Consider a consumer who has to allocate their budget between two goods, x and m. The price of x is p, and the price of m is 1. The consumer's utility function is: U(x,m)=8√x + m
(a) When does the consumer prefer a little more of good x over a little more of good m? Explain. (b) Illustrate the consumer's demand for x. Label important elements in your diagram.

Since Rabbit, Inc. likes to cite their patent as the evidence of the LAM's existence, why don't we take a look? Others can do a deeper dive, but this is what stood out to me:

1. The patent doesn't go into much technical detail about HOW the LAM (or "Interface Model", to use the patent's terminology) is actually trained or functions.
2. The patent makes liberal use of the broad term "configure," which might be for strategic reasons, but because the term is so broad, it leaves open the possibility for the whole thing to be done manually by humans.
3. The Interface Model is said to operate through either 1) "auto-formalization" or 2) selecting among "preset workflows" (e.g., Playwright scripts), but there is considerably more emphasis on the selection among preset workflows than on the auto-formalization aspect. In fact, auto-formalization isn't referenced in the critical "claims" section until claim 13 of the 19 claims, and all it says is that the system "uses" one.

Some choice snippets: https://patents.justia.com/patent/11908476

an intention model configured to translate a user intention into one or more actions without receiving explicit step by step execution instructions from the user;
an interface model in communication with the intention model and configured to translate one or more requests from the intention model into a sequence of user interface (UI) actions on one or more target applications; and
an action executor in communication with the interface model and configured to execute the sequence of UI actions on the one or more target applications.
The selected agent(s) 104 initiates interaction with products and/or services over a network to achieve goals that satisfy the user's intentions.
Finally, the system is preloaded with a huge set of preset workflows to represent common interface interaction patterns across consumer apps. (Step 404) As such, at any point in this process, if the Interface Model 404 decides that what is shown in the demonstration is similar enough to a preset, the model 404 can make “a shortcut” and return the preset that has been identified.
The Interface Model 404 can be equipped with a large set of workflows, which are defined as a known sequence of UI actions across a series of applications. These workflows can be robust up to minor adjustments of UI components. In one embodiment, for most high-frequency consumer-facing cases, there are at most 50-60 distinct workflows within an application, even for complex actions that require using multiple apps. The dynamic model 414 can first attempt to assign a request to an existing workflow before falling back to auto-formalization.
Interface Model 404 is the key for the OS to learn to see the web and interact with the applications on the web as a human would.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the exemplary operation of the Interface Model 600, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. First, unstructured demonstrations (e.g., video recording) 602 and structured demonstrations (e.g., DOM change stream) 604 are fed into the Static Model 606 of the Interface Model 600. These demonstrations can be generated by the end-users directly, or could originate from external labeling forces. Unstructured demonstrations may go through UI component localization and segmentation 608 before being sent to the Static Model 606. Static Model 606 performs UI identification, classification and visual relationship detection on a target app. Based on the output from the Static Model 606 and workflow presets (e.g., sequency of Agent Host actions) 610, Dynamic Model 612 of the Interface Model 600 can perform auto-formalization, workflow identification and translation to enable interaction with the target application.

1. The system of claim 12, wherein the demonstration model uses an auto-formalization process of creating a formalized system that approximates observed UI interactions.

lets( color,!prop("Color")?"green":prop("Color"), m1,formatDate(now(),"YYYY-MM").parseDate(), mz,m1.dateAdd(2,"month").dateSubtract(1,"day"), w1, m1.week(), wz,mz.week(), d1,m1.day(), dz,mz.day(), w,[w1,w1+1,w1+2,w1+3,w1+4,wz].unique(), w.map(lets(week,current, wd,prop("To Do").filter(current.prop("Due Date").week()==week).filter(current.prop("Status")=="Done"), d,[1,2,3,4,5,6,7], d.map(lets(day,current, r,wd.filter(current.prop("Due Date").day()==day), (r.length()>0?(day==now().day()?(week==now().week()?"√".style("b"):"●"):"●").style(color):" ").style(day==now().day()?(week==now().week()?"u":""):""). style(median(w1+1,week,wz-1)==week? color+"_background":(week==w1?(day>=d1?color+"_background":""):(day<=dz?color+"_background":"")),"c"))).join(" ") )).join("\n")) 

lets( color,!prop("Color")?"green":prop("Color"), weeksNum,ifs(prop("Period") == "Month",5,prop("Period")=="Quarter",13, prop("Period") == "Half Year", 26, 52), dateFormat, "MMMM D, Y", weekLabels, ["Sun", "Mon", "Tue", "Wen", "Thu", "Fri", "Sat", "Sun"].map(current.style(color, "grey_background","c")), readingRecords, prop("To Do").map(formatDate(current.prop("Due Date"),dateFormat)), today, day(now()), startOfthisWeek, if(today==7,now(),dateSubtract(now(),today,"days")), firstSunDate, dateSubtract(startOfthisWeek, weeksNum, "weeks"), placeHolder,["M","M","M"].map(" ".style("grey_background","grey","c","b")).join(""), monthLabel, repeat(" ",weeksNum+1).split("") .map(dateAdd(firstSunDate,index,"weeks")) .map(ifs(date(current)<=4, formatDate(current,"MMMM").split("").at(0), date(dateAdd(current,3,"days"))<=4, formatDate(dateAdd(current,3,"days"),"MMMM").split("").at(0), "◌")) .map(current.style(color,color+"_background","c","b")) .join(" "), grid, [0,1,2,3,4,5,6] .map(repeat(current,if(today>=current && today!=7,weeksNum+1,weeksNum)).split("") .map(dateAdd(firstSunDate, index*7 + toNumber(current), "days")) .map(formatDate(current,dateFormat)) .map(if(includes(readingRecords,current),"●"," ").style(color+"_background","c")) .join(" ") ) .map(weekLabels.at(index) +" "+ current) .join("\n"), placeHolder+" "+ monthLabel + "\n"+grid ) 

