Americana

Turducken

Akufu — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 10:22:00 GMT

Today is Thanksgiving day (or "You're welcome day" as a Native American comedian so graciously put it). The air is filled with the smell of roasting turkey and at around 17:00 this great nation will be in a tryptophan induced food coma.

My culinary surprise this year was the discovery of an abomination called Turducken.

Yes that is actually a chicken stuffed into a duck, stuffed into a turkey. Or... how to get rid of half a petting zoo in one meal.

Bon appétit!

The Fall

Akufu — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:04:00 GMT

Not only are there interesting beasties around here, there seems to be something awful going on with the trees, some kind of disease maybe? Their leaves have all turned fiery orange, yellow or red. Kind of beautiful, I guess - in a morbid way.

Also, it is insanely cold here, this morning I could swear my car was covered in... ice??

That's just so... wrong...

Lolcentipede?

Akufu — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 02:50:00 GMT

So... this new place I moved to... has some interesting arthropod indoor wildlife:

This is a house centipede - Scutigera coleoptrata which is originally found in the Mediterranean, but has successfully spread to much of the rest of the world, living in houses. It is a fairly useful house guest as it is a voracious hunter and so will keep your house free of other critters. Still, when I see one I will catch it and throw it outside... too many legs!

Is there an entomologist in the room?

Akufu — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 16:20:00 GMT

What kind of crazy ass big - east coast US - bug is this? I found it sitting next to my car one day. It was about 3-4 inches in size. It was unhappy, because as you can see it had recently lost one feeler. Those pincers look impressive, though I doubt that they are effective (they aren't, right?... Right?!?)

Thanks to Katrijn I found the answer. Sometimes it is just as easy as going to google and asking "what is that bug?". It will point you to a website with the same name, full of all you wanted to know about bugs. So what is it?

A male North American Dobson fly (Corydalus cornutus). The pincers' function is to hold the female during mating and they are not used for biting. The female has normal jaws, which are big and strong enough to inflict a painful (non-poisonous) bite. The largest part of its life, the Dobson fly lives as an aquatic larva, a fierce predator, known as a Hellgrammite (unknown etymology, bummer) or Toe-biter. It is assumed that the adult form doesn't eat, especially the male with its oversized jaws. What's that bug has a lot of great pictures. The Tree of Life project has all the facts, including evolutionary relationships.

Hmmmmm

Akufu — Sat, 26 May 2007 11:18:00 GMT

Ice cream has never before been this satisfying:

Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream: the sweet taste of liberty in my mouth indeed...

The madness at Waihi falls

Akufu — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 03:57:00 GMT

An idyllic Hawaiian scene, a beautiful waterfall on Oahu's North Shore, in the heart of Waimea valley Audubon Center.

Experience the majesty and mystery of Hawaii's Waimea Valley. Join generations of Hawaiian islanders who have explored the valley's sunlit paths, through gardens of extraordinary beauty to the cool, clear pool below historic Waihi Falls.

Yeah right. That is what they want you to believe. For those who know what to look for, there is ample warning that things are not what they seem:

Something about this place just feels off, and it may be hard to capture the actual level of dread in a mere photograph. The hints are too subtle maybe.

But look! The abandoned flip-flops are clear evidence of something very sinister at work here. And I think I know exactly what happened to a poor soul who ignored the warnings (all of them!) put before them:

I made sure I stayed well away from this unholy pool, lest I turn into Giant Squid bait, a fate as dreadful as one only imagines in the darkest of nightmares.

(of course I will welcome our tentacled overlords, Ia Ia Cthulhu fhtagn!! and all that, I am however not particularly enthusiastic about featuring on their menu, ok?)

Remember!

Akufu — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 05:47:00 GMT

Yes, this is the Alamo.

Texas, what can I say. It is big, the food is great, and it is home to the Jackalope, one of the rarest animals on the face of the earth.

Probably because they are sold in every souvenir shoppe.

But zomg, the godbotherers are everywhere! Not a day went by, that I was not preached at, or invited to attend some service, or asked to contribute financially if not spiritually. And the guy with the 2 by 4 foot panel against abortion, with the well known ripped apart fetus, standing at the Mall on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Alas he was gone when I got back with my camera.

But they are right, going to church protects you from harm.

Well, some churches.

From fallout.

Doing my part

Akufu — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 00:47:00 GMT

In the wah on terra.

You guessed it, I am traveling again. What with the security harassment, the constant speaker message repeating that the security level has been raised to "code orange", flying is slowly but surely becoming a surreal experience. It makes me wonder. How annoying will it have to get before people finally give up and stop flying?

Big Island, Mauna Kea

Akufu — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 07:40:00 GMT

So I am back, and I would like to give you a taste of where I have been. I spent some time on the Big Island, Hawaii, and there I visited the ultimate astronomy site, the top of beautiful Mauna Kea. The drive to the mountain is not for the faint at heart as you need to take Saddle road, which straddles the area between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. This winding road is very poorly maintained, leading some idiot drivers to hog the middle of the road in a futile attempt to spare their car's suspension. You can imagine the accidents that has caused, and apparently some rental car companies have an extra clause prohibiting their clients from driving on Saddle road.

Read more >>>

Neighborhood watch

Akufu — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 07:06:00 GMT

That means we'll have none of this:

or this:

This is the cutest neighborhood watch sign I ever saw, it reminds me of a less complicated time.