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Love to Hate the Bugs of Love
Although the yearly second-coming of love bugs has come and gone, I still thought that an article from the Nicholls Worth I read was interesting enough to share a few bits of insight into these pests. We all know that the insects come out twice a year - May and September - but what exactly do they do other than ruin our cars' paint jobs?
| According to [Nicholls State Biology professor John] Doucet, the love bug is an invasive species from Mexico that began traveling north during the 1930s. Since then, love bugs have continually traveled eastward and currently claim residence primarily in coastal Texas, Florida and Louisiana, and as far north as the Carolinas. |
See, the illegal immigrants from Mexico have been coming here since the 1930's. Tell me NOW that it isn't a problem! Anyway, back to the story:
Doucet explains why love bugs seem to always travel in pairs. "'Cause they like to have sex," he says. "Once the love bugs are attached, the female controls both walking and flying. Unfortunately for the male, this will be his first and last sexual experience. Following fertilization, the attached male "is digested from inside out in order to provide nutrients for the offspring," Doucet says.
Love bugs do perform a needed job for humans," Doucet says. "The larva eat tons of dead grass but don't touch the live grass." It is this natural occurrence that may help Doucet find a way to use love bugs advantageously. "For some reason," Doucet says, "love bugs are attracted to solar breakdown components of automobile exhausts." This combination of feeding on dead grass, which is usually found on the roadside, and the insect's attraction to automobile exhaust may explain love bugs' love for cars.
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There you have it folks, again I share my wealth of knowledge with the world.
Roller Coaster of the Day
Today's coaster pic is really more of a theming picture. And who is the master of theming? Why Disney of course. This is a ride themed after the Mayan ruins of Mexico found in the Lost River Delta section of the Company's newest park in Japan.
You can actually see part of the ride in the picture. Behind the top of the pyramid, you can see the ride's track that very much resembles an old beaten down wooden mining car track. The impressive thing about the track itself is that the track is made entirely of steel, they just altered it look as though it is deteriorating wooded planks.
Roller Coaster Pic of the Day
September 28, 2006
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Nuthin'
I got nothin' to talk about. Plus....the new episode of Jericho is on now and it's pretty darn interesting.
Roller Coaster of the Day
Today's coaster is a normal steel inverted coaster except that it is located on a pier just yards from the Atlantic Ocean. The Ride weaves in and out of itself and other rides at 55mph.
Roller Coaster Pic of the Day
September 27, 2006
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WOW
Anticipation..... Elation.... Amazement... Joy.. Passion, Excitement, Relief, Gratitude, Pride, Normalcy. All can describe Monday night.....in this household. I can't begin to imagine how much all of these emotions were amplified Monday night in the Louisiana Superdome as the Saints took the Falcons to the woodshed for an old fashioned beat down.
Oh yeah, it seems that I'm not alone either. Apparently, over 10.8 MILLION HOMES EXPERIENCED THE SAME EMOTIONS - give or take a few thousand that were rooting for the Falcons. For at least one night, the Saints were America's Team, giving ESPN it's highest rating....EVER....as well as being the highest rated show on TV last night (cable or broadcast).
And the end product couldn't have been better. The Dome was impressive, as was the building's primary tenant...a good change of pace from what we remember. It was a night to showcase the city which, as bad as its history and image are, is a city which most of us in south Louisiana could never live without.
But it was also a night to remind the country that the city is still reeling, showing the traumatic scars from Katrina...some of which, sadly, will be permanent. However, it was also a way to let the nation know that the City is open...needing the tourists to help fund the recovery. Hopefully, this can show that the city is capable of hosting big-time events even in the post-Katrina world.
September 26, 2006
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Gameday
On our way to see the COLONELS play!!
Roller Coaster of the Day
For the sake of saving time...here's another pic of South Africa's Tower of Terror. This is the authentic mining tower transferred to the park. Look closely in the middle of the tower legs. There you will see the coaster track going STRAIGHT down.
Roller Coaster Pic of the Day
September 23, 2006
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I Got Nuthin'
 OK, if you don't know that the Saints are returning to the Dome for the first time since the weekend before Katrina...if you don't know that this is the first event to be held in the Dome since the storm...if you don't know that the game comes against the Saints' most hated rival in the Atlanta Falcons in a matchup of two unbeaten teams...then you're living in a cave.
Millions of insurance and FEMA dollars have been pumped into the rennovation efforts of the Louisiana Superdome, making the stadium better than ever. From new hi-definition, widescreen replay screens to a brand new, state-of-the-art Bose sound system, the Dome has had a complete makeover - including a bright new top.
Also included in the rennovations are leather seats in the loge/club level along the sidelines as well as 4 ribbon or halo boards around the stadium and brand new corner scoreboards with high-quality video capabilities. It will truly be like playing in a brand-new stadium!
