#one is a 40 gallon and the other is a 20 long so there is PLENTY of room for that

[strigops]

after years of bemoaning how much i fucking hate maintaining aquatics but also fucking love having shrimp and other inverts, my mom has asked if she can steal both my empty tanks and put shrimp in one of them

#AQUARIA I DONT HAVE TO TAKE OF. THE DREAM. #she mostly wants a nice planted terrarium but she also wants some critters in there #shes wanted frogs for YEARS so shes torn between that and a half planted/half aquatic shrimp tank #one is a 40 gallon and the other is a 20 long so there is PLENTY of room for that #(i still want another marine tank but. hhh finding RO water and stuff and also MOVING it)

[ilovehugslikealotalot]

The New Arrival (Series)

(not my gif)

Alcina Dimitrescu x fem!reader

What is that painting? The painting in the West Wing. What is it?

For context: Melina is around 50 and Fiona is 48, Y/n is in her 20s

FOR ALL OF MY ROMANIANS AND FRENCHIES PLEASE FORGIVE ME. I’m using Google Translate because I can only do so many Duolingo lessons a day 😭

┌───── •✧✧• ─────┐

The One in the Painting

└───── •✧✧• ─────┘

WARNING: 18+ MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE fluff, angst, smut

Part 3

✿ஜீ۞ஜீ✿•.¸¸.•*•.•ஜீ☼۞☼ஜீ•.•*•.¸¸.•✿ஜீ۞ஜீ✿

It had been a few months now, since y/n had arrived at Dimitrescu Castle. Since then, Melina and Fiona have become mother figures for y/n. This led to her knowing about every detail that has happened in the castle.

There’s a portrait. On the West Wing of the Castle.

Many maiden’s knew of this portrait but never knew if it existed at all, no one was allowed in the room it was said to be in. “It’s a portrait of Lady Dimitrescu’s old lover!” The maiden’s would say, whilst doing chores in the kitchen.

Of course, due to y/n’s lack of…well…speaking.

Not many of the maiden’s hung around her for too long, except now. Y/n didn’t mind, but she also didn’t seem to know why. “What was the Lady like?”

“Was she as gorgeous as they say she is?” Some would swoon, “Is she charming?” “I bet she’s voluptuous like in the portrait!” They’d exclaim, dramatically leaning back with the back of their hand on their forehead. Y/n only smiled sheepishly, sweeping a little father away, away from the commotion all of them were making.

Melina and Fiona enter the kitchen. Suspiciously enough, they were unusually sweaty and Fiona panting slightly, trying to hide her tired body. Y/n walked over, helping Fiona stand. Melina hid a smirk and turned away to face the other maidens, “Let’s hurry up! It’s almost time for light’s out!”

“You… broken?” Y/n gently asked, Fiona’s eyes slightly widened, she hadn’t heard y/n ask a question before. “I- uh, no. I’m okay, I just tripped. I’m fine though, love.” Fiona smiled, tucking a piece of y/n’s hair behind her ear. “And for future reference, my dear. It’s hurt not broken” the older woman giggled, sitting down, “Okay, rest” the young maiden smiled, giving Fiona a hug.

Y/n, of course, continued her duties, efficiently scrubbing the counters. The other maiden’s giggled amongst each other, talking about earlier, still swooning over the lady of the castle.

Finally, after vigorous scrubbing, profuse washing, and gallons of cleaning products. The kitchen was restored into the pristine condition it was once in. One of the maidens entered, “lights out in 40! You all go get ready for bed”

Walking through the halls of the opulent Castle, y/n found herself observing the walls, inspecting the paintings, one of them seeming to stand out. The maiden had to agree she had been roaming mindlessly, hoping somehow she’d get to her room. But, maybe a little closer peek couldn’t hurt.

The painting was of a beautiful woman, her hair was a shade of ginger that could make an apple rot with envy. Her skin was as white as porcelain. Though her eyes…they looked like extravagant emeralds but they held a mischevious and delusional glint. She looked sweet but dangerous.

“Draga, it’s late.”

Y/n whipped around and smiled, “Oh, I’m sorry, My Lady. It seems as though I’ve lost track of time.”

Alcina chuckled, placing a bare, well manicured, hand on y/n’s chin, then leading her out of the room and down the hall. “No, worries, Draga Mea. Now, I must know, how did you get to the West Wing?”Y/n poor heart skipped a beat, Alcina’s face altered, hearing the change in her heartbeat. Alcina gave her a smal rub in the back. “It’s alright, you’re not in trouble. I know it was an accident, love”

The maiden swallowed hard, “I- ehm…well, I was curious and roamed the halls. It was an accident, my lady. Forgive me” Y/n sheepishly stood not daring to look up at Alcina, the Countess smirked, “All is forgiven, little thing. Now, off to your chambers. I wouldn’t want you tired for tomorrow. Especially, since the lords are coming.” Alcina smiled, walking Y/n down the stairs toward her chambers. Truly, Alcina was worried that the maiden had seen the portrait.

The portrait was…important to her.

It always has been, ever since it was painted. The woman in the painting, her name was Charlotte. Alcina’s first and only love, she had gone missing decades ago. Alcina vowed never to love another as she did Delilah, for it would tear her apart to see someone she loved the most in this cruel world to be taken from her.

The Countess dreamed of the day where she would see her beloved once again. But, that day was unlikely to come.

“My Lady, who was that? The One in the Portrait, I mean” Alcina snapped out of her own intrusive thoughts, looking down at Y/n and smiling. “An old…love of mine, Draga. No need to worry your little head about it, now. Hurry off to bed.” Alcina had tried to explain the matter without causing an outburst. Y/n nodded her head with a smile close her chamber door behind her. Alcina sighed, she never thought this would have to happen again. After decades, the same situation happens like a continuous loop.

✿ஜீ۞ஜீ✿•.¸¸.•*•.•ஜீ☼۞☼ஜீ•.•*•.¸¸.•✿ஜீ۞ஜீ✿

tags: @marilynthornhilllover @willalovexx @willowshadenox @simpformelissa @pinklybleu @niceminipotato @tintedrose12 @koing-slvt @enchantressb @poorwritingandstalecoffee @winterfireblond @ssinfulprayers

special thanks: @marilynthornhilllover for everything honestly

So sorry for my crappy writing this chapter. 😭

#the GIF #UGH #ugh vampire mommy fr #alcina dimitriscu x reader #resident evil alcina #re8 village #re8 alcina #re8 lady dimitrescu #resident evil 8 #resident evil village #re village #re8 #alcina dimitrescu #alcina demitriscu #alcina x reader #alcina x y/n #lady dimitrescu x female reader #lady dimitrescu

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Cornsnake Shopping List

So, you've decided on a cornsnake - great choice! Cornsnakes, Pantherophis guttatus, are great pets, and they're popular for a reason! You can expect an adult cornsnake to grow 3-5 feet long, with males being generally bigger than females. Cornsnakes can live to be around 20 years old with proper care.

Enclosure setup shopping list:

You will want to set up your enclosure so your snake has room to stretch out, climb, and explore! You will need to set up a temperature gradient of 88-75 Fahrenheit.

Enclosure. For a young corn, a 20 gallon is fine, and a 40 gallon works well for yearlings. As an adult, your snake will need a 4x2x2 enclosure at the absolute minimum, and bigger is better! Check out Animal Plastics for affordable, high-quality enclosures.

If your enclosure has a screen lid, two sets of screen clips. Never bring a snake home without screen clips!

A dome heat lamp with ceramic sockets. Any big reptile brand is fine - Fluker's, Zoo Med, and Exo Terra are all trustworthy brands here. Make sure your dome lamp is rated for the wattage of bulb you will be using - 150 is usually a safe bet.

Heat bulbs. I use ceramic heat emitters for my corns. You can choose to provide halogen light and UVB if you'd like. Arcadia makes high-quality heat sources your pet will love. The wattage you choose will depend on your enclosure size and the temperature in your home.

A thermostat to plug your heat source into. Vivarium Electronics thermostats are excellent but pricey; you can go as expensive as you like but here is a cheap one I swear by.

Digital thermometer/hygrometer reader with probes - Zoo Med and Exo Terra make great dual gauges

At least two identical hides, one on either side

A container to make a humidity hide. Simply cut a hole in the lid, fill with damp moss, and you're set! Providing your snake with a humid hide will help them have perfect sheds every time!

A large water bowl

(Insider tip: if you go to the grocery store and buy a pack of black plastic food storage containers, you can easily make hides, humidity hides, and a water bowl out of them! Here's my go-to option, you can easily take care of all that for one baby snake for like 5 dollars!)

