Saturday, February 22, 2014
Absurd Creature of the Week: This Fish Swims Up a Sea Cucumber’s Butt and Eats Its Gonads
If Buddhists are right about that whole reincarnation thing, it’d be hard to imagine what you’d have to do wrong to die and come back as a sea cucumber. One minute you’re human and the next you’re crawling around the seafloor as what is essentially a mobile intestine, hoovering up food at one end and expelling it through the other.
You’re breathing through your anus, by the way, and when you take a breath, the pearlfish strikes — squirming up your butt, making itself comfortable in your respiratory organ, and eating your gonads. Or, they’ll go up in pairs and have sex in your body cavity. And that’s when you realize that you must have been a really awful human being in a past life. Like, the type of person who talks on their phone in a movie theater kind of awful.
Such pearlfishes come in a range of species, and don’t necessarily limit themselves to invading sea cucumbers. They’ll also work their way into sea stars, and are so named because they’ve been found dead inside oysters, completely coated in mother-of-pearl. Beautiful, really, though I reckon the pearlfish would beg to differ.
This behavior is the strange product of a housing crisis. You see, shelter is in short supply on many seafloors, particularly those that lack reefs. And there are few better shelters than sea cucumbers, little mobile homes that pearlfishes will enter pretty much as they please, leaving to hunt and returning for protection. If they can’t return to the same one, no worries at all. There’s plenty of decent housing squirming around the seafloor — if you’re willing to live in a sea cucumber’s bum.
The pearlfish finds its reluctant host likely by smell, according to biologist Eric Parmentier of Belgium’s University of Liège. It then must choose the right end to enter, using its lateral line — sensory organs that detect movements in water — to hone in on the outflow from the respiratory tree at the anus.
“Two strategies are observed for entering,” Parmentier said. “One, head first by propelling itself with violent strokes of the tail; two, tail first by placing the head at the cloaca of the sea cucumber and moving the thin tail forward alongside its own body at the level of the lateral line,” then slowing backing into the host, though not yet all the way.
“The reason for this second strategy,” Parmentier said, “is that the host has detected the presence of the fish and, in response, closes its anus. But the host has to breathe, so it has to dilate the anus to realize the water flow. The fish blocks the aperture and the host has to enlarge this opening more and more.”
Depending on what species it is, the pearlfish initiates one of two relationships once inside: a commensal one, in which it simply takes up space without either helping or adversely affecting the sea cucumber, or a rather more parasitic one, in which it chows down on its host’s gonads.
The sea cucumber, though, has a trick up its sleeve. Remarkably, it can regenerate complex body parts like intestines and, yes, gonads. And it’s a damn good thing it can, because sea cucumbers defend themselves in what might be described as a fairly unorthodox manner.
“Probably the best thing that sea cucumbers are known for is evisceration,” said marine biologist Christopher Mah, “which is tossing their guts out at predators when they are
You’re breathing through your anus, by the way, and when you take a breath, the pearlfish strikes — squirming up your butt, making itself comfortable in your respiratory organ, and eating your gonads. Or, they’ll go up in pairs and have sex in your body cavity. And that’s when you realize that you must have been a really awful human being in a past life. Like, the type of person who talks on their phone in a movie theater kind of awful.
Such pearlfishes come in a range of species, and don’t necessarily limit themselves to invading sea cucumbers. They’ll also work their way into sea stars, and are so named because they’ve been found dead inside oysters, completely coated in mother-of-pearl. Beautiful, really, though I reckon the pearlfish would beg to differ.
This behavior is the strange product of a housing crisis. You see, shelter is in short supply on many seafloors, particularly those that lack reefs. And there are few better shelters than sea cucumbers, little mobile homes that pearlfishes will enter pretty much as they please, leaving to hunt and returning for protection. If they can’t return to the same one, no worries at all. There’s plenty of decent housing squirming around the seafloor — if you’re willing to live in a sea cucumber’s bum.
 |
| The pearlfish |
The pearlfish finds its reluctant host likely by smell, according to biologist Eric Parmentier of Belgium’s University of Liège. It then must choose the right end to enter, using its lateral line — sensory organs that detect movements in water — to hone in on the outflow from the respiratory tree at the anus.
“Two strategies are observed for entering,” Parmentier said. “One, head first by propelling itself with violent strokes of the tail; two, tail first by placing the head at the cloaca of the sea cucumber and moving the thin tail forward alongside its own body at the level of the lateral line,” then slowing backing into the host, though not yet all the way.
