bugbayou

[bugbayou]

Nona Limmen self-portrait series

[bugbayou]

neocities guide - why you should build your own html website

do you miss the charm of the 90s/00s web where sites had actual personality instead of the same minimalistic theme? are you feeling drained by social media and the constant corporate monopoly of your data and time? do you want to be excited about the internet again? try neocities!!

what is neocities?

neocities is a free hosting website that lets you build your own html website from scratch, with total creative control. in their own words: "we are tired of living in an online world where people are isolated from each other on boring, generic social networks that don't let us truly express ourselves. it's time we took back our personalities from these sterilized, lifeless, monetized, data mined, monitored addiction machines and let our creativity flourish again."

why should I make my own website?

web3 has been overtaken by capitalism & conformity. websites that once were meant to be fun online social spaces now exist solely to steal your data and sell you things. it sucks!! building a personal site is a great way to express yourself and take control of your online experience.

what would I even put on a website?

the best part about making your own site is that you can do literally whatever the hell you want! focus on a specific subject or make it a wild collection of all your interests. share your art! make a shrine for one of your interests! post a picture of every bird you see when you step outside! make a collection of your favorite blinkies! the world is your oyster !! here are some cool example sites to inspire you: recently updated neocities sites | it can be fun to just look through these and browse people's content! space bar | local interstellar dive bar creature feature | halloween & monsters big gulp supreme peanutbuttaz | personal site dragodiluna linwood | personal site patho grove | personal site

getting started: neocities/html guide

sound interesting? here are some guides to help you get started, especially if you aren't familiar with html/css sadgrl.online webmastery | a fantastic resource for getting started with html & web revival. also has a layout builder that you can use to start with in case starting from scratch is too intimidating web design in 4 minutes | good for learning coding basics w3schools | html tutorials templaterr | demo & html for basic web elements eggramen test pages | css page templates to get started with sadgrl background tiles | bg tiles rivendell background tiles | more free bg tiles

fun stuff to add to your site

want your site to be cool? here's some fun stuff that i've found blinkies-cafe | fantastic blinkie maker! (run by @transbro & @graphics-cafe) gificities | internet archive of 90s/00s web gifs internet bumper stickers | web bumper stickers momg | gif gallery 99 gif shop | 3d gifs 123 guestbook | add a guestbook for people to leave messages cbox | add a live chat box moon phases | track the phases of the moon gifypet | a little clickable page pet adopt a shroom | mushroom page pet tamaNOTchi | virtual pet crossword puzzle | daily crossword imood | track your mood neko | cute cat that chases your mouse pollcode | custom poll maker website hit counter | track how many visitors you have

web revival manifestos & communities

also, there's actually a pretty cool community of people out there who want to bring joy back to the web! melonland project | web project/community celebrating individual & joyful online experiences. Also has an online forum melonland intro to web revival | what is web revival? melonking manifesto | status cafe | share your current status nightfall city | online community onio.cafe | leave a message and enjoy the ambiance sadgrl internet manifesto | yesterweb internet manifesto | sadly defunct, still a great resource reclaiming online social spaces | great manifesto on cultivating your online experience

in conclusion

i want everyone to make a neocities site because it's fun af and i love seeing everyone's weird personal sites that they made outside of the control of capitalism :) say hi to me on neocities

[bugbayou]

Recently fulfilled a years-long dream by obtaining a couple captive bred Acanthophrynus coronatus! A huge and beautiful amblypygid native to caves and forests in western Mexico.

Although they’re already quite large, these are just babies with a lot of growing to do. Adults can have bodies measuring 2” long without the appendages. They’re likely the world’s largest amblypygid species by mass, although some of their even lankier cousins in the genus Heterophrynus have a wider legspan.

In addition to their massive size and unique coloration, these guys are very active and inquisitive and have a bold attitude compared to most other amblypygids. Even as babies they often respond to potential danger by throwing up a threat display instead of freezing or running, and when they get larger they’ll be able to stridulate with their mouthparts to make a sound somewhat reminiscent of a rattlesnake.

Currently these are rare in the US bug hobby (I got them from the first person to breed them in the US), but they’re actually a very easy species to keep and breed so they should become more available soon. They make fantastic pets and display animals so my hope is they’ll become popular and inspire an increased appreciation for amblypygids.

[bugbayou]

Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum), family Ambystomatidae, Vermont, USA

The egg mass is greenish, because of the presence of a green alga (Oophila amblystomatis) that only grows in the egg masses of Spotted Salamanders.

This alga feeds off of carbon dioxide and waste substances produced by the embryos/larvae, and provides the embryos with oxygen and products of photosynthesis for nutrition, in turn.

Not all spotted salamander egg masses have this alga.

photographs via: Virginia State Parks 

[bugbayou]

Ringed Caecilian (Siphonops annulatus), family Siphonopidae, found in tropical South America, east of the Andes

The young go through the larval stage in the eggs, and hatch out as fully formed tiny caecilians.

The young of this species feed on their mother's outer skin layer (which she sheds), which has a high nutrient content.

Like many caecilians, their skin exudes a thick slime, which aids in burrowing, but also has toxic components (presumably to protect from predation).

Caecilians are amphibians, like salamanders and frogs.

They are not worms, nor are they snakes.

photographs by Dias, I and Carlos Jared

[bugbayou]

babies!!

Unknown Stink Bugs, nymphs, 4 individuals (family Pentatominae).

[bugbayou]

Philippine Frogmouth (Batrachostomus septimus), family Podargidae, order Podargiformes, Philippines

The frogmouths used to be included in the Nightjar/Goatsucker order Caprimulgiformes. As of 2019, they are in their own order. Frogmouths are not as closely related to nightjars, as previously thought.

photograph by Ugin Bxu (@ugin_bxu)

[bugbayou]

a teneral male dubia cockroach (Blaptica dubia)

most cockroaches are white just after molting their exoskeleton & darken as they harden up!

[bugbayou]

Very cool find from last spring- a Florida vinegaroon (Mastigoproctus floridanus) that was hiding inside a rotting log.

despite her impressive size, this rarely encountered Florida endemic is actually the smallest of the 3 vinegaroons in the US, and some of the Mastigoproctus species from Mexico and southwards get even larger.

and yes they’re called vinegaroons (among other fun names) because they squirt concentrated vinegar from their butt as a chemical defense

(Florida, 4/17/23)

[bugbayou]

Mosquito on western rainbow boa

Photographed in Ecuador by Matthieu Berroneau

Shared with permission; do not remove credit or re-post!

(Negative comments about mosquitoes will get you blocked.)

[bugbayou]

Thinking about… wooden wiggly snake

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Red Poplar Beetle, Chrysomela populi Canon 400D EF 100 2.8 f/3.2 1/160 iso: 200 Srbsko, Czech Repubic 6/7/2012

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Neotropical Leaf Katydid (Typophyllum mortuifolium), family Tettigoniidae, Manu Biological Station, Peru

photograph by Brodie Hopkins

[bugbayou]

Malachite Beetle

A shiny metallic malachite beetle, sitting on a sunlit grass stem at Glapthorn Cow Pastures.

[bugbayou]

Rainbow Weevil (Pachyrrhynchus congestus pavonius), family Curculionidae, SE Asia

photograph by Javier Rupérez

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eating u and eating u and

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a large fishing spider who has taken up residence at the pond! during the day she rests under the branches and rocks surrounding the water, and by night she can be seen waiting by the water's edge for prey, her forelegs extended over the water (I hope to photograph this behaviour one night!)

Unknown Fishing Spider (genus Dolomedes).