Riley Pierce

I'm performing a DJ set tonight! www.instagram.com/p/DSIL8VCFtgo/

Today I received a surprise gift. I'm beside myself at how thoughtful it is.

I've wanted to get involved in the furry community, but commissioning art for a fursona seemed intimidating to me.

Problem solved: I was gifted this art commission, it is utterly PERFECT and beautiful, and so totally ME!

2024 TVL Band Camp set Melodic techno / progressive house set performed at the TVL Band Camp, October 26, 2024. The original recording failed, so this performance is recorded live from the same playlist.

I have been meaning to post links to my DJ sets.

This is my second and most current performance:
soundcloud.com/riley-330134...

This is my first performance, a bit rough around the edges:
soundcloud.com/riley-330134...

Eight years ago, I traveled to Chernobyl, went inside the Sarcophagus, and saw the Unit 4 control room.

I like to think that the Zone looked into my heart and granted my deepest wish.

Now I’m a woman.

Left, a woman in a short, sleeveless black dress with lacy Gothic vibes, black tights, black and red heel boots, a Gothic crimson rose cameo pendant with blood red lipstick. Right, a nonbinary person with a bell sleeved purple velvet wrap shirt over a black shirt, black asymmetrical ruffled skirt, purple tights, and black platform shoes. Background, a fireplace with a painting of a coastal village at night.

Another Thanksgiving picture with @ekoprucki.bsky.social

Selfie of two women, each wearing black. In the foreground is a partially assembled circuit board, roll of solder, and anti-static electronic parts bag.

Fun nuclear Thanksgiving activities.... Teaching my really cool cousin @clock4195.bsky.social to solder a Geiger counter kit.

I have a sinking feeling the next time I see them will be in their own caskets. Or maybe their photos next to their obituaries on Google. Two weeks after the fact. Because nobody told me.

6/6

These people are lifelong Democrats. They despise Trump. And this is how they feel about their only child. I would only have expected something like this from the most insensitive of his supporters.

Anyway, it's Transgender Week of Visibility and it's clear they don't want to see me.

5/6

I reached out to a cousin and aunt, and I learned that my parents were telling my relatives that their son was traveling and could not attend.

They lied. About me. Maybe my dad was embarrassed of the family seeing me. Maybe he wanted to protect my mother. I don't know. I just know they lied.

4/6

It's pretty clear they didn't want me to know because they didn't want their transgender daughter attending the funeral or visitation.

I drifted away from that side of the extended family and hadn't spoken to them in years, so while I was "out" everywhere, they wouldn't have known about me.

3/6

My mom has refused to speak to me since I came out to her as transgender in September 2023. My dad had occasionally been in contact, and I was hoping things might be thawing, but then he broke off contact and said nothing about this.

2/6

I'm reflecting now on how, after transitioning, some people find that their families still love them. Some don't.

Last month, my grandmother passed away. I found out almost two weeks later from a random Google search uncovering her obituary.

My parents didn't tell me.

They didn't tell me.

1/6

And I had no idea that the artist wrote alt text for it, or how much harder I'd cry while reading it.

I'm scared. No, I'm terrified of what will happen in the next four years.

Thanks @monsterologist.bsky.social for reminding me why I'm doing this.

I simply cannot read this comic without crying, no matter how many times I’ve seen it.

(It’s in two parts; I’m not sure if that’s clear in a quote skeet.)

Thanks, Thorn! It’s so good to hear from you.

A woman wearing a red blouse, black blazer and shirt, and pendant pictured with her hand through a large grey model of a ring, wearing a stainless steel ring on her pinkie finger. An Order of the Engineer poster is in the background.

Professional milestone: As I approach graduating with my master's in electrical engineering at Arizona State University, I took the Order of the Engineer oath last night and accepted my ring at the nearest OE Link at UIC.

I'm perfecting my "I just crawled out of my coffin, could someone please tell me what century it is?" look....

