Out Of The Mouths of Babes

This has me in tears. Totally made my day, nay, my year.
Fuschia sent me this and i have permission to publish (but don't tell SnowPea).
She will be 8 in a few days....

I took the children to the doctor yesterday. It was actually only for Sophie, but of course Hal was there too. As I was discussing with the doctor the timing of antibiotic eyedrops for Sophie's red eyes and the children were looking at one of those horrid 3D body map pictures, the little princess in question came up to me to tell me something. Not now, was my patient response. Disappointed she went away. After we had left the doctors and were walking down to the chemist (I mean, when do you ever leave the doctors without a prescription for antibiotics.Like, der, NEVER!) I asked Sophie what she had wanted.
Looking up at me, innocent face all full of shiny happiness, she told me "I know what I am going to call my next World of Warcraft character - Rectal Polyp!"

When the kids visit, we put them on a random WOW server and let them have at it. 10 characters all under level 5, but they love it. GodMother....hell no. I think thier GeekMother education is much, much more important.

I put this up at ForBattle, but it makes me laugh so much i need it here as well.

Don't

HATCHED


I wrote a post "Island State" about spending a month last May at KIDO, Carriacou, West Indies monitoring turtle nesting sites. I really, really, really wanted to be there for hatching season. Unfortunatly the turtles started nesting later than usual (maybe due to Hurricane Ivan the year before...) so i saw much egg laying but no babies. Somehow i survived and managed to have a amazing time.

Usually i stayed on just one beach Anse Laroche, with a couple of the local guys. Napping in the shelter then patrolling the beach between 8pm and 5am, then back to KIDO for breakfast and naps. If any Turtles were spotted we rang Dario and Marina and they came with the equipment.
I wondered why not give the stuff to the guys and let them do the measuring, counting etc. While they worked when others around, he didn't quite trust them to do it properly, and had been burnt before. I guess its a form of subtle racism, treat people as children don't give them responsibilty, then wonder why they can't do it.
I saw the same thing when i was in Africa, i spent 5 weeks travelling with 3 guides, all locals, all loverly, smart, capable men. But we whiteys had to keep the food money and hand it to them to go shopping, and they were not allowed to drive the new shiny truck, but it was ok for the stoner NZ guide to handle money and drive the new truck.

Anyway thats a huge topic, back to the turtles....

The local guys while very nice were not that reliable. They had to be rung up every day to see if they could make that night. Most nights was fine, but one night no one could make it and Dario was not going to let me go on my own. So we went out in the Zodiac, patrolling 6 beaches, napping on the Catameran. We did this for 13 nights straight during full moon which was stunning. I saw a Moonbow. It was about 10pm, full moon, rain just cleared, and over the water was a perfect white arch...never seen anything like it.
We tried new approaches to the beaches, the Zodiac, the speed boat, the kayak on the speedboat, anchored offshore and paddled in. Did a bit of fishing and only got yelled at a couple of times for nearly driving the Zodiac into something. I really enjoyed doing it that way, even the spine jarring plough through big waves at 3am hoping you weren't going to ram into a smugglers speedboat running without lights.

I got this email on the weekend, the pictures aren't great but soooooo cute...



Joey, the young vol from Vancouver had some encounters with hatchlings...see the photos: he was there alone with Chalkie, the dog (well, maybe she is more than just a dog..), he was lying down when she barked and he could see nothing around him, then she picked up something and gently laid it on his chest! The first hatchling of 105, all born from the nest under the bench! But Anse Laroche land was sold to developers, three hugeroads are now open, the horrors, our work is more important than ever to save the nesting beach...

Take care dear Coz, sorry for delay, I miss your cool, especially on a slamming dinghy, darkest rough night, rocks lurking all about, wet and salty, and still looking for turtles! Really felt good with you. Hope you get more into env. programs, you have what it takes.
love dario & marina & da zoo at sanctuary



(shhh, ok maybe some of his phrasing could have been slightly different...totally innocent i'll have you know...)


