May 2002
Harpy eagle breeding program moved to Panama
Posted by MelSkunk on Wed 1 May 2002 - 06:19The Harpy Eagle, largest bird of prey in the world and national symbol of Panama, is now being bred in that country after an unsucessful attempt to breed the rare and powerful birds in in US. Rather than simply imitating the tropical environs of the birds, which led to very little sucess in the 4 year program and no birds strong enough to survive in the wild, the World Center for Birds of Prey has moved their breeding to the actual home territory of the Harpy Eagle.
The Harpy Eagle is a special challange due to its size, need for a vast territory and solitary nature. Habitat loss and poaching are the biggest threats to the species' continued survival.
Max Headroom Returns To TV
Posted by Anon on Wed 1 May 2002 - 09:02The groundbreaking 1987 TV series "Max Headroom" will be returning to television starting this week. TechTV will be broadcasting the 14 episodes of the show at 6 PM EDT on Fridays, with additional showtimes throughout the week. Check out TechTV's web page for more information and background on the series.
June Bugs & June Daffy in June
Posted by Rigel on Wed 1 May 2002 - 10:42Cartoon Network will be featuring over 160 Bugs Bunny episodes in alphabetical order for their annual June Bugs marathon on June 1st and 2nd, lasting 38 hours.
This year, Daffy Duck will receive equal bill-ing (ha ha, I kill me...) on Boomerang, Cartoon Network's twin, with a 48-hr marathon of 76 Daffy Duck cartoons, beginning June 1st as well.
Last year, June Bugs was the most-watched event ever to air on Cartoon Network.
Remote controlled rats?
Posted by Feren on Wed 1 May 2002 - 19:30You may have already seen this mentioned on /. but currently there is an article on CNN's Science and Technology page. The article is about the recent results of a team of scientists who have recently developed what could be coined as "remote-control rats". Details are in the article, but here we are seeing the first significant melding of technology into behavioral conditioning (something humans have been doing with animals for eons). Rather than using rewards (food, praise, etc) to encourage specific behaviors in animals, scientists have wired electrodes directly into the brains of their test subjects to stimulate the pleasure center. Additional electrodes into other areas of the brain provide cues to the animal, replacing traditional cues (verbal commands, for example).
Teach this site about animals
Posted by MelSkunk on Thu 2 May 2002 - 13:30A great way to avoid doing any useful work is the Animal AI site at Irresponsible Cybernetics. Simply fill in a descriptive sentance about your animal (such as "Large spotted cat from South America" or "Long and slinky pet weasel") and tell it if it's guessed correctly or not. It's great fun, and the more people use it the smarter it will get.
If you'd rather teach it to recognise that you don't need naked celebs or debt sollutions, there's Am I Spam or Not? from the same site.
CACE Progress Reports Now Online
Posted by Jeff_Novotny on Thu 2 May 2002 - 21:45Progress reports for CACE (The Canadian Anthro & Cartooning Expo) are now on line.
By checking our announcements page you'll be able to see all of the latest news about programming, events, art show deadlines,
and other important information.
The main page for the convention is located at http://www.c-ace.org, where you can find out about an early bird draw for those who register by May 10.
CACE takes place from August 16 to 18 in Ottawa, Canada, and focuses on the art and writing aspect of anthro/furry fandom, as well as on cartoon art in general. Thanks for your interest!
Monkey Mascot Elected Mayor!
Posted by PunkTiger on Fri 3 May 2002 - 09:47A macsot for the local football (rugby) team was elected mayor in the town of Hartelpool, UK. His pre-election platform was "free bananas for schoolchildren". The full story is here.
Score one for the fursuiters!
Club Stripes announces Network Model
Posted by nyssasemephit on Fri 3 May 2002 - 18:20Club Stripes, a new site with a suite of services for furries, is announcing its new network model. The page may be a bit messy yet, but you can get a sneak peek at what will be offered.
Scooby-Doo In Scooby-Detail
Posted by Rigel on Mon 6 May 2002 - 10:10The LA Times has a very in-depth article detailing the background of Scooby-Doo and the upcoming movie, including some lesser-known facts about those meddling kids.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-050502mallory.story
Anthrocon Hotel Nearly Full
Posted by Aureth on Tue 7 May 2002 - 18:49From Samual Conway (chairman of Anthrocon) on alt.fan.furry: ""Magic Tom" Hughsted, convention services manager at the Adams Mark, has informed me that we are approaching NINETY PERCENT FULL.
Make your hotel reservations *NOW NOW NOW*!
DO NOT WAIT!"
How much do you read furry novels and stories?
Posted by Anon on Wed 8 May 2002 - 09:01Dreamworks Picks Up 'Space Monkey'
Posted by Rigel on Wed 8 May 2002 - 11:16For some reason, Hollywood still thinks that monkeys are funny. Thus, Dreamworks has picked up the project 'Space Monkeys' for animation, about a group of NASA test monkeys in the 1950's. Yay.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hollywoodreporter/film/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1483038