The Alien Invasion is Here!!!

This is only the first wave of alien invaders. A lone scout was seen a week ago but very quickly found a home in Illinois. They find our environment very suitable to their lifestyle, living harmoniously with us silly humanoids. Miraculously, not only do their brains light up when substrate and heat are applied, but they change color with continued use! They are now available on Etsy...

New Mature Glass Products for sale

Just freshly listed, brand new mature glass selection. For Adults only! A wide selection of handmade glass sex toys and exercisers from $16 to $42 plus shipping. All handmade and properly annealed for an extended lifetime of use. Click Here if you are an adult!

Glass Animals! (and fuming 101)

This is Caterpie. He is a Glass Caterpillar that I created at the Studio. He is made from borosilicate glass with an internal silver fume. Fuming is one of many ways to add color to glass. For this particular piece, I started with a tube of glass that I opened up into a funnel shape on one end. I prepare my fuming rod by melting some raw silver onto a "punty" which is a glass rod. You warm this all up to prevent cracking in your torch flame. You then sharpen your flame and direct it down the inside of the funnel and hold your fuming rod in the base of the flame. The silver is basically vaporized and carried in the flame to be deposited onto the glass. Makes a beautiful rainbow of colors depending on many factors. You can see Orange, blue, pink and green above. I then close up the funnel end and begin heating the tube section by section to make the body. You kind of gather the glass together as you heat to create the internal restrictions. Then you form the mouth and add the feet, eyes and other decoration with color rods. You can make all kinds of fun critters! I have also done an alligator, several fish and lizards so far. On a side note, wearing respitory protection while attempting this is recommended. Vaporized silver is not good to breath!

President Obama Restores Provision of the Endangered Species Act

via Obama HQ by Christopher Hass on 3/4/09

On Tuesday President Obama issued a presidential memorandum suspending changes that were made to the Endangered Species Act during the final days of the Bush Adminstration.

The Washington Post reported:

In December 2008, the Bush administration changed a longstanding practice under the Endangered Species Act by issuing rules that allowed agencies to move ahead with projects and programs without seeking an independent review by either the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Environmentalists and scientists said this shift could allow agencies to press ahead with plans that could hurt already-vulnerable species across the country.

...House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-W.V.), who had decried the Bush rule and had been trying to reverse it through the legislative process, hailed Obama's decision. "I wholeheartedly support the president's proposal to restore the protections for endangered species that the Bush administration spent so many years trying to undermine," Rahall said in an interview. "It is one more indication that the new administration truly represents change for the better and is committed to the protection of our natural resources and our environment.

Read the full text of the President's memo to the heads of executive departments and agencies . . .