Comments on: Spiders can’t read

By: bug_girl

bug_girl — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:46:32 +0000

I, for one, welcome our new spider overlords.

By: Grand Lunar

Grand Lunar — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 12:35:55 +0000

Perfect fodder for “AFV”, if you ask me.

By: OriGuy

OriGuy — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 04:52:29 +0000

Remided me of the novel by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes, The Descent of Anansi. Anansi is the name of a space shuttle which was named after the West African trickster god, who takes the form of a spider.

By: Monado

Monado — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 01:52:49 +0000

I have on my blog a rare archival photograph of a real Webcam shot showing a giant spider, Arachnus brobdinagus, climbing down the CN Tower in Toronto.

By: arby

arby — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:22:55 +0000

I think I read a few years ago in Nat Geo that one Australian jumping spider had, and I paraphrase, the most sophisticated hunting behavior of any predator on earth. I imagine that would include us. Or maybe it said carnivore instead of predator, which wouldn’t include hoomans. Or pigs. I love jumping spiders. They are the only spider that can move their head to look you square in the eyes. There’s a mind in there. rb

By: Steve in MI

Steve in MI — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:05:46 +0000

Garth: No, nature is *cool*.

By: garth

garth — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:38:39 +0000

what a cute little salticid! did you know there’s members of the jumping spider family that can actually “speak” to ants? They’re one of the creepiest vampire-like animals…they’ll walk with the ants, seeming to be one of the herd, looking and smelling and feeling like an ant, until BAM! they grab an ant, rush off, piece its exoskeleton with their fangs, inject digestive juices and other fun stuff, and suck out their vital fluids. Then, whistling innocently, back with the ant line. or perhaps to a nearby coffin for a catnap.
Nature is messed up!

By: Ginger Yellow

Ginger Yellow — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:32:36 +0000

Looks like a job for Gojira.

By: StevoR

StevoR — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:39:16 +0000

D’oh. Spelling errors galore.

Sorry folks Amercia is of course America & if you’ve guessed I used cut & paste you guessed right ..

Sigh

Please Phil Plait, Mr Bad Astronomer sir, please allow us to edit these posts please…!
———————
(OK you could argue I should check first, I do, I really swear half these errors are added by my malicious, malign, mortifying computer within the 1/4 second after I click submit befroe the post appears here .. )

By: StevoR

StevoR — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:34:32 +0000

Well to Jove with it – they should have lifted off anyway!

Space exploratuion like Mountaineering and Motorracing is inherently risky. If I’d been sitting inthecabin I’d have said :

“Look its a back up fuel sensor that well doesn’t do really anything even when its working. Lets go! In the words of the late Alan Shepherd, Amercia’s first (albeit sub-orbital) astronaut – Lets light this candle!”

Or even

“Its an alien monster mutant spider thats’ attacking us! Well we can’t do much that’s good if we’re on the ground. Aah .. to Neptune with it. Lets go! In the words of the late Alan Shepherd, Amercia’s first (albeit sub-orbital) astronaut – Lets light this candle!”

Or even to tell youweaht I really think of tehdecision to scrub thelaunch til Jan. 08 :

“What you want to abort over what? C’mon, no way! We’ll take the chance. Lets go! In the words of the late Alan Shepherd, Amercia’s first (albeit sub-orbital) astronaut – Lets light this candle!”

Which is probably why I’m not a spaceshuttle pilot but .. hey …
———-

The Ramans always did things by threes.
- Arthur C. Clarke ‘Space Odyssey 2001.’

By: andy

andy — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:32:45 +0000

See him climbing up the shuttle
Black and hairy very HUGE
BORIS THE SPIDER!!!
BORIS THE SPIDER!!!

By: John Paradox

John Paradox — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:34:47 +0000

Roger Corman dot com?

Somebody’s been watching too many episodes of MST3K.

J/P=?

By: ABR

ABR — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 23:45:51 +0000

First proposed by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes, the first phase of the long-anticipated Anansi Project was conducted today at Cape Canaveral….

By: Supernova

Supernova — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 22:22:10 +0000

Olbermann had a hilarious bit about this:

“And I for one welcome our new spider overlords… I’d like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality, I can be relied on to round up humans to toil in their underground tunnel webs.”

By: De echte reden!bijAstroblogs

De echte reden!bijAstroblogs — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 22:12:13 +0000

[...] Wil je echt weten waarom de Atlantis niet gelanceerd is? Eén van de vele webcams die op de spaceshuttle gericht was legde de oorzaak vast. Há, nou weet ik direct waarom het webcam heet. Bron: Bad Astronomy Blog. [...]

By: J. John Johnstown

J. John Johnstown — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 21:47:58 +0000

Spider hungry!
http://community.livejournal.com/lolscience/17246.html

By: Freiddie

Freiddie — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 21:28:06 +0000

Looks like a spider got stuck on a camera.

By: One Eyed Jack

One Eyed Jack — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:50:55 +0000

And when they go in, there’s no coming out. She’s always hungry, she always needs to feed. She must eat, all She gets is filthy Orcses.

And they doesn’t taste very nice, does they, Precious?

No . . . not very nice at all, my love. She hungers for sweeter meats . . .

“Hobbit meat.” And when She throws away the bones and the empty clothes, then we will find it . . .

And take it for Me!

By: Michael Lonergan

Michael Lonergan — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:30:13 +0000

All your base are belong to us.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:13:54 +0000

I knew it! We’re being invaded by gigantic spiders and NASA is trying to cover it up!

By: Chip

Chip — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:09:56 +0000

That music was composed just for the spider too.

If we send rovers to Mars why can’t they, (multilegged Martians who live in underground secret cities,) send their Spider Rovers to our world?

BTW – that spider’s name is Zorgon.

By: Edward C

Edward C — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:05:30 +0000

Weird

By: Ken B

Ken B — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:58:06 +0000

I wonder if it’s related to the giant mutant fly hanging around Mount St. Helens?

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/library/images-20040928b.php

By: Chris R.

Chris R. — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:50:12 +0000

It's a GHOST!

By: Quiet Desperation

Quiet Desperation — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:37:00 +0000

Quick! Mate the shuttle with the giant shadow spider entity!

The we’ll have a whole slew of spooky alien arachnid biomechanical spacecraft. None shall stand before us! All our enemies shall fall! THIS! IS! NASA!