#biggest mega projects in the world

[kimludcom]

Top 10 Civil Engineering Mega Projects in the Netherlands

Top 10 Civil Engineering 🚜⚙️🗜️ Mega Projects in the Netherlands https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_qdc3DAtLw

[dreamlifebunny]

bunny's dream life scripting series!

hello friends! i am so excited to share with you my biggest project yet: a do-it-yourself scripting series with easy to use templates and an abundance of “things to manifest” ideas, all in one!

a lot of people hear scripting and think, “oh great, another method to learn and use that i’ll never stick with.” but this isn’t a method, this is an incredibly personalized and fun writing project to help you stay motivated, organized, and excited about your dream life, down to the teeny-tiniest of details! i have found that one of the biggest obstacles that many people face when manifesting their dream lives is that they don’t actually know what they desire, so they flip flop back and forth and nothing shows up in their reality (or, more confusion and stagnation shows up) because they can’t make a decision. it is my hope that this series will provide a fun and inspiring solution to this problem so that you can start making your dream life a reality!

how it works:

i will post my "mega scripting template" soon that will have all of the categories listed below. i will then post “things to manifest” ideas related to a chosen category of the week so that you have cute and fun ideas of what you can fill in for your own script. working on one category at a time will help you really focus on what you want in that aspect of your life, which will help you get really specific!

categories include:

appearance

skills and abilities

revision of your past

recreating loved ones

the world and society

friends and community

biographical information on yourself

personality, vibe, and how you are perceived

creating new sp's (romantic, platonic, familial, etc.)

health and wellness (including peace of mind and safety)

spirituality and manifesting abilities

possessions and home

education and career

money and wealth

love life

who this series is for:

anyone who needs help getting specific / deciding on their desires

those who enjoy neatly categorized ideas and templates, or who have adhd brains like me that love writing lists to stay organized

those who don’t care about scripting or organizing but who want an abundance of fun ideas of things to manifest that they can refer to whenever they want

those who aren’t looking to design their dream life or manifest and want to world-build for their writing or creative projects

i am so excited to hear about the lovely lives you will dream up and make real. thank you for participating, and make sure to look back frequently for new updates!

love, bunny 💕

[transparencyboo]

For the last two weeks or so I've been playing the Mega Drive dungeon crawler Shining in the Darkness. I've recently been going through all the various action-RPGs the system had to offer and kinda found myself lusting for more, so I expanded the scope.

Shining in the Darkness had one of those cover arts I vividly remember seeing in game stores during the 90s, I understood already back then that whatever this was would be too complicated for my feeble preschool brain, but it had a shiny glossy allure that still beckoned to me with promises of daring adventures and grand battles. Questions lingered in my head: Who is that evil bastard zapping sparks at Cavin from the Gummi Bears? Why has the king entrusted the safety of his kingdom to a meagre boy and his two misfit friends?

Well, it turns out that big bad guy is called Dark Sol, the bane of all game difficulty discourse, and the reason the king has enlisted three poor kids is because there is no one else to rely on after your daddy went missing. Everyone else just sorta gives up along the way.

My initial conclusion of this game was to commend my young self for the striking assessment, my five year old self would never get anywhere in this game between the English text, abstracted navigation and number crunching battle mechanics. Shining in the Darkness is a bona fide classic dungeon gauntlet endurance simulator, where you traverse vanishing point block tunnels and encounter enemies. I've played one or two games like this before, like the original Phantasy Star, but this time a new desire struck me. I wanted to draw maps. Maybe I'm just getting older and more patient, leading me to wilfully ignore easily available resources online.

By my recollection, this is the first time I've dedicated myself to playing a game like this. Usually I just resort to my sense of direction, which I've gathered seems to at least be above average, since anytime I go anywhere with anyone I always end up playing shepherd so they don't get lost. Worst case scenario I'll just fall back to mapping efforts by online heroes from years past. For Shining in the Darkness I persisted blindly about halfway through until I admitted to myself charting a map of the labyrinthine caves would be a lot easier. Luckily, the game allows you to spend 1 MP to see a chunk of where you've walked, meaning I could get neatly organized segments to copy by hand.

Perhaps my biggest takeaway from this endeavour was how much of the game experience was expressed through this map project. I spent just as much time slaying beasts as I did counting tiles and filling them out with my pencil. It became a natural counterbalance that provided vital pacing to the game mechanics. Walking, fighting, charting. In turn, through the principle of learning by doing, I gained a more intimate familiarity with the environments by just replicating them out on a sheet of paper. I found that while the map helped, I actually didn't need it much for backtracking because my drawings had helped me remember the layouts of the corridors anyway.

I guess the lesson learned is that while old design sensibilities may appear to be arcane and cumbersome when easier solutions exists, the obfuscation is part of the fun. The game hands me an intentionally hard to navigate world, shows me that it's fully capable of displaying maps of it, but still asks me to provide that dimension myself. Through doing this, I discover that drawing maps is both surprisingly enjoyable and cognitively stimulating. I realize that had I downloaded some pre-packaged maps online and used as my bible, Shining in the Darkness would've been a vastly different experience, one of monotonous meandering through endless fights while confidently striding along the known path.

Perhaps that's why the game was called Shining and the Darkness in Japan, it doesn't flow as well as the western title, but at the same time it poetically reflects this act of discovery. I am Shining, the game provides the Darkness, we work together, we must unify to become whole.

As for Dark Sol, he turned into a big monster boy and was vanquished by a spunky cartographer child and her two cohorts. The unknown has been made known and the kingdom is once more saved.

/Kiki

[thefrogdalorian]

i've been seeing a lot of discourse concerning pedro's involvement with the mandalorian going forward, especially with the rumoured fantastic four casting and i have THOUGHTS:

i think pedro being in the suit in season 2 skewed everyone's perception of what his involvement with mando would be. as in, i think that was the exception rather than the rule. which is sad because its always going to be special to know it was really him, fully embodying din, but he said he physically can't take it! that's what stuntmen are for, after all. plus, i think if you take a second to look at the man's filmography, since he started mando he's been PROLIFIC. since season one even, he's been taking other projects. they're just bigger now. that's part of why the role probably appealed to him and you know, good for him! booked and busy! but more importantly, i don't feel like any projects he's been involved in thus far have compromised his ability to do the character justice. i don't expect that to change, either.

i also think it's kinda funny people think disney hasn't got that man locked into the most watertight contract possible. if they needed him onset to show his face in season 3, he would've been there. the mouse would've dragged him kicking and screaming. i personally think the story didn't need it, to have din redeem himself and then show it again, it just wouldn't have made sense. better to wait for another opportunity in the future. i don't think that his tlou filming schedule compromised anything and i remember him being able to appear at things like celebration when needed.

at the end of the day, it's disney, an evil mega corporation. they can literally reanimate someone who died if they want to. no doubt in my mind when he signed to be mando, this was all thought out. they all know filming any helmetless scenes wouldn't take too long, neither would recording dialogue. so, pedro is not going to sit around and twiddle his thumbs out of loyalty to the character, this is business!!

as much as i love din, for pedro it's just another job. i do think he cares about din too, he's shown that plenty, but he's an actor. doing what actors do, especially one who struggled for as long as he did to make it big. so i'm thrilled to see his success. plus, mando is not some small time show. it literally had the biggest finale of any disney+ show this year, against some tough competition. mando and din are beloved, he knows that and i think it's clear to see how proud he is of it.

i'm so happy he our din djarin and he always will be. he wants to play din for as long as possible, he said that many times! but in the meantime, more pedro in bigger and bigger roles is always good for the world i think.

good luck to him.

