Staged Stories: The 2009 Renwick Invitational in D.C. Robin's latest review in various editions of the Monday Aug 10 Examiner. Click here.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Superhero snuggies, mystic vases at Renwick Invitational
Staged Stories: The 2009 Renwick Invitational in D.C. Robin's latest review in various editions of the Monday Aug 10 Examiner. Click here.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Pit Bull Blues
Same song, 2 videos. One from Happy Tails Rescue; the other features the Eugene, OR singer/sw John Shipe.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Public Lands Day...Rocky Mountain High
Robin's latest in the Examiner's print and web editions in San Francisco, Oakland, Northern Virginia, suburban Md. and Washington DC.
Off grid with goats at Funky Butte
"I've spent the past three years trying to get petroleum out of my life and live locally. Where I differ from many locavore cruncholas is in my determination to do these things without giving up digital-age comforts..." More here. And here. From this funny smart guy's blog: " For most of human history, this poop-to-pasture method of fertilizing worked just great for everyone. I wonder who the first farmer was who said, “Hey, lay some of those carcinogenic chemicals on me. That sounds like a good plan”? My guess it had something to do with a skilled carcinogenic chemical salesman offering free samples."
Healthier, humane meat from the lab
A pioneering group of scientists are working to grow real animal protein in the laboratory, which they not only claim is better for animal welfare, but actually healthier, both for people and the planet. It may sound like science fiction, but this technology to create in-vitro meat could be changing global diets within ten years.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Please shop with compassion: dollars are votes; vote vs. cruelty
Slaughter of factory farm animals is not humane. If you won't go veg, please buy only from sources that treat and slaughter humanely.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Dogs at least as smart as 2-year-old children
Dogs can count. They can also understand more than 150 words and intentionally deceive other dogs and people to get treats, according to psychologist Stanley Coren, PhD, of the University of British Columbia. He spoke Saturday on “How Dogs Think” at the American Psychological Association’s annual convention.
Coren has reviewed numerous studies to conclude that dogs have the ability to solve complex problems and are more like humans and other higher primates than previously assumed. He says dogs’ mental abilities are close to a human child age 2.5 years.
The intelligence of various types of dogs does differ and the dog’s breed determines some of these differences, Coren says. “There are three types of dog intelligence: instinctive (what the dog is bred to do), adaptive (how well the dog learns from his environment to solve problems) and working and obedience (the equivalent of ‘school learning’).”
Data from 208 dog obedience judges from the United States and Canada showed the differences in working and obedience intelligence of dog breeds, according to Coren. “Border collies are number one; poodles are second, followed by German shepherds. Fourth on the list is golden retrievers; fifth, dobermans; sixth, Shetland sheepdogs; and finally, Labrador retrievers,” said Coren.
As for language, the average dog can learn 165 words, including signals, and the “super dogs” can learn 250 words. “The upper limit of dogs’ ability to learn language is partly based on a study of a border collie named Rico who showed knowledge of 200 spoken words and demonstrated ’fast-track learning,’ which scientists believed to be found only in humans and language learning apes,” Coren said.
Dogs can also count up to four or five, said Coren. And they have a basic understanding of arithmetic and will notice errors in simple computations, such as 1+1=1 or 1+1=3.
Four studies he examined looked how dogs solve spatial problems by modeling human or other dogs’ behavior using a barrier type problem. Through observation, Coren said, dogs can learn the location of valued items (treats), better routes in the environment (the fastest way to a favorite chair), how to operate mechanisms (such as latches and simple machines) and the meaning of words and symbolic concepts (by listening to people speak and watching their actions).
Coren has reviewed numerous studies to conclude that dogs have the ability to solve complex problems and are more like humans and other higher primates than previously assumed. He says dogs’ mental abilities are close to a human child age 2.5 years.
The intelligence of various types of dogs does differ and the dog’s breed determines some of these differences, Coren says. “There are three types of dog intelligence: instinctive (what the dog is bred to do), adaptive (how well the dog learns from his environment to solve problems) and working and obedience (the equivalent of ‘school learning’).”
Data from 208 dog obedience judges from the United States and Canada showed the differences in working and obedience intelligence of dog breeds, according to Coren. “Border collies are number one; poodles are second, followed by German shepherds. Fourth on the list is golden retrievers; fifth, dobermans; sixth, Shetland sheepdogs; and finally, Labrador retrievers,” said Coren.
As for language, the average dog can learn 165 words, including signals, and the “super dogs” can learn 250 words. “The upper limit of dogs’ ability to learn language is partly based on a study of a border collie named Rico who showed knowledge of 200 spoken words and demonstrated ’fast-track learning,’ which scientists believed to be found only in humans and language learning apes,” Coren said.
Dogs can also count up to four or five, said Coren. And they have a basic understanding of arithmetic and will notice errors in simple computations, such as 1+1=1 or 1+1=3.
Four studies he examined looked how dogs solve spatial problems by modeling human or other dogs’ behavior using a barrier type problem. Through observation, Coren said, dogs can learn the location of valued items (treats), better routes in the environment (the fastest way to a favorite chair), how to operate mechanisms (such as latches and simple machines) and the meaning of words and symbolic concepts (by listening to people speak and watching their actions).
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