On 6/12/2023 11:32 AM, BCFD36 wrote:
> On 6/10/23 10:06, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
>>> <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 6/9/2023 5:57 PM, Christian Weisgerber wrote:
>>>>> On 2023-06-09, Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I have been wondering about the human body rebuilds in Mutineer's
>>>>>> Moon
>>>>>> and its sequels.  6X strength,
>>>>>
>>>>> I keep reading how non-human apes are so much stronger.  This raises
>>>>> the question if some fairly small musculoskeletal adaptations could
>>>>> have a big effect and what the drawbacks would be.
>>>>>
>>>>>> XX stamina,
>>>>>
>>>>> EPO.  Lot's of EPO.  Just ask Lance Armstrong.
>>>>>
>>>>>> much faster responses,
>>>>>
>>>>> Oooh, re-engineering the nervous system, aren't we?
>>>>> Good luck with that one.
>>>>>
>>>>>> 30 minutes of oxygen in the abdomen,
>>>>>
>>>>> Dunno.
>>>>>
>>>>>> skin replaced with an elastic polymer,
>>>>>
>>>>> That sounds incredibly naive.  Skin is a complex organ.
>>>>>
>>>>>> all tendons and muscles replaced with polymers,
>>>>>
>>>>> We're talking about living tissue here.
>>>>>
>>>>>> all bones strengthened with light metal alloys,
>>>>>
>>>>> Sure, basically a more advanced form of orthopedic implant.
>>>>>
>>>>>> eyes replaced with focusable cameras
>>>>>
>>>>> Hahahaha.  I want to see how you interface that with the optic
>>>>> nerve.  Trained from birth, I assume?  Also, electronic,
>>>>> electromechanical, what-have-you implants raise the question of
>>>>> power supply.
>>>>>
>>>>>> clamps on all major arteries and veins for sudden loss,
>>>>>
>>>>> Sounds doable.
>>>>>
>>>>>> life extension to 600+ years.
>>>>>
>>>>> Start by explaining to me in detail the mechanisms behind the fact
>>>>> that human lifespan is longer than that of a mouse.  I don't care
>>>>> about your handwaving how different species optimize life expectancy
>>>>> for bla, bla--I want to know _how_ they do it.
>>>>>
>>>>>> Sounds good but the devil is in the details.
>>>>>
>>>>> Where's the problem?  You just put pen to paper... authorial fiat
>>>>> makes it happen.  Heck, I can easily improve on all of the above
>>>>> suggestions: "nanotech".  There.  That will be EUR 0.01 in royalties.
>>>>
>>>> Well, these people build FTL spaceships out of 2,000 mile diameter
>>>> rocks.  So, incredibly advanced from us.
>>>>
>>>> Oh, and the other neat thing is that the higher you go up in fleet
>>>> ranks
>>>> (and only fleet personnel are enhanced), the more enhancements and
>>>> stamina you get.  The Captain of the 250,000 crew members for the 2,000
>>>> mile diameter warship gets ALL the enhancements.
>>>>
>>>> I think that our circulatory systems and brains are much better than a
>>>> mouse (four legs good, two legs better !).  And, we cannot be carried
>>>> off by an owl or a hawk.  Or an eagle.
>>>
>>> IIRC, Dave Berry once noted that, on some South Pacific island he
>>> visited, fruit bats with a wing-span equal to that of a WW2 fighter
>>> were active at night.
>>>
>>> His advice to parents of small children: don't let them out at night,
>>> particularly if they are eating fruit.
>>
>> So he was aware of a now extinct species since the longest wingspan of
>> a bat that we know of today is under six feet....
>>
> Having read all of the followups to this comment, I am thinking that
> there are some people who are satire and sarcasm awareness deficient. Or
> maybe I am oblivious to their sarcasm and satire.
>
There are also a lot of "uninformed" people posting about things they
know nothing about so its impossible to always guess correctly what a
poster's intent and knowledge of the real world are.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
> On 6/12/2023 11:18 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
>> On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 21:29:07 UTC+1, Robert Carnegie wrote:
>>> On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 18:06:15 UTC+1, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>>>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
>> "flying fox" family, and they go up to 1.5m. And apparently
>> there is no "giant flying fox" per se. They can do "large flying
>> fox", "great flying fox", and "giant golden-crowned flying fox".
>> A fox which can fly is impressive if you think about, but so
>> is "megabat".
>>
>> I don't think they steal children, but I wonder if they
>> would steal fruit /from/ children, which may involve biting.
>
> Considering that even the largest bats weigh less than 5 pounds carrying
> away even a very small child seems like a very remote possibility.
>
I think Barry was riffing on the same joke that Peter Falk recites in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqKadJiNZ4s

On 13/06/23 06:32, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> On 6/12/2023 11:18 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
>> On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 21:29:07 UTC+1, Robert Carnegie wrote:
>>> On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 18:06:15 UTC+1, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>>>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
>>>>> <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> I think that our circulatory systems and brains are much better
>>>>>> than a
>>>>>> mouse (four legs good, two legs better !). And, we cannot be carried
>>>>>> off by an owl or a hawk. Or an eagle.
>>>>>
>>>>> IIRC, Dave Berry once noted that, on some South Pacific island he
>>>>> visited, fruit bats with a wing-span equal to that of a WW2 fighter
>>>>> were active at night.
>>>>>
>>>>> His advice to parents of small children: don't let them out at night,
>>>>> particularly if they are eating fruit.
>>>>
>>>> So he was aware of a now extinct species since the longest wingspan
>>>> of a
>>>> bat that we know of today is under six feet....
>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Barry>
>>> has mostly written comedy, as far as I see there.
>>
>> I noticed that the original claim was by "Dave Berry",
>> so I looked more carefully.
>>
>> And this is Dave Barry - one version of the story.
>> But the article actually is about something else.
>> <https://www.chron.com/life/article/Barry-Financial-woes-spell-trouble-in-Tonga-2068293.php>
>>
>> "The Kingdom of Tonga, as you know if you just now
>> looked it up in the encyclopedia, is a nation way out
>> in the Pacific Ocean consisting of roughly 170 small
>> islands (the exact number depends on the height of
>> the waves). Tonga boasts a monarchy-style government
>> and an ecology that features a huge fruit bat whose
>> actual, legal bat name is the "giant flying fox."
>> The giant flying fox has a wingspan of up to 2 meters,
>> which -- when converted from Metric to Normal -- means
>> this thing is basically a commuter aircraft with claws.
>> So my advice would be, if you are ever in Tonga, do NOT
>> allow your small children to walk around outdoors at
>> night holding fruit."
>>
>> This isn't quite true.  2 meters is just under 79 inches,
>> say six and a half feet, and at that, it seems to be overstated.
>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteropus> includes current
>> creatures currently considered to be properly in the
>> "flying fox" family, and they go up to 1.5m.  And apparently
>> there is no "giant flying fox" per se.  They can do "large flying
>> fox", "great flying fox", and "giant golden-crowned flying fox".
>> A fox which can fly is impressive if you think about, but so
>> is "megabat".
>>
>> I don't think they steal children, but I wonder if they
>> would steal fruit /from/ children, which may involve biting.
>
> Considering that even the largest bats weigh less than 5 pounds carrying
> away even a very small child seems like a very remote possibility.

If you had read the whole berry article you would have noticed the
footnote that Tongan law decrees that commuter aircraft allowable
passenger numbers are directly related to bat measurement based on
retracted wingspan.
(Most Tongans are massively obese because most small ones disappeared in
childhood.)

On Mon, 12 Jun 2023 11:33:47 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

