10th Place Goes To:

9th Place Goes To:

8th Place Goes To:

7th Place Goes To:

6th Place Goes To:

5th Place Goes To:

4th Place Goes To:

The Bronze Medal Goes To:

The Silver Medal Goes To:

And The Gold Medal Winner:

(This one takes a minute to understand…)

(Her helmet is on upside down…)

10 Amazing Animals Saved from Extinction

Since the ratification of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, many species have been saved from extinction. For over three decades, the Endangered Species Act has served as America’s safety net for wildlife. Its purpose, to protect fish, plants and wildlife from going extinct is yet to be reached but many species are on the road to recovery. As of April 3, 2007, there are 1,326 species on the threatened and endangered lists but many have been saved. Here are 10 of their most notable success stories:

1. Prairie Dog

After a large extermination effort in the early 1900s, prairie dog habitat had been reduced by 98%. Their population was drastically reduced, from almost 100,000 to 3,000. They are one of only two prairie dog species with federal protection, and estimates were below 1,500 individuals in the 1970’s. Their persecution started in the 1920s because it was believed that the species damaged rangeland. The species received the status of endangered in 1973 and was reclassified as threatened in 1984 after some minor recovery. By 1981, that number had nearly tripled, back to almost its original number just eight years after the passing of the Endangered Species Act. Colonies at Bryce Canyon were reestablished in 1974, and the park now protects a few major populations.

2. Whooping Crane

In the late 1800s, there were about 1,500 birds in Western Canada and the U.S. Conservation efforts begun in 1938 have resulted in a slow increase. Now, there’s an effort to reintroduce the birds to their winter home in Florida. But that involves teaching the captive-bred birds how to migrate from their northern nesting grounds by following an ultra-light aircraft. In 40 years, the cranes’ population increased from 50 to approximately 500.

3. Grizzly Bear

These Brown Bears were once abundant in North America,  but now are close to disappearing forever. The grizzly bear is listed as threatened in the contiguous United States, and endangered in parts of Canada. What is more worrying is that bear hunting is still legal in Alaska and some parts of Canada. Still, it seems that these symbols of Earth are making a come-back: the population increased from increased from 271 to over 580 bears in the Yellowstone area between 1975 and 2005

4.  Bald Eagle

The bald eagle is probably some of the most successful American wildlife story. It reached the edge of extinction due to  hunting, habitat loss and the effects of pesticides. Bald eagle populations dropped from more than 100,000 nesting eagles at that time to only about 400 breeding pairs in 1963. Adult female birds were affected the pesticide DDT that prevented them from laying healthy eggs. The bird was declared an endangered species in the U.S. in 1967. After massive conservation efforts, there are more than 7,500 breeding pairs in the lower 48 states today.

5.  Gray Wolf

Heavily persecuted in Europe, the wolf became extinct in England in 1486, Scotland in 1743, and Ireland in 1770.  In the first part of the 20th century in North America, it was believed that wolves caused widespread livestock losses, thus reducing their population considerably. Heavy involvement in this issue lead to a massive increase of the population in Northern Rockies, Southwest, and Great Lakes,  the reintroduction experiment being a resounding success.

6.  Green Sea Turtle

Probably the oldest animal on Earth, that witnessed the dinosaurs’ destruction, the green turtle was hunted for food and for the cosmetics and clothing industries. Being an important part of the the beach/dune and the marine systems, their extinction would have a negative impact on these environments.  Although still on the endangered species list, efforts lead to an increase in the creatures’ nests. Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, the Marine Mammal Center in Northern California and the Sea Turtle Inc. organization in South Padre Island, TX are only a few of the organizations involved in saving these fascinating animals.

7. Key Deer

Hunted enthusiastically over a century ago, the key deer was a rare animal in the 1950, only 25 members of the species remaining. The conservation movement for these creatures began in Louisiana, aided by the new Federal laws. Road kills from drivers on U.S. Route 1 are one of the major threats for these animals, 40 deers being killed each year. To help with the conservation efforts, key deers were given the National Key Deer Refuge, 8,500 acres of land on Big Pine. today, their population is close to reaching 1,000.

8. Florida Panther

The Florida panther, Florida’s state animal, is one of the most endangered mammals on earth. Once on the brink of extinction, the population is now getting close to 100 felines.  Two of the most important threats for the panther are are automobile injuries and aggression between panthers for territory. The loss of habitat has the most important impact on the population, since panthers need large areas with an adequate number of prey. Scientists say Florida’s current panther population is perhaps the greatest it’s been in the past fifty years.

