March 29, 2006
I was going to blame Auburn fans
Tiger spotted roaming in Berlin
But the tiger has a red collar. Auburn fans would never use a red collar on their tiger. Anyway, it's roaming around Cullman County and hasn't eaten anyone yet. Puts that huge raccoon that's been hanging around here into perspective.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)
March 27, 2006
Asses
al.com: NewsFlash - Men arrested after authorities find injured donkey
A couple of cretins decided it would be fun to tie a donkey to a truck then go for a spin. They say that they were trying to take the donkey home.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)
Sleep tight
Bedbugs? Apparently, there have been outbreaks of bedbugs in a hotel and an apartment complex in Birmingham. As usual, it is the fault of foreign places where people go to travel.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 07:08 AM | Comments (2)
February 23, 2006
Lion eyed
Bite incident prompts review at zoo
What with this being the second major animal bite in less than a year (another worker was chomped by an alligator in June) they're reevaluating their animal handling procedures and policies.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 07:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 16, 2006
Blame the victim
Zookeeper 'fair' after lioness bites her in three places
According to the director of the Birmingham Zoo, "[I]t appears there was a breakdown in the zoo's policy that forbids direct contact between keepers and animals." Furthermore: 'The lioness is not at fault, he said. "They are in our care, but they are still wild animals."'
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 15, 2006
Enemy dog
ABC News: Rufus the Bull Terrier Wins Best in Show
Just noticed that the Westminster winner's real name is "Rocky Top's Sundance Kid". Rocky Top, the evil Tennessee song? It's a shame, because he seems like a nice dog.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:13 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
January 10, 2006
Bambikaze
al.com: NewsFlash - Driver dies when deer crashes through windshield
Another car actually hit the deer and sent it through the windshield. Clear sign of anthropic bias: The story says that the other driver was unhurt but doesn't give the deer's condition.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:32 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 03, 2006
It's a hydra!
Two-Headed Snake for Sale for $150,000 - Yahoo! News
If you chop off one of the heads, you'd have a three-headed snake! Well, maybe not.
The head of the aquarium which is trying to sell the snake says that one of the heads is male and the other female, the body female. I think he's kidding.
(Thanks to Susan.)
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:09 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 19, 2005
Hurricanes and snails
al.com: NewsFlash - Move over nutrias: Periwinkle snails are the latest marsh problem
Or maybe not. Some scientists think that the snails are just getting blamed for problems caused by industry. That's before the Louisiana coast got the Katrina treatment. I just link to this mostly because I like the name "periwinkle snail".
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 07, 2005
Anna Benson is making sense
Anna Benson Will Fight For Her Right For Fur - Deadspin
I'm as shocked as anyone. Turns out Anna doesn't much like PETA:
And where did you get the idea that animals should have the same rights as mentally challenged people? Maybe we should let animals compete in the Special Olympics as well? You’re suggesting that they have the same mental capabilities, so why not? You are all fucking crazy and idiotic for being so radical and one sided about animals. They have, like, two cells in their little animal heads, but I think natural instinct helps them understand that they are here to eat and be eaten.And I also think that the animal gods understand that, in the big scheme of things, some animals must give up their fur to keep me warm just like some humans must give up their lives because Mr. Bear didn’t like them walking through his woods. Besides, if animals were not killed some, they would take over the earth, multiplying exponentially, and our resources would be jeopardized. Your idiot-based campaigns make me want to go kill some deer.
Sometimes it takes a bimbo to say what needs saying.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 27, 2005
Alabama savanna
Big cats to move to state preserve
Subhead for this story: "Hurricanes more than lions, tigers can bear". Oh my! Yes, hurricanes again, Frances and Jeanne this time, which forced six tigers, five mountain lions, a black leopard, and other creatures from an animal preserve in South Florida to one near Attalla.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:51 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 05, 2005
A bad day for catkind
Shelby officials seek cat-killing archer
What they have long feared has occurred: dogs have learned how to use weapons.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 03, 2005
Hey baby, want some cheese?
Study: Male Mice Sing When Females Near
These songs are so high-pitched that the human ear can't detect them, but oddly, to a mouse's ear they sound exactly like Barry White.
(Thanks again to Meryl, who really has me pegged. I really need to get out more.)
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 31, 2005
But aren't they all?
