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rebeccathenaturalist · 2 months

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Okay, y'all, it's rant time again. Buckle up.

A new report just came out from Public Citizen highlighting the dangers of using apps and AI foraging guides for identifying mushrooms, particularly when mushroom foraging. It's the latest in a string of warnings that are fighting against a tide of purported convenience ("just take a picture and get your answer instantly!")

I've ranted about this since last August, and I also wrote up a detailed post on how to identify an AI-generated foraging guide. I'm also including info on the limitations of apps and AI in The Everyday Naturalist: How to Identify Animals, Plants, and Fungi Wherever You Go. I'm not just saying this to toot my own horn--it's because nature identification, and teaching it to others, is literally what I do for a living. So this is a topic near and dear to my heart.

I teach a very, very specific sort of identification class; whether we're focusing on animals, plants, fungi, or all of the above, I walk people through a detailed process of how to observe a given organism, make note of its various physical traits and habitat, and use that information to try to determine what it is. I emphasize the need to use as many sources as possible--field guides, websites, online and in-person groups, journal articles, etc.--to make absolutely sure that your identification is solid.

And every year, I get people (thankfully, a very small minority of my students) who complain because my two-hour basic mushroom hunting class wasn't just five minutes of introduction and one hundred and fifteen minutes of me showing slide after slide of edible mushrooms. There are so many people out there who just want a quick, easy answer so they can frolic in the woods and blithely pick mushrooms like some idealized image of a cottagecore herbalist with a cabin full of dried plants and smiling frogs or something.

While I do incorporate a bit of information on getting started with the app iNaturalist in my classes, it is as only ONE of MANY tools I encourage people to use. Sure, it's more solid than most apps because, in addition to the algorithmic I.D. suggestions it initially gives you, other iNaturalist users can go onto your observations later and either agree with your I.D.s or suggest something different and even explain why.

And yet--even as great as iNat is, it and its users can still be wrong. So can every other I.D. app out there. And I think that is one thing that the hyper-romanticized approaches to foraging--and nature identification in general--miss. In order to be a good forager, you HAVE to also be good at nature identification.

And nature identification is an entire process that requires you to have solid observational and critical thinking skills, to be able to independently research using many different types of tools, and be willing to invest the time, patience, and focus to properly arrive at a solid identification--if not to species level, then as far down the taxonomic ladder as you can realistically manage. (There's a reason even the experts complain about Little Brown Mushrooms and Damned Yellow Composites!)

People mistake one single tool--apps--for the entire toolkit. They assume any book they find on Amazon is going to be as good as any other, and don't take the time to look up the author to determine any credentials or experience, or even whether they actually exist or not. It doesn't help that the creators of these products often advertise them as "the only [book/app/etc.] you need to easily identify [organism of choice]!"

I mean, sure, the world isn't going to end if you never question the birdsong results on the Merlin app, or if you go through life thinking a deer fern is just a baby western sword fern. But when we get into people actually eating things they find in the wild, there's often no room for error. There are plants and mushrooms that can kill you even if you only eat a tiny amount. And even if they don't kill you, they may make you wish you were dead for a few days while you suffer through a whole host of gastrointestinal nastiness and other symptoms.

There aren't any shortcuts if you want to be safe in your foraging. You HAVE to be willing to do the work. And any teacher, author, or product that says otherwise isn't being ethical. I'm glad to see more people speaking out against the "fast foodization" of foraging in regards to overreliance on apps and the existence of AI foraging books; I just hope it's enough to prevent more people from getting sick or dying.

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justavulcan · 6 months

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Backgrounds With Class: Golgari Agent

I'll be honest: Ravnica has always fascinated me. I was a high schooler when the first set came out, and I was immediately consumed creating characters for the setting. Now that we've actually received my long-awaited crossover, I thought it would be nice to write a love letter to the setting in the form of another Backgrounds with Class series. After all: some guilds have natural class choices tied in, from a conceptual standpoint. Boros and Fighter, Izzet and Wizard, Selesnya and Druid. But guilds aren’t class-restricted, and so I wonder what it would look like if you paired every class with every guild background, even the ones that seem at odds, like Izzet and Barbarian, or Gruul and Artificer. So I thought about it, and this is what I came up with. Some character concepts for each class, and each Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica background for each class.

Golgari Agent

The Golgari Agent Artificer is one of the kraul, a wingless merchant who recently took over the family business. Poling a narrow raft through the undercity’s sewer network isn’t glamorous work, but it does afford her a fine selection of various fungi and other ingredients for her elixirs and salves. If push comes to shove, her alchemical expertise is for more than just brewing potions; many an undercity predator has tasted her home-made deathspore bombs and opted for easier prey elsewhere.

The Golgari Agent Barbarian has been a member of his neighborhood’s hunting party since he became of age. Eschewing moodmark paint in favor of a hunter’s mottled camouflage pigments, he knows how to track and run down prey with the pack coordination of a wolf. This talent’s not hyperbole, either; his last encounter with one of the Selesnya’s ledev guardians supplied him with a fine wolf-pelt cowl he wears proudly over his hunter’s paint. Sometimes he even thinks the spirit of the wolf takes over on the hunt; it would account for the times he’s come to after a kill with blood on his face.

The Golgari Agent Bard knows better than most how things of import can turn up anywhere. A findbroker by trade, her ability to discover the history behind any gewgaw or trinket she scrounges up has more than doubled her profit on occasion. Gifted with a turn of phrase and the eerie, low-pitch ocarina she cares for like a child, her ambitions don’t stop at finding lost art- she yearns to be the first to rediscover some buried vault or basement thought long lost.

The Golgari Agent Cleric, in accordance with the Swarm’s care for the cycle of life and death, has been responsible for dozens of acts of euthanasia in her life. It doesn’t take an expert to recognize when a hunter’s been taken by zombie fungus, or when a red reaver bloom’s explosive dispersal drives a whole apartment block mad with aggression. It just takes care and respect for the final solace of death to ease people’s suffering. That her focus also comes in handy fending off territorial disputes is icing.

The Golgari Agent Druid is, technically, a drudge, one of the zombified dead that the Swarm relies on for muscle, both on the farm and the battlefield. However, unknown processes allowed the fungal parasite to seize full control of the host, and arrive at a consciousness of their own. Now, they’re busy determining the meaning of their new existence. While they work it out, they shamble about the Undercity, working odd jobs tending livestock and helping farmers with their natural understanding of other fungi.

The Golgari Agent Fighter is militant, a troll-blooded human with the strength of arm and heart to testify to his lineage. While for the moment just one of the many toughs that lurk around the Undercity looking for easy prey, his true goal is far less provincial: to climb the Swarm’s political ladder and become one of Jarad’s closest advisors or even his bodyguard. To this end, he’s quick to speak out in aggression against surface- dwellers intruding on his domain, or take the initiative and lead a raiding party himself.

The Golgari Agent Monk was always gifted with swiftness of arm and wit; as a nymph he scrapped with his siblings more days than not, and has since taken to far more dangerous partners to improve her skills. He mostly works as a guide for the rare surface-dweller to travel below the sunlit streets, and even distills his own moonshine from fermenting fruit and the ample yeast colonies on his travels. He’s become quite the alcoholic aficionado, and claims he fights even better when he’s had a few drinks.

The Golgari Agent Paladin was, like many of his Ordruun kin, originally slated to join the Boros Legion as a cadet when he came of age. He did, but when a raid went bad and he was left for dead in the Undercity by a sergeant he knew to be corrupt, he swore he wouldn’t leave the darkened streets and buried closes of Ravnica until the man lay dead before him. A childhood roaming the near-surface reaches and a minotaur’s innate sense of direction have served him well, and his new guild feeds the cold core of his desire for vengeance happily so long as it’s pointed at their mutual enemies.

The Golgari Agent Ranger always liked bugs. Wasn’t much of a choice, really, living in one of the many tenement buildings sunk below the sunlit streets of upper Ravnica- you learned to deal with the scurrying things of the world young. Cultivating a unique magical bond with them was the work of many long nights, but the result has been beyond reproach- his many tiny friends are stronger than they look, and complement his hunting well as they ensure that his prey can never truly escape.