“The reason for this second strategy,” Parmentier said, “is that the host has detected the presence of the fish and, in response, closes its anus. But the host has to breathe, so it has to dilate the anus to realize the water flow. The fish blocks the aperture and the host has to enlarge this opening more and more.”
Depending on what species it is, the pearlfish initiates one of two relationships once inside: a commensal one, in which it simply takes up space without either helping or adversely affecting the sea cucumber, or a rather more parasitic one, in which it chows down on its host’s gonads.
The sea cucumber, though, has a trick up its sleeve. Remarkably, it can regenerate complex body parts like intestines and, yes, gonads. And it’s a damn good thing it can, because sea cucumbers defend themselves in what might be described as a fairly unorthodox manner.
“Probably the best thing that sea cucumbers are known for is evisceration,” said marine biologist Christopher Mah, “which is tossing their guts out at predators when they are
Friday, February 21, 2014
Sub Par
From Breitbart:
Six years ago street artist Shepard Fairey created “Hope & Change” posters from an AP photo to help elect Sen. Barack Obama and usher in a bigger machine while claiming the moniker of anti-establishment artist. Being a propagandist for the political ruling class is not the job of the artist. That’s best left for Leni Riefenstahl and the brown shirts of the past.
Artists should be the consciousness of the people asking questions of the political-ruling-class, like “Why can’t I keep my insurance," "why is the IRS singling me out" or "why was Benghazi blamed on a film?” The anti-establishment soul of the arts has become the establishment.
A government that doesn’t deliver its hope and change to the people gives the true artist an opportunity to speak out. That voice is slowly creeping into the art world. I wouldn’t call it conservative art because mainstream artists rarely call their art liberal.
With an imperial President wielding a nine-iron as a scepter and playing golf on the greens of drought-ridden California one unknown arts is telling it like it is. The artwork in question, which features an image of Obama golfing with the message “SUBPAR,” is being seen all over Santa Monica earlier this week.
Will we see more of this art, or will this artist stay in the shadows for fear of his art being taken away?
What Is Ragnarok? Viking Apocalypse Predicted For Saturday February 22
 |
A scene from Ragnarök, the final battle between
Odin and Fenrir and Freyr and Surtr.
Wikimedia Commons
|
According to Norse mythology, Ragnarok or “Doom of the Gods,” has been brewing for about 100 days. On Saturday, all the gods including Thor, Loki, Odin, Freyr and Hermóðr, will fight in an epic battle. Odin will be killed by Fenrir and the other creator gods will fall.
“The legend of Ragnarok tells of the fall of the Norse gods and the birth of a new world, but, of course, if we wake up to the same old world on the morning of Sunday, February 23, we’ll have no regrets – our celebrations also mark Jolablot, the Viking feast to hail the coming of spring, which to many people is the annual rebirth of the world!” Danielle Daglan, director of the 30th JORVIK Viking Festival to celebrate the apocalyptic event, told the Yorkshire Post in England.
Legend has it Ragnarok will begin when Fenrir the wolf breaks free from his imprisonment. This sets off a chain reaction of events where Jormungand the Midgard snake rises from the sea and a wolf eats the sun. This will culminate in a titanic battle among the gods, men and all the races of the nine worlds.
“The fight between Odin and Fenrir will rage for a long time, but finally Fenrir will seize Odin and swallow him. Odin's son Vidar will at once leap towards the wolf and kill him with his bare hands, ripping the wolf's jaws apart,” Encyclopedia Mythica describes. “Then Surt will fling fire in every direction. The nine worlds will burn, and friends and foes alike will perish. The earth will sink into the sea.”
The sequence of events was prophesied by Odin, who was able to predict the cataclysmic event after he hanged himself from a tree, died and was reborn with wisdom and foresight. This allowed Odin to foresee the events of Ragnarok in order to prepare for the end of the world.
Those who believe in the Ragnarok legend point to several signs to prove its matches the prophecies of the Viking apocalypse.
For instance the prediction:
Gun Saves Lives From Deranged Swordsman In Miami's Little Havana..
It's time to ban swords.
MIAMI (CBSMIAMI) — A terrifying Wednesday night at the Presidente Supermarket in Little Havana when, police say, Hector Hechavarria charged into the store, with a sword in hand.
“He must be crazy or drunk or something,” said long time customer Mercedes Lopez.
Investigators said he began ranting and yelling threats the second he stepped in the front door.
“This man just walked in with a sword in hand and he said he was going to kill everyone,” said Officer Kenia Reyes with the Miami Police Department.
Police are calling the store security guard, Jose Antonio Mendoza, 47, a hero because he sprang into action quickly.
