bee sting photograph

This great award winning photograph of a Bee sting was taken by Kathy Garvey and shows the bee, the sting,  plus the bee's abdominal tissue.
Very good indeed - more information here.

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a manatee and a child

What a great picture. A Manatee and a child, taken by CMGW photography. It makes the Manatee look somewhat wise and all knowing, as though it is passing a silent and withering judgement on the next batch of humans (or is that just me thinking that?).
Anyway, our idiot rabbit will end up looking like that once we shave his hair off. It's only a matter of time...

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the jewel caterpillar

I saw some pictures of the Jewel Caterpillar the other day, and l must admit, l was impressed. Probably part of the Dalceridae family, they look better before they develop properly. More information can be found at Scientific American.

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all the water on the earth in one place

According to the United States Geological Survey, if you rounded up all the water on the Earth into one ball, it would have a diameter of about 860 miles and look like this. Not a lot of water if you look at it that way, but it is still a mighty plentiful amount if you were stuck, all alone,  in a raft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (other Oceans are available).

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spider bites

I would like to point out that this is not my bum (l am pleased to say) as it is the photographs of a spider bite and it's spread while someone was on holiday.
Horrible little gits, no wonder l don't like them.

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some recent weather photos

Ah....the beauty of nature and all it's heavenly glories.
Some shots from when l have been out and about, and at one with the environment, absorbing the cosmic energy like a jedi master.

OK - I admit it (and not for the first time) - l'm a sad bastard.

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more pictures of the wagga wagga spiders

Even more photographs (from Time magazine) of the spiders heading to high ground after the floods in Wagga Wagga recently.
I hate them all.
Gits.

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into the wild (2007) - sean penn

The real McCAndless shortly before his death

Into The Wild is based on the true story of  Christopher McCandless,  who gave away all of his (from his parents) money, travelled around a bit,  then went to Alaska, where he found an abandoned bus, used it as his base, and lived out in the wild, away from society, and being at one with nature, in all it's wondrous glory (hence the title). Bloody hippie. Although the story itself is good (based on the book by Jon Krakauer), l couldn't relate to McCandless as a person (played by Emile Hirsch), as he just came across as a spoilt git who wanted to make a name for himself, by self mythologising himself everywhere he went. Apparently, he touched people (not in that way) he met along his travels, with one old fellow even wanting to adopt him. If l had met him though, l'd have given him a slap and sent him on his way, as he was just irritating. He eventually starves after eating poisoned berries (although non were found in his body afterwards), as he had been unable to cross the river back to civilisation, even though there is a crossing less than half a mile away from where he was, which shows how much he must have explored the area. Pretty much everything about him got on my nerves. Even when he sent his money away, he put a note in to say it was all of his savings, and made sure he told people about it when he met them. Pah!  He should have sent it to me if he didn't want it, stopped whining, and at least let his sister know he was safe now and again. Still, that's one less spoilt middle/upper class git to be dealing with, so it's not all bad.
The music by Eddie Vedder was excellent, and there was also a rendition of 'Angel from Montgomery', so that at least helped me tolerate the film. What a disappointment.

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monster amphipod found off new zealand

 The monster one that has just been found

Normal sized ones

This outrageously huge Amphipod has been discovered about 7km underwater in the Kermadec Trench, just off  New Zealand.
Things like this make me dread the day when they eventually come across a huge spider in the rainforests.

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hideous looking tardigrades

Sometimes l think it's best not to know too much about stuff (I'm quids in then).
These little bastardos are called Tardigrades. They are very small (up to 1.5 millimetres) and can be found pretty much everywhere. And by everywhere - l mean everywhere.
It's the last time l lie around on the beach, that's for sure, as l won't be able to relax, now l know that these critters will be all over it.
Damn you! science and double damn you! microscopes.