The Golgari Agent Rogue has aspired to become one of the Ochran ever since one killed his abusive parents in front of him. Starry-eyed about becoming one of the Swarm’s most famous killers, he moved to the Undercity the next week, escaping the home of his blood family to find new kin. He had a rough time of it, begging and sweeping out chimneys, but he picked up the poisons quickly, and has always been slight enough to slip down sewer pipes and chimneys to find the target.

The Golgari Agent Sorcerer was a washout before he was anything of real use- literally. Originally an experimental attempt at forming a drake-human krasis for the Guardian Project, he was mistaken by a careless lab assistant for a failure and flushed out of his transformation tank before his scales, wing flaps, and poison glands fully developed. Recovered by a rot farmer accustomed to handling the runoff from the Simic lab in question, he’s grown to appreciate his new environment- and has already misdirected or slain the first attempts of the lab’s owner to track him down for retrieval.

The Golgari Agent Warlock always made a point of delving deeper and into tighter environs than his contemporaries. Never a good fit with hunter or shaman, he explored the depths of the Undercity all on his own before stumbling one day into an as-yet undiscovered chamber. The figure sitting on the throne there was enormous in size and patched together from all different creatures, but when it stirred to see the boy before it, all it did was offer him a set of knucklebones on string. Taking them was the beginning of something, and now the man treasures the talisman that forms the link to his patron.

The Golgari Agent Wizard has been a rot farmer for decades. It’s only now, lately, that he’s set out to travel and study magic in the hopes of winning his farm back. It was taken from him by a devkarin lich, an objective lesson in might making right within the Swarm, and he hopes to master enough of the necromancer’s art to bend the new owner’s undead farmhands to his will. He’s quickly finding that things are very big outside his secluded cavern home, and even that he likes it- perhaps enough to keep him from going back.

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nora-kano-rokii · 1 year

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TW!! Mentions of kidnapping and a bit of blood

Alhatiham x Kaveh angst

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"Kaveh. Kaveh listen to me."

The blonde was limp against his body, no words uttered from his mouth. Alhaitham strokes his hair softly, moving closer to him so that his words directly above his ears.

"Don't worry, Kaveh. We'll bring you back home. You're not with them anymore, you're safe. Hang on in there."

"How is he?"

"I don't know. He's just... completely devoid of anything. There's nothing wrong with him, physically. But he just won't talk. Or answer me. Or eat, drink. Any of that. It's like he's empty. I don't know how else to describe it." Tighnari shuffles a bit in his seat. Hair disarrayed from countless hours trying to help his friend has left him baffled at best.

"What do you mean? Surely it's something that can be fixed with some deep sleep, poor guy seems like he hasn’t slept in weeks." The General Mahamatra steps closer to their table of discussion. "It's a good thing we found him today, who knows what they'll do to him if we hadn't barged in"

"Do not talk about those bastards in front of me," Haitham glares at the floor, eyes darkening, "I'll make sure they face far heavier consequences."

"I'm not trying to shift the topic from Kaveh to them. I'm just saying, sleep and rest is probably what he needs right now." Cyno replied, taking a seat beside the botanist.

"I'm not an expert in the form of biology," Tighnari sighs, "but I don't think this is something I can fix without knowing what caused it. I'm going to need data from the interrogation or something."

Alhaitham's eyes seems to be in a trance. For the first time in a while, he wasn't sure what to do.

The job of being a Grand Sage did take a lot of time and attention away from Kaveh, but he didn't think it would come to a situation like this. He came home from work one day, and just... nothing. There was no one in their home. Not his roommate, no food on the table, and even his table that was filled with artwork is now empty.

There was no way he decided to move out on a whim, right?

Even if that was the case, where would Kaveh go?

Alhaitham made sure to make Kaveh treat this house as his own home. As /their/ own home. He made sure to make Kaveh know that this house also belongs to him, and he is always welcome to it.

But perhaps, his lack of presence made Kaveh's confidence in this knowledge waver. Anyhow, he didn't think much of it at the time. He figured Kaveh would've stayed with Tighnari at Gandharva Ville, like he usually does.

What he doesn't usually do is go missing for more than 5 days without notice.

The first clue he got was from Cyno, saying he hadn’t seen Kaveh even though he made regular trips to Gandharva Ville frequently that week.

"Then, he's not with Tighnari?"

"I haven't seen him anywhere. Nari didn't bring him up in any conversations either."

"Are you sure he didn't leave a note?"

Alhaitham shook his head, "There was nothing left in his room. Everything of his is either gone or in disarray. I thought he had left quickly."

"That's weird... even from Kaveh. I've never seen him like this." The General Mahamatra seems to be deep in thought. "I'll gather some information on this. Something tells me this has nothing to do with just a simple leave."

That conversation happened 2 weeks ago. Just today, they traveled across the desert to find a camp of Eremites holding Kaveh hostage.

Despite doing their best to avoid any type of conflict, it still ended with Alhaitham getting a broken arm. But that didn't matter.

His sins didn't matter. Nothing of him matters when his sunshine has lost all light in his eyes.

After trudging back to Gandharva Ville, all hope seems lost when Kaveh doesn't respond to anything. They had accidentally encountered a group of hostile fungi that gave Kaveh a bad injury. But then, they all noticed at the moment of impact, he didn't move.

He didn't yelp. Didn't cry. He just sat there. Staring at the fungi, then at his bruised and blooded arm, back at the fungi. And then just nothing.

He just spaced out.

After ruling it out as just exhaustion and lack of energy, the group continued, hoping it'll be a bit better after he's seated in a comfortable environment.

Seems like it didn't get better.

A deep sigh came out of the Grand Sage as he stood up for the door. Nari's ears perked up at the sudden motion. "Where are you going?"

"To get that data."

"You don't wanna see him first? Though I'm not sure what you could do with him right now."

"... I'll visit in a bit."

And with that, the door slammed a bit too harshly than as it's supposed to be.

A couple days later, Alhaitham came back to Gandharva Ville with a clipboard on hand. As he hands it to Tighnari, the botanist tries to ignore the tiny blood patches on random pages placed throughout the document.

"So, uh... What did you do to them?"

"None of anyone else's business," Alhaitham glared, "I'd like to see him now."

Tighnari sighs as he places the document on top of his research table, "Yeah, sure. Maybe you can coax something out of him. I don’t know how long I’ve tried, but hopefully you can do something about him."

No noise was made when they entered. No sight or greeting followed as they walked towards the bed. Occupying the bed was nothing like how Alhaitham imagined Kaveh would ever look like.

He looked terrible. He looked nothing like himself.

Nari gestured his head to Kaveh and left.

"...Hey" he spoke softly as he stood beside the bed.

No response.

"How have you been feeling?"

...

He sighs, "Kaveh, I know I might not be the person you want to see right now."

"I admit, everything is my fault." He takes Kaveh's limp hand and intertwines it with his. An attempt to comfort, and an attempt to confess his feelings.

Before he regrets not telling if the other doesn't survive.

He knew it was a bit too sudden to say something like this. And it wouldn’t be Kaveh’s ideal confession either. But he dreads the regret more than anything right now.

"I should've known," he continues, voice in a whisper, "I should've known something was wrong."

'I thought you've finally decided to leave. And I thought I was too harsh on you. I thought maybe... maybe you just had enough of me."

Carmine eyes did not drift away for the void it was seeing. Alhaitham decided to squeeze his roomate's hand to take his attention for a bit, but to no avail.

"Kaveh, I really care about you. Do not heed to whatever they said back in the desert. They don't know you. All they know is you're a smart way to gain money. They don't know who you are,"

A slight pause as Alhaitham tries to regulate his emotions.

"They don't know about the true Light of Kshahrewar and his creations. How brilliant he is. How he's the reason someone gets up everyday and lives life even though everything has changed."

"You're the reason someone smiles everyday. You and your little antics made someone laugh everyday. You and your laughter made someone fall in love with you."

"I wish I had better words and a better situation to tell this to you, Kaveh. But seeing as you are now..." he took note how the blonde still hasn't moved or speak the whole time, "I'm afraid I can't wait for that moment to happen any longer."

"It's better late than sorry, you know?"

Still no reply.

