Hey y’all, I found an article that kind of blew my mind: the short version is that apparently men and women experience “nonconsensual sexual contact” at about the same rates. Could the MRM have actually been right about this?
Marie: rats are amazing. I am a bit broken though: had 45 rats over the last 7 years, down to 2. 2 girls, 2y 10m and 2y 11m respectively. Very healthy: will see over 3 I think.
After losing 10 with 2-3 a month I just can’t. My girls are so beautiful and lovely and seem lost without their brothers (I desex my rats – I had my boys PTS after procrastinating far too long last weekend). Even seeing them look happy to see me makes me sad.
Marie
10 years ago
@hrovintir
Sorry to hear about the rats you lost 🙁 ::offers hugs::
I have a rat-sad different thing: after my last rat died seeing rats also made me kind of sad. But I think it’s just part of the grieving thing, and it was more of a ‘my rat was awesome and I miss her’ so in a good way (for me) too.
I could probably talk all day about rats.
I confess I don’t know what desexing them is? Do you remove their reproductive stuff? Cuz I don’t breed rats (idk if you did though?) I just bought mine from breeders.
emilygoddess – I don’t do numbers, but doesn’t the part in that article where it mentions 46% of male rape victims reporting a female rapist imply that the other 54% are raped by men?
MRAs are only interested in portraying women as being rapists, not in helping men or boys who are abused, so I don’t know if they are any more “right” even though it looks like there are far more men who’ve been abused than was thought.
Marie: hehe, rats are indeed the best. It’s pretty common for rat people to end up getting more and more (always people dumping rats, yay -_-) then get burnt out. I want rats again some day but right now it’s just sore.
Desexing is the same as dogs and cats. They tend to live longer, have less health issues, and you can keep males and females together.
So remove the testes in boys (can still potentially impregnate an entire female for about a month), remove uterus and ovaries in girls.
It is trickier than dogs and cats because they’re small and you can’t really use an endotracheal tube (masks are not as good because they can potentially inhale liquid). Lots of vets do males now – not so tricky, but they have an open inguinal canal (ie: not as separate from the body as dogs/cats/humans) so need good sterile technique and it’s a bit fiddly.
Girls can be a pain and there seems to be a real technique to minimise inflammation and them chewing at the wound afterwards. You also can’t use sutures because of that – most experienced smallies vets use skin glue, though you can use staples.
Desexing cuts down on mammary tumours in girls by <80%. Obviously no pyometras (uterine infections – not *super* common, but much more common in rats that other pet mammals). The science with boys is less clear but they do seem to live longer/get less tumours.
Boys also smell less, which is nice, and are less allergenic.
Following: a long explanation on my rats and some colour genetics. Just if you're interested.
I started off getting lots of rescues, then my boss wanted to sell rats (AHH – we're a vet and pet shop, just sell unwanted and desexed pets now) so I decided I'd breed rather than buy off someone awful. I sold a whole two before going NOCAN'T and luckily he let us stop selling them (phew). However I lucked out with a colour we don't have in NZ so I ended up having 3 litters and keeping most of them apart from a few to responsible breeders.
The colour is black eyed white, which you can get a few different ways but if you don't know genetically it's like extreme hooded – can carry black or agouti but selective albinism means colour is restricted to their eyes only. We cannot import rats so we don't have a lot of colour here.
I'm pretty sure I got it a "bad" way, because I had 3 BEW total, all girls, all with about 4 mink hairs on them. First litter I got 2, one was undersized and I had to feed and toilet for a few days, started feeding OK then died. Her BEW sister's litter had 1 BEW and she seemed healthy – until about 2 weeks, then died for no apparent reason. No more in her other litter or her non-BEW sister's litter.
That BEW (Bob) is gorgeous and healthy and lovely. But I swear she's kind of simple? And her litters were only 5 and 3, which may or may not mean anything. Lack of melanin can lead to organ defects (melanin is important in organs, and it's the lack of melanin in the ear cilia cells that leads to deafness in white animals) so I think my attempt at a line was a no go.
Marie
10 years ago
@hrovitnir
Desexing is the same as dogs and cats. They tend to live longer, have less health issues, and you can keep males and females together.
aww. I didn’t know it could help their health. I never had mine desexed, though even if I knew, I doubt I could have afforded it -_-
Following: a long explanation on my rats and some colour genetics. Just if you’re interested.
