Texsox

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 04:15 PM) My answer will continue to be what is the most biologically appropriate. This isn't going to change based on whether or not he is hunting lions or sitting on the couch. Think about it for a minute. A husky pulling a sled in Alaska for 12 hours, a greyhound about to run flat out for 90 seconds, and a lab sitting in a jon boat waiting for a chance to swim through cold waters to retrieve a duck, and a pocket pooch living in a high rise all have the same nutritional needs? I'm not so certain.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 04:16 PM) Whichever one makes them not puke all over your couch and doesnt make their hair fall out all over your tiny apt. I hated when my ex would buy cat food with artificial dyes. My cat would puke it up and stain the carpet.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 04:11 PM) I think it's pretty 100% clear that the kid is dead. Do you disagree? You shouldn't be able to chase a kid and wind up gunning them down without punishment. I don't care what the details are, the part everyone agrees to, the part documented by recorded phone conversations, says that is what happened. If it's legal to do that, because some stupid state has decided that everyone should be armed to the teeth, then that state is wrong and people shouldn't be armed to the teeth. I agree. Here is the but . . . The problem is in writing the law you should be allowed to chase a criminal* and stop him. You should not have to run because some criminal punk is in your neighborhood. Now write a law that allows me to follow someone who will commit a crime while not following someone who will not be committing a crime. I do not believe it can be done. But recognize that there are law abiding citizens who want to take back their neighborhoods. They are tired of watching criminals out their closed windows because they are required by law to give the criminals the streets. The old law requires us to run away from criminals. That ain't right either**. *We know Martin was not a criminal now. ** Earning my screen name lol

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 04:09 PM) You know, I'll just add too that it's odd to me that someone like Balta (liberal-commie....j/k!) is probably on the other side of the fence when it comes to the death penalty because it's rare to have a case where it's 100% certain that someone did the crime, and in some cases because of DNA testing and whatnot convictions have been overturned. So in those cases it's "NEVER assume anything, ALWAYS assume that the evidence is wrong and the person is 100% innocent." But in this case it's absolutely flipped. We STILL do not know exactly what happened, it's all a bunch of reports, which if the last Illinois men's basketball coaching search taught me anything, it's that reporting and journalism is pretty f***ing worthless these days. Even so, he's 100% guilty and a dirty racist to boot, and now he's going to go scot-free and this just proves that all whites hate all blacks and the world will end in 21 days. Jenks that is an awesome post. You tossed in everything from Illini basketball to commies. I have no f***ing idea what you meant, but I loved reading it. I think I agree with most of your thoughts, but I did get a little lost.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 04:01 PM) No. They recommended diets which, as you mentioned, were cheap and could feed the masses most efficiently. Unfortunately, when you do nothing but sit on your ass and stare at a screen for the majority of your days, that diet produces heart attacks. Which brings up an interesting point. A dog's diet should be the same if they are roaming the woods trying to bring down game or sitting on a couch and going to a dog park?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 03:59 PM) Tex...it's not a wild dog thing...it's about feeding the dog the foods its biology digests most efficiently...I understand what you are trying to get at...but our pets are not some "experiment" for most of us... But aren't we doing just that when we provide food instead of allowing them to hunt their own? You have a very large breed that I doubt evolved to sit on couches. It seems like you are running an experiment to see what food and excercise routine works best for them. You would make changes if you saw something wasn't agreeing with them. You wouldmake changes if your researched convinced you there was something better. I'm not suggesting you are doing a bad or wrong thing. I wish every pet owner cared for their dogs as much as you care for yours. I just also leave open the possibility that other caring owners have found their dogs thrive on other diets, other training, and other socializations.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 03:53 PM) But that decision should be made by a jury, not by a Prosecutor who is concerned about their conviction ratio. Actually part of our system is the prosecutor can't just charge people and let juries sort it out. We have demanded that prosecutors be more careful than that. It is a waste of taxpayer money and clogs our courts. And I am not specifically stating that applies to this case, just to the idea that prosecutors should prosecute first and ask questions later.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 03:51 PM) Some would call a law that raises the threshold for charging a guy with a gun crime in a self-defense case to an obscene level, where prosecutors default towards not charging people, to be a perversion of justice. Some would also call having a 17 year old kid dead because some guy found him suspicious to be one huge perversion of justice, no matter what happens. I agree with the idea behind what you are saying. I would not have stated it that way, but I understand what you are saying. It's a bad law. But it is the law. We should work to have it changed so this sort of thing does not happen again.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 03:38 PM) Tex, We don't even understand how best to feed ourselves. You think we can outsmart nature when it comes to feeding our dogs? The best approach is to feed as large a variety of good proteins as possible. That way we are most likely to cover all the nutrients dogs need. Unfortunately, this is very expensive and beyond the reach of most people for large dogs. Check out a product like Darwin's versus something like what most people feed Iam's. There is a huge, huge difference, because one caters to the needs of the dog, while the other caters to the needs of the dog's owner. As I said much, much earlier. If we are going to compare the best and the worse of processed animal foods, than the conclusion will be much different. But as long as we are feeding the animal and they are not hunting and killing it themselves, the system is different. We're providing food for an animal. How close to perfect is the dog owner comfortable with? I don't have a dog in this fight, just some things I was thinking. We want this wild dog as long as it doesn't pee or poop in the house, rip the carpet trying to make a den, is agressive when other animals invade its territory, etc. The whole pet thing becomes strange to me at some point. And I love dogs and cats.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 03:42 PM) I'm still incredibly skeptical that there will be any punishment. However, he would have been let off the hook completely and the case would have been closed without the public outcry. Which is a damn shame in itself and something others should be punished for. It is getting harder to sort the facts and how the law is applying them. There seems to be so much pressure to prosecute that everyone from the locals to the feds are trying to get this guy to court. I'm not suggesting the public outcry is a bad thing. I just don't want it to pervert our system of justice. After all he is innocent until proven guilty. We seem to have found him guilty and are trying to figure out a way to convict him. It might feel right, but it isn't how our system was meant to be. I really believe he escalated this and should be held responsible. I also do not believe it was premeditated. As I've said before, two guys who feared each other meet and a terrible thing happened. One guy is dead, the other should also pay some price.

