Random thoughts

[ArtAppreciation]

View attachment 4384311
Funny...I don't remember dying my skin green and picking up shears....

Can anybody direct this demon barber to Fleet Street, please?

This is Edward scissor hands
He had a way with the ladies
Even my mom
Crushed on Johnny Depp and she is picky like me

 

[1345864]

This is Edward scissor hands
He had a way with the ladies
Even my mom
Crushed on Johnny Depp and she is picky like me

Never did see that movie but I've heard of it. The Demon Barber is based on a guy named Sweeney Todd who was a nasty fellow in Victorian era England who hacked up a bunch of people and made them into meat pies which he sold in his butcher shop. His trade was that of a barber, but when the razor came out....well, let's just say he took a little more off than "just the top."

They made a play after it called "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." If I'm not mistaken, they even made a movie starring Johnny Depp in the title role.

 

[rbkwp]

dident know i was so spoilt

Unlimited Photos Unlimited Videos Unlimited Webcams

Increased Site Speed 10,000 Private Conversations Profile Enhancements

Priority Support No Advertisements Much, much more!

 

[rbkwp]

SPECIES STORIES
Green basilisk lizard
When threatened, these lizards will drop from a tree into a body of water and sprint upright across the surface for more than 15 feet. Their long toes have fringes of skin that unfurl as their feet slap the water.
MORE ABOUT GREEN BASILISKS

SQUID VID

How scientists got that amazing giant squid video
The first video of a giant squid in U.S. waters gives scientists a better understanding of how the little-understood species hunts.
READ THE STORY

KIN FOR DIN
Meet the shape-shifting baby amphibians that become cannibals
Some young salamanders and frogs are able to grow bigger heads and "fangs," which enable them to eat their kin and grow faster.
LEARN MORE

 

[rbkwp]

well known fact
WW it seems
exactly how some humans behave

Feral pigs are ruining ecosystems across 35 states and hunting is making it worse



The USDA thinks it has a plan to contain them.

 

[rbkwp]

Wildlife expert Nick Mooney says eagle windfarm deaths higher than reported
A wildlife expert says it is not known how many threatened eagles are being killed by windfarms in Tasmania.

The bee industry is growing despite the tough challenges for beekeepers
It's been a hard year for honey producers around the country but that isn't deterring newcomers to the industry.

 

[rbkwp]

related to foraging
just happened to come across
Endangered Resin
In parts of Africa and India, wild Boswellia sacratrees produce frankincense, an ancient, aromatic resin that, for millennia, has been extracted from the sap of their trunks by foragers. Now, the population of trees responsible for this sweet, woody scent could vanish in 50 years as a result of exploitative tapping practices.
READ MORE →


In 50 Years, Frankincense Could Be Snuffed Out
The ancient resin, used for everything from aromatherapy to Catholic ceremonies, is being overtapped.
BY EVAN NICOLE BROWNJULY 02, 2019

Trees being tapped for frankincense resin in Tigray, Ethiopia. COURTESY FRANS BONGERS
In This Story

DESTINATION GUIDE
Ethiopia
IN PARTS OF AFRICA AND India, wild Boswellia sacra trees produce frankincense, an ancient, aromatic resin extracted from the sap of their trunks. Known for its biblical significance—frankincense was one of the three gifts of the Magi (along with myrrh and gold)—the fragrant material is used in perfumes and incense for cooking and religious ceremonies.

For millennia, frankincense foragers have stripped the papery bark of Boswellia trees several times each year to get tears of the hardened resin to appear. Now, the population of trees responsible for this sweet, woody scent are steadily declining as a result of exploitative tapping practices. Two other factors—agricultural clearing in the woodlands where these deciduous trees thrive, and disturbances by longhorn beetles (which lay their eggs within the bark)—are compounding the problem.

A new study by Dutch and Ethiopian ecologists, recently published in the journal Nature Sustainability, asserts that over the next 20 years, frankincense production worldwide could be cut in half. The researchers predict that 90 percent of the world’s Boswellia trees will disappear by 2070.


“Current management of Boswellia populations is clearly unsustainable,” lead researcher Frans Bongers of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, said in a statement. “Our models show that within 50 years, populations of Boswellia will be decimated, and the declining populations mean frankincense production is doomed.”

A heavily tapped Boswellia tree. COURTESY FRANS BONGERS
RELATED
German Researchers Are Investigating the Science Behind Soft-Pretzel Scent
With help from a dedicated panel of pretzel-smelling experts.
READ MORE

The team of scientists studied an area in northwest Ethiopia, which kisses the Blue Nile and contains a smattering of both tapped and untapped Boswellia trees.In their study, they detailed their method for predicting the lifespan of viable frankincense resin in the coming decades. After analyzing the growth-ring data of more than 20,000 trees, the ecologists found that over 75 percent of the populations they studied lacked small (read: young and untapped) trees, and that these specimens have not regenerated naturally for decades.

