Biomes Blog

Entry #1509: People Saying Stuff

Dave Neiwert reports on the troubles his local orca populations are having now that the chinook salmon runs have been pretty much decimated. This one’s either looking for a friend or breakfast. Not sure which.

Kevin says it could have been worse.

Today’s long read is by Steve Martin, writing in the Smithsonian about how he became funny. There’s also a link there to a video of one of his early appearances on The Tonight Show.

Michael Moore is up for another best doc oscar for “Sicko”.

John McCain is one sicko SOB. A trait he shares with other members of his party running for office. “There will be other wars.”

Mark Morford: Are you Tom Cruise crazy?

Paul Krugman’s article “Same Old Party” is very good.

Who knew P.J. O’Rourke was a funny guy?

Christopher Hitchens: Devine Impulses.

Chris Hayes analyzes the undecided voter. I really don’t understand these people. At least if someone says they are voting Republican I can assume they are either uninformed, misinformed, racists or religious nuts. The undecideds leave me scratching my head.

Walter Potter (1835-1918) was a taxidermist with some psychological issues.

The Sunshine Patriots, by Tom Robbins.

George Lakoff responds to the conservative who claim that liberals hate America.

This is really funny. Ricky Gervais, of BBC's “The Office”, has some fun with creationism.

Mark H says he got a nice check from Google and just bought a flat-screen Hi-Def TV with a built-in DVD player for his bedroom wall. Oh, and for those of you keeping score, he has shed another two pounds since the last "weight loss" post. And he just referred to himself in the third person.

Entry #1508

Why is the British Prime Minister’s office actually responding to e-petitions like this one that any bloke with a computer can create?

Joel Stein on having a black president.

Obama taped a response to the SOTU and then posts it up on YouTube.

“Don’t tase me, bro” was named the most memorable quote of 2007 by the Yale Book of Quotes.

Top 100 Science Stories of 2007.

TED presents “Mathamagician” Arthur Benjamin. Amazing.

So, new layout any good?

Entry #1507: Two Snakes

My boa constrictor, "Reggie", visited the vet last night. He bruised his mouth striking at his ratscicle a few weeks ago and it still hasn't healed. I hadn't realized how big he's gotten and driving around with twenty pounds of snake in a nylon bag writhing around on the passenger seat is a bit distracting.

Now for the next few weeks I have to give him daily shots of antibiotics. The problem with medicating snakes is they rarely drink and may go weeks between feedings, so the meds have to be injected. This is a little tricky since injections beyond the first third of the body can damage the kidneys and a poorly placed needle can puncture the lung (yes, singular), which runs most of the length of the body just below the ribs.

SOTU address: Have you ever seen anybody so out of their mind league. Fear! Terra! 9/11!! ZOMG, we’reallgonnadie!

Check out this video of diving birds, tuna and dolphins feeding on a horse mackerel bait ball. Bait balls occur when a school of fish is attacked and all of the bait fish try to get into the center of the school.

Entry #1506

Movie Rating: Fast Food Nation.
Man, it's going to be a long time before I'll be able to eat another burger. 4.4 starfish out of 5. Here's a trailer.

Cool Site of the Week: Watching a mussel grow could keep you busy for hours and hours. See the musselcam here.

Um, this car has an extra pair of wheels.

There’s a new species of snail found in Malaysia that has a shell twisted like no other known species. Researchers are still looking for a living specimen.

How open minded are you?

You Are 68% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded. Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints. But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line. You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

Entry #1505: Louie

This week's Big Thing is Louie the coal miner, found in Estevan, Saskatchewan.

Hey, you know what the word “snarge” means? Answers.com says it’s a person nobody likes, but the actual definition is what’s left after a bird is sucked into an airplane engine.

This is where the Patriot Act is leading us.

Cool Site of the Week: The upside-down map page.

There are now some new twists in the cause of the Great Permian Extinction, which incredibly wiped out 95% of all marine species and 80% of all land species.

Entry #1504: Megalodon

I really didn't think this was a particularly good entry in my Marine Life Series on Daily Kos, but it got a pretty huge reception, staying on the recommended diary list for most of the night and racking up well over a hundred comments. So, here's my essay on megalodon.

01.20.09. But who’s counting.

If you like trivia, this game based on Who Wants to be a Millionaire is kind of fun.

