Bug Identification: Milionia basalis Kiobi-eda-shaku

This amazing looking moth lives in Japan...and we would see it every year that we lived there and I never knew the name of it...that is, until today.

I submitted the underbelly shot of it to a great website called What's That Bug? that tries, on a very small budget and staff to identify "bugs" that are sent to them via their form. I didn't have a lot of hope that they would get a chance to do this one (and I am actually waiting to hear on the inchworm I sent them too (see update below)), and was super excited to see a message from them in my inbox today.

Not only were they able to identify the moth, they wanted me to send them the dorsal image I have of it as well and I guess that means that there will be a post on their site about it too!! I'll post a link to it as an update to this post as soon as I see it.

So anyhow, the full name of this moth is Milionia basalis (Latin) Kiobi-eda-shaku (Japanese common name)　キオビエダシャク

Here is the link to the post about the moth on the What's That Bug's website!!
Here is the link to the post about the inchworm on The What's That Bug's website!!

Update: Turns out the inchworm image I have is actually the caterpillar for this moth!! How cool is that?!
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...How Often

Waiting On Christmas

Along with lots of other people, I can't stand it when people jump from Halloween to Christmas. I was irritated by the idiot companies that decided to start their sales on Thanksgiving and also by all the stores and people that put up decorations for Christmas before Thanksgiving had passed. For me, Thanksgiving is an important American holiday and it shouldn't be "jumped over" just because it is not as commercial as some other holidays.

One of our neighbors had all their gaudy Christmas decorations lighting up the end of the block days before Thanksgiving, and every time I drove by, I just wanted to roll down the window and scream "It isn't even Thanksgiving yet!" You don't even need a flashlight if you walk by that house in the evening because it is so bright, I am sure you can see it from outerspace. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not a bah humbug, but I don't think that decorations need to be a competition.

So I have refrained from putting up our Christmas decorations yet. I am determined to wait until at least December 1st, which means I have a day or more left to enjoy my fall. We still have beautiful pumpkins on the porches that I don't want to throw away...I might even decide to carve them with Christmas or winter themes so we can leave them out a bit longer. I have gotten most of my decorations organized (minus the little potted tree I still need to buy) and ready to go but I am using my will power to refrain...LOL.

We have a fresh swag for the front door and 15 ft of cedar garland to put on the balcony rail when the time is right along with lights for some of the windows...nothing too crazy but enough to bring a smile to my face when I see it.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Steve Terrill

Most Fun On The Internet In A Long Time

I discovered this cool ass site because Jenny, The Bloggess posted about it after much consideration over racism and my sister saw it before I did and shared it with me. This was after she ran my blog (yes, this blog here) through it. So I did the same thing and had a great laugh about it.

Today, I went to Jenny's blog to read her post and the comments there before commenting myself and ran across this awesome comment by David Cutler (commentor number 175) and I thought he said it so well that I needed to repost his words here. He didn't provide a link to a site so I hope that giving him credit for these words by name is enough. This comment was in response to Jenny's inquiry on whether the site linked above or a post about that site would be considered racist.

I find neither the website nor linking to it racist. Calvin Broadus (Snoop Dogg) is a singer, lyricist, writer, actor, and general entertainer. He has also invented his own rather unique brand of slang. Many people are highly entertained by Mr. Broadus. Others are slightly entertained. Still other people find him somewhat annoying, and others find him highly offensive. The EXACT same can be said of Jenny Lawson. The linked website is, I think, a loving homage to Mr. Broadus’s slang, exactly as it claims to be. As a result some will be highly entertained, others less so, and others annoyed or offended by it. As would be true of any homage work to Mr. Broadus or Ms. Lawson.

The only aspect of this that could be considered racially offensive is an assertion that Mr. Broadus represents ANYONE other than himself or those who actively claim him to be their representative. Mr. Broadus does not represent African Americans, any more than Jenny Lawson represents white people. Many people reading this website (myself included) would say Jenny Lawson represents us. Not because of her race, but because of her writing and humor. We identify with her and are entertained by her, and it has nothing to do with the color of her skin. Similarly Mr. Broadus entertains many people and I am certain many identify with him, and presumably they do so for the same reasons I identify with Ms. Lawson. It IS racist to argue that African Americans identify with Mr. Broadus because of the color of their skin, just as it would be racist to argue that I identify with Ms. Lawson because of her skin color. It is not racist to be amused by either of them. It is also not racist to think either one of them are offensive or unfunny. That is a matter of taste.

Personally, I think the site is akin to a humorous translator such as the Pirate Speak on Facebook is....it is meant for humor and not to be cruel and/or degrading. Note too that if you read the page that explains why the creators made the site, you will see that they did so out of fanship of Snoop Dog and nothing else.

I had a ton of fun using the site last night to view other sites....serious sites like Wikipedia and excerpts from serious works of literature, to see how funny they would sound translated. It was hilarious. If you have time, run my site here, http://mishkaop.blogspot.com through the http://gizoogle.net site and see how it translates...and then check out some of your other favorite sites.

NOTE TO THOSE FAINT OF HEART: The translations contain swear words so if you can't handle or don't like to be exposed to swear words even in a humorous setting, it is best that you avoid using Gizoogle at all.
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One Year Ago on In My Words...Brand New Place

Jingle Bell Hell 2012

Image borrowed from Jess

So I have been terrible about exercising lately. Part of it has been due to busy-ness and part of it due to sickness and then of course part of it is just plain laziness.

