#Negative Lab Pro 2

[simonh]

Untitled by Ordinary Kyle Via Flickr: Leica MP | Kodak 5222

[analog-kyle]

Untitled by Analog Kyle Via Flickr: Leica MP | Ilford HP5

Website | Blog | Travel | Flickr | Prints

[ultralowoxygen]

The Treasury by Tim van Driel Via Flickr: 2023 Petra, Jordan Canon A-1, nFD 50mm f/1.8, Kodak Vision3 500T

[miss-musings]

"You Should Be More Careful With Your Shooting Hand": Was There a Better Way to Address Crosshair's Hand Tremors?

In the weeks since The Bad Batch series finale, I've seen a lot of discussion about how the show handled Crosshair's PTSD, hand tremors and losing his hand to CX-2. I've seen some positive and some negative, and a lot of mixed thoughts.

So, I wanted to share my thoughts on it purely from a writing perspective. There are a lot of aspects of TBB Season 3 that could've been executed better -- *cough* CX-2 *cough* -- but I just want to focus on these ideas on paper.

Before we start: I want to state for the record that I do not have PTSD, nor am I any kind of authority on mental health conditions. I am commenting on this only from a writing perspective. If I happen to come across as insensitive, I apologize because that's not my intention.

So, let's set up the general scenario and look at a few options for tackling it, analyzing the pros and cons of each option.

An Overview of Crosshair's Hand Tremors in S3

From his very first appearance in Season 3, we see that Crosshair has a tremor in his right hand. It is implied to be a symptom of PTSD — or something akin to it in the Star Wars universe — related to being imprisoned and tortured on Tantiss.

His hand tremors impact his sharpshooting abilities during the Tantiss escape in 3.03, during the Lau shootout in 3.04 and during the confrontation with the Ice Wyrm in 3.05. However, he and his allies end up "winning the day" in all three episodes.

(His hand tremors don't seem to be a factor during the Bad Batch's showdown with Asajj Ventress in 3.09. Even if Crosshair had been at 100% against her, I doubt he would've done anything.)

It isn't until 3.07 that Crosshair's hand tremors have lasting negative consequences. As a result of not killing CX-2 during their first shootout in the spire, his group is endangered, Nemec dies and Crosshair nearly dies too.

However, the group manages to escape Teth, and I'd argue that everything in 3.11 probably would've played out the same regardless because Hemlock would’ve sent a different CX operative to Pabu instead. (Although I realize the characters don't know that.)

Crosshair's hand tremors persist through the rest of the series, seemingly getting worse as CF99 prepare to infiltrate Tantiss, until CX-2 cuts it off during the hangar fight in 3.15.

Now, let's analyze a few options for how this could've played out. Again, we're just looking at each one on paper, not in execution.

Option A: The Version We Got

Let's call the canon version Option A.

In this version, Crosshair has tremors in his right hand throughout Season 3, and the only real negative consequence is that CX-2 is alive post-3.07.

In 3.11, Crosshair misses the shot to track Omega to Tantiss. However, it's not because of his hand tremors. It's because of the timing. He was about to shoot when stormtroopers found him on the Sea Wall, and by the time he took the shot — which, why was he running anyway? — it was too late. The ship pulled away at the last second and the tracker fell in the water.

Skipping ahead to 3.15, Crosshair and his brothers are infiltrating Tantiss to rescue Omega and the other prisoners.

There's a mounting sense of dread in the hangar fight: the CX operatives show up; Hunter is knocked unconscious; and Wrecker is attacked. As the dark climax/conclusion for the hangar fight and as the payoff to their one-sided rivalry, CX-2 decides to cut off Crosshair's shooting hand.

The entire hangar fight, but especially this moment of CX-2 attacking Crosshair and preparing to cut off his hand, is probably the darkest moment in the entire finale. This is underscored by the next two scenes: In a moment of morbid humor/dramatic irony, Omega notes that the blaster fire is over and leads the other kids to the hangar; and then Echo sees his defeated brothers being carted away to Hemlock's lab.

Crosshair's amputation then adds tension to the final confrontation with Hemlock, as now he's down a hand in general and his dominant hand at that.

So, let's look at the pros and cons of Option A (the version we got):

PROS: Payoff to the one-sided rivalry with CX-2; a dark conclusion to the hangar fight; additional tension in the final confrontation with Hemlock; playing into Star Wars tropes and drawing parallels between Crosshair and other characters who've lost hands/limbs, namely Anakin Skywalker

(EDIT: This ScreenRant article also argues that Crosshair losing his hand severs his connection to Tantiss and "marks a turning point toward redemption and a brighter future." So, make of that what you will.)

CONS: Admittedly this is being reductive, but Option A could feel like the amputation essentially "solves" Crosshair's hand tremors and/or PTSD, which is definitely not how it works. It could also be a very careless way to tackle such a heavy subject matter, especially for those who suffer from PTSD and see themselves in Crosshair. (As I'll talk about more in a second, this is something YouTuber SheevTalks discussed in his TBB Season 3 review.)

Option B: Crosshair Keeps His Hand in the Finale

This is the version that I saw YouTuber SheevTalks and some other folks on social media champion. (Note: feel free to watch his TBB Season 3 review, but just know that I DO NOT agree with all of his takes about the season or the show in general.)

Essentially, everything with Crosshair's hand tremors plays out the same way up until 3.11. In this version, he misses the shot to track Omega's ship because of the hand tremors, not because of the timing.

