The Wandering Seals (like the animal seal)

Under normal circumstances, seals and other pinnipeds are found in cold to temperate regions worldwide. However, as the population of some species of seals goes up, their range gradually expands in the process. Perhaps the most famous species that are the epitome of seals wandering outside of their usual range are the Harbor seal and the Hooded seal.

The Harbor Seal is normally found in the cold and temperate regions of the north Atlantic and Pacific oceans. However, on the Atlantic coast, the wikipedia article mentions "the population of the Harbor Seals on the Atlantic coast is increasing quite steadily as they are reclaiming parts of their range and have been seen as far south as Florida." Perhaps maybe one day, we will see them continuing the legacy of the extinct Caribbean Monk Seal.

The Harbor seal is not the only seal with an expanding range as time goes on. The Hooded seal is also popping up in places outside of their normal range. The IUCN red list web page on the Hooded seal mentions "vagrant Hooded seals appear in places like the Canary Islands, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos islands, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Haiti, Jamaica, and other places outside of its natural range." This means that the Hooded seal may already be continuing the legacy of the extinct Caribbean Monk Seal.

With these reports considered, these seal species are wandering to so many places outside of their normal range.

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/6204/0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbor_seal

My first year of college at Wright State University

After completing my senior year of high school at Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School in Dayton, Ohio, the next phase of my life is college at Wright State University. At first, I was beginning to have serious doubts about my performance and tenure at WSU. Some of these doubts encompassed but were not limited to the following: zero to little effort to help myself when it comes to independence, doing tasks like homework and papers on my own, and so on. However, as the semester and not to mention year at WSU progressed, I developed some considerable independence skills. I easily did laundry and homework myself, I wrote papers with ease, and studied for tests, quizzes, and exams pretty hard. That being said, I have strived for my task of becoming more independent and I got there.

When I first began my freshman year at Wright State University, I was lacking or having little confidence in my stay at WSU. That is because if I did not go to college, I would have to get a job that does not require a college degree. Some of these jobs and companies include but are not limited to: the typical McDonald's, Meijer, Panera Bread, Starbucks, Home Depot, Sam's Club, Home City Ice, Roofer (Full Time or Self-Employed), Tile Setter (Full Time or Self-Employed), and Carpenter (Full Time or Self-Employed). But, I am here at WSU and working towards a Bachelor's degree in Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Even though I had some doubts, as the semester and let alone year at WSU went on, I gradually became accustomed to college life. In my life at WSU, I have discovered skills that made me more independent (when it comes to helping myself). I have learned to type papers with minimal spelling, grammatical, capitalization, and punctuation errors. I also learned to do the vast majority of my homework myself as well as doing laundry and studying for tests, quizzes, and exams myself. I also learned to go shopping myself. I went to Meijer periodically for food and other necessities. I paid for these necessities with a VISA debit card. These are the skills necessary to succeed in college.

I personally feel that all the skills mentioned above I will utilize even more during my sophomore year at WSU. Also after my freshman year at WSU, I got my first job (part time of course) at WSU's technology center in disability services. The work involved will consist of converting books into audio format like CDs and cassettes.

After completing my freshman year at WSU, I feel I have become much more independent than I was before my time here began. I feel I will use my independence skills much more throughout the rest of my stint here.

2008 year in review (in NFL and NCAA football)

There were many notable events that occurred in the year 2008. That year was George W. Bush's last year as President of the United States because a year later, Barack Obama would take office. In the Olympics in Beijing China, "Michael Phelps won eight straight gold medals."

In the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals played each other in the Super Bowl after the 2008 season. The Steelers won that game. But, that same year holds another more infamous occurrence. The previous season, in 2007, the Detroit Lions achieved seven wins. Even though they had star Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson, they could not win even one game in 2008. A regular season record that disastrous had never happened before in NFL history. They went from a perfect pre-season to not winning a single game in the regular season while the Green Bay Packers went 6-10, despite the efforts of Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Wide Receiver Jordy Nelson.

Dejected Detroit Lions fans after the haunting 2008 season.


In the 2008 NCAA football season, The University of Pittsburgh Panthers, Nebraska Corhuskers, and Michigan State Spartans were all 9-4 overall. Both the Virginia Tech Hokies and Georgia Bulldogs achieved ten wins. The Texas Longhorns won twelve games, and the Arizona Wildcats won eight games. In the NCAA, the University of Washington Huskies went winless in all twelve games, much like the Detroit Lions in the NFL. In the National Championship, the Florida Gators defeated the Oklahoma Sooners. For the most part, 2008 was a season of excellence in college football.

The Detroit Lions went winless while the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Florida Gators won championships. The year 2008 was a year that will be forever remembered throughout football history. 

Cone Snail facts

The cone snail (especially the ones that prey on fish) are extremely venomous with venom powerful enough to kill a human. The Wikipedia article mentions "The sting from the smaller ones are no more powerful than a bee or hornet sting. But for the larger fish eating species (especially Conus Tulipa, Conus Striatus, and Conus Geographus), a sting can sometimes have fatal consequences." The article also clarifies "other dangerous species to handle include Conus Textile." The Wikipedia article mentions "there is a gallows humor regarding Conus Geographus in which it is known as the "cigarette snail" because a person stung by one would only have enough time to smoke a cigarette before death."

