Group Doctor Appointments

This is not a new Obamacare thing and it’s not ripped from a TV sitcom either. The list of other things it’s not could go on, it isn't AA or OA or any of the A for anonymous group thingies nor is it group therapy. But perhaps all these and the influence of social media (think it takes a village and we are all part of the village) created a gentle nudge toward this idea of group doctor appointments. Group doctor appointments are just that. Instead of seeing a doctor one on one you see the doctor with a group of other patients with the same condition. I like the idea. I notice a lot of people share information (think TMI-too much info) on line and on TV and everywhere really so why not in group appointments. I like the idea that I may have my questions asked and answered, and that may include some questions I hadn't thought to ask or felt too uncomfortable to ask. I can easily picture a group of pregnant women sharing concerns and supporting each other in this setting. I think the group idea is a good one for patients dealing with other issues too, like knee or hip replacements or diabetes. Here is another list that could go on when I think of all the possible illnesses conducive to group appointments and the various reasons we go to the doctor. And maybe we wouldn't have to wait so long to be seen or feel like the appointment time was too short. I would think the atmosphere would be a bit less tense for the patient, but maybe not the doctor, though that’s what they get the big bucks for. The doctor may even prove to be a bit more personable and that is a good thing.

The downside? Save that for those one on one doctor to patient appointments because I am sure there will be times when you will need one of those too.     

The Surf Debate

Here are the two sides of this debate, in my mind at least, nature (waves in the ocean) versus machine generated (waves at water parks or on cruise ships). For the surf purists there probably is no real argument. Communing with the elements on, above, and below the surface of the ocean is what surfing is all about. On the ocean it is usually just you and the ocean along with a few dedicated fellow surfers. At competitions the fans are farther from the action. On machine generated waves there is no paddling out and waiting for what the surf enthusiast would call and only nature could create - the perfect wave. Instead surfing the wave park wave is consistent and constant sort of like riding a mechanical bull and unlike a live bull at a rodeo or the running in Pamplona there is a significantly smaller chance of being run down and gored with the mechanical bull. With the mechanical bull you may also have help from alcohol with its anesthetizing assistance. The crowds cheering you on (or waiting for their turns) are also closer in the wave park, cruise ship, or bar with a mechanical bull. That said there is also something to be said for the other amenities on the cruise ship, at least (I’m thinking those cute towel animals here), but even so those hardly compare with the majesty of the sea, the roar of the surf, and the feel of sand between my toes. I've never found a shark’s tooth or sea glass at park like Wild Adventures or Summer Waves and I’m really not a surfer either but if I was I’d probably compromise and try both. Surf parks may be the latest wave but the ocean endures.   

New Trailhead Facility to Enhance Woodbine Trail

The popular walking, biking, and running trail along where the railroad tracks used to be in Woodbine (three and a half miles long) that starts with a boardwalk at a park on the Satilla River and continues on under the U.S. 17 bridge and beyond is getting a new trailhead facility paid for by a $100, 000 Recreational Trail Grant from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The grant will pay for restrooms and a trailhead facility with a parking area, bike racks, and water fountains. The construction battalion from Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base is providing the volunteer labor. I am planning to lace up my sneakers and check out the trail and the new features when they’re complete. At the very least I figure that I can walk off the crawfish dinner next April during the annual Crawfish Festival.

Turtle Mull

The mull is short for mulligan as in stew and no, this isn't

 a recipe, although you can Google them pretty easily. Most of my posts regarding turtles are less than widely received. But this one is different enough to garner some attention, I hope. Turtle Mull caught my attention when I was reading the paper the other day. A turtle named Zip is in danger of becoming a main ingredient for it since he slipped away from his owners in Northeast Georgia. Zip pushed apart some fortified hog panel fencing and made his escape into a 1,000 acre tract of woods behind his home. His owners have put up flyers and hoping for the safe return of this rather large yet endearing family pet before the weather gets cold and negatively impacts Zip’s survival chances.

Zip’s a 50 pound Saharan Desert turtle (African Spurred Tortoise) or possibly the consummate part of a large batch of turtle consommé, one or the other. 

