#short term storage costs

[allpurposeremovalsandstorage]

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[genericpuff]

Tbh at this point you should just make your own webcomic app/website because it would probably be 100 times better than whatever going on with webtoon right now.

hahaha it wouldn't tho, sorry 💀

Here's the fundamental issue with webcomic platforms that a lot of people just don't realize (and why they're so difficult to run successfully):

Storage costs are incredibly expensive, it's why so many sites have limitations on file sizes / page sizes / etc. because all of those images and site info have to be stored somewhere, which costs $$$.

Maintenance costs are expensive and get more so as you grow, you need people who are capable of fixing bugs ASAP and managing the servers and site itself

Financially speaking, webcomics are in a state of high supply, low demand. Loads of artists are willing to create their passion projects, but getting people to read them and pay for them is a whole other issue. Demand is high in the general sense that once people get attached to a webtoon they'll demand more, but many people aren't actually willing to go looking for new stuff to read and depend more on what sites feed them (and what they already like). There are a lot of comics to go around and thus a lot of competition with a limited audience of people willing to actually pay for them.

Trying to build a new platform from the ground up is incredibly difficult and a majority of sites fail within their first year. Not only do you have to convince artists to take a chance on your platform, you have to convince readers to come. Readers won't come if there isn't work on the platform to read, but artists won't come if they don't think the site will be worth it due to low traffic numbers. This is why the artists with large followings who are willing to take chances on the smaller sites are crucial, but that's only if you can convince them to use the site in favor of (or alongside) whatever platform they're using already where the majority of their audience lies. For many creators it's just not worth the time, energy, or risk.

Even if you find short-term success, in the long-term there are always going to be profit margins to maintain. The more users you pull in, the more storage is used by incoming artists, the more you have to spend on storage and server maintenance costs, and that means either taking the risk at crowdfunding (ex. ComicFury) or having to resort to outsider investments (ex. Tapas). Look at SmackJeeves, it used to be a titan in the independent webcomic hosting community, until it folded over to a buyout by NHN and then was pretty much immediately shuttered due to NHN basically turning it into a manwha scanlation site and driving away its entire userbase. And if you don't get bought out and try your hand at crowdfunding, you may just wind up living on a lifeline that could cut out at any moment, like what happened to Inkblazers (fun fact, the death of Inkblazers was what kicked off the cultural shift in Tapas around 2015-16 when all of IB's users migrated over and brought their work with them which was more aimed towards the BL and romancee drama community, rather than the comedy / gag-a-day culture that Tapas had made itself known for... now you deadass can't tell Tapas apart from a lot of scanlation sites because it got bought out by Kakao and kept putting all of its eggs into the isekai/romance drama basket.)

Right now the mindset in which artists and readers are operating is that they're trying way, way too hard to find a "one size fits all" site. Readers want a place where they can find all their favorite webtoons without much effort, artists wants a place where they can post to an audience of thousands, and both sides want a community that will feel tight-knit. But the reality is that you can't really have all three of those things, not on one site. Something always winds up having to be sacrificed - if a site grows big enough, it'll have to start seeking more funding while also cutting costs which will result in features becoming paywall'd, intrusive ads, creators losing their freedom, and/or outsider support which often results in the platform losing its core identity and alienating its tight-knit community.

If I had to describe what I'm talking about in a "pick one" graphic, it would look something like this:

(*note: this is mostly based on my own observations from using all of these sites at some point or another, they're not necessarily entirely accurate to the statistical performance of each site, I can only glean so much from experience and traffic trackers LMAO that said I did ask some comic pals for input and they were very helpful in helping me adjust it with their own takes <3).

The homogenization of the Internet has really whipped people into submission for the "big sites" that offer "everything", but that's never been the Internet, it relies on being multi-faceted and offering different spaces for different purposes. And we're seeing that ideology falter through the enshittification of sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. where users are at odds with the platforms because the platforms are gutting features in an attempt to satisfy shareholders whom without the platforms would not exist. Like, most of us aren't paying money to use social media sites / comic platform sites, so where else are they gonna make the necessary funds to keep these sites running? Selling ad space and locking features behind paywalls.

And this is especially true for a lot of budding sites that don't have the audience to support them via crowdfunding but also don't have the leverage to ask for investments - so unless they get really REALLY lucky in EITHER of those departments, they're gonna be operating at a loss, and even once they do achieve either of those things there are gonna be issues in the site's longevity, whether it be dying from lack of growing crowdfunding support or dying from shareholder meddling.

So what can we do?

We can learn how to take our independence back. We don't have to stop using these big platforms altogether as they do have things to offer in their own way, particularly their large audience sizes and dipping into other demographics that might not be reachable from certain sites - but we gotta learn that no single site is going to satisfy every wish we have and we have to be willing to learn the skills necessary to running our own spaces again. Pick up HTML/CSS, get to know other people who know HTML/CSS if you can't grasp it (it's me, I can't grasp it LOL), be willing to take a chance on those "smaller sites" and don't write them off entirely as spaces that can be beneficial to you just because they don't have large numbers or because they don't offer rewards programs. And if you have a really polished piece of work in your hands, look into agencies and publishing houses that specialize in indie comics / graphic novels, don't settle for the first Originals contract that gets sent your way.

For the last decade corporations have been convincing us that our worth is tied to the eyes we can bring to them. Instead of serving ourselves, we've begun serving the big guys, insisting that it has to be worth something eventually and that it'll "payoff" simply by the virtue of gambler's fallacy. Ask yourself what site is right for you and your work rather than asking yourself if your work is good enough for them. Most of us are broke trying to make it work on these sites anyways, may as well be broke and fulfilled by posting in places that actually suit us and our work if we can. Don't define your success by what sites like Webtoons are enforcing - that definition only benefits them, not you.

[reasonsforhope]

"Marginal improvements to agricultural soils around the world would store enough carbon to keep the world within 1.5C of global heating, new research suggests.

Farming techniques that improve long-term fertility and yields can also help to store more carbon in soils but are often ignored in favor of intensive techniques using large amounts of artificial fertilizer, much of it wasted, that can increase greenhouse gas emissions.