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sunken moses bridge in the netherlands

Although l reckon this will definitely flood at some stage, l do think it's a great design, and it looks fantastic. It's for crossing the defensive fortress in Halsteren (The Netherlands), and was designed by Ro Koster and Ad Kil. Because of the parting of the waters, it is known as the Moses bridge, and more pictures and information can be found here. Great stuff.
Saying that, although l really do like the look of it, never trust an architect (as my mother used to say). What is the point of designing something like this if it does end up flooding all the time. I'll have to check up on it in the future and maybe re-assess my verdict then. Time will tell.

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giant ant hill excavated

This is pretty amazing. A giant ant hill is excavated by pouring a load of concrete into it, and then digging away all the surrounding earth. The size, scope and planning of the structure built by the ants is staggering.
Clever little sods, they'll be taking over the world if they keep on like this.

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notes from a small island - bill bryson

Notes from a Small Island is the first travel book l have read by Bill Bryson, and it was pretty entertaining in parts, with some interesting observations and amusing throwaway lines. The only other book of his l had previously read was 'A Short History Of Nearly Everything', which mainly dealt with science, (and is superb, even with the odd mistakes). 'Notes' has Bill travelling from dahn sarf in Blighty up to the top of porridge munching land, using mainly public transport, and doing a lot of walking, drinking tea, and staying in crappy hotels or bed and breakfast places along the way. He gets a bit tiddly sometimes, gets soaked a lot, but loves the countries and the people. l think l may peruse another one of his books in the future, as they are something you can just dip in and out of, with plenty of moments to make you at least chuckle a bit. He has also enlightened me about the 5th duke of Portland, William CS Bentinck and his life at Welbeck Abbey, including the underground tunnels he had built. What a character he was. He lived the life l could only dream of, but he certainly did his own thing, and bugger what anybody else thought of him or his actions. Check him out.

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talking about those bloody spiders...

I have just been reading about how scientists think they have managed to make silk worms produce a spider-like (and strength) silk (spider-man silk!). This led onto an old link (from April) which featured an article and photograph of the largest spider fossil found so far. All well and good (sort of). I then foolishly checked out it's relatives still living today, and discovered the pictures below. No wonder l am not in a hurry to go to Australia or Thailand, as that is where these bloody things are hiding out, waiting for me to make an appearance.

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a pufferfish sunbathing

After the post about an Octopus sunbathing, here is a similar picture, this time featuring a pufferfish off  the Island of Maui. My advice? - don't ever get into the sea. It's well dodgy.

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an octopus sunbathing

Here's something you don't see every day, an Octopus catching some rays by Mount Vesuvius. I have (on my many travels) been to Italy, been to Pompeii, been to Mount Vesuvius, but never seen anything like this (not that l was looking out for a lurking Octopus). It's enough to put you off going into the sea, but from what l remember of the Naples area, a lot of it was crap, definitely not the 'See Naples and die' beauty l was led to believe, so l was a bit dubious about going for a dip around those parts anyway.

Photograph by Pasquale Vassallo.

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a really huge insect - the little barrier giant weta

This is a Giant weta and is to be found on New Zealand's Little Barrier Island.

I am so glad l don't live in that part of the world, if this is the sort of thing that is going to be found in the house. It's bad enough being scared of spiders and having to look out for them (in case they are lying in wait to attack me).

Just think, if we are ever visited by an alien life form, they could all look like this.

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bees against tuberculosis

It's common knowledge that Eric the half a bee and his mates have been used for sniffing out drugs and have also been depleting in numbers (maybe this could be related?), but it has been discovered that they can sniff out people who have Tuberculosis. Clever little sods. Mind you, it's a good job they don't go sniffing round our idiot rabbits arse. They wouldn't last two minutes. More info here.

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another northern lights picture

Another great picture of the Northern Lights, taken by Ole Christian Salomonsen in Norway. I don't think l will ever get bored of seeing photographs of them.

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some (very) close up pictures

The head of a mosquito

A black widow spiders foot

The foot of a fly

One word for all these - Urrgghhhh

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