Wild animals are wild animals. It has been proven again and again that large, powerful, smart, male, wild animals are dangerous and should be respected. When these wild animals follow human commands, jump thru hoops, ride bicycles or wear polo shirts it’s easy to lose that respect.
This article discusses the life and possible motivation of “Tilly” who recently killed his highly skilled and caring trainer, Dawn Brancheau, in Seaworld Orlando.
The attack by Tilly follows recent trends with chimpanzee attacks. Large, strong, males are dangerous and have the potential to attack and kill humans.
Tilikum
Tilikum at work
Tilikum
Killer Whale Trainer Death Tied to Mating, Isolation
Boredom and raging hormones may have contributed to the tragic attack by a SeaWorld killer whale.
Discoverynews.com | By Jennifer Viegas | Thu Feb 25, 2010 02:24 AM ET
THE GIST:
* The male killer whale that killed a trainer at SeaWorld Orlando, was often used for breeding and, at other times, housed in isolation.
* Another male killer whale, named Ky, also attacked his trainer under similar circumstances.
* Experts believe Tilikum’s captivity, frequent breeding and the fact that he was captured in the wild could all have contributed to the fatality.
Tilikum, the male killer whale that fatally injured trainer Dawn Brancheau in front of a stunned audience at SeaWorld in Orlando on Wednesday, was a breeding “stud” often housed in isolation.
Experts believe he did not kill for food, but may have been acting out due to stress and raging hormones.
While some reports have been portraying Tilikum as a particularly aggressive orca, a nearly identical incident involving another killer whale male named Ky occurred in July 2004 at the San Antonio SeaWorld.
Trainer Steve Aibel, like Brancheau, was pulled underwater by the whale, which also attempted to bite, but Aibel walked away uninjured. He later blamed Ky’s “adolescent hormones” for the episode.
Marine biologist Nancy Blake told Discovery News that Tilikum could have acted out for similar reasons.
“He was used a lot [by SeaWorld] for mating, and could have even been enacting a mating behavior during the incident,” explained Blake, a leading expert on killer whales who runs California’s Monterey Bay Whale Watch.
According to GREMM, a Quebec-based marine mammal research and education group, intense competition may take place between male whales before mating. Males and females may also challenge each other, with females sometimes changing their diving behavior during the process.
Captured near Iceland in November 1983, Tilikum “was housed in small tanks from the beginning,” said Blake. SeaWorld Orlando acquired the whale in January 1992, and put him in a breeding program shortly thereafter.
Over the years, Tilikum has sired at least 17 calves, 10 of which are still alive, making him the most successful orca father in captivity. He is also the only captive killer whale grandfather.
His captivity, frequent breeding and the fact that Tilikum was caught in the wild could all have contributed to Wednesday’s fatality, Blake believes.
A water tank excavated at Kom el Dikka, dating to the third century AD. Image credit SCA
Berenike Bastet Finds - Slideshow Statue of a young girl, carrying the name of Bastet. Image credit SCA
Berenike Bastet Finds - Slideshow A limestone statue of the Goddess Bastet discovered at Kom el Dikka. Image credit SCA
Berenike Bastet Finds - Slideshow A coloured statue of the goddess Bastet holding a pottery bird. Image credit SCA
Head of a statue from the Ptolemaic era, one of more than 600 statues discovered at the excavation site in Alexandria. - Image credit Supreme Council of Anitquities
Queen Berenike’s cat goddess temple discovered in Alexandria, Egypt
By Ann Wuyts | Tuesday, 19 January 2010 | www.independent.co.uk
The remains of a temple of Queen Berenike – wife of King Ptolemy III – have been discovered by archaeologists in Alexandria, Egypt.
Dr. Zahi Hawass said the remains discovered are 60 meters by 15 meters, and extend under Ismail Fahmy street. About 600 Ptolemaic statues – amongst which are beautiful depictions of the cat goddess Bastet – were also unearthed.
Dr. Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, Head of Antiquities of Lower Egypt, said that the mission excavating at Kom el Dikka on property of the Alexandria Security Forces included 18 skilled excavators and restorers. The large collection of Bastet statues indicates that the temple was dedicated to her.
The Bastet statues were unearthed in three different areas of the site, alongside other limestone statues of unidentified women and children. Clay pots and bronze and faience statues of different ancient Egyptian deities have also been uncovered, as have terracotta statues of the gods Harpocrates and Ptah.
