A Collection of My Favorite Etsy Finds

Today I got the chance to create for esty.com one of these things called a 'treasury.'

Members of etsy, the online company I sell my paper through, can compose collections of other etsy member's artwork. The collections are called "treasuries" and are basically a 3 item x 4 item poster style collection of thumbnail images of listings on etsy.

The etsy website's front page of displays a treasury and they are rotated throughout the day so fresh ones are always available for viewing pleasure. The best ones are themselves a work of art.

People who put them together are called "curators," which reflects the idea that these treasuries are mini galleries. People compete like mad to get the opportunity to create one, and today I got that opportunity.

It's the second time I have created one. The last time was back in April. This time I pulled my selections from things I had bookmarked for future purchase. If I bought everything from it, I'd spend $498.5 plus probably $60 in shipping.

Of course, I wouldn't need to actually buy the scarf and I don't wear earrings. But, I could substitute this pendant for the ginkgo leaf earrings. I'm very fond of the necklace in the lower left corner by Stonehouse Studio, but I like this necklace even more. The three pieces can be removed so it can be worn with one, two or all three 'beads.'

The elephant is actually a vinyl wall decal, which I am not crazy about actually putting on a wall because I don't think it would look as nice as paint would. I wish the artists who made these things would sell stencils because I would buy one of them! But maybe the stencils do look nice - the artist who makes these has sold more than 1,000! A big 4 foot elephant would certainly add some spice to our large, bare dining room wall.

Speaking of all this purchasing... today I made a rather large purchase of a huge dresser/over sized buffet for our dining room. I bought it outright, which feels good. I love not having to put big ticket items on a credit card. It will store all of my papermaking gear: my large seed collection, lavender clippings, Accucut machine and dies, cloth, etc. so that it is all concealed. It all currently sits on the large dining room table, a giant clutter that I have come to abhor. But, it is convenient where it's at, so this buffet solves the clutter problem and keeps it all conveniently located.

I resisted the urge to buy the newfies an ottoman, keeping in mind that I still need a reserve of cash for putting the sprinkler system in, the new turf and the bathroom remodel.

Observations of the politics of neighborhoods.

Not too long ago Mr. Field Notes commented that we live in one of the most 'Democratic' neighborhoods on our city. That raised an eyebrow from me, being that I'm pretty skeptical of any claim that apparently lacks evidence even when it comes from the mouth and brain of Mr. Smarty Pants (who likes to brag about his 790 GRE score and his Raven Progressive Matrices test results.. but that's another story!).

Back to his claim.. I don't know if he's right or not, but our neighborhood is populated by cars with bumper stickers that could easily have come from this catalog: Northern Sun, 'A Catalog for Progressives.' Their current cover has that distinctive flag motif Obama O. We also live one block away from a private liberal arts college knee deep in capital L liberals — professors and students alike. Our neighborhood .. and especially our block .. is pretty blue collar. But we also live within 4-5 blocks of stately million dollar homes. That's how our town largely is - economically mixed, block-by-block, rich by poor(er).

But today while driving home from an errand, we went through a neighborhood that is more homogenous, full of solidly upper middle class homes. The McCain/Palin signs were the only ones out. Just more evidence wealth is associated with being 'Republican.' I pointed out that the neighborhood on the other side of the college is one I perceive to be solidly Democratic — and it is also solidly upper middle class if not upper class.

I think what really happened is that all the McCain signs were delivered today. The Obama ones have been here a long while now, but according to letters to the editor that have been streaming into the newspaper, thugs are stealing the Obama signs.

Some people wear their political leaning on their sleeves, others just prefer to keep it to themselves. It's fun at work listening to the 'on the sleeves' people. I asked a more reserved colleague if she was going to watch the Veep debate this week. She said her mate had rented a movie, I forget its name, about kids going off to Christian camp. She couldn't watch because it'd make her puke. Ditto for the debate.

The spineless, ill prepared puppet makes me want to puke too, but I think SNL is so much funnier if I see the fluff that inspires it.

The Big Green Monster Movie

Because it wouldn't be newfoundland news be without the newfoundlands, here they are duking it out very politely over their favorite toy, Big Green Monster.




... That sound at the very end is Katy shaking out her jowls. It makes a sound every bit as distinctive as the chest beat of a gorilla.

The Big Green Monster toy, even at $20, is one of the 2 toys I would buy them again. The other one is Kong Wubba XL, which is recently deceased. The top part squeaks to make a horrendous sound that drives them crazy. And, it took more than a year for the squeaker ball to be chewed out - a testament to it's sturdiness. But, as soon as it was, they went crazy... we are talking HYPER crazy over the ball.

Frantic crazy.

To say they LOVE balls is a gross and serious understatement. There is no word to describe the enthusiasm or sheer mania that captures what happen when they get a ball. Let's just say in the mayhem that ensued, the little one got crashed into a wall and injured her leg enough to be rushed to the vet and need medication for a week. She has just begun to stop limping and crying. It was really very heartbreaking to see her in such pain. So, we decided balls can no longer be played with inside.

But, we are looking at getting another Kong Wubba XL sometime. Its dead carcass is turning out to be a great chew and tug toy. And, any toy that lasts a year with heavy duty use is a good one in our book.

Answers to the world leaders challenge.

The previous round of Name That World Leader was such a success, so here is round two. How many of these world leaders can you name?


Answers for the challenges, including this one, are in the comments.

World Leaders: How many can you identify

I thought it would be a fun game to challenge my readers to a game of Name That Leader. Of these ten world leaders, who can you identify by name? I'll post the answer key later so you can see how you did.

Green Business Products from Recycled Materials

Recently I've had people approach me to create products for their businesses.



These have included biz cards, labels and promotional materials. They supply their logos and information and then I lay out the elements using InDesign — a great program for the job. I print them on the recycled paper I make from 100% post-consumer content pulp.

My most recent work was for Pete Swickles General Store in Oklahoma. I created promotional thank you cards and 9 different, unique labels for their bar soaps.


