My math is a bit rusty

On August 11 2007, it seems that serious damage was done in Cipriani 42nd St in New York City NY. A 19-page complaint has now been filed in an attempt to rectify that damage.

It seems that newlyweds David and Elana Glatt are now sueing Posey Floral Design on E 72nd St for ruining their wedding day. In papers filed in Manhatten Superior Court, they detail accusations of a "bait and switch" by the shop as well as wilting boutonniere, dust filled vases, cheap-looking roses used in the bathroom arrangements and the 22 centerpieces at $465 each, didn't specifically match the color scheme in the ballroom.

"She's a lawyer. They're just out for gain," stated Stamos Arakas, shop owner and florist.

Arakas, who's work has been featured in Vogue, Gotham and New York magazines, stated that the couple along with David Glatt's mother Tobi, came to him after he had handled the wedding of Elana Glatt's sister. They claim that they spent $30,000 and twelve months planning the flowers for the wedding and what they got wasn't even close to what they had wanted. Arakas responded that the couple is just looking for the green that is found in wallets and not centerpieces.

A Web site showcasing their love shows the Glatts enjoying themselves at a wedding shower, Cabo San Lucas and Aruba and they did not return emails or phonecalls. It would seem that it is over more than the shade of a flower since they are sueing for $400,000, quite a jump from the money spent on the flowers but I am guessing, would cover all of their wedding costs. If for some reason they should win........... I bet we can view more "happy" photos of the couple on vacations.

Who are you hiding behind bullwinkle?

It seems that the lovable moose has been adapting to life in Yellowstone Park in the past decade. They also have been taking advantage of human developement according to a report by researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society.

"The closest moose we had give birth was 50 yards from a road," stated Joel Berger, Wildlife Society biologist.

The researchers tracked the locations of both moose and brown bears in Yellowstone Park from 1995 to 2004 and the results of their report were released online October 9 2007 in the Biology Letters. Brown bears prey heavily on moose calves and they found that over the ten years, the bear population increased rapidly due to conservation efforts. During that same time, they found that moose moved closer to paved roads to calve, where bears typically shy away.

Over the ten years, they found that moose had moved an average of 400 feet closer to the roads each year to give birth, when they normally tend to stay approximately 1,000 feet from the roads. The brown bears try to avoid human contact and stay an average of 1.600 feet from roads in all places, including Yellowstone.

Other species have shown the same methods in protecting their newborns. In Nepal, axis deer have escaped from tigers by staying close to tourist centers and in Kenya, velvet monkeys avoid leopards by staying close to the ranger stations.

The moose apparently have found out how to protect themselves and their newborns....... and they have been using unwitting human park visitors to do that for over a decade.

Forecast: drizzle

According to new reports released by researchers, you should probably pack your wet weather gear if you plan on traveling to Titan. If not, you could spend time getting wet from the morning drizzle.

"The rain could be caused by processes similar to those on Earth. Moisture laden clouds pushed upslope by winds condense to form a coastal rain," stated Imke de Pater, an astronomer at U C Berkeley.

It seems that the morning forcast on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, includes some cold and miserable weather for travelors there, as in 300 degrees below zero and a steady morning drizzle. Scientists state that the process for the drizzle seems to be similar to that on Earth but the rain is methane, an explosive gas here but chilled to a liquid on Titan.

Researchers led by Mate Adamkovics of the University of California, Berkeley have used infared images to analyze the moon and found that most of the images contained methane clouds and drizzle seen in the morning. Depending on the condtions they state, it could be a ground mist or hit the surface of the moon as a steady drizzle.

The researchers also state that the drizzle seems to end around 10:30 am, Titan time, which would seem to leave plenty of time for the day's activities if you are visiting there. Of course you have to take into account, if you are dividing the Titan day into 24 hours and take into account that Titan takes 16 Earth days to rotate once, the drizzle would last for about three Earth days after sunrise on the moon.

Just on those notes, I probably won't be adding Titan to my vacation "to do" list any time in the near future.

Everyone out of the pool

Beginning in the end of September 2007, on the eastern shores of north Florida, approximately 2,000 baby sea turtles began washing ashore. This week, 1,500 of them are getting a free ride out to sea again.

More than 80 percent of the rescued baby turtles came from Volusia County but others were brought in from Flagler, Brevard and St Johns counties. They were collected by lifeguards, beach-goers and members of the Volusia-Flagler Turtle Patrol and if they hadn't been rescued, their chances for survival would have been slim.

The babies who ranged from a week to several months old had been brought to the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet, where the 3 to 5 inch long turtles inhabited plastic tubs and kiddie pools during their rehab. An estimated 500 died but the staff there stated that they were happy to see fewer die than they had expected, since most had arrived on the beaches exhausted.

Most of the baby turtles were green sea turtles and loggerhead sea turtles but three were critically endangered Kemp's Ridley turtles. That species lives primarily in the waters around Mexico but are occasionally seen in florida's waters. Two of the Kemp's Ridleys were due to be released with the other babies.

