Marine mining

When you think of gold and diamond mining I bet you think of dark long tunnels or strip mining. Would it surprise you that marine mining, mining for minerals in the ocean is being done by large corporations? Yes marine mining is being done and those companies are looking for diamonds and gold. The main areas of exploration are off the coast of west Africa. The De Beers company, known the world over for their TV commercials for loose diamonds with the phrase "a diamond is forever", is a major marine mining company.

Marine mining is not simple and most smaller companies and hobbyists are just salvaging old ship wrecks and call it mining. The true marine mining vessels are huge ships. like this one:

This is the De Beers diamond recovery vessel PEACE IN AFRICA (former Dock Express 20)

Water proofing your camera

We now live in an age of paperless photos. Where we don't have to bother with film, film developing nor printing them those photos out is we don't want to, that's what digital frames are for. But what about making sure your camera is functioning in surroundings like the beach, on a boat or near a body of water. Sure, you say that you won't get the camera wet or drop it in the water, but what about air born moisture?

People that live close to the ocean will tell you that their electronic devices will corrode after being exposed to salt laden ocean air. If you only go to the ocean once in a great while your camera should be fine but if you live or visit the coast on a weekly basis then I would look into getting a camera that was more resistant to moisture and even better if it was designed for use near or in salt water.

How time flies - this blog is almost 3 years old!!

I had not even bothered to look at how many blog posts or even when I started this blog....until just a few minutes ago. I did not realize that I had been writing on here for nearly 3 years now. To be more precise, it will be 3 years in October, but that is almost here!!!

I really can't say what keeps drawing back here to write. I guess I do have something to say and this is the only way anyone will ever listen to me. Even if you get to the point of being a highly educated scientist and knew how to "fix" the entire problem of pollution, energy and balancing the ecology, and could do it overnight....you still have to make people listen to you and believe in what you have to say. You can't go it alone, as much as you want to believe you can. You have to communicate.

So with this blog almost 3 years old, I can tell you there were times when I thought I should give it up. I thought that no one else reads this thing. Most of the comments were trash or spammy "come visit my website where I sell thermogenic fat burners," yep that one popped up the other day and I don't even know what that is. Then just when I would think that I might call it quits, someone posts a comment to keep me going. All I can say is, thanks I needed that.

Sea salt cures

It is nice to know that the salt water on our Earth is a massive cleansing fluid. It dilutes much of the toxic waste that flow down our streams and rivers. In a concentrated form we eat it (table salt) or use it to preserve our food. In a slightly diluted stage we float on it (The Great Salt Lake in Utah) or use it to treat eczema. Sea mammals that have wounds are more quickly healed by their watery environment than a similar land mammal would. Without our oceans to keep this planet moist and cool enough for us to survive where would we be? Non-existent that is where.

My true feelings about the oil spill in the Gulf

Warning: this post may offend some of you

Ok, I have heard just about enough news on the TV about the oil spill in the Gulf and I am pissed. What I am pissed off about is the fact that almost all of the coverage is about how people are affected by the spill. The TV news is covering how people are losing their businesses and work. Well boo who. People can move, find other lines of work, start other businesses. Damn it, what about the sea life that can't move, are having their homes destroyed and some of them will not live through this disaster to continue their species. Instead of the TV news continually covering the economic part of the disaster just to sell commercial air time to viagra and sleep aids, why don't they cover what the Sierra Club, The National Wildlife Federation and other conservation clubs are doing.

I am sorry if I offended some of you but I just had to say that.

Nursing a non-water baby

I have been busy the last 5 days. A family member disturbed a nest of newborn deer mice and I have been feeding and caring for them for the last 4 days. Momma deer mouse never returned to the nest for the first 18 hours after the nest was disturbed and the baby mice were getting extremely cold.

I had a crash course in deer mouse rescue. I happened to have some powdered kitten formula but all of the online help mentioned puppy formula or some form of natural protein powder, which means powdered milk.

So far out of the 4 mice, only one has survived this long. Each one has died about 24 hours apart so far. I have been feeding and cleaning them every 3-4 hours, including during the night. It is the middle of the afternoon right now and I am ready for a nap.

You are probably asking why I am doing this, after all it is just a few mice. It is just my nature, to help others, including the smallest of animals. I am just that way.