A Big Bear

I found a beautiful moth in my hall friday and after doing some research I found out it's called a Big Bear (Arctia caja) in Dutch and Garden Tiger in English. I tought it was quit funny to see how two different languages both call them after other animals!

The Big Bear (Garden Tiger) Moth is a very popular and attractive moth with the larvae being better known as the 'woolly bear' caterpillar. The eggs of the species hatch late August and it overwinters as larvae. The larva starts to feed again early spring and is full-fed by the end of June. After going through the pupal stage the moth emerges and flies during July and August. It is univoltine (i.e. has one generation a year) and is very popular with breeders due to its large variation in markings and colouration of the adult moth, with examples from yellow to dark brown.

Arctia caja is polyphagous (i.e. eats a wide variety of plant types) and was commonly found throughout the upper Europe. However, over the past 20 years there has been a steady decline in the species with numbers falling by around 30%. The species has been well documented by the Rothamsted Insect Survey. Climate change has been implicated as weather does appear to be a contributory factor. It has been demonstrated that warm, wet winters and warm springs are followed by a decrease in the number of tiger moths the following summer (Conrad, Woiwod & Perry, 2002).

PMS Also Happens To Spiders

I promised I would post a better picture of Roosje when I had a chance. Well she is staying at our home for the summer vacation so I was able to make a picture today. She is usually very sweet and not at all aggressive but when I opened her tank today she sprang into a threat posture and I was able to shoot some beautiful pictures of her being defensive. She made sure their even were some drops of venom hanging from her fangs and I will not go near her when she is standing like that. I guess even spider can have PMS

Escaping Panda

The Escape:

Monday morning commotion broke out in a zoo in Rotterdam when it was discovered that one of the endangered red panda’s escaped. It was found later in one of the high trees near the park in one of the suburbs of Rotterdam. They tried to catch him but the panda was getting more and more nervous because of al the people surrounding him. He climbed higher and higher and the fire-fighters weren’t able to get him out of the tree so in the end it was decided to tranquilize him. He was easlily picked out of the tree after that. The Panda is now save back in it’s indoor cage as zoo staff weren’t able to figure out how the panda escaped and it has happened before! The zoo will not let the panda’s back out till they are sure none can escape again.

Red Panda Name:

The Chinese name of the Red Panda is 小熊貓; (xiǎo xióng māo), meaning 'small panda'. The Chinese name of the Red Panda is based on that of the Giant Panda, unlike English where the Giant Panda has been named after the Red Panda. The Red Panda is also sometimes known as hǔo hú (火狐), which literally translates as
"fire fox", a name which can refer both to the red fox and the Red Panda. The Red Panda is the state animal of Sikkim. The term firefox, as used to describe the Red Panda, has been propagated by its use in the web browser Mozilla Firefox, although the browser logo depicts a fox with its tail on fire rather than a Red Panda.

Panda’s in the news:

In May 2005, the Red Panda gained a surge of popularity in Japan when a panda named Futa (風太) living in the Chiba Animal Park was found to be able to stand on his hind legs like a human for up to 30 seconds at a time. Not to be outdone, another zoo, the Yokohama Zoo Zoorasia in Yokohama recently found another "gifted" red panda within their confines, Dale (デール) who is capable of walking a considerable distance bipedal. While both of the standing pandas have gained the species many fans in Japan, both the Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa, Hokkaido and the World Wide Fund for Nature have expressed concern that the increased commercialism of this species may be putting too much burden on the animals as the animal is already endangered by hunting and habitat loss. Futa was featured in a commercial for the Japan Tobacco cigarette company.

Bacteria That "Make" Gold!

Today I saw something on the news that I just had to post: Bacteria that "make" gold.

Scientists in Australia have found fairly good evidence that a form of bacteria is involved in the formation of gold grains and nuggets.

Led by German Frank Reith, the group of scientists carried out analyses of gold samples taken from two mines in different parts of Australia and found that the microbes, named Ralstonia metallidurans, were present on 80 per cent of the grains.

The Ralstonia bacteria is believed to be responsible for converting miniscule amounts of gold found in quartz veins below the ground into small grains and nuggets in the dust above the surface, according to findings reported in the latest edition of US magazine Science.

He told the Associated Press: "What we just wanted to show is that micro-organisms are capable of contributing to the formation of gold nuggets and before that was always doubted.

"I'm not saying that the organisms are the only way how gold nuggets in soils can form, but it's one of the ways."

It appears that the microbe performs the role of cleansing its local environment through removing the concentrated dissolved gold which it finds toxic and converting it into the more visible grains.

