#+ other source is my bachelors of science.

[cyanocoraxx]

hey! so i'm not convinced that either of you are approaching this discussion in good faith, but on the off chance that you might be willing to hear the other side, i'm replying here (wordcount restriction in comment replies was making me go crazy). also, not too sure why a bad drawing of a fictional robot repping for trans people was the place to discuss this, but whatever, let's go.

so...

there are plenty of athletes with biological advantages who are not disqualified or shunned for them. there are at least 20 documented genetic variations associated with elite athletic status in cisgender people, and both scientific and sporting communities recognize that genetics play a significant role in athletic performance.

Michael Phelps is double-jointed in his shoulders and elbows which aids him in swimming so adeptly. Miguel Induráin, a highly successful cyclist, had a lung capacity of 7.8L compared to the average person's 6L. Eero Mäntyranta, a skiing legend, had a mutation in his erythropoietin receptor gene that increased the amount of oxygen in his blood. Usain Bolt may benefit from his possession of the ACTN3 gene. Tom Sietas, a freediver, has larger lungs than the average person. some of the top basketball players in the world have an advantage with their larger wingspan and hand size compared to their rivals.

nobody bats an eye at these examples, but the few transgender women who have competed are vilified for the combined issue of "biological advantage" and "protecting women." again, let's look at that.

available evidence currently suggests that trans women undergoing testosterone suppression have no obvious biological advantage over cisgender women in sports. cisgender men have higher RBC counts, a quality that is removed within the first few months of T suppression in trans women. loss of strength also occurs with hormonal suppression, but this is not adequately studied yet so we don't know to what extent this occurs. lastly, post-gonad removal, trans women often experience T levels far below those of pre-menopausal cisgender women. overall, there is currently no FIRM basis in science to indicate that trans women undergoing HRT have a consistent and measurable benefit in sports, other than lean body mass and cross-section area that may persist according to a study by jassen et al., 2000. while trans women may retain these higher levels of LBM/CSA, they actually still fall within the normal distribution levels for cis women, only outperforming sedentary cis women. what biological markers might we consider instead then when talking about this? handgrip strength is not a reliable biological proxy. it's more related to hand size than sex. bone density is unreliable as it's not only related to sex, but also to socio-economic position, so it's not strictly sex dimorphic. the only reliable markers we can currently look for are red blood cell count (which, again, decreases with T suppression) and muscle mass when controlled for height and weight.

womens' sports are absolutely under threat, just not in the way that people think. many social factors continue to suppress the value of womens' sports, including sexist discrimination, fewer coaches and teams, classism, racism, and sexual violence. and that's only speaking about cis women. now with an increasing hostility towards transgender people, cis women will be harmed alongside them - body policing, transvestigating, etc. people "respect women" until they think they "aren't women." and what about when they are cis, and you harass them and violate their privacy just to "make sure"? it's horrific. the idea that cis men choose to transition to gain an advantage in womens' sports is a myth. in fact, trans women report an anxiety-inducing climate and constant surveillance along with violence. to think that anyone would willingly put themselves in that kind of situation for shits and gigs or to win a medal is absurd. trans black women especially are heavily discriminated against and face violence often. they would not put themselves at risk of violence, potentially even death, just because they want to win something. they just show up as themselves. and so in saying that, it is a myth that trans women outright dominate and push out cisgender women from sports. trans women LOSING in sports is under-reported in media because it doesn't fit the mainstream hatred of trans people.

the inclusion of trans women should uplift all women. stop policing womens' bodies. and so forth.

would also like to note that, if you don't believe that trans women are real women, and you think that they're all just cis men cosplaying as women... your problem with "trans perverts" is actually just with cis male perverts. the call is coming from inside the house.

TLDR; cis people have had genetic/biological advantages for a long time and have not been disqualified or vilified for them + leave women alone

[sandplague]

pathologic 3 save & sound 2024 presentation

this is a quick attempt at a transcript of the presentation. I think I got most of it but there are some words I was unable to hear, I can't say I have a lot of practice doing this and that's on me so if any of you guys can help me I'll edit it asap

Ressa Schwarzwald: I'm Ressa from Gameowdio. Our team has been working on Pathologic 3 with Vasily Kashnikov and his apprentice Nikolai. This video will feature some of the audio stuff we've made together.

Our goal regarding audio direction was to give the real experience of being in the epicenter of an epidemic. Fully realistic, no bullshit. So we are obviously shooting this video in The Town. We realized pretty early that the game was quite different from the original Pathologic 2 because of the time travel mechanics. So for the prototype we built a time travel machine [the date November 1924 shows on screen], which appeared to be quite useful to record some source sounds, and [date changes to November 3024] make this video in just half a second using existing technology.

Let's start with the music.

Vasily Kashnikov: Hi, I'm Vasily Kashnikov, audio director of Pathologic 3 project. I'll tell you how our music is structured. We were already thinking about how the Bachelor's game would sound when we were working on Patholgic 2 and writing music for Haruspex. In Pathologic 2, the music had more ethnic and real motives (motifs?) and instruments. Since the city and its customs are familiar with Haruspex since he was a child, he is involved in the traditional way of life. In the case of Pathologic 3, this is the view of an outsider who evaluates everything from the point of view of rationality and science. Therefore, we are trying to make the Pathologic 3 soundtrack colder and more detached from the steppes and ethnicity in character. There is more synthesis, guitars at the same time, the Bachelor communicates with those in power so the soundtrack contains a large share of minimalist so-called furniture music that could sound in the beginning of the last century. Piano etudes and references to composers of that time: Satie, Debussy, etc. The soundtrack is a rather eclectic mix of dreampop, downtempo, and (?) minimalism.

In the city when the Bachelor is alone with himself, we emphasize the cold mind of the rhythm section: less emotional harmony, and sometimes electronic timbres. In the rooms where we need to separate the main character from those he interacts with, we use more expressive harmonies and more classical instruments: piano and guitar passages.

When we designed the interactive music system, we assumed that time is finite, and the music had to change depending on the amount of time the Bachelor had left. However, we later abandoned this system and now the music changes depending on the state of the Bachelor himself, who can fall into apathy or psychosis. To emphasize these states, we apply filters and effects to different layers of our tracks and get a slower, muffled sound in the case of apathy, and wired (?) nervous, glitchy in the case of psychosis. In the infected quarters, there are interactive systems that... [screen begins to distort] oh my god, Nataliya! Please stop this!

Nataliya Radina: Whoops, hehe, sorry. But yeah, basically the other system we created reflects everything you hear in the game. Such as... If we use our gun when dealing with the local thugs, the longer we aim the weapon at the people, the less sounds of the outside world we hear and the louder becomes the heartbeat. To add to the intensity, sharper tone was used along with a high pitch tinnitus sound. If the psychosis level goes to the maximum, it starts to damage Bachelor's health, which is accompanied by flashes on the screen, as well as low heartbeat and short breathing sounds.

Vasily Kashnikov: In the infected and rebel's quarters, there are also interactive systems that change the character of the music by adding or disabling instrument layers depending on the state of the world or the Bachelor's equipment to fight the plague. As a result, we have 12 tracks for each day spent in the city. they can freely switch between each other and several dozen themes for locations and characters, and all the music is subject to change depending on the state of the Bachelor.

Nataliya Radina: Since the game has a weather changing system, we also wanted to reflect that in our audio feedback as well. The game has global wetness parameter that shows how intense the rain is. The more it rains, the more squishy and muddy are the steps of the outside surfaces. Moreover, if you come closer to the window, you can hear the rain pondering on the glass. Even in the middle of the plague, we always have room for cozy moments, right? My favorite part of that system is involving cows. [cow moo]. So, when it's raining, you can actually hear very very soft sound of raindrops dropping on those bovine butts. And I personally think it's beautiful.