At that moment, all hope seems lost for Alhaitham. Is sunshine is long gone. The golden sparks in his eyes left, no more colors in his pale cheeks. The joyful person he once knew has left nothing but an empty husk that resembles the roommate he loves so dearly.

Alhaitham knew not to mess with facts. He believes in brain over heart. Science over feelings. His brain tells him that there is no more hope until Tighnari finishes analyzing the problem.

However, his heart tells him to continue and stay.

"I... really don't know how to tell you in any other way. Kaveh, if you can hear me, if you're still here," another squeeze of the hand, "I love you."

Alhaitham didn't know why he was hoping some sort of reaction of Kaveh. A glance, maybe. Or a soft spoken word. He had always imagined his confession to be heartwarming.

Not heartbreaking. He didn't confess to Kaveh, he just confessed to an empty puppet. Disappointed, he feels his heart shatter.

Alhaitham didn't know why. He'd never felt this emotional. There was always a logical explanation or fact to shove his feelings for another day. But for this one,

There simply was none. There was no denying that his heart does not beat for the same Kaveh anymore.

Deducing he has nothing left to do or say, he gave up on what his heart tells him and slowly let go of his hand.

"I'm sorry, Kaveh."

"I'm so sorry," Alhaitham knew there was so no use in saying sorry. "I'm sorry if i ever made you feel insecure,"

Why is he saying it?

"I'm sorry if I hadn't told you how beautiful you look everyday,"

Why can't he stop?

"I'm sorry if I ever scolded you too hard,"

It's useless, so utterly useless.

"I'm sorry I hadn't helped you in your time of need,"

Stop it!! It's pointless!!!

“I’m sorry I hadn’t told you that you have the best smile,”

STOP IT! STOP! WHY AREN’T YOU STOPPING?

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you I love you."

A tear fell and hit the bed.

Was that his? He isn't sure. His feelings are all over the place.

What WAS he supposed to feel? Sadness? Anger? Disappointment? Frustration? Guilt? Perhaps all of them.

Wiping his tear away, he decided it was time to leave. Forget about what his heart said. He’s a logical man and he should’ve left long ago. A sliver of hope? What a joke. He can clearly tell that Kaveh is probably long gone.

Then why is he still trying so hard to convince himself…?

Shaking his head, he decided to move away from the bed. As if it’ll help him get over these feelings. That’s what he thought.

That is, until he saw carmine eyes on him.

In an instant, all hope is refilled onto his heart. Walking slowly to the bed, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Kaveh?”

And as he walked closer, he noticed tears building up in beautiful eyes.

“Was…” his voice soft and weak, ”Was everything you said to me… true?”

“Yes.” Alhaitham still couldn’t believe what he was experiencing, ”Of course it’s true, my sunshine. I would never lie to you about these feelings of mine.”

A choked sob came out of the blonde, “They… they told me…” Tears welled up and started to spill.

Alhaitham quickly kneeled beside his bed and took his hands in his.

“They told me I was worthless…,” Kaveh starts to cry. It broke Alhaitham’s heart all over again. His sunshine isn’t supposed to cry, “They told me no one would come for me,”

“They told me that no one loved me. No one ever did. No one cared for me enough to come for me.”

“I’m sorry, Kaveh. I didn’t mean to take that long-“

“Nobody came. I waited, they waited, and when they knew, they’d tell me all those things again.”

“and again,”

“and again.”

Alhaitham carefully held Kaveh’s frail face and turned him towards him, as if he’s made of glass that would break under a single touch. “Kaveh,” he breathed, “I love you. Don’t let what anyone else says makes you forget that,”

“You’re not worthless. If that is the case, then why would they take you? My love, my sunshine, please,” Alhaitham brought his hand up and kissed each knuckle with all the love he can give.

“My beautiful padisarah. I love you. And I’ll never stop telling you that I do. If you want me to say it a hundred times, I’ll do it.”

“Haitham, please…” he sobbed, “you… really do?”

“I do.”

Kaveh couldn’t take it anymore as he lunged towards Alhaitham and hugged him. Hiding his face in the crook of Alhaitham’s neck, he sobbed and cried and wailed, clinging onto Alhaitham as if he’d lose him.

Alhaitham was taken aback, but nevertheless grateful that Kaveh has come back. The Kaveh that he knows and loves.

“My beautiful padisarah,” Alhaitham kissed his head, “I love you so.”

-End

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This is the first fic ive written after a LOOONG time-!! Back in 2018 i was a writer in wattpad but then lost my account so k stopped writing. I'm trying to get back into it as to make fillers in between my EXTREMELY LONG DRAWING PROCESS so yall wont get bored at least :'D. This fic was first uploaded to Twitter, so if you like my stuff please do consider going there and following!! Thank you!!

#genshin impact #genshin #haikaveh angst #haikaveh fluff #haikaveh #alhaitham x kaveh #kaveh x alhaitham #genshin alhaitham #alhaitham #genshin impact kaveh #genshin kaveh

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straydaddy · 1 year

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Glimpses into arctic Pandora (all artwork is by me, and the signatures are my more used online nickname)

Tauk lives with a lot of lakes. She's a skilled maker of fishing nets and other fish traps. She also makes dyed fabrics. Her grandmother is an expert of local natural pigments, fungi and berries alike, and she's a keen student. She's strong, outspoken and adventurous. An energetic powerhouse with her feet in the ground. While she has her heart in the right place for the most part, she does not always understand those who have less social skills, and might appear judgemental/intimidating to such cases. This is because she grew up being quite secure in herself, and doesn't seem to understand that not everyone can take such for granted.

Mokri'ena is bit of a daydreamer and an introvert. She loves to learn about stories from across Pandora. She has heard of the Sky People, Toruk Makto and the legendary warrior Neytiri. Many say she kind of exists outside of the moment she's in, outside of her body. She's interested in news and history. She always feels intimately aware of how frail safety and peace are. She can't stop thinking about the Sky People, or the Omaticaya and the Metkayina she has never met. She grew up being a little weird, - or well, just not really understanding other kids' concept of fun. She was a little artist who preferred her imagination over her loud and more sociable peers. As an adult she's keen to help those in need, as she has known the pain of being forgotten.

Tulìm is from a coastal settlement, from a terrain broken into many islands.

He was always an adventurer, - as he was born in a mainland tribe. The coastal islands always made him curious because he wanted to see more of his world, so he moved there and joined a trader ship crew.

For most of his life he was simply a trader ship navigator, and later a the captain.

He commands one of the biggest trader ships of the region. He has seen many lands outside of his own, and is known for his skills with diplomacy and leadership. He doesn't lead to benefit himself, but to serve his people and especially his crew.

His nemesis for life is an ice na'vi pirate. He spends his old, last days in a bitter hunt of his nemesis, until his worn-out body succumbs into the ocean for the last time.

Keyuk is the Olo'Eyktan of one of the many ice na'vi tribes. The era of his leadership has been a stable and quiet one. While a part of his humour is making a serious face to trick people, he's actually more known for his easygoing and humble personality. He knows his responsibilities, but has a pretty egalitarian approach to his social life. He breaks some of the traditions of his people by dressing like an average member of his society. He's never been a fan of trying to act like more than you are, - he's all bite and with none of the bark! This makes him well-respected and liked among his people.

The two main types of arctic na'vi:

(Left) Those of the land, - descenants of forest na'vi similiar to the Omaticaya, but with adaptations to cold, long winters. Most of their body is covered in fur.

(Right) Those of the waters, - arctic cousins to reef na'vi like Tau'nui and Metkayina. These 'ice na'vi' are even more extremely adapted to spending time in water than reef na'vi are, having even more powerful swimming tails and upwards-facing nostrils for easily getting air between their long dives. They don't have fur, but regulate their body heat by the layers of fat under their skin, much like cetaceans on Earth. Like reef na'vi, ice na'vi also have a symbiotic relationship with a tulkun-like sapient species.

This is an arctic viperwolf. Fur grows between their armor plates and most of the plateless regions of rheir bodies. Their shape is rounder and stubbier than that of the tropical viperwolves, for trapping more heat in their bodies.

Arctic ikran relatives also exist, and are popular flying steeds to many snow na'vi tribes. They're covered in filamentous structures resembling little hair fans.

