Back in the day, circa 1984-85, when I had an Atari 800XL as my primary computer , and daisy chained to my “happy” 1050 disk drives was my good ol’ 1020.
Before I had a proper dot matrix or daisy wheel (laser printers were prohibitively expensive), I was lucky enough to have something that could print text and graphics in four colors with little ballpoint pen nibs, sort of like a computer-driven multicolor Bic pen / spirograph.
Sample text and crude mixed output
The downside was that it printed on a roll of paper, kind of like register receipts, about 4 and a half inches wide, so turning in term papers was kind of out of the question. However, it made for a lot of use in electronics and drafting class, and for keeping notes. You could also print in very small print if you needed a crib sheet or to put script lines on for drama practice. Also good for hardcopy of code I was working on.
Spirograph style doodles
I wonder how hard it would be to build a new plotter, or if cheap ones are out there for label making or stickers?
I found this article about adding plotter functionality to a 3D printer, which might be feasible for occasional application. Or maybe I could get a sub-$100 plotter bot, but I don’t think I have room in my workshop for such a limited-use item.
Maybe I could dig up an old 1020 somewhere and refurbish it, and set up an old Atari 800xl next to it for nostalgia?
A couple of Reasons to remove Representative Ben Cline (R-VA): (to start)
Election Integrity & 2020 Certification: In January 2021, Cline voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania, a move critics view as undermining the democratic process.
Redistricting Opposition: In 2026, Cline actively campaigned and filed lawsuits to block a Virginia constitutional amendment referendum designed to redraw congressional maps. While Cline argued the map was unfair and formed a “Stop the Gerrymander” group, the effort was criticized as an attempt to protect his own district boundaries and thwart the will of voters who supported the redistricting measure.
Environmental & Clean Energy Policy: Cline has consistently voted against environmental protection and clean energy legislation, including bills to bar funding for the American Climate Corps and defund clean energy research.
Healthcare & Labor: Labor groups like the AFL-CIO have opposed his legislative efforts to promote health coverage alternatives they argue undermine the Affordable Care Act.
Gun Control: Cline strongly opposes federal gun control measures. He voted against the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and measures like the Assault Weapons Ban, arguing such legislation infringes on Second Amendment rights.
Civil Rights & Social Issues: He voted against the Equality Act, which would have expanded federal civil rights protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity. He also opposed the Respect for Marriage Act, stating it went against traditional beliefs.
A quick search turned this up
Rep. Ben Cline (VA-06) voted against the Honoring our PACT Act in March 2022, which expanded VA healthcare and disability benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits and other hazardous substances.
His voting record on veterans’ legislation has also included the following stances:
Limit, Save, Grow Act: In April 2023, he voted for H.R. 2811, the Limit, Save, Grow Act. This bill included provisions that would have rescinded unspent Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) COVID-19 funding, which veteran advocates warned would threaten VA health facility construction and veteran benefits processing.
Was already working on what was originally a xorn, but it mutated into a treestump-critter with gemstone eyestalks.
I imagine a critter that can phase through stone and dirt would make for a handy farmer, especially if it is partial to eating stones and metal. (Just don’t plow near it in armor.)
A tree stump with gemstone eyes offering a radish. #digitalmarkers #iwantaradishsaladnow #artprompt
The Market Ward of 1912
May 18, 2026
Recently unearthed from the basement archives of a local historical society, this peculiar sketch was found folded inside a 1912 ledger belonging to a produce vendor on the original Roanoke City Market.
While the Roanoke Valley is known for its railroad history, local agricultural folklore from the early 1900s occasionally mentioned a strange, wooden automaton said to wander the farmland outskirts of Salem and Roanoke County. According to the faded journal entries, the creature was constructed from a petrified tree stump and fitted with two crystalline lenses, reportedly salvaged from a broken surveyor instrument used by the Norfolk and Western Railway.