>On 6/12/2023 8:42 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>> On Sun, 11 Jun 2023 09:22:09 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>>
>>> On 6/11/2023 8:35 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>> On Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:06:11 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>>>> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
>>>>>> <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 6/9/2023 5:57 PM, Christian Weisgerber wrote:
>>>>>>>> On 2023-06-09, Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I have been wondering about the human body rebuilds in Mutineer's Moon
>>>>>>>>> and its sequels. 6X strength,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I keep reading how non-human apes are so much stronger. This raises
>>>>>>>> the question if some fairly small musculoskeletal adaptations could
>>>>>>>> have a big effect and what the drawbacks would be.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> XX stamina,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> EPO. Lot's of EPO. Just ask Lance Armstrong.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> much faster responses,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Oooh, re-engineering the nervous system, aren't we?
>>>>>>>> Good luck with that one.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> 30 minutes of oxygen in the abdomen,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Dunno.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> skin replaced with an elastic polymer,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> That sounds incredibly naive. Skin is a complex organ.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> all tendons and muscles replaced with polymers,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> We're talking about living tissue here.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> all bones strengthened with light metal alloys,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Sure, basically a more advanced form of orthopedic implant.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> eyes replaced with focusable cameras
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hahahaha. I want to see how you interface that with the optic
>>>>>>>> nerve. Trained from birth, I assume? Also, electronic,
>>>>>>>> electromechanical, what-have-you implants raise the question of
>>>>>>>> power supply.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> clamps on all major arteries and veins for sudden loss,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Sounds doable.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> life extension to 600+ years.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Start by explaining to me in detail the mechanisms behind the fact
>>>>>>>> that human lifespan is longer than that of a mouse. I don't care
>>>>>>>> about your handwaving how different species optimize life expectancy
>>>>>>>> for bla, bla--I want to know _how_ they do it.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Sounds good but the devil is in the details.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Where's the problem? You just put pen to paper... authorial fiat
>>>>>>>> makes it happen. Heck, I can easily improve on all of the above
>>>>>>>> suggestions: "nanotech". There. That will be EUR 0.01 in royalties.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Well, these people build FTL spaceships out of 2,000 mile diameter
>>>>>>> rocks. So, incredibly advanced from us.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Oh, and the other neat thing is that the higher you go up in fleet ranks
>>>>>>> (and only fleet personnel are enhanced), the more enhancements and
>>>>>>> stamina you get. The Captain of the 250,000 crew members for the 2,000
>>>>>>> mile diameter warship gets ALL the enhancements.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I think that our circulatory systems and brains are much better than a
>>>>>>> mouse (four legs good, two legs better !). And, we cannot be carried
>>>>>>> off by an owl or a hawk. Or an eagle.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> IIRC, Dave Berry once noted that, on some South Pacific island he
>>>>>> visited, fruit bats with a wing-span equal to that of a WW2 fighter
>>>>>> were active at night.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> His advice to parents of small children: don't let them out at night,
>>>>>> particularly if they are eating fruit.
>>>>>
>>>>> So he was aware of a now extinct species since the longest wingspan of a
>>>>> bat that we know of today is under six feet....
>>>>
>>>> "Fruit bats are some of the largest bats in the world, with a wingspan
>>>> that can exceed six feet." This is from
>>>> [https://allanimalfacts.com/fruit-bat/#Fruit_Bat_Size].
>>>>
>>>> However, you are correct that this is less than WW2 fighter wingspans.
>>>>
>>> Hmmm, my first search appears to have been defective. A new search
>>> mentions the giant golden-crowned flying fox having a possible wingspan
>>> of seven feet.
>>
>> The question, of course, is: is it's lifting capacity sufficient to
>> fly off with, say, a two-year-old?
>>
>> Note: local warnings about not leaving pets out at night lest they
>> become critter fodder also warn about leaving small children out at
>> night for the same reason.
>>
>> Small child -- large dog -- it's all the same to a cougar.
>
>To a hungry cougar that is having a bad night an adult is a viable target.

Indeed.

Also, when raising young, some predators hunt in the daytime when the
kids are asleep. (IIRC, the animal seen was a coyote. We also have
bobcats.)

I found this with Bing:

[https://wildexplained.com/what-eats-dogs/]
also lists Birds of Prey and Wolves.

I don't think we have wolves (in the city, at least). Birds of Prey
has a section further down the page, which is very interesting in the
context of this thread.
--
"In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
development was the disintegration, under Christian
influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
of family right."

On Mon, 12 Jun 2023 12:51:06 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

>On 6/12/2023 11:32 AM, BCFD36 wrote:
>> On 6/10/23 10:06, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
>>>> <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 6/9/2023 5:57 PM, Christian Weisgerber wrote:
>>>>>> On 2023-06-09, Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I have been wondering about the human body rebuilds in Mutineer's
>>>>>>> Moon
>>>>>>> and its sequels.  6X strength,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I keep reading how non-human apes are so much stronger.  This raises
>>>>>> the question if some fairly small musculoskeletal adaptations could
>>>>>> have a big effect and what the drawbacks would be.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> XX stamina,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> EPO.  Lot's of EPO.  Just ask Lance Armstrong.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> much faster responses,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Oooh, re-engineering the nervous system, aren't we?
>>>>>> Good luck with that one.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 30 minutes of oxygen in the abdomen,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Dunno.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> skin replaced with an elastic polymer,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That sounds incredibly naive.  Skin is a complex organ.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> all tendons and muscles replaced with polymers,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> We're talking about living tissue here.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> all bones strengthened with light metal alloys,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Sure, basically a more advanced form of orthopedic implant.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> eyes replaced with focusable cameras
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hahahaha.  I want to see how you interface that with the optic
>>>>>> nerve.  Trained from birth, I assume?  Also, electronic,
>>>>>> electromechanical, what-have-you implants raise the question of
>>>>>> power supply.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> clamps on all major arteries and veins for sudden loss,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Sounds doable.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> life extension to 600+ years.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Start by explaining to me in detail the mechanisms behind the fact
>>>>>> that human lifespan is longer than that of a mouse.  I don't care
>>>>>> about your handwaving how different species optimize life expectancy
>>>>>> for bla, bla--I want to know _how_ they do it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Sounds good but the devil is in the details.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Where's the problem?  You just put pen to paper... authorial fiat
>>>>>> makes it happen.  Heck, I can easily improve on all of the above
>>>>>> suggestions: "nanotech".  There.  That will be EUR 0.01 in royalties.
>>>>>
>>>>> Well, these people build FTL spaceships out of 2,000 mile diameter
>>>>> rocks.  So, incredibly advanced from us.
>>>>>
>>>>> Oh, and the other neat thing is that the higher you go up in fleet
>>>>> ranks
>>>>> (and only fleet personnel are enhanced), the more enhancements and
>>>>> stamina you get.  The Captain of the 250,000 crew members for the 2,000
>>>>> mile diameter warship gets ALL the enhancements.
>>>>>
>>>>> I think that our circulatory systems and brains are much better than a
>>>>> mouse (four legs good, two legs better !).  And, we cannot be carried
>>>>> off by an owl or a hawk.  Or an eagle.
>>>>
>>>> IIRC, Dave Berry once noted that, on some South Pacific island he
>>>> visited, fruit bats with a wing-span equal to that of a WW2 fighter
>>>> were active at night.
>>>>
>>>> His advice to parents of small children: don't let them out at night,
>>>> particularly if they are eating fruit.
>>>
>>> So he was aware of a now extinct species since the longest wingspan of
>>> a bat that we know of today is under six feet....
>>>
>> Having read all of the followups to this comment, I am thinking that
>> there are some people who are satire and sarcasm awareness deficient. Or
>> maybe I am oblivious to their sarcasm and satire.
>>
>There are also a lot of "uninformed" people posting about things they
>know nothing about so its impossible to always guess correctly what a
>poster's intent and knowledge of the real world are.

Yeah, it's not like Dave Berry is a public figure whose columns were
read by millions for many years or something like that.
--
"In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
development was the disintegration, under Christian
influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
of family right."

On Tuesday, 13 June 2023 at 17:24:10 UTC+1, Paul S Person wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Jun 2023 12:51:06 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
> <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
>
> >On 6/12/2023 11:32 AM, BCFD36 wrote:
> >> On 6/10/23 10:06, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> >>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
> >>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
> >>>> <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> On 6/9/2023 5:57 PM, Christian Weisgerber wrote:
> >>>>>> On 2023-06-09, Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> I have been wondering about the human body rebuilds in Mutineer's
> >>>>>>> Moon
> >>>>>>> and its sequels. 6X strength,
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> I keep reading how non-human apes are so much stronger. This raises
> >>>>>> the question if some fairly small musculoskeletal adaptations could
> >>>>>> have a big effect and what the drawbacks would be.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> XX stamina,
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> EPO. Lot's of EPO. Just ask Lance Armstrong.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> much faster responses,
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Oooh, re-engineering the nervous system, aren't we?
> >>>>>> Good luck with that one.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> 30 minutes of oxygen in the abdomen,
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Dunno.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> skin replaced with an elastic polymer,
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> That sounds incredibly naive. Skin is a complex organ.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> all tendons and muscles replaced with polymers,
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> We're talking about living tissue here.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> all bones strengthened with light metal alloys,
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Sure, basically a more advanced form of orthopedic implant.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> eyes replaced with focusable cameras
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Hahahaha. I want to see how you interface that with the optic
> >>>>>> nerve. Trained from birth, I assume? Also, electronic,
> >>>>>> electromechanical, what-have-you implants raise the question of
> >>>>>> power supply.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> clamps on all major arteries and veins for sudden loss,
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Sounds doable.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> life extension to 600+ years.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Start by explaining to me in detail the mechanisms behind the fact
> >>>>>> that human lifespan is longer than that of a mouse. I don't care
> >>>>>> about your handwaving how different species optimize life expectancy
> >>>>>> for bla, bla--I want to know _how_ they do it.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Sounds good but the devil is in the details.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Where's the problem? You just put pen to paper... authorial fiat
> >>>>>> makes it happen. Heck, I can easily improve on all of the above
> >>>>>> suggestions: "nanotech". There. That will be EUR 0.01 in royalties.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Well, these people build FTL spaceships out of 2,000 mile diameter
> >>>>> rocks. So, incredibly advanced from us.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Oh, and the other neat thing is that the higher you go up in fleet
> >>>>> ranks
> >>>>> (and only fleet personnel are enhanced), the more enhancements and
> >>>>> stamina you get. The Captain of the 250,000 crew members for the 2,000
> >>>>> mile diameter warship gets ALL the enhancements.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I think that our circulatory systems and brains are much better than a
> >>>>> mouse (four legs good, two legs better !). And, we cannot be carried
> >>>>> off by an owl or a hawk. Or an eagle.
> >>>>
> >>>> IIRC, Dave Berry once noted that, on some South Pacific island he
> >>>> visited, fruit bats with a wing-span equal to that of a WW2 fighter
> >>>> were active at night.
> >>>>
> >>>> His advice to parents of small children: don't let them out at night,
> >>>> particularly if they are eating fruit.
> >>>
> >>> So he was aware of a now extinct species since the longest wingspan of
> >>> a bat that we know of today is under six feet....
> >>>
> >> Having read all of the followups to this comment, I am thinking that
> >> there are some people who are satire and sarcasm awareness deficient. Or
> >> maybe I am oblivious to their sarcasm and satire.
> >>
> >There are also a lot of "uninformed" people posting about things they
> >know nothing about so its impossible to always guess correctly what a
> >poster's intent and knowledge of the real world are.
> Yeah, it's not like Dave Berry is a public figure whose columns were
> read by millions for many years or something like that.