Sphagnum moss for your humid hide

Substrate - for corns, you have a lot of options. You can use aspen shavings if you like, but coconut fibers, cypress mulch, and coconut husk are all great options. Whatever you choose, provide your snake with at least a couple inches so they can dig.

Climbing branches and other decor - climbing is a must, and vines, rocks, and tunnels made from cardboard tubes are other great options.

General care:

Feeding tongs.

Food for your snake. Even baby corns can eat whole pinky mice. Your offered food should be about 10% of your snake's body weight.

A soldering iron, believe it or not! A cheap soldering iron will serve you well throughout your snake's life - you can use it to easily melt holes in bowls and containers to make hides.

A small snake hook can help you with handling your snake, especially if you're nervous.

And some common beginner mistakes:

Don't move your snake to a separate enclosure to feed. It's a myth that will make your snake "aggressive" - it can actually cause more mistaken feeding bites as they associate handling with being fed!

Don't worry if your snake spends most of their time hiding, especially while young. A hiding snake is a happy snake!

Don't over-handle your snake, and always give them at least a week to settle in before offering food for the first time.

Never handle your snake for two days after they've eaten - that could cause a regurgitation.

Cornsnakes are some of the best pet snakes out there! With proper enclosure setup, you're all set for many happy years together with your new friend.

#not a rating #snake shopping lists #cornsnakes

[16woodsequ]

Sunday Steve - Day Seven

Things that would be new or unfamiliar to Steve in the 21st century, either due to the time period he grew up in, or his social-economic status and other such factors.

Day Seven: Deodorant

For a long time body odour was not considered a problem for men. It was considered manly, and deodorants and antiperspirants (invented in 1888 and early 1900s respectively) were marketed to women.

Some solutions to body odour before deodorant became more mainstream in 1910s were excessive washing and perfume. To protect clothes women used dress shields (cotton or rubber pads placed in armpit areas). Scented talcum powders were another popular deodorizer.

Men started to be targeted by antiperspirant companies in the 30s, targeting male body odour as negative and unemployable. "In 1938, it was estimated that 60% of women and 20% of men in the United States used a product to control underarm odour" (Link).

Early deodorant formulas had to be suspended in acid. "Formulas of early deodorants damaged clothes and irritated skin" (Link). There were some health concerns in the early 20th century but these died away by the 30s.

Deodorant came in powders. liquid, creams, and eventually sticks, roll-ons, and aerosols.

Powders were "packaged in tins with a perforated lid" and put on with puffs.

The only form of antiperspirants in the 30s was liquid. The liquid was kept in glass jars, with plastic lids (early form used corks).

“Liquid deodorants were either applied to a rag and rubbed in or poured into the palm and splashed on. [...] Men also used cologne to cover up body smells but these were generally very expensive.” (Link)

Liquid deodorants/antiperspirants could be applied with a cloth or sponge. Later forms had an applicator built into the lid.

Above: Applying Check Deodorant with a sponge applicator.

Pastes and creams were the preferred form for early deodorants. They were less irritating, although sometimes greasy, especially in the 1910s before the formula improved.

The first successful antiperspirant cream was created in 1936, but it was less effective than liquid antiperspirant. Even so, it became very popular by 1945 and creams dominated the market.

Early stick deodorants used lipstick bases, so they were much smaller and 'stick' shaped than the typical deodorant shape today. From the recipe (found here) it seems this sticks were similar to today's deodorant sticks, or maybe chapsticks. Evaporation was an issue and the sticks had to be kept in airtight containers.

Sticks began to get bigger, into what we would recognise in the 60s.

1945 Lor-Odo, a deodorant stick, sold for 50 cents.

Roll-ons appeared in 1952 and the first commercially successful roll-on deodorant was created in 1956, so Steve wouldn't know this method. Same with aerosols which came out around the 60s.

As for price, this image gives a good idea for prices of deodorant products in Steve's time.

1937 Hush Cream, Instant Hush Liquid Deodorant, Hush Stick Deodorant and Personal Deodorant Powder for sanitary pads. (Link).

This inflation calculator says 10¢ is $2.14 in today's money and 50¢ is $10.68. For comparison, the cost of a gallon of gas was 10¢, a loaf of bread was 9¢ and toothpaste was 35¢. (Link)

Wrap Up

So would Steve have used some kind of deodorant/antiperspirant? Maybe. He wouldn't have started wearing it until the 30s for sure, but he may have bought it, if he could afford it.

I am not an expert but I feel the cost of deodorant would have been a stretch (especially if we think he was using baking soda for toothpaste as per our last post).

But considering how cleanliness and body odour began to be viewed in the 30s—and considering that Bucky clearly took pride in taking care of his appearance—Steve may have bought deodorant when he could. The possibility grows later into the 30s and 40s.

If he bought deodorant he would likely be used to cream or liquid deodorants, as these were very common.

Perhaps Bucky cared more about deodorant than Steve, and Steve bought some for Bucky as a gift when he could. Or, Steve used it himself periodically to hopefully seem more presentable to employers who might overlook him just on principle.

But it is also possible that Steve didn't bother with deodorant. After all, only 20% of men used it in 1938 and it would stretch his budget.

However, he may have used it on the USO tour. I can see them deciding Captain America needs to smell nice when smoozing with investors.

Either way, the 21st century's approach to zero body odour wouldn't entirely surprise to Steve—since the roots of that were developing in the 30s, but it would still be an adjustment to learn that men almost universally use some form of deodorant nowadays.

Sunday Steve Master Post

#sunday steve #long post #steve rogers #steve rogers meta #meta #deodorant #antiperspirant #US history #toiletry #toiletries #toilet water #eau de toilet #20th century #historically accurate #American history #bucky barnes

[chibisquirt]

Unfortunately, I appear to be getting into tufting.

I haven't gone off the deep end yet. I did buy a latchhook and some grid cloth so I can paddle my feet in the rug-like waters, but I haven't bought anything else, not even any yarn for it! (I'm so virtuous.) (I actually am so virtuous; I'm severely weak to yarn.)

But I have been watching rug tufting videos... and looking up tufting guns online... and plotting how I'm going to go about this...

It's a problem.

The fact that, if I get good at it, this could become a viable side-hustle... is not, actually, any less of a problem.

Anyway here's all the shit I'd need to buy to actually get started with it, along with long-range plans for equivalent pieces. Under a cut for the sake of all y'all's humanity:

Tufting gun

This is the big one, and I find myself in a bit of a dilemma on it: you can get them for cheap of aliexpress, but like... do I really wanna trust something that came off aliexpress? I have not gotten anything off there, and while I have no evidence it's any worse than amazon, I have no reason to think it's any better, either. (Actually, I'm pretty sure some of the amazon listings at least *are* the aliexpress listings, being re-sold. So, avoid that one, at least.)

So anyway the tufting gun everyone says is the best runs about $250.

2. Frame

You tuft by shooting fibers into a grid made of fabric; in order to do that, you have to have the grid solidly suspended in the air. This requires a frame.

Price varies by size.

3. Tufting fabric (or equivalent)

This is the fabric that you shoot the fibers into. You can also use monks cloth or burlap, apparently. (Not to be confused with the other fabric, backing fabric, which goes on after everything else, and is what the rug actually sits on.) Not too bad, not too bad, monks cloth is about $15/yard.

4. Yarn

Not my *immediate* starting cost, just because oh god oh god I will be swimming in vanna's choice until I die, but yarn is also not the cheapest thing in the world. You can get two skeins of red heart super savor for about $15-$20, and it goes up from there.

5. Glue

Once the fibers are in the monks cloth, there's nothing really holding them there. That's why you have to glue the shit out of them! Recommended glue is carpet glue, Roberts 3000 or 3085 or something. A gallon of that is $25, or 4 for $50 at Home Depot.

6. More glue!

Yeah, you didn't think we were done, did you? Once you've glued all your fibers in place, you cut out the rug from the grid fabric and glue the edges down, this time with a different type of adhesive. Tutorial I saw recommended hot glue and spray adhesive, which, since I don't have a glue gun, means I'd be looking about $25 all together for them.

Once you've got that done, you can add your...

7. Backing fabric!

Non-slip is good if it's going on the floor... you can do a 6' by 6' square of this for $35.

