Fish ‘N’ Chips

In December 2006, The Ocean Project chose Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotson as its Seas the Day Ocean Book of the Month. I didn’t think much of it at the time and just reported it to you in my newsletter. Recently, I spotted the book at my son’s school while volunteering and something about it caught my eye and I made the connection a few days later. My son then checked it out of the school library for me and I gave it a try. I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable book and a worthy read for any age.

The gist of the story is that Aunt Etta, Aunt Coral, and Aunt Myrtle are getting older and feel they need help caring for their island which just happens to be a sanctuary for both real and mythical creatures like mermaids, selkies, and more. The Aunts decide that they will kidnap some children because adults cannot be trusted! The book is intended for children ages nine to twelve. I could barely put the book down!

Forcing my adult (and Mom!) way of thinking out of my head and diving into the book, I found myself quickly engulfed in the story of the Aunts, the children Minette and Fabio, the cell-phone addicted Lambert and his evil, money-hungry father, the beauty and peace of the island, and the adventure that unfolds. Forgetting that my Mom mind would be screaming about the kidnapping of any children, I looked at the book as my eleven year old son might … that anything and everything is possible and in a book, I’ve always believed, anything and everything can be true!

So why did this book end up as the Seas the Day Ocean Book of the Month back in December 2006? Simply because of the underlying message that the ocean and it’s wondrous and beautiful gifts must be protected from people who care nothing for it unless it can bring them personal gain and are willing to destroy so much to reach that gain. The environmental message is not beaten into the reader with a club or screamed at them at the top of one’s lungs. It is simply and quietly relayed to you through the eyes of two children and weaved throughout the book.

It was a good book, a good story, and a good read. I’d recommend it to any kid who likes fantasy books, and any adult who’d like to have a book to share with their kid as well as a rather subtle way to get the importance of ocean conservation deep down inside a kid where it really counts!

Related Links:
The Ocean Project
Seas the Day Ocean Book of the Month December 2006
Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotson (at Overstock.com)

Journey to Planet Earth: The State of the Ocean’s Animals aired on television on March 21, 2008. Marilyn and Hal Weiner made the film and it was narrated by Matt Damon. According to the PBS web site: “Nearly half the world’s marine animals may face extinction over the next twenty-five years. Global warming, over-fishing, and habitat destruction are emptying the world’s oceans.” You can find more information on the program by visiting the Journey to Planet Earth site. The site also offers a video introduction.

I watched this once and made some notes on it in order to write up this review. I went back to watch it again to clarify my thoughts and perhaps get more details and barely made it through fifteen minutes. I cannot bear to sit through this for another hour, knowing what awaits me, the sounds and images of what mankind has done and continues to do to the animals that live in our oceans, the creatures that share our planet, our lives, and I’m not talking just about the ones that we rely upon for food.

This is not a show that I would allow my children to watch. My son saw parts of it when I watched it the first time and I found myself explaining that there are those on this planet that do not care the harm they do in order to make a buck. If you want to see it, and you probably should see it, I recommend you do it when your children are not around to watch with you unless you know they are old enough to handle what they will see. I’m an adult and found myself crying at several parts, granted I’m an adult with an affinity and love for the sea and the beauty it brings to the world as a whole. I only hope that this show can perhaps touch some of those that are not so easily moved.

How do I feel about the state of the ocean’s animals? Simply horrified! Mankind continues to efficiently destroy both entire species of animals with shark fin and dolphin hunts and so much more as well as entire communities’ ways of life with local fisherman all around the world being out competed for their livelihoods and sustenance by giant 400 foot long killing machines that clear-cut the sea and toss what they don’t want to die and rot right back into the ocean. I don’t think I will ever forget the images of the sharks being finned and the dolphins crying for their pod mates as they lie dying. This is not what man’s legacy is supposed to be!

It was not all horror, I have to admit, and we have managed to do some good and live side by side with some ocean creatures like the sea otters of Monterey Bay and the tourists and turtle nests sharing Melbourne Beach. Unfortunately, in my eyes, the good we have done is so far outweighed by the horror we inflict that I don’t know if we can recover. I certainly hope that we can and that we do and that we get moving on it soon!

Review by rudeanduncouth, 02-13-2006, edited by Elizabeth M. Lukan.

I have been using this product for about a month and half and my coralline growth has accelerated a lot. The problem is it is hard to say that it is this product and not just the tank being stable and maintaining proper calcium and carbonate hardness levels. Purple-Up adds calcium, carbonate, iodine, magnesium, and strontium to your system. The product says it can take up to a month for the coralline growth to really get going and it took about a month before I really started to notice it. You only add a capful everyday, so a bottle lasts awhile. I think I am only about half through mine. At the least, it is good way to maintain calcium and carbonate levels. But I do feel it works. Maybe later I can post pictures for the growth. I bought my bottle for $19.99, but I have seen it for about $16 at other places.