Tweet, Tweet, A Little Birdie Told the NRA

The NRA has long ‘arms’, so to speak. A professor of journalism at the University of Kansas was placed on indefinite administrative leave for his #NRA tweet about the Navy Yard shootings. Kansas politicians (possibly campaign funded by the NRA?) were appalled by the tweet also and called for the university to remove David W. Guth from the faculty. The offending tweet-“blood is on the hands of the #NRA. Next time, let it be YOUR sons and daughters.” I was expecting the NRA might respond that their sons and daughters would be well enough armed to have taken down the shooter or something like that because they tend to answer guns with more guns, like the idea about arming teachers in schools to protect kids from gun violence. Apparently plenty of others were offended by the tweet because the professor and others at the university have received email threats as a result of the all the attention generated. I don’t really know exactly where my argument in writing about this tweet is going because I have heard a lot of passionate pro-gun arguments before and they are mentally cycling and refuting the points I’d like to make here. I think the professor’s biggest problem is that his expression of anguish over the events in the Navy Yard that resulted in so much death may be that his words are indelibly etched in cyberspace for ever. He did not heed the old admonition, to be careful what you put in writing (or in tweets). Maybe I’ll just write this, Rep. Brett Hildabrand, a Shawnee Republican urged via Twitter the university to take “appropriate action” against David W. Guth. Maybe Rep. Hildabrand and his fellows should be urged to consider taking “appropriate action” against gun violence.  

The Eyes Have It

Our eyes are more important when determining location that our ears. A study at Duke University verified this. The study concentrated on how the brain combines information from two different senses, in this instance, hearing and seeing. The experiment used 11 human test subjects and 2 monkeys, placed in a soundproof booth (probably not all together at the same time) and the experimenters used speakers in various locations with lights attached. Then they moved the sounds and lights around sometimes simultaneously and sometimes not and tracked the subject’s eye movements. The eye can take a snapshot and send the image to the brain but the ears don’t have anything that concrete to work with. And as with ventriloquists the eyes stay with the puppet’s moving mouth (rather than the ventriloquists mouth where the sound is actually coming from) leaving the power of vision to correct errors.

The experimenter at Duke University’s conclusion was that vision is much better at informing location. Must be why somebody invented flashlights!

Ocean Acidification

Carbon dioxide from air pollution is being absorbed by the ocean causing acidification. Not good, because this is altering the ocean’s makeup and while the damaging effects are still reversible eventually they won’t be. The changes due to the carbon dioxide resulting from the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas are happening faster than at any other time in human history. Instead of lush, colorful, marine life filled coral reefs the ocean’s floor in areas damaged by acidification due to the absorption of carbon dioxide look like lifeless slimy lake bottoms. Billions of oysters along the Washington coast have already been killed and other shellfish have been destroyed too. Plankton in Antarctica is dissolving because carbon dioxide mixed with water becomes corrosive and erodes exoskeletons of some animals and robs the water of the ingredients needed to grow shells in the first place. Another effect of carbon dioxide’s acidification along with the decline of coral reef is the increase in sea grasses and an even greater increase in red tide toxicity. The bottom line is that since the dawning of the industrial revolution there has been a 30% increase in ocean acidification and 15% or the increase has occurred since the 1990’s. Changes that were thought by scientists to be half a century off in the future have occurred much more quickly, within the last five years. It appears to me that there is a lot more to global warming than just changes in the weather.  

New Old Idea for Controlling Mosquitoes

Notice the oxymoron in the title of this post? I could go on to write how any moron could have figured out this technique for controlling mosquitoes but that would not be very politically correct so I won’t. The new old idea that is having swimming success (hint, hint) for Richmond County Mosquito Control is the diminutive mosquitofish. They apparently multiply quickly into hundreds of mosquito larvae eating machines and where mosquitofish are multiplying mosquitoes aren’t. The mosquitofish were lifted from the swamp at no cost and added to five abandoned swimming pools (mosquito breeding grounds) in Richmond County. They actually trapped mosquitoes before and after the fish were added to stagnant swimming pools. Then they collected a lot of data to support their conclusions. Aside from preventing a bunch of mosquito bites and the possibility of mosquito borne diseases, another real saving is in the cost of the fish (free for the collecting) versus the cost of the pesticides they usually use for mosquito control, in this case, a savings of just under a thousand dollars. I think the Richmond County Mosquito Control people and Mother Nature have a good thing going.   

