The internet serves as a record of my friends
Dwindling with each year
When you realize you’re too warm
And too lazy to take off your jacket
It’s the feeling of someone walking too close
There are the conversations you overhear
Not unwelcome, but uncomfortable
You wonder if you should slow your pace
but no matter what you’re both in stride
ALL CHAN. START OF RECORDING
ALL CHAN. [Area of non-pertinent or no conversation.]
FE-EC3 * a distress signal. (come/c’mon) check over here.
FE-EC3 yes. (tune/turn) up the V-H-F.
FE-EC3 yes sir.
FE-EC3 okay. detecting transmission now–
FE-MC1-VHF mayday mayday mayday– this is Mariner Crew-1– sustained critical systems damage due to debris collision– evacuation requested, no propulsive power. mayday mayday mayday– this is Mariner Crew-1– sustained critical systems damage—
FE-EC3-VHF Mariner Crew-1 this is Eureka Crew-3 [ident code redacted] responding to distress call. do you read?
FE-MC1-VHF Mariner Crew-1 to Eureka Crew-3 reads loud and clear.
FE-EC3-VHF Mariner Crew-1 this is Eureka Crew-3– who is speaking?
FE-MC1-VHF this is Flight Engineer @FE-MC1 of Mariner Crew-1.
FE-EC3-VHF Eureka Crew-3 copies. Mariner Crew-1 what is your current location and crew status?
FE-MC1-VHF location sector gamma-four. original flight path on VICTOR route– about three light-seconds out from waypoint two– deviation of 321-056-010. we had an hull breach– space debris collision– we lost propulsive power and life support systems sustained critical damage. @CDR-MC1 and @MS-MC1 are incapacitated– they’re in cryo now. One fatality– we lost @PLS-MC1 to injuries suffered during initial collision.
FE-EC3-VHF Eureka Crew-3 copies. will relay information to commander @CDR-EC3.
FE-EC3 sir– yes. yup.
FE-EC3 mhm. okay.
FE-EC3-VHF Mariner Crew-1 Eureka Crew-3– commander @CDR-EC3 is currently contacting Mission Control for clearance– hold tight.
FE-MC1-VHF roger.
ALL CHAN. [Area of non-pertinent or no conversation.]
FE-MC1-VHF Eureka Crew-3– this is Mariner Crew-1. do you have an estimated response time?
FE-MC1-VHF Eureka Crew-3 do you copy?
FE-EC3-VHF Eureka Crew-3 copies. apologies for the delay. response approval still in progress.
FE-MC1-VHF copy that.
ALL CHAN. [Area of non-pertinent or no conversation.]
FE-MC1-VHF Eureka Crew-3 Mariner Crew-1. I uh– I have a personal request.
FE-EC3-VHF go ahead.
FE-MC1-VHF can Eureka Crew-3 stay on the line?
FE-EC3-VHF negatory– comms must remain clear.
FE-MC1-VHF Mariner Crew-1 acknowledges.
ALL CHAN. [Area of non-pertinent or no conversation.]
FE-EC3-VHF Eureka Crew-3 will try our best in the meantime.
FE-MC1-VHF acknowledged– thank you very much.
FE-MC1-VHF I’m routing (the signal) through the handheld * * can * carry *.
? * * [Static and rustling noises obscure the rest of the message from FE-MC1.]
FE-MC1-VHF * Mariner Crew-1, radio check?
FE-EC3-VHF good and readable.
FE-MC1-VHF hmm. [further rustling noises, likely FE-MC1 tweaking the handheld radio.]
FE-MC1-VHF radio check?
FE-EC3-VHF loud and clear.
FE-MC1-VHF alright.
FE-EC3 understood.
FE-EC3-VHF Mariner Crew-1 if Eureka Crew-3 deviates from current route– E-T-A will be approximately one-three hours.
FE-MC1-VHF confirm E-T-A one-three hours?
FE-MC1-VHF affirmative.
FE-MC1-VHF copy. okay.
FE-MC1-VHF I’m going to go check on the hydroponics systems.
FE-EC3-VHF acknowledged. Eureka Crew-3 will keep you updated.
FE-MC1-VHF thanks.
FE-EC3 one-three hours? Okay.