#pandora #avatar #james cameron's avatar #na'vi #na'vi clan #na'vi oc #reef na'vi #arctic na'vi #snow na'vi #ice na'vi #avatar 2009 #avatar the way of water #atwow #avatar oc #my art

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sulkybbarnes · 2 months

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Hello ! I have read -per your tags- that you are a fungi biologist !!! First this is very cool, second i have a question about MOLD if its ok :)

Can you eat jam where the mold has been removed ? What is the general rule if there is one behind NO eating bc mold or ok eating if removed ? Im really curious about it +is it true that mold can grow in your body ? (I had a pack of unfortunately moldy tobbaco and a friend insisted on smoking it and i had to use the argument that they would become Moldy From The Lungs to stop them.... but is this true ?)

Anyhow, thank you for your time and keep on fungin' <3

Hey pal! First of all, thank you for the question (and for thinking fungal biology is cool haha), it was absolutely delightful for me to get this. I wish people talked to me about fungi outside of work more often! 🍄

As a disclaimer: my work is mostly molecular biology work on Saccharomyces cerevisiae aka Brewer's Yeast, and occasionally Candida albicans, and neither of these is closely connected to the mold question. I'm by no means a food safety expert either, but with that out of the way:

The short answer is that I would not eat jam with mold on it, even if you remove the mold. I would say that the rule to go by is that if it's a soft food with mold on it, discard the whole thing. If it’s something "hard" like a hard cheese, then it's probably safe to cut away the mold and eat the cheese. I found this little guide that seems quite reasonable and helpful to me, and it’ll tell you more about what types of food grow mold and how to handle them if you scroll to the end!

The long answer: Molds, like a lot of fungi, grow multicellular filaments called hyphae (Brand & Gow, 2009; Brand, 2012) which are only micrometres long. Meaning that you would need a microscope to be able to see them. Think of them as invisible roots or arms that can spread through your food. The fuzzy, green/grey/white manifestation that you see of the mold is a “colony” or in other words a network of cells or hyphae (Miguélez et al., 1999) depending on the organism. If you can see it, it is because it has been growing for a while, and that most likely means that your food is already contaminated with the “roots”. And these aren’t harmless; because depending on the type of mold, they can produce mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are biochemicals the cell makes which can cause serious harm to your health (Gonkowski et al., 2020). They have been known to cause allergic reactions, gastrointestinal issues, and poisoning. This is all dependent on the type of mycotoxin and the concentration of it, and the individual’s health, but I reckon this is the case where you want to be safe not sorry. From Gonkowski et al: “It is known that mycotoxins may act on many internal organs and systems, including, among others, nervous, reproductive and immunological systems, metabolic processes and endocrine glands” (Rykaczewska et al., 2019). In some cases, bacteria can also grow with the mold and cause illness. So, the long answer also boils down to: no, don’t eat it, it’s really not worth the risk.

And, yes, mold can grow in human lungs if the spores are inhaled. Granted that is most likely to happen with immunocompromised individuals as far as I know, but! I would advise against sniffing it at any rate haha.

I'm including the references in the text and at the end for fun, in case you’re interested to read more about this or see the microscopy images in the papers!!

Happy and safe eating 🍄😊

Brand, A. (2012) ‘Hyphal growth in human fungal pathogens and its role in virulence’, International Journal of Microbiology, 2012, pp. 1–11. doi:10.1155/2012/517529.

Brand, A. and Gow, N.A. (2009) ‘Mechanisms of hypha orientation of fungi’, Current Opinion in Microbiology, 12(4), pp. 350–357. doi:10.1016/j.mib.2009.05.007.

Gonkowski, S., Gajęcka, M. and Makowska, K. (2020) ‘Mycotoxins and the enteric nervous system’, Toxins, 12(7), p. 461. doi:10.3390/toxins12070461.

Miguélez, E.M., Hardisson, C. and Manzanal, M.B. (1999) ‘Hyphal death during colony development in streptomyces antibioticus: Morphological evidence for the existence of a process of cell deletion in a multicellular prokaryote’, The Journal of Cell Biology, 145(3), pp. 515–525. doi:10.1083/jcb.145.3.515.

Rykaczewska, A. et al. (2019) ‘Imbalance in the blood concentrations of selected steroids in pre-pubertal gilts depending on the time of exposure to low doses of Zearalenone’, Toxins, 11(10), p. 561. doi:10.3390/toxins11100561.

#this is sooo many words I'm sorry #absolutely loved it though thanks for letting me be a nerd for a bit <3 #asks #mara talks for ts

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cuprohastes · 7 months

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I shall now pick this object up...

Garf, Un-Named Male, Phalanges Mittens and Cat Fantastic were in theory working on part of the live ecosystem reclamation down in Sanitation.

Not an especially unusual situation, since they were after all, really high tech sanitation engineers from the future; or from their point of view, Life Support Tech.

A job's a job and people like to breathe clean air, not die of 'drinking water' or have to wade through sewage of any level.

The issue had been traced to monitoring probe that was hallucinating, and thus the apparent issue had been resolved in two minutes of work, three of swearing at a stuck bolt, and ten of getting Cat Fantastic to go get the replacement part, which had led to a long discussion between Garf and Un-Named male about how weird it was to see a Little Guy without a Big Atrix.

"Yes -- but Cat drives that tool trolley around, so it helps." Phalanges said, referring to the robotic workbench nicknamed "The Office".

The workbench was originally designed to follow a worker around, but since Phlanges didn't have a pouch for his Little Guy the way Garf did,t he and Dave had converted the thing to keep Cat warm.

Later, once they got the manual remote replaced by a unit Cat could use, they'd added a basket for snacks so Cat could do a drinks and sandwich run to the Cafeteria, and a cargo box to haul parts and tools.

Around then Dave herself showed up and took a professional look through the viewport at huge tray of essentially very wet dirt that a variety of mosses and fungi and earth plants were cohabiting on.

Dave of course was the certified expert in this system, so it behoved her to stick her snout in and take a look-see.

"Stuck gas probe?" she guessed and then rather theatrically reached in and picked up a bottle of Lychee soda from the snack storage using two claws.

Garf and the two Little Guys reacted appropriately with amazement and Phalanges who was actually Human and usually fairly good at this stuff had to say, "OK what am I missing?".

Almost everyone held up their hands.

Phalanges looked around and then held up his hand.

"Oh. Oh!" he said.

Tsin have three fingers and an opposable thumb. All of them have large, sturdy digging claws.

Atrix have two fingers and two thumbs, which have thick, conical claws.

Terrafruit Fruits of Earth (Tee Em) bottles have no claws but are very smooth and incredibly hard to hold unless one get's their palm and fingers around it... and Dave had lifted it human style.

Dave's not human. She's a Tsin. This may or may not have been mentioned before.

Phalanges, biologically human but extremely well integrated with non-human ergonomics gets it.

"OK... I can tell you're dying to show off." he said.

"You bet your sweet bippy I am!" said Dave who's mastery of colloquial English was charmingly archaic.

She held out a hand and on examination: There were silicone pads fixed in place on the inside curve of her claws - Textured pads.

"Hang on, is that...?" said Phalanges, and Dave said "Yes! Fingerprints!"

"Who's?"

"Nobody's. It's a generated, semi symmetrical pattern, and they're all the same." explained Dave. "They're called Humanfingers."

"A name that will not cause any confusion or sound weird and creepy." said Phalanges wryly. "Though I can see the use."

"Yeah. They were invented on the station." Dave said proudly. "And I think the marketing lab is working on the name. As per normal it's Eat your Own Mushrooms time so I have been Authorised to distribute everyone's test sets. Let me just reach into my pocket..."

Dave made a show of taking out individual packets with just her claw tips. Two small sets for Un-Named Male and Cat Fantastic. One for Garf, who started by helping un-named Male get his on so he could help her.

Phalanges took the hint and helped his Little Guy, and soon Cat was practicing with them on The Office's control pad, Un-Named male doing some backseat driving.

"And of course, because the computer was told to automate the manufacturing and disbursement for all non-humans based on staff profiles..." said Dave with glee.

"Oh no." said Phalanges and held out a hand.

Dave dropped the last packet into his hand. It contained ten thimble like objects with oval pads on each.

