Six Degrees Game (Climate Change)

Thanks to Blog Action Day, the topic of today's amusement has been decided. However, it is a vast and every so occupied amusement, at least for some, that there is difficulty in pin-pointing specifics.

Of course, we could always turn to Google for the answers. Google is, as we all know, one of the all powerful beings on this planet. Give it a question and it shall answer. Now, the problem with asking Google is it doesn't always tell you whats best. This all doesn't really matter, as I've my own personal amusement from this.

I believe it is called "Six Degrees" and all one must do to play is mentally take any object, creature or even yourself and place them on what you consider a typical summer day. From here, you give that object, creature, person or whatever one item and place it near. When this is done for demonstrative purposes, the common theme is a little kid holding an ice cream cone. You can, of course, take a much larger view. I prefer the though ot mosquitoes in stagnant water which is near a sapling. From here, we take what we commonly think of a summer day, as I said before, and slowly start making it hotter.

Now, its a race of "Who dies first?" Does the water evaporate before the sapling shrivels? Do the little mosquito larva have enough time to become full mosquitoes? One might be wondering why anyone would care about the mosquitoes but one must also remember that the same water is used by the sapling. Still having trouble with the mosquitoes? Okay, lets try a frog. How about a turtle? Or maybe you would rather see this as a koi pond and look beyond the water. How hot before the sapling catches fire with almost no incentive to? How hot before the grass dies? I have seen grass die and trees wither after freshly sprouting at a nice 97 degrees Fahrenheit and that is a typical summer day, for me.

Now, I'm only offering this little "game" for you to play but at the same time I ask you. How soon before these things start effecting you? At what point does the dying tree across the street become "your problem"?

Minus all the bush beating, I do honestly enjoy the "Six Degrees Game" and have played it on more then one occasion. Its great for long and/or painful road trips, doctor visits and dealing with relatives.

To Top

Sing Song (Nobody Likes Me)

A school bus/children's song that I have apparently known sense I was in elementary school. Such a fun and silly song was forgotten, however, until a few days ago when it kept reappearing half haphazardly inside my brain. Then, someone gave confirmation that I had made up no such silliness and the song a true thing. Here, I give it to you, have fun.

Nobody likes me,
Everybody hates me,
Guess I'll go eat worms,

Long, thin, slimy ones,
Short, fat, juicy ones,
Itsy, bitsy, fuzzy wuzzy worms.

Down goes the first one,
Down goes the second one,
Oh how they wiggle and squirm.

Up comes the first one,
Up comes the second one,
Oh how they wiggle and squirm.

No, its not the most intelligent thing to sing or even the most mature but give it a quick trout through. Go on, no one is watching you! I bet you'll get at least a smile out of this song, if nothing else.

As with other songs of this nature there are several different versions and at times, some are even combined to make longer more complicated versions of the ones used within it. Other times, the "main chorus" of "Nobody likes me" etc, is repeated after every two other verses.

To Top

Spiders Are Not Evil

An insectoid that gets more crap then any other that is not directly considered a pest. Actually, these arachnids get rid of said pests and yet are thought of as more of a home invader while most are relatively harmless to humans.

While I say "relatively" I mean to that of a full grown adult who has enough sense to not touch eight legged things that have red hour glasses on their backs. For an infant, yes, any poisonous spider will be a threat. However, spiders in general are not a threat to anyone in at least a suburban area with a moderate standard of cleanliness.

Indeed there are some "nasty ones" in my area, alone. These "big meanies", off the top of my head, are the black widow, the brown recluse and the banana spider. Two of which try to avoid contact with humans and dislike anything larger then itself (The brown recluse and black widow) while the third is usually more fond of running. Out of the three only one is technically lethal.

The problem, at least in my area, with spiders is when they get big. Anything that is smaller then the tip of your thumb will, most of the time, run away in fear. Once in awhile one of these will have made itself one of the lucky few to get to the point of "mean and scary". At this point, even I can no longer play activist. Those monster things need to die!

Again, a problem comes with this as some people think all big spiders are "bad". This is not true! For example, the very common wolf spider is one of the most timid to human animals in my area. While these get very big very fast you have a greater chance of a rodent of the same size biting you instead. That, and the things aren't really poisonous. Basically, if the things actually bite you, it'll just hurt like a summa bish. Pets should avoid the females but otherwise its "cool".

