#soil testing instruments

[heicodynamics]

At Heico Dynamics, we provide state-of-the-art soil testing equipment designed for superior accuracy and precision, making it the go-to choice for professionals in need of reliable results.

[labtroncc]

Flame Photometer

Labtron Flame Photometer tests elements K (range 0-100 ppm) and Na (range 0-160 ppm) using 2 channels, displays optical power values, and provides a data range from 0000 to 9999. Features include a touch screen display with a response time of < 8 sec. The unit is equipped with flame-out protection devices, supported by an air compressor to ensure stable flame conditions, and provides the option to select different concentration units.

[fanaticsnail]

"I am a Swordsman: Disciplined, Stoic, Hardened."

Pollen Masterlist here

Word count: 5,400+

Synopsis: After trying a new compost and soil layer for his prized Marastina grapes, Dracule Mihawk found himself perplexed about a yellow coating over the shell of his harvested vintage. After taking a few moments to calculate its origins, a rapid wildfire of lust begins to consume his very being. Arriving at Kuraigana at the request of your boss to pass on a letter, you are surprised by what exactly you find within the cool wine cellar.

Themes: Mihawk x afab!reader, pollen, mdni, 18+, NSFW, smut, fluff, friends to lovers, multiple rounds, creampie, squirting, dubcon, prior friendship, first time together, cross guild mentioned

Notes: Massive shoutout to @mermaniaa, @loganwritesprobably, and @claryeverlarkf for pushing me on to complete this fic. Love you guys! Thank you for beta-ing for me, Logan!!

Beads of sweat dripped down his temple and pooled in the whiskered chin of the World’s Greatest Swordsman. His restraint and level-headed demeanor had started to shift the longer his endurance was tested. While completely accustomed to testing his strength of character, resolve, and resistance, that was usually regarding war and warfare, not… this.

While his knees were bowed to the sides, heels wedged beneath his knees on each opposing side, his glistening body was illuminated by the soft warmth of sparse candlelight on the floor surrounding him. With every inhale and exhale, Dracule Mihawk was grounding every molecule of his strength to fight giving in to the fury burning beneath his pants. 

Despite his better judgement, the marine hunter, turned warlord, turned recluse living out his days and carrying his title in Kuraigana had decided to change exports for mulch and fertilizer for his prized marastina grapes, into one proclaimed by many to aid grape production and growth. While the marastina grape made for a sweeter wine of less alcohol when pressed into wine, he wanted to spoil his little vine by giving it a more nutrient rich base. 

There was no change to his persons while handling the gravel, soil, and hessian bags of fertiliser. He was always careful when gardening, never quite knowing which elements of the earth were able to hurt his skin and cause illness or infection. Gloves, spades, shovels, picks, mattocks, and forks were always used with the utmost caution when rearranging the elements and caring for his small farm. Every instrument was thoroughly cleaned, boiled, and disinfected thereafter for the sake of his health and that of his garden. 

After squeezing, pressing, barrelling, and leaving the grapes on lees, for just a little longer than anticipated, Mihawk had done every preparation to the highest quality to brew his prized marastina into wine worth cellaring beneath his cobblestone castle. He had noticed the film along the exterior of the skins were more golden than that white wild yeast he was accustomed to. He had also partially noticed the small spores and gentle flower growth beneath the vines, ones that he had never recognised from any growth prior, but he marked it down in his mind as simply being the appropriate conditions for such a flower. 

That oversight was one he had come to regret.

The ache in his legs, back, and spine had long since been eclipsed by the throb in his pants growing steely, urgent, and angry at every hour he continued to ignore it. The need was overwhelming. Every tick of time that passed through the waves of lust consuming him grated against his every nerves. He refused to move the buckles and ties over his belt to relieve himself, electing to treat this as an exercise of restraint rather than to give into his own needs. 

“The toxins need to get out,” he muttered beneath his breath, “I just need to wait it out.” His honeyed eyes scrunched tightly and his shaken breath was imbued with a foreign desperation. With a few shaking and hastened breaths, Mihawk clenched his eyes tightly shut and deepened his furrowed brow as he concentrated. “I am a swordsman. Disciplined. Stoic. H-Hardened.” He grimaced at his stutter, chastising himself for the weakness found within his desperate tone. 

“I am a swordsman.”

The twitch of interest beneath his leather pants grew urgent, screaming for his attention with every second lost. He felt more of his sweat glistening and spinning from his tossled, glossy curls down his face and trailing the contours of his abdomen. 

“Disciplined.”

Mihawk’s heart jumped as the heat of his scorching swear began to trace his skin like an accusatory finger dancing past his nipples and down towards his navel. The furrow in his brow continued to contort in a severe strain of his concentration. The puffing and heaving of his chest became more manic at every moment. He clenched his fists so hard, the moon-shaped crevices forged by his blunt, manicured fingernails bore into the skin that his palms began to bleed. 

“Stoic.”

Mihawk growled as he spoke, feeling the warmth of his body he attempted to expell with water, cleansing agents, balms, and ointments continue to grow before he gave up and attempted to wait out the paralysis of his toxins. He understood his path now was risky, but he discerned that his training as a gardener and swordsman could push out that foreign chaos with his steely will alone. 

“Hard-…”

His lips curled around that word. ‘Hardened,’ he tried to speak the full syllables of its entirety, but halted as his cock now bellowed at full volume as it leaked and begged for a partner in his pants. The hunger could no longer be ignored; satiating the desire had now become paramount. Like a craving that only a specific flavor could compensate for, his cock continued to betray his resolve as precum trickled from his slit and pools at his balls. 

“Fuck.”

~

The journey to Kuraigana was taxing on your body, but you assumed the news you carried would encourage the lord of the land to house you with relative ease. With the disbarment of the warlords by the world government, your formerly disgraced boss had a plan he hatched inside Impel Down with the boisterous clown. 

Sir Crocodile had made you, his prized assistant, privy to the knowledge of the newly forged idea to form a list and finance bounties to those desiring to hunt deserving marines alongside pirates. It was your job to sell the idea to a former warlord you had come to know and respect from your days serving your boss in his shadow within the council chambers. 

‘A daring conversationalist,’ was how your boss described you, ‘One to speak their mind with ease and steer a heavy hand in a more correct attunement.’ Sir Crocodile had such flowery references and eloquent language surrounding the way you were able to ground him and the warlords when asked to state your opinion. Although not a warlord yourself, you had garnered the respect of many within the formation by being able to sway the weight in your boss's favor by your simple wording alone. Vice Admiral Tsuru had began to anticipate your arrival with a warm smile spared at your expense, a luxury many of the others had rarely been afforded. 

Which is precisely how you had been chosen to serve this purpose. 

Given the sensitivity of the information to relay onto his former associate, Sir Crocodile refused the regular channels of den den mushi, binary codex, and the soaring wings of the news coos. You were the only viable option, and you had attempted to contain your excitement to meet with lord Dracule Mihawk once more. 

The stoic swordsman was friendly enough with you. Although he tended to leave the marine council chambers with a quickened haste, you would always catch him at the docs as he waited to set sail with the tide. It was in those small moments, waiting side by side, where you found an unlikely friendship. Although nothing had ever occurred in these small moments with one another, there was this easiness in your rapport that had you thinking, in another life, with a small push, that you and this swordsman could have found some happiness with one another. 

Quickly swallowing down your small bloom of memories threatening to resurface, the gravelly sand crunched beneath your feet as you walked up towards the highkeep of Kuraigana containing the World’s Greatest Swordsman. With your note from the other former warlord folded carefully within your satchel, you focussed on the small shimmer of dull light protruding from the doorway closer to the cellar.

“Oh,” you exhale as your brows furrow at the flicker. For a moment, you take into consideration your surroundings. The vineyard harboring Mihawk’s coastal grapes appeared absent of fruit, the scent of sweet juice lingered on the sea air as you noticed a trickle of amber and crimson slowly weep out of the room the light is expanding within. “Harvest season,” you spoke to nobody in particular as you changed your direction towards the room, “I’m far better off going to his cellar than standing on that terrace until he returns to open his home to me.” 

