Tentacle Dreams

2011-12-10T02:00:00.004-05:00

I meant to post some pictures from Maui a while ago. We went to an intertidal region and built ourselves a tide pool of exciting critters. We also went snorkeling and found an eel and an octopus! We added the octopus to our tide pool, and she showed us some beautiful patterning. I also loved the way the lava rock was pocketed with nooks and crannies for creatures to hide in.

2011-12-03T02:09:00.001-05:00

what's happening here?

2011-12-02T18:06:00.000-05:00

2011-11-30T02:08:00.001-05:00

i did not know porcupines could talk.

out to dry

2011-11-18T19:36:00.001-05:00

New Addition to my Family!

2011-11-13T01:38:00.004-05:00

About two and a half weeks ago, my friend's chameleon gave birth to ten adorable babies! I had no idea that chameleons gave live birth!! I was fortunate enough to get one, and he is my new best friend. I've named him 'The Grand Poobah' and I intend to carry him around the island forcing people to bow down to him and kiss him on the paw. However, at the moment, if anyone were to try to kiss him, he would be swallowed up in squishy lip flesh. So, right now, I am just feeding him lots and lots of crickets and spraying him with delicious water until the day comes when I can lord him over the entire Coconut Island. Bwahahahaha!

2011-11-12T23:58:00.001-05:00

Hudson - Against The Grain from Dropbear on Vimeo.

I love pencils!

2011-11-12T01:42:00.001-05:00

Adventures in Depression

Mom, click on the link to read the whole comic--I think she's pretty spot on. Oh, the hilarious world of depression!

2011-10-14T16:53:00.001-04:00

Whale Fall (after life of a whale) from Sharon Shattuck on Vimeo.

thanks nas!

2011-10-07T16:40:00.000-04:00

Benedetta Bonichi

2011-09-06T00:50:00.001-04:00

too bad this makes smoking look so sexy...

2011-08-19T18:06:00.001-04:00

Tremoctopus

2011-08-18T01:18:00.005-04:00

On Monday, I had the pleasure of working with a famous Hawaiian octopus found in the bay last week. It was picked up in the bay by a local fisherman and was mistaken for an octopus-squid hybrid. However, it was actually a species of blanket octopus, or tremoctopus; a pelagic octopus that is usually found out in the open ocean. They are called blanket octopuses because of the bizarre cape like webbing between their back arms. The male of the species is very small and he detaches his hectocotylus (the arm he uses to deposit his sperm packets in the female) and it wiggles its way up into the female. They are pretty fascinating creatures. So when I found out that we had one in the bay, I called the fisherman and he brought it over to HIMB for me! Here is the octopus as a block of ice before I thawed it out and examined it more closely.

It was slow going getting that girl thawed, but it was quite soothing. Slowly pouring water over her body, gently pulling at skin, careful not to tear it, watching her limbs unfold. I needed to get samples for several people who wanted to do genetic testing and remove the beak for Dick Young. Here you can see the "blanket."

Also, my octopus cyanea laid eggs. So many more babies...

hypnotic

2011-08-18T00:19:00.001-04:00

Hail to the V!

2011-07-22T01:39:00.002-04:00

I can't begin to describe this video as well as they do on Coilhouse.

"I’m not sure how comfortable I am with a full minute of advertising that repeatedly references disembodied genitalia. “It” is the cradle of life, but isn’t “it” attached to someone? “It” is the center of civilization, but “it” isn’t the one throwing up its arms. But the strangest, most uncomfortable section is that last part, the longest part, the part where men are fighting for “it” — killing to possess “it”. That section is really weird because what I get from that section is that men have made war upon one another for your vagina. They have killed each other for your vagina. They have leveled cities and razed the land for your vagina."

2011-07-18T23:59:00.001-04:00

2011-07-16T05:20:00.001-04:00

2011-06-20T22:03:00.001-04:00

2011-05-30T14:44:00.001-04:00

The Ice Book (HD) from Davy and Kristin McGuire on Vimeo.

2011-05-28T03:33:00.001-04:00

The Saga Of Biorn from The Animation Workshop on Vimeo.

Thoroughly disturbed

2011-05-17T21:35:00.003-04:00

I am totally going to do something like this for my grandkids. They need to know their grandma was eff'd up.

