Posts tagged blog

No, don't give up on linguistics! I like linguistics. And etymology. And biology. And you. Please continue. *teary-eyed* — Asked by Anonymous

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«I am not a publicly-traded company, I love you all. and I love linguistics, and etymology, and biology. I do my own thang, chickadee. I hope you still love me :D »


ETA: In fairness, I do take requests, and have a lot of interests in what my followers have to say, and constructive criticism. I do listen to what you guys have to say. I just have the final call.

ETA2: that is a rhea, they love you in the end. don’t fear them.

Ulterior motives

I’ll be honest, half the reason I posted all those hoatzin photos is because as much as I love the stink-birds, every time I read an article on them that has an illustration, it’s the same friggin’ photograph every time. For some reason that started annoying me when I was reading about hoatzin relation to the ani versus other cuckoos this morning.

So…hey, if you’re writing an article that has anything to do with juvenile hoatzins, go crazy. The source material has a few more images I didn’t post. And I promise you they’re as good as that standard hoatzin chick photo-illustration that everyone uses.

Hi?

For some reason I just  got a bunch of followers…

Hi there, people! I swear, this blog is more than diseased genitalia! Unless that’s what you want. In which case I also have that. So…yeah.

I tag posts for people who hate gore and icky disease…and for people who hate cute animals. Filter as you wish. Feel free to ask questions or make requests at any time. No promises as to when I’ll get back to you on it, though. :P

Diseases and cute animals are one thing, though. I think we can all agree that nudibranchs are bitchin. If you don’t believe that, I will bar fight you.

*flashing warning lights*

Ok I know I don’t usually give forewarning and stuff, but the “VD” message really made me want to post venereal diseases and, uh, you’ve been warned? They’re all tagged “venereal disease” if you don’t wanna see them with Tumblr Savior.

I realize I don’t keep a regular schedule by any standard…

but it’s for a reason - when I overload on anything, I lose my passion for it.

But when I’m passionate about something, I love it too much to just drop what I’m doing and move on to the next task of the day. It’s a problem for me, but I manage to get stuff done, at least in the long-run. I tend to focus on just one major thing for an entire day or three, rather than what normal people do, with allocating a few hours here and there to do what they love.

Long story short: Thanks for the notes (yet again) wondering if I’m alright/dead/quitting blogging. They’re always quite encouraging in keeping me wanting to come back to posting regularly, or maybe attempting to trust the queue system again (IT HAS BROKEN MY HEART SO MANY TIMES). I’m not dead yet.

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(again)

What was that whole thing about the boyfriend's computer and the... flash drive (?) and the losing thousands of pictures or something? How's that going? — Asked by Anonymous

Yeahhh…about that. My dude’s computer overloaded the logic circuit on my old external hard drive. Got a new computer, but did lose ~75,000 image files in the end. Mind you, each page of every book is a single file - it’s not like I have tens of thousands of books.

Not sure if I’ll get it recovered or not. Can’t decide whether the time I put into getting those files (and the other media on it) is worth the expense to get it back, on top of still having to buy a new external. In the end I’m probably just gonna get a new PCB and do the work myself (I’d give it a 1 in 4 chance of turning out well - I know my computers and what needs to be done, but I’m not good with fine work). If it doesn’t work out *shrug*. Just wasted my own time, not the additional labor costs.

I mean, a week after I found out it got burned out and I actually started making steps towards getting some recovery done, I got in a pretty major car wreck, so I haven’t thought much about it the past few days.

Long story short, lost all that shit, probably won’t get it back for a good while if I get it back at all, currently functioning off of newly dug-up/edited files. Not really that focused on it at the moment, though.

Still have a bunch of weird stuff to give away next week, car wreck and file loss aside.

Explaining why I'm so bored to a friend...

