29-Sept-2004 Detroit Zoo 

29-Sept-2004 Detroit Zoo 

Pets - Toxicology answer?

I posted my technology question to an online board and got this response from Jeff Suchard, the toxicologist and excellent Jeopardy! player who gave Ken Jennings a real scare on Monday 10/4:

One of two possible responses is correct:

1) The poison secreted by the fire-bellied toad is the second most potent toxin known to man (after botulinum toxin), with an LD50 in the range of 1-5 ng/kg in most mammalian species. Extreme caution is required to handle these creatures, and neoprene gloves are recommended when cleaning their cages/terraria/etc. Flushing a single dead toad down the toilet is not very likely to contaminate drinking water in the entire Great Lakes watershed area, although a localized fish-kill may be observed.

2) Don't worry about it.

Pets - Toxicology question

We added a fire-bellied toad to the aggregation of animal companions at our house. I was surprised to read that, yes, they are poisonous. The information on the internet was all over the board on taking care of this creature, but nowhere did I see exactly how poisonous the toad is.

After all, they didn't check my name on a terrorist list, or give me a seven day waiting period before buying the toad, so I figure that if it succumbs and goes to it's circular watery grave I won't be contaminating the drinking water of the Great Lakes....or will I? Hmmmmm.

RIP Rodney Dangerfield

He may have been the last of the great old-style, maybe vaudeville-like comedians. Jack Benny, Henny Youngman, George Burns, Milton Berle and now Rodney. His appearances 20+ years ago with Johnny Carson were hilarious--no one could get Johnny laughing harder and Dangerfield played off that energy and was on top of his form there.

He had a persona, an everyman who didn't get respect ("when I was born the doctor saw me and slapped my mother!") He carried that schtick farther than any other comedian, possibly other than the penurious image that Jack Benny created for himself.

Today, comics are almost unrelentingly political, scatological and sometimes cruel to other people. Rodney Dangerfield poked fun at himself, well the exaggerated person that he created, anyway. Drew Carey could have taken on the mantle of Rodney Dangerfield, but in his show, changed his character about half-way through and had beautiful women falling all over his character--changing from the middle-level manager who is a loser in love.

I saw Rodney Dangerfield in a large club many years ago, (before "Back To School") and I just about broke a rib, I was laughing so hard. Only when I saw Steve Martin early in his career had I laughed as hard, but Martin's non-sequiturs don't play as well in repeating them now, Dangerfield's jokes will go on.

It's a sad day in humorville.

Vice Presidential Debate

I watched the whole thing...yes strong dark coffee from Trader Joe's helped a lot.

On Kerry/Edwards: Have their ever been people running for the highest offices in the land who don't run on their records before this team? Where are the votes over the last 20 years for Kerry, many fewer for Edwards. Edwards has missed that many votes in the Senate?

On Bush/Cheney: Someone needs to tell Cheney that when he leans forward and the lapels of his jacket hit the microphone on his tie, or when he rests his head on his hands, it's hard to get any passion in the words he's speaking. He actually voted against the MLK holiday, Head Start and other things?


What's funny to me is that some of the people from each campaign talking after this and the previous debate make better points than the candidates themselves--the problem is, they're not leaders, just glib partisans.

This is a test. This is only a test. If this were a real posting to my blog, the Federal Communications Commission would be notified.