2011-05-07T19:57:00.001-04:00

FITC Toronto 2011 Titles from FITC on Vimeo.

disturbing...

2011-05-04T19:59:00.000-04:00

Hambuster from Hambuster Team on Vimeo.

via coilhouse

kinda makes me want a hamburger...

Lightning in Kaneohe

2011-05-04T16:37:00.003-04:00

A pic a friend of mine took on Monday night during the thunderstorm.

2011-05-02T19:10:00.001-04:00

Spider attack from Ahmet Ozkan on Vimeo.

2011-04-29T00:45:00.001-04:00

definitely worth your time

2011-04-27T13:54:00.000-04:00

Images of the Weekend

2011-04-26T00:32:00.005-04:00

I am an octopus mom again! Here are some pictures of me struggling with the male while I tried to relocate him away from the female. The end of the day was spent relaxing on the dock with a beer.

2011-04-18T22:48:00.000-04:00

oh Bill...

2011-04-17T22:03:00.001-04:00

2011-03-15T14:43:00.000-04:00

The Japanese Popstars Feat. Green Velvet - Let Go from David Wilson Creative on Vimeo.

love it. thanks bryan!

Valentine's Dessert Party

2011-02-21T03:02:00.002-05:00

I recently threw a wine and dessert party on Coconut Island. Our kitchen is a disaster area, which is evident by the photos. I made cheesecake, sana torte, crystal cake, trifle, lemon tart, and chocolate chiffon pie. There were about 20-25 people and about thirty bottles of wine (all of which were empty by the end of the night...). Here are some pics of me with the desserts--if only there weren't a hideous rat nest hole in the wall....

2011-02-17T03:15:00.001-05:00

of course i like this song... it sounds like "the knife"

More Bus Adventures

2011-01-28T01:29:00.004-05:00

I had almost forgotten what a joy it is to ride the bus... almost. My car recently sputtered to a stop, smoke coming from under the hood, slowly coughing out its last, dying breath (I know that's redundant, but it sounds more dramatic). My poor Harold. Well, as a consequence of these events, I have been reduced to using the bus for transportation once again.

My morning began at 7, and I finally arrived on campus at 10. The first bus ride ended in a rather confusing manner. Before getting on to the highway to cross over to the other side of the island, the bus driver pulled over and began to mumble something incoherent and requested that we disembark. While we were waiting for another bus to come and take us all over, four cop cars pulled up inexplicably. I overheard a woman on her cellphone tell her colleague that she was going to be late because a truck hit the bus. That confused me further because if we had been hit by a truck, I would think I would have noticed. The mystery was never solved unfortunately, because I had to get on the next bus (that arrived a prompt twenty minutes later...). When I finally made it into town, I comically (and unsuccessfully) chased down the bus I needed to transfer to in order to get to campus. I then waited, beaten by public transportation, for the next bus. Ultimately, I made it to campus and I promptly went to my office, put my head down and took a fifteen-minute nap. Thankfully, my ride home was less eventful, but I did manage to get off the bus prematurely and added ten minutes to my already thirty-minute walk back to the island. Needless to say, it was a long day.

I also rediscovered some of the familiar characters that seem to be ubiquitous on any public transportation. Since I have such a small readership, I'm not going to worry too much about offending people, but if you are offended, sorry. Today there was a particularly large population of mean, small, elderly Asian women (Acronym: MSEAW). When we were all forced to disembark the first bus, there was one especially MSEAW who decided to elbow her way to the door to ensure her departure before anyone else. Then, while boarding our replacement bus, she again aggressively made her way to the front of the pack with no regard for the victims of her pointy elbowed attack along the way. I may be overly bitter given that I was one of those said victims.
Another interesting, although quite unpleasant, bus companion is the chain-smoker who gets on and immediately fills the entire bus with an impossibly thick fog of nicotine smell. He or she then proceeds to spend the entire bus ride hacking away, apparently attempting to dislodge a lung and leave it as a present on the bus floor. Today, our unfortunate chain smoker was especially smelly and I was unable to politely mask my reaction as I quickly grabbed for my sweater and pressed it violently to my nose to filter the air.

