TV Programmers Seek the Elusive Dog Market 199
HonorPoncaCityDotCom writes "Stanley Coren reports that a number of new television stations are providing programming specifically designed for dogs and while many people report that their dogs completely ignore what is visible on television, with modern resolution and quicker imaging, more dogs have become potential television viewers. The increase in dog viewership is primarily attributed to the way the dog's eye works. The image on a standard television screen is updated 60 times per second and since a human's flicker fusion frequency is only 55 Hz, the image appears continuous and the gradually changing images give us the illusion of movement. However dogs can discern flickers at up to 80 Hz so with the increased availability of high-resolution digital screens that are refreshed at a much higher rate, the images are less likely to appear to be flickering to the canine eye. Presentation factors are also an issue. Dogs are most likely to respond to images that have been captured at the eye level of a dog with a low camera angle where there are moving things like animals or birds. But even if that requirement is fulfilled, most dogs do not watch television because the TV is normally placed at a comfortable eye level for human beings and dogs do tend not to scan upward, and therefore do not notice the TV images. All of which brings us to DogTV, the first cable network to deliver 24-hour programming for dogs that lets you flip on the channel while you go out for the day as your pet is stimulated, entertained and relaxed. 'If the dog wasn't enjoying it, he would find something else to do, like nibble on the end of a sofa,' says veterinarian Ann E. Hohenhaus."
dog TV (Score:5, Funny)
I hope there are a lot of bitches on TV.
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I think that'll be the new dog pr0n channel, but it'd likely flop (dogs are driven by smell in that department, not sight. Also, a neutered dog isn't likely to care at all.)
I'm just curious as to what they consider "eye level" for the typical dog, though - the eyes on my Dachshunds (aka the 'low-rider dobermans') are a helluva lot closer to the ground than those of a Great Dane.
Why not for cats? (Score:2, Interesting)
I doubt dogs can tell gender. To thread hijack - my cat watches my LCD TV often. He gets confused by panning shots, loves birds and sort of recognizes cartoon animals if they have realistic animal noises. He is scared of any doorbell like noises as he is shy, but seems curious about dogs more than scared. Unless it is birds he doesn't really stand under the TV tranced. He loves watching duck or goose hunting and I think understands most of what is going on now, kind of freaky. He also has a word for b
entertaining? (Score:3, Funny)
well.. maybe the dog is compelled to keep an eye on the evil trans dimensional window so that no baddies come in through it.
otoh, maybe that's good times for a dog..
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Pff, the real danger is the large trans dimensional window in all of the owners' sleeping rooms. There's always another dog trying to get in whenever my pup would enter the room.
Seriously though, never had my dogs care that much about the TV. Maybe a little but nothing much.
But as puppies, watching them react to mirrors was hilarious! Depending on the dog, they'd treat the reflection like an intruder or perhaps immediately take them to be a new new friend. In either case it would be a hyped up reaction.
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Meanehile, I've heard that dogs have a hard time seeing actual images on the screen due to how their eyes are setup. That perhaps a bright-yellow ball flying across the grass on the TV might as well appear like Pong (black screen, white box flying across).
But I used to hear this a lot back on the old tube / CRT days. Who knows if flat panels work differently since they're not scanning each frame.
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I've had lots of dogs but never saw one watch TV. Cats, however, like nature shows.
Same story here. The dogs don't give a damn what's on TV, even if I'm playing a FPS on the thing with the screen refresh cranked to maximum (~120 Hz, I think).
Now the cat? She goes apeshit when she sees a bird on the thing.
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I have a lab mix whom I've caught watching news programs on a few occasions (not just sitting on the couch looking in the general direction of the television, but actually watching the news - following movements on screen, etc.).
Of course, this is the same dog who will sit next to people and stare at them with his muzzle less than an inch from their faces, panic barks at rabbits in the neighbor's yard (pretty sure he's trying to warn them about our cat), tries to play with the lawnmower, and generally fears
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Did you have sound up? I bet is more interesting in the sound of the barking.