Measuring growth and seed production revealed that those trees consistently tapped for their fragrant resin “produce seeds that germinate at only 16 percent while seeds of trees that had not been tapped germinate at more than 80 percent,” according to Environmental News Network.

Moving forward, ecologists suggest that these trees and the gummy, amber-colored sap they generate can be protected by regulating how often they’re tapped, and by better land management generally. It takes Boswelliasaplings up to 10 years to mature, so preventing insects, wildfires—and humans—from impeding their growth is paramount.

 

[rbkwp]

in case
you missed it
be all hell let loose if even one pet animal of the British lost its life thru a tick
supreme animal lovers they are


As Ticks Spread, New Disease Risks Threaten People, Pets and Livestock
One tick that a new study shows is endangering cattle in Virginia is able to clone itself, making colonizing new locations that much easier.
Nina Pullano
BY NINA PULLANO
JUL 5, 2019

Lone star ticks have been ranging farther north and west in recent years. When they bite, the aggressive ticks can spread diseases and even make humans develop a severe allergy to red meat. Credit: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

It didn't take long for one of America's newest tick species to find Thomas Mather.

Mather, an entomologist who specializes in the tiny disease-carriers, had taken a team of scientists to Staten Island, New York, in hopes of collecting at least one Asian longhorned tick.

They were all of 50 feet from their car and had just unfurled a banner of white fabric, known as a tick drag, when the first longhorned tick landed in the fabric. Dragging a nearby patch of grass with the fabric, more longhorned ticks appeared. On a grass blade, Mather spotted an unusual clump and discovered dozens of tiny, seed-like tick larvae waiting for a victim to brush past.

If the Asian longhorned tick was unheard of in America just a few years earlier, it wasn't a stranger here anymore.



Sign up for InsideClimate News Weekly
Our stories. Your inbox. Every weekend.

I agree to InsideClimate News' Terms of Service and Privacy Policy



Everybody, soon or late, sits down to a banquet of consequences.

 

[rbkwp]

;;;;
Can jaguar tourism save Bolivia’s fast dwindling forests?

Can jaguar tourism save Bolivia’s fast dwindling forests?

 

[rbkwp]

smile
i know many of us are not fond of bats but.. ha
likeluy more harmless than us humans

On a wing and a prayer? Evidence for ways to conserve bats (commentary)

On a wing and a prayer? Evidence for ways to conserve bats (commentary)

 

[rbkwp]

Trump’s USDA Suspends Honeybee Survey

bees and insects
leave them alone you m/fs
been watching sopranos too long mebeeee

 

[rbkwp]

KNOBBY - The Undie Club
Undies delivered monthly! Ultra light, super soft and bloody comfy.



ps
just heard its recc0omended you wash your hands in WARM WATER
for
20 seconds now

FFS FFS FFS

 

[rbkwp]

Another summer, another run of toxic algal blooms

Last year—largely due to farm runoff—the number of algal blooms in U.S. lakes tripled.

By H. Claire Brown | Read more

 

[rbkwp]

Hadassah Medical Center

Mahmoud Taluli, 44, suffers from epidermodysplasia verruciformis, which has been nicknamed "tree man" syndrome because the large growths can resemble tree bark. The extremely rare condition is caused by the immune system's inability to fight off the ubiquitous human papillomavirus, resulting in painful gray and white growths on the hands and other parts of the body. The condition has beendocumented only a handful of times around the world. Taluli has had four operations since 2017, with doctors removing thousands of lesions from his hands and other parts of his body. The team will operate for a fifth time later this summer "The surgery has completely changed my life," he said in response to questions submitted by email. "I no longer need to cover my hands when I go out in public."

be very thankful huh

 

[rbkwp]

brighter note

PHOTOGRAPH BY YVA MOMATIUK AND JOHN EASCOTT, MINDEN PICTURES, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
Wolves are making a comeback. Here’s where to see them
Grab your binoculars and track thriving populations in Yellowstone, Denali, and beyond.

i think a lot can be achieved when people offer there skills

PHOTOGRAPH BY MIKE MAO, EARTHWATCH
Does voluntourism help? Ask these questions before you go
Not all volunteer opportunities are created equal. Learn how to choose ones that make a positive impact.

 

[rbkwp]

TAKE YOUR TIME
How to Shoot Stellar Slow-Motion Video on Your Phone
BY BOONE ASHWORTH
Manipulate time and space to get the most out of your phone's camera.

PERCEPTION
Why We See the Colors of Faces Differently Than Other Things
BY ADAM ROGERS
Remember the Dress? That viral image revealed some of the oddness of color vision. Now scientists are finding more quirks in how people see faces.

MINIBONDS
How Blockchain Could Help Roll Out Berkeley’s Next Fire Truck
BY GREGORY BARBER
Berkeley is considering a plan to finance big projects with "minibonds" that would be sold, and interest credited, via a blockchain system.

