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The 7 Best Online Stores for LARP Supplies

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There’s nothing like immersing yourself in a fantasy world, especially with lots of other people alongside you. However, a flawed or expensive outfit can quickly ruin your LARP vibes.

If you don’t have the best crafting skills and prefer to buy gear, there are professionals you can rely on. The following online stores supply all kinds of equipment to LARP events and individual customers. Explore each store’s services and assemble the perfect cost-effective outfit.

What Is LARP?

If you’re a fan of Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons, or any fantasy RPG video game, then LARPing is a great activity to get into. It stands for Live Action Role Playing and involves group events where everyone dresses up as fantastical characters and acts out a story.

Festivals all over the world, like Germany’s ConQuest, the UK’s Lorien Trust, and Mind’s Eye Society in the US, welcome you as a guest, NPC, or even main character. Some go as far as to provide scripts and fine-tune every detail, from the tavern’s furniture to how spellcasting works.

Above all, there’s a unique freedom to these gatherings. No geek would mind you finding inspiration in popular science fiction books and showing up as Arthur Dent from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Steampunk is a particular favorite among LARPing themes too.

1. Andracor

Based in Germany, Andracor is a hallmark name in the LARP community. It offers a huge range of products and shipping to customers worldwide. You’ll find leather armor, broadswords, skull masks, pirate pistols, monster makeup, and so much more.

Prices vary, of course, depending on the item and its quality. A drinking horn holder, for example, is around $12. Jewelry or much simpler products can be cheaper, but expect a full set of plate armor to cost at least a couple hundred dollars.

LARPing is not a cheap hobby. That said, browsing through expert products can inspire you to put your DIY skills to the test and only invest in select items your outfit can’t do without.

2. Chow’s Emporium

This is a UK retailer that also accepts international orders. Chow’s Emporium caters to LARPing demands and also has more unique products, including Oriental styles. The cuts of its tunics, for example, are embellished with extra patterns or fabrics.

Some downsides to the Emporium is that it doesn’t have armor, and its prices reflect the quality of the products. For instance, a jacket and tunic set with faux leather and a mantle will cost you around $326.

As already suggested, you could just get special pieces from here, like unique hats or hip flasks, and combine them with products from other stores or with pieces of your own design. Alternatively, you can always save up and buy the most eye-catching outfit for your next LARP event.

3. Larp Inn

Larp Inn is another major UK-based supplier of LARP equipment. It has been keeping fantasy fans happy for years now, even offering board games like D&D and Warhammer. If what you’re after is definitely armor or a battle ax, the Larp Inn is still a reliable shop to check out.

The quality is good, and although the styles aren’t anything special, it still has some nice Celtic, Samurai, and even steampunk designs. The cost can be just as high as the previous stores on this list, with a breastplate alone reaching over $140. You also have to factor in shipping rates, whether for UK or international destinations.

Once again, smart purchases are the way to go. You can put an outfit together piece by piece without breaking the bank, all while combining different features and giving your look a more personalized touch.

4. Your Larp Store

Germany is a great place for LARPing, as it has some of the best suppliers—Your Larp Store is one of them. You can be sure of the quality of the products coming from Your Larp Store, which takes its stock and crafting skills very seriously.

Prices range from around $10 to over $1,000, so choose your investments carefully. A handy part of the platform to check out is the Do It Yourself tab. This contains materials to make your own equipment, like chainrings, leather straps, and silicone spray for weapons.

Alongside additional wares like photo CDs and LARPzeit magazine, Your Larp Store is also a popular source of industry news, especially about ConQuest and similar events.

5. Calimacil

Canada has its own LARP workshop and store to contribute to the world of LARPing. Its products range from common medieval and fantasy gear to items based on popular video games like The Witcher, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and Destiny. For around $78 to $188, you can even order a custom sword, ax, or staff.