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I've seen a dog watch TV, though she had a pretty short attention span. The best part is what she was watching and what was happening; it was perfect. It was a nature show about wolves, and there was a pack and an "outsider" wolf. I shit you not: my dog started growling at the outsider! Something about its posture, I guess.
Aquarium Chanel (Score:5, Interesting)
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It would keep him occupied for hours if I was going out - he'd still be sitting there watching the fish going back and forth
That's what he wanted you to think.. probably just heard you returning with his super canine ears and quickly stopped whatever mischief he was up to..
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Ad supported? (Score:4, Interesting)
$5.99/month - $9.99/month (Score:4, Informative)
monthly cost varies by cable provider and is between $5.99/month - $9.99/month (or $9.99 for the online streaming service and Roku)
Directv will have it for $5.99
Re:$5.99/month - $9.99/month (Score:5, Funny)
Seriously? That's like $70 in dog money.
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From skimming the site I think it's subsription based. Speaking as a human, I was entertained by the sample clips [dogtv.com]. Also note that the image is in color which suggests to me that this is geared at least partly toward the owners.
Come to think of it, this may be an even bigger hit with students than the Teletubbies were back in the '90s. Perfect for a stoned afternoon on the couch.
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Also note that the image is in color which suggests to me that this is geared at least partly toward the owners.
Dogs aren't color blind in the "they can only see in black and white" sense that most people think. Their range of color perception is more limited than humans', but they still can perceive colors.
According to the DogTV faq, they'd messed around with the color and contrast of the images so they're more apparent to dogs.
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Dogs, despite common belief, don't see in just black and white. They do have limited color vision (usually limited to blue and yellow) as well. Of course, recording in color means the differences in color vision is narrowed down.
Anyhow, I had dogs that reacted to dogs on TV (even upsc
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"Hey kids! It's time for your favorite daytime television program on America's lowest rated TV network, the YUV Colorbar Show!!! Starring your pals Luma and the Chroma twins!"
wrong (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm fairly certain that all US broadcast TV is around 27 FPS and non-HD cable is the same and there's no way satellite wastes bandwidth on high FPS. I think only HD is 60FPS. Just because an LCD is refreshing at 60 or 120Hz doesn't mean that's what the tower or cable company is sending.
Also, dog TV is a stupid idea. The last thing I want is my dog ramming and clawing to death my expensive television.
Fill disclosure: I don't actually have a dog or a TV. I'm allergic and live in an apartment and I use a tuner card on my PC.
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The flicker issue is dependent on how often the screen refreshes, not how often the image changes.
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US broadcast TV is around 30 FPS, but the image on the screen is updated at around 60Hz. The confusion may be that standard TV is interlaced - it only updates every other line each time, therefore a full frame takes 2 cycles. Most HD TV stations/ cable channels also broadcast interlaced, even though most HD TVs are now capable of full 60
And now (Score:5, Funny)
a word from our sponser.
Woof woof woof bark bark howl bark bark bark growl woof woof woof wimper pant pant pant woof bark bark bark hooooooooowwwwwwwwwllllllll Purina!!
Here is the news adapted for dogs (Score:3, Funny)
Good evening. Here is the news for dogs. No dogs were involved in an accident on the M1 today when a lorry carrying high-octane fuel was in collision with a bollard. That's a bollard and not a dog. A spokesman for dogs said he was glad no dogs were involved. The Minister of Technology today met the three Russian leaders to discuss a £4 million airliner deal. None of them lay in their crates, chased their own tails, or ate any of the nice raw beef yum, yum. That's the end of the news, now our program for dogs continues with part three of 'A Tale of Two Cities', specially adapted for dogs by Joey.
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That's the end of the news, now our program for dogs continues with part three of 'A Tail of Two Cities', specially adapted for dogs by Joey.
