The True Largest Cephalopod in the World

Initially, the Giant Squid Architeuthis was assumed to be the largest cephalopod in the world. Strangely enough, it it not the largest. In 2007, off Antarctica's Ross Sea, fishermen hauled in a toothfish (similar in appearance to the Cod) with a huge piece missing and was bearing large serrated sucker marks. About three or so hooks further down the line, they unveiled perhaps the largest squid bycatch in history. This bycatch became later known as the Colossal Squid. In the past only pieces of the animal have been found (such as the hooked limbs used to restrain and grasp its slippery prey). It is easy to understand how the Colossal Squid got its name. It is believed that at full adult size, a Colossal Squid could be up to 40 feet long. Thus, it would be the largest squid in the world "in terms of mass." It lives in the waters surrounding Antarctica.

The Pinnacle of Michigan State Spartans Football (since 2007)

While the Michigan State Spartans football team has been pretty good when they had WR Plaxico Burress, WR Derrick Mason, WR Andre Rison, QB Tony Banks, and Kicker Paul Edinger, but beginning in the year 2007, under head coach Mark Dantonio, the Spartans of Michigan State have really been at their best in college football.

In the year 2007, Mark Dantonio made his debut as the head coach for the Michigan State Spartans football team. That year, the Spartans of Michigan State were 7-6. In 2008, the Spartans were 9-4 after losing to the Georgia Bulldogs in the Capital one Bowl. In 2009, they were 6-7 after the Alamo bowl loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. In 2010, the Spartans were 11-2 after the loss to the Alabama Crimson tide in the capital one bowl. In 2011, they were 11-3 after the win in the outback bowl over the Georgia bulldogs. In 2012, the Spartans were 7-6 after defeating the TCU horned frogs in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. However, 2013 was without doubt the best season in Michigan State Spartans football history. That year, the Michigan State Spartans were 13-1 after defeating the Stanford Cardinal in the Rose Bowl. The wikipedia article on Mark Dantonio mentions "on October 8, 2011, Dantonio signed a contract extension that made him a "Spartan for life". Michigan state spartans are at their best since 2007.

  MSU logo and coach Mark Dantonio

The Mysterious Life of the Giant Squid

The Giant Squid is "perhaps the most mysterious of nature's giants." Throughout history, the media portrayed the Giant Squid as monsters from the deep ocean. Largely due to specimens found dead on beaches, that is how scientists know of the Giant Squid. Since they live in waters that are so deep and so cold (300-1000m), scientists know virtually nothing about them. Giant Squids live on a diet of fish, prawns, and other squids. The predator of the Giant Squid is the Sperm Whale.

Recently, scientists found a way to study the giant squid aside from dead specimens. The wikipedia article on the giant squid mentions "Because Sperm Whales are skilled at finding giant squid, scientists have tried to observe them to study the squid." In September of 2004, scientists off Japan took the first photographs of a Giant Squid in its natural habitat. More research is seemingly being done to better understand the giant squid and the mysteries surrounding it.

The History of Airliner Safety

Throughout history, the world has developed various forms of technology to protect airliners from terrorist attack or the attempt at such. On November 23, 1996 the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 occurred. The cause of the crash "was no accident". A history channel television show states "it's (flight 961) was being hijacked by three desperate Ethiopian men seeking political asylum. They have stormed the cockpit and claim to have a bomb." The video also mentioned "before 9-11, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 was the deadliest hijacking in aviation history. The video also points out "at that time (November 23, 1996) cockpits were much more accessible. Now, they are protected by bulletproof doors with keypad entry locks. Flight attendants (and/or air marshals) also stand guard, making it much more difficult to get to the pilots."

