Later This Year, On The Lord Geekington!

For my own good, I've decided to keep track of the posts I have started but never finished, and the ones I have promised but never gotten around to. I've set up a page to keep track of them (see toolbar, to be updated regularly), and here are the contents thus far:

Research blogging. I'll finally get on the bandwagon (if I can get the page to work) and discuss some recent papers on clades I have an unusual fondness for (turtles, vultures, remipedes, loricariids, cephalopods, et cetera) which receive little attention from the science blogosphere at large. I'm counting on you Google Scholar alerts!

'Cadborosaurus' analysis. A sequel to my treatment of Heuvelmans' Many-Finned (reports, analysis), I will utilize anecdotal data from LeBlond and Bousfield's Cadborosaurus: Survivor from the Deep to determine if their proposed cryptid is actually suggested by the reports they included. After reading the book, I suspect that the proposed morphology for 'caddy' was based mostly on the Naden Harbour carcass; if the carcass is assumed to be mundane and/or over/misinterpreted, 'caddy' will either get much simpler (say, elongated body + ungulate-like head + big eyes), or no well-supported patterns will emerge at all. One controversial aspect is lumping different eyewitness traits (i.e. horse-like head, cow-like head, giraffe-like head, et cetera), so I'd like to see how big a difference different degrees of lumping will make. This will all inevitable tie in with the controversy over whether the very concept of a cryptid taken from numerous eyewitness reports has any validity. I'd also like to record the number of characteristics per report and see if there is a trend with distance or possibility of a hoax. Obviously this is going to be a whole serious of posts!

The Hagelund specimen. There's something in the works about this one and I'm planning on giving some additional background and commentary upon publication.

'Caddy' Reports. Some of them are really quite interesting!

The Canvey Island Monsters. Cryptids that are definitely known fish, although this does not appear to be widely acknowledged.

Clade-by-clade turtles. I'm thinking of reviewing turtles as a whole by major clade (mostly 'families', perhaps some well-supported sub-families). It just seems inevitable.

Brackish and Saltwater turtles. There are a few non-seaturtles that can venture out to sea (previously mentioned here) and the ability for 'freshwater' turtles to survive in brackish water is downright common.

Teeny Turtles.Turtles on average are rather large creatures (previously discussed here), and it would seem that at small sizes the shell would offer little protection and become an unnecessary burden. However, very small turtles (< 15 cm strait shell length) can thrive in areas with crocodilians and other potential turtle-crushers. I'll review the smallest species of all with emphasis on predation, growth, niche, and other relevant aspects of their life history.

Jaguarundi and the Philosophy of Genera. I'll discuss why placing Jaguarundi in the genus 'Puma' is a huge mistake (blatant paraphyly, for one thing) and offer my own philosophy on how genera should and shouldn't be used. The concept of a genus is subjective, but I think the best approach would be to construct them of species which are obviously closely related (i.e. the Right Whales in Eubalaena, vs. the Bowhead Whale in Balaena) and thus may be split or lumped over time. I think the concept of a 'subgenus' is useless and they should just be bumped up to a proper genus (see my thoughts on pangolins).

Shrink-wrapped whales. Inspired by discussion with Markus Bühler (of Bestiarium) and discussion on SV-POW! (part 1, part 2) I'll reconstruct extant whales in the most dreadful manner possible to discuss how some extinct forms probably didn't look like quasi-reptilian monsters in life.

Cleaned by a vulture. For some reason, American Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) engage in lots of interspecific grooming.

Snake Eels. Eels with necks! Kinda!

Clade-by-clade remipedes. Another inevitable topic.

Selling Out, Or At Least Trying To

After a scary extended period of 404 errors, TheLordGeekington.com is finally online! A custom domain gives me more options to play around with, but my true intentions are to get more serious about blogging. A post a month isn't satisfying for me, and presumably others, so now I'll attempt to have some form of output every day - starting next week. As for the content, I won't be reviewing recent publications (enough people do that already), and will focus instead on more obscure studies, whatever nature I stumble upon, interesting cryptozoological reports, and who knows what else in addition to the customary infrequent mega-post.

In order to recuperate the $10 annual fee, I've bitten the bullet and enabled adds. I have madcap dreams of not only getting my money back, but having enough for blog-relevant books and perhaps a professional Flickr account. I'm just hoping I won't be out ten bucks and need to revert back to the status quo.

