Zombiekin

Ready for Halloween.

Color Walk

Fall is in effect.

Another Splash

Having honed our skills on my kitchen backsplash, it was time to do the same in my parent's house. Turned out great.

Unalien

Watched the Martian with Mari this afternoon. Loved the book and the movie was great as well, so I was happy with the results.

Diner

The dog diner is open for business, three bowls no waiting.

More Free

Found in the break room. The gluten free way is everywhere these days.

Not So Endless

I used to play Civilization in it's various version for countless hours, and Endless Legend it like a fantasy version of that game series. It's a good game in every aspect that makes Civilization fun, yet this didn't last very long on my play list. Maybe my taste of have changed, or I don't have the patience for a slow, turn by turn game.

Clean Slate

But today we had painters come and do all of the main area and the eating nook. It really brightened up the whole house and made it seem clean and new. Of course the color we chose was destined, it's called "Oregon Coast".

The Original Vine

It's not all bad though, I'm going to miss the vines Mari hand painted to a custom arch around our baker's rack. Captured here for posterity.

Aged

After 17 years in the same house time has taken it's toll on our walls. All those little accidental bumps, scratches and dents add up until most of them looked some version of the picture above. Not to mention a few water stains from various leaks.

Recovery

A long week, with another on the way. Nap time.

New Pan

Went and saw the new Pan movie with Mari, Lonnie and Payton. It was pretty good, another one of those that turns out better than anticipated going in.

Spacial Beauty

We'll finish off Space Week with this. Scientifically called M83, it's known as the Thousand Ruby Galaxy. Pretty amazing. Or pretty and amazing. How cool would it be to see this in person?

Far Ferryman

The first high resolution images of Charon, one of Pluto's moons.

Distant Colors

NASA released a new high res, full color picture of Pluto. Compared to the first image released this shows what it would really be like to look at it. Pretty cool stuff.

So Clutch

The best band in the land is moments away. Out seeing Clutch tonight with my buddy Chris and his friend Johnny. Two openers for Clutch, a band called The Shrine and amazingly Corrosion of Conformity! Shrine was OK, COC was great as always, but you know Clutch is going to bring the house down. (Edit: They did.)

Don't Worry

It's coming. Like a 1973 Dodge Swinger Galaxy 500.

Cold World

It was a family outing as Lonnie, Ashley, Payton, Mom and Dad joined Mari and I for a trip to the World Festival at Centennial Park on a cold and rainy day.

Bringing The Devil Back

Some of the animal causes I support might seem random I know, but I've been donating to the group trying to save the Tasmanian Devil for a few years now and today they released some great news which I will post below. It's good to feel like something you were a part of is making a difference.

Also, after reading this I thought, how would you like your job to be spreading Devil scat?

Article:

This Vaccine Could Save the Tasmanian Devil From Extinction

The fight to save Tasmanian devils just got kicked up a notch.

Last week, 20 captive-bred Tasmanian devils were returned to the wild. While that may not seem to be much of a population bump, it’s a start for the famously snarly marsupials, which have been devastated by a communicable cancer known as devil facial tumor disease.

Since it was first discovered in 1996, the cancer has killed off as many as 90 percent of the animals in many parts of their habitat. With no cure in sight, conservationists resorted to rounding up hundreds of disease-free animals from the wild; they were placed in safe captive-breeding programs located far from the possibility of infection.

Over the past few years, scientists have worked around the clock to figure out how to save the animals, and this release could be the starting point: The devils are not only disease-free but also the first recipients of a new vaccine that may prevent them from catching DFTD.

The 20 inoculated devils were exposed to DFTD in a laboratory setting, after which they produced an immune response—an indication that the vaccine may be effective against the disease.

“This is an excellent outcome, but the real test will be determining whether the vaccine is effective in protecting devils in the wild,” immunologist Greg Woods of the Menzies Institute of Medical Research at the University of Tasmania said in a statement.

Captive-bred devils have been released in the past, but only in regions that do not contain any of their species. This time, they were released into Narawntapu National Park in northern Tasmania—an area that contains wild devils known to carry the disease.

The relocated devils benefited from the work of Elizabeth Reid-Wainscote, an American intern on the ground in Tasmania who is being supported by San Diego Zoo Global. “She’s a behaviorist,” explained Bob Wiese, director of living collections for San Diego Zoo Global. “What she’s been doing is kind of forewarning the wild animals out in the national park that new devils are coming.”

To accomplish that, Reid-Wainscote scattered the captive-born devils’ scat around the park in the weeks prior to the release. This allowed the wild devils to get used to the smell of the new arrivals so they would not perceive them as a threat. The presence of the newcomers’ own scent also made the park feel more welcoming to them when they were released, so they would be more likely to stick around the park.

Now that the release has taken place, the devils will be checked several times over the next 12 weeks. “They’ll be looking to see whether they’re surviving and finding enough food and prey to eat, and if they are being infected by the disease out in the wild,” Wiese said. If the immune response does not remain active, the animals could receive a booster shot to enhance the vaccine’s effectiveness.

“The disease has knocked the devils down quite a bit, which has caused all of their prey species to increase, which affects the environment in all kinds of ways,” Wiese said. “It’s like a chain reaction. One of the ideas is if you get additional devils back out there, can we raise the density of the devils and restore the natural balance.”

The release of disease-free devils is admittedly risky for the animals, but Wiese said it’s also necessary: “The whole point of breeding the devils and maintaining the insurance populations is so you can put them back out in the wild. At some point, you’ve got to take that risk.” He equates the process with similar captive-breeding and release work with species that have been saved from extinction, such as the California condor and the black-footed ferret.

Although Tasmanian devils have suffered terribly over the past 20 years, Wiese said it looks like the work that’s been done to fight the disease is starting to pay off. “I think maybe we’re starting to turn the tide against this thing,” he said.

Link:

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/09/30/vaccine-trial-could-save-cancer-stricken-tasmanian-devils

WOTM

October.