Wild Places and Small Hollows
I like music, art, games and film, reading and ...chickens? Yes definitely chickens.
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2020-08-07
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People who like rocks see cool rocks everywhere. People who like birds see interesting birds everywhere. The tree on your yard could be an exceptional specimen. The world around you could be amazing and magical, but you aren’t enough of a nerd to see it.
I gave my mum Alexandra Horowitz’s On Looking: Eleven Walks Through Expert Eyes for her birthday this year, it’s a book that revolves around this idea: the author invites 11 specialists in different things to walk around a boring city block with her one after the other so they can point out to her the things they see, that she doesn’t notice. There’s an expert in typography talking about what the variety of fonts on urban signs can tell you about the city’s history, an entomologist pointing out all the urban insects no one pays attention to, a geologist, a sound engineer…
See this is what I mean by “there are more wonders in this world than you can ever dream of and all you need to do is listen to its stories and see it’s magic. ”
(via mydarlingturtledove)
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Cat purrs loudly whenever she snuggles her kittens. (via kristipaintsorlando)
Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god
(via mydarlingturtledove)
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the only way to do is by trying and failing and resting and trying and failing again forever
(via skatejabi)
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cullenafeh-moved-deactivated202:
My friend from Lebanon wrote up a really good thread on Twitter I thought I should share here, just to clear up some of the inaccuracies floating around:
And here are some of the links they provided:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/prevent-suicides-due-to-poverty-and-unemployment
https://www.gofundme.com/f/medical-relief-to-lebanon
https://www.gofundme.com/f/hope-for-lebanon
https://www.gofundme.com/f/lebanonneedsorg
http://www.caritas.org.lb/get_involved/donate
https://beitelbaraka.net/donation/pay/
https://gogetfunding.com/beirut-emergency-relief/
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lebanon-relief
https://www.givingloop.org/offrejoie
https://www.gofundme.com/f/beirut-explosion-emergency-disaster-relief
(via skatejabi)
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(via killiel)
Source: instagram.com
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How Face Masks Can Help Prevent the Spread of COVID-19
by Diana Kwon (The-Scientist). Top Image: © ISTOCK.COM, PIXELFIT. Infographic by Sonja Pinsker.
As communities and businesses reopen amidst the pandemic, masks—in addition to other social distancing measures—are crucial for preventing new outbreaks.
Face masks have been a matter of intense debate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early on, several government officials and health authorities were discouraging healthy people from wearing masks—noting that there was little evidence for the practice’s ability to prevent spread among the general public and citing concerns that protective face coverings, which were desperately needed by healthcare workers, were in short supply. Gradually, however, governments began to either require or recommend that their citizens wear face masks in public. In June, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended widespread mask-use as a way to prevent coronavirus transmission. One model estimates that if at least 95 percent of people wear masks in public between June and October, approximately 33,000 deaths could be avoided in the US.
There are three broad categories of face coverings: tight-fitting masks known as N95 respirators that are designed to filter out both aerosols (often defined as particles that are smaller than 5 micrometers in diameter) and larger airborne droplets, loose-fitting surgical masks that are fluid resistant and capable of filtering out the bigger particles, and cloth masks, which vary widely based on how they’re made.
Different Types of Masks
N95 respirator: Tight-fitting single-use masks typically made with synthetic materials such as polyester and polypropylene. These masks are able to filter out at least 95 percent of both large airborne droplets and aerosols.
Surgical/medical masks: Loose-fitting single-use masks made with three or more layers of synthetic materials. These can filter out large airborne particles, but some aerosols can leak through, and particle-containing air is able to flow around the edges.
Fabric masks: These often-homemade masks vary widely in their construction and effectiveness. Aerosols are likely to leak through, and particle-containing air is able to flow around the edges. With appropriate washing or a couple of days to decontaminate, fabric masks are reusable.
A growing body of research supports the use of all three types of masks, though the quality of evidence varies. One of the most comprehensive examinations to date, published in The Lancet in early June, systemically assessed 172 observational studies—mostly conducted in healthcare settings—looking at the effect of physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and two related coronaviruses. The results revealed that N95 respirators provided 96 percent protection from infection and surgical masks (or comparable reusable masks made with 12 to 16 layers of cotton or gauze) were 67 percent protective.
While research on cloth masks is much more limited, one group of researchers demonstrated that, in the lab, multilayer masks made of hybrid materials (cotton and silk, for example) could filter up to 90 percent of particles between 300 nanometers and 6 micrometers in size. However, it’s important to note this is only the case when there are no gaps around the edges of the mask, which are often present when people wear cloth or surgical masks. Indeed, the researchers’ findings suggest that gaps around any mask can reduce filtration by 60 percent or more. Still, scientists using computational models have reported that, in general, widespread use of facemasks, when combined with lockdowns, may help prevent future waves of infection.
