On a Lighter Note (Mink Are Evil)

I just thought I'd follow up my political manifesto with something fluffier, and something with pictures.

So, there's a mink farm up in Logan that causes so heart ache at the zoo two a year, every year. When the farm moves the mink into cages away from their mothers, then when they make them into pelts several escape, swim up the river and kill birds in the zoo. Here are some fun facts about mink:

• They are mammals in the Mustelidae family (weasels, ferrets and martens also belong to this family. Their species name is Mustela vison (sounds a bit nefarious, right?)
  
• In wild these animals are endangered due to hunting and habitat destruction
• Mink are very agile in the water and on land (in 'real world' terms, this means they're hard to catch).
• Mink can be anywhere from 17 to 26 inches long and weigh 1-3 pounds (but it seems no matter their size they can easily squeeze through fences, grates and traps).
  
• Mink are carnivores, but dainty carnivores. They will kill a 5 pound bird and then only eat some meat from the head and neck. More than being carnivores they are cold, hardened murders...nay, homicidal lunatics! (Note: I have sources for every fact except this last one, I don't know if you'll be able to find that anywhere but here)

Some of the images that came up on a quick Google image search:
Great, right? So, now that you all know that wild mink are ok, and farm mink are evil (that was the real morale of this tale), you should join my Anti-Mink Task Force. The mission of the AMTF is to eliminate farmed-mink citing in Cache Valley. We envision a future where Becka will not have to patrol for mink at night, where mink won't kill kick-ass birds like Mandarin Ducks or Ferruginous Hawks, and where no one will ever seee a mink crawling through the gutter grates in the fair city of Logan. Membership duties are easy, just spend a few minutes each concentrating on mink hatred, and avoid wearing mink coats, etc (those mink just aren't being pelted fast enough, I guess). There are no membership dues, just as long as you make sure that every day you spend a few minutes with your think face on.
Examples of "Think Face"


So practice hard, and begin enjoying the mental benefits of being part of this truly meaningful movements.

Sincerely,
Becka Downard
Mink Hater

All I'm Saying Is...(My Political Rant)

I had a very frustrating moment at work today, and figure I get to blow off some steam (you've been warned, a small rant is coming up (it may sound similar to some of the things my mom says, but that just goes to show how wise I think she is). One of my coworkers who rarely talks to me up and talked to me today. He started off simply enough, just asking if I had another job, what I was studying in school, and whether I was an environmentalist. I said that I was an environmentalist, and that I thought hunters were actually pretty good environmentalists, though I choose not to hunt. With this he said "Good, you're educated." Really, he was going to go ahead and tell me I'm educated. Of course I'm educated! I decided not to pursue that comment because I don't think that my education makes me better than anyone else and really try to avoid sounding elitist. Anyways, then he asked who I was voting for and all hell broke loose.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, I'd just to like to say I truly do support Obama, even when I'm not faced with one of the more ignorant people I have ever met. I love that he (Obama) is tolerant, I love that he is concerned with the rising cost of education, supports giving health care to more people, and has an energy policy that goes beyond drilling (it might be my paranoid mind, but I think we've reached peak oil and the oil companies are hiding it). I often hear people say that Obama is the lesser of two evils, but I think he's actually great and not at all evil, I think he represents an awesome change of pace. Plus, he is amazing to listen to, and being persuasive is a plus in my book. I have my opinions on McCain, but I believe that smearing someone else doesn't really count as having a position on real issues, so I'll just keep that down.

Back to my bad day at work, this guy proceeded to yell at me (really, he yelled at me) about how he couldn't understand why I was a liberal and that Obama would run this country into the ground. More than anything else he said, the fact that he called me stupid (duped was the official term he used, several times) and refused to even try and understand how someone could think differently from him were the most frustrating things. I left feeling like there was nothing I could do to make him see me as more than "liberal and evil." I feel far more complex than that.

So, in case anyone wondered, I am an environmentalist, fairly moderate, and an independent.

*I think the less privileged in our country need to be advocated for, I believe that the opportunity to pursue an education is a more important right than the ability to obtain a gun. I think human suffering is intolerable and we should do everything we can to alleviate it, no matter the race, gender or class of those suffering. I think the way we as a group treat the most disadvantaged (the poor, mentally disabled, elderly, etc.) is the most telling example of our true intentions toward others.