Aw, c'mon, man, that was an easy one!
another inaccuracy (Score:2)
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With the exception of the (distinctly expensive) 3-element DLP systems, the frequency is a bit of a lie.
In a single DLP setup, you only have one mirror array, of whatever resolution, which can attenuate each pixel more or less. That alone would only get you a greyscale image, so they toss a color wheel(and it is a literal wheel, the psychedelic seizurevision effect that occurs if the wheel or its drive motor are encumbered by dust or debris and start spinning out of sync with the rest of the system is somet
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It''s not a number. OK, what is it? A vegetable?
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It is a free man!
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The flicker fusion amount isn't a number. A DLP projector at 120Hz will drive me crazy but 240Hz is less noticeable. A CRT set to 60Hz will just about make my eyes bleed but 75Hz won't. An LCD set to 60Hz looks like a smooth motion to me. DLP merges RGB with a noticeable dark gap between them. CRTs have a high amount of luminosity difference between the frames so it's more noticeable. LCDs are very subtle and can get away with a lower Hz without humans noticing it. So not only is it different between people but it's different depending on how different color or brightness-wise the frames actually are.
That is actually because LCDs have a separate frequency for the backlight, which is much higher than the picture frame rate.
Also see Ask Slashdot: Does LED Backlight PWM Drive You Crazy? [slashdot.org]
And then after 11:00 PM... (Score:5, Funny)
Here Comes Canine Prime Time (Score:2)
7pm - How I met your Rover (CBS)
8pm - CSI: Cat Scene Investigation (NBC)
9pm - Bitch Swap (LifeTime)
10pm - WooWoo Scooby Doo (Hustler HD)
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What time will Game of Bones be on?
my dog stares at the TV (Score:3)
My dog chased dinosaurs... (Score:2)
Yup, I've seen this as well.
We had a King Charles spaniel that used to jump up at the screen and bark whenever there was horse racing (flat racing) on the TV.
Even funnier, though, was that he was a *big* fan of "Walking With Dinosaurs" - he used to get very aggressive, bark, & try to face down the dinosaurs on the TV. I always thought that it was a real testament to the computer animation on that show that it could trick him into thinking they were realistically moving animals.
Not a joke? (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't know what to say about dog TV.
Probably an improvement in TV (Score:4, Funny)
I guess the dogs are too smart to watch the crapfest channels like TLC, so we need better channels to cater to them.
Slashdot Seek the Elusive Geek Market (Score:2)
discord5 reports that slashdot is attempting to provide articles specifically designed for geek and while many people report that their geeks completely ignore what is visible on slashdot, with modern HTML5 and AJAX, more geeks have become potential slashdot readers.
The increase in geek readership is primarily attributed to the way the geek's eye works. The buildup of a standard webpage is updated once per click and since a human's maximum clicking frequency is only 55 Hz, the webpage appears continuous and
I call BS (Score:2)
But even if that requirement is fulfilled, most dogs do not watch television
I say their reasoning is wishful thinking. There are a lot of dogs who are too intelligent to get drawn into watching TV.
What next? News for dogs, stuff that is edible?
Cat Videos (Score:2)
Years ago my wife bought a VHS tape that was intended to entertain cats. It was all videos of squirrels, birds, and other prey moving around and making sounds. One of our two cats ignored it, but the other was fascinated. He could watch the entire one-hour tape without getting bored. He would occasionally try to move around behind the TV to get a better vantage point. At first he would often swat at the images on the screen, but he learned fairly quickly that he couldn't catch them that way.
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My dad once had a cat that would watch tennis. Didn't care about nature shows or anything else... but as soon as he heard the homoerotic sound of 2 people grunting and smacking a little ball with rackets, he would appear and sit mere inches from the screen, watching the game intensely.
Cats are strange animals.
"animals or birds"? (Score:3)
If I'd just smelled the latest rumor that there are birds in my neighborhood which are NOT animals, I'd be on the lookout for them, too!