Today’s slideshow is of the winners of the 1982 “small world” microphotography contest (click on “slideshow” to view).

Top seven most hated substances.

I mentioned in comments yesterday that I have a theory about Zeus. This may sound nuts, but after working with this dog for the past several weeks I believe he has canine autism, if there is in fact such a thing. I spoke to my vet and she's doubtful but willing to try putting him on anti-anxiety meds. She'll see the dog for free because she's a friend, but I'll have to pay for the medication, which is fine. I just need to convince the board of the rescue league to give it a try.

Entry #1503: Sea Change

Zeus and I are continuing to bond. Is this a gorgeous dog or what?

Timewaster of the Week: Virtual jello.

Morford: The Woman vs the Black Guy.

Ask the wingnut candidates if they believe in evolution (or just basic biology) and even the more educated of them feel the need to pander to the troglodytes who make up the Republican base. Jeebus help us if one of these morons becomes our next president.

Greenpeace kicks butt in service to the whales.

This photo essay, called “Sea Change”, reports on the plight of an Inupaiq community because of changes caused by global warming.

Save the planet: Vote smart.

Bushco’s 935 lies.

Entry #1502: Politics

I know I'm probably jinxing his candidacy, but I've settled on Obama for the primaries. Here's the bumper sticker my car now sports, and you can purchase one at that site. The first year I could vote was Reagan vs Mondale in 1984, and every ticket not containing the words "Bill Clinton" that I've supported since then has lost.

John Kerry writes a Daily Kos diary about “Swiftboating”. The comment thread is likely to get huge, so I’ll just link to the diary itself.

Today’s long read is Republican Candidates: Another disastrous legacy of flightsuit boy.

I’m sure you’ve seen this ad for the new Bush coins on YouTube or elsewhere (Olbermann featured it the other day), but here it is on the original creators’ site.

Buy your queen George magnet here.

Entry #1501

On December 15th I posted that I was determined to lose weight. Well, here I am 22 pounds lighter. Fifteen more to go. After injuring my knee playing hockey six years ago I went from 165 lbs to 210 lbs. I'm now down to 188. My goal is 175.

Today’s slide show is Carl Zimmer’s collection of photos featuring science tatoos.

I’m glad I didn’t get the faux fur color changing coat as a christmas gift.

The FBI’s current ten most wanted list.

Entry #1500

I should note that this is another milestone. 1500 posts, and that's in 1500 days. Of course that's thanks to The Boy, who's filled in when I'm unable to post. Thank him by visiting his new blogger site, and click my ads to give me a few pennies.

Oliver Stone’s next presidential victim is flightsuit boy himself.

The Obama Girls have a new music video out dedicated to flightsuit boy. “You’re So Lame”.

Stuff You Should Know: How to make an igloo.

I’d like to see The Boy’s results in comments. And one Biomes point for anyone who beats my score.

	I received 71 credits on The Sci Fi Sounds Quiz How much of a Sci-Fi geek are you?
Take the Sci-Fi Movie Quizdigital camera ratings

Entry #1499

Prisoner sues prison for making it too easy to escape.

Bacon. It’s like a tasty vortex.

The Bad Astronomy Blog has a list of 2007’s top ten astronomy photos.

Albino Monday: Lion cub.

Entry #1498

This week's Big Thing is the world's largest tree crusher, found in MacKenzie, British Columbia. Here's some information and history (with better pictures) about this environmentally friendly machine from the MacKenzie Chamber of Commerce.

Chuck Dupree has an interesting piece on Bobby Fischer. If you haven’t seen it, the film “Searching for Bobby Fischer” is also well worth your time.

I posted this back in June, but it’s really incredible. Orcas attack seal with waves.

Twenty bizarre experiments. Creepy.

Entry #1497

This is an x-ray image of a snail's shell showing how the whorls of the shell spin around a central axis as the shell grows. How this photo, and others like it, were made is described here. My Marine Life Series essay this week over at Daily Kos is called Anatomy of a Snail Shell. And don't forget to take the poll. The middle answer keeps winning every week lately, so help out the other two topics.

The Boy has asked me to pass on the link to these handy Mac applications that are bundled at a pretty good price.

Christopher Walken in Fat Boy Slim’s video, Weapon of Choice. And here’s the stick figure version.

Buy your Amazon dear rear here.

Entry #1496

Welcome to Here be Dragons, your online resource for all things dragon-related.

