a philosophical dilemma

If a person is hit (run over) by an ambulance, are they fortunate or unfortunate?

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

I spent most of the day out on my deck today, and then when I came inside, Margaret kindly left the fan on for me before she went out as it was hot inside . She still won't let me sit on her lap though.

Emily came over this evening and she cooked up a pasta with tomato and sausage for dinner. I just had my usual chicken.

Wednesdays are TV nights, and tonight they watched Food Safari which featured Thai cooking and then the pilot of Heroes. What a cool show.

I want a guinea pig...

I can't believe that people abandon their guinea pigs. It's not as if they are high maintenance like human children.

Thankfully, abandoned guinea pigs are rescued by people like Karen Oehlerts from This Little Piggy and Me which is a guinea pig adoption/rehousing agency.

See - The Enquirer (Cincinnati)


Karen Oehlerts with Cadbury

I would love a guinea pig. I would name him Aloysius or her Andromeda and he or she could cuddle up to me in my basket.

My human used to have three guinea pigs when he was a teenager, Picky Picky who was brown, and Dilly Dilly who was white with brown patches. Then there was another white one with the swirlly fur, but he can't remember her name.

My human told me that guinea pigs even kind of purr.

Yeah, right!

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Oh no, my human has left me alone during the day with the scarey woman who won't let me sit on her lap!

I was so glad when he came home from work. I'd rather be alone than ignored!

Mary came over tonight and they all had beer and wine again, along with Hokkien noodles with teriyaki pork and green.

interesting people, part 5 (Germaine Greer)

Happy Birthday Germaine Greer. She turned 68 today.

Ms Greer is one of Australia's foremost intellectuals, even though she lives in the United Kingdom now.

She is provocative and is sometimes full of it, but she makes people think.

She is also a renown feminist, having written the seminal feminist text, The Female Eunuch.

She was also an influential member of The Push, an intellectual movement in Australia.



*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Oh what an interesting evening. I thought today was going to be regular. After work, my human came home as usual. Okay.

Tonight, Mary and Margaret came over. They had beer, then wine with haggis and mash (must be the leftover haggis from Thursday). And now Margaret is sleeping over in my other room. And she wouldn't let me sit on her lap at all!

Instead of just lounging on the couch, they were mostly outside on the deck.

I want one... a Micama

I want a Micama (designed by Francesca Donati).

Donations towards the 2969,20 € price are welcome.


two circles around a 'cushion' and the outer

circles opened out

recliner

in leather

looks so comfy

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Not much to report today. My human and I watched The Exorcism of Emily Rose which was really scarey.

random footy pic

after winning the round 7 game, 2006
Jonathon Brown, Luke Power (number 6), Michael Voss (captain) and Simon Black - the core leadership group

cat's pajamas

If something is called the "cat's pajamas", it means that something is truly outstanding.

Well, I don't wear pajamas as I have fur.

Actually "cat's" is really Katz, who was an English tailor who made the finest silk pajamas for royalty and the wealthy.

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

I had a few visitors today. Devi came over but she wouldn't let me sit on her lap. They had haggis on toast. Ew! She and my human then watched The Amityville Horror (2005) in the afternoon as my human was too scared to watch it at night without another person around. What a scaredy cat!

Then tonight, Merlin's humans Kim, Jordan and Liam came over for bangers and mash, and then they watched She's the Man.

our idiot prime minister

Today was Australia Day. I've previously written about our national day.

Anyway, the Australian of the Year is usually announced the day before. At a reception at the prime minister's official residence (The Lodge) held yesterday for the state and territory finalists, our idiot prime minister asked one of them "When did you come to Australia?" and then "What part of the world were you born?".

The person he asked the stupid questions to, was Professor Terence Tao, who was awarded the Fields Medal (the "Nobel Prize of Mathematics") last year.

Our idiot prime minister obviously did not read his briefing which would have informed him that Professor Tao was born in Adelaide, in South Australia.

What a gaffe. How embarrassing.


Professor Terence Tao

As Professor Tao is Asian, the idiot prime minister presumed that he was born outside of Australia.

If Professor Tao was white, the idiot prime minister would not have asked such a stupid question.

It isn't the first time. Not that long ago, the idiot prime minister asked a woman, who had Middle eastern complexion, and who wore a head scarf the same question. She told him that she was born in Sydney.

Obviously, our idiot prime minister still hasn't learnt and this just demonstrates his mentality and attitude. It borders on being racist.


No caption needed

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

After all the excitement of last night, today was very quiet. My human stayed home with me all day instead of going out for some of those Australia Day activities which are too crowded, especially on a hot day.

Burns' Night and a Burns' supper

Today was Burns' Night in honour Robert Burns' birthday (25 January 1759, died 21 July 1796).

Robert Burns is regarded as the national poet of Scotland.

A Burns' supper is traditionally held in Scotland and elsewhere in the world by Scots and those who appreciate Burns' poetry.

A Burns' supper comprises haggis, tatties (mashed potato) and neeps (mashed turnip), lubricated with plenty of single malt Scotch whiskey.

