Confessions of a Tree Hugger

I have to admit something. I think I might be a tree hugger... Don has been called this on several occasions, usually in the context of "What are you? Some kinda tree hugger." As much as it pained me to see our wacko neighbors cut down every tree in their back yard that didn't require professional tree removal, today I feel like I've lost a member of my family. The moron that we sold our quaint little cottage to has cut down the most beautiful 80 year old magnolia I've ever seen:

There over to the left you can see what wonderful shade it offered to the entire house. I'm not sure what the reason was, but I'd guess that since he hasn't touched the yard in the 2 years since he's been there (other than to tear everything out), he's a) too lazy to clean up the leaves b) he's been told that he can't grow anything in the yard with it there, or c) he's crazy. I'm sure about c, and a is a poor excuse to cut down any tree. And before you haters go on about how bad it is to clean up after a magnolia tree.... I did it for 2 years and it wasn't so bad. I'll take a magnolia over an oak or pine any day! So.. goodbye old magnolia - I sure did enjoy you while I could. And if there is any fairness in the world, his power bill goes through the roof.

Deep Gap Backpacking Trip

Dad & I hiked the Deep Gap Trail at Mt. Mitchell this past weekend (7-19 & 20, 2008). Mt. Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River at 6,684 ft. The Deep Gap Trail starts at Mt. Mitchell and tracks the ridge line of several 6,000ft peaks before reaching a grassy knoll named Commissary Ridge. The trail is steep and rugged and there was almost no water to filter but we were prepared and all ended well.



Dad & me on Mt. Craig.



A nice view of the Black Mountains (part of the Smokey Mountain Range).



Yours truly - the trail follows the ridgeline in the background.



Sections of the trail are STEEP.



Another great vista.



Wild irises at Commissary Ridge.




Sunrise at 6,000 ft.




Watch that last step...



Nice photo of a weathered tree and the Smokies in the background.



Me relaxing - almost done.



King of the hill!

You'll Sleep Better Now

Today I got a great question at work and decided to post the answer here so you would sleep better at night (and would have some useless trivia to thrill your non-sciencey friends with)

Q: Does a commercial dishwasher kill the rabies virus? For instance - if I took my [rabid] dog to a restaurant and he ate off of one of the plates, would washing the plate kill the virus so that the next person eating off of that plate wouldn't get rabies?
A. Before I answer this, let me ask what restaurant allows dogs to eat off of their plates? Or better yet, who takes their dog to the restaurant and thinks: Oh yeah, it will be fine for Mr. Bojangles to lick my plate clean. Anyway, in the event that you are worrying that the last user of your salad plate was a rabid dog, rest assured that the dishwasher should do a great job of killing the virus. 1. It should wash the virus right away. 2. Its a virus - needs mammalian cells to replicate and survive. 3. I've include the diagram below to demonstrate that the rabies virus is enveloped (and you've probably always wondered what it looked like). Enveloped viruses don't hold up well to the environment - meaning heat, detergents, etc. I read a bunch of stuff, but in general everyone agrees that if the virus is outside of the animal for very long, it dies. 4. Pastuerization temperatures kill the virus (>160 degrees F), and commercial dishwashers are required to have a final rinse of 180 degrees F.



Rabies virus is found in saliva, so be careful whenever you kiss a rabid animal. You laugh, but plenty of people do, and plenty of people let rabid animals play with their pets. The only way to test an animal for rabies is to kill it and test its brain... so.... play it safe and stay away from all of those cute cats/dogs/raccoons/foxes/kittens that are stray. You'll feel a strong desire to save them all, but in the end it could be more trouble than its worth.