Why a Pig has to Think? 'oo' Why?: LinkToTheWorld

As the third largest country in the European Union, but with a human population of only 9 million, Sweden has plenty of room left over for the animal kingdom. Best known are the elks and reindeer featured on endless tourist souvenirs and stolen road signs, but the country's forests are also home to a host of more intimidating mammals.

Sweden’s largest predator is the brown bear. Despite its sharp claws, ferocious teeth and enormous bulk, the bear is actually an ominivore, which means it spends most of its time grazing on berries and grass. However, the brown bear is a prolific hunter, and pursues everything from small rodents and fish to larger animals such as deer and the occasional elk.

As Sweden’s bear population has stabilized and subsequently increased, human encounters have inevitably become more common. However, few bear attacks are fatal: although the most recent death occurred in 2004, prior to that you have to go back to 1902 to find a deadly attack. This puts the statistics at roughly one per century.

Mats Höggren, Animal Director at the Kolmården wildlife park near Norrköping, puts the wolverine at the top of the list of Sweden’s hunters. A member of the mustelid family, the wolverine has incredible strength and stamina and can quite easily bring down an elk many times larger than itself.

Wolves are also finding their way into the headlines as their population increases in Sweden. According to Höggren, the danger of wolves is exaggerated by the Swedish press. Wolves are extremely unlikely to attack a human unless cornered. In fact, the last recorded incident of a wolf fatally attacking humans was over the winter of 1820-1 when a hand-reared wolf escaped and, unable to hunt for food yet unafraid of humans, killed 11 children in Dalarna.

In reality, you are very unlikely to meet Sweden’s large predators face to face as they have such a well-developed smell and hearing. To make extra sure that they can hear you coming, walk along clapping or singing. If you do meet a potentially dangerous animal, Höggren’s advice is simple: don’t panic.

“Most animals will only attack if they feel threatened. Stay calm and back away slowly facing the animal. Don’t turn and run.”

A brown bear will almost certainly attack if it is provoked and most bear attacks on humans happen when a bear has been injured. If you are attacked (and if you have the clarity of mind to do so) get into the foetal position and play dead. Try to be as unthreatening as possible to the bear.

Typically, it’s the vegetarians who are the real danger, particularly when they are feeling hormonal. Wild boar, which have been reintroduced to the wild over the last 20 years will attack if they are protecting a litter of young, but again only if they feel threatened. A rutting stag should not be approached, as these otherwise passive ruminants become extremely aggressive during the mating season when they are trying to impress a potential mate.

Sweden’s iconic elk pose a much greater threat to humans, although ironically not through any fault of their own. Annually, they are involved in over 4,000 collisions with cars, many of which lead to human injury and occasionally death. Elks can weigh around half a tonne and their rumps can be two metres from the ground, providing a test for even the sturdiest Volvo. The animals themselves rarely survive a collison, either dying immediately or several days later.

There’s danger in the water too: In freshwater, the pike, a fish which often grows over a metre in length and has a fearsome set of teeth, has been known to bite swimmers. While on the water, an angry swan will charge and can do real damage with its muscular neck.

On the coast, danger lurks beneath the water. As temperatures rise, more and more jellyfish stings are being reported and contact with weever fish is becoming more common on Sweden’s west coast. The weever is a small fish with poisonous spikes on its back. It is usually found nestling in the sand in shallow water; if stepped on by an unsuspecting paddler it can cause extreme pain, swelling and occasionally nausea. If you are stung, the pain should go within a few hours and can be helped by immersing the sting in hot water. Where no hot water is readily available, those in the know recommend dousing it in urine.

There is only one venomous snake in Sweden, the adder, which has a reputation greater than the threat it actually poses. Fatalities from adder bites are almost unheard of as the victim of a bite can usually get help before the poison does any real damage. Mats Höggren, who specializes in snakes, says there are a number of myths surrounding snakes that are founded in fear rather than fact. “To most people, the snake represents pure evil and most snake myths are totally irrational.”

