July 28, 2022

I received an update yesterday from my Audubon Bird site touting the recent advances in determining what birds eat.  Until recently determining what different species were eating has been cumbersome and required close observation of the berries or fish included in the diet.  Now biologists are turning to genetic tools to eliminate the guesswork of figuring out avian diets.  This builds on methods scientists have used for the past decade to solve other ecological questions, like which animals use a specific environment by looking for samples of DNA.  The process used for birds works like a barcode scanner in a grocery store.  Scientists match chunks of DNA found in avian poop to a species identification database to pinpoint the plants or animals the bird consumed.  Those snapshots are providing a fuller picture of the health needs of species from the tropics to the poles.  I was amused as the site designer had set the page so wherever you clicked on the page it would produce a splat of bird poop.

Delving deeper, I found another article on baby bird poop.  While the ground beneath the nests may be littered, the nests often contain little evidence of poop.  Diaper duty is one of the most unique and understudied behaviors among birds.  A nestling turns its rear toward the parent and ejects a floppy white bag of poop encased in mucous (a fecal sac).  The parent then either flies away to dispose of, or at times eats it.  Fecal sacs are only produced by the nestlings and are common among passerines and other “altricial” birds (requiring 24-hour parental care at birth).  Videos of fecal sacs abound but scientists know relatively little about them and only a handful of studies have been done on the sacs.  Evidence suggests the fecal sacs have several uses.  A fecal sac is essentially a diaper that allows the parents to pick up feces and remove it from the nest keeping the birds healthy by isolating them from any potential harm from the feces.  Occasionally birds eat the sacs, allegedly because the nestlings cannot completely digest the food they eat and there are still nutrients available in the sacs.  The third idea is that poop free nests might be less noticeable by predators that are drawn to the sight or smell.  As said, there needs to be more research (scientist for, “I do not know.”).

The last poop article declared that in the hierarchy of animal droppings, bird poop stands supreme.  Where most poop is buried under grass, bird poop lands all over the place, including on our freshly washed cars.  Bird poop begins in the cloaca where instead of urine, nitrogenous wastes are excreted in the form of whitish acid and are expelled along with the feces.  The volume of droppings depends on the size of the bird, but the varying shapes of splat are all physics.  “Most bird poop has the classic smatter, that heavy drop with a slight sperm-like tail.  Other familiar shapes include the double-execution shot, the spiral galaxy, Philip Baker Hall eyes, the crater, the radish rose, the melted Dali clock, the wax postage seal, the two-dollar taco, and the halfhearted runny egg.  As a collective, the drops take on a feeling of abstract expressionism, channeling the drip paintings of Jackson Pollock.”  While the designs may be interesting, the uric acid can corrode the paint on your car.  Personally, I have never thought of the bird poop found after parking under a tree to be an expressionist work of art.

Thoughts:  When I was in Jr. High our driveway was lined with a row of trees and it was not uncommon to come out in the morning and find one or two splats of poop deposited as the birds took flight in the morning.  One morning we found the entire car covered by dozens of fresh droppings.  While there must have been a large flock of birds roosting in the trees above our car, we deemed this the work of Eddy Eagle.  This has continued to be remembered as part of our family lore to this day and is invoked when one of us encounters a large splatter of poop.  Childhood memories shape us all.  Whether they are good or bad (or just odd), they affect our thoughts and impressions as adults.  That is why it is so important to nurture each child with a positive upbringing.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

July 27, 2022

Zena and I have been continuing to do our morning walks despite the excessive heat warnings.  We try to get out by at least 10 am (Melissa’s scheduled daily zoom call) to avoid the warnings which are typically from noon to 8 pm.  I check the temperature on my weather app and if the feels like is over 100F (33.7C) we try to shorten our time out.  We have found a runoff drain that is located about three-fourths of the way along the walk and this allows Zena a quick recuperative drink.  I have noticed that by the time we are through I am sweating profusely, and Zena tends to take a nap after I give her (and me) a cool drink of water.  When I came home from work yesterday, I felt exhausted and the two of us took a nap together.  After our walk today I began to wonder about the prolonged effects of heat (btw, I do not have heat exhaustion or stoke and quickly recover).

