Talking About Stuff, with Mike and Christiana

Okay, so they've finally got images of a living Giant Squid!



I actually spotted this story on Monday, but when they were first put up, they didn't actually have the images to go and look at, and what freakin good is that?

Anyway, you can go and see some pictures now. In fact, they have a little video too, though that should not be confused with a video of the squid itself. Despite what some stories were reporting, what they have is a series of stills taken 30 seconds apart, not "video footage".

Regardless, very very cool!

Although it kind of sucks that they injured it. A hook on the camera ended up tearing off a 20-foot piece of tentacle! I'm sure it wasn't totally intentional, and it did allow for genetic testing to confirm that it was in fact a giant squid and not some other species. Still, we finally find a living healthy specimen and we rip one of its tentacles off?

UPDATE! D'oh! Maybe I could actually post the link, eh?

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First it was sponges, and now this...

Armed and Dangerous - Flipper the Firing Dolphin Let Loose By Katrina

It may be the oddest tale to emerge from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic dart' guns. Divers and surfers risk attack, they claim, from a species considered to be among the planet's smartest. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.

Thanks for the link to Matthew Dessem at PolySciFi, who also points out that not everybody is quite so willing to imagine Rogue Dolphin Commandos. Apparently, the source of the story has pulled the media's collective legs before.

Still, how could this not be true? It's only a matter of time before they start teaching other dolphins, and soon, we could be facing an entire army of poison-dart-bearing aquatic mammals! I, for one, will be buying some extra canned goods at the grocery store tonight, just in case.

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