*I believe in advocating for environmental protection, that without an active advocate a greedy few with exploit and destroy resources that belong to the entire country. I believe our national forests, rangelands, parks and wildlife are the property of the entire country and that our government is the only interest that can be a worthy steward of such resources. I believe that while diverse interests do need to be taken into account in natural resource decision making, that the long-term effects of any proposal should be taken into account. I find making decisions based on marginal cost-benefit analysis is stupid and selfish.

*I abhor xenophobia, when did being American start to mean that you couldn't be Mexican? I honestly don't believe immigrants, illegal or not, pose a great threat to our country. I think the solution to the "immigrant problem" lies in addressing the reasons they can be more successful in this country as second class citizens than as full citizens in their country of origin. I believe that diversity is important to raising a generation of un-ignorant people. I see no threat in difference, whether it is a different religion, ethnicity, country of origin, sexual orientation, or anything else. I think the most dangerous things happen when people band together in the belief that they all agree on everything and identify discrete enemies.

*I am strongly opposed to divisive politics. I have no fear of homosexuals, I think bans on their ability to have a marriage, adopt, etc. are efforts to manipulate the public's concentration away from real issues.

-On that note, I think abortion should be a non-issue at this point in time, Roe v. Wade was handed down decades ago, and should be left where it is. I have my own religious views, but am extremely uncomfortable with anyone passing legislation based on religious beliefs. I believe that every woman has the right to decide when she is going to have a baby, and that eroding the ability to choose whether or not to have an abortion is intimately tied to with ability to obtain birth control, to get adequate gynecological health care, and to make so many other choices. I think taking one step backwards risks sliding back toward the days before suffrage, it sounds paranoid, I know, but it makes sense to me. And it seriously irks me that so many male lawmakers are taking this issue up. They will never be pregnant, they will never know the struggle to decide how to fit a family in with everything else a woman may want to accomplish, and no matter how sympathetic, they will never know how one man/mistake can change course of a woman's life.

*I think the two party system is flawed. While I know which party I most frequently vote for, I don't believe that declaring yourself a Democrat or Republican makes anyone a worthy candidate for office. I also find that more than playing into the divisive politics that so often take over in our country, the two party system severely limits voters choices. Imagine having more than two real choices for President.

*I don't think we can lower taxes, fight major wars in two countries, bail out our financial system, and support the citizens paying those taxes. I think the governments primary function should be to protect and support its citizens. I can see so many ways the government has supported me (the infrastructure I use everyday like roads and sewers, my state school, my entire grade school time, mosquito abatement, environmental protection....) that I am only alarmed when I see those tax dollars fly out the country (or right now, toward Wall Street).

*I don't believe war is the answer to much of anything. I can find it in myself to support a defensive war, but that hasn't been the case in America since WWII. I think in an increasingly globalized world that being so aggressive will cause the country to overextend its resources in the wrong areas and ignore really pressing issues.

*I am very patriotic. I believe that what makes our country great is its institutions, not the people running it. I bristle when people suggest that by not supporting a war I am not patriotic (I admire the patriotism of soldiers, I am very sad when they are injured or die, I would much rather they remain safe at home, protecting things here). I vote because I believe that it is the way I show my faith in this country. I think one of the most dangerous things about the Bush Administration is that they have sought to erode these institutions, that they have done seriously unconstitutional things.

So there it is, my hippie-dippie-tree-hugger belief structure, I have lots of other opinions, but I'll stop there for now. On a happier note, who saw Heroes this week? It was amazing, right? I had to wait until Tuesday to see it, but afterwards I could barely contain my joy. So many of my questions were answered in the first few minutes, it was amazing. I'm curious if the show has had a religious undertone that I've missed until the episode labeled "The Second Coming." Did anyone else notice that? Where do you think that's going? I can hardly wait until this Monday.

Also, the last day to register to vote in Utah is October 6. Whether you agree with me or not, no one's going to know unless you vote!

