#negative buoyancy

[unbfacts]

At depths of around 50 feet (15 meters), humans experience negative buoyancy and start to sink. Freedivers use this point to "freefall," where they stop swimming and let gravity pull them deeper.

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This is a reference guide to establish a clear foundation for the anatomy of the catcatfish, with attention paid to where the sarcopterygian half and actinopterygian half may be in conflict. I'm famously averse to drawing stuff on-model, and my own designs are no exception... I'll tweak a catcatfish's proportions as the piece demands it, and I like trying out different ways to stylize stuff. I made this to counterbalance/compensate for that, and reveal the baseline I've personally been working off of.

MUSCULOSKELETAL

Catcatfish have short, stocky limbs and a significant amount of body fat, giving them a hydrodynamic silhouette. The limbs are also widely spaced so that the catcatfish may undulate its trunk along with its tail during aerobic swimming. The body fat helps maintain buoyancy, as does the air that is held in the lungs while swimming. Nearly all of the catcatfish's body is covered in a short, dense, oily fur, with the exception of the fins, barbels, and toe pads; this fur traps body heat underwater and dries quickly on land.

The catcatfish's dorsal fin has one hard spine on the anterior edge, followed by several soft rays consistent with the number seen in the corresponding catfish species. These join to pterygiophores that interlock with the vertebrae to anchor the fin above the spinal column. The spine and rays of the fin are capable of a lever-like movement, allowing the fin to be raised and lowered for locomotion, communication, and thermoregulation. The adipose fin on the tail is composed of a thin, hairless skin without any spines or rays.

The tail vertebrae have pronounced neural and haemal spines to anchor the swimming muscles. Most of the muscles in the tail are white (glycolytic) muscle, which is used for short bursts of extremely rapid movement. Narrow bands of red (oxidative) muscle run down the length of the tail along the horizontal septum for slow, aerobic swimming. The limbs are used in a paddling motion during slow swimming and tucked in close to the body during fast swimming.

SKULL AND HEAD

Catcatfish have a feline skull, but its shape is more depressed than those of housecats.

The eyes and eyesockets are greatly reduced and widely spaced in most species, with more of the skull space devoted to the enlarged oral and nasal cavities, as they do most of their hunting by smell and hearing and are not very discerning about prey type.

Barbels are present in all life stages. The barbels are hairless and highly enervated so that they may function as smell/taste organs. Catcatfish will flex and wiggle their barbels to pinpoint food, navigate a low-visibility environment, and communicate with other members of their species.

Catcatfish have prominent canine teeth, but their molars and premolars are absent. They eat by swallowing prey whole, and prefer to hunt underwater by catching prey with their forelimbs and gulping it with powerful suction. If hunting on land, they may dunk their prey in a nearby body of water to make it easier to swallow. They are capable of pulling their lips relatively far back on their face and will do this as a threat display. They use their raspy tongues to groom themselves like other felids, distributing oils throughout their fur.

RESPIRATION

The gills of the catcatfish are located in the neck, just anterior to the clavicles. The throat is very wide to accommodate both the gill arches and whole swallowed prey. The esophagus and windpipe separate posterior to the gill arches so that the gill rakers can catch additional food as water is sifted through. Due to both the size and structure of the throat, the catcatfish's "meow" is very low and hoarse, and it will also vocalize with growling and grunting. Most communication between catcatfish is through body language, and vocalization is not possible underwater.

Air is inhaled through a negative pressure system, i.e. through the manipulation of a diaphragm below the lungs. Water intake uses a positive pressure system in which water is gulped into the mouth and "swallowed" via pressure from the tongue and hyomandibular complex to force it outward through the gill openings. While swimming at high speeds, the catcatfish will hold its mouth open to allow a continuous oxygenation without the additional energy expenditure of the gulping motion.

The lungs are comprised of seven separate lobes, nearly identical to those of a domestic cat. To prevent aspiration of water into the lungs, the windpipe has a fleshy valve that reflexively seals off the lungs as the animal goes underwater. Air held in the lungs maintains the catcatfish's buoyancy, and the catcatfish will periodically breach to exhale and inhale at the water's surface to supplement its oxygen intake while swimming.

Breaching occurs more frequently in waters with higher temperatures and/or salinities due to decreased oxygen saturation in the water. Catcatfish have a lower body temperature and slower metabolism than mammals, and during the winter, when temperatures are low and prey is scarce, they may periodically enter a state of torpor where they will exhale the air from their lungs and lie still on the bottom of a body of water without breaching to conserve energy for prolonged periods of time. Catcatfish prefer to sleep on land, but may sleep underwater in short thirty-minute naps if the water's oxygen saturation is high and the currents are relatively calm.

While on land, the operculum is pressed flat against the gills as a protective mucus is secreted over the sensitive filaments to prevent the gills from being damaged or drying out; this mucus sheds quickly when the catcatfish returns to the water.

REPRODUCTION

Catcatfish have one mating season annually, beginning in early spring shortly after the last major cold snap in the area (typically late March or early April) and lasting until autumn begins about six or seven months later. Within this window, a catcatfish may raise up to two litters, one immediately after the other, but may only raise one if conditions are not ideal.

The courtship process of the catcatfish involves the male building a nest on land very close to shore by digging a shallow pit into the earth, then padding and fencing it with soft plant matter gathered from the nearby area; catcatfish have also been observed collecting scrap fabric and discarded apparel for nest construction. The male will wait near the nest for a female to approach and the pair will engage in an elaborate courtship dance. They will remain in the immediate area for the next three months as the young gestate, nurse, and wean. Catcatfish are monogamous in a given mating season.

Catcatfish are oviparous; they lay eggs that hatch outside of the mother. The gestation time is about two months, but for the first half of the gestation, the eggs are retained inside the mother as they each develop a large yolk sac. Unlike egg-laying mammals, which lay waterproof leathery eggs, catcatfish eggs resemble those of bony fish; they are translucent, with the embryo visible inside, and they must be submerged in water for the embryo to receive oxygen.

Like many species of catfish, catcatfish are mouthbrooders. During the first half of gestation, and often even well before courtship, the male catcatfish will gorge himself to gain massive stores of body fat. After the eggs have gestated for a little over a month, the female will lay the full litter of eggs (typically 3 to 5 total) within the mouth of the male. Over the course of the next few weeks, the male will subsist on his fat stores, as well any small food items collected by his gill rakers, as he continuously carries the eggs in his mouth until they hatch. This protects the eggs from predators and ensures constant oxygenation via the water constantly being pumped into the mouth and out through the gills. The male is fairly inactive during this time and remains mostly underwater, with periodic breaches to gulp air; cooler water temperatures are preferred for the higher dissolved oxygen content. The female will remain close by to offer further protection, and she maintains their nest on land.

Mouthbrooding ceases once the eggs hatch. The larvae, called "kitterlings", hatch with a yolk sac still attached, which depletes over the next 24-48 hours, as well as with open eyes and all four limbs visibly developed, though they are virtually immobile while on land. They are also toothless and have no venemous barbs yet. As they hatch, the male will bring them onto land and deposit them from his mouth onto the soft bed of the nest. They will spend much of their time sleeping and nursing during the first two weeks after hatching, and the female will nurse them in the nest instead of underwater. The male will guard the kitterlings as the female occasionally hunts for her own food, but he may also carry prey to her while she nurses or rests. The rest of the time, the male will be eating frequently to replenish his greatly expended fat stores. The kitterlings grow and develop quickly and will be weaned after four to six weeks.

Hope you got a kick out of this! In the future, I'd like to explore a few of the many, many wonderful species of catcatfish in similar detail, as the one pictured in this post, the blue catcatfish, is only one of several known (and unknown) varieties.

I wrote about the "why" of their design on this post, and I recommend checking that out if you enjoyed learning about the "how". All the fun stuff I've posted about catcatfish is in my catcatfish tag.

Thanks for all the love so far, everyone! The catcatfish project is very near and dear to my heart, as you can tell... so your enthusiasm means more to me than I could possibly express. 🐈🐈🐟

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

𓅨 Sweet Nightmares: Chapter One

Sweet Nightmares: When not even Nightmare Dream can chase you off from visiting his realm whenever you wished, he decides to show his eldritch side. In other words: Dream doesn’t understand why you have such free rein within his realm and tries to scare you off. Jokes on him, you’re into it.

Warnings: Dream in Denial, Explicit Language, Reader Messes W/ Dream, I DON’T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS.

To Note: Eldritch!Dream x AFAB!Reader, Mostly Dream at his Wit’s End with Reader, Part of the ’Sweet Nightmares’ Event by @roguelov.

Word Count: ~7.2k

Masterlist | Next

You often wondered what it would be like to swim in the Ocean of Dreams. It often looked dark and uninviting, surely a representation of its true purpose… but that water also looked so beautiful to you. Things in The Dreaming weren’t what they seemed. Sometimes cold was hot, or sweet was spicy, an apple might taste like a peach, even a sunflower you had been happily looking at had turned into a rose. At times you thought the realm was purposefully fucking with you. No. It was fucking with you. So you liked to fuck with it back.

You were fairly sure that the realm adored it when you interacted with its jokes and mischievous nature.

“If you try swimming in the Ocean of Dreams, it’s just gonna spit you back out.” Imber, the dream of rain, spoke from where she sat next to you, basking in the low pressure of the air. It was going to rain soon. You gave her a pointed look, fingers picking at the edge of your shirt.

“You’re being negative, Im,” You stated, making up your mind and pulling your shirt over your head and dropping it to the towel you had been sitting on. Next you wiggled yourself out of the jeans the Dreaming gave you when you had appeared this night. “And I’m curious… like, what is it like?” You asked, tilting your head to the side. “Is it like swimming in a regular ocean? Is it salty? Cold? It kind of looks like it’d be freezing… Does it have the same buoyancy as the oceans in the Waking World? Can I drink from it? Are there fish? Like dream fish? That’d be really awesome if there were dream fish…”

“Please, for the love of the Endless realms, do not drink those waters,” Imber exclaimed, wondering what kind of unhinged mortal would wish to swim in those waters let alone drink the Ocean of Dreams! Apparently you. The dream watched as you deposited the rest of your clothes on your towel and trotted over to the dock extending over the darkened water of the Ocean of Dreams. Your toes gripped the edge of the dock, your eyes staring down into the black water. You saw your reflection, nothing else. The water was dark, black even. So mysterious. You wanted to know what lay beneath. Your reflection tilted its head to the side and smiled at you, then it held its hand out, beckoning for you to jump. “Really, you shouldn’t—”

You stepped off the dock.

Dropping into the water, you were surprised to find that it wasn’t cold at all, or in anyway unpleasant. The water felt like it was pillowing your body, gentle and caring. You kicked your way back to the surface and your head popped out of the water. The look on Imber’s face was priceless. It was like the realm had dropped out beneath her and the universe was ending. Then she was exploding on you.

“What do you think you are doing!?” She screeched, waving her hands and desperately wanting to drag you out, but knowing that she could not enter the water. “The Ocean of Dreams is dangerous!” You blinked at her from where you were treading water, not understanding why she was so upset. Literally nothing was happening to you. “Those waters kill!”

“You are being over dramatic,” You replied pleasantly, wishing you had tried this sooner. It really was quite nice. While Imber went off on a tangent about your apparent need to get out of the ocean, you felt something sliding around your ankle. Ignoring what was going on beneath the waves, you gave Imber a frank look. “Really, Im, I’m fi—” You were sharply pulled beneath the surface of the water by your ankle, only having a moment to take in a gasp of air.

