Pern

Graeth · Post by **Graeth** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 6:07 pm

Yes, its true. Their internal organs crush their lungs and they usually aren't raised to the point where they have enough muscle to get back up on their own. They can, but they have an equal chane of dying..

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 9:21 pm

However the caveat here is:

Cows lay down to sleep. So when a bunch of drunken fratboys come by the farm thinking they're 'sneaking up' on ol bessie?

She's only napping, guys.

Sanger tipped cows as a kid. hee.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:10 am

DNS wrote:Yep~ that's what it is, to my knowledge. :/ Someone also told me that the cows suffocate becuase they're to big to get back on their feet, but i dunno how true that is. I do know that animals like horses and prolly cows do suffocate if they lay on their sides, because gravity and their bodies crush their lungs, but to my knowledge they can always get to their feet unless they're really really sick or something.

From living on a farm and having to deal with both sick and healthy animals, thats pretty much true. Generally if an animal can't stand, you know something is very, very wrong and its either time to get the vet, or put it out of its misery. Former choice is preferable imost of the time, as you usually can't salvage the meat afterwords from the latter case.

Also far as cow tipping, its just an urban legend. Shard hit it dead on as they are only napping while on their feet, and there is no way your going to get the drop on a cow. Might not be the brightest of animals, but they seem to have radar at times.

Astra · Post by **Astra** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 8:07 am

LOL its amazing how this thread went from Pern RPG to ranting about elves to cow tipping

Shiolar · Post by **Shiolar** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:12 am

I was gonna say cow tipping is an urban legend thought up by city people. But obviously Wanderer got there first. Easy way to determine that it's not real is try tipping any animal that's standing up. They tend to just push back.

Xalia · Post by **Xalia** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:27 am

Wanderer wrote:Generally if an animal can't stand, you know something is very, very wrong and its either time to get the vet, or put it out of its misery.

But some horses lie down to keep cool or warm depending on the time of year. My four-year-old actually loves to curl up in the corner of her stall and lean against the railings when it's cold out. Very baby thing to do but a lot of horses don't get out of the habit as they grow. If the horse is down and thrashing, and/or not eating we get them on their feet and call the vet, or if a horse that doesn't generally spend a lot of time on the ground is lying down we check for gut sounds. But a horse can successfully lay on it's side for quite some time without suffering from it. Their lungs stay very clear, it's the intestines you have to worry about because they're not centrally located in horses like they are in humans...they wind all over the place and can easily get twisted if a horse has an obstruction and rolls too violently... >.> It's really got to suck to be incapable of throwing up when your intestines are blocked...

*shuts up and lets the thread get back on topic if it is so inclined*

Astra · Post by **Astra** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:28 am

I dunno my cousin used to live on a farm and her friends went cow tipping fairly regularly ... so it must actually happen, unless she was making it up

Xalia · Post by **Xalia** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:36 am

*nods* My understanding of cow-tipping is that you sneak up on the cows while they're napping, knock them over and run like all get out because they /do/ pop back up fast and they're generally angry... XD I've never done it though, having grown up in California where we only have happy cows... *L*

And you generally have to do it in large groups because it takes a lot of people to actually knock over a cow! XD

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:37 am

lol!

I'm sure that because the urban legend has been around so long - and generally is about drunken fratboys who are apt to try anything...

I suspect that people would try it anyway if given half a chance.

My old neighbor and mentor Mike did it, I recall him talking about the sound they make. He did say it wasn't easy and you did have to run like the devil to get out of there...

DNS · Post by **DNS** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:38 am

-snorts- this thread has loong ago abandoned topic~ ^^

-rolls- hee. that randomly reminds me of what my uncle in cali calls the reasons for forest fire.

smoking cows. They steal cigarettes and smoke in the dark to be badass, and then all those golden hills go up in flames.

damnitwasprettytherethough. O____O I want to go back to cali.

Xalia · Post by **Xalia** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:41 am

"Happy cows come from California" where everyone else is happy too so long as you can ignore the smog and the overcrowding and the destruction of nature for pure monetary gain! Heh...

But yes, California is beautiful and I love it...where in Cali were you, DNS?

DNS · Post by **DNS** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:44 am

>.> that's everwhere that there are industrial cities. people are disgusting~~
and the place where I was staying was called mountain view. It was really close to some prestigious private university whose name escapes me at the moment~ We went to the coast once, to this reserve where there were elephant seals, and we were like... 30 mins from san francisco? And an even shorter distance from San Jose. Seperated from the coast by a mountain or something.
:/ I'm not good at location. Does that ring any area bells?

Xalia · Post by **Xalia** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:53 am

Ah, Northern California then...yes, Northern California is lush and beautiful...I'm down in So Cal which is mostly settled desert land... XD

San Jose is where one of the trainers I work with lives though, and I've been to San Fran before...did you go to Monterey or Santa Barbara while you were there? I /love/ Monterey...haven't been there in ages though...

And the problem around here is that our weather is so generally good that /everyone/ wants to live here...I'm actually in a relatively 'small' town area but the wind blows the smog in from LA so our skies are seldom actually blue...most of the open land around here too has been bought up and turned into housing developments...sucks...pretty soon there won't be any trails left to take the horses out on!

DNS · Post by **DNS** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:59 am

X.x not fun. They've already done that to my area here in maryland. :/ there used to be more than a few square feet of trees once, but now there's just. houses and more houses. :/
-makes face- and they're big houses no one can afford, either. Waste of space and money.

but nope, I dun recall those places. ^^ I only went to san fran once, and only for a little while-- my aunt and uncle were away for most of the stay, so me and tio were car-less, and it was waaaay to far to walk. XP We settled to going to the little main-street of the town, which was actually really cool. .____. so many ethnic resteraunts I died happily.