Cattle find temporary home after hurricanes
Temporary homes, I mean. It's not like cows are going to settle down and raise a family or something.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:47 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 10, 2005
Life in a Carl Hiaasen novel
al.com: NewsFlash - This time, python eats Siamese cat
Apparently this is the Autumn of the Python. Is a snake eating a cat really enough news to be worth carrying on the national wire? I guess so. The cat's owner says that the snake's lunch was her "favorite cat". Oh, so she's one of those.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 14, 2005
Woof
Since a bunch of people seem to be concerned about the animals left behind by Katrina evacuees... Some are now in the Birmingham animal shelter, having transferred from one in Jackson. I'm not sure what they're going to do now. I mean, they're putting the animals up for adoption, but normally there are a lot more animals than people looking for animals. And you know what happens next.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:03 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 10, 2005
Poor dumb mouse
Katrina destroys coastal habitats
The Alabama beach mouse's habitat of "primary dunes" have been destroyed, as have 90 percent of the second dunes. They'd already been messed up by Ivan.
Also, 50 sea turtle nests were destroyed, though I don't know how big a percentage that is. And a lot of wetlands were converted to open water.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 09, 2005
That's nice
al.com: NewsFlash - Alabama shelters open their doors to pets displaced by Katrina
However, I have to object to the Humane Society's call for the government to use military and police resources in animal rescues. There are too many other things that need doing, and too much risk of harm to the people doing the rescuing.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:39 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 17, 2005
He doesn't blame the alligator
Zoo official back at work 2 months after alligator bite
He says that his leg "was closer to the reptile's jaws than it should have been". That the gator only broke his leg and didn't bite it off suggests to me that it was only playing.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:56 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 30, 2005
Ribbit
CNN.com - New frog species found in Sri Lanka - Jun 29, 2005
That's species, plural. 35 new species. But a lot of species are going extinct as their habitat is declining. I don't know, it seems to me like most of them have moved in near my apartment. I saw at least three distinct species of frogs and toads out there two nights ago. I wasn't even looking for them, and I don't live near water.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 18, 2005
That's mean
al.com: NewsFlash - Snake confiscated in Limestone County frozen as evidence
The snake didn't do anything. (And a biologist says that even if it's called a "water cobra" it's not a true cobra and its bite is unlikely to cause anything other than mild irritation.) It's not even clear that it's against the law to possess it.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 17, 2005
Highly unethical
CNN.com - PETA employees charged with animal cruelty - Jun 17, 2005
Apparently, every Wednesday they'd dump a pile of dead dogs and cats in a garbage bin at a shopping center. The animals came from local animal shelters. I love it when PETA is embarrassed, and it happens so often.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:14 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 07, 2005
Lizard in the library!!!!!
Seriously, there was a freaking lizard in the library. Not just at the doorway, either, 20 feet or more inside. It had to go through the lobby to get where it was. I think the animals are losing respect for us.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:24 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
May 13, 2005
He looks familiar
CNN.com - New species of rodent found in Laos - May 13, 2005
There's a picture in the story:
I'm kidding, of course. Novak's a Republican and everyone knows none of them will go to Southeast Asia. Here's a real picture:
The "discovery" is something like the European "discovery" (or discoveries) of the Americas. I mean, the local people already had a name for the critter, the kha-nyou. (As in, "Kha-nyou believe Voinovich voted for Bolton?" I'm terribly sorry.) But these are just local people. They aren't properly trained and able to give it a pseudo-Latin name.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:11 PM | Comments (3)
April 08, 2005
Operation Snapper!
Seven arrested in north Alabama for selling turtles illegally
Really, Operation Snapper. A sting operation to catch the perpetrators of illegal turtle sales. Some are protected, others are simply illegal to traffic in.
Wild turtles caught from Alabama and other states are in high demand at turtle farms and butcher shops in Louisiana, Arkansas and Florida.
Boo to Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida. Weirdos.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:22 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
March 13, 2005
Oink
al.com: NewsFlash - South Georgia residents await scientific details on monster hog
Supposedly, there used to be a massive feral pig in the swamps around the Alapaha River, until it was shot by hunters; there will be a National Geographic documentary on them tonight. These things have a way of being blown out of proportion, though.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 10, 2005
See, this is why I don't like cats
al.com: NewsFlash - Cat shoots owner
Yeah, it was an "accident".
