Hi Y'all. Just got back from CaCa land and my dad is doing better (The mink post was forwarded to Elizabeth who posted it for me). While in the CaCa state, I actually got into a huge argument with a lady CaCa Fish and Gestapo agent who wouldn't give me her name. She knew me though; that's how it started-- I was talking about ferrets to some friends at a picnic, and said I was the Mo' Bob from the FML. She butted in to "refute" some of my statements, called me an anarchist, and the argument started. Well, argument is not a true descriptive term--it was almost a fist-fight actually; not on my part, honest! Somehow I was able to, well, really piss that Fish and Gestapo lady off! I don't know why or how, but might have been related to my stumping her and making her look REALLY STUPID in front of 20-30 people. She just got madder and madder until she blew up and threatened to arrest me! It was so cool!!!! Anyway, the police were called by someone who thought she was about to pull her gun, and the situation was (at least physically) diffused. It didn't stop me from continuing to speaking biotalk to her, and making her look even stupider in front of the cops, though. I never had so much fun! BTW, the comment that really set her off was when I called her an emotionally stilted, academically challenged, sexually repressed, prostitutional advocate of game hunting who couldn't fire all four neurons in her brain if she fell on a stick of dynamite and it went up her butt right next to her brain, and who couldn't tell the difference between a mustelid and a musty head, and considering she had the later, it should be easy. I also apologized to her for making fun of her mental abilities because it was impolite to poke fun at inbreeding defects and mental retardation. But the comment that made her reach for her gun was when I suggested she wasn't smart enough to be a Deputy Fife and her only self-esteem came from polishing her pistol, and I didn't know what she used to do it. Of course, that was long after I discovered she couldn't define a species or domestication, nor could she refute the F&G protection of feral and introduced animals, simply because they are popular for hunting, such as "wild" boar, horses, burros, sheep, goats, pheasants, some quails, many fish, and even plants, nor that the F&G regularly allowed wild animals to be imported, such as sika or fallow deer, which COULD maintain feral colonies. One of my friends videotaped the encounter, anticipating my arrest no doubt, and has promised to send me a copy. Once I get it (and the time) I may put the best parts on my web page as short clips. I have to visit my dad more often! Q: (Private): Your post on vision confused me. Can't ferrets see far? A: No. They once saw Jamie Farr, and it ruined them. Sure they can. They can see everything we can, except the more distant objects are not focused. They see movement quite well, and, according to my friend --an expert on animal vision-- their particular astigmatism makes overhead motion quite noticable. Those of you with my particular vision problems will understand when I say I have ferret vision. I can focus on the tip of my nose, but anything farther away than 5-6 feet is hopelessly blurry. I can see people, recognize shapes, colors, and especially movement, I just can't make out the features. Also, my pupils are nearly 4 mm offset from center, producing a very noticable astigmatism in an up-and-down direction, making my side vision even worse. Just because they are nearsighted, it doesn't mean they can't see. Also Sukie mentioned she thought her ferret might see blue, even though domesticated ferrets are reported to have lost that trait. Is she wrong? I don't think so. Assuming she is right, all it means is she has one of the few ferrets that still possess the ability. Not all wild true-blooded polecats see blue either, nor have masks, nor are sexually dimorphic, etc. These traits are actually found on a continuum; that is, the color vision of ferrets may actually range from some that can't see ANY color to those that see reds and blues. Occasionally, one might be found that can see into the oranges and greens. Most, however, only see the reds. What some people don't realize is, even without color, objects have a tonality based on their degree of reflectance. Just look at a B&W movie to see what I mean. Many times people think a ferret loves an object because of its color, or seems to prefer objects of a specific color, it is not actually because of the color, but because of the tonality. My ferrets actually prefer objects that contrast well against the background, which, for my house, means very light or very dark objects. Mo' Bob and the 17 Mo' Wacky Weaselids (In memory of Buddy and Gus) [Posted in FML issue 1874]