Yeah, though it might sound like a bad straight-to-DVD movie, or even worse, a SyFy original movie (yeah, SyFy, not Scifi–shakes head–sigh); but it seems to be true. And in looking for a picture of ants on google, I stumble across another article on Zombie Ants. So, I’ll post this with a page break, to read the two separate articles on two separate cases of Zombie Ants, click the link for more.

(more…)

Now we really don’t need to have children knowing this! I’m just kidding, although as smart as Cassie tends to be, I still feel that Peanut Chew is the brains of the fur family. But read on, its pretty interesting.

From yahoo.com:

Dogs and 2-Year-Olds on Same Mental Plane

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter by Amanda Gardner
healthday Reporter – Mon Aug 10, 7:04 pm ET

MONDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) — According to accumulating research, the beloved family dog is really a toddler with a snout and tail.

 ”Dogs basically have the developmental abilities equivalent to a human 2-year-old,” said dog expert Stanley Coren, who was scheduled to present recent canine research developments at the American Psychological Association annual meeting this week in Toronto.

 The average dog can learn 165 words, although “super dog” Rico, a border collie, could understand 200 spoken words. Experts think some dogs can learn up to 250 words.

 Dogs can count up to four or five and can correct you if you can’t add one plus one.

 One dog apparently learned to “read.” Coren recounted the case of the canine who was able to “deliver” mail addressed to two girls, one with a short name and one with a long name. Although the owner thought the dog was actually reading, it turns out the canine was gauging the length of the name, not the individual characters, enabling him to deliver the mail to the right person.

 Different breeds of dog differ in their intelligence, with border collies topping the list for working (instinctive) and obedience intelligence. The next six smartest are poodles, German shepherds, golden retrievers, Dobermans, Shetland sheepdogs and Labrador retrievers. (The third type of dog smarts is adaptive or problem-solving ability.)

 ”There are two extreme viewpoints when we talk about dogs,” said Coren, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and author of numerous books on dogs including How to Speak Dog and How Dogs Think. “Some tend to think of dogs as if they are little human beings with fur coats. The other extreme is to think of dogs as if they’re unthinking but programmable robots. My little beagle would then be a beagle-shaped bag, a biological equivalent of transistors and gears. The truth of the matter is somewhere in between.”

 More and more, scientists are realizing that dogs can think and solve problems in ways previously thought to belong only to humans and higher primates.

 Indeed, one recent study also found that dogs were like 24-month-old children, at least when it comes to figuring out where humans have hidden a treat.

 Like 2-year-olds, dogs can experience fear, anger, happiness and disgust (perhaps at a human’s sub-par math skills), but not guilt. Humans don’t feel guilt until about age 4, Coren said.

 That doesn’t mean they can’t make humans feel guilty. That desolate look when a dog’s human leaves the house is probably legitimate. “Dogs are pack animals,” Coren explained.

 Dogs apparently can ponder the meaning of “dog,” in a way. According to Coren, they do have a consciousness of self, though not as complex as that of humans.

 They also recognize differences among beings and are cognizant of others’ variable viewpoints and talents.

 And they dream, as demonstrated through movements they make while they’re asleep.

 Dogs can figure out how to get to the couch before you do and how to operate a latch or other simple mechanism.

 They can also deceive other dogs.

 Not to mention people.

 Coren has both a beagle (ranked seventh from the bottom in obedience intelligence) and a cat. The cat is fed on the counter so the beagle can’t interfere with feline meal-time.

One time, though, the beagle started scrabbling around, digging at the kitchen floor. “I was quite confused,” Coren recalls. “He looked around and continued again, then he looked up at me. I finally got down on my hands and knees and he immediately jumped onto my back and onto the counter. He decided his psychologist father could be used as a ladder.”

“This presentation asks and answers some very deep questions about if, and then how, dogs might think,” said Bonnie Beaver, a professor in the department of small animal clinical sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University. “[But] there is always the possibility that generalizations do not quite fit the data or that the original data may have been weak. Serious students of dogs are advised to go back to original studies, lovers of dogs should view this with interest and leave a little room for doubts.”

The Humane Society of the United States has more on canine behavior.

Now if only Peanut and Cassie would get along…

–Cos

I tried drawing this picture of Cassie, I don’t think I did too well, but I drew it on a post-it and figured I’d see how I did by putting it next to the original picture for comparison. Then I took a pic of them together.

