kitbradley said:

Ottensen said:

Rabid ass possums the size of dogs, flying cockroaches the size of a pinky finger, crabs underfoot in the rain, mini-frogs jumping out of shower drains after floods, and now this

I tell you, just when I start to get homesick for the "natural beauty" of Miami, there's always *$%§$!! like this to remind me why I left

I never understood the allure of Florida. All of the stories I've heard about the various bugs and critters that show up in people's homes alone is enough to scare the crap out of me! I mean, just the thought of sweltering in the hot sun 365 days of the year is a HUGE turn-off for me but when you throw in shit like giant, black bugs invading your home and lizards crawling up the kitchen wall? Forget that shit! I'd rather shovel 3 inches of snow a few days out of the year anytime! I don't do bugs, rodents and reptiles.

The lizards I didn't mind: the small ones were actually cute and didn't scare me at all. If they get into your house, they sort of "self-domesticate" themselves and really just want to stay next to your plant(s). I wuld actually allow one or two into the house into my Florida room (that's like a den): they really just wanted to sunbathe on my windowsill and hang out next to my rubber tree plants. They sort of knew how to stay in their own lane, if you will. In return for the room and board, they ate mosquitos and other flies that would invariably fid their way into the house as soon as you open the frickin' door

It's not sweltering the entire year through, it's generally just the summer months that will kill you. But for me, from the moment I moved to Miami, I always lived less than a block from water. In the earliest days, I had bay city views, then I lived on the waterways, then one blck from the Ocean. To wake up at the crack of dawn and just walk across the street and have your first real sounds of the morning be gently lapping ocean waves; it's amazing. The water and tropical lifestyle can be a beautiful one. The ocean air, abundance of great seafood and tropical cuisine, the easy lifestyle where you can really live your day to day life (outside of work) in a tank top and sarong...it's special...but those critters and hurricane season can make it a harsh climate to live in.

I eventually left ,with weather being a factor in my decision to do so. Because the tropics aren't in my blood. Water and sea is, but not the tropics. Still I can totally understand how for many people, man, the flip flop life and Margaritaville--it's in their DNA. Manatees floating in the backyard canal and the occasional baby alligator tearing through the streets is just another day in paradise for them; goes with their territory!

KoolEaze said:

purplethunder3121 said:

Don't forget hundreds of jelly fish washed up on beaches smelling putrid and rotten in the heat of the sun... There were plenty of flying, crawling, swarming, and slimey critters when I lived there... Of the human variety, too. You could not pay me to move back now!

Is there absolutely nothing that you miss about Florida? The weather? Food? The sea?

The food and the water, oh YES! I also enjoyed that it was a very musical atmosphere due to it's Latin and Caribbean cultural imprint. Nothing more fun than dancing your ass off outside under the sun, moon, or stars...and in Miami you have the opportunity to that pretty much every night of the week.

Miami is infiltrated by those Asian fish that are a danger to other species.

Hudson said:

Imago's home state

purplethunder3121 said:

Timmy84 said:

Wow, the strange shit y'all encounter in Miami...

My personal favorite:

i have seen some pretty big horseshoe crabs but those seem ridiculously over sized... is it real?

kitbradley said:

Ottensen said:

Rabid ass possums the size of dogs, flying cockroaches the size of a pinky finger, crabs underfoot in the rain, mini-frogs jumping out of shower drains after floods, and now this

I tell you, just when I start to get homesick for the "natural beauty" of Miami, there's always *$%§$!! like this to remind me why I left

I never understood the allure of Florida. All of the stories I've heard about the various bugs and critters that show up in people's homes alone is enough to scare the crap out of me! I mean, just the thought of sweltering in the hot sun 365 days of the year is a HUGE turn-off for me but when you throw in shit like giant, black bugs invading your home and lizards crawling up the kitchen wall? Forget that shit! I'd rather shovel 3 inches of snow a few days out of the year anytime! I don't do bugs, rodents and reptiles.

deer the size of dogs and roaches as big as rats and frogs as big a dogs

Ottensen said:

kitbradley said:

I never understood the allure of Florida. All of the stories I've heard about the various bugs and critters that show up in people's homes alone is enough to scare the crap out of me! I mean, just the thought of sweltering in the hot sun 365 days of the year is a HUGE turn-off for me but when you throw in shit like giant, black bugs invading your home and lizards crawling up the kitchen wall? Forget that shit! I'd rather shovel 3 inches of snow a few days out of the year anytime! I don't do bugs, rodents and reptiles.

