estrelaOne day Chuang Tzu and a friend were walking by a river.  

"You are not me," said Chuang Tzu. "So how do you know that I do not know that the fish are enjoying themselves?"

ah ha haaaaaa :D that's the best joke i've heard in ages - it sounds like something from a Monty Python movie ;)

BigBunny...sounds like Vegemite has the has the consistency of almond butter..

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Steven Wilde...it's no big deal...it's small text & hard to read...go easy on yourself....

Wisc. Hunter Wants Open Season for Cats

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Hunter Mark Smith welcomes wild birds on to his property, but if he sees a cat, he thinks the "invasive" animal should be considered fair game.

The 48-year-old firefighter from La Crosse has proposed that hunters in Wisconsin make free-roaming domestic cats an "unprotected species" that could be shot at will by anyone with a small-game license.

His proposal will be placed before hunters on April 11 at the Wisconsin Conservation Congress spring hearings in each of the state's 72 counties.

"I get up in the morning and if there's new snow, there's cat tracks under my bird feeder ... I look at them as an invasive species, plain and simple," Smith said.

Smith's proposal has horrified cat lovers, but is seen by others as a way to stop cats from killing wild birds.

University of Wisconsin-Madison wildlife ecology professor Stanley Temple, who trapped more than 100 cats and analyzed their stomach contents during a four-year study, has estimated that between 7.8 million and 219 million birds are killed by rural cats in Wisconsin each year.

"It's obviously a very controversial proposal," Temple said, but added, "I think there really is a basis for having a debate about it."

The Conservation Congress is a five-member elected body whose duty is to advise the Department of Natural Resources and the Legislature on natural resources issues.

DNR attorney Tim Andryk said the vote would simply be "an advisory recommendation" to state lawmakers.

"We (the DNR) don't have authority to regulate domestic animals. Legislation would have to be passed to accomplish this," Andryk said. "You might also have to amend laws relating to abuse of domestic animals."

But Temple said he thinks legislation is not needed. He said the department does have the authority to declare rural cats an unprotected species — because unclaimed cats can be considered nonnative wildlife species like house mice, Norway rats, pigeons and starlings.

"If they are not a pet, if somebody doesn't claim ownership, they become a nonnative wildlife species and not entitled to protection by the state," he said.

Cat enthusiasts Cheryl Balazs, Ted O'Donnell and Adam Bauknecht are trying to organize opposition to Smith's proposal. O'Donnell, a co-owner of MadCat Pet Supplies, recently set up a Web site, dontshootthecat.com, to inform people about it.

O'Donnell said Smith's proposal "is a callous response" to the problem of cats preying on wild birds.

"There's more humane solutions," he said. "We as citizens should step up and solve the problem humanely."

Sheri Carr, senior humane officer at the Dane County Humane Society, said the group has not yet taken a position on the proposal, but wants cat owners to abide by their local ordinances and not let their animals roam.

Suzie2000: happy 600!

silent shady: happy 400!

StevenWilde: i tried to listen to you song but it is not available, i hope everything is ok with you, never mind about bold text....

Hi Keniko, KD6aaj, Jazzzzy, Stevee T!

Delfino: good beat! "silly bastard", do you know KraftWerk? the Father of Techno music? i love them!

BigBunny: i'm sure you couldn't imagine the reverberation on "vegemite thing"LOL, that's great! i've never heard about it! and now i want to taste it!!

Laughter May Be Good for the Heart, Study Finds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A daily dose of laughter may be good for the heart because, like exercise, it makes blood vessels work more efficiently, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

Depression, on the other hand, can raise the risk of dying from heart failure, a separate study found.

The two studies, presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Orlando, Florida, show how psychological factors can affect a person's health.

"We don't recommend that you laugh and not exercise, but we do recommend that you try to laugh on a regular basis. Thirty minutes of exercise three times a week, and 15 minutes of laughter on a daily basis is probably good for the vascular system," said Dr. Michael Miller of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Miller and colleagues at the school showed two movies, one humorous, one stressful, to 20 healthy volunteers and tested the function of their blood vessels.

The researchers specifically looked at the endothelium, the lining of the vessels, and found that blood flow was reduced in 14 of the 20 volunteers after stressful movie clips. But blood flowed more freely in 19 of the 20 when they laughed at funny movie segments.

Average blood flow increased 22 percent during laughter, and decreased 35 percent during mental stress, they told the meeting.

"The endothelium is the first line in the development of atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries, so, given the results of our study, it is conceivable that laughing may be important to maintain a healthy endothelium, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease," Miller said in a statement.

Laughter may be almost as helpful as exercise, Miller said.

"The magnitude of change we saw in the endothelium is similar to the benefit we might see with aerobic activity, but without the aches, pains and muscle tension associated with exercise," he said.