Sounds like you made the correct first step and the teachers let you down. I'd reschedule a conference with the teacher of the subject where the problem is. We team teach here and you will always have three of the four core teachers there. (The fourth is handling our tutoring groups). We'll pick the class where the student is doing best to not be there. A couple thoughts that may help your daughter. Prioritize the most important stuff like reading and math. Do more if you can, but be certain that reading and math is taken care of. Help her to understand there is a difference between doing homework and studying. Find her learning style, what works best, and find additional materials that suit her style. Find a different textbook that covers the same material, find videos, etc. Check over her class notes or help her to create some. Note taking is an art and it takes a while for people to get better at it. If it is serious enough an outside tutor can be a real help.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 02:20 PM) He started a fight with a kid and wound up shooting him. It isn't farfetched to believe that this guy deserves to be in jail for first degree murder, or at the very least manslaughter. Being a social pariah for the majority of the country and a hero to the part of the country happy a black kid is off the streets (See the images on his website) seems kinda paltry compared to that, wouldn't you say? I agree. Would you agree that ultimately his punishment will be a couple notches worse because of the public outcry? If this had happened in a state where he was charged immediately, was prosecuted fairly and quickly, he may have pled to some reduced sentence, perhaps involuntary manslaughter, etc. But with the publicity and adding all of our societies burdens on him, he'll receive a harsher sentence. Perhaps it is the correct sentence and everyone else is treated too lightly. But I do believe he will be punished a few notches more than had this not blown up.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 02:11 PM) Yeah... the dog's closest cousin hasn't been domesticated for centuries, either. The dog's closest cousin doesn't have a bowl full of food at all time's and just "decide" to eat when it wants. It f***ing hunts and then eats. Apples/oranges. Correct. The lifestyle isn't the same but the animal isn't much different, at least that seems to be the opinion here. Although with new breeds created out of seemingly nowhere, I am inclined to agree more with your point.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 02:34 PM) Ok, you're going to stack tens of thousands of years against 80 years and expect to see some sort of evolutionary change? Come on, Tex... We would also have to look at the knowledge that humans have and our ability to manufacturer pet foods. If we wish to continue to compare a dog in the wild, is modern pet food better or worse than scaveging old carcasses? Is the variety of nutrients we can pack into a single serving better or worse than the variety that a dog would have in the wild? As you mentioned, food is sometimes scarce and the animal will eat what it can. I have a hard time believing that we cannot manufacture a pet food that is equal or better than what a dog would receive in the wild. Is what you are feeding your dogs close to what they would receive in the wild? The entire animal? Would they receive that bounty every day of their lives? Wouldn't feeding them an entire animal twice a week be more aligned with the wild experience? Just some thougths I found interesting.

