This weekend we spring forward with daylight savings time….what a wasted effort that serves no purpose….plus Trump said he would end this exercise and so far it was a lie.(go figure)

Just a few stories that the MSM was not bothered to report….in-depth that is….

Locally–Mercifully Mardi Gras is over and the last parades of the season got dumped on with rain and high winds….but I guess alcohol made it more tolerable for most….temps about on average for this time of the year.

Personal–First I would like thank all those sent good feelings to Sue….we both appreciate your concern….She has a touch of pneumonia and bad UTI ….she is still in hospital until all the infections are cleared up.

I apologize for the brevity of my response to all the kind words but I was on my phone and I am a crappy typist on the small scene.

My second week of radiation and it is taking a toll….I keep hoping that I will awaken one morning and find I have some sort of super powers….so far no dice.

I have many drafts saved so I will be working off them until I can Get Sue home and I have some time for more research…..please bear with me.

Let’s start with some food news….

For decades the Cajuns have been eating a swamp rat called a nutria and now the US wildlife people are suggesting we all might think about an alt meat for the table….

The US Fish and Wildlife Service is asking Americans to step up as conservationists and make a meal out of cat-sized rodents. The plea is part of the agency’s annual National Invasive Species Week (February 24-28), which highlights the numerous non-native animals wreaking havoc on local ecosystems across the country. Experts in this case are particularly focused on nutria—an herbivorous, semiaquatic mammal that looks like a cross between a giant rat and a beaver.

“Please consider the following slogan ‘Save a Swamp, Sauté a Nutria,’” the agency suggested in a Facebook post on Monday.

Nutria are native to South America, but were first brought to Louisiana in the 1930’s to help meet fur industry demands. By the early 1940’s, hurricane damage to nutria farms accidentally allowed the voracious and rapidly reproducing animals to escape into the wild, where females average two litters of pups per year. A single adult nutria can weigh as much as 20 lbs, and is capable of consuming its own weight in vegetation every day, year-round. Prior to concerted mitigation efforts, nutria were estimated to annually devour as much as 90,000 acres’ worth of coastal wetlands. The scope of their damage can affect everything from flood patterns, to agriculture, to public health. Thanks to decades of conservation campaigns (and $6-per-tail hunting season bounties), damage estimates dropped down to around 5,500 acres in 2024, but nutria continue to pose a problem if populations are left unchecked. Today, the rodents are also causing trouble along the Atlantic coast and in portions of California.

https://www.popsci.com/environment/eating-nutria/

I might give it a try….I mean I have eaten palm rat before and not bad….how about you?

Now beef is the main subject of this….Texas has its panties in a knot over steak…

The lieutenant governor of Texas has a beef with the name of one of the country’s most popular steak cuts. In a post on X, Lt. Gov Dan Patrick called for renaming the New York strip steak the Texas strip, arguing: “Liberal New York shouldn’t get the credit for our hard-working ranchers,” the New York Post reports. The Republican said he recently met with the Texas Cattle Feeders and Cattle Raisers and asked them why they called the cut a New York strip, “because New York has mostly dairy cows.”

New York strip is the most widely used name for a strip steak, a tender cut taken from the short loin, WFAA reports. The name caught on after Delmonico’s, a New York City steakhouse that opened in 1837, used it for one of its signature dishes. “Just because a New York restaurant named Texas beef a New York Strip in the 19th century doesn’t mean we need to keep doing that,” Patrick wrote, noting that “Texas has about 12.2 million head of cattle, the most in America.” He said he wants the name change to catch on across America and worldwide.

“The Texas Senate will file a concurrent resolution to officially change the name of the New York Strip to the ‘Texas Strip’ in the Lone Star State,” Patrick wrote. “We ask restaurants to change the name of this strip of meat the next time they reprint their menus, and grocery stores to do the same.” He may have been inspired by President Trump’s decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico,” the Guardian reports. “After session ends this summer, I might take a short cruise across the Gulf of America and have a juicy medium-rare Texas Strip,” he wrote. If the Empire State decides to retaliate, the most popular variant of poker might soon be known as New York Hold ‘Em.

What can we expect in Texas…politicians wasting time and doing stupid shit.

Now a couple of space things….

Could this be in the cards for future astronauts?

Scientists have discovered a wild treatment that they say could protect astronauts from the copious amounts of space radiation they’d be exposed to during trips into deep space.

In an effort to find new ways to protect cancer patients from the many side effects of radiation therapy, a group of researchers found that a protein from tardigrades — tiny, practically indestructible “water bears” that have been known to survive the hostile vacuum of space — may be the answer.

The protein was previously identified as helping tardigrades survive some of the most extreme conditions on Earth — and yes, even space.

Now, a team led by Harvard Medical School instructor and MIT visiting scientist Ameya Kirtane used messenger RNA encoding to inject the protein into mice. As detailed in a paper published this week in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, the team found that their technique generated sufficient protein to protect the mice’s DNA from radiation-induced damage.

https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientists-astronauts-tardigrade-rna-radiation-damage

There will be a lunar eclipse soon…..

Most nights, if the moon is clear, the celestial body hovering in the night sky shines with a bright silvery aura.

It can be a fetching sight, especially when the moon is full and unobscured by clouds. But it’s nothing like what hundreds of millions of Americans will have the chance to see this month during the first total lunar eclipse in nearly three years.

The moon will appear to us here on Earth to turn a striking rusty-red color when it aligns with our planet and the sun. When this happens, the moon is passing into Earth’s shadow in a color-shifting process that lends it the nickname, “blood moon.”

The upcoming total lunar eclipse, the first since November 2022, will also coincide with this year’s full worm moon, the third and final full moon of the winter.

Here’s what to know about a total lunar eclipse, including when and how to see the next one.

https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2025/03/02/total-lunar-eclipse-2025/81068555007/

Finally do dogs enjoy music?

Music is known to have a profound effect on humans. According to Healthline, it can improve memory and help lower anxiety and depression. But do dogs enjoy listening to music as much as people do?

Studies on the effects of music on dogs are limited, especially when compared to humans. Some evidence suggests dogs may be comforted—as in feeling less stressed or anxious—when listening to classical music. Researchers from the Sydney School of Veterinary Science examined nine studies of the effect of music on dogs in 2020. Their findings, published in the journal Animals, indicated that the classical genre soothed canines, as the pups exhibited calmer behaviors (i.e., lying down, resting, sitting, etc.) while the music played. It’s important to note that many of the previous studies took place in typically stressful environments—such as veterinary hospitals, boarding kennels, and rescue shelters—rather than in houses.

Amy Campbell, a certified dog trainer, told the dog care services website Rover that not all classical music has the same effect. Some pieces contain loud sounds that may actually induce stress. The animals also seem to have specific musical tastes. A 2023 study in the journal Animal Welfare found that heavy metal music caused stress in shelter dogs, as many barked as the music played.

You may have heard of “dog music.” If not, it’s exactly what you think. They’re tunes made specifically to relax Fido. There are several free playlists of such songs on YouTube, but the above-mentioned 2020 study found that dogs didn’t appear calmer when listening to specialized music—a collection called Through a Dog’s Ear, in this case—compared to regular classical music.

If you‘d like to try soothing your dog with music, Rover suggests paying attention to their behavior as the tune plays. You‘ll also want to ensure you don‘t have the volume too loud. Last but not least, check to see if your pet avoids rooms with music, as this may show they prefer quiet environments.

(mentalfloss.com)

Enjoy your Saturday before you lose that valuable hour of your life.

As always….Be well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”