Ok, fooled you all...it is only 8 left coast time and you are all in bed...waahhhh!!!...here is last nights sunset...


brian...had a friend in the fbi and was stationed in nashville. when we went to visit him we went to the peabody hotel, and got to go up the elevator with the ducks to the roof (this was only 18 years ago!) anyway, then took a "river boat ride" and got caught in a squall...it was hot and humid, but the town has a lot of culture and personality!

off to bbq with the kids on the back deck

Cynde (Monkeyboy) - funny you should show up! It's MONKEY DAY!

1925 - The "Monkey Trial" ended in Dayton, TN. John T. Scopes was convicted of violating the state law for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. The conviction was later overturned.

Morning girls (and boys)..

The Omega Speedmaster:

The greatest moment in the Speedmaster's history was undoubtedly 21 July 1969 at 02:56 GMT, when it recorded man's first steps on the Moon's surface. The Apollo 11 mission was a milestone in history and the Speedmaster became the first watch (and the only watch since) to be worn on the Moon. With this unique accomplishment came a unique nickname: the Moon Watch.

Happy Sunday..

Sarah! That's a *timely* bit of trivia. Thanks!



I see in Newsweek that we've found another ancestor in Africa - this one very close to chimps but with a flatter face and contiguous brow ridge. Puts the human family tree back about three times further than Lucy!

The Attack of the Clones - two Bluebeards in one photo:





Hotlips and a parrot:

Good morning all.


Cyndee, you're thinking of Memphis - where they have the famous Peabody Hotel, complete with the march of the ducks et. al. Nashville is about 200 miles east, in the middle of the state. 1.5 million pop. When Judi & I were planning to move here, we had many of the same preconceived notions commensurate with common perception, to wit - the whole area would be overun with "Bubbas", gun racks on the back window of pick-ups, chicken poop on their shoes, and confederate flags everywhere. Much to our amazement, we couldn't have been further from the actual dynamics. Although you can certainly find the previously mentioned element around, they are few and far between. Strong support for cultural activities and a truly eclectic mix of people from all over the world is what we found. A standing joke here is, "We've got pretty much everything New York City has, but only one". We love it here ( except for no diving to speak of ).

Good morning all! yuckie day yesterday...thanks for all the input....we stayed away for 5hours...lots of people throught the house..but I think they were just "looking" Yes Carole..we are trying to move away from the shore... we live now 4 houses from the beach but also across the street from the amusement park..so VERY hectic in the summer...ghost town in the winter.....We have too many animals to live here...not fair to the critters....so the house we are bidding on is 5miles inland....I think it will be a good trade if it pans out....Thanks again guys!

Hey Clownfish and Monkeyboy, do tell this *duck* thing you're on about... Ducks in the elevator? This is modern living? LOL

Meryl - I hear about these peeople who just ride around visiting Open Houses on the weekend - for FUN! Stranger than camming all day - living vicariously thru the divers we see. LOL I do hope the right people come along SOON! You know they're out there - they just need to find you!

"We'd like to see the house"

Charlotte:

Scarecrow Day

The most famous scarecrow may be in the "Wizard of Oz", but they can be found all over the world. Their name comes from using a device to scare away crows, but they are really used to keep any bird or animal from disturbing seeds, shoots and fruit. They can also be used at your house to welcome guests or just to decorate your yard.

Rusty thats a pretty sick thing to do on weekends...but I guess it takes all kinds...maybe I need a scarecrow.....

Actually if door-to-door salespeople, canvassers, etc. ring my doorbell while I'm BT'ing they are in for a visit from the "scarecrow". And it ain't no welcoming party!!

Good morning all. The weather persons on the TV last night were on about 93F (34C) humid as blazes, and, oh, try not to breathe since the air will be full of sulpher dioxide and other assorted crap. May need a mask and tanks just to get through the day?


Rusty - That fossil can only be proven to be a *real man* if he had a TV remote in one hand and a crushed beer can in the other!