Definitely interested. I could read about rats forever :3 ::reads intently::
😀 I love genetics: though my knowledge is rather limited it’s still fun times.
It is expensive, unfortunately. More rescues/shelters are starting to do it now, which is awesome. It ends up about the same as a cat because less drugs but more time (in surgery and they need close monitoring after – they get cold easily and I have lost some due to shit nursing. 🙁 )
Whoot! For the first time in ages, Louis and I have done some writing together (ie. channelling – he talks, I type). If I can keep this up he might get to write a proper journal of our Chicago holiday. Channelling’s quite mentally tiring, but it feels really good to have done it again at last. 🙂
Kittehs, I didn’t know you had to channel him. I got the impression you could hear him on this side without much effort (you said he commented on some clothes you were trying on once).
Just to check in… I am now married. The Wedding was fun. I think I missed at least half of it. No one died (though there was an accident, and a guest missed the ceromonies because he needed stitches. He will have to watch the video(s).
Tomorrow I may catch up, and will try to write it up.
Much fun was had by all. Argenti made an appearance.
emilygoddess
10 years ago
Hi Pecunium! I was thinking of you this morning, and how your wedding must have passed by now and I’d yet to add to the well-wishes. Consider them wished.
Marie
10 years ago
@pecunium
yay! 😀 congrats.
Marie
10 years ago
*on getting married. SOrry to hear someone needed stiches 🙁
emilygoddess – I can hear him (mentally, it’s never a spoken voice, alas) make random comments, but getting his words down on paper takes more concentration, ‘cos it’s more prolonged and I’m more concerned I’ll slip in my own words instead. Second-guessing is bad enough without going into brain editor mode! 😀
But the ordinary citizens, at least the ones I found myself around, seemed like really lovely people on average. 🙂 And I’m a huge fan of Vegemite, not that that settles it. 😛
LOL Vegemite – I had to take a couple of big tubes to a friend in LA, ‘cos he’s a convert and it’s hard to get over there.
Yeah, Abbott’s a real gem. The treatment of asylum seekers is disgraceful – not just the Liberal-National party responsible for it, either; Labor has a very dirty record on this, too. Both parties appeal to people’s worst, most xenophobic attitudes. But the LNP goes one step further with the whole “no need to tell anyone anything” line. Oh, and you know where they want to send asylum seekers? Cambodia. Yup, one of the poorest countries in the world, one with masses of troubles and a dodgy government (gee, wonder what the attraction is there).
Punishing people is what Abbott’s all about. As you saw, he’s a misogynist, however much he denies it. Back in his student days at Sydney Uni, he was beaten in the election for union president by a woman. His response was to go to her party’s office with a bunch of his heavies, and smash his fists into the wall inches from her head.
His much-vaunted Rhodes scholarship was a sports scholarship – in other words, means diddley squat.
He was described at uni as a second-rate sportsman, third-rate scholar and fourth-rate politician. It’s a pity more people didn’t remember that about him.
Congrats pecunium! Thanks for rats neurotic beagle – I’m always a fan of too many rats in a house. 😀 Kitteh, Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart are freaking awesome.
Marie – what’s your opinion on the word “handicapped”? I have a friend who’s a teacher aid for kids with autism, she really loves them, but I got the distinct impression “handicapped” was not a word of preference with most disabled people. She did *not* respond well when I said that (so sad, because I felt like the fact I brought it up showed a lot of trust that she would not be a dick. Wrong. :/ )
We Hunted The Mammoth
[content note: rape]
Hey y’all, I found an article that kind of blew my mind: the short version is that apparently men and women experience “nonconsensual sexual contact” at about the same rates. Could the MRM have actually been right about this?
Marie: rats are amazing. I am a bit broken though: had 45 rats over the last 7 years, down to 2. 2 girls, 2y 10m and 2y 11m respectively. Very healthy: will see over 3 I think.
After losing 10 with 2-3 a month I just can’t. My girls are so beautiful and lovely and seem lost without their brothers (I desex my rats – I had my boys PTS after procrastinating far too long last weekend). Even seeing them look happy to see me makes me sad.
