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mochegato · 4 years ago

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Jasonette Protection Program

Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Marinette pulled her coat closer around her as she made her way from the bus stop to her apartment. She had made the brilliant decision when she moved here not to get a car because… Gotham. The likelihood that it would get damaged or destroyed in some kind of attack was ridiculously high. The likelihood the bus would get blown up or taken over, while definitely still present, was significantly lower.

But today she was regretting that decision. It meant she couldn’t isolate herself like she wanted to. It meant she was exposed to anybody and everybody at the bus stop and on the bus and on the sidewalk and any one of them could have been the one to drug her. She eyed the people around her as she walked. Okay, maybe not the woman who looked like she was in her 90’s and could barely walk… and dropped her knitting out of her bag.

Marinette rushed over to her and paused right before reaching her. She twirled around and scanned the faces around her. She could feel somebody watching her. She could feel their eyes scrutinizing her every move. She studied the shadows and the windows, but couldn’t find anyone watching her. She frowned slightly and shook her head. She was getting paranoid. She was seeing and feeling things that weren’t there.

She sighed and turned back to the woman, crouching down to help her put her knitting back in her bag. The woman smiled in appreciation, which Marinette returned with a shaky one of her own. She walked the remaining few feet to her apartment building and took a cautious look up and down the dark street before turning into it. She made sure she heard the click of the door latching before continuing up the stairs, not that it would do anything. Logically she knew that, but her anxiety still demanded it.

She kept her eyes on the stairwell as she made her way up to her apartment on the top floor, eyes hyper vigilant for any movement, her ears hyper sensitive to any sounds from the stairs. She got to her floor and paused for a few moments waiting to see if any sounds or movement indicated someone behind her. She let out a relieved sigh when there was no noise and turned to her apartment before letting out a muffled screech.

Jason jumped, dropping his phone he had been scrolling on, in his rush to hold up his hands in a placating motion. “Just me. It’s okay. It’s just me.” He watched her for a few seconds. She was starting to breathe hard, her eyes were boring into him. “Although I just realized you may not remember me. So this was actually an incredibly stupid plan.” He took a few steps away from her door, his hands still held up to let her know he wasn’t a threat.

Marinette continued to stare at him for a few more seconds, forcing her breathing to slow. “You… you’re Tim’s brother, right? You… you were…” she squinted at him, “you were in my bedroom?”

Jason grimaced and looked down to the floor as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah… that doesn’t make me sound too good, does it?”

She eyed him suspiciously. “What are you doing here?”

He perked up slightly and gave her a small, reassuring smile. “I wanted to check on you and see how you’re doing today. It can hit a day or a few days later sometimes. And I’m a security expert. I consult on it for people and companies. I wanted to offer to check your security for you so you’d feel safe, at least when you’re at home.” He turned to her door and knocked on the doorframe. “I can already tell that you need better locks. I could have broken in easily, but I didn’t think you would appreciate finding me in your apartment.”

She raised an eyebrow at him but let out a quiet chuckle and looked away after a few seconds. “You would be right.” She looked back up at him and tentatively walked over closer to her door. “But, I don’t think I can afford to hire you.”

Jason waved off her concern. “I wouldn’t let you. I’d charge Tim for it. He can afford it and he’s worried enough that I’m actually kind of surprised he hasn’t contacted me already, but I suppose that has something to do with him not wanting you to meet me in the first place.”

Marinette quirked her lips to the side and studied him. The longer she watched and talked to him the more memories came back and the clearer they became. She was slowly starting to get bits and pieces of the night before, not enough to create a coherent picture, just incredibly short scenes, a word here, a smile there. Regardless of what she could remember though, this was Tim’s brother and although Tim didn’t want them to meet, he trusted him, not that she would ever be allowed to say that out loud to either of them.

She finally nodded and pulled out her keys. “Well, I can at least offer you dinner while you’re here. If you’d like.” She gave him a small smile as she passed him into the apartment taking off her coat and dropping her bag on the small dining room table.

Jason raised his eyebrows in surprise. After the way she had reacted when she saw him, he honestly didn’t think she would talk to him let alone let him into her apartment. He was starting to understand how she could have gotten drugged so easily if she was that trusting. But then again, Tim had said they all were being careful. Her even more so than the others. So why was she so trusting now? “I would never turn down free food,” he said slowly.

He closed the door behind him with a quick glance at the inside part of the lock, confirming his original suspicions. Standard issue, not particularly secure. He could have picked it in all of three minutes when he was only eight. He didn’t have to lean down to study the doorknob to know it was in worse condition. One good kick and the door would be wide open. He sighed. If anyone wanted to get into her apartment, it wouldn’t take them very much effort.

He turned back to the apartment, letting his frown morph into a smile. Her apartment was cozy and lived in and very much her. There were touches of her everywhere along with some touches that he wouldn’t have expected. He shook his head at the condition of the apartment. It wasn’t terribly messy but it also wouldn’t count as anything close to clean. He could see why she and Tim got along so well. Neither could clean up after themselves to save their lives.

There were bits of fabric and half completed sewing projects scattered around along with random pages of scientific reports. He raised an eyebrow at that. Odd combination. His eyes caught on men’s shoes by the door. He scrunched his forehead in confusion. If she lived with someone, where were they? Where were they last night? Why hadn’t Tim mentioned him? “You live with someone? A boyfriend?”

Marinette looked up from the refrigerator. “No. Well, yes, but no. I live with my best friend,” she explained quickly, “but he’s visiting friends this week.”

Jason nodded. That was good at least. She wasn’t living alone. There was someone else with her usually. That makes it less likely someone could just break in and attack her. He moved over to the window and sighed again, more deeply this time. It was worse than the door. “No curtains. You should probably get some, preferably lined ones. This lock is ancient too. It wouldn’t take much to jimmy it. We’ll get you new locks for your windows and your door.”

Marinette looked at him wide eyed as she set a bunch of grapes and a jug of filtered water from the refrigerator on the counter. She hadn’t been expecting the locks to be that bad. She knew it wasn’t amazing, but then again, she hadn’t really been too concerned about being specifically targeted here. Nobody really knew who she was, or rather used to be. She was just an average citizen here.

She stared at the window for a few seconds, her head cocking to the side and her eyes unfocusing as her mind wandered through the possibilities of what could have happened and what still could. She was no longer safe, not even in her own home. But then again, she never really had been had she? She had just thought she was. She thought she was safer after they’d defeated Hawkmoth, but she’d just traded one danger for another.

Jason watched as her face morphed from one expression to another, her eyes distant. Her face clearly displaying each and every emotion she was going through, no matter how flitting. Jason could guess where her head went. When her eyes started shimmering, he opened his mouth to bring her out of it when her phone rang. She jerked back violently, knocking over the jug of water.

She cursed as she tried to stop the jug’s descent only to knock it further away, further spreading the water. She gave a defeated groan and grabbed a towel from a nearby drawer to start sopping up the water. Jason jumped to grab a few more towels to help. It took a few minutes, but they were finally able to clean up the water with a minimum of damage to papers left on the counter. Luckily, none of Marinette’s sketches were on the island anymore but Adrien was definitely going to have to reprint some of his papers for research.

Marinette gave Jason an appreciative smile and threw the papers in recycling and the towels in the sink. She let out a deep frustrated sigh as she leaned against the counter. After a few seconds, she ran her hands through her hair and laughed. Jason frowned at the sound. It was short and mirthless and sounded utterly wrong coming from her. He could see her starting to spin but didn’t know her well enough to know how to help. God, he really hadn’t thought this through.

Jason very slowly started reaching for her so she could see his hands coming. Shen she didn’t shy away, he set a hand on her arm to ground her. She looked up into his eyes, panicked eyes meeting concerned eyes. They both jumped when her phone started ringing again. They both chuckled quietly at their reactions.

“Sorry…” she started but was cut off by another ring. She shook her head at herself. She hadn’t even noticed the original call had dropped. She checked the caller id and smiled at the phone. “Hey Tim.” She paused to listen to him. “No, I’m fine. I just… I knocked something over and was cleaning it. Sorry for scaring you.”

She gave Jason an apologetic smile as she listened to Tim. “I’m doing okay, I guess. I think I’m just jumpy… and getting paranoid. I could have sworn someone was watching me walk home, but when I looked nobody was around or rather nobody was paying attention to me.” She missed the slight grimace Jason shot toward the floor. “No, thank you though. Actually, your brother is here already.” She smiled at Jason again and put Tim on speaker.

“…that so. That’s very thoughtful of him,” Tim quipped in a clipped tone.

“Yeah, he’s checking my locks,” Marinette continued, seemingly oblivious to the tension in his voice, or attributing it to his concern. “Apparently my door and window locks are pretty bad,” Marinette frowned at the thought.

“Uh huh. Well it’s just so great that he came over then,” Tim gritted out.

Marinette did a double take when Jason’s phone dinged repeatedly with an extended series of text notifications. She blinked at it a few times before looking questioningly at Jason. He rolled his eyes and turned his phone off. He met her eyes with a shrug and a wink as he sat at her island.

“Tell him I say hi and remind him he has plans with Bruce soon,” Tim continued tightly.

Jason huffed. “Tell him to tell B, I'm not going on patrol until Demon Spawn calms down. And tell him I’m sending him the bill for this.” He motioned vaguely around them.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Tim conceded easily before his voice turned harsh again, “And tell him…”

“You two do realize you can hear each other and you two both know you can hear each other and I know you can hear each other and I’m not an owl!” Marinette admonished them sharply.

The room was silent for a few seconds before Tim started chuckling. “Sorry, Hermione.”

“Thank you, Harry.” She nodded at the phone even though he couldn’t see her.

“Hey! That makes me Ron? What the fuck?” Jason objected raising up from his seat in offense.

“Oh come on, you’d look good with red hair,” Marinette teased him lightly.

“You better fucking not be Ron,” Tim growled. “You’re more like Draco anyway,” he continued flippantly.

“Fuck you, Pretender,” Jason growled.

“Yeah, this is making me feel better,” Marinette sighed, leaning against the counter.

There was a guilty pause as the men took in her words. “Sorry,” Jason finally spoke up after a while.

“What?” Marinette gave him a curious look until realization set in. “Oh! No, I was serious. You two remind me of my friends. It feels comforting, normal.”

Tim waited a second before speaking up cautiously. “So… you’re okay for tonight? You feel safe?”

Marinette smiled at the phone again. “Yeah, Tim. I’m okay. Thanks for checking on me.”

“Of course. Let me know if that changes. I’ll be over in three minutes flat,” he promised.

Marinette grinned mischievously. “Do I get a free pizza if you take longer?”

Tim huffed out a laugh. “Absolutely.”

“Sweet. I might test it just for that,” she teased him. “Night, Tim.”

“Night. And tell Jason to turn his phone back on before I do it for him.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Still not an owl,” she singsonged before she hung up. She looked over to Jason with a concerned smile. “Do you have to go? It sounded like you already had plans?”

Jason waved her off and took the battery out of his phone before leaning against the counter near her. “I have plenty of time. Like I said, if I show up now De… Damian is going to attack me.” Marinette’s eyes widened in concern but Jason waved her off again. “It’s fine. He isn’t as tough as he thinks he is. He wouldn’t be able to hurt me, but Bruce would yell at me for it and Dick would give me his disappointed in you lecture. It’s better for everyone if I stay away for a few days.”

He grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. “Tim just doesn’t want me stealing his friend away with my superior looks and charm.”

Marinette scowled lightly at him. “Tim is very handsome and charming,” she insisted defensively.

Jason shot her a devilish smile. “But not as much as me, right?”

Marinette scoffed at him and rolled her eyes. “You certainly seem to think so.” She rinsed some grapes and set them in a bowl between the two of them. “But he’s the only reason you’re here right now. If you weren’t Tim’s brother and we hadn’t met last night when you were fairly respectful of me in my… state…”

“Fairly!?” Jason squawked.

“I’d have called, well, not the cops, but Tim, to take care of you,” she continued over him. She grabbed a grape and chewed on it while she watched him appraisingly as she leaned back against the counter opposite him. “Do you make a habit of stealing his friends?”

Jason shrugged and grabbed a few grapes. “No, we generally move in different…” he searched for a nice way to phrase it, “circles.”

She hummed in response. “And yet here you are, willingly entering in a circle with one of his friends.” She eyed him pointedly. She quickly broke their eye contact to look down and cross her arms over her chest protectively. “Thank you for breaking into this particular circle to help me out. Last night spooked me more than I want to admit.”

“Did you want to talk about it? Or pretend like it never happened. I can help with either,” Jason offered.

