Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
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While walking to the end of my private street to get the mail, I passed an unusual sighting: a western black widow male. I’ve seen many females - there everywhere in Southern California - but never a male. One would think it is because females eat males after mating, however this is a myth:
The name “widow spiders” came from the belief that the female usually killed and ate the male after mating. It is now known, however, that this practice of “husband killing” was an artifact of the conditions under which observations were made. In early behavioral studies, the male widow spiders were kept in small containers with the females and they could not leave after mating. The usual result was that at some point, the female would mistake the male for prey and he would be eaten. Subsequent studies, both in the laboratory and the field, have shown the female eating the male rarely occurs so long as he is able to leave her web after mating. Interestingly, there is one spider in the same group as the American widow spiders, the Australian redback spider (Latrodectus hasselti), where the female actually begins eating the male as part of the mating ritual. However, this is a unique example among the spiders.
[Source: Virginia Tech Department of Entomology]
Filed Under Uncategorized, local travel, photography
I was perusing one of my favorite blogs and came upon a photo that looked strikingly like a photo I took in 2003. Before discovering the photo, I had spent the morning reading a handful of posts about copyright laws and photographer’s rights, and so I immediately thought that my photo was stolen. It turns out that my photo hadn’t been uploaded anywhere (until now) and started to feel a bit embarrassed of my reaction to the photo: Dozens of people probably have photographed from the same vantage point since the Red Line station opened in 2000.
Still, the similarities of the two photos are a bit creepy. Abby’s photo (above left) was taken in October, 2006. My photo (above right) was taken in December, 2003. Great shot, Abby. I think your angle is spot on. The curves of the metal frame the image much better than in mine.
Filed Under Uncategorized, retrotravels.net
How many stores can your nose recognize? Back when Amazon was just located in South America, I spent my weekends in musty old used bookstores looking for copies of National Geographic magazines and maps. When I get an old book and carefully open its foxed pages, I always think about those summer days reading the magazines in the back of a shop.
Like many National Geographic collectors, there would come a day when the wife/parents/landlord couldn’t accept the piles of yellow-bordered soft covers and they would need to be ditched. It was my parents that caused my collection to end up in front of the local library. I had amassed a collection of every issue from April 1997 (the current issue at the time) all the way back to 1932. Although a box or two of the old ones escaped donation, I still think about how cool it would be to have bookshelves filled with those golden global guides.
Now I’ve moved onto other musty guides: travel guidebooks from the turn of the century. I have a modest collection (under 100) that takes up a few shelves in my apartment. I’m pretty sure my place smells like a used bookstore because of them, but I don’t mind. It’s the smell of my teens, a time when I could only dream of travel.
Scott Brown, editor of Fine Books & Collections magazine, has recently written a great article over at AbeBooks.com straight-forwardly entitled Collecting Travel Guides. In the article, he hits upon the history some of the elderly forefathers of travel guides - Baedeker, Cook, Locke, Fodor - and shows some of the more sought-after ephemera including a “Biedermeier” Baedeker from 1852 which is currently available for sale on AbeBooks for a measely US$4,370.00. I can hear you grabbing for your credit card now.
I chuckled a little at a line from the article:
“As always in book collecting, condition affects the price, but since guidebooks were intended to be used while traveling, collectors tend to be more forgiving of wear.”
I think I’m more forgiving than most. Check out the article here when you get a free moment.
Filed Under Uncategorized, international travel, photography
There are a group of Nova Scotians who proudly live in the northern Highlands of Cape Breton. They are the descendants of the Scots who arrived hundreds of years ago. My friend from nearby Asby Bay said that two families living in Meat Cove, the northern-most land of Nova Scotia, have been feuding for years. She told me of a story where the feuding was so violent, the Canadian National Guard had to be dispatched by helicopter to break it up.
The image below shows Cabot Straight, the tip of Cape Breton, and the town pf Capstick. The clouds hung over the strip of land like a halo. If you look closely, you can see Newfoundland on the far left.
Click on the photo to load a zoom-able image.
Filed Under Uncategorized, international travel, photography
I visited a friend in Nova Scotia for a week earlier this month. The excuse to visit her and her Canadian providence was to teach her high school art class a little about photography. She could have simply asked if I wanted to go up there to take our her trash and I’d probably had said “yes”, but it was fun to share some of my photography tips and tricks with her class.
The area she lived in - Cape Breton Highlands - is unbelievably beautiful. Wildflowers were in bloom, the pristine forests were alive with wildlife. I saw moose, coyotes, egrets, geese, rabbits, snakes, eagles, toads… I went on a couple hikes and admired how they were so clean and without graffiti or trash, an unfortunate occurrence here in Southern California.
If you want to save money, you should go to Nova Scotia instead of Scotland. After all, Nova Scotia literally translates to “New Scotland”. The people speak English with a Canadian/Gaelic accent. Even street signs along the Cabot Trail, the main highway snaking up the eastern coast of Cape Breton Island, are in both English and Gaelic.
I enjoyed the graciousness of my host and those who lived in the area. The people I met in the highlands of Cape Brenton had family in the area for many generations. I was staying in a cabin with a friend on the property her family settled on some 200 years earlier. The graveyard on the old property had over 100 tombstones, all related in some way to my friend. Her great great great grandfather who came over from Scotland was buried there.