Using better farming techniques to store 1 percent more carbon in about half of the world’s agricultural soils would be enough to absorb about 31 gigatons of carbon dioxide a year, according to new data. That amount is not far off the 32 gigaton gap between current planned emissions reduction globally per year and the amount of carbon that must be cut by 2030 to stay within 1.5C.

The estimates were carried out by Jacqueline McGlade, the former chief scientist at the UN environment program and former executive director of the European Environment Agency. She found that storing more carbon in the top 30 centimeters of agricultural soils would be feasible in many regions where soils are currently degraded.

McGlade now leads a commercial organization that sells soil data to farmers. Downforce Technologies uses publicly available global data, satellite images, and lidar to assess in detail how much carbon is stored in soils, which can now be done down to the level of individual fields.

“Outside the farming sector, people do not understand how important soils are to the climate,” said McGlade. “Changing farming could make soils carbon negative, making them absorb carbon, and reducing the cost of farming.”

She said farmers could face a short-term cost while they changed their methods, away from the overuse of artificial fertilizer, but after a transition period of two to three years their yields would improve and their soils would be much healthier...

Arable farmers could sequester more carbon within their soils by changing their crop rotation, planting cover crops such as clover, or using direct drilling, which allows crops to be planted without the need for ploughing. Livestock farmers could improve their soils by growing more native grasses.

Hedgerows also help to sequester carbon in the soil, because they have large underground networks of mycorrhizal fungi and microbes that can extend meters into the field. Farmers have spent decades removing hedgerows to make intensive farming easier, but restoring them, and maintaining existing hedgerows, would improve biodiversity, reduce the erosion of topsoil, and help to stop harmful agricultural runoff, which is a key polluter of rivers."

-via The Grist, July 8, 2023

[linkhundr]

So NFTgate has now hit tumblr - I made a thread about it on my twitter, but I'll talk a bit more about it here as well in slightly more detail. It'll be a long one, sorry! Using my degree for something here. This is not intended to sway you in one way or the other - merely to inform so you can make your own decision and so that you aware of this because it will happen again, with many other artists you know.

Let's start at the basics: NFT stands for 'non fungible token', which you should read as 'passcode you can't replicate'. These codes are stored in blocks in what is essentially a huge ledger of records, all chained together - a blockchain. Blockchain is encoded in such a way that you can't edit one block without editing the whole chain, meaning that when the data is validated it comes back 'negative' if it has been tampered with. This makes it a really, really safe method of storing data, and managing access to said data. For example, verifying that a bank account belongs to the person that says that is their bank account.

For most people, the association with NFT's is bitcoin and Bored Ape, and that's honestly fair. The way that used to work - and why it was such a scam - is that you essentially purchased a receipt that said you owned digital space - not the digital space itself. That receipt was the NFT. So, in reality, you did not own any goods, that receipt had no legal grounds, and its value was completely made up and not based on anything. On top of that, these NFTs were purchased almost exclusively with cryptocurrency which at the time used a verifiation method called proof of work, which is terrible for the environment because it requires insane amounts of electricity and computing power to verify. The carbon footprint for NFTs and coins at this time was absolutely insane.

In short, Bored Apes were just a huge tech fad with the intention to make a huge profit regardless of the cost, which resulted in the large market crash late last year. NFTs in this form are without value.

However, NFTs are just tech by itself more than they are some company that uses them. NFTs do have real-life, useful applications, particularly in data storage and verification. Research is being done to see if we can use blockchain to safely store patient data, or use it for bank wire transfers of extremely large amounts. That's cool stuff!

So what exactly is Käärijä doing? Kä is not selling NFTs in the traditional way you might have become familiar with. In this use-case, the NFT is in essence a software key that gives you access to a digital space. For the raffle, the NFT was basically your ticket number. This is a very secure way of doing so, assuring individuality, but also that no one can replicate that code and win through a false method. You are paying for a legimate product - the NFT is your access to that product.

What about the environmental impact in this case? We've thankfully made leaps and bounds in advancing the tech to reduce the carbon footprint as well as general mitigations to avoid expanding it over time. One big thing is shifting from proof of work verification to proof of space or proof of stake verifications, both of which require much less power in order to work. It seems that Kollekt is partnered with Polygon, a company that offers blockchain technology with the intention to become climate positive as soon as possible. Numbers on their site are very promising, they appear to be using proof of stake verification, and all-around appear more interested in the tech than the profits it could offer.

But most importantly: Kollekt does not allow for purchases made with cryptocurrency, and that is the real pisser from an environmental perspective. Cryptocurrency purchases require the most active verification across systems in order to go through - this is what bitcoin mining is, essentially. The fact that this website does not use it means good things in terms of carbon footprint.

But why not use something like Patreon? I can't tell you. My guess is that Patreon is a monthly recurring service and they wanted something one-time. Kollekt is based in Helsinki, and word is that Mikke (who is running this) is friends with folks on the team. These are all contributing factors, I would assume, but that's entirely an assumption and you can't take for fact.

Is this a good thing/bad thing? That I also can't tell you - you have to decide that for yourself. It's not a scam, it's not crypto, just a service that sits on the blockchain. But it does have higher carbon output than a lot of other services do, and its exact nature is not publicly disclosed. This isn't intended to sway you to say one or the other, but merely to give you the proper understanding of what NFTs are as a whole and what they are in this particular case so you can make that decision for yourself.

[mitigatedchaos]

Free Speech

Regarding the speech restrictions in Europe, I will summarize my overall position as follows.

An economics textbook can easily weigh in at nearly 500,000 words. (This could be a contemporary economics textbook, or the original economics textbook, The Wealth of Nations.) Yet an economic textbook cannot tell you everything there is to know about business. You cannot simply use one as a manual to fill the position of CEO.

The world is thick and filled with many possibilities, while a textbook is thin and unable to change in response to situations.

Ideology is a network of related beliefs, rules, and moral values, which influences how information is perceived and what behaviors are considered right. It is often communicated through books and printed materials, speeches, videos, and so on.

Like a textbook, it is not the world. And, like a textbook, it is much simpler than the world.

Ideology is used to synchronize the behavior of members of a political coalition. As such, it may be derived from a generalization of the various coalition members' interests. Putting ideology into action requires keeping coalition members on-side, and so it is often less coherent and more contradictory than scientific theories.

