life of chocolate

Lyre Bird

Worth Listening to because it's a bird that sounds like a:

camera shutter
chain saw!
and over 20 other birds!!!

duck, duck, duck, goose! i mean duck.

First, i'd like to apologize to everyone that was completely grossed out by my last entry. I received some complaints. Unfortunately, my friends, life isn't always pleasant - especially if you're an african cichlid residing in an poorly-lit tank. To makeup for the heavy dose of reality, I thought i'd share a more pleasant piece of fiction - a story of a girl (yours truly), and some ducks. Well one particular big-ass, funny looking duck (see above).

I visited the Duck pond this past weekend. As a part of my lab we need to go on four birding excursions outside of class and I figured it was time to venture out. Will, the Muscovy Duck - (we'll call him Will for the time being for lack of a better name) immediatly greeted me. I wasn't sure how to take his welcome. He was hissing some and had his feathers out. He seemed to be aggressive. Swans are known to be quite powerful, but this guy somehow wasn't so intimidating.

I began to walk around and he followed me so close that i almost tripped over him a few times. Not unlike Chaya on the trail, he was literally within a foot or two at all times! (see below)

Others arrived in a car and he decided to share the love with them as well. He took to pecking at their feet when they began to talk to each other instead of paying attention to him as they obviously should have (no doubt anyone at the duck pond is there to see willy). I spoke to them for a few minutes as one was a fellow-eco. Then went back to id'ing and photographing ducks.

After a while, i felt a funny peck at my feet. I looked down to find Willy - nibbling on my shoes and camera bag! Ignoring good old Will was certainly unacceptable behavior on my part. He let me pet him.

Stupid humans - taking pictures instead of feeding me, WILLY, the badass Muscovy Duck.
~ as spoken by Will the duck (i'm the voice of will since he wasn't up to blogging tonight)

RUDE! i thought. this duck obviously has no manners what-so-ever. And he didn't! I continued on identifying ducks and chatted with Will for a bit. Surprisingly he didn't have much to say. He wasn't bad company to be honest. I'd certainly take the big guy in if i had a giant pond in my back yard. My neighbors would love it!

Below are some of the species I saw:

Wood ducks!

Mallards

Left: Black Duck; Right: Female Wood duck

Wood duck couple - awwww.

Horned grebe (2 mallards in the back).
Will and I said farewell and I was on my way. It was just another day at the duck pond. I wonder how he and Chaya would get along anyway...
To be continued...

hole in the head

My fish have holes in their heads. No really. Holes. Small holes, but in a fishes world, small means big.

For as long as i can remember i've had fish. Currently, I have 4 tanks - mostly cichlids as in recent years i've developed an interest in variety of fish with so many species from different parts and habitats around the world.

Last summer, I added a high intensity light to one of my tanks hoping to grow more plants. The idea was to build a CO2 infuser and have a garden in my house! sweet! the not so sweet part was learning of possibility for such home-made CO2 contraptions to explode due to excessive fermentation and resultant CO2 buildup. As much as i love to blow stuff up, i decided to nix this particular project as i like my house without fermented stinky slime spewn all over it. The light, however, remained.

Lo and behold, water chemistry and nutrient balance is a tricky thing. Too much light leads to quick plant growth depleting CO2. This in turn sparks other nutrient deficiencies in the water yielding:

green spot algae - an algae that only can be removed via busting out the guns and showin that tank who's boss. yea, it's seriously that tough to get off.
fish with holes in their heads.

I noticed the fin deterioration but they were still eating. I t

thought perhaps they were dueling at night - biting off each other's fins, to the point of no return. then i noticed them starting to darken in color. I researched and researched and finally, this week i discovered hole-in-the-head disease. Also called Hexamita because of it's association with certain protozoan bastards that slowly tear apart said fishes insides... poor fishes!

Above right: take note of the finless fish (poor nemo!) No his fins are not down, they are MISSING. and the remnant nubs are frayed. The light discoloration in between their eyes is the HOLE. there are a bunch there.

in short, i'm starting to treat the tank as recommended and hope my little guys heal - atleast some. long-term fin damage may be irreparable, but i'm hoping for some recovery. wish me luck!

Pine Siskins!

Speaking of CHICKENS ... on a completely random and unrelated (except for that whole "Animal Kingdom" deal) the Pine Siskins are STILL HERE en masse! i have flocks of 50 swinging by and I'm filling the feeders many times a week!!! Lucky that we have them this year in town to see!! They're cute little guys, a few picts are below. More are here.

AND while we're speaking chickens, I have to announce a mistake made on this blog! i mistakenly labeled a red-shouldered hawk a red-tailed. Not that you really care, but I know something now. That makes me special.
the end.

let it snow!

