T Town Tommy

Research Study for Lesbian, Bisexual, and Questioning Women

A lesbian research team lead by Dawn Szymanski, Ph.D. is conducting a study on lesbian or bisexual women's experiences related to gender and sexual orientation. The online survey asks about experiences related to being a woman and a lesbian/bisexual person, connections to the LGB and feminist communities, ways of dealing with stressful events, and psychological well-being. All participants will be given the chance to win a $75 online gift certificate to Amazon. If you are a woman who is at least 18 years old and has experienced same-sex attraction, please click here to participate in this anonymous, 30-minute research study.

B-2 Stealth Bomber Crashes

Reuters is reporting that a B-2 stealth bomber has crashed at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and support crews are based out of Whiteman Air Force Base south east of Kansas City, Missouri. Both pilots ejected safely and are in good condition.

Tulsa seems to be in the occasional flight paths of these modern marvels and some have had a rare treat of seeing the B-2 overhead. Our prayers go out to the two pilots and their famlies back home.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. B-2 stealth bomber crashed at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam just after taking off but the two pilots on board ejected safely, the U.S. Air Force said late on Friday.

"They have been evaluated by medical authorities and are in good condition," the Air Force said in a statement.

An Air Force spokeswoman did not have details about bomber's mission in Guam. The aircraft, which cost almost $1.2 billion each, is based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

Developing Story With Reuters News

The Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour

Space Shuttle Endeavor launched this evening for a two week stay in orbit working on the international space station. No word if breathalyzer test where performed before take off...

Did You Wash Your Hands???

Being a florist and handling exotic flowers grown and picked in third world countries, going to hospitals frequently and the everyday routine of living forces me to wash my hands a lot during a normal day or use a disinfectant hand gel. Although the handling of imported flowers is not listed in a recently released four year study, our everyday surroundings is with a surprising first place. Everyday common places have been found to be highly contaminated with E. coli and Enterococci. After reading this study you will probably pick up the pace in hand washing too for your family.

A team of scientists recently took some very hot showers after spending four years collecting nearly 1,100 samples at places like airports, restaurants, offices and bathrooms. According to them, the most frequently contaminated areas were:

1. Playgrounds and day care centers (46 percent of which showed high levels of contamination)
2. Public restroom surfaces (25 percent)
3. Public transportation handrails and armrests and shopping cart handles (21 percent)
4. Escalator handrails (19 percent)
5. Vending machine buttons (14 percent)
6. Public phones (13 percent)

More on the Study at Gadling The Travelers Weblog

The New York Times

Get Faster Weather Information

Do you know what these letters and number mean?
KTUL 180253Z 17006KT 10SM OVC070 19/05 A3001 RMK AO2 SLP160 T01890050 53012

If you want to be an airplane pilot you must know what these numbers and letters represent but to the common person it’s just gibberish. The code you’re looking at is called METAR. It is the weather conditions for a given location, in this case Tulsa, Oklahoma, at a give time. The code is internationally used today. Airplane pilots have been using METAR for weather conditions in the US since 1996 and internationally since 1968.

The site Wikihow, “The How-To Manual That Anyone Can Write or Edit” explains how in a few minutes anyone can read this code. Next time you’re traveling and in an airport or online; look for these codes and see how many you can decipher for where your going. It’s a far faster way to get relevant information without all the media glam and commercials with mass media weather news when you are traveling.

Hopefully you learned something cool today!

Look Up Your City Info Compliments of NOAA
Wikihow: How to Read an Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR)

Dark Shadows

The Astronomy Club of Tulsa will be hosting “Dark Shadows,” a viewing of the lunar eclipse on March 3rd. The eclipse will occur from moon rise at 6:18 PM to 7:00 PM. The event will be held at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum, 3624 N. 74th East Ave. in Tulsa. Pack up your family, boyfriend or girlfriend and head outside and turn your eyes to the stars! For more information call 918-834-9900

Earthquakes Hit Oklahoma

Photo by: Marius Largu

Usually when you think of earth quakes in the United States you associate California and the West Coast. However the Midwest has its share of smaller quakes. In Oklahoma seven earthquakes occurred in the past week. None peaked over 3.0 however the last three felt quakes happened within six hours of each other in the central part of Oklahoma.

The Sun Newspaper is quoted as reporting:

The tremblers, none of which exceeded a 3.0 magnitude on the Richter scale, struck at 12:32 p.m., then 6:16 p.m. and the final earthquake rattled in at 6:35 p.m., all on Monday. The three small earthquakes came on the heels of four even smaller earthquakes that hit the Moore area on Sunday, an official with the Oklahoma Geological Survey said Tuesday.

Earthquakes are not entirely new to the region and Oklahoma on average has sixty slight to moderate quakes per year. The strongest on record occurred in 1952 when a 5.5 magnitude quake hit the North Central part of the State. Experts warn though that the earthquakes are increasing in frequency and strength. Some speculate that a 7.0 magnitude quake is quite possible in the future. A quake that strong in the heartland where no earthquake proof buildings exist could prove disastrous and possibly fatal to Oklahoma residents.

Related Research Links

Oklahoma Earthquakes
Earthquake Rattles Southern, Central Oklahoma
MEO Meers Observatory Oklahoma Geological Survey Meers, Oklahoma

More Damn Snow and this is Global Warming!