This would add greater tension in the episodes leading up to the finale, because failing to track CX-2's ship would be an immediate and direct consequence of his hand tremors. With the exception of CX-2 surviving 3.07, we haven't had anything like this in Season 3.

It would also directly contribute to Crosshair feeling that he failed Omega (and his brothers) because of his hand tremors and add to his insecurity that he's not the capable sharpshooter he used to be anymore.

This version would have him keep his hand through the finale. That way, in the final confrontation with Hemlock, he has to battle against his hand tremors and self-doubt to save Omega. But, unlike in 3.11, this time he would be doing it with his family's physical and emotional support.

As SheevTalks argues, there are a lot of positives to this version:

PROS: a greater narrative through line and payoff for Crosshair's PTSD/hand tremors throughout Season 3; a greater emphasis on the importance of family, love and community in addressing mental health needs; Crosshair gets to keep his hand!

However, under Option B, there would also be some drawbacks and several things that would need to be addressed:

CONS: Without CX-2 cutting off Crosshair's hand in the hangar fight, we'd need some equally high-stakes conclusion AND have some kind of payoff for CX-2's rivalry with Crosshair.

Crosshair needs to sustain some kind of injury in the fight. It'd need to be 1) survivable 2) as severe and dark as losing his dominant hand and 3) add to the tension during the final confrontation with Hemlock.

CX-2 couldn't just knock Crosshair out, because then Crosshair would essentially be in the same physical state post-hangar fight as he would be pre-hangar fight. Yes, there would be additional tension in the confrontation with Hemlock because he'd have to overcome his hand tremors, but we still need some other way to conclude the hangar fight.

I've wracked my brain trying to think of ideas, and I can't come up with anything that would be as dark but survivable as getting his hand cut off — as terrible as that sounds.

I mean Wrecker gets shot in the leg later in the finale and Echo gets stabbed in the back/shoulder, and neither wound is ever addressed again. So, we'd need something much worse than either of those, but still survivable.

Plus, as I've discussed before, CX-2 is a petty bitch who definitely had a grudge against Crosshair. Cutting off his shooting hand kind of makes sense in a dark and twisted way.

One more con I'll mention is that, being reductive again, people could argue that Crosshair overcoming his PTSD/hand tremors through "the power of love" or "the power of friendship" might be cliché. But, as I'll talk about more in a bit, I don't really have a problem with that.

*****

Now, looking at Options A and B, neither is perfect. Both of them have problems, even just on paper.

So, I wonder: is there a way we can combine the two so we have the best of both worlds?

Allow me to introduce:

Option C: Crosshair Has Tremors in Both Hands

In this version, we'd set up very early in Season 3 that Crosshair has tremors in BOTH hands. Maybe his tremors are more severe in his right hand, because he uses it more; or maybe because it's his dominant hand, it's more noticeable. It doesn't really matter.

Pretty much everything in Season 3 would happen the same way, up until 3.11, when — just like Option B — Crosshair misses the shot on Pabu because of his hand tremors not because of the timing.

Then, in the 3.15 hangar fight, CX-2 still cuts off his right hand so we have payoff for their one-sided rivalry and have our dark, high-stakes conclusion to the hangar fight.

So, by the time we get to the final confrontation with Hemlock, we have double the tension because Crosshair is missing his dominant hand AND he has tremors in his left hand too.

(Side note: Because S3 canon makes it clear that Crosshair's tremors are ONLY in his right hand, I wondered why he didn't start shooting his pistol leftie as a way to compensate. As we see in 3.15, his aim was fine, and we know he can shoot leftie pretty well from S1-2.)

Option C would also make it clear to the audience that Crosshair's PTSD/hand tremors are not "solved" simply because he got his hand cut off, which would be a problem with Option A.

So, under this scenario, we combine most of the pros for both Options A and B:

PROS: Payoff to the one-sided rivalry with CX-2; a dark climax for the hangar fight; additional tension to the final confrontation with Hemlock; playing into Star Wars tropes and drawing parallels between Crosshair and other characters who've lost hands/limbs, namely Anakin Skywalker; a greater narrative through line and payoff for Crosshair's PTSD/hand tremors throughout Season 3; a greater emphasis on the importance of family, love and community in addressing mental health needs

CONS:

Under Option C, I really can't think of any new downsides.

The only one I can see is people complaining that Crosshair overcoming his PTSD/hand tremors through the "power of love" is cliche. But, as I said, I don't have a problem with that.

If we're going to be reductive about PTSD and its symptoms — with hand tremors being only one of many possible symptoms — I would much rather be reductive in a positive way. He's able to briefly overcome his hand tremors in a moment of need because he has his family's physical and emotional support. That's a far cry from "His PTSD/hand tremors are now solved!"

(EDIT: You can make the case that this also happened in the canon version. While I agree that Crosshair only made that shot in 3.15 bc he had his family’s support, I still don’t think the resolution to his PTSD/hand tremors plot line was well-executed.)

As I said I'm not an authority in mental health, but what I do know is that feeling mentally and emotionally supported, having a group of family and/or friends you can trust and confide in, and generally just having a sense of community are major factors to improving one's mental health.

Throughout Season 3, we see Crosshair wanting to deal with his hand tremors (and likely his PTSD in general) by himself. But, his family help him address it and begin the healing process.