After not too long, you were standing by the partially cracked door leading towards his cellar. The light within was far dimmer than the outside sunlight, leaving little to deduce what was occurring within aside from a shift of material and rough panting and an animalistic grunt that had your heart jump up to your throat. Choking briefly, you placed your satchel down and stooped to a low crouch to assess the danger. 

Slowly approaching from around the corner, what your eyes fell on was one that caused your eyes to broaden and lips fall agape. Falling off your guard and onto your knees, your mind could barely process what was immediately within your vision. 

Lord Dracule Mihawk, master of the sword and former warlord of the seas, was naked and hunched over and fisting his leaking cock as if it had personally offended him. You could barely make out the conversation he was holding beneath his breath while he continued to assault his cock in a variety of unique ways. From standing up, bracing his body with his left hand while fucking into his fist, to sitting in a chair and pumping along his length with his hands flying to his raven locks and pulling on its strands. 

The stoic swordsman appeared to have sweat, tears, and saliva pooling down his features and forging a feral sheen over his sightly features the longer his hard and heavy touch lingered. Gruff huffs and a lingering whisper flew over his palate and thrust into the air in synchrony to his cock disappearing into his fist. 

“W-Why can’t I finish?” He pleaded with himself, words catching in his throat as he uttered them, “I have done… I have done everything. Why won’t you j-just-?! hhah!” He sunk onto his knees in front of the chair and continued to roll his velvety skin over his shaft to reveal his blood-flushed tip weeping with desire, yet without any conclusion to his ministrations. “I… I need… I need…!”

“L-Lord Dracule Mihawk?” your trembling lips called out to your former associate. Unsure as to whether you should approach him as he was like this, you held your internal argument for longer than you deemed necessary to weigh up your options. As his tawny eyes snapped over towards your form down on your own knees, Mihawk’s lips curled around the edges of your name and cried out to you.

“What are you doing here? D-Do not see me like this-!” Mihawk protested, attempting to shy himself away from you while maintaining contact against his cock, “I-It is uncivilised. I-I am exposed and… I need… I need-...” He gazed to the grapes, honing in on the yellow sheen of fine powder eclipsing the grape skins. He deduced what he was experiencing was an allergic reaction to the filmy substance, causing him to maintain this desire without an end to his torment. 

“...Lord Mihawk,” you attempted again, holding your hands defensively in front of your face and shielding your eyes from view, “You appear to be suffering, from what I do not know what. By your evident commentary, I would assume you had already attempted stopping the touch to stop the desire-?”

“-I cannot stop,” Mihawk cut you off harshly, both he and you flinching at how his words bounced off the cobblestone walls of his wine cellar, “Forgive me. It… It hurts to stop. More than I can bear. I know the longer I attempt this touch, the more finite my experience will be.” He huffed out a small groan, gazing down at his skin as his tip weeped with more predominant precum without the proper release he needed for satisfaction, “I had handled a new soil, and this… this festering b-breeding ground attached itself to my nasal cavity, and swelled my veins the longer I worked at the grapes.” 

Nodding along, you continued to grant the warlord privacy as he tended to himself, finding yourself distracted by the sounds of him attempting to continue to rut into his hand. The slaps of him fisting his steely skin, the groans, huffs, and whimpers fleeing from his lips, the restraint you could tangibly feel rolling off of his body: you would be lying if you said it didn’t affect you. 

“I… I could never… I could never ask-... f-fuck-... But I… It…” Mihawk attempted to get the words out of him as they formed within his mind, “The reason, I-... I assume I am unable to… release… Is due to the fact the spores need to spread with the body of another. While… While I am able to hold a conversation regarding the hypothesis surrounding plant-life and the cycle of pollinated spores at a later date, I…” Mihawk’s voice trembled as his mask began to slip, “…Please know that it is taking every far reach of my restraint to not fuck you into the ground like some wild animal.”

The confession Mihawk produced sent a cruel throb through your body, your cunt beneath your undergarments clenching at his voice catching and rolling over his tongue like mercury on stone. Your lips flew momentarily agape and gulping at air as you removed your hands from their defensive position. Slowly moving your eyes to the floor in front of you, you kept your breathing steady while you hardened your resolve. 

“You and I have known one another for many years, Mihawk,” you dropped all formalities and removed your travelling coat from your shoulders and discarded it to the side, “And I had volunteered to attend this mission and travel alone to visit you because I consider the two of us to be friends, am I correct in that assumption?” 

“You are.”

“Then we can both agree that I care enough for my friend to not want to see him suffering like this,” you suggest, removing your shirt and peeling off your bottoms, rising to your feet in the process to step out of the material. Revealing your flesh to the warlord, you took a few steps towards his cowering form and slowly extended your hand out to obtain his unused hand. You refused to look down at the motion pistoning within his lap. “Two friends, one helping out another as I would should you had been bitten by a venomous creature and needing an extraction.”

“What… What are you suggesting?” Mihawk whispered, his honeyed gaze darting between your eyes and towards your hand, “That you would offer yourself to me if I would ask it of you?”

“What I am suggesting is,” you reached forward and collected his whiskered chin within the cup of your palm and thumbed over his bottom lip, “From one friend to another, you need not ask for something I’m willing to give you freely and without motive.” Your hand coaxed him forward as you stooped, your lips smiling gracefully at him as you recalled his earlier words, “So, Dracule Mihawk, show me what it looks like when you no longer restrain yourself and fuck me into the ground like some wild animal.”

You were unsure what occurred first in a flurry of heavy motion. In one moment, you were standing before the swordsman as he gazed up at you with all of the hope of a man starving and offered bread and water, the next, you were hoisted unceremoniously into the air and slammed against the workbench with the wood digging into your hips and chest pressed against the grainy surface. Before you had an opportunity to protest, you felt the swordsman’s leaking and weeping cock begin to puncture your entrance and slide within you as if you were made for one another. Mihawk groaned as he felt your walls shudder around his girth to accommodate him, all while your lips whimpered out at the hard intrusion.

“I… am usually a-... f-f-fuck-...” Mihawk growled as he removed his hips from pressing against your ass, only to circle forward once more, “...far more intimate lover than this. Careful. Plenty of-... of-... fuck!” He could barely string together a cohesive sentence as he finally gave into his desires and fucked you against the counter. His nose began to snort out exhales as a beast would sprint towards a victory in a timed race, all the while his cruel and eager thrusting never let up.

The stretch of your pussy molding to his shape never gave you discomfort, especially with how much his motions earlier made you drip with anticipation with his cock in his hand. You felt it was almost wrong how much your body craved him, but judging by how truly hard he was railing you against his workbench, you deduced the feeling was mutual. 

Regardless as to whether he had pollen in his system or not, Mihawk couldn’t shake the thought of how your ass rippled with his every in-thrust. He had watched over you, watched after you, and simply kept an eye on you at the World Government Headquarters. Friends, he called it, two friends enjoying one another’s company. He had wanted to take you on several outings, but knew your duties were truly to the Crocodile, and he would have to jump through several hoops and unravel an entanglement of red tape for the simple opportunity for a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. 

Yet here you were, soaking while your walls continued to crush his steely desire with every motion of his hips meeting with yours. The squelching and clapping of your bodies meeting imprinted into the cellar walls, alongside the symphony of your smaller squeaks and his heavy groans. Mihawk found his hands moving down towards your lower back, and one circling around your front. Mihawk’s index finger quickly found your pert bud dancing at the top of your pussy, immediately beginning to assault your clit with a variety of manic motions. 

“Mihawk!” you cried as your body constricted and convulsed against the slate of wood, “Y-You’re gonna make me-!”

“-Fuck!” Mihawk cried out as his body began to flood yours with his viscous ecstasy. His hips staggered, but continued to hold that heavy rhythm while coils of his infinite release splashed against your cervix and outside of your pussy to dribble onto the floor. Your own body felt as if it was shot with lightning, your hair follicles rising as your legs shook in pure, unbridled bliss while he continued to ride out his high within your body. 

