ShinyTinker

Oh my gosh. Dat pantry. Give your parents a big ol' hug from me. That's amazing. I plan on purchasing land in North Carolina and building a house the same way! Well, a bit later in life. Gonna finish college first (yay Ethnobotany!) then kick it!! If you're comfortable PMing me I'd love to see about sending them a shiny for their lovely home!!

I didn't look up the exact depths and what not, but what is the likelihood of giant squid being a natural predator of whale sharks? Sperm whales (bless their big ol' hearts) are squid targets while they're hunting the same squid (at least I've always read this, or is that like crows liking shiny things and also a myth?), but if whale sharks go deep enough to run into them, it seems they'd be an easy meal.

Apologies for rambling ness!! Love the work you're doing and all my affections to you and your team!!

This. This is a thing I've long felt I needed in my life. As this is the third time they've come up lately I think it Must Happen. Questions! 1) I saw a guy fashion and (poorly for various situational reasons) use one on the survival show Dude, You're Screwed. Have ya seen it? 2) obviously anything physical takes practice to learn, but about how long/how much practice would you say it takes to use one fairly efficiently. 3) Are these still used in South America, currently?

Gulf Wars (Southern Mississippi) is a smaller Pennsic (still hundreds of people) that you could look into (depending on your area). Plenty of us SCAdians would love your work! Either for a touch of medieval with mundane clothes or for cross-gamers. I do Dagorhir (medieval fantasy) and used to do SCA (haven't gotten around to finding it in my area) and tons of us cross game. If you haven't looked into Dag, I'd suggest it. As it's fantasy as well you get less period and more "what looks cool" but still medieval vibe. Elves, dwarves, orcs, Kender (yay!!), and the like. I guess I should go post my question now.

Certainly something I need in my life! I plan on studying plants in South America after I graduate, and I think it'd be fun to have an icebreaker/"hey guys, I dig your culture, I'm not trying to convert you or turn you into a second USA" type deal.