On another note, I took some fantabulous pictures the other day of some of my baby octopus. I won't put them all up here, and I am even a bit hesitant to put one up since I don't want some sneaky scientist stealing my babies. Those scientists, always stealing babies... But, here is one for your enjoyment:

Delightful Weirdness

2011-01-26T22:09:00.001-05:00

Here is a description from Coilhouse, where I found the vid:

Described as “a David Lynchian fever dream on Beatrix Potter terrain”, Christiane Cegavske’s exquisitely-crafted stop motion tale Blood Tea and Red String is a macabre delight and a labor of love that was 13 years in the making. The film, a dialogue-free, avant garde “fairy tale for adults” follows two groups of anthropomorphic creatures in fancy costumes -the aristocratic White Mice and the rustic Creatures Who Dwell Under the Oak – and the “struggle over the doll of their heart’s desire.” This struggle, notes one critic, is so fascinating because the actions and emotions of these bizarre creatures “so uncannily resemble warts-and-all human behavior”. We find a “disturbing comfort” in these unconventional characters, and we see ourselves in this magic world that Cegavske creates.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-08T22:43:00.004-05:00

It has been quite a while since I updated. My eggs did eventually hatch, however, they didn't last long. There were thousands of tiny octopuses that looked more like squid (without the tentacles of course) swimming around the tank. I collected a lot of them for genetics research and some to raise. They weren't feeding well, so I am taking a different approach with the next batch of eggs. They will probably hatch next week, so I am trying to get everything ready for them.

I had a lovely, much needed break at home with family, friends, and falafel. When I returned, Hawai'i was rainy and grey. I was on boats on New Years day, and it was the most perfect day. Here is a picture... Jealous yet?

On Thursday, as I was driving home, I tried to take a picture of the beautiful sunset (only at the stop light, Mom). When I put my camera back in my bag, I thought I was turning the camera off, but I ended up taking a picture, and this was the result.

Here are some pics of my babies. You can see the little guys in their tube and the bucket I used the transfer them. There is also a picture of their mama--you can see some empty egg cases and some behind her that haven't hatched yet.

I had planned on posting a lot earlier, but the internet has been out for the past week! Also, I am going to try to start a podcast--maybe Music and Malacology, Tunes and Teuthology, Indie and Inverts? I really miss having a radio show and I refuse to go through the ridiculousness at the University of Hawaii. I'm thinking of doing a segment on science (likely sexual selection) every show and play some classic rock, old indie, new indie, mashups, math rock, etc. So, pretty much an eclectic mix. I'm figuring out the copyright laws and make sure I don't screw up. I looked into streaming a radio show, but that seems to require more licensing.

Also, I've started a journal with sketches of invertebrates from around the island. I'll try to scan some in and add them when I finish one.

Alright, that's all for this post!

False alarm

2010-12-01T23:26:00.002-05:00

Last night, my housemate bought a Christmas tree and we all decorated it together :) It was lovely. One stipulation made before the decorating was that each of us was to arrive with an ornament. Having no money nor desire to go to the store and pick out a tacky ornament, I made my own. You can see the results below. I collected little things from around Coconut and put them into my favorite little glass vials. The pictures with the flash were a happy accident. A friend saw them today and said--'Oh, I can tell your mom is an artist,' which I found to be very flattering.

The false alarm referenced in the title of this post is in regards to my eggs. I thought today might be the day for them to hatch (it has been exactly one month). I received a phone call from a friend on the island who said she had seen some small things that appeared to be octopus babies. However, when I arrived, I saw no octopus babies :( I think she may have confused some waterbugs with the octos, and I don't blame her; these little guys are hard to see. I will let you know when they do hatch, and will post photos (I promise this time). Here is my mama octopus fiercely protecting her babies.

And look at this! Kasie and I are going to finally make our science show! Look how awesome it is. And, go to our youtube channel to check when we post new vids :)

BABIES!!!!

2010-11-03T01:32:00.002-04:00

Guess what? Guess what? Guess what?!!! My octopus had babies!! I'm a grandmoctopus!! There are thousands of eggs in the cinder block where she has made her den. They hang from the "ceiling" of the rock like strings of pearls. I'm very excited. This is a huge moment in my research! So much potential in those little eggs... Ahh!! I'll post pics soon.

