Black bears generally avoid humans, animal experts said. Rangers at the Cherokee National Forest, where the attack took place Thursday, said a disease, tumor or parasite might have made the animal more aggressive.The girl’s 2-year-old brother has a puncture wound to his skull. Their mother remains in critical condition with eight puncture wounds to her neck and “too many claw and tooth injuries to count.”
The 350- to 400-pound bear attacked the family at a waterfall near a campground after several adult visitors tried to drive it off the trail, Hicks said.
The bear bit the boy's head, then went after the child's mother after she tried to fend off the attack with rocks and sticks, Hicks said. The animal picked up the woman with its mouth and dragged her off the trail.
The girl apparently ran away, and about an hour later was found with the bear hovering over her body, Hicks said. A rescuer fired a shot that scared the animal off, Hicks said. Authorities said they did not know whether it was wounded.
Rogers, the bear expert, said there have been only 56 documented killings of humans by black bears in North America in the past 100 years. Rogers said the current population of black bears in North America is around 750,000, and there is generally fewer than one killing a year.But of course, when it’s only one human life a year, the bear lovers will argue in favor of the bear.
The fisher prefers mature coniferous and mixed forests with thick overhead cover, and avoids openings such as logged areas, especially in winter. Unlike the marten, the fisher may also use deciduous forests, including dense second-growth stands. Seasonal changes in habitat use may occur, with some fishers leaving high elevations to spend the winter in conifer swamps and lowland conifer forests.That pretty much describes the forest around Mark and my cabins and with several thousand acres of state “Forever Wild” land to the north of my place, there’s plenty of room for the fisher to roam.
The fisher is an opportunistic omnivore, eating large quantities of seeds and fruits such as beechnuts, black cherries, and mountain ash berries when seasonally abundant. However, snowshoe hares, voles, mice, red squirrels, flying squirrels, and shrews make up the bulk of the diet. The fisher hunts by running back and forth over an area, and then rushing and biting prey that it flushes.With a diet like that, I would gladly encourage a fisher to live in the neighborhood. Voles, mice, red squirrels I can do without.
The fisher is most active at twilight, but alternates periods of activity lasting 2-5 hours with bouts of resting or sleeping in temporary dens as it travels throughout a large area. In a 24 hour period, the fisher travels about 1.5-3.0 km (1-2 mi), but may cover 30 km (19 mi), for example when searching for mates. Fishers are active at all times of the year except during severe winter storms when they stay in their dens until the arrival of milder weather.This might explain why the critter on camera appeared at such varied times.
In March or April, the female bears 1-6 (average 2 or 3) young which at birth are blind and covered with fine, gray fur. The female spends most of her time with the newborn young, leaving them for no more than 2-3 hours each day. As the young mature, the female spends more time foraging, traveling directly to the boundaries of her home range to hunt. By 49 days of age, the eyes of the young open, and they are weaned by about 4 months of age. The young disperse in autumn or early winter.Our visitor is obviously and adult. It was also photographed early in the winter, so it’s range includes my backyard. If it is a female, it might have a den nearby and, perhaps, may be caring for some young. Time to keep the camera set up during June when the little ones would be out and about after their eyes are open. They won’t be weaned until around the end of August.
Most people assume that "science" has proved that the earth is getting significantly, and potentially catastrophically, warmer, and that the reason is human activity, specifically the release of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse" gases. In fact, scientific support for that theory is weak. But it's where the money is: funding for climate research by the U.S. government alone is up more than a billion dollars a year as a result of the alarmism spread by--guess who--the same people, largely, who get the extra billion dollars. There are some contexts in which economic interests make reporters suspicious, and some contexts in which they don't. Why? Beats me. Ask a reporter.Just one more reason to question everything you read and see in the MSM.
Along with the order came the following penalty: "We order that by a public edict the book of Dialogues of Galileo Galilei be prohibited, and We condemn thee to the prison of this Holy Office during Our will and pleasure; and as a salutary penance We enjoin on thee that for the space of three years thou shalt recite once a week the Seven Penitential Psalms."Three hundred years to correct an error. *sigh*
Galileo agreed not to teach the heresy anymore and spent the rest of his life under house arrest. It took more than 300 years for the Church to admit that Galileo was right and to clear his name of heresy.
David Hall and Partners who ran the family business at the Darley Oaks Farm in central England, endured abuse, death threats and firebomb attacks during one of the UK's most sustained harassment campaigns by animal rights groups.Death threats, firebombs, grave robbing…sounds like a sane, reasoned approach to protesting the use of guinea pigs in research.
In the worst incident, in October 2004, the grave of Gladys Hammond, mother-in-law of one of the co-owners who had died in 1997 aged 82, was dug up and her remains stolen.
They have never been found.
"You walk by any Starbucks and you see people with a laptop, it's so tempting for the crooks. They walk in, right on top of the person, and the person has all their attention on the laptop. They snatch it right out from underneath their fingertips.So very civilized, this liberal, tough on gun control, Paris of the West.
"The word is out with crooks in general,'' Lynch said.
San Francisco's Western Addition area has been hard hit this year, with 11 robberies so far. Park Station Capt. John Ehrlich, who oversees the area, said he has met with the community, giving the message that people need to fasten down their computers and back up their data.Read the rest of the story here.
the official temperature records of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, that for the years 1998-2005 global average temperature did not increase (there was actually a slight decrease, though not at a rate that differs significantly from zero).