8. Trimmers

Teeeechnically, I already have some trimmers, but if I'm gonna do this with any seriousness, I don't want to use those for it, because they're designed for human hair and rugs are made with sheep hair (or hair from the noble acryligoat). You can get trimmers that come with a little guide, too, which is super handy if you don't want a giant gouge down the middle of your rug. Call these $40-50.

9. Scissors

Once you've gotten your rug shaved--not a euphemism--you want to go in and outline each color with scissors to give it definition.

So all of that comes to about $500 if you're thrifty. 😬 And then you consider the costs that repeat, like the next batch of tufting fabric and yarn, and the costs that add on as not-essential-but-nice-to-have, like yarn cones, extra frames, labels... It is Yikes.

Buuuuuut... If I were to start selling them... I mean, you can get hundreds of dollars per rug. Per small rug. A thousand plus for a big one! So I do kind of think it might be financially viable.

Better to start it as a hobby first, though. And maybe be prepared to have a pretty big initial layout. :(

#tufting #tag for later #you would not *believe* how fucking expensive this shit is #and even then I'm getting off lightly #my former-manager just SOLD OFF A PARCEL OF LAND to afford her new sewing machine #she got a Bernina #but STILL. #I am... NOT doing that. #Absolutely fucking not. #However... if I can make this potentially-disastrous side-hustle pay for itself....... #*falls deeper down the well*

[harrison-abbott]

When I was about fifteen or so, I was at a party with my friend Curtis. And, some other lad who was in the above year started on Curtis. You know when kids drink alcohol – they can’t handle it and go totally crazy? Well yeah: this idiot grabbed my friend Curtis by the throat. So I just stepped in instinctively and blocked the idiot. I took his hand away and walled Curtis off from him. And the guy cowered away. Curtis got upset and went outside and cried for a little bit.

There was another time when I was with my friend Ross. We were smoking in the park. And suddenly this man appeared and threatened to call the police on us. A man who must’ve been in his 40s. Maybe older. Then all of a sudden he grabbed Ross on the coat. So I stepped in and told him “Take your hand off my friend.” I kept saying that and looked directly at him. There was a tussle. I didn’t hit the man because I didn’t want to. But, he finally backed off. And Ross and I left. The bizarre thing was that he and I were only 17 at the time.

Another occasion, my other friend Josh had just left my house after visiting. He’d been over for the evening, and was going home. He was walking down the street. And shortly afterwards I heard these lads shouting at him in an aggressive tone. So I went outside with a big stick, to check that he was okay. The lads saw me and went a different direction down the road, and Josh was left unharmed.

Josh, Curtis, Ryan and I once walked out of Edinburgh along to North Berwick (which is a pretty long way). It had been a baking day. And by the evening, Ryan was tired and irritated. He got drunk and started shouting at us. Josh then got angry back at him, and they started fighting. So I stepped in and broke the fight up.

I really cared about my friends and had a natural instinct to protect them. I’d gone through high school with them. Loved them.

One night, after all of the incidents above, this group of bullies who we knew from school started following us in their car. They were carousing around the town at night and threatening us with the vehicle – as in, they kept racing up to us and yelling at us from the windows.

We ran off. And the bullies got out their car and chased us. Curtis, Luke and Josh were all there with me. They ran into a woody patch of trees and bushes, and they hid in them. Whereas I stayed where I was. And was suddenly confronted with the three bullies. Three on one. I figured they were going to attack me, so I just went up and smacked one of them. And, well, they all mashed me up quite quickly. Although I wasn’t damaged that bad.

But, Curtis, Luke and Josh all hid in the bushes whilst the beating took place. And they knew it was going on and they didn’t do anything. Just stayed there. In fact, they were still there after the bullies left, and I had to call them out to tell them that it was okay. Curtis and Luke apologised for that incident. But Josh never did.

Fast forward a few years later. I was a bit older now: 20 years old.

Was out in Edinburgh with the entire gang from high school. We were at this club which was playing dub music. Curtis’ Dad was the DJ. It was an event we went to every month or so. And, on this particular night, I had way too many beers.

As I say, I was young, and back then I drank gallons and gallons, and simply had too much.

My friends and I went outside for a smoke. And then we headed back to the club. And the bouncers singled me out of the whole pack and told me I wasn’t getting in.

And, without a word, all ten of my old friends from school simply walked away from me without saying anything and they went into the club, leaving me behind.

I got cheeky with the bouncers. Being young and naïve, I was trying to wind them up. I’ll admit that. I admitted it at the time.

And the bouncers just jumped me right there on the street. They crushed me into the pavement, directly there in public, with people passing by. One of them, the bouncers, whilst he was kneeling on my back said, “Oh, you’re just a pussy aye!”

The following morning there were bruises all over my body. On my neck, chest, hip. And I had to go to the GP about it, and because the pelvis was so mucked up they had to do a piss test to check if there was any blood in it.

I told the story to my friends. Told them what happened. We had this group chat thing on Facebook, back then. And not one of them responded to me about the incident. Curtis did mention to me one-on-one, in a personal conversation box, that he hadn’t meant to side with the bouncers. That’s pretty much all he said about it.

Initially, I kind of accepted that I had insulting to the bouncers, and that my behaviour wasn’t angelic either.

Then I realised that days and weeks had gone by and not one of the friends had said anything about what happened – and the assault had actually been quite serious.

A month later, I was hanging out with the friends again, and I mentioned to Ross and Curtis that my pelvis was still mucked up from the attack. Ross said, “Yeah but you did provoke them.” And Curtis said, “You probably did deserve it on some Karmic level.”

As I’ve been writing these stories this morning, I realise how old they are. I’m 31 now. And I haven’t been in a fight, thankfully, since that incident with the bouncers, 11 years back. I suppose I just wanted to write about them on this blog because I’m trying to clear up the memories.

I stopped hanging out with that old clique of mates after what happened with the bouncers. And none of them ever apologised for abandoning me that night. Nor did they care that I got beaten up.

For a long time I was furious with them. But these days, I think the most valuable thing is that I learned to stay away from danger. My whole life I have always attracted aggression from other males. Almost entirely without provocation. And I still do. Just last month, for instance, there was a group of lads carousing about at night in a car (just like the story up there ^^) and they saw me and hollered at me from their windows, when I wasn’t even doing anything.

Do these little tales seem trivial to you, as the reader?

Bearing in mind that most of them happened when I was in my adolescence, and the last one when I was 20.

Violence has had a great impact on my life, from a young age. There are various other tales which I’ve written about on this blog before.

I believe I was right to quit communicating with that old clique of ‘buddies’ from school. And at the same time, I try to forget about everything related to high school, and all of the connotations associated.

Since I stopped hanging out with those friends, I studied at two different universities, achieved an MA and an MSc. And I became a published poet, short story writer and novelist in subsequent years. And I also met a whole bunch of other people throughout these years, met many terrific folk who are my real friends.

I suppose I wanted to write this personal piece as a way of moving on from all of those ugly moments in youth. And I will keep being creative, keep writing, for the rest of my life.  

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #tumblr writers #stories #real life stories #personal writing #spilled ink #thoughts and feelings

[the-rewatch-rewind]

Script below the break

The year was 2003, the month was January. Gas was $1.50 a gallon, the iPod was in its 2nd generation, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was #1 at the box office. And 12-year-old me decided to start keeping track of all the movies I watched.

Hello, my name is Jane and I’ve been counting all the movies I watch for TWENTY YEARS. To honor this ridiculous milestone, I decided to make this podcast to talk about my top 40 most-watched movies from 2003 through 2022. So here it is. Welcome to the Rewatch Rewind!

In each episode, after this one, I will be talking about one of my most frequently re-watched movies – about the film itself, and also about my own personal experience with it: how I first discovered it (if I remember), what makes me keep returning to it, etc. Most of the time it will just be me, but sometimes I’ll bring in a guest who also loves the movie so we can talk about it together. Before I dive in, I do want to make it clear that I am not saying these are the 40 best movies. I’m not even saying that they’re my 40 favorite movies, although I do love them all. Sometimes excellent films are hard to watch more than once, and sometimes films that are objectively bad are fun entertainment. This isn’t meant to be a list of the Greatest Films Ever Made, so please don’t expect that or you’ll be disappointed. Bear in mind that I was 12 years old when I started this. While many of my favorite movies when I was 12 are still among my favorites today, most of them would be lower on the list if I’d started ten years later. Part of that is because the way I watch movies has changed significantly in the last 20 years. In 2003, Netflix was still a DVD rental company, so streaming wasn’t really a thing. At the time, I barely owned any movies, so most of what I watched was what happened to be on TV or what my family borrowed from the library. Over the years, the accumulation of more and more VHS tapes and DVDs and streaming subscriptions has led to almost limitless possibilities when I want to watch something, which has led to a decrease in rewatches and an increase in new discoveries. So partly because of that, and partly because of the way time works, movies that were released before 2003 have an advantage over those that were released later, both because I had the full 20 years to watch those, and because the ones I had access to then were more likely to be rewatched, since I had fewer overall possibilities. Also, in 2002, I had started getting into Old Hollywood, which led me to watch a lot of films from well before my time. So the oldest movie I will be talking about was released in 1935, and the most recent is from 2017.