Marinette stared at the grapes for a while without talking. Jason was certain she was about to start spiraling again when she spoke up quietly. “I was keeping an eye on my drinks. I only took my eyes off of them when I was around people I trusted and we weren’t exactly close to other people for someone to just slip something in.” She frowned and looked at nothing in particular. She poured herself a glass of water and held the rim of the glass against her lips without drinking it as she remembered the night before. “I don’t know which scares me more, that someone was that good to get it in with all of us there or…”

“That one of the people you trust might be responsible,” Jason finished for her after a few seconds of silence. When she looked up to meet her eyes, she looked so shaken and uncertain, he wanted to pull her into a tight, reassuring hug, but after the night before, he wasn’t sure a virtual stranger’s embrace would be the most reassuring. He settled for moving to lean against the counter next to her so their arms were almost touching, but she still had her personal space.

“Yeah,” she said wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing her arms.

“You think you were the intended victim?” he asked curiously. He and Tim had already discussed the night and decided that she had to be, but he was curious what her thoughts were. “You don’t think it was just opportunistic. You think whoever was with targeting you.”

She shook her head and looked down, frowning at the floor. She gripped her arms tighter. “I don’t know. I was never alone and I only drank with my friends at our own table away from other people. I mean someone at the bar could have drugged it before it was brought over when the waitress brought drinks but…”

“How would they know who it would go to,” Jason finished again. “Seems unlikely they’d risk the drug like that if they didn’t know who it would go to. If they didn’t have a plan to get the person out.”

Marinette looked up at him anxiously and nodded. She studied him for a few more seconds before she shook herself out of her daze. She looked up at him with a fake smile. “So what are you feeling for dinner? I can make some pasta. I can do stir fry. I can whip up a casserole. What do you want?”

“I’ll be happy with whatever you feel like having tonight,” he assured her with a smile.

“I don’t… really… feel like eating,” she mumbled, looking away again. “This is more something for me to focus on instead of last night.”

Jason gave her a gentle smile and lowered himself to her level, trying to gain her attention. “Look, I know you don’t know me but why don’t we order take out and we can watch a movie, or if you want to be alone, I can leave.”

“I don’t want to be alone,” she answered quickly, instantly looking over to him with a desperate look in her eyes.

Jason nodded slowly and gave her a gentle smile. He rested his hands lightly on her arms to reassure her he was there and not going anywhere unless she wanted him to. “That’s understandable. I wouldn’t want to be either. Do you want me to call Tim over? I know you probably feel safer with him and when he can’t be here in three minutes, you get a pizza.”

She gave him a wan smile. “No, I trust you. And I’m not really feeling pizza right now.”

Jason smiled back. “I want to joke and say that’s a terrible decision, but now doesn’t seem like the best time.” She gave him a deadpan look that made his grin widen. “I’ll save that for later,” he finished with a wink. His expression quickly turned serious as he watched her. “You should eat though. What kind of food do you want to try? There’s a good Indian restaurant around the corner.”

She looked away. “I don’t want to order out. I don’t want food that I…”

Jason nodded and moved closer again. “Yeah, that’s reasonable. Let’s make something together, yeah? I saw some eggs and milk in your refrigerator and there’s bread on the counter. How do you feel about breakfast for dinner? French toast sound good? I think you call it Lost Bread? And how do you feel about Clueless?”

“The movie?” she asked confused.

“Yeah, adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma.”

“Fan of Alicia Silverstone or Jane Austen?” she teased weakly.

“Both,” Jason answered with a wink.

Marinette snickered and nodded. “That all sounds amazing.” She moved away to start getting the pan and bowls out, watching him while he got the ingredients prepared. “Thank you, Jason. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“No problem. We’ll get things figured out so you can feel safe, or at least as safe as you can feel in Gotham,” he assured her, and himself. They were going to find who drugged her and make her feel safe again. Whoever it was messed with one of Tim’s friends, one of the few he really trusted, that means whoever it was messed with his family and nobody messed with their family.

Tags:

@jasonette-july-event @maribatserver @aespades @demonicbusiness @read-fantasy-to-escape-reality @jayjayspixiepop

#maribat #jasonette #Jasonette July #Jasonette July 2021 #prompt - night #Jasonette Protection Program

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nightsmudge · 6 years ago

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October Day 14: Fluffy Alien

Here's a funny little fact: When I first designed her, I wanted her to look weird and uncanny, but as I fleshed out her backstory and her species, she sort of became... cute, and fluffy. Very fluffy. Borderline furry And now for a very long description, enjoy

Name: Truskeh Skehr Age: Around early to mid 20’s by human standards. Gender: Female Species: Liray Tozenta Personality: Curious, patient, loves art and anthropology, is an absolute sweetheart at times, has a high determination to bring good wherever she goes, tends to be a little bit mellow when showing her expressions. Species History: The Lirays are a race of people that have a history similar to human society. They derived from a highly predatory canine-like species, but have evolved to be a lot more docile and intelligent over the millennia. They began to truly develop a society after the introduction of a religion and philosophy revolving around the balance of Life and Death, and the parallels between certain moral aspects such as Love and Hatred; Friendship and Greed; and so on. This single ideal was spread across the world, and morphed into numerous different interpretations as different cultures were developed. Eventually, the Lirays progressed, and got to the point where human society is currently, with advanced technology and scientific discoveries. And like humans, they reached a state where the world was ruled by greed, self interest, and monetary gain, to the point where they were beginning to destroy their planet. But then, a revolutionary, but highly controversial set of laws were put in place by those who were sick of greed and destruction, creating a program that forced the Lirays to breed out any form of selfishness, aggression, and lack of knowledge. As those were laws were being enforced, the education, career, and government systems were put under intense revision as well, to make sure intelligence and empathy would be valued the most, everyone was capable of getting a steady job, all countries had to support each other so everyone would be balanced, and no laws or political figures could go against what was good for the people and the environment. Of course, most people were highly upset from the program while it went on for the next couple hundred years, as some weren’t allowed to have children, numerous towns were torn down to make room for forests and nature reserves, and the economy became incredibly rocky at the start. Now before the program was started, the Lirays had reached a point where they allowed their old philosophies and morals fall into obscurity, their legends of Life and Death no longer of importance. But out of despair and wanting to find happiness again, they turned to those old stories, which gave them hope, and a sense of unity, to help them get through the hard times. Once the program had finally ended, the groundwork was laid out for an area of peace and intense scientific advancements. With a high interest for intelligence and knowledge bred into them, and a rebirth of their old culture, they began to build their way towards space exploration, medical and cryogenic technology to preserve the body and mind, advanced and autonomous AI, the ability to transfer consciouses, 3D print anything physical or biological, and so on. The Lirays now are living in balance and prosperity, valuing their old culture and whatever advancements that are to come next. Truskeh’s Backstory: After working for nearly her entire life to become a researcher for alien cultures, she finally gained an amazing opportunity for a solo space voyage to another planet to see and discover the process of how creatures can gain sentience and create a society. Though the research expedition would be bittersweet for her, as she had just gotten married to her loving husband, butshe was convinced to take the chance. With a somber farewell, she was loaded onto a ship with a cryogenic pod and an AI companion, her husband was placed in a pod on their homeward so they could be together once the mission was over, and she was put on a route straight to a planet; our planet, Earth. Once her ship arrived on prehistoric Earth, at the time right before the human’s evolutionary ancestors began to use tools, she travelled around, scanning the entire ecosystem and landscape of the world, and had her ship burrow and hide deep within a mountainside. After the initial in-depth scan, she began her protocol of sleeping in her cyro pod for 500 Earth years, coming out to briefly explore and send out scanners across the planet, and then repeating until something happened. Once she noticed that a species of primates was beginning to show intelligence, she reduced the sleep cycle to every 100-200 years, and began to disguise herself to avoid interfering with the species’ development. Though seeing humanity progress was fascinating, watching them go from cave dwellers, to tribes, to farmers, and even beginning to create their first towns, complex languages, religions, and cultures, it did start to get boring for her, seeing how slowly it took for a society to develop. She did have a bit of fun, going around in disguises to see the beginnings of human culture and how their lives constantly changed, but she couldn’t truly connect to them, as she wasn’t allowed to interact with them too much.  But then, one day, she awoke from her pod, to see her AI companion, MI-EN, alerting her to something strange. Only 200 years before, the humans were only using horses and crude firearms, but now, there were electronic signals everywhere, the planet was now lit up with artificial lights, and everything ever had seemed to change drastically. It was now the year 202? (actual year to be determined), and humanity had finally reached an era of technology. Luckily, after a bit of decoding, Truskeh’s AI was able to decipher the wireless signals to find a massive interconnected database, the internet, to find that the humans had mostly recorded their own history, and the drastic changes that had taken place over the years. Excited to see what the humans had to offer, Truskeh had her AI 3D print a set of modern-looking attire, and she went off to truly explore and experience the world, starting with walking to a nearby town. Little did she know, some humans were just as curious as she was, and one of them was quick to realize that she wasn’t human. That human ended up being her first connection, and first friend she’d have on the planet Earth.

#alien girl #fluffy girl

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bevioletskies · 6 years ago

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all the stars (are closer) [1/5]

summary: Scott is a washed-up comedy actor and an ex-convict, unable to find enough work to pay child support. Hope is a famous action star and the daughter of one of Hollywood’s most beloved couples, still struggling with the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death. When Hope’s estranged father casts them in his directorial debut, a romantic drama with a script that’s more truth than fiction, they find themselves tangled in a mysterious conspiracy that just might explain what really happened to Janet Van Dyne all those years ago.

a/n: Fic title is from the song All The Stars by Kendrick Lamar (with SZA).

word count: 4.4k | ao3 | tag

To the surprise of practically no one who’d known him in his childhood and his awkward adolescence, Scott went into comedic acting soon after graduating university (with a master’s in engineering, no less), having spent many of his late nights doing stand-up instead of studying for exams. To the surprise of nearly everyone, however, he then went on to become moderately famous.

“He was always better at making me laugh than making me cry. Well, until the end,” his ex-wife Maggie had said with a bittersweet smile on a morning talk show once. She was an actress as well, often erroneously underappreciated in supporting roles, and was now engaged to a man who was known for guest-starring on every cop procedural that was still airing long beyond its expiry date.

Maggie hadn’t been talking about their divorce, exactly, but rather, the cause of it - Scott had spent three years in jail for trying to expose a crime ring inside the film industry that no one wanted to admit existed, three years of their daughter’s life he could never get back. His career had also come to a complete standstill ever since, and though he’d made half-hearted attempts at a comeback, he never seemed to be able to make it to where he had been.

“You gotta do something different here, Lang,” his agent had said to him after the third movie premiere in a row in which he’d spent most of it mulling over how much of his paycheck had gone to child support. “Look, there’s a director who’s been chasing me down, wants you to read for a part. It’s not your usual, though - romantic drama, Oscar bait, whatever you wanna call it. He’s already got his lead actress. You know Hope Van Dyne?”

Scott promptly jolted out of his apathy-induced haze. “What?”

Hope was the result of a rare Hollywood happy ending, the daughter of two silver screen icons who had been staples of drama films in their prime and had gotten married after working together and discovering a mutual secret love of science. They later started a scientific research foundation together as an anniversary gift for the world, focusing on funding biological innovation and children’s education programs. It was declared the Hope for Science Foundation during the opening ceremony, where the two of them posed for pictures and talked to reporters while cradling their newborn daughter in their arms.

It hadn’t all been picture-perfect though, as her mother had died in a plane crash when she was seven. Her father’s last role had him playing a surly but well-intentioned detective, with one particular scene that critics loved where a six-year-old Hope had appeared as his character’s daughter. No one had heard from him ever since. When Hope started appearing in action movies in her twenties with a dozen martial arts credentials and her mother’s last name instead of her father’s, rumors followed her everywhere she went. In short, she was the last person whose name Scott had expected to hear.

“Be careful when you meet her, alright? Everyone says she’s...intense.” His agent made a face. Scott was too stunned to make any sort of face in return.

For one reason or another, Scott found himself standing outside the director’s house a week later, debating whether to ring the doorbell, knock on the door, or turn right around and never come back. The decision was made for him when someone walked up beside him, rapped their knuckles sharply on the door, then stepped back and promptly directed their attention to their phone. He turned to stare incredulously at Hope herself, dressed in a smart pantsuit far nicer than his button-up shirt and jeans, making no attempt to acknowledge his presence.

“Hello,” he said rather stupidly. She didn’t respond. “I’m, uh, I’m Scott. It’s nice to...nice to meet you.” More silence. “Y’know, my agent didn’t even tell me anything about the director or the movie, so I don’t...really know what I’m doing here?”

