Copperhead Monday

I'm not sure exactly what one is supposed to think about a Monday that starts off with your dogs cornering a copperhead.  I hate snakes, hate them in general (hate=terrified), but I particularly dislike (dislike=am terrified of) the poisonous ones (okay, a big duh there).  Main reason being that I have a 16.5 year old beagle, known as the Ancient Wonder Beagle, who has been blind for almost eight years (due to SARDS).  She's a pretty amazing spotted dog, but without her sight and with her hearing pretty much gone, a poisonous snake isn't a good thing to have around (her sense of smell is still intact, but boy - I'd rather that be a fallback plan).  The two big dogs knew enough to stay clear of it - but they barked like crazy - and I'm happy to say the Wonder Beagle was indoors asleep on her favorite couch.   Mustering the courage of a terrified person (which isn't alot), I did kill the snake - something I don't feel so great about, and at the same time don't feel like I had a choice about.  I'm torn between creating a habitat that encourages biota of all types - and acceptance that the biota also encourages snakes to contact all of their snake friends and invite them over.  Two falls ago I had a huge rattlesnake show up - and I called our local snakeman (snakeman=freak), who also happened to be the Director (at the time) of the South Carolina Aquarium.  He was thrilled and told me that the next time I saw it, to just put a bucket over it and call him on his cell.  WAS HE KIDDING ME?

Anyway, I'm not sure that I like Mondays that start out with a copperhead wrangling event.  The only way to go was up - a grant proposal was reviewed (thumbs down), a letter of support for a colleague was written (if he gets the job and moves, I'll be really bummed - but I'm trying to be professional and happy for him), and we had a new service guy show up to look at the incubator/shakers.  Yep, that's right, Kyle-the-Hutto-guy left for another job, so Wayne showed up instead.  No luck - he replaced a few things but really needed to replace the compressor - he had a new one in his truck but hadn't scheduled the time and it would take 6-7 hours to do it.  Of course, Wayne couldn't tell us when he'd be back.  I feel like all I do is write emails regarding the absurdity of this repair (or lack thereof) or phone someone to see when they're gonna show up (the joy of a federal building - I  mean, we're CODE YELLOW...or is it ORANGE?  You can't just be anybody to get in....you have to sign your name first, which suggests that anyone who can sign there name can manuever there way into a federal building).  I'm glad I went to school for this.  In reality, it's the world's best procrastination tool:  "No, I haven't gotten that manuscript written yet.  I'm having to deal with Hutto Refrigeration and Barnstead (who has subcontracted them) and it's taking up all of my time."  Yep, it's been one of those days (weeks?  months?).

Tried to say goodbye to a close friend today, but instead of saying goodbye we just talked and rambled about stuff because it was easier than saying goodbye.  She's off to New Albany, Indiana - across the river from Louisville.  I'm bummed.  Enough said.

I'm new at the whole blog thing - from both as a viewer and a participant.  It's not registered anywhere and I've only told a few out-of-towners that I'm even doing it.  The whole blog thing definitely fascinates me though - like, for example, here I'm having a bad day and I do a websearch and I find a site called "Unremitting Failure - Pointless Expostulations on the Utter Futility of Everything"  that had the following posted:

"Homely-on-homely violence is a serious problem, both in the human and bat communities.  And no wonder.  The homely are the constant butt of jokes.  Homeliness is no crime.  We are all beautiful in our own way.  I am beautiful even if I do have oversized ears and a nose that resembles the sex organ of Rush Limbaugh.  Sincerely, Newton Bat, Jr." 

