Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Testing out the new camera
All right, so here we go. Following the precedent set by other bloggers, I am going to post random photos, hopefully everyday. I just got my new favorite toy, a Canon Powershot SD1200 IS. My bro has one, and I've always envied it. Someday I dream of getting a nice digital SLR. Until then, I bought myself this little beauty.
Above are random pics of my room and Tenchi Muyo! The Abridged Series on You Tube. Those guys make the Tenchi franchise even more awesome. Check 'em out if you're a fan (by LightHawkForce).
Thursday, May 14, 2009
All We Are
the breaking light
sparks the human strain
and it is the dawn
relentless again
with endless arms
what holy light
radiates
and then it all begins
we are as one
and one is all we are
inhaling quick
when i see your being
can't define
the divine
and i'm born again
the limitless
is within my reach
particles passing through a microchasm
that is all we are
i can't define
it is divine
sparks the human strain
and it is the dawn
relentless again
with endless arms
what holy light
radiates
and then it all begins
we are as one
and one is all we are
inhaling quick
when i see your being
can't define
the divine
and i'm born again
the limitless
is within my reach
particles passing through a microchasm
that is all we are
i can't define
it is divine
American Foreign Policy
--Fischerspooner
(Fischer/Spooner/Sontag/Harry)
We need a war
We need a war to show‘em
We need a war to show‘em that we can
We need a war to show‘em that we can do it
Whenever we say we need a war…
If they mess with us
If we think they might mess with us
If we say they might mess with us
If we think we need a war, we need war
We need a war
If we think we need a war
We need a war
If we think we need a war
A war to make us feel safe
A war to make‘em feel sorry
Whoever they are…
If they mess with us
If we think they might mess with us
If we say they might mess with us
If we think we need a war, we need war
We need a war
If we think we need a war
We need a war
If we think we need a war
Can we do it?
Sure we can
We need a war
We need a war
We need a war
(Fischer/Spooner/Sontag/Harry)
We need a war
We need a war to show‘em
We need a war to show‘em that we can
We need a war to show‘em that we can do it
Whenever we say we need a war…
If they mess with us
If we think they might mess with us
If we say they might mess with us
If we think we need a war, we need war
We need a war
If we think we need a war
We need a war
If we think we need a war
A war to make us feel safe
A war to make‘em feel sorry
Whoever they are…
If they mess with us
If we think they might mess with us
If we say they might mess with us
If we think we need a war, we need war
We need a war
If we think we need a war
We need a war
If we think we need a war
Can we do it?
Sure we can
We need a war
We need a war
We need a war
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
One more thing
Not to be all nostalgic and stuff, but I've been thinking about this for a while. My old interests that were a staple when I described myself to anyone included anime and trance. I don't seek out much new anime, and I don't listen to much new trance. I think the reason is this: the 90's and early 00's were much better. I'm glad I grew up watching Toonami and Adult Swim (back when they aired anime more often than Saturday night 1-5 am). CN sucks now. They're even going into the live action business. What part of CARTOON Network did they go and forget? The only EDM producer who still has me interested in his new stuff is ATB. Everyone else is just blah. Overall the quality of entertainment in the whole world has taken a down turn, I think. I love my "Best of Trance" and "Trance Party" CDs, even if some of it is radio cheese. DBZ, Tenchi, Rurouini Kenshin, YuYu Hakusho...now what do we have? Naruto? XP. No thanks. Bleach is good, though (about the only thing).
That is all.
That is all.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Humbling
Yesterday my family watched the shuttle Atlantis launch into space to go repair the Hubble Telescope. I've never really watched one before, and it was a sight indeed. What other country has the technology to do this? What other country has been mostly behind the technology that is continuously discovering things about our universe? Stuff we never would have guessed? Even if we could guess, we couldn't prove it. If there's one thing America is still good at and ahead of of the world in, it's this.
The Great Eye of Sauron-one of many amazing pics. Just go search Google.
The Great Eye of Sauron-one of many amazing pics. Just go search Google.
Zombie Ants
from this page
By Bill Hanna, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Bill Hanna, Fort Worth Star-telegram Tue May 12, 2:09 pm ET
It sounds like something out of science fiction: zombie fire ants. But it's all too real.
Fire ants wander aimlessly away from the mound.
Eventually their heads fall off, and they die.
The strange part is that researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M's AgriLife Extension Service say making "zombies" out of fire ants is a good thing.
"It's a tool — they're not going to completely wipe out the fire ant, but it's a way to control their population," said Scott Ludwig , an integrated pest management specialist with the AgriLife Extension Service in Overton , in East Texas .