Mihawk flopped forward against your back, burying his face in the crook of your neck and catching his breath. Your lips flew agape while you attempted to find a foothold on your own breathing. You took a moment to recall if any lover prior had managed to make you scream that quickly and intensely in all your time sailing and working the Blues, and drawing up a blank. 

Before you had the chance to smile up at Mihawk by turning around to face him, you felt his cock again begin to twitch inside you, remaining as hard as it first was. Your eyes flew wide as he began to slowly roll his hips against your own. 

“It… Took the edge off, darling,” Mihawk confessed, thrusting his cock shallowly within your cunt and using your mixture of juices to reach a deeper place inside you, “But I believe we are… far from out of the thick of it, yet.” Your eyes continued to hold their position on the wall before you, uttering out a small squeak as you felt your body raised effortlessly into the air. With the swordsman’s forearms hooking beneath your thighs, your back was pressed against his bare chest and his breath was hot in your ears. 

“If you would be so kind as to continue to allow me permission to use you,” Mihawk purred smoothly, “As one friend would another in this extreme set of circumstances,” he raised you above his cock, before thrusting his hips and tugging you down into him in one heavy motion, “I promise it will be as fulfilling to you as it is satisfactory to me.” You felt yourself drop as nimble as a ragdoll in the hands of a rough player, your body rising and falling in several heavy and hard thrusts downwards while Mihawk rut his cock up into you.

“M-Mihawk!” you cried out, your mind going blank while pleasure coasted through your sensitive body. Your nipples peaked in the cool cellar air while Mihawk’s warm chest heated up your body and fuelled your desire. 

“Should you ask me to stop, I will stop,” Mihawk whispered, trying his best to hold off on another wave of his own euphoria to spill itself within you, “All you need to do is tell me.” 

“D-Don’t you dare stop!” you struggled to spurt out. Feeling your limp body used as a channel of his lust, you had your own edge begin to rise up in the pit of your belly. Mihawk was successfully fucking you directly from the tail end of one release into the next with the skill of the worlds greatest master of bodily arts. You felt the pit of your stomach begin to contract and expand with the flutter of a butterfly’s wing while your toes curled in euphoria. 

Mihawk huffed out with every grip of your pussy dragging over his shaft, his own release not far off. The pollen within his every nerve ending continued to swell his need. But only now, with your body joined with his, did he ever find a relief in his release. He marvelled at how beautiful you were, how willing you were to take him like this, and how beautiful you were when you cried out for him. Even without the pollen, he would want to make you cry out the way your whimpers and moans joined his own while growing higher in intensity. 

“Mihawk, I’m gonna cum again! Please don’t stop!” you desperately called out for him, immediately causing his eyes to widen and own oblivion beginning to shatter. Your body began milking him while desperately releasing a splash of your own release onto the floorboards beneath you. Your juices flooded from your core as Mihawk fucked his own inside you with every heavy thrust forward. 

He ground your cunt against his cock, spearing you with it as he fucked you through another heavy rapture this side of the heavens. Your pussy contracted and convulsed around him, and he anchored you through those wiggles as he unravelled thick and heavy ropes of his own release inside you. He called your name as if it was the most beautiful song to ever grace the seas, all while his lips found the nape of your neck and pressed a hard and heavy kiss into your sweat-glistening skin. 

The swell of the pollen within his system had finally begun to teeter off. No longer feeling bound by the feral urge to home his body within your own with the added emphasis of an aphrodisiac, he felt his senses return to him and his compassion for you, as his friend, take over his next actions. 

Mihawk lowered you onto the floor, carefully placing you onto your back within the expanding sheet of his discarded greatcloak. You panted to catch your breath, almost crying out with how much bliss he had stolen and hidden into your body. The swordsman lowered himself down between your legs and braced himself above your smaller form. Slowly caressing your cheek, he found his mind ticking as to what brought you to his shores in the first place, only to rescind that thought at the sight of your blissed-out expression.

“Looks like you had a question on those lips, swordsman,” you uttered softly and carefully while collecting yourself. Your entire body felt as if it was spent and used to its capacity, hoping the systemic aphrodisiac - or something of the like according to the man above you - had run it’s course. “Do I need to read your mind, or are you going to ask me what you- ah!” 

Mihawk slipped his cock back inside you, stealing your words from your lips as you continued to gaze up at him through half-hooded lashes. The swordsman gave you a narrowed look, only before softening his motions and slowly rolling his hips forward against yours. Of the two other times Mihawk had released inside you, he felt the swell of the pollen truly being at the forefront of his desires. This time, this time, he elected to chase his untethered desire, his adoration for you, of his own volition. 

“Well, darling?” Mihawk asked you with a warmth to his tone, teasing out its edges, “Are you going to tell me the answer to the question you’re claiming to see within my mind’s eye?” His cock slowly raked against your walls, shallowly thrusting inside you while you melted against the fabric of his jacket. 

“S-Sir Crocodile sent me here, as I said before, Mihawk,” you chuckled, fluttering your eyes shut and leaning into his touch, “Baring a ledger drafted by himself and another acquaintance you had made yourself known to. He is forming an alliance, and he-... we…” you added, fluttering open your eyes and peering up at him, “...Were hoping you would be so kind as to join us in our endeavors.” 

“And what would it entail, friend?” Mihawk blinked his thick, heavy eyelashes down at you, taking you in and checking over your words for any mistruth found within your candor. Finding none, he granted you a soft and intimate smile reserved for only those he truly enjoyed the company of. You had seen this smile once directed towards you at the sandy shores and harbour of the World Government headquarters, but only noticed now just how truly beautiful Dracule Mihawk was at this proximity.

“Doing what you once did so very well, marine hunter,” you match his smile, drawing your hands over his chest and beneath his arms, coaxing him closer to you within your warm embrace. He hovered his lips over yours, waiting for you to conclude your sentence before he ever dreamed about placing his kiss upon your lips. 

“Hunting Marines.”

“Hunting Marines,” he repeated your words back at you, continuing to draw out his and your delayed euphoria while holding you a breath away, “For what purpose, darling? Simple sport?” He held the casual conversation while his cock continued to disappear inside you at an easy rhythm. Softer than he had been earlier, almost apologetic in his actions while clawing out your bliss as simple as pulling weeds from a prized garden. 

“Refuting the rise in bounties for pirates,” your voice shook as pleasure crawled from your toes, up your legs and towards the pit of your belly, “Restore-... fuck-... Restoring balance to the world, one marine head at a time.” To find a proper perch against the swordsman, your feet interlocked behind his back and dug your heels against his ass. Your hands moved from his back to collect his neck within your hooped grasp. His lips were so close to yours, you could almost taste his kiss against your skin. 

“And your boss is to be that benefactor, I presume?” he whispered against your lips, moving his hands to circle your waist and draw a heftier pace against your body beneath his, “Considering he is inviting me to-... to-... shit.” Mihawk found himself lost in the feeling of your body, finally giving into this feeling and throwing aside the mask of professionalism. His eyes fluttered shut while you gripped onto his body in every sense of the word: arms around his neck, legs around his waist, and pussy around his cock while glistening in the prior rounds you both expelled. 

“Sir Crocodile will be funding the…” You found equal difficulty in locating your words the longer he hit that one spot inside you. Although this pace was not as fast as the ones prior, Mihawk continued to slowly draw out that final snap of a softer, more intimate wave of ecstasy within your soul. “Seas, Mihawk. Right there, please!” You grasped him more firmly, encouraging him to continue to hold that motion within your core while rolling his hips against your body, “Please, please, please.” 

“I can feel you, darling. You just hold on and let me do as I promised,” Mihawk reassured you, nuzzling his nose against yours and harboring his breath to rise and fall with your own, “Fucking you into the ground, sans the wild animal this time. You deserve better than a beast for what you h-have endured.” With a few curt groans cutting off before they reached their full symphony, Mihawk finally collected your lips with his just as he felt you clench down hard on his cock. 

