In my experience, so true, so true...

[rstevenson]

Over the millenia there have been many attempts to explain what makes us so different from other animals on this planet, what key ingredient makes us human. Some have suggested opposable thumbs, some laughter, perhaps it's the ability to care about haute couture. But I think the thing that really sets us apart from all other animals -- with the possible exception of a starving hyena, and I'm not too sure about that -- is simply that we will eat anything. We don't even have to be hungry to do it; we'll do it for fun.

Rob

PS
I enjoyed a rather tart little bug while out riding this afternoon. Enough of them might have made a nice sprinkle topping for vanilla ice cream.

[Chris Peterson]

Over the millenia there have been many attempts to explain what makes us so different from other animals on this planet, what key ingredient makes us human. Some have suggested opposable thumbs, some laughter, perhaps it's the ability to care about haute couture. But I think the thing that really sets us apart from all other animals -- with the possible exception of a starving hyena, and I'm not too sure about that -- is simply that we will eat anything. We don't even have to be hungry to do it; we'll do it for fun.

Don't forget rats and cockroaches, which will also eat anything. Of course, we are similar to rats and cockroaches in many other ways, and either species is a likely candidate to fill our niche once we are gone.

[owlice]

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalzoo/5853881255/]A cute pair of little bustards.[/url]

---

Soooooooo cute!!! Thanks!!

[neufer]

Over the millenia there have been many attempts to explain what makes us so different from other animals on this planet,
what key ingredient makes us human. Some have suggested opposable thumbs, some laughter, perhaps it's the ability to care about haute couture.

---

---

But I think the thing that really sets us apart from all other animals -- with the possible exception of a starving hyena, and I'm not too sure about that -- is simply that we will eat anything. We don't even have to be hungry to do it; we'll do it for fun.

Don't forget rats and cockroaches, which will also eat anything. Of course, we are similar to rats and cockroaches in many other ways, and either species is a likely candidate to fill our niche once we are gone.

<<The Metamorphosis (German: Die Verwandlung) is a novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. It is often cited as one of the seminal works of short fiction of the 20th century and is widely studied in colleges and universities across the western world. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find that he has been transformed into a giant insect-like creature. Gregor briefly examines his new body, but wonders only momentarily about what has happened to him. Gregor smells food [and] realizes that his sister had brought him milk with bread in it. Gregor attempts to drink the milk, but finds that he is repulsed by the taste. Gregor notices that his father is not reading the paper to the family as he usually does and there is complete silence in the apartment. He wants someone to come in his room, but the doors are locked from the outside and no one will enter. Gregor climbs under the couch, where he feels more comfortable, and decides that he has to help his family through this difficult situation. Gregor's sister brings him a variety of foods in order to determine what he will eat. She throws away everything he does not finish, even if he has not touched it. Gregor hides under the couch to protect Grete from having to see him. Gregor discovers that he enjoys climbing the walls and the ceiling. Noticing this, his sister decides to give him more space by clearing the furniture from his room, and she asks her mother to help. Gregor's mother says that this will make it look like they are giving up on Gregor's recovery, but Grete disagrees. Hearing his mother's voice, Gregor realizes the importance of the furniture to him. The noise that the women make upsets him, and he decides to come out of hiding to save the framed picture on the wall from being taken. Seeing him, his mother faints and Grete runs out of the room for medicine to revive her with. Gregor follows and when his sister sees him she runs into his room and slams the door, trapping Gregor outside. His father arrives to find him out of his room and begins throwing apples at him. One of these lodges itself in Gregor's back, almost crippling him. As he loses consciousness, his mother begs her husband to spare her son's life.>>

[Beyond]

Ooooohh....Looky at that nice fuzzy female Koala Bear that smells like eucalyptus and has a set of talons er, claws, that may make a certain moderator a little envious. Hint

[Star*Hopper]

Question:
At some point, is this gonna turn strange?

[Ann]

Neufer, that's a fantastic haute couture koala picture. Image the fur care, nose polishing, whiskers combing and mani- and pedicure he went through before posing for this portrait. Ah, but he has opposable big toes as well as opposable thumbs, which is what I think separates him from being human.

I have a fantastic book at home called "Introducing Kafka", where many of Franz Kafka's stories are told in black and white illustrations with word balloons, comic book style. Here "Metamorphosis", Die Verwandlung, is a part of the anthology. It is really amazing.

Click to view full size image

Gregor Samsa has turned into a cockroach, so for the first time in his life he is going to be late for work.

Read about "Introducing Kafka" here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introducing_Kafka

So don't eat a cockroach, his name may be Gregor.

Ann

[rstevenson]

Question:
At some point, is this gonna turn strange?

Too late!

Rob

[geckzilla]

The snails I've eaten actually remind me a lot of oysters (steamed) ... they both seem to have that sort of speckled brown / green stuff in them. Flesh? Organ meat? Stomach contents? Something else? What IS that stuff?