September Shenanigans

Well, I've officially started my thesis research, hooray for me! I knew I was meeting with a guy today who had a background in qualitative research and who worked a bit with wetlands, but completely misunderstood why I was meeting with him. Turns out, it was a practice interview, and based on the feedback I got it seems I did pretty well. So, I may get this thesis thing done after all, boo ya! Another happy note from today, the guy I interviewed said that a lot of natural resource employers are looking for people with the natural science and human dimensions background that I have, super. To make it better he said that my plan to move to Hawaii for a while was good idea because employers also want someone interesting working for them. Which I took to mean that going to Hawaii would make me more interesting, which means I must go because I have a deep fear of becoming boring. Anyways, that was my mildly stressful, but ultimately productive afternoon.

On to other things. I've been going through my cell phone lately, perusing pictures because its not like anyone ever calls me (boo hoo), and I've found some more photos I feel I must share.
First off, I see this sign when I go walking most everyday. I think it's excessive. Remember the song by Five Man Electrical Band called "Signs"? If not, here's a bit of the chorus: Sign Sign everywhere a sign Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign.
I bet they hate hippies. Jerks. Really? No standing, what the heck?

Speaking of my walks, one night I came home and looked at my shoe and found a hitchhiker. This tiny slug had attached itself to my shoe, it was really cute, but I didn't know what to do with it. Sadly, but the morning it had dried up and died. But it made me happy that night. Another night I came home to a less happy bug confrontation. I found this guy in my bathtub. I tried using my toothbrush as a standard to measure it against, but I don't think it shoes the full intensity of this bathtub spider. Seriously, take a look at it, you can see its eye stalks! That's a huge spider, and the only reason I know about it is because it got stranded in my tub, what if there are other ones? What if they're radioactive and bite me? What if there's radioactivity in my apartment and I get cancer? It's all very scary.
I tried adding a scale to another camera phone picture later, and it might have been more effective. This is a baby painted turtle at the zoo, can you see how small and awesome it is? Really, its a whole turtle that's only a little bit thicker than my finger. How cool is that?
Turns out, not everything at the zoo is that cute. While cleaning one of the buildings I saw something huge crawl across the floor. Freaked out and intrigued I went over to see what it was, and it was a giant spider. Seeing as it was unafraid of me and there was a tape measure nearby I decided to measure it. It was two inches long! That's freaking insane! Unfortunately, in my efforts to document the visitor I forgot to squish it, so its still at the zoo, I hope it doesn't bite anyone, or reproduce, that would be bad.

It's also been an interesting month for sign reading. Coming back from my doctors appointment I was behind this SUV with this elaborate window sticker that went across the back and the sides. Ridiculous! Who thinks oil rigs are beautiful? Not me. In the middle it says "gotoil.com" I refuse to go to the site right now because I'm afraid it would make me angry, and I've got enough to be riled up about right now. I hope the guy driving it had investments with Lehman Brothers. And I hate his blue tooth.

While in the bathroom later that week I happened to take a closer look and the tampon/pad vending machine and finally learned what matrons do, apparently they restock the feminine hygiene product dispenser. The world makes sense again.
One last sign, then I'm done. While out on my walk I noticed this sign on the port-a-potties outside the football stadium. It's silly, but poo humor makes me giggle.

Hope everyone's week is going well, and that you've got something to look forward to this weekend (if you've got nothing to look forward to, remember that Heroes starts on Monday, and that Heroes is amazing!).

Everything Comes Down to Poo

I have an unfortunate fascination with waste disposal. I don't know why. I hope its just a mildly humorous quirk, rather than a discomforting preoccupation. One of the coolest field trips in my college careers was to the waste water treatment facility at the bottom of the valley here. I just think its fascinating that the city of Logan is using natural processes (oxidation by algae and bacteria and filtering through wetlands) to remove waste from our water. This isn't to say that I would drink the effluent, but I'd be willing to kayak in it. If any of y'all plan on visiting Logan, take a look out toward the center of the valley, the 'square lakes' you can see from campus are actually oxidation ponds where living organisms are removing 'solids' from our waste water. How cool is that?

