hotfudgedetroit.com

People mistake her for a pitbull with a pinhead, but Wendy the whippet is one rare breed.

So rare that the Central Saanich dog recently graced the New York Times. She also had several of her photos shown on The Today Show, all because of a rare genetic mutation that has led to her being the Incredible Hulk of dogs.

Wendy is a 27-kilogram rippling mass of muscle. Forget the so-called six-pack stomach: Wendy has a 24-pack. And the muscles around her neck are so thick, they look like a lion's ruff.

People have referred to her as Arnold Schwarzenegger," says doting owner Ingrid Hansen, stroking Wendy's sleek black coat and white chest.

Wendy was recently part of a genetics study done in the U.S. on mutation in the myostatin gene in whippets, which resemble greyhounds in appearance. The National Institute of Health study reported that whippets with one single defective copy of the gene have increased muscle mass that can enhance racing performance in the breed, known for speeds up to 60 kilometres an hour.

But whippets with two mutated copies of the gene become "double-muscled," like Wendy. It has been seen before in one human, and also in mice, cattle and sheep, says the study.

The uber-muscled whippets are called "bullies," not because of their nature -- Wendy likes nothing better than a good back scratch and isn't shy about sitting in your lap to ask for one -- but because of their size. She's about twice the weight of an average whippet, but with the same height and small narrow head -- and the same size heart and lungs, which means she probably won't live as long as normal whippets.

Hansen has had Wendy, now four, since she bought the dog from a Shawnigan Lake breeder when she was eight months old.

Wendy landed in clover. She lives on an acreage, runs around with other dogs and horses, sleeps on Hansen's bed and pretty much anywhere else she wants to.

People are often afraid when the muscle-bound dog runs up to them on her dainty whippet-thin legs, but they soon realize she's friendly, Hansen said.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolo ... 93&k=94653

Do Kids Need a Summer Vacation?Why our schoolchildren get to take three months off.
By Juliet Lapidos
Posted Wednesday, July 11, 2007, at 4:09 PM ET

Children playing in a Central Park fountain.Are summers without school healthy for kids?
Most American school kids are about three weeks in to their three-month summer vacation. Yet working adults (the Explainer included) spend the better part of June, July, and August toiling away as usual. Why do kids enjoy such generous summer breaks?

Fiscal limitations, century-old developmental theories, and outdated medical concerns. The now-standard 180-day academic calendar with a long summer holiday didn't come about until the early 20th century. Previously, urban schools operated year-round with short breaks between quarters. In 1842, Detroit's academic year lasted approximately 260 days, New York's 245, and Chicago's 240. But since education wasn't mandatory in most states until the 1870s, attendance was low. Despite the official schedule, many kids ended up spending the same amount of time in school back then as they do now. Brooklyn school officials, for example, reported in 1850 that more than half their students showed up just six months a year.

Poor attendance got some people wondering if such a long academic calendar was worthwhile. Why keep schools open year-round if most kids don't even go? Reformers also warned that goody-goodies who did show up every day might burn out. Many physicians at the time felt that students were too frail, both in mind and body, for so many days at their desk. Too much education, they argued, could impair a child's health.

City school officials began listening to reformers around the turn of the century. Gradually, they shortened the school year by about 60 days and eliminated the summer quarter. Reformers could have instituted a long break in winter, or spring, but they picked summer for three main reasons. 1) Poorly ventilated school buildings were nearly unbearable during heat waves. 2) Community leaders fretted that hot, crowded environments facilitated the spread of disease. 3) Wealthy urbanites traditionally vacationed during the hottest months, and middle-class school administrators were following in their footsteps.

Meanwhile, the school districts outside cities had quite different academic calendars. In the 19th century, rural kids spent just five or six months in school—two to three months in summer and the same in winter—and the rest of the year laboring on farms. So while urban educators worried that children were overtaxed by their busy schedule, officials in rural areas thought their students were mentally undertaxed. By the early 20th century, public-school officials in many farm states had lengthened the academic year and introduced a summer break to bring agrarian districts into line with urban ones.

Physicians no longer believe that children are too feeble for year-round instruction, and most school buildings now have effective ventilation systems. So why don't we go back to having school in the summertime? For one thing, it's expensive to keep schools open, just like it was in the late 1800s. But some nonprofit organizations argue that the long breaks hinder the learning process. According to the Johns Hopkins Center for Summer Learning, kids score worse on standardized tests in early September than in late June. Plus, students in other industrialized countries have more instructional time. The Israeli academic year lasts 216 days, and kids in Japan plug away for a whopping 243 days per annum.

Explainer thanks Ken Gold of the College of Staten Island and Philo Hutcheson of Georgia State University.
http://www.slate.com/id/2170230/nav/tap3/

Mulligan wrote:No wonder jjaba is so smart. He went to DPS when the length of the school year exceeded even current Japanese standards.

Too much education, they argued, could impair a child's health.

Spacemonkey
Member
Username: Spacemonkey

Post Number: 211
Registered: 03-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2007 - 12:39 pm:

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The Chinese are going to march right into the US and take over. It will happen within our lifetime

York wrote:

Spacemonkey
Member
Username: Spacemonkey

Post Number: 211
Registered: 03-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2007 - 12:39 pm:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Chinese are going to march right into the US and take over. It will happen within our lifetime

FYI Everyone

Ya Mar wrote:

York wrote:

Spacemonkey
Member
Username: Spacemonkey

Post Number: 211
Registered: 03-2006
Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2007 - 12:39 pm:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Chinese are going to march right into the US and take over. It will happen within our lifetime

FYI Everyone

Miscellaneous thread? I think not.

Moderator, please move to the Hyperbole thread.

A woman in a motorized wheelchair is in critical condition after being struck by a car in a shopping plaza parking lot on Warren Avenue near the Lodge Freeway.

Police said two people, younger than 18 years old, stole a vehicle on the service drive.

When they realized a police car was nearby, they ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle, according to Wayne State Police.

The stolen vehicle rolled over and landed in the shopping plaza parking lot, striking a woman driving a motorized vehicle, police said.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/13698064/detail.html

Andy wrote:

A woman in a motorized wheelchair is in critical condition after being struck by a car in a shopping plaza parking lot on Warren Avenue near the Lodge Freeway.

Police said two people, younger than 18 years old, stole a vehicle on the service drive.

When they realized a police car was nearby, they ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle, according to Wayne State Police.

The stolen vehicle rolled over and landed in the shopping plaza parking lot, striking a woman driving a motorized vehicle, police said.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/13698064/detail.html

Just another day in the city.

davidhall wrote:

Andy wrote:

A woman in a motorized wheelchair is in critical condition after being struck by a car in a shopping plaza parking lot on Warren Avenue near the Lodge Freeway.

Police said two people, younger than 18 years old, stole a vehicle on the service drive.

When they realized a police car was nearby, they ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle, according to Wayne State Police.

The stolen vehicle rolled over and landed in the shopping plaza parking lot, striking a woman driving a motorized vehicle, police said.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/13698064/detail.html

Just another day in the city.

Can't wait to read this month's WSU crime blotter.