Magnetism and Dogs Dumping

    Ever watch a dog poop? Who hasn’t? Did you notice that they spin around and get set up exactly right before relieving themselves? There is a scientific answer for the reason why. 

    In what must have been one of the most interesting (?!) jobs on the planet researchers observed 70 dogs of 37 different breeds for two years when they took a dump (the dogs, nit the researchers) and all of the dogs preferred a north-south alignment when the earth’s magnetic fields were calm. And they all avoided an east-west alignment. 

`There is a name for this behavior (of the dogs, not the researchers); it’s called magnetoception. It’s defined as tapping into a magnetic field to align or use for directions. The best example is that birds use it in migration. 

    Magnetoreception is a sense which allows an organism to detect the Earth's magnetic field. Animals with this sense include some arthropods, fish reptiles, birds and some mammals. 

    When a dog sniffs the ground and turns around a few times then leave their deposit they are aiming to make their deposit along a north-south axis that lines up with the Earth's magnetic field because the North-South axis has a calm magnetic field. 

    When the magnetic field is in flux, like during solar flares, this directional behavior was abandoned. When that happens dog have a difficult time finding a place to do their business. 

    Why is this information important?!According to researchers, this discovery was the first time a measurable, predictable behavioral reaction to the magnetic field's fluctuation had been observed. Why is this discovery important? The findings open new horizons for further research in organisms’ use of magnetic fields for direction, as well as magnetic fields produced by living organisms.

What's an Entitlement?

    My Facebook friend is always posting memes and “facts” which are usually really “alternative facts.” 

    His latest was a call to stop calling Social Security an “entitlement” because it is NOT an entitlement, it’s his money because he paid into it and they are giving him his own money back.

    It’s obvious that he does not know the meaning of the word “entitlement.” It means (1) a right to something specified by law or contract, (2) a belief that one is deserving of or is entitled to certain privileges, (3) a government program providing benefits to members of a specified group, also (4) funds supporting or distributed by such a program. Sounds like Social Security meets all the qualifications of the dictionary’s definitions of entitlement.

    Another pet peeve showed up the other night when I was watching a college basketball game on ESPN. The “analyst” said of a certain player that he was the best 3-point shooter in the conference, if not the country. 

    Nonsense! I looked up the statistics and the player’s percentage of 3-point shots made placed him 4th on the TEAM. So, he is not even the best 3-point shooter on the TEAM let alone the conference and certainly not the country.

     It was obvious that the ESPN “analyst” never bothered to do any research on the teams.

Taking Heavy Rolls

    In 1964 I was a Navy Corpsman assigned to Weapons Platoon, G Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and we were taking part in Operation Steel Pike. 

    On the way to the Mediterranean, in the mid-Atlantic, they passed the word over the ship’s 1MC (loudspeaker) to standby to take heavy rolls and this video reminds me of that experience. The accompanying song is also meaningful.

 

 

Enjoy Hillary Klug

Hillary Klug (birn 1992) is a National champion buckdancer and is also known for her fiddling. 

Asparagus Pee

     Asparagus is a low-potassium food in small portions and it can be eaten as part of a healthy diet and it will not harm your kidneys. People with kidney disease are encouraged to eat a low potassium diet, so asparagus is an excellent choice. A small portion is considered to be six stalks or less. 

     The downside is that eating asparagus can lead to funky smelling pee. The reason is because asparagus contains...aspargusic acid, which is found exclusively in asparagus. When asparagus is digested the acid is down into sulfur containing byproducts and, as you know, sulfur is not very pleasant smelling. And, so when you pee, the sulfur byproducts evaporate almost immediately, causing pee to smell unpleasant. 

     Asparagus isn’t the only thing that can change the smell of pee. For example, some people find that drinking too much coffee causes their urine to smell like coffee. Brussels sprouts, onions and garlic an also cause odd smelling pee in some people. Asparagus pee usually shows up between 15 and 30 minutes after eating id and the smell can last for several hours, possibly up to 14 hours. 

     According to some studies it’s estimated that only between 20% to 50% of people experience the asparagus pee smell. That’s because everyone digests food differently and some people can break down the sulfur byproducts more efficiently.

Lowe Stokes

 

     Lowe Stokes (May 28, 1898 - June, 1983) and in 1924, he defeated veteran Fiddlin’ John Carson at the Georgia Old-Time Fiddlers' Convention to win the coveted state championship. Stokes also won the coveted Georgia Old-Time Fiddlers' Convention held in Atlanta the next year.

