Goblin Shark

A goblin shark is a very intriguing species of a shark because of that one gif shown on Discovery Channel. It is a deep-sea shark that can grow up to 5 m in length and is found at depths below 100 m with a conservation status of “Least Concern.” Since goblin sharks are deep sea creatures they tend to feed mostly on the organisms dwelling in that area. In the “all of a sudden” gif below a goblin shark appears to bump into an object blindly and suddenly spews forth “another creature” still attached to the carcass of the original goblin shark. Doing some research I was able to find that this “other creature” is actually an extension of the creatures jaw. The fact that the skin around that area on the goblin shark is extremely loose allows the jaw to elongate in such a manner. Another interesting fact about the goblin shark is that its mouth is filled with ampullae of Lorenzini  (highly sensitive receptors in the skin that basically detect temperature and even other organisms by picking up electric fields produced by that organism). Creatures like this are cool to observe, but if you’re a deep sea diver you might want to bring some extra protective gear or just resort to scuba diving.

     

Muay Thai

Today I would like to talk about something I recently learned and am interested in; the art of Muay Thai. Muay Thai is referred to as the art of eight limbs because unlike other combat sports you can use all limbs and you need to have good physical preparation (i.e. ability to maintain breathing, and endurance throughout your body). Just yesterday I went to Muay Thai exhibition in Studio City with my stepfather. Among the participants were amateur fighters from over 20 of the top gyms across Southern California. My stepfather didn’t fight but he worked closely with the fighters from their gym: Muay Thai America Gym which is in North Hollywood. There were over 15 fights that evening and MTAG got two fighters in two of the fights leaving with a record of 1-1. All of the fights were 3 rounds (2 min. each). The first fight was between Carlos Iglesias and some other guy (Guy 1). In about the third exchange or so Carlos got rocked with a vicious cross (punch with non-dominant hand depending on stance), with sent him stumbling but still left him standing effectively losing the first round. But in the second and third Carlos was able to wear out his opponent buy using his long reach to jab (punch with dominant hand depending on stance) his way to victory. Trust me it was a lot more thrilling in person. However, in the second one that was not the case. A theme you can see in most combat sport fights is that there is usually a distinguishable dominant and subservient fighter (with the exception of the first fight). In the case of this fight it was clear that our fighter was scared and on his heels the whole time. He looked “nice” to the other fighter and ultimately it cost him the fight.

Are the Cavs better without Kevin Love?

If you follow Cavs’ basketball you should know that a big topic from last years’ finals was if Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving were healthy, could the Cavs beat the Warriors? Love is 6’10 and weighs in 243 lbs. I think there are only a few versatile other power forwards (like, Draymond Green, Anthony Davis, Chris Bosh) who can knock down outside shots and space the floor really well. The problems start with defense; Love isn’t a good rim protector or P&R defender the Cavs need. Teams can win games by exploiting his effort and ability to recover off switches.  Tristan Thompson has really stepped up for Love, as he excels at being a rim protector and post defense. His impact on offense doesn’t include regular scoring but he among the best in the league in offensive rebounds Thomson can score but it usually comes from putbacks and back downs in the post which aren’t very reliable. When comparing the two players there is a win lose no matter who you pick. I honestly think the Cavs should go with Love because they need to work their offense on the perimeter. To make up for the defensive struggles I think this is a fair starting lineup: Kyrie Irving, Iman Shumpert, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Timofey Mozgov.