#and combined with how easy and cheap it is to get a fish compared to a cat or a dog leads to people just getting them

[themoonking]

there is no such thing as a “low maintenance pet”, only different maintenance.

dogs, cats, fish, reptiles, birds, small mammals, et cetera all have different needs, and your individual lifestyle may be better suited to meeting the needs of one more than another. you may be able to properly care for a cat but not a fish, or a fish but not a rabbit, or a rabbit but not a bird, and so on, but that doesn’t make any pet “easier” to care for than another. it doesn’t make any pet need less care and attention than another.

promoting any pet as “low maintenance” leads to neglect at best and abuse at worst.

[glassboxdiaries]

This Cheap Aquarium Light Will Transform Any Beginners Planted Tank! (Seaoura SR-616 Review)

You Can Get The Seaoura SR 616 Aquarium Light On Amazon Here - https://glassboxdiaries.com/seaouralight Blog Post - https://glassboxdiaries.com/this-cheap-aquarium-light-will-transform-your-planted-tank-seaoura-sr-616-review/

Looking for an affordable aquarium light that delivers exceptional performance without breaking the bank? After testing countless options, I discovered the Seaoura SR-616 and was genuinely impressed. With over 3,300 reviews averaging 4.5/5, I was skeptical about its bold claims. But after using it, this light has become a key part of my fish room setup, and in this video, I’ll break down why it might be the perfect option for your planted tanks too.

The Seaoura SR-616 offers full-spectrum lighting, a feature that can significantly improve plant growth compared to basic white-only lights. While white lights cover the visible spectrum, they often fall short in supporting vibrant, healthy plant growth, leading to stunted, pale, or struggling plants. Full-spectrum lights like the SR-616 include additional red, blue, and green LEDs, enhancing photosynthesis and ensuring your plants thrive. Whether you’re growing beginner-friendly species or experimenting with more advanced plants, this light gets the job done.

The customization options are simple yet effective. The control unit allows you to adjust white and blue light intensities in 10% increments with the press of a button, or jump between 0% and 100% with a quick hold. It also features built-in timers for 6, 10, or 12-hour photoperiods, making it easy to set and forget. While I wish there was an 8-hour timer option, this hasn’t been a major issue for my tanks.

In terms of energy efficiency, the Seaoura SR-616 stands out. Based on manufacturer specs, it delivers 68 lumens and 118 PAR per watt, outperforming some pricier alternatives like the Nicrew C10, which averages just 49 lumens and 49 PAR per watt. Not only is it cost-effective to buy, but it’s also cheap to run, with minimal heat output. I can comfortably touch the light after hours of use, and I haven’t noticed any impact on water temperature.

Plant growth under this light has exceeded my expectations. I’ve successfully grown a variety of plants, including Rotala Rotundifolia, Bacopa Caroliniana, Pearlweed, Christmas Moss, and Hygrophila Polysperma. While Rotala doesn’t develop its signature pink hues under this light (as it does under my higher-end Hygger 957), it still thrives and filters the tank beautifully. Even demanding plants like Pearlweed and Hygrophila Rosanervig have shown excellent growth under the Seaoura SR-616, proving its versatility.

When it comes to build quality, the Seaoura SR-616 is solid for its price point. While it’s not as durable as premium lights, it holds up well under regular use and even survived a few bumps during tank maintenance. However, I recommend handling it carefully to avoid potential damage, especially given its affordable price.

After using the Seaoura SR-616 across multiple tanks in my fish room, I can confidently say it’s one of the best budget-friendly options out there. It’s perfect for beginners starting their first planted tank, but it also has a place in more experienced setups. Its combination of affordability, reliability, and performance makes it a standout choice in the low-tech planted tank category.

In this video, I share my firsthand experience with the Seaoura SR-616, including tank setups, plant growth comparisons, and practical tips for getting the most out of this light. Whether you’re just getting into the planted tank hobby or looking for a budget-friendly upgrade, this light offers exceptional value.

Check out the full video to see why I use so many of these lights in my fish room and how the Seaoura SR-616 can transform your planted tank experience!

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro 00:08 - Cheap Aquarium Lights 00:28 - Not Sponsored 00:40 - More Details 00:50 - All The Lights I Have 01:02 - Easy To Advanced Plants 01:16 - Full Spectrum Lighting 02:38 - Customizing The Light 04:52 - Supported Plants 07:41 - Build Quality 08:36 - Final Thoughts On The Light

Some of the links in this video description may be affiliate links meaning I earn a small commission from any purchases made.

[heliads]

Forever

Based on this request: “you're dating and it's kinda the first night you spent together, so you wake up in each other's arms and he refuses to let you go. Then he keeps cuddling you and tells you how much he loves you and that he wants to be with you forever? 😊 Just some fluffy Bucky. And maybe his pov too.”

masterlist

Three months, two weeks, and four days.

That was exactly how long Bucky had known Y/N. It wasn’t that long of a time, at least not compared to the decades since he was born, but it was a good enough time to feel like it lasted for forever. Bucky doesn’t always have the best memory; sometimes, dreams feel more like reality and scraps of times from years long gone confuse themselves with what happened yesterday. This being said, Bucky clearly remembers every detail of the moment he first met you.

It had been a rainy day, the dismal chill familiar of foggy Octobers out in full force. The glass and concrete of the tall buildings around him were barely lighter than the dark gray sky, clouds pressing in around the tops of the skyscrapers. Bucky had shoved his hands into his pockets, the cold weight of his metal arm especially present in the freezing air.

Then, he had seen her. It seemed cliché, too imaginative for a supposedly stone-cold soldier such as himself, but the woman walking towards him looked like a ray of sunshine. She was dressed in a warm coat, flickers of a yellow dress darting out from underneath its folds. Her eyes shone despite the dimness of the day.

Bucky wasn’t used to speaking to civilians. He shouldn’t be, anyway. There are always spies dressed up as friends, malice hidden behind innocent smiles. Bucky should have kept walking, ignored the woman, and maybe even forgotten her in a few minutes once their shadows had passed each other by. Yet something in him told Bucky that leaving her behind would be the greatest mistake of his life.

He was preparing himself to open his mouth and speak when he saw the young man behind her. This man is in dark clothes, hood pulled up to hide his face. He draws out a small knife from his pocket, quickly cutting the strap on the woman’s purse before attempting to run past her and melt into the crowd to make his getaway. However, this man hadn’t intended on someone interfering with the theft, especially not someone who’d been trained in combat for the last 70 years.

Bucky moves quickly, with the dangerous efficiency of a deadly soldier. He steps to the side, blocking off the thief’s escape route. His metal arm flies out of his pocket to rap sharply on the man’s right hand, sending the knife clattering to the ground. Bucky’s right arm grabs the purse. The thief blinks up at him in terror, then takes off in a flash when he realizes Bucky isn’t looking for a fight. Or at least not now.

Bucky bends over to grab the knife, idly flipping it over in his hands. It’s cheap, probably purchased at some sporting goods store from the camping section. The thief most likely just needed the money, and so Bucky ignores the retreating man to hand the purse back to its grateful owner.

The woman beams at him. “Thank you so much! Oh, my name’s Y/N. By the way.” Her smile could light up the entire world. Bucky shifts slightly. “Bucky. I’m Bucky.” The woman ties the strap of her purse back to the bag and slings it over her shoulder, this time with slightly more care. “Well, I appreciate it, Bucky. I don’t know what I would have done if I lost my purse. I’m about to go into a pretty important meeting, and I would have needed my keys.” Bucky glances over his shoulder to make sure the thief isn’t coming back. “No problem.”

The woman smiles at him one last time, then moves forward to start heading on her way again. Before Bucky can back out of it, he calls out to the woman. “Wait, Y/N?” She walks back to him. “Yeah?” “Can I have your number? I know we just met and all, but-” She cuts him off with a grin. “Absolutely. Here it is.” She fishes out a pen and a slightly folded sticky note, scrawling out a series of digits onto it before handing the note back to him. “Thanks.” Bucky takes the note, looking from it to the departing woman. Did he really just do that?

It turns out asking Y/N for her number was one of the best things he ever did. He calls her soon after that first meeting, and she answers happily. Their first date is to a small restaurant in some corner of town, the second was walking through a park, and things just got even better from there. Bucky feels like he can finally let his guard down around her, and have a chance to be the smiling man he was before all the traumas of yesteryears had come crashing down around him.

The night is cold when he wakes. For a second, Bucky can’t remember where he is, and he jolts upright in a panic. His eyes feel clouded over, and he sits there, chest heaving, until the details slowly start piercing themselves back together again. There are faint patterns of moonlight dancing in through the thin, filmy curtains. The bedroom door is faded white, open just enough to let the air flow through the room. The blankets, now rumpled and in disarray, are wrapped around him in an effort to stay warm in the late January chill.

He’s in Y/N’s apartment. That’s right. They had arrived late last night, stumbling up the stairs due to a combination of alcohol and exhaustion from too many nights spent up until the early hours of the morning. This is Y/N’s apartment. It’s alright.

Y/N is lying next to him, starting to stir and sit up. He must have woken her. She looks up at him through eyes just starting to open, one hand unconsciously rubbing her face. “Nightmare?” Bucky just nods. “Yeah. Sorry to wake you.” Y/N flashes him a smile, bright despite the darkness of the night. “Don’t worry about it. Here, I’ll go make you some tea.” She starts to swing her legs over the side of the bed, but a sudden, unidentified panic hits him and Bucky reaches out an arm to stop her.

“Wait. Don’t go. Not now.” Y/N glances back at him. He must look troubled, because her eyes soften and she pulls the blankets back up around her, settling back into bed. “I can do that too. Is there anything you want to talk about? Something in the nightmare, maybe?” Bucky sighs, pulling Y/N close to him. “It’s one I’ve been having a lot recently. There’s some problem, you get hurt, it’s my fault. It’s like I see you die over and over again, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”

Y/N reaches out to him, gently placing a hand against his cheek. Her palm feels cool against his skin. “I’m not going anywhere. That I can promise you. I know your work comes with all kinds of threats and dangers, but I know that as long as I have you I’ll be safe.” Bucky can’t help but think back to his nightmare again, and he finds he can’t look Y/N in the eyes. She notices this, and a slight line works its way into her brow.

“But that’s not exactly what happened this time, is it? You saw something different.” Bucky nods reluctantly. “I-” His voice breaks off. “I am not a good man. You know that, don’t you? If you knew half the things that I’ve done, that I’ve seen in my head, you wouldn’t-” Bucky finds he can’t finish his sentence. Y/N presses a kiss to his cheek. “I’m not asking you to be perfect. I’m asking you to be you, Bucky, a man with a good heart. Maybe things haven’t always made themselves easy for you, but all I ask is that you try. Try to be proud of yourself and accept that times won’t always be good.”