Barack Obama is a Nintendo Wii, and other candidates as gaming consoles.

Cool Site of the Week: The Turkey Vulture Society, via Wayne over at Niches.

Morford: How to get drunk at an airport.

Prius sales have surpassed Detroit’s best selling SUV. I bought mine in December 2005 and I can’t recommend it highly enough. I drive quite a bit for work and I very rarely spend over $120 per month on gas.

Entry #1495

I’m still on the fence about the Democratic primary. But for those of you pulling for Obama, this should be a comforting little tale.

TV News bloopers. Some of these clips are pretty funny.

Mars may be hit by a large meteor at the end of January.

The coolest periodic table of elements ever.

Way back in Entry #627, I linked to a site that showed that spiders on LSD made better webs. As a followup, here are spiders on drugs.

Entry #1494

Nobody with an internet connection hasn’t heard of LOLCats by now. But did you know there is a work in progress translating the entire Bible into lolcat-ese? Here’s an example using the book of Job. Lol!!!1!

This company ships electronics with packaging that can be turned into furniture instead of being thrown away.

How Baboons Think is a fascinating piece in the NY Times.

Dept. of Educashun: An interactive Periodic Table of Elements.

The zen of shaving.

I’ve started a town called Biomesville. Anytime anyone visits that link the city will grow. I’m adding it to the sidebar just for the hell of it.

“We are looking for investors to manufacture the Combimouse.” Yeah, good luck with that.

Entry #1493

This campaign to get Michigan democrats to vote for Mitt!! in their open primary is hysterical. “Catch this guy on the right day and he’s Che fricken Guevara.”

And this guy's not amused. Loser.

The lecture series TED still awes me. Thanks to Maru, here’s a fantastic entry on cephalopods. I keep many of these animals and I’m still amazed at their talents.

Comet McNaught is McAwesome.

You should really click around my blogroll once in a while. How else would you not miss such bloggidy goodness as the brilliant Sadly, No!

Watch the trailer for Robert Redford’s new film Lions for Lambs. I just watched him in An Unfinished Life, with Morgan Freeman. I think Redford is one of the only directors who can make JLo look like a real actress. 3.9 starfish out of 5.

Entry #1492

Christopher Columbus: Man and Myth.

The filmography of Chris Columbus.

One Biomes point for the first person to see the obvious connection here.

I’ve been convinced for months now that I have a glitch in my mouse software. Trying to scroll down while reading online blogs and articles, my cursor won’t scroll but brings up the menu that comes up when you normally right-click. It’s been driving me nuts and I’ve since bought a new keypad and two new mice, but the problem persists. I usually end up restarting my computer, unplugging and replugging my mouse and closing and restarting firefox. I mentioned this to The Boy last night and he immediately diagnosed the problem. While surfing I keep my feet kicked up on my desk and, as it turns out, my right calf leans against the control key, launching the right-shift menu. Boy, do I feel stupid.

A Little Piece of Dylan: Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts.

Cool Site of the Week: The University of Kansas has a very good audio blog called Research Matters.

How organized religion can help the environment. Maybe it’s good for something after all.

According to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the US pretty much sucks when it comes to preventable deaths.

Entry #1491

This week's Big Thing is a wooden canada goose.

Today’s slide show is the skin fold alphabet. Yuck.

The Frugal Panda tells us seventeen ways to obtain free books.

I’m not a huge fan of Hillary Clinton. I’m still hopelessly waiting for Gore, and aside from that I’m torn between Obama and Edwards. Still, the best thing about a Hillary presidency would be to get Bill back in the White House to help once again undo the damage caused by a Republican administration. It’s mindboggling how good Republican candidates are at campaigning and how utterly disastrous they are at governing.

Here’s a handy chart of where the candidates stand on a variety of issues.

Why we have Daylight Savings Time. (via Mary)

Entry #1490

Today’s slide show is about who we lost in 2007.

No marine life series diary this week as I got a bit carried away painting my living room.

“If you've been searching for a way to look like an idiot, your quest is over.” Buy your Basket Case here, for only $8.99.

Leatherheads looks like it could be a good flick.

If you’d like to smell like a late 18th century Pope, get out your credit card and click here.

The Boy’s in the process of applying to colleges. His top two choices are Brown and MIT. I’m suggesting Batmobile State University, but he’s not going along with this idea.