Warm or Cold ~ My View + Teacher

[Stang1996@aol.com]

    My vote would definately have to be for 100% automatic 
endothermy for all animals recognized as dinosaurs, pterosaurs and 
their ancestors.  Most of the resons I think this have been listed 
already, so I'll add some more, just to not be monotonous.
    The main other reason is the ratios of O16 to O18 in the bones of 
the dinosaurs.  For those of you that don't know, some scientists did 
some tests measuring the ratio of two non-radioactive isotopes of 
Oxygen that were present in the dinosaurs' bones.  Theoretically, 
O18, being heavier, would be laid down in the bone less often then 
the lighter O16 if it was in a warmer solution, more often if it was in a 
cooler solution.  I'm assuming that this is correct.  This does not tell 
us what the temperature of the dinosaurs' blood was, but it can give 
us two ratios to compare if we take samples from the ribs (near the 
center of the body) compared to a sample from the tip of the tail or a 
toe (i.e. an extremity).  If the animal was a mass homeotherm (i.e. 
non-metabolic temperature regulation) there would probably be a 
normal warm-blooded-esque ratio from the ribs, but since it cannot 
regulate its temperature by way of its metabolism, the ratio from the 
tip of the tail would have quite a bit more O18 in it because its overall 
mean temperature was quite a bit lower than that of the ribs'.  If, on 
the other hand, the animal was warm-blooded, the tip of the tail 
sample would have a ratio much closer to that of the ribs'; but still 
with more O18, since its overall mean temperature was slightly lower 
than the center of the body's.
    Now to the important stuff.  As you might have guessed as to 
where I was leading, the tests show that tip of the tail ratios and the 
rib ratios were fairly close together, as would be expected in a 
warm-blooded animal, not a mass-homeotherm.  That is pretty good 
direct evidence (to me at least) that dinosaurs were warm-blooded.
    Another thing I like to point out about mass-homeothermy is its 
assertation that sauropods (and big dinosaurs in general) can't be 
warm-blooded because they would have overheated.  What!?  Being 
warm-blooded would have been _absolutely_ what they wanted.  
Think of it theis way.  It's 90 degrees F outside, nice and warm; but 
Mr. Diplodocus' temperature is 99 degrees F.  What is heating up 
what?  Think about it for a minute, according to thermodynamics, Mr. 
Diplodocus is heating up the air, not the reverse.  
    Well then, say it's 106 degrees F now.  Would Mr. Diplodocus get 
overheated now?  Think of it this way.  Get a one pint saucepan and 
fill it with water and put it on the stove; then get a 10 gallon spaghetti 
pot and fill it with water and put it on the stove on high.  Who is going 
to boil first?  Exactly.
    
    My afvorite teacher is three.  My science teachers over the last 
three years have just been super and have really influenced my to go 
into the sciences.  First is Tracy Charters, my 9th Grade chemistry 
teacher (HA! chemistry my butt!).  Next is Clint Peeples, my 
sophomore biology teacher.  He was pretty darn super.  He knew his 
stuff and didn't dance around evolution, but taught it as fact (I read 
somewhere that 25% of all Americans don't believe in evolution; I 
think they all live in Redmond Washington :{  ).  He really focussed 
on population dynamics and such and taught us about how the 
impending environmental disaster came into being.  He has been 
tracking the Coho and Chinoock Salmon populations in Bear Creek 
for the past 20 years or so, and takes his classes on a field trip every 
tear to see the salmon going up streem to spawn.  It's pretty darn 
bleek, he's happy to see one salmon a class period these days (i.e. 
there were hundreds before).  I think he holds some advisory position 
in the City of Redmod.  My last influential teachr was my chemistry 
teacher from this past year, Niel Biermann.  What can I say, that 
man made Azumithal Quantum Numbers fun.  He was just plane 
kick-ass.  He also tells the story of when he out a hunk of Potassium 
metal in his pocket and it caught on fire (Alkili Metal; super-dooper 
reactive in air; even moreso than Sodium) and his pants got on fire 
right durring class!  Now that would have been something to see!

    To NINO.  You were worried about speaking English okay.  Don't 
worry.  Just ask yourself, do you think any of us use proper English?

Peter Buchholz
Stang1996@aol.com