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:23 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 28, 2005
I don't eat goat
BBC NEWS | World | Europe | 'Mad cow' disease found in goat
But some people do. And now they're in the same boat with us beef-eaters. At least in France they are. Sorry, folks.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 26, 2004
Whambi
" There is one deer for every 2.5 registered vehicles in Alabama - 1.8 million deer and 4.5 million vehicles." You know what that means: collisions. Over the last ten years in Alabama, 49 people have been killed and 2,274 injured in car-on-animal accidents, which are nearly all with deer. The animals don't stick to rural areas -- they'll even run onto I-459 west of Birmingham.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:01 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
December 12, 2004
Do not mess with this woman
AP Wire | 12/10/2004 | Port St. Lucie woman accused of strangling Rottweiler
She killed the dog after it attacked her Yorkshire terrier. Maybe she was afraid of the rottweiler, maybe she was angry and did it out of retaliation. Whatever the reason, after the dog stopped breathing, she tried CPR. Wow.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:31 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 08, 2004
Says something about the Birmingham Zoo
Ex-chief of zoo tapped for circus job
I'm sure that when the directors of the Zoo hired this man, one question they didn't ask him was, "Are you the sort of man who would take a job with Ringling Brothers?" Turns out he is.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 07, 2004
Like IRS agents go hunting
al.com: NewsFlash - Jury convicts Alabama hunter who tried IRS dodge
A guy from Decatur was hunting geese in northeastern Arkansas and was caught violating limits and using illegal shot and electronic calling devices. These are all misdemeanors. So in an effort to get away with this, he told the wildlife officers that he was an IRS agent (he's not) and would audit them if they charged him. This is a felony and he could go to prison for up to three years. Plus, he's a civil engineer and a state employee; the felony conviction puts his license at risk.
Being a criminal defense attorney, the man's lawyer doesn't see the big deal, saying in his closing statement: "You've got to ask yourself, when did it become a federal crime to try to talk your way out of a ticket?" Apparently he doesn't think there's anything wrong with impersonating a Federal officer, so I'm thinking I should put on a dark suit and sunglasses and go out hassling people who annoy me.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 06, 2004
I love this headline
al.com: NewsFlash - Breeding captive elephants is difficult
Any headline that just makes a simple statement like that, really. And, you know, I bet it is difficult.
Captive elephant populations are dwindling, even though elephants live as long in captivity as they do in the wild, because they aren't reproducing. I expect for one thing they need a lot of space.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:10 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
December 03, 2004
Contagious Comet
CNN.com - Reindeer travel restricted by disease fears - Dec 3, 2004
Because of concerns about Chronic Wasting Disease ("Deer AIDS") travel by reindeer to various Christmas shows has been curtailed. There's a "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" parody here somewhere.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 02, 2004
He looked really closely
al.com: NewsFlash - Florida researcher finds virus in red fire ants
It's described as a "cold-like" virus. The story says that this could "help stem the tide of the ants". You know, Them. I don't know if these means giving them colds or means tampering with the laws of nature (again!) and creating a deadly virus out of the existing version.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:05 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 28, 2004
You might want to rephrase that
CNN.com - Skin trade threatens world's surviving tigers - Nov 26, 2004
"Skin trade" normally means something else that's either more or less sleazy depending upon your point of view.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 22, 2004
"This is completely nuts."
CNN.com - Five hunters gunned down in Wisconsin woods - Nov 22, 2004
So says a deputy sheriff. Killing five people in a dispute over a deer stand? It's completely nonsensical. Bet the deer enjoyed it, though.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 22, 2004
Kansas City as the savanna
Stray Dogs Kill Six Gazelles at Mo. Zoo
I hope you won't think less of me, but that would have been cool to watch. I'm not saying that we should be hoping for packs of wild dogs to attack zoo animals, but come on. How often do you get to see something like this?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:34 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 15, 2004
Hurricane Rocky
Rummaging raccoon causes power outage
If it's not one thing knocking out the power in Mobile, it's another. Hurricanes, raccoons. Power was knocked out in other areas by tree limbs and other debris still on the ground after Ivan blown about by a storm.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 08, 2004
I blame Ivan
Alligator seen in 18-acre lake at apartments
Alligators are not native to the Birmingham area, but one has taken up residence in a lake in an apartment complex in Shelby County. Maybe it was a pet, says a state conservation officer, but I figure if you've had an alligator long enough to let it grow to five feet, you aren't going to just abandon it.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 20, 2004
What kind of bait are you using?
CNN.com - Zookeepers 'fish' for 12-foot alligator - Sep 17, 2004
Chickens? As it turns out, yes, chickens.
Chucky the Alligator, from the Gulf Coast Zoo, is still loose. He's 12 feet long and weighs half a ton, and for some reason wasn't evacuated with most of the animals when the storm approached. Also left behind were other alligators, deer, and some chickens, which I assume Chucky has already eaten.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 13, 2004
That's going to happen
CNN.com - Woman killed by viper among her exotic pets - Sep 13, 2004
You keep pit vipers as pets you're going to get bit. And sometimes, you're going to die. Poisonous snakes are not good pets.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:52 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 09, 2004
It was self-defense
CNN.com - Pup shoots man, saves litter mates - Sep 9, 2004
Some jackass -- in Florida, of course -- decided to "put down" a litter of puppies by shooting them all in the head. However, he was holding one of the dogs in his gun hand, and that dog pulled the trigger before he could aim, shooting him in the wrist. Unfortunately, it was too late for three of the seven-puppy litter.
