I just went to Doheny Beach for my friend's birthday, and the beach was littered with Humboldt squid carcasses! There were about fifty mantles, but I could only find fours heads with tentacles. I removed the very long pen from one and carried the head back on a stick. (The head and tentacles were about one foot long!) I put it in a bag and brought it home.

I'm now going to preserve it in isopropyl alcohol in a large transparent container. (I already have two smaller squids preserved, in the same condition they were two years ago.)

Although I'm very happy about that, I also found out how unappreciated cephalopods are. Despite the fact that the beach was covered with three- and four-foot long squid carcasses, I saw no less than seven people gathered around a tiny dead crab. Did nobody notice that they were surrounded by massive squids?