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.

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

Robots!

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

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

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

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!

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.

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.

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:

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

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...

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.

Science is cool