WOW, this is the coolest thing in the whole entire world. I imagine it’s easy to do if you have a flamethrower laying around. Thanks to Maya C for the tip.
The fire-breathing snowman of Bel Air
February 9, 2010 | Charm City Moms blog-baltimoresun.com
Nick and Anna Berte of Bel Air sent me these pictures of the giant snowman they made with their children in front of their home. “My husband is an engineer and decided later on to make the snowman breathe fire,” Anna Berte writes. “Hope everyone enjoys this snowman as much as the rest of our neighborhood does.”
Philadelphia Pennsylvania and much of the I-95 corridor has been pelted by massive snows ever since the groudhog predicted 6 more weeks of winter. With yesterdays 16″ snowfall Philly broke it’s all time winter snowfall record, so of course people will find unique ways to cope.
Snow sticking to a shovel seems to happen most often with metal shovels. The colder the shovel and the heavier and wetter the snow, the more likely the snow will stick. It’s a catch 22 though because a heavy wet snow is likely to break a plastic shovel.
South Phila. Man has Unique Shoveling Technique
KYW.com | John McDevitt | 2, 10, 2010
Many area residents spent a good part of the day clearing their sidewalks and some had a certain way of doing the job.
When dealing with went sticky snow on your sidewalk, Joe of South Philadelphia’s shoveling technique takes the cake:
(McDevitt:) “You have a can of Pam in your hand, Joe.”
(Joe:) “Use regular Pam because the olive stuff is kind of special. I use it for cooking, but the regular Pam – I’m going to spray it on the front and back if the blade.
(McDevitt:) “How is it working, Joe?”
(Joe:) “Pretty clean. I don’t see anything clumping up. Before the heavy wet snow just stuck to the blade.”
Dang, this giant spider has a teeny tiny habitat that is getting even smaller. Hello cerbalus aravensis spider. Goodbye cerbalus aravensis spider.
Newly discovered erbalus aravensis spider.
The newly discovered spider has a legspan of up to 5.5 inches.
Cerbalus aravensis spider has shrinking habitat.
New Spider Species Is Largest of Its Type in Middle East
Jan. 11, 2010 | www.sciencedaily.com | ScienceDaily
A new and previously unknown species of spider has been discovered in the dune of the Sands of Samar in the southern Arava region of Israel by a team of scientists from the Department of Biology in the University of Haifa-Oranim. Unfortunately, however, its habitat is endangered.
“The discovery of this new spider illustrates our obligation to preserve the dune,” says Dr. Shanas, who headed the team of scientists.
The Sands of Samar are the last remaining sand dune in Israeli territory in the southern Arava region. In the past, the sands stretched across some 7 square kilometers, but due to the rezoning of areas for agriculture and sand quarries, the sands have been reduced to fewer than 3 square kilometers.
This is not a new story but ANY firsts are durable stories. I appreciate space firsts.
John Grunsfeld, Drew Good, Mike Massimino, Andrew Feustel...STS-125 Mission Specialists, from left, Mike Massimino, Drew Good, Andrew Feustel, and Jon Grunsfeld pose for a photo after leaving the operations and checkout building Monday May 11, 2009 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The four will handle all the space walks during the mission. Seven astronauts are scheduled to liftoff on a 12-day mission that includes the fifth and final servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
First Tweet From Space by @Astro_Mike
www.digitaljournal.com | May 12, 2009
Today, NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, who is hurtling around the Earth at a top speed of around 8,000 meters per second, sent the first ever “tweet” from space.
On Tuesday, Twitter got even more publicity and achieved another first –the first tweet from space.
NASA Astronaut, Michael J. Massimino has over 235,000 followers on his Twitter account and he is quite possibly the best publicity that NASA has had in a long, long time.
@Astro_Mike’s been twittering since early April and in the lead up to the launch, many wondered if he would have time to tweet once the mission began. Each astronaut has a full day’s tasks scheduled so as not to waste any of the precious minutes available to them while in flight.
The answer came about 24 hours into the flight, when @Astro_Mike issued the following tweet:
From orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard, & enjoying the magnificent views, the adventure of a lifetime has begun!
and “Space, the final frontier” for social networking was realized.
