I need the University to stop telling me now is the perfect time to do a post grad degree because I am not strong enough to handle that temptation.

World Bee Day: 10 Surprising Facts About Bees

Graphic: Adobe/Muhammad

To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face, and their contribution to sustainable development, the United Nations (UN) designated May 20 as World Bee Day in 2017. With the theme “Bee engaged in pollinator-friendly agricultural production,” World Bee Day 2023 calls for global action to support pollinator-friendly agricultural production and highlights the importance of protecting bees and other pollinators.

According to the UN, present bee species extinction rates are 100 to 1,000 times higher than normal due to human impacts. Close to 35% of invertebrate pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, and about 17% of vertebrate pollinators, such as bats, face extinction globally.

Yet pollination is a fundamental process for the survival of our ecosystems. Nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, entirely, or at least in part, on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops, and 35% of global agricultural land. If this trend continues, crops such as fruits, nuts, and many vegetables will be substituted increasingly by staple crops like rice, corn, and potatoes. Not only do pollinators contribute directly to food security, but they are key to conserving biodiversity.

New Bee Book: 10 Facts

To help inspire empathy for bees, here’s more about them. In the recently published, What a Bee Knows: Exploring the Thoughts, Memories, and Personalities of Bees, pollination ecologist Stephen Buchmann brings readers into the mysterious, fascinating minds of bees and introduces the scientists and researchers uncovering their alien ways of seeing the world. Here are some surprising facts about the inner world of bees from Buchmann:

Although bee brains are incredibly small—just one million neurons compared to humans’ 100 billion—they have remarkable abilities to navigate, learn, solve problems, communicate, and remember.Global bee diversity is about the same as the number of fish species. There are 21,000 species in the world, with roughly 3,500 species from the continental US alone.Most bees in the world are actually ground-nesting and solitary, with no queen or workers. Only about 10% of the world’s bees are social, including honeybees and bumblebees.Bees are sentient, self-aware, can likely feel pain, and may have a simple form of consciousness.Despite being the size of a poppy seed, a honeybee’s brain is quite complex. It has almost one million neurons and up to a billion synaptic connections.Bee eyes detect ultraviolet light. They can see hidden UV nectar guide patterns that are invisible to humans. Bees have been trained how to use a string as a tool, pulling the string to access a sugar reward under a clear plastic cover.Far more than mindless drones, bees may actually play. In a laboratory, bumblebees rolled small wooden balls around without rewards.Bees can not only count to four, but they can also remember the shapes, scents, and colors of flowers for up to three days.130 million years ago, bees evolved from carnivorous wasps during the early Cretaceous period. These first ones were tiny, just a few millimeters long, matching the size of the earliest flower.

Read the original article in the National Garden Bureau online newsletter.

For more on supporting pollinators, see The Science Against No Mow May.

Read the full article "World Bee Day: 10 Surprising Facts About Bees" on Turf Magazine.

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Rambling on Uplifting

Anyway, to write up what I actually meant to write up...

As someone who has always had a blend of theology and science, looking at the technology of the future has always been of interest. Tools are tools; they can be used for good just as much as evil.

So, Uplifting.

The act of making animals or plants into Human level sentient and sapient beings, capable of thinking and feeling as we do, through genetic engineering; primitive methodologies consist of copying and pasting the relevant bits of Human genetics in a trial and error approach that will have a high failure rate, while advanced forms modify the whole creature to more properly utilise all of the new capabilities.

At present, the most we can do is make mice run through mazes more efficiently or make monkeys do better at capability tests, and at this stage, the concept of sharing one’s home with a sophont-level dog who can talk, use forepaws as hands and wears clothes is still science fiction or (probably) comedy.

Traditionally, the subject is either out of consideration or rejected by traditional Christian orthodoxy; mankind is set apart from the animals at a higher but still lower than God level. What discussion there is largely views the prospect as not good.

The idea of intelligent animals that are fully capable of coexisting and conversing with Humans is not new; in the Scriptures, the temporary Uplift of Balaam’s donkey takes place in the time of Moses, and there’s several passages in Isaiah that fit an idealised post-Uplift coexistence - the famous wolf laying down with the lamb, lion with the calf etc. is something that can be made reality with Uplifting.

The closest one gets to a moral mandate on it was that Mankind was given dominion over the earth:

And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven, and over every animal that moves upon the earth." Genesis 1:28

Extrapolating from this, Uplifting is within the bounds of the mandate; they are ours to reign over. Unfortunately, English - being dominated at a meta-sociolinguistic level by tyrants and mob-wranglers does under-translate the Hebrew sense of reign. The Hebraic understanding of the role of a king is to rule with justice and prosperity, making right judgements from the perspective of knowledge and understanding, based on the idealised-Solomonic view that views the government as ultimately under the command of God, who gives and takes away the throne.

While I remain extremely doubtful on anthropogenic climate catastrophism as it’s proponents are mainly hypocrites or useful idiots, it can’t be disputed that we have screwed up that mandate and the context it depends on - Humanity has left behind a rather large body count, and ultimately has failed to keep our end of the mandate.

At this stage in our technical capability, it is reasonable to conduct a preservation of genomes program that stores up the informational content of all life on Earth for the possibility of resurrection or genetic engineering later.

Future efforts in genome extraction of extinct animals is a very intriguing possiblity, and one under-evaluated in the secular world due to their misguided belief in millions of years of separation; while that gap has been reduced as they have been forced to recognise the recovery of proteins, blood cells, even DNA from animals reputed to be millions of years old (although in reality only thousands) and therefore the prospect is more likely now that they actually take preserving such things into account. Never the less, the clock is ticking and we are already deep into the DNA degradation timescale as it is...

Another logical conclusion is the need for terraforming new worlds and seeding life on them. If we extrapolate the mandate to be an obligation to look after the animals, to have life confined to a single planet has major systemic risk to life; a single planetary crisis can potentially wipe out life. With several worlds within reach of present-day mankind that are within present-day technologies to terraform, expanding life across the Sol system should be a priority

Uplifting in this sequence of using our technology to carry out the mandate God placed on us is viewed not as a master-slave dynamic, but as a co-regnal dynamic; giving only a few examples, Uplifted Penguins based on resurrected Kairuku-platforms (present-day penguins are too small to support sapient level brains unfortunately) would be far better suited than we are to conducting research in the antarctic, and being Uplifts, could be introduced safely to the arctic, or the Jovian moons and beyond. Uplifted dogs could perform all the tasks we ask of them today in an even greater way; an Uplift service dog who is capable of far greater medical response for their patient would be an immense aid. Taken to the logical extreme of pan-sophontism in the Sol system and beyond, a prospective Terran Alliance could become home to trillions of Humans and trillions more Uplifts from all forms of life in an ecosystem of sophonts working together in harmony.

My belief about the role mankind should take sees us stop rolling around the cradle, and grow to walking among the stars. I do not believe that we should take that journey alone.

Still More Southern Folk Beliefs

You can see previous folk belief posts here, here, and here. I only add to them when I can remember others that I’ve heard. Folk beliefs are (mostly) harmless. Some are based in actual science and some are simply hearsay and baseless superstition. 

To be generous when planting seeds: “One for the woodchuck, one for the crow, one for the slug, and one to grow.”

Planting under Gemini will double the crop. 

To be rid of warts, rub them with a coin and give the coin (and the warts) away.

Never return a dish to someone empty. Always return dishes with food. 

Never visit someone’s home empty-handed. 

Plant salad fixings together in the garden (lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, onions, etc.). And never plant melons (or squash) with potatoes. 

Always plant mint in a pot. Never in the ground. 

At midnight on Halloween, cut open an apple and count the seeds to see how many children you’ll have.

Put salt in all the corners of your workplace to avoid conflict. 

Sunset red and morning grey sends the traveller on his way.  

Sunset gray and morning red sends the traveller back to bed. 

Also, Red sky at night is a sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning is a sailor’s warning. 

Plant leafy vegetables while the moon waxes and root vegetables when the moon wanes. 

A pregnant belly carried high means a girl; low, it’s a boy.

Similarly, a long labor means a boy. 

Keep cats away from babies as they’ll steal their breath. 

Carry an acorn for longevity. 

To identify venomous snakes: Red and yellow will kill a fellow, but red and black is a friend of Jack. 

If you notice thicker fur on animals in fall it means there’ll be a harsher winter. 

To be rid of bad dreams sleep with a fresh laid egg under your pillow and dispose of it in the morning.

Similarly, rub a fresh egg over your body to be rid of illness or curses. Dispose of the egg after. 

Hold your breath when passing by a cemetery. 

Always pull off the road and remove your hat for a hearse. 

Never count how many fish you’ve caught until you’re finished. 

If someone’s picture falls off the wall they will encounter severe misfortune soon.

If you want someone to walk out of your life, point their shoes always towards the door. 

Wash your hair in the first rain of May to make it grow. 

Owls around the house are a sign of death.

Never have any clothing made while you’re sick (or you won’t live to wear it). 

Do not sweep the house before breakfast. 

Never walk directly under a tree that’s been used for hanging. 

What Do Botanists Do On Saturday?

by Sarah C. Williams

Here in the section of Botany we’ve adapted in some strange ways, just like plants do, to the changes of the past year and a half. Let’s learn about the off days of some of our Super Scientists in the Section of Botany!

Mason Heberling, Assistant Curator of Botany

Collecting specimens has become a focus as more time was able to be spent in the field when we weren’t allowed to be at the museum. As our new Botany Hall entrance video shows, Assistant Curator of Botany, Mason Heberling and Collections Manager Bonnie Isaac collect plant specimens on a pretty regular basis. They also snag iNaturalist observations for these plants, taking photos that show what the plant and habitat looked before being picked and pressed.

Mason studies forest understory plants, in particular, introduced species and wildflowers in our changing environment. Mason has a bunch of fun projects going on this summer, ranging from coordinating seed collections of an uncommon native grass to send to Germany for a large greenhouse study to working with a team of students to study the effects of climate change and introduced shrubs on our forest wildflowers.

In addition to work in the field, the herbarium has been a busy place this summer too! Mason has been working with Alyssa McCormick, an undergraduate research intern from Chatham University, to examine stomata (the pores on leaves for air exchange for plants to “breathe”) and leaf nutrients in everyone’s favorite plant – poison ivy!  Poison ivy has been previously shown to grow bigger and cause nastier skin rashes with increasing carbon dioxide in our air due to fossil fuel emissions. Alyssa is using specimens collected as long ago as the 1800s to examine long term changes in poison ivy.

Mason, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“This summer has been a lot of going to various places around western PA like Presque Isle or Idlewild to get out and enjoy the fresh air with my family. I can also be found most Saturdays around the house doing chores!”

Bonnie Isaac, Collection Manager

Bonnie, one of CMNH’s TikTok celebrities, and All-Star in the Mid-Atlantic plant world, has spent a lot of the past year doing fieldwork. Her PA Wild Resource Grant involved looking at most of the populations for 10 Pennsylvania rare species. She and husband Joe Isaac spent many days on the road and a few in the bog! You can see some of her videos about these unique Pennsylvania finds on Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Tiktok account: @carnegiemnh.

She diligently keeps track of various data points from latitude and longitude and elevation, to flower color, size, and associated species within a habitat. In addition to trying to make sure the plant names in our database are correct, she has also been busy georeferencing some of our specimens so that we can see on a map where each one was collected.

Bonnie, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“On most Saturdays I am either home taking care of my many chickens or getting some exercise in one of my kayaks with my spousal unit, Joe. I sometime even take a fishing pole for a ride or see how many different kinds of plants I can find on a hike. As long as I can get outside with Joe, I’m happy.”

Cynthia Pagesh, Herbarium Assistant

Specimens make their way home to the museum, where we assure they’re bone dry, flat as a pancake, and have been frozen twice to get rid of any pests. They then find their way into the nimble hands of Cynthia Pagesh, our resident plant mounter. Cynthia has luckily been able to do some mounting both onsite and at home over this past year, really honing her craft. She uses Elmer’s glue, dental and sculpture tools, linen tape, and a paintbrush akin to a magic wand: transforming roots, stems, flowers, and fruits into scientific and artistic renderings on an 11.5x16.5” archival herbarium sheet.

Mounting can be very detailed and challenging: wrangling a dry and brittle rare plant you want to salvage every detail from, or an oversized leaf ‘how-will-this-all-fit?’ ordeal, or finessing a delicate petal that glue is especially heavy on. Bulky bits, crumbly bits, spiky no nos: Cyn handles them all. Her work is just as much an art as it is a science. When she’s not making masterpieces, she’s probably doing something with plants.

Cyn, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“You can find me on Saturdays helping prune young trees in my community, collecting wildflower seeds or in my kitchen making preserves or homemade pasta noodles.  I volunteer in vegetable, herb and flower gardens.  I have a pollinator garden at home and raise Monarch caterpillars.  I tag and release them to migrate south.

There are lots of Community Science projects for people of all ages: ask someone to help you find one related to a subject you have an interest in.  I have an interest in pollinators including bees.  I participate in a Community Science Project every Summer that counts types of bees on certain plants when they bloom.”

Iliana DiNicola

After another stint in the freezer for bugs-be-gone, it’s everyone’s favorite day: Picture Day! Each plant: sturdy and mounted, all data logged and super official, makes their way to the imaging station to spend some time under the bright lights. Since 2018, students, interns, and volunteers have lovingly held these plants’ hands as they get their close ups. We take high definition photos using a specially made lightbox and special software.

While this is part of a limited project, called the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis, we are still hard at work going into our last year of the time we were given. This past schoolyear and summer, former Pitt student, Iliana DiNicola was taking pictures for us on the regular while also interning with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. She just graduated and I’m excited to hear what she does on her Saturdays in the future.

Iliana, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“I just graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Environmental Studies, and I am now on the lookout for any jobs related to the environment back in my hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. I am interested in working with anything from sustainability, to policy or political work, or maybe even something more related to ecology and outdoor work.

On a Saturday, I am definitely helping clean my house since I am a semi-clean freak, I love to go hiking if the weather isn't too hot, enjoy drawing and working on any art projects, or work on my future hydroponics garden.

As somebody who interned for Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, I highly recommend participating in any camps or activities the conservancy has to offer. It was super fun learning more about Pittsburgh's history and ecology and getting to teach kids about these topics, alongside participating in fun outdoor activities.”

Sarah Williams, Curatorial Assistant

Next up, Sarah Williams, the Curatorial Assistant in the Section of Botany, is overseeing the digitization project, morphing the photos from raw camera files into smaller files for sharing and detailed files for archival storing using Adobe Lightroom. She takes the images from the newly photographed specimens and makes sure they get uploaded onto the Mid-Atlantic Herbaria Consortium’s website to be shared far and wide across the world.