Bucky breathes out slowly. How is that despite everything, despite the monster he’s become, Y/N is still here? It had taken all of his courage to tell Y/N who he truly was, that he was the Winter Soldier who had murdered innocents. He couldn’t look her in the eyes as he said it, sure that he was about to hear the sound of her footsteps heading towards the door and carrying her out of his life, but she had stayed. She was the one thing he could count on.

That’s why tonight’s nightmare had scared him so much. Yes, there had been the usual assortment of HYDRA villains and tragic memories, but Y/N had been at the center of this dream. She had stood over him, a twisted smirk replacing her usual happy smile. She had laughed at him, asking why he had ever thought she would want to be with him. She deserved better, didn’t she? Even he knew that.

The worst part is that some part of Bucky’s mind believed it. Why would she stay, anyway? He could only promise her darkness. Yet he reaches out to her now, fingers curling around the loose fabric of her nightshirt. “Stay with me. Please.” Y/N tucks her head into the space beneath his chin. “I will. I’m not going anywhere, Bucky.”

Bucky stays there for a moment, breathing in and out, letting himself enjoy this one instance where he can be at peace. “I love you, Y/N. I hope you know that. You’re the only person who I think has ever understood me. I don’t want to live in a world where I don’t have you.” And it’s true- even on the stormiest of nights, she was there to usher in the light. When he needed to smile, to laugh, even, she was there. How did he ever get lucky enough to know her, to have her in his life?

Y/N smiles, and even in the darkness, he can almost see the happiness in her eyes. “I love you too, Bucky. Always have and always will. I think I knew that even when I first met you.” Bucky laughs quietly in spite of himself. “Forever. I always knew that there would be some girl who’d come around and I’d want to stay with them forever. I think you might be that girl.” He pulls Y/N closer to him, and cherishes the feeling of her arms around his. “I would be honored to be that girl. Only if you’ll stay with me forever too.” And he will. 

[arcticdementor]

PLEASE elaborate on the printing press thing.

Okay, here goes.

First, type metal. You've got your metal pieces, with your letters and whatnot to be printed on their surface, raised and mirror-reversed, which gets inked and pressed to the paper, yes? And these were made by carving your letters, or your illustrations, or whatever, into a material that forms the end of a mold in which said metal is cast. Casting metal with molds was a fairly well-known technology in Europe at that time — particularly for a goldsmith like Gutenberg.

Now, you want this metal to have several properties:

Forming a sharp and accurate impression of the mold, and its nooks and crannies.

Relatively easy to cast at comparatively low temperatures.

Not too brittle, so it doesn't crack or chip or shatter under the stresses of the press

Not too soft, so it doesn't deform and wear down quickly under the stresses of the press

Not too expensive.

Now, lead was cheap, easy to cast, and not at all brittle. But I don't know if any of you have ever used lead fishing weights, or done any lead casting, but I've done a fair bit of fishing, and my dad used to cast his own fishing weights. And lead is soft. And it doesn't hold sharp edges. And then there's thermal expansion — most materials expand when heated… and thus contract when cooled, particularly from molten to solid. Lead is particularly bad in this regard. From the moment you take the cooled metal from the mold, you'll find a less-than-accurate impression.

Well, people of the day, particularly the pewterers, knew you could toughen up lead, and let it flow more fluidly into the crevices of a mold while molten, if you alloyed it with some tin — which also has an even lower melting point than lead. But this doesn't solve the contraction problem. What does is adding antimony. Now, the sources I've read seem to disagree as to whether or not European alchemists figured out how to isolate antimony from stibnite (antimony sulfide) ore before or after Gutenberg's time; but they agree that early typefounders mostly just added stibnite to the alloy along with some scrap iron (horseshoe nails), causing a reaction between the stibnite and iron, wherein both the iron and the sulfur are rejected from the resulting alloy while the antimony is left behind.

Now, while type metal alloys vary somewhat in their proportions (depending on intended use and which properties take priority), they're generally in the ranges of 54‒86% lead, 3‒18% tin, and 11‒28% antimony.

Second, there's the ink.

Inks are traditionally a pigment or dye in a liquid solution, occasionally with binders. Most early inks used carbon-based black pigment — "lampblack" soot, charcoal, "bone black," graphite, etc. "India ink" — invented in China — consisted mostly of these bound together with animal glue into an "inkstick," which is ground with water on an inkstone to form the ink. Or then there's iron gall ink, mixing iron (ii) sulfate with tannic acid from oak galls into a solution, with gum arabic as an added binder (the soluble ferrous tannate formed penetrates the paper, then darkens and becomes insoluble by oxidizing via exposure to air into a ferric tannate; however, excess tannic acid generally meant that it could slowly eat through the paper over time). Or then there was cephalopod ink — see the origin of the word "sepia."

But what all of these have is that the solvent for the solution is water. And all these water-based inks will generally run right off your metal type. To adhere to the type metal, the inks used by Gutenberg and his successors weren't just thicker than those used with pen or brush, they were oil-based — closer to an oil paint or varnish than a traditional ink. (Hence, why they're applied to, spread across, and smoothed over the type via ink balls and rollers.) And while his inks used carbon soot as their pigment, they also contained high levels of metal, including copper, lead, and titanium (and thus his printed works have text which is actually rather shiny). Later printers mostly converged on a black ink recipe combining walnut oil, turpentine, and soot.

(And while I said earlier it wasn't about the paper, but Gutenberg also figured out how to moisten the paper to allow the type to better "bite" into it.)

So you see, there was a lot more to the printing revolution than just making the mechanical press.

[glarnboudin]

Tiratola, the Long-Tailed Terror!

Aliases: the Dragon of Etna, the Serpentine Savior, Our Lady of Flame

Date Discovered: May 20th, 1954

Place of Origin: Mt. Etna

Notable Stomping Grounds: Mt. Etna, Messina, Pisa, Stromboli Kaiju Reserve

Height: Generally holds head around 15 meters above the ground, but can rear up to tower at around 34 meters at her tallest.

Length: 115 meters

Biology:

A prehistoric varanid of enormous size from the same lineage that produced Kraydi, Tiratola brings to mind the dragons of yore, slinking and serpentine and adorned with a crown of fearsome crests and horns. Indeed, her Mediterranean location closely matches with depictions of dragons from the ancient Greeks and Romans, although her demeanor is hardly that of a rapacious devourer of maidens and hoarder of gold.

Rather than her jaws, Tiratola’s primary weapon of choice is her tail - even for a reptile, hers is incredibly long and dexterous, making up more than half of her total body length and as flexible and powerful as the body of any snake. With it, she can lash at targets several hundred feet away, coil and constrict her opponents, and even pick up and hurl objects as big as buildings or handle very small objects with the very tip of the tail like an elephant’s trunk. Indeed, her style of combat is very similar to that of the American kaiju Gorgolisk, preferring to coil and constrict her opponents with her powerful body.

As a kaiju, Tiratola also sports a fairly standard powerset:

Super strength

An enhanced healing factor

Immunity to radiation

She also has one more trick up her sleeve - like many other prehistoric varanids as well as Tyrantis himself, the Terror of Italia sports venom glands within her jaws that she can either ‘chew’ into her opponents or spray like a spitting cobra, and like Tyrantis, this venom has further honed into a flammable compound like something out of the pages of myth and legend.

Of course, comparing Tiratola’s fire spitting with Tyrantis’ flaming breath would be akin to comparing a firecracker with a flamethrower - rather than napalm-like torrents of ignited venom, the enormous reptile’s sprayed venom ignites into a cloud of scalding sparks and embers that explodes outwards in a shotgun-like blast with a loud crack and a blinding flash. While it’s not the best at actually damaging opponents, it still stings and burns quite painfully for targets, especially if hit in the eyes and other sensitive areas, and the sharp rapport of the venom combusting can cause a few seconds of disorientation. Injecting the stuff into the bodies of opponents, however, produces rather more grisly results as it reacts with oxygen in the bloodstream, causing the wounds inflicted by her teeth to burst open a few seconds after she lets go. To a kaiju’s durability and regeneration, it’s not nearly as harmful as it looks unless Tiratola injects a truly immense amount of venom or her opponent is considerably smaller than herself, but it’s still quite painful to experience.

History & Personality:

When the Superquake of ‘54 rocked the world, the actual tremors weren’t the only force behind the resulting destruction - tidal waves lashed the coasts, avalanches and rockslides buried towns, and a number of already-rumbling volcanoes were roused to erupt once more, pushing up not only molten material but all manner of strange new landforms forged from the Yamaneon tunnels beneath the earth. Home to several volcanoes as they are, Greece and Italy were particularly subject to this, disgorging an assortment of subterranean environments alongside quite a number of kaiju. Among them was the great reptile Tiratola - emerging from the volcanic aftermath of Mt. Etna, the serpentine saurian made herself known to the public at large when she swept through the outskirts of Messina and smothered a major fire when she settled herself on top of it for warmth, inadvertently saving much of the city from burning to the ground. In the aftermath of the fire, she would go on to save even more lives as she nosed around the rubble, unearthing nearly two dozen people that had been trapped beneath fallen debris.

Since her awakening, Tiratola has come to roam across Italy and Greece, frequently digging people out of rubble wherever she went and frequently engaging smaller mutants emerging from local Yamaneon tunnels as well as the occasional full-on kaiju - her most famous scuffles include preying upon a hoard of Paleozoic invertebrates that emerged from a Carboniferous swamp in the Greek Kassandra Peninsula and engaging a hulking one-eyed hominid kaiju that had been menacing the city of Taranto, dragging it down to its doom beneath the waves before it could do anything worse than superficial damage to buildings. Aside from an incident involving the Leaning Tower of Pisa, she’s been responsible for relatively little destruction, and has become somewhat of a local hero to the populace of the regions, something that Tiratola has come to notice.

Low to the ground as she is, the Whip-Tailed Terror is by her nature literally closer to human beings than many other kaiju, and is more aware of their activities as a result. She’s come to recognize how people react to her presence and realizes how easily she can reshape the tiny world that she now finds herself in. Were she a more malevolent sort, this awareness and her ability to easily wind through city streets could potentially make her an incredibly dangerous thrat to human beings, but the ultimate result of this is that Tiratola has come to realize that she quite enjoys the attention and praise she gets from acts of heroism. Being a reptile, she is by nature a very energy-efficient creature, conserving her strength when she does need to exert herself… but being a kaiju, acts of aid towards humans are trivially easy for her. A couple sweeps of her tail can smother a major fire beneath dirt and water and pulling people from danger can be easily accomplished by simply pushing her head into, say, a burning building and using her keen senses to locate survivors in the same way that modern varanids break into termite mounds and locate warm chambers to lay their eggs in or mother crocodiles dig out their young from nests. It costs little to the great reptile to lend her aid to others, and the reward for doing so is more than worth it - adoration and cheers whenever she enters a populated area, occasional offerings of fish and other treats, even occasional cleanings by teams of volunteers that scrub her down and aid in peeling off any lingering bits of unshed skin. The latter task has also provided another boon to the people of Greece and Italy - analysis of Tiratola’s shed skin has shed a lot of light on kaiju cellular biology, and the scales themselves are durable enough to be shaped and worked like metal or glass, fostering a small but lucrative industry of decorative items made from the kaiju’s scales.

