I now have... Four keyboards in total.
Writing reports and other random stuff will be a lot more better now, since I get to use my nice 4x3 monitor instead of a widescreen. It's like having spliced the keyboard off my laptop PC to use here. Also, I told my parents that it was a gift. So if they ever ask you guys, play along. Heh.
I have sort of been... not writing, because I was waiting for this keyboard. I got a haircut(finally). I have a new pair of oculi- that means, spectacles. They currently feel strange though, as they feel much sturdier than my old pair. Also, I'm taking a while to adjust to the new degree. The optometrist guy said that it might take a few days. I sure hope that that happens before I have to do any heavy reading.
I went back to AJ during their open house last Friday. My own school was having an open house, but it was noisy. So, I went across the road to visit my friends. It was a strange feeling, knowing that I was pretty much considered an outsider there.
Anyway, video footage of a venomous mammal has been taken somewhere in Haiti. Haiti is this place in Caribbean where everyone speaks French. Anyway, the interesting thing about this whole thing is that modern mammals are not known to have venom. Some mammals do produce toxins that function to some degree as poisons, but this rodent has fully-functional dental venom delivery system, just like a snake. The only other mammal that has a venom delivery system is the platypus. But we're not counting the platypus because it's such a freak.
In any case, this rodent, called Hispaniolan solenodon, is believed to be something of a living fossil. One of the hypotheses put forth by the people who are studying this thing, is that venom might have been a common trait to primitive mammals, and modern mammals have since evolved to become poison-less. What this means for Hispaniolan is that it is most likely the evolutionary descendant of a completely different branch of mammals.
Although currently classified as endangered, it was a relief to ecologists to discover this creature as it was previously feared to be extinct due to extensive logging, and the introduction of new predators into the area. We're not really sure what we're going to do with this animal, but the first step is to find out more about it.
Then, we'll decide whether or not to take venomous forest rat off the menu.
-Joe