“He managed to walk inside the Presidente Supermarket and start waving this sword,” said Reyes, “so when he started waving the sword at them, the security guard (Mendoza) had no other choice then to protect everyone’s life inside that supermarket.”
In a matter of seconds detectives say Hechavarria nipped 32-year old Ninoska Aranglubel’s elbow with the blade, then turned his sights on Mendoza who fired several rounds after warning him to drop the weapon.
Even after he was shot, the suspect managed to run outside, where police say he continued to attack the guard. “He put his life in danger,” said Officer Reyes. ”As a matter of fact, he got struck over the head by this armed man and still he managed to grab his gun, ask him to drop the weapon but he refused and he was forced to fire.”
Despite a head injury — Mendoza, along with another man, were able to hang on to him until police arrived.
Hechavarria is in serious condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital with several gunshot wounds. Mendoza was treated as well for a head wound.
5-Strand Woven Paracord Sling Tutorial
Begin with a length of (ungutted) paracord. I am sorry I don't have an exact length to tell you, since I didn't keep track, but it ought to be about 8-9 feet to be on the safe side. (You can always cut it down when you are finishing it.) Fold the cord like this. You will be creating five lengths that are doubled next to each other.
This project is done with full symmetry through the center point, so do the exact same thing to both sides. (You can do this one side at a time, of course, but keep track of the strands.) Take the bight that lies next to each working end, and lay it on top of the bight next to it.
"Lasso" around the two bights with the working end. (Make your work look exactly like you see here.)
Tuck the working end (they are short in this example but will be about 4 feet long on a live specimen) over itself and then down through both of the bights.
Here is what it will look like with both sides of the pouch done.
IMPORTANT: Take careful note of that strand that is running diagonally from low-left to high-right. That is your middle-most single strand. When you flip the pouch over to begin weaving the next step, make sure it is the center strand! From there it should be easy to see which are the outer-most and second-outer-most strands.
FLIP THE PIECE OVER. A moment ago, you were looking at the back of the pouch. You will now be looking at the front of the pouch. You can tell one from the other because when looking into the pouch, you will see the working ends coming out of the bights "toward" you.
This section should be at least 4.5" - 5.5" long. (It is shown here shorter than it should be.) You will need to make the corresponding lengths of the strands in the pouch approximately equal in length, but you should be finding that the center-most three will "pouch down" to make a sort of cupping. Play with it. But at this point when I make one, the pouch already seems to "know" which side is the cup. Tighten up the "lassos" that wrap the bights.
Now it is time to start weaving a second strand in. Wasn't I nice to use a highly contrasting cord color? You might as well just start from the left side and poke a short length (about 4") through as you see here (exactly as you see here) so that sticking out to the right is the part that will be the end (as you will see in the next picture). The left side is your working end which will be woven across the pouch.
Now you can see the right-to-left-to-right weave of the crossing (orange) strand. Continue weaving O-U-O-U-O-U... all the way to the other side of the pouch.
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is not necessary at first, nor will it likely even be possible, for you to make these strands snug up against each other and look like the arrangement in a Ladder Rack Knot. As long as the overall shape of this pouch is more or less almond-shaped, it will be fine. Do try to keep it even, of course, but small gaps are not only not undesirable, they are more-or-less unavoidable. With that said, however, based on the fact that an EDCforumite named Nephiel proved just how tight and handsome this pouch can be woven, I revisited my technique and discovered that you can indeed make this pouch look pretty darned neat. It's going to take some effort, you can be sure of that, but it can be done. If it doesn't happen on your first sling, don't even worry. Just keep it, and work tighter on the next one. The first, not-so-tight one will still work just fine. (P.S. Thanks, Nephiel, for showing me the potential of this pouch design!)
This is the pouch when the weaving has been completed and tightened-up and evened-up. Yes, you will have to do a little "working" of the orange cord. Use your fingers to push or pull the horizontal strands along their green warp strands if they seem to be bunched toward one end or the other. Fit as many crosswise orange strands as you can, to minimize gaps in the pouch. It may help to have a titanium "icepick" marlinspike from LCranston, like I do. ;-D
(If you discover that your pouch seems to be longer than you want it to be, you can undo some of the cross-woven strands, and re-work the sheet-bend strands until the length is more to your liking.)
Flip the work over and look at the back side of the pouch. Single out the specific strand that I have picked up with the titanium spike in the picture. Tuck the short end of the orange cord under that strand, and the one beyond it. That should be good enough to keep it plenty secure, although you can always go for a third strand. (Remember, you will do this for each symmetrical end of the pouch, and it will look exactly the same as the first side or you did something wrong.)
