Friday, December 25, 2009

Friday, November 27, 2009

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

November Thoughts - Series Wrap Up

So I ended up failing to make it the whole month on this series, falling about a week short as Thanksgiving came up and I got behing. Overall I thought it was a good series and enjoyed doing it for any of my readers. Looking back as I reposted this over to blogger was a fun look back at my life a little over a year ago.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

November Thoughts - The Eagles

• Nov 24


So I was talking with a good friend that goes way back about the bad "The Eagles" today. You know how some songs always make you think of a certain person or event? Well I can't listen to the Eagles without thinking of driving around in my Monte Carlo back in high school. I had the Eagles Greatest hits and I think we seriously listened to that song every day while crusin around after school. Makes me think of rolling down 421 before the Honda plant with my hand out my window. Good times.







It was and still is mandatory for everyone in my car to sing along with Hotel California whenever it comes on. (One of a select few songs like that including Don't Stop Believing by Journey, Come Sail away by Styx and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen). I have other songs that I associate with people and events I think everyone does, but that entire band I associate with fall-spring 2003-2004.



Closet thing to it is associating Jimmy Buffet with my Dad as he used to have a ton of his cassettes that we would listen to in his truck when I was little.



Monday, November 23, 2009

November Thoughts - Sheets

• nov 23


At work I do some hours on the front desk in addition to my admin duties, and when you are on front desk one of the things you help out on is folding laundry. I've also been doing laundry when I have been training my new night auditor. However there is one thing that baffles me when folding.... fitted sheets....



I mean I have the fancy towel fold down, I can fold the flat King sheets without letting them hit the ground (long arms help a lot, other struggle and have to use the table). But fitted Sheets are just plain crazy. I'm finally starting to get the hang of them after being shown how by like 4 different people.



Seriously though I don't even know why people bother, I mean they are just going to be stretched out tight on the bed? this is why I don't make my bed, at home, your only going to dirty it up as soon as you crawl in that night. (obviously you have to make them up in a hotel though).



Fitted Sheets... my sworn laundry enemy

Saturday, November 21, 2009

November Thoughts - Hadron

Are we risking our lives for science?




So I read this news article today:



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_sci_big_bang_machine



It is about how Scientist are getting ready to test out the Large Hadron Collider again, after spending over a year fixing it from the last time they tried to use it. (Yes they have spent over $10 billion dollars on this thing and new really got it to work yet, surprisingly this is European funded and not a waste of our money.) Of Course we here in the US were going to build a bigger one in Texas but canceled the funding in 1993 when we realized it might not be of that much scientific value… or maybe kill us all?



Anyway I know Cracked.com did a report once about how it could be one of the most dangerous tools in science, If I find the article I’ll link it here later, but I want you to just think about this for a minute… The goal is to recreate the circumstances in which the big bang occurred. You know.. the big bang, what they think was the cause of the whole universe… Anyone else find this a little more dangerous than what its worth?



The idea is for this to be a controlled experiment that will probably take place in January of 2010.







Or maybe this is what the Mayan people where talking about in 2012???

Friday, November 20, 2009

November Thoughts - Scarey people

• Nov 20


So Megan totally inadvertently inspired this post, because of her admiration for one of the people on this list, and Yes I know it has an insanely long title for a top 5 list.



Top 5 People that you shouldn't be scared of but would be terrified to meet in a dark ally



5. Amy Winehouse



Who is she? A drugged up crazy singer



Why is she scary? Look at her, she is pretty freaky looking and due to the fact that she is has a history of being unstable



Why is it stupid to be terrified of her? Again look at her, she is a small little woman how could she do anything to me or you?





I have no freaking clue what she is doing to that chicken.... scary





4. David Icke







Who is he? He is a former British football star who has become famous recently for his die hard belief that the world is being run by lizard men disguised as people who are secretly trying to take over the world.



