Journal Tet's Journal: Solstice greetings and life 3
Happy solstice to one and all. Yes, I know technically it's not
until the early hours of the morning, but it's easier to celebrate
on the 21st each year anyway. Besides, were we in Scandinavia, then
it would be on the 21st. With the money not flowing as
freely as it once did, our celebrations were scaled down a bit.
But we had a real tree this year, the first for many years. Given
the limited space, it's only a tiny one, but it's a real tree
nonetheless. Royal Mail have claimed that their guaranteed delivery
doesn't actually mean guaranteed, and despite the fact that my other
third's present still hasn't turned up, even though I paid extra
for the guaranteed delivery, and they're not going to refund me any
money. It's not much of a guarantee, then, IMHO. On the receiving
front, I got a few CDs (including Persuader's "The hunter" that
I've been after for years), a book, "Serenity" on DVD, and
Das Keyboard II. Which
is nice.
On a completely unrelated note, I've been reading about life lately. Biology was the one natural science that never really interested me at school. Nevertheless, discoving it later in life is just as good. There's some really screwy things that go on. The conclusion I've reached is that nature is really, really fucked up. You see, it's not quite as simple as classifying things as animal, vegetable or mineral. It turns out that the dividing line is somewhat blurred. In some places, very blurred. Even the very concept of what constitutes "life" is up for discussion, let alone how we should classify any given entity. All of which tends to make vegetarianism even less defensible as an ideal than I thought it was previously.
My favorite freaky things (Score:2)
Bug catching plants of all kinds. Ok, plants trapping and eating bugs is just too weird.
Hive bugs (ants/termites/bees). What a fascinating adaptation, especially since it doesn't (directly) pass on a particular ant/termite/bee set of genes. Granted the swarm protects the mom, but still....
Anything that changes color (especially octopi and chamelons). How anything evolved that ability, I have no idea. It doesn't seem like there are any logical evolutionary steps bet
Re: (Score:2)
Now that's a very interesting question (and one that still lacks a sensible answer). Depending on which part of their life cycle they're in, they show traits of being fungus, animal and plant. Like I said, nature is seriously fucked up.
Re: (Score:2)
Well if you can change colors to blend in with the plant you are nibbling on and Bob next door can't, Bob is way more likely to end up bird food. After being eaten, Bob can no longer get it up, so you are free to bang his lady lizard and make little color changing babies. THe ungrateful little shits that want to be orange like Bob, end up bird food, just like Bob. I get that, it makes sense to me...
Why my EYES change color, I have no clue. I know it has to do with what I'm wearing and my mood, but why