You should never think without an image - Aristotle

[curiousa2z]

touché!

[RJDiogenes]

[RJDiogenes]

Here are some of the surviving pics from my latest graveyard expedition:







This last one is interesting. A victim of the Titanic, and the 100th anniversary is this Sunday (it seems to be cropping itself, so you'll have to right click and save to see the whole thing).

[curiousa2z]

wow. what good timing. Titanic still resonates with us, doesn't it.

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Indeed. Like the Hindenburg, it's become iconic and legendary.

Here are some more graveyard pics, this time from Wollaston Cemetery. I took advantage of this morning's fog, although it was lifting by the time I got there.

[huggle]

Those foggy pics are awesome! Especially the last one.

[RJDiogenes]

Thanks. I like that one, too. It was a spooky morning.

[curiousa2z]

perfect for visitng a graveyard.......nice pics!

[RJDiogenes]

Thanks. I'm glad you like them. It was perfect graveyard weather.

[Grim]

I've just seen the Olympic Torch!

Torch small.jpg (164.09 KiB) Viewed 1568 times

[RJDiogenes]

That's awesome. I've never seen the torch in person.

[Santaman]

http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/down ... ndex2.html

Nice wallpaper site.

[RJDiogenes]

The lightning bolt and the Milky Way pictures are beautiful.

[curiousa2z]

Grim, that's a sight you'll never forget.

Our town was lucky enough to be one of the stops on the way out to Vancouver for the Winter Games. We stood there for AGES and it was bloody FRICKIN COLD! Did anyone go home? NO. Afterwards, we couldn't feel our appendages, but not one person complained. That's what hot chocolate when you get home is for.
Having the honour of being the host country was an outstanding experience.

[Grim]

Absolutely, it's a great honour for the country to host the Games, and on a personal level, I was thrilled that it was convenient for me too see the Torch - literally a minute's walk away on a pleasent evening

[RJDiogenes]

Here are some pics of the granite cliffs from Crown Colony. I didn't get up to the top-- I'll have to check Google Earth again and see if there are any other ways.

[curiousa2z]

here is my bike chain- knitting- yarn bird feeder:

[RJDiogenes]

That's pretty cool. I'm sure the birds are very grateful.

[huggle]

Curi, that's ingenious! Finally a way to put all these plastic veggie boxes to a good use!

[curiousa2z]

thanks, huggle - I hate all the plastic we have over here. that stuff isn't good for us, with all that BPA leaching into our food. ick. only rarely do I see food businesses using recycled paper containers. why aren't more?

[curiousa2z]

btw, RJ - you were right - they finally came around - but what intrigues me is: how do they know it's ok? the Cardinals weren't even around when the first brave sparrow tried the feeder...yet I see the Cardinals are chowing down too now. how do the birds remember that it's under all that snow? How long do they remember things? They don't seem to have very large brains...can they smell the suet & seeds? There must be something going on that my puny human senses cant detect...

[RJDiogenes]

Actually, many birds are amazingly smart despite their tiny bird brains. Research into animal intelligence has come up with unexpected results, with birds being able to differentiate colors, shapes and objects by name. Some recent research has shown some interesting behavior involving dead birds that seems to indicate that they understand death enough to warn other birds of a possible threat, and also that they experience grief.

[huggle]

also, birds can count better than humans. We can identify up to 5 objects at a glance. If there are more, we split them up into 3+3 or 5+1 etc. Birds can identify the exact number of 7-12 objects at a glance.

Many birds have an excellent sense of smell. African vultures can smell a dead animal at a distance of 15 miles IIRC (or was it 20 even?). And blackbirds smell earthworms through several inches of soil.

Migrating birds find their way by using a special magnetic sense that allows them to feel the magnetic field of the planet. I would not be surprised if every bird had such a sense and used it as a navigational aid. For finding bird feeders under the snow, for example.
Also, they propably remember landmarks - tree branches, shrubs etc - just like we remember certain buildings.

[curiousa2z]

very cool! I knew about the migration but not about the counting or about their understanding of death, etc. Birds are truly amazing!
thanks guys for the intel!

[RJDiogenes]

I'm fascinated by the study of animal intelligence.

Elephants also have great memory for landmarks; they can find their way back to a specific watering hole after decades. And they, too, have a concept of death and mourn their dead. They even recognize the skeletons of dead elephants.