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Post by Galadriel on Aug 6, 2007 8:12:45 GMT
As for birds of prey, we have a pair of eagles that always comes living on our yard at the same time of the year And true, one if bigger than the other, and more colourful. They are usually chewing down some rabbits then they leave. (Great eagles, I'm not familiar with the english name, but I guess for the raw translation, Kings-Eagles (only second in size to the Sea-Eagles)) I will make a topic about birds of prey
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Post by killerzzz on Aug 7, 2007 3:39:48 GMT
I adore spiders, sad to break it to y'all... Well, yeah; spiders are awsome! ;D I haven't lost that opinion of my past yet. I just don't want them to be in a position to ambush me. In other words: "For God's sake, get out ." (what movie? come on guys ). Out of my house, that is, btw. Killerzzz
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Post by Galadriel on Aug 7, 2007 8:45:22 GMT
I just don't want them to be in a position to ambush me. In other words: "For God's sake, get out ." (what movie? come on guys ). Out of my house, that is, btw. Killerzzz I'm suspecting Arachnophia Killerzzz ;D
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Post by killerzzz on Aug 7, 2007 21:30:00 GMT
I just don't want them to be in a position to ambush me. In other words: "For God's sake, get out ." (what movie? come on guys ). Out of my house, that is, btw. Killerzzz I'm suspecting Arachnophia Killerzzz ;DGood guess. ;D I suppose I did make it sound like it would be a spider movie. Its actually from The Amnityvill Horror. One of my fav movie quotes. Killerzzz
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Post by Galadriel on Aug 7, 2007 22:22:37 GMT
I saw that movie once and couldn't sleep for nights I felt spiders everywhere. I still check my room every night before I turn in, honestly, it doesn't take that long, cause I can feel the presence of a spider, so I find them in less then 5 minutes
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Post by killerzzz on Aug 8, 2007 22:18:11 GMT
I still check my room every night before I turn in, honestly, it doesn't take that long, cause I can feel the presence of a spider, so I find them in less then 5 minutes Your spidey-senses start tingling? Killerzzz
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Post by Galadriel on Aug 9, 2007 10:00:49 GMT
I still check my room every night before I turn in, honestly, it doesn't take that long, cause I can feel the presence of a spider, so I find them in less then 5 minutes Your spidey-senses start tingling? Killerzzz It's my anteni that starts to move ;D
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Post by LaFille on Nov 23, 2007 3:05:54 GMT
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Post by killerzzz on Nov 24, 2007 10:26:19 GMT
'ats a big bug! ;D Wonder what they would find if they were able to more easily check the more difficult parts of the ocean. Reason being: thats where the big stuff would be, I think. Water = less gravity = more expantion of exoskeletal beings = eep! ;D Killerzzz
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Post by LaFille on Nov 25, 2007 4:43:35 GMT
Yeah, the ocean depths still contain a lot of unknown... And the "known" is extremely bizzare (that could be a cool topic... hmmm). But at these depths, the pressure is huge there's no light, it's cold and the food sources are a lot about scavenging on what falls down from the top so the creatures there are adapted to these conditions and usually pretty small. But... There are always giant squids and octopuses. ;D
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Post by Galadriel on Nov 25, 2007 10:08:27 GMT
There is this flat shark type that lives on the bottom of the ocean too. He's completely harmless cause he only eats what he can find on the bottom. Forgot his name though....
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Post by LaFille on Nov 27, 2007 2:18:22 GMT
I don't know... Chimeras?
