#chlorine reducer

[aqualiseshowerfilter]

IS YOUR WATER REALLY CLEAN?

Even clean-looking, clean-smelling water hides dangerous skin, hair, and nail-destroying agents. Aqualise 20 stage advanced shower filter High Output Universal Shower Filter instantly inhibits scale buildup, and reduces chlorine, dirt, bad odors, and pesticides – so your skin, hair, and nails naturally rejuvenate and achieve proper balance.

[beeseverywhen]

#there's other deadly bacteria in raw milk but otherwise i mostly agree #i think the thing is you should be able to make the choice of whether you want preservatives or not. you should be able to walk into stores #and choose tobuy bread with preservatives or bread without. the preservatives should be for just that - preserving. not cutting corners. #not that this is new - basically since things starting getting industrialized food began getting stuffed with fillers #chalk and food dye to make things look fresh and literal toxic ingredients. it's why the fda was created. #i have friends with soy and corn allergies that struggle because everything is full of corn and soy #but also sometimes preservatives are in food genuinely to make it last Ionger. to keep it fresh for longer. so that itmakes it out of the #factory and off storeshelves and into yourhouse with enough time to be eaten

Just to clarify here. Food preservatives are absolutely used to preserve them so they can make it out of the factory and in to your home. The question has never been what are they being added for rather than why that is necessary. The current food supply chain makes preservatives necessary because profits are put first. Food travels further and is mass produced because it is more profitable. Food produced in that way needs preservatives because it can't get to the table quick enough to be eaten.

Yeah there's all kinds of pathogens that can be found in milk that hasn't been pasteurised. Not limited to bacteria even! However tb is the one that always comes up.

Adding additives to food isn't new you're totally right. Industrialisation brought capitalism which led to chalk being added to flour to bulk it out. It's a profit issue. Victorian bread is a great example, they added anything! And yeah, lots of people got ill and worldwide many regulations were put in place to combat this. We got to this point by people asking why. Asking. 'Ok even if it's not toxic, should it really be in bread? Are we going to accept profiteering?'

I've made a lot of posts about this stuff and as I've said before. I'm not trying to lead anyone. Alarmist panic helps nobody. What I am saying is. I think that it's healthy that we're curious about these things. That we adjust our perceptions as new evidence comes to light. We SHOULD be doing studies to check these things aren't harmful and those studies need to be conducted by people without links to food companies and conflicts of interest.

It's important that we question things. Ok they're saying this is being done for health. What other reasons might they have for saying this? What other Benefits do food companies see from this. And really importantly for americans: how are other countries doing this? Can we use data from those countries to see if our way really is best?

people who for very silly reasons want to market prepared food products without preservatives in them who then discover why we started putting preservatives in prepared food products in the first place (because without a preservation method food quickly grows stale, and frequently also moldy or downright toxic) is a consistently good bit. like people really seem to think we put Evil Chemicals in food on purpose for no reason.

[3daqua]

What is ORP in RO Plant & How to Reduce It Effectively

What is ORP in RO Plant and How to Reduce ORP in RO Plant Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants are widely used across industries, commercial establishments, and even in residential settings for water purification. A lesser-known but highly crucial parameter in RO plant operation is ORP, or Oxidation-Reduction Potential. Understanding ORP is key to maintaining water quality, membrane health, and the…

[slumbering-shadows]

One of the most annoying things about Interstitial Cystitis is how difficult it is sometimes to identify flare up triggers.

I know that tap water hurts me. I know that regular purified bottled water hurts me. I know that bottled spring water doesn't hurt me. But I have NO idea what is in the tap and the purified water that hurts me!! So I can't even "get a brita" like everyone keeps telling me (so I don't have to load a million pounds of plastic bottles into the garbage or worry about water shortages when supply lines are cut off!!) because I have no idea if the brita or other water filters will actually filter out whatever it is I need it to! Because there is no goddamn way for me to figure it out!

[n33dlew0rk]

I, too, am small but feisty

I’m thinking about Steve cleaning the pool while Eddie is half asleep on a deckchair. 

He’s slick with sweat, carefully pulling the skimmer net through the warm water, catching leaves and quite an array of dead bugs.

He’s nearly done when, all of a sudden, from the woods surrounding the backyard, comes something hurtling directly towards the pool. It’s just a small brownish undefined shape, but it still startles Steve (you know, otherworldly creatures tend to have a soft spot for Hawkins’ forests, fields, malls, whatever).

He hurries to the other side of the pool as soon as the little thing falls right into the chlorine water with an uncoordinated splash. 

As he gets closer, Steve sees a little squirrel gasping for air and barely managing to keep his chestnut-coloured head out of the water.

He tries to extend the skimmer pole towards it, but the small animal desperately swims away from the aid instead.

Hearing the commotion, Eddie abandons his innocent slumber and merely opens one eye, catching Steve slowly descending into the water. He can only see his toned, sunkissed back as Steve corners the little guy into safety.

Eddie lets himself ogle briefly, it’s not like there's someone around to judge him, after all.

“Come on, buddy”, Steve says softly, trying not to scare the squirrel even more. “Let’s cooperate and get you out of here before you end up drinking half my pool away”.

Eddie snickers silently at the interaction and stares intently as the other man finally succeeds in picking up the small animal. 

“There you go, there you go, buddy”. The squirrel is clearly frightened, squiggling and breathing fast between Steve’s fingers. “Hush now, your heart is gonna explode if you don't calm down a bit”.