[Chris Peterson]

The snails I've eaten actually remind me a lot of oysters (steamed) ... they both seem to have that sort of speckled brown / green stuff in them. Flesh? Organ meat? Stomach contents? Something else? What IS that stuff?

If snails are prepared wrong, it could be digestive tract contents. Normally you shouldn't have anything like that in snails, though. In oysters, it is primarily the gonads and their contents.

Aren't you glad you asked? <g>

[Chris Peterson]

So don't eat a cockroach, his name may be Gregor.

Gregor doesn't actually become a cockroach (apparently Kafka was adamant about that), but just some sort of disgusting, unclean, insect-like bug. The German word das Ungeziefer just means bug, although it carries a sense of grossness with it- perhaps as we might use vermin. So I guess any nasty bug you run across might be named Gregor, in case you're contemplating eating it. Or one of our cats may have done that; they are very good at crunching up (with emphasis on "crunch") things they catch skittering around.

[neufer]

The German word das Ungeziefer just means bug,
although it carries a sense of grossness with it-
perhaps as we might use vermin.

UNgeziEFER: Items of a disgusting nature, vermin (Vere man?)

NEUFER zeig: point at NEUFER

NEUFER geiz: NEUFER avarice

[geckzilla]

The snails I've eaten actually remind me a lot of oysters (steamed) ... they both seem to have that sort of speckled brown / green stuff in them. Flesh? Organ meat? Stomach contents? Something else? What IS that stuff?

If snails are prepared wrong, it could be digestive tract contents. Normally you shouldn't have anything like that in snails, though. In oysters, it is primarily the gonads and their contents.

Aren't you glad you asked? <g>

Haha, well, I knew that it had to be something like that. I mean, you eat the entire body minus the shell and it has to think, reproduce, and poop somehow. For the snails I don't think there is anything wrong. They come in shells with a small hole broken in the apex of the shell. You then pick off the epiphragm and either use a toothpick or your mouth suck out the contents so I assume it's pretty much everything, poop and all. Well, the only way I've had it is the way the dim sum places prepare it, which I assume is Cantonese style, so I also assume is prepared "right" for their standards. Is there actually a way to get rid of the digestive tract? The dim sum snails are so small and numerous I really doubt they do much other than break tiny hole in the shell.

(Before anyone nit picks my post, yeah, I used think incorrectly up there... I need a shorter way to mean it has some nervous tissue in there somewhere)

[Chris Peterson]

Haha, well, I knew that it had to be something like that. I mean, you eat the entire body minus the shell and it has to think, reproduce, and poop somehow.

An oyster has no central nervous system at all, so you can be sure there's no thinking going on.

For the snails I don't think there is anything wrong. They come in shells with a small hole broken in the apex of the shell. You then pick off the epiphragm and either use a toothpick or your mouth suck out the contents so I assume it's pretty much everything, poop and all.

As it happens, I had a professor in college who made a hobby of raising snails for food, and he served them at little parties and social events on campus. He'd take the snails from the vegetation he raised them on and put them in an aquarium with corn flour for a couple of days. This cleaned out their intestines. Then the snails went into a vat of salt water- lots of gross green bubbles and mucus get discharged. Then the snails go into boiling water, and they come out of the shells. They are ready for use in cooking now. There is also a method where the viscera are removed after the snails come out of the boiling water. So there should be no poop- either because they haven't been fed for a few days, or they've only eaten corn flour, or they've been gutted.

I can't speak for Asian methods, but in the European tradition, poop in your snails means you did something wrong.

(Before anyone nit picks my post, yeah, I used think incorrectly up there... I need a shorter way to mean it has some nervous tissue in there somewhere)

Okay, I missed that when I made my first comment, and I don't want to go back and change it.

[geckzilla]

Oh, yeah, I guess that is a good way to get rid of snail poo. Maybe they do something similar. I don't know!

[Beyond]

YUCK!! BLAH!!

[neufer]

Haha, well, I knew that it had to be something like that.
I mean, you eat the entire body minus the shell and it has to think, reproduce, and poop somehow.

An oyster has no central nervous system at all, so you can be sure there's no thinking going on.

[list][list]King Lear Act 1, Scene 5 [/list]
Foole: Canst tell how an Oyster makes his shell.

Lear: No.

Foole: Nor I neither,[/list]

<<The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified. The sedentary habit of the bivalves has led to the development of a simpler nervous system than in other molluscs; they have no brain. In all but the simplest forms the neural ganglia are united into two cerebropleural ganglia on either side of the oesophagus. The pedal ganglia, controlling the foot, are at its base, and the visceral ganglia (which can be quite large in swimming bivalves) under the posterior adductor muscle. These ganglia are both connected to the cerebropleural ganglia by nerve fibres. There may also be siphonal ganglia in bivalves with a long siphon.>>

Ostracize, v. t. [Gr. ostrakon, a tile or potsherd used in voting,
an oyster shell.] 1. (Gr. Antiq.) To exile by ostracism;
to banish by a popular vote, as at Athens.

[list]"O Oysters, come and walk with us!"
The Walrus did beseech.
"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four,
To give a hand to each."