This whole site pretty much cracked me up in a strange sorta way.  Maybe it was because my day started with a copperhead killing, or maybe because I was wondering about the futility of it all myself.  It could also be because it had pics like the one below, which just sums up alot of stuff all at once.  Anyway, I'm not sure how much of it that I really want to read, for fear of disappointment.  So when I stopped reading the site and googled "code yellow" I came across another site, called "no oil for pacifists" that caught my attention because I was raised in a pacifist church as a child (Church of the Brethren) and do oil research...(okay, pretty irrelevant).  Anyway, the 16 July 2005 entry was:

"Far left pressure group Code Pink is a special special interest: they're lobbyists for losing. The "Pinkos" were founded in 2002 by four women, including "Starhawk", whose Wikipedia bio begins:

Starhawk (born Miriam Samos in 1951) is a American writer, activist and Witch. She is well known as a theorist of paganism and is one of the foremost voices of ecofeminism. Starhawk lives in San Francisco, where she works with the Reclaiming tradition of Witchcraft she helped found, through classes, workshops, camps, and public rituals in earth-based spirituality, with the goal to "unify spirit and politics."

Code Pink quotes Starhawk,

call(ing) on women around the world to rise up and oppose the war in Iraq. We call on mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and daughters, on workers, students, teachers, healers, artists, writers, singers, poets and every ordinary outraged woman willing to be outrageous for peace.

Plainly, Code Pink's going where no man has gone before.

Last year, Code Pink activists were ejected from a Senate hearing for heckling Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Others demonstrated to support a woman charged with murder for refusing a C-section to save unborn twins, though doctors warned they might die. Code followers were tossed from and from the Republican Convention (where they "snagged a delegate pass, borrowed a media credential or posed as GOP volunteers" and "rush[ed] the convention floor in pink lingerie"), disrupting remarks by President Bush. They similarly crashed the Convention's "Tribute to Laura Bush" who -- though inarguably a mother, daughter and teacher -- wasn't the sort of women "called" by Code Pink, possibly because she's no witch. The Pinkos even interrupted Teresa Kerry's Democratic Convention speech, despite the fact that Teresa is.

The Pinkos began 2005 by scamming tickets to the inaugural to maintain their perfect heckle-and-get-booted record. Last month, ignoring evidence that the terrorists are neither Iraqi nor supported by most Iraqis (and is declining among other Muslims), Pink co-founder Jodie Evans preached simultaneous surrender and skirmish:

We must begin by really standing with the Iraqi people and defending their right to resist. I can remain myself against all forms of violence, and yet I cannot judge what someone has to do when pushed to the wall to protect all they love. The Iraqi people are fighting for their country, to protect their families and to preserve all they love. They are fighting for their lives, and we are fighting for lies. We must get out of Iraq now. They will rebuild their country, it will take time, a long time, but they cannot start until we are gone.

They love Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez but call Bush a war criminal. They properly "call for a world where all children can live in Peace" but ignore the slaughter of kids with candy though, as Mohammad at Iraq the Model says, "No words can describe the ugliness of the massacre, no words can wipe the tears of the mothers who lost their loved ones today and no words can describe the difference between those handing sweets to the children and those handing death and pain."

And now they're badgering wounded American soldiers. Inspired by a one-sided and illogical muck-raking Salon article alleging poor psychiatric treatment of injured troops, Code Pink brings its anti-war message to D.C.'s Walter Reed Hospital every Friday. The theme: "Mothers don't let your children grow up to be killers"

Gotta love the web.  I haven't thought about science all night.

      

Comments

[Janet Edens]

Thanks. I just about peed my pants, which is a danger for older ladies who sit at the computer too long because stuff is engaging and then they find photos like this one.

geezus. dan thought I was having a seizure.

[Bucket]

Hey!! Your dog's blind and my age too! I thought I was the only beagle of my kind. I am a little happier now that I have learned the existence of AWB...zzz....oops. Fell asleep there for a moment. I would like to hear more of the AWB, but for now, I must work on my donut groove.

[Pam]

Hey Bucket! Glad to see that you've stopped by to visit the Ancient Wonder Beagle (aka Magnolia). Mags is a few months shy of 18, so if you're into slightly older women, she's for you! Every now and then she needs a little dialysis (not really, but her kidneys aren't in such great shape these days) - but she still barks like a beagle. She's not a huge fan of pepper either. I think she'd be willing to support your candidancy for President. Perhaps she could be your campaign manager?