I have a suggestion for Avenger Dog's next case:
Man found guilty in hog-dog fights
Sick, sick, sick. A man in southern Alabama -- all too close to Florida -- would "entertain" crowds by setting pit bulls onto hogs in pens. Apparently this sort of thing -- which I thought went out with the Romans -- goes on all the time.
Hunters say the matches, called hog dog trials, are family fun and defend them as necessary to train their animals to help them hunt boars in the wild. The boars aren't killed, they said, and receive veterinary treatment if needed.
And that makes it all better. "Family fun," indeed. The judge compared it to a spear fisherman improving his aim by attacking catfish in a barrel.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 27, 2004
Anti-gator bigotry
CNN.com - Man stabs gator to protect dog - Aug 27, 2004
I think stabbing the gator with a pocketknife was justified under the circumstances. But labeling the gator a rogue and hunting it down, as a state employee plans, is unfair. The gator didn't attack a person, did it? Equal rights for reptiles!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 25, 2004
That's it, we're doomed
'Killer bees' trapped in Mobile
Nah, killer bees aren't so bad. As long as you don't make them angry. Anyway, they're in Alabama now.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 07:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 17, 2004
No wonder, if they're ill...
Groups: Ill. Butterfly Population Falling
The Chicago area butterfly population has plummetted this summer; nobody's quite sure why. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's disease, or predation. My theory is that they heard that Alan Keyes was coming and flew off.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 16, 2004
The pound will need a big truck for those
CNN.com - India: Don't kill stray elephants - Aug 16, 2004
100 or so wild elephants wandered across the border from India to Bangladesh. Elephants generally don't pay too much attention to borders unless there's a major river involved... 13 people are dead and dozens injured, and Bangladesh is asking India to take the damn things back. Otherwise, they'll have to take steps that they'd rather not.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 12, 2004
The deer fight back
Deer attacks man in Madison Valley
A deer "pummeled" an elderly man (who then shot it six times with a .22) in Montana and is being hunted down. Apparently, the deer is actually stalking him, because they've had multiple run-ins.
(Thanks to Janis.)
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:01 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 29, 2004
It's six snakeheads in a skin
nbc13.com - News - Maryland Mystery Animal 'Seen' All Over The World
I still don't believe in the Maryland Mystery Animal. Anyway, now some guy in Texas claims that a hairless, blue creature ate 35 of his chickens in one day. Riiiiiiight. Then he shot it. Pictures of it to me suggest a young deer, though eating chickens would be atypical for Bambi. The animal pictured weighed only about 20 pounds. How could a 20-pound animal have eaten 35 chickens in one day? Answer: it can't.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:27 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
July 24, 2004
At least they got her gender right this time
Woman Dies After Being Mauled by Alligator
Janie Melsek didn't survive her injuries after all. She was 54.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 22, 2004
"Man" in the sense of Homo sapiens
Fla. Man Loses Arm in Alligator Attack
The victim was Janie Melsek, who, as the name implies, is a woman. The gator, a 12-footer, was shot; it took six "men" to haul the body to shore.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 19, 2004
Roy Horn, no!
Herald.com | 07/18/2004 | Big cats uncomfortably close
Of late, Florida panthers have taken to showing up in people's yards and attacking livestock. There's a good reason for this -- the state of Florida is packed with people and livestock and there's little prey left. Since there are only about three or four dozen panthers left, I doubt they're a huge problem.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Meanwhile, ten million children don't have health insurance
Heart procedure to be performed on gorilla at Birmingham Zoo
Well, vets are cheaper, I guess.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:43 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
What is it with Maryland, anyway?
nbc13.com - News - Mystery Creature Lurks In Central Maryland
Ten gets you one this is a fake. Fuzzy pictures? A large mammal wildlife experts can't identify? The fact that the Maryland papers don't seem to have the story?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:33 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
July 18, 2004
Sssssssssssssssss
Warm weather, rainfall bring out snakes in the area
It's just another normal day in Tuscaloosa...
Armed with a stick, Dock Mims takes an early-morning stroll from his 32nd Street home to Palmore Park twice a week.He manages to kill a couple of cottonmouth water moccasin snakes along the way.
It is routine, he said.
On average for the last five years, one person in Tuscaloosa County per year has suffered a poisonous snakebite.