Bubbles streamed around your body as you were tugged down for a few disorienting moments, your hands flailing as you righted yourself. Eyes opening, you found that the water didn’t sting. Nice. You looked around for what had pulled you down, and came face to face with a black form that looked remarkably like yourself. Whoa. The mirror of you smiled deviously, and offered her hand. Now, there was no way this truly was your own reflection/shadow, you knew enough about the Dreaming to know they didn’t exist… but what she was, was most likely the Ocean of Dreams herself. Because it was definitely a she. That excited you, so you reached out and took her hand.

You were pulled along and only moments later you were met with an explosion of colors and wonders that left you shocked. The Ocean of Dreams was truly beautiful. As you went, you could see flashes of dreams, some fairytales, other nightmares. All of which were pure unadulterated beautiful creations. Why was the Ocean of Dreams so forbidden?? This was a paradise to you! The Ocean of Dreams glanced back at you and you beamed at her, her echoing grin was but a mere flash before she was dragging you through a field of kelp at a faster pace.

There were these little flashes of light in front of you now, bursting like tiny canons explosions. You were ignorant to the slow build of uncomfortable pressure within your chest, your lungs straining for fresh oxygen. Deeper and deeper you were pulled, each new sight even more beautiful than the last. A medieval dream full of knights, a princess, and a dragon. Another a zombie apocalypse where the zombies were running from the humans. A child winning a Nobel peace prize for curing cancer…

Your grasp upon the Ocean of Dreams slipped, but the being continued to hold you, eager to show you everything. Your mind slipped into a state of in-between and you felt even more weightless than you had before. Soft songs echoed around you, slowly fading in a hush… unlike the peacefulness you had felt slipping under, coming back was rough and jarring.

Water surged up your throat and out of your mouth as you harshly coughed, suddenly finding your body nestled on the sand with a very worried Imber clutching your shivering and jerking body. Worse? Morpheus was on one knee next to you, his eyes blazing mercury while he glared at you in complete and utter rage. You finished heaving up saline water, curtesy of the dream lord’s touch on your neck coaxing the dream liquid from your body. You rasped and coughed, leaning back on your shins with a grimace.

“Have you no self preservation!?” The dream lord thundered at you, physical thunder and lightning manifesting over the Ocean of Dreams. She was upset that your and her fun was interrupted. You blinked at Morpheus as he raged at you, his words cross, irate, warning. Nothing new to you. He never liked that you pushed the boundaries of his realm and rules. Well he never seemed to like you period. “I have half the mind to banish you for such insolence.”

“I think she’s lonely,” You protested smartly. “You should interact with her more.”

“You dare suggest to tell me how to run my realm?” Morpheus thundered yet again, lightning flashed and struck sand not that far from you. “You are out of line.”

“She deserves attention too you know,” You fired back as the dream lord rose to his feet and promptly stormed away, his coat fluttering behind him. Imber threw her arms around around your neck.

“Don’t ever do that again! You would have drowned if Lord Dream hadn’t rescued you!”  The dream sobbed. Blinking, you tilted your head to the side in confusion. Why had Morpheus pulled you out? Did he not find your antics most annoying within his realm? You figured that if something ever happened to you, he’d just let you die to rid himself of you. He threatened you enough about banishment… While Imber continued to hug you, you stared at the disturbed waters of the Ocean of Dreams. She was already missing you.

The library was one of your favorite places to visit in the Dreaming. The endless amount of books kept you well entertained when your friends were busy with their work. On this day, you were playing hide and seek with Matthew. Shelves moved around you, shifting from letter to letter and genre… Matthew was currently hunting you down (without cheating) and his calls for you echoed throughout the endless library.

Holding back a snicker, you crawled across the top of the bookshelf you were currently perched on. Lucienne had been monitoring your hide and seek game, amused from watching the shelves cleverly hide you from Matthew’s sights. It was clear that the realm liked you, clear that no matter where you went within the Dreaming, the realm itself came alive as you interacted with it. So she was fine with you playing around in the library, as long as nothing happened to the books.

She was currently watching you army crawl across the tops of towering bookshelves, wondering how you had managed to get yourself there in the first place! No doubt the library had helped you up there… and now it was helping to hide you as well. Chuckling beneath her breath, Lucienne shifted her gaze to Matthew fluttering around, calling out to you with sassy remarks.

“Oh come on!” The raven exclaimed, gliding around a corner, only to come to an empty aisle. “Where are you hiding!? This has been going on for like, ten minutes!!”

“Oh come on, Matty!” You teased him, resting on your stomach for a moment while kicking your feet back. “It’s not like I’m playing tricks on you.” Matthew let out a disgruntled snort and dropped to the floor of the library.

“You totally are!” He complained, stamping his foot on the hardened wood beneath him. “How else would this game still be going on!? Isn’t it my turn to hide??”

“You still haven’t found me though,” You sang with a wide grin. Matthew stomped his little feet some more and flapped his wings, clearly at his wits end.

“Fine! Fine!” He exclaimed in a blustery tone. “You win this one! You win this one now just tell me—”

“What are you doing within the Library, Matthew?” Matthew hopped to attention and you leaned closer to the edge of the bookshelf to see that Morpheus had arrived. Who shit in his wheaties this morning?

“Oh, hi sir,” Matthew chittered nervously, shifting from one foot to the other. Morpheus’ intimidating gaze narrowed. “I was just— you know…”

“Matthew was tending to a dreamer, my lord,” Lucienne spoke up, stepping into the picture. “You tasked him with helping around the realm when away from your side, he is doing as such.”

“And where is this dreamer?” Morpheus pressed, turning back to Matthew.

“Oh, you see, sir, we were playing a game of hide and seek so I don’t actually know…” Matthew trailed off the moment blue started glowing silver. Well, he didn’t know where you were, and his boss was clearly going to go nuclear at any moment.

“I’m up here,” Your voice was soft as it floated down to the three beings, and three sets of eyes lifted to stare at you peeking over the edge of the bookshelf you were currently atop. You could have sworn that Morpheus’ eye twitched. Matthew’s beak dropped open as he let out a screech in outrage.

“You were up there the whole time!?” He loudly exclaimed, flapping his wings and taking to the air to flutter up to where you were sprawled out. You grinned at the raven as he landed beside you.

“Yeah, pretty much,” You confirmed, pushing yourself up onto your forearms. Matthew wanted to be mad at you for doing such a thing, but at the same time, he was hella impressed.

“Okay you got me good on that,” He admitted while a storm began brewing below you. Morpheus was not pleased, not pleased at all. How had you gotten up there? And to play such a silly and menial childs games within the grand library of the Dreaming!? Your audacity appeared to have no bounds!

“What are you doing perched atop these sacred shelves?” Morpheus questioned severely, glaring up at your lounging body. You blinked at him, had he not been listening to what Matthew had just said?

“Playing a game of hide and seek, it was Matty’s turn to seek.”

“Yeah, we were just having some harmless fun,” Matthew piped up, hoping his boss wouldn’t go all nightmare on you. He really liked you and didn’t want you to be scared off let alone banished. Outside the palace thunder boomed, shaking the foundation. Your gaze didn’t stray from Morpheus’ bright silver one as you stared him down.

“Harmless… fun,” The dream lord was almost growling now, you nodded before patting the bookshelf beneath you.

“Oh yeah, hide and seek in this library? It’s like the masters edition. Top notch entertainment.” You happily explained, shifting into a sitting position. “Again might I suggest interacting—”

“Enough!” Morpheus cut you off. “Get down from the bookshelf immediately.”

“Spoil all the fun why don’t you, grumpy pants,” You mumbled, moving to climb down from your perch. But as you were doing as he had asked, the library decided to have a little fun of its own. With a shiver and tremble of wood, you lost your grip and tumbled from the bookshelf. A small yelp left your lips while Lucienne gasped and rushed forwards. She of course wouldn’t be able to help you, or catch you in time to prevent a very painful fall… but Morpheus was right there to catch your dropping body.

He easily caught you, surprising himself because did you not irk him to no end so why would he catch you? You and Morpheus spent a moment staring at each other, surprise plastered on both of your faces. What the hell had just happened? Heat creeped up your neck and you were instantly a flustered mess.

“Dream over, bye,” Just as suddenly as you had dropped into his arms, you were gone, leaving behind a dumbstruck Morpheus. He was frozen where he stood, arms out like he was still holding your body. He had a solid blue screen behind his silver eyes. Lucienne rushed up to her lord in a frazzled state.

“Sir? Sir?” She questioned, trying to get a response from the frozen dream lord. He was slowly rebooting. Matthew fluttered down to a nearby table and cocked his head to the side.

“Do ya think Y/N broke him? I’ve never seen them go all peace out on us before…” Matthew commented as Morpheus’ mind finished rebooting. Rage blistered across Morpheus’ features.

“They dare to undermine the rules of my realm and relieve themself from their own dream!?” Morpheus hissed out, finally coming to his senses on what had just happened. You had fallen from the top of the book shelf, he had caught you, and then you had woken yourself up! That was not an ability any regular dreamer should have and you were clearly displaying an unusual source of power.

“Sir, I believe that they are simply trying to enjoy the realm to the fullest—” The glow within Morpheus’ eyes had Lucienne cutting her words off and she watched as he angrily stormed away. Matthew exchanged looks with the librarian.

“So… am I just over thinking it or are they…”

“It would be in your best interest to stay out of their business, Matthew,” Lucienne adjusted her glasses and busied herself. This was not something she was going to stick her nose in unless absolutely necessary.

“If I get trapped in that stupid hour glass you better break me out,” You muttered to Concinō. Your dream friend twitched the corner of his mouth, making the whiskers of his current form, move ever so slightly. He was totally taking pleasure in this, you just knew it. At the start of your night, you’d come across Concinō, the dream of singing harmoniously… and somehow, he had talked you into assisting him with a dream of his. Little did you know that you would end up playing a Disney princess.

Exciting and fun, but you were acutely aware of what happened in Aladdin, and weren’t exactly fond of the idea that Jafar would be setting his sights on you. Memories of being scared as the hourglass full of sand slowly buried Jasmine alive still haunted you, even into adulthood. Not even the fine cloth draped upon your body and jewels enhancing your natural beauty could distract you from that worry.

“You think I will allow any harm to befall you?”

“We are in a dream, Concinō,” You muttered at him beneath your breath. “The psychological mind fuckery I deal with on a nightly basis is getting a bit too much.”

“Which is why I thought to invite you, this is a little girl’s dream, it is not meant to be a nightmare.” You gave Concinō a blank stare for a moment before your ‘father’ came bustling in… in all his short and round gloriousness. It was a nearly comical sight to you and that made you giggle a little and smile. You set down the hairbrush you had been absentmindedly running through Jasmine’s long hair and twisted in your seat.

“Father,” You greeted happily, following along with the script. “I had the most wonderful time,” The little girl watching the dream play out in the corner of Jasmine’s large bedroom giggled and pressed her hands against her little mouth. “I’m so happy!”

“You should be, Jasmine,” Jasmine’s father replied, his eyes glowing an eery red. Jafar had already gotten to him. “I have chosen a husband for you.” The remaining door to your room boomed open and the long faced Jafar appeared, striding towards you with a regal yet smug bird perched on his shoulder.

“You’re speechless, I see. A fine quality in a wife.” Jafar said, taking your hand. You were momentarily stunned by the sheer audacity of this dude, but them remembered you had a part to play and jerked back.

“I will never marry you,” You retorted as the little girl pipped up.

“Yeah! She’s never gonna marry a creep like you. You’re mean!” You nearly laughed at her comment but stayed in character. From behind you, Concinō let out a rumble from his chest in warning.

