Pencil Sharpener
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Re: Pencil Sharpener
In Hebrew writing, they use NO vowels, so even reading Hebrew itself is all guesswork.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
Mostly, other languages that use Roman alphabet, have different diacritical marks. In Spanish, we use the accent to emphasize the intonation of the syllable, it helps sometimes when we have to distinguish between words that otherwise would sound similar.
Example.
"Esta situación está fuera de control"... "This situation is out of control".
Here the difference between "This" and "is" literally is, due to the diacritic. When reading it, the first time the emphasized syllable is the first one, the "e", making it a grave word, in the second one, the emphasized syllable is the second one, the "a", making it an acute one.
Now, there are rules on the use of diacritics, Acute ones are accentuated when the word ends in "N", "S", or a vowel, gave words, the opposite, and "esdrújulas", "sobreesdrújulas" and "antesobreesdrújulas" (As "murciélago" - "bat" or "pájaro" - "bird") are always accentuated. In short words, the accent is used to break a diptongue (two adjacent vowels), as in "día" - "day"
Another diacritic we use is for the "ñ", that squiggle called "virgulilla", makes it sound like the English "ny", or the french "gn" or the Italian "nn"... In fact has that same origin, but instead of writing the "nn", they began writing an "n" above the other and then simplified it to the squiggle.
The dieresis "¨" is used when there's a "u" that has to be pronounced, since mostly, "u"s following a "q" or a "g" are not pronounced when there's an "e" or "i" following them. Thus "pingüino" - "penguin" gets the "u" pronounced, while "guitarra" - "guitar" not.
Spoken bowels in spanish are simple ones, "a" like in "father", "e" like in "café" or "let", "i" like in "machine", or if after a vowel, like in "day" or "boy", "o" like in "lot", and "u" like in "June".
And with this, I finish this Spanish lesson.
Example.
"Esta situación está fuera de control"... "This situation is out of control".
Here the difference between "This" and "is" literally is, due to the diacritic. When reading it, the first time the emphasized syllable is the first one, the "e", making it a grave word, in the second one, the emphasized syllable is the second one, the "a", making it an acute one.
Now, there are rules on the use of diacritics, Acute ones are accentuated when the word ends in "N", "S", or a vowel, gave words, the opposite, and "esdrújulas", "sobreesdrújulas" and "antesobreesdrújulas" (As "murciélago" - "bat" or "pájaro" - "bird") are always accentuated. In short words, the accent is used to break a diptongue (two adjacent vowels), as in "día" - "day"
Another diacritic we use is for the "ñ", that squiggle called "virgulilla", makes it sound like the English "ny", or the french "gn" or the Italian "nn"... In fact has that same origin, but instead of writing the "nn", they began writing an "n" above the other and then simplified it to the squiggle.
The dieresis "¨" is used when there's a "u" that has to be pronounced, since mostly, "u"s following a "q" or a "g" are not pronounced when there's an "e" or "i" following them. Thus "pingüino" - "penguin" gets the "u" pronounced, while "guitarra" - "guitar" not.
Spoken bowels in spanish are simple ones, "a" like in "father", "e" like in "café" or "let", "i" like in "machine", or if after a vowel, like in "day" or "boy", "o" like in "lot", and "u" like in "June".
And with this, I finish this Spanish lesson.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
You did a fantastic job explaining things, Juan. It reminded me of why I never could learn any language other than English. There are way too many details that native speakers take for granted. At my age I sometimes have problems remembering what day it is. I could never remember all those rules of the Spanish language.
Having said that, my youngest daughter is a bilingual teacher in an elementary school. She became fluent in Spanish in her mid thirties, which I thought was an extraordinary accomplishment. Most of her students, by the way, are Mexican and Central American. She has a good friend in Puerto Rico who speaks a slightly different version of Spanish. I would think it's al the same, but it is not.
Having said that, my youngest daughter is a bilingual teacher in an elementary school. She became fluent in Spanish in her mid thirties, which I thought was an extraordinary accomplishment. Most of her students, by the way, are Mexican and Central American. She has a good friend in Puerto Rico who speaks a slightly different version of Spanish. I would think it's al the same, but it is not.
Last edited by yogi on 09 Oct 2022, 21:06, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
My first year in high school where we were required to take a foreign language, I wanted to take German, despite it sounding harsh, I figured it would be good for someone with my name to know German, and living in a German based community.
I didn't know a lick of real German, just the slang used by many of our employees and a few relatives.
However, the school said I cannot take German because it would not be a foreign language to me. So I opted for French.
Ironically, my grandparents knew more French than they did German, because after all, we were from Alsace-Lorraine which was part time under German rule, but mostly under French Rule. So although my family ancestry is from the Germanic speaking clans that migrated across Europe and eventually to America, my immediate grandparents spoke both French and German, and mostly their own made up language, which consisted of some English words, some German words, a few French words and a whole lot of made up words they came up with after moving to America. Both of my immediate grandparents were born in the U.S. of A. and great-grandfather spoke English well enough to be a Teacher in St. Louis schools. But at home, he spoke German.
The irony of it all, I didn't know English grammar well enough, so struggled through English, and Flunked French Miserably, hi hi.
I didn't know a lick of real German, just the slang used by many of our employees and a few relatives.
