They can only count to 8.

A vague train of thought, inspired by Joshua Holden's comment on the last post, has led me to the knowledge that ticks do not have fingers.  Thanks a lot, Josh.

Instead, their jointed legs end in a segment called the tarsus.  Most insects have multiple claws on the end of the tarsus (or pretarsus in some cases) called ungues (singular unguis)-- the typical ant could probably count to twelve, if it could count--  but the tick (not an insect) apparently lacks these.

In compensation, it does have something called the Haller's Organ, which is a sort of combination nose/thermometer/CO₂ detector that helps it find suitable... targets, shall we say.

Still blecch.

Spoon!

According to Drs. Foster and Smith, notable purveyors of quality merchandise for pets and probably veterinarians, the proper technique for tick removal is as follows:  Take a fine pair of tweezers, and gently but firmly grasp the tick just where the mouth parts enter the skin.  Pull slowly and gently away from the skin.  It may take some time, but the tick will eventually release.  Dunk the tick into alcohol (preferably rubbing, although I'd guess that vodka would work equally well), unless you need to send the tick away for identification or analysis.  I'm not sure what you do in that case, probably just seal it in a jar or something, because we didn't really care.  Especially after the third or fourth tick we pulled off of the dog.  Blecch.

Buddhist Hopscotch

According to the Brahmajala Sutta, a part of the Buddhist canonical writings that may go back as far as 500 BCE, the monasteries had some problems with the behavior of their monks.  Amidst the usual sort of prescriptions about proper monkish behavior is a list¹ of games that should not be played, including but not limited to chess (or the local equivalent), mental chess, dice, twenty questions, Pictionary (or the local equivalent), and hopscotch.  It's a very precise list¹, which rather makes you wonder what was going on that such a proscription was deemed necessary.  I'm including links to a fairly typical loose translation² (I've seen more or less the same text in a couple of places), as well as a more literal translation³ with minor exegesis that explains that "hopscotch" is actually "parihārapatha," wherein a diagram is drawn on the ground and one has to jump in the allowable spaces avoiding the lines.  Not that different, is it?

¹http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha_games_list

²http://tipitaka.wikia.com/wiki/Brahmajala_Sutta

³http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.01.0.bodh.html

Oyster? I hardly know 'er!

Oyster crackers.  They're fairly ubiquitous, especially in New England.  I've been eating them for years, especially in chowders and the like.  Eventually, it occurred to me to wonder why they're called oyster crackers-- they're certainly not made from oysters, after all, the way oyster sauce is.

It turns out that the etymology of the name is actually somewhat opaque, lost in the mists of time.  But the general consensus seems to be that they are not named so because they look like closed oysters (they don't, really), but simply that they were originally very popular in oyster stew¹.

¹http://books.google.com/books?id=6N8XAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA346#v=onepage&q&f=false

(Shell)Fish Monday

I tried stir-frying scallops for the first time last night.  Bay scallops, the little ones, not the big real ones.  I don't think those would stir-fry very well.  But the little ones work really nicely in a stir-fry.  Some pea pods, some mushrooms, a little teriyaki sauce, and Bob's your dinner.  Definitely something to consider again if there's a good deal on them (not that they're terribly expensive, just that they're not always that fresh in our local market).

Dogs and Cats Living Together

Cheetahs are apparently kind of finicky when it comes to breeding.  Not breeding as in pedigree, but as in the actual act of mating.  They're very skittish, and especially when they've been raised in captivity, they don't socialize very well with other cheetahs.

They do, on the other hand, get along pretty well with dogs.  So much so that some zoos are giving the cheetahs pet dogs (or possibly the other way around).  The dogs reassure the cheetahs, reducing their stress levels, and help them feel more confident when introduced to potential breeding partners.

The one drawback to the process is that the dogs (despite sometimes being outweighed by a factor of 4 to 1) almost inevitably become the dominant part of the relationship.  They spend a lot of time with the cats, but they also have to spend a lot of time socializing with other people and dogs.  Feeding time especially-- as Janet Rose-Hinostroza, animal training supervisor at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park is quoted in the source article as saying, "If they ate together there would be one really fat dog and a really skinny cheetah."

Primary source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/companion-dogs-cheetahs-friendship-zoos_n_2667033.html

Executive mail

As a schoolchild, I learned (along with all of my peers) that the government was divided into three branches, to wit:  the Judicial Branch (the courts), the Legislative Branch (the House/Senate), and the Executive Branch (the President).

But of course, the government consists of a great many other groups and organizations-- the FBI, the Army, the EPA, the FDA, and so on.  I never really thought about it (which is why this is a perfect subject for this blog), but if I did I guess I would have assumed that they weren't really part of the tripartite structure.  Maybe the Armed Forces and the Feds were part of the Executive Branch?  That would make sense, since the President is also the Commander in Chief.  But the rest?  Who knows!

It turns out that pretty much all of the random government agencies are also part of the Executive Branch, which technically encompasses the President at the top, the Vice President below him, and then the Cabinet. And through the Cabinet, the 15 Executive Departments-- the Dept. of Defense, for example (Armed Forces), or the Dept. of Agriculture (U.S. Forest Service), etc.

Interestingly, the Postal Service (information about which started this line of thought), while technically a part of the Executive Branch, has a separate life.  The Postmaster General was in fact a member of Cabinet until 1971, at which point the US Postal Service was designated an independent agency of the executive branch.  This also removed the Postmaster from the line of succession.  He and his deputy now serve as part of a Board of Governors, who are otherwise appointed by the President.  They just sort of hang out on the side, doing their own thing, probably wishing they could peek into the Cabinet meetings.

I am very mad at iTunes

I just discovered that none of the music that I purchased through the iTunes store before about 2009 will play on my iPhone.  I have gotten no satisfactory answer about why this has happened.  Additionally, I have been informed that if I want to try to re-download the music, I will have to re-purchase it.  I have also not yet received a satisfactory answer as to why this is the case.

This has made me exceedingly grumpy, as you can imagine.

Combat Juggling Rules

Yes it does, and here they are.

Combat juggling is a sport featuring one or more jugglers on a team (depending on the variant).  At the starting whistle, everyone will begin juggling, typically with three clubs each.  The goal is to be the last juggler who is still juggling a full set of clubs (not necessarily the same three that you started with).

In between these two points, the idea is to "interfere" with the opposing jugglers.  This can take several forms, although the most common involve visual distractions, interposing part of your body into their personal space (backing into them can work well), or tossing one of your clubs high enough to give you time to outright steal or knock away one of an opponent's clubs before catching your own again and continuing.

There are, as previously mentioned, a number of variants on this basic theme.  The Major League Combat YouTube channel describes, in addition to the basic three-on-three team event, the following:

360s, a one-on-one timed event where the players score points for successfully completing 360 spins while juggling.  Players have to balance between completing their own spins and interfering with their opponent's.

Sumo, a sort of tag-team one-on-one version where players have to stay within a small circle while juggling.  A point is scored for each opponent who loses their clubs or leaves the ring, and losers are replaced by a teammate as the winner continues to juggle.

Zombie, a three-on-three event where instead of leaving the arena when you are eliminated, you can stay around as a "zombie" as long as you still have at least one of your clubs.  A zombie with one club can't do much but get in the way, but if a teammate passes them a club, they become a slightly more mobile version and can actively interfere with opponents.  And if they can acquire a third club, they can come back to full life and move around again.