However, there may also be another reason for her gentleness towards humans - while unearthing survivors from rubble, Tiratola frequently makes vocalizations not unlike those of crocodilian and alligator parents when unearthing their buried young, even scooping them up in her jaws in a similar fashion to carry them to safety. It may be that trapped survivors reminds the the whip-tailed dragon of her own offspring, buried in sand and soil - joint Reptodite-human expeditions into the collapsed tunnels where the kaiju emerged have even found the crystallized remains of ruined nests and cracked eggs, suggesting that she may have produced several clutches of offspring before via parthenogenesis in the same manner as some species of monitor lizard, although none seem to have survived. 

Behind the Scenes:

Behold, my entry to @tyrantisterror ’s ATOM Create a Kaiju Contest 3D, Tiratola! I’ve entered both of his previous contests, and I didn’t want to miss out here, although this is admittedly my first time posting one here to Tumblr; there’s a bunch of really creative kaiju already entered into the competition, and I highly recommend checking them out. My entry really isn’t the best by far (I wanted to make Tiratola a lot lengthier and more serpentine, but I didn’t have the space to do it, and I can’t really do detail work for shit), but I’m still reasonably happy with how my girl Tiratola came out!

Tiratola is meant to be an homage to that tried-and-true staple of the monster movie genre - movie companies from other countries trying to cash in on a trend! It’s how the world got creatures like Gorgo, Paleosaurus, and Reptilicus - creatures whose movies were far from the source material, but were packaged as being the same thing in their posters and translated titles overseas, leading to weirdness like Godzilla vs Mothra becoming ‘Watang and the Fabulous Kingdom of Monsters’ in its Italian release, the infamous cut of ‘The Volcano Monsters,’ and so on. As such, she takes the basic concept of Tyrantis - ‘giant green prehistoric reptilian monster with a long tail and horns that breathes fire’, and reconstructs it through that lens. To that end, she’s also somewhat based on slurpasaurs and on cheap rubber props, staples of Italian monster cinema.

Designwise, I based her quite heavily on, well, monitor lizards as well as the classic LEGO dragon model plus the movie poster design for Reptilicus - both are a nice combination of reptilian features that doesn’t really lend itself to any particular order, with Kraydi factoring in as another reference. Indeed, Tiratola’s meant to be a cousin to that kaiju, another of the varanid lizard lineage that would have lead to dragons and their kin in the Lost Epoch - she’s meant to be a bit farther down that evolutionary line than Kraydi is, but still not exactly a direct ancestor.

I was struggling to get a feel for Tiratola’s personality at first, but I managed to get something when I reread ATOM and the way that its reptilian stars think, plus some takes on protective dragons and why they defend humans so much smaller and weaker than they. A big part of this series is about how the kaiju are far more intelligent and empathetic than they let on - I thought it’d be neat to play off of that. While her motivations come from a very different place than they would in a human being or a similar creature, the end result is still the same: if it feels good to help others, and doing so is relatively easy, why not do so? I also added a good deal of Ogra and Reptisaurus as well - I figured it would be only fitting.

The thing about her visiting Pisa is a nod to Dinosaurs Attack, the card where the Rhedosaurus and Giant Behemoth teamed up to destroy the Leaning Tower, while her battle with the giant is taken from the battle between the dragon Taro and the Cyclops in The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. The date of her discovery is also the date that Reptilicus was released in theaters, albeit moved back a few years.

[lostsummerdayz]

Lost Summer Deep Dive - Christie Monteiro Part 1

An In-Depth Look At A Capoeirista Forgotten By Lore

by Nay Holland

When one thinks of capoeira, it is impossible to mention the impact video games had in bringing the art into the public eye. Sure, there have been movies, books, and capoeira schools for as long as the art existed, but video games were arguably the form of media which made the art popular. The same could be said for its representation in video games.

While you had capoeiristas like Richard Meyer and Bob Wilson in the Fatal Fury series, it wouldn’t be until years later that a rich Brazilian capoeirista known as Eddy Gordo would set the bar. No, he wouldn’t just set the bar, he would be the bar himself.

In arcades during the year of 1997 and home consoles the following year, many a player felt rage from a single man. A man whose flips, spins, handstands, and kicks, would bring awe to those who played him, and frustration to those who fought against it. He was both famous for moves never seen before in a 3D fighter, and infamous for being the definition of “cheap.”

Regardless how you felt about him, there was no denying that Eddy was different from the rest of the cast. In a game where homages to Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Tiger Mask were evident, there was nothing who was comparable to Eddy at the time. His unique, yet slightly exaggerated, homage to capoeira brought new fans into the art. Capoeira became a popular buzz word for fighting enthusiasts almost overnight.

But was Eddy always considered to be the face of capoeira?

After Tekken Tag Tournament, Eddy was noticeably absent from the main roster. In place of him was a young Brazilian woman by the name of Christie Monteiro. A fresh face for a game that represented a new era in Tekken, her moves were very similar to Eddy’s.

In fact, apart from her normal throws, her movelist were identical to Eddy’s in every way. Eddy being a palette swap for her in Tekken 4 and Tekken 5 brought the “Christie is Eddy” angle to its head. At the time, although Eddy was included in these two games, Bandai Namco was trying to push Christie as the new face.

At the very least, they were trying to push a woman as the capoeira representative from the very beginning.

In a 1998 CVG interview, following the release of Tekken 3, the development team discussed how the concept of Eddy came about. When asked how the team went about designing its roster of characters, the team replied with the following.

“A good example is Eddy, since he wasn't planned to be the character you see at first. The development team wanted to include a character who used Capoeira, so the idea was passed on to the artist team. Mr Kimoto requested the artist to make a female character for Capoeira. However the artist said it was too difficult to design a female character who used Capoeria, so there came Eddy.” 

It wouldn’t be until Dark Resurrection that Eddy had his own slot on the roster for the first time since Tekken Tag Tournament.

With the separation of the two characters at last, Christie’s push would be put on the backburner in lieu of Eddy’s importance to the story. Christie’s relevance came to a screeching halt in Tekken 7 as Eddy was one of the final main roster characters revealed without a Brazilian woman in sight.

NO!!!

Anyways, Christie wouldn’t make another official appearance until the mobile Tekken game, but considering the mobile Tekken game is literally a dump of old characters that didn’t make the cut in Tekken 7, that’s hardly a victory.

I started writing this back in early 2018, and since then, we’ve gotten Marduk back from the graveyard!

However, I’ve long since stopped holding out for hope. If she shows up, she shows up. If she doesn’t, well. It still won’t dilute the amount of love I have for this girl. Hopefully by the end of this I can shed some light on what makes Christie amazing to me.

So, what happened? How did the one who was pushed to be the babyface of capoeira after Eddy’s origin ended up becoming the queen of the indies known as mobile Tekken? What is it about Christie that makes me admire her as a character? Well, let’s start with her design.

Appearance

So, imagine the year 2001. You’re in the arcades and you see Tekken 4 for the first time. The attract video plays and you’re in wow at the graphics. Especially considering this is the first Tekken on a new engine in the arcade at least. Then suddenly you see this mami twirling and making sensual poses, flashing the biggest grin.

It was at this point you dumped quarters in the machine. Don’t lie. This totally didn’t happen to me at an arcade while I was in the Poconos. Nope.

I remember the rumors at the time. Everyone thought the designers took inspiration from Tyra Banks and Harada himself de-confirmed this.

Wearing a low-cut green floral blouse that cuts above her midriff, black leather hotpants with frills at the end, black fingerless gloves, and Spartan-style sandals, Christie’s primary outfit was made to turn heads and accentuate her features. As with most outfits and hair designs in this game, Christie’s design was also made to show off the new graphics engine for Tekken. Christie’s long brunette hair, coupled with her loose-fitting clothing, flows with the wind with every kick and acrobatic motion. Her design was made for comfort in mind as well as ease of movement.

Christie’s competitor’s outfit is a brassiere-style top with silk training pants and green fingerless gloves. Wrapped around her waist is a capoeira belt, much like Eddy’s competitor’s outfit. Whether this is an actual representation of her rank, or just a design choice, is up in the air. I’d like to say it’s the latter, though I believe a purple belt is a high ranking in capoeira.

Comparing Christie and Eddy’s competitor’s outfit, they aren’t too different from each other. In fact, side by side they appear like partners rather than a radical difference.

Following her debut, her primary outfit changes from a green to a light purple top and black to white colored hotpants. The top of her competitive gear is more confined and stylish while retaining the same effect as it did before. As the series progressed, her butterfly motif became more prevalent in her clothing.

With such a dynamic taste in style, one would think that her personality is just as bubbly, and you’d be correct to think so.

Personality

Pointing at her opponent with finger guns and firing off in their direction, Christie enters her ginga stance with a declaration…

“Here we go!”

Oozing with confidence no matter who she is fighting against, Christie never backs down from an opportunity to show off her studies in Capoeira arts.

Christie makes it clear to her competitors that if they take her lightly, they will pay for it in a loss.

Perhaps one of my favorite exchanges with another character is when she fights Bruce in Tekken 5. Bruce exclaims that the “competition has gotten easier on the eyes,” in which Christie taunts him in return. When Bruce questions if her capoeira can stand up to [his Muay Thai], she replies with a sultry tone of confidence.

Ultimately, Christie would win the bout and she toys with him, saying that his lack of rhythm will be the reason why he will never defeat her.

It’s exchanges like this, as well as her other intro pose where she blows her opponent a kiss and declares them to “go easy on her,” that she uses her looks to her advantage. It’s almost as a form of intimidation, being caught off guard by swift kicks coming at you at every direction while she emerges the victor, leaving the battle almost unscathed.

There is a depth to this. When things get serious, Christie has a sense of justice within the confines of her own capability. This is commonly brought up whenever Eddy runs off headfirst into danger.

In the same game, when she runs into Eddy, she doesn’t back down from fighting Eddy to save her grandfather’s life. Win or lose, she will fight her hardest for those who she loves, even if it means fighting the one person, she loves the most.

