Lobojo's Den

A Series of Thoughts on Stem Cells and Cannibalism of Aborted Fetuses In Oklahoma: May God Help Us

2012-01-24T22:26:00.003-06:00

"Ralph Shortey (R-Oklahoma City) authored Senate Bill 1418, which effectively bans the selling or manufacture of food products that contain aborted fetuses or which used aborted fetuses in the development of their ingredients." Another important problem for Oklahoma solved.

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Richard Rabinowitz likes this.
- Junior Bear Oklahoma Exceptionalism.
  Yesterday at 9:22pm ·
- Salome Valentine Wilco. Tango. Foxtrot.
  Yesterday at 9:23pm ·
- Junior Bear Fox Uniform Bravo Alpha Romeo
  Yesterday at 9:24pm ·
- Salome Valentine FUBAR?
  Yesterday at 9:24pm ·
- Junior Bear F.....d Up Beyond All Recognition
  Yesterday at 9:25pm · · 2
- Salome Valentine HA!! :)
  Yesterday at 9:26pm ·
- Salome Valentine Also: and you're actually *paying* this person to represent you?
  Yesterday at 9:26pm · · 1
- Mary Tucker Mowdy What!?! Good god. And I am proud to say I knew what FUBAR meant. And I know the what SNAFU means. So there.
  Yesterday at 9:26pm · · 1
- Junior Bear I guess I may need to start checking the can labels a little more closely than I have.
  Yesterday at 9:40pm ·
- Mary Tucker Mowdy I guess so. I had never heard of this. What the hell does it even mean??
  Yesterday at 10:14pm · · 1
- Salome Valentine ‎@Mary: It means that Rep. Shortey should *probably* be taking advantage of the psychiatric coverage in his health plan.
  Yesterday at 10:15pm ·
- Richard Mize Stem cells.
  Yesterday at 10:17pm ·
- Junior Bear He eats stem cells?
  Yesterday at 10:18pm · · 1
- Salome Valentine Who uses stem cells in food products? That makes absolutely no sense.
  Yesterday at 10:19pm ·
- Richard Mize There is an important semicolon involved in the title or first line of the bill.
  Yesterday at 10:20pm ·
- Erin Norton Is there a link to a news article we can get on this?
  23 hours ago ·
- Junior Bear STATE OF OKLAHOMA
  
  2nd Session of the 53rd Legislature (2012)
  
  SENATE BILL 1418 By: Shortey
  
  AS INTRODUCED
  
  An Act relating to food; prohibiting the manufacture or sale of food or products which use aborted human fetuses; providing for codification; and providing an effective date.
  
  BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
  SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1-1150 of Title 63, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
  No person or entity shall manufacture or knowingly sell food or any other product intended for human consumption which contains aborted human fetuses in the ingredients or which used aborted human fetuses in the research or development of any of the ingredients.
  SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2012.
  23 hours ago ·
- Richard Rabinowitz ok, so nobody's going to be a cannibal in Oklahoma, I guess. LOL
  23 hours ago ·
- Richard Mize Sorry, I guess the semicolons dont matter. But "or products" in the tutors
  23 hours ago ·
- Richard Mize Damn kindle!
  23 hours ago ·
- Richard Mize Products in the title: ain't food. And "consumption," I think, is meant to include any way a body takes in something.
  23 hours ago ·
- Junior Bear An Act relating to food; Normally that phrase defines the rest of the bill.
  23 hours ago ·
- Bodie Carl Gaffenstof Good to know where you stand.
  23 hours ago ·
- Richard Rabinowitz someone's making a move on embryonic stem cell medical research, isn't he? Verrrry sneaky.
  23 hours ago · · 1
- Junior Bear However there is a possibility that Ralph is onto something here. If he really means Human Consumption, he will need to add these specifics to his bill.http://www.churchofeuthanasia.org/e-sermons/butcher.html
  Butchering the Human Carcass
  www.churchofeuthanasia.org
  Butchering the Human Carcass
  23 hours ago · ·
- Junior Bear But I suspect Ralph thinks otherwise. I remember once when the House passed out a bill to the floor to to pay the State employees bi-monthly. Fortunately we caught it in review after it came out of committee and changed it to Semi-monthly. Bi-monthly would have meant every two months. Bill failed anyway.
  23 hours ago ·
- Beverly Bryant We need a companion bill saying no grandmothers will be used in the making of Grandma's Cookies.
  22 hours ago · · 3
- Mary Tucker Mowdy If we had an Oklahoma version of SNL, this run of comments would make a great skit - or whatever they call it.
  12 hours ago · · 1
- David A. Blakeman What a relief!
  9 hours ago ·

The Old West

2012-01-19T20:30:00.008-06:00

Indian Springs, California

Colorado River California

California

Cuervo New Mexico

Cuervo

Rt. 66 Calif.

Oatman Arizona

Rt. 66 Arizona

Grants NM Rt 66

Old old (1933) Rt 66 Texas/New Mexico border

ditto

Slapout West Oklahoma

West of Woodward, Oklahoma

ditto

South of Provo Utah

South of Pendelton Oregon

ditto

Dolphins Photographs Taken From The Decks of the MS Statendam

2012-01-04T23:50:00.012-06:00

All of these photographs were taken from the decks of the Holland American Lines ship the MS Statendam. The cruise on the Statendam lasted 28 days. Thirteen days were in the Pacfic and thirteen days were in the Atlantic. The other two days were spent in the Panama Canal between the two. All of the dolphins were seen and photographed in the Pacific. None were encountered in the Atlantic waters.

This series of photographs of bottle nose dolphins was taken in San Diego Harbor after the ship had docked and we were all in the process of disembarking. As far as I know I was the only person photographing them.

The pod consisted of four mothers and four young dolphin that were swimming by their sides.

Click on the above photo to enlarge it and notice the baby dolphin by the adult's fin on the right.

This turtle was off the coast of Huatulco, Mexico.

Also off of Huatulco we encountered some smaller dolphins.

Father out to sea, this turtle was floating motionless in dead calm waters.

Another sea turtle.

It is hard to see, but here dolphins and sea birds are attacking a shoal of fish in a feeding frenzy. We observed this six times on the trip but never close enough to the ship to take good clear photographs.