FE-MC1-VHF ah– yeah– hydroponics lost power too.
FE-EC3 I’ll pass it on.
FE-EC3-VHF Mariner Crew-1 we are now diverting to your location. E-T-A one-three-point-four hours.
FE-MC1-VHF copy– one-three-point-four hours. thank you very much.
FE-MC1-VHF Eureka Crew-3 who am I speaking to?
FE-EC3-VHF this is @FE-EC3.
FE-MC1-VHF is this your first emergency response?
FE-EC3-VHF affirmative… first long-duration flight too– actually.
FE-MC1-VHF (well/wow) isn’t that exciting– congrats.
FE-EC3-VHF thank you.
FE-MC1-VHF ever been to the (Hub) near Station Foxtrot? the one in Sector Gamma-One– I mean.
FE-EC3-VHF I have not.
FE-MC1-VHF it’s got (these/those) big crystal gardens. absolutely lovely.
FE-EC3-VHF I’m sure they are quite a sight.
FE-MC1-VHF mhmm. they’re all (natural from) a formation harvested from– harvested from one of the comets way out * *.
FE-MC1-VHF sorry (man/ma’am)– I’m rambling. it’s been so quiet here. honestly…
FE-EC3-VHF it’s okay.
ALL CHAN. [Area of non-pertinent or no conversation.]
FE-EC3-VHF @FE-MC1? you– uhh– like animals?
FE-MC1-VHF yeah. no pets– unfortunately– you know the life. [brief laughter.]
FE-EC3-VHF I get it. I like dogs– especially the big fluffy ones. never pet one before though.
FE-MC1-VHF never? wow. you’re missing out.
FE-MC1-VHF tell you what– tell you what– if we get to meet up off-duty I’m gonna buy you tickets to a– I dunno. a petting zoo or something. a space petting zoo.
FE-EC3-VHF ha.
FE-MC1-VHF was that too forward of me?
FE-EC3-VHF no– no. you’re fine.
ALL CHAN. [Area of non-pertinent or no conversation.]
FE-EC3-VHF Mariner Crew-1. Eureka Crew-3. do you read?
FE-EC3-VHF Mariner Crew-1 do you read?
FE-MC1-VHF Crew-1 reads. [spoken softly]
FE-MC1-VHF [sound of low intensity electronic beeping.]
FE-MC1-VHF #.
FE-EC3-VHF Eureka three to Mariner one– our E-T-A is one-one hours. what is your status?
FE-MC1-VHF checked the auxiliary hold again– airlock two… completely compromised. backup generator blown… but main * * * [signal noise masks FE-MC1]
FE-EC3-VHF say again?
FE-MC1-VHF backup generator blown. main power seems to be holding steady now.
FE-EC3-VHF life support systems status?
FE-MC1-VHF couldn’t fix it. still (critical).
FE-EC3-VHF oxygen levels?
FE-MC1-VHF uhh– *. probably enough.
FE-EC3-VHF professional estimate. please.
FE-MC1-VHF mmm. for two people in cryo– (for/four) hours. maybe. * losing cabin pressure faster than I thought though.
FE-EC3-VHF I’m sorry.
FE-MC1-VHF ’s not your fault.
FE-EC3-VHF we should have—
FE-MC1-VHF like I said– it’s not your fault. I’m amazed * * * the call at all seeing as we’re in the middle of # nowhere. I would ask for forgiveness– * not that sorry for being selfish.
FE-MC1-VHF [sound similar to low oxygen warning activating.]
FE-EC3-VHF so you knew.
FE-MC1-VHF I had hoped. well. that at least my crewmates can make it out.
ALL CHAN. END OF TRANSCRIPT
ALL CHAN. END OF RECORDING
VO2 avg awake = 12.0 mL/kg/min = 720 mL/kg/hr
VO2 min asleep = 3.0 mL/kg/min = 180 mL/kg/hr
2 people (180 mL/kg/hr * 4 hr) = 1440 mL/kg
1440 mL/kg / 720 mL/kg/hr = 2 hr (1 person)
The payload spun and spun within the planet’s stormy atmosphere, buffeted by high winds and fickle vortices. Visibility conditions were nil as it tumbled through the clouds, its camera feed only offering grainy flickers of orange-red and the overexposed glare of lighting, falling, falling, falling– until it plunged through a particularly dense layer and into a patch of calm.
