View All Posts: TheGrimReaper
| » Vegetarians who murder insects etc (Go to post) | 22-08-2014 @ 00:26 | ||
| Explanation: The myth that cockroaches will inherit the Earth in the event of nuclear warfare surfaced shortly after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Reports later emerged that the 300 million-year-old insects were among the razed Japanese cities' only survivors. During the Cold War, anti-nuclear activists and scientists spread the myth far and wide as a cautionary tale of the atom bomb's destructive potential. To test whether this doomsday scenario has any legs, the MythBusters subjected German cockroaches to three levels of radioactive metal cobalt 60. They started with a baseline exposure of 1,000 radon units (rads) of cobalt 60, capable of killing a person in 10 minutes, and followed it up with 10,000 and 100,000 rad exposures on separate guinea pig — er, roach — groups. (As a comparison, the bomb on Hiroshima emitted radioactive gamma rays at a strength of around 10,000 rads.) Since radiation gradually destroys organisms on the cellular level, the MythBusters monitored the radiated roaches for 30 days. After a month, half the roaches exposed to 1,000 rads were still kicking, and a remarkable 10 percent of the 10,000 rad group was alive. The results confirmed that cockroaches can survive a nuclear explosion — but only to a point, as none of the critters in the 100,000 rad group made it through. Cockroaches' ability to withstand extreme radiation exposure may come down to their simple bodies and slower cell cycles. Cells are said to be most sensitive to radiation when they're dividing. That's why humans are more vulnerable — they have some cells that are constantly splitting up. Roaches, on the other hand, only molt about once a week at most, which makes radiation's window of opportunity to attack cells much narrower. But if the nuclear explosion was powerful enough, even these ancient critters couldn't continue on. | |||
| » Vegetarians who murder insects etc (Go to post) | 22-08-2014 @ 00:24 | ||
| I stared into its black, beady, little eyes. Then I popped it in my mouth, expecting the worst, but it was crunchy and tasted like garlic, lime and chili. I was in a market in Oaxaca, Mexico, and mounds of fried grasshoppers, called chapulines, are a common sight. They’re addictive the way chips are, so I munched away. I tried not to think about the beady eyes or antennae, but one long hind leg got stuck between my teeth. As I picked the little bit of chewed grasshopper out, I decided I was done with bugs — for now. Interest in entomophagy — the fancy term for insect-eating — as the future of protein seems to come and go in waves. We’re in the middle of a surge now. An NPR story last Thursday suggests humor or clever re-branding might be the ticket to overcoming American squeamishness. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which published a detailed report last year on “Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security,” some Native Americans who were accustomed to eating insects named the first shrimp they saw “sea crickets.” The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries in Australia has proposed that we call locusts “sky prawns.” Insects aren’t so different from other invertebrates that we eat regularly. Maybe this movement is finally building enough momentum and we’re on the brink of a market flooded with cricket chips (a small New York company called Six Foods already makes them), tarantulas covered in chocolate and bread made from cicada flour. At the very least, farming insects as livestock feed would be more sustainable than current livestock agricultural practices. Then when it becomes financially feasible to grow bovine muscle tissue in labs on a large scale, we can stop eating insects and raising livestock altogether — that is, if we haven’t already become enthusiastic entomophagists in the meantime. According to Ensia magazine, in terms of calories alone, we already produce enough food to feed 13 billion people. But we fail to feed even 7 billion, because we divert large quantities of grains and other food to raise livestock, which are inefficient food converters. I remember raising silkworms in the third grade after a classmate gifted me six little ones. With a steady diet of leaves from the front yard, the silkworms swelled into big, fat creatures, busy spinning cocoons inside empty eggshell cartons. Moths emerged and laid eggs, and before my parents and I realized what was happening, we had hundreds of silkworms in a cardboard box big enough for me to fit inside. I’m embarrassed to confess that out of sheer panic, we left them outside in the sun, and they died from heat and starvation. In retrospect, we had a very successful little silkworm farm run on nothing more than the neighborhood’s plentiful, organic mulberry leaves. All we needed was to cook some of them for population control. Raising chickens, goats or cows wouldn’t have been half as simple, straightforward or productive. The psychological obstacles towards entomophagy in the Western world aren’t insurmountable. What we need to overcome isn’t a natural aversion towards insects but a natural aversion toward unfamiliar foods. There used to be a biological advantage for humans to be wary of food they didn’t grow up eating, but we’ve outgrown the usefulness of that biological