According to my records, in those 20 years, I watched 1,812 different movies a total of 4,592 times. But what exactly counts as “a movie”? Clearly theatrically released feature films count. Direct-to-home-viewing and made-for-tv features also seem obvious to include. But what about short films? What about limited series? Those were a little bit harder to know whether to count or not. I don’t think I was completely consistent, but for the most part, I counted short films if they were at least a half hour long. I didn’t count limited series if I knew they were going to have a second season, but otherwise it’s kind of based on feel. If a mini-series feels like a long movie, I count it; if it feels more like a TV show I don’t. I haven’t been including webseries unless there’s a feature cut, in which case I only counted the times I watched the feature cut, not episodes. Sometimes I counted filmed stage shows as movies, and sometimes I didn’t, but that won’t really affect this podcast because I didn’t watch any of them enough times to make it to the top 40.

Usually, the movies I watch are determined by reasons as simple as, “This movie is available and the people I’m with and I feel like watching it today,” but other times I watch movies for more specific reasons than that. There are certain actors or other filmmakers whose birthdays I celebrate every year by having my own marathon of their work, and there are certain dates that are mentioned in movies that need to be watched on those dates. And over the years, I’ve done a few movie-watching “projects” that have impacted my view counts a bit. In 2010 I started watching through all the Best Picture Oscar Winners in chronological order. Similarly, in 2015 I started watching through the Best Actress Winners, and in 2017 I started on Best Adapted Screenplay, which took much longer since I was also reading the source material to evaluate the quality of the adaptation. I ultimately got tired of that last project before I got caught up…maybe someday I’ll finish, or not. I also did a non-Oscars-related project in 2020 with my brother when we watched through all the theatrically released Disney animated features so we could attempt a definitive ranking. Most of the movies I’m going to be talking about on this podcast weren’t part of any of these projects, but some were, so I’ll mention that when it comes up.

Looking through my list, it strikes me that most of the characters in these films are white, straight, cis, middle-to-upper-class Americans or Europeans, and most of the writers and directors are white, straight, cis men. I have been trying to watch movies from more diverse perspectives recently, but I haven’t been doing that long enough for it to be very noticeable in my top 40. So again, don’t take this as a full and complete list of the best films ever made – that list should have way better representation than this one.

Speaking of representation, or a lack thereof, another thing I do want to mention in this introduction is that in the last few years I have started to understand that I am aromantic and asexual, or “aroace” for short. Those terms represent a spectrum and therefore mean different things to different people, but for me personally, it means I don’t experience romantic or sexual attraction to anyone. It took me until my late 20s to early 30s to figure this out because it was just…never presented as an option. I kind of assumed eventually I would meet somebody I was attracted to in that way because society and media presented it as an inevitability. I was just a late bloomer, just very picky, just… not interested in pursuing that kind of relationship. Once I found and understood and adopted this label, so many things about myself made a lot of sense. Recently I’ve started realizing just how much this part of my identity has impacted every aspect of my life, including the way I consume media. So when applicable, I’m going to be talking about the things about these movies that particularly appeal to me, or that I interpreted in an alternative way, from an aromantic and/or asexual perspective. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie that had official, canonical aroace representation, but there are characters and situations that can be interpreted that way, and I want to talk about that. Part of why I’m making this podcast is because it would have made a huge difference to me if I’d heard anyone talking from this perspective when I was younger, so I’m hoping that sharing my voice might help someone else waste less time being confused about themselves. And I also think it serves everyone to learn more about different identities, whether or not they describe them.

So just to get some definitions out of the way: aro is short for aromantic, which means little to no romantic attraction, and ace is short for asexual, which means little to no sexual attraction. Sexual and romantic attraction are not the same thing – so I’m told; I don’t really know because I don’t experience either of them, but some people have a romantic orientation different from their sexual orientation, hence the different terms. These are the identities that the “A” in LGBTQIA+ stands for; it does not stand for ally. I’m saying all this in the introduction partly so I don’t have to keep defining these terms, and partly to let you know that if, for whatever reason, you don’t want to hear someone talking about asexuality or aromanticism, this is not going to be the podcast for you.

For everyone else, subscribe or follow or whatever you have to do on your platform if you want to hear what I have to say about my most rewatched movies for the last 20 years. I’ve never made a podcast before so I don’t really know what I’m doing, but I’m going to try to get these out weekly, so that I finish before the end of the year – we’ll see if that happens. I’m going to do a countdown, so the first movie I’ll talk about will be the one in 40th place, and I’ll work my way up to my #1 most re-watched movie. I broke all ties using runtimes, so longer movies are ranked higher than shorter movies that I watched the same number of times because I spent more minutes watching them.

Thank you for listening to this rather rambling introduction! I’m planning to end each episode with a quote from the next movie I’m going to talk about, so I’ll leave you with this: “First of all, I would like to make one thing quite clear: I never explain anything.”

#rewatch rewind #podcast intro

[dramatic-shitpost-poet]

Mexican Black kingsnae

Enclosure:

Always house alone

Terrestrial species so height not as important as length and width

Have enrichment and caves on both sides of the enclosure

Adult size tank should be able 40 gallons, juveniles in 20 gallons, and hatchlings in 15 gallons

Adults can also be housed in a 3 x 2 x 2 ft enclosure and 2 x 1 x 1 ft for juveniles

Do not keep them next to a window

Substrates are best to be a mix of soil and sand (also loose) or can be coconut fiber, aspen fibers, or soil

Juveniles can be kept on paper towels and newspapers to monitor their health

Substrate should be about 4 inches deep

Never use pine and cedar shavings for substrate

Spot clean daily, disinfect completely once a month

Temperature should be about 75 degrees F with a basking area of about 85-90 degrees F

Humidity should be between 40-60% (daily misting may be needed)

UVB is not needed, but beneficial 

Enrichment should be low branches, caves, flowers, tubes, dried leaves, fake or live plants, hay, half logs, flower pots, etc.

A water dish should be present and changed every 2 days or whenever dirty. Scrubbed weekly

Diet/feeding habits:

Opportunistic hunters and eaters

They are known to eat other snakes in the wild, including ones bigger than them

Feed them a feeder the size of the thickest part of their body

Hatchlings should be fed every ~5 days (one pinky)

Juveniles should be fed once a week (one fuzzy)

One year old snakes can be fed 2 fuzzies

Adults should be fed every 10-14 days and not during shed (one adult mouse)

They will thrive on a diet of frozen thawed mice and will probably never exceed that

Let them wait a week before feeding them

Age identification:

Maturity is reached at about 3 years of age

They can live up to 25 years, but average is 15-25 years

Physical traits:

Always dark brown to black in coloration including their bellies

They do not have scale patterns and juveniles might have a few spots on their chin that fade away with time

Pretty stocky bodies

They have a bluish iridescent shine

Very resilient to snake venom and are known to eat venomous snakes in the wild

No sexual dimorphism 

Adult size is about 4 feet total, but there are rare cases of some being 6 feet

Hatchlings are 6-8 inches long and tend to double in size every year until maturity is reached

Constrictor family and very strong

Can climb and swim very well

Also very fast

No details of breeding, but they will sometimes naturally brumate during the winter

Personality:

Very tolerable of handling

Diurnal 

Somewhat temperamental as juveniles

Hunting behaviors show they are happy

They like to burrow

They tend to slow down a lot and stay in the same area during the winter while in summer they are very active

Docile and hardy

When in food mode they like to bite fairly hard to prey

If threatened they will shake their tails, flatten their heads/neck, hiss, musk, and bluff strike

Most likely to musk and bluff strike when threatened

Hatchlings are very flighty and may act very defensively 

Hatchlings will start eating and looking for food the second they hatch

Known to be cannibals

During shed they might be a bit more snippy and may refuse food

Health concerns:

MBD- caused by improper diet and lack of nutrients

Mites will be show by the little insects or frequently, but not complete sheds and lack of eating

Prone to obesity 

Dust particles from certain substrates can eye and respiratory issues

Anorexia and auto-cannibalism happens in very stressed snakes, so make sure they are comfortable. They may also bite themselves frequently

Mouth rot is marked by wheezing, foamy mouth, lack of eating, etc.

