dying of problems disease

Obviously, the goal of this experiment is to grow the lobsters until they’re big enough to settle to the seabed and then release them, because they have a much higher likelihood of surviving to adulthood when they’re able to hide. Ideally, captive lobster hatcheries can boost the wild population and keep things stable, so we don’t have a major crash in a decade or two.

The first year we tried this was pretty bad. We had a lot of eggs, but very few babies. It turned out that the CO2 levels in the building spiked as more guests visited throughout the summer, and that settled into the water and threw off the pH and caused a chemical reaction that prevented a lot of the eggs from hatching. I think we ended up releasing three baby lobsters (which is still better than their wild survival rate but not great).

The second year was a little better. We added a de-gasser to the aquarium and got a ton of larval lobsters, but right as they were settling to the bottom we had a disease outbreak that killed most of them. We ended up releasing four babies at the end of the season.

But this year? Oh boy. We have so many lobsters that we had to release the first round early (usually we wait till September or October so guests can see them). We just released a total of FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE baby lobsters, and we still have over a hundred who haven’t settled to the bottom yet. I genuinely don’t even have words to explain how cool this is. OVER FIVE HUNDRED. We just added hundreds of lobsters to the wild population that wouldn’t have been there otherwise.

* this was a person who can fully stand, and used their cane to press the elevator call button. like for the love of god you’re also wearing a mask so you know how germs and viruses and bacteria can be

guys. The buttons aren’t made for more pressure outside of a push with hands/fingers. If you use your cane you can’t FEEL how hard you’re pressing anyway. That’s why the auto door buttons get stuck— if someone kicks it, taps it too hard with their foot or something, then it’s broken and someone else (who cannot walk, use their limbs in a fully functional way, or do what you do as an alternative*) is fucked. They have no choice but to not go in/leave, or wait for help. They can’t get in, they can’t use the service if it’s broken by someone misusing the button. Is that clear enough?

Use your elbow if you don’t wanna touch the buttons. I use my knuckle, elbow, wrist or the side of my hand. But I still have to touch my aid after. And I don’t want the nasty floor germs of literal fecal matter— actual shit particles and germs— and god knows what else, spread more if it doesn’t have to. It’s so so easy to just not do it, and if you are a cane user who is perfectly capable of doing so, there should be no issue for this.

Another thing. The fucking toilets too! Quit using your feet to flush! Just get some toilet paper and hold it to flush it for the love of god please stop tap dancing on commonly touched surfaces. It’s so gross!!! Why are you still spreading so many germs without care in 2026!!!!

Stop it with the “what if’s”. Sometimes there is no nuance. Sometimes it’s just someone doing something they haven’t yet learned to not do, and that’s one thing, but it’s also very irritating to see how me and others like myself are not thought of, even within this own community. It’s annoying. I’m annoyed. It’s that simple. No one is evil or should be punished, and I talk about these things so much bc so many people just don’t consider it!

you’ve not been moving around? FATIGUE!

you’ve been standing? FATIGUE!

you’ve been sitting? FATIGUE!

you are simply conscious? FATIGUE!

you’re sad? FATIGUE!

you’re apathetic? FATIGUE!

sure you'll crash if you accept that invitation to the beach, but you *can* go. you *can* put together a bag with towels and your swim trunks and snacks, ride in the car, and sit on the beach in the sun for three hours and chat with your friends and splash in the water a little. but then you spend the next week in bed in agony feeling like you're dying, feverish and shakey and nauseous and unable to sit up.

and the next time, you really can't go to the beach. just putting the towel and swim trunks in the bag makes you shake and black out from fatigue. you don't make it out the door the next morning, because packing the night before means spending the day in bed and your SpO2 is in the low 90s, and anything more than water makes you puke.

but hey you can still do stuff at home! you can take a shower and dress yourself, even if it makes you feel like you have the flu for the rest of the day. so you do, even though you have to get right back into bed afterwards. but you're doing it! you're doing self care! and slowly the full shampoo bottle becomes too heavy to lift, so you stop washing your hair. and you start cheating at getting dressed: just changing your shirt and not bothering with the pants. and you still have to lie down afterwards. and then there comes a day where getting out of bed is too much.