Comments for A little light-hearted fisking. We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2010 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:11:26 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2012 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification A little light-hearted fisking. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:18:53 -0600 Comment from Casey on 2009-11-06
John, when you speak of horse's preference for shelter, do you mean snug'n'warm, or just out of the wind/rain/snow is good enough?

I got thrown from a horse once. It was my fault. I was learning to ride, and had gotten the rein signals and the foot signals backwards, so my hand was saying "turn right," while my foot was saying "turn left." Actually, the horse just stood there ignoring me, no doubt hoping I would get a clue. So, I lightly kicked with my heels as a hint to get going, and clicked my tounge. Kind of a "Hello, McFly?" moment.

The horse glanced back at me, kinda twitched, and the next thing I know I'm lying on the ground looking up, thinking "what just happened?"

My instructor said I had good instincts, since I kept hold of the reins. :)

I don't doubt that equine was thinking "Tool...." Heh.


]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95127 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95127 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:49:12 -0600 Comment from Katherine Optima Maximae on 2009-11-06
I am very sure that precludes them from being culinary experts.

Animal racisim?  Not as extreme as the human variety?  Ms. Brown has obviously never had cats of different breeds, not raised together, confined in her house.  We introduced a new cat that looked like all the other cats, white with black or gray spots.  After some initial displeasure at her arrival, everything was good.  Introduced a striped tabby and WWIII erupted and has yet to be settled.  These cats go at it claw and tooth.  Without human intervention, I'm certain there will be serious injury, probable maiming and possible death.

Oh...did I mention the cats hate the dogs and the dogs hate the cats?  The cats actually attack the neighbor's dogs.  There is some obvious prejudice there.  Possibly because dogs see cats as food, but does that preclude inter-species prejudice?
]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95057 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95057 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:08:00 -0600 Comment from Leslie on 2009-11-05 ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95052 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95052 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:20:09 -0600 Comment from Grimmy on 2009-11-05
Dog most likely by shredding everything in the living room that can be shredded while you're gone.

Cats by seeking out your shoes to puke into.]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95048 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95048 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:47:34 -0600 Comment from steve cpo ret on 2009-11-04 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95037 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95037 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:58:08 -0600 Comment from Rod Thorsen on 2009-11-04 ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95031 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95031 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:15:18 -0600 Comment from Justthisguy on 2009-11-04 I agree with you about horses, except for ponies. They all seem to born disgruntled. Gal I used to know had some pony experience when a kid. She swore her pony knew where every low tree limb, at human horseback head-height, existed for miles around. On "we need to talk", my kitty starts gently; just a paw on the calf, claws retracted. Then there's just a touch of the hooks; then if I'm pre-occupied on the Net or something, there will be effusion of blood. (My kitty seems a bit more autistic than most- he never meows, just does physical actions to communicate. E.g., he kicks an empty beer can around when he wants me to open a can of wet food http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95030 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95030 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:22:12 -0600 Comment from Argent on 2009-11-04
They don't always know when they will die. 

Dog's talk in action.

There was no contract.  We eat most of these animals you know.
]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95027 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95027 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:57:40 -0600 Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2009-11-04
They also like shelter from weather - especially if it is constructed in such a way as to allow them to come and go as they please.]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95025 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95025 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:33:16 -0600 Comment from bad cat robot on 2009-11-04
I would say we have a symbiotic relationship with the domesticated animals.  We used the speed and strength of horses, and in return we gave them horsehoes and used our little fine motor control fingers to get the nasty sharp stones that get stuck.  Also carrots, which are difficult to grow on the prairie, not to mention dig up with hooves.  The horse I have been riding assures me carrots make it *all* worthwhile.
]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95024 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95024 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:21:07 -0600 Comment from Cortillaen on 2009-11-04 A dog may steal from you but will never lie to you. Yeah right.  Maybe you should tell that to my family's dog, who digs in the trash, then runs and lays down on her bed, pretending to be asleep, when she hears someone coming.
However, she does not carry around the notion of her individual death. This, I believe, is the true gap between us and other sentient creatures.
Some would argue that the former is actually the lack of sentience, but then we'd get into a semantical argument courtesy of vague and multiple definitions.  I simply consider it the delineation of self-awareness in the metaphysical sense.  We worry about existence after death because we have both the capacity to consider such an abstract (in the purest sense of the word, since there is no sensory input on which to base considerations) concept and, whether many people acknowledge it or not, a sense that there is more to our existence than a physical body.  "If you wonder if you have a soul, you do."  Animals are the sum of their existence, whereas we are more.]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95023 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95023 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:07:56 -0600 Comment from olga on 2009-11-04 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95021 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95021 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:02:51 -0600 Comment from BillT on 2009-11-04 One of the reasons we made a social contract with domesticated animals years ago was to "borrow" their power, speed, senses.

We domesticated the cat, the dog and the horse for that. The rest we domesticated for *food*.

No animal will ever speak those dreadful words, "We have to talk."

She's evidently never been around an old dog who knows his or her time is coming. They *will* tell you -- just not in words...]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95018 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/11/a_little_lighth.html#comment-95018 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:16:20 -0600