via
Friday, October 31, 2008
Betsy & Elmer
"An elderly couple, living apart, had been dating for several years.
One day Elmer said to Betsy, 'We should stop this nonsense.
We are paying two rents, two car insurance payments,
buying separate food and cooking separate meals.
We should just move in together.
Betsy: Whose house would we live in?
Elmer: Mine, it is already paid for.
Betsy: Whose car would we keep and pay insurance on?
Elmer: Yours, it is newer and runs better than mine.
Betsy: Who would do the cooking?
Elmer: You cook and I'll do the dishes.
Betsy: What about sex?
Elmer: Infrequently.
Betsy: Is that one word or two?"
via
One day Elmer said to Betsy, 'We should stop this nonsense.
We are paying two rents, two car insurance payments,
buying separate food and cooking separate meals.
We should just move in together.
Betsy: Whose house would we live in?
Elmer: Mine, it is already paid for.
Betsy: Whose car would we keep and pay insurance on?
Elmer: Yours, it is newer and runs better than mine.
Betsy: Who would do the cooking?
Elmer: You cook and I'll do the dishes.
Betsy: What about sex?
Elmer: Infrequently.
Betsy: Is that one word or two?"
via
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Dogs can read emotion in human faces
"Dogs are the only animals that can read emotion in faces much like humans, cementing their position as man's best friend, claim scientists.
Research findings suggest that, like an understanding best friend, they can see at a glance if we are happy, sad, pleased or angry.
When humans look at a new face their eyes tend to wander left, falling on the right hand side of the person's face first.
This 'left gaze bias' only occurs when we encounter faces and does not apply any other time, such as when inspecting animals or inanimate objects.
A possible reason for the tendency is that the right side of the human face is better at expressing emotional state.
Researchers at the University of Lincoln have now shown that pet dogs also exhibit "left gaze bias", but only when looking at human faces. No other animal has been known to display this behaviour before.
A team led by Dr Kun Guo showed 17 dogs images of human, dog and monkey faces as well as inanimate objects.
Film of the dogs' eye and head movement revealed a strong left gaze bias when the animals were presented with human faces. But this did not occur when they were shown other images, including those of dogs.
"Guo suggests that over thousands of generations of association with humans, dogs may have evolved the left gaze bias as a way to gauge our emotions," New Scientist magazine reported.
"Recent studies show that the right side of our faces can express emotions more accurately and more intensely than the left, including anger. If true, then it makes sense for dogs - and humans - to inspect the right hand side of a face first."
Surprisingly, when the dogs in the study were shown an upside-down human face, they still looked left. In contrast, humans lose their left gaze bias altogether when shown an inverted face.
This may be because the right side of a dog's brain, which processes information from the left visual field, is better adapted to interpreting human facial emotion than the left side, the scientists believe.
via
Research findings suggest that, like an understanding best friend, they can see at a glance if we are happy, sad, pleased or angry.
When humans look at a new face their eyes tend to wander left, falling on the right hand side of the person's face first.
This 'left gaze bias' only occurs when we encounter faces and does not apply any other time, such as when inspecting animals or inanimate objects.
A possible reason for the tendency is that the right side of the human face is better at expressing emotional state.
Researchers at the University of Lincoln have now shown that pet dogs also exhibit "left gaze bias", but only when looking at human faces. No other animal has been known to display this behaviour before.
A team led by Dr Kun Guo showed 17 dogs images of human, dog and monkey faces as well as inanimate objects.
Film of the dogs' eye and head movement revealed a strong left gaze bias when the animals were presented with human faces. But this did not occur when they were shown other images, including those of dogs.
"Guo suggests that over thousands of generations of association with humans, dogs may have evolved the left gaze bias as a way to gauge our emotions," New Scientist magazine reported.
"Recent studies show that the right side of our faces can express emotions more accurately and more intensely than the left, including anger. If true, then it makes sense for dogs - and humans - to inspect the right hand side of a face first."
Surprisingly, when the dogs in the study were shown an upside-down human face, they still looked left. In contrast, humans lose their left gaze bias altogether when shown an inverted face.
This may be because the right side of a dog's brain, which processes information from the left visual field, is better adapted to interpreting human facial emotion than the left side, the scientists believe.
via
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Rascal, the spaniel who got too close to a paper shredder
"Curiosity may have killed the cat - but Rascal's story shows it doesn't do the dog much good either.
The springer spaniel needed emergency surgery after peering into a paper shredder and setting it off.
The machine's metal jaws bit into the 11-month-old puppy's ear and dragged it in, shredding it like a sheet of paper.
Rascal's horrified owner Jackie Wells managed to switch off the power supply, but not before more than an inch of the dog's right ear had been chewed up.
Mrs Wells, 49, an exam invigilator, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, was shredding bills at home when the accident happened.
She said: ' To my horror the machine latched on to his ear and began to grind."
full story
Walking on Water
Three monks decided to practice meditation together. They sat by the side of a lake and closed their eyes in concentration.
Then suddenly, the first one stood up and said, 'I forgot my mat.'
He steeped miraculously onto the water in front of him and walked across the lake to their hut on the other side.
When he returned, the second monk stood up and said,
'I forgot to put my other underwear to dry.'
He too walked calmly across the water and returned the same way.
The third monk watched the first two carefully in what he decided must be the test
of his own abilities. 'Is your learning so superior to mine?
I too can match any feat you two can perform,' he declared loudly and rushed to the water's edge to walk across it. He promptly fell into the deep water.
Undeterred, the monk climbed out of the water and tried again, only to sink into the water. Yet again he climbed out and yet again he tried, each time sinking into the water. This went on for some time as the other two monks watched.
After a while, the second monk turned to the first and said, 'Do you think we should tell him where the stones are?'"
via
Monday, October 27, 2008
Is it a bird... or a tree?
This is an African Scops owl resting on the branch of a camelthorn tree in Namibia.
It doesn't need its camouflage when hunting insects and spiders at night."
full story
For the salvation of Zagreb
Desperate move by our mayor, caused by the increase of killings in Zagreb.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)