If Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Lost World" didn't stir up images of magical beauty filled with exotic animals gracing the landscape, a new scientific discovery in Venezuela certainly will.

1.8 million year old fossils, including skulls and jawbones of six scimitar-toothed cats (part of the saber-toothed cat family), were unearthed by Venezuelan oil workers laying a pipeline in the eastern state of Monagas two years ago.  They were not identified as such until last year, however, when scientists were brought in to assess the findings.  

Venezuelan paleontologists announced the discovery this month, proving that the cat did indeed inhabit South America.  The discovery may also provide insight into the type of environment that existed after North and South America became connected after a 65 million year separation, scientists say.  

"The deposit could be one of the most important in South America in the last 60 years," lead researcher Rincon told The Associated Press.  Read the full AP story here.

This is the story.

Yesterday morning, I thought, that morning is still early morning, when I look the time in my cellphone, it's already about 8-9 am, and still raining. At the time before I took a bath, I texted twice/2 times the person who conducted a lecture last Tuesday, she didn't reply. During the time I taking a bath, my parents decided to come with me, due to that during that time is still raining.

When we arrived in the area wherein, in that area, a road existing from UP Diliman campus going to Katipunan Avenue, we had a traffic experience. At this moment, I texted for the third time, the person who conducted a lecture last Tuesday, after a few minute(s)/moment(s), that person texted/replied to me, that there will an exam this Friday, that's tomorrow, same time.

After that, we decided to go the place, I asked my parents if we were going to Megamall, I/We will buy an umbrella, the one easy to fold and usually used by women, instead, we went to SM North Edsa, to buy an umbrella, the one easy to fold and usually used by women, before that, my parents updated their passbook/bankbook, regarding their businesses, and went home.

This is the story.

Yesterday morning, I thought, that morning is still early morning, when I look the time in my cellphone, it's already about 8-9 am, and still raining. At the time before I took a bath, I texted twice/2 times the person who conducted a lecture last Tuesday, she didn't reply. During the time I taking a bath, my parents decided to come with me, due to that during that time is still raining.

When we arrived in the area wherein, in that area, a road existing from UP Diliman campus going to Katipunan Avenue, we had a traffic experience. At this moment, I texted for the third time, the person who conducted a lecture last Tuesday, after a few minute(s)/moment(s), that person texted/replied to me, that there will an exam this Friday, that's tomorrow, same time.

After that, we decided to go the place, I asked my parents if we were going to Megamall, I/We will buy an umbrella, the one easy to fold and usually used by women, instead, we went to SM North Edsa, to buy an umbrella, the one easy to fold and usually used by women, before that, my parents updated their passbook/bankbook, regarding their businesses, and went home.

This is the story.

Yesterday morning, I thought, that morning is still early morning, when I look the time in my cellphone, it's already about 8-9 am, and still raining. At the time before I took a bath, I texted twice/2 times the person who conducted a lecture last Tuesday, she didn't reply. During the time I taking a bath, my parents decided to come with me, due to that during that time is still raining.

When we arrived in the area wherein, in that area, a road existing from UP Diliman campus going to Katipunan Avenue, we had a traffic experience. At this moment, I texted for the third time, the person who conducted a lecture last Tuesday, after a few minute(s)/moment(s), that person texted/replied to me, that there will an exam this Friday, that's tomorrow, same time.

After that, we decided to go the place, I asked my parents if we were going to Megamall, I/We will buy an umbrella, the one easy to fold and usually used by women, instead, we went to SM North Edsa, to buy an umbrella, the one easy to fold and usually used by women, before that, my parents updated their passbook/bankbook, regarding their businesses, and went home.

First off, archaeologists have discovered the only known remains of the long-extinct scimictar cat (of the saber-toothed tiger family) on the South American continent. Fossils of 6 of the big cats dating back 1.8 million years were found alongside those of panthers, wolves, camels (!), condors, ducks and horses.

Any guesses as to how these archaeological gems were unearthed? Yep, while digging for oil! Employees of the state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) came across them while prospecting in Monagas State.