Why is he scary? Read that last part again, he honestly believes that George Bush (as well as other former and current world leaders) was a lizard man carrying out part of an evil plot to enslave/defeat us mere humans. He has also developed a cult following of people who believe his conspiracy theory.



Why is it stupid to be terrified of him? Well if you have read the above you probably realize he is a little crazy, and the worst he could do would mostly likely be trying to convert you to his beliefs.



3. Carrot Top



Who is he? Carrot Top the famous prop comedian who stars in washed up celebrty shows on MTV and used to be on 1-800-collect adds.



Why is he scary? Well he used to be this regular looking wimpy dude.... now he is hulked out on steroids... I mean look at him what isn't scarey about this guy now?





His secret has been drinking a lot of carrot juice



Why is it stupid to be terrified of him? Well for one thing he is a prop comedian, and not even a great one at that and besides the roids have probably messed him up somehow.



2. Marilyn Manson




Who is he? A shock metal rocker



Why is he scary? His looks and his looks alone... but yeah thats plenty enough. That and the lyrics of his songs even managed to get him blamed for the columbine shooting.



Why is it stupid to be terrified of him? Well he has built his whole career on being this crazy scarey looking guy who isn't afraid of doing anything for shock value.... yet we haven't really ever heard of him doing anything illegal or crazy outside his performances. That and he is this small little guy who looks like he hasn't ever been outside.



1. Emma Goldman



Who is she? One of Megan's heros and a woman's rights activist from way back in the day.





Just plain creepy....



Why is she scary? Ok #1 I think she is like the creepiest woman I have ever seen, other than that she openly promoted anarchy and was known for her sexual exploits (which is cringe worthy to me)



Why is it stupid to be terrified of her? Well first off is she is dead and despite being arrested a couple times she wasn't really that physically dangerous unless you are scared of women getting rights.







Honorable mention: Richard Simmons





There you have it my list of "People that you shouldn't be scared of but would be terrified to meet in a dark ally". The only draw back to this list is there is at least one other person I would add but they aren't famous so I had to pick people that are publicly known so people would understand.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

November Thoughts - Night

• Nov 19


So I've been training a new night auditor the last two night and have been working the night shift. Which is a pain when you have to jump back and forth from daytime to nighttime to daytime again. Anyway here is my attempt to be creative, I got my rhyme scheme down, but since I have two English majors who read my blog I'll have to ask them not to rip apart my meter. My meter schemes just weren't working out and towards the end I got tired of working on them.

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

November Thoughts - Where's George

• Nov 18


So I'm sure you have seen it by now as it has been around for quite some time, you get some change back and on your dollar bill is stamped wheresgeorge.com. You also probably know that website was built so people can get on and see where all the places their dollar has stopped. But if you’re like me you said oh that's a cool idea and then proceeded to never go there.



In fact now it’s kind of annoying to see that stamped on your dollar bill, and it hasn't interested me in a long time, but today I got a dollar with that stamped on it and needed something to write about so I decided to check it out. Unfortunately though I spent that dollar last night to buy a drink at the hotel, so I had to attempt to look up the other five dollars I have with me right now.



And after entering all 5 of those dollars.... I struck out, all where first entries into the system. So I don't have any exciting stories to tell you unless I make one up, thus I had to explore the site. It turns out the most entered bill has only been sent in 15 times, which I suppose is pretty good seeing how you have to get that many people to take the time to report it, though its last report was made in 2005 so its probably dead now :(



The second most traveled bill has been entered 14 times and looking through its log it has an interesting history where one guy found it in a coke bottle on the beach, then through it back into the water and the next report was from a guy who received it from someone who said it was found on a fishing trip.



The site has some interesting links if you want to burn some spare time and it has been operating since 1998! Overall I rate the site worth looking at, but I won't be coming back to log all of my dollars.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

November Thoughts - Disease

• Nov 17


So today's random thought



Maybe we should name our deadly diseases happy names? It might improve moral. I mean tuberculosis just sounds bad... and there is no getting around the Bubonic Plague a.k.a. The Black Death! honestly if you have the black death you are probably just going to give up right then and there.