“Is that a question?” she said shortly. Her voice was softer than he remembered from the handful of movies he’d seen her in, but there was a bite in her tone that made him wince.

“No, I really don’t know what I’m doing here,” he admitted, chuckling awkwardly. She seemed unamused. “But you gotta know something, right? And that was a question,” he added at her pointed eyebrow raise.

She suddenly shoved her phone in her pocket and pushed past him to open the door, which had apparently been unlocked the whole time, barely waiting for him to follow. “Hank is waiting for us in the sitting room.”

“Wait,” Scott called after her, hastily shutting the door behind him once he’d stepped inside. “Who?”

The first thing he noticed was how eccentric the house was, looking every bit as old-fashioned as its exterior had been, with Victorian-style furniture, elaborate wallpaper and wainscotting, and dimly-lit lamps in every corner that made it feel more like an atmospheric showroom than an actual home. It took him another few seconds to notice that Hope clearly knew her way around, striding down the hall and through a series of doorways until they finally came to a stop in a room occupied by another man.

Scott did a double-take at the sight of the man - he was notably older than any director Scott had ever worked with, well-dressed in a wool sweater vest, slacks, and a tie, peering at them through his translucent-rimmed glasses with a piercing gaze. What was most notable, however, was the fact that he was definitely Hope’s estranged father.

“Hank,” Hope said neatly, folding her arms across her chest.

“Hope. Would it kill you to call me ‘Dad’?” Hank let out a world-weary sigh, sinking into the plush armchair behind him and gesturing for them both to sit on the fainting couch opposite. Hope immediately sat down; Scott was still looking at him dumbfoundedly. “Mr. Lang, I see you’ve already met my daughter.”

“Yeah, uh, she’s great,” Scott said, turning to look at her. She was already back on her phone. He turned back and stuck out his hand. “Mr. Pym, huge fan of your work - ”

“It’s ‘Doctor’ now, Scott. Spent my early retirement putting my mind to good use.” Instead of accepting Scott’s proffered hand, he gestured toward the bookcases behind him, practically bursting at the seams with volumes on things like quantum physics, time displacement, and other topics far beyond Scott’s master’s degree. “Sit down.”

Scott finally took a seat, sheepishly tucking his rejected hand away. “Sorry - Dr. Pym, I didn’t realize you were directing now.”

Hope scoffed. “You really didn’t tell him anything, did you?”

“Tell me - ” Scott glanced between them, but neither seemed interested in making eye contact with each other. “I’m missing something, aren’t I?”

“To make a long story short, I need more than just a good performance out of you.” Hank leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, staring at Scott so intently he could feel his ears burning. “What can you tell us about the Ghost conspiracy?”

Scott groaned, leaning back to rub his eyes; he could feel a headache coming on already. “Oh, you gotta be kidding me. No disrespect to you, Dr. Pym, but I left all that behind me the second I got out of jail. Besides, they had me sign a bunch of agreements not to talk about it, it was all very legal. Even if I wanted to talk about my theories, I can’t.”

“But it’s not just a theory, is it? It’s real, all of it,” Hank insisted. “People were disappearing and - ”

“Almost thirty years later and you still can’t let this go.” Hope finally put her phone away so she could narrow her eyes at her father. “We have more important things to be focusing on, Hank. Dragging in a has-been who might know something about this stupid cult theory just to feed your obsession over Mom’s death is a new low, even by your standards.”

“Don’t you talk about your mother like that,” Hank growled, suddenly rounding on her. “Show some respect.”

“Fine. Then we can go back to not talking at all,” she replied. She got to her feet and promptly turned to walk right out of the house, her heels clicking sharply against the glossy wood floors. Hank sighed, sinking further into his chair, making no move to go after her.

Scott, who was trapped in an unpleasant combination of feeling utterly confused, awkward, and shocked all at once, slowly stood as well. “There’s no movie, is there?”

“There is,” Hank said resignedly. “And I need both of you, more than you could ever know.” ______

Scott barely slept at all that night, staring up at the ceiling with everything he knew and everything he thought he knew rolling around in his brain. He had only stayed at Hank’s house for another few minutes, hoping to get a clearer picture of what exactly he was expecting from him, but Hank had only said that he would get in touch when they were ready. Scott wasn’t sure if “they” really included Hope, given that her car was long gone by the time he walked out of the house. She seemed about as interested in entertaining Hank’s schemes as she was in...well, just about anything else.

Still, Scott found himself on a sunny San Francisco backlot three weeks later, sitting in a hair and makeup trailer with the air conditioning blasting comfortably through his unwashed hair. He had signed a contract after it had been extensively combed through by his lawyer, and a script had finally been mailed to him last night, though he knew its importance was secondary to Hank’s true intentions.

If Hank and Hope were even just a little bit less intimidating, Scott would have turned down both the movie and the mystery, but he had to admit - if nothing else, he was intrigued. Neither of them seemed to be able to talk about Janet beyond using her as a weapon against one another, and he couldn’t blame them. He remembered how he could barely bring himself to talk about Cassie during the first few months of his incarceration, how he couldn’t bear the thought of how much he’d disappointed her. He had wondered if she would want to see him after he got out, if she would want to remember him at all.

The sharp bang of the trailer door being flung open startled Scott right out of his thoughts (and his chair). He glanced in the mirror to watch Hope walk in and sit down in the seat beside him. The assistants immediately began to panic, scrambling to dig through their kits and find what they needed for her. Hope remained as disinterested as ever, silently sipping on her coffee and scrolling through her text messages.

“Morning,” Scott chirped. She side-eyed him over the rim of her cup. “Hey, don’t you think it’s weird that we haven’t done a table read or pre-production or...y’know, anything?”

“Hank invests his time and money into what he wants, not what’s actually needed,” she replied, her tone dry. “If you were expecting this shoot to be like anything you’ve ever done before, you clearly don't understand what’s really going on here.”

“I don’t, because neither of you are telling me anything,” he pointed out. “And I’m not an expert on this stuff. There are probably a dozen people out there more qualified to help him than me, why can’t he just ask around?”

Hope glanced briefly at the makeup assistants still rooting around the bottoms of their bags for products, then leaned in close, her mouth nearly brushing against Scott’s ear. He shivered. “Hank hasn’t been focusing on the real problem that I went to him for. There’s a man determined to blacklist him permanently from every connection and every social circle he’s ever had, ruin his reputation, and deplete my family of the fortune that my parents built. He only knows this because I told him, which is why he has to be discreet. He also thinks solving the conspiracy will somehow stop this from happening. I think he’s really lost it this time.”

“So who is this guy?” Scott asked quietly. “Why does he have it out for Hank?”

“Darren Cross was a would-be protégé of his. Child actor he met during the filming of his very last movie...the one that I was in, too.” Hope leaned back in her chair to look at her own reflection in the mirror, eyes glazing over as she became lost in thought. “When...when Mom died, Hank left everything behind, including his promise to Darren that he’d take him under his wing. He couldn’t handle being abandoned.”

“What happened to him after that?” Scott pressed.

She let out a quiet, harsh laugh. “Among other things, he became the CEO of my parents’ foundation. It was poetic to the public, but what it really was? It turned out that a mutual spite for Hank was a negotiation point for starting a business relationship between us, and so I made it happen. I was the one who put Darren in that position.” Her head bowed. “I made us vulnerable.”

Scott blinked. “I’m so confused.”

Hope sighed, rolling her eyes so hard he suspected she would have pulled something had she not likely done it thousands of times before. “Try to keep up, I’m not here to babysit you. I’m here to help Hank.”

“Really? Because it kinda sounds like it’s the last thing you wanna do.”

“He abandoned me right after Mom died. Since then, he’s only come back into my life a few times, and usually not by choice.” Her voice broke. “I don’t want to believe the things he believes, but...part of me wants to entertain the idea that somewhere, somehow...she’s still alive.” ______

The end of the fourteen-hour shoot left Hope half-collapsed in the driver’s seat of her car, completely and utterly drained, both physically and emotionally. She knew Scott was familiar with her work, but she knew nothing of his - comedy had never been a draw to her, not when her life had been so deprived of it. Her expectations for him had been low, and she’d made that obvious from the beginning, but what actually happened in front of the cameras left her silently impressed. Still, it didn’t make his presence any easier to accept.

She had been eighteen when she’d agreed to meet with Hank in person for the first time since her mother’s death, with every other encounter being expertly maneuvered by lawyers or assistants or any other number of sneak tactics he’d used to attempt reconciliation, to no avail. He’d told her about the Ghost conspiracy, showed her all the news clippings and redacted documents and photographs he’d collected, telling her it was likely Janet had gotten too close to the truth and had been taken from them as a result. Hope then spent the rest of her life holding steadfast to the plane crash that everyone believed to be true, mostly out of spite. However, six months ago, she ended up calling him with a new proposal, because now, they were racing against the clock.

“Darren wants to cut off all program funding and shut down the Foundation, start it from scratch with his name on the side of the building,” she had said to him over the phone. “He wants to discredit you, blame you for Mom’s death, and...he’s been siphoning money elsewhere. Offshore bank accounts, shell companies, things I can’t trace myself, but I know it’s happening. We have to stop him before this turns into something bigger than just us.”

Hank had paused; even after all their years apart, she could still picture him narrowing his eyes in contemplation. “What is he up to?”

“I wish I knew.” Hope had pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers in agitation. “I’ve caught glimpses of his phone and his work desktop - emails, invoices, redacted documents - but I don’t know where to begin. I...I need your help, Hank.”

Another pause. Then, “I think I found a guy.”

She had blinked. “...who?”

A sharp knock-knock-knock on the passenger door window promptly pulled Hope out of her reverie. She flinched further when she realized who it was. “Oh, god.”

Scott shot her a bright smile, though even he was starting to look exhausted as well. “Hank wants to do a nightcap at his house, said he wanted to go over the details.”

“Of course he does,” she said bitingly. “Fine, I’ll meet you there.”

“I, uh, I don’t suppose I could get a ride with you, could I?” he asked, his grin turning into something more sheepish. “I’m still not clear to get a driver’s license yet, I’ve been taking ride services ever since - ”

“ - ever since you got out of jail,” Hope interrupted. Her eyes were narrowing more and more by the second. “Just get in before I change my mind.”

The drive to Hank’s was uncomfortably silent for the first few minutes, though she could tell he was itching to talk, his fingers drumming an irregular pattern against the windowsill. “So that was, uh...that was something.”

“What was?” she said shortly.

“O-kay, never mind,” he mumbled to himself. For the first time since she’d met him, he almost seemed embarrassed.

She cleared her throat, feeling a mild sense of pity for him that she was sure would pass. “It was definitely...different. But we both know the movie isn’t what matters here.”

“Right, but we still have to do the whole - ” he waved his hand aimlessly “ - the shoot, post-prod, press, y’know, the usual. Unless Hank decides to shelve the project if we get this done first.”

Hope suddenly slammed on the brakes without warning, causing Scott to jolt forward. All the air was knocked out of his lungs from the tug of his seatbelt, causing him to wheeze; she ignored him. “Why are you even getting involved? You could’ve easily walked away from all of this.”

“Well…” He paused for a moment, partially to think about what he felt and what she wanted to hear, but mostly to cough and catch his breath. “...you have to understand, Hope, I don’t get a lot of options or opportunities these days. It’s hard to find work of any kind as an ex-con, let alone in an industry as messed up as this one. So, after listening to Hank and listening to you, I mean, how could I not help, especially if I’m the only one who can? That’s how I felt the first time I got involved, and that’s how I feel now. If I can figure out this weird conspiracy that’s been haunting me for the last six years, I can prove to my ex and my daughter that I didn’t do what I did for nothing.”

She made a quiet noise in the back of her throat, so low that Scott nearly missed it. It almost sounded sympathetic. “I...almost forgot about your daughter. I know all about Maggie, but...I guess you both kept her out of the public eye. That’s not what my parents did with me.” She lowered her gaze to the steering wheel, unable to look at him. “What’s her name?”

“Cassie.”

“It’s a pretty name.” Hope, to Scott’s surprise, cracked a small smile. “If you want what’s best for Cassie, you might want to start by protecting yourself first. You may be sure about what happened to you in the past, but you have no idea what’s about to happen in the future. None of us do.”

He shrugged. “Sounds like an adventure.”

Hope snorted, shaking her head, though it seemed more playful than it had before. She let go of the brake to step on the gas again, still smiling as she pulled the car back onto the road. ______

After the excessively long discussion at Hank’s house, where, to Scott’s disappointment, Hope fell back onto her stone-faced stoicism and strong contempt for her father, Scott took a car home, not wanting to bother her further. His mind was still reeling from everything they’d talked about, all the (legal) details he’d shared, all the information Hank had, all the interruptions Hope made to remind them of the more immediate issue at hand. Ten minutes into the ride, Scott leaned forward to gently tap on the plexiglass and request that the driver make a detour.