The venom of the cone snail is one of the most complicated on earth since "it is made up of many different compounds." Considering the complexity of the cone snail venom, pharmacy companies are studying its properties as a potential pain killer. It is believed that a pain killer derived from cone snail venom "is several times more potent than morphine-without the nasty side effects." The venom of the cone snail can be collected by "teasing the cone snail by placing a fish in front of it so it will fire it's harpoon through the fish tail and into the venom collection tube." Another effective way is "dissecting dead cone snails for their venom (like the signature harpoon and the venom glands)."

Since there is no anti-venom for cone snail stings (yet), and treatment consists of keeping a victim's respiratory system functioning by means of artificial respiration, when you come across a cone snail, DO NOT pick it up. Therefore, in this case, it is better to be safe than sorry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK3NiK9Pu5Q-Cone Sea Shell-Geographis Cone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajIRZ6TGD2Y Cone Snail (Conus Geographus)-The Video is derived from Most Extreme Season 2, episode 16-VENOM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conus

 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/the-venom-cure/cone-shell-cures/2061/

www.insights-philippines.de-Photo Courtesy of that website

Blue Ringed Octopus

The Blue-Ringed Octopus is a major peril around Australia and Southeast Asia. It is the only species of octopus with a bite powerful enough to kill a human. The personality as well as the appearance of the Blue-Ringed Octopus is "stealthy, shy, and the size of a golfball." It is pretty to understand how the Blue-Ringed Octopus got its name, but "the infamous blue rings only really light up as a warning when the animal feels threatened" and when feeding. The Bad News is that "some people are attracted to the pretty colors and pick up the cute little octopus-BIG MISTAKE!."
 

  The Diet of the Blue-Ringed Octopus consists mostly of crabs, shrimps, and prawns. The Wikipedia article also mentions "it may also feed on small fish if it can catch them." The blue rings coming to life are derived from "a collection of elastic ink filled sacks called chromatophores. Located directly under the skin, the sacs stretch when the octopus feels threatened causing the blue pigment to appear. When the threat passes the sacs shrink and the pigment disappears."

A Youtube video mentions "most bites to humans occur when they try to handle the octopus." It also mentions "the Blue-Ringed Octopus' parrot-like beak can easily puncture the skin and the muscle beneath." The video also states "the bite itself is relatively painless, but the venom is 10,000 times more toxic than cyanide and fast acting." It also clarifies "it attacks and freezes the victims muscles, triggering the immediate loss of taste, touch, and sight. Left untreated, paralysis and respiratory failure can follow." A single bite from the Blue-Ringed Octopus can cause death in a matter of minutes "all from a creature the size of a golfball." The video clarifies "there is no known antidote (yet), but heart massage and artificial respiration can move the toxins through the body and prevent long term damage."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNxJwCGJtsA Blue Ringed Octopus

Photo Courtesy of  uwphotographyguide.com    

Popular things to check out in Barcelona, Spain

 

Yello.

This blog will talk about the popular things to check out while in Barcelona Spain. There are so many areas in Barcelona to check out that interest tourists. I learned from my grandparents as well as woltersworld video on Barcelona that "there is over a million people that visit Barcelona per year and on Las Ramblas there is about 150,000 people that walk on it every day and you are going to get overrun with tourists (woltersworld)."

Perhaps the most notable of which of the numerous tourists is the line at a church known as Sagrada Familia (woltersworld). This means that of one procrastinates about going to see Sagrada Familia, one will end up waiting in line for an incredibly long time. Other popular sites are Las Ramblas, the gothic quarter of Barcleona, and Park Guell. Ultimately, because Barcelona is perhaps the most popular tourist destination in Europe, Barcelona is also known as the most dangerous place to find pickpockets. So therefore, that is why one must protect their valuables like money, IDs, and debit/credit cards via Money Belts and Smart Pocket by Storus.
Photos courtesy of barcelona.ticketbar.eu and
BackpackingDiplomacy.com

Myself

Howdy Guys!

I am a freshman at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. I am studying Earth and Environmental Sciences because the programs associated with that said major included studying planets, plants, and similar environmental issues. These are topics that I am enamored with.


In my free time, I like to play video games, exercise of course, and watch sports on television. In the NFL, my primary favorite team is the Cincinnati Bengals (I absolutely dislike the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Baltimore Ravens). In college football, my favorite teams from the Big 10 conference are the Ohio State Buckeyes, Michigan State Spartans, and Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Some of my favorite movies consist mostly of action and comedies. Some of them include FBDO (Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Napoleon Dynamite, the Shrek franchise, and of course, Step Brothers.  Step Brothers is perhaps the epitome of what life must be like for someone to be unemployed, middle-aged (if not mid to late twenties), and spoiled.


I hope you enjoy my blog about the epitome of what life is like to be unemployed, middle-aged (if not mid to late 20s), and spoiled.