On Cold Winter Days- Stay in Bed!

Dolly Snoozing comfortably

This morning when the temperature outside was near 19F, our Weimaraner Dolly and Dachshund Franklin preferred to stay in bed. Here's picture proof. :) 

Franklin sharing the other side of the bed. Too comfy!

Donate to a Great Dog-related Organization

I only give monies to dog-related charities. I made that decision years ago and have found many. Most recently, I learned about the Doris Day Animal Foundation (DDAF), a national, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1978 by legendary performer Doris Day. 
*Currently, the DDAF is asking Congress for tougher puppy mill legislation: A federal Puppy Uniform Protection Statute (PUPS), which will amend the AWA and force high-volume breeders who sell directly to the public - including over the Internet - to comply with federal licensing and inspection requirements of the USDA.  **Puppy mills are horrendous places, that operate as dog breeding grounds, and don't maintain them in good health, in fact, filth. 

OUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH PUPPY MILLS: Two foster dogs that Tom and I had for a couple of days were rescued from puppy mills. They had matted fur, were filthy, had bad teeth, way overgrown nails and didn't know what grass was when we put them outside (we had to carry them outside). They also had never, ever been held before. These dogs were about 6 or 7 years old! Horrible.

* So, consider donating to the DDAF to get rules imposed on Puppy Mills or put them out of business.

CONTACT: Doris Day Animal Foundation, 8033 Sunset Blvd., Suite 845, Los Angeles CA 90046
To Donate: http://ddaf.org/dd/?page_id=107

NBC Nightly News- shows satellite image I sent!

One of the coolest things about my job is having access to cool satellite imagery. Yesterday we got a request from NBC news for a satellite image of the storm and I knew right where to get it, thanks to the NASA GOES Project folks. It appeared in last night's NBC News story with Brian Williams, right near the beginning! Cool!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Late Night's Stephen Cobert (3 min. video) Another "brilliant" idea from a politician:

Late Night's Stephen Cobert (3 min. video): Another "brilliant" idea from a politician: Curtis Oda wants to give Utah residents the right to shoot or decapitate feral animals.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Mr. Smith Goes to the State Legislature Then Later Possibly Washington - Curtis Oda
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> Video Archive

Watch the Big East Coast Snow Storm from the GOES-13 Satellite

One of the great perks of working where I do is having the ability to tap into the latest satellite imagery. So, I grabbed this animation today from the NASA GOES Satellite Project of last night's and today's big East Coast Snowstorm. (In the beginning there's interference (there was SNOW on the receiving satellite dish that one of our scientists cleared off , improving the signal).
This animation of GOES-13 satellite data runs from January 25 at 1431 UTC (9:31 a.m. EST) to 1431 UTC (9:31 a.m. EST) on January 27, 2011. It shows the movement of the low pressure area moving from west to east over the last 2 days.
Also visible is the snow on the ground that it left behind in the mid-Atlantic. The animation was created  by the NASA GOES Project, located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The GOES series of satellites are operated by NOAA. CREDIT: NOAA/NASA GOES Project

AP Video: Comics "Fantastic Four" Will be no more?

Almost 50 years after the first issue of the Fantastic Four debuted one of the four superheroes is going to die. (Of course, most of them come back)... The video gives away which one of the characters it is...
To see the video : http://video.ap.org/?f=SCSPA&pid=YcKc13MwdssWao6uc0fg2BpbOhLirzw1

For those who don't know the characters: The four core individuals traditionally associated with the Fantastic Four, who gained superpowers after exposure to cosmic rays during a scientific mission to outer space, are: Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards), a scientific genius and the leader of the group, who can stretch his body into incredible lengths and shapes; the Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm), Reed's wife, who can render herself and others invisible and project powerful force fields; the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Sue's younger brother, who can generate flames, surround himself with them and fly; and the monstrous Thing (Ben Grimm), their grumpy but benevolent friend, who possesses superhuman strength and endurance due to the nature of his stone-like flesh.

Police: S.C. Woman Burned Puppy Who Chewed Bible

This story is an example of is what is totally WRONG with religious fanaticism.  Right-wing religious fanatics go over the edge of sanity "in the name of Jesus" and justify brutality, hatred, and even murder "in the name of God" just as this wacko did.  She also showed NO remorse.

