Senate Appropriations Committee Highlights short-term Budget cuts:

If you're wondering what was cut from the U.S. Budget to keep the Gov't open for another week here's   
The Senate Appropriations Committee detailed the short-term cuts:

• The Transportation Planning, Research, and Development account is reduced from $16.1 million to $9.8 million.
• The Federal Aviation Administration's Facilities and Equipment account is decreased by $8.7 million - or less than one percent - from the 2010 level.
• The FAA's Research, Engineering and Development account is cut by $3.5 million - or two percent - from the 2010 level.
• The Federal Railroad Administration High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail is reduced to $1 billion.
• The FRA's Research and Development account is reduced to $35.1 million, $2.513 million less than 2010.
• The Transportation Department's budget for Transit New Starts is reduced to $1.72 billion, $280 million below the 2010 level.
• The Transit Research and University Research Centers Program is cut $64.2 million.
• The funding for Public Housing Operating Fund is decreased to $4.6 billion.
• The Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Fund, including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is cut by $220 million.

On side issues, or "riders," the Democrats and the White House rebuffed numerous Republican attempts to curtail the reach of the Environmental Protection Agency and sidetracked their demand to deny federal funds to Planned Parenthood.
Anti-abortion lawmakers did succeed in winning a provision to ban the use of federal or local government funds to pay for abortions in the District of Columbia.The deal came together after six grueling weeks and an outbreak of budget brinksmanship over the past few days as the two sides sought to squeeze every drop of advantage in private talks.

Great Cell Phone Photos This Week

Dolly and Franklin in their kitchen bed

Putting a camera in cell phones was a great idea. Often it seems that the best pictures are captured because the cell phone is with us, and we're able to get a quick photo. I just wish the resolution were better, but at least we have the pictures. (I'm sure someone can tell me what phone has great resolution- I have a Samsung "Smiley" phone).
Anyway, enjoy these pictures. We did!

Truck snoozing: Dolly's head on Franklin's back

Our Serviceberry tree is finally blooming!

Sprite Update: After having 13 teeth removed

Our foster Dachshund Sprite is healing quickly and doing very well. The first 2 days after surgery he didn't want to eat because his sutures hurt (he's been on anti-inflammatories and on Saturday we got some pain meds). Yesterday he ate his breakfast and dinner.
- he's eating Purina One wet food.    We tried to give him baby food, like chicken, ham, etc. and he refused it, but he's loving his Purina One. Yes, he can even be fussy while recovering!
- I also break up Pupperoni into little bits and he enjoys that for treats.
- After meals, I have a mouth wash to help spray out any food bits that would get caught in his stitches. Makes sense, right? Food caught in YOUR gums would form bacteria.
- He's been on walks with us Saturday and Sunday, several times and is feeling much better. Yesterday we went on 2 1 mile walks with him and he did fine. I think that the exercise he's been getting with us and our other dogs is keeping him younger and promoting healing. In short, he's doing very well now, eating, exercising, and enjoying stretching out on rugs throughout the house.
  Another good bit of news about him is that we no longer worry about accidents, because he doesn't have them. He often goes upstairs by himself and stretches out on one of the large rugs and snoozes.

Crazy Couple of Days

The last couple of days have been busy and crazy. - We took Sprite (our foster dog) back to the vet for a check up after he had 13 teeth pulled. By the 3rd day after surgery he was finally eating again, and has energy, so we're relieved. He's doing well.
 - We had our friend Jeff's parents (Ann and Dick) over for a wonderful lunch on Saturday and spent most of the day together with them, Jeff and Jose. It was a lot of fun to not go anywhere and just spend time together. They're visiting from Maine where there are still 4 foot high piles of dirty snow in the parking lots of stores. They can have it!
- Tom starts his new job on Monday, and we're looking forward to getting up at 5:30am instead of 4am because his commute is a LOT shorter. YES!!
- The Federal Gov't is going to be open, much to my relief. I hate not working because I love my job.
- I'm glad the gov't is open. I won't get much into the politics, but I think it seems really odd that the Republican party seems to forget that GOP President Bush is the one who put the country into debt. Why the heck didn't they care when he was doing it?  Hmmm. Anyway, the other thing about them trying to remove funding for planned parenthood, when we have so many kids having kids is Stupid.  Fortunately the percentage has dropped over the last several years- so cuts NOW would likely raise those rates again. I STILL haven't seen the GOP reduce tax breaks for big businesses, the Rich, and reduce famr subsidies - things that they favor. They're also using the budget to push their stupid conservative agenda. I'll stop here.