@hrovintir
Sorry to hear about the rats you lost 🙁 ::offers hugs::
I have a rat-sad different thing: after my last rat died seeing rats also made me kind of sad. But I think it’s just part of the grieving thing, and it was more of a ‘my rat was awesome and I miss her’ so in a good way (for me) too.
I could probably talk all day about rats.
I confess I don’t know what desexing them is? Do you remove their reproductive stuff? Cuz I don’t breed rats (idk if you did though?) I just bought mine from breeders.
emilygoddess – I don’t do numbers, but doesn’t the part in that article where it mentions 46% of male rape victims reporting a female rapist imply that the other 54% are raped by men?
MRAs are only interested in portraying women as being rapists, not in helping men or boys who are abused, so I don’t know if they are any more “right” even though it looks like there are far more men who’ve been abused than was thought.
Marie: hehe, rats are indeed the best. It’s pretty common for rat people to end up getting more and more (always people dumping rats, yay -_-) then get burnt out. I want rats again some day but right now it’s just sore.
Desexing is the same as dogs and cats. They tend to live longer, have less health issues, and you can keep males and females together.
So remove the testes in boys (can still potentially impregnate an entire female for about a month), remove uterus and ovaries in girls.
It is trickier than dogs and cats because they’re small and you can’t really use an endotracheal tube (masks are not as good because they can potentially inhale liquid). Lots of vets do males now – not so tricky, but they have an open inguinal canal (ie: not as separate from the body as dogs/cats/humans) so need good sterile technique and it’s a bit fiddly.
Girls can be a pain and there seems to be a real technique to minimise inflammation and them chewing at the wound afterwards. You also can’t use sutures because of that – most experienced smallies vets use skin glue, though you can use staples.
Desexing cuts down on mammary tumours in girls by <80%. Obviously no pyometras (uterine infections – not *super* common, but much more common in rats that other pet mammals). The science with boys is less clear but they do seem to live longer/get less tumours.
Boys also smell less, which is nice, and are less allergenic.
Following: a long explanation on my rats and some colour genetics. Just if you're interested.
I started off getting lots of rescues, then my boss wanted to sell rats (AHH – we're a vet and pet shop, just sell unwanted and desexed pets now) so I decided I'd breed rather than buy off someone awful. I sold a whole two before going NOCAN'T and luckily he let us stop selling them (phew). However I lucked out with a colour we don't have in NZ so I ended up having 3 litters and keeping most of them apart from a few to responsible breeders.
The colour is black eyed white, which you can get a few different ways but if you don't know genetically it's like extreme hooded – can carry black or agouti but selective albinism means colour is restricted to their eyes only. We cannot import rats so we don't have a lot of colour here.
I'm pretty sure I got it a "bad" way, because I had 3 BEW total, all girls, all with about 4 mink hairs on them. First litter I got 2, one was undersized and I had to feed and toilet for a few days, started feeding OK then died. Her BEW sister's litter had 1 BEW and she seemed healthy – until about 2 weeks, then died for no apparent reason. No more in her other litter or her non-BEW sister's litter.
That BEW (Bob) is gorgeous and healthy and lovely. But I swear she's kind of simple? And her litters were only 5 and 3, which may or may not mean anything. Lack of melanin can lead to organ defects (melanin is important in organs, and it's the lack of melanin in the ear cilia cells that leads to deafness in white animals) so I think my attempt at a line was a no go.
@hrovitnir
aww. I didn’t know it could help their health. I never had mine desexed, though even if I knew, I doubt I could have afforded it -_-
Definitely interested. I could read about rats forever :3 ::reads intently::
😀 I love genetics: though my knowledge is rather limited it’s still fun times.
It is expensive, unfortunately. More rescues/shelters are starting to do it now, which is awesome. It ends up about the same as a cat because less drugs but more time (in surgery and they need close monitoring after – they get cold easily and I have lost some due to shit nursing. 🙁 )
Ratty brain bleach for anyone who wants it:
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/64/0a/b6/640ab66ff8d4850ccf71248534261bfe.jpg
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/b9/d5/6a/b9d56a036bb16816f73ccb0d5cb6f8c0.jpg
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f1/02/b5/f102b5c7dc5c08cc3d1d1234780a3352.jpg
Proof that the Furrinati Conspiracy is real:
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/5c/21/22/5c2122bf68a66645881c4c37c7a81b35.jpg
@Neurotic beagle
::squeeeeeeeee:: best. brain bleach. ever! 😀
I think the dumbos are teh cutest.
