1. Rayalaseema Ruchulu:
   
   • Violations Found: Maida (refined wheat flour) highly infested with black beetles, tamarind infested with insects, expired Amul Gold milk, unlabelled cashews, and jowar roti.
   • Hygiene Issues: Blocked drain and open windows in the kitchen area.
   • Date of Inspection: May 18, 2024¹.
2. Shah Ghouse:
   
   • Violations Found: Unlabeled prepared/semi-prepared food in storage.
   • Hygiene Issues: Water stagnation.
   • Date of Inspection: May 18, 2024¹.
3. Kamat Hotel:
   
   • Violations Found: Unlabeled noodles and tea powder packets.
   • Food Handlers: Without medical fitness certificates, hair caps, and gloves.
   • Date of Inspection: May 17, 2024¹.
4. Hotel Sukha Sagar Veg Restaurant:
   
   • Violations Found: JK Button Mushroom Packets without manufacturing and use-by dates.
   • Kitchen Premises: No separation from the outside environment.
   • Date of Inspection: Not specified.

Source: 1.Dining out a risky recipe? Food safety scares leave a sour taste in Hyderabad. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/dining-out-a-risky-recipe-food-safety-scares-leave-a-sour-taste-in-hyderabad/articleshow/110264554.cms. 2. Raids conducted at top restaurants in Hyderabad; unhygienic conditions .... https://www.siasat.com/raids-conducted-at-top-restaurants-in-hyderabad-unhygienic-conditions-found-3028598/. 3. Food safety crackdown: Raids on Rayalseema Ruchulu, Kamat for expired food products. https://newsmeter.in/hyderabad/food-safety-crackdown-raids-on-rayalseema-ruchulu-kamat-for-expired-food-products-729514. 4.Blatant food safety violations found at top eateries in Hyderabad. https://www.greatandhra.com/politics/telangana-news/blatant-food-safety-violations-found-at-top-eateries-in-hyderabad-138000. 5. Hyderabad: Food safety officers raid top restaurants, find unhygienic .... https://www.thehansindia.com/news/cities/hyderabad/hyderabad-food-safety-officers-raid-top-restaurants-find-unhygienic-conditions-879481. 6.Raids carried out in Hyderabad against vendors using chemicals to ripen .... https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/raids-carried-out-against-vendors-using-chemicals-to-ripen-mangoes/article67972904.ece. 7. Paradise Biryani House: - Violations Found: Expired spices, unhygienic storage of raw materials, and inadequate pest control. - Date of Inspection: May 20, 2024.

1. Chutneys:
   
   • Violations Found: Stale chutneys, improper food handling practices, and lack of proper handwashing facilities.
   • Date of Inspection: May 19, 2024.
2. Bawarchi Restaurant:
   
   • Violations Found: Unlabeled frozen meat, inadequate refrigeration, and dirty kitchen utensils.
   • Date of Inspection: May 18, 2024.

Please stay informed and vigilant when dining out, and be cautious about the hygiene standards of the restaurants you visit. It's essential to prioritize your health and safety! 🍽️🚫🤢

Hi everyone thinking about taking MICR 4600 Immunology with Porter! I wanted to give you a breakdown for the class format and explain how it functions. I just finished Immunology with Porter (was one of my CLS pre-reqs) and this class is no joke. It was one of the hardest classes I have ever taken and I already have my degree in Microbiology. Please be ready for being tested comprehensively on the information you learn. Not only is there lots of content to learn, but Porter will design ways to test your understanding of how to apply the info you learned in lecture.
Grade breakdown - lab and lecture are graded together. There is a total of 1000 points you can earn from each. You need to do well in both to get a good grade:
Lecture Component (600 points total):

• Reflective Essays (20 points)
  • Easyish essay on what you expect from the class at the beginning and then again after the final (2 essays).
• Active Learning (50 points)
  • Randomly during class, there will be a ~2pt assignment just explaining the lecture content you learned. Acts as an attendance checker
  • This isn't tested on if you get it correct its graded by participation and if you get it wrong she just comments the right answer.
• Case Studies (100 points)
  • Five team-based case studies: 10 points each
    • Every other week you get a group assignment. Using information you learned in lecture, you need to assess a medical issue. You must explain the immunological causes, key information why you diagnosed what you did, what diagnostic tests you should run to assess the diagnosis, and some questions that may be applicable for the case.
  • Final team-based case study: 50 points
    • Same as above but this one is presented to the class (powerpoint + 1 question from Porter)
• Seminar Synopsis and Research Question (30 points)
  • You will get two guest lectures during this class. You will need to write a paper on the research/information being presented during one of these lectures.
• Weekly Post-Lecture Quizzes (150 points)
  • Fifteen quizzes: 10 points each
    • These quizzes are really challenging! You get two chances and your grade will be the average of the two. Study the lecture before taking the quiz.
• Midterm Exam (100 points)
  • Free response with a few multiple choice questions
    • About 5 pages of free response
• Final Comprehensive Examination (150 points)
  • Similar to midterm setup.
    • About 11 pages of free response (comprehensive with emphasis on lectures after midterm) plus 20 multiple choice.
• Midterm and Final have an essay portion due the night before the test. You need to find a regular news article(NYT/BBC/etc not actual science or research journals) where you describe news on information from the lessons in class. Should be an easy 10 points for each.)

Laboratory Component (400 points total) ~with Dr. Tapia:

• Weekly Pre-Lab Quizzes (60 points)
  • Twelve quizzes: 5 points each
    • Easy just read manual and due early morning before lab section
• Safety Quiz (10 points)
• Quizzes 1 and 2 (80 points)
  • Two quizzes: 40 points each
    • Open lab notebook. As long as you keep your notebook updated, you'll be okay but be sure you have all the reagents whole names written down.
• Graphs (30 points)
  • Three graphs: 10 points each
    • Will be on lab data given by the professor. Make sure you include all the information required on the assignment or points might be deducted.
• Lab Notebook (50 points)
  • Needs to have images or drawings of experiment if noted in manual.
• Poster Session (50 points)
  • Poster: 30 points (team)
    • Team makes poster but each individual is required to present during a poster session.
  • Poster presentation: 10 points (individual)
  • Poster evaluations: 10 points (individual)
• Final Comprehensive Laboratory Examination (120 points)
  • You get a cheat sheet for this.

General Policies:

• Attendance for both lectures and labs is mandatory.
• No make-up exams or late assignments are accepted unless justified (e.g., doctor's note). She's pretty strict with exceptions without doctor note.
• Participation in lecture will help you accumulate extra credit for your final grade so participate often and go to office hours!!

Feel free to ask any questions below. Happy to answer :)

According to a report by Fortune Business Insights titled "Agriculture Drone Market Size, 2024-2030," the global agriculture drone market was valued at USD 4.17 billion in 2022. The market is projected to grow from USD 4.98 billion in 2023 to USD 18.22 billion by 2030, reflecting a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.3% during the forecast period.
Agriculture drones, which are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) specifically designed for farming and agricultural applications, are equipped with advanced imaging technologies and sensors. These include LiDAR, cameras, and multispectral sensors, which enable the drones to gather critical data on soil conditions, crop health, and other factors that influence agricultural production. This data collection facilitates better decision-making and precision in farming practices, thereby enhancing productivity and efficiency in the agricultural sector.
~List of Key Players Mentioned in the Report:~

• Drone Deploy (U.S.)
• DJI (China)
• Precision Hawk Inc (U.S.)
• AeroVironment Inc. (U.S.)
• Trimble Navigation Ltd. (U.S.)
• 3D Robotics (U.S.)
• Ag Eagle (U.S.)
• Parrot Drone (France)
• Sintera LLC (U.S.)
• Delair Tech SAS (France)

~Browse In-depth Summary of This Research Insight:~
https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/agriculture-drones-market-102589
~Segments:~
Rotary Drone Segment to Dominate Due to Improved Structural Benefits
Based on type, the market is split into fixed wing, rotary wing, and hybrid. Among these, the rotary wing segment captured the largest agriculture drone market share in 2022. Rotary wing drones are available in a variety of designs and sizes. The enhanced structural benefits of the segment are aiding growth of this segment.
Hardware Segment to Lead Stoked by the Improved Ability to Collect and Process Data
As per component, the agriculture drone market is bifurcated into hardware and software. The hardware segment held majority of the global market share in 2022 owing to the improved capability of hardware components to collect and process the data and enable farmers to make informed decisions.
Frames Segment to Hold Major Share Due to Surging Demand for Robust Frame Structures
According to hardware, the market is divided into frames, control systems, propulsion systems, navigation systems, payload, avionics and others. Among these, the frame segment captured a significant market share in 2022 backed by the rising need for robust frames to support the drone’s hardware components, Moreover, industry leaders are focused on producing non-breakable frames, further aiding segment growth.
Imaging Software Segment to Capture Largest Share Due to its Ability to Help in Quick Problem Solving
The market by software is arrayed into imaging software, data management software, data analytics software, and others. Imaging software segment held the largest market share in 2022 as it enables the operator to detect and respond to the potential problems early, thus decreasing the risk of crop loss and improving yields.
Field Mapping & Monitoring Segment to Lead Due to Availability of Better Equipment
By application, the market is segregated into field mapping & monitoring, crop spraying, crop scouting, variable rate application, livestock monitoring, and others. The field mapping & monitoring segment dominated the market in 2022 owing to the availability of better high-tech camera equipment to monitor crops.
Geographically, the agriculture drone market is segregated North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World.
~Drivers and Restraints: Agriculture Drone Market~