Those mountain roads are bloody SCARY though. -shudders- Especially becuase my aunt drives like a maniac.

I want to see southern cali~ I like the desert.

Xalia · Post by **Xalia** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:13 pm

You're in Maryland? I was born in Maryland!!!

We lived there for a few years when I was older too...I remember there being lots of trees and lots of green... >.>

DNS · Post by **DNS** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:57 pm

Yep, Maryland~ near rockville and 20 minutes away from DC and balitmore. XP it's cool here. but there are nooot nearly as many trees as htey once were. :/ Have you ever been to or around olney? That used to be like, all farms. :/ now it's getting superdeveloped, and they're still doing things to it. There are still farms and it's more rural than my area, but it's nooot what it used to be.

Xalia · Post by **Xalia** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:26 pm

I was born in Bethesda and then lived in Ellicott City (I think that's how it was spelled...it was so long ago... >.> ) which was like 30ish mins from Baltimore and DC if I remember correctly...I was only like 7-9 while we were there though... XD I can imagine all those trees I remember are gone now though...so sad...

Post by **DragonFlight** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:28 pm

Marylaaannnddddd. <3

I was born in Baltimore and moved early in my life to Easton. <3 Eastern Shore.

Now I'm stuck in New Jersey - no offense to anyone living here but I hate....I wanna go home to Marylaaannndddd.

Astra · Post by **Astra** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:50 pm

I used to live in NJ. Really at least the part I lived is not as bad as everyone says. It was just generic suburbia really, and was rather nice for the most part. DF, where in NJ are you?

Post by **DragonFlight** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 2:43 pm

Northern center of the state. Morris County, near Dover. IE, WAY too friggin close to New York City - all the traffic and none of the perks. XD

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 3:44 pm

@Xalia

Thats true, I'm just used to talking about cows over horses really.
Speaking of which everyone knows cows are happier in Wisconsin. Really...>.>*hides his cheese head.*

Astra · Post by **Astra** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 3:47 pm

lol i grew up in morristown. of course i was too young to drive (fracking 18 year old driving age wtf) so I wouldn't know about the traffic

I do remember driving to Staples with my dad really fast though because we had to get there before it closed and buy ink to print a project that was due the next day.

Xalia · Post by **Xalia** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 4:00 pm

Wanderer wrote:@Xalia

Thats true, I'm just used to talking about cows over horses really.
Speaking of which everyone knows cows are happier in Wisconsin. Really...>.>*hides his cheese head.*

HAH! We have sunshine, and earthquakes (cow foot massage, don't you know?), and can grow things all year round and so much to do no one needs to tip cows for amusement...

What do you have to make cows happy? XD

Yakima · Post by **Yakima** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 4:05 pm

I found this one late.

I still love Pern for the simplicity in it, I guess. There's no magic or complicated stuff that gets in the way. I still love the plots though, as I think Falas shows, I would rather have Thread stay so that the dragonriders have something to do that's meaningful. *shrug* I made up an excuse to have Thread in the next 2 passes...hehheh

I found Acorna kinda boring after a while and never read anything else that was hers. I did manage to win a copy of Skies of Pern (which I never did get to finish, probably because I don't have time anymore), that Anne signed. Kinda cool even though it was completley out of the blue. Thought the e-mail was a hoax at first but I go the book - now, did McCaffrey really sign it I wonder...

Anyway, I like what I added to Pern in Falas - genetic altering to give the strange colors a reason to be in the spectrum of dragons!

And even though I love magical, cool dragons, I am far to attached to my characters from Falas - even if I kill them off in a plot line. *pats J'tha's ghost-head* Yeah, he understands and if I ever finish my stories in Falas, you will know why!

Okay, had to add because I own an Pernese Adoption Weyr. I'll run off now!

Luna · Post by **Luna** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:28 pm

While I do my best not to socialize with the drunken frat boys... proving or disproving urban legends is a passion of mine, and I am happy to say that cow tipping is indeed possible! Just gotta find the right cow and about 4 coordinated guys. Hah!

But in all seriousness, I have witnessed attempted cow tipping on three occasions before the cow pasture was turned into a parking lot, and the crazy dudes did actually tip one cow. (after three years of trying they say XD) Cow knees lock like a horse to support their weight while they sleep, and yes cows (and horses) need REM sleep, so it is possible to catch them dead asleep. XD They are just heavy buggers with good instincts and the sharding ability to come awake instantly. (radar someone said? amen!!! ) So tip away my friends, tip away! Then run from the not so happy cows XDDD

And murrr, Florida cows are sad cows, they envy California cows. =(

Graeth · Post by **Graeth** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 10:05 pm

Arizona cows envy all the mexican cows who took their jobs and then jumped the fence and ran the border...

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 10:24 pm

ROFL!!!

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:37 am

Xalia wrote: HAH! We have sunshine, and earthquakes (cow foot massage, don't you know?), and can grow things all year round and so much to do no one needs to tip cows for amusement... What do you have to make cows happy? XD

>.>
Uhh....
<.<
Bah!
Who does'nt enjoy slogging through 3 feet of snow when its 40 below!

@Luna Huh, maybe it is possible then...though I'd be less worried about the cows, and more about any possible bull in the field.

Oh and I swear they do have radar, expecialy as to where you want them to go so. WHich usually ends up with them going the other way...:p