Clip the end and melt it according to your preference for finishing paracord ends. Tie your preferred loop in one end of the green cord, and a stopper knot at the other end, and you have yourself a sling! I favor a "Longbow Knot" for the loop, and an "Ashley's Stopper Knot" for the trigger knot.
For ammunition, go to Walmart and check in the home decor area for "decorator accents" and such. I bought a bag of glass droplets that are close to an inch in diameter. They are shaped like bon-bons, or Cella's cherry candies, and nestle perfectly into the pouch. Yes, I would prefer polished steel balls for their additional mass, but they are not cheap! I also find that this pouch works very well with golf balls.
Please use care, intelligence and maturity when using your sling. I of course have no control of, and bear no responsibility for, what you do with your sling. I am only a learning novice, myself. Many thanks to all on slinging.org who give of their knowledge and experience so freely.
Be safe, and have fun!
Jeffrey
(Here are some pictures of a completed specimen using UAC paracord, which makes a handsome sling)
This project is done with full symmetry through the center point, so do the exact same thing to both sides. (You can do this one side at a time, of course, but keep track of the strands.) Take the bight that lies next to each working end, and lay it on top of the bight next to it.
"Lasso" around the two bights with the working end. (Make your work look exactly like you see here.)
Tuck the working end (they are short in this example but will be about 4 feet long on a live specimen) over itself and then down through both of the bights.
Here is what it will look like with both sides of the pouch done.
IMPORTANT: Take careful note of that strand that is running diagonally from low-left to high-right. That is your middle-most single strand. When you flip the pouch over to begin weaving the next step, make sure it is the center strand! From there it should be easy to see which are the outer-most and second-outer-most strands.
FLIP THE PIECE OVER. A moment ago, you were looking at the back of the pouch. You will now be looking at the front of the pouch. You can tell one from the other because when looking into the pouch, you will see the working ends coming out of the bights "toward" you.
This section should be at least 4.5" - 5.5" long. (It is shown here shorter than it should be.) You will need to make the corresponding lengths of the strands in the pouch approximately equal in length, but you should be finding that the center-most three will "pouch down" to make a sort of cupping. Play with it. But at this point when I make one, the pouch already seems to "know" which side is the cup. Tighten up the "lassos" that wrap the bights.
Now it is time to start weaving a second strand in. Wasn't I nice to use a highly contrasting cord color? You might as well just start from the left side and poke a short length (about 4") through as you see here (exactly as you see here) so that sticking out to the right is the part that will be the end (as you will see in the next picture). The left side is your working end which will be woven across the pouch.
Now you can see the right-to-left-to-right weave of the crossing (orange) strand. Continue weaving O-U-O-U-O-U... all the way to the other side of the pouch.
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is not necessary at first, nor will it likely even be possible, for you to make these strands snug up against each other and look like the arrangement in a Ladder Rack Knot. As long as the overall shape of this pouch is more or less almond-shaped, it will be fine. Do try to keep it even, of course, but small gaps are not only not undesirable, they are more-or-less unavoidable. With that said, however, based on the fact that an EDCforumite named Nephiel proved just how tight and handsome this pouch can be woven, I revisited my technique and discovered that you can indeed make this pouch look pretty darned neat. It's going to take some effort, you can be sure of that, but it can be done. If it doesn't happen on your first sling, don't even worry. Just keep it, and work tighter on the next one. The first, not-so-tight one will still work just fine. (P.S. Thanks, Nephiel, for showing me the potential of this pouch design!)
This is the pouch when the weaving has been completed and tightened-up and evened-up. Yes, you will have to do a little "working" of the orange cord. Use your fingers to push or pull the horizontal strands along their green warp strands if they seem to be bunched toward one end or the other. Fit as many crosswise orange strands as you can, to minimize gaps in the pouch. It may help to have a titanium "icepick" marlinspike from LCranston, like I do. ;-D
(If you discover that your pouch seems to be longer than you want it to be, you can undo some of the cross-woven strands, and re-work the sheet-bend strands until the length is more to your liking.)
Flip the work over and look at the back side of the pouch. Single out the specific strand that I have picked up with the titanium spike in the picture. Tuck the short end of the orange cord under that strand, and the one beyond it. That should be good enough to keep it plenty secure, although you can always go for a third strand. (Remember, you will do this for each symmetrical end of the pouch, and it will look exactly the same as the first side or you did something wrong.)