9.  Kirtland’s Warbler

Fire suppression led to decline in suitable habitat for nesting, while nest parasites led to a decrease in the number of Warbler birds. It has restrictive breeding range requirements, preferring 5-20 year old jack pine trees and sandy soil for its nest. From 210 pairs in 1971, the birds population reached 1,000 pairs in 2001 due to intense conservation efforts following the Endangered Species Act.  Today, 150,000 acres of public land are reserved for Kirtland’s warbler management.

10. American Alligator

The American alligator is one of the two living species of Alligator and one of the largest reptiles in North America. Humans are the American alligators main threat to survival. Sadly, they are hunted for their meat and their skin used to produce various leather goods. Conservation efforts have helped the American alligator make a comebac, now being fully recovered and consequently removed the animal from the list of endangered species.

50 Funniest Short Job Descriptions Ever

Over on the Dilbert Blog, Scott Adams gave his readers an assignment: “describe your own job in one sentence, preferably in a humorously derogatory way.” Here are the best replies from among the hundreds, with the top 10 at the end.

Warning: if cynicism annoys you, stop reading now.

My Job Is To…

1. Read things that don’t matter, then write papers saying they do matter, for points that don’t matter, in order to get a job doing something totally unrelated: Student
2. Take numbers on pieces of paper, rearrange them and put them on different pieces of paper: Tax Accountant
3. Explain big words to sales people and then cower before customers while trying to convince them that the sales people really didn’t say what the customers understood: Customer Solutions Engineer
4. Learn laws created ages ago so that I can tell engineers why I’m smarter than they are while complaining how it’s a travesty that they get paid more: Physics major
5. Show you innovative ways to burn money in the spirit of patriotism: Fireworks Stand Manager
6. Help people lie consistently to their bosses: Business Intelligence Consultant
7. Teach your kids enough to complain but not enough to make a difference: College Teacher
8. Pass poisonous gas on command: Research Assistant in solid state ammonia storage
9. Make people who are already filthy rich somewhat richer by duping poor people into buying stuff they don’t need: Corporate Software Engineer
10. Find as many synonyms for “explosion” as possible: Novelist for Teenage Boys
11. Supervise the guys and gals who try to protect the good people from the bad, only to be hated by the good people AND the bad: Police Sergeant
12. Make corporate propaganda feel like folksy truthisms: TV Ad Director
13. Manage waste recycling, promotion & sales: Antiques Dealer
14. Arrive after the battle and bayonet all the wounded: Auditor
15. Sell gas: Energy and Telecom Business Analyst
16. Tell forty year-old men it’s okay to behave like fourteen year-old school girls: Printing Press Production Coordinator
17. Provide arcane information on a need-to-know basis: Chief Accountant
18. Shepherd clients through the process of setting their products on fire: Consumer Products Tester
19. Manage urban renewal and pest control: B-52 Bomber pilot
20. Persuade kids that it’s really fun being wet, cold and scared out of their minds: Sailing Instructor
21. Draw up plans for something that will not be built according to those plans: Civil Engineer, Transportation Design
22. Teach kids to be evil…or so they say: Video Game Creator
23. Ensure that stupid people stay in the gene pool: Lifeguard
24. Spend most of the day looking out the window: Pilot
25. Wear a tuxedo and smash metal plates into each other: Musician
26. Go to strange people’s houses and take their money: Pizza Delivery Boy
27. Sell gluttony: Cinema Concession Stand Attendant
28. Tell people that they can’t spend money they thought they had: Government Analyst
29. Take pictures of the unlucky and the stupid: X-ray Technician
30. Profit from the misfortunes of others: Cops and Courts Reporter
31. Take a simple two-way promise and turn it into several complicated one-way promises which neither side can understand or hope to fulfill: Lawyer
32. Bring a little rain into the lives of flood victims: Government Debt Collector
33. Have people spend far more than they estimated: Building Inspector
34. Make sure nothing ever happens: IT Security
35. Move things from one tube to another: Microbiologist
36. Try not to kill the baby: Housewife
37. Misinterpret the universe: Astronomer
38. Be a human napkin: Stay-at-home mom of three
39. Run away and call the police: Security Guard
40. Copy and paste the Internet: Student

The Top 10

1. Help people hate each other: Divorce Lawyer (Scott Adams’ favorite)
2. Stand on a field and get yelled at for hours: Baseball Umpire
3. Talk in other people’s sleep: College Professor
4. Call people who know what they’re doing and ask them what they’re doing: Incident Manager
5. Show people how beautiful the Earth would be without them: Mountain Landscape Photographer/Climber
6. Make people feel bad about their work: Quality Assurance Tester
7. Repeatedly fix what you repeatedly break: IT Director
8. Clean up an animal that makes more money then me in a year: Assistant Horse Trainer
9. Write words that no one wants to read: Technical Writer
10. Make food that is as healthy before it goes in your body as when it comes back out: Fast Food Employee

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var caption = ‘Photograph courtesy Harvey Garcia ‘;

September 18, 2007—This unusual species of flying fox was recently discovered in the Philippines not long after it was deemed not to exist.