The lizards I didn't mind: the small ones were actually cute and didn't scare me at all. If they get into your house, they sort of "self-domesticate" themselves and really just want to stay next to your plant(s). I wuld actually allow one or two into the house into my Florida room (that's like a den): they really just wanted to sunbathe on my windowsill and hang out next to my rubber tree plants. They sort of knew how to stay in their own lane, if you will. In return for the room and board, they ate mosquitos and other flies that would invariably fid their way into the house as soon as you open the frickin' door

It's not sweltering the entire year through, it's generally just the summer months that will kill you. But for me, from the moment I moved to Miami, I always lived less than a block from water. In the earliest days, I had bay city views, then I lived on the waterways, then one blck from the Ocean. To wake up at the crack of dawn and just walk across the street and have your first real sounds of the morning be gently lapping ocean waves; it's amazing. The water and tropical lifestyle can be a beautiful one. The ocean air, abundance of great seafood and tropical cuisine, the easy lifestyle where you can really live your day to day life (outside of work) in a tank top and sarong...it's special...but those critters and hurricane season can make it a harsh climate to live in.

I eventually left ,with weather being a factor in my decision to do so. Because the tropics aren't in my blood. Water and sea is, but not the tropics. Still I can totally understand how for many people, man, the flip flop life and Margaritaville--it's in their DNA. Manatees floating in the backyard canal and the occasional baby alligator tearing through the streets is just another day in paradise for them; goes with their territory!

South Fla really is beautiful. The food is awesome and the Caribbean flavor is great too.

But even moreso than the damn critters, the quality of the people here is deteriorating because every crook and fraudster seems to find their way here eventually...hell even into the governor's mansion.

This is the fraud and forclosure capital of the US and the fact that there's so many gullible, brain dead residents here doesn't help. I've given up hope that they will ever learn how to count ballots in elections.

But I agree that the weather will end up being a key factor in me getting out of here even though I can't see myself returning to Philly and shoveling snow. Summer is becoming unbearable here so I need to find someplace that's less of a pressure cooker.

Feed them to the giant snakes that some idiots released. In one sense, I'm very interested in what is happening in Florida from a conservation stand point. A lot of invasive species are doing a lot of damage there right now. On the other hand, it's an interesting exercise in evolution and natural selection. It's doubtful all the changes will ever be reversed, so in another 20-30 years the flora and fauna in Florida will likely be very different.

Big bugs and strange critters proliferate in size and variety the closer you get to the equator and/or tropical climes, btw. It's not just Florida. When I lived in Hawaii you realize real quick that bugs and lizards are on a totally different level than they are in the Bay Area. Not to mention the incredible amount of life in the oceans right along the shoreline. You can snorkle pretty much anywhere there isn't a break in Hawaii and see incredible sea creatures and plants.

Rococo said:

[img:$uid]http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090908190653/bmnc/images/8/86/Gary_the_snail.gif[/img:$uid]

[Edited 4/15/13 15:31pm]

My fave snail, Gary!!

The main reason I would never set foot in Florida is because y'all have way too many serial killers and people disappearing without a trace. Insane fuckery. Dorothy Schofield. Jennifer Kesse, Tiffany Sessions and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Add to the fact that you have tons of swamps down there where you can get of a body without a trace and uh-uh.

babynoz said:

Ottensen said:

The lizards I didn't mind: the small ones were actually cute and didn't scare me at all. If they get into your house, they sort of "self-domesticate" themselves and really just want to stay next to your plant(s). I wuld actually allow one or two into the house into my Florida room (that's like a den): they really just wanted to sunbathe on my windowsill and hang out next to my rubber tree plants. They sort of knew how to stay in their own lane, if you will. In return for the room and board, they ate mosquitos and other flies that would invariably fid their way into the house as soon as you open the frickin' door

It's not sweltering the entire year through, it's generally just the summer months that will kill you. But for me, from the moment I moved to Miami, I always lived less than a block from water. In the earliest days, I had bay city views, then I lived on the waterways, then one blck from the Ocean. To wake up at the crack of dawn and just walk across the street and have your first real sounds of the morning be gently lapping ocean waves; it's amazing. The water and tropical lifestyle can be a beautiful one. The ocean air, abundance of great seafood and tropical cuisine, the easy lifestyle where you can really live your day to day life (outside of work) in a tank top and sarong...it's special...but those critters and hurricane season can make it a harsh climate to live in.

I eventually left ,with weather being a factor in my decision to do so. Because the tropics aren't in my blood. Water and sea is, but not the tropics. Still I can totally understand how for many people, man, the flip flop life and Margaritaville--it's in their DNA. Manatees floating in the backyard canal and the occasional baby alligator tearing through the streets is just another day in paradise for them; goes with their territory!

South Fla really is beautiful. The food is awesome and the Caribbean flavor is great too.

But even moreso than the damn critters, the quality of the people here is deteriorating because every crook and fraudster seems to find their way here eventually...hell even into the governor's mansion.

This is the fraud and forclosure capital of the US and the fact that there's so many gullible, brain dead residents here doesn't help. I've given up hope that they will ever learn how to count ballots in elections.