A strangled cry fled your lips while you felt the bristles of Mihawk’s chin softly scrape against your skin. Your body rushed with the flood of softness, this climax lesser in intensity, yet more emotional and intimate as the others. The rush of his own release sowed itself within your walls and reaped out your euphoric harvest as he would plant and uproot his prized vintage. Every wave of his cum spurting out against your walls and splashing back outside of your pussy was matched with an even conjunction of scorching and rich kisses. 

Mihawk’s lips felt like home after a lifetime of travels, akin to the first apple produced by an ancient orchard maintained by a family of farmers. He tasted like a memory repressed and forgotten, only to resurface to bring comfort at the bite of winter’s chill. Mihawk’s kiss was both hot and as cold as iron falling in snow, yet the warmth is what remained behind. 

The both of you rode through this lesser wave, stilling in hips only, as your lips continued to bind together in an intensity almost as if you had not gorged yourself on the lust of your bodies moments prior. Mihawk groaned against your lips, slowly expelling his length from your entrance, followed by a sticky residue of his release stuck to your core and his tip. He hummed, sucking in a gasp that fled from your lips while rolling you both onto your sides, all while never breaking the sultry waves of his kiss lingering with your own. 

As you both finally pulled away from the kiss, your first glance was to peer at Mihawk’s bruised lips as he panted heavily out with his eyes fluttering closed. You drew your hand to his cheek, feeling the flush skin with your palm and smiling as softly as you could manage at him. 

“Do you feel as if it has finally come to pass?” you asked him with an uncertainty in your tone, “Or are you simply taking a rest before a fresh wave of whatever you contracted rises again?” With a soft smile, Mihawk tilted his head into your palm and pressed a kiss into your flesh. Each motion was soft, slow, but not as subtle as the stoic swordsman you had come to know. His expressions were intimate, and this felt breaching far more than the edge of simple friendship between you. 

“That last time was all me, darling,” Mihawk confessed into your palm before nudging it away with his whiskered chin, “And any time to come thereafter will also be simply that. All me.” He successfully nudged your hand down to place against his shoulder and maneuvered himself closer to you, “But, while we have a few moments to recover before I feel we are ready enough to brave another round, and the several to follow thereafter,” he brushed his nose against your own, a motion that was sweet enough to cause your heart to jump up into your throat and hold your body hostage to his words, “What are you, the reptilian benefactor, and this other unnamed associate calling yourselves, should I care to join you?” 

Mihawk pressed a softer, sweeter, and more delicate kiss against your lips, reassuring you that he had every intention of joining you with his actions rather than utilizing his words. You smiled against his lips before pulling away from the kiss and gracing him with your answer. 

“We are open to suggestions,” you admitted coyly before scrunching up your nose and smirking up at him, “But we have been using ‘The Cross Guild’.” 

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[brokoala-soup]

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[hylianengineer]

Okay you know how in cartoons radioactive waste is always stored in big black metal drums? I need you to know those are real.

However the radioactive warning stickers may be smaller and less cool-looking than anticipated.

And they are not generally full of green sludge. It's often, like, contaminated soil, air filters, chemicals, lab waste like paper towels and gloves, glassware, etc. There's also radioactive waste from power plants and weapons manufacturing and stuff, but power plants actually mostly hold their spent fuel onsite (because it is A Pain to move. And when they do move it it won't be in these cylinders, they have their own specially designed containers). I have no idea what the military is up to and I'm sure they like it that way so I've not gone digging - my experience is radiochemical laboratory stuff.

Some of it is also radioactive sources for laboratory, industrial, or medical use - when we calibrate some of our instruments that look for radioactivity and tell us how much of it there is, we have to have a reference sample for comparison (this is true of most lab instruments across fields - back when I did gas lab work, we bought compressed gas cylinders with known concentrations of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide). And because of the way some of these instruments work, if the source isn't about the same size and density as your samples, it fucks up the math and therefore your results.

This is why we get radioactive sources that are like, a jar of dirt or ground up plants or, once, notably, coffee beans, that intentionally have radioactivity in them - because the source needs to have the same density as the sample. So when we test for radioactivity in soil or vegetation or food, we need those sources for comparison. Apparently the company that makes our sources decided coffee beans were close in density to some of the plants we work with? I don't know why.

Problem is, radioactive sources expire - they get old and the amounts of radioactivity in them decrease and we can't use them for calibrations anymore, especially with certain radioisotopes that decay very quickly. But they're still quite radioactive, way too much to go to a normal landfill. And then we have to dispose of them as radioactive waste.

[manwrre]

head canon is neurodivergent steve kinda being a jack of all trades when it comes to anything remotely physical or like hands on (cmon, we’ve seen him twirl the bat). like, he’s got a lot of little niche interests and hobbies or skills because he gets bored a lot and goes through these little phases of hyperfixation when it comes to this stuff.

like, he’s got a green thumb??? his nonna (because head canon steve is a sweet little italian boy, sue me) always told him that fresher herbs were better for cooking and obviously, he cooks his own meals. so he makes the decision to start a kitchen garden and bro is a NATURAL. i’m talking rosemary, oregano, parsley, thyme, basil and freaking tomatoes for the heck of it.

or like, he once watched a segment on ‘the perfect conditions for growing strawberries’ and he couldn’t get it out of his head. he was up for the challenge?? visited the library and got a million books, bought the soil and equipment and kept them warm in the winter like they were his BABIES. and they were freaking delicious so obviously, he learnt how to make jam outta them.

he’s also crazy good at shit like draughts?? so he’s got a massive board and he plays against himself routinely. he plans on moving unto chess eventually but he hasn’t beat himself yet! all of his games keep coming to a draw.

he definitely knits and freaking crochets. he found a box of needles in the attic one time and some material and tried his hand at it. it took him a week or two but he knows about three different types of stitches at least!! and knitted himself some fingerless gloves last winter.

above all else though, he’s learnt how to play like two instruments—“and the triangle! she matters, she has feelings.” his parents had bought him a bunch of instruments as a kid, hoping that he’d have some inclination towards the arts so they could boast about it but he wasn’t really interested. he realized he hated the acoustic guitar so he got an electric one, which suits him sm better AND he can play the drums. but he likes to learn the hardest solos or nothing fr because he’s competitive

bonus points if steve underplays his interests when he’s dating billy because his parents can’t get him to shut up fast enough about ‘em. but the more billy comes over, the more he notices all of the little knickknacks just laying around ie. steve’s collection of mini whittled animals or his draught board laid out because he got stumped mid-game or the amps beneath his bed. and he’ll ask about them!! he’ll think it’s so freaking cool and let steve rant and babble about them for hours.

he’ll taste test all of his new recipes and learn draughts so he can kick steve’s ass and listen to new songs or instrumentals that he learns. like, there’s no way he won’t get wrapped up into his new interests with him and make it their thing.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Moonscapes of Idaho

In summer 1969, four astronauts from NASA’s Apollo program visited Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in southern Idaho. Trained as pilots, not geologists, the astronauts were there to study the volcanic landscape—similar to what they might encounter on the Moon—and learn field geology techniques in preparation for their investigation and sampling of the lunar surface.

Like the surface of the Moon, the national monument in Idaho is covered in fields of lava. While most of the Moon’s volcanism occurred more than 1 billion years ago, the lava flows in Craters of the Moon are quite young: between 15,000 and 2,100 years old. They erupted from a series of fissures over 50 miles (80 kilometers) long known as the Great Rift to create an expanse of dark basaltic rock.

The lava fields of Craters of the Moon are shown in the images above in summer (top) and winter (lower). They were acquired with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 in July 2024 and the OLI-2 on Landsat 9 in January 2025, respectively. The photos below show this moonscape from the ground in 2024 and in 1969 (bottom of the page), when astronauts Eugene Cernan and Joe Engle were working with NASA geologist Ted Foss.