The dolphins would often swim over to the ship and seemingly surf the bow wave.

Brown Boobies

I would often spot the dolphin as the were swimming under water.

Getting a good shot of them was 1/3 skill, 1/3 equipment, and 1/3 shear luck.

Humming Birds from the Indian Canyons of Palm Springs for Christmas

2011-12-25T09:11:00.013-06:00

This may be the best place to photograph Hummingbirds I have yet found in North America. Indian Canyons is an area within the lands of the Agua Caliente Cahuilla Indians of California.

Number one: Costa female

Number two: Costa female

Number three: Anna's female

Number four: Adult male and female Costa's

Number Five: male Anna's

Number six: a female Costa's and an Anna's defending their territories.

Number seven: both Anna's and Costa's

Number eight: both

Number nine: female Anna's

Number ten: female Anna's

Number eleven: Anna's male

Number twelve: male Costa's

Number thirteen: female Costa's

Number fourteen: female Costa's

Number fifteen: female Costa's

The Costa's Hummingbird is very small, a mature adult growing to only 3 to 3½ inches in length. The male Costa's has a mainly green back and flanks, a small black tail and wings, and patches of white below their gorgeted throat and tail. The male Costa's Hummingbird's most distinguishing feature is its vibrant purple cap and throat with the throat feathers flaring out and back behind its head. The female Costa's Hummingbird is not as distinct as the male, having grayish-green above with a white underbelly.

The Costa's Hummingbird is fairly common in the arid brushy deserts and any nearby gardens of the Southwestern United States and the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico.

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) is a medium-sizedhummingbird native to the west coast of North America. This bird was named after Anna Masséna, Duchess of Rivoli. Anna's Hummingbird is 3.9 to 4.3 inches (10 to 11 centimeters)long. It has a bronze-green back, a pale grey chest and belly, and green flanks. Its bill is long, straight and slender. The adult male has an iridescent crimson-red crown and throat, and a dark, slightly forked tail. Anna's is the only North American hummingbird species with a red crown. Females and juveniles have a green crown, a grey throat with some red markings, a grey chest and belly, and a dark, rounded tail with white tips on the outer feathers.

Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm (3–5 in) range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm to about 20-mm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping theirwings 12–80 times per second (depending on the species). They are also the only group of birds able to fly backwards. Their English name derives from the characteristic hum made by their rapid wing beats. They can fly at speeds exceeding 15 m/s (54 km/h, 34 mi/h)

The Crocodiles of Costa Rica

2011-12-15T15:27:00.013-06:00

Ever ridden in a boat and the water is only foot or so from your hand, and you reach down and the it glide through your fingers as the boat moves along? Well that was the first thing the river guide said not to do when we boarded the river boat to go see the crocodiles along the Tarcoles River in Costa Rica. This excursion was part of our trip to go through the Panama Canal

We had traveled from the Port of Calderas for an hour and a half scuntched up in local bus to an estuary that flowed into the Tarcoles River which inturn flowed into the Pacific Ocean. Arriving there after driving along the Ocean shore for the last 15 minutes, we boarded a comfortable tour boat.

Off we went down the estuary observing nature and rust colored floating cola bottles.

It reminded us a whole lot of the artificial jungle ride we had taken numerous times at Disneyland in California. This time when they said keep your hand in the boat I listened.

Oh, I should mention that in addition to my wife that the ubiquitous Junior the Bear was also on the trip and went on the tour with us.

The estuary it seems was actually the nursery area for the crocodile hatchlings that were hatch in nest by mama crocs further up stream in a protected area. The first one we saw was about 18 inches long.

As we spied more in the mangroves along the shore they got progressively larger the closer we got to the river itself.

Here is where I mention that I have decided that Germans are my International Texans. They were always getting up walking around and leaning in front of me to block my pictures. One little lady almost took a swim with the crocs, but......

Then we turned a bend and were moving out into the river.

The river was wide and shallow and very muddy and full of crocodiles.

Yes people actually live on this river, but I noticed they kept the bushes and grass cleared off a long way from their houses and always owned a dog.

These were the big guys. People in the boat sort of squooshed in towards the middle away from the edges.

I guess maybe crocs don't like the taste of feathers?

Spoonbill

This one croc was laying there with its mouth open letting the little shore birds pick bits of meal debris out of between its teeth. I tried to get a picture of that but the birds did it very fast as if they weren't really all that confident that they weren't on the menu.

Somehow this 10 foot croc, although half the size of the others was the scariest because he was up running around on all fours. He dispelled the feeling that these brutes no matter how large were lethargic or slow.

I kind of felt like I had traveled in time rather than space.

As we retreated up the estuary to our boat dock and souvenir shop I was glad the see the crocs shrinking back down to a more manageable size.

Transit Of The Panama Canal: Pacific to Atlantic Side

2011-12-14T08:44:00.013-06:00

This was on my bucket list. In November 2011, I got to ride the cruise ship, MS Statendam from the Holland American Lines through the Panama Canal.

The Captain had announced the previous evening that we would raise anchor at 5:30 AM begin our transit of the Panama Canal. We he actually started at 3:30 AM. So at five when I awoke he was already far up the channel and approaching the first lock in the system. It was still dark.

Things were blurry and out of focus and just not in my camera. There were things moving on the shore of the canal channel that might have been salt water crocodiles or logs being moved by long thin beavers. Pick one.

I finally got enough light to see how to set my low light settings on my camera.

And so we began a trip I never thought I would actually take. I was going through the Panama Canal. I was excited, hungry and in desperate need of coffee.

All that was made available by the crew out on the deck of the ship. Things began to clear up.

I am tempted to relate a detailed technical version of what was going on as we transited the channels, locks, and lakes of the Canal system. Anyone interested in the detail use of the electric mule locomotives, how their cog rail system and cable restraint systems keep ships from banging into the sides or gates of of their locks come spend a couple of days with me I got the picture and the dope on that. Here in this blog I will keep it simple.

The neon arrow tells the ship which of the two lock system to use.

And so we started.

