The post My Cats Are Addicts…And I Am Their Dealer by Dr. Karyn Kanowski BVSc MRCVS (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Hi, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to learn more about me and meet my five hilarious cats: Clutch, Cyril, Alex, Zelda, and Zazzles. With five cats ruling my house, I have very little doubt about my role. Timely provision of food, water, and entertainment is expected, but there are times that I feel a little bit like their dealer, with catnip being their drug of choice. Statistically, only around 60% of cats respond to the intoxicating effects of catnip, and that figure is reflected in my household, with Alex, Cyril, and Zelda being both attracted to and affected by catnip; Clutch and Zazzles have no interest in the stuff. Zelda, in particular, will start meowing aggressively if it’s been several days since her last ‘fix’, and the sound of opening the catnip tub is met with equal, if not greater, enthusiasm than the sound of the food container. Recently, I was tasked with making some homemade cat toys, and the catnip crew were only too happy to help test them out. But as I watch the wide-eyed antics of my intoxicated felines, I can’t help wondering – am I enabling an addiction? Nothing to see here… The Ins and Outs of Catnip Catnip, also known by its scientific name, Nepeta cataria, is a member of the mint family. These plants produce the chemical nepetalactone which repels insects, but appeals to many of the feline persuasion. This chemical works its way into your cat’s pleasure center by way of a particularly sensitive olfactory organ located in the roof of their mouth, called the vomeronasal organ (VMO for short). If you’ve ever noticed your cat pulling a comical grimace when they are sniffing something, this is called the Flehmen response – or as we used to call it in my house, “stinky face” – whereby they draw scents and pheromones into the VMO. From here, your cat can glean an absolute mass of information about the world around them. One of the more important pieces of information processed by the VMO is to do with sex, like the presence of competition or the receptiveness of females. So the messages reaching your cat’s brain appear to be similar to arousal, which certainly explains the blissful response! It’s just a shame that only 60% of the cat population gets to enjoy it. Cyril is really feeling those catnip vibes. Can Cats OD on Catnip? The catnip plant is not toxic to cats, but if they ingest a huge amount they may develop some unpleasant gastrointestinal side effects. I’ve never seen this in my cats. I usually bulk buy my catnip in a 1-ounce tub, which might not sound like much, but is the equivalent of 3-4 herb jars, and it usually lasts for several months…unless the cats manage to break into the container. Thus far, the only downside my cats have experienced to this treat is some occasional eye irritation, a consequence of rubbing their face too aggressively against the carpet! No more catnip? Am I Enabling Addicts? I don’t think so. Although their ears prick up when I open the drawer containing this intoxicating treat, and the opening of the tub brings 60% of my cats to swarm excitedly around my feet, they do not spend the rest of their time looking for more, in a desperate search for their next ‘fix’. Although Zelda does get a tad demanding if she feels it’s been too long since her last dose, she is not completely consumed by her need for the ‘nip. And if I can provide some extra amusement and enrichment in their lives, I’m absolutely going to do it. I just wish there was a way for Clutch and Zazzles to experience the same bliss I see in Zelda, Alex, and Cyril’s glassy, dilated pupils! The post My Cats Are Addicts…And I Am Their Dealer by Dr. Karyn Kanowski BVSc MRCVS (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

