Disappearing Bees October 28, 2007 08:28:18 PM
Unless you follow the news, this may sound a bit obscure, but for some mysterious reason, bees are disappearing! Specifically I'm talking about honey bees, the natural and most important component to large scale pollination. This topic keeps coming up on various news stations, and quite frankly it's really starting to freak me out. I mean with out bees doing their job, many crops like tomatoes, blueberries, and lots of other produce we take for granted at the grocery store won't be able to cross germinate, so they won't diversify, they'd only be able to reproduce with neighboring plants generation after generation. In human terms thats the equivalent to inbreeding. Each subsequent generation would be less and less resistant to contaminants, insects, and disease. Crops would get harder and harder to grow, get very expensive in the stores, and ultimately become scarce.
This is such a bizarre crisis, I really don't think people realize how big this problem is at this very moment! According to some bee keepers across the united states, 2/3 of all their bees have just vanished this summer! Like not necessarily die, but just, not return to the hive. Bees can normally fly up to 2 miles from the hive and still be able to find their way back. Farmers are saying that they just barely made it through this season of crops, they have no idea what will happen next year. TWO freaken THIRDS! Gone!
This is so big that the US dept of Agriculture has immediately dispatched several dedicated research groups and has put several university's top scientists on them. Experts are estimating that at the current rate of bee hive death, there will be none left by 2035. We would be forced to eat only grains and corn. Other fruits and vegetables would become rare delicacies and have to be grown in controlled green houses. To me this just seems like another scary sci-fi movie coming to life.
So I don't have any idea what I think is the direct cause for this, but I do know that we humans have taken this planet for granted so much that we have done nothing but completely fuck things up since we could walk upright. Global warming may be denied by every politician with a 2k+ salary, but the facts are facts. There is more CO2 in the atmosphere now than there ever was, this has been proven by atmospheric ice sampling and correlation shows us that the more CO2 is present, the higher the average climate temp will be.
Honestly, I think the bees going away is yet another sign. It's been said so many times that animals are more in tune with the planet. Sure we were given the 'gift' of reason, the ability to open our eyes to the hows and whys, but at the same time, we've lost touch with nature. So if this is a sign, what is it trying to tell us? Are we on the brink of another global catastrophe, is another ice age just a century away?
Industrial Blvd Closure August 29, 2007 08:33:35 AM
Dear god is traffic bad around here! In the mornings, if you want to head in the Nashville direction, you might as well just spend your previous night at your destination because the traffic gets sooo backed up!
I normally don't have to deal with the traffic that much because my work is pretty close to the road I live on, I only live 8 miles from work. Well, a new Target is being built on the road I take to work, and they recently closed that road, DEAR GOD! It's making traffic every where else completely miserable! I can't find a way to work! I live only 10min from work, and I can't even get there in an hour!!!!!! I've tried all 3 other ways across to LaVergne, it doesnt matter, they are all back logged, even the back roads are messed up!
Great Day at Work August 07, 2007 09:55:12 PM
I'm in such a good mood that I just have to talk about this again. I love Schneider Electric! And Square-D just rock0rs so many s0x0rs! Sure some work days can get somewhat stressful now that I'm actually doing work, but hey, I'm an engineer in the electrical field, it's gonna happen. Anyways, yesterday was culture day, its basically an excuse to waist half a work day. Like at around lunch time, we get to eat all these foods from all around the world, like who ever wanted to participate made up a little booth in the conference room, had a little poster about their country and had some indigenous food. There was way too much too eat, and of course I filled up on Japans dishes, sushi!
Today, the guy I'm working with on the service van project took us out to lunch. I guess what they say about people in the marketing dept is true, they love taking people out to lunch and spending company money. Today we also finally found out our relocation assignments, finally we get our own cubes! Mine is in a real good location, hehe, away from all my managers, pretty big too!
Also today, I received confirmation that I get to go back to Tech for their job fair this fall! Now I'm on the other side of the table. This is so exciting. I'll get to see everybody again, visit Khine, and since it will be a business trip, I can expense everything to my AmEx card....sweeeeeet :-)
Seriously, some of my graduating peers found jobs that pay a little more than me, but you know what? I'd rather be paid slightly less and work at a job I look forward to going to everyday, than work somewhere for more and hate it. There isn't one person I dislike at sq-d, and that includes my managers. The guys I was hired with are all pretty sweet too. I am just so glad I picked this job over Voith (which I didnt get anyways...phew)
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COMMENT: It means a lot to me that you went to see her, Danny =) Drove up 3 hours in snow and rain. I wish I could have been there. And thanks for all the pics you took. Lol..P was surprised that you took a pic of her bathroom. But I told her I asked you to take pics of everything. Oh yeah, she gave me a tour of her room from her webcam just a few min ago. I saw your Stewie drawings =) And *ahem* the naked woman.