06-10-2011, 04:30 AM
Hi-
In case anyone wondered if I fell into a puka or moved back to Alaska, no, my long silence on Punaweb is due to a combination of moving out to the construction site (where there is no internet service) in January and being swamped with work there. Hundreds of cultivars including dozens of trees have been planted and I am on the home stretch with finish work in the house.
Last night at practice a friend from Puna Men's Chorus mentioned Alaskana posting about his returning to Alaska, prompting me to come to HPP (where I have internet access) and log on this morning. Months have passed since I have had a chance to read much online, including on Punaweb. Scanning over Punaweb's recent topics and opening a couple discussions (all there is time for this morning) I see just how out of the loop I have become via not reading Punaweb for awhile.
Sure am glad I looked this morning, too, as otherwise I would not have seen pslamont's kind invitation to a get-together tomorrow! If I can rearrange the schedule a bit then I hope to come to the Lamont Ranch tomorrow; I am looking forward to meeting some folks in person with whom I have only ever interacted in cyberspace. If we miss connecting at Pam's tomorrow then do come to a Redistricting Commission meeting sometime- several of us from Friends of Puna's Future have been attending and will continue to do so. There is nothing more important happening on the Big island right now, imho, than those Redistricting Commission meetings.
On the rat lungworm front, by the way, over the last several months I have set rat traps here and there in Puna and then dissected a percentage of the rats caught. In the pulmonary aorta of most of the rats I have found adult Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the worms. To repeat the advice of my medical and veterinary scientist friends in Australia who have been battling rat lungworm for quite awhile, an effective prevention program emphasizes control of the rats carrying the adult worms. Slugs are short-lived but one rat can live for years, spreading the worm's eggs everywhere. Dose (the density of larvae inside a slug) really matters if accidental ingestion of a slug by a human or household pet happens. Hitting the rats hard and often is well worth doing when taken in combination with all the other sensible measures (tidy gardens free of litter which shelter slugs, using raised beds when possible, electrified wire pairs, German slug guards [a slug-fence-and-gutter system], baiting slugs as appropriate to the situation, and inspection/treatment of veggies).
Final note: I invite anyone who is interested in helping a good kid with his career to please cast a vote online for my nephew, Tyler McPeak. If Tyler places in the top ten at the end of June then he advances to the final round and all this fuss promotes his modeling and acting career. Just two quick clicks does it (no registering or passwords or any of that stuff needed), just click on the first "Vote for Tyler McPeak" which appears when you move your cursor over his photo, then do the same thing again on the next page which appears and that is all there is to it. Here is the link: http://fittestfriends.strutta.com/entry/171122?=f28g4b
You can vote once each day in this contest, through the end of June, and whether just once or voting daily every vote really does help and is genuinely appreciated. Share with a friend, too, please!
Thanks!
)'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'(
Stairway to Gilligan's Island
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTCYLbFxTpI&feature=related
)'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'(
In case anyone wondered if I fell into a puka or moved back to Alaska, no, my long silence on Punaweb is due to a combination of moving out to the construction site (where there is no internet service) in January and being swamped with work there. Hundreds of cultivars including dozens of trees have been planted and I am on the home stretch with finish work in the house.
Last night at practice a friend from Puna Men's Chorus mentioned Alaskana posting about his returning to Alaska, prompting me to come to HPP (where I have internet access) and log on this morning. Months have passed since I have had a chance to read much online, including on Punaweb. Scanning over Punaweb's recent topics and opening a couple discussions (all there is time for this morning) I see just how out of the loop I have become via not reading Punaweb for awhile.
Sure am glad I looked this morning, too, as otherwise I would not have seen pslamont's kind invitation to a get-together tomorrow! If I can rearrange the schedule a bit then I hope to come to the Lamont Ranch tomorrow; I am looking forward to meeting some folks in person with whom I have only ever interacted in cyberspace. If we miss connecting at Pam's tomorrow then do come to a Redistricting Commission meeting sometime- several of us from Friends of Puna's Future have been attending and will continue to do so. There is nothing more important happening on the Big island right now, imho, than those Redistricting Commission meetings.
On the rat lungworm front, by the way, over the last several months I have set rat traps here and there in Puna and then dissected a percentage of the rats caught. In the pulmonary aorta of most of the rats I have found adult Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the worms. To repeat the advice of my medical and veterinary scientist friends in Australia who have been battling rat lungworm for quite awhile, an effective prevention program emphasizes control of the rats carrying the adult worms. Slugs are short-lived but one rat can live for years, spreading the worm's eggs everywhere. Dose (the density of larvae inside a slug) really matters if accidental ingestion of a slug by a human or household pet happens. Hitting the rats hard and often is well worth doing when taken in combination with all the other sensible measures (tidy gardens free of litter which shelter slugs, using raised beds when possible, electrified wire pairs, German slug guards [a slug-fence-and-gutter system], baiting slugs as appropriate to the situation, and inspection/treatment of veggies).
Final note: I invite anyone who is interested in helping a good kid with his career to please cast a vote online for my nephew, Tyler McPeak. If Tyler places in the top ten at the end of June then he advances to the final round and all this fuss promotes his modeling and acting career. Just two quick clicks does it (no registering or passwords or any of that stuff needed), just click on the first "Vote for Tyler McPeak" which appears when you move your cursor over his photo, then do the same thing again on the next page which appears and that is all there is to it. Here is the link: http://fittestfriends.strutta.com/entry/171122?=f28g4b
You can vote once each day in this contest, through the end of June, and whether just once or voting daily every vote really does help and is genuinely appreciated. Share with a friend, too, please!
Thanks!
)'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'(
Stairway to Gilligan's Island
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTCYLbFxTpI&feature=related
)'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'(
)'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'(
Astonishing skill! This archer is a real-life Legolas and then some!
http://geekologie.com/2013/11/real-life-...rs-anc.php
)'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'(
Astonishing skill! This archer is a real-life Legolas and then some!
http://geekologie.com/2013/11/real-life-...rs-anc.php
)'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'(