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Post by ss on Nov 28, 2007 16:41:27 GMT
Yeah, the ocean depths still contain a lot of unknown... And the "known" is extremely bizzare (that could be a cool topic... hmmm). But at these depths, the pressure is huge there's no light, it's cold and the food sources are a lot about scavenging on what falls down from the top so the creatures there are adapted to these conditions and usually pretty small. But... There are always giant squids and octopuses. ;D I know this is not about spiders, but it goes along with this post..an article I have from back about 2002, or 2003. "It’s hard to imagine locusts coming out of a “bottomless pit” as described in the Bible in Revelation 9. How could any creatures live under the earth, so deep that extreme temperatures could cook them, or, as in the case of polar regions, freeze living cells. But a TIME magazine article (July 29, 2002) states that microbes can live in extreme temperatures: “They thrive on boiling heat, freezing cold, radiation and toxic chemicals — and they have triggered a revolution in biology.” Michael Lemonick writes, “It’s hard to imagine a more inhospitable place on earth than the hydrothermal vents that pepper the ocean floor. These cracks in the sea bottom spew water superheated by rising magma to as high as 750 degrees F., and contaminated with toxic substances such as hydrogen sulfide, cadmium, arsenic and lead. Yet despite these lethal conditions, life not only survives but thrives in the form of colonies of microbes that feed on poison and multiply in temperatures that could hard-boil an egg” (p. 43). In the frozen continent of Antarctica, scientists have drilled two-miles deep and discovered an underground lake, as large as Lake Ontario, believed to be teeming with life. This year, researchers have found colonies of microbes living in an underground hot spring in Idaho, measured at 137 degrees F. They have found microbes eating into volcanic rock 1,200 feet beneath the ocean floor. Microorganisms are thriving in thermal springs in Yellowstone National Park; in veins of water two miles deep in South Africa; and in solid rock at the bottom of deep mines. They are growing in brine water, five times saltier than the ocean; in pockets of water embedded in iceburgs; and in the Dead Sea, once thought to be “dead.” When a colony of microbes was first found near boiling springs in Yellowstone National Park, they seemed little more than a biological oddity. But recently, deep-diving submersibles have found plumes of toxic water spewing from cracks in the ocean floor, with entire ecosystems huddled around them. Hundreds of “hitherto unknown species, ranging from bright red tube worms to ghost-white crabs” were found thriving on nothing more than “heat and poison” (p. 44). Dr. John Baross, of the University of Washington’s School of Oceanography, said that the microbes have the ability to eat hydrogen, sulfur, manganese and other chemicals. Until now, it was thought that all living systems depended on photosynthesis, using sunlight as a primary energy source. Who would’ve believed that some organisms could live on poisons? How deep does the biosphere extend? Princeton University geologist, Tullis Onstott, has followed the trail two-miles deep and pulled out scores of heat-tolerant, hydrogen-eating bugs from subsurface water in South African gold mines. As soon as medical science finds a cure for one disease, another crops up. It seems to be a never-ending battle. No one knows where these bugs are coming from, but they always show up when we least expect them. This summer, the West Nile virus is moving across America. “If it’s not one thing it’s another!” Though this virus had been around before, this year has been dubbed “the worst outbreak … in U.S. history.” The West Nile virus was first detected in the United States in 1999, when seven people died and 62 others were hospitalized in New York. This year, it has been found in most of the states from Texas to the Atlantic coast. However, Louisiana seems to be the hardest hit, with at least seven dead to date, and hundreds infected. There have been 85 confirmed human cases in Louisana, this summer, with 59 of them involving Encephalitis, a potentially deadly inflammation of the brain. Plus, there are another 90 suspected cases being tested. Two of the latest victims were a 76-year-old woman (d. Aug.2), and a 94-year-old woman (d. Aug. 4). According to the Center for Disease Control, there have been at least 112 human cases of the mosquito-borne virus this year. Another 41 cases have been reported in Mississippi, Texas and Illinois. Animal cases have spread all the way to western Nebraska. Most show up in dead birds or other animals. Most people who contract the virus from a mosquito will only suffer some flue-like symptoms. But the weak and elderly can get encephalitis. It is especially dangerous for those over 60-years old. The first confirmed case was diagnosed in June. But the mosquito season will worsen by September. People should protect themselves by wearing long sleeves and using insect repellent. Encephalitis is usually seen in August and September, but the West Nile virus is showing up earlier as it spreads to warmer climates. Over the past century, medical science had advanced beyond any other discipline, yet, as soon as one disease is conquered, another is detected. Where do these plagues come from? There are medicines for curing germ-related infections, but no cures have been found for viruses. After World War I, during the winter of 1919, millions died across the United States with a flu epidemic. From time to time, flu scares return. Just when a cure is found for smallpox, some rogue government makes up a batch for use in germ warfare. The black plague of the Dark Ages was eradicated from our planet, only to have it show up again in the western United States in recent years. Let one disease, like polio, be cured and another altogether different disease, like AIDS, begins to take its toll in human misery. In the 1960s, Encephalitis was carried by mosquitos, only to return in the form of the West Nile virus." Interesting huh??