Researcher Ascanio Rincon of the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Investigation told AFP, "It's South America's most important discovery in 60 years."

Now, to bring our story up to the present day, Venezuelan zookeepers are looking forward to a little help from their counterparts in Cuba. The Cubans will send animals to Venezuela in exchange for medical equipment as part of an ongoing barter between the countries. Some 10 specimens are under negotiation, including a six-month old giraffe named "Evo" in honor of Bolivia's President Evo Morales. Reuters has the scoop.

Kahapon ng umaga ulit kami nagkaroon ng dial tone at Internet.

Kahapon ng umaga ulit kami nagkaroon ng dial tone at Internet.

Kahapon ng umaga ulit kami nagkaroon ng dial tone at Internet.

Venezuela's national flower, of course!

In Venezuela, the variety of orchid known to botanists as Cattleya mossiae is called either Flor de Mayo (May flower), Mayito (Little May) or Flor del Nazareno (Flower of the Nazarene), all of which relate to its springtime blooming season. Because the flower reaches its splendor right around Easter, the Catholic Church has incorporated it into many of its ceremonies and religious displays.

To read more about what makes this flower special visit the Human Flower Project.

Now there's a new delicacy in town, care of Citgo gas stations and former Wawa convenience store executive John Sacharok. Café Venezuela made its debut in the US yesterday at a small Citgo gas station in Philadelphia. On hand at the launch were the CEO of Citgo, the Ambassador of Venezuela, and the program's president.

The premium coffee will be offered at select Citgo gas stations throughout the US and will allow Americans to get to know the tastier side of Venezuela. Café Venezuela was founded to assist small coffee growers in rural Venezuela by packaging their products and delivering them to consumers abroad. Most of the growers represent family farms and communities that have suffered from economic marginalization.

Café Venezuela aims to help Venezuelan farmers to prosper, but its goals also include maintaining traditional ways of life in the countryside, fostering environmental sustainability, and achieving food security. Behind these goals is a simple commercial relationship that also has cultural significance; the slogan of Café Venezuela appropriately reads: “from the grower to your cup.”

Citgo's Cafe Venezuela and cappuccino start at a reasonable $1.09. So, if you're in Philadelphia, Boston, or Chicago, make sure to ask your local Citgo station and convenience store for Café Venezuela. Not only will you get a good cup of Joe, but you will directly support sustainable development in Venezuela.

Isa lang ang kumpanyang inaplayan ko. Hindi ko babanggit kung ano ang pangalang ng kumpanya, for security and personal purposes. 5/Five pages yung application form nila, kung wala kang dalang resumé.

Tapos, may job fair sa TriNoma, kahapon at ngayon. Hindi na ako pumunta kasi, napansin ko na alas-kuwatro na ng hapon, umaambot sa Megamall, at maaring siksikan sa pag-sakay sa Annex building ng SM North Edsa. Tapos, itim yung usok ng bus na sinakyan/nasakyan ko. Nalaman ko na may job fair sa TriNoma, sa tatay ko. Hindi ko alam, kung papano niya nalaman.

Isa lang ang kumpanyang inaplayan ko. Hindi ko babanggit kung ano ang pangalang ng kumpanya, for security and personal purposes. 5/Five pages yung application form nila, kung wala kang dalang resumé.

Tapos, may job fair sa TriNoma, kahapon at ngayon. Hindi na ako pumunta kasi, napansin ko na alas-kuwatro na ng hapon, umaambot sa Megamall, at maaring siksikan sa pag-sakay sa Annex building ng SM North Edsa. Tapos, itim yung usok bus na sinakyan/nasakyan ko. Nalaman ko na may job fair sa TriNoma, sa tatay ko. Hindi ko alam, kung papano niya nalaman.

For many low- and middle-income people in the U.S., helping the environment can take a back seat to the everyday demands of simply making ends meet. Citgo, the Venezuelan-owned gas company, is helping to address this problem through its new Energy Efficient Lighting Program.

