These sensitive creatures live in caves and can be found in Central and Southeastern Europe. They are a type of salamander, which lives in total darkness. They are listed as vulnerable due to habitat destruction. Water pollution and the terrain above their caves being changed can alter the chemistry of their environment. They are not quick to adapt, so the population decreases.
What are some facts?
Olms are 100% aquatic.
They are blind, but have acute senses of hearing and smell. They also use electro-sensitivity to find prey.
They typically lack pigmentation.
Their skin is translucent, which means their organs are visible from the outside.
A subspecies called ‘Black Olms’ live near Slovenia and get their name from their coloration.
It has three toes on its front legs and two on its back legs.
Olms are also called proteus, cave salamanders, white salamanders, and human fish.
Their exact location are the underground caves and pools of the Dinaric Alps.
They swallow insect larva, small crabs, and snails whole.
Olms have teeth that create a barrier to prevent large pieces of food from falling out of their mouths.
After eating a lot, they can store nutrients in their livers in case food becomes scarce.
An Olm can go 10 years without eating by reducing their metabolic activity and reabsorbing their own body tissue.
They retain the frilly gills and tail fins of their larva stage.
Olms can live 68-100 years, which makes it the longest living amphibian.
Where to even start? I made progress in a lot of ways, which might be why I’m tired. Well, that and continuing to heal. That takes a lot out of me, especially when certain entities stress me out so much that sleeping becomes an issue. I’ve had to use the Zzzquil at times just to ward off full exhaustion. Next week should be better.
As far as writing goes, I did make a good amount of progress. I finished chapters 9 and 10 of Darwin & the Joy Path. My speed is still one section per day due to appointments and not being able to stay seated for long. With the holiday break coming up, I might be able to do 2 a day if I don’t do have appointments. I’m still going to take an hour to get fresh air and play Pokemon, which usually gives me a recharge. Not sure if I’m physically and mentally at that point, but we’ll see. Means I’m either getting 1.5 or 3.66 chapters done before things are done.
I will admit that I’m having some trouble figuring out the first part of chapter 11. The notes I have are . . . Well, I seem to have thrown about five issues into a section that will range from 3-6 pages. This is the beginning of the next challenge of the Joy Path too, so they still have the rest of chapter 11 and all of 12. I will try to take some time this weekend to list the threats and see if I can combine or minimize. The loose rocks and quakes can be part of the background since it’s a dangerous mountain climb. Not sure what ‘launched to’ means since the last word got smeared. At least I have until Wednesday to figure this all out.
I’m going to be finishing up the February posts and maybe set a few up for March tonight since I have the time. Possibly jump back into ‘Phi Beta Files’ since I finally figured out the adventures for penultimate volume. Can’t remember what I had for the finale due to it being induced by fatigue and medication. A friend suggested I go back into the hospital to see if it all comes back, but I don’t think insurance would cover that. Not going to hunt for the bacteria that brutalized me and ask for another round either.
So, how’s my health doing? The drainage wound has finally healed to the point where I don’t need it packed. I can take care of it at home while it finished closing. This past week was frustrating though because the nerves and blood vessels started growing in, which is a good sign. Just means bleeding easily and feeling itchy, which sucks because I can’t scratch without making it bleed even more. Still, it means the nightmare I’ve been dealing with since the week before Thanksgiving is nearly over. One more appointment to make sure things are good and that’s it. Means I can also go back to work this week even though it’s only for two days. Get to see my students and coworkers before the break, which I mentally needed.
With the holiday break starting this week, I will have a bunch of free time. I don’t get my son until the second half, so I’ll get writing done while he’s with his mom. That’s really it considering the cold weather and I will still be a little injured. This break and the one in February are usually lazy ones because it’s too cold outside. The mall is an option, but it gets crowded and you can’t do much there unless you spend money. I don’t know if I should say I need a lazy period since I’ve been sitting on my rump for so long. Guess it is different when you do it to relax instead of being injured.
Oh, I nearly forgot that I mentioned latkes. Since it’s still Hanukkah, we’re doing our usual latke party today. Always tasty and there tends to be enough leftovers for me to get extra meals. Hoping to make at least one of my work lunches out of them. They’re so easy to bring and reheat since I go plain. This event also means family will be over, which is nice since I was out of commission on Thanksgiving. Not that my son and niece weren’t hanging in my room with the Nintendo Switch. I can actually get out of bed and go downstairs without unrivaled agony this time.