Hunter to Omega in 3.08: See if you can convince (Crosshair) to get his hand looked at. Ignoring it won't make the problem go away. Omega to Crosshair in 3.08: Just because there's nothing AZI can do, doesn't mean your hand can't get better. Maybe you're the one who has to fix it. Omega later in 3.08: It's meditation. It'll help you heal. Not just your hand, but your mind too.

So, yeah, if we're going to be reductive about something as heavy and complex as PTSD and mental health in general, I would much rather emphasize "the power of love/friendship/family" than whatever the alternative is. Even if it's cliché.

Honestly, I think Option C would've been the best option of the three I've discussed. There are a few other possibilities I've considered — like what if CX-2 knew about Crosshair's hand tremors from their time together on Tantiss and CX-2 cut off his left hand in the hangar fight??? — but I think we'd ultimately end up covering a lot of the same ground.

However, these are all my opinions. I'm interested to hear everyone's take on this. Feel free to comment/reblog with your thoughts.

[starscatteredsky]

May i request some tips for a lab mouse kin/therian? I need some Mouse Time to reward myself for some Big Projects i need to do

Sorry if this is comes off as weird i dont know how to talk to people

-🧬🐭

lab mouse tips!

pt: lab mouse tips!

practice vocals!

decorate your living space to feel a bit lab like, or if you have negative memories of labs then decorate your living space like a forest or field!

if you want a lab-feel to your living space, things like lava lamps and coloured oil drip timers can help lots!!

make/commission a therian mask

wear clothes in the colour of your fur!

Practice quadrobics!

make/get paw, ear, and tail gear!

use fidgets that make you think of your kintype! (mouse toys, science/lab themed ones, etc)

enjoy!! -🎉💊

Requests open!!!

[image description:

a DNI banner with the background being the promotional image for Little Nightmares 2. The writing reads:

"DNI: radqueers, proshippers, radfems/TERFs, antikin/antitherian, homophobic/ ableist/ anti ACAB/ transphobic/ rasist/ antisemitic/ xenophobic/ antitheist/ anti athiest/ bigoted in any fashion, NSFW/sh/ed/cringe centered blog, fakeclaimer

Before you interact: We are pro mspec gays/lesbians, anti endo/tulpa "systems", enjoy MCYT/DSMP, pro self diagnoses with extensive research, multiple alters are punks/ anarchists"

end description]

[skelegun]

So as I mentioned earlier I watched House of the Dead 2 which is a reskin of Aliens but with zombies and no budget. A tale as old as time. Well I had enough free time to watch another movie and after looking shortly I found one. I chose Navy Seals vs Zombies. The reason I picked it was two fold, the cover poster thing on Amazon Prime had Ed Quinn on it, Ed Quinn played the protagonist in HotD2, and when I read the summary I realized that it was ALSO A FUCKING ALIENS CLONE WITH ZOMBIES!! So I essentially watched the same movie twice in row, but like with a kinda Yin and Yang sorta thing going on.

House of the Dead 2 (2006) is unapologetically schlocky, and it flagrantly rips off the narrative structure of Aliens. Basically 2 agents who work for some kinda secret anti-zombie task force are paired up with some meat head soldiers to go and investigate an outbreak at university. The soldiers are all cocky and bantering with each other until two of them get taken out like 5 seconds into the mission. Much like in Aliens, The rest of the soldiers get picked off, they almost escape but realize they need to go back, someone betrays the group, big explosion, the heroes escapes. The two agents I mentioned earlier kinda fill the role Ripley had in Aliens, but instead of one character it’s two people (one being the aforementioned Ed Quinn) and they this kinda lame sexual tension thing going on. The movie is pretty meh. Given how catastrophically awful HotD1 is, this one is shockingly mediocre.

Navy Seals vs Zombies (2015) is somehow far more interesting than HotD2, and not for good reasons. This one is still an Aliens rip off like I predicted, but to a lesser degree. I’ve done zero research, but if I had to guess, I would guess that this movie was partially funded by the US Military, which isn’t some crazy conspiracy thing, it is well known and documented that the Military will cooperate with movie producers as long as you go ahead and make your movie into propaganda, the Transformers movies are one of the most flagrant examples of this. Well anyways, Aliens was not a very pro military movie, the soldiers are bumbling stereotypes who are being manipulated by evil corporations into assisting with unethical human experiments. This movie tries to be like “what if Aliens but the Military is good and competent” which causes some interesting narrative things to arise. There is no outsider protagonist, well there sorta is, but she is a pointless side character, instead 2 actual main characters are like Soldier Guy played by Ed Quinn, and New Guy who just joined the squad and has a pregnant wife and he repeatedly mentions how hot and pregnant she is. There mission is to rescue the Vice President, they do but his helicopter blows up because one of his interns or something was bit, so they get a new mission from HQ, go to the hospital and rescue a lab worker who is working on a vaccine. It’s mentioned that the zombies are caused by a bio weapon, one that America was working on a cure for it, because they “heard rumors” about it, but it super definitely was NOT America that caused the outbreak. It was someone else. Idk. The Navy Seals guys never display any negative character traits and the ones who die all die heroically and you never see any of them turn into zombies. So your probably like well how do they handle the traitor concept? Well they don’t. The closest thing they have to it is that New Guy gets separated from the crew early on, and gets bit half way through the movie, and I’m like oh dang that’s kinda ballsy considering he’s the closest thing we have to a character with some depth (he’s afraid of heights or something and he’s got a family), and when he shows back up there is like a second of disagreement as to whether to continue the mission or rescue him, doesn’t matter, they do both, and then at the end when they are getting to the escape chopper and they find out New Guy was bit, Soldier Man is like you have to come with us no man left behind and New Guy is like Noooo leave me I’ve been bit. Well eventually New Guy gets on the chopper and we cut to like a debriefing where some lady reveals that New Guy never turned into a zombie! He was immune, all the soldiers were! Turns out the vaccines they got when joining the military made them immune, cut to him going back home and telling his wife she is the sexiest pregnant woman on earth in a moment that is meant to be sweet. Wow a terrorist bio weapon that doesn’t effect the military is a pretty big design flaw when you think about it, also how was America actively attempting to synthesize a vaccine for a theoretical virus?