Dave Barry.

On Tuesday, 13 June 2023 at 01:36:47 UTC+1, Titus G wrote:
> On 13/06/23 06:32, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> > On 6/12/2023 11:18 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> >> On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 21:29:07 UTC+1, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> >>> On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 18:06:15 UTC+1, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> >>>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
> >>>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
> >>>>> <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>>>> I think that our circulatory systems and brains are much better
> >>>>>> than a
> >>>>>> mouse (four legs good, two legs better !). And, we cannot be carried
> >>>>>> off by an owl or a hawk. Or an eagle.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> IIRC, Dave Berry once noted that, on some South Pacific island he
> >>>>> visited, fruit bats with a wing-span equal to that of a WW2 fighter
> >>>>> were active at night.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> His advice to parents of small children: don't let them out at night,
> >>>>> particularly if they are eating fruit.
> >>>>
> >>>> So he was aware of a now extinct species since the longest wingspan
> >>>> of a
> >>>> bat that we know of today is under six feet....
> >>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Barry>
> >>> has mostly written comedy, as far as I see there.
> >>
> >> I noticed that the original claim was by "Dave Berry",
> >> so I looked more carefully.
> >>
> >> And this is Dave Barry - one version of the story.
> >> But the article actually is about something else.
> >> <https://www.chron.com/life/article/Barry-Financial-woes-spell-trouble-in-Tonga-2068293.php>
> >>
> >> "The Kingdom of Tonga, as you know if you just now
> >> looked it up in the encyclopedia, is a nation way out
> >> in the Pacific Ocean consisting of roughly 170 small
> >> islands (the exact number depends on the height of
> >> the waves). Tonga boasts a monarchy-style government
> >> and an ecology that features a huge fruit bat whose
> >> actual, legal bat name is the "giant flying fox."
> >> The giant flying fox has a wingspan of up to 2 meters,
> >> which -- when converted from Metric to Normal -- means
> >> this thing is basically a commuter aircraft with claws.
> >> So my advice would be, if you are ever in Tonga, do NOT
> >> allow your small children to walk around outdoors at
> >> night holding fruit."
> >>
> >> This isn't quite true. 2 meters is just under 79 inches,
> >> say six and a half feet, and at that, it seems to be overstated.
> >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteropus> includes current
> >> creatures currently considered to be properly in the
> >> "flying fox" family, and they go up to 1.5m. And apparently
> >> there is no "giant flying fox" per se. They can do "large flying
> >> fox", "great flying fox", and "giant golden-crowned flying fox".
> >> A fox which can fly is impressive if you think about, but so
> >> is "megabat".
> >>
> >> I don't think they steal children, but I wonder if they
> >> would steal fruit /from/ children, which may involve biting.
> >
> > Considering that even the largest bats weigh less than 5 pounds carrying
> > away even a very small child seems like a very remote possibility.
> If you had read the whole berry article you would have noticed the
> footnote that Tongan law decrees that commuter aircraft allowable
> passenger numbers are directly related to bat measurement based on
> retracted wingspan.
> (Most Tongans are massively obese because most small ones disappeared in
> childhood.)

I think this is not precisely true, and is not precisely respectful.

On 6/13/2023 9:22 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Jun 2023 11:33:47 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>
>> On 6/12/2023 8:42 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>> On Sun, 11 Jun 2023 09:22:09 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>>> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 6/11/2023 8:35 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>>> On Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:06:11 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>>>>> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>>>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
>>>>>>> <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On 6/9/2023 5:57 PM, Christian Weisgerber wrote:
>>>>>>>>> On 2023-06-09, Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I have been wondering about the human body rebuilds in Mutineer's Moon
>>>>>>>>>> and its sequels. 6X strength,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I keep reading how non-human apes are so much stronger. This raises
>>>>>>>>> the question if some fairly small musculoskeletal adaptations could
>>>>>>>>> have a big effect and what the drawbacks would be.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> XX stamina,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> EPO. Lot's of EPO. Just ask Lance Armstrong.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> much faster responses,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Oooh, re-engineering the nervous system, aren't we?
>>>>>>>>> Good luck with that one.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> 30 minutes of oxygen in the abdomen,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Dunno.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> skin replaced with an elastic polymer,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> That sounds incredibly naive. Skin is a complex organ.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> all tendons and muscles replaced with polymers,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> We're talking about living tissue here.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> all bones strengthened with light metal alloys,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Sure, basically a more advanced form of orthopedic implant.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> eyes replaced with focusable cameras
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Hahahaha. I want to see how you interface that with the optic
>>>>>>>>> nerve. Trained from birth, I assume? Also, electronic,
>>>>>>>>> electromechanical, what-have-you implants raise the question of
>>>>>>>>> power supply.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> clamps on all major arteries and veins for sudden loss,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Sounds doable.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> life extension to 600+ years.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Start by explaining to me in detail the mechanisms behind the fact
>>>>>>>>> that human lifespan is longer than that of a mouse. I don't care
>>>>>>>>> about your handwaving how different species optimize life expectancy
>>>>>>>>> for bla, bla--I want to know _how_ they do it.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Sounds good but the devil is in the details.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Where's the problem? You just put pen to paper... authorial fiat
>>>>>>>>> makes it happen. Heck, I can easily improve on all of the above
>>>>>>>>> suggestions: "nanotech". There. That will be EUR 0.01 in royalties.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Well, these people build FTL spaceships out of 2,000 mile diameter
>>>>>>>> rocks. So, incredibly advanced from us.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Oh, and the other neat thing is that the higher you go up in fleet ranks
>>>>>>>> (and only fleet personnel are enhanced), the more enhancements and
>>>>>>>> stamina you get. The Captain of the 250,000 crew members for the 2,000
>>>>>>>> mile diameter warship gets ALL the enhancements.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I think that our circulatory systems and brains are much better than a
>>>>>>>> mouse (four legs good, two legs better !). And, we cannot be carried
>>>>>>>> off by an owl or a hawk. Or an eagle.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> IIRC, Dave Berry once noted that, on some South Pacific island he
>>>>>>> visited, fruit bats with a wing-span equal to that of a WW2 fighter
>>>>>>> were active at night.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> His advice to parents of small children: don't let them out at night,
>>>>>>> particularly if they are eating fruit.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> So he was aware of a now extinct species since the longest wingspan of a
>>>>>> bat that we know of today is under six feet....
>>>>>
>>>>> "Fruit bats are some of the largest bats in the world, with a wingspan
>>>>> that can exceed six feet." This is from
>>>>> [https://allanimalfacts.com/fruit-bat/#Fruit_Bat_Size].
>>>>>
>>>>> However, you are correct that this is less than WW2 fighter wingspans.
>>>>>
>>>> Hmmm, my first search appears to have been defective. A new search
>>>> mentions the giant golden-crowned flying fox having a possible wingspan
>>>> of seven feet.
>>>
>>> The question, of course, is: is it's lifting capacity sufficient to
>>> fly off with, say, a two-year-old?
>>>
>>> Note: local warnings about not leaving pets out at night lest they
>>> become critter fodder also warn about leaving small children out at
>>> night for the same reason.
>>>
>>> Small child -- large dog -- it's all the same to a cougar.
>>
>> To a hungry cougar that is having a bad night an adult is a viable target.
>
> Indeed.
>
> Also, when raising young, some predators hunt in the daytime when the
> kids are asleep. (IIRC, the animal seen was a coyote. We also have
> bobcats.)
>
> I found this with Bing:
>
> [https://wildexplained.com/what-eats-dogs/]
> also lists Birds of Prey and Wolves.
>
> I don't think we have wolves (in the city, at least).