There is also a lot she does in sorting, filing, and taking care of the specimens as well. She does a bunch of scheduling, hiring, and training of work study students, interns, and volunteers. We consider her a jack of all trades.

Sarah, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“Most weekends I work with a local catering company called Black Radish Kitchen. I usually end up serving delicious vegetable and farm focused meals at least one day a week, commonly Saturdays because they’re prime for celebrations. The re-start up since the pandemic has been cautious, and I’m excited to be amongst people and help them to make mouthwatering memories again. I’ve worked in the restaurant industry for over a decade and the skills I’ve learned doing it as well as the friends I’ve made are matchless. It has a big piece of my heart.

I also moved into a new house this year about five minutes from my mom, so if I’m not running to say hi to her and ‘borrow’ some groceries, I’m doing laundry, dusting and yardwork… but only after I sleep in, eat some delicious breakfast with my partner, and hang out with our two cats, Santi and Gil.”

We hope you enjoyed getting to know us here in the Section of Botany, look forward to updates and more introductions in the future as we continue to host volunteers, federal work-study students, and interns on their journeys to learn even more about the plant kingdom.

Sarah Williams is Curatorial Assistant in the Section of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

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American Founder and second U.S. president John Adams once extolled his era. Some called it The Age of Reason. It was a time in which people were beginning to know more about their world than they ever had before. Knowledge was increasing at an exponential rate, and this filled the air with excitement. The Old World – Christendom, led by the Catholic Church – was on its way out. The Enlightenment was well underway to shape the West forever. Adams, a Unitarian, was greatly pleased that men would be able to lead their lives and their own society on the basis of their own conscience.

He then less than halfway joked that, just maybe, something bad might arise from the movement of his day:

“The world grows more enlightened. Knowledge is more equally diffused. Newspapers, magazines, and circulating libraries have made mankind wiser. Titles and distinctions, ranks and orders, parade and ceremony, are all going out of fashion. This is roundly and frequently asserted in the streets, and sometimes on theatres of higher rank. Some truth there is in it; and if the opportunity were temperately improved, to the reformation of abuses, the rectification of errors, and the dissipation of pernicious prejudices, a great advantage it might be. But, on the other hand, false inferences may be drawn from it, which may make mankind wish for the age of dragons, giants, and fairies.”

Indeed, a great many false inferences were drawn from the Enlightenment. This period in history, which shaped America herself, started a downward spiral for the West that appears to have no end. Adams was right. In spite of himself and everything he achieved for the United States, times have definitely grown darker, and the cause for our empire’s downfall can be traced to its own blueprints.

As a result, the people in our day have a great need for escape. Over two centuries later, men find themselves at odds in a hateful world ruled by principalities and powers that are insurmountable. The people have been force-fed “the progress of civilization.” So now there are vast entertainment industries that produce escapist literature, film, music, and games to help people flee from the madness of their overlords. Over the centuries, they’ve carried the label of Romantics, Decadents, Symbolists, Counter-Culturists – they all run from the oppressive boot that shoves them onward to a destiny they didn’t ask for. They seek to escape from forced rationalism into something mystical.

Our Imaginations Must Be Free, Not Trapped

The mind can tolerate a wasteland for only so long. Men require a pilgrimage and retreat. Otherwise, one settles for vice and debasement. Experiencing wonder is necessary for a mature mind. It is not enough to be raised in a plain fashion, learning good moral habits to live by as if it’s all a simple matter of hygiene. Becoming a lawyer for “what’s good and what’s bad” does not securely instill the Faith in children, who, above all, are in the business of make-believe. No, we must leave the districts and subdivisions gerrymandered in our brains. We must fly above the rooftops from our suburban bobo communities. We’ve got to run for our lives into something fresh, new, and perhaps even dangerous:

“At first they had passed through hobbit-lands, a wide respectable country inhabited by decent folk, with good roads, an inn or two, and now and then a dwarf or a farmer ambling by on business. Then they came to lands where people spoke strangely, and sang songs Bilbo had never heard before. Now they had gone on far into the Lone-lands, where there were no people left, no inns, and the roads grew steadily worse. Not far ahead were dreary hills, rising higher and higher, dark with trees. On some of them were old castles with an evil look, as if they had been built by wicked people. Everything seemed gloomy, for the weather that day had taken a nasty turn. Mostly it had been as good as May can be, can be, even in merry tales, but now it was cold and wet. In the Lone-lands they had been obliged to camp when they could, but at least it had been dry.”

–From The Hobbit

Perhaps it is true that people are considered respectable when they “never have adventures or do anything unexpected.” Maybe it is true that the majority of people value someone who never breaks a taboo and can be counted on to be consistent and predictable. And, after all, even Puritan-loving John Adams will tell you that obscure men are hardly ever honored. Conformity and monotony are what the world tells you it wants. But this mode of dry, uninspiring, Dudley-Do-Right, unimaginative thinking is like planting seeds in depleted soil:

“[T]he seminal ideas of Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, St. Thomas, only properly grow in an imaginative ground saturated with fables, fairy tales, stories, rhymes, romances, adventures–the thousand good books of Grimm, Andersen, Stevenson, Dickens, Scott, Dumas and the rest. Western tradition, taking all that was the best of the Greco-Roman world into itself, has given us a culture in which the Faith properly grows; and since the conversion of Constantine that culture has become Christian. It is the seedbed of intelligence and will, the ground for all studies in the arts and sciences, including theology, without which they are inhumane and destructive. The brutal athlete and the aesthetic fop suffer vices opposed to the virtues of what Newman called the “gentleman.” Anyone working in any art or science, whether “pure” or “practical,” will discover he has made a quantum leap when he gets even a small amount of cultural ground under him; he will grow like an undernourished plant suddenly fertilized and watered.”

–Ryan Topping, Renewing the Mind

There has been a war against fantasy, a war against wonder. And yet, those who wonder and philosophize are superior to those who despair cluelessly. And only someone who does not know everything has the capability to wonder. Therefore, what better place is there to explore than fantasy? The realm of fantasy is a place accessible to all, and as it is ever changing, we can never hope to know everything about it. The Land of Faerie, as Tolkien called it, transports and uplifts us. It renews us. It waters the soil of our minds, and it serves as a much needed respite from the godless demands of the world.

Fantasy’s Ultimate Effect

John Adams ridiculed imagination. He joked that Shakespeare could have been an electioneering agent. In his view, “superstition, prejudices, passions, fancies, and senses” were weaknesses to be manipulated, preventing you from ever having what he considered liberty. Adams believed that fantastical thinking was forced upon the West in order to control the people. This is all a grievous error. “For God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:27).

It is the imagination that enables us to survive in today’s wicked world. We have a sense of wonder that rationalists like Adams cannot understand. This sense of wonder is what prepares us for understanding the wider world and what it means. The vast majority of people who fall away from the Faith or refuse to consider it lack wonder. As a result, you have a large portion of people in the West who fall into hedonism. They try to numb their own senses as they struggle to follow the crowd – as though they were swimming among a school of fish.

“Fantasy, horror, and science fiction, apart from allowing an author to comment on things in a way he normally could not in mainstream writing (so much of which is garbage anyway) – it breeds a sense of wonder. And ladies and gentlemen, if you do not have a sense of wonder, you cannot really understand the Catholic faith. You’ll just be ‘Oh well, the bread and wine turn into the body and blood of Christ.’ You may actually believe that, but if you don’t have a sense of wonder?

“Listen, ladies and gentlemen, what is more amazing? The idea that with a wand I could wave, everything would start dancing around the room? Or that Christ Himself comes down onto the altar and becomes bread and wine that we are able to receive into ourselves? Which is more wondrous?

“If I already have a sense of wonder, then I can look at this incredible gift that God has given us. And the fact [is] that every single Mass that has ever been, or ever will be, or is being said at this moment across the globe is one with every other – and with the Crucifixion, and with the Last Supper. That’s astonishing. That’s absolutely amazing. And I have a sense of wonder that prepared me for that – to make it go from a mere set of things I learned in school and home to being a living reality that dominates my life. …

“[U]nless we approach our faith with that wondrous quality, it will grow old and tired. That is not a fault of the Faith. That’s our fault.”

–Charles Coulombe, “Off the Menu,” July 16, 2018

Being good “to be good” is not enough. John Adams thought so, but his Puritanical sensibility was mistaken. Man lives his life on a quest. He is not meant to run from his imagination and all that is mystical. He is meant to explore with awe and curiosity. His heart is meant to be lifted, not shackled.

A strange and exciting land lies before man when it comes to fantasy. We go to that place because it presages the Land Beyond we all hope to emigrate to, Heaven itself. “And Jesus calling unto him a little child, set him in the midst of them, and said: Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:2-3).

The Shield and the Sword: Chapter 5: Whispers in the Garden [Alucard/Reader]

You’re a witch that is skilled in herbology, one that has been persecuted by the church for practically your entire life. In spite of this, moving throughout different towns has allowed you to pick up some chatter about a woman in a village called Lupu. She is supposed to be a wonder when it comes to medicine, and this immediately perks up your interest. So after plucking up some courage, you’ve made it to her door… hoping that she takes you as her apprentice.

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The following weeks were filled with diligent study in the medical library, which was beginning to feel more and more as an extension of your bedroom. You had filled up so many rolls of parchment that you had trouble keeping a tab on all of the notes that you wrote down. It was becoming particularly difficult for you to find specific information as well, since your desk drawers were packed to the absolute brim with parchment.

Lisa, never one to leave such problems unnoticed, went ahead and purchased you a basket full of thick, soft brown leather journals, and a pile of fresh, new quills. It had honestly been a blessing, and being able to take notes within the safe, organized confines of a journal gave you time to organized the mess of scrolls that you had sort of neglected for a few days.

Not only were you hard at work studying with Lisa, but you spent a few hours every night with Adrian, assisting him in his studies on magic. It quickly became apparent that he had a very basic understanding of what magic entailed, knowing that, at the very least, it required the caster to have intent.

“What is so important about this “intent”?” he had a hint of annoyance in his tone. “I heard several Speakers that my father has invited over discuss this whole concept of intent. It does not sound very scientific.”

“That’s because it isn’t,” you counter. “The idea of intent… it’s less of an idea, as it is a sensation. You feel it in the very marrow of your bones, in the very center of your being. You carry belief, and the strength necessary to make this vision come to fruition. Therefore, with the proper amount of intent, any kind of magic is possible. However, you need to be able to have belief in this intent in order for it to do its job.”

Adrian was silent during your whole explanation, and a few moments passed before he nodded in understanding. “I see… so, I need to approach this less logically?”

“Yes!” you cried out triumphantly. “It is good and well to have this… strong, scientific curiosity that can only be satiated by reading and learning and experimenting. But, you need to take your head out of the lab and understand that there are forces that even science cannot explain,” you close your eyes and press your hand to his chest.

Nothing seemed to be happening, but then a warm, yellow light started to emanate from your palm. You hear Adrian gasp quietly in shock, a small smile on your lips as you remove your hand, a cheeky expression on your face.

“What was that?” he sputtered out.

“That was a glimpse of your aura,” you said. “I could sense it very faintly between the very tips of my fingers,” you look down at your hand and wiggle said digits. “It was warm, but a little reluctant to come out. I could feel that it was yellow… but just a hint darker…” you mutter to yourself.

“Does that mean something?” he questioned.

“Yellow usually has a connection to the source of all your bodies energy, and it appears that all of your energy is being honed in on studies.”

Adrian blinks, slight disbelief written across his visage before he folds his arms across his chest in a slight huff. “Well that is just plainly obvious, anyone that saw me as much as you do could guess that I have been spending a lot of time reading.”

You flushed, angry that he had reacted so defensively to your reading. “I… I mean, yes, you could say that but the dark I had picked up,” you began, before he cut you off abruptly.

“What of it?”

You bristled, getting more and more annoyed with this sudden attitude of his by the minute. “There are feelings of…” your eyebrows furrowed, confused as to why you sensed negative emotions. “Being under pressure, as though you have been pushing yourself to some extremes in order to improve…” you glance over at Adrian, concern flashing in your eyes for a brief moment as he stared at you.

He cleared his throat, looking away from you as he started to pack up his things. “I think that should be enough for today,” he said, and stood up out of his chair.

You nodded, still in a daze after what you had just said. You bid him goodnight, and once your door had been shut, you let out a long exhale.

“What was that about?” you whispered, slipping off your clothes to put on a much softer nightgown.

You snapped your fingers to light a honey and peppermint scented candle, as you crawled into bed and snuggled into the blankets.

He’s hiding something, you thought. It’s as though he’s feeling… inadequate. Why could that be?  

You took a deep breath in an attempt to clear your head, as you closed your eyes and tried to fall asleep.

The next morning began like every other, with you being woken up by Lisa coming into your room and announcing that it was time to get up. Quickly getting ready and dressed for the day, you ate breakfast with the rest of the Tepes family, although, you had to admit, that you were a little nervous to sit next to Adrian after what had happened last night.

As you sat there, sipping on your tea, and munching on a piece of buttered bread coated in raspberry jelly, you either suspected that he had forgotten the incident, or decided to ignore it, as he carried on an amicable conversation with his mother and father. You were frankly relieved, not wanting to have been the cause of drama between the family that had so graciously welcomed you into their home.

Once everyone had finished their breakfast, you helped Lisa wash and put away the dish ware as you always did. Drying your hands on a dish towel, you leaned against the counter as Lisa put away the final forks and knives into their appropriate drawers.

“So, do you just want to meet me at the library?” you asked her. “I finally know how to get there on my own without getting horribly lost.” you joked.

She chuckled and gave you a smile. “Now you can come and go whenever you please!” she exclaimed, as she continued to laugh. “However, we will not be going to the library today.”

“Oh?”

Lisa gave you a wink and bopped the tip of your nose. “I’m going to take you somewhere special today.”

A burst of excitement surged through your veins as she said this, with just a hint of intrigue creeping in as your mind attempted to try and solve the exact nature of this mystery location.

When Lisa wrapped up everything in the kitchen, she told you to follow her and she made quick haste to lead you around hallways in the castle you never even knew existed. The journey, however, was not very long, and you soon found yourself exiting the echoing halls of Castlevania and entering a magnificent outdoor garden.

There were so many different flowers and other species of plants that it was honestly a little overwhelming. A multitude of roses dotted the landscape, either in big, bristly bushes, or entangling themselves up large, white trellises. There were pink roses, red roses, white roses, and even black roses. There were lilac trees and wildflowers and even a couple fruit trees. Apple blossoms fell from a nearby tree, their smell drifting in the wind as the two of you made your way deeper into the garden.

