Growing up too Quickly
December 11, 2008
My older daughter, Theodora lost her first tooth this afternoon. It’s been loose for about a week and today it came out “by itself” on the way home from school. Oy. This is all happening too fast.
Art from Paint
December 10, 2008
Paint is an extremely basic bitmap editor included in every version of Windows. Most people consider it to be worthless except, perhaps for trimming screen shot in a pinch.
In the hands of a talented artist it is powerful. This is just amazing to watch.
Savage Azawakh
December 7, 2008
A typically savage moment between an Azawakh and a child.
Cassandra cuddling Azelouan
Nigerian Hyena Men
December 6, 2008
When my friend Franc first told me about the Nigerian Hyena Men, I thought he was just making fun of me for bringing back a bush dog from Africa, but he was serious. These guys capture Hyena cubs and train them.
I imagine the temperament could be a little sharp.
Photos are all © 2007 Peter Hugo.
Further Reading on Coat Colors
December 6, 2008
There have been quite a few hits on my ravings over Azawakh color genetics. Seems a popular topic, so here are some more in-depth resources on dog coat color genetics on-line.
- “Dog Coat Color Genetics” (Great set of images to illustrate the effects of various alleles at each locus.)
- Sue Ann Bowling’s “Coat Color Genetics”.
- Sheila Schmutz’s “Genetics of Coat Color and Types in Dogs”.
- Canine genetics primer and free color prediction softwarefrom Tenset Tech.
- “Color Genetics in Whippets” (Interesting discussion of possible color combinations and combinations that are impossible, complete with illustrations.)
- Pamela A. Davol’s “A Detailed Examination of Coat Color Genetics in the Labrador Retriever”
- National Beagle Club of America: “Coat Color Inheritance in Beagles”
Azawakh are Tremendous Leapers
December 6, 2008
The combination of a vertical format, low body mass and powerful muscles yield tremendous jumping ability in Azawakh. In West Africa I once saw a Fulani dog leap over a 10 foot wall. It took the dog two tries.
Azelouan learning to fly @ 9 months
Azelouan leaped the stream and landed safe and dry on the other side. I was able to position myself to capture this image because he does this all the time.
Azawakh follow Allen’s and Bergmann’s Rules
December 4, 2008
Theory
In 1887, Joel Asaph Allen posited a biological rule that warm-blooded animals in colder climates tend to have shorter limbs than the equivalent animals from hotter climates. Christian Bergmann, posited a similar rule in 1847. Bergmann’s rule is that the body mass of warm-blooded animals increases in colder climates.
Azelouan 110 degrees Fahrenheit
The mechanism behind these phenomena is thought to be temperature regulation. Warm-blooded animals have to maintain a narrow core body temperature range or they die. Surface area to volume ratio is a critical factor in heat transfer. A low surface area to volume ratio tends to retain heat while a high one tends to radiate heat into the environment. This effect is the reason that car radiators and the heat exchanger in an airconditioner have huge surface area.
Surface and Volume
Shape controls the ratio of surface area to volume. A sphere is the shape with the minimum surface area for volume while a flattened pancake has close to the maximum surface area for volume. This is oranges burst when you squeeze them. As the orange flattens, its volume stays constant but the skin must stretch. Eventually you exceed the elasticity of the skin and the orange bursts.
Another example is a stack of 8 sugar cubes (1cm x 1cm x 1 cm). If you stack the cubes 2 x 2 x 2, then the volume is 8 cubic cm and the total surface area is 16 square cm. If you stack the cubes in a 1 x 2 x 4, then the volume is still 8 cubic cm but the total surface area is 22 square cm.
Azawakh Morphology
Azawakh are medium-sized hounds in the range of 40-50 pounds. That makes them the same mass as a Norwegian Elkhound but about 7 inches taller. That’s Allen’s rule in play. An English Greyhound is of roughly similar height to an Azawakh but weighs 20-30% more. This is Bergmann’s rule in play.
To use a car metaphor, the Elkhound has the same size engine but a much smaller cooling system and the Greyhound has the same cooling system but a much larger engine. The flat, dry musculature, long legs and high tuck of the Azawakh are all adaptations for heat tolerance.
The Atheist Song
December 3, 2008
Lyrics by Don Davis
There are a lot of songs about religious holidays out there,
But not a single one about Atheism!
So I wrote a song for all those nice little atheist Kids, who don’t get to hear any atheist songs
God help us, here we go:
Put away your faitheism, here comes atheism
Just because you’re secular, you shouldn’t have to risk your neckula
Atheism is, the festival of Enlightenment,
Unlike many religions, it doesn’t depend on crazy enfrightenment
So when you feel like the only kid in town, without a God-like idol,
Here’s a list of famous atheists, so you don’t feel sui-cidal:
Ben Franklin and Thomas Edison, the Fathers of Invention,
Also Sigmund Freud, who discovered anal retention
The Piano Man, Billy Joel, refused to join a sect
Now we know why Rodney Dangerfield, never got any respect
Angelina Jolie, astronomer Carl Sagan
Put them together– not a bad-looking pagan [Sagan was really agnostic]
You don’t need a bar- mitzvah, or even baptizm
Cause you can get blessed — by Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens
Put away your faitheism, here comes atheism
Tell your friends the atheists, come out of the closet like the gaytheists
Many people think, that Atheists are wusses,
Just tell it to Bruce Lee, though dead, he’ll still kick you in your pusses
OJ Simpson, not an atheist, not that we can tell
But even atheists pray, that Juice is goin’ straight to hell!
Some folks also claim that atheism’s looney
They point to all the heathens, arranged on the desk of Andy Rooney
So many Atheists, are in show biz or the arts
They simply don’t believe, that thunder represents God’s farts
Tell your friend Huckabee, don’t be a shmuckabee
I hope you don’t get pissed, cause I’m a secular humanist
So eat your Jesus-shaped toast
And worship your plastic Buddha
I’ll just pray to Bill Maher
Who I’ve carved out of Gouda
Have a happy, happy, happy, happy, ATHEISM!
From SatiricalPolitical.
Xylitol is Poisonous to Dogs
December 2, 2008
My wife discovered xylitol as a exchange student in Finland. She tends to seek out xylitol gum. I’ve just learned that the stuff is extremely poisonous to dogs, like antifreeze or rat poison. It’s much worse than chocolate.
According to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC), dogs ingesting greater than 0.1 g/kg of xylitol should be considered at risk for hypoglycemia. At doses exceeding 0.5 g/kg, there is risk of liver failure and other more serious effects. Eating a couple of pieces of xylitol gum could be enough to kill your dog.
Think Your Job is Tough?
December 2, 2008
Be glad you aren’t a brick porter in Bangladesh.
Aidi wan n'Eezel: the loyal azawakh 