First openly gay college baseketball player

John Aravosis has a nice story at AmericaBlog about the first openly gay player in college men's basketball. And he's an ex-Mormon and it's a Catholic college. Very cool in all directions. Check it out.

Two tales from the yard

I put out bird seed the other day, which I hadn't done for a while. Soon, a group of adult geese came over to eat the seed. It was a pleasant sight and I watched them for a bit and then returned to work. Moments later, there was a huge ruckus in the yard so I went to see what was up. Milo, the leader of the flock, had returned and was apparently enraged at the sight of the adults eating the seed. He fought them all back and then allowed the chicks to come forward. They ate while the others watched quietly. You gotta have your priorities straight, and Milo is clear about his. He was teaching them a lesson. (NB: This should also serve as a lesson for humans who would take funds from education and after-school programs while making sure their own paychecks are lushly padded. Just saying.)

The other incident I relate secondhand. It was reported to me by my sister. She said she saw all the chicks together on the lawn one morning and -- as the adults around them calmly watched -- a coyote slowly walked over to the chicks, took one by the neck and walked away with it. No one even squawked. Nature's compromise, understood and acknowledged? It does seem odd, at least to us. But the geese seemed to understand and accept the situation.

Spring is here, with all its bells and whistles and babies. I'll bet you've seen some interesting things in your own area. Do tell.

More praise for blushing

Recently, I posted about the social value of blushing. There are similar echoes today in an article on physorg. Here's an excerpt:

Embarrassment is one emotional signature of a person to whom you can entrust valuable resources. It's part of the social glue that fosters trust and cooperation in everyday life.

See? Blushing is a good thing.

Why we blush

Earlier this year I read a great explanation for why humans blush. I had never thought about it before but obviously blushing confers an advantage on the blusher, evolutionarily speaking. If it didn't, we wouldn't blush. So what's the advantage?

The answer is simple: acceptance comes to those who blush. Think about it. When we're with a new group of people and we blush, we reveal something about ourselves. This lets the group know we're "one of them". In essence, blushing is a way to share personal values with observers. And there's no way to fake a blush so the observer gains here too. It's so weird: it's a communication tool, albeit one that is often embarrassing.

Blushing confers a direct evolutionary advantage on the blusher: group acceptance. Without that, early man would not have thrived. Nothing in life exists unless there's a good reason for it. Evolution is totally cool.

Here's a link to an article about the evolutionary aspects of blushing. I think this is a very cool science fact.