#99 - SUNDAY, FUNDAY

#99.
MAYBE I WILL MAKE IT TO #100 ...

November and December have been quiet here at KISS MY BIG HAIRY SPIDER. Of course, I was in Costa Rica for 10 or 11 days in December and November was just me running out of new material to share and having my mind elsewhere.

I noticed yesterday and this morning that Arachnoboards is down. I wonder what the Arachnobored are doing with their time. I wonder if they are suffering from withdrawal and chewing down their fingernails. I wonder if other forums (I imagine there are some; I wouldn't know) have seen increased traffic. I was one of the beta testers of ABs new XenForo platform, but I never had the time or desire to check it out.

The reason I know about Arachnoboards, despite the fact that I normally only log in to post a quick advert and then crawl back down my hole again, is that I have updated my Tarantula Bibliography to include the many changes brought about by the Phormingochilus revision that Andrew Smith and I co-authored in the Journal of the British Tarantula Society 30(3). Whenever I update The Tarantula Bibliography I make an announcement on Arachnoboards. So I wrote up the post and then discovered that I would be unable to post it until the "migration" is finished. I've already summarized the changes our paper established in a recent blog post, but I wanted to post the info to a wider audience.

I miss Costa Rica. It is where I want to be. I'll be there for good some day. But, in the meantime, I have many more things to accomplish in America. The adjustment returning home hasn't been too difficult. I am very busy. I am once again forming my own business, this time one focused on pistol training and the firearms industry, and when I returned I gave On Target Range and Tactical Training Center my "two weeks notice".

I love road trips. When I was younger I toured the entire United States visiting every single mainland state and most of the Canadian provinces. When I was in my early 20s me and a friend would drive to Florida just for the weekend! Those were crazy sleepless days with consumption of alcohol and other substances. I then turned my attention to tarantula hunting in the American Southwest. I once drove back from southwestern Texas along the Rio Grande and the Mexican border in one 25 hour shot.

Now, at 51, I don't think I have the stamina for these sorts of marathon driving adventures, but I am taking on the challenge of spending January 7 to January 31 on the road with over three weeks in motel rooms. Over three weeks of me and my car, driving alone from Chicago to Chino Hills outside of Los Angeles, then up to Vegas for a week and then down to Paulden, Arizona near Prescott. I'll probably visit a few National Parks after that so I may not even be back in my own bed until February. This road trip is to attend two different pistol training sessions (first is 2 days, second is 5 days) and the SHOT Show in Vegas in between. But, as always, my Nikons and camera bag will be along for the ride and I will be looking to do some scenic landscape photography if not a bit of wildlife photography. Travel pix will go up to my @exoticfauna Instagram. Gun pix will only be posted to my @dailyhandgun Instagram.

While I am on the road for January I will be spending some down time in hotel rooms working on the next issue of the BTS Journal, which will be the first with me as Editor. This last issue was outstanding and I need to keep the excellence moving full steam ahead. I may also write some educational posts for KMBHS so this project keeps going in 2016. I'll be starting another blog for my new business, but I think I can still find topics to post here.

So here I am on a relaxing Sunday morning. Sunday, fun day. I'm drinking some amazing coffee and watching a movie on Netflix while I feed the small collection of spiders I still have. However, all spiders must go before my road trip so I am also itching for AB to come back online so I can post another advert. Prices will be further slashed. There's not a lot left, but I do have some interesting projects available like Avicularia sooretama and Psalmopoeus langenbucheri. Plus I have some Harpactira, Idiothele and some Phormingochilus carpenteri (Cyriopagopus sp. Sulawesi). I also have slings of Poecilotheria rufilata, P. subfusca ("highland", of course) and Iridopelma hirsutum 'Recife'. Shoot me an email at spidershoppe@icloud.com if you're interested in anything. I will give rock bottom pricing to blog readers. Advance payment via PayPal required; no payment terms.

I had yesterday off too. Another day of chill. I worked on my new business' website, watched some movies and then watched last night's UFC.

I don't celebrate xmas or any other religious holidays, so I won't wish you season's greetings. However, I do wish you and yours the best and wish you a healthy and prosperous 2016. Happy New Year! My 2016 will involve more change, which seems to be a life long theme for me. #livingthedream.

all the best, MJ