However, the school said I cannot take German because it would not be a foreign language to me. So I opted for French.
Ironically, my grandparents knew more French than they did German, because after all, we were from Alsace-Lorraine which was part time under German rule, but mostly under French Rule. So although my family ancestry is from the Germanic speaking clans that migrated across Europe and eventually to America, my immediate grandparents spoke both French and German, and mostly their own made up language, which consisted of some English words, some German words, a few French words and a whole lot of made up words they came up with after moving to America. Both of my immediate grandparents were born in the U.S. of A. and great-grandfather spoke English well enough to be a Teacher in St. Louis schools. But at home, he spoke German.
The irony of it all, I didn't know English grammar well enough, so struggled through English, and Flunked French Miserably, hi hi.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
I entered the Liberal Arts program when I went to the University of Illinois. As was the case with your high school, I was required to take a foreign language for two semesters. Polish was not offered, but German, French, and Spanish were options. Of the three German seemed to be the most like English, and that is what I tried. I thought I was doing well the first few weeks, but there was a quirk about the German language that I missed entirely until it was too late. All the nouns have gender, not unusual, and they are accompanied by der, die, or das to denote gender of the word. I learned the vocabulary but didn't associate the articles that go with them. That proved to be fatal once we got past phonics and into grammar and sentence structure. It seems that adjectives take on different forms depending on the gender of the noun. About half way through the semester I was totally lost. I knew the grammar structure and pronounced the words eloquently. I just could not construct a proper sentence on my own. After tree tries, I dropped the class. Actually, they dropped me. My GPA by that time was too low to qualify for study at that school.
I don't know what it is about English, but everybody wants to use it. I went to Puerto Rico on business for a couple weeks and they were all very well versed in English. Maybe not everyone was. So, some of the meetings I attended were held in what they called Spanglish. LOL I picked up enough of what they were saying in order to understand them, but there too two languages were mixed to create a third one. I know people from India and I have friends in Belgium and the Czech Republic. They all read and write English quite well. They claim they had to learn it in grammar school,
I don't know what it is about English, but everybody wants to use it. I went to Puerto Rico on business for a couple weeks and they were all very well versed in English. Maybe not everyone was. So, some of the meetings I attended were held in what they called Spanglish. LOL I picked up enough of what they were saying in order to understand them, but there too two languages were mixed to create a third one. I know people from India and I have friends in Belgium and the Czech Republic. They all read and write English quite well. They claim they had to learn it in grammar school,
Re: Pencil Sharpener
In German, you start off with the Noun and Trip Over the Verb at the end, hi hi.
Yes, in what few travels I've made overseas, it was rare to find someone who did not speak English.
But there is a good reason for that too. Americans are considered wealthy, as is the country, and they want to sell to America.
And the best way to do that is to learn the native language of your most favored client base, which again, is America, and the English language.
The thing about English is also, you can butcher it to death in trying to get a point across, and it will still be understandable, well most of the time anyhow. Words pronounced with the wrong syllable sounds funny, but we know what word sounds like so could understand what they were trying to say. The reason this is so is because we have a special word for nearly everything, whereas in many foreign languages, they use the same word to mean many different things, depending on how it is pronounced. Sorta like our Read and Read.
When I was in England, I had a heck of a time trying to understand what they were talking about half the time, and that was English they were speaking. But like us, they have different words for specific things, and the kicker is, we have the same words with entirely different meanings.
As an example: Would you be so kind as to fetch the Torch from my Boot so I can have a look under the Bonnet.
To us, a Torch is something that burns with a flame on a stick, a Boot is what is on my foot, and a Bonnet is what an old lady wears. But you knew that!
What that meant was, fetch a Flashlight from my Trunk so I can look under the Hood.
And German is ten times worse than England English with oddball words, hi hi.
If you stay in the tourist trap areas, or deal with larger businesses, yeppers, they all speak English, sometimes better than we do, hi hi.
English is slowly becoming the International Language of business and possibly after some time, the only language.
When I was living in Hinsdale, just outside of Chicago. The other stable hands who were mostly locals, had a slang language that I could not grasp easily at first. I remember my first day up there and this guy came up to me and asked for a Squire. I told him, if it is in the tack room, we might have one, which gave him a laugh. He pointed to my pocket, and said something else I didn't understand. Finally he said a Cigarette man, a Cigarette. I said sure, here have a couple.
One of the other guys, probably to make fun of me, came over and said, Me Need Fire to make my Stick Smoke, hi hi.
We could not smoke in the stables or even in the tack rooms, so had this circular area in the courtyard where we all congregated for a smoke.
We were all good buddies at the end of the season when we BEAT Kraml Dairy, who had been unbeaten for like 37 games over a four or five year span. Nobody could beat them. Then came our team, mostly a single family who played together all the time, and we knocked the socks off them. Nearly everyone who worked in and around the stables were glad they finally got beat. Maybe their swollen heads might go down a bit, hi hi.
From there we went to Memphis and also beat the two teams down there. Oh, this was Polo by the way. I was just a ranch hand back home, but played with them all the time and also had to work the horses every day, so I got quite good at the game of the rich. So when they were short a player, they asked me to play. Plus I still had all of my other duties to handle besides. Needless to say, I was proud to be on the team as a player the day they beat Kraml Dairy.