With 1200 people hanging over every foot of railing on 7 decks in 80+ degree and 85% humidity weather at 5:45 AM.

The guys in the row boat pass line from the ship to the Mule locomotives.

The Mules don't pull the ship through but rather keep it in the middle of the lock. Neat trick when there's often less than two feet between the lock wall on either side and the ship's hull.

Let's see, tha's a container vessel on the left and another cruise ship on the right.

Tugs are everywhere even though the ship use their own power to go through the Canal there are tugs standing by at all times to keep the Canal clear of ships that may have problems and help them with difficult turns etc..

As I said....

A lock gate.

When closed you can use them as a bridge.

Now here we go. Panama is building a third set of locks. the new locks will handle much wider and longer ships. It should be done by 2014 and will cost $20 billion.

More construction. How can they make this pay? Well consider that our ship paid a total of $285,000 in reservation and transit fees, and look at all the ships here.

Day light comes...and the temperature is 92 degrees. People are retreating to the air conditioned areas of the ship to watch through windows.

Expanding the infamous Galbraith cut to handle the bigger ships.

At the very top of the ship it is twelve stories to the ground below.

A little tree trimming.

The secret to building the Canal is revealed. Legos.

Again the third lock construction.

Drill, dynamite, dredge.

The jungle comes right up to and often into the canal.

Panama Railway bridge.

The lakes are dotted with hundreds of islands.

Out onto lake Gatun.

A sea going box full of hotwheels.

Chemical transport.

The last locks, Caribbean ahead.

Now I wasn't done. Two weeks later I came back and went through the opposite way.

Books And The Stores That Sold Them

2011-12-12T11:37:00.002-06:00

I did not come from a well read family. Indeed the only books in our house were the Bibles, Bible study books, and library books I brought home from school. I never owned a book (except the Bible and cover-less paper-packs from the drugstore) until I was a Freshman in College at Oklahoma Baptist University. I don't mean the textbooks, I mean a book I bought in a book store just to read. My first book was A Precociousness Autobiography by Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Following in that vein I bought a book of Frost's Poems and another by Emily Dickinson.

It wasn't until I was 21 and was in the Army and stationed in Washington D.C. for a year's training that I discovered real bookstores. I mean BOOK stores. Book stores that had all the new books. Book stores that had remainder books real cheap. Best all, bookstores that had old books, and better than that old cheap books. I was most certainly in an unknown corner of Heaven (about the same time I discovered neighborhood bars and ethnic foods).

Lower D.C. between G & K streets and 9th and 15th streets, had all sorts of used books stores at all prices. Georgetown had four of five used/antiquarian book stores which were my favorite. Then there was Lowdermilk's.

The year of my revelations was 1966-67. I made $115 a month as a PFC stationed at Fort Myers, Virginia. Each month I set aside $10 to go into town and buy one good meal from the variety of ethnic and national restaurants available. I set aside another $10 to buy books and pay for them to be mailed home to Oklahoma via "Book Rate" postage.

My first acquisition I still have. It was a first edition of "Poems" by Alan Seeger published by C. Scribners and Sons in 1916. For this I paid $1.25 from a book store Georgetown. As an additional bonus it contained a 2" X 3" book market used by the previous owner that was a funeral announcement in English noting So & So had died in Paris, France and when and where his funeral would be. It was dated 1838.

During the year I purchase several Hemingway first editions, the first edition of Dr. Zhivago in Russian published by the University of Michigan Press, and the collected works of Leonard Cohen (new). Also I bought a complete set of the Harvard Classics (1923 edition I think) and "My Seven Years In Tibet", first edition. In ten months, $100 worth of books and book rate postage. My parent to whom the books were being sent for safe keeping thought I had gone mad. Which I guess was true.

It started a life time of books. An affliction, I gladly note, from which I have never recovered.

Bones, Skulls, Skeletons, The Museum of Osteology

2011-10-07T20:54:00.012-05:00

From comparative anatomy to classification to adaptation and locomotion, The Museum of Osteology has been designed with learning in mind. Currently displaying nearly 300 skeletons from all corners of the world, visitors have a unique opportunity to compare and contrast many rare species normally not seen in museum exhibits. In addition, The museum features a variety of North American specimens ranging from tiny mice and shrew skeletons to a 40 foot humpback whale.

(Click on each picture to greatly enlarge it)

All text is from the Museum of Osteology Site.

Exploring Oklahoma Museum of Osteology a One-of-A-Kind Treasure

s a unique educational experience. Focusing on the form and function of the skeletal system, this 7000 s(Click on each picture to greatly enlarge it)quare ft. museum displays hundreds of skulls and skeletons from all corners of the orld

The Museum of Osteology, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a unique educational experience. Focusing on the form and function of the skeletal system, this 7000 square ft. museum displays hundreds of skulls and skeletons from all corners of the world. Exhibits include adaptation, locomotion, classification and diversity of the vertebrate kingdom. The Museum of Osteology is the only one of its kind in America.

Museum of Osteology

10301 South Sunnylane Rd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73160

Latitude 35.364829, Longitude -97.44172 (Google Maps)

From I-35,continue on I-35 until you reach exit 121B. Go east on I-240 for 3.3 miles. until you reachexit 7 (Sunnylane road). Head south for 1.7 miles until you reach the museum. We sit on the west side of the road. Hope to see you soon!

From I-40 west of Oklahoma City, Continue east on I-40 until you reach exit 147A, merge onto I-44. In 4.8 miles you will make a slight left and merge onto I-240. Continue on I-240 for 7.5 miles until you reach exit 7 (Sunnylane road). Head south for 1.7 miles until you reach the museum. We sit on the west side of the road. Hope to see you soon!

From I-40 east of Oklahoma City. Heading west as you come into Oklahoma City metro you will make a slight right onto I-240 W (signs for Lawton/Dallas). Continue on I-240 for 8.9 mile until you reach exit 7 (Sunnylane road). Head south for 1.7 miles until you reach the museum. We sit on the west side of the road. Hope to see you soon!

