The world's smartest dogs?

The world’s smartest dog breed is up for debate, as shown on these pages:

- World’s dumbest dog breeds

- World’s smartest dog breeds


Dog IQ varies by breed

Horse breeds also have IQ characteristics, and some breeds (e.g. the appaloosa) are known for their stupidity while Arabians are known for their hot temperament.

Among the smartest dogs are the Rottweiler and Border Collie.



Janet and I traveled to Rottweil Germany to learn more about how this ancient breed was saved from near-extinction. I own a Rottweiler and I agree that Rottweiler’s are the world’s smartest dogs, especially our guard dog, Bear.

Many years ago, Janet had a burglar enter her home and her Rottweiler waited silently until the burglar had completely entered through her window and then attacked him savagely, ripping hunks of flesh from his body. The burglar got away and the police suspected that the robber may have died in the woods, but his body was never found.

Worse yet, the blood spatters ruined Janet's new drapes.


Some dog breeds are agressive

Janet knows how to do Schutzhund Training (a specialized “protection dog” program), and Bear knows that she may never disembowel any animal except a human.



Bear lives with King, a tiny pony herd sire (a horny fellow who has fathered 39 babies). Now, King loves dog chow, his favorite food in the whole world.



Because Bear and King like dog food, (which is made from horsemeat and dead dogs from the animal shelter), does that make them cannibals?

Bear weights about 100 pounds, while King tops-in at about 140 lbs.



King is taking advantage of his status as a “no kill” animal that he has been stealing Bears dinner. Bear whined and barked her “emergency” sound, and sure enough, King had his ears pinned-back, snapping like a hungry turtle.

King was also spinning around and using his main weapon, his lightening-fast double-barreled kicks that can break your shinbone.

Rare white and albino deer

I live in a heavily wooded areas and I often walk for miles through the forest. The eagles and turkeys are returning to North Carolina.

It’s highly illegal to kill a bird of prey here and we are inundated with Hawks and Buzzards, cruising for vermin. However, in the past few months I’ve spotted several wild turkeys and even a bald eagle, flying with a branch for the nest!


The rare white deer

Yesterday we had the second sighting of a rare white deer (due to a recessive gene). It looks like the famous Seneca white deer, (their compound of about 200 deer is right outside of Cornell, a cool visit) and the White Deer of Patuxent.

Even at a distance we could tell that it was not albino because the eyes were not pink and there was a splash of brown on the neckline:



We have lots of deer in this area, and they even come-out on the golf course, very tame:



We someimes play golf with our Yorkie dog, who loves the wildlife, but she is a hassle at times:



Anyway, I know that this white deer will not last long after deer season starts, and I’m debating about tranquilizing him with a dart and sending him to a zoo or game reserve, so that he does not wind-up as part of a collection of deer butt art.

I’ve never used dart ammo, but a fellow I know has an amazing 223 rifle, a supercharged .22 rifle with amazing accuracy at long distances. Check-out the size of the brass on the bullet (left, compared to a .38:



He claims that he can plug a field rat at a quarter-mile away with the high-powered scope, and I’m definitely going to add one of these babies to my rifle collection. These beauties have almost the distance of a 30-06, but with much smaller payloads, the perfect rifle for dispatching varmits of all kinds.

Justice for the Duke Lacrosse players?

Yesterday Mike Nifong resigned, but that’s not nearly enough to appease the offended sense of justice of many North Carolinians.

The News & Observer notes that the victims plan to proceed with civil lawsuits.



I’ve read almost every story published on this lurid affair, and I’m convinced that this whole brouhaha was simply retribution by Crystal Magnum, her getting even for having been belittled and cursed-at by some stuck-up rich white crackers.

After all, Magnum had nothing to loose, so “why not”?

Abuse of the Public Trust

Betraying the public trust should be a serious offense. For the prosecutors punishment, disbarment and a civil judgment is simply not enough. We grant the police, prosecutors special privileges to protect the citizens, not abuse them. We hang spies for lesser reasons. Many folks think that Nifong has committed a crime:

“Nifong goes before the State Bar commission to ask for dismissal of perhaps the most serious charge -- that he withheld DNA evidence and then lied about it to judges and the state bar.”