Sprite's Major Teeth Removal

Our foster dog Sprite (the 14 yr old Dachshund) has more dental issues than I (Rob) do... that's a lot. Today we brought him back to the vet for removal of more teeth. When we took him in as a foster dog in December his breath could kill a room full of people. His teeth were rotted, his little mouth infected. He was neutered and 7 teeth beyond repair were removed. More teeth, however, were also rotting and his gums were infected.

Dolly (R) watching Sprite (L) drink after he came home.

  Despite brushing, nutradent in his water (to limit bacteria in the mouth), and dental treats, his teeth declined. The ones that were partially bad finally got beyond saving last month. It was painful for him to eat and we had to water his food down and give him soft food. **So, we contacted the rescue and we split the bill for the removal of 13 MORE TEETH today. Now has 5 teeth left on his bottom jaw, and only 3 left on his top jaw. They had to give him stitches in his little mouth. OUCH.
  I know that he has to have soft food for the rest of his life, but when I saw it in writing tonight at the vet, my heart sank.Poor little guy.
  He'll be on antibiotics, a rinse after every meal, and pain medication for quite awhile. He's such a good boy, too. When I took him home, he walked in and Dolly and Franklin (our Weimaraner and Dachshund) came over and sniffed his mouth, and walked him over to the water dish, where Sprite lapped up a little water. Sprite then walked to the back door, so I went outside with him (he was still in a stupor) and did both businesses outside. Despite being "out of it," Sprite is now perfectly housetrained - enough to even go outside when feeling poorly. Hopefully, he'll recover quickly. 

Scientists Identify New Dinosaur Zhuchengtyrannus Magnus!

 When I was a kid, I was fascinated with dinosaurs. In fact, my younger brother and I had a lot of plastic dinosaurs and used to play with them. Well, since the 1960s a huge number of new species have been discovered, and here's another new discovery recently from China! 

Scientists Identify New Dinosaur Zhuchengtyrannus Magnus

Updated: Tuesday, 05 Apr 2011, 10:41 AM EDT 

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - Scientists discovered a relative of the dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex in what may be the largest concentration of dinosaur bones found in the world.
Ironically, media reports state, construction workers made the find in China while building a museum for other fossils.
The dinosaur, as reported by University College Dublin , has been named Zhuchengtyrannus magnus. It likely measured about 36 feet long, stood about 13 feet tall and weighed about six tons or more than 13,000 pounds.
Scientists matched it up to T. rex using fossil skull and jaw bones. The university stated it is one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs that scientists ever identified.
The dinosaur's name means "Tyrant from Zhucheng," identifying the eastern Shandong Province city in which the find was made.
LiveScience said the dig has uncovered more than 7,600 fossils in the city, which has become known for its bones. Scientists discovered a large field of hadrosaurus fossils in the 1960s and more than 50 tons of fossils have been found there since then.
The university suggested the site likely contained so many fossils because it was a flood plain where dinosaur bodies may have washed up together during floods and fossilized.
Zhao Xijin, the paleontologist heading up the project, told the Xinhua news agency that most of the fossils dated back to the late Cretaceous of the Mesozoic period. The BBC said that period extended from 99 to 65 million years ago, when scientists believe dinosaurs became extinct.
The find, as reported by the BBC, consisted of skull and jaw bones. Scientists used them to match the fossils up to the Tyrannosaurines, a group of theropods that may have evolved into modern birds. The dinosaurs, which existed in North American and eastern Asia, are identified by their small arms, two-fingered hands and powerful jaws.
Colleagues working on the project include Xu Xing of the Beijing Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology. Discovery News said Xing has named more than 30 other dinosaurs. Xinhua said a fossil park will be built near the site.

