Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Zoom Seekers, photos, octos, and more
(please scroll down for details)
How can it be Labor Day already . . . ???
SPEED OF THE YEAR - Actually, this is NOT a year where I feel like it's flying by. Maybe it's because I'm getting older or - god forbid - moving slower, but this year so far feels like it's moving at a leisurely pace. Seems like there's plenty of time to do things and enjoy life, despite the obvious logistical issues the pandemic presents.
ZOOM SEEKERS REMINDER - It's not this Tuesday but next week (because September started on a Wednesday, which pushes the second Tuesday of the month as deep as it can go - September 14) and our Zoom Seekers speaker will be Pete "NetDoc" Murray, who is the head honcho at ScubaBoard. He'll be giving us history, secrets, and tips and tricks. Should be interesting and fun.
CLEVER CUTTLEFISH - Memory is a tricky thing. Can you remember what you had for dinner last night? Can you remember who you went to a movie with five years ago? Cuttlefish, already known to be fairly clever animals, apparently have a good memory too. A study has shown they can learn certain behaviors, especially related to food, and retain that knowledge throughout their life cycle (which is admittedly pretty short - around 2 years tops). Whether or not this has any practical application beyond cuttlefish is unknown, but it's interesting nonetheless. You can read about it here: CUTTLEFISH HAVE GOOD MEMORIES.
WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR - There are a number of these contests but this one is sponsored by the Natural History Museum of London. They were concerned that with the pandemic restricting travel, they wouldn't get many entries this year, but say they were pleasantly surprised. You can see a dozen of the "highly commended" images here: WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR.
FUNNY PHOTOS TOO - Not to be outdone, there's also the Comedy Wildlife Photos award, and they've released their shortlist of candidates for 2021 honors. You can see some of those here: COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOS.
WANNA LEARN ABOUT MANTA RAYS? - Then make sure you attend this Wednesday's meeting of the South Orange County Dive Club (SOCDC). I'll be their guest speaker (via Zoom - although they now meet in-person at Buffalo Wild Wings in Lake Forest) and the topic will be "In Search of Mantas," which will share with you four of the top manta hotspots around the world and show you what to expect when you get there. Hope to "see" you there.
DON'T PISS OF A FEMALE OCTOPUS - It turns out they throw things at males who they feel are harassing them. This behavior has been observed at an Australian site known as "Octopolis" because of the high numbers of octos that build dens on the site. Females have been observed repeatedly throwing things at males - and hitting them - to get them to go away. Perhaps this is the octo version of the "Time's Up" movement. You can read more about it and see video here: FEMALE OCTOS THROW THINGS.
And that'll do it for now. Hope you have a great week, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
(please scroll down for details)
How can it be Labor Day already . . . ???
SPEED OF THE YEAR - Actually, this is NOT a year where I feel like it's flying by. Maybe it's because I'm getting older or - god forbid - moving slower, but this year so far feels like it's moving at a leisurely pace. Seems like there's plenty of time to do things and enjoy life, despite the obvious logistical issues the pandemic presents.
ZOOM SEEKERS REMINDER - It's not this Tuesday but next week (because September started on a Wednesday, which pushes the second Tuesday of the month as deep as it can go - September 14) and our Zoom Seekers speaker will be Pete "NetDoc" Murray, who is the head honcho at ScubaBoard. He'll be giving us history, secrets, and tips and tricks. Should be interesting and fun.
CLEVER CUTTLEFISH - Memory is a tricky thing. Can you remember what you had for dinner last night? Can you remember who you went to a movie with five years ago? Cuttlefish, already known to be fairly clever animals, apparently have a good memory too. A study has shown they can learn certain behaviors, especially related to food, and retain that knowledge throughout their life cycle (which is admittedly pretty short - around 2 years tops). Whether or not this has any practical application beyond cuttlefish is unknown, but it's interesting nonetheless. You can read about it here: CUTTLEFISH HAVE GOOD MEMORIES.
WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR - There are a number of these contests but this one is sponsored by the Natural History Museum of London. They were concerned that with the pandemic restricting travel, they wouldn't get many entries this year, but say they were pleasantly surprised. You can see a dozen of the "highly commended" images here: WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR.
FUNNY PHOTOS TOO - Not to be outdone, there's also the Comedy Wildlife Photos award, and they've released their shortlist of candidates for 2021 honors. You can see some of those here: COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOS.
WANNA LEARN ABOUT MANTA RAYS? - Then make sure you attend this Wednesday's meeting of the South Orange County Dive Club (SOCDC). I'll be their guest speaker (via Zoom - although they now meet in-person at Buffalo Wild Wings in Lake Forest) and the topic will be "In Search of Mantas," which will share with you four of the top manta hotspots around the world and show you what to expect when you get there. Hope to "see" you there.
DON'T PISS OF A FEMALE OCTOPUS - It turns out they throw things at males who they feel are harassing them. This behavior has been observed at an Australian site known as "Octopolis" because of the high numbers of octos that build dens on the site. Females have been observed repeatedly throwing things at males - and hitting them - to get them to go away. Perhaps this is the octo version of the "Time's Up" movement. You can read more about it and see video here: FEMALE OCTOS THROW THINGS.
And that'll do it for now. Hope you have a great week, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