But you almost certainly have coyotes. :)

> Birds of Prey
> has a section further down the page, which is very interesting in the
> context of this thread.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On 6/13/2023 9:24 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Jun 2023 12:51:06 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>
>> On 6/12/2023 11:32 AM, BCFD36 wrote:
>>> On 6/10/23 10:06, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>>>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
>>>>> <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 6/9/2023 5:57 PM, Christian Weisgerber wrote:
>>>>>>> On 2023-06-09, Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I have been wondering about the human body rebuilds in Mutineer's
>>>>>>>> Moon
>>>>>>>> and its sequels.  6X strength,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I keep reading how non-human apes are so much stronger.  This raises
>>>>>>> the question if some fairly small musculoskeletal adaptations could
>>>>>>> have a big effect and what the drawbacks would be.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> XX stamina,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> EPO.  Lot's of EPO.  Just ask Lance Armstrong.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> much faster responses,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Oooh, re-engineering the nervous system, aren't we?
>>>>>>> Good luck with that one.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> 30 minutes of oxygen in the abdomen,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Dunno.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> skin replaced with an elastic polymer,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> That sounds incredibly naive.  Skin is a complex organ.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> all tendons and muscles replaced with polymers,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> We're talking about living tissue here.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> all bones strengthened with light metal alloys,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Sure, basically a more advanced form of orthopedic implant.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> eyes replaced with focusable cameras
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hahahaha.  I want to see how you interface that with the optic
>>>>>>> nerve.  Trained from birth, I assume?  Also, electronic,
>>>>>>> electromechanical, what-have-you implants raise the question of
>>>>>>> power supply.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> clamps on all major arteries and veins for sudden loss,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Sounds doable.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> life extension to 600+ years.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Start by explaining to me in detail the mechanisms behind the fact
>>>>>>> that human lifespan is longer than that of a mouse.  I don't care
>>>>>>> about your handwaving how different species optimize life expectancy
>>>>>>> for bla, bla--I want to know _how_ they do it.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Sounds good but the devil is in the details.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Where's the problem?  You just put pen to paper... authorial fiat
>>>>>>> makes it happen.  Heck, I can easily improve on all of the above
>>>>>>> suggestions: "nanotech".  There.  That will be EUR 0.01 in royalties.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Well, these people build FTL spaceships out of 2,000 mile diameter
>>>>>> rocks.  So, incredibly advanced from us.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Oh, and the other neat thing is that the higher you go up in fleet
>>>>>> ranks
>>>>>> (and only fleet personnel are enhanced), the more enhancements and
>>>>>> stamina you get.  The Captain of the 250,000 crew members for the 2,000
>>>>>> mile diameter warship gets ALL the enhancements.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I think that our circulatory systems and brains are much better than a
>>>>>> mouse (four legs good, two legs better !).  And, we cannot be carried
>>>>>> off by an owl or a hawk.  Or an eagle.
>>>>>
>>>>> IIRC, Dave Berry once noted that, on some South Pacific island he
>>>>> visited, fruit bats with a wing-span equal to that of a WW2 fighter
>>>>> were active at night.
>>>>>
>>>>> His advice to parents of small children: don't let them out at night,
>>>>> particularly if they are eating fruit.
>>>>
>>>> So he was aware of a now extinct species since the longest wingspan of
>>>> a bat that we know of today is under six feet....
>>>>
>>> Having read all of the followups to this comment, I am thinking that
>>> there are some people who are satire and sarcasm awareness deficient. Or
>>> maybe I am oblivious to their sarcasm and satire.
>>>
>> There are also a lot of "uninformed" people posting about things they
>> know nothing about so its impossible to always guess correctly what a
>> poster's intent and knowledge of the real world are.
>
> Yeah, it's not like Dave Berry is a public figure whose columns were
> read by millions for many years or something like that.

So only about 1 in 1,000 living today have read him.... :P

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On 14/06/23 07:51, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> On Tuesday, 13 June 2023 at 01:36:47 UTC+1, Titus G wrote:
>> On 13/06/23 06:32, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>>> On 6/12/2023 11:18 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
>>>> On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 21:29:07 UTC+1, Robert Carnegie wrote:
>>>>> On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 18:06:15 UTC+1, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>>>>>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>>>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
>>>>>>> <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>> I think that our circulatory systems and brains are much better
>>>>>>>> than a
>>>>>>>> mouse (four legs good, two legs better !). And, we cannot be carried
>>>>>>>> off by an owl or a hawk. Or an eagle.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> IIRC, Dave Berry once noted that, on some South Pacific island he
>>>>>>> visited, fruit bats with a wing-span equal to that of a WW2 fighter
>>>>>>> were active at night.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> His advice to parents of small children: don't let them out at night,
>>>>>>> particularly if they are eating fruit.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> So he was aware of a now extinct species since the longest wingspan
>>>>>> of a
>>>>>> bat that we know of today is under six feet....
>>>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Barry>
>>>>> has mostly written comedy, as far as I see there.
>>>>
>>>> I noticed that the original claim was by "Dave Berry",
>>>> so I looked more carefully.
>>>>
>>>> And this is Dave Barry - one version of the story.
>>>> But the article actually is about something else.
>>>> <https://www.chron.com/life/article/Barry-Financial-woes-spell-trouble-in-Tonga-2068293.php>
>>>>
>>>> "The Kingdom of Tonga, as you know if you just now
>>>> looked it up in the encyclopedia, is a nation way out
>>>> in the Pacific Ocean consisting of roughly 170 small
>>>> islands (the exact number depends on the height of
>>>> the waves). Tonga boasts a monarchy-style government
>>>> and an ecology that features a huge fruit bat whose
>>>> actual, legal bat name is the "giant flying fox."
>>>> The giant flying fox has a wingspan of up to 2 meters,
>>>> which -- when converted from Metric to Normal -- means
>>>> this thing is basically a commuter aircraft with claws.
>>>> So my advice would be, if you are ever in Tonga, do NOT
>>>> allow your small children to walk around outdoors at
>>>> night holding fruit."
>>>>
>>>> This isn't quite true. 2 meters is just under 79 inches,
>>>> say six and a half feet, and at that, it seems to be overstated.
>>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteropus> includes current
>>>> creatures currently considered to be properly in the
>>>> "flying fox" family, and they go up to 1.5m. And apparently
>>>> there is no "giant flying fox" per se. They can do "large flying
>>>> fox", "great flying fox", and "giant golden-crowned flying fox".
>>>> A fox which can fly is impressive if you think about, but so
>>>> is "megabat".
>>>>
>>>> I don't think they steal children, but I wonder if they
>>>> would steal fruit /from/ children, which may involve biting.
>>>
>>> Considering that even the largest bats weigh less than 5 pounds carrying
>>> away even a very small child seems like a very remote possibility.
>> If you had read the whole berry article you would have noticed the
>> footnote that Tongan law decrees that commuter aircraft allowable
>> passenger numbers are directly related to bat measurement based on
>> retracted wingspan.
>> (Most Tongans are massively obese because most small ones disappeared in
>> childhood.)
>
> I think this is not precisely true, and is not precisely respectful.

I know you are precisely correct on both issues.
CORRECTION. (Most living Tongans have massive structures because most
small ones disappeared in childhood.)

On Tue, 13 Jun 2023 13:55:01 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

>On 6/13/2023 9:22 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>> On Mon, 12 Jun 2023 11:33:47 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>>
>>> On 6/12/2023 8:42 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>> On Sun, 11 Jun 2023 09:22:09 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>>>> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 6/11/2023 8:35 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>>>> On Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:06:11 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>>>>>> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>>>>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
>>>>>>>> <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On 6/9/2023 5:57 PM, Christian Weisgerber wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> On 2023-06-09, Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> I have been wondering about the human body rebuilds in Mutineer's Moon
>>>>>>>>>>> and its sequels. 6X strength,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I keep reading how non-human apes are so much stronger. This raises
>>>>>>>>>> the question if some fairly small musculoskeletal adaptations could
>>>>>>>>>> have a big effect and what the drawbacks would be.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> XX stamina,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> EPO. Lot's of EPO. Just ask Lance Armstrong.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> much faster responses,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Oooh, re-engineering the nervous system, aren't we?
>>>>>>>>>> Good luck with that one.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> 30 minutes of oxygen in the abdomen,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Dunno.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> skin replaced with an elastic polymer,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> That sounds incredibly naive. Skin is a complex organ.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> all tendons and muscles replaced with polymers,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> We're talking about living tissue here.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> all bones strengthened with light metal alloys,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Sure, basically a more advanced form of orthopedic implant.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> eyes replaced with focusable cameras
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Hahahaha. I want to see how you interface that with the optic
>>>>>>>>>> nerve. Trained from birth, I assume? Also, electronic,
>>>>>>>>>> electromechanical, what-have-you implants raise the question of
>>>>>>>>>> power supply.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> clamps on all major arteries and veins for sudden loss,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Sounds doable.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> life extension to 600+ years.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Start by explaining to me in detail the mechanisms behind the fact
>>>>>>>>>> that human lifespan is longer than that of a mouse. I don't care
>>>>>>>>>> about your handwaving how different species optimize life expectancy
>>>>>>>>>> for bla, bla--I want to know _how_ they do it.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Sounds good but the devil is in the details.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Where's the problem? You just put pen to paper... authorial fiat
>>>>>>>>>> makes it happen. Heck, I can easily improve on all of the above
>>>>>>>>>> suggestions: "nanotech". There. That will be EUR 0.01 in royalties.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Well, these people build FTL spaceships out of 2,000 mile diameter
>>>>>>>>> rocks. So, incredibly advanced from us.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Oh, and the other neat thing is that the higher you go up in fleet ranks
>>>>>>>>> (and only fleet personnel are enhanced), the more enhancements and
>>>>>>>>> stamina you get. The Captain of the 250,000 crew members for the 2,000
>>>>>>>>> mile diameter warship gets ALL the enhancements.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I think that our circulatory systems and brains are much better than a
>>>>>>>>> mouse (four legs good, two legs better !). And, we cannot be carried
>>>>>>>>> off by an owl or a hawk. Or an eagle.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> IIRC, Dave Berry once noted that, on some South Pacific island he
>>>>>>>> visited, fruit bats with a wing-span equal to that of a WW2 fighter
>>>>>>>> were active at night.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> His advice to parents of small children: don't let them out at night,
>>>>>>>> particularly if they are eating fruit.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> So he was aware of a now extinct species since the longest wingspan of a
>>>>>>> bat that we know of today is under six feet....
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "Fruit bats are some of the largest bats in the world, with a wingspan
>>>>>> that can exceed six feet." This is from
>>>>>> [https://allanimalfacts.com/fruit-bat/#Fruit_Bat_Size].
>>>>>>
>>>>>> However, you are correct that this is less than WW2 fighter wingspans.
>>>>>>
>>>>> Hmmm, my first search appears to have been defective. A new search
>>>>> mentions the giant golden-crowned flying fox having a possible wingspan
>>>>> of seven feet.
>>>>
>>>> The question, of course, is: is it's lifting capacity sufficient to
>>>> fly off with, say, a two-year-old?
>>>>
>>>> Note: local warnings about not leaving pets out at night lest they
>>>> become critter fodder also warn about leaving small children out at
>>>> night for the same reason.
>>>>
>>>> Small child -- large dog -- it's all the same to a cougar.
>>>
>>> To a hungry cougar that is having a bad night an adult is a viable target.
>>
>> Indeed.
>>
>> Also, when raising young, some predators hunt in the daytime when the
>> kids are asleep. (IIRC, the animal seen was a coyote. We also have
>> bobcats.)
>>
>> I found this with Bing:
>>
>> [https://wildexplained.com/what-eats-dogs/]
>> also lists Birds of Prey and Wolves.
>>
>> I don't think we have wolves (in the city, at least).
>
>But you almost certainly have coyotes. :)