As the Democrats struggle among themselves over President Joe Biden’s declining mental state and his declining poll numbers, it did not have to end up at this impasse. The Democrats and all their “mainstream” media enablers who claim they love democracy didn’t want any serious or rigorous primary challenge for Biden. Is it possible that Democrats are still haunted by Ted Kennedy challenging President Jimmy Carter in 1980? The parallels between Carter and Biden on foreign fecklessness and domestic inflation are obvious. After the disastrous debate, British journalist Katty Kay — a regular on Biden’s favorite “news” show, “Morning Joe” — tweeted something eye-opening. “Wondering what Dean Philips (sic) is thinking today. He complained that he couldn’t get traction in the press or in the primaries because the race wasn’t truly open. The incumbent had a lock on the system.” Yes, Rep. Phillips, D-Minn., whose entire rationale for his campaign was challenging Biden’s mental decline, was blocked by the incumbent and his press partners. The Republicans held five (Trump-less) debates, and the Democrats held zero. “Democratic” parties in the states obnoxiously refused to put Phillips on the ballot. As Phillips complained, “How can Democrats say we’re fighting for democracy … yet removing me from the ballot in Florida and North Carolina? How can you say you are for free speech and protecting freedom and democracy and not even consent to doing one debate?” Even then, Bidenites were scared of debates. So were the “news” networks. In February, former GOP chair Michael Steele interviewed Phillips on his show “The Weekend.” Steele was blunt: “The chairman in me says, ‘What the hell [are] you doing? And why are you doing it?'” Steele said the party chose Biden in 2020, and not Kamala Harris or Bernie Sanders. “So what makes you think after that — an incumbent president, Joe Biden’s not going anywhere. He’s not stepping down!” Phillips piped up: “Big mistake. Big, big mistake!” He was discouraged and ignored. ABC totally ignored Phillips the day he announced his campaign, like he was a tree falling silently in the Minnesota woods. On ABC’s “The View,” Ana Navarro was rude. Phillips was just a “wealthy guy in his 50s having a midlife crisis and I guess instead of buying a convertible Corvette or building a yacht, he decided to run for president.” Phillips made the ballot in New Hampshire, and because Biden’s Democrat apparatus refused to let New Hampshire hold the first primary in 2024 — “too white” — Biden had to win the race with write-in votes. Phillips pulled 20% of the vote, a protest of either Biden’s failings or the party’s diss of New Hampshire. The day after the vote, the morning shows on ABC, CBS and NBC all refused to speak of Phillips. CBS put his last name on screen with his 20%, but reporter Nancy Cordes boasted of Team Biden “looking past the primaries” to increase “their attacks on Trump.” Meanwhile on ABC, George Stephanopoulos noted to colleague Jonathan Karl that “Joe Biden did better with Democrats than Donald Trump did with the Republicans.” Karl concurred that Biden did “a lot better … without really campaigning, without having his name on the ballot.” Neither mentioned Phillips at all. It would be fascinating for reporters who ignored Phillips for months to interview him now and ask how he feels about his campaign based on Biden’s cognitive decline, and how he was dismissed as a “wasted vote,” and a waste of the media’s time. It’s another reason to point and laugh when the media boast they are the lifeblood of democracy. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM The post The Media Skipped the Democrat Warning of Biden’s Mental Decline appeared first on The Daily Signal.

There is a page on Reddit called "today I learned," or "TIL" for short. On this page, people post interesting little-known facts that they just found out about. We've compiled some of the most interesting tidbits posted there so that we can all expand our minds. How many of these facts do you know already, and how many are totally new to you? Keep reading to learn so much more about the world... Source

Has anyone ever told you something that sounded too crazy to be true, but it was? That probably happens a lot since there are so many things people don't know about. They weren't kidding when they said you learn something new every day. The WTF Facts Twitter account tweets outlandish facts that you have got to check out. You just might learn something. https://twitter.com/mrwtffacts/status/ Source

Do you have that one friend that knows a bunch of random facts? Maybe you're that friend, or secretly want to be. Well, you'll be one step closer to that goal after reading this article filled with random facts from people who don't know why they know these things. Next time you're trying to strike up a conversation, you'll have something to talk about now. It sounds like this physical therapist... Source