  • me: yeah it was pretty brutal, this external has been hella durable, it's lasted 3 years and i've dropped it many times, on the hard floor at least twice, spontaneously disconnected it without stopping the disk more times than i can remember, and have kept it constantly running at least half that time. my other externals died after even just one incidence of being dropped or being run constantly for just a month.
  • me: it was the nostradamus of externals
  • me: but ben's computer is a bitch and is destroying everything connected to it so it went and fried the logic circuit on the PCB and long story short it still *thinks* it's alive, it spins, it tries to boot, but it cant be read, because the logic circuit is totally fried from a powersurge
  • trevor: ZOMBIE NOSTRADAMUS HARD DRIVE RUN AWAY
My fiance has been saying “I need a new computer, this thing is going on the fritz and will soon destroy something critical!” for a while. Granted, he’s telling the truth, and the thing’s several years old, and it really does need to be replaced. But in terms of “destroying things”, I forgot about that/didn’t take him very seriously, and left my external hard drive plugged in while I went down to my parents’ place for a few days. Came back yesterday. Yep. No more external. nbd, just 80,000 images gone (~12,000 that I’ve edited for the blog specs). I have about 3,000 on various other harddrives. 5,000 on a cloud drive. Long story short I need to maybe pay attention to when my dude says he needs a new computer and that his is going to kill things if he doesn’t get one. I know what’s wrong with the external (logic fried on the PCB), but tbh, it would probably take just as long or as much money to recover as it would to find a whole new set of files. Just don’t expect anything serious from me anytime soon. Not that you did, anyway. But serious blogginess will come back. I’m not dead yet.

My fiance has been saying “I need a new computer, this thing is going on the fritz and will soon destroy something critical!” for a while. Granted, he’s telling the truth, and the thing’s several years old, and it really does need to be replaced.

But in terms of “destroying things”, I forgot about that/didn’t take him very seriously, and left my external hard drive plugged in while I went down to my parents’ place for a few days.

Came back yesterday.

Yep.

No more external.

nbd, just 80,000 images gone (~12,000 that I’ve edited for the blog specs).

I have about 3,000 on various other harddrives. 5,000 on a cloud drive.

Long story short I need to maybe pay attention to when my dude says he needs a new computer and that his is going to kill things if he doesn’t get one.

I know what’s wrong with the external (logic fried on the PCB), but tbh, it would probably take just as long or as much money to recover as it would to find a whole new set of files.

Just don’t expect anything serious from me anytime soon. Not that you did, anyway. But serious blogginess will come back. I’m not dead yet.

New IP. Get to remind Vista that no, not everything is out to kill it. Forgot how annoying it was to have it freak out every five minutes, even with SP3. Ah well. I’m internet’d!

New IP. Get to remind Vista that no, not everything is out to kill it. Forgot how annoying it was to have it freak out every five minutes, even with SP3.

Ah well. I’m internet’d!

My mistake, now you choose what happens…

Ok, so through a series of unfortunate circumstances, my new hovel won’t have internet until Saturday - we were supposed to have it last Sunday, so I could finish the “seasonal” forensics posts. I still have eight posts left, but while quite a few people were enthusiastic and loved the whole “science of death” thing (which, honestly, is fascinating as all get out, morbid associations or not), some of you were clearly wishing I’d get back to “regular” medical posts and natural history.

SO. It’s up to you. Skip the rest of the forensics series and have a weekend of benign and not-morbid animals, or post the science of death stuff despite the occasion of Samhain/Halloween/Day of the Dead having passed?

For those asking, no, I still don’t have my external hard drive, so I don’t have the vast majority of my image files - and yes, I’m still in the process of moving ^^

But I will have several more related images and short forensics lessons before Halloween/All Saints’ Day/Day of the Dead. I’ll try to get a few regular posts in before then, too.

Fair warning:

Forensics and dead things coming up (assuming tumblr doesn’t go all kaplooie again). Tumblr Savior “forensics” if you wish to be sans murders on your dash.

You have been warned.

I just realized that last post had absolutely no old illustrations in it. I remember looking for them but not finding them last week, and right now, I can’t be arsed.

Oh well, sometimes it’s more fun to put bizarre knit blobfish in the place of a stodgy old drawing.

