What's going on, Albuquerque?

Morning Fix: Fire and Rain

Fire in the bosque - again.
When it rains, it pours - maybe not in your neighborhood, but somewhere in the city.
Hungry attack bear is caught and killed by state officials. Anthropomorphic interpretation of bear's mental state here - apparently ursine creatures are capable of making "mistakes". Really, Stuart?
UNM emergency notification system test at 11:02 am. (Attention UNM employees: 10:50 am would be a good time to head to the Frontier for a carne adovada burrito).
UNM named federal Clinical and Translation Science Center. $21 million in awards over the next five years from NIH. Plus, joining a consortium of other Clinical and Translation Science Centers in 26 states is a good way to recruit and retain top researchers, no?
Sunport long and short term parking fees increase - time to think about dropping off your sweetie curbside?
DA drops fraud charges against Bio Care owner in order to build a better case. My heart goes out to the surviving family members every time I think about this - surely this calamity is the stark opposite of "care"?
Let Washington know what you think about Wall Street reform and economic recovery! You have until 5 pm today to sign up for Congressman Martin Heinrich's Telephone Town Hall tomorrow night at 7 pm.
67 years ago today, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sent off a secret letter to Robert Oppenheimer. The topic? Rallying morale for Manhattan Project scientists and their families.
Sleepless summer nights? The latest directive from APS - "Development and Revision of Board Policies and Administrative Proce..." is a surefire soporific.

Tags: Morning_Fix

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Comment by Ben Moffett on June 29, 2010 at 7:18am: I'm sick of fire in the bosque stories. These fires have been going on for thousands of years and at the same rate for the last 20 at least. Property damage is minimal, because the fires burn out where the fuel source ends -- at the riverbank. But because flames make good vudeo, they are are always over-covered.The same is true for flood stories. If someone urinates along a hiking trail in the heights, it's a flood. So watch it! .You may be on TV.

Comment by Stephanie James on June 29, 2010 at 7:27am: I thought Stuart Dyson's point was a good one. When people don't follow posted rules and get hurt, the animal gets put down. It happens in zoos as well.

Comment by Benny the Icepick on June 29, 2010 at 7:40am: Some great stories today, BB, thanks!

Of course, now I'm going to have James Taylor stuck in my head all day. But man, he's still got it. Aside from not being able to hit the high notes like he used to, his voice hasn't changed a bit.

Comment by Masshole in Fringecrest on June 29, 2010 at 8:50am: Finally, a gaggle of KOB comments I can 100% get behind. They are merciless on this camper- let me paraphrase; "Your little dog and that majestic wild creature are now dead because of your stupidity. Shame on you." Awesome.

Comment by Barelas Babe on June 29, 2010 at 9:11am: @Stephanie James - Oh, I agree with that point.

My cringe moment was his description of the bear making a "mistake" - I think this involves making judgments about the bear's mental state (and actions) that are difficult to justify based on what we know about animal cognition. (And I'll be the first to say that cognition is a very tricky thing, whether you are dealing with humans or animals). I just find it problematic to accept the claim that the action of an animal who smells, seeks, and obtains food = mistake. I guess I'm just having some difficulty reconciling the notions of biological imperative and error in judgment. Then again, I think too much.

Comment by Ron Da Bomb on June 29, 2010 at 9:18am: From Thales of Miletus to Sweet Baby James, BB. I was half-expecting a march through the Seven Sages references this week... J.T. plays pretty much exclusively these days my dream guitar, an Olson.

Comment by Barelas Babe on June 29, 2010 at 9:25am: @Ron - I'm kicking myself - today's posts would have been a great opportunity to showcase Empedocles. But I still have 3 more days!

Comment by once banned twice shy on June 29, 2010 at 9:29am: Yeah, I don't quite get why the bear has to die because it encountered stupid humans. Darwin must be weeping.

Comment by Barelas Babe on June 29, 2010 at 9:54am: My daughter watched the news with me last night and was outraged that the bear was killed. She said, "Why don't they just relocate it to Alaska?" And then muttered to herself, with "Oh, 'cause Sarah would shoot it."

Comment by shotsie on June 29, 2010 at 10:32am: So if the camper stored everything correctly, but ate a couple of cookies in the tent that left a couple of crumbs, would she still be at fault if the bear attacked her tent? The bear was not afraid of humans, and that's the reason why it was destroyed. (Hey, she punched it in the nose to get rid of it - that's some quick thinking on her part - otherwise, she'd be probably bleed to death.)