She’s also highly emotional as an individual as evident when she shows her disappointment at the end of her winning the 4th Iron Fist Tournament. This changes to a complete 180 as she sees the one person who she has been looking for all tournament, immediately returning to her bubbly cheerful self. A dark version of this trait shows when she is overburdened with emotion to the point of tears upon discovering that her grandfather passed away.

This combination of a flirtatious happy-go-lucky capoeirista who revels in her fights and a woman who is bound to protect those who she holds dear comes into full force in Tekken 6. Although in the overall canon she takes a backseat, controlling her in Scenario mode reveals hidden layers about her character.

One of the hypothetical scenarios that is brought up is when Christie and Eddy do cross paths in Scenario mode. If the former approaches Eddy, he will exclaim that she shouldn’t be here in high concern. If the latter approaches Christie, she will appear angry that he has, once again, decided to be inconsiderate in being brash for considering working with “Public Enemy #1.”

Both Eddy and Christie wish to protect each other, yet they do so by ironically placing themselves into harms way. While on a larger scale, they are two small fish in the giant ocean that is the Mishima bloodline story. If one zooms in on the microscope, you see two troubled young adults who wish to live in peace. One is bound by vengeance while the other is bound by duty.

Story

While Tekken 4 is the first time we see and hear of Christie, that game is not the first time we hear of her story. In Tekken 3’s prologue, Eddy was incarcerated after being framed for the murder of his father. During his sentence, he learns the art of capoeira from an elderly master. Up until his release, Eddy perfected the art of capoeira and entered the third King of Iron Fist tournament to exact

That elderly man was none other than…

Well…

The old man never had an official name. The Tekken wiki has his name as

DENSETSU NO KAPOEIRA MASUTAA

or the “Legendary Capoeira Master.”

For a while, the urban legend regarding his name was “Ho Chi Myong,” but unlike the Tara Banks inspiration, this wasn’t ever confirmed by Bandai Namco. I don’t think it ever will.

The one thing that was confirmed, however, was that the

DENSETSU NO KAPOEI---I’m sorry.

The elderly capoeira master was Christie’s grandfather. How did Christie herself know capoeira? Through Eddy, as a form of mutual respect for her grandfather teaching him the art. Suddenly Christie and Eddy having identical moves isn’t farfetched.

However, I always wondered why Christie’s grandfather never taught her capoeira himself? The obvious answer would be because he, too, was imprisoned. Still, you’d consider that maybe he would have taught her when she was a child or began to teach her. Who knows?

At the end of the King of Iron Fist Tournament 3, Eddy finds out that it was Kazuya Mishima who orchestrated the events which led to his father’s murder and his own imprisonment. Since then, he has sought out to find Kazuya and settle the score on his own terms.

Enter Tekken 4, where a concerned Christie realizes Eddy has gone missing. In her response, she spends the 4th Iron Fist Tournament looking for Eddy, sensing trouble brewing on the horizon.

Honestly this was Eddy’s fault to begin with. Had Eddy not told Christie that he was going to avenge his father’s death, she wouldn’t have bothered to put herself in harm’s way. However, Christie’s story had to start somewhere yeah?

In the end, Eddy doesn’t find Kazuya, but, if we take Christie’s ending in Tekken 4 as canon, we can deduce some details.

Christie wins the iron fist tournament, incredibly bemused, as she failed at her original goal in locating Eddy. However, seeing a familiar face in the crowd, she runs over to Eddy in a full embrace. Eddy appears in this ending with a cast on his arm, so it is assumed that his progress in finding his father’s murderer ended prematurely. Even so, despite his lack of success, he still shows up to his girl’s victory match in support. What a romantic.

Several months later, tragedy strikes. Christie’s grandfather is inflicted with an illness and the race to find enough money to pay for the operation begins. In the end, no matter who wins the tournament, they use their prize money to pay for the operation which turns out to be a success. Christie, Eddy, and her grandfather are all seen at a park practicing capoeira and everyone lives happily ever after, right!?

Unfortunately, not.

Several years later and the climate is different. Jin Kazama wages war against the world and it turns out that neither Christie nor Eddy was able to win the tournament after all.

Running out of time and resources, Jin makes a deal with Eddy. If Eddy works for him and helps exact Jin’s vengeance against Kazuya, then Jin will help pay for the operation. Considering this as an opportunity to become in direct contact with Kazuya, the murderer of his father, it’s a win win for Eddy.

He didn’t want to be a part of this war, but for the safety of the one person who was a father figure for him and the chance to kill the one who has caused him years of torment, he will take up a gun for Jin.

So, where does this leave Christie? Back to where we once were in Tekken 4, on the lookout for Eddy and her grandfather.

Do you see where I’m getting at now? “As the series progressed, Christie’s role became diluted?”

The sad part is that Christie is not the only character to suffer through this “character dilution.” The4thSnake’s video on Asuka Kazama goes over the same points that I could ever make, so please give that video a watch when you can. In Tekken 6, if it wasn’t Mishima related, it was on the backburner.

Once again, both parties are unsuccessful. Christie never finds a cure for her grandfather’s illness and he succumbs. Eddy is deceived by Jin, refusing to hold his end of the bargain, and is unable to save his master’s life. While visiting his grandfather’s grave, Christie discovers Eddy.

Instead of a warming reunion, Christie, in a fit of rage and sadness, slaps him while demanding where he was. In response, Eddy stands there, motionless, as he throws his Mishima Zaibatsu pin to the ground.

This is where Christie’s story ends. Officially.

What began as a bright young capoeira student ended a grieving shell of a person, thanks to the dishonesty of Mishimas and Eddy for pulling a Knuckles and believing Eggman---Jin Kazama.

If we look at the Tag 2 endings and assume, they take place after 6, Eddy takes a page out of King’s book and opens up a capoeira school for orphaned children. After some time passes, he embarks on a trip to become the world greatest stuntman the Mishima Zaibatsu has ever seen!

No of course not he’s going to confront his father and master’s murderers of course! What else would Eddy POSSIBLY do at this point!?

In Christie’s ending, as a continuation, she catches wind of this and chases Eddy, but, as history tends to repeat itself, she’s too late. Eddy is already on the train.

Some. Things. Never. Change.

At least she was spared a grim fate, unlike our friend here.

Conclusion

So. Where do we go from here? From the beginning, we know that Eddy is an integral part of Christie’s story. However, there are signs in her design that shows she can hold her own, both in a fight and in her sense of justice.

I recommend anyone to play through Scenario mode with all of the available roster and not just Lars, but in Scenario mode, Christie has a sense of justice that almost felt refreshing. It wasn’t just simply “where’s Eddy,” but it was also “I have to stop the messed up things from going on in the world”

Earlier I posted a photo where she confronts Eddy for working with the Mishimas and she has no qualms in defeating him to knock sense into him. I also mentioned the confrontation between Bruce and Christie, which is just about non-canon as far as Tekken 6 is confirmed. They treat their encounter as if it was the first time they’ve ever met. Bummer.

But there are signs of life for this character and when it shows, it’s refreshing to see. Christie is not the only character who suffers from this, but she is the one who is marred by the reputation of “always being in Eddy’s shadow.”

When discussion is brought up on why she shouldn’t be in the game? “Eddy is already in there.”

When the game throws her into a repeat storyline for the third straight game in the series? “Eddy is already there.”

Why is Christie out and about? “Her grandfather, but Eddy is there as well.”

Part of the reason why I considered myself a Christie main is because Christie is an underdog in the Tekken universe as well as within the competitive scene.

The irony here is that Christie was meant to replace Eddy, but the inverse happened.

One day, Christie can exist without having to worry about being in Eddy’s shadow. A fan can dream. Until then, I’ll always consider her my favorite fighting game character so there’s no replacing that at least.

There will be a Part 2 to this as there’s one key game that she’s a part of where she does regain some of that luster I wish she had in the main series. A game that is largely underrated but a game where Christie has had her moment in the sun.

Stay tuned for Part 2 soon! If you weren’t sick of me talking about Christie and made it this far, congrats! Stick around for the follow-up!

[centralparkpawsblog]

Blue Buffalo vs Purina Pro Plan

https://www.centralparkpaws.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Purina-Pro-Plan-Savor-Adult-Shredded-Blend-chicken-rice-dog-food-brand-comparison.jpg When I was growing up, I never thought too much about what our family dog was eating.

I would go with my dad to pick up new bags of dog food at our local pet store every once and a while, but that was all I knew.

I figured that dogs ate the same brand of food for most of the lives, only changing things up when they entered the different life stages on the front of the dog bags.

Bringing home my own dog has been a life changing experience.

She’s gone through phases where certain types of food irritated her stomach and one even gave her an allergic reaction!

It’s not uncommon for dogs to change their dietary preferences and needs as they age, which is why I study the different brands that are out there.

Check out the research I found when I compared Blue Buffalo and Purina Pro Plan.

It might change your mind about which one you should feed your dog.

Purina’s Company History

Purina’s history began in 1894, when William Danforth partnered with two other men to found the Robinson-Danforth Commission Company[1]. In 1902, the name was changed to Ralston Purina.

After working on their dog food blend for many years, its first major success was when it was fed to dogs on Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s Antarctic expedition in 1933[2].

The dogs were able to thrive even in the harshest conditions.

Since then, Purina has become one of the biggest brands in the dog food industry.

Best Sellers

Purina has many different lines of dog foods, but these are the top three Purina Pro Plan best sellers that people come back for again and again[3]:

Purina Pro Plan Bright Mind Adult 7+ Chicken and Rice Formula

Purina Pro Plan Focus Adult Large Breed Formula

Purina Pro Plan Focus Adult Sensitive Skin and Stomach, Lamb and Oatmeal Formula

While Purina sells Pro Plan blends for different life stages and breed sizes, their Bright Mind and Focus blends have particularly resonated with consumers.

This isn’t the first time we’ve compared Purina with another dog food company. How did Purina fare against IAMS?

Blue Buffalo’s Company History

People always say they’d do anything for their dog, and the Blue Buffalo founding family did exactly that.

When their dog, Blue, went for a check up at the vet and came back with a cancer diagnosis, the family dove into studying how they could optimize his nutrition.

This led to the creation of many different homemade blends, until they ended up with the one they liked.

Their BLUE Life Protection Formula became the foundation of their Blue Buffalo company.

Now, the company makes super premium pet food with only the best ingredients they can find, always calling back to the importance of natural nutrition for dogs.

Best Sellers

Blue Buffalo continues to improve on their original Life Protection Formula, which has made it the number one dog food in the country[4].

It has many different variations, which include their best selling products[5]:

BLUE Life Protection Formula Adult Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe

BLUE Life Protection Formula Adult Fish and Brown Rice Recipe

BLUE Life Protection Formula Puppy Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe

Given the Life Protection Formulas for all the life stages of a dog, these best selling products continue to meet the needs of many dog owners.

