Biomes Blog

Entry #1752

Morford: White women, no way.
“Once pro-Obama and now swoon for McPalin? Who the hell are you? Every white woman I know is positively horrified.”

For a niche site the Fail Blog is kinda fun.

Geek Stuff: Someone in the U.K. bought an iPhone and it came loaded with photos of the Chinese girl who made it.

Organizing Dr. Seuss books by color spectrum.

The Guardian takes a look at the life of Paul Newman (via Lance).

Tuesday coonhound blogging: Creole at the breachway helping me collect baby flounders by chasing them into deeper water where I can't reach them. Click to embiggen.

Entry #1751

David Sedaris is a very funny man. Thanks, Stadium Pal!

If you missed Friday’s debate, you can watch the entire thing here. If Obama somehow loses this thing I’ll have lost all of my faith whatsoever in the human race. There’s just no doubt who should be in the white house, my friends. And I really wish they would stop labeling these things as “debates”. Debating involves two parties engaging each other and that’s not what they do anymore.

I agree with Atrios. If you’re reduced to calling yourself a maverick, you really aren’t one.

Morford: The good news, the bad news.

Albino Monday: Blue-tongued lizard.

Entry #1750

This week’s Green Thing is Labord’s Chameleon, a lizard with the shortest life span of any terrestrial vertebrate.

Pet Corner: Dogs have a sense of right and wrong.

Warren Zevon’s first appearance on Letterman.

Watts Towers, a sculpture.

These bundles of joy are not even remotely cute. Makes me glad my kid is nineteen. Call me evil, but I really don’t like infants.

Entry #1749

The McCain campaign is in full panic mode because they chose a moron to be the v. p. Watch some fun here.

McSame’s childish antics, via Mary. There are actually people who will vote republican this election. I find that to be truly stunning.

Michael Moore has a new movie and you can watch the trailer or download the whole thing here.

Wanda Sykes on Leno talking about the conventions.

Obama’s up 52-43. Let’s hope this trend in the polls continues.

Top ten conservative idiots, entry 352.

If you can’t access a website and are wondering if it’s down for everyone or just you, check with down for everyone or just me.

Entry #1748

One thing I really miss about living in-town now, instead of out in the boondocks like I did when Graham was a little kid, is the call of the tree frogs all summer. Listen to these guys here. I love that sound.

At least McCain didn’t get a $400 haircut.

Fifty office-speak phrases you love to hate.

Via Avedon, here is the boardroom scene from Network.

This article in Cracked is loaded with profanity, but if it’s possible to make a description of five very nasty species of insects funnier, I’d like to read it.

Entry #1747

Obama on economics.

Tim, over at Balloon Juice, links to a study that indicates conservatives respond more strongly to fear than liberals. Not surprising in the least. He also links to research that shows that disproving conservative lies only makes them believe them even more, which I guess in part explains the existence of Fox News. Read the whole thing, as they say.

Stuff You Should Know: A desired path is a term used for an unplanned walkway that occurs when lots of people take shortcuts.

Seven insane conspiracies that actually happened.

Pictures of extreme weather instability.

Entry #1746

Cool Site of the Week: This is a composite of the tallest buildings from each of the fifty states. Try to find yours.

Everything you could ever want to know about the king of rock and roll.

Don’t you hate it when bugs crawl on your computer screen? Load your bug-repellent page here.

Looking to Washington (as in George) as a guide to overhauling U.S. foreign policy in the wake of worst president ever’s disastrous eight-year misleadership.

Hump day musical interlude: Lyle Lovett’s “If I Had a Boat”.

Entry #1745

Bush is at 19% approval rating. I’d laugh if it wasn’t for all the damage he’s caused getting down to that gutter rating.

Andrew Sullivan is pretty riled up over McCain and Caribou Barbie. Watch both clips of him on Bill Maher’s show.

Here comes $500 per barrel oil.

“Why should a man who scorns most environmentalists have to argue that locally grown produce and wind power are the way of the future? Why should a lifelong Republican need to be the one to point out that his party's new mantra - "Drill, baby, drill!" - won't really fix anything and that his party's presidential candidate is clueless about energy?”

Man on the moon, past and future.

The life’s work of supermodel Kate Moss in thirty seconds.

Tuesday coonhound blogging: Creole and her new friend "Marcus" at the graveyard. He's a 120 lb bloodhound. Even though they're different breeds, the similarity in coloring is remarkable. Right down to the black "saddle" across their backs. We've been working a lot on recall, and she's now allowed to roam the graveyard without a leash.

Entry #1744

I was asked to participate in the Wickford Harbour Festival this year to show people my animals. Although I didn't take part in this year's Talk Like a Pirate Day festivities, I did get to meet some pirates.