Because I've been asked so many times to create these sorts of materials, I decided it was time to list them for sale on a regular basis. I'm now offering custom plantable business cards as well as DIY lavender soap labels.

Puppy Pic of the Day # 2

The fact that she curled up under the desk and slept at my feet while I finished my work stands in stark contrast to the horrendous assault she made on my ears later in the day.

Yuki is a certified barkaholic. When we eat in the living room on the couch .. he he.. she barks her fool head off at us, non-friggin-stop. And she is L.O.U.D. Headache inducing loud.

Staring at her does not stop her. Turning her over on her back only stops her for as long as you've got her on her back. As soon as she's free, BARK BARK BARK!

So tonight when it happened, I didn't look at her at all. I completely ignored her and she stopped. Just like that. Well, it wasn't three or four barking fits later that she took exception to being ignored and then I went back to rolling her over — again.

It's really hard to get anything done when she's barking in your ear nonstop and you have to get up every 20 seconds to pin her down.

Finally I clapped by hands together twice really hard and loud and that shut her up. I think she thought the noise had something to do with the ceiling fan because she spent the next few minutes giving it the hairy eyeball.

The she went out for a walk, which is exactly what should have happened to prevent all of this in the first place.

Precocious Baby Newfie Breaks Free..

Last night Mr. Field Notes and I attended an annual gathering of WWII Iwo Jima vets. He was covering the story for the local paper and I went along for the ride. That meant Yuki had to stay in her box for 3 hours, her longest time confined thus far.

When we got home, we got greeted at the door by Yuki and Katy. It took a few seconds for it to sink in that something went terribly wrong.

We both went into search and rescue mode, turning on all the lights, checking everything to see what had been destroyed. Having gone through this with Katy, we knew the damage could be major. Couch cushion eviscerated, curtains torn off the hooks, chair legs chewed, books destroyed — you name it.

We could only find a tiny set of tooth marks on one of Mr. Field Notes' running shoes.

WOW.

We dodged a major bullet. I don't know long she'd been out, and I did fear that entering the bedroom where box is would reveal a totally destroyed box, rendered completely useless, but it looked like she just pushed on it enough to get the zipper to come apart and then nosed her way out.

I am so glad we didn't close the bedroom door. She would have destroyed everything in there I'm sure. But, it looks like she just broke out and then slept the whole time.

It's almost as if she said to us:
I know I don't have my driver's license yet and you haven't really taught me how to drive yet, but I took the car out while you were gone and drove down to the grocery store and bought us milk. I'm more grown up and responsible than you give me credit for.

Uh yeah, and the scratch on the fender?
... wag wag wag ... batting eyelashes ... good Yuki, good Yuki ... sorry ... good Yuki ...

A little hug goes a long way.

After a fight or conflict, a hug can mean all the difference.

Research observing chimps in captivity found that victims of aggression were significantly calmer if a third-party approached and offered an embrace or kiss afterward.

After they're attacked chimps get fidgety. They scratch themselves, stroke their hair, and groom themselves. It's the psychological equivalent of biting your nails, playing with a ring and touching your hair, mustache or beard. In animal behavior, these actions are known as displacement behaviors. They increase during stress, anxiety and right after fights. But n the case of these fighting apes, the ones who got a hug or kiss showed fewer of them.

"Consolation usually took the form of a kiss or embrace," says Dr. Orlaith Fraser of the Research Center in Evolutionary Anthropology and Paleoecology at Liverpool John Moores University.

Primatologists have seen post-conflict affiliation before. In fact, it's been observed in a number of species not limited to monkeys and apes, and is well-known to lower stress. What's neat about this particular observation is the form it takes. Hugs and kisses rarely occur at any other time.

The study was published this summer in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

I think we could all learn a thing or two from the chimps!

Video: The first day Yuki was home

It's also my first attempt to edit video using the new iMovie instead of Final Cut and also my first upload using blogger as a platform instead of YouTube. For one, I'm not happy with the sound reproduction. And I'm also not happy with the smaller picture size. I think I prefer Final Cut and YouTube. I'd love to hear your thoughts since I have footage from Japan I plan on editing and sharing.

A Fall Oriented Collection

It's eligible to be on the front page of etsy, potentially giving every one of these terrific artists thousands of views and a good chance of lots of sales. If you click on the image, you can view each piece and won't have to wait to go shopping. I can vouch for the luxuriousness of Davy Jones's scarves and Sunyata's jewelry is definitely a favorite of mine. Douglas, the wool creature, is pretty cute. He sold minutes after I put this collection together, so I may have to scramble to find a similar replacement. I have a soft spot for crows.

Other than that, I chose the pieces because they fit into my theme of fall, leaves, and autumn colors. Enjoy!

And while you're shopping check out this Leaf Card that didn't make the cut.

U.S. Army to make "mind reading" helmets

Army scientists have scored a $4 million government grant to develop a helmet that will allow soldiers to telepathically communicate with each other. The ambitious project aims to allow "direct mental control of military systems by thought alone."

Sound too sci-fi to be true?

"Because soldiers are already trained to talk in clean, clear and formulaic ways, it would be a very small step to have them think that way," says Dr. Elmar Schmeisser, the Army neuroscientist overseeing the program.

A very small step? I don't think so, not for $4 million dollars. In neuroscience research, that kind of money doesn't go very far, certainly not far enough to carry them through the 15-20 years they think is needed before the program is operational.

Setting aside the inadequate funding for such a monumental project - as groundbreaking as landing a person on the moon - their goal is not completely impossible.

For example, U.S. military scientists have already developed an array of electrodes that can be attached to your scalp and face that allow commands to sometimes be relayed to make simple maneuvers in a video game. After a baseline of brain and muscle activity is measured in response to thinking about specific actions, such as lifting or pulling, the person thinks about doing a specific action in the video game and voilá - it happens.

Getting from there to a system that is practical and useful on a battlefield is a totally different matter. For it to work according to the military's plan, the brain waves measured by electrodes in one helmet would have to be translated into a voice coming out of a helmet microphone on the other end.