Answers! [nope, for those wondering, I still can’t answer ask box questions] From the top down: izzyfig: I wish!…well, no, actually I’m not sure I really wish that. PhDs are a LOT of work. My mom has a PhD in microeconomics, and she didn’t finish that until I was almost 8 years old. She didn’t have me until after she got her masters degree, and didn’t take a break or anything, either. Long story short, no, I definitely do not have a PhD. I’m not even 25 yet! I’m hoping to eventually go back to school for a masters in some aspect of biotechnology or microbiology. Probably not a PhD, though. knowun: I’m not sure. Consistently-oceanic parts of tectonic plates are not conducive to fossil formation, and any fossils on the seafloor would have to be in areas that were once dry for a long enough period to have deeply-buried specimens, and I’m not really sure how much of our ocean meets anything close to that ideal condition. If you’re less picky and include lakes and inland seas, then the case is a LOT. Almost every lake or inland sea was once dry land. Any large non-glacial and non-volcanic lake almost certainly has *some* fossil specimens deep under its floor. johnlaughingalonewithyaoi: Done. Sort of. I’ll definitely return to the subject in the future. shroom-diabolique: Sure. Don’t eat them much, though. Plain crisps make my tongue swell up and hurt for some reason. I’m not sure why flavored ones don’t. desirescasualty: AOL Kids Only. 1994. I was so cool. inexplicablespaceship: Unfortunately, I haven’t been to a ton of museums, especially lately. I love the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, and have learned tons every time I’ve been there. The Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium are pretty boss, too. I’m particular to the Science and Industry and Field Museums over the Shedd Aquarium, if only because of the much lower entrance fees and the fact that I learn a lot more there, but they’re all fun. From what I’ve heard from friends, the best aquarium to really *learn* at is Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies in Tennessee, and the best science museum (in the US) for the above-schoolchild age crowd is split between the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and the one in Oregon. Mind you, this is just my friends, not the general public, but there are great museums all over the world…you don’t need to be at the “best of the best” to learn new things and find great exhibits you would have never expected! paintedgraves: I’ll be honest, my attention has been largely diverted to personal matters, politics, and work lately. I don’t really remember what the last thing I got so interested in that I stayed up all night reading about it, which is a bit sad…I used to do that all the time. I’ve been very interested in the science of emotions (especially the neurology of those who seek horror and the like), but that’s not exactly breaking news. The only recent science story that’s grabbed my attention for a significant period has been the new study published on color perception (decent breakdown of the study), and how it differs from person-to-person. carathebug: [second part answered previously] no, I don’t have a big collection of biomed stuff, myself. I’m always a bit extremely broke, thanks to not having a “real” job yet, and wanting to pay back my loans quickly. Either way, I’d be more inclined to collect natural history ephemera (I love love love well-presented specimens and gardens in glass baubles/cases/containers), and old adverts/postcards regarding medicine, than biomed items themselves. :D marisalorea: I’m not sure how much I really want to make a point of putting this out there now that my parents know of this blog, but my personal blog is ofpaperandponies.tumblr.com. Short version: Mid-20s female, generally stressed out but complacent with it, non-religious, semi-political, in a fairly long-term (does 7 years count as long-term?) with a guy whose ambition is to teach seventh-grade (12-13 year old kids) social studies (aka an insane person). Two cats. Pretty weird, myself, sometimes very sarcastic. I love animals, craft a lot when I have actual free time, and am pretty solidly into games (both video and tabletop). lokithefulltiltgodofdiva: I can’t go into “fake diseases” or “fake cures” of the modern age without going into a seething rage due to the idiocy >_> But! 1870-1906 is what I see as the “golden age” of Quackery and Bullshit. We were just discovering electricity, radiation, and tons of chemicals. And naturally people exploited the fact that we didn’t *really* understand these new discoveries by saying it cured everything. And I have some posts on it already, but just like medieval medicine, I’ll definitely return to it again soon.

Answers!