When I looked online, the Mayo Clinic defined heat exhaustion as a condition whose symptoms may include heavy sweating and rapid pulse stemming from your body overheating.  It is one of three heat-related syndromes, with heat cramps being the mildest and heatstroke being the most severe.  Heat exhaustion is caused by exposure to high temperatures, particularly when combined with high humidity (feels like), and strenuous physical activity.  Without prompt treatment, heat exhaustion can lead to the more life-threatening condition of heatstroke.  Heat exhaustion may develop suddenly or over time, especially with prolonged periods of exercise.  Symptoms include heavy sweating, faintness or dizziness, fatigue, weak or rapid pulse, low blood pressure on standing, cramps, nausea, and headaches.  The Mayo recommends if you have any of these symptoms to stop all activity and rest, move to a cooler place, and drink cool water or sports drink.  There was no mention of taking two aspirin and calling in the morning.

If fluids and rest do not resolve the symptoms, you will want to see a doctor.  With quick and effective treatment, most recover with little or no problems from heat stroke.  If heat exhaustion is treated promptly, the individual will usually be fully recovered within 24-48 hours.  As summer athletic camps continue and August practice days approach it is good to remember that heat illness during practice or competition is a leading cause of death and disability among US high school athletes.  An estimated 7.5 million students participate in high school sports annually.  A CDC study in the mid to late 2000’s reported high school athletes experience more than 9,000 heat-related injuries every year.   Football players are 10 times more likely to experience a heat-related injury, compared to other high school athletes.  Football players are also at a much higher risk of heat stress, accounting for about five percent of all heat-related visits to the emergency room between 2005 and 2009.  Since 1995 an average of three football players a year have died of heat stroke, and most of them were high schoolers. 

Thoughts:  Research shows that when signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke appear, there is a 100% survival rate when someone with a 104-degree core body temperature is immersed in cold water within 5 to 10 minutes of diagnosis.  That is why it is important to keep an ice bath on hand when practicing in excessive heat.  Whether playing games or working outside, excessive heat poses a real threat.  Coaches need to be aware that athletes are not being lazy.  Employers need to allow workers the option to take frequent breaks and provide plenty of fluids.  Heat illness is preventable, if you have the luxury of being able to stay out of or not work in the excessive heat.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

July 26, 2022

Last Thursday I decided to go to the local market to pick up a few items.  What I was really after were electronics.  The mouse on my mouse/keyboard combo was fritzing and driving me crazy.  I also needed to pick up a mouse for one of the work computers, as well as ink cartridges for my printer.  When I went into the market it was overcast but still temperatures were hovering around 100F (38C).  I got the items I needed and then putzed around looking for ways to kill time as much as to find whatever food items I wanted.  I sent a message asking Melissa if she needed anything but never heard the responding ping on my phone.  I purchased what I knew we needed and as I walked out of the market it began to rain.  This was not a light rain, but a steady shower.  It seemed everyone else was also slowly walking in the rain enjoying the coolness.  I popped open the door of the jeep and started to put my items in the back seat.  Then I looked down and saw I had stepped in a wad of gum someone had spit onto the hot pavement.  It took several minutes for me to scrape it off my shoe.  I am sure I am not the only one who hates this.

When I looked online, I found chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed.  Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating.  Although chewing gum can be traced back to civilizations around the world, the modernization and commercialization of gum mainly took place in the US.  The Indigenous Americans chewed resin made from the sap of spruce trees and the New England settlers picked up the practice.  John B. Curtis developed and sold the first commercial chewing gum in 1848, calling it The State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum.  A paraffin wax gum (a petroleum based product) was developed in 1850 and soon exceeded the spruce gum in popularity.  The chewer would often use a plate of powdered sugar to repeatedly dip the gum into to maintain its sweetness.  Today, flavor delivery is extended throughout chewing by timed release of different flavor components in the properties of the gum’s ingredients.  When the gum loses its flavor; people tend to spit it out.

