June 14, 2009

Hey! I didn't know...

... that the old Audible Althouse podcasts were still accessible on line. Just happened to go looking after what Reader_Iam said in the Tick Flick comments. Lord knows what all is in there!

Keep reading from that second link and you'll see that Titus throws down the gauntlet about gay men in Madison, Wisconsin. And then Chip Ahoy gets going on the subject of ticks, politicks, and — why not? — dung beetles, culminating in this:

10 comments:

bearbee said...

At the entrance to Addo Elephant National Park a sign proclaims: "Dung beetles have right of way. Do not run over dung beetles or dung.".


African Dung Beetle

rhhardin said...

Lautreamont on Dung Beetles here just uploaded.

rhhardin said...

Re twittered sweet dogs that don't come over when coaxed: dogs do not aim to please.

They're opportunists when at leisure.

You can cheat and make coaxing associate with something they want, so opportunism works in your favor.

Or you can train a formal come, where the dog must come as part of the job of being a great dog he takes on; and have separate a come-if-you-want, distinguished from it.

Lately (meaning since Koehler went out of style under the sway of humaniacs against great dogs) even formal training has been using coaxing. But it was not always so.

I recommend the essays on Washoe and "How To Say Fetch!" in Vicki Hearne's Adam's Task. If it makes sense to you, you can use Koehler. If not, don't try it.

Highly trained dogs get commanded very little, a paradox.

Ann Althouse said...

Thanks, rh. I'm not really trying to be a dog person. Just observing this dog (which isn't our dog -- we just take care of it sometimes).

American Liberal Elite said...

Once again, Chip leaves me with a coprophagous grin.

The Bearded Professor said...

Oh, how I miss the podcasts!

Maxine Weiss said...

"And yet: For all that mystery, why does it feel like the world has been ripped open, all parts exposed? Why does so much seem absolutely and thoroughly demystified? These days we can leap, all of us, from a casual curiosity about anything to a sense of satisfying understanding. Instantly. Want to fold origami? There are more than 200,000 Google results on that subject available to you, now. Need to know the capital of Mauritania? A recipe for sticky buns? How to pick a bicycle lock? You could answer all these questions in less time than it will take you to finish reading this article (which, for a second time, I suggest you skip. Remember: You know how it ends, so why are you still here?).

What I'm getting at is hardly news to anyone: We're smack dab in the middle of the Age of Immediacy.

True understanding (or skill or effort) has become bothersome—an unnecessary headache that impedes our ability to get on with our lives (and most likely skip to something else). Earning the endgame seems so yesterday, especially when we can know whatever we need to know whenever we need to know it."

(http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-05/mf_jjessay)

Ann Althouse said...

"You know how it ends, so why are you still here?"

Is Maxine promoting suicide again?

Unknown said...

Very good, Chip. Kafkaesque!

reader_iam said...

All of the podcasts are still available on iTunes, as they have been continuously since their first availability there and long after new instances of content ceased, so far as I can tell.

I'm so lazy that I never deleted all the downloads from a different computer, one I rarely touch, much less use, anymore. But that in good part explains why I'm not motivated to test archival technology (lybsin, for ex.) either.