The Oil Spill

Officially the Mississippi Canyon 252 Oil Spill Response.


 
I've been isolated on a barge on the Louisiana coast with no land contact other than rescuing birds for the last four days. Ten more days left. The mission is a search and rescue for birds and mammals affected by that massive oil spill gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. The first wave arrived two days before me and has been the stock footage for the national media. They've been showing that stick in the oil footage for 10 days. Cell coverage is spotty, satellite internet works. Every morning we pull out in boats to search the coast. So far there's been little to find in the way of dead birds, much to the chagrin of the national media. Word has come down that they think BP and the government is in cahoots to hide the true numbers of birds. Not there. The first oil wave is in the soil. The next one is approaching.

Face Book Can Rot in Hell

I was recently accused of being a social zombie by my sister-in-law for criticizing the Big Brother tactics of Face Book, specifically the lack of privacy. People may think I'm a social outcast by choice but I don't see the need to dilute my life and time with peer pressure obligation to be a friend to someone I hardly know or whom I never met. I have too much going on right now to do that. I made a Face Book account to communicate with Joshua in Lubbock whom I mentor for most of his life. Then my little used face book started to morph into a nagging monster. I repeatedly received emails from people I didn't know who wanted to be my friend. I guess the tipping point came when my sister in California became furious because I didn't confirm her as a friend. Enough! If people are insulted because I don't join the Face Book Matrix with them then they should reevaluate our friendship. After all I'm just a letter, email or phone call away.

The fuddy duddy Rogue Botanist.

 

Check out:

http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/267112

and

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/facebook-fallout-survey-finds-60-percent-may-quit-over-privacy/34863?tag=nl.e589

Connor's Pack Test.

Connor took a pack test to qualify for wildfire assignments where ever.  He's also qualified to pick up oily birds on the shores of Louisiana. 

Must walk (not run) 3 miles in 45 minutes with a 45 pound weight vest.  Time:  38:50.  Excellent!

Looking for Critters

With the possibility of the great oil slick heading for the Texas coast it is imperative that the FWS gather pre-slick information on the subsoil populations of invertebrated that will be affected. I joined a monitoring crew to inventory invertebrates at four FWS complexes – Texas Midcoast, Texas Chenier Plains, Anahuac and South Texas. With a 4" diameter modified PVC pipe we'll pull up a column of estuary soil and sift through it for inverts and send them to Corpus Christi for identification. When the oil hits and kill everything we have an idea about what existed in the soil beforehand. Then we'll place a monetary price on the damage and get our pound of flesh from BP (like everyone else). In other news I'm placed on availability to help with the clean up in the next few months. 

The Front Yard

Spring again and the yard is a cornucopia of over 100 species of flowers. This is the last year it will be this abundant as I'm covering up some sections to have the property ready to sell when I get that as yet fictitious job elsewhere. 

This is Too Classic!

I was a little despondent over the recent Supreme Court ruling that the cross at the Mohave National Park was allowed to stay on government land when I read the news about the founder of the Family Research Council. The organization that wants all homosexuals to go to hell and turn our country into a theocracy.


 
The court ruling was a 5-4 decision which allows a cross to stay on public land and by proxy became a government endorsement of religion. The majority stated that because it had been at the site for 70 years to honor the servicemen who died in war, it was now an historic monument. A sad, pathetic rational for government endorsement of the Christian religion over other religions. A very slippery slope and an affront to other servicemen of other faiths. What will the Justices rational be when a Wiccan wants to place a Wicca symbol in another park?
Be careful what you wish for people.


 
The Family Research Council - a narrow-minded, bigoted organization that profits off religious gullibility and paranoia. Since its inception it has been at the forefront to demonize gay people. It was at its most powerful during the Bush Administration (go figure) but is still a potent force in politics. So imagine the ironic recent turn of events surrounding one of its founders – George Rekers who was verified to have a male companion he found on "Rentaboy.com". Rekers recently billed the state of Florida $87,000 to testify that gay parents are unfit to adopt children. I remember Chelsea telling me that the most vocal anti-gay people are closet gays. You can take that to the bank. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-now/2010/05/the_family_research_council_co.html

This ends my rant.