“We’re recommending that N95s still be primarily saved for the healthcare situation,” says Kirsten Koehler, a professor of environmental health and engineering at Johns Hopkins University. “For individuals in the public, wearing a fabric mask is probably still the way to go.”
There are several factors, including the number of layers and type of material they are made from, that contribute to how effective a mask will be, explains Raina MacIntrye, a professor of global biosecurity at the University of New South Wales in Australia. According to the WHO, fabric masks should ideally have at least three layers: an inner layer made with absorbent material (e.g., cotton), an outer layer with water-resistant material (e.g., polyester), and a middle layer (made with absorbent or water-resistant material) to act as a filter. In addition, MacIntrye adds, “the design should fit around the edges of the face because air will flow down the path of least resistance.” In other words, if there are gaps on the sides of your mask, your breath will slip through those cracks instead of being filtered through the mask itself.
Although evidence is building to support the use of masks to stem the coronavirus’ spread, many questions remain, such as whether the coronavirus spreads through aerosols or just through larger respiratory droplets. There is also little research on the efficacy of face masks, particularly cloth ones, in stopping the spread of COVID-19 in community settings, Julii Brainard, a senior research associate at Norwich Medical School in the UK, tells The Scientist in an email.
Amidst the uncertainty, what is clear is that mask wearing is not the only action people should take to slow the spread of COVID-19, Koehler says. “None of these masks are going to be perfect, especially against the aerosols. You want to continue to encourage people to work from home, avoid being crowds—things like that are going to work, regardless of how good your mask is.”
(via themedicalstate)
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“Stop scrolling and please help me spread the word, because if I’ve landed on your page you’re most likely either a black woman or someone who cares about black women and the simple phrase I’m about to share could help save a black woman’s life.
Doctors are to black women what police officers are to black men. That may seem controversial but I believe it to be true and I speak from personal experience.
If you’ve seen this TikTok you know that a 2016 study showed that 50% of medical students and residents thought that black people couldn’t feel pain the same as white people.
And we learned from this video that because of a 1999 study, to this day, there’s a black correction factor for the creatinin levels in black people’s kidneys, meaning we’re less likely to recieve a kidney transplant if needed.
So if you go to a doctor, feel you aren’t getting proper treatment or they refuse the treatment you’ve requested, say to them the following:
I will need you to document on record that you are refusing the treatment (or medicine) I’ve requested, and the reason you are doing so.”
This works. I have used it in other situations. If medical staff have to document and take responsibility and be on the hook legally for doing shady shit they behave much differently.
If you weren’t already going to spread this advice because black women are at risk, then spread it because it’s applicable to everyone else as well, including you reading this.
But particularly women, and especially black women.
(via xfreischutz)
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Me and @beautifultrees07 are plotting to do a secret guerilla pumpkin patch in a neglected waste patch by a local freeway. It’s gonna look cute!
Update! We cleared this area of invasive (and abrasive!) weeds, hoed the rocky and barren soils, amended the earth (with a layer of straw for drainage and to hold moisture/encourage mycelium), created 18 pumpkin mounds of different varieties (Atlantic Giant, Jarrahdale, Lumina, Cinderella, Jack O’ Lantern, Musquee de Provence, and Red Warty Thing) in 96 degree weather so like, don’t even question our love for pumpkins and soil restoration! We added flowers for beautification and to attract pollinators. We moved discarded mattresses, furniture pieces, and removed bags of trash, glass, and dog poop. The pumpkin vines will reach maturity in October and we’re looking forward to the growth!
Update! Remember her??? Be careful who you call ugly!! Our guerilla garden/secret pumpkin patch is really shaping up! Pumpkin vines are growing strong and healthy, cucumber plants are producing, and corn stalks are growing taller! This lot used to be filled with dog poop, mattresses, and discarded furniture! Hopefully we’ll have pumpkins soon. Me and my two sisters laid all the groundwork for this garden and it’s being maintained mostly by one of my sisters and other volunteers. We love to restore the soil, revive barren land, and coax pumpkins from the earth just in time for Hallow’s Eve ~
(via mydarlingturtledove)
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i’ve been sitting here for like 5 minutes trying to think of a caption but i absolutely cannot think of anything funnier than this collection of images
my brother my brother and me
(via redrover-redrover)
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I think we need to apply this to older movies as well:
The homophobic gag in that rom com,
the racist side character in that coming of age story,
don’t just brush it of as a product of the time, acknowledge that it was bad then and remains a terrible aspect of the film today
[ID: a response to the tweet ‘What’s your hottest literature take?’ (By @cxcope). The reply is from liv / @boredromantic and says:
“ young women’s criticism of the (violent) misogyny in “classic” lit should be taken 100% seriously. if a teen girl says the rapey overtones of 1984 ruin the whole book for her, she’s not less intellectual. this goes double for girls refusing to read classics that are misogynistic”]
(via redrover-redrover)