"The print team were so amused when they got the error that they didn't have the right biometric data that they whipped up a unique set for you." Dave told her buddy.

Phalanges - Priorly the other Dave of Dave The Human and Dave the Human ceremoniously put them all on and made menacing finger wiggles. "You know this means that I can no longer be identified for my many future crimes via fingerprint." he said.

Dave looked at Garf, who shrugged and said, "Don't look at me. This monster... you created."

#Station Stories #Tsin #Atrix #Dave The Human

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maliciousmalfeasance · 1 year

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i don't get to walk very much lately

not because im short on time, or lovely places to go- but because my body has been playing a nasty trick on me- or maybe my body is the trick- it all feels like one big, terrible drawn out joke that stopped being funny before it even left the lips of whoever's been telling it over and over for the last 2 years.

Worse yet- I keep falling for it. (ha ha, get it? Because I fall over...) I keep entertaining the idea that it's better now! I'm seeing slight improvements so who knows maybe soon I can pack the shower chair away and never look at it again and I can walk down to the lake and sit there like I did- a week- years ago- eons away from now. It's silly. I see my partner witnessing it, each time. The wind up, the expectation and maybe- even the actual merciful plateau for a while. Enough energy to garden and clean and get a start on the mountain of "when im doing better" tasks that keeps growing and looming in my periphery. And then- I hit the wall again. My body knocks me out and drags me aching and cursing back to bed. I've no idea how long I'll be back at square one.

I haven't been able to go for walks often- is what I'm saying. Which is what has made the few times I have been able to go for walks, so magical. I've been really into moss! Strange fixation to have when there are many more pressing and beautiful things to snatch my attention but I find I keep my eyes down a lot as a general habit (better keep an eye on these feet- you never know where they're going) and I find an inordinate amount of comfort in little tufts of green tucked into the darkest, dankest crevices of suburbia and bush land.

Same goes for lichen, fungi, and just life in general. I've been keeping fish and plants and- maintaining little islands of life is excellent enrichment in my enclosure, I gotta say. I love the reminder that life persists even when I feel so cut off and vulnerable and sick. I love my snails and shrimp and fish. I get disproportionately sad when I can't manage to work on my gardening and fish-keeping projects. Watching shows and movies is still a fun thing to do with others but when I'm by myself it's really lost its lustre. I can't help but associate watching tv with being exhausted and barely functioning at this point because when I'm too tired and unwell to think coherently, I watch something to try and keep myself occupied and awake.

Anyways all this to say- I want to document my walks some more, and my outings in general. With film wherever possible, because this way I can surround myself with images of outside and hope when I'm in this rut again next. Because something tells me this rut is going to remain a frequent stop in my life- might as well make it a nice little rut to get stuck in. My body is forcing a lot of rest on me at the moment. That is what it is. Better not to turn the rest into torture by sucking all the joy out.

I hope your life has opportunities for rest, too. And life! I recommend keeping plants-if you need plant advice I'm no expert but I can try my best. If you can't keep plants alive consider yourself a plant and keep yourself well watered and make sure you get some sun on your leaves and soil on your soles (souls? you heathens.) occasionally.

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hvacsystemfixing · 1 year

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Choosing HVAC Repair Services

If you have an HVAC system in your home, you may find yourself in need of repair services from time to time. These services will help you keep your home comfortable and cool while reducing your energy bills. While some repairs are simple, there are also many more complex issues that require the help of an expert. Choosing the right company is key to getting the job done right.

Before you hire an HVAC service, be sure to do a little research. Look online and ask around. Get a feel for the company's reputation and the types of services they offer. The fulkerson company have the right licensing and equipment to handle your HVAC system. You can also look at the reviews left by other customers. If possible, ask for recommendations from friends or colleagues.

If you are looking to get your air conditioning or furnace repaired, be aware that some jobs are simple and others are more complex. Some HVAC repair services offer flat rate pricing on smaller jobs so that you can save money. However, you should expect to pay more if you hire a company that offers emergency services.

It is always a good idea to get a professional to do your HVAC repair. Not only will they do the work correctly, but they will also ensure that it is done safely. An experienced technician should have liability insurance to protect you from accidents. They should also be open and honest about all aspects of the service.

The first thing to do is to make sure your thermostat is working properly. You should also look for signs of trouble. If you hear loud noises or if your unit is making vibrations, you should get it checked immediately. View here for more insights on the best heating and cooling services near me.

Another problem that can arise is low humidity. If the indoor coil is not clean, it can cause low humidity. If it is dirty, mold and fungi can begin to build up. If you see warm air coming out of the vents, this could indicate that the coil needs to be cleaned.

If you have an air conditioner, you should also be sure to change your filters on a regular basis. These filters are designed to block dust and debris from entering your HVAC system. The filter should be replaced at least once a month to increase the efficiency of your unit.

You should also lubricate your condenser fan motor. If your condenser has oil ports, you should use SAE 20 oil. You should also check to see if there is a leak in the refrigerant. If you see a leak, this may signal a problem with the compressor. You can also check the contact/relay switch, which is the switch that turns on the compressor. If this is malfunctioning, the compressor will not be able to cool the air.

Your system should be checked before cooling season. This will prevent you from needing costly repair services. You can even opt for a maintenance plan that will help you stay cool year round. These plans can be pricey, but they can pay for themselves in the long run by catching problems early and ensuring your unit is kept in top shape. Find out more details in relation to this topic here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_conditioning.

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silverlab101 · 2 years

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Silverlab Ionic Colloidal Silver Healing Cream

We build longstanding relationships with our purchasers based on the belief. Healing Power of Touch At Alpha Energy we consider within the therapeutic power of touch. Healthy contact slows our heart rates and reduces anxiousness. This soap is also a remedy of symptoms colloidal silver for athlete's foot of such skin issues like eczema, psoriasis, pimples, parasitic afflictions, bacterial and fungal considerations and different pores and skin problems. Apple cider vinegar is believed to work like salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is a common wart therapy that peels away contaminated skin.

We are building the most complete on-line market for health and health in South Africa where providers, therapies and merchandise could be found and contacted in a couple of clicks. LIGHTARIAN Reiki Master and Teacher and Karuna Reiki Master and Teacher. I am also a psychic and join with the angels and guides during a reiki session . So I receive channeled massages from the guides and angels and likewise sometimes from people that cross over. My reiki session are 1 hr including a full channelled studying.

That was 7 August 2007, a day Sibu will never forget as a outcome of it modified his life forever. “That day, I ran from one lamppost to the following after which I walked from the next lamppost to another. By the time I received residence, I was exhausted and sore, however within me there was a lot of excitement. I did not need to share my plans with anybody as a result of I even have dissatisfied them too many times earlier than,” says Sibu. Trevor’s wife, Gaynor, and two sons, Evan and Jody , don’t eat the identical meals as him. They do have some sprouts and salads, but Gaynor prepares a special meal for her and the boys.

Follow up with the PCOS protocol to complete the method and treatment menstrual disorders and temper swings that accompany the acne and in some cases, facial hair. Any of the pores and skin products listed below can be useful. For washing use Body wash or Intimate cleansers that don't colloidal silver for athlete's foot cause or irritate acne. Over the years, BAC have formed many fantastic traditions, including the Bingo Evening, Chairman’s Breakfast, Aches and Pains and dinner dances, which have become the spine of their social calendar. Every Wednesday evening, after the Blitz, the membership hosts the Finish Line Pub.

Our handmade glycerine cleaning soap is considered one of the most indulgent and moisturizing soaps out there. Its unique properties permits it to be effective on regular, sensitive or hypoallergenic skin. Our soaps are made from 100 percent pure vegetable glycerine and accommodates a impartial pH to moisturise your skin. The combination of Colloidal Silver and MSM proves well to help in everyday ear, eye, and nose conditions.

If you have used one of many companies listed on the website that provides well being and health providers in Cape Town Metropolitan, then please add a review for the good factor about different users. Given the right guidance, empowerment and improvement, no impediment is to big for you to conquer. I assist annoyed individuals who feel caught of their private life and relationships to develop life expertise colloidal silver for athlete's foot, which are needed to move on to a victorious and pleased life. "Start the place you might be, with what you've. Just... start." Ijeoma Umebinyuo Feeling annoyed, caught in your private life? Health4you would like to suggest Fearless Wolf Life Coaching... Our philosophy at Tokai Medical Practice, Cape Town as common practitioners is solely that we work to offer comprehensive medical care in an expert and caring method.

