Puppy Salon – Behaviour Mod 3 (a story)

Puppy Salon – Behaviour Mod 3

After hearing the story of her family and seeing many pictures, Steven thought Meghan might be a good candidate to go further. He thought that care tasks and cuddling/affection often brought out better attachment in couples.

So he made a date with Meghan for a pet salon. She thought at first that it was to help with his pets, but that changed when she saw nail varnish and bath crystals.

Steven waited for everything to sink in, then asked if she was interested in a massage, hair braiding and having her nails done by him? And just that.

Meghan was thrilled! She loved being pampered, but couldn’t really afford all the accoutrements that Steven had on display. She happily said yes.

So Steven got to work. He put out a bowl with sudsy water in for her feet, and each of her hands. While she soaked, he got to work brushing and braiding her hair. And twined ribbons in her tresses.

He then lotioned his hands and massaged her face, neck and shoulders. He could feel her leaning into his touch more and more, as she realized it was about care and affection for him.

Then he worked on her hands and feet, first massaging then buffering the nails with an emery board, and then applying the varnish. Meghan was almost ready to squeal, she was so happy. Then she settled into his touch and calmed down. Almost going to sleep with his gentle touch.

Steven told Meghan that he hoped these salons could become a regular activity with them. He enjoyed taking care of her. It was a thought that made Meghan very happy, and she said yes with a big grin on her face.

What else could a puppy want but such gentle touches and caring attendance?

….. resources (imprinting)

Imprinting does not appear to be as time-sensitive and context-limited in humans as it is in some other animals. Instead, developmental psychologists generally talk about critical stages of development during which it is much more likely that a child will learn something.
source

……

Positive sexual imprinting is a process by which individuals use the phenotype of their opposite-sex parent as a template for acquiring mates. Recent studies in humans have concluded that an imprinting-like mechanism influences human mate choice in facial traits.
It can be to attraction or aversion, dependent on the relationship quality.
source

……

It’s your first time experiencing yourself more selflessly than you ever thought you could be, feeling things you never thought you were capable of feeling toward anyone. Thoughts of a first love are ripe with emotions, be them good, bad or a complicated mixture of the two
source

…….

it is seen that the interactions between oxytocin and vasopressin are what cause the dynamics that allow humans to express and feel love.
source

Submission – Behaviour Mod 2 (a story)

Submission – Behaviour Mod 2

Steve’s first agenda with Meghan was to see if she was smart. Because the last thing he wanted was someone who was totally dependent on him. She was quick, alert, and bright. She showed him how easily she learned when they played the games. Once he taught her the game, he had a real struggle beating her. He had to keep practicing and learning to stay ahead of her. That totally jazzed him!

Meghan was used to following instructions from her big family. She had many above her who had no problem bossing her about. Which kind of worried Steve at first. Did she ‘go along to get along’ or consider if they had her best interests at heart and do what was best for her and the family? She could think for herself, but would she?

Steve picked up a couple of young pets from his local rescue centre and had Meghan help him train them. They planned their diet and exercise, and what rewards and discipline they’d use together. And discussed why they would use these particular strategies. Did the research required in learning what the animal needed. And took them to the vet for health checks and vaccinations. Everything was fine.

Steve had Meghan take the lead with the pets once he was sure she could. Once she knew the rules and the reasons, and he saw she complied with the plan, she was lead pet. He only intervened when she forgot a rule or goal. And only enough to get the pack back on track. Otherwise they were her pets. And the pets understood that.

Meghan was brilliant with the pets. She loved to play with them and was calm, even when they were acting up. She learned to be a good ‘mother’ to the pack. She questioned Steve if he wanted to change things, and if she thought he was wrong (rarely), she challenged him. Which is exactly what Steve was looking for.

Meghan became more assertive, and Steve was thrilled.

…..resources

Most of the domestic animals familiar to us today were domesticated not long after people began farming and living in permanent settlements, between 8000 and 2500 BC.
source

……

to be domesticated, animals must possess six characteristics:

• a diverse appetite,
• rapid maturation,
• willingness to breed in captivity,
• docility,
• strong nerves,
• and a nature that conforms to social hierarchy
  source

……

Most domestic animals are naturally social. Their wild ancestors lived in groups, with individuals responding to each other–some led, others followed. In domestic animals, the tendency to submit to others is especially strong. Generations of breeding have encouraged them to let people take the lead.
source

……

Animals that make good candidates for domestication typically share certain traits: They grow and mature quickly, making them efficient to farm. They breed easily in captivity and can undergo multiple periods of fertility in a single year. They eat plant-based diets, which makes them inexpensive to feed.
source

…..