[ameliaegschulz]

Stardrifting Summons

"Hmm? A summons? ...From the High Elder of Gelida?"

The young Zarkthanite engineer, who had been tinkering with his Bioforce Gun to push the boundaries of how much firepower one firearm could hold without crushing his non-mechanical right arm to dust, stood up on a stepping stool next to him to view the urgent message displayed on each of the seven big screen monitors that lined the northern wall of his research dungeon. His bespectacled red eyes just barely peered over the massive gun in front of him as he looked at his monitors.

"Gelidarling, open the message. Main screen. Project to center, offset [39cm] at [3π/2 radians]."

One second later, the message alert disappeared from each of the six monitors displaying various firearm blueprints around the central and biggest one, with that central monitor now displaying the apparent summons in full. The contents thereof were also, from above, projected in bright blueish white wording close to the center of the room just in front of the engineer's massive weapon where he could read them. His eyes immediately went to the top of said message as he read it, some of it aloud to himself.

"Let's see... "Classified", "Share with no one", blah blah blah, "Jiphoshraton..." then bog-standard opening paragraph, blah blah blah, okay, here we go. "Arrive at the Holy Temple of Awakening in [0100 hours]. Come fully activated. You and five others have been selected to appear for your weapons experti--""

"HE NEEDS ME FOR MY WEAPONS EXPERTISE!?!" shouted the engineer, right as he stumbled backwards off his stepping stool and fell onto the padded concrete wall behind him. After taking a moment to catch his breath and steady his heart rate, the smiling engineer Jiphoshraton stepped in front of his weapon and the table it rested upon to read the rest of the message.

""...selected to appear for your weapons expertise..." Mmhmm, mmhmm...! Then some stuff about the recent attack in Ga-Kori... "As a result of this attack, Gelida has claimed a weapon from another galaxy the likes of which our civilization has never seen--" Oh my stars above...!" He took another moment to steady his breath. "The sooner Gelida can reverse engineer it for the benefit of the world, the better. Bring all research you can carry hidden on your person."

"Holy Temple of Awakening. [0100 hours]. ID yourself before the front desk. They will direct you accordingly. Vopahu be with you--" okay yeah bog-standard closing and signature. FINALLY!"

"At long last!" shouted the gunsmith, already dashing toward the elevator to his weapons dungeon while putting his suit jacket back on. "My giant gun building hobby has finally paid off in a meaningful way! I can contribute to the greater society!"

He stopped at the elevator, catching his breath once more, before hovering his hand over the button that would take him to the the main floor. He paused, retracting the blade on his mechanical left forearm before letting it poke through through the suit jacket he was almost finished putting back on.

"Gelidarling, prepare immediate transport to the Holy Temple of Awakening, then activate home defenses after I depart!"

"Maybe he'll finally entertain my global mega-turret defense system idea after all is said and done," the engineer said to himself as he was taken above to the main floor of his house.

[rpking99]

Staff

Here we have the many members of Luxure's staff. Or at least the important ones...

Founder: Lusamine

Lusamine is the founder of Luxure. It was her idea and she designed and had the Aether Paradise build this aritifical region.

After being freed from her own darker mind, Lusamine was finally able to live one again. And that's when she realised how.... Sterile the rest of the world had become. Now being herself when she tried to explore her own..... Desires... She discovered it. That no such adult material existed anymore

Like the world had been regressed as if the world existed only for ten years olds.

And so.... She set up Luxure. For people to go and explore these desires as they want, in a safe environment.

Assistant: Wickie

Wickie is Lusamine's assistant. (And maybe lover? There are definitely rumours about the Tek along the island...) She was the one who got in contact with other regions, to get trainers and more to come and visit.

Funder: Oleana

After the fall of President Rose, Oleane inherited all of his money.

Hence why Lusamine went to her. Because even with the blonde's impressive wealth, she did need assistance to complete the project.

And so Oleana uses the island as some stress relief....

Nurse: Delia

With her son being THE world champion, but still continuing his adventure, Delia needed... Something to do with her life, if she was honest.

So she got work in Luxure, acting as the regions one Pokémon Nurse. As most battles do not get too rough, and having the biggest legion of Chansey's in any region, she has a rather easy job

Ranger: Solana

With the disappearances of both humans and Pokémon in the region, Solana was called in to look into what was going on. In secret, of course

Detective: Anabelle

Sent by the International Police to keep an eye on Luxure, and Lusamine mainly. And now she is looking in to the actions of Team Siren.

Tech Support: Penny

The brilliant young girl was brought in to be tech support for the island. Trusted to keep everything running on an automated cycle with next to no human interaction, giving her plenty of time to herself and to enjoy her life.

Professors

Juniper

Lusamine hired Sonia to be the Region's Pokemon Professor, her job basically being to examine how Pokemon react to this new lewd enviroment.

Sonya

After taking over for her grandmother, Sonia needed to go under an apprenticeship to get the offical qualification

Sada

Sada came of her own free will to Luxure, after finding out about the Gijinkamon phenominon. Finding out that the Gijinka Change aspects seemed to be tied into regional variants, Paradox Pokemon and even Mega Evolution.

Field Researcher: Bianca

Bianca was hired by both Sada and Juniper as a field assistant and training to become an offical Professor like Sonia. She is out on the field to gather detail for both professors, this info luckily being intertwined

Total Muses: 11

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Canary Media:

Cleaning up the grid will require installing a lot of batteries to store renewable energy. Startup Element Energy has delivered a powerful proofpoint for a new way to do that more cheaply without sacrificing safety.

Element has been operating what appears to be the largest grid storage plant in the world composed of previously used electric vehicle batteries, co-founder and CEO Tony Stratakos told Canary Media last week. The 53 megawatt-hour project, which is located in West Texas at a wind farm owned by mega-developer Nextera Energy Resources, came online in May, but the startup is going public with the information now for the first time.

Previously, the largest second-life grid battery that Canary Media had reported on was B2U Storage Solutions’ project in Lancaster, California, which has grown to 28 megawatt-hours.

Element got its hands on a warehouse full of modules taken out of used EV battery packs, all in various states of health after their time pushing different cars around. The startup repackages them into containers operated by its proprietary hardware and software, which fine-tune commands at the cell level, instead of treating all the batteries as a monolithic whole. This enables the system to get more use out of each cell without stressing any so much that they break down or — worst-case scenario for a battery plant — cause a fire.

Element Energy is technically the battery vendor to the power plant’s owner. So far, no company has publicly taken credit for buying this innovative system from Element and installing it, though a Department of Energy grant announcement for the project describes it as a joint pursuit with Nextera, which happens to own the wind farm location where the batteries were installed.