Meryl - You'll probably get a lot of "tire kickers" if you are that close to the beach. I know people who go to open houses just to pick up decorating ideas. Really frosts the Real Estate agents.

Hope everyone is breathing easy,

Bill

Bill...morning! There have been alot of fires lately...I guess with all the hot and hazy weather this makes for some thick air! get out your regulator!

Good Morning! I just came inside for a break - it is getting out there!!! (I need more sunscreen too!) Eileen

Anyone hear about those Chinese fish in Maryland? They have been found in ponds there lately...they eat ALL the fish in the pond and then "walk out" to the next pond....they are thinking of poisoning the pond (wildlife officials) to get rid of them before they spread.....

Hello Meryl, I heard about those Chinese fish! I really hope they do not invade the Great Lakes. They say that they might enter Lake Michigan this summer! Yikes! Eileen

Morning Eileen! Pretty scary stuff...I've never heard of a fish that could walk....ya think they could get them when they come a shore!

I don't think poisoning the pond would be a good idea...that would kill all the fish also???? I wonder if they are like a Pirahna?

bolt from above

Rusty.

Back in the 30's the GM of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, returned from a hunting trip to Arkansas. He thought it would be a hoot to put the live duck decoys in the fountain as a joke ( probably after imbibing some serious kikapoo joy juice wogga wogga ). The guests absolutely loved it, and so was born the tradition that continues today. The ducks live in a lavish penthouse on the roof, and every morning about 11am. are brought to the elevator, taken down to the lobby, and "marched" to the fountain on a red carpet. There are numerous cafe' style tables set up all over the place, brunch is served and everyone applauds the festivities. They use mallards now, that are raised and trained by a nearby local farmer. I've seen it several times, and found it interesting to see the joyful reactions of the people, especially children. They are "marched" back to the elevator about 5pm. and again, the tables are set up etc.

Those fish are big, ugly, black and aren't afraid of anything. I was listening to a wildlife officer from Maryland saying they might "electric shock" the pond. Guess it stuns fish then they can drag them out. The only access to the Great Lakes is apparently via a canal, not sure where that is, but they are planning on installing an electric field across the canal. That apparently turns the fish around.

Great Lakes have had enough with zebra mussels, they don't need these beasts!

Meryl - The "chewy" air today is about coal burning electric generating plants, not forest fires. Burn coal to be able to turn up the air conditioners, so we can't breathe!! Sounds like flushing toilets to me!!

Roasting in Sulpher basting, I remain yours truly - NUTS!

Cheers,

Bill

Here's your local aquarist with second-hand news on those fishies. BoxerBob read me the story in the paper last week. These *walking fish* are called Snakeheads and are an Oriental piscine delicacy. They are really hardy and can survive days out of water - so they ship well and remain fresh for days (alive) at the fish markets. Many Asian-American markets carry them for sale. They are not the Snakeheads you can buy at an aquarium store.



Florida has a problem with another exotic fish - the Walking Catfish - which uses its pectoral fins to pull itself along - like the mudskippers.



Ah - evolution is still cranking along. Gotta wonder if amphibians started out this way?!

NEWS RELEASE 3/22/2001
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission



WEST PALM BEACH--An Asian fish commonly known as a snakehead is the most recent addition to Florida's list of reproducing exotic fishes, scientists reported this week. "However, it's far too early to know or even speculate on what effects the presence of this snakehead will have," according to Paul Shafland, director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation's (FWC) Non-Native Fish Lab in Boca Raton.

There are now 31 documented exotic fish species reproducing in Florida's fresh waters. Some of the better known exotic residents include the walking catfish, Asian swamp eel, and oscar. The snakehead is an air-breathing fish similar in appearance and behavior to the native bowfin (or mudfish). Shafland said angler Bob Newland of Sunrise caught the first documented snakehead on October 5, 2000 while fishing a residential pond in Tamarac, Broward County. The angler initially thought it was a bowfin until noticing the ocellus, a distinctive dark spot rimmed in brilliant orange near the base of the tail fin. The fish measured 26 inches long and weighed four pounds.