Since the attention of the sports world will focus squarely on the Crescent City on Monday night, I thought it appropriate to share with you THIS STORY FROM ESPN parallelling the recovery and transformation of the Superdome with the lives of New Orleanians.
Roller Coaster of the Day
At first glance, today's coaster may look like a nicely-themed, but otherwise traditional steel sit-down coaster. You would be sadly mistaken. This is South Africa's version of the Tower of Terror, even sharing the name with the popular WALT DISNEY WORLD ATTRACTION.
The coaster features a 111" tower, which is an authentic gold mine tower relocated from an old gold mine about 5km away. Riders climb a 45 degree lift hill to the top of the tower. There, the car makes a U-turn and drops riders 164" (going 49" under the ground) at a 90 degree angle.
That's right, you go STRAIGHT down - as you can see in the picture. The ride's top speed of 59mph, combined with the straight drop, results in 6.3 Gs of force.
Roller Coaster Pic of the Day
September 22, 2006
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I Got Nuthin'
Can't think of anything to write tonight...I didn't really have time to look too much at the Internet today at work. I am actually pretty busy right now, but it makes the days go by faster. One thing I do have to share is this: Hugo Chavez is a NUTCASE.
That's all for now. I'm anticipating that I may be working late tomorrow, FYI if I don't post, that's where I'll be.
Roller Coaster of the Day
Today's coaster picture is a real treat for all you loyal reader(s) - it is actually 2 pictures. The reasoning behind it is to show you the dual-nature of this particular ride. It works as a coaster but also as a "flume-type" ride. This is known in the coaster world as a Water Coaster.
Located in the Greek section of the park, the ride takes its theming from Greek mythology as evidenced by its name as well as the large Trojan Horse in the picture below (left). Riders begin their adventure by floating into an ancient Greek temple, and at the entrance, going up a small conveyor belt and connecting to the steel track. From there, the riders begin what feels like a traditional coaster ride - but without the initial lift hill.
From there, the riders then go up a large hill before plunging into a water basin and soaking the riders.
Roller Coaster Pic of the Day
September 20, 2006
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Moving the Mississippi
 We all know that something drastic has to be done to reverse the trend in wetlands loss over the last 50 years. Many people have come up with just as many different ideas. Anyone that has taken a basic Earth sciences class should have learned that rivers naturally change course over their lifetimes - this is no different for the Mississippi.
Some scientists are stating that the Mississippi River is ready for that change of course and has been since the 1950s. They say it has been trying to change course to one of its former deltas - now known as the Atchafalaya River. That cannot happen as man has built structures to prevent that from happenning. However, many experts believe that the solution the the problem of wetlands loss in south Louisiana is to CHANGE THE COURSE OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
While scientists are in agreement that the river cannot be diverted where it wants to go - it would be disasterous economically to Baton Rouge, New Orleans and the rest of southeast and southcentral Louisiana. The proposition is to change the course somewhere downriver from New Orleans. This would eliminate the familiar "toe of the boot" but divert the much needed sediments to the state's coast.
Make sure you remember though, this isn't even the pre-planning stages; it's just suggestions.
Roller Coaster of the Day
Today's coaster is actually themed as a giant pinball machine, with silver-finished cars going about the track back and forth while spinning. The ride is designed such that each car's spin on each ride is directly dependent on the weight and number of riders (up to 4) in the car...meaning that no 2 cars will have quite the same ride.
Roller Coaster Pic of the Day
September 19, 2006
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Cable Saga
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we recently upgraded to Cox's HD service with a DVR. I LOVE the DVR, it allows me to have my own instant replays while watching football and also record other shows so I can watch them at my own leisure. However, we also weren't getting the HBO-HD channel which I was assured I would get at no extra charge since I was already an HBO subscriber.
Today, I took it upon myself to call up customer service after lunchtime, hoping the phone lines wouldn't be too busy. I was right as I waited less than five minutes before a customer service rep came on the phone. I explained to her the situation, she asked a few more questions and then had this to say, "apparently, they just forgot to add your HBO-HD to your service."
First off, you can only get HBO-HD if you already subscribe to HBO and HD service. You can't - that's can NOT - get the HBO-HD without first having both of the other services. That being said, it doesn't cost extra to add HBO-HD once you have the other services. So, I pose this question, "WHY wouldn't they just set the system to automatically add the HBO-HD service when you have the other 2 services?!" I know that would save a LOT of headaches in the process. But I guess it makes too much sense.
Roller Coaster of the Day
Medusa is a steel floorless coaster. As you can see, the riders feet are dangling, allowing them to swing with the turns of the track. The coaster reaches speeds up tp 61mph and inverts riders 7 times.