Since Element isn’t in the business of power plant development, its strategy relies on leveraging the success of this first major installation to convince more storage developers to buy its lower priced, refurbished grid batteries instead of the brand-new variety.

Venture capitalists have doubled down on that strategy, handing Element a $72 million Series B last November, alongside a $38 million debt facility from Keyframe Capital. That followed a $15 million Series A in 2019. Stratakos also revealed that his company finalized a partnership with LG Energy Solution Vertech, the grid storage branch of one of the major global lithium-ion manufacturers. That much bigger company — which previously invested in Element through its venture arm — will take Element’s battery enclosures and supply the inverters and auxiliary equipment needed to make a turnkey power plant. LG will also provide operations and maintenance, alleviating the risks associated with buying a long-term grid asset from a young startup.

[mariacallous]

Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Peru this week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, during which he will inaugurate the deep-water port of Chancay, about 45 miles north of Lima. It’s a $3.6 billion project—one of China’s largest infrastructure investments in the region in the past two decades.

It also may be one of the last of its kind.

Upon becoming president in 2013, in an attempt to deepen the so-called going out strategy and find new markets for booming Chinese production, Xi initiated a reform agenda that intensified diplomatic outreach and boosted overseas investment, the capstone of which was the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Big infrastructure contracts were a win-win move: They allowed China to offload excess capacity of steel, labor, and other inputs while providing urgently needed infrastructure to Latin America. Since 2017, 22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have formally joined the BRI, utterly transforming China’s relationship with the continent. China is now Latin America’s second-largest trading partner, after only the United States.

But after two decades of growing sway in the region, Beijing is taking a new approach. As it struggles to manage an economic slowdown, a mounting debt burden, and a broken real estate market, Beijing is bringing an end to the era of high-risk, high-cost mega-infrastructure projects in favor of smaller, new frontier investments in cloud computing, 5G technology, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and electric vehicles.

China has pitched its new strategy to the world as visionary and forward-looking. Its Latin American partners, however, are less convinced.

The significant, long-standing infrastructure gap in Latin America has made leaders hungry for external investment. Whereas the United States and the European Union have been reluctant to put up large sums, China was happy to get involved.

BRI money has funded roads through the jungles of Costa Rica; railways in Bolivia and Argentina; industrial parks and a container port in Trinidad and Tobago; the biggest hydroelectric plant in Ecuador; and the first transoceanic fiber-optic cable directly connecting Asia to South America, stretching from China to Chile, among other projects.

These big infrastructure projects have paralleled increased Chinese investments in soft power and diplomacy. The United States used to be very adept with its Latin American partners, but China has overtaken it, said Benjamin Creutzfeldt, a China scholar.

“The Chinese have become better at engaging through charm offensives with their charismatic ambassadors,” he said. “They learned how to deal with their counterparts effectively.”

But China’s expansion in the region—particularly in hard infrastructure—has come at a cost for Latin America. Chinese companies have been accused of substandard construction practices and corruption in prior big-item investments.

For instance, the Coca Codo Sinclair dam, a hydroelectric rock-fill dam in the jungles of Ecuador, has not stopped making negative headlines since being inaugurated in November 2016. The estimated $3.4 billion project—the largest in Ecuador’s history—was built and financed by China as a flagship BRI project. But by July 2022, more than 17,000 cracks had already splintered across the dam, and many of the top Ecuadorian officials involved in the construction have been imprisoned or sentenced on bribery charges related to the project.

Not only is Ecuador now left with faulty infrastructure, it’s also stuck with crushing amounts of debt. The BRI has shifted China from being Latin America’s ATM to its biggest debt collector. China rivals the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank as the biggest creditor in the region and has left Latin America with the highest level of debt service payments in the world, at an estimated 4 percent of regional GDP. According to the research from the Center for Economic Policy Research, the share of Chinese loans to countries in financial distress increased from about 5 percent in 2010 to about 60 percent in 2022.

For its part, Ecuador is attempting to pay back its debt by exporting oil to China at almost an 80 percent discount. But this arrangement could cause problems for China, too, in the long run.

“Supporting these mega-projects, which do not have big returns, in indebted countries, isn’t necessarily a good business strategy,” said Leland Lazarus, the associate director of national security at Florida International University’s Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy.

“China is at the risk of not getting their money back,” said Axel Dreher, a professor at Germany’s Heidelberg University.

After more than two decades of big, ambitious physical infrastructure projects, China has begun to face the music.

Strained economic and political situations on the domestic front have increased pressure to spend less abroad and focus on the country’s internal development needs. Just last week, the Chinese government approved a $1.4 trillion plan to boost the economy by allowing local government to refinance debts.

China is also increasingly wary of infrastructure projects after being criticized for its subpar BRI implementation. AidData, an international development research lab, analyzed more than 13,427 of the initiative’s projects across 165 countries, worth $843 billion, and found that 35 percent had “major implementation problems,” such as scandals, protests, corruption, labor violations, and environmental degradation.

China is still finishing up certain hard infrastructure projects, including the Bogotá Metro rapid transit system in Colombia, but will pursue fewer moving forward. Instead, hungry for cash and eager to de-risk investments while remaining relevant overseas, China has shifted its focus toward new frontier projects—already to great effect.

Wenyi Cai, a Chinese investor and the CEO of Polymath Ventures, a venture studio in Latin America, said that she has seen overwhelming Chinese interest in digital investments, particularly in Mexico and Brazil. Just in 2022, 58 percent of Chinese investments in Latin America and the Caribbean were in these new infrastructure industries, up from about 25 percent in the previous year.

This shift is particularly notable in the telecoms industry. Already, up to 70 percent of Latin America’s 4G-LTE cellular networks are supported by infrastructure from the Chinese tech giant Huawei, which grew by 9 percent in the region in 2022, according to a report from the University of Navarra. The company is also rolling out 5G networks in several countries in the region.

China is also making waves in the electric vehicle industry. In 2022, Chinese firms invested $2.2 billion in the industry—35 percent of all Chinese foreign direct investment in the region that year, according to an Inter-American Dialogue report. In 2023, China emerged as Mexico’s top car supplier, exporting $4.6 billion worth of vehicles, and the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD is actively exploring factory locations in the country.

Undoubtedly, China’s interest in this supposed technical revolution is economical. For China, the new frontier sectors present less risk, lower operating costs, and faster returns than traditional infrastructure projects in a retrenched post-pandemic world.

“As China has less overall capital to allocate, it tries to do so in a more strategic way,” said Margaret Myers, the director of the Asia and Latin America program at the Inter-American Dialogue.

This, however, has resulted in a huge decrease in funds for Latin America. From 2010 to 2019, China invested an average of $14.2 billion per year in the region. By 2022, however, this amount had dropped to less than half—just $6.4 billion. A similar trend can be observed in loans from China’s top development finance institutions: At its peak in 2010, China lent more than $25 billion in the region, but this dropped to a little more than $1.3 billion per year between 2019 and 2023.

Though infrastructure is no longer the smartest investment strategy, that doesn’t mean the region’s need for it is going anywhere. Luis Alberto Moreno, the former president of the Inter-American Development Bank, told Foreign Policy that there continues to be a large infrastructure deficit in Latin America that is only growing bigger as the region becomes richer and demands more energy, goods, and services.