Ask a Swede what their most dangerous animal is and many will say ‘badger’ without pausing for breath. Like snakes, the badger gets a bad rap in Sweden for no apparent reason other than it lives in close proximity to humans and very little is known about it. Walk in the woods and some people will warn you to ‘beware of the badgers’; some will even recommend that you put eggshells or charcoal in your boots in case you get bitten by one as there is a commonly held belief that a badger will only release its bite once it hears the sound of bones being crushed.

Spend anytime outdoors in Sweden and you will meet thousands of irritating but harmless insects. Thankfully, there are only one or two that can be classed as dangerous, including wasps that deliberately build their nests close to picnic areas.

Sweden’s most dangerous beast is also the smallest: The tick, no bigger than 5mm in length, is not an insect but part of the arachnid family. The tick is a parasitic mite that feasts on the blood of its host. If that weren’t enough, it is also the carrier of a number of diseases including Lyme disease and encephalitis. The tick embeds its head under the skin and gorges itself on blood, with its body and legs clearly visible and moving. If you find a tick, remove it with a pair of tweezers making sure that you don’t leave the head in the skin. Keep the tick as this will help to identify any possible infection.

But is a walk in the Swedish woods really tantamount to dicing with death? Höggren insists there's no cause for alarm:

“Statistically, you are more likely to be shot by an over enthusiastic hunter mistaking you for a deer than be attacked by a bear, wolf or wolverine.”

Just beware of the ticks.

23:13 | Reactie toevoegen | Permalink | In weblog opnemen | LinkToTheWorld

28 juli

Glossary | Digital Photography

Digital Photography Review: Glossary

Histogram JPEG AE Lock

22:56 | Reactie toevoegen | Permalink | In weblog opnemen | LinkToTheWorld

26 juli

Gamil

不小心打成了Gamil，让它说中了……

www.gamil.com

01 juli

Flickr--Access in China

自从上传了昙花的照片，Flickr就布满了red red X。

姐姐的一个传播噩耗的朋友说是被中国给封了。

应该不会。

我找不到一条合适的理由说服自己有封的必要。

何况港台的繁体Flickr刚刚出炉，这么大的市场怎么可以一夜之间踪影全无呢？

没有可靠的证据表明Flickr的中国市场已完结，可事实上，中方的确缺乏有效的配合。

目前仍保持在不愠不火的状态，拖着一个算不上positive的小小期望。

我就要一直等到它好转为止。

如果真像泛滥的谣言所说是被中国大陆封了，为一些吹毛求疵的理由，那我绝对不使用国产的photo hosting service。

厌恶这样的霸道、排它和地方保护主义。

尤其厌恶那种做作的、对思想意识和大众传媒领域的、“绝对纯洁”的肃清。

我是说如果。

在中国的Flickr用户，不用煞费苦心地解读关于red X的FAQ了。

因为我们情况特殊。

Access in China

Some members in China may have trouble accessing images on Flickr.

hitherto says:

Since around 12:30pm (Beijing time) on June 7th, users in China have been unable to view images on flickr.com.
Our technical staff have looked into this and determined that it's not a technical issue from our end. Evidence suggests that our image servers are being blocked for many users in China.
We are checking periodically to see if the block is still in place, but haven't detected any change. We hope that this is a temporary issue and we currently believe that it will be. In the meantime, we are investigating our alternatives. Thanks for your patience.
As Stewart stated earlier,
"Unfortuantely, the firewall's administrators don't provide contact details, so we can't just call up someone who makes decisions about which sites are blocked and plead our cases. All we can do at this point is continue to monitor, seek advice from colleagues closer to the region and/or with more experience.
We definitely haven't forgotten about you, but there is not much for us to announce publicly at this point. As soon as anything changes, will let you know. And we're all rooting for you!"
Access to earlier forum topics on this subject now seem inaccessible for some China-based users, so I'm adding this as a locked topic so that we can at least keep you updated.
Posted at 6:04PM, 8 June 2007 CST