Mononucleosis, SARS, H1N1, Gangrene, Typhoid all have discouraging sounding names, I know that these names are developed to have meaning to the scientific community. However why can't they just give us a cheery name to call it, and have a separate scientific name? Kind of like animals we have dogs, but scientist know them as Canis lupis familiaris. Canis lupis familiaris seems a lot less cuddly and friendly than dog.







Bronchitis isn't even deadly but it sounds terrible! so lets drop these harsh sounding scientific names and go with something happy. Sure if you get the "Doodle Bug" you might only have a 10% chance of surviving but with a name like "doodle bug" you'll be like man I can kick these wimpy disease no problem.



I know you are going to argue... but if you name them something happy it will just come to mean something bad once the disease starts killing people... but really look at Chicken pox, that has a happy name and even though it kills some kids no one is afraid of it.

Monday, November 16, 2009

November Thoughts - Football

• Nov 16


So last night’s Colts vs Patriots game had a thrilling ending. The Patriots have the ball up 34 to 28 against the Colts and decide to go for it on 4th and 2 yards to go on their own 28. They do a quick screen pass to Faulk and he gets stuffed just short of the 1st down marker. Peyton gets the Ball and scores a game winning touchdown to Reggie Wayne with 13 seconds to go and the Colts win 35-34.



Peyton Manning Flair Showcase Rookie BV $15 Pictures, Images and Photos



So today’s topic is Belichek's call to go for it on 4th down in his own territory. All day ESPN has blasted him for his decision to go, but I'm going to defend the call today. Obviously I'm a Colts fan so I am currently happy he went for it and failed, but at the time I was really worried he went for it. I thought for sure they would make it, and that screen play they ran they were killing us all day with. If the Pats had pulled off the conversion the game was over, the patriots could have bled out the clock.



Now why do I think they shouldn't have punted it? Peyton Manning has been so clutch the last two years, do you really want to give him the ball with 2 mins left in the game and a chance to win? The Colts had been driving in the 4th quarter and the Pats D was obviously getting tired, right now Peyton is in a zone, you give him the ball with a chance to win and he's marching to the end zone. Belichek thought he had a better chance.



Now since he failed what should he have done? Well this is a move no NFL coach will EVER do, but it would have been the smart move... let the Colts score on their first play... so you can get the ball back only down by one with almost two minutes to go. He was so scared that Peyton would score he risked giving the ball back to the Colts at the 28 yard line, If he let them score and put the ball back in Brady's hands with time he would have had a better chance to win. Lets not forget Brady has had some pretty clutch moments himself and Randy Moss was tearing us up. Luckily though no coach would ever let a team score on purpose, even if in my opinion it was the smart choice.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Howie - Anything Goes and Kong


Howie went to see the Musical "Anything Goes" by the North Decatur High School , but he also got some pictures in with Casey and Kong

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November Thoughts - Anything Goes

• Nov 15


Today I went back home to visit my family and we went to the North Decatur High School Musical production of "Anything Goes" whose music was written by Cole Porter.



The plot is a zany (by 1930's standards) romantic comedy that takes place on a cruise ship with wealthy elite, burlesque dancers, and mobsters. there are definatly some funny parts to the plays writing but I don't consider it in my top musicals list.



The singing was High School musical style, was hard to understand them sometimes but they tried their best and North doesn't have the most advanced audio equipment. I also wasn't a big fan of the music, sorry Cole Porter you may be an Indiana legend and all but I don't dig your tunes. There wasn't a super catchy song that gets stuck in your head... I'm thinking "Oklahoma" from Oklahoma or "Luck be a Lady" from Guys and Dolls a song that you are singing on your way home.



The props have gotten much better since I was in school, when we did the play rumors we had a pretty good set, but since then they have really put a lot of work into these bigger productions. Also they had this cool antique wheelchair which made me say "Wow where did they get that?"