I've been slacking the past month on the blog front. mostly because i have work literally spewing, yes spewing, out of my ears. nostrils too.

no really. it happens.
but beauty is still all around and though days are short - there are always WEEKENDS, and evenings.. no this isn't a verizon plug. Below are a few snapshots from the past month... enjoy!

Left: I like the forest best when the only tracks are my own. not one person had ventured on this trail since the snow!
Right: chaya saw her shadow in january. what does that mean?

the woods really were this white. it was painfully cold on this particular windy, icy day. chaya and I lasted a little over 3 hours.

the snow was actually quite deep. deep enough that walking on flat surfaces turned into high resistance elliptical work. (minus the lame view and smelly stale air)

the icey valley.

unfortunately, you always have to go back.

The return of SLACKASS

I brought her to the woods on skiis and it didn't turn into an epic, painful lost in the woods with no food type adventure. go me!

We both saw our shadows.... and met 3 cool hiker boys with the coolest, fluffiest (is that a word?) and most ginormous dog ever. (yea if i'm making up words i minus well go all out right?)

2 badass trucks. we ran into rich^2, and the boys skiing up bear meadows. they dropped the gas line. CRAZINESS! i heard they went to lowes after to get 10% off.

above: why i heart the forest... and while i do enjoy skiing my insides were ACHING to climb up to these vistas on the cross bike...

take note of the invisible brown Labrador in these picts... we had to turn her to invisible mode because the last time we ski'd together, i took multiple face plants due to her inclination to run in front of me and stop abruptly just as i was picking up speed downhill. phew, that was a run-on if i've ever created one... TOO BAD FOR YOU i refuse to edit my grammar on principle...

slackass likes birds too and has mastered sign language. i aspire to be as cool as her one day.

CJ!!!!

the coolest chic ever and her badass hot pink skis. she just smiles instead of busting out the bird. what's up with that? :) if those skis were a bicycle then they'd almost be as badass as my commuter ... yes folks, 2 times in the woods WITH COMPANY. am i becoming social or something? naaaah. couldn't be.

perspective: thoughts on life's struggles

One day Zarathustra had fallen asleep under a fig tree, for it was hot, and had put his arms over his face. And an adder came and bit him in the neck, so that Zarathustra cried out in pain. When he had taken his arm from his face, he looked at the snake, and it recognized the eyes of Zarathustra, writhed awkwardly, and wanted to get away. “Oh no,” said Zarathustra, “as yet you have not accepted my thanks. You waked me in time, my way is still long.” “Your way is short,” the adder said sadly; “my poison kills.” Zarathustra smiled. “When had a dragon ever died of the poison of a snake?” he said. “But, take back your poison. You are not rich enough to give it to me.” Then the adder fell around his neck a second time and licked his wound.
When Zarathustra once related this to his disciples they asked: “And what, O Zarathustra, is the moral of your story?” Then Zarathustra answered thus:

The annihilator of morals, the good and just call me: my story is immoral.

But if you have an enemy, do not requite him evil with good, for that would put him to shame. Rather prove that he did you some good….A wrong shared is half right. And he who is able to bear it should take the wrong upon himself.
Nietzsche

thanx CJ (AKA cyclocross jess)

gremlins and the flav.

Left: Eastern Screech Owl - Strigiformes Strigidae (image ala thayer birding cd)
Right: Gizmo
Striking resemblance, don't you think?

REVISION: Good point jess (folks, see comment). Owls are in fact nocturnal as are gremlins. Gizmo, however is a day time type. What happens when cute furry little gizmo feeds as the owls do is represented below.
Resemblance is kinda scary. Just a little...
YEAH BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

good start... Gitmo va a cerrar

Seems like he's off to a good start.

Close Gitmo Detention Facility
Ban torture (since torture was previously OK by any means necessary)
Taskforce to review and make recommendations re: all detainees "cases". Although last time i checked most had no official case pending at all. Many have killed themselves. More have attempted. And many countries have refused to accept the few detainees that have been "released" to them. hmmmm...

Wikipedia's Gitmo overview
Amnesty's thoughts on human rights relative to the detention facility.

I looked and looked but so far have yet to be able to find any stats on the costs and basis for operation both the base and the detention center. In fact, finding much on it at all beyond basic history is a challenge. So surprising. I did discover that Cuba's first and only McDonalds and Subway call Gitmo home. And, speaking of important headline facts and events, Jessica Alba confused Sweden and Switzerland sometime in the past week. And did you check out Michelle Obama's fashionable inaugural attire yesterday?

Yea, guess i'll keep digging re:GITMO.

check please.

While really I should be commenting on the events of this past week, historic precedent in American Cultural history, that would require some research to do well. And frankly, i'm burnt out dissertation proposal style. So, instead, I'll entertain with this lovely piece of nonfiction.