A good thing with herbivores is that while domesticated, they are protected from various carnivores. This can be considered a benefit of domestication for them.
source

……

downside is the pet becomes totally dependent on their carer
source

Habituation – Behaviour mod – (a story)

Habituation – Behaviour mod

Meghan was used to being ignored. She lived in a large family after all. And she had been a quiet, shy child. So anyone who wanted her engagement had to work at it. Had to show their interest, their stability, and show her they could be trusted.

And that was who Steve was. When he wanted something. And he wanted Meghan.

Steve wasn’t sure how smart Meghan was though. So the first thing he had to do was get to know her. Watch her movements, her responses to what went on around her. Her ability to problem solve and think for herself. And if she would actually think or just follow what others were doing. She was in a large group and rarely stood out.

Steve soon noticed that she had a quick mind. And she was curious about him. So he played into that.

He bought her gifts. Not just flowers and chocolates either. But games they could play together, that he kept switching out. So her interests in the games and his company continued. And it did. So at least at the beginning, he won. Which meant she saw him as smart, someone to trust.

And he bought her costumes to wear during their time together. At first it was sexy things, or pretty things. But then he noticed that she liked soft furry things more. So he bought her animal skins. Which became more and more full costumes than dress. She ended up with her costume of choice. A dog. From ears to tail and paws. She changed her behaviour to become a puppy when she was in that skin.

So he bought her treats for a puppy that a human could eat and enjoy. Shaped into doggy biscuits. Mostly made of grains and veg or fruit. And he rewarded her wins and smart thinking with doggy biscuits. He noticed she started trying to earn them, practiced more and more when he wasn’t there. He knw because her wins were becoming more complex.

But Steve was still Steve, Still interested in Meghan. And still trying to figure out how smart she was. And if she wanted him. She did.

…… resources (animals)

Habituation occurs when animals are exposed to the same stimuli repeatedly, and eventually stop responding to that stimulus.
nps

…… Why do animals habituate?

By habituating, the animal can resume other important activities, and habituation allows animals to function in a dynamic environment. An animal that fails to habituate to a nonthreatening stimulus might maintain high levels of behaviour toward the stimulus, even when it might be adaptive to direct attention elsewhere.
nih

…….What is Sensitisation in animals?

Sensitization is said to occur when the repeated presentation of a particular significant stimulus (such as food or electric shock) lowers the threshold for the elicitation of appropriate behaviour to the point where a second stimulus, not normally capable of calling forth that behaviour, now does so.
britannica

……

Scientific investigations have unveiled many insights into the mechanisms of habituation, from the neurocircuits of different habituating behaviors to specific associated neurotransmitters. The underpinnings of habituation uncovered in these studies reveal that there are a variety of neural and molecular mechanisms of habituation.
sciencedirect

….. resources (human)

Habituation can affect your relationships in a variety of ways: We get used to the good and the bad: As we grow to know people better, it is only natural that we stop noticing every little thing and become increasingly habituated to both their good and bad qualities.
verywellmind

…..

Because habituation depends on the amount of stimuli, it is also related to the spectrum of situations in which stimuli occur. Stimuli that are both present at work and in private life have a higher tendency of becoming habituated because they have more exposure. All sensory processes are liable to habituation.
sciencedirect

Tools and Buildings – Innovations that Show Culture and Civilization

How do you define a civilization? Some would say it’s due to a common language, or a common faith. It has to be more than a location though, doesn’t it?

Around the world, we see the same basic things used thru every civilizations. In approx the same timeline too.

We see people who: wear clothes, decorate themselves with meaningful symbols; used for praise or to appease their gods, rules of living that show morality, and creativity for things like art; as funeral rites or celebration of what they see and experience.

And we think of what that shows about the people. Who they were and who they are becoming too. How they’ve changed.

But that’s the big stuff….