Finally the acting was decent, I really liked the guy who played the Englishman and the guy who played the mobster, I thought they were the strongest actors in the bunch and neither were Sr's so heres to them getting some great parts in the future.



I also saw CJ and Megan there, hadn't seen them in a long time. Overall it was a good event.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

November Thoughts - Chain Mail


Todays topic...



Chain Email's... I haven't got one in a long time.. could it be these annoying things are finally dead? or just that my friends don't send them anymore?



All I can say is none of my wishes ever came true :( but on the bright side I haven't been killed by the many numours ways predicted by me not sending them.



examples include:

a girl ripping me to shreds in my sleep


a ghost haunting me


a car crash


my body being sawed in two by an evil magician (seriously I remember this one)


my house burning down



I remember I got a real old fashioned chain letter once, like the kind you have to mail! back when I was in elementary school I thought it would be cool to have one then I had to find people to send it too, that part sucked.



The internet made them huge for a long time, my guess is I'm just old enough that I don't get them anymore. But I can still hope they are dead.

Friday, November 13, 2009

November Thoughts - classmate

• Nov 13


So I was going to write a topic on Friday the 13th but I was informed of a breaking news event that one of my high school classmates had died tonight. Troy Hartley. Honestly, I can't say I really interacted with him that much, he was in what you would call the jocks and I was firmly in the nerd/outcast group (magic the gathering anyone?) but still he wasn't rude or anything to me ever. (at least not to my face).



I guess he died in a car crash down near Lake Santee, to the best of my knowledge I think he is the first of my classmates to die, though I think three have been to prison (out of 78). Seems crazy but as Steve Runyan and I were talking about it we were having some difficulty trying to remember all of our old classmates. Its only been a little over 5 years, we both agreed that if we saw them in person we would remember but it is difficult from memory alone. I guess this just goes to show you how much we can all change and drift apart in a short amount of time. I know I only talk to two people I graduated with regularly (Steve and Bruce) and then one person in the class below me (Megan).



So things can change quickly, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that someone from my class died, I mean statistically we were probably doing pretty good. But it made me stop and think none the less.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

November Thoughts - Kendra

Todays subject is just a quick discussion of something that was in the news about the place I work today.




Kendra, of reality TV fame and "the girl next door" fame. (a former playboy bunny who was a live in girlfriend of Hugh) called our hotel "tiny". She had the biggest room type in the hotel and well its bigger than my apartment. Its funny when you think about things from other peoples perspectives. Granted she did have two small dogs and her husband living with her when she stayed at our hotel however she was with us a pretty short amount of time. I wonder what she would say if told there are people who have lived in the smaller room type than her for months longer than she did?



They have now since moved to a mansion in Carmel in the same division where Jermaine O'neal used to live, though the article said they are planning to move to LA as soon as the season is over. I have never seen her show but I might have to tune in for an episode or two now that I know who she is and everything. I guess this is as close as I have ever been to knowing someone famous. It will be interesting to see if the Colts resign Hank Basket and if they do will she end up moving back to Indy?









*note* none of this is meant to be negative, just talking about perspectives the only interactions I had with her where friendly and positive :) I wish her and Hank the best of luck.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

November Thoughts - World Records

Adventures in dumb world records.... I'm a competitive person, earlier today I was bragging about being able to reprogram my desk phone faster than Jennifer one of my co-workers could reprogram hers. (and yes she claimed she didn't know it was a competition, but I still declare victory). But sometimes you have to wonder why do we have certain records and why do they make news?




Earlier today a man broke the record for distance pulling a double decker tour bus with is hair... yes there is a world record for that. Previously he had failed to break the record for pulling the bus with his ears :S I'm sure there is probably a record for pulling it with your teeth as well but really who cares other than the dude who holds it?