Clip the end and melt it according to your preference for finishing paracord ends. Tie your preferred loop in one end of the green cord, and a stopper knot at the other end, and you have yourself a sling! I favor a "Longbow Knot" for the loop, and an "Ashley's Stopper Knot" for the trigger knot.
For ammunition, go to Walmart and check in the home decor area for "decorator accents" and such. I bought a bag of glass droplets that are close to an inch in diameter. They are shaped like bon-bons, or Cella's cherry candies, and nestle perfectly into the pouch. Yes, I would prefer polished steel balls for their additional mass, but they are not cheap! I also find that this pouch works very well with golf balls.
Please use care, intelligence and maturity when using your sling. I of course have no control of, and bear no responsibility for, what you do with your sling. I am only a learning novice, myself. Many thanks to all on slinging.org who give of their knowledge and experience so freely.
Be safe, and have fun!
Jeffrey
(Here are some pictures of a completed specimen using UAC paracord, which makes a handsome sling)
Police snipers fire upon protesters using live rounds in Kiev, Ukraine.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Obama Federal Storm-troopers To Act As Government Minders To Control And Regulate News Content
 |
| Kim Jong-un Approves Of Controlling All Aspects Of News Reporting. |
Last May the FCC proposed an initiative to thrust the federal government into newsrooms across the country. With its "Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs," or CIN, the agency plans to send researchers to grill reporters, editors and station owners about how they decide which stories to run. A field test in Columbia, S.C., is scheduled to begin this spring.
The FCC selected eight categories of "critical information" such as the "environment" and "economic opportunities," that it believes local newscasters should cover.
This Government wants to control the news that gets reported, this is tyranny pure and simple. Resist Tyranny. Resist the corrupt Obama Administration. We cannot allow the Government to control the news. Resist becoming North Korea.
The New Thought Police
In the surreal echo-sphere that is the liberal left, the forces of mediocrity are beginning to coalesce around the concept of "male privilege" and "white privilege". This concept is borne and devolved from their political correctness and cultural Marxist strategies to control, limit and deny free speech to anyone they disagree with. This is another cynical attempt to deny freedom of thought to dissenters and the dissemination of that thought. The degenerate cousin of this depraved entropic meme is the "check your privilege" command. When a person in a minority group says to you, "check your privilege" they have relegated you to the status of a thought criminal, and they assume the duties of the thought police or that of a parent scolding a recalcitrant child in this dystopian reprobate concept run amok. To them, they have now symbolically duct-taped your mouth shut, censored your impure thoughts and you now must now comply to their smug, putrid, diseased mindset. Does this celebrate and reward excellence or does this celebrate and reward corrupt egalitarian mediocrity?
Has society become so sick as to allow this deteriorating gangrene mindset to emerge? The amount of time and energy that has been devoted to this sickness rather then in a productive and positive way to improve peoples lives is perhaps an indicator of society's sickness and the intellectual gangrene that has set in to the profligate liberal mindset intent on leaving behind the bloody entrails of factual dialogue and intellectual intercourse.
There can be no civil discourse with the advocates of this lunacy, to accept this rot is to be relegated to spend eternity sitting alone in the Orwellian Chestnut Tree Cafe with the other tortured and discarded thought criminals. Anyone who uses these false memes must be dismissed out of hand and discarded as the intolerable lunatics that they are.
The Rolling Stones sang: "he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke the same cigarettes as me", the left is saying "he can't have a thought, 'cause he doesn't think the same putrid thoughts as me".
I can't get no satisfaction or logical and rational civil discourse apparently for that matter.
More Mike Miles Opinion:
Lefties Think That The Reason For MSNBC's Decline Is Because They Are Too Smart For The American Public
Today's Word:
Let me use it in a sentence: When will the bastards in this picture get their just deserts?
Obama: At War With The Truth..
Is He Truth Disabled, Truth Challenged, Or... Oh Wait, He Is Just An Effin' Liar.
Vikings Series On The History Channel
If you missed Season 1 of Vikings on the History Channel, you really missed an excellent and entertaining series. Season 2 begins on February 27th, I already have a season pass on my Tivo for it.
Here is a summary of the first episode of Season 1:
There is adult content, so I would not recommend watching this show with children.
You can watch all of Season 1 right here:
http://www.history.com/shows/vikings/videos/season-1-what-you-missed?m=51896f6e2acad
Here is a summary of the first episode of Season 1:
There is adult content, so I would not recommend watching this show with children.
You can watch all of Season 1 right here:
http://www.history.com/shows/vikings/videos/season-1-what-you-missed?m=51896f6e2acad