Artur Ramanouski: Hi, my name is Artur, and I was also involved in creating some sound assets for the game.

Probably the hardest thing to record were the footsteps. I had everything planned out: bought the equipment, got every type of surface, but...there was one small thing I overlooked: I live in a city with over 12 million people. Noise everywhere. The solution was simple and ingenious: I recorded everything on a Sunday, because in Buenos Ares, Sunday is the one day when no one does anything.

Nataliya Radina: One of the most important places in the game is the cathedral. There we have a system of ladders that control the speed and direction of time. Direction wise, we can have it flow normally, or reversed. [entire presentation is rewound very quickly so it's back to Ressa]

Ressa Schwarzwald: She is super professional.

Nataliya Radina: As for the speed, we can make it stand still, go twice as fast, or half normal speed. We created an audio system that has to (?) understand what is actually happening around (inaudible). When we reverse time, spatial effects are added to the surrounding sounds. Ambience, steps, and the mechanism itself. When time stands still, we increase the low frequencies in the ambience, and all the other sounds are muted to zero. Now lastly, when the time goes twice as fast, or half the original speed, the pitch of the surrounding sound changes accordingly.

The coolest part of this system is that it's been actually implemented into the game engine using only one parameter.

Ressa Schwarzwald: Thank you for watching. See you here, later!

[fantomette22]

A little something about the students dress

Alright so I was looking at references (to draw a character) and ended up doing a bit of research on academic dresses & graduations uniforms! I only find a couple of things so if someone have more infos I will be very interest!

So in Bloodborne we got those dear uniforms :

The one with the robes is very classic of what people in old classic university still wear for big events and graduations such as in the U.S.A or UK. A decades/century ago they did wore those uniforms of course way more often. Now we wear mostly casual clothes.

(This image always made me think of Byrgenwerth. With the balcony and all. That remind me of a post I made a while ago I have still no clue what those balcony were use for!!!)

At first, I discovered that between a bachelor/licence degree, master degree and phd/doctorate you aren't going to get the same clothes. Plus, colours can differ depending of : the level of the degree, the school or the field you graduate in (can differ depending the countries as well).

Bachelor outfits are the most simple ones with not a lot of colours for most of them. Sometimes they don't have hoods but depends. Sometimes they seems to have very large selves like the Byrgenwerth one. The master ones have a bit more colours and I read generally long sleeves but that depends? Then the phd/doctorate ones are generally very colourful! And like the last sources below v They even had even more beautiful outfit for very important members (so I guess Willem pope outfit still make sense XD)

As for the colors it really depends the country etc but I read red is often associated with medicine and surgery (what a coincidence!). White / purple or even red is for theology and blue could be for sciences (Byrgenwerth/willem researches seems to be quite a mixt with theology/sciences so make sense).

(@katyspersonal we did talk a while back on colours on clothes meaning but hey it had have academic significations that fit well too! So in the end, drawing Laurence with white & red clothes is even more accurate now! XD) Oh I wanna draw him in an entire red academic dress now...Future drawing idea ).

Also I forgot to mentions that there's the hat/trencher that's part of it as well. It's not part of the set in the game but ennemies have it.

Also little side note: some dress have stripes or ermine bands on the clothes that represents their grades and also "academic curiosity, academic honesty, and academic courage."

So i suppose the garb Micolash, Damian & co have would look more similar to a master degree one? I guess?

But I won't throw any rocks at Fromsoftware even if the ones we got might not be too much detailed/ accurate because they sure did their homeworks to find and design those clothes. They aren't historians and they probably found a lot more things than I here (plus Japan don't have those dresses too). They're not going to design like 5 different outfits in the game too XD. (Yes I want more details for my story bc making things way more complicated is way more accurate I guess...) We don't know how exactly those types of institutions fonctions in Bloodborne universe too. And it's a fantasy world after all. So it's free real estate

I dunno if you guys @pyro-madder @karnaca78 @secteel or others could know more about it 🤔

But for now it's all!

Sources :

PS : I found this piece of medieval scholar dress and it really look like the same as the guy in the cainhurst painting and cut content Beltran!

They are probably wearing a "simarre". Some magistrate/ university professor / religious clothes people would wear. So pretty oblivious and what we thought @heraldofcrow

[aestherians]

Change and Loss

Word count: 1362

Expected reading time: 10-11 minutes

"If your otherkinity still serves you, it will never really leave you," is what I used to say - more as a reassurance than a statement of fact. I mean, how could I know for a fact that it was true? I didn't have any experience with losing a kintype. I still don't think I do; not really. And I always saw the idea repeated in the community - one time otherkind, always otherkind.

But I don't believe that's true anymore. I'm still a bison for sure. I've never doubted that. I'm still Ɐwhrayɐ the gnoll and I'm still Ben the shapeshifter… but I'm beginning to accept that those sides of me have changed.

"One time otherkin, always otherkin. If your otherkinity still serves you, it will never really leave you"… but what if that's not true? What if you still benefit from your kintypes, and they disappear regardless? What do you do if you lose a part of yourself, or if a part of yourself becomes unrecognizable to you? How do you keep living when you've lost yourself?

Sometime in 2023 the distress of always having to hide my true self became too much to bear alone. But I'm not a brave person. I think the better solution would've been to just bite the bullet and start expressing myself, but hindsight is 20/20. I've survived 25 years by hiding everything that makes me 'weird', and the idea of leaving my one dependable survival strategy behind was (is) terrifying. I went to a free self-help seminar ("Take control of your life!") but all it taught me is that I need a dependable support network before I can take control of my life. I went to my doctor to try and get a referral for a therapist (it's cheaper than just finding your own therapist). Instead he sent me to a psychiatrist for my 'delusions'. The psychiatrist told me my experiences, worldview, and self-perception were unusual but not harmful - they could only help if my goal was to get rid of my schizotypal traits (traits that weren't even significant enough to warrant a diagnosis). If all I wanted was to learn how to conquer my fears and express my true self, they couldn't help. It took months of visits to get the diagnosis: Traumatized by peer abuse, too poor to afford my own therapy, and too anxious and ADHD to even find a therapist in the first place.

I can't even say I was left at square one. I had started out hopeful. Nearing the end of 2023, I just felt helpless.

At the same time, my studies were drawing to a close. I completed my bachelor's degree in animal science and all it took was a diagnosis of ADHD so I could legally buy amphetamines, a compound-diagnosis of autism so I wouldn't get kicked out when I inevitably misunderstood exam questions and failed final after final, and 5½ years - almost twice the expected time for a bachelor's degree in my country.

It should've been freeing but instead it left me directionless. Helpless and directionless - that's how I entered 2024!

In the past, in the strictly structured day-to-day of school, my kintypes have been a source of comfort. Especially my Ben fictotype, which probably fell into the category of coping mechanism. I awakened in a time of intense stress and retreated to that world whenever my present life got too much. When crowds got me overstimulated or I missed an important deadline or fought with my neighbors or drifted apart from old friends, I thought about all the times Ben!me had gone through similar or worse. I cut off a friend in my present life after finding out he'd abused his ex - but in my other life I'd cut off a friend who tried to murder me, and things still turned out fine. I lived through it. I could live through it again. Every situation had a parallel in my other life.

I still don't know why that method failed me, but eventually it did. It's not that it didn't work, it was more that I suddenly had to put an effort into making it work. As if I'd always been able to enter Narnia and now suddenly I had to personally petition Aslan to let me back in. It started in the fall of 2023 but it wasn't until spring 2024 that I fully realized. Coping had never been an effort before, and the worst part is, I don't even know why it suddenly was.