KGB Goes Nuts for Doughnuts-KKD (Krispy Kreme Doughnuts)

Last week, in Moscow, Russia’s first Krispy Kreme opened its doors for business and found 200 people waiting in line. The first person in would receive free doughnuts for a year but after that the sweet treat would have to rely on its own deliciousness to hook the other 199 and keep them coming back for more. I know the classic Krispy Kreme doughnut is addictive since I have personal experience with these delectable delights as school fundraisers. The proof might be verified by the fact that we never had to worry about selling any leftover dozens. I could go on and mention driving around in Atlanta watching for the HOT light to come on signaling that the doughnuts are just coming out of cookers and on to the racks, but that just starts the cravings, so I won’t. Maybe Obama should send some Krispy Kreme doughnuts to Putin to sweeten him up on Syria. 

Moms Who Smoke Have Teens Who Do Drugs

There is research to prove this. We already knew pregnant smokers give birth to babies that are smaller and at greater risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. These babies born of smoking mothers also are more likely to suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and more likely to smoke when they become adults. Now recently published in the American Medical Association journal we find that children born to moms who smoke are three to five times more likely to become druggies as teens and adults. Groups of teens who had Moms that smoked during pregnancy and groups of teens whose moms didn’t were given MRI’s to determine where blood flowed in their brains and then were given video games to win or lose. Researchers then they followed the dopamine, our brain’s innate reward system and in the comparison the kids whose moms smoked were sluggish responders and needed more action for the brain to respond. The researchers determined that this weak response may make these kids more likely to engage in risky drug related behavior. The possibility that smoking moms might alter their child’s brain function resulting in a lifetime of problems should be a compelling enough reason for pregnant women to kick the habit.  

MRC

So these three letters, MRC, caught my eye and I read on to find out some things I didn’t know. The Medical Reserve Corps was created following the attack on 9/11 twelve years ago. The MRC program falls under the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the surgeon general and provides state and local governments with trained medical volunteers that can assist with public health in times of emergency. The MRC can partner with the Red Cross and other emergency technicians depending on the emergency. The MRC were on hand at the finish line of the Boston Marathon and thank goodness for that. They were able to triage and help save many lives. When Superstorm Sandy hit New York the NYC MRC deployed with less than a day’s warning to support 80 shelters for three weeks. These volunteers use their own cars or carpool to remote sites bringing cellphones for evacuees and toys for children. In Northeast Florida, the MRC has been involved with flu immunization programs, staffing special needs shelters during tropical storms and hurricanes, and assisting in Haiti’s earthquake relief efforts. But more MRC volunteers heroes are needed. Medical professionals, practicing or retired are important but there is also a need for community members without medical training who can assist with administrative and other support functions. If you’d like to be a part of the MRC start by visiting www.servfl.com.

St. Marys’ Airport

There’s a lot of controversy over this subject lately as the debate about our airport (whether we need one or not) and its location (too close to the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base or not) rages on. I have fond memories of it because it’s where I had my first (and only) flying lesson on my 50^th birthday. We (the instructor and I) flew over my house a couple of times and also over Cumberland Island and the surrounding marshes and waterways. The view and exhilaration was spectacular. I did the take-off but handed over the landing to the instructor. A few years after that I donned a parachute and other appropriate sky diving stuff (including a buddy jumper I was attached to), jumped out of a plane there, and landed safely back on terra firma. That was a genuine adrenaline rush and though the view moved faster it was equally spectacular. On the way to the airport before the jump (a couple of blocks from our house) we passed a hearse and burst simultaneously into the song that goes, whenever you see a hearse go by you think that you might be next to die, the worms crawl in the worms crawl out…you probably know the rest of it but even that coincidental crossing of paths with a hearse didn’t deter me. I was struck by how loud the plane’s engine sounded as we went up and then how quickly the sound fell away as we fell away from the plane and yes, I would do it again. But probably not from the St. Marys’ Airport since the folks from The Jumping Place have moved on and the sounds of planes’ engines is a lot less frequent these days. According to the city the airport is no longer an economic contributor and some expensive vandalism (breakage of runway lights) has occurred. An FAA grant would pay to fix the vandalized lights and help fence in and add security cams but the city is worried that if the airport closes they may have to repay the grant and it’s a risk they hesitate to take. All this and the Navy, in the wake of 9/11, have repeatedly expressed their own homeland security type concerns. Some skydivers, one an immigrant with no identification, landed on the base rather than back at the airport and the field adjacent (where I landed). Hence you no longer see colorful parachutes dotting the skies above St. Marys. I guess the property consisting of mostly runways could be used to expand the tax base by filling the area with more homes. Alas, St. Marys’ Airport, you will always invoke fond memories for me. I will miss you.  