In airports, their security armament is various and sophisticated. They have metal detectors to check for weapons or suspicious items. The documentary on flight 253 (Christmas Day bombing attempt) states "when a passenger enters a metal detector arch, it sends pulses through the body creating a magnetic field that reflects back a signal. If the pulse meets anything metal, like a knife or the wires and components of a bomb, an opposing magnetic field is created, which triggers an alarm." Aside from metal detectors airports also have x-ray scanning machines to ensure that there are no dangerous ordinances in it. People are told to put their shoes through the x-ray scanner after the shoe bomb plot by Richard Reid.


Thanks to this technology the world has developed over the years, the security makes sure that flying is an incredibly safe experience.


                    


Liam Neeson as an Air Marshal (Bill Marks) in Non-Stop                     chinametaldetector.com

The Power of the Brown Snake's venom

The Brown Snake from Australia is one of the most venomous snakes known in the world. The Wikipedia article mentions that "The eastern brown snake is considered to be the second most venomous terrestrial snake." The PBS show The Venom Cure also states "it (Brown Snake) has a venom 12 times more powerful than the deadly Indian Cobra and a reputation to match." To be precise, this reputation as stated by the wikipedia article is "although the brown snake tends to flee when confronted, it can be highly aggressive when provoked." The article also mentions "When highly agitated, they hold their necks high, appearing in an upright S-shape." This means that if aggravated to its core, the Brown Snake will become aggressive.

The venom of the Brown Snake is highly toxic. The Wikipedia article mentions "the venom mostly of neurotoxins and blood coagulants." Therefore, the bite of a brown snake must be taken seriously. The article also mentions that "without medical treatment, bites can be fatal."

As a result, when one sees a brown snake, one must leave it alone and run away.

Fascination with fluctuating flight costs

There are so many things in life that fascinate people. One of my fascinations is with the fluctuating costs of flights to various destinations. It does not matter if one is planning on flying to Tampa, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami (Florida), Pensacola, Orlando, Saint Augustine (Florida), Galveston, Texas, San Diego, and so on. The cost of these flights are constantly going up, going down, or staying the same. Some of the factors that may contribute to these changes include (but are not limited to): holidays/holiday weekends, the distance a destination is from one's home, the longer one procrastinates, and so on.

One of the topics that may contribute to the changes in the cost of flights are holidays/holiday weekends. For example, while I was watching a National Geographic episode of Seconds From Disaster regarding the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 that occurred on May 25, 1979 because of amiss repair techniques that the narrator says "it's a holiday weekend and the plane is almost full." The narrator does have a point. Trying to book a flight on a holiday weekend (especially last minute) is a bad idea. The flight may already be booked or near that point and causes the cost of said flights to go incredibly high.

Another topic that may associate with the cost of flights is the distance the destination is from one's home. For example, today I was googling flights from Dayton to various locations and revealed that the cost of a flight to Tampa is $332 if one flies with Delta, a flight to West Palm Beach costs $377 with Delta, Fort Lauderdale costs $368 with Delta, Miami (Florida) costs $400 with Delta, and Daytona Beach costs $384 with Delta. That being said, perhaps Delta is the cheapest airline option one must fly with. But these flight costs may change in cost some (if not stay the same). But one thing is certain, these flights are a heck of a lot less expensive that flights to Barcelona and Paris. On average, flights to Barcelona cost at least approximately $1500 and flights to Paris cost approximately $1800 at least.

The last thing I can say concerns trying to find hotels in Tampa, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami (Florida). In Tampa, I would advise Red Roof Inn-Tampa Brandon (averaging around $55 per night) or the Comfort Suites near Raymond James Stadium-home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and South Florida Bulls football team (averaging $90 per night). In West Palm Beach, I would advise either Hampton Inn West Palm Beach Central Airport (averaging $67 per night) or the Hilton Garden Inn West Palm Beach Airport (averaging $71 per night). In Fort Lauderdale, I would advise Best Western Plus Oakland Park Inn (averaging $73 per night) or the Riverside Hotel (averaging $99 per night). Finally, In Miami, Florida, I would advise either Best Western Plus Windsor Inn (averaging $81 per night) or Courtyard Miami Coral Gables (averaging $84 per night).

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