My fictotype was drifting away, even when it still served me! This wasn't supposed to happen! Had I been lied to?!

I think our community has a lot of survivorship bias. Whichever mailing lists and newsgroups get archived, and whatever snailmail gets published, that's what our history is based on. The people who made archivable geocities sites get to write our story - not the people on closed forums or in private chat groups. People who leave the community don't tend to leave behind pristine essays on their fully archived websites explaining why they left. It does happen, don't get me wrong, but it's rare. And when they do leave behind messages, it's usually some variant of "I still love the community that fostered my awakening, I'm just an adult with responsibilities now and I don't have time for this."

But what about the people who don't love the community? Who 'unawakened'? Who aren't passionate enough to leave behind a final message? Do we ever hear from the otherkind who 'fizzled out' and became human - or at least lost a kintype?

You can understand my panic, right? I considered turning my fictotype into a copinglink, but my ADHD is so debilitating I barely remember to brush my teeth - no way I was gonna remember to do daily reinforcement exercises. Especially frazzled 2024 me (still frazzled as of June but I'm hanging in there!).

I was forced to accept whatever my come.

I'm still Ben, on some level, but I won't say "I'm thankfully still Ben," 'cause is it really that bad to not be Ben? Even if that facet had served me well and could still serve me? $1,000,000 could serve me well, but uselessly pining after it doesn't serve me.

I didn't prepare myself for loss because I really wasn't sure I was gonna lose a part of me - and, in any case, grieving preemptively is a waste of energy if you ask me. Instead a turned to the Bison - not my own bison theriotype, but the archetype of the Bison. When one woowoo solution fails, why not try another?

The Bison has always been a good teacher to me - better than any self-help seminar or psychiatrist. The Bison takes everything in stride. The Bison survives until it can thrive. The Bison ruminates on the present, it doesn't ponder the future. The Bison doesn't grieve or fret unnecessarily. It exists in the now. I exist in the now.

Of course, the chance that anyone reading this works with the Bison spirit is slim, but I think its teachings can help everyone - regardless of spirituality.

When turning to other worlds doesn't aid you, accept it, and turn to the present world. Let your worries pass through you, you can't see clearly when you're pent up with worry. You can't prevent the seasons from turning, all you can do is turn with them. Accept your lack of control, instead of trying to grasp at the uncontrollable. Sometimes change is unexpected, and you may not like it, and it might not even open up new doors for you. Not all change is good. But you cannot prevent every unwanted change, and you have to keep living regardless.

My fictionkinity doesn't have the intensity of my first few years post-awakening, but it also doesn't have the casual reassuredness of decade-old kintypes. It comes and goes, and when it comes it's like a whisper. And one day it might become too quiet for me to notice. One day it might not return.

But I think I can live with that.

[viktorviolettaenterprises]

Rainbow 6 Siege "Valkyrie"

DOWNLOAD (Alternate Download Button)

Tech Specs:

Outfit

Mesh Originally From Ubisoft, Converted to XNALARA By My DeviantART Friend, BlinkjisooXPS and Converted to Sims 4 By Me

Custom Thumbnail

HQ Compactible

Age Range: Teen to Elder

Category:Costume

Female Only

Headscarf:

Custom Thumbnail

HQ Compactible

Age Range: Teen to Elder

Category:Brimless

Unisex

@bdangkingfish, @exzentra-reblog @cctreasuretrove @ts4cc-finds @sssvitlanz Combat Pose By @flyinthewind Impressive Pose! Meghan Castellano was born and raised in the quintessential surf community of Oceanside, California. Her father was a respected Colonel in the United States Marine Corps who worked as a training officer. Her mother was a researcher at a nearby biotech company. From an early age, she was known as a high achiever in math and science and as an athletic prodigy. She graduated from University of California, San Diego: Bachelor of Science, Computer Science.[3] An Olympic hopeful in the 200-meter breaststroke, Castellano split her time between the pool and the army base. Her Olympic ambitions ended after she broke her arm in a car accident when she was sixteen. She changed her focus after high school and enlisted in the United States Navy in the early 2000s. Castellano served four years before attending college at the University of California, San Diego on the Veterans Affairs bill. After graduating with a degree in Computer Science, specializing in Security and Cryptography, she transferred to the Navy's Information Dominance Corps. In 2007, Castellano collaborated with GROM Operator Elżbieta Bosak in Operation Orange Sky, acting as her source of intel. Castellano's attention to detail and analytical skill made her one of the most sought-after specialists. She applied to become a SEAL when the position was opened to women and succeeded after several grueling years, acting as an encouragement for others to follow. During her training, she met Craig "Blackbeard" Jenson who served as an instructor for Hell Week. Castellano has been assigned as a NAVY Intelligence Specialist as part of her training.[3] During a particularly dangerous mission in South America, Castellano met an undercover CIA operative named Karen Bowman. She provided Castellano's team with valuable intel, and the two later kept in contact with one another. In 2016, Castellano accepted an offer to join Rainbow alongside Blackbeard.

[darkmaga-returns]

by Brian Shilhavy Editor, Health Impact News

An amazing interview from 2013 with Dr. A. True Ott, PhD, has been republished by a couple of people within the past few days, and I just got done watching it today.

Talk about “truth bombs”, many of those were dropped in this amazing interview, including revealing who really runs the world today and controls both political parties today.

Dr. Ott’s work has been censored in a major way, and fortunately Archive.org is currently operating well enough for me to retrieve Dr. Ott’s full bio from his original blog which has since been scrubbed from the Internet.

A. True Ott, PhD A. True Ott received his Bachelors of Arts degree from Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah in 1982, and went on to receive his Doctor of Philosophy in the field of Nutrition through the American College in Washington DC in 1994. Dr. Ott’s dissertation and research followed the groundbreaking work of Linus Pauling, and asserted via independent research that each mineral on the periodic table of the elements, in its pure hexagonal crystalline form, pulses a specific hertz resonant frequency based on its atomic weight and unique electron configuration. Dr. Ott then measured and graphed the individual resonant frequencies inherent in vitamin and enzyme structures, and independently verified that 23 minerals are the base raw materiel of nutrition and are vitally important in keeping the human cells in a state of balance or homeostatic health. Dr. Ott has been counseling and lecturing on this most basic form of prime nutrition for over 15 years, and founded Mother Earth Minerals, Inc. in 1997. Dr. Ott’s independent research also verified the importance of free electrons in nutritional, water-soluble mineral supplements, as well as ultra-pure drinking water and oxygen molecules.  He developed a patent-pending drinking water product that attaches free electrons to the Hydrogen and Oxygen molecules in ultra-pure, medicinal grade water – making it negatively charged (extra ‘free electrons’) and then introduced it to individuals suffering from chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, etc. Amazingly, the free electrons in Dr. Ott’s water product began to reduce the symptoms associated with chronic disease in a very powerful way. As Dr. Ott declared in a recent symposium: “Society has unfortunately taken water for granted.  When I share my research on water and minerals with others in the allopathic medical community, the typical response is raised eyebrows and mocking derision.  Too often health care professionals, however, forget that the human body is composed of 70% water and 30% minerals – therefore it is simply common sense that pure water combined with pure minerals comprise Mother Earth’s medicine chest for all mammalian life forms! It is not rocket science, only basic nutritional truth!” The author and publisher of dozens of articles and three books on nutrition, Dr. Ott is continually searching for natural solutions and answers to the nation’s chronic health problems, and believes that education is the first step. His latest book, Secret Assassins in Food blows the whistle on common food additives and is a “must-read” in order to understand some of the more toxic food additives and programs! From 1996-2001, Dr. Ott worked with Mr. Warren Anderson to produce the radio program “The Story Behind the Story” at KSUB Radio in Cedar City, Utah and was awarded the prestigious Peabody Award for radio documentary. (Source.)