Brutally killing a puppy by hanging and lighting him on FIRE because the puppy chewed on a bible is INSANE. This sick, sick woman is just an example of what religious fanaticism can do to the mind. She's only getting 180 days in prison. She should suffer the same thing she made the poor puppy endure. She's a BEAST. 

Here's the story from the Associated Press:

Police: S.C. Woman Burned Dog Who Chewed Bible

65-Year-Old Arrested for Animal Cruelty, Accused of Hanging and Burning Dog who Chewed on Her Bible; Called it "Devil Dog"

(AP)  COLUMBIA, S.C. - A Spartanburg County woman has been charged with felony animal cruelty, accused of hanging her nephew's pit bull with an electrical cord and burning its body after the dog chewed on her Bible, authorities said Monday.
  When questioned by police and animal control officers, Miriam Smith told them the female dog named "Diamond" was a "devil dog" and she feared it might harm neighborhood children, according to an incident report from the county's Environmental Enforcement Department.
  Smith, 65, was arrested Sunday and remains in the Spartanburg County jail. Bond has not been set. Officials said she doesn't have an attorney yet and there was no phone number listed for her Pacolet Mills home.  She faces 180 days to five years in prison if convicted.

  Authorities said the 1-year-old dog was kept outside on a chain and chewed the Bible that had been left on Smith's porch. The dog's remains were found under a pile of dried, cut grass. Part of the orange cord was still around the dog's neck and a smell of kerosene still hung in the air, the animal control officer wrote in her report.
  The dog was killed about two weeks ago when Smith's nephew was forced to spend several days away from home because of winter weather in the area, authorities said.
 Smith is the first person is Spartanburg County to face a felony charge under South Carolina's tougher animal cruelty law, said Jaime Nelson, director of the county's Environmental Enforcement Department.
  Smith's mental state will likely affect what kind of penalties she faces, Nelson added. He said he was stunned by how flat the woman's emotions sounded as she recounted on tape what happened to the dog. "She just acted like - what's done has been done," Nelson said. 

Lunchbreak: Is There a Full Moon This Week???

Is there a full moon this week? Are the stars mis-aligned since someone suggested adding a new astrological sign to the zodiac?  I ask because each day there have been stupid things to irritate the heck out of me.
1) World Gym Billing Fiasco (now called something else because they apparently lost the franchise name)- I had a membership there and haven't been attending for a long time because the facility was in a state of disrepair (little a/c in the summer, little heat in the winter). So, I swallowed the bullet and paid a lump sum to cancel my membership back on April 19. I spoke with their billing dept. at that time, told them this was a cancellation and they gave me the whopping pay off figure (several hundred dollars) which I paid in good faith. End of story? NO.  This past Saturday in the mail I received a bill from their billing company for $83. For a $20 monthly fee in Feb. (what??), a $34 late fee, and another $29 penalty fee. *I was NOT happy. I called the gym. They said my membership was canceled and they had record of the payment. I called the billing folks (not working Saturday or Sunday of course) on Monday. They said they think my membership was still active and "rolled over." They said that whomever took all of money to close the membership apparently didn't do that. They're now canceling the membership. I called again Tuesday at lunch and talked with a nice guy named Rob (go figure) who waived the other fee and agreed this is foolish. He's also checking with the gym to see if they'll waive the annual $20 monthly February fee.
2) Nasty Neighbors - I was walking the dogs at lunch today, Tuesday, when someone got in their car (which was parked in their driveway). They started the car, so I stopped all three dogs on the sidewalk so the man could back out and we'd safely wait until he was gone. *Just then, an older woman opened the front door YELLING at me to "Go find another sidewalk to have your dogs crap on!"  I shouted back that I was just waiting for her housemate to back up so I could move on, and I ALWAYS pick up after the dogs. I was steamed. She looked at me and waved me off.
3) Mental Illness- No, not me, my mom (sadly). Dementia goes through cycles with people and my mom's dementia is progressing. At night I find she's at her worst, but I can't call during a work day because she loves to ramble about 1951, 1962, 1973, 1986, 1990, well, you get it. *My brothers and I have been paying for snow plows to plow out her driveway and walkways (she lives in very SNOWY Mass.) this year. So, she found out I sent a check for last week's 1 1/2 feet (the plow charges by the inch). She was furious. Why? Because "they didn't plow right and wipe my car off." Uh-huh. She also said she'd rather be plowed in, but can't stand being in the house (all in one breath) and can't handle a big house. I mentioned moving to an over 55 complex and her head spun 360 degrees and my phone was melting. I finally said "I can't talk with you anymore."
SO, I ask... is there a full moon this week?