Respiratory infections are marked by wheezing and are caused by improper humidity and ventilation

Scale rot can be caused by too high humidity

They soak for long periods of time if they are sick

Stuck shed can result in dead tissue

If the enclosure is too small they will rub their noses against the walls repeatedly 

Handling:

They need to be handled from a young age to calm down

Handle them for short periods of time (20 minutes) when young, then increase the time

Hatchlings can be very flighty and nippy, so hold them over soft surfaces and be ready to catch them

Wash hands before and after handling

Handle every day or multiple times a week to build trust

Support the body 

Scoop up gently to avoid stress

Don’t handle 2 days after they eat because they will be stressed and may vomit

#mbk #mexican black kingsnake #kingsnake #mbk snake #dsp care sheets #my care sheets #research #snake #snakes #animal #animals #animal care sheets #herpetology #herpetologist

[lordsofcorbina]

Cross your T’s and Dot your I’s.

Randy and I headed out to get on this current tuna bite that’s happening just outside our shoreline. I could see in the distance Mount Soledad while we were out on the water. The hot bite has been hugging our coast from La Jolla to Oceanside. I saw a pic of a tuna boil taken from shore.😯

Our first stop was near a bit of a crowd but the birds were working hard so we decided to give it a shot. We kept our distance and brailed a healthy

amount of bait to try and stir up some action. We were in 74 degree water so we figured the schools moving around this area were Yellow Fin Tuna.

Reports had them between 20 to 40 pounds.

Soaking a line I go for my lightest rig to hedge my bet on just getting bit. I handled many tuna in the 20 to 30 pound range on my Graphtech Light Bass Stick rated 8 to 12 pound and OG Calcutta 400.

I have a light wire Mutu #4 circle hook tied directly to the mono.

Randy is fishing something a little heavier but he’s using a fluorocarbon leader.

Fishing side by side Randy gets bit and has a fish on. Unfortunately it comes off a short while later.

Well I’m no dummy so I wind in my line cut off my hook and quickly tie in a nice long 20 pound fluorocarbon leader.

I get rigged up and pin on a bait. I have the bait outside the rod tip and about to make a cast and I feel some flat spots along the mono. Sometimes flat spots are just that and if give the line a good stretch they will disappear and hopefully the line integrity is intact.

So I give the line a stretch and it smooths it out but it’s not ideal. I decide to not chance it and peel all the line out of the top of the rod, cut off the dead spots and proceed to tie in a new leader.

I tie in the new leader with a triple surgeon knot instead of the usual double but when I pulled it tight it did not lay down perfectly. So once again I cut off the leader and have to retie.

Three tries, I finally get this right! We tried for a long soak and neither one of us gets a sniff.

So we decide to run up to another spot.

The water is like a lake the only draw back is the lack of any kelp paddies and the water was often dirty to very dirty.

Reports though have shown the tuna have been willing to bite in this dirty water.

So we are cruising along and I see a actual piece of kelp but it’s smaller than a trash can lid. More like the size of a 5 gallon bucket.

Randy says let’s fish it since there’s no other game in town. We actually had to circle back to find the tiny kelp patch. I went pretty heavy brailing a few scoops of bait on this kelp button.

I grab the bass stick, pin on a fresh bait and flip it out towards the kelp. The bait takes off, oh great a lively bait and then the line just surges off the reel. Whoo hoo, I’m bit, I start counting in my head, once I get to about 7 I flip the reel in gear and feel the weight of the fish and he starts smoking my little Calcutta.

Line is disappearing rapidly and before long I’m down to less than a third of my spool.

Finally the fish slows down and I apply some pressure and get him coming my way. I start speed winding to gain back some line. When I’m at about 50% capacity I feel a little relief. I then check my drag thinking it may be to loose to get smoked by a Yellow Fin Tuna like that. Nope feels just about right it’s not overly loose or overly tight for the line.

My confidence is short lived as the fish makes another gnarly surge and dumps all that line and more back off the reel. I mutter, “oh man I’m going to get spooled here”. Randy hears me and says what? You’re getting spooled? I said yeah he’s trying. Randy asks what size line are you fishing? Ummmm 17 pound straight mono 🤷🏻‍♂️

Anyway, three laps around the boat, twice I almost got spooled and finally we end up chasing the fish with the boat to keep the pressure on without adding undo pressure.

Bingo-Bango… it turns into an epic Blue Fin tuna battle.

The fish tried all the Blue Fin tricks, trying to spool me, running directly back at the boat, running straight out along on the surface. While fighting the fish up in the bow, Randy in the stern asks if I needed a gaff yet. Nope I have him at deep color. Seconds later the fish rockets up and starts thrashing on the surface and now I’m yelling for a gaff. WTF the first time I’ve had a tuna do that. Then it drives back down to deep color and we go back into the end game.

Props to Randy for being steady at the helm chasing down the fish.

I also ended up landing a 25 pound YFT on normal gear and lost a nice YFT. That fish chewed through the leader right at the boat.😢 😎

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Western Hognose Shopping List

Thanks to their big, fun personalities and small size, western hognose snakes (Heterodon nasicus) are becoming a more and more popular choice for a first pet snake. Though they're not as easy as some other good beginner-level snakes, hoggies are absolutely doable first snakes as long as you do lots of research and plan thoroughly! These adorable little snakes average around 2 feet long for females and just over 1 foot long for males, and can live to be up to 20 years old with proper care.

Before buying your hognose snake, it is extremely important to make sure you find a snake who is well-established and eating consistently on frozen/thawed, unscented mice. Don't overlook this - hoggies can be difficult to get eating on your own!

An important note of caution: hognoses are venomous snakes. Their venom is not medically significant to humans and usually results in no more than mild swelling and itching, but this is something to be very aware of! Hognose snakes almost never bite in self-defense, but mistaken feeding bites can happen so it's important to be aware and prepared.

Enclosure setup shopping list:

It's essential to make sure your hognose snake has plenty deep substrate to dig in! You will need to set up a temperature gradient of 88-78 Fahrenheit. Hoggies are not picky about humidity, and as long as you always make sure they have access to fresh, clean water, humidity shouldn't be a concern for you.

Enclosure. Adult hognose snakes can thrive in a 40 gallon enclosure. You can get away with a 20 gallon for males since they are considerably smaller, but bigger is better! For a baby snake, you and your snake will likely have an easier time if you get them set up in a 10 gallon enclosure until they put on some size.

If your enclosure has a screen lid, don't forget the screen clips. Never bring a snake home without screen clips!

A dome heat lamp with ceramic sockets. Any big reptile brand is fine - Fluker's, Zoo Med, and Exo Terra are all trustworthy brands here. Make sure your dome lamp is rated for the wattage of bulb you will be using - 150 is usually a safe bet.

Heat bulbs. I use ceramic heat emitters for most of my hognose snakes, but some respond very well to halogen lighting and UVB. The choice of providing visible heat and UVB is yours; the only snakes I would avoid it with are snakes with melanin-reducing morphs (like albinos and toffees) because it can damage their more sensitive eyes. Arcadia makes high-quality heat sources your pet will love. The wattage you choose will depend on your enclosure size and the temperature in your home.

A thermostat to plug your heat source into. Vivarium Electronics thermostats are excellent but pricey; you can go as expensive as you like but here is a cheap one I swear by. Never use a heat source without a thermostat!

Digital thermometer/hygrometer reader with probes - Zoo Med and Exo Terra make great dual gauges. Avoid stick-on dials!

At least two identical hides, one on either side. A proper hide has three solid walls and a smallish entrance - you want your snake to feel snug and secure. Baby hognoses especially will do best with lots of extra hides.

A container to make a humidity hide. Simply cut a hole in the lid, fill with damp moss, and you're set! Providing your snake with a humid hide will help them have perfect sheds every time!

A large water bowl

(Insider tip: if you go to the grocery store and buy a pack of black plastic food storage containers, you can easily make hides, humidity hides, and a water bowl out of them! Here's my go-to option, you can easily take care of all that for one baby snake for like 5 dollars! Baby hognoses are extra tiny, so if you're buying a young baby, sugar caddies make perfect, cheap hides.)

