So, most of you notice that I post a link to this blog directly to FaceBook. It seems like the right place, and anyone who wants to can read it. A couple of people who are regulars asked "What's the deal with the bird icon?" Well, kids, to sum up, I used to help out at The Raptor Trust in Millington, NJ, on the edge of the Great Swamp of NJ. Yes, there's a swamp in NJ. No, to my knowledge it doesn't have the remains of Jimmy Hoffa. I think that honor goes to the Meadowlands. However, bodies aside, it does an awesome service for this part of NJ (and the surrounding areas) by taking in injured wild birds, rehabbing them (if possible), and then releasing them back into the wild (again, if possible).
When I was first getting started with photography, founder Len Soucy allowed me to photograph some of the permanent residents, i.e. those birds either too injured to return to the wild, or those too imprinted on by regular human feedings/interactions. As the Trust focuses on Raptors, they have quasi-on-display some of the top-of-the-food-chain birds which can never be re-released. As you can imagine, the animals that are included in this group has many hawks, eagles and owls that are indigenous to this great state of NJ. And, folks can come almost any day of the year to see who's who in the zoo-ish environment.
Now, the display thing is quite ancillary to the Trust's true purpose. Frankly, those animals are being taken care of. Every day they're fed, cages get cleaned, and medicines are delivered to keep those animals alive. Nine times out of ten, those injured or orphaned animals are so because of human interference, and the Trust is doing its part to help right the wrongs of the harm done to, typically, the apex predators of our region.
This time of year, the Trust is overrun with orphans: hatchlings, mostly songbirds, but some ducks, geese, and "other" as well. For those animals that can not immediately be returned to the nest, the Trust houses the babies, feeds them and cares for them until they can be released back into the wild. As you can imagine, this comes at an enormous expense of this non-profit. So, this week, as Earth Day has just eclipsed us for another year, I ask that you check out their site. Not only do they take monetary donations, but a quick call to the Trust will let you know that they use a tremendous amount of paper towels, garbage bags, and dog food...yes, dog food, that can be donated as well. So, go to the following site, check out what they're about. Notice that they do both school/scout presentations for local schools and troops as well as on-site demonstrations (for a minimal fee, which goes right back into the care of the animals), and carry Earth Day forward into another week/month/year.
Here's where they are on the interwebs: www.theraptortrust.org
Here's where they are on the FaceBook: www.facebook.com/theraptortrust
Do good.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Teen Army
I'll preface this with, my brother-in-law will likely kill me after reading this. But, what he has to understand is that this is the most interesting thing that's happened to me in about 3 1/2 weeks...since surgery.
I was on the warpath. I was dealing with some difficult issues at work...stuff that just makes you angry because you don't see the logic...and I received my first "description of benefits" from our health insurance related to the injury/surgery. I was in no mood. Luckily, thankfully, my father-in-law dropped off the cavalry. At 8:50 this morning, Jude and I got Aunt Emily, 13 y/o with a shitload of tolerance, complete with D&D donut holes. Yay! She entertained Jude for most of the morning, fed him lunch, and catered to his (almost) every whim.
Then, one of my best friends from Jude's school came to the rescue, and supervised a trip of his kids and Jude (and Emily) to the park for some much needed outdoor time. No injuries, and it allowed me to yell at the insurance company a little bit without any witnesses. I imagine that is going to be a regular occurrence. That said, it was good for them to be out while I was busy losing cool.
At about 3:30, enter Jake, my 16 y/o vunderkind, Jet fan extraordinaire, journalist, and really decent ad-hoc chef. He was able to take over for a worn out Emily and get dinner prepped for the kids around 5:30. And he made Emily dinner. And he was going to cook something better than I could do for myself (obviously).
Also, around the same time, in came Emma, our 14 y/o mother's helper. This girl is effing invaluable. By herself she's a tour-du-force, able to nuke the kids dinner, get them bathed, and brushed, and washed and to bed. But, with the teen reinforcements I'd already enlisted, this was cake.
