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POPSRobin Hanson on the "Great Filter" there is a "Great Filter" along the path between simple dead stuff and explosive life. The vast vast majority of stuff that starts along this path never makes it. In fact, so far nothing among the billion trillion stars in our whole past universe has made it all the way along this path.... ne or more of these steps is much more improbable than it otherwise looks. If it is one of our past steps, such as the development of single-cell life, then we shouldn't expect to see such independently evolved life anywhere within billions of light years from us. But if it is a step between here and a choice to explode that is very improbable, we should fear for our future.... Optimism (as defined here) regarding our future is directly pitted against optimism regarding the ease of previous evolutionary steps. To the extent those successes were easy, our future failure to explode is almost certain...
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POPSAnimal senses humans don't have You might think you're smart, but none of your senses rival the keenest abilities in the animal world. Animals see in the dark, sniff prey miles away, and detect electrical output from muscle twitches in hidden meals. Read on, so you don't become one of those meals.<<
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POPSWolf Spirit There are many ways that the forked animal can hide its nature. Sometimes it goes in the clothing of a wolf, but beware the disguises of the savahe biped. For myself, I would not eat, trap or harm any of my cousin animals.
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POPSSecret Sex Lives of Animals A few recent items and images clipped from Secret Sex Lives of Animals. a blog with a weekly column on the bizarre, wonderful, colourful and sometimes shocking world of animal mating habits.
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POPSIncredible World Wildlife Fund Posters From Around the World WWF’s ultimate goal is to build a future where people live in harmony with nature. Here are a couple of the messages: “Preserve your world. Preserve yourself.” “Global Warming is changing the world’s climate rapidly. Icebergs are melting, oceans are rising, nature is revolting. Act now, conserve energy and treat the planet with respect, or we’ll have a world at sea.” “Animals around the world are losing their habitats due to climate change. By choosing a hybrid or fuel-efficient car, you can help prevent this. Take action now.” “Save the world with a few coins” “For Nature, small animals are as important as the big ones.” “A single can of dissolvent, or tin of paint, can pollute millions of liters of water.” “Building a single golf course puts thousands of trees at stake.” “Where is your home?” http://www.wwf.org/
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POPSTracking the Origin of the Cat Cats probably started living close to humans when people evolved from nomadic herding to raising livestock and crops and started storing food, which attracted mice and other rodents. Cats found good hunting there, and humans surely appreciated the sly little predators' help protecting their stocks."There was a mutual benefit," Lyons said. From there, domesticated cats started to radiate out to different parts of the world, often following humans on their migrations. Today cats can be divided genetically into four broad groups: those from Europe, the Mediterranean, East Africa and Asia. But Lyons and her colleagues also made surprising discoveries about individual breeds. The Japanese bobtail, for example, does not seem genetically similar to cats from Japan, indicating the breed may have originated elsewhere. Despite its name, the Persian, the oldest recognized breed, looks as though it actually arose in Western Europe and not Persia, which today is Iran.
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POPS5 Urban Design Proposals for 3D City Farms Sustainable, Ecological and Agricultural Skyscrapers - One man’s vision has sparked a series of designs leading closer and closer to what will be the first real-life vertical urban farm in Las Vegas, Nevada of all places. Here are five of these remarkable architectural designs for sustainable (and stylish) urban farm towers that may revolutionize agriculture as we know it. In the long run such structures may not only provide food for hundreds of thousands of people per building but they will also relieve much of the burden on other flat landscapes where fewer and fewer usable growing spaces exist.
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POPSScientists discover secret sex nerve Couples who have high levels of chemicals in common are more likely to encounter fertility issues, miscarriage and infidelity. The more dissimilar you and your partner’s chemical makeup, the better chance you will have at successfully procreating and staying together. So how can you create the scent which will keep you and your partner in the land of happily ever after? Unfortunately, you can’t. Perfumes and colognes can’t fool Nerve “O” — the scents which humans and animals are attracted to are intangible and instinctive. Even the most expensive designer perfume can’t fool Mother Nature. When it comes to sexual attraction, it seems you really have to leave things in the air!
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POPSAnimal hoarding:An expert illuminates the psychology behind this behavior Hoarders often have major dysfunction in work, social and daily activities, reduced awareness of surroundings, and impaired ability to form close relationships with people. Contrary to what we originally thought, animal hoarding does not seem to be strongly associated with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and it is not yet defined as an independent psychological condition. Clinical evaluations indicate that it is often associated with a wide variety of psychological disorders, including borderline personality disorder.
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POPSInside the palace of Augustus - pics
Lived in by Augustus before he became Rome's first emperor in 27BC, the house is situated above the grotto where Romans may have worshipped Romulus, the city's founder, and was also handy for watching horse racing in the Circus Maximus at the foot of the hill. "Augustus wanted to be near the grotto, but could also see the races from up here," said Italy's culture minister, Francesco Rutelli. The restoration, begun after the house was found in the 1970s, has reconstructed shattered frescoes in deep reds, yellows and blues featuring theatrical masks and mythical animals. "The extremely high quality of the frescoes befits the owner, although these were the fashions of the time and don't offer much insight into Augustus's individual taste," said Angelo Bottini, Rome's archaeological chief. Tourists - who will be allowed in five at a time - may be surprised to see how modest the study, bedroom, entrance hall and dining room were. Augustus, Julius Caesar's great nephew, avoided excess
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POPSAmur leopard cub I wonder if people will be able to see them 30 years from now; or whether future people will have to wonder about these beautiful animals, the way we wonder about the Thylacine.
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POPSWhy we love the sweet life Once people figured out how to extract sugar from beets and corn that grew in more temperate climates, there was no turning back. Today, according to Sugar Knowledge International, an independent sugar technology organization, we eat 120 million tons of sugar a year, and it's an expanding market.
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POPSImaginary friends While it's generally perfectly fine to humor your child and go along with her claims about the existence of an imaginary friend, there are a few ground rules: -Don't let the "friend" be your child's only companion. -Don't let your child shift responsibility for everything bad to the friend. -Treat the friend with respect. -Don't use the friend to manipulate your child. Most kids lose their imaginary friends between their third and fifth birthdays. Sometimes the friends are forgotten, sometimes they're sent on a distant and permanent trip, and other times they "die" in a horrible accident. (from familyresource.com) Pretend friends rarely are a sign of emotional problems.If a child claims a friend is controlling her and making her do things she doesn't want to do, parents should seek psychological help.But if a child isn't depressed and has real-life friends too, pretend pals shouldn't cause concern. In fact, parents should look for day care and preschool programs that
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POPSThings to think about " Forbidden fruit? " We have forbidden fruit? " Hey Eve ...we have forbidden fruit !!!!! " No Way!" " Yes way!" " Do not eat the fruit ! said God." " WHY " "Because, I am your Father and I said not to!" God replied, (wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants) A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was ticked! " Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit? " God asked. "Uh huh," Adam replied. "Then why did you?" said the Father. "I don't know," said Eve. "She started it!" Adam said " Did not " " Did to " " Did not" Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed. But there is Reassurance in this Story ! If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give your children wisdom and they haven't taken it ... don't be hard on yourself .... If God had trouble rais
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POPSDwarf Hippo fossils found on Cyprus The bones are dated around 10,000 BC Traces of Humans have been found dating from 8.000 BC, The hippos isolated on Cyprus, adapted, to the conditions, but the arrival of man seemed to lead to their disappearance. (They must have been easy to catch.)
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