"Yeah, but many Americans have very exaggerated feelings about this. OK, it's normal to be upset by events like that, but my impression is that some Americans feel that the USA is made so special by these attacks, when so many tragedies have happened in other countries.

Many Americans thought that the USA was the best, invincible, etc., and after someone dared attack "Uncle Sam" (why do some people call the USA "Uncle Sam? Anyone know?) they felt like some holy law was violated. The scapegoat was immediately set upon by both the media and the people. Yet no real evidence has been given against Bin Laden beign behind the hijacking. (I don't consider those dubious tapes evidence.)

Once again, I appreciate thst most people are patriotic, and that attacking civillians in any country is wrong, but why do the USA feel like they are the most important?"

Why do you think We think we are the most important?
Why do you think we think we are special because of the attacks?

I don't and nobobdy I know does.
from Tim M., age ?, ?, ?; May 10, 2002

Uh... They don't call America "Uncle Sam", Uncle Sam is just a guy from political cartoons that reprisents America.
from Joe Bob B., age 11, Menlo Park, ?, ?; May 9, 2002

"Most of us don't shout about it, it just makes us sad and worried, but also more patriotic in some cases. You must have gotten that impression with all the "War on Terrorism" and "Axis of Evil" talk (Some people didn't like that second comment). But of course, everyone within this country has their different opinions on this subject."

Yeah, but many Americans have very exaggerated feelings about this. OK, it's normal to be upset by events like that, but my impression is that some Americans feel that the USA is made so special by these attacks, when so many tragedies have happened in other countries.

Many Americans thought that the USA was the best, invincible, etc., and after someone dared attack "Uncle Sam" (why do some people call the USA "Uncle Sam? Anyone know?) they felt like some holy law was violated. The scapegoat was immediately set upon by both the media and the people. Yet no real evidence has been given against Bin Laden beign behind the hijacking. (I don't consider those dubious tapes evidence.)

Once again, I appreciate thst most people are patriotic, and that attacking civillians in any country is wrong, but why do the USA feel like they are the most important?

This is just my opinion by the way. It may change as I grow older.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 9, 2002

"The species we've got over here is _Halcyon sancta_ . The same species lives in Australia and New Caledonia but the NZ version is a bit larger and more brilliant in its plumage. The maori name for it is Kotare."

Interesting. I have a question. If there are different subspecies of a particular species, do they have three parts to their latin name? A genus, a species, and a third part, for that particular subspecies? I'm afraid no animals with three parts to their latin name spring to mind right now, but I've certainly seen many animals with that.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 9, 2002

"OK, sept. 11th was a terrible tragedy, but the Americans are shouting so much about about it. Many other, often much more terrible tragedies have happened before, and much less notice was taken. But the person's point is taken and very much understood."

Most of us don't shout about it, it just makes us sad and worried, but also more patriotic in some cases. You must have gotten that impression with all the "War on Terrorism" and "Axis of Evil" talk (Some people didn't like that second comment). But of course, everyone within this country has their different opinions on this subject.
from Tim M., age ?, ?, ?; May 8, 2002

I also think some political comments like certain people being "slow and lazy" (and by no means do I confine this to any particular country, this goes for all of them) can be harmful. But I think we should be allowed to have a "political" conversation to the extent which is doesn't become harmful.
from Tim M., age ?, ?, ?; May 8, 2002

"I just received this in E-mail concerning a dino Q and A page, but it applies to any of the pages with peoples' posts (including dinotalk). Let me know what you think about this guy's comments (he's an adult from the USA, by the way). Do you think I should censor your posts for political content?"

OK. I'm thinking.

Well, that post WAS kinda innapropriate and incensitive, but I'll give my views in a minute.

OK, sept. 11th was a terrible tragedy, but the Americans are shouting so much about about it. Many other, often much more terrible tragedies have happened before, and much less notice was taken. But the person's point is taken and very much understood.