In a second study, Dr Wei Jiang and colleagues at Duke University in North Carolina followed 1,005 heart failure patients and also tested them for depression.

Those with mild depression had a 44 percent greater risk of dying, Jiang told the meeting.

"This adverse association of depression and increased long-term mortality was independent of other factors, including age, marriage, cardiac function and the root cause of the heart failure," Jiang said in a statement.

"Approximately half of all patients with heart failure will die within five years of diagnosis, and we believe that our study appears to identify a group of these patients who are at a higher risk for dying."

Jiang said it is not clear why, but he said patients with depression tend not to exercise or take medications properly.

tune BigBunny - Hy, how are you doin´ and how are your guinea pigs? Was it very hot today?

actually i could be doing better :( my dermatitis (it's like exzema) has flared up and i can't stop ICTHing!! i used to just get the stuff on my hands - but now it's on my neck & legs as well :(

but the good news is - the g. pigs are ace thanx :) & my oldest cat Bluey (16yrs) is trying to throw up a hairball, he's sitting on a desk behind me ;P

Suzie2000And why doesn't anyone else like Doctor Who except me? i like it when that BBC show 'Dead Ringers' takes off the Dr. & he walks around town, goes into tanning salons, catches a train.......and talks to people about Dr. Who things ;)

he freaks them out!! :D

BIGBUNNY: hi! that is "Zen story"LOL, about a very wise Zen Master!!!!LOL, it was not meant to be funny!!!ahahahah but, in fact it is really funny!!! I liked the idea you've got from the story!! great bigbunny!!

I'M LISTEN KRAFTWERK "ELECTRIC CAFE" ALBUM!!!! AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! My building is shaking!!!!! i hope my neigbors can understand and suport me in my moment of insanity!!!

Hi everyone at Satchland!

bahduh, how are you? sorry to hear about your shoulder, you have to be careful with the training, have a rest and you will be good soon, my best healing wishes to you :-)

tune, your drawing of Joe is really good but the one with the little potato thing is so sweet, I love it! About learning Spanish...I think you have made a good choice, specially if your motivation is cultural, it will be so gratifying like doing a painting course :-) given that you speak English, most English abstract, scientific and technical words are very similar to Spanish because of the Latin origin, you write what you hear and grammar is rather complicated but I've heard that it's easier for German speakers :-)
BTW, the land of Satch is the best on the Net ;-) See you

962, The beach of Madrid is called El Pantano de San Juan, it's located in the south west part of the province between two localities: Pelayos de la Presa and San Martin de Valdeiglesias, it has 53 km of coast and you can have a swim and practice nautic sports. It's an hour driving from the center of the city. If you come to Madrid someday, highly recommended :-)

Steven Wilde, howdy! How do you feel? I've seen that you have written some poems I'll read them when I have some time. I play a little acoustic guitar and I have an Ibanez Gio since last December, a gift from my brother, I really don't play...at the moment I am a specialist in doing awful noises hehe. Steven keep on making your inspired music and have a beautiful day

estrela, how are you today? I have laughed a lot when someone asked about Joe's hats and you said "there comes the HAT again!! LOL!" so cool of you! have a nice day

alexandrecaetano, Alexandre, hello dear neighbor :-) Glad to see you, it would be really cool to meet up at a gig, I dream of seeing a concert of Joe again. I still don't have the "Additional Creations" CD, a friend made me a recording of the CD but it's not the same, and that song Turkey Man is exquisite...Joe should do a reissue. Tem uma boa semana!

BigBunny, I want to try that Vegemite :-)

Zinc Master my Vegemite comes in a glass jar - can you get the stuff in tubes??? :)

Stevee T what's almond butter?

estrela yes, it seems Vegemite has taken over the board & captured the peoples imagination - luckily for me i just have to go in the kitchen to find the black/brown paste worth more then gold! ;) - that zen thing was cool & funny ;)

hey everyone...damnit...just got home....baseball game tonight was cancelled too....now i havnt played in 2 days...lets hope our game tomorrow will still be on...well how is everyone doing today...not having the best day but what can u do...talk to u all soon..

nick..hey man...whats goin on..hows things going...hope u and everyone is well..probly not coming to NY...me and my mom have ben fighting alot...she told me she wants me to go live with my dad...so i dont no whats gonna hppen...im thinking about going to my friends house for like a week and staying there untill she chills out..lol...well talk to u soon man..

steven wilde...hey man....scnool and baseball r going pretty good....like i said all my games have been cancelled so we havnt had our first yet..lol....and bass is going good too..im finding time here and there to play...hows tings goin g with u and how r u feeling...well talk to u soon man...

alex...hey bro...whats going on...i havnt talked to u in a while dude...hows things been...whats new...well hope all is well man..talk to u soon...

Must eat dinner and go to my apprentice class now.

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

BigBunny...it's like peanut butter, but ground up almonds instead...great stuff!

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LucySorets...hola

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