Now, these are all assumed in my personal area of Melbourne Florida with personal experience from myself. If you live somewhere less populated or in the outback for example, I'd avoid anything with eight legs there. My reason for that would be not knowing about the creatures of that area. What I wouldn't do, regardless, is kill them unless I had to. Spiders, even in the outback and other gnarly locations, help kill the big nasty bugs that are actually aggressive toward humans. Then again, some spiders eat other spiders

The main gist of this post is "Spiders are not evil". They are just naturally creepy and/or ugly looking which causes an irrational fear response in a lot of people. Most of which do not even have the actual phobia of spiders but rather are just ignorant of them. I am a bit curious if I made anyone's skin crawl though. Please, wont you share?

Beware when bug hunting as spiders are attracted as well.

To Top

Circles are Sexy!

Once everyone reaches an age we start to over look simple things. Simple things like basic shapes and colors. I for one, try my best to see those things first. No, its not a clock that keeps time it is a rather large circle that happens to have a clock inside it.

So many things need, included and are based on the circle. The general idea and find of such a wonderful design is only attainable by absolute math and nature. Its a wonder that it takes complex calculations to get an actual perfect circle. So many are close that they appear perfect but only nature does it so.

Trees rings, eyeballs (which are technically spheres but something like that will get a temporary pass) and all other sorts of wonderful things. Some of man's "favorite things" are circular and curved, how can such "things" not mean that the circle is a grand gift of mathematics and natural selection?

I give you a goal! Fine me a circle, any circle and share it. Tell us where it was found, who was nearby on the date and time you found the magical π!

To Top

Tortoise...es Are Cool!

Think about it, giant and lumbering land animals that have outlived the dinosaurs while being some of the slowest and easiest to catch creatures on the planet. They exist all over the world except for extreme cold regions, as they are cold blooded, come in many many types and rang is so many sizes.

The tortoise is a creature that enjoys his "alone time". Being solitary creatures it can sometimes be difficult to find them. For an animal that is so large they are very stealthy, if not slow and still very lumbering.

Still many animals, including tortoise...es are being newly discovered each day. We all know of the Galapagose Tortoise and some of us know of local ones. Close to myself we have rather large Gopher Tortoise that does as it name implies. They dig burrows for which to lay eggs in.

Also, a lot of tortoise ...es, turtles and other slow moving reptiles are endangered due to people wanting their shells. This is troubling to anyone who has an issue with animal rights or just the rights of these large reptiles.

Bug Catching

Something that is usually considered a childish or immature hobby can be hours and hours of fun while never leaving your own back yard. While some may look down on this activity it is something keeps the body and mind working together in order to accomplish a goal.

The trick with Bug Catching or "Hunting" is knowledge of what you are hunting. You don't need to know what each insect-oid or "bug" eats, how and/or when it breeds or the specific type you are looking for but only general details. Simple facts about a general type of "bug" you wish to possibly see. This usually can be found on the net, links provided in side bar, or you can by a cheap book on "bugs", "insects" or the specific you wish to find such as "Spiders". Furthermore you could trim it down to your location only to prevent unwanted confusion. Upon catching a insect-oid you should NEVER EVER pick it up with your bare hands without knowing absolutely what you are touching. The insect world can be filled with rather dangerous things that could end wrong if not handled properly.

Some would say that not everyone should go "bug" hunting for previous reason stated and its opposite but I highly disagree. There is a grand enjoyment when you discover something with your own eyes. Image waking up in the morning to go and "check your traps" and finding several little beings all waiting for your eyes. You can then, if you wish, even catalog and diagram and illustrate (great for artists looking for realistic things in the world while still remaining slightly abstract) the things you have found. Sometimes Mother Nature surprises you with something you'd never have thought the time was worth looking for.

Tools of the trade, they range from the drastically simple to the expensively complicated. The choice depends on how serious you take the hobby and how much time you are willing to invest. While the more expensive of the "gear" is the easiest to use it requires the least amount of effort in collecting specimens for whatever reasons you have and in my honest opinion it is lost to fun. Entomologists, mostly, use the "tried and true" bug catching methods that you see children use.

• The Butterfly Net
• The Glass Jar
• The Light
• The Sketch Book or Field Guide

"Bug" catching really has to be the easiest thing to start into. You do not even have to touch anything if you aren't "that type" of person. Its great for artists looking for something strange within his/her own world. Good for the scientific mind who seeks wonder or reason as to what and why. And BEST for those willing to give a simple joy the time to make them smile.

To Top