You know, this reminds me of the HRF accusing me of a being a political activist and how nobody cares about me. Hmmm. I think that it should depend on the circumstances. I am aware that Americans are extrememly patriotic and that that comment may well offend people, and, as this is a site for kids to talk about dinosaurs, I think that political comments such as that particular one should indeed be edited.

But I think that there's no reason to edit political discussions if they are not of an aggravating or inflamatory nature. I don't think that anyone here now would say something like "from the USA unfortunately."

After all, what I think that what we are after on this forum is a place where we can freely discuss topics, but to keep everyone happy and prevent people from getting upset things like swearing and insults are edited. Am I right? We can be patriotic, but not in a way which offends people. So why not edit extreme political content? But lets see what everyone else feels.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 8, 2002

"Luigi is Italian, which is all I know."

Luigi? Yes, steroetypical companies like Luigi's Pizza and characters like Luigi in Italian computer games pretty much prove that.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 8, 2002

"Evegeni is an interesting name.

I don't know anyone named Louis either, well now I do. But we might as well talk about dinosaurs now, not names."

Yeah, after all, this is a DINOSAUR forum.
But you have to admit this conversation about names was interesting.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 8, 2002

"KINGFISHERS? COOL! I'VE ONLY EVER SEEN A KINGFISHER IN THE WILD ONCE! THE EURASIAN KINGFISHER, _ALCEDO ATTHIS_ WHAT SPECIES HAVE YOU GOT IN NZ?"

The species we've got over here is _Halcyon sancta_ . The same species lives in Australia and New Caledonia but the NZ version is a bit larger and more brilliant in its plumage. The maori name for it is Kotare.
from Tom G, age ?, ?, ?; May 8, 2002

Luigi is Italian, which is all I know.
from Gianna, age ?, ?, ?, ?; May 7, 2002

Evegeni is an interesting name.

I don't know anyone named Louis either, well now I do. But we might as well talk about dinosaurs now, not names.
from Gianna, age ?, ?, ?, ?; May 7, 2002

I thought that Louie was a French name, I didn't know that it's popular in America.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 7, 2002

"Diloph is nothing like the name Louie."

I don't think I'm anything like my name either.

My parents named me before they had any idea they where going to live in the UK. And since I've lived here most of my life I have been pretty much absorbed by the English culture.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 7, 2002

"As for me, I have no name to reveal because my name is... you guessed it...Tim!"

Yeah, my name is really common in the east. There's another famous person with the same name, a tennis player. "Evgeni Kopelnikov" I think.

D'oh, I didn't finish this! Please don't post the unfinished version JC!

Surprisingly, I wasn't certain that you are called Tim before you told me. "Tim M" could just be a cover name. To prove my point, on the BBC Forums I'm Troy McLure from the Simpsons if you remember.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 7, 2002

"As for me, I have no name to reveal because my name is... you guessed it...Tim!"

Yeah, my name is really common in the east. There's another famous person with the same name, a tennis player. "Evgeni Kopelnikov" I think.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 7, 2002

I just received this in E-mail concerning a dino Q and A page, but it applies to any of the pages with peoples' posts (including dinotalk). Let me know what you think about this guy's comments (he's an adult from the USA, by the way). Do you think I should censor your posts for political content? His message was:

"I was just looking at your Q&A page on Brachiosaurus (http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/dinos/brachiosaurus/Qns.shtml)

The eighth question was: "Q: What was the diet of herbivore dinosaures during the jurrasic period? from S., Bolinas, California, United States(unfortunately); April 12, 2001"

The inclusion of "United States(unfortunately)" is inappropriate and insensitive, even if it was posted prior to 9-11.

I hope this e-mail helps you maintain the very quality of your web site." (I've omitted his name, but he did sign his note.)

from JC; May 7, 2002

Points taken Tim.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 6, 2002

Uh, Tim, didn't you say you'd post about Brachiosaurus on saturday, and it's now monday?

