Brotherhood 01 – male dorm’s story

blogger: isal

14 Februari 2009, valentin. gak asing lagi di telinga anak anak remaja jaman sekarang. di sekolah asrama seperti IIBS sekalipun.

malam valentin, 14 februari, jam 8. malam dingin, sepi.

tuhan berkehendak lain, Ia mengirimkan 7 ekor tikus untuk menemani hamba hambanya yang sedang kesepian ini. 3 ekor di tempat zulfi, induknya di tempat enggar, dan 3 ekor lagi, masih berlendir dan merah-merah, di tempat mirza. sukur di tempat gw ga ada(kayaknya sih)

Enggar, berpengalaman dengan berbagai macam hal yang berhubungan dengan berburu. walau cuma berburu tikus, katak, kodok, atau semacamnya, tetap saja disebut berburu.

oke, enggar, telah menemmukan sarang-homeland bagi si tikus-tikus jahannam tersebut. yaitu di tempat zulfi. tepat di depan sandaran kaki di kasurnya. bombastis. enggar meng-estimasi, jarak loncatan dan kecepatan dari si induk tikus. loncatannya bisa sampai 30cm-an dan punya kecepatan yang sangat luar biasa

anak-anak tikus berjumlah 6 ekor dibasmi dengan mudah oleh enggar (roomate sisanya sebagai figuran). dan sekarang giliran si induk.

langsung saja, zulfi mengawasi bagian tengah kamar yang paliing luas dengan siap-siap melempar boots iibs kalo lewat. mirza memblocking pakai kardus, kalo-kalo enggar gagal. dan gw, dengan sebatang kayu-bekas laci, memblokir daerah sempit di sela-sela kasur.(udah kaya siaran bola aje)

ketika enggar sudah merasa ada “hawa” makhluk “halus”, enggar langsung mengangkat gagang sapu daaaaan, mengarah ke induk tikus yang sedang lengah. “BAM!” eh, ga kena.

langsung saja, si induk yang merasa terancam, pergi ke arah daerah si Mirza, dan bukannya malah di blokir, dengan bodohnya si Mirza malah ketakutan dan lari meninggalkan barikadenya. membiarkan si induk tikus lari begitu saja. aktifitas ini berlangsung lama sekali sampai jam waktu solat ashar datang

malam harinya, kami semua masih merasa terancam, dan tidur dia atas lemari, at last.

karena memang cuma Enggar yang berani, Enggar berani tidur di kasurnya. dan kami sisanya, tidur di lemari.ehm, di atas lemari, berharap si tikus induk mengasihani

esoknya, kami semua bilang ke uje dkk tentang the shitty rat story tersebut. petugas vakum datang memvakum semua tikus. dapat juga 6 ekor anak-anak tikus. entah apa si induk hamil lagi dan melahirkan mendadak atau zulfi yang jadi bidannya.

siangnya, sekitar jam 1-2, induk tikus keluar dan spontan, yang melihat(gatau) langsung melempar benda terdekatnya ke arah si induk.

terjerat selimut bed cover Zulfi, si tikus ga bisa keman-mana lagi. akhirnya, dihancurkan oleh anak-anak satu kamar. naas nasib si induk tikus. mati menggenaskan

mayatnya dibuang dan bed cover zulfi terkena semacam cairan yang baunya bukan main seperti bau enggar.

benar-benar sebuah valentin. kenapa harus tikus?.

No, I’m not talking about the Mouse King from the Nutcracker:

I’m talking about Rat Kings,  the pseudo-biological and folkloric phenomenon where a number of rats become intertwined, knotted, and stuck at the tails. The majority of cases have been reported in Germany. Historically, they were seen as a very bad omen, often associated with plagues. While some have discounted actual Rat Kings as a hoax (saying that the tails of found specimens were only tied together after their deaths), there have, in fact, been mummified remains of rats with their tails tangled together found (the largest was purportedly made up of twenty-seven rats). X-ray images of one Rat King group have even shown callouses at points in the tangles of tails, supporting the theory that Rat Kings could actually survive for extended periods of time in a tied-together state (although it’s pretty gruesome to imagine how a Rat King would continue to function as its members begin to die off). Pictures:

The naked mole rat (heterocephalus glaber) may look as if it were sculpted from someone’s scrotum, some pipe cleaners and a pair of tic-tacs; but beneath that wrinkly exterior lies a rodent superhero.