“Father I choose Prince Ali.”

“Prince Ali left,” Jafar retorted smugly.

“Better check your crystal ball again, Jafar,” A voice spoke from behind you. You whirled around in a swirl of blue skirts and proceeded to gawk at the dream that had formed Prince Ali. You wouldn’t mind being swept off your feet by him. The bird on Jafar’s shoulder squawked angrily as Prince Ali stomped up to you, eyes ablaze.

“Tell them the truth, Jafar. You tried to have me killed.” You let out a dramatic gasp, which the little girl did as well. Honestly her reactions were making this whole experience worth the trouble…

“What?” Jafar exclaimed. “Ridiculous nonsense, Your Highness. He’s obviously lying.” 

“Obviously… lying…” Jasmine’s father mumbled, hypnotized by the snake scepter. You stepped in front of him and tried to shake the hypnotism from this mind.

“Father, what is wrong with you!?” Aladdin jumped forwards and snatched the snake scepter.

“I know what’s wrong!” He shouted before smashing the head of the snake on the floor. It broke and Jasmine’s father gasped.

“Oh, my!”

“Your Highness, Jafar’s been controlling you with this.” Aladdin continued, holding out the scepter.

“What?” He stammered. “Jafar? You, you traitor!”

“Get him! Lock him up!” The little girl cheered on. So the guards were called and were slowly dragging him off, but just as soon as Jafar has waltzed into the room, he disappeared in a cloud of red smoke.

“Oh no,�� You murmured to yourself as Aladdin stepped up to you and Jasmine’s father began rambling. You let him wrap his arms around your body, and stared into his eyes before muttering at him. “I’m not kissing you.”

A sparkle appeared and his smile widened.

“I’m pretty sure Concinō would bite my head off if I tried,” The dream replied. “Besides, I’m just a side character in this dream.”

That made you chuckle as the dream in question eyed you both scrupulously. Concinō was in charge of this dream, in charge of making the little girl’s dreaming thoughts reality for this night. You had little control over what was going to happen next. Jasmine’s father dragged Aladdin off, talking excitedly about marriage plans and you went to slump down on a sofa with an exasperated sigh.

When it came time for Jafar’s takeover, you hadn’t considered how terrifying it might be to actually experience what Jasmine went through. You didn’t appreciate the crimson outfit you had been forced into, and you certainly didn’t appreciate being in chains at Jafar’s side. You had already thrown wine at the idiot sorcerer, told him off (much to the little girls egging on, she found it very entertaining), and even stomped on his foot.

He wasn’t happy with you.

You had done your best to distract the sorcerer after he had wished for you to fall in love with him. Because hello, one of the big no no’s of Genie magic was no love spells. Jafar didn’t know that yet thankfully, so you were holding his attention while Aladdin snuck in and slowly made his way over to the magic lamp.

“What street rat?” You cooed, delicately brushing your fingers along Jafar’s face. You were never doing this again. But your distraction was doomed to fail and Jafar caught sight of Aladdin in the reflection of the tiara you wore and promptly jerked around to address him. You lurched in front of him and tried to grab the scepter. Fighting against him was a loosing battle and you were flung backwards onto your rump which made you moan.

“Get the lamp!” Aladdin called from where he had taken your place in struggling for the scepter. You scrambled on your hands and knees, lurching up and scurrying over to the throne where the lamp was resting.

“Ah, ah, ah, Princess!” Jafar called, flinging Aladdin to the side. “Your time is up!” He flicked his scepter at you and you felt your body getting thrown back. You had to close your eyes so you didn’t get sick, but the topsy turvy feeling finally dissipated. Opening your eyes, you stared at a wall of glass before panicking and slapping your hands against the glass of the giant hourglass you were stuck in. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. You had hoped the little girl would deviate from the whole ‘Jasmine almost dies in the hour glass suffocated from sand’ plot. Apparently the little dreamer was a purist.

Sand poured on your head from overhead and you jerked in place, trying to avoid the stream. You slammed your fists harder against the glass, hoping you could break it, you had been able to manipulate some dreams before. But you had no such luck, the glass remained strong and the sand was quickly up to your waist. While Aladdin was tricking afar into wishing to be a Genie, you raked your nails across the glass and desperately searched for the now pint sized Concinō. He was gone, dismissed by a very irate Morpheus who had sensed your meddling yet again.

The dream darkened around you and the disney palace warped. Clawing the sand in front of you, you barely saw Jafar’s figure standing in front of the glass. He looked different now, taller, darker, more menacing. A few gasps for air departed your lips as you stared the irate Morpheus in the eyes. Then sand completely covered you. You panicked against the coarse material, feeling it scrape against your skin and impede your ability to breathe.

The glass holding you trapped disappeared within the hourglass. You fell, sprawling in front of a livid Nightmare Morpheus in a tumble of red fabric and sand. Coughing for a few moments because it seemed like you had breathed in several particles of sand, you slowly lifted your head.

You caught glowing mercury eyes, first glaring at you for being in the dream in the first. The complete and utter audacity! You were so meddlesome! But then Morpheus took in what you were wearing and his mind went blank. Crimson fabric covered your curves, and jewels dotted your throat and head, you looked every bit of the part you had been playing. Beautiful princess trapped in an hourglass filling with sand. It was an… enviable sight and that disturbed the Endless, certainly even more when sand slipped from your shoulders as you shifted in place. It had the luxury of caressing your beauty, beauty he had been unconsciously admiring. Now he wanted you… a… deplorable thought… surely… he would never… absolutely not… you were a pest… a pest he disliked… greatly… he didn’t like you… not one bit…

“Jafar?” A squeaky voice questioned, you glanced to your right to see the little girl confused. Understandable, this was supposed to be a dream, but now it was a nightmare. “You’re supposed to be defeated and stuck in a lamp.” Morpheus didn’t even spare her a glance.

“This dream… is over,” He spoke through gritted teeth. Sand once again spun around you, withdrawing you from the Dreaming and causing you to jerk awake in bed. You breathed heavily, your heart racing. Did he just try and scare you off with a nightmare?

“Dick move, Morpheus, dick move, it was her dream not yours,” You muttered, rolling onto your side. “It’s gonna take more than a nightmare to chase me off.” You closed your eyes and tried to get back to sleep. The only thing Morpheus managed to do was rescue you from a situation that had scared you. Being trapped in that hourglass was scarier than Nightmare Morpheus.

You were lounging with a book in your lap on what should have been a very uncomfortable place to sit… but the Dreaming of course would not have you sitting on something so uncomfortable and had softened the seat of Morpheus’ throne for you. That made his throne a very nice place to sit and read… which you were doing happily until Matthew’s call rang throughout the large throne room. You purposefully kept your eyes trained on the book in your hands, nonchalantly reading your passage.

The moment Morpheus set his eyes upon his throne, and saw you sitting there, he stopped short and took a moment to think. Surely you wouldn’t be this insolent! But there you were, looking quite comfortable and entirely at home. And quite gorgeous— He cleared that daring through from his mind and strode forward, a sour expression on his face.

“Your insolence appears to have no bounds,” He growled at you, rage quickly surfacing once more. You’d been pressing on his nerves, moving onto the next without fail and building his frustration. “Remove yourself at once.”

You eyed him, knowing that this was most likely really irritating him… which was your plan in the first place. Not one dream nor nightmare thought you’d actually sit on Morpheus’ throne. So you had strolled on up to the chair and planted your bottom on it. Now you were watching Morpheus’ patience run thin, worn down by your constant antics within his realm. You couldn’t help but admit to yourself that you liked it when he showed the Nightmare side of him. The endless was getting very frustrated that he couldn’t scare you off.

You chose not to push him and just smiled pleasantly and winked yourself out of the Dreaming. The Dreaming refused to change Morpheus’ throne back to its original state for three weeks.

You hadn’t told anyone what your plan was, you just executed it. Morpheus was supposed to be gone from the realm for several days and nights, which gave you the perfect window to pull off your next prank. You’d spent the better part of this visit moving every piece of furniture you could find… an inch over from where it usual was. It wouldn’t be obvious and to most eyes, everything would look normal. But not Morpheus. He was highly sensitive to his realm, could detect every minute change down to a single weed. But he wasn’t in the realm to feel the changes you made directly, so you could get away with the movements without him knowing.

When he returned, everything would look the same, but feel the same? No. And you relished watching him squirm on the inside trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with his realm. He was so unflappable at times, stoic and unchanging. Kind of like a marble statue… no, you were sure that a marble statue would show more emotions than Morpheus. Ignoring his angry, glowy eyes he gave you when pissed off. You wondered what he would look like it he smiled for once (something that you knew would never happen), you also wondered what his cosmic form looked like. Lucienne had once told you that while he did have an anthropomorphic form, it was only one form he had.

He was already a stunningly beautiful creature as a mortal, you wondered what his non-human form looked like. Would he even look remotely humanlike? Or would he be all wonky and chaotic, a blob of cosmic energy with no real distinguishable form to be seen.

“Hmm, squishy,” You commented to yourself as you struggled to move his throne exactly an inch to the left. “I wonder what he’d feel like to sleep on if he was like that?”

“What’re you doing?” You jumped in place before relaxing and looking at Matthew.

“Hi Matty,” you greeted before tilting your head. “What’re you doing here? I thought you were with Morpheus?”

“He sent me to check on you because he thinks you’re gonna mess with something while he’s gone.” You bit your lip to stop a bout of laughter that wanted to come up and Matthew hopped forwards, examining you a little closer. “You aren’t… messing with anything right?”

“Course not, absolutely wouldn’t while he’s out, why would he think of such a thing?” You blurted out. Matthew instantly knew you were up to something, and looked closer.

“Okay… why are you touching his throne? He got real mad about that after your last prank. Could’ve sworn the throne actually sulked for a few weeks…” Matthew muttered to himself, immediately deciding that he wanted no part in whatever shenanigan you were up to this time. His boss was getting really wound up by you and ready to implode. Matthew would rather watch this event from the sidelines than be in the midst of it.

“Just looking at the carvings,” You answered, patting the cold marble beneath your fingers. “I’m also wondering what he was thinking of when he made it given the decorations… like how does he even figure that shit out in his head?  Or is it like, automatic? Snap fingers and bam a-la-throne?”

“I… have absolutely no idea,” Matthew replied, his own mind now wondering how Morpheus had designed everything. “I don’t know how any of this Endless magic shit works, ya know?”

“It’s pretty awesome though,” You said while standing up and wiping your hands on your jeans. It was moved just enough. Perfect. Now you just had to wait for Morpheus to get back. While Matthew flew back to give Morpheus a report that you weren’t messing with his realm, you whistled while making your way to the library to find something to read.

Morpheus had gotten so angry at your little stunt (that everyone in the dreaming thought was hilarious) that he had gone all Nightmare on you. Like blazing cosmos eyes, enormous figure, thunder and lightning. Even the palace had trembled. Lucienne had been frightened for you, thinking that perhaps you had finally pushed the Endless one prank too far… only Morpheus had just raged at you while you giggled deviously. Then you had just skittered your way out of the throne room leaving the rather irate Endless to fume. So Lucienne finally decided to intervene.

“Sir, if I may,” She spoke softly, still feeling the echoing rumbles of the realm trembling from Morpheus’ anger. Mercury eyes landed on his trusted librarian.

“What is it, Lucienne? Give me one good reason why I should not have them banished from this realm for all eternity.” The librarian shifted from one foot to the other.