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And then I remember what a sad sad nerd I am.
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They're NSA robots. Better not to interfere with them.
Remember "Scrooged"? (Score:3, Insightful)
Talk about life imitating art.
"If only I could fire that poor son of a bitch" -- Frank Cross (Bill Murray), in response to exec Robert Mitchum's "suggestion" to create programs appealing to dogs and cats.
Bump up the frame rate for humans too (Score:2)
This is a really, really *bad* idea (Score:4, Interesting)
Quick, hold up your hand if you laughed when your puppy first encountered a mirror! It's hilarious: "OMG there's another dog in the room". Depending on the dog, they will be fooled once, twice, maybe three times - that's it. Afterwards they realize that there's nothing there, and ignore it. It's the same for television. We have a herding dog, and the first time he saw animals on television (I think it was sheep), "OMG, I gotta go herd". Second time, he looked and then yawned. He didn't look a third time. Anyone who pays attention to their animals will have seen this. They know what's real and what's not. Things that are not real are not interesting.
There are already far too many dog owners who think that dogs are like furniture: there when you want them, and otherwise they can be ignored. Dogs need activity, they need interaction with their owners, they need a job to do (especially the working breeds). This stupid idea is going to make bad dog owners even worse: They will think they've done something to keep their dog busy, and will feel even less obligated to actually take proper care of their animals.
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This happens often enough that we have given the mirror dog a name.
fluorescent lighting (Score:5, Insightful)
Being able to discern flickers at 80hz probably makes fluorescent lighting annoying as fuck.
Mine just needs sound (Score:3)
Is there a cheaper plan with just audio? My dog doesn't pay any attention to the images, but if he hears a dog bark on the show, he cocks his head to figure out where it is coming from. In reality I would never buy a channel specifically for him. I think it is far better to actually walk him once or twice a day getting both of us some exercise and let him wander the yard whenever he wants. For him and I imagine many other canines, its almost all about smell. He can smell a rat in a tree at night, smell. At first when he would be barking at 10 at night, I'd be thinking, what. Then I get a flashlight and sure enough a pair of beady eyes would look back at me 10 feet up in the tree. Its nothing short of amazing.
Whatever is shown on DogTV... (Score:2)
What about the TV. (Score:2)
I'm sure it's a lovely idea until you come back home and your TV has become an interactive chewing tool...
Probably already bundled... (Score:2)
My dog is a 100 lb pit bull - great dane mix... (Score:2)
....and I really, really DO NOT want him to react to animals on the television. It's bad enough when he reacts to some dogs out the window, I'm afraid he'd destroy my television if he saw a squirrel, duck or rabbit on TV.
My dog can confirm this (Score:2)
he doesn't watch the TV in the living room, which is an older 60hz model. It might as well be a piece of stone, he doesn't acknowledge its existence.
However in the bedroom is a new 240hz LG LED with "tru motion". He frequently runs up to it and barks at it whenever he sees other dogs or people wearing dark-colored clothing.
He's a 1 year old chihuahua btw
So... (Score:2)
So, you're saying you want our dogs to be as zoned out and slack jawed as our kids?
Maybe I'm missing something.... (Score:2)
...but last time I looked, my dog, cute as she is, has no disposable income.
What is this bullshit? April Fools' Day? (Score:2)
>human's flicker fusion frequency is only 55 Hz
No it is not, guess what is the frame rate of PAL. Nice touch linking to wikipedia as if linked article corroborates your bullshit (it doesnt).
Modern LCD TVs DO NOT FLICKER. Picture stays on the screen until next frame comes, there is no fade out and sudden flash.
Or they could just buy some more writing staff (Score:2)
Has anyone noticed there is NOTHING ON this summer? What the hell !!??!!