Need a Rescue?

If you rescue a pet it could return the favor and rescue you. Pets do this all the time because it seems to me that unconditional love isn't a complicated concept for them. They are pretty intuitive and they give a lot for such a small investment on their person’s part. They convey their love and devotion through body language mostly and a bark or meow now and then. I read a piece in the newspaper a while back about how animals, dogs and cats from the animal shelter, have helped returning veterans and once again an animal’s unwavering loyalty and companionship makes perfect sense. Then there are the pets that you read about alerting family members when there is a fire. And the No More Homeless Pets national conference with 1,500 leaders of the no-kill movement sponsored by the Utah-based Best Friends Animal Society is taking place this October in Jacksonville. This conference usually takes place in Las Vegas but Jacksonville’s dramatic improvement in saving animals got the attention of these sponsors and the lobbying of the Jacksonville Humane Society and First Coast No More Homeless Pets (on Norwood Avenue and a good place to have feral cats neutered) worked to bring it here. Jacksonville is a model no-kill community where 90% of the animals leave city shelters alive. So if you are looking for a friend for life, rescue a pet. You never know whether or not someday in the future the pet you save may rescue you.

Your Pad or Mine?

Returning north on 95 from visiting my grandson in Cocoa Beach, Florida, I passed the exits for the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral and NASA early on. Longish road trips often get me thinking about places I've been and though 95 is a straight shot home my mind meanders. I thought about the time I’d taken a bus full of elementary school students to visit the space center on a Saturday and how it was that I’d somehow managed to pick the weekend of the big Florida-Georgia/Gator-Bulldog game. I also culled my memories of taking my own children one summer and grandkids (including the one I just visited who was still in utero) years later. My mind meandered and I reminisced about watching a shuttle launch from a roadside and the excitement of man’s first step on the moon.

Come to find out, NASA is currently taking bids for those same launch platforms that have been used since the early 60’s. It does kind of makes sense since the Space Shuttles have been “launched” on their new journeys as museum pieces. These 3700 ton launch pads are too big to move anywhere and it certainly would be a waste to just chop them up and sell them as scrap metal because they are still “launch ready” even after the last shuttle launch on July 8, 2011. Two commercial companies so far are interested in them – SpaceX , co-founded by Elon Musk and Blue Origin, a new space company owned by Jeff Bezos. Both company founders are internet billionaires and obviously can see the potential for having the ready-made launch pads available especially since SpaceX has already launched its Dragon Cargo ship to the International Space Station. Both the 39A and 39B launch pad sites have been standing idle for two years so it would be a boost to the local economy to have an active space program again. Not only that, but the U.S. pays the Russian Space Agency $1.5 billion every time we want to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station. Perhaps it would be better to do our business at home.

Remember the old song, “Fly Me to the Moon?” Pretty neat that the possibility is not that far off, so to speak, since the privatizing of the space program has brought rumors about the availability of commercial trips to the moon for regular people like you and me, coming soon. 

Seasons Change

Fall is just around the corner. I just figured that out in an unusual way (for me at least). Living in the south where seasons change from summer to fall without the colors, no leaf peeping here, means relying on other more subtle changes. School starts in August so that really doesn't signal fall either regardless of the back to school fall fashions advertised. Kids may wear jeans to school but shorts are still the uniform of choice for Friday night high school football fans at least for the early part of the football season. The beach is still a great place to be on the weekends, even in fall. The ocean temperatures are still nice and sometimes a little less tepid. The idea that hurricane season extends to November first is another clue that the weather isn't a reliable indicator for fall either since hurricanes need warm water to form and gain the necessary strength to be considered, well, hurricanes.

I’ll get to the point. I was driving from Hilliard, FL to Cocoa Beach, FL (or grandchild to grandchild as I like to think of it) and though I had what I considered a pretty reasonably early start as the trip wore on the sun became lower and lower in the sky. Yep, I know it’s fall because the days are getting shorter. My night vision isn't that great either and like my chickens at home in Georgia I find myself feeling sleepy when the sun is going down. That’s another reason I am getting this blog on early, I don’t want to be burning daylight on this computer when I can spend it having fun with Brody. Oh fall, got to make the most of a day off school whenever you can!

