A Blog By Any Other Name

[dekariosmoved]

someone tried out the new lae'zel ending choice where you can say to her she can pick for herself what she does, and she fuckin uh. forced them to go with her to the astral plane.

i'm fucking crying

[dekariosmoved]

update it seems this literally only happens if you romanced astarion. i've only seen this reported with astarion romances and every other romance seems to work fine, she goes off alone

[helila]

[screenshotsofalltime]

[ancientjournal]

So what if there were like rabbits, but in the water? Water rabbits

[black--lamb-blog]

I know it’s illegal but whenever I get antibiotics from the doctor I save a few and give them to friends or coworkers who don’t have insurance so that when cold season comes they might be able to shorten their illness

[knightfrog1248-blog-deactivated]

That is not good- that’s not quite how antibiotics work.

Antibiotics kill some bacteria, but don’t manage to kill other bacteria. Just like when you get a particular sickness (or a vaccination), your body can protect you from future infections, any bacteria that came into contact with the antibiotic is protected from future doses of that antibiotic. Bacteria are very virulent breeders, so they spawn more resistant bacteria.

If you take the full dose of antibiotics, your natural antibodies can deal with the cells that are resistant while the medicine kills off the bacteria that isn’t resistant. If you don’t take the full course of antibiotics, then your body has to deal with both the resistant and the non-resistant strains of bacteria, and it can become overwhelming. Also, most bacteria are able to pass on genes between still-living cells, so that previously non-resistant strains become resistant, and you have inadvertently cultivated a stronger strain of bacteria.

Furthermore, colds and the flu are viral infections, so antibiotics don’t work against them anyway. The best protection against viral infections are vaccinations, as there are not many viruses that we have developed anti-viral medication against, once you already have the disease. If there are anti-viral medications, it is even more important that you take the full dose of the medication, because anti-viral medication is even harsher against the body than antibacterial medication is.

How antibiotics work

How antiviral medication works

[quasi-normalcy]

Spread this around; antibiotics are not candy

[microbewrangler]

Yeah, not how it works at all. I get your intent there with health care access, but that’s literally worse than not taking any antibiotics for your friends, on pretty much every level.

[vvillowenna]

Sharing is not caring when it comes to medication It is risking the health of everyone involved

[molecularbiologistproblems]

You have good intentions, but taking a partial dose of an antibiotic regimen is how antibiotic resistance happens, and that’s really bad.

[ancientjournal]

If you draw a straight line on a curved surface, is it a straight line... or a curved line?

[ancientjournal]

Hey, I have been in Nepal over a week now. The extreme abridged version of my trip so far is that it has been harder than I expected in some ways, but I also have been enjoying the new experiences. I think I am starting to feel settled in and finding my place. 

I have been journaling every day, but so far I haven't made time to write up any blog posts. So (if any one is even paying attention to this) you will get most of the information well after the fact but I still hope to get a lot more posted.

[ancientjournal]

I’ve slept in a tent these last couple of nights, trying to train myself for how I will be living in Nepal. 

There are only three days left before I leave and I am just about ready to start packing my things. My Mom asked me if I am nervous or excited and I don’t really know, it takes a lot to get me worked up. But I think I am just starting to feel like this is really happening. And I guess, maybe I am a little excited. For once I am thinking more about the cool experiences I might have and the friends I will finally get to meet, instead of how I might not do things right or do enough for the people. 

It seems almost close enough to touch now.

[ancientjournal]

Occasionally I have met people who seemed really cool, but then they turned out to not be as great as I thought and that's kind of sad.

So the good thing about being someone who is awkward around strangers and people in general, is that no one can possibly be disappointed by the real you. Its all uphill from the first impression.

(That’s what I like to tell myself anyhow)

[ancientjournal]

So as anyone who keeps tabs on the news probably knows there was a massive earthquake in Nepal near Kathmandu last week.  Obviously this has major implications for my trip and what I will be doing. Right now my friends have clarified that they are all safe and unhurt but they are really too busy to talk to me and they probably don’t even know yet what the long term effects on their home are going to be.

I don’t want to make this about me, and I wish I could write about what is happening rather than just my feelings. Even though I am worried, there is no way I could complain in light of the fact that so many people in Nepal are losing homes, family, and security while I am sitting at home sending emails and feeling worried. But I also can’t deny that I have been thinking about it a lot. I don’t think I have ever had a tragedy of this scale hit so close to home. My relationships with these people may have only been starting but these are still people I know who have supported me and right now they are terrified.

In a way the timing of my trip and this earthquake could be considered fortuitous in a bizarre way. After all I wanted to help people who really needed it and to have plenty of meaningful work to do and it is my long term goal to do relief work in areas affected by disaster and war. There is even a part of me that wishes I somehow could have been there right away and helped with the initial rescue efforts. But whatever hero complex I have aside, I don’t know what I would have actually done as a single EMT without an ambulance who doesn’t speak Nepali. I don’t even know what exactly I am going to do to help them when I am there, I’m not a construction worker.

