help you collectively higher recognize your fitness and provide you with bespoke advice on a way to enhance it.

Rather than put on an uncomfortable set of specs that nobody desires to wear. FITT360, designed by using Junse Kim of LINKFLOW is a neckband wearable tech designs. That rests effortlessly at the shoulders to provide not only forward-going through photography. But a panoramic view of the sector across the wearer! The first of its kind, it captures the whole 360° so that you can absolutely relive the instant you’re in. Equipped with Bluetooth and SNS. You can live circulation your stories. Or save as much as 90 minutes of recording time and export it in 360 or 2k photo/video later. FingerReader

Braille opened the door to literacy and superior independence for those with visual impairments. Similarly, the FingerReader with the aid of Suranga Nanayakkara ambitions to do tons the identical aspect. With out the limitations of raised-dot reading. Adapted to suit at the hand and index finger. This wearable tech designs tool makes it feasible for users to factor at any sign, label, banknote. Or page in a e-book and instantly apprehend what’s in front of them. Equipped with a specialised scanner. Words and sentences are detected and processed using laptop imaginative and prescient algorithms so they can be spoken in real-time. Used in tandem with conventional Braille training. It has the ability to take an individual’s independence to the subsequent level. VOIXATCH

Meet the VOIXATCH by using fashion designer Young Kwon Oh. If that name mildly confuses you, you’re not the handiest one. VOIXATCH is essentially a pretty sensible amalgamation of the 3 merchandise. That we were given duped into paying truckloads of cash for. It’s a smartwatch that does practically everything your cellphone does… and bet what. It has a Bluetooth headset docked proper into it. That you may detach and use to make calls and possibly even pay attention to music. VOIXATCH is largely what takes place when precise era meets correct intentions. Grabbing eyes because the first smartwatch with a integrated Bluetooth headset. The VOIXATCH helped unveil a global wherein watch. Earphones were a part of a tight ecosystem as one unmarried product. That did practically the whole thing your telephone could. With out you needing to take your smartphone out. Astride Bionix sits

The Lex with the aid of Astride Bionix sits on your person (strapped round your waist and thighs). Weighing simply over a kilogram thanks to its aluminum construction. However, wearable tech designs to endure extreme loads of weight, the Lex can take over 120 kilograms of weight with out breaking a sweat. The aluminum legs can be deploying using a simple push. Then simply lean back at the same time as the Lex falls into position. Giving you immediately seating everywhere you go. When now not in use, the legs slide up into their distinct zones. Permitting for full freedom of movement at the same time as even letting you bring a backpack. Read the full article

[123designsrq]

WEARABLE TECH DESIGNS THAT HELP YOU ACHIEVE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

wearable tech designs

wearable tech designs – the time period brings to mind bionic body upgrades or perhaps a vibranium necklace that transforms right into a suit? (Admit it, Black Panther’s tech competitors that of Iron Man and this is coming from a hardcore Iron Man fan). But the fact is, we don’t simply recognise what number of wearables are already a part of our lives! From the smartwatch to the Bluetooth headset this is almost synonyms with a company bigshot, wearables have already incorporated themselves into our life. So why not embody the innovation and allow them to make our lives easier? The wearable designs showcased won't make you Iron Man but will actually make you feel you have got your personal Jarvis! ATMOBLUE

Calling it the ATMOBLUE, Leandro and his group developed a wholly new class of wearable tech designs that would actively purify the air of 99.9% of particles, pioneering a era that made them type of the Tesla of face-masks, instead of the N95 which handiest filtered 95% of the air. The masks featured “high-quality air pressure” which helped hold out germs and contaminants with the aid of making the air strain within the masks greater than the air pressure outside. Built-in fans pushed purified air proper into the insides of the mask, permitting you to breathe normally, and one-manner outlets bumped off the humid air, so your mouth never felt wet and sweaty. bracelet