So, what are my goals of the week since I’m nearly healed?
Latke party today.
Spend time with son.
Write more Darwin & the Joy Path.
Finish February posts when free.
Work on ‘Phi Beta Files’ outlines.
Puzzle time.
Binge ‘The Mighty Nein’ once the final episode is out.
Catch Pokemon for exercise. (Can’t use bike yet. Need full heal for that.)
Get car taken care of.
Oh yeah. Some great friends sent me get well gifts including Amazon gift cards. I got myself some simple things like a new baby name book, a long-sleeve shirt, and a 3-CD set of rock songs (arriving in about 2-3 weeks). There were two things I got that I wanted to share. The sweatshirt was one I was excited to stumble onto and the satchel is something I’ve needed for years since my old one has been falling apart:
(I love this poem. A big reason is because it reminds me of all the fun I had with my son when he was little. This was done with a backdrop of people judging me for being a very involved father. I did more than this stuff, but these were when it was play time. People seemed to think this stuff and working are all that fathers are good for. Not changing diapers, bottle feedings, waking up with the child, potty training, reading stories, cleaning, cooking, and the list keeps going. I don’t know. Maybe I should have added that to the poem, but it still works like this, right?)
(Was thinking about the duality of humanity and came up with two poems. I know this makes three poems in a row, but I wanted to get these two out. Enjoy.)
Devouring
And burning
Tearing
And suffocating
With no sense of wrong
Until the effects come home
To humanity’s doorstep
Living outside nature
Out of sync
With Mother Earth
And the universe
They spread
Like an unchecked virus
Is destruction all we know?
Even those who see
Are helpless
To stop the ravaging
Embedded
In our species’ darkest spiral
Pillaging the world
Some for greed
Others out of ignorance
More for trapped survival
Even turning on our own
Where humanity destroys mankind
In the wake of the Great Cataclysm, a new predator will emerge from within Windemere’s shadow.
For fifty years, Clyde has been trapped beneath the earth while the vampire kingdom has been gradually losing its war against the Sun God’s followers. Only Mab believes that her partner survived his holy execution and is determined to bring him back to the city of Nyte. Retrieving the vampiric thief is only the beginning as he comes out of the ground stronger, faster, and possessing abilities that their kind have never witnessed throughout their ancient history. Thrown into the war, Clyde must be careful to hide his true nature while fighting alongside his old friends. Too bad he is having so much fun being free that keeping his secret might be the furthest thing from his mind.
Will anyone be ready for the inevitable rise of the Dawn Fangs?
The title says it all. For those who celebrate, Happy Hanukkah. For those who don’t . . . Happy Monday? That or Happy Hanukkah as well. Can’t tell what we say to people of other religions any more.
The quoll is a small, carnivorous marsupial with 3 species in Australia, 2 in New Guinea, and 1 in Tasmania due to going extinct on the mainland. They are listed as either endangered or near threatened. One of the main causes for their decline is the introduction of the cane toad, which is poisonous. Quolls don’t know any better and will eat this invasive species then die. They are also competing with and hunted by non-native foxes and cats, losing habitat to urbanization, and killed by poison that is placed out for other pests. Interestingly, the poison is a natural one used to eliminate invasive animals, but juvenile quolls have shown to be susceptible as well. Studies are being done to look more into that situation as well as reintroduction plans, eliminating foxes on the smaller islands, and breeding programs.
So, what are some quoll facts?
Quolls mate during winter.
A female will give birth to nearly 30 joeys, but only 6-7 will survive due to available teats. Remember that marsupials give birth and then the rice-sized joeys need to climb to the pouch in order to latch on. So, giving birth to many increases the chances of having surviving children.
A quoll litter can have joeys from multiple fathers.
Female quolls will primarily birth males in their first few litters and then more females in their latter ones.
Males tend to die after the first time they breed.
They reach maturity at 1 year and live around 3-6 years in the wild.
In the early 1800’s they started being called ‘tiger cat’, ‘native fox’, and ‘native cat’ due to their appearance. David Fleay fought to have them be called quolls again in the 1960’s because he felt the other names were misleading. Quolls are not related to cats or foxes.