He found himself standing on the doorstep of a house far nicer than his, in a gated community he had once known. It was only a few blocks over from where he and Maggie used to live when they were together, a step-up from the crappy apartment they had when they were first starting out, young and fresh-faced and naïve. He took a deep breath, then rang the doorbell.

A moment passed before someone answered, the door swinging open sharply. To Scott’s dismay, it was Paxton, Maggie’s fiancé, staring him down in complete disbelief. Scott grimaced. “Hey, man. Is my daughter home?”

Paxton scoffed. “You’re not supposed to be here, Lang.”

“I know, I know. I just...it’s been a long day, and I thought I would stop by and say hello. Can I at least do that?” Scott pleaded.

The decision seemed to be made for Paxton, however, as there was a sudden pattering of a little girl’s footsteps thundering down the hallway, and she practically barreled right into Scott’s side with a delighted squeal. “Daddy!” Cassie shrieked.

Scott let out a sigh of relief, crouching down and melting into her embrace, instantly soothed by the feeling of her face burrowed in his neck. He then pulled back a little so they were eye-to-eye. “Hey, peanut,” he said softly. “Been a while since I’ve seen you.”

“For good reason,” Paxton coughed, though he stepped aside so Scott could cross the threshold and get into the house. “I’ll tell Maggie you’re here.”

“Wait, no, don’t - ” Paxton disappeared up the stairs before Scott could stop him. Scott groaned, looking back to Cassie, who merely shrugged. “So what’ve you been up to? All kinds of trouble, I bet.”

“No way,” she protested. “I’ve been super good. Mommy said so.”

“That’s good,” Scott murmured, cupping her face in both hands so he could push her hair out of her face. She was a little taller than she’d been the last time he’d seen her, though her eyes were just as big and round and expressive as ever. He then realized she was wearing the pyjamas he’d bought and sent her last Christmas, which he had wrongly assumed Maggie had just thrown out before Cassie ever realized they existed. “Hey, uh, I’ve been working on a new movie. I’m not really sure if you’ll be old enough to watch it when it comes out, but it’s different than the stuff I usually do. And I’ve got some...interesting people I’m working with.”

“Int’resting how?” she asked.

“It’s a father-daughter team. Just like you and me,” he replied, poking her playfully in the stomach, causing her to giggle. “What do you think, peanut? You wanna act with me someday, too?”

“Scott, let our daughter have a normal life, please.” He glanced up to see Maggie standing at the top of the stairs, her arms folded across her chest defensively. Paxton was hovering at her back, glancing between them like he was watching a tennis match.

“How can I? Have you seen the house you guys live in?” Scott remarked. “What’s the mortgage like?”

“I’m not here to argue with you, Scott. I am here to remind you that you can’t just come by whenever you feel like it,” she said, furrowing her brow at him. “And it’s late. Cassie has to be in bed in fifteen minutes, she has gymnastics tomorrow.”

“Wait - I brought you something.” Scott pulled out an envelope from his back pocket and held it out to her. She made her way down the stairs to take it, eyeing it suspiciously as if she expected it to explode, and carefully pried it open. Her eyes widened when she realized what it was.

“Scott, this is - ”

“Six months’ worth, yeah,” he nodded. “I know it’s nothing compared to what you guys make, but I just wanna do my part. I wanna do what’s right.”

“But where did this come from?” Maggie sputtered.

“I got an advance payment for the project I’m working on,” he explained. “Just started today, actually.”

“Daddy’s doing a movie. He says it’s diff’rent from his other stuff,” Cassie informed her, smiling toothily.

“Scott, if you’re getting involved in something immoral again - ”

“Illegal, even,” Paxton interjected. Scott couldn’t help but think he tended to forget that he only played a cop on TV.

“ - then I want no part in it, and I don’t want a single cent,” Maggie finished, turning to shoot Paxton a dirty look.

“I promise, it’s honest money. I’m going straight. I’ve been going straight for the past year,” Scott insisted. “I just meant ‘different’ as in ‘different genre’, okay, it’s nothing to be worried about! I’m turning it around, Maggie. I swear.”

“Well…” She sniffed, carefully tucking the cheque back into the envelope. “I’m not cashing it until I know you’re in the clear. So go home, Scott. I’ll call you later this week, we can talk more about this movie of yours then.”

“I’m shooting all week, so I’ll text you when I’m free instead,” he suggested.

“Fine,” she said, pursing her lips. Scott knelt to give Cassie a hug goodbye, sneaking in a quick kiss on the forehead despite knowing he was already pushing his luck. “Can you at least tell me the name of one of your co-stars or something? Just to, I don’t know, make it sound more legitimate?”

Scott paused, straightening up. “Hope Van Dyne.”

Maggie scoffed incredulously; Paxton made an odd choking noise in the back of his throat. “Hope Van Dyne, are you serious? Everything I’ve heard about her, all that stuff about her parents, I mean...she seems...intense.”

Scott glanced down at Cassie. She grinned, reaching to squeeze his hand. He squeezed back, chuckling mostly to himself. “So I’ve been told.” ______

a/n: I've been wanting to write a multi-chapter AU for Scott/Hope for ages, but could never quite think of a concept that would suit them specifically. Then this popped into my head after watching the trailer for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and remembering how much I enjoyed The Nice Guys, and here we are! I started a post-Endgame fic focusing on the Ant-fam a long time ago as well, but that'll probably come after this one is complete.

As you've probably noticed, this fic is going to mash up elements of both Ant-Man movies in different ways. It'll also go back and forth on the film industry aspect and the conspiracy hunt aspect, with some chapters focusing on one more than the other. Next chapter will be posted next Friday and I'm hoping to post this weekly. Thanks so much for reading, likes and reblogs would be much appreciated, and I'll see you next time :)

#scotthope #hopescott #langdyne #langdyne fic #scotthope fic #myfic #myfic: all the stars #marvel #long post #i'm having a v good time writing this so i hope this is interesting to at least one other person lmao

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lifecoachamit · 4 years ago

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1 stop guide to find the right spiritual development coach

These days it seems like every third person on Instagram is a coach of something. It can be incredibly difficult to identify which spiritual development coach is high quality trainers and which ones are only trying to earn a buck. In addition to that, how can you know which trainer is the perfect one for you? How can you know who you will work best with to help you reach your objectives?

These are common questions we have asked as our customers do their study and try to find the ideal fit, so we wanted to share our advice to help demystify the process and help you discover the right spiritual discoverment coach for you.

1. Make Certain that a Life Coach is actually what You're After

Coaching is often confused with other related areas such as mentorship or therapy. However, it's in fact rather different, and each of them has unique characteristics. This graphic pinpoints some of the key differences between life coach, mentorship and treatment. Therapy has a previous orientation, helping you understand why you are the way you are. Coaching is a great deal more future-oriented. Your life coach will not spend much time digging into your past experiences. There is still certainly a self-awareness part, assisting you to know who you are and why, but all with the intention of utilizing that self-awareness for your long run. "Okay, I know these things about myself, how do I create strategies and habits to help me progress toward my goals given all I have learned?"

Contrary to a mentor, a spiritual development coach isn't there to offer advice and guidance based on his/her own experiences. It is important to note that none of those disciplines are better or worse than any other -- you just must comprehend the differences and have proper expectations for what will likely be achieved with each supplier.

2. Determine If They're Thoroughly Trained and Licensed

Coaching is based on scientific study and well-trained coaches use evidence-based coaching models in their work. In order to learn this research and these techniques, coaches need to experience an in-depth training program. Unlike treatment, there's very little governance and regulation of the training industry. For instance, to call yourself a therapist, you legally should have a specific level of training and maintain a formal credential. There's not any equal regulation for trainers. Anyone can call themselves a coach, whether or not they have been through a coach training program.

But, there is an organization known as the International Coach Federation. This organization accredits coach training programs and ensures that they meet a certain standard. When you start meeting life coaches, inquire which training program that they completed and if it is ICF accredited. We only hire coaches who've been through an intensive trainer training program; after they join our team, they undergo an extra 3-months of instruction on our proprietary programs and applications.

3. Ask Them about Their Coaching Style

Each spiritual development coach coaches differently based on their personality and training. Some coaches tend to be more warm and supportive while others may be confronting and really challenge you. Knowing that their style aligns with your needs will allow you to discover the right spiritual development coach for you. Consult your potential coach how they would explain their style and then think about if that is the type of service you want at this stage in your life to achieve your targets.

You want to safeguard your trainer is using proven coaching methodologies and techniques. This ensures your sessions will be effective in helping you achieve your goals. Additionally, you need to make certain their approach resonates with you and fits what you're looking for. Our trainers utilize many different tools and techniques dependent on the trainer and the customer's requirements. That having been said, we have an overarching methodology which we follow known as the ADIT version: Evaluate, Discover, Implement, Transition. Following this model guarantees a consistent customer experience for our customers and offers a framework for our engagements to create them effective.Additionally, we've got a suite of internet eCoaching modules and tools where our customers complete their job. Our customers find these online tools to be exceptionally handy and useful because they can complete them everywhere at any moment, plus they always have a record of them in the future. Other trainers use more rigorous worksheets and workbooks which may be your style. Think about what you are looking for in relation to the training activities and everything you would like to get a record of later. Ask your prospective coach how they will accommodate this.

5. Determine the Price

Budget of course is an important factor in selecting your coach. Coaches typically cost anywhere from $50 to $500 per hour according to their target market and their experience level. At Ama La Vida, we're not the cheapest alternative, and we are also not the most costly choice.

Ask your prospective coach what is contained in their hourly rate. Are there some extra tools and resources supplied? Do they belong to a team or network that could offer support if needed? Can they have a money-back guarantee? Cost isn't always a sign of quality, but make sure that you aren't only selecting the least expensive coach -- coaches are not a commodity. Bear in mind, this is an investment in your own future, and you are worth it!

6. Have a Consultation with all the Coach

Most life coaches will offer a totally free consultation. This is a great way to ascertain whether the trainer is a good fit and when their style is a good match for what you're searching for. Do they make you feel at ease?

Coaching provides an opportunity for you to explore and discover all of that which you are. If you don't feel comfortable being exactly who you are with your trainer, odds are they will not have the ability to encourage you to become all that you could be. If it doesn't feel like you're gelling, that is fine. They may still be a terrific coach, just perhaps not the ideal mentor for you. This is a good way to find the right life coach for you. No better way to explore the connection than to test it on for size and see how it feels working together.

7. Determine Their Availability

From a tactical standpoint, is your trainer available for sessions if it's suitable for you and you're in a fantastic headspace? Some trainers only work during standard business hours that may be rough if you need to organize your sessions throughout your work hours. Also discover how available your trainer will be to you. Are they exclusively accessible during periods, or will they check-in with you in between sessions? Would you send them a quick text or email with a question?

If you want a coach that is on your side and frequently checking , even in between your scheduled sessions, make sure this is a part of their process and philosophy.

8. Evaluate Their Successes and Outcomes

Feeling motivated and inspired is a superb feeling, but how does that translate into quantifiable and tangible results? Coaching is a big investment, and you want to guarantee that it provides a solid return. How do they monitor and measure their outcomes? What are the success stories with different clients? Can you speak to one of their previous of current clients to hear more about their experience?

In Ama La Vida, results and data are in the heart of everything we do. We monitor, measure, and share your progress each step of the way. If outcomes are important for you, make sure you ask the correct questions about how they are measured and achieved.

That can be less of an exact science so much as a fast gut check. What a possible spouse says is not as important as how they behave. A vital component of instruction is responsibility and business from the trainer. So have a moment to rate the way your coach has performed so far in your interactions with them. Did they follow-up beside you in a timely manner after you achieved and following your consult? Did they provide you with useful resources? Of course we all slip up on occasion. But the way someone acts during this first exchange is a good indication of the way they will act during your job collectively.

Your spiritual development coach is an important ally to help you realize your goals, make big decisions and stay liable to the things you want in life. We hope this advice can help you make an educated choice as you find the appropriate life coach for you. Being a well trained and mastered at the skills for coaching not only in India but around the world, I welcome the opportunity to talk with you and help you discover the appropriate mentor for you. It is easy to contact us to have a consult and be matched with your life coach.

#spiritual development coach

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memfish88 · 4 years ago

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What do Butterfly Koi fish eat? Butterfly Koi For Sale near me

Bring beauty by harmonious diversity of colors. Butterfly koi wears a graceful, graceful appearance and a graceful swimming style that captivates the hearts of aquarium lovers. Why is butterfly koi so popular? How to take care of them is the most correct way? Let’s find out interesting information about this fish through the article below .