Take 10 ml twice every day on an empty stomach or as directed. For finest outcomes use the Healing Gel in the morning and the Healing Cream before mattress time. This means your toes are not slippery in your footwear through the day. The fungi live off the dead pores and skin cells and calluses of the feet, especially on the pores and skin between the toes. Symptoms include irritation, burning, itching, scaling, cracking and blistering. Reverse osmosis filters take away every thing from the water, including any minerals which may have been current, leaving a mineral depleted water that is freed from dissolved minerals.

#pharmaceutical companies

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cementbrandindia · 2 years

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The Importance of Best Wall Putty for Home

This Diwali calls for a repaint. But now the major concern is- Is painting enough to give a perfect finish to your beautiful walls, or something more is required?

Have you heard about wall putty? If not, let me help you with this.

Let's have a discussion regarding this and continue reading to discover some interesting facts.

Wall putty has high plasticity that serves as the perfect base for painting. It gives your beautiful walls an ideal touch making the paint look more glossy and shiny.

The finishing of your dream home is what matters, giving an extraordinary look to your home.

It usually takes 16-24 hours for the wall putty to dry out! So it is suggested by the experts that the wall putty should be left for 5-7 days before the application of the paint. And the trick is to apply it as a thin layer so as to dry out easily.

What are the different types of Wall putty?

There are 2 different types of wall putty available in the market. Both of them are discussed below:

White cement wall putty-

It has the ability to bind materials together, which goes for the interiors as well as the exteriors. As white cement made of polymers and minerals gives a smooth and glossy touch to your walls.

Acrylic wall putty-

MP Birla Acrylic wall putty is best suited for the interiors of your beautiful home. Acrylic wall putty has a less binding capacity compared to white cement wall putty.

It gives a smooth and matte finish to the interior walls.

Advantages of using wall putty to the walls:

Durability- Applying wall putty increases the durability of the paint. It also makes the surface waterproof and prevents it from flaking out. Thus, protecting the expensive paint.

Fewer cracks- Giving a touch of wall putty to the walls, help them to have lesser cracks.

Scratch-resistant- Wall putty, having adhesive strength, makes it scratch resistant.

Classy finish- MP Birla wall putty makes your walls paint-friendly, giving them an extraordinary classy look and smooth finish.

Binding capacity- Wall putty has a great binding capacity, ensuring the stay of the paint.

Great Protection- It provides a strong resistance to algae and fungi. Thus, protecting you and your family not being harmed by it.

Nature-friendly- Wall putty does not have any kind of toxic substances, lead or oil.

Helpful Tips for using wall putty-

When using wall putty, it is safe to use a safety mask and goggles as you may inhale the dust.

You can also use some tools for ease of application-

Putty knife

Paint Scraper

Sanding Block

Sandpaper

Piece of cotton

Firm Brush

Water

MP Birla- Best cement brand in India:

MP Birla cement is the best cement manufacturer in India. It manufactures top-quality wall putty and has a strong business dealers network in Delhi (NCR), Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, and other parts of India.

Always go for the best cement brand in India, as they will not cheat you in terms of quality so as to sustain their name in the market.

Just painting walls works but for an extraordinary perfect finish, go for MP Birla wall putty.

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123roofmasters · 2 years

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Ensuring Your Roof Is in Great Condition: Benefits of Having a Professional Roof Inspection

The roof of your house is one of its most crucial but least considered features. Only when there is a problem or after a particularly strong storm has passed through, breaking nearby tiles, do homeowners typically think about hiring Roofing Installation Contractor in Buford Ga. However, having your roof inspected on a regular basis can have a number of advantages. Find out more about the advantages here, then get in touch with 123roofmasters.com to arrange a roof inspection.

Having a professional roof inspection has some advantages, such as:

Safety:

Without the correct safety gear and training, walking on a roof can be extremely dangerous. We never advise homeowners to climb onto their roofs; instead, we advise you to evaluate your roof from the ground. Due to nearby structures, the pitch of your roof, or if you are looking for smaller defects that are difficult to notice from a distance, this may be challenging. Hiring Roofing Installation Contractor in Gwinnett is a good idea to keep everyone safe.

Maintaining repairs:

You want to avoid having to deal with a major unexpected expense like replacing your roof because of damage. However, this shock can be prevented! Regular roofing inspections allow professionals to analyze any damage and, in most cases, make repairs before smaller problems develop into more serious ones. To avoid any problems, Roofing Installation Contractor in Norcross Ga can also do preventative repairs or services.

Lowering the danger of indoor harm:

Often, roof damage is not discovered by homeowners until leaks have caused ceiling damage within the house. You will be safeguarding both the inside of your home and the roof if you take care of your repairs before they turn into major issues. Water damage spreads quickly and can lead to the growth of dangerous mold and fungi on the interior of buildings, necessitating the replacement of much more than just the roof.

Reduce irrational claims:

You might avoid making an unjustified claim by having a Commercial Roof Replacement Gwinnett County expert evaluate your roof. This is particularly true if there has just been a significant storm in your neighborhood. Many homeowners may check their roofs after the storm has passed and submit claims to their insurance providers to make sure the roof is in excellent shape. However, by determining the condition of your roof, an inspection can help cut down on needless claims.

The expets at 123roofmasters.com can help you schedule your own roof inspection. To schedule a time for your inspection, get in touch with us by visiting the official website.

For More Info:-Experienced Roofers Lawrenceville Ga

Roofing Company Near Me

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brentstreeservice · 2 years

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Benefits of Employing a Tree Service Company

The industry of tree care uses arboricultural strategies to the constructed environment. This consists of backyards, parks, and also roadway edges. The field of tree service is not almost maintaining trees; it likewise includes protecting the health and wellness of metropolitan landscapes. Right here are some of the advantages of working with a tree solution business. You will not need to stress over unsafe or undesirable trees anymore. The industry is growing rapidly and also there are many different type of services to choose from.

An arborist is trained to check trees for damages and also to advise you on how to repair them. Tree services work around the clock, as well as usually have tools to dig out in blizzards. This implies they can be available 24 hours a day to make your life simpler. Along with decreasing your risk of injury, a tree solution firm can assist prevent the growth of conditions and also bugs, and also can also prevent the occurrence of an unsafe fungi. This link will open up your minds even more on this topic.

Tree service business are essential for the safety of the community and shield the natural appeal of residential or commercial properties. Their specialists understand how to safely eliminate wood debris without harming the trees. They likewise have the appropriate item services for parasite removal without damaging the trees. The best method to avoid the threat of insect invasion is to hire a certified arborist prior to beginning any type of work with your trees. If the tree is contaminated, a tree solution business can also treat it with a preventative solution.

When hiring a landscape design solution, make sure they have the correct tools and training to handle hazardous tree work. A landscaping company might have the understanding and experience to do light cutting and pruning of tiny trees, however they may not have the appropriate safety and security devices. If they don't have this tools, they can trigger a mishap and even damages to the residential property. You may be responsible for any kind of problems done to the property. If you're unsure concerning the correct devices, a landscaper can help you.

Tree service experts near me might be employed by communities, government companies, or landscape design firms. Their work tasks consist of checking trees for condition and insects. They might likewise execute tree elimination. Since tree removal can be hazardous, a tree service professional should carefully prepare all cuts and connections. They have to likewise comprehend and follow safety standards. If you have questions, call a tree service specialist today.

These experts are dedicated to supplying a healthy setting for their customers. A tree service company supplies detailed tree treatment solutions for property and industrial homeowner. Tree solutions makes use of hefty machinery as well as industry-standard equipment for tree pruning and also cutting. They also use emergency solutions for tree elimination. And, when the demand occurs, they can provide tree supporting and also cabling. Along with giving detailed tree treatment, Tree Solution additionally provides stump grinding solutions. This is because the firm knows what works and what doesn't. Get a general overview of the topic here: https://www.encyclopedia.com/plants-and-animals/botany/botany-general/tree.