“Sir, I do not believe that you truly dislike having them around.” Morpheus glared at her for the mere insinuation that he liked having you of all creatures around his realm. “You have given many threats of banishment, but have yet to follow through with your words…”

“And why do you believe that is?” Morpheus snapped out, his fingers digging into the armrests of his throne (which he had promptly returned to its rightful place an inch to the right).

“I believe, that perhaps, you have come to enjoy their visits?” Lucienne offered, steeling herself for the blow up that was surely to come. “And might I even add, that you might have come to…” She paused, searching for the correct words to say without getting herself sent to the darkness. “…care for them. Do you not contemplate their arrival within the realm every night before they do so?”

Morpheus was insulted that his library would suggest such a thing and his eyes certainly blazed silver.

“You dare suggest that I have formed feelings for such an insolent mortal!?” His voice came out in a hiss. “They are nothing but a nuisance to me and I wish for them to leave and never come back!”

Lucienne couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

“But sir, if you truly wished for that, would you not have already done so?” The librarian bravely spoke. “In order to deal with such… feelings, accordingly, you should decide upon the decision to banish them or not.”

Morpheus hadn’t made a decision on what to do with you. No, he had decided to show you his final form. His true form. A form that would surely scare you off and he’d never had to deal with your incessant pranks, never have to see you walking his halls never, never have to be tempted by your smiles and laughter. You were impervious to many a thing, but he doubted you wouldn’t be scared of his ultimate cosmic form. He didn’t really have a physical body in the anthropomorphic sense, he was just a mass of Endless that was abstractly shaped like his mortal self. Surely you’d be terrified and the temptation that had driving him to the brink of insanity would finally be gone.

But his plan to scare you by showing a side of him that was rarely shown had to be put on hold when his sibling decided to pay a visit. Of all siblings, it had to be Desire. They were still on thin ice with their last trickery that had cost the Dreaming 106 years, what reason did they have to want to visit now? But nonetheless, he relented simply for the sake of keeping an eye on them. Morpheus relented to their wish to wander throughout his realm, but he had every dream and nightmare on alert and several ravens flying overhead should anything go amiss.

When he picked up that you had entered his realm, he had dismissed your presence. He would have to deal with you on the morrow, he was far too busy with his realm at the moment to consider dealing with you and your jokes. Luckily for him, you weren’t planning on pulling off any pranks on this visit. He didn’t, however, consider what would happen should you cross paths with his sibling. No, you were just wandering around the palace gardens smelling different flowers and appreciating the scents and varieties. You had already received a flower from a tulip plant that had kindly offered you the single flower. Everywhere you went, the Dreaming came alive.

“I didn’t expect a dreamer to be so close to the palace,” A smooth voice called, drawing you from your mindless thoughts. Turning your head, you stopped in your tracks when you saw one of the most beautiful beings you had ever seen. Caught between masculine and feminine, they had pale hair and vibrant gold eyes… but you were distracted by the mischievous air that surrounded them. “My brother usually keeps the dreamers away from his more… intimate, of places.”

“Oh, so… I kind of just do what I want here,” You explained, wondering how many siblings Morpheus had. Then you leaned over and ran your fingers over a hydrangea bush. It stretched its leaves towards your touch. “He doesn’t stop me or anything, usually just gives me the glowy eyes, and huffs and puffs at my apparent audacity.”

Desire chuckled softly, amusement sparkling within their incredible golden eyes.

“Oh aren’t you an unusual one,” They mused, moving closer to where you stood. Gold examined every millimeter of your body, there was nothing special about you, clearly… but something made Dream latch onto you. “I can see why he would be intrigued.”

“Who says he’s intrigued?” You questioned, twisting your head to look at them with a raised eyebrow. “Do you know the number of times I’ve been threatened with banishment?”

“Like he would ever find it in his cold, cold, heart to banish a gem like you,” Desire cooed, not helping themself and reaching up to touch your face. They let their finger follow the curve of your jaw. “You’re far too precious.”

“I don’t know about that,” You disagreed, eyes wandering over their features. “Can I ask for your name? Morpheus doesn’t talk about his family, or talk to me at all if he has to…”

“I’m Desire,” Desire purred, eyes thinking with mischief and wonder. There were so many delicious things they could do with you. Ah. That would explain a lot.

“It’s nice to meet you Desire,” You replied happily. “I haven’t learned much about you or the other Endless…

“Hmm, it doesn’t surprise me,” Desire replied, taking a section of your hair between their impeccably manicured fingers. “Dream has always been very hush hush about us, it’s quite saddening actually…”

Something in you told you that it was, in fact, not saddening, to Desire and they were only looking to stir shit up. You were equipped in that category.

“Oh,” You sounded, you’re smiling fading despite your efforts to keep your face straight. You’d never been good at hiding your true emotions. “Well, that doesn’t surprise me, he’s kind of private isn’t he? I don’t blame him for that.” Golden eyes glimmered at you in scrutiny. You were an unusually impervious mortal, usually your kind would be falling at their feet by now in reverence. So they stepped closer and turned on the charm and desire, trying to wrap you up within their twisted influence. Surely you would make for a delicious game.

“Oh? But you are a guest within his realm,” Desire purred, dropping your hair to caress your cheek. While their teasing continued, Morpheus was made aware of his siblings proximity to you, his latest irking problem… and the very thin band of patience you’d been testing the constraints of for the last few months finally began to quiver. Disappearing from this throne room, Morpheus appeared in his garden and fixed his eyes on you and his sibling. Surely they were filling you with more noxious ideas to plague the Dreaming.

“Desire, that is enough,” Morpheus growled, the feet beneath your feet shaking. “Your meddling has gone far enough, leave,” Desire pouted and Nightmare Dream came out, his patience snapping like a violin string. You took a step back, feeling the ground beneath your feet trembling and shaking. Wow, Morpheus was sure getting worked up. You wondered if Desire was going to push his buttons further, but the Endless just smirked and winked out of the Dreaming.

“I think that was a little rude of you,” You commented, only to have the angry Dream Lord round on you and his eyes to brighten in anger almost to the point where you couldn’t even look him in the eyes.

“Rude!? Are you that desperate to irate me that must conspire with my sibling!??” Lightning cracked across the suddenly darkened sky. You blinked and scrunched your nose.

“What? No,” You replied in confusion. Since when had you purposefully annoyed him? All you wanted to do was have fun and explore the Dreaming, and have Morpheus interact with it more because clearly she was missing her lord. You never had any intention of purposefully irritating Morpheus. “I just wanted to—”

“My realm is not yours to do what you wish with mortal,” Morpheus hissed at you, his skin rippling with power. “And for you to conspire with Desire!?”

Your eyes flashed in anger and your hackles bristled.

“I was most certainly not—” Before you even finished your statement the air around you rippled and you felt like you were stuck in a hurricane. Well someone had certainly lost their temper, but you hadn’t seen him lose it like this. A few seconds later you felt yourself getting tossed and turned in place, the ground having long since disappeared from your feet. Flopping around, your arms cartwheeled until you managed to keep yourself stable and you worked the courage up to open your eyes. What the hell…?

In front of you was a swirling mass of cosmos, you could barely make out somewhat of a humanoid shape but it most certainly wasn’t a human. Your body dropped though the air and you flailed yet again before being caught but a shadowy hand.

“You are the bane of my existence with your incessant comings and goings, why do you not act like the rest of your kind!?” Oh. Holy shit. That was Morpheus?? You were rendered speechless, gawking at the inhumane mass of Endless energy. Even now, with Morpheus displaying his worst form, you were still not cowering in fear! “What must I do to rid myself of the irritation you cause me?”

“You are so beautiful,” You whispered, barely able to form any further thoughts as the beauty of the cosmic being in front of you filled your mind. The next few seconds stretched into what felt like years, your words curling and slipping around Morpheus’ monstrous being. You are so beautiful.

Your surroundings trembled and shook, and that topsy turvy feeling returned. Then you found yourself stretched out on a bed with a very bewildered and confused (not to mention worked up) Endless above you. Your eyelashes fluttered as Morpheus grasped your chin in a hard grip. You could feel the pent up energy he was barely holding back.

“You are the most vexing, troubling, meddlesome mortal I have ever had the displeasure of meeting.” Morpheus hissed in your face, his nose practically touching yours. Well excuse me! You didn’t exactly ask to meet him either! Your eyes flared with fire and you barked back, poking your finger into his chest.

“Well you are the most hard headed, egotistical, close minded—” Morpheus had-had enough of your lip and insolence, and silenced you the only way his tumultuous mind could think of: by kissing you.

Date Published: 8/11/23

Last Edit: 8/11/23

Masterlist | Next

[malbecmusings]

Even before al the bodies have been recovered, the blame game is in full swing over Perini Navi's 55m Bayesian that went down in a storm off Porticello, Sicily. I read this morning the chief of the group that owns Perini Navi came out swinging, putting the blame squarely on the crew.

There's a good technical analysis from designer Chris Feers below the cut.

TL;Don't want to read: Monohulls of all stripes are designed to survive a knockdown; Perini's engineering is some of he best in the world. Bayesian had a retractable keel which could shorten her 32' draft to 12'. With the keel extended, meaning she had full use her counterweight, she would have been able to right herself in a full knockdown. Even if her mast were below the waterline, even if she lost her mast, maybe more so if she lost her mast, assuming she was watertight, her design would allow her to self recover. With the keel retracted tho, her righting moment would be dramatically less. If she wasn't watertight, a knockdown would be unrecoverable and she would, as she did, quickly end up on the bottom of the ocean.

I have so many questions. We won't know the full story for a bit but seven people losing their lives should have been an avoidable outcome.

This is a one in a million tragedy but we should examine the facts and learn from them. Bayesian boasts the second highest mast in the world at 75 metres on a length of 56m. She has a lifting keel to enable her to get into shallow areas. Fully down it gives a draft of 9.83m and raised a draft of 4m. A sailing yacht has a keel to counter the heeling moment generated by the power of her sail plan. I’m sorry to say that size matters to a superyacht owner and naval architects are seduced into providing solutions. As yacht size increases the resistance of the hull reduces in proportion, so less sail area is required to adequately power longer yachts. But these floating fashion items are driven by appearance and bragging rights - and you lose prestige if someone has a bigger mast than you. Always the status pecking order questions are – how big – how fast – what cost – and is it black? If you designed Bayesian with a reasonable sail area and a ‘normal’ mast she would not look impressiive – which is what superyachts have to be.

The stability of a yacht has to be sufficient to counter the power of the rig but, as mast heights increase, the keels can often become so deep that the places of interest are restricted hence the lifting keel solution. Stability comes from two factors – the hull form and the ballast keel which acts like a pendulum. As the yacht heels the volume of the immersed hull section produce a buoyancy force which resists heeling. Initially the keel gives little force but as the angle of heel increases ‘physics’ makes the keel contribution significant (leverage). The greater the keel length, the greater the effect. The combination of the hull buoyancy on the heeled side and the keel on the ‘windward’ side produces the force necessary to keep the yacht from capsize. If the keel of Bayesian was retracted it would lose a significant six meters of moment arm or leverage from its probable 200 tons of keel bulb. When we design yachts we calculate the stability, or righting lever, as a function of heeled ‘bouyancy’ force and the ballast moment arm combined. (the GZ) This can be plotted on a graph to show the stability at any heel angle and identifies the angle at which stability becomes negative causing the yacht to capsize.

Normally an ocean yacht will experience a negative point at about 120 degrees of heel. With a lifting keel this point is greatly reduced maybe to less than 90 degrees. If Bayesian was at anchor with the keel raised and no sail up the crew would have every confidence that she could remain safe in most normal wind conditions. Every captain at this level has passed an exam on stability and would be aware of his vessels stability graph.

