Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Coffee and Provocation


The Continuing Crisis 
New Zealand Car Thieves Steal Weasel Anal Gland Oil Instead of Meth Fixings


It's Me or the Cookie
The American Association for the Advancement of Science reports that dogs would rather get a belly rub than a treat.

A Greenland Shark  400 Years Old?
According to the scientists who radio-carbon dated her, she was born during the reign of James I, was a youngster when René Descartes set out his rules of thought, saw out her adolescent years as George II ascended the throne, reached adulthood around the time that the American revolution kicked off, and lived through two world wars.

Serious Sorcery Delusion 
A witchcraft shop in Huddersfield, England refuses to serve Harry Potter fans because it sells 'spiritual tools' not toys for young Muggles.

How Will the World Change with Electric Cars?
Health will improve a lot, and ambient noise in the city will fall a lot.

In Vitro Article in Scientific American From 50 Years Ago
“If rabbit and pig eggs can be fertilized after maturation in culture, presumably human eggs grown in culture could also be fertilized, although obviously it would not be permissible to implant them in a human recipient. So far we have either failed or have at best achieved a very limited success in fertilizing human eggs in vitro. We intend to continue these experiments; the ability to observe cleaving human eggs could be of great medical and scientific value. For example, sterility caused by faulty passage of embryos along the fallopian tube could probably be alleviated by removing oocytes from the ovary, growing and fertilizing them in vitro and then transferring them back into the mother. —R. G. Edwards

Grinding Up Mummies for Paint 
You want umber? Grab that mummy leg. It seems the production of “mummy brown” paint only ceased in the 20th century because no more mummies were to be found.

Marijuana Plants Vie for Blue Ribbons
Marijuana growers at the Oregon State Fair will submit their plants to be judged by Ed Rosenthal, the self-styled “Guru of Ganja,” to be awarded the classic blue, purple, and yellow ribbons.

An extremely bitter roast, picked by child labor overseas,

3 comments:

Peter Apps said...

New Zealand has sniffer dogs for invasive stoats http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/6018883/Specialist-dogs-sniffing-out-stoats, so finding the thieves should be easy.

Viatecio said...

RE food vs social interaction: Interested if breed and/or background plays a role in this. All that is mentioned in the Materials&Materials section is "15 domestic dogs."

With that said, although food is indeed a useful tool, I find that it tends to send dogs over threshold. A dog in a calm mindset that is focused and dedicated to task suddenly becomes a Bouncing Betty when presented with a food reward. Yes, food can be introduced as a DISTRACTION but to use it as a reward right off the bat is actually counterproductive to these dogs. Pair the right Bouncing Betty with a trainer that can't stop running their mouth in a high-pitched voice, can't stand still, is always popping food treats in one form or another, and how the heck does this contribute to a focused thinking dog?

Much prefer my voice. It can be tempered to be calm and even for the overexcited/fearful cases, or high-pitched and excited for the dog that needs the energy. Hands can be used to deliver a toy (e.g. interactive play, another form of social interaction!), a scratch on the ears or a pat on the chest.

Mark Farrell-Churchill said...

My apologies if this posts twice:

Ground-up mummy also used to be an ingredient in "medicines" used by falconers to treat their hawks, up until the 19th century or so. Modern falconers, on learning this, understandably ascribe this to mere superstition--and certainly the history of human medicine offers plenty of reason for skepticism--but who knows? It is just conceivable that it may have had some actual value, as a concentrated source of protein perhaps.