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cordkite22 · 2 years

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Just how can Roofing Contractors Help out with Maintaining the Beauty of Your property?

When talking about roof maintenance, it is definitely a must in order to have it on a regular basis, preferably twice a year and especially after heavy rains and severe storms. This particular action is necessary to become able to detect any damage, leaks, and other needed vehicle repairs which is often done immediately in order that the problematic part remains to be limited plus the fixing expenses would be reduced. Calling for a new professional roof contractor may be a powerful move for house owners to save moment and effort. Allow me to share how they can help with your own roofing needs: That they help repair water leaks. Any leak will be noticed from the inside of your home, specially during heavy rains and storms. Make it a behavior to constantly check out the walls, ceilings, and even the particular attic for any kind of water stain and even leaks. Once an individual have discovered any kind of leakages, immediately speak to a roofing expert so that it can be fixed earlier and would likely avoid turning directly into a more critical roofing problem, which may even go even worse as to structural damages. Any leakages, when left unrepaired for quite a while, could grow molds and mildew, which can cause breathing diseases and allergies that can harm your family, specifically if you include kids around your house. They support repair damaged shingles. Damaged or missing https://www.cinchlocal.com/roofing-leads from the particular roof could become an indication there is another bigger problem to be discovered and addressed. Make contact with a roofing qualified once you see heaps of black or gray contaminants in downspouts and even gutters. Changing weather conditions could also cause your current roof to include cracks and crying, or even entirely strip off the particular entire shingle items. They help solve sagging roofs. Loose of the roof could either be found inside or outside. Any time you notice many of these thing, immediately contact a roof contractor. A new sagging roof could mean another main issue which may be because of weakened materials (due in order to the long time used), faulty unit installation, and accumulated debris. Immediate action will certainly prevent the issue from getting worse, which in turn would mean even more repair material and even costs will get needed. They support restore the coloring of your rooftops. Black or tarnished parts on your own roof are generally caused by fungi or mold expansion. Poor air blood circulation shaded parts associated with the roof, and even high humidity can definitely cause your roof to degrade and could direct to leaks. Your own roofing contractor may assess the standard of damage, plan away his steps in fixing it, and give an estimation for that cost. These people help fix utilized gaskets. A roof contractor can effortlessly detect fault items which homeowners or even those not really well-versed with roofing things can't notice. Gaskets near the chimney and vent loads are high mistake points since their own edges are more exposed than the particular other parts from the roof which will be flat. These destroyed and worn gaskets might cause other major roof problems. These people help replace your current roof when wanted. House owners must always keep track of their roof's era and be in a position to map out vehicle repairs or roof alternative after some period of time. An average roof continues for about twenty years. So, when an individual are aware of your current roof's age, an individual can plan forward of time, and you will also be safeguarding your family plus your investment.

#roofing leads

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thebashfulbotanist · 4 years

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Mushroom Rules and Taboos

Mushroom season is in full swing! There are a few topics one should always avoid when talking with mushroom hunters. I’m a moderator on a mushroom identification group of about 30,000 people, and if you start talking about one of these topics, your post or comment will be deleted! Here are a few rules one should follow when talking with fellow mushroom hunters (and yes, I know these sound like a cross between Karen complaints and fae rules).

1. Never ask for someone’s mushrooms spot. Asking for someone’s mushroom spot is tantamount to declaring you’re going to steal all of their mushrooms and leave them with nothing but severed stipes! This is very rude and hurtful. If you really need a hint as to where to find certain species, instead ask something like, “at what elevation in what mountain range did you find these?” That will allow the forager to give you a general answer, and won’t force them to give up their secrets. A kind forager will respond to, “Where is your mushroom spot?” with something like, “400m, Cascade foothills.” A less forgiving forager might stuff a wad of moss down your throat.

2. Do not argue about or even mention “cut versus pluck.” Whether you cut a mushroom from the ground with a knife or pluck it with your fingers has no significant effect whatsoever on the health of the mushroom population or how many mushrooms will come up the next year. There is a common misconception that cutting mushrooms with a knife is less damaging, but this is untrue. Cutting and plucking both don’t cause any harm! You’re just removing a fruiting body, and the real body of the mushroom is formed by mycelia underground. People feel really strongly about cut versus pluck, even if they know the different methods have no real effect on the fungi. Some people prefer to cut so others know they were there, or to keep their baskets clean, while others prefer to pluck to leave less visible debris in the forest, or to take more edible fungus. Either way: it should never be brought up. It’s a bannable offense in some groups - think, “We! Do not! Talk! About! The! Orangutan!”

3. Do not scold people for picking mushrooms they do not know the species of. This is called “pick shaming” in mushroom hunter communities. Sometimes, well-meaning folks will scold people for picking mushrooms they don’t know because they think it’s “wasteful” to pick a mushroom if they do not intend to eat it. This comes from a good place, since they’re obviously environmentally-conscious, but it also shows that they don’t know much about fungi. They are not plants! Revisit point 2: picking or cutting mushrooms has no effect whatsoever on the health of the fungus. More importantly, a lot of mushrooms need spore prints and a view of the entire specimen, from the base to the top of the pileus, to properly identify. In fact, to identify many toxic Amanita species, you must look at the volva at the base of the stipe, which requires pulling out the entire specimen. New foragers should indeed pick mushrooms to identify them - this is how they should learn.

4. This is more of a pet peeve, but: do not ask “is this edible?” or “is this magic?” before you know what mushroom species you’re working with. Few things irritate me and other mushroom experts as much as seeing a picture of a toxic mushroom with the question, “Edible?” but no request for id. There are three reasons for this: First, I don’t want to be responsible for whether you eat a mushroom and get sick from it. I can tell you what I think it is, and there’s a 99.99% chance I’m correct, but if I’m either wrong or you have a particular sensitivity to that species (and many people do to common species like Laetiporus conifericola), I don’t want to get the blame for “telling you it was fine to eat.” Many mushroom hunters make a point of giving only the identification and letting the requester research edibility on their own for this reason. Second, me telling you if something is edible is not helping you learn to identify or hunt mushrooms, it’s just giving you a cheap way to repeatedly stick Agaricus foundinmyyardicus on the forum and have someone else id it for you. Third, and more importantly, why are you putting things in your mouth if you don’t know what they are? WHY?! What is wrong with you?! Mushroom maggots are also edible, but you would not eat them!

5. Do not make unverified claims of mushroom medicinal use or, worse, offer medical advice unless you’re a trained and licensed professional. You can say, “There are some studies I found in this peer reviewed journal that indicate Trametes versicolor might be promising for such-and-such use,” but do not say stuff like, “Turkey tails cure cancer!” or, “Susan, I hear you had the flu. You should drink Ganoderma oregonense tea to boost your immune system!” Don’t risk poisoning someone, messing with their medication, or spreading pseudoscience by suggesting they use a mushroom for medicinal purposes unless you’re a trained medical professional. A forager who has casually read some journal articles is not a trained medical professional!

6. Don’t mock folks for asking for confirmation of an “easy to identify” mushroom species. You’d be surprised by how many people misidentify species that are as “easy” to identify as Cantharellus formosus. I would much rather forty people post chanterelles and one accidentally post Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca while asking for confirmation than forty one people blindly eat their mushroom haul, thinking they’re chanterelles, only for one to get sick on Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca. Be responsible, and remember you were a beginner once, too.

7. In identification groups, don’t give a definite identification unless you’re 100% sure of the mushroom someone is asking for an id of. If you’re unsure, say something like, “Looks like Laccaria bicolor,” or, “Compare to Amanita augusta.” Don’t say, “That’s Xerocomellus zelleri” with certainty unless you’re willing to bet on your mother’s life it’s Xerocomellus zelleri. This usually isn’t a big deal, but there was a bit of a kerfuffle on one of the mushroom forums a few years back when someone said, “That’s a matsutake!” about a deadly Amanita smithiana, and then proceeded to argue with David Arora, a legend among mycologists and the author of identification books like Mushrooms Demystified and All that the Rain Promises and More, upon being corrected.

8. When identifying mushrooms, always use scientific names. Common names are colorful and easy to remember, but different species might have the same common name, or other people might be unfamiliar with the common name you’re using. Some species don’t even have common names! It’s totally okay to give both a scientific name and a common name, though, if the common name exists.

