#sda projects

[starbound-sda-comic]

Aditi's Shop (WIP)

a sketch of something i started in september??? and started coloring but never finished?? stay tuned for if i actually finish this lol

[mariacallous]

In late August 2023, Ilya Gambashidze was in a conference room at the office of Social Design Agency, a Russian IT company he founded that is based in Moscow, close to the world-renowned Moscow Conservatory. Gambashidze was relatively unknown in Russian politics at the time, but just a month earlier his name had appeared on a Council of the European Union’s list of Russian nationals subjected to sanctions for playing a central role in a sprawling disinformation campaign against Ukraine.

In the conference room, Gambashidze was laying out his plans for a new target: Along with his colleagues, he began drafting what would become known as the Good Old USA Project. The project was supposed to influence the outcome of the US presidential election in favor of former president Donald Trump, specifically targeting certain minorities, swing-state residents, and online gamers, among others, in a scheme that included a full-time team dedicated to the cause.

On Wednesday, Gambashidze and his company were named by the US Department of Justice among the architects of a disinformation campaign known as Doppelganger that has for the past two years been targeting Ukraine and, more recently, US elections. The Doppelganger campaign uses AI-generated content on dozens of fake websites designed to impersonate mainstream media outlets such as The Washington Post and Fox Business, using a network of fake social media accounts to disseminate pro-Russian narratives targeting audiences across the globe. Doppelganger is a Kremlin-aligned disinformation campaign that was first linked to the Kremlin in 2023 by the French government.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department announced the seizure of 32 internet domains it says are linked to the Doppelganger campaign which violate US money laundering and criminal trademark laws.

“Today’s announcement exposes the scope of the Russian government’s influence operations and their reliance on cutting-edge AI to sow disinformation,” FBI director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “Companies operating at the direction of the Russian government created websites to trick Americans into unwittingly consuming Russian propaganda.”

The Treasury Department had previously sanctioned SDA and Gambashidze in March for its part in the Doppelganger campaign. But the court documents unsealed on Wednesday contain a treasure trove of documents and meeting notes from Gambashidze and his colleagues, outlining in unprecedented detail the goals and tactics that the Kremlin has been deploying in order to influence the outcome of the 2024 US election.

The records also reveal the plan was discussed at the highest levels of the Russian government, with Sergei Kiriyenko, the first deputy chief of staff of the presidential executive office, playing a key role. The notes appear to show that President Vladimir Putin may have been updated on the campaign; in one meeting with Russian government officials, Gambashidze wrote that government officials told him they had “reported to the President about the project,” which the FBI agent who authored the affidavit said he took to refer to Putin.

The documents show that the orchestrators of the campaign targeted existing divisions within US society, using racist stereotypes and far-right conspiracies to target supporters of former president Donald Trump.

​​"They are afraid of losing the American way of life and the ‘American dream,’” Gambashidze writes in one document outlining his “guerrilla media” plan. “It is these sentiments that should be exploited in the course of an information campaign in/for the United States.”

The same document is full of racist and conspiratorial claims, including that Republicans are “victims of discrimination of people of color.” It adds that white middle-class people are being discriminated against with high inflation and rising prices, while “unemployed people of color end up being privileged groups of the population.”

And the goal of the campaign, from the beginning, was crystal clear: “To secure victory for [Donald Trump],” Gambashidze wrote in the Good Old USA Project planning document.

The Good Old USA plan openly admits that “none of the significant American politicians can be considered pro-Russian or pro-Putin,” and so rather than focus its efforts on trying to convince people that Russia is great, the plan called for promoting the idea that the US should be focusing its resources less on Ukraine and more on domestic issues, such as rising inflation and high gas prices.

“It makes sense for Russia to put a maximum effort to ensure that the Republican Party’s point of view (first and foremost, the opinion of Trump supporters) wins over the US public opinion,” the Good Old USA Project planning document reads. “This includes provisions on peace in Ukraine in exchange for territories, the need to focus on the problems of the US economy, returning troops home from all over the world, etc.”

As well as getting Trump elected, the campaign’s secondary goals included increasing the percentage of Americans who believe the US is doing too much to aid Ukraine to 51 percent, and reducing the percentage of Americans who have confidence in President Joe Biden down to 29 percent.

The plan lists a variety of audiences the campaign specifically wants to target, including residents of swing states, American Jews, “US citizens of Hispanic descent,” and the “community of American gamers, users of Reddit and image boards, such as 4chan.”

The document describes this category of gamers and chatroom users as the "backbone of the right-wing trends in the US segment of the Internet.” In recent months, the Trump campaign has embraced many of the most influential figures within these communities, including many who share deeply misogynistic rhetoric on a regular basis.

To spread their narrative, the plan called for the creation of YouTube channels that shared pro-Trump content as well as other viral videos (“music, humor, beautiful girls etc,” according to the documents) in order to appear at the top of search results for “US elections.”

Meanwhile, Gambashidze and his colleagues used Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit to create community groups of Trump supporters, with one sample name given as “Alabama for America the Great.” The document also reveals that the Russians planned to use Reddit as a vector to disseminate their propaganda as it is a platform “free from democratic censorship.”

Gambashidze’s plan outlined how Doppelganger would create 18 “sleeper cells” on social media platforms in each of the swing states, which would “at the right moment, upon gaining momentum, become an important instrument of influencing the public opinion in critically important states and portals used by the Russian side to distribute bogus stories disguised as newsworthy events.” It’s unclear if these so-called sleeper cells were created and, if so, whether they are still present on the platform.

