Raspberry Ants
Posted on May 15, 2008 - Filed Under News
Hi Oz!
I thought you’d be interested to know about the flea-sized ants that has invaded Texas.
Apparently, they feed on electronics. Computers, burglar alarm systems, gas and electricity meters, iPods, telephone exchanges – all are considered food.
Recently they ruined pumps at a sewage facility. Now they are making their way to Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre and William P. Hobby airport.
The ants – also known as paratrenicha species near pubens – have so far spread to five counties in the Houston area. Scientists are not sure from where they originate but they seem to be related to a type of ant from the Caribbean. “At this point it would be nearly impossible to eradicate the ants because they are so widely dispersed,” said Roger Gold, a Texas A&M University entomologist. He added that the only upside to the invasion was that the crazy rasberry ants ate fire ants, which sting humans during the long, hot Texas summers.
~Boz
Did I Tell You?
Posted on April 30, 2008 - Filed Under News
Hi Oz!
I know I’ve told you about Maryland’s tornadoes, droughts, wicked thunderstorms, hurricanes, blizzards, floods, rains, and even our pestilance [the 17 year cicadas], but apparently we have another event I have missed.
It seems in Pikesville, in Baltimore County at night, the people there are hearing loud booms followed by flashes of light. It remains a mystery as to why this is happening, but police are looking into it.
~Boz
Mayor to offer free viagra
Posted on April 29, 2008 - Filed Under News
Hi Oz!
With Politics in the main headlines in the U.S., one mayor in Chile might have the key on “how to get elected.”
He said any man 60 years and older who wants it can have up to four Viagra pills a month after undergoing a thorough medical exam.
Upgraded!
Posted on April 28, 2008 - Filed Under News
Hey Oz!
Just thought I’d let you know that I have upgraded our Wordpress blog to the latest and newest version!
Be warned, the dashboard sure is different!
~Boz
Speedtest
Posted on April 25, 2008 - Filed Under Personal, Technology
Hi Oz!
I couldn’t resist publishing my speed test with Cable internet here.
~Boz
Pentax 10-17mm fisheye lens
Posted on April 24, 2008 - Filed Under General, News, Personal, Technology
lets see if i can remember how to do this blog thing
its been a while
just updating you on my camera stuff
i went out and bought a Pentax 10-17mm fisheye lens (or is it fish eye ?) the other weekend
i had been tossing up between that and the Sigma 10-20mm wide angle lens
it was a hard decision and took me a while
so far i have only played around with it, learining what works and what doesnt
and there is a lot that can go wrong
first off it is a fisheye and so has inherent distortion, bending any horizontal or vertical lines that dont run through the centre
also the field of view is so great you have to be careful what gets included in the photo, your feet for example or tripod legs, camera bag, fingers on the focusing ring
the wide view can also easily introduce the sun into the photo which can affect the exposure and also cause increased contrast with shaded areas coming out really black, with totally white skies
the minimum focus distance is about 25mm from the front glass, and things look a lot further away when looking through the viewfinfer, so i often touched flowers i was trying to photograph with the front glass. the closeness also means you can easily include your shadow or the lenses shadow
but once you have all that figured out it is a great, fun lens and i am really enjoying it
so far i havent taken it off my camera, I am really happy with my purchase, i just need more practise with it, weekends are to short lol
i have some photos on my web site, in the “experimental” section lol, I may move them once i am no longer experimenting . you can take a look here :-
http://www.johndolphin.net/photos/categories.php?cat_id=61
i would of posted pics but i cant remember how
i am such a bad blogger 
Peter Frampton
Posted on March 8, 2008 - Filed Under General
It really kinda grates on my nerves to see one of my favorite singing stars when growing up using his musical talents for a Geico commercial…
Then….and now.
Green PC
Posted on February 26, 2008 - Filed Under Environmentalism, Technology
Lenovo’s ThinkCentre A61e combines full-size PC performance with earth-friendly features. Powered by AMD processors, the smallest, quietest ThinkCentre comes fully loaded. Only the world’s best engineers could fit this much performance in such a small package.