A few significant problems have to be solved, among them:

a) translating electrical activity in the form of brainwaves to a voice in a helmet microphone

.... If certain specific brainwaves have already been somewhat successfully relayed to a computer system, as seen with the video game, it's not a terrific leap to get from there to voice software. Both already more or less exist.

b) figuring out which commands have a distinct brain wave signature that occurs the same way every time they're delivered

.... Military scientists involved with the project already acknowledge that each person has a unique pattern of brainwaves that must be individually calibrated. That just makes it more expensive, not impossible. A bigger problem is differentiating the huge amount of irrelevant brain activity that takes place from the single relevant piece. Every image that lands on the retina, sound that comes in through the ears, scent through the noise — they all generate electrical activity in the brain and they come in at a rate that is mindboggling when you think about it. Throw in a highly stressful battlefield situation and I doubt you'll find someone who can meditate that well.

The advantage - a system that can't be hacked into or eavesdropped on - needs no explanation.

Let's say this monumental challenge can be overcome. Why chase after something that requires way more than $4 million to develop when texting orders translated into a microphone would be far easier? Both require satellite communication. What's the advantage over texting? Sure, texting requires attention to be paid to the type pad, but a telepathic system would require perhaps even more attention, and, how would the telepathic sender know the right message was even sent?

Mind control research:
http://www.army.mil/-news/2008/09/10/12257-army-explores-fringe-science-looks-to-communicate-through-brain-waves/

Mind-controlled video games:
http://www.armytimes.com/entertainment/video_games/games_epocheadset_080508/

My favorite piece from the research announcement is the following, of course:
"The spinout for military technology has been here since the Bronze Age," said Elmar Schmeisser, Army Research Office program manager, pointing to how early man first developed weapons, then turned them into tools. "Fighting and the development of military technology is something humans have been doing as far back as we can record," he said.

A monkey faster than Usain Bolt: The Patas Monkey

Able to reach a top speed of 35 miles per hour, the patas monkey is the world's fastest primate — not Jamaican Olympic sprinter and (human) world record holder Usain Bolt, contrary to what his apparently grandiose ego might have you think.

Speedendurance.com clocks Bolt's top speed at 27 miles per hour.

Now, Bolt is certainly impressive in his swiftness. And he is equally entertaining with his posturing and chest-thumping. But, I think the patas monkeys would yarn and roll their eyes in his general direction. Try running with pack of hungry hyenas on your tail, and then we can talk they might say.

Come to think of it - that would make the Olympics a whole lot more fun.

Because of their impressive speed, the Patas monkey is my September selection in the Monkey of the Month club.

Like the other OrnaMonkeys I've created, I chose to highlight it not only for its unusual appearance, but also for its amazing running ability.

This Old World monkey, native to central African savanna, has a body that suggests it is built for speed, something that's not surprising for a wily little monkey that inhabits grassland among big cats and other scary predators. They have a slender body, long hind limbs and a deep chest cavity to make room for oversized lungs.

The patas monkey is one of the only monkeys that spends its life almost entirely on the ground.

These monkeys are really, really cool. Since there's no video of patas monkeys racing Mr. Bolt, you'll have to settle for this parody I found if him on youtube. It's pretty funny, especially if you saw his chest beating during the Olympics.

What a cranky Newfy puppy is like.

When this video was shot, she was right at the end of a rough and tumble session, getting ready to take a nap. When she gets cranky, she gets restless and picks the nearest interesting things to chew. Notice how she started with her tail, then moved on to the rope bone, then Katy and finally her own wrist? That's pretty typical. So is the barking — and the baby growls. She went easy on our ears this time.

For the last two weeks she's been teething. We have only found two of the teeth so far. We found and saved a bunch of Katy's baby teeth. But I don't think we're going to find many of Yuki's because she is so much more active and feisty. She just ends up swallowing them. Today I noticed she lost one of the big teeth next to one of her top canines. It left a big hole. That didn't prevent her from catching and eating popcorn thrown to her tonight. That's when we got to see Katy in action. She busted out her can of Whooop *ss and laid the smack down on Yuki if she tried to horn in on Katy's tosses.

The absolute funniest thing is that Katy has had tons of practice catching popcorn out of the air but is absolutely abysmal at it. Her catch percentage must hover around 2%. Dear old Max was the Popcorn Catching Champ. His average was in the upper 90s, easy. You'd think with a bigger mouth, it'd be easier. Then again Max's top priority in life was food. He never let a kernel slip by.

By the looks of the video clip, you'd guess Katy's life passion is ignoring Yuki. You'd be right.

Little Baby Newfoundland in Action!

I just love this shot of Yuki because it captures her in all her newfarious glory - simultaneously devilish and adorable. Skipping across the floor, pitter patter of the baby feet.

No doubt she is seconds away from further eviscerating the couch as soon as I turn my back longer than five minutes.

She's teething now too. So far we've found two of the teeth she's lost. Her breath is nasty, something we never got with Katy. And, she also bleeds a lot around the gums of some of her teeth, which is another thing I never noticed with Katy. I suspect the two are connected.

Yuki continues to be a very affable character. She runs up to greet people and sometimes plants a few kisses on them. She jumps up a lot too, and has a nose for crotches. Another thing Katy never did. She also humps Katy on a daily basis - it's mostly hilarious but I do hope she grows out of it.

The two of them make quite the pair. Today was the first day they laid down together on the dog couch. Mr. Field Notes shot a funny video of the two of them on the couch. I hope he posts it soon, so I can link it here. It shows their personality differences perfectly.

25 Skills Every Man (and Woman) Should Know: A New Meme

According to Popular Mechanics, there are 25 skills every guy should know. I think women should know these things too, of course, but since I have actually done vanishingly few of the things on the list, let alone have knowledge of how to do them, it wouldn't make for a very fun meme. So, this is a meme to brag about your mate, brother, dad, husband, etc.

How it works: Bold the skills you have seen your guy do successfully. Italicize those you know he knows how to do but that you've not had the chance to witness firsthand. When you're done, tag 5 people.

