Flying Silver Carp

My dad gets the credit finding this video. If you don't get a good laugh out of this then you need to check your pulse. Enjoy.

Snow Dogs

Polly & Penny had their first winter storm when we visited China Grove in December. Here they are learning what cold toes feels like.

Sal Avoids Purry Duty

Boston, Jan 10 - Have you ever heard a cat receiving a jury call? A cat called for jury duty sounds quite unnatural but it is true. It has happened with a Boston cat, named Sal Esposito. In a recent report the owners of the cat, Anna Esposito and Guy Esposito stated that their cat has been summoned for performing a jury duty in March. The couple had been extremely surprised when they received the letter in the name of their cat and wondered how this thing happened.

After considering several facts, they realized that they had entered the name of their cat during the census. The feline was listed as a family member but not as an animal. They insisted that they had categorized Sal Esposito as pet cat and never expected that the call for jury duty would come in his name. The surprised couple tried to save their cat from the jury duty and tried to get exemption. However, as per the last report, the cat has not yet been granted any kind of exemption and if the issue is not sorted out before the scheduled date, then the owner of the cat would have to take it to the Suffolk County Court to perform its duty.

A feline called for a jury duty is quite strange and media sources tried to contact the officials to know their comment in this case. However, the officials have not yet made any comment on the issue. Therefore, the reason for this mistake is not yet clear. If the cat is not disqualified from the list then it would have to visit the court for performing his duty.

Laser-Guided Doberman Attack

Enjoy a good long laugh

Hungry, Hungry Kitteh!

Bacon...Straight from the Source.

This kid's got it right that he likes bacon, just a little quick on the taste test.

Dog Dials 911 When Owner Has Seizure

Phoenix — "Man's best friend" doesn't go far enough for Buddy, a German shepherd who remembered his training and saved his owner's life by calling 911 when the man had a seizure.

And it's not the first time Buddy has been there for owner Joe Stalnaker, a police officer said Sunday. On a recording of the 911 call Wednesday, Buddy is heard whimpering and barking after the dispatcher answers and repeatedly asks if the caller needs help.

"Hello, this is 911. Hello ... Can you hear me? Is there somebody there you can give the phone to," says the dispatcher, Chris Trott. Police were sent to Stalnaker's home, and after about three minutes Buddy is heard barking loudly when the officers arrived.

Scottsdale police Sgt. Mark Clark said Stalnaker spent two days in a hospital and recovered from the seizure. "It's pretty incredible," Clark said. "Even the veteran dispatchers _ they haven't heard of anything like this."

Clark said police are dispatched whenever 911 is called, but that Stalnaker's address was flagged in Scottsdale's system with a notification that a trained assistance dog could call 911 when the owner was incapacitated. Clark said Stalnaker adopted Buddy at the age of 8 weeks from Michigan-based Paws with a Cause, which trains assistance dogs, and trained him to get the phone if he began to have seizure symptoms. Buddy, now 18 months old, is able press programmed buttons until a 911 operator is on the line, Clark said.

Clark said Buddy has made two other 911 calls when Stalnaker was having seizures. He said Stalnaker's seizures are the result of a head injury he suffered about 10 years ago during a military training exercise. Stalnaker was not listed in the phone book, and he did not immediately respond to a request through police for an interview.

The Guinea Pig Olympics

As with the human Olympics, guinea athletes are held in great esteem among their fans, admired for their stamina, prowess and incredible feats. Enjoy two of the 12 images from the awesome article.

Octopus escaping through a 1 inch hole

Location: Whalebone Bay, St. George’s, Bermuda



Octopuses have an amazing ability to squeeze through tiny crevices, cracks and holes. This investigation by Raymond Deckel studied just how small a hole Octopus macropus could fit through as well as how long it took them to squeeze through different sizes of holes. Ray timed its escape through a 1 inch hole while the camera shot video clips for later analysis.

Giraffe helps animals escape from circus

Amsterdam, Netherlands -- Amsterdam police say 15 camels, two zebras and an undetermined number of llamas and potbellied swine briefly escaped from a traveling Dutch circus after a giraffe kicked a hole in their cage.