Err, yeah... (Score:2)
OK, so I'm a dog owner, and I spoil the hell out of my dogs. So much so that I spend my lunch break at home, walking them, then wolf down food. I buy super-premium dog food (hint: they need less, so there's less mess and it lasts longer). I have shelves of my pantry dedicated to treats. There's more room for the dogs on the sofa than for me and my wife. And I'd never even think that having my dogs watch TV is a good idea. Besides, they're constantly entertained laying on the ottoman by the window, barking a
Who? (Score:2)
I swear when I looked it said "Stephen Colbert reports"....
Cat television... (Score:2)
...didn't turn out so well:
www.simonscat.com/Films/Screen-Grab/
Re:why ? (Score:4, Insightful)
Presumably advertisements on the show would be seen by the pet-owners who would then be more likely to purchase the advertised product. I assume that the type of people who would buy this for their pets - the "hard-core" dog-owners, as it were - are also the sort to buy "premium" dog food for $15.00 per can, or diamond-studded dog collars or whatever, so there is probably money to be made in that market.
It's unfortunate, however, that nowadays everything has to be justified by an explanation on how it can be monetized. Admittedly, it costs money to run a cable station but it would be nice to sometimes see somebody go "Fuck it, I just love dogs so what the hell; let's give them cable!"
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If it were pitched as a premium channel or similar add-on to basic cable, you could also go the 'buy this unless you hate your dog and want it to suffer while you neglect it home, alone and afraid, and probably peeing on your sofa!' angle.
Heck, just look at the success of that 'Baby Einstein' dreck: somewhere between fuck-all and overtly negative effects(once somebody actually bothered to do some research, well after the selling had started) and they still moved a zillion units by telling parents that plunk
Re:why ? (Score:5, Funny)
Nah, the commercials will be 60 second clips of whatever is located at nose height at PetsMart. Woofer goes with owner to store, recalls the images flickering within its canine brain. This triggers a Pavlovian reflex, Woofer grabs the chewy thing and promptly drools on it (You drool on it, you buy it)
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I admit, I LOLed.
(You drool on it, you buy it)
Sadly, not the policy at the local Walmart...
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the sort to buy "premium" dog food for $15.00 per can
At that point, just feed them steak, as there is nothing in any commercial dog food that is better nutrition.
Re:why ? (Score:5, Informative)
Steak is not complete nutrition for a dog. Muscle meat is important but lacks many of the vitamins and minerals found in organ meats and vegetable matter. Additionally, while dogs are taxonomically in Carnivora, they are functionally omnivores. Straight meat isn't ideal for them. (This is in contrast to cats and ferrets, which are obligate carnivores and have trouble digesting vegetable matter.)
As an aside, if you are feeding your pet meat, please cook the meat as thoroughly as you would for human food safety. Domestic animals are not immune to the food-borne pathogens that cause nasty illnesses, and no one wants their pet (or their carpet) to go through that drama.
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Steak is not complete nutrition for a dog. Muscle meat is important but lacks many of the vitamins and minerals found in organ meats and vegetable matter.
I didn't want to get into the details, but was just point out the price issue. And, steak can have bones, which are also important, although beef bones are fairly hard and most dogs can't get that much from them. Pork, chicken, goat, rabbit, etc. bones are easier for them to pulverize. And yes, it's perfectly safe...only cooked bones will splinter dangerously.
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Cooked and not all meat, for several reasons.
1) Dogs are not wolves. Dogs are domestic animals and have significantly smaller teeth than their forebears. Throughout their time in domesticity they have predominantly eaten what we have - cooked food, and a mix of meat and vegetable matter. We have bred them to be easy to keep on food that is similar to ours. You are encouraged to explore some of the peer-reviewed publications on the matter [highwire.org].