Rabbit rabbit

2010-11-02T03:22:00.006-04:00

How is it already November? Things have been incredibly busy these days. Last Wednesday, I did a twelve-hour overnight-survey of Kewalo Basin to determine the Octopus oliveri population size and behavior. I made quite a few homeless friends in addition to octopus. Apparently, Kewalo is a popular hangout for the homeless. I did a 50 minute survey every hour and had ten minutes to write down observations, so I managed to avoid most unpleasant interactions. However, I did meet one toothless man who made strange sucking noises at me until I left to look for octopus. At the end of the evening (or rather, in the morning) I realized I had brought way too much food for one person and gave the people who lived there my apples, crackers and sandwiches as a thank you for making sure I was safe all night. They all called me "squid lady," which of course made me very happy :)

I realized I forgot to post pictures of the Queen's Anne's Revenge when it was here for the filming of the new Pirate's movie this summer. Here are some of the better ones.

Here's a photo of my babies mating!

Here are some photos and a video of the Blue Angels when they were here.

I want

2010-10-21T23:53:00.002-04:00

Found here

2010-10-21T18:41:00.001-04:00

he's plotting something...

2010-10-21T18:33:00.001-04:00

wow, don't tell someone their robots suck...

Flying Lotus - Kill Your Co-Workers from beeple on Vimeo.

2010-10-20T04:01:00.002-04:00

Halloween is quickly approaching and there are only eight weeks until I go home for Christmas! Speaking of Halloween, two bodies were found on Coconut Island last week. Apparently, these are not the first bodies to be found out here. They are likely very important people of royal Hawaiian ancestry. I think it's pretty cool, but I might be in the minority... They were found while digging to lay pipe down for fire hydrants. In Hawaii, if any historical artifacts are found while doing construction, all digging stops. We've had a team of archeologists out here analyzing the bones and I'm interested to see what they find.

Life with octos is going as well as can be expected when working with live animals. I've collected many Octopus oliveri (also known as rock tako) and they are mating and feeding readily. I got a particularly large one (with the help of two adventurous friends) last week, and she has proceeded to eat three of my males. I'm not too upset by it as long as she lays some eggs for me. I also found an extremely small one that is likely metamorphosing from its paralarval stage. She is the most adorable little thing you have ever seen. I have to cut tiny pieces from my shrimp to feed to her. So cute!!!

I seem to be losing any semblance of mastery of the English language these days. We'll see how smooshy my brain gets by Christmas...

2010-10-11T20:22:00.001-04:00

2010-10-04T20:58:00.001-04:00

2010-09-30T01:49:00.001-04:00

2010-09-26T21:45:00.000-04:00

2010-09-24T01:03:00.000-04:00

2010-09-22T03:11:00.002-04:00

New OK GO! music video. How did they get those dogs to do that? How many takes did this video take. If nothing else, this band is the most patient band out there...

Hey there fancy pants...

Umbra

Umbra (HD - 2010) from Malcolm Sutherland on Vimeo.

Things with octos are progressing. Life lessons being learned. Cars breaking down. Guns being shot (yes, a Glock 22. and I'm a natural). Busy Busy Busy.

2010-09-16T16:49:00.001-04:00

2010-09-07T20:05:00.002-04:00

oooo! if only i could get my hands on this book!

2010-09-06T04:43:00.001-04:00

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

The end of summer

2010-08-09T23:03:00.007-04:00

This morning, I went swimming with Galapagos sharks on the North Shore. We saw lot's of sharks about ten feet long. Christine said they were mostly females. Yesterday, we went on a hike to Maunawili Falls. We got lost along the way and saw a historical house where King Kalakaua and Princess Liliokalani went. I've also been on a baking kick recently. Also, the black pearl is here, filming the most recent Pirates movie. Now I am off to run boats!

The Black Pearl

Galapagos Sharks

A bathtub built for Princess Liliokalani in the 1800's

Maunawili Falls--Christine's cousin Grace jumps in

Orchid in front of my house :)

Lemon Poppyseed Pound Cake with Apricot Glaze

2010-07-21T02:15:00.001-04:00

Some cool vids

2010-07-19T21:58:00.003-04:00

Really busy. Coral spawning, squid hunting, boat driving, physics class taking... Cool vids in the meantime...

