Shuttle. Snakes. Super Bowl Snacks.

Endeavour Launch Rescheduled.

Countdown clock here: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/index.html
“Managers officially have scheduled space shuttle Endeavour's next launch attempt for Monday, Feb. 8 at 4:14 a.m. EST.
The Mission Management Team will meet at 6:15 p.m. Sunday to give the "go" to fill Endeavour's external fuel tank with propellants. Tank loading would begin at 6:45 p.m.”
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 Torturing Snakes for Fun and Profit

This is downright cruel, I don’t care if they are “just” snakes, which I don’t like any more than you do:

“Welcome to a rattlesnake roundup, where you can get up close and personal with hundreds of rattlesnakes that have been gassed out of their burrows.
What happens there can be sickening. The snakes' rattles are ripped off while the snake is still alive and passed out to kids as souvenirs. Other snakes are decapitated in front of the crowd. Some have liquor poured down their throats, or are burned with cigarettes. They're kicked and stomped. Pregnant females are especially popular.

By the time the audience gets settled down and the barrels are rolled out, most of the snakes couldn't attack if they wanted to. They're starved and weakened, dehydrated, half-suffocated. Sometimes, they're completely suffocated, because there isn't a lot of air when you're at the bottom of the tank, locked in and trapped under the bodies of dozens like you. “

At least the State of Georgia is doing something about it.      More:

http://animals.change.org/blog/view/torturing_snakes_for_fun_and_profit

Criticism  as per:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rattlesnake_Round-Up

"These events have been criticized widely, primarily due to animal cruelty and ecological impact. Though these events sometimes claim to generate valuable data, no scientific articles have been published from them.

Rattlesnakes are relatively slow to mature, have only modest litters, and are already adversely affected by habitat destruction and persecution. These events remove thousands of animals, including large numbers of reproductively mature animals. Since rattlesnakes are an apex predator, a sudden decline in their population could have ecological consequences, particularly for the rodents on which they typically feed."

If you see how much money these roundups generate, you would think that they would want to protect the snakes somewhat, not be cruel to them.  No, I don't want one!!
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Sustainable Snacking, Super Bowl Style

Sweet Potato Chips, an alternative.
“More likely than not, you'll find yourself attending or hosting a Super Bowl party this Sunday. And regardless of whether you know a down from an end zone, you'll almost certainly be surrounded by food.
Super Bowl Sunday represents the essence of unhealthy overconsumption — second only to Thanksgiving.
The National Chicken Council estimates that more than a billion wings, or 90 million pounds, are consumed over the weekend! Add to that 15 million tons of potato chips and we're talking some serious eating during the big game.”  From:
http://food.change.org/blog/view/sustainable_snacking_super_bowl_style

The Super Bowl of bad eating

“Super Bowl has turned into a day-long event, people tend to eat non-stop for hours.
"People get so involved in the game, there’s a lot of mindless eating that goes on," says David Grotto, a Chicago-area nutrition expert and spokesperson for American Dietetic Association.
It's not just the chicken wings; it's the chicken wings with pizza, chili, guacamole and all the other loaded-with-fat foods people nosh at parties, in bars and at restaurants. “  From: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11145762/

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As my cold is still lingering, and it was still quite chilly this morning,  Ray and I decided to forego the fence re-building, and tackle an indoor job.  Cleaning my patio door blinds. 

We laid out a painting cloth in the middle of the living room floor.  Unhooked the blind’s ‘fins’, several at a time, sprayed Super Clean on them, wiped it off with a damp rag,  turned them over, did the other side, dried them, re-hung them.  Then started on the next batch. It is a lot easier than trying to clean them while they are still hanging.
We also cleaned some of my swan collection and fish collection, whales, dolphins, marlin.

It was still too chilly to have the windows open today.