The assemblage of lava flows in the area contains nearly every type of volcanic feature associated with basaltic eruptions. Many, including lava tubes and three distinct types of ropy pahoehoe lava, are too small to be visible at the scale of these images. A number of cinder cones—conical hills formed when gas-filled magma erupted in fiery fountains—stand out in the snowy winter scene above. These features are usually topped by a prominent crater. (Note that the craters of Craters of the Moon are volcanic in origin, whereas the round depressions on Earth’s Moon formed when meteoroids, asteroids, and comets struck its surface.)

The area’s ecology is closely connected to the volcanic landscape. Lichens are some of the first organisms to colonize new lava flows, and plants gradually find places to grow in the cracks in the lava. Sagebrush is common in the park, especially where rocks are older and soil is more developed.

Islands of lusher plant life called kipukas are scattered throughout the region, becoming isolated when lava flowed around elevated patches of land. Hundreds exist in the park, ranging in size from less than one acre to tens of thousands of acres. Larger kipukas may be crisscrossed by roads and altered by other human activity, while smaller ones are relatively undisturbed. These ecological havens contain some of the oldest juniper trees in Idaho and are valuable for long-term scientific study.

The plant and animal life here, in addition to coexisting with lava rock, must also endure long winters. At approximately 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) in elevation, the area can experience cold, snowy conditions from November through March.

In the decades since the Apollo program, Craters of the Moon has continued to garner interest from scientists for its commonalities not only with the Moon but also with Mars. Subsequent research programs have used the lava landscape to test instrumentation and advance our planetary exploration capabilities. In one recent study, researchers pointed out that Craters of the Moon lava tubes support diverse microbial communities and have some structural similarities to lava tubes on Mars. These Martian features, shielded from less hospitable surface environments, are of particular interest to scientists because of their potential to harbor biological communities.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Photo of NASA geologist Ted Foss and astronauts Eugene Cernan and Joe Engle by NASA. Story and 2024 photo of Craters of the Moon lava and cinder cone by Lindsey Doermann.

[astronomia-nova]

The different Mars Rovers and what we learned

Sojourner (1997)

First rover to successfully land on Mars. Defined by NASA as a "micro-rover" due to its small size, Sojourner had a speed of maximum of 0.4 meters pr. minute. It was active for about 80 days on the surface of Mars.

Sojourner carried three cameras, an Atmospheric Structure Instrument (Meteorology Package) and an Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer. There instruments.

From Sojourner, NASA learned about the surface and weather conditions of Mars.

Sojourner found rounded rocks at the landing site, which suggests that running water could have been on Mars. The radio-tracking of Pathfinder (mission name) also gave an estimate of Mars' metal core's size (1300 kilometers to 2000 kilometers). It also discovered that the dust that is in the air on Mars is magnetic and possibly made up of mahemite. Sojourner also observed dust devils, ice clouds in the lower atmosphere and temperature fluctuations on the surface of Mars.

Spirit (2004-2010) and Opportunity (2004-2018)

Spirit was one of two Mars rovers launched in 2003 (mission started in 2004). The wheels on Spirit and Opportunity were about double the size of Sojourners. The weight of both rovers was about 17 times Sojourners, and more than double the size. Their goal on Mars was to search the surface for traces of past water. In 2009, Spirit got stuck in soil (in the area called Troy). In 2010, Spirit stopped communications, and the mission ended in 2011.

Opportunity was launched in 2004 along with Spirit but lasted much longer than their twin. Setting the record for the longest-lasting Mars rover, Opportunity stopped communications in 2018. Opportunity also set the record for the longest distance traveled by a rover, around 45 kilometers.

Like Sojourner, Spirit provided data about Mars' weather conditions, especially the wind. Both Spirit and Opportunity found evidence of possible conditions on Mars that could allow microbial life.

Spirit and Opportunity both had panoramic cameras, a thermal emission spectrometer, a Moessbauer spectrometer, an alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, and a microscopic imager.

Curiosity (2012-present)

Curiosity is currently the oldest active Mars rover (as of 21/07/2023) The main purpose of Curiosity is to figure out if Mars has the right environment for microbial lifeforms. Curiosity is currently exploring Gale Crater and had the most advanced instruments at the time. Curiosity has found evidence of water having been on Mars in the past, found old organic material, and discovered that Mars has had a thicker atmosphere in the past.

Curiosity can climb over knee-high obstacles and can go up to 30 meters per hour.

Curiosity carries a radioisotope power system to generate electricity, which gives the rover a steady electricity flow. Curiosity also carries 17 cameras, a laser, a drill, and 10 different instruments.

Perseverance (2021-present)

Perseverance is the newest Mars rover from NASA. The main goal for Perseverance is to research habitable conditions on Mars, but also for signs of past microbial life. The mission also tests possible options for future human expeditions on Mars (ex. improved landing techniques, producing oxygen from the atmosphere and environmental conditions).

The drill Perseverance used can collect samples and then set them aside for collection on the surface.

Zhurong (2021-2022)

Launched by the CNSA, Zhurong is the first Chinese Mars rover. In 2022 it became inactive due to sandstorms and the winter, which prevented it from waking at an appropriate temperature and good sunlight conditions.

Zhurong's mission was to study the topography, examine the surface (soil and elements), and take samples of the atmosphere. To do this it had a RoPeR (Mars Rover Penetrating Radar), RoMAG (Mars Rover Magnetometer), MCS (Mars Climate Station), MarSCoDE (Mars Surface Compound Detector), a multispectral camera and navigation and topography cameras. It also had a remote camera on board.

[the-damned-and-divine]

Someone (probably Angel Dust) is pestering Ramon with questions from that Wife Rating Test without actually telling him what it's about, leading to an 800+ year old French Catholic being asked what he's like as a romantic partner.

"First question: do you go to bed wearing hair curlers and lots of face cream?" "Obviously not, as I am bald and lacking skin in a number of areas."

"Second question: are you slow in coming to bed?" "...What do you mean 'too slow'? As if I spend late nights, leaving them alone in bed? Not at all. If anything, -I- am the one calling them to bed."

"Third question: do you flirt with other me--err, I mean, people at parties or in restaurants?" "No. If I am courting someone, then I am not 'pursuing' others."

"Fourth question: do you personally put the children to bed?" "W-Well, I have never had children of my own... I have courted women who have children, though they are either too old for that or the mother insists on doing it herself." "And what if they were your kids?" "Then of course, I would."

"Fifth question: do you often have crooked seams in your hose?" "...Do I what?" "Is your hose crooked a lot?" "...Is that some sort of euphemism?" "No, it's asking if you got your pants on straight and aren't wearing some patchwork of rags." "An unusually specific question, but no---never."

"Are you a backseat driver?" "No. I drive in the front seat, as intended."

"Do you have meals on time?" "Is that asking if I eat all three meals at the normal times?" "...Yeah, that." "Then yes, I usually do."

"Do you keep everything neat and tidy?" "Of course."

"Are you a good host, even to unexpected guests?" "I am a Hospitaller. It is my duty to provide the utmost hospitality."

"Do you wear soiled clothes a lot?" "What? Never!"

"Are you suspicious and jealous?" "No. Not unless something warrants suspicion."

"Do you hate kids?" "Not at all."

"Do you let your hus--uhh, partner sleep in on Sundays and on holidays?" "More often than not, I awake before they do---even on normal days."

"Can you play an instrument?" "Well, I have been taking lessons for the violin..."

"Do you never go to bed angry and apologize first?" "It does depend on the nature of the dispute..." "Like, for small arguments---nothing big or serious." "Then yes."

"Do you regularly fail to set buttons or darn socks?" "...Is this another 'can I dress myself properly' question?" "Yeah." "Then never."

"Do you have a good sense of humor and are usually joyful?" "I have a respectable sense of humor, but..." "So, 'no'?" The knight shrugged.

"Do you put your cold feet on your partner to warm them up?" "Not intentionally."

"Do you dress for breakfast?" "...If this is asking if I wear clothes for the first meal of the day, then the answer is 'always'. What sort of people does this quiz-maker interact with that they must ask this question?"