Non-Chinese development banks, including the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, have already started filling the gap since Chinese lending first dropped in 2015. This includes significant new financing from the Inter-American Development Bank for road improvements last year, with $600 million allocated to Mexico, $480 million to Brazil, and $345 million to Argentina.

But Moreno said that he doubts that the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank will be able to fill the void alone. China seems to be the only other option, but it’s not playing ball.

Despite the region finding itself trapped in domestic debt and having been burned by infrastructure projects that did not fulfill time, cost, and quality expectations, a fear nevertheless lingers in Latin America about what it will do without massive inflows of Chinese money.

“There is this sense that it [infrastructure] needs to be done, whether China is the one to do it or not,” Myers said.

Yet, China’s increased focus on new frontier investments could enable Latin American countries to enhance their much-needed digital infrastructure, positioning them to capitalize on automation and the adoption of artificial intelligence. It could also facilitate the region’s participation in a global green transition.

Jesús Seade, Mexico’s ambassador to China, sees the shifting focus toward more innovation-led investment as an opportunity for his country. “It means development—it means helping Mexico climb the value chain,” he told Foreign Policy.

But some worry that the region will become over-reliant on China in these new sectors, just as it did for the big physical infrastructure projects, without improving its own competitiveness in the process. Although some welcome cheap green technologies from China in order to ease the region’s transition to cleaner energy use, concerns remain about Latin American countries not doing enough to bolster their capacity to produce high-value manufacturing goods, harness Chinese technology transfers, and implement robust security measures to safeguard against the misuse of citizens’ data.

The new frontier investments could also pose security threats to Latin American governments and their citizens, including through surveillance, cybersecurity, and intellectual property risks that the region is unprepared to deal with, according to Robert Evan Ellis, a professor of Latin American studies at the U.S. Army War College. He is also concerned about China’s ability to misuse its access and knowledge about operations in key logistics hubs—such as the Panama Canal or the Chancay port—to disrupt access or launch attacks if a conflict were to emerge.

Another concern is the power balance between China and its Latin American partners. According to Marisela Connelly, a professor at the Center for Asian and African Studies at the College of Mexico, China is the one determining the conditions for trade and investment in the region.

“China simply wants Latin American countries to adapt to China’s needs,” Connelly said. She criticized the Mexican government for having “no strategy” and “no clear objectives” in its relationship to China.

Ultimately, the situation raises an important question about what infrastructure Latin America really needs.

“I’m not sure this [less investment in hard infrastructure] is a bad thing,” Evan Ellis said. Ultimately, Latin America has to pay for its infrastructure projects, and China’s shift may save the region from more unviable and expensive infrastructure projects moving forward.

[origami-boat]

(this review is going to be shorter than i would've liked because of the character limit, if you want my actual unfiltered thoughts on this magazine you can find them in this mega folder.)

let's start with the review:

i don't know how this is being sold in bookstores so casually. it should be banned. it shouldn't have gotten greenlit in the first place. i don't understand what horrible people agreed on publishing this horrible magazine made by horrible creators.

don't pick up this magazine ever. it was the worst mistake i've ever made. my biggest regret, probably. i'm going to try and explain my reasoning here, even though it should be obvious.

concept (3/10):

so...i don't really understand the themes. the first volume is supposed to celebrate the creators getting married 100 times? which is...really disturbing and distressing. why would they share it with other people? shouldn't they be embarrassed? but i guess it is something...why did the theme shift from "marriage" to "god" in the second volume? what happened during these 101-200 marriages? actually, looking at the reviews of the first volume, i don't get why they released a second one. clearly there is no demand. i'm hearing rumors that a third volume's in the making, too...do they never learn? literally everyone is telling them to stop. nobody is asking for this. it's just annoying. but that just goes to show how self centered and selfish the creators are, i guess. and indecisive. because what will the theme even be? what even is the point? why not just quit...?

design: (4/10)

pretty simple. i don't have any notes on this one. it is misleading, though. it's so average, like they're trying to trick you into thinking this is an average zine. a normal zine. it really isn't.

memes: (6/10)

cute kitten pictures are the only tolerable thing about this whole magazine. the four points are for the project sekai meme and the chainsaw man meme. those were not funny. the rest is fine, i guess.

writing: (1/10)

i'm giving it one point because i'm generous, it doesn't actually have any redeeming qualities. from the very first pieces you could tell that the author has gathered up all the love they have ever felt before and put it in each and every word. imagine this: you're drinking tea, and you accidently put two spoons of sugar instead of one. disgusting, right? too hopeful. too full of love. too raw. just thinking about it makes me shake. what the fuck is wrong with the author. in an ideal world, i would've wished for them to find a better therapist, but i don't think any therapist deserves to go through that. they should just die, maybe...?

art: (1/10)

no redeeming qualities again. yes, i know, i'm too generous. in this case it's actually so vile i threw up several times. too joyful. too intimate. again, too much love. what is with this magazine and love? aren't there other, better things to celebrate? not to mention, i've seen the artist say some pretty weird stuff before. like how they enjoy...yaoi...i know, that's so fucked up...they're really fucking evil and unsalvageable. death is the only solution for what's wrong with them, whatever that is.

final rating: (2/10)

i can't bring myself to rate it any lower. i feel kind of bad. even after all i've said, i understand that the creators didn't choose to be born this way, you know? of course, i don't think they can get any better, so...i just wish they would disappear as soon as possible. make the world a better place.

hope this review helped. don't waste your time and money on this thing, it does more harm than good (it does not do any good, really). go enjoy something else.

for those unaware this is for vol 3 of yurimag!! it’s a zine i make with public enemy number one @impastopesto it’s the worlds top magazine that celebrates yuri of all kinds. part one and part two are available for free on my itch.io account: haunted-oyster

this is the general vibe of the zine btw

[autogeneity]

Hi, I was looking into computer science and I wanted to ask you what drew you to it and how you feel about it as a career choice?

I don't think my reasons for getting into it are likely to be very helpful to anyone else because they are very specific to my life at the time and not actually much about computer science at all. Skip to the last section for more relevant things.

But here is my story —

I went into university with a starry-eyed idea of understanding the True Fundamentals of Everything and was majoring in maths, physics, and philosophy. also my brain was broken and I had a very fuckd't relationship to reality as a concept (mega derealisation with substantial perceptual distortions and potentially some delusional features) and some part of me saw this as Deep Philosophical Insight, while another hoped getting The Answers would solve it.

after a year it became apparent that this was probably at least a little silly and not going to happen, and I didn't actually see myself being a professional physicist irl.

additionally, I felt more drawn to doing something with more tangible outcomes in the real world rather than chasing maximum abstraction. I had a growing interest in neuroscience and AI and simulation, but also could maybe see myself becoming a professional mathematician. so I kept the maths and switched the others to computer science and psychology.