I guess I just wish it were in my power to fix something. Or that the problems could be something smaller or simpler and conveniently within my skill set.  I guess I am finding myself past the point of thinking that I could actually change the grand scheme of things. Hopefully me just being there and being supportive will brighten somebody life just a little bit, and that will be enough.

 (It seems that this has made its way back to being pretty similar to my last blog post. Hopefully I will be able to get my writing to evolve into something other than introspection about my feelings of inadequacy!)

[ancientjournal]

Family member: You know, guys love red hair.

Me: Haha, wow I must be doing everything else really wrong then.

[ancientjournal]

I just passed the lifeguard prerequisite test, and later some kind of lil’ bee landed on my eyelid and I wasn't even bothered. 

If me from my early teenage years could see me they would be so confused.

[ancientjournal]

I feel like the weirder side of Tumblr would appreciate the fact that EMS are train to used a  leg stretching (”traction”) device on people with femur fractures. 

The reason we stretch their legs is to keep the muscles around a broken femur from seizing violently, which causes the broken bone ends to dig into the flesh and arteries in that area. 

Basically the result is that you stab yourself to death with your own jagged bone ends. Which is kind of hardcore, along with being completely terrible.

[kateoplis]

Nepal Government Struggles to Provide Earthquake Relief

More than 2,400 people were killed and more than 5,900 injured after the quake hit near Katmandu. The death toll is expected to rise.

How to Help

Mercy Corps Mercy Corps has been in Nepal since 2006 and has more than 90 volunteers on the ground trying to distribute water, shelter kits, mosquito netting, tarps, cooking utensils, hygiene materials, and some other household provisions. @mercycorps on Twitter

Catholic Relief Services Catholic Relief Services and its partner organizations have begun procuring emergency relief materials such as shelter kits and sanitation and hygiene materials. @CatholicRelief on Twitter.

Habitat for Humanity International The group says its disaster response teams are coordinating efforts with local government agencies and disaster relief partners, and will be assembling emergency shelter kits. @habitat_org on Twitter.

Global Giving Money donated to support relief operations in Nepal will go toward helping first responders “meet survivors’ immediate needs for food, fuel, clean water, hygiene products, and shelter,” the organization said.  “Once initial relief work is complete, this fund will transition to support longer-term recovery efforts run by local, vetted local organizations.” @GlobalGiving on Twitter.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee   The New York-based nonprofit is providing medical assistance through aid workers traveling from India to Nepal. @TheJDC  on Twitter.

Oxfam Oxfam is an international coalition of charities dedicated to fighting poverty. Aid workers from the group are on the ground, preparing to hand out food and water.  @Oxfam on Twitter.

World Vision “We are initiating a response to meet basic, urgent needs with temporary shelter, food, water, emergency health interventions, and other vital aid.” @WorldVision on Twitter.

Red Cross Volunteers from the Nepal arm of the Red Cross are helping in the search for survivors. @ICRC on Twitter.

United Nations World Food Programme The United Nations agency is providing food and other aid to survivors. @WFP on Twitter.

Samaritan’s Purse Samaritan’s Purse is a Christian organization providing food, water, shelter, medicine, and other assistance to earthquake survivors. @SamaritansPurse on Twitter.

CARE CARE is asking for donations for critical relief. The group said its humanitarian workers were currently on the ground assessing the situation in Nepal and determining the most immediate needs. @CARE on Twitter.

Save the Children Donations to Save the Children, an organization with extensive reach in Nepal, will go toward efforts to provide protection for children and relief to their families. @SC_Nepal on Twitter.

[ancientjournal]

So yeah, this happened. Thousands are dead. Everyone I personally know in Nepal is safe. But the people there are terrified and are going to need a lot of help. (I might write a blog post about this later but this'll do for now)

[ancientjournal]

I’m so glad everyone else is starting to hate the despicable me minions. I always resented those smug yellow tic-tacs so much, I feel like I was the forerunner of a movement.

[ancientjournal]

They should put markings on the road before stoplights that indicate at what point you are close enough that running a yellow light is justified.

Also, red lights should function like stop signs if there are no other cars around.

[ancientjournal]

So I’m of Irish descent, I also have red hair and blue eyes. I also find four leaved clovers all the time. I just found out on the interwebs that red hair+blue eyes is the rarest combination of hair and eye colors possible and “roughly as common as four leaved clovers.”

I think this is starting to shape up to look like an elaborate conspiracy that will, in the manner of YA novel, culminate with the discovery that I have been a leprechaun foundling this entire time. 

[ancientjournal]

Optical art project from my class last fall. This one was really challenging.