Researchers find walking improves your mental capacity, the list of the 'least obedient dogs" and recognizing the nation's top public universities

 * ... WALKING: If you needed some encouragement to exercise more, consider a new study from the Kansas Alzheimer's Disease Center as reported in The New York Times. In a controlled study of

otherwise healthy people who were put on a walking regimen, mild exercise not only improved overall health but also improved our ability to think clearly. "In general," the paper said, "most of the exercisers showed improvements in their thinking skills, especially in their ability to control their attention and to create visual maps of spaces in their heads, two aspects of cognition that are known to decline with age." So there you have it. Grab your walking shoes and make it part of your routine.

 * ... DOGS: Does your dog have a mind of its own and does whatever it wants? If so it may be on the list of the the "least obedient" dog breeds as reported on the website iheartdogs.com. The top 10 least obedient breeds include the Beagle, Borzoi, Welsh Terrier, Dachshund, Pekingese, Bloodhound, the Bulldog, Basenji, Chow Chow and the Afghan Hound.

 * ... COLLEGE RANKINGS: Students are streaming back to colleges across the nation so it must be time for the annual rankings of the best public universities in the nation. And once again California performs well. According to USA Today, here are the top ten in descending order: University of North Carolina, UC San Diego, University of Michigan, College of William and Mary, UC Berkeley, University of Virginia, Air Force Academy, West Point, UCLA and the Naval Academy. (file photos of Michigan, Berkeley)

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: The local restaurant Valentien's displayed some savvy advertising on one of the hottest days of the year when it posted this on Twitter: "It is WAAAY too hot to turn on your oven at home. You should absolutely eat dinner at a restaurant tonight."

 * ... COST OF WATER: I noted this fun fact in the latest water bill from Cal Water Service. One gallon of tap water costs .0003 cents, where one gallon of bottled water runs $1.21, a gallon of Coke sells for $2.58, a gallon of milk $3.39, a gallon of gas $3.42 and a gallon of your favorite latte, $32.

* ... BARGAIN BOX: I am a big fan of the Assistance League and what this organization does to help the needy in our community. So here is how you can help. The League's Bargain Box Thrift Store has reopened and is fully stocked with clothes and other items. The store is located at 1824 Q Street, and all proceeds help support the philanthropic programs of the Assistance League, including its signature Operation School Bell which provides school clothing to local students.

Who would have thought that the tiny (and sometimes adorable) Dachshund is the most aggressive dog breed? And downtown Bakersfield gets ready for another First Friday

 * ... DOGS: Pit bulls and Rottweilers end up on most people's lists of vicious or dangerous dogs, but as it turns out they don't even rank in the top five. The most aggressive breed? According to a study by the University of Pennsylvania, that would be the humble Dachshund.  Researchers from Penn surveyed some 6,000 dog owners to determine just what breed was the most aggressive. "The number one aggressive breed out of the 33 dogs surveyed? The Dachshund. Yes – the wiener dog," it was reported. "The study found that one in five dachshunds have bitten or tried to bite strangers, and a similar number have attacked other dogs; one in 12 have snapped at their owners." Following the Dachshund are the Chihuahua, Beagle, Jack Russell Terrier and the Australian Cattle Dog. Who knew?

* ... FIRST FRIDAY: There's an interesting new art opening for First Friday over at The Foundry on 19th Street. The exhibition by a group of artists will focus on portraits of the legends of the Bakersfield Sound: Merle Haggard, Bill Woods, Red Simpson, Bonnie Owens, Billy Mize, Cousin Herb Henson, Buck Owens, Tommy Collins, Jean Shepard, Wynn Stewart, Fuzzy Owen, Ferlin Husky and Lewis Talley. Meanwhile, next door at The Metro Galleries the work of Tina Bluefield and Moira Fain will be presented in another can't miss show.

 * ... BAD FORM: Darlene Platnick witnessed two cases of really bad form during our recent heat wave, and both cases involved small dogs. First, she was in the Costco parking lot on Rosedale Highway when she spotted a small brown dog locked in a white van, "panting profusely and standing up at the window. I didn't know who to call. Then we went to WinCo at Coffee and Hageman and outside was another little black dog, tied up in the sun where there was no shade. I didn't sleep well thinking about those things. People need to be brought up short when they do things like that."

 * ... CRIME: Dina Ronquillo, the niece for former Fresno City Councilman Dan Ronquillo, stopped by the ATM off Chester Avenue just north of Brundage Lane to get some cash before heading to work when a woman confronted her and tried to take her money. The would-be robber picked on the wrong person, and a feisty Ronquillo fended off her off. But the incident is a warning to all of us to be aware of our surroundings.

 * ... BLACKBOARD: Roger Williams called me to share a few memories of the old Blackboard honky tonk, made famous by the late Buck Owens and others who created the unique Bakersfield Sound. Williams told me the Blackboard was a favorite haunt of the Hells Angeles motorcycle club in the 1950s and 1960s when they would arrive in town for the March Meet drag races out at Famoso Speedway. "There must have been 150 of them at the bar,"he said. He noted that his uncle, Lawrence Williams, also briefly played piano with Buck Owens and his band.

 * ... LOCATION: And Anthony Kane writes that he believes the original Blackboard (not the one that was located near the Kern County Museum) was located in the spot where the old Floyd's store occupied.

  * ... EAST HIGH: Rick Van Horne is looking for help to solve a mystery over at East High School. Said Rick: "I was contacted by ESPN Magazine writer Steve Wulf because he is doing a piece on Johnny Callison (East High grad) who was the MVP of the 1964 MLB All-Star game. He was wanting to know about a mural at East High of Johnny Callison…. I told him there wasn’t currently a mural of Callison anywhere at the school. What I would like to know from your readers that went to East High, if there ever was a mural of Johnny at the school that has since been painted over or was in a building that is no longer here at East."