NASA itself has its own Twitter account and regularly updates followers about what is happening on the flight as well as other operational happenings.
The most famous groundhog in Pennsylvania had his big day today. Punxsutawney Phil, speaking in Groundhogese to his guardians the Inner Circle, predicted 6 more weeks of winter.
Check out the long video that gives a good idea of the scale and pace of this annual outdoor event. Fans of Phil were lucky as it much warmer this year than it has been in past years in Gobbler’s Knob.
The Inner Circle are well dressed world class bull shitters, with the pomp and dignity one would expect from white guys fluent in Groundhogese.
Phil appears younger, slimmer and smaller than he has in past years.
Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil Sees Shadow–And Long Winter
Groundhog Day 2010 sees Phil’s first text message but a hacked Twitter post.
nationalgeographic.com | February 2, 2010 | Ker Than
Don’t pack away those winter clothes just yet: This morning famed groundhog forecaster Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, meaning winter temperatures in 2010 will continue for six more weeks—if you believe that sort of thing.
“Speaking” to his select group of human handlers, known as the Inner Circle, in Groundhogese, Punxsutawney Phil indicated that he had seen his shadow after emerging from his temporary burrow – a simulated tree stump at the rural site of Gobbler’s Knob in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
“Phil saw his shadow, so it’s six more weeks of winter,” said Richard Bonds, director of social media for visitpa.com, Pennsylvania’s official tourism Web site.
Punxsutawney Phil: Groundhog Day Rock Star
Tradition has it that if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow on Groundhog Day—always February 2—winter weather will continue for six more weeks across the United States. But if Phil doesn’t see his shadow, then spring temperatures are just around the corner. (See “No Winter by 2105? Study Offers Grim Forecast for U.S.”)
Thousands of revelers converged on Punxsutawney this morning to hear the overweight groundhog’s prediction.
“Groundhog Day is a lot like a rock concert, but the people are better behaved and there’s a groundhog involved,” said Tom Chapin, editor of the Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper.
“There’s music and entertainment, spoofs of game shows, and people shooting T-shirts and Beanie Babies” into the crowd, he said.
This year “immortal” Punxsutawney Phil—supposedly born no later than the 19th century—broadcast his Groundhog Day prediction in some decidedly 21st-century ways.
On the Pennsylvania-tourism Facebook page, Punxsutawney Phil fans responded to his prognostication with lots of “nos” and “boos.” One commenter asked, “Does this forecast count for Europe? In which case I am pushing the dislike button.”
People interested in Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction also had the option of receiving his forecast by text message or through Twitter. Unfortunately, many of the Groundhog Day text messages didn’t go out on time, and the Twitter account for visitpa.com was apparently hacked, so Phil’s forecast wasn’t posted there either, Bonds said.
“Somebody got into our Twitter account. It was compromised,” he said.
The article below, excerpted from Science News references the Mcgurks Sound Illusion which can be found at this link and is pretty darn cool. It’s almost as cool as there being a field of study called psychoacoustics.
Skin Plays a Remarkable Role in Human Hearing
November 25, 2009 | By Bruce Bower, Science News | www.usnews.com
People listen with their skin, not just their ears. Air puffs delivered to volunteers’ hands or necks at critical times alter their ability, for better or worse, to hear certain speech sounds, a new study finds.
Tactile and auditory information, as well as other sensory inputs, interact in the brain to foster speech perception, propose linguists Bryan Gick and Donald Derrick, both of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
In many languages, speakers expel a small burst of air to make aspirated sounds. In English, for example, aspiration distinguishes ta from da and pa from ba.
Volunteers were more likely to identify aspirated syllables correctly when they heard those syllables while receiving slight, inaudible air puffs to the skin, Gick and Derrick report in the Nov. 26 Nature. Air puffs enhanced detection of aspirated ta and pa sounds and increased the likelihood of mishearing non-aspirated da and ba sounds as their aspirated counterparts, the researchers say.
Participants integrated skin sensations into what they heard despite having had few opportunities to feel the air flow that they or others produce while talking.
“This speaks to the power of the human perceptual system to make use of whatever information is available from any of the senses,” Gick says.
Psychoacoustics researcher Charlotte Reed of MIT agrees. “These new findings make it clear that we can intuitively use tactile information during speech perception,” Reed remarks.