(I couldn't find a pic of the square ponds, but these are the polishing wetlands, which are also awesome)

Anyways, the thing that spurred this whole train of thought was a book I'm reading for my history class called Down to Earth: How Nature Has Shaped American History. It's a really fascinating read, should anyone have time to pick it up. Anyways, there's a chapter in it called "Death of the Organic City" that is primarily about the way Americans used to deal with our waste. Turns out, back in the day there used to be a thriving poo-vegetable trade between urban and rural areas (that's not exactly the terminology used, but pretty much the gist of it). Before the advent of automobiles horses were the main transportation system both within and between cities, and horses produce between 15 and 30 pounds of manure per day. That's freaking intense! (Another factoid: geese eat about 5 pounds of grass per day, they poop about 4 pounds of that back out in a day) Anyways, there was really no way to make use of it in the city, so there was a network of haulers that would take the poo to nearby rural areas to use as fertilizer for the vegetables that the city would later import. Neat! This system was pretty beneficial for all parties involved, especially because of the pollution that the horse doo-doo would have made- according the book ground up horse manure (it was ground up by horses walking on it, not intentionally) was the early 20th century equivilent of automobile pollution. He added that the respitory effects were similar in the case of both irritants, which makes me even more uncomfortable with the various car-produced -oxides I inhale everyday.

As the automobile replaced the horse this trade decreased, but it was pretty cool. There was also mention of the extensive use of pigs in the city. Until the 1950's pork was actually the primary meat consumed by Americans. And until the 1920's there was pretty extensive pig populations within cities that not only provided extra meat, but also served to dispose of organic waste from households. Unfortunately, pigs are also prone to copulating in public and charging young children, so they were eventually removed from cities. (Another city/wildlife factoid: turns out wolf spiders (a natural desert inhabitant) are 5 times more dense in cities than in the wild, apparently people habitat is good wold spider habitat)

One more fun fact from that article, which I suggest you integrate into your vocabulary as soon as possible, is that human waste used to be called 'night soil.' Not only is it a far more pleasant euphemism than crap, but there's meaning behind it. Used to be, there were people that had to clean out the public bathrooms (this was at a time when all bathrooms were public), and they did this at night, thus the product they carted away was called night soil. It was also used a bit for fertilizer, but not extensively.

So now there's a whole new suite of poo related things for you to think on. And just for fun, here's the "Everything Comes Down to Poo," a musical achievement that I think has only been bested by The Little Mermaid.

Some Awesomeness

No adventuring for me this week. However, I was moderately productive, I got almost all my readings for my pretty cool history class done on time, I got all the paperwork that I needed turned in for my program, and I gave up caffeine. This weekend has been less than productive, mostly due to the caffeine withdraw headaches. Friday night was pretty good though, the Retro House hosted a little concert in the backyard, and it was really good. I haven't been able to find them on google, I plan on looking harder later, but Black and White Rainbow is a really hilarious and talented band out of good old Logan. One of the other acts was this guy who called himself Calvin Smooth, he likes to rap. It was really pretty entertaining, and one of his songs is on YouTube, so I thought I'd post it here. It has about a thousand fun pop culture references, and you can catch a glimpse of my truck at the beginning (it doesn't get any better than that).



Some other awesomeness you should be aware of: G Love and Special Sauce. They opened up for 311 some years ago, but it's only lately that I've remembered to download their stuff, and it is just so good. My current favorite is "Superhero Brother." When times get dire, I'm calling on G Love to come save me, hopefully he gets bit by a radioactive spider or somethin' in the meantime (everyone, look up the song on whatever website you can, it is hilarious).

Also very good: Stumble Upon! Scott told me about it some time ago, and I just added it to my web browser. It is a fantastic way to waste time. Just yesterday it pointed me in the direction of this video.



Daft Punk and the Charleston!!! There is nothing better. Well, maybe there is something. "Heroes" comes back on September 22!!! I just finished the 2nd season, and it was good, but I have higher expectations for the 3rd season. Nathan just got shot, Sylar got his power back, Adam is locked in a casket...what's going to happen next?!?!?! The TV Guide just made it worse, at some point in the season Future Claire tries to shoot Future Peter! Oh my! Also, I don't know if anyone else actually watches "Heroes" (but you all should), does anyone have any idea what Angela Patrelli's power is?

Anyways, enough dorkiness. I'm off to Clinton.