Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Twin Mirrors

It always incences me to find an item at one site listed for a moderate, fair price and then see the same, exact item at another site for an outrageous price. But this just takes the damn cake!

See this mirror above? It's pretty, isn't it? It's a vintage item being sold on Snapdragon Antiques. So how much is the asking price? $50? $30? $10? No. It's being listed for the small price of $9.00, even though it's almost four decades old.


Posted by Krystal :: 9:19 PM ::

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Some Of My Favorite Reef Fishies

Achilles Tang (Acanthurus achilles)


Powder Blue Tang (Acanthurus leucosternon)

Naso Tang (Naso lituratus)

Majestic Angel (Euxiphipops navarchus)

Regal Angel (Pygoplites diacanthus)

Mandrin Dragonet (Synchiropus splendidus)

Catalina Goby(Lythrypnus dalli)

Frogfish/Anglerfish (Antennarius sp.)

Flame Angel (Centropyge loriculus)

Purple Fire fish (Nemateleotris decora)

Posted by kev :: 12:53 PM ::

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

The Use Of Big Words

(Recite this using your best vain, arrogant, snobbish impersonation)

In promulgating your esoteric cogitations
or articulating your superficial sentimentalities and
amicable philosophical and psychological observations,
beware of platitudinous ponderosities.

Let your conversational communications
possess a clarified conciseness,
a coalescent consistency and a concatenated cogency.

Eschew all conglomerations of flatulent garrulity,
jejune babblement and asinine affections.

Let your extemporaneous descantings and
unpremeditated expatiations have intelligibility and
veracious vivacity without rodomontade or thrasonical bombast.

Sedulously avoid all polysyllabic profundity,
setatious vacuity,
ventriloqual verbosity or
vain vapidity,
obscurant or apparent.

Shun double entendre,
purient jocosity and
pestiferous profanity.

Say what you mean and
mean what you say.

Posted by kev :: 12:56 AM ::

Monday, November 20, 2006

Shrooms That Glow!

That's right, you read it correctly. There are mushrooms which actually glow in the dark! The greenish glow emanates primarily from the gills of a fungi. It's usually not a very bright glow, in fact, the best way to observe it is to sit in a totally dark room and let your eyes adjust for several minutes. But sometimes it's bright enough that you can see it outdoors at night; in fact, that's what "foxfire" (organic luminescence) is! Apparently there are several species of bioluminescent fungi. Two of which are the Jack-O-Lantern Mushroom (Omphalotus illudens, left) and Luminescent Panellus (Panellus stipticus). The mycelium (the mass of interwoven filamentous hyphae which forms the vegetative body of a fungus) give off relatively low levels of greenish light. The glow is dependent on available oxygen and dramatic and sudden increases in brightness can be achieved when cultures are exposed to the open air. Psychedelic, man!

Posted by kev :: 11:23 PM :: 5 Brain Food Tips

This was taken from the USA Weekend flyer that comes every Saturday in the newspaper, it was written originally by Jean Carper.

Recent research shows that diet makes a big difference in how your brain performs, especially as you age.

EAT FISH: Nothing preserves brain power like the omega-3 fat in fish. Eating fish just once a week cuts odds of Alzheimer's an amazing 60%, according to research at Chicago's Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center. Fish oil also may help fight toxic plaque and stimulate communication between brain cells.


GET FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: Drinking any fruit and vegetable juice at least three times a week may cut your odds of Alzheimer's 76%, compared with drinking it less than once a week, says Venderbilt University research. A daily serving of strawberries, blue berries or spinach helped to prevent, even reverse, brain aging in animals.


DRINK GREEN TEA: In one large study, drinking at least 2 cups of green tea a day cut the risk of congestive impairment in older people by 54%. Drinking black tea, oolong tea or coffee has little impact. Researchers credit EGCG, a potent antioxidant.



EAT CURRY: A new Singapore study says even a very small dose is a brain booster. The secret: curcumin, an antioxidant shown to improve memory in animals and reduce a brain toxin that's linked to Alzheimer's.




TRIM ANIMAL FAT AND CALORIES: People who ate more saturated animal fat in midlife doubled their Alzheimer's risk, especially those genetically vulnerable, says a new Swedish study. Mainly studies suggest that restricting calories and avoiding obesity cuts risk of dementia and Alzheimer's.

Posted by Krystal :: 12:56 AM ::

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Fugacious-

adj.
Passing away quickly; evanescent.
Botany. Withering or dropping off early.

[From Latin fugx, fugc-, from fugere, to flee.]

Ephemeral-

adj.
Lasting for a markedly brief time
Living or lasting only for a day, as certain plants or insects do.

n.
A markedly short-lived thing.

[From Greek ephēmeros : ep-, epi-, epi- + hēmerā, day.]

Posted by kev :: 5:46 PM ::

Friday, November 17, 2006

Metero Shower Expected This Weekend

The Leonid meteor shower is expected this weekend. Robert Roy Britt, Senior Space Writer of Space.com, says that tomorrow (November 18th) at approximately 11:45 p.m. ET there will be a "brief surge of activity" in the skies. He also reports that the meteor shower could last up to 2 hours. And over 100 shooting stars can possibly be viewed during this time.