Origins of koi butterfly fish

Known as one of the koi fish breeds that possess a beautiful appearance. Butterfly koi, scientifically known as Assorted Butterfly Koi- Cyprinus carpio, is extremely popular among aquarium hobbyists.

The truth about the origin of the butterfly koi has not yet had an accurate answer from scientists. But many rumors suggest that they come from Indonesia and are descendants of the koi breed as well as Asian carp.

Of the koi breed, the butterfly koi is the most prized species.

At competitions, TV programs, butterfly koi always lead the way in the high rankings and bring glorious victories to their owners.

For those who play fish for many years, this koi is not often used in the answer as traditional koi.

However, people still fall in love and fight to bring this fish home.

Because the fins are long, smooth, carrying the body of a fish, but their swimming looks like a butterfly trying to fling its wings so that it is very skillfully and gracefully fluttering into the sky.

It is therefore not uncommon for them to call their fins “underwater butterflies.”

Appeared in Japan for a long time, but recently, butterfly koi has received attention and attention from people.

The number of koi fish is increasing at a dizzying rate. Because the breeding form and the need to buy as ornamental becomes a favorable market for breeders.

Butterfly koi was the product of breeding and breeding during this period and New York is one of the potential markets.

This is also where the breeders bought stout long carp from Indonesia.

At the Blue Ridge Fish hatchery, North Carolina. When buying the carp from here for research, scientists have discovered an interesting point.

These are the genes of the carp’s long fins and the koi’s vibrant colors that create a nice diagonal line between the two.

The results were not unexpected when the koi butterfly fish was born healthy with long and smooth fins that captivated the heart.

Because of this, many people still used to call them the butterfly koi carp, but in fact, the two species are completely different.

The Shape and Size of the Butterfly Koi fish

Proudly favored by nature for its graceful, beautiful waving set, butterfly koi fish when swimming in a fast glide look like fluttering butterfly wings.

Compared to the original (standard) koi, there are many differences.

However, if you consider only from a color perspective, it is difficult to distinguish when the basic colors such as white, yellow, orange … are common in both species.

A butterfly koi develops, its fins reach a minimum until the blood vessels can no longer continue.

The bigger the koi is proportional to the longer the butterfly’s fins. So it doesn’t matter when you confuse an adult butterfly koi with a long dragon moving through the water.

Their antennae (antennae) are even long-lasting and can be forged into sophisticated designs.

The fish’s tail and fins are visible to the naked eye and appear fragile, with many longitudinal folds.

There are few butterflies with one color, the mix of colors on the body is quite harmonious, the fish’s tail when moving is what attracts the opponent’s vision the most.

This is also an important point if you want to distinguish two standard breeds and butterfly koi.

In discussions about the butterfly koi, people often talk about their beautiful, “miraculous” fins.

If you come across a butterfly koi with a mutated long fin, it is unusual because of genetic deviation.

Instead of growing more in body length, they develop their fins to their maximum.

However, this problem is not much of a concern because many other fish breeds often have this situation, typically such as: Siamese fighting fish, Simpson’s fins gun, long fin chest and fins. long black.

Any biologically but significant deviation will bring about an unexpected commercial value.

Similar to the standard koi, the butterfly’s fin organ is made up of dozens of cartilage rays that lead outward to perform a support function.

Initially they develop very straight, but over a long time they start to bring parallel shape.

The longer the butterfly tail, the longer it brings high economic efficiency because people love the graceful appearance when swimming from the tail.

Although they have a small body and are just a normal ornamental fish , their lifespan will surely surprise you when it is even 3 times the age of a human.

The average is 25 to 35 years, with good care and nurturing conditions, there is a possibility of living up to 200 years.

How to raise butterfly koi fish in a glass tank

The ideal amount of water to acclimate to the butterfly koi is around 1000 gallons of water.

To build them a comfortable environment, farmers need to add objects such as rocks, aquatic plants, rockets …

Butterfly koi personality is a species that likes to explore and explore, they often dig everywhere for food as an instinct available.

Because they eat a lot, the amount of waste generated is no less, to keep the lake clean and fresh, you should pay attention to change the water regularly.

Provide a quality filtration system and place large rocks so they can dig freely without injuring themselves.

Male and female butterfly koi can be easily identified by looking at their anal parts.

Males the anus are recessed, as well as a nodule on the head, females on the contrary, do not have this.

The female koi moth lays very “intoxicating”, sometimes up to 1000 eggs per cycle. The hatching rate of the eggs lasts from 4 to 7 days depending on the temperature of the water at that time.

If you have a need to breed and nurture your koi butterfly cubs, you should be careful. During the first week of postpartum pepper consumption should only feed the fry with pureed frozen food.

Gradually, they feel their health getting better and better and adapt to a new environment to switch to small pellets.

Around week 3 to 12, the color of the koi butterfly will begin to show up clearly, lasting until much later.

The food of koi fish sold in the market is quite diverse. You do not need to buy food for ornamental fish in general, but koi fish have a separate diet that will help them adapt and grow better.

In addition, to ensure the absolute health of the butterfly koi fish, the farmer needs the following parameters:

Minimum koi aquarium size: 1000 gallons

Care Level: Easy

Personality: Peace

Water conditions: 36-90 ◦ F, KH 2-12, pH 6.8 – 7.2

Maximum size: 90cm

Color: Black, orange, red, white, yellow

Diet: Omnivorous.

How many Butterfly Koi Types?

As mentioned above, among koi varieties, butterfly koi is the most typical, most beautiful and most popular species.

The reason for this trait is its bright colors, beautiful fins with special patterns, which also makes butterfly koi a valuable fish.

Although it was born later, it is known as the typical koi breed.

In addition, the striking lime yellow and platinum ogons are two colors that fall in the stunning category of the butterfly koi.

In addition, copper gold and neon-white are also two pretty special colors, they make koi butterflies surprisingly brilliant and graceful.

Sorogoi butterfly fish

Described as “adult, good-natured” in butterfly koi varieties, sorogoi often wear gray or black overall.

At first glance, maybe sorogoi does not make you feel impressed by it almost fading in the world of colorful colors.

However, it is only when you see them swimming that you really feel attractive and you are as if you were caught in their curves along the water.

Their graceful appearance, the ability to control their bodies ice underwater as if they are “dancing” will probably make you feel a lot of shock.

Black and gray have always been two colors representing mystery and elegance, depending on the perception of each person, each culture has a different way of feeling.

Sometimes, black is also the color representing elegance, symbolizing men.

That is why sorogoi is still preferred and chosen by many people. They become “typical faces” present in most aquariums at home of many families.

Black butterfly koi fish

Unlike the genes of some sibling koi, the black butterfly koi has an unusually large size and appearance.

In the middle of the water, their glossy black appearance becomes sparkling, creating a distinctive and unique eye-catching look.

The fish fins of the black koi grow to the maximum, the larger they try to stretch, the more they grow in size like a jet black dragon is able to swim upstream skillfully.

Owning a black butterfly koi is likened to having a tiny water dragon.

The shadow under the water is like a shadow but not a shadow. In Japanese culture, black butterfly koi is a symbol of luck.

Milk white butterfly koi (tancho ghoshiki himitshu)

This is a fish breed that has recently appeared in Vietnam. They wear milky white body is a blend of yin and yang giving people an overall look that both matches and harmony when viewed in terms of color.

Along the spine of the milky white koi, a row of butterflies runs steadily in a straight line.

Some special figures have a red circle at the top of the head as a characteristic highlight.

Because of this, the Japanese are extremely loved by the red stain that looks like the national flag of Japan mixed with a white background equivalent to 80%.

The price of the white butterflies on the market is very high.

Platinum Butterfly Koi

Just like the name suggests, the glittery butterfly koi has a sparkling body under the water, creating an eye-catching look that makes the viewer seem fascinated at first sight.

Under the light, this fish is much more prominent, depending on the color of the light on the body of the fish that they reflect into different colors in the extremely diverse darkness.

What do butterfly koi fish eat?

This fish is named by taking the name of the koi species of the same species and adding the word “gin rin”,

There are also two other more common types of butterfly koi fish that are more common: butterfly koi in aquarium and butterfly koi in garden.

The size of the backyard butterfly koi is larger than the other butterfly koi. Depending on the farming location, family members can choose suitable breeds.

Tips:

[TOP 10] Best Koi Food Reviews in 2021

How much does butterfly koi cost? Where to buy and sell

The prices for each butterfly koi breed are not the same. Depending on purity, health condition, longevity and color, there are compatible prices.

According to the reference on the online stores and in the aquarium stores, in general, butterfly koi fish have the following prices:

Butterfly koi fish type F1 mazabuki ogon price Contact Betta koi fish costs: Contact Koi fish imported tancho price: Contact Phoenix tail fish cost: Contact

source https://memfish.net/butterfly-koi/

#fishtank #aquarium #fish #aquascape #aquariumhobby #aquascaping plantedtank #freshwateraquarium #ree

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ughwhyarealltheusernamestaken · 7 years ago

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Auto Lotto Processor Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q67blJLSWPk

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fbrie002 · 5 years ago

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Trevor Paglen: Bloom | Pace Gallery

Trevor Paglen is an American artist, geographer, and author. He received his B.A. in religious studies at the University of California at Berkeley, M.F.A. at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Ph.D. in Geography at the University of California at Berkeley, where he now works as a researcher.

He is credited with coining the term "Experimental Geography", a practice coupling experimental cultural production and art-making with ideas from critical human geography, and is known for his political, investigative practice, tackling issues of mass surveillance and data collection.

His latest work, Bloom, is currently showing at Pace Gallery in London, exploring Paglen’s central themes of artificial intelligence, the politics of images, facial recognition technologies, and alternative futures:

"Computer vision and artificial intelligence have become ubiquitous. The works in this exhibition seek to provide a small glimpse into the workings of platforms that track faces, nature and human behaviour, and into the underlying data that structures how machines 'perceive' humans and landscapes. In this new work, I am interested in exploring the numerous examples of computer training sets creating AIs that reflect and perpetuate unacknowledged forms of racism, patriarchy, and class division that characterise so much of society." - Trevor Paglen

As part of the show, the interactive live-stream work Octopus builds on Paglen’s current practice, allowing visitors to engage with his exhibition through a web portal that allows each participant to see the gallery from the viewpoint of cameras trained on various angles of the artworks and the gallery itself, offering an uncanny experience between observation and surveillance.

The works in the exhibition recall the Vanitas tradition in art, in which symbolic objects such as skulls, flowers and books remind us of mortality, the fragility of life, and the vanity of worldly pleasures. Paglen plays with these symbolic tropes, bringing them into the present day and addressing new measures of mortality in the digital era such as Zoom, AI, policing and even such threats as COVID-19. Some of the contemporary Vanitas present in the show are: Bloom, a series of large-scale photographs of flower formations created by computer vision algorithms that analyse the constituent parts of real-life photographs; The Standard Head, a large-scale reconstruction of the 1960’s mathematical model of a “standard head” by CIA funded researcher, Woody Bledsoe, dialoguing with The Model (Personality), a plated bronze phrenology skull derived from the current categories that are used in predictive policing and sentencing algorithms that intend to gauge someone’s level of criminality by measuring their psychological attributes and behaviours.

These are accompanied by a series of drawings and compositional paintings, similarly based on mathematical simplifications produced by various computer vision algorithms.

The exhibition also includes a showcasing of ImageNet Roulette, an application which stems from his collaboration with AI researcher Kate Crawford as part of their project Excavating AI, and investigates the politics that are at work when pictures are paired with labels and used to train technical systems. Exploring why the automated interpretation of images is an inherently social and political project, rather than a purely technical one, ImageNet Roulette uses an open-source Caffe deep-learning framework, trained on the images and labels in the “person” category of the ImageNet dataset. The program returns images with a bounding box showing the detected face and the label the classifier had assigned to the image, exposing problematic, offensive, and bizarre categories, and shedding light on what happens when technical systems are trained using problematic training data:

“Despite the common mythos that AI and the data it draws on are objectively and scientifically classifying the world, everywhere there is politics, ideology, prejudices, and all of the subjective stuff of history. When we survey the most widely used training sets, we find that this is the rule rather than the exception” - Kate Crawford and Trevor Paglen, Excavating AI.

