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****Newsflash****

I still miss the K'kree--but my aim is getting better . . .

No, what I really wondered was how do you prepare Newts to reduce the muddy swamp flavor? :confused:

And does it involve use of the handy pile of paperwork that they always seem to have available? Please reply quickly--we're hungry, especially the Vargr! :drooling:


Chunk 'em, batter 'em, deep fry 'em, and server over rice with a nice Orange Sauce.
 
I still miss the K'kree--but my aim is getting better . . .

No, what I really wondered was how do you prepare Newts to reduce the muddy swamp flavor? :confused:

And does it involve use of the handy pile of paperwork that they always seem to have available? Please reply quickly--we're hungry, especially the Vargr! :drooling:
If you keep missing them, you are starting too far away...No?

You gotta dry them out first in a chickory wood fired smoke oven. Liberally cover with salt and sugar. Marinate in a soya sauce overnight. Prepare the legs with garlic and ginger and fry over a hot gas stove. Serve with lettuce, tomato and chipped potato. Give the rest to the Vargr and keep 'em happy.
 
For another perspective, I just saw Straybow's Signature:


__________________
(\__/). Save a bunny, eat more Smurf! (Brought to you by the National Smurfmeat Council)
(='.'=) Smurf, the original blue meat! © 1999, ® and ™ (except that "Smurf" bit)
(")_(") tc+ ru- c+ au+ ls- pi he++ eti=0 hs++ pc++ !zuchai(=dilithium)
. . .
 
For another perspective, I just saw Straybow's Signature:


__________________
(\__/). Save a bunny, eat more Smurf! (Brought to you by the National Smurfmeat Council)
(='.'=) Smurf, the original blue meat! © 1999, ® and ™ (except that "Smurf" bit)
(")_(") tc+ ru- c+ au+ ls- pi he++ eti=0 hs++ pc++ !zuchai(=dilithium)
. . .

That's pretty funny. Cause Straybow's signature was the inspiration for starting this thread! :xh::rofl:

From another perspective, Vargr enjoy a coffee or two, too. :coffeegulp::coffeecup::coffeesip:
 
That's pretty funny. Cause Straybow's signature was the inspiration for starting this thread! :xh::rofl:

From another perspective, Vargr enjoy a coffee or two, too. :coffeegulp::coffeecup::coffeesip:

:rofl: :xh: :rolleyes:

But, after picking a bone with a nice K'kree (or Smurf, if just a bit peckish), do they then sit around sipping their coffee and chatting about little or nothing for hours on end? (Helps the digestion, you know . . .)
 
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That's pretty funny. Cause Straybow's signature was the inspiration for starting this thread! :xh::rofl:

From another perspective, Vargr enjoy a coffee or two, too. :coffeegulp::coffeecup::coffeesip:
I'm honored. :)


Next question: who gets the reference to blue meat?
 
That's pretty funny. Cause Straybow's signature was the inspiration for starting this thread! :xh::rofl:

From another perspective, Vargr enjoy a coffee or two, too. :coffeegulp::coffeecup::coffeesip:

My parents dog loved coffee with milk and sugar. She had to have her cup along with us at dinner. It meant that the coffee pot (18 cup drip pot) emptied faster.

As for the "muddy swamp flavor" of Newt, after giving the matter some thought, you should marinate them in apple cider vinegar for 24 hours, rinse well with cold water, and follow with a marinate of Lea and Perrin sauce for a couple of hours. Then batter them with a good corn meal batter, as used for Hush Puppies, and deep fry them. Serve with horse radish or a good strong cocktail sauce.
 
I'm convinced the claimed flavor of Newt is wholly psychosomatic. No particular reason why I would say that... no, no, no.


But, speaking hypothetically, the flavor should be more dependent on diet that on their bathing habits.
 
How much intelligence does it take to sneak up on a piece of stationary vegetation?
But would a herbivore ever become a sophont?

Follow up question would be: "How much intelligence does it take to evade an intelligent predator?" Some herbivores (such as mice, for example) are quite intelligent (and I realize that mice are technically omnivores, but they are mainly herbivorous).

The real question isn't about diet, but rather about what environmental factors are necessary to cause a species to either adapt or go extinct. An increase in intelligence is one example of an adaptation.
 
The real question isn't about diet, but rather about what environmental factors are necessary to cause a species to either adapt or go extinct. An increase in intelligence is one example of an adaptation.