The campaign also used targeted ads on Facebook to not only promote their narrative but also to gain valuable insight into what messages were sticking and which were falling flat. “Targeted advertising in Facebook allows tracking reactions of users to the distributed material in real time and directing the psychological response group to contribute to comments thereof,” the document reads. “With the help of a network of bots the psychological response group moderates top discussions and adjusts further launches depending on which group was affected the most.”

One of the key aspects of the Kremlin’s campaign is also to engage with influencers. According to the FBI’s affidavit, Gambashidze’s company ​​“extensively monitors and collects information about a large number of media organizations and social media influencers.”

According to the Good Old USA project document, the Kremlin was seeking to work with influencers who are “proponents of traditional values, who stand up for ending the war in Ukraine and peaceful relations between the US and Russia, and who are ready to get involved in the promotion of the project narratives.”

Among the types of influencers listed as possible collaborators are actors, politicians, media representatives, activists, and clergymen.

The affidavit references one document maintained by the Social Design Agency, which is not included in the unsealed court documents, that contains a list of more than 2,800 people identified as influencers. While this list is global, US-based influencers account for around 20 percent of the accounts being monitored, including many US lawmakers, according to an analysis of the list by the FBI.

The Social Design Agency also maintains another list, again not included in the court documents, that tracks over 1,900 “anti-influencers” from 52 different countries, with US-based accounts. The FBI agent who authored the document assessed that “anti-influencer” refers to accounts which post “content that SDA views as contrary to Russian objectives.”

In a note from one of the meetings with Russian government officials discussing the campaign’s use of influencers, Gambashidze wrote: “We need influencers! A lot of them and everywhere. We are ready to wine and dine them.” Though no links have been confirmed, hours before the Doppelganger affidavit dropped on Wednesday, Tenet Media, an organization that features a slate of right-wing commentators, was alleged in an unsealed Department of Justice indictment to have been largely funded by Russian state-backed news network RT.

The Social Design Agency operation appeared to be extremely well-run and well-resourced. There is a “project office” consisting of four teams that include one entire group dedicated to monitoring the social media posts from GOP lawmakers in order to generate ideas for topics to cover.

These would then be handed to a “text factory," with orders to whittle down the topics handed to them by the monitoring team to four to five main issues, along with eight to 10 basic posts for social media platforms and 40- to 60 comments to post under those social media posts for the network of bots. Another team was called the “manga editorial office,” which was charged with producing a daily output of three to four images, including memes. Finally, a video team was tasked with producing three to four videos each day.

“In order for this work to be effective, you need to use a minimum of fake news and a maximum of realistic information,” the document’s authors wrote. “At the same time, you should continuously repeat that this is what is really happening, but the official media will never tell you about it or show it to you.”

Antibot4Navalny, a group of anonymous Russian researchers who have been closely tracking Doppelganger’s activity, are doubtful that the affidavit will have a significant impact on the campaign’s activity.

“Frankly, I believe it's whack-a-mole as long as EU providers keep doing business with [Social Design Agency], and UK-registered shell companies keep helping SDA with its operation,” the researchers told WIRED, citing their own investigations earlier this year.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Billboard project

* * * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

September 6, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Sep 07, 2024

One of the things that came to light on Wednesday, in the paperwork the Justice Department unveiled to explain its seizure of 32 internet domains being used by Russian agents in foreign malign influence campaigns, was that the six right-wing U.S. influencers mentioned in the indictments of the Russian operatives are only the tip of the iceberg. 

Since at least 2022, three Russian companies working with the Kremlin have been trying to change foreign politics in a campaign they called “Doppelganger,” covertly spreading Russian government propaganda. “[F]irst and foremost,” notes from a meeting with Russian officials about targeting Germany read, “we need to discredit the USA, Great Britain, and NATO.” Through fake social media profiles, their operatives posed as Americans or other non-Russians, seeding public conversations with Russian propaganda.

In August 2023 they launched the “Good Old USA Project” to target swing-state residents, online gamers, American Jews, and “US citizens of Hispanic descent” to reelect Donald Trump. ​​"They are afraid of losing the American way of life and the ‘American dream,’” one of the propagandists wrote. “It is these sentiments that should be exploited in the course of an information campaign in/for the United States.” Using targeted ads on Facebook, they could see how their material was landing and use bots and trolls to push their narrative in comment sections. 

“In order for this work to be effective, you need to use a minimum of fake news and a maximum of realistic information,” the propagandists told their staff. “At the same time, you should continuously repeat that this is what is really happening, but the official media will never tell you about it or show it to you.”

According to the documents, one of the three companies, Social Design Agency (SDA), monitors and collects information about media organizations and social media influencers. It collected a list of 1,900 “anti-influencers,” whose accounts posted material SDA workers thought operated against Russian interests. About 26% of those accounts were based in the U.S. 

SDA also identified as pro-Russian influencers more than 2,800 people in 81 countries operating on various social media platforms like X, Facebook, and Telegram. Those influencers included “television and radio hosts, politicians, bloggers, journalists, businessmen, professors, think-tank analysts, veterans, professors, and comedians.” About 21% of those influencers were in the U.S. 

YouTube took down the Tenet Media Channels associated with the Justice Department’s indictments, and last night, Tenet Media abruptly shut down. In The Bulwark, Jonathan V. Last noted that the Tenet influencers maintain they were dupes, although they must have been aware that their paychecks were crazy high for the numbers of viewers they had. He asks if, knowing now that their gains are ill-gotten, they are going to give them to charity. 