Simple trinkets, like quills, come to little more than $10. More intricate products, like metal armor, can be over $500. Whether you want pieces of a costume or a whole set, you can control the size of your investment without compromising your outfit’s quality.

Another noteworthy fact is that Calimacil collaborates with fellow creative companies to offer LARPers every possible luxury. Seyrawyn, a fantasy publishing house, stocks the store with books for all ages, while Mythic Workshop adds to its high-end fantasy equipment.

6. Epic Armoury

Love of LARP is universal, and the fact that LARP suppliers exist all over the world makes that especially clear. Epic Armoury is located in Denmark and often collaborates with event organizers to create the most immersive environment possible.

That’s why you’ll find a lot of interesting equipment on its website. Roman fire pits, medieval cutlery, potion flasks, skulls, and gold coins are just some special items available. It also has typical fantasy gear, such as armor, clothing, accessories, and so on.

There are some products that are under $10, but anything bigger and more complex than a bracelet will cost more. It also has a DIY section to help LARPers who like to craft their experiences from scratch.

Related: Top Knitting Apps for Beginners and Experts

7. Armstreet

Last but not least, this US company has a vast collection to dive into. Armstreet caters to all medieval tastes, from Viking and Tudor to fairytale styles. It’s not just tunics and dresses you’ll see, but also aprons, headwear, socks, and chemises.

The designs stay loyal to the times, and also cater to LARPers ready to splurge on some extra pieces to make their outfit pop. This includes beautiful jewelry and mirrors, but also archery bracers, cloaks, and belts.

In terms of cost, Armstreet isn’t cheap. A steel and leather mug costs about $44, and that’s typically the lowest price you’ll find here. But when sales go live, you can expect some decent discounts. You just need to time it right and have a specific budget in mind.

Know Your LARP Needs and Suppliers

With a passion for fantasy or medieval themes, you can live the LARP dream. It does take planning and smart spending, however, to avoid going overboard while putting your outfit together.

A great costume really doesn’t have to cost a fortune. At the same time, you can have fun crafting some of its features and refining the overall effect. All you need are the right supplies. Between these top-notch online LARP stores, there’s not much you can’t create.

non critical

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December 18, 2020 at 11:06AM

A few more notes on the AR-15 platform

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Readers have asked a number of questions about the AR-15 rifle and/or carbine platform since my article on Tuesday titled "Can a cheap, bargain-basement AR-15 keep up with a high-end model?"  A number of them related to the difficulty of obtaining rifles of known quality or provenance, particularly in times of widespread shortages such as this.

First off, let me refer readers to the three-part series on this subject that I wrote earlier this year:

1. The personal defense rifle, part 1: a few thoughts
2. The personal defense rifle, part 2: reader’s questions
3. The personal defense rifle, part 3: choosing ammunition

Those articles covered most of the questions.  For the rest, here goes with some more answers.

1.  An AR-15 has two major parts, an upper receiver and a lower receiver.  What’s the difference, and which is most important?

The lower receiver is the part of the AR-15 that’s officially a "firearm", according to Federal law, and is the part that requires a background check when you buy an AR-15 from a dealer.  It contains the trigger mechanism that fires the gun, and without it the gun can’t fire:  therefore it’s the licensed, registered part.  The serial number appears on it (usually engraved or stamped on the magazine well).

A lower receiver is, oddly enough, the least important quality concern when it comes to building an AR-15.  As long as you have a stripped (i.e. bare, unequipped) lower that meets military specifications (so-called "mil-spec"), including dimensions, materials and quality, you’re good to go.  It’s the parts you put into the lower receiver (pins, springs, and most importantly the trigger group) that make it high- or low-quality.  Most AR-15 "home-builders" or modifiers (like myself) source their lower receiver parts kits from decent-quality manufacturers, so there are seldom any issues with them.  (That’s exactly what factories do, too, except that they buy their parts by the thousands, whereas we buy them one or two at a time.  They come from the same sources.)