This 2013 interview was published by Ken Adachi yesterday, where he wrote:

[spacenutspod]

A mentor of research scientist Meloë Kacenelenbogen once shared a sentiment from French author André Gide: “You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” Kacenelenbogen pushes beyond her comfort zone to explore the unknown. Name: Meloë S. KacenelenbogenFormal Job Classification: Research scientistOrganization: Climate and Radiation Laboratory, Science Directorate (Code 613) Dr. Meloë S. Kacenelenbogen is a research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. She studies the impact of aerosols on air quality and the Earth’s climate.Photo courtesy of Meloë Kacenelenbogen What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? I study the impact of aerosols — suspended particles from, for example, wildfire smoke, desert dust, urban pollution, and volcanic eruptions — on air quality and the Earth’s climate. I use space, air, and ground-based observations, as well as models. Why did you become a scientist? What is your educational background? I never made a deliberate choice to become a scientist. I started with very little confidence as a child and then built up my confidence by achieving things I thought I could not do. I chose the hardest fields to work on along the way. Science looked hard and so did fluid mechanics, remote sensing, and atmospheric physics. I have failed many times, but I always learn something and move on. I do get scared and maybe even paralyzed for a day or two, but I never let fear or failure immobilize me for long. I was born in Maryland, but my family moved to France when I was young, so I am fluent in French. I have a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering, and physical methods in remote sensing from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI, Jussieu). In 2008, I got a Ph.D. in atmospheric physics for applying satellite remote sensing to air quality at the Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille (USTL), France. What are some of your career highlights? After my Ph.D., I worked for the Atmospheric Lidar Group at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), on spaceborne and ground-based lidars. In 2009, I got a NASA Post-doctoral Program (NPP) fellowship at the agency’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, where I worked for 13 years on space-based, aircraft-based, and ground-based atmospheric aerosol vertical distribution and aerosol typing. In 2022, I came to work at the Climate and Radiation Lab at Goddard. What is most interesting about aerosols? Aerosols are very topical because they have a huge impact on the air we breathe and our Earth’s climate. The smaller the aerosol, the deeper it can get into our lungs. Among other sources, aerosols can come from cars, factories, or wildfires. We all know that wildfires are becoming bigger and more frequent. They are expected to happen even more frequently in the future due to climate change. Both when I was living in California and here in Maryland, I have experienced first-hand choking from the wildfire smoke. I will always remember how apocalyptic it felt back in the summer of 2020 in California when wildfire smoke was paired with COVID confinement, and the sky turned Mars-like orange. Please tell us about your involvement with the Atmosphere Observing System (AOS)? I am incredibly lucky to be able to contribute to the next generation of NASA’s satellites. I am working on AOS, which will observe aerosols, clouds, convention, and precipitation in the Earth’s atmosphere. I am part of the team that is helping design several instruments and algorithms. My role is to connect this spaceborne observing system to all our other space, ground, and air-based measurements at the time of launch. We are making a mesh of observations to address the science questions, run the algorithms, and validate the spaceborne measurements. I am constantly pushed to expand my horizon and my own knowledge. Why do you enjoy always challenging yourself intellectually? I started that way. I had no confidence, so I felt that the only way I could build my confidence was to try doing things that scared me. I may sometimes be a little scared, but I am never bored. What did you learn from your mentors? A few years ago, a mentor shared a quote from André Gide with me that encapsulates what we are talking about: “You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” In other words, it is OK, maybe preferable, to be out of my comfort zone to explore the unknown as scary as it may be. Along the way, it has been extremely important for me to deliberately choose mentors. To me, a good mentor has earned the respect of all who have worked with them, is uplifting, reassuring, and gives me the invaluable guidance and support that I need. I deliberately try to surround myself with the right people. I have been very, very fortunate to find incredible people to encourage me. As a mentor, what do you advise? I tell them to deliberately choose their mentors. I also tell them that it is OK to be uncomfortable. Being uncomfortable is the nature of our field. To do great things, we often need to be uncomfortable. Why do you enjoy working on a team? I love working on teams, I love to feed off the positive energy of a team whether I lead it or am part of it. In my field, teamwork with a positive energy is incredibly satisfying. Everybody feeds off everybody’s energy, we go further, are stronger, and achieve more. This may not happen often, but when it does it makes it all worth it. What are the happiest moments in your career? I am always happiest when the team publishes a paper and all our efforts, are encapsulated in that one well-wrapped and satisfying peer-reviewed paper that is then accessible to everyone online. Every paper we publish feels, to me, the same as a Ph.D. in terms of the work, pain, energy, and then, finally, satisfaction involved. What do you hope to achieve in your career? I want to have been a major contributor to the mission by the time the AOS satellites launch. What do you do for fun? I do mixed martial arts. I love the ocean, diving, and sailing. I also love going to art galleries, especially to see impressionist paintings to reconnect with my Parisian past. Meloë Kacenelenbogen once shared a sentiment from French author André Gide: “You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”Photo courtesy of Meloë Kacenelenbogen Who is your favorite author? I love Zweig, Kafka, Dostoyevsky, Saint-Exupéry, and Kessel. The latter two wrote a lot about aviators in the early 1900s back in the days when it was new and very dangerous. Those pilots, like Mermoz, were my heroes growing up. Who would you like to thank? I would like to thank my family for being my rock. What are your guiding principles? To paraphrase Dostoevsky, everyone is responsible to all men for all men and for everything. I have a strong sense of purpose, pride, justice, and honor. This is how I try to live my life for better or for worse. By Elizabeth M. JarrellNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage. Explore More 6 min read Christine Knudson Uses Earthly Experience to Study Martian Geology Geologist Christine Knudson works with the Curiosity rover to explore Mars — from about 250… Article 6 days ago 9 min read Systems Engineer Noosha Haghani Prepped PACE for Space Article 2 weeks ago 6 min read Astrophysicist Gioia Rau Explores Cosmic ‘Time Machines’ Article 3 weeks ago Share Details Last Updated Oct 22, 2024 EditorMadison OlsonContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related TermsPeople of GoddardGoddard Space Flight CenterPeople of NASA

[dumpsterfirepropaganda]

Okay actually y’know what? I’ve been waiting for an excuse to do this and I have some time to kill, permit me to vomit some unedited blathering all over the screen about my ROCK/METAL/ADJACENT GENRES music journey because I love to gab about it. There’s gonna be some chat about religious music but I promise this ain’t a religious post - I just think it’s fun to look at the bands that shaped my interests and led me to what I listen to today (and it’s very funny to me to see my amateur sloppy journey through bands I think most people already knew about wayyy before my oblivious little self stumbled across them). Walk with me boss let’s talk

So some crucial context right off the bat: up until my late teens I was not aware that music was something I could Discover and Buy on my own. But my parents had a pretty big (~50-100) CD collection, so that was my main source of new music for almost all of my childhood.

What is unique about this CD collection is that I think almost 100% of it was late 90’s / early 2000’s Christian music. So my introduction to most genres was through that specific “genre” (there is an argument to be made that “Christian” is a theme not a genre. Which I will make. But not in this post.). Pop? Rock? Rap? Heck, ska? I heard it Jesus-style first. Classic Newsboys and Jars of Clay and David Crowder were on pretty much 24/7. But in terms of rock, we didn’t have any of the big bands I think most people, religious or no, are familiar with—like Flyleaf, Skillet, Red, Disciple, etc. Instead, my teeth were cut on one specific band called D.C. Talk.

If you grew up in a Christian household during the early 2000’s you’re probably hearing the song I’m about to reference in your head right now. If you didn’t, you most likely have never heard of D.C. Talk. But these guys were responsible for what my little child brain thought was the HARDEST song I had ever heard: a lil’ jam called Jesus Freak.