Mr. Field Notes is a real DIY guy, I'd say:
1. Patch a radiator hose
2. Protect your computer
3. Rescue a boater who has capsized
4. Frame a wall
5. Retouch digital photos
6. Back up a trailer
7. Build a campfire
8. Fix a dead outlet
9. Navigate with a map and compass
10. Use a torque wrench
11. Sharpen a knife
12. Perform CPR
13. Fillet a fish
14. Maneuver a car out of a skid
15. Get a car unstuck
16. Back up data
17. Paint a room
18. Mix concrete
19. Clean a blot action rifle
20. Change oil and filter
21. Hook up an HDTV
22. Bleed brakes
23. Paddle a canoe
24. Fix a bike flat
25. Extend your wireless network

As for Dr. Field Notes, I can paint a room, retouch digital photos, build a campfire, paddle a canoe and protect my computer (ah, no wait, that was Mr. Field Notes who did that). I know how to get a car unstuck from snow, I think! That's one of the things, like building a campfire, that you learn when you grow up in a place like MT. I've just never had an occasion to do it. It doesn't exactly snow here.

If you're reading this, you're tagged!

Thoughts on this Year's Big Political Race

If the following really is true and based on sound data and analysis, I do not understand why people continue to vote Republican if they aren't wealthy.

"The real incomes of middle-class families grew more than twice as fast under Democratic presidents as they did under Republican presidents. Even more remarkable, the real incomes of working-poor families (at the 20th percentile of the income distribution) grew six times as fast when Democrats held the White House. Only the incomes of affluent families were relatively impervious to partisan politics, growing robustly under Democrats and Republicans alike," says Dr. Larry M. Bartels, a professor of politics at Princeton University.

His book, Unequal Democracy, explains more.

Instead of the book, you can read his much shorter article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/magazine/27wwln-idealab-t.html

On the subject of presidential politics, about a year ago I wrote a bit about how nonverbal behavior of the running candidates affects the outcome of their races: How the Nonverbal Behavior Cues of Presidential Hopefuls Sway Voters

It's one of my better articles, so I hope you read it!
http://newfoundlandnews.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-nonverbal-behavior-cues-of.html

For the record: I'm with the Polar Bears

I don't know if you've been following the news lately, but if you have you'll know what I mean.

Puppy Pic of the Day

For the first time ever, Yuki tucked herself into her kennel on her own. Looks like she made herself very comfortable.

Katy sometimes goes into the kennel too but never stays very long. It's probably not very comfortable for her.


I think that look says it all. If it's so dreadful, why does she keep going in?

Questions about recycled packaging - Answered!

I hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm really into going green and hope to use only recycled packaging, however some people may not like it and others may think it looks messy and unprofessional. Do you have any ideas or references into making recycled packaging more "professional"? I already use some recycled food boxes but my family thinks it looks sloppy. Please help if you don't mind.

***

I use food boxes in my packaging all the time — including McDonald's happy meal boxes. I use them and cereal boxes, as well as other packaged food boxes that use cereal box style cardboard (as long as the food is dry) - even soda pop cardboard. I flatten them, then cut 2 pieces exactly to fit inside the envelopes I use to ship my cards. I put the cards in between the two pieces then inside the envelope. The envelopes are 100% recycled paper - Kraft paper - that I buy from envelopemall.com.

When I'm not shipping something that is flat, I re-use the smallest cardboard box I can find to do the job — or a bubble mailer that I re-use. Sometimes I reinforce those with cereal box cardboard.

I have never had any complaints - in fact - I have received some really nice compliments about my packaging. I think people who buy the things I make are eco-friendly to begin with so they appreciate it. I do put a statement in my etsy seller's profile that I use re-used packaging, but I don't go into detail.

I really don't take to heart the concern some express about needing to have frilly packaging or making things look 'professional.' The vast majority of people when asked say they think what really matters is the content and they don't care what the packaging looks like as long as the item arrives safely.

That doesn't stop me from wrapping a monkey figure or a handmade box in tissue paper or raffia ribbon though! When I do make an effort to wrap a purchase like a present, I always re-use material — usually from Christmas and birthdays. Fortunately the vast majority of people who buy presents for me use non-Christmassy wrapping paper and tissue which makes it easier to re-use.

I also use butcher paper to wrap packages - you can get it from your local newspaper for cheap or even free. At some point, the paper on the huge rolls they buy is too short to run through their press, so they accumulate 'end rolls' of unprinted newspaper. You can call them and ask if they give away or sell their end rolls. Crumpled, it makes nice padding for items that aren't heavy. You can also buy rolls of Kraft paper to serve the same purpose. It's also inexpensive.

For heavy items like pottery, you still need bubble wrap or those plastic peanuts - I save all of that type of thing I get so I can re-use it. I've never had to buy them since they are so ubiquitous.

Basically, if you save all packaging material you receive, you can re-use almost all of it. The only things I throw straight in the recycling bin are materials that are soiled, stained beyond all recognition, or crushed to the point of being useless. For re-sued packaging materials like boxes and bubble mailers that have been around the block and don't look pretty, I wrap them in Kraft paper off a roll.

Little 'Chunka Beefins' now weighs 51 lbs at 16 weeks.

She's got quite a personality packed into her frame, and at 16 weeks and 51 pounds, we're all wondering how big that little Yookster personality is going to get.

She's talkative. I don't know if that's a newf thing, a thing she picked up from big sister Katy, or something she inherited straight from her original canine family, but man she has a lot to say.

From little yawns and yips to full on I'm-going-to-eat-you-for-lunch barks, she's one Noisy Newfy.

The two newfs do get along very amicably and lately Katy has taken it upon herself to groom little sister's eye boogers, which is really nice considering I think they're yucky and it gets old cleaning them out of her eyes 300 times a day. Well, it's not that often, but newfies do produce a lot of, shall we say, mucous.

Baby Yuki has a whole host of monikers now:

* Yookster
* Chunkins
* Beefins
* Crispins (she's always newfing it up with Katy, who mouths her, and since her puppy coat is not waterproof, the slobber dries to a crisp)
* Yookers
* Ukulele
* Uke-ular
* Yucky Yuki
* Yuckster

And of course, we now have the 8 paws of the Newfpocalypse instead of the Four Paws of the Newfpocalypse... and she hasn't even reached the Freak-Out Puppy Stage yet.