lets( color,!prop("Color")?"green":prop("Color"), m1,formatDate(now(),"YYYY-MM").parseDate(), mz,m1.dateAdd(2,"month").dateSubtract(1,"day"), w1, m1.week(), wz,mz.week(), d1,m1.day(), dz,mz.day(), w,[w1,w1+1,w1+2,w1+3,w1+4,wz].unique(), w.map(lets(week,current, wd,prop("To Do").filter(current.prop("Due Date").week()==week).filter(current.prop("Status")=="Done"), d,[1,2,3,4,5,6,7], d.map(lets(day,current, r,wd.filter(current.prop("Due Date").day()==day), (r.length()>0?(day==now().day()?(week==now().week()?"√".style("b"):"●"):"●").style(color):" ").style(day==now().day()?(week==now().week()?"u":""):""). style(median(w1+1,week,wz-1)==week? color+"_background":(week==w1?(day>=d1?color+"_background":""):(day<=dz?color+"_background":"")),"c"))).join(" ") )).join("\n")) 

lets( color,!prop("Color")?"green":prop("Color"), weeksNum,ifs(prop("Period") == "Month",5,prop("Period")=="Quarter",13, prop("Period") == "Half Year", 26, 52), dateFormat, "MMMM D, Y", weekLabels, ["Sun", "Mon", "Tue", "Wen", "Thu", "Fri", "Sat", "Sun"].map(current.style(color, "grey_background","c")), readingRecords, prop("To Do").map(formatDate(current.prop("Due Date"),dateFormat)), today, day(now()), startOfthisWeek, if(today==7,now(),dateSubtract(now(),today,"days")), firstSunDate, dateSubtract(startOfthisWeek, weeksNum, "weeks"), placeHolder,["M","M","M"].map(" ".style("grey_background","grey","c","b")).join(""), monthLabel, repeat(" ",weeksNum+1).split("") .map(dateAdd(firstSunDate,index,"weeks")) .map(ifs(date(current)<=4, formatDate(current,"MMMM").split("").at(0), date(dateAdd(current,3,"days"))<=4, formatDate(dateAdd(current,3,"days"),"MMMM").split("").at(0), "◌")) .map(current.style(color,color+"_background","c","b")) .join(" "), grid, [0,1,2,3,4,5,6] .map(repeat(current,if(today>=current && today!=7,weeksNum+1,weeksNum)).split("") .map(dateAdd(firstSunDate, index*7 + toNumber(current), "days")) .map(formatDate(current,dateFormat)) .map(if(includes(readingRecords,current),"●"," ").style(color+"_background","c")) .join(" ") ) .map(weekLabels.at(index) +" "+ current) .join("\n"), placeHolder+" "+ monthLabel + "\n"+grid ) 

lets( color,!prop("Color")?"green":prop("Color"), m1,formatDate(now(),"YYYY-MM").parseDate(), mz,m1.dateAdd(2,"month").dateSubtract(1,"day"), w1, m1.week(), wz,mz.week(), d1,m1.day(), dz,mz.day(), w,[w1,w1+1,w1+2,w1+3,w1+4,wz].unique(), w.map(lets(week,current, wd,prop("To Do").filter(current.prop("Due Date").week()==week).filter(current.prop("Status")=="Done"), d,[1,2,3,4,5,6,7], d.map(lets(day,current, r,wd.filter(current.prop("Due Date").day()==day), (r.length()>0?(day==now().day()?(week==now().week()?"√".style("b"):"●"):"●").style(color):" ").style(day==now().day()?(week==now().week()?"u":""):""). style(median(w1+1,week,wz-1)==week? color+"_background":(week==w1?(day>=d1?color+"_background":""):(day<=dz?color+"_background":"")),"c"))).join(" ") )).join("\n")) 

lets( color,!prop("Color")?"green":prop("Color"), weeksNum,ifs(prop("Period") == "Month",5,prop("Period")=="Quarter",13, prop("Period") == "Half Year", 26, 52), dateFormat, "MMMM D, Y", weekLabels, ["Sun", "Mon", "Tue", "Wen", "Thu", "Fri", "Sat", "Sun"].map(current.style(color, "grey_background","c")), readingRecords, prop("To Do").map(formatDate(current.prop("Due Date"),dateFormat)), today, day(now()), startOfthisWeek, if(today==7,now(),dateSubtract(now(),today,"days")), firstSunDate, dateSubtract(startOfthisWeek, weeksNum, "weeks"), placeHolder,["M","M","M"].map(" ".style("grey_background","grey","c","b")).join(""), monthLabel, repeat(" ",weeksNum+1).split("") .map(dateAdd(firstSunDate,index,"weeks")) .map(ifs(date(current)<=4, formatDate(current,"MMMM").split("").at(0), date(dateAdd(current,3,"days"))<=4, formatDate(dateAdd(current,3,"days"),"MMMM").split("").at(0), "◌")) .map(current.style(color,color+"_background","c","b")) .join(" "), grid, [0,1,2,3,4,5,6] .map(repeat(current,if(today>=current && today!=7,weeksNum+1,weeksNum)).split("") .map(dateAdd(firstSunDate, index*7 + toNumber(current), "days")) .map(formatDate(current,dateFormat)) .map(if(includes(readingRecords,current),"●"," ").style(color+"_background","c")) .join(" ") ) .map(weekLabels.at(index) +" "+ current) .join("\n"), placeHolder+" "+ monthLabel + "\n"+grid ) 

Hi all,
I just received my Aqara M3 Hub. After connecting to my network and updating its firmware (to 4.1.4_0017), I attempted to pair it with my Frigidaire through-wall AC Unit (FFTH122WA2). I have its remote control, but I really wanted this to connect to my Smart Home.
It couldn't pair to the unit. I tried multiple times. It is possible I didn't understand the instructions though, because they don't seem very clear. Here's the instructions I was presented (in bold) and what I did:
1. "Please use the remote control to turn on the air conditioner"
It was already on, so I pointed my remote at the AC unit and turned it off and on again. I then pressed the "Confirm" button.
2. "Please point the remote at the device and press temperature + button."
On this step, Aqara went out of their way to add a diagram of a generic device pointed at another device labeled "Air Conditioning". I can only interpret this to mean I'm supposed to use my remote control to increase the temperature one degree, pointing it at the AC unit. My guess is it plans to figure out which AC unit this is by sensing how the AC unit responds to a temperature-up signal.
But, this didn't seem to do anything (except, increase the temperature by one degree on the AC unit), so, I pointed my remote at the Hub and tried again. This seemed to advance the process to the next step.
3. "Click the button below, Then determine if responds correctly"
Here, it's extra confusing. Remember from step 1 above, I was asked to turn on my air conditioner. So, it is currently ON. This step presents me with a blue, on-screen power button labeled "Power" or (sometimes) "Turn on". It's already on? Is this supposed to turn it off? Should I have turned off the AC unit before this step?
I went through all 6 attempts (different code-sets, I presume) and nothing changed, so, I repeated this process but turned off the AC unit before getting to step 3. Unfortunately, I got no response either way.
Anyway, has anyone figured out how to configure the hub for this unit? Or, did I do something wrong above?