Don't

I'VE BEEN DIS'ed

But i don't think i'll be alone....

Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis
You approach Satan's wretched city where you behold a wide plain surrounded by iron walls. Before you are fields full of distress and torment terrible. Burning tombs are littered about the landscape. Inside these flaming sepulchers suffer the heretics, failing to believe in God and the afterlife, who make themselves audible by doleful sighs. You will join the wicked that lie here, and will be offered no respite. The three infernal Furies stained with blood, with limbs of women and hair of serpents, dwell in this circle of Hell.

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Very Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Moderate
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very High
Level 7 (Violent)	High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	High

Take the Dante's" Divine Comedy Inferno Test

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DON'T BE FOOLED

They may try and fool us and tell us this is a picture of a earth based avian Pelecanus crispus, but look closer and its obvious its the Alugerin Ambassador from Delta 4 preparing for peace talks





with the Ve'laqi Proconsul.


They can't hide the truth forever...

(I love this photo of Dalmation Pelican by Helmut Moik, it won the Best Wildlife Photo of the Year 2003. It does not look like a bird to me at all. Totally stunning. Sloths, well, Sloths are just kooky...)

Don't

I'M WALKING....

Went and saw "Walk the Line" last night with Amanda and Ob. Simply put i really, really liked it. There are heaps of great reveiws out there and i can't say much more than whats been said.
Except that Joaquin Phoenix's eyes should come with a public warning before being let loose on the world, smokin'.

This SMH article today i thought was abit odd. Its like they needed a bag out piece for balance or something.

All hail Johnny Cash! With Walk the Line tipped for several Oscars, do we have any choice? So, let it be shouted from the rooftops: any day soon, you would be best advised to forget about Elvis, Hendrix, Cobain and Lennon, and start pretending that you've always been a great fan of the most famous fella ever to have come out of Kingsland, Arkansas.

I thinks this is a bit harsh and i'm not sure what point he is trying to make. You don't have to be a fan or pretend to be a fan to enjoy a good story. I've never seen a Bruce Lee flick but really enjoyed the Dragon:The Bruce Lee Story. Apart from trying to jump backwards into trees i don't have that much interest in martial arts movies but the man was talented and interesting. When "Ray" came out, did we all forget Brittney?

I do agree with him about Christmas albums though, should be banned and burnt.

Anyway, who cares what other people think, if it brings back fond memories for some people who haven't listened to Cash for years or begins a interest for a new generation then its done well.
I'm not in the league of fandom as FlopEaredMule but i can still make her glare when i mention i saw Johnny Cash on stage...

Ha, in yer face Space Coyote.
In the late '80's sometime i caught the bus to Syndey with Dad to see the Highwayman tour. I remember being very impressed that four totally ancient men could play for over 2 hours solid and not die. T'was very cool.



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EYE CANDY TUESDAY

In lieu of anything interesting to say, i'm declaring this Eye Candy Day, for no other reason than having a perv.

In the mid-late 80's in my formative teenage years instead of reading "Flowers in the Attic", listening to The Bangles and Prince and drooling over "The Outsiders" crew. I was reading Ray Bradbury, listening to Leonard Cohen and Pink Floyd and drooling over men old enough to be my grandfather. (not that there is anything wrong with that).
Being a huge tomboy, i was more interested in riding horses than boys. I never got into boys.



James Baby You were the first man i ever saw and thought "he is cute". It was by watching you flail around in "Magic Town" that a whole wierd, confusing world slowly opened up to this young petal.




James Mason, ahh your voice, your brooding, your lips...that voice. If the parental units only knew what affect your voice had on impressionable young gals, they would have us shipped off to the country, (well further out country anyway) with no tv or ears or eyes or hormonal system.





