There Is No Such Thing As "Not A Dog Person"

What I mean by that is that humans and dogs have a fundamental connection, like England and America's special relationship, that has been forged over the past 100,000 years. It is in our genes to live with dogs and them with us. Anyone who says they don't like dogs is simply expressing a learned emotion based on a bad experience.

Here's my hypothesis: genetic evidence indicates dogs began separating from wolves at least 100,000 years ago. Human DNA studies indicate there was a "population bottleneck" 50,000 to 100,000 years ago most likely after the Mt. Toba eruption 70,000 years ago. Therefore, I hypothesize that when humanity was down to its last few thousand families dogs had to be there, and it was because of dogs that humans survived. But what was the relationship? That is the PhD candidate question.

And these are the other questions I have (at this time):
Did dogs begin their morphological changes at this time?
Did humanity survive because dogs were with them?
Did only humans who could bond with canines survive?

Not sure any of this will be known with any certainty unless time travel is invented, but my educated guess is that we all have bred into us a connection to dogs that comes from a time when they saved us and we saved them.

For further reading, PBS's Nova program last night got me thinking about the time line. See: Dogs Decoded

And for information on the human DNA studies see Wikipedia's entry on human population bottlenecks which includes a link to the "Toba catastrophe".

Rare John McPhee Interview

At Paris Review: John McPhee, The Art of Nonfiction No. 3 (long)

[Via MR]

Though like many writers, I find that Mr. McPhee has trouble ending his books. They are either annoyingly abrupt or come at you with a newly taken "I don't really like to but..." tone.

Evolutionary Psychology In The Bedroom

Fascinating experiment in Germany shows how we're all the same deep down. We're all scared of predators. See M2:Bedroom Layouts Reflect Ancestors’ Preferences

Liz Phair Is So Hot Right Now

And I mean that as in hottie.

Enough to make a 31 yr old Canadian woman write "I’m trying not to be distracted by how stunning she is". See WalrusMag: Still Standing 6’1″

Another interview in SPIN: Tough Questions for Liz Phair
The press materials for Funstyle refer to you as a MILF. Is that a badge of honor?
I would say, yeah.

CoS: Petite and astonishingly fresh-faced, Phair is a small, blonde package with a load of personality. She’s giggly, kind, inquisitive and unguarded. She’s the type of person to tap you lightly on the shoulder and really engage you with whatever insightful thing she’s going to tell you. A good trait to have in anyone, let alone a rock star who, at this point in their long career, reserves the right to be jaded and cynical.

And in a different take, NYMag gets her to talk about the new album: Liz Phair Explains Every Track on Her Contentious New Album

Did Corporations Conspire On The Latest Election?

I don't think too much should be taken from the election results other than old people voted and young people didn't. Unlike in 2008.

But there are three things that are bugging me.

1. Corporations have reported record profits. See: Profits have surged 62 percent from the start of 2009 to mid-2010 under Barack Obama

2. There was an alliance between businesses and Republicans to buy political advertisements. See: Spending blitz by outside groups helped secure big GOP wins

3. Some of these ads were based on Jedi mind tricks to get people to vote against their interests. See: How Neuromarketers Tapped the Vote Button in Your Brain to Help the GOP Win the House

So, the question is, normally businesses invest in new "things" with their profits, people, machinery, etc; but why did businesses refuse to hire new employees with their record profits and instead donate these to a political party? Why keep unemployment artificially high? What do corporations want in return?

Apocalypse Now?

Not referring to the election results, but this as reported by NPR: Britain and France Sign 50 Year Defense Pact

Next, cats and dogs living together.

Big Daddy Kane Is The Greatest Lyricist Of All Time

And not just because he used the phrase "party people" in almost every song, but mostly for his invention of the poly-syllabic rhyme phrases.

So says NYMag in a review of a rap lyrics anthology: Straight Outta Comp 101

If you're into poly-syllabic rhyming and verses based on the Fibonacci Sequence then check out MC Paul Barman.

If you want Rakim north pole edition then you need to listen to Shad.

If The Chairman of the US Atomic Energy Commission, US Secretary of Defense, Director of Central Intelligence, and Secretary of Energy Spoke Of Peak Oil Would Anyone Listen?

Because it happened.

See TOD: Dr. James Schlesinger: "The Peak Oil Debate is Over" at ASPO-USA Conference
"the world ignores peak oil at its peril"

Rather, the political debate seems to be about comparing each other to Nazi's which is a little like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

What The Frak!?

Suddenly, Battlestar Galactica is getting mentioned in the blogosphere. Despite Caprica getting canceled.

Could be due to a new book and a new prequel.

Wired has the links:

SyFy Greenlights Battlestar Galactica Prequel With Young Bill Adama

Exclusive Excerpt: The Science of Battlestar Galactica

Battlestar Galactica’s Science Explained

And since it is election day, a re-post from The Onion: Obama Depressed, Distant Since 'Battlestar Galactica' Series Finale



So say we all.