I guess the specific CS appeals were: I already knew some programming and had found it basically trivial to learn, so I sort of figured it is probably a good match for my brain. and I like puzzles (actually when I first got to uni all the departments were doing little recruitment speech thingies and the CS department actually gave us puzzles! I somehow imagined this would be representative of literally anything (it is not)). I still find those, like, code challenge type problems a lot of fun though.

the final thing that sealed the deal was the availability of a scholarship for maths+cs major, and the fact that it could provide a backup plan if my academia plans failed.

---

As for how I feel about it — well, my academia plans did fail so I am very glad I had a backup in place. Even if they hadn't gone wrong at the time, it's pretty clear to me now that the many mental health issues I continued to deal with in the time since would have led to me fucking up in academia sooner or later in a way they did not in my job. There is much, much more latitude here.

And it's pretty alright as a job; I'm not ecstatic about it but I don't really mind overall and it is sometimes fun. I actually like bug-fixing, lol — the kind where there's an immediately-obvious mistake and I just gotta correct it is boring but the hunt is fun. In general I dislike the amount of small, tedious tasks where I just gotta do some obvious thing, but I like it when I get to build something more substantive that requires more figuring out. I am somewhat fond of the way the shape of the things feels in my brain (not sure that makes any sense lmao). Albeit there are not really many puzzles. :(

But I'm not intending to stay in my current work. I worked briefly in data science and found it much more engaging. I plan to move towards that and/or stuff in the direction of bioinformatics or scientific computing or computational neuroscience. Which is all still computer science but not. software development.

---

Which is probably the biggest thing I would want to highlight for someone considering computer science. In general working in software development (the most typical career path) is very different to working in computer science. Very often someone interested in the one will not be very happy with the other. I would encourage identifying which is your interest, and seeing what they both actually entail, before pursuing anything.

Because like, if you want a run-of-the-mill programming job, in many places it might be worth considering just doing some sort of bootcamp and projects. The company I work at gets probably like 20% of their graduate hires from that stream. Much cheaper and faster than a degree! Or for various other types of work certifications might be a good approach.

If you like mathy things, you probably want computer science proper. If you like engineering, tiny technical details, performance focus, etc, you probably do want formal education and may want to look at things requiring low-level languages, e.g. embedded software. I think people who like twiddling and configuring enjoy cloud shit? or infrastructure and ops work more generally but I think these days most places that looks like cloud shit. If you like the big picture, modeling, and the human side, you may be interested in systems analysis (I find this Very Shaped tbh but am not up for the human side and honestly don't like making big judgement calls).

Somehow I don't actually know what the people who like everyday application development actually like about it specifically lmao? even though they are surely the majority. But ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[noodleblade]

Miscellaneous Tag Game (stolen title <3)

thank you bestie:3 @searchingfortheuniverse I'll be working on this while im on and off phone calls~

A band you don’t like that many others do: UM idk...my music taste is all over the place and I really only know the bands i think?? oh- maybe Mother Mother, only because I have not bothered to listen to their music past Junkrat hype videos and that's probably tainted my view a little. For better or for worse.

A childhood memory that you remember vividly: during a summer in greece, idk how, but I got roped into selling watermelons off the side of the road. I couldn't have been more than 6 or 7, but I remember I would put the watermelon in a plastic bag and the farmers thought it was really funny because that's such a...united states thing...to bag 1 whole watermelon in plastic. Anyways, they paid me in cucumber slices with salt.

Least favorite animal and why: HUH LEAST. I'm not a huge fan of like reptiles? Specifically those smaller than a bread box. Too fast, too squirm. Im worried I'll crush them in my hands. (im thinking of specifically florida geckos...idk they are cute but i freak out trying to hold them).

Hot fandom take: just because something is popular and fandom-wide accepted doesn't mean it is good. and not agreeing with it/wanting to engage in it doesn't mean you or your own opinions are bad. the monopoly on accepted 1 true canon is boring.

Do you wear any jewelry, if so, what’s your favorite piece: I try an rotate my jewelry around but I'm usually wearing a few rings, a necklace and a pair of earrings. My favorites are the rings. They are my mom's old ones and I typically wear the same two every day. One is a gold key of greece and the other is a thin black bar but the sides have really small thin heart cut outs.

A movie others liked but you didn’t: HMMMMM probably the new star wars trilogy. felt unnecessary and i just didn't like it? big shruggies

Three things you love about yourself: my writing- its something that I enjoy the most in the world and something that I can claim as mine. I also think I'm pretty funny in a sillay way which is poggers. I like my openness to trying things. Think that's helped make me more well-rounded. I hope so at least.

A place you hope to visit in the future and why: HMMMMM. I want to visit Japan again. For a new place, I want to go to South America. Peru maybe??? Mexico would also be nice. So that's what I'm gearing up towards next.

An actor that gets on your nerves and why: Uh Matt Smith? No reason behind this. but I see his block head and kind of just look away.

Things you’re excited for in the nearby future? I have a lot of little house projects I finally feel like tackling which is exciting. Ive lived in my house for almost 2.5 years and still havent felt like parts of it are complete yet.

Least favorite ship in a fandom you’re in: oof I lowkey kind of hate saying things I don't like on here. bad experiences in the past when people were upset I didn't like a thing they did and got mad at me. But uhhh not the biggest fan of most rodimus ships? but I think mega/rod is my least favorite of them. sorry!

What’s the most toxic fandom you’ve been in? hahaahahahhahahah can you believe Game of Thrones wasn't the most toxic???? it was jjba. I got put on a ban list which was kind of funny. I also got kind of show-ponyed in a toxic discord server for a while which has completely ruined me in the ability to act normal on discord outside of my irl friends. that account is deleted but the ao3 is still circling around.

List three things you find beautiful about life: Friends and family- sometimes I want to kill but I really do love them so so much. I like creating things and creating things with people. I also really like my area as far as nature goes. the beach to swamp ratio sings to me.

Any dreams for the future? I want to go on a really long hike. Maybe like a 2 day one? (< says the person that has gone on a max 2 hour hike before). Also just working on my original fiction again. I miss those fellas.

How are you really feeling today? Motivated!!!! Im a little groggy still, but I've been really excited about life and betterment lately so its overcoming my sleepy brain.

Tags: feel free to do or not: @honkytonka, @elmonstro, @huanted-dennys, @feral-birb-husband, @solarstormstuff @anyone else who wants to!! I'd be happy to read them:3

[pissed-french-citizen]

Ok guys, things are going BAD AND WORST EVERYDAY

Yesterday, on Saturday 26 of March, 2023, what we can call a civil war happened in Sainte-Soline, Deux-Sèvres, France.

A freaking good exemple of "what is legal is not necessarily legit".

Here, from the French human right ligue :

"We noted several cases of obstruction by the forces of law and order to the intervention of the emergency services, both ambulance and fire brigade."

Green activist were having a congress about ecology and how to build a virtuous agricultural model that respects people and biodiversity.

The project :

https://bassinesnonmerci.fr/index.php/les-bassines-cest-quoi/

Build 16 mega-basin, the biggest one having a 720 billions litres capacity (720 000 000 l.) on 16 hectares of land, with 8 meters high embankment.

The water to fill those basins will be pomp in groundwaters(into the grounds or rivers),it will NOT be rainwater.