[nope, for those wondering, I still can’t answer ask box questions]

From the top down:

  1. izzyfig: I wish!…well, no, actually I’m not sure I really wish that. PhDs are a LOT of work. My mom has a PhD in microeconomics, and she didn’t finish that until I was almost 8 years old. She didn’t have me until after she got her masters degree, and didn’t take a break or anything, either. Long story short, no, I definitely do not have a PhD. I’m not even 25 yet! I’m hoping to eventually go back to school for a masters in some aspect of biotechnology or microbiology. Probably not a PhD, though.
  2. knowun: I’m not sure. Consistently-oceanic parts of tectonic plates are not conducive to fossil formation, and any fossils on the seafloor would have to be in areas that were once dry for a long enough period to have deeply-buried specimens, and I’m not really sure how much of our ocean meets anything close to that ideal condition. If you’re less picky and include lakes and inland seas, then the case is a LOT. Almost every lake or inland sea was once dry land. Any large non-glacial and non-volcanic lake almost certainly has *some* fossil specimens deep under its floor.
  3. johnlaughingalonewithyaoi: Done. Sort of. I’ll definitely return to the subject in the future.
  4. shroom-diabolique: Sure. Don’t eat them much, though. Plain crisps make my tongue swell up and hurt for some reason. I’m not sure why flavored ones don’t.
  5. desirescasualty: AOL Kids Only. 1994. I was so cool.
  6. inexplicablespaceship: Unfortunately, I haven’t been to a ton of museums, especially lately. I love the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, and have learned tons every time I’ve been there. The Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium are pretty boss, too. I’m particular to the Science and Industry and Field Museums over the Shedd Aquarium, if only because of the much lower entrance fees and the fact that I learn a lot more there, but they’re all fun. From what I’ve heard from friends, the best aquarium to really *learn* at is Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies in Tennessee, and the best science museum (in the US) for the above-schoolchild age crowd is split between the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and the one in Oregon. Mind you, this is just my friends, not the general public, but there are great museums all over the world…you don’t need to be at the “best of the best” to learn new things and find great exhibits you would have never expected!
  7. paintedgraves: I’ll be honest, my attention has been largely diverted to personal matters, politics, and work lately. I don’t really remember what the last thing I got so interested in that I stayed up all night reading about it, which is a bit sad…I used to do that all the time. I’ve been very interested in the science of emotions (especially the neurology of those who seek horror and the like), but that’s not exactly breaking news. The only recent science story that’s grabbed my attention for a significant period has been the new study published on color perception (decent breakdown of the study), and how it differs from person-to-person.
  8. carathebug: [second part answered previously] no, I don’t have a big collection of biomed stuff, myself. I’m always a bit extremely broke, thanks to not having a “real” job yet, and wanting to pay back my loans quickly. Either way, I’d be more inclined to collect natural history ephemera (I love love love well-presented specimens and gardens in glass baubles/cases/containers), and old adverts/postcards regarding medicine, than biomed items themselves. :D
  9. marisalorea: I’m not sure how much I really want to make a point of putting this out there now that my parents know of this blog, but my personal blog is ofpaperandponies.tumblr.com. Short version: Mid-20s female, generally stressed out but complacent with it, non-religious, semi-political, in a fairly long-term (does 7 years count as long-term?) with a guy whose ambition is to teach seventh-grade (12-13 year old kids) social studies (aka an insane person). Two cats. Pretty weird, myself, sometimes very sarcastic. I love animals, craft a lot when I have actual free time, and am pretty solidly into games (both video and tabletop).
  10. lokithefulltiltgodofdiva: I can’t go into “fake diseases” or “fake cures” of the modern age without going into a seething rage due to the idiocy >_> But! 1870-1906 is what I see as the “golden age” of Quackery and Bullshit. We were just discovering electricity, radiation, and tons of chemicals. And naturally people exploited the fact that we didn’t *really* understand these new discoveries by saying it cured everything. And I have some posts on it already, but just like medieval medicine, I’ll definitely return to it again soon.

Guess what? I’m not dead yet!

Not that random disappearances are uncommon on my part, I just thought I’d mention that I’m still alive, because I like to loudly proclaim “I’M NOT DEAD YET!” to random people.

That said, don’t expect much around here until after the first week of June. I’m working every day until about 2 am, and spending the few days I have off with my friends.

But! After my birthday and the stupid random shifts thanks to college kids leaving, I’ll be around again. Thanks for all the nice notes recently, and don’t think I’ll just ignore your requests because I’m not posting all that much - most of the recent requests I’ve had will be covered when I’m back.