Mayan farmers in the states of Campeche and Quintana Roo have become players in the global chewing gum market with their unique organic product marketed as Chicza Organic Rainforest Gum.  This (Vegan, Gluten Free, Kosher, Sustainable) biodegradable chewing gum was launched in 2009 and has since expanded to 26 European countries, Canada, and the US.  As members of Indigenous rainforest communities, Chicleros sustainably manage these ancient ecosystems as they harvest chicle for their livelihood.  According to the website, when you chew Chicza, you are supporting the livelihood of a Chiclero and his family.  In return, the Chiclero continues to preserve the forest where the family lives.  There are 56 cooperatives made up of roughly 2,000 Chicleros and their families (more than 10,000 Indigenous people) working in an area of 3.2 million acres of rainforest.  When disposed of, the gum takes about six months to degrade into a white powder.

Thoughts:  While gum is designed to be chewed and not swallowed, it is generally not harmful if it is swallowed.  The folk tale that swallowed gum will sit in your stomach for seven years before it can be digested is not true.  While the body cannot digest the gum it does pass it through your digestive system relatively intact.  When gum is spit out it can become a major waste problem.  A study in the United Kingdom estimates it costs as high as 400 million pounds (US$600 million) a year to clean up discarded gum.  Gum is a problem in the environment because it is not biodegradable, and it is notoriously difficult to clean up.  That is why I have refused to spit out my gum for several decades.  Perhaps I should just go biodegradable.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

July 23, 2022

I received a post from the Arklahoma Trout Unlimited yesterday about the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) Trout Management Program seasonal tagging event on Dry Run Creek this week.  This is part of a project to evaluate the growth and movement of trout on Dry Run Creek and Norfork Tailwater.  A total of 730 trout were collected, of which 85% were Rainbow Trout. There were 104 new trout tagged and 60 trout recaptured that were tagged during previous events.  Highlights included a 24 inch (60 cm) Rainbow Trout that was recaptured for the seventh time in three years, and a 30 inch (75 cm), 17 pound (7.7 kg) Brown Trout that has been recaptured 4 times and has grown 7 inches (17.5 cm) since it was tagged in 2020.  There will be one more tagging event this fall, which will conclude this three year project. The data collected on growth rates and trout movements will help to evaluate the current regulations on Norfork Tailwater and determine which environmental factors (e.g., flow, temperature, dissolved oxygen) may be driving trout movements.  Dry Run Creek is located next to a fish hatchery.

When I looked online, I found Norfork National Fish Hatchery is in the mountainous terrain of north Arkansas near Mountain Home.  It was established in 1955 and opened in 1957.  The hatchery is a result of the construction of dams on the White River, which altered the waters from a warm-water system to a cold-water system.  Norfork is the largest-producing federal hatchery and is the largest trout hatchery in the country.  The cold-water hatchery is used primarily to produce trout to restock the tailwaters below Norfork, Bull Shoals, and other dams.  The hatchery is responsible for raising three species of trout, rainbow (Oncorhynchus mykiss), brown (Salmo trutta), and cutthroat (Oncorhynchus clarkii) which are all members of the Salmonidae family.  The hatchery also provides trout to reservoirs and in cooperation with state game and fish agencies distributes fish throughout Arkansas and nearby states.  

