You're Not the Only Ones

Recently eaten: turkey meatball soup
Recent annoyance: wonderful clipboard-wielding volunteers of Dupont Circle hear this: I donate online so I can avoid interacting with people. Please leave me to my misanthropy.

The lamb-eating eagles aren't just upsetting Scottish farmers. I, myself, have been fighting a pterodactyl reintroduction program in North America. Note to self: only visit Scotland in protective bubble suit.

Lamb-eating eagles upset Scottish farmers (via YahooNews)
Sheep farmers in remote northwest Scotland are furious about a sea eagle reintroduction programme, saying the huge birds of prey are damaging their livelihoods by killing 200 lambs in the past year.

The Scottish Crofting Foundation said some crofts, small farms producing mainly lamb or beef, had seen lamb numbers fall over the past five years because of the sea eagles' diet.

Bye Bye Black Sheep

Recently eaten: sea bass
Recent annoyance: a scab in my nose

It's official, I am an endangered species. Long considered the black sheep of my family, it appears that fewer and fewer are being born every year. They say the dark sheep are bigger but less fit. Well, that is true.

Study finds declining dark sheep due to genes
he declining number of dark sheep among a wild herd in Scotland comes down to genes, researchers said on Thursday.

The population of the wild Soay sheep on the isolated island of St. Kilda has been virtually unchanged over the past 4,000 years, giving modern-day researchers a unique view into natural selection and evolution.

About three-quarters of the sheep in the herd are dark but their dwindling numbers have puzzled scientists. This is because dark animals tend to be bigger, which should give them an evolutionary advantage to survive harsh winters.

"If being big is good and dark sheep are bigger we would expect the frequency of dark sheep to increase," said Jon Slate, a researcher at the University of Sheffield, who worked on the study published in the journal Science.

"This presents an evolutionary problem."

To solve the riddle the scientists analysed versions of genes that determined colour. Like all animals, sheep inherit one version of each gene from each parent and these sheep can inherit either a gene for a dark coat or a gene for a white coat from each parent.

The researchers determined that the gene for a dark coat is dominant -- dark sheep carry either two dark genes or a dark gene and a light gene.

But they also found that having a light gene boosts fitness so the best combination in evolutionary terms for the sheep is a mix of genes that produce a dark coat.

This explains the decline of dark sheep because those with a pair of dark genes are the least fit, even though they are big, Slate said. The researchers do not know why the light gene confers fitness, he added.

"We have an example of a counterintuitive trend and show that it is actually still consistent with evolutionary theory," he said in a telephone interview. "It helps explain why predicted evolutionary trends are sometimes not observed."

Something's Afoot

Recently eaten: ravioli
Recent annoyance: hiccups

This story about a legless man leading a police chase was odd enough, but then I noticed the advertisement smack in the middle of the text.

Coincidental?

Rounders

Recently eaten: fried rice
Recent annoyance: plants that just aren't hearty enough

The Scottish have donned their little plaid LAME caps these days. They are trying to stam out the tradition of people buying rounds for one another. What's next? No more opening doors for people? No more passing squares of toilet paper under the stall to someone who has none? You can bet that they are not going to stamp out the tradition of people buying rounds of haggis for one another. It's preposterous!

Scottish ads target alcohol use, ritual
Round-buying is a cherished tradition throughout Britain and in Ireland, but it's only in Scotland that lawmakers are trying to end the ritual.

From the most glamorous bars to seedy spit-and-sawdust pubs, drinking alcohol is a Scottish pastime that ranks in importance alongside soccer, history, politics and meat pies. The ritual of the round ranks among the worlds most hazardous etiquette exchanges and can be as fraught as a first business meeting in Japan or courting Sicilian style.

Each round must be honored and reciprocated as a symbol of bonhomie, generosity and swagger.

The rules are simple:

• If you accept a drink you must also buy a round. (But if you are celebrating your birthday, or a new baby, you are exempted.)

• Each offer of a round must be accepted and reciprocated with drinks of equal value. Never offer a beer to someone who has just bought a bottle of champagne.

• If you have had enough to drink, you can quit, but you must make sure you have honored the round by buying everyone a drink.

• Not to buy a round is a great insult and round dodgers gain reputations as mean and untrustworthy. They usually are not invited out again.

"The worst round dodger I know is a guy who leaves the pub for a bag of chips (fries) every time it's his round," said Oliver Berrill, a 20-year-old law student at Edinburgh University.