Brian - that's a wonderful story! Like Make Way For Ducklings - that Captain Kangaroo used to read to us on TV!

Darn, the ugly old snakehead disappeared when I got knocked offline!

Here are pictures of that ugly fish. Eileen

Rusty, that's a horrible looking fish! Eileen

Eileen - what's up wit' dat fish? It has an extra eye?? Eee-yew! Must be something in the water!

I gotta go out into the nature and freshness of the humid air and absorb a small amount of the vitamins and then I'll be back.

Almost time for a Black Cherry Fizz! LOL No headache, Bill - guess I underdid it!

Nature and humidity was too much for me! Whew! Hot and very hot!



Hummingbirds are around today, though, sipping at the bee balm and trumpet creeper. The whole yard is starting to kick into high gear - jungle zone! And it's too hot to prune and weed right now. Ugh. Oh well, winter will take care of it, soon enough. (Too soon!)

mornin all...brian, nashville...memphis...i knew it was in tennesse! lol! yes, those ducks were pretty funny the way the walk down the steps out of the fountain, in the elevator to the duck penthouse! one of the only good things i got from my first marriage was to travel, as he was secret army guy, lived in dc, and got to go places all over...

someone has done something with annie and maggie...

LOL Cynde!

fish with flashlights.....
Great duck story Brian ...thats my kind of place!

just peeking in

hey meryl! guess everyone is out havin' fun today...just finishing up the cleaning and then taking sarah and her friend down to the boat to meet the boys

big nose lookin' in...come on, SHOW YOURSELF!

too many fish kissing the lens...Annie ya may have to come out and clean the lens....Or next divers are IT

Cynde - you iz kooky, woman! There's magic on Bonaire!

I'm flitting in and out today. Very hot outside - but it's beginning to work its magic on the cherry tomatoes. The first ripe one today with a few more on the way. Looks like the first few ?Cubanera peppers are ready to pick, too.

The wrasses are peeking at us!

Hello all, Just been catching up on things. So who put these nasty Chinese fish in the ponds then, and why? Annie B.

Hello all, Just been catching up on things. So who put these nasty Chinese fish in the ponds then, and why? Annie B.

Some nut probably picked them up in Chinatown and took them home for pets, then released them and started all this.
Dynamite is the best solution I've heard so far.

Annie, (Seb you are close!!), I just read an article and it stated that in 1972 an Arkansas Fish Farmer started farming the fish for food. It is apparently popular in the Southern US and very popular in Asia where it is grown also. They weigh between 30 to 60 pounds and are voracious plankton eaters. Nobody has an idea how they escaped - perhaps in a flood or by a canal. The carp are found in 18 states and are a threat to many native species. Here is another photo. I really hope someone will be able to stop them!

Seb, That's just what I was thinking but I didn't say it for some reason. That sounds the most logical. We have got nuts over here that put invading pond weed in our lakes. It cuts off oxygen, therefore kills all pond life. Crazy or what. I put my unwanted pond weed in the trash. Annie B.

Thats a pretty big fish to be walking on land....now we really will have a land shark!

hey you all I need your all advice I have given myself a week to calm down before I called the airline. To make a long story short the first day they cost us 139.00 for hotel that they promised that they would pay and didnt, 35.00 meal voucher that noone would take in airport, 2nd day they cost 59.00 for a new bathing suit, 35.00 for swim trunks because of lost luggage, then when got luggage they had stolen half a carton of cigarettes 14.00, 1 pkg of new underware 6.50, 6 brandnew shirts 29.00 have recipet. Then when they cancelled the flight and waited till we got to curacao they caused us to stay in a roach motel and the stress it caused when daughter left her cd player in room that we just bought her which was 69.00 by the time we drove back from airport which cost us a taxi ride the cd player was already stolen, husband and I lost a days pay cost us 20.00 extra parking plus the ruin the start and the finish of our vacation. What do you think I should go for have american express not pay them for the money that we lost or do you think we should go for refund of tickets

