Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Coffee and Provocation


One Third of U.S. Seafood Is Caught Illegally?
Unregulated overfishing is killing our oceans, same as unregulated hunting once killed off the bison. Now a new study shows that one-third of all seafood sold in the U.S. is caught illegally. One more reason to say no to fish unless you catch it yourself.

Coffee is a Gateway Drug to Integrity?
If you get too little sleep, you may be prone to ethical lapses... unless you drink coffee.

"Kennel Mental" Happens to Humans Too
If you think kenneling is bad for dogs, be advised that it is no better for humans in prison. "The more one is utterly alone, the more the mind comes to reflect the cell; it becomes blank, static."  (Thanks Mary S.!)

Support Pure Positive Or I'll Kill You!
Some folks are getting tired of the bullies in the clicker training community who think their one wrench fits every nut:  Read Why I Started Clicker Training, Why I Quit Clicker Training, and What I Learned From It.  A nice piece which quite correctly notes that there are things to learn from clicker training.  It's just not everything.

All You Can Drink Coffee?
A new app called CUPS allows New York City subscribers to pay $45 per month for unlimited regular coffee from almost 40 independent coffee shops around the city. The idea is that the app will be an alternative to the smartphone app and loyalty card used by Starbucks.

Howard Buffett Makes His Father Proud
Warren Buffett's son, Howard, is funding elephant and rhino protection in the Selous Game Preserve in Tanzania and Kruger National Park in South Africa, putting up $23.7 million to fund a three-year program complete with rangers, helicopters, GPS, and communications equipment.  Full applause!

National Geographic is Managed by Fox TV
The National Geographic Channel is now operated as an arm of Fox Television, a move that corresponds with the channel becoming a complete joke with faked "reality" TV shows. One of the names behind the joke is David Lyle who is now stepping down. That would be good news if better management were stepping up, but it's not clear that that is the case. The good news is that Netflix and Amazon TV are going to kill off reality TV. Cable is dead; long live the Internet!

A Better Splitting Ax?
It's older than the Vikings, but now the splitting ax has been re-engineered and apparently gotten a lot better.

Armed Men on Bicycles!
There was a time, between the horse and the tank, when warfare was a little lower tech.

Distant States Try to Harm the Chesapeake?
Why are 21 far-away states trying to block the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay? Earlier this year, a group of 21 Attorneys General from states as far away from the Chesapeake Bay as Alaska and Wyoming submitted an amicus brief that aims to strike down the EPA’s Chesapeake cleanup plan. The Attorneys General argue that the cleanup plan raises serious concerns about states’ rights, and they worry that if the plan is left to stand, the EPA could enact similar pollution limits on watersheds such as the Mississippi. What these iAttorney Generals have missed is that the states bordering the Chesapeake Bay ASKED for the EPA to come up with a plan because the voters in these states LOVE the Bay which is a VITAL ECONOMIC ENGINE to the area.

Clone the Tasmanian Tiger?
A living genetic fragment of Australia’s extinct Tasmanian tiger has been isolated and inserted into a Tasmanian Devil, its closest relative.

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