Making Sense Out of the World

The Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs

It’s an historic event each year as the best breeders and horses line up for the Kentucky Derby. It’s been called the most exciting 2 minutes in sports and if you ever seen the Kentucky Derby before, you know why. This is a legendary race that takes place in the state of Kentucky each year. Kentucky is known for having the best horses in the world and this is the day they get to prove that. Horse owners from all over the country and in other countries too, always hope to get a chance to have their horse in the Kentucky Derby. This isn’t an easy event to see live and in person. You usually need a good contact to land a ticket for the Kentucky Derby. I have seen Churchill Downs Tickets selling online and if you want to go this year, you better hurry up and snatch a ticket now. The tickets online sell very fast, due to the popularity of the Kentucky Derby. This year’s Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 1st, 2010. You can’t wait until April to buy your tickets. If you want to see the best horses in the world race and compete against each other, then you will need to buy your 2010 Kentucky Derby tickets now!

Churchill Downs is the historic venue that this annual event takes place in each spring. I watch it on TV every year and you always see a lot of famous athletes and Hollywood stars making the trip to Kentucky to watch this huge horse race. I never have any luck in picking the winner. It seems the favorite never wins, so don’t pick the favorite, if you plan to try and pick a winner this year. I don’t think the field is set yet, so not sure which horses will make up the field for the 2010 Kentucky Derby.

If you can’t find a ticket or make the trip to Kentucky; then you will have to watch it on television like me. Using your computer to find tickets for the Kentucky Derby is the best way to go. I usually use the Internet to buy all of my tickets for sporting events, concerts, and other things I want to attend in person. Someone looking for Michael Buble Tickets or Honda Center Tickets can use their computers to track down different places online that sells tickets. The earlier you start your search for an event, the easier it is to usually find. Anyone willing to pay top dollar can always find a ticket online. If you want to save money, try conducting your search as soon as the tickets go on sale for the event. An event like the Kentucky Derby is right up there with the Super Bowl from the NFL. Anyone that wants to see the Super Bowl or Kentucky Derby will want to come online and search for these hard to get tickets.

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The camel is an amazing animal. One that needs very little water to travel great distances across some of the most baron deserts on the planet. There are 4 major types of deserts located on Earth. We typically think of a desert as being a place that is very hot with very little rain each year. This is known as the hot and dry desert and it’s only one of the types of deserts in the world. The other 3 deserts are referred to as the semiarid desert, the coastal desert, and the cold desert. During the nights a desert can become very cold. The warm air quickly escapes from the daytime heating of the desert after the sun has went down. You may notice this in a lot of western movies that come on TV; where the people in them will be wearing long sleeve shirts. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to wear these long sleeve shirts in a desert that is hot and dry, but at night time you need a long sleeve shirt to stay warm.

The camel has the unique ability to store large amounts of water. You can probably guess where that water is stored at on the camel. If you’re thinking the hump, that’s located on the back of camels, then you would be correct. A camel can have 1 or 2 humps on their back and they work well for storing water. A camel is much more equipped for the desert-life, than a human being is for life on the open deserts of the world.

I have never been to a desert before. I think it would be a great experience and something I would remember for a long time. I hope to get a chance one day to visit the deserts in Arizona and Southern California. We don’t see camels in the South Western part of the United States and I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s because these are newer deserts and not the typical climates most camels are made for like the deserts that are located in Africa and the Middle East. A camel is a tall animal and work great with humans. A good animal to assist humans in traveling across the deserts. A camel doesn’t move like a horse in terms of speed, but people living in deserts use camels much like we would use a donkey here in the United States. The camel is a popular trademark for a cigarette brand and others have used the camel to promote their products. It’s a lovable animal and especially for those that need the camel to survive life in the deserts.

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In my state of Georgia we have been having a pretty cold winter this year. That got me to thinking about the honeybees in my area. I use to own and raise honey bees and I know they have to do a good job in the fall, so they can survive the winters. Normally our winters in North Georgia isn’t that bad. It’s been different this year and we are actually seeing snow this year. We went through one period already when temperatures stayed below freezing for 15 straight days. That is very unusual for us and I wonder how the honeybees did during this cold spell. We have had 2 snow storms that has left the ground white and the snow stuck around for a couple of days. They are now forecasting snow for Valentines Day night and we still have a little snow left from Friday’s snow event.