What about the way they spend their days? What is their habitat like? What tools do they use to make their tasks easier? Did they create them? Or how did they find them?
What does that show about their intelligence? At a time when the earth was young and they were battling glaciers and extensive deserts, large predators, and had little between them and nature but their superstitions, how did they come up with rope that would help them leverage weights to build, hoist sails, baskets that would store their things, or spears that would help them hunt for food? I know I’m pretty creative, but not in that kind of practical way. I know my father was creative in that way, but he never invented a tool to ease his day.

So how is it that at the time of beginning , when it was most needed, that type of intelligence was so prevalent? And how do we still look at them as savages? As uncivilized? I often think it says more about us than it does them.

Today we have so much respect for the people who give us the tools we need now, like the phone or the computer, yet we have none for those who began the world. But those who invented the computer couldn’t have done so unless they were on the shoulders of their forbearers, could they have? How do you think Bill Gates would have done back at the beginning of everything, if all he had to offer was a computer?

Sometimes it’s not just the tool, but also the timing.

….. Going into Africa

For a sense of time, these are the large movements of the Eurasians.
The Silk Road – Established when the Han Dynasty in China officially opened trade with the West in 130 B.C., the Silk Road routes remained in use until 1453 A.D., when the Ottoman Empire boycotted trade with China and closed them.

The Crusades In all, eight major Crusade expeditions occurred between 1096 and 1291.

The Disciples spreading the gospel are said to have made it to Africa. And Jews and Muslems were related to North African tribes. But how close was their contact?

….. tools

Common inventions approx simultaneously. Were they learning on their own, or somehow in communication? (Though some might say that devils, gods, or aliens taught the beginning tribes what they needed to know to survive.)

• pottery
  the invention of rope
• rope and twine
• tools and weapons
• oldest weapons
• metal work

….. Africa

the dark continent?
achievements

And how did almost every early civilization come up with the idea to go from grass sheds to hide tents, from log barracks to stone or brick bldgs that reached for the skies? At a time of superstition, weren’t they afraid of offending the gods? How did they consider making replicas of those who passed on or gods and devils as anything but sacrilege? Yet those statues were common in the Necropolises and temples.

Lumekwe 3

The ancient monument at Nabta Playa , in the desolate Sahara desert of southwestern Egypt, has been called one of the earliest aligned structures of mankind’s ancient past. Consensus opinion currently indicates that usage of the site may have begun around 4500 BC

……

Sabratha was a Phoenician trade port in Libya approx 500 BC

……

Yeha Temple, Ethiopia (500 BC)
Referred to as the “Terrific Temple of the Sun and Moon,” Yeha Temple is situated in the town Yeha in the northern Tigray Area of Ethiopia. It is the most ancient Ethiopian structure still standing today.

• Pyramid of Khafre, Egypt (c. 2500 BC)
  Also called the “Pyramid of Chephren,” this ancient structure is the 2nd largest in addition to the 2nd tallest of the Ancient Egyptian Pyramids of Giza.
• Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt (c. 2560 BC)
• Red Pyramid, Egypt (c. 2580 BC)
  A little older than the Great Pyramid of Giza is the Red Pyramid, also referred to as the North Pyramid.
• Bent Pyramid, Egypt (c. 2580 BC)
• Pyramid of Meidum, Egypt (c. 2580 BC)
• Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt (2667–2648 BC)
  Finally, the oldest building still standing in Africa is the original Egyptian pyramid,

source

…….

Located on an island just off the coast of Tanzania, the ancient ruins of Kilwa Kisiwane tell the story of a once great East African port. Between the 13th and 16th centuries,

The city of Khami was once the capital of Zimbabwe’s Torwa dynasty, rising from the fall of the Great Zimbabwe Kingdom between 1450 and 1650 CE.

Adam’s Calendar in Mpumalanga, South Africa is often suggested to be the oldest man-made structure in the world. Referred to as “African Stonehenge”, its construction predates Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid of Giza by tens of thousands of years – in fact, it’s believed to be about 75,000 years old.

The Obelisk of Axum in Ethiopia was constructed all the way back in 4th century BCE. Historians believe the obelisk was carved by the Kingdom of Aksum, an ancient Ethiopian civilisation.

source

…….

The newly discovered city, called Kweneng, a lost city that was once a bustling epicenter in what is now under South Africa’s Suikerbosrand National Park, was once a thriving capital that existed from the 1400s until it was destroyed and abandoned, likely because of civil wars, in the 1820s,

…….

