You are currently browsing the daily archive for January 2nd, 2008.
Good ole Rudy Giuliani is up to no good. His recent television spot is nothing short of evil. I’m sorry, but when you blatantly use FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) for political gain, you might as well announce your intention to become a tyrant. He’s apparently using the political playbook of Goebbels. By simultaneously portraying muslims as vicious animals and Iran as a warmongering nation led by a madman, this ad is a masterpiece clumsy bit of propaganda. I hate to think that people are stupid enough to believe him.
George R. R. Martin is my favorite author and writes what I consider to be the best fantasy series of all time: A Song of Ice and Fire
. Yes, better than J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Whether you agree with that or not, if you like high fantasy, you will probably like Martin. The 5th book has been a long time coming and still will be a while, but according to his recent update, we might see it published this fall. He has also posted a new sample chapter from the perspective of Jon Snow.
. Yes, better than J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Whether you agree with that or not, if you like high fantasy, you will probably like Martin. The 5th book has been a long time coming and still will be a while, but according to his recent update, we might see it published this fall. He has also posted a new sample chapter from the perspective of Jon Snow.Scientists have used a nasal spray containing the brain hormone orexin A to wake up sleepy monkeys. Three groups of monkeys were given a cognitive test: alert monkeys, sleep-deprived monkeys given orexin A, and sleep deprived monkeys given a saline solution placebo. The sleep-deprived monkeys given orexin A performed as well as the alert monkeys, while the placebo monkeys (control group) performed poorly. They were deprived of sleep for about 36 hours. Also, the monkeys given orexin A had PET scans that looked like the brains of alert monkeys. Orexin A is non-addictive so doesn’t run into some of the problems with other stimulants.
I have mixed feelings about this. If it works in humans with no side effects (a pretty huge if), will the world of sleep be at an end? Will we start working 80-hour work weeks? Productivity certainly will increase, but so will consumption. If we need energy for another 8 hours of activity, we’ll probably have to add another meal. Food production would have to increase proportionally, which will be felt all the way down the chain. Oil consumption will increase, carbon emissions will increase from people driving at all hours, power usage will increase from additional lights/televisions/etc. On the other hand, I have often felt that sleep is a waste of time and have resented the fact that my brain’s performance degrades on lack of sleep. I am not someone who naps peacefully, but begrudgingly and rarely.
That said, I seriously doubt this will work in humans and if it does, there will probably be dangerous side effects.
Daedalus (my lemon beagle) does this thing where he will extend his neck and begin doing some sort of weird coughing, where it sounds like he is either choking or trying to hack up mucus. Usually the episode ends with him opening his mouth wide while not breathing and then producing a loud hack or snort. We have taken him to the vet for this and the vet said he looked healthy but put Daedal on a round of antibiotics since he thought maybe it was kennel cough. Unfortunately, it appears our vet doesn’t know much about hunting dogs.
While at the dog park yesterday, Donna and I ran across a guy with two beagles. One of them began doing the exact same thing Daedalus does, which used to cause us much alarm. He said it was normal for beagles and that his vet called it reverse coughing. I researched it online for a bit and found that it’s actually called reverse sneezing and that many dogs experience it. The cause of the condition is unknown, but various theories state it is the result of an allergy to some scent picked up in puppyhood, an attempt to remove mucus, or some other nasal/pharyngeal problem. It is also called inspiratory paroxysmal respiration.
I think I fall on the side of the mucus cause. Daedalus does seem to hack up something which he then swallows (sorry if this grosses you out). This isn’t any different than humans who as children are usually taught to spit that out when they are sick. Also, we began giving Daedalus Benadryl after the visit to the vet in case it was an allergy thing. He reverse sneezes very irregularly, so it was hard to tell if it was working. Then, while on Benadryl, he did it twice in a 24-hour stretch. At that point, I pretty much gave up on it being an allergy-related thing, though he does seem to have some allergies (eye-discharge is reduced on Benadryl). I’m not ready to make a decision either way, though, since there are many free variables. The extra mucus could be produced by allergies anyway, it would seem.
In any case, the good news is that if your dog does this, it is perfectly normal — especially for beagles and other hunting dogs, but it’s not limited to hunting dogs or any particular breed. Small dogs seem to do it more often, but not by much. Even better news is that there does not appear to be any lasting harm to the dog — the dog is normal before and after the episode. Just some bizarre dog thing.