Blue Buffalo is a popular brand. But, is it the best? We tested Blue Buffalo against Fromm!

Recalls

Both of these brands have been around for many years, so they’ve each had a few recalls that potential consumers should be aware of.

Purina Recalls

Purina’s dog food was last recalled in March of 2016, since some of the wet dog food was lacking the right mineral and vitamin levels[6].

They were also recalled in 2013 for a potential salmonella contamination[7].

Blue Buffalo Recalls

Blue Buffalo most recently faced a recall in March of 2017, since further studies revealed toxic levels of lead in some of their wet dog food[8].

Over the last six years, they’ve also been recalled for having high levels of vitamin D[9], dangerous levels of mold[10], the presence of salmonella[11], and chunks of aluminum metal[12] in their dog foods.

What’s Important When Choosing a Dog Food?

Now that dog owners can see what food is available at pet stores and online, there’s a lot to choose from.

Here’s what you should consider before bringing any dog food home:

Many dog foods contain chicken. But, is all chicken equal?

Ingredients

Does your dog have any allergies or sensitivities?

Are you concerned about them eating only fresh ingredients?

Every dog owner should look at the ingredients listed on a dog food bag to see what their dog would actually be eating if they purchased it.

Price

How much are you willing to spend for a higher quality food?

Consider what your dog food budget is and how often you’ll be buying new dog food to determine what the best price is for you.

Availability

Some towns don’t have many pet stores for owners to visit, and some people may not be able to get deliveries at their home.

Make sure to check where you can get the dog food you’re thinking about purchasing for your dog to figure out its availability.

Taste

You’ll want to read online about what other dogs think about the food and even give your pup a taste test before fully committing to a brand.

Dogs shouldn’t have to eat food every day that they hate just because it fits a budget or is easy to find.

Brand Reliability

Once you’ve found the brands you like, research them.

You may find that they face frequent recalls or make some dogs sick, which won’t be something you’ll find out just by looking at the bag at a store.

Comparison of Purina vs Blue Buffalo

So how do these two brands stack up against each other?

Let’s find out.

Ingredients

  Winner: Blue Buffalo   

While I like that Purina is trusted by so many dog owners, I’m not so sure about their ingredients.

On the list for their first big best seller bag, one of the first ingredients is “poultry by-product meal”[13].

I looked it up and apparently by-product meal is when they grind up cleaned parts of a chicken carcass[14], which often contains things like undeveloped eggs and bones.

That’s supposed to make the food have a higher level of protein, but I would never let Maggie chew on a chicken carcass.

Why let it be in her dog food?

Blue Buffalo has many more recognizable ingredients on the list for their best-selling blend[15].

Blue Buffalo, on the other hand…

I’m not a fan of the second product being chicken meal, but that’s different from by-product meal.

Chicken meal is a combination of chicken flesh and skin that isn’t originally used in the food[16]. It’s cooked and ground up to add more protein.

Blue Buffalo wins the ingredients round for me.

It just doesn’t feel right to imagine feeding my dog powdered chicken carcasses.

Price/Value

  Winner: Purina…?   

Something every dog owner knows is that Blue Buffalo is expensive, but their prices are becoming much more competitive with other brands.

Purina’s specialty offerings are more expensive, but still not as expensive as Blue Buffalo

They average out at $50 per 25 pound bag[17].

On the other hand, Purina’s 20 pound bags are typically around $15-20[18], depending on where you’re looking.

That price is so low, it actually concerns me.

It makes me wonder how many fillers are actually in their food.

I’m used to paying $45-50 per bag of food for Maggie, so I’d much rather stick with Blue Buffalo’s price.

It’s much more than Purina, but it makes more sense to me to put my money with the food that uses fresh, whole ingredients.

Availability

  Winner: Tie   

These are both big brands, so they’re available at most pet stores and online.

That makes it easy for people to restock their dog food even on their busiest days, so they tie in availability.

Shop Blue Buffalo on Amazon

Shop Blue Buffalo on Chewy

Shop Purina Pro Plan on Amazon

Shop Purina Pro Plan on Chewy

Taste

  Winner: Depends   

It’s always really up to your dog to decide whether the dog food brand is a keeper.

If they like the taste of the food, it may be worth it to stick with the brand.

Brand Reliability

  Winner: Purina   

Purina has less of a history with recalls than Blue Buffalo does, so that may sway some dog owners into becoming their customers.

But both have had recalls on wet dog food, so that should be considered by any dog owners who need to get wet food for their dog.

Winner

  Winner: Blue Buffalo   

While price and availability are huge influences on which dog food brands people buy, this comparison came down to ingredients for me.

It really concerns me that Purina has by-product meal in their food and that their food is so cheap.

I don’t want Maggie eating fillers every day, which is why I’d go with Blue Buffalo before I’d ever buy Purina.

Think about all these factors for yourself before deciding which brand you should buy for your dog.

Resources

https://www.purina.com/about-purina

https://www.pressreader.com/usa/readers-digest/20190301/281517932267486

https://www.purina.com/dogs/dog-food/dry

https://www.wsj.com/articles/meet-blue-founder-of-americas-top-natural-pet-food-brand-1519416803

https://bluebuffalo.com/product-finder/dog/?facets=

https://news.vin.com/vinnews.aspx?articleId=51391

https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/09/purina-one-beyond-dry-dog-food-recalled-for-salmonella-risk/

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/does-blue-buffalo-contain-toxic-levels-lead/

https://news.vin.com/vinnews.aspx?articleId=51391

 https://www.seviernewsmessenger.com/2016/05/31/blue-buffalo-dry-dog-food-recall/

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2018/02/24/FDA-issues-2-more-pet-food-recalls-listeria-salmonella-found/5171519499067/

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/index/2017/03/

https://www.purina.com/pro-plan/dogs/dry-dog-food/bright-mind-senior-chicken-rice

https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_pet_food_for_your_pets_sake

https://bluebuffalo.com/natural-dog-food/healthy-holistic-blue-life-protection-formula/dry-food/lpf-adult-chicken-and-brown-rice-recipe/

https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_pet_food_for_your_pets_sake

http://theconnectiontcc.com/2019/07/09/dog-traction-rope-emerging-markets-analysis-regional-demand-growth-and-forecast-to-2024/

http://thescrippsvoice.com/market-research-news/160862/wet-pet-food-market-report-forecast-by-industry-insights-volume-opportunities-type-product-analysis-and-application/

The post Blue Buffalo vs Purina Pro Plan appeared first on Central Park Paws.

from https://www.centralparkpaws.net/dog-food/blue-buffalo-vs-purina-pro-plan/

[mitmama]

Brussels

Paris | Brussels | Bruges | Paris Food | Travel Tips

We were originally gonna visit Amsterdam with our friends.  Alas, as it often happens, there was a strike in Netherland, and our Thalys train only went as far as Brussels. After getting on the phone for an hour trying to change tickets, we gave up and decided to just enjoy Brussels.  Luckily our friend lived in Brussels previously.  He gave us some tips about the city.  It's quite compact and easily walkable, and more affordable compared with Paris. Some of our favorites:

Grand Place - the main square has many beautiful buildings including the tall City Hall dating from 1400s. The buildings to the left say that they from the 1600′s.  There are often fests and events taking place here: we saw tents being erected as we left.  All around the square are shops and restaurants, fun to walk around.

Manneken Pis - just a 5 minute walk from the Grand Place is the famous peeing boy, less than 2 feet tall.  Everyone complains the statue is smaller than you’d think. After 400 years, someone thought of adding also a female version of the statue, called Janneken Pis.

i like how the Belgians didn’t take themselves too seriously and combined that with the other Belgian favorite, waffles; also nice gender equality.

Mont des Arts - our friend explained there’re many beautiful art deco buildings in the area because Belgium got rich in the early 1900s from its Congo colony, a dark past.

Nearby is the royal palace with a nice big park across the street. We really enjoyed hanging out at the beer garden in the park. And the kids rode scooters all around.

Where to stay 

We stayed right between the Grand Place and Mont des Arts, quite convenient. Lodging in Brussels is half the price of Amsterdam.  The 4 kids got to stay in their own apartment for less than $200 a day, even though we only booked the day before.  

Walking around - It’s so fun to walk around town in the morning when it’s quiet all around.

Food

Belgian chocolates are world famous.  There are many fancy chocolate stores throughout Brussels.

Finding good restaurants turned out to be not easy, there are many tourist traps around the Grand Place, despite being highly rated on Google Maps  Thankfully our friend met up with his Anglo-Belgian friend who took us to a great seafood place called Bij den Boer.  I enjoyed the scallop carpaccio and love loved the Greenland fish Turbot made with miso sauce.  

There’s even an interesting pasta restaurant Pasta Divina. The nice owner explained her mother is from Bologna. Their signature squid ink pasta was solid, but the Bolognese pasta that my son ordered was amazing!  My son remarked that in hindsight that was smart ordering.

I love how there’s a Delhaize convenient store right around the corner, where we can get delicious Belgian milk, smoothie, meats and croissants for cheap.

Last tip: be sure to book international train tickets early.  Ours were quite expensive due to last minute purchase.  Otherwise it’s quite convenient to train from Paris to Brussels, just 1 hour 15-20 mins.

[luminous007]

Hydrogen and skin problems---Scientists have said that small hydrogen can anti-wrinkle and whiten, and it can also lighten a lot of melasma!

The sun is too big in summer, small hydrogen can make the skin resist the damage of ultraviolet rays, always white and tender, watery. Of course, with a little hydrogen can heal the gods

It seems that this is less important than the strange ability, but this is too attractive to female compatriots. We make female compatriots beautiful by "both inside and outside". For example, this beauty is wearing a hydrogen water mask while inhaling hydrogen. Drinking hydrogen water while soaking in a hydrogen water bath is completely internal adjustment and external nourishment! And how cheap and practical compared to expensive cosmetics, small hydrogen is!

Of course, Xiaohydro achieves the dream of beauty by adjusting the fundamental state of the skin, and the effect is not so fast! Also, Xiaohydro never said that the beauty effect of Xiaohydro is better than anything else. You can combine Xiaohydro with other beauty and skin care products. Use Oh, I believe that with the escort of small hydrogen, the beautiful effect can be improved to a higher level.

Well, having said so much, in fact, the fundamental goal of Xiaohydro is still serious skin problems, that is, skin diseases, because I am a small health guard, and it is my duty to cure diseases and save people! Scientists first use Xiaohydro to treat pressure ulcers. What is pressure? Sore? Is long-term bedridden blood circulation is not smooth, press the skin long blisters or ulcers. Scientists have tried a lot of bedridden people and found that the pressure ulcers are much better after drinking hydrogen water. Therefore, friends who are sick and bedridden should drink more hydrogen water for their children. Maybe they won't get pressure ulcers after drinking it!

