AFG Sallies

[Krissim Klaw]

Spook managed to scare me earlier. It all started when yesterday I moved him to my big screen cage to celebrate his latest shedding. He is still only about an inch long or so, but I figured he was big enough. So, I put him in the custom made screen cage my dad built for me. It is about 2.5 feet long by 2 feet high and 12 inches wide. It was specially made for my mantises so it has screening on all four sides and the top so they can cling anywhere in the cage with ease. I have it filled with sticks to climb on and on the buttom I decorated it with two budda statues, a special clay pot that looks like a mini oriental tower and a long clay sperpant dragon I made for cermacs last year.

Needless to say, all of these wonderful items fell on deaf claws before. None of my other mantises ever bothered with the sticks or decorations but spent all their time hanging to the ceiling or upper sides of the cage. It is just how the Chinese Mantis species is. Spook however being a ghost mantis loves to hide and sneak around. In his mini cage he used to always go hide behind this one tag that was in it.

I figured he would sneak around the sticks and stuff, but I never expected to loose him. I put him in yesterday spot him fine all night long and saw him this morning when I woke up. Then around 11am I looked around the cage and he was gone. I spent thirty minutes peering all over the cage for his mantis butt (threatening him all the time) and still no Spook. I was just getting ready to start removing all the objects one by one when I spotted him. The little twerp had climbed all the way to the bottom of the cage, up one of the little buddha statues, and was hanging upside down underneath the back of the bag the buddha statue is holding. gonk

He is so getting squishied when I take him out later. xp  

[Crenn]

Rainey_angel81

FogSage

Gas prices have been going up and down rapidly, much like.....

.....I was going to make a dirty analogy, but I'll save it for next time.

In any case, gas around here is now at $3.00 a gallon, or thereabouts. I don't see why gas prices go up in the summer. You'd think with gas being as expensive as it is when it's the off season, people would want to stay home and save some money. >>

you think that is bad...we're at $3.46 at the moment

Australian equivilent of fuel price is $3.51 a gallon (assuming my knowledge of gallons where a gallon of fuel is 9/10 of a real gallon. But the price can get upto $3.65 a gallon, sometimes higher.  

[Davin_Nightwind]

In Europe, gas is 1.30 some Euro a liter, which is like, what...5 bucks a gallon? Something like that. Needless to say, I started riding my bike to work.  

[Af Mas]

I really wish we had better public transportation in this country. Bus system isn't terrible, but it's not convenient for some people who have a job. I would not be able to take the bus to and from work with my job because of when it runs (It actually stops running after 9, and doesn't run on weekends!), so I have to drive. I could bike, but that'd not be a good idea from where I live =/  

[Crenn]

Davin_Nightwind

In Europe, gas is 1.30 some Euro a liter, which is like, what...5 bucks a gallon? Something like that. Needless to say, I started riding my bike to work.

USD$6 a gallon.

Af Mas

I really wish we had better public transportation in this country. Bus system isn't terrible, but it's not convenient for some people who have a job. I would not be able to take the bus to and from work with my job because of when it runs (It actually stops running after 9, and doesn't run on weekends!), so I have to drive. I could bike, but that'd not be a good idea from where I live =/

I'm surprised that the public system over there isn't that great.... The one over here in Melbourne works well, and they're still trying to improve it.


Oh btw, anyone have tips on what to do to get more in shape? I'm starting to walk/run around my town each weekend, but I've gained a little more weight. I'm currently 91.5kg (201.72lbs) but I'm not as bad as my father who is 148.5kg(327.39lbs). But I know it's partly to do with how I eat, but I want to stay at least fit.... maybe lose 6.5kg. (The weight I like is 85kg)  

[Af Mas]

Crenn

Af Mas

I really wish we had better public transportation in this country. Bus system isn't terrible, but it's not convenient for some people who have a job. I would not be able to take the bus to and from work with my job because of when it runs (It actually stops running after 9, and doesn't run on weekends!), so I have to drive. I could bike, but that'd not be a good idea from where I live =/

I'm surprised that the public system over there isn't that great.... The one over here in Melbourne works well, and they're still trying to improve it.

It really depends on the city. Back home in Madison it's a bit different, buses run everyday and for longer times, but here in Eau Claire, smallish city, the bus system isn't as great. It's a smaller city, so I guess it's not as big a priority? I dunno

All I know is that if I ever do need to ride the bus, I ride free cuz I'm a student  

[Davin_Nightwind]

Crenn

Davin_Nightwind

In Europe, gas is 1.30 some Euro a liter, which is like, what...5 bucks a gallon? Something like that. Needless to say, I started riding my bike to work.

USD$6 a gallon.

Wow...I was close. But yeah...suddenly, I'm glad that gas prices are more like what they are in the US on base...

EDIT: That, and my car isn't exactly capable of moving right now....V_V  

[shoki_de_nai]

Af Mas

I really wish we had better public transportation in this country. Bus system isn't terrible, but it's not convenient for some people who have a job. I would not be able to take the bus to and from work with my job because of when it runs (It actually stops running after 9, and doesn't run on weekends!), so I have to drive. I could bike, but that'd not be a good idea from where I live =/

For major public transportation to work at it's best, things need to be compact. Places like New York. Subways and such work because there's a large amount of people and not a lot of open space. In Des Moines, public transportation doesn't work so well. People would rather drive. There's lots of open highway, space, and people and businesses are spread out. The only time I take the bus is to go to the State Fair, and that works since it's a huge number of people going to the same place and parking is limited.  