I'm sure that's coming... the time when we will watch on edge as she tears through the whole house at super high speed, running as fast as she can from one end to the next, using every available piece of furniture in her path as gymnastics equipment to show off.

Tell me your favorite book..

Someone asked me to tell them my favorite book. I have many, but tonight the answer I gave was Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice To All Creation.

It's written like a series of Dear Abby-style letters from sexually frustrated mammals, birds, and insects who ask "Dr. Tatiana" to explain some sexual oddity. For example, "Don't Wanna Be Butch in Botswana" writes, "I'm a spotted hyena, a girl. The only trouble is, I've got a large phallus. I can't help feeling that this is unladylike. What's wrong with me?"

The writer, Olivia Judson, is a talented PhD evolutionary biologist who conveys tremendous knowledge while writing at a level that is extremely graspable and freaking hilarious!

Used copies are the best $5 you'll ever spend on reading material.

She's got a TV show now too that has aired in the UK, Canada and Australia, but I guarantee you'll never see this one on American TV. It is over the top!



We'd much rather have our kids growing up on a steady diet of violence than sex and evolution.

Magpies recognize themselves in a mirror

Self-recognition, once thought to be an ability possessed only by select primates, has now been demonstrated in a bird — the magpie.

So they aren't mere bird brains after all say newspapers all across America today. The AP moved a story today about how magpies pass the classic 'mark test.' PLoS Biology, a peer reviewed journal, published the study. I haven't read it yet, but am eager to - just as soon as I get my other work done! It looks promising and in the meantime, I found a nifty video the research team put together showing the little guys in the test. You can view it at the very end.

In the test, individuals are marked with something, usually a dot of paint or a sticker, in a place they can't see on themselves without using a mirror. Half the time, the mark is conspicuous. The other half it blends in. For the magpies, stickers were used — highly noticeable yellow ones and inconspicuous black ones.

The birds scratched at the yellow ones and left the black ones alone. And, supposedly that means they can recognize themselves in mirrors and by extension have a sense of self — a self concept in other words. To be aware of oneself as an individual is pretty high-level cognition, very few species even have a clue.

I've written about the mark test before, back when elephants made headlines for passing the mark test. Dolphins also pass the mark test. You can read more about the elephants and the meaning of mirror self-recognition here.

Though they are from vastly different evolutionary lines, what these species all share is a significantly large brain for their body size. Why species develop big brains is an even more fascinating subject.

Until next time, enjoy this great magpie video.



It's just about enough to make me want to raise magpies. They do seem really smart — them and crows. But they'd make an even bigger mess than two newfoundlands. I think I'll leave the bird studies to the ornithologists.

Is lowering the drinking age to 18 the right thing to do?

The presidents of some college and universities around the country have gained media attention lately for their supposed proposal to lower the national drinking age from 21 to 18. However, this is not what they explicitly want. Their initiative, called the Amethyst Initiative, merely calls for a reasoned debate about the matter.

The impetus for this, besides potentially making it easier on them to manage a mix of legal and illegal alcohol use on their campuses by lowering the legal age to 18, is the fact that the Transportation Department bill that created the age limit expires in 2009. Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984. It created a penalty of a 10% loss of a state's federal highway funding on any state that sets its drinking age lower than 21. That created enough incentive for states to set their drinking ages at 21. With that bill soon set to expire, the time is right to revisit whether it makes sense.

Of course, one of the first arguments that people opposed to the 21 age is that if you are mature enough to vote and fight in a war for your country then you are mature enough to consume alcohol.

People who are in favor of the 21 age point out that different things are legal at different ages. For example:

• 12 - age at which a person can obtain a hunting license
• 16 - age at which a person can get a license to drive
• 18 - age at which a person can serve in the military, on a jury, vote and sign a legally binding contract
  
• 25 - age at which a person can serve in the U.S. House of Representatives
• 35 - age at which a person can serve as the U.S. President

These ages were presumably chosen because they reflect the age at which a person is developmentally mature enough to handle the responsibilities that go along with the privilege.

Recently in WA, a 12-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed a woman hiking with her family. He mistook her as a bear and is being tried as a juvenile for manslaughter. Was he mature enough to obtain that license? He had one, so someone thought so.

I think if people are considered mature enough to use a tool that can be used as a deadly weapon, as both guns and cars can be, they are effectively considered mature enough to be in control of who lives and who dies, surely a grave decision. When a person votes for president they affect who gets to decide what to do with out country's most deadly weapon — nukes. Is anyone mature enough to make that decision? I don't have the answer to that, but I think it's absurd that people are considered mature enough to decide that at age 18 but not mature enough to drink a beer.

As a psychologist I know maturity and good judgment do not suddenly become fully developed once a certain age is reached. It's highly variable. Some are ready to make decisions and handle their consequences earlier than others.

That's why I personally am in favor of lowering the drinking age to 18, the age at which people are adult in the eyes of the law. It's arbitrary but at least in line with what is commonly considered 'adult.'

Perhaps the answer is to require a license to consume alcohol prior to a certain age. In order to obtain the license, the individual must take courses in the effects of alcohol and pass a test that measures whether they understand the consequences of drinking too much, how much impulse control they have, and whether they know how much is too much. I'd support that as a compromise, but really I see no good reason to not lower the drinking age to the age of majority.

You can learn more about the college president's initiative here: The Amethyst Initiative
And you can learn more about the research behind what effect increasing the age limit to 21 here.

A Day in the Life of Newf, Jr.

Above: Yuki stands not so much in the shadow of the huge tree, but rather in the shadow of her big sister. Hero worship like this happens every day.

Left: Towels are not utilitarian objects used to mop up drool. They are toys — chew toys. It's okay to take a break to pose for the camera.

Bottom: Cardboard must be properly processed before it's sent to the recycling center. That's a large oatmeal container. Her knuckles are now the size of Mr. Field Notes' knuckles and she's growing real jowls! Jowls that need to be mopped up.