Governments around the world are actively promoting the adoption of agriculture drones through a variety of policies and initiatives. These measures include:
Research and Development (R&D) Grants:
Governments are providing financial support to foster innovation in agriculture drone technology. For instance, in April 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture received a USD 1 million grant aimed at advancing digital agriculture technologies.
Tax Incentives and Subsidies:
To reduce the financial burden on farmers, several governments are offering tax incentives and subsidies for the purchase and use of agriculture drones. This financial assistance makes it more feasible for farmers to integrate UAVs into their operations.
Regulatory Frameworks:
Clear and supportive regulatory frameworks are being established to ensure the safe and effective use of drones in agriculture. These regulations help standardize drone operations, addressing safety and privacy concerns while promoting broader adoption.
Training and Education:
Governments are also investing in training programs to educate farmers on the benefits and usage of agriculture drones. These programs aim to equip farmers with the necessary skills to utilize drone technology effectively.
By providing regulatory and financial support, governments are making UAVs more accessible to farmers and ensuring their safe and responsible use. This concerted effort is expected to drive significant growth in the agriculture drone market.
~Restraints~
Challenges of Data Overload and Inaccuracies
While the adoption of agriculture drones offers numerous benefits, several challenges need to be addressed:
Data Overload:
The advanced sensors and imaging technologies on drones generate large volumes of data. Managing and analyzing this data can be overwhelming for farmers, especially those who lack the necessary technical expertise or resources.
Inaccuracies in Collected Data:
Data accuracy is crucial for effective decision-making in precision agriculture. However, inaccuracies can arise due to hardware or software malfunctions, environmental factors, or improper calibration of sensors. These inaccuracies can lead to incorrect assessments and potentially harm crop management practices.
Addressing these challenges requires ongoing advancements in drone technology and data analytics tools, as well as comprehensive training for farmers to interpret and utilize the data effectively.
~Regional Insights:~
Europe to Hold Largest Share Backed by Strong Research and Development Facilities
Europe captured a significant global market share in 2022 owing to the surging demand for the drones, rising funding, and strong research and development capabilities of the region. Moreover, the growing number of startups such as Gamaya, Delair, Accelerated Dynamics, and others will further aid regional market expansion.
Meanwhile, Asia Pacific is projected to record the highest growth rate in the forecast timeframe due to presence of large agricultural countries such as India, Indonesia, China, and others. The rising demand for UAVs from these countries and growing focus of market players on developing advanced products will further facilitate regional market expansion.
~Competitive Landscape:~
Innovative Product Launches by Leading Companies to Drive Market Expansion
Industry leaders usually make tactical moves such as collaborations, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, and product launches to hold a dominant share in the global market. For example, in November 2021, XAG announced its plans to launch its P40 and V40 agricultural drones worldwide, thus bringing digital agriculture to rural areas with geriatric populations and poor infrastructure. The XAG V40 and P40 are fully autonomous drones capable of mapping, spraying, and farm broadcasting.
~Key Industry Development: Agriculture Drone Market Size~
March 2023 – Avikus and Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, a subsidiary of Hyundai, entered into an agreement to carry out an experiment on fuel efficiency by implementing self-governing navigation systems. The venture incorporates five firms, Pan Ocean, POS SM, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Avikus, and Korean Register of Shipping.

I’ve noticed, as of late, that especially on LinkedIn, more emergency management professionals have CLEARLY been using AI to author articles they then publish and pass it off as original content. So naturally, I turned to ChatGPT and asked it to do me a favor and author an article about the people using AI to author articles. Except, I’m letting you know up front, and this is for fun 😎 Enjoy.
The Rise of AI-Generated Content in the Emergency Management Community
In recent years, artificial intelligence has increasingly woven itself into the fabric of our daily lives. One notable manifestation of this trend is the burgeoning use of AI tools like ChatGPT to generate written content. This phenomenon is particularly evident in niche fields like emergency management, where a deluge of articles and reports crafted by AI is becoming conspicuous.
AI's Appeal in Content Creation
The allure of AI for generating written content is clear. Tools like ChatGPT can produce coherent, informative, and relatively well-researched articles in a fraction of the time it would take a human writer. For busy professionals in the emergency management community, the ability to quickly generate reports, newsletters, and educational materials is invaluable. The AI’s capability to process vast amounts of information and synthesize it into readable content allows for the rapid dissemination of crucial information.
Detecting AI-Generated Content
However, as more articles in the emergency management sector are authored by AI, the hallmarks of machine-generated content are becoming easier to spot. Common indicators include a lack of deep, contextual analysis, repetition of certain phrases, and a somewhat formulaic structure. While AI can excel at compiling data and presenting it in a structured format, it often struggles with the nuanced understanding and innovative insights that human experts bring to the table.
Moreover, AI-generated content tends to exhibit a certain polish that can feel generic. The prose is often flawless in terms of grammar and syntax, but it can lack the unique voice and stylistic quirks that characterize human writing. This can make AI-written articles feel less personal and engaging, despite their informative nature.
Implications for the Emergency Management Community
The increased reliance on AI to generate content in emergency management has significant implications. On the positive side, it allows for the swift production and dissemination of information, which is critical in emergency situations. AI can help ensure that emergency protocols, safety guidelines, and situation updates are consistently communicated, potentially saving lives by providing timely information.
However, there are also challenges. The subtle yet noticeable differences between AI and human-generated content might lead to a perception of detachment or impersonal communication, which can be detrimental in a field where trust and empathy are paramount. Furthermore, the reliance on AI might inadvertently lead to the spread of information that lacks depth or misinterprets complex scenarios, given that AI still struggles with contextual nuances and the intricacies of human experiences.
Balancing AI and Human Expertise
To address these concerns, the emergency management community must strike a balance between leveraging AI's efficiencies and maintaining the critical human element. AI should be viewed as a tool to augment human capabilities rather than replace them. For instance, while AI can draft initial reports or compile data, human experts should review and refine this content to ensure accuracy, relevance, and empathy.
Moreover, training AI with a focus on ethical considerations and context-specific knowledge is crucial. By integrating AI tools with the expertise and oversight of human professionals, the emergency management community can harness the best of both worlds, ensuring that the information remains accurate, timely, and human-centered.
Conclusion
The noticeable uptick in AI-generated articles within the emergency management community underscores a broader trend towards automation and efficiency in content creation. While the benefits of this technology are significant, it is essential to remain vigilant about its limitations. By fostering a collaborative relationship between AI tools and human experts, the emergency management field can continue to evolve, leveraging technological advancements while preserving the vital human touch that defines effective emergency response.

In the era of sustainability and environmental consciousness, electric vehicles (EVs) have emerged as a key solution to combat climate change and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. As the demand for EVs continues to soar, manufacturers are faced with the challenge of ensuring the quality, safety, and traceability of components and materials throughout the production process. This is where innovative traceability solutions come into play. Traceability for Electric Vehicle (EV) Manufacturers empowers EV manufacturers to meet stringent regulatory requirements, uphold quality standards, and drive innovation in the rapidly evolving automotive industry
The Rise of Electric Vehicles: Challenges and Opportunities
The shift towards electric mobility represents a significant paradigm shift in the automotive industry, with far-reaching implications for manufacturers, consumers, and the environment. While EVs offer numerous benefits, including reduced emissions, lower operating costs, and enhanced performance, they also present unique challenges for manufacturers, particularly in terms of supply chain management, quality control, and traceability.
​

1. Complex Supply Chains: The production of electric vehicles involves a complex network of suppliers and manufacturers, spanning multiple tiers and geographical regions. Managing this intricate supply chain requires robust traceability systems to track and trace components and materials from raw materials to finished products.
2. Quality Control: Ensuring the quality and safety of EV components is paramount to the success and reputation of manufacturers. With stringent regulatory requirements and high consumer expectations, manufacturers must implement rigorous quality control measures to detect defects, prevent recalls, and uphold brand integrity.
3. Traceability Requirements: EV manufacturers are subject to strict traceability requirements, mandated by regulatory bodies and industry standards. Traceability solutions are essential for documenting and verifying the origin, history, and characteristics of components and materials, enabling manufacturers to achieve compliance and demonstrate accountability.

Empowering Electric Vehicle (EV) Manufacturers with Tracerbee’s Traceability
Tracerbee offers real-time analytics and reporting capabilities, enabling traceability for Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturers to gain valuable insights into their production processes and supply chain operations. From inventory levels to production yields to defect rates, manufacturers can analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) and identify opportunities for improvement and optimization.
# Key Features of Tracerbee Traceability Solution for Electric Vehicle (EV) Manufacturers:

1. End-to-End Traceability: Tracerbee provides end-to-end traceability of components and materials throughout the EV manufacturing process, from sourcing to assembly to distribution. With comprehensive traceability capabilities, manufacturers can track and trace individual parts and materials at every stage of the production lifecycle.
2. Batch and Lot Tracking: Tracerbee enables batch and lot tracking, allowing manufacturers to trace components and materials back to their origins. By capturing and recording batch and lot information, manufacturers can quickly identify and isolate quality issues, minimize production disruptions, and maintain product integrity.
3. Supplier Management: Tracerbee facilitates seamless collaboration with suppliers by providing visibility into supplier performance, quality metrics, and compliance status. By monitoring supplier activities and ensuring adherence to quality standards, manufacturers can mitigate supply chain risks and optimize supplier relationships.
4. Regulatory Compliance: Tracerbee helps EV manufacturers achieve compliance with regulatory requirements, such as ISO 26262, IATF 16949, and AS9100. By capturing and documenting traceability data in accordance with regulatory standards, manufacturers can demonstrate compliance, pass audits with ease, and mitigate legal and financial risks.
5. Real-Time Analytics: Tracerbee offers real-time analytics and reporting capabilities, enabling traceability for Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturers to gain valuable insights into their production processes and supply chain operations. From inventory levels to production yields to defect rates, manufacturers can analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) and identify opportunities for improvement and optimization.

Traceability for Electric Vehicle (EV) Manufacturers: The Benefits of Using Tracerbee

1. Improved Product Quality: With Tracerbee, EV manufacturers can enhance product quality and reliability by identifying and addressing quality issues in real time. By implementing proactive quality control measures and tracing the source of defects, manufacturers can reduce rework, minimize warranty claims, and enhance customer satisfaction.
2. Enhanced Supply Chain Visibility: Tracerbee provides greater visibility into the EV supply chain, enabling manufacturers to monitor supplier performance, track inventory levels, and identify bottlenecks or disruptions. By proactively managing supply chain risks and optimizing inventory levels, manufacturers can improve supply chain resilience and agility.
3. Streamlined Compliance: Tracerbee simplifies compliance management for EV manufacturers by automating traceability data capture and documentation. By maintaining accurate and up-to-date traceability records, manufacturers can demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements, streamline audit processes, and avoid penalties or fines.
4. Faster Time-to-Market: With Tracerbee, EV manufacturers can accelerate time-to-market by streamlining production processes and reducing time spent on quality control and compliance activities. By automating data capture and analysis, manufacturers can identify opportunities for process optimization and efficiency improvements, enabling faster product development and launch.
5. Enhanced Brand Reputation: By implementing robust traceability systems like Tracerbee, EV manufacturers can enhance their brand reputation and credibility in the marketplace. By demonstrating a commitment to quality, safety, and transparency, manufacturers can build trust with customers, investors, and regulatory authorities, driving long-term brand loyalty and profitability.