As the haggis is cut open, the following is said:
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.
(which is a poem by Robert Burns)

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

We had a Burns' supper at my place tonight. Emily and Neil came over, then Bobby, and then the back neighbours Sofie's humans Martin and Lil.

I think I had a turn lying or sitting on everybody's lap.

Thankfully, my human had the sense not to serve up any haggis to me. Ew!

random thought #3

In all those silly zombie movies (which my human sometimes watches), the zombies are flesh eating and attack people in order to eat them. Those living people who are not devoured and only just bitten in turn become zombies themselves.

Now, if zombies are supposed to be dead and decaying, but re-animated, why do they need to eat?

And if they do need to eat, why don't they just have a salad instead?

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Not much to report today.

happy birthday Milton Keynes

Today is Milton Keynes' birthday.

Milton Keynes is not a person but a large town 75km (45 miles) north-west of London.

It was designated as a new town on 23 January 1967 and developed to ease population congestion in London.

Still, Milton Keynes was not named after a person, but from a village originally known as "Middleton", which later shortened to "Milton". After the Norman invasion, the Cahaines family held the manor from 1166 to the late 13th century as well as others in the country (Ashton Keynes, Somerford Keynes, and Horsted Keynes). During this time the village became known as Middleton de Keynes eventually shortening to Milton Keynes.

See
- Wikipedia entry on Milton Keynes
- Milton Keynes Council


The Concrete Cows of Milton Keynes are famous

There was even a song called 'Come to Milton Keynes' by The Style Council.

My human told me that he's visited Milton Keynes a number of times. Not as exciting as London though.

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Today was still warm. Emily came over tonight and it isn't even Wednesday. Woohoo! She came over with beer and for a beef vindaloo dinner. Of course I didn't eat any. It would upset my delicate stomach. I laid on her lap, but it was too hot to stay there for too long.

how much is someone's social life worth?

Around this time last year, I wrote about the "four fun blokes" in Sydney who were auctioning their friendship for a weekend including a couple of beers, snags (sausages), and a good time.

This time of the year must be the silly season. A philosophy student (alas, another Australian) is now auctioning his social life on eBay including his name (but not legal identity), all his possessions, access to his friends and family, as well as training in his skills (surfing, climbing, fire stick twirling etc).

See
- eBay
- myspace
- Nicael's page


Some people want to be him and are willing to pay nearly $20,000.

Would I exhange my cat's life for that? No way. My meals are served on demand (twice a day), I sleep all day, lay on a lap as I wish, my fur is brushed nearly weekly, and people come and visit me.

Now, perhaps I could auction my lifestyle.

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Not much to report today.

National Hugging Day

Today was National Hugging Day which has been celebrated since 1986.

What a wonderful idea for a day. My human gives me hugs all the time, but they are actually more like cuddles.

As I am such a small kitty, I can't return the hug. Sometimes when I am lying on my person's lap and facing him, and I don't want him to get up, I do wrap my front paws around his belly. That's like a cat hug don't you think?

In Australia, we even have a Free Hugs Campaign by Juan Mann, and millions of people have seen him in action in Sydney on YouTube (below).



e-Hugs from me to you all

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Today was a cooler day, particularly in the afternoon when the sky clouded over. My human gave me a really nice long brush of my fur, all over, even my belly fur using the gloves. Then he proceeded to clean the house which hadn't been done for a few weeks on account of the heat.

Tonight we're watching a BBC Shakespeare Retold version of The Taming of the Shrew. It's quite funny. My human told me that it is one of his favourites of the Shakespeare plays, though the original was rather misogynistic.


Kate and Petruchio (modernised)

random footy pic

Mitch Clark - round 2, 2006

a cat about town

Yoda is an 8-year old Siamese cat who lives in Bloomington, Illinois. He also behaves like a dog and enjoys going in car rides and accompanies his human, Judy Norton when she visits the bank and local shops.



Yoda sits up on the counter at the bank while Judy does business with the teller. At the shops, Yoda rides in a basket atop a trolley cart.

See - Pantagraph of 18 January 2007

Do I envy Yoda? Not really, I like being in my house.

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Today was another hot day. I'm going to lie on the wooden floor again.

The Black Cat (Edgar Allan Poe)

Today was the birthday of Edgar Allan Poe (born 1809, died 17 October 1849). Poe was a renown American writer known for his macabre tales.

One of his stories was The Black Cat (written in 1845) about a cat called Pluto whose human treats him poorly one night when drunk. Suffice to say, in typical Poe fashion, the human suffers the consequences.

You can read The Black Cat in full - here (WARNING: not suitable for young children, that is, if they have the patience reading the very formal language of that time period).

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Again, not much to report today. Just another hot day.

the clock is ticking... 5 minutes to midnight

The Doomsday Clock maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (University of Chicago) uses the analogy of the human race being at a time that is "minutes to midnight" where midnight represents destruction by nuclear war.

Since yesterday, the clock advanced a further two minutes and is now at 5 minutes to midnight.