In the course of reading a few blogs, I discovered a couple of running blogs. One of them is organizing a virtual 5K in December called Jingle Bell Hell 2012 and I have committed myself to doing it. I have to run at least a 5K locally, between December 8th and 16th. I have to post why it is "hell" for me and I have to laugh at some point during the race (that might be hard to pull off). Then I need to recap the race, post a link to it and call it good.

There aren't many local races, so this virtual option gives me the opportunity to race (myself) and have the motivation to get out there get running again. I mapped out a route on MapMyRun the other day, and I plan to try to walk it tomorrow if I can, so I am sure of it before I do it "officially". I will probably do it more than once during that time, and hopefully will get a better time each time.

I hope this will ultimately get my butt moving and get me started back on my fitness routines.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Mission For Fitness

My Birthday

So my birthday is today...Black Friday...lovely, huh? It is almost always during the week of Thanksgiving, in fact sometimes on Thanksgiving. This year just happens to be Black Friday. Since I don't do Black Friday, going anywhere seemed out of the cards so I spent the day at home chilling out.

I actually had the HVAC guy come out to do the fall service on the furnace in our house, and I called one of my cousins to get some painting advice for somewhere down the line and I am ready to start on painting projects around here.

My MIL came over in the afternoon to drop off a present from my grandpa that he sent to her house as a surprise. When I was in Nebraska last month, we played golf a couple of times. I used a driver he made for one of our cousins, and I was able to hit it pretty well. So Grandpa decided to make one for me...without me knowing. It was such a treat to get a completely unexpected gift on my birthday.

While mom was here, she hung out for a while and we worked on a puzzle I have spread across the table in the dining area. She really helped me make a good dent in it.

Tomorrow, one of my cousins is having a birthday party for her son who is turning one so I will get to see a lot of family then and it should be a ton of fun to watch the traditional chocolate cake mess!
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...A Fix I Could Live With

Knee High Socks!

Finally got around to ordering some fun knee high socks from one of my favorite sock stores...thankfully they are online since they only have one brick and mortar store and I am not near it.



I am wearing my first pair today and I am loving them...yeah!
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Beautiful Moon

Losing It

Yesterday, I left the house without a bra on....that NEVER happens. I was uncomfortable with it, so since we were at the mall, I found a bra at the first store we stopped in and tried it on, wore it out of the fitting room, and paid for it. I felt much better after that.

Do you know how hard it is to find a bra in my size these days....I am one of those oddball girls that has a decent size across my back because I exercise regularly and have good upper body strength which makes me a 36, but I am small breasted and wear an A cup...finding a 36A is almost impossible for some reason. I am not sure if it is because women are just bigger breasted these days or if it is just that smaller breasted women don't lift weights anymore...but whatever it is, it makes finding a bra in my size very difficult.

I have no idea how I even left the house without a bra...hence the title. I must just be losing it....LOL
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...A Fix I Could Live With

Observations

Just some tidbits that are too small for a post, but just have to be noted:

-why does finding a old dried piece of renter spaghetti on the ceiling of the kitchen piss me off so much?

-does everything taste better with blue cheese dressing on it? I just ate left over chicken veggie soup (with no broth) with blue cheese dressing on it and it was glorious!

-how, if the toilet is being flushed repeatedly during the day, is there even time for a mildew ring to grow?

-why did my favorite used/new book store on the net stop supporting all types of ebooks except Kobo? Who even owns a Kobo reader?

-why does a head cold always end for me with a big nasty tasting chunk of snot finally falling from the back of my sinuses?

-how is it that my cable company (who will remain un-named) doesn't have On Demand for the Fox Network? This has pretty much guaranteed my dropping several programs from my list.

-how is it that gaining two pounds is so much easier than losing it?

-isn't going e-everything supposed to create more time in the day? Seems like I spend more time doing backups and updates than I ever did filing and shredding.

-how come the list of movies I want to see means having to read the books first?

-am I really getting my money's worth if I keep DVDs from Netflix for more than a few days?

-is is possible that I am so out of shape right now that I pulled a muscle playing the Wii?

Guess that is it for now...heading to the kitchen to get a salad put together with more blue cheese dressing on it.
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Me, Myself, and I

Maru, Fat And Happy

I just had to have a Maru fix after this week of intense political BS. Even just watching this fat and happy kitty chase a toy makes me smile. His look on his face says he had to work for it...LOL


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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...What Happened To The Classics?

Catching Up And Cold

So the last two weeks have been pretty busy...left last Tuesday for a family visit in Nebraska. Weather was decent and the visit was awesome. Gpa and J are doing well and I throughly enjoyed my time there. Was able to get in two rounds of golf with Gpa at his favorite golf club. Flew back on Monday afternoon.

On the way home from the airport (and enroute grocery shopping trip), I got a call that my mom had hurt herself at Gma's. Turns out she broke both of her ankles, from tripping on the wrinkled carpet at Gma's. She had surgery on the left ankle (which was broken in three places) the next day and is now home recooperating. She can put weight on the right leg if she has the boot on so she is not stuck in a wheelchair, which is good. She has a two week appt with the doctor to have the surgery leg checked, and might have more mobility at that time (we hope).

I started feeling icky right after the flight back and over the course of the next few days, I developed a full blown head cold that I am still fighting today. I have been taking it easy for the last 3 days and might add on tomorrow too just to be sure that I am on the mend. Would hate to have anything like I did this spring happen again, if I can avoid it.

I have a ton of stuff hanging over my head that needs to get done around here, but I am trying to focus on getting better and not getting stressed out. One day at a time...LOL
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Thievery

Reading Blog Update

I track all my reading on Goodreads.com but like to post my reviews on my reading blog. Here is the link to my most recent update for October.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Beautiful Moon