"Are you religious and regularly take the kids to church?" "...It is rather difficult to not believe in Heaven and Hell when you are standing in one of them. But there are no churches here---at least, nothing that should ever be considered a 'church'."

"Can you carry conversation?" "Naturally. You of all people should know that I always have a story to tell."

"...Do you wear any kind of cosme--Nope. No, you don't." He shrugged.

"Do you ask your partner before making any big decisions or purchases?" "Always."

"And finally, are you often late for appointments?" "Rarely."

"Okay, let me add all this up... And yooouuu aaarrreee..."

"You're an average housewife!" "...Average housewi--GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT, YOU MISCHIEVOUS CACKLING FIEND!"

[imichelle-l-rigby]

Reflections: Cillian Murphy’s Limited Edition

Season 3, episode 5

✨also magnificently late✨

———————————————————————

*I am a music prof (predominantly classical vocalist), and I LOVE listening to Cillian’s music choices! That being said, sometimes I won’t like a song simply because of a vocalist (it’s a professional hazard - sorry!) 👩‍🏫

** The following are my own observations/opinions. We may not agree, and that’s ok! That’s what makes music fun! 😊

*** I wouldn’t say I’m well-versed in Cillian’s music preferences, but I do enjoy them (for the most part). I always wind up adding to my own playlists after listening to Cillian’s recommendations.

———————————————————————

The episode…

🎵Set 1 (Cross Talk I - Auntie’s Lock/Infinitum)

Cross Talk I: this sounds like the technology of my childhood 👵🏻

Soaring X: the instrumental track reminds me of something (specifically the 3 note motif) and I can’t for the life of me remember what it sounds like! Ahhh!!!! Also, I love this! It’s always so interesting to me how a tremolo (the fast repeated notes) can be so effective and moving when the technique itself is so simple.

Auntie’s Lock/Infinitum: … when the melody is basically the Westminster chimes 😳😅😂 wasn’t expecting that!

🎤Talking Break

Thanks for the date info! 😂😂😂

“”Luxury loving Librans”

An ident! 😳😂

… sir. I didn’t need to know that about spiders 😖😖😖

“Do your bit”- yes. Please wash your hands

Why is he so into uninteresting facts?? 😅

Yay! Someone told him the name of the film!!!

🎵Set 2 (All Change - Excess Success)

All Change: the intro sound effects specifically remind me of the jump/crisscross sections of the Cha Cha Slide 😅🤦‍♀️ now it is cool how things get more distorted towards the end! Unsettling, but neat.

it’s been a long week please don’t judge me for my idiocy 😅😂

Apothecary: I’m listening to all the woodwinds in the background. Interesting timbres.

Excess Success: it’s both cute and driving. Idk how that works, but it does!

🎤Talking Break

“Oh yes! Some music from Cork. Where I’m from…”

Reflection inspired tangentially by Elaine’s comments - I’ve noticed so many ppl are afraid to sing. It’s a part of us, so of course it’s personal. Either way, please sing. It’s worth it.

🎵Set 3 (To the Test - somehow she’s still here)

To the Test: chill and atmospheric. 😎

InFLUX: a weird distorted saxophone background. Again, I’m convinced this is one of Cillian’s favorite instruments! I really like the vocals here. And then halfway through everything changes! 🙀 surprise twist!

Somehow she’s still here: soulful! Gorgeous vocals!

🎤Talking Break

More Irish music!

“Cracker of an album”

🎵Set 4 (All of the People)

All of the People: while not my fave vocal style, I do like this (and Fontaines DC). Instrumentals are beautiful *dreamy sigh*

🎤Talking Break:

Oh dear… he manifested a poetry reading 😂😂😂😂

A stormy Brooklyn!

Plateau: the background track is trippy! I am immersed!

🎵 Set 5 (Le Jardin - Sorrowful Soil)

Le Jardin: I feel like I’m in a National Geographic special omg! 🙀 but the cute piano piece is a great addition! It really feels like I’m in the garden and I’m listening to someone play from the garden window. It’s also cool that the piano portion follows the “rustic” or pastoral trope of the pedal point. It’s meant to evoke bagpipes/pipes (not limited to Scotland but of course heavily associated with the country). The lilting melody on top just adds to the pastoral trope. And then the garden atmosphere gets all synth and I go “what???” 😅 this one’s got a bit of everything! 😂

XII: I love that he enjoys instrumental music. Lots of interesting timbres - some brass and woodwinds.

I’ll Stay Here Now: it’s all whooshy like the music’s being played backwards. 😊

Sorrowful Soil: this is so angular! I know I should pay attention to the lyrics, but I’m only paying attention to the musical lines. It’s reminding me of VERY early (medieval) musical lines, but put in the electronic timbres of today.

🎤Talking Break:

“That was Bjork, of course!”

I should check out the podcast. I’m not a huge Bjork fan, but it sounds cool!

Idk how or why, but I always enjoy music from Iceland. I’ve never even been there!

The ident…

GEORGE HARRISON IS MY FAVORITE BEATLE

I still need to watch Living in the Material World… 😅

I LOVE GET BACK

Side note - I’m convinced Cillian’s favorite Beatle is John.

🎵 Set 6 (I Can Feel It)

I Can Feel It: I am dancing and having so much fun!!! 💃

🎤Talking Break

The shortest break EVER.

🎵Set 7 (Inglan is a Bitch)

Inglan: all I can say is OOF. This song packs a punch! 😅

🎤Talking Break

No Cill, he’s not more interesting. Promise. 😂😂😂

Cohen covers ❤️

🎵Set 8 (Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye - What About Now)

Hey: I love Roberta! ❤️❤️❤️

I Shall Not Be Moved: I think tambourine should be in more songs.

Description of People Get Ready: I love gospel!

People Get Ready: ok, for so many personal reasons, I love this song and it’s message! “You just thaaaank the Lord!”

What About Now: I’m feeling so much ‘60s teenage rebellion. 😎 vocals aren’t that strong, but the drums sure do cover a lot of that! Perhaps a Bob Dylan inspired vocal quality! The whine is on point.

🎤Talking Break:

“Great name for a band”

Disco!

“Does this qualify as disco?”

🎵Set 9 (Dee Tour - Genshi)

Dee Tour: fun and girly and so retro! Also… FLUTE SOLO! 😎

Genshi: I looooove the opening. Which is funny because it’s so monotone, but the repeating rhythms are cool 👍 and then you have other lines show up. It’s just a groovy little piece!

🎤Talking Break

“Do work, or tidy the kitchen, or think about composting, things like that”

Kinda a cover?

🎵Set 10 (Goodbye Pork Pie Hat)

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat: more sax! The ding and other sound effects are so strange to me. Like… why? I feel like I’m missing context here. The pedal board lyrics are so “whoa”

🎤Talking Break

GEORGE HARRISON 😍😍😍😍

Yeah George - biggest solo album!!!

ARCHIVE OF GEORGE!!!!

I’m so proud of him for not cussing in this interview because I know he wanted to 😂

🎵Set 11 (Awaiting on You All - One Woman)

Awaiting On You All: not my fave George solo song, but you can’t deny it’s groovy!! His personal style could be haunting, beautiful, or kinda schmaltzy early rock ish. And all wrapped up in a quiet, sassy personality! 😂😅

One Woman: ooohhh this soulful, soulful song! ❤️ gorgeous vocals.

🎤Talking Break

I’m with you, Cill, regarding Al Green

Noooo don’t go!

Jazz! Yussss 😎

“Played this loudly in the kitchen last week”

“Mind yourselves”

🎵Set 12 (Pastoral - Memories of Edith Johnson)

Pastoral - ok, I could go music nerd again on the pastoral genre, but I won’t. Once is enough. But I do like the harp! Such a sweet sound.

Desillusion: yep! Definitely some jazz! 😎 powerful piano. It keeps sloooowly getting more complex as the song goes along. The bass and drums are also getting it! I’m gonna have to look up this trio.

Memories of Edith Johnson: so I looked her up and Edith was a silent film actress. It now makes sense why Cillian likes this. The organ and sax are fun together. The “oooohs” I can do without.