Best Tips: How to make a successful blog

If you want to make a successful blog - say one that has hundreds or even thousands of regular readers/subscribers - you've got to solve a limited number of problems:

*starting a blog

*topics to blog about

*building a readership

*keeping motivated to blog


STARTING A BLOG:

• Figure out what is the purpose of your blog.
  

You'll see the most ease of keeping a blog if its purpose fits with your passion in life. The purpose of mine is to educate people about psychology, science and animal behavior — which is convenient because it's also my passion.

• Know your passion - not what merely interests you. You'll need to write about what you're passionate about to stay motivated to keep a blog. Choose a name/URL for your blog that reflects that passion.

Field Notes of an Evolutionary Psychologist works for me and I chose to add Field Notes to allow me to write about a wider variety of subjects. Field notes could be written on anything! Newfoundlandnews came about because really, it was the addition of Big K that made me think a blog would be fun and would get me excited about writing a dissertation. The real purpose of my blog only unfolded later.

• Get signed up with a blog host site that fits with your needs and HTML skill level.

I chose blogger.com because it's free and requires no familiarity whatsoever with HTML which is perfect for me since although I like learning new languages I really have no interest in talking to computers in their language.

• Install a free stat counter.

Ones like statcounter.com and sitemeter.com allow you to spy on who visits your blog and what they do. You're not going to be interested so much in who visits your blog but in how many visit and what they do. It allows you to observe their behavior which is useful information. You can use it as a barometer of your blog's success and your effectiveness in 'marketing' your blog. Those free stat counters will tell you everything you need to know - how many people each day visit, how they get to your blog, how long they stay and what they click on when they're there. You want a lot of readers who stay a long time and if you're trying to use your blog to drum up business or to further educate, you want them to click on links.

TOPICS TO BLOG ABOUT:

• Your passion.

You may be passionate about primates, like I am, and know enough about them to write something everyday about them, but figuring out WHAT exactly to choose on any given day is a whole other matter. I usually just pick the first thing rattling around in my head that excites me - or I pick the first thing that has been thrust there. It could be some quirky thing I saw one of the dogs do, some interesting science news I read, or even something idiotic I see on TV. There are lots of ways science and psychology gets used inaccurately in mainstream media and that is perfect ignition for a post.

• Develop many interests. You can use those varied interests for quick posts when you're pressed for time.
  

I resort to dog posts and other piffle when I don't have time to develop an educational post. I still try to make the dog ones educational though! You can see an example of that here.

• Observe the world around you.
  

By paying attention to what's going on in the world, your house, your neighborhood, your city, school, park, alley etc., you will find things to blog about.

Expand your view. Browse. Look at lots of different things briefly.

Rifle through a newspaper, magazine, click and surf around other blogs and websites.
Flip through a book. Channel surf. Go on a walk - down alleys, in new places.

Seek the new - it's novelty that inspires and excites. Ideas are never just going to pop into your head. You've got to actively put them there.

• Choose one story to tell.
  

For your blog to be worth reading, you have to tell a story. To find the story, the important thing is to notice something interesting, which is a lot easier if you make a habit of observing the world around. Picking which one to actually run with and make a story out of is a challenge. I usually just pick the first one. After you've chosen a topic — think about it — then write your perspective on it. If you don't think first, you'll have to do it while you write and it will take 10 times as long. And you want to avoid that if you want to build a readership.

HOW TO BUILD A READERSHIP: # 1 - Create great content.

• Post often.
  

You will lose readers fast if you don't regularly post new, fresh content. Before I took a break two months ago, I had easily 200-300 people a day stop by. That plummeted to 50-60 when I stopped blogging altogether.

If you're just starting out, aim for every 2-3 days. Once you get rolling, ratchet that up to once a day, 6 days a week. Later you can add more, maybe post twice a day or several times. You're only limit is time.

• Tell a story.

You've got to have great content to get people coming back. A story has a beginning, middle and end. Good ones start strong and fast and suck you in. The middle provides depth and detail. The end let's readers know what they've learned.

The best stories are told with good, basic writing. This means correct spelling and grammar, tight sentences that are to the point, transitions between ideas, and descriptive adjectives to create imagery.

Even better blog stories are illustrated with photos.

• Embed images.
  

Choose photos that are relevant, clear, crisp, colorful and sized so that there is enough text visible around them to fit at least 3-4 words on each line. That helps readers move through a story and get to the end of your post. Obviously I've screwed the pooch royally on this post! Longer posts may need several pictures or graphic elements. Space them a few inches apart so readers don't scroll to far without running into another image. Alternate where you place the photos - sometimes flush left, sometimes flush right, rarely center.

HOW TO BUILD A READERSHIP: # 2 - Promote and market.
Once you've got the content part nailed down, you've got to help people find it.

• Comment on other blogs.

I spend time commenting on blogs nearly every day. Why? It's fun to share opinions. But also because when a comment is left, the blog owner or other readers may click on the comment to see the blog that made it.

You'll get people to click back to your blog more often if you leave comments on blogs that get a lot of comments. It means they have more readers who could potentially click back to yours. Leave insightful comments, even questions — and if you're feeling bold — pointed ones, aka the snarky comment. That will get people to click back faster than anything. Just don't be a jerk, and whatever you do, don't leave spam comments.

You'll also generate more back clicks if you leave comments on blogs that write about similar topics. Soon, you'll be reading & commenting on a network of similar blogs. After a while, you get to know a blogging community this way. My network, and readership, is mostly academics and artists. I could expand that by searching for other like-minded people, such as gardeners.

• Put links to your blog in your emails, other websites and online communities you participate in.

You'll be able to tell how effective these various methods are at generating traffic to your blog if you use the statcounters. Commenting on other blogs has been the most effective for me.

HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED

You will have days you don't have anything you think is worthy of a post. You'll have days you think you don't have time to. Although it's true that those are the only 2 legitimate reasons not to post, they aren't good enough reasons to file a story. If you want to have a successful blog, you have to be productive and keep the quality high.