It's amazing, that's not much, and more importantly, some scientists have found that I'm also effective against refractory skin diseases, such as the psoriasis. It is quite painful to have this disease. There are large red spots all over the body, and there are white scales like fish scales on it. Sometimes it is very itchy. I feel sad when I think about it. The pressure is particularly high, so it is called refractory skin disease. Scientists recently discovered that drinking hydrogen water and taking a bath in hydrogenated water can greatly relieve the skin symptoms of psoriasis. This is really an exciting discovery. You must know that the most commonly used drugs for psoriasis are hormones. What are the side effects of hormones? Our small hydrogen is much safer!

Let’s talk about skin allergies. This is also a very annoying problem. The skin starts to become red, swollen and itchy at every turn. I don’t know what I touched, or even I didn’t touch anything at all. When the weather is cold, hot, and humidity is low, the skin starts to itch. I lost my temper, I have a beautiful face, peeling everywhere, I can hardly see it, this is completely intermittent disfigurement! What should I do at this time? Try to find a small hydrogen, drink more hydrogen water, and then wash it well with hydrogen water When washing your face, where there is a problem, you can wash your face. Xiaohydro can basically guarantee that it will be much better soon. Here are a few more words. Those who are prone to skin allergies generally have problems with their bodies, which are called sensitive constitutions. So, even if the skin is not too serious, you should insist on drinking hydrogen water, because it is not so easy to change your physique. As the old saying goes, sickness comes like a mountain, and sickness disappears like a thread. We have to be patient. Healing is not so fast!

Finally, let's look at burns and scalds. This is a severe injury to the skin. If you are not careful, you will be disfigured. If it is serious, you will die! Why do you look at me with such doubts? I don't believe that Xiao hydrogen is so serious. The problem is also effective? Uh--humbly (in fact, the confidence is not enough) Xiaohydro is still useful for burns and scalds, don't forget that I can anti-inflammatory, I can make the burned skin less inflamed and less cell death point. Scientists have found that the death rate of those burned mice that use hydrogen is much lower. As for whether it will be used on patients, it depends on the efforts of scientists!

There are also many studies on hydrogen in skin beauty and anti-aging. In 2012, Japanese scholars published research results that proved that hydrogen water can play a role in beauty and anti-wrinkle. Bathing with hydrogen water with a concentration of only 0.2~0.4ppm for three months, the experience Skin wrinkles on the neck and back were significantly reduced, indicating that hydrogen water can be used as a daily skin care and anti-wrinkle method. In 2012, Korean scholars also published an article proving that bathing with hydrogen water can fight skin damage caused by ultraviolet rays, and has a significant effect on improving dull complexion, uneven skin tone, dry skin, fine lines and spots. These studies suggest that hydrogen may have a wide range of applications in the beauty field.

[livingcorner]

Growing vegetables in raised beds and containers@|how to plant a raised bed vegetable garden@|@|21

WHICH VEGETABLES TO GROW IN RAISED BEDS / CONTAINERS

All vegetables can be grown in raised beds and containers but some are far more suitable compared to others. Avoid tall vegetable plants such as climbers and also plants which need support. The soil in a raised bed is not compacted and will therefore not support stakes or tall plants.

Containers such as pots, grow bags and large plastic bags are also in fact raised beds, just smaller versions of them.

[external_link_head]

They make successful growing of tomatoes and potatoes a real possibility and because the feeding and watering is directed at a few plants only, the crops can be massive.

Potatoes will also grow in traditional raised beds but you may loose some of the potatoes growing near the surface. Normally you would earth up potatoes to protect the top ones from the light.

 However, in a raised bed the ridges may get blown away or simply crumble because of the light structure of the soil. We therefore recommend growing potatoes in large pots or specially made plastic containers.

Root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips and turnips are ideal for raised beds, just make sure the bed is deep enough for the roots. Growing carrots in raised beds will banish forked roots forever. That, combined with easy protection from carrot fly, makes growing carrots much easier.

Our current list of vegetables which are ideal for raised beds and other containers is:

Beetroot   Carrot   Cauliflower (pick when heads are small)   French Beans (dwarf)   Garlic   Lettuce   Onions   Parsnip   Radish   Spring Onion   Swede   Potato   Tomato

WOODEN RAISED BED KITS

The easiest way to start off with raised beds is to buy pre-cut and pre-drilled kits. To start off we recommend that you buy a cheap kit, if the raised bed gardening bug bites you after that you can easily add another more expensive kit. These are quickly assembled and most require only the most basic of tools. Click here for our raised garden beds comparison page.

SOIL FOR RAISED BEDS AND CONTAINERS

Most vegetables will do very well if you fill the raised bed with two thirds potting compost and a third garden soil. If you can’t get hold of garden soil then John Innes will do just as well. This may sound a bit expensive but the soil will last for ever only needing the occasional top up. Add as much well-rotted garden compost as you can spare.

General purpose potting compost can also be used by itself and this is the best solution for containers. The advantage of adding garden soil to a raised bed garden is that it adds some “body” to the soil, allowing you to grow taller vegetables which require some support.

[external_link offset=1]

A commonly asked question when starting off a raised bed is “can I simply pile the compost on top of grass”. I most case this will be OK as long as the depth of soil is at least 15cm / 6in above the grass. The compost will simply smother the grass and prevent light getting to it and thus killing it. The grass will then compost down.

A better approach though would be to scrape the top 3cm / 1in of grass / soil from the surface and turn it over. This will kill the grass sooner and allow it to compost sooner giving your vegetables valuable nutrients. This method is also more likely to kill any perennial weeds on the site. The final method is to place a weed proof membrane on the surface of the grass before adding the compost. Just make sure it will let water drain. Three or four layers of newspaper will have a very similar effect and of course be much cheaper than a shop bought alternative.

WATERING RAISED BEDS AND CONTAINERS

Raised beds and containers drain very well and this can be a double-edged sword. The good side is that they will not get water-logged but the downside is that they loose water quickly and need frequent watering. If you are growing vegetables in raised beds then keep a watch on them in warm weather and water as required.

A mulch over the top of the soil will significantly reduce the need for watering. Chipped bark makes an ideal and attractive mulch when spread about 3cm (1¼in) thick over the surface. Spread it so that it’s near growing plants but not touching them.

Black plastic is a cheaper alternative. It doesn’t look as attractive as chipped bark but reduces the need for watering just as well. Simply cut it into appropriately sized strips and place it between rows of plants. Hold it in place with a thin layer of soil.

FEEDING RAISED BEDS AND CONTAINERS

Our one page raised bed vegetable calendar recommends using two types of fertiliser in your raised beds and containers. The first is a long lasting organic fertiliser such as blood, fish and bone or bonemeal. These are readily available from all garden centres in powder form.

To apply this fertiliser sprinkle two or three handfuls over the soil surface per square metre / yard. Then work it into the surface of the soil with a trowel. Blood, fish and bone breaks releases only small amounts of nutrients in the soil but it does it consistently over a long period of time. It also has a wide range of nutrients, some of which are not found in general purpose fertiliser.

We suggest an application of blood, fish and bone in late February and then again in mid July.

The second type of fertiliser is a general purpose fertiliser which comes in two forms, liquid and granules. The granules are often called “Growmore” whilst the liquid is sold under a variety of brand names. For raised beds we strongly suggest you use only the liquid general purpose fertiliser. The granules are difficult to distribute evenly in a crowded raised bed and can cause burning if they come into contact with a plant.

General purpose fertiliser contains three essentials to plant growth, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. It should also contain a range of trace elements.

When growing vegetables in raised beds and containers they are normally spaced very close to each other. This requires the soil to be fed at more regular intervals compared to open ground. We recommend a weekly feed with general purpose fertiliser starting in late March and finishing in mid September.

WHAT VEGETABLES TO GROW IN EAST FACING POSITION?

East facing gardens and raised beds receive sun in the morning and then are in shade for the remainder of the day. To compare them to the ideal of a south facing garden, they will receive less sun, the soil will be cooler and it will also retain more moisture. The impact of an east facing plot will also be affected by where you live in the UK. In warmer areas of the UK the soil will be warmer and less damp compared to the soil in cooler areas of the UK.

Some vegetables prefer morning only sunshine especially later in the season. Lettuce are a particularly good example of this because they are cool weather vegetables and will not thrive in high sunshine / temperature areas. Spinach is another cool season crop although they do need a depth of 30cm to grow well, kale is the same.

Carrots do well in partial shade if you sow them slightly later compared to normal – mid April onwards. Radish, beetroot and swede have similar requirements.

Don’t forget growing a few plants in containers which really are just a small version of a raised bed. You may well be able to site a couple of large pots in a sunnier position and grow some tomatoes or French beans.  

SPECIFIC FEEDING REQUIREMENTS

The feeding suggestions above will supply all vegetables with a reasonable amount of nutrients. Specific vegetables however do have different needs. If you have a very large raised bed (or have lots of one particular vegetable) you may be able to successfully feed specific vegetables differently. Below we give you the feeding needs of each vegetable.

BEETROOT No specific feeding requirements, stick to our suggest feeding advice above.

CARROTS Replace liquid general purpose fertiliser with a tomato liquid fertiliser for better root growth.

[external_link offset=2]

FRENCH BEANS No specific feeding requirements, stick to our suggest feeding advice above.

GARLIC If possible slightly reduce the amount of feeding for garlic. When the cloves start to form it’s also good to reduce amount of watering. Excess water on formed cloves can cause them to rot.

LETTUCE Lettuce do not benefit from too much feed, it can cause the leaves to overgrow. So, if possible, reduce the the liquid general purpose feeding from once a week to once a month. The twice yearly feed of blood, fish and bone will provide the majority of nutrients a lettuce plant needs.

ONIONS The normal feeding regime up to mid July is fine. From then on onions will do best if they are not fed with general purpose fertiliser. Reducing the feed at this time will help stop the foliage growing too much and will also firm up the onion bulb which will help them store for longer over winter.

RADISH No specific feeding requirements, stick to our suggested feeding advice above. Radish tolerate lack of feeding better than most vegetables.

POTATOES We suggest growing potatoes in their own containers. The best feeding regime for potatoes is a feed of liquid tomato fertiliser every two weeks.

PEST CONTROL IN RAISED BEDS AND CONTAINERS

All the normal rules for pest control apply when raising vegetables in raised beds and containers. However, protecting vegetables in raised beds from flying insect pests is especially easy. Drive a wooden post into each corner of the bed and drape protective light weight horticultural fleece over them to cover the bed. If the corner posts of the raised beds are already higher than the bed then it’s even easier.

