Owners of animals (and we must be in the majority among Q. readers) ought to check out Prairie Mary’s recent essay, “Two Tails of the Social Dog,” an excellent response to the state of polarization over animal issues that accounts for much of the chatter on this blog. “When it comes to domestic pets, a …
BBJ
A few days ago, the Denver Post had this article on efforts by the FAA and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association to streamline the regulations for certifying interiors for luxury private aircraft. Currently these interiors are required to meet standards set for commercial passenger aircraft and this is difficult when private owners want to do …
The eagle film
I have had about twenty people send me this so thought I should just post it myself. Below is a typical response from me: It is a trained golden taking a roe deer at the annual meet at Opocno in the Czech Republic. They take them as easily as a Goshawk takes a hare. The …
… And what was that thing in the background?
This: Here is a hint. I must blog some of the books in the background of this shot one of these days, especially those plain ones on the right.
Bookplate
Reid has been after me to do this one for ages. Let’s see: here is a slice of bookcase (yes, Carel, you are in there too). Take out that black one in the center. There it is: See the bookplate? Let’s zoom in. Can you read it? When I found it in a store in …
PETA Opines On Animal Breeding
Lending her support to Verlyn Klinkenborg’s comments of July 30, PETA director of Domestic Animals and Wildlife Rescue & Information Daphna Nachminovitch had this to say about the value of breeding animals [emphasis mine]: “Given the current dire shortage of homes, no breeding is responsible. Every time someone buys a puppy or kitten from a …
John Burchard on Mule Birth
Dr. John Burchard puts in a scientific perspective on the mule birth below: “Not exactly my area of expertise, but … “Mule sterility results AFAIK from mismatched chromosome sets. I don’t know thedetails in this particular case, but in general any considerable difference inthe arrangement of homologous genes on the chromosomes causes problems atmeiosis because …
Bolete Season
We went out looking yesterday but ours haven’t started yet But Chas‘s have:
Big Bore
I just recently found this pic of me in the early eighties examining a four- bore muzzleloading double gun, still shootable. It had American proof marks over Belgian ones and looked rather like a canoe with two fat tubes sticking out. As I recall it weighed in the neighborhood of sixteen pounds– about right for …
Allah’s Navajo Bolo
My other bolo is if possible even stranger. A few years back our friend Phillipe, who was born in Lebanon and often visits there, got an original idea: to commission a bolo tie in traditional Navajo style, from another friend of ours, Navajo silversmith Phil Guerro.The one non- Navajo element was to be the name …