Mims said he does not know what park maintenance can do either, but he said the swamp may be the root of the problem.
You think?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 17, 2004
He had the gator, not her
Man Accused of Hitting Woman With Gator
He was charged with misdemeanor battery and possession of an alligator. Shouldn't an alligator be considered a deadly weapon? He claims that he was retaliating after his girlfriend bit him; allegedly she did this because they ran out of liquor.
Note: There is no Gatorpundit category because I don't want anyone to think I'm a Florida fan. (Shudder.) I do seem to do a lot of alligator stories, though.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:48 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
July 15, 2004
Alagator
Gator attacks swimmer at public park on Alabama coast
Turns out there are alligators in Gulf State Park. Bit a guy. It wasn't very hungry, though, and he just needed 20 stitches.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 13, 2004
Tiger beat
AP Wire | 07/13/2004 | Tarzan's Escaped Tiger Eludes Fla. Search
So this guy who once played Tarzan in some Spanish-language movies apparently thinks he is Tarzan and keeps wild jungle cats at his home, one of which, a tiger, has escaped. (Tarzan is African, right? A tiger, in Africa?) The tiger isn't roaming far, just around the area.
He still has another tiger, two lions, a black leopard, and a cougar.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:21 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 28, 2004
Personal animal notes
1. A group of ducks has started hanging out near my apartment, though there's no water there. It's not migratory season, is it? There's also a toad that likes to hang out by my door.
2. Animal Control is here on campus. I don't know why, but generally their presence is not a good sign.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:12 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
June 09, 2004
Gators of Pennsylvania
Woman Takes Ride With Alligator on Lap
And what's wrong with that? Truly, government is going too far when it restricts the right of the people to drive around with alligators on their laps. Then the government seized the woman's alligator and handed it over to animal control. When alligators are outlawed...
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:30 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Cat comes back
Owner links up with his missing lynx
The lynx, "Sasquatch", had been roaming Atlanta's Buckhead area for the past two weeks. The owner raises lynxes and has about a dozen of them in cages. Buckhead's a residential area; the guy has a license but really he shouldn't be raising wild animals in the neighborhood.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 04, 2004
Everybody else to PETA: Shut up already
PETA to Petco: Stop selling animals - Jun. 4, 2004
In the annals of PETA stupidity, buying stock in a pet store so you can go to the annual meetings and propose that the pet store stop selling pets is... well, it's actually fairly typical. I, personally, do not know anyone who thinks that keeping animals is unethical. Do you?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:41 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 01, 2004
It's Peeper the Zebra!
Zebra Escapes From Truck on Japan Highway
The zebra kicked its way out of a truck at a rest stop, then ran into the women's restroom. The driver, of course, had to follow.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 26, 2004
Cheap gas
For relief from expensive gas, ride a horse, men say
I tend to think that the answer to high gas prices is probably to car pool or use public transportation or get a more fuel-efficient car, and not to start riding a horse. Personally, I live in an apartment and I don't have room for a horse.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:49 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 24, 2004
A computer sees a dog as a series of ones and zeroes...
CNN.com - Study: Dog DNA shows influence of man - May 20, 2004
The genetic differences that distinguish a Dachshund from a Doberman are so clear that a computer can tell breeds apart simply by looking at a dog's DNA, researchers said on Thursday.
There has to be an easier way to tell the difference between the two, right?
Anyway, human beings have been selecting desired traits for dogs far longer than for any other animal. And the various breeds, while all the same species (and at least theoretically able to interbreed) are mostly genetically distinct.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 17, 2004
That's a very unfortunate acronym
Becoming an Outdoors Woman - B.O.W.
"BOW"? The Maryland DNR wants to get women involved in outdoor activities, and to do this they insinuate that outdoorsy women are dogs? No wonder they can't keep the snakeheads out.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 11, 2004
Technically, humans are animals
Comcast blames outage on an animal
The outage that knocked out my cable and internet Sunday is being blamed on an animal chewing through a power line. They think it was a squirrel. Not explained: why the backup generator didn't come on, and why when it didn't somebody from the office couldn't go and hit it with a broom or something to turn it on. Maybe squirrels are responsible for that, too.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 30, 2004
Koala Crisis
CNN.com - Call to shoot 20,000 Australian koalas - Apr 30, 2004
On Kangaroo Island, too many koalas mean not enough food. (Yeah, "duh".) They've run short of eucalyptus in and are eating pine needles. The state government doesn't want to shoot them, and tourism operators say a cull would be bad for business. It probably would, but starving koalas falling from the trees would probably be bad, too.
I hope Australia has a PETA branch. I really do want to see them running around trying to shield koalas from government sharpsho