Sightseeing with Google Maps

OK, now this is pretty cool.

Clicking around looking for some satellite images for my thesis, I happened across this website that has tons and tons of links to interesting Google Earth satellite images from around the world. They advertise having over 12,000 "destinations" and one can easily waste an hour or two (or more) clicking around and seeing the world from above.


Enjoy!
Sightseeing with Google Satellite Maps

Why Vegetarian?

A question I am asked periodically. More specifically, "What made you "turn" vegetarian?" Well, as I always explain, my original reason morphed into several important motivations for maintaining a vegetarian diet specific to both myself as an individual and the well-being of the environment.

About five years ago, I asked myself if I had the willpower to stop eating beef, chicken, pork and fish. This was after watching the movie Go Further at the 2003 SXSW Film Festival in Austin. It was a motivating movie in many regards (I have the DVD, if anyone wants to see it). The movie gave me motivation to choose a real New Years Eve resolution: stop eating meat and become a vegetarian. Could I do it? I was basically raised on meat and potatoes. I grew up in Texas! How does one become a vegetarian in a world of hamburgers and chicken sandwiches easily available at your favorite fast food restaurant on every corner, ordered, paid for and eaten in 5 quick minutes?

Well, apart from a few departures from the diet - most as a result of traveling to other countries and a desire (or requirement) to eat local cuisine (Llama in Bolivia - yes!), a couple instances of absolutely nothing to eat on the menu, and a few "cheats" - I was, and am, able to maintain a vegetarian diet. I've got some odd stories such as eating beans and rice EVERYDAY for 5 weeks in Belize, eating avocado after avocado during my two months in Mexico and spending the summer working and traveling the US Great Plains - regional beef producing capital - and eating basically potato and lettuce the entire time.

After five years, I enjoy tastes and food combinations that I never would have tried before. At first, I lost around 25 pounds and people were concerned. I looked like that skinny kid in eighth grade again - except I was 31. However, after much studying and reading about what to eat and the various nutritional secrets that food holds, meat is not needed.

Often (sadly), I see a news story that reemphasizes my decision to abstain from meat and have become the motivations to continue to maintain a vegetarian diet. The below link and the reason for this post is no exception - in fact it is disgusting.

A little Google querying had me discover that 143 million pounds of beef is roughly 300,000 cattle. Yes, that is a lot of cattle not to mention a lot of destroyed food.

How many acres were destroyed to raise these 300,000 cattle? How much grain was grown to feed these cattle (verses how much could have been fed to humans)? How much of the economy was squandered in processing these cattle? How much gas was used to process and transport the beef across the United States? How could corporations deliberately mistreat animals, contaminate their food, and endanger millions of customers all for a little extra profit?

How long will it take for people to forget it happened and eat another burger at their favorite fast food chain?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/02/17/usdabeef.recall.ap/index.html

A Day of Snow

Living in Fayetteville has changed our relationship with the seasons. In Austin, we got only two seasons - hot and warm. Around here, we get a nice mix of all four seasons. Our first introduction to this was last winter where I remember on several occasions the thermostat in my car measuring 10 degrees on my way to class. That certainly was a shock to our central Texas bio-systems. However, as we roll into our second winter season in Fayetteville, we are enjoying our first snowfall and expecting a few more to visit us before the winter season turns to a perfect spring.

Where the city of Austin would have shut down completely, things happened as usual around here with not much of a stir. Sharon headed into work the next day and I went into the field. It was quite nice for me being down along the Mulberry River working in a picturesque setting - albeit for very violent reasons - listening to the river move downstream interspersed with a subtle cacophony of remote sensing equipment beeping and investigators qualms about informant details. Odd, I know, but something different...a major benefit of field work.

Bubba and Jenny explored the fresh snow but not for very long.
Our eerie backyard filled with wintery ghosts and ghouls.
Sharon heading out to work. Same routine, different colors.
My drive into the Ozark National Forest to work in the morning.
Not many people drive down this road, regardless of the season.