Link roundup

1. "A mountain goat that fatally gored a hiker, then stood over the man and stared at people trying to help, had shown aggressive behavior in the past, Olympic National Park officials said Monday." Via.

2. Cool photo of a Southern Masked Weaver.

3. "This year, Bleeding Cool tipped a number of books as ones to watch in the speculator market. So, based on current non-CGC, non variant eBay values, what would your speculator portfolio be looking at if you bought one of each? And what if you had bought one of each?" Here's the list. (If you're a scalper, I hope you lost your shirt.)

I had no idea that frogs could be so terrifying

Giant bullfrogs are frightening:

The giant bullfrog is like Kermit on steroids. When it lunges — and South African frog expert Vincent Carruthers has seen it attack horses — it's a fearsome sight, squinting and baring the two fang-like front teeth in its gaping, shovel-like jaw.

Right now one giant bullfrog, slightly smaller than a dinner plate, is busily trying to mate with a female perhaps a tenth his size. But before the deed can be consummated, another male swaggers up and launches himself in toothy-jawed attack.

Orange limbs fly and bullfrog No. 1 almost loses his lady, but manages to clamber back on. Again his rival attacks. And again. And again.

If you want to spice up your nightmares, here's videos of frogs eating mice:




*Buy B.P.R.D. Volume 12: War on Frogs at Amazon.

Leftovers 2010: Radioactive wild boars in Germany

"As Germany's wild boar population has skyrocketed in recent years, so too has the number of animals contaminated by radioactivity left over from the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown."

*Buy geiger counters at Amazon.

Pygmy Marmoset

"With an adult body length of only 14 to 16 centimetres, and weighing as little as 120 grams, the endangered pygmy marmoset is one of the smallest primates discovered. They are normally found in the rainforest canopies of South America, but this chap was confiscated in August after being found by police inside the clothes of a Peruvian citizen." From this collection of the best science photos of the year.



*Buy pygmy marmosets at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. "Barnacle penises are really fascinating."

2. Mass Effect coloring book (pdf). Via.

3. If you haven't already seen it, then definitely check out this video of a lighthouse in Ohio covered in ice.

*Buy Mass Effect toys at Amazon.

Disturbing squid

Or maybe just a terrific photograph of a typical squid?

*Buy The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Gavin Rothery on the filming of Moon:

We had two space-suits made for Moon, and were both identical apart from an orange stripe on suit 2. The actual costume was lined with double-layered duvet and was hot as a bastard. To compensate for the way body heat built up and the lack of any naturally moving air inside the helmet, Bills' chaps filled a motorized fan inside the helmet chin-area to provide ventilation, de-misting on the faceplate and a cool, refreshing breeze. I'm a huge fan of Bill Pearsons' work but that fan was rubbish. It just sat there next to my chin, whirring quietly and blowing the most minute waft of slightly cool breeze roughtly equivalent to a piece of dropped A4 paper. It was right in front of my face when I had the helmet on, teasing me with the promise of cool refreshment and never delivering. One time, whilst waiting to go for a take, I was in position and all alone and quiet up the top of some scaffolding straining to hear the shouted stage instructions to go. The fan was teasing and annoying me by doing shit-all. Annoyed by it's ineffectiveness, in a fit of pique I decided to show the puny motor who's boss by stopping its' pathetic drone by inserting my tongue into it. Which I did, and lost a little chunk out of the side of it.

2. Ann Althouse asks about the TSA, "How would you like it if your job suddenly changed to requiring you to feel people up all day long? And everyone started to hate you? And it seemed as though maybe you could be accused of committing crimes — thousands of crimes — including the molestation of children?"

3. "Twice a century, India is attacked by huge rat armies that devour crops in massive destructive waves and leave people without any food. Scientists long dismissed it as an urban myth...until they discovered that it really happens, and why."

*Buy Moon posters at eBay.

Link roundup

1. "Cybercrime experts have found proof that China hijacked the Internet for 18 minutes last April. China absorbed 15% of the traffic from US military and civilian networks, as well as from other Western countries—a massive chunk. Nobody knows why."

2. Do octopus tentacles have minds of their own? Via.

3. Adorable new paper toy (pdf) by Shin Tanaka. Via these sites.

*Buy octopus toys at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Chupacabras are apparently just coyotes with mange.

2. Elie Mystal on the claim that Justice Clarence Thomas likes pornography and large breasts:

As we just mentioned in Fame Brief, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is fielding more allegations about his sexual preferences today, as former girlfriend Lillian McEwen made some “explosive” statements to the Washington Post about her time with the Supreme Court Justice.

I put “explosive” in scare quotes, because really all we’re learning from McEwen is that Justice Thomas likes (or liked, she dated him a long time ago) boobs and porn. Is that really such a big deal? Hey, quick question, would you rather be reading this article about Clarence Thomas and Lillian McEwen right now, or doing something that involved boobs and porn?

3. Five gigs of free storage in the cloud courtesy of Amazon beginning November 1. Via.

*Buy chupacabras at eBay.