Earlier this week, former Fox News Channel personality Tucker Carlson hosted Holocaust denier Darryl Cooper on his X show, where Cooper not only suggested that the death of more than six million Jews was an accidental result of poor planning, but also argued that British prime minister Winston Churchill, who stood firm against the expansion of fascist Germany in World War II, was the true villain of the war.

Cooper’s argument puts him squarely on the side of Russian president Vladimir Putin and Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, who insist that democracy undermines society. During the recent summer Olympics, Cooper posted on social media an image of Hitler in Paris alongside another of drag queens representing Greek gods at the Olympic opening ceremonies, an image some on the right thought made fun of the Last Supper of Jesus and his disciples. “This may be putting it too crudely for some,” Cooper wrote, “but the picture [of Hitler in Paris] was infinitely preferable in virtually every way than the one on the right.” 

The idea that Churchill, not Hitler, is the villain of World War II means denying the fact of the Holocaust and defending the Nazis. It lands Carlson and Cooper in the same camp as those autocrats journalist Anne Applebaum notes are “making common cause with MAGA Republicans to discredit liberalism and freedom around the world.” Elon Musk promoted the interview, saying it was “very interesting,” and “worth watching,” before the backlash made him delete his post. The video has been viewed nearly 30 million times. 

Carlson told Lauren Irwin of The Hill that the Biden administration is made up of “warmonger freaks” who have “used the Churchill myth to bring our country closer to nuclear war than at any moment in history.” Carlson is on a 16-day speaking tour, on which he will interview Trump allies, including Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance and Donald Trump Jr. 

Trump today continued his effort to undermine the democratic American legal system in a “news conference” of more than 45 minutes, in which he took no questions. Although Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the election interference case in which a jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts, decided today to delay sentencing until November 26 to avoid any appearance that the court was trying to affect the 2024 election, Trump nonetheless launched an attack on the U.S. legal system and suggested the lawsuits against him were election interference. 

He spoke after he and his legal team were in court today to try to overturn a jury’s conclusion that he had sexually assaulted writer E. Jean Carroll, a decision that brought his judgments in the two cases she brought to around $90 million. He began with an attack on what he said was a new “Russia, Russia, Russia” hoax, and promised he had not “spoken to anybody from Russia in years.”

Aaron Rupar of Public Notice recorded what amounted to close to an hour of attacks on the American Justice Department and the laws of the country, and also on American women (he not only attacked Carroll, he brought up others of the roughly two dozen women who have accused him of sexual assault). He attempted to retry the Carroll case in the media, refuting the evidence the jury considered and suggesting that the photo of him and Carroll together was generated by AI, although it was published in 2019.

Attacking women was an interesting decision in light of the fact that he will need the votes of suburban women if he is to make up the ground he has lost to Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz.

For her part, former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) appears to see this moment for what it is. Although a staunch Republican herself, she is urging conservative women to admit they’ve had enough. Referring to both Trump and Vance in a conversation sponsored by the Texas Tribune, she said: “This is my diplomatic way of saying it: They’re misogynistic pigs.” She assured listeners, quite accurately, that Trump “is not a conservative.” “Women around this country…we’ve had enough.” “These are not people that we can entrust with power again.” 

Her father, former vice president Dick Cheney, agreed that Trump “can never be trusted with power again” and announced today that he will be voting for Harris. “As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris,” he said. Eighty-eight business leaders also endorsed Harris today, including James Murdoch, an heir to the Murdoch family media empire. Citing Harris’s “policies that support the rule of law, stability, and a sound business environment,” they said in a public letter, “the best way to support the continued strength, security, and reliability of our democracy and economy” is by electing Harris president.​​

Meanwhile, at his event with Sean Hannity of the Fox News Channel yesterday, Trump embraced the key element of Project 2025 that calls for a dictatorial leader to take over the U.S. That document maintains that “personnel is policy” and that the way to achieve all that the Christian nationalists want is to fire the nonpartisan civil servants currently in place and put their own people into office. Trump has tried hard to distance himself from Project 2025, but last night he said the way to run the government is to “get the right people. You put the right person and the right group of people at the heads of these massive agencies, you’re going to have tremendous success, and I know now the people, and I know them better than anybody would know them.”       

One of those people appears to be X owner Elon Musk, whom Trump has promised to put at the head of an “efficiency” commission to audit the U.S. government. 

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln, then a candidate for the Senate, warned that the arguments against democracy and in favor of a few people dominating the rest were always the same. In his era, it was enslavers saying some people were better than others. But, he said, those were the same arguments “that kings have made for enslaving the people in all ages of the world…. Turn in whatever way you will—whether it come from the mouth of a King, an excuse for enslaving the people of his country, or from the mouth of men of one race as a reason for enslaving the men of another race, it is all the same old serpent.” 

In our era, Indiana Jones said it best in The Last Crusade: “Nazis. I hate these guys.” 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[marabarl-and-marlbara]

some loose SDA / urantia sketch; posted on my side-twitter but started writing a chapter-based writing project (like a light novel almost) but uncertain how to go about publishing it / releasing it; not sure if i:d want to clot up my substack with a bunch of individually posted chapters; thought maybe just a small writing discord to post it to, cause i like idea of writing clubs -- i like sharing writing and getting feedback on it, and offering it in kind; urantia was big on my moms-side (mostly her mom, who tried to pass it on; her mom lived with one of the prophet-claimants while they were in florida, apparently)

[misfitwashere]

September 6, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Sep 07, 2024

One of the things that came to light on Wednesday, in the paperwork the Justice Department unveiled to explain its seizure of 32 internet domains being used by Russian agents in foreign malign influence campaigns, was that the six right-wing U.S. influencers mentioned in the indictments of the Russian operatives are only the tip of the iceberg. 