Slowly, with a firm but delicate grip, Steve starts to pat the squirrel’s face dry with the fabric of his swimsuit. The little animal’s chest slows down its heaving, but its eyes are still wide and wary. 

After a minute or so of Steve carefully petting the squirrel with his fingers, letting the hot afternoon sun help reduce the soaked status of the little one, he tries to loosen the grip. 

A soft smile gracefully appears on his lips “See? All better now. Wasn't that bad, wasn't it?” 

Eddie feels a weird warmth blooming in his chest at the sight, fondness making its way through his thoughts, waking him up fully from his nap.

The creature seems to look at Steve for a few seconds.

The idea of having a pet squirrel pops up in the young man’s head but is quickly abandoned as the squirrel promptly turns on its little legs, leaves a good chomp on Steve’s palm and, with a small jump, speeds towards the forest, to safety.

Steve flinches, shaking his hand to alleviate the pain “small but feisty, uh?” he chuckles. There’s a little blood, but nothing to worry about. He gets up, thinking of where he stocked the first aid kit around the pool house. 

Suddenly, as Steve approaches the shed’s doors, another way bigger, splash comes from the pool behind his back.

Turning around, Steve sees Eddie emerging from the water, hair sticking on his face and a dead serious expression. With one hand, he frees himself from the long wet curls clinging to his cheeks, but his attention is all on Steve.

“I, too, am small but feisty, Harrington.” The metalhead shakes his head to get rid of some water, then looks up at Steve again, smirking and making grabby hands “Save me?”.

[melyzard]

The World is Amazing, Actually (Part 11 or 12, I lost count)

It's been awhile since I made a post about how fucking rad the world actually is, and amidst all the pandemics and climate change and economic troubles, I felt the need.

So:

Today’s Wild Place (The Earth is An Alien Planet):

The Danakil Depression, Ethiopia:

The Danakil Depression is probably the closest you'll ever be able to come to standing on the surface of Venus (without the crushing atmosphere, of course). Choking sulphuric acid and chlorine gases fill the air, while acid ponds and geysers pepper the landscape. 

- Daisy Dobrijevic, published July 4, 2022

(BTW scientists recently discovered microbes capable of surviving in this toxic, extremely hot environment, which means...well, even if we kick the bucket, life will continue. There's something comforting in knowing that no matter how bad we screw up...life will go on.)

Today’s Incredible Feat of Engineering (look! at what! we made!):

Ouarzazate Solar Power Station in Morocco, which has gone solar in a big way.

(Which means they are making a huge contribution to helping fight toxic pollution, noise pollution, water use, land destruction, and carbon emissions. No really, there are charts. Reducing carbon emissions charts. Reducing irresponsible land use charts. Charts! Graphs! Data samples!)

Today’s Cool Life Form (the rare, the weird, the beautiful):

The Hispaniolan Solenodon.

A very rare, nocturnal, shrew-like creature that is one of the few mammals able to produce venom. Look at him! Look at his snout! He's just a little guy! He will bite you and run away on his back legs! He's rare, and endangered, but not gone! Not gone yet, bitches!

(Bonus: 10 Fun Facts About the Solenodon)

Today’s Bizarre Mystery (no, seriously, wtf?):

The Great Unconformity.

Hey, remember the Grand Canyon? Remember how we can see the passage of time through each layer, going back hundreds of thousands of years?

Did you know that apparently, on this massive record of earth's geological history, there's a chunk of time missing? Science has some hypotheses about how and why this happens (and yes, it's been found in more than one place), but they are really only hypotheses, and no one's really sure what happened to, oh, 1.6 billion years, give or take.

Today’s Act of Humanity (yes, we are worth the effort):

After fleeing a war, Ukrainians rush to help Mississippi tornado victims.

"They made the 16-hour drive south to donate bottled water and volunteer with aid workers, buoyed by the idea that they could help a community facing a similar struggle to theirs.

“We had to leave our home,” Pavliuk told The Washington Post in Ukrainian, in an interview interpreted by Hrebenyk. “And they don’t have a place to go back, either.”"

NEW CATEGORY:

Today's Good News About The Future (No, It's Not Too Late and Anyone Who Says Otherwise is Selling Something):

The Saiga Antelope, a species critical to the continued survival of huge swathes of grassland, that in 2003 was down to 6% of it's population and already extinct in it's natural habitat of China and Ukraine, has rebounded back to almost 2 million strong thanks to conservation efforts.

Previous | Next

[h20goflashnsplashsealrideon]

okayyy soooo

THINGS THAT I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT YOU KNOW ABOUT TAKING CARE OF POOLTOYS IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER OR SENSE (TUTORIAL (?)(EASY)):

keep them clean! chlorine, oils (of any kind– body oil/mineral oil included), bug spray, acetone, a lot of these things can wear away at or remove the paint, and eventually ruining the plastic and making it brittle. rinse them with fresh water and soap, then towel dry them. do not air dry them or they will get nasty water spots. wash them when you notice many oily spots. 

overinflation is okay in moderation, do not overinflate and ride! commercially sold pooltoys are typically rated to handle ~80ish pounds, and while they can typically handle a little more than that, past that point they are more prone to breaking, and once a seam pops or splits it can be difficult to get it under control. 