Because ideology is less complex than reality, there is a distance between what an ideology says and any real situation. This distance can be larger or smaller.

This gap between the ideology and reality can produce externalities. If the ideology says that enough solar power and energy storage will come online that you can shut down the nuclear power stations in your country without burning coal... and the energy storage does not come online, then you may end up burning the coal.

Because ideology is not a person, but a body of ideas, and because conditions in the real world are constantly shifting (such as new technologies being invented, or new political events occurring), a movement requires personnel to consistently update and adapt the ideology to account for new developments, to keep the distance between reality and the ideology low.

Because the ideology also represents the interests of the coalition members, and for other reasons, shifting it may result in a difficult political fight that could reduce support for the political coalition.

In this model, speech restrictions are generally a method to push the costs of the externalities off on to people outside of the ruling coalition, while avoiding doing the genuinely challenging work of updating the ideology, as well as having a costly intracoalitional political battle.

This is a short-termist approach that may cause the ideology to become more misaligned from reality in the long term as the underlying conditions continue to change.

As such, in this model, the default position should be to be highly skeptical of speech restrictions. Political coalitions shift unpredictably over time; there is always the possibility that you will be the one getting the short end of the stick in the future.

It is possible for politicians and government officials to obtain private information about the world merely by observing reality and remembering what they have observed. They may also speak directly to each other in private settings.

However, eventually, all politicians and public officials will either grow old or die. As such, the political parties and the state must continuously recruit new personnel from the young. The young have easy access to public channels of information, but private channels of information do not scale - when they become too large, they become public channels of information.

In a low-censorship environment, there are outside sources of information who can correct for the missing information even if young people don't admit to reading them or don't read them directly.

In a high censorship environment, public information can drift very far from reality. Those who trust the censorship anyway will make policy which is not well-aligned to reality, and which therefore can only succeed by accident. Those who do not trust the censorship will not have access to high-quality alternative information; they may not even know what is and is not being censored. Therefore, while they can account for alternate possibilities, they will also have difficulty in making successful policy.

[sleepymccoy]

Let me tell you about the space ship I've made up

Looks like an alien ufo

Biggish. Like, could land in a football stadium but it'd be tight

Used to be a novelty luxury cruise ship so the interior walls are artistic and stupid

The outside is artistic and stupid too lol

This is a random google image, but has the vibe

Is now a retrofitted fishing vessel owned by the government

Still has a theatre tho. Madness

Top floor in the little alien bubble is the bridge and some of the engine

The government is making the crew trial a new form of engine fuel which is basically fish offal and sunlight. It's working but god at what cost?

Is fish offal a term? I think it gets the vibe across

So the engines need like weekly cleaning and are exhausting

They've got three engines cos if a crab gets caught stalled in there they have to swap to an auxiliary

And it smells like cooked fish

One quarter of the floor opens up to let them do some open air fishing when they're over water

The bottom floor is smaller than the main and used to be the staff rooms when it was a yacht

Now it's been retrofitted into a vegetable farm in another government initiative to have self sustaining food on short transit ships

Like this

It kinda works, this is a small scale rollout to check feasibility

They don't have fake gravity so when they're in space everyone floats

The beans are having a hard time adjusting to zero grav

Some of the crew are a bit new to it too

There's hooks to help people walk and furniture on the ceiling to use while in space

The ship feels much smaller when it's landed

Cos it's a big ol disc it has to flip 90° to launch out of orbit, cos of air resistence

So all the launch safety chairs are mounted on the walls out of the way and you've gotta climb a little ladder to get to one lol

Union regs are trying really hard to keep up with 24/hr ship maintenance

There are four eight hours shifts in a 24 hour day, three of them function in turn for a third of the day each, and the fourth in management

They don't have titles like night duty, morning shift, so on, cos time is made up here. But they have different focuses and skill sets

Like the equivalent of night duty has an extra cleaner to do deep cleaning, and the engineer is more skilled in maintenance and upkeep than complex flight support

The management shift is the worst for sleep schedule cos you just gotta get up when shit happens

There are half as many beds as there are crew and they share with someone on a different shift

Management shares with night duty and if they have to be up during night duty they just find a different spot to kip during the day

Like I said, union is still figuring it out

We're around Saturn, the union movement is pretty new! This is a source of tension cos most of the government employees aren't unionised

They also actually wear the uniforms, the losers

So I got ahead of myself there, there's three types of crew

Ship function, like engineer, cleaner, cook, pilot, that kind of vibe (mostly unionised, mostly refuse to wear the uniforms)

Government hire, like the gardeners (they prefer botanists but cmon) and chemical engineers figuring out the propulsion system (taking the initiative project very seriously)

The fishermen (the fuck is a uniform I'm paid commission) (that is not true, but they have that vibe)

When they're over the ocean fishing most of the rest of the crew take a weekend

When they're landed to trade fish nearly everyone gets time off

When they're flying the fishermen get time off

There might be some small jobs to do if there's a long period of time with no real work, like if it's four days between fishing jobs the fishermen will do a stocktake count in storage

Or if they're trading keeps them overnight the engineers and cleaners might take the opportunity to clean the airlocks and chutes safely

An eight hour shift is never busy, there's a lot of down time between tasks cos they work every day and need some time off

This means there's often an opportunity to fuck, which has formed most of the forward momentum in the story I'm writing lolll

Also cos the beds are on a roster they kinda have to fuck in public places oh noooo what a shame that I get to add tension to every other blow job

[beardedmrbean]

New Zealand has serious problems with its power supply. There are three underlying reasons: the weather, a flawed electricity market and a drive for ‘net zero’.

Sixty-five per cent of New Zealand’s electricity is provided by hydropower, and the remainder by geothermal, gas, coal, wind and some solar. Though hydropower is often seen as the one form of renewable energy which is not plagued by intermittency of supply, it sadly isn’t true. In a dry year, hydro’s ability to deliver falls away, and we lose about 10 per cent of our generation. In the past, we always tried to have the hydro reservoirs and coal stockpile full by the end of summer to guard against this possibility. When we switched to an electricity market, this was forgotten.

