conditioning

Conditioning: The term conditioning is used to describe both operant and respondent behavior. It refers to a change in the frequency or form of the organism’s behavior as a result of the influence of the environment. 

In Respondent Conditioning, a neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response as a result of pairing it with an unconditioned stimulus. 

(Both definitions are from the book, Animal Training written by Ken Ramirez.)

When I take my dog out for our morning hikes, we spend most of our time either in open, agricultural fields or in the forest. Vehicles are very limited in these spaces. Unless you’re a farmer, or work for the forestry, you’re not supposed to be on the roads leading through these places.

As most dog owners here, I love letting Mattie off leash during our walks and in these places, I know she is safe from traffic. Occasionally, however, we run into the random vehicle passing through. When this happens, I respond consistently with her. I stand off to the side, call her to me, and when she approaches and stands on her hind legs, I hold onto her collar as the vehicle passes. Once cleared, I tell her she’s been a good girl, give her the release command of “ok” and our walk continues.

the john newman experience

Sometimes, you experience a moment in time and it lasts with you even after the aura has faded. Last night was such an incredible moment. I came to know who John Newman is when his video played on MTV. Mind you, this is German MTV so American readers, yes, MTV actually does play a lot of music here. All day in fact. I noticed he was set to play in a small club in Zurich and on a whim, I bought two tickets to see the show. I like John Newman’s voice and his music and I thought, what the heck? Might as well go. Could be a lot of fun. I bought his album, Tribute, soon after and quickly started to familiarize myself with the rest of his songs. American readers, you’ll have to wait a bit because his full album is not available to you, yet.

My husband and I left fairly early for the event. We planned on stopping for a quick bite to eat, battling traffic into Zurich, and arriving early enough that I’d have a chance at a good spot inside the club. I’m short and when a place is standing room only, if I’m in the back of the room, my chances of seeing anything, goes down the drain. 

if you’re not abstinent, you’re doing it wrong (a response)

First, I strongly advise you to read this post by Matt Walsh, since my post is in response to it.

All done? Here goes…

Needless to say, I am not a fan of this post. I do have to say, to make it perfectly clear, if your choice is to wait until marriage to have sex, well then, that is your choice. I’m not going to berate you or tell you you’re doing things wrong. If you and your partner are happy with this decision, then good for the both of you.

It’s pretty clear that Matt feels that sex should only be associated with love and not only that, committed love. I take great issue when he tells his reader that he’s “doing the RIGHT thing” by saving himself for his future wife. Who is he to say what is right and wrong? If two people choose to have sex before marriage, this is not wrong.