The victims also have the right to go after Nifong with Federal Civil Rights abuses:

“If the players pursue a civil case of malicious prosecution, they must prove four elements:

* The original case was terminated in their favor, a given.

* The accused prosecutor played an active role in the original case.

* The prosecutor did not have probable cause or reasonable grounds to bring the original case.

* The initial case was initiated or continued with an improper purpose.”

But most scary of all, the Moms of the victims have vowed to seek justice.

Justice for the fake accuser?

And what about the judgment-proof scumbag woman who brought forth the charges that ruined these young men’s lives? Bob Dylan’s ballad goes “♫ ♫ When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to loose ♫ ♫”, and this is especially true for Crystal Gail Mangum who made these false charges. You cannot get blood from a turnip, and suing this shady lady is a waste of time.


Liar, liar, pants on fire


Let’s enforce the NC criminal libel law

So, the question lingers: Do judgment-proof scum like Crystal Gail Mangum have right to libel and defame people with impunity? Civil remedies are not enough, and criminal sanctions are needed to stop judgment-proof scum from making wanton allegations.

Many poor folks think that they can say whatever they want with impunity since nobody would waste good money suing an indigent. This has to change, and a stiff prison term for the fake victim will send the message.

Some more enlightened countries have laws that make it a crime to defame someone and ruin their reputation, and perhaps it’s time to take heed. In 17 states with criminal libel laws, (Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, along with Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), it appears that defamation and libel are criminal offenses and we may get the pleasure of seeing Crystal Magnum is jail, after all.

“In Colorado, state law makes criminal libel a felony carrying up to 18 months in prison and a fine up to $100,000 for the first offense.”


A North Carolina Chain Gang

I’m no lawyer, but North Carolina has laws making it a criminal offense for someone to secure the publication of false or libelous information (see North Carolina Codes, Chapter 14, § 14-47):

“If any person shall state, deliver or transmit by any means whatever, to the manager, editor, publisher or reporter of any newspaper or periodical for publication therein any false and libelous statement concerning any person or corporation, and thereby secure the publication of the same, he shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.”

Many folks agree, jail is a just and fair remedy:

“If justice were to prevail, the woman who lied will end up in jail. Mike NiFong will not only be removed from office, but jailed as well.”

What about the mitigating circumstances?

As the lawsuits get started, we must remember that the Duke Lacrosse players are not totally innocent of wrongdoing, and I’ll bet that this whole incident was sparked by Crystal Magnum “getting even” for being cursed-at and treated like a black hooker:

- Reports say that the Duke Lacrosse players are privileged, rich white kids with an unjustified sense of entitlement.

- The Duke Lacrosse team specifically asked for white strippers, and got very angry when they saw the pair of black titty-tossers at their door.

- They used nasty racial epaulets against the female sex workers.

Gee, it will be fun to watch how this tawdry incident turns-out.

Golf etiquette for computer professionals

Traditionally, men playing golf will let their hair down with bad etiquette, smoking fat stogies, hocking floogies and peeing in the woods.



However, the gentleman must be able to golf in a respectable fashion, abandoning their crude ways and adhering to more gentlemanly (or womanly) manners.

Here are my tips for golfing during professional meetings.

Army Medic beaten by TSA

In this article and TSA beating details, we see a horrific claim of an airport security neo-Nazi beating, tazering and laughing-at an injured active duty American soldier, beating him senseless on March 10, 2007 in the Las Vegas airport.



Is this an another example of TSA abuse, intolerable by any standard of decency, or is it an example of a dumbass Army soldier holding-up the security line with a ridiculous request to be paid for the cost of his open Mountain Dew soda pop? Man, they say that a volunteer Army attracts lots of dummies, but give me a break:



Obviously, we hire TSA and airport security to protect us, not to tazer and beat up war veterans, but it appears that Sgt. England was being argumentative with ridiculous and unjustified demands. On the other hand, the social slime bags that TSA hires are well-known to abuse their authority, like a thousand copies of Barney Phyfe.