For example, my local gun shop currently has a dozen or so parts kits from Anderson Manufacturing – a lower-priced manufacturer – on its rack, and they’re selling like hot cakes.  Anderson makes hundreds of thousands of AR-15 rifles, carbines and parts kits every year, so if their parts didn’t work or broke, you’d hear about it in short order from tens of thousands of angry customers.  You don’t.  Q.E.D.  That doesn’t mean that their parts are all necessarily high-quality.  Their trigger, for example, is acceptable, but far from stellar.  I usually replace them (see below for more details).

The one really important variable in the lower receiver is the trigger group.  A stock-standard mil-spec trigger is acceptable, but not much more than that.  A "tuned" or "polished" standard trigger is somewhat better.  A custom trigger can be head and shoulders above that . . . but the law of diminishing returns applies.  You can spend a little more and get a big improvement in trigger quality;  but if you spend much more, you won’t necessarily get a much bigger improvement.

In the past, I’ve recommended the single-stage ALG Advanced Combat Trigger ($69), or for those who want maximum accuracy in a designated-marksman-type rifle, the two-stage LaRue Tactical MBT-2S ($80).  I recently put two rifles in front of a friend, one fitted with the LaRue trigger, the other with a Geissele trigger costing more than three times as much.  I challenged him to tell me which was the more expensive (and therefore presumably "better") trigger.  He couldn’t.  They were both very good.  That being the case, I don’t think it’s worth spending more than the ALG or LaRue units will cost you.  I have both.  For my general-purpose rifles I stay with the ALG.  For two very accurate rifles, that I may use at longer range and therefore want as much trigger control as possible, I use the LaRue.

The upper receiver is, according to Federal law, not a firearm.  You can buy it without any license or background check (at least at present).  It holds the barrel, bolt carrier group, and everything that goes with them (sights, both optical and mechanical;  anything attached to the handguard, like lights, lasers, etc.;  brass catchers;  etc.).  Its components are therefore critical to accuracy, as much as reliability, and you should choose the best you can.  I know a large number of people who’ve bought or built the best-quality upper receiver group they could afford, then paired it with a much less expensive mil-spec lower receiver.  The performance of the upper receiver isn’t affected by the lower, so the performance of the rifle overall doesn’t suffer – and they save a lot of money.  I’ve done that with a Bravo Company 20" upper receiver group, which I’ve paired with a DPMS lower receiver fitted with a high-quality match trigger.  That thing’s a tack-driver by anyone’s standards (under 1 MOA with match ammo), and it cost me about two-thirds of what Bravo Company wanted for a full rifle.  It’s what I could afford at the time, and I’ve never regretted it.

The basic upper receiver should meet military specifications as to dimensions, quality of metal, etc.  Some go further.  For example, Bravo Company (one of the top AR-15 manufacturers in the country) is famous (or notorious!) for making its upper receivers to such tight tolerances that it’s really hard work to fit a new barrel to them.  One has to take a heat gun, warm up the barrel socket until it expands, fit the barrel into it (usually needing a hammer, lubrication, and a liberal supply of profanity), and then let the socket cool down around it, locking it into place.  That’s one of the reasons why Bravo Company rifles, receivers and parts command such high prices.  Their reliability and build quality are well-known and respected.

Barrels are, of course, particularly important (for an exhaustive guide to barrels, see here and here).  A standard mil-spec barrel, made to meet US military standards, has to shoot its rounds into a 5" group at 100 yards (colloquially referred to as "5 MOA" [minute of angle], although that’s not correct, strictly speaking, in purely mathematical terms).  I regard that as hopelessly inadequate.  If one of my rifles won’t shoot into 2" at 100 yards from a stable shooting position, I either fix it or replace it!  The military barrel also has to last for at least 6,000 rounds before needing replacement.  That’s not as much as it sounds:  it’s the equivalent of only 200 30-round magazines through the weapon.  Just about any commercial barrel will meet those standards, and anything worth the name will be much better than that.  Of course, the better barrels will cost more;  I’ve paid up to $300 for good-quality examples, and if you go to a custom barrel-maker, you can pay well into four figures for one.