This year, we failed to refill the reservoirs, and levels are now unusually low. We are muddling along for the moment, but this is a difficult position from which to recover and there are likely to be blackouts at some point in the future.

The ability of our fossil fuel power stations to step into the gap has been severely restricted. We used to get 20 per cent of our electricity from gas-fired power stations, but six years ago, as part of their decarbonisation policy, the previous government banned further gas exploration, and we are now desperately short of gas. The new government is encouraging new exploration but we won’t see the results for several years.

We also have a single coal fired station with insufficient coal in its stockpile because our electricity market does not pay for the cost of maintaining an adequate stockpile.

The situation has been made worse by poor market design. New Zealand was one of the pioneers of electricity markets, and chose a risky model which has proved to be seriously flawed.

As a result, the problems this year have led to wholesale market prices rising to ridiculous levels of as much as £1/kWh. This has already caused some factories to shut down; others are under threat. The politicians are beginning to realise that the energy crisis could have serious effects on consumers, and there is speculation that they will be forced to intervene. This could mean instructing our gas and coal-fired power stations to run flat out day and night – which won’t make much difference because of the lack of fuel. Failing this, the only solution in the short term is rolling blackouts. and a public conservation campaign.

How did we get to this situation?

Firstly, the electricity market is simply not fit for purpose. The underlying propositions are that ‘electricity is a commodity like any other’ and that ‘when the price goes up, the demand goes down’. But electricity is not a commodity like any other, because it does not have an alternative or significant price elasticity. It isn’t a market that Adam Smith would recognise. As two departing CEOs said, the way to make money is to keep the system on the edge of a shortage. Which means that disaster is inevitable if a dry year occurs. And that is exactly what has happened.

The blind pursuit of ‘Net Zero’, has driven the closing down of gas exploration and the desire to shut down our coal fired station, even though it is doing a vital job in keeping the lights on.

The long-term problem

There has now been some rain on the hydro lakes and we are temporarily out of danger – assisted by the fact that the power companies have paid a stiff price to a major industrial gas user to shut down so that they can have its supplies.

But the long-term problem is still there: empty storage lakes that need to be refilled, not a lot of snow pack to melt in the springtime, declining supplies of gas, and the need to import 30 shiploads of coal and truck it to the power station. None can be achieved in the time available. The imminent shutdown of a 380 MW combined cycle power station, because it cannot find a secure gas supply for the next 20 years or so, adds to the problem. 

Instead we are placing our faith in more wind and solar power. The price will skyrocket when it is in short supply, but that will not help the wind and solar farms’ accounts as that is when they have very little to sell. When wind and sun are abundant, prices will crash. This means that the wind and solar farms under construction and planned will not make enough money to pay for their construction and operation. New Zealand does not directly subsidise wind and solar power so we can’t even be sure that the generators will continue building them. 

To be economic, wind and solar must be supported by low-cost long-term storage for days, weeks and months.There is no technology that can deliver this right now. New Zealand’s hydro reservoirs have huge capacity – approaching 10 per cent of a year’s electricity supply – but this storage capacity is already fully required to deal with the annual variations in hydro output. It cannot be used to back up solar and wind. Batteries simply can’t be used at national grid scales: they are too expensive by a factor of 50 or so.

Worse still the expectation is that electricity demand is going to increase rapidly, driven by domestic and industrial heat and road transport being electrified (although the extent to which this will actually happen in the face of rising power prices is debatable). Whether electric heating and transport arrive or not, we are already getting more and more data centres, which are a 24-hour per day load and need a reliable supply.

So the load will go up but we will be less able to keep the lights on when wind and solar are not delivering. Australia is 2000 km away, so there is no chance of importing from there, even if they did have power to spare, which they don’t.

We could build more geothermal stations, but that takes time, especially as the oil rigs they need to drill production wells have all departed overseas. There is probably 1000 MW so of identified geothermal potential, and there is the possibility that more could be found with exploration. But this is not a quick solution.

The only quick solution is to buy gas turbines and run them on diesel: not a nice prospect.

In the long-term we could consider more hydro generation, but that is blocked by many environmentalists, even though there is probably 2000 MW of potential left in the South Island. For those who do not believe in dangerous carbon-driven climate change – or who consider that atmospheric carbon levels will rise beyond desirable levels anyway due to China and India and that it is therefore pointless for Western nations to spend huge sums reducing their emissions – more coal and gas generation are an obvious solution but they are not quick.

For those who believe that man-made global warming is real and dangerous, and that it is worthwhile for the Western nations to cut emissions alone, we could be urgently considering nuclear power. This is the only practical and economic way of having reliable electric power with low carbon emissions. I suspect that in spite of a long-held opposition to nuclear armed and propelled ships, the New Zealand public are more sympathetic to nuclear power than they are believed to be.

Whatever happens, New Zealand faces a very uncertain situation in the next few years with an increasing risk of major shortages and a major increase in domestic electricity prices.

The implications for other countries

I suspect that this is the writing on the wall for all countries that have pursued net zero and ignored the importance of keeping the lights on at a reasonable price. The UK is already relying on interconnectors for about 10 per cent of its electricity and would be in serious trouble if Europe was unable to provide backup power when UK wind and solar are not delivering. 

For as long as Europe and other countries have net zero as a prime objective, electricity blackouts and high prices are inevitable. As we are planning to make our entire society electrically powered, this is a bleak prospect.

[matau-the-228th]

Bionicle Mahianō AU: The New Matoran

“...This is Takua. He will be your apprentice from today until he is ready to become the new Chronicler.”

I looked at the new Matoran, his confused and curious expression mirroring my own, though his eyes showed no sign of understanding what Vakama had said.

He was a mismatch of different elemental colors, a light blue Kanohi of a Ga- or Le- Matoran, the armor on his body was a sandy red like the Ta-Matoran, with yellow greaves and armor that almost had an undertone of Po-matoran tan. His inner chassis was black with light grey accents, a familiar sight on Ko-Matoran. And again, his eyes had a shade of yellow-green that looked like they belonged to a Onu-Matoran.

The only organics visible on him were sparse, far more degraded than our fellow Matoran who were in the stasis spheres. Beyond that, his entire frame almost seemed… outdated, not just diminished.

