Space Is So Creepy And Wonderful. Who The Hell Needs Hell When There’s Space.

My friend made a uquiz that assigns you a whale species. Take it. Take it now.

Sunset on Mars

you have to pretend to be a wizard sometimes, for your health. the obvious method is d&d, but you can also open the dishwasher on cold mornings and raise your arms dramatically as you’re enveloped in the steam, or you can find a really good stick to walk around in the woods with, or you can run a bizarrely dedicated rp blog on tumblr. but it’s an important component of human well being to occasionally pretend to be a wizard.

Getting to Crossingscon: International travel

Hopefully people have started thinking about getting their travel documents in order, but how they’re actually getting to Montréal is still a big question. We’ve summarized some options on how to get to Crossingscon 2019, hopefully they help you figure out how you’ll be getting to con.

Driving to Montréal - what license do I need?

Travellers from the US do not need anything more than a valid driver’s license (learner’s permits are not sufficient) to drive in Canada. Travellers from any other country who intend to drive in Canada need a driver’s license from their home country, as well as an international driving permit (IDP) also obtained in their home country.

One important thing to note is that it is illegal to drive anywhere in Canada without car insurance, even for travellers. Make sure you bring proof of insurance with you if you are driving to Canada.

Getting to Montréal by air

The only international airport in Montréal is Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL). Montréal-Trudeau has frequent direct flights from many cities in the US and Canada, and a few direct flights from certain European cities. Many North American airlines have flights to Montréal, however Air Canada has by far the most.

Getting to Montréal by land

Being a somewhat remote city, there are only a few main arteries to get to Montréal. Most travellers coming from northern or north-eastern US will find themselves routed through one of New York, Albany or Toronto. For those considering routing through Toronto, there are several coach busses and train lines that will get you there from locations like Buffalo, Rochester and Detroit.

Travelling by bus

A few coach bus companies service Montréal, notably Greyhound, TrailwaysNY, and the Canadian branch of Megabus. Both Greyhound and Trailways have similar routes, starting in New York and making stops in Albany and Plattsburgh before crossing the border. There is a Megabus route from Toronto to Montréal, however travellers from the US will need to find some way to get to Toronto first.

Travelling by train

There are two main train lines of interest for travelling to Montreal, the Amtrak Adirondack route (NYC-Montréal), and the Toronto-Montréal VIA rail route. The Adirondack train runs daily and the VIA multiple times a day, however it’s worth noting that the Adirondack train is substantially slower than several coach bus options (11.5 hours versus 9).

Getting to Montréal by worldgate

Unfortunately the closest major gating complexes are located in Toronto and New York, as Montréal doesn’t quite have the population for gates to spawn naturally. Travellers who are planning to worldgate will need to perform their own transport spell, or use one of the more mundane forms of transport after reaching Toronto or New York.

Getting to the venue after arriving in Montréal

The Montréal-Trudeau airport is a little bit outside of the city; the best route in is the 747 shuttle which makes a stop just outside the Hyatt Regency, where the con will be held.

The Greyhound and TrailwaysNY bus lines will drop you off at the Berri-UQAM bus station, a 10 minute bus ride on bus 15 to the Hyatt.

The Megabus as well as VIA and Amtrak trains will drop you off at Montréal’s Central Station (Gare Centrale), which is a 10 minute bus ride on bus 150 to the Hyatt.

CrossingsCon ’19 will take place June 21-23 2019, at Hyatt Regency Montreal, Montreal, Canada. Badges are on sale here!

The funny thing about comparing the young wizards books to Harry Potter is that not only did they come way before Harry Potter, not only is the prose massively more competent, not only does the author have morals she holds to - to the point of rewriting the entire ending of one of her books when she was told it was harmful, but she also outlasted the whole Harry Potter phenomenon and is still putting out new books that are actually good in the series. Literally a flawless victory on every front.

Good News Network

Humpback Whales Are Singing More: Number of Songs Has Doubled as Food Sources Became More Abundant

Eavesdropping on whale songs over 6 years shows the number of days humpbacks have been singing has nearly doubled–with their food source.

"Eavesdropping on whale songs over the last six years is providing new information vital to answering questions about these giants of the ocean.

The number of whale songs detected is associated with shifting food sources, according to the California scientists—and the number of days humpbacks have been singing has nearly doubled.

When monitoring baleen whale songs in the Pacific Ocean, researchers found year-to-year variations correlated with changes in the availability of the species they forage on.

In vast oceans, monitoring populations of large marine animals can be a “major challenge” for ecologists, explained Dr. John Ryan, a biological oceanographer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California (MBARI).

Their team deployed underwater microphones called hydrophones to study and track baleen whales, which communicate over long distances through sound.

“Surprisingly, the acoustic behavior of baleen whales provides insights about which species can better adapt to changing ocean conditions,” said Dr. Ryan, a lead author of the study.

They also monitored songs from blue, fin, and humpback whales off the West Coast of the U.S. to see what the song data could reveal about the health of their ecosystem.

The findings, published in the journal PLOS One, showed “large” year-to-year variations in whale song detection.

“The amount of humpback whale song continually increased, with their songs being detected on 34% of days at the beginning of the study and rising to 76% of days after six years,” said Dr. Ryan.

“These increases consistently tracked improved foraging conditions for humpback whales across all study years—large increases in krill abundance, followed by large increases in anchovy abundance.

“In contrast, blue and fin whale song rose primarily during the years of increasing krill abundance.

“This distinction of humpback whales is consistent with their ability to switch between dominant prey. An analysis of skin biopsy samples confirmed that changes had occurred in the whales’ diets.”

He explained that other factors, including the local abundance of whales, may have contributed to patterns in song detections observed in some years, but changes in foraging conditions were the most consistent factor.

“Overall, the study indicates that seasonal and annual changes in the amount of baleen whale song detected may mirror shifts in the local food web.”

WHALES ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL: • Gray Whale, Extinct for Centuries in Atlantic, Is Spotted in Cape Cod • Sighting of Many Blue Whales Around Seychelles is First in Decades – ‘Phenomenal’ • Majestic Sei Whales Reappear in Argentine Waters After Nearly a Century

“The results suggest that an understanding of the relationship between whale song detection and food availability may help researchers to interpret future hydrophone data, both for scientific research and whale management efforts”, which could better protect endangered species."

-via Good News Network, March 1, 2025

9 things to seriously make you re-consider the entire existence of mankind

Source: buzzfeed.com

Annotation of All The Known Globular Clusters in Messier 31 by Michael van Doorn

see, the thing about the young wizards series is

the thing about diane duane is

she infuses everything with so much life. she gives everything thoughts and feelings and personality. she makes you care about them, makes them matter. from grass chorusing “grow grow grow” to planets explaining how they show affection towards fellow celestial bodies by resonating

it’s beautiful, and it’s vital in the truest sense of the word. and I love it. it’s important on a level that I can’t even fully comprehend. it’s almost spiritual

I never thought of myself as a spiritual person, never felt moved by something larger than me. but the things I’ve read about in this series? the intention and compassion and wonder for all things

that’s something I can believe in