The bolt carrier group (BCG) is also important from the perspective of reliability.  A cheap BCG will have a rougher finish (usually phosphate), requiring more lubrication to be reliable.  More expensive BCG’s will have a black nitride or nickel boron finish, or even (in the most costly examples) a titanium nitride coating.  These slide more easily in the upper receiver, and need less lubrication.  (See here and here for more information on BCG coatings.)

A BCG (or representative examples from a production batch) should go through a high-pressure test (HPT) and a magnetic particle inspection (MPI).  The gas key should also be properly staked, and the extractor spring good and strong.  I willingly pay higher prices for BCG’s from reputable manufacturers, rather than bargain-basement models, because those companies take time and trouble to meet those standards.  However, any company selling large numbers of BCG’s will be forced to pay attention to quality, because if they didn’t, they (and we) would rapidly hear about it from dissatisfied customers.

2.  In today’s gun market, I can’t find any "name-brand" AR-15’s for sale in local gun shops.  Should I buy anything I can get for now, and buy a better one later?  Isn’t that throwing my money away?

It depends on your need.  If you’re likely to need a rifle or carbine for defensive purposes (e.g. you live in or near an area of urban unrest or rioting, or there are criminal gangs active nearby), then your priorities are very different from someone living on a farm in an isolated area with no likely trouble spots anywhere nearby.  If time is of the essence, get the best you can, and plan to upgrade it later – not necessarily selling it, but buying better parts like an improved trigger, etc.  If the budget is tight, sure, trade it in against something more to your taste.

It’s also important to test your weapon thoroughly at the range.  I know some folks who buy a gun and never shoot it.  They simply load it and put it away in case of need.  If it’s not the best quality, and may be prone to malfunctions, they’ll only find out about it when they really need it – and that may be too late to do anything to fix it.  Rather take your gun to the range and put a couple of hundred rounds through it, to break in and bed down all the moving parts, and make sure there are no malfunctions.  If there are, take it back to the vendor and insist that it be fixed or replaced.  Your life may depend on it!

If you can’t find an acceptable-quality AR-15, don’t neglect other options.  Lever-action rifles have been defending lives (as well as putting meat on the table) for more than one-and-a-half centuries, from the Civil War-era Henry and Spencer rifles to today’s Winchesters, Marlins, Henrys and others.  The late, great Jeff Cooper referred to a lever-action rifle or carbine as a modern-day "urban assault rifle", because of their handiness and utility.  You can usually get a license for them in even the most restrictive cities, and they do a very good job within their limitations.  I have several, and I’ll gladly entrust my life to them if I have to.  Other options are pump-action (also known as slide-action) rifles, shotguns, etc.  I agree, the AR-15 platform is a very good one for defensive use, and I prefer it:  but if I couldn’t afford one, or find a worthwhile example for sale, I wouldn’t be helpless without it.

3.  The incoming Biden administration has promised to ban, confiscate or tax AR-15’s.  Doesn’t that mean it’s not worth buying one?

I’m not going to tell anyone to break the law.  That’s a personal decision each of us has to make.  However, I’ll point out three things.

1. For almost as long as the USA has existed, and particularly during the Civil Rights era, civil disobedience became part of the American political and legal lexicon.  Laws were deliberately defied if they were seen as oppressive or discriminatory.
2. When New York passed its "NY SAFE Act" in 2013, requiring the registration of all so-called "assault weapons" (including AR-15’s), civil disobedience was – and remains – massive.  "Based on an estimate from the National Shooting Sports Federation, about 1 million firearms in New York State meet the law’s assault-weapon criteria, but just 44,000 have been registered. That’s a compliance rate of about 4 percent."
3. When Connecticut passed new gun control legislation in 2013, the same thing happened.  "The governor’s new gun law is a dismal, unmitigated failure.  According to figures recently released by the state police, approximately 50,000 out of an estimated half-million "assault rifles" in the state of Connecticut were registered under the new gun law.  That is a compliance rate of only about 10 percent … The figures are even more acutely low for large capacity magazines. The compliance rate for large capacity magazines appears to be considerably less than 1 percent of the estimated number of affected magazines."