In August 1989 the hatchery was offered a challenge grant to build a park along Dry Run Creek.  By that November the committee had recruited input from representatives of advocacy organizations for several disabilities and settled on design criteria of the park to be for those confined to wheelchairs and the blind.  Dry (Branch) Run Creek carries the hatchery effluent (32 million gallons/day) and has large numbers of large migrating trout, along with beaver, mink, muskrat, and other animals that use or live in the stream.  It is well shaded and has an easily navigated trail system. The main aspect of the park was an elaborate “ramp” to allow the disabled (and anyone else) to get to the water level. The AGFC accommodated the project by allowing the wheelchair bound to fish on a catch and release basis.  A total of US$91,000 was raised and construction began in August, with the dedication ceremony on October 28, 1990.  This catch and release stream is one of the top streams in America and designed to accommodate easy access fishing for the mobility impaired and youngsters under the age of 16. 

Thoughts:  Dry Run Creek starts at the hatchery and runs roughly 3/4 mile (1.2 km) to its confluence with the Norfork River.  With its specially designed walkways, ramps, and fishing platforms, the Dry Run Creek construction project completed in late 2010 made it even easier to navigate the waters by both land and water allowing the angler to stalk the huge trout living in the depths of Dry Run Creek.  The creek is not only catch and release, only artificial lures with a single, barbless hook are allowed to fish.  The park has allowed the hatchery to reach out to a fishing community normally restricted from our rivers and streams as well as spark the excitement of the next generation of fisher people.  Through fish stocking they have given the rest of the fishing community hours of enjoyment on these beautiful tail waters and throughout the state.  I would call it a win/win.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

July 22, 2022

Back in the Nation & World section of our local newspaper was an AP story about the reversal of an endangered species rule by a federal judge in California.  The rule was put in place in 2019 by the last administration to gut the landmark Endangered Species Act of 1973.  The reversal vacated that administration’s changes and restored protections for hundreds of species.  One of the overturned measures required regulators to not designate areas of critical habitat if there would be greater economic benefit from developing them.  The measure had forced the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to disprove speculative claims by mining, logging, and oil and gas industries who sought to extract resources from public lands.  The 48-page ruling stated this gave outside parties a major role in determining which areas were needed to be preserved for endangered species while undermining the authority of FWS.

When I looked online, I found critical habitat is a habitat area essential to the conservation of a listed endangered species, although the area need not actually be occupied by the species at the time it is designated.  This is a specific term and designation within the US Endangered Species Act (ESA).  Contrary to common belief, designating an area as critical habitat does not prevent that area from being developed, but only affects federal agency actions.  Such actions include federally funded activities or activities requiring a federal permit.  When a species is proposed for listing as endangered or threatened under the ESA, efforts are taken to identify specific areas that are essential to its conservation. These are the species’ critical habitat.  Unless deemed necessary for the species’ continued existence, critical habitat do not include the entire geographical area occupied by a species.  Department of Defense (DOD) lands are also exempt from being designated as critical habitat.  Both public and private land can be specified as critical habitat.

Before designating critical habitat, careful consideration must be given to the economic impacts, impacts on national security, and other relevant impacts of specifying any area as critical habitat.  An area may be excluded from critical habitat if the benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of designation, unless excluding the area will result in the extinction of the species concerned.  Identifying critical habitat informs landowners and the public which specific areas are important to a species’ conservation and recovery.  It also raises awareness of the habitat needs of imperiled species and focuses the efforts of conservation partners.  Critical habitat designations for threatened or endangered species can result in limitations on energy development (mining or oil drilling) that could disturb a vulnerable species, while the consultation rule and a separate rule on the scope of proposed federal actions help determine how far the government may go to protect the species.

