If you have been looking for a good reason to be more afraid of the water then you currently are I think I finally found it: Monsters live below the water surface and they are getting ready to take us down.

Don’t believe me? Witnesses in Victoria, BC saw an almost one metre-long Great Pacific octopus attack and eat a sea gull. When I heard the news this is what I was picturing:

But of course it was more like this…today but what about tomorrow?

I’m pretty sure that the sea gull didn’t even see it coming so keep that in mind next time you are out paddling and decide to practice your rescues as there is a very, very high chance that you will end up just like this guy.

Also, if you don’t think that a bird eating octopus is bad enough, evil scientists (only an evil scientist could have come up with this) finally figured out a way to put lasers (yes, lasers) on sharks. Nature’s most efficient killing machine just got a whole lot scarier.

Is it time to re-enact that awesome Iron Maiden song and run to the hills? All signs point to yes.

Top photo credit: famousmonstersoffilmland.com
Middle photo credit: Ginger Morneau
Shark photo credit: wired.com
Comic photo credit:  wikipedia.org

I don’t care what my wife says; we are remortgaging the house tomorrow and buying this semi-submarine on Friday. Once I’m done exploring the Toronto Harbour I’m totally going to cruise out and show up that jerk, James Cameron and with my own Mariana Trench dive.

I would like to introduce you to Kiviak, a traditional winter foodstuff consumed by Greenlandic Inuits. It’s made from a seal carcass stuffed with fermented birds.

From Gizmodo:

Kiviak is relatively simply to make. First, collect approximately 400 Auks. Then, stuff them-beaks, feathers, feet, and all-into the hollowed-out body cavity of a seal, Tauntaun-style. Next, press out as much air as possible from the carcass and seal it with seal grease to prevent spoilage. Finally cover the meat bag with a large rock pile for approximately 3-18 months. During this time, the Auks ferment within the seal until they can be eaten-raw. Thanks to a layer of fat within the seal sack, the Auks soften while they ferment allowing every part of the bird-save feathers-to be consumed.

If you are into traditional Greenland kayaking it’s time to step it up a notch and make sure Kiviak is on the menu at the next Greenland paddling symposium.

Image Credit: Inga Sørensen

Check out this old photo of a motorcycle sidecar with a quick-detachable canoe. I can’t believe that the side car was an actual commercial item available in 1927-1927.

You can see more unusual canoe sidecars on the always entertaining Paddle Making blog.

These two videos show that with enough time your do-it-yourself neighbour can come up with anything. To be honest I have no idea how this is helpful to the river clean-up it was apparently built for but I will be honest with you, I would be the first to sign-up to sit in that chair and just spin around while everybody else does the work paddling.

According to the video description it also shoots water balloons though I’m disappointed that there is no video for that. The video below shows how well thought out it is including an articulated boom arm and a rope to tip out the garbage when the bucket is full.