Bats

So to celebrate Halloween, the scariest season of the year, here’s a quick Q & A about vampire bats in Trinidad: (Q) Since vampires drink blood, doesn’t that mean they are evil? (A) No, of course not. Are humans evil for eating meats that contain blood? Look at the image on the left carefully, the only teeth vampires possess are incisors and canines. They have no chewing teeth. They couldn’t chew food even if they wanted to. Their diet isn’t one of choice.

(Q) Isn’t it true that vampire bats transmit rabies? (A) Only if they are infected with the virus. The female is this photograph, for instance, is very likely a healthy individual. Here’s the thing: rabies emergence in vampire populations is dependent upon population control within roosts. It must be remembered that the vampire is a natural component of Trinidad’s ecology; the effort of “control” is always to target ’problem’ vampire individuals, not vampire bats on the whole.

(Q) How do we know when we are dealing with ‘problem’ vampires? (A) When vampire bats start to attack livestock on a regular basis, or more urgently, human beings, then we are dealing with a 'problem-vampire population.’ The good news: Trinidad has a century of experience strategically reducing ‘problem-vampire bat' numbers in an ingeniously scientific way that only targets and affects a particular roost of the vampire species, Desmodus rotundus, not the species itself. The results: (1) Humans and livestock reman safe from rabies infection (2) Vampire populations remain healthy—very important. (3) No harm is caused to any of Trinidad’s other nearly 70 species of helpful bats that may happen to be roosting nearby

(Q) What about Tobago? (A) Vampires do not occur on Tobago, and rabies infection has never been reported there.

(Q) How do we prevent rabies re-emergence in Trinidad? (A) Well, we’ve been doing it for the last 80 years! There has not been a single, human-related rabies transmission in Trinidad, for 80 years. This is a better record than Europe!

(Q) How was this achieved? (A) This post would be too long for a proper explanation, but a very interesting historical account can be found in the book: “Bats of Trinidad of Trinidad and Tobago—A Field Guide and Natural History” (Gomes and Reid, 2015). The short answer: All the Government needs to do is continue to follow historically tried and tested protocols. And the protocols are extremely precise too; other species of bats (all helpful) are not harmed in the process. This is a win, win, for all concerned. Now, here’s the crucial question all citizens should be asking: Is the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, still funding the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries’ tried and successfully tested protocols that has prevented rabies infection among humans in Trinidad for the last 80 years? We certainly hope so, for Trinidad’s history clearly demonstrates that rabies is 100% preventable!

HAPPY LITTLE THINGS

WHEN...

The eight ball rolls into
the corner pocket

My Word Wars score for a
single turn is 50+


My 7 speed beach cruiser
changes gears smoothly


Hummingbirds visit
my feeder


Gentle rain comes down
in southern Arizona

Defeating the Law of Diminishing Returns

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: John 3:8

If I could help you with your coding language... But then, I'm not one with mathmatic mental gymnastics; let alone interperet formal language.

If I could draw, but then again, no. Still I'm better off than my father, who once told me, "I can't even trace." I laughed. He said, "I'm serious!"

What is it that I bring to the table of our love? I wonder sometimes. But then an untrained writer like myself can scarce take in, a love, that has lasted longer than marriages.

There seems to be no reason but there is often Suessical rhymn. I just know I don't grow tired of discussing the validity of an oxford comma or arguing about grammar until one of us exclaims, "Oh fuck!" And the other one bursts into raucous laughter.

What is it that keeps us saddled to one another when times get rough and tempers flare? It's a spiritual who done it?

Offbeat July Celebrations

July is a time of celebration. In the US July 4th commemorates the adoption of our nation's Declaration of Independence. Independence Day is celebrated with pyrotechnics, parades, and barbecues. There are some offbeat July holidays you may not be aware of such as, Sidewalk Egg Frying Day, also on July 4. Oatman, AZ has an annual solar frying contest. Besides eggs, try making solar s’mores with a box, foil, and some sun. It’s a delicious way to enjoy the heat. This can be a sweet follow-up to your egg frying.

Experience the grandeur of the annual Days of '47 Parade, one of the largest and oldest parades in the country. Cheer on the colorful floats, marching bands, equestrian units, and cultural performances as they make their way through downtown Salt Lake City and eventually to Liberty Park where a fireworks display can be viewed. This day commemorates the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into Utah’s Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. Pioneer Day is also celebrated in many parts of Idaho, where it is commonly known as Celebration Day. Family reunions are popular on or around July 24.