The program donates energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs to families in cities across the U.S. It is based on a successful initiative in Venezuela that oversaw the nation-wide switch to eco-friendly bulbs. Also, it marks a second phase of the Community Assistance Program by Citgo, which has donated discounted home heating oil to more than 1.2 million U.S. residents since 2005.

At the launch in Washington DC on Tuesday, neighbors watched Shirley Braxton (pictured above) install the first free light bulbs in her home. Speeches were made by the CEO of Citgo, the Venezuelan Ambassador, and Joe Kennedy of the host charity Citizens Energy.

By distributing nearly half a million energy efficient bulbs, Citgo will help recipients in 23,000 households to save $14.9 million and cut their energy use by 165 million kilowatt hours.

The lighting program is taking place in DC and everywhere Citgo refineries operate, in Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas; Lemont, Illinois; and Lake Charles, Louisiana. Other cities set receive the aid include New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Madison, and Minneapolis. To see figures for each city, click here. For information about how you can participate, call 1-800-315-7682.

UPDATE: Read news articles from the AP and the Houston Chronicle.

Venezuela's most-visited national park turns 50 this year!

Parque Nacional El Avila is just outside of Caracas, encompassing the steep, forested mountains that stand between the capital city and the aquamarine waters of the Caribbean. Hiking on the more than 100 miles of trails that criss-cross El Avila is a common Sunday ritual for many residents of Caracas, who take in breathtaking vistas of the landscape and the city below.

Alternately, visitors can take the teleferico (the cable car seen here) to the top, which stands 7,000 feet above the city. Here, there are refreshments resting spots, including an ice skating rink and the famous Hotel Humboldt.

El Avila was decreed a national park on December 12th, 1958. This year, to mark the anniversary of its founding, events are taking place throughout the year. To read more in Spanish, click here.

Lack of foliage has always been an issue here, and many residents have resigned themselves to the dust that coats cars and that finds its way inside homes. Now the Tijuana newspaper Frontera reports that the Mexican federal government is providing 3,000 trees to be planted in about a dozen points in this border city. Some of the areas mentioned include Avenida Revolucion, the road near the airport, and Paseo de los Heroes. The article mentions that the state's goal is to plant 30,000 trees in the entire state.

It will be interesting to see where those trees end up taking root and how the government balances aesthetics with need. Additional trees in places like Avenida Revolucion will make tourist areas more pleasant for visitors, maybe even bring in more business, but the parts of the city that probably need trees the most are in the poorest colonias where shady areas are scarce and where few tourists go.

stock photo from freefoto.com

That's why this new coverage from BBC News is so exciting!

The petrocasas program is setting new standards for how developing countries can address poverty and related housing issues in a way that is affordable and effective. Not only that, but petrocasas are far better for the environment than hodgepodge slums are. They are made from recycled waste generated by oil refining!

BBC correspondent James Ingham reports. Click here to watch.

Now here is something that is good for the economy and the environment.

Idle estates in rural Venezuela are being used for small-scale agricultural production by local farming cooperatives. This is a result of a program of land reform that has benefited over 100,000 families. The cooperatives have helped poor and previously landless communities become powerful producers of items such as beef, dairy products, grains, and vegetables.

Many cooperative members are aware that their work is helping offset a food crisis that threatens poor communities all around the world. They know how much Venezuela relies on imported goods, and have taken an active role in ensuring that local supples are available. Read a great IPS article here.

Who Killed the Electric Car? Seen it? Heard of it? You need to. It's pretty amazing. Back in the mid 1990's, partly out of pressure from the California State Government, the electric car hit the streets.  Most of us here in the southeast or midwest may have never seen one.  Many of us probably never even heard of it.  But it existed.  And it worked.  And the cars were amazing.  Many were owned by celebrities....you know, all the ones that now drive Prius's, ride bikes, speak out against smog, and live in homes that cost $1000.00 each month just to heat and cool?  Yep, those celebrities.  Without giving away the plot, the electric car effort came to a screeching halt, back around 2000 or 2001. 