Students on the University of Chicago advanced a unique, wrist-worn bracelet that could remotely scramble all forms of microphones in a operating radius of a few feet. Just wear “The Bracelet of Silence” and switch it on when you want a personal conversation, and its more than one ultrasonic sensors disable close by microphones, stopping them from being capable of hear anything you say. The wearable tech designs comes with an array of 24 ultrasonic transducers that jam microphones in ALL directions. When worn in your hand, the jammer uses your hand’s movements to growth its variety. Get rid of audio blind-spots, efficaciously jamming all types of microphones (even ones hidden from view). ECG/EKG

Literally the scale of a quarter, the Dab with the aid of Adam Miklosi is an unobtrusive Holter ECG/EKG that rests with ease on your chest, constantly studying your coronary heart’s movements. Designed to be minimal, non-invasive, and simple, the Dab attempts to bridge the distance among medical appliances and wearables. Its tiny but classy layout sits on your chest via a gel patch, while the electrodes seize your coronary heart activity. The Dab’s dry-electrodes allow it for use and reused, in contrast to disposable electrodes that lead to big quantities of clinical waste. They continuously degree one’s heart activity (requiring periodic charging thru their wireless charging hub), and preserve logs of accurate readings, quietly sitting in your chest at the same time as you sincerely forget that they’re even there within the first place! pendant

Piece of Time by way of Ben Koros is a wearable device. Which can be worn as a pendant necklace, bracelet, or simple clip. Will sync along with your calendar wirelessly. Its discrete lights provide you with a visual countdown to the next essential event. A simple look down or look within the replicate will remind you and help you live aware about upcoming responsibilities and other occasions. Glass

The OrCam MyEye 2 feels plenty like what Google Glass have to have advanced to become. I’m speakme about ditching the holographic crystal and specializing in the digital camera technology, mixed with Google Lens’ identification algorithm. Designed to be a small, retrofittable wearable tech designs digital camera that attaches to any pair of spectacles, the MyEye 2 can discover objects in the front of it and read any textual content inside its frame. The MyEye 2 is greater assistive tech than patron tech. It allows people with low visibility to ‘see’ things by using actively translating textual content and identifying gadgets. Just point at all of us or some thing and the MyEye 2 choices up your gesture, studying what (or who) you’re pointing at. If you’ve were given a text in front of you, the MyEye 2 begins reading it out, permitting you to without problems study satisfactory print like newspapers, menu cards, and substances lists without traumatic approximately straining your eyes. The tech works for people too, allowing you to point at familiar people and feature the wearable identify them for you. Ring

The Circular Smart Ring with the aid of Amaury Kosman connects to your smartphone through Bluetooth. Providing you with all your information in a smartly collated dashboard. During the day, the hoop captures your activity. Blood oxygen levels, electricity levels, calorie burn count, among different metrics. Even as at night, the hoop ambiently tracks your circadian rhythm. Statistics your sleep quality, heart-fee variability, sleep disturbances, REM cycles. Sleep and wake times. Using quite state-of-the-art information processing and machine-studying technology, the ring, its app, and the app’s assistant Kira help you collectively higher recognize your fitness and provide you with bespoke advice on a way to enhance it.

Rather than put on an uncomfortable set of specs that nobody desires to wear. FITT360, designed by using Junse Kim of LINKFLOW is a neckband wearable tech designs. That rests effortlessly at the shoulders to provide not only forward-going through photography. But a panoramic view of the sector across the wearer! The first of its kind, it captures the whole 360° so that you can absolutely relive the instant you’re in. Equipped with Bluetooth and SNS. You can live circulation your stories. Or save as much as 90 minutes of recording time and export it in 360 or 2k photo/video later. FingerReader

Braille opened the door to literacy and superior independence for those with visual impairments. Similarly, the FingerReader with the aid of Suranga Nanayakkara ambitions to do tons the identical aspect. With out the limitations of raised-dot reading. Adapted to suit at the hand and index finger. This wearable tech designs tool makes it feasible for users to factor at any sign, label, banknote. Or page in a e-book and instantly apprehend what’s in front of them. Equipped with a specialised scanner. Words and sentences are detected and processed using laptop imaginative and prescient algorithms so they can be spoken in real-time. Used in tandem with conventional Braille training. It has the ability to take an individual’s independence to the subsequent level. VOIXATCH