“What Sector was he originally from?”

Vakama paused, seeming to weigh his options on how to put it. “Presumably the Fire Sector, if he lived on Tekoa. As such, he will primarily be a resident of Ta-Koro, though I think that he will be spending much of his time with you elsewhere as you tend to your duties.”

“... Presumably?”

Elder Matau placed his hand on Vakama’s shoulder. “I will introduce our new brother to some of our customs, and then to the rest of the island. The rest of you can stay here and discuss the… ‘specifics’ of the apprenticeship of Takua here.”

The remaining six of us waited in silence as Matau led the new Matoran away, the smaller being quietly observing his surroundings before looking behind him with a look of deep confusion.

“...I believe they are out of earshot now.” Onewa muttered. “Yes, presumably. We're not sure where he's from.”

“His sphere was far older than the ones the others were stored in. While those were meant for long-term storage at the cost of some of the Matoran’s energies, his was, well…” Whenua started, shrugging as he trailed off.

“The best we could tell is that it was designed to keep the occupant alive at any cost- but only for a short timeframe.”

I balked at the revelation. “It did that sort of degradation to him in a short amount of time? What sort of person designs a stasis sphere with such a major flaw? Even if it was made long ago, something like that-”

“That’s the thing. He's been in that sphere for close to 5,000 years- if not more. It's a miracle that he has only been diminished that much, let alone still alive.” Onewa interrupted.

“And,” Nokama continued, “It wasn't a stasis sphere he was in.”

“It was an escape pod.”

[x]

[gothtransandroid]

Contemplating: Necromancy and the Utility of the Skeleton

From aesthetics alone the skeleton does many things for the necromancer. A clear benefit is simply in the knowledge of the subject being a dead thing in and of itself. With any variation of the corpse from zombie to revenant there can be doubts at a glance as to what one is dealing with but moving bones are distinct at most distances and let a person know that any harm they deal to it, accidental or otherwise, wont hurt a living thing. On the other side, the person seeing the skeleton will know that it won't feel pain and has no nervous system holding it back in how strong it will strike someone else. This functions as a form of deterrence from combat as well as telegraphs the danger of handling the skeleton beyond its designated task.

The skeleton, contrary to common sense, is less cost effective than a zombie in terms of raising. The mechanism of imprinting magic upon a corpse via its soulless form means that with less material there, there is more work and more raw magical structure needed to maintain the skeleton. This being said, the zombie will decay and are a short term solution sonits better to invest as a skeleton will be cost effective over time and has the added benefit of not smelling awful. Many an old necromancer cut their noses off and burned their sinuses not just to resemble a corpse in their horde as camouflage, but more so to kill the smell of working with so many zombies.

At an average weight of 20 pounds, the human skeleton is very portable if a single servant is needed and one is conserving their magic between uses. This does covert an unit of 100 servants to about a ton, which could staff a mansion easily and handle all tasks besides handling guests and the cooking for obvious reasons. Like with other skeletons, a human skeleton can utilize their ribs as a means of storage or carrying tools to keep their hands free. Special tools could easily be made for a gardener or a maid to reach in and tend to their tasks while having free hands and look presentable if a chest cover is used to tastefully hide dirty or worn tools.

Besides issues of durability which can be addressed with coatings and reinforcements to the structure of the skeleton, bones tend to still be sturdy even when dry and set, only they cannot self-repair so any damage will need prevented or filled as it occurs. Skeletons are not an unlimited resource, as are bodies in general, but those gathered and maintained properly in a closed and respectful environment can last a lifetime.

[antisocialxconstruct]

Alright y'know this is probably a bit of a long shot but it's worth a try

Are any of you in the Seattle area/know anyone in the area who's looking for a roommate OR able to accommodate one short-term? (Like maybe a month or two at the most?)

I'm 30 years old, pretty quiet and unobtrusive, I don't smoke, I have no pets, and if it's a short-term arrangement I can leave all my shit in storage and would only be coming with a suitcase and laptop. I'm obviously willing to discuss rent/utility costs as well as contribute to housework for however long I'm there.

You can DM me for my email/cell number if you want to talk more, and I'll be downtown for a few days toward the end of the month so we can meet face to face before settling anything.

[5feet-of-anxiety]

I know it's pretty unhelpful to offer unsolicited advice to donation posts but for those in the US who are going through a hard time I do want to at least make sure people know some options they may have available to them that have helped me and friends out over the year.

Call everyone you pay bills to and ask about hardship plans or assistance options. Try and avoid any long term reduced payment plans but short term are generally fine. One or two month deferments are fine too. If it's a long term (1+ years) sudden situation then ask about settlement options. It's not the best for your credit but it's better than late payment reports ending up in a charge off.

Do not use a DSC unless you have a lot of stuff in collections/different accounts to pay and don't have the time or energy to deal with them yourself. Dsc's charge you to settle on accounts usually one by one as accounts fall more and more delinquent. You can do that yourself. If it's already charged off save it for later

Don't wait until savings are gone to ask for these assistance options. The minute you don't have income reduce your expenses as much as possible.

Unless it is an expense you are 95% you can pay off without issue do not take out a loan

Apply for unemployment the same day you lose a job and keep up with the paperwork. I've lost out on potential unemployment earnings 3 different times because of how confused I get from it so don't be afraid to call and ask for help or explanations.

Car auctions can be your friend for a vehicle . Police auctions are not great but see if there are any other auctions nearby and you can generally get a car for the same price as a down payment. If you have car knowledge great if not try and bring someone that does. Even if you don't check that it starts, pop the hood and make sure nothing's missing, and look up the car model for common issues.

Need a job fast and can't stand fast food? Call centers are always hiring. Like any job they do suck and some are worse than others but they tend to pay more than minimum wage and they're not physically demanding if that's an issue. Also try storage facilities as they tend to have benefits and may provide housing or at least a discount on a storage unit if your living situation demands one.

This isn't important financially but it's something that affected me for a long time. But if you're feeling lonely and looking for a community or even just someone to connect with then do participate in book clubs, low cost classes or social events, strike up conversation with others at the parades, bars/clubs, library, store wherever. Even if it's just a connection in passing it will enrich you. And if you don't put yourself out there those connections will be harder to come by.