SKBR ancient Tswana ruins in and around the Suikerbosrand hills, about 60 kilometres south of Johannesburg, South Africa , it’s estimated that the builders of the stone walled structures occupied this area from the fifteenth century AD until the second half of the 1800s.

……

In the 12th century A.D., a devout king ordered the construction of 11 eye-catching Christian churches in the Ethiopian village of Lalibela . “New Jerusalem”

Ancient Grains – Proof of Civilization?

When early civilizations were growing, they had to learn to scavenge, then hunt, then farm food. They had to learn to prepare and store it safely. And make and keep it edible. Long before the day of plastics or metals they could easily shape into storage containers, they made baskets from the grasses and plants around them. Some of those plants also became food. (Along with matting/weaving the grasses for clothes and sails for their boats)

Anyone who has dealt with grasses knows the amount of work it takes to mill and cook them into something you actually want to eat.

It would take a whole village a LOT of time. Or….. it would take slaves.

But this type of production and cooperation showed at least basic civilization in ways that were discounted by the early colonials and armies.

Their bodies were covered modestly, they were getting around, storing and preparing food, owning property like baskets and animals, making war and commerce/trade, and had slaves.

……. resources

…… Africa

• Teff is an ancient crop and was likely domesticated more than 6,000 years ago in Ethiopia.
• Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is a warm-season cereal of African origin, which was first cultivated in the region of Ethiopia or Chad over 5000 years ago.
• Fonio is considered to be the oldest West African cereal, and its cultivation is thought to date back to 5000 bc. Black fonio (D. iburua Stapf) is grown by the Hausa of Nigeria (northern Nigeria), and in Guinea, Togo, and Benin, but the total production of black fonio is insignificant.

……

• Millets were probably first cultivated in Asia more than 4,000 years ago, and they were major grains in Europe during the Middle Ages.
  source
  Millet grains have been discovered in pots used for storing grans and seeds discovered at archaeological sites in present day China, India, Europe and different parts of Africa.
  source
• Emmer (wheat) was one of the first cereals to be domesticated in the old world; it was cultivated from around 9700 bc in the Levant1,2 and subsequently in south-western Asia, northern Africa and Europe with the spread of Neolithic agriculture.
• Avena Fatua (oats) Native to the Mediterranean. Ethiopia, N. Africa, Europe and Asia among other locations. Considered to be a weed. It is believed to have originated in Central Asia during the early Iron Age between 1200 B.C. and 600 B.C.,
  source

….. Americas

• Quinoa was first domesticated by the Andean peoples around 3,000 to 4,000 years ago.
• Amaranth seeds have been found at mid Holocene era archaeological sites in northern Argentina, dating back 8,000 to 7,000 years ago. The archeological record indicates that A. cruentas is the original cultivar, domesticated close to 6000 years ago.
  The genus Amaranthus contains upwards of 70 species of plants and can be found on every continent, though most species are considered weeds. Only a dozen or so of the Amaranthus species have been cultivated by humans, selected either for their seed head or large leafy greens. Three species have been domesticated for their large seed heads: A. cruentus and A. hypochondriacus are indigenous to Mexico and Central America, and A. caudatus is indigenous to the South American Andes.
• Chia The Aztecs boast the first record of Chia as early as 3500B.C. It was, in fact, one of the main foods in the Aztec diet. The prevalence of Chia continued for quite some time. Later, between 1500 and 900B.C, it was grown in Mexico by the Teotihuacan and Toltec people.

….. Middle East

• Spelt is an ancient grain which was cultivated by earlier civilizations such as Mesopotamia in the Middle East around 9000 years ago.
• Flax
  Gauls (an ancient people of present day France and Belgium) and Celts (an ancient Indo-European people), the earliest flax growers in Western Europe, learned about flax from the Romans. German archaeological digs of Iron Age (between 1200 B.C. and 600 B.C) settlements have uncovered remains of bread prepared from millet, wheat and flaxseed.
  The Slavic tribes were the first to begin cultivating flax in Eastern Europe, having brought it from Greece. It was used to make fishing nets, ropes, sailcloth and linseed oil. By the 10th and 11th centuries A.D. flax was grown extensively in Russia.