[dragonflight203]

Talos Principle 2 replay, Megastructure East side. This is where the game and I really begin to develop friction:

-The texts and recordings are critical of humanity, but Byron is very pro program.

His ideology (and one the writers clearly support) is that ability of people to shape their world is not a negative but something to be celebrated.

-Why do all the other characters get backpacks except 1K?

Sure, 1K was born earlier that day but he’s part of the exploratory team. He’s the puzzle solver. He’s earned his backpack.

-The Megastructure puzzles are ridiculously easy. They only check if you understand the very basic usage of each new tool.

-And here’s the first hint of what I find so frustrating about Miranda.

She has little ability to understand people that are different than her.

She finds science fascinating, and doesn’t understand how others cannot.

If I recall correctly, the same holds true for other principles – she believes that people should shape the world and doesn’t understand why anyone would feel differently, etc.

It’s an incredibly simplistic view of the world that fails to account for the complexities of it and the people that inhabit it.

This is implied to be because of her isolation, but I still find it incredibly grating. Miranda apparently has access to the archive; surely reading texts from other perspectives could help her find some understanding?

-And immediately follows the next part of what I dislike about Miranda: She’s Athena’s daughter.

As stated in the first part, I am a strong advocate of letting the non-humans be non-humans.

Croteam, however, went to the extremes to make the programs human in this game – to the extent that a species that procreates by awakening full grown adults and lives in a community with no blood kin as we think of it now has the desire to live in nuclear families.

Why would Athena even want to create a ‘daughter’?

Developing new forms of technology to create new programs make sense. This ensures they can continue even if something happens to the gold disc.

By why consider the new program a daughter/son? Why put themself in the role of a parent? Why ‘raise’ the program as a child? Why does a learning algorithm that developed by solving puzzles desire this organic style of procreation?

Miranda does seem more child like than other programs; I’ve attributed this to her native personality and isolation, but perhaps it’s a side effect of how she was created. That still doesn’t mean Athena and Cornelius would need to take the traditional role of parents, however. They could be mentors like Byron mentors 1K.

This isn’t Miranda’s fault, but my irritation that an ‘alien’ society is becoming more ‘normal’ bleeds over to her. I really don’t like this change in the programs.

-Next up is annoyance at Athena.

Byron is one of the first programs Athena awakened. He knew her personally and cared about her as Athena, not the Founder.

We see his concern for her after he learns she was at the Megastructure. He goes from curious about it to frantic to find her.

Yet she left New Jerusalem without a word to him, and stayed away for years. We learn later that she received but did not respond to messages from other members of the First Companions to her.

(Don’t get me started on Cornelius keeping Athena’s location secret WHILE HE LIVED IN NEW JERUSALEM.)

That is a shitty way to treat a friend. Someone who loves you.

And yes, she had her reasons. That is still a shitty, shitty way to treat someone who loves you.

I wouldn’t be so annoyed at this if the game ever addressed it, but the game implies her decision is correct later on and I want to have strong words with Croteam about how interpersonal conflict is handled.

-So now 1K is assigned to puzzles because they ‘have a knack for them’. Fine.

And everyone else has ‘secondary objectives of studying this island and understanding this technology’.

Byron, exactly what studying are you and Alcatraz doing?

Neither of you have found a single lab!

[oscarbioproducts]

Malaria Test Kits: A Lifesaving Tool for Early Detection

Malaria remains one of the world’s deadliest mosquito-borne diseases, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives each year — especially in tropical regions. The key to survival? Early detection. Malaria test kits have revolutionized diagnosis, making it faster, easier, and more accurate than ever before. In this blog, we’ll explore how these kits work, why they’re essential, and how they’re helping turn the tide against this ancient killer.

What Is a Malaria Test Kit?

A malaria test kit is a portable diagnostic tool that detects malaria parasites in a small blood sample. Unlike traditional microscopy (which requires lab equipment and trained technicians), these rapid tests deliver results in 15–20 minutes, making them invaluable in remote or resource-limited areas.

Why Use a Test Kit Instead of Microscopy?

✔ Speed: Results in minutes, not hours. ✔ Ease of use: No lab expertise needed. ✔ Portability: Works in rural clinics, travel bags, or emergency settings. ✔ Accuracy: Detects even low parasite levels.

Types of Malaria Test Kits

1. Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs)

How they work: Detect malaria antigens (proteins) in blood.

Types:

Pf-only tests (for Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest species).

Pan tests (detect multiple species, including P. vivax).

Pros: Fast, affordable, widely available.

Cons: Cannot quantify parasite levels like microscopy.

2. Molecular Tests (PCR)

Lab-based only, detects malaria DNA with >99% accuracy.