Does anyone expect a national ban or registration requirement to be any more successful?  I certainly don’t!  Furthermore, the number of gun owners I’ve heard loudly lament the "terrible loss" of all their so-called "assault weapons" and large-capacity magazines in an "unfortunate boating accident" must surely mean that the bottoms of most US dams, lakes, rivers and streams are now several feet deep in firearms!

I’ll also point out the well-known proverb from the days of the Old West:  "I’d rather be judged by twelve (i.e. jurors) than carried by six (i.e. pallbearers at my funeral)".

I hope that clarifies the questions I was asked.  If you have more, let us know in Comments, and I’ll try to answer them.

Peter

non critical

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December 18, 2020 at 07:14AM

LiquidPiston’s ‘Inside-Out’ Rotary X-Engine Wins Army Research Contract

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Connecticut-based company LiquidPiston is developing a portable generator for the US Army that uses its X-Engine, a fresh and extremely powerful take on the rotary engine that’ll deliver as much power as the Army’s current-gen-set at one-fifth the size. New Atlas reports: We’ve written a few times before about the fascinating LiquidPiston rotary engine. It’s not a Wankel — indeed, it’s closer to an inside-out Wankel — and with only two moving parts, it’s able to deliver extraordinary power density at up to 1.5 horsepower per pound (0.45 kg). According to co-founder and CEO Alec Schkolnik, the X Engine design combines the high compression ratio and direct injection of a diesel engine with the constant volume combustion process of an Otto cycle engine and the over-expansion abilities of an Atkinson cycle engine, while solving the lubrication and sealing issues of the Wankel rotary engine and delivering huge power and efficiency. Check out the design being used in a go-kart and an unmanned aircraft in the video below.
LiquidPiston demonstrated the technology for the US Army by building a Compact Artillery Power System (CAPS) generator unit designed to power the digital fire control system on an M777 Howitzer artillery piece. It replaced a generator that needed a truck to move it around with something 20 percent the size: a 41-lb (18.6-kg), 1.5-cubic foot (28.3-L) box about the size of a gaming PC that can easily be carried by two men. Smartly designed to work in conjunction with a battery in a hybrid system, the 2-kW CAPS generator impressed the Army enough that LiquidPiston has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research contract to develop it further as a 2-5 kW Small Tactical Generator for a range of military use cases, running on diesel with compression ignition.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

geeky

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December 17, 2020 at 02:08AM

Fast Excel Package for Laravel

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use Rap2hpoutre\FastExcel\FastExcel;
use App\User;

// Export a User model
$users = User::all();
(new FastExcel($users))->export('file.xlsx');

// Export a collection Collection
$list = collect([
    [ 'id' => 1, 'name' => 'Jane' ],
    [ 'id' => 2, 'name' => 'John' ],
]);

(new FastExcel($list))->export('file.xlsx');

return (new FastExcel(User::all()))->download('file.xlsx');

$sheets = new SheetCollection([
    User::all(),
    Project::all()
]);
(new FastExcel($sheets))->export('file.xlsx');

programming

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December 17, 2020 at 09:22AM

The USPTO Patent Litigation Dataset: Open Source, Extensive Docket and Patent Number Data

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Guest Post by Prof. Ted Sichelman, University of San Diego School of Law

Many online services provide district court patent litigation dockets, documents, and associated patent numbers. However, none of these services offer comprehensive, hand-coded patent numbers and case types, plus full dockets and key documents (complaints, summary judgments, verdicts), downloadable in bulk at no charge and with no license restrictions.