Yes, in what few travels I've made overseas, it was rare to find someone who did not speak English.
But there is a good reason for that too. Americans are considered wealthy, as is the country, and they want to sell to America.
And the best way to do that is to learn the native language of your most favored client base, which again, is America, and the English language.
The thing about English is also, you can butcher it to death in trying to get a point across, and it will still be understandable, well most of the time anyhow. Words pronounced with the wrong syllable sounds funny, but we know what word sounds like so could understand what they were trying to say. The reason this is so is because we have a special word for nearly everything, whereas in many foreign languages, they use the same word to mean many different things, depending on how it is pronounced. Sorta like our Read and Read.
When I was in England, I had a heck of a time trying to understand what they were talking about half the time, and that was English they were speaking. But like us, they have different words for specific things, and the kicker is, we have the same words with entirely different meanings.
As an example: Would you be so kind as to fetch the Torch from my Boot so I can have a look under the Bonnet.
To us, a Torch is something that burns with a flame on a stick, a Boot is what is on my foot, and a Bonnet is what an old lady wears. But you knew that!
What that meant was, fetch a Flashlight from my Trunk so I can look under the Hood.
And German is ten times worse than England English with oddball words, hi hi.
If you stay in the tourist trap areas, or deal with larger businesses, yeppers, they all speak English, sometimes better than we do, hi hi.
English is slowly becoming the International Language of business and possibly after some time, the only language.
When I was living in Hinsdale, just outside of Chicago. The other stable hands who were mostly locals, had a slang language that I could not grasp easily at first. I remember my first day up there and this guy came up to me and asked for a Squire. I told him, if it is in the tack room, we might have one, which gave him a laugh. He pointed to my pocket, and said something else I didn't understand. Finally he said a Cigarette man, a Cigarette. I said sure, here have a couple.
One of the other guys, probably to make fun of me, came over and said, Me Need Fire to make my Stick Smoke, hi hi.
We could not smoke in the stables or even in the tack rooms, so had this circular area in the courtyard where we all congregated for a smoke.
We were all good buddies at the end of the season when we BEAT Kraml Dairy, who had been unbeaten for like 37 games over a four or five year span. Nobody could beat them. Then came our team, mostly a single family who played together all the time, and we knocked the socks off them. Nearly everyone who worked in and around the stables were glad they finally got beat. Maybe their swollen heads might go down a bit, hi hi.
From there we went to Memphis and also beat the two teams down there. Oh, this was Polo by the way. I was just a ranch hand back home, but played with them all the time and also had to work the horses every day, so I got quite good at the game of the rich. So when they were short a player, they asked me to play. Plus I still had all of my other duties to handle besides. Needless to say, I was proud to be on the team as a player the day they beat Kraml Dairy.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
Another point.
As non native English speakers, us foreigners, when applying for a job or post graduate studies, we need to do an English proficiency exam. The reference exams are the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), that is commonly nicknamed as "too awful", and the IELTS (International English Language Test System). Mind that mostly, TOEFL is accepted more in the US, and IELTS in the rest of English speaking countries.
Slang is often not covered by any exam, and since it varies from region to region, the immigrant or visitor has to be aware of that to get by. That also applies in the rest of the world languages.
Exhibit A. Azrieli Center sales booklet, Tel Aviv. 2007. The bold letters in logo in the lower left reads "Knyon Azryely"
As non native English speakers, us foreigners, when applying for a job or post graduate studies, we need to do an English proficiency exam. The reference exams are the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), that is commonly nicknamed as "too awful", and the IELTS (International English Language Test System). Mind that mostly, TOEFL is accepted more in the US, and IELTS in the rest of English speaking countries.
Slang is often not covered by any exam, and since it varies from region to region, the immigrant or visitor has to be aware of that to get by. That also applies in the rest of the world languages.
That reminds me of the time I worked with people from Israel. In modern Hebrew, they use a dot/mark system to add vowels, but for locals they oversee it, yet they use some consonants as vowels. From what I've seen, they use the "Alef - א " or the "Ayin - ע " as an "a" or "e". The "Yod - י " as an "i", and the "Vav - ו " as either "o" or "u". For biblical hebrew, well, it seems the scholars are still discussing what the vowels and meanings should be.In Hebrew writing, they use NO vowels, so even reading Hebrew itself is all guesswork.
Exhibit A. Azrieli Center sales booklet, Tel Aviv. 2007. The bold letters in logo in the lower left reads "Knyon Azryely"
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Re: Pencil Sharpener
In today's world of global economics it makes sense to have a common language for conducting business. We are just one of several huge economies that could have been the standard, but for whatever reasons the financial and commercial markets of the world chose English to be the language of business. I didn't realize there were "aweful" tests to be taken in order to prove your proficiency, so that I learned something new from Juan. I guess when you are dealing with somebody else's money, you want to be certain that person fully understands what is going on.
Polo is an interesting sport and I was surprised at how many clubs are located around the Chicago area. You talked about the Kraml dynasty before and I think you have something to be proud of by being on the team that beat them. About the only live horse activity I've ever witnessed was at race tracks where the horses were more or less running in a straight line. Polo has no such demands and I can't believe a horse could be trained to perform all the maneuvers required in a polo match. Obviously it can be done but that's a lot of weight to be changing directions so often.
