Native to the Americas, the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) travels widely in search of sustenance. While usually foraging alone, it relies on other individuals of its species for companionship and mutual protection. Sometimes misunderstood, sometimes feared, sometimes shunned, it nevertheless performs an important role in the ecosystem.
This scavenger bird is a marvel of efficiency. Rather than expend energy flapping its wings, it instead locates uplifting columns of air, and spirals within them in order to glide to greater heights. This behavior has been mistaken for opportunism, interpreted as if it is circling doomed terrestrial animals destined to be its next meal. In truth, the vulture takes advantage of these thermals to gain the altitude needed glide longer distances, flying not out of necessity, but for the joy of it.
It also avoids the exertion necessary to capture live prey, preferring instead to feast upon that which is already dead. In this behavior, it resembles many humans.
It is not what most of us would consider to be a pretty bird. While its habits are often off-putting, or even disgusting, to members of more fastidious species, the turkey vulture helps to keep the environment from being clogged with detritus. Hence its Latin binomial, which translates to English as "golden purifier."
I rarely know where the winds will take me next, or what I might find there. The journey is the destination.
You know I think I found a perfect way to be honest and travel with the pooch! Drive in your own vehicle! You'll see more sights, stay in a pet friendly hotel and maybe have some adventures. But thats just my opinion.
We've been flying two or three times a year the last few years, and with layovers and return flights that's probably eight or ten different flights. I haven't seen a single service dog. I wonder if it's more of a problem on other airlines or for certain departure point and destinations?
Oh, wait. At least half of those are international flights. I don't know how or if this applies to service dogs, but pets for sure have to quarantine before they can cross international borders. When we moved to Germany the second time, we had two dogs, and we rehomed them rather than put them in quarantine for (six months? I think it was).
And yet, they never ask people who had siblings things like "Was it hard, not being the center of attention?" Or, "How did it feel to feud with your siblings over the inheritance?"
To be fair, when it comes to the latter question, it doesn't really need to be asked because a lot of the time people will come out and complain about it on their own. That's what happened with my father-in-law, anyway.
And I will say this. Even though I was an only child, big family gatherings were a part of my childhood, and I generally enjoyed them. I do kind of miss it in middle age and do sometimes go overboard when it comes to giving Christmas gifts as a result.
Horace didn't "invent" souvenir. He maybe expanded the word's meaning from it's original use "to recollect" or "to remember" into "a token item that reminds me of something."
If this is how the article writer wants to define the beginnings of one word, he or she is clearly bad at this and everything else they wrote is now in question.
Looks like I get to balance out yesterdays "man" entry with a "woman" one, this being from Women'sHealth (don't ask me why it's all one word like that):
Maybe, if they can get through reading the study without getting distracted.
But new research suggests that having ADHD comes with some upsides too.
This shouldn't be surprising. Though as usual, "research suggests" is a far cry from the headline's promised "Just Revealed Exactly Why."
For the study, researchers asked 200 adults with ADHD and 200 adults without ADHD to examine how strongly they identify with 25 positive characteristics, like humor, creativity, and spontaneity.
I just want to know if the control group finished faster.
Yes, I am going to continue to make "distraction" jokes.
People with ADHD were more likely to strongly endorse 10 strengths they had over those without the condition. Those included:
(a list of five completely unsurprising traits)
One of the traits listed is "spontaneity." I'd argue that's not a strength. It's an annoyance to others, like chewing with your mouth open.
But the findings suggest that adults with ADHD who are aware of their strengths and actually use them have higher confidence and quality of life as a result, Ammon says.
This seems like more than just "looking on the bright side." It's like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, who taught us all an important life lesson: that deviation from the norm will be punished and shunned unless it can be exploited, and that the exploited should be happy about it. By labeling ADHD as such, you're slapping on a "diagnosis," one with the words "deficit" and "disorder," which all have negative connotations. If you can see things from a different point of view, and recognize that you actually have a superpower, well, then Santa finally has a use for you.
In case it's not clear, what I mean is that those who deviate from the norm should be accepted for who they are, even if they're not useful.
Hoogman says she hopes the findings will help people understand the strengths associated with ADHD. “My other studies show that adults with ADHD frequently, in addition to their deficits, also experience benefits from their ADHD characteristics,” she says.
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