All of these cold temperatures and snow hanging around for days is probably going to diminish a lot of the honey bee population in Georgia. I would imagine most hives will have enough honey and food to survive, but they are probably losing a lot more worker bees than normal. When the weather does warm back up, I don’t know if there will be enough worker bees left to bring in the first food of the spring season. The hives that do survive the winter this year, may live long enough to just die in early spring. It should be interesting to see how many honey bees take flight in the Georgia skies this spring.

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A long tradition in the United States when it comes to groundhogs and the weather. We Americans like to know our weather forecasts and for decades now we have been turning to our groundhogs for that information. The groundhogs come out each year on February 2nd to make their predictions. It’s a simple process, but one that proves to work most years. If a groundhog sees his shadow on this special day in February, then that is bad news. A groundhog seeing his shadow means another 6 weeks of winter is ahead. The good news is if he doesn’t see a shadow, then we can expect spring to be arriving shortly. Yesterday in Georgia, the General Lee Groundhog did not see his shadow, so this means Georgia can start preparing for much warmer conditions that will be coming soon.

Most of the groundhogs did not see their shadow on Groundhog Day. There was one groundhog in Pennsylvania that did see his shadow, but this goes against all the other groundhogs in the United States, so he is obviously off with his prediction for the folks living in Pennsylvania. The General Lee in Georgia is the most trusted groundhog in the country, so we always pay close attention to his predictions and if he says that spring is on the way, then I believe him. Groundhog Day is now over and we will get to see the General Lee and other groundhogs come out next year on February 2nd, 2011 to give us another traditional weather forecast.

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I was watching some animal rescues on the Animal Planet channel and seen some people going to great lengths to save some animals in trouble. I’m not sure how far a human being should go and risk their own lives for an animal’s life. I guess some people really love animals or just want to be heros and save these animals that need our help.

In most cases these rescues are due to man’s doings. It’s not often that animals get trapped in nature or in their own natural environments. There is usually a man-made element that causes these animals to get trapped in the first place. I guess you could make the case that we put these animals in danger and it’s only right that we do whatever it takes to see they are returned to their safe and natural environments. I’m sure some animal rescues don’t happen, due to the cost in terms of money. It is nice to see the animal rescues that take place on the Animal Planet and know that some animals do get help from humans.

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What’s the longest your dog has ever live to be? It’s sad when the family pet dies and often it’s much sooner that we expected to see them go. A dog name Otto is making headlines now and he’s manage to dodge the Grim Reaper to this point and is almost 21 years old! This isn’t in dog years either. We think of dog years as every 7 years, so a dog 21 in dog years would only be 3 years old in human years. Otto is almost 21 years old in human years and would be about 145 years old in dog years. It would be nice if all of our dogs could live that long. Often we get our young kids a puppy to grow up with them, but usually in their preteen to teen years it passes away. Even for a child in their teenage years; it’s tough to lose a dog you have grew up with or known for so many years. Otto is the exception to the rule and I’m sure pet lovers every where would like to know the diet and how many check-ups he has had with the doc. As far as we can tell it would appear that Otto is currently the world’s oldest dog in the world. How old is your dogs? Do you have one that is 15 years or older? 20 years? I’m not sure when Otto’s birthday is, but it would appear that he’s well on his way to 21 years old. Happy Birthday Otto!

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We have reached the month of November on our calendars. I’m sure your first thought is the same as mine and it means that November 8th is my birthday? Ok, that is only the way I think about the month of November. I’m sure your first thoughts of November are about eating turkey on Thanksgiving Day and going shopping on Black Friday; which is right after the Thursday we celebrate Thanksgiving on. It’s easy to lose track of our furry little critters when eating and shopping get on our minds. Our dogs and cats may have fur and they are better prepared to deal with the weather than we are, but we still need to look out for them.

If you keep your pets indoors, they can get use to the warm conditions inside. They won’t adjust easy to being left outdoors, so be careful you bring them in, if they go out on cold, winter days. You certainly don’t want them staying outside all night long; if they are use to your warmth inside the house. The pet owners that keep their pets outdoor need to watch for temperatures that go below freezing. If you see it’s going to be a cold night, then make sure you leave things out they can snuggle on or have a place they can find shelter in. We wouldn’t like it if we were left outdoors all night long on a winter’s night, so have the same respect for your pets too.

