History of Israel in a nutshell
A brief summary of the Arab-Israeli conflict for those who don’t have the time to go into the deeper details. Excellent 5 minute Flash presention on the history of Israel
Continue readingCategory: Misc.
Magoo, the world’s smartest goldfish
Magoo inspecting the camera.
One of the first fish we ever bought was "Magoo," a little black moor goldfish with big eyes, and loads of personality. We didn’t realize it when we got him, but Magoo was an innovator. Like the famous potato-washing Japanese macaque monkeys, Magoo would invent new behaviors, and teach them to others in the tank.
One characteristic of goldfish as a species is their non-linear thinking. If you ever watch a goldfish try to attain an objective, for instance swimming across the tank to get some food, it may sometimes appear as if the goldfish will forget the goal, then remember, then forget, then remember again, all the way to the other side. They are much more interested in the journey than the goal. In this, Goldfish are the opposite of cichlids, who singlemindedly focus on their agendas better than most people. However this non-linear mental state should not be mistaken for stupidity. Several of our goldfish have been remarkably intelligent. However our orange fantail, Piggum, is not one of them!
Continue readingBoutique fuels? My money is on plug-in Hybrids
As amusing as it is to watch presidential speeches about switch grass-based ethanol, it makes more sense to me to think about aquiring a plug-in hybrid car over the next decade. They can be charged
Continue readingPanda-monium
OK – I just can’t resist. I’m starting a “cute” section! I’ve never seen a pile of pandas like this!
Click here to see all the panda cub photos: Sixteen giant panda cubs, all born this year in the China Wolong Giant Panda Research Center, have a happy year-end reunion at the center in Sichuan Province in southwest China. Picture taken on November 11.
A sampling of the 2005 panda cub graduation photos:
Rate ElderCare Services here!
After some recent experiences with selecting various assisted living and health services for seniors, I began wishing I had the benefit of Amazon.com -style reviews to help make informed choices. I’ve started a reviews site
Continue readingModern Origami and Polyhedral Sculpture
Origami artists have taken the field to new heights over the last few years. See some of the best of recent modern origami art here., along with links to more information about each artist. Additional
Continue readingBuild your own world with Groboto
Groboto, the best little 3D program that no one knows about, lets you grow machines like coral, animate organic forms, create a new world. Not only does Groboto allow you to create marvelous 3D creations,
Continue readingMy Gallery on Deviantart.com
My artwork is here on DeviantArt.com. Take a look, leave a comment, leave links to your own galleries – I’d love to see them.
Continue readingImitation Behavior in Fish
One of the more amazing characteristics of fish is their ability to learn by imitation. I’ve noticed imitative behaviors in all of my fish, including goldfish, parrot cichlids, convict cichlids, severums and oscars. Although they come out of the egg already knowing how to swim, how to eat, and how to hide, they add new behaviors as they grow.
Learning attitude: Parrot Cichlids
When young parrot cichlids are put in a tank by themselves, they will usually remain shy for weeks or months. They will hide behind anything they can. If there is nowhere else to hide, they will hover at the top corner of the tank tipping downward slightly, pretending to be part of the filter. However, if they are put into a tank with adult parrot cichlids who have no fear of humans, they get over their shyness very quickly! When we got one of our younger parrots, “Baby,” she immediately adopted the oldest parrot cichlid Winston (a female) as her “mother.” She would follow Winston around, and generally imitate everything she did, and as a result showed very little fear of us.
But most of our newly acquired parrot cichlids spend at least a day or two hiding, during which they peek out from a secure spot to observe what’s going on in the tank.
Continue readingQuestions that need to be asked about Lousiana’s response to Katrina
This is best statement I’ve seen yet on the ineptitude with which Hurricane Katrina evacuation and recovery were handled.
After things calm down, and the memory of all this begins to fade, I hope no one forgets to ask these questions:
Why were no means of evacuation other than the SuperDome provided for those too poor or infirm to leave? These were not people who were set on remaining in their homes no matter what. They all flocked to the SuperDome for lack of a better plan.
Even if we accept the lack of leadership in facilitating the evacuation, when it quickly became obvious that the SuperDome was no longer a viable facility for the thousands of people inside – why did it still take a WEEK to get them out? Even though people were actually dying inside.
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