urge, much as we’ve outgrown the usefulness of sugar and fat cravings. We also need to overcome the racial and cultural undertones embedded in our aversion — the perception that entomophagy is something countries with less sophisticated cultures and agricultural practices do or need to do. The United States’ industrial agricultural system is part of the global food problem. The U.S. food system is not a solution. Entomophagy in the Western world can be an opportunity to accept the reality of today’s unsustainable practices, embrace the unknowability of tomorrow and adapt to a future that will look radically different from our world today. Embracing entomophagy is an opportunity to live by our values rather than our emotions. If it’s worth putting in that extra effort to rinse out paper cartons and tear out the unrecyclable plastic bits before we throw them in the blue bin, then maybe the next step is feeling grossed out for a second while we explore and design food systems to feed not only everyone on Earth today but everyone who has yet to come. Maybe we’ll be eating fried grasshoppers — healthier than popcorn — in giant buckets at movie theaters and drinking Soylent for breakfast in the future. Maybe not. Either way, why not dive headfirst into the possibilities? I’m waiting for some mail-ordered crickets to arrive from Rainbow Mealworms, an insect farm in Southern California that feeds its crickets cacti, and I’ll definitely be waiting in line for Don Bugito at the San Francisco Street Food Festival this Saturday for a mealworm taco. Until I’ve tried bugs at least three different times and in dozens of different ways, I’m withholding all judgment on their palatability. I suspect I just need to get used to it. | |||
| » Vegetarians who murder insects etc (Go to post) | 15-08-2014 @ 03:03 | ||
| Fireflies talk to each other with light. Fireflies emit light mostly to attract mates, although they also communicate for other reasons as well, such as to defend territory and warn predators away. In some firefly species, only one sex lights up. In most, however, both sexes glow; often the male will fly, while females will wait in trees, shrubs and grasses to spot an attractive male. If she finds one, she'll signal it with a flash of her own. Fireflies produce “cold light.” Firefly lights are the most efficient lights in the world—100% of the energy is emitted as light. Compare that to an incandescent bulb, which emits 10% of its energy as light and the rest as heat, or a fluorescent bulb, which emits 90% of its energy as light. Because it produces no heat, scientists refer to firefly lights as “cold lights.” In a firefly's tail, you'll find two chemicals: luciferase and luciferin. Luciferin is heat resistant, and it glows under the right conditions. Luciferase is an enzyme that triggers light emission. ATP, a chemical within the firefly's body, converts to energy and initiates the glow. All living things, not just fireflies, contain ATP. Firefly eggs glow. Adult fireflies aren't the only ones that glow. In some species, the larvae and even the eggs emit light. Firefly eggs have been observed to flash in response to stimulus such as gentle tapping or vibrations. Fireflies eat other fireflies. Fireflies are primarily carnivorous. Larvae usually eat snails and worms. Some species of fireflies feed on other fireflies—most notable is the genus photuris, which mimics female flashes of photinus, a closely related species, in order to attract and devour the males of that species. But adult fireflies have almost never been seen feeding on other species of bugs. Scientists aren't sure what they eat. They may feed on plant pollen and nectar, or they may eat nothing. Fireflies have short lifespans. An adult firefly lives only long enough to mate and lay eggs—so they may not need to eat during their adult life stage. The larvae usually live for approximately one year, from mating season to mating season, before becoming adults and giving birth to the next generation. Fireflies imitate each other. Female photuris aren't the only impostors among fireflies—the species is surprisingly devious when it comes to imitation. Sometimes male photuris imitate male photinus to attract females of their own species. She shows up looking for food, but instead he gets a mate. Even more interesting, scientists believe some photinus males imitate photuris females giving off bad impressions of photinus male flashes, scaring off other photinus males and reducing competition. Fireflies are found on almost every continent. Fireflies love warm, humid areas. Because of this, they thrive in tropical regions as well as temperate zones—they come out in the summertime in these environments—on all continents except Antarctica. Fireflies thrive in forests, fields and marshes near lakes, rivers, ponds, streams and vernal pools. They need a moist environment to survive. Some species of firefly larvae are generally aquatic—they even have gills—while others live almost entirely in trees. Fireflies are medically and scientifically useful. The two chemicals found in a firefly's tail, luciferase and luciferin, light up in the presence of ATP. Every animal has ATP in its cells in amounts that are more or less constant—or should be. In diseased cells, the amount of ATP may be abnormal. If the chemicals from fireflies are injected into diseased cells, they can detect changes in cells that can be used to study many diseases, from cancer to muscular dystrophy. But that's not all they're used for. Electronic detectors built with these chemicals have been fitted into spacecraft to detect life in outer space, as well as food spoilage and bacterial contamination on earth. Fireflies don't make tasty prey. When attacked, fireflies shed drops of blood in a process known as “reflex bleeding.” The blood contains chemicals that taste bitter and can be poisonous to some animals. Because of this, many animals learn to avoid eating fireflies. Pet owners should never feed fireflies to lizards, snakes and other reptilian pets. | |||