#trevor paglen #ai #artificial intelligence #pace gallery #london #art #bloom #excavating ai #ai bias

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volunteerismessay858 · 5 years ago

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liesmyteachertoldme · 5 years ago

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Plandemic

Humanity is imprisoned by a killer pandemic. People are being arrested for surfing in the ocean and meditating in nature. Nations are collapsing. Hungry citizens are rioting for food. The media has generated so much confusion and fear that people are begging for salvation in a syringe. Billionaire patent owners are pushing for globally mandated vaccines. Anyone who refuses to be injected with experimental poisons will be prohibited from travel, education and work. No, this is not a synopsis for a new horror movie. This is our current reality. Let’s back up to address how we got here... In the early 1900s, America’s first Billionaire, John D. Rockefeller bought a German pharmaceutical company that would later assist Hitler to implement his eugenics-based vision by manufacturing chemicals and poisons for war. Rockefeller wanted to eliminate the competitors of Western medicine, so he submitted a report to Congress declaring that there were too many doctors and medical schools in America, and that all natural healing modalities were unscientific quackery. Rockefeller called for the standardization of medical education, whereby only his organization be allowed to grant medical school licenses in the US. And so began the practice of immune suppressive, synthetic and toxic drugs. Once people had become dependent on this new system and the addictive drugs it provided, the system switched to a paid program, creating lifelong customers for the Rockefellers. Currently, medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US. Rockefeller’s secret weapon to success was the strategy known as, “problem-reaction-solution.” Create a problem, escalate fear, then offer a pre-planned solution. Sound familiar? Flash forward to 2020... They named it COVID19. Our leaders of world health predicted millions would die. The National Guard was deployed. Makeshift hospitals were erected to care for a massive overflow of patients. Mass graves were dug. Terrifying news reports had people everywhere seeking shelter to avoid contact. The plan was unfolding with diabolical precision, but the masters of the Pandemic underestimated one thing... the people. Medical professionals and every-day citizens are sharing critical information online. The overlords of big tech have ordered all dissenting voices to be silenced and banned, but they are too late. The slumbering masses are awake and aware that something is not right. Quarantine has provided the missing element: time. Suddenly, our overworked citizenry has ample time to research and investigate for themselves. Once you see, you can’t unsee. The window of opportunity is open like never before. For the first time in human history, we have the world’s attention. Plandemic will expose the scientific and political elite who run the scam that is our global health system, while laying out a new plan; a plan that allows all of humanity to reconnect with healing forces of nature. 2020 is the code for perfect vision. It is also the year that will go down in history as the moment we finally opened our eyes.

#pandemic #government coruption #COVID

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mineofilms · 5 years ago

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Why Not Utopia

Why Not Utopia - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Dvk9HJJCc

A short video blog I did a while back. This is what I was talking about with people that believe in false ideologies specifically pertaining to how facts are generated.

The textbook definition of a FACT is, "A thing that is known or proved to be true."

This is a very simplified definition of what a fact is.

A more complicated definition is "A fact is a thing that is known to be consistent with objective reality and can be proven to be true with evidence.

The usual test for a statement of fact is verifiability — that is whether it can be demonstrated to correspond to experience.

Standard reference works are often used to check facts."

To dummy this down a little is a fact is something that cannot be debated to be incorrect. 1+1=2. That is a fact.

One cannot argue with any other study to demonstrate that 1 of something + 1 of something = 2 of something. There is no other way to show a different result based on 1 of something being added to 1 of something.

You have 1 orange and 1 apple. You now have 1 apple and 1 orange but you actually 2 of something.

That is as clear of a definition without getting into quantum entanglement and string theory.

When we talk facts on Social Media we are talking about politics mostly and fake news over real news and such.

However, the foundation of how a fact is determined has not been changed.

Pertaining to reports, politics, news and fake news; A fact doesn't have to be a fact and strangely we have accepted it.

Why have people accepted this? Why have Democrats and Republicans, FOX/CNN delivers information in such a way and why do they expect us, the people, to accept that data as the correct way to broadcast opinions...

All 3 of these sources are incorrect.

A fact is a fact. Just because society has its own agenda as to what a fact is, pending on the source, doesn't mean or even imply that is what/how a Fact is created and delivered.

At this point I will leave actual FACTS up to the people that do the research and test theories in a format that produces a FACT, which is something that cannot be debated, yet, HERE...WE...ARE...

Below is a transcript of the YouTube Video Above if the mechanized voice doesn't work for you. I did not do a voice over because my recorded voice sucks.

I sound like an old woman that just drank a 5th of Jack and has been smoking Cancer Sticks for 3 hours straight.

Its why I never do karaoke or have sung in a band. It just sounds bad...

Utopia is a possibility, but not how most of the world, specifically, Americans think nowadays. When was it cool to be a follower, never ask questions and get correct answers?

What happened to common sense? Logic? To problem solve?

I thought the future would be full of thinkers, and doers, and most of the population is stuck in old school, pre-programmed bullshit.

People follow blindly without regard anymore!

The Bible is just a book. It's very open to "interpretation." Hell, just watch the show Cosmos, it's great, but it does not go on to say God doesn't exist, but not in the perception that the world does, and here is why!

Facts and theories.

The mass followers of the world say our proof is faith. Yet, faith is something one cannot prove, or be disproven. One cannot measure faith in terms of chemistry, numbers, physics. It's not a tangible thing.

I think God is just a massive computer program.

The universe can be measured... It exists in nature, and tends to behave like a Mandala Fractal, that you are seeing here.... The world wants to put a face on it and, an emotion on it, but its cause and effect. There is a plan, and the program is doing, mathematically calculated, causes's to reach a specific effect.

Being Agnostic I don't really believe, nor do I disbelieve in the "THEORY" of a one God creation MYTH, and it is a myth. However, I tend to lean towards religion as a good thing, if you take it in as an individual thing. If you truly believe that it is literally reality, whoa.... Whoa dude, whoa....

I say prove it, they say, "here is proof." I say eh, yeah, sort of, but it's really not proof. You just believe it to be proof. None of this adds up, sorry... They say, "I have faith," I say, yeah we cannot really prove that either.

The scientific community that proves things, theories to be facts and also the world, these same people depend on us to help form this reality, says, "in order for it to be a real thing, we have to have real evidence of its existence, in a scientific format, that is which by all facts and things that are real can be proven to exist in our REALITY."

With that train of thought, the possibilities are endless. That is a much better place to live... I hope we can get there where everything and everyone, everywhere think in those terms... That is the reality i want to live in...

Why Not Utopia By David-Angelo Mineo Original Post 6/17/2014 Updated 5/7/2020 889 Words

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greenlifestylemarket · 5 years ago

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Poison Found in 95% of Baby Food

A national investigation found 95% of baby foods tested contained the heavy metals lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. Some also contained the rocket fuel component perchlorate

Apple and grape juice, oat ring cereal, macaroni and cheese, puff snacks and rice-based foods had the highest levels of heavy metals

Heavy metals are developmental neurotoxins that can harm a baby’s developing brain and nervous system

Organic food may still contain heavy metals due to the presence of heavy metals in soil

There are several ways parents can safeguard their infant’s food, including making their own or using organic or biodynamically-grown vegetables

Republished – Mercola

A national investigation commissioned by Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) recently made a disturbing finding. A shocking 95% of baby foods tested contained the heavy metals lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury.1

I have often written about how most commercial infant formulas are high in processed sugar and questionable ingredients including soy. They can contain as much sugar as a can of soda yet lack the benefits of the natural sugars found in breast milk.

Worse, most formulas also contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs), synthetic vitamins, inorganic minerals, excessive protein and harmful fats while lacking vital immune-boosting nutrients found in breast milk.

Still, the new findings about poisons like heavy metals lurking in baby food add urgency to the problem and raise questions about how parents can safely feed their infants.

Related: Circumcision Linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Disturbing Findings About Baby Food

Parent volunteers working with HBBF’s partner organizations were asked to buy the most prominent baby food brands at their local stores or online.

The organizations the parents worked with were the Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Campaign for Healthier Solutions, Coming Clean, Ecology Center, Environmental Justice Health Alliance, Getting Ready for Baby, Learning Disabilities Association of America, Organizacion en California de Lideres Campesinas Inc., and Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services.2

The foods selected by the parents included 61 brands and 13 food types, including infant formula, teething biscuits, cereals and fruit juices. The results were staggering. Lead was found in 94% of the baby foods; cadmium and arsenic in approximately 75% of the items; and mercury in just under 33% of the products.

Fifteen of the baby foods accounted for 55% of the heavy metal contaminants. These included apple and grape juice, oat ring cereal, macaroni and cheese, puff snacks and rice-based foods. Rice foods such as cereal and rice-based snacks account for one-fifth of the risks babies face, as these foods have high levels of arsenic, as well as the other three metals, HBBF says.3

Related: Autism Correlates with Circumcision

Contaminants Threaten Babies’ IQs

The presence of heavy metals in baby food has been known for a decade, but the HBBF’s study sheds new light on just how widespread the contamination is, and the specific risks babies and toddlers may face from such foods, especially to their IQs. An excerpt from the report reads:4

“The four heavy metals we found in baby food have a unique significance. All are developmental neurotoxins … They can harm a baby’s developing brain and nervous system, both in utero and after birth, for impacts that include the permanent loss of intellectual capacity and behavioral problems like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

All four metals are linked to IQ loss from exposures early in life. The scientific evidence spans decades and continues to build: at least 23 studies published in the past seven years confirm these four heavy metals’ impacts to a child’s healthy development …

These metals are so prevalent in foods eaten by babies and toddlers that every child could be exposed daily to all three of the most common heavy metals detected in food — lead, arsenic, and cadmium — based on an analysis of federal surveys of children’s dietary patterns and heavy metals levels in food …”

Rocket Fuel Component Also Found in Baby Food

Related: Johnson And Johnson Knew Asbestos Was In Baby Powder, More Lawsuits Are Coming

Heavy metals are not the only IQ-lowering substances found in baby food, according to HBBF. The industrial chemical perchlorate, a rocket fuel component, was also detected, and this dangerous substance adds to the cognitive risks posed by heavy metals, HBBF says:5

“Perchlorate disrupts thyroid functions crucial to brain development and has been linked to IQ loss among children born to mothers with thyroid dysfunction, who are more vulnerable to perchlorate toxicity …

It is a rocket fuel component used since the Cold War. In 2005 FDA approved its use as an antistatic in plastic food packaging, and in 2016 expanded the approval to cover dry food handling equipment.

Perchlorate is also a degradation product of hypochlorite used to disinfect food processing equipment. Levels in children’s food increased dramatically from 2005 to 2012 …”

This is not the first time perchlorates — salts derived from perchloric acid used in the ways described above — have been found in baby food. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 15 brands of powdered infant formula were contaminated with the substance 10 years ago.6

Most people are exposed to perchlorate through their diet, in the form of contaminated water and/or foods. But the exposure infants receive may be far greater than that of adults if they are fed infant formula, as the toxin may be present in both the formula and the milk or water used to prepare it.

Perchlorate blocks the thyroid gland from taking up iodine, which can have a serious effect on a developing fetus and infant whose neurodevelopment depends on access to iodine.7 The harmful impact of perchlorate is also mediated by other endocrine disruptors that affect the thyroid found which might be found in the environment.

Related: Nurses Against Circumcision

Even Organic Baby Food Poses Risks

Sadly, parents can’t “shop their way out of” the toxic heavy metal problem by buying organic products, HBBF warns. Heavy metals are everywhere — they naturally occur in the soil, but pesticides, fertilizers, factory farms and other environmental pollution greatly increase their presence.

Because heavy metals are in the soil (whether deposited there naturally or through artificial means), leafy greens and root vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes take up and retain them to a greater degree than fruits and above ground crops.

While parents may decide to buy organic foods and make their own baby food, this does not entirely solve the problem because organic standards do not set strict limits for such contaminants; both adult and baby foods may contain heavy metals.8

Parents also cannot rely on bottled water to avoid heavy metals. Bottled water is no safer than filtered tap water and generates toxic plastic waste to boot.9 In a previous article, I noted that that microplastics are also found in bottled water.

Parents Should Beware of Fruit Juices

The HBBF report recommends against giving babies and toddlers fruit juices for two reasons. First, because common juices like apple and grape contain heavy metals and secondly because parents tend to give excessive amounts of juices to their children. This means the metal levels can build up.

According to a consensus statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, “Even 100% fruit juice offers no nutritional benefits over whole fruit.”10

There are other reasons to shun juice, say child and medical experts. Fruit juices can cause weight gain and lifelong obesity to the same degree as soft drinks, and their effect on teeth is equally destructive.

Most parents probably don’t realize that giving their child apple juice is akin to giving them a Coke, but metabolically, and in terms of dental health, it is. The lack of protein and fiber in juice counteracts any nutritional benefits, add the experts.11

Over seven years ago, Dr. Oz and Consumer Reports exposed high levels of arsenic in fruit juices. A full 10% of juice tested by Consumer Reports exceeded federal drinking-water standards for arsenic in the U.S.