[Crenn]

Af Mas

Crenn

Af Mas

I really wish we had better public transportation in this country. Bus system isn't terrible, but it's not convenient for some people who have a job. I would not be able to take the bus to and from work with my job because of when it runs (It actually stops running after 9, and doesn't run on weekends!), so I have to drive. I could bike, but that'd not be a good idea from where I live =/

I'm surprised that the public system over there isn't that great.... The one over here in Melbourne works well, and they're still trying to improve it.

It really depends on the city. Back home in Madison it's a bit different, buses run everyday and for longer times, but here in Eau Claire, smallish city, the bus system isn't as great. It's a smaller city, so I guess it's not as big a priority? I dunno

All I know is that if I ever do need to ride the bus, I ride free cuz I'm a student

Now that's different. Students here have to buy a 'concession card' (me me a tertiary concession card) just to get lower prices on transport. But the Train, tram and bus services are interlinked with one another.  

[FogSage]

Crenn

Davin_Nightwind

In Europe, gas is 1.30 some Euro a liter, which is like, what...5 bucks a gallon? Something like that. Needless to say, I started riding my bike to work.

USD$6 a gallon.

Af Mas

I really wish we had better public transportation in this country. Bus system isn't terrible, but it's not convenient for some people who have a job. I would not be able to take the bus to and from work with my job because of when it runs (It actually stops running after 9, and doesn't run on weekends!), so I have to drive. I could bike, but that'd not be a good idea from where I live =/

I'm surprised that the public system over there isn't that great.... The one over here in Melbourne works well, and they're still trying to improve it.


Oh btw, anyone have tips on what to do to get more in shape? I'm starting to walk/run around my town each weekend, but I've gained a little more weight. I'm currently 91.5kg (201.72lbs) but I'm not as bad as my father who is 148.5kg(327.39lbs). But I know it's partly to do with how I eat, but I want to stay at least fit.... maybe lose 6.5kg. (The weight I like is 85kg)

If you want to lose weight, you have to be dedicated about it. If you dont' have the willpower to lose weight, it won't work. Also, once you start losing weight, don't stop. If you keep losing weight, even beyond what you had wanted, you're doing good. You can eat what you want, but try to limit what you do eat. Chocolate and sodas, while tasty, are Satan to weight loss.  

[Davin_Nightwind]

FogSage

Crenn

Oh btw, anyone have tips on what to do to get more in shape? I'm starting to walk/run around my town each weekend, but I've gained a little more weight. I'm currently 91.5kg (201.72lbs) but I'm not as bad as my father who is 148.5kg(327.39lbs). But I know it's partly to do with how I eat, but I want to stay at least fit.... maybe lose 6.5kg. (The weight I like is 85kg)

If you want to lose weight, you have to be dedicated about it. If you dont' have the willpower to lose weight, it won't work. Also, once you start losing weight, don't stop. If you keep losing weight, even beyond what you had wanted, you're doing good. You can eat what you want, but try to limit what you do eat. Chocolate and sodas, while tasty, are Satan to weight loss.

Another thing...as you become more active, you may notice that you're a lot hungrier than what you used to be. That's your metabolism speeding up, and the fact that your body is burning more energy. When that starts happening, drop three large meals a day and go to four or five smaller ones. Remember, though, think healthy for those meals. I actually had to do that while I was in track in high school. It gives your body the energy it needs, plus you'll be less inclined to snack throughout the day.  

[Crenn]

Don't have that much soft drink, maybe a couple of ginger beers, but it's a rarity. I have chocolate spread every day, but I suspect it's the chips I've been using as snacks during uni. As for stopping if I lose more than I wanted.... if I go under a certain weight.... I'm stopping because I don't like being too thin xP.

EDIT: More sleep would help with my weight loss as well I would think. 4 hours a day is 'killing me'.  

[Shaviv]

For fuel efficiency, we could start with, I don't know... for those who absolutely need four-wheelers, the government could lightly subsidize plug-in hybrids, and everyone else could be encouraged to ride either motor scooters or bicycles.

A turbine-powered moped would be even more efficient, although turbine motors are tricky. They're expensive, and if they break down, the whole thing is typically ruined; where if you've got a two- or four-stroke Otto-cycle piston engine, or even an Atkinson-cycle engine (similar to Otto but more efficient and less powerful), you can repair those with a screwdriver and a wrench. And if the entire engine does get ruined, it'll only cost you a couple hundred dollars to replace it, as opposed to the thousands needed for a new turbine.

Also, turbines are a bit finicky about what they burn.

---

I don't know the layout of Des Moines, though, to be honest. I live in a modestly densely built area, where almost everything I need day-to-day is within half an hour's bike ride.  

[Crenn]

Shaviv

For fuel efficiency, we could start with, I don't know... for those who absolutely need four-wheelers, the government could lightly subsidize plug-in hybrids, and everyone else could be encouraged to ride either motor scooters or bicycles.

A turbine-powered moped would be even more efficient, although turbine motors are tricky. They're expensive, and if they break down, the whole thing is typically ruined; where if you've got a two- or four-stroke Otto-cycle piston engine, or even an Atkinson-cycle engine (similar to Otto but more efficient and less powerful), you can repair those with a screwdriver and a wrench. And if the entire engine does get ruined, it'll only cost you a couple hundred dollars to replace it, as opposed to the thousands needed for a new turbine.

Also, turbines are a bit finicky about what they burn.

---

I don't know the layout of Des Moines, though, to be honest. I live in a modestly densely built area, where almost everything I need day-to-day is within half an hour's bike ride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esLvmBgwWG0