Two purplish objects floated into view, shapes reminiscent of Earth-native Cnidarian medusae: radially symmetrical, a translucent, bell-like structure, and trailing, wispy lines starting from the bottom of the bell. The currents gently tugged at them, and like kites in a storm, they vanished just as quickly into the reddish haze.
“‘Just wait till tomorrow,’”
I started off the school year thinking I just had to make it through. Through the day, through the week, through the year, through to better times. I waited all of high school to finally get to college and make friends there, and there I was, in college, waiting for it to be over so I could be on to the next era of my life, a better one with better friends. I fell fully into the trap of living for the future and simply enduring the present.
“I guess that’s what they all say just before they fall apart.”
I’ve learned since then that things change – and with enough patience, a little luck, and a good attitude, they can change for the better. Now, I am able to simultaneously look forward to the future and enjoy where I am in the moment. This past weekend, my best friend from home came to visit me in Ann Arbor. Throughout high school and into the present, she is so special to me because I always feel like I can be my entire self around her. Having her come to Ann Arbor made me realize that I feel the same way around the friends I’ve made here at Michigan – something that I didn’t quite realize was the case until this weekend.
“I was upset, you see, almost all the time.”
It’s a lot easier for me to get through the days, weeks, and months here knowing I am surrounded by the healthiest friends I could wish for, and I find myself feeling like I am enjoying my current state of being as opposed to viewing the present as an obstacle in the way of the better times ahead. I like to think the best is yet to come, but if my present is as good as it gets, I would be able to move through life happily as well – and that feeling is everything that my past self dreamed of.
“You used to be a stranger, now you are mine.”
Listen to Regret by New Order here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5V_jUncesw
It was on day three, hiking out into the mountainous scrublands and already sweaty from exertion, when he felt it: a rumbling.
Then he saw it: plumes of white clouds, billowing from the horizon off in the distance– no, not clouds… smoke, he realized, watching as a trail rapidly ascended.
Then he heard it: a deep roar, loud and imminent as the rocket screamed through the atmosphere.
Hello, and welcome to Industrious Illustrating! This is a new weekly column updating on Fridays which will show process pictures, sketches, and sometimes finished works that show what goes into making character designs, illustrations, and the like.
This week we will look at two different pieces I created based on photographs I took on a 2019 summer trip to England.
Last night, I digitally painted this piece of two girls hanging out in an alcove on the University of Cambridge campus. I directly painted over my photograph for the background, but I took liberties in the exact details and drew two figures who weren’t present in the original picture. I had to construct the lighting and proportions on the two characters based on my own understanding of how lighting and scale would work in that environment.
I traditionally painted this piece with watercolors and alcohol-based markers in the fall of 2020 based on a photograph I took at the Bridge of Sighs in Oxford. I had to eyeball all the proportions and perspective and then draw the environment by hand, albeit while referencing a photograph. In retrospect, I think some of the details and perspective look a little off. But that was the best I could do at the time without the ability to directly paint over the original photograph.
For both paintings, I had to rely on my own understanding of lighting and perspective to construct the scene. The original photographs were also unquestionably my work. Since I wanted to depict real places in the United Kingdom, I couldn’t just rely on my own imagination to recreate existing scenery, and it wasn’t practical for me to return to the UK in person every time I wanted to paint a real-life scene. So my best option was to use photographs as a tool for inspiring interesting illustrations.
Digital art programs make image adjustments such as brightness, contrast, and saturation much easier, and they also have the blessing known as the undo function (ctrl-z). They also have the ability to directly integrate photographs into paintings for textures and references, which professional concept artists and illustrators often use so that they can finish detailed paintings on a timely basis for their clients. Using these tools isn’t cheating, as no amount of fancy tools can compensate for a lack of artistic skill. Rather, digital art programs enable artists to speed up their workflow and create finished works faster for both professional and hobbyist purposes.
I’m still proud of both pieces, and I think they both have their own merits. But this comparison should hopefully show that while digital art programs didn’t teach me the fundamentals or my current skills, they do help smooth out the process as a tool akin to a paintbrush or a pen.