After more than three years of extensive automated and manual review of patent dockets, the USPTO’s Office of the Chief Economist —in conjunction with researchers from the University of San Diego’s Center for IP Law & Markets (myself) and Northwestern Law School (David L. Schwartz)—have completed that very goal, expanding upon the patent litigation dataset the USPTO had released in 2015.

Currently, the dataset (available here) includes:

• Dockets: The complete docket for every lawsuit filed in district courts tagged as a patent action in PACER (and many other patent cases tagged under non-patent PACER codes) from the first patent case logged in PACER through the end of 2016 (over 80,000 case dockets).
• Attorneys & Parties: Full lists of parties by type (e.g., plaintiff, defendant, intervener, etc.) and their attorneys, with full contact information for the attorneys gathered from public records.
• Patent Numbers: Comprehensive, hand-coded patent numbers by a team over 30 law students from all electronically available complaints in PACER in cases filed from 2003 through the end of 2016.
  • Based on testing against several of the leading commercial services, plus publicly available data from the Stanford NPE Litigation Database, the dataset’s patent number information is substantially more complete and accurate than any of these services (which often use automated methods for determining patents-in-suit).
• Case Types: Every case in PACER filed from 2003 through the end of 2016 is identified with one of 15 fine-grained case types, including patent infringement (non-declaratory judgement [DJ]), DJ on non-infringement and invalidity, DJ on non-infringement only, DJ on invalidity only, false marking, inventorship, malpractice, regulatory challenge, and others.

In the next few months, the USPTO will make available:

• Documents: Initial complaints, summary judgment orders, and verdicts (bench and jury) that are electronically available for all patent cases in PACER filed from 2003 through the end of 2016.

The data is downloadable only in bulk and is not searchable at the USPTO website. However, it is relatively straightforward to download and search the patent number, case type, and attorney data, in Microsoft Excel or other database and statistical packages.

Importantly, there are no licensing restrictions whatsoever on the use of the data, and the research team and USPTO expect that commercial and non-commercial services will add the information to their search interfaces in the coming year. Additionally, the research team is hoping to update all of the data for patent cases filed through the end of 2020 sometime next year. Further down the road, we hope to code cases for outcomes and add appeals by supplementing Jason Rantanen’s comprehensive Compendium of Federal Circuit Decisions with full dockets and key documents.

In examining litigation trends, many researchers across the academic, public, and private sectors have used proprietary datasets, which generally could not be disclosed to other researchers for study replication and testing. Hopefully, academics and others will now use the USPTO’s fully open dataset for studies on the U.S. patent litigation system to allow for meaningful review of empirical studies.

Documentation on the database is available here and at the USPTO webpage. Anyone interested in using the data is also welcome to contact me (tsichelman@sandiego.edu) with technical and other questions.

legal_stuff

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December 16, 2020 at 11:41AM

Watch Kayleigh McEnany go full William Wallace on the mainstream media over their insane liberal bias. With receipts.

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Ladies and gents, there is only one emoji appropriate for the video you are about to watch, and it is 😤😤😤😤😤😤

fun

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December 15, 2020 at 08:37PM

Laravel Simple Filemanager v1.0.2 released!

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programming

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December 15, 2020 at 08:48PM

HeatWave for MySQL – Technical Deep Dive

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In the previous blog we provided insights on how the MySQL database has been enhanced to integrate with a native high performance analytics engine – HeatWave: https://blogs.oracle.com/mysql/breakthrough-enhancements-in-mysql-database-service-with-analytics-engine

HeatWave is a new, massively parallel in-memory query engine developed by Oracle Labs designed for accelerating analytic workloads. HeatWave provides 100x-1000x acceleration over MySQL and MySQL compatible databases like Aurora. 