It was said to silently offer giant, unnaturally perfect root vegetables to travelers lost in the heavy morning fog near the Roanoke River. If threatened, however, it defended the old valley crop yields with startling force.
We have translated these forgotten local rumors into a tabletop format for those who wish to weave a piece of lost Roanoke lore into their own campaigns.
The Market Ward of 1912
Large Construct, Unaligned
Armor Class 16 (Petrified Wood) Hit Points 136 (16d10 plus 48) Speed 30 ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
20 (+5)
10 (+0)
18 (+4)
14 (+2)
18 (+4)
8 (-1)
Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned Senses Passive Perception 18, Darkvision 60 ft. Languages Understands Common but cannot speak. It communicates only through the mechanical clicking of its stalks and the refraction of light through its lenses.
Surveyor Lenses. The unique crystal eyes of the creature grant it superior sight and advantage on all Perception checks. It can flawlessly navigate the thickest Appalachian fog.
Bountiful Ruin. When the Ward drops below half its maximum hit points, its wooden structure splinters, releasing a fragrant cloud of heirloom herbs and soil. All friendly creatures within 10 feet instantly regain 10 hit points.
Actions
Multiattack. The Ward makes two heavy Slam attacks.
Slam.Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d8 plus 5) bludgeoning damage.
Heirloom Root Toss (Recharge 5 to 6). The Ward produces a dense, oversized radish and hurls it. Ranged Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, range 30 to 60 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10 plus 5) bludgeoning damage. On impact, the vegetable bursts, forcing all creatures within 10 feet to make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be blinded for one minute by a cloud of potent, earthy dust.
Prismatic Gaze (1/Day). The crystal surveyor lenses converge into a focused, blinding glare on one creature within 60 feet. The target must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or take 27 (6d8) psychic damage and become stunned until the end of its next turn, overwhelmed by century old visions of the untouched Roanoke Valley.
Lovely morning today, out with my special someone!
First stop was @misfitbeautyclub to get a trim and visit with @mickeyatmisfit (happy belated birthday!) and shop cat Pepito – see pic 3 for kitty goodness. After getting my hairs cut, we sallied forth to @breadcraft , where we got some lovely pastries, including this kouign-amann (pic 1- pastry featuring layers of laminated dough with butter and caramelized sugar) which I highly recommend if you have a sweet or butter craving.
Happily, there were a few items in the @artomat machine, including a tiny #ButtonItUp bouquet of buttons and beads on copper wire and cork from @reboopie (pic 2), which I find to be adorable.
Not bad for a quick jaunt from ten to noon on a Thursday!
Not shown here, my stellar haircut, the yummy scrambled egg and cheese pastry, or the tiny flag banner also grabbed at art-o-mat.
Best part of the morning was spending it with a loved one and breathing fresh Roanoke air. It’s nice to enjoy a little time out and about in the world.
The shrieking mouther is a grotesque fusion of aberration and plant life. It possesses a bulbous, fleshy mushroom cap dripping with caustic green slime. The main stalk is riddled with multiple glaring red eyes and several drooling, distorted mouths filled with sharp teeth. Leafy appendages and thick, creeping roots allow it to slowly drag itself across cavern floors.
The Shrieking Mouther
Medium aberration, neutral evil
Armor Class: 10 Hit Points: 52 (8d8 + 16) Speed: 10 ft.
Aberrant Root System: The ground in a 10 foot radius around the shrieking mouther is doughy and covered in acidic slime. This area is difficult terrain.
False Appearance: While the creature remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from an ordinary, albeit deeply unsettling, giant mushroom.
Gibbering Shriek: When a bright light or a creature is within 30 feet of it, the creature begins to wail, shriek, and babble incoherently from its many mouths. The noise can be heard up to 300 feet away. Each creature that starts its turn within 20 feet of the mouther and can hear it must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature cannot take reactions until the start of its next turn and rolls a d8 to determine what it does during its turn. On a 1 to 4, the creature does nothing. On a 5 or 6, the creature takes no action or bonus action and uses all its movement to move in a randomly determined direction. On a 7 or 8, the creature makes a melee attack against a randomly determined creature within its reach or does nothing if it cannot make such an attack.
