It's part of a secret armadillo funeral ritual!

Thanks Uffda - Now I know that I'll never know!!

Kelly, I would venture a guess that dead armadillos end up on their backs because the bony shell is heavy.

Of course, it could be some secret funeral ritual too.

There is a song called Another Dead Armadillo on the Road. It's about driving through Texas counting the dead armadillos on the side of the road out of shear boredom. It's a very funny song.

Part of the reason why armadillos are killed in roads. Their prime defense mechanism is to jump straight up, startling predators. Oops. National Geographic covered the armadillo-leprosy connection over a decade ago.

I still can't get through to check on friends in AL. OMG, it looks even worse the the May 3rd '99 tornado outbreak here in OKC. My thoughts are with all there. The devastation will require all of our support so open your hearts and your wallets if at all possible.

Kelly, I hope you find your friends are O.K. I was astonished to

wake up to this death toll this morning. I knew these twisters were

happening yesterday, but the MSM was all about Trump's "proud"

day. I'm with you in urging everyone to help and will keep the victims

and their loved ones in my thoughts. Best to you.

Thanks Bozey. Best to you this morning. I posted elsewhere on Trump. Money can get a thug from Queens to the boardroom, but it can't buy him class! His pride is our shame!

this is the closest and scariest video I've seen of the Tuscaloosa tornado:

http://vimeo.com/22970879

If I was that close I be breathing that heavy too and I'd have the camera rear-mounted as I ran.

It has pretty much rained and hailed over the weekend. I don't remember Easter ever having been rained out before. But as we all know because James Inhofe tells us, climate change is a giant hoax.

We had snow...in fact it has snowed here the past couple of days again, but not enough to stick. Last year we were dealing with hot and cold-running tornadoes. I suppose next year is our scheduled heat wave and wildfire spring.

Wisconsin is praying for you all and sending strength to get through this tragic event.

Indeed, it is. This is going to be more of the new normal. Unfortunately, I think the booming job growth is going to come in disaster response.

It was mentioned on here earlier this week. Of course, the educated population KNOWS that the moon is simply a big lump of coal that is on fire, which makes it glow, and the Moon, Sun, stars and planets all revolve around our flat Earth.

Sorry, must have missed it.

Heck, when you hear such unbelievable things, it never hurts to repeat them, just to make sure that what you're hearing actually happened. Unfortunately, these days, wacko seems to be pretty standard all around our country.

Ok, I'm gonna go out on a limb and risk being really gullible, but did that really happen? Tell me it didn't.

Sorry, but it really did happen.

Yikes!

Seems typical to me. I live in Texas where the "dumbing down" process is almost complete. BTY, Waco is located very near Dubya's Crawford ranch. Anyone surprised?

Wisconsin is praying for you all and sending strength to get through this tragic event.

sorry - posted this on the wrong thread

Of course, didn't you know?

Getting an abortion is definitely part of my daily ritual.

Oh hell, who doesn't? About as often as I brush my teeth.

I don't think so. Its funny.

The DEP Commissioner has been moved to a different position, but I don't remember what it was off the top of my head. I think the only people in the state who thought the DEP Commissioner was going to stay were LePage, and the DEP Commissioner. The conflict of interest in his appointment has been reported on since the beginning, it just took them long enough to enforce it.

That's three people gone from LePage's administration, and it's barely started. Don't forget about Demerit (might have messed up the spelling there), who has to resign from his post due to financial issues with his business and other properties. This one was about a week or so ago. I've lost track of all the foolishness that's been coming out of Augusta, there's just too much.

The state is becoming a circus, although it's about par for the course with the rest of the country.

My kids are going to live through a pretty bad century.

I think climate change is the most critical issue facing the world today. So do the vast majority of scientists in the world.

My problem is how to get others to recognize it.

President Obama's release of his birth certificate will not convince the birthers so why would facts sway global warming denyers? Depressing...

Let's then hope you're the next victim of a tornado, flood, earthquake or wildfire.