A cylindrical mechanical combination lock, metallic grey with a black dial, separate from a metallic cylindrical sleeve.

A different side view of the lock, showing the rear in darker metal with some kind of mounting flange.

The same exhibit, but showing the placard with text describing the exhibited item: C'mon, Be a PAL Permissive Action Links, or PALS, are devices that are intended to prevent the unauthorized use of nuclear weapons. If anyone who didn't have the code got their hands on one of America's nukes (like a terrorist or an enemy force), the PAL would keep them from being able to detonate the weapon. The combination of the lock itself was split between two members of the weapons team to prevent any one person from gaining access. Permissive Action Link, US, Ca. 1960s-1980s

The NSA is the only intelligence agency with an unclassified museum open to the public. They had on display a mechanical PAL, or Permissive Action Link, that would protect US nuclear weapons from unauthorized use. It seems a mechanical combination lock protected some nukes through the 1980's!

A woman, Riley, in a blue blouse with large floral print, grey checkered skirt, sandals, and earrings made from steel spiral lathe chips, standing in front of a large 1940's era electromechanical machine.

This past summer, Elizabeth and I visited the National Cryptologic Museum. This is the US Navy Bombe, which broke German naval Enigma traffic in WWII, protecting Allied shipping. I had a chance to meet with people in their collections department. Ok, I was spooked by their NSA.gov email addresses!

Correction, 15 month HRT follow up.

Correction, 15 months HRT.

Yes, there's a reason I take my HRT timeline photos eating ramen. It would have saved me time if I realized back then that cis guys don''t get their first COVID-19 vaccine and find themselves regretting that it didn't change them into a cute anime girl. 🏳️‍⚧️

A trans woman, pictured after 18 months HRT eating ramen noodles with chopsticks, wearing a light lavender blouse and a silver wire bracelet, a brass chain, and the pendant obscured in her blouse.

A transgender woman prior to starting HRT, wearing a black and white print dress and eating ramen noodles.

18 months HRT vs 0 days HRT.

A trans woman, pictured in a mirror, wearing a light lavender blouse, tied at the bottom and showing some midriff with a navel piercing with blue stones, a black skirt, a silver wire bracelet, and a brass chain with the pendant obscured by the phone, smiling and looking contentedly happy.

This is me, before having lunch. I was practically glowing, walking into the doctor's office for my 18 month HRT follow up, grateful that I did it. I'm now a happy, confident woman. 🏳️‍⚧️

Here, the repaired rocker assembly has been re-installed in the Enigma. And it is completely functional! Rotor stepping works correctly! I can now tackle the steckerbrett (plugboard) mechanical repairs and replace the wiring harnesses.

Then I used more J-B Weld to glue on the cracked off piece of the rocker casting and fill any gaps, all while carefully making sure not to glue the spring in place. The J-B Weld actually color matches the casting well. It will be difficult to see the repair when completed.

I really don't like having to do this because it won't be possible to disassemble, but considering the conical pins are seized in place, non-destructive disassembly will never be possible. So I carefully glued and clamped the axle to the rocker with J-B Weld, an epoxy designed to adhere to metal.

My first task was to obtain a correct replacement spring and install it on the axle. Removing the tapered pins that hold the axle in place did not seem possible due to time and corrosion, so I had to do this with the axle still in the rocker.

It's been a while since I posted an Enigma restoration update. Why the rotor advance mechanism is broken: The cast metal rocker bar cracked where a pin held the axle that holds the spring loaded pawls that advance the rotors. Given the non original spring, I suspect a prior botched repair attempt.

Carl Willis On May 16 I presented for the University of Chicago Physics Department colloquium on my efforts to understand the Chicago Piles--the first nuclear reactors--through measurements and modeling. The...

I recently attended a physics colloquium at UChicago given by Carl Willis of UNM on the CP-1 reactor. He posted some pictures, including the historic artifacts I brought to his talk.

www.facebook.com/100000203042...?