This water will be use to irrigate CORN, which don't naturally grow in this part of the world.

This corn will be grown to be exported, or make biogaz, but not to feed animals and humans.

Only 12 farms will benefit of it.

FRENCH PEOPLE are paying for it : since access to water is ALL PUBLIC SERVICE here, and the state is spending 60 billions euros for that, but is NOT the owner of the farms, the state will NEVER have its money back and the French people will never eat that corn.

ON TOP OF THAT most of the country is facing an historical WINTER DROUGHT.

So green activist, farmers and elected greens gathered on the site to protest, despite the prefecture's ban, because our planet cannot wait any longer and water should be a shared good and not for just some farmers. Anyway, our beloved (no) Minister of Home Affairs have been speaking of "how violent it will be" there, despite the ban, speaking of "1000 violents protestors awaited".

What happened :

The prefecture banned every gathering for the weekend, fearing violence as it happened in Notre-Dame-Des-Landes

People came anyway, because ecology is our best chance to survive, moreover after the last GIEC report

3000 policemen (civil) and gendarmes (military) have been sent to guard the construction site.

As you might have understood, things went bad, like REALLY bad.

4.000 grenades thrown by the state's force

3 gendarmes' véhicules burnt.

200 protestors hurt, 28 gendarmes, 5 persons in a life-threatening condition (2 protestors, 3 gendarmes)

Ambulances kept away from the field from the military, despite the injured people needing immediate medical attention.

👇This thread will show you what happened

And now what ?

Well, protests happen EVERYDAY in France. Considering that :

how violent this protest have been,

how fast is our beloved (still no) Minister of Home Affairs to blame far-left and black blocks for every violence during protest

How he used tiredness to justify the violence of the police

How he considers undeclared protestation illegal WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY FALSE

Protests will take place all over the French territory next Tuesday

We already know that there wil be MORE policemen and gendarmes around the protests

Please PLEASE, fellow French protestors, TAKE CARE, even more if one of sainte-soline's protestor or gendarme dies by then.

[clovercrafted]

I know I’ve already posted my year in review but I also wanted to show my top 5 builds of 22, stuff I’m proud of or things I just adore!

5. Llamatown Mayor’s House

This was the first large build I finished in survival! Used a ton of resources that were fairly difficult to get near spawn (plus this was pre 1.18 so all the deepslate came from the strip mine). Required a lot of nether tunnelling to get to the mesa for the terracotta and dark oak and I think I rebuilt this thing about five times because I kept doing the roof wrong. Still one of my favourite shaped builds!

4. Pumpkin Spice Cafe

I really adore the wood gradient and how warm and inviting the whole build looks! An example of a build that went through about 10 different block palettes before I settled on this one. I’m super happy that this build came out the way I wanted! It also sort’ve marked the start of my Buildtober event as well!

3. Darling’s Meadow House

Another survival house! I’m super super proud of the roof, I love that roof! I made the dome completely on accident and there’s parts of this build that I built wrong (both sides are meant to be the same size, they are not) but overall I just love this house so much. Maybe because I see it every single day. It’s strange to think that Duskwood was born from a single double chest and one experimental build!

2. The Rosendale Mega Bridge

I almost quit this project. Almost gave up. It was too big, too ambitious, too much, just… it was a lot and I wasn’t as good at building as I was now but! Here it is! Standing tall and proud and currently the biggest structure I’ve ever made! Very surprised I didn’t put this at No 1 but something surprised me…

1. Meadow House

Simple, basic and it’s home. Just a small build I completely winged and a world I don’t play on anymore. But the memories I have of this place, late nights and long voice calls with friends. Building all my little structures. My first solo survival dragon fight. It’s a little awkward looking, it’s a little cramped. But it’s home.

Thank you to everyone for following me this year and enjoying my funky block builds! I’d love to see your favourite builds of 22 and here’s hoping plenty more for 23!!!

[grizzlyofthesea]

Attempting to Rank the Songs in Project Diva X

WARNING: LONG POST

I downloaded Project Diva X a couple weeks ago, and I absolutely love it. It has its flaws and quirks, but it's fun. But most importantly...

The song list is phenomenal. It's short and very Miku-biased, even by Project Diva standards, but what we have here is ~quality.~ We have a large variety of musical genres and styles. We have both Vocaloid community staples and new experiments. We have MARETU. You sadly won't find these songs anywhere else in the series (minus Mega Mix+ mods, but I mean in an official capacity), but at least they're here. And do you know what I like to do with my favorite things?

I like to rank them. I don't know why. Weird brain stuff, I guess. But if you want to read the ramblings of a sleep-deprived weirdo, you're in the right place.

Keep in mind, all of these songs are at least decent (around B-tier at minimum) to me. Someone has to be last, but I enjoy listening to all of them and playing through the ones I have.

There are stats at the end for each Cloud/Aura's overall score, too. Now, let's go!

32.) Sharing the World

Miku V3 English is...a bit rough-sounding here. Not nails on a chalkboard, but not the most pleasant thing ever. The concept behind the song is cute, though. Miku is everywhere now, and people are using her (and other vocal synths) to share their feelings with others across the world. That is truly beautiful.

31.) The First Sound

Very simple, and Miku sounds a bit shrill on the highest notes. However, the lyrics are heartfelt and sweet. Also, the Triple Threat version of this song's Extreme chart was my first (and is still my only) Extreme Perfect. I don't know how I got it before the normal one, but I'll take it.

30.) Babylon

I feel like Miku's voice gets a bit lost in the instrumental. I also don't get why there are teeth everywhere. That being said, the shifts in tempo and time signature give this song a truly unique vibe.

29.) Even a Kunoichi Needs Love

Again, Miku and Rin feel a bit drowned out by the instrumental at times, but the fast pace and catchy rhythm elevate this song's standing a bit. And the existence of a Naruto and Sasuke cover in one of Minnemi's cursed UTAU concerts.

28.) LOL - lots of laugh -

Slow and repetitive, but the imagery in the lyrics is creative and vivid. You also definitely get a "whimsical carnival" feeling from the instrumental.

27.) Hand in Hand

Kind of generic as far as Miku songs go, but still catchy and pleasant.

26.) Slow Motion

The premise of the song--contemplating life while sick with a cold--is simply delightful. I'm just not the biggest fan of how Pinocchio-P tunes Miku in certain songs, Slow Motion included. Common World Domination is more to my taste.

25.) Ending Medley - Ultimate Exquisite Rampage

Ow, my wrists. This is a fun, nostalgic tribute to Project Diva entries past, and the choice to begin with Disappearance and end with Intense Voice makes for a touching narrative. The Ura-Omote Lovers remix is pretty cool, too, since it starts off slower than normal and speeds up over time. But again, ow, my wrists.

24.) Name of the Sin

You can't really go wrong with a musical fairytale...unless you cut out a good chunk of the song and scramble the story, but I still like the simple, timeless feel nonetheless. The shades of purple used for Miku's Cantatrice module are gorgeous as well.

23.) Streaming Heart

This isn't my favorite of DECO*27's works, but the instrumental break is awesome--heavy and gritty. The charting during said break's Technical Zone, especially on Extreme, amplifies the intensity and makes it feel extra satisfying.