21:44 | Reactie toevoegen | Permalink | In weblog opnemen | LinkToTheWorld

11 juni

An Curious Eye | 1

memory abnormality 24/28 Deja vu

Western philosophy 14/92 Plato|Cave

epistemology 20/53 Plato|Allegory of the Cave

Classicism and Neoclassicism

gastronomy 29/33 Scandinavian Cuisine

02 juni

Yoga

"Only one Message have I for thee:--Remember that thour art the all-pervading Immortal Atman or Soul."

---Sri Swami Sivananda

Yoga Means Union

Although many people think this term refers to union between body and mind or body, mind and spirit, the traditional acceptance is union between the Jivatman and Paramatman that is between one's individual consciousness and the Universal Consciousness. Therefore Yoga refers to a certain state of consciousness as well as to methods that help one reach that goal or state of union with the divine.

In an effort to simplify and clarify the complex philosophies and teachings of Yoga, Swami Vishnu-devananda summarized the wisdom of Yoga in 5 principles. These principles show the way to developing physical and mental health as well as spiritual growth. These 5 points or principles are:

The 5 points of Yoga

Proper Exercise (Asanas)
Proper Breathing (Pranayama)
Proper Relaxation (Savasana)
Proper Diet (vegetarian)
Positive Thinking (Vedanta) and Meditation (Dhyana)

Another good way to begin your study of Yoga is by being acquainted with the four paths of Yoga

The 4 paths of Yoga:

Jnana Yoga (The Yoga of wisdom or knowledge)
Raja Yoga (The Yoga of Self control)
Bhakti Yoga (The Yoga of Devotion)
Karma Yoga (The Yoga of Action)

Linkz:

Sivananda International

Featured Yoga Article

About: Yoga

07 april

Phantom Limb

一首听不出歌词的歌的歌词^^

看了也不懂~~~但是很好听^^

那种往上旋转的声音好像能从心里揪出一点什么东西 "<3

Phantom Limb
Artists Source: The Shins
Album: Wincing The Night Away
Frozen into coats,
White girls of the North,
Filed past one, five and one
They are the fabled lambs,
A Sunday ham,
The ancient snow.
And they could float above the grass,
In circles if they tried,
A latent power I'm known to hide,
To keep some hope alive,
That a girl like I could ever try,
Could ever try.
So we just skirt the hallway signs,
A phantom and a fly,
Follow the lines and wonder why
There's no connection.
And weakened falling eyes,
In cheap shots from the tribe,
And we're often in Marcus’ porch again,
Another afternoon with the gold head tunes,
And pilfered booze.
We wandered through the mama's house,
And the milk from the window lights,
Family portrait circa ninety-five,
This is that foreign land,
With the sprayed on tans,
And it all feels fine,
Beats circus slime,
So, when they tap our mundane heads,
To zombie-walk in our stead,
This town seems hardly worth our time,
And we'll no longer memorize or rhyme,
Too far along in our climb,
Stepping over what now towers to the sky,
With no connection.
Oooh waooooooo waooooooo
Oooh waooooooo waooooooo
Oooh waooooooo waooooooo
Oooh waooooooo waooooooo
So, when they tap our sunday heads,
To zombie-walk in our stead,
This town seems hardly worth our time,
And we'll no longer memorize or rhyme,
Too far along in our climb,
Stepping over what now towers to the sky,
With no connection.
Oooh waooooooo waooooooo
Oooh waooooooo waooooooo
Oooh waooooooo waooooooo
Oooh waooooooo waooooooo
Oooh waooooooo waooooooo
Oooh waooooooo waooooooo

....

13:16 | Reactie toevoegen | Permalink | In weblog opnemen | LinkToTheWorld

17 maart