As for what I'm working on now: sewer-dwelling turtles and attempting to identify this apparently invasive plant species, which is not kudzu or mile-a-minute vine:

Ais: Survivors of the Sixth Extinction

Markus Bühler of Bestiarium and I have been working on a project that has just been made public:

Ais: Survivors of the Sixth Extinction

As the web address indicates, ours is a speculative evolution project, a topic which has been most recognizably covered by the TV program The Future is Wild and the works of Dougal Dixon. Spec evolution has a rising profile and has even influenced the bestiary of Peter Jackson's King Kong and possibly Avatar. I feel that the finest example of this genre to date is The Speculative Dinosaur Project, which created a vivid and incredibly well thought-out world where the most famous extinction in history never occurred. While there have been a few spec evolution projects involving the fauna of the future, I feel that ours will be a justifiably unique take on things. I shall not discuss the scenario that has occurred, but perhaps these song lyrics will give some impression:

If there's one thing you can say

About Mankind

There's nothing kind about man

You can drive out nature with a pitch fork

But it always comes roaring back again

- Tom Waits, Misery is the River of the World

Speculating about an unspecified date in the not-too-distance future allows for our project to comment on current events. For instance, the Longsnout Copotone is a descendant of invasive Pterygoplichthys species, which proved to be an unstoppable force in the future and one of the most specious vertebrate clades ever. You might recall that I discussed the present status of those invaders here. Also of note is that marine ecosystems have incredible numbers of jellyfish controlled by highly-specialized predators. One philosophy behind this project is that the present influences of man will have lasting effects beyond quarries and removed mountain tops. At the same time, life is a remarkably resilient thing which can recover from near-apocalyptic scenarios, and the diversity of Ais will be considerably greater than the present region it is derived from. It is worth noting that one species is suspiciously absent from the landscape...

This project also intends to give animals other than mammals and birds a chance in the spotlight, as they have been cast to the side in other spec evolution projects. We will also avoid the "hey wouldn't it be neat if _____ evolved into _____ ?" type of scenario and create justifiable extrapolations. While the Longsnout Copotone appears to be a lazy example of the former, it needs to be pointed out that large loricariids are already fully capable of feeding on molluscs and crustaceans (e.g. Acanthicus adonis), so the only steps needed to evolve into a obligate-molluscivore would be an increased crushing ability, modified digestive system, and increased salt tolerance. It is worth noting that another clade of armored, benthic fishes has produced a sturgeon-like species (Podothecus accipenserinus) with actual sturgeon species already present in its region! As suggested by the common name, the Longsnout Copotone is the only species of 'molluscivorous loricariid' which is sturgeon-like, with the others having taken other approaches.


Anyways, enough cross promotion - be sure the check on Ais on the first of every month!

Change has come to The Lord Geekington

As you may have noticed, the banner has undergone something of an art evolution. Since I drew the old banner last year I've taken an art class and wow, what a difference it has made! I would love to take more, but now that I have a hypothetical B.S. Biology degree this may prove difficult. We'll see how it evolves next year.

So who's on it?

Discussed here, this is a damaged cat skull (note the missing upper right canine) which I dug up in the woods near my house. The odd characters (sagittal crest, closed postorbital bars) may be related to large size; while I can't rule out an exotic hybrid, this is probably within the range of variation for house cats. I certainly won't let myself fall prey to phylogenetic roulette!


The last thoracic vertebrae and first two dorsal vertebrae from Basilosaurus cetoides, an Eocene stem-cetacean. As I discussed here, the vertebral count from a smaller relative suggests that B. cetoides was even larger and more ridiculously elongated than previously imagined. I'd love to see how these big, extreme vertebrae worked.


Mesoplodon densirostris - I've written quite a lot of posts about beaked whales so a representative is obligatory.

The start of my lazy bird silhouette series, this is a generalized frigatebird (Fregata sp.). They're incredible fliers and I would love to see them in real life.

Turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) are ubiquitous but amazing animals none the less. I saw one getting mobbed the other day and they're capable of some incredibly spry moves for animals that spend most of their time soaring. I've written about cathartids numerous times.

The cirroctopod Opisthoteuthis is the closest an organism has come to resembling a plush animal. They're frequently mentioned in my numerous cephalopod posts. I can't talk about the fish, just some poeciliid of no consequence.


No, it isn't an exogorth, this is an amphibian known as a caecilian. They're the most poorly known major tetrapod clade and their relation to other lissamphibians still seems up for debate. The structure located between the rudimentary eye and the nostril is a sensory tentacle. I have yet to seriously discuss them.


Softshell turtles (Trionychidae) are highly derived cryptodires which traded in a bulky carapace for their titular comparably strong and flexible shell. I've mentioned them here.

Wow, no references. I'll have to make up for that...

A Geeky New Banner

On account of me not having used colored pencils in recent memory, I'm actually rather surprised at the quality of this. Well, the original looks much sharper and has a blue background (does my scanner not pick up blue?), but hey, it looks, uh, presentable? Now don't get me wrong, this is pretty far removed from those fancy, professional looking banners you might see at Scienceblogs or something. Instead of adding words to a picture, I definitely went for the more homemade look. Perhaps it is commentary on the very nature of this blog.