A large hedge maze stood several feet away, green ivy sprouting from its crevices with birds chirping from their nests amongst all of the leaves. A cobblestone pathway led from the patio all the way to the entrance, which was surrounded by several small gurgling fountains as water shout out from the creative spouts of fish and tiny cupid angels.  

Large pots filled with tulips, daisies, and dog roses lined the walkway, and you let out an elated gasp as a flock of white doves cooed and chirped as the two of you passed by. The birds seemed intrigued by your presence, but appeared more inclined to flock around Lisa.

“I don’t have have food!” she cried out and waved her hands at the doves. “Go on, shoo!” she clapped loudly several times and the perturbed birds flew back in surprise, hooting and cooing as they bobbed their heads in search of lunch elsewhere.

“Don’t get in the habit of giving them any sort of seeds,” Lisa grumbled. “They came last spring when I was being more generous with feeding the wildlife, and they haven’t left the garden since.”

You giggled. “I’m sure they’re just grateful that they’ve found such a lovely home.”

The both of you rounded a corner and were now walking down a grassy path, wild berry bushes and wild plants blooming all around you. This appeared to be an area that was less used by humans, and you soon found out the reason why.

A large, ornate greenhouse stood a little ways away. It was made of wood, humble in its size, it look no bigger than a common shed. Nevertheless, it was a thing of beauty. All of the windows were covered in beautiful stained glass designs, a motif that followed it from its towering gothic cousin.

The doors especially took your breath away. A glittering, glass monarch butterfly design, with its wings spread out wide, decorated the very top of the pointed entrance. Meanwhile, opulent windows surrounded the actual doorway, covered in clear flowers and vibrant crystals, colored in bright blues and purples.

“This place is beautiful,” your voice is filled with wonder and awe, feeling like a kid in a candy store as you walk in and are completely enveloped by nature.

Large stone tiles served as the walkway within the greenhouse, otherwise, you’d threaten to step on the herbs and flowers that grew in every available nook and cranny. You noticed that there was quite a sophisticated irrigation system, with a long trough surrounding the perimeter of the room, making it easy for water to flow freely to all of the plants.

A small pond was in one corner, lily pads blooming with lotuses had large, green bullfrogs hopping from leaf to leaf. Dragonflies skied across the clear surface of the water, occasionally flying by a cattail and clinging to the reed instead as turtles made their way from the bottom to bask on rocks surrounded by pickerel and arrowhead flowers.

Lisa directed your attention to the large wooden tables that held most of the other plants, and you realized that these pots were filled with almost every medically relevant flora you had ever seen.

“Is this where you get your medicine stock from?” you wondered, as you gingerly stroked the thick leaves of an aloe vera plant.

Lisa nodded her head. “Yes. My husband quickly picked up on how much I enjoyed gardening, so he built me this greenhouse so that I could have the freshest of ingredients for my tonics.”

“I’m not exaggerating in the slightest when I say that this would be what my personal Heaven would look like,” you confessed.

A genuine blush rose to Lisa’s cheeks when you said this, and her flustered hands almost dropped a pair of clippers that she had brought to cut off leaf stems. “Oh you are too kind,” she whispered.

“It’s wonderful that you were able to accomplish so much, Lisa. The amount of progress that you have been able to make is astonishing,” your eyes glittered with excitement as you ran over and to grab a hold of her hands. “I never believed that the teachings of my ancestors would ever become reality. The fact that you were able to help keep all of this rich history alive… it… it invigorates me!” you laugh, a radiant sound that bounces off the glass walls. “And that you’re human no less. I always knew that there would always be some particularly gifted non-magical folk out there in the world, but…” you leaned in, and brushed away a stray hair of hers. “I never believed I would ever meet one.”

Lisa’s big, bright blue eyes blink at you in surprise. “What….what’s that supposed to mean?”

You back away, realizing you may have startled her a bit. “Oh… I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to get so overzealous… it’s just… it’s as if my clan were still alive,” you said, in a steady voice, not trying to guilt her in any sort of fashion. “I know Vlad helped out a lot too it’s just… I dunno… it makes me really happy that you’re here--”

Your voice cuts off as Lisa brings you into a very tight hug, her chin resting on the top of your head. Her arms are wrapped around you, some fingers going through your hair and others scratching soothing lines down your back. “It’s alright, little one,” she cooed, echoing the nickname that Vlad had given to you. “I’m so thankful that you were able to find me. You’re your families survivor, the one that can keep their traditions alive. You will never forget all those that fell, so you pursuing your dream means that they did not die in vain.”

Your bottom lip trembled as she said this to you, her wave of blue emotions washing over you as the two of you stood in the tight embrace. You rubbed the big, globs of tears that slid down your cheeks with the back of your hand, confused as to why you were so upset.

Were you more sensitive to emotions after that reading you had given Adrian last night?

If that’s the case, you thought to yourself, this is going to be a rough day.

Lisa pulls away when she notices you struggling to fight back tears, and hands you one of the clean towels she keeps in a large wicker basket. “Are you alright?” she asked, as she helped you wipe them away.

“Yeah… yeah I think so, I think I’m just a little bit more sensitive to emotions today,” you explain, blowing your nose into the towel.

“Well, that took a turn for the sappy, I suppose,” Lisa muttered, before the both of you burst into a fit of giggles.

“At least I know that I’ve finally found my true purpose in life,” you replied. “It was destiny that you and I should meet.”

Lisa nodded her head in agreement. “Indeed it was.”

The rest of the day was spent in the greenhouse, with Lisa showing you how to properly take care of and document the plants inside. You needed to know all the plants in there like the back of your hand, and know the proper ingredients necessary to make the most popular and simple remedies.

You got familiar with the layout, and the plants as well. Humming and singing soft tunes as you hopped across the stones, occasionally reaching out to a couple hands that stretched out for attention; the hoya carnosas being especially needy. It was important to let them know you meant no harm, and were someone they could trust. If plants did not respect you, they could refuse to grow or even shrivel away due to the lack of incentive to stay.

Most of the herbs instantly craved your attention, having easily picked up on your years of experience raising and pampering their specific genus. The aloe were a bit fussy at first, some of the more exotic species especially having an attitude, alongside the ferns. Honestly, you get big and bushy and are used in so many remedies, and suddenly they think they’re better than most other plants.

It was rather amusing, seeing these strange little dichotomies that had developed within the greenhouse. You picked up that all of the plants loved Lisa, she was their mother, some of them going so far as to hold her in a similar reverence to Gaia. Vlad was also held in high regard, the lavender cooing about how in love he and Lisa were, they thought it was adorable. A couple stems of peppermint echoed the sentiments, saying that Lisa glows whenever he is around her, and she adds just a dash… of, well, they don’t exactly know what it is, but they call it “the light”, to their care.

All of this brought a smile to your lips, and you almost cackled when they shifted their focus to Adrian. Several basil plants complained that when he was little, he would always run amuck through the little plants, like the mosses and tiny spurs that grew alongside the pond.

Oh! But a bundle of hawthorn added. Even as he grew older, and expressed interest in working alongside his mother, he was a clumsy mess, spilling fresh dirt everywhere, or spilling water onto those who didn’t need it! It was a good day when Lisa finally decided it would be best if he remained in the castle to complete his studies.

You laughed quietly, but a high pitched chorus of giggles caught your attention, and you turned your head to find a patch of hibiscus flowers. They were a rainbow of colors, some were orange, others a bright yellow, some a startling white with fushia patches at the edge of their petals, and others were the classic deep red.

You furrowed your brow, and gave them a small glare. What are they laughing about?

Hibiscus were tricky flowers, gossipy little things that would prattle on about love and matchmaking.

Oh, she hears us, the white one giggled.

Really? an orange exclaimed.

Little girl, one said in a much older voice. It was a gorgeous hibiscus, a light pink that had hues of magenta and a rich blue pallet around the stigma. I know the true feelings that lay in your heart.

What? you think.

Playing dumb does not suit you my dear, she groaned. The one with the beautiful golden hair, the prince of darkness--

You look away, a dark red blush on your face as you stomp off to leave the greenhouse, the flowers giggling behind your back as you refrained from slamming the door shut.

Your breaths came out in puffs in front of you, embarrassed and on edge after that rather confrontational conversation. Wiping a bead of sweat off of your brow, you felt a calm settle over you as you gazed up at the moon in the sky.

It was practically time for you and Adrian to meet up again, and albeit, you were a tad bit nervous.

You sincerely hoped that he did not feel uncomfortable around you after that stunt you pulled earlier. It had been hard garnering even a bit of trust with him when it came to Adrian finally listening to you. He had been insanely stubborn the first few days of tutoring, and you had almost threw in the towel before Lisa intervened and spoke to each of you individually.

You had no idea what she said to Adrian, but she told you to see if you could find a different approach to getting him to understand magic. Use what you knew about his learning style to see if you could use other techniques to get it to stick.

After some brainstorming, you noticed that Adrian was a much more traditional student, as he enjoyed reading thick tomes and taking diligent notes, not too far off from what you had been doing the first couple weeks. But now that you were fairly confident about your knowledge on the human body and known ailments, you had begun the more hands-on aspects of working in the greenhouse with Lisa. That is the way that you preferred learning, being able to literally sink your hands into what it is you’re researching.

So you decided that making some form of lecture would benefit Adrian the most, similar to the classes that you had taken when you were much younger. You would come up with test questions, or make him practice a particular magical technique in front of you. Things started to go more smoothly after that, and he would even start talking about himself once in awhile.

You let out a shaky breath as you sat in your desk chair, voice getting trapped in your throat when you hear a knock on the door. “Come,” your voice sounds rough and strained, and you cough to clear it up. “Come in.”

Adrian walks in, a perplexed expression on his face. “Are you alright?” he asked.

You pour yourself a glass of water and take a sip. After swallowing the big gulp, you nod your head. “Yeah, sorry,”

He gets situated in the chair next to you, pulling out his own journal, quill, and book from a large messenger bag his father had loaned him. “From where we left off last night, then?”

You froze, but quickly shrugged off the feeling. “Yes, intent…” you quickly reached for the notes you had prepared days earlier, thanking the goddesses that you had some sort of map to rely on in terms of discussion topics.

To your surprise (and honest relief) the night went off just fine. Your approach was really paying off, and the questions that the both of you exchanged had led to very rich discussions. Adrian appeared very pleased, a smile on his face as he waved his quill over the page to help the ink dry faster.

“Tonight was very enjoyable,” he said, and put it down once the words were set.

“I’m glad. I’m actually surprised by how much we were able to cover,” you replied. Your eyes widened at the sudden surprise of a bright blue bundle of sparkling stars, and Adrian turned his head to see what you were looking at.

“Oh, that’s just Aria,” he said, and raised his hand up, as one would for a small bird, before the stars shedded from her like snake’s skin and disappeared from sight. She fluttered onto his outstretched index finger and gave a rather dramatic yawn.

“Seems as though she’s just awoken from her nap,” he said. He gave her a delicate scratch with his long nails, and she gave a delighted hum in response.

A question you had asked yourself long ago suddenly popped back in your head and you let out a quiet, “Oh!”

“Adrian?” you began. “Why does Aria stay in the castle? I know she claims you’re her “Master”, but, how did she end up here?”

He was quiet for a moment, a somber expression on his face before it quickly washed away. “When I had been fairly young, my father and I had been walking around the woods you see before you,” his golden eyes gazed out of the window, upon the pine trees that stretched on for miles into the dark night. “It had been a day where we had gone looking for some local insects, mostly butterflies and beetles. But, that’s when we heard tiny cries for help.”

Aria finally opened her eyes, her bright blue orbs widening in sadness as she heard what he was talking about.

“A group of fairies,” Adrian said, eyes narrowing. “Had been captured, by a group of greedy humans. They used traps to secure their capture, and would then sell off their wings and eventually even their bones for use in dark spells.”

You looked over at Aria, whose wings had lowered, and she had brought her legs up to her chest, tiny tears sticking to her long eyelashes like dewdrops. “Why would they do that?” you cried out. “Fairies are such peaceful, beautiful, giving creatures. What good would that bring them?”

“Profit.” Adrian spat. “Father knew what was going on, and was thankfully able to scare them away. Even as a child I thought they deserved more than just a good fright, but the fairies were saved.”

Aria nodded her head. “Yup!” she cried out, rubbing the last few tears away on her arm. “The rest of my sisters and cousins and friends live inside the garden now,” she fluttered over to you. “You… well, I visit there sometimes, and they often tell me how kind you are to all the plants. And even… well, the new fairy gardens that you added have been a really nice addition too…” her face was flushed a cute pink, eyes downcast and her hands behind her back in bashfulness.

You gave her a kind smile. “You’re welcome, small lady.”

She blushed, and she covered her face before zipping back to where Adrian sat to hide behind his shoulder.

You giggled, but feeling eyes on you, you turned your attention to Adrian, who immediately turned his head away from your gaze. Confused, you peered at him, and thought you had seen things when you noticed a pink flush to his face--

“Add to the fact,” he suddenly blurted out. “She’s also my familiar.”

“What?!” you exclaimed. “She’s your familiar?” you were dumbfounded. How did he have a familiar, and not you? You were a witch for crying out loud!

“Yes? Why is that so surprising?”

“It… it just is!”

“I have five, what is so surprising about one--”

“Five?!”

“That’s what I said--”

“Five familiars?!” you shouted, letting out a melodramatic moan as you collapsed back into your chair. “That’s not fair, I don’t even have one--”

“Would you like to see them?”

You silenced your groaning at that, and you were immediately back up on your feet. “Really?” you said excitedly. “You would do that?”

Adrian nodded, and gave you a smile. “Of course. I’m sure they would be delighted to meet you.”

鎮魂 Guardian [Zhen Hun] extra 3 full translation

No real spoilers in this one, just fluff and crack. [TN: the other extras are here, you may want to check out #4 for notes on names.] Original Chinese character count: 4363 English Translation + notes word count: 4042

===

Later, the Special Investigation Department moves away from 4 Bright Road to 9 University Road, just one pedestrian crossing away from Dragon City University.

Lin Jing lingers at their old address just before the move, reluctant to leave and goes around and around the empty office with his recently upgraded equipment — a long barrel SLR camera — and photographs every last detail; not even the cobwebs escapes his scrutiny. When he’s done, Lin Jing picks out the few he’s satisfied with and sends them to a magazine publisher, hoping to make a name for himself in the “Former Haunts” series.

Thus leading to the editor-in-chief of the magazine suffering a great blow to his delicate psyche.

The editor-in-chief ends up in the hospital over the incident, and reporting what they perceived as a 'malignant, intentional manufacturing of supernatural photographs for the purpose of scaring people" to the police. As familial shame cannot be spread abroad, Zhao-chu can only show his face and quietly settle things behind the scenes. When he comes back, he beats the crap out of that idiot fake monk in the path of his innocent gaze.