Polo is an interesting sport and I was surprised at how many clubs are located around the Chicago area. You talked about the Kraml dynasty before and I think you have something to be proud of by being on the team that beat them. About the only live horse activity I've ever witnessed was at race tracks where the horses were more or less running in a straight line. Polo has no such demands and I can't believe a horse could be trained to perform all the maneuvers required in a polo match. Obviously it can be done but that's a lot of weight to be changing directions so often.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
I always hated trying to order things from places like Hong Kong, seems they never quite got the order right, but usually acceptable. Well, except for 50 cases of a plush 8 ball they made in all different colors, none black, hi hi.
Once you have a horse trained to follow your commands, which most horses learn fairly quick.
For Polo they only need to follow the ball to the left if you are right handed, and to the right if you are left handed, and only if YOU have control of the ball. If you don't have control of it, the horse still has to follow the ball, but on the opposite side of the current owner of the ball. A simple tug on the reigns lets the horse no which side of the horse in pursuit you want them on.
The hard part is, ever horse is a slightly different height, and every player is a slightly different height, and if you don't pick exactly the right length mallet, you'll never be able to hit that ball from a running horse, hi hi. Plus, you don't want to be cracking the horses ankles with that mallet either, hi hi.
It was phun getting to play with the rich folks, hi hi.
Once you have a horse trained to follow your commands, which most horses learn fairly quick.
For Polo they only need to follow the ball to the left if you are right handed, and to the right if you are left handed, and only if YOU have control of the ball. If you don't have control of it, the horse still has to follow the ball, but on the opposite side of the current owner of the ball. A simple tug on the reigns lets the horse no which side of the horse in pursuit you want them on.
The hard part is, ever horse is a slightly different height, and every player is a slightly different height, and if you don't pick exactly the right length mallet, you'll never be able to hit that ball from a running horse, hi hi. Plus, you don't want to be cracking the horses ankles with that mallet either, hi hi.
It was phun getting to play with the rich folks, hi hi.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
During the pandemic, I accidentally ordered some toilet paper and hand sanitizer from ... Hong Kong. At that time all the local stores were short on supply of both items, and when I saw the ad that this place had what I wanted it was hard not to jump at it right away. I didn't find out they were a foreign operation until my credit card company notified me that a purchase was made with such a company. I could have canceled the order but didn't want to go through the paperwork with some non-English speaking people. Their invoicing was perfect English and I understood what they were doing and when. They notified me when they shipped the order and with what carrier, which I never heard of because it was a Hong Kong carrier. LOL They also had a tracking number and I was able to verify they shipped my order. I also was able to verify when it landed in some seaport of California about a month after my order was placed. The tracking people stated specifically that it's being held in customs, and no other comment about it. It sat in customs for six weeks after which time I noted that it was shipped via some US carrier I did not recognize. Eventually, about three months after the order was placed, good ol' UPS delivered the package. Everything I ordered was in it and in good condition. I was amazed on many levels. 
I personally would have a hard time following all those scenarios you mention for a horse to learn in polo. I can't see how you could teach a horse who owns the ball and on what side of that specific owner the horse should be. That seems like a very complex task for a horse, but then I never tried to train one. It could be easier than it appears.
I personally would have a hard time following all those scenarios you mention for a horse to learn in polo. I can't see how you could teach a horse who owns the ball and on what side of that specific owner the horse should be. That seems like a very complex task for a horse, but then I never tried to train one. It could be easier than it appears.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
When my brother bought plush and other items from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, etc. He always bought an entire container full. He had a reputable company like ClearFreight or others who got pre-customs inspections before the product and container was shipped, that way they were not held up an our customs, unpacked for inspection and repacked again. But as they say, shipping is ALWAYS on the Slow Boat from China, hi hi.
Most people think horses are awesome, when in reality they are about the dumbest animal around.
Once you break a horse, after that it is just showing them what you want them to do, and they will always do it that way.
As an example: The first couple of times you have to tie a horse to a hitching post, you use a STRONG Halter and Lead, and an Extra Strong hitching post. It only takes about two or three times for them to try to get loose, then they basically give up any notion of trying after that. This is why you can pull up to a hitching rail and merely toss your reigns over the post, not tied or anything, and that horse will stay there, well over 95% of the time. Sometimes when biting at flies, they may accidentally knock the reign off the post. But they normally still think they are tied, although if the manage to back far enough away with the reigns dragging, they finally realize they are loose and may take off, unless they step on the reigns with their hoof, then they will stand there till the cows come home, hi hi.
A horse is the only animal I know of that will run back into a burning barn. They think their stall is a safe zone.
We used to have this huge, close to 3 foot diameter big rubber ball we could blow up and toss out in the pasture for the horses to play with. Most won't at first, but once they see another horse kicking it around and running after it to send it sailing again, pretty soon, most of the other horses will start playing with it too. So will cows as far as that goes.
Most people think horses are awesome, when in reality they are about the dumbest animal around.
Once you break a horse, after that it is just showing them what you want them to do, and they will always do it that way.