Actions
Multiattack: The shrieking mouther makes two Bite attacks.
Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (3d6) piercing damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, it must succeed on a DC 10 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Acidic Spore Spit: Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, range 15 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6) acid damage.
It ambushes prey by masquerading as a common subterranean fungus before erupting into a maddening chorus of screams, blinding its victims with noise before biting anything that comes too close.
3am in roanoke is when the city starts acting feral again
traffic finally dies down tv glow leaks out of apartment windows somebody’s dog barks at nothing for twenty straight minutes
and that’s when the skunk shows up
Flying V
slow as a snail walking toward bad news
tiny feet across cracked pavement tail up like it owns the whole block moving through the dark with absolute confidence
you catch it first by sound
rustling near the trash cans plastic shifting the little pause before something decides whether you’re a threat or just another exhausted human standing outside too late
everybody freezes during a skunk encounter
doesn’t matter how tough they act normally
suddenly it’s diplomacy
slow movements careful breathing silent negotiations happening under a flickering porch light
the skunk sniffs the air keeps moving completely unbothered by politics text messages left unanswered
meanwhile you’re standing there barefoot at 3am holding a drink you forgot you made thinking about how weird it is that wild things still wander through the city like this
through alleys through backyards past chain link fences and broken lawn chairs
like roanoke never fully stopped being woods
the skunk disappears eventually
under somebody’s porch behind the hedges back into whatever hidden route nocturnal creatures use to cross the valley
and the night closes back up around it
quiet again
except for that memory lingering and the strange feeling that you just got visited by something older than the city itself
you think it’s a reflection a cigarette ember some glitch in your tired eyes
then another one blinks
then ten more
and suddenly the dark is alive again
fireflies coming back like they always do quietly without announcement without asking if the city still deserves them
yards start flickering at dusk empty lots glowing at the edges tree lines pulsing soft green behind apartment buildings and chain link fences
kids still chase them even now
cupping tiny lights in their hands holding summer for exactly three seconds before letting it go again
and adults pretend not to stare too long pretend it doesn’t pull something old out of them
memories of wet grass screen doors slamming voices calling from porches when it got too dark to stay out
roanoke changes every year
buildings disappear stores close roads get wider people leave
but the fireflies keep showing up anyway
drifting over backyards in northwest floating near creek beds blinking slow out by the mountains where the city finally gives up and turns back into woods
little living signals in the heat
proof that some things still return
for a few weeks the whole valley softens at night
people walk slower windows stay open later everybody lingering outside a little longer than they planned to
just to watch tiny lights appear vanish appear again
the flower garden on mill mountain feels almost fake at first
like somebody cut a postcard out and tucked it into the woods above roanoke
you drive up all those turns guardrails and trees and sudden drop-offs expecting fog expecting silence
then suddenly
color everywhere
Mill Mountain Park blooming like the city needed proof it could still be soft sometimes
kids running too close to the edges people taking engagement photos older couples sitting quietly on benches like they’ve been coming there for years
and around all of it
the mountain breathing slow
bees drifting from flower to flower wind carrying that damp green smell that only exists up there the overlook just beyond it all holding the whole valley open in front of you
from down below roanoke can feel hard-edged
sirens traffic empty storefronts arguments leaking through apartment walls
but up here everything spreads out enough to forgive itself for a minute
you can see the roads curling through the city tiny cars moving like veins neighborhoods stacked against the hills people living whole lives you’ll never know about
and right in the middle of all that
flowers
carefully planted carefully kept alive coming back every year whether people deserve it or not
that’s the strange part
how much effort goes into beauty that most people only stop and look at for five minutes
then they leave
back down the mountain back into noise back into whatever waits for them below