As my conversion of old X36 to Hall sensors came out somewhat disappointing, now I am eyeing conversion to load sensors. However, I have three questions:

1. Most project descriptions recommend using four 50 kg load cells. It seems to me a bit excessive - after all, Wii Balance Board uses the same for whole body movement. I understand that there will be some leverage due to the stick length but still I am somewhat worried that sensitiivity will be
   
2. Most diagrams with HX711 concern weighing, i.e. single composite indication. The only one I have found for a joystick is for Adafruit, which has pin labelled by color, not letters (E+ etc.). Is the pinout exactly the same?
   
3. Some descriptions recommend just cutting the trace to the freq setting pin of HX711. Is it really enough that it is floating and not pulled to ground? I understand that connecting it to voltage would be somewhat more difficult...
   

I wanna start off by saying I’m no mechanic, I know my basics and just general knowledge. My girlfriend was heading home on the high way when her cruise control stopped working.
She said she heard a pop so it sounded like a fuse issue. I looked up a diagram of all the fuses for her car and I can’t seem to find the one for her cruise control, but I’m honestly not sure if it’s labeled as something else or if I’m dead wrong about it being the issue.
There isn’t really a video covering it so any help would be appreciated.

I bought an asus prime z2970 -p motherboard and an ATX case that has front panel microboard for various things. All of them are plugged in (with a few empty spots but I have no more wires for those and am not using. However I can’t figure out where to put a 2 wire jumper than converts to a +5v female connector ( 4pin one blocked in middle). It is labeled PC ground on the microboard. Where do I attach this because it’s no where to be seen in the diagrams of the MB instructions. They do have some ground spots in I/o panel on MB but other plugs go there. Where does this go? The only empty +5v male jumps I have left are usb 3.2 1,2,3.

