Stick Bug Face

Moth Airlines flight 101...cleared for takeoff...

Spring dreaming....

One of my favorite perennials...a yellow tiger lilly...(I think).

20 days until launch window opens.....

For the New Horizons spacecraft to begin it's trip to Pluto. Launch window goes from January 17th 2005 until February 14th 2005. If a launch is succesful before February 3rd it will enable New Horizons to slingshot off of Jupiter and cut 5 years off of it's flight. New Horizons will be the fastest spacecraft to ever leave Earths orbit. It will reach lunar orbit distance in just nine hours. ETA at Pluto is 2015.

Trillium Pollen

Heres a quarter...

Call a toad that cares...

Northern Michigan Pterodactyl

On Christmas , right outside my door, I heard this loud Thump, Thump, Thump. Actually, it was more of a Knock, Knock, Knock...whatever, it was loud and I knew immediately before even looking what it was. It was a Pileated Woodpecker. A relatively rare sighting, and certainly uncommon to have such convenient viewing. The hole that he is jack hammering into the tree is about the size of a football. The bird itself is huge, probably about 2 to 2.5 feet from head to tail, with a giant wingspan. My guess is that he is building a home, because I don't think he would dig such a large hole just to find insects. Notice in the bottom photo the enormous claws that he (she?) uses to grasp the tree and get the leverage needed to hammer out such a big hole.

Identified !! This is a type of Ichneumon Wasp...

The long appendage is an ovipositor. Props to Nannothemis for the ID.

IF a kangaroo grew moose antlers...

it might look like this. But I think it would be funnier to see a moose jump around like a kangaroo.

Ok, here it is....AEROGEL

This is the coolest shit I have seen in a long time. Aerogel is 99.8 percent AIR, yet it can hold over 2000 times its own weight. Now I don't know how something that is 99.8 % air can hold 2000 times its own weight, but it does. It is one of the best insulators ever known to man, as illustrated by the photo of the hand and flame. Although it would be cost prohibitive, if you were to insulate a two story house with aerogel you would be able to heat it with a candle, except it would get too hot ! I'm here to tell you, this shit is WACK...or would it be SICK ? Whatever the fuck it is, it's cool. And, as an added bonus for the subscribers that actually know the Watermelon Man personally, he has recently purchased some aerogel so that we all may marvel at it.

Six years, three BILLION miles.......

Thats how long and how far the Stardust comet dust collector spaceprobe has been traveling. Launched in 1999 it is due back in mid January. (2006) When this thing launched in1999 few paid it any attention. Sadly, upon it's return from a 3 billion mile space odyssey and a return to Earth after potentially capturing the keys to the beginning of the universe...

after all that....it might, if it's lucky, get 1/10th the press coverage of, say, a plane that might have a landing gear problem. (but more likely than not just has a faulty cockpit indicator) Anyways, the really freaking cool thing about this deal is the stuff used to collect the interstellar dust particles. It is called aerogel. It's wacky shit, man. More on that later.

The quintessential Bohemian

Deliver Us from Weevil

Not sure what kind of a weevil this is, but I would like to thank him (or her) for being patient while having it's picture taken.

Frozen Sunset

Well, heres something you don't see everyday.....

and thats too bad

Is it just me....

or does the current rock music scene seem pathtic. Lame. Uninspired.No, it's not me...the music just sucks. (young fuckers just don't know how to rock)

Orange Moon

Pretty much self explanatory.For geographical reference, the white lights in the background are the Alden pier. (thats several miles of zoom....love my fujifinepix)

Oh, The Humanity !!!

Twelve hours since the last landing gear drama. Now another. This time it's twisted landing gear. Memo to all news procucers and executives: This happens every day. (in case you haven't noticed) Therefore, it is not really news. Now, we return you to your regular

programming. Oh, BTW, jet landed safely, all is well.

Son of a Bitch

First of all, I am well aware that no one gives a flying fuck about hockey. Neither do I. But there was nothing else on TV tonight so I started watching the Red Wings......clicking around here and there.....when all of the sudden on all the cable news stations they announced that there was a jet with landing gear problems....ohh nooo...not another landing gear problem thing. I mean these shit ass news networks are so hard up for news that it seems like they actually want the damn thing to crash, just to break up the inane monotony of it all.