     By most accounts Lowe was born in Georgoa in May 28, 1898. Lowe was the sixth of seven children born to Jacob Stokes, who was a farm laborer, born in 1848. 

     On Christmas Day in 1930, Stokes was involved in a shooting incident near Cartersville, Georgia. He never cared to talk about it. One friend thought Stoled had intervened in a fight between one of his brothers and another man and was shot while trying to grab the latter's gun. His right hand was so badly damaged that it had to be amputated. Within a year he was playing again, using a prosthetic attachment devised for him by a friend. 

     Stokes quit fiddling sometime in the '60s though his fans were still visiting him at his home in Chouteau, Oklahoma. 

 

 

What's the Most Efficient Pattern to Cut Grass?

  

     When mowing the yard, like most people, I go back and forth, back and forth and it seems to tale forever. 

     But, sometimes I cut it diagonally and it seem like I zip right through it. Which way is the most efficient? 

     Of course, the size and shape of the yard is a factor. When it comes to mowing in rows, cutting in the longest direction is most efficient because it involves the least turns. It’s been studied by the pros and it’s been determined that mowing in back and forth in rows is one of the fastest, most efficient way. 

     Experts recommend that obstacles like flower beds, trees, shrubs, sheds, etc. should be mowed around before tackling the larger, unobstructed area. 

     In order to help keep lines straight, start by mowing parallel to a straight sidewalk or driveway. Thereafter focus on ta point about 10 feet in front of you. 

     At the end of a row lift the mower deck as you turn then continue in the opposite direction. 

     Mowing at the highest setting results in soft grass that bends easily. Cutting the grass short means it won’t bend as far, so the pattern will be less noticeable.

     Bu the way. you’ve seen them in sport fields and some professionally cut lawns that look like stripes. Dark stripes are blades bent toward you and the lighter stripes are bent away from you. To get that effect you need a special striping kit for your mower or roller, so it’s probably best to forget that.

Sing along....

Talking Dog

Boonarangs

     Back in the mid-1960s the PX on the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina was selling plastic boomarangs. 

     So, one evening at dusk I was returning to the barracks and four or five guys were out front throwing one. Because it was dusk and there were tall treed in front of the barracks visibility was getting poor. One guy threw the boomarang and as it was descending the Officer of the Day walked around the corner. 

     Upon heating a “pfft, pfft, pfft” of the descending boomarang, he began looking around. When the guys realized in horror that the thing was headed right for the OOD they started yelling, “Duck, Lieutenant!” But, it was too late. The thing hit him along side of the head and he went down like a sack of potatoes.

     When I reached him he was sitting up and when I asked if he was OK, all he could say was, “What happened?” I informed him he had been hit by a boomarang. He was not seriously hurt, but, unaware of the boomarang craze and he was incredulous. "A boomarand"", he asked. When I looked around the throwers had all disappeared along with the boomarang. And, that’s my boomarang story. 

     A boomerang is a curved throwing stick used chiefly by the Aboriginals of Australia for hunting and warfare. The Aboriginals used two kinds of boomerangs.

    The returning boomerang is light, thin and well balanced, 12–30 inches long and weighs up to 12 ounces. Its shape varies from a deep, even curve to almost straight sides of an angle. The ends are twisted in opposite directions. 

     Returning boomerangs were used only in eastern and western Australia as playthings, in competitions and by hunters to imitate hawks for driving flocks of game birds into nets strung from trees. 

     The non-returning boomerang is longer, straighter and heavier than the returning type. It was used for hunting because it maimed or killed the game. In warfare it caused serious injuries to the enemy if it didn’t kill them. 

     Non-returning weapons were used by the ancient Egyptians, by Native Americans of California and Arizona and in southern India for killing birds, rabbits, and other animals. Thrown over areas of long grass where game birds nest, returning boomerangs can frighten these birds into taking flight, thus making them easier to hunt. 

     In competition, distance boomerangs are designed to go from 80-200 yards and are VERY difficult to control. They require ideal throwing conditions (light to no wind). expert skill and lots of open space...one football field is nowhere big enough...you need about 4-5 fields. 

     The world record for a long distance throw, set in 1999 by Manuel Schultz of Switzerland, is 780 feet, 10 inches. 

     Boomerangs are not toys, they are designed for competition and they can be dangerous...remember the lieutenant! 

 

Boomarang geometry 

 

Boomerang Flight Dynamics