Hailing from East Africa, the naked mole rat earns a living by burrowing huge networks of tunnels deep beneath the sun-baked and predator-riddled surface. Pretty dull you say? Remember, even Spider-Man had a day job; the naked mole rat’s seemingly dull day-to-day activities are made much more interesting by their unique abilities.

Naked mole rats are highly resistant to cancer, they live longer than any other rodent (up to 28 years), their skin feels no pain (like the cheerleader from heroes except considerably less attractive) and they have absolutely gigantic incisors. That’s reasonably impressive on it’s own, but there’s more.

The chisel-like front teeth of the naked mole rat can be moved independently and—extraordinarily—they are located outside the creature’s mouth. Their lips close behind their front teeth, leaving them free to tunnel without getting a mouthful of dirt. Not that naked mole rats mind having a dirty mouth, as well as their preferred diet of roots and tubers, they regularly eat poo; their own and each other’s.

The naked mole rat’s incredible (if probably a little smelly) jaws have to be especially strong to cope with the constant mining for tasty roots. 25% of their muscle mass is dedicated to closing their jaws. Us humans only use 1% of our muscle mass to close our mouths, to match the naked mole rat we would have to have an entire leg’s-worth of muscle attached to our jaw.

However, as incredible as their physical attributes are, it is the social structure of the naked mole rat that sets them apart from almost all other mammals. They live in an eusocial hive-like society that is more like that of insects than mammals.

Each colony has a single queen who mates with a select few males. A combination of bullying and pheromones prevents all of the colony’s other females from becoming fertile. Despite the harshness of mole rat society, they are completely dependent on it, zoo specimens kept in isolation have invariably died.

When the queen dies a violent struggle erupts between remaining females struggling to seize the throne of their deceased sovereign. Only one other mammal (another species of mole rat) lives in this manner.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Jack VS Japan.

Much as yesterday. Dug some more of the limed patch, planted out the remaining black currants. A double egg again today & also an egg of the type the Smallholder describes as pimpled. Tom R. says he saw a rat come out of our garden yesterday.

9 eggs.

Arriving at Gardex, the International Garden Expo Tokyo, was a bit of a shock. First, I could not believe how far it was from Tokyo. Past Disney. Past IKEA. Past Costco. Gardex occupied a portion of one of the five mega-halls. The first impression was overwhelming: a hum of electricity and a burst of fluorescent lighting animating a trade show as removed from nature as possible.

The first booth we passed promoted a pesticide company. Spray bottles seemed to float above colorful flowers, a salesperson spoke with much animation into a wireless mic, and lighted towers offered multiples of each product. The photo mural and garish colors seem to contradict the “natural safety” message.

Click below to read and see more about industrial gardening, a cool vertical garden product, and global business.

Clearly gardening is big business with global suppliers. Roses come to Japan from Colombia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Kenya and India.  The flowers are so huge and the distances so vast, I fear they are pumped with pesticide, fertilizer and other chemicals.

I was impressed with the technology and artistry of E-Soil Board, a vertical garden system. It seems less modular than the hydroponic vertical Suntory Midorie, which also exhibited at Gardex.

Also featured were several large machines for bunching and plastic wrapping cut flowers for large retailers. I like the juxtaposition of machine and “we are flower people” message.

There was some garden art, including this framed Christmas pig made from flowers.

And finally, as if to underscore that gardens are no place for wildlife, there were enormous rat-killing product displays.