Blue - An Erotic Life from Tibo Charroppin on Vimeo.

"The Music Scene" from Anthony Francisco Schepperd on Vimeo.

great story and animation

2010-05-22T06:52:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-10T01:11:00.002-04:00

Happy Mother's Day! Especially to my mom and my two beautiful grandmothers :) Here is a pic of a beautiful octopus mom with her eggs to celebrate the occasion.

I had my first committee meeting last week and it went very well! They kind of want me to study a different kind of octopus, but I don't mind. It was very productive and it feel good to have the support of so many smart people :)

2010-05-10T01:10:00.000-04:00

2010-04-21T16:29:00.001-04:00

this one is a little different from the last video :)

Second Wind from Ian Worrel on Vimeo.

ramblings

2010-04-21T03:10:00.008-04:00

I went looking for octopus paralarvae last week with a post doc who is also interested in cephalopods. We went out on the leeward side, to about a depth of 50m, and put lights in the water to attract them. Most octopods lay eggs and aerate them until they begin to hatch. Once they hatch, they look like little baby octopus and are likely delicious snacks for any predators. With the particular species I study, it is presumed that the octopus larvae will float among the zooplankton (usually made up of larvae of both invertebrates and vertebrates) at night to feed, and settle down to the bottom to hide from predators during the day. When we put the lights out at night, it triggers the phototrophic response (the octopus thinks it is day), and the small octopus will attach to whatever is closest for shelter from predators. Conceivably, we are supposed to be able to find hundreds of them, however, we found only one. We were very excited though :) Here is a picture of my cute little guy (actually not sure if it is male or female). I am raising him and hope he will reach maturity after he metamorphoses to have many more chromatophores and a sexually developed arm.

This past Saturday, I went on a field trip with my Marine Ecology class to look at sea grass beds and sand flats. We found an algae eating crab (not going to pinch anyone) and several more of those photosynthetic slugs.

One of my octopods recently perished at the hands of a turkey sandwich :( Someone decided to feed him and I am down to one now. I am going to look for more on Friday. Keep your fingers crossed.

Also, I will hopefully be having my first committee meeting soon, which will either mean the end of my career as a PhD student, or the beginning. Fingers crossed again...

Also, just found out today that to get my external hard drive fixed and recover all of my photos, papers, and resources, it is going to cost $2400. Seriously. So, that's it. All of those memories gone. Zanzibar, college, Finland, South Africa, Kyrgyzstan, family, friends, all the things that make up a life... ugh. I've learned my lesson I suppose. Never again will I put things on my external hard drive that I care about.

Time for bed. I have a paper I need to work on tomorrow and need sleep...

whoa

2010-04-19T02:59:00.001-04:00

HEALTH "We are Water" from Eric Wareheim on Vimeo.

2010-04-12T18:43:00.001-04:00

I am a Geek

2010-03-27T03:52:00.001-04:00

scientists are called many things--here is a venn diagram my dad sent me that helps to explain the differences between them

2010-03-24T21:22:00.000-04:00

werner herzog makes everything better...

mangroves and slugs

2010-03-24T01:35:00.004-04:00

I have been quite lackadaisical recently with my postings, and for that I apologize. However, I would like to bring your attention to my friend Christine's blog, which is more often updated. As she is also a scientist in the Hawai'i program, and is often discussing interesting bits of research, I will link you over to her. Here is a post she recently did on our field trip to the mangroves. I found the little photosynthetic slug--a recent discovery for science! Photosynthesis in slugs is not a common occurrence!

My sister, brother, and friend Monica recently visited and we took over the island; driving everywhere, going to Lanikai, North Shore, Hanauma Bay, Diamond Head, among others. Here is a pic my sis took of my octo :) click to see the whole pic--i can't figure out how to fix that....

Coconut

2010-03-06T23:53:00.003-05:00

I thought I should put some pictures up of my new home. Here is a view of my front yard, and a view of the moon through the palm tree.

Also, they filmed Lost here recently. Here is a picture of the boat they brought to film on.