The smallest, most energy-efficient ThinkCentre includes:
• AMD Athlon or Sempron processors
• ThinkVantage® Rescue and Recovery™
• ThinkVantage Client Security Solution pre-loaded
• Integrated fingerprint reader
• Integrated gigabit Ethernet
• Leading graphics performance provided by ATI Radeon® Xpress 200
Happy Hearts Day
Posted on February 13, 2008 - Filed Under Personal
Hi Oz!
Happy Valentines Day!
xoxoxo
~Boz
First Zero Carbon City
Posted on January 22, 2008 - Filed Under Environmentalism
Hi Oz
When you live in the desert, why not take advantage of all that sun!
That is precisely what Abu Dhabi plans to do with a new city, the Masdar project.
Solar roofs, light railway, and automated transport pods will be some of the features.
But zero?
Seems hard to do.
Even baking bread emits some gasses!
Automated transport pods sound like fun.
Boz
Glacier Melting
Posted on January 20, 2008 - Filed Under Environmentalism
Hi Oz
As I look at your weather as it reads on our blog and I look at my own, the temperatures make it seem as if I am LIVING on a glacier! Brrrrrr!
I read however, that Antarctic volcanoes identified as a possible culprit in glacier melting.
Tonight as the popular 60 Minutes was pulled from the regular television line up to have a documentary about Global Warming, they sure didn’t mention this latest find.
I would say that if there is indeed volcanic activity, it would make sense that heat would be present.
Volcanically, Antarctica is a fairly quiet place. But sometime around 325 B.C., the researchers said, a hidden and still active volcano erupted, puncturing several hundred yards of ice above it. Ash and shards from the volcano carried through the air and settled onto the surrounding landscape. That layer is now out of sight, hidden beneath the snows that fell during the next 2,300 years.
Still, the layer showed up clearly in airborne radar surveys conducted over the region in 2004 and 2005 by American and British scientists. The reflected radio waves over an elliptical area about 110 miles, or 176 kilometers, wide were so strong that earlier radar surveys had mistakenly identified it as bedrock. Better radar techniques now can detect a second echo from the actual bedrock farther down.
The thickness of ice above the ash layer provided an estimate of the date of the eruption: 207 B.C., give or take 240 years.
Super Mario on Guitar!
Posted on January 13, 2008 - Filed Under General
Hey Oz!
I can’t imagine how this fellow does this on two guitars!
Global Warming?
Posted on January 12, 2008 - Filed Under Environmentalism, Humor
Oz
Read recently in an email regarding what they considered to be the Global Warming Scam.
Whether you agree or not, this point made was interesting:
“Hurricanes are not getting worse – our tendency to build houses in their path is getting greater.”
Boz
Maternity Leave
Posted on January 8, 2008 - Filed Under News
Oz,
Maternity leave makes sense. It’s time for a working mom to spend with their
newborns, heal, bond with the babies, and enjoy.
However, when a need for maternity leave comes from a high school in the Denver
area, well, then it’s sad.
“Denver has one of the highest teen-pregnancy rates in the state.
Of every 1,000 girls ages 15 to 17, 54.5 will become pregnant in the city, compared with 24.3 throughout Colorado, according to state health statistics.”
It’s a shame that schools have to wrestle with such decisions and decide what
new programs are needed for their students who become pregnant.
Boz
cricket and monkeys
Posted on January 7, 2008 - Filed Under Humor, News
Hi Boz
I am going to guess you know little about cricket
i guess i dont either
how ever i do recall a saying “its not cricket” whick basically means it is unfair
based on the premise that cricket was played fairly and the batters would admit to being out without having to have the umpire give them out, and walk
or fielders if they really didnt take the catch would say so
fielders in the outfield would signal if a ball was a six, even though it gave the opposition more runs and at the end of the game it would be handshakes all round
now i am not saying both teams didnt want to win
but it was a win won fairly
just the otherday have been a few instances in the game that simply are not cricket
batters holding there ground even though they knew they were out
fielders claiming catches which were not and the batter being given out
and
name calling
now this isnt new, and in their has been some words spoken that would of been beeped out on tv
however the last bit of name calling really sinks to the lowest of the low
the player was called
a monkey
thats right MONKEY
thats like really really bad and earned the offender a 3 match suspension (and this is top level international cricket, playing for your country)
odd in a country where bastard is a term of endearment
i guess now the lawyers get involved and money over something that is rather childish (on both parts)
it gives a new slant to being valled a cheeky monkey as a child, maybe i can sue?