Yesterdays picture was that of a TUSSIC MOTH Caterpillar…

1. During World War II, the free-tailed bat caves near San Antonio were guarded closely as part of top-secret Operation X-ray. The U.S. military attempted to train the bats to carry small incendiary bombs and release them in Japanese buildings. During one test, bat bomb carriers escaped and set fire to barracks and a general’s car. The project was later scrapped.
2. A bee has 5 eyes, 2 large compound eyes on either side of its head, and 3 ocelli (primitive eyes) on top of its head to detect light intensity.
3. A small portion of the population is allergic to fire ant stings and should see medical treatment immediately if stung.
4. Blacklegged (deer) ticks, carriers of Lyme disease, like to spend the winter nestled in the fur of a deer.
5. 67% of homeowners are most concerned about pests in the summer. 
6. Bees must collect the nectar from 2,000 flowers to make 1 tablespoon of honey. 
7. Cockroaches have quite a capacity for survival. If the head of one is removed carefully, so as to prevent it from bleeding to death, the cockroach can survive for several weeks. When it dies, it is from starvation.
8. Rattlesnakes gather in groups to sleep through the winter. Sometimes up to 1,000 of them will coil up together to keep warm. Even after its dead, a snake can still kill you with its venom.
9. Rats can swim for a mile without resting, and they can tread water for 3 days straight.
10. The common housefly is faster—in one sense—than a jet airplane. The fly moves 300 times its body length in one second, while the jet, at the speed of sound, travels 100 times its body length in one second.

MOJA FORUMSKA RAZGLABANJA SA RAJOM…

….nisam ekonomista,al jedno znam kod nasih kuca,trosak veci od cementa,rizle,siporexa,cigle,maltera,armature,salunge
,stolarije,lamperije,plocica,ljepila,,vjencanica,dozvola,
vode ,struje, itd itd

su majstori..meljaju,traljave,jedva nesto.
ako ga platis na dnevnicu ode to unedogled,ako ga platis po poslu sfuseri da sto prije ispadne iz ruku i ode dalje i nista ne valja..
a pojst i popit mogu bog im dao…
pa nema dana s njima na gradilistu bez 30-40 maraka…a nijedan ne jede kupus,grah, itako te didja midje ne mogu zbog”zeluca”pati ih zgaravica
pitanje je samo novaca i koliko se sa montazom moze ustedjeti.tj.da li za najkrace moguce vrijeme i za najmanje mogucu svotu(jer primjer vise nemam)mogu dobit svoj dom.to je pitanje.naravno da znam da je cigla bolja od spere,nisam to ni pokusao osporit.
treba imati u vidu i trosak za plac,trosak za dozvole(nisu nimalo jeftine),pa tek onda dodje red na tu jadnu kucu, i dok dodjes do pitanja a koju cemo fasadu prodje 20 godina.
ponavljam u 90%slucajeva.

Puno je jednostavnije , da se nesikiras plaho zavrsiti s firmom sve ,i to do onog stadija radnje ,”kljuc u bravu”
Samo daj boze da nadzes fer igraca ,pa da ti ono sto ti napisu u predracunu odnosno ponudi to i ispostuju i urade ,…ima ih svakakvih pa smute i ustede na materijalu a kasnije , nesnas gdje i u cemu zivis.
Pa jos kad za svu tu gradnju sto ti rece trebaju dozvole i projekti ……………ohladi ti kuca da je pravis.
Al, ko je zapocne i zavrsi je …..nek je sasrecom ko god je pravio …
Kad neko ima volju i cilj ,onda mu nije nista skupo nit neostvarljivo.
Prijatelj mi je sa dvadeset maraka poceo ,kucu praviti, raja mu se smijala , dosli jarani pomogli iskopat temelje ….i kreno cojk, stigo i u Irak , dade bog nafaku, i eno ga sad nakon godinu dana ,zivi sa svojom zenm i djecom sretan i grijanje ima , ….
nista nije nemoguce.

Da ja ovdje prebacim dio posta o montaznim kucama
Razgledala sam montazne kuce.Lijepe su, nema govora.Ipak, sigurnija je cvrsta gradnja. Do rata su moji roditelji imali Krivajinu montaznu vikendicu, nije bila losa. Mozda je mogla biti bolje termicki izolovana. Sjecam se da sam zimi vodila raju u vikendicu da bi se sankali preko vikenda. Nije smjelo prestati loziti, odmah bi se ohladila soba.
Kuce su vjerovatno bolje izolovane.