Not to say some obscure records aren't cool... Like Mr. Chestnut who holds the record for eating the most hot dogs, thats cool. What would make it dumb... if there was a seperate record holder for the person who could eat the most hot dogs with poppyseed buns



The guy who has the record of pulling a bus the farthest with his body is cool as well, but do we need to have subdivisions... this guy is the best bus puller with his hair, this guy with his ears, this guy with his teeth... and I cringe to think but I'm betting there is a record for pulling it with an intimate body part :




So lets umm try to cut our some absurdity with world records and keep them cool :)



Any other suggestions for weird World Records?

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

November Thoughts - Clouds

So did anyone know we gained a new type of cloud this year? The "Asperatus" cloud, it is a low lying cloud that looks like a "choppy sea from below". I came across this article today describing the new type of cloud formation that has been seen around the globe (one scientist has been studying it for 30 years) but is now just finally being named.




What I find interesting is that it just finally became a cloud type. I remember in elementary school we were taught there were four types of cloud, I wonder if all the science books will now be updated for this new type? Apparently this announcement was made in June to little fanfare so I'm doubting it. I'd say it would be safe to say modern day meteorology has been in practice for one hundred years, but humans have been studying the skies since the beginning of recorded history. So why did it take this long for a new cloud type?



Honestly I searched for that answer and came up empty, seems like it just takes the right person noticing and putting the time in to build a case a petition the UN meteorically society. That person would be the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society. (Won't you all sleep better tonight knowing that we have people who appreciate the clouds for us!) It has been 58 years since out last new cloud type the cirrus intortus, so I doubt I will see another new cloud typed added in my life time... So everyone remember 2009 as the year of the cloud.





Also even though it looks nasty, they rarely lead to storms.


 

 

Monday, November 9, 2009

November Thoughts - Berlin Wall

Today November 9th, is the 20 year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, so in honor of that landmark event, it will be my subject today.



Today November 9th, is the 20 year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, so in honor of that landmark event, it will be my subject today.






knocking down the wall



Really just thinking that a countries government was strong enough and gutsy enough to build a wall to keep its subjects IN is crazy in itself. Today we propose building walls to keep people out (i.e. Mexico), and openly tell people they are free to leave the country if they don't believe in what we do.



Obviously the world is much different now, it was built right after WWII had ravaged Europe and the Soviets were worried about top scientist leaving the country and creating a "brain drain" as well as looking weak compared to the democratic west.



Still when you think of how today people get up in arms and protest about everything, its hard to imaging a country even thinking of entraping its population let alone attempting such an extreme effort. If the army tried to step in to stop, the world media would be up in arms. I think this event really speaks to how much the world has changed in the last several decades. I guess the evil dictator in me would like to see some country try it, just to see how things would play out. (My guess is it would end with a few people dieing and then the international community stepping in and crushing the efforts) I mean look, The United States has tried to ban people from going to Cuba and couldn't accomplish that.



Oh well, not that long of a blog today, just some thoughts on a major world event.




knocking down the wall



Really just thinking that a countries government was strong enough and gutsy enough to build a wall to keep its subjects IN is crazy in itself. Today we propose building walls to keep people out (i.e. Mexico), and openly tell people they are free to leave the country if they don't believe in what we do.



Obviously the world is much different now, it was built right after WWII had ravaged Europe and the Soviets were worried about top scientist leaving the country and creating a "brain drain" as well as looking weak compared to the democratic west.



Still when you think of how today people get up in arms and protest about everything, its hard to imaging a country even thinking of entraping its population let alone attempting such an extreme effort. If the army tried to step in to stop, the world media would be up in arms. I think this event really speaks to how much the world has changed in the last several decades. I guess the evil dictator in me would like to see some country try it, just to see how things would play out. (My guess is it would end with a few people dieing and then the international community stepping in and crushing the efforts) I mean look, The United States has tried to ban people from going to Cuba and couldn't accomplish that.



Oh well, not that long of a blog today, just some thoughts on a major world event.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

November Thoughts - Mr. Rogers

So today we are going to talk about Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, the classic childrens TV show that ran from 1969-2001 featuring a man, his puppets, an occasional neighbor and some fish that he always fed.