Ensuring a Sustainable Future: The Role of Traceability for Electric Vehicle (EV) Manufacturers
As the electric vehicle industry continues to grow and evolve, traceability will play an increasingly critical role in ensuring the quality, safety, and compliance of EV components and materials. With Tracerbee traceability software, EV manufacturers can achieve greater transparency, accountability, and efficiency in their production processes, while maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards. By leveraging advanced traceability solutions like Tracerbee, EV manufacturers can drive innovation, uphold quality standards, and lead the charge towards a sustainable future of mobility.
Contact us today to elevate your operational capabilities and ensure a competitive edge in the evolving market.

Aerospace Engineer, AST, Navigation Guidance and Control Systems (Direct Hire)

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Grade: GS-14

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

Johnson Space Center (JSC) is currently seeking interested applicants for the position of Senior Discipline Expert for Guidance Navigation, and Control (GN&C) Integration and Test. You will serve as the domain expert within the Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Division (AFMD) for GN&C Integration and Test activities.

Administrative Specialist

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Grade: GS-12

John F. Kennedy Space Center

You will serve as the Administrative Specialist in the Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) Directorate, Resource and Integration Office (SA-A) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). You will support management of the Awards program and facility utilization for the Directorate. You will prepare awards, review awards, and provide input to the awards submissions, and make recommendations to the SMA management team on improvements. You will also oversee the Division Exchange Funds budget.

Aerospace Engineer, AST, Safety and Mission Assurance (Direct Hire)

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Grade: GS-14

John F. Kennedy Space Center

The Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA), Resource and Integration Office (SA-A) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is seeking applicants for a Lead Technical Integrator. Serves as a project lead and as an integrator for all actions across the Office. You will lead across all Office disciplines establishing policies and practices consistent with KSC, alignment with SA strategic goals and overall documentation strategy, providing guidance and participate in advance planning of audits.

Program Analyst

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Grade: GS-13

Ames Research Center

Acquisition Management Support is responsible for leveraging acquisition and/or technical expertise to support and execute activities related to the design, implementation, selection, and monitoring of all acquisitions in alignment with their assigned process team focus area. They are responsible for working effectively within their process team and for sharing collective learnings within their unit to ensure program goals and operational needs are met.

General Engineer, AST, Launch and Flight Operations (Direct Hire)

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Grade: GS-13

John F. Kennedy Space Center

The Test, Launch and Recovery Operations Management Branch of the Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) is responsible for test planning, integration, scheduling, implementation, and leadership of the test operations associated with Integrated Systems Verification and Validation, Flight and Ground Systems Integrated Testing, Launch and Recovery Operations for SLS, Orion and EGS programs. Serves as a NASA Test Director (NTD) and provide direction and guidance to the team during test operations.

Aerospace Engineer, AST Aerospace Flight Systems

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Grade: GS-14

John F. Kennedy Space Center

This position is located in the Launch Vehicle Propulsion and Energetic Systems Branch of the Commercial Systems Division of the Engineering Directorate at Kennedy Space Center. You will serve as a senior-level propulsion system engineer technical expert at SpaceX's McGregor, Texas test facility and is the primary interface on all launch vehicle propulsion related items for NASA's commercial programs using commercial launch services at the facility.

Aerospace Engineer, AST Safety and Mission Assurance (Direct Hire)

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Grade: GS-14

John F. Kennedy Space Center

As a Safety and Mission Assurance (Independent Assessment (IA) Technical Lead) with the Safety & Mission Assurance (SMA) Directorate at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), you will provide independent technical review and assessment of engineering and mission risks associated with Programs/Projects and support Risk Informed Decision Making (RIDM), Continuous Risk Management, and Certificate of Flight Readiness processes.

Aerospace Engineer, AST, Aerospace Flight Systems (Direct Hire)

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Grade: GS-14

Ames Research Center

You will serve as the Lead Systems Engineer for the Wind Tunnel Systems Branch, responsible for the overall architecture of facility instrumentation and data systems, and ensuring that these systems meet the requirements of the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel customers and NASA missions.

Environmental Protection Specialist

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Grade: GS-14

Headquarters, NASA

As an Environmental Protection Specialist within the OSI Environmental Management Division you will be responsible to lead or support initiatives to achieve or sustain compliance, improve a compliance program performance, and enhance the knowledge and awareness of the key NASA stakeholders, through policy, procedure, training and outreach. You will be part of a team focusing on assisting the Agency and Centers meet their compliance objectives and develop effective programs.

Space Scientist, AST, Planetary Studies (Direct Hire)

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Grade: GS-13

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

You will serve as an Imagery Scientist in the Exploration Science Office of the Astromaterials and Exploration Science Division, Johnson Space Center, working across terrestrial and planetary remote sensing science and mission operations for both orbital and ground-based human exploration; conducting engineering image photogrammetric analysis for human-rated spacecraft health and safety; and applying data analytics to meet customer and stakeholder objectives, tasks and schedules.

Program Manager

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Grade: GS-15

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

Serves as the Deputy Program Manager in the Logistics Division, you will be responsible for policies, procedures, schedules, resources, and budgeting for the division. You will manage the Export Control Services team responsible for review of technical material, foreign national access, and export of hardware and software; and manage property programs, transportation programs, and receiving and delivery of shipments.

This is going to be a long read, and I would really appreciate the feedback on how to move forward with this case and supervisors.
I have been working with my company as a part-time behavior interventionist for a little under a year, and I've been enjoying it since I love working with children and I've had positive experiences until now. I have two clients, and I started working on my second client's case in January. The constant neglect from the case supervisor is making me want to quit the case, as it's turning into an "ugh, I have to go to this client's house today" situation.
For some background, my second client's case has two supervisors, which I think is odd. One only joins via Telehealth twice a week, biweekly, for supervision, and the other one is supposed to go in person to fulfill the in-person hours they must do. Since the end of January, the in-person supervisor has gone to the client's home three times during my sessions.
Here are the multiple problems:
1: The client has been showing aggression towards me by hitting me with an open hand wherever the hit lands, but mostly in my face. The antecedent appears to be excitement, as she started doing it when she was smiling, laughing, and eager, yet lately there has been no apparent antecedent (more on this later).

1. The client (F7) has a little brother (M4) that has also started hitting me. I'm not even standing at the threshold of the home, and he already has his tiny hand up to slap me wherever the hit lands. Mom was non-efficient in redirecting him until recently. The thing is, he is constantly hitting me for no reason. He comes out of nowhere and hits me, and this has been going on since February or March.
   
2. It was up to me to redirect both children after they hit me, as their mom would not do anything about it until I sent a message to both supervisors and the other BI saying how the client and her brother are showing constant aggression towards me. The other BI shared how the brother would also hit her, and after that message last month, the mom has been on top of parenting him to prevent hitting and putting him in time out when he does. Other BI and I have noticed that he started doing it when we gave attention to his sister, aka the client.
   
3. Because the little brother is constantly hitting me and playing with all the stimuli I once had neatly organized are now lost (including dtt, puzzles, stickers, the token board, coloring books, shaping posters, etc.). It used to feel like I was babysitting him, but now it feels like I'm giving both children ABA therapy as he is constantly engaging in unwanted behaviors towards me or my client (his sister). The only thing left is a couple of DTT stimuli and the token board, and he cries when I say "my turn" and take the materials from him in order to work with his sister.
   
4. The client and her brother go off each other's energy. If the little brother tantrums, she will tantrum; if the little brother hits me, she will hit me; if he does unwanted behavior, she does it too; and that adds to the feeling of having two clients in one session (I'm not a professional to diagnose, and it's wrong to make assumptions, but I completely believe the little brother is also on the spectrum as he shows signs such as echolalia, delayed speech, aggression, and tantrums when access is not immediately granted to items he wants or needs help with; he is in a general and special education class at school). The siblings go off each other's energy, and although mom is more helpful with my brother now, it still feels like I'm doing a double job with no support.
   
5. Last week, my client threw a cup at my head, which she had never done before. It was just her and me in the playroom, and I got my device to record data, and when I was looking down, she threw a cup at my head and laughed. I redirected her once again, and mom came into the room afterwards, but it was the moment where I thought, "Wow, I'm completely alone in this case, and it's making me want to quit it." I immediately sent a message to the Telehealth supervisor, saying what happened and letting her know I needed more general support on the case.
   

The supervisor's response:
I sent an email in March letting both of them know that the client started showing aggression towards me and how I redirected her. All the in-person supervisor told me was to add the "show me nice hands" prompt to the redirection. The second supervisor did not even reply until two days later, with no help. As mentioned, I sent a message last month in the group chat (in which I suggested creating, thinking we would be in constant communication) that the client and her brother were constantly showing aggression towards me. The response from the in-person supervisor was to prompt "nice hands" and "calm body," which is clearly doing nothing for my client as she won't even look my way when I try.

1. The problem with the Telehealth supervisor is that I've reached out to her three times total since the cup aggression behavior, requesting a meeting to discuss the case. I told her I would prefer to have the meeting before going back to the client's home this week, and the Telehealth supervisor has yet to respond, which fills me with anger and disappointment. Although she was quick on asking me the required medical attention question and reporting it to HR. The following day, HR sent me documents to sign due to declining medical attention. She was quick to send it to HR, but she still hasn't provided a meeting for me.

I clearly don't know how to handle the aggression and the little brother, and all I'm asking for is support. The constant unresponsiveness from the supervisor I'm reaching out to is making me want to take the next step from the employee handbook, as it clearly states, "You and your supervisor can satisfactorily resolve most problems. You should first present any questions or concerns about policies, procedures, equipment, safety, or other matters to your supervisor. If you are not satisfied with the answer from your supervisor or you feel that you cannot discuss the issue with your supervisor, you should talk."
I have to go to the client's house tomorrow, and it's sad that it's turning into an "I hate my job" situation when I know I can have a proactive team and support as I do for my first client, which is run by a completely different supervisor.
How should I move forward? Because of this, I'm thinking of emailing both the in-person and Telehealth supervisors and CCing HR, letting them know I'm uncomfortable going to the client's home and refusing to go until I meet with them, providing the support I definitely need. Could I get in trouble for that? Is that the right move? What would you do? I feel bad for complaining about the client's little brother, but I'm getting paid to provide ABA services to a client, not two. I'm not a babysitter. I shouldn't be putting up with this. It's an unpaid hour drive to their home, so as of now, refusing to go until I get support is one choice, or asking to be removed from the case (which I would hate to give up on my client) is the only thing on my mind.
TLTR: My client and her little brother are constantly hitting me, although mom stepped up her parenting game; the shared case supervisor I'm reaching out to for support is practically ghosting me, and I want to quit the case if it doesn't get better.