Many years ago I sat at Cremorne and watched a spiralling williwaw race across Sydney harbour and pass through Mosman. This twister was only about 30 metres wide but it destroyed houses and overturned cars in its path. A few feet away nothing was harmed.

The power of a twister is intense and powerful with the wind is coming from every direction. This was what hit Bayesian. The problem of large rigs is windage, even with no sails. But this yacht had three furling sails forward and a big boom with the weight of a furled mainsail inside all above the centre of gravity. Also there were a few communication domes on the spreaders.

We use a wind pressure coefficient to measure the force of the wind on the rig and sails. Even without sails the WPC for Bayesian must have been pretty large when hit by a wind force of varying direction with a local velocity way above the norm. Once she was knocked down beyond her stability limit with the keel up she stood no chance and, laying flat to the water, her deck openings would have allowed a flood of water aboard and she would founder. This would happen in a couple of minutes.

The observation of a lightning strike can be discounted because these vessels are grounded and any damage from a strike would have caused a slow sinking at worst – not a capsize and founder.

The individuals within a professional crew with sailing experience may have sensed the wind and motion of the vessel and quickly reacted to instinctively save themselves in the seconds they had. My guess is that some were already on deck alarmed by the general conditions.The guests would have found themselves totally disoriented in flooding cabins, in darkness with the walls, doors and passageways at ninety degrees to the norm. They had practically no chance because it would be completely beyond their experience. The crew would have been unable to be of any help due to the speed of the unexpected event.

I have been a professional yacht designer and builder for fifty years specialising in lifting keel yachts. My son, a professional navigator, was Third Officer on a ketch superyacht with masts 100m tall; a yacht so big, at 88metres, that it was almost beyond human handling even with the machinery on board. But of course it is the biggest and most expensive’ etc etc. What we have here is a one off accident which is a wake up call to an industry where common sense has departed as yachts get more silly in size and design.

In summary Bayesian was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. A freak accident which the designers and crew would have little chance to predict.

If the keel had been down she would have probably survived the knock down. But without sails up the crew would have experience of her basic stability for normal conditions which would have felt adequate. Any enquiry must examine the design factors such as the stability vanishing point in the condition she was at the time of the accident; keel up, tank loadings and rig factors for windage (WPC) and centre of gravity etc. And a calculation of the wind force required to heel the boat to 90 degrees in the condition at the time of the accident.

All forms of transport have had these unpredictable one off events leading to changes of regulations and professional practice. Titanic, Boeing, 1955 Le Mans, the 1952 Farnborough crash, the 1979 Fastnet – all have made a difference and these events all came unpredicted and out of the blue often at a time of complacency.

Chris Freer – yacht designer – August 2024

[allegorymetaphory]

Remind me never to go more than 30 meters underwater, that negative buoyancy thing freaks me out

[simply-sithel]

The Obstruction of Action by the Existence of Form

A good reminder that having friends enriches many things-- adding or heightening the joy of something that one might not initially highly value on it's own.

Walking through the Blanton art museum in Austin, TX this weekend I did a sudden double take when I passed the image on the left- turns out I do in fact love all the work by R. Eric McMaster the museum had- but the initial "hockey = @aetherseer = good!" knee jerk association brought special delight. The image on the right, beautiful on its own right, also made me think of several Discord folks and thus held extra charm.

Normally I'd say I have negative interest in all things "sports ball" but second hand Tumblr mutual subject matter and view points does leave a mark. The helmets above provoked a sudden "I should show this to @odense" thought.

Thankfully the whole thing appears to have been uploaded to Vimeo by the artist.

Text accompanying the exhibit below the cut

R. Eric McMaster's work explores the protocols that govern various sports by manipulating, isolating, or restricting the rules and conditions that determine athletes' movements. For example, the gymnast in the video A Change of Atmosphere performs his pommel horse routine underwater, struggling with the awkwardness of breathing and the challenge of buoyancy rather than balance in the absence of gravity. In the photograph and video The Obstruction of Action by the Existence of Form, two hockey teams play shoulder to shoulder in a rink McMaster constructed at less than one- tenth of regulation size. The compressed space creates an event that is both comical and even more combative than a typical match-the players cannot avoid physical contact. The Obstruction of Action by the Presence of Order appropriates footage from the 2012 Summer Olympics of gymnasts awaiting the signal to perform. The video is silent, with no sportscaster commentary distracting from the tension evident in the athletes' faces as they await permission from an unseen, unheard authority figure. Despite years of practice, they-and we-know that perfection is impossible. McMaster has stated, "When we experience the familiar disrupted, we often can't clearly categorize the experience." His challenging of athletic norms suggests the possibility of new ways of seeing and being in the world. While the results are often humorous, they also create empathy for the vulnerability and pressure athletes experience. Heightened awareness of the regulations to which they are subjected likewise encourages us to reflect on the social dynamics and conventions governing our own lives.

I sat through all the videos & watched The Obstruction of Action by the Presence of Order twice in fact as A joined me halfway through A Change of Atmosphere. The gif comes from the brief shaky video I took to immediately send to @aetherseer -- not captured was the snickering and snorting of A & I laughing throughout the game (w/ much respect and admiration for the piece)

If you can, you should absolutely check it out-- it's on display till August 25, 2024

[quotelr]

Sometimes you may feel like your life is submerged in life's relentless challenges, but you can develop the kind of internal substance in you that displaces every negativity, fear and self-doubt. Even if the challenges were bigger and heavy on your soul and life, the new attitude and belief within will displace every challenge before you - then the law of buoyancy will begin to force your challenges to be ejected out of your pathway to success.

Archibald Marwizi, Making Success Deliberate

[neriedar]

More brain rot

Scott is gonna end up in an awkward stage of the change where he can’t really walk but can’t swim well. Scar in this universe may use leg braces and have a wheelchair for really bad days. Scott may end up having to rig up something similar to get around in town. Growing gills is also gonna be hard, once they start opening up on his rib cage Scott’s time out of water is gonna be limited because the gill part of the combination respiratory system likes being moist, he can extend the time limit by drinking lots of water and keeping his torso wet/moist.(I had to give up on figuring out the exact anatomical details on the gill/lung configuration, it was LITERALLY keeping me up at night! Issues of if I wanted the lungs to double as a swim bladder or if I wanted the liver to go oily like a shark for buoyancy control. Did I want to separate the two systems with a valve closing the lungs off in water? If the ribs acted as gill openings does that mess up the negative pressure system of the chest and make the diaphragm non functional and render the lungs useless?! It’s a mess and if anyone wants to help or talk about it PLEASE HELP so a gal can sleep.)

Speaking of sleep Scott’s back sleeping days are numbered once the changes start; he’s gonna get some form of back fin/sail, probably one that can fold down. So best get used to front sleeping. The ultimate shape of the pelvic fins his legs end up becoming are probably gonna be based on a lobe finned fish.

( I’m some degree aphantasic, so I have no clear visual in my head for design here, I also can’t write my way out of a paper bag unless it’s a research paper ; so You Have MY EXPLICIT CONSENT to use my brain rot as you like, BARRING AI use.)

[justicegundam82]

3.5 to PF1e Conversion: Beholderkin, Director

Here is a new conversion from me. This time, I'm tackling a new kind of Beholderkin, the infamous Director. Since its main ability is that to control and make use of vermin as rides, I tried to make sure this ability was adequate to the Director's power level. Hopefully I didn't needlessly complicate things.

With that said, here is the Director! Enjoy! ^^

BEHOLDERKIN, DIRECTOR

Image (c) Wizards of the Coast, author M. Cotie

This revolting creature has a spherical, limbless body with three snakelike spiny tentacles hanging below. A single baleful eye and a yawning fanged mouth comprise its face, and several small eyestalks grow from the top of its body.

DIRECTOR       CR 8

XP 4’800

LE Large Aberration (beholderkin)

Init +5; Senses all-around vision, darkvision 120 ft., Perception +24

Defense

AC 21, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+5 Dex, +7 natural, -1 size); +2 deflection when mounted

hp 103 (12d8+48)

Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +11

Spell Resistance 19

Offense

Speed 5 ft., fly 20 ft. (good)

Melee bite +10 (1d8+2), 3 tentacle rakes +8 (1d6+1)

Ranged 2 eye rays +13 touch (see below)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Special Attacks eye rays

Statistics

Str 15, Dex 20, Con 18, Int 15, Wis 16, Cha 15

Base Atk +9; CMB +12; CMD 27 (cannot be tripped)

Feats Alertness (B), Combat Expertise, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Multiattack, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Undersized Mount

Skills Acrobatics +16, Fly +18, Handle Animal +14, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +10, Knowledge (nature) +14, Perception +24, Ride +15, Sense Motive +12, Survival +12; Racial Modifications +4 Perception; +8 Handle Animal and Ride when dealing with vermin

Languages Aklo, Beholder, Common, Undercommon

Special Qualities deflective field, naturally buoyant, vermin bond

Ecology

Environment temperate and cold hills

Organization solitary, pair or cluster (3-6) plus mount(s)

Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Deflective Field (Su): When a director beholderkin is bound to a vermin mount, its central eye emits an invisible forcefield that surrounds both creatures’ bodies. This field grants both creatures a deflection bonus to their Armor Class and a Reflex saving throw bonus equal to the director’s Charisma bonus (+2 for the average director).

Eye Rays (Su): A director beholderkin can fire up to two eye rays as a standard action each round. Treat these as ranged touch attacks with a range of 120 feet and no range increment. A director beholderkin cannot choose to use the same eye ray two rounds in a row. A creature struck is affected by a spell at CL 8th, except that it only affects the target struck. The save DC, when applicable, is Charisma-based.

Burning Ray: The target takes 2d6 points of fire damage.

Charm Person: The target must succeed at a Will save (DC 18) or suffer the effects of the spell.

Enervation: The target must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 18) or gain a negative level. An affected creature regains the lost level after 8 hours.

Force Missile: The target takes 2d4 points of force damage.

Freezing Ray: The target takes 2d6 points of cold damage.

Slow: The target must succeed at a Will save (DC 18) or suffer the effects of the spell.

Naturally Buoyant (Ex): A director's body is naturally buoyant. This buoyancy allows it to fly at a speed of 20 ft. with good maneuvrability and grants it a permanent feather fall effect (as the spell) with personal range. These benefits extend to a director's bonded vermin mount, except that the bonded vermin uses its own fly speed if higher than the director's.

Vermin Bond (Su): As a full round action, a director beholderkin can attempt to dominate a creature of the vermin type of a CR no greater than 6 (the director beholderkin’s own CR – 2) that it hits with a melee touch attack. A successful Will save (DC 18) allows the targeted creature to resist this effect, but the director may attempt to dominate the creature again on its next turn. This ability overrides the vermin’s immunity to mind-affecting effects. The save DC is Charisma- based. This effect is permanent, as long as the director remains in physical contact with the vermin. Typically, a director uses the verminas a mount, using its tentacles to grip the vermin just behind the head. While the vermin bond is in effect, the director can control the vermin’s actions by making successful Ride checks; bonded vermin count as warhorses for the purpose of directing their actions in combat. A director beholderkin may not use its tentacle rake attack while bonded with a vermin mount, but may use its bite attack or its eye rays as descrive above.

As long as this effect remains, the director takes half damage (rounded down) from all effects that deal hit point damage. The amount of damage not taken by the director is taken by the mount. Forms of damage that do not affect hit points, such as charm effects, ability damage, level drain and death effects, are not affected.

