Archive for September, 2009

Speaking for Animals? This podcast meanders a bit about that old bumper sticker sentiment, “I speak for the animals.” Fortunately, it seems to have disappeared but the thoughts it evoked years ago still remain. And even though the bumper sticker no longer exist, its supporters are live and kicking. And lest you think I’ve taken [...]

Propagated Errors and Truth I believe that it was Mark Twain who noticed what dunderheads his parents were when he was young, and how much wiser they became as he got older. I’ve had that same experience, not only with my parents, but also with a lot of my ideas about animal-related scientific and other [...]

Vet Help for Humans This podcast is a tongue-in-cheek response to the announcement of this new magazine and website sent to me by a friend: In keeping with the rationale of this and many other publications for those with animals, I’m sure the editorial board of my new venture is well-qualified because they are owned [...]

So Ya Gotta Big Brain Our bigger brain is usually touted as evidence of the human species superiority, but it turns out that it’s actually the result of our physiological and behavioral immaturity. That is, we owe our bigger brains to the fact that we’re domesticated. Naturally that made me ponder what might be happening [...]

Sound Bite Thinking In addition to the discussion about sound bites you may notice that the sound track accompanying this podcast is different. It’s not that there’s no longer any play going on among the resident quadrupeds. Quite the contrary, there’s more play than ever. But since BeeBee has been gone, the sight of my [...]

Eating My Words: Redefining the human-companion animal bond—again One nice thing about not being a commercial success is that I can change my mind about things as I gain more knowledge and experience. I can say “Whoa, was I wrong about that! This makes ever so much more sense!” without losing sponsors or watching the [...]