One of the many things I enjoy about working with animals is that their behavior is so understandable. This isn’t to say there aren’t any surprises. There are many. But once you understand the basics, there’s a certain logic and elegance that underlies it. Because even we humans who say we don’t feel superior to other animal species inevitably act as if we are, dealing with incomprehensible human behavior serves as a good reminder where we fit in in the overall scheme of things. Following the episode described in this podcast, I’m sure we’re nowhere as high up in
Read more →Something else about the gift magazine that serves as the jumping off point for this podcast: the issue I received was 2 years old! There was something about getting a brand new copy of a 2-year-old magazine for my waiting room that struck me as incredibly funny. I mean, what better place for an old magazine than in a waiting room? This caused me to imagine a creative publisher (an unusual state in and of itself) pondering what to do with that stack of perfectly good, but old magazines in the corner. He—I’m sure it’s a he because this
Read more →This podcast was the result of spending—or wasting as the case may be—weeks trying to select new colors for my website redesign, only to get blindsided by a quirk of computer and human perception. On the other hand, the collapse of my naive belief that, given the same color code, computer systems would display a website of the exact color I wanted later struck me as similar to the way genes and their results are often perceived. People or animals who have Gene A will have or will get Condition B. Would that colors and genes were both so
Read more →Remember the childhood rhyme “For Want of a Nail”? For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. Ignoring the fact that this rhyme doesn’t rhyme, the point those who introduced us to this little ditty wanted to make is that ignoring things that superficially appear to be insignificant can have grave consequences down
Read more →I’m writing this at a time that some of you may have never experienced. It’s not in the wee hours of the morning or in some exotic time zone. I’m writing this at approximately 10:40 a.m. Not exactly 10:38 or 10:41 as your digital clock, watch, computer, or iPhone might tell you. I’m writing this at some time roughly around 10:40, give or take a few minutes. This deliciously uncertain state is courtesy of the analog wall clock in my office. If I looked at the digital clock on my computer or the one in the bedroom, each would
Read more →As I was reading various articles about the mirror test for self-awareness that’s supposed to prove human superiority (click here for one such article), I couldn’t help thinking about termites. Specifically, I was thinking about an African species called the bellicose termite. They build huge mounds that include chambers in which they eliminate their poorly digested waste. There the waste is processed by a species of fungus they cultivate which converts the waste to more food for the termites. Because the fungus gardens produce a lot of heat and because the fungus grows best within the 30-31 degree C
Read more →For most of us the beginning for a new year is a time of regrouping. Regular schedules return, sometimes complicated by having to play catch-up on tasks we let go over the holidays. Then there’s atonement for all we ate–Christmas cookies for breakfast even!–and how little we exercised. Unwrapping presents does not count as exercise any more than moving briskly through buffet lines while filling a plate does. But while most of us are aware of post-holiday let-down and its causes in our lives, that our pets might experience something similar doesn’t occur to us. And because the very
Read more →Season’s Greetings from the three furry muses who live in the little house on the hill. May the coming year be filled with the very best for you and your loved ones of all species. FRICA OLLIE BAMBOO THE LITTLE HOUSE ON THE HILL
Read more →I drove by the scene of the crime several days after I recorded this. The body is gone, but the sign is still upside down. Hopefully, we’re not dealing with a serial killer.
Read more →What I was a kid, I used to long for all the special television shows and movies of the holiday season. Even after I moved here to the dead zone, I’d still think about those holiday media events. Even though I can’t say for sure because the seasonal pull is great, some of this year’s offerings make me happy to read a book while the dogs do their doggy things and the cat masters his many feline talents. This week’s podcast is about two of them.
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