12/31/02
More pictures of my spine. This is from Yesterday. I like these images more than the last.








From The Tablet, Top read Newspaper of Painted Rocks, Capital of Scottovia

(Wednesday Science Insert)
New breed of crab discovered in the lower income areas of the Coast, nicknamed "The Hermit Scorpion"

The hermit crab protects its soft and vulnerable body by inhabiting the empty whorls of dead shellfish, hereby acquiring a nacreous armor it could not produce by itself, and swaps shells that have become too narrow for more spacious ones.

Following the same principle, the Scottovian Hermit Scorpion uses empty syringes, devoid of their plunger, both as shells and as attack and defense weapons. It possesses four pairs of legs, the pair nearest the head being manipulators, pinchers. However, on one side, and only one side of its body, three of the legs are in fact elongated claws, which not only allow the hermit scorpion to retract or move out of the barrel of the syringe, but also permit it to manipulate and use the syringe's needle as a sting, when the hermit scorpion has totally withdrawn its body from the barrel. A metal syringe needle is indeed a useful tool to pierce the strong chitinous exoskeleton of insects, and hermit scorpions impale roaches, ants and other various insects before eating them. However, the syringe needle also finds a use in defending the hermit scorpion from potential predators. The sting of the needle might not be a strong offence against larger species, but then again, sometimes enough chemicals linger (not a coincidence, read on) on the needle or in the hub that the sting causes far worse trouble than would originally be expected.

Hermit scorpions are insectivores and carrion-eaters, as well as solitary creatures, though they can be found in large numbers near places where great quantities of used syringes are available. They experience 18 mating seasons a year, with the males parading and fighting each other off in order to seduce the slightly larger females. Note that the bigger the syringe, the older the hermit scorpion. The oldest hermit scorpions lair in high capacity veterinary syringes.

Also note that some hermit scorpions appear to have the ability to synthesize the last chemical product contained in the syringe in which they chose to live, in very low quantities, in order to fill the needle canula with it. Some people claim to have been cured from illnesses after being stung by a hermit scorpion, but nothing conclusive has been proven from these rumors. Desperate, terminally ill patients will sometimes seek hermit scorpions and gamble on a curative sting, and this is not recommended.

Hermit scorpions are currently being researched upon by Scottovia's Department of Science in Painted Rocks. If you see these dangerous animals, give them a wide berth, and call animal control as soon as possible. Calls resulting in a capture of these animals will result in a reward based on the size and condition of the specimen(s).

Musical Acts I've seen live, as they occur to me (Idea swiped from ) Some I've seen more than once.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some...I've enjoyed all of the ones below.

• Cyndi Lauper


• Styx


• Talking Heads


• Grateful Dead


• Devo


• Paul Simon


• Lenny Kravitz


• Bob Dylan


• GWAR


• They Might Be Giants


• Depeche Mode


• Genesis


• Phil Collins


• ELO


• REO Speedwagon


• Concrete Blonde


• B-52s


• The Who


• Wall of Voodoo


• Steppenwolf


• Aerosmith


• The Three Tenors


• The Beach Boys


• Phish


• George Benson


• Meat Loaf


• The Cranberries


• 10,000 Maniacs


• Violent Femmes


• Stomp


• String Cheese Incident


• R.E.M.


• James Brown


• Rusted Root


• Chubby Checker


• Soul Coughing


• Ziggy Marley


• Pearl Jam


• Midnight Oil


• Cake


• The Police


• Weird Al Yankovic


• AC/DC


• Tom Petty


• Cowboy Junkies


• Boston Philharmonic


• Florida Philharmonic


• Manhattan Transfer


• Marie Osmond (At a Fair. Yes, she was good.)


• Fleetwood Mac

a year ago - gray pumpkin, new years resolutions, frankenquirrel, pig eyeballs, spam, new years wishes

two years ago - watching spongebob with mah sweetie, D&D movie, fresh birks, shopping, saw Andy, chilly night