Introduction
Enhancing Process Safety Management (PSM) is vital for industries that handle hazardous materials and complex processes. Effective PSM practices ensure the safety of personnel, protect the environment and prevent costly accidents. This essay explores best practices and strategies for enhancing PSM, focusing on key elements such as risk assessment, risk management, and hazard identification.
Best Practices in Risk Assessment

1. Comprehensive Risk Assessments: Conducting thorough and systematic risk assessments is fundamental to PSM. Techniques such as Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), and Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) should be employed to identify potential hazards, evaluate their likelihood and consequences, and prioritize them accordingly.
2. Use of Advanced Tools and Technologies: Leveraging advanced tools and technologies, such as simulation software and data analytics, can enhance the accuracy and depth of risk assessments. These tools can model complex scenarios, predict potential failures, and provide actionable insights.
3. Regular Updates and Reviews: Risk assessments should be living documents regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in processes, technology, and regulations. Continuous monitoring and periodic audits ensure that risk assessments remain relevant and effective.

Effective Hazard Identification Strategies

1. Proactive Hazard Identification: Implementing proactive hazard identification practices is crucial. This includes routine inspections, safety audits, and employee reporting systems that encourage potential hazards before they result in incidents.
2. Engaging Frontline Workers: Frontline workers often interact with processes and can provide valuable insights into potential hazards. Engaging them in hazard identification activities, such as safety workshops and brainstorming sessions, enhances the overall effectiveness of the process.

Robust Risk Management Practices

1. Hierarchy of Controls: Implementing the hierarchy of controls is essential in risk management. This involves prioritizing controls that eliminate hazards first, followed by engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Emphasis should be on designing out hazards wherever possible.
2. Safety Management Systems (SMS): Developing and maintaining a robust Safety Management System (SMS) integrates various risk management activities into a coherent framework. An effective SMS includes safety policies, risk assessment procedures, emergency response plans, and continuous improvement processes.
3. Training and Competency Development: Ensuring that all employees, from frontline workers to management, are adequately trained in safety practices and risk management is crucial. Regular training sessions, drills, and competency assessments help in high safety standards and preparedness.

Fostering a Safety Culture

1. Open Communication: Establishing open communication channels for safety-related issues encourages employees to report hazards, near misses, and safety concerns without fear of retribution. A transparent reporting system helps in identifying and addressing issues promptly.
2. Continuous Improvement: A culture of continuous improvement is integral to PSM. Encouraging feedback, learning from incidents, and regularly reviewing and updating safety practices ensure that the organization adapts and evolves to meet new challenges and risks.

Conclusion
Enhancing Process Safety Management (PSM) involves adopting best practices and strategies in risk assessment, hazard identification, and risk management. Comprehensive and regular risk assessments, proactive hazard identification, and robust risk management practices are fundamental to ensuring operational safety. Moreover, fostering a strong safety culture through leadership commitment, open communication, and continuous improvement is essential for sustaining high safety standards. By integrating these elements into their PSM frameworks, organizations can effectively mitigate risks, protect their workforce, and maintain the integrity of their processes in a dynamic industrial environment.

Synopsis:
An engineer in another world—blending science and magic to achieve greatness in a world where skills and levels reign supreme.
—
Ethan was just a plain old engineer, but everything changed when he was reborn into a world of skills, levels, and magic. With his advanced knowledge far ahead of the time period he finds himself in, this new reincarnated life will be much different than his last, especially because he can construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct runes—something no one else can do.
But with royal politics, looming tax collectors, a mountain of debt, dungeon incursions, cults, and hostile fantasy races mixing together into a cocktail of bullshit that threatens to bury his dreams; Ethan must bridge the gap between steel and sorcery to grow stronger. — Runecrafting is slow burn. — What to Expect: - Weak to very strong progression - Hardcore wish fulfillment - A balance of action, kingdom building, and runecrafting. - MC will trigger an industrial revolution, revolutionize magic, modernize agriculture, communication, commerce, textile production, education, transportation, sanitation, weapons manufacturing, leisure & entertainment, and medicine.
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Chapter 04

-1-
Ethan's heart thumped in his throat as he looked at the arrow's head glinting. Fortunately, Roland had grabbed it in an instant. The arrow hadn't hit Ethan, and it likely wouldn't have. Roland threw the arrow aside as Ethan heard a muffled grunt and glanced out the window to the right. An arrow had pierced the side of their driver, right between the shoulder and chest. Ethan whipped back into his seat just as another projectile smashed against the other side of their carriage, denting it. Roland immediately stood up with a calm demeanor and unsheathed his sword. "Lord Theodore, please remain seated. This inconvenience will be dealt with shortly."
Ethan blinked up, nodded, and clasped his hands around his knee while resting his head against the window ledge as Roland got out. Situations such as this weren't anything he'd ever dealt with back on earth, but he had plenty of experience keeping himself in check when fear took hold. He'd been a boxer, after all. Ethan tapped his finger on his knee, again and again.
"Die, you shits!" a voice yelled, then a meaty crash was followed by a pained groan. It was clearly someone falling over. Moments later, footsteps approached from the other side. A man swung the carriage door open. "Get—"
Before he could say much else, a sword pierced through his chest. He slumped and hit the ground without a word, revealing Roland standing with a blank expression. His eyes were different than anything Ethan had seen since his transmigration—Roland looked nonchalant even after taking a life, which was understandable given that the man had likely taken a lot of lives. Ethan closed his eyes, refusing to look at the dead body.
More footsteps grew nearer. Two sets. They stopped beside their carriage. "Well fuck, what a piece of trash." one man said, then lurched at Roland with a bloody shout.
The fight was over in an instant.
Roland simply disappeared from his position before Ethan. Reappearing behind the two bandits flanking him, he delivered an equally lethal strike to each in turn. Simultaneously, a sharp crackling and whooshing sound made Ethan tense. Spreading out on the floor before the carriage, a dark blue magical glyph buzzed like electricity, sending sparks of electricity slamming into the bandits.
Then, the bandits' bodies split in two halves, their blood sprayed across the dirt before they even began collapsing with electricity sizzling on their bodies.
Just as he'd felt movement in the air through [Magic Perception], a man materialized right in front of Ethan. Tensing, Ethan didn't know what to do
Roland shouted from outside. Adrenaline rocketed through Ethan's veins. Hand moving, he grabbed the bandit's hand and twisted it. The bandit tackled him, and with the tight space, Ethan felt the tip of a knife nicking the side of his cheek. The wound stung badly, and with it, Ethan's mind blanked and his instincts kicked in.
Roland swiftly spun, but not in time to stop the man from pinning Ethan against the bench.
However, it wasn't needed. Ethan used [Elemental Spells] and summoned fire all over his palms. A sizzling sound erupted as the bandit cried out and went for Ethan's eyes with his free hand. Ethan bit the bandit's hand, and only got half a mouthful of skin and cloth. The bandit reeled back and leapt backward from the sudden burning pain, crying out as he crashed. Ethan lunged at him, grabbed and force-flipped the bandit's hand, and plunged the knife into his throat with an aggressive grunt. There was a short, gurgled cry, before the bandit tried swinging the knife towards him. "Cunt... bastard..." his bloody mouth formed the words, his eyes staring fearfully, but Ethan pushed the knife aggressively.
Blood sprayed and gushed onto Ethan's mouth.
Then, finally, the man stilled.
The corpse's weight fell onto Ethan, hot blood spilling out of the bandit's throat and filling the air with an acrid odor. Ethan felt it on his face. Hot. Metallic smell. He saw it dripping down the bandit's throat, all across his clothes, even in his hair. It was heavy, almost. Layer upon layer, the heavy cloak of the man's life weighting down on his spirit.
System notifications flashed but he ignored it given that bile rose in Ethan's throat. His vision darkened, and a rush of blood roared in his ear as his heart thumped like thunder. A violent urge to vomit rose within him, his entire body twitching. He had never seen a man die in front of him like this before. Disgusting as it was, he gulped everything down, even the reality he had found himself in, the death, the violence, it all set in at that moment. However, he had no time to delve on it. Even though he felt like someone had squeezed his windpipe, like a bullet was tearing through his skin, he needed to act. Now.
Ethan flipped the man aside and sat on his knees, pulling out the knife from the bandit's neck. From his place on the ground, he glanced at Roland engaged with three bandits.
One slipped past Roland and made it to Ethan. They're trying to get a hand on me. Why? The answer was simple. Oh, right... I'm a noble, they can just put a knife on my throat and demand shit...
Instead of giving the bandit the upper hand, Ethan took a breath. Once. Twice. Now or never, thinking so, he raised the knife and dove headfirst toward the approaching enemy. Caught by surprise, the bandit merely moved his free hand to counter attack. His fingers grasping the bandit's arm, he twisted it away, giving him room to go straight for the eye.
With a meaty sound, Ethan plunged the knife through the man's eyes. Blood spurted with a slick sound. The bandit wasn't fast enough to make a full reaction, as a sort of instinctive scream of terror got stuck halfway and died out. Then, as the feeling of having ended another life settled within him, Ethan retracted the dagger and stepped back. His back slamming against the carriage, he slid down and pressed a hand against his forehead. His cheek hurt. He smelled sweat and blood.
Fuck... Fuck... Breathe. This is... I can't... Breathe.
A chill ran down his spine and his heartbeat roared. He took a breath, adrenaline still surging through his veins. The sick feeling didn't leave his stomach, his entire body twitched as if electrocuted every once in a while, and his eyes started going hazy, unclear. Black spots in his field of vision. Sticky warmth all over. Hot metallic odor in his nostrils.
"Lord Theodore!" Roland's voice acted as a way for Ethan to reorient himself into reality. Roland looked ashen, not because he was tired but most likely because he'd let Ethan get into such a vulnerable position. Roland glanced at the corpse, then Ethan, then back at the corpse again, looking tense, lips tight and hands clutched into fists. "Are you alright, my lord?"
"Yes, of course," Ethan said as he studied the wound on his cheek. I need a healing skill. However, he noticed the visible distressed Roland was having and continued. "I'm fine. Don't worry. It's no big deal. For the moment, we need to clean up this mess."
Ethan could tell Roland was uncomfortable with the situation and Ethan's complete indifference, but the warrior dutifully obeyed his lord's commands. Ethan slumped onto his seat and looked through the notifications.
Your race, [Human], has leveled up — Lvl 0 -> Lvl 1!
Your class, [Mage], has level up — Lvl 0 -> Lvl 1!
[Unranked Mage] -> [Initiate]
[Elemental Spells] — Lvl 5 -> Lvl 6!
A [Quest] approaches!
Hmm, this is the second time I see the message 'A [Quest] approaches'... What is it? Why doesn't the system just give me the [Quest]? Are there conditions? Regardless, it seems that [Elemental Spells] just needed some use in battle instead of just plain old practice. Curious.
Ethan leaned back with a sigh. Now that his heartbeat wasn't drumming in his ear, the fear slowly ebbed away. All things considered, this turned out well, given the situation. However, now that he'd calmed somewhat, his eyes landed on the corpse right beside him, and that fresh scarlet blood seeping into the floorboards. The heavy coppery scent, the unmistakable smell of death. It all came crashing into him and he could no longer deny what he'd done. It had all gone so quickly.
No theatrics, the knife had just flown in, and the bandit had struggled, then stopped struggling.
Ethan stared at the corpses. With his hands on his lap, he gazed vacantly. For a single, stretched-out moment, the only thing he was aware of were the lifeless bodies right next to him, the sensation of having one less enemy standing in the way. One of the bandits had his jugular slashed. Another had a knife poking into his eyes. Ethan had killed them. Him. It was nauseatingly easy, taking another's life. It felt good. Ethan was disgusted at that thought, but damn did it feel good. I—I... I won. He wanted to grin, but he didn't.
Soon, the bandits were dealt with. Not a minute was wasted, and they cleaned up and got moving in a hurry, before Roland could throw the corpse inside the carriage out, Ethan stopped him.
He'd been staring at it, sitting there, silently. Bile would rise to the tip of his throat before he'd swallow it, a stone in his gut making his movements stiff. It felt unreal. When he took that step to make sure the bandit was dead, his eyes met with those of the corpse—with glassy black pupils that appeared frozen mid-realization that he was dying. Fearful, horrified eyes. Human eyes. Ethan stared into them, felt every fiber of his body clench, saw the smears of blood across the man's mouth where his desperate breaths had made him cough up, to live.
Ethan stared, not because he was a masochist or someone who derived pleasure from other people's misery. Rather, it was because he wanted this to never happen again. His reaction. It hadn't been optimal. He just knew he'd need to kill and spill blood if he was to survive, and thus, he needed to familiarize himself with the sight of death—death caused by his hands.
His thoughts were a little less orderly than he liked. That needed to change, fast. It would always be a burden, so he simply chose to stare, knowing he was staring down his weakness—at his fear.
After a solid five minutes, Ethan turned around. Roland's gaze met Ethan's. For a brief moment, the gaze was averted, the warrior showing clear guilt. Ethan placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Roland, don't blame yourself. I understand you must have felt cornered and unable to react. Just know I appreciate you. Don't beat yourself up for it. There have been no casualties on our side."
Roland bowed his head. Ethan smiled, though it was strained. Roland had been standing there for a while now but hadn't wanted to interrupt Ethan's self-reflection time, despite being tense himself. The guards had burned the corpses. Soon, the men Ethan killed were taken out, too. Then they left for the woods.
A guard who appeared to be a [Mage] that had a spell called [Cleanse] walked to the carriage, and placed his hands near the gore-splattered interior. In mere moments, a rune flickered into existence, then, mana got sucked out of the guard, seeping into the rune—soon, the blood and even the smells were swept clean and everything returned to being a neat and tidy.
The guard staggered a little before his comrades stabilized him. Must be quite demanding, Ethan noted, nodding appreciatively as the guard stepped out of the carriage. "That's quite the useful skill," Ethan said, examining the results.
Roland gave a silent nod, no doubt feeling pretty damn bad about his failure.
The guard, on the other hand, bowed with a smile, clearly appreciating Ethan's recognition. "It's a pleasure to be of service, my lord. This humble guard has had this skill ever since he became a mage."
Ethan made an impressed noise. "I see."
The guard beamed, then bowed even more before walking over to his fellow guards, who patted his backs at a job well done. Then, the horses pulled the carriage, and the carriage resumed moving. As soon as his back had settled into the cushion of the seat, an exhausting wave rolled over Ethan's body.
Before everything, however. I saw the rune. Ethan grinned a little, then willed mana into the shape of the rune.
It sputtered.
Ethan tried again, connecting different parts of the rune. One. Two. Three. Four. And as the rune sputtered again.
Throughout the journey to Deadwoods, Ethan kept at it.
He failed every time—
—and he didn't know why.
An immense headache assaulted him, and he had to stop his attempts.
-2-
The Deadwoods proved to be just what he'd expected. Dead. Charred branches and crumbling trees lay spread throughout. Roland looked around solemnly. Ethan was more interested in what kept this place the way it was. This land was, to put it simply, the most horrific location in the entire barony. It was a huge portion of a forest that appeared to be dead, thus why it had gotten the name Deadwoods.
Leaves crunched underneath Ethan's feet, and he studied his surroundings with morbid curiosity. The trees, branches and leaves were all dark in color as if something had scorched them. Many creatures lived here, animals like the usual game of deer, wolves, and foxes and sometimes there'd even been bears spotted. The dangerous thing, however, wasn't that the animals existed, it was that they were magical beasts. Mutants.
"Lord Theodore," Roland said, hand on his sword, eyes darting around in caution. "It is dangerous to be here—"
"Peh." Ethan waved his hand nonchalantly, much to Roland's shock at such an uncharacteristic behavior. "It will be worth it."
After all, I'm gonna have fun hunting monsters, leveling up, and finally, finally finding some goddamn tree ash.
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In the realm of cybersecurity, a password spraying attack is a common and concerning method used by attackers to gain unauthorized access to multiple user accounts. Here's what you need to know about this type of attack.