Since at least 2022, three Russian companies working with the Kremlin have been trying to change foreign politics in a campaign they called “Doppelganger,” covertly spreading Russian government propaganda. “[F]irst and foremost,” notes from a meeting with Russian officials about targeting Germany read, “we need to discredit the USA, Great Britain, and NATO.” Through fake social media profiles, their operatives posed as Americans or other non-Russians, seeding public conversations with Russian propaganda.

In August 2023 they launched the “Good Old USA Project” to target swing-state residents, online gamers, American Jews, and “US citizens of Hispanic descent” to reelect Donald Trump. ​​"They are afraid of losing the American way of life and the ‘American dream,’” one of the propagandists wrote. “It is these sentiments that should be exploited in the course of an information campaign in/for the United States.” Using targeted ads on Facebook, they could see how their material was landing and use bots and trolls to push their narrative in comment sections. 

“In order for this work to be effective, you need to use a minimum of fake news and a maximum of realistic information,” the propagandists told their staff. “At the same time, you should continuously repeat that this is what is really happening, but the official media will never tell you about it or show it to you.”

According to the documents, one of the three companies, Social Design Agency (SDA), monitors and collects information about media organizations and social media influencers. It collected a list of 1,900 “anti-influencers,” whose accounts posted material SDA workers thought operated against Russian interests. About 26% of those accounts were based in the U.S. 

SDA also identified as pro-Russian influencers more than 2,800 people in 81 countries operating on various social media platforms like X, Facebook, and Telegram. Those influencers included “television and radio hosts, politicians, bloggers, journalists, businessmen, professors, think-tank analysts, veterans, professors, and comedians.” About 21% of those influencers were in the U.S. 

YouTube took down the Tenet Media Channels associated with the Justice Department’s indictments, and last night, Tenet Media abruptly shut down. In The Bulwark, Jonathan V. Last noted that the Tenet influencers maintain they were dupes, although they must have been aware that their paychecks were crazy high for the numbers of viewers they had. He asks if, knowing now that their gains are ill-gotten, they are going to give them to charity. 

Earlier this week, former Fox News Channel personality Tucker Carlson hosted Holocaust denier Darryl Cooper on his X show, where Cooper not only suggested that the death of more than six million Jews was an accidental result of poor planning, but also argued that British prime minister Winston Churchill, who stood firm against the expansion of fascist Germany in World War II, was the true villain of the war.

Cooper’s argument puts him squarely on the side of Russian president Vladimir Putin and Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, who insist that democracy undermines society. During the recent summer Olympics, Cooper posted on social media an image of Hitler in Paris alongside another of drag queens representing Greek gods at the Olympic opening ceremonies, an image some on the right thought made fun of the Last Supper of Jesus and his disciples. “This may be putting it too crudely for some,” Cooper wrote, “but the picture [of Hitler in Paris] was infinitely preferable in virtually every way than the one on the right.” 

The idea that Churchill, not Hitler, is the villain of World War II means denying the fact of the Holocaust and defending the Nazis. It lands Carlson and Cooper in the same camp as those autocrats journalist Anne Applebaum notes are “making common cause with MAGA Republicans to discredit liberalism and freedom around the world.” Elon Musk promoted the interview, saying it was “very interesting,” and “worth watching,” before the backlash made him delete his post. The video has been viewed nearly 30 million times. 

Carlson told Lauren Irwin of The Hill that the Biden administration is made up of “warmonger freaks” who have “used the Churchill myth to bring our country closer to nuclear war than at any moment in history.” Carlson is on a 16-day speaking tour, on which he will interview Trump allies, including Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance and Donald Trump Jr. 

Trump today continued his effort to undermine the democratic American legal system in a “news conference” of more than 45 minutes, in which he took no questions. Although Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the election interference case in which a jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts, decided today to delay sentencing until November 26 to avoid any appearance that the court was trying to affect the 2024 election, Trump nonetheless launched an attack on the U.S. legal system and suggested the lawsuits against him were election interference. 

He spoke after he and his legal team were in court today to try to overturn a jury’s conclusion that he had sexually assaulted writer E. Jean Carroll, a decision that brought his judgments in the two cases she brought to around $90 million. He began with an attack on what he said was a new “Russia, Russia, Russia” hoax, and promised he had not “spoken to anybody from Russia in years.”

Aaron Rupar of Public Notice recorded what amounted to close to an hour of attacks on the American Justice Department and the laws of the country, and also on American women (he not only attacked Carroll, he brought up others of the roughly two dozen women who have accused him of sexual assault). He attempted to retry the Carroll case in the media, refuting the evidence the jury considered and suggesting that the photo of him and Carroll together was generated by AI, although it was published in 2019.

Attacking women was an interesting decision in light of the fact that he will need the votes of suburban women if he is to make up the ground he has lost to Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz.

For her part, former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) appears to see this moment for what it is. Although a staunch Republican herself, she is urging conservative women to admit they’ve had enough. Referring to both Trump and Vance in a conversation sponsored by the Texas Tribune, she said: “This is my diplomatic way of saying it: They’re misogynistic pigs.” She assured listeners, quite accurately, that Trump “is not a conservative.” “Women around this country…we’ve had enough.” “These are not people that we can entrust with power again.” 