From the People are Stupid File: Man claims prostitute took money and left

I saw this article today and just had to share it. It amazes me how truly stupid people are... again, these are the people that vote against my rights. Sigh. Enjoy the stupidity! :)

Man reports incident to police, but decides not to have it investigated when told he could be prosecuted

By RYAN ROBINSON, Staff Writer

(Lancaster On-line) 

  Who do you call when a prostitute doesn't provide the service she promised?

One john called Lancaster city police shortly after 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, 2011, police said.

  He complained that he gave $25 to a female for sex in the 100 block of South Queen Street, and she took his money and left without completing the "transaction," police said.

Police advised the cell phone caller that his actions were illegal and he could be prosecuted, police said. The man then decided he did not wish police to investigate the incident any further.

  Police responded to South Queen Street, but the woman was no longer there, they said.

City police Lt. Todd Umstead said the call was certainly unusual, but not a first.

"I recall handling a similar call years ago," he said. "The guy was very upset."

That john did not speak much English so he used hand signals to describe what happened, Umstead said.

Umstead also explained why police can't charge the johns in such cases.

"Without being able to locate the other half or an independent witness, it would be impossible to prosecute someone for claiming they solicited a prostitute," he said. "Even if you did locate the prostitute, it would be a difficult case to prosecute because your witness would probably be a co-defendant."

  A confession alone is not enough to charge someone with a crime, Umstead said.

"You could walk in the lobby and confess to kidnapping the Lindbergh baby," he said. "Without any other proof, we wouldn't be able to charge you."

Read more: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/370739#ixzz1IgnfW2Xc

NASA's Aqua Satellite Catches Brief Life of Season's First NW Pacific's Tropical Depression

NASA AIRS infrared imagery of TD1W on April 2 shows a more consolidated, rounded and organized tropical depression, whereas the April 4 image shows that wind shear has been tearing the circulation apart and scattering its clouds.  Credit: Navy/JPL, Ed Olsen

This is a story I wrote for the Hurricane page- and it's about the first storm of the Pacific Northwest Hurricane Season (well, sort of- its the first storm this year after the typical 2-3 month lull- which is like the start of a new season).

 NASA's Aqua Satellite Catches Brief Life of Season's First NW Pacific's Tropical Depression

Tropical Depression One W formed on April 2 and was dissipating by April 4 a couple of hundred miles east southeast of Vietnam and NASA's Aqua satellite captured its brief life.

The Northwestern Pacific Ocean basin can experience tropical cyclones almost all year 'round, except that activity is usually minimal in February and March. So, the first tropical cyclone of the new "season" didn't take long to form after the end of March. The Northwestern Pacific includes all of the area north of the equator and west of the International Date Line, including the South China Sea.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Depression 1W (TD1W) on April 2 when it was born, and then again on April 3rd, when it faded. That was a short life for the first tropical depression of the Pacific Northwest's hurricane season, but only the beginning.

AIRS data on April second at 05:41 UTC showed a cluster of strong thunderstorms surrounding the weak center of circulation of TD1W. Some of those thunderstorms were dropping heavy rainfall (about 2 inches / 50 mm per hour) and had very high cloud tops, so high they were as cold as -63 Fahrenheit/-52 Celsius.
  On April 2, TD1W was located about 280 miles (450 km) east-southeast of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam near 9.3 North latitude and 111.2 East longitude. It was moving very slowly at 1 knot (1 mph/2 kmh) to the west and maximum sustained winds were near 25 knots (29 mph/46 kmh).
  By April 3 at 0900 UTC it had continued moving slowly, only at a rate of 2 knots (2 mph/4 kmh) westward and was then 315 miles (506 km) east-southeast of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam near 9.1 North and 111.7 East. It still had maximum sustained winds near 25 knots (29 mph/46 kmh), but wind shear was battering the system.
  On April 4 NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead once again and noticed that TD1W had become much more disorganized and spread out (due to wind shear). By the fourth, TD1W had also moved more than 45 miles farther away from Vietnam and into the South China Sea. Strong convection appeared scattered and disorganized on AIRS' infrared imagery and not around the center of circulation.
  Tropical Depression 1W is dissipating in the South China Sea today.

DoxieFest Sunday!

