Orcas have been known to co-operate with humans in the hunting of whales. One well-known example occurred near the port of Eden in South-Eastern Australia in between 1840 and 1930. A pod of Orcas, which included amongst its members a distinctive male called Old Tom, would assist whalers in hunting baleen whales. The Orcas would find the target whales, shepherd them into Twofold Bay and then alert the whalers to their presence and often help to kill the whales. Old Tom's role was commonly to alert the human whalers to the presence of a baleen whale in the bay by breaching or tailslapping at Kiah river mouth where the Davidson family had their tiny cottages. This role endeared him to the whalers and led to the idea that he was "leader of the pack", although such a role was more likely taken by a female as is more typical in Orca cultures. After the harpooning, some of the Orcas would even grab the ropes in their teeth and aid the whalers in hauling. The skeleton of Old Tom is on display at the Eden Killer Whale Museum, and significant wear marks still exist on his teeth from repeatedly grabbing fast moving ropes. In return for their help, the whalers allowed the Orcas to eat the tongue and lips of the whale before hauling it ashore. The Orcas would then also feed on the many fish and birds that would show up to pick at the smaller scraps and runoff from the fishing. The behaviour was recorded in detail in the 1840s by whaling overseer Sir Oswald Brierly and recorded in his extensive diaries. It was recorded in numerous publications over the period and witnesses included Australian members of Parliament. The behaviour was recorded on movie film in 1910 by C.B Jenkins and C.E. Wellings and publicly projected in Sydney although the film is now missing. In 2005, the Australia Broadcasting Corporation produced a documentary "Killers in Eden" on the subject. The documentary featured numerous period photographs taken by C.E. Wellings and W. T. Hall of the phenomenon and also featured interviews with elderly eyewitnesses.
Thanks, wikipedia! *Alternate title: Just when you thought killer whales couldn't be any more awesome (they can).
¤ Sometimes I weep (on the inside) because no guy will ever fall in love with me for my cooking. I will not prepare you an amazing meal. I'm sorry, for the both of us. ¤ There are two female full-time employees in the Faculty Office Building, and two women's restrooms. I am rather territorial over the south end one. Walking in to encounter another patron in said restroom is generally the greatest shock I experience in my life. ¤ The Faculty Office Building used to be called the Staff Office Building, but the name was changed once the People In Charge realized the inevitable abbreviation frequently used to refer to the edifice. Hilarious! ¤ There is one reality competition-based show that matters, and this is it: So You Think You Can Dance. ¤ If you've ever been concerned that I might one day become an intravenous drug user, please put that worry straight to rest. Needles are not my friends. ¤ This funny little bullet symbol is made, in Windows at least, by holding down Alt and typing 0164 on the right number keypad thingy. ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ See? ¤ Heated pools are actually the key to happiness. In case you've been wondering about that. ¤ Nine constitutes more than a couple. Forgive me.
The picture doesn't do enough; the wrap-around porch is obscured by the bushes and you can't see the sprawling yard with rocks for climbing and a stream for splashing and a miniature but equally beautiful Victorian playhouse. But: pink blossoms, weather vane, white wrought iron fence, the chimney, the turret. It reminded me of these favorite toys from my childhood.
I guess "move to Draper" is now on my list of things to do.
It's difficult for me to acknowledge that the most moving and introspective experience I had on my recent trip to southern Utah took place in a pet cemetery. I'm not even into animals that are owned by people who aren't scientists. Most especially the three types most prominently represented at Angels Rest. Angels Rest, no apostrophe. Which makes the second word a verb, not a noun, which makes the name entirely more interesting. Most likely it was also entirely unintentional, but I'll forgive them their oversight since it works so well for their purposes. Obviously the beauty of the moment had nothing to do with being surrounded by graves and ashes of dogs and cats and birds, and everything to do with being in a place with the sun shining on me and vibrant colors as far as I could see and desert plants somehow thriving and the perfect amount of wind simultaneously causing the perfect amount of quiet and noise. And most of all, this glorious and awesome (and by that I do mean awe-some, old school definition) music resonating to me and through me from every direction, creating harmonies so lovely it was painful, gah, I had no idea harmonies and tones like that existed. I don't even want to say what the source of the music was because I feel like that would demean it; once I said what it was then everybody would think of their own experiences and think they understood but they wouldn't, it wouldn't suffice, it was more than that. Supposedly Vladimir Lenin said something about Beethoven's Appassionata, that he couldn't listen to it too often because it made him want to say kind things and stroke the heads of his enemies instead of beating them. This was music capable of such feats.I may have lived the most peaceful 30 seconds of my life standing in that cemetery outside Kanab.
