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pssst….

marimo questions

FYI, for those of you who were wondering what the %*)^$*”(^&! are those, here’s the wiki definition for them.

Aegagropila linnaei, known as Marimo (毬藻?, literally “ball seaweed”) in Japanese and as Cladophora ball, Lake ball, or Moss Balls in English, is a species of filamentous green algae (Chlorophyta) found in a number of lakes in the northern hemisphere. A marimo is a rare growth form of the species where the algae grow into large green balls with a velvety appearance. Colonies of such balls are only known to form in Iceland, Scotland, Japan and Estonia.
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big green moss balls

I have recently decided that my room has a severe lack of algae (as one does).

So after a bit of ebaying, these 2 little fluff balls popped up at my office in an envelope rather squished and out of shape so I had to quickly do a bit of emergency re-shaping and dunked them into a jar of water I readied for their arrival.

marimo arrival

Unfortunately, I underestimated their size (they puffed up a fair amount after soaking up moisture) and ended up having to jostle each other for their patch.

This, the marimos had to put up with until I found them a new home from homebase the next day.

marimo new

Though not ideal, the new tank is much bigger and nicer than an old honey jar. One of the marimos have already recovered its nice round shape, and spends most of its time floating around the top. The other is still a bit squashed, and have been sitting at the bottom, probably sulking.

Now, the questions are:

1. What to name them.

2. How to tell them apart?!

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horse, anyone?

Last Thursday on my way to work, something quite unusual happened. Someone actually made eye contact and spoke to me on the tube!

I was sitting next to a little old man who was reading the Metro.  He looked up at me, and pointed at the headline he was reading, which said,

“Inquiry begins after horse meat discovered in Tesco ‘value’ beefburgers”

l.o.m: What’s the fuss about? I’ve had horse before in the past.
me: ?
l.o.m: When I was in france and italy. They love horse meat there.
me: Oh. I’ve never tried horse before. Was it good?
l.o.m: Not bad. I’ve had all sorts of things before.  I travel a lot, well… use to. Not any more. I’m a pensioner now.
me: *smiles*
l.o.m: *stage whispers* I’ve had shark, stingray, swordfish, wild boar before.
me: *tried to look surprised and nodded* (I didn’t have the heart to say that those are very common in malaysia)
l.o.m: It’s true! I don’t understand some of my friends.
me: Oh?
l.o.m: We once were in a chinese restaurant, and they asked the chef if they cook english food! *looks disgusted* I mean, really!
me: *grinnning* Oh I know what you mean. Trying the local food is one of the best parts of traveling!
l.o.m: *grins at me* It is!

By then, the tube slid into Kings Cross and I had to get off. So I wished him well and he waved back at me.

A lovely start for the day.

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medium format cameras, at last

I’ve always loved analogue cameras and have been hum-hawing about getting either a lomo or holga. So when I bumped into this little beauty, I  thought “why not?”

conway box camera

Late 1940/early 1950 conway box camera- popular model. 120 film.

vintage camera seller : “This camera survived the war and all these years, you’ll be fine”
me: “I wouldn’t bet on it….”