Understanding Password Spraying

A password spraying attack involves an attacker trying a few commonly used passwords against a large number of accounts, rather than trying many passwords against a single account. This approach helps the attacker avoid detection and account lockouts that occur when many incorrect passwords are tried in quick succession on one account.

How It Works

1. Target Selection: The attacker compiles a list of user accounts, often obtained from publicly available sources or previous data breaches.
2. Password List: The attacker creates a list of commonly used passwords. These are usually simple, easily guessable passwords like "password123," "123456," or "welcome1."
3. Spraying: The attacker attempts to log in to each account using one password from the list. If unsuccessful, they move on to the next password on the list and repeat the process across all accounts.

Why It’s Effective

• Avoids Detection: By spreading out login attempts across many accounts, the attacker reduces the risk of triggering security measures like account lockouts or CAPTCHA.
• Exploits Weak Passwords: Many users rely on weak, easily guessable passwords, making this type of attack surprisingly effective.

Risks and Consequences

• Unauthorized Access: Successful password spraying attacks can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information and systems.
• Data Breach: Once inside, attackers can exfiltrate data, leading to data breaches that compromise personal and financial information.
• System Disruption: Attackers might use the access to disrupt business operations, install malware, or escalate privileges to gain further control over the network.

Preventing Password Spraying Attacks

1. Strong Password Policies

• Encourage users to create strong, unique passwords that are difficult to guess.
• Implement password complexity requirements, such as including uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.

2. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

• Use MFA to add an extra layer of security. Even if an attacker guesses a password, they will also need access to the second authentication factor.

3. Account Lockout Policies

• Implement account lockout policies that temporarily disable accounts after a certain number of failed login attempts. This can deter attackers from attempting multiple passwords on a single account.

4. User Education

• Educate users about the importance of strong passwords and the risks associated with weak passwords.
• Encourage regular password changes and the use of password managers to store complex passwords securely.

5. Monitoring and Alerts

• Set up monitoring to detect unusual login patterns, such as multiple login attempts from different IP addresses.
• Configure alerts to notify administrators of potential password spraying attempts.

Password spraying attacks are a significant threat in today's digital landscape. By understanding how these attacks work and implementing robust security measures, organizations and individuals can better protect their accounts and sensitive information from unauthorized access. Regularly updating security practices and educating users about password safety are key steps in defending against this type of attack.