(be careful of sharp things of course, and be gentle on tightly curved negative seams.)

when repairing a pooltoy, always wear protective gear (gloves) and work in a well ventilated area, the vapors released from vinyl glue are toxic and can cause brain and lung damage. 

vinyl glues like loctite vinyl repair and HH-66 vinyl cement will ruin the paint on any pooltoy, and greatly softens the vinyl it is adhering to, making it more fragile temporarily. be careful to not rub, only push down to avoid warping the plastic. 

reuse pooltoy parts! once pooltoys are in the trash that’s tonnssss of plastic just wasted. you can reduce that by reusing old toys that are beyond repair or unwanted! plus, this is the easiest and cheapest way to acquire vinyl for patches and projects. also valves!

i highly recommend heath dragon’s youtube channel, there are tons of videos of projects, tutorials and sooo many toys. sooo many. 

be safe! things like pooltoy suits and other vinyl face coverings can cause suffocation and yknow dying. if you’re gonna be doing anything like that do it with a partner. 

i'll add more if i think of anthing this is really bare bones and i am too inebriated.

[lets-try-to-be-normal-otakus]

At a minute or two til two (Pt. 2)

[Part 1], >Part 2

Hi everyone! I'm back with the second installment of my To Die Today series! >:3c I already have an idea for part 3, so I'll do my best to update you. Comments and tags really help me know you enjoyed it and want more!! So let me know if you love it like I do; much love!

Trigger warnings: same as part 1, but with some throw-up, a panic attack, and a touch of deadly ideation. No beta, we die like Steve.

He doesn’t remember much, but he still thinks about that place he visited. He always yearns to go back to the absolute peace when things get too loud.

Sometimes, he just wishes he could fade into black. He can still hear the waves every now and then calling, and his soul yearns.

From the incident on, Steve had a faint scar; it rested on the back of his neck and wrapped around slightly to the side. It refused to fade.

He hid it with concealer.

He hid it with his hair.

He was still doubtful on whether or not he had died. Or, what it meant to him.

It had to’ve been a fluke…

… Right?

Maybe it just took him a little longer to… bite the dust?

The next time he died, he was 10.

His parents were away for the week as they did more and more often these days, and it was the start of summer.

The crisp bite of cold water reduced the sting of the sun, and there was really no other place to be. He spent his days poolside, enjoying ice pops and canned soda from his parent’s cooler. He’d run and jump and splash and play until his skin shriveled from water or split from the sun. Whichever came last.

This was the summer he learned a vital lesson.

See, there are rules when you go to the pool or pond or really anywhere to do with water. But Steve was just a kid; rules were put in place by adults because they didn’t like to have fun.

So he ignored them.

It was Thursday, midday, and he’d just gotten off the phone with his parents. His mom was checking in and making sure he was safe and being smart, and he reassured her he was. And he was, for someone who had yet to learn certain hard truths.

He ran to jump back into the pool, but there was just one millisecond where the traction failed under his feet, and his heart leapt in it.

And that was enough. 

A puddle on concrete.

One second, he was pool-bound, and the next, everything went black. Color shot into his world again as his vision came back, yet left his eyes unfocused. Vague and unseeing. He experienced the sound and distant vibrations at the same time he heard an earth-shattering crack and bone-shaking rumble. His eyes opened again to see bloody concrete roll away, and he distantly felt like an egg being cracked open.

The ‘splash’ came second to the cool sensation crashing around him. Enveloping him. Eating him alive. What little oxygen he had bubbled to the top of his lungs, most slipping out in a silent but all-consuming exhale.

His eyes burned as chlorine forced its way in; sparks ripped their way around his eye socket and popped inside his skull.

His lungs were on fire - conflicted and stretched to the max to save what little oxygen they could. He wanted to scream. All he did was choke.

The heavy swish and weight of water in his nose and throat unsettled him, and he heaved. Body flexing and struggling as dark blues began to bloom with a soft black. He coughed. All he got was a lung full of water and the endless feeling of throwing up.

Something sharp catches on his throat and covers his flooded windpipe for a moment - something flimsy that bent with the water. Some brown debris coughs its way out of his system and triggers his gag reflex again. His tears are like lava.

His last thoughts are just how heavy and muted everything feels: the sound of water in his ear, the cold darkness that envelops him, and how his body screams.

He doesn’t know how long he chokes and burns.

Is this what dying feels like?

He just wants to go back. Why couldn’t it be like last time? With the beach and the waves? Instead of feeling hot water forced out his nose and back into his lungs?

–

There was no peace. No comfort like last time. Instead, he wakes up and feels his weak body burn, trying to suck in air while purging the water. After an eternity of choking, a warm static embraces him, granting sweet numbness as he drifts again. A few hours feel like minutes before he’s dragged into the cycle again.

–

Three days pass before his body floats to the surface. Three days of a small, infinite torture before he feels dry heat on his back. When he comes to, his body kicks fruitlessly again, and his arms swing around, desperately trying to find the surface. He chokes and vomits water back into himself. Something feels different. He doesn’t have time to investigate as he’s purely in fight or flight mode, his body out of control and flailing.

Things go black again.

–

Eventually, he finds himself floating over to the shallow end. He hits a wall, and when he scrambles back to consciousness, his feet hit the pool’s ground as he gags and expels water from his nose and mouth and lungs, flailing wildly. His hands find a ledge and pull.

When the sun sets, he comes to with snot, water, and blood running down his face and pooling on the concrete beneath him.

–

It took two days for the rot and swelling to go down. During that time, as his body worked to mend itself, half in the pool and half out, his mind drifted to that pleasant space. No more was this pain and fire. Instead, there was finally fuzzy peace.