As an example: The first couple of times you have to tie a horse to a hitching post, you use a STRONG Halter and Lead, and an Extra Strong hitching post. It only takes about two or three times for them to try to get loose, then they basically give up any notion of trying after that. This is why you can pull up to a hitching rail and merely toss your reigns over the post, not tied or anything, and that horse will stay there, well over 95% of the time. Sometimes when biting at flies, they may accidentally knock the reign off the post. But they normally still think they are tied, although if the manage to back far enough away with the reigns dragging, they finally realize they are loose and may take off, unless they step on the reigns with their hoof, then they will stand there till the cows come home, hi hi.
A horse is the only animal I know of that will run back into a burning barn. They think their stall is a safe zone.
We used to have this huge, close to 3 foot diameter big rubber ball we could blow up and toss out in the pasture for the horses to play with. Most won't at first, but once they see another horse kicking it around and running after it to send it sailing again, pretty soon, most of the other horses will start playing with it too. So will cows as far as that goes.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
I've talked to people who own horses, and they to a person love their animal. One gal in Florida claims she can communicate with her horse, Lucy, and they have discussions on a regular basis. It seems reasonable that humans and horses can communicate on some level, but it's hard for me to understand how an animal, any animal, would have the mental power to understand concepts, such as friendship or love. The animals are responding to their owners because that's how they get fed and a place to stay at night. I doubt that it goes much further than that instinct.
It is also interesting to me that you would say horses are the dumbest critters around. I've talked to dairy farmers in Wisconsin who would bet cows are the dumbest of all animals. These are the same people who enjoy the sport of "cow tipping" which to my understanding is controversial. There are the people, usually college kids, who claim they have done it. Sneak up on a cow in the middle of the night and they can easily be tipped over. Then there are the more serious kids who argue that's impossible and equivalent to tipping over the Rock of Gibraltar. Them there cattle cows must weigh a ton, literally, and I agree that one person would not easily be able to tip a cow. But then, maybe three or four would.
Cows are not like horses, apparently, and run to their stalls when the barn is on fire. But they will stand out in the rain or snow oblivious to what is going on. Then again, all I know is what Wisconsin and Iowa farmers tell me. Maybe things are different in Missouri.
It is also interesting to me that you would say horses are the dumbest critters around. I've talked to dairy farmers in Wisconsin who would bet cows are the dumbest of all animals. These are the same people who enjoy the sport of "cow tipping" which to my understanding is controversial. There are the people, usually college kids, who claim they have done it. Sneak up on a cow in the middle of the night and they can easily be tipped over. Then there are the more serious kids who argue that's impossible and equivalent to tipping over the Rock of Gibraltar. Them there cattle cows must weigh a ton, literally, and I agree that one person would not easily be able to tip a cow. But then, maybe three or four would.
Cows are not like horses, apparently, and run to their stalls when the barn is on fire. But they will stand out in the rain or snow oblivious to what is going on. Then again, all I know is what Wisconsin and Iowa farmers tell me. Maybe things are different in Missouri.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
Dogs do love their owners, if their owners are good to them.
My son had a pooch growing up, but when he got tied up with high school work, and didn't want to take care of him properly. I found a person quite a long distance away who lived on a farm. It was a long way past St. Charles going North to his farm. I took my sons pooch out to him. He kept the pooch either in the house or on a leash for a good week, before trusting him off the leash, and he stayed around for only another day, then took off.
I came home from work and found this pooch sitting on my front porch, slightly injured like he was in a fight or two, and the pads of his feet red and swollen from running or walking on concrete and blacktop.
After a huge vet bill to get her all fixed up again, I took great care of her for the rest of her days.
She had never been outside our fenced in yard in her life, but hound breeds seem to have a homing instinct to them.
My uncle Teds dog, after uncle Ted died, would go lay on his grave for a few hours each day. This was only about a mile from where he was raised, and he did go to the funeral and graveyard when uncle Ted was buried. But how he remembered to get back there every day is still a mystery. Also, how he knew which of the many graves there was uncle Ted. Couldn't be scent because so many people were there for his funeral, and many workers tended to filling the hole and laying sod, etc. My aunt thought he ran away at first, but she went to the grave one day and found him lying on the grave. The caretaker said he comes for a few hours nearly every day, does nothing but curl up and go to sleep for a while then gets up and leaves. The caretaker was glad to know the dog had a home it went to each day. But was also surprised about what the dog did.
I got my ass whipped many times for getting all the hogs in a pen laying down. You just take a spoon and rub their lower side near their tummy and they will keep leaning into the spoon, and once they lay down, you rub their tummy with the spoon until they seem to go to sleep. One kid can keep at least 4 or 5 hogs laying down for hours on end, hi hi.
Cow Tipping on the other hand is very dangerous. They are not asleep, and you have to sneak up on them, downwind, and it usually takes three kids to sneak up and push one over. But they don't stay down, they get up and come chasing you. Better hope you can run faster than they can or you're toast. Doing this can also be harmful to the cow!
A horse normally sleeps standing, but a cow normally lays down to sleep. Older horses will lay down to sleep, but not always.
My son had a pooch growing up, but when he got tied up with high school work, and didn't want to take care of him properly. I found a person quite a long distance away who lived on a farm. It was a long way past St. Charles going North to his farm. I took my sons pooch out to him. He kept the pooch either in the house or on a leash for a good week, before trusting him off the leash, and he stayed around for only another day, then took off.
I came home from work and found this pooch sitting on my front porch, slightly injured like he was in a fight or two, and the pads of his feet red and swollen from running or walking on concrete and blacktop.