I’m going to be providing links to example songs throughout this post so that you can sample my journey with me, so this brings us to the first:

If you’re not religious (and even if you are), this song is probably pretty cringe. Compared to what I know now, the fact that baby me thought this song was hard at all is pretty laughable. But it was the anthem of my childhood. I’m honestly so curious how other people who didn’t grow up with the song perceive it because it’s SO entrenched in my mind as The Song growing up, to the point that I don’t think I could be fully objective about it no matter how hard I tried.

Anyway, I thought that was cool, took in the rest of the album, and then ditched rock as a genre completely to listen to EDM and Vocaloid and anime thumbnail nightcore covers for the rest of my teenage years like any good DeviantART kid. And I didn’t come back to the genre in any meaningful way until January the Year Of Our Lord 2023. (Yes I know that was just last year. Up until 2022 I did not have time to explore new interests because I was busy getting a Bachelor’s of Science, I was listening almost exclusively to video game OSTs and doing chemistry homework and Stressing™️).

The reason I remember the month and year of the turning point so specifically is because, over the New Year holiday, my family and I sat down to watch a documentary called Jesus Music that traced the history of Contemporary Christian Music. It was pretty interesting—D.C. Talk was a pretty big part of the story, as well as a bunch of other bands and artists I’d grown up with—but one band in particular jumped to my attention: Stryper.

Now I didn’t bother to do any research for this post but as best as I remember it, Stryper is a Christian metal band that was a bit controversial in its heyday for hanging on to the classic 80’s metal aesthetic and sound during a period where the prevailing Christian attitude was “Rock Is The Devil’s Music,” satanic panic etc etc. I remembered my mom saying she really enjoyed them during her 20’s, so I decided to check them out—and, while they weren’t really my thing, I fucked with their yellow-and-black outfits pretty heavy and thought they were at the very least a lot of fun:

I’d just caved and signed up for a Spotify Premium subscription around this time, so I started a Stryper radio, juuuust to see if I would maybe warm up to them. And that was where the turning point was. Because it was on the Stryper radio that I discovered the first metal band I REALLY liked: Theocracy. (Yes, we’re still in Christian music lmao, bear with me, we’re about to take a HARD left turn.)

Theocracy was specifically my introduction to power metal, and damn I fell for them hook, line, and sinker. It’s hard to explain what their music did to me because I’m so aware now how basic the experiences I had with them are, but I had never had my brains totally blown by a guitar run before, or felt myself totally swept up by the music before, even to the point of tears—like DAMN, they know how to write a chorus that will CARRY you. Or maybe that’s bias talking again lol, but Theocracy was a discovery that felt very uniquely mine, and it will always hold a very special place in my heart. It was so hard to pick just one song to use as an example but I had to go with one of the first ones I ever heard:

Getting into Theocracy put me in the way of a few other religious metal bands I really liked: Narnia, Saviour Machine, Within Silence, Harmony, etc.

So where did this lead me next?

Now, Mindless Self Indulgence has its issues, and I don’t generally like to tout them because of it, but I can genuinely say that nobody does it like they did it. And somehow, the guitar shredding Theocracy did and the manic electropunk wildness of MSI somehow struck the same chord in my brain, despite the two bands probably being the absolute furthest thing from one another in terms of subject matter (from I Am to Fuck Machine, anyone?). And again, this was something I had discovered all on my own—I think I heard a snippet of Never Wanted To Dance on a flipnote compilation back in 2013, but aside from that they were wayyy off my radar until I stumbled across them again in my quest for more jams. But this was CERTAINLY a step up from my previous interests in terms of energy, which led almost directly into the next “discovery” on my list:

Yeah, I found out about this because of the TikTok trend (indirectly, because that’s how a close friend of mind discovered it, and she shared it with me). But BOY OH BOY did it take me by the throat and shove me bodily through the next month and a half. Slipknot songs are very hit or miss for me, but as I poked into their discography I found quite a few songs that would become a permanent part of my rotation (Duality, Wait and Bleed, Before I Forget, Psychosocial, to name the favs).

By now you’re probably getting the impression that I was very sheltered, and I want to make it clear that I wasn’t really (although relatively speaking maybe I was)—but seriously, I was also just REALLY unadventurous growing up. And to an extent I still am: I’m quick to settle in an interest and not look around for more. I like listening to the same songs over again and playing the same video games over and over and watching the same movies and reading the same books a billion times. So every step of this journey has been very slow, but also very exciting, because everything feels like such a big discovery.

Anyway, Slipknot radio inevitably led me to Disturbed and Drowning Pool and System of a Down and then adjacently to Three Day’s Grace (HERE’S where I actually started listening to Skillet as well, full circle lmao), and that led me to the subject of my last post, that being Linkin Park.

Now we’ve fully pivoted from angry raucous screamo rock to angsty sad alt, but this was just as captivating to me in a different way. I’d heard plenty of clips of Linkin Park songs before because our generation has meme’d their hits half to death, but I’d never really listened to them seriously, and I was surprised by how much I really, really liked them. It’s not often I’ll listen to an album start to finish multiple times, but I’ve done so for both Meteora and Hybrid Theory multiple times this past month alone, and I can see the same being true for much of the near future.

I’ve left out a lot of stray bands and artists I’ve picked up along the way (Blue Stahli [thanks friend 😈], Upchuck, Rabbit Junk, and like one or two Falling In Reverse and Green Day songs), and I haven’t talked at ALL about my adjacent hip-hop/rap journey but these have been the main touchstones of my journey thus far. Maybe it’s nothing to write home about but I’ve always wanted to document it because I never could’ve predicted where I would’ve ended up, or what will come next. There’s just something fun about putting down my personal history in terms of an interest like this (even if it will inevitably expose me as a massive music noob. I don’t care. I’m having fun lmao.)

If you’ve made it to the end of this, I don’t really have much of a conclusion except thank you for journeying with me through these ramblings. I’d really love to hear other people’s music journeys. I think it would be really fun to share reflections like this. I’m thinking I might vomit out another stream of consciousness like this in the future, probably about how I got into Mega Man ZX - because DAMN is that quite the circuitous journey and another story I’ve been dying to tell.

anyway tl;dr Jesus music got me into Custer!!! I love you D.C. Talk!

goodnight tristate area

[imjustania]

How to nail 💅your Essays

No matter if you’re in university or school, you will need to write a research paper. Now this post will be dedicated to a normal essay structure, if you need to write an essay based assignment on medical, biological, chemical, or any other science, you need to be more specific, as writing a lab report has a couple extra steps.

Now, you have an essay due in two weeks? A week? Tonight? I’ve been there and I share your pain. I am currently in my last year in university studying for bachelor degree in Marketing, and oh boy let me tell you, the amount of essays I had to write was unreal. Therefore, let me share with you some of my essays skills, to help your speed run your own assignment.

Step 1: OUTLINE IT!?