A Day

2010-03-05T03:34:00.002-05:00

I would have begun that phrase with "what," but that implies some negativity. And indeed, there were some quite negative parts to this day, horrible parts even, but, there were some splendid parts as well. I would love to say that the splendid outweigh the horrible, but I would be lying...

My day began as all days begin: I woke up late and had to rush to get to campus on time. I did SEM work for Les, which was pretty uneventful. Then, I had class, in which I struggled to keep awake. All this was fine until my external hard drive decided it was dead. Forever. And all of my pictures and grant proposals and resumes are on there. Everyone has helpfully pointed out that I shouldn't have put them all on there without a backup. While I know this is true, fat lot a good it will do for me now... It will cost at least $300 to get everything off of there. I am trying to weigh the memories with dollar values, but it is getting me nowhere. I finally decided I didn't have time to dwell on this issue because as a spontaneous exciting adventure, my friend Kasie asked me to go on two night dives with her!

The night dives were fabulous, splendiferous, magnupendous! Each dive was around 100ft. The first dive was to a small circular coral reef that you could swim underneath. There were lots of white tip reef sharks there, and morays, and soldier fish, frogfish, and a huge carrier crab (what looked to be a carrier crab). On the way up from the dive, we turned our lights off and swam in the phosphorescence. I looked up at the ocean surface above and it is so beautiful. I always feel so much more at peace in the water. The second dive was on a wreck where we saw several huge turtles, more morays, butterfly fish, parrot fish, and many others. When I am underwater, I forget about all the stress and frustration of everyday life. All I want to do is be in the moment and explore the amazing life around me...

After the dives, I was excited to drive home, have a shower and eat something (the first thing I would eat all day). At this point it was around 9PM and I was looking forward to a late night bike ride. Everything was going well until I got about five minutes from home. Then, my bike started to sputter. I thought perhaps I was getting low on gas. However, as soon as I got to a stop light, it stalled. It was dead. I tried to get it starting again, but to no avail. I sat for a bit on the side of the road, let it rest, then pulled the choke forward, and got it going. I made it to the gas station, filled up and that was it. No more. It would not start ever again. He is dead. I tried and tried. I left him for a bit, and still, no go. I left him in the parking lot of the gas station, but I am worried for him. It is raining and he's not covered and I hope he doesn't get stolen. But also, I am so frustrated. I just got this bike fixed. I finally got it back--they apparently fixed the starter, and now it is dead again! What the hell?!!!? Ugh! I am so mad. I had to call someone to pick me up, and I felt really bad because it was late and raining. Now, it is almost midnight, I still need a hot shower, but have finally gotten some food in me.

Somehow I feel that whenever I am fully at peace with the world and excited about what there is to come, something goes wrong... Am I not allowed to be happy? I feel like I am always shot down right at the moment of peace....

2010-02-09T00:36:00.002-05:00

Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.

click to watch it bigger--it should be watched full screen.

Yesterday

2010-02-03T00:17:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I went out in the bay with my octopus fisherman friend to find more babies to mate in my tank. We got two more males and a small female. It was a beautiful day and the water was crystal clear. Both the males were very large and as soon as I put them in the tank, they started fighting with my other male. I am hoping they will all be alive tomorrow... But really, I am worried for my poor little female.
On the way back to the Island, we saw 3 giant manta rays! I have never seen a manta ray that close, and each one had a wing span of at least 8 feet. They were stunning. And I think they were mating. It was magical.
When I begin to feel overwhelmed and wonder what I am doing here, I will think on that moment. It was a perfect day--drinking beer, snorkeling, enjoying Hawai'i.
I'll be moving out to Kaneohe soon, so hopefully, I will have more days like that.
Things have been extremely busy recently. I'm working with Les on the bamboo corals, taking two classes, doing microsatellite work in the lab on Coconut, moving to Coconut, feeding and caring for my octopods, and trying to stay sane. And, my bike is in the shop again! Ugh! I took it in today to fix the starter and I have to order a new part--more money... And it won't be ready for a week. In the meantime, I need to get to Coconut every other day... Get ready for two hour bus rides across the island--yay!
Maybe I'll have more drawings of creepy bus people for you.

In the meantime, here is a manta ray.