Police spokesman Arnout Aben says the animals wandered in a group through a nearby neighborhood for several hours after their 5:30 a.m. breakout.

The animals were back at the circus later Monday after being rounded up by police and circus workers with the assistance of dogs. Aben says neighbors fed some of the animals - which he said was a bad idea - but they were tame and nobody was hurt.
Says Aben: "You have to imagine somebody rubbing his eyes first thing in the morning and saying, 'Am I seeing things or is that 15 camels walking past?'"

Thanks Dave for sending me the story.

Dog receives degree from a university

This sound retarded? What is next...running for a political position or attempting to fight for puppy right to vote? I am all up for getting animals trained to help out humans in need, but I hope your son or daughter graduated higher than the pooch this year.

Ada, Ohio (AP) - A well-trained golden retriever will receive a bachelor's degree from Ohio Northern University today along with the rest of the graduating class.

Zeeke, a 1-year-old dog, will earn his bachelor's of science degree in canine companionship. The canine has spent thousands of hours training as a Canine Companion dog as part of a senior's honors project.

ONU President Kendall Baker said he believes this is the first time the university has ever awarded a diploma to an animal. Zeeke has learned to pull a wheelchair, open doors and retrieve fallen objects.

Canine Companions for Independence places service dogs with people in need for free.

Bringing Life Outside

An unborn elephant, perfectly formed in every way. A dolphin swimming in the womb, just as it will have to swim in the ocean the moment it is born. An unborn dog asleep as if by its master's side. Using new technology, these images, published in UK's Daily Mail, reveal what until now has been a secret - exactly how animals develop in the womb. They were created by the same team who in 2004 showed how human embryos "walk in the womb".

Using a combination of three-dimensional ultrasound scans, computer graphics and tiny cameras, the team were able to show the entire process from conception to birth. "These kind of images from inside animals have never been seen before," Jeremy Dear of Pioneer Productions, who made the film, told The Daily Mail.

"We worked with dozens of zoos and animal sanctuaries across the world. There were a lot of different challenges - recording a dolphin is very different from an elephant, for instance. "Animals were trained to sit still near the scanners and we also inserted cameras into the womb via the elephant's rectum-But it has been worth it. It one sequence we follow an elephant developing. When it is finally born, there is not a dry eye in the house.

"The images in the film are a testament to the ingenuity and patience of the production team led by Yavar Abbas and Dr David Barlow, who worked with some of the world's leading vets to obtain these pictures." The images were created for the program Animals In The Womb, a two-hour show to be broadcast on the National Geographic Channel.

Researchers used scans to track elephant calves developing for almost two years in the womb - the longest gestation period of all mammals. It shows at 16 weeks the elephant fetus starting to look more like an elephant as the trunk develops. At almost a year, the trunk is longer than the legs, and by 14 months, the characteristic elephant ears are visible. They will eventually grow to almost two feet across to help regulate the body temperature of the fully mature-elephant. At birth, he will weigh nearly 260lb and be able to take his first steps in minutes.

Animals closer to home were also studied. A golden retriever fetus is shown exhibiting some of the same behavior as family pets, panting with its tongue out, while still in the womb. Program makers also reveal the moment at eight weeks when a baby dolphin learns to swim while in the womb. During the next few weeks, it develops flippers, a tail and a blow-hole before being born after a year, and must be able to quickly swim to the surface to take its first breath of air.

Experts also found that at 24 days, the dolphin embryo develops tiny leg-like buds, which then disappear over the next two weeks. After 11 weeks, the dolphin embryo's fins display bone structures resembling human hands, which experts believe may show that dolphin ancestors were land dwellers. The footage also shows how many animal embryos are like human ones.

"The incredible thing about the early images is how we all look very similar - it is obviously we humans share a common mammalian ancestry very early in life," Mr Dear told The Daily Mail.

The Flying Corgi

The Superman music makes this video the best.