Covering containers is not so easy but horticultural fleece can be draped over the growing vegetables at crucial times of the year.

PLANTING DENSITY

Vegetables grown in raised beds can be grown much closer together compared to those in the open ground. Make sure that they are well fed with a general purpose fertiliser to support the dense, quicker growth.

EXTEND THE SEASON

Because the soil in a raised bed and containers is higher than the surrounding soil it will heat up quicker in the spring. Combining this with good soil and a protective fleece will enable you to sow seed a good two to three weeks earlier than normal.

At the end of the season, cover the raised bed again with either clear plastic, corrugated plastic or even protective insect fabric. All of these will help to retain heat and extend the growing season by a few weeks.

END OF ARTICLE (see top of page tabs for more related articles)

READER COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS PAGE [external_footer]

source https://livingcorner.com.au/growing-vegetables-in-raised-beds-and-containershow-to-plant-a-raised-bed-vegetable-garden21/

[aquamarinedaydreams]

5 Cliches About insect fogger review You Should Avoid

Many insect and pest foggers are to become had in aerosol containers along with dividers Or even switches to be able to discharge their incredibly have elements Within the air spot. The real resources dangle within the moment droplets in mid-air properly before than residing on top of regions which consist of flooring surfaces, fixtures In combination with counter tops. Usually referred to as regular discharge insect and pest foggers or insect and pest bombs, insect foggers are literally only amazingly encouraged concerning intensely plagued spots Anytime a number of distinctive flea answers are certainly not operating. It is actually useful to comprehensively organized your residential household simply just before than making use of these forms of flea foggers. With respect towards the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, insect foggers trigger all around 5 hundred fires in the United States. Ordinarily, That is for The rationale that residence proprietors did now not consider to switch off the start off lighting out upon their pretty very own vary tops. Stay away from the usage of insect foggers in just areas where peaceful little children, aquatic pets like fishes or tiny property Animals for example rodents. Having rid of fleas the usage of mosquito fogging machines is some issue that is easy to try and do and They might be easy to use. You'll find just one-of-a-form title models being experienced which include Raid that are quite recognizable for her or his insect and parasite killing qualities. Make sure to Test most of the types obtainable to help you choose the only real that can get the job done The good to fit your wants. Should you have listened to about flea foggers and want to recognise how they function, Then you really surely have landed in the ideal place. Listed here With this Online page we are going to be describing what a insect fogger machine is And the way it works. We will even inform you somewhere around the distinctive title manufacturers which can be being had to be able that you're going to be effective at find the one This can be most tasty to you. In the event your pets Have got a flea difficulty which includes come to be a hassle for your private home, then correct Here's several data this goes to assist you to to locate a approach to heal the problems that both equally of that you are acquiring.

When it comes to the insect fogging machines which can be employed to handle the fleas that are in your own private property, there are many special title brands available. One of these is Bob Martin and it is taken into account for being the different pinnacle types out there available on the market. When it includes the cost of a very good insect and pest fogger, you may locate that it in all fairness minimal and it is tons cheap than contacting within an exterminator to manage the effort for yourself. As a way to use flea foggers You'll have to ensure which you have the doorways open up in the non-public house or condo and established them off in the ground within the Centre of your room. Several several hours afterwards although you return, you flea problems should be appeared just after and all You will need to complete is vacuum the entire rooms of your respective house. The actual almost certainly risky pyrethrin diploma is definitely up abnormal to some seven times subsequent clouding, in accordance with a few pet maintenance handbooks. The Environmental Defense Company teaches that a lot of Original lights or some other ignition solutions are usually switched off and all sorts of foods devices In combination with playthings concealed. The EPA or even the Environmental Defense Agency on the identical time teaches All and sundry as well as pet animals to depart the household for quite a few several hours and with out hold off open all windows on returning.

One of many first matters that you're going to have to do is test a Frontline As well as Purple 6 thirty day period source to the cat or canine. This tends to assist protect against fleas and ticks from getting all over again on your puppy after you have acquired taken measures to remove the hassle. Lots of human beings put off fleas having said that they arrive all over again as they do no more do anything to protect their Animals Later on. If you have to do things the intelligent way, then make certain which you take the best techniques and use preventative measures that do the job. The risky chemical compounds decide on the outer lining of the particular flooring masking and don't get by to toward Certainly the depths whereby the larvae are put. On top of that They are no longer able to get via to underneath family furnishings or perhaps with out hold off into folds of drapes or very own household pet mattress linens. Fleas together with other insects in your house Collect jointly in the areas where there exists a food source that is made up of in animal bed linens or at some stage inside the domestic fixtures. The actual larvae dangle on to ground safeguarding components for the aspect of various substances. Mosquito fogging machines squirt a fluffy air of pesticide straight away into The entire vicinity. This without a doubt is quite a bit a lot quicker when compared to the solution of fleas as well as other insects with the help of powders or shakes and even aerosols. Insect and pest fogger machine encompass pyrethrins to Forged off Grownup ticks and flea pupae. A quantity of symbol names also can encompass things like pest progress restrain regulators, in accordance by using a number of Puppy dog proprietors manuals and guidebooks. A flea contamination In the domestic can be really An important problem. propane insect fogger Fleas and also other bugs produce quickly and On top of that nourish themselves on blood. Their really have gnaws are usually Ugly and then depart an prolonged-lasting, scratchy welt. Insect fogger machine can be used to eliminate The difficulty. Flea Foggers supply basically inexpensive suppression, which contains rules.

[livingcorner]

20 Ways to Keep Deer Out of Your Yard

Sure, they’re pretty to look at, if you’re quick—and quiet enough to catch a glimpse of deer galloping off into the distance.

But set loose in your garden, they will ravage your tender tulips and plump pansies, leaving foliage raggedy and the fruits of your labor plundered. Fortunately, with a little bit of insight into their habits, you can prevent your flowers, bulbs, and vegetables from becoming a free buffet. Use these 20 tips to keep deer out of your garden.

You're reading: 20 Ways to Keep Deer Out of Your Yard

These range from deer proof plants and home remedies to organic solutions and humane exclusion techniques. Our guide is part of a prevention plan you should put into effect now—even before you’ve spotted the season’s first deer.

1. Don’t over-stock your garden with tasty plants

Photo by Alexandra Bandon

Springtime finds deer at one of their hungriest states: Does are nursing their fawns, and anxious to gain back weight lost during the winter’s freeze, every deer is looking to gorge on high-protein, moisture-rich plants. Think twice about growing large amounts of English ivy, lettuces, beans, peas, hostas, impatients, and pansies. Fruit trees are prime targets too. As Rhonda Massingham Hart points out in her book on how to keep deer out of your yard, Deerproofing Your Yard & Garden (Storey), “The sweetness and flavor of strawberries and peaches make them as attractive to deer as they are to people.”

2. Keep deer-favorite plants close to the house

Photo by Kaźmierczyk Krzysztof

That way, you can keep tabs on the plant’s progress at all times, making sure it doesn’t become a meal. As a general rule, deer love to dine on anything that’s smooth, tender, and flavorful, including chrysanthemum, clematis, roses, azalea bushes, and various berries. Plant pungent plants to help deer proof your yard.

3. Plant pungent perennials as a natural barrier

With wildlife biologists’ modest estimate of 18 to 24 deer per square mile, and full-grown adults each feeding on 6 to 10 pounds of greenery a day, the best line of defense lies in making your backyard less appetizing than your neighbors. Deer rely heavily on their sense of smell for feeding, so adding patches of strongly scented herbs—from garlic and chives, to mint and lavender (left)—can mask the appealing aroma of nearby annuals.

4. Plant thorny, hairy, or prickly foliage

Photo by Magnus Manske

When a deer is deciding what to have for dinner, the sense of smell trumps touch. But that doesn’t mean deer aren’t bothered by certain textures mid-meal. Try incorporating fuzzy lamb’s ear, barberries, and cleome near the plants you want to protect—and where deer might find entrance into your garden in the first place. See Plants Deer Dislike for a more comprehensive list.

Read more: How to Get Rid of Fungus in Garden Soil

5. Make deer-resistant substitutions

Photo by S.M. Kriebel

Massingham Hart suggests trading tulips for daffodils, which tend to top the deer-resistant plant lists. Pick roses that are particularly thorny, including Scotch or rugosa roses. And if you’re looking for flowers that’ll add a certain color or provide a certain function in your outdoor space, consult this list of deer resistant plants from Rutgers University to see what swaps you can make in your garden to keep deer out of your yard.

6. Out of sight, out of mind

Photo by Nancy Andrews

Plant large, sprawling deer repellent varieties such as thick hedges of boxwoods or short needle spruces around the borders of your garden. If deer can’t see what’s inside, they’re less likely to take that leap of faith onto your property.

7. Cleanliness counts

Photo by Kai-Martin Knaak

Trim tall grasses to deter bedding deer. Pick fruits once they’re ripe, and discard crops right after harvest.

8. Create levels

Photo by Oljylautta

Deer aren’t avid climbers so adding terraces or sunken beds can discourage them from coming into the yard. If your property is particularly woodsy and sprawling, consider stacking pallets around your property, which deer are afraid to walk or jump on.

9. Don’t underestimate the power of scare tactics

Photo by Steve Dodge

As neophobes, deer fear new, unfamiliar objects. Though they aren’t always attractive, scarecrows, sundials, and other garden ornaments—especially those with movable parts—make deer skittish. Use them in combination with wind chimes or bright lights to keep deer out of your yard.

10. Fence it in

Photo by Courtesy of Walpole Woodworkers

The most effective method of exclusion is a fence. Whitetails, which tend to plague most suburban gardens, are quite the jumpers. Make sure fences are at least 8-feet high with no more than 6-inch by 6-inch gaps. Electric fences, which can be put up during the peak feeding seasons of early spring and late fall, are another option.

11. Wrap new plantings

Photo by Courtesy of Tubex

Placing netting over fruit, bulbs, and bushes. Use garden nets from Vexar, tree protectors from Tubex, or plastic tree wrap to physically bar deer from feasting on your firs.

12. Rotating repellents throughout the growing season

Photo by Courtesy of Deer Off

The University of Illinois Extension School recommends Havahart’s Deer Away Big Game Repellent, a powder that contains a high concentration of smelly egg solids to target sense of smell to keep deer out of your yard. Also on the market: Deer Off, a spray product containing capsaicin that deters predominantly by taste, and Hinder a spray of ammonium salts of higher fatty acids creates an odor barrier. Reapply repellent after rainfall, and use a different formula from time to time to protect plants and prevent deer adaptation. Coverage should start from the ground and extend upward six feet.