Phone: (405) 814-0006

E-mail: Info@MuseumofOsteology.org

Education is the number one priority of The Museum of Osteology. Here you will find useful information to enhance your visit. Feel free to download or print any of the educational ideas, curriculum, or diagrams on this page and use with your class or group. If you have any questions, comments or ideas you'd like to share, please do not hesitate to contact us ateducation@museumofosteology.org.

Cats
The family Felidae is comprised entirely of cats. There are approximately 41 species found throughout the world. Cats possess some impressive traits for hunting. Good vision, sharp retractable claws, and long slender canine teeth help to make cats some of the most effective predators in nature.

Horns or antlers found on a skull bear evidence of how an animal communicated, defended its self and possibly the animals sex. Animals can protect themselves or attack other animals by goring them with their horns or antlers. Bighorn sheep, muskox and deer use their horns or antlers for establishing territory and winning mates.

Giraffe

Flightless Birds
There are many species of flightless birds ranging from rails to penguins to the ostrich. Flightless birds evolved from birds that could fly but in areas where flight was not needed for survival. Flightless bird’s bones are more dense and heavier than flighted birds. With the exception of penguins, which have adapted to “flying” through the water, most flightless birds lack a keeled sternum for flight muscle attachment. These skeletal adaptations, along with the absence of flight feathers, permanently ground these birds.

Cyclopes

Humpback whale

Beluga whale

Barnacles on a live humpback whale.

Alligator

Beluga whale

http://museumofosteology.org/userfiles/file/Museum_of_Osteology_Brochure_20111001.pdf

The Black Kitten Video and Final Disposition

2011-10-06T12:53:00.003-05:00

On October 5th the little black kitten found a good and loving home.

The night before Doc tried to video a cute kitten to show the world what they were missing by not owning her.

Fatman and the Cat: Or the Kitten Bests Dr. Lobo

2011-09-29T12:29:00.007-05:00

This will go down as another family saga.

Day One: Mamma Bear is awakened by high pitched meows outside the window.

Mamma Bear is a Cat Lady (she has 4 cats, I say that qualifies her, she claims it takes 5 cats to qualify). Later in the day a tiny black kitten is observed hollering on the patio. Kitten runs under the door to the storage shed via the large crack that has not been repaired since 2004.

Day two. Same scene and scenario.

Day three: Mamma Bear flies off on an airplane (wanted to make that clear lest you think she had a rug or a broom) to see her daughter in Denver. Leaving Fatman and Dr. Lobo in charge of kitten capture operations.

Day four: Rather night four, Fatman chases kitten around the yard but said vermin is too small and too fast for him.

Day five: Dr. Lobo retrieves Hava-Heart live trap from his workshop and sets it up with cat food on trip plate. Here the real fun begins.

The trouble is that the kitten is very small and lite. So lite, that he eats all of the food off the trap trip and leaves the trap empty and un-sprung.

Fatman was once a farmer. So the farmer method is employed by him next.

Yes, of course, he put cat food under a laundry basket propped up with an old hammer handle to which is tied a long string leading across the patio and through the kitchen door where he sat drinking a diet Dr. Pepper and waiting for the kitten to appear under the basket so he could pull the string and capture it.

First problem was the other cats. They like cat food too.

So he replaced it and set the trap again. The kitten appeared at the crack under the door, hissed and ran back into the shed.

But hunger overcomes caution.

The kitten gets bolder and comes closer to the trap.

Fatman pulls the string and the kitten jumps back and the basket misses.

Fatman tries two more times. On effort #3 he is successful. The kitten is trapped under the basket. But Fatman is fat and Fatman is slow. So as he is bent over attempting to extract the kitten from beneath the basket he falls over and the kitten escapes.

Finally Dr. Lobo comes back with a now well oiled and clean Hava-Heart trap and re-sets it with the food on the far side of the trip plate so the kitty will have to put more pressure on it. Success at last and kitty is caught and then transferred to the cat carrier jail cell prepared for it.

So after using a flea comb to remove 36 fleas from the baby cat, and a general clean up we have a five to six week old solid black female kitten.

Day seven: Dr. Lobo keeps the kitten until Mamma Bear returns. He fully intended to immediately take the cat to a no-kill shelter. Nope. We will keep her and find a home for her ourselves, says Mamma Bear (A.K.A. Okiebookwoman).

Day eight: Please, is there not someone person (acceptable to Mamma Bear) in the OKC area that wants a cute kitten?

Day ten: Will someone save me from the fifth cat please.

Please!

Rail Fan No More

2011-09-08T14:44:00.003-05:00

As I neared retirement one of the things on my To-Do List was to visit several active railroads in the United States and photograph trains. I had loved trains all my life, and since 1984 had actively engaged in in what's call in America as Rail-fanning. My children grew up chasing trains and waiting by the railroad tracks waiting for the right locomotive to come by so I could take its picture. Indeed my youngest child appears in hundreds of train photographs. In fact there are few pictures of him other than with a train. I used to stand by the tracks for hours at a time to get the shots I wanted. I have many albums full of train pictures I have taken, and box after box after box of loose pictures and negatives of trains.

I retired in January 2002. I didn't buy that pickup with a camper to go train chasing and camping out on trips to catch my favorite Santa Fe R.R. trains in classic places through out the West. In fact I have taken only a few train pictures since I retired. Things change it seems.

One of the consequences of 9-11 was that we began to see terrorist everywhere all the time. Every want-to-be little fascist realized their fondest dreams. Everybody was the enemy. So standing alone by a railroad track with a camera became risky business. Not only did every law enforcement officer that came by legitimately check on you, but many illegitimately told you it was not legal to do what you damn well knew was legal. But to argue with a cop is not wise, especially when they have an obvious tumescent ego involved. What was worse was the non-cop-non-railroad worker security people and general screwballs. People who had no business nor authority to even talk to you who were bound and determined to save America from your photography lest you be a terrorist or some fool who might give terrorist your pictures.

So my days of quite and solitude waiting by the railroad tracks on some windswept rock in Western America were no longer fun. In fact they actually seemed dangerous after a while. So I finally stopped photographing trains in the wild and have to content myself with those that are dead and on display or of those running free as I drive down the road with my windows down and camera inside the car secretly catching their image.

See Dick, See Jane, See Their Spot ?

