My mom had a fainting goat. She used to try so hard to get it to faint, and it never did. I think she got a dud.
She said that they used to bang pots and pans together in front of the goat. nothing. Wonder what that goat thought? Probably, "Why the hell is this crazy ass woman banging pots and pans in my face and hollering?"
Just a thought. Oh, click the hyperlink. There's an International Fainting Goat Association.
I think I am going to start regularly exploring different animals on the blog. Here is the first: The Dolphin. The head contains the melon, a round organ used for echolocation. In many species, the jaws are elongated, forming a distinct beak; for some species like the Bottlenose, there is a curved mouth which looks like a fixed smile. Teeth can be very numerous (up to two hundred and fifty) in several species. The dolphin brain is large and has a highly structured cortex, which often is referred to in discussions about their advanced intelligence. Unlike most mammals, dolphins do not have hair, but they are born with a few hairs around the tip of their rostrum which they lose after some time, in some cases even before they are born. The only exception to this is the Boto river dolphin, which does have some small hairs on the rostrum. SENSES INTELLIGENCE & SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR The year 2007 has been declared as (International) Year of the Dolphin by the United Nations and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). THREAT How Can You Help?
I am extremely passionate about animal welfare. I have supported animal rights for years. There is a part of me who really wants to be a marine biologist and conservationist who spends his days saving sea turtles and manatees and other creatures. Perhaps one of the most beautiful and interesting of all the sea creatures is the dolphin.
Despite popular belief, the dolphin and the porpoise are different animals. There are almost forty different species of dolphin. They range in size from 4 feet (Maui Dolphin) to 30 feet (the Orca). The dolphin lives in every sea in the world, but they prefer the shallower waters of the Continental Shelves. Dolphins are carnivores: their diet consists mostly of squid and fish. Dolphins evolved about ten million years ago, during the Miocene.
ANATOMY
Modern dolphin skeletons have two small, rod-shaped pelvic bones thought to be vestigial hind legs.
Dolphins have a streamlined fusiform body, adapted for fast swimming. The basic colouration patterns are shades of grey with a light underside and a distinct dark cape on the back. It is often combined with lines and patches of different hue and contrast.
Most dolphins have acute eyesight, both in and out of the water, and their sense of hearing is superior to that of humans. However, dolphins lack an olfactory nerve and lobes and thus are believed to have no sense of smell, but they can taste and do show preferences for certain kinds of fish.
Dolphins are social, living in pods (also called "schools") of up to a dozen individuals. The individuals communicate using a variety of clicks, whistles and other vocalizations. It is thought that dolphins have their own language. Members of a pod may even have a language that is just their own, as well as a universal language. Dolphins can establish strong b
onds between each other. This leads to them staying with injured or ill individuals for support. In May 2005, researchers in Australia discovered a cultural aspect of dolphin behaviour: Some dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) teach their children to use tools. The dolphins break sponges off and cover their snouts with them thus protecting their snouts while foraging. (see photo at right) They are also willing to occasionally approach humans and playfully interact with them in the water. Dolphins have also been known to protect swimmers from sharks by swimming circles around them.
Dolphins often leap above the water surface, sometimes performing acrobatic figures (e.g. the spinner dolphin). Dolphins are used in animal-assisted therapy, particularly for children and adults with Down syndrome and autism.
Every October, in Japan, dolphins are herded together an massacred for food and also collected to be sold to water parks and zoos. Below, I have a documentary from PBS featuring Hardy Jones, a photographer who went to Japan to do a documentary on dolphins. What he found there shocked him. It will shock you too.
Many people are not comfortable with groups like PETA and their guerrila-like tactics and agendas. There is a group called Blue Voice (which was founded by Ted Danson) to help save Dolphins and Whales. Their website is a tome of information on what you can do to help. Every little bit does help. In addition to spreading the word, open your mouth! Blog about this, tell your friends! Never, I repeat NEVER patronize places like Sea World that profit from exploiting these creatures. Volunteer. Pray. Light a Candle. Just do Something. Start by watching this documentary.
I have always wondered what would happen if someone had too much Beyonce. Most days, I feel like I have already had too much Beyonce. Take a look at the clip after the jump, and let me know what you think. Is this person a victim of too much Beyonce??
He's good, huh?
Many thanks to Frank at OMG Blog for giving this tiny blog a shout out.
In New York City, mold in your home is a problem. This problem also exists outside of the city as well, but due to the age of our buildings and other horrible things, toxic mold is a huge issue here.
Now, unless, like Justen and myself, you have had your ceiling fall in revealing all sorts of black mold colonies, you may not be able to tell the condition of your inner walls without doing much damage. I have recently learned that many mold detection services are using specially trained dogs (like the one above--named Hunter) to detect mold in your home. Basically, to understand why dogs are so good at this, you need to learn a little about mold.
Mold is a product of excessive moisture. Most moisture problems go unnoticed and unchecked for many years not because people don't care, but because most of the detrimental aspects of the damage are usually invisible. The way that homes are constructed now makes mold detection practically impossible. It is possible to sample the air in your house and get a spore count, but you have no idea where the mold is coming from--just that it is there. Now we have all seen mold at least once. Chances are, you grew it in science class, have some growing in your shower now, or maybe even have some fruit or bread with a little growing on it.
Penicillin is a mold. Its healing properties have saved millions of people from death. Our bodies are full of bacterium that help us live. But not all molds are as friendly. As molds thrive, they produce three things: spores, gasses and toxins. The spores are mostly confined to an area, and inside of a wall, it is hard for them to escape--unless there is a hole or crack. The big problem is the gasses released by the molds. The gasses mold produces are detected by the human nose as a "musty smell". Unlike spores, gasses can easily penetrate walls and build-up indoors creating discomfort and causing health complaints such as headaches, nausea, dizziness and fatigue. While this seems like a terrible thing, these gasses are the key to the solution.
The dog's nose is hundreds of times more sensitive than ours. New Jersey Mold Removal is a company that uses specially trained dogs to "sniff out" these gasses. These dogs are led through your space, and sniff around, and alert the handler to the presence of toxic molds. Their noses easily pick up on the nuances of the smells of the different molds. This method is much less intrusive than what happened to us. It is also another way that companion animals are being used to help humanity. Dogs love to "work", it is their nature. Nothing makes them feel more alive than the hunt. This toxic mold hunting is a perfect job for these dogs.
So next time that your pooch is sniffing around, just think what might be behind those walls.
This post was sponsored by New Jersey Mold Company. I support them because of their use of companion animals in such a beneficial way.