Jake Esselstyn, a biologist with the University of Kansas, was among a team of researchers that found the animal, a type of fruit bat, last year while surveying forest life on the island of Mindoro (see Philippines map).

“When we first arrived on Mindoro, a local resident that we hired as a guide described the bat to me in great detail, and he asked me what it was called,” Esselstyn said.

“I politely told him that there was no such bat. I was wrong.”

Several days into the survey, the scientists accidentally captured a creature in a net that fit the guide’s description: a large flying fox with bright orange fur and distinctive white stripes across its brow and jaw.

“Our guide’s description of the animal was quite accurate, and I had to apologize for not believing him,” Esselstyn said, adding that the animal is now known as the Mindoro stripe-faced fruit bat.

In his own defense, the scientist pointed out that the species’ closest known relative lives some 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) away on an island in Indonesia.

“It makes you wonder if there are other related species on islands between [the two],” he said.

“It also makes you realize how there are probably many more species which have yet to be discovered—in the Philippines and elsewhere,” Esselstyn added.

“This discovery emphasizes the need for a great deal more basic biodiversity inventory research.”

—Blake de Pastino

The Three Kick Rule

A big city London lawyer went duck hunting in rural Scotland.
He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer’s field
on the other side of a fence. As the lawyer climbed over
the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked
the lawyer what he was doing. The lawyer responded, “I shot a
duck and it fell into this field, and now I’m going to retrieve
it.” The old farmer replied. “This is my property, and
you’re not coming over here.” The indignant lawyer replied.
“I’m one of the best trial lawyers in the UK, and if you don’t
let me get that duck, I’ll sue you and take everything that you
own. The old farmer smiled and said, “Apparently, you don’t
know how we do things in Scotland. We settle small disagreements
like this, with the Scottish Three Kick Rule.” The lawyer
asked, “What is the Scottish Three Kick Rule?” The farmer replied,
“Well, first I kick you three times and then you kick me three
times, and so on, back and forth until someone gives up.” The
attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided
that he could easily take the old codger. He agreed to abide
by the local custom. The old farmer slowly gets down from
the tractor and walked up to the city fella. His first kick planted
the toe of his heavy work boot into the lawyer’s groin, which
dropped him to his knees. His second kick nearly ripped the
nose off his face. The lawyer was flat on his belly, when the
farmer’s third kick to a kidney nearly causing him to give
up, but didn’t. The lawyer summoned every bit of his will
and managed to get to his feet and said, “Okay, you old tosser,
now it’s my turn.” The old farmer smiled and said, “Naw,
I give up, you can keep the duck!”

This is from a vibe I found on www.madebig.com. Here is the link because I would like to give this person full credit for their work. Make sure you rate them and give them a High5.

Click Here to view vibe.

I find a lot of things on MadeBig that I love. Check out some other features of the site that I like.

The BrainTrust section is one of my favorites because you can ask and answer questions there to other users. This is nice when you would like opinions or have questions that you can’t find answers to online because you don’t know what exactly to search for. It’s like getting a review of something before trying it out. Check out this one I found the other day.

Click Here to view question.

You can earn MB Coins in the BrainTrust by answering questions and you can earn them other places on the site too, but you spend them in the MarketPlace which is another of my favorite sections of the site. There you buy things from other users (like on eBay) but you pay with MB Coins you earned on the site. So the stuff is free. You can find some good things on there too; check out what I found today.

Click Here to view the item

If you don’t like buying used things you can check out the Shopping section. I like it because you can search by sales price. This is nice when you want to save some green on items online. A lot of times you can find great things on sale. Here are some items I found that are 25% off.

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There’s also a Local section where you can rate and review businesses for MB Coins and get coupons, pictures, blogs, forums, messaging, friends, and a MB Game where you win MB Coins like a lotto. Check it out, and I hope you have fun there .