Roller Coaster Pic of the Day
September 18, 2006
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Coming in Clear
Last August, after I moved out of my old apartment, I purchased a new TV since all I had was a small 19" TV for my bedroom. I went with a 30" SAMSUNG SLIM-FIT HDTV, but had no HD service because I HATE dealing with Cox.
The set uses a conventional cathode-ray tube (CRT) instead of the new-fangled LCD or Plasma displays so many HDTVs now employ. The picture was pretty good with regular digital cable, but nothing spectacular - DVDs looked much better than the cable picture. I decided that I envied everyone else so much that I wanted an HD box and DVR so I could enjoy all the spoils of football season.
I called up Cox during the day on Thursday, changed a few things around with my service so I could keep the bill pretty much the same, despite adding an HD/DVR receiver. Friday, I took the box to Cox and switched it out with now problem. Then I came home and installed with (after purchasing an HDMI cable from Best Buy to ensure a good digital signal).
I spent pretty much all day yesterday enjoying the crystal clear football games on ESPN, CBS, ABC and NBC (despite the unfavorable LSU outcome). Now I am watching the Saints in hi-def as I type this. Overall, I am EXTREMELY pleased with the picture...it is as good as anything I've seen on other HD sets (with the exception of being slightly smaller). If ANYONE is on the fence about a HDTV and/or HD/DVR receiver....do it! It's DEFINITELY worth it just for the Discovery HD Theater channel!
Roller Coaster of the Day
Today's coaster picture is a $13 million ride named Talon. There's nothing really special about the ride...I just thought it was a very cool picture. The coaster inverts riders 4 times at speeds up to 58mph.
Roller Coaster Pic of the Day
September 17, 2006
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I Dub Thee.....
The icy dwarf-planet beyond Pluto, dubbed "Xena" by its discoverer, got an official name today. The celestial body will now be known as Eris; its moon also has an official name: Dysnomia. Following tradition, both bodies are named after mythological figures.
Eris is fittingly named after the Greek goddess of discord (for all of the trouble it caused in the astronomical community). In Greek mythology, Eris caused a quarrel among goddesses that resulted in the Trojan War. What of the moon you ask? Dysnomia, in mythology, was the daughter of Eris and was known as the spirit of lawlessness.
CLICK HERE for the full scoop from BBC.com.
Roller Coaster of the Day
This coaster is themed after the movie of the same name. Passengers ride in cars made to look like Mini Coopers (again taken straight from the movie) while darting around a gravel-covered track area at 40mph.
Roller Coaster Pic of the Day
September 14, 2006
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Lack of Power
Soooooo, I'm sitting at my desk this afternoon around 4:15pm and my computer, radio and office lights go out simultaneously. I hear some chatter coming from the hall so my co-workers and I go out to discuss the sudden loss of electricity with everyone else on the floor.
About 4:30pm, we decided that the lights weren't coming back on anytime soon. I hit the stairwell, with many other people in the building and proceeded out to my car. It was at this point that I realized that the entire downtown area had lost power also. Streetlights, crosswalks and buildings were all without electricity as I drove my way home.
Come to find out, over 21,000 homes and businesses were without power due to the failure of a breaker - shutting down several power sub-stations. Power was out from the downtown area all the way south of LSU's campus. Needless to say it was a mess for many people.
Roller Coaster of the Day
This steel sit down coaster takes 24 riders and plunges them through an underwater tunnel directly below another ride's track. The ride also winds around several other attractions at the park including a massive ferris wheel.
Roller Coaster Pic of the Day
September 13, 2006
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Back With a Vengence
OK, it has been 2 weeks since my last post. I have been gone for numerous good reasons:
[1]Football; [2]Work; and [3]Heather & Will's wedding. I've been on the road travelling to and from Thibodaux and to Baton Rouge and Houma for the start of the football season. Which, by the way has started off about as good as I could have hoped.
As for work....well, let's just say I've been putting in well over my 40 hours a week lately and then bringing even more of it home! Heather and Will's wedding, well you all were there so you know!
Shocking Revelations...
There IS a football team in New Orleans. As most other people, I was pleasantly suprised at the Saints' performance in Cleveland on Sunday. Defense, offense, special teams - you name it, it exceeded expectations. The only complaint that I have that many others have is that the team STILL has to settle for field goals way too often.
Also, I thought it was very creative the way the coaching staff utilized Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister and was even more impressed when the team was able to move the ball without a true fullback on the field. While I was pleased and encouraged with the team's performance, I think that too many people are jumping the gun. This Cleveland team is not that good. So, I think my prediction for the season is at 6-10.
Roller Coaster of the Day
This inverted steel coaster is themed after meso-American Mayan culture and features a lift hill that climbs a replica of a Mayan pyramid before riders dive into the ride at speeds nearly 50mph.
Roller Coaster Pic of the Day
September 12, 2006
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