Re: Cheetah speed [off topic]

[Gigi and Ralph <gbabcock@best.com>]

When you think about the frenzied action of a running cheetah's behind -- and 
who doesn't? -- training a laser gun on the
posterior of a racing cheetah's body might prove challenging.  The public was 
seated at a right angle to the track, so I
imagine that the laser aimed at the cheetah's head from a semi-lateral angle, 
so it was (hopefully) not blinded for the sake
of measuring its speed.  It might be considered a breach of etiquette to 
instead aim the laser beam frontally into the
rushing animal's eyes, temporarily blinding it.  Not to mention that the 
cheetah would then either not see the tennis ball
target, turn tail and run  the opposite way, or veer off and crash into 
something or someone.  Not the sort of thing that
would win over the audience at a Cheetah Conservation Fund event.  Bear in mind 
that the intended thrust was conservation,
not sport, and the crowd wasn't looking for a wipeout (in contrast to fans of 
auto racing events).  For the record, it was a
nice warm day and about 3 pm Pacific time.  And, so far as I know, no one 
placed any bets.

-- Ralph W. Miller III       gbabcock@best.com