…… Asia

• Buckwheat originated in northern China. Archaeological finds have dated the cultivation of buckwheat as early as 2600 BCE.
• Rice Carbonized rice grains found near the Yellow River and Yangtze River in China, dated between 10,500 and 12,000 years ago, are considered by some to be the world’s oldest rice. In 2003, South Korean researchers said they had found 15,000-year-old burnt rice grains at a site in South Korea, claiming it was evidence of the world’s oldest rice and challenging the idea that rice was first cultivated in China.

‘It’s a Kind of Magic’ – Cultural Variance in Types of Magical Practice.

Was their aim to heal? To commune with the spirit world? To understand the earth and it’s components? To divine or predict what time told, past or future?
How did they commune? Did they have dreams? Go on vision quests? Dance into altered states? Take drugs?
Was their intention to help or to harm?

Often the answers to these questions was where they came from. What their culture saw as ‘good’ practice. What gods they believed in.
And of course it mattered who the practitioner was.

Despite the current trend of Christian orgs claiming these practices are bad or ‘of the devil’, even the church had it’s faithful who practiced magic.

Despite current scientific theorists and theories seeing magic as archaic, some still held dear founders of science were practitioners. ie Isaac Newton. And some of the same discussions once held by magicians are held by science now. So was magic really superstition?

On the opposite side, some magicians are de-bunkers of the craft. On the hunt for charlatans and using scientific methods to do so. Like Houdini.

Some early politicians we revere now were into spiritualism.

So what do you think? Is magic real? Something to think about. If you answer, please be respectful of it’s cultural role. Many people still believe in it.

• shaman
• witch doctor
• witch
• medium
• alchemist
• herbalist

Ontario Election Campaign 2022

I think by now you know I vote Green Party and why. But this post isn’t about that. I believe that you should vote for the candidate that suits your needs and your family’s. Take a few minutes before you shop around and determine what your priorities are: environment, public or private health care and education, job creation, protection and wages, disability benefits, old age pensions.

So for me, the way to see which one that is, is to read their websites and find out what their platforms are. See what candidates each party recommends and why. If you have specific questions, ask them. They have campaign offices with staffers who are supposed to answer them. And check how often these candidates are actually in the HoC. What committees are they on? What skills do they have for the committees they are on? Career and education skills. Also check how they work with others to achieve their ends.

Then check and see which parties keep their promises, have honest candidates (preferably who aren’t under investigation for DUIs or sexual assault?)

And don’t just read a major news source and presume they’ve got it right. First of all, most of Canada’s news sources are owned by US companies. They also want to have big business interests met. Which may not meet your needs. not even on the job.

And fact check the info they post on their social media accts. Check to see if they are habitual blockers as well. You want someone you vote for to be accessible. Right?

No matter who tells you you have to vote for a party cuzz they are the only ones who have the power to challenge the incumbent, it still coms down to the person who works for your area and will do the best for your family.

Theories Reshaping History in the Americas – PreClovis and Clovis

In comparison to the idea that the Americans were full of savage people, that had to be taught everything by the European overlords, settlers and priests, we now know that there were towns, cities, civilizations that may actually be older than any found in the ‘old countries’.

How did they get here?

Many have thought that they crossed the Beringia strait by foot.
Now they think they might have come earlier by boat. But from where?

• maybe thru Beringia
• there are connections between Mexico and South America and old Pacific island civilizations. Like the Samoans, the Rapa Nui.

How did they survive?

The earliest civilizations were mostly coastal. They went inland enough to find fresh water and fished.
As they developed more tools, they started to hunt and farm. And settle down. They painted walls of rock and in caves. (Sound familiar?)
The creatures they hunted sound an awful lot like ‘Flintstones’ Woolly mammoths, sabre toothed tigers and buffalo/bison. Bigger things than most of us have seen.

what is a civilization?

A society that has it’s own govt, law, religion, arts, languages, fashion trends and ways of occupying their day, keeping themselves safe and protecting and educating their young.

How were these things documented?

Besides listening to the oral history of the peoples, custom & language analysis, mitochondria testing of the peoples, scat testing, ruins and artifacts, carbon dating, and now ground penetrating radar.