Eat, sleep, beat Lin Jing; the crew at 9 University Road finally fall back into their ordinary, everyday routine.

The accommodation at their new office is decadent to the extreme, with a sunny attic upstairs and a double cellar below. The second cellar houses their book collection, while the first cellar is a shrine-like space with a mahjong table surrounded by a circle of memorial tablets. During the day it provides a resting place for their ghost employees, and any individual suffering from insomnia can get up and play a round of mahjong.

… And so, during the day, one can often hear the sound of shuffling mahjong tiles from the mysteriously locked first cellar.

On the top floor, the attic is warm and bright with sunshine, painted with a thick layer of soundproofing paint; those who are tired can take a noon nap, and opening the windows affords one the view of the whole courtyard — unfortunately there is no beautiful scenery to be had.

Since members of the S.I.D. could not come to an agreement regarding a plan for the garden, there’s no unified theme. After they divided up the space, the courtyard has become a weird mixture of styles containing a little bit of everything.

Zhao Yunlan claims the entire rear courtyard for himself. With an oddly cultivated aesthetic that has nothing at all to do with the arts that he’s ignored his whole life through, he vetoes Zhu Hong’s favoured Japanese roses, vetoes Chu Shuzhi’s suggestion of vines, vetoes Lin Jing’s request of a Bodhi tree … ultimately planting an entire rear courtyard worth of vegetables.

There’s mini cole, cherry tomatoes, pumpkin seedlings, pea sprouts, Chinese cedar sprouts … a veritable neighbourhood of assorted vegetables growing side by side. In the middle of it all stands a coquettish eggplant surrounded by all the other plants the way stars surround the moon.

[TN: 風騷茄子 / Coquettish Eggplant is a dish…this ia a pun.]

Zhao Yunlan hints that come winter he’ll even fill the entire rear courtyard with bok choi.

From then onwards, neither mortal nor ghost has played in the rear courtyard that has become a vegetable garden.

By the time Shen Wei finishes class, the sun has already begun inclining towards the west. It’s still warm outside, and the short stroll from school even counting the time it takes to wait for the light to change is only five, six minute at most.

The entire staff of the S.I.D. each holds a copy of Teacher Shen’s class schedule. They wait eagerly for his arrival daily as one watches for the stars and the moon. There was once a time that the soldiers skipping out on work along with the leader was routine, because when the ceiling beams are crooked the pillars came along; since their leader Zhao Yunlan stopped messing around and started calmly spending all his days in the office like a hermit though, those days are long gone.

In this respect, everyone feels a little depressed, even in light of their new surroundings.

Yet when Teacher Shen arrives he can always swiftly take the leader away. And if the leader is gone, naturally it implies that everyone else can leave work early as well.

As he steps through the door, Shen Wei is greeted by countless “good day Teacher Shen” and “good work Teacher Shen” and many more besides along with such fervent looks from everyone that it’s borderline like the staff are held in enemy territory awaiting a liberating army. Shen Wei finds it hard to adapt to this at first, but as time goes by he’s no longer fazed by all the attention.

Guo Changcheng is zoning out, Zhu Hong is doing some online stopping, Chu Shuzhi is watching the candlestick graph, Lin Jing is tinkering with a new model of wiretapping device: a fish scale-like thing the size of a girl’s fingernail that turns invisible and records in secret once it sticks to anything.

Black cat Daqing nests on the staircase handrail, waving his tail at Shen Wei. “He’s in the attic.”

Shen Wei makes an approving hum, nods as he says “Thank you,” but when he’s just about to pass by, he lifts a brow slightly and glances at Daqing. “Be careful, don’t fall off now.”

… The handrail only looks half as big as Daqing’s stomach. The way he’s lying prone on top of it looks extremely weird.

Daqing stares blankly for a full second, then with a wail he turns into an angry furball. “I’m practicing—Yo—ga! What’s wrong with practicing yoga? You got a problem with that?”

Keeping a smile on his face, Shen Wei reaches out to stroke his head, and goes upstairs.

Daqing furiously drapes himself back down on the handrail. Lin Jing asks, teasing, “Aiyoh, little princeling Daqing, which yoga pose are you practicing?”

Daqing says after a pause, “Cat pose.”

Those who follow the Way never lies, so goes the doctrine. Lin Jing appropriately shows his evaluation with a peal of laughter.

… As a result he gained two new bloody scratches on his face. The wiretap in his hand goes flying towards destination unknown, turning invisible.

Lao-Li, who’s always appearing without a sound and vanishing without a trace, appears now to quietly supply cotton swabs and bandages as if he’s the hapless master responsible for the aftermath of his cat’s crimes. Yet the cat has no appreciation for his love at all, and doesn’t bother with even a snort as he jumps off the railing into a cat stretch and leaving the scene.

There are times when such a thing as love is like a fragile pane of glass. It doesn’t matter what kind of love it is: nothing can glue it back together after it shatters, even if the ones involved no longer cared, even if they have already chosen to forgive.

That’s why a person should be faithful to oneself unto death. Whether choosing to be so selfish as to hurt countless without regrets, or to cherish another’s affection from the beginning, even at the risk of looking like a fool.

Shen Wei pushes open the door to the top floor lightly. There’s a sofa bed in the attic situated for a full day of sunlight, and Zhao Yunlan naps there with a blanket thrown across his waist, fingers still trapped between the pages of a book in his hands.

Shen Wei approaches quietly, stooping to kiss him lightly on the lips. Zhao Yunlan doesn’t bother opening his eyes, he hums lazily with sleep and says, “You’re done with class?”

Shen Wei answers with an agreeing noise, reaching out to prop up Zhao Yunlan by his back so he can sit down. “Wake up a little. It’s not early anymore, and if you fall asleep again you won’t be able to sleep later.”

Zhao Yunlan takes advantage of the shift in position to lie down on Shen Wei’s thighs. Yawning, he says blearily, “I didn’t actually want to sleep.”

With half-lidded eyes he waves the “Vegetable Planting Techniques” in his hands and grumbles, “I’m telling you, this book has to be cursed. I can’t ever get to the first chapter. Just the forward is enough to knock someone out. I only made it to the 8th page now and I’m still stuck in the introduction.”

Shen Wei picks it up and flips through its pages. It’s a textbook from the agricultural university, and not a single centimetre of white space is wasted — even the pictures are black and white and so serious it has no entertainment value whatsoever. Shen Wei puts it aside and says without thinking, “Why do you bother reading it? If luck’s on their side, whichever seed you sow may even chance into a refined essence and become Yao. There is no chance that any of them wouldn’t grow.”

Zhao Yunlan says, “No, only science and technology is the primary productive force.”

[TN. he’s quoting fundamental principle of Marxism here so that’s why SW makes fun of him.]

Shen Wei says after a pause, “Why don’t you go back to study science and technology then.”

Zhao Yunlan rolls his eyes, and harbouring ulterior motives, says, “The primary productive force and I are jinxed. It reduces me to sleep in a single glance.”

[TN. 犯克 roughly means “it disagrees with my birth hour.” So it does mean jinxed, but with him ONLY.]

Shen Wei looks down, discovering that whatever sleepiness in Zhao Yunlan’s pitch black eyes have already evaporated, and they stare up at him with wordless amusement.

Zhao Yunlan reaches around so he’s holding Shen Wei by the waist. “If I can’t keep reading, then I’ll forget my meals, my mood will plunge, and if it goes on any longer I’ll fall into a depression!”

Shen Wei just looks at him without saying a word.

One lie after another comes out of Zhao Yunlan’s mouth. “Listen, the suicide rate is really high in Northern Europe because the cold climate leads to depression. Kunlun mountain is covered in ice and snow that never melts — it doesn’t even have heat, so my bones must carry the genes for depression.”

Shen Wei is silent for a time before saying, “You must forgive my inability to see this.”

Zhao Yunlan says, “You must not love me anymore! You … man of easy virtue!”

[TN. ZYL says SW has a “nature as ever changing as running water and alights on all like flower petals,” and it’s usually a phrase meaning ‘fickle woman.’]

Shen Wei pushes at his temple as if to hold back a headache. “Stop acting so spoiled. What would you like?”

Zhao Yunlan laughs a mischievous laugh, revealing a row of neat white teeth.

“Fine. I’ll read it to you when we get home,” Shen Wei says, helplessly gentle, before uncomfortably averting his gaze. “But if you’re going to listen, then be good and listen. If you get drowsy listening then sleep. You’re not allowed to mess around.”

His ears are taking on a flush, and he looks like a half-willing young bride that’s just been picked on by an evil tyrant taking liberties, only half-willing because he’s left without a choice.

Zhao Yunlan grabs hold of Shen Wei’s collar indignantly and pulls him closer. “Can I trouble you not to be such a pure white lotus okay baby? From the fucking moment we met 'til now have I ever successfully taken a single dime of advantage of you … fine I’ll admit I’ve had more criminal attempts, but I haven’t any criminal reality!”

Shen Wei hastens to placate him. “Okay okay okay, get up. Let’s go home.”

“I can’t.” Zhao Yunlan turns his face to the side, expressionless. “The muscles in my lower back are strained.”

Shen Wei says softly, bashful, “Then should I carry you?”

Zhao Yunlan takes a look at him in silence, and stands up in silence. He finds that his back doesn’t hurt at all anymore — but he does feel a pang in his stomach.

As soon as they step through the front door, the rest of the staff scatter like birds and beasts. Zhu Hong’s the first to slip out, with Lin Jing closely following. Chu Shuzhi pours himself a cup of cheap tea, holding fast until the stock market closes before leisurely putting things away. As he’s about to go he raises his head to discover that Guo Changcheng still hasn’t left yet.

[TN. 茶水 / cha shui / lit. tea water / cheap tea is the kind of tea you get in diners, usually ceylon, comes in a plastic cup, made with cheaper leaves and brewed bulk in a metal dispenser.]

The room is empty save for them. Guo Changcheng sitting there staring into space without a word looks like a painted stage set, dazed to distraction. Chu Shuzhi asks casually, “Why haven’t you left yet?”

As if shaken from a dream, Guo Changcheng trembles violently and bumps the water-dwelling plant, spilling it all over his desk.

Chu Shuzhi subconsciously reaches for his own face; suspecting that maybe he’s been slack in the cultivation of his arts and his livor-mortis is showing, somehow managing to scare this unfortunate child until he’s beside himself.

Guo Changcheng stammers, “I um I’m leaving,” and cleans up in a flurry of activity.

Chu Shuzhi can read body language well enough, so he asks, “Are you planning to go bomb a bunker? Why do you look like you’re going to war?”

If Guo Changcheng has a pair of dog ears, he guesses now they would be drooping.

Twenty minutes later, the two emerge from 9 University Road with Chu Shuzhi furrowing his brow and coming to a conclusion. “That is to say, your second uncle wants you to go to a xiangqin.”

[TN. 相親 / Xiangqin. A marriage interview arranged by a matchmaker. A direct equivalent is the Japanese o-miai. The characters mean mutual-intimacy.]

A spray of sparks explodes out of Guo Changcheng’s pocket.

Chu Shuzhi quickly sidesteps. “Watch it. What’s with the groundless worry? Is this girl you’re meeting a tigress?”

To avoid setting his pants on fire, Guo Changcheng hurriedly takes the stun baton out of his pocket, but that only attracts the attention of passersby instead; they don’t even manage to make it to the parking lot before the traffic cop at the crosswalk yells at them, “What’s going on? You can’t set off fireworks within city limits! Where’s your sense of civic responsibility?”

Chu Shuzhi silently covers his face and pretends to look up at the sky.

The lich king is reclusive and detached; aside from the occasional garrulous words he exchanges with acquaintances, his entire person gives off an aura of do not approach， so he’s often lonely in the cold emptiness of his life. Outside of cultivating his essence, he has little to do in the long hours outside of work, leaving his well-hidden desire to gossip eternally unsatisfied. He feels a sudden curiosity of how this human custom of xiangqin is conducted, and with a tone like he’s volunteering to join a war, he says, “Ok, stop spraying fireworks. You’ll get a fine. Why don’t we do this — I’ll sit by you pretending to be just another customer the whole time for your xiangqin, alright?”

[TN. 屍王 / lit. corpse king. I suppose it could also read “necromancer” but he’s a corpse himself, so closer to a lich.]

Guo Changcheng gives him a tortured look, and from Chu Shuzhi’s solemn face he can just glean a hint of the curiosity of a gossiping fishwife.

They arrive more than thirty minutes earlier than the appointed time, and it’s only after Chu Shuzhi flip through an entire old magazine to pass the time before the girl arrives.

Chu Shuzhi looks on as Guo Changcheng freezes solidly into a human stick, and thinks with some amazement that he hasn’t seen a mortal with such great potential to become a jianshi for many years.

[TN. 人棍 / human stick is actually a brutal ancient torture that’s best not described here. CSZ uses some harsh language in his head…

殭屍 / Jiangshi / what Chu Shuzhi is, is a culturally unique mythological creature that originated from the way undertakers were said to have ordered corpses to jump as they led the dead back to their hometowns for burial. Depending on the telling, they eat flesh, drink blood, sleep in coffins, fear the sun, and only in some stories do they have minds of their own.]

Chu Shuzhi moves his gaze downwards, finding Guo Changcheng’s pant cuffs shaking uncontrollably, his entire body resembling a quail that found itself falling heavily on its ass on broken glass. He congratulates himself for confiscating Guo Changcheng’s little stun baton beforehand, otherwise he’s sure the young lady’s perfectly ironed straight fringe would have been fried immediately into natural curls.

“Oh, come on. Grow up,” Chu Zhushi thinks, feeling rather disappointed on his behalf.

Fortunately, the young lady has a good temperament, and doesn’t go on Weibo on the spot to start a post titled, “Ran into someone outrageous at the xiangqin” as a souvenir. Instead she confidently attempts to keep the conversation going by cycling through a list of seemingly endless topics. From the start Guo Changcheng acts exactly like a criminal at a trial, whatever question thrown his way he must tremble thrice, all the while sending a continuous distress signal in Chu Shuzhi’s direction. Unfortunately Chu Shuzhi feigns interest in the menu and is utterly unreceptive.

Ten minutes of trembling later, the lady finally can’t help asking, “You … are you a little nervous?”

Guo Changcheng, red all over, nods at her.

The lady smiles a little. “It’s not important. We’re only having a casual chat.”

Guo Changcheng, still red all over, nods again, and carefully gives her a single glance before looking extremely ill at ease, turning his gaze away.