All the sleepy towns in the area were beautiful, with their cottage-like houses painted either white or a bright color. A local told me that since the weather changes so often and usually involved wind and rain, they use protective boat paint to cover their homes – which probably comes in colors with names like “Ocean Blue”, “Fire Truck Red” or “Banana Yellow”. With the contrast of their well-manicured lawns, the brown rocky shoreline and the blue ocean, it was easy to take “postcard perfect” photos. Here are a few:
I’ll post more photos, as well as a few other things (maps, journal scans, etc.) from my trip, in the coming weeks.
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Have you ever read a quote that stopped you in your tracks? A quote that made you look up from the text and ponder it a bit? I found one of those quotes today while reading an article on Outside Online.
“I’ve tried to make the rest of my life good enough that even if the physics theories don’t work out, it wasn’t a waste of time.”
This quote is from Garrett Lisi, an adventurer with a Ph.D. in theoretical physics. He’s as intrepid as any backpacker I’ve met, but most backpackers I’ve met haven’t come up with a theory on everything that has been gathering attention.
The quote made me wonder how many people think that Garrett has lost his mind and that his priorities are in the wrong place. I for one think that he’s got life right and we should all take notes. He seems to understand what is elementally important in life.
Filed Under Uncategorized, YouTube, entomology, graphic design, international travel, kahunna.net, local travel, photography, retrotravels.net
Who gets excited for bugs? I do! Who has been wanting to go to the annual Bug Fair? I have! Who spent seven hours walking around the Natural History Museum like a kid in a candy store? I did! Who’s the biggest geek? I am!! I’m really starting to concentrate on being a better macro photographer - specifically an insect photographer. The details that small creatures have can make is seem you’re looking at an alien. I brought my Macro Ring Lite (MR-14EX) and used it on most of my shots. They had added extra lighting in the dark halls of the NHMLAC, but not enough to really light up the displays of insects well enough. In this shot, I held the ring light behind and to the left of this Rose Haired Tarantula (which was alive and for sale).
This Cobalt Blue Tarantula had a gaze like Dirty Hairy… I mean, Dirty Harry.
I tried to write down info of each insect/arachnid I photographed, but I missed writing down the names of these guys, so I’ll make up names for them until someone posts a comment and gives me their real names. This first one is called the Kryptonite Bug, only found in the Arctic Circle on the underbellies of polar bears.
Below is the famous Cross-Eyed Skipping Beetle from Zimbabwe:
Next up is the Bunza Wunza found in the jungles of Tazmania. it was named after the sound its wings make while attacking small (very small) villages.
The Goldminer Beetle from Niger actually eats gold, which seeps onto its back to form a hard shell.
Little known fact: Pea Soup is actually made using the Pea Soup Beetles, pictured here:
Ok, I’ll stop with the fake names. Here are some photos of creatures and their real names: Silkworms eating lunch:
Phil Mays’ famous collection of beetles. One girl asked “were these painted?” Natural colors can be so beautiful, some find it hard to believe they exist without some help from us.
Morpho Butterflies:
Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches really are beautiful when you look at them closely.
Scorpion:
Phil Mays’ Butterfly Collection
They had a beehive on display:
Despite the photos so far, there were some humans at the bug fair. While waiting in line, I spotted Huell Howser interviewing a staff member. Huell is the host of California Gold, the longest running television series about California. You’re in the right place if Huell is around.
This girl looked so much like Dora The Explorer, it was uncanny. Her hair was just a bit longer but in the same style and she wore a Dora backpack, evidence to me that she has been a fan of the children’s animated character for a while.
By the time I left around 4pm, this guy had filled two boxes with his butterfly purchases!
While I was at the Natural History Museum I decided to visit the Pavilion of Wings, an seasonal exhibit of live butterflies. Although the butterflies were everywhere, the helpful docents were excited to point out butterfly eggs and incredibly small caterpillars. I’m really glad I brought my macro lens! Eggs: 
Caterpillar: 
Butterfly:
Filed Under Uncategorized, local travel, photography
My Parents and I had fun making this shot at Badwater in Death Valley National Park on Christmas Day, 2005. Keep in mind that my Mom is about 5′2″, my Dad (center) is 6′ and I’m 6′4″.
Filed Under Uncategorized, local travel, photography
Happy Mother’s Day, all you moms out there! And Happy Mother’s Day to you, Mom (when you read this). I didn’t spend time with Mom today because my Sister kidnapped her and forced her to go down to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. What a bummer for her.
Instead of spending time with Mom, I spent the afternoon photogging at The Huntington, where I’m an annual member. I brought along my Canon 40D with just my 100mm lens so I could concentrate on improving my macro photography skills.
I shouldn’t have been surprised by how crowded it was at The Huntington, but I was. I had never seen it so packed! I had to circle the lot for ten minutes before finding a parking spot (which is about how long it takes me to drive to The Huntington from my apartment). Many people parked outside of the main gates and walked the quarter mile into the property.
Anyway, here are some photos:
Click here to see this photo larger and check out the small bug at the bottom left. I love how it makes the butterfly look like giant Mothra.
![Dandylion [Right]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3159/2485736530_6af11c6397.jpg)
![Dandylion [left]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2245/2485736368_908a4ff14e.jpg)
I’m going to try to get into the habit of adding a watermark to all of my photos. I’ve been reading too many stories about photographers finding their work on commercial sites that didn’t ask permission nor provide compensation. If YOU would like to use my photos on your site, please don’t hesitate to contact me.