Journal of the Plague Year: December 2005

Monday, December 26, 2005

Rusty

Triphosa haesitata
12/26/05
Overwintering under a railway trestle.

Overwintering

Culiseta incidens
Near Victoria BC under a railway trestle.
12/26/05

Lookin down

Niagara Creek, near Victoria BC
12/26/05
This is where me and my friends used to camp as teenagers. One short busride from Victoria and we were in the woods.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

12/22/05
Seascape, Dallas Road, Victoria BC

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Harbour Seal

12/21/05
A big fat harbour seal named Chocolate at the Oak Bay Marina. Something is definitely screwy with the eye...

Coming home

12/20/05
Between Vancouver and Victoria BC
The view from the ferry. It brings joy when I return and sadness when I leave.

Monday, December 12, 2005

Warm weather, cool insects

12/12/05
Vero Beach FL
This is December in Florida. Warm weather and cool insects.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

You lookin' at me?

Anolis carolinensis
Vero Beach FL 12/11/05

Syrphid

12/11/05
Vero Beach FL
Ain't that a gorgeous syrphid? I think so too!

Saturday, December 10, 2005

I love the sweet bees.
12/10/05
Vero Beach FL
I wonder why I love these things so much? Maybe because they look like living jewels. These are quite a bit more fantastic than any human creation, and guess what? They weren't created in the first place! This complex little critter has a destiny and life of its own and it probably doesn't care what the hell we think about it. Seeing things such as this makes me glad to be alive...

Self-Portrait in Mangrove swamp

12/10/05
Vero Beach FL
Just reflecting, I guess.

More sweet bees

12/10/05
Vero Beach FL
Sweet bee, dude.

Vultures

12/09/05
Fort Pierce Inlet, FL
Going into the mouth to pull out the guts. Good strategy!

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Eatin'

12/08/05
Bipalium kewense
Vero Beach FL
A predaceous planarian eating a mothfly. They must secrete digestive enzymes through the skin and suck up the juice from a hole underneath their body. Named for the famous Garden.

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Dead are dead, watch the rotting.

Well, what has happened with the Grateful Dead on the Internet Archive? The band has withdrawn permission for downloading soundboard recordings of their concerts. Why? Their take on it is the safeguarding of their intellectual property. Basically, they want to assert their rights to sell these live recordings, because the Dead are, well, dead. There are wives and children and grandchildren and investors and whatnot who want to protect their right to the profits from any soundboard recordings out there, even if these were arranged by people outside the band. For now audience tapes are not affected by this.
I feel pretty let down by all of this, as I really enjoyed downloading and listening to these recordings. I fear it won't be long before these folks start clamping down on audience recordings as well. I tell you what, I am not going to shell out cash for Grateful Dead Productions' mix CD's or pay for downloads on itunes. The band had something unique going, and now they have taken a giant step towards conformity with the dominant commercial culture of the day. As more and more of the old guard dies out or sells out, more of these moves will go down. In 20 years there will be nothing that sets this band apart from any other band. There certainly won't be any more live shows to give them any credibility. Anyway, this is the most I have written about anything on this site, and it is probably the most I will ever write. I will probably erase it later. That is about all I can say. Maybe I will become a Christina Aguilera fan.