Chilling

Tracking the Illegal Tusk Trade

Elephant ivory is a key source for funding armed groups in Africa, such as the Lord's Resistance Army. In this fascinating interactive, follow the route of a hidden GPS tracker planted in the smuggling supply chain—orchestrated by journalist Bryan Christy—and find out where and how exactly ivory travels.

How Killing Elephants Finances Terror in Africa

Armed groups help fund operations by smuggling elephant ivory. Can fake tusks with hidden GPS trackers thwart them?

A good opinion piece on the real reason for Marius the Giraffe's death: profitablilty

Opinion: Killing of Marius the Giraffe Exposes Myths About Zoos: For the Copenhagen Zoo, it seems Marius was worth more dead than alive

All of which raises some questions: Why is the zoo breeding reticulated giraffes, when they are not endangered in the wild? And why did they let Marius's parents mate?

For answers, you need look no further than the Copenhagen Zoo's Facebook page, where it celebrates the birth of a baby giraffe (possibly Marius) in 2012. Humans, science has shown, are drawn to babies of all kinds; we love the big eyes, the floppy limbs, the fluff and fuzz of infants. Baby leopards, baby pandas, baby elephants ... baby giraffes. They all draw huge, paying crowds to zoos.

And while the Copenhagen Zoo, and other European Union zoos, may celebrate themselves as conservation sanctuaries protecting animals on the threshold of extinction, a 2011 report from the Born Free Foundation tells a different story: "An average of only 13% of species kept in European zoos were classified as Globally Threatened" and on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

So, if these zoos aren't really engaged in conserving species as they claim, what is their purpose?

As an extra bonus

One thing I lost when I upgraded the desktop from Windows 7 to Windows 8 was the ability to install and run my National Geographic DVDs (I have a set of issues from issue 1 in the late 1800s through 2010). I love those DVDs, and was terribly frustrated, although at least they did work on the laptop, oddly. Well, on a lark I tried to reinstall and guess what? It works! Yay! Also, the download is happening quicker, probably because many people on the East Coast are now asleep. I'm up to 71% already. :)

Oh, happy day!

I got up about 11:30, scanned what I needed to for my friend, e-mailed it to him, and then went back to working on some computer stuff. I still need to work on the old game notes from before I recorded the sessions (before about 2005) and compile and edit them so they're actually usable. The work I'm doing tonight will help give me the tools I need to really start working on that again.

In the midst of the computer work, but completely unrelated to the game notes, I finally managed to install the National Geographic Complete DVDs, which had thwarted me after I'd upgraded my computer to Windows 8. These DVDs contain all the National Geographic magazines in digital form from 1888-2008. I am also in the process of adding two years that are available for download, so I'll have them through 2010. That's all that's available so far. I love National Geographic, obviously. I am so happy to finally have access to them again. On the other hand, the downloads aren't on disc, so I'll have to try to back them up somehow. Still, it's nice to be able to peruse them.

It's now after 2 am and I'm about ready to go back to bed. I want to get up and do a few things early tomorrow morning, which might be a bit of a challenge since I'm still up at present. But once this last download is installed, I'm heading to bed. I just hope I can get to sleep; I'm not particularly sleepy given that I slept about three hours tonight and I've had quite a bit of caffeine, too. We'll see. Good night. :)

Took a bit of a nap, but now I'm up trying to create order from chaos

I got a DVD sleeve that holds 48 CDs/DVDs and populated it with the M*A*S*H discs (they come in cardboard sleeves that are abrasive over time; it's an interesting concept but bad for the media) and my National Graphic DVDs (a collection of all magazines digitally from 1888-2008). The next step is going around picking up stuff. I've let things go to an absolute mess.

I have

run over the smallest toe on my left foot (the 'good' one) with the wheelchair. As YKWIA puts it, I am a danger to myself, but not others. Fortunately it's just a little sore, I think. This is what I get for driving the chair with my left foot (it's easier than doing it all by hand--works great when you're backing up, not so much when going forward, given that it winds up near the wheel). :)

One casualty of the upgrade is my collection of National Geographic DVDs with all of the issues from the 1800s to 2008 on them. The installer will not work. :( Otherwise, things seem to be. I'm going to stop working on the computer for awhile. I've been up for seven hours and I'm seriously considering a nap.