Normally when coming across someone that can’t even speak clearly, the other side would flip desk and leave, but this young lady who’s come to this xiangqin seem to have an odd weakness. Facing someone like Guo Changcheng, a sense of protectiveness inexplicably grows in her heart.

“I think you’re just like Raj from the Big Bang Theory,” she says happily. “Especially cute — my aunt says you’re a police officer. Really?”

Guo Changcheng makes a sound of agreement that comes off like a mosquito’s hum.

The lady says, “Really! I can’t tell at all. Then what do you do normally when you meet a bad person?”

Guo Changcheng spends a moment recalling, then truthfully illustrates just how he catches ‘bad people.’ He makes a clawing gesture, pretending to pick up his ‘secret weapon’ and says, “Just like this, and I tell, tell it, ‘you you you you you can’t come over here,’ and then I catch them.”

The lady stares at him blankly a second, and realising that it’s possibly a joke, she laughs, swaying back in forth in her mirth. “You’re just too cute!”

With naive eyes Guo Changcheng stares at her, utterly clueless.

Chu Shuzhi watches with his cheek in his hand and all the coolness of a bystander. When he thinks back on what they actually get up to during work, he does manage to find a hint of what one may call ‘adorkable.’ As he takes another look at the still happy girl and the utterly out-of-form Guo Changcheng, he glances at his watch. It’s starting to feel rather dull sitting here.

But once these two start chatting they seem to go on and on; Chu Shuzhi reins in his impatience, takes out his phone and plays games for ages until his vision’s starting to blur and he can’t take anymore. He waves at the waiter, “Ready to order.”

The waiter diligently comes over only to hear Chu Shuzhi say in a quiet and eerie voice, “One order of Kung Pao chicken, make sure the meat is only three parts done and still bloody.”

The waiter is silent.

Guo Changcheng overhears this from across the room and immediate turn around to glance at Chu Shuzhi, recognizes the gloomy corpse-like scowl on the lich (corpse) king and finally realises that he’s gotten carried away.

But while he racks his brains trying to wrap up the conversation, the other side suddenly goes from easy to stern and says to him, “Oh, right, actually I still want to say that …”

She pauses then, as if what she wants to say may be too embarrassing to mention.

Guo Changcheng asks, “What is it?”

The lady stares down at her lap and seems to think for a moment before saying, “This is our first meeting, so it’s probably not appropriate for me to be saying this, but I really do like you quite a bit …”

Guo changcheng sits as straight and stiff as a red Songhum tree — even his eyes seem to turn vertical.

She continues to say, “So there is something I want to say before anything else. I didn’t really want to come here today at first because my aunt said you were a criminal police officer. I don’t think living with a cop is especially stable, really. Everyday I’d have to be on edge all the time thinking about how you are, and as time goes on,” she trails off then, sighing. “Is this line of work something you must do?”

Guo Changcheng stares blankly for a second, and before he’s able to answer, a hand grabs onto his shoulder without any warning, hauling him right up from his seat.

Guo Changcheng says, “Chu-ge?”

It’s too sudden for the lady at her xiangqing to react, and her gaze at Chu Shuzhi shows no reaction.

Chu Shuzhi gives her a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, before his attention shifts down towards Guo Changcheng, and he says with a tone that’s meant to cause confusion, “A Xiangqing behind my back? Why, you certainly have such gall!”

Guo Changcheng is shocked to silence.

What, what is this situation?

The lady’s eyes widen, captivated, completely in awe of the lich king’s aura and this utterly contrived plot. Chu Shuzhi reaches into Guo Changcheng’s pocket, digs out a few Renminbi bills and leaves them beneath a cup. Without another word of explanation, he stuffs Guo Changcheng beneath one arm and carries him out.

[TN. Renminbi, lit. The People’s money, the cash of the PRC.]

Guo Changcheng BSOD on scene and remains unresponsive until Chu Shuzhi stuffs him into the car. Chu Shuzhi stretches out his legs, and like an arrogant master of old, commands, “Start the car. Drop me off first.”

Guo Changcheng telegraphs ten thousand emotions tied up in knots in a single glance.

Chu Shuzhi says, “What are you glaring for, I’m doing this for her sake. To think she would dream up an idea like that, go digging at Kunlun-jun’s foundations. Really…”

[TN. 挖牆腳 - lit. dig at the foot of a wall. Applicable both in the case of someone seducing your husband or a competitor trying to lure away an employee.]

His speech halts, and a phrase comes to him unbidden like good fortune. He blurts out, "Stupid humans.

…Stupid human Guo Changcheng doesn’t say anything, and with his face still bright red, he silently starts the car.

On his satchel, a little round disc that resembles a scale invisibly transmits.

The next day, a rumour seem to spring up from everywhere at once: Chu-ge and Xiao-Guo’s gone steady, 9 University Rd is a nest for gays.

[TN. 搞大象 lit. setup-big-elephant. It came from 搞對象 lit. setup a partner. It’s just slang to replace the middle character with 大 / big, or 小 / small to indicate whether the partner is serious or casual.]

And what’s become of the person unfortunate enough to hear something he should not have, the Lin Jing who spread the rumours?

Oh, may the lord Buddha preserve us, he’s gained so many bumps on his head it’s wrapped in enough bandages to resemble a turban.

===

Much thanks to @lifeishwaiting for the final once over.

I’ve been sitting on this draft forever trying to get around the couple of derogatory terms the author used, and I did change them above, so I’ll note them here:

Raj from BBT was referred to as “The little Indian from BBT”

The last line used 印度阿三 and here’s the Baidu entry. I ended up using “turban” instead because it’s what she really meant as a description, and it’s a word used in Chinese history — think “Yellow Turban Rebellion” before the Three Kingdoms period.

Hey ☺️ Been a follower for a while and I find what you post so incredibly helpful; I’ve always felt intimidated by both exercise and how to eat the right way for who I am so that I end up not doing anything usually even though I feel almost desperate to. I’m a pescatarian but rarely eat fish (so practically a veggie) and I struggle with how to get enough protein and iron. I take multivits with iron most days but still have very low energy. Any advice on easy protein/iron? Thank you so much!🙏🏼

Aww thank you very much for the kind words and support love!

There’s a lot of advice out there on how to incorporate more protein into your diet, and if I’m being honest, it can sometimes feel like too much to think about. Whether you’re paleo, vegan, or counting macros, everybody needs protein. My motto when it comes to getting enough protein is to focus on the essential. Instead of focusing on protein focus on getting enough of the amino acids your body cannot make by itself!

A bit of nutrition science (I’ll simplify everything down below): Protein is an important nutrient required for the building, maintenance, and repair of tissues in the body. Proteins are made out of smaller molecules called amino acids, which are linked together like beads on a string. The linked amino acids form long protein chains, which are then folded into complex shapes.Some of these amino acids can be produced by the body, while we must get others from the diet. The ones we cannot produce and must get from our foods are called the “essential” amino acids.

English please 💁🏽‍♀️: Here’s the simplified version of what I just said: Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and they can be synthesized by the body or ingested from food. There are 20 different amino acids (some sources list 22) in the food we eat, but our body can only make 11 of them. The nine essential amino acids, which cannot be produced by the body, must be obtained from the diet. If you scroll through my blog, you’ll notice I’ve often elaborated on this topic before.

A variety of grains, legumes, and vegetables can provide all of the essential amino acids our bodies require. However, keep in mind that since grains, legumes, and vegetables are incomplete sources of protein you’ll have to combine these foods (protein combining (or protein complementing) – more on that later. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics posits that protein from a variety of plant foods eaten during the course of a day supplies enough of all essential amino acids when caloric requirements are met.

Protein Requirements

A lot of people consume protein without knowing their daily protein requirement.  Before you start to incorporate more protein into your diet it’s very important to have an idea of how much you should consume daily. Obviously, this will depend on many factors such as your weight, your fitness goals, how active you are, and your age. That said, however, in the athletic world, there is no greater debate than how much protein you require on a daily basis. There are a number of varying recommendations and calculations when it comes to how much protein you should be consuming. On closer inspection, the daily intake of protein depends on age and activity level. For example, weight trainers and teenagers require more protein than a sedentary individual.There are a few calculations that can be used in terms of protein recommendations.

The RDA increases by 30 grams per day during pregnancy and 20 grams per day during lactation. During growth, different amounts are needed. For example, 2.2 grams of protein are needed per kilogram of body weight each day in the first six months of life, and 2.0 grams per kilogram for the next six months.

Many nutritional experts feel the RDA for protein is far too low and is only suitable for sedentary adults. For those who are active, insulin sensitive, overweight or seeking weight loss or are in their teenage years, the amount of protein should be higher. If this is the case, you will likely need to increase your protein intake from the RDA’s recommendation of 0.8 g/kg to 1.2-1.8 g/kg. The calculation would be:

1. Weight in pounds divided by 2.2 = weight in kg2. Weight in kg x 0.8-1.8 gm/kg = protein gm

If you are pregnant, recovering from an illness, stuck in a metabolic rut, under stress or work out intensely, I recommend using a number between 1 and 1.8. The calculation would be:

Example: 150 lb female who is a regular exerciser and lifts weights150 lbs/2.2 = 68kg68kg x 1.5 = 102 gm protein/day

Protein Quality

Once you’ve determined from which foods you can get your essential amino acids and also your required daily protein intake – you can begin to incorporate more protein into your diet according to your needs. As I’ve mentioned earlier grains, legumes, and vegetables are incomplete sources of protein, so you’ll have to combine foods to get all of your essential amino acids!  Protein complementation is essential if you decide not to eat any animal-based products. It simply means ‘putting together 2 or more sources of protein together to make sure you get the 9 essential amino acids’. And remember although there are only 9 essential amino acids, the body uses 20 amino acids to make its proteins, so make sure you eat enough! Complementary proteins do not need to be eaten together, so long as the day’s meals supply them all.

Vegetables are quite often low in the Amino Acids Methionine and Isoleucine. These are important for heart health, muscle recovery and blood sugar regulation. So, if you tried to survive on veggies alone you probably wouldn’t be doing all that well.

You could try a diet of grains (which seem to make up the majority of most people’s diet… but don’t necessarily include them in their raw form unfortunately). As I’ve discussed above, grains are low in Lysine, but also in Threonine and Tryptophan. These three-control bone development, hormone production, sleep and regulate moods. So, if you lived off grains alone you’d be a tired, cranky, hormonal mess probably with Osteoporosis!

Onto Nuts and Seeds, which are deficient in Lysine and Isoleucine which have been previously mentioned for their involvement in bone development, muscle recovery and blood sugar regulation. Likewise, with Legumes which are low in Methionine and Tryptophan for heart health, sleep and mood regulation.

So, as you can see you can’t live off any one of these categories alone, however, if you combine the correct foods and have a good variety you won’t be missing out at all! If you want to ensure you have a Complete amount of protein with every meal, consider combining the following…

So simply pick the base of your meal and add one of the two options and you’ll be laughing. Note that, combining at each meal isn’t necessary! Alternatively, if that doesn’t suit the meal you’re trying to make, just make sure you eat a good variety of all four by the end of the day and your diet will be full of Complete protein by the end of the day. 

Also keep in mind that even if you don’t have time to meal prep to combine foods, we have a 30-foot-long digestive tract and foods transit through it in somewhere between 14 – 30 hours. This means that proteins will be combined in the small intestines all day. As long as you eat a variety of plant foods, such as nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes (beans, peas, lentils), and greens, your protein needs can be easily met.

Here are some common meal items that naturally complement each others’ proteins/ Some ideas for foods which you can put together to combine protein:

Beans and rice or tortillas

Peanut butter sandwich/Peanut butter on bread 

Baked beans toast

Poached egg and toast

Macaroni and cheese

Tofu with rice (or any grain)

Taco/tortilla & beans

Black Bean Burritos

Hummus with pita bread

Grilled cheese sandwich

Peanut Butter Spaghetti

Yogurt with nuts

Noodle stir-fry with peanut or sesame seed sauce

Lentil soup or dairy-based soup with bread

Whole grain cereal with milk

Pizza

Lasagna

Tacos filled with beans or lentils

Quinoa salad with black beans and feta

Corn, beans and squash are the three sacred crops of the indigenous peoples of North America. The Iroquois called them ‘The Three Sisters.” When combined in equal amounts, they provide 100% of the essential amino acids – rivaling animal foods. Additionally, quinoa, and soy are nearly complete vegetable proteins on their own.

Other tips

Before I end this, here are a few more tips that I personally use to make my life easier when it comes to incorporating protein:

1. Invest in a good BCAA supplement, my favourite BCAA supplement is ALLMAX Nutrition, Aminocore – the key lime pie flavour! -  I haven’t tried the other flavour yet but I will. You can make delicious lemonades during hot summer days. You can also make BCAA popsickles. I drink BCCA every day before and after my workouts. P.S. it’s available at Walmart

2. Also invest in some quality vegan protein! Protein shakes are an amazing way to achieve your daily protein intake requirements. As I’ve mentioned before protein shakes aren’t disgusting – but it’s the way one makes his protein shake that makes it disgusting. I hate mixing protein shakes with just water – it’s just yuck, I don’t know how people can just drink protein powder with water 🤢🤮 (my opinion though – don’t @ me please 🙃). You gotta add some life to the protein shake!!! I once made a protein shake with:

Vanilla protein powder (25g protein)

Strawberries

Coconut water

Almond milk

I also did:

Fruit blast Tropical powder blend (21 g of protein)

Coconut water

Almond milk 

Baby spinach + Pineapple & Mango

3. If your feeling fancy, make delicious smoked salmon bagel sandwiches. It’s easy to prepare and a real delight for your tummy.  I bought some smoked salmon for $2.49 the other day at GT Boutique (aka Giant Tiger). I don’t think GT exists in the States so try Walmart. Here are the instructions:

4. You can make a variety of mouthwatering salads packed with proteins. Here are 2 of my favourite salads that are super easy to make.

5. Here are a few non-meat protein sources:

You can also take a look at these posts from my blog for more ideas:

Plant protein energy kit [X]

Protein shakes [X]

48 delicious protein shake recipes [X]

10 vegetarian ways to eat your daily protein [X]

10 ways to add protein to your breakfast [X]

8 Must-Have Veggies for Building Muscles [X]

No meat muscle: 4 Rules for building lean mass on a vegetarian diet [X]

7 unique sources of protein [X]

Top sources of plant based protein [X]

Hope this was helpful and you enjoyed,Stephanie 😊

Clean Eating: How Good Is It For You

#cleaneating is the newest trend in the diet and nutrition industry. The working principle of clean eating is that eating natural, whole foods and avoiding processed ones can help promote your overall health. But, many health experts are suspicious about the big claims of clean eating because this might be just another fad.

What is Clean Eating?

