Rest in Peace M'Bali

"An elderly African lion was euthanized Wednesday at the Reid Park Zoo, officials said.

M’Bali, one of three lions at the zoo, was put down after being examined and found to be suffering from several age related issues, the zoo said in a news release.

The zoo had been watching M’Bali for the last several years due to his advanced age and progressing arthritis, according to the press release.

M’Bali also was deaf and moving around slowly before he was euthanized.

He was 22 years old.

The average life expectancy of a lion in the wild is 15 years, while zoo lions can live into their late teens.

A necropsy was expected to be performed Thursday.

The lion came to Reid Park in the late 80s from a zoo in Germany."

Story from AZstarnet.com

My View of the Future

I had an interesting epiphany the other day following archaeology class. In class we were discussing the moral and ethical issues surrounding the destruction of shrines in Africa by Christian zealots. Someone commented that the burning of the shrines would ensure that future generations would be oblivious to today's African religious beliefs while I, on the other hand, stated that the burning of the shrines could actually help to preserve them in the archaeological record making them available to be studied in the far future. Suddenly the girl sitting next to me swung around in her chair, starred at me intensely (and rather aggressively), and said "you are assuming that the world is going to be post-apocalyptic or something, that there won't be video and pictures?" to which I responded with a surprised tone "yeah."

As I thought back on the exchange between this young girl and myself, I realized that my view of the future of our world is much different than the vision shared by others. While some hold onto the belief that we as a people will continue to prosper and technology will continue to advance (Star Trek-like), I am equally as certain that our world will be bombed back to the stone ages or a disease will wipe out a majority of the population forcing the few remaining to relearn all the progress that has been made. Think Revelations and the Dead Sea Scrolls, that is what I believe to be our future!

I was honestly and truly confused at first by this young girl's comments, but the more I thought about it, the more appreciative I was for the conversation. It made me realize something about myself which I hadn't given much thought to and had assumed that everyone else around me shared the same opinion. Her vision of the future is a nice one and I pray she is right, but sadly I think my vision is more on par for the course.

Jury Duty

Hubby had jury duty yesterday and didn't get home until close to 6 pm. I have never stayed that late in all my life, so I wasn't surprised when he told me that he had been selected. What did surprise me was that he has been selected for an 11 day trial.

It begins today with opening statements and ends on April 30th.

He is happy to oblige and perform his civic duty, but unfortunately it couldn't have come at a worse time at work, with a roadway deadline due, also, on April 30th. He will pulling long hours at work on the days that the trial does not convene just trying to keep up.

Lily and Trudy: Update

Based on the advice of others (thanks to all of you who responded!) and long discussions with one another, Hubby and I chose to take the dogs to a new veterinarian. The experience overall was okay but I did not leave feeling as good as I usually do. The new vet (Dr. D) was kind, compassionate, and very good with both dogs but she didn't support our decision to leave some of Trudy's teeth intact since she now states that the remainder need to be pulled. I don't see much sense in telling someone what they should have done, since the decision had already been seriously contemplated and made. She is also saying that Lily needs some dental work and teeth pulled, which we are both slightly skeptical of since Lily has shown no signs of discomfort or problems. Trudy was also diagnosed with a skin condition and is on antibiotics, which again Hubby and I saw no signs of previous to taking her in. The good news is, however, that Lily's bump on her back is simply a cyst (non-cancerous as far as the vet can tell) which can be removed by surgery. We are currently working out when that will be since Hubby is serving jury duty and I am entering into finals. Lily is also on allergy medication which has made her more frisky, playful, and her eyes are far less goopy. The "jury" is still out as to if we are going to continue seeing Dr. D after Lily's surgery, but Hubby has already commented that he would like to get a second opinion from Dr. L when his practice opens about Lily's dental health....

Why so many pictures of Trudy you may ask? She is much easier to manipulate than Lily and quickly resigns herself to whatever shenanigans we are up to. Lily is still far to puppy-like to put up with our silliness.

Star Trek Warehouse Sale

Almost a year and half ago, the Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton closed its doors. The rumor mill has since abounded with stories of a reopening at a mall in downtown Vegas and a possible sale of items from the old exhibit.

You will never imagine my amazement when Hubby told me on Friday that it was finally happening, Propworx had been hired by CBS/Paramount to sell some of the items from the Experience AND they were doing it on Saturday April 10th. Talk about the best kept secret in Trek history, how did this not leak months ahead of time?

We both promptly sprung into geek-mode and prepared for the long trip to Vegas. So on Saturday morning at 2 am, we jumped in the truck and drove 8 hours to stand in line with 200+ fans to buy a piece of Trek history. (In case you are wondering, we drove home the same day).