Monte Verde, Chili

the deal breaker?
Cool pix of the site. Monte Verde changed how archaeologists looked at a few things. Like the time line, how they travelled, and where from. It also predates any known town or city in the world. Now isn’t that interesting!

resources

(there are some really cool maps in the sources. Even if you aren’t interested in the material, I think the maps are worth a look.)

science org
researchgate
researchgate 2
peachstate AS
pidba
researchgate 3

Growing Up Fundie – The 3 Ds That Get You in TROUBLE!!

It’s a challenge when all your childhood you get told that there is only one God, one truth, one way to worship…. or you will be kicked out into the evil world. That means there are some things that you just cannot do:

….Doubt

God has a plan for you. Sounds pretty fatalistic, doesn’t it? That usually gets said to you when life is turning sideways too. And it’s all you can do to believe God exists, let alone that it will all turn out ok. I mean, look at the world, right? The response though is that the sinners are getting punished. Response two is that there’s a lesson or blessing that will come of this if we’re patient and trust God. Mostly the lesson is that people are going to die and there’s nothing you can do about it. (Depression)

…..Denial

The Bible is the word of God. So what if there are thousands of Christian sects, always at war. So what if the Bible argues against itself. The liberals say don’t take it literally, the fundies say every word is God’s law. Live it all or you’ll go to hell. God would do that to his beloved children?? (Anxiety)

…. Disobedience

You have to behave and do what your God, preacher, elders, and parents tell you to do. Or you’re a bad kid. Does it matter if they’re following God’s law? Nope. Does it matter if they’re worthy of honour and respect? Nope. (Frustration, rage)

……

• So how do you hold on to the faith when that dark night of the soul comes along?
  Well it helps if you don’t know there’s another option.
• But today, it’s a really isolated kid who isn’t aware that other POVs exist, and some of them offer a different God. One that may not be as hard to follow.
• So now what?

….

The now what for me was leaving the church. Which caused trouble with the family of course. Because one thing fundies do is excommunicate ‘the fallen’. I wasn’t technically a member of the church, as in not baptized, but my family have generations of preachers in it. So it didn’t sit well. And even though they weren’t living up to the teachings of God, Bible or the church, the fact I wasn’t attending caused issues. Esp when I had my daughter.

….

I couldn’t sit in a pew with them and make like they were who they were pretending to be. I couldn’t stay in a church of mostly relatives that knew what was going on in my home and did nothing. I couldn’t stay with people who were not showing my kid and I the love they were supposed to be. So I left.

The church and my family. My family kept trying to bend/break my will. Like I was the one who had the problem(s). I didn’t even go back to bury my dad or step mom. There was no way I could, after they had forced me to chew my foot off to get away.

…..

I still believe in the tenets I grew up with: community, family, stewardship of the earth, peace. But now the arch faith is paganism vs being a fundie.

My family would say it’s my lack of faith. But that’s a tough sell, when they were the ones shoving me out the door. At every turn. And when I still have faith. Just not theirs.

…..

What brought this post on?

I’m watching the show ‘Saving Grace’ and it’s poking at all my fundie bruises in a big way. I really identify with Grace. I’m hoping that at the end of the show (after I bawl one last time) it will bring healing.

….. What about you?

Do you have similar faith/childhood issues you find triggering when you watch media or get into discussions?

Languages –

I started out my life speaking another language than English. And when I was in Gr 4, I started learning French. Then in HS, I learned Latin and German. Boyfriends and friends taught me smatterings of other European languages. I have a good ear and can mimic people quite easily. When I go on vacation, it takes me a bit to come back to my usual way of talking.

Which explains my love of languages.

So much of what we consider a culture is based on language. And you have to wonder how many there were in times before history was written. Which language came first? If evolution theory is correct, it was prob an African dialect. But where did it go then? What shaped it’s changes and growth? The environment, the people, new tools, an army coming thru…..

Who could you ask? Which field has it right? Well these theorists seem to be fairly popular. If you’re interested? Take a peek!

….. resources

• Bruner : interaction between children and their
  care-givers.
• Skinner: Operant Conditioning
• Chomsky: Language Acquisition Device
• Piaget: Assimilation and Accommodation
• Vygotsky: Zone of Proximal Development
  source 1
  source 2

……

language families
Greenberg

…..

changes – neighbours regularly trade with each other and empires march thru