#mushroom hunting #foraging #mushroom identification

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walaw717 · 3 years

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Single trees are extraordinary; trees in number more remarkable still. To walk in a wood is to find fault with Socrates’s declaration that ‘Trees and open country cannot teach me anything, whereas men in town do.’ Time is kept and curated and in different ways by trees, and so it is experienced in different ways when one is among them. This discretion of trees, and their patience, are both affecting. It is beyond our capacity to comprehend that the American hardwood forest waited seventy million years for people to come and live in it, though the effort of comprehension is itself worthwhile. It is valuable and disturbing to know that grand oak trees can take three hundred years to grow, three hundred years to live, and three hundred years to die. Such knowledge, thoughtfully considered, changes the grain of the mind. - Robert Macfarlane, The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot Recently we drove to Couer d’Alene. North of town, I saw a strikingly handsome building set in a grove of old-growth trees. It was not a natural landscape, but when the building was constructed, the developer had left some ancient Douglas fir and ponderosa pine and created the impression of a long solidity in the landscape for his construction. It is rare for a builder to go to such trouble because it is simpler and more economical to clear a lot and build than to build around trees and other natural landscape elements. As we sat at the traffic light and I studied the property with its balance of trees, the stone and woodwork of the building, I wondered how the trees had experienced this construction and the loss of so many other trees in that particular stand. Two years ago, I witnessed a tree apparently doing something that I suspect I was not meant to see. Marilyn had just placed a planter full of new young plants on a deck rail, which was under the canopy of a very ancient willow. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement and turned just in time to see the willow purposely lift a frond and stroke the young plants. The action was like an arm lifting and then stroking the plants, and the movement occurred twice, lifting and returning, lifting and returning like a parent might stroke the head of a much-loved child. I have had the privilege of many odd and spiritual experiences – especially after I moved to New Mexico. Still, this particular moment in the pacific northwest haunts me as maybe the most significant spiritual moment of my life. I feel as though I saw a moment we are not privileged to see, and if we do see, it is under the influence of a mind-altering chemical like LSD, a moment when our ego is de-potentiated and no longer in control of our perceptions. I have had such experiences using LSD, but that was 50 years ago, and I doubt that I was having a flashback at this late date. Humanity suffers incredible hubris. We speak of looking to space to find intelligent life when we are actually looking for life like us. I suspect if we ever do find life like us, it will be terrifying – it will be a life driven by insularism and an attitude that cannot see us as an equal and will more than likely only see us in terms of our utility or see us in terms of something in the way, much like we see trees, wolves and everything else on this planet. We now scientifically know that trees and plants in forests have a massive communication network of mutually sustainable interactions. “In the 1960s, CIA interrogation expert Cleve Backster experimented with polygraph machines when he stumbled onto something novel. He noticed what appeared to be a change in electrical resistance with one of the plants, to which he connected the polygraph equipment whenever he removed a leaf or even “threatened” to harm the plant by intent alone. He likened this sudden electrical pulse to a “scream” emitted by the plant in response to endangerment. While Backster’s theory was considered a crackpot idea, many would follow similar, unusual observations about the behavior of plants, which seemingly represented a sort of “communication” they might be capable of.

For instance, a 1989 AP article discussed what one physicist, named Ed Wagner, believed were evidence he found of plant communication via what he called “W-waves”: Physicist Ed Wagner says he has found evidence that trees talk to each other in a language he calls W-waves. “If you chop into a tree, you can see that adjacent trees put out an electrical pulse,” said Wagner. “This indicates that they communicated directly.” Explaining the phenomenon, Wagner pointed to a blip on a strip chart recording of the electrical pulse. “It put out a tremendous cry of alarm,” he said. “The adjacent trees put out smaller ones…. People have known there was communication between trees for several years, but they’ve explained it by the chemicals trees produce,” Wagner said. “But I think the real communication is much quicker and more dramatic than that,” he said. “These trees know within a few seconds what is happening. This is an automatic response.” Wagner has measured the speed of W-waves at about 3 feet per second through the air. “They travel much too slowly for electrical waves,” he said. “They seem to be an altogether different entity. That’s what makes them so intriguing. They don’t seem to be electromagnetic waves at all.” Another physicist, William Corliss, also took an interest in Wagner’s discovery, noting that, “The voltage measured by electrodes implanted in trees goes up and down as one goes higher and higher up the trees… incidentally, electricity does seem to affect plant growth.” In more recent years, the idea of plants capable of forms of “communication” has been considered a bit more thoughtfully and is not outright shunned by the scientific community. One leading modern researcher and advocate for the varieties of ways plants communicate is Suzanne Simard, whose work with plants has helped set new precedents for how interactions between various species of flora occur. Simard’s research began to coalesce around what became a doctoral thesis two decades ago, in which she argued that a variety of communication methods were used by trees to achieve everything from expressing their needs to sharing nutrients “via a network of latticed fungi buried in the soil.” She further studied the varieties of ways that fungal filigrees were exploited by trees in ways that allowed them to send signals to other plants nearby about changes in the environment and even “helping” endangered plants by transferring and sharing nutrients with them. Speaking with “Yale Environment 360” last year, she talked about how, as she puts it, a forest “is a cooperative system,” saying: “To me, using the language of ‘communication’ made more sense because we were looking at not just resource transfers, but things like defense signaling and kin recognition signaling. We as human beings can relate to this better. If we can relate to it, then we’re going to care about it more. If we care about it more, then we’re going to do a better job of stewarding our landscapes.” Despite having communicative abilities, plants generally aren’t deemed to have any sort of intelligence. However, there are still some members of the scientific community that argue this is not necessarily the case. Author and researcher Michael Pollan, who studies the field of plant neurobiology, argues that plants are more perceptive than many would think: “They have analogous structures… They have ways of taking all the sensory data they gather in their everyday lives … integrate it, and then behave appropriately in response. And they do this without brains, which, in a way, is what’s incredible about it because we automatically assume you need a brain to process information.” Understanding how various life forms on earth communicate and cooperate with each other gives us a much broader sense of what “life on Earth” is truly about. It also challenges us to consider whether more complex interaction systems exist between organisms, including those that aren’t deemed intelligent or even responsive, by humans. In the case of plants, it seems unusual that these organisms, while deemed

to be very much alive, have long been relegated to being unresponsive and “vegetative,” in the most literal sense. Maybe it’s indeed time we start paying closer attention to our floral kindred and the subtleties of their interactions with each other and their environment.” Trees That Talk: The Bizarre World of Plant Communication Micah HanksJuly 2, 2017 As I come closer to the ending of my own span of years on this earth, I have become more acutely aware of the commonality I have with all life. Fear and suffering appear to be the same across all species, and I am beginning to wonder if love is also – not romantic love, but the deep logos love spiritual people have written about for millennia. I understand there are reasons we avoid seeing these connections and being aware of the “intelligence,” love, and fear of life around us. The Danish/Inuit Arctic explorer Kund Rassmussen once wrote, “The greatest peril of life lies in the fact that human food consists entirely of souls. All the creatures that we to kill and eat, all those that we have to strike down and destroy to make clothes for ourselves, have souls, souls that do not perish with the body and which must therefore be pacified lest they revenge themselves on us for taking away their bodies.” That is seen as a very primitive view, yet I wonder in our confusion of scientific methods for technological growth and exploitation if we are the primitives and the barbarians. I suspect our blindness to the intelligence of life here on earth, intelligence other than ourselves, is summed up in that statement. Maybe all intelligence really is is the knowledge that everything is connected and what we call intelligence is a form of narcissistic blindness. Perhaps the natural intelligence is in the willow, lifting a frond to stroke young plants that came under his/her/its protection and scope. Maybe the only innate intelligence is displayed in how we honor, respect, and care for everything. In addition to slowing me down in my interaction with the world, I find that this view brings me a sense of greater peace and a change in focus about what is and is not essential and how to express that “essentialness.” I also have greater clarity about what the ancients meant when they wrote of a fear of God. It is not a fear full of the pain of punishment – it is an awe that is hard to express and is likely to bring tears and an awareness of the pity of things and our oneness with everything.

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