Wash: Little River just gets more colorful by the moment. What'll she do next? Zoe: Either blow us all up or rub soup in our hair. It's a toss-up. Wash: I hope she does the soup thing. It's always a hoot, and we don't all die from it.

'Objects In Space'


Natter 65: Speed Limit Enforced by Aircraft  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, pandas, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


Trudy Booth - Mar 27, 2010 10:41:38 am PDT #19165 of 30001
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart

Yes, please do. I find evolutionary biology fascinating.

We cook food? We grind it up and mix it with other foods and make complex foods? We ferment it. We (and squirrles and a few other little rodents) store it. We refrigerate it. We grow it. Little things like that, surely you can come up with some others.

Why pick just one, "Ah hah! No other mammals are eating MILK past infancy or the milk of another species. THAT is soooooooo UNNATURAL!!!!!"


Barb - Mar 27, 2010 10:42:53 am PDT #19166 of 30001
“Not dead yet!”

Skim milk in coffee is a crime. It makes this awful grey color. It does nothing flavor-wise.

This. I'm with Trudy and Sophia. Gimme my half and half for my coffee. Hell, if I'm feeling indulgent, I put in heavy cream. Gives it a little bit of an extra sweet kick. I don't overindulge in dairy, amount-wise, so I feel no need to punish myself and I'm sorry, milk should not be blue and transparent, dammit.


Laura - Mar 27, 2010 10:47:33 am PDT #19167 of 30001
Our wings are not tired.

We ferment it.

One of my personal favorites.

I normally drink coffee black, but if I am in the mood for a treat I add heavy cream, because yummy.


Trudy Booth - Mar 27, 2010 10:52:35 am PDT #19168 of 30001
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart

Aren't there ants that keep aphids and they stroke them to get some sort of excretion to eat? Fish that eat the skin flaking off of whales? Bacteria in my gut eating the milk I've eaten as it goes on through...

I'd argue that humans drinking milk is the same sort of parasitic behavior that goes on all over the natural world. I am unimpressed by any uniqueness here.


Jessica - Mar 27, 2010 10:58:06 am PDT #19169 of 30001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

"Ah hah! No other mammals are eating MILK past infancy or the milk of another species. THAT is soooooooo UNNATURAL!!!!!"

Please don't put words in my mouth.

I think evolutionary biology is interesting. The fact that some humans have a genetic mutation that allows them to continue producing lactase into adulthood is an interesting bit of biological trivia to me - I'm not attaching any moral weight to it.


Nicole - Mar 27, 2010 11:15:18 am PDT #19170 of 30001
I'm getting the pig!

What does the tomato juice do -- does it make their poo taste bad?

That's what I've been told. Since tomato juice is inexpensive I gave it a shot and thankfully it worked with Bailey. I have no idea if it'll work for your furry roomies but again with the fairly cheap. Plus, they have lower sodium kinds now.

Some say that it neutralizes dog urine so it doesn't turn your grass yellow, too, but I never noticed a difference there.

You have me curious now though.

Weren't you mailing out more polish to me? For the traveling Box o' Polish?


Lee - Mar 27, 2010 11:20:42 am PDT #19171 of 30001
The feeling you get when your brain finally lets your heart get in its pants.

I was! I can send that on Monday from work though.

I will email you about that.


Trudy Booth - Mar 27, 2010 11:41:10 am PDT #19172 of 30001
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart

Please don't put words in my mouth.

I wasn't. I'm sorry if you thought I was. Lots of people say that with just that "so its WRONG!" tone. I've heard it all my life. I was talking about the statement in general. I wasn't even thinking about who had introduced it to this conversation and woudn't have known without scrolling back -- didn't someone's dad say it too? This wasn't Pick On Jessica Day.

I think evolutionary biology is interesting. The fact that some humans have a genetic mutation that allows them to continue producing lactase into adulthood is an interesting bit of biological trivia to me - I'm not attaching any moral weight to it.

I'm not sure that its a mutation (unless you're counting all of evolution as a mutation), frankly. Other mammals only nurse in infancy, this is true. There might be a brief period of mom feeding them chewed-up stuff. And then (broadly speaking) they spend a couple of months being trained how to get food and then they're on their own. Humans have this protracted childhood where they're fed for years and years after being weaned with food that gets gradually harder. Even complete weaning may well have been put off until four or five. If you have to do that earlier because there's a new baby (or whatever) giving the older baby animal milk makes a lot of sense. If that milk is available a human can go on drinking/eating it. It appears that those who do so are more likely to retain the ability to do so. It makes sense that cultures that had more of the behavior tend to have more of the retention.

To me its just one more thing humans do because we have this giant chunk of "childhood" that is pretty unique in the natural world.


Pix - Mar 27, 2010 12:13:36 pm PDT #19173 of 30001
The status is NOT quo.

Is there a women's version of Men's Warehouse? I would kill to walk into a store with a ton of well-made, reasonably priced professional clothes where people would dress me, find all my accessories, and alter my clothes right there. Seriously. I need a few casual suits for interviews and such, and I really don't want to wade through department stores on my own. I'm bad at it. I'm so envious of Drew being able to do all of this in one place.


Steph L. - Mar 27, 2010 12:17:29 pm PDT #19174 of 30001
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine

Shall I give you a list of things that we do that no other mammal does?

Getting porn on the internet. Thank you, evolution!

What does the tomato juice do -- does it make their poo taste bad?

That's what I've been told. Since tomato juice is inexpensive I gave it a shot and thankfully it worked with Bailey. I have no idea if it'll work for your furry roomies but again with the fairly cheap.

Hmmm. I guess we'd have to give it to the dalmatian, because it's the black-and-tan coonhound who's the biggest poo-eater. And I can't imagine Chloe eating chow with tomato juice on it. Although she might, especially if it's warmed a little. Kato, on the other hand, will eat anything, including a rock, except for, as I mentioned earlier, the Evil Leafy Greens.