Like any good general, you divide your resources to their strengths: Jake was on meals as previously indicated; Emily was on table detail...run napkins, milk, water, etc. Plates and cups. You get the idea. Emma was on bath duty. Get Johanna and Jude clean and washed, and to bed. MOST importantly, to bed.
And, with my Teen regiment, we got it all done. Kids were fed. Emma rocked Johanna's bath. Emily took Jude. Jake found enough for a hodge-podge Mexi-meal complete with guac and veggie quesadillas. Emma moved to dishes. Jake rescued the recycle and took out the trash. Emily took care of Jude, got him dressed and ready for bed (and shared an M&M cookie with him). By 7pm, all the hard work was done, I was ready for a percocet, something stupid on TV, and my wife to come home from the workshop she was running so that we can eat for another week.
As a Jew, I don't celebrate Good Friday, but I get it, and with the concerted team effort I got today, I'm really thankful for all I've got. If you're with your families this weekend, I hope you enjoy their company as much as I get to enjoy mine.
I was on the warpath. I was dealing with some difficult issues at work...stuff that just makes you angry because you don't see the logic...and I received my first "description of benefits" from our health insurance related to the injury/surgery. I was in no mood. Luckily, thankfully, my father-in-law dropped off the cavalry. At 8:50 this morning, Jude and I got Aunt Emily, 13 y/o with a shitload of tolerance, complete with D&D donut holes. Yay! She entertained Jude for most of the morning, fed him lunch, and catered to his (almost) every whim.
Then, one of my best friends from Jude's school came to the rescue, and supervised a trip of his kids and Jude (and Emily) to the park for some much needed outdoor time. No injuries, and it allowed me to yell at the insurance company a little bit without any witnesses. I imagine that is going to be a regular occurrence. That said, it was good for them to be out while I was busy losing cool.
At about 3:30, enter Jake, my 16 y/o vunderkind, Jet fan extraordinaire, journalist, and really decent ad-hoc chef. He was able to take over for a worn out Emily and get dinner prepped for the kids around 5:30. And he made Emily dinner. And he was going to cook something better than I could do for myself (obviously).
Also, around the same time, in came Emma, our 14 y/o mother's helper. This girl is effing invaluable. By herself she's a tour-du-force, able to nuke the kids dinner, get them bathed, and brushed, and washed and to bed. But, with the teen reinforcements I'd already enlisted, this was cake.
Like any good general, you divide your resources to their strengths: Jake was on meals as previously indicated; Emily was on table detail...run napkins, milk, water, etc. Plates and cups. You get the idea. Emma was on bath duty. Get Johanna and Jude clean and washed, and to bed. MOST importantly, to bed.
And, with my Teen regiment, we got it all done. Kids were fed. Emma rocked Johanna's bath. Emily took Jude. Jake found enough for a hodge-podge Mexi-meal complete with guac and veggie quesadillas. Emma moved to dishes. Jake rescued the recycle and took out the trash. Emily took care of Jude, got him dressed and ready for bed (and shared an M&M cookie with him). By 7pm, all the hard work was done, I was ready for a percocet, something stupid on TV, and my wife to come home from the workshop she was running so that we can eat for another week.
As a Jew, I don't celebrate Good Friday, but I get it, and with the concerted team effort I got today, I'm really thankful for all I've got. If you're with your families this weekend, I hope you enjoy their company as much as I get to enjoy mine.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Super-Indifference
You're going to have to pardon me, because I'm about to get nuts about the latest FaceBook trend: surveys.
These days, you can't swing a dead FaceBook cat without finding at least 10 people on your timeline who are participating in surveys that ascribe a character, movie or, in some cases, inanimate objects and concepts to the surveyed based on oversimplified answers to such deep questions as "pick your favorite 1980's movie" or "pick your favorite breed of cat" or something equally inane. People, and I use the term liberally, just stop it. Why? Because if you think that your choice of Smurf is related to your lifetime of acquired beliefs, attributes and outlook on life, then you're absolutely fucking out of your goddam mind.