Finally, a director beholderkin gains a +8 racial bonus to all Handle Animal and Ride checks involving vermin and considers vermin as animals for the purposes of such skills. Handle Animal and Ride are always considered class skills for a director beholderkin.

Beholderkin directors are a subspecies of beholder that act like cavalry shock troopers, riding into battle on giant vermin that enhance their mobility and offensive capabilities. While a director is certainly capable of fighting itself if pressured, they are more at ease fighting from the back of one of their vermin thralls. Directors are known to breed and ride several kinds of giant insects and vermin, switching from one to the other as their needs dictate. Prospective mounts are kept in a docile state not via magic but thanks to a director’s uncanny ability to ingratiate themselves to the mindless vermin, an ability that astounds arcanists and students of the occult as a very unusual form of empathy from the usually xenophobic beholderkin.

Surprisingly enough for a beholderkin, directors can actually form some kind of bond with their insectile mounts, and some of them even have a “favorite steed” of sorts, which they define as the mount that has been most useful to them and which they would try to preserve as much as possible – though never to the point of actually risking their own lives for them. Ogre spiders and whiptail centipedes are favored mounts, but a director can take control of any kind of vermin.

In battle, a director is never seen without a vermin mount. They maneuver their steeds around the battlefield, using the vermin’s abilities to the greatest possible effect while firing away at opponents who keep their distance. A director is quick to reassess a strategy if a previous one proves untenable, and they have no qualms against using their vermin steeds to ruin in order to reach their objectives – though, if possible, they would prefer to keep the more useful mounts.

A director beholderkin is about 6 feet in diameter, and thanks to its natural buoyancy, weighs surprisingly little for its size.

[askmadcomcrew]

Hey, what’s everyone’s opinion on us? The askers, I mean. Because, well, nobody’s up and quit answering us yet, so I suppose we can’t be too annoying… but surely you all have other things to do that you consider better uses of your time?

(Not that I’d want you to choose those uses instead, though. I really enjoy this blog.)

Hank: I don't really care. I do it because I'm bored. Plus, threatening you is fun.

Sanford: I mean, some of you are a little...Out there? To put it nicely, anyway, but for the most part it's actually been pretty cool! There's lotsa interesting folks in Nevada.

Deimos: Well I've got to engage with all of my fans in some way, don't I? Gotta keep you guys interested somehow.

Doc: Well, there is quite a lot of downtime, so I suppose the questions are a way to keep the mind occupied. I can assure you that none of you have annoyed me, at worst you've just made me think for a while.

Crackpot: A good leader must do all he can in order to spread the good word! What better way to spread the joy of Buoyancy with the masses other than to allow them to contact me directly?

Tricky: KEEP THE QUESTIONS COMING, I'LL ANSWER ANYTHING YOU THROW AT ME!!! I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT ANYWAY, EVERYTHING IS A GOOD USE OF MY TIME!!!

Jeb: Well, considering my current circumstances, I have plenty of free time when I am not fighting for my life. It's a way to keep sane. I will admit some of you have...Roused my ire, but I suppose my experience here has been more positive than it has been negative.

Sheriff: Some 'a ya are definitely a little eccentric, but hey, it keeps things interestin' n' all that good stuff. I just delete any of the too crazy stuff anyway, n' one thing about gettin' buckshot to the head is that it makes ya real good at forgettin'.

Phobos: As escape attempts from The Other Place have proven rather fruitless, I have been graced with effectively limitless free time. And besides, why wouldn't you want to speak to someone as great as me? You should feel lucky I even give you the time of day.

Auditor: In terms of energy and cognitive usage, answering simple questions uses up minimal amounts. I am also allowed insight into how the people of Nevada think, what they're curious about, how they operate. More information is always useful.

[scubatribe]

Bro, do you even float? The BCD at a glance.

The BCD also known as “Bad Conduct Discharge” kidding - I mean, also known as “Buoyancy Compensation/Control Device”.

The BCD is an essential piece of equipment for the scuba diver. It is worn like a backpack and attaches to the scuba tank. The BCD allows you to control your buoyancy, or how high or low you float in the water. You can inflate it with air to float up and deflate it to sink down. It also has straps that allow you to adjust your position in the water. In addition to controlling buoyancy, many BCDs also have pockets and D Rings to hold your dive accessories and a safety feature that allows you to quickly inflate the BCD in an emergency. 

Which type BCD should I get?

It is a popular question I hear from those starting to make their first serious investment, among one of the many significant investments into the scuba journey, and while popular, the answer is loaded with - it depends -. Yes, it depends on your scuba journey. We all have one and at times it organically changes, with our experiences and as our knowledge growths into this exciting sport.

So, to make this decision one must first understand the many types of BCDs used in scuba, which by the way is by no means this an exhaustive list but like much in the diving industry I find the technology has not changed much in the past 10-20 years and while new models claim to be revolutionary are simply aesthetics, type of material or gimmicky.

With that said, there are several types of buoyancy control devices (BCDs) used in scuba diving, including:

Jacket-style BCD

These are the most common seen type. It is shaped like a jacket that wraps around the diver's torso. They have a large bladder in the back that can be inflated or deflated to control buoyancy. It is easy to use, comfortable and allows you to keep nearly half your body above water, which to an apprehensive new diver provides great comfort. Newer models integrate the weight/ballast system with the jacket so no more weight belt to worry about, has large pockets and D rings that are easily accessible. Among the notable cons include how heavy and cumbersome they are to travel with, will hinder the diver’s mobility and are less streamlined than other types of BCDs.

Back-inflation BCD

These BCDs have the bladder located on the back of the diver, allowing for greater diver mobility and a more streamlined profile. Usually smaller and lighter than a Jacket-style BCD, known to be great for travelling. On the negative side, there are a lot of claims of not being comfortable and harder to control buoyancy, which I believe are criticisms hurled by less experienced divers that, with time, they will learn to control their own trim and buoyancy and this type of BCD will be a great improvement from the style they’ve started with. Full disclosure here, this is my go-to type of BCD and the one I use today. (Picture of my actual model below)

Wing and Back Plate BCDs

Wing BCDs have a large bladder that wraps around the diver's sides, similar to a "wing" shape. They are popular with technical divers due to their ability to provide the necessary lift for multiple tanks however, they tend to be bulky and unless it is used for its intended purpose, difficult to move in the water. On the other hand, the Back Plate BCD have a separate bladder (like a wing BCD) that attaches to the backplate, this type provides more mobility and streamlined and are great for keeping the diver horizontally underwater. The Black Plate option also allows for many different alloys and materials that make this BCD modular enough for assembling, customization and expanding its capabilities as well as making them easy to travel with.

What is the average lifecycle of a BCD?

Well, here is where the quality of materials and how well you care for your BCD needs to added to the algorithm. If well taken care of, a superior quality BCD will last you for about 8-10 years with constant diving. If a BCD is not used, its lifecycle could potentially be a lot less so get in the water!

Ultimately, the type of BCD that is best suited for a diver depends on your diving preferences, experience level, and the type of diving you will be doing. Jacket-style BCDs are great for beginner divers, while more experienced divers may prefer a back-inflation or wing BCD. Plate BCDs are typically used by technical divers.

Remember to never rush out to invest into a complex model just because you want to appear to be more experienced. I always recommend, you go to your local scuba shop, speak to them about your level of experience, your planned future dives and I can assure you that not only you will learn a lot about BCDs but you will end up buying a great BCD to fit your lifestyle and perhaps even a new friend!

When investing on any scuba equipment, focus on enjoying your time underwater, learn, learn and continue to learn. It doesn’t matter if you have 10, 50 or hundreds of dives logged, you will never stop learning. Let your learning dictate the time when you are ready to comfortably try other models and scuba techniques. Now let’s burn some bubbles!

[itsthesiliconreview]

The Rise of Sustainable Architecture: Trends to Watch in 2024

As we navigate through 2024, the architectural scene is ever more defined by sustainability. The sense of urgency towards climate change, married with a growing awareness of environmental impacts, is catalyzing architects toward innovative practices that elevate ecological balance and human well-being. This all-encompassing overview explores and evaluates the latest trends in sustainable architecture, focusing on developments from Q3 and Q4 of 2024, and highlights recent research papers, state-of-the-art technologies, and expertise from leading sustainable companies endeavoring to integrate energy efficiency, material circularity, and regenerative design into architectural paradigms.

Sustainable Architecture Becomes the emerges as the key of the design

Sustainable architecture is no longer an abstract; it is the core principle guiding modern design. In 2024, buildings are being conceived with a focus on minimizing environmental impact through multiple approaches, which are as follows:

Natural ventilation: Natural ventilation is a sustainable approach to maintaining comfortable indoor climates by using natural forces like wind and thermal buoyancy, reducing reliance on mechanical systems.

 Key innovative ventilation types

Wind-Driven Ventilation: Utilizes pressure differences created by wind to facilitate air movement.

Stack Ventilation: Relies on temperature differences, where warm air rises and escapes, drawing in cooler air.

Eco-friendly Materials: The utilization of recycled and repurposed materials is becoming standard. Architects are increasingly incorporating materials like reclaimed wood, recycled steel, and bio-based composites to reduce resource depletion and pollution during construction.

Key Innovative Materials

Geopolymers: These are inorganic polymers formed by the reaction of aluminum-silicate materials with alkaline solutions. Geopolymers offer high durability and thermal resistance while utilizing industrial waste products, significantly lowering their carbon footprint compared to traditional cement.

Biochar-Based Bio plastics: Developed by startups like Made of Air, these materials are made from agricultural and forestry waste. They capture more carbon dioxide than they emit, making them carbon-negative and recyclable, suitable for various applications, including building facades.

3D-Printed Mycelium: This innovative method uses mycelium grown from waste materials, such as coffee cups, to create load-bearing structures. The process not only recycles waste but also produces edible mushrooms, contributing to urban agriculture.

Translucent Wood: Achieved through a chemical process that removes lignin, translucent wood is strong, lightweight, and energy-efficient. It serves as a renewable alternative to glass and plastic in windows and solar panels.

Carbonated Wood: This material enhances the properties of wood by treating it with carbon dioxide, improving its strength and durability while sequestering carbon.

Self-Healing Concrete: Incorporating bacteria or special polymers, this concrete can repair its own cracks, extending the lifespan of structures and reducing maintenance costs.

Light-Generating Concrete: This innovative concrete can generate light through embedded photoluminescent materials, potentially reducing the need for artificial lighting.

Pollution-Absorbing Bricks: These bricks are designed to absorb pollutants from the air, improving urban air quality while serving as traditional construction materials.

Transparent Aluminum: A ceramic alloy that combines transparency with exceptional strength and durability, transparent aluminum is used in security applications and has potential for broader architectural uses.

Biologically Produced Furniture: Made from sustainable materials like mycelium and agricultural waste, this furniture is both functional and eco-friendly, showcasing innovative design in the furniture sector.

Energy Efficiency: A new design prioritizes and underscores energy-efficient systems such as solar panels, geothermal heating, and advanced insulation techniques. These innovations not only reduce operational costs but also significantly reduce carbon footprints.

Key innovations in Energy-Efficient Systems

Distributed Generation: This approach utilizes on-site power sources such as solar panels, fuel cells, and combined heat and power (CHP) systems. It enhances reliability and reduces energy waste by generating energy locally, which lowers operational costs and decreases carbon footprints.

Smart Energy Management Systems: These systems optimize energy consumption through real-time monitoring and control, allowing for adjustments based on usage patterns. Features like demand response and peak load shifting help reduce costs and improve overall efficiency.

