Author: DB

Definition of elaphine: of, relating to, or resembling the red deer. From the Latin name of the Red deer Cervus elaphus From the Greek for deer, which is ἔλαφος (élaphos)

But why? The suggestion is that elephants have tusks, which are allied to horns, and at one time the language and classification of animals was loose and imprecise – so deer and elephants and cows and walruses and antelope would all be the same category.

That doesn’t really explain it because if that was the explanation then lost of animals besides deer would be called élaphos, which they are not. Elephants, for example, are Loxodonta – although they are in the family Elephantidae. I could elephants could have been reclassified at some later date, but then why stick poor old deer with the name of something that they are clearly not? And what about antelope, which have horns – they are bovidae. The Rowan antelope, for example, is Hippotragus equinus.

I have noticed that semi-wildlife has become more trusting around people, and I think it might be due to COVID that has slowed the pace of life down. It bodes well for when the world learns better and slows down by desire rather than by being hounded by a virus.

In October last year, Bloomberg reported the China had loosened the restrictions on imports to tackle its power crisis and that Indonesia supplies about two-thirds of China’s total imports and is China’s biggest overseas supplier, supplying 17 million tons of coal in August, and 21 million tons in September.

And two days ago, Reuters reported that Indonesia, whose biggest customers for its coal are China, India, Japan and South Korea, has banned coal exports until it has evaluated whether it has enough for its own needs.

(Seen via Quartz)

The conclusion of a study of 2,000 human carnivores is that

Contrary to common expectations, adults consuming a carnivore diet experienced few adverse effects and instead reported health benefits and high satisfaction. Cardiovascular disease risk factors were variably affected. The generalizability of these findings and the long-term effects of this dietary pattern require further study.

Study reported in December 2021 in Current Developments In Nutrition – linked here.

(Seen from a tweet from Jordan Peterson)

Question: How can I check whether I have 2FA on Apple ID?

Answer: On a trusted Mac with macOS 10.15 or later, choose Apple menu > System Preferences > Apple ID > Password & Security

Between 1940 and 1946, under the Treachery Act, The British prosecuted and executed 19 spies who were working for the Germans. They captured more spies, but if their capture was not known to the public then they did not prosecute them but instead turned them to work against the Germans.

The Treachery Act was brought in quickly in 1940, largely at Churchill’s urging, because the authorities doubted whether under current legislation they could prosecute a foreign spy for treason.

And the reason for wanting to be able to prosecute for treason was that the punishment for the crime of treason was death. And the threat of death was thought to be a strong motivator to convince a captured spy to change allegiance.