2) Many canids - such as coyotes, jackals, and foxes - are omnivores
What the F&$k? (Score:2, Insightful)
What? If you really like your dog you won't be plopping them in front of the goddam TV like you do your kids! You will give them attention, take them for walks, and spend time with them. There is absolutely no "good" reason to do this, let alone trying to figure out how to monetize it. Worried about your dog being alone? Spend time with them! Worried about your dog's fashion sense? Dogs hate clothes you dumbass, so don't put them on the dog! Worried about their toy collection? Buy the dog a bone and
Re:why ? (Score:4, Insightful)
That and Dogs are not really visual animals like Humans are.
Sure the dog can see what is on TV but he really doesn't care that much, unless it makes a noise that he finds interesting. My Dog responds to the barking of Real Dogs (Not Synthesized ones) and to the sound of the Door Bell. However other than that he has no interests. If the TV gave off smells, the dog may be more interested. However I wouldn't like a TV that gives off smells my Dog likes.
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Sure the dog can see what is on TV but he really doesn't care that much
Some dogs do. Not sure how many, but I know at least 1 dog that goes nuts just from seeing another animal on TV. It doesn't even need to make a noise, the visual alone sets this dog off.
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That and Dogs are not really visual animals like Humans are.
I could be wrong, but I think they are also among the mammals that see two colours instead of three like humans.
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Re:wealth brings stupidity (Score:5, Interesting)
Because, of course, helicopters are cat-allergic, right? The rotor sneezes and disintegrates as soon as a cat comes anywhere near.
In other words, get a grip. Not all emergencies are alike. If you have a small pet in your arms, there's no reason at all for the rescuers to tell you to forgo it. Heck, what you're arguing is pretty much life over quality of life. Yeah, we'll rescue you at any cost, but $DEITY forbid the rescuee has a living thing with them to comfort them. Being displaced in an emergency is obviously no biggie for you and you will stomach it like a big boy, right? You should have rotten for a couple of weeks at the superdome with all the other "ingrates" to get a humanistic perspective.
If it was an emergency where the rest of my immediate family would be already dead, and I had a choice of being rescued with our cat or perishing with him, I'd probably choose the latter. Say what you will, but our cat always knows when there's something wrong with one of us, and he sometimes works quite hard at comforting us. When my wife got back from a C-section, the cat would walk directly across her scar, massaging it. He kept at it for weeks. Nobody prompted it, it didn't see the scar directly, and so on. He just knew what to do. I have plenty of other examples like that. Just because it's not human doesn't mean it's life is worthless. Just to preempt what might be coming: no, I'm not freeing any lab monkeys, thank you very much, it'd be a retarded thing to do. Neither is our cat a "member" of our family. He's our cat. He gets his food and water, his vet check-ups, has a few small toys [kittyhooch.com], and is kept indoors. He treats us with care, and we do the same, but we don't go overboard. He scratches a couple of designated dining room chairs, we don't have any pet furniture.
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He scratches a couple of designated dining room chairs, we don't have any pet furniture.
I bet he's the one who designated those chairs though :)
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Nope, he gets the message if we get upset about something he has done. He's quite good about remembering it as well. Maybe we are just lucky.
Re:wealth brings stupidity (Score:4, Funny)
When my wife got back from a C-section, the cat would walk directly across her scar, massaging it. He kept at it for weeks. Nobody prompted it, it didn't see the scar directly, and so on. He just knew what to do.
Your cat sensed that your wife was weakened and was going for the most vulnerable spot. It was trying to kill your wife but, like most cats, didn't do a very good job of it.
Don't get me wrong; I love cats, but I can't help but notice that many of them seem to be competing for the title of "World's Most Incompetent Villain."
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A bird once flew into the house through an open window - perhaps because there was another window open on the other side of the room, so it looked like there was clear way through. The cat happened to be in the room at the time, and the bird never made it to the opposite window. We couldn't react in time to prevent the poor bird from getting his neck broken as soon as the cat brought it down, nay, slammed it down on the floor.
If our cat wanted to maim us, he certainly could. If he's in a rogue mood, he'll c
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cat in open aircraft? your cat will panic. you can't guarantee that cat won't jump free and cause disaster. no, you absolutely should not be allowed to bring any clawed fanged animal into cockpit.