Geothermal Heating and Cooling: Harnessing the earth's stable temperatures, geothermal systems provide efficient climate control, significantly lowering energy consumption compared to traditional HVAC systems.

Advanced Insulation Materials: Innovations such as vacuum-insulated panels (VIPs) and phase-change materials (PCMs) enhance thermal performance, minimizing heat loss and improving energy efficiency in buildings.

Water-Filled Glass: This cutting-edge material uses water encased between glass panes to regulate temperature by absorbing and redistributing heat, potentially reducing energy bills by up to 25%.

Additional Considerations

Hydrogen Fuel Cells: As a clean energy source, hydrogen can be utilized in fuel cells for on-site power generation, providing an alternative to fossil fuels while emitting only water vapor as a byproduct.[grey, green, blue hydrogen].

Power Walls and Energy Storage: Technologies such as Tesla's Powerwall allow for the storage of excess energy generated from renewable sources like solar panels. This stored energy can be used during peak demand times or when generation is low, enhancing overall energy efficiency.

Passive Design Strategies: Emphasizing natural ventilation, orientation for optimal sunlight exposure, and thermal massing helps buildings maintain comfortable indoor climates without excessive reliance on mechanical systems.

Key passive design strategies

Integration with Renewable Energy: Many architects are now combining passive design strategies with renewable energy systems, such as solar panels and geothermal heating, to create self-sustaining buildings that generate their own energy.

Biophilic Design: This approach incorporates elements of nature into building design, promoting a connection to the outdoors through natural materials, green spaces, and views of nature. Biophilic design enhances occupant well-being and productivity while aligning with passive design principles.

Circular Economy Principles: Emphasizing materials that can be reused or recycled supports sustainable construction practices. Modular designs allow for easy disassembly and repurposing of building components, reducing waste.

Advanced Building Technologies: Innovations such as computational design tools enable architects to simulate the performance of passive strategies in various climates, optimizing designs for energy efficiency before construction begins.

Biophilic Design: Biophilic design continues to gain traction as architects recognize the profound connection between nature and human health. This trend includes:

Key Innovations in Futuristic Biophilic Design

Dynamic Plant Displays: Rotating and mobile plant installations create changing aesthetics and enhance interaction with nature.

Biophilic Lighting: Circadian lighting systems mimic natural sunlight patterns, improving mood and supporting healthy sleep cycles.

Smart Biophilic Systems: Adaptive environments use smart technology to adjust lighting, temperature, and air quality based on natural conditions.

Outdoor-Indoor Fluidity: Designs that blur the lines between indoor and outdoor spaces enhance the experience of nature within buildings.

Multi-Sensory Experiences: Textured surfaces and auditory features engage multiple senses, deepening the connection to nature.

Regenerative Architecture: Buildings designed to actively improve their environment, restoring ecosystems through thoughtful integration of nature.

Health-Centric Hospitality Designs: Wellness-oriented resorts incorporate biophilic principles to enhance relaxation and rejuvenation for guests.

Neuro-diverse biophilic design: Neurodiverse biophilic design integrates natural elements into spaces to enhance well-being and productivity for neurodivergent individuals, fostering environments that support sensory needs and promote emotional health through the calming influence of nature.

Adaptive Reuse and Renovation

Adaptive reuse is a sustainable practice that involves repurposing existing structures for new uses. This trend offers numerous benefits:

Preservation of Heritage: By maintaining historical buildings, architects can preserve cultural heritage while minimizing waste associated with new construction.

Resource Efficiency: Adaptive reuse significantly reduces the demand for new materials and energy consumption during construction, aligning with sustainability goals.

Smart Technology Integration

The integration of smart technologies in architecture is transforming how buildings operate:

Automated Systems: Smart homes equipped with automated lighting, temperature controls, and energy management systems enhance convenience while optimizing energy use.

Data-Driven Design: Architects are leveraging data analytics to create responsive environments that adapt to user needs and environmental conditions in real-time, further enhancing sustainability efforts.

The Rise of Modular Construction [Design-for-Disassembly]

Modular construction is gaining popularity due to its efficiency and sustainability:

Prefabricated Components: Building components are manufactured off-site and assembled on location, reducing waste and construction time while ensuring higher quality control.

Flexibility: Modular designs allow for easy reconfiguration of spaces to meet changing needs without extensive renovations.

Sustainable Urban Planning

Urban planning is evolving to incorporate sustainability at its core:

Mixed-Use Developments: These developments combine residential, commercial, and recreational spaces to create vibrant communities that reduce commuting needs and foster social interaction.

Green Spaces: Integrating parks and green roofs into urban designs enhances biodiversity and improves air quality while providing residents with access to nature.

Regenerative Architecture

Regenerative architecture aims not just to reduce harm but to create a positive impact on the environment:

Net-Zero Buildings: These structures produce as much energy as they consume over their lifetime, often incorporating renewable energy sources like solar or wind power.

Community-Centric Projects: Initiatives like the Sahara Forest Project demonstrate how architecture can restore ecosystems while providing resources for local communities.

Future Outlook

The trends emerging in 2024 indicate a promising shift toward a more sustainable architectural practice that prioritizes ecological integrity alongside human health. As architects continue to innovate within these frameworks, we can expect:

Increased collaboration across disciplines to tackle complex environmental challenges.

A growing emphasis on education around sustainable practices within architectural curricula.

Greater public awareness about the importance of sustainable living spaces.

In conclusion, the rise of sustainable architecture in 2024 reflects a collective commitment to creating built environments that respect both people and the planet. By embracing these trends—sustainable materials, biophilic design principles, adaptive reuse strategies, smart technologies, modular construction methods, inclusive practices, regenerative designs—we can pave the way for a future where architecture not only meets our needs but also nurtures our environment. As architects and designers continue to push boundaries in sustainability, it’s essential for all stakeholders—from policymakers to community members—to engage actively in this transformative journey toward a more sustainable future for humanity.

[ear-worthy]

Blue Sky Podcast: When Optimism Leads To Inspiration

At the beginning of every Blue Sky podcast, host Bill Burke reminds listeners, "There is always a blue sky above. Sometimes, you just have to get your head above the clouds to see it."

Despite the opening bouncy, happy music and the buoyancy of that quote, this podcast does not pretend to offer listeners a rose-colored, overly optimistic, and utopian view of our world. It is certainly not an exercise in toxic positivity, which is a dysfunctional way of managing emotions that involves denying or invalidating negative emotions, especially anger and sadness.

Instead, Blue Sky uncovers and underscores inspirational stories in the midst of political division and global uncertainty.

I reviewed this podcast in March and found that it offered many energizing episodes where host Bill Burke talks with people who have a "get-it-done" mentality instead of a "what's the use" mindset.

I am reviewing it again because Blue Sky has released a special three-episode miniseries, in which Burke highlights how optimism isn’t just a feel-good attitude—it’s a powerful tool for tackling today’s most pressing issues, from race and identity to national unity. And as the country approaches one of the most heated presidential elections in its history, Blue Sky offers a much-needed dose of hope and solutions for the future.

“Optimism is more than just a state of mind, it’s a creative force that leads to action and positive outcomes, even in the most challenging of times,” Bill Burke says. “On Blue Sky, we feature guests who embody this spirit and inspire these same qualities in our listeners.”

In this miniseries, Blue Sky features guests whose stories aren’t just inspiring, but also incredibly timely. I listened to the three episodes and found that my ears were captivated, and my brain fully engaged.

The miniseries includes: ● Lee Woodruff: Shares her journey with husband Bob Woodruff, the ABC journalist who survived a near-fatal injury in Iraq, and how they turned personal hardship into advocacy for injured veterans. Listen to the part where Lee Woodruff finds out that her husband has been injured in Iraq and has suffered a traumatic brain injury. ● Theodore Johnson: Washington Post opinion columnist and former Obama administration speechwriter discusses his book If We Are Brave, which explores the intersection of race and democracy in America and how we can move forward, even in challenging times.

In this episode, I marveled at how Johnson lived two lives as a child. At school, enrolled in an all-white school, but also attending an all-Black church several times a week. That unique experience provides Johnson with the intellectual and emotional altitude to discuss racism in the U.S.

● Lee Ellis: Vietnam War veteran and former POW reflects on his five years of captivity with John McCain, explaining how optimism became his anchor during the darkest moments.

Blue Sky is hosted by former media exec (President of TBS, CEO of Weather Channels) and founder of The Optimism Institute, Bill Burke. The show is all about showing how optimism isn’t just about feeling good—it’s a real, practical tool for facing today's issues, from issues of race and identity to national unity, with hope and kindness for the future.

Not only has Burke served as president of TBS and CEO of the Weather Channel Companies, but he also co-authored media mogul Ted Turner’s autobiography Call Me Ted.

Burke is an eloquent podcast host and an acutely effective interviewer.

I liked the use of segments in these interviews, where Burke summarizes the previous section of the interview before proceeding to the next section. The use of segments is underused by podcasters. Joe Casabona of Podcast Overflows has been an advocate of such a narrative device, and I agree.

Through Blue Sky, Burke brings his mission to life, inspiring meaningful conversations and encouraging listeners to adopt a hopeful, proactive outlook—even when the world feels heavy.

An American study of 2,564 men and women who were 65 and older also found that optimism is good for blood pressure. Researchers used a four-item positive-emotion summary scale to evaluate each participant during a home visit. They also measured blood pressure, height, and weight and collected information about age, marital status, alcohol use, diabetes, and medication. Even after taking these other factors into account, people with positive emotions had lower blood pressure than those with a negative outlook. On average, the people with the most positive emotions had the lowest blood pressure.

The results of this research show that compared to optimists, pessimists nurtured little hope for the future and were more at risk for depressive and anxiety disorders, with subsequent impairment of social functioning and quality of life.

One of my favorite episodes is with Kathryn Goetzke in August 2023. Following a challenging childhood and the tragic death of her father, Goetzke decided that the best way to tackle depression and despair is to create reasons for hope. After studying the issue deeply with experts in psychology, she determined that hope was both teachable and measurable, and has made it her life’s work to spread this message.

In 2022, she published The Biggest Little Book About Hope and continues to be a global mental health ambassador. She was appointed to represent the World Federation for Mental Health at the United Nations, and in that Blue Sky episode, she described how she became so passionate about this work and why she remains so committed to spreading the good news about the powerful effects of maintaining a hopeful attitude.

Check out this recent three-part miniseries on Blue Sky.

I will remind people of what the Dalai Lama once said: “Optimism doesn’t mean that you are blind to the reality of the situation. It means you remain motivated to seek a solution to whatever problems arise.”

[blgtm]

Lucky Strike Devil Bait Fire Tiger Fishing Lure Bait Spoon 3 inches   Material Metal Fishing Type Freshwater Fishing Number in Pack 1 Color Fire Tiger Bait Shape Fish Fish Species All Freshwater Buoyancy Negative Brand Lucky Strike Bait Type Spoon - Casting

[blackboyart]

Echoic Bird and Automobile Memory

Birds exclusive to their habitat are tuned for a unique blend of smoothness and control as found in the comfortable, full-size marsh and wetlands. These birds have an oil that they preen from their uropygial gland causing a sleek mesmerizing sheen on their vibrant plumage. Most water birds coat beads translucent with water to help create buoyancy in their habitat. As the demand for roadways increases it is clear that there is 0% interest for the land of these birds. Automobile traffic affects birds' migration duration and decreases breeding proximity. As in urban communities, an increase in habitat loss for the birds is seen as marshes and wetlands are surrounded by constant traffic. 

