Anyway,

Tiger found caged in abandoned home gets second chance at wildlife sanctuary: ‘He seems to be so happy’

The estimated 350-pound tiger was transported to the facility, an affiliate of the Humane Society of the United States, on Wednesday afternoon, and is settling in well, Almrud said. There, he will have the chance to roam in enclosures of up to three acres.

Almrud, who estimates him to be about 2 years old, described the moment he first walked onto the grass at the sanctuary as remarkable.

“It was just amazing to see him walk out on grass and to see him explore and have that freedom of movement,” she said. “It was just such a reward and fulfilling to us.”

Now, he spends his days rolling around the grass in glee, Almrud said.

“He comes right up to the fence every time a staff member is present,” she said. “He seems very amenable to our presence.”

The tiger is eating well – a combination of chicken, humanely raised non-processed beef and whole prey complete with organs and bones. It appears that he was being fed chicken, which is what owners of exotic cats often feed them, but chicken alone does not provide the complete nutrition they need to thrive, Almrud said.

In addition, caregivers are tasked with keeping the tiger mentally stimulated by creating “pretend hunting” games and rotating him through different areas so he has access to new smells and environments to explore.

“He seems to happy and content,” Almrud said. “Our staff is just falling in love with him.”

His name is Loki now! In June he celebrated his 7th birthday at the sanctuary where he lives and thrives. Here’s a few pics of the boy:

He escaped his cage

Yes

YES

The tiger is out

The leading theory on why humans started to wear clothes is for warmth. We lost our fur to keep cool when we moved from the shady trees out onto the hot savannah, and then when we started to spread beyond the savannah we developed clothing to keep warm again without wasting energy.

Eridians live in an incredibly hot environment, and their internal processes are even hotter. The ecosystem on erid is so unbelievably energy-rich that there would be no evolutionary pressure to find more energy-efficient heating methods. And on top of that, their carapace is very thick and insulating already, so much so that their primary temperature regulator is a radiator to help them cool down. They just do not need help to keep warm. So we can throw out that theory for the origin of eridian clothing.

What other possible justifications are there?

It could be for physical protection or amour. That's a good benefit for fleshy humans, but pretty irrelevant for eridians. Any natural fibre or fabric will be far softer than their own shell - they'd be dealing with clothes that wear out purely from friction against their own bodies! Eridian-made armour would only become relevant once they reached metalworking levels of technology, and would be heavy and unwieldy so that they'd probably only use it in specific situations (much like proper human armour).

It could be hygiene. But again, that's valuable for leaky humans, and really not necessary for eridians. They don't have any exposed orifices that lead to vulnerable internal organs when not in use, and they don't emit any fluids that would need to be absorbed. The most vulnerable opening is the radiator, but that also requires clear air exchange with the environment in order to function so can't be covered. Maybe it would be helpful to keep dust and sand out of their joints? But that would require having fabric covering lots of pinch points, which would wear out super easily (and then just lead to getting fluff in the joints instead!).

It could be camouflage. In an ecosystem without visible light, that would be very different - there's no meaning to having stripes or spots or neutral colours. Camouflage in sonar would probably be some combination of sound-absorbing materials to muffle a presence entirely, and unusual shapes or textures to mask a silhouette. I do like this idea as something that eridians would use when hunting, but it doesn't seem like book-Rocky's jumper could possibly be for this purpose. And eridians are so social that I think there'd be more evolutionary pressure towards being visible and identifiable to members of their group, than towards hiding from prey or rivals.

Social concepts like "modesty" only really develop as after-the-fact justifications for something that's already widely done. So without any particular reason to start covering their entire bodies, there'd be no reason for eridians to make that a cultural norm or expectation.

The only two reasons I can think of that actually make sense are:

Functionality, like being able to carry things without using their arms.

Decoration or communication.

Interestingly, those explain the two examples of Rocky's clothing we see in the film - his utility belt and his celebration outfit. So maybe whoever made those decisions for the adaptation had the same thoughts as me about why eridians would (and wouldn't) use clothing.

You should be able to add anyone you want on your health insurance plan.

You should be able to sponsor the visa of anyone you choose to move to your home country.