Liz’s Notes: Editing was limited to spelling and grammar corrections and formatting. No other editing was done, what you read was exactly what was posted on the Saltcreep web site. More information and an image of the product can be found at http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/add_buff.html. Please visit Saltcreep at http://www.saltcreep.com/cmps_index.php for this review, forums, and much more.

Review by rudeanduncouth, 03-02-2006, edited by Elizabeth M. Lukan.

Excellent skimmer, for a affordable price.

The AquaC Urchin is the in-sump model of the ever popular Remora. The footprint of the skimmer is minimal with it being only 6" x 2.75". However, what they fail to mention is there is a leg that sticks out the front and takes up another two inches. The total height of the unit is 18", but you need about 3" of clearance to actually remove the cup. The Urchin is rated for 20-75 gallon tanks. The maximum height of water the skimmer is supposed to be used in is 12".

I purchased this at a LFS, and the total price was $169.99, which is about $6 more than internet prices.

AquaC protein skimmers utilize a patented "spray induction" system which processes massive quantities of air and water and the Urchin is no different. The way it works is it has a small valve at the top of a spray nozzle that it sucks air in through and then sprays it into the chamber. The contact time of the bubbles is impressive because the whole skimmer is chambered off and is essentially a big bubble trap. Consequently I have not seen a single bubble leave the skimmer. It also comes with a small brush to clean out the nozzle if something gets in there or for periodic maintenance.

There are two adjustments that you can make to the Urchin. The first is you can adjust the air-injector nozzle to control how much air is flowing into the system. I have not touched this one yet, but I am sure I will as it gets used more. To adjust the air-injector all you do is turn a screw on top of the nozzle. You do not need to even remove the skimmer from the sump to do this. AquaC warns however, when adjusting the air-flow screw not to over turn it or it will fall into the nozzle itself. The second adjustment is the cup height. This will ultimately adjust how much and what type of foam you get in the cup. Upon arrival, I immediately raised the cup about an inch higher, because it was really low, probably due to shipping. To adjust the cup height there is just a rubber O-ring that goes around the outside of the cup and you move that up and down to adjust the height.

Overall, I am quite happy with the Urchin. It is extremely quiet. I never hear it. Within 12 hours of continuous use, it started skimming, and has produced a nice dark foam since. The only potential problem I foresee is clogging the spray nozzle but that doesn’t seem like it would be too difficult to clean.

Liz’s Notes: Editing was limited to spelling and grammar corrections and formatting. No other editing was done, what you read was exactly what was posted on the Saltcreep web site. More information and an image of the product can be found at http://www.proteinskimmer.com/Product%20Pages/Urchin.htm. Please visit Saltcreep at http://www.saltcreep.com/cmps_index.php for this review, forums, and much more.

Review by Justin Brough, edited by Elizabeth M. Lukan.

Splash is an addicting action/puzzle game in which you play a cute little orange fish named… Splash! The main objective of the game is to use Splash’s ability to squirt water to prevent colored balls from falling into his pond. The pebbles and some other interesting power ups fall down long tubes, and Splash has to send them back up. Apparently Splash runs a pretty tight ship and really dislikes colored pebbles, because if even one pebble makes it into the pond, you lose.

Splash is a decently fun game, I won’t say that it’s great, but it is addicting and is a great time waster. If any of you readers have played Zuma or Luxor and found you really liked it, well then you will love this game too. It’s not something everyone will love though. The levels, while addicting and fast paced, are repetitive and begin to strain the wrist after extended play.

In short, Splash is a fun, time wasting, and addicting game. Give the (adware and spyware free!) trial a shot and see what you think. You may like it, but if not then just uninstall it and no harm done.

Location: Info Page, Free Download, or Order Full Version
Developer: GameHouse
Cost: $19.95
Trial Period: 10 plays or 30 minutes of playtime
Platforms: Windows/PC

A note from the Author:

Hello everyone and welcome to a new section of your favorite fishy newsletter! My name is Justin Brough, and I have been graciously accepted by Elizabeth M. Lukan to write this little section of the newsletter. Some background about me: (don’t worry, I’ll only be writing this once so you mainstays of the newsletter won’t have to read it more than once) I go to Cal Poly Pomona where I major in Finance, Real Estate, and Law and will be heading to law school after a few more quarters. When I was a young boy my parents owned a fish store and I worked there for many, many years learning all I could about fish, rodents, reptiles, and all the other classes of pets. For the past few years, concurrent with my studies, I have been a part of the excellent Animal-World.com team! Working on the web has taught me a lot about the internet, computers, and fish and it is this knowledge that I hope to share with you now and in the future.

The concept behind this section is to try and tell you (the reader) about some of the wonderful fish related programs out there. Each newsletter will, ideally, have a new game or program reviewed for you so you can decide whether or not it is worth your time to check it out.

So let us begin! (This format is under construction and may undergo drastic and earth shattering changes, so don’t get too used to it)

Liz’s Notes: Editing was limited to spelling and grammar corrections and formatting. Permission for screen shot use was granted by Joseph Lieberman of ArcadeTown.com.