2011-09-07T14:52:00.009-05:00

Dick and Jane's Spot
Art for the heart, from the heart, in the heart of Washington
101 North Pearl St • Ellensburg,WA 98926

Serendipity is always welcome on a trip. You drive off the highway looking for a local cafe and then you run into Dick & Jane's Spot.

Caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye as we drove into downtown. It was a block off the main street but I had to turn around and go see what it was. Wow! I could hear my wife's moans of regret.

Call it folk art, or assemblies, junk art, or a neighbors greatest nightmare, it is very very unusual.

Some of the most creative uses of everyday things I've seen.

So, how much of this can I use to inspire my own back-back yard creations?

All of it he says....

This is one of my favorites.

Yes. I have some bicycle wheels.

Old reflectors? Yep, got some of those.

Hub caps? Just so happens I have just about a dozen or so.

Now these i don't have. hummm...

I can do this one too.

Bottle caps? uhuh, I got 'em.

I'm going to need more wheels though.

Bottle trees yes, that's great.

May need more bottle caps too.

If I keep it all lower than my 7 ft fence the OKC Neighborhood Code Enforcement people will never see it. Beside it is freedom of speech, right?

Hummingbirds

2011-09-04T23:28:00.004-05:00

It is August 2010 in the high country of Colorado, out on the porch are two hummingbird feeders. The light is bright but the feeders are in shadow.

This guys as a meal in his beak.

Say dude whatcha doing in my territory.

It's A Penguin Or A Duck, Nope It's A Common Murre

2011-09-01T21:08:00.004-05:00

( From: http://www.coastalatlas.net)

There is this big white rock North of the Sea Lion Caves between Florence and Yachats, Oregon. It looks like it has been painted but it is hundreds, if not thousands of years of bird guano that makes it white. This Summer when we stopped and looked down at the rock it was covered with...Penguins?

Ok, they are not long neck Penguins, and in the water they looked like ducks. What are these things. Well, they were the Common Murre, an abundant penguin-like bird that spends the entire winter at sea but come to ancestral nesting grounds in the Summer.

The Rock is inhabited by breeding pairs from mid-May to August.

"The Common Murre or Common Guillemot (Uria aalge) is a large auk. It is also known as the Thin-billed Murre in North America. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North-Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to breed on rocky cliff shores or islands.

Common Murres have fast direct flight but are not very agile. They are more manoeuvrable underwater, typically diving to depths of 30–60 m (100–200 ft), and depths of up to 180 m (600 ft) have been recorded.

Common Murres breed in colonies at high densities, nesting pairs may be in bodily contact with their neighbours.' ----Wikipedia

The Murre colony taken from a pull-out on Highway One, the Coast Highway.

Jesus Came for the Insane, the Unfulfilled, the Searching

2011-08-28T09:57:00.005-05:00

We all know that in the tales about Jesus that he hung out with the unsavory types. We know he called common unremarkable people and down right bad guys to be his disciples. We are all pretty sure however that he would really rather be with us in our carpeted air conditioned church buildings as we pass the offering plate and baptize the annual new convert in warm clean clear water in a Sunday post sermon show. But that's wrong. That is the accumulated crust of two thousand years of bull shit absorbing the truth about what this is all about.

Poetry & Song always seem to open a passage to parts of us we didn't know were there. We have personal wildernesses with valleys brim full of the truth. Sometimes a poem is a pathway to those places. This is one for me.

If your heart yearns for a more it doesn’t know,
if you’ve suffered blow after blow
and can barely dare to lift your head,
if you’ve ever wished you’d rather been -
if you’ve bled, or tried to bind a wound
if you’ve cried then tied a knot to choke
the flow of hope before it can open up
a way to disappoint again
and leave you broken
then this is for you.
If you’ve longed, if you’ve wronged,
if you choke on the words to your favourite song,
if you need a Doctor,
or you’re beyond
medical help
then come.
If you’re cracked, if you’re splintered,
if your Winter is just too long,
if this Winter is just too long,
(but the thought of Spring is terrifying,)
then come.
Because Jesus came
for the broken brother and sister,
the ache, the pain and the blister,
the wrong decision,
the open wound
the blurred vision
the won’t-ever-hope-again.
Jesus came
for the insane, the unfulfilled, the searching
the street child, the tramp and the urchin,
the poor little rich girl snorting coke and
cursing, and the man who sold it to her.
Jesus came for those nursing a need,
nursing a drink
out of control,
on the blink,
on the brink,
falling overboard, and about to -
sobbing at the kitchen sink.
Jesus came for those the world drives mad,
for the bad, yes the bad,
Jesus came for the bad,
so if that’s never been you,
then fine, just go, because
Jesus didn’t come for the well, the swell,
“the hell – I’ve got everything I need”
the nothing’s-lacking, the non-cracking up.
He’s not interested in courting the sorted
he came to fill the cup of the thirsty,
the worst, the broken, the burst open,
Jesus came for the sick.
the packed-up, the cracked-up,
the smashed, hopes dashed, and the picked-on,
the meek, the weak, the stuttering,
those who blush when they speak
and the walked-out-on.
Jesus came for the left behind,
for the cheats and the cheated,
the ones who crossed the line
and the ones who still don’t know where to begin.
Jesus came for the people who know how it feels
when you say “sin”
for the broken to open,
to break for those who choke,
for the people who don’t have everything we need,
for the ones who know we need hope.

© Jude Simpson 2007

Humpback Whales Bubble Net Feeding Juneau, Alaska

2011-08-25T23:48:00.016-05:00

"The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from 12–16 metres (39–52 ft) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000 lb). The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the water." When you look at the photographs you lose perspective of how large the creatures really are. The diagram above gives you the size of the animals in these photographs. So when you see a fin, a tail ,hump, or blow spout refer back to the drawing to see how those compare to the whole animal.

We left junior on the MS Amsterdam as we took a Holland American excursion out to look for the humpback whale. He had a good view and several salmon were jumping in the water so he was well entertained.

We took a jet powered catamaran out to Akue Bay.

We passed one of the Alaskan Marine Highway's ferries on our way out. These ferries crisscross SE Alaska providing access to its otherwise isolated towns and cities.