Her father, former vice president Dick Cheney, agreed that Trump “can never be trusted with power again” and announced today that he will be voting for Harris. “As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris,” he said. Eighty-eight business leaders also endorsed Harris today, including James Murdoch, an heir to the Murdoch family media empire. Citing Harris’s “policies that support the rule of law, stability, and a sound business environment,” they said in a public letter, “the best way to support the continued strength, security, and reliability of our democracy and economy” is by electing Harris president.​​

Meanwhile, at his event with Sean Hannity of the Fox News Channel yesterday, Trump embraced the key element of Project 2025 that calls for a dictatorial leader to take over the U.S. That document maintains that “personnel is policy” and that the way to achieve all that the Christian nationalists want is to fire the nonpartisan civil servants currently in place and put their own people into office. Trump has tried hard to distance himself from Project 2025, but last night he said the way to run the government is to “get the right people. You put the right person and the right group of people at the heads of these massive agencies, you’re going to have tremendous success, and I know now the people, and I know them better than anybody would know them.”       

One of those people appears to be X owner Elon Musk, whom Trump has promised to put at the head of an “efficiency” commission to audit the U.S. government. 

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln, then a candidate for the Senate, warned that the arguments against democracy and in favor of a few people dominating the rest were always the same. In his era, it was enslavers saying some people were better than others. But, he said, those were the same arguments “that kings have made for enslaving the people in all ages of the world…. Turn in whatever way you will—whether it come from the mouth of a King, an excuse for enslaving the people of his country, or from the mouth of men of one race as a reason for enslaving the men of another race, it is all the same old serpent.” 

In our era, Indiana Jones said it best in The Last Crusade: “Nazis. I hate these guys.” 

—

[whentherewerebicycles]

almost 23-week bump update… didn’t get much bigger this week (after the crazy fast expansion of the last couple weeks) but it’s slowly migrating higher up. the weird/bad body image feelings come and go but on the whole like… it’s fine I’m pregnant… and I don’t need to care if random people in my life notice I’m pregnant or just think I put on 20 lbs. letting goooooo of it letting go.

hmm okay let’s see. this week is going to be a slightly challenging one I think—just some long campus days with events plus the ultrasound I have to travel a longer distance for. I am giving myself permission to take it easy today and just do relaxed project work, I think. here’s what I would like to get done:

review slides for JS and return with feedback

make a decision on CEL workshops

revise SDA description

hmm tbd

[sweetdonutsart]

Hey there and welcome to Sweet Donuts Art! I'm Camille, a Black bi artist and I love drawing cute girls! I enjoy fashion, cute aesthetics, and dramatic stories. I'm all about improvement and learning through my content, so if you like seeing original works, I'm your girl!

Current Projects:

Starbound, a fantasy/slice-of-life magical girl-esque comic starring some OCs that have been on my pages for a while now. I'm hoping to develop them more into a full fledged webcomic! Development and concepts can be found at @starbound-sda-comic (date TBA but hopefully by the time I turn 30 lol)

Dorm Days, a drama/slice of life prequel to the Starbound world that features two of my OCs as they meet and try to survive each other and their respective pasts in a cramped college freshman dorm room. Progress and updates can also be found at the above blog as it's set in the same universe. (currently updating!)

Future Projects:

A shop for my works! I'm still in developing stages of creating and maintaining an art shop so hopefully that comes by very soon

Overall just developing my brand and exploring and pushing the boundaries of my digital art!

Feel free to follow me on my journey! I'll be using my blogs as a casual posting ground for WIPs, progresses, etc. that are not on my main channels. You can find me on my mains at https://sweetdonutsart.carrd.co/. Thanks and see you soon!

[siliconsignalsblog]

Adapting to Changing Hardware: Devicetree Overlays

Introduction

We showed off the "Devicetree" in the Zephyr Project RTOS in the earlier blogs. We can tell the OS about the hardware in our system thanks to the Devicetree. Zephyr supports a large number of well-known System-On-Chips (SoCs) and related development boards, as was evident in the first blog post. For every board and associated SoC, Zephyr already has a Devicetree. A development board with the SoC that will be utilized in the finished product design is the first thing I aim for when I start writing firmware for a new project.

That being said, the development board's configuration—including pinouts and other peripheral features—usually differs from the final design. I use "Devicetree overlays," a Zephyr-supported method of overriding an existing Devicetree's configuration, to address these discrepancies. I'll walk through how to use a Devicetree overlay in this blog post.

 

I2C On A Nordic nRF52840

An example is the most effective way to demonstrate how to use Devicetree overlays. This blog post will demonstrate how to change the pin on the Nordic nRF52840 development kit (https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Development-hardware/nrf52840-dk) that is utilized for one of the I2C peripherals. Finding the default pins for the nRF52840 development kit's "I2C0" peripheral is the first step. The Devicetree for this board is listed in our Zephyr checkout under boards/arm/nrf52840dk_nrf52840/nrf52840dk_nrf52840.dts, as I demonstrated in a prior blog post. Searching for "i2c0" in this file yields the following entry:

arduino_i2c: &i2c0 {

        compatible = "nordic,nrf-twi";

        status = "okay";

        pinctrl-0 = <&i2c0_default>;

        pinctrl-1 = <&i2c0_sleep>;

        pinctrl-names = "default", "sleep";

};

The "pinctrl-0" and "pinctrl-1" entries in the node, which point to the "i2c0_default" and "i2c0_sleep" nodes, respectively, specify the pins used for the i2c0 peripheral. Nevertheless, this file does not contain "i2c0_default." Rather, it can be found in the same directory under "nrf52840dk_nrf52840-pinctrl.dtsi." The following entries appear if we open this file and perform another search for "i2c0.":

i2c0_default: i2c0_default {

    group1 {

        psels = <NRF_PSEL(TWIM_SDA, 0, 26)>,

                <NRF_PSEL(TWIM_SCL, 0, 27)>;