You should be able to name anyone you choose as the legal-from-birth legal coparent of any child you give birth to.

You should be able to apply for student aid on your own at any age.

Cutting - in my opinion, the most labor intensive part of the process. The amount of time/effort needed varies depending on the pattern and if seam allowance is included or marked separately, but no matter what this process can not be done by machine. Each and every panel and piece of fabric that goes into a garment must be cut by hand by a person.

Pinning/clipping - pinning (or clipping) is the stage at which you align the pieces you are going to be stitching together and hold them together with — you guessed it! — either pins or clips. This can not be done by machine.

Stitching - the actual sewing. This can be done by a sewing machine, but that machine still needs to be operated by a human being.

Ironing/pressing - two words that mean the same thing. The iron itself is a machine, but once again, it needs to be operated by a human being.

Finishing - depending on the technique you use, there are certain finishing techniques that can only be done by hand. But, let’s assume we’re talking about fast fashion, which is usually just finished with a simple overlock/serger. Once again: these machines need to be operated by people.

These are just the basic steps to making a garment, and don’t include textile arts that I am not as knowledgeable about, such as weaving, knitting, and crochet. Also, it is important to note that there are a lot of things that can only be done by hand, such as certain stitches and decorative techniques.

Also, the machinery being operated in textile factories is not equivalent to a domestic sewing machine. We’re talking about one of these guys:

See that gray cylinder under the table, behind the knee pedal? That’s the motor. These machines can sew through your fingers bones and all and not even stop. The people in these factories and sweatshops are operating heavy machinery, and are subject to all the risk that comes with that in addition to all of the work I mentioned above.

THOU ART CURRENTLY LISTENING TO

*Gregorian chanting*

13.21

*leper bell ringing*

HIGH MEDIAEVAL FM

*recording of John Lackland sobbing as he signs the Magna Carta*

WHENCE COMETH NAUGHT BUT LITURGIES

LITURGIES

AND MORE LITURGIES

*Templar knights praying out loud*

THIS ISN’T THY GRANDMOTHERES STATION

Been on a redrawing old art mood recently, here's a classic that looks 1000x better than before lmaoo

There's help by governments for people who lost their partners at war, isn't there? I imagine Adrian starkly refusing it. Their family tries to subtly help them instead when it gets too hard. They watch Adrian sleep and Adrian watches them sleep, but everyone knows they would've slept better if it was Rocky.

"Adrian just won't accept it"

"Grief affects people in different ways, we just need to give them time"

Imagine people not telling Adrian that the government was starting talks for sending another ship. Imagine the reaction. Adrian probably could've been very helpful with the new mission, but they just broke down whenever they thought of working on it because that meant they had given up on Rocky, Rocky who they had been with for nearly 150 years. Rocky who they should've been with for another 400 more.

Imagine how they felt when they got that weird radio signal from that weird ship up in orbit. At first no one would've told them, wanting to wait for confirmation for Rocky before getting that poor, heartbroken widow's hopes up. But Adrian found out anyways and they are so goddamn hopeful. Sure it's not an eridian ship. Sure the radio signal is this weird, garbled, non-eridian thing. But what if Rocky is on there.

AND HE FUCKING IS AS WELL

Can you even imagine?? How Adrian must've felt hearing their soulmates voice over the radio once more, once it's been translated to frequencies they can receive? They are dropping everything. They're gone. They're going to the space elevator site. They are demanding to be let up. Rocky is alive and Rocky is home. Nothing else matters. In that moment Adrian doesn't even give a damn if the astrophage problem has been solved. Rocky is safely home.

The microsecond that Rocky has been medically cleared off the ship, he's gone to the room where Adrian waits patiently alone, he's getting tackled. He's getting hugged harder than he ever has before. Doesn't matter is Adrian is taller or shorter than Rocky, they have half a decade of pent up sadness and love and yearning behind them. They tap his carapace, his legs, everything just to confirm it's him he's real he's here he's safe. Words fly out of their mouth, words of relief and love and joy so fast it sounds like someone playing rush e badly. Rocky is shell shocked at first and then starts replying in turn, fast and loud because Adrian is here! Adrian still loves him, still wants him! He saved Erid, he saved Adrian, they're safe again!