In case you hadn't noticed, practically EVERY SINGLE PERSON in this country can be the victim of one or more natural disasters. I live in MN, and last year, we had more tornadoes than any other state. Totally unprecedented. Yes, we should make sure people don't live in flood plains, or directly on top of fault lines, but weather.....we're all subject to it, and at one time or another, we all could fall victim to a tornado, severe thunderstorm, hail, blizzard, drought, heat wave, etc. If you don't like the government helping disaster victims, I'll gladly say you shouldn't have to pay any taxes. Of course, don't you then DARE to ask for any services provided by MY tax money. You are like so many repubs, whining about the government, threatening to secede, but the, like Rick Perry after hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires, going to that same government for money and resources to deal with the disaster.

There's a word for that----hypocrisy.

rant aside, I use to go to natural disasters, often within hours of their occuance and I hope relief comes to these peope, all of them, as quickly as possible. When on site a disaster relief workers day are often 18 hours, 7 days a week for weeks on end. the longest I ever worked was about 90 days straight. The directors of the disaster field offices are often times political checknicks who tow the party line, the worst of whom are Republicans who penny pinch victims, I have lived and worked it.

Uffdaguy, slow down dude. that was sarcasm and a jab at Republicans and tea party people.

Thank you for that! In these wacko, troll-filled days, your rant came off as all too plausible! Sorry for the friendly fire and the inability to recognize sarcasm at this hour. I blame it on a massive headache from royal wedding news!

Whoa gratefuldiver--your snark was undetectable and raised my BP. Glad to know you are helpful to neighbors and not hateful to neighbors.

I thought my lead off, "as a staunch conservative one might say...", was a clue. Guess I was wrong. sorry to raise anyones BP this morning. ugh BP ugh, reminds me of an un-natural disaster last year. uhg.......

Sorry about the BP. I'm a nurse so its just a habit. LOL.

So, where can I move to be out of danger of tornados, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, etc?

You can eliminate the first 4 by going to the Moon. No atmosphere does wonders for eliminating weather threats and wildfires. Can't guarantee you won't feel the occasional moonquake, but they are infrequent and small. In other words, no matter where you live, there are always risks. You can minimize them, not live in a flood plain or close to the ocean, stay away from fault zones, but in the end, life on earth is a crapshoot, just as it is everywhere else. When people finally start living on Mars, I'm sure they'll face their own unique challenges too. That's why we all need to act like a real society, and care for each other in the bad times. Not enough people feel that way; they follow the mantra of "greed is good".

G'diver - I think you punk'd us all! I was preparing to write a steaming hot reply; glad I read all the posts!

@Ellen

Well, I can say that with regards to natural disasters, Maine is a pretty good place to be. I mean, you do have to deal with a Nor'Easter every now and again, but I'd much rather be dealing with snow over hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. If there are earthquakes, you can barely even feel them. The last one I remember feeling was my freshmen year of high school, and that only rattle a couple of things I had on my dresser.

The only downside about coming to Maine is that you'd have to put up with LePage, so maybe that one is a big con at the moment.

NICE!!! Muy cool!

There are a lot of developments in the past couple of months that make it look like we can and will build something better than the standard old space capsule to make long trips. There was a big multinational conference two weeks ago with all the major nuke nations talking about building nuke spaceships, and the Russians claimed they would build one next year, (not sure where they think they'll get the money for it). SpaceX announced last week that they will be building the world's most powerful rocket, with first launch at the end of next year, with an even bigger one on the drawing boards. Given their excellent track record, I'd bet on them making good on their word. They are also teaming up with Bigelow Aerospace for a possible space hotel comprised of Bigelow's inflatable modules. Bigelow has already launched 2 different prototypes, which worked quite well. Put together Bigelow's modules, the nuclear spacecraft, the magnetic shields and SpaceX's big rockets to get them into orbit, things are going to get interesting very quickly, in the next decade or less.

When I was in high school I got to go aboard the cockpit to the shuttle craft Enterprise. Though she never flew it was really cool to experience a small part of what a shuttle craft astronaut experienced. I really hope we keep up space travel.

