international ceph day

[sorseress]

Very cute, Jason, very cute!

 

[moonjelly]

*laugh*

As a vegetarian I find the baconopod less disturbing than actual calamari I don't have the right ingredients, though. We'll have to settle for having octodogs at dinner-unless anyone has other fun ideas for ceph food? (with no *actual* cephalopods hurt in the making of such...)

And now I know what I want for my birthday cake next june.

Happy Ceph Apprecation Day!

 

[Nancy]

Plan for next year and get handmade octopus cookie cutters! (large and small designs are different).
http://www.coppergifts.com/productcart/pc/Octopus_Cookie_Cutters_Large_CG634.asp

I've also seen a less-expensive octo cookie cutter, and if I find it, I'll post it, too.

Nancy

 

[sorseress]

I got a great squid cookie cutter for my daughter, who actually likes to decorate cookies!

 

[Nancy]

Octopus cookies are not easy to make!

Nancy

 

[sorseress]

Nancy, those look great!

 

[cuttlegirl]

and delicious!

 

[Melissa]

I missed ICAD by a day - I'm in land-locked Tajikistan, but today I learned that there are lovely ammonite fossils to be found in the capital city (which is almost as large as San Francisco). My phone does not have a camera, so I have to wait to take a picture of my favorite. It is an obvious ammonite, with the outside unfinished and cut and polished to expose the chambers inside, with four individual geodes in the chambers. I'll buy it and post a picture so we can speculate over distance and drinks about which one it is.

Angus and I stalked the rarely-seen Pamir mountains tree octopus but a golden eagle snatched it up and flew off with it in its talons before he could get a picture.

Melissa

 

[sorseress]

Naughty eagle!

 

[DWhatley]

I keep waiting for that pan to get cheaper on eBay but I think I can manage the baconopod!

 

[angus]

Angus and I stalked the rarely-seen Pamir mountains tree octopus but a golden eagle snatched it up and flew off with it in its talons before he could get a picture.

For the sake of natural historical accuracy, I should clarify that the Pamir mountain tree octopus (PMTO) is exceptionally rare. This is due to the fact that the Pamirs being (a) mostly above the tree line and (b) largely desert, are pretty short on trees. The natural habitat of the PMTO is not so much disappearing as flat-out non-existent in the first place.

Despite its almost mythological status, the PMTO is a fascinating creature. Like the mimic octopus, it can adapt its shape and coloration to closely resemble objects commonly found in the Pamirs, such as a rock, another rock, a goat, a third, slightly bigger rock, or the legendary Badakshani car-chasing dog (a species that by rights ought also to be extinct, due to its habit of dashing in front of Landcruisers and other large, fast-moving vehicles, barking furiously). So eerily accurate is the PMTO's mimicry that many a Pamiri shepherd has driven home what he believed to be a flock of goats, only to discover the next day that his home is overrun by octopuses, all swinging from the rafters and juggling small household objects with their eight dexterous tentacles. The substitution is rarely to the shepherd's advantage, as PMTO's - while reportedly good eating - are extremely difficult to catch and can even break into a kind of gallop, using their eight tentacles to propel themselves over the flat desert terrain at speeds of 25-30mph. The dry conditions in the Pamirs do not favor the "inking" strategy used by their marine brethren, so the PMTO has developed instead the ability to use its ink production equipment to write misleading messages such as "OKTOPUSSES WENTT THATWAY ---->" (PMTOs, although intelligent for molluscs, are poor spellers) to misdirect pursuers.

All in all, a fascinating animal, and I regret that we were unable to capture any images of this extraordinary creature on film. Still, the brief glimpse that we had of one specimen (probably a juvenile, as a full-grown adult would be more than a match for even the largest bird of prey) being borne aloft in the talons of an eagle will remain with me for the rest of my days.

We have applied for funding from the Cryptocephalopod Society, and if our request is approved, we may return next year during the breeding season (when the octopuses descend from the mountains to lay their eggs in improvised nest sites such as outhouses, cow byres, or the rusted hull of a wrecked T-72 tank or BMP armored personnel carrier, many of which can be found throughout the region).

Angus

 

[Michael Blue]

...PMTO's - while reportedly good eating - are extremely difficult to catch and can even break into a kind of gallop, using their eight tentacles to propel themselves over the flat desert terrain at speeds of 25-30mph....

you know, it's funny you mention that. We were hiking in the Pamirs just last year and caught just such an occasion on film!

Quite the scene, indeed!

 

[DWhatley]

Angus,
Thanks for the link. I have a cooworker who is into mountain climbing so I sent him by the site.

 

[cephalopodcast]

Working on somethings special for Ceph Day 2009, including updates to the Octopodcast. Stay tuned...

http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/2009/10/squidmas-creeps/

 

[OB]

*start drumroll*