The shores in this region drop off into steep and deep canyons carved by glaciers long ago. So Whales can come very close inshore. These sport fishermen seem oblivious to the humpback feeding close to them.

In fact as we watched we couldn't help but wonder if they both might be after the same fish.

Our objective was to find humpbacks bubble net feeding in the bay.

"The humpback has the most diverse feeding repertoire of all baleen whales. Its most inventive technique is known as bubble net feeding: a group of whales swims in a shrinking circle blowing bubbles below a school of prey. The shrinking ring of bubbles encircles the school and confines it in an ever-smaller cylinder. This ring can begin at up to 30 metres (98 ft) in diameter and involve the cooperation of a dozen animals. Using a crittercam attached to a whale's back it was discovered that some whales blow the bubbles, some dive deeper to drive fish toward the surface, and others herd prey into the net by vocalizing. The whales then suddenly swim upward through the 'net', mouths agape, swallowing thousands of fish in one gulp. Plated grooves in the whale's mouth allow the creature to easily drain all the water that was initially taken in. Solitary humpbacks have also been observed employing this technique"

"The humpback is an energetic hunter, taking krill and small schooling fish, such as herring(Clupea harengus), salmon (Salmo salar), capelin (Mallotus villosus) and sand lance (Ammodytes americanus) as well asmackerel (Scomber scombrus), pollock (Pollachius virens) andhaddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) in the North Atlantic. Krill and copepods have been recorded from Australian and Antarctic waters. Humpbacks hunt by direct attack or by stunning prey by hitting the water with pectoral fins or flukes."

---Wikipedia

We were aboard a vessel from the Allen Marine Tours, Juneau that was arranged through Holland America.

We were very lucky on this excursion. We were able to observe at least three different pods of humpbacks bubble net feeding several times each.

We watched this one pod bubble net three times virtually in some guys front yard. (enlarge the photo and see the home on the shore)

That humpback whales use bubble net feeding was a relatively recent discovery. "In 1979, a high school teacher in Juneau, named Charles Jurasz, was the first to observe and write about humpback whales using a cooperative feeding technique with complex bubble blowing. He called the technique 'bubble net feeding." The aerial photo above shows the technique.

This guy was courting.

The next series of photos are of a single pod of 16 whales bubble feeding.

Where there are whales feeding there will be birds looking for a meal of there own.

It was a very very good day.

Cruising Tracy Arm Alaska

2011-08-24T09:47:00.012-05:00

Alaska is one of those places where no matter where you look you find something interesting. With a reasonable camera and a good eye taking good photographs is not hard to do in Alaska.

The Amsterdam is a mid-size cruise ship. The half dozen or so craft in the arm with us were much smaller.

Getting into Tracy Arm required threading a narrow channel at the beginning of the valley that passed through the terminal glacial moraine left by the Sawyer Glacier where it reached its greatest extent of growth. You had to "cross over the bar"

to get in.

"Tracy Arm is a fjord in Alaska near Juneau. It is named after a Civil War general named Benjamin Franklin Tracy. It is located about 45 miles (72 km) south ofJuneau and 70 miles (110 km) north of Petersburg, Alaska, off of Holkham Bay and adjacent toStephens Passage within the Tongass National Forest. Tracy Arm is the heart of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness, designated by the United States Congress in 1980."

Famed naturalist John Muir compared the glacial-carved sheer granite cliffs in the area to those of Yosemite, saying that this region was even more spectacular than the more well known Yosemite valley."

In July of this year Okie Book Woman and I took a little Cruise aboard Holland America's MS Amsterdam. We were on board for two weeks. On July 11 we took a cruise through the gap in the terminal moraine into the water filled valley left by a glacier into Tracy Arm. This cruise through the Tracy Arm was part of the Amsterdam's tour of Alaska. All of the pictures were taken from the top deck of the ship.

"Glacial calving in Tracy Arm can often be quite spectacular, as huge chunks of ice break off and plunge into the frigid waters below. The fjord is truly one of the most dramatic locations in Alaska, or in all of the world, for that matter. The sheer, glacier-carved walls are often shrouded in mist. (Check out commercial videos here)

Many of these chunks of ice are larger than several buses combined, so the effect can be simply jaw-dropping.

During the summer, the fjords have considerable floating ice ranging from the size of a three-story building to hand-size pieces. During the most recent glaciated period, both fjords were filled with active glaciers.

We observed and took photos of humpback whales, seals, eagles, and of course the magnificent ice carved cliffs and valleys that came into the fjord. Birds and birds and birds abound in the arm. All of these predators share a reason they are here, the fish. In addition the seals come into the arm to pup their young. Orca, killer whales, which prey on seals don't like the ice flows. They are dangerous to them, and they stay away. So the pups are born and spend their first days of life in safety on the ice flows.

"The most common access is by boat using Stephen's Passage and entering Holkham Bay and Tracy and Endicott Arms. Float planes from Juneau and Petersburg are also used as a means of access. Large tour vessels and smaller commercial cruise boats frequently use Tracy Arm as a tour destination or as a stop along their normal tour routes."

There were several eagles observed while in the arm. This one was guarding his nest.

This small ship and ice berg are about the same size. Imagine what it would have been like when this berg calved off the glacier, a few days or weeks ago.

One of my companions said these were white-winged scoters. I'll take his word on it.

"The Sawyer Glaciers at the end of Tracy Arm may not be the most famous glaciers in Alaska, but many visitors find them to be the most dramatic. Framed by mountains on either side, the glaciers are often bathed in a light mist that amplifies the blue hue of the ice."

As the tide goes out the ice flows ground on the different bars and moraines and show formations like this.

For the most part the humpbacks were hunting as single animals here and avoided coming close in to the ship.

Almost like a face in the sea, the humpback whale's "blow hole" is distinctly shaped like a nose.

I will be posting more pictures and videos of these cruise excursions over the next few weeks.

Dr. Lobo Jo's prediction for 2030 or before: The Perfect Jack Daniels Strawberry Beef Steak

2011-08-20T23:16:00.006-05:00

Altering the genetic structure of food stuffs is all the rage these days.