Thoughts:  The administration’s actions in 2019 rolled back protections for the northern spotted owl, gray wolves, and other endangered species.  The current administration vowed to review these rules, and to reverse the decision to weaken enforcement of the century-old Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which made it harder to prosecute bird deaths caused by the energy industry.  The bird law reversal was among more than 150 business-friendly actions on the environment that are being reconsidered, including withdrawal last month of a 2020 rule that limited which lands and waters could be designated as places of critical habitat where imperiled animals and plants could receive federal protection.  Identifying endangered species and protecting critical habitat is not anti-business, it is pro-Earth.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

July 21, 2022

Last Monday Melissa sent an invitation to our sibs to join us this weekend for a hot vacation getaway.  This included swimming in ice cubes in the puppy pool, a large misting fan, and cases of antiperspirant and baby powder.  Surprisingly, no one took her up on the invitation.  Our area is currently on an eleven day streak of 100F+ (37.8C+) temperatures and 17 of the last 18 days have topped the 100F (37.8C) mark with the hottest day last Tuesday at 109F (42.8C).  After a cool down (99F/37.2C) tomorrow we are forecast for another 5 days in the 100’s.  This is not a localized phenomenon or even confined to the US, as the European countries are also getting hammered by high temperatures.  We have seen excessive heat warnings every day of July from noon to 8 pm and the nightly news is almost entirely focused on the temperatures.  The weather person has repeatedly said, “today is the hottest day on record.”

When I looked online, I found that scientists mark modern global record-keeping for temperatures at1880.  According to NASA, that is because earlier available climate data does not cover enough of the planet to get an accurate reading.  While the record of land-surface temperature predates 1880, the level of certainty before that year drops considerably.  People have been measuring the temperature since the time of Galileo (born February 15, 1564, Pisa, Italy – died January 8, 1642, Arcetri, Italy), and the modern mercury thermometer with a standardized scale was invented by Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit in 1714.  Before the mid-1800’s most formal weather stations were in Europe and the US but by 1880 they became expansive enough to provide a picture of global temperature.  It is not that weather data was not collected prior to 1880, but that most other older climate data has not been digitized.  We do not have an accessible record of how hot it was.

Millions of weather records sit in old weather offices and in ships’ logs around the world and researchers are continuously crowdsourcing efforts to dig up and digitize historic weather data.  Efforts are underway in Uzbekistan to digitize 18 million pages of hydrometeorological data from as far back as 1867, and similar efforts have begun in El Salvador, Malawi, and Tanzania.  The British East India Company not only traveled extensively between 1789 and 1834 but collected enormous amounts of weather data.  Philip Brohan, a climate scientist at the UK’s Meteorological (Met) Office, has worked to collate hundreds of thousands of those records and digitize them to be added to the pre-1880 global climate record.  As more historic data gets incorporated into the global record, the 1880 benchmark could be pushed back into the mid-19th century.  How hot the “hottest day” is means in the last 137 years.

Thoughts:  The official highest registered air temperature on Earth is 134.1F (56.7C), recorded on July 10, 1913, at Furnace Creek Ranch, in Death Valley in the United States.  The hottest day I experienced was in Egypt’s Eastern Sahara Desert.  We were camping at an excavation site and the director had gone into his tent during the afternoon.  He came out with a thermometer telling us it read 130F (54.5C).  As the thermometer came out of the tent’s shade, we saw it visibly climb to 135F (57.2C).  While this was not an official record, it was hot.  While I got used to the days being hot, the night temperature dropped to around 85F (25.5C).  The 50 degree shift meant I nearly froze every night.  While temperature is relative, and many humans have found ways to adapt to both extreme heat and cold, the human body has limits.  Normal internal temperature is 98.6F and above 104F (40 C) we can become hypothermic, leading to symptoms like rapid pulse, a change in mental status, a lack of sweating, faintness, and coma.  We can tolerate external heat of 140F (60C) for only about 10 minutes before suffering from hyperthermia.  Keep yourself and others (and animals) cool.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

July 20, 2022

We are gradually preparing for a trip to Europe this fall.  I say gradually because we have already been collecting things for two months and we still have a way to go to be complete.  Luckily, we had both renewed our passports several years ago so that was not a rush.  Many of the other items I never knew I needed.  Melissa has been talking with my sister and she has been providing tips to make travel easier.  We decided to travel light with only a carry on, but that means we need to pack wisely.  I have small bottles of over the counter medications (aspirin, acetaminophen, etc.), easy wash and dry clothes items, and compression bags to separate different types of things.  We checked to make sure our phone plan is covered for overseas and got the proper plug adaptors for charging.  The biggest difference was financial.  We have already paid for most things on the guided tour, but there will be other expenses.  That meant getting a credit card that does not charge foreign transfer fees.  While we were told it was not necessary, we also decided to take some foreign currency.  All the areas we are going use the euro.

