Sunday, July 27, 2008

You've got to be kidding...

How did I miss this?

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine scientists are taking a novel approach to studying global warming -- strapping plastic tanks to the backs of cows to collect their burps.

Researchers say the slow digestive system of cows makes them a producer of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that gets far less public attention than carbon dioxide in efforts to fight global warming.

Scientists around the world are studying the amount of methane in cow burps and Argentine researchers say they have come up with a unique way.

Attaching a red plastic tank to a cow's back and connecting it through a tube to the animal's stomach, scientists say they can trap bovine burps and analyze them.



Check out the article and the picture; it's a hoot. Seems like a waste of time and resources to me.
Somebody better call Al Gore...

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Wish I could say I've been doing a lot of interesting stuff, but I'm afraid not. I've been spending a bit of time doing work in the yard, but it seems like I run out of energy fairly fast; getting 4 to 5 hours sleep a night over the period of several weeks seems to accumulate. The fact that my feet swell a couple of sizes any time I am on them more than an hour is not helping. Hopefully I can bust out of this slump soon, it makes it hard to blog when you feel tired and sleepy but can't really sleep.

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The robins have been quite thick the past few years; the last two they have just about wiped out my grapes and blood plums before I can get a decent harvest. I don't mind sharing a bit, but these guys really chow down on the fruit. Caught a couple of shots of this guy sitting on my neighbor's fence yesterday while weeding around my tomatoes.




These will start turning dark soon; they are a black sweet seedless, that makes great raisins. The sugar content is so high that it actually forms a light crust on the outside of the raisins.




A couple of Roma tomatoes; I usually have several varieties (Roma, heirloom, pear, cherry, regular tomatoes). They are no longer there, as they met their end on a couple of BLT's that we had yesterday.



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My wife appreciates all of the good wishes for her birthday.

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Any favorites in this bunch?

"The Girl from Ipanema" by Eliane Elias
"Turn the Page" by Bob Seger
"Yakety Axe" by Chet Atkins/Mark Knopfler
"It's a Heartache" by Bonnie Tyler
"Tom Dooley" by Eddy Arnold
"Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers
"You Only Live Twice" by Nancy Sinatra
"El Nicoya" by Santana
"Your Wildest Dreams" by The Moody Blues
"La Grange" by ZZ Top

Monday, July 14, 2008

A special day for a special person

Today is my wife's birthday. How I was lucky enough to find and marry her, I have no idea, but it is the smartest thing I ever did, and the best thing that ever happened to me.

I won't mention her age, because ...well, because it is not a very smart thing for a guy to do. Why so many women (and some guys) worry about such things, I have no idea. Personally, I think my wife looks younger than many women who are younger than her, but for some reason mentioning a woman's age is on par with telling some women what their "butt looks like in those pants". Men who break those rules are flirting with disaster.

We went out to a nice dinner Saturday night, and will be going out tonight also. Unfortunately, she had to go to work today, but hopefully she will be able to come home early.

Happy birthday, Sandy.

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Today's playlist sort of goes with the occasion; any favorites in the top ten here?

"She's a Lady" by Tom Jones
"My Girl" by Smokey Robinson
"Allies" by Heart
"Whenever You're Away from Me" by Electric Light Orchestra/Olivia Newton-John
"Hey, Good Lookin'" by Hank Williams
"For My Lady" by The Moody Blues
"I Only Want to Be With You" by Dusty Springfield
"This Guy's in Love With You" by Herb Alpert
"I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash
"Forever in Blue Jeans" by Neil Diamond

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Summer is starting to warm up to normal temperatures

Spent most of yesterday out at my mom's place helping her with some chores. The weather was windy, and in the high nineties. Blah! The foliage out in her area is starting to dry out; hope they don't have any brush/grass fires out there, but it seems like they have some almost every year.
I had an audience for some of the time I was out there; her neighbors' goats decided to watch me by the fence. I'm not certain of the breed, but the buck with them has four horns.







I was hoping to get some bird pictures, but the only avians I saw were a couple of ravens and a turkey vulture. Usually there are quite a few eagles (both bald and golden) and hawks, but they weren't out gliding around like usual.

I've noticed that the finch population in my yard has almost disappeared; usually they are all over the place. This year about all I have are robins and mourning doves. Even the starlings and magpies aren't as numerous as usual.

I probably won't get a chance to do much in the way of blogging tomorrow; we're going to a barbecue with my in-laws. Hope it doesn't get too hot, but they're predicting up around 99 or 100 tomorrow. Since I won't be home much tomorrow, I'd luck to wish all of you a good July 4th, and don't forget what it is all about.

UPDATE: Got looking at the pictures a little closer (I didn't look that closely at the animals while I was out there). The animal I described as a buck goat would appear to be a ram; which means he is probably a Jacob's sheep, some of which appear to be mixed in with the flock of goats.

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Any favorites in this bunch?

"Don't Come Around Here No More" by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
"Quicksand" by The Youngbloods
"I Know You're Out There Somewhere" by The Moody Blues
"A Real Fine Place to Start" by Sara Evans
"You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" by The Lovin' Spoonful
"Cruisin' With the Duece" by Quarterflash
"Magical Mystery Tour" by The Beatles
"El Paso" by Marty Robbins
"Promises in the Dark" by Pat Benatar
"To Beat the Devil" by Kris Kristofferson

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

This is too funny

Don't you just love how companies can use whatever is the latest buzzword to sell stuff to idiots?