News: Plastic Into Oil. Wildlife Garden. Seat Belts. Bin Laden. Cinco de Mayo.

News: Some New, Some Old:

Man invents machine to convert plastic into oil.
 Video at:             http://www.wimp.com/plasticoil/

"We are all well aware of plastic’s “rap-sheet.” It has been found guilty on many counts, including the way its production and disposal raises resource issues and lets loose extremely negative environmental impacts.

Typically made from petroleum, it is estimated that 7% of the world’s annual oil production is used to produce and manufacture plastic. That is more than the oil consumed by the entire African continent.
Plastic’s carbon footprint includes landfilling and incineration, since sadly, its recycle rate is dismally low around the globe.

Plastic trash is also polluting our oceans and washing up on beaches around the world. Tons of plastic from the US and Japan are floating in the Pacific Ocean , killing mammals and birds. Perhaps this tragedy is best captured in the TED presentation by Capt. Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation.  More at: http://ourworld.unu.edu/en/plastic-to-oil-fantastic/

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May is Garden for Wildlife Month

"Welcome birds, butterflies and other local wildlife by providing the four elements animals need most: food, water, shelter and places to raise young."

Whether you're a gardening novice with a small balcony or gardening veteran with a few acres, you can provide for local wildlife by creating a Certified Wildlife Habitat®.  More at: http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Outdoor-Activities/Garden-for-Wildlife/Garden-Month.aspx

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SEE HOW SEAT BELTS SAVE LIVES-WATCH THE CRASH DUMMIES BEING EJECTED

"New Waverly, TX students got a first hand look Tuesday morning of how seat belts really do save lives. The district sponsored a public safety day today. New Waverly Fire Department demonstrated the use of the Jaws of Life to rescue victims from trapped vehicles. An ambulance was also on display as was a helicopter flown in by PHI Air Medical.

The highlight of the event was a pickup truck cab mounted on a trailer complete with hydraulic motors. Inside were two dummies that had been seatbelted into the vehicle. The hydraulic motor begins to rotate the vehicle the occupants extremities are thrown in all directions but with the seatbelts locked tight their body remained stationary.

Next the driver of the vehicle had the seatbelt removed. As the vehicle began to rotate the driver was flung side to side in the cab of the pickup. Many times striking the passenger before being thrown out of the vehicle.

In addition to the display was a Ford pickup which was brought in from College Station. Two teens were driving it when one of the tires blew out. Losing control they flipped several times. Both young men had been wearing their seatbelts and walked away from the crash."  More at: http://montgomerycountypolicereporter.com/?p=43975
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Bin Laden's Death - One Year Later

May 4, 2012 - The world's #1 terrorist has been dead for a year. But the war on terror continues.

http://youtu.be/EwOnPZZ2T40       or http://www.ucg.org/beyond-today-daily/news-and-prophecy/bin-ladens-death-one-year-later

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On This Day:

Cinco de Mayo, May 5, 1862:

"During the French-Mexican War, a poorly supplied and outnumbered Mexican army under General Ignacio Zaragoza defeats a French army attempting to capture Puebla de Los Angeles, a small town in east-central Mexico. Victory at the Battle of Puebla represented a great moral victory for the Mexican government, symbolizing the country's ability to defend its sovereignty against threat by a powerful foreign nation.

In 1861, the liberal Mexican Benito Juarez became president of a country in financial ruin, and he was forced to default on his debts to European governments. In response, France, Britain, and Spain sent naval forces to Veracruz to demand reimbursement. Britain and Spain negotiated with Mexico and withdrew, but France, ruled by Napoleon III, decided to use the opportunity to carve a dependent empire out of Mexican territory. Late in 1861, a well-armed French fleet stormed Veracruz, landing a large French force and driving President Juarez and his government into retreat.

Certain that French victory would come swiftly in Mexico, 6,000 French troops under General Charles Latrille de Lorencez set out to attack Puebla de Los Angeles. From his new headquarters in the north, Juarez rounded up a rag-tag force of loyal men and sent them to Puebla. Led by Texas-born General Zaragoza, the 2,000 Mexicans fortified the town and prepared for the French assault. On the fifth of May, 1862, Lorencez drew his army, well-provisioned and supported by heavy artillery, before the city of Puebla and began their assault from the north. The battle lasted from daybreak to early evening, and when the French finally retreated they had lost nearly 500 soldiers to the fewer than 100 Mexicans killed.

Although not a major strategic victory in the overall war against the French, Zaragoza's victory at Puebla tightened Mexican resistance, and six years later France withdrew. The same year, Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, who had been installed as emperor of Mexico by Napoleon in 1864, was captured and executed by Juarez' forces. Puebla de Los Angeles, the site of Zaragoza's historic victory, was renamed Puebla de Zaragoza in honor of the general. Today, Mexicans celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla as Cinco de Mayo, a national holiday in Mexico."
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The Hero Of Cinco De Mayo "Texas-born General Ignacio Seguín Zaragoza—one of "Cinco de Mayo’s most revered heroes—led his Mexican army to defeat French forces sent by Napoleon III in the critical Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

Zaragoza was born on March 24, 1829, in a stone house in La Bahía del Espíritu Santo near present-day Goliad, Texas. Today, the General Zaragoza State Historic Site, managed by Texas Parks and Wildlife, includes a replica three-bedroom stone house and commemorates his birthplace two miles south of Goliad.

In 1844, Zaragoza’s father, an infantryman, was transferred to Monterrey, where Zaragoza entered seminary. However, it was not long before he changed course and set out to become a businessman. After delving into the mercantile business for several years, Zaragoza’s true calling finally became clear – military service. He joined Nuevo León’s militia as a sergeant and was promoted to captain soon after."
More at:      The Hero Of Cinco De Mayo
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Yesterday:

After Misty had her walk down at Jay's, we came back here and installed the last under-cabinet light.  This is in a special place so that it shines through from the kitchen, and backlights the crystal. The last light that was there did a better job, as it was longer, and it also shone through the six burgundy glass circles behind the glasses.

The grass was getting wispy, so Jay mowed. But, first, we had the usual palava about raising the deck on the mower, as he always lowers it, and wants to cut the grass too short.  I stuck to my guns, as it is getting too hot to mistreat the lawn.

We had cleaned out my van, but now I had to put some of the stuff back in it.  I couldn't believe that I didn't have a map in there when I needed to show Arlene how to get to Ashley's the day before yesterday.