However, back then, in the $1.50/gallon days, no one could have forseen $4.00/gallon gas just 7 years down the road.  So, after a short hiatus, in which most of the population has probably forgotten the electric car ever existed.....they're making their way back.  For real.  You can check it out.  Here.  Or here. 

And whether you've seen them or not, electric cars are on the road.  Their just few and far between.  Want proof?  A couple of weeks ago, I was in the Barnes and Noble parking lot on Kingston Pike at about 8:00pm.  Was heading there to do some reading before meeting some friends to play tennis.  When, what did my eyes behold?  This...

That's right.  An electric car.  And not only that, but one with some BAD ASS wheels baby!  Notice the picture on the left.  I really liked how the car was parked right in front of a $50,000 Porsche Boxster.  Awesome. 

So, cross your fingers.  I say it's very possible that, within the next 10 years, electric cars could be a true reality.  And not just 100 of them scattered across the nation, but mass produced and parked in yours or my garage.  Well, I don't have a garage, but that's not the point.  It's real.  It's coming.  And I'm terribly excited about it.

Is this really my kid?  He loves bugs.  He loves letting caterpillars crawl onto his hand.  He likes getting really close to the ground and watching ants.  A couple of weeks ago, Erin went to pick him up at daycare.  The kids were outside playing in the back yard playground area.  Eli's hands were cusped together as he ran to Erin saying, "Mommy, mommy, look what I got for you."  Erin had an idea it was probably a bug.  Maybe a caterpillar.  He opens his hands, and there are roughly 5-6 long slimy worms bunched up in his hands!  AHHH!!  GROSS!!  It freaked Erin out, as it would have for me. 

Why bugs, son?  Why bugs?  Soon he'll be bringing frogs into our home, releasing moths into his bedroom, and housing lizards in his dresser drawers.  Not long after that he'll begin disecting them.  Studying their organs.  Analyzing their bone structure.  Going to college and learning their domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species (impressive, huh?).  We'll visit his dorm and find beetle colonies under the bed.  He'll start using words like bugaboo, bugger, debugged, humbug, buggy, and bugle.  He'll wear ecologically friendly praying mantis colored t-shirts.  He'll invite us over for dinner and offer us a wide selection of cholocate covered junebugs, fricaseed slugs, and grasshopper soup. 

And because I'm his dad, I'll love every minute of it. 

1. Driving with the windows down and listening to slighly more rap/hiphop music than I do during the rest of the year.  For some reason, when the windows are down, I just enjoy a little hip hop....the last couple of weeks it's been Kanye West, but I'll pop in some Will Smith, LL Cool J, Eminem, Dr Dre, Fu Schnikens, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, and a couple of others as the summer goes on.
2. Never going home at night.  We're bad at this, but it's fun.  Erin & I never want to just go home from work during summer.  It's always which park we can take Eli to, where to get something cheap to eat, where to go for a walk, etc.  Anything but home.  This makes laundry a bit of an issue.
3. Frisbee.  Let me just say this loud and clear....I absolutely love throwing Frisbee.  I always have.  Problem is, I've never really known too many people who love it equally.  I can go out into an open area with someone and throw Frisbee for an hour and never get tired of it.  I also love Ultimate Frisbee, but haven't played it in about 5 years.  Again, just don't know who/when/where anyone is playing it.
4. Water play.  This summer we have season passes to Splash Country (a gift from Erin's family).  We've already been there 3 times.  There are at least 7 or 8 areas/parks around town that have the water spouts and fountains that shoot up out of the ground.  Eli really enjoys these, it's really a blast. 
5. Less traffic going to work.  I live 23 miles from work.  It normally takes me about 45-50 minutes to leave home, take Eli to daycare, and then drive all the way to work.  In the summer, because of the lack of school/teacher traffic, that morning commute get cut by about 10 minutes.
6. The U.S. Open, The British Open, and the PGA Championship.  Those are golf tournaments, for those who don't know.  3 of the 4 major championships in golf take place over a 3 month period of time. 
7. Church camp....granted, I haven't attended a week of camp, either as a camper or faculty, in over 8 years.  But church camp is very nostalgic for me.  During the summer, I think back often on my camper days growing up, with very fond memories.  I miss my home camp, Camp Calvary.  I had so many incredible times there.  (Want something fun to do?  Visit the Camp Calvary link, click on "camp photos", and see if you can find me in any archived photos from the 1985 - 1997 era.  I'll even give you one to start with...1994, Junior High II.  From 1994 to 1996, I think I'm in 11 different photos.)
8. Waking up to sunlight.  I'm not an early bird by any means.  But it's much much easier to wake up at 6:30am in the summer when the light is already coming through the windows.  As opposed to winter, when it's 7:15am and still almost pitch dark. 