Best for: Confirming unclear RDT results or detecting mixed infections.

How Does a Malaria Rapid Test Work?

Finger-prick blood sample is collected.

Applied to the test strip with a buffer solution.

Wait 15–20 minutes — lines appear if malaria antigens are present.

Interpretation:

One line (control): Negative.

Two lines: Positive (specific species may be indicated).

Why Early Testing Saves Lives

🚨 Malaria can kill within 24–48 hours if untreated. 🩸 Symptoms mimic flu (fever, chills, headache) — testing avoids misdiagnosis. 💊 Treatment is highly effective but only if started early.

Who Should Get Tested?

✔ Travelers returning from malaria-endemic areas (even if taking prophylaxis). ✔ Residents of high-risk regions with fever. ✔ Pregnant women & children (higher risk of severe malaria).

What to Do If You Test Positive?

Start antimalarial meds immediately (e.g., artemisinin-based therapy).

Monitor for severe symptoms (confusion, seizures, dark urine).

Retest if symptoms persist (possible drug resistance or misdiagnosis).

The Future of Malaria Testing

Ultra-sensitive RDTs (detecting low parasite levels).

Smartphone-connected tests (automated result analysis).

Non-invasive tests (saliva/urine-based, in development).

Final Verdict: Test First, Doubt Later

Malaria doesn’t give second chances. A $1 rapid test could mean the difference between recovery and catastrophe. Whether you’re a traveler, healthcare worker, or living in a malaria zone, keep a malaria test kit within reach.

[asifiisabouttoshootarolloffilm]

an easy (well, not really, but still easy) way to create a filmic look for digicam photos

okay, i am again in my digicam era. recently, i’ve bought a sony cyber–shot dsc–tx1 and panasonic dmc–f1 (the same thing as the leica d–lux 1 from 2003), and i’ve also dug out my beloved olympus μ–7010 from a drawer

but there’s a problem. i don’t like straight-out-of-camera colours they produce—sometimes they’re just plain dull, other times they’re too cold and lack the warmth of film with a nice highlights’ roll off. also, i feel like i need to push the iso up to get that filmic grain-like noise

i’ve found an easy (well, not really, but still easy) solution, which requires adobe lightroom classic (not the cloud version, but the classic one) and the negative lab pro plugin (yeah, and it costs extra money on top of your monthly adobe subscription, i guess, you already paying anyway). this method is a great suggestion by erwin alejo—in this video he explains the process to achieve that filmic look

so, i won’t repeat his tutorial, but i sure can showcase a few “before/after” examples—the “before” images are on the left, the “after” edits are on the right

1 notice the increased saturation and the blooming highlights

2 the edited image feels warmer, and the clipped highlights don’t seem clipped anymore

3 same effect here—the highlights’ roll-off looks more natural and not clipped. plus, the shadows have that particular filmic cooler tint while brighter parts of the image are certainly warmer

by the way, as i shoot jpegs on my digicams, i use these negative lab pro settings:

1. convert tab – source: tiff/jpeg scan – colour model: noritsu – pre-saturation: 4 — medium 2. edit tab – tones: highlight hard – film: fuji

3. lightroom develop module i set clarity slider to negative 20 (clarity –20) to bloom them highlights

enjoy

[senny-wenny]

Cell based meat- an opinion piece

In recent years there has been a new form of meat production that has been gaining recognition, and that is cell-based or clean meat. Clean meat is meat made in a lab instead of meat that is taken from an animal on a farm. It’s however being questioned on if it is truly meat, or if it is any good as a whole. Many are off put by the idea of this meat due to the fact that it is grown in a lab, and that is something that we haven’t seen or heard of before. There is however many upsides of this clean meat as it helps us with things like: our health, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare. I feel like clean meat will in all honesty be in the future whether you like it or not. It is something that will be big and even if you aren’t a fan of the ideas behind it you have to acknowledge that it is truly a big thing and does have more pros than cons in the long run. In this I’ll explore why someone might be more in favor of clean meat then in regular farm grown meat.

Human Health

In recent studies there has been proof of it’s positive impacts on our health one of those being from the National Library of Medicine: “...therefore without any potential contamination at slaughter, cultured muscle cells do not have the same opportunity to encounter intestinal pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella or Campylobacter…” (The Myth of Cultured Meat: A Review - PMC, Health and Safety, 1). This shows that unlike reguarly sourced meats, clean meat is less likely to give an illness that could negatively impact your health. The fact that it is less likely that people will get illness means that people with weak immune systems can still enjoy meat and have a less likely chance of getting harmed or sent to the hospital. E. coli is an illness normally found in ground beef that can cause diaherra and vomiting but also low fevers. It results in 61 deaths annually and is a common cause of kidney failure in children. Salmonella is most commonly found in poultry products and is commonly shown with symptoms like vomiting and fever with cramps. It results in 450 deaths per year in the USA. Campylobacter is an illness that has symptoms such as fatigue and fever, it resulted in 170 per year in the USA. An article from CNN shares this sentiment on how it can impact human health positively: “...cultivated meat producers don’t expect to use antibiotics — or at least large amounts — cultivated meat could also alleviate the antibiotic resistance problem among humans…” (Eating meat without slaughtering animals may be in our future | CNN, A panacea for hearth and health, 14). This resistance to antibiotics in humans has been in an all time high due how common the antibiotics are found in the meat that we eat. In a single year in the USA alone there are 2 million people who are resistant to antibiotics due to this and 99,000 die every year due to it. The amount of people who die globally due to the fact that their body now resisting antibiotics being around 4.95 million per year. The resistance to antibiotics is a global issue and clean meat might be a way to help solve it as it would include little to no antibiotics in it and since it would be as common in our food are bodies wouldn’t be able to build a resistance to it. This would help decrease the amount that people die due to antibitotic resistance which is 35,000 per year globally. It is also known that the Food and Drug administration or the FDA has deemed eating clean meat as safe, as stated in this artcicle by Food Safety Magazine: “In November 2022, the USA Food and Drug administration (FDA) ruled that cultivated chicken cells, produced by the method described in the CCC 000002, were safe for human consumption…” (Feature-Category | June/July 2023 | Food Safety Magazine ). The FDA is a government agency made back in 1906 under The Pure Food and Drug act under Theodore Roosevelt during his second term as president. It’s job is to ensure the safety of food products provided for public consumption so the fact that it green lit the consumption of clean meat shows that it truly won’t do us much harm if we ate it.

