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Post by dertodesking on Jan 29, 2011 14:09:12 GMT -8
Only -9!? I think I have to visit her post again! I didnĀ“t like how she talked to us when it was obvious that there was nothing we could do. LOL ;D ;D ;D Agreed tho' - she DID have a bad attitude... Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jan 29, 2011 13:04:03 GMT -8
Ah, that would explain it then. So what is all this 'Exalt' and 'Smite' all about ? And the 'Karma'? Hi Dave, Once a day you can either "exalt" or "smite" someone whose posts you either like or dislike - this has either a positive or negative effect on their karma. It doesn't actually do anything other than give an indication or whether you're liked or not!!! Have a look at the post where "travelerx" asked if anyone could identify a bunch of pansies ( ;D...I think there was a bee in there somewhere!!!) and then took a real crappy attitude to anyone who posted a humorous reply - she's ended up with a -9 karma! Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jan 29, 2011 12:56:00 GMT -8
First picture : biotope of the subtile Delias benasu from Sulawesi. Stunning primeforest above Puncak Palopo. Stunning indeed Was it easy to organise you collecting trip there? I would love to visit somewhere like this but at the minute it is only a dream! Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jan 28, 2011 12:02:20 GMT -8
Thanks Anthony and Al for your words Anthony - sorry to hear about your sad experience of losing loved pets...I am grateful that I didn't have the make that decision. How can people intentionally abuse an animal??? Al - Reggie is GREAT ;D Nine months - just a pup, eh? Has he got much growing left to do? Losing three dogs must leave a big hole to fill but although they'll never be forgotten Reggie looks big enough to fill any gap! I reckon I'll leave it a couple of years before looking to get another dog...lots going on right now and by that time my daughter will be old enough to take an active part in caring for a pet. Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jan 27, 2011 12:21:23 GMT -8
Just thought I'd throw this out for consideration: when dispatching insects by freezing, make sure the freezer is cold enough. I once put a skipper in a refrigerator where the temperature was not quite freezing. I left it there for a week, and figured it would have died after having spent that long at 39 degrees (Fahrenheit). But a short while after having removed it from the refrigerator it began fluttering around again in the container. Hey ento, 39 degrees Fahrenheir = +3.8 degrees Celsius = above freezing! Like Bob said, stick 'em in the freezer (or the ice box section of the fridge) and that will DEFINATELY dispatch them... Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jan 27, 2011 5:41:33 GMT -8
Thanks for your kind words gents. John - I'm not a believer in Heaven but it would be good to think that there is a dog version! Dave - yeah, we took consolation from the fact that she had a good life. I know what you mean about not getting another dog. We've said we wouldn't (at the minute) but you never know...what's that old saying "it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all"! Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jan 26, 2011 13:29:53 GMT -8
Ditto that! Amazing 'photos - congratulations! ;D Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jan 26, 2011 12:25:30 GMT -8
Hey John, Lovely dog! My sister-in-law has a Rottie and despite being a monster (size-wise) he's one of the most affectionate dogs I've ever met! My old dog, Cassie (a cross Collie-Alsatian), died exactly a week ago after she'd part of our family for nearly sixteen years so dogs are a bit of an emotional subject for me at the minute... I got her when she was about six months old from a rescue centre after her previous owners had beaten her with a hammer! (I can't use the words I'd like to to describe these "people" or Clark would HAVE to ban me from the forum!). Throughout her life, if there was shouting on the TV she'd shake like a leaf. Gradually she became more trusting and we really developed a bond. I'd never had a dog before and thought that anyone who said that kind of thing was mad but you really do. About two years ago she developed canine breast cancer and ended up having a couple of operations to remove lumps in her chest which left two scars running the length of her body (we called them her zippers! ) but she recovered and was like a puppy again. The cancer came back and she ended up having quite a few lumps removed and some of the bone in her jaw but she always bounced back. Anyway, about a month or so ago she slowed down noticeably and we ended up having weekly vet appointments to check her out. The vet warned us that she didn't have too long left and that if she got any worse we may have to make "that decision" and have her put to sleep. We took her to the vet last week and he was confident that she wasn't in pain so we arranged another appointment for a weeks time. That night she was like a puppy again - bouncing about, being affectionate, asking for treats...anyway, the following morning I found her curled up on her bed and realised she had died. My wife had been quite optimistic that she was getting better but I remembered reading somewhere that terminally ill people often seem to improve in the last fews days/hours of their life and wondered if the same was true for dogs... Having to go upstairs and tell my wife was terrible as was moving her so that my three year old daughter didn't see her body. We've tried explaining to my daughter that she's "gone to sleep forever and won't be coming back home" but she doesn't understand. Only last night she announced, out of the blue, "I love Cassie" which brought a lump to the throat. Anyway, for anyone who has a dog - treasure them and the companionship they bring, bite your lip if they piddle on the floor and treat them good. Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jan 25, 2011 13:37:34 GMT -8
Many thanks to all friends collectors for the kind words. I neded them, because when I posted it ,I was quite depressed: I had just found my best O. meridionalis (f. confluenta) very damaged by some anthrenus. I checked all my butterflies ( many) and no one was damaged, hundreds of italian pieridae or satyiride for example, all perfectly preserved!! The problem is that the perfect paradiclorobenzen was banned in Italy and Europe, I think, for his toxic activity for the humans ( I used it for many years and my be it is the cause of a gentle form of lynphatic leukemia) , and now it is quite difficult to find something with same efficacy - pyrethrins are equally efficent? - Incidentally anyone knows collectors with hemathological problems? It could be an interesting argument for a forum. alberto Alberto, Bad news on the meridionalis I've noticed that there are still people selling PDB (usually listed as "moth balls") on eBay UK...not recommending you buy any, of course, just an observation! Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jan 24, 2011 12:59:10 GMT -8
"Scream" was too hardcore for me ... "The Sound of Music" was too hardcore for me! Bob, LOL - the best post of the thread! ;D ;D ;D Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jan 24, 2011 12:55:08 GMT -8
You haven't got a 'photo have you?
Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jan 23, 2011 12:14:17 GMT -8
John,
;D Very, very nice butterfly. Getting ANYTHING from the Andamans counts as a success!
Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jan 23, 2011 12:10:33 GMT -8
This species has always been one of my favorite gloss swallowtails. I have a few of them myself, and they really attract attention from folks when they browse through my collection. Nice specimen, and good job mounting! Tom Thanks Tom, One of my favourites too! I've shown my collection to a few non-collector friends and it's always the achillides (and the Ornithoptera!) that get jaws dropping. Even my wife, who is "so so" about my collection admits that these are georgeous! Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jan 23, 2011 12:07:03 GMT -8
Jaume,
Beautiful series! You must have some great contacts to get these - I have struggled to get three of these!
Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jan 23, 2011 12:04:33 GMT -8
Certainly one I will never be able to afford. Well done Alberto! Dave, You never know! I bet you thought the same about your A. besanti? Simon
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