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TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - Polish artist and Tarpon Springs resident Piotr Janowski recently covered his home, including the concrete driveway and the surrounding palm trees, in sheets of aluminum foil.
The project, entitled “402 Ashland Ave”, is intended to make people think in uncommon ways about common goods.
Hey guys! It’s the holiday season and I am seeing it pop up
in my various social media feeds that folks are asking for / receiving these
neat sealed ecosystems for shrimp.
I remember seeing these at the mall in a big city, in the 80’s,
before household internet was a thing, and being smitten! How AMAZING, these
glass containers, with a perfectly balanced ecosystem of shrimp and algae
inside! The only reason I never got one was the cost. We were not very well
off. So I would stare at them when we’d go to the city, once a year or so. So
cool!
They do seem very neat. There is some science there: the species of shrimp used
are Opae Ula (Halocaridina
rubra), a very unique and amazing species endemic to the Hawaiian
islands (I find it curious that the company that makes these does not specify
what species they use; are they worried people will find out more about them
and stop buying the product? I digress…). This brackish water species is
incredible, as it can tolerate truly abysmal conditions, especially if it is
slowly acclimated to them. Notice I said “tolerate” and not “thrive”. The
sealed tanks are “perfectly balanced” to grow algae and microscopic life, which
feeds the shrimp. The shrimp’s waste then feeds the algae and bacterial growth.
It really does sound legitimate, and the sealed tanks may well start out that
way (I’d have to bust one open and do some water testing to really know).
However, if we delve into the science a bit, and learn some chemistry, we
realize that this slowly becomes their death trap. Anyone that has cycled an
aquarium might know of the nitrogen cycle, and that in a sealed environment
with living organisms, things do not stay “in balance” indefinitely. Even with
bacteria and algae converting ammonia and nitrites, over time these accumulate
regardless in these sealed environments with no gas exchange. The Opae Ula are
extremely resilient; moreso than any other shrimp species commonly kept in
captivity, and so they do survive this for a while. But over a year or three,
they gradually starve and the toxins build up, and they perish. They don’t breed. The idea of a “zero
care” pet is attractive, but ultimately a bit misleading.
This is a shame. Though 2-3 years sounds
like a long time for a shrimp to live, this species has been known to live for anywhere
from 12-20 years (one anecdotal experience from a keeper was that a shrimp
purchased in a sealed sphere was “broken free” and lived an additional 16 years
after).
It’s especially a
shame since the sealed spheres are an expensive gimmick; one can easily set up
a small tank at home where the shrimps will not only live, but thrive and
breed, in a setup that costs less than
one of the small sealed units (and honestly they can look way cooler when you do it yourself). I have long loved shrimp and keep a few
freshwater species. I researched Opae Ula after a friend visited them in their
native habitats in Hawaii, and put together a setup for far less than one of
those sealed units. My shrimp are very active, healthy, and breeding like whoa. After
initial setup, their care requires less attention than a houseplant. I feed
them a tiny amount once to twice a
month, and top off their water when necessary with distilled water. They do not
require filtered water (actually the water movement can be harmful especially
in smaller tanks), and your room temperatures should be between 55-85°F. You
can easily keep them with no electricity, unlike other tanks. My houseplants take
more time and are more fussy than that!
I know some of you are thinking, “lawd, this person is so
worried about some dang water bugs! I eat shrimp for lunch with cocktail sauce!
How stupid! Who cares!” That’s fair. What you care about is up to you! But I
know many friends and acquaintances prefer not to buy into gimmicky and
potentially cruel products when much happier alternatives exist. I just wanted
to put this info out there because the sealed spheres DO seem REALLY COOL, and
exciting, especially to my fellow nerdy people. I just wanted to let folks know that it’s possible to be smitten
with these tiny amazing shrimp AND keep them in conditions that they will
thrive in!
If you are interested in learning more, please do some research into their
needs, and source responsibly! Mine are breeding so well that I will probably
need to find new homes for some in the spring when the temperatures increase.
It’s very possible to find captive bred shrimps, at least here in the USA.
According to researcher, Scott R. Santos, of the Department of Biological
Sciences and Cell & Molecular Biosciences Peak Program, at Auburn
University in Alabama, “Commercial harvesting, coupled with habitat destruction
as well as strong regional endemism, could lead to the depletion and/or
extinction of unique Halocaridina populations or genetic groups.” (source)
MORE INFO (I’m not affiliated
with any of these people just FYI):
So there you have it! Sealed shrimp tanks: you can do better, with only a tiny
bit more effort! Buy an Ecosphere… or not… the choice is yours. At least now
you know more about it!
Omg I’m so mortified. I took my boyfriend with me to a work dinner and he asked my lesbian coworkers how they have sex!!!! It was so inappropriate! They were so uncomfortable and he just kept asking all these questions...what do I do?! He doesn’t see what he did wrong because it’s “not often he meets a hot lesbian couple” ugh!
Omg!!!!! What do you do???? You dump his ass!! Men will never change if we don’t hold them accountable for their disgusting behavior. You often find out people’s true colors through their interactions with your friends, family and coworkers. If someone is disrespectful (especially to strangers) and starts asking invasive inappropriate questions (and then has the audacity to say they don’t see what they did was wrong) believe that that is their true self. Don’t let shit like that slide! No way in hell would I let someone get away with that!