Readers, loyal ones especially, will forgive you if you have crappy content days. But they will not forgive you if you don't even publish.

Can you imagine if your town's newspaper just didn't put out the paper one day because none of the stories were 'good enough' or the reporters didn't feel they had 'time to write a good enough story' that day? It never happens.

Now think of all the stories that are in the paper. They aren't all universally interesting or well-written, and most aren't even illustrated with photos. But they're there. All the news that's fit to print. Rubbish! It's all the news that fits, prints.

You should adopt the same attitude with your blog. Decide how often you publish (your readers will figure it out and adjust their visits). Decide the minimum length of a story you'll write each day (space your posts will fill). Then — fill it. Even if it is just a photo. At least put a caption in that explains what the photo is. I'd bet before you know it, you have a post.

*********

That's basically all you need to know to make a successful blog. Just remember to blog about your passion. Tell a story well and with photos. Do so regularly, and save some time to read and comment on other blogs. If you set aside just enough time each day, and turn these tips into habits, you will have a very successful blog indeed.

The Paper Factory Grinds to... a Halt

Today was an exciting day in the rag trade. Good stuff was going on at the newspaper as Mr. Field Notes writes about.

Back at home, I momentarily suffered a setback in making paper. Naturally it coincided with 4 big orders I need to complete this week. Midway through one batch, I couldn't get the blender to start up again. I don't what happened to it - whether the water seeping into it shorted out the wiring or the frequent, heavy demands wore out the motor or something else entirely. While I finished pressing the pulp I had already made, Mr. Field Notes fetched me a new one. I marveled at its pristine condition, but put the old carafe on the new body and pressed on.

The sheets I made turned out beautifully — more richly fibered lunaria pod paper.

The other setback was more comical: Mr. Field Notes' ear protector muffs broke when he put them on. My dad sent us two pairs of the type of ear muffs used on shooting ranges so you don't go deaf during target practice, but more relevant to us - so we don't go deaf while I make paper. I use Smith & Wesson; he uses Winchester. The plastic piece that attaches the padded ear cover to the headband snapped right off his as he put them on.

He found some old-fashioned ear plugs but not before joking around by wrapping the earmuffs to his head with a towel - walking head wound style.

The finished product looks something like this:

That's baby Yuki up there being a cute little Busted Stuff model. She's 15 weeks old now and about 45-50 pounds. And, yes, she has busted some stuff - nothing big. We've got a bunch of squeaky toy critters in sick bay waiting for operations.

Blue-Eyed Lemurs: Or why gentlemen prefer blondes.

Each month on etsy I debut a new monkey made out of eco-felt and created to resemble a real species of primate. The August monkey for the Monkey of the Month Club is the blue-eyed lemur.

The monkeys are decorative ornaments that can be used year round. The felt is made by a company, the Kunin Felt Group, that makes it out of 100% post-consumer plastic bottles. I call them OrnaMonkeys.

The blue-eyed lemur is a species of lemur that is unique among primates in two regards:
* They have blue eyes.
* The males and females look different.

Their blue eyes arise from a recessive gene that also gives rise to blue eyes among humans. So far as I know, the blue-eyed lemur is the only other species of primate beside humans to regularly have blue eyes. Blue-eyed lemurs are a subspecies of black lemurs. When they mate, something they are able to do, the offspring usually have brown eyes.

I don't know why taxonomists decided to give the blue-eyed ones their own 'sub' species status, but it's a little silly really. The only thing that separates the two is the color of their eyes. It's as silly as designating all blue-eyed people a subspecies of Homo sapiens, except that people aren't endangered and lemurs are.

Taxonomic designations have real conservation consequences. The blue-eyed lemurs are considered critically endangered, which is more serious than simply being endangered. It means they more desperately need habitat protected and those rules enforced. Designating them in a special category might translate into more attention, stricter laws, tougher enforcement — and more money for their conservation.

But what is really cool, in my opinion, is not their blue eyes, but the fact that males and females of this species look radically different. All males are completely black. All females are reddish and have light faces. This pattern, known as sexual dimorphism, is more typically seen in birds where the males are brightly colored and the females are drab brown and hardly distiguishable form other species of bird. When birdwatchers go out birdwatching, they're usually looking for males - they're flashy and far easier to identify.

It's not all that different for these blue-eyed lemurs, except that I think the females look flashier.

There are loads of theories about why males and females look different. Most are variations on sexual selection - an evolutionary mechanism Darwin proposed as a compliment to natural selection. Sexual selection is an evolutionary process whereby male and female mate preferences diverge over time, either because males prefer and select lighter females to mate with or because females prefer darker males to mate with. It’s a bit like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes! Over time, the females get lighter and males get darker.

No one knows just why gentlemen prefer blonds and ladies flip over dark haired men, but one intriguing theory (at least for the human pattern) is that light hair is more typically seen among children than adults. So, light hair signals youth and is a desirable quality in females since it means they have a lifetime of reproductive potential ahead of them. That's why gentlemen prefer blondes. What's interesting, and provides some measure of support for this theory as it applies to these lemurs, is that males are born reddish like females and only darken to black with age. I don't know of a good theory about why females prefer darker males let alone whether they actually do, but there is some reasonably good evidence to suggest that men really do prefer the fairer sex.

* * * * *

The blue-eyed lemur OrnaMonkeys are for sale on etsy. They all come with a fact sheet so recipients can learn about the monkeys. The Monkey of the Month Club makes a wonderful Christmas gift. Memberships go on sale in early October.

Newfoundlands wreck your home.

Newfoundlands wreck your home.


That's the title of one of our favorite YouTube videos, but the thing is, the video just shows this cute little puppy - about Yuki's size - who chases a cute toy around. Nothing in the house comes even remotely close to being so much as briefly out of order.

Maybe the headline was prophetic - for as we well know with TWO of them - that Newfoundlands *do* make their mark on your home.

Little baby Yuki has certainly made her mark on Katy's home. Often running her yap as she's doing over there on the couch while playing with her toys - I mean - Katy's former toys. Bark. Bark. Bark.... BARK! BARK! BARK!