Janet one missed a flight because she dared talk-back about being detained, while TSA buffoons tested her watercolor painting cakes! I’ve personally seen TSA personnel abusing passengers that they don’t like, detaining people long enough to miss their flights just “because they can”. This Saturday Night Live spook of TSA idiots’ is worth watching, and it’s funny, but sadly, true:

Saturday Night Live – TSA Training Video

If this incident is corroborated, it would be an abuse of the public trust that is on-par with bad cops and corrupt judges. Abusing the public trust demands the severest possible punishment, life without parole, death, or worst of all, sitting through repeated screenings of Michael Moore movies. On the other hand, a court would probably find that the average TSA screener is too stupid to find their own butt, much less identify potential terrorists, like this old fellow, who looks more like a kindly grandpa than a terrorist:



Here, watch the video of the beating of this active duty soldier.
I firmly believe that the USA is at-risk by these goofy morons at TSA, and if there is another terrorist attack I have no doubt that the bad guys will exploit the incredible ignorance of these TSA morons. Please join me in demanding TSA reform before it’s too late.

In protest, some Army members have formed an organization “Boycott Las Vegas” to protest this awful treatment.

Here is England’s own statement of the incident:

“I told him the rules were not clear and asked him who I needed to see about getting reimbursed for the soda.” – Yeah, that’s all we need in a long TSA line, some dope demanding reimbursement for a damn soda pop.

I fly frequently, and all airports make it clear than you cannot bring open containers of liquids through security. In all fairness, I’ve met some really dumb TSA people, but I’ve also met some incredible stupid Army soldiers. It’s a re-run of “Dumb and Dumber”.



Impersonating an officer?

In time of war, a civilian impersonating an officer can be executed by firing squad. Here in NC, they recently busted a woman for impersonating a captain and falsely assuming and pretending to be an officer and employee of the United States is publishable by:

“Not more than 3 years imprisonment, and/or fine $1,000.00, 1 year supervised release, and special assessment $100”

Here, Sgt. England describes the TSA person impersonating an officer:

“At about this time the TSA supervisor who I described above as the male in his 50’s told me he “is” a Lt. in the Army. This person spoke to me as if giving me a military order from a superior. I asked to see his military ID and he refused to show me. Per “military regulations”, when not in uniform and you identify yourself as a U.S soldier, you must produce ID if asked for it. And for the ISA officer to be in his 50’s and be a Lt. is a little strange.” – A “little” strange?

“I then respectfully asked officer Jennings if he would please pick up my dollar bill he threw on the ground.”

Uh Huh. England had been publicly dissed, had “rank” pulled on him by a TSA piss-ant, delayed long enough to miss his flight, and he went back in pursuit of a refund for a stupid Mountain Dew. I’ll bet he didn’t say “please”.

Since the Sergeant says that the TSA agent represented himself as a commissioned officer, Sgt. England had a right to ask for ID, and the TSA agent had a duty to produce his ID. If this TSA scumbag was impersonating a commissioned military officer, I hope that they just send the MP’s to his house, drag him to the nearest Army base, where he can stand charges for impersonating an officer.

England has sued, but that’s not enough. Here is a TV news video report on the lawsuit.

I’m sure that England was not exactly courteous, but he was beaten so bad that he had broken bones and bruising so bad that his deployment to Iraq as a medic. Here is another video of Sgt. England’s injuries.

I hope that the TSA creep pounds rocks at Leavenworth for a decade . . .

Cursing! Tiger Woods Profanity on TV!

Tiger Woods has a filthy mouth!

While watching the US Open it occurred to me that Tiger Woods does not realize that folks can read his lips and clearly see him mouth profanities on national TV.



Anyone who has watched sports in a noisy bar knows how to read lips, and Tiger need to realize that folks can “see” his cussing!