But I agree that the weather will end up being a key factor in me getting out of here even though I can't see myself returning to Philly and shoveling snow. Summer is becoming unbearable here so I need to find someplace that's less of a pressure cooker.

The corruption and clique-i-ness of the political factions there is something definitely that leaves a sour taste in your mouth after a while. Miami Beach is run by a clique stuck with chronic cultural identity crisis and operates with tropical plantation mentality. Another factor in why I didn't see myself living there forever, although I do miss how beautiful it is.

OnlyNDaUsa said:

purplethunder3121 said:

My personal favorite:

i have seen some pretty big horseshoe crabs but those seem ridiculously over sized... is it real?

I immediately thought "photoshop" myself...but look at the kid's shadow on that last shell...seems legit.

PurpleJedi said:

OnlyNDaUsa said:

i have seen some pretty big horseshoe crabs but those seem ridiculously over sized... is it real?

I immediately thought "photoshop" myself...but look at the kid's shadow on that last shell...seems legit.

can you see any tracks in the sand?

I just got to call fake... no tracks in the sand and for 3 of them to be on the beach like that and no tracks? And their eyes do not look right....

[Edited 4/17/13 9:02am]

PurpleJedi said:

OnlyNDaUsa said:

i have seen some pretty big horseshoe crabs but those seem ridiculously over sized... is it real?

I immediately thought "photoshop" myself...but look at the kid's shadow on that last shell...seems legit.

Photoshop. http://en.wikipedia.org/w...eshoe_crab That says the female of one species reaches 24 inches including it's tail. Unless that kid is about 4 inches tall, the ones in the picture are much larger than that.

Ha! NOT photoshop. I did an image search for horseshoe crab before posting the above comment to do a size comparison. The ones in the image above showed up sever times; they're sculptures.

Cerebus said:

PurpleJedi said:

I immediately thought "photoshop" myself...but look at the kid's shadow on that last shell...seems legit.

Photoshop. http://en.wikipedia.org/w...eshoe_crab That says the female of one species reaches 24 inches including it's tail. Unless that kid is about 4 inches tall, the ones in the picture are much larger than that.

Ha! NOT photoshop. I did an image search for horseshoe crab before posting the above comment to do a size comparison. The ones in the image above showed up sever times; they're sculptures.

Ha! cool. I was going to say i have seen some big horseshoe crabs when i lived in key West but those were crazy big

OnlyNDaUsa said:

Cerebus said:

Photoshop. http://en.wikipedia.org/w...eshoe_crab That says the female of one species reaches 24 inches including it's tail. Unless that kid is about 4 inches tall, the ones in the picture are much larger than that.

Ha! NOT photoshop. I did an image search for horseshoe crab before posting the above comment to do a size comparison. The ones in the image above showed up sever times; they're sculptures.

Ha! cool. I was going to say i have seen some big horseshoe crabs when i lived in key West but those were crazy big

Yeah, they looked too big to me, too, and I lived in Key West also, but I liked the size contrast with the kid in the photo. If they are sculptures, the artist(s) certainly did an excellent job of making them look real...

purplethunder3121 said:

OnlyNDaUsa said:

Ha! cool. I was going to say i have seen some big horseshoe crabs when i lived in key West but those were crazy big

Yeah, they looked too big to me, too, and I lived in Key West also, but I liked the size contrast with the kid in the photo. If they are sculptures, the artist(s) certainly did an excellent job of making them look real...

(scroll down) http://edkoehlerdesigns.c...es/10.html

So much so that they come up in image searches for horseshoe crabs.

Stifling hot weather, hurricanes, industrial-sized bugs, scary critters, serial killers and corrupt government? My! Florida sounds just like heaven on earth!

Cerebus said:

purplethunder3121 said:

Yeah, they looked too big to me, too, and I lived in Key West also, but I liked the size contrast with the kid in the photo. If they are sculptures, the artist(s) certainly did an excellent job of making them look real...

(scroll down) http://edkoehlerdesigns.c...es/10.html

So much so that they come up in image searches for horseshoe crabs.

I remember a place called Sand Key off Clearwater Beach where native plants and animals ran wild and if you went out there late at night you could watch dozens of horseshoe crabs engaged in mating rituals under the full moon on the beach. It was awesome... That was before it was paved over and planted with lawn grass and palm trees...like so many native habitats have been in Florida.

[Edited 4/17/13 11:29am]

I wonder if there's still a nude beach on Bahia Honda Key...

PurpleJedi said:

OnlyNDaUsa said:

i have seen some pretty big horseshoe crabs but those seem ridiculously over sized... is it real?

I immediately thought "photoshop" myself...but look at the kid's shadow on that last shell...seems legit.

I thought those were giant stingrays?