30+21=9

Michael and I find this entertaining, maybe you'll laugh with (or at) us as well.

Photo for the (almost over) week

From a xc skiing trip during our new year's stay in the 'daks.

America's Environmental Report Card

I was just looking through the American Environmental Literacy reports.
Interesting, but also scary. Apparently, 45 million Americans believe that the ocean is a source of freshwater. Check it out: http://www.neefusa.org/pdf/ELR2005.pdf


This report, and lots of others, are put together by the National Environmental Education Training Foundation. (http://www.neefusa.org/resources/publications.htm#neetfpubs)

Thursday photo

Lucky shot from our back yard.

Reviving the picture of the week posts

A pic by Bro took in AZ on our recent Christmas pilgrimage

How was New Years?

Photos? Stories? Any more doggies that refused to go home??

The best new tech ideas of 2007

Allegedly, but still a great read: http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2007/12/08/magazine/index.html

Invasive Species News in NY

SPECIAL UNIT TO TACKLE DRAMATIC RISE IN INVASIVE SPECIES
New Office Will Coordinate Public Outreach, Legislation and Research Needs

With invasive species proliferating throughout New York’s waterways, forests and farmlands, Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis announced today the formation of a new office within DEC to focus on one of the state’s fastest growing environmental threats.

The new Office of Invasive Species will bring together biologists and foresters to develop ways to combat the problem, and work with universities, other state agencies and non-profit organizations to support research and raise public awareness. From zebra mussels to Eurasian water milfoil to Sirex wood wasps, hundreds of non-native plants and animals have invaded New York – especially in the last decade, thought to be linked to the rise in global shipping – posing threats to ecosystems.

“These invasive species have a devastating impact, not only on the environment but also the economy,” said Governor Eliot Spitzer. “They have wiped out certain tree species, hurt recreational and commercial fishing, and tainted water supplies. This new office will bring a much needed focus to a problem we cannot ignore.” “Invasive species compete with, prey upon and can substantially alter the environment of our native species of plants, fish and wildlife,’’ Grannis said. “Even though many of them have been around for years, we have never had a coordinated system in place to attack the problem, a system that threads together the issues of public outreach, funding and legislation needs, and research.”

Earlier this year, Governor Spitzer signed a law to create the New York State Invasive Species Council, comprised of representatives of nine state agencies and an advisory committee of business, academia and conservation interest groups. In addition, the 2007-08 State budget included $5 million for invasive species programs, including grants for municipalities to eradicate problem species, public outreach efforts through Cornell Cooperative Extension and a plan to develop “clean stock” at the NYS Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva to provide fruit growers with a virus-free planting stock. Plans also call for creating an Institute of Invasive Species Research at Cornell University.

Full article at http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/40816.html

Little Known About Law

This story was covered in the paper the last 2 days...

Now you know: You can't hit a cat and leave it
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
By Catie O'Toole Staff writer

A Pennellville man was charged Tuesday under a little known and rarely used law that makes it illegal to hit certain animals and drive off, leaving them to die. Drivers who strike and injure a cat, dog, horse or cow must stop and try and find the owner or a police, peace or judicial officer in the area, according to the state law. They also must "take any other reasonable and appropriate action so that the animal may have necessary attention," the law reads.

Aaron M. Fisher, 27, of 731 county Route 10, was charged about 2 a.m. with "leaving scene of injury to certain animals without reporting" after an Oswego County sheriff's deputy witnessed someone in a truck strike a black cat near Country Auto on Evans Road in Schroeppel. "The truck continued down the road and never stopped," the sheriff's report said. Deputies later found the truck parked outside a home in Palermo. They also found Fisher, who they said was driving the truck without a valid license when it hit and injured the cat. Fisher could not be reached for comment, but his girlfriend said this was just an accident. "He's a major cat lover. When I met him, he had three cats. He would never, ever harm an animal," Monica Parkhurst said. "He told me this morning he accidentally hit a cat." Parkhurst said neither she nor Fisher knew it was a crime to not stop after striking a cat. She also said the weather was bad early Tuesday. "I'm sure most people are not aware of the law," said Betsie Puffer, cruelty investigator at the CNY SPCA. "We don't get a lot of reports about it in this office."