Ooo...Oooo...which Broadway show am I? Maybe if I say that I like the color purple (the color, not the movie or musical...the friggin color) and I pick Friut Loops over Lucky Charms and Life Cereal (god, that toucan Sam really stands up for my ideals), and then I select Ghostbusters over the Goonies because of my quasi-belief of the paranormal over my understanding of one-eyed pirates...then, maybe, just maybe, the selection of The Lion King really fits me. It's like it understands who I am...which is to say that I DO like to dangle my progeny off a cliff and visit elephant grave yards! Oooo...maybe Michael Jackson was also a Lion King! We have so much in common!!!
People...I've got news for you...nobody gives a shit. As if FaceBook isn't already a glorious waste of time (unless you're a stalker) you then choose to not only participate in this completely worthless activity, but post it to your timeline, because the rest of us really care that you're personality is some logical combination of Garfield (the cat, not the president), the number 9, an apple torte, Joffrey from GoT, and a weed whacker!
We. Don't. Give. A. Rat's. Ass.
If you have time to blow...and you know you do, or you wouldn't be taking these surveys in the first place...make it productive!
For instance:
Game for Cancer! This app allows you to play a game where your success translates into decoding real DNA faults which Scientists can then use to develop cancer treatments!
http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2014/02/04/download-our-revolutionary-mobile-game-to-help-speed-up-cancer-research/
Or, educate yourself...hit the NY Times App and see what's going on in the world. Or, better yet, the BBC app...which really reports world news!
But, please, people, I implore you, stop with the nonsense. Just because you're bored doesn't mean that you have to torture the rest of us with your inactivity and pseudo-science. This is Orange Gandalf from Hufflepuff who stared in the movie Footloose and likes crepes, signing off.
These days, you can't swing a dead FaceBook cat without finding at least 10 people on your timeline who are participating in surveys that ascribe a character, movie or, in some cases, inanimate objects and concepts to the surveyed based on oversimplified answers to such deep questions as "pick your favorite 1980's movie" or "pick your favorite breed of cat" or something equally inane. People, and I use the term liberally, just stop it. Why? Because if you think that your choice of Smurf is related to your lifetime of acquired beliefs, attributes and outlook on life, then you're absolutely fucking out of your goddam mind.
Ooo...Oooo...which Broadway show am I? Maybe if I say that I like the color purple (the color, not the movie or musical...the friggin color) and I pick Friut Loops over Lucky Charms and Life Cereal (god, that toucan Sam really stands up for my ideals), and then I select Ghostbusters over the Goonies because of my quasi-belief of the paranormal over my understanding of one-eyed pirates...then, maybe, just maybe, the selection of The Lion King really fits me. It's like it understands who I am...which is to say that I DO like to dangle my progeny off a cliff and visit elephant grave yards! Oooo...maybe Michael Jackson was also a Lion King! We have so much in common!!!
People...I've got news for you...nobody gives a shit. As if FaceBook isn't already a glorious waste of time (unless you're a stalker) you then choose to not only participate in this completely worthless activity, but post it to your timeline, because the rest of us really care that you're personality is some logical combination of Garfield (the cat, not the president), the number 9, an apple torte, Joffrey from GoT, and a weed whacker!
We. Don't. Give. A. Rat's. Ass.
If you have time to blow...and you know you do, or you wouldn't be taking these surveys in the first place...make it productive!
For instance:
Game for Cancer! This app allows you to play a game where your success translates into decoding real DNA faults which Scientists can then use to develop cancer treatments!
http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2014/02/04/download-our-revolutionary-mobile-game-to-help-speed-up-cancer-research/
Or, educate yourself...hit the NY Times App and see what's going on in the world. Or, better yet, the BBC app...which really reports world news!
But, please, people, I implore you, stop with the nonsense. Just because you're bored doesn't mean that you have to torture the rest of us with your inactivity and pseudo-science. This is Orange Gandalf from Hufflepuff who stared in the movie Footloose and likes crepes, signing off.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Knew Knews on Knee
Actually, there's really not a tremendous amount to report. Right now I'm about 1 1/2 weeks from the surgery date, and I'm doing fine...fine for a guy who was told not to put any weight bearing pressure on your leg for 8 weeks. By my honed mathematical mind, that means that I've only got 6 1/2 weeks of being severely limited in my mobility. Time flies...eh?
