[reflectedeve]

Oops.

Writing was like pulling teeth yesterday, so I took a break and got completely sucked into the Deep Dish Nine pizza parlor AU.  Which I surprised myself by loving immensely (I’m usually not terribly into non-canon/human!AUs, it’s a thing … but then, very few of those have such an intriguing commitment to reinterpreting alien cultures as human/immigrant ones).  So here’s a small scene from @ladyyatexel’s Deep Dish Nine (and @tinsnip​’s Inconvenient Fireworks, for that matter), because that particular human!Cardassian hand gesture is totally irresistible.

[ladyyatexel]

Aww, I’m so glad the story drove you to do art too! Your Garak is delightfully solid~ I have to respond to your lovely comment on AO3 still as well! Forgive me if that has to wait several more days, but know I am deeply appreciative!

Happy to see that particular gesture has claimed another victim, haha.

I also don’t usually consider myself one for these sorts of things, so I was just as surprised to find myself writing it as you were enjoying reading it! Thanks so much for giving it a shot and feeling so good about it, this is a delight.

[the-future-now]

For the millions of people who live with nonverbal autism, Tippytalk could make a world of difference (x)

follow @the-future-now

[unflatteringcatselfies]

My dad’s cat, Mr. Tiny, doesn’t fit into his kitty couch!

[sweartrek]

yeah

[leadraktajino]

forbidden ds9 au in which all vorta wear neat pastel uniforms & don’t hurt my aesthetic sensibilities

Hey, this post may contain sexually explicit content, so we’ve hidden it from public view.

Learn more.

[theslinkylizard]

Monitor lizard eyes can look so expressive at times!

[unflatteringcatselfies]

Robin is perfect and orange. Star is not interested.

[obscuritory]

From Odyssey: The Legend of Nemesis

[sciencefriday]

There’s a sweet new way to test a pool for pee (and it turns out, there’s a lot)

There’s an artificial sweetener called acesulfame potassium (ACE) that you can find in processed foods and drinks. Turns out, it can also be found in public pools.

Researchers at the University of Alberta have estimated the amount of urine in 31 public pools by measuring the amount of ACE in them. Their technique is one commonly used to study the impact of human waste on environmental water sources. The synthetic sweetener is a perfect marker for the presence of urine, because our body is unable to break down the compound — we excrete 100 percent of the amount we ingest. It also remains stable over many years and under a variety of temperatures. The only reason it would be in pools or hot tubs is because — you guessed it — people peed in them.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters, found that in a 110,000-gallon pool, swimmers released about seven gallons of urine — about enough to fill a large trash can. A 220,000-gallon pool contained almost 20 gallons.  

Urine in public pools is not just a frightening fact, it’s also a public health concern. It can interact with chlorine to create a chemical called tri-chloramine, which irritates the eyes and has been linked to occupational asthma in professional swimmers.

Lindsay Blackstock, a Ph.D. student at the University of Alberta and first author on the paper, joins Ira to discuss her sweet finding.