Horses need to be fed and fed some more when the thermometer goes south. Plenty of hay in the barn is needed for horses during the winter months. That goes for your other farm animals too like a goat or the chickens you have outside. Their bodies will burn up more calories and energy as they try to stay warm. You can help the horses, goats, and other animals by providing them with extra food. As long as they have a good supply of food, your animals should be fine in the cold night air. Nature has provided animals with extra winter protection and they hold up much better than us on those freezing days and nights. We just need to make sure we give them the tools to succeed and avoid any suffering from being left outside on a rainy day or a snowy night. If you care for your animals on these cold days, I’m sure they will make it up to you on those beautiful spring days that will be here before you know it!

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The Timber Rattler is a snake that is pretty common for most U.S. States. It is a snake that has venom that can make you very sick and even be lethal at times. I am someone that doesn’t like any snake and I treat them all like they’re carrying a poison that could hurt me. I just prefer to kill all snakes I see, but I know this isn’t a good idea either. I don’t like rats and especially the mice that get into the house sometimes. If we didn’t have any snakes around to keep the rat population down; then we would be over run with fury little mice running around. I guess the bigger birds help to control the rat population too and it’s neat to watch a big bird swoop down for a mice out in the field.

The Timber Rattler is a rattle snake. It has that same rattler noise that other rattle snakes have. These snakes use their rattlers to warn people and other animals about their presence in an area. If you’re ever out in the woods and come close to a timber rattler or a rattle snake; then chances are you will hear this frightening rattle sound. Don’t worry about trying to figure out where the sound is coming from. It’s not important if you see the snake or not. Apparently they see you and that is all you need to know for you to get out of the area as fast as possible.

The timber rattlers that are in the USA are not just going to hunt down and attack people. Really no snake just goes after us and most of the time they just want to retreat too. If we want to leave the areas where they are at and they are willing to leave the areas where we are at; then we shouldn’t never have a problem with them. This wasn’t the case on Saturday morning where a timber rattler (it is believed) bit a Georgia man. This turned out to be the worse case scenario with Dick Rupert, who was 68 years old, died from his snake bite. He was climbing down from a tree stand and the snake bit him on the calf. It’s a devastating story for this man and Mr. Rupert’s family, but hopefully others will learn about the dangers associated with timber rattlers, rattle snakes, and other snakes that can cause us deadly harm. There are timber rattlers in the USA and people should be aware and find out if they live in their local hometowns. I know in my city located in North Georgia, the rattle snake and copper head are the only 2 poisonous snakes I know about. There might be others, but these are the two most common snakes that are deadly to humans in the state of Georgia.

Please let me know what U.S. state you live in and how many poisonous snakes make their home in your area of the world. Feel free to reply with your snake stories of getting bit or someone that you know that got bit by a snake.

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I heard an interesting story on the news today. It was in Cherokee County, Georgia which is about 40 miles north of Atlanta. The emergency 911 center got a call from a person that was claiming their horse had got stuck in the mud. The recent rains over North Georgia has been causing some minor flooding problems and trees have been falling too. So it doesn’t sound too far fetched that a horse would have got stuck in all this new mud that is being created now in Cherokee County.

The Cherokee Fire Department and the Milton Fire Department, which is located in North Fulton County, teamed up to help this poor horse that had got stuck in the mud. It wasn’t an easy task for the rescue officials on the scene, but they manage to use one of their large hydraulic ladders on the truck to lift the horse. The hard work from the Milton and Canton Fire Departments manage to save this horse from an awful death. The horse is still in bad shape since it was stuck in the mud for so long, but they are nursing it back to health.

The story really didn’t end there either. After our local news in Atlanta got done reporting the rescue of the trapped horse in Cherokee County, they said other large animal rescues have occurred too. This was the 5th horse that had been rescued in Cherokee; since they implemented the large animal rescue. So the next time you get in trouble and your wondering who your gonna call, no need to bother the Ghostbusters, just call the Cherokee County Fire Department to the scene!

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A new show on the Animal Planet network called Into the Pride is going to cause some buzz I’m sure. First off, you have someone that is disturbing a group of lions and it serves no purpose. The host is claiming he needs to get these lions use to humans, so they can continue to exist in their part of Southern Africa. I’m not buying that one and lions in the wild should not learn to live with humans or get use to them in any way. The host is not someone that is really caring for these animals or trying to help them in any way. He just wants to follow these lions around and get a TV deal with a big time cable network.

Safety is another big issue that people will be buzzing about. This guy is getting way to close to these wild lions and often he just has a big stick as his only defense. The male lions named “Curtis” and “Brutus” are not going to be detoured by this stick and they could really cause some life-threatening situations for this host and his crew. The female lions can be just as deadly and it seems “Cleo” is showing her spunk. Into the Pride doesn’t belong on television and serves no real purpose for this big new series that is now playing on the Animal Planet.