I was looking forward to seeing your views on the subject, is all.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 6, 2002

"Hmmm, I think Diloph said (not exact words)

"Tell him I have no idea what his name is, English or whatever. But I kind of thought it would be either American or English. Since, da masta, I did say I would tell you my real name if you told me mine.

Fine, it's Louis. but either call me Diloiph or Louie."

There you go, that's Diloph's name, I was surprised when I first learned it. Diloph is nothing like the name Louie.
from Gianna, age ?, ?, ?, ?; May 6, 2002

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

""I think I'll tell you my name soon."

Cool!"

In my view my name is not very cool at all but often other people think it is. Does Diloph think it's something very English like "William" or "Charles?" He'll have a shock. OK, big moment. As I said my parents came to the UK when I was two. In Russia my name is probably the most common there is. It's after saint who's relatively obscure in the west, saint Eugenius. Jesus, that must sound totally bizzare.

Evgeni Lipatov is the full name, but people call me "Jenya" because in Russian "Zhenya" is the short version of my name.

That's what all my classmates and neighbours and everybody else call me. On the BBC forums I'm "Troy McLure," by the way, in case you decide to visit and perhaps see my controversial views if I decide to post them. And no, I'm not a communist. If I existed during the revolution I'd support the Tzar, Nicholas II. I think he ran the country well during difficult and turbulent times.

Well, there's my name for all you folks. But please keep calling me "da masta" because I'm very comfortable with that right now. If that's OK.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 6, 2002"

O.K. da masta. "Evegeni" is a typical slavic name, as far as I know. There's a local hockey player who plays for San Jose who's name is Evegeni Nabokov.

Surprisingly, I know no one named "Louis", even though that's a common name here.

As for me, I have no name to reveal because my name is... you guessed it...Tim!
from Tim M., age ?, ?, ?; May 6, 2002

Hmmm, I think Diloph said (not exact words)

"Tell him I have no idea what his name is, English or whatever. But I kind of thought it would be either American or English. Since, da masta, I did say I would tell you my real name if you told me mine.

Fine, it's Louis. but either call me Diloiph or Louie."

There you go, that's Diloph's name, I was surprised when I first learned it. Diloph is nothing like the name Louie.
from Gianna, age ?, ?, ?, ?; May 6, 2002

""I think I'll tell you my name soon."

Cool!"

In my view my name is not very cool at all but often other people think it is. Does Diloph think it's something very English like "William" or "Charles?" He'll have a shock. OK, big moment. As I said my parents came to the UK when I was two. In Russia my name is probably the most common there is. It's after saint who's relatively obscure in the west, saint Eugenius. Jesus, that must sound totally bizzare.

Evgeni Lipatov is the full name, but people call me "Jenya" because in Russian "Zhenya" is the short version of my name.

That's what all my classmates and neighbours and everybody else call me. On the BBC forums I'm "Troy McLure," by the way, in case you decide to visit and perhaps see my controversial views if I decide to post them. And no, I'm not a communist. If I existed during the revolution I'd support the Tzar, Nicholas II. I think he ran the country well during difficult and turbulent times.

Well, there's my name for all you folks. But please keep calling me "da masta" because I'm very comfortable with that right now. If that's OK.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 6, 2002

JC, I've been looking at the "Dinosaur Genera" section on this site, and there is just so much detailed information. I can't help wondering how you managed to find out all that stuff? Did you have to employ a few palaeontologists to consult about difficult topics?
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 6, 2002
No, I wrote all of Zoom Dinosaurs (I really enjoy doing research and writing). JC

"I think that the femur:tibia ratio is quite misleading, because of the metatarsals. If you add the length of the metatarsals and tibia, in ratio to the femur, you get quite a different picture. The dromaeosaurids had very long, sometimes fused metatarsals, which would certainly increase their lower leg length by a lot and greatly help their speed."