That said, I'm on some great drugs. Every morning I start with a Percocet/Colace cocktail (for obvious reasons), followed by my regular regiment of reflux and allergy pills. Because it's my knee, they want me to stretch it out and articulate it when possible, which means that I can now bend it enough to get my own socks on. I've set up shop on the family recliner, keeping my knee elevated to alleviate swelling...not just in my knee, but also in my foot. A conversation with the doctor yesterday yielded that mild swelling will go down considerably after 6 - 9 months. MONTHS! Pass the drugs, please.
For entertainment, I've been catching up on old episodes of Top Gear, which may be the best show on TV (or maybe that's the drugs talking). Obviously, I have the computer available to me, so I can watch the "likes" pour in on FaceBook or scan youtube for hilarious "Epic Fail" videos. Usually those are with teens+skateboards+asphalt=hilarity, or something like that. Oh, and I've been watching the New York Football Giants have a massive off-season, picking up free agents like they're going out of style...while the other New York team is paper-training their new veteran quarterback. Woof.
But, I will say that none of the above would be possible without my wife. Superwife. I'm sure they're already carving a bust of her for the Mommy Hall Of Fame (minds outta the gutter please). Not only does she make sure that I've got what I need to be stationary all day, but she has been running the kids wherever they need to be. And, she's the master scheduler, making sure that we've got someone here each night to help with the kids while she's tutoring and running class sessions for her district. She's, in a word, amazing. She's exhausted. And, while she was drawing parallels to when she was first pregnant (on bed rest) and then pregnant again, and how I helped out...that was a breeze to what she's been doing this past week. I didn't have two willful children to cart around (one at the most). Family and friends have been invaluable, so I want to lay a broad thank you to all who have offered assistance and provided help while we figure out how to run this thing with two big mouths but one able bodied parent. And, a huge, mega thank you to my wife, without whom I'd be writing my blogs with smoke signals as the house burned down around me.
Now, if you don't mind, I have to see how the Murcielago compares to the 911 GT3 and the new Aston Martin Vanquish. My money's still on the Porsche.
That said, I'm on some great drugs. Every morning I start with a Percocet/Colace cocktail (for obvious reasons), followed by my regular regiment of reflux and allergy pills. Because it's my knee, they want me to stretch it out and articulate it when possible, which means that I can now bend it enough to get my own socks on. I've set up shop on the family recliner, keeping my knee elevated to alleviate swelling...not just in my knee, but also in my foot. A conversation with the doctor yesterday yielded that mild swelling will go down considerably after 6 - 9 months. MONTHS! Pass the drugs, please.
For entertainment, I've been catching up on old episodes of Top Gear, which may be the best show on TV (or maybe that's the drugs talking). Obviously, I have the computer available to me, so I can watch the "likes" pour in on FaceBook or scan youtube for hilarious "Epic Fail" videos. Usually those are with teens+skateboards+asphalt=hilarity, or something like that. Oh, and I've been watching the New York Football Giants have a massive off-season, picking up free agents like they're going out of style...while the other New York team is paper-training their new veteran quarterback. Woof.
But, I will say that none of the above would be possible without my wife. Superwife. I'm sure they're already carving a bust of her for the Mommy Hall Of Fame (minds outta the gutter please). Not only does she make sure that I've got what I need to be stationary all day, but she has been running the kids wherever they need to be. And, she's the master scheduler, making sure that we've got someone here each night to help with the kids while she's tutoring and running class sessions for her district. She's, in a word, amazing. She's exhausted. And, while she was drawing parallels to when she was first pregnant (on bed rest) and then pregnant again, and how I helped out...that was a breeze to what she's been doing this past week. I didn't have two willful children to cart around (one at the most). Family and friends have been invaluable, so I want to lay a broad thank you to all who have offered assistance and provided help while we figure out how to run this thing with two big mouths but one able bodied parent. And, a huge, mega thank you to my wife, without whom I'd be writing my blogs with smoke signals as the house burned down around me.
Now, if you don't mind, I have to see how the Murcielago compares to the 911 GT3 and the new Aston Martin Vanquish. My money's still on the Porsche.
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