Low-level chronic exposure to arsenic can lead to gastrointestinal problems, skin discoloration and hyperkeratosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, high blood pressure, diabetes, reproductive problems, neurological problems, various cancers and reduced IQ, as cited in the HBBF report.

Rice Is Also a Harmful Baby Food

Though pediatricians continue to tell parents that rice cereal mixed with breast milk or formula should be a baby’s first meal, it is irresponsible advice that I have always resisted.

Acclimating infants to the taste of highly processed white rice could set them up for a lifetime of bad eating habits and put them at risk for diabetes.12 The way that white rice is processed strips away vitamins, fiber and other nutrients. The rice that is left turns to sugar and raises insulin levels.

Since rice is submersed in water to grow, it also readily absorbs inorganic arsenic, which is the most harmful kind of arsenic. “Rice cereal has six times more arsenic than other types of cereal, like oatmeal and multigrain,” says Jane Houlihan, HBBF’s national director of science and health.13

“I have not been recommending rice cereal as a first food for many years, because I prefer babies eat whole grains with more nutrition,” agrees pediatrician Dr. Tanya Altmann.14 So, just how can baby food be made safe? Government clearly needs to do more, says the HBBF report, pointing out that:15

“FDA can use its testing programs, recall authority, and guidance to industry, among other tools, to characterize and control heavy metal levels in food. The agency tests a fraction of imported food in their Import Program, prioritizing food likely to pose risks to consumers, including those with high heavy metals levels.

Federal law gives FDA the authority to require a recall of food it deems to be adulterated, that ‘bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health,’ including heavy metals …

Despite FDA’s many areas of authority and its recent emphasis on reducing exposures to heavy metals, for 88 percent of baby foods tested by HBBF — 148 of 168 baby foods — FDA has failed to set enforceable limits or issue guidance on maximum safe amounts. And none of the agency’s existing guidance considers the additive neurological impacts of multiple metals in baby food.”

How Can Parents Ensure Baby Food Safety?

I have often written about how parents can make sure their babies and toddlers eat the most nutritious and safest foods. For instructions on how to make your own homemade baby formula, see “The U.S. Campaign Against Breastfeeding.” Here are a few other ideas sparked by the HBBF report that appeared on CNN:

Feed your baby a variety of healthy foods — This will help children be less picky eaters and avoid future food allergies.16Choose snacks carefully — Rice teething rusks and other teething biscuits have little nutrition.Reduce juice — Water and milk should be the drinks of choice.Serve carrots and sweet potatoes less frequently — When you do, peel them carefully and cook them in water that is then disposed.Minimize the use of plastic, especially with reheating foods — Heat causes dangerous plastics to leach into the food.Steam and puree organic or biodynamically grown vegetables — Cool them in small glass containers, then freeze and put in bigger containers.

Mercola

#baby food #Heavy Metals

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your-sannidhya-blr · 5 years ago

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How AI and Data Science can help to overcome COVID19 Pandemic

For over two months now, all of us have finally accepted a huge medical challenge which when not contained can be disastrous. The coronavirus outbreak has reminded everyone that having robust medical facilities should be the topmost priority of every country, big and small. When a pandemic like this occurs, it can create mounting pressure on the governments and health officials not just to gather the required information but also based on the information to create a response system.

Artificial Intelligence or AI seemingly has a large role to play not just in the prediction of the outbreak but also spread its outbreak further. A rapid response system to these infectious diseases has all the scientists looking for a hope to fight COVID-19. WHO has declared it a pandemic because of the manner in which it spreads. China has been able to tackle the crisis effectively with many recovery cases, but when China can do it Why can’t Italy? The answer lies in a faster response system, a great mechanism to deal with the crisis and the effective training of the paramedical teams.

Not just COVID-19 but any other pandemic scare can be effectively managed thanks to AI and its proponents posing as great weapons to handle the situation.

Ways in which AI can help to fight Corona

Researchers and scientific experts are looking for a cure for COVID-19. AI and data science are continuously taking efforts to overcome this challenge. There are many scientific breakthroughs that are divided into small chunks and their recommendations are sent to WHO for further strategies on quarantine and prevention.

10 ways AI can help to fight Corona

AI can detect Corona or an epidemic

AI-based algorithms enable 100% filtering of information and content spread across geographical boundaries. AI systems can go a long way in pointing out errors before it becomes a pandemic. AI was used by researchers to study travel data of passengers to predict the novel virus location. There also is continuous monitoring of all social media information everywhere for easy detection of the spread. With the help of predictive modeling tools, major fights towards COVID-19 can expectantly become successful. Big Data analytics helps in decentralizing the process and also ensure timely evaluation of data sets generated with IoT and other real-time devices.

AI can diagnose Corona

Apart from detecting cases it can also diagnose and monitor the disease by the front-line health care workers. Infervision which is a dedicated AI company has launched an AI solution for easy monitoring. The work pressure that has been created as a result of Corona has been eased thanks to these AI solutions. It has reduced the work pressure at the imaging departments. Alibaba too has built an AI-enabled diagnosis system which is 96% accurate in diagnosing cases in a few seconds.

AI can enhance medical care facilities for Corona

The medical team at the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan in association with Wuhan EndoAngel Medical technology and University of geosciences has seen a 95% accuracy in detecting the COVID-19 cases with chest scans. The solution was a deep-learning algorithm that was trained on 45000 scans. AI’s performance and result system are no lesser than an expert radiologist.

Robots and robotic engineering to lead the fight against COVID-19

Social distancing can be seen as the only way to control the spread. The infection caught as a result of contact between a normal and an infected patient was what has caused Italy to break down. Companies realize this and have researched this aspect. China is using drones and robots to perform different contactless operations for spraying disinfectants in public areas. Robots are already in use to check fever and symptoms.

Robots are also installed in hospitals to deliver food and medicine to patients. They have been programmed in a manner that needs minimal supervision reducing the staff required to run the facility. Robots are also used in Seattle to communicate with infected patients.

AI is accelerating the drug research process

The fight against COVID-19 can only be successful when vaccination can be developed. The development of an antidote is not possible because it is lengthy and extremely expensive. AI can help to fight Corona by speeding up this process. DeepMind AI research lab which was taken over by Google in 2014 had announced the use of deep-learning methods to detect new information about protein structure required for the generation of vaccine for COVID-19.

Better face masks

Sonovia, an Israeli startup has already started investing its efforts by bringing about face masks made from anti-bacterial fabric that will completely rely on metal-oxide nanoparticles.

GIS technology

Geographical Information systems technology also has been identified as a great tool to contain the spread of the virus. John Hopkins University has spearheaded this and has a dashboard highlighting all the cases of Corona geographically. In order for GIS to be successful, data mining is essential as it uses information about what people are talking.In accordance with the information so received prevention measures can be implemented. With AI, machine learning, data science, and GIS gaining insights have become simpler.

AI can detect non-compliance

Sichuan province has installed ‘smart helmets’ to identify those people who might have a fever and are prone to the virus. There is also a monitoring system called health code in China that uses big data to ascertain the risk of contracting the disease based on their travel history, the time they have spent in hotspots for viruses` and also the rate of exposure.

Chatbot conversations

Chatbot conversations and chat windows like Tencent’s WeChat are keeping the travelers updated about procedures and disruptions.

Supercomputers working incessantly towards developing a vaccine

Many IT technology companies to the likes of Tencent, DiDi, and Huawei are employing supercomputers to augment the speed of cure development. The speed that they run on is all calculation based and much faster than the standard computer processing.

How to fight Corona?

Follow these and stay safe:

Wash your hands at regular levels with soap and water or alcohol-based rub to kill viruses.

Maintain social distancing.

Avoid touching your face.

Practice respiratory hygiene.

seek medical care at the earliest if you have detected symptoms.

AI and data sciences with analytics have proven to be a treasure trove of information that is fighting against the crisis. The future seems really bright for AI in the medical world which will also give organizations a further chance to conduct some breakthrough research.

#Artificial Intelligence #Data Science #corona #coronavirus #covid19

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kamounlab · 5 years ago

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Ten things we learned in 2010-2019 (aside from everything else)

He who has studied himself is his own master. –Sri Lankan proverb.

By the time this gets posted, you’ll probably be sick and tired of all those retrospective articles looking back at the 2010-2019 decade. I feel your pain. But hey, we’re still early in the new decade and I have a good reason for writing this. This last decade has been such an exhilarating period of exploration and discovery for me, my team and my collaborators that I just can’t resist the urge to write this post. The decade took us through unexpected research paths that I would have never imagined ten years ago. As I’m drafting these words during my holidays break in Sri Lanka—in between tasting the local milk rice curries and soaking the soft Indian ocean December sunshine—I’m reflecting on the local proverb above and I’m using it as my lame excuse to offer you yet another list of decadal achievements.

Please note that this is my personal highly biased perspective on ten things we have learned in 2010-2019. This list is by no means meant to be comprehensive review of advances in our research field but rather a reflection of my own personal take on the scientific topics we investigate.

2010. Two-speed genomes, everywhere? What started as a loose metaphor inspired from economics went sort of viral at some point in this decade, sometimes to comical effects (one speed genome anyone?). To those who struggle with metaphors, the idea is that there is an uneven distribution in the rates of gene evolution across the genome, not that there are precisely two-rates of gene evolution. The term actually dates back to 2009 press releases associated with the Haas et al. paper on the genome of Phytophthora infestans. We noted at the time that it was a catchy term that does illustrate the point we were making, and I really liked the French translation into the poetic “génome à deux vitesses”. By 2010, we were confident enough that we formally used the term in the Raffaele et al. paper on genome evolution after host jumps. What was even more exciting about the “two-speed genome” concept is that it turned out to apply not just to Phytophthora genomes but also to many other plant pathogens. Ten years later, we start the new decade with a paper on the two-speed genome architecture of the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae.

2011. WY fold—commonalities amid diversity. Our collaboration with Mark Banfield started yielding its fruits with the 2011 Boutemy et al. paper. This and related papers by the Staskawicz and Shirasu Labs in the US and Japan, respectively, marked the discovery of the WY-fold of oomycete effectors. This has now expanded into the LWY-foldand an effector of the tobacco blue mold pathogen Peronospora tabacina has 18 WY units. The finding that pathogen effectors share structural features despite limited primary sequence similarity has also extended to other filamentous pathogens, for example the MAX-fold of M. oryzae effectors. This is very useful because it improves prediction of effector genes from pathogen genomes and sets the stage for effectoromics.

2011. The haustorial interface—where it all happens? I’m a big fan of this Bozkurt et al. paper because it was very challenging for me to get outside my comfort zone into the murky world of plant cell biology (where many people seem reluctant to quantify their observations…). Kudos to Tolga Bozkurt and Sebastian Schornack for leading the way and taking me through this journey. As often, the effectors gave us the first clue and the discovery that some P. infestans effectors accumulate at the haustorial interface (perihaustorial) turned out to be a starting point for many cool projects. Thanks in part to a nudge from an anonymous reviewer who was dissing the novelty of studying effectors that suppress PAMP-triggered immunity (the “it has all been done with Pseudomonas syringae” type of reviewer), we decided to focus on perihaustorial effectors. This resulted, in many important findings, notably the discovery of the ATG8-binding effector PexRD54 and that the host autophagy machinery is diverted to the haustorial interface during infection by P. infestans. This also led us to study plant ATG8 proteins and how they have specialized throughout evolution.

2013. Genome editing made easy. Ten years ago, geneticists were dreaming about gene editing. What if there was a tool that would allow facile gene editing. TALENs popped up first in 2009 but, in our hands, applying them turned out to be anything but simple. Vlad Nekrasov noted that the AvrBs3 backbone of standard TALEN constructs wouldn’t generate transgenic tomatoes because they elicit Bs4-mediated cell death. That frustration was one motivation in early 2013 to ditch the TALEN work and focus on the newly reported CRISP/Cas9 system. That was a wise decision and Vlad got CRISPR/Cas9 to work in what seemed like weeks. The rest is history with Vlad’s CRISPR/Cas9 plasmids have been distributed >500 times via Addgene. Vlad, in collaboration with Detlef Weigel’s lab, went on to engineer the transgene-free powdery mildew resistant mutant Tomelo in less than a year. This work ended up being highlighted by the BBC as one of “four good things that happened in 2016″.