Clean eating is a simple diet approach to eating nutritious and whole foods and dodging processed foods. Clean eating is not just a diet. It is also a way of living.

You will eat foods in their natural state, without chemicals, and packed with nutrients – like fruits, veggies, protein, healthy fats, and whole grains. And you will completely avoid processed or refined grains, salty and sugary foods, foods with preservatives and additives, and unhealthy fats and proteins.

Follow this eating habit repeatedly and cleanse your system. It will have a positive effect on your mind and body.

Clean Eating Benefits

Here’s why you should practice eating clean:

Get an overload of dietary fiber (good carbs), lean protein, healthy fats, and vitamins and minerals.

No more frantically counting calories.

Improve your gut function.

Alleviate constipation.

Strengthen your immunity.

You will feel revived and energetic.

Weight loss.

Your mental stress levels will reduce.

Your mind will be calm.

No bloating.

You will be proactive at whatever you do.

Improve the health of your skin, hair, and nails.

Reduced risk of various lifestyle-related diseases.

You will sleep better.

Clean Eating Strategies That Work

1. Consume Unprocessed Whole Grains

Compared with refined grains, whole grains are naturally richer in dietary fiber, containing ∼80% more dietary fiber than refined grains. Hence, it is best to eat nutritious, unprocessed whole grains as they help to decrease the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer and aid weight loss.

Consume 3 servings (1 serving = 16 g) of whole grains per day. Include oats, red rice, quinoa, brown rice, wheat, barley, black rice, and corn in your diet.

2. Consume Lean Protein

Lean proteins like wild-caught fish, mushrooms, free-range eggs, skinless chicken breast, and lentils are ideal.

Proteins are the building blocks, and you must eat a serving of protein with every meal. Also, proteins from plant and animal sources will prevent muscle loss.

3. Include Healthy Fats

Healthy fats like nuts, melon seeds, avocado, flax seeds, and sunflower seeds are excellent sources of healthy fats. You may also add homemade nut butter and virgin olive oil and rice bran oil for cooking.

Healthy fats are chiefly unsaturated fats that help decrease inflammation in the body. And that, in turn, helps lessen inflammation-induced obesity.

4. Consume Fruits And Veggies

The WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations recommend eating five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Eating fruits and veggies has also been linked with reduced weight and lesser health problems.

So, start consuming at least 5 servings of mixed veggies and 3 servings of 3 different fruits per day.

5. Limit Added Sugar Consumption

Limiting added sugar in several processed and packaged foods will take care of many health issues like diabetes, reduced brain function, non-alcoholic fatty liver, obesity, and a few cancers.

While you are supposed to eat no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar per day, bad food habits can make you eat as many as 25 teaspoons of sugar per day! Avoid foods (including sauces and salad dressings) that contain ingredients like fructose, corn syrup, high fructose, dextrose, concentrated fruit juice, molasses, invert sugar, etc..

6. Read The Label

Always read the label. Not to see the calories but to see what ingredients are being thrown into the canned or packaged food that you are picking to eat. You will find that most of these foods are packed with preservatives and additives that are possibly toxic to your health in the long run.

7. Avoid All Kinds Of Processed Foods

Processed foods like frozen foods, instant noodles, sausage, salami, and ready-to-eat foods are a strict no-no. You should also bypass processed foods like packaged milk, readymade flatbreads/pita bread, baby spinach, chopped veggies, yogurt, cheese, and whole wheat pasta.

Maximum processed foods are low in nutrients and filled with chemicals and preservatives.

8. Shop Along The Perimeter

The margin of any supermarket is where you get all the whole grains, veggies, fruits, and healthy fats. If you want to eat clean but get easily attracted to packaged food, it is best to avoid moving around those shelves until you develop clean eating as your new lifestyle.

9. More Than 10 Ingredients, Put It Back!

The more the number of ingredients in a food, the more harmful it is. Trust you me! Processed foods have a number of ingredients to enhance their shelf life, increase their taste, and stop them from getting spoiled.

So, while seeing the label, if you find more than 10 ingredients, it is best to put it back and choose for a substitute that has a lesser number of ingredients. Eat whole and pure foods.

10. Take Care Of The Environment

By eating more plant-based foods, decreasing meat intake, and bypassing processed foods, you will help reduce the carbon print. You will help decrease the use of herbicides and pesticides, decrease the practice of injecting hormones into fish and other meats and reduce the level of air, water, and soil pollution.

Can Clean Eating Help in Losing Weight?

Yes, you will lose weight if you eat clean. Because you will eat:

a lot of dietary fiber from whole grains, fruits, veggies, and nuts

lean proteins that will help you build muscle and increase your metabolism

healthy fats that will help match the omega-6 and omega-3 ratio and reduce inflammation and stress in your body.

You will also avoid a lot of foods that have more unknown calories (like added sugar) and salt (causes water retention in the body), which will help in weight loss even if you don’t work out regularly.

Clean Eating Grocery List

Foods To Eat

Veggies – Broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, sweet potato, carrot, beetroot, radish, radish greens, kale, chard, beet greens, scallions, lettuce, cabbage, bell peppers, cucumber, zucchini, tomato, arugula, ginger, garlic, fennel, celery, asparagus, onion, Brussels sprouts, and peas.

Fruits – Apple, blackberries, strawberries, apple, orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, plum, peach, avocado, kiwi, apricot, watermelon, honeydew melons, raspberries, papaya, banana, and pineapple.

Non-Dairy Milk – Almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, and rice milk.

Animal Protein – Whole eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, tuna, trout, mackerel, shrimp, clam, mussels, skinless chicken breast, and lean cuts of beef and pork.

Plant Protein – Mushroom, dried lentils, tofu, edamame, soybeans, quinoa, mixed nuts, nut butter, navy beans, hummus, and soba noodles.

Whole Grains – Quinoa, whole barley, wheat, oat bran, buckwheat, Ezekiel bread, wild rice, brown rice, red rice, and black rice.

Fats And Oils – Tahini, almond butter, olive oil, flax seed oil, avocado oil, walnut oil, grapeseed oil, sesame seed oil, sunflower butter, and cashew butter.

Nuts And Seeds – Walnut, almond, chia, macadamia, pistachio, hazelnuts, pepita, flax seeds, and melon seeds.

Natural Sweeteners – Maple syrup, agave nectar, organic honey, and palm sugar.

Beverages – Water, coconut water, freshly pressed juices, and green tea/oolong tea.

Herbs And Spices – Cilantro, dill, sage, rosemary, bay leaf, clove, cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric, cumin, coriander, parsley, nutmeg, mustard, paprika, chili powder, and Himalayan pink salt.

Others – Apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and Dijon mustard.

Foods To Avoid

Yogurt

Cheese

Whole wheat pasta

Packaged drinks

Carbonated beverages

Diet soda

Candies

Packaged ready-to-eat foods

Frozen foods

Fries

Fried chicken

Packaged chopped veggies

Salami

Sausage

Is Clean Eating Backed By Science?

No, the advantages of clean eating are not backed by science.

Yes, eating veggies, fruits, and other whole foods will help you lose weight and decrease the risk of various diseases. But many scientists think that the concept of clean eating should be linked to “healthy eating” and not “eating pure foods” or “avoiding dirty foods.”

Many others consider that the concept of clean eating may give rise to eating disorders.

Precautions

Treat clean eating as “healthy eating” and incorporate all food groups in your diet to get balanced nutrition.

Do not get controlled with eating only organic, raw, gluten-free, dairy-free foods. The more you treat food as your opponent, the worse it becomes.

Do not let clean eating make you zealous or depressed if you couldn’t stick to it.

Bottomline

Clean eating is a healthy eating and lifestyle theory that we support you to take up. But, with it comes to the responsibility of eating mindfully. Choose good food, local fruits, and veggies, and avoid trans fats, and you will be all good. Today’s clean eating idea might get wiped away by a new nutrition revolution tomorrow. So, try and see if clean eating is something that you really enjoy and if it works for you.

I hope this hasn’t been done yet! Inspired by the Finnish list by @languagesandshootingstars​ and original post here

kutya - dog macska - cat hal - fish madár - bird tehén - cow disznó, malac - pig egér - mouse ló - horse szárny - wing állat - animal vonat - train repülő(gép) - plane autó, kocsi - car teherautó, kamion - truck bicikli, kerékpár - bicycle busz - bus csónak - boat hajó - ship gumi - tire benzin - gasoline motor - engine jegy - ticket közlekedés - transportation város - city, town ház - house lakás - apartment út - way, road utca - street, road repülőtér - airport vasútállomás - train station híd - bridge hotel - hotel étterem - restaurant farm - farm bíróság - court(room) iskola - school iroda - office szoba - room egyetem - university klub - club bár - bar park - park tábor - camp bolt, üzlet - store, shop színház - theater könyvtár - library kórház - hospital templom - church piac - market föld - country; ground; soil; Earth épület - building (világ)űr - (outer) space bank - bank hely(szín) - location kalap - hat ruha - dress öltöny - suit szoknya - skirt ing - shirt póló - t-shirt nadrág - pants cipő - shoes zseb - pocket kabát - coat folt - stain ruhák (plural) - clothing piros - red zöld - green kék - blue sárga - yellow barna - brown rózsaszín - pink lila - purple narancssárga - orange fekete - black fehér - white szürke - grey világos - light sötét - dark szín - colour fiú - boy; son lány - daughter anya - mother apa - father szülő - parent (kis)baba, bébi - baby férfi - man férj - husband nő - woman fiútestvér - brother báty - older brother öcs - younger brother lánytestvér - sister nővér - older sister húg - younger sister család - family nagypapa - grandfather nagymama - grandmother feleség - wife király - king királynő - queen elnök - president szomszéd - neighbour gyerek - child felnőtt - adult ember - human barát - (close) friend haver - (casual) friend áldozat - victim játékos - player rajongó - fan tömeg - crowd ember, személy - person tanár - teacher tanuló, diák - student ügyvéd - lawyer orvos, doktor - doctor beteg, páciens - patient pincér - waiter titkár(nő) - secretary (male/female) pap - priest rendőr - police hadsereg - army katona - soldier művész - artist író - author menedzser - manager riporter - reporter színész - actor munka, állás - job vallás - religion menny(ország) - heaven pokol - hell halál - death gyógyszer - medicine pénz - money dollár - dollar számla - bill házasság - marriage esküvő - wedding csapat - team faj - race szex - sex nem - gender, sex gyilkosság - murder börtön - prison technológia - technology energia - energy háború - war béke - peace támadás - attack választás - election magazin - magazine újság - newspaper méreg - poison fegyver - gun sport - sport verseny - race; competition mozgás, torna - exercise labda - ball játék - game ár - price szerződés - contract drog - drug jel - sign tudomány - science Isten - God együttes, zenekar - band dal, ének - song hangszer - instrument zene - music film - movie művészet - art kávé - coffee tea - tea bor - wine sör - beer gyümölcslé - juice víz - water tej - milk ital - drink, beverage tojás - egg sajt - cheese kenyér - bread leves - soup torta, sütemény - cake csirke(hús) - chicken disznó(hús) - pork marha(hús) - beef hús - meat alma - apple banán - banana narancs - orange citrom - lemon kukorica - corn rizs - rice olaj - oil mag - seed kés - knife kanál - spoon villa - fork tányér - plate csésze - cup reggeli - breakfast ebéd - lunch vacsora - dinner  cukor - sugar só - salt üveg - bottle étel - food asztal - table szék - chair ágy - bed álom - dream ablak - window ajtó - door hálószoba - bedroom konyha - kitchen fürdőszoba - bathroom ceruza - pencil toll - pen fénykép - photograph szappan - soap könyv - book oldal - page kulcs - key festék - paint levél - letter jegyzet - note (as in “to take notes”) fal - wall papír - paper padló - floor plafon - ceiling tető - roof medence - pool zár - lock telefon - telephone kert - garden udvar - yard tű - needle táska - bag doboz - box ajándék - gift kártya - card gyűrű - ring szerszám - tool óra - clock lámpa - lamp ventillátor - fan mobiltelefon - cellphone hálózat - network számítógép - computer program - program laptop - laptop képernyő - screen fényképezőgép- camera (for photos) (videó)kamera - video camera televízió, tévé - television rádió - radio fej - head nyak - neck arc  - face szakáll - beard haj - hair szem - eye száj - mouth ajak - lip orr - nose fog - tooth fül - ear könny - tear nyelv - tongue; language hát - back lábujj - toe ujj - finger lábfej - foot kéz - hand láb - leg kar - arm váll - shoulder szív - heart vér - blood agy - brain térd - knee izzadtság - sweat betegség - disease csont - bone hang - voice; noise; sound bőr - skin test - body tenger - sea óceán - ocean folyó - river hegy(ség) - mountain eső- rain hó - snow fa - tree; wood nap - sun hold - moon világ - world erdő - forest növény - plant szél - wind virág - flower völgy - valley gyökér - root tó - lake csillag - star fű - grass levél - leaf levegő - air homok - sand part - beach hullám - wave tűz - fire jég - ice sziget - island domb - hill hő - heat természet - nature üveg - glass fém - metal műanyag - plastic kő - stone gyémánt - diamond agyag - clay por - dust arany - gold réz - copper ezüst - silver anyag - material méter - meter centiméter - centimeter kilogramm - kilogram hüvelyk - inch font - pound fél - half kör - circle négyzet - square hőmérséklet - temperature dátum  - date súly - weight szél - edge sarok - corner térkép - map pont - dot mássalhangzó - consonant magánhangzó - vowel fény - light igen - yes nem  - no darab - piece fájdalom - pain sérülés - injury lyuk - hole kép - image minta - pattern főnév - noun ige - verb melléknév - adjective rajta - (on) top alatt - under oldal - side előtt - in front of mögött  - behind kint - outside bent - inside fel - up le - down bal - left jobb - right egyenes - straight észak - north dél - south kelet - east nyugat - west irány - direction nyár - summer tavasz - spring tél - winter ősz - autumn évszak - season nulla - 0 egy - 1 kettő - 2 három - 3 négy - 4 öt - 5 hat - 6 hét - 7 nyolc - 8 kilenc - 9 tíz - 10 tizenegy - 11 húsz - 20 huszonegy - 21 harminc - 30 negyven - 40 ötven - 50 hatvan - 60 hetven - 70 nyolcvan - 80 kilencven - 90 száz - 100 kétszáz - 200 ezer - 1000 tízezer - 10000 százezer - 100000 millió - million milliárd - billion első - first második - second harmadik - third negyedik - fourth ötödik - fifth szám - number január - January február - February március - March április - April május - May június - June július - July augusztus - August szeptember- September október - October november - November december - December hétfő - Monday kedd - Tuesday szerda - Wednesday csütörtök - Thursday péntek - Friday szombat - Saturday vasárnap - Sunday év - year hónap  - month hét - week nap - day óra - hour perc - minute másodperc - second reggel - morning délután - afternoon este - evening éjjel - night idő - time dolgozik - to work működik - to work (“function”) játszik - to play (children, games, sports, instruments) sétál - to walk fut - to run vezet - to drive repül - to fly úszik - to swim megy - to go megáll - to stop (moving forward) abbahagy - to stop (doing something) követ - to follow gondolkodik - to think beszél - to speak mond - to say eszik - to eat iszik - to drink öl - to kill meghal - to die mosolyog - to smile nevet - to laugh sír - to cry vesz, vásárol - to buy fizet - to pay elad, árul - to sell lő - to shoot tanul - to learn ugrik - to jump szagol - to smell hall  - to hear hallgat - to listen ízlel - to taste érint - to touch lát - to see néz - to watch csókol - to kiss ég - to burn olvad - to melt ás - to dig robban - to explode ül - to sit áll - to stand szeret - to love vág - to cut veszekszik (verbally), verekedik (physically) - to fight (le)fekszik - to lie (down) táncol - to dance alszik - to sleep felébred - to wake up énekel - to sing számol - to count házasodik - to marry imádkozik - to pray nyer - to win veszít - to lose kever - to mix, to stir hajlít - bend mos -  to wash főz  - to cook nyit - to open zár - to close ír - to write fordul - to turn épít - to build tanít - to teach nő - to grow (by itself) rajzol - to draw etet - to feed elkap - catch (e.g. a ball) dob - to throw tisztít - to clean talál - to find esik - to fall tol, nyom - to push húz - to pull visz - to carry tör - to break visel, hord - to wear lóg - to hang ráz - to shake jelez - to sign üt, ver - to beat emel - to lift magas - tall hosszú - long rövid - short alacsony - short (person); low sekély - shallow (water) széles - wide keskeny - narrow nagy  - big, large kicsi - small, little lassú - slow gyors - fast forró - hot hideg - cold meleg - warm hűvös - cool új - new régi - old (object) öreg - old (person) fiatal - young jó - good rossz - bad nedves, vizes - wet száraz - dry beteg - sick egészséges - healthy hangos - loud halk - quiet boldog - happy szomorú - sad gyönyörű, szép - beautiful ronda, csúnya  - ugly süket - deaf vak - blind kedves - nice gonosz - mean gazdag - rich szegény - poor vastag - thick vékony - thin drága - expensive olcsó - cheap lapos - flat szűk - tight laza - loose magas - high puha - soft kemény - hard mély - deep tiszta - clean koszos - dirty erős - strong gyenge - weak halott - dead élő - alive nehéz - heavy; difficult világos - light sötét - dark nukleáris - nuclear híres - famous én - I te - you ő - she, he az - it mi - we ti - you ők - they ön, maga - you (formal)

