Good morning. Saturday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 72. Sunrise is 5:33 AM and sunset 8:09 PM for 14h 35m 47s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 38.9% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1862, the USS Planter, a steamer and gunship, steals through Confederate lines…
Science/Nature
Cats, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: The Best Way of Getting a Cat’s Attention
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Embed from Getty Images Rachael Funnell writes This Is The Best Way to Get A Cat’s Attention According to Science: With the help of 18 domestic cats (8 females, 10 males) with a job history of at least three years in a cat café, experimenters tried four different approaches to getting a cat’s attention:…
Cats, Faraway Places, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: The Corsican ‘Cat-Fox’
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
For years, scientists have wondered if striped cats on Corsica were a distinct species: Turns out, they are: The elusive striped “cat-fox” familiar mostly to Corsican shepherds and as a source of intrigue to scientists, is indeed its own species specific to the French Mediterranean island, the French office for Biodiversity (OFB) announced Thursday. New…
Animals, Daily Bread, Science/Nature
Daily Bread for 11.19.22: About Those 18,000 Marine Bones in a Smithsonian Warehouse
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning. Saturday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 26. Sunrise is 6:52 AM and sunset 4:27 PM for 9h 35m 07s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 21.7% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1863, President Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the dedication ceremony for the military cemetery…
Cats, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: The Slow Blink
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Embed from Getty Images Michelle Starr writes Scientists Confirm You Can Communicate With Your Cat by Blinking Very Slowly: In a study published in 2020, scientists observed cat-human interactions, and were able to confirm that this act of blinking slowly makes cats – both familiar and unfamiliar animals – approach and be receptive to humans. ….…
Animals, Birds, Daily Bread, Science/Nature
Daily Bread for 11.3.22: Crows (Yes, Crows)
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning. Thursday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 71. Sunrise is 7:32 AM and sunset 5:44 PM for 10h 11m 24s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 73.8% of its visible disk illuminated. Whitewater’s Landmarks Commission meets at 6 PM. On this day in 1812, Napoleon’s armies are defeated…
Cats, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: Why Cats Land on Their Feet
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Cats, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: Using AI Facial Recognition to Conserve Pumas
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Ashleigh Papp, over at Scientific American, reports How AI Facial Recognition Is Helping Conserve Pumas: INTRO: This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I’m Ashleigh Papp. Papp: Mountain lions are now posing for their close ups. Researchers based in the greater Yellowstone National Park area have figured out a new way to identify these cats by using…
Daily Bread, Language, Science/Nature
Daily Bread for 7.24.22: ‘Parentese’ as a True Lingua Franca
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning. Sunday in Whitewater will see morning showers with a high of 83. Sunrise is 5:39 AM and sunset 8:23 PM for 14h 44m 27s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 15% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1935, the Dust Bowl heat wave reaches its peak, sending temperatures…
Cats, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: ‘How Cats Make the Most of Their Catnip High’
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
But a new study, published Tuesday in the journal iScience, suggests that the reaction to catnip and silver vine might be explained by the bugrepellent effect of iridoids, the chemicals in the plants that induce the high. Researchers, led by Masao Miyazaki, an animal behavior scientist at Iwate University in Japan, found that the amount…
Animals, Daily Bread, Dogs, Science/Nature
Daily Bread for 7.2.22: The Journey of African Wild Dogs
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning. Saturday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 85. Sunrise is 5:21 AM and sunset 8:36 PM for 15h 15m 32s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 10.5% of its visible disk illuminated. Whitewater’s Independence holiday events continue at the Cravath Lakefront (a car show, live music, and…
Daily Bread, Science/Nature
Daily Bread for 5.22.22: Inside the Hidden Collections of the Smithsonian
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning. Sunday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 60. Sunrise is 5:24 AM and sunset 8:18 PM for 14h 53m 45s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 53% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1968, Milwaukee’s NBA franchise suggests the name “Milwaukee Bucks” “after 14,000…
Daily Bread, Natural Disasters, Science/Nature, Weather
Daily Bread for 3.26.22: Why Dixie is the new Tornado Alley
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Cats, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: Cats’ Spooky Eyes
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Helen Czerski writes Behind the Spooky Eyes of Cats (‘Like scarier nighttime predators, cats have slit pupils that help them to judge distance and ambush their prey’): Halloween is approaching, and a whiff of ghoulish menace is squatting casually in the darkness of London’s evenings. Ghostly figures, silhouettes of witches and jagged glowing teeth loom…