Maria, I really envy that rare treat you received! I've had the honor to speak with a few astronauts and cosmonauts over the years, and unless space travel comes way down in price, that's probably as close as I will get to space. However, I closely follow spaceflight news, and it looks like we are ready to enter into a new age, where private companies like SpaceX are going to get us places far faster than national space programs ever will. The problem with agencies like NASA isn't their size, or bureaucracy, or the fact they are a government operation. Their problem is that they are a political football, and each time a new president takes office, or a new congress is elected, they each want to impose their stamp on what NASA does. It's incredibly hard to do your job when it changes with every election. Apollo was an abberation, something that never would have happened without the Russian Sputnik surprise in the midst of the Cold War. That is why we have never been able to recreate that same chemistry....those historical conditions that made Apollo possible were there for just a brief moment. Now it seems like only private companies have the stability and focus to work on a project that may take 5 years or more to bring to completion. Since when has NASA had its overall goals stay stable since Apollo? The Shuttle is nothing like what NASA wanted, and was shaped by what the military wanted, in return for some military funding. Space travel is going to really blossom in the next 5 years, and I don't think any of us will believe what we see as a result...space hotels, and perhaps even private moon facilities.

Uffdaguy

Yeah the Enterprise was built locally here in So Cal. I too agree that NASA has been a political football and it might be one of the times that the private sector could be helpful as long as they put safety over profit. That is a concern I have about the private sector going into space. Cutting corners to increase profit. I hope SpaceXdoes the right thing and puts people over profits. If it does I can hopefully make a reservation for one of those space hotels. :-)

SoCal has been a hotbed of high tech for years, and I hope that the state is able to get itself straightened out financially soon. From what I have seen so far, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic seem to be working hard to put safety and reliability ahead of profit. I think all the players in the commercial manned flight arena realize that the whole thing is very fragile, that a single loss of life early on could sink everyone. SpaceX delayed the launch of their Falcon 9 several times because they wanted to be absolutely certain it would work perfectly the first time, which it did. Their Dragon capsule was designed to transport cargo to the ISS under NASA's COTS program, but it was also designed from the beginning to be converted for manned use. The Falcon 9 was designed and tested to much more rigorous and expensive manned standards also. Branson has shown he wants his suborbital craft to be safe for his passengers, and will even be taking the first flight with his family, which shows how much faith he has in it. He may be a daredevil, but he won't risk his family's lives on it. Branson is starting paying flights next year, and I expect Dragon will probably be doing its first manned flight the following year, well before any likely NASA manned flight will take place.

Gov Brown has a good plan if we voters are allowed to vote on it like he wants us to. The Republicans having fight tooth and nail to stop that. Many if not all signed that stupid Grover Norquist pledge. What as absurd man he is.

As the Space and Virgin Galactic, I am glad they are paying attention to safety. I always liked Richard Branson. Down to earth even when he is up in the clouds.

I don't generally have real life heroes, but Branson is definitely one of them. I enjoyed his Apprentice knock-off a few years ago, not because I liked the show itself, but because we got to spend some time with Branson.

As for Norquist, I don't recall a single person electing him, but he seems to act as if he has the power to run the country by terrorizing politicians to vote the way he wants. Isn't it time for someone to call him out? Long PAST time, if you ask me.

Gerrymandering. Very old hat. I think Tom Delay had gotten in some trouble over that in Texas. The high tech new and improved version..you can achieve even better results by declaring fiscal emergency and appointing an Emergency Financial Manager and abolishing the offending district. Making it disappear. Neat. Tidy. Efficient.

AcKKK! Oh Jesus. I had to fight the urge to tear out my own eyeballs. "Cra-zy, over the rainbow, I am cra-zy, bars in the window." Sally Kern, rest assured there is a nasty little corner in Hell. Waiting just for you. You look up Christian Shariaist, or Christian Taliban and you will find her picture there. THAT picture in fact. I call her dangerous. Katy would say she is her best friend and role-model.

Sally Kern is the one who said that gays are are bigger threat to America than Muslim Terrorists. She's the one. She shames my state, as do Inhofe and Coburn.

Just so you know Ms Sharpe, it was not you I was refering to in the above.

As for what you have posted, it is a crying shame to be sure. Absolutely. And no shock at all given that at least one member of the Supreme Court has the smell of fertilizer, insecticide and weed killer on their breath from servicing Monsanto.

Can't fix the monumental mess left by Bush and the gang overnight, my man.