Chapter 27 - Return to Farscope
Previous Chapter
“Alright, Matriarch. This is farewell for now. If everything goes perfect, we’ll be back in roughly 40 or so days. When we get to JR692 we’ll send you guys a broadcast over the relay links. If you need to send us a message, prefix the message with ISCA. We’ll be monitoring the relay out there just in case.”
“Understood, Captain.” Kyshe’s face was stern on the screen in front of him. “We look forward to hearing back from you.”
“Trix, anything you’d like to say to the Matriarch before we leave the system?”
“Ma’am. Thank you for agreeing to give me this opportunity.”
“Of course, Trksehn. Good luck among the stars. And Captain…”
“Yes, Matriarch?”
“If you do well on this mission, Captain, I shall be sure to send you a list of your admirers here on the planet. There are a number I am told who think you far better looking than I myself do…”
Alex squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. This was the second conversation he’d had with Kyshe after Trix had revealed his appreciation of their species’ beauty, and Kyshe was thoroughly enjoying teasing the shit out of him over it. “Thank you very much for the offer, Matriarch, but I think that perhaps it’s extremely unnecessary.”
“A pity. But Captain…” Kyshe’s tone warmed up significantly. “I have been speaking at length with the other Matriarchs. Myself and the rest of the Avekin here look forward to your return.”
“Avek… ah. Ah.” Alex couldn’t help but grin at that. “As the self-appointed representative of Proxima and as a representative of all of Humanity, I swear we will do our utmost not to let you down. Farewell for now, Matriarch.”
“Farewell, Captain.”
The screen went blank and Alex let out an explosive sigh. He punched a button on his armrest and the all-hands signal sounded throughout the ship. “Alright everyone. Good job with everything on the planet. We’ve said our farewells and we’re officially heading back to JR692. Prep for Euler activation in, I dunno. Few hours. You all know the drill.”
Trix glanced over her shoulder at Josh. “He sounds weird. Is he OK?”
“Yeah. He was on his best behavior on the trip and whenever talking to the Matriarch. He’s not normally all formal and mild so now that we’re done being diplomatic and nice expect him to be a lot more…” Josh struggled for just the right word. “Informal?”
Par interjected over the intercom, “The word you’re looking for, Joshua, is ‘Immature’.”
Trix stifled a laugh as she turned back to her console. The autopilot systems were nearly identical to those of the shuttle, meaning that she could rely on them while she’d learn how to maneuver manually. “Where to, Captain?”
“Go ahead and put roughly two-fifty thousand clicks from the planet and we’ll open the gateway out there.”
“Uh…” She glanced over her shoulder at Josh. The command didn’t have any actual details, such as a heading. ‘Informal’ was apt right now.
“Just pick a course to an empty spot two hundred fifty thousand kilometers from the planet.”
Trix pulled up the navmap and picked a spot at random. Quite far from anything else. She punched in the autopilot and set accel to maximum, and the ship began smoothly gliding into the stars.
“Course laid in. What do we do when we get there?”
“Fire up the Euler cannon to open up a gateway into d-space so we can surpass the speed of light, obviously!” Alex gave her a grin as he slouched in his chair.
“Oh, sure. Obvious, is it?” Trix snorted at that.
“Sorry, just feels good not to watch every damn word I say.” The captain punched up the main display, and odd looking concentric rings appeared. “Okay, so we use a device called the Euler cannon to open up gateways in space. The cannon creates two polar opposite gravitic fields. A central anti-grav field, surrounded by a ring of hypergravity. The stresses these produce damage spacetime itself, and that damage manifests in the form of a tear. We call those tears gateways. They lead to d-space”
“So we’re destroying space itself. That seems incredibly safe. And what exactly is ‘D-Space’?” Trix glanced over at Josh who just shrugged and nodded.
Alex blanked out the display. “D-space is, uh, complicated. But basically think of it as a shortcut through space. If we travel a few thousand kilometers in d-space, we move tens of millions in real space. If you want to know the Whys and the Hows of it, Par can actually go into a fairly in depth explanation that relies heavily on a background of dimensional physics to make even the slightest bit of sense.”
Trix listened intently to Alex’s explanation, then yet again turned to Josh. “Any way you can translate all that for me?”
“Sadly, the captain’s basically dumbed it down as much as we can. We use alternating bands of gravity to distort space so far it breaks. That opens the ‘gateway’ to d-space. We don’t fully know what d-space is, but the theory all the scientists are going on is that it’s a dark-matter dimension that exists in congruence with our own. As the captain said, moving through d-space means traveling faster in real space.”
Josh pulled up a diagram on her screen. A small profile of the Arcadia moved along a line. A new line appeared, helpfully labelled ‘D-Space’. As the ship moved to the second line, an outline was left behind on the original. As the ship moved slowly through d-space the outline moved rapidly along the original line, until the ship moved back to its original line, far ahead of where it started.
Trix leaned back slightly as she watched the animation, and let her wingtips rest on the ground to either side of her. “So we rip open a hole in the universe, we go through, and we exit somewhere else. Do we have to, like, close the hole somehow?”
Alex shook his head. “Nah, they self mend fairly quickly. We have roughly 73 seconds to make it through the gateway before it closes itself. Plenty of time really, the gateway doesn’t appear too far from the ship and we’ll be moving fairly quickly so there’s little to no risk to the ship.”
Trix bit her lip. The way they phrased it, ‘tearing open’ space and letting it ‘mend’ behind them didn’t sound particularly safe. Still, she was the outsider and they knew their own tech so she simply went along with it. “Okay. So once we get to our destination, how will we know where we should exit?”
Josh glanced up at Alex, who just made a gesture back to him to do the explaining. “D-space and N-space interact in a single specific way, through gravity. We have gravitic sensors which we use to identify systems from a distance, and from up close we can match up the individual gravity sources like stars and planets. Even particularly huge asteroids. No two systems ever have the exact same gravitic configuration, so once we’ve been to a system we can always identify it afterwards.”
“Okay. If I’m understanding it right, we use a gravity cannon to rip a hole in space, travel through a separate dimension while looking for a place we recognize, then we return to normal space?” Trix didn’t fully understand the explanations they’d given to her, but it WAS her first day on the job so she tried to keep the skepticism out of her voice as much as she could.
Alex laughed. He could see the point she was making, and on its surface that did seem to be rather ridiculous. Still, reality is stranger than fiction. “Bingo. That’s exactly what we’re gonna do. Now, how long until we reach appropriate distance for gateway activation?”
Trix shrugged, and tapped at the controls on her console. “Looks like, at just under 10 ‘gees’ of acceleration, whatever a gee is, we’ll get there in just under 40 minutes.”
Josh jumped in before Alex could respond. “A gee is a measurement of acceleration. It’s equivalent to the amount of acceleration that our homeworld causes due to its gravity. Our top speed is ridiculously fast, but our acceleration is limited based on our gravitic inertial dampeners. We normally cruise around at 10g acceleration, but if we have to we can boost that up. Doing so gets VERY unpleasant as the ship’s gravity fights with its acceleration, so we avoid it outside of emergencies. And kudos to your math skills, Al. Even accounting for decel to transit speeds, we’re talking an hour at most. Where’d you get ‘a few hours’ from?”
“I dunno. Pulled it out of my ass?”
Trix and Josh shared a look, before Trix returned her attention to the console. “So what do I do in the meantime?”
Josh gestured to the proximity display. “Keep an eye on the surroundings of the ship. Anything shows up within Radar or Lidar on that screen. Anything smaller than one centimeter will be instantly vaporized by the particle shields. Anything larger than that, but smaller than ten centimeters will just be shoved out of the way. Anything bigger than ten centimeters the ship will automatically move to dodge. If it looks like we’re not moving quickly enough to avoid collision, engage the attitude thrusters to give it a boost.”