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The recent death of Michael Jackson has caused a non-stop media event on TV right now. It seems Michael Jackson’s untimely death is still the thing to talk about on the news right now. You can’t turn the channel on television without seeing something about Michael Jackson and it may stay like this until more questions are answered. I know many things are left unanswered right now and it’s going to take a lot of time for some these answers to come out. I haven’t heard much on MJ’s animals and if Michael still owned many animals.

If you’re a Michael Jackson fan and you know what animals he owned as of today; then please let me know how many and what they were. Micheal Jackson is known for owning exotic animals and we have seen many of these over the years. I haven’t heard anything about his animals lately and I am not aware of any that he owned at the time of his death. I would be shocked if he didn’t own any, but I’m sure he had a few. Did Michael Jackson ever open a zoo? I know this sounds like something that would be right up his alley and I’m not aware of any zoos that Michael Jackson owned or donated large amounts of money to. I think it would be interesting to see if he did have any part of an ownership with a zoo and which lucky person might get to inherit that from the King of Pop.

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Please feel free to post your best trophy bass stories. Talk about the lures you used to catch the big monster and how long it took you to reel it in. I may have to subtract 1 pound for all the weight descriptions; since most fishermen bump up their fish’s weight. Go ahead and tell your best fishing story that involves catching a fresh water bass from a stream, river, or lake in North America or if you live in another part of the world where fresh water bass can be caught.

I don’t really have too many big bass stories. The biggest fish I have caught have always been carp and catfish. Those are the biggest types of fish I have ever managed to get on a hook and drag ashore. I have caught many nice bass over the years and I really don’t have one fish that sticks out from the others.

I have found patience reeling them in is the best way to get them to the bank. You don’t want to play with them all day, because bass will fight hard and try to find something to swim under and this can break your line. Even if you’re using a high pound test line to catch your bass with, it can still break and it doesn’t take a whopper to break it either. Bass fight harder than any other fish you can catch and I’m sure this is one of the reasons they are so popular to fish for these days.

I have had luck with many different types of lures. I know the pro fishermen like to use the big lures that have tails and spinners attached to them. I haven’t had much luck with those types of lures. I have found a yellow rooster tail works best for me and I mainly use this lure when I go fishing. The plastic worms are always a great choice too and I know every fisherman has his or her favorite color of plastic worm to use. I like the red, purple, and white ones the best and these have worked best for me. The lures that look like small fish that will have a 3 prong hook attached to them have been another lure that has caught a few nice bass on my fishing trips.

Now the live bait is the best way to go and I love fishing with live bait. The minnows and worms are a great way to catch fish fast. Bass love to eat food that is real and I highly recommend everyone trying live bait at least once on each fishing trip. Just catching a grasshopper or cricket in the yard or taking the time to dig up a few worms will give you a little extra bait on your fishing trips. This also gives you a break from constantly reeling in your lines and you can relax while fishing. If you stop to buy minnows, go ahead and pay the extra dollar for bass minnows. These are bigger than the crappie minnows and bass are more attracted to these. Crappie fishing is entertaining because you can catch a lot of fish in a short amount of time, but crappie don’t tug the line that much. They are just too easy to reel in and I like fighting with the big trophy bass the best. I hope this is the year that I finally land a big trophy bass, so I will have my own big fish story to tell.

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Two things that we have to worry about these days are West Nile Virus and the new virus they are calling the Swine Flu or H1N1. Does either one of these scare you? Which one do you think is more of a threat to our society?

It seems the Swine Flu is the most popular right now and lots of attention has been focused on it. It looks like we may see this new virus decline this summer and then perhaps gain strength again in the fall. Experts and everyone in the medical field are working to find a vaccine for this new virus and this could help lessen the severity of the symptoms that are associated with the flu or influenza.

No one talks about the West Nile Virus anymore and it’s still present here. This is something that can spread really fast and mosquitoes can carry the West Nile Virus. Your next camping or fishing trip this summer may lead you with an encounter of a few mosquitoes. Not only can they be a pest and make you itch a lot, but you could really get sick from these pesky little critters.

A good way to prevent a bad experience with mosquitoes is to get a product like the Mosquito Magnet. This can help keep them off of you and your family and protect you from all the diseases they carry like the West Nile Virus. I have read some good mosquito magnet reviews and this seems like a great product to use if you’re having trouble with mosquitoes. Your first step to rid your yard, favorite fishing hole, or the place you like to camp is to get the Mosquito Magnet. This will be the best move you can make to help keep the mood enjoyable and happy for all.