13. Use a lot of homespun repellents to keep deer guessing

Some gardeners swear by hanging fabric softener strips and/or wrapped bars of soap from trees, both of which can confuse a deer’s sense of smell. Others point to using hot pepper sprays, garlic and rotten egg mixtures, ammonia-soaked rags, and bags of hair and/or blood meal around the garden for the same reason. As with commercial repellents, the trick is to switch things up, learning by trial and error, for maximum efficiency. Check out this tutorial on deer-proofing shrubs with Roger Cook. And experiment with deer juice, a tried-and-true recipe shared by TOH design director Amy Rosenfeld.

14. Avoid products that may be poisonous to people and pets

Photo by Torsten Henning

Whether you choose commercial repellents or homemade formulas, you wouldn’t want to accidentally harm your family or other wildlife. Always choose humane formulas—never poisons.

15. String fishing line around prized plants

Photo by Courtesy of Berkley

Relatively cheap and easy when compared to putting up a fence, string a line of monofilament around your beds within the deer feeding zone—ideally two to three feet above ground. Just as deer can’t comprehend the concept of glass, this clear, taut barrier also confuses deer, ultimately causing them to flee.

Read more: How to Clean Your Garden Hose? – Cleaning & Care Tips

16. Let Fido out as much as possible

Photo by Allison Rosa

Having a dog as a pet is extremely effective in deer management. No matter their size, their scent and bark are natural deer repellents so make sure the dog tags along while you’re gardening or the kids are playing in the yard.

17. Strategically place motion-activated sprinklers

Photo by Muhammad Mahdi Karim

Sprinklers with sensors will spray mist on passing deer. The sudden sound and moisture sends deer back off into the woods.

18. Shine a light on it

Photo by Richard Howard

Deer don’t like bright lights so they’ll often wait till nightfall to chow down. Installing a system of motion-sensitive floodlights will literally stop a deer in its tracks, though they do come to realize, over time, that the beam is harmless.

Learn how to put one in at How to Install a Garage Floodlight.

19. Make a lot of noise

Photo by Courtesy of Ridgid

Deer don’t like loud bangs or booms. You could set off firecrackers or create a tin can wind chime, but tuning a radio to the static in between stations might be your best bet.

20. Remember these tips won’t work all of the time

Photo by Matthew Benson

Deer are like people. The same thing that deters one won’t always deter another, but doubling—or tripling—up on these strategies can only help. Putting a few of these tips into practice, before deer become a problem, is the best way to prevent damage to your vegetation. Think through each of your decisions, however, before taking action, as some solutions are pricier than others.

Looking for professional pest control? Here are a few comprehensive resources:

Best Pest Control Companies

TruGreen Pest Control Review

Orkin vs. Terminix

Terminix Pest Control Review

Orkin Pest Control Review

Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Garden

source https://livingcorner.com.au/20-ways-to-keep-deer-out-of-your-yard/

[esonetwork]

Timestamp #211: The Beast Below

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/timestamp-211-the-beast-below/

Timestamp #211: The Beast Below

Doctor Who: The Beast Below (1 episode, s05e02, 2010)

It’s no disc on four elephants on a turtle, but it’s still home.

Behind-the scenes: Because Series Five started a franchise trend of related mini-episodes and prequels for certain stories, I’ll start including them where appropriate.

Meanwhile in the TARDIS, Part I

Shortly after departing Leadworth, Amy bombards the Doctor with a stream of non-stop questions. How does the TARDIS retain its air supply? Why did he label a time machine “police box”? Where are the other windows which are on the exterior of the TARDIS? What is a police box and is the Doctor a policeman? Has he seen his haircut? Does he ever need to change the bulb on top the TARDIS?

She also considers the bow tie to be a cry for help.

The Doctor answers most of the questions, which Amy follows with one more question: Is the Doctor an alien? He tells her that she’s the alien and that this is what he really looks like. He also opens the doors and shows her the depths of space.

When she says that they look more like a Hollywood special effects display, he throws her into the dark.

The Beast Below

On the Starship UK, children sit in class waiting to be graded by their instructor, a Smiler. A boy named Timmy doesn’t want to join, but when he does, he gets graded as a failure. Students who have a zero grade aren’t allowed to take the Vator lift with their classmates. Not wanting to take the stairs to the London deck, he sneaks onto the other elevator car, but this car takes him to Level 0 and a bottomless chasm into which the Smiler tosses him with an evil sneer.

Back at the TARDIS, Amy is floating in space with the Doctor holding her by a single ankle. He has extended the air shield so they can breathe while watching the cosmos. He spots the Starship UK, a refuge for humanity after the Earth was burned by solar flares, and sets a course.

While Amy watches the monitor, the Doctor appears on the screen and beckons her to join him. She’s surprised, but exits the TARDIS and wanders the starship in her nightgown. The Doctor takes a glass of water and sets it on the deck, proclaims that he’s looking for an escaped fish, and tells Amy to keep an eye open for secrets, shadows, and lives lived in fear.

As they wander, a cloaked figure calls a man named Hawthorne, who then relays the information about the Doctor’s presence to a woman surrounded by glasses of water. Meanwhile, the Doctor explains that they’re looking for a girl named Mandy, points out the Smilers as peculiar, and leaves Amy to pursue Mandy (Timmy’s friend) while he tries to stay out of trouble.

Amy finds Mandy, who tells her that they’re path is blocked by a hole at Magpie Electricals. Amy tries to pick the lock guarding the hole while talking to Mandy about herself. When Amy takes a peek inside, a nearby Smiler turns to the evil face as Amy finds a tentacle with a stinger on the end. When she leaves the tent, she’s surrounded by cloaked figures who gas her.

The Doctor descends into the engine room and finds the mysterious cloaked woman and a glass of water. When pressed, he explains that an engine the size of that needed to propel the ship would cause ripples in the water, but the surface is still. Additionally, there are no couplings in the electrical boxes and no engine whatsoever. The woman, Liz Ten, asks for his help before providing him with Amy’s whereabouts and vanishing.

Amy regains consciousness in a booth where her name (Amelia Jessica Pond), age (1,306), and marital status (unknown) are displayed before she’s offered the truth about the starship and two options: Protest or Forget. Should only one percent of the population protest, the project will be discontinued with consequences for all. She views the video and presses Forget, but then sees a video from herself begging her to find the Doctor and get off the ship immediately.

The Doctor opens the booth with Mandy on his heels and reveals that her recent memories were erased. They discuss the similarities between Time Lords and humans, as well as the remnants of his people. The Doctor decides to bring down the government by slamming the Protest button. The deck opens to the chasm below and he and Amy are dropped into a slimy pit full of biological refuse.

It turns out that it’s a mouth, as pipes have been surgically implanted they can use the normal path to escape, but the mouth is closed. To prevent being swallowed, the Doctor triggers the vomit reflex and the pair land in an overspill pipe. They find a Forget button, but when they refuse to press it, two Smilers approach menacingly. A maskless Liz Ten bursts in with Mandy and shoots the robots, but when they start repairing themselves, the group moves on.

Liz Ten muses about the Doctor and his history with royalty, revealing that she is Elizabeth the Tenth, the Queen. They spot more of the roots (the tentacles) behind barriers and retreat to Liz’s quarters. The Doctor muses to Amy that they shouldn’t be here. They are interrupted by the cloaked figures, Winders who are half-human and half-Smiler, and taken to the dungeons (the Tower) to meet with Hawthorne.

In the Tower, they find evidence that the starship is being propelled by a large, captive creature that is being tortured to keep them moving. Liz Ten demands that they release the creature with her authority, but Hawthorne doesn’t budge. The Doctor shows her the mask that she wears, noting that it’s an antique, and proving that her body clock has been slowed. She’s been on the throne for hundreds of years, forced over time to either Forget or Abdicate.

She watches a pre-recorded video of herself explaining that they lacked the resources to build a suitable ship, but they found the last of the star whales and decided to ride it to safety. Despite being heartbreaking, the choice saved them all. To abdicate would mean destroying the ship and killing humanity to save the creature.

This is what Amy chose to forget, a choice that makes the Doctor furious.

The Doctor is faced with three options: Leave the star whale in captivity, kill all of humanity, or turn the creature into a vegetable to save them all. The Doctor starts setting up option three while Amy sees Mandy reunited with Timmy (who doesn’t recognize her) and then caress one the tentacles like a pet.

Amy decides to force Liz to abdicate, but instead of destroying the ship, the vessel speeds up. Amy recognized that the creature had volunteered to save the children of humanity, comparing the star whale to the Doctor. Later, the Doctor gazes out at the stars as Amy arrives with Liz’s mask. There will be no more secrets on Starship UK, and the Doctor and Amy make amends to each other.

They return to the TARDIS, and Amy starts to reveal the reason that she needs to get back tomorrow morning, but they are interrupted by the console phone. On the other end is British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, asking for help as the shadow of a Dalek is cast on the wall of his office.

The Doctor sets a course, leaving the star whale and her wards to sail the stars, unaware of a glowing crack on the hull similar to the one that graced Amy’s wall at home.

We see an evolution of the Doctor in his first outing in this incarnation. Growing from the trauma of the Time War, we finally see hints of acceptance and resolve to never be cowardly or cruel, to never give up, and to never give in. In fact, when the resolution to this story seems to be the mental death of a magnificent creature to save everyone, he is ready to sacrifice the name of Doctor as a result.

In a similar story twist as The Doctor Dances, doing the thing that was supposed to end the world actually saves it. It was so good to see Amy take command of the situation based on what she’s observed. Smart companions are a winner with me. It’s also an extension of The Runaway Bride as a companion pleads with the Doctor to find another solution. In this case, the companion is successful.

Steven Moffat does take a serious shortcut here with easy entry points for the franchise: This story echoes The End of the World with a new Doctor taking a new companion to the distant future where they muse about the fall of Earth, the future of humanity, and talk about mothers while standing in front of large windows staring into space. Is it cheap? Sure, but it works.

We’ve also seen the hijacked brain story and clockwork androids before in the revival era.

I did love the rapid fire rush through the history of the Doctor and the monarchy, from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II and even a bit more of the story about a marriage to Queen Elizabeth I. I also got a kick out of some current events getting a nod with a discussion of Scottish independence, and I’m amused by the Doctor’s personality as he tries to be hip and modern. It’s very much “How do you do, fellow kids?”.

All of these things combined made for an exciting adventure that showcases the strength and abilities of Amy as a companion.

Rating: 5/5 – “Fantastic!”

UP NEXT – Doctor Who: Victory of the Daleks

The Timestamps Project is an adventure through the televised universe of Doctor Who, story by story, from the beginning of the franchise. For more reviews like this one, please visit the project’s page at Creative Criticality.