Medical Care for People in my Age Category

First of all there is one thing for sure about the elderly, in an article I read this means people over 65, and it is simply that there will be more of us as baby boomers continue to age. Although changes are coming in healthcare there have been a lot of assurances in the news that Medicare is not changing so the elderly should stop fearing that.

The info I am sharing is about a study that was done in the United Kingdom about Accident and Emergency Services provided by hospitals. To sum up the study, if a study could talk, it says this. Know how you hate to be sitting for hours waiting to see a doctor? Often times the Emergency Walk-In Clinics aren't much better especially for first-timers filling out all that paperwork. In the study, it was found that In the UK nearly a quarter (25%) were people over the age of 65. To complicate the problem further, most of the elderly patients had issues or complexities that were too difficult to “sew up”, “put a Band-Aid on”, or “prescribe two aspirin and call me in the morning.” As a result, elderly patients were often admitted to the hospital and then forced to wait at least two days to see a geriatrician who could properly identify their problems and treat them.  As a result of this, beds were used up, frequently unnecessarily, time was wasted, and valuable hospital resources and patient’s time exacerbated. By adding a geriatric team linked to a community team to follow-up on patients after they were discharged, the number of patients over 70 years old discharged the same day from the Emergency rooms/hospitals at the Royal Free Hospital in London increased by 38 percent.  In many cases, a geriatrician did nothing more than prescribe medication changes or arrange for social care. It also freed up staff to process the other admissions; resulting in reduced waiting times. Freeing up beds and relocating services such as diagnostics to where they were most needed improved overall efficiency and allocation of available assets. In other words, it saved time and money.

One would also think to consider segregating emergency rooms in such a way to not only treat the elderly but also a section for children, hospitals overall might realize even greater savings and reduce patient waiting even more. With the costs of medical treatment already skyrocketing, saving a few bucks and some time is not a bad idea, just an interesting idea.

A Bike Trail for St. Marys

There is talk of a new bike trail that would connect two of my favorite places, Crooked River State Park and St. Marys waterfront. The 11 mile trail seems like a natural connection according to the Terry Landreth, owner of Camden Bicycle Center with his wife Darlene and member of the Georgia Coast Rail Trail board. As one who used to ride a bicycle to Crooked River Elementary, near where the sidewalk on that side of the street currently ends, and also a place you’d pass on the trail, I agree it wouldn't take much work to extend a trail between the state park and the downtown waterfront park. It is a nice ride. The tabby ruins across from the main gate of the sub base are a cool and shady stopping spot on hot days and I think, like the Landreths, it would be a great place for a trailhead and restrooms. Next comes what the grandkids in our family like to call Poppa’s submarine, the Bancroft, mostly concrete with the original submarine conning tower in front of the sub base’s construction gate. It is a pretty good photo op stop if you are taking a break during your ride. Crossing Highway 40 the trail would continue down Borrell Boulevard and eventually Dilworth to the downtown waterfront. Bicycle Ride Across Georgia, a group of cyclists that make an annual ride have come to St. Marys a couple of times and the 50 to 80 riders and their supporters have been positive influence on the city’s economy. A bike trail would keep them coming back. The 80,000 yearly state park visitors, the residents from the 650 homes along the trail, and my grandkids and I would have a nice place to ride bikes and enjoy the outdoors too.

Atlantic Hurricanes Stir Up Food for Thought Fish

This something I never knew but it does make sense now since I've

 thought about it. Hurricanes that curve out into the ocean and never wreak havoc by making landfall are sometimes called fish storms because they stir up nutrients that feed marine life from the ocean floor. The nutrients these storms bring closer to the ocean’s surface boost the food chain as plankton eats them and are in turn eaten by fish and shrimp and so on. It’s a fish eat fish world out there. Tropical systems that follow the same general path have drawn more marine life to offshore regions near Florida, Africa, and the Caribbean. Where the fish thrive birds and fishermen seem to follow. The fishermen use satellite technology to track fish like meteorologists track storms. Hurricanes over the ocean also help prevent the oceans from getting too hot and salty to sustain marine life. I know that this year’s hurricane season is only halfway over but I am very happy that this year’s storms have been feeding the fish and staying far from my friends and family in Florida, Southeast Georgia, and the Bahamas and I hope it stays that way.    