Elected officials refusing to recognize a U.S. Supreme Court decision

It's disgraceful that elected officials are refusing to recognize a U.S. Supreme Court decision to not post religious displays in public buildings. It's happened in Virginia. 

Despite a U.S. Supreme Court Decision, a school district in southwestern Virginia is re-posting copies of the Bible's Ten Commandments in all county schools. It is unconstitutional.  It's great that people have religious beliefs, but this was decided upon by the U.S. Supreme Court. We have to abide by it (even if someone doesn't like it). After all, if we post Christian material, then we should post stuff from ALL of the religions practiced in our country. All or nothing. The U.S. Supreme Court voted "nothing" and now idiots in one county are thumbing their noses at it.

The story is below. 

ASSOCIATED PRESS:  The five-member Giles County School Board voted unanimously to restore the framed, 4-foot-tall, biblical texts after parents and local ministers complained about their removal from the district's five schools and its technology center. The decision was made even though the board's attorney advised that such Christian displays represent unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.
The Ten Commandments were up on school walls in Giles County for at least a decade next to framed copies of the U.S. Constitution. School officials took them down and replaced them with the Declaration of Independence in mid-December after a resident complained. The board reversed that decision Thursday after several parents and pastors, joined by a throng of supporters, told the board that the schools had a moral obligation to reinforce God's teachings. *WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!! Pastors are NOT lawyers.**
FULL STORY: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/23/ten-commandments-restored-at-virginia-schools/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS 

Record melt from Greenland icesheet in 2010

Greenland from NASA's Terra satellite 2002.Cr:NASA

IN THE NEWS TODAY- 

Paris (AFP) Jan 21, 2011 Greenland's icesheet, feared as a major driver of rising sea levels, shed a record amount of melted snow and ice in 2010, scientists reported Friday, a day after the UN said last year was the warmest on record. The 2010 runoff was more than twice the average annual loss in Greenland over the previous three decades, surpassing a record set in 2007, said the study, published in the US-based journal Environmental Research Letters.
Ice melt has now topped this benchmark every year since 1996, according to the paper, derived from long-term satellite and observational data.
Were it to melt entirely, Greenland's icesheet would drive up ocean levels by some seven meters (23 feet), drowning coastal cities around the world.

Based on computer models, lead researcher Marco Tedesco, who heads the Cryosphere Processes Laboratory at the City College of NY, estimated that runoff in 2010 was 530 gigatons, or billions of tons, compared to an average of 274 gigatons for the period 1958-2009, and 285 gigatons for 1979-2009. "The process is far from being linear, and it is not possible to simply draw a line" into the future, said Tedesco.But over the last 30 years "there has been an increase in runoff," he said.

Sprite's Adoption Event

Today I spent 2 hours at the Golden Ring Mall (Baltimore, Md.) Petco, doing an adoption event with Sprite.  - It went well once I got situated. The staff accommodated me with a table and chair near the entrance- which was good for exposure as people came into the store.  

 - I taped a sign for the "Coast-to-Coast Dachshund rescue adoption event" on the table, brought a "Welcome sign" with a dachshund, a photo of Franklin in a stand up frame and adoption materials and a description of Sprite and his behaviors/habits. Sprite sat on his bed on the table with me. 

 -There were about 20 people that came over to pet him and meet him. One woman seemed especially interested and took his picture with her phone and sent it to her husband. She just lost a dog and seemed to immediately fall for Sprite. I had her pick him up and hold him, and she seemed to melt. She asked how he was with cats, and we brought him over to the cats up for adoption-in another part of the store. He ignored them! (She has 2 cats and a dog).
- A couple of others took the info about Sprite and said they would consider him or pass the info along to someone they know. So, it seemed to be successful, at least in terms of interest. A couple of people said they'd check out the rescue as well, hopefully to help out! 

An Old U.S. Air Force Video: Cats in Antigravity

Sky and Telescope magazine on-line found this old U.S. Air Force video, and I just had to post it. Poor cats!