His mind relaxed, and his soul just… floated. It was dark, the ocean. Rain clouded the sky in dark grays, rolling and tumbling onto each other like the very waves they kissed. It was cold.

The churning of the waves put him at peace. It could never be horrifying, despite looking into the mouth of some cosmic horror. Instead, it felt… outside himself. It was all simply a part of the universe as death and creation rolled onto itself, creating the peacefully roiling and vicious clouds. It did him no harm, and he knew it wouldn’t, so he existed and felt.

Everything ached. His head throbbed with dehydration, as it felt like every drop of water was wrenched out of him. Railroad spikes of pain hammered into the side of his skull, practically nailing him to the ground as he writhed. He felt nauseous and on fire. His mouth was dry, his skin burned, everything inside him ached, and the sun and water felt like needles on his arms and legs.

Water. He needed water. Water and shade. His body screamed as he used what little strength he had left to pull his torso up and roll himself out of the pool. His skin burned where it met the abrasive concrete, and Steve barely processed the blood stains beneath him. He could feel his tight skin stretch with the movement, almost as if it would tear at any second.

Minisculely, he crawled over to the patio door. When he reached up for the handle, that tight feeling in his skin came back in a warning, so he instead clawed the door open from the floor. Getting over the door track was like shuffling through barbed wire, but the cold of the tile instantly replaced the burning.

Catching his breath on the floor, Steve looked around while panting. The sink was his first thought, but he couldn’t reach it like this. He couldn’t stand, and he definitely couldn’t reach it, so the refrigerator it was.

Scooting himself along, he reached into the blissfully cold fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. Sitting up as best he could, he twisted the cap, winced at the burn of his wrist, and downed the bottle. A blast of frosty spikes took over his mouth before moving to his throat and stomach. It hurt as much as it helped.

Gasping between swallows, he held the cold plastic to his face and breathed at the relief it brought. The second bottle he took slower to prevent the frigid pain, uncaring about any that escaped his lips. It was like a balm across his too-hot skin anyway.

His stomach cramped and heaved at the freezing intrusion while he fought down the urge to vomit.

Keep it down, force it down, you’re not going to throw up, you’re not- vomit surged up before he could repress it and left him shaking, freezing, overheating, and crying. The stench bloomed through the kitchen and stung his nose. Clutching his water bottle, he scooted across the floor, snot running down his face as he took hiccuping sips. His arms hurt as his shoulders moved with each cry.

Giving up, he laid down as far from the vomit as he could and rested his body against the cold tiles, sighing at the minor relief. Catching his breath, he quickly sank into a rough sleep, his mind replaying the sensation of falling and being unable to breathe.

He woke with a pounding headache, temples squeezing him and tile warm beneath. Spotting the forgotten bottle, he ripped it open and chugged the remains. The room-temperature water set right in his body and, thankfully, didn’t cause any cramping this time. Shakely, he got up on all fours, crawled to the fridge, and stretched over his vomit - ew - to pull another few bottles.

He eventually managed to stand up after what felt like hours of trying. By then, he’d already drunk his room-temperature water and was feeling somewhat better. Not entirely, but at least his headache had dulled.

Cold showers helped, and when he tried to put on a shirt, his body screamed in pain at the stretch and sensation of fabric. So he went shirtless and passed out face-down in his bed.

His parents came home the following morning. They bustled in with luggage and bags, his mom chatting happily to Steve from the other room.

“Oh, darling, you look dead on your feet!”

Steve didn’t have the energy or strength in him to find it funny.

His dad made a displeased noise. “Where’s your shirt? Did we raise an ignorant heathen? Put a damn shirt on - you’re not a kid anymore,” he rumbled.

His mom came around the counter and reached for his face, stopping short, and a worried look locked on her face. “Darling, your shoulders, what happened? They look so red. Did you get sunburned? Oh, I know I taught you to wear sunscreen.” The ends of her eyes scrunched up in an attempted smile.

“Did I stutter? Put a damn shirt on!” His father growled from the kitchen. Steve held in a sigh and resigned himself to the pain. He’d just have to get over it, as his father would say.

He turned around, and before he could get a step further, his mother gasped and dropped her bags.

“Steven! Your back!” She sounded horrified, and Steve tried to turn around and see what she was talking about, but his neck protested and burned too much. He could feel her body heat when she came up behind him.

His father’s footfalls even came closer. “What on Earth…”

“I’ve never seen it this bad before - ever…” His mother trailed off, voice a bit wobbly.

-

Dr. Goodmund, his pediatrician, took one look at Steve’s back and muttered, “Well, that can’t be good.”

-

They ended up going to the hospital.

On the way into the ICU, Steve was lectured by his parents and the staff on the importance of sunscreen.

It wasn’t his fault, but he couldn’t just say that without his father seeing it as an excuse. He was already mad about how “it’s always something” with Steve or that “he must’ve been truly dumb to let it get this bad and not notice.” “It’s a visual thing, Steve.” He’d say. “How could you not see it? Or feel it, for that matter?” He gripped Steve’s upper arm tight - sunburn screaming as the swollen and blistered skin was squeezed, “When we get home…”

Richard didn’t have to finish that for him to know what was coming.

Steve wanted to go back to the rolling storm over the gray sea.

-

The nurses, already a step ahead, began bustling about getting things ready and set up. The doctor started talking with them and wrote some things down on the clipboard.

