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Purringthoughts
I'm establishing this for its own sake. I may or may not ever use it. HOMG I USED IT
And answers.
You can keep on posting in the questions if you want.

Dis Domnu
Where'd ya get your signature quote from? [And] State of residence (assuming you're American)?

The quote is from Terry Pratchett's novel Jingo; it's an incident report by a police officer. It doesn't make sense unless you know that Sergeant Detritus is a troll - eight feet tall, made of living stone and not inclined to put up with crap.

And I live in New Jersey.

L eondra
What is the ultimate question? What kind of cheese do you like?

Leo is very random.

The Ultimate Question would probably be something along the lines of "What do you get when you multiply six by nine?". And I like basic European cheese styles. Cheddar, mozzarella, feta, you know? But not blue cheese.

And we wouldn't have you any other way. <3

Dave the lost
Which is/are your most and least favourite discworld character group. Wizards, City Watch, Susan/Death, etc.
Alternatively, which is/are your favourite, and least favourite Discworld books.

I'm split between the Watch, the golems, and some of the more villainous groups: the werewolves, or (especially) the elves. Definitely the elves for the villains, because they're evil by nature, whereas werewolves are capable of nastiness but it's not built into them. And they see by perceiving electrical fields, which is pretty neat.

If Pratchett ever fleshes out the kvetch, they might also come close.

I think my favorite book thus far is Thud!, because it is definitely about something. Although The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents is pretty good too, because I have a soft spot in my heart for rats.

Dino
How has your perception of our ability to affect change in the current state of affairs evolved over time?

Affect or effect?

I think overall, our ability to change things has stayed fairly steady. We can't do anything except try to take mass action, and in the meantime to ride out the crises.

See you soon. :3

fubenkunai
What's your favorite item on Gaia?
If you could be any animal for a day, what would it be?

'Coon tail, 'cos it's so floofy (that is another name for me, "floofy" wink , and... definitely a dog. A big floofy brown lab mix.

Omnileech
How do I went back in time?

Drink heavily and live among the Amish, is all I can say.

In the meantime, how I shot web furry?

paper_phoenix
What is your earliest memory? It doesn't have to be anything complete or even clear, but what is it, and has it had any kind of bearing on who you are and how you deal with things today?

It's a deeply shameful memory from when I must've been about four years old, and suffering greatly if not necessarily in any danger from some stomach bug. I was disgustingly sick all over myself because I couldn't get to the bathroom in time. Has it had any bearing on who I am now? Probably.

Deo_machina
To how many digits can you calculate pi?

3.14159 with confidence. I can't go further than that with any confidence. So... six.

Luthinen_Tinuveil
What is your opinion on public smoking?

As long as you stand downwind of me, stamp out your butts and throw them in the trash or in an ashtray, I'm fine with it. The people who drop smoldering butts on the ground and walk away, I don't like that.

terrance
What's it like to have to deal with trolls, smart asses and ne'er do wells on the internets

You tell me.

gigacannon
Can I have all your stuff when you die?

What is your favourite animal?

Do you wish you could shapechange into that animal so that you could sex it up, then shapechange back afterwards?

1. If I predecease you on Gaia, I am probably willing all my Gaia items to a couple of people. The answer is "Maybe".

2. Dogs. :3

3. I'm not going to answer that question. domokun

Da_Ish
You said that you volunteer in ethology research and you find it interesting. If you were paid to do it, would you consider it "work", or would you consider it "fun" that you get free money for?

If you were a millionaire or billionaire, what would you do with the rest of your life?

Well, I do consider it work. I just consider that I'm being paid in experience, cosmic credit and esteem by my colleagues (which you can cash in on, through recommendations). If I was paid for the research, well, I'd be a little more pleased with myself. And I'd probably be a little more punctual, although I'm already one of the best in this lab. :3 (You know, I hear punctuality is a Protestant trait. The fact that I'm usually the first to show up... could that be correlated with the fact that everyone here is Catholic, except Jared, Kai and myself?)

And if I had all the money I needed in terms of personal expenses, well... once I'd moved to my own place and gotten the house sufficiently fixed up, I'd keep on doing the research (and the school, until I graduated with a PhD) because I have to keep my brain in gear. It's a hungry brain. This is a tasty field, I must eat it.

Omni
Can I b0rrow 10 bucks from you and only take five? That way you owe me five and I owe you five so we're even?

No. That makes my head hurt.

Ish
What is your favourite type of psychology?

Yes.

Ish
Do you think it is morally justified to perform invasive psychology experiments on mammals such as chimpanzees, dogs, and rats? Would you personally be able to carry out such an experiment (e.g. brain lesions or single-cell recordings)?

Rats, I've done lesion studies with 6-hydroxy-dopamine. It bothers me somewhat but not very much. My problem with it was that it wasn't just me - it was me and three other students, and to be honest... their hands were not very steady with a scalpel. My hands tremble slightly when I'm sitting still, but when I make an intentional movement the trembling is stilled, and I can make smooth cuts.

Euthanizing rats with an injection of anaesthetic... is not too hard, either. It's not nice, but it's a very personal and intimate way of doing it. I don't like gas, because that's very impersonal and slightly reminiscent of 1940s Germany.