Trix went over each of the controls in turn, and nodded. “Easy enough.”
Alex snorted at that. “Well, we didn’t want to throw you into anything too difficult on day one. Once we’re into D-Space, we’re going to start you in on the book training for manual flight without computer assistance. Until then, enjoy the cakewalk.”
—--
Zelineth carefully watched the human’s ship as it left the planet’s vicinity. She fought to keep her temper under control - she had to do that often these days - and this time, thankfully, she succeeded.
It just made absolutely no sense. Starships were just inorganic machines in the sky. They came and went all the time. She could ‘see’ the occupants onboard (though often not entirely clearly, obscured by distance) yet the ships themselves were practically invisible to her. Until the Humans’ ship had arrived.
Unlike every other ship she ever saw, the Humans’ ship blazed in the heavens like a star. When she’d first announced the sight of a new star in the sky she’d taken all of her assistants entirely by surprise. Her insistence on looking for it caused massive confusion - astronomers and scientists turned their instruments to the sky, but they found nothing. They were looking for a ‘star’, not a ‘ship’. Compounding that confusion was the Matriarch’s ignorance of the humans’ arrival. With every other species in the galaxy she’d ‘seen’ their arrival, yet the humans had caught her entirely off guard.
It was a mistake that had cost her a great amount of faith both from her assistants, as well as the other Matriarchs. Coupled with her predecessor’s failure to warn of the Bunters’ treachery, it had brought the power that seers like her would normally enjoy to a distinct low.
The thought riled up her temper once more, and she cursed under her breath. The Sight had been used for ages by those who came before her to perform miracles. A seer made a timid young girl an Empress of a dynasty that lasted five hundred years. A seer unified warring factions to cease a thousand year feud and join them together. Seers were always present whenever the ages changed, whenever old kingdoms would crumble and new ones would ascend in their place.
But those days were ancient stories and myths now. The Bunters had gotten away with robbery under her predecessor’s nose. The Presh rat that leaked the details of the deed to the world had never been found. The Humans had appeared and she had exposed the secret of her existence to them. Each incident, by itself, would have been a blow. Together they formed a disturbing pattern that seemed to lead to a specific conclusion - that the Seers power was waning.
She’d been warned about the problems when her power first manifested, and she’d worked hard not to allow things to get worse while she herself was in power. Yet her blunder with the Humans proved that hard work wasn’t enough, and that particular incident stung. It should never have happened; but because she let her temper rule her she’d slipped up badly. A small part of her mind did point out that it was an unfamiliar situation - she’d never been surprised and caught off guard like that. How was she to be expected to respond?
She shook her head ruefully, and continued to watch the ship. First by the telescopes and satellites that watched it, and second by her sight. A ship that could be ‘seen’ by the Sight of Prophecy. Flown by a species that was all but invisible to that same Sight. Both were significant in their own right, and pieces of a much larger puzzle - of that she was sure. But with so little to go on, she knew that solving that puzzle would be impossible. She could not leave the gilded cage she resided in to seek out the other pieces, so she simply did what she did best. Sat there, watching, seeing as much as she could while waiting for the divine sight to show her what would be.
—--
“Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Kilometers reached, Captain.” Trix announced the moment the display ticked over. The past forty minutes weren’t exactly thrilling but it went fairly quickly.
Alex raised his seat back up to normal. “Okay. Decel to four-hundred fifty thousand kph. Josh, status on the Euler Cannon?”
Josh pulled up the diagnostic on his console. “Cannon shows green. Particle Shields are nominal. Thirty-Fifth gateway initialization beginning.”
“So explain to me what’s going on here while we’re doing it.” Trix said aloud, to either of the other bridge members present.
“Sure.” Alex pulled a pouch of gummy treats out from a pocket and opened it. “Transit velocity through a gateway is speed limited. We can’t travel slower than 300k kph or it'll close on us. We can’t travel faster than 500k kph because the particle shields can't handle the density. No reason to make a transit at the edge of the possible speed envelope, we give ourselves a fair amount of leeway. The cannon has to look good to make transit. Normally the Keplite core is good for around seventy-five uses before it needs replacement, so we track the number of uses. And the particle shields are checked thoroughly before we enter d-space because without them the ship would be incinerated in minutes.”
“Thanks. That’s very reassuring.” Trix monitored the velocity readout. It was ticking down steadily.
“Don’t worry, pilot. Yes, the consequences of a failure are dire. But we check and re-check the emitters constantly. We watch for fluctuations in the Keplite core and the tiniest variants are logged and checked by Ji and Min. Space is the most hostile environment imaginable but Humanity has spent hundreds of years designing ways to not just survive in it, but thrive with comfort. And spent hundreds MORE refining our technology to be safer, more convenient, easier to use. I won’t say not to worry about the details, because collectively it’s our job to worry about the details. Instead I’m just gonna say, trust in the systems that brought us here.”
“Yeah, yeah. Four-Fifty thousand kph reached.” Trix turned to face the main display.
“Alright. Josh, if you’ll do the honors.”
“Euler Cannon engaging.” A bright spear of blue-white light burst forward from the front of the ship, and Trix stared at the screen trying to watch and see ‘space being torn apart’. The tear was instant, however. One moment just a bright beam firing ahead and the next moment a gaping hole in nothingness opened up. She didn’t know what to expect - how do you have a ‘hole’ in emptiness? But the ‘hole’ that opened up was anything BUT empty. It was a bright, shining realm full of swirling patterns and chaotic movement. As the ship slipped through the opening she stared around her as the brilliant swirls of light surrounded the ship. As she stared at the edge of the display, she could faintly see the outline of the ship’s hull, and an odd almost rainbow-like effect where the particles impacted the shielding.
She was on her feet staring at the bright pulsing opening as both Josh and Alex watched her, smiling. “D-Space is incredible, isn’t it? I still remember the first time I saw this sight myself.” Alex shifted his gaze from the avian to the brightly swirling particles that lit every corner of the bridge. Showing someone the sight of the d-space transition for the first time often made Alex look at it from a fresh perspective, the old becoming new again.
“It’s incredible. I’ve never seen, or heard, or anything like this before.” Trix was awestruck at the sight, and Josh watched the readings on his display carefully as they left reality behind them. “That’s because only Humans have this capability. The FTL that you guys use is radically different.”
“Yeah, from what I understand there’s no ‘moving through another space’. It’s just instant. Here to there.” Trix sat back down, her eyes dancing around as she watched the lights of D-Space. “But I don’t know many details there either.”
Josh blanked his display and stood up. “We’ve spoken with a number of people on other ships and on Farscope station. They charge up an FTL drive, ‘jump’ instantly to another location, then charge it up again. The charging time takes a long while but the transfer is instant. How it works is a mystery to us, for now. A mystery we’re going to solve with your people’s help.”
“Speaking of Farscope station…” Alex gestured to Trix. “Change course to head there. Should be our previous departure point. It’s only about three earth days away.”
Trix shook herself out of her reverie, and her fingers moved rapidly over the console. “Course laid in. What are we doing at the station?”
“Just checking in on a friend.” Alex chuckled to himself. “Nevermind. So here’s the plan. I want you to spend six hours studying Piloting. After that, six hours up here on the bridge doing a shift of monitor duty. Then four hours of rec time, and eight of sleep. We run on terran clocks, so that’s a 24-hour day.”
