snow

yesterday february 22, 2008. i am lucky enough to work for a company that allows me to work from home time to time. when it's bad out, that's exactly what i do. these were taken from my back porch and my front yard.

this is NOT right

and i hope hamden really does look into this AND make changes immediately. let's just say you don't care about animals at all (which of course isn't true in my case. but let's just say that). IT'S DANGEROUS TO HUMANS to dump the carcass of a dead animal over a cliff. it would bring disease and perhaps other predatory animals into the area.

Dead animals dumped off cliff
by News Channel 8's Annie Rourke
Hamden (WTNH) _ There is a gruesome site at the bottom of a cliff in Hamden. The remains of several dogs have literally been dumped at a transfer station.
"I wasn't expecting what I saw, to be honest," said Sharon Bass, editor of the cyber paper the Hamden Daily News.
As editor, Bass gets a lot of tips from readers. So when she came out to the Hamden transfer station, she wasn't sure what she'd find.
"This person told me that they had seen the animal Hamden control officer take a dead dog, what appeared to be a dead dog, out of his truck and throw it down the cliff," Bass said.
When she looked down the cliff she saw four or five recently deceased dogs among the bones of older carcasses.
News Channel 8 has confirmed, this is the new policy in Hamden of how to dispose of dead animals, wild or domesticated. It is a cost-saving measure, the town used to pay for mass burials or cremations of unclaimed pets who had been hit by a car, or strays that had to be put down. ...........

mark, the ramp is done!

(my friend mark was in the avon mountain crash. he was seriously injured and life star-ed out of there. he is well now and writing a book which i have had the pleasure of reading the first half of. when published, none of the profits will go to mark. so i'm telling you now, WHEN it's published, everyone HAS to buy a copy or two)
Avon Mountain runaway truck ramp set to open

Associated Press
AVON, Conn. -- State transportation officials say a runaway truck ramp on Route 44 in Avon is set to open Friday, more than two years after a fatal wreck and five months after a second crash.Work on the $2.8 million ramp began in November and is the first such ramp built in Connecticut, according to acting Transportation Commissioner Emil Frankel. Gov. M. Jodi Rell ordered safety measures in the area after a tractor-trailer lost its brakes and slammed into a furniture store in September. No one was seriously injured. However, four people were killed in July 2005 when an out-of-control dump truck barreled into the same intersection and hit several vehicles, including a commuter bus.........

the saltmarsh sharp tailed sparrow

is in danger. will we continue to ignore global warming? will we allow waste to continue to pollute our land and air?

Saltmarsh Sparrow May Find Itself In Harm's Way

Global warming could threaten dependency on local coastal habitat
By Judy Benson Health\/Science\/Environment ReporterE-mail: j.benson@theday.com

Though perhaps not as dramatic as polar bears drowning in rising Arctic seas and melting ice, the perils of a little sparrow that depends on the salt marshes of southeastern Connecticut for nesting could be a local indicator of the effects of global warming.
In the Connecticut State of the Birds 2008 report released last week by the Connecticut Audubon Society, the saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow is named among six threatened species that depend on specific types of habitat in Connecticut for their survival.
“This could be the first Connecticut species to go extinct if sea levels continue to rise as they are,” said Milan Bull, senior director of science and conservation at the Audubon Society. “With global warming and sea-level rise increasing, our coastal salt marshes are at great risk, very great risk.”
The saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow, a migratory species that spends May through November in the marshes of southeastern Connecticut, is “arguably the bird for which conservation actions in Connecticut are most important in terms of ensuring long-term survival,” the report states........

picture: The loss of habitat is a threat to the existence of the saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow, according to a report released by the Connecticut Audubon Society.

don't forget there's a lunar eclipse wednesday night!

how cool!


The lunar eclipse will create a stunning effect in the sky. (Elliot Severn/Boothe Memorial Astronomical Society)

Stargazing eclipsed by lunar event
RICHARD WEIZEL rweizel@ctpost.com

STRATFORD — On a particularly dark and misty night last week about a half-dozen people ranging in age from 11 to 60 gathered around a high powered telescope in a small two-room observatory at Boothe Memorial Park.
It wasn't the best of nights to be stargazing, but that didn't seem to deter this group.
Instead, they talked excitedly about what it's like when they can look up beyond the night sky and see planets, stars and galaxies — some as close as Venus and Mars, others that are light years away, and likely don't even exist anymore.
Now, these astronomy buffs, members of the 55-year-old Boothe Memorial Astronomical Society, are getting ready for something special — a major astronomical event they will view from the park Wednesday when up to 500 people are expected to turn out to watch a total lunar eclipse between 10 and 11 p.m.
"People will come and spread out on blankets and lawn chairs, or just stand and gaze up and see something special," said Mark Holden, the society's vice president and Trumbull resident, who has been a member for 30 years. "Society members will set up about a half-dozen of our own telescopes that are just right for seeing the eclipse, and people can line up and take turns."
The eclipse, which allows the moon to be gradually covered by the Earth's shadow, culminates in the moon appearing to be engulfed in an "eerie coppery glow," society members said, that some describe as reddish orange..........

not just state, but local police

too! i HATE people who are driving and on their cell phones. it's dangerous AND stupid. i see TENS of them each day. bust them ALL
while i'm bitching, TURN YOUR EFFING LIGHTS ON WHEN THE WEATHER IS BAD. THAT'S A STATE LAW AS WELL

Eyes On The Road!
Police Looking For Inattentive Drivers
State police have been ordered to crack down this week on drivers whose inattentiveness threatens the safety of others, particularly those using cellphones."Twenty-five percent of all crashes involve some form of driver distraction," Gov. M. Jodi Rell said in announcing the launch today of "Operation Safe Drive." The crackdown runs through Friday, a time when many students are out of school on vacation. "I have directed the state police to focus on the strict enforcement of distracted driving offenses, especially cellphone use while driving," Rell said in a press release. "Distracted driving is dangerous to everyone. Some distractions, no matter how minor, interfere with a driver's ability to properly maintain control of his or her vehicle. The fine for [hand-held] cellphone use while driving is $100, but the consequences of being distracted while driving can amount to much more." ......

as i said over on this posting

at ravings of a semi-sane madwoman I SURE DO HOPE BRUCE WILLIS IS AVAILABLE
Conn. towns respond to satellite warning with caution, wary jokes
SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn.—Emergency officials say they're ready for the extremely remote possibility that a disabled U.S. spy satellite could crash in Connecticut.
more stories like this
Federal officials recently sent guidelines to all U.S. municipalities on how to respond, although the Navy hopes to shoot down the dead satellite before it reaches land.
They say the likelihood of the satellite crashing and injuring anyone is extremely remote and that no one should be alarmed.
Emergency officials in several Connecticut towns say they're prepared, just in case........