Sphagnum moss for your humid hide

Substrate - for hognoses, I prefer aspen fiber because it holds hides well and isn't terribly dusty. Playsand/topsoil mixtures also work well. Whatever you choose, be sure to provide your snake with at least a few inches to burrow in!

Lots of clutter. Paper towel tubes are great, fun enrichment, and empty cardboard boxes are hits with lots of hoggies. They aren't big climbers, but giving them a few branches never hurts! It's very important to keep your enclosure cluttered so your snake feels safe. Crumpled balls of paper towel make for great extra clutter for small snakes.

Consider a blanket or other visual barrier to put over the enclosure to help your snake feel safe and hidden. Hognoses can be very sensitive and often benefit from a little extra privacy.

General care:

Feeding tongs.

Food for your snake. Baby hognoses can usually handle whole pinky mice. Your offered food should be about 10-15% of your snake's body weight.

A soldering iron, believe it or not! A cheap soldering iron will serve you well throughout your snake's life - you can use it to easily melt holes in bowls and containers to make hides.

And some common beginner mistakes:

Don't move your snake to a separate enclosure to feed. It's a myth that will make your snake "aggressive" - it can actually cause more mistaken feeding bites as they associate handling with being fed!

Don't worry if your snake spends most of their time hiding, especially while young. A hiding snake is a happy snake! It's very normal for hognose snakes to spend a lot of their time in their burrows.

Don't over-handle your snake, and always give them at least a week to settle in before offering food for the first time.

Never handle your snake for two days after they've eaten - that could cause a regurgitation.

Avoid heat mats as a heat source for hognose snakes. Because they need such thick substrate, the heat mat can cause dangerous hot pockets within the substrate.

And be prepared to be flexible! Hognose snakes are such wonderful, fun pets, but they certainly have a bit of a dramatic streak. Expect some hissing, puffy cheeks, and a few theatrics! These are snakes with opinions about how you should care for them, so listen to what they're telling you.

I don't know what life would be like without my pet hognose snakes! They're fun, engaging pets who will make you laugh every day, and if you do your research to get them set up properly, you're well on your way to many awesome years together.

#not a rating #hognose snakes #snake shopping lists

[blue-kyber]

Things are very, very grim for me right now.

I'm hanging by a thread tied to a long-distance hope of finding a lawyer willing to take my case, and that I'll get hired at the place I interviewed at yesterday.

It's grim, because I've slipped so far behind in everything, all I can afford now is ramen. I eat free food from the restaurant (my job that I'm trying to leave due to them screwing me over so hard I'm IN this situation.)

Things in jeopardy/things I can no longer pay for:

Rent

Car insurance.

2 credit cards.

Traffic ticket that I'm fighting, because the reason is disgustingly stupid - everyone in Los Angeles does what I got pulled over for on the daily. Multiple times. They enter the left hand turn lane before the turn lane starts. I was off my medication at the time (again, problem getting it). This is what the "ADHD Tax" means, and why life with ADHD is more expensive.

Health insurance - which means no more mental health care. Which means no more prescriptions for ADHD medication and antidepressants.

ADHD meds. I've been off of them since the start of August. I either can't afford them, or they're not in stock. Even the generic version of Adderall is out.

Dental Insurance.

Spotify. I have to listen to ads now. An acceptable loss, however annoying.

Disney+ (to be honest, I dropped them before this due to them raising their prices.)

Filling my car's gas tank to Full. It costs me around $88. It lives perpetually on 1 - 2 gallons, so I'm having to keep putting in $10 every other day.

There goes getting a new mattress. I'll keep dealing with lower back pain and restless nights.

Paying the mechanic back for fixing my POS 20 year old car in June.

Paying my friend back $600, and my parents back $900 to help me cover rent in July.

My paychecks and what small tips I make anymore go directly toward the money pit that is rent that I can't afford anymore, food for myself and my cat, and gas for the car.

My biggest fears right now are not making my $1250 rent by Sept. 15th, not being able to pay that ticket (which you have to pay for and hope the court refunds it back after looking at the dispute paperwork), and not getting my ADHD meds. Without them, I've been making more mistakes, and being my old scattered self without any ability to focus on more than 1 thing, and not get important things done that need to be done.

TO SAVE MYSELF...

I am looking for other work.

I took a job every Saturday at my old work (which I didn't want to return to, but I'm desperate. There are REASONS why I left).

Selling my things on Ebay - which isn't going so well. I only sold 2 small things, made $40, but I only got $15 of it. The rest went to Ebay fees and shipping.

Entering writing contests with cash prizes. I haven't won anything.

Getting the odd lottery ticket praying to God for help. Haven't won anything. Not even my $2 back.

I sold my PS2 and some games for $50 and that $50 went to gas and food.

I got a Macy's card so I could get nice work pants for job interviews, and rebuild my credit back into the 700's. It's been driven down to 695, and I am not happy about that. I worked for years to get it back up out of the 400s. Now I owe Macy's $43 by the end of the month.

Now I'm considering donating plasma even if the last time I tried years ago...let's just say it didn't go well. I panicked, I almost blacked out, and I threw up. 3 nurses were around me.

Considering donating blood if they'll pay me for it.

Auditioning for audiobook narration jobs. Haven't landed any new gigs yet, and the one I'm working on is royalty share. Which = experience. No $$$.

I need $1250 by the 15th, and I don't know what else I can do to get it. Aside from starting an Only Fans for guys who like ugly women, cakes, or feet. I am seriously considering posting pictures of my ass and feet for money.

I'm a roller skater. I know I have nice legs and nice bakery. I just really, really, really don't want to have to sink that low. I already have horrible self esteem, body issues, and mental health issues.

I am physically alone through all of this. No partner, no significant other, no family nearby. It's just me having to fight through all of this to keep going alone.

AND ALL OF THIS.... Because my work retaliated against me in June, and continue to do so.

No one wants my voice. - a literal lifetime of training. No one wants my writing - same. Decades of training. Years devoted to a work that holds my soul ("Out There: The 1K"). My patreon failed horribly. No one wants my stuff. - Yes, it's all crap, because I can't afford expensive stuff. No one wants to hire me. - I haven't figured this one out yet. No law firm wants to help me. No one wants...

Me.

BUT I AM STILL TRYING.

I bought a bunch of potatoes today, and some spaghetti. My food for a while will be baked spuds and noodles. I'll get my protein through meat dishes at work.

My cat is amazing. :) She'll always have enough food and love. She's my emotional support companion. She's even registered. And she's saving me right now. All I need to do is look at her, and I can believe for a moment that things will be ok.

I'll get through this and keep a roof over our heads because of her. Because I love her. Because I'm terrified of living on the streets. Of being dropped like I never mattered despite how hard I work to be the best at my job, and a good person.

I know it'll be ok. I just have to follow the advice my MC was given:

"You're meant for something greater out there. Not down here with us in the dirt. But you have to look up. Keep your eyes on the horizon. Keep moving. Don't look back, and don't look down. You do that, and you'll find your way out. And when you do, I hope I'm there to see you break orbit."

That's Gregor's advice to a young Yune Darrak in my novel. Gregor was his first father figure. Yune holds that speech as part of what gets him through impossible times. He named his ship the Horizon after this speech, and in honor of Gregor, of how much he saved his life just by loving him.

I need to follow my own? advice.

I've been strong for months. But now, I really want to go sit in the shower and cry. Be right back.

#Bad times are just times that are bad #These bad times have a potential eviction notice nailed to them. #I just have to stay positive that things will be ok.

[newluddite]

Math is a Bitch

I read one of those rabbit hole articles about the world going electric. It is really messy. So I do a bit of checking. Yup messy to the edge of impossible.

In University I did really well in Thermodynamics. All the engineers had to take it and it was pretty rough for many as the concepts are rather abstract. If you get stuck in a conversation with an engineer or scientist just bring up entropy and see what happens. Energy is a number. I can work with numbers.

The inspiration for this is in California they just mandated that no new fossil fuel vehicles may be sold after 2035. Well they will allow hybrids if they are up to 20% of sales. The polar bears are cheering.

Canada has enacted similar goals.

And there is a But. The math don't work.

Boiling down to the basics there is not enough power. Not enough electricity to charge those cars. Hybrids burn fuel and and charge themselves, so they still need dino juice. (Hey I know oil is not dinosaurs but gotta have a bit of fun)

US Statistics are easy to find so lets look at those.