And the wild rabbit population boom of a while back (including, sadly,
former pets) has been greatly and noticeably diminished. Leaving cats
and (small) dogs closer to the top of the menu.

I actually /saw/, at different times, a rabbit on my front lawn. One
white, one brown. I left them alone.

>> Birds of Prey
>> has a section further down the page, which is very interesting in the
>> context of this thread.
--
"In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
development was the disintegration, under Christian
influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
of family right."

On Tue, 13 Jun 2023 13:55:49 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

>On 6/13/2023 9:24 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>> On Mon, 12 Jun 2023 12:51:06 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>>
>>> On 6/12/2023 11:32 AM, BCFD36 wrote:
>>>> On 6/10/23 10:06, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>>>>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
>>>>>> <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 6/9/2023 5:57 PM, Christian Weisgerber wrote:
>>>>>>>> On 2023-06-09, Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I have been wondering about the human body rebuilds in Mutineer's
>>>>>>>>> Moon
>>>>>>>>> and its sequels.  6X strength,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I keep reading how non-human apes are so much stronger.  This raises
>>>>>>>> the question if some fairly small musculoskeletal adaptations could
>>>>>>>> have a big effect and what the drawbacks would be.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> XX stamina,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> EPO.  Lot's of EPO.  Just ask Lance Armstrong.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> much faster responses,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Oooh, re-engineering the nervous system, aren't we?
>>>>>>>> Good luck with that one.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> 30 minutes of oxygen in the abdomen,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Dunno.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> skin replaced with an elastic polymer,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> That sounds incredibly naive.  Skin is a complex organ.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> all tendons and muscles replaced with polymers,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> We're talking about living tissue here.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> all bones strengthened with light metal alloys,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Sure, basically a more advanced form of orthopedic implant.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> eyes replaced with focusable cameras
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hahahaha.  I want to see how you interface that with the optic
>>>>>>>> nerve.  Trained from birth, I assume?  Also, electronic,
>>>>>>>> electromechanical, what-have-you implants raise the question of
>>>>>>>> power supply.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> clamps on all major arteries and veins for sudden loss,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Sounds doable.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> life extension to 600+ years.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Start by explaining to me in detail the mechanisms behind the fact
>>>>>>>> that human lifespan is longer than that of a mouse.  I don't care
>>>>>>>> about your handwaving how different species optimize life expectancy
>>>>>>>> for bla, bla--I want to know _how_ they do it.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Sounds good but the devil is in the details.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Where's the problem?  You just put pen to paper... authorial fiat
>>>>>>>> makes it happen.  Heck, I can easily improve on all of the above
>>>>>>>> suggestions: "nanotech".  There.  That will be EUR 0.01 in royalties.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Well, these people build FTL spaceships out of 2,000 mile diameter
>>>>>>> rocks.  So, incredibly advanced from us.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Oh, and the other neat thing is that the higher you go up in fleet
>>>>>>> ranks
>>>>>>> (and only fleet personnel are enhanced), the more enhancements and
>>>>>>> stamina you get.  The Captain of the 250,000 crew members for the 2,000
>>>>>>> mile diameter warship gets ALL the enhancements.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I think that our circulatory systems and brains are much better than a
>>>>>>> mouse (four legs good, two legs better !).  And, we cannot be carried
>>>>>>> off by an owl or a hawk.  Or an eagle.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> IIRC, Dave Berry once noted that, on some South Pacific island he
>>>>>> visited, fruit bats with a wing-span equal to that of a WW2 fighter
>>>>>> were active at night.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> His advice to parents of small children: don't let them out at night,
>>>>>> particularly if they are eating fruit.
>>>>>
>>>>> So he was aware of a now extinct species since the longest wingspan of
>>>>> a bat that we know of today is under six feet....
>>>>>
>>>> Having read all of the followups to this comment, I am thinking that
>>>> there are some people who are satire and sarcasm awareness deficient. Or
>>>> maybe I am oblivious to their sarcasm and satire.
>>>>
>>> There are also a lot of "uninformed" people posting about things they
>>> know nothing about so its impossible to always guess correctly what a
>>> poster's intent and knowledge of the real world are.
>>
>> Yeah, it's not like Dave Berry is a public figure whose columns were
>> read by millions for many years or something like that.
>
>So only about 1 in 1,000 living today have read him.... :P

Overall, perhaps; but it is skewed by language and by age. I may be
wrong, but I suspect pretty much everyone here is old enough to have
read him at the time, if they had been so inclined.
--
"In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
development was the disintegration, under Christian
influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
of family right."

On Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 11:47:16 AM UTC-4, Paul S Person wrote:
> On Tue, 13 Jun 2023 13:55:01 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
> <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
>
> >On 6/13/2023 9:22 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
> >> On Mon, 12 Jun 2023 11:33:47 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
> >> <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
> >>
> >>> On 6/12/2023 8:42 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
> >>>> On Sun, 11 Jun 2023 09:22:09 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
> >>>> <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> On 6/11/2023 8:35 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
> >>>>>> On Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:06:11 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
> >>>>>> <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
> >>>>>>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
> >>>>>>>> <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> On 6/9/2023 5:57 PM, Christian Weisgerber wrote:
> >>>>>>>>>> On 2023-06-09, Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> I have been wondering about the human body rebuilds in Mutineer's Moon
> >>>>>>>>>>> and its sequels. 6X strength,
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> I keep reading how non-human apes are so much stronger. This raises
> >>>>>>>>>> the question if some fairly small musculoskeletal adaptations could
> >>>>>>>>>> have a big effect and what the drawbacks would be.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> XX stamina,
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> EPO. Lot's of EPO. Just ask Lance Armstrong.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> much faster responses,
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> Oooh, re-engineering the nervous system, aren't we?
> >>>>>>>>>> Good luck with that one.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> 30 minutes of oxygen in the abdomen,
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> Dunno.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> skin replaced with an elastic polymer,
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> That sounds incredibly naive. Skin is a complex organ.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> all tendons and muscles replaced with polymers,
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> We're talking about living tissue here.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> all bones strengthened with light metal alloys,
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> Sure, basically a more advanced form of orthopedic implant.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> eyes replaced with focusable cameras
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> Hahahaha. I want to see how you interface that with the optic
> >>>>>>>>>> nerve. Trained from birth, I assume? Also, electronic,
> >>>>>>>>>> electromechanical, what-have-you implants raise the question of
> >>>>>>>>>> power supply.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> clamps on all major arteries and veins for sudden loss,
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> Sounds doable.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> life extension to 600+ years.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> Start by explaining to me in detail the mechanisms behind the fact
> >>>>>>>>>> that human lifespan is longer than that of a mouse. I don't care
> >>>>>>>>>> about your handwaving how different species optimize life expectancy
> >>>>>>>>>> for bla, bla--I want to know _how_ they do it.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> Sounds good but the devil is in the details.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> Where's the problem? You just put pen to paper... authorial fiat
> >>>>>>>>>> makes it happen. Heck, I can easily improve on all of the above
> >>>>>>>>>> suggestions: "nanotech". There. That will be EUR 0.01 in royalties.
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> Well, these people build FTL spaceships out of 2,000 mile diameter
> >>>>>>>>> rocks. So, incredibly advanced from us.
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> Oh, and the other neat thing is that the higher you go up in fleet ranks
> >>>>>>>>> (and only fleet personnel are enhanced), the more enhancements and
> >>>>>>>>> stamina you get. The Captain of the 250,000 crew members for the 2,000
> >>>>>>>>> mile diameter warship gets ALL the enhancements.
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> I think that our circulatory systems and brains are much better than a
> >>>>>>>>> mouse (four legs good, two legs better !). And, we cannot be carried
> >>>>>>>>> off by an owl or a hawk. Or an eagle.
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> IIRC, Dave Berry once noted that, on some South Pacific island he
> >>>>>>>> visited, fruit bats with a wing-span equal to that of a WW2 fighter
> >>>>>>>> were active at night.
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> His advice to parents of small children: don't let them out at night,
> >>>>>>>> particularly if they are eating fruit.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> So he was aware of a now extinct species since the longest wingspan of a
> >>>>>>> bat that we know of today is under six feet....
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> "Fruit bats are some of the largest bats in the world, with a wingspan
> >>>>>> that can exceed six feet." This is from
> >>>>>> [https://allanimalfacts.com/fruit-bat/#Fruit_Bat_Size].
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> However, you are correct that this is less than WW2 fighter wingspans.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>> Hmmm, my first search appears to have been defective. A new search
> >>>>> mentions the giant golden-crowned flying fox having a possible wingspan
> >>>>> of seven feet.
> >>>>
> >>>> The question, of course, is: is it's lifting capacity sufficient to
> >>>> fly off with, say, a two-year-old?
> >>>>
> >>>> Note: local warnings about not leaving pets out at night lest they
> >>>> become critter fodder also warn about leaving small children out at
> >>>> night for the same reason.
> >>>>
> >>>> Small child -- large dog -- it's all the same to a cougar.
> >>>
> >>> To a hungry cougar that is having a bad night an adult is a viable target.
> >>
> >> Indeed.
> >>
> >> Also, when raising young, some predators hunt in the daytime when the
> >> kids are asleep. (IIRC, the animal seen was a coyote. We also have
> >> bobcats.)
> >>
> >> I found this with Bing:
> >>
> >> [https://wildexplained.com/what-eats-dogs/]
> >> also lists Birds of Prey and Wolves.
> >>
> >> I don't think we have wolves (in the city, at least).
> >
> >But you almost certainly have coyotes. :)
> And the wild rabbit population boom of a while back (including, sadly,
> former pets) has been greatly and noticeably diminished. Leaving cats
> and (small) dogs closer to the top of the menu.
>
> I actually /saw/, at different times, a rabbit on my front lawn. One
> white, one brown. I left them alone.

William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> writes:
>On Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 11:47:16=E2=80=AFAM UTC-4, Paul S Person wro=
>te:
>
>> >> Also, when raising young, some predators hunt in the daytime when the=
>=20
>> >> kids are asleep. (IIRC, the animal seen was a coyote. We also have=20
>> >> bobcats.)=20
>> >>=20
>> >> I found this with Bing:=20
>> >>=20
>> >> [https://wildexplained.com/what-eats-dogs/]=20
>> >> also lists Birds of Prey and Wolves.=20
>> >>=20
>> >> I don't think we have wolves (in the city, at least).=20
>> >=20
>> >But you almost certainly have coyotes. :)
>> And the wild rabbit population boom of a while back (including, sadly,=20
>> former pets) has been greatly and noticeably diminished. Leaving cats=20
>> and (small) dogs closer to the top of the menu.=20
>>=20
>> I actually /saw/, at different times, a rabbit on my front lawn. One=20
>> white, one brown. I left them alone.
>
>
>On my property I've seen rabbits, skunks, raccoons, possums, and various sm=
>aller creatures.

On mine, jack rabbits, skunks, coyote, deer, feral cats, the occasional wild
turkey and neighborhood peacock are the most common visitors[*]; A hunting
hawk snagged a smaller bird yesterday while I was outside and the
turkey vultures often enjoy the updrafts on warm days. The nearby
hills hold cougars and bobcats.

[*] not counting the blasted pocket gophers.

On 6/14/2023 3:29 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
> On mine, jack rabbits, skunks, coyote, deer, feral cats, the occasional wild
> turkey and neighborhood peacock are the most common visitors[*]; A hunting
> hawk snagged a smaller bird yesterday while I was outside and the
> turkey vultures often enjoy the updrafts on warm days. The nearby
> hills hold cougars and bobcats.
>
> [*] not counting the blasted pocket gophers.

...., smelled the skunks but haven't seen them yet,...,might be too far
out for the cats,..., no peacocks,..., saw a hawk take a snake few weeks
ago,...saw a bobcat few months back, rumors of a cougar.

We have two pairs of caracaras[1]. Sorry, just remembered I saw one down
on the road.

The uncountable blasted pocket gophers. About to go smoke a new hole and
rake out about 30 old ones.

[1]formerly known as Mexican eagle.

On 6/14/2023 3:29 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
> William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> writes:
>> On Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 11:47:16=E2=80=AFAM UTC-4, Paul S Person wro=
>> te:
>>
>>>>> Also, when raising young, some predators hunt in the daytime when the=
>> =20
>>>>> kids are asleep. (IIRC, the animal seen was a coyote. We also have=20
>>>>> bobcats.)=20
>>>>> =20
>>>>> I found this with Bing:=20
>>>>> =20
>>>>> [https://wildexplained.com/what-eats-dogs/]=20
>>>>> also lists Birds of Prey and Wolves.=20
>>>>> =20
>>>>> I don't think we have wolves (in the city, at least).=20
>>>> =20
>>>> But you almost certainly have coyotes. :)
>>> And the wild rabbit population boom of a while back (including, sadly,=20
>>> former pets) has been greatly and noticeably diminished. Leaving cats=20
>>> and (small) dogs closer to the top of the menu.=20
>>> =20
>>> I actually /saw/, at different times, a rabbit on my front lawn. One=20
>>> white, one brown. I left them alone.
>>
>>
>> On my property I've seen rabbits, skunks, raccoons, possums, and various sm=
>> aller creatures.
>
> On mine, jack rabbits, skunks, coyote, deer, feral cats, the occasional wild
> turkey and neighborhood peacock are the most common visitors[*]; A hunting
> hawk snagged a smaller bird yesterday while I was outside and the
> turkey vultures often enjoy the updrafts on warm days. The nearby
> hills hold cougars and bobcats.
>
> [*] not counting the blasted pocket gophers.

No turkeys or peacocks here. But I have seen a mountain lion, killed a
3.5 foot water moccasin two weeks ago under the front door sill, feral
pigs out the wazoo (killed one two years ago), multitudinous deer. Had
a 4 foot water snake crawl up into one of the a/c units last week and
killed the fan motor by wrapping itself around one of the fan blades.
Anything dies around here, the buzzards have a party to beat all
parties, there was over 100 buzzards eating the feral pig I killed two
years ago.

Oh yeah, four alligators from three foot long to five foot long.

Lynn

Jay E. Morris wrote:
> Scott Lurndal wrote:
>> On mine, jack rabbits, skunks, coyote, deer, feral cats, the occasional wild
>> turkey and neighborhood peacock are the most common visitors[*]; A hunting
>> hawk snagged a smaller bird yesterday while I was outside and the
>> turkey vultures often enjoy the updrafts on warm days. The nearby
>> hills hold cougars and bobcats.
>>
>> [*] not counting the blasted pocket gophers.
>
> ..., smelled the skunks but haven't seen them yet,...,might be too far
> out for the cats,..., no peacocks,..., saw a hawk take a snake few weeks
> ago,...saw a bobcat few months back, rumors of a cougar.
>
> We have two pairs of caracaras[1]. Sorry, just remembered I saw one down
> on the road.
>
> The uncountable blasted pocket gophers. About to go smoke a new hole and
> rake out about 30 old ones.
>
> [1]formerly known as Mexican eagle.

My Winter weekends are spent walking my dog up and down the North face
of a nearby mountain while listening to a PR audio book. (A page devoted
to this adventure will be published to my website in the near future.)
You walk about a mile or two back into a heavily forested upper
valley to reach the upper falls. The dense evergreens on either side of
the West side trail almost make me feel claustrophobic.
Water draws wildlife and predators. One late snowy Spring day
something made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. A couple of
days later a mauled animal carcass was discovered in the lower valley at
the base of the lower falls.
Ever since, my wife's pistol's been packed in my pack. (My own
pistol's too big and heavy.) This guy may be the culprit:

<https://oilcity.news/community/2023/04/13/photos-casper-resident-captures-pix-of-possible-mountain-lion-in-neighborhood/>

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php
telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.