The time display was easily visible on the corner of the flight console, making that easy enough to follow. “Does that start today?”
“Today we already did two hours on bridge so I’ll walk you through monitor duty and have you spend four more hours here to complete your shift, then you’re going to be studying piloting in your room. Par’s smarter than the rest of us combined and so he’ll be your teacher during those six hour study sessions. Tomorrow we’ll flip those so study first, monitor second. Monitor duty’s important but fairly relaxed so it’ll be a good rest period after.”
“Can I study while doing monitor duty?”
“Sure, so long as you don’t slack off. Just don’t get too burnt out. Inattention can be deadly out in space. Now, come over here and I’ll show you the duty monitor. While you’re on the bridge you can check this console to…”
—--
The pace the Humans had set for her training was grueling, to be sure. What helped is that nearly everyone had their specialities and were offering to aid her in her pursuit of learning to fly a multi-ton spacecraft.
Initially it was just herself and Par, and the digital being was incredible at cutting through the difficult language used to describe zero gravity maneuvering and rephrase the stilted, arcane language used by the training programs into her own native tongue. That alone made him invaluable as a teacher, but whenever they encountered a system or subject where another crew member had expertise, they were brought in to add their own personal touches to her education.
All the same the past three days were a tremendous mental strain, and when the captain said that there’d be no studying at all during the Farscope trip she’d breathed a sigh of relief.
“Don’t worry, I don’t plan to run you ragged.” He patted her shoulder gently as he saw the strain. “Once we get out to JR692 the monitor duty will be so much simpler you’ll be downright bored. Since the ship’s not in danger of immolation in n-space, you’ll just be watching for stray meteorites and debris. If anything gets too close, you’ll be able to vaporize it with the ship’s laser point defense turrets. That always eases stress.”
She gave him a glare and he backed off. “Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to be too touchy. Personal space.”
“No, no, it’s not that.” She bit her lip and shook her head. “I didn’t mind being touched. I’m just really frustrated because I thought that it’d be much easier to learn to fly out in space. Back on Kiveyt it came so naturally I never really thought about how much time and effort has to be put into learning the actual ins and outs of thrust, vectors, counter forces, rotational forces…”
Alex sat down, not in his normal command chair, but in the empty chair next to hers. “Makes sense. Back in atmosphere you’re fighting friction, gravity, and wind resistance. Out here you don’t have to fight ANY of that, you're fighting against your own movements. On planet if you cut thrusters then you lose momentum and come to a stop. Here? You drift on.”
“Yeah. And, I knew that. I knew that space was frictionless and that we wouldn’t be deep enough in a gravity well for it to matter. But knowing it, and then actually EXPERIENCING it are so different. I thought I’d pick it up as fast as I did the shuttle.”
“That’s not uncommon. From what I’ve seen, you’re a born pilot in the air. You’ve got natural talent by the bucket, enough for me to feel pretty jealous. But that won’t help you when you leave the atmosphere. What will help is training, learning, education, and plenty of practical experience.”
Trix pushed her wings against the back of the console behind her, leaning back against it. “I guess I’m a bit worried I won’t be good enough at space flight. When you told me I could learn I thought I’d just pick it up instantly and be amazing. But really I can’t do much more than just watch monitors and program in an autopilot course.”
“Maybe you won’t be great at it. Maybe you will. The point of bringing you along was to find out if this is a fit for you, and if it’s not then no pressure. We’ll drop you back off at Kiveyt with a pocketful of silver.” He grinned and tapped the console with his foot. “Between the aircar race and the story of going into space with us, I bet you’d have the guys lining up outside the Hab waiting for a chance to meet you.”
Trix smiled at the thought, and reached over to lightly tap the captain’s arm with a closed fist. “I’d have to have a raffle to let them in!”
“Or hire an assistant to help you screen out all potential applicants.” He lifted his hands above his head, as if holding up an invisible frame. “Seeking adrenaline junkie suitor for best pilot on the planet. Must be well hung and willing to worship me day and night. Inquire within. ”
“Well hung?”
“Shit. Sorry, human expression. Uh…” Alex fought to think of what to respond with that. “Kind of an off color remark. Ignore it and replace with just ‘attractive’ I guess. Anyway, point is, no matter what happens you’ve got lifelong friends here. Still, it’s only been a few days, so let’s give it a bit longer before we make any definite judgements?”
Trix nodded and pushed back forward, away from the console behind her. “Alright. Thanks again, Captain.” She tilted her head as she looked over at him. “I don’t know much about starships but how often is ‘cheering up the crew’ a Captain’s official duty?”
“It’s not. But this isn’t a typical ship, and I’m not a typical captain.” Alex stood up and walked a bit closer to Trix. “I’m not really an expert with anything around here like the rest of the crew. I can’t fly without using the autopilot, I can’t run any of the med systems manually. Par and Ma’et use the computer systems as a literal playground and to me they’re an incomprehensibly complex mess. Everyone around me has been hired to perform specific duties because I’m mediocre at them. So what CAN I do?”
Trix hesitated at this. She wasn’t sure how to respond. Was she supposed to comfort him now? Luckily he just kept talking.
“What I can do is ensure that everyone here has everything they need to perform at their peak. Your job may be to fly the ship, but my job is to do everything in my power to make your job as comfortable and easy as possible.” He turned around and walked up to the Captain’s Chair on the bridge. “Since I can’t out-fly, out-fight, or outdo anyone else my job is to make theirs easier to do by making sure they have the support they need to do it well. So if you need any support or if there’s any way I can help you out, don’t hesitate to speak up. That’s what I’m here for and I promise you if there’s anything within my power to help you, I will.”
Trix gazed up to the captain on the Dais, and nodded. “Will do. Thanks, Alex.”
—--
The gateway opening up 300,000km from Farscope was a surprise to those monitoring the area around, and immediately the command center erupted into a bustle of activity. The moment they realized that the Humans had returned the mood in the command center dropped, and Bunters and Cetari alike scurried around frantically as orders and updates flew around.
In a way it was worse than the panic and chaos from the Humans’ first visit. The fact that they now knew what the gateway was and what it meant eliminated the terror of the unknown. But that fear was replaced with confusion and uncertainty - which had just as horrible effects on the workers. The fighter wings were scrambled into space at nearly the drop of a hat, and they flew hastily to take up a position between the station and the incoming ship.
The ship in question was filled with just as much confusion at the hostile response.
“The fighters are lining up in a defensive formation between us and the station.” Josh remarked.
Trix gazed up at the screen at the near perfect line of fighters. “Did you do something to make them upset with you when you were here before?”
Alex nodded at that. “I mean technically we did kill like, forty people. In self defense of course. They stabbed Josh in the back, literally, and were trying to do the same to Ma’et, Ji, and Me. We took offense to that.”
“You were OK?” Trix mentioned to Josh, who nodded. “Got rapid treatment on-site and rushed to the medbay here. I got fully patched up. Would not recommend the experience though.”
“Still, though, we acted in defense only. They were investigating it but I am sure we did nothing that warrants a response like this. If we did, they'd have said something about it.” Alex mused. “They’re still not responding to the comm request?”
“Nope. After they wouldn’t respond to the comms, we tried Radio again but they’re not listening in to that either.” Ma’et’s digital voice came from an overhead console. It was still jarring for Trix to hear her speaking through the ship. At first Trix thought she was just using a communicator to speak remotely, until a digital avatar had appeared on her console. That was when Trix learned about ‘Neural Interfacing’ and the ability for Humans to actually interface their brains directly with the ship itself. The thought was anything but comfortable.