In the geeky spirit of this page, I might as well reveal the animals in the picture:


Top Row:

Dermophis sp.
A very strange looking lissamphibian (a caecilian) last seen here. A picture at Darren's post also provided inspiration.

Lissodelphis borealis
Previously mentioned here, this is from an image I never got permission to use. Well, I got it from the author, just not the publisher. The original still looks a little skinnier.

Hydrurga leptonyx
The Leopard Seal has not yet been mentioned on this blog. This is one of my favorites.


Middle Row:

Scutisorex somereni
The hero shrew! I felt I needed a nice nondescript small mammalian bust in this drawing for some reason. This species and its incredibly bizarre spine are discussed here.

Monjurosuchus sp.
My only extinct animal (a monjurusuchid choristodere) was discussed and drawn here. Ah, that appears to be the last time I used colored pencils.

Cathartes aura
The turkey vulture. Not outright mentioned, but cathartids are discussed here and here.

Fregata sp.
A generalized male frigatebird with what appears to be semi-inflated throat pouch. Discussed here.


Bottom Row:

Astronotus ocellatus
The Oscar or velvet cichlid. Not discussed (yet), but I did own a few in my childhood.

Leptoptilos crumeniferus
The Marabou stork. Mentioned a few times but not discussed (yet).

Cirroteuthis muelleri
A cirrate octopode, a group discussed here and mentioned sporadically.

Mesoplodon densirostris
The dense-beaked whale, owner of the most dense bone known (in the skull). This species wasn't discussed (yet), but potentially new mesoplodont whales were discussed here and here.

Rafetus swinhoei?, R. leloii?
The closest thing to a cryptid is this, the Hoan Kiem Lake turtle. Although it looks like some crude jumble, I can provide visual confirmation that this species really is that bizarre looking. Although not outright discussed, I previously exploited the bizarreness of softshell turtles for this post.

Smutsia temmincki
That bipedal pangolin mentioned here. And no, it probably shouldn't be in Manis.


Well, my spring break is coming to an unfortunate end.

One Year of The Lord Geekington

61 published posts.

That's what I'm measuring my year by. At a rate of a post a week I feel somewhat accomplished. Cutting and pasting things into Word revealed that I have written something like 87,000 words and filled out around 300 pages so far. By either count, this is roughly the length of an average novel. Granted somebody like H. P. Lovecraft could pump out a letter of a similar length in about a week, but given the subjects covered I feel that I've accomplished something. At least one monstrous post took over a dozen hours to illustrate and write, for instance. I feel that I'm being self-congratulatory here, this feels bizarre.



Reflections Upon the Lord Geekington


So how did this all begin anyways?


I remember as a little kid how I'd always ramble on about every science fact I knew to who ever had the tolerance to listen to me. This blog seems to be a direct continuation of that, now that everybody has the capacity to write about everything to everybody else. As you may recall, the first few months of this blog were rather uneven and, well, geeky. I talked about video games, weird paintings, art, forteana, my own personal speculative evolution, and even a bizarre type of, um, -craft. In retrospect, it really doesn't feel all the worthwhile writing to me. Sure art is nice, but there are much finer websites out there covering it. I had reached the realization that with 100 million other bloggers out there (big numbers scare me) I might want to write something more worthwhile. What is worthwhile to me isn't worthwhile to everybody of course, but at least I feel writing about overlooked natural science is a lot more fulfilling. I hope that it is at least an occasionally interesting read to some people occasionally, I'd hate for this just to be some self-centered exercise, or, er, more so. But hey, I don't get paid for this so at least I feel a little altruistic!

From about February on I had shifted more towards science blogging, writing about cephalopods and cryptid amphibians and other things Darren Naish hadn't posted on yet (or ever). Being dangerously under-qualified compared to Dr. Naish, I didn't my blog to just just wind up a Fooling Grandma* (or worse yet, a Deceiving Great-Grandma) of his creation. I think now that there is information, probably far more than enough, to go around for everybody. Since starting to blog Darren has moved to Scienceblogs and some other very fine Zoology/Paleontology based blogs have arisen such as, ooh, say Laelaps and the Catalogue of Organisms. These blogs and others have given me an unprecedented opportunity to learn about science in a way that I would never have been able to do in the past. What a golden age of information we live in.

*Coined by Russell Shepherd, date unknown. Signifies a product made in imitation of an actual franchise (Action Rangers --> Power Rangers). Most kids and adults realize the difference, so apparently these products were making profits solely by fooled grandmas. Deceiving Great-Grandma. Older people also have great difficulty reading white on black and this footnote is likely nigh-unreadable.

It has come to my surprise that not only do people read what I write, but two fellows (Darren and Chris Taylor (Cat. of Org.)) have given me the "thinking blogger" award, much to my astonishment. If I had heard about such a thing at the outset of blogging, the thought of receiving it would never have crossed my mind. Instead of making me feel pretentious (!!??!) it makes me live in fear of betraying this title. And I don't believe I've ever formally thanked Chris yet, well, thanks! As for awarding others...I don't think I carry any sort of authority, so I'll trust other better bloggers to make their decisions.