"Jay E. Morris" <morrisj@epsilon3.comcon> writes:

> On 6/14/2023 3:29 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
>> On mine, jack rabbits, skunks, coyote, deer, feral cats, the occasional wild
>> turkey and neighborhood peacock are the most common visitors[*]; A hunting
>> hawk snagged a smaller bird yesterday while I was outside and the
>> turkey vultures often enjoy the updrafts on warm days. The nearby
>> hills hold cougars and bobcats.
>> [*] not counting the blasted pocket gophers.
>
> ..., smelled the skunks but haven't seen them yet,...,might be too far
> out for the cats,..., no peacocks,..., saw a hawk take a snake few
> weeks ago,...saw a bobcat few months back, rumors of a cougar.

Interesting -- we see skunks on our Ring cameras far more frequently
than we smell them. Last year there was one hanging out by our front
door which we had to carefully walk around to get in the house (which
finally got me off my butt and got me to rekey the back door so there's
another option next time).

My neighbor across the street sent me a video from his "critter cam" in
his backyard yesterday showing a fox and a skunk running through his
yard.

On Monday, June 12, 2023 at 8:36:47 PM UTC-4, Titus G wrote:
> On 13/06/23 06:32, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> > On 6/12/2023 11:18 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> >> On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 21:29:07 UTC+1, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> >>> On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 18:06:15 UTC+1, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> >>>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
> >>>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
> >>>>> <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>>>> I think that our circulatory systems and brains are much better
> >>>>>> than a
> >>>>>> mouse (four legs good, two legs better !). And, we cannot be carried
> >>>>>> off by an owl or a hawk. Or an eagle.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> IIRC, Dave Berry once noted that, on some South Pacific island he
> >>>>> visited, fruit bats with a wing-span equal to that of a WW2 fighter
> >>>>> were active at night.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> His advice to parents of small children: don't let them out at night,
> >>>>> particularly if they are eating fruit.
> >>>>
> >>>> So he was aware of a now extinct species since the longest wingspan
> >>>> of a
> >>>> bat that we know of today is under six feet....
> >>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Barry>
> >>> has mostly written comedy, as far as I see there.
> >>
> >> I noticed that the original claim was by "Dave Berry",
> >> so I looked more carefully.
> >>
> >> And this is Dave Barry - one version of the story.
> >> But the article actually is about something else.
> >> <https://www.chron.com/life/article/Barry-Financial-woes-spell-trouble-in-Tonga-2068293.php>
> >>
> >> "The Kingdom of Tonga, as you know if you just now
> >> looked it up in the encyclopedia, is a nation way out
> >> in the Pacific Ocean consisting of roughly 170 small
> >> islands (the exact number depends on the height of
> >> the waves). Tonga boasts a monarchy-style government
> >> and an ecology that features a huge fruit bat whose
> >> actual, legal bat name is the "giant flying fox."
> >> The giant flying fox has a wingspan of up to 2 meters,
> >> which -- when converted from Metric to Normal -- means
> >> this thing is basically a commuter aircraft with claws.
> >> So my advice would be, if you are ever in Tonga, do NOT
> >> allow your small children to walk around outdoors at
> >> night holding fruit."
> >>
> >> This isn't quite true. 2 meters is just under 79 inches,
> >> say six and a half feet, and at that, it seems to be overstated.
> >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteropus> includes current
> >> creatures currently considered to be properly in the
> >> "flying fox" family, and they go up to 1.5m. And apparently
> >> there is no "giant flying fox" per se. They can do "large flying
> >> fox", "great flying fox", and "giant golden-crowned flying fox".
> >> A fox which can fly is impressive if you think about, but so
> >> is "megabat".
> >>
> >> I don't think they steal children, but I wonder if they
> >> would steal fruit /from/ children, which may involve biting.
> >
> > Considering that even the largest bats weigh less than 5 pounds carrying
> > away even a very small child seems like a very remote possibility.
> If you had read the whole berry article you would have noticed the
> footnote that Tongan law decrees that commuter aircraft allowable
> passenger numbers are directly related to bat measurement based on
> retracted wingspan.
> (Most Tongans are massively obese because most small ones disappeared in
> childhood.)

In an old Superboy story in ADVENTURE COMICS, young Bruce Wayne
adopted the Flying Fox as a temporary alter ego.

https://www.comics.org/issue/15781/

https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/profiles/images/golden-age/adventure-comics-275.jpg

Roy Thomas recycled the name for a WWII-era teen hero

https://www.comics.org/issue/43204/cover/4/ (Young All-Stars)

https://www.writeups.org/flying-fox-young-all-stars-dc-comics/

In the Golden Age, MORE FUN COMICS had a pilot hero with that name.

https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Rex_Darrell_(Earth-Two)
Pre-dates Hillman's Sky Wolf in AIRBOY/AIR FIGHTERS Comics!

--
Kevin R

On Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 11:49:17 AM UTC-4, Paul S Person wrote:
> On Tue, 13 Jun 2023 13:55:49 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
> <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
>
> >On 6/13/2023 9:24 AM, Paul S Person wrote:

[snip]

> >> Yeah, it's not like Dave Berry is a public figure whose columns were
> >> read by millions for many years or something like that.
> >
> >So only about 1 in 1,000 living today have read him.... :P
> Overall, perhaps; but it is skewed by language and by age. I may be
> wrong, but I suspect pretty much everyone here is old enough to have
> read him at the time, if they had been so inclined.
> --

Some might have read him less than half a year ago.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/12/25/dave-barrys-2022-year-review/

He's mostly retired, and has written some fiction.

--
Kevin R

On Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 6:59:31 PM UTC-4, Lynn McGuire wrote:
> On 6/14/2023 3:29 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
> > William Hyde <wthyd...@gmail.com> writes:
> >> On Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 11:47:16=E2=80=AFAM UTC-4, Paul S Person wro=
> >> te:
> >>
> >>>>> Also, when raising young, some predators hunt in the daytime when the=
> >> =20
> >>>>> kids are asleep. (IIRC, the animal seen was a coyote. We also have=20
> >>>>> bobcats.)=20
> >>>>> =20
> >>>>> I found this with Bing:=20
> >>>>> =20
> >>>>> [https://wildexplained.com/what-eats-dogs/]=20
> >>>>> also lists Birds of Prey and Wolves.=20
> >>>>> =20
> >>>>> I don't think we have wolves (in the city, at least).=20
> >>>> =20
> >>>> But you almost certainly have coyotes. :)
> >>> And the wild rabbit population boom of a while back (including, sadly,=20
> >>> former pets) has been greatly and noticeably diminished. Leaving cats=20
> >>> and (small) dogs closer to the top of the menu.=20
> >>> =20
> >>> I actually /saw/, at different times, a rabbit on my front lawn. One=20
> >>> white, one brown. I left them alone.
> >>
> >>
> >> On my property I've seen rabbits, skunks, raccoons, possums, and various sm=
> >> aller creatures.
> >
> > On mine, jack rabbits, skunks, coyote, deer, feral cats, the occasional wild
> > turkey and neighborhood peacock are the most common visitors[*]; A hunting
> > hawk snagged a smaller bird yesterday while I was outside and the
> > turkey vultures often enjoy the updrafts on warm days. The nearby
> > hills hold cougars and bobcats.
> >
> > [*] not counting the blasted pocket gophers.
> No turkeys or peacocks here. But I have seen a mountain lion, killed a
> 3.5 foot water moccasin two weeks ago under the front door sill, feral
> pigs out the wazoo (killed one two years ago), multitudinous deer. Had
> a 4 foot water snake crawl up into one of the a/c units last week and
> killed the fan motor by wrapping itself around one of the fan blades.
> Anything dies around here, the buzzards have a party to beat all
> parties, there was over 100 buzzards eating the feral pig I killed two
> years ago.
>
> Oh yeah, four alligators from three foot long to five foot long.

Sounds "exciting".

Here in rural MA: On my property, I've seen Turkeys, deer, lynx,
moose, skunks, black bears, and (non venomous) snakes. Of course,
also rabbits, squirrels, bats, groundhogs, 'possum, chipmunks,
and mice, but those are really just ignored as background noise.