Hormone that affects finger length key to social behavior
Contact: Samantha Martin | samantha.martin@liv.ac.uk | 01-517-942-248 | University of Liverpool | 4-Nov-2009
The hormones, called androgens, are important in the development of masculine characteristics such as aggression and strength. It is also thought that prenatal androgens affect finger length during development in the womb. High levels of androgens, such as testosterone, increase the length of the fourth finger in comparison to the second finger. Scientists used finger ratios as an indicator of the levels of exposure to the hormone and compared this data with social behaviour in primate groups.
The team found that Old World monkeys, such as baboons and rhesus macaques, have a longer fourth finger in comparison to the second finger, which suggests that they have been exposed to high levels of prenatal androgens. These species tend to be highly competitive and promiscuous, which suggests that exposure to a lot of androgens before birth could be linked to the expression of this behaviour.
Antique illustration of how to find the mythic g-spot.
G-spot ‘doesn’t appear to exist’
BBC NEWS | 2010/01/04
The elusive erogenous zone said to exist in some women may be a myth, say researchers who have hunted for it.
Their study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine is the biggest yet, involving 1,800 women, and it found no proof.
The King’s College London team believe the G-spot may be a figment of women’s imagination, encouraged by magazines and sex therapists.
But sexologist Beverley Whipple who helped popularise the G-spot idea said the work was “flawed”.
She said the researchers had discounted the experiences of lesbian or bisexual women and failed to consider the effects of having different sexual partners with different love-making techniques.
“ It is rather irresponsible to claim the existence of an entity that has never been proven and pressurise women and men too ”
Study author Andrea Burri
The women in the study, who were all pairs of identical and non-identical twins, were asked whether they had a G-spot.
If one did exist, it would be expected that both identical twins, who have the same genes, would report having one.
But this pattern did not emerge and the identical twins were no more likely to share a G-spot than non-identical twins who share only half of their genes.
What a wonderful story, as the saying goes, couldn’t have happened to nicer ladies.
Harriet Svensson, left, and Siv Wiik, amateur geologists and berry-picking grandmothers, at the site where they found gold. Photo credit Therese Ny/Dagbladet in Sundsvall.
Barren Berry Season Leads to Far Richer Discovery
www.nytimes.com | By JOHN TAGLIABUE | July 12, 2009
OVERTURINGEN, Sweden — It was a lousy blueberry season in 2007, said Siv Wiik, 70, one of a pair of Swedish grandmothers now credited with discovering what experts say may be one of the richest gold deposits in Europe. “That year it was too cold in the spring, so there were few berries,” she said.
Berry picking is a serious business to Mrs. Wiik (pronounced VEEK), who was born in this village of 171, and her friend, Harriet Svensson, 69. For 40 years the two, widows with children and grandchildren, have explored every patch of field and forest clearing in the region, hunting for mushrooms and wild berries — blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cloudberries.
But the women are also amateur geologists. They never leave home for a stroll in forests or fields without their geologists’ hammers, with their 30-inch handles, and their magnifying eyepieces, dangling from ribbons around their necks.
So in that terrible August when the blueberry crop failed, they decided to poke around for minerals. They went to a place called Sorkullen, far down an unpaved logging road, where trees had recently been felled, upending the earth and exposing rock to the air. Using their hammers, they cleared soil from around the stones, digging for about six hours, deeper and deeper, until they found a rock with a dull glimmer.
Tang's team shows how interacting lightwaves can be used to control devices on a silicon chip. Credit: Hong Tang/Yale University
Light’s Repulsive Force Discovered
By LiveScience Staff | 13 July 2009 | www.livescience.com
A newly discovered repulsive aspect to light could one day control telecommunications devices with greater speed and less power, researchers said today.
The discovery was made by splitting infrared light into two beams that each travel on a different length of silicon nanowire, called a waveguide. The two light beams became out of phase with one another, creating a push, or repulsive force, with an intensity that can be controlled; the more out of phase the two light beams, the stronger the force.
“We can control how the light beams interact,” said Mo Li, a postdoctoral associate in electrical engineering at Yale University. “This is not possible in free space — it is only possible when light is confined in the nanoscale waveguides that are placed so close to each other on the chip.”
The discovery could lead to nanodevices controlled by light rather than electricity.
