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Sept 7, 2007 22:54:14 GMT -6
Post by Erniewan on Sept 7, 2007 22:54:14 GMT -6
Talk about stuff going on in the real world that you read somewhere else, or heard on the TV.
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Sept 11, 2007 22:39:05 GMT -6
Post by Erniewan on Sept 11, 2007 22:39:05 GMT -6
Alex the Parrot died on last Thursday. Funny thing is I first read about him on Friday, and now I looked him up today to find out that he died. You should read about him, he was impressively intelligent. Now I really want to get a pet parrot. R.I.P. Alex I love birds. Some info: Alex was an African grey parrot who, from 1977 to 2007, was the subject of a running experiment under animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg, initially at the University of Arizona and most recently at Harvard and Brandeis University. Pepperberg said that Alex had the intelligence of a five-year-old human. Pepperberg, listing Alex's accomplishments in 1999, said he could identify 50 different objects and cognize quantities up to 6; that he could distinguish 7 colors and 5 shapes, and understand the concepts of "bigger", "smaller", "same", and "different," and that he was learning "over" and "under". Alex had a vocabulary of about 150 words, but was exceptional in that he appeared to have understanding of what he said. For example, when Alex was shown an object and was asked about its shape, color, or material, he could label it correctly. If asked the difference between two objects, he also answered that, but if there was no difference between the objects, he said “none.” When he was tired of being tested, he would say “I’m gonna go away,” and if the researcher displayed annoyance, Alex tried to defuse it with the phrase, “I’m sorry.” If he said “Wanna banana”, but was offered a nut instead, he stared in silence, asked for the banana again, or took the nut and threw it at the researcher. When asked questions in the context of research testing, he gave the correct answer approximately 80% of the time. Preliminary research also seems to indicate that Alex could carry over the concept of four blue balls of wool on a tray to four notes from a piano. Dr. Pepperberg was also training him to recognize the Arabic numeral “4” as “four.” In July 2005, Pepperberg reported that Alex had the concept of zero. * "When Dr Pepperberg left Alex with a vet for treatment, Alex vocalised the words 'Come here. I love you. I'm sorry. I want to go back.'". * According to Dr. Pepperberg, the final time she saw Alex on Thursday September 6, they went through their goodnight routine in which she told him it was time to go in the cage and said: "You be good, I love you. I'll see you tomorrow." Alex responded, "You'll be in tomorrow."
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Sept 12, 2007 12:21:49 GMT -6
Post by Jerzkong on Sept 12, 2007 12:21:49 GMT -6
Aw.... that parrot sounds sweet.... sad at the end though.
Pretty cool!
I like it how he would say sorry in an attempt to defuse the situation. I can imagine a parrot doing that....
Hmm.... what did I hear.....
Umumumumumumumumum. People are getting really mean over Britney?
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Sept 19, 2007 0:22:02 GMT -6
Post by Erniewan on Sept 19, 2007 0:22:02 GMT -6
Arrrg. Today is Talk like a Pirate Day!
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Oct 22, 2007 16:28:09 GMT -6
Post by Erniewan on Oct 22, 2007 16:28:09 GMT -6
So Colbert is really running for president, at least in South Carolina. I wonder if he'd do a good job, all I know is he's a hilarious guy.
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Oct 22, 2007 17:38:54 GMT -6
Post by LordManiMani on Oct 22, 2007 17:38:54 GMT -6
If he makes it through the primaries, I will seriously consider supporting him, if only to break this country out of the muck that is modern politics.
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Oct 22, 2007 21:09:02 GMT -6
Post by redearth on Oct 22, 2007 21:09:02 GMT -6
I don't know how he'll go.. a huge % of the voters are elderly and I don't think they are that interested.. He'd make a hilaious president tho..
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Oct 23, 2007 16:18:44 GMT -6
Post by Erniewan on Oct 23, 2007 16:18:44 GMT -6
Yeah, he'd have to push for the support of all the people who don't typically vote. I might vote for him, but I don't know if the other countries would take us seriously anymore.
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Oct 23, 2007 19:07:56 GMT -6
Post by commonyoshi on Oct 23, 2007 19:07:56 GMT -6
It's really just a joke/message. He's only registered on the North Carolina ballot. >_> The odds of him winning Republican Nominee is... 0%. Oh, and the South California fires are getting pretty big, and it looks like there's some sort of water shortage.
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Oct 23, 2007 19:22:07 GMT -6
Post by Caleton on Oct 23, 2007 19:22:07 GMT -6
Kinda like that movie, I forget the name, where the comedian runs for president.
Who here lives in California? If you do, you will know that fires are taking over the world!! At my school, there's so much smoke that we weren't allowed outside for lunch recess.
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