"When a male golden orb-weaver spider Nephila pilipes wants to get busy, he pulls out a special trick: He gives his mate a "back rub," new research shows. For many spiders, females of the species are much bigger than the males—N. pilipes females are up to ten times larger—so mating is always a risky proposition. An unlucky suitor might get interrupted in his carnal embrace when a female kicks him off and eats him."
- John (bird whisperer)
from Bookmarklet
blissandzen: Courtesy of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, this is why the national debt is such a problem. Republicans want you to believe it’s all the fault of the poor, the sick, the elderly, and of course, all those nasty greedy teachers. If you give them a little more time, they’ll work lazy brown people into it, too. Merely... - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
I think in these final minutes, we should all reflect on how large one’s balls have to be to simultaneously assert the literal truth of the Bible and ignore vast sections of it discounting even the idea of the Rapture.
"Cog railways, which are also known as rack railways or rack and pinion railways, have a rack rail with teeth, usually located in between the track’s running rails. Trains operating on cog railways have their own cogwheels that fit the rack rail, allowing them to travel up and down steep gradients. Consequently, most of the world’s rack railways are located in mountainous regions, but there are some which are used for trams and transit systems in urban areas where there are steep hills to deal with:"
- Maitani
from Bookmarklet
"According to retired General Bengt Gustafsson, the former Commander of the Swedish Defence Forces, the Navy chased Soviet submarines in waters around Utö back in 1980, and the sunken vessel could be a Soviet submarine that was hit by depth charges back then."
- A. T.
from Bookmarklet
So, let me get this straight...Charlie Sheen can make a "porn family", Kelsey Grammar can end a 15 year marriage over the phone, Larry King can be on divorce #9, Britney Spears had a 55 hour marriage, Jesse James and Tiger Woods, while married, were having sex with EVERYONE. Yet, the idea of same-sex marriage is going to destroy the institution of... - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
With Britney, you forgot "Got drunk, gave her friend a blow job in the shower then went downstairs to a Vegas chapel..." :)
- Johnny
Who ever said that fear of gays was backed by any logic?
- Jeff P. Henderson
Seeing as how the anti gay marriage movement is primarily driven by organized religion, it shows how hypocritical and selective they are considering that all of those heterosexual behaviors are also forbidden by just about every religion and you don't them trying to actively push legislation to make those behaviors illegal.
- Jeff P. Henderson
i have a big jar of that in our pantry. it's moved with me everywhere since 1992, including NZ. i made a mug of it a few years back and the taste has not been altered in any way. #UNNATURAL
- Joe The Sausage
i believe this is from georgia, 8+yrs old. Vacuum seal not broken, #LivingOnTheEdge, ;)
- chaz2b
(o' gawd, i might be out of sugar and cream in a second, :o)
- chaz2b
@chaz2b: the seal on mine has been broken since just before Clinton took office!
- Joe The Sausage
(i stated more for personal reassurance that consumption may be bad, but not lethal, ;)
- chaz2b
"I recently had the honor of reviewing an article about wasps destined for a national magazine. One of the few inaccuracies I found was the assertion that while bees make honey, wasps do not. Putting aside the fact that only social species in the family Apidae make and store honey (the vast majority of bees are solitary and do not manufacture honey), it is also incorrect to say that no wasps produce this sweet substance. Case in point: Brachygastra mellifica, a tropical social wasp that sneaks over the border into Texas and possibly Arizona. Known as the “Mexican Honey Wasp,” this species is a member of the family Vespidae and the subfamily Polistinae. They are small insects, only 7-9 millimeters in length."
- John (bird whisperer)
from Bookmarklet
"Still, the prospect of getting stung multiple times has not deterred people from exploiting these wasps since ancient times. Several references exist that document the harvesting of honey from nests of Brachygastra species (there is more than one) by indigenous peoples in Brazil and Mexico. More recently, rural peoples may transplant small nests into their yards and gardens, allowing...
more...
- John (bird whisperer)
mothernaturenetwork:
Creepy, crawly and oh-so-sexy
Without a doubt, frisky humans have a variety of tricks up their sleeves. But when compared with the courting rituals of insects, revealing lingerie and Barry White seem like child’s play. - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
Very nice. I have been thinking about building one myself. I just got a full cord of wood delivered today. I didn't think you had a wood stove though. Where are you burning this wood?
- Robert Felty
Are you trying to skill up to compete in the next Survivor?
- imabonehead
Did you build it for only firewood? I can't imagine your house's size. How much money do you earn? :P
- Emre Savaş
Yes, I built it. I also require my children to live there along with the firewood ;)
- Paul Buchheit
Well, it is cute enough that I can totally imagine your kids *wanting* to play in it!
- Laura Norvig
Emre: I don't know how cold it is where you live, but where I live the amount of firewood that fits in that house is only enough for recreational purposes. You could never go the whole winter on that much.
- Gabe
Size-wise, that is not a very big wood pile. Our wood pile in Indiana was probably 10 times that. Clare's grandpa in upstate New York usually has about 10 cords around. He goes through about 3 cords each year. (1 cord ~ 4 cubic meters)
- Robert Felty
Rob: Here's my father-in-law's wood holder. It has a tarp "house" built around it with PVC pipe that's not pictured: http://www.flickr.com/photos...
- Gabe
Order some rounds delivered to your house. Get a splitting maul. Splitting wood is good therapy and excellent exercise. Firewood is a happy by-product
- Hayes Haugen
Rob, the PVC tarp house is nice because my Dad can take it down during the summer. As he only needs to keep the wood dry in the winter when we make fires.
- Maggie
A wooden house holding wood that's headed for destruction by combustion. It's a plant version of Animal Farm.
- Sue - Friendfeed is best
Finally! A Bay Area house I can afford!
- Spidra Webster