However, this does not prove the old alchemist theory that gold can be created from nothing, as the gold must be present in some form in the first place.

Guard the boat, mind the tide... don't touch my dirt.

Last Thursday my friend Elkie, my man and I went to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and I have to say WOW! It was such a great movie. It has become a lot darker since The Curse Of The Black Pearl and yes it did have an open ending but I didn’t mind that. The special effect were great and very well done especially Davy Jones (Captain of the Flying Dutchman played by Bill Nighly). I didn’t know what to expect as I didn’t watch any of the trailers (I wanted it to be a surprise). After I had seen it I saw this dreadful review which I didn’t agree with at all. It went on and on about that it didn’t have any story and that it was only hold together by Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). They also said that William Turner (Orlando Bloom) didn’t have any important part in this story and that the movie was strung together by special effects. Well I couldn’t agree less, I was amazed by the great acting an everyones part and I was happy they kept a lot of the humor in that they started in part one. I do agree there were a lot of special effect but I loved it (especially the wheel) and there was a lot of story even around Will and Elizabeth. I do think this will be the summer hit this year and I will say that everyone should see this movie.

Friends and Pirates

Thursday we have two fun things to do. First my friend from highschool Elkie will come by to visit us. I haven't seen her for a while because when I moved away it was hard to find time to see eachother. Now we both had time and she will also spend the night. Last time she stayed here there was so much trouble with the railways that we don't want to risk her having to sleep at some station. We are both really looking forward to see eachother again!

As she is staying for the night we wanted to also do something fun. As we saw that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is coming out this Thursday so we decided to go see that movie. It's the second part of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and I hope it's as great as the first one. Here is a little summary of the film and I will write a review when I'm back.

Captain Jack Sparrow is caught up in another tangled web of supernatural intrigue. Although the curse of the Black Pearl has been lifted, an even more terrifying threat looms over its captain and scurvy crew: it turns out that Jack owes a blood debt to the legendary Davy Jones, Ruler of the Ocean Depths, who captains the ghostly Flying Dutchman, which no other ship can match in speed and stealth. Unless the ever-crafty Jack figures a cunning way out of this Faustian pact, he will be cursed to an afterlife of eternal servitude and damnation in the service of Jones.

This startling development interrupts the wedding plans of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, who once again find themselves thrust into Jack's misadventures, leading to escalating confrontations with sea monsters, very unfriendly islanders, flamboyant soothsayer Tia Dalma and even the mysterious appearance of Will's long-lost father, Bootstrap Bill. Meanwhile, ruthless pirate hunter Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company sets his sights on retrieving the fabled "Dead Man's Chest." According to legend, whoever possesses the Dead Man's Chest gains control of Davy Jones, and Beckett intends to use this awesome power to destroy every last Pirate of the Caribbean once and for all. For times are changing on the high seas, with businessmen and bureaucrats becoming the true pirates and freewheeling, fun-loving buccaneers like Jack and his crew threatened with extinction.

LIO Competent

I finally made it to my last year of college. After the great news on friday I now also got the news I am LIO competent which means I am now good enough to run classes on my own. I can now go to my next year internship where I was already hired for. I also got the news I will get 4 hours of biology and 3 hours of English to teach. I now only have to do a few more courses and then I will be able to draduate next year. I hope next year will be a blast and everyone have a great holiday

I found a Job

I have found a job. Well actually I am staying exactly where I am at the Triade. I have been looking for a payed internship or a job for a while now and I didn't find anything yet. I had asked if I could stay at the Triade before but I got a no as an answer because there wasn't enough money for an internship so I was left looking for a job. Then suddenly one of the biology teachers left and I applied for the job immediately but sadly one of the team leaders got the job as she didn't want to be team leader anymore and needed a new job at the school. Of course I understand that she got it first as she has been at the school longer but I was sad as I really liked the school and wanted to stay.

But when the boss told I wasn't the one he also told me there may be some room after all. So I waited and waited but every time I asked he said he still didn't know for sure. Well Friday I had enough, I went to him and said I needed to know now as I wanted to know it before summer holiday. He went to look for me and said he could give me 3 hours of biology and 2 hours remedial teaching but that wasn't enough so he said I could also teach another subject as he had some hours there. I could teach French or Math or even Science but I am no good at that and then he said English and as I am quite good at that I chose that. So now I also going to teach 3 hours of English next year as well! I know it's only 8 hours but it's a start and if there are more hours half way through the year I can get them than.

Hope that's going to go alright as it is not my subject and I don't know how to teach it yet. I have asked if I could see the books first and if I could talk to one of the English teachers first.

Wish me luck!