The doctors say he'll need a skin graft.

But if he can't feel it, is it really that bad? He says as much, and the doctor stays impassive. "That is a common misconception." They explained. "See, the damage here goes all the way to or through the hypodermis - the bottommost layer of skin, which is right above the muscle. Which means that with severe burns, it travels through all the layers of protection our body makes and damages the nerve receptors. When these are shot, we typically can't feel anything.

"Now, what we're going to do is administer a painkiller – looks like you've got some second-degree burns too, which I'm sure you can feel – and start you on an antibiotic. Looks like some of these lesions are already becoming infected, and we want to solve that. We'll also start you on an IV so that we can replace some of your fluids."

Steve liked them. He felt much more seen than with Dr. Goodmund.

When the doctors walked away, his mom approached his bed. His dad had opted to go home. Her voice was a whisper," It happened again, didn't it?" Steve was quiet, head hanging low. Mom reaches for him, something broken and defeated in her eyes. She stops right before touching him. "It happened again, and I wasn't there to help. What happened?"

Steve was instantly brought back to the sensations of drowning, and he suddenly couldn't breathe. All he could feel was water in his throat and nose and lungs. He coughed violently, trying to clear his throat from the sensation and failing.

A nurse was called.

It didn't help.

–

Using two mirrors, he eventually saw what everyone was talking about. The apex of his shoulders had black and deep red dimples that dug into his skin, all varying in size — some as small as a fingernail and others as large as a baseball. Ragged, torn, and infected flesh patched itself around the lesions in a red-and-black fashion. Yellowish but transparent welts the size of his palm and the girth of his fist littered his back and legs.

Instead of the red color he was used to when he got sunburned, he was met with waxy, white, and cracked skin.

The flesh was swollen.

The flesh was tender.

The flesh was going to scar.

–

The sight of it made his mother cry.

His father said it's what he deserves.

They eventually stopped looking.

–

The blood never did fade from the concrete, no matter how much Steve tried.

>[Part 3]

[whateverisbeautiful]

♥️Reveling in Richonne - TOWL

#13: The Recovery (1.02)

gif cred: @riickgrimes

Rick and Michonne’s journeys are always so similar to the point that they both endured their most awful year at the same time. Rick spent the year officially being the walking dead away from family and Michonne spent that same year recovering in a mall from a brutal attack away from family. And once she's healed physically, Michonne still has to navigate so much heartbreak as she finally makes it to Bridgers Terminal🥺...

After the CRM's attack, that group of travelers is then reduced to just two - Michonne and Nat. They spend a year recovering in a mall and there's a montage of how they got through the time, which includes a lot of oxygen, slow healing, and inspiring determination.

I know this time in the mall had to be so painful for Michonne because she wanted to find Rick and get home ASAP and now she literally has to just stay put and fight for her life until she heals up for an entire year.

gif cred: @nerd4music

But never one to take anything lying down, she works hard at her recovery, attempting to still exercise and strengthen her lungs, which is a big challenge at first. Yet another reason Michonne is a commendable queen - because working out is hard enough when you haven’t been bombed with chlorine gas.

Michonne is willing to push through the hardship as we see her slowly but surely get better. Seeing her perseverance is always so inspiring. I also like how the push-ups tie back to the way she would work out and stay fit in the prison. 

Michonne watches the seasons change and gathers food and I guess the one good thing about being hunkered down at a mall is you get to sleep in those comfy display beds.

gif cred: @richardgrimes

There’s a moment where she and Nat eat and she stares at Rick’s boots, a sign that she’s not losing sight of her mission to find her husband and bring him home. Nat also talks about the importance of knowing when to go and knowing when to give up as he feels he learned the hard way.

gif cred: @taiturner

But Michonne is hope personified and so she brings up Nat’s stepdad Danger and says, “He didn’t give up, right? Didn’t give up on you. Gotta think it was cause of your mom. You gotta think it was cause of love.”

As she says this we see she’s holding the phone she found with the image of her and Judith and Rick’s name. I think they pair those lines over that phone image because Michonne knows wherever Rick is he hasn’t given up on his girls, (even if he’s given up on reuniting with them he hasn’t given up on them) as he clearly still kept images of them as reminders to keep going. And if he hasn’t given up because of his love for her then you already know Michonne isn’t giving up because of her love for him.

gif cred: @nerd4music

She also looks outside and sees birds flying which is indicating that the air is getting safer. (Side note: I love her outfits in this mall montage and how she really did bring more pops of color to the show. And the music is great too. 👌🏽)

As Michonne gets better at the push-ups I love how you can see the ring hanging from her neck. It feels symbolic of how Rick is still with her and motivating her to regain her strength. 

gif cred: @nerd4music

So then Michonne and Nat sit and eat and she gives him a map to go to Alexandria because she knows he’s strong enough to travel now. Nat says, “I go to your home and you go to Bridgers Terminal? It should be the other way around.”

Michonne says the s8 ep title from when Carl reveals he was bit as she tells Nat, “This is how it’s gotta be.” But Nat begs to differ and says no.

gif cred: @richardgrimes

Michonne tries to convince him again but Nat passionately cuts her off and emotionally declares, “This is all I got. Okay? You. That’s it” And my heart. ☹️ And then he does his signature thing of playing with his lighter as he more tearily says, “That’s it.” I love that Nat values Michonne this much. 🥲

So Michonne agrees to have him go with her in the morning and also she looks so pretty in her outfit. 😊

gif cred: @nerd4music

Nat says they need to make one stop first for his wagon and I love their little teasing exchange as Michonne asks, “What, you’re expecting me to pull it?” and he’s just matter-of-factly like, “Yeah I am.” 😋

Michonne asks if he’s coming along to see how it ends but Nat gravely says, “Nope. I know how it ends.”