Yesterdays news that Melissa sent to me but I didn’t get, I saw it on News 12 this morning. Crazy! We go to he Rockaway Mall and the surrounding stores all the time. In fact, I think we were there this past Saturday. I guess not living too far away from it is a good thing too.

From NJ.com:

Pilot, flight instructor crash land plane at Rockaway Townsquare Mall

by Jim Lockwood/The Star-Ledger

Tuesday August 25, 2009, 2:55 PM

ROCKAWAY — A small plane that had engine trouble made an emergency landing today at the Rockaway Townsquare Mall, according Capt. Jeffrey Paul, a spokesman for Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi.

No one was hurt, as the two occupants, a student pilot and a flight instructor, were able to get out of the Cessna 172 on their own, authorities said. The accident occurred near the JCPenney store at the mall.

Jerry McCrea/The Star-Ledger

 

A private plane sits in the parking lot outside JCPenney after crash landing at the Rockaway Townsquare Mall in Rockaway Township.

 ”The preliminary assessment indicates the plane experienced engine failure that resulted in the emergency landing,” Paul said.

Eyewitnesses said the plane bounced upon landing, skidded into a grassy median, and spun 180 degrees once its wings clipped a 25-foot tree standing in the median.

“I heard people yelling ‘Watch out for the plane! It’s coming down,” said 15-year-old Katie Skolsky, of Rockaway.

Virginia Skolsky said she was amazed there were not more cars in the parking lot — given that so many people were going to JCPenny’s for back to school shopping.

“We were kind of in shock. It happened so fast it was scary,” she said.

The recreational flight originated at Air Fleet Training Systems, one of three flight schools at Essex County Airport in Fairfield, at 12:12 p.m, said Arlene Salac of the Federal Aviation Administration.

The aircraft was manned by an instructor from New Jersey and an experienced student from New York, both in their 30s, said a company dispatcher.

“They were both well qualified,” said the dispatcher, who declined to give her name.

The plane was en route to Essex County Airport in Fairfield. Thomas Gomez, the airport’s general manager, said Rockaway police had contacted his control tower. “My controller talked to them,” Gomez said of the inquiries.

Rockaway Township Police Lt. Marie Romo said the pilot and flight instructor, a man and woman, were taken to Saint Clares Hospital in Dover with minor injuries. Romo said it was fortunate the pilot found the open area in the parking lot between the JCPenny’s and a Toys-R-Us store.

“It’s a tribute to the skill of the instructor and pilot that there is no damage to cars or people,” Romo said.

Natalie Brock, of Dover, a college student at Fairleigh Dickinson University, said she was amazed the pilot and the instructor were not hurt.

“It was kind of a scary moment. But when I saw two people come out, I knew everything would be okay,” said Brock, who was at the mall for back-to-school shopping.

Joe Pimental, a limousine driver for My Limo Service of East Hanover, said he saw the plane turning above the mall.

“I saw it circling around, maybe looking for a place to put it down,” said Pimenao, of Rockaway. “It’s amazing. The pilot did a good job landing it the way he did. It could have been worse.”

photo courtesy of myfoxny.com

 

A single-engine Cessna crashed into the parking lot of the Rockaway Townsquare Mall.

The Cessna 172, built in 1979, is registered to Genesus One Inc., of Paramus, Bergen County, according to federal aviation records.

Emergency officials sprayed the plane with foam to minimize the chance of a fire igniting, authorities said. There was no fire, and the incident is being considered as an emergency landing, and not as a crash, authorities said.

The Morris County Sheriff’s Department, Office of Emergency Management, and Fire Coordinator, as well as Rockaway Township police, fire, and EMS departments, Picatinny Arsenal firefighters also responded to the scene, authorities said.

The Associated Press reported JC Penney employee Nadia Acevedo said she saw the small passenger plane in the parking lot near her store. The front end of the plane appears to be damaged. She said the pilot is being treated by paramedics and appeared to be conscious.
– Star-Ledger reporter Phil Read contributed to this report.

MyFoxNY.com: Plane Crashes In Rockaway

I’m just glad no one was hurt and that it wasn’t a busy time at the mall. Let’s cross our fingers and hope for no more plane problems for a while.

–Cos