pt

On Wed, 14 Jun 2023 13:17:38 -0700 (PDT), William Hyde
<wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 11:47:16?AM UTC-4, Paul S Person wrote:
>> On Tue, 13 Jun 2023 13:55:01 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>> <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
>>
>> >On 6/13/2023 9:22 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>> >> On Mon, 12 Jun 2023 11:33:47 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>> >> <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> On 6/12/2023 8:42 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>> >>>> On Sun, 11 Jun 2023 09:22:09 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>> >>>> <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
>> >>>>
>> >>>>> On 6/11/2023 8:35 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>> >>>>>> On Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:06:11 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>> >>>>>> <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> On 6/10/2023 9:08 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>> >>>>>>>> On Fri, 9 Jun 2023 19:02:38 -0500, Lynn McGuire
>> >>>>>>>> <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>> On 6/9/2023 5:57 PM, Christian Weisgerber wrote:
>> >>>>>>>>>> On 2023-06-09, Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>>> I have been wondering about the human body rebuilds in Mutineer's Moon
>> >>>>>>>>>>> and its sequels. 6X strength,
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>> I keep reading how non-human apes are so much stronger. This raises
>> >>>>>>>>>> the question if some fairly small musculoskeletal adaptations could
>> >>>>>>>>>> have a big effect and what the drawbacks would be.
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>>> XX stamina,
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>> EPO. Lot's of EPO. Just ask Lance Armstrong.
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>>> much faster responses,
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>> Oooh, re-engineering the nervous system, aren't we?
>> >>>>>>>>>> Good luck with that one.
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>>> 30 minutes of oxygen in the abdomen,
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>> Dunno.
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>>> skin replaced with an elastic polymer,
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>> That sounds incredibly naive. Skin is a complex organ.
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>>> all tendons and muscles replaced with polymers,
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>> We're talking about living tissue here.
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>>> all bones strengthened with light metal alloys,
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>> Sure, basically a more advanced form of orthopedic implant.
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>>> eyes replaced with focusable cameras
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>> Hahahaha. I want to see how you interface that with the optic
>> >>>>>>>>>> nerve. Trained from birth, I assume? Also, electronic,
>> >>>>>>>>>> electromechanical, what-have-you implants raise the question of
>> >>>>>>>>>> power supply.
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>>> clamps on all major arteries and veins for sudden loss,
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>> Sounds doable.
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>>> life extension to 600+ years.
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>> Start by explaining to me in detail the mechanisms behind the fact
>> >>>>>>>>>> that human lifespan is longer than that of a mouse. I don't care
>> >>>>>>>>>> about your handwaving how different species optimize life expectancy
>> >>>>>>>>>> for bla, bla--I want to know _how_ they do it.
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>>> Sounds good but the devil is in the details.
>> >>>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>> Where's the problem? You just put pen to paper... authorial fiat
>> >>>>>>>>>> makes it happen. Heck, I can easily improve on all of the above
>> >>>>>>>>>> suggestions: "nanotech". There. That will be EUR 0.01 in royalties.
>> >>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>> Well, these people build FTL spaceships out of 2,000 mile diameter
>> >>>>>>>>> rocks. So, incredibly advanced from us.
>> >>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>> Oh, and the other neat thing is that the higher you go up in fleet ranks
>> >>>>>>>>> (and only fleet personnel are enhanced), the more enhancements and
>> >>>>>>>>> stamina you get. The Captain of the 250,000 crew members for the 2,000
>> >>>>>>>>> mile diameter warship gets ALL the enhancements.
>> >>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>> I think that our circulatory systems and brains are much better than a
>> >>>>>>>>> mouse (four legs good, two legs better !). And, we cannot be carried
>> >>>>>>>>> off by an owl or a hawk. Or an eagle.
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>> IIRC, Dave Berry once noted that, on some South Pacific island he
>> >>>>>>>> visited, fruit bats with a wing-span equal to that of a WW2 fighter
>> >>>>>>>> were active at night.
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>> His advice to parents of small children: don't let them out at night,
>> >>>>>>>> particularly if they are eating fruit.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> So he was aware of a now extinct species since the longest wingspan of a
>> >>>>>>> bat that we know of today is under six feet....
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> "Fruit bats are some of the largest bats in the world, with a wingspan
>> >>>>>> that can exceed six feet." This is from
>> >>>>>> [https://allanimalfacts.com/fruit-bat/#Fruit_Bat_Size].
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> However, you are correct that this is less than WW2 fighter wingspans.
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>> Hmmm, my first search appears to have been defective. A new search
>> >>>>> mentions the giant golden-crowned flying fox having a possible wingspan
>> >>>>> of seven feet.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> The question, of course, is: is it's lifting capacity sufficient to
>> >>>> fly off with, say, a two-year-old?
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Note: local warnings about not leaving pets out at night lest they
>> >>>> become critter fodder also warn about leaving small children out at
>> >>>> night for the same reason.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Small child -- large dog -- it's all the same to a cougar.
>> >>>
>> >>> To a hungry cougar that is having a bad night an adult is a viable target.
>> >>
>> >> Indeed.
>> >>
>> >> Also, when raising young, some predators hunt in the daytime when the
>> >> kids are asleep. (IIRC, the animal seen was a coyote. We also have
>> >> bobcats.)
>> >>
>> >> I found this with Bing:
>> >>
>> >> [https://wildexplained.com/what-eats-dogs/]
>> >> also lists Birds of Prey and Wolves.
>> >>
>> >> I don't think we have wolves (in the city, at least).
>> >
>> >But you almost certainly have coyotes. :)
>> And the wild rabbit population boom of a while back (including, sadly,
>> former pets) has been greatly and noticeably diminished. Leaving cats
>> and (small) dogs closer to the top of the menu.
>>
>> I actually /saw/, at different times, a rabbit on my front lawn. One
>> white, one brown. I left them alone.
>
>
>On my property I've seen rabbits, skunks, raccoons, possums, and various smaller creatures.

On Thu, 15 Jun 2023 03:54:21 -0000 (UTC), Don <g@crcomp.net> wrote:

>Jay E. Morris wrote:
>> Scott Lurndal wrote:
>>> On mine, jack rabbits, skunks, coyote, deer, feral cats, the occasional wild
>>> turkey and neighborhood peacock are the most common visitors[*]; A hunting
>>> hawk snagged a smaller bird yesterday while I was outside and the
>>> turkey vultures often enjoy the updrafts on warm days. The nearby
>>> hills hold cougars and bobcats.
>>>
>>> [*] not counting the blasted pocket gophers.
>>
>> ..., smelled the skunks but haven't seen them yet,...,might be too far
>> out for the cats,..., no peacocks,..., saw a hawk take a snake few weeks
>> ago,...saw a bobcat few months back, rumors of a cougar.
>>
>> We have two pairs of caracaras[1]. Sorry, just remembered I saw one down
>> on the road.
>>
>> The uncountable blasted pocket gophers. About to go smoke a new hole and
>> rake out about 30 old ones.
>>
>> [1]formerly known as Mexican eagle.
>
>My Winter weekends are spent walking my dog up and down the North face
>of a nearby mountain while listening to a PR audio book. (A page devoted
>to this adventure will be published to my website in the near future.)
> You walk about a mile or two back into a heavily forested upper
>valley to reach the upper falls. The dense evergreens on either side of
>the West side trail almost make me feel claustrophobic.
> Water draws wildlife and predators. One late snowy Spring day
>something made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. A couple of
>days later a mauled animal carcass was discovered in the lower valley at
>the base of the lower falls.
> Ever since, my wife's pistol's been packed in my pack. (My own
>pistol's too big and heavy.) This guy may be the culprit:
>
><https://oilcity.news/community/2023/04/13/photos-casper-resident-captures-pix-of-possible-mountain-lion-in-neighborhood/>

Don't bend over to take it out -- you will look like prey and might
provoke an attack. Particularly if it is hungry.
--
"In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
development was the disintegration, under Christian
influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
of family right."

On Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:21:25 -0700 (PDT), Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com>
wrote:

>On Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 11:49:17?AM UTC-4, Paul S Person wrote:
>> On Tue, 13 Jun 2023 13:55:49 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>> <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
>>
>> >On 6/13/2023 9:24 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>
>[snip]
>
>> >> Yeah, it's not like Dave Berry is a public figure whose columns were
>> >> read by millions for many years or something like that.
>> >
>> >So only about 1 in 1,000 living today have read him.... :P
>> Overall, perhaps; but it is skewed by language and by age. I may be
>> wrong, but I suspect pretty much everyone here is old enough to have
>> read him at the time, if they had been so inclined.
>> --
>
>Some might have read him less than half a year ago.
>
>https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/12/25/dave-barrys-2022-year-review/

Sadly, there's a non-pay-wall. All they want is my email address.

Right. That's all I need, daily emails trying to sign me up. Or,
worse.

Of course, the fact that they do this suggests he still has a large
audience.

>He's mostly retired, and has written some fiction.

When I finish Gardner-on-Kindle (novels available done, currently
checking out the collections of short fiction, at least two of which
are on Kindle), I may turn to Barry. IIRC, its all prose, so Kindle
should be fine.
--
"In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
development was the disintegration, under Christian
influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
of family right."

On 6/14/23 13:29, Scott Lurndal wrote:
> William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> writes:
>> On Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 11:47:16=E2=80=AFAM UTC-4, Paul S Person wro=
>> te:

[stuff deleted]

>> On my property I've seen rabbits, skunks, raccoons, possums, and various sm=
>> aller creatures.
>
> On mine, jack rabbits, skunks, coyote, deer, feral cats, the occasional wild
> turkey and neighborhood peacock are the most common visitors[*]; A hunting
> hawk snagged a smaller bird yesterday while I was outside and the
> turkey vultures often enjoy the updrafts on warm days. The nearby
> hills hold cougars and bobcats.
>
> [*] not counting the blasted pocket gophers.

I won't count the gophers, voles, or moles either.

Coyotes, deer (saw a spotted fawn yesterday), bats, possums, skunks,
turkeys (lots of them, there were none 30 years ago), woodpeckers, bald
eagles (only seen pictures), red tail hawks, ravens and crows, mice,
rats, squirrels, a couple of chipmunks 38 years ago and none since,
bobcats, feral cats, raccoons, and an overabundance of mountain lions.
And cougars too, but you can distract them with a glass of chardonay.

--
Dave Scruggs
Captain, Boulder Creek Fire (Retired)
Sr. Software Engineer (Retired, mostly)