    };

};

i2c0_sleep: i2c0_sleep {

    group1 {

        psels = <NRF_PSEL(TWIM_SDA, 0, 26)>,

                <NRF_PSEL(TWIM_SCL, 0, 27)>;

        low-power-enable;

    };

};

According to the listing above, the nRF52840 development kit's I2C0 peripheral's default pins are 0.26 (for SDA) and 0.27 (for SCL). I'll explain the distinction between the "default" and "sleep" nodes in a later blog post, along with why it might be advantageous to designate distinct pins for each. To view the final device tree with the default configuration, we must first create an application that targets the nRF52840 development kit. Any example will do, and we've built the blinky application as follows in this blog post:

 [zephyr_3.2 09:14:57]$ west build -p always -b nrf52840dk_nrf52840 zephyr/samples/basic/bli

If we search for “i2c0” in this file, we find the following: i2c0: arduino_i2c: i2c@40003000 {        compatible = "nordic,nrf-twi";#address-cells = < 0x1 >;#size-cells = < 0x0 >;        reg = < 0x40003000 0x1000 >;        clock-frequency = < 0x186a0 >;        interrupts = < 0x3 0x1 >;        status = "okay";        pinctrl-0 = < &i2c0_default >;        pinctrl-1 = < &i2c0_sleep >;        pinctrl-names = "default", "sleep";};

The fully specified pin that corresponds to "0.26" and "0.27" for the "SDA" and "SCL" lines, respectively, can be found by searching for "i2c0_default." i2c0_default: i2c0_default {        phandle = < 0x4 >;        group1 {               psels = < 0xc001a >, < 0xb001b >;        };};

Pin Customization Using An Overlay

I will then show you how to modify the I2C0 peripheral's default pin configuration. Let's start by moving the "blinky" application to a different directory from the Zephyr source tree:  [zephyr_3.2 09:32:31]$ cp -r zephyr/samples/basic/blinky ./

Then, let’s create a “boards” directory inside the application: [zephyr_3.2 09:39:08]$ mkdir blinky/boards

Finally, let’s create a file called “nrf52840dk_nrf52840.overlay” inside “blinky/boards” with the following content: &pinctrl {   custom_i2c: custom_i2c {       group1 {           psels = <NRF_PSEL(TWIM_SDA, 1, 15)>,                   <NRF_PSEL(TWIM_SCL, 1, 14)>;       };    };};&arduino_i2c {    pinctrl-0 = <&custom_i2c>;    pinctrl-1 = <&custom_i2c>;    pinctrl-names = "default", "sleep";};

The "&" symbol in the overlay above refers to the "pinctrl" node. Inside the pinctrl node, it generates a new node named "custom_i2c" and specifies that pins "1.15" and "1.14" should be used for the SDA and SCL lines, respectively. The "arduino_i2c" node is then referenced in the file, replacing the current pin definitions with the node above. This file can be saved, and our custom blinky application can be rebuilt:  [zephyr_3.2 09:53:09]$ west build -p always -b nrf52840dk_nrf52840 blinky/

Searching for i2c0 in the final Devicetree file (keep in mind that it's under build/zephyr/zephyr.dts) reveals that the node refers to our "custom_i2c" pin definition: i2c0: arduino_i2c: i2c@40003000 {      compatible = "nordic,nrf-twi";#address-cells = < 0x1 >;#size-cells = < 0x0 >;      reg = < 0x40003000 0x1000 >;      clock-frequency = < 0x186a0 >;      interrupts = < 0x3 0x1 >;      status = "okay";      pinctrl-0 = < &custom_i2c >;      pinctrl-1 = < &custom_i2c >;      pinctrl-names = "default", "sleep";};

If we search for the “custom_i2c” node, we can confirm that the resulting pin configuration is different from the configuration specified by the “i2c0_default” node: custom_i2c: custom_i2c {     phandle = < 0x4 >;     group1 {         psels = < 0xc002f >, < 0xb002e >;     };};

Summary

In this blog post, I showed how to use Zephyr Devicetree overlays to override the pin configuration that a standard Devicetree describes for a board that Zephyr supports. In this blog post, I demonstrated how to modify the nRF52840 development kit's default I2C pins to a custom set in the overlay. As previously stated, I will show how various pin configurations for the "default" and "sleep" modes can be useful as power-saving features in a subsequent blog post.

Adapting hardware configurations efficiently is crucial for ensuring the success of your embedded projects. At Silicon Signals, we specialize in creating custom solutions tailored to your needs, from Devicetree overlays to complete hardware and software development. Whether you're looking to modify peripherals or optimize your power-saving features, our team is here to guide you through the complexities and help you build the perfect solution.

👉 Contact Us Today and let's work together to enhance your embedded systems with expert hardware design and software development!

[chemmaterialsinsights]

Rapid Market Expansion: Structure Directing Agents Market Set to Achieve USD 1,167.04 Million by 2033

The global structure directing agents (SDA) market is poised for substantial growth, anticipating a robust Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.6% from 2023 to 2033. By the end of forecast period, the market is projected to reach an impressive valuation of USD 1,167.04 million. Notably, as of 2023, the SDA market is anticipated to witness a valuation of USD 561 million.

Report Preview: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/structure-directing-agents-market

[lorryelectronicblog]

Maximize the Performance of Your NAU7802SGI

The NAU7802SGI is a game-changing analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that bridges the gap between precision and ease of use. If you’re here, chances are you’re looking to unlock its full potential. Whether you’re working on a DIY project or an industrial application, we’ll guide you step by step on how to make the most of this incredible chip.