There are four key architecture choices which provide compelling performance with HeatWave:

1. An in-memory hybrid columnar format which is conducive to vector processing.
2. A massively parallel architecture which is enabled by a massively partitioned architecture.
3. State of the art algorithms for distributed analytic algorithms.
4. The engine is optimized for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

Architecture Overview of HeatWave

HeatWave uses a columnar in-memory representation that facilitates vectorized processing leading to very good query performance (Figure 1). The data is encoded and compressed prior to being loaded in memory. This compressed and optimized in memory representation is used for both numeric and string data. This results in significant reduced memory footprint which translates to reduced cost for customer. The data organization in memory and query processing is structured such that it is amenable to vector and SIMD processing which leads to reduced interpretation overhead for queries and improves query performance.

Figure 1. Vectorized in-memory columnar representation for analytic processing 

One of the key design points of HeatWave is to massively partition data across a cluster of analytics nodes, which can be operated upon in parallel in each node (Figure 2). The partitioning is done at near memory bandwidth and the size of the partitions is optimizes for the underlying cache. This enables high cache hits for analytic operations and provides good inter-node scalability. Each analytics node within a cluster and each core within a node can process partitioned data in parallel, including parallel scans, joins, group-by, aggregation and top-k processing. 

Figure 2. Massively parallel architecture

Data partitioning in the memory of HeatWave can be driven by a workload based mechanism which minimizes data movement across cores or nodes which improves scalability. Partitioning by workload dependent column reduces data movement for queries with join (or group-by) predicates since it provides co-location of data across tables in the join condition. 

HeatWave has implemented state of art algorithms for distributed analytic processing (Figure 3). Joins within a partition are processed fast by using vectorized build and probe join kernels. Network communication between analytics nodes is optimized by using asynchronous batch I/Os.

Figure 3. Distributed analytic algorithms optimized for OCI 

Furthermore, HeatWave has an intelligent scheduler which efficiently overlaps computation tasks with network communication tasks such that while the data is being transferred between nodes, each node is busy doing some computation (Figure 4). This helps achieve good scalability across a large number of servers.

Figure 4. Intelligent scheduler to overlap compute time with network communication

HeatWave uses AMD based VM shapes in OCI which provide the best price per GB of DRAM. Various aspects of query processing have been optimized for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. For example, the granularity of partitioning has been optimized for the cache size of the underlying compute shape, algorithms are NUMA aware, and the query cost model factors in the network bandwidth available in OCI.

Machine Learning Based Automation

HeatWave leverages auto machine learning (AutoML) capabilities developed in Oracle Labs to automate various aspects of the service. This automation is helpful both for users of the service and engineers managing the service. Since this automation is based on machine learning, the system can intelligently predict and act upon various scenarios. 

Auto Provisioning provides a recommendation on how many nodes are required to run a workload. When the service is started, database tables on which analytics queries are run need to be loaded to memory of HeatWave. The size of the HeatWave cluster needed depends on tables and columns required to load data, and the compression achieved in memory for this data. Figure 5 compares the traditional (i.e., manual) approach to estimating the cluster size with Auto Provisioning. In traditional provisioning, the user needs to guess a cluster size. Underestimation results in data load or query execution failure due to space limitations. Overestimation results in additional costs for unneeded resources. As a result, users iterate until they determine the right cluster size and this size estimate becomes inaccurate when tables are updated. 

The right side of figure 5 shows how we solve this problem with Auto Provisioning, which is a ML-based cluster size estimation advisor. By leveraging well trained and accurate ML models, the user consults the Auto Provisioning model to obtain the right cluster size for their dataset. As a result, users do not need to guess the cluster size. Later, if the customer data grows or additional tables are added, the users can again take advantage of Auto Provisioning advisor.