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yes, I have love and compassion for human life over anything else. but apparently you don't think the risk of stressed animal in fear of its life in cockpit of helicopter to human life is any issue, because some animals are so cute and cuddly. How about my neighbor's six foot python and rattlesnake, can he bring them in rescue chopper?
Re:wealth brings stupidity (Score:4, Insightful)
Like I said, give it up. Helicopter pilots have winched off many a 'wild, stressed animal'. You put it in a cage, you put a muzzle on it, you strap it down somewhere.
Exactly what you would do with the stressed, out of control human that you've just winched off the tree.
And no, if you want to take your snakes, you're on your own. We're in it for the cutes.
Humans can be rational at times, but it certainly isn't their default condition.
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No time nor space for that nonsense of caging, muzzling, strapping animal in dire emergency such as getting people off roofs in hurricane katrina
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Oh give it up, I think you might have some issues along these lines.
Even the Coast Guard figured it out a while back. It used to be they wouldn't rescue animals off boats. Then people stayed with the animals and the CG got some bad press. Now they'll winch off dogs and cats along with people.
Funny, more people would rather rescue animals than fellow humans. Just what does that say about our species?
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Funny, more people would rather rescue animals than fellow humans. Just what does that say about our species?
I think it's a combination of beliefs. People can rescue themselves, especially from human-created problems, and the people who can't rescue themselves are often "broken" in a way that other people can't help (or don't know how). Animals can't rescue themselves from human-created problems (from invading their habitats to not spaying and neutering pets) and often respond very well to human help.
I mean not in all situations (wouldn't apply to your Coast Guard example, or natural disasters like Hurricane Katri
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No, it says you and some other people have a very childish and immature notion of reality that becomes a hazard to human life in an emergency. Beasts that in any way hamper a rescue effort need to be disposed of
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I'm pretty sure it was geese that provided warnings of incipient threats to the empire(though it was the republic, at the time)...
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Give us bread and circuses, and make sure our animals are distracted so they can't alert us to the downfall of civilization.
This truly is the decline of the American Empire.
Wait. What?
We just elected two utter bozos to the Presidency and a whole herd of idiots, fools and felons to Congress. You're worried about a television program? That caters to dogs?
Pick up the nearest block of wood and whap yourself upside the head with it a few times. See if that helps.
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That's their own fault. If they'd done it in a choreographed musical number [youtube.com] like they were supposed to, we might have picked up on it.
Nah, probably not.
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There's an iPad app for cats. It's a dot that moves around on a black screen, and responds to the touch of a paw.
So a laser pointer channel would probably be a big hit. For six minutes, until Fluffy gets bored. Hope you didn't pay for the 2-year subscription!
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There's an iPad app for cats. It's a dot that moves around on a black screen, and responds to the touch of a paw.
People have gotten that lazy, have they? Can't even be bothered to lean against the wall and hold the button down on a 3 ounce device, oh no, let's just use the iUniversalBabySitter to entertain the kitty kitty; after all, it works so well on Junior!
That's weak, yo.
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No, it's not weak. It's marketing, and it's profitable. People are obviously willing to spend their $0.99 on something that amuses them.
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Correct, the poster didn't even read the link he provided http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flicker_fusion_threshold [wikipedia.org]. That shows the human rate to be around 16Hz.
From the page...
"For the purposes of presenting moving images, the human flicker fusion threshold is usually taken as 16 hertz (Hz). In actual practice, movies are recorded at 24 frames per second, and TV cameras operate at 25 or 30 frames per second, depending on the TV system used."
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It does however go on to suggest that some high-intensity flickering may be detectable (by cones only and not by rods) at up to 60Hz, which is somewhat closer to OP's figure.
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uh...no we can't. If we could, then we would be extremely annoyed by the flash of our monitors and TVs. Seriously, this is just common sense; no science required.