Commentary

Feline Serial Killer on the Loose in India

Tiger continues to terrify locals in Indian state as 9 victims fall prey

by  • 

 

A man-eating tiger on the prowl in northern India has claimed its ninth victim, defying hunters and wildlife officials who have been trying to gun down the animal, an official said Friday.

Since December 29, the same big cat is believed to have been on a killing spree in a densely forested area near Jim Corbett National Park in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Salil Shukla, an official in the district of Bijnor, told AFP that the partly eaten body of a young farmer had been found on Friday.

READ MORE

Twilight Memory (Or: The Brain Reacts to Shit)

Scrutiny is going to come to pot consumption. Use-over-time does, according to initial studies, effect intelligence. It’s early studies, but the memory impairment seems set-in-stone. It does actually demonstrate that the brain is dramatically changed by usage. Currently, scientists don’t have a great deal of research yet, and I really feel that that’s an important step in the legalization process.

The short version is that high usage is not good for you. As in all things, Moderation is key.

Girl Power! (also: I’m back!)

I took a little hiatus there. Sorry about that. I have a Larp thing to get ready for that you can read about at http://larp.kitsufox.com if you’re interested.

Today is a video about single gender education.

It seems obvious that it would back up “us & them” behavior, and create a wider divide between the genders by cutting down the understanding between other genders and building up the ability to communicate amongst each other.

It certainly is a good step in understanding how things function for reality, and why the single-gender schools are more successful (and the current studies doesn’t include the university level). Preparation for the future in the purpose of the school, so cutting out half of the population seems stupid.

Equine Problem Solving Skills

Can Horses Think Through Problems?

By Sue McDonnell, PhD, Certified AAB Jan 09, 2014 Topics:

Q. I am writing a paper in my agricultural ethics class on the treatment of horses, and one of my discussions deals with the equality of horses to humans. My roommate and I were debating whether horses have the capability to think through a problem–something like unlatching a gate. I’m having trouble finding research on this specific problem. Do you know of any research that has been done in this area?

See the Answer

Conjoined Gray Whale…

[mtphr_grid span=”6″ start=”true”]

Conjoined Gray Whales Found in Baja, Calif. Lagoon

JAN 7, 2014 02:50 PM ET // BY IO9.COM
[/mtphr_grid][mtphr_grid span=”6″ end=”true”]

Conjoined whale twins washed on shore in California

by  • 
[/mtphr_grid]

This is one of those things that I had never seen before, and think it’s pretty cool. I’m not sure what science can learn from them, save the ways that things can go weird in-utero, but it’s still interesting to see. It’s also nice to know that it’s receiving good coverage (via both io9, a discovery news blog and doubtful news) and getting out there. This needs to cover a little more ground, though.

Halter & Lead Dressage

I pick on Grand Prix riders for being hard on the bit. I did it yesterday, but this recent post by Eventing Nation proves that you don’t even need tack on a well trained horse.

I wish I could have been there to see these two old friends prove that you don’t need a harsh bit or hard hands to make a horse dance like this…

Anatomy of a Hoaxer

Anatomy of a Hoaxer

Posted by: Craig Woolheater on December 24th, 2013

A lovely article by Craig Woolheater on the hoaxer, what they are and why they do it. Below is an excerpt, but I urge you to read the whole thing!

Why do some people try to pull the wool over other’s eyes? I think there are many reasons and to name a few, there is to push an agenda, to gain notoriety and to make a buck. Some of course are just for fun as well, so not all hoaxers come from the same mold, but those who deliberately misinform to gain a profit of some kind, we should try and peer inside their heads.

While I have been interested in Cryptozology ever since I was very young, the hoaxer is only a fairly recent phenomenon for me. I certainly was aware of their existence, but I mainly thought of it as innocent fun and a buyer beware sort of thing. I knew money could be made off of a good hoax and we have PT Barnum from Barnum and Bailey to thank for the famous quote “A sucker is born every minute” to know that if you make an outrageous claim, there will be many who will line up to buy what you are selling without so much as a second glance. In that respect you only have yourself to blame if you have fallen for such foolery.

Read More

Paper or Plastic?

So, does it help the environment? Well, in cities with anti-plastic-bag laws there is a decrease in trash. Well, apparently it’s kinda complicated. They do neaten things up, and paper bags aren’t as good… But if you use fabric bags that are made domestically you can do all right on carbon footprint and trash impact. It seems like it bears thinking, but the only thing I can tell you for sure is the the best thing isn’t always the most convent (it seems to me the best all around is a reusable bag you’ve made yourself out of environmentally friendly fabrics).