About That Latest Mass Amnesty Plan

Underwater footage of a mother blue whale nursing its calf has been caught on camera for the first time, providing a rare glimpse into the private life of Earth’s largest animal.The video was recently filmed off the coast of Timor-Leste in Southeast Asia by a research and citizen science program led by the Australian National University (ANU) that has been studying blue whales in these waters since 2006. It shows a young calf suckling milk from its mother as the pair embark on their annual 5,000-kilometer (3,100-mile) migration between southern Australia and the Banda Sea near eastern Indonesia.  This part of the sea is known as a cetacean hotspot that regularly sees the passage of blue whales, beaked whales, short-finned pilot whales, melon-headed whales, and six dolphin species. It also has its fair share of sharks and turtles. The region’s deep ocean channels, which plunge to depths of over 3,000 meters (9,800 feet), serve as a major migratory highway for marine wildlife traveling between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.“Timor-Leste’s deep, nearshore waters, particularly in the narrow Ombai-Wetar Strait along thenorth coast of the country, provide one of the most accessible and best locations for blue whale research in the world,” Associate Professor Karen Edyvane at ANU, who is also an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at Charles Darwin University, said in a statement.            “From newborn calves and nursing mothers to amorous adults in courtship, the waters of Timor-Leste really are providing blue whale scientists with some of our first glimpses into the private lives of one of the world’s largest but most elusive animals,” she added. The appearance of a blue whale calf near Timor-Leste is especially poignant as it shows the region plays a role in the reproduction and early life of these magnificent creatures. “This evidence suggests that these waters are not only important foraging areas for blue whales, but also are critical for reproduction. Until now, it has been a mystery when, where and how blue whales reproduce,” added Dr Elanor Bell, a researcher at the Australian Antarctic Division.Blue whales can grow up to 33 meters (108 feet) in length, making them the largest animal to ever exist on planet Earth. Despite what you might have heard, it’s also the heaviest animal to ever live, weighing 270 metric tons.It’s estimated that over 350,000 blue whales lived in the ocean centuries ago, but prolific whaling in the 19th and early 20th centuries decimated their population numbers. Today, no more than 25,000 individuals are alive.Although still considered an endangered species, there’s evidence to suggest blue whales are making a strong recovery and their global population is increasing.

In 1901, RRS Discovery helped launch the “Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration” when it took exploration luminaries like Robert Falcon Scott (who led the expedition) and Ernest Shackleton on their first trip into the ice-packed waters of the distant south. Now, 123 years later, researchers have created a “digital twin” of the pioneering vessel that offers new insights into the lives of Antarctic explorers.A first of its kindThe Royal Research Ship (RRS) Discovery was built in Dundee, Scotland. It was the first ship in the world to be specifically designed to carry out scientific research in the harsh Antarctic environment and provided its crew with an ideal home while they carried out the first official British expedition to the region since 1839.This famous voyage also represented the starting point for some of the most influential figures in the history of Antarctic exploration, including the careers of Robert Falcon Scott (who led the expedition), Ernest Shackleton, Edward Wilson, Frank Wild, Tom Crean, and William Lashly.During the expedition, the team carried out scientific and geographical research into what was essentially an untouched and unknown continent. Its success was not only a landmark in the history of British Antarctic exploration, but also inspired subsequent voyages in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, in the years between the end of the 19th century and the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition of 1921–1922.In 1901, RRS Discovery and her crew set sail on the first official British expedition to the Antarctic since James Clark Ross's journey in 1839.Image credit: Dundee Heritage TrustThe exploration’s discoveries included the Cape Crozier emperor penguin colony and many marine species, snow-free dry valleys in the western mountains, the Antarctic plateau – where the South Pole is located – and evidence that the Ice Barrier was a floating ice shelf.After this voyage, RRS Discovery had subsequent Antarctic expeditions in 1925 and 1929, but then became a training ship based in London in the years between 1931 and 1979. Then, in 1986, it returned to Dundee where it has become a multi-award-winning visitor attraction operated by Dundee Heritage Trust. Every year, the old Antarctic explorer attracts over 80,000 visitors who want to know more about its career.The "digital twin" comes to lifeUsing state-of-the-art technology, a team led by researchers at the University of Southampton have now created a highly accurate 3D representation of RRS Discovery. The new “digital twin” provides new insights into how the ship was built and used while also informing ongoing restoration work on the original vessel.“This digital twin provides an amazing opportunity for more people to explore this fascinating ship and learn about its history in a completely new way – including areas of the ship that cannot be accessed by the public,” Dr Michael Grant, from Coastal and Offshore Archaeological Research Services at the University of Southampton, explained in a statement.“Through this we can obtain even greater insights into the lives of the people who explored the Antarctic over a century ago, providing the foundation for much of the ocean and climate science being undertaken today.”  The team created the representation by making digital recordings of the vessel using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and laser scanners. The latter enabled the team to capture the ship’s precise shape, dimensions, and details. This was supplemented with LiDAR – a technique for remote sensing that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser – and photogrammetry surveys, which created the highly accurate 3D representation of the whole ship, including its interior and exterior. “With the rise of new technologies, such as laser scanners and UAVs”, Dr Felix Pedrotti, from the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute at the University of Southampton, explained, “we can now create highly accurate digital twins. These digital replicas offer invaluable insights into the RRS Discovery, including its structures and layouts."The production of the digital representation coincides with a major centenary celebration for the ship. In 2023, RRS Discovery celebrated 100 years since she was purchased by the British Government and started to be refit for the Discovery Oceanographic Expeditions as the first ever Royal Research Ship.In 2025, it will be the centenary of this expedition, which lasted until 1927 and offered valuable scientific insights, including a greater understanding of whaling and the ecosystem of the great whales, which started conservation thinking.“This digital model marks the beginning of an exciting project to bring together the stories of the RRS Discovery, which will ensure all the artefacts and findings of those early expeditions are available to all, enhancing our understanding of the work undertaken by the ship then and how this research continues today”, Dr Tammy Horton, Senior Research Scientist and manager of the Discovery Collections at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, concluded.