The placid scene of the two of them above happens every time Mr. Field Notes leaves - they both run to the big comfy chair at the front of the house to watch him walk away down the sidewalk. It's pretty much the most peaceful thing they do when they're awake.


The rest of the time - it's PLAY FIGHT CLUB mayhem.

Katy would rather lie outside in the sun - when it's 100 degrees - than come inside and deal with her little sister's antics.

At least, that's how I took it when I tried to get Her Royal Newfyness to come back inside after a noontime yard break.



She had already done her business and there were still plenty of plums outside to go off and eat. Huge shaggy black dog is so tired of sister that she'd rather pant and go crazy hot than to come inside where it's air conditioned.

Only after baby Yuckster went outside and fished around for her own plums did Big K finally truck back inside, presumably to remind the baby that she is the Reigning Queen of the Plums. And that's exactly what she did - she launched into baby sister's ear when she came too close while I was grooming off all the dirt, grass, and dried God-knows-what Katy put all over herself while being a big stubborn head outside. I guess she read today's headline in the paper: Being a jerk is legal, court says.

She really is a very good dog, very obedient - to the point she will not eat a treat you have put in her paws until you say it's okay - well after any other dog would have gobbled it. She's just got this mean streak that flairs up when being groomed.

The baby? It's too early to tell, but there's plenty to talk about how the training is going in the next installment of Newfoundland News.

A long overdue post about... MAX

A few weeks ago today, our spaniel Max died. That picture is my favorite one of him, taken when he was a much younger guy.

I thought I'd tell a few anecdotes about the little man and highlight some fond memories.

Max was a real character. Everyone loved him. He was universally friendly, which of course helped out a lot on walks. Kids really loved petting him. I'll always remember the day we bumped into a bunch of 3-4 year olds just coming out of daycare. They swarmed him and Max ate up the attention. He really, really loved kids and was so patient with them. They grabbed at his eyelids and he didn't even flinch, just kept wagging his merry little butt off. One saw his handmade, handstamped leather collar that read M.A.X. and wanted to know what it said. Another exclaimed, "He's wearing a BELT!" It was so funny. I had not until that point ever noticed that his collar really was a belt. Kids. You gotta love 'em.

Max had a lot of nicknames. These are my favorites:
Zam Zam (Max said backwards and twice for effect)
Osama bin Dog Head (He earned his terrorist moniker, more than once.)
Butt Breath (He thought poop was a delicacy, among other reasons for this one.)
Maxy Pants (His leg fur fringed out so much it made it look like he wore fuzzy pants).

So, the terrorist part - Max. Let me present for your review:

Exhibit 1 for the Evidence

Christmas 2002 - I think. He helped himself to the Christmas presents which had been (so we thought) safely hidden away in the office. He tore into them and ate about a half pound of espresso beans. For 2 days straight he quite literally bounced off the walls. He was like a meth head on speed. Running. Running from one room to the other - for no reason. Treating the furniture like obstacles on a course. 2 days straight. Then he crashed and slept. And slept. And slept some more. He came away unscathed. But, boy was that *weird* and quite a sight.

Exhibit 2.

Christmas 2003 (?) Jumped onto the dining room table while no one was looking and ate the chocolate truffles. Enough that we needed 3 people to hold him down and pour hydrogen peroxide down his throat to make him throw up. Not fun.

Exhibit 3.

Christmas 2004. Jumped up onto the table after Christmas dinner, again while no one was looking, after the meal and helped himself to ALL of the leftover Swedish meatballs - my absolute favorite part of Christmas. Oh he was so proud of himself.

Exhibit 4.

When Mr. Field Notes left for Japan for the first time, Max developed 'stress colitis.' That's what the official vet's term was for him getting the runs every time Mr. Field Notes left for more than a few days. This Japan trip was the absolute worst. I don't know why I decided one night to put Max in the bathroom for the night, probably desperation for not wanting to clean diarrhea off the carpet one more time... I figured it'd be easier to clean up off of vinyl. I never anticipated that he would smear the shit on the walls *and* cabinets, but he did. In copious amounts. It was horrible. The Maxy de Sade...

These are only the most egregious of his Class A felonies. His rap sheet would have been much, much longer had I included every incident in Max's career as a criminal. I left out all of the many incidents of vandalism, notably the very expensive SPSS disks (for computing thesis statistics), the hand carved ostrich egg, and his penchant for chewing up cloth.


He also had numerous assaults on file. He was such a little biter. If he got a hold of something he shouldn't have, he would NOT let it go. Man was he tenacious. We got bit often when trying to take stuff away from him. Bribes were the only thing that worked, and they only worked when they were better than what he had - which in his mind - was hardly ever.

But he loved, loved, loved lots of things. Going for walks, getting into the car to GO! He loved rides. He'd hang his head out the window every time - long, fuzzy corkscrew ears blowing in the wind. He loved going to the bank drive through - they'd give him biscuits. Any drive through might have them. He was an optimist.

And games - GAMES! He loved playing CHASE. He'd fetch, but never return. You had to chase him. And he LOVED that. Keep away was the best.

He also flipped for games of HIDE & SEEK. He was both really great, and really bad at playing hide 'n' seek. Mr. Field Notes would go hide in a closet, behind a curtain, on the other side of the bed.. anywhere. I'd tell Max, "Go find your daddy!" And then he'd run all over the place from one room to the next, often looking 3, 4, 5 or more times in the same room or spot. It was so fun. When Mr. Field Notes would hide under the bed covers, it'd be so obvious where he was. But not to Max. He would finally think to look there and then when he realized that's where the daddy was - his frantic enthusiasm would kick in and he'd dive into the sheets, tossing them with his nose, digging out 'the daddy' and then wagging his butt off when they reunited. It was the best.

He would always great us at the door with a toy in his mouth when we got home - even if we were only gone for 5 minutes. He loved big, monster sized toys the absolute best - especially his mammoth rope bone. Although he had monster balls the size of cantaloupes chopped of when he was neutered, he still humped his toys like a drug addict on X.

Max - he was a real character and a very well loved.