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Post by LaFille on Dec 3, 2007 5:56:14 GMT
At last, I answer to this... It's the third time that I try, being interrupted the other two times; sorry for that. That article was interesting and the first part seems accurate, though the second one where he starts to talk about diseases tickles me by its sensationalism... "As soon as medical science finds a cure for one disease, another crops up. It seems to be a never-ending battle. No one knows where these bugs are coming from, but they always show up when we least expect them. [...] Over the past century, medical science had advanced beyond any other discipline, yet, as soon as one disease is conquered, another is detected. Where do these plagues come from? There are medicines for curing germ-related infections, but no cures have been found for viruses." We're not exactly that clueless and diseases don't pop up out of nowhere like that, even if we still have a lot to learn and can be helpless in front of some. With the way that we live and the developments that we make, it's only normal to happen on new viruses and new bacteria; these evolve so fast, too, that it indeed is something that may remain a neverending battle... A lot of the "new" diseases are simply evolution and mutation from "old "ones. "Cures" against viruses as such don't exist, but that doesn't mean that we're completely helpless towards them either; our immune system is our defense mean by excellence, we have vaccination and since a few decades we developped antiviral drugs (which can be seen as corresponding to an extent to what antibiotics are to bacterian or protist agents, to what antifungi are to infections by fungi or what antiparasitic drugs are to parasitic infections; and in all cases, the drugs target specific microbes), probiotics use, etc.... "The black plague of the Dark Ages was eradicated from our planet, only to have it show up again in the western United States in recent years." I don't know what specific cases the author refers to, but that's a controversial and misleading statement. What is "the black plague of the dark age"? I would assume that he refers to bubonic plague, but bubonic plague was not "eradicated from our planet" as is often thought; even if human cases are extremely rare nowadays, isolated ones surface regularly throughout the planet. Plague is caused by a bacteria (for which there now are efficient antibiotics against) that infects several species other than man, and it still occurs in animal populations throughout the world. And it is passed on by the fleas, sometimes from rat to human. Mentionning rogue governments and germs warfare, the Japanese army used that in the early-mid 20th century; they bred plague-infected rat colonies, harvested the fleas and threw that over the head of Chinese, killing many. But I remember even hearing from that they would have used plague as a war tool in the ancient times, throwing infected bodies inside villages or fortresses that they wanted to take. What the wrote about encephalitis is also misleading and sensationalist... "There have been 85 confirmed human cases in Louisana, this summer, with 59 of them involving Encephalitis, a potentially deadly inflammation of the brain. [...] In the 1960s, Encephalitis was carried by mosquitos, only to return in the form of the West Nile virus." Encephalitis is that, an acute inflammation of the brain; it's an effect that can come from different causes, not a disease that returns under different forms. It's also not as rare an affection as seems implied there; malaria, meningitis and several sexually-transmitted infections can also cause encephalitis... But that remains a cool article, thanks for posting it. There are amazing and scary things out there... I find the creatures that live in hostile environments like that and disease spreadings to be fascinating. It's quite frustrating, too, the smaller and the most annoying they are, the tougher and more prolific they seem to be. ;D
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Post by killerzzz on Dec 3, 2007 6:43:47 GMT
My tiny post is scared to come out after those two big ones, but I just wanna say that they still aren't sure the black plague was the bubonic plague. Its just the closest thing they can refer to; but there've been problems with the theory, that say its not just bubonic, but something (unknown) worse. Also, some believe (I believe ) that the children's word for a cut or pain, "bobo" or "booboo" is in fact derrived from the word "buboe" (pronounced b-you-bow) which is the pus-filled bump that characterises the bubonic plague (and the black plague). So we went from gross pus-buckets, to wee ouchies with the termology. I find that hilarious, and I'm sticking to its validity. ;D Killerzzz
