Gidday all, thought you might like to know that in doing our dissections today (about a ton of partially-defrosted Archis), in addition to getting wetter, slimier and smellier than anyone cares to imagine, we made a SPECTACULAR discovery at the end of the day. We've got a roll of film to develop and will be more explicit when you can see the photos for yourselves... but it's big, and it's beautiful, and you will be the first to hear the news. :)

In the meantime can we guess???????

Did you find a whale's beak in its stomach?

:roflmao: laughing at my own jokes again!

...eagerly awaiting! :?: :squid: :?:

ohboyohboyohboy!

I bet I know what it was!

It was a giant squid! :D

:oops:

Okay, so I don't know. But I bet it was really cool, so get that film developed already! :D

rusty

....it is rather sensational news - the sort of thing you'd read about in the paper even .... and Col was surprisingly close, in the sense that this and the whale thread have something in common - but you'd not guess what - and we'll not say until we're 100% certain.

.....just itching to tell.... (pity there's not an 'itching' icon) :D

itching, itching, itching (III) - and it's not a rash
O

Okay Ive got it!!!!!!

The reason why Architeuthis is so big is because they are part of a symbiotic relationship with whales!

The whales pass their eggs to squid who carry them for the whales until they hatch... In return the squid get to eat some of them.

The reason why this happens is that whale's eggs are made of wood and float to the surface naturally but the squid as a host make sure they stay deep in the water column......

Close?

I'll cast my guess. I reckon you have found evidence for cannibalism amongst Architeuthis.

Either that or you have found either Glenn Millers or Capt. Nemo's head.

:bonk: I'm not even gonna touch this!!!!

But I am anxiously awaiting the outcome!!!

I know........ya found Hoffman's remains!!!!!

Carol :mrgreen:

Lemme guess... You found evidence that this beastie ate something from out of its range, huh? Something that is found either above or far below the Archi's usual range of travel? :)

And please don't tell me it was a copy of Ripley's "Believe it or Not"! :)

Sushi and Hakusan Sake,

John

Welllll... some good guesses here. I think the whale beaks one takes the cake for creativity... :)
We'll have the pictures back day-after-tomorrow, and all (or most) shall be revealed... :shock:

Day after tomorrow?!?!

Why...that's...Tuesday! Haven't you NuziLanders heard of one-hour-photo yet? Or digital photography? :P

I will be patient...I will be patient...

I'll just be over here...patiently checking airfares to Auckland...

rusty

I've got it! You've found half of the rudder of the 'Geronimo', that Jules Verne Trophy yacht.

Seriously looking forward to the photos!

The most exciting, sensational, fantastical, stupendously magical, phenomenal discovery of the century will soon be revealed .......

Photos are in and get picked up morrow, and we're 100% certain that what we've got is way cool - we've just got to explain how it came about.

Itching, itching, itching ..... rash developing

(ps, re the 1 hour photo thing .... you know we're both temporarily unemployed don't you :lol: )

The most exciting, sensational, fantastical, stupendously magical, phenomenal discovery of the century will soon be revealed .......

Tintenfisch and Steve,

Hmm... Well, my experience has been that biologists don't use words like this unless they've found something BIG, and I do mean B I G. I mean "run outside naked screaming 'Eureka' to the heavens" big. I was thinking maybe you've found evidence of speciation in Architeuthis but even that isn't that unexpected... Something on the line of finding an ammonite, or discovering a new ORDER, like when entomologists discovered the new Order Mantophasmotodea last year or so. You've found something that will turn the Ceph world on its proverbial bum, haven't you?

Is it an ammonite? Are they still out there? :)

Sushi and Sake, and whatever they eat in New Zealand

John

P.S.

Oh, and my wife thinks maybe it was a French Fishing boat.... :lol:

Well, no... :oops: ...I missed the employment thing. Oh, the things I would do if I had money! Winning the hundreds-of-millions lotteries we tend to have these days, for instance. You'd have your own sub, Steve-O...provided I could get a ride now and then! :D

rusty

I know............. it was the last hollywood director to make squid the villain in a movie


J

This suspense is killing me!!!!!Pictures????????????????????????? ??


Anything??????????????????????????




Carol :mrgreen:

Patience, Grasshoppa! According to this international time zone map I've found, as I write this (8:30 am central US time) the time in Kiwiland is...uh...

3:30 am Wednesday morning? Um...I need to work on that...I think they ARE right next to the international date line...

A coworker has a wife from New Zealand. I think I'll ask him when he comes in.

rusty

Yup, coworker confirmed it. They're 5 hours earlier than Central US and a day later. :o

I hope they get up early this morning though! :P I mean, wouldn't you be excited? 'course...I suppose the store with the photos prolly doesn't open before 8 or 9...sigh. I guess maybe we won't be seeing anything till this late afternoon/early evening?

rusty

Anyone awake down there yet?
:alarm:

By the way, where is Old Zealand?

I would have to say that I am also twitching with anticipation (or was it the dave's insanity sauce I had on my eggs this morning?)... Can't wait!

Chuckle.

.....drum roll... :band:

We've bred a new species of dusty wingless fly that lives in squid goo.....

....no, no, no ..... maybe it's the discovery of a new breed of maggot hereafter referred to as a naggot.....

....no, no, no, no .... maybe it's that we found a 7-year-old sandwich in one of the draws in my old office .... and it was still edible ......