More Girls Born in the Wake of Disasters

Stress during these trying times of disaster might be the underlying cause, sister. What is clear from the data and statistics is that more girl babies were born right after disasters like the March 2011 earthquake in Japan and even after the stock market crash of 2008 in the US. What’s less clear is whether the stress related to these types of events causes mothers to miscarry more males or whether fewer males are conceived indicating a reduction in Y chromosome sperm for men. Some believe the reason in either case may be evolutionary since boys are more likely to be premature and suffer problems associated with low birth weight than girls. This means nature selects and in other words it may be more beneficial for the mother to give birth to a girl during and following times of disaster, natural or financial. Now if only there was a way to predict the disasters so to be better able to coordinate shopping for the correct baby accouterments. 

What’s Better Than Watching Fish?

Watching kittens was the answer the other day. It seems like feral kitten season is upon us as fall litter mates come capering out of their hiding places to play. My sister, a cat ear wearing, card carrying cat lady, invited me over for coffee and kitten watching through their glass front door and it was definitely more exciting than watching fish in the aquarium or the morning news on TV. There were four entertaining grey tabby kittens frequenting the food dish on the patio there. Two were completely tailless, one had a baby bunny stump of a tail, and the last of the quartet had a tail that was the obvious chew toy of choice for them all. Over a couple of nice cups of coffee we watched the kittens eat, climb the table cloth, peek out from under the grill, arch up and jump sideways, bat a little ball around, and basically do all the cute kitty things one would expect except climb in the cage for a nap (and capture). My favorite part was when one of them apparently whispered to the others, when I say three let’s all attack the big guy over there (another feral feeder) and they did jumping a bigger cousin or uncle in unison. It’s hard to keep cat relationships in any semblance of order, but he took the babies antics in stride. To be like a cat in the window is the cat’s meow.   

Whale, Two Things I Didn't Know

Whales get sunburns, some more easily than others, and some whales, North Pacific humpbacks in particular, may be coming off the endangered list.

First the humpbacks, since the ban on commercial whaling nearly 50 years ago the population of humpback whales in the North Pacific has grown to 21,000 (up from 1,400 in the 1960s). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) wants to first reclassify the whales in question as a distinct population and then take them off the endangered list. That last group to leave NOAA’s endangered list was the Caribbean monk seal in 2008. It came off the list because it was determined to be extinct so the outlook for humpbacks is much more positive.

On the topic of whale sunburns, UV radiation in sunlight causes some whales’ skin to react like human skin. The whales researchers took skin samples from did not include the aforementioned humpbacks. I also hope the whales were peeling so the skin removal wasn't too stressful, but rather a relief since any human that has gone through the peeling stage of sunburn knows the itching can drive you crazy. There were three whale species sampled, blue, sperm, and fin during their regular migration from the Arctic Ocean to the sunny Gulf of California. The pigment melanin increases as you tan and the of all the whales the pitch black fin whale showed the smallest increase probably because they had the most to begin with. Rather than go into the mitochondrial DNA stuff and how it is the thing in our skin cells that suffers the damage when human skin is sunburned, let me sum up by saying that the researchers also looked at genes that help combat cell stress in humans and compared them to those in the whales and found that the sperm whales had the highest expression of them perhaps to act a second line of defense since boosting melanin production might not be enough to counteract the burning UV rays at the ocean’s surface. Bottom line here is that whales are like the ocean’s UV barometers and can help scientists know how much UV radiation is going into the oceans over time. There is also hope that by studying whale sunburns better sun protection products can be developed for humans.

Whale, now you know two things I didn’t know.

K-9 Credibility

In Akron, Ohio the K-9 officers wear a warning on the backs of their t-shirts- You fight. We bite. I believe it!

I was a volunteer one time for a demonstration at Crooked River Elementary with our local St. Marys Police Department dog, Tebow. Tebow and his human partner came to school on the day of our annual Say No to Drugs rally that we held every October in the school gymnasium. There in front of 500+ elementary school aged kids, I wore the big padded sleeve and before they released Tebow an officer got behind me to prevent him from knocking me over. Even with the padding that dog biting down on it felt like my arm was being held in a vise, an unyielding vise. Tebow and his fellow drug and bomb dogs along with the ability to chase down and immobilize suspects have an uncanny talent for finding things with their amazing noses. This they also demonstrated with ease during the program.