The little turtles were tucked into nine coolers and volunteers and Michael Brothers, manager of the Marine Science Center set off to return them to the sea. The plan was to head out about 20 miles from shore and search for clumps of sargassum, a common brown seaweed that the babies can use for shelter from predators and for food. After that, they will head off to the deeper parts of the ocean to spend their juvenile years growing, as evidenced by the new study that was released.

Nature pushed the turtles from the sea but through the help of concerned people, they will have another chance at surviving to adulthood and the possibility of continuing their species.

For a slideshow, go here.

Not hidden anymore

For decades, scientists have wondered where the green sea turtle goes after it slips into the water. They have known where they hatch and where they return to after they have added size but the "lost years" have been a mystery.

New research though published in the online edition of the journal Biology Letters exposes many of the answers they have sought. It seems that the green sea turle, thought to be a vegetarian, lives those years in the deep sea and feasts on jellyfish and other marine creatures. They reappear around age five along the shores to graze on sea grasses.

The scientists had collected samples from the shells of 44 turtles near the Bahamas and analyzed them for heavy and light isotopes of nitrogen and carbon. They tested newer parts of the shell and older parts and the isotopes revealed where they had been living and what they had been eating.

Green sea turtles are named not for the color of their shell but rather for the color of their meat and fat. Like other sea turtles, they migrate long distances between their feeding grounds and the beaches they are hatched from. They can live up to 80 years but it was the first five years that they seemed to vanish after hatching.

While they have been weighed at up to 694 pounds, the average green sea turtle weighs about 441 pounds. They spend most of their time grazing on seagrasses in shallow laggons and shoals.The adult turtles have only large sharks and humans as an enemy while hatchlings are often dinner for mammmels, crabs and shorebirds.

They do face danger from pollution, habitat destruction and an infectious tumor-causing disease known as fibropapillomatosis. They are very vulnerable and listed as anywhere from critically endangered to threatened in the various regions they live.

The new information as to where they go as a juvenile will only serve to help finds ways to preserve and protect the green sea turtles. It as they have stated, it is difficult to protect a species if you don't know where it is.

Just a form letter

On October 5 2007, Jen Pepperman received a written warning from the New York City Sanitation Department. That letter told her that she had 45 days to remove the graffiti from her 10th St stoop in Park Slope or face a $300 fine.

It seems that one of her neighbors made a formal complaint about the "graffiti" that her 6 year-old daughter had placed outside. Natalie Shea, Jen's daughter evidently upset someone living close by with her chalk doodles outside and the complaint to the Sanitation Department prompted the "automatic" letter to be generated.

"My mom got a ticket for graffiti, and it wasn't even graffiti. I think it was chalk. It was art, very nice art," stated Natalie.

The law that captured Pepperman was introduced by Councilman Peter Vallone Jr in 2005 and was intended to require property owners to clean graffiti and was meant to clean up spray painted storefronts and not punish kids drawings. Vallone stated that it was never the intent of his law to capture chalk drawings on the sidewalks and he hoped that the misunderstanding doesn't happen again.

Pepperman did state that the work wasn't her daughter's best and promised to wipe off her creations more promptly in the future. As for the offending artwork, it was washed away in a recent rainfall.

"I'm a good New Yorker. I like to obey the rules. If it is really illegal for Natalie to use chalk on her own stoop, if that's really upsetting to Mayor (Bloomberg), I will comply," stated Pepperman.

The warning letter was generated because a neighbor complained about the chalk drawings of a child and from the look of them, there doesn't seem to be any offensive language or gang signs in it. It seems an odd trend to ban games such as tag, kickball and now it seems, a young child's non permanent creations while they talk of the growing problems of obesity in children. The artwork was a kids drawings that would certainly disappear in the next rainfall.......... what next for neighbors to complain about, the "offensive" colors of someones drapes that show on the street?

For my previous post, go here.

Not a person yet

A provincial judge in the city of Weiner Neustadst has dismissed the case brought forth to try and protect a 26 year-old chimp. Matthew Hiasl Pan and another chimp, Rosi, have lived in an animal shelter for 25 years and that shelter had declared bankruptcy recently.

Animal activists have tried to have the courts continue to protect them from being sold or moved out of Austria where they now live. It seems that their annual upkeep is $6,800 a month and donors have tried to set aside money for their upkeep. The catch in Austrian law is that only a person can recieve personal gifts.

They have sought to have him declared a person since February rather than set up a foundation to try and clear his future care, which could be until he reaches 60 years old, the average age for a chimpanzee in captivity. Animal activists have stated that they are not trying to declare him a human, just a person, not an object as he is viewed now under Austrian law.

Their legal case though has sparked worldwide debate as to whether lines would be crossed and doors opened by declaring a chimp a person. They have vowed to take the dismissed case to a higher court and the world will have to watch and wait for the outcome.