The US electrical grid and all sources of those Watt Hours produced 4.223 TWhours of power. (that is 4223 Billion kWhrs) About 40% is from Natural Gas and 22% from coal, and 19% from Nuclear, and the rest is renewables which includes Hydroelectric but is mostly wind and solar. The "grid" is groaning under the stress and working up slowly to rid itself of coal. Wind and Solar are coming. Can't dam anymore rivers for Hydro though. You may have noticed that some rivers with dams are drying up.

In California the next item after the 2035 announcement was a request to limit electricity use to prevent brown and blackouts. One suggestion was to NOT charge those Teslas. They already don't have enough electricity.

So how much energy do IC cars use? That number is big. A gallon of gasoline has about 32.9 kWhrs of energy in it. In 2020 the US consumed 128 Billion gallons of gas. That is 4218 Billion kWhrs of energy equivalent. Add diesel at 1244 Billion kWhrs for a total of 5462 Billion kWhrs of motor vehicle energy consumed.

Now IC engines are only about 25% efficient. So of that 5462 only 1365 Billion kWhrs is needed. But electric cars are only about 90% efficient so they would need 1517 Billion kWhrs to replace everything on the road.

That would bring up the total need for electricity to 5588 billion kWhrs a 32% increase in total grid capacity while shutting down 22% of power from coal and 40% from natural gas which is a fossil fuel too. That means the other sources of power have to increase by 348% to keep up. The only source that can ramp up that fast is nuclear, sorry. That's because we know how to build them already. There are only 13 years and it takes longer than that to bring anything that big on line.

Is it going to happen?

Will people in California ask for utilities to build nuclear plants near them? I'm going to guess no. Will they pave the desert with solar cells made with really toxic chemicals? (yup arsenic and heavy metals) Nope again.

Oh and here is a painful fact about EVs. You have to drive them about 100,000 miles to break even on the greenhouse gas produced in building them. In every one on the market now the batteries will not last that long. They may never break even.

This is not a one-more-breakthrough type of issue. Like I said the edge of impossible. If there is a social revolution and nuclear power is once again a good thing and society walks more and drives far less there is a thin sliver of a chance.

I ride bikes.

One thing would be to outlaw Crypto currency mining. I mean 150 TWhrs just for FN Bitcoin. That would help a bit. (pun intended)

I am not optimistic. Con men and charlatans will make money but in about 10 years deadlines will be extended before they are just abandoned. Almost all the politicians making these policies will be retired or dead. All problems are for the next generation.

I live in British Columbia a place where there is a chance of hitting those goals locally. All our power is from Hydroelectric dams. We have some big ones. We also have one tenth the population of California.

But global warming is the opposite of local.

And China puts out more greenhouse gas and burns more coal than everyone else and they simply do not care.

#electric cars #climate change #global warming #coal power #2035 car ban in California #not enough electricity #nuclear power #renewable energy

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

The Temple of the Lord is completed

13 King Solomon sent to Tyre and had Huram brought to him. 14 Huram’s mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father was from Tyre and had been skilled in making things from bronze. Huram was also very skilled and experienced in bronze work. So he came to King Solomon. And he did all the bronze work Solomon wanted.

15 He made two bronze pillars. Each one was 27 feet tall and 18 feet around. 16 He also made two bronze capitals that were 7½ feet tall. He put them on top of the pillars. 17 Then he made a net of seven chains for each capital. They covered the capitals on top of the two pillars. 18 Then he made two rows of bronze pomegranates to go on the nets. They were to cover the capitals at the top of the pillars. 19 The capitals on top of the pillars in the porch were shaped like lilies. They were 6 feet tall. 20 The capitals were on top of both pillars. They were above the bowl-shaped section and next to the nets. At that place there were 200 pomegranates in rows all around the capitals. 21 Huram put these two bronze pillars at the porch of the Temple. He named the south pillar He Establishes. And he named the north pillar In Him Is Strength. 22 The capitals on top of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work on the pillars was finished.

23 Then Huram made a large round bowl from bronze, which was called the Sea. It was 45 feet around. It was 15 feet across and 7½ feet deep. 24 There was a rim around the outer edge of the bowl. Under this rim there were two rows of bronze plants surrounding the bowl. There were ten plants in every 18 inches. They were made in one piece with the bowl. 25 The bowl rested on the backs of 12 bronze bulls. They faced outward from the center of the bowl. Three bulls faced north, 3 faced east, 3 faced south and 3 faced west. 26 The sides of the bowl were 4 inches thick. The rim was like the rim of a cup or like a lily blossom. The bowl held about 11,000 gallons.

27 Then Huram made ten bronze stands. Each one was 6 feet long, 6 feet wide and 4½ feet high. 28 The stands were made from square sides, which were put on frames. 29 On the sides were bronze lions, bulls and creatures with wings. On the frames above and below the lions and bulls there were designs of flowers hammered into the bronze. 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the corners there were bronze supports for a large bowl. The supports had designs of flowers. 31 There was a frame on top of the bowls. It was 18 inches high above the bowls. The opening of the bowl was round, 27 inches deep. There were designs carved into the bronze on the frame. The frame was square, not round. 32 The four wheels were under the frame. They were 27 inches high. The axles between the wheels were made as one piece with the stand. 33 The wheels were like a chariot’s wheels. Everything on the wheels was made of bronze. The axles, rims, spokes and hubs were made of bronze.

34 The four supports were on the four corners of each stand. They were made as one piece with the stand. 35 There was a strip of bronze around the top of each stand. It was 9 inches deep. It was made as one piece with the stand. 36 The sides of the stand and the frames were totally covered with carvings. They were carved with pictures of creatures with wings, lions and palm trees. There were also flowers carved all around. 37 So this is the way Huram made the ten stands. The bronze for each stand was melted and poured into a mold. So all of the stands were the same size and shape.

38 Huram also made ten bronze bowls. There was one bowl for each of the ten stands. Each bowl was six feet across and could hold about 230 gallons. 39 Huram put five of the stands on the south side of the Temple. And he put the other five stands on the north side. He put the large bowl in the southeast corner of the Temple. 40 Huram also made bowls, shovels and small bowls.

So Huram finished making everything King Solomon wanted him to make. Here is a list of what Huram made for the Temple of the Lord:

41 two pillars;

two large bowls for the capitals on top of the pillars;

two nets to cover the two large bowls for the capitals on top of the pillars;

42 400 pomegranates for the two nets (there were two rows of pomegranates for each net covering the bowls for the capitals on top of the pillars);

43 ten stands with a bowl on each stand;

44 the large bowl with 12 bulls under it;

45 the pots, shovels, small bowls and all the dishes for the Temple of the Lord.

Huram made everything King Solomon wanted. They were all made from polished bronze. 46 The king ordered these things to be made near the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan. They were made by melting and pouring bronze into clay molds. 47 Solomon never weighed the bronze used to make these things. There was too much to weigh. So the total weight of all the bronze was never known.

48 Solomon also commanded that many things be made of gold for the Temple:

the golden altar;

the golden table which held the bread that shows God’s people are in his presence;

49 the lampstands of pure gold (five on the right side and five on the left side in front of the Most Holy Place);

the gold flowers, lamps and tongs;

50 the pure gold bowls, wick trimmers, small bowls, pans and dishes used to carry coals;

the hinges for the doors of the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple.

51 So the work King Solomon did for the Temple of the Lord was finished. David, Solomon’s father, had saved silver, gold and other articles for the Temple. So Solomon brought these things into the Temple. And he put them into the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord. — 1 Kings 7:13-51 | International Children’s Bible (ICB) The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Cross References: Genesis 33:17; Exodus 25:25; Exodus 25:31; Exodus 27:3; Exodus 28:3; Exodus 30:18; 2 Samuel 8:11; 2 Kings 16:17; 2 Kings 25:13-12; 2 Kings 25:16; 2 Chronicles 2:13-14; 2 Chronicles 3:16; 2 Chronicles 4:6; 2 Chronicles 4:10; 2 Chronicles 4:14; 2 Chronicls 4:16; Jeremiah 52:17,18 and 19; Jeremiah 52:22; Ezekiel 10:14; Ezekiel 41:18; Matthew 12:4; Revelation 3:12

#Solomon's Temple #furnishings #the temple of the Lord is completed #1 Kings 7:13-51 #Book of First Kings #Old Testament #ICB #Thomas Nelson #International Children’s Bible

[pepperandeuphoria]

8

Eugene had driven 20 minutes at 3 a.m to reach his ex-wife’s house because of an emergency. One of his children, Joyce, had overdosed on Adderall and she was being revived by paramedics. He wanted to be there. There was a good chance she wouldn’t come back. He wanted to be there when she died. After his youngest, Sharice, was born, the freshness of his marriage had run its course, and he was finding himself caring far more about the money in his business than about his family life. When Sharice was 1, and a bit easier to take care of, (and after he stuck it in his favorite barista) he skipped. But that was a long time ago. He’s not the same man he was in his 40s. He didn’t want to make endless money pulling oil out of the Permian Basin, he wanted his family back. But they didn’t want him back. The only reason they even called to tell him what was going on was so he could see his daughter one more time before she died, they wanted to make sure that he was there for that at least.