The premise is that carnivores having to out crafty their prey become more intelligent, compared to an herbivore who's primary mechanism of feeding it simply lowering their head.

But, herbivores have to defend themselves.

Porcupines are arguably a tool using herbivore, they just happen to grow their own tools rather than picking them up from the ground.

Many birds are tool using herbivores, dropping rocks on things to open them, or using gravity as a tool to drop things on rocks.

Save for monkeys (using sticks for termites) and such, I can't think of a tool using carnivore outside of pack mechanics like Orca and Wolves.
 
The premise is that carnivores having to out crafty their prey become more intelligent, compared to an herbivore who's primary mechanism of feeding it simply lowering their head.

Yes, hence my comment, as I do not agree with the above analysis that I have heard many times before - it is too simplistic. Carnivorous species might become more crafty over time as a result of needing to outsmart their prey, but that does not mean there are no other mechanisms that stimulate an increase in intelligence within a species over time, regardless of preferred diet.

But, herbivores have to defend themselves.

Porcupines are arguably a tool using herbivore, they just happen to grow their own tools rather than picking them up from the ground.

Many birds are tool using herbivores, dropping rocks on things to open them, or using gravity as a tool to drop things on rocks.

Save for monkeys (using sticks for termites) and such, I can't think of a tool using carnivore outside of pack mechanics like Orca and Wolves.
Precisely.

Many birds are tool using herbivores, dropping rocks on things to open them, or using gravity as a tool to drop things on rocks.
Birds of the Corvidae family have been observed not only making tools out of sticks and similar grasses, but apparently can learn and/or devise tool-making procedures and teach others of their species, passing the information along. They are actually one of the smartest animals on earth.

So are elephants, BTW.
 
How much intelligence does it take to sneak up on a piece of stationary vegetation?

"How much intelligence does it take to sneak up on a leaf?"

I knew that sounded familiar -- it's from The Ringworld Engineers (and possibly used elsewhere in Niven's Known Space series).

(It's been many years since I last read it.)
 
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The premise is that carnivores having to out crafty their prey become more intelligent, compared to an herbivore who's primary mechanism of feeding it simply lowering their head.

But, herbivores have to defend themselves.

Porcupines are arguably a tool using herbivore, they just happen to grow their own tools rather than picking them up from the ground.

Many birds are tool using herbivores, dropping rocks on things to open them, or using gravity as a tool to drop things on rocks.

Save for monkeys (using sticks for termites) and such, I can't think of a tool using carnivore outside of pack mechanics like Orca and Wolves.

Sea Otters.
 
Save for monkeys (using sticks for termites) and such, I can't think of a tool using carnivore outside of pack mechanics like Orca and Wolves.

All corvid species (Ravens, Crows) use simple tools in the wild and are omnivores.

Eagles are known to drop flightless prey from 30m or so to end it with minimum risk to the eagle. I've seen it done with squirrels and have seen the after effects of a cat. (3 eagles feasting on the splattered pet's body). It's well documented with fish, weakly so for small dogs and pet cats, but in Eagle River, AK, where a 2 mile drive will allow one to see a dozen eagles or more, they are dense enough to be looking for easy prey, and small domestic pets outdoors are on the menu. I've seen eagles dive after pekineese, toy poodles, dachshunds, domestic cats. Fortunately, eagles have a 10% success rate... They're obligate carnivores.

Cats and dogs have been known to work door knobs to get access to things, and even to shove containers over in order to access the contents. Cats are obligate carnivores, and dogs meat-requiring omnivores.

Racoons perform food preparation... omnivores, and able to open most human containers.

Octopi use found objects, some even toting them along for use in other locations. If they ever get past the suicide motherhood, we had better watch out. They are exclusive carnivores, as far as has been documented. They routinely solve physical puzzles that chimps cannot.

Note that chimps use tools for hunting. They make simple spears for hunting certain small species, typically by stabbing into the nesting holes. They use grass to predate on termites and ants. A few have been seen using clubs in dominance displays, which implies use in interpersonal violence. We know they can and will use a variety human tools when in captivity, but almost exclusively food motivated. They are ommnivores.

Orang Utan, however, imitate tool use without food rewards. They aren't as social as chimps, tho'. They are largely herbivorous omnivores.
 
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