When I looked online, I found the euro is the official currency of 19 out of the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) called the eurozone.  The name euro was officially adopted on December 16, 1995.  The euro is also used by the institutions of the EU, by four European microstates that are not EU members, the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, unilaterally by Montenegro and Kosovo, and outside Europe by several special territories of EU members.  The euro is the second-largest reserve currency as well as the second-most traded currency in the world after the US dollar, and one of the highest combined values of banknotes and coins in circulation in the world.  The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on January 1, 1999, replacing the former European Currency Unit.  Physical euro coins and banknotes entered circulation on January 1, 2002, making it the day-to-day operating currency of its original members.  By March 2002 it had completely replaced the former currencies.

The most obvious benefit of adopting a single currency is to remove the cost of exchanging currency, theoretically allowing businesses and individuals to complete previously unprofitable trades.  For consumers, banks in the eurozone must charge the same for intra-member cross-border transactions as purely domestic transactions for electronic payments (credit cards, debit cards, and ATM withdrawals).  Between December 1999 and December 2002, the euro traded below the US dollar, but since has traded at or above the US dollar.  The euro peaked on July 18, 2008, at US$1.60 but has since returned to near its original issue rate.  On July 13, 2022, the two currencies hit parity for the first time in nearly two decades due in part to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.  While the exchange rate will fluctuate, this makes it easier for me to consider the value of the euro to be that of the US dollar when I buy things on our trip.

Thoughts:  When I picked up our euro notes from the bank last night, I did not pay them much attention.  Melissa also purchased notes for my brother and his wife who will be on the trip with us.  When I got the notes out to divide them today, I noticed how small the euro is compared to a US dollar.  I also saw what appeared to be two different designs for the note.  I contemplated keeping the more colorful notes and giving the drab ones to my brother.  Then I flipped a note over and realized the drab was the backside of the same euro.  I was impressed by the first impression the colorful euro made but did not care for the drab euro.  The first impression another person makes is usually based on appearance, and often only on a limited set of characteristics.  When we base our likes and dislikes on how you dress, your hair style, or color of skin it is easy to get the wrong impression.  Sometimes you need to flip your viewpoint to understand we are more the same than different.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

July 19, 2022

I think it is only fitting after my rant on distracted driving on Saturday that I was unable to access my cell phone when I got into the car this morning.  I had been playing my crossword app until late last night and had run the battery well below the 20% minimum charge level.  I plugged it into the charger last night, but it was too low to accept a charge.  When I plugged it into the car charger it was still too low, and it refused to take a charge.  I took the phone inside to my local electronic guru (Melissa) and when she put the phone on her wireless charger the battery immediately began to accept the charge.  I grabbed my own wireless charger and brought it to work so I could use my phone there.  Of course, the wireless charger did not have the proper interface and would not work in the car.  However, since the recharge had begun with the wireless charger the car charger now worked and the battery began to take the charge.

When I looked online, I found wireless power transfer (WPT), wireless energy transmission (WET), or electromagnetic power transfer, is the transmission of electrical energy without wires as a physical link.  In a WPT system, a transmitter device driven by electric power from a power source generates a time-varying electromagnetic field which transmits power across space to a receiver device.  The receiver then gets power from the field and supplies it to an electrical load.  WPT technology can eliminate the use of the wires and batteries to increase the mobility, convenience, and safety of an electronic device for users.  WPT fall into two categories, near field and far-field.  In near field or non-radiative techniques, power is transferred over short distances by magnetic fields using inductive coupling between coils of wire, or by electric fields using capacitive coupling between metal electrodes.  Inductive coupling is the most widely used wireless technology and its applications include charging handheld devices like phones or implanted medical devices.

