Barking Up the Right Tree

Scientists with a lot of grant money (and even more time) to waste have developed a computer program that can translate dog barks. Based on their tests they have concluded the program can distinguish between words like "stranger," "fight," "walk," "alone," "ball," and "play."

Good for them. Perhaps this is the first step toward a gadget that translates human language into something even the dumbest dog can understand.

Dawn and I would be first in line to purchase such a device. Of course, I'm still trying to figure out the difference between a dumb dog and a defiant dog.

That's kind of a fine line there.

Well, if anything, at least we now know what that dog was saying at the end of every Family Ties episode...

"Sit, Ubu, sit. Good dog."
"Play!"