It is a windy evening in March 2024 and some of the birds have returned to Southern California as the constant presence of echoic memory from cars gripping the pavement never leaves. Birds such as Canada Geese ( Branta canadensis) at Magic Johnson Park and Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula)  at Bolsa Chica Wetlands are met with the proximity of vehicle traffic. Citing government data from the Census, the average travel time commuting increased from 21.7 minutes in 1980 to 22.4 minutes in 1990, and to 25.5 minutes in 2000. That equals an average of one hour of traveling in a car on the roadway to and from work. To put this in perspective there is not just one car on the road there are thousands moving all at different times of the day and night. 

  The park in Los Angeles called Magic Johnson Park has Canada Geese that roam freely, and you can sometimes catch a pack of grazing Canada Geese looking into the distance at the flow of vehicles owning the road. In recent years I have witnessed Canada Geese build nests in spring furthest away from car traffic as not all Canada Geese choose to migrate. Canada Geese are known for flying North for Spring breeding in sub-arctic regions where the population of people and traffic is normally not high. 

Traffic Congestion is known to be a stressor on the animals mainly during the breeding season based on natural observations. Research suggests that populations of migratory birds are in decline for reasons including loss and degradation of migratory stopover habitat. Migration might be the most dangerous time of a migratory bird's annual cycle. For example, 85% of the yearly mortality of the black-throated blue warbler (Dendroica caerulescens) occurs during migration. Any bird that migrates stops at several locations before reaching their destination. When there is a limited ecosystem available then this path turns into a treacherous one. The stop-over sight can be replaced with a 70-mph machine and a person with no remorse. 

Other bird habitat locations in Southern California that have a relationship with traffic is the Pacific Coast Highway which borders Bolsa Chica Wetlands Botanical Park. There is a pack of Snowy Egrets that currently roost in a tree near the highway during sunset. I hypothesize these birds are using the highway as security from pedestrians or predators throughout the night such as coyotes. Given the recent statistics of California bird density and automobile traffic are negatively correlated. However, the birds have no choice and are adjusting to cars. According to The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) report World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, half of the global population now lives in urban areas. Stating that by the year 2050, two-thirds of the world's people will be city dwellers. The relationship people have with their cars is a love affair that is sending sorrow to birds in more ways than I can imagine. A more dense population will create a more dense congestion of traffic resulting in a demand for vehicle travel space. If interest is not met with these species to a wider audience there will be fewer ecosystems with water in the urban community. 

In 2019 at Madrona Marsh Nature Reserve I conducted research on bird species such as the Egrets and Herons at the Madrona Marsh Nature Center. A center with 10-foot metal gates that surround the park. I researched interactions that arise from being in a central habitat. The objective was to create an understanding of how much the Egret reacts to the activity with other Egrets at the Marsh being in a habitat that is surrounded by industrialism. The research showed the significance and relationship egrets have with the location based on the number of birds and population density at the marsh. Their interactions with each other despite being in a marsh surrounded by traffic were surprising. The birds were aware of the vernal pools that eventually dried up and that is their reason for them leaving. The information was based on the birds before migrating. Rien Reijnen' conducted a similar study in 1995 that possesses relevance concluding that a large number of species had a reduced density with a high noise load than with a low noise load. On the other hand, there were no clear differences between subsets of paired plots which differed in visibility of cars but not in noise load. However, it seems that birds are evolving to live near cars and understand their relationship with them. The snowy egrets completely disregard the traffic during the day as hunger arise  they spend most of their time at the Bolsa Chica hunting for food. Egrets are not the only birds taking advantage of cars. This relationship with the birds and vehicles is now being seen throughout the city. In parking lots for markets, cowbirds are using cars as shade and momentary shelter from the beaming sun. 

The more cars produced on the road the more demand for road space will be needed. The population is growing in urban cities and as the population grows so does the love affair with cars. According to the United States Census Bureau (2023), Los Angeles has a population estimated at 3,822,238 making it one of the largest cities in the United States. Los Angeles is widely known for its congested roadways and impatient traffic due to its large population. In recent decades, researchers have viewed traffic in Los Angeles as having a negative correlation to bird habitat loss. Differing from the traditional stance on traffic that causes global warming, traffic congestion also puts pressure on the city to expand roadways putting habitats for birds as a mirage. I feel land should be shared with people and animals. As the population of various species of birds is decreasing along with their -proximity to land, the population of humans is going in the opposite direction. The population of humans is increasing. The more population the more roadways will be made resulting in less environment available to the birds. 

My 2020 research at Madrona Marsh Nature Center pertained to concentrated areas of activity that are chosen by the birds within their habitat. The surrounding area has lost the wilderness for the birds. An alternative, or more likely supplementary explanation is that birds also avoid areas close to roads because of stress (Illner, 1992a; Reijnen et al., 1995b) I measured the activity by taking images of the birds interacting with each other. The results were images of birds near the largest pools of water furthest away from the flow of traffic. 

As I wash my car the next time I will consider the complications and what is at stake when I ignite the engine to join Los Angeles traffic. I enjoy my car and have even nicknamed it the Grey Goose. If taking the bus now and then means I get to see a miracle of flight then I believe it is worth it. We as people have evolved for ourselves and some birds are evolving for everybody. Legislation, however, is not a popular solution when it comes to finding equality in the environment. In this modern era of ecosystems decreasing, government officials should consider land to be permanent which promotes an ecological balance to help all living organisms become sustainable for future generations. The only law that seems to be taking effect is Gresham's Law where the bad cars are driving out the good, the birds. Americans must consider whether to allow the increasing trend of traffic to abolish the discrete ecosystem that is available. Boundless to the pavement with elegance, they glide as a breeze through a mountain. Boundless to the land the bird leaves with no passport. It is seen with amazement that millions of years bring these two organisms together as a last choice for shared land. Humans and birds have the potential to share land to have a sustainable future.

Work Cited

Akerlof, G. A. (1970). The Market for “Lemons”: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 84(3), 488–500. https://doi.org/10.2307/1879431

Reschovsky, C. A. (2004). Journey to work, 2000. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau.

Reijnen, R., Foppen, R., Braak, C. T., & Thissen, J. (1995). The Effects of Car Traffic on Breeding Bird Populations in Woodland. III. Reduction of Density in Relation to the Proximity of Main Roads. Journal of Applied Ecology, 32(1), 187–202. https://doi.org/10.2307/2404428

Reijnen. (1997). Disturbance by traffic of breeding birds: Evaluation of the effect and considerations in planning and managing road corridors. Biodiversity and Conservation, 6(4), 567–581. https://doi.org/info:doi/

Matheson, Andrew M. M., and Jon T. Sakata. "Relationship between the Sequencing and Timing of Vocal Motor Elements in Birdsong." PLoS ONE, vol. 10, no. 12, 9 Dec. 2015. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A437105939/AONE?u=csudh&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=d6908cba. Accessed 30 Mar. 2024.

McClure CJ, Ware HE, Carlisle J, Kaltenecker G, Barber JR. An experimental investigation into the effects of traffic noise on distributions of birds: avoiding the phantom road. Proc Biol Sci. 2013 Nov 6;280(1773):20132290. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.2290. PMID: 24197411; PMCID: PMC3826227.

 Uropygial or Preening Gland in Birds | VCA Animal Hospitals (vcahospitals.com)

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Scuba Diving in India at a Premier Destination: Choose Paradise Beach

When it comes to scuba diving in India, few places rival the allure of Paradise Beach. Located in the idyllic coastal town of Pondicherry, Paradise Beach is a premier destination for diving enthusiasts looking to explore the rich marine biodiversity of the Bay of Bengal. The beach's name is no exaggeration; its golden sands, crystal-clear waters, and vibrant coral reefs truly feel like a slice of paradise. Whether you're a seasoned diver or a beginner eager to experience the underwater world, Paradise Beach offers the perfect blend of adventure, beauty, and tranquility. Dive beneath the surface, and you'll be greeted by an underwater wonderland teeming with colorful marine life, making it an unforgettable destination for scuba diving in India.

What's the Best Time to Plan for Scuba Diving in Pondicherry?

The best time to plan for scuba diving in Pondicherry is between October and March. During these months, the weather is typically favorable, with clear skies, calm seas, and excellent underwater visibility ranging from 10 to 20 meters. The water temperature remains comfortably warm, between 26°C and 30°C (79°F to 86°F), eliminating the need for heavy wetsuits. 

May it be snorkeling in Pondicherry or scuba divingso these conditions provide a more enjoyable and comfortable diving experience, allowing you to appreciate the vibrant marine life and stunning coral reefs fully. In contrast, the monsoon season from June to September brings heavy rains and rough seas, which can negatively impact visibility and make diving conditions challenging. By choosing to dive between October and March, you maximize your chances of experiencing the best of Pondicherry’s underwater world.

Tips and Guidelines for Scuba Diving In Pondicherry Beach

Scuba diving in Pondicherry Beach is an exciting and immersive activity, but it requires careful preparation and adherence to safety protocols. Here are some essential tips and guidelines to ensure a safe and enjoyable diving experience:

1. Get Proper Certification

Obtain certification from a recognized agency such as PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) or SSI (Scuba Schools International). Certification ensures you have the necessary skills and knowledge for safe diving.

2. Check Equipment Thoroughly

Before each dive, inspect your gear to ensure everything is in good working condition. This includes your mask, fins, wetsuit, BCD (Buoyancy Control Device), regulator, and tanks. Properly fitting equipment is crucial for comfort and safety.

3. Plan Your Dive

Discuss the dive plan with your buddy or dive group. Know the dive site, expected conditions, maximum depth, and duration. Agree on signals and emergency procedures.

4. Equalize Frequently

Equalize your ears frequently during descent to prevent discomfort and potential injury. Pinch your nose and gently blow to equalize pressure.

5. Monitor Your Air Supply

Keep a close eye on your air gauge and ensure you have enough air to complete your dive safely. Follow the "rule of thirds": use one-third of your air for the dive out, one-third for the dive back, and keep one-third as a reserve.

6. Ascend Slowly

Make your ascent slowly and in stages to allow your body to off-gas nitrogen safely. A slow ascent minimizes the risk of decompression sickness (the bends).

7. Stay Hydrated and Avoid Alcohol

Drink plenty of water before and after your dive to stay hydrated. Avoid alcohol, as it can increase the risk of dehydration and impair your judgment.

8. Follow Safety Stops

Adhere to safety stops during ascent, typically at 5 meters (15 feet), for 3 minutes. This helps in the gradual release of nitrogen from your body.

9. Respect Marine Life

Observe marine life from a distance and avoid touching or disturbing the creatures or their habitats. This helps protect the delicate underwater ecosystems.

10. Know Your Limits

Dive within your training and experience level. If you're unsure about the conditions or your ability to handle them, it's best to choose a more manageable dive site or seek guidance from a professional.

11. Dive with a Buddy

Always dive with a buddy or in a group. This ensures you have assistance in case of emergencies and makes the dive experience more enjoyable and safer.

12. Understand Local Conditions

Research the dive site conditions, such as currents, water temperature, and visibility, to prepare adequately. Local dive operators often provide valuable information about the site.

13. Carry Emergency Supplies

Have a dive knife, signaling devices (like a whistle or dive light), and a surface marker buoy (SMB) for safety. These tools can be crucial in emergencies.

Conclusion:

To experience the best scuba diving in India which offers a quintessential blend of stunning natural beauty and captivating marine life with its crystal-clear waters, vibrant coral reefs, and diverse aquatic species visit Paradise Beach. This spot provides an exceptional diving experience for enthusiasts of all levels. The serene environment, coupled with the beach's idyllic setting, ensures a memorable underwater adventure and a perfect escape from the everyday hustle.