After a huge vet bill to get her all fixed up again, I took great care of her for the rest of her days.
She had never been outside our fenced in yard in her life, but hound breeds seem to have a homing instinct to them.
My uncle Teds dog, after uncle Ted died, would go lay on his grave for a few hours each day. This was only about a mile from where he was raised, and he did go to the funeral and graveyard when uncle Ted was buried. But how he remembered to get back there every day is still a mystery. Also, how he knew which of the many graves there was uncle Ted. Couldn't be scent because so many people were there for his funeral, and many workers tended to filling the hole and laying sod, etc. My aunt thought he ran away at first, but she went to the grave one day and found him lying on the grave. The caretaker said he comes for a few hours nearly every day, does nothing but curl up and go to sleep for a while then gets up and leaves. The caretaker was glad to know the dog had a home it went to each day. But was also surprised about what the dog did.
I got my ass whipped many times for getting all the hogs in a pen laying down. You just take a spoon and rub their lower side near their tummy and they will keep leaning into the spoon, and once they lay down, you rub their tummy with the spoon until they seem to go to sleep. One kid can keep at least 4 or 5 hogs laying down for hours on end, hi hi.
Cow Tipping on the other hand is very dangerous. They are not asleep, and you have to sneak up on them, downwind, and it usually takes three kids to sneak up and push one over. But they don't stay down, they get up and come chasing you. Better hope you can run faster than they can or you're toast. Doing this can also be harmful to the cow!
A horse normally sleeps standing, but a cow normally lays down to sleep. Older horses will lay down to sleep, but not always.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
I'm still a bit uncertain, but apparently "cow tipping" is a real thing. The claim that cows are stupid is reinforced by the fact that they can be tipped while standing up but not asleep. I guess if it's done at night, and if the bovine has poor vision, it might be possible to sneak up on them. Or, they might not think anything is suspicious if three giggling street urchins blind side them.
I have heard and read more than a few stories about pet dogs and cats finding their way home from great distances. I have not previously heard anything like the dog who slept on its master's grave every day. That suggests a sense of grievance, but I still am not convinced animals have that capacity. It's more likely the dog simply remembered the last place it saw its master and simply went to that spot. However, it is a bit mysterious that the dog would know his missing master was in a casket.
Apparently domesticated animals, pets, know where they have it good. Farm animals are somewhere between domesticated and wild and may not have a fondness for their keepers as would a house pet. Most of those critters would wander off into the wilderness when not fenced in, and I guess that is how cattle are raised. They have to be "rounded up" once in a while to get them back home or to market. It's all pretty interesting to me. Maybe in my next life I'll come back as a farmer.
I have heard and read more than a few stories about pet dogs and cats finding their way home from great distances. I have not previously heard anything like the dog who slept on its master's grave every day. That suggests a sense of grievance, but I still am not convinced animals have that capacity. It's more likely the dog simply remembered the last place it saw its master and simply went to that spot. However, it is a bit mysterious that the dog would know his missing master was in a casket.
Apparently domesticated animals, pets, know where they have it good. Farm animals are somewhere between domesticated and wild and may not have a fondness for their keepers as would a house pet. Most of those critters would wander off into the wilderness when not fenced in, and I guess that is how cattle are raised. They have to be "rounded up" once in a while to get them back home or to market. It's all pretty interesting to me. Maybe in my next life I'll come back as a farmer.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
Maybe I should let you in on a little trick regarding cow tipping, hi hi.
Every have someone hit you in the back of the knees when you were not expecting it?
Maybe you caught yourself, maybe you didn't.
Cows don't lock their joints at night like birds and horses do.
But cows are good at catching themselves. Which is why it usually takes three to tip a cow.
Two to give a push from the side, while one pushes their knees in.
And technically, the don't get tipped over as in over on their side directly.
They collapse from the rear end and the push makes them roll over.
I don't know the circumstances on how the dog knew it was his owner who ended up in the hole in the ground, other than the actions of all the people around at that time.
When we take a pet to the vet or for grooming, the other pets keep watch for them to come home.
But when we have a pet die, if it is at home, the pets all mourn to some extent, and do not stand watch for them to come home. The exception is, if they are sick and die while at the vets. Then we have to show them somehow their friend was gone. And they do mourn for a few days, and sometimes for a couple of weeks. My little Moky dog moped around for a little over 2 weeks at the loss of Lacie. So much so, even our housekeeper noticed a change in him. He just wasn't himself. But on her next visit, he was almost back to normal, but not quite yet.
Actually, it is not uncommon for a Hound breed to come back home when lost while out hunting somewhere far from home.
But many other breeds are just lost and will never know which way their home is.
Horses know exactly what time is Oats feeding time. And they will let you know if you are running late, hi hi. They don't change their clocks just because the government does. So we have to change OUR schedule to what the horses know is feeding time, hi hi. And if you feed them in stalls, they know exactly which stall to go to for their oats. Sometimes they will smell the oats in another stall and head their first, but one Yip at them and they move on to their own stall.
And this may sound old fashioned, but Gee and Haw are still the main commands for right and left with horses. Plus many other verbal commands as well. Now like a Dachshund, they might decide to ignore you, hi hi.