Što se tiče montažnih kuća, moje mišljenje je da su ok. Konkretno kod nas si u obavezi da izliješ temelj a oni sve ostalo završavaju. Moj kolega je upravo završio jednu takvu. Majstori su došli u utorak a električari su završili u nedelju. Kuća napravljena za manje od 7 dana – to je ok. Daju garanciju na 100 god. U komšiluku, kuća koja je montažna postoji više od 30 god. – pa joj ne fali ni krov ni stolarija ni zidovi. Nije vetar oduvao. Imaju super izolaciju tako da se zimi lako zagreju. A da još nešto – kolega je pravio proračune koštanja na kraju – sa papirima, materijalom, dnevnicama, prevozom…. da je zidao kuću koštalo bi ga oko 230€-250€ po m2, a sa montažnom kućom ga je koštal oko 170€/m2. Ipak nije mala razlika ako se uzme u obzir da je kuća površine 116 m2. Pa vi preračunajte. Uglavnom on je prezadovoljan. Što se tiče montažnih kuća sviđa mi se to što imaš mogućnost da završne radove – moleraj, keramiku sam radiš, ako ti se nesviđa njihov izbor. Kod nas se pokazalo super. Ono što je najbitnije, majstori ne fušere, posle njih nisu zidovi krivi i šareni, fugne kod keramike se ne kreću od 2mm do 15mm. Stvarno rade ok. 

A few days ago Tiger-dog and Sparkle-dog started to spend a huge amount of time in the shrubbery at the corner of the yard.  “Hey!”  They called, “you gotta smell this!” 

I checked but could not see anything.  A quick inspection around the house and I found little poops in the garage, and we promptly set out the old-style mouse traps. 

“Mice don’t smell that BIG, you got another problem.”  Tiger-dog barked to me.  

“It’s mice, honey, I can tell by their little poops.”  I assured her. 

Tiger-dog and Sparkle-dog’s watch moved from the corner of the back yard to the garage and I checked the traps daily – nothing. 

Because, we didn’t have mice.  We had rats.

Tiger-dog brought one to me and said “See, I told you, they weren’t mice,” and dropped it on the driveway to prove her point.  Then, went and got a drink of water, her work done. 

I had to pass this along because if rats were this big – it would scare me too…. Hilarious video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7ZWvwaUE1E

Whhhhat? I should get up and go for a jog? Don’t think so, lady!

Now, shut up and pass over that rat!

chew chew chew

Okay, I’m bored.

Wunderbärchen musste in der Schweiz erfahren, dass die Nachbarien die Gruppe Sonnenschein für eine Woche verlassen wird, um nach Kanada zu gehen. Aber das ist noch lange hin……. und die Gruppe ist jetzt schon traurig, vorallem die Zurückgelassenen!

Heute Vormittag erlitt das Wunderbärchen erneut eine Kreativitätskrise, die glücklicherweise noch vor 12 Uhr überwunden werden konnte. Seitdem ist das Wunderbärchen wieder fleißig am basteln und kaum zu stoppen! Nachbariens und cinzelinskis Aufmunterungsversuchen sei Dank!

Ein wenig bedrückend bleibt dennoch Wunderbärchens Sehnsucht nach den Bergen. Doch cinzelinski weiß Rat: bei diesem Wetter könne man auch in der Schweiz keine Berge sehen. Daher könne sich das Wunderbärchen durchaus vorstellen, dass auch hier in Mainz vor dem Fenster Berge seien – verdeckt durch das trüb-graue Wetter. Das Wunderbärchen ist begeistert und hat von nun an gute Laune. Der Reise gen Süden in die Schweiz sei Dank??

Seit Nachmittag verbringt das Wunderbärchen in Nostalgiemodus und liest ihren eigenen Blog – unter lachen, seufzen und träumen. Einfach wunderbärchen!

My beautiful little baby rat

Finally got her to sit still long enough to get a photo done – with my fly open (oh sexy)

We love having cuddles, even had a small nap together this afternoon! She is growing very quickly and soon I will be able to have her in the harness and take her for walks!

I am also so excited about having someone who read my first post! its so yay! I am working to make sure I get something smart and interesting to say but for now I will keep the momentum up and working on some bigger posts.

I actually let one of my friends know about this blog last night. I have tried to be really really super anonomous; I dont know why, maybe I some of my friends would find the reading interesting.