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Post by ss on Dec 3, 2007 17:20:20 GMT
My tiny post is scared to come out after those two big ones, but I just wanna say that they still aren't sure the black plague was the bubonic plague. Its just the closest thing they can refer to; but there've been problems with the theory, that say its not just bubonic, but something (unknown) worse. Also, some believe (I believe ) that the children's word for a cut or pain, "bobo" or "booboo" is in fact derrived from the word "buboe" (pronounced b-you-bow) which is the pus-filled bump that characterises the bubonic plague (and the black plague). So we went from gross pus-buckets, to wee ouchies with the termology. I find that hilarious, and I'm sticking to its validity. ;D Killerzzz I got a bo-bo yesterday Killerzzz...hope it don't turn black.. ;D But I think Fille is right, the Bubonic and Black plague to me has always been synonomus.. @ Fille....maybe some sensationalism there ...but I think for all pratical purposes the intent is that those diseases have been (bad word) "erradicated", so has polio, anthrax, etc...but there were reported cases in the Southwest US of cases of the Plague a couple years back..and TB has been coming back here lately. Hope we don't get spiders carrying anything like that, because I attract spiders like a bee to honey and am ALWAYS getting bit..My wife calls me a "Spider Magnet"... ;D
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Post by LaFille on Dec 4, 2007 4:50:51 GMT
It's right, though, there are people who claim that the the Black death pandemic would not have been about bubonic plague, but it's contested. It's hard to really know, I think. However, even if the Black Death would not have been plague, there remains that y. pestis caused at least two other pandemics of the kind in the past, the most recent around the mid-19th century in Asia. Polio and TB are diseases that I don't know much about, but anthrax is one disease that still exists naturally even if the human infection cases are rare, like is the plague. The plague cases are not a phenomenon unique to these times or to the US; we had some in Canada too and in other more western countries. However, we can hardly ever count a disease as eradicated because there most always remains of these agents in the wild (and they can be incredibly persistent, encysted or under the form of spores); plus, they can mute and evolve in variants that come to bypass our defenses and that's often how we see diseases "reappear" periodically. About TB though, digging a little, it would never had been so controlled as smallpox was and it would be more difficult to "eradicate" because the huge majority of the infected people don't develop the disease and some variants became drug-resistent; plus, it's a disease that's favored by immunosuppressive drugs, which are used more and more (for arthritis, allergies, etc.). I think that the threat of biological weapons (especially since 9/11 and the anthrax case in the US shortly after) and of the avian flu have made these topics brreak the news much more and that it's in part why it can seem such a recent and drastic phenomenon. That said, global warming is one more phenomenon to favor an increase in the outbreak of diseases; these creatures and their carriers thrive in warmer, more humid climates and the increase of stagnant water. Plus, we travel and expand our territories more and more so we favor their spreading. For things like that though, mosquitoes and cute wild critters are far more to fear than spiders; mind that your spiders seem not to need that to be deadly, though.
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Post by Lews on Dec 14, 2007 4:35:23 GMT
Spiders make me cry.
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Post by killerzzz on Dec 14, 2007 7:15:14 GMT
Luckily you have your revenge on them at night in your sleep. Juicy nutritious revenge. Mmmmmm... Killerzzz
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Post by ss on Dec 14, 2007 22:39:51 GMT
You need to eat lunch before posting on this one Killerzzz...So you wont have food on your mind... ;D
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