So far this winter I have measured in my yard 13” of snow and 4” of solid ice.  We are having another round of winter slamming us again this week. As of Wednesday and Thursday morning we have two inches of snow on the ground and counting in Tulsa. Living in Oklahoma and Texas for 36 years I have never experienced weather patterns like this before this winter. I found an interesting article about global warming I want to share with my readers. Scientist now are admitting they may have jumped the gun on predictions of global disaster or are moving to a more middle ground approach.

Certainly there's no consensus on global warming, they say. There is only abundant uncertainty. The IPCC process is a sham, a mechanism for turning vague scientific statements into headline-grabbing alarmism. Drastic actions such as mandated cuts in carbon emissions would be imprudent. Alternative sources of energy are fine, they say, but let's not be naive. We are an energy-intensive civilization. To obtain the kind of energy we need, we must burn fossil fuels. We must emit carbon. That's the real world.
The Tempest

The winter of 2006/07 has been wild, due supposedly to global “warming”, but it has not been the worst to hit our state. We have had several years where the stats of overall snow and ice fall has been worse then 06’-07’. Local meteorologist who study the overall climate change in Oklahoma report that since record keeping changes in our environment have remained overall flat. So as far as global warming causing the strange weather, doubtful, Mother Nature going through a cycle, that I can buy.

Don’t Microwave Those Sponges Quite Yet!

During the week several blogs as well as CNN and Reuters posted a recent study by the University of Florida showing microwaving a common household sponge kills germs and bacteria. Soon after the postings complaints started to be reported to news organizations of microwave mishaps with dirty sponges.

On Reuters one upset commenter wrote:

"Just wanted you to know that your article on microwaving sponges and scrubbers aroused my interest. However, when I put my sponge/scrubber into the microwave, it caught fire, smoked up the house, ruined my microwave, and pissed me off”

"First, the sponge is worthless afterwards so you have to throw it out instead of using it. And second your entire house stinks like a burning tire for several hours, even with windows/doors open," complained another.

Although the University of Florida has not received any complaints directly they caution the public:

"To guard against the risk of fire, people who wish to sterilize their sponges at home must ensure the sponge is completely wet. Two minutes of microwaving is sufficient for most sterilization. Sponges should also have no metallic content. Last, people should be careful when removing the sponge from the microwave as it will be hot."

Of course you could just simply toss the sponge in the trash and not be a cheap bastard…

Saying Good-bye to Mars Global Surveyor

It looks like after a successful decade long mission The Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft is lost. The Surveyor was the first successful mission back to Mars in twenty years not just for the United States but for humanity. It was also the most successful probe sent; collecting more data about Mars then all other missions combined.

Using an array of five instruments including high resolution cameras and 3-D imaging the probe took over 240,000 images of the planet. Thanks to Surveyor we now have a great model of the planets surface for future space missions. Mineral deposits where charted as well as weather patterns giving geologist and meteorologist a wealth of information.

One of the surprising finds by Surveyor is the presence of weak magnetic areas and the possibility that Mars at one time had plate tectonics the same as Earth has today. Without active plate tectonics and the off gassing and eruptions that result; Earth would have little to no atmosphere much like we see on Mars.

"It really has opened up new vistas of Mars that we hadn't the foggiest notion of," said Arizona State University geologist Ron Greeley.

For an investment of $150 million to construct the spacecraft, I think we have gotten our monies worth of performance, data and understanding. The use of low cost probes in space exploration has been proven with Mars Global Surveyor. It has brought us great strides forward in actually planning a successful mission to our sister planet.

NASA / JPL

Taken by Mars Global Surveyor 11/07/06 over Mars North Pole.   

The Heat and Hummingbirds

Hope everyone is having a good week so far! This past weekend was absolutely beautiful in Tulsa. It was very nice break from the boiling heat and humidity we have endured for several weeks and nice being able to open my windows again at night. However the heat is back with a vengeance and I am not a happy camper.

I suspect we are going to have a baby boom in Oklahoma in about nine months. Things have been so hot and miserable everyone one has been engaging in indoor activities. Hmmm I will have to mark on my calendar to stock up on baby gifts and supplies for my floral business 9 months from now. I have a feeling I am going to be getting a lot of new baby orders. One of the things I enjoy about my job is being able to help people celebrate such a monumental occasion as having a baby. It’s a lot of positive energy.

My friend Buster and I discovered this weekend the return of the hummingbirds in the area. We spotted them late in the afternoon feeding on the blooms of my red giant cannas in the back yard. Being a huge outdoor enthusiast I have gotten busy getting all my hummingbird feeders cleaned, filled and hung back up around the outside of the house.

I have been feeding them during their migration period in Tulsa for years. Last year I counted as high as 20 hummingbirds buzzing around my feeder outside the kitchen window at one time. The speed and aerial maneuvers they perform then coming to a dead stop at the kitchen window and hovering while staring back at me is amazing. I am sure if you could shrink the most advanced fighter jet we have today down to their size the bird will still fly circles around anything we can invent. Below I have included some links on how you can get started in this easy hobby that helps out nature and will add some peaceful enjoyment to your life. It’s a very cheap hobby to get started in and only takes an investment of a few minutes of your time to maintain the feeders.

Check out these links for more info:

For feeders:

I recommend the bottle type feeders. Tried but true they always seem to work the best.
BestNest.com Feeders

General Hummingbird Information
BestNest.com Hummingbird FAQ