You can also do some things around the home to help fight mosquitoes. Make sure you don’t have any standing water or containers out in the open that would collect water when it rains. Mosquitoes like to breed in these types of conditions and they won’t have a place to multiply, if you remove all the standing water around your home. Make sure to get the neighbors on board too and help them remove the containers and standing water around their homes too. Doing this and getting a Mosquito Magnet will help keep your family safe from the threat of mosquitoes this summer.

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I know a lot of TV coverage and other media outlets like to cover stories on animal abuse. Anything that sells newspapers or have people tuning in will be considered news worthy to any news station or newspaper company. They do show some disturbing pictures sometime that come from animal abuse or cruelty to animals. It just got me to thinking about everyday situations and ways we might be abusing animals and not even know it. The animals that perform in theme parks or in dog shows appear to be happy, but are we asking too much from these animals?

I think the animals used in parades are a form of animal abuse and people should refrain from using them in some situations. Any animal that is pulling cargo through a parade should not be allowed. Someone just riding their horse in a parade doesn’t seem like abuse, but it can’t be too pleasant on the horses. Horses do wear horseshoes in parades, but this isn’t like a pair of Jildor Shoes. There is no soft cushion that is used to make horseshoes. It’s just a piece of hard metal or steel that gets nailed to the bottom of a horse’s foot or hoof. Is it fair that a horse has to wear this type of shoe; when its rider probably has a pair of marc by marc jacobs on their feet? Any parade route that would lead horses and other animals through dirt or on natural ground would be fine, but most parades go down Main Street and generally Main Street is paved.

I’m sure there are lots of other events and jobs we get animals to help with, that could be considered abuse. For one reason or another, we have just grown to accept these types of animal abuses and only pay attention to the extreme cases. There is a lot of events that we consider traditional and these traditions have used animals to celebrate or recognize various things over the years. As a modern society, we do need to take a closer look at some of these traditional celebrations and make sure we aren’t abusing the animals that participate in them. Please feel free to share your thoughts and tell me if you think animal abuse exists in parades.

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How many people know the name Cesar Millan? Perhaps a few people would recognize the name and know who he is, but lots more people would know him by another name. How many people have heard of the Dog Whisperer? I’m sure lots of people have watched that show before or seen it advertising on the National Geographic Channel or Animal Planet. Cesar Millan is the Dog Whisperer and he’s been entertaining dog lovers and owners for a long time now. The show is pretty good to watch and usually you can see it come on several times through the week. You may just want to sit down and watch it one day, if you haven’t ever seen it before. The show is ok for kids to watch, but I wouldn’t recommend it for the younger viewers out there. The show does feature some intense moments with mean and aggressive dogs and this may send a confusing message to children that dogs are bad.

The bad dogs don’t stay bad for long when Cesar Millan is around. He has a great way of working with the dogs and he does a great job communicating with people too. His skills aren’t just for whispering to dogs and getting on the same page with them, but his human skills are quiet impressive too. I think his ability to communicate with dogs and humans so well has been key to making his show a success and creating a bit of fame for his self.

Often dog owners that have mean and aggressive dogs that bark, growl, or even bite at strangers is the types of dogs the Whisperer works with to help. He uses a no fear approach and doesn’t rush into anything with these over protective dogs. In most cases these dogs are just in a protective mode and their aggressive behavior is more of a love for their owners than a hate for strangers. It seems Mr. Millan learns to channel this love, so that these dogs learn to accept people in general and not just their owners. He does have a unique gift that helps these dog owners turn a mean dog into a dog they can walk in the park with or a dog they can trust more with strangers.

Dog owners in general don’t want their dogs biting no one and most states in the United States have tough laws on dog owners, if their dog does bite someone. A dog owner should never face legal charges, fines, or even jail time for the actions of their pets. The justice system doesn’t have too much of a choice in these situations and holding dog owners responsible for their pets is really the only thing they can provide for the public and their safety as it pertains to dogs. If you own a dog that presents a threat to strangers or people visiting your property, you may want to consider the risks involved. You can go for the very best in the business and hire Cesar Millan to help with your animal or try to find a local dog trainer in your area to help with aggressive behaviors. If dog owners don’t take action now, they may have to face a judge one day for the actions of their canine.

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