Thursday, August 7, 2008

Baby Elephant, Nova

African Lion Safari have done it again. They have a new baby elephant, three weeks old, called Chuck after the elephant handler in a New York zoo. The baby is an Asian elephant and they are on the endangered list apparently. The mother elephant, Mali, is from the New York zoo but I gather she was bred by the Safari people. She has been lent to Canada for the birth making Chuck a third generation elephant born in Canada.There is a video of the original Chuck Doyle on this page which you might like to see. On local TV and in the newspapers there are all kinds of pictures of the baby elephant. On the African Lion Safari website there are a whole bunch of videos including one of Chuck which you can download to play on your PC. click here. Matt used to work at the African Lion Safari as a security officer - a few years ago now - and he still misses the sound of the lions at night. They had a baby elephant there then too which I got to see. They have an incredible successful elephant programme. On the African Lion Safari site there is a video of cheetahs at play, we got to meet some cheetahs there a few years ago. They were being socialised and we went right in the pens with them. Read my blog from December 22, 2007 if you are interested in seeing the pictures. We watched Nova Science Now last night. There was another segment on aging. Scientists now seem to believe that really old healthy people have a "longevity" gene. It has been discovered that high HDL (good cholesterol) and a section of DNA known as Sir2 helps preserve test specimens and mice in a healthy condition click here for a lot longer than normal. Back to the "how long do you want to live" question which we discussed a few months ago. They were also talking about Resveratrol again, which, if you recall, comes from red wine. It too helps prevent aging but not by drinking the wine, you would need 10,000 glasses a day. But there will be a pill. In fact there are already pills on the market but I am not sure how good genuine they are. There were all kinds of seniors from lat 80's through to one man who was 101. A lot of them are participating in tests to discover what keeps them alive so long. Its not diet or lack of smoking, several of them eat the wrong foods and some of them still smoke. The other two main segments dealt with Space. Trying to build an elevator into space which would be some 22,000 miles high and spotting Mayan ruins from space. The first is something they think can and will be done one day, there are lots of people working on the project, amateurs for the most part. There is a $150,000 prize at stake. The second, satellites can pinpoint changes in appearance in the greenery which turns out to be obscuring Mayan ruins, so they are now able to find them relatively easily in the tropical jungles. Relatively is the operative word here, it is still quite difficult to get to the ruins even now they know where to find them. Both segments can be seen at the same link as shown above. Today we not only have to do our weekly shop, but we are both going to "get our ears lowered" - haircuts. We have been waiting a while as they were extra busy at the beauty shop with people off sick, etc. My hair feels as though I could braid it. We used to like to eat in the Outback restaurants in the States (the one here is not so good IMHOP) and would frequently order coconut shrimp. Following is a similar recipe which I thought you might enjoy. I got the recipe of the internet, but I am afraid I don't remember where from now. It is actually a very easy recipe. Coconut Shrimp with Dipping Sauce Serves: 6 Coconut shrimp: 12 colossal shrimp (10 shrimp to the pound), peeled and butterflied 2 C. sweetened long-grain coconut 1/4 C. Japanese bread crumbs (panko) 1 C. flour Asian Dipping Sauce: 1/2 C. teriyaki sauce 1/2 C. soy sauce 1/2 C. rice vinegar 1 bunch scallions, sliced fine 1 t. grated fresh ginger 1 T. toasted sesame seeds Coconut shrimp: Combine coconut and bread crumbs in a shallow dish. Put flour and eggs in separate, shallow dishes. Dip shrimp first in flour, then egg mixture, then bread crumb-coconut mix, coating well with each element. Place shrimp, no more than three at a time, into deep fat that has been brought to 350 degrees in a deep-fat fryer. When shrimp begin to turn a golden color, about 4 minutes, remove from fryer and drain. Servings: 6 (two shrimp per person as an appetizer). Asian Dipping Sauce: Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use. Have a great day.

2 comments:

  1. There's no doubt that you can eat healthily, exercise like mad, maintain a positive attitude - and still die young. You just can't swap your ancestors, unfortunately! I come from a family that tends to live a long time, but for the last twenty or thirty years of life we go downhill at a great rate and there's sweet FA we can do about it. It's interesting, albeit depressing, to watch the body gradually packing its bags to leave:-)Dementia comes next. Joy oh joy.

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  2. And even if you got the longevity gene, doesn't mean you won't get run over by a truck or hit by a falling toilet seat. Ah well.

    A pill that equates to drinking 10,000 glasses of red wine is a scary thought. And imagine if the testers got it wrong ... you could get a red grape version of Violet Beauregard. :O

    But the cheetahs on the video are so cute!

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