Another kind of angel....

DP brought this critter in to the lab last week.

This is a Pacific angel shark (Squatina californica). If you watch cable television, you may have seen an ad for a children's magazine called Zoo Books, which starts with some footage of a little shark (probably a swell shark) swimming lazily along, only to be engulfed by a much larger fish that suddenly rears up out of the sand. The predator in that footage was an angel shark. They are ambush predators that bury themselves in sand and rear up to seize their prey in extrusible jaws that can extend several inches in front of the head. This one probably weighed about 15 lbs. and just shy of a meter long. The counter it's lying on is probably about 2 1/2 feet wide.




( Can you spot the eye? )

Once I made Christmas ornaments by making copies of an angel shark drawing from a scientific journal, cutting them out and mounting them on stiff paper, and adding a halo and extending feathers from the pectoral fins. They turned out really cute. I gave them to all my co-workers as Christmas gifts. You know, I never kept any of those for my own tree - I should make another batch! ;)

Another kind of angel....

DP brought this critter in to the lab last week.

This is a Pacific angel shark (Squatina californica). If you watch cable television, you may have seen an ad for a children's magazine called Zoo Books, which starts with some footage of a little shark (probably a swell shark) swimming lazily along, only to be engulfed by a much larger fish that suddenly rears up out of the sand. The predator in that footage was an angel shark. They are ambush predators that bury themselves in sand and rear up to seize their prey in extrusible jaws that can extend several inches in front of the head. This one probably weighed about 15 lbs. and just shy of a meter long. The counter it's lying on is probably about 2 1/2 feet wide.




( Can you spot the eye? )

Once I made Christmas ornaments by making copies of an angel shark drawing from a scientific journal, cutting them out and mounting them on stiff paper, and adding a halo and extending feathers from the pectoral fins. They turned out really cute. I gave them to all my co-workers as Christmas gifts. You know, I never kept any of those for my own tree - I should make another batch! ;)

Squeefulness...

We recently acquired two new computers for the use of our sci aides - and they came with flat panel LCD monitors! Since I have easily one of oldest monitors, VT thought it would be nice to swap out my computer's monitor with one of the new ones...

So I hooked it up this morning. It came with a USB cable, which baffled me for a moment; upon closer inspection, there's a hub on the side of monitor. And I had no idea there were that many dust bunnies breeding behind my old monitor.

Oh my, such a difference. It's better than the difference between days when I forget my glasses! The colors, so bright and sharp and prettiful...

You might want to cover your ears. I'm going to squee now.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!



(Hey, I don't do it that often. Some things call for it.)

Squeefulness...

We recently acquired two new computers for the use of our sci aides - and they came with flat panel LCD monitors! Since I have easily one of oldest monitors, VT thought it would be nice to swap out my computer's monitor with one of the new ones...

So I hooked it up this morning. It came with a USB cable, which baffled me for a moment; upon closer inspection, there's a hub on the side of monitor. And I had no idea there were that many dust bunnies breeding behind my old monitor.

Oh my, such a difference. It's better than the difference between days when I forget my glasses! The colors, so bright and sharp and prettiful...

You might want to cover your ears. I'm going to squee now.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!



(Hey, I don't do it that often. Some things call for it.)

(no subject)

Funny, I was just remarking to someone that the June Gloom seem to be hanging around longer this year, and ZAP!

The very next day we're having a heat wave. Southern CA is now having Stage 2 Energy Alerts. Stage 3 is when we start having rolling blackouts.

Click here to check the state of the California grid.

(no subject)

Funny, I was just remarking to someone that the June Gloom seem to be hanging around longer this year, and ZAP!

The very next day we're having a heat wave. Southern CA is now having Stage 2 Energy Alerts. Stage 3 is when we start having rolling blackouts.

Click here to check the state of the California grid.