Dolphins!

I'm an avid dolphin fan!! This blog is an wonderful opportunity and an excuse for me to learn a lot of interesting dolphin facts. Some are common knowledge and some are quite interesting things that I'd like to share with.
Apparently, people have been intrigued and studying dolphins since 62 AD! Some of the legends were saying about how dolphins came to be. Here's one...
Dionysos, god of wine and frenzy, were angry and turned the boat's oars into snakes. The men leaped overboard and turned into dolphins. That's why they always help man.
This incident in Greece, that happened around 60 BC, was considered a true story. Several historian have recorded this Greek story. Arion, a rich musician, had his ship taken over by pirates. Arion preferred to die by jumping overboard. Before he jumped, he sang a high pitched song then jumped overboard. A dolphin heard him and carried him 200 miles to shore.
Dolphins are known to demonstrate intelligence. I'll be talking about how they communicate and the experiences the keepers went through while the dolphins were in captivity in the next blog.

(posted for bdolphincrzy)

Tiger Keeper

There are five species of tigers left here on Earth. For those remaining we find that there are only two options available to these endangered beauties: confinement in forested areas in places in Asia, or captivity all around the world. It is a sad truth but there is not a very bright future for these graceful creatures. Keepers at zoos or wildlife reserves are helping the populations stay stable, and to raise the awareness of their plight. Regular feeding of animal meat and added vitamins, in the form of powder, are given to the tigers to maintain their health. In places such as the Wildlife Safari in Oregon, the living quarters at night are cement huts. They must be pressure washed with bleach and water daily. During the winter they are provided with a heater lamp and hay to lay on in order to stay warm. Some keepers are required to shoot and cut up the meat for them. This includes cows, horses, and donated road kill such as deer. So that the food is not used for human consumption, charcoal, which is deadly for people, is intermixed with it. The cats' stomach will digest it safely. This oversized carnivorous animal must be treated like a pet to allow its species to live on. It may be a belated effort, but it has to be done, for the tigers' sake.

(This is posted for a student who ran into trouble logging in.)

A Gem Close To Home

Did you know that a little more than 4 hours and a short ferry ride away from Vancouver is a beautiful retreat with peaceful island benefits? A cluster of islands, collectively called The San Juan Islands, are just outside of Anacortes, WA.

I went to Orcas Island two years ago and had a wonderful time! I am planning a trip to San Juan Island in August. San Juan offers beautiful Friday Harbor, home to yachts and boating activities. There is also plenty of shopping in Roche Harbor. Other activities in the islands include fishing, camping, whale and wildlife watching, kayaking, bicycling, nature tours and bird watching. There are museums, parks and trails as well as art galleries and plenty of beautiful sights to see.

Due to the islands’ unique position between Victoria BC and the western coast of WA state, The San Juan Islands have very pleasant weather most of the year. With 247 days of sunshine, they get only half the rain that Seattle is used to.

After driving to Anacortes (just an hour or so north of Seattle), you and your car can board a WA State Ferry and cruise to the island of your choice. From Anacortes, Lopez Island is the first stop where you can disembark in just 45 minutes. If you are going on to Shaw Island, the whole ferry ride will take 1 hour 40 minutes. Friday Harbor is just 1 hour away from leaving Anacortes. The fare is only collected one-way, so you won’t pay when coming back to the mainland. The cost is $9.85 for adults and an average car (plus driver) is less than $35.00.

While on the islands you will discover a wonderful relaxing break from the city’s hustle and bustle and begin to love the laid back island life. The next time you are thinking of a quick getaway, consider going to the beautiful islands of the Pacific Northwest!

Cognitive Distortions: Do Any Apply To You?

Every second someone has a thought about a person, place, action, thing, event, etc. But how often, if ever, do we think about our thoughts? Recently, I’ve learned more in depth about how thoughts that can negatively effect my day, an event, or anything that applies to my life. These particular thoughts are known as cognitive distortions. The ten cognitive distortions are: all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralization, mental filter, disqualifying the positive, jumping to conclusions, magnification (catastrophizing) or minimization, emotional reasoning, should statements, labeling and mislabeling, and personalization. Following is a simple explanation of each distortion based on notes I have taken.