Therapy isn't cheap and journaling isn't a replacement but it can cost less than 2 dollars and it at least helps to get the thoughts and feelings out somewhere.

Goodwill sucks. Look for smaller donation shops a lot of them do actual community outreach.

That's all I got and this is not a list of cure all solutions that will work for everyone or solve problems 100%. These are just things that have either helped me in the past or I wish I would've done differently. There's a lot of tips out there and it sucks to live in survival mode like that but always choose what's best for you.

[techav]

Wrap030-ATX Remembers

No general-purpose computer will do much without a good amount of Random Access Memory for transient storage of code and data. Now that I have confirmed basic operation of CPU, bus controller, ROM, and serial, it's time to turn my attention to main system memory.

Every homebrew computer I've built to date, including previous iterations of the Wrap030 project, has used Static RAM. Static RAM is nearly as simple as peripherals can be — give it an address, assert a Chip Enable and a Read or Write strobe signal, wait a bit, and release. Done, cycle complete. If you don't need to retrieve some data for a good long while, it's no matter so long as the chip still has power. For a small system, SRAM is reliable and dead simple to use.

The problem with SRAM is it is also very expensive. The 2MB of SRAM I had on the previous iteration of Wrap030 cost over $20 — and it's still far from enough to run an operating system like Unix System V, NetBSD, Linux, etc. This is the reason computers generally use Dynamic RAM for primary system memory.

The difference is SRAM uses several transistors to create a flip-flop for storing each and every bit of memory, whereas DRAM uses a capacitor to store each bit of memory. This reduces manufacturing costs and increases storage density, but does come with some trade-offs. Most notably, the capacitors that store bits in DRAM will lose their charge — and the stored data with it — after a rather brief period of time. This means the DRAM capacitors need to be topped off regularly in a process known as a refresh cycle.

Another complication of using DRAM is the bus interface has been changed to allow much larger storage capacities without the physical chip package growing to absurd sizes. Instead of the chip accepting the entire address at once, it expects to be given a Row address (along with a Row Address Strobe [RAS#]) then a Column address (along with a Column Address Strobe [CAS#]), with myriad specific timing requirements for when each signal should be asserted and deasserted.

In short, DRAM is much more difficult to interface with compared to SRAM, so I've never really gotten around to it.

With one of the long term goals of this project being running a *nix operating system though, I'm going to need the larger memory that DRAM affords. So i made provision for a CPLD to serve as a dedicated DRAM controller on the Wrap030-ATX motherboard and added a couple 72-pin SIMM slots. In theory this setup should be able to support up to 256MB of RAM (if rare 128MB SIMMs should fall into my hands...).

So where do we turn when dealing with complicated timing with multiple modes and a bunch of I/O? Why, Finite State Machines, of course! That bit where the DRAM expects a row address for a little while, that's a state. And the following bit where the DRAM expects a column address is another state. And then another state to make sure the DRAM has enough time to write or fetch the data. The round it out with one last state to tell the CPU data is ready.

What about that weird refresh timing? Well, that's just few more states for the state machine. And then one last "idle" state that waits for a refresh timing counter to hit 0 or for the CPU to start a bus cycle. Laid out like that, the DRAM controller became a state machine with 7 or 8 states, a counter, and an address multiplexer.

The logic actually came together easier than expected. Not completely without bugs of course.

There's this note in the datasheets about startup initialization where the DRAM should not be accessed 200μs after power on, and there should be 8 refresh cycles before the first access. Initially I had built this entire sequence into my logic. It consumed a ton of resources and didn't really work right.

I realized that my reset circuit held the CPU in reset for longer than 200μs on power on, so I was guaranteed that first initialization time. So I removed that startup delay from my DRAM controller logic, and made a few tweaks to the state machine so it could do 8 back-to-back refresh cycles after reset.

I was able to successfully write to DRAM and read that data back!

That much proved to be the easy part. The next steps were confirming DRAM accesses worked reliably, that I had the order of my byte select signals correct, that I could identify the amount of installed memory, and that all of the installed memory was working. These are programming problems, not logic problems, and I am not a strong programmer. On top of that, not only am I working with unproven DRAM logic, but I'm also using untested SIMMs that I had picked up from Computer Reset.

I quickly ran into errors, but was it a problem with my logic? A problem with my timing? A problem with the SIMMs?

I had a large back of 72-pin SIMMs, split fairly evenly between Fast Page Mode (FPM) and Extended Data Output (EDO) types. I tried them all. Some would pass the tests for nearly all addresses but fail at the end. Some seemed to have a stuck bit. Some were just plain bad and gave errors everywhere. It didn't really answer the question about whether my logic was bad, but results were consistent enough for me to think that maybe the logic might be ok.

And then finally I came across a pair of HP-branded 8MB EDO SIMMs that passed a simple write-read test without error ...

... right around the time my serial port stopped working. But the memory test was passing, and I could at least see the serial output on the logic analyzer.

The serial port problem was a bit setback. It had been working but suddenly wasn't. Clearly the UART itself was working, I just wasn't getting anything past the level shifter. Well that at least gave me a starting point of where to look. Sure enough, one of the 12V supply pins was not well soldered. Thankfully a quick fix.

Back to testing memory, I started writing a program to identify the size of the installed SIMM and write a register I added to the DRAM controller to configure the specific geometry of the installed memory. See, DRAM has another lovely quirk — chips of the same size may have a different configuration of Row and Column sizes. For instance one chip may have a 9-bit Column and a 10-bit Row, but the next may have a 10-bit Column and a 9-bit Row, and both are the same size. If the DRAM controller just assumes 12-bit Row and Column (the largest supported by 72-pin SIMMs), then there will be gaps in the memory map that will need to be accounted for in software (using MMU, for example). If the DRAM controller knows the geometry of the installed memory, then it can present the memory to the CPU as one contiguous block of memory.

And that's where I found my next bug. The system would just hang when trying to write to that DRAM controller configuration register.

... because I had forgotten to complete that part of the state machine. The result was the state machine would end up in a state for writing to the configuration register, but then it couldn't get out of it. Once I added the missing condition to the state machine logic I was able to correctly identify the geometry and size for my installed memory!