Ok i think so many of you out there are missing this step. You cant expect yourself to sit in front of the computer and start typing away your essay? No you cant do that. You need to spend a good amount of time sitting down and outlining your essay. Figure out what goes where, and what sources to use for each section. Luckily for you, you have me here to tell you the basic outline structure of every essay. It consists of the:

Table of content (depends on how professional your essay is asked for)

Introduction

Main body

Conclusion

�� THATS IT! Only 4 sections (and a half) to write your essay. However of course there is more to write then just that. Lets break down those sections

1) Introduction: When writing the introduction for your essay, it's important to start off with a bang! You want to give your readers a glimpse of what's to come and hook their attention right from the beginning. Make sure to include a strong thesis statement that clearly states the main argument or purpose of your essay. To make it even more engaging, you can provide some background information about the topic and give a brief outline of the main points you'll be discussing in your essay. Therefore, every introduction should have an hook, explanation what you’re writing, what you think will be the result or what is the point you’re writing your essay, and outline all the points of the main body (but simplify them)

2) Main body: In each section of your essay, it's important to provide a detailed analysis and offer supporting evidence for the points you introduced at the beginning. Take each paragraph as a chance to present a single main idea or argument and support it with enough evidence, examples, or citations to back up your claim. To make sure your ideas flow smoothly, use clear and logical transitions between paragraphs. Lastly, remember to give credit to your sources and include proper references for any external information you include in your essay. Here are some side tips for you

Try to have at least a minimum of 3 main body paragraphs . Each paragraph should have one point which helps support your main hypothesis or reasons or this essay.

Each essay will have different main bodies, depending on the subject. Sometimes your main bodies will be dedicated to presenting information about your topic. So for example, as a marketer, I had to write many reports. Most reports written will always include a main analysis of the company (so SWOT, PESTEL, Stakeholder analysis, mission and vision of the company, etc). Depending on what the essay require you to do, you should consider to present your points in that order.

Even your main body should have a proper structure of introduction, main points, and the conclusion.

Don’t forget to have a proper in-text citations depending on which format you use.

3) Conclusion: A conclusion is a chance to wrap up your essay by summarizing the main points and restating the thesis statement. Remember not to introduce any new information here; instead, provide a concise summary of the arguments you've made throughout your essay. Furthermore, this is your chance to leave a lasting impression on your reader by offering insights, implications, or recommendations related to the topic. A well-written conclusion should leave your reader with a sense of closure and a clear understanding of the importance of your essay's content.

4) References: The references section of your essay is where you list all the sources you have cited or referenced. It's important because it helps readers find and verify the credibility of the sources you used. When writing the references section, make sure to follow the specific citation style required by your institution or professor, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago style. Include the author's name, publication year (if there is no publication year, then the article must not be reliable. It must always have a year), title of the source, publication information, and any other required details. Arrange the references alphabetically by the author's last name or by the title if there is no author (if there is no author try using the organisation or the website that published the text). Don't forget to double-check the formatting and punctuation for accuracy and consistency throughout the references section.

After your essay was outlines and you know exactly what you’re supposed to write… write it dude? Like you have the format, you have the sources, and you know your points. Just start writing… if you are having trouble getting started, then give a click to another one of my blogs on how to actually get started on studying.

If you want to go the extra mile, and also make the essay more professional here are some of my personal tips to accomplish that:

size 12 for normal text and size 14 for title (titles can be only bold)

Use text Times New Roman (ROMAN EMPIREEEEEEEEEE)

Double space of all essay

Have a cover page! You can find templates in the insert section of the word tabs.

Have numbers tag the foot of the page

And thats all for today folks! Hope this is actually useful to you, and if you are struggling with anything specific, then do let me know in the comment section or send me a question through the tumblr! Now thank you for reading, and leaving likes <3 don't forget to smile, because you’re beautiful.

[lixenn]

Rant about thesis research below:

Wanted to add statistics about the skin disease I study in my introduction. I find some numbers about how common it is in a review. I go to the source the review cited. Find the numbers, but I also find FIVE OTHER SOURCES ABOUT THE NUMBERS. I checked those sources too but dude I don't get statistics papers, I don't know where those numbers came from so I guess I hit a dead end.

My supervisor was the opposite of helpful because his advice was like: Use Nature and Science papers for sources because you can trust their data. And internally I'm just screaming because I write on my laptop. I research on my laptop. To get access to Nature and Science papers I need to use the computer in my office. I DON'T HAVE MY CITATION PROGRAM ON THAT COMPUTER WHICH MEANS IF I FIND THE PAPER I NEED TO FUCKING TRANSFER IT TO MY LAPTOP SO THAT I CAN CITE IT! Well gee thanks supervisor for making my life even more complicated, because you are a paranoid bastard that doesn't even trust the tare function on a scale (I'm not joking btw, the way he meassures things gives me nightmares tbh).

I know that he's probably right because there is so much misinformation and data manipulation in science it's not even funny but my dudes... my people... This is a bachelor thesis. Maximum five people will read this if even that. And I'm tired and exhausted and not paid enough to care if other peoples data is correct in this case. I just... I won't publish this... I just want to get this over and done with and yes it probably makes me a bad scientist but this is so much fucking effort that I don't have the spoons for right now.

[nursc]

BRI.DGERTON VERSES.

primary verse. even widows can be deemed to have good luck, and in the case of lady christine kirby, that luck is called william kirby. her son, born mere months before sir kirby -- one of this century's greatest scientists -- is due to inherit his father's large estates and holdings, and his mother, unlike many other young widows of my pages, won't be run out of her house with the small dowry she brought to the marriage.

lady christine kirby, neé chapel was the daughter of a landed-gentleman of small means. she had the fortune or the misfortune of catching the eye of the recently arrived roger kirby, when he bought the main estate in their county, who was already making a name for himself in the scientific field, his inventions making this former second-son of meager means into a wealthy bachelor. christine, whose curiosity was infamous in the county, quickly struck up a friendship with the older gentleman, and if not for her brother's intervention, would have been the biggest source of scandal to hit this sleepy village a few hours away from london, since her own father's untimely disappearance.

they married. and from the outside, everything appeared perfect. she was a perfect foil for her husband, incredibly bright ( some might even say brighter than her husband ) and an enchanting hostess, their home becoming a regular haunt for every scientific-minded type in the kingdom. fortune even blessed them with two gift: a healthy son, named after her brother, and a knighthood for kirby, for his contributions to science [ if some of those contributions had his wife's handwriting all over them, well... ]

secondary verse. it is rare that these pages praise a young lady's ability in the piano, more often than not, i am forced to recount the latest smythe-smith performance, a dreadful affair. but last night, the charming, penniless christine chapel put up quite a performance.

christine chapel, a penniless debutante, daughter of a second-son of a second-son, who is a guest of her aunt this season. she needs to make a fabulous match.

her brother, despite his hard-work, won't ever be able to make enough to sustain a wife, a mother, and two sisters. she has taken it upon herself to dazzle and find a match this year. two failed seasons is more than enough for her.

[gemsofgreece]

Γεια σου! I’m a Romanian History student specialising in International Relations and I am about to enter the last year of my Bachelor’s Degree, meaning I will have to write a thesis in order to obtain a diploma. I also happen to be learning Greek. I have been fascinated by the history of 20th century Greece for a while now and have written almost every essay we were assigned on topics surrounding it, thus I have picked “Greece’s foreign policy in the 20th century” as the topic for my thesis. As for any other scholarly work, I will be in need of primary sources and I was wondering if there are any Greek digitalised archives which may contain relevant documents regarding Greece’s foreign affairs and so on? Thank you so much!

Γεια! Bună! :)

I don't know if I can come up with sources for exactly what you ask in specific but here's some stuff I found.

I would first recommend the captain obvious / sly way: Go to the page of the History of Modern Greece in Wikipedia. The page is very detailed and long and it links you to even more detailed main articles about all the historical events one by one. And there are all the references you can search more and the citations you can use there. I linked the English page - but do study the Greek equivalent simultaneously. Sometimes the English one leans towards British / French "inherent innocence" in regards to its involvement in Greek matters. So both together, with their links to extra pages and all the references can provide a generous amount of information that will be pretty safe.

Old publications released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They cover several of the years 1878 - 1921. Half are in Greek and half are in French though. Here's the link.

Here you will find the pdf of the standard senior high school book on modern and modern Greek history.

