Monday - February 03, 2020

Chinese Herpes Monkeys In Florida

Oh great, another invasive introduced species of Asian disease carrier. Where else? You knew it had to be Florida.

There’s a new resident in the Julington Creek neighborhood Jacksonville. Also in St. Johns, St. Augustine, Palatka, Welaka and Elkton.

In all, a dozen confirmed sightings of a feral, invasive monkey species: the rhesus macaque.

Videos and photographs – grainy and shaky, shot by homeowners – track the trail of a species expansion that experts call concerning and possibly dangerous.

“The potential ramifications are really dire,” University of Florida wildlife ecologist Dr. Steve Johnson told First Coat News. “A big male like the one in that video in Jacksonville—that’s an extremely strong, potentially dangerous animal.”

First Coast News obtained two videos and several photographs taken of the monkeys. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials call the reports credible, a likely expansion of the feral monkey population in Central Florida.

Rheseus macaques were first introduced to Silver Springs State Park in the late 1930s when a tour boat operator named Colonel Tooey released six of them on a manmade island as a tourist attraction. He released another six a decade later.

“Guess what?” laughs Johnson. “They can swim. They left the island.”

The monkeys have lived in the state park ever since – alternately mesmerizing and terrifying parkgoers. They’ve also ranged well beyond the park boundaries, with sightings far as Tampa and Apopka.

But this is the first time the monkeys have been reported on the First Coast.

Julington Creek resident Carrie Bennett is admittedly wary of the primates. “That is definitely a concern because I walk the dogs at like 5:30 in the morning and its pitch blackout,” she said. “If they bit me, if they came after and bit you, you don’t know what they have, what they’re carrying.”

In fact, the monkeys carry—and shed—the Herpes B virus, which can be fatal to humans. It’s what Johnson calls a “low risk, high consequence” possibility. The animals are also physically imposing with “strong arms, a very strong bite [and] large canine teeth.”

In the mid-1980s the population spiked to almost 400. Between 1984 and 2010, around 1,000 were trapped and killed in an attempt to control the population.

In the 1970s, a laboratory animal supply company introduced rhesus macaques to the Florida Keys, but they were removed between 1990 and 2000 after they ruined red mangroves, causing a loss of vegetation and eroded the shoreline.

Now, the animals, which can live for over three decades in the wild in groups of between 10 to 80 monkeys, have been spotted in the Julington Creek, St. Johns, St. Augustine, Palatka, Welaka and Elkton areas of northeast Florida, according to First Coast News.

Dr. Steve Johnson, an expert in primates at the University of Florida, told First Coast News, “The potential ramifications are really dire.”

I’d say, hunt them to extinction. At around 15-17lb full grown, they’re the perfect size game for a .22LR. Since they probably travel in packs, you’ll want a repeater with a large magazine and several buddies hunting with you.

OTOH, they could try trapping them and using them as python bait.

Posted by Drew458     on 02/03/2020 at 03:13 PM   
Filed Under: • Animals • Health-Medicine •  
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The absence of data is usually a giveaway

1 Dead 5 Wounded In CA Greyhound Bus Shooting

A woman died and five others were injured when another passenger open-fired aboard a Greyhound bus traveling north from Los Angeles to San Francisco early Monday morning, officials said.

Police responded at 1:27 a.m. PT to several 911 calls regarding a shooting on a Greyhound bus traveling northbound on Interstate 5 near the village of Grapevine, about 80 miles north of Los Angeles, said Steve Loftus, communications supervisor for the California Highway Patrol, to Fox News.

A woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Others were rushed to local hospitals. One of the five wounded was transported to a hospital by helicopter, California Highway Patrol Sgt. Brian Pennings said at a press conference. A male suspect was taken into custody.

The motive remained under investigation. The names of the suspect and victims were not immediately released by authorities.

“The bus driver somehow managed to get the shooter off the bus and left him on the highway shoulder, where he was arrested without incident,” Pennings said. After leaving the gunman behind, the driver continued on to the next exit and pulled into the parking lot of a gas station.

The bus driver pulled over to the right shoulder. The gunman left the bus voluntarily and left the gun behind on the bus. The shooter is now in police custody awaiting questioning.

California Highway Patrol said 43 people were on the bus, including the driver.

Officers said the person who died in the shooting is a 51-year-old woman from Colombia.

Right now, there is no word on a motive behind the attack.

And this is why I drive, and also why I’ll never visit California. 

At least this time the bus killer didn’t eat the victims.