....or was it .... you'll just have to wait a few more hours ..... :D

.... perhaps I'll go have a coffee, then trundle on down to the photo store and pick up the prints .... or perhaps wait for Tintenfisch to rise from her slumber (this could be morrow) and do it then .... maybe we'll go for a swim instead .... coz we are unemployed for another .... hmmmmm ..... 5 days .... and it is summer .......

...maybe I should call a few press cobbers and give them a scoop. I know, I'll call the Queen. And from the drains green mist did rise and shroud their abode in the heartland of Wellington, and the bellowing and prancing of thousands of tutu-clad cane toads was heard across the oceans ........... Queen Sheetal did stir .......

Dude, you're evil! :twisted:

HA HA HA HA! Okay, okay... I guess we'll wait... :lol:

Have fun tormenting us!

Sushi and Sake,

John

According to my office friend, New Zealand was named by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. It was actually something on the order of "Neui Zealand" (I didn't nail the spelling down) which means the same thing. The "Old Zealand" he was by implication referring to was a specific region of his homeland, and Zealand itself apparently means "Sea Land."

rusty

Thanks Rusty :D

I guess I could have looked it up myself, but I,m all dazed and confused, trying to get some work done and waiting for the news to come :? :?

Wow, you guys are champing at the bit as much as I am - and would you believe it (I swear I'm not just being evil) I went down to get the films and they'd had mechanical delays!!! Apparently they don't know the sanity of millions depends on their prompt processing! But they should be done within the hour - so I will do my best to have the news up by [pause for calculation] 8pm central US time?
LOL, I'm on the edge of my own seat...

...8pm central US time?
hmmm.... State of the Union Address vs. Architeuthis gut contents... hmmm.... :indiffer:

...maybe I should call a few press cobbers and give them a scoop.
no way, man -- the scoop will be heard here, exclusively on TONMO.com! :wink:

and would you believe it (I swear I'm not just being evil) I went down to get the films and they'd had mechanical delays!!!

AAAARRRRRGH!


Kat, maybe you should offer to leave them a pressy (hidden of course!) of nicely slimy, rotting squid temtacles (hmm some could be draped artistically over the counter!) only to be removed when you get the pics!!

J

MECHNICAL BREAKDOWN????????????? :shock:

Alright. It's 7:34 EST. You have 26 minutes or I hop on a plane!!!!!!!!!!

(I wish!!!!)

PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

Not sooooo patiently waiting, and if it's a maggot..........................

Carol

:tomato:

OK, you're gonna kill me. The films, while containing many amusing shots of Steve, don't have the pics I wanted because I had to switch rolls...
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. 5 shots or not, I'm taking those suckers (ahem) in for developing this afternoon.
Guess you can watch State of the Union instead... :oops:

Sigh.

And it's not naggots [sic] - I promise.

Aarghh! What are you lot up to? Tintenfisch.... Torquemada more like!

You are evil, torturing us like this. We'll send you our medical bills, then you'll regret winding us up like this!

Guess you can watch State of the Union instead...
Speaking of the State of the Union, I think you and Dr. Steve are the new Axis of Evil!
:twisted: :evil: :x :evil: :twisted:

I can vouch for T-fisch; this film confusion was a most unfortunate incident/accident. Morrow prints will be out in 1 hr (we did finish off one offending roll of film on horseback this avo .... atop the worlds largest and longest stallion it was .... we are on holiday you know :D ), and as soon as we get my scanner operational TTF will have an image online. Unfortunately none of the shots of Steve can be reproduced online ... for reasons we'll not go into.

Sorry all, but the wait will be worth it. We're considering not telling you everything .... perhaps we'll just put a single image online, without text, and get you to determine the significance of it .... or perhaps we'll give you a few clues.

What do you want? A challenge or something delivered to you on a plate?

Anon
(aka, one cog in the axis of dark and dastardly eveeeel)

Well....... I say challenge! Still waiting................................. .. :roll:

Hmmmmm...... Steve's photo's cannot be seen........Hmmmmmm.........

Carol

I agree...you ARE dark and dastardly eeeeviiiillll. BUt....I think a challenge is also a quite cool idea. Of course, it means you'll have to camp out on the thread to see our ideas as they trickle in, but...

I suppose I can't blame those who are just dying to know RIGHT NOW for hating us for liking this idea... :twisted:

rusty

I finally know what this song (http://music.kulichki.net/txt/nightcrawlers/little_black_egg.shtml) was all about

:nautilus:

Ahem,
I vote a challenge. Certainly, something! :)
Brandon

I've got my game on... challenge me! (I need to find a smilie with a battery on his/her shoulder)...

Grr... I agree that a challenge would be fun, but please let this not be another cold fusion! :P

I remember one time on a coastal ecology trip, my instructor's husband, apparently in a bad mood and in a moment of inspired arrogance exclaimed "Marine biology is a waste of time. All the great discoveries have already been made." I seem to remember Max Planck's father making the same remark about physics some time before Planck went on to discover Quantum Theory. I think that those who forget the thrill of discovery have lost their way in the sciences. Its good, either way....

So, if you'll excuse my ramblings... Tintenfisch... BRING ON THE CHALLENGE!! THE GAME IS AFOOT!! :lol:

Sushi and Sake,

John

All right, you got it. A challenge it is. The first pic is up... more to follow as discussion unfolds... on the thread CHALLENGE (http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=226).

On your mark, get set... go!