There were a multitude of items available including: tables, chairs, wall panels, Borg alcoves, models, bridge pieces, gift shop hardware, costumes, and more. Of course many of the more unique items were set aside for their auction in August, but there certainly were enough other items to go around.

Adam Savage from Mythbusters!!

Ready Room Doors from the bridge of the Enterprise D

Insignias from the Experience

Panel from the shuttle ride

Random "Trek" style conduit

Klingon Bird of Prey

The guy in the blue shirt is the quintessential Star Trek fan.

Nacelles from the Enterprise D, the saucer section of the ship was destroyed, literally sawed into pieces.

Console where Hubby and I signed our marriage certificate.

Various desks and consoles, Borg alcove on the very right.

Bridge seating and consoles, missing all the panels

Rolling "door" from the Promenade

Captain's Chair

Retail Shopping Rack

The Voyager and the original Enterprise, both were purchased by a group who will restore them to their natural glory.

The Voyager

As you might have noticed, a lot of these items were destroyed or damaged in every way possible. Very little care or compassion was taken when removing them from the Experience. In addition, they have been sitting in the warehouse (or similar location) for over a year. It was a sincere travesty to see such destruction and it was surprising considering how much money they could have potentially made with pristine, well preserved items.

Despite the clamoring, elbow swinging, and trampling, I am happy to announce that we walked away with some pretty exceptional pieces!

Purchase #1: Glass piece with Star Trek logo from Quark's Restaurant.

Purchase #2: This was a retail shelving unit which has the Star Trek logo on it, the brackets which were included also have the Star Trek logo on the end of each one.

Our loot all loaded in the truck

Our Final purchase and our prized possession! A podium which was either the menu podium outside the Experience or the reservation desk at Quark's Bar, we're not sure which one yet!

Hubby was interviewed by NPR, here is the audio.
Nevada Public Radio -- News 88.9 KNPR

For further information please see:
http://www.propworx.com/2010/04/10/star-trek-the-experience-warehouse-sale-%E2%80%94-phone-ordering-update-with-photos/

Trudy is All Grown Up

From the first day Trudy came home from the Humane Society we insisted on her being kennel trained. Not for long periods of time or while we are gone, but as a precaution while we are sleeping so that she didn't potty on the floor or chase the cat. Aside from the first night, she has never given us any trouble...until two nights ago when she decided she no longer wanted to sleep in the kennel. Hubby sent her to bed and she immediately jumped into Lily's bed, he told her again and she curled up on a blanket which had fallen on floor, he told her again and she ran back to Lily's bed again. At first I chalked it up to senility, I mean she is almost 10 years old but it became rapidly apparent that she understood, she just didn't agree.

So last night, Hubby removed the kennel from the bedroom and gave Trudy a bed of her own. I am happy to say she slept restfully and quietly all night with no incidents.

I am strangely melancholy that my "baby" has grown out of her "crib" and is now sleeping in a "big-girl-bed".

Good Veterinarians are Hard to Come By...

I am blessed to say that my animals, overall, are in very good health. However, Lily has developed a bump on her spine which is slightly concerning and should probably be biopsied. I called my veterinarian's office yesterday to make an appointment but was surprised to find that my vet, Dr. L, is no longer there and hasn't been for some time.

I have taken Piper to Dr. L since she was a tiny, baby kitten, Lily since she was born, and Trudy since we adopted her. For myself and my "kids" this is the only animal doctor we have ever known. After some internet investigation, I found his email address and dropped him a note last night. He graciously responded and said that he is opening his own practice very soon.

This all seems to be copacetic but Hubby and I have a differing opinion as to what to do next:

I would like to continue taking the animals to Dr. L at his new practice when it opens.
Hubby would like to switch vets because he has a feeling that something strange is going on.

Hubby's concern is valid, I will admit! First and foremost, this is probably the 5th or 6th time Dr. L has moved locations in the last 9 years. It is Hubby's stance that there may be an illicit or insidious reason why Dr. L cannot or does not stay at any one location for very long. Secondly, I may be going out on a limb here but, I also get the impression that Hubby gets a weird vibe from him.

I, on the other hand, don't get that same vibe and Dr. L has been nothing but wonderful to me and my pets. I am having a hard time with the idea of leaving him after so many years of outstanding service and compassion. He once talked on the phone with me for over an hour discussing Piper's health and future prognosis. He also personally calls me with test results and updates me on my animals instead of passing it off to a technician. From my perspective, he is just a great vet...however, I trust my hubby and his instincts...