I expect to see Tiger mouthing a lot of profanity this weekend, as Oakmont is a legendary torturous course with super-narrow fairways, foot-deep grass roughs, and lightening-fast greens. Dig their famous “Church Pew” bunker:



Watching Tiger cuss comes on the heels of the new ruling by Uncle Charley (The FCC) that accidental profanity can be forgiven:

“In a 2-1 decision, the court overturned an indecency ruling against the Fox TV network, saying the FCC went too far citing separate incidents in 2002 and 2003 after performers Cher and Nicole Richie used expletives during live TV broadcasts of the Billboard Music Awards.

The court found that sanctioning “fleeting expletives” in live broadcasts is “arbitrary and capricious.”

Evidently, just as “excited utterances” have special treatment in the law, excited utterances can now be forgiven by the FCC.

Studies confirm that money can buy happiness

British scientists have calculated the amount of money required to buy happiness:



“By comparing these two types of information, they were able to put a "price" on social and lifestyle factors. So, for example, they found that having excellent health was worth the equivalent of a £304,000-a-year pay rise in how happy it made you feel.

Marriage increases happiness levels by the same amount as earning an extra £54,000 a year, although, surprisingly, living together was worth more, at an extra £82,500. Meanwhile, chatting to your neighbours on a regular basis would make you as happy as getting a £40,000-a-year pay boost.

The scale also works in reverse, however, so that the grief of becoming widowed decreases your satisfaction-with life by the same amount as your salary dropping £200,000 a year.”

Other research shows a direct correlation between reported happiness and income level, showing that money does buy happiness.

Paris Hilton is one smart celebrity

Paris Hilton is not the dummy that we think she is. In fact, Paris Hilton is a very smart lady.

I first heard about Paris Hilton as simply a “Hilton Heiress” when her grainy black-and-white internet video came out.

The video did not show any naughty bits, but it was extremely suggestive, catapulting Paris from an unknown kid into an instant celebrity.



Could Paris have released the video herself to propel her career? Duh.

All of this hype about Paris Hilton started a craze including the South Park “stupid spoiled whore” episode (and the “stupid spoiled whore video playset”). This was just the type of publicity which made her world famous.

Remember, the Hilton heirs are not among the idle rich. Paris’ Dad sells real estate for a living, and they need the cash. Let’s face it, after reports of numerous nose surgeries, Paris still has a huge honker, and if she could have afforded a forth plastic surgery, she would have had it fixed.

With the recent events about Paris in jail, my first reaction was that she was doing it again, manipulating the gullible media.

Now I ask you, do you buy this scam?

You could not buy the kind of free publicity Paris’ jailing has brought, many hours of primetime news. Me, I suspect that Paris is one smart cookie. Who among us would not spend a month in jail in return for a multi-million dollar book deal?

Paris is one smart gal (her Grandpa Conrad was a genius), and I expect that much of this recent event was staged for the benefit of the public. Of course, she would never admit it, but this publicity will be worth millions of dollars to her, and it has kept her front-and-center in the media limelight. Not bad for a talentless hack with a big schnoz.

C'mon, how many people are buying this act? I laughed at the fakish tears in court when she was sent back to the pokie, which looked to me like an amateurish attempt at distress by an aspiring actress.

Well done, Paris, you done fooled ‘em.

Patricia Cornwell fights cyberlibel

Patricia Cornwell, the bestselling crime novelist, has recently sued a cyberstalker who has published vicious lies about her on the web. Good for her. It’s great that she is standing up to protect her great reputation from liars on the web.

This Information week article notes that the villain has left the USA in order to avoid a court judgment against her.

“Cornwell won an injunction against Sachs, but Sachs continues posting accusations online. They are tied up in conspiracies that span half a century to include information about Cornwell's family life and personal ties, which Sachs claims twisted the best-selling author into a threatening individual.

A psychiatrist characterized Sachs' behavior as cyberstalking.

Cornwell told a reporter last week that she believes the case illustrates a need to stop people from publishing damaging information on the Internet and going to another country to avoid prosecution.”