In the process of refinancing my home, I had to endure a credit check. Review of my credit audit brought attention to an old credit card that I had forgotten to cancel. While my credit is a'ight (sista!), I figured having an open account that isn't used is asking for some sort of fraud action. So I made the call that we all dread making. You know the one that you have to deal with multiple tiers of options - press 1 for this and 2 for that. and then you get to an operator who tells you that you need to speak with someone in another department (which also happens to be in another state or country... and so goes the drill. on and on.

and on. (and not smooth chill Davina style either)

The call went something like this:
Begin ring.

welcome to ---card. If you want to check your account balance, press one. If you want to check how much you owe, please press two. If you want to be an organ donor, press three. If you want to donate your first born to pay off your outstanding credit, press four... and so on.

I just wanted to cancel my damn account. of course that was no where to be found on the menu. I made a selection. any selection.

begin next set of options....again, no cancel account. I made yet another selection

begin next set of options ... AGAIN (see above)... made yet another selection...

Finally I was offered the option to speak with an actual human bean, i mean being.

progress!

begin elevator music serenade.

i put the phone on speaker and went on with my work. After about 5 minutes of holding, an operator picked up. she told me i was speaking with the wrong department and would forward me to the appropriate place.

hold please.

another ring, then another department operator answered she sounded kinda like a new jersey's mobsters wife. you know, that nasal high pitched smokers voice that is as soothing as fingernails on a chalkboard? I knew good times were ahead.

Her: hello, how may i help you?

me: i'd like to cancel my account

her: oh, we're sorry to hear that. can i ask why you are canceling? I see you've been with us for a while.

me: i don't use the card. please cancel my account.

her - abridged version: We're doing that (canceling) remember? But you can still keep the card open you know. You have a good record of credit with us.

me: Thank you but i just want to cancel my account.

her - super abridged version: We're doing that (canceling) remember? But did you know that your credit scores can improve by having long-standing credit with a company like us?... bla bla bla.

me - yawning and annoyed: um, thanks but i just want to cancel my account. PS - she's wrong on that as it's situation dependent.

her: We're doing that (canceling) remember? bla bla bla

me: yes i remember. that's why i called. please cancel my account.

her (and it's about time!): ok, i'm canceling your account. You have 90 days to change your mind... bla bla bla... is there anything else we can do for you today?

me: yea send me a voucher for a few gin and tonics to soothe the grating sound your voice has left in my ear drum. (ok so i didn't say that - never burn a bridge with someone who has access to your credit card account)

Click.
A good 25 or so minutes after the phone call begin, the card was closed (i hope).

and so it went.

slacker '09

Isn't it annoying when you read someone's blog and they apologize for not posting in so long? Ok, it's quite obvious that nothing has been written in days or weeks and really what can be done about it? it's in the past, so get over it and write something dammit. :) So, given that, i'll spare you all the details of where i've been for the past few weeks and just dive right into the good stuff! Cause there's lots. Here is what's been goin on:

Refinanced my house! yes rates are excellent right now folks so if you have an expiring ARM, LOOK INTO IT.
Completed a website equipped with a flash coverflow top piece (think itunes - it's redundant but the client really really really wanted it so they got it). PHEW - no more side jobs for me till the semester is OVER.
Fixed a dying car and dealt with associated insurance issues (so i get reimbursed)
Took a road trip with Jess to NJ and Philly area. Hung with the coolest fam and met up with slackass for a chill afternoon in suburban philly. So good to cya slackass!!
Realized I have a new, super cool, low key and not really medium sized friend.
Made Sushi - mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Much better homemade than from wegmans.
Discovered new hip hop.
Ate pie.
Signed up for ornithology lab. For all who know me, you know how excited I am about this class. Now i not only get to learn about bird history (you know, presidents, wars, etc), and evolution of flight, speciation, etc, but ALSO, i get to examine stuffed and frozen birds on a weekly basis for intimate study (ok, again head out of the gutter, not that type of intimate, we are scientists in ecology OK?). Unfortunately this makes for 6 hours of class time and a good bit of out of class time commitment on top of the 40 hr week and my dissertation proposal but... it will be SO WORTH IT.
Started contemplating my early spring, birds of PA / CROSS CENTURY. yes folks, it will be 100 miles, all dirt / gravel, and all climbing cross bike goodness. Percs including spending the ENTIRE DAY listening to ME point out Birds of PA in the forest. YES! (ok, so maybe i should spare everyone and do it alone)
Resolved to stop taking on TOO MUCH. Unfortunately this means saying no to some more web volunteer work with a local shelter (this breaks my heart but my sanity, proposal and grades are all at stake).
REVISION: and last but certainly not least, ate indian food w/ERIC.

For those outside of PA, it's been COLD - ass cold(tm) in fact until recent days when we have been graced with the most beautiful fluffy SNOW. Unfortunately i've been holed up working so i have yet to ski but it's coming soon - this week in fact. Enjoy some picts below of recent adventures.