A secretary at the Oswego County Sheriff's Department also said she can't remember a time when someone was charged with leaving the scene after hitting and injuring an animal.
"Most times people don't witness it," Puffer said. But if someone does hit an animal, the law says they must promptly report the accident. "If they do hit a dog or a cat or any animal, take every necessary precaution and take every reasonable avenue to locate the animal's owner. If they can't, let us know," Puffer said. "It could be someone's pet or someone's livelihood in the case of cattle or a horse. If an animal is injured, getting it help in a timely fashion would be necessary." Sheriff's deputies also charged Fisher with third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor, and unlicensed operator and unregistered motor vehicle, both traffic violations. He is scheduled to answer the charges Jan. 8 in Schroeppel Town Court....
continued at http://www.syracuse.com/articles/news/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1198062571285350.xml&coll=1

The Turkey Hut

So...the Logans celebrated Thanksgiving in a good old fashioned redneck way! We cooked the turkey in a garbage can. Yes, that is right. Bill, I am sure you are cringing, but it was cool. Dad did most of it, manning the fire and so on. First there was a blue hut built to keep out the wind. Then there was a stake and something to the catch the grease drippings. Then lots of foil and a 15 lb. turkey. Turn the *CLEAN-BRAND-NEW-NEVER-BEEN-USED-BEFORE(other than burning out the galvanized metals)* garbage can over the the turkey and surround the outside of it with 25 lb. charcoal brickettes. Oh yeah, and LOTS O' lighter fluid (which didn't really catch, so some wood too). And then let it cook. The house lacked the Thanksgiving smells, but the turkey hut was warm and smelled of turkey yumminess. The eats were good, but I think it was more of the act of doing it. What a Thanksgiving to remember!! Please watch the teaser video...

Kev's Head

It's true ....... Kevin does have a brain!!! And I have proof. Here are some very interesting images from my MRI earlier in the week. I was very surprised when I asked the receptionist for a copy and she handed me an entire disk. Very cool to see into your own head. These are really awesome.

Enjoy,
Kevin

I like this one with the eyes popping out. Freaky but interesting.

Different Cupcakes

Going off Jon's "pancake" I found some interesting cupcakes. I am not sure what to think about some of these. The chipolte cinnamon sounds a little out of my realm, but I can see you making it Chris!

Check them out. (There's even a black and tan for Jon!)
http://cupcakeblog.com/index.php/2007/01/cupcake-round-up-2/

Hope everyone is doing well! The leaves have finally started to change and fall (rather rapidly, I might say). I was driving home from Maggie's this morning and it looked as if I was on the yellow brick (or should I say leaf) road!

Cheers!

Mmm... pancakes.

That's it, just wanted to share my Saturday morning thoughts.

Meet Yola

Meet Yola, our new guiding eyes puppy. She is 8 weeks old-still very tiny.

Halloween in Rochester

Hello everyone,

I thought that I would spread some Halloween pictures from a party we went to yesterday. Here is Carrie and I with my co-worker Jose. And one of Jon and me. And Pumpkins, Etc.....

Enjoy,
Kevin

Jon as a baseball fanatic and Kevin showing a little leg!

Kevin and Jose (Kevin's Co-worker)

Carrie(Deviled Egg) and Jose

Some pumpkins carved by Kevin, Jon, Carie, Maggie, and Bob and Liz Logan

And finally here is Maggie's new kitten


And one extra special addition .... Terrorist Biker Jon.... And it is not even Halloween!