Environmental sustainability

Many worry that clean meat is more harmful on the environment then animal farming is which is a valid concern but ultimately untrue as it is actually less of a strain on the environment. In an article by FoodDive it states: “Cell-based meat could cause up to 92% less global warming, 93% less air pollution and use up to 95% less land and 78% less water compared to conventional beef production…” (Cell-based meat has huge environmental benefits and could be at price parity by 2030, reports say | Food Dive, Dive Brief, 1). This means that with the use of clean meat we can actually in ways overcome climate change. In one year a single cow will produce 220 pounds of methane which is worsening the environment. Methane is over a 20 year period 80% better at containing heat then carbon dioxide and makes up about 30% of the global warming crisis since pre industrialization and it is only been adding up since then. In terms of water production it takes about 1,800 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. It only takes 72 gallons of water to produce one pound of clean beef which shows which of the two is most sustainable long term and easier on the environment. The positives don’t end at lessening the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted or the amount of water used it also helps the biodiversity in the ocean. In an article by foodbev.com it states: “And the benefits do not stop at meat. Growing cultured fish and seafood products could substantially help protect seas and marine wildlife.” (The impact of cell-based meat on the environment: Could it be detrimental? - FoodBev Media, Marine wildlife and sea protection, 1). This shows how it will positively impact a global crisis that is overfishing and the rapid decline in fish populations around the world. There are over 400 marine species that are critically endangered and at high risk of excintion due to overfishing, and we now have a way to enjoy the fish meat and not harm the actual fish. Most of our fishing industry is resulting in a massive problem for fish and in a few years there might not even be enough fish to fish. The fish industry produces about 50 million tons or 100,000,000,000 pounds of fish meat waste per year which shows just how much we need an alternative because we are producing so much waste and the wildlife doesn’t have enough time to regrow and replenish in order to compensate for our rapid taking. Clean meat could be that alternative because it doesn’t involve the slaughtering of fish as it uses murplication of an animals stem cells in order to produce meat. In a the good food institute article it states: “The LCA shows that cultivated meat, when produced using renewable energy, reduces the cumulative environmental impacts of conventional beef by approximately 93%, pork by 53%, and chicken by 29%. In these scenarios, the conventional products are also produced using renewable energy.” (New studies further the case for cultivated meat over conventional meat in the race to net-zero emissions, 6). The numbers for conventional harvesting of these meats are: beef; 3823.86, pork; 847.13, and chicken; 572.49. For clean meat it looks a little bit more like this, beef; 3556.19, pork; 448.98, and chicken; 166.02 all rounded to the hundredths place. While these are big numbers still this doesn’t mean that we can act as though they aren’t improvements of our current problem.

Counter

Of course this isn’t a perfect fix so we do have several issues that need to be addressed since I am singing it’s praises. One of the biggest issues with clean meat is that it could put many meat farmers out of a job. As stated by MasalaMonk: “Loss of livelihood: The rise of lab-grown meat could impact traditional farmers and the livestock industry.” (Lab-Grown Meat: Pros, Cons, and Potential Applications - Masala Monk, Cons of Lab-Grown Meat, 5). This concern is a valid one but this new field will make even more jobs and any form of expansion in one field could lead to the loss of jobs for others. People are already eating less meat as a whole because in 1975, Americans alone ate 90 pounds of meat every year but now that number is around 57 pounds per year. The fact that clean meat will be available also doesn’t mean that everybody will be eating it and it doesn’t provide things like wool. Clean meat won’t be the thing that puts animal farmers completely out of business as they could always start to grow plants and can still produce things like eggs, milk, and wool which is something that clean meat facilities can’t make. These items are still in high demand with eggs growing with the ever increasing population. Another problem with clean meat is that it costs a lot of money to make, in a post by SentientMedia it states: “Lab-grown protein is costly to scale and more funding — both government and private — is needed to create a viable industry.” (Why Do Some Critics Still Call It Lab-Grown Meat?, Why Do Some Crtics Dislike Lab-Grown Meat, 1). This is a pitiful attempt at making this new way of producing meat seem to costly as the original way was more expensive. In 2021 the meat industry received 897 billion US dollars and it is excepted to keep receiving more money as time progresses with only 100 million dollars going to clean meat production and 700 million going into cellular agriculture as a whole which is about 800 million dollars which is about 896.2 billion dollars less then the conventional meat industry.