And some mermaids.

The Boy was supposed to be helping me out with my demonstrations, but since he ended up being his usual pain-in-the-ass self because he didn't have internet access, I had him kidnapped and held for ransom. It took his grandmother to come up with the bounty to get him out of the stockade. Sad to say I was happy when he was locked up.

As you can see, he's thrilled.

Answering my own question from yesterday, Hulu is pretty great. I finished watching "Bedazzled" and it was very impressive.

Meet Leslie Allen, possibly the best glass blower in the world.

This week in conservatism. They really are living on another planet, he says after spending a weekend with make believe pirates.

Entry #1743

This week’s Green Thing is a pair of grass flip flops.

Morford: Greetings from “the angry left”.

Museum of Modern Art exhibit dies five weeks into show.

Stuff You Should Know: 2000 uses for peanut butter.

Watch the entire feature film “Bedazzled”, starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, online for free. I'd love to hear some feedback from anyone who has used Hulu. Seems too good to be true, but I plan on trying out this one tonight.

Entry #1742: Weight Loss Update

oohh, an unprecedented second post in one day for the BB.

For those of you who have been following my attempts at lifestyle changes this year, on the left is a photo taken in May 2008 after struggling with the weight loss regimen all winter. I think I've got it down now with a combination of no alcohol, soda or junk food and running and light weight training each night. I'm eating tons of salad, yogurt, chicken and lean beef and have added lots of fruit, which I normally don't care for. On the right is a photo taken today, just four months later.

 

Yay for me.

Entry #1741

I haven’t featured a worth1000 photoshop contest in a while. This one’s called Before and After. The entry combining a monarch caterpillar, crysalis and adult is my favorite.

This is the story of the monarch's life cycle.

I've been ripping out the mint that has taken over the back herb garden, and I've grown to admire this plant's tenacity. I'm not sure if I'll ever be rid of it all.  Anyway, I've also been collecting milkweed pods and drying them out so I can plant the seeds where the mint used to be. (Photo of my hummerfly garden project is here). Monarchs will only lay eggs on the underside of the milkweed's leaves, so I figure this plant will go well with the theme.

Honestly, I don’t know why this video of a guy wearing an exploding banana mask cracked me up so much.

Yet another useless web site.

Stuff You Should Know: Fourteen simple ways to super charge your brain.

Take part in an online New York University study on voting behavior. It takes about 20 minutes to complete. Remember to type "Biomes Blog" when the researchers ask where you found the study.

Entry #1740: Pirates Don't Say "Good Gravy!"

Wow, is it International Talk Like A Pirate Day again already? I'll pass this year, but here's my last installment. I've lost 23 pounds since that photo was taken.

Obama’s running a two-minute ad. Are most people’s attention spans even that long?

What a piece of work Sarah Palin is. The New York Times has the details.

Good gravy! These are some really fat animals.

Here’s a micrograph of a dust mite approaching a tiny gear train.

Play! Quest for the Crown.

iPod shuffle:

1. Gimmie Back My Bullets (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
2. A Handful of Dust (Patty Loveless)
3. I Won't Mention it Again (Reba McEntire)
4. Call Letter Blues (Bob Dylan)
5. Come to Poppa (Bob Seger)
6. Back On Your Side (Chris Isaak)

Entry #1739

Geek stuff: Corporate logos in Web 2.0.

Unusual tricycles.

Today’s slide show is of the winners of the 1990 “small world” microphotography contest (click on “slide show” to view).

Stuff you should know: Back in 1983 Stanislav Petrov may have single-handedly prevented a nuclear war.

Check out the all-time most popular posts on Diatribune. I’ve been cross-posting my Marine Life Series from Daily Kos and I now have two of the three top slots. There are thousands of posts there by a couple dozen authors.

Just when you think Palin’s religious wingnuttery can’t get any weirder, now we have this. And apparently she really does believe the earth is only 6,000 years old, which in a sane world would disqualify you from holding any office outside of mayor of Arkham Asylum.

"The pastor whose prayer Sarah Palin says helped her to become governor of Alaska founded his ministry with a witchhunt against a Kenyan woman who he accused of causing car accidents through demonic spells."

Entry #1738

Walruses are another species now in danger because of climate change. Of course, for Fox News watchers climate change is still a myth because oil company scientists say so.

The largest political rally in Alaskan history took place recently, organized by women against Palin.

Cool Site of the Week: The Fixit Club.

101 of the world’s funniest one-liners.

Twenty ways to eliminate stress from your life.

Hump day musical interlude: Running on Empty.