Figure 5 – Comparison of a traditional Provisioning Flow vs Auto Provisioning

The techniques mentioned in this blog help HeatWave achieve good performance both on a single node as well as scale very well across a large number of nodes. Additionally, since HeatWave is optimized for the underlying OCI platform, it is very cost effective. In the next blog we will share performance

technology

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December 15, 2020 at 08:50PM

Wonder Woman 84 Opening Scene

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Link

To stoke enthusiasm for WW84, Warner Bros. Pictures has released footage of the first three minutes of the movie. The scene features a young Diana as she reminisces about her childhood and training on Themyscira, but doesn’t give up much else. DC’s latest premieres in theaters and on HBO Max on 12.25.2020.

fun

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December 15, 2020 at 05:00PM

Smith & Wesson Introduces New M&P15 Pistol in .223/5.56!

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I have to admit I am a big admirer of Smith & Wesson and especially so with how they treat their customer and deliver a quality, American made product. That all being said I am glad to inform you of the newest introduction in their M&P15 line of firearms. The Smith & Wesson M&P15 Pistol! At the moment it seems like this one is solely .223/5.56. Let’s jump right into the specs!

In a world full of AR15 based pistols it is pleasant to see Smith & Wesson set themselves apart with a number of unique features all bundled up in one package. Some features to note would be the introduction of not only a flat-faced trigger, but also the very interesting addition of their own pistol grip. A pistol grip that any Smith & Wesson fan will notice is the very same for their M&P 2.0 series of pistols! This works the exact same way in that you can change out different grip modules to fit the palm of your hand better. The specifications are as follows:

• CALIBER: 5.56mm NATO/223 REM
• ACTION: Gas Operated Semi Auto
• CAPACITY: 30+1 Rounds
• BARREL LENGTH: 7.5˝ (19.05 cm)
• RIFLING: 1:7˝ Twist
• FRONT SIGHT: N/A
• REAR SIGHT: N/A
• WIDTH: 2.0˝ (5.08 cm)

• OVERALL HEIGHT: 7.0˝ (17.78 cm)
• OVERALL LENGTH: 23.5˝- 26˝ (59.69 – 66.04 cm)
• ARM BRACE: SB Tactical SBA3 Adjustable
• WEIGHT: 5.5 lbs. (2494.76 g) w/No Mag
• BARREL MATERIAL: 4140 Steel
• BARREL FINISH: Armornite® Finish – Interior & Exterior
• RECEIVER MATERIAL: 7075 Aluminum
• RECEIVER FINISH: Matte Black

Some more notable features would be a one-point QD sling swivel attachment point in the arm brace, a Hodge® rail free float handguard with M-LOK® slots, forged upper and lower receiver, integral trigger guard, a chrome firing pin, and a threaded barrel with a blast diverter. Aside from that chunk of characteristics we also are presented with Armornite® finish which Smith & Wesson explains below:

“Armornite® finish is a hardened nitride finish that provides enhanced corrosion resistance, greatly improved wear resistance, decreased surface roughness, reduced light reflection and increased surface lubricity. Armornite is used on many S&W® and M&P® products imparting a high level of protection internally and externally where applied.”

The new Smith & Wesson M&P15 Pistol has an MSRP of $896. As far as AR15 style pistols I do not think that is a bad price point at all, especially coming from a company that has a reputable lifetime warranty and great customer service. I think this new pistol has a good home with Smith & Wesson‘s M&P15 style firearms!

So there you have it! Smith & Wesson Introduces their first Pistol offering in the M&P15 lineup and with both callbacks to their other handguns as well as their AR15’s. I personally have gotten the chance to handle plenty of AR pistols, but this one with that M&P M2.0 grip should be a different feel altogether! I am excited to see what comes of Smith & Wesson’s new pistol, but what do you think? Would you be up for picking up the newest S&W AR15? As always, let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.

The post Smith & Wesson Introduces New M&P15 Pistol in .223/5.56! appeared first on AllOutdoor.com.

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December 15, 2020 at 10:28AM