A fine dining restaurant on South Padre is putting together a Titanic dinner for this weekend. I am looking foprward to it.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 9, 2012 -> 11:59 AM) It depends on what traits we are breeding for. You can accelerate things but only so much. Is "ability to digest grain based foods easily" a trait we're breeding for or is that just something impacting evolution on the outskirts? I don't think of breeders pushing dogs based on what they eat very often. There might well be some species who can process grains and processed foods better than others...but you can say that about humans too. It could certainly happen but you need to be directly selecting for that trait. I feel like they are selecting for things like "Quality of coat" "Behavior" "appearance" more than diet. I am going to assume that the majority of those dogs are eating processed foods. Doesn't it follow then that breeders are selecting for things like "Quality of coat" "Behavior" "appearance" while on this processed diet? Wouldn't they go hand in hand? Bottom line it seems as if these pets are far removed from their wild ancestors. I'm not certain how appropriate this wild model really is.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 01:14 PM) FYI dismissing people using this to highlight institutional injustice as "sins of our fathers" is defending institutional injustice. I'm not dismissing the people or the instiutional injustice. I'm pointing out that Zimmerman is now the person who will pay a penalty for more than what he did. He will also pay the penalty for the instiutional injustices. In other words, he will pay a penalty beyond just what he did. He will pay the penalty for those who should have paid but got off.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 10:03 AM) Of course Tex is right. Because blaming it on the sins of our fathers is a great way to ignore the fact that the injustices still happen regularly today, are built in to this society, and have very powerful defenders. I wasn't thinking necessarily the blame, but a sum pile of everything that happened before. I've heard quotes this weekend about this is a world wide problem, etc. Zimmerman has become a poster boy for every injustice and he must be punished for all of them. People want him charged not only for what he did, but for everything that happened before and is still happening.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Apr 9, 2012 -> 01:59 PM) Out of curiosity, what is your suggestion to correct these problems? What should the parents be doing to make sure they turn in their assignments, do their homework, pay attention in class and care about school? For those with internet access and the skills to use them, go to the parent portal and look. Call the school if there is a question. Check their progress reports and report cards. I can't tell you how many parents believe we stopped issuing report cards. Believe the teacher most of the time. If four teachers tell you your kid is disrupting class, believe us. And don't give us the well everyone else is doing it. Well we have to stop someone first.

Zimmerman and Martin are larger than life and are bearing the hopes, dreams, expectations, faults, and everything else for a country. It stopped being about what happened and now the centuries of injustice, the sins of our fathers, are taking over.

If he could throw out runners he'd get some votes for the HoF. Not enough to get in, but he'd get some votes. Thank you SF

He's a guy we'll appreciate even more after he retires and the team tries to replace him. He has a better than most chance at retiring in a Sox uniform.

Balta, how does selective breeding factor into this? Aren't we breeding dogs that thrive in an artificial environment? Wouldn't that speed up the evolution?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 9, 2012 -> 09:43 AM) This is simply not true. Domesticated dogs have been eating kibble for roughly 80 years. Evolution simply does not work this quickly, Tex. As to your second statement, you are doing exactly what most humans do...you are making judgments from your perspective rather than that of a dog's perspective. I know you qualified it with your next statement, but I'm not sure it is easier, to be honest. From a dog's perspective does it want to be locked up in a crate or house, or running free?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 9, 2012 -> 09:38 AM) Think about how evolution works though Tex. It's selection based on die-off rates. half a dozen generations may have been raised on Kibbles and Bits, but the question then is whether there's a big enough difference in die-off rates between groups eating processed food and groups eating the kind of meal Shack is advising. For it to happen in 6 generations would require a huge selective advantage towards eating processed grain based food and an appropriate mutation already existing within the population. They can't just "Get used to it" if it isn't in the gene pool already. The extra food availability may be a big advantage...but it's not like dog owners are killing off dogs who don't eat that sort of diet, or deliberately attempting to breed it out. I believe we are looking at dozens and dozens of generations. (Although I'm not certain the number of generations makes that big of a difference) Plus we would also have to examine the evolution of processed dog foods as a suitable food for dogs. I suspect that we will find that a wild diet is better, I'm just not certain by how much. Looking at a wild dog who has a wild diet and a wild environment. We assume we can improve the dog's life by switching it to a domestic environment. On the surface it makes sense and based on my belief that a dog does not have a very complex psyche, one I believe could be true. The dog grows up in an environment and does not have the capacity to understand the concept of wild or any other life. As far as quality of life, I am looking at what is "natural" for a wild animal. Shack is preaching a "wild" diet while keeping the dog in a distinctly non wild environment. I find that a very interesting contrast. This whole concepts of humans keeping pets is fascinating to me and I am looking into what research has been done to understand why we do that. Of course there are all the symbiotic reasons that are usually mentioned, and the various psychological reasons.