I feel home, when I, see the faces that remember my own

My first trip back to Bluffton in about three months. Nothing at all had changed. I had missed seeing all the fam, we really do have a great one.

Top Five moments of being back in Bluff this weekend: 5) Watching OSU lose. 4) Molly (the dog) eating my retainers. 3) Showing fake-wife around town. 2) Seeing everyone. And..... 1) Hearing my mother's screams as she found a live snake in the basement. Look forward to the next crazy trip back!

Shark finning: no big deal, right?

Our marine-life buddies face many strange practices against them, including this. Take a few seconds out of your day to contribute to a difference, and maybe become more educated in the process. Every year, millions of sharks are caught and have their dorsal fins ripped off while still alive before being left for dead or killed. Are you imagining?

Help Oceana put a stop to this by simply typing your name, and clicking send.

From Oceana:

The Shark Conservation Act would end shark finning in the U.S. waters and make us world leaders in shark conservation.

Tell your Senators TODAY that you demand shark protections and the passage of the Shark Conservation Act.

More info on the efforts, here.

During the finning process, a shark is hauled up on deck and its fins are sliced off. The shark -- sometimes still alive -- is thrown back into the water to bleed to death. This brutal practice is also incredibly wasteful; shark finning only utilizes one to five percent of the shark’s body weight, removing an essential food source from many communities.

We are now looking at 50 vulnerable species. The deal is, that current legislation (The Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000) still has ridiculous loopholes that allow those determined to undermine the act itself to get on with their disgusting business. Most notable statistic? That in the last 15 years, species in the Atlantic have declined over 50 percent. It is also noted that in the last 35 years that all predatory sharks in the Atlantic have fallen to the point where scientists now label them "functionally eliminated." What are our actions doing to these creatures?

In a 2005 report as a follow-up to the SFPA2000, a piece submitted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and "prepared" by the National Marine Fisheries Service acknowledges that the act established in 2000 did indeed outlaw all shark finning. This report also details an incredible amount of violations and investigations, it is a real glimpse into a business in which we never see reported on by mainstream media.

There are more than enough links, videos, and stats within the links provided in this post to keep you intrigued for hours on this subject. I wish I had more time to properly lay this all out and include some more shockers, but this is it for now. Hope to converse with some of you on it.