Ethics

The clean meat industry is in ways also more ethical then the convetional meat industry due to how it doesn’ t murder any animals in order to produce meat. In a FAQ by four-paws international it states: “In cultivated beef production, one single donor animal could replace 400 cattle over its lifespan20.” (FAQs about Cultivated Meat - FOUR PAWS International - Animal Welfare Organisation, What is the benefit for the animals). This shows that this new method of producing meat could help lessen the slaughter of such animals as they now only need the stems cells from one animal to make meat instead of slaughtering many animals for the same amount. In one year alone 2.81 million cows are slaughtered then 28,100 calves, 10.1 million pigs, 197,500 sheep, and 9.3 billion chickens. This adds up to about 9,313,135,600 animals per year in the USA alone. This new process of meat production could help us dramatically lessen thus amount of animals we are killing every year for meat alone. In an article made by the national health organization it states: “The main potential benefit of “cultured meat” is theoretically to produce huge amounts of muscle from a small number of animal cells, either from farm animals or from cell lines, which proliferate in giant incubators. Thus, this process is likely to use much fewer animals to produce a lot of meat.” (Is “cultured meat” a viable alternative to slaughtering animals and a good comprise between animal welfare and human expectations? - PMC, Issues regarding Animal Welfare, 1). This shows how exactly this alternative version of meat production even works as it takes a few cells and puts them through a process in which the cells are in incubators that cause them to multiply and results in them making a piece of meat.

Conclusion

Even though clean meat is a more recent thing in our history it could truly be a step in the right direction for all of us as it tackles many serious issues with conventional meat production. It gives us a way to deal with how much greenhouse gases that conventional meat produces while also letting us still have meat in total as it is truly meat. It also could help us lessen the amount of people getting ill from meat every year and lessen the amount antibiotic resistance. It also is able to keep animals out of the slaughter house as they no longer have to be killed in order to obtain meat. Of course it isn’t a perfect process because it could lead to problems like an influx of unemployment and it is very costly but isn’t all things worth while like that? In summary the upsides of clean meat is out weighing the cons and I can see this new way of meat production eventually being the new norm instead of conventional meat farming.

[rahulswriteups]

Simplilearn Data Science Course: A Comprehensive Review

Aspiring professionals seeking to enroll in Simplilearn's data science course are often confronted with a multitude of choices and considerations. In this comprehensive review, we aim to provide honest insights into Simplilearn's data science program, aiding prospective learners in making informed decisions.

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Introduction to Simplilearn: Simplilearn has swiftly emerged as a prominent e-learning platform, boasting collaborative courses from esteemed institutions like IIT Kanpur. Whether you're a novice or an experienced professional, Simplilearn endeavors to cater to your upskilling needs. From its inception in 2009 by Indian engineer Krishna Kumar, Simplilearn has evolved into a global entity with offices in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Bangalore, India.

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If you want to learn more about this, click here - AnalyticsJobs

[analog-kyle]

Untitled by Analog Kyle Via Flickr: Leica MP | Ilford HP5

Website | Blog | Travel | Flickr | Prints

[blonde-n-dirty]

How do I pass my drug test?

I had 3 edibles a week from Tuesday and the last time I smoked. I need to pass a pre- employment drug test. I took a detox drink last week that didn’t seem to help. I took another one yesterday and eventually the results started showing negative. I took test as well today and they were showing negative then I bought a 12 or 14 panel drug test as they do when you go to LabCorp and it was showing positive for THC and so I bought another detox drink that I was planning on drinking but I guess my question is I’m curious as to why some tests are showing negative for marijuana and some are showing positive. I was like I stated I need to pass before Wednesday of next week. 

Some show negative because it doesn’t test low enough. The best ones have the number 100 on them I believe which tests the lowest amount of anything in your system. Weed will stay in your urine for 30 days, but I’d recommend ginger/lemon/cayenne shots to make you feel more safe, lemon in water, don’t down water before your test because they can tell and it looks fishy. Don’t buy urine unless you’re a pro because the urine has to be kept at a normal body temp when you give it to them. If they send it to the lab, they’re going to test the smallest amount traceable, so trust the positive test ALWAYS, just like a pregnancy test. So you wanna pass after just 2 weeks detoxing? Oof I wish you luck because I wouldn’t risk that, you’re taking such a huge risk😬 I can tell you all my stories with drug testing and failing once lol

[ca-bln]

[idiotwhotalkstoomuch]

Albert Ketchum

(This art of him is NOT MINE this is a practice art by my good friend @neaa25​ who I commissioned to draw Albert. I will update this bio when they send me the finished commission which I am very excited for because look at her talent, check her art out on her blog and I would like to quickly clarify that she isn’t taking commissions online, I managed to commission her cause we’re longtime friends.)

Full Name: Albert Ketchum

Alias/Title(s): Dr. Ketchum, Traitorous moron, Bert

Age: 12 (joined Team Rocket), 19 (joined Project Mewtwo), 24 (deceased)

Team: Ninetales (Starter) (deceased), Parasect, Slowking, Skarmory, Eevee (Espeon after his passing)

TW: I make mentions of scientists experimenting on a child and the death of a young adult and pokemon

Albert originally started off as a regular trainer doing the gym challenge but quit 5/8 badges in as he had no passion for the gym challenge and pursued pokemon research again which eventually got him scouted by Team Rocket Admin, Proton who recruited him.

