Fear of Clowns

My purple American pitcher plant is doing rather well. Unlike other American pitcher plants, S. purpurea collects rainwater in which to drown its prey. I have read that its digestion is aided by mosquito larvae and bacteria living in its pitchers. However, with no larvae and only the bacteria that came with it turned a large cricket into a translucent film on the top of the water in a short week. I first filled the single pitcher with water at the same time I fed it a cricket - a few days before the second following photo was taken.

Here it is at week 0, just planted from bare-root,

Week 4, digesting its first cricket - it was not until it was fed that the faintly darker green veining became strikingly purple and pronounced,

Today, a bit shy of week 8,

Labels: carnivorous plants, gardening, photos

// posted by Erik @ 5/15/2008 07:57:00 PM
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I'm growing flightless fruit flies to feed my pet plants. About a month ago I bought a culture of them from a pet store for $5.99 - I believe today I bought enough ingredients to make dozens of times more flies for about the same price. First, here is the store purchased culture.

Because millions of people without in-sink disposals unwittingly make fruit fly cultures every day I figure it's rather difficult to fail in the venture. I've read that using vinegar instead of water inhibits mold growth so I threw into the blender a small apple, half a package of potato buds, half a package of baking yeast and wet it down a bit with apple cider vinegar.

I kept the apple peels for springtail food. Or more accurately, food for springtail food. More on that tomorrow.

After blending everything down to a cookie dough consistency, I used a root beer bottle to mash the mush more or less evenly across the bottoms of a mason jar and pickle jar. I put one in the freezer for later.

I learned a new word today, excelsior,

wood shavings (thin curly wood shavings used for packing or stuffing)

In this case, the source of my excelsior - pods of a Northern Catalpa - proved the first positive about having a nearly all year mess of the foot-long woody pods in the yard. Those woody pods are perfect excelsior material for my pet flies to find a purchase.

I shook 30-40 flies from the original culture into their new breeding grounds and locked them in with a paper towel and rubber bands.

Labels: apples, blending, carnivorous plants, diy, pet food, poison dart frogs, recipes, science

// posted by Erik @ 5/15/2008 06:44:00 PM
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A MAN was killed by an elephant during a standoff between a herd of elephants and villagers at Omuntele in the North [of Namibia] on Thursday.

Thirteen elephants, including three calves, escaped from the Etosha National Park. They trampled crops and mahangu fields, and villagers tried to chase them back to Etosha, shooting into the air with their rifles.

One elephant was wounded by a bullet fired by a villager. But this did not deter the elephants, which then stormed at the people. The villagers tried to run away, but two people collided with each other and one fell to the ground.

One of the elephants trampled the villager to death.

[Police Deputy Commissioner Ndahangwapo] Kashihakumwa blamed the villagers for not having informed the Police in time and instead trying on their own to chase the elephants away ... However, some villagers claim that Councillor Sacky Nangula called the Okatope Police immediately when the elephants arrived at the village, but the Police said they did not have a car.

Labels: elephants amok

// posted by Erik @ 5/13/2008 11:06:00 AM
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Pictures from the 2008 Chaitén eruption. Before:

After:

Volcanic ash replenishes soil nutrients.

Labels: botany, climate change, photos, science

// posted by Erik @ 5/09/2008 01:36:00 AM
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The questioner asked, "I do not believe that one more soldier being killed every day is success. There were three U.S. soldiers killed today. I want to know, How long are we going to be there?" John McCain replied,

I can look you in the eye and tell you that those casualties tragically continue ... But they are much less, and they are dramatically reduced and we will eventually eliminate them.

To this, the questioner famously responded,

President Bush has talked about our staying in Iraq for fifty years.

McCain: Make it a hundred.

McCain's goal in Iraq is to stay until no Americans are being killed there. Which to anybody who's been paying attention means never and always. Under McCain, we will be in Iraq, ready to be killed forever.

Labels: 2008 elections, McCain, war

// posted by Erik @ 5/04/2008 02:18:00 AM
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"The bridge in Minneapolis didn't collapse because there wasn't enough money. The bridge in Minneapolis collapsed because so much money was spent on wasteful, unnecessary pork-barrel projects."

- John McEngineering

Labels: 2008 elections, I-35 bridge, Minneapolis bridge

// posted by Erik @ 5/03/2008 12:00:00 AM
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Oh, oh. I wonder if there were any Cubans involved.

In two states where US attorneys are already under fire for serious allegations of political prosecutions, seven people associated with three federal cases have experienced 10 suspicious incidents including break-ins and arson ...

In Alabama, for instance, the home of former Democratic Governor Don Siegelman was burglarized twice during the period of his first indictment ... the only items of interest to the burglars were the files in Siegelman's home office.

Siegelman's attorney experienced the same type of break-in at her office.

In neighboring Mississippi, a case brought against a trial lawyer and three judges raises even more disturbing questions ... The main target of the indictment, attorney Paul Minor, had his office broken into, while Mississippi Supreme Court Justice, Oliver E. Diaz Jr., had his home burglarized. According to police reports and statements from Diaz and from individuals close to Minor, nothing of value was taken and the burglars only rummaged through documents ...

The incidents are not limited to burglaries. In Mississippi, former Judge John Whitfield was the victim of arson at his office. In Alabama, the whistleblower in the Don Siegelman case, Dana Jill Simpson, had her home burned down ...

