Category Archives: Nature, Science, Animals, Earth

Hanging Home

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I’ve been obsessing over these Free Spirit Sphere’s since I first saw them a few months ago. My idea of heaven would be to throw my iPod, a book and my bunny, Radar, in a backpack and retreat to this little wooden ball for a week. She and I would put our little paws and noses to the window and watch bluebirds sing and chipmunks play. Once in awhile we would hang out the door and drop treats to the grizzly bears. We will have our day! Yes, Radar, we will have our day!

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The spheres can be purchased or rented. The two rental spheres are located on private land on Vancouver Island, BC near Qualicum Bay. They are nestled into 5 acres of forest and close to a large pond.

Eve is the older and smaller of the two ladies. She is 9′ in diameter and will accommodate up to 300 lbs of human. She does not have a kitchen, only a counter and cupboards. Eve goes for $125/night or $199/2 nights.

Eryn is almost twice as big and can sleep up to four. She has 5 windows and a skylight. She also has a small kitchen including: sink, microwave, small fridge and dishes. She goes for $175/night or $299/2 nights.

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A composting toilet is located at the base of the spheres and other facilities are located across the pond, such as: showers, sauna, washrooms, a kitchen and barbecue area with a covered deck.

If you want to purchase one of these for your very own, they’re not cheap. A ready-made wooden sphere will cost you about $150K . The fiberglass version is a little more in my price range at about 1/3 of the cost (and at 1/3 of the charm, in my opinion).

Transparent Headed Fish, OH MY!

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Macropinna Microstoma is a deep sea fish that has adapted to its dark habitat with tubular eyes, encapsulated in a transparent head. The eyes can rotate around inside the skull as needed to catch its prey. The two dark spots that we would recognize as eyes are actually its olfactory organs. If there is a god, he’s wicked creative.

Here is an article by The Monterey Aquarium with more details. And below is a video.

Emu Thugs on Sanctuary Sunday

Apparently I accidentally deleted my post about the Ching Farm Animal Rescue & Sanctuary from last week.

Here’s a summary.

1. Geese are bullies.

2. Emus are assholes.

3. All of the other farm animals are wonderful little critters and can be fabulous pets.

4. They’re doing wonderful work at the sanctuary but its expensive and laborious. You can help by volunteering, adopting, sponsoring an animal  or donating money.

Regal Asses

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I read this article the other day and it kinda shocked me. I didn’t realize that my choice in toilet paper had such far reaching implications. I guess there’s more of that then we realize. We use so many products that we know nothing about (where they come from, which sort of labor is used, how it gets here, etc).

According to the Greenpeace website, it takes 90 years to grow a box of Kleenex tissue. It seems really ubsurd to me that we are cutting down 100 year old trees for tissue. In addition, their site says that Kimberly Clark (Scott, Cottonelle) refuses to use recycled paper in their products.

Greenpeace makes a pocket guide, to help you make a more responsible choice, but basically, just buy recycled. Believe me, trees are important enough to make the effort.

Fancy Chicken

First off, I want to say that I really wish I had a band named Fancy Chicken. We would strut around on the stage and impress people with our wicked fanciness.

Next, I hate my neighbors. They have fancy chickens in their front yard. I want to pull a heist and make the chickens my very own. Everyday as I drive to work, I’m reminded that those bastards have fancy chickens and I have none. The owners have paid the fowl in exotic grains to prance a little sassier at exactly 8:15, Monday thru Friday, I just know it.

They look a little something like this.

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TED: Sylvia Earle

If you’re not familiar with the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talks, prepare to be delighted. TED brings together some of the brightest minds of our time, once a year, to give “the talk of their lifetime” in under 18 minutes.

Every year 3 individuals are chosen for the TED prize. In addition to receiving $100,000, they are granted one wish to change the world. These wishes have lead to amazingly successful collaborative efforts. Sylvia Earle was a TED prize recipient of this year’s conference (held earlier this month). She is a renowned oceanographer and “ambassador for the worlds oceans”.

She’s not the worlds most eloquent orator, but I think she’s pretty badass. Also, somewhere in this video there’s a 2 second clip of a whale shark, which I would argue, is the most badass of all sharks. Take that, great white, you showoff.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “TED: Sylvia Earle“, posted with vodpod

Happy Birthday, Darwin, darling!

Today is the 200th birthday of the father of modern biology, Charles Darwin. Darwin introduced us to a new human  history. One in which humans are not divine creatures, created and chosen by god, but just another species of animal that evolved from a common ancestor. This, of course, was incredibly influential in how we view ourselves today. Hopefully, with Darwin’s help, we can fully realize the importance of other animals and help to preserve them instead of continuing on this path to an inhabitable world.

To aid in this realization, I’ve posted a few pics of some creatures that have evolved in very strange ways. I’ve spruced-up a few of the “less attractive” characters (to help them in the process of mate selection, of course). I think Chuck D would be proud.

Orchid Mantis

Orchid Mantis

Sperm Whale

Sperm Whale

Siamang

Siamang

Blobfish

Blobfish

Gerenuk

Gerenuk

Bald Uakari

Bald Uakari

Pygmy Seahorse

Pygmy Seahorse

I’d also like to recommend a wonderful book by one of my heroes, E.O. Wilson. The Creation: An appeal to save life on earth is a plea for the religious and scientific communities to find the common ground that will be imperative to breathing health back into our planet and stopping the mass extinction of plants and animals that is happening today.