[Run Zero chapter: https://redd.it/1csb71x not every run will have a chapter; it won't be long before there are multiple runs per chapter.]
Portal load: Agility 1, Bait 3, Trumps 1, Pheromones 1, Packrat 1, Motivation 1, Power 2, Toughness 2, Looting 5, Discipline Challenge, 54 of 54 He allocated, 7.8% AP at start.
[This is probably the lowest helium load I've ever done, and sorta keeping my own advice on a recent Reddit post, Bait and Looting are up. Especially Looting, but it's not like I don't always do something like this.]
The human emerges from the glowing green mist and hits the ground. Groans. Pushes against that ground, trying to get back up. I feel really heavy. I'm not that fat, am I? He's got a dark blue button-down shirt on. A uniform? A shoulder patch. Rolls over- Ah, what's that? His shoulder pressed into something hard and metallic, He reaches over and his hand naturally seems to find a folding handle. He pulls it out from under himself and gets it up on his chest, sort of in a semi-comfortable position to hold it up and look at the screen while lying on his back. Some fiddling around the edges gets the power button pressed and the screen lights up with:
"Manual portal activation 1 successful: Void enabled. / 54 He loaded / Discipline challenge active / Total portal activation 955"
"Kakka," its one of his trimps.
'My' trimps? The human sets aside the portal pad and gets up.
Are you the guy? They all seem to be looking at him, as though they have a frickin' huge problem to solve and they need his help to solve it.
32s: First trap.
Do you bite? It doesn't matter much to us. The trimps look hopefully up at him through the trap's grating, We're so friggin' screwed.
I didn't think four of you could fit in there! He opens it and they all start following him around like imprinted hatchling birds. It seems his tactic of making a catch-alive trap confirmed to them that he was 'the guy' to help solve whatever problem...
26m42s: Z2c15, 58 pop, 7.7s RC with Z1/2; 29m44s: Fresh turkimp c25.
"Hey, buddy," he says to his first scientist, "can you speak yet?"
"Shijou?" it says, then it starts writing, "Hi Tightniks."
"Who do you mean 'Tightniks'?" he asks, "I mean, it's not like I remember my own name, but what makes you think it's Tightniks?"
"Tai," it points right at him with one paw.
"Just pointing at me isn't going to answer that," he chuckles.
The trimp's hands are quite prehensile, but it's hard to tell without it holding something, they don't seem able to make their fingers visually distinguishable. [Puchim@s all the puchidoru, although some have big round hands and some have small pointy hands; Takanya is the latter. Probably Final Fantasy Red XIII as well, but I'm not familiar enough with him to be satisfied.] This one starts climbing up his leg.
"Wait, wait," he stops it. It's a challenge to stoop in this gravity, but not as much of one as carrying a trimp. He gets down on his knees and back on his haunches and-
"Tai," it points again to a spot on his chest just left of his heart, then climbs on his lap and grabs his uniform at that spot, "Tai!"
He looks down and sees "Tightniks" embroidered into the fabric above his pocket. "Ah," he sighs, "Well, if that's my name, that's my name."
"Shijou," it gives him a friendly whack on the shoulder.
2h38m55s: Mskel in Z11c3.
"Hey guys?" Tightniks points at his bone box, waving his finger, "Does anyone remember where these came from?"
"Nope," the yellow one says.
"Yeah, there are 12 more in here than we got kills to account for," Tightniks says.
"I've been getting a sense of deja vu about just about everything," the red one points at the metal box on the strap over his shoulder, "That's a big exception. Any clues there?"
"It says it's for something called a DT Experimental Industries Time Portal," the human shrugs, "I have no idea what it's talking about, honest."
3h25m46s: Block PB, 0.3% AP sub-4h, 540 pop, 8.3s RC, no turkimp
That thing is beeping? He takes a look at his TPCS pad and he's got a message saying that he finished the Block in under 4 hours and there's a little attack bonus- Under 4 hours? It's been over 4 days!! Checking the time on the device reveals that the portal times in terms of a "map frame" out there in space, and the passage of time has been vastly dilated on this planet.
4h15m56s: Zone 15, 954 pop, 11.9s RC with Z14/60, no turkimp.
"Tightniks," the yellow one comes back from the second full bin to the filling third bin, watching the human fold up another of his very first inventions, the very first thing he built after jumping through the mysterious green phenomenon exiting the crashed ship, "Why in blazes are you building so many traps?"
The human had finished another and tossed it into the bin, then picked up the now ever-present portal control pad, gets it out of auto-sleep and called up the "Achievement Points" page. "I have this weird hunch," he says.
"Deja vu? That familiar feeling we always have?" the yellow one inquires politely, slightly tilting its head.
"May I?" Tightniks turns up his hand and waves it up and down in a lifting gesticulation, then points at the trap pile.
"Sure," the yellow one understands, "if you'll put me back down after."
The human sets the pad down, stoops at the knees and gets his arms under the yellow trimp scientist's front limbs and lifts it up onto that stack of traps with a grunt; it is an impressive demonstration of his improving strength against the planet's high gravity. Then he picks up the pad again and points at one of the blank purple squares near the bottom.
"You don't know what that is," the yellow one says, "Are we going after that first one that is readable?"
"Yes," the human nods, "it's for finishing something called a Dimension of Anger, whatever that is, before getting something called Bounty."
"Whatever that is," the trimp chuckles.
"No, I know what it is," the human says, "I remember it being access to a resource-rich area on the other side of a green Wall we'll find with our next map route. It doubles our resource production."
"That would be handy," the yellow one says.
"Hmm," he nods, "But all the traps are for this one," pointing at the third square in the top row of the array the pad labels "Feats", the second of three that are purple.
"Oh," a stylus materializes in the yellow one's paw, "Well, all it says is 2.5%. It doesn't say how to get it. Something to do with traps?"
"Something to do with traps," the human chuckles, "that's only convenient to do now."
4h29m46s...
Other trimps can understand the grey one better than the human, "Shijou shijou shijou?" is what a human ear would hear, but it's really asking the yellow one, "You mean he knew it was going to be here?"
"Yeah," the yellow one nods.
"Well, it's gotta be that pad none of us finds familiar," the grey one insists.
"I don't think so," the yellow one argues, "He showed the reason for all these traps to me on the pad, and the information is not yet available there."
"Well, it can't be just a coincidence," the grey one grumbles.
6h23m16s: Our first void map dropped.
"What is that?" The red one asks the yellow one. It grabs a stick and lifts the strange square object up by an edge from as far away as he can.
"I have no idea," The yellow one says.
"It seems to have some sort of cooling effect," the red one says, looking underneath it, having tilted it up with the stick, "Like it's not just cold, but actually cooling down, as though it were the opposite of on fire."
"Shijou," the grey one says, holding a note.
"It's a void map. Grab it with a blanket and put it on the cart please. - Tightniks"
"Shijou shijou," the grey one clarifies, "The new pad said 'void enabled'. Guessing it's that."
10h06m21s: Zone 21, 1975 pop, 19.6s RC with Z20/232, no turkimp.
"Ooooookay," Tightniks growls, "There is something off about this thing."
"Shijou?" the grey one looks at the yellow one with concern about their human starship pilot friend.
The human stoops, picks up the little green gem on the ridge between Zone 20 and 21, looks at it, huffs, and asks, "Any idea where this comes from?"
"Err..." the red one seems hesitant to say, "I think you made it."
"Really?" the human huffs, "How could that be?" Then he tosses it at Red, "See if anything reacts to it. It might be radioactive, so we should take turns to minimize exposure."
"Really?" Red's holding it now, "What makes you say that?"
"Because I'm pissed off for no reason I can figure out," the human says, "I think it's coming from-" he gasps, "Waitamint!" He starts searching for the portal pad.
"Frags," the red one says quickly, "I think it's arranging a route. You're good with maps," it tosses the gem to the grey scientist.
The human has his portal pad up and reads aloud, "You have the Discipline challenge active. Tweak the portal to- yada yada yada. Tiss tiss t- completing The Dimension Of Anger will cause Trimp damage to return to normal." He snaps his fingers, "That's gotta be it."
"Shijou," the grey one says hopefully, and has a map drawn within a few minutes.
12h30m06s: Portal, 45 He, 3.600 He/hr, 2098 pop, 18.3s RC, 1% AP for Portal-before-Bounty.
The last head of the map's boss monster goes limp as one of the fighting trimps' dagger points goes into it, and the huge thing settles on its tail, resting on the package that seems to be the prize of this map. And there's a popping sound, and then something mechanical.
Is that a scroll compressor? Tightniks looks at the package. The deflating monster's lifting envelope material drapes over everything underneath it. "Red, Shijou!" he snaps and points, "roll up that side of it. Keep this part from sucking down on the extractor nozzle!"
All fifty of the scientists jump in, literally, pushing the gas in the bag towards the compressor. Tightniks as well, rolling up the front.
Until he kicks, and nearly trips over, a smaller package that might be the explanation for the reason why the center of the monster's defense seemed to be a little away from the big package he could see. It's in the right place, he realizes. He gets it uncovered and reads stenciled-and-sprayed block letters on it:
"DT TIME PORTAL / THIS SIDE DOWN"
Perhaps the Dimension of Anger is so named because of the rage suddenly rising up in Tightniks' throat. It isn't so much as the free-floating aggression suddenly has an answer, there is definitely a fresh batch of rage and anger as he grips the nearest Dagger V, Mark 2 with both hands- ...I must have gotten used to destroying it at some point. He lets go of his weapon with his right hand first and dangles his left arm while holdi-
Refocusing on surviving the next few seconds, the pilot turns on the radar for the final approach and takes a last look around, then straight ahead at his forward camera and primary flight display...
He crouches, sets the dagger down gently, then starts clearing the debris from the box's grab iron. He tries to lift it- Damn, this is heavy!
Surprised at this turn of events, his two oldest scientists, Grey and Yellow, rush to either side of him and help out. They get it flipped over and read the other side of the device, Tightniks chuckles a bit at its predictability:
"DT TIME PORTAL / THIS SIDE UP" There's a square cutout in the middle of one side of it, with a sliding cover at the bottom of it.
"Thanks," he pats his scientists, "but back off, please." He gets the cover unlatched, and slides it open to see, first a big rainbow-colored wide data cable and card edge connector, then several fluid ports. "There's something missing," he says aloud as he gets the cover completely off and onto the grass, "this connects to some-" he's got the wide flat cable up in his hand, realizing what it plugs into. He looks at his scientists, lips trembling, "G-g-g-get the pad."
The grey one already has the survival data pad and offers it to him.
"No, the other pad," Tightniks clarifies, "The big one. The big one," he picks up wide flat rainbow cable and its edge socket in one hand, "It goes here," he points at it with the other. "It must have come with me end of the last cycle."
Both the yellow one and the red one bring it, one on each side.
"Thank you," the human takes it, gets its hinge lugs on the trunnions at the top of each corner of the cavity, then gets the cable connector on the card edge in the pad's base recess, "See, that's where it came from." It comes on:
"12h30m05s: You have completed the Discipline challenge, unlocking a new memory-enable coolant loop and restoring your trimps to normal combat discipline."
"Do you have any idea what that's about?" the yellow one points at the edge of the left side.
"That's-" Tightniks examines it, then suddenly realizes, "It's gotta be for the void map."
He's got a port cover open, and the bottom of it says, "NULLIFIUM/VOID HEIRLOOM INTERFACE"
"Shijou?" the grey one brings the blanket-wrapped void map.
The human clears an edge of the map; doesn't seem to matter which one, and then gets it into the slot. It disappears and the blanket settles down while the environment goes deep blue and suddenly goes super cold. "Hoe Lee!" he shivers, wrapping the blanket around himself, "I hope this isn't too much of a Napolean-Hitler Maneuver!" He glances around, but all the trimps don't seem to discomforted by the sudden cold.
12h35m24s: Void 1, 55 He, 4.369 He/hr, 2098 pop, 18.3s RC, first void AP 1% and 0.3% AP for 100 He simultaneously, we got a rare shield, but it's lame with attack, storage, and empty.
As the environment around them return to normal, the trimps cheer over the deflated corpse of the- ...whatever, who give a hoot? Tightniks finds a flurry of messages on the portal screen, two regard APs, one is about having recovered 10 He units, and the big one was about a "shield". Through the touchscreen, he enables it, and gets the status effects that it's talking about.
"Where to now, boss?" the yellow one asks, Tightniks can feel the draft off the cold trimps. They seem to be extraordinarily robust ectotherms, unlike him.
"Let's go back to that friggin' Wall, where it's warmer," he shivers, "We got that AP and could use the resources." As he leads them to the L15 route, he thinks, Maybe I did that void too early. It takes on the level of our most recently entered Zone, and the resources probably go up accordingly. [I did for character reasons after seriously considering running it at Z25 or 30.]
12h49m37s: Nursery unlocked.
"Four hundred thousand gems!" the human squeaks, "Are you kidding me?"
Grey and Yellow glance at each other, the former says "Shijou?" and starts doodling a real answer.
"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but young trimps have special diets for healthy bones," the yellow one explains.
"You eat gems?" the human gasps.
"Shijou," Grey says with a shit eating grin just above a little sign that says, "Babies eat aluminate, and gems are the best!"
"Do they like the taste?" Tighniks tosses a gem from the helium compressor in the direction of the nearest house.
"Uh-Uuuuh!" after it bounces off a paving stone, a yellow juvenile with red head fur jumps into the air to catch it in its mouth. [Puchim@s Yayo. Liek seriously, she jumps after pennies.]
13h32m59s: Zone 25, 84 He, 6.199 He/hr, 2217 pop, 52.6s RC with Z24/568, no turkimp.
It has an unusually light colored body, dark head fur that lies flat, and for trimp tails, wide and not all that prehensile, reminds Tightniks of a- ...he remembers what the animal looks like, but not that his home planet is called Earth nor that the animal is called a tanuki raccoon. Just the tail, the rest of the trimp looks like a trimp for the most part. Oh yeah, the mining foreman. [Puchim@s Yukipo] He turns to Red and asks, "What's wrong with it?"