This is a pdf of the Topics on Modern Greek History, the schoolbook of the senior year in high school for those who plan to study humanities and social sciences in particular.

The link I am giving you below includes online catalogs from Greek libraries (National Library, Academy of Athens and Gennadius Library). It also has links to open access databases on Modern Greek studies. It's catalogs though, research guides. Not access to the books themselves.

One that might be useful is the Journal of Modern Greek Studies. It's the scientific journal dealing with Greek history and culture exclusively after the Byzantine era.

I would recommend the podcast of historian Giorgos Mavrogordatos - Διορθωτικά Μαθήματα Ιστορίας (Corrective History Lessons). It's very serious work, based on his books as well which he mentions so you can search for them and buy them for more info or in order to cite them. You will find his podcast everywhere, Apple, Spotify, and pod.gr . It has around 67 episodes I believe, the first nine discuss other incidents in Europe and the world which could be similar to Greece's situation and then all the rest are about Greece - mostly the events of 1922 but stretching before and after that, and then some episodes about the Greek monarchy. Of course the problem is that it is, well, a podcast, therefore you need to be acquainted with listening to Greek rather than reading it.

A history website that has great quality and a lot of stuff is Η ΜΗΧΑΝΗ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥ. It has also articles about world history and its own podcasts. It has a huge archive of articles on Greek history and particularly the modern one, and a lot of little known events, people's documentations and experiences of said historical events, which can give a touch of spice to your thesis. Check out its history menu in this screenshot:

See, it covers the 20th century exhaustively. Of course, it's a website, so what you can do is that once you read something useful in this website, you then make a targeted search about it on the Internet to find the scientific sources and citations because they don't do it themselves often. But they are legit.

That's the best I could do. Inviting anyone knowing history professors' by name to give us links to their publications (cos I am bad with names and remembering sources and such) or if there is any digital archive database you know out there, help Anon out!!!

In the meantime, I still think the wikipedia can save a life when used carefully. And the podcast is good. In fact, if you search your pod app with Greek characters about "νεότερη Ελληνική ιστορία", it might give you several useful results.

BTW I was amazed to find out that we apparently do not have a Greek-based proper, modern, attractive, friendly to use website about Greek History (all of it), addressed to everyone interested and just being a good, extensive and easily accessible source of historiographical content. I have seen many other nations, even much smaller, having such and putting a lot of work in them (although to my recollection in some cases the contents are wild and not very scientific...). You'd expect Greece would have something similar (hopefully minus the unscientific part) about Greek history but nah. This is both sad and not surprising at all. I mean, η μηχανή του χρόνου is good but it's mostly Greek for Greeks. And other blogs that are very personal and subjective may lack in integrity. But an official modern state-supported website that could engage people from all over the world? Nah. I mean, the ministry itself suggests in the year of our Lord 2023 to use IE4 as a browser! Put THAT on your thesis Anon *laughs to hide the frustration*

[lgenvs3000w23]

Ethics

My personal ethics related to nature interpretation are driven by the concept of preservation for future generations, and hugely driven by my sense of responsibility for our planet's well-being. The driver of responsibility is multi-faceted: taking accountability for one’s previous actions, as well as taking an authoritative position to spark future action and educate others. As a nature interpreter and environmentally conscious person in general, I am the most influenced by an unconventional driver: fear. When I think of 15 years in the future, I am overwhelmed by a sense of uncertainty and sadness because I do not know what the state of the world will be, based on the trajectory we are currently on. I have been obsessed with climate change biology, biodiversity, wildlife management, and forest ecology, since starting my undergrad 3 years ago, which has subsequently transformed my hobbies and interests outside of school into hiking, camping, and exploring nature. I have developed an intensive love for nature that I want everyone to experience as well; I love bringing friends, family, and my boyfriend on adventures and showing them my favorite beaches, trails, and little secret spots in the forest. However, I fear I will not be able to do these things with my children one day because of habitat degradation and loss. This is not an irrational fear, even the textbook describes climate change as a looming threat that requires action and the need for policy-makers worldwide to better understand the importance of climate change (Beck et al., 2018).

I have always been interested in eco-friendly lifestyle choices such as zero waste, carbon-neutral practices, and ethically sourced food for the preservation of our planet. When I was much younger I thought that everyone had to be 100% plastic-free and make sacrifices for our planet, but my beliefs have shifted… I still believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to help save our planet but I can recognize that unfortunately, even my most intense efforts on an individual scale were lackluster compared to the negative contributions of large corporations and governments. 

My values are a very strong driver in my life, as my beliefs on the importance of climate change action and the preservation of the planet have had me in debate lately on what I want to do for my graduate studies. I am not sure if I want to do my Bachelor of Education (as originally planned) or a master's degree to contribute to climate change research. My dream research would be to develop improved carbon sequestration modeling, specifically for agriculture. This is a field of research very dear to my heart because it is the intersection of my major and minors (Biological Science, Mathematics, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) & Environmental Analysis), as well as being in demand research for policy-makers to set accurate goals. As the textbook states, a key role of nature interpretation is helping people accurately perceive the world (Beck et al., 2018). We are currently in a situation where we have inaccurate carbon storage and sequestration models in agriculture (and other areas such as the Arctic). This research could severely influence our carbon capture goals and efforts needed for Canada to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, as promised in The Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act (Government of Canada, 2024).

Kinsky, G. (2023). Tractor moving forwards with histograms and data in the background. Unearthing the Potential of Agriculture in Carbon Sequestration. Agritask. Retrieved from https://start.agritask.com/blog/carbon-sequestration-in-agriculture/. 

I feel horrible guilt about climate change, habitat degradation, and the loss of biodiversity, which has made me feel obligated to help “save the planet” as it is partially my responsibility. For so many problems in the world, we think things are not our responsibility and that someone else more qualified or higher up-the-food-chain will come along and fix them, but this research seems perfect for me to tackle because I am very passionate about the issue and my entire undergrad lends itself to this research. 

Now you might be thinking “So what’s the problem? What is stopping you from pursuing this research?” 

I am in a constant debate between becoming a teacher and prioritizing raising children and starting a family young or if I should throw myself into academia by prioritizing research for the next several years. On the one hand, I would love to pour my entire heart and soul into raising children and being a nature interpreter for them and my students, on the other hand, I could devote all of my energy to the longevity of the planet which could benefit the entire world. Ethier way, I am very motivated as a nature interpreter to spread awareness about climate change and reverse the degradation we have done to the planet, intending to preserve a healthy planet for generations to come, because what type of world would we be bringing children into if we do not crack down and make changes now? 

This blog has been incredibly intimidating for me because of how deep the prompt is this week. I have completely rewritten his blog 2.5 times since Monday; it has sent me into crazy spirals doubting my entire life plan and rearranging my planned courses, I even set up a meeting with an academic advisor. So after a week of wrestling with my personal ethics and goals/responsibilities as a nature interpreter, I have realized that I cannot drive into a master's degree out of guilt and that I can feel satisfied with my contributions to helping the planet without compromising my life plan and other personal beliefs. Our textbook mentions the importance of teaching people that the individual behavior of everyone contributes to both the problems and solutions of climate change (Beck et al., 2018). The best approach for me to accomplish my goals and feel I have done my part is to use the skills I've developed as a nature interpreter in this class! I will encourage others to see the beauty in the planet and help them take action against climate change as a nature interpreter. I will help spread awareness about climate change through word-of-mouth and social media, be active in politics and talk to my municipal representatives/elected officials, lead the eco-club at the school I will be teaching at someday, and make eco-friendly household changes like investing in energy-efficient appliances, reducing water waste, having a garden, composting and shopping locally. I will do my part to tackle climate change by taking the powerful role of a nature interpreter and leading by example!