So, my question for all of you out there is: what would you do? Would you continue to go to what appears to be an outstanding vet who has a shadow of doubt hanging over him? Or would you take the chance on a new vet??

My Spring Break List II

So, I thought it might be fun to reflect on my spring break list and see how much I actually accomplished:

1. Spend time with Hubby
Not as much as I had hoped but more than usual.

2. Play and beat Mass Effect I
Not yet, but I am so very, very close!

3. Transfer character from 1 to Mass Effect 2 and beat that game too!
Nope, haven't beat the first one yet.

4. Read Jerry Doyle's book, "Have You Seen My Country Lately?"
Negative, didn't get around to it because my professor assigned a different book to be read.

5. Sleep
Not as much as I had hoped but more than usual.

6. Clean out the garage and have a yard sale
Yes and Yes. A pretty successful yard sale, if I do say so myself. It was exhausting and I am relieved that it is over but I am glad that I had this experience and know what to do better in the future.

7. Deep clean the house and dogs/catch-up on laundry, dishes and vacuuming
Hubby deep cleaned the dogs (including haircuts), I caught up on laundry, dishes and vacuuming and than quickly fell behind again. Deep cleaning of the entire house did not get done, but my bathroom is immaculate!

8. Do a minimal amount of homework
I did more than I wanted but not enough to get me ahead.

9. Catch up on my favorite TV shows
Yes!

10. Rearrange the Sci-fi room
I didn't do this but hubby did while I was yard sale-ing. He turned the Sci-Fi room into a combination of collectibles and my new scrapbooking room! I cannot wait to organize!!!!!!

11. Learn to decoupage
I did not decoupage, but I did scrapbook for one entire day. My sister came over and we destroyed my living room with tiny scraps of paper, glue sticks, and stickers. It was fantastic!! Perhaps this is why hubby agreed to designate an entire room to this hobby?

I am actually pleasantly surprised that I accomplished as much as I did. It felt like a majority of my time was spent just preparing for and completing the yard sale. In addition to the above items, I also baked cookies and cooked new, delicious dinners for hubby regularly. All in all I feel like spring break was a success, I just wish it was longer.

UA and Tuition SUCKS!

Fall 08 & Spring 09 $2850.00 -- $5700 per year

Fall 09 & Spring 10 $3450.00 -- $6900 per year

Fall 10 & Spring 11 $4130.00 -- $8260 per year

Are you kidding? I feel like puking!
I can assure you that the quality of my education does not correlate with the drastic increase in tuition. If anything the programs, services, and other perks have been cut. The depth of my frustration and anger cannot be adequately conveyed at this moment. It makes no sense to me how the Arizona Board of Regents is intent on balancing their checkbook on the backs of the students. How about starting to cut some money/jobs/bonuses from the top?

My Spring Break List

Yippee!! Spring break is here and not a moment too soon. In honor of spring break, I have created a small list of my hopes and desires for the next 10 days.

1. Spend time with Hubby
2. Play and beat Mass Effect I
3. Transfer character from 1 to Mass Effect 2 and beat that game too!
4. Read Jerry Doyle's book, "Have You Seen My Country Lately?"
5. Sleep
6. Clean out the garage and have a yard sale
7. Deep clean the house and dogs/catch-up on laundry, dishes and vacuuming
8. Do a minimal amount of homework
9. Catch up on my favorite TV shows
10. Rearrange the Sci-fi room
11. Learn to decoupage

Perhaps this is a little ambitious but I can't wait to start!!

Reid Park Zoo, Again...

In my biological anthropology class we are learning how to study primates. In order to get hands-on experience, we were sent to the local zoo to observe either the macaques, the mandrills, or the gibbons. My friend and lab partner, Jenna, and I chose the gibbons and had a glorious time running around the zoo like little kids with expensive cameras. Below are just a few pics we shot while there!
Today my professor asked if any of us would be interesting in volunteering to design some new signage for the zoo since they are sorely lacking in relevant and current educational materials. I am seriously considering it! Our zoo looks more like a rest home for unwanted animals instead of the sanctuary and educational haven that it should be. To be a part of that change sounds very rewarding...

Star Party

I am taking Cultural Astronomy this semester. Last night our class was required to meet our professor at Saguaro National Monument: West to take a constellation exam. My sister joined me and we had a blast! Members of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association were there with a myriad of telescopes and devices to help in learning and discovering. Specifically, we met an elderly couple, Sam and PJ, who took us under their wing and showed us all the night sky had to offer. I can't thank them enough for making a required exam to much fun!

These are cellphone pictures we took before the sun went down (I wish I had brought a real camera):

More Liam Pictures