I’ve always enjoyed trying new things – never afraid to try something at least once. My wife seems to think I’d do well on a show like Fear Factor.

A friend went to visit family up in the Limpopo Province and I asked him if he’d bring back some Mopane worms for me to try. I’d never tasted them before and was keen to try them out.

Some say it’s a delicacy but in fact it’s a traditional source of protein for some South Africans. The mopane worm is actually the caterpillar of  a species of moth found in South Africa.

Needless to say I’ve had fun eating a few in front of colleagues, grossing them out – after all it is Friday.

The mopane (Gonimbrasia belina) worm

Adult Emperor Moth from the Mopane worm

Dried Mopane worms - a tasty mid-day snack (sitting on my desk)

I just love this description on the Wikipedia article:

When the caterpillar has been picked, it is pinched at the tail end to rupture the innards. The picker then squeezes it like a tube of toothpaste or lengthwise like a concertina, and whips it to expel the slimy, green contents of the gut.

Oh and if you think you can handle worse – why not check out The 6 Most Terrifying Foods in the World – thanks Baldricman.

If you’re like me your surfing habbits are safe and you know not to just open up any executable sent to you or visit just any website link sent to you, even from those you trust as their machines may have been compromised.

Some people, however, aren’t as diligent and will click on and open just about anything sent to them without worrying about the consequences – until it’s too late.

For some, they may be none the wiser – until midnight tonight that is.

The Conficker worm is nothing new – it’s been around since late last year and the various anti-virus companies have been keeping track of it and looking out for variations. Up until now it’s been a dormant virus like a sleeper cell just waiting for instructions to strike – and those instructions should be coming in on April 1st.

Windows Secrets have published an article freely available to paid- and non-subscribers giving more detail about the Virus and how to remove it. There’s also a report on CBS’s 60-Minutes here.

For more information about the Conficker worm check out CNET’s FAQ.

Thanks, Koukla for the tip.