Here I am writing this post, just to give you all a glimpse of the magic in progress. I'm sitting on the floor, not even in my own room, and hammering away. Oh yes, I cut my hair rarely, usually shaving my head on Maine Day. This is why I don't talk about or show my personal life.

Random Highlights

As if the structure of this post wasn't convoluted enough...


Disappointments.

Judging by my comments, I have had some uninteresting posts here. I've got to hand it to my sister for commenting enough to basically be a co-blogger of sorts. No zero comments for me! My "scientific" racism, dang! I though that was a pretty good topic. Maybe my "Proto-Europoid" mug scared everybody off. My post on pseudopapers was also just, blah, not needed. There are others, but a cursory glance should give them away.

I'm often rather self-critical, so that coupled with feedback (or lack thereof) will hopefully drive me to improving this blog. I have the drive to improve things, although recently the motivation to do much is more difficult to come by (severe money related troubles, yeesh).


Successes - or at least better posts.

Despite my oft-critical perspective, I'm surprised by how popular some posts were. Anything dealing with large animals (here and here) were surprisingly popular. They were a topical overload and kinda jumpy, but hey, they were pretty fun. As for my favorite posts, I'd say that they were the Omnivore vs. Hypercarnivore post, the choristodere post, and the Meganthropus post - the one that launched me into using peer-reviewed articles. The super-long and semi-technical posts were my favorites, but unfortunately they have to be rare due to the time involved. Sigh...

And now for highlights in picture form:

Choristoderes!

Me and some rather large catfish.

My interpretation of three bigfoot "types" according to Hall/Coleman/Huyghe.

Some very large squids. Hmm, no 108 footers as far as I can tell...

A fictional temnospondyl from a quasi-abandoned project.

That ever-strange cetacean centipede.

The amazing blanket octopus. Taken by Marcello Conticelli off Ponza, Italy.

The obscure Barra carcass, one very strangely decomposed whale.

And I course, I give my thanks to everybody that I have failed to mention in this post. And if you find this slightly interesting, please visit the links to the right.


Let's hope I can write another one of these

-Cameron

The Future is Irregular

Dear Constant Readers,

I certainly have developed a great deal deal of respect for people that can write on scientific topics on a regular basis. When I wasn't working, it seems like all my time was eaten away by blog-related activities. And yet...looking back it doesn't seem like my output was that astounding. Perhaps I just write (or rather, re-re-re-write) in a rather time consume way. Now my summer is coming to a close and there are still some things that I'd like to do. A vacation away from blogging if you will.

When I get back to school, I know that my modest current pace and content are going to be impossible to keep up. You can probably expect a return to my occasionally scientific and much shorter posting. This by no means is the end of my semi-quasi-whatever-technical posting, but it will certainly become a rarity. The future is irregular and unpredictable, so I can't really say anything for certain. That is, except for my interest in Zoological matters. I tend to enjoy sharing what I learn with people and blogging is currently the best output for this tendency. Instead of rushing to do topics, I'll let them come more naturally and at a slower pace. Of course I'll never be able to write about or even learn about everything I want to, but at least I have the satisfaction of constantly learning.

What's next? I have no idea...

-Cameron

Achtung!

Constant Readers, your worst fears have materialized. I will in fact be afflicted with Finals and will be too busy to make my usual blogs! How can you possibly go on? I suggest surfing the web as usual, uncovering the pleasured of dubious information. For more dubious information, you can come back here in a few weeks to see if I have updated things. I will probably be blogging and writing like a mad(er)man over break, so expect an avalanche of new goodies. Here are pictures of probable topics that I will be covering.

What is a Lord Geekington?

Dear Constant Reader(s),

I guess an explanation of the intentions of this blog are the first item of business in order. What I want to share is, simply put, my various interests which make me such a geek. I have numerous assorted various interests that are changing very frequently, so I'll share what I learn and what I am interested in with you all. Perhaps you will find it interesting, or perhaps you would rather look at the pretty pictures. The term or perhaps nickname "Lord Geekington" was coined by one Matt Leland, to whom I am endebted for its sheer creativity. I am currently working on several side project websites, so this blog could almost function as a diary on their various developments and possible abortions. One of them ties in with a book project which I am currently working on and will probably never finish. Lots of my interests will eventually tie into this book and influence it, and a huge amount of background is getting organized. I don't know what I'll be interested in next or not finish next, but it should be interesting. You and I, Constant Reader, are going to take a trip into the psyche of this Lord Geekington.

The Lord Geekington posing as the incredibly vain person he is for thinking that anybody would actually read a blog by him.