I feel like this is a copy of a something I recently read, a too conveniently similar idea as expressed by someone else. It's not a copy, it's a coincidence.
I have a couple of introductions I need to make. And by a couple I literally mean two, and fortunately I can do them both at once. The first is my new laptop. I went ahead and spent my economic stimulus (ha) before I received it, which I'm pretty sure is a really wise financial habit. Sorry to geek out about a computer so much, but it really is exciting to me, for lots of reasons. I'll mention a few. I finally have (stolen) internet at home without having to carry my work laptop back and forth all the time, and it even works on the couch! Not just up against the window by my bed! Also it has an HDMI output which means I can plug it into my TV and watch things from it in big screen high definition, whoa. It came with a remote control, which, maybe every laptop does now? I have no idea, but I think it's way too awesome. Finally, there is a webcam, so you can expect to see a lot more pictures of my face with various parts of my apartment in the background. I'm sure those will be thrilling for everyone. All right, maybe not so much, BUT! It will allow me to present to the world all my friends and lovers, starting with the #1 person on my list and in my life, this guy: This is my nephew, Kyle. Apparently he is nothing but trouble. And likes to eat cookies. I realize that most everyone who reads this here weblog also reads that of my brother and sister-in-law, and so you are already well acquainted with his utter adorability, but for the few who are strangers to Brad & Tiffany, soak it in. He. is. awesome. This actually isn't the best picture ever of Kyle, he's kinda wonky-eyed, but I love how into that cookie he is. He's not messing around there. There's no time for posing for pictures. There is a cookie to consume.
Hey Mom there's some of my ceiling, do you miss it?
Let me know if you want an Obama '08 sticker for your car. Especially if you want a "Republicans for Obama" one. I will be so pleased to hook you up with that.
I've never said 'geek out' before; Jenna Fischer made me do it.
This morning a woodpecker was pecking away on my chimney. It came in short bursts of staccato, like I was either under gunfire or receiving an urgent message in morse code. I think I don't have to tell you that this was an incredibly annoying event, especially to be taking place before my alarm clock went off. He just kept pecking and pecking, not giving up, determined to build his new nest (is that why woodpeckers make holes? I don't know) in my chimney.
The thing about my chimney, though, is that it's made out of metal. What an idiot.
Before this morning, yesterday to be specific, I was on a walk (from my office to my car) and noticed a girl in front of me eating a banana. It looked to be just the perfect ripeness, and I was quite jealous of her, as I was in the mood for an afternoon snack and bananas are quite possibly the world's perfect food. Just ask Miss Chiquita. So I kept close on her tail, lest she be struck by a sudden desire to share (sharing is caring), but she decided on a different course of action instead. Right in front of my eyes, she dropped the peel of said banana right in the middle of the sidewalk. At first I was bothered--who would so carelessly toss their garbage right to the ground as soon as it is inconveniencing them, despite the presence of a perfectly functional trash can not twenty feet ahead? But then I had a second thought--maybe she's not a litterbug. Maybe she's just a student of comedy. If cartoons and Mario Kart have taught us anything, I think it's that there is little in life funnier than somebody slipping on a discarded banana peel. I'd like to think that after nonchalantly walking a few more steps away, the girl hid behind some bushes giggling to see someone fall prey to her clever trick. Man, just thinking about that possibility makes me laugh. I mean, look at this image! Hilarious! It even looks like she got one of those jerks from the business school! Note: Contrary to popular belief, not every male business student at BYU is a jerk. I'm lookin' at you, Kirk.