He began as a standard grunt but switched to Science branch of Team Rocket almost immediately and became an official Team Rocket scientist at 14. This promotion in such a short span of time is why he was scouted to be one of the scientists to work on Project Mewtwo.

During his tenure as a Team Rocket scientist, he found an Eevee that he captured and intended to evolve into an Umbreon but due to his line of work involving much less battling he never had time to do this and Eevee stayed the way it was, often perching on his shoulder whenever it was allowed to.

In the Mewtwo project, he was the one primarily in charge of monitoring Ash’s development as a pokemon-human amalgamation while the other scientists focused on Mewtwo. Ash subconsciously communicated with him telepathically over primarily innocent child things that Mewtwo couldn’t explain to him like why can’t he see anything but darkness, is he a human, etc.

Albert’s decision to defect from Team Rocket was solidified when he overheard talks of how Ash isn’t developing the way they want him too and discussed adding more Pokemon DNA to him to try and make him more powerful or maybe injecting pokerus into his bloodstream to see how his human side would react to a virus that positively affects pokemon even though a month prior, a study from another Science branch reported that pokerus can very negatively affect humans if infected.

He managed to smuggle Ash away by having his Parasect and Ninetales use spore and confuse ray on all the scientists in the lab that day to give him an opening to take Ash out of his tank and put him in an ultra ball before booking it out of the lab and New Island with his Skarmory.

Albert had Ash with him for roughly 2 weeks as he journeyed around trying to evade Team Rocket and figure out the best course of action for where to leave Ash as he realized after getting him out of the island that taking him to people so directly related to him would endanger them and even if he didn’t take care about his siblings very much ever since the start of the Mewtwo project, he didn’t want to endanger them anymore than he already has.

Ideally Ash should’ve just stayed in his pokeball all the time while they travelled as his appearance would draw too much attention but Ash kept breaking out because he wanted to see the world around him after a lifetime in darkness with Mewtwo to the point that Albert bought him clothes to conceal as much of his body as he could with a backpack to conceal his tail and a cap to cover up his horns. He took to calling Ash “kid” since he didn’t have a name for Ash and didn’t want to call him Test Subject all the time. 

Delia was a bit offended when Albert enlisted her as the one to take care of Ash since that meant he thought it was okay to endanger her but she still took him in much to Albert’s relief who gave Ash a final goodbye before flying away with Skarmory.

A week after this, he’s killed at the age of 24 by Archer and Proton’s Weezings using explosion on him and his Ninetales whilst they were already hurt from toxic. He had Slowking use teleport to get Skarmory, Parasect, Eevee and itself away in time but Ninetales got away from the teleport to stay by Albert’s side as he faced death. Slowking didn’t return for Ninetales as it understood Ninetales’ decision, much to the chagrin of Eevee who wanted to stay by Albert’s side too but was denied that. 

Proton had approached the pair for anything on Ash and or to potentially sell, but unbeknownst to him,  Ninetales survived long enough after Albert’s passing to unleash a final act of revenge. It cast the Ninetales curse on Proton, causing him to lose his physical body and become a wandering spirit much to the horror of Archer and the pair’s pokemon.

His pokemon became wild thanks to the fact the explosion that killed Albert had destroyed their pokeballs and Skarmory, Parasect and Slowking went on to live their own lives while Eevee fruitlessly searched for Albert and Ninetales, eventually evolving into an Espeon during its search. 

Espeon would later be caught by Ash in the Orange Islands and would stay with Delia when not used by Ash.

[ire314091]

i am truly so impatient because i have been so spoiled the past year. i was so used to having 1 day turn around on my film by a lab that was on my way home from work. i could scan it as soon as i got it on my ex's negative lab supply set up with his fancy $1000+ dslr.

i thought i'd be okay waiting for scans from wherever i get my film processed at when i moved to japan, but i was sooo fucking wrong. multiple labs told me it would be a week+ to receive scans. those magical labs in shinjuku that do same day turn around that i keep hearing about have a reputation for not doing a good job editing scans, or they're all under 1mb.

me being the spoiled brat i am, bought a scanning set up.

i could only afford the lomography digitaliza+ since i also had to buy a camera and macro lens for actual scanning ;-; . maybe one day i'll have a fancy negative lab supply set up but an entire kit from them is as much as i paid for my fujifilm x-t20.

i've had 2 finished rolls sitting here for almost a week now but i only have my camera and lens so far, so i used my ipad as a light source and elevated the negatives off of it with 2 sticky note pads.

my ipad has a matte screen protector on it, so the grain of that is visible through the scans and i handheld my dslr, so the images aren't as sharp as they will be once i get my full set-up. there's also probably some weird perspective shifts because there was no way i was holding my camera completely 90 degrees to the surface of the film. i also scanned them during daylight hours with my windows open lmfao.

but! i now have proof that the pentax 645n i picked up works, and there doesn't appear to be any super obvious issues with it. and i have proof that the fujifilm x-t20 i picked up works, too.

since moving to japan 2 weeks ago i have bought:

a medium format camera

2 lenses for it

2 packs of 120 film

a digital camera

a macro lens for it

negative lab pro

lightroom classic

a memory card

i am BROKE. i will not be buying anything else for awhile. but i guess i'm happy i could take advantage of the weak yen

v sad because i used the money i was going to put towards getting my tummy tattooed on the digital camera.

but i'm a film princess apparently so it had to be done.