The eldest Oyster looked at him,
But never a word he said:
The eldest Oyster winked his eye,
And shook his heavy head--
Meaning to say he did not choose
To leave the oyster-bed.

But four young Oysters hurried up,
All eager for the treat:
Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat--
And this was odd, because, you know,
They hadn't any feet.

Four other Oysters followed them,
And yet another four;
And thick and fast they came at last,
And more, and more, and more--
All hopping through the frothy waves,
And scrambling to the shore.

The Walrus and the Carpenter
Walked on a mile or so,
And then they rested on a rock
Conveniently low:
And all the little Oysters stood
And waited in a row.

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,
"Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!"
"No hurry!" said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that.

"A loaf of bread," the Walrus said,
"Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed--
Now if you're ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed."

"But not on us!" the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
"After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!"
"The night is fine," the Walrus said.
"Do you admire the view?"[/list]

[Star*Hopper]

Haha, well, I knew that it had to be something like that. I mean, you eat the entire body minus the shell and it has to think, reproduce, and poop somehow.

An oyster has no central nervous system at all, so you can be sure there's no thinking going on.

And just how can you be so sure that's what they think with, hmm?

Did a mind-meld with one a couple times....some really wild stuff goin' on in there!
Couldn't figure if it had been chewin' on a peyote bud or what - but it was like a solarized movie on fast forward.
Then again, maybe not a 'high', rather that's the norm for them.

AFA eating one.....a li'l too French for me. I'd rather starve.

[Ann]

Neufer wrote:

King Lear Act 1, Scene 5

Foole: Canst tell how an Oyster makes his shell.

Lear: No.

Foole: Nor I neither,

King James Bible, Job 38:31-32:

31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? 32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

Ann

[owlice]

About an hour ago, I picked a bug out of my right eye (see chart, first post). Bad thing #1: this is from last night's ride, which means he'd been in there for over 24 hours. Bad thing #2: he was one of those bugs that feels like acid when they land in the eye (so I had to immediately stop and pour water in my eye after it happened, which helped to cut the sting). Bad thing #3: he wasn't soft-bodied, like a gnat; he was a little beetle of some sort, with a hard body. Ewwww!!

[Beyond]

Hey owlice, do yourself good thing #1 and go to http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/Eyewear-8-15.html and get a pair(or 2) of Bomber Glasses $10.00 a pair. They're shooting glasses. I use clear ones. The poly carbonate lenses are tough and also have ultraviolet protection. They'll keep the bugs out of your eyes and cut out glare if you're riding into the sun. I'd say go to your local gunshop, but you live in D.C. Just remember to keep something soft with you to wipe off the bug splat.

[Chris Peterson]

Bad thing #1: this is from last night's ride, which means he'd been in there for over 24 hours...

Do I want to know how you knew it was a "he"?

[Star*Hopper]

Ewwww!!

eWWWWWWWWW!!! Hope you haven't/aren't suffering any bad (#4) aftereffects.
Back when I's racing scoots I worked in a motorcycle shop as a part time job, & I was surprised how many people rode 'open face'. One accessory we sold was a face shield, a clear lexan or such 'sheet' that'd snap onto most helmets made at the time. It was roomy with plenty of air circulation, & so clear that you'd hardly notice it was there. For a while! That being, until maybe a week later when there'd be so much 'stuff' residue on it, it needed cleaning.

I kept one I'd worn for about a month of daily riding, to & from work & lunch, without cleaning, propped up beside the cash register, & as the opp presented itself, I'd show it to any open-face biker that came in, along with an offer of "If you don't have to clean the area JUST IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES before a month's up, I'll refund your money. And you'll see all the stuff that would've otherwise hit you in the eye!" Never had one claim the refund....in fact, sold so many we could barely keep 'em in stock!

If you don't wear eye protection while riding, you're flirtin' with fate, for sure!!
PLEASE don't! Safety glasses are WA-A-A-AY cheaper'n eye surgery.

[owlice]

Chris, I'm ..... ahhhhh.... guessing? Probably should have used "it" but our interaction seemed rather personal, considering he was in my eye!

Beyond, thanks for the link! Thanks to yours and Star*Hopper's prompting, I did (finally) just now order clear safety glasses, these from Amazon. (And two others, too.) I'd been looking at sunglasses, when what I really need are safety glasses; thanks!

Star*Hopper, I started wearing shades earlier this year, after another lovely bug-in-eye incident that resulted in doctor's appointments and prescription drugs. (I'll spare you the picture I posted on my biking forum.) Though I have a pair of very light sunglasses, they still block too much light for riding at night when it is fully dark, especially through the woods. I was riding at the lake when I got hit by the beetle; I'd started late on purpose hoping to see the ISS flyby from the lake, but it was cloudy when the time came, wouldn't you know.

Even with eye protection, bugs still land in my eyes, but I hope at least the little beetles will be deterred, because those really hurt!

[geckzilla]

No organism shall be anthropomorphized while Chris stands watch.