GONE TO SEA : World of Sea : Science Fiction : Part 2

GONE TO SEA

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

WORK IN PROGRESS (Word count unknown at this time)

copyright 2018

Writing started 2005

All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

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Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact.  They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions. All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

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“We brought equipment to mine on land or in space.  We can fabricate almost any device except for a tiny problem.  There’s no land to mine and the rest of the system is metal poor.  This world does have quite a lot of high quality ores.  Unfortunately they are under about fifty to over nine hundred meters of water.  We can’t get at them. Captain Alain inhaled heavily and added, “We can’t even get useful silica sand on this planet.  It’s in the same situation as the metal ores.  The common coral sand is useless for glass making.

“What we can do is process the local coral and coral sands into a form of concrete.  It is possible to get useful amounts of aluminum, magnesium and small amounts of titanium from the seawater.  We can go to the three moons for silicates to make glasses.  They even have small amounts of available iron and some other useful metals.  The silicates make structural glass a real possibility.  Fiberglass is also practical.  Many of the local seaweeds will process to yield various plastic resins for both the fiberglass and to mold directly into useful objects.

“In this environment, only the titanium and structural glass are durable. Corrosion will destroy the other metals in short order.  Concrete made from coral is subject to long term erosion by the water, not to mention the many animals and plants that will attack it.  Even the fiberglass will have a limited life due to long term water absorption.  Of course you can recycle the fiberglass materials.”

Now it was Mister Torres who spoke.  “You know about the nutritional deficiency issues of this world, um ... Sea?  Good name, by the way.”

Captain Alain accepted the compliment with a nod and replied, “Yes.  You will be short a pair of critical amino acids, a small raft of vitamins, and there’s a carbohydrate problem of some sort.”

It was Mister Torres who spread his hands now.  “You are right.  We brought the solutions to all of that along in the form of crop seeds and embryonic animals.  We did not expect to have no place to raise them.  Hydroponics could answer the plant problem, perhaps.  The animals are a different matter altogether.  They have to have a certain amount of space for proper development.”  He paused and looked thoughtfully at a painting of Mt Fuji, back on Earth, “Could we bypass the growth of the animals and do a carniculture system?  I ask because that is more an engineering problem.”

Captain Alain considered in his turn.  Mister Torres let him think.  A thousand lives hung in the balance.  At last, Captain Alain said, “It could be done.  It has been done before.  There is a nutrient limitation.  You have to be able to supply the culture tissues with the necessary amino acids.  The whole animal would manufacture its own from the crops fed to it.  The culture can’t do that.  I think that with the available resources, you are stuck with raising the animals whole.  I can ask.  We didn’t think of that solution.” He dictated a note for his ship's system engineers to look into it.

Suddenly Mister Torres exclaimed, “Those storms all follow the same pattern! That means that if we build a platform, we can design it to be strongest in a direction that will resist the storms best!  What sort of tidal variation are we dealing with?”

Captain Alain thought a moment and consulted his data.  His brows knit as he worked through the problem.  “When the sun and the moons line up unfavorably, the sea level can drop until the shallows become shoal-water.  At the other extreme, the water depth can go to twenty meters.  A storm depression coupled with a low tide can actually bare the upper parts of the coral.  That kills the coral and limits upward growth.”

Mister Torres shook his head.  “Between storms, coral should grow on the skeletons of the dead coral and cause island building.  Why doesn’t it?”

Captain Alain realized from the form of the question that Mister Torres was giving him credit for intelligence and was pleased.  He answered, “There’s a common fish with a hard beak.  It seems to think that the dead coral is a delicacy and mows the reef down as it grazes.  It chews up the stone to get the dead organisms.  That’s what makes the coral sand.”

Mister Torres nodded.  “Like the parrot fish back home.  Makes sense.  The same fish attacks our concrete too?”

Captain Alain just nodded.  Then he had a thought.  Excitedly he said, “We could put titanium mesh in the outer layers of the concrete.  That would keep the fish out of anything structural.  Once the platform was built, you could process more concrete on your own.  You could re-plaster the areas that the fish attack.”  

He subsided, “You’d have all your eggs in one basket, though.  The thing would have to be huge.  We can only marshal the resources to build one.”

“It’s not really that important,” said Mister Torres softly.  “There’s no possible way for us to survive until a ship can return with what we do need.  Still, we have to have the platform for morale reasons. My people need hope.  It’s all that we can really do for them.”

Captain Alain suggested, “We can request a recovery expedition as soon as we get back.  It is ESA policy to have a colony ship ready for just such an emergency.”

Mister Torres shook his head negatively.  “I fear that the war that was shaping up will be long over when you get back.  I pray that you will be able to survive your return.  I do not think that there is any possibility of our survival.”

Captain Alain looked compassionately at Mister Torres.  He shook his head. “You’re right.  The war will change everything back home.  We received messages from Earth before we got The drive up to threshold energy.  The shooting did start.  We were ordered to return but disobeyed.  I can only hope that some form of the ESA has survived.

“As for your platform, even with the Crossover Drive to push us faster than light, we can’t get back to you in time.  No platform that we can build will survive long enough.  It is going to get hit by at least five and probably more of those Coriolis Storms.  One of them will sweep it away.  Without its facilities, your people will die of malnutrition in fairly short order.”

Mister Torres looked back at Captain Alain and said bleakly, “I know that. What we are going to do is simple.  We will lie to your crew and my colonists alike.  We will fake evidence to show that the necessary nutrients can be found in the ecology.  We just can’t localize them well enough from space.  The search will keep hope in them to the last.”

Captain Alain closed his eyes in pain.  This was indeed difficult.  Why couldn’t Mister Torres be angry, rail at fate or just cry?  This calm acceptance, this cold blooded planning to deceive a thousand doomed people was beyond him.  He shook himself and said, “Very well, we will follow your lead.  Two of my crew will have to be in the conspiracy.  They are needed to create the false data.”

That simply, the decision was made.  With massive labor, a platform was built with all of the best systems, electronic controls and computerized communications.  It held laboratories, shops, apartments, docks for boats, recreational and farming spaces.  All critical exposed areas, like the upper levels of the farms, could be closed over with locking domes in bad weather.  On the platform, a space one kilometer by one and a half kilometers, several stories thick, a thousand people were left on a planet that could not support them.  Only one of their number actually knew what had been done.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Become an Outdoor Scientist If you like looking at trees, and bark, and the pattern of veins in leaves; if you are fascinated by clouds or the spots on a ladybug’s back; if you like to split open rocks and see what’s inside, then you are already an outdoor scientist. The best part is you don’t need any special or fancy equipment, you don’t need to remember a charger, you just need your eyes and the power of observation. Are there one or two sets of paw prints in the snow? Three or four kinds of birds having a conversation in a grove? What kinds of plants are strong enough to push their way through the cracks in the sidewalk? You may not always find the answer, but these are the questions an outdoor scientist asks about the world. As summer approaches, here are five projects and experiments to lead you on your scientific journey into the natural world. Make your own crystal One way crystals form is when magma, or liquid rock, begins to cool. Different kinds and colors of crystals will form depending on factors like the temperature of the liquid and the amount of time it takes to cool. It’s the same process with snowflakes, also known as snow crystals. You can observe crystallization up close if you leave a solution of water and salt out all night at room temperature. The water will evaporate, and the salt will crystallize. 1. Bring water to a boil in a pot (adults can help with this if you’re not allowed to use the stove yourself). 2. Stir in salt, adding until it no longer dissolves. The water should look almost clear with a few grains of salt swirling around (which means you’ve added slightly more salt than the water can absorb). 3. Transfer the solution to a jar. 4. Add a few drops of food coloring if you want to make colored crystals. 5. Tie one end of your string around the middle of your pencil and lower the other end of the string into the jar. The string should be long enough so that it almost touches the bottom of your jar. 6. Balance the pencil across the top of your jar. 7. Crystals should start to form in one or two days. Capture a Paw Print Dogs and humans go way back. Just as we evolved from primates, dogs evolved from wolves. Dogs were the first animals to live with humans. We call this domestication, which describes how a wild animal becomes our furry friendwatching Netflix beside us on the couch. Today, there are over 300 breeds of dogs, but even after thousands of years of evolution, a dog’s paw and a wolf’s paw are still so similar that you can’t really tell them apart. You’ll need: 4 cups plaster of Paris 2 cups cold tap water Instructions: Warning: Never completely submerge your hand or a pet’s paw in plaster of Paris, and remove it quickly while still moist. Plaster of Paris gets hot when it dries and you don’t want to get stuck. 1. Spread out newspaper on your work surface. 2. Place plaster of Paris and water in a plastic container, and use your mixing spoon to stir well until your mixture is the consistency of pancake batter. 3. Pour the mixture into the aluminum cake pan and smooth it with a spatula. Let it rest for an hour to set. 4. Place your dog’s paw (or the paw/ foot of any other animal) onto the mixture and press it down about ½ to ¾ inch — press firmly. Your dog will probably be more cooperative if you set the plaster of Paris container on the table and the dog on your lap. Remove dog’s paw and rinse thoroughly. 5. Allow the plaster of Paris to dry for 24 hours, and you’ll have a life-size keepsake of your pet’s paw. Note: If you don’t have any domestic or outdoor animals, you can always use a human “paw.” Measure a Tree You’ve probably learned that you can figure out the age of a tree by counting its rings, but each ring is really made up of two parts. One entire year is represented by a lighter band of a layer of tissue known as cambium and a thinner, darker band of cambium measured together. The light-colored band shows growth during the warmer, rainier months and good growth conditions. The dark-colored band shows growth during the colder months and difficult conditions. Trees grow outward, meaning that the center of a tree is the oldest part, and the outer rings the newest. The central core, or heartwood, is the strongest wood in the tree even though it’s no longer alive. Because human records of daily weather conditions only go back so far, trees serve as useful tools for scientists studying climate change. Trees often live hundreds of years and can tell us about weather conditions long before humans started keeping track. You’ll need: More information on tree growth can be found in “How Old Is My Tree?” by Lindsay Purcell, which you can find at purduelandscapereport.org. Instructions: 1. Measure the circumference (distance around) of your tree at approximately 4.5 feet from the ground with your cloth tape measure. 2. Use your calculator to divide that number by 3.14 (which is, approximately, Pi). 3. Multiply that number by the “growth factor” of your tree. The “growth factor” is an average estimate of your tree’ species’ growth over time. The International Society of Arboriculture has published a table of growth factor numbers according to tree species that you need to search for on Google or look up in a guide to trees to complete the formula for measuring your tree. 4. The result is the age of your tree. For example: If your silver maple is 20 inches in circumference, and you divide that by 3.14, you get 6.369. Multiply that by the growth factor (3) and get 19.108. That means your tree is approximately 19 years old. Make a Constellation Map The night skies have always been important to humankind, primarily as a navigational tool. Today, stargazing isn’t as easy as it used to be. The main reason is light pollution. When we think of pollution, we tend to focus on water and air pollution because they directly affect what we drink and breathe. But light pollution has long interfered with our ability to see the night skies in cities and suburbs. An exciting citizen science project that you can participate in involves capturing the night sky from where you live and sharing it with people across the globe to track light pollution. To take part, visit the website Globe at Night. You’ll need: Instructions: 1. Measure the circumference of your flashlight’s lens with a drawing compass. Copy the measurement onto cardstock with your pencil. 2. Cut out a few circles for different constellations. These should fit snugly over the lens and inside the lip of the flashlight (if your flashlight doesn’t have a lip, you can use tape to hold it in place.) It is important to leave a tab on the circle a little larger than a pencil eraser to pull your circle out of the flashlight’s rim. 3. Find images of constellations on the internet or in a book about astronomy. 4. Using your pencil, mark dots on your circles that look like your constellation images. 5. Using the points of your scissors, punch holes through the dots. 6. Insert one disc into the top of your flashlight. Turn on the flashlight in a dark room and shine it on a blank wall or ceiling. Enjoy viewing your constellation! Make a Pine Cone Bird Feeder Birds need four basic things: food, water, shelter, and a place to lay their eggs. For most common backyard birds in North America, such as the goldfinch, blue jay, robin, hummingbird, cardinal and sparrow, their diet consists of nuts, seeds, fruit and nectar. Ospreys, large coastal birds, like fish and will plunge into the water to scoop them up. Up the food chain: Herons like frogs, roadrunners like reptiles, hawks will eat other birds, owls like rodents and vultures will eat just about anything, including roadkill. You’ll need: String Pine cone (f you don’t live near pine trees, you can buy a pine cone at a local crafts store) Birdseed (can be purchased at a grocery or pet store) Plate Honey Butter knife (optional) Branch or other place to hang feeder Instructions: 1. Tie a string around a pine cone’s top so you can hang it up later. Pour about an inch of bird seeder on a plate, enough to roll your pine cone in. 3. Drizzle honey over your pine cone. (Do this over the plate to catch any honey that drips off your pine cone.) 4. Once your pine cone is covered in honey, roll it around in birdseed on your plate until it’s covered. You many need to use a butter knife to get into the nooks and crannies. 5. Hang your pine cone from a branch and move a safe distance away to observe the birds that come to dine. From “The Outdoor Scientist” by Temple Grandin, Ph.D., published by Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2021 by Temple Grandin. Source link Orbem News #Outdoor #Scientist