In the not too distant future we will see these genetic alterations as a blind alley we once went down before finding the simplest of solutions. Instead of genetically altering food in the future we will clone food at the molecular level.

The product will be real having originated with real sources. For meats as example, with digital assembly systems we will be able to create, at the molecular level, perfectly balance steaks, roast, chops, lunch meats etc. with the perfect marbling of elements that will be based on your personal genetic ability to taste the end product. Thus every steak will be the best possible steak you've ever tasted. As you grow tired of each formula it can be predicted and the balance will be reformulated to change each subsequent steak to be "better" than the steak before.

All of the molecules will be perfect examples of the best component molecules of real beef. All elements of the steak "experience" such as taste, texture, crunch, etc. will be present. And of course we will be able to innovate by adding hybrid digital meats such as lamb and lion sirloin, or my personal favorite Jack Daniels Strawberry Beef Steak (TM).

Of course we will also have the less complicated and less expensive products that will use the old fashion extrusion technologies. They will, however, be a much better food stuff than anything available today.

Slow Elk

2011-08-19T03:25:00.006-05:00

Heard a story once out of Chama, New Mexico about a down in his luck rancher facing bank foreclosure. It was coming up on elk season and Chama was filling up with eager hunters. The rancher tied elk horns on an old dry milk cow and tethered her out in a field near a hay stack by the road. He and his son hid out behind the hay stack. Sure enough along came some elk hunters, BAM, down goes ole Bossie. As the hunter are walking out to the "elk", he steps out and confronts them about killing his family cow. Meanwhile the son is pulling on a cord and dragging the antlers through the high grass to back behind the hay stack. It worked so well that he propped ole Bossie up several times more until she justhad too many holes in her for him to be able cover them up. That elk season saved the rancher's place for him and put food on the table all winter. I thought of that story as I looked at a Slow Elk Beer poster in a Cafe in Great Falls, Montana this Summer. Looks like maybe more than one rancher may have used that ploy.

Sea Otters Of Alaska

2011-08-17T02:00:00.003-05:00

The tour operator assured us that we would see some sea otters. The time on the water was 6 & 1/2 hours. About three hours into the tour we took off across the top of the Sound to reach some glaciers while passing raft after raft of otters without even slowing down. I was beginning to get real irritated.

The quoted matter in this post comes from the Wikipedia article on Otters. "Alaska is the heartland of the sea otter's range. In 1973, the sea otter population in Alaska was estimated at between 100,000 and 125,000 animals. By 2006, however, the Alaska population had fallen to an estimated 73,000 animals. A massive decline in sea otter populations in theAleutian Islands accounts for most of the change; the cause of this decline is not known, although orca predation is suspected. The sea otter population in Prince William Sound was also hit hard by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which killed thousands of sea otters in 1989."

This is the catamaran that took us on tour in Sitka. It was almost identical to the one in Whittier that took us out on Prince William Sound. Fast and comfortable, we could get close in to whatever we were looking at.

As it turned out the boat captain kinda knew what he was doing. When we got to the glaciers the otters were there too, but not in the large rafts we saw on the way. Mainly because these were females with their half grown young. They raft in smaller groups.

We were able to get some great shots of mothers with their young near the glacier.

"The sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also known as the Kalan,is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg (30 to 100 lb), making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals. Unlike most marine mammals, the sea otter's primary form of insulation is an exceptionally thick coat of fur, the densest in the animal kingdom. Although it can walk on land, the sea otter lives mostly in the ocean."

These are two half grown kits.

This a kit riding on his mother.

"Sea otters, whose numbers were once estimated at 150,000–300,000, were hunted extensively for their fur between 1741 and 1911, and the world population fell to 1,000–2,000 individuals in a fraction of their historic range. A subsequent international ban on hunting, conservation efforts, and reintroduction programs into previously populated areas have contributed to numbers rebounding, and the species now occupies about two-thirds of its former range."

The sea otter is one of the smallest marine mammal species. Male sea otters weigh 22 to 45 kg (49 to 99 lb) and are 1.2 to 1.5 m (4 to 5 ft) in length. Females are smaller, weighing 14 to 33 kg (30 to 73 lb) and measuring 1.0 to 1.4 m (3 ft 3 in to 4 ft 7 in) in length. Its baculum is very large, massive and bent upwards, measuring 150 mm in length and 15 mm wide at the base.

Unlike other marine mammals, the sea otter has no blubber and relies on its exceptionally thick fur to keep warm. With up to 150,000 strands of hair per square centimeter (nearly one million per sq in), its fur is the most dense of any animal. The fur consists of long waterproof guard hairs and short underfur; the guard hairs keep the dense underfur layer dry. Cold water is thus kept completely away from the skin and heat loss is limited. The fur is thick year-round, as it is shed and replaced gradually rather than in a distinct molting season.

Often we saw the sea otters in a circular raft like this one, facing away from the center. One of the tour's "naturalists" said they had no natural enemies, but that doesn't seem to be true (see below). This looked like a defense arrangement to me as did the fact that the otters rafted in large numbers.

"Predators of sea otters include orcas and sea lions; bald eagles also prey on pups by snatching them from the water surface. In California, bites from sharks, particularly great white sharks, have been estimated to cause 10% of sea otter deaths and are one of the reasons the population has not expanded further north. Dead sea otters have been found with injuries from shark bites, although there is no evidence that sharks actually eat them. An exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum states that cat feces from urban runoff carries parasites to the ocean and kills sea otters."

Jeannie kept saying they are so damn cute, and where did they all come from?

The naturalist on the Sitka tour said "hauling out" behavior was rare in this area. But here they were up on the rock all dry and fluffy like, looking much bigger than they did in the water. The naturalist had an otter's pelt that was on loan from the local wildlife department for us to touch but only with the back of the hand to keep body oil from being transferred to it. It never got to me. I was on the uppermost deck trying to get that perfect shot.

This was such an unusual sight that even the tour crew and the naturalist were taking pictures and cooing about how lucky we were to see this.

"Although each adult and independent juvenile forages alone, sea otters tend to rest together in single-sex groups called rafts. A raft typically contains 10 to 100 animals, with male rafts being larger than female ones. The largest raft ever seen contained over 2000 sea otters. To keep from drifting out to sea when resting and eating, sea otters may wrap themselves in kelp.^"

By all standards this otter is upside down.