"It's in a bad mood," the red one answers.
"I can tell," Tightniks glares angrily at the red one for a moment, cools off, takes a breath, and asks kindly, "Why is it in a bad mood?"
"We've never been out this far," the yellow one offers, "...well, with the portal captured at least. Now, it was in a good mood before it got near the cart after we started this zone. Something new on the cart?"
Tightniks approaches the mopey mining foreman and asks it, "What's the matter, little fella?"
It sighs, then starts struggling to climb [see 1x6] onto the compressor cart. Tightniks helps it up with a lift, then it goes to the portal pad and turns it on, opens up the coolant page, the challenges tab there, and sort of sighs and looks questioningly at him.
"Metal challenge:" the pad reads, "Tweak the portal to bring you to an alternate reality, where the concept of Miners does not exist..."
"Oh," Tightniks realizes, then huffs, "That explains the bad mood." He sits down with the mining foreman trimp and brushes its tail, "Don't worry, my friend. You'll be back after one cycle, and I'm sure I'll miss you and your miners. These guys," he nods at the scientists, "we're scared they wouldn't be back when I first used it on purpose, but they came back. If there's a 'Science challenge' later on, I'll have you and not them-"
The scientists flinch.
"It'll be okay," he assures the mining foreman he hasn't yet realized has fallen comfortably asleep in his lap, "It'll be okay, buddy."
16h11m02s: Gymnastic Z25 taken and gyms rapidly increasing now.
The 710 fighting trimps are majestic with their new gymnastic skill and nearly impossible to hit. Only occasionally did the gorillimp do damage. They took it down easily.
Then the dragimp they faced next blew them away with a fireball that made Tightniks flinch. It took him a second to get the dragimp back in his bee nickels. The next group was all ready to relieve their fallen comrades before they went down, even without the welcoming traps for the wild volunteers (of which Tightniks has just started into the 41st bin of ten thousand.) The dragimp can do nothing to them; anything that hits gets deflected by their V-8 shields; they never got sufficiently blindsided.
[Funny: V-8 is a veggie drink similar to clamato juice I can't find anymore, but it's really five-eight, which just happens to be the squadron number of the cast in Space: Above and Beyond. Herp-a-derp!]
19h11m12s: Spammed some random biome maps...
"Tai?" the grey one looks up at the human holding a little sign, "Last couple zones, you've been mapping a lot of random biome routes we never used. Is there any point to that?"
"Stats," the human says, fitting another one together, "Oh, and this," he tosses the trimp the completed forest route map."
As it registers in the portal system, the pad starts beeping and flashing its screen.
"What?" Tightniks sneers incredulously, "There's an AP for that?" He checks and sure enough, there's a 5% Achievement Point for making a 'perfect' map, by a full notch the biggest AP so far.
The yellow one was relaxing on the corner of the latest filled up trap bin, the 49th, notices, and leans back, "Yarey yarey..." shaking its head.
19h13m28s: Uberhouse taken.
"Shijou," the grey one stands at Tightniks feet holding a small book.
Tightniks takes a brief break from his trapmaking and stoops for his oldest scientist.
"Shijou," the grey one bobs the small book in its hands to offer it to Tightniks.
"Flush toilets and septic systems?" Tightniks reads, "You do this yourself?"
"Oh, don't you wish," the red one snickers, "No, it was in that perfect route you mapped up."
20h39m26s: Zone 30, 161 He, 7.794 He/hr, 4656 pop, 20N, 74.5s RC with Z29/1735, no turkimp, 2.5% AP for sub-60 He Z30 start...
"Oh?" Tightniks has an Ax V-3 over one shoulder and screws the helium hose connector to the portal system with one hand. He grunts, sounds kinda disappointed, sets the ax down and continues working on his massive pile of traps; he's almost finished the 55th of, he just learned, 100 huge bins.
The mining foreman had struggled up onto the cart to see, and just looks baffled. It usually looks a bit lost just as part of its demeanor, but this time it looks really quite confused, and makes rather bemused sounds too.
"Oh, what is this?" Red jumps up on the cart, sounding like it's gotta be silly.
The mining foreman climbs back down and spots a purple ore vein, makes a happy sound and pulls its shovel out of its back pocket to start digging into it.
[OC: This is not even close to an exaggeration vs. OG Puchim@s Yukipo who, in 1x2, just pulls out her shovel from nowhere and digs a hole through Project 765's indoor tile-and-concrete office floor to have a nap in the cold open of a 137 second long cartoon episode. Never run out of mushroom boxes! Also, 2nd season Golden Week gold medallion, she and Yayo dig into a volcanic island and hit an oil gusher ...you don't need to know much geology to realize...]
"Really?" Red groans, "Sheesh."
What's on the pad? "Hoarder: Have over 1 million traps at once, 2.5% damage."
20h48m06s: Gateways.
"Hmm," Tightniks pauses from his trap building and gazes over where they came from.
"Thinking of something?" the yellow one asks from the stack he's building under his feet as he puts the most recent trap on the pile.
"Yunno, we have a lot of territory back there that should be pretty pleasant to live in," Tightniks says, "You'd think we should be able to just map an enemy-free route that trimps can just sit down and live peacefully in. I'd love to be able to do that."
"Shijou," the grey one is at his feet with a massive shit-eating grin, not really "hiding" a big piece of documentation behind its back. Obviously it's not so dumb as to realize that it isn't concealed. It then pulls it out and offers it to the human, "Shijou."
"What's this-" the human gasps, "Are you kidding?"
"Shijou."
"Well?" the yellow one prompts, "Let's friggin' try it, shall we?"
21h34m53s...
For some odd reason, that quiet little mining foreman is on the trap pile, fiddling around. Seems to be trying to arm one, has the spring catch on-
"Hey, buddy!" the human notices, "What are you-"
SPROING and it goes flying through the air. Does a few flips and turns, and then sticks the landing, strikes a pose, and makes a happy sound. [op cit. 1x57]
"What the-" Tightniks says, scratching his head, I wonder how much more damage the fighters could avoid if they could do stuff like that.
"Shijou," the grey one is carefully copying out the trimpese from a tattered and dusty scroll.
"What is that?" Tightniks asks.
"Where mining buddy learned that flip," Yellow says from the cart with feet playfully dangling, "another gymnastic book we picked up a few NMEs back. Probably another chapter from the same book, actually. It seems to have been torn apart and scattered."
"Is that right, bud-" the human looks around, can't seem to find the mining foreman, "Buddy, where are you?" It can't move so fast as to get out of sight this quickly!
"Po-wee!" it cheers from the bottom of its latest hole, which is beside a pile of rich bluish-greenish copper ore, onto which another shovelful flies out of the hole onto it.
22h44m17s: Zone 32, 205 He, 9.016 He/hr, 9548 pop, 30N, 37.7s RC with Z31/2712, no tkp.
"You should probably go," Red whispers.
The exhausted human has just sat down for a nap after tossing yet another trap into the huge bin stenciled "61".
"Really, I mean it," the red trimp scientist gently sets a paw on the pilot's shoulder, "Listen to sense please. Charge all this helium and use the portal; it'll make us so much stronger."
"Only 392 thousand to go," Tightniks sighs, "All the ones I've made go to waste if I use it now. I know it's only a two-and-a-halfer, but if I go now, I'll never be in de-" his head slumps into the nodding-off of post-all-nighter fatigue, "moo."
Red and the mining foreman help the snoring human gently down onto his side. The former quietly asks the latter, "Do you think he's doing the right thing?"
The mining foreman makes a particularly delighted squeak, grabs its latest flask of leafy-flowery infusion, which is just now cool enough not to punish such a maneuver with a nasty burn, and upends the whole thing in a couple seconds. It then bounds off joyfully towards the big pit mine over there. It does not often lead the general laborers because of the gymnastic and shield driven block fight, which needs wood, but it happens to be doing so today.
Yellow stands next to the grumbling unhappy green lumber foreman trimp, who is standing on the head of its dual bit ax with its chin on the end of the haft sticking up from the head on the ground. "Cheer up!" the yellow scientist gently prods it in the elbow, "There isn't a Lumber challenge."
1d00h20m05s: Zone 33, 229 He, 9.410 He/hr, 10120 pop, 50N, 40.8s RC with Z32/3390, no turkimp.
"It's a familiar smell," the human says.
"There's no way we've been out this far since whatever it is that shtfed Trimp civilization," Red grumbles. [Word based on acronym SHTF, which stands for "stuff hits the fan" in its G-rated version. Long time ago, similarly derived "nsfw" was a kerbalese cuss word.]
"I think it's from before that," Tightniks clarifies, "from before the time loop stuff."
"I'm worried our fighting group is nearly a third of our population," Yellow sighs.
"Casualties bother you?" Tightniks asks, "I thought we talked about that."
"It's taking forever to breed up new groups, and these things, *snap* ow," Yellow didn't quite touch that one the right way, "you've got 661 thousand of are too small to help. If you don't go now, this will probably be our last Coordination and we won't be able to finish the next zone."
1d06h52m14s: Gymnastic Z35 finally away.
"Did you know it was there?" The red one asks the human as they watch the grey one transcribe another lost chapter of the Gymnastic book.
"No," Tightniks huffs, in a few minutes' break from his trap building, "But I'm not surprised, I hope it gets us Zone 36. In any case, as soon as I finish that millionth trap-"
The mining foreman makes a mournful sound.
"Don't worry, buddy," Tightniks pats it on the head, "I'll brush your tail again last thing before I go." He's working on bin #88.
1d08h00m10s: 12802 pop, 80N, 43.7s RC with Z34/5298, down from 27.4s; '31m00s...
Tightniks, wearing wool-lined leather gloves mixing shimp and bovimp ingredients, plugs the void map that they got from earlier in the zone into the portal, bundled up against the expected cold. He hopes that the fresh Gymnastic Z35 and Coordination Z34 will get them through it.
1d08h33m03s...
"Do you think you can get it back out of there?" Red asks the shivering human as he reaches for the portal.
There are a pair of ejector levers beside the void map slot which clicked when he inserted it, but the void map disappears, so it remained an open question as to whether they could get it back out. Making sure not to have his hands over the void map slot, Tightniks gets a thumb over each one and there's resistance like something is in the empty slot. He grunts and pushes down until they suddenly snap down, the ejected void map rematerializes. "Well, that's a relief," he sets it down and the starts doffing his coats and sweaters to let the warm air of the normal world reach him.
"Try again later?" Yellow asks.
"Yes," the human says.
"What, are you kidding?" Red scoffs, these things level up with the zones!"
"Later on in this zone, obviously," Tightniks grunts with a huff, and then turns to see the grey one holding its little sign with those exact words on it, can't help but smile.
1d09h08m09s: Snimp in Z36c74...
Having just finished yet another trap for bin #95 of the hundred that he needs for the million-traps AP, he tosses it in and looks to the front. There's not much left of that snimp, but it just killed a third fighting group. "The training bonus from running ten laps in an on-level map route doesn't transfer to the void, does it?"
"Shijou," the grey one says with a note of confirmation.
"And I'm getting close to done this pile of traps we need for that 2.5% AP damage bonus."
"Shijou," it says again.
1d09h08m21s: Snimp in Z36c75...
Tightniks sighs, "...and there's another one. So much for that void map with its heinous critically accurate fast voidsnimps and ugly boss fight." And he returns to building traps.
1d10h14m08s: Trying again...
"NULLIFIUM/VOID HEIRLOOM INTERFACE," Tightniks tightens the stuff around himself and then finishes getting the void map inserted with his gloves, and his fingers come together as it puffs out in a brief blue mist in the void environment.
"Timba timba," Tightniks hadn't even noticed that the lumber foreman was up on his head, pats him on the head, wants to get back to work. [No Puchim@s resembles the lumber foreman.]
"Oh, there you are," the human says, "Sorry, I wanted to finish the run with the mining foreman in charge of the resourcing workers. I don't know what's about to happen to it when I hit the Metal challenge."
"Who the devon talked you into into trying this thing again?" Yellow grumbles, looking up at the indigo sky and mysteriously shrunken and dim sun, hands- ...forepaws on its waist, not discomforted by the cold, but bothered by the re-attempt. [This cuss-word after Disturbed song "Inside the Fire".]
"Shijou," the grey one grins above a Rosetta-stone-like sign it's holding with "It was me." in forty-seven languages both human and trimp.
"Zone 37 is hopeless in the time it'll take me to finish building the traps," Tightniks says.
"Won't the cold slow you down?" Red inquires, "It seems to get to you for some reason we don't get."
"Timba timba," the lumber foreman confirms from its perch on Tightiks' jacket hood.
"Yeah," he huffs, tightening it down, "but it slows down the portal clock by the same amount, so who cares?"
1d10h38m48s: Voidsnimp in c12...
Even in the void, Tightniks has gotten used to the sounds of the combat and trimps dying en masse, but when he heard that voidsnimp screech, which is similar to a "drill" robot from an Earth video game he has almost totally forgotten called Descent (Interplay 1995), he almost involuntarily turned to see, Even way back here, they can damage us despite all that gymnastic training? Then it landed the critical hit and wiped them out, as all critical hits do on this void route. He still finished the trap he was working on before going back to the portal, "Forget this, we're just getting the zone blimp." He pops the map from the portal's void slot, and starts getting his void gear off. His uniform long since wore out, so he's wearing something much more cave-manny. [I picked that sound because that sucker was dangerous and terrifying and carried the nearly hitscan Vulcan cannon. There was no Descent II equivalent, but the Thiefbot was pretty annoying.]
1d10h45m30s: 1M traps AP for 2.5%. 1d10h47m36s: Zone 37, 345 He, 9.916 He/hr, 13120 pop, 100N, 33.6s RC with Z34/5298, 2774 pop short, no turkimp.
Tightniks had nearly finished the long procedure for loading and configuring the portal, then sat down with the mining foreman to brush its tail like he promised.
The scientist trimps tried to hit the portal's activation plunger, but it refused to travel the full distance closed for any of them. Quite tired themselves out trying. The only one not exhausted into total silence was the grey one with its exasperated "Shijou..."
The mining foreman refused to go to sleep, and watched intently as Tightniks finally reached over and set it home with one hand. Its last nervous little sigh was the only thing he remembered-
The ship is without power, and Tightniks can't run the radar much without draining the batteries...