Things I Do NOT Like About Summer...

1. It's insufferably hot in the Knoxville area.  The average high temperature from June - August is roughly 88 degrees...and even that seems low, considering how many upper 90's days there seems to be.  And it's stinking HUMID.  Frankly, it's pretty hard to appreciate being outside sometimes when all you can think about is how hot you are, how much you're sweating, and how much you cannot wait to take a cold shower. 
2. Too much to do, too little money to spend.  We have all these ideas of things we'd love to do during the summer....weekend trips, zoo, day trips, camping, etc....but all the ideas cost money, and we're on a very tight budget!
3. Crappy Air Conditioning.  The townhouse where we live has a hard time staying cool.  We've had it worked on 3-4 different times.  Often we'll set the temperature at 69 degrees while we're at work, and when we come home it's 76 degrees inside the place.  And we never seem to be cool enough at night.  We try to be conserative with out temperature setting to save money, so that's a factor as well.
4. The lack of a variety of sports to watch.  I like baseball in general, but I do not enjoy watching it.  That leaves golf.  And my wife does NOT like to watch golf, so I catch bits and pieces when I can.  But that's it.  No football.  No basketball.  The Olympics will be okay, but there are 1000 events going on and they only air about 4 of them, so you have to get lucky to see what you want.  Also, you have to know that we only pay about $12.00 a month for 15 channel cable, so my sports options are limited in that respect too.
5. Yard work.  Luckily, we don't really have a yard.  And we don't have to mow the tiny bit we do have.  But I'll occasionally be called upon to help with some yard work, mainly for my father in law, and it's just brutal during the summer.  I'm always glad to help and do something productive, but man, you just sweat and sweat and sweat, the grass sticks to your sweat, you smell terrible....
6. Getting into my car.  If it's 95 degrees outside, it's roughly 114 inside my car.  For the first 2 minutes, it's hard to breath.  And my little Mazda doesn't have the most potent AC, so that takes a while as well. 
7. The lack of rain.  I enjoy rain.  Obviously, like anyone, I don't enjoy rain if it ruins my plans in some way, but overall I find rain wonderful, refreshing, and just another awesome reminder of God's wonder.  But I often wish it would rain a bit more during the summer, when you might actually be able to be outside IN the rain, enjoying it, needing it to cool you off, you know? 
8. BUGS.  I really really do not like bugs.  Of any kind.  Ants, flies, grasshoppers, roaches, spiders, gnats, mosquitos, you name it.  And in the summer, they're everywhere.  It's impossible to hide from them. 

Either way, summer is here.  I hope you enjoy yours.  Just watch out for bugs.

Original thx to Current; this version (compatible with wp) from YouTube. Shows that there are still good... and brave... and un-sold-out... journalists in this world:

(We're in Iraq for $20/barrel oil... I'd completely forgotten Murdoch had said that! TYVM Bill!)

The Miami Herald quoted Alexis Pardo, the Maracay horticulturist, as saying: "This is a wonderful festival, both for the collaborations and interchange between growers and the good prices everyone gets for the plants."

There are an astounding 22,000 known species of orchids in the world. Venezuela's prized flower is the Easter Orchid or Flor de Mayo, like the one pictured here. The festival also included varities from Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand.