luxlithos

[luxlithos]

So the only all-bird rehab center in North Texas is about to shut down

I can’t even put into words how upset I am about this. Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation has been open for almost twenty years, and is the only place in North Texas that takes in literally any type of bird if it’s been injured, orphaned, or otherwise incapacitated. They’re finally out of funds, and if they can’t come up with anything by April 2nd, they’re going to be forced to close their doors.

They’ve never turned away birds. Not when it’s a surprise 200 baby cattle egrets that’ve been orphaned because city planners thought they could cut down their homes and no one would notice. Not when it’s raptors with one good eye and in need of seven different antibiotics. Not even when it’s ducks that irresponsible parents won’t let their kids keep after easter. This is where anyone let me first get up close to birds. I mean, I’ve known I wanted to work with birds and wildlife since I was seven- I’m twenty four now, and halfway through an environmental science master’s and it’s a big reason I kept going.

I’ve been going to this place on and off for ten years, I was THIRTEEN when I started volunteering and seeing all the terrible things that happen to the birds that come in. Not just…hit by trucks, or caught in a hailstorm but parrots that have been left in foreclosed houses for weeks, and roosters that have come out of cock fighting rings and would otherwise be put down because the SPCA and humane societies don’t think they’re salvageable. There’s an emu that was raised there as a baby because no one wanted her. Her name’s Riley and I can’t even begin to comprehend what shutting the doors to the center would mean?

They don’t get government aid. They’ve been funded by the public donating and Kathy, the lady who owns the place, going through her retirement funds and savings and her social security to keep it running. She’s finally run out of money. Please,  just reblog? Even if you can’t donate anything- and I know it’s a lot to ask for poor teenage/college kids to donate money that they don’t have, or struggling artists I know but maybe someone who can spare something will see it eventually? They need $200,000 to keep open for a year to continue to help 4000 birds a year.  

Just, thanks for reading, guys. Here’s the gofundme link: http://www.gofundme.com/l8aj7k

Their facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rogers-Wildlife-Rehabilitation-Center/398035120217303

Here’s their website: http://www.rogerswildlife.org/about.html

[luxlithos]

I want a story about a king whose son is prophesied to kill him so the king is like “whatever what am I supposed to do, kill my own kid wtf is wrong with you” so he just raises him as normal, doesn’t even tell him about the prophecy, and instead of some convoluted twist of events that leads to the king’s murder the son grows up and when the king is very old and dying and in excruciating pain the kid is just like alright I'mma put him out of his misery.

[luxlithos]

A History of Crystals on Eos - 403

The new play is based on the old one. I do not know why they changed it. I have been consulted on the costumes again. It... it feels nice, really.

[luxlithos]

A Study on the Nature of Crystals - 408

Stardate 030619 Captain’s Log: The newest members of the crew are very, very worried about our current situation. I can’t blame them for that. No one has successfully pulled off an escape from the alliance medical zone. Not until we did. The fact we have been returned here does not mean that previous escape is invalidated. Aura Lithos is attempting to assist us. This is Captain Lux, signing off.

[luxlithos]

A History of Crystals on Eos - 402

The idea of going out again is... prickling in the back of my mind. But I can’t. I’m still infected. I can tell when I look in the mirror. My eyes show it the clearest.

[luxlithos]

A Study on the Nature of Crystals - 407

Stardate 022419 Captain’s Log: The idea of getting away from the alliance medical zone again is... difficult. Our previous escape has been thought over. They have added new security measures. We knew they would. Sage and Aura Lithos have not been quarantined as of yet. But that is only a matter of time. So until that occurs, we will continue to work at it. This is Captain Lux, signing off.

[luxlithos]

fog is just a rlly big land ghost

[luxlithos]

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕤.

[luxlithos]

Hey, could you maybe tell us about Labradorite? I checked wiki but I don't understand half the words there. I'm not a giant rock fan, but I like cool rocks and Labradorite looks really cool. Sorry to bother you!

Okay, so, Labradorite.  Labradorite is complicated and sciencey, as all good rocks are.  I’ll see if I can explain it in a way that makes any sense!  (Once again, I’m not a scientist!  Correct me if I’m wrong!)

Most minerals, when they’re bright and pretty and colorful, look like that because while they were forming some impurities got mixed into them - usually metals like iron, copper, or titanium.  Without any impurities, these rocks would naturally be colorless.  We call these guys allochromatic (other-colored).

Other gemstones are certain colors because those elements are an important part of how they formed.  They’re not impurities that got mixed in, they’re actually part of the gemstone.  Their natural color IS the color you’re seeing.  We call them idiochromatic (inherently colored).

But labradorite doesn’t get its color from either of those things.  Labradorite is special.  It’s part of a third group: psudochromatic (false colored).  These rocks aren’t colorful at all, but they LOOK that way when light passes through them.

See, labradorite is actually just… grey.  From most angles, it looks like this:

You have to look at labradorite from a pretty specific angle to get those flashy colors, so when we cut it into cabochons for jewelry, or just polish up big pieces of it, we’re careful to do so at the most flattering angle, the angle that shows the most schiller, or “those cool glowy colors.”

Why just the one angle?  It’s all about labradorite’s crystal structure, and how it’s formed.

Labradorite is a rock that cooled down really slowly.  Because of that, it’s made of lots of very very thin layers of crystal, stacked on top of each other and all pretty much aligned in the same direction.  These are alternating layers of albite (mostly sodium), and orthoclase (mostly potassium), which solidify at very slightly different temperatures.  Labradorite is a rock that cooled in just the right way for a thin layer of albite to form, then a thin layer of orthoclase, then another thin layer of albite, and so on.

When light hits labradorite at the perfect angle to pass through a bunch of these layers, you get the schiller effect.  Basically, a little bit of the light gets bounced off the first layer and back to your eyes.  The rest of the light passes through to the second layer, and a little bit gets bounced back to your eyes again, and so on.  Every time more light gets sent back to you, it’s a little out of sync, and this makes it look like a different color.

(This is a very simplified way of explaining this.)

If these layers were all perfectly the same size, you’d get a uniform color, like the blue in moonstone.  But in labradorite, these layers might be different widths in different places, so different parts of the stone will reflect back wildly different colors!  We call this effect labradorescence to differentiate it from the uniform colored adularescence found in moonstone and some opals.

Depending on where it’s found in the world, labradorite can reflect all sorts of different colors!

But whatever color it is, Labradorite will always be the Best and Coolest Rock.

[luxlithos]

A History of Crystals on Eos - 401

The newest play has begun. I’m recording it from multiple viewpoints. I hope I don’t have to make as many cuts this time. But it is something to do.

[luxlithos]

A Study on the Nature of Crystals - 406

Stardate 021819 Captain’s Log: The idea of getting help is not leaving me. I want to help my crew. I want to help Sage and Aura Lithosz I want people to know that the alliance fleet leadership have betrayed the principles they are supposed to protect. But how can I do that when we are trapped in the medical zone? When the messages I try to send will be scanned? This is Captain Lux, signing off.

[luxlithos]

A History of Crystals on Eos - 400

The whole of doing my hobby is time consuming. That’s good. I have too much time.

[luxlithos]

A Study on the Nature of Crystals - 405

Stardate 021219 Captain’s Log: The leadership of the Alliance Fleet has betrayed us. They have betrayed the ideals of the alliance. It is terrible. Terrible. And I don’t know how to get that out there to the rest of the galaxy. It is utterly disgraceful and terrible. This is not the alliance we swore to defend... This is Captain Lux, signing off.

[luxlithos]

[luxlithos]

NOPE.

[luxlithos]

A History of Crystals on Eos - 399

My newest hobby and occupation is becoming surprisingly lucrative. This whole thing is very surprising. And educational. I wonder how my interns are doing...

[luxlithos]

A Study on the Nature of Crystals - 404

Stardate 020619 Captain’s Log: The medical zone personnel have come aboard my ship. They brought their orders and permits to be here. And to speak with and do examinations on my crew. I have checked the callsigns and ranks of the people who supposedly signed off on this. The forgeries are near flawless. If they are forgeries. I... am starting to think that the people of the alliance leadership are up to something. This is Captain Lux, signing off.