2013. Field pathogenomics—just sequence it! It was the ash dieback outbreak that gave us our first opportunity to combine sequencing of field collected tissue with open science and crowdsourcing to mount a rapid response to plant health emergencies. Back then it did feel like plant pathology was lagging behind in immediately applying genome sequencing to emerging plant pathogens. Diane Saunders, Kentaro Yoshida and Dan MacLean managed to put OpenAshDieback together and release a draft of the pathogen’s genome just weeks after the outbreak was detected in Norfolk. Diane then applied the approach to yellow rusts and we later used field pathogenomics to identify the origin of the pathogen that caused the 2016 wheat blast outbreak in Bangladesh. That project kicked off a very inspiring collaboration with Tofazzal Islam and Nick Talbot and further strengthened my dedication to advocate for open science. It also changed the research direction of my lab, especially after the BLASTOFF project was funded by the ERC.

2013. Going back to the past to better prepare for the future. It’s not every day that you get lampooned by the Colbert Report. Stephen Colbert was correct, it wasn’t the 1b haplotype of P. infestans that triggered the Irish famine disaster, it was HERB-1. Our collaboration with Hernan Burbano, Detlef Weigel and several others on sequencing P. infestans genomes from 19th century herbarium samples, received incredible media coverage. With Hernan having recently started a new position at UCL, you can expect more pathogen aDNA projects in the future. Stay tuned.

2014. Effector adaptation after jumping hosts. There are literally dozens and dozens of examples of rapid evolutionary adaptations in plant-pathogen interactions in which the precise mutation is known. It's no big deal to find a new one these days. But almost all of these are AVR effectors that overcome host resistance. What Suomeng Dong and others documented is an effector that has adapted to a new target after switching hosts. Suomeng showed that the protease inhibitor effector EPIC1 has undergone biochemical specialization on the protease of its new host. This paper builds up on work dating back to the 2000-2009 decade by PhD students Miaoying Tian who discovered the protease inhibitor effectors of Phytophthora and Jing Song who further studied the EPICs. It was also the point when we decided to center the lab around the theme of evolutionary molecular-plant microbe interactions or #EvoMPMI as it’s known on Twitter.

2015. The beauty of a protein complex structure. Stella Cesari and her colleagues deserve much credit for articulating the NLR integrated decoy concept, although some of us prefer to use the more agnostic term integrated domain (NLR-ID). I’m thrilled to have been the matchmaker who helped link up the amazing work of Ryohei Terauchi on rice blast effectors and R genes with the structural biology magic of Mark Banfield. This resulted in bringing an unprecedented level of detail to Harold Flor's gene-for-gene model with Abbas Maqbool solving the structure of M. oryzae AVR-PikD in complex with the integrated HMA domain of the rice immune receptor Pik-D. Mark and his team went on to publish a series of trail blazing follow-up papers on how to exploit this knowledge to engineer new disease resistance specificities (De la Concepcion et al. 2018, 2019; Varden et al. 2018).

2017. Do NLRs work in pairs—it’s more complicated! In what was initially a follow-up study to the AVRblb2 project of Bozkurt et al., Chih-hang Wu, Ahmed Abd-El-Haliem and Jack Vossen “accidental” discovery that NRC4 is necessary for Rpi-blb2 ended up having some very unexpected ramifications. Chih-hang’s PhD took quite a turn when he followed up on a suggestion by Khaoula Belhaj to silence multiple NRC paralogs and uveil a complicated NLR network. He went on to his most insightful discovery that the NRC network is phylogenetically structured and has expanded over 100 million years ago (Mya) from an NLR pair to a network that makes up to half of the NLRs of asterid plants. All this cool stuff ended up taking over my research program by storm, with Team NRC making up half of my lab. It also led to the fascinating research question of how NLRs have evolved from singletons to pairs to networks. Meanwhile, Chih-hang is starting his new lab at Academia Sinica in January 2020.

2019. The coming of age of the plant resistosome. Courtesy of Jijie Chai, Jian-Min Zhou and their collaborators, 2019 brought us a full-length NLR structure some 25 years after their discovery in the early 1990s. But these landmark papers by Wang et al. (2019a, 2019b) had much more than that. They showed that they could activate the ZAR1 resistosome in vitro by flooding it with ATP. This results in the “death switch”, a conformational change that generates a funnel-shaped structure that is proposed to insert into the plasma membrane and cause cell death. Beyond this extraordinary breakthrough, we had good reasons to celebrate—as we did in this video. The ZAR1 death switch model immediately explained some two-year old results that Hiroaki Adachi and Adeline Harant had produced with our own NRC4. This led Aki to discover the functionally conserved N-terminal MADA motif of NLR proteins that defines the N-terminus of NRC4, ZAR1 and at least one fifth of CC-type NLRs. We predict that a ZAR1 type conformational “death switch” is a common activation mechanism for CC-NLRs. What a way to end the decade. IT'S A MADA, MADA, MADA, MADA WORLD!

Conclusion. Over the last decade, the research topics in my lab have drifted from a focus on Phytophthoragenome and effector biology to new interests such as M. oryzae and NLR biology. I heard that several colleagues find this puzzling. Some of the drift can be explained by a tendency to follow Peter Medawar’s maxim of “science is the art of the soluble”. Another reason is an obsession with Keplerian thinking—unexpected findings are opportunities to explore new research avenues and shouldn’t be dismissed because they don’t fit the current theory. Also, some of the projects moved on to greener pastures when postdocs took on independent positions at other institutions and it didn’t make any sense for me to continue working on those topics. This said, there is probably more to this willingness to jettison projects and switch to new ones. I should think deeper about this. After all, “he who has studied himself…”

Acknowledgements. I’m deeply grateful to past and present lab members and collaborators for their many contributions, several of which are not described here. I want to particularly thank Joe Win for his across the board involvement in pretty much most of the projects described above. Thanks also to the funders, particularly the Gatsby Charitable, BBSRC and ERC.

To cite: Kamoun, S. Ten things we learned in 2010-2019 (aside from everything else). Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3613856

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sarkarimirror · 6 years ago

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Mindspark in Rajasthan: Personalized adaptive learning tools to improve learning outcomes

This year’s Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer are amongst the pioneers of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), an ‘experimental approach to alleviate global poverty’. Essentially, it transports societal economics from desks and theories and brings it on-ground, where it is ideally expected to make an impact. In fact, the husband-wife duo of Abhijit and Esther practiced their study in Indian hinterlands, collaborating with non-profit organizations like Seva Mandir and Pratham, and conducted RCTs to scientifically evaluate various targeted anti-poverty programmes in India. This radically new approach sparked Educational Initiatives’ implementation of the Mindspark program in Rajasthan, associating with the state government to test the impact of classroom-based ICT program amongst the most underserved and resource bereft children of rural India. The implementation of the program was sponsored by Global Innovation Fund – where Michael Kremer and Esther Duflo the winners of Nobel Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences were among the founding Board Members. This grant was on the basis of the Mindspark program demonstrating strong results in a J-PAL RCT of the program in Delhi urban slums. The proposal was to do a pilot in government schools to show the blueprint of how EdTech can be integrated into the govt school system to improve learning outcomes at scale. The ground reality Despite high enrolment rates in recent years, improvement in reading outcomes and arithmetic ability remain alarmingly low. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2018 reveals 56% of students in Class VIII struggle to solve simple numerical division problems, whereas 72% of students in Class V do not even know how to divide. The report, released by NGO Pratham earlier this year, clearly indicate that learning levels of students in India are well below age-appropriate levels. In response to this widespread learning crisis, the Government of India has allocated a great deal of funding to support classroom-based ICT programs that promote computer literacy and develop innovative curricula in electronic formats. Yet, there is little evidence to date that suggests a strong correlation between public investment in education and learning outcomes. EI’s primary objective in implementing the Mindspark program was twinfold- to understand the roadblocks that have created such a scenario, and attain practical insights acquired from real-life implementations of EdTech-based solutions at a scale that imitates real situations. What is Mindspark? Mindspark is an AI-powered personalized adaptive learning tool that curates a tailored learning path for students, based on the information generated by an individual student’s responses to questions and activities. It then adjusts the type and difficulty of content delivered as per the child’s need, style and pace of learning. The dynamic platform culls relevant and customized intelligence from over a billion data points and delivers content in the form of questions, activities, games and videos to test students and provide explanations, feedback and learning inputs that are useful to students as well as teachers. Benefits:- The Mindspark software assists children in learning the fundamentals of the topics before calibrating to the next logical step that he/she should take in mastering the particular topic. The teacher can, therefore, focus on common misconceptions or learning gaps that the group as a whole faces, whereas Mindspark can address and fine-tune specific learning challenges of individual students. How it happened? In October 2017, EI set up Mindspark Labs in 40 government-run Adarsh schools across four districts of Rajasthan, namely Churu, Jhunjhunu, Dungarpur, and Udaipur. To ensure there is buy-in among all school stakeholders, EI organised several orientation and training workshops – both centrally and at school. Seven such district-level teacher workshops were organized in 2019 itself, with the aim to orient teachers about the program and provide pedagogical and logistical insights about EdTech. In addition, a mobile monitoring dashboard was created along with unique login IDs and passwords for principals of schools and government officials, enabling them to view Mindspark data on any mobile phone. The program included 6677 and 6276 students from October 2018 to April 2019 (part of Academic Year 2018-19) and July 2019 to September 2019 (part of Academic Year 2019-20)respectively. Initiatives for teachers The EI team conducted several focused group discussions and personal interviews with subject teachers to help them integrate Mindspark into the school eco-system. On soliciting teachers’ feedback regarding how Mindspark can help them complete their syllabus and achieve a better school result, EI introduced a “Textbook Module Feature” called “Worksheets” from February 2019. These worksheets were made available for Grades 1-8 for all topics recommended by the teachers, enabling them to practice the topics already covered in class and take unit tests to know students’ understanding. Moreover, EI’s team designed an academic calendar for all subject teachers (Hindi and Math) of Grades 1-8. Student engagement initiatives EI’s project management appointed two students each from Grades 4 – 8 as Mindspark Monitors and trained them on how to start the server, use a Chromebook, handle connectivity errors, sync the data, and navigate Mindspark. It was a moment of great excitement for the kids, and an instant of empowerment as well. Additionally, the team participated in the ‘Balsabha’ meeting held every month by the government to recognize students’ performance on Mindspark. The EI team presented the monthly school report at the meeting and, along with the respective school principal and teacher, felicitated the top student performers, called Sparkie students, from each school. Sparkie students are those who receive the highest number of Sparkie points on Mindspark. These Sparkie points are awarded when a student correctly answers three questions in a row. Outcomes The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) was formed by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo. The Mindspark program improved learning levels across all groups of students and proved to be cost-effective compared to other instruction types according to the J-PAL RCT led by Prof. Karthik Muralidharan which did the third-party evaluation of the Mindspark program in the 40 schools across Rajasthan. In May 2019, J-PAL shared preliminary results from its Year 2 randomized control trial (RCT) of Mindspark at the RISE Conference, Washington DC. Prior to the program, students in the sample were many grade levels behind, and learning deficits increased with each grade. Between start of Mindspark instruction in November 2017 and endline testing in February 2019, students’ performance in both math and Hindi were improved across multiple grade levels. Mindspark students scored 0.2 standard deviations more compared to a control group in both the subjects. In other words, learning gains for students that received Mindspark was twice as much as students in the comparison group (that didn’t receive Mindspark). It’s estimated that Year 3 results would be more prominent, given the implementation is now stable. Based on these results, Dr. Shawn Cole, who is the John G McLean Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School (Executive Committee of J-PAL) also wrote a case study that is now taught to students of Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Given a growing cognizance of the skills and competencies required, as well as the push on digital technologies, India has seen increased interest from all stakeholders ranging from the Prime Minister and MHRD to parents towards improving the learning outcomes of students, especially in public school setups. With this shift in mindset, along with the revised NEP and appropriate line items for operational expenses, it is safe to say that the technology behind personalized adaptive learning will be implementable, scalable and one that promises limitless improvement in the way India learns today. It only needs individuals and organizations with vision and good intentions to act on them, and prove the effectiveness and viability of such structures in our current educational framework. Speaking on Mindspark success in Rajasthan, Mr. Srini Raghavan,Co-Founder and CEO, Educational Initiatives commented, “EI was conceived with the goal to help children everywhere learn with understanding. Our work in Rajasthan has shown that Mindspark, which integrates latest developments in pedagogy and technology through continuous research, has helped us make progress towards this goal. We are thrilled that the JPAL study has validated this.” Furthermore, Mr. Karthik Muralidharan, Tata chancellor's professor of economics University of California, Sandiego Education sector, Co Chair, JPAL, Honorary adviser(education and social),NITI Aayog said, "In 15 years of education research, I've never seen something that has had such a large effect in such a short amount of time. The reason why this is so effective is that you are getting complete customisation in a setting where the vast majority of children are so far behind the textbook and the syllabus that is taught in their class. Read the full article

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