ON AVOIDING OR REVERSING DEMENTIA my notes on a video: Steve Blake, doctor of science specializing in nutritional biochemistry How To Improve Memory: Results From Our Clinical Trials Well, 90% is from this video. I dropped in some other stuff i learned elsewhere, probably from nutritionfacts and my first paragraph may be inspired by Dr Bredesen. Alzheimer is technically a genetically programmed reaction to a severe brain damage - defined by a shrinking mechanism and phenomena such as plaque or tangles, that are essentially like scrab-patching and scarring, etc. the original brain damage can be caused by vascular inflammation and some other causes, such as microbial or viral infections or poisons, heavy metals. clogged arteries are statistically a major cause of brain damage, involved in 80% of dementias which are largely overlapping with the alzheimer's reaction. the clogging of arteries is a response to inflammation of vessels. inflammation is in large parts caused by oxidizing lipids & cholesterol from nutritional sources that are devoid of anti-oxidants = processed foods or animal products. to address this vascular aspect of dementia avoid saturated fat, ensure low cholesterol by natural means (not drugs), avoid inflammation. to avoid inflammation avoid toxins and seek out protective anti-oxidants and other phytonutrients. generally speaking seek out green vegetables & berries, followed by colored fruits and vegetables, followed by some roots. legumes and grains are also a good source of folate and another reason for why legumes are associated with improved cognition may be their antimicrobial powers in the gut. some supplementation may still be necessary or beneficial. you just can't seem to get enough protection from vitamins and anti-oxidants in foods, especially once you have a chronic disease. minerals also play keyrole in protection, by aiding in chelation or in formation of enzymes. minerals include sulfur from greens. Example study that supplementation also works: 200mg synthetic vitamin E, 300mg vitamin c, beta-carotene supplementation improved memory 15%, after 7 months, on a test. Seek out these nutrients: Vitamin c Vitamin e and carotenoids such as beta carotene & lutein, astaxanthin, zeaxanthin = fat soluble, specifically work for the brain & also for eyes. Polyphenols  (flavanoids/flavones/resveratrol/etc), Vitamin E: since the brain is mainly fat, fat soluble antioxidants like vitamin e play key role, but water soluble anti-oxidants as well, since they can recycle fat soluble anti-oxidant. nuts, seeds, avocado and olives are generally good source of vitamin e. walnuts have gama tocopherol Vitamin E sunflowers have alpha tocopherol Vitamin E the chinese eat peanuts and also get protecive effects.   blend nuts to prevent unchewed, sharp bits from cutting up your guts. Folate & B12  (optionally SAMe): We need folate (methylfolate), not folic acid. (Folic acid may have cancer risk over 1000mcg) We need to supplement b12. Dr greger still insists that most science proving benefits of b12 were done on cyanocobalamine version of b12. B12 and Folate are involved in detox of homocysteine, which is a major metabolic toxin, implied in vascular inflammation and thus in dementia. homocysteine must be converted back to methionine, which happens as a part of a complex "methylation cycle". you may research MFHTR to see what can go wrong with folic acid, getting in the way of propper folate, if i recall correctly. Folate and b12 work together to create SAMe. SAMe is directly involved in detox of homocyteine. SAMe can also also be supplemented directly. (200mg) SAMe increases Serotonin and should be taken in the morning and not combined with SSRI drugs. SAMe "quenches" the genes that lead to the formation of Amyloid Plaque Patches. Apparently SAMe activity makes them redundant. It also reduces Tau Tangles. Cofactors of internal antioxdidants are zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, coenzyme q10 internal anti-oxidants are -superoxid dismutase (SOD), -Glutathione Peroxidase (turns hydrogen peroxide into water) superoxide dismutase requires zinc, copper, manganese. a perfect manganaese source is hibiscus tee, in fact you could even get too much of it, 2 bags of hibicus are good (nutritionfacts). Glutathione Peroxidase turns hydrogen peroxide into water. it requires selenium. people with dementia need lots of selenium to deal with their oxidative stress. they use it all up, as indicated in low serum levels. he recommends sesame/tahini as well. brazil nuts are a good source but he is concerned about radioactive barium in brazil nuts. but according to my earlyer research, if i remember correctly, 2 brazil nuts are not a problem and have plenty of selenium. by the way, sulfur (broccoli) detoxes toxins like barium, lead, arsenic, alimunium, strontium, mercury. sulfur can also be obtained from MSM, as supplement. problems with glucose metabolism observed in alzheimer have to do with manganese, copper and selenium deficit. ensuring their intake improves glycogen use of the brain. raw vegan diet is statistically best source of vitamin E, achieving 45mg, probably because it tends to be rich in oil-seed sprouts and avocado. WFPB achieves only 20mg, still more than any other popular diet, however the low fat version of WFBP achieves only ~5mg. raw food is also best source of vitamin C, followed by WFPB with 450-350mg. according to a study on dementia, a vitamin c supplementation of 800mg was beneficial, when dealing with dementia. gorillas eat 13.000 vitamin C. animals that make their own vitamin c make 2.000 to 20.000. in a correlation study, vitamin E and C supplementation was associated with 40% decreased dementia risk. coenzyme q10 / co-q10: needed for energy metabolism of mitochondria, produced by body but becomes more rare with aging, may be supplemented. co-q10 is fat soluble antioxidant and protects membranes of cells and mitochondria. membrane protection is critical in demetia. it also improves mitochondria-energy metabolism. stimulates superoxide dismutase, additional protection of membranes. this protection is associated with reduced plaques. astaxanthin, a deep red and super potent carrotenoid, (found in algae and fish eating those) is fat soluble, works in brain, works inside and outside of cells, but does not adress membranes directly. OPC (found in grape seeds) works in the brain, i recall it works outside of cells and adresses membranes, but does not work inside of cells? both may be helpfull as supplements. all berries are good sources of antioxidants=polyphenols, including red grapes. blueberries may be best source of anthocyanins, which are antoixidant and anti-inflammatory and effective in the brain and thus improve all cognitive functions. berries are loaded with pesticides. best wash off for superficial pesticides on vegetables is soaking them in baking soda, but it's still not super effective, so choose organic if possible. he warns against use of synthetic vitamin E. warns against statin drugs. warns against over consuming saturated fat: suggests you can't afford any animal products, because essential plants, such as vitamin E sources, already cover your saturated fat budget. warns against dementia drugs donepezil & memantine because they dont improve cognition and have nasty side effects. he recommends Gingo bilboa and Gotu kola but warns about interactions with drugs. what came up in the first 45 minutes of the aforementioned videos. need a break now. well, shit more like 8 hours of sleep. to be continued. ...... Ppl with dementia tend to have a vitamin E deficit. Vitamin E is more powerful per mg than Vitamin A or C, but harder to get. A metastudy on nut consumption ( https://bit.ly/30f8KJx ) suggests, tan estimated 4.4 million annual deaths may be attributable to a nut intake below 20 grams per day in North and South America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific. A Nut intake below 20g would typically correlated with a Vitamin E deficiency. Vitamin E can also regenerate the intrinsic antioxidant superoxide dismutase. By the way, salt consumption leads to the oxidation of superoxide dismutase, something i have researched a long time ago. It was really hard to find out about WHY salt is as badly associated with vessel inflammation, as every study shows it is. It seems all the doctor pandits of the internet don't even know about that. Everyone thinks its just because of lowered cell-hydration and increased blood pressure, which is involved but an incomplete explanation. Vitamin E content by numbers (per 100kcal) 17g sunflower seed = 5.6mg Vit E 18g peanuts = 1.5mg Vit E 15g walnuts = only 0.1 mg Vit E I am surprised he recommends Walnuts for Vitamin E, but perhaps gama tocopherol is hard to get. They are certainly good for omega 3. Also good source of Copper and Manganese. 11g true red palm oil (100kcal) from the palm fruit = 1.8 mg Vitamin E - unlike 11g of palm KERNEL oil = colorless, used in common products, which has max. 0.4 mg Vitamin E, typically less. It could be argued that largely unprocessed, unheated & fresh red palm oil has some protective properties, like nuts and seeds do, via vitamin E and A. He discusses synthetic Vitamin E at 1:00:11 basically most of it is crap that may be problematic. just a tiny fraction of it works. It similar with other synthetic antioxidants, for example R-ALA is good, but L-ALA is probably toxic and in synthetic products you get both. Same with synthetic astaxanthin. Blood supply to brain is directly correlated with cognitive ability, including memory, so for example a stent improves cognition 7% in ppl with clogged arteries. Amongst ppl with poor cognition there is also a statistical increased occurrence of anemia/low erythrocyte counts, which may be due to nutritional deficits, such as b12 or sometimes iron deficiency may inhibit oxigen transport. Poor blood supply is directly associated with formation of amyloid plaques. Amyloid plaques also have antimicrobial functions, btw. It's likely that various infections grow more, when blood supply is decreased. Removing arterial plaque can be done in two years, with lower fat diet and phytonutrients. amla has been shown to be very powerful in this regard. More on how cholesterol oxidizes at 53:48 In my words: Cholesterol from food is already oxidized and builds fat transportation units by joining with fats (chylomircons). now that oxidized cholesterol travels to all the places to where the fat is transported. oxidation joins those bits into sharp crystals, which cause injury/inflammation and technically countless micro strokes / brain bleeding, so small you don't really notice at once, but you grow dumber every time. On of the many things that get hung up in plaques are inflammatory Advanced Glycation End products. As do heavy metals. Both create massive amounts of oxidative Damage. AGE originate from hot or dry-heated foods that contain fat and protein, so both heavily roasted nuts and most animal products. Statistically old ppl are most addicted to cheese, of all beloved sources of artery clogging fats, because cheese contains addictive opiods. Chicken is next on popularity list, because people falsely think it's more harmless than red meats, but it's very inflammatory, in part due to arachodonic acid. Saturated fats (from plant sources) should maximally constitute 7% of the calories needed to sustain healthy body weight.   11g of coconut oil (100kcal) are almost completely saturated fat, not advertised MCT and it has no anti-oxidant benefits. The ideal bone building food is leafy greens or green legumes, which deliver vitamin K2 and minerals like calcium together. 20% of dementia involves lewy body dementia (associated with parkinsons), featuring specific metabolic disturbances (involving dopamin), that trigger hallucinations or temperamental changes. It responds favorably to the same dietary changes, most specifically the avoidance of animal products. In my understanding it has a quasi-viral character, comparable to BSE (prions=folded proteins modifying DNA, akin to viral material). Standardized Gingko extract protects cells from cell death triggered by surrounding plaques. It's also very blood thinning. Gotu Kola (3.5g / day or better 300mg of standardized extract) increases the presence of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, by inhibiting it's deconstruction. It' also anti-oxidant in fats and in cells, reducing inflammation and DNA damage. summary screenshot taken from: 1:18  

WHAT MAKES ONE FOOD #ALKALINE & ANOTHER FOOD ACIDIC🤔❓❓ Answer blood & starch. If it bleeds or has starch as a component it is acidic. If blood or starch is absent....in all likelihood it is alkaline. Everybody knows what’s considered food that also bleeds. Pigs, cows,chicken, FISH, any form of wildlife etc. Confusion comes in when you are trying to define #starch . Yes starch is most breads, rice, most beans and pasta. DID YOU KNOW STARCH ALSO INCLUDES MODERN CARROTS, CELERY, ANY SEEDLESS FRUIT, TUMERIC, SOY, TOFU& A HOST OF OTHER THINGS PEOPLE EAT THAT ARE THOUGHT TO BE HEALTHY......ESPECIALLY APPLE CIDER VINEGAR! Yup... Now what makes those plants acidic/starch? They are what #DrSebi referred to as #Hybrids . Hybrid meaning it was crossed with another plant for some form of convenience. Example... DID YOU KNOW BANANAS ORIGINALLY HAD HARD SEEDS....AND MORE OF THEM❓ They were crossed with another plant to make them easier to eat. The problem lies in that the binding agent that “glued” them together.....was starch in it, it’s a starch....period! This is why vegans still can get cancer and everything else though their numbers are significantly lower than people who eat meat. The alkaline lifestyle is the only form of eating that has been proven in #SupremeCourt to cure #aids #cancer #altzheimers #dementia #sicklecell #emphysema and the flu lol! BLACK PEOPLE MORESO THAN ANY OTHER RACE SHOULD STAY AWAY FROM STARCH! WHY❓ There is no such thing as #melanin. What we have been told is melanin is actually #carbon . DNA is made of carbon, hydrogen & oxygen. The higher your carbon count the darker your skin. So if WE have a high carbon count and WE eat starch ( aka CARBONic acid ) what do you think the result will be? Not empty faith. Faith based on understanding. Science and faith both prove that everything we need to be whole is already here and does not need to be invented in a lab. IF YOU WANT THE ENTIRE #ALKALINEFOODLIST COMMENT OR DM/INBOX AND ILL SEND IT TO YOU FOR FREE!! #GETTINGIITHEGREATNESS #GIMBG #IfearFEAR #PerpetuallyMotivated #ONLYqualityPeopleInMyCircle #OnlyDieOnce #DoForSelf #TheEnergyOfFaith #FAITHIsAVerb #PurposedPost (at Da Nawf!!) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-DHgjrgO_Z/?igshid=b43xinmhmvhy