Then without even making a big show of it, I appreciate that they pay homage to Michonne’s signature ability to make the walkers work for her as she and Nat arrive at Bridgers Terminal with a walker pulling their wagon. You just know that was Michonne’s idea and she and Nat have being inventive people in common. 

gif cred: @nerd4music

Michonne is super eager to see what she can find when they get to Bridgers Terminal but all that’s there is a giant shipwreck and the horrific sight of several piles of scorched bodies nearly impossible to identify.

gif cred: @richardgrimes

Michonne’s teary-eyed response to seeing this hurts my heart. 🥺 Like it’s painful to think for a moment she had to seriously wonder if this is the horrible fate that her husband met.

gif cred: @richardgrimes

And then in another act of immense love for her man, Michonne is shown searching every pile of burnt bodies into the night hours to try and see if any of them are Rick. If that ain’t love. 🥲

gif cred: @chaoticroad

The fact that the burned bodies all don’t have shoes makes things even more complicated. But again the resilience of Michonne Grimes is on display as she meticulously checks each one, even with knowing that they might bring her no answers or worse a devastating confirmation that Rick really is gone.

She checks until it’s literally too dark to see anymore and then we get a heartbreaking scene by a fire. 

It’s sad because earlier in the ep she was cozily by a fire with friends and laughing and now she’s by a fire and coming as close to losing hope as she’s ever come in years. 😢

But she still tries to hold onto some hope as she takes out Rick’s boots and hugs them. Just end me now, that sight is so heartrending. 😭 She loves Rick so much and would give anything to be holding him instead right now.

gif cred: @nat111love

Also, now knowing that she only feels safe with Rick, it feels like this moment of hugging the boots is her way to self-soothe as she’s feeling really lost and devastated and it’s like these boots are giving her at least a little of the comfort Rick gave her when they were together. They’re reminding her that somehow his story didn’t end on the bridge and she’s not crazy for still feeling he’s out there. 

I adore seeing Nat take care of Michonne in this state and wrap a blanket around her. 🥹 Just exactly the type of friendship Michonne needs and deserves.

Nat acknowledges the reality of the situation and how it’s likely a dead-end ever knowing if Rick is among the bodies. But Michonne says with conviction, “I felt him. I still feel him.” And I know that’s right. 👏🏽 That’s such a beautiful and powerful sentiment.

gif cred: @nat111love

I love the way TOWL really affirmed Richonne’s soulmate status. Like their souls are in every way connected and so of course even miles and miles apart she can still feel him.

And I bet she knows the way she feels Rick's presence is different than the way she feels Carl or Andre's. In s9 Michonne told Negan she sees Carl in everything so she obviously still feels his presence but in a way of someone who is no longer with her. With Rick, you can just tell that she feels him alive and breathing and walking the earth.

Again, with the immense amount of love Rick was still emitting to her while with the CRM it makes perfect sense that she can still feel him.

Nat tells Michonne that the Japanese on her phone means “believe a little bit longer” and Michonne silently reacts with tears in her eyes, knowing that's likely what Rick has been doing all these years.

gif cred: @nat111love

Michonne then notes that Nat has been telling her to go home. Nat says she should go home but she can still believe that Rick is out there. And then knowing that Danai is an incredible actor with even just her eyes and expressions alone, they zoom in really close as Michonne sheds tears and entertains an idea she’s fought so hard for years to not entertain.

She vulnerably says, “It’s been right in front of me, hasn’t it? All this time, it’s been right in front of me. It’s been so long. If he were alive…he would’ve found his way.” Ok that has my soul sobbing everytime. 😭 It’s so beautiful to see how much she loves him and so painful to see her voice break as she says this.

gif cred: @nat111love

And it’s touching because it again shows how much she believes in Rick. She knows if he could have been home by now he would’ve. But the thing is...Rick needs her in order to truly find his way and without her, he’s too lost to find his way on his own.

I love the way she says this line with so much love, belief, and care for Rick. Almost like she just wants to know even if Rick can’t be with her that he’s okay out there and that he’s found his way somehow, just as a person she loves and wants the best for.

gif cred: @nat111love

All and all, it just really moves me to hear Michonne say this. She knows that Rick Grimes would fight tooth and nail for his family so, considering he's been away from them for years, it might mean he’s not alive. And honestly, that's correct in a way because Rick isn’t alive. When the chance to see her again was taken from him, he lost himself and decided to die.

At this very moment, Rick is living life as the walking dead without her and so that’s why he hasn’t found his way. He lost his compass when he lost Michonne so he can’t get home without her. But I love how Michonne believes Rick would have found his way no matter what. 

Nat is comforting saying Michonne doesn’t know for sure if Rick is gone and then gives her a balanced perspective as he beautifully says, “You can believe he’s out there, that he’s not gone. You can believe a little longer and still go home to your kids. You can know when to go. You can do both.”

gif cred: @nat111love

And then I appreciate his supportiveness in letting Michonne know she doesn’t have to do it alone as he says, “I can do it with you. I will.” He’s the best. 🥹 And how I wish Nat could have gone to ASZ with Michonne and Rick. You just know he would become a beloved uncle to Judith and RJ. 🥲

Nat then tells Michonne something that she really needs to hear as he says, “It’s not giving up.” I think for Michonne, heading back home feels like failing and giving up on her true love when she knows and feels that Rick needs her, and she needs him, and her kids need them both.