1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight.Go on over and see what you like.
Sun Tzu once wrote, "If your enemy is weaker, conquer him. If he is stronger, join him. If he is Jack Bauer, you're f***ing dead."
Jack Bauer once won a game of Connect 4 in 3 moves.
When Google can't find something, it asks Jack Bauer for help.
You can lead a horse to water. Jack Bauer can make him drink.
Jack Bauer can get McDonald's breakfast after 10:30.
When the boogie man goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Jack Bauer.
"Overtime is our time," Terrapins forward Marissa Coleman said. "What a better way to win a national championship than in overtime, which was our time all season long?"One of the cool things about the NCAA tournaments is how there is only one winner. Everyone else goes home with a final loss to dream about what might have been. But everyone has a chance when the “second season” begins.
Too young to fear the pressure and too experienced to succumb to it, the Terrapins won their first NCAA women's title Tuesday night, coming back from a 13-point deficit to force overtime and beat Duke 78-75.
…
Maryland (34-4) is 6-0 in overtime games this season -- the first five on the road and the last in the championship to cap the second-largest comeback in a women's final. It was the first time the title was determined in overtime since Tennessee beat Virginia in 1991.
The R-Value of Wood
An R-value (Btu/ft2/hour/oF) is the rating of a material's resistance to heat flow. The R-value for wood ranges between 1.41 per inch (2.54 cm) for most softwoods to 0.71 for most hardwoods. Ignoring the benefits of the thermal mass, a six inch (15.24 cm) thick log wall would have a clearwall (a wall with no windows or doors) R-value of just over 8. Compared to a conventional wood stud wall [3? inches (8.89 cm) insulation, sheathing, wallboard, a total of about R-14] the log wall is apparently a far inferior insulation system. Based only on this, log walls do not satisfy most building code energy standards. However, to what extent a log building interacts with it's [sic] surroundings depends greatly on the climate. Because of the log's heat storage capability it's [sic] large mass may cause the walls to behave considerably better in some climates than in others.
Logs act like "thermal batteries" and can, under the right circumstances, store heat during the day and gradually release it at night. This generally increases the apparent R-value of a log by 0.1 per inch of thickness in mild, sunny climates that have a substantial temperature swing from day to night. Such climates generally exist in the earth's temperate zones between the 15th and 40th parallels.
Air Leakage
Log houses are susceptible to developing air leaks. Air-dried logs are still about 15%-20% water when the house is assembled. As the logs dry over the next few years, the logs shrink. The contraction (and expansion - see below) of the logs opens up gaps between the logs, creating air leaks and causing drafts and high heating requirements.
To minimize problems like these, logs should be seasoned (dried in a protected space) for at least six months before construction begins. The best woods to use to avoid this problem, in order of effectiveness, are cedar, spruce, pine, fir, and larch. Since most manufacturers and experienced builders know of these shrinkage and resulting air leakage problems, many will kiln dry the logs prior to finish shaping and installation. Some also recommend using plastic gaskets and caulking compounds to seal gaps. These seals require regular inspection and resealing when necessary.
Styrofoam forms... I think I first saw that one on This Old House a few years back. It was pretty interesting and amazing to me that stryofoam could take all that concrete. I've seen poorly braced plywood forms bow under all that pressure so it was amazing to see them pouring all that readi-mix into a form made out of coffee cups. :-)You know, when you think of it as “coffee cups” it is amazing—and scary. The form is actually a high-density styrafoam similar to the packaging you’d see used for computers and TVs. It’s strong stuff! Two two-inch layers of this are held apart/together by separators to create an 8” channel between them. The contractor will stack these forms and join them using an adhesive . (It’s like playing with life-size Legos.)
What method do they use to fasten the logs to each other? Galvanized spikes (60d or so) or threaded fasteners?We have chosen a 8” x 8” milled log with a D-profile (inside is flat the outside is rounded). In the milling process Beaver Mountain Log and Cedar Homes places a double tongue and groove on the tops and bottoms of the log. They also pre-drill each log so it can be attached to the log below using a 3/8” lag bolt. Since our logs are 8”, I believe the lag bolts will be 12” long.
Also, do they have some sore of method to compensate for any drying/shrinkage in the logs? I was always curious about that one.Beaver Mountain kiln dries their logs before the milling process begins to about 18-20% moisture level. During this process enough moisture is driven out to cause some checking in the logs. (Checks are the cracks and splits that occur due to differential shrinking of the cells in the log.) At every step of the milling process they grade the logs to remove those which have overly large checks. You can’t get rid of all of the checks but they try to keep them to less than 1/4” in width. (They also remove those pieces that have too many knots or that peel when run through the shapers. If they don’t like the way it looks—out it goes.)
Also, do you plan to treat your logs with anything after the house is up?The exterior of the logs will be treated with a wood preservative once construction is completed. They will then have to be retreated every 3-5 years depending upon environmental conditions. We shouldn’t have a problem with bright sunlight (the house site is on the north side of the hill) so we will be looking at the longer time frame. Inside there will be a sizing used to seal the wood grain. There are several options of staining and finishing available to us but we haven’t settled on any one yet.