Yes, and that goes for other therepods like T-rex as well. But this is even better for Arctometartarsalians because the third metartarsal is even longer and thin because it's compressed.

I think their point was that, when comparing Dromaeosaurs to other fast animals now, their limbs were much more robust proportionally. Also, the Tetanuran tail and hollow bones could be considered signs of agility, and not speed, because all therepods have hollow bones and the actions of the tail (balance, quick turns) could be useful at any speed. To me, Dromaeosaurs seem like large predatory felines, not Ostritches. They could achieve fast bursts of speed, but couldn't keep running like that for very long, unlike ostriches which can move at good speeds for longer distances. So the average Dromaeosaur, in my opinion, would rely partially on ambush, like a Cheetah, then use its fast burst of speed to rapidly overtake its prey, and finishing it off with some bights and slashes. While T-ex, being more Ostritch-like, woul chase after its prey until the latter was worn down, and then it would administer a bone crushing bite.
from Tim M., age ?, ?, ?; May 5, 2002

"I think I'll tell you my name soon."

Cool!
from Gianna, age ?, ?, ?, ?; May 4, 2002

"One really cool thing was that when i went to the south island not long ago i saw the first wild Kea i had ever seen."

Now that is really cool. If you like giant parrots NZ is the place to be!

Both the New Zealand Kakapo and the very rare Kea are found there.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 3, 2002

I am quite frustrated by the lack of people here.

I used to come here to, in a way, run away from my life.
Talking to other people who care is great, even if it is only on the interent. BTW, if any of you are interested, I've also started visiting this BBC site, www.BBC.co.uk/nature. I subscribed to their weekly newsletter and I've started visiting their forum. There are loads of people there, although most of them are adult. And there are often people who are asking questions or want help.

I think I'll tell you my name soon. It's Russian, by the way.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 3, 2002

I remember how the HRF and Honkie Tong kept annoyingly talking about dromaeosaurid's femur:tibia ratio and the robustness of their limbs, etc.

I think that the femur:tibia ratio is quite misleading, because of the metatarsals. If you add the length of the metatarsals and tibia, in ratio to the femur, you get quite a different picture. The dromaeosaurids had very long, sometimes fused metatarsals, which would certainly increase their lower leg length by a lot and greatly help their speed.
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 3, 2002

"Ah! I was hoping to see your Brachiosaur post!
I have my own idea about this subject, and I'll probably be to type it all up on Saturday. But until then I won't have enough time."

OK!
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 3, 2002

Ah! I was hoping to see your Brachiosaur post!
I have my own idea about this subject, and I'll probably be to type it all up on Saturday. But until then I won't have enough time.
from Tim M., age ?, ?, ?; May 1, 2002

"We have a family of Swallows nesting above our front door. What i've seen near my house in the last few months are. Lots of Pukeka's (chicken sized blue, flightless native birds), some Kingfishers*KINGFISHERS? COOL! I'VE ONLY EVER SEEN A KINGFISHER IN THE WILD ONCE! THE EURASIAN KINGFISHER, _ALCEDO ATTHIS_ WHAT SPECIES HAVE YOU GOT IN NZ?. , a Tui, a Bellbird, tons of Possoms and at night i can hear Kiwi's and Morporks (a type of native owl). *NZ REALLY IS BIRD COUNTRY. YOU SHOULD HAVE LOTS OF REPTILES IN NZ, RIGHT? REPTILES ARE GOOD AT CROSSING LARGE STRETCHES OF SALTY WATER. THEIR SKIN ISN'T PERMEABLE LIKE AMPHIBIANS' AND THEY CAN GO FOR LONG PERIODS WITHOUT FOOD.
One really cool thing was that when i went to the south island not long ago i saw the first wild Kea i had ever seen."
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 1, 2002

Thanks a lot JC!
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 1, 2002
You're welcome. JC

"2.185714285m"

This is in extremely ridiculous detail, though!
from da masta, age ?, ?, ?; May 1, 2002