Meet the VOIXATCH by using fashion designer Young Kwon Oh. If that name mildly confuses you, you’re not the handiest one. VOIXATCH is essentially a pretty sensible amalgamation of the 3 merchandise. That we were given duped into paying truckloads of cash for. It’s a smartwatch that does practically everything your cellphone does… and bet what. It has a Bluetooth headset docked proper into it. That you may detach and use to make calls and possibly even pay attention to music. VOIXATCH is largely what takes place when precise era meets correct intentions. Grabbing eyes because the first smartwatch with a integrated Bluetooth headset. The VOIXATCH helped unveil a global wherein watch. Earphones were a part of a tight ecosystem as one unmarried product. That did practically the whole thing your telephone could. With out you needing to take your smartphone out. Astride Bionix sits

The Lex with the aid of Astride Bionix sits on your person (strapped round your waist and thighs). Weighing simply over a kilogram thanks to its aluminum construction. However, wearable tech designs to endure extreme loads of weight, the Lex can take over 120 kilograms of weight with out breaking a sweat. The aluminum legs can be deploying using a simple push. Then simply lean back at the same time as the Lex falls into position. Giving you immediately seating everywhere you go. When now not in use, the legs slide up into their distinct zones. Permitting for full freedom of movement at the same time as even letting you bring a backpack. Read the full article

[123designsrq]

WEARABLE TECH DESIGNS THAT HELP YOU ACHIEVE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

wearable tech designs

wearable tech designs – the time period brings to mind bionic body upgrades or perhaps a vibranium necklace that transforms right into a suit? (Admit it, Black Panther’s tech competitors that of Iron Man and this is coming from a hardcore Iron Man fan). But the fact is, we don’t simply recognise what number of wearables are already a part of our lives! From the smartwatch to the Bluetooth headset this is almost synonyms with a company bigshot, wearables have already incorporated themselves into our life. So why not embody the innovation and allow them to make our lives easier? The wearable designs showcased won't make you Iron Man but will actually make you feel you have got your personal Jarvis! ATMOBLUE

Calling it the ATMOBLUE, Leandro and his group developed a wholly new class of wearable tech designs that would actively purify the air of 99.9% of particles, pioneering a era that made them type of the Tesla of face-masks, instead of the N95 which handiest filtered 95% of the air. The masks featured “high-quality air pressure” which helped hold out germs and contaminants with the aid of making the air strain within the masks greater than the air pressure outside. Built-in fans pushed purified air proper into the insides of the mask, permitting you to breathe normally, and one-manner outlets bumped off the humid air, so your mouth never felt wet and sweaty. bracelet

Students on the University of Chicago advanced a unique, wrist-worn bracelet that could remotely scramble all forms of microphones in a operating radius of a few feet. Just wear “The Bracelet of Silence” and switch it on when you want a personal conversation, and its more than one ultrasonic sensors disable close by microphones, stopping them from being capable of hear anything you say. The wearable tech designs comes with an array of 24 ultrasonic transducers that jam microphones in ALL directions. When worn in your hand, the jammer uses your hand’s movements to growth its variety. Get rid of audio blind-spots, efficaciously jamming all types of microphones (even ones hidden from view). ECG/EKG

Literally the scale of a quarter, the Dab with the aid of Adam Miklosi is an unobtrusive Holter ECG/EKG that rests with ease on your chest, constantly studying your coronary heart’s movements. Designed to be minimal, non-invasive, and simple, the Dab attempts to bridge the distance among medical appliances and wearables. Its tiny but classy layout sits on your chest via a gel patch, while the electrodes seize your coronary heart activity. The Dab’s dry-electrodes allow it for use and reused, in contrast to disposable electrodes that lead to big quantities of clinical waste. They continuously degree one’s heart activity (requiring periodic charging thru their wireless charging hub), and preserve logs of accurate readings, quietly sitting in your chest at the same time as you sincerely forget that they’re even there within the first place! pendant

Piece of Time by way of Ben Koros is a wearable device. Which can be worn as a pendant necklace, bracelet, or simple clip. Will sync along with your calendar wirelessly. Its discrete lights provide you with a visual countdown to the next essential event. A simple look down or look within the replicate will remind you and help you live aware about upcoming responsibilities and other occasions. Glass