On Sunday we drove up to Bel Air, Maryland to an all-Dachshund dog festival, hosted by Coast-to-Coast Dachshund Rescue (the rescue we work with, and are fostering Sprite through). There were LOTS of Dachshunds all over the place! - Sprite was featured as an Adoptable foster dog, and of course we took Dolly and Franklin!  There were treats, toys, tee shirts, magnets, obedience lessons, quilts, dog beds, dog houses, egg hunts for dogs and so much more. The weather cooperated (it was 57F and sunny). We saw long haired, short-haired, wire-haired, smooth, piebald (spotted), black, tan, red dachshunds and other dogs! Here are some pictures!

Dolly waiting for daddy Tom

A dachshund puppy with thought very cute!

Franklin lounging in the front seat of the truck

Sprite and Franklin walking to the festivities

Dolly and Tom

Linda's Fun Birthday Tea

Our friend Linda celebrated her birthday in style - thanks to her family! This is the second time her kids (all grown) organized an afternoon tea, with sandwiches, great desserts, and all kinds of treats. It was a special birthday for a very special person. We love you, Linda!

Tom, Linda and Rob

Charlie, Jim, Scott, Linda, Cate

Stink Bugs Worse This Year: USDA

**About 2/3rds of the country are dealing with Stink Bugs- an invasive species from Asia that have no predators. The USDA is working on ways to control 'em, but it won't be for this summer in the U.S. unfortunately. If you don't have them now where you are...just wait. You will. - Rob

 Stink Bugs Worse This Year: USDA

By Suzanne Kubota , FederalNewsRadio.com

If stink bugs annoyed you last year...just wait! This year is expected to be even worse. Agriculture Department entomologists say stink bugs are now considered out-of-control pests.

If, however, you're in one of the few remaining states that hasn't been infested, Dr. Tracy Leskey, a Research Entomologist at USDA-ARS at the Appalachian Fruit Research Station, described the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys Stål, for Federal News Radio.

   "They have piercing sucking mouth parts. It's sort of like a straw that they insert to suck up the fluids they feed on. They have a marbled appearance on the sides of their abdomen. That's one of the really good characters that you can use to identify a brown marmorated stink bug, as well as white stripes on their antennae that are very distinctive."

Since it was first collected in Pennsylvania in 1998, the stink bug has now spread to 33 states and D.C., and it's bringing trouble with it, said Leskey. "We've had incredible problems in terms of just the nuisance aspects for homeowners and businesses as well as agricultural issues."

Those issues have made Leskey's work station in Kearneysville, West Virginia nearly ground zero for stink bug research. "This is where apples, peaches, nectarines, as well as asian pears were attacked by this insect. It seems to like tree fruit very much."

   Currently, there are have high hopes for what Leskey called "classical biological control" for the pungent pest. She said her colleague, Dr. Kim Hoelmer, "has gone to Asia and done a lot of foreign exploration and brought back candidate species for release. These are particularly parasitic wasps. These are non-stinging wasps and what they do is they insert their eggs into the eggs of the brown marmorated stink bug and the larvae of this wasp then devour the brown marmorated stink bug eggs, but before they can be released they must go through a rigorous series of tests evaluating their specificity. And so that is what is going on right now, and will continue to go on until all of the information is gathered to petition for release."

    At the same time, chemical warfare is being researched to fight the massive invasion.

In Beltsville, said Leskey, another colleague, Dr. Aijun Zhang, "is working to identify the true pheromone of this bug and this could provide us with an excellent lure to use in these traps to really attract the bug, you know, first for monitoring then potentially for things like attract and kill where we can sort of aggregate them within a particular area and control them in a precise location. So there's a lot of research. It's still unfolding, the types of strategies we'll use against brown marmorated stink bug, but typically it's a lot of different approaches that come together to create what we describe as an integrated pest management system.

Marriage is a Mess in the U.S.

Did you know? While it is routine for American citizens in heterosexual couples to obtain green cards for their foreign spouses, the Defense of Marriage Act has barred such status for immigrants in same-sex marriages. 
The New York Times ran a story yesterday about the complications and mess that is created by not having gay marriage acknowledged all over the U.S.  IT NEEDS TO BE RECOGNIZED IN EVERY STATE.  Read the article:  Confusion Over Policy on Married Gay Immigrants
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/us/30immigration.html?hp