| » Vegetarians who murder insects etc (Go to post) | 13-08-2014 @ 22:22 | ||
| Eating hearty on arthropods? All humans relish arthropods. Yes, even YOU! Don't you like seafood?! Insects, of course, are a different kettle of bugs. Bug Mac: many people all over the world eat insects and other arthropods on purpose (as opposed to accidentally!) both as a delicacy and staple. This makes sense because insects are nutritious. Insects provide as much protein as an equal amount of lean beef. Although their amino acid content is not as well-balanced for human nutrition, this is easily corrected by plant proteins. Insects are also a good source of minerals and some vitamins, especially for people who have limited access to other animal proteins. You probably regularly eat bugs, without even knowing it! Insects are a part of all processed food from wheat meal for bread to tomato ketchup. It's impossible to keep mass-produced food 100% insect-free. There are regulations stating the maximum amount of bug bits that food can contain and still be fit for human consumption. Red about it: the food colouring cochineal is extracted from the crushed bodies of scale insects that feed on the prickly pear. Cochineal is widely used in many popular food items--read the labels! Arthropods are an ecologically better option for commercial protein production. One hectare of US ranch land supports 100kg of beef, but can support 1 ton of insects. As most humans are still squeamish about bugs as the main course, another way would be use insects as animal feed. In India, the by-products of silk production, the silk moth pupae, are fed to chickens. Currently there are some groups trying to promote insect eating (called Entomophagy in polite company), see the links listed below. Here are some famous bugs enjoyed by people all over the world listed by their insect family groups Butterflies and moths, and their caterpillars: Witchetty Grub is the caterpillar of the large Cossid Moth (Xyleutes leucomochla Turn) which lives inside and feeds on acacia stems and roots. They are harvested by digging and chopping up the roots. Eaten raw by Australian aborigines, they are said to taste of almonds. Ten large grubs provide all the calories, protein and fat that an adult human needs in a day. Wounds and burns were also treated with a layer of crushed Witchetty Grub, whose oils probably function like soothing petroleum jelly! Mopani worm: the caterpillar of a saturniid moth (Gonimbrasia belina). It is gutted then baked and relished by Africans. Silkworm moth pupae are eaten in Korea and Japan. They are fried. The people of Zaire eat more than 35 different types of caterpillars, usually toasted or sautéed in butter. The Australian Aborigines harvest Bogong Moths (Agrotis infusa) when the moths gather to hibernate. The moths are cooked in hot ashes to burn off their wings and legs. Their heads are removed and the remaining bodies can be eaten as is, or ground into a paste and kneaded into cakes then roasted. Great communal feasts were held around this harvest and the moths are an important source of nutrients during the hot season when there is little to eat. Those who eat bogong moths for the first time usually have bad stomach cramps and vomiting. Bogong Moths "hibernate" (aestivate is the correct term) in huge groups during the dry hot season in cool caves of Australian highlands, covering the walls like roof tiles. There they remain in suspended animation, living off the reserves of fat built up as caterpillars. The moths are more than 50% fat. Although the bodies contain little protein, the eggs in egg-laden females are rich in protein. For more details on how they are prepared and eaten, see Lynn Garry Salmon's page on Of Moths and Men Termites: In Africa, when winged termites emerge in dense numbers, they are eagerly collected. They emerge with the first rains at the end of the dry season when the people are weak from malnutrition. The termites are harvested by placing a bowl of water under a light source. Attracted to the light, they get trapped when they fall into the water. They are either fried, roasted and eaten salted, or ground into flour. They provide important protein, fat and vitamins. The queen termites are a relished delicacy. In East Africa, termite mounds are considered so important that they are owned by individuals and form part of his inheritance when he dies. In Nigeria, stock cubes based on termites are easily available. Grasshoppers are the most widely eaten insect, from American Indians to people in Korea and Japan, and Southeast Asia. They are considered famine food, but provide as much protein as regular animal meat. The grasshoppers are roasted and ground into a meal then backed into cakes; or