One year someone released a pirhanna (spelling ) in a lake and someone caught it!! In some instances people have introduced species and in order to eliminate them - introduce others!! What are they thinking? Eileen

Hi Annette
This URL will take you to a very complete explanation of this potential ecological disaster.
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/dnrnews/pressrelease2002/071102.html
You would think that in this day and age people would be aware of the folly of introducing aliens into any environment.
Mickey

Eileen, Very interesting. I wish I had the time to investigate this. We have very big carp here, and other fish seem to survive along side them. Annie B.

I heard about the carp being a big threat, more fish species, Yikes! Eileen

Christine...we lost our luggage for the whole trip once on Air Jamaica...after 3 letters and receits to prove what we lost they reimbursed us 1200 dollars...you just got to write a very long letter.(the nicer and to the point the better...) and get everyones name that you talked to...It took about 2 months for us to be reimbursed...

Eileen, I agree with Meryl. Annie B.

Hey! I think the summer heat is like the winter cold - driving the BTers indoors. ;)



The Snakeheads must NOT be plankton-eaters - or they wouldn't be wiping out the endemic fishes.

In Florida, Tilapia (African cichlids) were introduced to eat water hyacinth (exotic floater that clogs waterways) and other invasive water weeds. As soon as they were introduced to the springs and rivers they began wiping out gamefish - bass/sunfish, etc... In Blue Springs State Park - the entire run is full of redds - the sandy hollows that the Tilapia excavate and guard while eating everyone smaller than them!

Christine,

I have never had to go so far with an airline, but in other cases I've found it useful to find out the name address and telephone number of the President. You might be able to get that on a web site, although there has been a disturbing trend on corporate web site to remove any mention of where they are, or how you can contact them other than the wonderful "contact us" e-mail address that is never answered. (Actually, I doubt it is ever read!)

A few "rounds" of polite factual requests at increasing levels of the organization finally reaching the President demonstrating how you have been jerked around (if that is indeed what you experience) usually gets some lacky in the President's office, but carrying the authourity of the President, asking these lower level peons why they are jerking a customer around? That's usually when the drones start to become creative and cooperative. Hope you hit someone with a "customer focus" and the guts to make a decision first thing!!

Finally, a little letter on a lawyer's letterhead,if you have a friend who will do if for free to the President, usually gets directed to the legal department and they don't like fusses! Depending on the case you usually have to take the attitude that "they won't wear me down" and keep methodically making phone calls and writing letters.

You go girl!!

Bill

Time for a new thread, mad hatters!

Mr. Bill does not have his happy face on!!

Tried to log on after lunch. No go. After finally getting through to the ISP, hours later, find that the name server "dropped" a letter from my login password!! Oops!

Denied hours of BT. Where's my lawyer? Must be worth million$ of pain and anguish money?

You can all sit on the jury.

Bill

I know there were a couple mentions of the Snakeheads and it’s in my own back yard. Maryland is only a few miles from me and many of my friends and relative live there. I hope you don’t mind if I jump up on my eco-soapbox for one brief moment.

Exotic species (like the Snakeheads) are likely to have devastating impact on ecosystems. Cases like rabbits & cane toads in Australia & Zebra mussels in the Great Lakes are two examples of the impact of exotic species. Often these species have been introduced on purpose by some brilliant person trying to get rid of something else. Like most exotic species nobody is sure at first what impact they will have. Often we learn what the impact is far too late for any corrective action.

I encourage all of us divers and snorkelers to do what we can do to report and when appropriate remove exotic species when possible. Please reference the REEF Exotic Species Program REEF Article to learn more. I know there’s a lot of folks who visit here are have excellent fish identification skills and you can make a difference!

More information on the Chinese Snakehead can be found at
National Geo article

Snorkelguy Scott

Christine...you go girl! Karen & Rog