Introduction to the NAU7802SGI

Imagine having a digital scale that reads not just grams but even the tiniest fractions with flawless precision. That’s the kind of accuracy the NAU7802SGI delivers. It’s more than just an ADC; it’s a tool that transforms raw sensor data into reliable, usable insights.

This guide will take you on a journey, from understanding the basics to fine-tuning your setup for peak performance.

Why Choose the NAU7802SGI?

The NAU7802SGI is not just another ADC. It’s a well-rounded solution designed to cater to applications where accuracy and ease of use are paramount. But why should you consider it for your project?

Versatility: Works with a range of sensors.

Simplicity: Integrates easily with microcontrollers via I²C.

Affordability: High performance without a hefty price tag.

Key Features of the NAU7802SGI

Let’s highlight what makes this ADC shine:

24-bit Resolution: Perfect for precise measurements.

On-Chip Amplifier: Reduces external components.

Low Power Consumption: Ideal for portable and battery-powered devices.

Wide Operating Range: Suitable for diverse environments.

These features make it a reliable choice for both beginners and professionals.

Applications of the NAU7802SGI

The NAU7802SGI is a favorite in many fields:

Digital Scales: Ensures precise weight measurements.

IoT Devices: Used in smart sensors and home automation.

Healthcare Equipment: Powers devices like blood pressure monitors.

Industrial Tools: Ideal for strain gauges and force measurement.

Setting Up the NAU7802SGI

Getting started is simple:

Power It Up: Ensure a stable power supply (2.7V to 5.5V).

Connect the Inputs: Attach your sensor to the differential input pins.

I²C Communication: Use SDA and SCL lines to interface with your microcontroller.

Run Initial Tests: Verify the setup with basic readings.

Calibrating the NAU7802SGI

Calibration is key to unlocking the NAU7802SGI’s full potential. Think of it like tuning a musical instrument—precision is everything. Follow these steps:

Zero Calibration: Adjust for baseline readings.

Gain Calibration: Fine-tune amplification for accurate outputs.

Periodic Recalibration: Maintain accuracy over time.

Optimizing Noise Performance

Noise can be a challenge, but it’s manageable with these tips:

Proper Grounding: Connect all grounds to a common point.

Shielding: Use metal cases or enclosures to block interference.

Low-Pass Filters: Filter out unwanted high-frequency signals.

Power Management Tips

Efficient power management enhances performance:

Sleep Modes: Utilize the chip’s low-power modes during inactivity.

Stable Supply: Use capacitors to smooth voltage fluctuations.

Battery Considerations: Choose batteries with consistent output.

Best Practices for I²C Communication

To avoid hiccups in communication:

Pull-Up Resistors: Use appropriate resistor values for SDA and SCL lines.

Clock Speed: Match the I²C clock frequency with your microcontroller.

Error Handling: Program for retries in case of communication failures.

Enhancing Accuracy in Load Cell Systems

When using the NAU7802SGI with load cells:

Choose Quality Load Cells: Precision load cells yield better results.

Stable Mounting: Ensure the load cell is securely mounted.

Environmental Factors: Compensate for temperature and vibration effects.

NAU7802SGI Firmware Integration

Seamless integration with your firmware ensures a smooth workflow:

Drivers: Use pre-built libraries or write custom drivers.

Data Processing: Filter and average readings for stability.

Debugging: Test each step to identify and resolve issues early.

Common Challenges and Solutions

Here are a few hurdles and how to tackle them:

Drifting Readings: Check for temperature effects and recalibrate.

Interference: Implement proper shielding and grounding.

Inconsistent Power Supply: Use voltage regulators for stability.

Comparing the NAU7802SGI with Competitors

Why does the NAU7802SGI outshine others?

Built-In Features: Reduces the need for external components.

Affordability: High performance at a lower cost.

Ease of Use: Simple setup and calibration process.

Conclusion

The NAU7802SGI is more than just an ADC—it’s a tool that empowers precise measurements across various applications. By following the tips and insights in this guide, you’ll be equipped to maximize its performance, whether for a hobby project or a professional system.

Ready to unlock the full potential of your NAU7802SGI? Start experimenting today and let this marvel of engineering elevate your next project!

[starbound-sda-comic]

Hello, and welcome to the world of Starbound!

This is a wip project of artist @sweetdonutsart, focusing on a urban fantasy/slice of life/drama comic idea of three black girls from different backgrounds coming together to fight the evils of the world around them! Focusing on friendship, love, fighting for what you believe in and choosing your own destiny. Tentative date to be announced!

Summary:

College senior Mori is tired of life passing her by, and constantly complains to her roommate Juniper about what to do after graduation. After a chance encounter, she meets Hazel, a young graduate student who she quickly finds out to be a witch. However, after Mori invites Hazel to live with her after an accident despite Juniper’s objections, she soon realizes that her new roommate is not what she seems, and is hiding some dark secrets that could potentially destroy the perceptions of their town and even the world around them…

This blog is to record some of the wips, progresses, and ideas bouncing around in my head about these 3. Feel free to explore and ask questions about them!