dried and salted whole. Locusts are widely eaten in the Middle East and Africa: they are gutted (the guts can carry parasites) then roasted and eaten whole, ground into flour, or cooked in salt**ter then dried in the sun. Some even eat them raw. Their eggs are mixed with flour to make bread. Crickets are also toasted and eaten in Africa. Cicadas were an important protein staple for tribes in New Guinea, Australia, Indochina and American Indians. They were considered a delicacy in ancient Greece and Rome, and modern-day Japan. They are eaten just after they emerge from their last larval skin. Beetle larvae: Palm Weevil larvae (Rhynchophorus phoenicus) is an important source of fat and protein in Angola and other parts of Africa. They are usually eaten fried. The Sago Grub is an important delicacy that plays a key role in the social life of South Pacific islanders and tribes in New Guinea. The Mexicans are reputed to eat the most insects, 40% of all insects eaten by humans. This includes Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Orthoptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera. True Bugs: You can buy deep fried Giant Water Bugs at streetside stalls in Thailand. It is also enjoyed in other parts of Southeast Asia. An extraction of its abdominal glands are used to flavour many dishes in Thailand. Ants in all stages (egg, larvae, pupae and adults) are relished. In South America they are eaten live, canned or toasted like peanuts (tastes like bacon). In India and Indochina, a paste of green weaver ants is a spicy condiment. These ants also spice up rice in Borneo and is made into a drink in Australia. The Australian Aborigines and Mexican Indians eat honey-pot ants which store their honey in the abdomens of living ants. These ants, called repletes, hang down from the roof of their nest, and are a source of sugar and water in the dry desert. Bees: Besides eating their honey and royal jelly, and using their wax, bees are also eaten in Africa, Indochina and South America. Bee larvae and pupae, when baked or fried resemble breakfast cereal and apparently taste nutty and sweet, similar to sunflower seeds, shrimps, walnuts, pork crackling. In Mexico, chocolate covered bees and bees in syrup are canned and sold and exported as a gourmet item. Wasps have the highest protein content of all edible insects (80%). They are eaten in Mexico, and the insect larva is food in rural parts of Thailand and Laos. Fried wasps, mixed with boiled rice, sugar, and soy sauce was a favourite dish of Emperor Hirohito of Japan. Dragonflies and damselflies are hunted and eaten in Bali. They are caught with a sticky stick. They are eaten grilled, boiled with spices or roasted. | |||
| » Vegetarians who murder insects etc (Go to post) | 11-08-2014 @ 23:49 | ||
| Butterflies aren't a beautiful creature. They are a parasite and the first to feed on a dead rotting carcass. | |||
| » Vegetarians who murder insects etc (Go to post) | 09-08-2014 @ 01:26 | ||
| I posted twice because decomposition makes me smile... | |||
| » Vegetarians who murder insects etc (Go to post) | 09-08-2014 @ 01:18 | ||
| Death is part of life bugs help things decompose... | |||
| » Vegetarians who murder insects etc (Go to post) | 09-08-2014 @ 00:59 | ||
| Death is part of life bugs help things decompose... | |||
| » Vegetarians who murder insects etc (Go to post) | 09-08-2014 @ 00:53 | ||
| THE Reaper gotta eat... A little chocolate makes everything better | |||
| » Vegetarians who murder insects etc (Go to post) | 08-08-2014 @ 15:29 | ||
| I SQUASH BUGS FOR FUN AND FOR THE PROTEIN... | |||
| » Spider Hatred (Go to post) | 08-08-2014 @ 15:22 | ||
| I squash bugs for fun... | |||
| » Bending Nails (Go to post) | 08-04-2014 @ 03:01 | ||
| A Cross fitter walks into a bar and asks for a beer and a Mop... Why a Mop because Cross fitters are SKELETONS. .. | |||
| » Didja (Go to post) | 06-02-2014 @ 22:59 | ||
littledumbell said:last night I thought I was dying alone... Were You thinking about me in my Bicycle Shorts Again??? | |||
| » Didja (Go to post) | 06-02-2014 @ 02:54 | ||
| The little death is translation from the French "la petite mort", a popular reference for a sexual orgasm. The term has been broadly expanded to include specific instances of blacking out after orgasm and other supposed spiritual releases that come with orgasm. Speculations to its origin include current connotations of the phrase, including: * Greco-Roman belief that the oversecretion of bodily fluids would "dry out" one of the believed four humours, leading to death * Islam's reference to sleep * Buddhist Sogyal Rinpoche's The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying's quote: “Life is nothing but a continuing dance of birth and death, a dance of change.” (Existence through many changes, "births and deaths") Man, la petite mort for me last night with Mandy was so big I thought I actually might die! | |||
| » Didja (Go to post) | 04-02-2014 @ 22:16 | ||
| Revelation 14:14-20 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped. Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” Revelation 20:14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— James 5:20 Let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. Revelation 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” Revelation 6:1-17 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. | |||