A few photos from the cruise

2010-01-26T02:21:00.001-05:00

Pics of the sub and me in the sub with Terry and Cori :)

in case you don't know

2010-01-14T01:01:00.001-05:00

2010-01-12T22:50:00.002-05:00

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

Dad, this one is not for Mom.

2009-12-10T02:56:00.002-05:00

you have to go to this website. I think this is my favorite one

2009-12-10T02:33:00.000-05:00

wow

2009-12-09T23:42:00.000-05:00

(also, i will post soon about the cruise!)

catchy

2009-11-19T05:15:00.001-05:00

2009-11-18T20:11:00.003-05:00

I just came from an extremely depressing yet enlightening seminar in which the topic was climate change. We've all heard it before. I know I certainly have. But, for some reason, this particular talk really hit home. He was talking about the world in terms I could understand--thinking about the past and future in terms of eons. When he presented the graphs of the future, it was bleak. Basically, no matter what we do, there will be no coral reefs in 50-100years. I had always heard that, but I think I always held out some hope that we could change it. Somehow, we would find a way to save the coral reefs, and maybe I would have something to do with it. But really, no matter what we do, even if we turn off all cars and engines and anything using fossil fuels tomorrow, the amount of CO2 in the air right now will inevitably kill them. It won't go away. You can't reverse the amount of CO2. It's there forever. And it is killing them... and us. But, I am clinging to the notion that once all humans are dead, the world will recover. Gaia will prevail. In the history of the Earth, there were coral reefs and they were all killed by a huge CO2 influx (due to what, is debatable) and then, ten million years later, they were back. So, they survived somehow, somewhere. I hope we don't fuck up the Earth so bad that once we are dead, it can't recover. All we can hope for is chaos, drought, and depression to rid the earth of human beings...

But my spirit is not crushed beyond all hope. I will still study and love my cephalopodies. That is all I can hope for really.

2009-11-15T02:37:00.000-05:00

what the what?

Cruise

2009-11-04T23:10:00.003-05:00

Here is a website for kids learning about our cruise that is coming up in a few weeks. They wanted pictures of us with animals. It was a toss up between Elephant and Cheetah... I went with cheetah.

I'm gonna post it with the whole url, maybe this will work
http://www.whaletimes.org/creepintothedeepbios.htm

halloween

2009-11-02T01:07:00.002-05:00

science is fun

2009-10-28T17:35:00.001-04:00

just so everyone knows--read this article about bats and fellatio... I promise you will enjoy it, or at least find it entertaining.

peanut butter man

2009-10-28T17:33:00.000-04:00

does anyone else find this extremely disturbing?

El Perro Del Mar, Change of Heart

2009-10-26T01:21:00.002-04:00

El Perro Del Mar "Change Of Heart" from The Control Group on Vimeo.

I wanted to listen to the new El Perro del Mar, and found this video. What began as a bizarre, homoerotic absurdity, turned into one of the most impressive feats of human athleticism I have ever seen. Enjoy.

I'm gonna be a Grandma

2009-10-21T03:57:00.002-04:00

One of my babies is going to lay eggs soon. I hope. If she doesn't die first.... But for now, she is holed up in her den in what looks to be a egg laying position. I check on her every day and I put up a sign to make sure people don't bother her. But, people bother her anyway, I am sure. My little octopodies are always being manhandled. They are so popular.

I kinda wish I could just live in there with them. It's a nice sized tank. I get in when I clean it.

Right now is grants time..... so many grants, so little time. midterms, papers, projects....drowning in responsibilities. tired.

2009-10-08T00:34:00.001-04:00

This semester is already crazy. Very busy. But, here is a youtube channel of a friend of mine who works as security out at HIMB. He's taken quite a few videos of my babies, if you want to see them :)

2009-09-13T22:07:00.001-04:00

2009-09-01T00:23:00.002-04:00

These are AMAZING!!! They are videos of animals from their perspectives. I think the armadillo is my favorite. Alright now back to work!

2009-08-31T23:55:00.002-04:00

This is a time lapse video of the Las Angeles wildfires. Nature is a powerful force...
I like the music a lot too.

Timelapse - Los Angeles Wildfire from Dan B. on Vimeo.

I just found another one. It must be a common theme right now...

Time Lapse Test: Station Fire from Eric Spiegelman on Vimeo.

