That Is Seriously Gross Looking!

Yuck, that picture is disgusting! What on earth is it you ask?

This is a picture of a rather unique type of rock found in Northern Ontario that is part of the “Gunflint Formation” called “Jasper Stromatolites”. This stromatolite rock formation is defined as "attached, lithified sedimentary growth structures, accretionary away from a point or limited surface of initiation." This is similar to stalagmites and stalactites that grow in caves; however these commonly grow above ground and “modern stromatolites are mostly found in hypersaline lakes and marine lagoons where extreme conditions exclude animal grazing.” The deep blood red colour of this formation means this rock is high in iron. The other photo is a polished Jasper pebble. Not so ugly afterall!

Check it out
http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/paleochron/05_e.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stromatolites

Kimdianna Jones
PS: Homie Bear, WinChill is now -40...cool...

You know it is cold when the penguins wear socks!

So, here in Canada Land it is currently -19c with a wind chill of -31c...WTF?

Question: Why are we having January temps in November?
Answer: El Nino

I CURSE YOU EL NINO!!!!! *shakes fist at sky*

I currently have a lot of layers on, I mean even thermal underwear. I kid you not; it is going to be a long, cold walk home. It is also get pretty cold in my lab during the winter! I usually do not turn on my space heater at work until January, but this morning I broke down and plugged my little darling in...ahhh, I love him...

All that is left to say is that Blarg and I picked the right year to go to Thailand!!!!

Kimdianna Jones
PS: Seriously, how uber cute is this penguin? I love him and his blue socks!!
PPS: It is one hour after I first posted and the winchill is now -32c...
PPSS: Another hour passes another degree is dropped, winchill -33c...

Crickets…Not Rickets…

Blarg and I live in a 16 story apartment overlooking the river valley…I love the historic neighbourhood we live in…but what I do not love is crickets (no, not the game) I mean the wee grasshopper type thingies that are usually kept to feed reptiles (I hate snakes..).

Yes, crickets are in our apartment.

A month ago, I was in our bathroom and spotted a large black cricket cruising around the back of the toilet…upon being spotted it took evasive manoeuvres and quickly disappeared behind the rubber baseboard. When Blarg peeled back the baseboard, there was a hole leading to who knows where. Well, this past Monday morning I spotted a light brown cricket strolling down our hallways near the bathroom. The bathroom hole is clearly their secret way in…and obviously someone above or below us has a reptile that eats crickets...they are not very good at keeping the reptile food confined.

What to do, what to do...Call the landlord? Yup.

Kimdianna Jones

Fun Fun For Me...

It has been over a week since I last posted. I threw my back out last Wednesday and it has been a long week of muscle spams and not being able to sit at all. I have never, ever been in that much pain…in my life...Tylenol 3 had to be involved, as well as Anti-inflammatories and Physical Therapy…fun fun for me…

Glad that is mostly over.

T-Minus four weeks and one day til Blarg and I leave for Thailand!!! We will be missing two weeks of “Quality Christmas Tree Time” so to make up for this we are putting the tree up early…two weeks early…that means tomorrow people! We will be cracking out Bing’s Christmas CD and the Peanuts Christmas CD…there will be spiked eggnog and cookies…tangled fairy lights…boxes everywhere...and lots of "lift with my knees not with my back"...Right, back to work people!
Kimdinna Jones

"El Nino...that's Spanish..."

The El Nino-Southern Oscillation is here this year! That right, while El Nino may well be Spanish for The Nino (tips hat to Chris Farely) this means we will be having a warmer winter with tons of snow! So while the Northern Hemisphere will have lots of precipitation, the Southern Hemisphere will be very dry, with drought like conditions in Australia. The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (or ENSO) condition seem to happen every two to seven years for about the past 300 years, but most of these have been kind of weak and not really noticeable. There are seven major theories as to why the El Nino exist, none of which I really want to type about but if you want to read about them or get more general information, check it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Nino

Kimdianna Jones

November Celebrations!

I can not believe it is November already! The countdown to our Thailand trip has begun and we will start marking days off our fridge calendar til we leave...6 weeks tomorrow! But there is a lot to celebrate this month, shout out too…

Beenie: Happy Birthday, you do not look a day 467! Tell me honestly, how was the Renaissance?
Gunnar: Happy First Birthday!
Blaine’s Dad: Happy Birthday, lunch is on us!

That's it for now!
Kimdianna Jones

Harriet, Harr-i-et….Haaarrr-ii-et!

On June 23, 2006 Harriet the tortoise died, just shy of her 176th birthday. Harriet was no ordinary tortoise; she was thought to be one of three giant tortoises who were taken by Charles Darwin from the Galapagos Islands in 1835. This girl moved around a lot, France, England, Australia, she was well traveled! In 1987 she was moved her final home in the Queensland Reptile Zoo in Australia.

“Harriet was said to be very good-natured. She loved the attention of men and enjoyed it when people patted her on the scute. Harriet spent major part of the day by napping at her home pond. Her favourite food was hibiscus flowers.”

Check it out!:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet
http://www.cryptoworld.co.uk/darwins-tortoise-dies-aged-176/

Harriet died peacefully at the Queensland Zoo after a short illness from heart failure. Wow! Can you imagine if she could talk? Harriet was some Tortoise!

Kimdianna Jones