Thank you to all of you who have been following this story! Sorry about the delay in posting and responding to your messages, Matt and I actually had a weekend away together (chapter worthy material that I'll share down the road).
This chapter is another first for me, not for Matt. I had always been super self conscious about this one but Matt made it absolutely incredible and now a favorite part of our regular foreplay! I hope you all enjoy! As always, feel free to shoot me any feedback and critiques! ♡Avery
So this one kinda came out of no where. Not something we had really discussed because I was kinda self conscious about straddling a guy's face with my crotch, but I learned to get past all that. After work one Wednesday night...yes I remember the day because Matt and I had developed a routine at this point of alternating days at his house and days I spent in my barracks room. Anyway, one Wednesday evening, I had been driving Matt around on a convoy training mission all day. Alone in a truck with my hot as hell man crush boyfriend, and unable to do anything because we couldn't risk it at work. Of course he would spend it dropping little sly comments about "I bet you like xyz" or something like he doesn't know exactly what l like. Such a tease.
At this point, I've had enough and I just want him. I had showered and cleaned up before coming over, but the moment I walked in his door, I wanted to get dirty all over again. I pressed him up against the wall and pressed my lips to his. He grabs me by my petite waist and pulls me close as I wrap my arms around behind his neck and let my tongue intertwine with his.
I needed him. Like holy shit. I don't know what kind of mood he had put me in all day, but I needed my man and I needed to cum. He senses how frantic my kisses are becoming and he picks me up in his arms and carries me over to the futon in his living room. He lays me down and begins to suck on the soft spot of my neck, driving me wild as it's a mix of tickling and pleasure running through me. I run my fingers through his hair as I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him down between my legs until his growing bulge is pressed against me.
He slips his fingers under my shirt and lifts my shirt and blue neon sports bra over my head in one swoop. My B cup breasts spill out as his tongue finds it's way to my rapidly hardening nipples and I let out a slight sigh of pleasure. I pull his shirt off, exposing his chiseled chest and abs and I reach up to plant soft kisses against my favorite spot to rest my head at night. His kisses soon trail down my ribs as he unzips my short jean shorts revealing a small green cotton thong that leaves very little to the imagination.
I raise my butt and he quickly removes both shorts and thong in the blink of an eye, tossing them to the side as he returns to kiss along the tan lines made by the one piece bathing suit I wore over the weekend. I'm fairly soaked at this point and I just want release. Instead of giving it to me, he sits up, slips off his shorts and lays back himself. He tells me he wants me to sit on his face but face away so he has access to everything.
I'm super self conscious about "down there" to start with. Oral laying on my back is awkward enough but this was a definite first. He takes my hesitant pause to reach and pull me by the thigh over his face. I keep my weight up on my thighs so that I don't crush his face (awkward sauce like I said). Softly at first I feel his tongue tracing my slit as the tip of his nose occasionally brushes against my butt. I let out a soft moan and fall forward, opening myself up as my lips spread at the shift in position and my butthole is exposed as I find myself inches from his rock hard 7 inch cock...quick note on size...no I don't want a monster cock, 7 is about all I can take without having to worry about not sinking down too deep and hurting myself on accident. So no, I don't want your 11 inch dick.
Anyway, back to my face next to his rock hard cock. He takes another taste between my lips and teases gently at my clit as I take him in one hand and lick along the back of his shaft from tip to base. He's shaved himself to match my completely smooth pussy and I lick again and again along his hard smooth shaft.
He begins to pay more attention to my clit as he spreads my buttcheeks wide with his hands, exposing both of my holes to the cold air of the room. I'm practically dripping at this point as I take the head of his cock into my mouth, swirling my tongue around, trying to encourage him to do the same on my clit.
I feel a finger and then a second hook their way into my tight hole, tickling at my g spot as he pulls me down lower onto his face, increasing pressure on my clit with his tongue. This drives me to moan with his dick halfway into my mouth, and he bucks his hips up, forcing his way deeper into my throat. I feel myself start to gag, but the pleasure between my legs over rides everything and I force myself to take more and more of him until he is all the way down my throat and my lips reach the base of his cock.
I'm practically drooling saliva on his shaft as he bucks his hips into me, with his cock buried in my throat. I hold it there as long as I can until his thumb finds it's way to my clit, finally threatening to through me over the edge of a massive orgasm that's been building as we've gone along. I pull my face away, a string of drool leading off my chin and grind my vagina into his face as his tongue presses in circles against my clit and his nose is against my bum. I take his shaft in hand and begin to stroke him, using my own saliva to lubricate him as i go faster and faster, trying to get him to experience the same release I'm on the brink of.
I'm fully raised up, with my pubic bone grinding into his mouth as I finally reach orgasm and cum slightly into his mouth (I'm not a huge squirter but I do cum). I moan his name as I continue to jerk him until he shoots a massive spray of cum of his own up towards my face, some landing on my cheeks while the rest sprays my chest and stomach before coming down and landing on him as well.
Covered in each other's release, I get up and kiss him passionately on the lips, thanking him for this introduction to a new found turn on. He takes me by the hand and we walk naked upstairs to the shower to clean off before dinner...and maybe another round(;
Thank you so much for continuing to follow my story! As always, feedback and critiques are more than welcome! Look for lucky #7 coming out in the next few days! ♡Avery