Joining in the squeees!
Whoot! For the first time in ages, Louis and I have done some writing together (ie. channelling – he talks, I type). If I can keep this up he might get to write a proper journal of our Chicago holiday. Channelling’s quite mentally tiring, but it feels really good to have done it again at last. 🙂
http://vignettesacrosstheveil.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/louiss-chicago-diary-part-one/
Kittehs, I didn’t know you had to channel him. I got the impression you could hear him on this side without much effort (you said he commented on some clothes you were trying on once).
Just to check in… I am now married. The Wedding was fun. I think I missed at least half of it. No one died (though there was an accident, and a guest missed the ceromonies because he needed stitches. He will have to watch the video(s).
Tomorrow I may catch up, and will try to write it up.
Much fun was had by all. Argenti made an appearance.
Hi Pecunium! I was thinking of you this morning, and how your wedding must have passed by now and I’d yet to add to the well-wishes. Consider them wished.
@pecunium
yay! 😀 congrats.
*on getting married. SOrry to hear someone needed stiches 🙁
Congratulations, pecunium!
Pecunium – yay, congrats!
emilygoddess – I can hear him (mentally, it’s never a spoken voice, alas) make random comments, but getting his words down on paper takes more concentration, ‘cos it’s more prolonged and I’m more concerned I’ll slip in my own words instead. Second-guessing is bad enough without going into brain editor mode! 😀
@kittehserf
Fair enough. Yeah, that wink, my god. Heard some pretty ugly things about the treatment of asylum seekers, too, real hushed-up. And this:
http://theagevsheraldsun.tumblr.com/post/33224765845/16-quotes-from-tony-abbott-to-remind-you-why-he
He even drops a Manosphere-style biotruth in there. What a gem.
But the ordinary citizens, at least the ones I found myself around, seemed like really lovely people on average. 🙂 And I’m a huge fan of Vegemite, not that that settles it. 😛
LOL Vegemite – I had to take a couple of big tubes to a friend in LA, ‘cos he’s a convert and it’s hard to get over there.
Yeah, Abbott’s a real gem. The treatment of asylum seekers is disgraceful – not just the Liberal-National party responsible for it, either; Labor has a very dirty record on this, too. Both parties appeal to people’s worst, most xenophobic attitudes. But the LNP goes one step further with the whole “no need to tell anyone anything” line. Oh, and you know where they want to send asylum seekers? Cambodia. Yup, one of the poorest countries in the world, one with masses of troubles and a dodgy government (gee, wonder what the attraction is there).
Punishing people is what Abbott’s all about. As you saw, he’s a misogynist, however much he denies it. Back in his student days at Sydney Uni, he was beaten in the election for union president by a woman. His response was to go to her party’s office with a bunch of his heavies, and smash his fists into the wall inches from her head.
His much-vaunted Rhodes scholarship was a sports scholarship – in other words, means diddley squat.
He was described at uni as a second-rate sportsman, third-rate scholar and fourth-rate politician. It’s a pity more people didn’t remember that about him.
Mazel tov, Pecunium!
Oh, and to top it off? Abbott is Minister for Women.
By way of total contrast and brain bleach: pics of Sir Ian McKellan and Sir Patrick Stewart being BFFs and having fun!
http://www.dailylife.com.au/photogallery/life-and-love/dl-travel/32-times-sir-ian-mckellen-and-patrick-stewart-are-perfect-bffs-20140522-38rl1.html
Congrats, Pecunium! 😀
Congrats pecunium! Thanks for rats neurotic beagle – I’m always a fan of too many rats in a house. 😀 Kitteh, Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart are freaking awesome.
Marie – what’s your opinion on the word “handicapped”? I have a friend who’s a teacher aid for kids with autism, she really loves them, but I got the distinct impression “handicapped” was not a word of preference with most disabled people. She did *not* respond well when I said that (so sad, because I felt like the fact I brought it up showed a lot of trust that she would not be a dick. Wrong. :/ )