Fin

———————————————————————

Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to share and comment! Episode 6 coming soon!

Tag list:

@iammrsrogers @deliciousnutcomputer @mariamoonie @brownskinsugarplum76 @look-at-the-soul @kj-davis @neverroad @teapothollow @thepurplearmyposts @possessedmarshmallow

[heicodynamics]

Soil testing is vital in environmental management, construction, and agriculture. Testing of soils requires some necessities in terms of accuracy and precision to attain quality results. This can only be possible by having appropriate equipment for soil testing. Soil testing equipment is used to analyze various soil characteristics.

[divyabisht081]

Best Books for Civil Engineering Students

Civil Engineering is one of the oldest and most essential engineering disciplines, focusing on the design, construction, and maintenance of the built environment. For students pursuing this field, having the right textbooks is crucial to understanding fundamental principles, practical applications, and modern developments. In this article, we explore some of the best books for Civil Engineering students, providing summaries of each book, where you can find them online in India, and discussing the importance of textbooks in civil engineering today.

1. "Civil Engineering: Conventional and Objective Type" by R.S. Khurmi and J.K. Gupta

Summary: This book is a staple for civil engineering students preparing for competitive exams. It covers a wide range of topics in both conventional and objective formats, making it an excellent resource for concept building and practice. The book includes numerous solved and unsolved problems, which help in understanding the subject matter thoroughly.

Availability: Available on Amazon India and Flipkart.

Importance: The dual format (theory and objective questions) is particularly useful for students preparing for exams like GATE, IES, and other state-level engineering entrance tests.

2. "Strength of Materials" by R.K. Bansal

Summary: This book provides a detailed explanation of the principles of strength of materials, which is a fundamental subject in civil engineering. It covers topics such as stress and strain, bending, torsion, and deflection, with a clear focus on problem-solving techniques. The step-by-step approach to problems makes it a great resource for both beginners and advanced learners. Get the PDF for free here.

Availability: Available on Amazon India, Flipkart, and other online bookstores.

Importance: Understanding the strength of materials is crucial for designing safe and efficient structures, making this book a must-have for civil engineering students.

3. "Design of Reinforced Concrete Structures" by N. Subramanian

Summary: This book focuses on the principles of designing reinforced concrete structures, which are essential components of most civil engineering projects. It includes a comprehensive overview of various design methodologies, codes of practice, and real-life applications. The book is well-organized and includes numerous examples and case studies to aid understanding.

Availability: Available on Amazon India, Flipkart, and online academic bookstores.

Importance: Reinforced concrete is one of the most widely used materials in construction, and this book equips students with the knowledge to design safe and effective structures.

4. "Surveying Vol. 1, 2 & 3" by B.C. Punmia, Ashok Kumar Jain, and Arun Kumar Jain

Summary: This series is considered one of the best for understanding surveying techniques, which are integral to civil engineering. The books cover various topics, including chain surveying, compass surveying, leveling, and modern instruments like GPS and EDM. The explanations are clear, and the books are filled with practical examples and illustrations.

Availability: Available on Amazon India, Slideshare, Flipkart, and other online retailers.

Importance: Surveying is the foundation of any civil engineering project, and this series provides the necessary knowledge and skills to perform accurate and reliable surveys.

5. "Soil Mechanics and Foundations" by B.C. Punmia, Ashok Kumar Jain, and Arun Kumar Jain

Summary: This textbook is an authoritative guide on soil mechanics and foundation engineering. It covers the properties of soil, the principles of foundation design, and various techniques used in the construction of foundations. The book includes numerous solved examples, practice problems, and case studies.

Availability: Available on Amazon India, Flipkart, and other online bookstores.

Importance: Soil mechanics and foundation engineering are crucial for ensuring the stability and safety of structures. This book provides the essential knowledge required for designing foundations that can withstand various environmental conditions.

6. "Environmental Engineering" by S.K. Garg

Summary: This book is a comprehensive resource on environmental engineering, covering topics such as water supply, sewage treatment, waste management, and pollution control. It includes detailed explanations of the principles and practices used in the design and operation of environmental systems, with a focus on sustainability and public health.

Availability: Available on Amazon India, Flipkart, and other online retailers.

Importance: As environmental concerns become increasingly important in civil engineering, this book provides the necessary knowledge to design and implement systems that protect and enhance the environment.

7. "Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics" by Dr. P.N. Modi and Dr. S.M. Seth

Summary: This book covers the fundamental principles of fluid mechanics and hydraulics, which are critical for understanding the behavior of fluids in civil engineering applications. Topics include fluid properties, flow dynamics, pipe flow, open channel flow, and hydraulic machines. The book is known for its clear explanations and extensive problem sets.

Availability: Available on Amazon India, Flipkart, and online academic bookstores.

Importance: Fluid mechanics is essential for designing systems like water supply networks, drainage systems, and hydraulic structures, making this book a valuable resource for students.

8. "Building Materials" by S.K. Duggal

Summary: This book provides an in-depth study of various building materials used in construction, including their properties, testing methods, and applications. It covers traditional materials like wood, brick, and concrete, as well as modern materials such as composites and sustainable alternatives. The book is well-organized and includes numerous illustrations and examples.

Availability: Available on Amazon India, Flipkart, and other online retailers.

Importance: Understanding the properties and applications of building materials is fundamental to civil engineering, and this book provides the necessary knowledge to select and use materials effectively in construction projects.

9. "Concrete Technology" by M.S. Shetty

Summary: This textbook is a comprehensive guide to concrete technology, covering the properties of concrete, mix design, production methods, and quality control. It also discusses the latest advancements in concrete technology, such as high-performance concrete and self-compacting concrete. The book is known for its practical approach and extensive use of examples and case studies.

Availability: Available on Amazon India, Flipkart, and online academic bookstores.

Importance: Concrete is the most widely used construction material, and this book provides civil engineering students with the knowledge needed to design and produce high-quality concrete structures.

10. "Structural Analysis" by R.C. Hibbeler

Summary: This book is a classic resource on structural analysis, providing a clear and comprehensive overview of the methods used to analyze different types of structures. It covers topics such as force analysis, deflection analysis, and indeterminate structures, with a strong emphasis on problem-solving and real-world applications.

Availability: Available on Amazon India and Flipkart.

Importance: Structural analysis is critical for ensuring the safety and stability of buildings and other structures, making this book an essential resource for civil engineering students.

Importance of Civil Engineering Textbooks in Today's World

Civil engineering textbooks are indispensable tools for students, providing them with the foundational knowledge and skills needed to succeed in this dynamic field. As the world faces challenges such as urbanization, climate change, and the need for sustainable infrastructure, the role of civil engineers has never been more critical. These textbooks not only teach the technical aspects of civil engineering but also emphasize the importance of sustainability, innovation, and ethical practices in the profession.

Moreover, as technology evolves, these textbooks are continually updated to reflect the latest advancements in materials, construction techniques, and design methodologies. For students, having access to these resources is crucial for staying current with industry standards and preparing for a successful career in civil engineering.

Summary

Selecting the right textbooks is vital for civil engineering students to build a strong foundation in the field. The books listed in this article cover various essential subjects and are widely available in India through online retailers such as Amazon India and Flipkart. By investing time in studying these resources, students can develop the knowledge and skills necessary to tackle the challenges of modern civil engineering and contribute to building a better future.

