Inquiring Minds Want To Know

I decided to a little Q&A post. Sometimes people ask questions in the comments, and I feel I should answer them. These questions were from various posts from the past couple of weeks.

Callie: The clam weighed two pounds? Is that pretty big? It sounds huge to me!

- Yes, Callie. Two pounds is massive for a clam. And maybe it was only one pound, but still: that’s monstrous. Usually if you order clams in a restaurant, it will not even fill the palm of your hand, and the amount of meat you would get would fit nicely on the pad of one finger. The amount of meat we got from this clam was nearly a fistful.

Crystal: What do you mean, LIVE? You mean the clam didn't eat the crabs? How can they live in there???

- Clams do not eat crabs. They siphon in water and “eat” whatever food particles came in with the water. (Kind of like that whale who filters in water through his “teeth” and eats the microscopic krill.)

The crabs that live inside the clams (or other shellfish) are called Pinnotherid crabs. They live inside a host and eat from whatever the host brings in. The shellfish puts up with the crab, and the crab doesn’t harm the shellfish. Everyone remains friends and they are happy.

We’re pretty sure our clam was a Pismo clam, for anyone who is interested. But I don’t think they are the only type of clam to host crabs.

Mom: Just a question...what if one of the other places you applied at called you for an interview in the meantime?

- Hm. That’s a good question Mom. It had occurred to me, but I never really gave it too much thought. I think I would decline the interview. I know that the other places I applied to were offering more money for those positions, but I already told this company I was going to work for them. I know that I have a choice as to who I work for, and they would probably understand. But I wouldn’t feel good about it.

Libby: How far is it to your job? Is it a bikable distance?

- Unless I want to spend three+ hours on a bike every morning, and three more in the afternoon, no, it’s not a bikable distance. My job is 30-35 minutes drive from my house. Also, I don't have a bike.

Anonymous: As for your transportation conundrum, is there a bus system at all?

- There is a bus system in the city where my job is, but I do not live in the city, so there basically isn’t a bus system around here. Art and I will just have to coordinate with his car. And I might be able to get a ride with Mari sometimes too. Which I haven't actually discussed with her yet. So Mari, now you know what I'm thinking. Let's talk.

Libby: What do you edit photos with?

- I edit photos with Picasa. It’s the easiest and quickest. (For anybody who doesn't know what I'm talking about, do a Google search on "Picasa" and download it for free. It's seriously easy to use, and you will be glad you listened to me.)

Mostly I’m just trying to learn to take better pictures so that I don’t have to edit them as much. If I take a crappy picture, there is nothing I can do to make it not-crappy.

I downloaded GIMP the other day, and I’m still reading though the “manual” to try and learn how to use it. GIMP is like photoshop, but it’s free. I don’t know if I’ll ever become comfortable with it, but I’m going to try.

I hope those answers were sastisfactory, or even better. I love your comments of course, and if I get more questions, I'll probably do another Q&A. Unless you all decide to ask me what the meaning of life is. I won't answer that one. At least, I won't answer it in any way that makes sense.

Happy Monday!