And you thought that world isn't strange enough already.

The virus, which is so large and weird that it’s redefined the very concept of a virus, has been photographed for the first time. When the virus was originally discovered infecting amoebas in a Parisian water tower in 1992, it was so large that researchers thought it was a microbe.

The rest of the article in it's entirety is underneath the cut.

( -2 san check )

For background on this strike and why it is being held, please read the following posts:
http://beckyzoole.livejournal.com/394838.html
http://beckyzoole.livejournal.com/395310.html

To find out exactly when the strike begins and ends, depending on where you are located, please see this:
http://beckyzoole.livejournal.com/395125.html

What's this about?

* It's about free and ad-free LiveJournal accounts being abolished for new members, ignoring the advice from the newly-formed Advisory Board.
* It's about LJ staff trying to sneak this decision in under the radar, and when people found out, telling the users it was done 'to make the signup process less confusing'.
* It's about LJ staff failing to apologize for trying to hide the facts from view and for lying about the actual reasons for their actions.
* And finally, it's about the latest decision to hide certain user interests from the list of Most Popular Interests, some of them being fanfiction, bisexuality, sex and depression. This decision was not announced or explained in any way. Users found out for themselves.


The one-day content strike is on for this Friday, March 21, from midnight GMT to midnight GMT.

For 24 hours, we will not post or comment to LJ. Not in our own journals, not in communities. Not publicly, privately, or under friends-lock.

This is a protest that will have long-lasting effects, showing up forever in the daily posting statistics.

This is a protest that will not harm LJ in the long run, as leaving LJ might do.

This is a protest that will demonstrate the power of community, as all users unite to support Basic users, the concept of adfree space, and our right to enjoy any interests we choose.

This is a protest that will educate the new owners that LJ is driven by user-created content.

How Can You Help?

DO post about this in your own LJ.
DO post and comment about it in appropriate communities.
DO turn off LoudTwitter and your RSS feeds for 24 hours.
DO feel free to friend me for updates, and defriend when the strike is over.

DON'T forget to get permission from community mods before making an off-topic post or comment about the strike.
DON'T be spammy with your posts or comments about the strike.
DON'T forget to turn your LoudTwitter and RSS feeds back on when the strike is over.

Appropriate Times

The 24-hour strike will begin at the following times for the following locations:

Thursday, March 20, 2:00 PM -- Honolulu
Thursday, March 20, 4:00 PM -- Anchorage
Thursday, March 20, 5:00 PM -- San Francisco; Los Angeles
Thursday, March 20, 6:00 PM -- Mexico City; Denver
Thursday, March 20, 7:00 PM -- Chicago
Thursday, March 20, 8:00 PM -- Montreal; New York
Thursday, March 20, 9:00 PM -- Buenos Aires
Midnight -- London
Friday, March 21, 1:00 AM -- Paris
Friday, March 21, 2:00 AM -- Istanbul
Friday, March 21, 3:00 AM -- Moscow
Friday, March 21, 4:00 AM -- Dubai
Friday, March 21, 5:00 AM -- Islamabad
Friday, March 21, 6:00 AM -- Bangladesh

Why Are We Striking?

We are holding the Content Strike because we want the new owners of LiveJournal to better understand the power and resolve of the LJ Community of Users.

We are holding the Content Strike because all of us, Paid, Permanent and Plus users as well as Basic, want to demonstrate our solidarity as a Community of Users. We do not consider Basic users to be freeloaders, we consider them to be valuable content-providers and Friends.

We are holding the Content Strike because we ache to do something to show our displeasure, and commenting on the news post -- even with cat macros -- just isn't powerful enough!

The strike has four terms:

1. Restore basic accounts for new account creation.

2. Inform users before any change to the site that affects how we use the site or demands on our resources.

3. Run change proposals by the Advisory Board and take their advice into account before implementation of any change.

4. Homophobia, misogyny, and racism must not be a part of the decision making processes about appropriate content of the site, including what user interests are deemed appropriate.

NOTE: We are aware that there may be good business decisions for eliminating Basic accounts. If Basic accounts are to be eliminated, though, that action should be taken only after approval of the Advisory Board and consultation with the LJ Community of Users.

Will This Make Any Difference?

The protests are making a difference. Within the last three hours (as of 3pm March 17, '08), the censored interests have been restored! If you look at the Popular Interests page, you will once again see the formerly filtered "fanfiction", "depression", "bisexuality" -- even "faeries". LiveJournal is once again presenting its true face to the world, not a sanitized blandness.

Please continue to spread the word about the Content Strike. We are not merely consumers. We are a Community of Users, and we will be heard.

LiveJournal Content Strike, Friday, March 21, midnight to midnight GMT.
No posts. No comments. No content.

I won't be here from 8PM Thursday to 8PM Friday.

 

 

This is my Magenta. She's a wild caught Red Cheek Mud that I rehabbed. Normally, when there is a wild turtle on the road, best idea is to not disturb them unless you know that it's not a native species.  When it's an abandoned pets then you are doing a great deal of favor by picking them back up again so they have a chance to survive. Magenta came to me for rehab when a wildlife rehabber got a call that a wild turtle got mauled by a raccoon. She then contacted my friend who is the local mud turtle expert/breeder. He then called me because he happened to have no room right at the time, because he's maxed out due to new babies. So, I ended up with her, since he knew I rescue turtles and tortoises. Magenta is finally healed enuough to be in a regular tank. Her bite mark is still there, but it's now sealed. Mud turtles are bottom walkers, so even though they are more of a water turtle than sliders, they will drown in a tank full of water. At most in any tanks, you can only filled it up to 9 inches of water for a full grown mud turtle or 2-4 inches for babies/hatchlings. They're also more carnivorous than sliders. They favor worms. But, they can also have cichlid pellets as most turtle pellets are too veggie based for them. Although, for the sake to balanced diet, they need to have a piece of romaine floated in their tank so they can have some greens.

Rare Sumatran Stripped Found

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6530365.stm

We visited the Booth Museum in Brighton & Hove today, it is full of stuffed birds and a variety of mammalian skeletons! One of the wierdest mammals we came across was the Pink Fairy Armadillo, the wierdest part of the skeleton was this flat plate on the back end (which can be seen in some of these pictures!)

( wierd little bony creature! )

Hiii!
I'm new, and I also can't sleep, so I collected some interesting critters for your enjoyment!

Babirusa(<--clicky) they're not exactly pretty, but I think they're awesome.

( LOTS more here.. Be warned! )

I'll stop there. I've got a huge collection of odd critter photos, and if you guys like these, I'll definitely share more!

This is a Laughing Kookaburra, well actually this is not exactly a good example, because, well does he look like he wants to laugh. From the Omaha, Nebraska Zoo.

I know nothing has been posted in here in a long time but I couldn't think of anything... I was watching Wildboyz and I saw a really cool critter :)



It is called a Slow Loris... if you want to know some more info about it check out this site... its just one of a few that I found looking for pictures. :)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/330.shtml

EDIT: And looking thru previous entries I just realized that this cute animal was already posted... oh well. It's still cute! :) I will have to find another odd critter to post today just to make up for it. :P