[spacenutspod]

5 Min Read Why is Methane Seeping on Mars? NASA Scientists Have New Ideas Filled with briny lakes, the Quisquiro salt flat in South America’s Altiplano region represents the kind of landscape that scientists think may have existed in Gale Crater on Mars, which NASA’s Curiosity Rover is exploring. Credits: Maksym Bocharov The most surprising revelation from NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover — that methane is seeping from the surface of Gale Crater — has scientists scratching their heads. Living creatures produce most of the methane on Earth. But scientists haven’t found convincing signs of current or ancient life on Mars, and thus didn’t expect to find methane there. Yet, the portable chemistry lab aboard Curiosity, known as SAM, or Sample Analysis at Mars, has continually sniffed out traces of the gas near the surface of Gale Crater, the only place on the surface of Mars where methane has been detected thus far. Its likely source, scientists assume, are geological mechanisms that involve water and rocks deep underground. If that were the whole story, things would be easy. However, SAM has found that methane behaves in unexpected ways in Gale Crater. It appears at night and disappears during the day. It fluctuates seasonally, and sometimes spikes to levels 40 times higher than usual. Surprisingly, the methane also isn’t accumulating in the atmosphere: ESA’s (the European Space Agency) ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, sent to Mars specifically to study the gas in the atmosphere, has detected no methane. Why do some science instruments detect methane on the Red Planet while others don’t? “It’s a story with a lot of plot twists,” said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which leads Curiosity’s mission. Methane keeps Mars scientists busy with lab work and computer modeling projects that aim to explain why the gas behaves strangely and is detected only in Gale Crater. A NASA research group recently shared an interesting proposal. Reporting in a March paper in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, the group suggested that methane — no matter how it’s produced — could be sealed under solidified salt that might form in Martian regolith, which is “soil” made of broken rock and dust. When temperature rises during warmer seasons or times of day, weakening the seal, the methane could seep out. Led by Alexander Pavlov, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, the researchers suggest the gas also can erupt in puffs when seals crack under the pressure of, say, a rover the size of a small SUV driving over it. The team’s hypothesis may help explain why methane is detected only in Gale Crater, Pavlov said, given that’s it’s one of two places on Mars where a robot is roving and drilling the surface. (The other is Jezero Crater, where NASA’s Perseverance rover is working, though that rover doesn’t have a methane-detecting instrument.) Pavlov traces the origin of this hypothesis to an unrelated experiment he led in 2017, which involved growing microorganisms in a simulated Martian permafrost (frozen soil) infused with salt, as much of Martian permafrost is. Pavlov and his colleagues tested whether bacteria known as halophiles, which live in saltwater lakes and other salt-rich environments on Earth, could thrive in similar conditions on Mars. The microbe-growing results proved inconclusive, he said, but the researchers noticed something unexpected: The top layer of soil formed a salt crust as salty ice sublimated, turning from a solid to a gas and leaving the salt behind. Permafrost on Mars and Earth “We didn’t think much of it at the moment,” Pavlov said, but he remembered the soil crust in 2019, when SAM’s tunable laser spectrometer detected a methane burst no one could explain. “That’s when it clicked in my mind,” Pavlov said. And that’s when he and a team began testing the conditions that could form and crack hardened salt seals. Pavlov’s team tested five samples of permafrost infused with varying concentrations of a salt called perchlorate that’s widespread on Mars. (There’s likely no permafrost in Gale Crater today, but the seals could have formed long ago when Gale was colder and icier.) The scientists exposed each sample to different temperatures and air pressure inside a Mars simulation chamber at NASA Goddard. Periodically, Pavlov’s team injected neon, a methane analog, underneath the soil sample and measured the gas pressure below and above it. Higher pressure beneath the sample implied the gas was trapped. Ultimately, a seal formed under Mars-like conditions within three to 13 days only in samples with 5% to 10% perchlorate concentration. This is a sample of mock Martian regolith, which is “soil” made of broken rock and dust. It’s one of five samples that scientists infused with varying concentrations of a salt called perchlorate that’s widespread on Mars. They exposed each sample to Mars-like conditions in the Mars simulation chamber at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The brittle clumps in the sample above show that a seal of salt did not form in this sample because the concentration of salt was too low. NASA/Alexander Pavlov This image is of another sample of mock Martian “soil” after it was removed from the Mars simulation chamber. The surface is sealed with a solid crust of salt. Alexander Pavlov and his team found that a seal formed after a sample spent three to 13 days under Mars-like conditions, and only if it had 5% to 10% perchlorate salt concentration. The color is lighter in the center where the sample was scratched with a metal pick. The light color indicates a drier soil underneath the top layer, which absorbed moisture from the air as soon as the sample was removed from the simulation chamber, turning brown. NASA/Alexander Pavlov That’s a much higher salt concentration than Curiosity has measured in Gale Crater. But regolith there is rich in a different type of salt minerals called sulfates, which Pavlov’s team wants to test next to see if they can also form seals. Curiosity rover has arrived at a region believed to have formed as Mars’ climate was drying. Improving our understanding of methane generation and destruction processes on Mars is a key recommendation from the 2022 NASA Planetary Mission Senior Review, and theoretical work like Pavlov’s is critical to this effort. However, scientists say they also need more consistent methane measurements. SAM sniffs for methane only several times a year because it is otherwise busy doing its primary job of drilling samples from the surface and analyzing their chemical makeup. In 2018, NASA announced that the Sample Analysis at Mars chemistry lab aboard the Curiosity Rover discovered ancient organic molecules that had been preserved in rocks for billions of years. Findings like this one help scientists understand the habitability of early Mars and pave the way for future missions to the Red Planet.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterDownload this video in HD formats from NASA Goddard’s Scientific Visualization Studio “Methane experiments are resource intensive, so we have to be very strategic when we decide to do them,” said Goddard’s Charles Malespin, principal investigator for SAM. Yet, to test how often methane levels spike, for instance, would require a new generation of surface instruments that measure methane continuously from many locations across Mars, scientists say. “Some of the methane work will have to be left to future surface spacecraft that are more focused on answering these specific questions,” Vasavada said. By Lonnie ShekhtmanNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Share Details Last Updated Apr 22, 2024 Contact Lonnie Shekhtman lonnie.shekhtman@nasa.gov Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Curiosity (Rover) Goddard Space Flight Center Mars Mars Exploration Program Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Missions NASA Directorates Planetary Science Division Science Mission Directorate The Solar System

[sustainablemountainarchitecture]

Artist Bodhi Bimal shared, during Spot S, his journey into natural colors, describing a visit to Jhapa—without his regular companions of spray and acrylic paints-completely altered his perspective.

A local tea shop owner asked him to paint on the mud wall of his store. Forced into Out of box thinking, he used red soil, limestone, and water in replacement and he figured "Art can be truly contextual." Contextual in both its specifics and the place where its pigments came from. He learned, failed, researched, developed, tested out, and only natural pigments.

Bimal has replicated ancient mud-based instruments from all across the world. Be it the Tharu "Pingri," the Chinese "Xun," or the Native American "Okarina." These simple instruments have the earthiest sound ringing out of them. Sensory stimulation of earthy sound, muddy hands and the scent of wet soil, truly gave a sense of our "Bodh!"

[hylianengineer]

Fun thing about lab work - many instruments make good noises. Loading samples into trays goes clunk. Gas chromatographs make airplane noises. Many, many things beep and chirp and whir. Ejecting a pipette tip is delightful. I love the soft whoosh of opening a gas valve.

There are of course also the bad noises. Every day I have to test the Geiger counter alarm and that is NOT a good noise. I also hate air compressors and the noise the liquid nitrogen container makes when it vents. Soil grinding is so unpleasant we put it physically as far from our main workspace as possible.

[scroll-of-thought]

If you need more of a reason to go to your library, they have all kinds of stuff. Like, you would be amazed the kind of stuff your library or the library a town over might offer.

My library has a library of things. You can barrow power tools, a button maker, soil and water tests, musical instruments, a metal detector, board games, kitchen appliances, I could go on, and I mean that because their website has 12 pages of stuff.

On top of that, they often have tons of classes on how to use all that stuff, or at least can get you in contact with the people who can teach you how to use it all.

Libraries are amazing for so many reasons.

Ok, I've seen this sentiment before, but the amount of Kindle Unlimited ads I've been seeing is forcing me to repeat it-

Kindle Unlimited is offering two free months of unlimited ebooks. As a trial. Which will then become a paid subscription.

Your local library is offering unlimited ebooks all the time. Forever. No contracts, no predatory practices, no tracking of how long you spend on each particular page in the hopes that information about your habits can be sold for a profit.

Use your library. They want so badly to give you all of the things for free.