 

[rbkwp]

This Giant Invasive Flower Can Give You Third-Degree Burns

The giant hogweed is set to bloom just around the Fourth of July every year—and every year, it spreads a little further.

 

[rbkwp]

non human misbehaviour


NAVIGATE DOWN
CATEGORIESNAVIGATE DOWN
NEWSLETTERSNAVIGATE DOWN
https://www.pri.org/sections/health
Counterfeit alcohol, sometimes containing jet fuel or embalming fluid, is a growing concern for tourists abroad
The Conversation

July 11, 2019 · 3:00 PM EDT

By Monica H. Swahn

A man drinks whiskey from the bottle while in the sea at a beach in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, May 17, 2010.

Credit:
Eduardo Munoz/ReutersThe news about the tragic deaths of several American tourists in the Dominican Republic in May 2019 has created an outcry and a media frenzy. As of June 30, there were at least nine deaths with similar circumstances in the past few months. The FBI and Dominican authorities are investigating, and one theory is that alcohol was the cause of these deaths.

The FBI has reportedly taken samples of alcohol for testing, and the hotels where some tourists died have removed alcohol from the minibars in the hotel rooms. But the concerns are growing, and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on June 30, 2019, recommended that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should aid the ongoing investigation.

Related: Finland's change in alcohol policy puts it out of step with other Nordic countries

Many may find it puzzling that alcohol, particularly adulterated or counterfeit alcohol, could possibly have caused these deaths. But some experts seem to agree that the symptoms and circumstances fit the indicators of deathscaused by adulterated alcohol.

As a professor of public health, I need to note that research now shows that no amount of alcohol is considered safe in terms of your health, and that alcohol is linked to many cancers and heart disease and is also a key contributor to traffic crashes, violence and suicide. Even so, counterfeit or illegally made alcohol brings a new level of risk, as it is not monitored for safety and may include added ingredients, such as methanol, known to be extremely harmful to health.

Fake, illegal and adulterated
Thanks to rigorous regulation of alcohol, Americans may not see or hear much about counterfeit alcohol in the US, but in many other parts of the world counterfeit or “illegal” alcohol is more common and a growing public health concern.

Counterfeit or illegal alcohol is part of a larger category described as “unrecorded” alcohol because it is not recorded in official statistics and not monitored for quality or for taxation. The World Health Organization estimates that 25% of the alcohol consumed worldwide is unrecorded.

Related: Libyans risk poisoning for a sip of illegal hooch in their dry nation

Counterfeit alcohol is typically meant to resemble legitimate alcohol, such as finer wines and expensive spirits, in terms of its look, taste and packaging. But there are also other types of alcohol that are typically considered illegal, such as “moonshine” or “bootleg” alcohol, or simply alcohol that is made under less rigorous processes and that have added ingredients to make the alcohol faster or cheaper.

One of the key aspects of counterfeit or illegal alcohol is that producers distill the alcohol more cheaply and quickly using dangerous shortcuts in the process, such as adding water and methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, which is highly toxic. Methanol is not intended for human consumption and can cause liver damage, blindness and death if consumed. Earlier this year, toxic alcohol killed at least 154 people in India because it was tainted with methanol.

Alcohol that has special ingredients added is usually described as adulterated alcohol. Sometimes, those who make counterfeit alcohol will add ingredients not only to make it cheaper but also to improve the taste or strengthen the high. The added ingredients may vary.

For example, in Kenya, one of the popular illegally brewed types of alcohol is called Chang-aa or “Kill me quick.” That is because it usually has a very high alcohol concentration and is often also adulterated with harmful ingredients such as pilfered jet fuel or spiked with embalming fluid from mortuaries. This type of alcohol is usually consumed in the urban slums among those vulnerable and poor who want the cheapest type of alcohol with the biggest “high.”

Si

1. Don’t drink homemade or counterfeit “booze.”
   
   
2. Don’t overdo it.
   
   
3. Don’t compete with locals and their brew.
   
   
4. Don’t let your drink out of sight.
   

Also, there are some tips for spotting fake alcohol by the Trading Standards Institute in the UK. It is key to remember to pay attention to the place, price, packaging and product, the group says. Most importantly, if the alcohol tastes or smells bad, don’t drink it.

The medical and public health community is growing more concerned about the dangerous effects of alcohol, as new research shows that there is no safe amount of alcohol. That said, if you choose to drink, especially while abroad, make sure the alcohol you drink is the real thing, and keep it shaken or stirred, but not poisoned.

Monica H. Swahn is a professor of epidemiology and public health at Georgia State University.
Counterfeit alcohol, sometimes containing jet fuel or embalming fluid, is a growing concern for tourists abroad

 

[ArtAppreciation]

I secretly think that it would be really fun to tase people as soon as they utter the words "No offense, but..."
Or "Now, don't take this the wrong way, but...."

I would like to tase them right after the word BUT
I bet there are countries that would let me do this

 

[rbkwp]

was
captivated by David A's information on spiders WW and there magical webs cool