Author | Lightnews

WriterOfMinds (she)

@writerofminds.bsky.social

440 followers 310 following 750 posts

Loving author of Acuitas the symbolic AI and other robots-in-progress. Aspiring fiction writer, video game appreciator. Satellite electronics are my day job.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · Aug 26

Acuitas plays my textual version of Logical Journey of the Zoombinis: Allergic Cliffs! The demo is out! This puzzle showcases induction of cause-and-effect rules. writerofminds.blogspot.com/2025/08/acui...
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #chatbot #NLP

Acuitas Diary #87 (August 2025, Allergic Cliffs demo)

Adventures in robotics and AI on a shoestring budget. SFF Fiction and occasional video game appreciation.

writerofminds.blogspot.com

2 7

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 8h

Sorry to see this happen. Best wishes for finding a new place.

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 1d

In Acuitas news, I dust off episodic memory and try to unify it with the more recently developed narrative architectures. These open new possibilities for methods of summarizing, characterizing significance, and selectively forgetting memories. #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #NLP #chatbots #SymbolicAI

Acuitas Diary #89 (October 2025)

Adventures in robotics and AI on a shoestring budget. SFF Fiction and occasional video game appreciation.

writerofminds.blogspot.com

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 3d

I've given someone else the "fluid bladders as actuators" bug. :)

Rue Mohr @ruenahcmohr.bsky.social · 4d

And then in the process of setting it up to film a video I pushed it too far and popped it. I tried to reseal it with a soldering iron, which worked, and then I pushed it to far again.

blah, here is what I got for it.

(room for improvement)

1 7

Reposted by WriterOfMinds (she)

Wild Bees USA/CAN @wildbeesuscan.bsky.social · 5d

WildBees USA/CAN 3D Printing Support Fundraiser

WildBees USA/Can is fundraising to support 3D Printing right in Ukraine. 100% of all donations go directly to the print farm. Each contribution goes toward materials, maintenance, and expanding capacity.

Donate Below!
wildbees.us?page_id=2771

3 4 8

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 6d

Potato harvest round 2 (from the tires)! Got another 4.8 pounds to add to the late-summer harvest from the other beds, which pushes my total for this year over 11 lb. Some nice big ones in there too. #gardening 🌱

White potatoes of various sizes scattered on a striped beach towel, with a tricolor tabby cat investigating them.

2 3 37

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 7d

From experience, if you keep that kind of peanut butter long enough, instead of molding or rotting it becomes glue.

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 8d

First time I've printed silk PLA, and it was, uh, a learning experience. The lowest recommended temp is 190, but I have to print it at 175-180 to control the strings. Makes me wonder if my hotend temperature is off.

1 5

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 8d

You mean the solenoid valves I was using? www.adafruit.com/product/4663...

6V Air Valve with 2-pin JST XH Connector

Here's a cool new valve for makers interested in pneumatic systems, hydraulics, inflatables, projects with compressed air, and the like. These air valves, also known by other names like, ...

www.adafruit.com

2 1

Reposted by WriterOfMinds (she)

Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 9d

I took a stab at comet Lemmon, currently in the neighborhood, though I don't have the equipment (and especially skill!) to do it justice.

I've been lucky enough to work with some of the best astronomers in the world, and I'm continuously humbled by what they can achieve with a handful of photons.✨

A very noisy image of comet Lemmon which is currently (barely) visible in the early evening sky. The head of the comet is greenish, and the contrast on this image has been stretched (too far) to try and bring out any detail in the comet's tail (there isn't much). Cropped from ten stacked 1-second exposures at ISO 64000, taken with a Nikon Z6III with a 400mm lens.

3 12

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 9d

Why are they only doing this *after* Starship had two reasonably successful flights, though? Was something about those not as good as they looked?

1 2

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 11d

Everyone's brain is different. Sometimes you just have to try things and see whether they work for you or your body doesn't tolerate them well.

1 1

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 11d

You can tell the non-disreputable characters don't look at their life or others' as cheap. Any racism feels like a product of the colonial setting rather than something the author is pushing. I'd rather read another book like this than read about the British Navy abusing its own.

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 11d

I'm not a big romance person, and I actually liked the minor romantic subplot. The book ends tragically, but it's tragic in a meaningful way, not a pointless way. And most importantly, this book feels more *humane* than other age-of-sail historical fiction I've read.

1 1

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 11d

The plot is also somewhat non-linear and told by multiple narrators (sometimes nested!) so it gets a tad confusing. Still, the story's essence came through clearly enough.

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 11d

I wasn't quite as pleased with the pacing. Conrad *loves* tangents; he'll introduce a minor character who will never appear in the book again, then insist on summarizing their life story before he goes any further with the main plot.

1 1

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 11d

First off, I adore the prose. In fact, as a writer myself, I'm *envious.* Conrad writes beautiful imagery. Several other members of my book club found it sleep-inducing, so I guess they have no appreciation for high literature.

1 1

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 11d

Read: "Lord Jim" (Joseph Conrad). This is the first Conrad novel I've read. It's an extended character sketch of a young sailor who loses his sense of honor through a personal failure, then simply can't get over it - the event rules the rest of his life.

Cover art of "Lord Jim," by Joseph Conrad, Oxford World's Classics edition. A painting of a young white man with wavy brown hair and sideburns, but no beard. He wears khaki pants and a white collared shirt with a black necktie and jacket, and a black belt with a large brass buckle. He is standing in a jaunty pose, with one hand behind his back and the other on his hip, and one foot lifted. A tropical coastal landscape appears in the background.

1 4

Reposted by WriterOfMinds (she)

Cyan Worlds @cyan.com · 12d

We are ✨THRILLED✨ to announce that our fully-remastered version of Myst is now available alongside one of our favorite new puzzle games, Blue Prince!

Get BOTH for 15% off, in the 🟥Red & Blue🟦Bundle, for a limited time!

👇👇👇 Available NOW on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/60625/

The Red & Blue Bundle - Myst and Blue Prince

3 40 130

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 12d

I would at least countenance a pilot program of this ...

1 2

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 14d

When the art critics decide it's high-falutin' enough? I dunno.

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 14d

I'm under the impression that "critter" is a neutral term whereas "varmint" is derogatory (derived from "vermin"). So which one to apply is subjective.
In *my* personal opinion, no animal is a "varmint."

1 2

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 14d

My mom 1) has no passport, 2) lives in Montana where driver's licenses don't qualify as Real-ID, and 3) can't figure out how to get Real-ID because her name changed and they need her to provide an official marriage cert or something. She can't fly, and if this goes through I take it she can't vote.

1 2

Reposted by WriterOfMinds (she)

ZoeTheRobot @zoetherobot.bsky.social · 15d

‪ZoeTheRobot‬
‪@zoetherobot.bsky.social‬
The main parts in my robot, and how they are connected.
The two Arduinos run their little loops collecting sensor data and then sending it to the mini PC over the USB cable. The PC is running SQL server and a custom built chat bot.

1 4

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 16d

Happy birthday!

1 1

WriterOfMinds (she) @writerofminds.bsky.social · 17d

I decided to make some of the "text adventure" games I've been using with Acuitas (specifically, the Zoombinis-inspired ones) publicly available, just in case anyone else finds them interesting as a benchmark. #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #chatbots #NLP #SymbolicAI

Zoombinis Text Adventure Games Release

Adventures in robotics and AI on a shoestring budget. SFF Fiction and occasional video game appreciation.

writerofminds.blogspot.com

1 4