22.) Love Trial

Simple but (fittingly) cute. The piano and trumpet combine well in the instrumental. Miku's tuning isn't the most dynamic here, but it's not a big issue when the rhythms are getting stuck in my head anyway. The lyrics are also quite fun with their courtroom metaphors. Ace Attorney fandom, I want to see your take on this song.

21.) Elegant Medley ~ Glossy Mixture ~

The strange shifts in tempo make certain parts torture to learn (TECHNICAL ZONES), but man, the Nebula part is pretty. And who doesn't love Sweet Devil? The ending is a bit abrupt, but I also don't know what else could have been done there.

20.) Beginning Medley - Primary Colors

I adore OSTER Project, and the group performance of Miracle Paint at the end is spectacular. Easily the best version of Miracle Paint out there. This medley's low placement on the list is simply a testament to how amazing Project Diva X's song list is.

19.) Lost One's Weeping

Rin feels a bit drowned out during the verses, but as someone with horrible test anxiety, I feel the lyrics. You could even say that the drowned-out vocals fit the theme of overwhelming academic pressure. The heavy electric guitar is perfect for the Cool Cloud, too.

18.) Quirky Medley - Giga Remix

Giga-P makes some good stuff. The choices for Rin and Len's solos were a bit weird, though. I mean, Gigantic OTN is a classic, but the sexual theme for that and "Pincostique" Love just doesn't fit the Quirky vibe in my opinion. However, Childish War is peak.

17.) Raspberry*Monster

The stage is a bit "neon barf sensory overload," but it fits the song's chaotic vibes. The chorus is also memorable thanks to the unique melody and expressive shouts.

16.) Satisfaction

EDM isn't my favorite musical genre, but it really works here. I think it's the combination of the awesome instrumental and kz(livetune)'s tuning really leaning into Miku's nature as an electronic instrument.

15.) Cute Medley - Idol Sounds

A collection of Mitchie M classics in all their peppy, expressive glory is a win in my book. Each song, from Freely Tomorrow to Blooming the Idol, perfectly suits the "J-pop idol" theme of the medley. KAITO should have been there, though. He wanted to learn how to be cute, so he should get to be cute. >:T

14.) Patchwork Staccato

A surprise bit of melancholy for the Cute Cloud, but the change of pace is welcome. Miku's falsetto pushes the limits of her upper range without sounding shrill, which I imagine takes immense patience to get right. Her singing throughout is refreshing, too, somehow coming across as sweet yet cold. And we can't ignore the immersive, quilt-like scenery of the stage. However, the Freddy Fazbear cover is still the best version (thank you again, Minnemi).

13.) Love Song

My mom's favorite simply for the "u-papa" parts (although the way she sings it sounds more like PoPiPo ^^"). And hey, I can't blame her. It's bouncy and sweet. It puts you in a good mood.

12.) Strangers

The way the rhythm changes throughout the song keeps things fresh, and the instrumental is surprisingly captivating. I love the stage, too. The Playstation symbol lights are enticing, but not distracting or intrusive.

11.) Holy Lance Explosion Boy

Why are the dirtiest songs always some of the catchiest? And why is Len used for so many of them? It's still a bop, though. A lot of songs by rerulili are. The Extreme chart is pain, but it's not unfair. It's just very, very crowded and technical. It's satisfying to improve my score here, at any rate.

10.) Solitary Envy

Surprisingly gentle and subdued for the Cool Cloud, but that makes it unique. I also love when Miku is given a lower and softer voice, whether it's her Dark Append or a unique tuning style. The syncopation during the chorus gives it a bit of a playful edge, too.

9.) A Single Red Leaf

A classic, gentle love ballad with a traditional Japanese flair. It may not be the flashiest or feature the most realistic tuning of Luka, but it's simply perfect for the Elegant Cloud. Also, despite being on the slower side, it's not painfully slow like certain other songs in the series (Sakura Rain--).

8.) Humorous Dream of Mrs. Pumpkin

Halloween vibes are always good vibes, and we stan Hachi in this household. I wish the song wasn't so obviously cut off at the end, but I am glad that it's here at all. Also, Halloween Miku supremacy.

7.) Cool Medley - Cyber Rock Jam

The transition from Don't My List Me! to Tengaku is so smooth. Absolutely beautiful. Unhappy Refrain is always a jam, Palette was a splendid surprise (with Luka V4x, too!), and This Messed-Up Wonderful World Exists For Me is an incredible finale. Cyber Rock Jam is easily the best medley in the game.

6.) Calc.

The intense guitar solos interspersed throughout the song really complement the smooth, relaxed melody. They're fundamentally different, yet their differences blend into a beautiful product instead of clashing.

5.) Tale of the Deep-Sea Lily

Again, I enjoy songs with a softer, lower-pitched Miku. This one is bouncy yet gentle, and I'm a total sucker for the nautical theme. Plus, the Sea Lily module makes Miku look a little like GUMI (my absolute favorite Vocaloid).

4.) Urotander, Underhanded Rangers

Hilarious in every single way, from the PV to the Extreme chart. The Chance Time star zooming across the screen sends me every time. KAITO, MEIKO, and Miku make for a nice trio, too. I wish they were used together more often.

3.) Ai Dee

It's a Mitchie M song that features Luka rapping in English, as well as bits in French and Spanish. It has to be in the top 3. The Electronica Anode (Miku) and Electronica Cathode (Luka) modules are some of my favorites in the game, too. What can I say? I'm weak to glowy stuff.

2.) Brain Revolution Girl

MARETU's instrumentals tend to be awesome, and it's no different here. The synth is decidedly electronic in tone, yet dramatic in its note progression. The guitar bit in the middle and the quiet segment immediately after add to the drama by bringing variety. Also, C minor is my favorite key, and C# minor isn't too far behind. I just feel so evil and powerful when I listen to this song. I love it.

1.) Amazing Dolce

It's MEIKO and the Kagamines. It's Hitoshizuku × Yama. It's energetic and jazzy. It even has a huge, dramatic, big band-style brass break in the middle. Need I say more? Actually, yes. The modules. They're super creative and adorable with their food themes. Strawberry Witch (MEIKO) and Pâtissier Gretel (Rin) are simply stunning. Len's Pâtissier Hansel module confused me for a while, but then it clicked when I realized that his motif isn't anything banana-related--it's apple pie. So he's also up there, and all of these ingredients combine to give us the best song in the game.

Now for the Cloud rankings. These are simple averages/means:

1.) Elegant - average of 7.83/32

2.) Cool - average of 11.83/32

3.) Quirky - average of 18.17/32

4.) Cute - average of 18.83/32

5.) Classic - average of 21.5/32

6.) Extra - average of 29.5/32

And here are (hopefully correct) weighted averages to compensate for the outliers in each set:

1.) Elegant - wav of 7.83/32 (Huh. Neat.)

2.) Cool - wav of 13.47/32

3.) Cute - wav of 15.62/32 (What an upset!)