Museum of Life and Science

After a nice treat yesterday being near home & working at RRMC, this weekend is looking better. On this Saturday(Caturday as I like to call it) I'll be heading up to visit the Museum of Life and Science up in Durham after meeting the family. I'm looking forward to the Nanoscale Science exhibit & of course the Indoor Activities most of all. Afterwards...hopefully we'll find a TV nearby for the Tarheel game against Boston College. Hansbrough has been ridiculous lately so a sweep on BC is definitely possible.

...ready to see the crazy animals, and harass them.

Talking Cat

Today I was showing someone one of the best sites on the internet, ICanHasCheezBurger, then somehow got derailed by this video on Youtube...glad I did. Apparently it's back from some old days of America's Funniest Home Videos, but I had never seen this one before.

Century-Old Fish Caught in Alaska

It doesn't matter how new, old, fresh, dead, cooked, or how much yummy goodness is crammed on top of a fish, I will not touch it. How do you know when fish goes bad? Anyway, this was interesting to see how old the fish turned out to be...still not the oldest of its kind found. - ABC
A handful of Christians preparing rockfish as part of their traditional fish dinner this Good Friday might be feasting on one of the oldest creatures ever to live in Alaskan waters.

Commercial fishers in the Bering Sea hauled in the female shortraker rockfish seen above, which scientists say was between 90 and 115 years old, in March 2007. Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) used growth rings in the fish's ear bone, or otolith, to make their age estimate.

NOAA scientists also found that the fish's advanced years had yet to take a toll on its reproductive abilities. "The belly was large," NOAA researcher Paul Spencer told the Associated Press. "The ovaries were full of developing embryos."

A Seattle, Washington-based ship caught the 44-inch-long (112-centimeter-long), 60-pound (27-kilogram) fish while trawling for pollock at about 2,100 feet (640 meters) below the surface. The massive mama was among ten shortrakers pulled from the depths along with roughly 75 tons of the smaller commercially fished species.

The fish's age and size both approach the maximum known limits for shortrakers. The largest on record measured 47 inches (119 centimeters) long, and the oldest ever caught was 157 years.

Part of the herd

Today I met mom & Ab over at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. It has been probably 15 years since going there & definitely changed from the last time. The bad part...all the bears(polar, black, grizzly) were on vacation, the puffin exhibit was closed before we could get around to it, and no shark rides were being offered for this weekend(just kidding). The good...being retarded around the animals. Here are a couple from the album on Picasa. The monkeys were very cooperative with the camera, but maybe a little over ranked for an audience for children. Take a look at the album to understand why. There are more of Abby & Mom & Me in the separate albums...some good ones too.

136 cats in a small apartment

There is always something interesting in seeing any animal in mass quantities. I think it would be interesting with a few laser pointers or a light show in the middle of this number of cats. Ah, throwing a bag of catnip in the middle of the room would be the pinnacle of chaos. If you haven't seen what actual catnip does to a cat, then visit your local crack addict...then you will know.

Turn a Teddy Bear Inside Out?

Think of your favorite teddy bear. Now imagine it’s been ripped open, gutted, and turned inside-out. That’s what Kent Rogowski's Bears series has done to the iconic stuffed animals of our childhoods. This is pretty cool, even though I don't see any parents purchasing these for their children anytime soon. I would definitely pick one up...the scarier the better.

Life Starts Out Small

For something as big as a panda bear...and to see it start out as small as a mouse, this is awesome. See all the pictures in the article link below. Now only if they had these at the pet store I would end up with a pretty cool roommate. Pictures borrowed from the article...Development of a new born Panda Dave, hope you enjoyed National Treasure 2 on Friday, and it won't be but a week or two until SR has you running around like a madman in Florida. Enjoy the perks buddy and show 'em what you're made of. Even though not as cute as the panda to the right, they do deserve some big credit as the Tarheels rolled over Valparaiso tonight. It wasn't pretty at first, but UNC comes out in the second half and doubles all points that Valpo put up on the board(54-27) to finish 90-58. Their next game is on Wednesday against Kent St on ESPN.