Dogs? Problem with dogs is, they have a lot more personality than rats. I don't think I'd have a problem with doing recordings from dogs, if the recordings were in a vacuum. But they aren't: when you're finished recordings, you have to euthanize your subject and examine its brain. Euthanizing a dog that's not sick is... I would think it would be very hard for me. As for lesion studies, no.

As for chimps, well... I don't think I could work with chimps. For two reasons: one, they're so very close to us. Second, they can throw you across the room if they get annoyed. They're very strong.

Ish
Other than psychology, what are your favourite subjects or courses?

I am not sure. Sociology and history are kind of interesting. I'm planning to take a minor in history. Probably history then :3

Ish
What kinds of foods do you cook?

Well, soup is easy. You just throw stuff in water, soak it overnight at just above room temperature, and then heat it for an hour or so before serving. I can also do pasta dishes, although cooking for others is sometimes complicated by the fact that I love garlic and hot spices while others do not. I can do quiches(?), also, and kigel, I'm not sure if there's a precise English word for it. I suppose quiche comes closest.

Oh, and I can bake really good desserts. I especially like the kind of pie with a hard crust but a soft, gooey filling, like pecan pie, or its cousin derby pie. Very Southern-US vibe there, but my mother is from Mobile. I can also do any cake you like, provided you give me time to get the icing right (I'm very OC about toppings).

Ish
Are dangerous dogs born or made? Are some breeds innately dangerous?

Some of both. It's kind of like people. There are breeds that have innate tendencies to be more easily startled or to be more aggressive, being genetically alike (remember, dog breeds are created through inbreeding); but you can take an intrinsically aggressive and flighty dog and train it and keep it in a way that you teach it to restrain its responses. It might be harder to train a dog like, say, a Dobermann-Pinscher and pit-bull mix to be nonviolent than it would be to train a labrador retriever, but you could do it. I've also seen some breeds that are naturally docile be raised in a way that encourages mindless violence toward other dogs or even people (e.g., racing dogs). My second dog was a little bit like that toward young men other than myself, especially young men with dark skin, because of his previous experiences being abused by a previous owner's boyfriend. I trained him out of it, although he never lost his habit of cringing the first time you touched him.

Ish
If you were at the house of someone from a different culture, and they brought out a dish of dog and urged you to eat some, would you refuse?

I don't know. I don't think so, though. I used to think the idea of eating shrimp was just revolting, and then I tried it and it wasn't that bad. And then I tried it prepared right, instead of fried and slightly stale, and it was much better.

So if I can eat underwater bugs, why not dog? As long as it's not a dog I knew and loved, and assuming I was hungry enough to try to chew my way through it... I assume dog meat is kind of stringy, the way the Igbo prepare it (without beating the dogs to a pulp), because outdoor dogs usually build up good musculature without getting fat.

Ish
How many and what kinds of pets do you have?

Currently my pets are two dogs, twin sisters who are very different from each other, and about 23 months old. They may even be half-sisters (with different fathers), because that can happen; some females are less discriminating than others. I say that because one of them is tall and muscular, with a big and square face, very hound-like, and the other is short and fat with a smaller and more pointed face who acts like a fox, or perhaps a cat. I've never met another dog who would chase moving shadows or lights.

These two dogs are my third and fourth respectively.

I used to have three turtles, two red-eared sliders and one snapper. I gave the snapper to someone who lives near a nice, warm body of relatively clean water, full of fish and other turtles, when he started getting a little big. The sliders, both females, well... one killed the other. And eventually I gave the survivor to the same person, although whereas she released the snapper she kept the slider.

I've also lived in the same house as (although never actually owned) two cats, though not at the same time.

Deo_Machina
Have you actually played Thud? If so which side do you prefer?

I haven't. Does anyone make a game set?

Ish
Can you post pics of your puppies? ^^

Surely. They're not all that recent though.

More recent to less recent, very roughly: two dogs fight over a toy, and fight some more, until they can share it. Whereupon they kiss and make up by grooming.

Here you can see Blue and Violet outside in the ivy, and together.

These are tiny doglets, with a close-up of Violet; tussling on a mat over this toy.

Omnileech
If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?

Because your income is the product of many factors, including intelligence (pretty high), social aptitude (well below average), rate of pay (decent, for barely-skilled labor), compensable work (five hours a week maximum, jesus), effort put into work, actual work performance, and so on.






User Comments: [3] [add]
Deo_Machina
Community Member
avatar
commentCommented on: Thu Mar 08, 2007 @ 09:54pm
Hah, well done, and it was 3.1415926


commentCommented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 10:15pm
What is your favorite color?
What is your favorite band?
What is your favorite furry doujin or anime-related production?
Are you a member of Fur Affinity? Y-star or Eka's?

You are extremely smart by the way, I read your journal and I like it.
=)



Kahlua Dingo
Community Member
Ventarra
Community Member
avatar
commentCommented on: Sun Nov 18, 2007 @ 06:06am
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood? wink


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User Comments: [3] [add]
 
 
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