Every have someone hit you in the back of the knees when you were not expecting it?
Maybe you caught yourself, maybe you didn't.
Cows don't lock their joints at night like birds and horses do.
But cows are good at catching themselves. Which is why it usually takes three to tip a cow.
Two to give a push from the side, while one pushes their knees in.
And technically, the don't get tipped over as in over on their side directly.
They collapse from the rear end and the push makes them roll over.
I don't know the circumstances on how the dog knew it was his owner who ended up in the hole in the ground, other than the actions of all the people around at that time.
When we take a pet to the vet or for grooming, the other pets keep watch for them to come home.
But when we have a pet die, if it is at home, the pets all mourn to some extent, and do not stand watch for them to come home. The exception is, if they are sick and die while at the vets. Then we have to show them somehow their friend was gone. And they do mourn for a few days, and sometimes for a couple of weeks. My little Moky dog moped around for a little over 2 weeks at the loss of Lacie. So much so, even our housekeeper noticed a change in him. He just wasn't himself. But on her next visit, he was almost back to normal, but not quite yet.
Actually, it is not uncommon for a Hound breed to come back home when lost while out hunting somewhere far from home.
But many other breeds are just lost and will never know which way their home is.
Horses know exactly what time is Oats feeding time. And they will let you know if you are running late, hi hi. They don't change their clocks just because the government does. So we have to change OUR schedule to what the horses know is feeding time, hi hi. And if you feed them in stalls, they know exactly which stall to go to for their oats. Sometimes they will smell the oats in another stall and head their first, but one Yip at them and they move on to their own stall.
And this may sound old fashioned, but Gee and Haw are still the main commands for right and left with horses. Plus many other verbal commands as well. Now like a Dachshund, they might decide to ignore you, hi hi.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
What you told me about the secrets of cow tipping makes a lot of sense. I did not know the beast was hit on its knees from the rear. I always pictured them flopping over on their side, which is a bit odd given how many stories I've heard from people who are proficient at the art.
I've owned several dogs and I will admit to some of their behavior looking like they have emotions similar to what we humans have. It seems that their brains are not capable of being sentient, but then nobody really knows what goes on inside the head of animals. I think some of my bias originates in the teaching I got from the nuns in grammar school. They claimed humans are superior to animals because we have spirits. It took a few decades for me to realize that spirit is not the same as emotion, so that even if they don't have a so called soul they could have feelings. But, really, their world is not as complicated as the one us humans live in. Their feelings can't be that complex.
Grieving is one of the things about animals that I've heard about and read about many times. One of the stories I've read and which affected me profoundly is about elephants. They are pretty much family oriented and from what I've read they can cry. This happens when one of their clan passes away. So, the story goes, in an attempt to ease the grieving some old elephants leave the group when they know they are about to die. They go off looking for some mystical elephant burial grounds and are never seen again by the family. I thought about that a lot when I read it, because that is exactly the feeling I get sometimes sitting here in Missouri.
I've owned several dogs and I will admit to some of their behavior looking like they have emotions similar to what we humans have. It seems that their brains are not capable of being sentient, but then nobody really knows what goes on inside the head of animals. I think some of my bias originates in the teaching I got from the nuns in grammar school. They claimed humans are superior to animals because we have spirits. It took a few decades for me to realize that spirit is not the same as emotion, so that even if they don't have a so called soul they could have feelings. But, really, their world is not as complicated as the one us humans live in. Their feelings can't be that complex.
Grieving is one of the things about animals that I've heard about and read about many times. One of the stories I've read and which affected me profoundly is about elephants. They are pretty much family oriented and from what I've read they can cry. This happens when one of their clan passes away. So, the story goes, in an attempt to ease the grieving some old elephants leave the group when they know they are about to die. They go off looking for some mystical elephant burial grounds and are never seen again by the family. I thought about that a lot when I read it, because that is exactly the feeling I get sometimes sitting here in Missouri.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
I used to train birds to do all kinds of tricks, and a few other animals also.
With a bird, sometimes all you have to do is move finger a certain way and they know what to do.
What's neat about that is you can hide your hand from someone you are showing off your bird to, and use voice commands the bird may not know, but it is watching your hand for what types of finger movements you are making.
I hear ya on the Nun's. I was taught by the Sisters of the Most Vicious Blood, hi hi.
My belief is anything human or animal that breathes has a soul, and maybe some animals who breathe differently.
Everything has a Spirit. But it isn't until you take your first breath that you have a soul.
But that's just my belief.
Certain birds like Cardinals and Geese mate for life. And they do grieve when their partner dies or gets killed.
When I lived in Creve Coeur, we had a pair of geese who took up residence in one of our flower boxes near the road. We could count on them to be there every year. This went on for about six years I think, until one day there was only one goose nestled in the flower bed. It would make the most mournful sound, sometimes for hours. Then after about a week it was gone, never to be seen again. And no other geese took up their old residence either. I sorta missed them living there.
I hear ya, that is sorta how I feel living down here in TN, far away from my home I knew, or should I say used to know. It has changed so much, I'm sorta glad I did move south. But it is getting crazy down here too. People have changed for the worst everywhere it seems. So many shootings too.
With a bird, sometimes all you have to do is move finger a certain way and they know what to do.