Back me on this babes! Add your thoughts!
People have actually commented “ignorance is teachable, how about educating instead of judging.” And how she should tried to communicate with him first. And he wasn’t having it. Y'all know I think communication is key and you should always try to understand why someone thinks the way they do and help them learn however when someone shows you they do not have any desire to change and In fact see no wrongdoing in something that is so blatantly fucked up you should RUN.
This is your reminder that it is not your responsibility to “fix” your partner. I repeat IT IS NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO FIX YOUR PARTNER. If you try communicating with them that something that did was incredibly disrespectful and they brush it off and say they don’t see what they did was wrong you don’t need to suck it up and try to help educate them further. Doing so can put you in an extremely toxic situation. She said she tried to talk to him and his excuse was “I’ve never talked to hot lesbians before” this mindset is disgusting.
How about we stop coddling men who are blatantly disrespectful and refuse to learn or apologize . How about we stop bending over backwards to educate our partners on what is right and wrong when they have made it very clear that they do not believe their behavior was wrong in the first place. You’re dating an adult not a child and I don’t care if you love your partner dearly if they treat other people in such a dehumanizing manner you better believe that in time they will start doing the same to you. Just because you love someone DOES NOT mean you have to stay with them no matter what they do/say!
You can hold someone’s hand and tell them something is not okay 1,000 times but if you stand by them they are never going to understand that what they are doing is seriously wrong. Holding men accountable for their actions and behavior is a far better way to teach them that what they are doing will not be stood for.
Be Bold. Stand your ground. I read this once and it’s so important… Do not set yourself on fire to keep others warm.
today i learnt that king tutankhamun made sure that he had a condom with him in his next life. i never want to hear a dude say he didn’t have the time to be prepared or didn’t remember to buy condoms. if king tut had the common decency of making sure someone put a condom in his resting place alongside one of the biggest treasures ever so he could practice safe sex in the afterlife no present day dude has an excuse for not wearing condoms.
here it is
it’s made of animal intestine
and they know it was his because they found residue inside that they were able to DNA-match to him
yes, that kind of residue
My mans Tutankhamun was already busting a nut when Osiris was measuring his soul to go see his ol man Ra like imagine having such guts.
“I’m still having trouble even saying the word ‘divorce.’ I had always planned on only being married once. And now I’m not. I’m getting older now, and I always wanted to be a Mom– but I’m not. And that’s really hard. The house feels so empty. It still looks like two people live in it. I’m clocking my progress by the moments I’m not crying. And as long as I don’t think about any of these things– I’m fine. My career is going great. I can choose to not think about it. But I’ve got to. I’ve got to ask myself: ‘What happens if he never apologizes?’ , ‘Will I be fine if he never make amends?’ I’d rather not think about this stuff because it hurts. But I know it’s the only way to move on. I can either think through it now, or I can carry it with me forever.”
^^^Im so happy someone has made light of “thinking through it”. Often so many times I read and hear ppl say you’re “overthinking” or “worrying/stressing to much”. But no one never speak on the fact that in order to deal and accept certain things you have to process it and processing it meaning thinking about it and getting an understanding of what has taking place. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾Thanks for the highlight!!!!
This is real. Holy fuck this is so real. When I was married there would be hour long car rides where I would start a conversation then wait before talking again… just to see how long before he responded. Did it matter that he was the quiet type. No. Sometimes I would tell him about something I really enjoyed! He didn’t get it, so he wouldn’t be excited with me. Does he have to love the things I love? No. We would have religious, political, economical, environmental talks. He was always on the opposite side of the conversation. Other side of the fence. Did it matter if we agreed? No.
What mattered was how I felt. How he made me feel. Worthless. Useless. Annoying. Crazy. Ugly. But the things that really bothered me? He made me feel independent, because I had to do everything on my own. He made me feel smart, because he couldn’t explain scientific facts about molecules that the average high schooler learns. He made me feel compassionate, because I thought of who was affected by my words and actions. He made me feel strong, because I had to lift myself up so often. He made me feel beautiful, because I learned to compliment myself. He made me learn to laugh at my own jokes, because he never would. He made me learn to research both sides of story, because his were only one view.
My marriage taught me so much I will never take for granted. I was not abused. I was ignored. When you spend your free time thinking about the Hollywood interview you’re going to give Ellen and the phrase starts, “I knew it was over when he….”
Time to get out.
Overthink it. Spend every waking moment thinking about it. You can’t spend enough time thinking about it. If he makes you cry more than he makes you laugh… Think about it.
Then they want you back. They plead. They beg. They apologize. Buy things. Suddenly remember all your favorite things.
And the moment you break free….
I laughed. I flat out laughed in his face and said, “You’re never going to find someone like me again. You really screwed up. Good luck. I wish you the best. Good bye.”
Don’t worry if you’re going to make it. Don’t worry if you can survive without him.
You’re barely surviving now. And you know it. You’ve known it for awhile and everyday you think…. If I just die in an accident he can be happy. We both can get some peace.
Get out.
Live. Be free. Fly away. Run away. Whatever you have to do to get away from these questions that are taunting you “Am I over thinking?”