“Pilot, bring us to two hundred thousand kilometers and reduce speed for station keeping.”
“Yes, Captain.” Trix punched in the commands and watched apprehensively the fighters that floated silently in space.
“Incoming from the station, Captain.” Ma’et brought up a large square in the center of the main display screen.
“Incoming Human Ship. Halt all movement and state your intentions.”
A decidedly gruff Cetari spoke in universal on the screen. Alex glanced at the others on the bridge with him, then pressed the audio button on his console. “Farscope Station, this is the ISC Arcadia. Our intentions are to dock with the station for a personal visit.”
“Just to dock? That’s all? Nothing more?” The voice had an odd, incredulous sound. “After what you did before?”
Alex crossed his arms and idly tapped a finger against his bicep. “That was just self defense, Farscope. We only fought back after we attacked first. We weren’t here to start a fight then, and we’re not here to start a fight now.”
The Cetari glared back at this. “Thousands have perished and you claim you aren’t here…” he cut off, glaring angrily off to the side. “No, don’t read me the regulations, you…” the audio cut off as he began yelling silently at someone else in the room with him. Finally he began swaying left and right while making silent motions with his mouth, before the audio cut back in.
“Arcadia. How long will you be staying.”
“Not long. A few hours at most. We’re here for personal business. We’ll be out of your hair quickly and out of the system within a day.”
“Fine. Permission to dock granted. You have six hours on the station. Then I want you back aboard your ship and headed outsystem.”
The audio and video both cut away and the bridge crew looked back and forth at one another. “What the hell was all THAT about?” Alex commented.
“He said thousands died. Maybe we missed a pathogen in our scans?” Josh bit his lip. If that was the case, it was on him. He was the one who did the screening, he was the one who proclaimed them safe to be around others. If he’d missed something, then every single one of those thousands of lives were gone because of him.
“They wouldn’t have let us board again if that was the case.” Alex shook his head. “Something’s screwy here. Let’s move fast. Trix, bring the ship in to twenty-five thousand kilometers of the station, and put us in station keeping. Then come down to the hangar bay. You’re gonna pilot the shuttle over there. Josh, full med loadup on the shuttle, and load up the weapons rack while we’re at it. Let’s be ready for anything. ”
—--
Trix gazed out of the shuttle’s pilot screen at the fighters that were ‘escorting’ them to the station. She wished she knew more about their capabilities. She was learning by the day how formidable the ship she was on was, though the Captain went to great lengths to assure her that fighting was the last resort for them. He often called them a ‘glass cannon’ which seemed an odd simile.
Being surrounded by those armed and armored ships was nerve wracking, but it was the docking maneuver itself that had her the most intimidated. One thing that she loved about the Humans’ ship was the artificial gravity. Unlike other ships out there, it didn’t require a spin in order to allow her to walk normally. It could be adjusted up or down (though down could be dangerous as none of the corridors or quarters had particularly high ceilings) at will and made working and living incredibly comfortable. The station, however, lacked that artificial gravity and required a constant spin instead. So the simple docking maneuver was actually lining up the shuttle to a relative halt to a constantly-moving object as a frame of reference.
“C’mon, feathers. You’ve got less than a week on the job and this is a tricky maneuver. There’s no shame in letting the computer handle it.” Ma’et had been supportive as usual, but Trix still hated having to use the automatic systems as a crutch.
The systems brought them in and Ma’et darkened the screen before the dock came into view. Trix looked over at her questioningly, but the smaller woman just shook her head. “Captain’s orders.”
Trix just nodded and watched as the computer took full control, leading the shuttle up onto the landing pad and touching down. She was about to stand up and move to the back when Ma’et stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. As the onboard gravity disabled she felt a brief vertigo sensation as her body transitioned from ‘artificial gravity’ to ‘rotational’. The transition didn’t take long, and Trix took a deep breath. “Thanks.”
“No worries. Al nearly toppled over when we landed here the first time. It’s a weird sensation.” Ma’et stood up and the two walked out of the cockpit into the shuttle interior.
“Okay, everyone. No fun music display this time. Let’s just get out there and check in with security.” Alex clapped his hands and then admonished Trix. “Stop playing with it. It’s a highly sensitive piece of equipment.”
Trix was trying to adjust the transparent breath mask, and ignored the captain entirely. “It was made for a species with a massive nose. I don’t HAVE a massive nose, so it sits weird on my face.”
Ji nodded. “It’s also made of high-grade reinforced polycarbonate and it’d take more strength than she has to break it.”
Trix made another adjustment, and sighed. “It’s uncomfortable.”
“Well without it, we’re gonna be almost the only ones who understand you. Remember, most of the population here are Bunters, Cetari, and Fwenth.” Amanda clicked her tongue at the younger avian woman. “Best not to appear rude after the welcome we were given outside.”
Alex reached over and punched the hatch open. With no pomp and circumstance, it opened rapidly and the shuttle ramp extended down fast and silent. Given their welcome to the system he wasn’t very surprised to find that security had surrounded the shuttle. With guns out. Thankfully none were actively aimed at the passengers, and he confidently stepped out of the shuttle while glancing around for the person he’d known would be meeting him here.
He noticed her more or less immediately. The bright white of her feathers stood out quite starkly in the hangar bay, and the moment his feet touched the deck plating of the docking bay he turned to greet her with a massive smile and a raised hand. “Hey there, Sophie. Long time no-”
“Auntie? Auntie Sffffheeno?”
Trix immediately bounded forward, startling literally everyone in the docking bay. Half of security were reaching for their weapons as the young lady burst forward directly to the chief, but the chief’s eyes widened at the sight. “Trksehn??”
The two ran together and embraced tightly. The security agents froze in place, watching the two avians holding one another close. “Trksehn! It’s been ages! What on earth are you doing here? Why are you with the humans?”
“Auntie, I’m their pilot! We met back on Kiveyt and they came to the Noarala and I was assigned to be their guide, and I started talking to them about the aircar and…” Trix’s words were stumbling over one another as the rest of the crew joined them.
“Calm down, feathers. Let your aunt breathe a little.” Ma’et had a massive smile across her face as she reached out to pinch one of Trix’s wings. It had the desired effect as the young woman clamped her mouth shut immediately, before mumbling an apology.
“Well. I assumed you two would know each other, same Teff and all. I can’t say that I expected THAT energetic response though.” Alex chuckled and extended a hand to the security chief.
Sophie grasped the hand and squeezed it warmly. “Your time on Kiveyt went well, Captain? Well enough that you’ve absconded with one of our most promising youths?”
Alex squeezed back and nodded. “Went extremely well, though it was also incredibly eventful. Unfortunately while we made quite a few friends, let’s just say that Kyshe is still rather wary about us.”
Sophie’s face fell. “Ah. I should have expected, after her mother…” She shook her head, and her wings. “We should speak. In depth. But not in the middle of a docking bay surrounded by armed guards.”
Josh glanced around at the security. “What happened here? That Cetari on the comms said thousands died?”
Sophie’s expression turned grim, and she shook her head. “It’s a very long story. Let’s get off the pad first. There’s a VIP lounge here in the docking ring we can use for privacy.” She gestured to several of the guards, who immediately ran ahead to prepare the room. “I’ll only keep a few of the guards inside, the rest will have to stay nearby for protection.”
“Protection.” Alex mused. “Ours or yours?”
—--
Next Chapter