[jehlumjk]

DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY ENVIRONMENT AND REMOTE SENSING PRINCIPAL PROJECT ASSOCIATE NOTIFICATION NO 144 of 2024

DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY ENVIRONMENT AND REMOTE SENSING PRINCIPAL PROJECT ASSOCIATE NOTIFICATION NO 144 of 2024. Government of Jammu & Kashmir   DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT & REMOTE SENSING   Paryavaran Bhavan, Gladni, Narwal, Jammu Ph: 0191-2474558/ SDA Colony Bemina, Srinagar, Ph: 0194-2494585   Website: https://www.jkdeers.jk.gov.in   Email: dirjkers@gmail.com   Notification No.: 144 of…

[tushar38]

Service Delivery Automation Market: Impact of AI and Robotics

 Introduction to Service Delivery Automation (SDA) Market

 The Service Delivery Automation (SDA) Market refers to the automation of business processes and tasks using advanced technologies such as robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), and cognitive computing. SDA helps companies optimize operations, reduce costs, and improve service quality by automating repetitive tasks. This market is expanding rapidly, driven by digital transformation and a growing need for operational efficiency. SDA applications span industries such as healthcare, BFSI, and IT, as businesses strive for faster and more accurate service delivery.

The Service Delivery Automation Market is Valued USD 8.91 billion in 2024 and projected to reach USD 43.69 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 25.50% During the Forecast period of 2024-2032.SDA leverages technologies like RPA, AI, and machine learning to automate routine tasks, enhancing service delivery across sectors such as finance, healthcare, and IT services. As businesses undergo digital transformation, the SDA market is projected to grow significantly. Companies adopting these solutions can streamline operations, reduce human error, and improve the customer experience.

Access Full Report :https://www.marketdigits.com/checkout/126?lic=s

Major Classifications are as follows:

By Offerings

Software

Services

By Type

IT Process Automation

Business Process Automation

By Organization Size

SMEs

Large Enterprises

By Verticals

BFSI

Healthcare

Travel, Hospitality & Leisure

IT & Telecom

Manufacturing

Transport & Logistics

Retail

Others

Key Region/Countries are Classified as Follows:

◘ North America (United States, Canada,) ◘ Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina,) ◘ Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia) ◘ Europe (UK,Germany,France,Italy,Spain,Russia,) ◘ The Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, and South

Key Players of Service Delivery Automation (SDA) Market: 

Automation Anywhere Inc., Uipath SRL, IPsoft Inc., Blue Prism, Xerox Corporation, NICE Systems Ltd, Celaton Limited, Automation Anywhere Inc., Arago GmbH, Accenture Inc., and AutomationEdge Technologies Inc.

Market Drivers in the Service Delivery Automation Market:

Digital Transformation Initiatives: Companies are increasingly automating processes to improve efficiency and remain competitive.

Cost Reduction: SDA reduces reliance on manual labor for repetitive tasks, lowering operational costs.

Rising Demand for Scalability: Automation tools allow businesses to scale operations efficiently without increasing workforce size.

AI and RPA Advancements: The growing capabilities of AI and RPA technologies are boosting SDA adoption, driving market growth.

Market Challenges in the Service Delivery Automation Market:

Integration with Legacy Systems: SDA solutions often face challenges integrating with existing, outdated systems, causing operational delays.

High Initial Costs: Implementing SDA technologies, especially AI and cognitive computing, requires significant upfront investment.

Workforce Resistance: Employees may resist automation, fearing job displacement, which can create implementation barriers.

Security Concerns: The automation of services, particularly in sensitive sectors like healthcare and finance, raises cybersecurity and data privacy concerns.

Market Opportunities in the Service Delivery Automation Market:

AI and Cognitive Automation: Leveraging advanced AI technologies can unlock new efficiencies in automating complex tasks.

Vertical Expansion: Sectors such as retail, e-commerce, and education present untapped opportunities for SDA market growth.

SME Adoption: Small and medium-sized enterprises are increasingly seeking automation solutions to enhance their operational efficiency.

Globalization and Outsourcing: The global outsourcing trend creates a demand for scalable, automated service delivery solutions, boosting the SDA market.

Conclusion:

The Service Delivery Automation Market is poised for substantial growth as businesses prioritize automation to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance service quality. While challenges like system integration and workforce resistance exist, the continued advancements in AI and RPA present vast opportunities. As industries increasingly adopt SDA solutions, the market will play a crucial role in driving the future of business operations across sectors worldwide.

[ivoras-electronics]

ESP32-C3 BLE / WiFi dev board with 0.42-inch OLED notes

I got some ESP32-C3 dev boards with built-in OLED screens for a Halloween costume project, and I've been troubled by the lack of documentation and general information about both the ESP32-C3 platform and the board, so here are some notes for future hackers:

OLED type is SH1106, not SSD1306, as seen in some forum posts and even in the blurry screenshot that accompanies these boards. Specifically, the U8G2 constructor for this board is U8G2_SH1106_72X40_WISE_F_HW_I2C(). With the SSD1306 driver, the screen pixels are shifted to the left and there's a column or two of corrupted data on the right-hand-side of the OLED screen.

Apparently the ESP32-C3 chip cannot measure its supply voltage internally, something that even ATtiny chips can do :(

Proper Arduino configuration is:

(CPU frequency and partition setup are of course configurable).

I'm not sure yet if I2C is actually hardware-offloaded here, but the pins are apparently non-default, with SDA=5, SCL=6. At least the display speed doesn't change at all when changing the I2C frequency. I don't have the equipment to measure this, but so far it looks like I2C clock speed is ignored. Anyway, I can get about 73 FPS, or about 11ms per frame draw on the built-in 72x40 OLED.

But overall, looks like a nice dev board, and it's neat that it's powered by a RISC-V microcontroller. Perfect for hobby projects that don't need many pins.

Buy the board here.