Patricia Cornwell is a personal friend of my wife, and I can personally attest to her high degree of personal integrity. It’s kinda weird having a friend arrive at our ranch by helicopter:


Patricia Cornwell at Burleson Arabians Ranch

It’s disgusting when web criminals flaunt the law and attack innocent people, and we applaud Patsy for her heroic stance against those who seek to falsely defame her. BTW, Patsy is a very nicelady and she loves animals. Here is a pic of me showing Patsy one of our ponies:


Don Burleson, Patricia Cornwell and "Laddie"

Of course, Patsy won her court case against the cyberscum and got a court order against them.

“Mystery-novel author Patricia Cornwell has won a temporary court order directing another writer to stop defaming her with Internet claims, including that she is an anti-Semite, an advocate of book-burning and a plagiarist.

U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon concluded in an opinion dated Tuesday that all of the defamatory claims posted on Web sites by longtime Cornwell adversary Leslie Raymond Sachs are false.

Moon's order directs Sachs to remove his statements from the Internet pending trial of the lawsuit that was filed by Cornwell in April.”

I discuss these issues of cyberlibel in my book “Web Stalkers: Protect yourself from Internet Psychopaths”, and we wish Patricia Cornwell the very best in her collection efforts against her attacker.

Choosing the best golf driver

So, what’s the best driver in golf today? The best golf driver for you is all about what works for you and the best way to find the best driver for your golf game is to spend time trying out the demo drivers at the range or in a golf simulator.

Whenever you pay over $500 for a driver, you should always take a test drive and see what the best driver is, for your skill level. Many vendors offer a "demo day" where you can test-drive drivers and find the best driver for you.

These tips come from PGA master professional Brad Clayton, a great source for tips on choosing the golf clubs that are right for you.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and we can see that there are some excellent Chinese counterfeits of the best drivers. Experts recommend that you should never buy a golf driver unless you know and trust the provenance. The China knock-offs are so good that they can fool many pros, and they don't have the same power as the "real" best drivers.

“Callaway, Cleveland, Nike and Acushnet (parent company of the Titleist, Cobra and FootJoy brands) are among the companies who have suffered from the boom in fake clubs and although it's reckoned that 60 per-cent of the world's genuine golf clubs are made in China, millions of poor quality copies also originate from there.”

As for the characteristics of “the best” golf driver, for me the best was the club that allowed me to hit the longest, straightest and most consistent distance. The new square-head drivers also are forgiving and will straighten out a bad shot, a very important feature for me!

The characteristics of the best driver fall along two dimensions:

Forgiveness – Some of the new drivers actually correct a bad swing, and my Callaway Fti has definitively straightened out my accidental fades.

Sweet spot size – To a beginner, the larger the sweet spot, the better the driver. I get a consistent 30-50 yaers more with a Callaway 460 or Fti, amazing technology.

For example, the Callaway Fti has a giant sweet spot, the size of a silver dollar:



After spending days test-driving drivers, I found that the best driver for me was the Callaway Fti. This club has amazing craftsmanship, a titanium milk jug with extreme engineering and exceptional distance and accuracy.



I also liked the Callaway 460 driver, and in the simulator at the golf store, I consistently hit straighter drives with the Callaway drivers.


I also chose the Callaway Fti because it will be with me for years. They say in golf, “Marry your driver, date your putter”, and I wanted a driver that will continue to work as I improve my game.

The Callaway products are superb, with noticeable craftsmanship, and I adore my Big Bertha irons and my Callaway fairway woods.

Me, I appreciate fine craftsmanship of the best Callaway drivers, and their drivers are engineered to be both long and very forgiving.

Again, your definition of “the best driver” may be different, but make sure to test drive the Callaway products.

Does familiarity breed contempt?

Many people fail to realize the subtle differences between inappropriate fraternization and building camaraderie, an indispensable skill for managers to connect with their underlings without instilling the inevitable comtempt that results from over familiarity.



This asks the central question, does familiarity breed contempt?

Does Familiarity breed contempt?

Read the link above for my analysis on the perils of corporate fraternization and why familiarity breed contempt.