Like for someone as loyal and determined as Michonne, going back without finding him would be such a hard and painful defeat. And you see that on Michonne's face as she sheds tears and seriously wrestles in her mind with how going back home now could feel like giving up on the man she loves.  

gif cred: @nat111love

Nat turns on the walkie and as they listen to the static Michonne let’s it all out as she bursts into tears and Nat hugs her like the good friend he is. That was such a raw vulnerable moment. 😭 I love that Michonne got to just release her emotions over everything by this fire because there’s clearly so much weighing on her.

gif cred: @nat111love

I know when hearing that static she’s longing to hear her children’s voices and be back with them. She’s longing to see her husband and be back in his arms too. She's been put through so much in mind and body after the CRM attack and put through even more before the CRM attack in her six or so years as a single mom and head of security.

And in this moment by the fire, you see her just bring all that emotion to the surface and finally know it’s time to go home, even without Rick as much as that breaks her heart.

gif cred: @nat111love

This scene by the fire was stunningly acted by Danai and Matthew. 👏🏽

And then - the episode cuts to "Now" as Richonne’s epic reunion is so close you can feel it in the air…literally. 😌👌🏽

[usafphantom2]

This is not a picture of a manufacturing assembly line

This is a picture of the SR 71 Program Depot Maintenance (PDM) input back shop at site 2 Palmdale, California. Directly under the titanium panels are the fuel tanks.

The triangle-shaped panels were for reducing the radar cross-section. Everything about this beautiful SR 71 had to be invented because of the high heat; traditional sealants to seal the panels would break due to the extreme temperature range from very, very cold outside to very, very hot inside the plane.

The SR-71 was trucked from Burbank, assembled at Palmdale, and Flight Tested, then delivered to Beale.

SR-71s would disappear while being rotated in and out of maintenance, so there is no certain tail number that only stayed at, for instance, Beale, Okinawa, or Mildenhall. I once asked my father Butch Sheffield, which SR-71 did you fly in? and he said ALL of them.

This picture shows a full-blown phased inspection where the entire aircraft and systems were thoroughly inspected. Every 800 hours, the plane would be sent south to Palmdale, California, for the Periodic Depot-level Maintenance (PDM) inspection performed by the Lockheed Skunk Works. This six-month-long inspection is where the aircraft is basically taken apart, inspected, modified, upgraded, put back together, and flight tested.

When making the A-12/SR -71 at Palmdale, they had trouble dealing with the titanium. Lockheed engineers used a titanium alloy to construct over 90 percent of the SR-71. Titanium was challenging to work with and unavailable in the United States in large amounts. It was available in Russia!

Lockheed did have a big problem early on;it discovered that spot-welded parts made in the summer were failing very early in their life, but those welded in winter were fine.

They eventually tracked the problem to the fact that the Burbank water treatment facility added chlorine to the water they used to clean the parts to prevent algae blooms in summer but took it out in winter. Chlorine reacts with titanium, so they began using distilled water from this point on.

Linda Sheffield

@Habubrats71 via X

[aqualiseshowerfilter]

Featured on Fox, USA Today, Market Watch and affiliates

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[ttrpg-smash-pass-vs]

On the left, Green Dragon! Adults are in the 20-80 foot (6-24 m) range. Green dragons are great at sweet talking, enjoy taking exceptional people into thier fold, have all sorts of wonderful emerald hues, and thier breath has a chlorine scent! Because it's chlorine gas, don't breathe too deep. Look, even the dragon god opposing them said that in some ways they're the most dragonlike of all dragons! Unfortunately that does include sweet talking and manipulation, and thier favorite targets to corrupt and/or devour are elves, so maybe be careful if you're an elf.

On the right, Quaggoth! 6 ft (1.8 m) tall, notably athletic, just get stronger as they wear down, and some can even use psychic powers to cast spells like mage hand and Enlarge/Reduce! They also have basically no fear. Forest dwelling creatures driven underground by elves, where they were enslaved by mindflayers and drow. Some have escaped, and all have 0 fucks left to give. Also maybe be careful if you're an elf, they remember they're supposed to be arboreal.

Actually come to think of it, maybe just be careful in general if you're an elf. One will be hate sex and the other considers you thier favorite kind of victim. This is just anti-elf poll I guess.

[t00thpasteface]

I am so obsessed with the catcatfish they bring me joy on a cosmic level I can't even explain, thank you

EXCELLENT 💜 i'm really floored by all the enthusiasm i've seen for these silly guys! finals crunch is bearing down on me so it means a lot to bring smiles to people with my silly stress scribbles.

i totally encourage anyone who's interested in drawing their own to feel free to do so! if you want to, @ me and/or tag it as #catcatfish ^_^ there's no hard rules of course because i'm not anyone's boss, but if you're curious about a list of guidelines for designing your own, here's some scaffolding for you to spitball with:

the "original" catcatfish is based off of a blue catfish, and likewise i would encourage designers to pick a real catfish species to base theirs after. their minimum size is housecat size, but if the real-life catfish gets bigger than that, then so will the catcatfish. keep the salinity in mind, i.e. don't put a gafftopstail in a river or lake. and just like a real fish, chlorinated pools are toxic!