Eight weird animals

Eight weird creatures. The first is adorable. It becomes nightmare-inducing after that.





This is an elephant shrew, or Sengi. It's actually related to elephants, and not a shrew at all. The video features the best high speed chase you'll see all day. Via these sites.




Giant centipedes can grow a foot long, and have venomous fangs. In this video, a centipede plucks a flying bat out of the air. Via.






Tripod fish typically rest on the ocean bottom on their stalk-like fins, wait for a crustacean to bump into their fins, and then push the creatures into their mouths. Via.





This ugly fellow is the Asian sheepshead wrasse. The video describes him as the "Shrek fish," but I don't see the resemblance. Via.





Female whale sharks are believed to be able to mate once, store the sperm and fertilize their own eggs as they're produced. Via these sites.





Sometimes ants start following one another in a circular path, known as a death spiral or circular mill. Essentially, they follow each other in a circle until they either die of exhaustion, or stumble upon a path out of the madness. Via these sites.








Termite mounds are designed to circulate the hot air generated by the termites below ground - - the walls are filled with tiny holes which admit fresh air. How many termites? Over 100,000 per square meter. Via.





The Darwin bark spiders of Madagascar create webs spanning 30 feet with with anchor lines up to 82 feet. Their silk is over ten times stronger than a similarly-sized piece of Kevlar. They're unique in that they can stretch their webs over flowing bodies of water. Via these fine sites.

*The Life DVD set is 37% off at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. "The tall, sleek, curving Vdara Hotel at CityCenter on the Strip is a thing of beauty. But the south-facing tower is also a collector and bouncer of sun rays, which -- if you're at the hotel's swimming pool at the wrong time of day and season -- can singe your hair and melt your plastic drink cups and shopping bags."

2. Octopus with Tron-like lights around the edges of its tentacles.

3. Racial and ethnic clusters mapped out in Los Angeles. Via.

*Buy Tron toys at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. The adorable Google Android mascot bears more than a passing resemblance to an old character from Gauntlet. Via.

2. Time to throw up your hands in despair:

Exercising your brain can keep you sharp longer into old age, confirmed a new study. But here's the twist: When symptoms of dementia finally settle in, the decline happens faster in those whose brains have been busiest.

3. Some skinks lay eggs, and some give live birth - - apparently they're evolving right before our eyes. Via.

*The Droid II is $90 at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Great article on Owen Hart's wrestling career. It includes a list of wrestlers that died in the ring.

2. If Alfred was Batman.

3. New York's drinking water is filled with tiny shrimp. (I do not want to know whether that's true of Los Angeles, also.)

Link roundup

1. Lone Wolf and Cub meet Plastic Man.

2. Teeny tiny frog. Via.

3. Eric Nakamura tells a touching story about his mom.

*Buy Plastic Man toys at Amazon.

Sword-billed Hummingbird

Sword-billed Hummingbirds have astonishingly long beaks and tongues.

Bat-eared fox, snub-nosed monkey (link roundup)

There are some extremely cute baby animal photos in this gallery. Via.

And a few more links:

1. How to use Google AdSense to land a job (or seriously creep people out).

2. Great analysis of cameras in 2D platforms.

3. Qataris marry their cousins and suffer lots of genetic disorders.

*Previously: Herschel Walker says he suffers from multiple personality disorder.

*Buy home DNA kits at Amazon.

It's called a Puli

Tim Flach's portfolio is full of magnificent photographs of dogs, bats, and other creatures (and some NSFW images). I saw no information about ordering prints, but he has an art book on sale at Amazon. Via.

*Previously: Bat getting a cleaning.

*Buy Vampire Bat Acrylic Paperweights at Amazon.

Video roundup

Animated music video by Eric Power of Clear Productions for Fictionist's "Blue Eyed Universe." Via these sites.




Skateboarding owl.




How to use a rubber band to defeat a sliding chain lock.



Tilt-shift sumo tournament. Via these sites.



Metroid: Other M gameplay.





Noisy exorcism videotaped by the Toy Baroness, plus note she left for the recently-cleansed. Via these sites.

*Previously: Samus in her 8-Bit bikini.

*Buy Metroid toys at eBay.

Orange Nikes (link roundup)

Nike Trainer 1 Mid "Vintage Shoe Box" on sale here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Disturbing blindsnake.

2. Check your phone bills carefully, the companies seem eager to sneak charges onto them. Via.

3. Galaga propaganda poster.

4. Gallery of photos of San Francisco streets tilted straight. Via these sites.

*Previously: Street art tribute to They Live.

*Buy Harry Potter posters at eBay.

Logo for Ufomammut’s Eve (link roundup)

Logo for Ufomammut’s Eve.

And a few more links:

1. "In the ruins of a city that was once Rome's neighbor, archaeologists last summer found a 1,000-pound lead coffin." Via.

2. Disturbing giant isopod.

3. Drawing of coyotes menacing a dog walker.

*Previously: Eve S. Mosher is drawing a chalk line through New York to show where waters could rise after a major storm.

*Buy coffins at Amazon.