All-or-nothing thinking: Only seeing things in black-and-white. Example: If something didn't go the way that you wanted it to, then everything is all wrong.
Overgeneralization: Seeing one negative event as the only way everything else will turn out.
Mental filter: Dwelling on only one negative thing that you cannot see anything else besides that. Example: You want to breakup with your friend because they own ugly clothes, and you forget they were the shoulder to cry on when your dog died.
Disqualifying the positive: Never accepting the positive things that happen to you for some reason, even if plenty of them do. Example: You went shopping and everything you liked was on sale, fit, and the sales people were helpful... but there was traffic and your day is now totally ruined.
Jumping to conclusions: Making a negative conclusion without any definite facts.
-Two of which are mind reading and “fortune-teller error”. Mind reading is when you illogically conclude that someone is reacting to you in a negative way, not even bothering figure out if it is true. “Fortune-teller error” is predicting and then convincing yourself that things will turn out badly.
Magnification or Minimization: Exaggerating the value of things, or shrinking things to be insignificant. Example: Getting an A makes you the smartest person in class, or being just 10 minutes late for work is no big deal.
Emotional reasoning: Assuming that a negative emotion reflects how things really are. Example: "I feel stupid, therefore I am stupid."
Should statements: Telling yourself you should and shouldn’t do things, as if you would be punished if not following through. Using should statements to yourself leads to feelings of guilt, or frustration towards others.
Labeling and mislabeling: A radical overgeneralization. Instead of simply labeling the error, you label your self worth or who you are. Example: If your friend doesn't feel like hanging out, you think "I am not fun to be around."
Personalization: Seeing yourself as the reason for a negative event, even if you were not responsible.

Not all of these distorted thoughts apply to everyone. After learning about these distortions, I tried to be more aware of which apply to me. Just being aware of my thoughts has benefited me immensely. It is still difficult to change them because some of these distortions have been apart of my life for a long time. However, I noticed a difference in my ability to view certain situations in another light which has brought a lot of liberation. I believe that when a person can realize how they think, they can change the way they think feeling less stress overall.

Prevention Programs for our children...

This is a very exciting subject for me. It is so great to know that there are solutions to today's problems in a world that sometimes feels like we have lost control of. With gangs growing and the age that children are joining gangs getting younger and younger; violence, alcohol and drug abuse is growing as well. The Boys and Girl's Club of America opened its first club in 1860 in Connecticut. The club is open to children age 6-18 years. The idea behind these clubs even back that long ago is basically the same today, to get children off the streets. Today there are clubs all over the world. They offer programs and services to help children to develop positive life skills and build character. The focus of the club is also to help children that come from a disadvantaged family have hope and find positive ways to focus his/her energy. Some children lack a positive role model in their family which is absolutely necessary for these young people to learn from. The hopes are that these children will begin to develop a trusting and caring relationship with the adult professionals who will nurture and enrich the child's life. They will not turn a child away due to inability to pay which I find commendable. In today's world of hustle and bustle, with parent(s) who work long hours, have extended families, and all of the other factors of our daily lives, sometimes I think the children get lost and are forced to grow up sooner than they should have to and don't get to experience the joy of just being a kid! The Boy's and Girl's Club while they allow them to just be a kid, they also teach them about responsibility, how to make good choices in life and build relationships that they can count on. I had heard over the years about the Boy's and Girl's Club but until this assignment had no idea how this program helps children in need. The Vancouver member statistics are; 36% live in poverty, 72% qualify for free lunch program, 15% come from single-parent household, 13.7% of all juvenile crime in Clark County occurs in the neighborhood surrounding the club. These are children in our own backyard, our neighbor's children, our friend's children, or maybe even our own children...

You Can't Put a Dead Bird on Your Life List

I became interested in birdwatching when I was pregnant with Ramona and had to give up my bad habits. I took a short hike in Oaks Bottom park and witnessed an osprey with a 4-foot wingspan (aka sea hawk) plucking a fish out of the marsh & taking it back to a nest that rested atop a power pole. I had never been aware that wild animals lived in Portland, and lived here well. I also saw a small owl perching in a tree just off the path, just about 20 yards off of Milwaukee, an extremely busy street. I got enamored of the idea of this whole secret wild life transpiring off the radar of our urban lives, and I bought a book about local birds. A few minutes with the book showed me that I had been blind for years to my surroundings: I used to think all birds in the city were sparrows or robins; I've since learned that some of the brown birds are sparrows, some are wrens, some are woodpeckers. Soon after buying the book I noticed an odd-shaped bird on the telephone pole outside my bedroom window just before it began hammering at the wood--it was a northern flicker, a beautiful, weird looking woodpecker that has sort of become my spirit animal. I am now on the watch for new birds everywhere I go. Let me explain the title of this post: when you become a birder, you start keeping a Life List, which is a list of all of the birds you have ever seen in person. The dean of my department is an avid and accomplished birder, and I learn a lot from talking with him about birds. I ran into him on campus today, and he told me that he had just disposed of the body of an orange-rumped warbler that ran into a window at Bauer Hall. I lamented that I had not seen it as I have never seen this bird before. Then it occurred to me: you have to see the bird out there doing its thing. You can't add a dead bird to your life list.

Now we start

Dear students:
You will pick your topics this weekend and begin blogging next week. I am excited to learn with you.