WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If a woman wants to drive the men wild, she might want to dress in red.

Men rated a woman shown in photographs as more sexually attractive if she was wearing red clothing or if she was shown in an image framed by a red border rather than some other color, U.S. researchers said Tuesday.
The study led by psychology professor Andrew Elliot of the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, seemed to confirm red as the color of romance — as so many Valentine’s Day card makers and lipstick sellers have believed for years.

Although this “red alert” may be a product of human society associating red with love for eons, it also may arise from more primitive biological roots, Elliot said.

Noting the genetic similarity of humans to higher primates, he said scientists have shown that certain male primates are especially attracted to females of their species displaying red. For example, female baboons and chimpanzees show red coloring when nearing ovulation, sending a sexual signal that the males apparently find irresistible. Continue reading…

As we have probably all heard: “If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem.”

I believe, in this situation, it does hold true.

First, my credentials: I do not have any training in veterinarian medicine, I do not have any advanced training in statistical analysis, and I am not a recognized mathematician nor a scientist.  My point is that it does not take a genius to figure this out.

At random, I selected a county that I was able to access historical animal-handling data.  The following is from fiscal years 1999-2006, Merced County Animal Control in central California. The numbers do not include dead animal recovery (i.e., road kill).

• 70,219 pets were handled

Of those 70K pets …

• 4,528 were recovered by owners … approx 6%

• 6,211 were adopted … approx 9%

• 49,340 were euthanized … approx 70%

• the remaining 15% were transferred to shelters, etc.

Therefore, in Merced County alone, almost 600 animals per month were euthanized (or 20 per day).  Where did they come from?  Why did no one claim them?

The total Human Population in Merced County was 240,162 (latest available 2005).

Let’s extrapolate …
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Since the early-1950s, it has been common scientific knowledge that one in every four PAD clusters attached to each strand of DNA is constructed with a limited number of syllables available over a typical lifespan.  These are the larger of the two DNA PADs, and commonly known throughout the scientific community as maxiPADs. It’s the smaller of the two, the miniPADs, which carry the unique, and often overlooked identifying punctuation.  As is evident, this is rock-hard science broken down into a more granular form.

Continue reading…

Displaying photography is the primary visual aspect of my Web site. I’ve tried many different methods and technologies over the years, yet I’ve never been satisfied with the results. They’ve been tedious, cumbersome and slow.

For the visitor, viewing my photos should be a pleasant experience that can be customized to their liking, not one hampered by constant clicking, waiting for pages to load, etc. One that automatically adapts to different screen sizes … and even has a full-screen option.

For me, the gallery should permit simplified changes and updates of images as needed, without turning it into a big project … Continue reading…

This time I lost a best friend … an adopted family member.

In early 1996, I received a call from a business associate and fellow dog-person. It was 4PM on a Monday afternoon.

She told me that a dog, brought to the animal hospital three days earlier, was the victim of a hit-and-run.

A witness stopped her car in the traffic lane to protect the dog from being hit again. A police car arrived at the scene shortly after and was able to transport the injured canine to the hospital.

A male, estimated to be at least two years old and about 80-pounds, was wearing no identification. An x-ray discovered a fracture in the dog’s pelvis, which would mend itself. Continue reading…