A new UFO film “the Cosmic Joker” investigates the ‘trickster’ element of UFO and Alien encounters and how the intelligence behind it somehow adapts its appearance to what we expect to see. The film is inspired by late author and US Ufologist John Keel (famous for his Mothman Prophecies book and film starring Richard Gere). Keel was as journalist by trade and he used his Investigative skills to look at the UFO phenomena. As well as going through thousands of archive newspaper reports he also looked at strange aerial sightings throughout history. He concluded that there was a weird almost paranormal element to them and somehow they were adapting to the culture of our times. He called it the Cosmic Joker or trickster as it always seemed to be playing with humanity…teasing us…we get close think we know the truth and then….bam,..something else comes along to confuse us. For instance in biblical times we saw angels in the sky, the ancient Hindu Texts talked of Vimanas, which they thought were flying temples, then this evolved into fairies, sprites and now in the technological age we see them (or perceive them) as spaceships. Award winning film-maker and UFO researcher Mark Christopher Lee states: “I wanted to make this film to look in detail at the sheer weirdness of the UFO experience. We investigate the Robert Taylor incident in Scotland of a Forest worker who claimed he was attacked by an alien that looked like a sea mine with strange metallic sharp appendages, then we also compare this to the Pascagoula event in the US where 2 men out fishing were taken on board a spaceship by beings with weird crab like pincers….why…what does this mean? Is Keel right that there is a Cosmic Joker out there – some intelligence that is playing with us?” Did Robert Taylor who was a World War veteran see the entity as looking like a sea mine as that was an image he had from his time serving in the army….or did the intelligence take that appearance because of his experience? Did the 2 fishermen Calvin Parker and Charles Hickson see the Aliens with crab like appendages because that’s an image that they were familiar with or did this intelligence create that appearance on purpose? Lee adds: “There’s definitely enough evidence of this trickster being behind UFOs, maybe it’s an intelligence from a different realm or dimension of reality. I do think that the US government knows this and this is why they will never release the truth to the public…as it’s far weirder and more to it than just aliens from another planet!” The film is streaming now on Tubi worldwide. New UFO film – the Cosmic Joker – out now on TUBI worldwide. The post New film states that US gov knows that alien tricksters are playing with humanity appeared first on Anomalien.com.