Posted by Drew458     on 02/03/2020 at 01:57 PM   
Filed Under: • Crime •  
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Sometimes I Misunderstand The Headlines

“Kate Upton Partners With Canada Goose”

Hey, it’s Hollywood, anything goes, right?

Nah, it’s some climate change virtue signalling BS

Kate Upton is partnering with Canada Goose to raise awareness on climate change with outerwear that gives back.

The model is the face of the Toronto-based luxury brand’s latest campaign for its Polar Bears International Line, which raises money for protecting the threatened bear species and how it is affected by global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, the company announced Monday.

Upton makes her debut as the face of the brand’s Spring 2020 global campaign, supporting Polar Bears International (CNW Group/Canada Goose)

The PBI collection features five spring styles including rainwear and lightweight down options. Fifty dollars from the sale of each jacket , which start at $800, will go to the non-profit Polar Bears International organization. The conservation group provides funding for polar bear environmental research and advocacy. Polar bears were listed as a threatened species in the U.S. under the Endangered Species Act in 2008 because the sea ice habitat of the bears is shrinking as a result of climate change. Canada Goose has donated more than $3.5 million to the organization, the company said in a statement.

The winter coat maker, known for its puffer jackets marked with its ubiquitous red, white and blue patch that cost upwards of $1,000, has been sported by the Hollywood crowd in recent weeks. The brand was a sponsor at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, where it handed out hundreds of its limited-edition coats to directors and actors in attendance. The exclusive jackets were gray and designed with deep pockets and a Sundance 2020 logo on its sleeve.

Deep pockets ... seems appropriate when you consider how much they charge for one of their coats.

And I’m sure climate change is affecting the poor little polar bears, giving them warming weather so they don’t freeze to death so often, and more food to eat as well. Also, I have serious doubts is most polar bears are impacted by greenhouse gases.

No truth to the rumor that on weekends Kate Upton prefers to partner with Grey Goose instead.

Posted by Drew458     on 02/03/2020 at 01:37 PM   
Filed Under: • Climate-Weather • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Humor •  
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kind of brain fried today

Maybe I can find something post-worthy later. Didn’t watch the stupor bowel, didn’t see the halftime stripper pole show. No point in writing about shampeachment, and the Wuhan virus thing is dull, even as the world continues to panic and the number of cases rise everywhere.

I don’t think I’m getting sick again, but with all the chilly damp weather it’s been hard for me to stay warm the past few days, even with extra clothes on. Beats me.

Posted by Drew458     on 02/03/2020 at 12:01 PM   
Filed Under: • Miscellaneous •  
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   Saturday - February 01, 2020

Sometimes You Bake A Brick

I’m making rescue bread right now. It started out as a regular sourdough dough, with a good dose of “ancient grains” because when I made a batch of pretzels I didn’t have enough spelt left over to make another batch. So that went in, along with some whole wheat, all purpose, some bread flour, 2.7% salt, 75% hydration, and a good splot of starter. Not sure what happened, but the “dough” was really slack, reminiscent of warm pudding.

And it sat there. And sat there. And sat there for hours, doing nothing. Nothing. 7 hours in the proofer, then overnight in the fridge, then another 2 hours on the counter this morning. The recipe started out to be for just one loaf, but it wound up being bigger, so I made two loaves. Baked one this morning, and it’s a brick. Did not rise at all. Crivens.

So I took the other loaf out of the shaping basket, and made up a slurry of instant yeast, a little sugar, water, and a half a cup of flour. I worked that in by hand, and found myself with a sticky wet blob. So back into the mixer, add another half cup or so of AP. Power knead it but good, and eventually I had something that looked like dough. Into the proofer for an hour ... and it just sat there. Grrr!!

Never one to surrender, I worked the dough again, doing some stretch and fold kneads while working a bit more flour into it. Then I jacked up the temperature of the proofer to 91°, and finally it started to rise. Got it up quite a bit, shaped the dough and put it back in the shaping basket. Took the temperature up to 93, and I’m giving it another half hour. At which point, too bad, it’s going in the oven.

Sourdough doesn’t always come out right. But with some effort you can usually rescue things enough. And that’s what this is. Rescue bread.

left: brick; right: rescue loaf; back: a batch of 160gm pretzels

So I saved it. And it came out pretty good. It’s not a recipe I’d make again, but it was good enough, and there was fresh bread for everyone. The pretzels were a big hit, as always.

Posted by Drew458     on 02/01/2020 at 11:23 AM   
Filed Under: • Bread •  
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