SE Asia is for new species

If you want to plan a vacation, may I suggest Southeast Asia? There are so many species being discovered there on a daily basis that there are probably a ton of sponsored research trips to tag onto.

From National Geographic:

December 15, 2008--Gumprecht's green pit viper is among at least 1,068 new species that have been discovered in Southeast Asia's Greater Mekong River region in the last ten years--an average of two a week, the international conservation group WWF announced today.

"We don't know of any other place on the planet that has the same rate of discovery," said Stuart Chapman, director of WWF's Greater Mekong Programme, in a statement. The Greater Mekong includes areas of Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia.

Discovered in northeastern Thailand in 2002, the newfound snake species grows to about 4 feet (130 centimeters). Like all pit vipers, it hunts prey by sensing heat through small pits in the sides of its face.

The only down side to the SE Asian research vacation? You may have to find stuff like this green pit viper, a cyanide spitting hot pink centipede or the biggest spider in the world.

Flood In Venice

After sinking inch by inch into the Mediterranean for the last century (because it's built on sticks), Venice is now being flooded by the 4th highest tide ever recorded since 1872. It's a brutal 1, 2 punch that has everyone wading around the streets with tacky tourist trappings floating by. It's much easier to find sympathy with a place you've been, and for me that rings true with Venice. I spent a decidedly un-romantic but very, very interesting few days there with my Aussie friend heather in 2001. Until this story broke and I looked on the map, I had no idea where Venice was geographically. It's way up in the armpit of Italy, nuzzled near Croatia and Slovenia and all those other places that seem so mush further away than Italy. 

Freedom

Through the power of engineering genius and the resources of the internet, I have devised a simple two step plan for going off the grid that's so brilliant it's impossible to not follow through on. The majority of it can be accomplished from the comfort of your home.

Step One - secure a location
Step Two - get some energy

It could be sweet. C'mon people, who's with me?

No this is not Sci-Fi

This is an actual cave in Mexico, only recently discovered in 2000. It was a veritable crystal factory for tens of thousands of years, sitting under just the right conditions of mineral filled water, heat and time until the 1980s when a mining company accidentally drained the cave. If these crystals look huge, its because they are the biggest on Earth. Some of them weigh in at over 50 tons. Because the mining company drained the cave they have to be extremely careful about who goes in there. The lack of water, introduction of other natural gases and air temp can all effect the crystals, possibly causing them to collapse. So for now, marvel at the photos and check the story from National Geographic about the authors trip into the stifling cave.