in terms of silhouette, just think of them as a catfish with paws and ears. they have a wide subterminal/inferior mouth, fleshy barbels, beady far-apart eyes, a round trunk, and a wide & powerful tail. the limbs are cat limbs, but the proportions are closer to that of a river otter to make them more hydrodynamic.

the fur is also very otterlike in terms of length, texture, and density. the fins are only furred on the leading spine of the dorsal fin and the fleshy base of the adipose fin. remember: they're amphibious, so there are no long-haired or hairless catcatfish! they need their slick, short fur to stay warm and reduce drag underwater. long fur and hairlessness will make it harder for them to swim and also give them severe hypothermia.

in terms of color, it's pretty open-ended: basically any real-world fish coloration, plus tabby and piebald versions of each, along with melanistic ("nightcrawler") and leucistic/albino (haven't picked a catchy name for that one yet).

they are omnivorous, but will prefer to eat more meat than plants (or vice versa) if that's what their IRL catfish counterpart eats; a pleco catcatfish will eat a lot more veggies, for instance, but it'll still need some animal protein. their only true teeth are two small fangs on the top jaw and two on the lower jaw. they eat by gulping food/prey down whole. if they're eating on land, that means they'll jerk their heads back like a bird/lizard to swallow; underwater, they use suction. they have an extremely strong prey drive. they can eat kibble and wet food like a cat, but may struggle to gulp it on land; pour the kibble into a wide bowl of water when it's time to eat so the catcatfish will have an easier time swallowing it.

i mentioned this in another post: the operculum seals the gills shut on land, so you'll only see those bright red gill filaments while the catcatfish is in water. i draw two gill slits as a cartoony stylistic choice, but really they have however many gills that the corresponding catfish species does. the gill slits are visible from the inside if they open their mouths wide enough.

don't forget the dewclaw spine! i can't endorse declawing :p

[bawmbo]

Does Memory have any calluses or scars on her body that could indicate what kind of work she used to do before she got corrupted? Like how musicians have calluses on weird areas of their hands, or house cleaners have chemical burn scars on their hands, or chefs have oil burns on their arms, or woodworkers/laquer artists have their fingerprints rubbed off from using so much sandpaper

unfortunately, the remaining scarring that indicated who she was before corruption have likely been reduced to nothing but wavy faultlines in her new body, if any still exist

(unless you're counting the scar that started the hole in their face, but it wasn't entirely...job related.... monumental, though!) (memumental?) (monumemtal?)

but details pertaining to her new body, although (probably) unintentional from those who remade it, are pretty telling to her forgotten past jobs,

all of the color that she formerly had in her body seems to have mysteriouslly desaturated. metal replacements around where their previous soul would have been and the new save point soul. the corruption itself would be a bitter reminder if they could remember (promises suck!). gloves. the smell of ozone and chlorine that just never seems to leave her

as for temporary wounds — puncture wounds from sewing, cuts from cooking with poor vision. those would be very few, though, as they tend to be very good with knives

[purplethesheep]

Ending a months long hiatus with an extra credit assignment 😎

Btw by picking up litter, it reduces the amount of chlorocarbons (CFCs), which contain carbon; chlorine; and fluorine, from entering the stratosphere and breaking down the ozone molecules that prevent many ultraviolet (UV) rays from heating the earth. 🌎

[is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not]

ClF3 Warheads

An extremely dangerous evolution of Acid (AX) warheads, ClF3 warheads (also known as Chlorine Trifluoride Warheads) utilize the eponymous extremely reactive and toxic chemical to inflict horrendous damage upon enemy units. Originally a Word of Blake project that was scrapped early in the Jihad, on the grounds that the missiles were too dangerous to their own units, the technology was picked up by the Republic Institute of Strategic Combat for use in their frequent false flag operations - though notably, the Fidelis refused to deploy the munitions owing to their horrific effects on target.

Game Rules: ClF3 warheads act as a combination of multiple warhead types. ClF3 warheads are only mountable on SRMs. ClF3 warheads follow all rules for Inferno warheads (Total War p.141-142) with the following exceptions:

1) Doubled damage against structures.

2) Every missile that hits an infantry unit automatically eliminates four troopers; every three missiles that hit a battle armor unit automatically eliminates two randomly determined troopers.

3) Every two missiles that strike a ProtoMech unit potentially destroy a ProtoMech location.

4) For every missile that strikes a 'Mech, aerospace fighters, or small craft, increase the unit's heat level by 3 points during the Heat Phase of the turn in which the missiles hit. The additional heat lasts for only 1 turn.

ClF3 warheads also follow all rules for Acid warheads (TO:AUE, p.179) with the following exceptions:

1) ClF3 Warheads do not suffer a Cluster Hits Table Penalty

2) ClF3 Warheads inflict a base 3 points of damage against all armor and structure types, as well as unit that has a BAR value of 5 or less (this damage is not reduced by special armor rules).

3) Conventional infantry multiply the damage inflicted by ClF3 SRM attacks by 2 (rounding up).

4) If excess damage from a ClF3 warhead destroys the last of the armor in a given location, the rest of the damage carries over to the internal structure.

In addition, ClF3 warheads follow all rules for Class III chemical weapons (IO:AE p. 176-177).

Weapon Type: Standard SRMs

Technology Base: Clan or Inner Sphere