Wow that was long. This has been the biggest, most involved step in the process of bringing up this computer yet. It turns out there are a lot of moving pieces that have to all work together to get the computer running code from ROM and reading/writing DRAM.

Now that I have my main memory working, I should be able to get some software running. I'm hoping to at least have BASIC running in time for VCFSW at the end of June.

[avaantares]

I wrote a long response to a blue-checkmark drama post, but between the time I clicked "reblog" and the time I finished typing, OP apparently turned off reblogs for that post. So GUESS WHAT, y'all get my diatribe anyway. (Sorry; I know most of you aren't the problem. But I did actual math, so I don't want it to go to waste.)

---

The old axiom still applies:

If social media is free to use, it's because YOU are the product.

What that means, for the adage-averse, is this: Sites and services that appear to be fully free to users (Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Google, et al.) are collecting your personal data and selling it to advertisers to pay for the (in some cases) hundreds of millions of dollars it costs to run such sites.

Tumblr doesn't do this. Tumblr hasn't done it, despite a monthly deficit of literally millions of dollars, which is why it's repeatedly been sold at a massive loss to new owners.

To give you actual numbers: Yahoo! acquired Tumblr in 2010 at a cost of $1.1 billion. After taking enormous losses, they later sold it to Verizon for an undisclosed amount. After trying (and failing) for two years to make the site pay for itself, Verizon sold it to Automattic (its current owners) for just $3 million. [Source]

For those who don't math, that means Tumblr's market value dropped by $1,097,000,000 in just nine years, or (averaged out) devalued by approximately $10 million per month. In short, nobody is looking at this as a worthwhile investment to hang onto long-term.

So why didn't it make money for its various owners, despite promising user statistics and a then-unheard-of initial sale price to Yahoo? Precisely because it wasn't leveraging your data to offset its running costs. The algorithm-free advertising format simply isn't viable for a site this big, which requires massive amounts of data storage and bandwidth (all those multimedia options you love cost a fortune on the back end). While there is a modicum of value for companies to hold a loss-generating property for tax purposes (which is pretty much what Verizon did with the site during its ownership), there is a finite period to reap those tax benefits. More relevant to us, if the site's only purpose is to show a loss on paper, there's little incentive for the owner to improve the service or keep its user base happy. We, the users, get thrown under the bus.

So how did Tumblr, under Automattic, try to run as a free site that didn't harvest user data? Tumblr served ads to try to generate revenue. But users complained about the ads. So Tumblr offered ad-free subscriptions at a very reasonable introductory rate of $3.33/month. But users complained about the subscriptions ("It's always been free! Other sites are free! Capitalism is evil!") and refused to pay. So Tumblr offered post-Blazing and tipping and physical merchandise and a variety of other optional features, most recently dashboard horse games and parody blue checkmarks, and instead of seeing these as a desperate attempt to stop the site from hemorrhaging money opportunity to support their online community, users just keep screaming about the moral failings of corporations that charge money for literally anything and insist that "we must keep this site unprofitable at all costs!"

Guys. Sites like this cost millions of dollars -- sometimes tens of millions -- to maintain each month. With the influx of new users from Twitter and elsewhere, that number is only going to increase as server load and bandwidth increase. And because of its history of losing value on a jaw-dropping scale, there will not be another company waiting to take ownership if Automattic decides to stop throwing money into the blue fires of this hellsite. If Tumblr is unprofitable for long enough, it will shut down. Period.

So either chill the $%#@*& out about the blue checkmarks or whatever, or pony up the monthly subscription fee yourself to help support the site. At the very least, stop attacking those who choose to give something back in exchange for the service they receive. Because they're the only reason this site has lasted as long as it has.

[coldroomae]

How to Choose the Right Reefer Container for Your Business Needs

Selecting the perfect reefer container is crucial for businesses that rely on the transportation and storage of temperature-sensitive goods. Whether you are in the food industry, pharmaceuticals, or any other sector requiring precise temperature control, understanding your specific needs is the first step. This guide will help you navigate the essential factors to consider when choosing the right reefer container for your business.

1. Determine the Type of Goods You’re Transporting

The type of goods you plan to store or transport plays a significant role in determining the reefer container you need. For instance, perishables like fruits and vegetables require a different temperature range compared to frozen goods or pharmaceuticals. It’s essential to match the container’s cooling capabilities to the specific needs of your products. For more detailed information on how reefer containers can preserve different goods, check out our fruits ripening cold rooms guide.

2. Consider the Duration of Storage or Transport

The length of time your goods will be in the container also affects your choice. Short-term storage may not require the same level of insulation or power efficiency as long-term storage or transport. If your business frequently deals with extended shipping times, investing in a container with advanced cooling technology and robust insulation is crucial. Learn more about long-term cold storage solutions in our portable cold room guide.

3. Evaluate the Size and Capacity Requirements

Reefer containers come in various sizes, typically ranging from 20 feet to 40 feet. Your choice should depend on the volume of goods you plan to store or transport. Overestimating your needs can lead to unnecessary costs, while underestimating may result in insufficient storage space. To determine the ideal size for your operations, consider consulting our low budget cold room options, which offer a range of customizable solutions.

4. Energy Efficiency and Operating Costs

Energy efficiency is a critical factor in choosing a reefer container, especially for businesses looking to reduce operational costs. Modern containers are equipped with energy-saving technologies that help minimize power consumption while maintaining precise temperature control. For insights into energy-efficient cold storage solutions, explore our chiller systems designed for optimal performance with minimal energy usage.

5. Assess the Container’s Reliability and Maintenance Needs

Finally, consider the reliability and maintenance requirements of the reefer container. A high-quality container should offer consistent performance with minimal downtime. It’s also important to factor in the availability of maintenance services and spare parts in your region. For more tips on maintaining your cold storage units, visit our cold room maintenance guide.

[ramya10]

The Hidden Costs of Moving: What to Watch Out For

Moving to a new home can be an exciting adventure, but it often comes with hidden costs that can catch you off guard. Understanding these potential expenses and planning for them can help you manage your moving budget more effectively. Here’s a guide to the hidden costs of moving and how to keep them under control.