Syracuse City School District Is First Go Green School District in New York State

Jill Buck, National Founder and Executive Director of the Go Green Initiative (GGI) based in California, announced today that the Syracuse City School District is the first city school district in New York State to have 100% participation."Every school in the Syracuse school district is now participating in promoting environmental stewardship," says Jill Buck. "The local Go Green organizers and the Syracuse School District should be proud to be first school district in NY state to achieve this level of involvement. We hope other school districts in the state will follow your example."With the support of Superintendent Dan Lowengard and Head of Facilities Nick Dibello, Syracuse City Schools Head Custodians and other school Green team members are banding together to improve recycling. Special recycling stations will be created in each classroom, complete with 2 well-labeled blue bins for dual stream recycling (one for recycling paper and one for recycling plastic, metal and glass containers) to make recycling easier than ever. In addition to establishing recycling stations next to every trash can, Syracuse Green teams will be working to educate their campus community on proper recycling. All faculty and staff members will be given information on proper recycling and asked to share the information with their students. Many GGI Syracuse schools are also taking steps to reduce cafeteria waste. By utilizing recyclable paper bags rather than styrofoam trays at breakfast, schools are not only taking steps toward reducing waste and helping the environment, but also saving the district money in purchasing and disposal fees. A typical school breakfast consists of a prepackaged bowl of cereal, a carton of milk and a carton of juice � therefore a paper bag is adequate to carry the goods from the lunch line to the table versus a styrofoam tray which is not recyclable. Schools will still use styrofoam trays, when hot breakfasts are served.Local sponsors of the Go Green Initiative include Daystar Recycling, Naef Recycling Corporation, New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling, Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency, Solvay Paperboard and Waste Management.The Go Green Initiative is the nation's fastest growing fully comprehensive environmental action plan for schools. By promoting environmental stewardship on campuses from elementary schools through universities, Go Green works to involve families, businesses and local governments in the common goal of protecting human health through environmental stewardship.

For more info, go to http://www.gogreeninitiative.org/.Since its inception in July 2002, the Go Green Initiative has been endorsed by the National School Boards Association, National Recycling Coalition, adopted by six State PTA Boards, implemented in 39 states and over 600 schools, along with schools in Europe, Mexico, and Africa. There are currently over 1 million students and teachers in registered Go Green schools.

Indy's mall

Fortunetly for me, Indianapolis is laid out a lot like DC. There is even a mall with an obelisk monument on one end, and a stately looking building on the other. The green area continues beyond the World War Memorial in the bottom photo. This park is just two blocks from my office - just in front of the Scottish Rite Cathedrial.

Cubes and Views Round 2?

It was so much fun last time we did this, and many of us have moved to new jobs and new cities since last year, so I was wondering if we wanted to revive the office and view post of yore?

This is the Shriner's Murat Shrine and the silver Saturn is my pimped out car in my parking lot.

I work in theEnglish Foundation Building, which was built specifically for human service organizations in Indianapolis. The YMCA is there and some children's orgs. My window is the third from the left on the top floor.

This is my cube. Still clean cuz I've only been there 3 weeks.

This is my view. I face due west, so I get to see the weather roll in. The big building is the Scottish Rite Cathedral. I guess they are freemasons of some sort.

What do everyone else's new diggs look like???

To go with the bug theme

Check out this cool website:
http://www.macro-photo.org/index.html

I want to do that!!

West Coast Adventures

Downtown Portland

Portland's MINI dealership

Ah, if it worked this well everywhere

Mount Hood

Mount Hood closer

I am a little behind the times in getting to this but as Chris mentioned, we went out west for Steve's defense a couple of weeks ago. I left a few days early and spent some time visiting friends in the urban planning mecca that is Portland. A very vibrant city indeed - no shortage of excellent microbrews. I also took a day trip to Mount Hood and completed the Paradise Loop trail from Timberline Lodge. After being mostly cloudy for the whole day, the weather broke and I got some great views of the peak. And yes, alpine meadow flowers are as beautiful as the hiking magazines tout them to be...


We also spent some time enjoying SoCal baseball, watching the Angels defeat the Blue Jays 2-1.