I guess the main thing to consider when you weigh the consequences of criminal behavior before you act is that if you have to go up against a K-9 officer things will not go well for you. Even if you have a weapon the dog is a moving single minded target and he can get the jump on you! And one last thing to remember…. juries always believe the dog.

Stopping One White Supremacist

In the tiny rural town (16 residents) of Leith, North Dakota a plan to turn the place into a haven for white supremacists by Paul Craig Cobb is being thwarted by some pretty drastic measures. Apparently Cobb has been buying up more than a dozen lots in the area with plans to take control by inviting his like minded friends to become residents and register to vote so they could write their own local ordinances. Cobb has already sold two lots to some other white supremacists for $1 each and they have set up and moved into tents on the land. The current mayor of Leith and other town officials are considering dissolving the local government and handing over power to the county in order to prevent a political takeover. The mayor is quoted as saying, “He (Cobb) can’t control the city if there’s no city government.” Cobb is currently wanted in Canada for “willful promotion of hatred” for allegedly promoting hate material online while in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2010. Too bad the Canadians weren't able to put a stop to Cobb’s ability to continue spreading hate. Hate is very hard to put out of business but I am proud of the folks in Leith, North Dakota and their willingness to take a stand against it. 

How ‘Bout Them Dawgs Doggy Blood Donors

Dogs (not Dawgs) do it at the University of Florida’s small animal hospital, according to an article I recently read. They give blood donations a pint at a time like humans though the technicians tap the dog’s jugular vein in a process that only takes five minutes for the pooch. The blood can be used in a transfusion if another dog has suffered injury from being hit by a car, needs to undergo surgery, or is anemic. There is an animal blood bank right there in UF as part of their small animal medicine program. They have 58 doggie regulars who donate blood six times a year and most of them are faculty, staff, or student pets but some come from other owners. The blood is separated and packaged and frozen as red blood cells or plasma. Red blood cells last a month and plasma can be kept frozen for up to a year. The hospital performs about 15 transfusions each month and rarely runs out of blood. My dog Fred is not a potential donor because he is under the 50 pound weight minimum and unless he his zonked out on the sofa or some other piece of furniture he doesn't belong on, he isn't relaxed. He does like to ride in the car but just not for a visit to the vet. The other thing I read was that the UF animal hospital also includes a cat blood donation program though cat blood is in less demand. No Gator bloodletting was mentioned even though football season is upon us.

Two Plans to Combat Obesity

In Dubai biggest losers are rewarded with gold. There was a five week contest to draw attention and raise awareness about the rising obesity rates across the Gulf region. Hundreds of people lost at least 4.4 pounds in order to qualify for a gold payout. The biggest loser, a man who lost 48 pounds in the contest, earned $3,200 worth. This is my kind of incentive!

In another plan, in the USA, (think Gulf of Mexico region) a project giving an extra 30 cents for every dollar in food stamps spent on fruits and vegetables for a six month period showed a 25% increase in the consumption of healthier choices that should lead to a decrease in obesity. The UDSA research also finds that SNAP (federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) stimulates $9 of economic activity for every $5 it spends and this is good for our economy. This is also an interesting incentive.

After careful consideration and thinking both plans over carefully, you guessed it, I’d rather go for the gold.

What’s That Circling Uranus?

Yep something unexpected has been found circling Uranus, and no it isn't a Klingon, and know that if my husband is reading this right now he is probably chuckling because it’s a Trojan! In this case, planetarily speaking, a Trojan is a rock or an asteroid-like object that shares a planet’s orbit, and Uranus’ Trojan was discovered by a team of Canadian and French scientists, not the Starship Enterprise. The astronomers weren't looking for a Trojan (or a Klingon either), nor were they studying Uranus. They found this almost by accident as they were surveying the outer regions of our solar system hoping to see what kinds of orbits objects out there followed in hopes of gaining insight into how our solar system formed some 4.5 billion years ago. Some Trojans around Mars, Neptune, and Jupiter are permanently bound (by gravity) to their planets and have been for billions of years. Others, like a couple of our planet’s Trojans are only temporarily trapped in a planet’s orbit. We had a couple of recent Trojans, one labeled QF99 in 2011 and another TK7 in 2010. The Trojan orbiting Uranus, which is approximately 37 miles wide, is only temporarily bound. The astronomers conducted a computer simulation that shows Uranus’ Trojan will probably drop out of orbit sometime within the next million years and become a Centaur. 