4.) Quirky - wav of 17.56/32

5.) Classic - wav of 22.98/32

6.) Extra - wav of 29.5/32 (Two equidistant data points will do that. :p)

With all that said and done, what do you think? What are your favorite songs not just in X, but in the entire Project Diva series (Mirai counts, too)?

[pansy-buttercups]

��General Information 🌱

🌸———————————————🌸

Basic Introduction🌿

Heya I'm Markus, I also go by Moss. I'm huge plant nerd and violently obsessed with collective wildflower feildguides. I am by no meana a professional horticulturist or botanist (though I desperately want to be), Studying plants and growing them however is a major passion of mine!

I'm hoping that by posting on this blog, I can motivate myself to learn even more about plants and actually jot down some information for other people. I belive we all need to become way more aware of the hugely important role that flora play in out world and what plants are actually helpful and which ones are damaging (I'm looking at you invasive plants/monoculture forest/ect.)

Oh, also, the last thing to know about me is I desperately hope all oil, gas, and car company CEOs fricken 💥💥💥 Ahhhh cough on smoke.... yeah.....

What this blog is about☘️

I plan to mostly use this blog to help share gardening tips, information on native plants, general ecology posts, horticulture/Agricultural/permaculture all the plant growing cultures and stuff, sustainability, and conservation Just generally, anything to do with plants and our precious earth's ecosystem, I suppose. However, as I live on the West Coast of B.C I want to focus a lot on my local native flora and ecosystem!

That's probably going to be a big point of the blog so if you too are a B.C West Coast Flora Fanatic rejoice!!

More Information under the Break🌱

Scheduling plan (That I will hopefully follow)🌧

Floriography Friday🌸Fridays

The history of flowers and their meanings are always a little bit tricky and varied depending on place to place. That's the beauty of it, though that one flower can mean a thousand different things depending on where you are, the color, what other flowers accompany it, even where it worn! Plants have always been important symbols in our art and culture.

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(Possibly) Your homes Native Plants Apprication Day🌿Thursdays

Send in submissions of a plant native to where you live that you think needs some more love or that you just really this is neat! Of course if there are no submission a random place will be picked for Native Flora Apprication Thursday!

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West Coast Native Flora Wednesday🌱Wednesday

Cause we can all appreciate our native flora a little bit more, and maybe next time you're out you may even spot one yourself! Every Wednesday there will be a post detailing a random native plant of our wonderful West Coast <33

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Gardening Tuesday🍅 Tuesday

Whether you're growing tomatoes or tulips, everyone can sometimes use some advice on what to do with their garden plants. From companion plants to what's the best P.H. for your crops, Tuesday is the day to look out for! On this day, there will mostly be some gardening tips posted, and also, alongside submissions, I will be open to send in any exciting gardening news or updates you've may have. Send in pictures of your biggest strawberries or your seedlings you've been waiting weeks to pop up. It's all welcome here :).

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Alongside these, there should be regular updates on what seeds to sow at any given time, frost dates, conservation/sustainability projects you can support, community garden information and updates, and of course random sciencey plant facts and shitposts <33

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Oh yeah also fuck of if your any of the below💥

-Bigot ( Racist/Sexist/Homophobic/Transphobic/Ableist/Zionist, General asshole) , Captalist suck up, Cop kiss ass, Mega Corpration lover, Government Stan.

Please do intract though if any of the below apply to you☘️

- Love nature, have a garden, have a passion for flora, belive in hope for future, hate big companies/governements for ruining our planet, love native plants, support your local communities , love hopepunk. are a bee, have a xylem and a phloem <33

Tags Masterlist

[To Be filled in Later]

[meistoshi]

public / semi-public / private knowledge about champion satoshi akiyoshi.

public knowledge, readily available to anyone or widely known.

he has a "wiki"pedia page detailing majority of his trainer career from his first gyms to his participation in the most recent pokémon world championships, as well as his side-forays into the coordinator world & film/tv appearances.

parts that are still under co (as the actual wikidoc is continuously a wip) include :

he got to best of eight in the hoenn league, best of four in the sinnoh league, best of four in the unova league, & won the kalos league.

satoshi was involved in the kalos crisis, though the full extent isn't entirely known. it's only known for certain that he fought alongside some of the strongest trainers in kalos at the time to save the region. there's recorded footage online of the battle to stop the megalith with satoshi & his strange gekkouga leading the biggest strike.

he helped champion leon calm down dynamaxed pokémon before the release of eternatus & was part of the battle to seal it back away.

he was heavily involved in the set-up of the alola league as a recurring annual conference, & a semi-formal statement was released in the form of a tweet that he intends to take inspiration from pasio & move the manalo conference from the mountaintop of lanakila to an artificial island in the area between all the islands, not too far from aether paradise, after reviewing accessibility concerns & hearing out misc issues otherwise related. the manalo project was completed within a year.

semi-public knowledge, available to certain organizations or groups of people, or things he's neglected to inform people about.

satoshi's father & maternal grandfather each left town at crucial points in hanako's life for the ambition of trainer journeys but never showed up on the registered trainer list.

he was offered a spot as a kanto battle frontier brain upon completing the battle frontier & the offer has never been rescinded.

those who were in the area at the time of each incident know that satoshi has saved at least their region / town at least the once.

interpol knows satoshi has been instrumental in dismantling a large number of poacher & hunter operations, as well as gangs magma & aqua, galaxy, & flare. select departments are also aware of his faller status.

fiore & almia ranger unions are aware that satoshi has been to the sea temple akusha & has had contact with a manaphy. they also know of satoshi's involvement in bringing the stolen riolu capable of creating a wave bomb back to the lucario kingdom.

the strange transformation of gekkouga, as seen during satoshi's run of the kalos league, is called the bond phenomenon, a type of mega evolution that surpasses a need for key/mega stones, utilizing nothing but the bond between human & pokémon.

the aether foundation & professors kukui & burnet, & his old classmates from the pokémon school + gladion know that satoshi raised a solgaleo from a cosmog.

only people that went to the altar of the sun at around the same time + sauboh & wicke know about satoshi going into the ultra dimension the first time, when going after lusamine.

only the people of masara town, a select number of his friends, & a small handful of staff at a hospital in alola know that satoshi's trans. while his top surgery scars are visible to anyone who simply sees him without a shirt, only that same hospital staff are aware that he has recently arranged for semi-annual pick-ups of testosterone, finally having realized a way to combine his travel-bug with hrt.

private knowledge, information intentionally kept quiet about or known by only a small number of individuals.

satoshi has died enough times to lose count, though he places it as at least five times, & one of his deaths saw him scattered into ash & cinders atop mount tensei. as majority of times, he was revived through houou's power.

as of right now, his last death was caused via not limiting how much life-force his hitomoshi was permitted to drain from him.

he knows about mewtwo & has met it, has spoken to it about rocket & knows its origins, has saved it from rocket, & has met up & battled with it on amicable terms fairly recently. considers himself to be friends with mewtwo.

he has met several gods & deities, &, among other gods, has saved arceus & a mew's lives.

he's an aura adept & has actively trained his aura in the past few years to the point of being capable of crafting shields & wave bombs with his aura, healing pokémon with his aura, & semi-reliably understand pokémon speech through aura bonds.