They had Joyce out on a stretcher when he pulled up, they were running her to an ambulance. They had to stop for a moment, however, as Joyce had begun seizing and vomiting, a violent combination. The paramedics allowed her to finish seizing as one held an AED in case she went under. Once the seizing was done, they flipped her on her side and drained the vomit from her mouth, trying to clear the airway and allow her to breath. While they did this, they checked her pulse, somewhat relieved to find it. She was not breathing however, and was choking on her vomit. The paramedics continued to care for her and clear her airway, but in the meantime Joyce’s mother, Ariel, was sobbing uncontrollably on the curb, being comforted by the rest of her daughters, who were all leaned over her and trying to make her feel better. 

That was the moment he arrived, pulling up alongside the curve of the cul de sac, a large square in a circle hole. He stepped out of the car, a stranger to his daughters, his head having balded and his beard grown out long. He wore tall boots and a 40 gallon hat, and behaved as if he were a cowboy rather than an oil baron. He placed his hat over his chest and approached his family. 

Ariel saw her ex-husband standing over her, and looked up at him. She felt an intense rush of shame. She said, “yeah, I guess things have been hard since you left, Eugene. The kids are all addicts now. I just didn’t think it would be Joyce that I lost first.” She began sobbing again, as her children rubbed her shoulders. “You can talk to the paramedics if you want to see her. She hasn’t seen you since she was a baby girl. It might make her stronger to see you. She’s not conscious anymore but maybe it’ll help.” Her voice broke. 

Sharon and Sharice came up to their father’s side. They just looked up at him in amazement. Like Santa Claus. 

Eugene didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say. He just looked at her, broken on the curb like a thrown-out piece of furniture. When he came to his senses, he walked up to one of the paramedics and asked to ride with them to the hospital. Since it was just him and not the 5 other family members that lived with her, they let him on, and took off.

[dramatic-shitpost-poet]

Blue tongued Skink

Enclosure:

Hatchlings can be housed in 20 gallon tanks, but adults and juveniles need to be in a 36 x 18 x 18 inches or 40-60 gallon minimum with more floor space

Only house one per tank

There needs to be a warm side with a heating lamp and UVB (can live without UVB, but very beneficial), then a cool side

The basking side should be 90-100 degrees F and the cooler side should be 75-82 degrees F

Day and night cycle need to be present

Substrates can be newspapers, puppy pads, aspen bedding, cypress mulch, etc.

They do like to dig, so give them a few inches of substrate

There needs to be a feeding dish to make sure they don’t ingest substrate

They are awful at climbing and enjoy running space, but make sure at least one hide is in their home and maybe a rock or log to bask on

They need places to hide both in heat and in the cooler side

A shallow, clean water dish needs to be present at all times and water changed every day. Scrub once a week

40-60% humidity is ideal, but indonesian skinks prefer a bit higher

Spot clean daily, completely clean and disinfect once a month

Diet/Feeding habits:

Omnivorous and need variety

50% veggies, 40% proteins, and 10% fruits is ideal

Adults should be fed every 2-3 days and juveniles should eat every other day

Feed juveniles as much as they want in one sitting and adults just enough to fill their reasonably sized bowl

Sprinkle their food with calcium powder and vitamins every other meal for juveniles and every third feeding for adults

Don’t feed foods high in sodium, citrus, avocado, eggplant or rhubarb.

Proteins: Canned dog/cat food (cat food has more protein usually), dry dog/cat food that has been moistened, mealworms/superworms, hornworms, shrimp, boiled organ meats, canned snails, boiled chicken, hard boiled eggs, cooked ground turkey, cooked lean beef, and an occasional pinky mouse

Veggies: Dandelion greens, collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, squash, peas, brussel sprouts, carrots, and an occasional hibiscus flower

Fruits: Mango, blueberry, strawberry, raspberries, figs, papaya, and cantaloupe

Don’t feed corn-based products and canned foods with bones

Age identification:

They live about 15-20 years, but can live more

They reach maturity at 3 years old

Physical traits:

They have blue tongues that are sticky enough to eat insects

Their bodies are usually a light tan with darker brown stripes and chunky

Adult size is 18-24 inches

Hatchlings start at about 4 inches long

Terrestrial 

Awful to climbing and swimming

Their tail can “drop” at any time

Their eggs hatch inside of them and they seem to have “live birth”

They have a clutch of about 10-15 babies a year

Personality:

They territorial easily

Very hardy

They are very picky on the enrichment in their environment and will move their enrichment around until they are pleased

Intelligent and curious

Docile and friendly

They evolved their blue tongue to scare predators

If they are stressed they will puff up, show their tongue, and hiss (also food behavior)

If they get stressed they can lose their tail

They need to be handled often or they get shy and flighty

They do not brumate and instead mate during all of winter and spring

Health Concerns:

Metabolic bone disease caused by lack of calcium and vitamins

Stuck shed can cause lack of circulation, fixed by higher humidity

They will sometimes overeat, so keep an eye on their weight

Handling:

Let them have a week to themselves before you start handling them

Make sure they have a few meals before handling

When first handling just limit it to about 10 minutes, then you can increase time

Support their entire body and hold over a surface in case they wiggle

They love being handled once comfortable with you and sometimes enjoy head/chin scratches

Wash hands before and after handling

Never handle as they are shedding as it stresses them out

#blue tongued skink #skink #lizard #dsp care sheet #dsp care sheets #herpetology #herpetologist #animal #animals #research

[the-firebird69]

This is a large jug and it's really like 5 gallons it's exactly 5 gallons and weighs a bit over 40 lb I think 42 LB it's not that heavy the sun can carry two easily and all across the parking lot if you didn't have a hernia I could probably do it now without too much trouble it wouldn't bother him at all actually he can carry probably 10 loads or 20 everybody played right in the cart and you lived in your car and you guys left 40 lb all the time well 30 and well maybe 20. Yeah I can curl them all day and a lot of people already doing it we delivered a bunch of jugs and they're not much money and we forgot to mention the prices sorry you got that cool thing worked out and here's how to drink these it comes with a tap no and it comes it does there is a tap you can get that comes with a kit and actually you buy two of them and they're chilled or you can buy two of them warm and they're called jugs and actually this one's called jug but they called jugs and they have a little they have a girl on it and she's pretty hot and it's the same girl but it's a different girl for different type of beer and we have four beers remember. Any other big jugs and when you buy with two the the tap is au gratis. And now we throw it in free with the kit and it comes in a box with two of them with a big handle on the top and people are buying that like crazy and they tap it right away you can also turn it upside down and put it in your water cooler it's designed to fit in there. And it's a special plastic it's not clear cuz always it's in the Sun but when you drink it it's cool and it works pretty good the whole thing gets cold eventually and stays cool and stays good and mostly it gets drunk and pretty quick but these are going to be at parties everywhere on Earth and we're going to send a thank you note to the person who builds these coolers and ask him if he wants help making them and will send him some jugs but not with the kit.

Thor Freya

Oh yeh

6 pack and any of the four beers it's the same price 3.99

12 pack 6.50

18 pack 9.50

24 pack 12.00

1 jug 18.00 it's roughly 37 or almost 38 beers it's a bit less than the 24 pack and working on the price and we think we'll bring it to $17.00 Zig Zag says we agree, I'm at 16.00 ok we agree. All. Yes Zig Zag do too all do

The kit is about $34 and we are give me a savings on the tap you can reuse

The beer jug works on any of the water coolers they're all interchangeable now all the drugs work on them in our jug works on all of them. If you plan to keep it on there for more than one day maybe like 8 or 10 hours we have a cozy and you put the cozy on it immediately and it'll stay for weeks, but really it stays fizzi for about 4 days, we also have a cozy with a cooling system and it's about $29 and it runs on electricity 110 you plug it in you put the koozie you on it and you put the tap on it.

That will last about a month as long as you pressurize it by pressing the button down several times until it's slightly difficult but once a day

Thor Freya

We're in business there's so many people who want this stuff it's out of control

Olympus