What's neat about that is you can hide your hand from someone you are showing off your bird to, and use voice commands the bird may not know, but it is watching your hand for what types of finger movements you are making.
I hear ya on the Nun's. I was taught by the Sisters of the Most Vicious Blood, hi hi.
My belief is anything human or animal that breathes has a soul, and maybe some animals who breathe differently.
Everything has a Spirit. But it isn't until you take your first breath that you have a soul.
But that's just my belief.
Certain birds like Cardinals and Geese mate for life. And they do grieve when their partner dies or gets killed.
When I lived in Creve Coeur, we had a pair of geese who took up residence in one of our flower boxes near the road. We could count on them to be there every year. This went on for about six years I think, until one day there was only one goose nestled in the flower bed. It would make the most mournful sound, sometimes for hours. Then after about a week it was gone, never to be seen again. And no other geese took up their old residence either. I sorta missed them living there.
I hear ya, that is sorta how I feel living down here in TN, far away from my home I knew, or should I say used to know. It has changed so much, I'm sorta glad I did move south. But it is getting crazy down here too. People have changed for the worst everywhere it seems. So many shootings too.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
I take a little more technical view of human components. There are four parts to being human. There is the mental and the emotional which we know as rationality and sensitivity. Then, too, there is the physical body and the ... for this discussion I'll call it mind. The body is the atoms of which we are made. The mind is what people know as soul or spirit, both of which I lump into the same interchangeable category. The mind is the totality of our existence. It's akin to individual citizens of this country composing the whole of it, and as a country we have an American Spirit. That's the same as team spirit at a sports event. When all four of those elements merge, we have a human being. I read something the other day, on Twitter of all places, that was very enlightening. The atoms of which our bodies are composed are millions, if not billions, of years old. Just like the rest of the universe from which they came. So, in a philosophical sense we are the universe. And taking that one giant step further, we can view that as us being Gods.
Animals can be taught tricks, but for the most part those tricks are conditioned reflexes. Some cue triggers a response in the animal and I believe that is the extent of their intelligence. They also have instincts which is not the same as human motives. A cat will hunt to eat because that's what a million generations of other cats did before them. Humans hunt too, but they do it for sport. A few critters seem to enjoy killing other animals too, but that still is distinctly different than why man hunts or kills other living beings. I do not believe an animal is capable of understanding what a sport is so that they could initiate the activity on their own and experience the pleasure.
Animals can be taught tricks, but for the most part those tricks are conditioned reflexes. Some cue triggers a response in the animal and I believe that is the extent of their intelligence. They also have instincts which is not the same as human motives. A cat will hunt to eat because that's what a million generations of other cats did before them. Humans hunt too, but they do it for sport. A few critters seem to enjoy killing other animals too, but that still is distinctly different than why man hunts or kills other living beings. I do not believe an animal is capable of understanding what a sport is so that they could initiate the activity on their own and experience the pleasure.
Re: Pencil Sharpener
How do you know us humanoids were not just terraformed by some alien race?
Maybe planet earth was like a prison planet for bad do bee aliens, hi hi.
Heck, it may have even started out as a zoo that became abandoned, hi hi.
Well I agree with you on the fact most animals only have their inborn instincts.
Their minds have not developed much beyond their initial state.
I know, I lived with a Chimp most of my life. They are like a 2 year old brother that never learns beyond the 2 year old level.
You can train them, but sorta like humans in a way, they will work for food, hi hi. Aka learn tricks for a treat.
I often wonder if we really are at the top of the food chain, as claimed, hi hi.
Or are we merely slaves to government elites?
Maybe planet earth was like a prison planet for bad do bee aliens, hi hi.
Heck, it may have even started out as a zoo that became abandoned, hi hi.
Well I agree with you on the fact most animals only have their inborn instincts.
Their minds have not developed much beyond their initial state.
I know, I lived with a Chimp most of my life. They are like a 2 year old brother that never learns beyond the 2 year old level.
You can train them, but sorta like humans in a way, they will work for food, hi hi. Aka learn tricks for a treat.
I often wonder if we really are at the top of the food chain, as claimed, hi hi.
Or are we merely slaves to government elites?
Re: Pencil Sharpener
If we are slaves to an extraterrestrial race of beings, that master race is doing a great job of remaining anonymous. It could be different in that alien world, but here on earth the master dominates his minions and makes his presence and powers well known. I suppose you would argue that we are an experiment gone bad and the alien scientist abandoned us to fend for ourselves. It's an interesting fantasy that cannot be fully excluded as an explanation for our existence. That doesn't change anything we know about the beginning of life on earth and evolution. The speculation about our "alien" origins is just another way of questioning the existence of a God. I make no such assumption because there is no hard evidence to support it. The final argument has always been to question from where that first being originated. It's not necessary to have a First Cause to explain our existence. There is now evidence that "something" can indeed be created from "nothing" in the quantum physics of things. Thus there is no irreducible argument which leaves only a God to explain our existence.
wow ... that was an unexpected analogy. LOL As far as the animal kingdom goes we humans seems to be smarter than the average animal. As far as the existence of governing elites goes, that conspiracy theory has been around well before Nixon and his neocons were on the scene. It ranks right up there with us being the product of an alien life science project.I often wonder if we really are at the top of the food chain, as claimed, hi hi.
Or are we merely slaves to government elites?