So today we are going to talk about Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, the classic childrens TV show that ran from 1969-2001 featuring a man, his puppets, an occasional neighbor and some fish that he always fed.








Why talk about this? Well this weekend after about a decade in storage, the studio where it was filmed in Pittsburgh reassembled the neighborhood of make-believe for people around the world to tour as part of their special christianing of the Studio after the late Mr. Rogers.



LINK



Over 5,000 people came to tour the set from all over the country.



Some of my memories about the show:



He always fed those fish, every episode... and that was it... its like the fish didn't really have a purpose now that I look back. They should of named them or something.



He always put those VHS tapes into the wall... and his picture became a TV screen... cool I guess but pretty impractical as he always stood up to watch it. The guy needed a lazy boy or something.



The land of make-believe wasn't that creative of a name really, and why a trolly?



What did they make in the factory in Mr. Rogers Neighborhood? I remember the pink building was a factory but I can't remember if they ever built anything there



Why did they have Frank Rogers do all of the voices, seriously he wasn't a voice actor and looking back now it sounds pretty bad. If this was modernized their would be at least 5-6 voice actors on the crew. For better or worse I don't know maybe that was part of the charm?



X was the owl, Daniel was the Lion in the clock, there was Prince Henry, the king, Isabella his wife, Pricilla the Pussycat... anyone else remember any of the others? What was the live actor girls name?



Fell free to share so Mr. Roger's memories.








Why talk about this? Well this weekend after about a decade in storage, the studio where it was filmed in Pittsburgh reassembled the neighborhood of make-believe for people around the world to tour as part of their special christianing of the Studio after the late Mr. Rogers.



LINK



Over 5,000 people came to tour the set from all over the country.



Some of my memories about the show:



He always fed those fish, every episode... and that was it... its like the fish didn't really have a purpose now that I look back. They should of named them or something.



He always put those VHS tapes into the wall... and his picture became a TV screen... cool I guess but pretty impractical as he always stood up to watch it. The guy needed a lazy boy or something.



The land of make-believe wasn't that creative of a name really, and why a trolly?



What did they make in the factory in Mr. Rogers Neighborhood? I remember the pink building was a factory but I can't remember if they ever built anything there



Why did they have Frank Rogers do all of the voices, seriously he wasn't a voice actor and looking back now it sounds pretty bad. If this was modernized their would be at least 5-6 voice actors on the crew. For better or worse I don't know maybe that was part of the charm?



X was the owl, Daniel was the Lion in the clock, there was Prince Henry, the king, Isabella his wife, Pricilla the Pussycat... anyone else remember any of the others? What was the live actor girls name?



Fell free to share so Mr. Roger's memories.



Saturday, November 7, 2009

Howie and Megan's Birthday

Howie, Megan, Emily, Morgan, and I all celebrated Megan and Emily's birthdays at my hotel. It was a fun event that invovled spending time in Zionsville, going to the mall, eating at Steak and Shake and just hanging out. Here are a few phots from that night.

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November Thoughts - Birthdays

Today's Blog is about Birthday's




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In honor of Megan and Emily who came up to the hotel on Saturday to celebrate their birthdays (along with Morgan the third non-birthday sister)



Honestly to me birthdays have never really been that big of a deal, my most memorable birthday was my 13th in which I totaled my Dad's truck (great way to kick off your birthday right?). I know I had at least one birthday party when I was little (I've seen pictures, I had a baseball glove cake). But really the day was never really anything too special other than you got to pick out where we went out to eat at, at our house. Even Casey never really had a big birthday celebration either until recently when she had he tea party for her twentieth birthday. That said I don't really feel like I missed out on anything special.



Both Megan and Emily had commented they would like to have a big party, so I guess inviting one friend (me to Megan) or a complete stranger (me to Emily) and your sisters isn't a big party :) I never really even wanted to have a big party though. I remember in elementary school kids use to have their parties at the roller rink in Greensburg, but I never even liked going to other kids birthdays now that I think of it back then.