Inductive coupling is the oldest and most widely used wireless power technology and is virtually the only one used in commercial products.  Inductive charging stands are used for cordless devices in wet settings (toothbrushes and shavers) to reduce the risk of electric shock.  “Transcutaneous” recharging is also used in biomedical prosthetic devices implanted in the human body (pacemakers and insulin pumps) to avoid wires passing through the skin.  Inductive coupling is also used to charge electric vehicles and to charge or power transit vehicles (buses and trains).  The fastest growing use is wireless charging pads to recharge mobile and handheld wireless devices such as laptop and tablet computers, computer mouse, cellphones, digital media players, and video game controllers.  In the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) provided its first certification for a wireless transmission charging system in December 2017.  Ordinary inductive coupling can only achieve high efficiency when the coils are very close together and usually adjacent.  With our wireless phone chargers, the electromagnets lock together when adjacent.

Thoughts:  An important issue associated with wireless power systems is limiting the exposure of people and other living things to potentially injurious electromagnetic fields.  Cell phones emit electromagnetic radiation fields like any other wireless power system and are regulated and are required to meet federal standards.  Cell phones are often cited as dangerous because of how close they are to the body when used (i.e., next to your ear or head).  Each country determines which local regulatory body governs safety of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation, often referred to as radio frequency (RF), and allowable radiation levels for exposure vary.  I use my wireless phone without giving much thought to the consequences.  Others chose not to use these devices.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

July 18, 2022

As I came out of our subdivision toward the main road of our town last week, I noticed a car sitting in the entrance of the sandwich shop.  There were three local police cars and about six officers milling around in the parking lot.  At first, I did not pay much notice as this was a common lunch destination for the local police.  Then I noticed several other people milling around in the lot as well.  As I approached the intersection, I noticed the looky-loos were slowing down to look at what was happening.  Since the lot was at the stop sign that I took to turn into town, I was able to “legitimately” stop and look at the action.  It turned out the car was not just stopped at the entrance.  The front bumper and grill plate had been torn off and was lying about a yard (1 meter) in front of the vehicle.  It made me wonder how distracted you need to be to sit in a lot with your front end sticking out onto the highway while another car is bearing down on your vehicle.

When I looked online, I found distracted driving accounts for 421,000 injuries and 3,000 fatalities each year.  At any given moment there are an average of 600,000 US drivers talking on phones, texting, or using electronic devices while driving.  Texting is widely considered to be one of the most dangerous activities as it involves all three types of distraction: visual, manual, and cognitive.  While the average text message takes less than 5 seconds to type and send, Distraction.gov states this is sufficient time for your vehicle to have traveled the length of a football field at 55 mph (88 kph).  When you take your eyes off the road to read or send a text, it is as if you have gone that distance blindfolded.  To reduce distracted driving as the result of cell phones many states have laws to regulate cell phone use while driving.

In Arkansas, using your phone to text, look up information on the internet, or check social media while driving is illegal and carries fines from $25 to $500.  The wide range of fines is provided to give law enforcement officers a lot of latitude when assigning fines, and second offenses are generally doubled.  You fine could also be doubled if the violation caused a collision.  Rules for cell phone use vary based on location and age.  Under Arkansas law, wireless interactive communication while driving is banned for all drivers.  While texting is banned, you can talk on a cell phone while driving unless you are driving through a school or work zone.  You can still use you phone in these areas if you are in hands-free mode.  In most cases, Arkansas’ texting and driving law is a primary law, which means the police can pull you over just for violating that rule.  However, restrictions on cell phone use in school and work zones are secondary laws.  In other words, you cannot be pulled over for talking on the phone in a work zone unless you were committing another violation.