In 1984 Ronald Reagan deemed July National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of this month National Ice Cream Day. Other offbeat holidays include July 1: National Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day July 2: World UFO Day July 6: International Kissing Day July 8: International Town Criers Day July 10: Teddy Bear Picnic Day July 11: Slurpee Day & World Population Day July 13: National French Fries Day July 14: National Nude Day & Bastille Day July 17: Yellow Pig Day July 19: National Flitch Day July 22: Doonerism Spay July 26: National Talk in an Elevator Day July 27: Bagpipe Appreciation Day July 29: National Lasagna Day

Self Worth

If you have a bank account with money in it but you're unaware of your positive balance you can't utilize the funds. Self worth similarly can't be used if we don't hold ourselves in high esteem.

Take a few minutes to write a short description of yourself. How did you describe yourself? What value did you place oñ aspects of yourself? Is your description generally positive, balanced or negative?

Self worth or the sense of one's own value or worth as a person, evolves into a sense of self-esteem or self-respect. Low self-esteem can have an affect on various aspects of a person. A person with low self esteem probably says a lot negative thing about themselves.

If you're experiencing clinical depression, low self-esteem can be a by-product of your depressed mood. Having a negative view of oneself is a symptom of depression. So is feeling very guilty and worthless almost all the time.

So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:31 NIV The Bible indicates that it is proper, even necessary, to love yourself. Such love includes caring for yourself, respecting yourself, and having a sense of self-worth. I started writing this post because I've been reading up on self esteem I know it's a tired subject so I've tried to present it in a new light.

For fear of sounding glib, I will share with you that I struggle with clinical depression. It is sometimes difficult for me, as a member of the LGBT community, to call myself a Christian. In my opinion it is easier to come out as pansexual, demisexual or any kind of sexual than to call yourself a gay Christian. This has been my experience and bias.

Although the Bible does not include a specific command to love yourself, the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” indicates that a reasonable degree of self-love and self-respect is normal and beneficial. Oh God help me to hold a high opinion of myself. This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. William Shakespeare

Dream On

Have you ever wondered what a strange, odd or just plain silly dream meant? I’ve had a few weird recurring dreams. Some I can only recall random pieces of, others flow through my brain like a mental movie (complete with rolling credits!)

I woke up feeling both exhilarated and sexually frustrated after having phone sex with Wonder Woman. The face of a rotary dial phone literally appeared on my genitals. She lovingly put her finger in each number’s designated hole and slowly turned.

Perhaps your dreams have been boring lately. If so, choose to expose yourself to new experiences throughout the day. Dreaming allows our subconscious to process the day’s events. I work in a call center and watch superhero movies. New stimuli will make your dreams become exciting once again.

Regurgitating one’s subconscious on paper may seem tedious or even ridiculous, but many a midsummer night’s dream or winter’s tale have given birth to narration. Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote Kubla Khan immediately on waking from a dream. This poem is considered one of the most famous examples of Romanticism in English poetry. A copy of its manuscript is a permanent exhibit at the British Museum in London. Dreams can inspire spectacular writing.

C. S. Lewis said that the famous Narnia story, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, came to him from a single picture he received in a dream of a faun carrying an umbrella and parcels through a snowy wood. Mr. Tumnus is that faun. Whether writing for pleasure or profit, your dream log could be a gateway to published imagination.

Dreams can be recorded in a paper diary (as text, drawings, paintings, etc.) or via an audio recording device (as narrative, music or imitations of auditory experiences from the dream). Many websites offer the ability to create a digital dream diary.

Oscar Wilde said, "They've promised that dreams can come true, but forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams too." Even those dreams that wake us up with our heart pounding and beads of sweat on our forehead can be used as a tool. If you’re like me, those shimmering images won’t linger long in the light of day. However, there are exceptions. As a young boy, L. Frank Baum had nightmares about being chased by a scarecrow. It would almost catch him and then collapse in a heap. By the time Baum wrote "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," he was 44.

Stephen King is driven to tell stories as a way of allaying his many fears. He has addressed several over the years, including clowns, in It. In an interview with UK reporter Stan Nicholls, King said: “Like the ideas for some of my other novels, that [the inspiration for Misery] came to me in a dream.”

In Anno Domini 2022

These were a few of my favorite things.