Maybe I'm a birthday scrooge, or maybe I just never had enough close friends to fill up a real birthday party.



My favorite Birthday gift, was probably the playhouse/fort my Dad built my sister and I when we were little, this was a two story playhouse (which is now a one story chicken house), that housed some of the greatest squirt gun fights known to man... or at least it seemed like it at the time.



One final observation is the fact that Emily was mortified that she was turning 16 and how it would be the worst year of her life. I hope everyone doesn't go into a year expecting it will be their worst one, but if your worst year is your 16th I guess it can only get better from then on out right? I'm not sure what my worst year was.

Friday, November 6, 2009

November Thoughts - Batter Blaster

Ok this is just going to be a quick blog today, but its going to feature I a product I had never heard of before until today... Batter Blaster, pancake/waffle batter in a spray can.








Like Cheeze Whiz before it Batter Blaster proves that we do infact like things that come out of aerosol can. I stumbled upon this in a yahoo finance news article proclaiming it one of the best new money making products out there, having turned 9 million dollars in profit last year despite being an upstart company that was founded by two guys in 2005.



I haven't seen it is stores yet but they say they sell it at costco and its even organic to boot! Though if you ask me it doesn't seem like something organic should be coming out of an aerosol can. Just seems very umm inorganic?



Orangic or not this kid seems to enjoy Batter Blaster







So anyway I guess this brings us to a debate... which is better food out of a spray can or food on a stick....



I still vote for food on a stick, (corndogs, shish kabobs, cotten candy) but this does give the food from a spray can another arguing point.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

November Thoughts - Coconut Crab

• Nov 5


So for todays topic... Coconut Crabs, brought to you by a request by Megan



So Megan and I were talking on MSN when randomly she sent me this picture:







I immediately called it a fake, thinking it was plastic and a Halloween prank, and then when to research and find out if I was right so I could bask in my rightness.



However I was wrong, while Snopes (a great hoax checking website) had an article on that very picture and couldn't confirm it was real, there is little reason to doubt its authenticity.



So that lead me to the question what are these huge crabs and where are they from.



The Crab is a Coconut Crab, and they are found on islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. However these are trestrial crustations, the largest in fact, and thus aren't found in the water but on land.. or in trees... yes they are known to climb up 20 ft into palm trees. Not your average crab.



They grow to have a leg span of up to three feet and can weigh up to 35 lbs... They live up to 60 years and never stop growing. These crabs are called Coconut crabs because they eat coconuts, wow big surprise right, there pinchers are so strong they can open a coconut with it. (and to think we measly humans have to use a hammer!) but you know they will also settle for meals of rats and turtle hatchlings...



Back to the Pinchers, they can lift objects over sixty pounds with those things, which helps them get their nickname of the "robber crab" as it is rumored they will sometimes drag off shiney objects.



Since they are nocturnal.... just imaging coming home one night and being ambushed by a coconut crab jumping out of a tree all Ninja like to take you down.



Oh did I mention they developed the ability to smell..... fear and blood.......... ok maybe just rotting fruit.. but I know they are evolving the blood thing just wait and see.



So how high are these guys on the threat to the human population factor? well if you can avoid their Ninja abilities and catch them in the daylight not too much as they are considered an excellent tasting crab, and are also an aphrodisiac. (think about it ninja and love making abilities) However their tastiness has lead to extinction from some islands and dwindling population overall. People have proposed farming them, but they can be violent and not much is know about the reproductive cycle so no wide scale production has ever been attempted.



So there you have it.. a nomination of crustacean of the year.... the Coconut Crab a love making Ninja of a crustacean.



Tough competition for last years winner....





Mr. Crabs







So what would we do if we came across one of these...



Megan would:
"I would cry and scream really loud, and maybe faint"






I would:
"I'd poke it with a stick"



of course Megan was being a negative nacey and claimed the crab would break my stick and turn on me.
Probably luckily for both of us we will never see one of these in person.