arse poetica

Cats Domesticate Humans

My pal's cat, Harper, living right. Have you ever been so comfortable in your life?

Study Traces Cat’s Ancestry to Middle East.

Five subspecies of wildcat are distributed across the Old World. They are known as the European wildcat, the Near Eastern wildcat, the Southern African wildcat, the Central Asian wildcat and the Chinese desert cat. Their patterns of DNA fall into five clusters. The DNA of all house cats and fancy cats falls within the Near Eastern wildcat cluster, making clear that this subspecies is their ancestor, Dr. Driscoll and his colleagues said in a report published Thursday on the Web site of the journal Science.

The wildcat DNA closest to that of house cats came from 15 individuals collected in the deserts of Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the researchers say. The house cats in the study fell into five lineages, based on analysis of their mitochondrial DNA, a type that is passed down through the female line. Since the oldest archaeological site with a cat burial is about 9,500 years old, the geneticists suggest that the founders of the five lineages lived around this time and were the first cats to be domesticated.

Wheat, rye and barley had been domesticated in the Near East by 10,000 years ago, so it seems likely that the granaries of early Neolithic villages harbored mice and rats, and that the settlers welcomed the cats’ help in controlling them.

Unlike other domestic animals, which were tamed by people, cats probably domesticated themselves, which could account for the haughty independence of their descendants. “The cats were adapting themselves to a new environment, so the push for domestication came from the cat side, not the human side,” Dr. Driscoll said.

Cats are “indicators of human cultural adolescence,” he remarked, since they entered human experience as people were making the difficult transition from hunting and gathering, their way of life for millions of years, to settled communities.

Not the least bit surprised. Cats are obviously more highly evolved beings.

Friday Beastie Blogging

El Beasties en route to grandma's (theirs, not ours) for a long weekend while db and I sauntered around Asheville, possibly to rub elbows w/ Billy Corgan.

P.S. db hates those sheets, but I think they're funny in a kitschy-klassic kind of way. In any event, they get a lot of use for tasks like letting the dogs lie on them or covering the plants during an early frost, so selfless. Thanks, sheets!

It Matters Who You Vote For

There is a HUGE difference between Democrats and Those Who Would Undo the Basic Good We've Achieved After Years of Struggle.

Justices Limit Racial Decisions in Schools.

Disgusting.Suddenly, I feel a great rage returning against Ralph Nader.

Not Gone, Mighty

Awesomeness.

Love it! So smart, so well done, and it's a commercial. That's better than half the films I saw last year.

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Purty!

Ooooooooh, talk about easy on the eyes. The new design of Le Monde Diplomatique.

Mmmmm, that is gorgeous. Talk about readability. This former yearbook staffer is drooling.

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Can't Win for Losin'

Well, that's just perfect.

Driver ticketed for using biofuel.

Bob Teixeira decided it was time to take a stand against U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

So last fall the Charlotte musician and guitar instructor spent $1,200 to convert his 1981 diesel Mercedes to run on vegetable oil. He bought soybean oil in 5-gallon jugs at Costco, spending about 30 percent more than diesel would cost.

His reward, from a state that heavily promotes alternative fuels: a $1,000 fine last month for not paying motor fuel taxes. He has been told to expect another $1,000 fine from the federal government.

To legally use veggie oil, state officials told him, he would have to first post a $2,500 bond.

Teixeira is one of a growing number of fuel-it-yourselfers -- backyard brewers who recycle restaurant grease or make moonshine for their car tanks. They do it to save money, reduce pollution or thumb their noses at oil sheiks.

They're also caught in a web of little-known state laws that can stifle energy independence.

State Sen. Stan Bingham, R-Denton, is known around Raleigh for his diesel Volkswagen fueled by used soybean oil. The car sports a "Goodbye, OPEC" sign.

"If somebody was going to go to this much trouble to drive around in a car that uses soybean oil, they ought to be exempt" from state taxes, he said.

The state Department of Revenue, which fined Teixeira, has asked legislators to waive the $2,500 bond for small fuel users. The department also told Teixeira, after the Observer asked about his case this week, that it will compromise on his fine.

How magnanimous (and logical) of them. Sheesh.

More (and Less) of This, Please

Sure would be nice if there were no need for this. More than 1/5th of the world's population without access to safe drinking water! What the heck are we doing??

$3 Gadget Produces Safe Drinking Water.

Most of the LifeStraw's users will never drink anything fancier than plain water through the device. But its impact on their lives can't be overstated. More than 1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water, and 6,000 people die each day of waterborne diseases like typhoid, cholera and dysentery. In regions like sub-Saharan Africa, half of most people's water consumption takes place outside the home—either while they're working, or walking to and from school.

Vestergaard Frandsen S.A.—which also produces mosquito nets and plastic sheeting coated with insecticide to fend off malaria—hopes that the $3 LifeStraw will drastically lessen their chances of getting sick. "It's a product that can save lives without spare parts, electricity or maintenance," says the firm's CEO. So far about 2,000 LifeStraws have been sold, mostly to aid agencies. (The product is still being fine-tuned for mass production.)

What Do You Mean 'Spike It'? I Might Break a Nail.

Can't one innocently shop at Target any longer without being assaulted by the nonsensical genderizing of volleyballs?

I give you Exhibit A. For f*ck's sake.

For the 5 years I played volleyball in school, we did not ONCE use a pink effing ball. I somehow doubt this is regulation, so what, pray tell, is the point??

How in the Heck Did They Get this Picture?

First thing I thought when I saw this on the front page of the Times. "Right place, right time" seems way too coinkydinky.

Fatah Seizes Parliament Building in West Bank.

The Fatah faction, crushed in Gaza, moved to consolidate control over the West Bank today, seizing public buildings, including the Parliament, and preparing to swear in a new government that did not include its rival, Hamas.

Bleah. Sure wish we had some leadership or moral authority or diplomatic resources or political will to contribute to solving this problem. Guess it matters who we vote for how we safeguard our democracy.

Friday Puppy Blogging

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwww. The little stinker's a cutie pie.

Finny just chillin' under the couch, honing the execution strategy for her next dastardly deed creative moment. World domination by 2012 is our guess. Maybe 2010.

I, for one, welcome our freckle-faced overlords.