Anyways, like a goddamn stupid fuck, I started watching this ridiculous bullshit about the plane and forgot about the game. Not that I even cared but, as it turns out , the Red Wings had their first shootout of the year (that I am aware of) and won it when the ex-redwing Sergei Federov got stoned by Chris Osgood. Now the only point I am trying to make here is that the motherfucking news networks piss me off with their overhyped bullshit. And I fell for it. Fuckers. BTW..just like the previous 40 or so planes that have been on TV recently with landing gear issues this one turned out fine. So thats good.

Otter

Bohemians in Boats

The crystal clear waters of Torch Lake, Mi. attract Bohemians from all over the globe. Beer swilling Bohemians , show yer tits Bohemians, Gonzo insane Bohemians. From June thru August it is one giant Bohemian Boat Bash. Ahhh....a pleasant thought when yer up to yer arse in snow.

Icy.....

Alien

Bohemians and their fresh catch o' the day

Air Ship America

Everyone needs a remote control indoor blimp. Christmas is the perfect time to pull the "buy it for the kids" scam. Works every time.

Make no mistake about it....

Godzilla would smoke King Kong like a cheap cigar. It would not even be a contest.King Kong was, is and always will be a big fucking pansy ape. Overated, and absolutely no match for a firebreathing reptile that has fucking laserbeams that come out of his eyeballs. Anyone that thinks otherwise is just not well grounded in reality.

By-Tor the Snow Dog

A damn fine frisbee catcher. RIP

Winter.....

umm...yeah...I love winter, no really I do...

Torch Lake sunset........

(yawn.....)

Gargantuan frost crystals.....

I'm talking circus freak show shit....

Fuzzy Math....er..um I mean Fuzzy Moth...

Praying Mantis silhoutte

Pound for pound, the baddest motherfucker around.

K1.....

Thinking of you.....

Due to inclement weather...(very windy).....

all seagull flights have been cancelled until conditions improve. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Just in case....

Anyone out there ever needs to move a moose from point A to point B, simply follow these basic easy steps.

1. Get a helicopter and a better than average tranquilizer dart gun.

2. Fly over moose (preferrably on a frozen lake).

3. Shoot moose.

4.Jump out of helicopter.

5. Cut off antlers and blindfold moose.

6. Hook up to helicopter and go.

It's so simple anyone can get one if they wish. Bring one home for the kids for the holidays. Surprise your neighbors. Great party favor.

(*)

The results are in...mini-watermelon = yak piss

Scoring: (1-10 scale)

Texture - .001 (mush)

Taste - 1.0

Value - .001

Out of a possible score of 30, this crap melon got a 1.002. Umm, yeah, thats pretty fucking awful. I wouldn't feed this shit to hogs.

Freaking freaky....

Ok, so I am the self titled "Watermelon Man". Imagine my surprise recently when I stumbled upon this "mini" watermelon at a local supermarket. I mean, this thing is smaller than a cantelope....whats the deal with that ? (note size scale with a ping pong ball) So, of course, I bought it. It is currently being refridgerated and upon the slicing and consumption of it I will report the results as found by this discriminating watermelon taste tester.

JAWS

I found this gnarly beetle a long time ago, and he was already dead. Finally got around to taking his picture. Then I gave him (actually IT)

a proper burial in the trash.

Red Wings rally comes up short......

After trailing by a score of six to fucking two, in the third fucking period, the Red Wings scored four goals to tie at six. Wow ! An amzing comeback. Sadly, some Czech fucker scored the seventh and final goal for Atlanta and they won 7-6. What a bitch.

Cold. Very cold.

Steamy Torch Lake. If for some reason (like, maybe a helicopter crash or something), you were placed in this water your life expectancy would be less than 10 minutes. (according to US Navy cold water survival experts) Maybe the next
Survivor episode could be here in the winter.

Sir Winston Churchill said it best....

"Never, never, never give up" ............. This little plant somehow made it through four inches of steamrolled asphalt. Maybe it should be referenced with a quote from The Little Train That Could. "I think I can, I think I can". Whatever ....this was one bad ass little plant.

Deep Purple