2009-08-30T19:10:00.001-04:00

This is ridiculous and awesome. Make sure you have your sound on...

Robots!

2009-08-30T18:07:00.001-04:00

2009-08-27T04:32:00.000-04:00

from coilhouse.net

here's a good description
"8-bit Trip is a stop-motion music video that pays tribute to that generation of videogames that dominated my childhood, using the building blocks that has hijacked untold hours of my free time. Created by two crazy Swedes requiring over 1500 hours of work, who knows how many LEGO and a chiptune soundtrack; it is a perfect storm of cloying nostalgia, paralyzing my brain with its sheer awesomeness."

class

2009-08-26T05:35:00.002-04:00

Monday was the first day of class. I had everything all planned out, but as the days go by, I am getting more and more bogged down! So much to do and it is only the third day of classes. Les wanted me to take another class, which is on Tues and Thurs, so now I will have to go to Coconut at 6 am to get the octos fed, instead of having the whole day, and then being able to do genetics work out there... I will make it work, but I think my brain may explode at some point during the semester.

Also, today I found out that I am likely to go on another cruise this semester!! We will be going to the NW Hawaiian Islands and I might be able to go in a submarine!!!! Keep your fingers crossed.

in homage to the coolest jacket on the planet that my dad wore (and maybe made?)

this work is pretty impressive. i wonder how long it lasts?

octo pics

2009-08-21T15:53:00.003-04:00

Here are some pics of my octos that a lady on the island took :)

2009-08-14T22:12:00.002-04:00

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

this simple video has renewed my faith in humanity...

and--i love robots!

2009-08-14T04:47:00.003-04:00

i'm not sure if i posted this already. i may have... this is my great grandpa with his first cadaver.

also, i am so excited--a documentary that i have wanted to see for a long time is available on hulu. it's called Second Skin. it's about people who play online role playing games and how it affects their lives. here it is.

2009-08-13T23:40:00.002-04:00

i find myself increasingly nostalgic for a simpler time. i suppose that comes with getting old. i look at the children on the sidewalk, on their way to tae kwan do class, and in that moment i can remember when the only responsibilities were extra curricular activities and maybe biking to the store for salad dressing.

2009-08-11T23:26:00.002-04:00

This is weird and amazing. This species of frog lays infertile eggs for its tadpoles to eat--they eat them as they come out of her body...It makes for a bizarre writhing mass of tadpoles feasting from their mother's behind...

Driving A Motorcycle in a Hurricane:

2009-08-10T22:54:00.002-04:00

Cons
1. The rain feels like hail hitting my delicate skin
2. Wind
3. No tire traction, turning is hazardous--and because Hawaii's roads were designed by a person without a frontal lobe, there are many tight, terrible turns
4. I looked like a wet rat when I walked into Safeway
5. People laughing at me
6. There is no windshield wiper on a helmet

Pros
1. ......nope

2009-08-09T22:23:00.000-04:00

SCINTILLATION from Xavier Chassaing on Vimeo.

"This is an experimental film made up of over 35,000 photographs. It combines an innovative mix of stop motion and live projection mapping techniques."

And I like the song too.

Hurricane a comin...

2009-08-09T21:56:00.002-04:00

On Thursday, one of my males died. He was the male who was most eager to mate, so it stands to reason that he may have been nearing the end of his life. I did a necropsy and was unable to find anything egregiously wrong--with disease, you look for abnormalities in the gills, strange coloration, mucous, or tumors. He looked healthy all around, but he had very few spermatophores left, indicating old age. This particular species of octopus lives for approximately a year, so it is not surprising some would die. My females are well, however.

I am starting to get a bit nervous about this hurricane Felicia coming. It doesn't seem likely it will hit Oahu, but there will be rain without a doubt and motorcycle riding in the rain is no fun. I need to go out to Coconut tomorrow to feed and check on the octos, so I am hoping if I go early enough I may be able to avoid the rain.

I need to get more octos. I should have called the octopus fisherman to help me, but I forgot. I keep having this problem. I seem to have lost all motivation. I think I am debilitated by the extremely high expectations. I am looking forward to classes beginning so I might have a bit more structure in my life. However, before that happens, I need to fix my proposal enough for Les to agree to allow me to do cephalopod research.