How Strong Can They Be

...to a man who chose to inspire

Took a break from the damn job today. (5 minutes?) Watched a few vids to clear all the all the confusion for a while. Lovely song accompanies the clip.

Have to give credit to the end bit - 'Hope he's wrestling crocs up there in heaven.'

Tribute to Steve Irwin

Three Kings

Was doing some cleaning/organizing on my gmail account earlier, and found this pic. The Three Kings are -from right- my uncles (Uncle Dave and Uncle Ashray) and my favourite superhero (Atta - that's what I call my old man) and their children. Those were the times when it was all so pure, so simple and unclustered, so beautiful.

Armadillo Girdled Lizard - Cordylus Cataphractus

This is my second ranking in the list of favourites among the South African variety of lizards. The one topping the list would probably be the Sungazer Lizard(in my previous post). They look like cousins of the Armadillo Girdled Lizard, in fact they share pretty much the same body structure. Sungazers look like the hunkier one, while the Armadillos look cuter with their rounded snouts.

The Cataphractus are probably endemic to the SW Cape. They employ the similar defensive tactics as their cousins the Sungazers. They burrow into crevices and inflate their body, with their spiny scales facing towards the entrance. This will lock them in the burrow almost indefinitely. Another defensive mechanism that is almost unique to these guys is portrayed in the following pic. AMG's curl-up and bite on their tail, almost making themselves into a ball. WAY COOL!

Curling Up Under Stress

They live in a colony of up to 40 lizards and are diurnal. Adults measure between 7 -9 inches and have a lifespan of up to 25 years.Like most South African reptiles, these gems CITES listed (Appendix II) and are also on IUCN's Redlist, Classified as Vulnerable (VU).

Live bearers - Armadillo Girdled Lizards Giving Birth to a Live Young
(Packed in an Embryonic Sac)

NOTE: All images courtesy of chicagoherp.org and Vertebrate Functional Biology Group, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Fear Part 1 : Potamophobia

My blog reader rate is low. I am comfy enough to share my fears here. Not many souls have commented. So I guess writing here is safe.

It wasn't until recently that I discovered I am actually very very scared of rushing water. The story goes... On a fateful Tuesday evening, I took the commuter and was on my way to meet a dear friend, Pradeep. It was raining pretty much cats and dogs that eve. So here I was on the train with Soul Assylum's - One Way Ticket playing in my head. About 5 minutes into the journey (I was standing in a packed cabin), I notice a small stream of water flowing in the monsoon drain next to the tracks. It looked higher than one would normally expect. But I ignored it for the one reason that it was raining heavily.

Next thing I knew, the train was slowing down, rapidly. The small stream I noticed earlier has swollen up to about 3 times (not exaggerating!). After awhile, the train halted! Peeping out through the glass, it seems worse than I expected, the drain was flooded on both sides of the train! And then it all began. My brain started ticking really fast. I was trying to hatch an escape plan (although not really necessary..LOL!). All kinds of things came to mind. What's going to happen next? Will the water rise any higher? Will the gush be strong enough to force the train to turn turtle? I even thought sillily, 'Why don't they have life jackets on this train??'. After which a smile came to my face thinking 'Why should they put life jackets on this train?'.

Being pinned in rushing water was something I have never felt before, but it felt like a real threat. I was afraid! Potamophobia is defined by fear of river or rushing water.

The agony ended well after the train started to move in reverse, going back to where it came from, and away from all the confusion and scarifying ordeal.

Space junk falls on to an Australian farm in Queensland. Cool..

Awesum Possum!

"So Good You'll Want It Yourself!" Addiction cat foods' tagline for their products.


And..yes. Already consumed some of it. Accidentally of course. Thanks to a certain Mr. Paris. Conclusion, possum meat is gross. Salty with some gel like preservant, but still very gross. LOL!