1. Packing Supplies

While many people think of packing as a straightforward task, the costs of packing supplies can add up quickly. Boxes, bubble wrap, packing tape, and other materials are essential for protecting your belongings during transit. If you’re moving a large household, these costs can be significant. To save money, consider sourcing used boxes from local businesses or friends, and opt for reusable packing materials.

2. Professional Packing Services

If you decide to hire professional packers, this service can add a considerable amount to your moving budget. Packing services often include a range of tasks, from carefully wrapping fragile items to disassembling furniture. Be sure to get a detailed quote and understand what’s included in the service to avoid unexpected charges. For a reliable and comprehensive packing service, consider referral moving companies like Assureshift, MoveMyGhar, which can help you manage these costs effectively.

3. Moving Insurance

While most moving companies offer basic coverage for your belongings, it’s often limited. If you have valuable or sentimental items, you may need to purchase additional moving insurance to ensure they are fully protected. This extra layer of coverage can prevent you from facing significant out-of-pocket expenses in case of damage or loss.

4. Temporary Housing Costs

In some cases, you might need to stay in temporary housing if there’s a gap between your move-out and move-in dates. These costs can include renting a short-term apartment or staying in a hotel, which can add to your moving expenses. Plan ahead to avoid these costs or find ways to minimize them.

6. Unforeseen Costs

During a relocation, unforeseen expenses may occur, including sudden changes of plans, unexpected delays, or additional charges for weighty or oversized items. It is advisable to establish an emergency fund to mitigate financial tension and address these unexpected expenses.

7. Storage Costs

If you need to store your belongings temporarily before your new home is ready, storage fees can add up. Storage costs vary depending on the size of the unit and the length of time you need it. Plan for these costs in advance and look for cost-effective storage solutions.

8. Professional Moving Services

While hiring a moving company can streamline the process, the cost can vary widely depending on the company and the services provided. Companies like MoveMyGhar offer comprehensive moving solutions that can help manage and minimize these hidden costs. Be sure to get multiple quotes and understand what’s included to make an informed decision.

Conclusion

By being aware of these hidden costs and planning accordingly, you can better manage your moving budget and avoid any financial surprises. Moving can be a complex process, but with careful preparation and a clear understanding of potential expenses, you can make your transition to a new home smoother and more cost-effective.

[timemimic]

What are the Clone Watch, Super Clone Watch, and Replica Watch?

Clone Watches

Clone watches are only similar in appearance, with their movements and functionalities being different from the original. They are essentially look-alikes on the outside, but with internals that don’t match up to the genuine article.

Super Clone Watches

Super Clone Watches go beyond mere appearance. They not only resemble the original in looks but also replicate the original movement and functions. However, they fall short in some details, such as the technology used in the calendar’s oil pressure and the engraving on the movement’s plates, where noticeable differences can be observed.

Replica Watches

Replica watches are comprehensive restorations of the original product, both inside and out. They achieve true 1:1 replication, from the fine details of the appearance to the functionality of the movement, and even the texture of the movement. These watches replicate over 95% of the original, striving for near-perfect accuracy in every aspect.

In the intriguing world of high-end watches, where the line between the real McCoy and its doppelgänger gets blurry, we have three fascinating characters: “Clone Watches,” “Super Clone Watches,” and “Replica Watches.” Let’s dive into this horological soap opera and see who’s who.

How to distinguish them?

First up, we have the “Clone Watches,” the distant cousins in this family. These timepieces have the look but not the genetic code of their pricier kin. They often use Chinese-produced ETA movements (A2824/A2836 & variants), which are essentially Swiss ETA automatic movement doppelgängers. Although these clones generally boast decent quality and reliability, they’re like that off-brand soda that’s almost like Coke but not quite. You know, the kind that tastes just fine until someone tells you it’s not the real deal. For instance, the Rolex Submariner series in this category uses the Citizen 2813 movement, which, while stable, is more vanilla than a vanilla milkshake. It’s easier to repair, though, which is a plus if you’re not keen on watch surgery.

Next, we have the “Super Clone Watches,” a step up in the imitation game. These guys use the 2824 movement, which is to 2813 what a Tesla is to a golf cart – more stable, reliable, and even passes the COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres) tests, the watch world’s SATs. The Replica Watches, however, are the crown jewels of mimicry. They use the Rolex 3135 movement (and now the 3235, with longer energy storage but a bit like a high-maintenance celebrity in terms of stability). These replicas nail everything from the movement’s details to its functionality, achieving over 95% similarity. It’s like having a stunt double for your Rolex that does all the hard work but costs less.

Thickness is another area where these watches show their true colors. The replica Submariner is thinner than the clone version, and this difference is especially noticeable in ultra-thin series like the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Moon, where we’re talking a whopping 3mm gap. That’s like comparing a pancake to a waffle, thickness-wise.

Now, let’s talk about the wristbands. Clone watches use the same 904L steel as Rolex, so they have a heft to them that screams, “I’m almost the real thing!” The replicas, on the other hand, miss the authentic mark by just 2 grams, which in the watch world is like missing a flight by two minutes – so close yet so far.

The mirrors are different too. Clone watches use ordinary glass (some even dare to go acrylic), while replicas use sapphire crystal, which is like comparing a regular TV screen to a 4K Ultra HD one.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for a watch for occasional wear or just to add to your collection, a clone watch might suffice. It’s like having a double for your favorite actor in a movie – good enough for wide shots, but don’t expect Oscar-worthy close-ups. Super Clone Watches are your go-to for most social situations where no watch aficionados are present. And if you’re after the crème de la crème, go for a Replica Watch. Even the experts need a magnifying glass and some Sherlock Holmes skills to spot the difference.

Remember, though, that no matter how good they are, replicas are still the horological equivalent of a stunt double – fantastic in their role but not the star of the show. And if you’re hunting for replicas, Guangzhou, China, is the Hollywood of watch replicas, with over 20 years in the game and a supply chain as robust as Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime. But if you’re not buying from Guangzhou, beware of getting a lemon dressed as a Rolex. And lastly, remember, if you can, always go for the real deal. It’s like choosing between an autographed photo of your favorite celebrity and meeting them in person – the latter is just so much better.