I'm not a photographer--but I'm fascinated by the art

Which is why I like National Geographic so much. Steve McCurry's photograph of a young Afghan girl with green eyes that was the cover of the June 1985 issue has been called 'the most recognized photograph" in the history of the National Geographic magazine'. Here is some of his other work, which is also breathtaking.

22 Incredible Photos of Faraway Places

By the way

the National Geographic DVD-ROMs were everything I could hope for. I will savour each issue. (See accompanying tweets on the Twitter gadget down and left). Thanks YKWIA and A for the great (and much appreciated) Yule present!

This is so cool

The folks at National Geographic are offering an external hard drive for $199.99 that is partitioned, with about 60-70 GB containing the full 120-year run of their magazine and an extra 90-100 GB for your own files. Here's the blurb:

Explore 120 years of amazing discoveries, fascinating maps, and the world's best photography with The Complete National Geographic. This definitive collection of every issue of National Geographic magazine, digitally reproduced in stunning high resolution, brings you the world and all that is in it. Use the advanced interface to explore a topic, search for photographs, browse the globe, or wander on your own expedition.

Access all of the maps, photos, and magazine issues found on the DVD collection in one external hard drive. Browse and search the entire collection without needing to swap out DVDs. Lightweight and travel-friendly, the hard drive is just 3" x 5" and requires only a USB connection. We’ve left plenty of hard disk space to accommodate future upgrades. We’ve also allocated approximately 90GB of hard disk space for your own personal use.

Choose up to 25 characters for laser engraving on the back of the drive to create a truly one-of-a-kind gift for friends, family, or colleagues.

The Complete National Geographic on 160-GB Hard Drive cannot be shipped outside of the U.S. and Canada. Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.

Of course, if you'd rather have the DVDs and don't mind swapping them out, they're just $59.95, and cover the same years (1888-2008) as the hard drive, plus the same bonus disk of behind-the-scenes looks at National Geographic and photography tips. I'm not sure what provision is made for future issues; the hard drive has space for upgrades. BTW, Amazon has the DVDs for about $45! [Acutally, I liked that so much I went ahead and ordered it; I had a $35 gift card for Yule from some friends so that made it about $10. Thanks YKWIA and A! :)]

But I have to admit, the drive is cool. I just got an external hard drive, though, so I really don't need another. But I do love National Geographic and always have. This will be fun.

Okay, one more thing: Walrus Hugs!

Awwwww....

This is fun and educational

National Geographic created a map of words, indigenous meanings of placenames throughout the United States. Click on the meaning and the word blows up with text underneath that tells you what the place is. My favourite is Topeka, Kansas, 'a good place to dig potatoes'. :)

Thanks to shelfcheck at LISNews.

Cool and horrific at the same time...

YKWIA showed me this from National Geographic:


It is rather Cthulhoid. Can you imagine this happening to a person?

Speaking of animals

You might want to take a look at 'Last One', an article by Verlyn Klinkenborg, with photos by Joel Sartore.

Did you know there were only 195 ocelots left in the US, with less than 100 in the wild? How about only 300 wolverines left in the lower 48 states? There are only 3,500 polar bears estimated left in Alaska, and less than 2,000 Mexican spotted owls. There are only 40 of the woodland caribou in the lower 48 states. And of the 320 Mexican grey wolves left, only 60 are in the wild.

We should all care about this. Oddly enough, I write this as a fur advertisement airs on the radio. We can't let the loss of environment send these species and others into the oblivion of history.

The photographer's wife developed cancer a few years ago and although she's healthy today he said, 'Kathy’s cancer made me realise how little time any of us really has.' National Geographic Editor in Chief Chris Johns adds, 'Time, our most precious currency, is the most valuable thing we humans can spend.' Well said, and it applies equally that what we do with our time matters, especially if it's aimed at making the world a better place for it. Conservation of endangered species and support of efforts to do so are one of those things that we can do to make the world a little better.