I would like to end by sharing my favourite family photo: three generations of my family (me, my sister, my mom, and my grandma). I love this photo because it represents the biggest motivator of my personal ethics: the prosperity of future generations. 

References

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage : for a better world. Sagamore Venture.

Government of Canada. (2024, February 2). Net-zero emissions by 2050. Canada.ca. https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan/net-zero-emissions-2050.html

[nikki101421]

Exploring Empathy: Week 4 Insights and Climate Action Shift

Weekly blog- March 10, 2024

Source: Pinterest

During week 4, we really dug deep into understanding each other by playing the Empathy Map game. Sharing our experiences and feelings helped us see things from different perspectives and understand our own desires better. We even created a character named "Joshua" after one of our group members, which made the game even more enjoyable.

In addition to the game, we also had an online progress report for the week. During this time, our team decided to make a significant change. Instead of focusing on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 6, which is about clean water and sanitation, we shifted our attention to SDG number 13, which is about climate action. We all agreed that it's crucial to tackle climate change now by reducing pollution and taking action.

As part of our new focus, we discussed proposing smoke filtering devices that could be attached to vehicle mufflers. However, we wanted to stay focused on the problem first before jumping into solutions. We wanted to assess where we could make a difference and what we could provide to address the issue effectively.

WEEK 4 SELF-ASSESSMENT

Source: Pinterest

This week has been eye-opening for me. Despite our differences, my groupmates and I connected deeply through the Empathy Map game. This experience showed me the power of empathy in understanding others' perspectives and desires. It's a lesson I'll carry forward as we engage with potential customers. We'll prioritize understanding their needs and concerns, ensuring our solutions truly resonate with them. This shift in focus towards climate action also taught me the importance of being adaptable and willing to change direction when necessary. Overall, I'm proud of the progress we made this week and excited about the positive impact we can have moving forward.

Nikki Love C. Opiso-ME3A

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering-3A

[titanorosa]

I’m genuinely curious about why Smoke would be a good fit for Wolfguard, considering he (in my opinion) doesn’t fit their narrative?

Okay I did not proofread this essay, so take it as-is. The essay will be below a readmore since it is a decent length at 766 words.

Also, sources: I have a Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Biological Engineering, and also I made all of this up for fun.

"Why Smoke Would Be A Good Choice For Wolfguard"

By Sarah Murphy

Since the beginning of Year 7 for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Siege, Team Rainbow has been split into smaller squads. These squads consist of Ghosteyes, Viperstrike, Redhammer, and most importantly for this essay Wolfguard, a humanitarian military unit. Five Rainbow operators left to join Nighthaven before the formation of these squads, including James “Smoke” Porter. While he is now with the PMC Nighthaven, I believe that if Smoke was still with Rainbow he would be a good fit for Wolfguard. His areas of expertise, along with his personality and psychological makeup would all make him a good choice for this team. Some may say that his gadget would make him more suited for a squad like Ghosteyes or Redhammer. However, I think he has what it takes to be on Wolfguard. Smoke’s specialty is chemistry, but based on his biography he has a large field of knowledge with a focus on biochemistry and toxicology. This would be beneficial for a team like Wolfguard whose focus is on medicine and humanitarian efforts. In the real world, when there are mass-casualty events that involve toxic chemicals and nerve agents, one of the main reasons that casualties tend to be high is that it can be difficult to figure out the agents that were used and then administer the proper treatment. Having someone whose expertise is in toxicology and biochemistry would round out the team in response to bioweapons and chemical threats, especially since groups such as the White Masks have been shown in-universe to utilize chemical weapons in attacks on civilian institutions (see Bartlett University). Wolfguard could benefit from an expert in toxicology, and Smoke would be a good candidate for this position. It is not just his skills, but also his personality that would make Smoke a good fit for Wolfguard. According to his biography and psychological profile, he excels in scientific fields and is able to handle tense situations. Some would consider him reckless, however if one were to look at the information that is provided with his elite skin (Sanguine Arsenic), this recklessness allows him to take risky actions for the benefit of others. The accompanying art for the elite skin shows him escaping a house fire after rescuing a child who was in the burning building. He takes calculated risks according to Harry’s psychological report, which can be beneficial during mass-casualty events where every moment counts. His innovative personality and breadth of knowledge would be beneficial for the variety of situations that Wolfguard faces, especially if they relate to his field of toxicology. Some may think that Smoke would not be a good fit because of his gadget. While the words “Geneva Convention Violations” are frequently brought up in relation to Smoke’s gas canisters, they did not disqualify him from being on Rainbow in the first place, so liberties must be taken in the Siege universe in regards to gas weapons. Also, the same argument does not seem to be applied as frequently to Frost, who is on Wolfguard. When it comes to gadgets, they are just not a very good argument about what is acceptable. There might be other arguments against Smoke being a good candidate for Wolfguard, but his gadget should not be taken as one of them. In conclusion, there are many reasons that Smoke would be a good fit for Wolfguard. His background in chemistry would be a good fit for helping during humanitarian military operations. While some may consider his personality to be a bad fit for Wolfguard, he does have what it takes to be a part of this squad. Also, when it comes to whether Smoke’s gadget would disqualify from Wolfguard, that doesn’t seem like a very sound argument. While it is unlikely that Smoke and the other Nighthaven operators would rejoin Rainbow, should that ever occur, I hope I have made it clear that Smoke would be a good fit for Wolfguard.

[highropoios]

ABOUT ME

Χαίρετε :) 👋🏻:) :) My name is Zenobia (aka @olympianbutch). I’m 21 & my pronouns are she + he (or elle + il ;P I’m learning French, lol). I’m in community college! I was a mortuary science major, but I dropped out of mortuary school💀💀 Now I’m an anthropology student! I will be transferring to university once I finish my associate’s :) I’m hoping to get my bachelor’s in classics. I’m a Hellenic polytheist of ~5 years. I’m also autistic & ancient Greek religion is my special interest (coincidence?🤨 no, lmao). Zeus & Hermes are the principal gods of my practice! Zeus is to me what Jesus is to gym bros on TikTok 🤲🏻🤲🏻🙏🏻 (joke, I promise). And Hermes oversees my work (I’m a package handler). 💪🏻📦 If my practice was a polis, Hera, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Demeter, Persephone, and Haides would also have temples on my Akropolis, y’know? :) (because the Akropolis of Athens hosts the city’s main religious buildings) I’m a butch on testosterone! :P Don’t like it? Don’t bug me about it, lol! 😊 I’ll always entertain good-faith questions (genuine), but I’m an adult. I will not argue with you over my personally held identity. I’m a proud transsexual & a proud dyke! TERFs fuck off 🗣️🗣️💢 It should go without saying I don’t take kindly to fascists, racists, ableists, misogynists, queerphobes, etc., or their associated dreck. That includes smooth-brains who exclude other polytheists from worshipping ““European”” gods on the basis of ethnicity and/or skin color. Double fuck off, + I pray the gods spurn your prayers forever.

ABOUT THIS ACCOUNT

On my platform (@olympianbutch pretty much everywhere), I act as a public educator in online Hellenic polytheist spaces. :) My approach is as follows: I thoroughly research key ancient Greek religious concepts using a variety of different sources (all academic, all of which I do my best to cite). I then convert that material into easily understandable blog posts and videos, making the information public & friendly to non-scholars! This blog (@highropoios) is intended to be personal, NOT professional. I don’t doubt that I’ll eventually make educational posts here; I try to be very thorough when I’m answering questions, I will absolutely drop think pieces if I’m inspired to, and I try to make a habit of reinforcing my references to the ancient past with evidence. That said, I’ll be posting weed-induced ramblings here mostly! My ideas will be unrefined, have their share of anachronisms, and will appear spontaneously! W.I.P.