Although the image at right looks like a painting it's actually a photo taken 5 years ago in Bejing, Najing.

There are some very interesting facts about the Leonid meteor shower that you can find here.

Posted by Krystal :: 12:53 AM ::

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Cookie Revenge

Revenge

When I find out
who took
the last cooky

out of the jar
and left
me a bunch of

stale old messy
crumbs, I'm
going to take

me a handful
and crumb
up someone's bed.

-Myra Cohn Livingston

Posted by Krystal :: 9:56 AM ::

Monday, November 13, 2006

Rhymes To Remember

These are seven poems made for children from the book Eat, Drink and Grow Clever by Annia Broomhall Cunning which we added to our library this past October. The book says that "On their birthdays the children [of a doctor] would ask for a verse to be written in their autograph books."

If you would be full of beans,
You must eat up all your greens:
Then with joy you'll laugh and shout
Cabbage, spinach, brussel sprout!

If you would be full of pep,
Eat live food and mind your step;
Dance down life's smooth lane with joy,
Carrot, turnip, and savoy!

If you'd have teeth pearly white,
You must bite and bite and bite,
Crusts and nuts and raw sweet roots,
Apples, pears and other fruits.

If you would have eyes as bright
As the stars that shine at night,
From sun-kissed fruits your meals prepare,
Seek out sunshine everywhere.

If you would have skin as clear
As the day without a tear,
You ust drink fruit juice and water
Sweet with treacle, little daughter.

If you would have muscles strong
To win the high jump and the long,
You must take salt with your porridge,
That's the secret. That's real knowledge!

If you would have marks as high
As the planes that fly the sky,
You must eat the whole wheat grain,
That's the stuff to feed the brain!

The book goes on to say, "You want the children to be clever and to do great things int he world; then it is wise to study their food and their drinks."

I couldn't agree more.

Posted by Krystal :: 10:02 AM :: Don't Laff At Mah Beatles Haircut ><

The Crested was one of the most popular canaries in the late 1800's and was described as the "King of the Fancy". The Crested Canary is a "type canary," bred for physical characteristics rather than its color or song. It is one of several canary varieties that has a tuft of feathers around the top of its head. It reminds me of a "Beatles" haircut, lol. Others include the popular Gloster Canary, the crested Stafford Canary, the crested Norwich Canary, and the crested Lancashire Canary. According to most sources, these birds are hardy and healthy if provided with a good environment and a good diet. But you want to avoid an environment that is wet, cool, and drafty. Canaries do not require toys, mirrors or any other form of entertainment, a swing is all they need to keep themselves occupied. Most of the time, canaries are simply enjoyed for their beauty and singing. However, some canaries are allowed out of their cage to perch or are show canaries and therefore require taming or training... I want some :P

Posted by kev :: 12:38 AM ::

Friday, November 10, 2006

Sickly Tomaters

Blogger Ate My Post

Posted by Krystal :: 10:13 PM :: A Newborn Beh-Beh Sea Turtle

I once knew a sea turtle, and her story's quite a tale. She traveled over 1,000 miles, her aim was not to fail.
She was headed to a southern beach, the same one on which she hatched. She finally arrived and started her trek, a trek that dared to be matched.
She was tired and worn from her long ocean swim, yet she pulled herself up on the shore. She scooped out a nest in the soft, sandy beach, knowing exactly what was in store.
She laid 100 eggs in that coastal nest, and covered them all up with sand. She returned to the sea that very same night, leaving her hidden eggs upon the land.
Then two months later something amazing occurred - hatchlings emerged from the nest! They scrambled about trying to get to the ocean, their instincts just wouldn't rest.
Their journey, however, had just begun, the light of the moon was the key. Across the wide beach they must race for the waves, to begin their life in the sea.

Posted by kev :: 1:08 PM ::

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Happy 19-Month Anniversary!

Baby, I Love You!

Posted by Krystal :: 6:10 PM :: Bethany Bunny - 11-01-06

Bye Bunny. I'll miss your chunky cheeks.

Labels: bunnies, personal

Posted by Krystal :: 6:03 PM ::

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Water Snails

Why are snails such pests...? They're so cute and so pretty-looking. I was so happy that my little water pond had little tiny black snails. About a month ago I found a clear mucusy thing on a floating twig in the water. I immediately thought that it could be snail eggs but I wasn't sure, having never seen snails eggs before. But I was right. Turns out having snails in your pond isn't such a great thing after all, according to some sites. But, then, why do water gardening companies, like Lilypons Water Gardens, suggest stocking your pond with water snails for use as a natural cleaning method?

EDIT 11/13/06: The snails eggs hatched sometime last week. Since them I found about a dozen more of these in my small container pond.

Labels: ponds, snails, water-dwelling animals

Posted by Krystal :: 5:54 PM ::