Does anyone know of a free program/app like Caterpillar SIS2GO where you can type in the engine serial number and look up labelled parts diagrams, etc?

Per the diagram, one of our rooms has three halves of receptacles tied to the light switch, I assume they’re daisy chained together but have not confirmed yet. That’s a little overkill, because we only need one switched outlet. I’m planning on replacing all of the receptacles with modern tamper proof ones and got to thinking I could probably solve this while I’m opening things anyway. The plan is on the last two receptacles I wouldn’t pull the tab to separate the two outlets, but that leaves the question of the current wiring for the switch. If they are chained like this, theoretically I could just not connect the switched wires to those last two receptacles, and remove the “outgoing” switched wires from the first receptacle in the chain. But that would mean there are wires left in the wall. Is it proper (and safe) to tape off those wires and label them, then shove them back into the outlet boxes?

Hi there. I discovered I had C-PTSD in my 20's. I'm in my mid to late 30's now and for a few years have thought I was autistic due to my father receiving the diagnosis and the likelyhood of male heritability of ASD (autism spectrum disorder). This hit me hard at the time and has had lingering effects on my psyche and mental health due to an increased sence of permanence of my condition. I knew there was a ton of overlap in symptomology and some of it made sence as ASD. I understand that selfdiagnosis is a dangerous thing but they planted a seed in my brain and it grew into a weed. Recently however I listened to a book that has made me seriously question ASD as an option for myself. Certain traits I assumed could only be ASD I began viewing as possibly just C-PTSD. In fact, the more I compare the symptomology the more I see ways that so called ASD specific traits could be viewed in a light of PTS. For example: difficulty with social cues and navigating social situations could be viewed in the light of an overactive Default Mode Network and subsequent anxiety. Sensory sensitivities could be viewed in terms of an enlarged amygdala from trauma. Problems reading or overreacting to facial cues could be the result of hyperarrousal or hypervigilance and distrust issues from abuse. Repetetive behaviors and self interests could be manifested as workaholism or distractions both to cope with the anxiety from an overactive Default Mode network. And for survivors of the TTI and institutional abuse in general or those under extreme pressures to regulate emotions at home, logical thinking could be attributed to the unhealthy and unrelenting pressure to remove all reactionary tendencies at the expense of ones existing personality in a necessity to work said programs or home environments. Emotional detachment is common accross the board when it come to survivors. There are also studies about PTS prevalence in the ASD community vs the NT (Neuro typical) community and the rates are magnitudes higher in the ASD community. I don't meant offend anyone's sensitivities. I understand that ASD can and does yet does not always exist separately from C-PTSD. This equates to a thought experiment. What I hope for is to hear from those people who believe or have believed they have one or the other or both said conditions or were at least lead to believe one or the other condition represented them. Just looking to hear any thought you may have tegarding this topic. Does anyone think that C-PTSD could be misdiagnosed as ASD due to C-PTSD not being in the DSM5? If applicable, what are your own experiences navigating these different possibilities with respect to yourselves? Did or does one or the other act as a heavier weight to carry? How did your coping strategies differ between one or the other or did they not? How did you grapple with the uncertainty caused by the multitude of shared traits between ASD and PTSD/ C-PTSD? If this is new to you and you are unaware of the shared traits between the conditions, a google search of the two conditions vs each other can bring up some handy symptomology Venn diagrams to stir your thoughts. I have not mentioned here those traits assumed to be shared or those assumed to be strictly from PTS. All this being said I hate labels. Labels force us to see things through a focused discriminatory lens and often the totality of interactions and the web that makes things as they are is missed. That being said society would be rather hard to navigate without nouns. I suppose keeping a rational and open mind amid the onslaught of societal dogma is the only way forward accordingly. Whatever your thoughts on the matter please remember that you are wonderful and complex and that it's ok to be exactly as you are. I wish you all well.

My botany teacher enters the class, sketches a structure or flowchart on the board and explains huge topics with that single diagram and a ton of additional labellings. All this happens while I stay bewildered at the ability of this human to deliver such beautiful lectures and moreover, to memorize such large content.
So, that awe brings me here to seek answers on how to develop this ability of taking a blank canvas ,and presenting the complexity of life in such a manner that all the other person can do is to sit and be amazed.
I believe developing this skill will help me in my long term goal of becoming a professor along with having crystal clear concepts as a student at present.
How do I go about memorising such large chunks of data in sequence and then reciting them?
P.S: Flashcards would be of no help as I wish to develop a subjective approach towards the subject.