Ahh Cary, i remember when you left us, the rumours and speculation about you being gay. Even then i thought "So, who cares? you are beautiful"



Humphrey, my dear Humphrey. I had your poster on my wall for many years and learnt to whistle specially like. You were too cool for this mortal plane, but really ya could have cut back on the ciggies so we could have a few more flicks.... *sob* bastard.




Don't

WHACKJOBS DU JOUR

Ratbags is a site i regularly visit, it is full of interesting, scary and sometimes funny things. Peter who runs the site is also VP of the Australian Skeptics and a all round good guy.
He has announced the 2005 Millenium Awards on Ratbags, he gives out to the uber frootloops of the year.
Its worth checking out, i wont spoil it as there are several catagories and i don't want to copy and paste out of context.
Also read his hate mail, my god! Extra frothing at the mouth with your Latte anyone?
I've had my one and only request to die horribly by a anti vaccination person. I'm abit too much of a chicken to go back for more. Better people than i try to reason and discuss so i'm watching from the sidelines mostly.
This was back in late 2004, when i started reading and getting more interested in "skeptical" things. Great sites out there including Randi, Quackwatch and Skepdic.
I joined a Vaccination Yahoo Group, i heard it was anti vacc, and was curious about what they talk about. I wasn't planning on posting as i knew it would be a fraught task, and wasn't up on all the facts to argue. Well, i should have kept my mouth shut.
Just after i joined Alan Yurko was released from prision. There is alot of info on him, but the upshot was he was convicted of shaking a baby to death, he became the anti vaccs poster boy, as they were blaming it on vaccines. I think there were problems with the autopsy and such so he got out, to much rejoicing. He was wanted by another state for robbery and assult on a police officer before he cut out into Florida, so his free time was probably limited. Thats all i mentioned, never even said "vaccine". Got a total of four posts in, the first one below, then three about having a adult discussion, before i was banished.

Me
Isn't there a good chance he will be back in prison or at least facing charges for parole violations and four counts of aggravated burglary in Ohio. Didn't he break his parole in Ohio and run to Florida, where he went to jail for aggravated assault of a police office and the death of the baby.Now he is out i imagine the Ohio authories will be interested in him.Sounds like a very violent man.

Frootloop
Get this "skeptic" off of the list! Are you there Sherri?I think this person, daryarose, is a spy for the so-called skeptics.We don't need them spouting their hate-filled bull here. If Sherri is still around,can this person please be unsubscribed from this list?Below is the email that head ratbag, Peter Bowditch (may he rot in hell forever) wrote:This is what I wrote to the Ohio Dept of Corrections:***Peter's letter and and response to the Ohio DRC***
As anyone with any brains knows, Alan is as far from violent asone human being can be. These people ought to spend life in prison plus ten without parole for not only supporting but insisting on the mass poisoning of children and adults. Of course, they could get out for time served if they agree to receiving the same vaccines in the same dosages and the same order as children get. All the best,Meryl***


So that will be a NO to the the adult discussion then.

I find it hard to get my head around this type of response and its definatley not just the anti vaccine peeps. They counter crititcal thought and arguement with threats and RAnDOm CAPlOcks. Its a response i would expect in a rabid religious believer. Its a belief system not a science. They try and use science to back themselves up and the best they can come with is banishing any dissenting voice. Thats not rational.
I can understand why some people call skeptics "cynical, close minded..etc" its because they have heard all the crap before and could write the responses themselves, and having someone tell you that they hope your family all die painfully of cancer has got to piss you off. The fact some of these freaks and charletans are exposed time and time again, but still bounce back is tiring and sad. Yet they still fight the good fight, and all the ones i know are loverly.

I used to love reading (as did many people) all those "Unexplained Mysterys of the World" type books as a kid. ESP, Bigfoot, Aliens, Crystal skulls, lost worlds fascinated me. It would be awesome if even a inkling of these were real but reality, crititcal thinking and logic has to kick in at some point. But that dosen't mean we can't find wonder and beauty in the world, it doesn't take from it, but i think enhances it.








Don't