If you enlarge this picture you can just make out some otters in the water between the islands. This eagle and two immature eagles with it may have been waiting to snatch some of the otter kits from the nearby female rafts.

I kind of expected to see a few otters, but apparently it is almost impossible to do that. They gather in groups so large and so frequent in the home range that it is amazing.

Sitka Bear Compound

2011-08-15T01:37:00.008-05:00

Well I did get some pretty fair pictures of Grizzly on the island of Sitka, Alaska. Sitka has a facility for errant bears called Fortress of the Bear. It has some very large and very natural enclosures where bears that have had too much contact with people are allowed to live and not be "put down". Right now the facility has six Brown Bears. Two grown adults, three 18 month old cubs, and a three month old cub. Keeping Grizzly bears in any form of captivity is quite a feat, but these guys seem to be doing a fantastic job.

Here's one of the older adults.

The two cubs wouldn't stay still long enough to get a sharp exposure of them.

They not only had several ponds for the bears but even a flowing stream through one of their compounds.

Look at those claws.

Wild bears frequently visit the site out of curiosity. This bear smells one out side the compound.

Here two of the 18 month old cubs are playing.

Turning up rocks looking for a meal.

The facility provides natural food when it is in season.

Good doggy.

Bear Island Excursion 2011

2011-08-13T22:42:00.012-05:00

Holland America Cruise Line call the place Icy Straight Point. National Geographic calls the island "Bear Island". They say, "One of the last grizzly strongholds, the dense rain forests of Chichagof Island in southeast Alaska hide more of these bears per square mile than any other place on Earth. But logging, road construction and human development are changing the shape of the grizzlies' world."

Note out of focus bear tracks in foreground of this photo.

We landed here from the ship the MS Amsterdam via a small boat and took a tour of a brown bear watching area provided by the Tlingit Tribe who own that area of the Island and live in the village of Hoonah near by. Right away our expectations of seeing a bear were lowered by the fact that the salmon were not running. There was only an outside chance of seeing them as they fed on the plants and berries because most of them were already grazed out by the bears.

So we boarded a school bus from the tribes elementary school and rode over logging roads to a site prepared with gravel paths and board walks down to the raised viewing platforms over the creek and adjacent meadows.

On the way we did see several small sitka deer (about the size of a big German Shepherd) which were game for people and bears alike.

It was apparent that the "wild" started at the edge of the road.

We got of the bus and started down the gravel path. For me down was the operational phrase. At about a 10 degree slope every step took its toll on my knees. In no time at all I was at the end of the line being urged to 'keep up here in bear country'. 800 yards later we made it to the first viewing platform.

Great view, but no bears. There were eagles that of course showed up as everyone else left.

I took a few hurried shots. Here we were joined by a middle aged tribesman carrying a lever action 45/70 rifle. In that he was bringing up the rear of the group he and I walked together. I had two emotions. First I was embarrassed that I could not keep up with group. Second I was gratified that the guy with the heavy artillery was walking right beside me.

So we get to the next viewing platform and there were ravens there. So I silently asked Grandfather Raven to show me a bear. Ravens are often tricksters. Almost immediately at the other end of the platform mumbles about 'there is a bear' started. So I leaned way out and sure enough 50 yards away was a very big brute of a bear walking across the stream. He went out of sight , but then came back and stared at us, even took some steps in our direction. I had my camera set to a high f-stop landscape and multiple shots so I started clicking away, then I heard the the guy with the rifle chamber a round. Talk about a distraction.

So here is my picture of the bear. I have six more just like it. Didn't use the telephoto, but that didn't matter much because of the low low light we were in, the camera (against my wishes and programming) decided to focus on the tree limbs in the foreground as a default setting. If you look very carefully at the picture you can see a brown smudge just to the right of the center of the photo. That is my Alaskan photograph of a Grizzly Bear in the wild. But aren't those limbs in sharp focus, hey? I'll share more photos like this one with you as I post my pictures.

P.S. If you have troubles walking and actually take this tour, ask ahead of time and see if they will let you start on the trail at their pick-up point. It is only 100 yards from the viewing platforms, but is still down hill. It will save you a lot of grief however.

Food, Food Food, Everywhere

2011-07-27T14:11:00.010-05:00

MS Amsterdam, Holland America cruise ship older style, 14 days to Kodiak Alaska and back with points in between. I'm aboard for the animal life, geography, & geology. One evening however they captured my attention with food.

All around the biggest swimming pool were tables filled with deserts and pastries. Being a diabetic it was a forbidden feast. The confectionery "dust" alone was enough to send me into a coma.

I ate not a mouth full.

Lobojo's Den

A Series of Thoughts on Stem Cells and Cannibalism of Aborted Fetuses In Oklahoma: May God Help Us

The Old West

Dolphins Photographs Taken From The Decks of the MS Statendam

Humming Birds from the Indian Canyons of Palm Springs for Christmas

The Crocodiles of Costa Rica

Transit Of The Panama Canal: Pacific to Atlantic Side

Books And The Stores That Sold Them

Bones, Skulls, Skeletons, The Museum of Osteology

Exploring Oklahoma Museum of Osteology a One-of-A-Kind Treasure

Museum of Osteology

10301 South Sunnylane Rd.Oklahoma City, OK 73160

The Black Kitten Video and Final Disposition

Fatman and the Cat: Or the Kitten Bests Dr. Lobo

Rail Fan No More

See Dick, See Jane, See Their Spot ?

Hummingbirds

It's A Penguin Or A Duck, Nope It's A Common Murre

Jesus Came for the Insane, the Unfulfilled, the Searching

Humpback Whales Bubble Net Feeding Juneau, Alaska

Cruising Tracy Arm Alaska

Dr. Lobo Jo's prediction for 2030 or before: The Perfect Jack Daniels Strawberry Beef Steak

Slow Elk

Sea Otters Of Alaska

Sitka Bear Compound

Bear Island Excursion 2011

Food, Food Food, Everywhere

10301 South Sunnylane Rd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73160