Their closest relative is the Tasmanian Devil.
Quoll sizes range from 300 grams to 7 kilograms and 25 cm to 91 cm (not including the tail) depending on the species.
Smallest is the Northern quoll and largest is the Spotted-Tailed or Tiger quoll.
While fur color can range from black to light brown, they all have white spots.
Only the Spotted-Tailed quoll has a true pouch. All other species develop a skin-fold pouch during pregnancy.
Quolls are biofluorescent, which means they glow in the dark.
You know which picture I’m showing first:
This is under ultraviolet light, so it is does seem to be exaggerated.
Eastern Quoll (Found on Tasmania, but being reintroduced to mainland.)
The plus side is that I met all of my goals, including working on ‘Phi Beta Files’ and getting Burger King. So, it wasn’t a wasted week even though I had at least one appointment every day and became tired easily. Looks like next week is going to be the same, but I hope to add more walking in if schedule and weather permit.
Let me go a little more into detail about my recovery. So, I still have a deep wound, which requires daily measuring and packing. This means that I’ve gone to wound care or had a nurse come over every day. I used to take Oxycontin for the pain, but I had a bad reaction to it and stopped. Ibuprofen is doing the job as best as it can. As you can guess, it’s always a rough patch and requires some rest afterwards. It’s worth it though because I’m healing correctly and steadily. I will admit that seeing pictures of the wound was kind of disturbing, but at least I saw progress.
The hope is that I will at least be at the point where I can do the maintenance myself at home by the time I go back to work. It’s entirely possible given how much I healed in one week, so another one can get me to that point. There isn’t much pain most days and I can drive myself around. Was getting a ride to my appointments before, but I’m going to do it myself starting this week. Just need to remember where to go. This also means I can hit the mall on the way home for a walk before it opens, which is optimal. Gives me the rest of the day to relax.
I was able to make some progress with Darwin & the Joy Path this week. I finished chapter 8 and started chapter 9. With appointments and energy, I’m only able to do one section a day. The snowstorm tomorrow might allow me to do two though, which means I could finish chapter 9 before Monday. Hard to tell since it’s also the first night of Hannukah, so I get my son for a few hours. Can’t stay up late either since I have a morning appointment. Hey, I’ll take what I can get. Maybe I can start a section tonight like I’ve done a few times before, which will increase my chances.
Making progress on ‘Phi Beta Files’ outlines is good too. The challenge here is that I thought up some great ideas for the last two books while I was in the hospital. I was also medicated and repeatedly dozing off, so I only have brain flickers of what I cam up with at the time. Oops. I think I’ll still be able to put something good together. After that, I need to figure out the next ‘organization’ series that I want to start outlining. I have a list with 7 other ideas with one being a mystery. Seems I have them mostly marked as short story style books, but that might change for a few. Can’t even remember what the overall plot for a few are such as the witches and whatever the mystery one is.
One idea that I’m still wondering about is this ‘Lords of Hyperscape’ one. It was originally a science-fiction idea revolving around a video game system that people enter. The heroes were a new team entering the competition league. Moving it to Windemere, turned it into a fantasy concept, which worked for a bit. I switched out computers for illusions and mind magic, but it still has issues. Not sure if the name still fits or if such a competition would be interesting. All I know is that I wanted to do a series that depicts a type of sport or competition in Windemere. I considered it being magic battles, but that didn’t seem very creative. Guess I’ll have to sit on this a bit longer and consider what would be a fun, popular sport in a fantasy world.
Well, I seem to be rambling about ideas, which hasn’t happened in a while. That should be a good sign. This is the last full week of school before the break, so my son has some events that I’m determined to attend. Daily appointments mean waking up early and going to bed early, but that’s good. It means I’m still on my work schedule, so I won’t be thrown off when I go back. Silver linings abound!
Goals of the week?
Continue healing.
Spend time with son.
Write more Darwin & the Joy Path.
Work on ‘Phi Beta Files’.
Try to get a daily walk in at the mall every day.
Puzzle time when I need quiet.
Make vodka sauce for lasagna recipe. (I’m hoping to return to work just in time for a pot luck, so I’m showing up strong. Figure it’ll be a thank you for everything my coworkers have done for me.)
Finish some February blog posts if I can’t do anything else.
Legends of Windemere 