Labels: Bush White House, Republicans

// posted by Erik @ 5/01/2008 11:03:00 AM
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One's first thought about the plants in this picture isn't "They eat meat."

Labels: botany, carnivorous plants, gardening, photos

// posted by Erik @ 4/29/2008 10:37:00 PM
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From an email John McCain sent me today,

Today, there are 47 million uninsured individuals in the U.S., and nearly a quarter of them are children. High costs and limited access are the underlying, fundamental problems in our healthcare system.

As you know, both Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are touting outrageously expensive and unrealistic universal health care plans - a government monopoly over health care.

Unlike my opponents, I do not believe that all of our nation's problems can be solved by turning control over to our government, with all the tax increases, new mandates and government regulation that come with that idea.

The Mcain solution,

I will reform the tax code to provide every family the option of receiving a direct, refundable tax deposit - effectively $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 cash for families to offset the cost of insurance.

McCain openly admits he's no economic genius, however few realize this means he can't multiply or divide even with the assistance of senior campaign lobbyists aides.

Assuming every U.S. household received McCain's proposed individual refund ("$$$CASH$$$" no less!), the math is,

126,316,181 US Households x $2,500 each = $315,790,452,500

Without raising taxes, McCain is proposing greater than a new $316 billion unfunded mandate. In other terms he's proposing more than doubling the yearly deficit.

Labels: 2008 elections, McCain, taxes

// posted by Erik @ 4/29/2008 08:05:00 PM
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• 3 habenero chili peppers
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 Roma tomatoes
• salt

I first diced then slightly browned the habaneros and garlic in chili oil, adding salt and the diced tomatoes later.

This mixture was blended and pureed with about 8 oz. of each of three bases,

• mango
• avacodo and honeydew
• carrot and lime juice

Served with chips and black beans,

Labels: chili peppers, photos, recipes

// posted by Erik @ 4/29/2008 06:30:00 PM
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Two children were trampled to death and a man maimed as straying wild elephants destroyed two villages over the last 24 hours in southeastern Bangladesh, officials said on Monday.

A girl was killed and six bamboo houses flattened as elephants ravaged a village near Cox's Bazar district town, 400 km (250 miles) from the capital Dhaka on Monday.

A boy was killed and a man seriously injured when wild elephants strayed into another village in the same district on Sunday. Five houses were levelled by the rampaging elephants.

Recalling last week's elephant incident in Kerala, India,

A suspected case of viral disease has resulted in the death of two wild elephants in the Wayanad district in Kerala in the last one month.

... "A nine-month-old calf was found in the forest in a very weak condition Friday. The elephant herd was seen trying to help the calf stand upright. Though we tried to help the calf, the herd did not allow us to approach. The next day the calf died," forest range officer T. Pradeep said.

According to officials, elephants get stressed and become susceptible to diseases during summer when water and fodder are in short supply. Veterinary experts who examined the carcasses suspect that the deaths were caused by viral infection.

// posted by Erik @ 4/28/2008 11:55:00 PM
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Two of my pings are in bloom and hopefully will give viable seeds. Based on its distinctive flower, I believe this first one is P. vulgaris,

It has a very long quick growing stem,

I didn't see roots on this, my first ping so pulled off half the leaves in an attempt to root them aqnd planted the rest what seemed right-side-up to me. It's regenerating,

Here you can see some fruit flies I crushed until barely alive and let this P. moranensis (I think) finish them off.

Labels: carnivorous plants, gardening, photos

// posted by Erik @ 4/28/2008 11:22:00 PM
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I could no longer stand Snoopy's growling, barking fits, pooping on the carpet and biting, so we gave him back to the agency to deal with. We picked up Comet, who doesn't know what to make of our other cat, Willie, but is adjusting quite quickly.

Labels: cats, foster pets, photos

// posted by Erik @ 4/26/2008 11:45:00 PM
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Labels: McCain, religion, right wingers, YouTube

// posted by Erik @ 4/24/2008 09:28:00 PM
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An elephant gored to death three people, including a woman, during a temple festival in Kerala's Thrissur district on Wednesday afternoon.

... The police identified two of those killed as Kausalya, 75, and Nidheesh, 20. "The third person's identity is yet to be confirmed. His face was crushed beyond recognition," an official at Irinjalakkuda police station said.

The jumbo, which continued the rampage for about two hours, was calmed down by the mahouts and chained.

Labels: elephants amok, YouTube

// posted by Erik @ 4/23/2008 08:25:00 PM
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For their first encore, the curtains opened to robots playing "We Are the Robots".

The band came out in "Tron" suits for the second encore.

Labels: art, music, photos, YouTube

// posted by Erik @ 4/20/2008 07:01:00 PM
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My eBay auctions.

The famous Dorsert naga, various jolokia strains and other chilis among the worl;d's hottest peppers.

Labels: chili peppers, eBay, gardening, peppers

// posted by Erik @ 4/20/2008 06:40:00 PM
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Brilliant, no matter what.

Labels: abortion, art

// posted by Erik @ 4/18/2008 04:03:00 AM
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The following pictures of Abu Dhabi are from an email forwarded to me by Rami in Syria.

Now a metropolis of nearly half a million people, the first paved road on the island was laid in 1961.

Also from Rami,

Labels: gardening, photos

// posted by Erik @ 4/17/2008 11:44:00 PM
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