Thoughts:  When a driver ahead of me is acting erratic my first thought is always, “get off the phone!”  Nearly every time as I pass, I see the person is indeed talking or texting on their phone.  While we know how easy it is to be distracted by a cell phone, research says the most common distraction is getting “lost in thought.”  When a driver’s mind drifts away from the task of driving it can result in an accident, and daydreaming accounts for a significant percentage of distracted driving fatalities.  Perhaps we should have paid more attention when the driving instructor tried to teach us to keep our hands at “ten and two”.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

July 16, 2022

When I started my patio garden in earnest two years ago, I planted watermelon and cantaloupe with the strawberries along the back side of the house.  The strawberry plants have done very well and filled the plot I put them in.  Sadly, I get few strawberries and lose half of those to the birds.  The watermelon produced loads of blooms but only 4-5 set, and all but one got blossom rot and died before they were more than 3 inches (9 cm) in diameter.  The lone survivor grew into an oblong gourd that only ripened on one end.  The cantaloupe did even worse.  I planted a second set after the first ones died and those also died within two weeks.  I did not grow any melons last year but being the eternal optimist, I purchased another cantaloupe as a replacement plant this year.

When I looked online, I found the North American cantaloupe (Cucumis melo var. reticulatus) common in the US, Mexico, and some parts of Canada, is a different variety of C. melo.  This is also called a muskmelon and has a reticulated (“net-like”) peel rather than the smooth green shells of the European cantaloupe (Cucumis melo subspecies melo).  It is a round melon with firm, orange, moderately sweet flesh.  Cantaloupe range in weight from 1 to 11 pounds (0.5 to 5 kilograms).  The name cantaloupe was derived in the 18th century via French cantaloup from The Cantus Region of Italian Cantalupo near Rome after the fruit was introduced there from Armenia.  The cantaloupe most likely originated in a region from South Asia to Africa and was later introduced to Europe.  By 1890 cantaloupe had become a commercial crop in the United States.  Originally, the name cantaloupe referred only to the non-netted, orange-fleshed melons of Europe, but today the name may refer to any orange-fleshed melon of the C. melo species.  The state of California grows 75% of the cantaloupes produced in the US.

I had weeded the patio beds before I had planted the tomatoes, but it took another two weeks for me to purchase the bale of straw to mulch them.  During that time the heat had killed two of my tomatoes and I had replaced one with the cantaloupe plant I mentioned.  I was able to re-weed and get mulch around the six Cherokee purples, but the heat kept me from venturing out to finish the job.  I continued to water the tomato and cantaloupe at the far end of the bed and even though they were completely overgrown with weeds, several small tomatoes had set and there were numerous flowers on the cantaloupe.  Today I decided to take the plunge and weed and mulch this last area.  To my surprise there were two small cantaloupes on the vines hidden under all the weeds.  Perhaps what I had needed to do two years ago was ignore the melons.  Probably not, as that does not seem to work with anything else.   

Thoughts:  Many believe the best cantaloupes come from Rock Ford, Colorado.  G. W. Swink grew the first melons beginning in 1887 and the Rocky Ford Cantaloupe was soon being distributed to distant local markets.  By 1896, train car loads of the famous cantaloupe were being shipped to markets as far as New York.  Their website informed me how to choose a ripe melon.  First, check to see if the netting on the melon is yellow.  Then look at the area where the melon was attached to the vine (the slip).  If you touch it with your finger and there is no stem left, it was ripe and ready to pick.  While my melon thrived even as I neglected it, this may have been the result of the plant being shaded from the intense sun.  Wild fruits and grains grow without human intervention.  However, they are smaller and are not as perfect looking like their cultivated hybridized cousins.  Even the vegetables from my garden are often eaten after first removing the “pecked at” parts.  Being willing to look beyond outward appearance to see the inner value is important for humans as well as crops.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.