The OrCam MyEye 2 feels plenty like what Google Glass have to have advanced to become. I’m speakme about ditching the holographic crystal and specializing in the digital camera technology, mixed with Google Lens’ identification algorithm. Designed to be a small, retrofittable wearable tech designs digital camera that attaches to any pair of spectacles, the MyEye 2 can discover objects in the front of it and read any textual content inside its frame. The MyEye 2 is greater assistive tech than patron tech. It allows people with low visibility to ‘see’ things by using actively translating textual content and identifying gadgets. Just point at all of us or some thing and the MyEye 2 choices up your gesture, studying what (or who) you’re pointing at. If you’ve were given a text in front of you, the MyEye 2 begins reading it out, permitting you to without problems study satisfactory print like newspapers, menu cards, and substances lists without traumatic approximately straining your eyes. The tech works for people too, allowing you to point at familiar people and feature the wearable identify them for you. Ring

The Circular Smart Ring with the aid of Amaury Kosman connects to your smartphone through Bluetooth. Providing you with all your information in a smartly collated dashboard. During the day, the hoop captures your activity. Blood oxygen levels, electricity levels, calorie burn count, among different metrics. Even as at night, the hoop ambiently tracks your circadian rhythm. Statistics your sleep quality, heart-fee variability, sleep disturbances, REM cycles. Sleep and wake times. Using quite state-of-the-art information processing and machine-studying technology, the ring, its app, and the app’s assistant Kira help you collectively higher recognize your fitness and provide you with bespoke advice on a way to enhance it.

Rather than put on an uncomfortable set of specs that nobody desires to wear. FITT360, designed by using Junse Kim of LINKFLOW is a neckband wearable tech designs. That rests effortlessly at the shoulders to provide not only forward-going through photography. But a panoramic view of the sector across the wearer! The first of its kind, it captures the whole 360° so that you can absolutely relive the instant you’re in. Equipped with Bluetooth and SNS. You can live circulation your stories. Or save as much as 90 minutes of recording time and export it in 360 or 2k photo/video later. FingerReader

Braille opened the door to literacy and superior independence for those with visual impairments. Similarly, the FingerReader with the aid of Suranga Nanayakkara ambitions to do tons the identical aspect. With out the limitations of raised-dot reading. Adapted to suit at the hand and index finger. This wearable tech designs tool makes it feasible for users to factor at any sign, label, banknote. Or page in a e-book and instantly apprehend what’s in front of them. Equipped with a specialised scanner. Words and sentences are detected and processed using laptop imaginative and prescient algorithms so they can be spoken in real-time. Used in tandem with conventional Braille training. It has the ability to take an individual’s independence to the subsequent level. VOIXATCH

Meet the VOIXATCH by using fashion designer Young Kwon Oh. If that name mildly confuses you, you’re not the handiest one. VOIXATCH is essentially a pretty sensible amalgamation of the 3 merchandise. That we were given duped into paying truckloads of cash for. It’s a smartwatch that does practically everything your cellphone does… and bet what. It has a Bluetooth headset docked proper into it. That you may detach and use to make calls and possibly even pay attention to music. VOIXATCH is largely what takes place when precise era meets correct intentions. Grabbing eyes because the first smartwatch with a integrated Bluetooth headset. The VOIXATCH helped unveil a global wherein watch. Earphones were a part of a tight ecosystem as one unmarried product. That did practically the whole thing your telephone could. With out you needing to take your smartphone out. Astride Bionix sits

The Lex with the aid of Astride Bionix sits on your person (strapped round your waist and thighs). Weighing simply over a kilogram thanks to its aluminum construction. However, wearable tech designs to endure extreme loads of weight, the Lex can take over 120 kilograms of weight with out breaking a sweat. The aluminum legs can be deploying using a simple push. Then simply lean back at the same time as the Lex falls into position. Giving you immediately seating everywhere you go. When now not in use, the legs slide up into their distinct zones. Permitting for full freedom of movement at the same time as even letting you bring a backpack. Read the full article