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.