June 09, 2003

Tabasco

I am in the middle of end of the quarter craziness. I spent the last week analyzing fake microarray data, making about 1,000 RGB images in Photoshop, and grading a painful number of papers. The only thing that has kept me going lateley is the hope of seeing this guy on my commutes to and from school:

nutria.jpg

What I first thought was a muskrat turned out to be a nutria after some intense web searching. Regardless of what it is, I am extremeley fascinated with it and any other pudgy aquatic rodent because they all closely resemble b3av0rz!!!1

P.S. these guys kick ass. Oh how I wish I had a welding torch and lots of time on my hands...

Posted by doug at June 9, 2003 08:57 AM
Comments

holy crap that thing is cute. i would totally feed it.

Posted by: michele at June 9, 2003 09:20 AM

I just saw an awesome short documentary on the Nutria at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, last month. Lots of footage of troupes of park rangers out at night on boats with rifles just shooting as many as they could. They're destroying Louisiana's plant life like locusts. Nutria aren't native and don't have predators.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2003-03-14/screens_roundup24.html

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/students/beat/apr2003/ut.shtml

Posted by: gene at June 9, 2003 11:00 AM

gasp! gene! i don't want to know about them getting shot! sweet jesus.

Posted by: michele at June 9, 2003 11:28 AM

the chunkers are probably the longest standing bike gang here in Portland(I think they started at Reed Col), but hardly as active as everybody else.

beautiful as the choppers are, zoobombs have them beat because they don't even use welds-just hammers, saws, and bolts (zoobomb.org).

Come to Portland for MiniBikeSummer...6/13-6/29

Posted by: DV at June 9, 2003 02:43 PM

Ok, I'll be there the evening of the 13th. Cool.

Posted by: gene at June 9, 2003 03:11 PM

As cool as the zoobomb bike gang might be, their website doesn't have nearly the number of disturbingly hideous bicycle creations that can be seen on the chunk page. Of course, who am I to say, I don't really know anything about either organization. I just think the idea of building a horrible dangerous wacky bicycle that would more than likely put me in an early grave if I tried to ride it sounds like more fun than even 6 whole barrels of monkeys.

I wish I could attend this bike festival you speak of, but it is unfortunately close to my wedding day. Are you aware of any similar events that might be happening later in the summer?

Posted by: Doug at June 9, 2003 08:17 PM

Speaking of weddings, did you get my email about REI?

Posted by: dianna at June 9, 2003 09:22 PM

weddings over bicycles? oh, where have your priorities gone? =)just kidding... so excited to see you, that is me!

p.s. what are those things called in the fire swamp in princess bride? i know it's something else, but for a split second i thought it was nutria, and i was going to be very scared for you.

Posted by: erica at June 9, 2003 10:17 PM

Rodents Of Unusual Size (ROUS's)

P.S. I don't think they exist.

Posted by: gene at June 9, 2003 10:25 PM

Damn it. Once again, I, Jacob, have posted as Dianna. I am truly a st00pid.

Speaking of ROUS's, I can do a damn fine imitation of the noise they make while being killed by Wesley. Just ask Dianna. But not me in-disguise-as-Dianna. The real Dianna.

Posted by: Jacob at June 9, 2003 10:56 PM

Check the REI section of weddingchannel.com. We are now registered there, but not for very much stuff.... We may have to go to an actual store to register for other fun REI-type gifts. Damn limited selection on the web...

Posted by: Doug at June 9, 2003 11:38 PM

Do you watch Orange County Chop Shop on Discovery Channel? The dad and son yell at each other about the wackiness of their bike creations. It's pretty funny.

Posted by: marina at June 10, 2003 08:58 AM
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