i have never really followed cricket, and this is the most interesting thing to happen in ages lol
Drunkeness: An Epidemic?
Posted on January 5, 2008 - Filed Under News
Hi Oz
Recent headlines having to do with drunk driving and binge drinking, really make me wonder why does everyone need to drown themselves with the bottle to have fun or even in their everyday life?
- Scary 911 Audio: Boy’s Calls Lead to Mom’s DUI Arrest
- 13,470 deaths in 2006 involving drivers and motorcycle operators with blood alcohol levels of .08 or higher
- Britain’s binge-drinking crackdown as 24-hr boozing looms
- Ambulance service receives emergency call every 8 seconds as Binge Britain welcomes in 2008
That is a lot of senseless lost lives, and I won’t even get started on how many in this country are illegals compromising our roads.
While many of the articles refer to young people, we as adults are the example. Too many feel in order to have a “succesful” party or event, drinking is required, and what a legacy we have passed on.
We need to wake up.
Families are ruined.
Lives are lost.
The only winners are the DUI lawyers.
Soberly,
Boz
John Lennon’s Hair
Posted on December 12, 2007 - Filed Under News
Hi Oz
I know you’re a Beatles Fan, so I thought to pass this on to you.
Apparently a lock of John Lennon’s hair was auctioned off for $48,000. It wasn’t expected to bring in that much said Gorringes Auction House.
“It is astonishing that there is still so much interest in the Beatles and the sale goes to prove that John Lennon is still an icon,” said Francesca Collin, a spokeswoman for Gorringes.
The hair came from Beatles’ Hairdresser, Betty Glasow.
Snow Likely
Posted on December 4, 2007 - Filed Under Environmentalism
I can’t get over the sense of humor of the Drudge Report.
Top on their headlines at noon today was:
Senate’s ‘historic vote on global warming’ set for Wednesday…
Snow likely…
I wasn’t even going to read the article, but then I thought, I might as well see what it is about.
It took me to a local newspaper, The Baltimore Sun, and while it gives a mention of the vote in D.C., it seemed mostly about a Maryland initiative.
While it all sounds “rosey”, one paragraph glared at me…
“Europe tried a pollution credit trading system to curb carbon dioxide emissions after it passed the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, and power companies worked the system to make billions in profits. Electricity customers paid higher bills, thinking they were contributing to a cooler planet. But their money just went into the pockets of the electric companies, which didn’t end up actually cutting down on their carbon dioxide emissions.”
I am afraid this is what we ALL have to look forward to…
Global warming = money for someone.
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Posted on November 27, 2007 - Filed Under General
Oz
Here is a new movie about intelligent design soon to be out in February.
The more I thought about this situation, the more I wondered why we tolerate free speech in every other area of this society, but not here.
What makes this situation so different? In my experience, people who are confident in their ideas are not afraid of criticism. So that tells me that Darwinists are afraid.
Ben Stein
Annapolis Mideast Peace Talks?
Posted on November 27, 2007 - Filed Under News
Hi Oz!
Perhaps you’ve heard in my own backyard of Annapolis, we are hosting Mideast Peace Talks!
It’s easy to be skeptical, but even easier, as while the talks will be going on, Iran just announced it has produced a new missile that has a range of 1,200 miles, an easy reach to Israel and U.S. Military bases.
~Boz
John and Barb have been having cultural exchanges over tea for nearly 10 years. Now they're going public. :)