Rats Test Potential Flavor Additives for Food

Opertech Bio Inc. is a new Philadelphia based start-up company that is using rats to test potential flavor additives for human food. The brains behind Opertech, a pharmacologist by training and his business partner, R. Kyle Palmer and Scott Horvitz, invented and use a rat testing machine for this. Rats apparently have the ability to identify sweet, salty, and bitter flavors quite quickly with a high rate of accuracy. Everybody knows rats have an appetite for human leftovers, usually found among other trash in dumpsters, well at Opertech this translates to a business opportunity. The rats at Opertech have already identified a new no calorie sweetener that has been validated in human taste tests. The rat taste testers are faster and less expensive than their human counter parts and therein lies the draw for the food and beverage industries, who are always on the search for tasty artificial and natural flavors. The rats are trained to press certain levers that correspond with the flavor they've been taught to identify in order to receive a food pellet reward. Opertech has one full time human employee and periodic interns, along with the rat taste testers and they hope their efforts will land on store shelves soon. Kinda gives new meaning to the old Life cereal ad slogan, He likes it! Hey Mikey! 

Sand Key

Sand Key Park, and more importantly, public beach is a little jewel tucked in between Clearwater Beach’s high rises and Clearwater Pass that opened to the public in 1984. It is located just south of Clearwater Beach and this weekend it didn't seem like many people know about it although it became more crowded as the day went on. The parking is close to the beach with electronic stations rather than meters at each space, very helpful when planning a fun filled day with grandchildren, their parents, friends, and a daughter with a debit/credit card.

This beautiful park has two distinct areas—a beach and a park. In the park proper (which we will have to check out next time) are two picnic shelters with grills, a playground, restroom and a dog park. Grills, picnic tables, and water fountains are but a few amenities but we spent the whole day at the beach enjoying the waves (smallish swells mostly) and sand. While boogie boarding, spilling each other out of various inflatables, and playing a couple of friendly games of chicken (I think that’s what you call it when people climb on each other’s shoulders and try to dunk their opponents) we saw dolphins and got a bit toasted despite several slatherings of sunscreen. We found hermit crabs and dug up coquinas. We made friends with other beach going families and ate slightly sandy chips and sandwiches. We brought chilled drinking water but my favorite refresher was the popsicles, pop ices that you squeeze out of the plastic wrappers.

That’s what ‘the last day of summer’ stuff is all about, enjoying forgetting about time with family on a perfect day at the beach, this time at Sand Key, Fl.

 

Pesticide Deaths
A major Florida citrus grower, Ben Hill Griffin Inc., has been illegally spraying pesticides since 2006 to kill the tiny Asian citrus psyllid, an insect responsible for spreading the lethal citrus disease called greening that has devastated some groves. Collateral damage has been the lives of millions of honeybees. This apparently has been the first case in recent years where a pesticide application by a grower has been determined to be the cause of a bee kill (and it has been happening since 2006). The fine is the thing that gets my temper buzzing, a measly $1,500. I swore off blogging about bees because I have written about them a couple of times over the past year but the fine levied by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is so small in relation to the actual amount of damage that I had to write about the plight of bees one more time. $1500, that's less than a millionth of a penny for each life of the couple million bees killed. There is definitely something wrong with this that no amount of honey coating can hide.

Giant African Land Snails Take Miami
I've wasted a good bit of time looking back over my past 300+ posts to find what I may or may have not written about giant stucco eating Giant African Land Snails that have been found and are currently the subject of seek and destroy orders through out the Miami-Dade County area in Florida. I have also been noshing on golden raisins which causes my fingers to be a bit sticky and make the keys on this computer tacky too but that has nothing to do with this post today. Back to the snails, there is a new secret weapon being used in the fight against the fist sized varmints, that can lay 1,200 eggs each year and live up to ten years. His name is Bear and he is a three year old black lab that has been trained amazingly enough to sniff out the offending snails. Bear and some agricultural specialists armed with a newer stronger pest killer called metaldehyde have brought the number of snails found down from more than 1,000 to less than 100 per day. Along with their destructive habits of eating plants and building materials, the Giant African Land Snails have also been found to carry a parasite that can cause meningitis in humans adding even more importance to their impending demise. The U. S. Department of Agriculture hasn't declared victory over the pests yet but I hope they can soon before the Giant African Land Snails Take Miami.