The tool is the tiny phorid fly, native to a region of South America where the fire ants in Texas originated. Researchers have learned that there are as many as 23 phorid species along with pathogens that attack fire ants to keep their population and movements under control.
So far, four phorid species have been introduced in Texas .
The flies "dive-bomb" the fire ants and lay eggs. The maggot that hatches inside the ant eats away at the brain, and the ant starts exhibiting what some might say is zombie-like behavior.
"At some point, the ant gets up and starts wandering," said Rob Plowes, a research associate at UT.
The maggot eventually migrates into the ant's head, but Plowes said he "wouldn't use the word 'control' to describe what is happening. There is no brain left in the ant, and the ant just starts wandering aimlessly. This wandering stage goes on for about two weeks."
About a month after the egg is laid, the ant's head falls off and the fly emerges ready to attack any foraging ants away from the mound and lay eggs.
Plowes said fire ants are "very aware" of these tiny flies, and it only takes a few to cause the ants to modify their behavior.
"Just one or two flies can control movement or above-ground activity," Plowes said. "It's kind of like a medieval activity where you're putting a castle under siege."
Researchers began introducing phorid species in Texas in 1999. The first species has traveled all the way from Central and South Texas to the Oklahoma border. This year, UT researchers will add colonies south of the Metroplex at farms and ranches from Stephenville to Overton . It is the fourth species introduced in Texas .
Fire ants cost the Texas economy about $1 billion annually by damaging circuit breakers and other electrical equipment, according to a Texas A&M study. They can also threaten young calves.
Determining whether the phorid flies will work in Texas will take time, perhaps as long as a decade.
"These are very slow acting," Plowes said. "It's more like a cumulative impact measured across a time frame of years. It's not an immediate silver bullet impact."
The flies, which are USDA -approved, do not attack native ants or species and have been introduced in other Gulf Coast states, Plowes said. Despite initial concerns, farmers and ranchers have been willing to let researchers use their property to establish colonies. At the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association in Fort Worth in March, Plowes said they found plenty of volunteers.
By Bill Hanna, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Bill Hanna, Fort Worth Star-telegram Tue May 12, 2:09 pm ET
It sounds like something out of science fiction: zombie fire ants. But it's all too real.
Fire ants wander aimlessly away from the mound.
Eventually their heads fall off, and they die.
The strange part is that researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M's AgriLife Extension Service say making "zombies" out of fire ants is a good thing.
"It's a tool — they're not going to completely wipe out the fire ant, but it's a way to control their population," said Scott Ludwig , an integrated pest management specialist with the AgriLife Extension Service in Overton , in East Texas .
The tool is the tiny phorid fly, native to a region of South America where the fire ants in Texas originated. Researchers have learned that there are as many as 23 phorid species along with pathogens that attack fire ants to keep their population and movements under control.
So far, four phorid species have been introduced in Texas .
The flies "dive-bomb" the fire ants and lay eggs. The maggot that hatches inside the ant eats away at the brain, and the ant starts exhibiting what some might say is zombie-like behavior.
"At some point, the ant gets up and starts wandering," said Rob Plowes, a research associate at UT.
The maggot eventually migrates into the ant's head, but Plowes said he "wouldn't use the word 'control' to describe what is happening. There is no brain left in the ant, and the ant just starts wandering aimlessly. This wandering stage goes on for about two weeks."
About a month after the egg is laid, the ant's head falls off and the fly emerges ready to attack any foraging ants away from the mound and lay eggs.
Plowes said fire ants are "very aware" of these tiny flies, and it only takes a few to cause the ants to modify their behavior.
"Just one or two flies can control movement or above-ground activity," Plowes said. "It's kind of like a medieval activity where you're putting a castle under siege."
Researchers began introducing phorid species in Texas in 1999. The first species has traveled all the way from Central and South Texas to the Oklahoma border. This year, UT researchers will add colonies south of the Metroplex at farms and ranches from Stephenville to Overton . It is the fourth species introduced in Texas .
Fire ants cost the Texas economy about $1 billion annually by damaging circuit breakers and other electrical equipment, according to a Texas A&M study. They can also threaten young calves.
Determining whether the phorid flies will work in Texas will take time, perhaps as long as a decade.
"These are very slow acting," Plowes said. "It's more like a cumulative impact measured across a time frame of years. It's not an immediate silver bullet impact."
The flies, which are USDA -approved, do not attack native ants or species and have been introduced in other Gulf Coast states, Plowes said. Despite initial concerns, farmers and ranchers have been willing to let researchers use their property to establish colonies. At the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association in Fort Worth in March, Plowes said they found plenty of volunteers.
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