The world stands at the brink of a second nuclear age. The United States and Russia remain ready to stage a nuclear attack within minutes, North Korea conducts a nuclear test, and many in the international community worry that Iran plans to acquire the Bomb. Climate change also presents a dire challenge to humanity. Damage to ecosystems is already taking place; flooding, destructive storms, increased drought, and polar ice melt are causing loss of life and property.

During the arms race between the USA and USSR, the clock was at 2 minutes to midnight (1953). After the end of the Cold War, the clock was reset to 17 minutes to midnight and has been ticking forwards ever since.

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Not much to report today. It is raining tonight and the doors and windows are open in an attempt to lower the internal temperature of the house.

eat more curry... it's good for you

From Scientific American,
Turmeric, an orange-yellow powder from an Asian plant, Curcuma longa, ... No longer is it just an ingredient in vindaloos and tandooris that, since ancient times, has flavored food and prevented spoilage...

...the biologically active components of turmeric--curcumin and related compounds called curcuminoids--as having antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties, with potential activity against cancer, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease and other chronic maladies.

Known as HALDI in HINDI, jiang huang in Chinese, manjal in Tamil (and just plain "yuk" as the yellow stain on a white T-shirt from the splatting of ballpark mustard), turmeric has a medicinal history that dates back 5,000 years. At that time it was a key medicament for wound healing, blood cleansing and stomach ailments in India's Ayurvedic system of medicine.

See - article

I think my human will eat more Indian curry as tumeric is a major ingredient. Woohoo, vindaloo!

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Last night was so hot. It was stuffy and there was no breeze so the house didn't cool down at all. This morning was still hot, so I didn't eat.

Tonight is a little better, but not much.

a cat stationmaster named Tama

I've previously written about some cats who have an occupation, like the office cat, fashion cats etc.

A 7-year-old cat called Tama has been named a special stationmaster at the Kishi Station on the Kishigawa Line in Kinokawa in Japan.



Two other cats were employed as deputy stationmasters at the same station. Stationmaster Tama wearing a railway cap, along with the two deputies, welcome passengers at the station.

See - Mainichi Daily News (Japan), 14 January 2007

Unfortunately, the cats are not paid, but given food as reward for their work. I think they should take industrial action for better pay and conditions.

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Another hot day today. My human was surprised I ate so much for breakfast this morning. Duh! That's because he wasn't giving me the right food.

Tonight I'm just going to lie on the floor by my human's feet. Just like a d-o-g.

My fortune cookie told me...

My Fortune Cookie told me: Beware Hector Doomglass, and all his penguins too. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

No Pants! Subway Ride

People who behave in a non-conformist and silly manner in public are so cool.

Saturday, 13 January 2007, was a great day in New York when over 200 people participated in the sixth annual No Pants! Subway Ride on the 6 line.

The No Pants! Subway Ride was organised by Improv Everywhere which causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places. It has accomplished over 60 missions involving hundreds of undercover agents. The group is based in New York City.




See - New York Daily News of 14 January 2007

"We're all going to take our pants off and have a lot of fun," said organizer Charlie Todd, 28, of the Improv Everywhere group. "It's not against the law to wear your underwear!"

Participants gathered at the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station, boarded a 6 train, "de-pantsed" and exited at different stations. Then they reboarded other uptown trains to the shock and amusement of fellow subway riders.

"I'm standing here with no pants on," said Melissa Poles, 31, of Manhattan, who crocheted a blanket while confused onlookers tried to make sense of the stunt. "I'm awesome."

Events like this are great in challenging onlookers/people to question what they consider to be 'normal' behaviour

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

My human thinks that I yell-meow at him a lot. Well, he nearly slept in today, and it was a work day. And I was also very hungry this morning. Then while he was having his shower, I yelled at him to hurry up so that I could drink the water in the bathtub.

Today was another hot day. We still don't have air-conditioning, which in any case contributes a lot to green house gas emission (climate change) because of the amount of electrity it needs to run, so I am going to suggest to my human about buying one of those portable evaporative coolers.

Tonight we watched not only Smallville but also Supernatural which finally returned to TV. Monday nights are going to be a great TV night.


Boo! Sam and Dean Winchester are brothers who hunt demons

when truth is inconvenient... ban it.

Two parents from the Washington state town of Federal Way (between Seattle and Tacoma), have imposed their small minded views on an entire school by blocking the showing of Al Gore's global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth to the district's school children.

It is people like them who have taken the United States back to the dark ages.

Frosty Hardison:
Condoms don't belong in school, and neither does Al Gore. He's not a schoolteacher. The information that's being presented is a very cockeyed view of what the truth is. The Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn't in the DVD.

Gayla Hardison:
From what I've seen (of the movie) and what my husband has expressed to me, if (the movie) is going to take the approach of 'bad America, bad America,' I don't think it should be shown at all. If you're going to come in and just say America is creating the rotten ruin of the world, I don't think the video should be shown.

How is it that one misguided couple can dictate a school's science education program?

The school district's solution is also cowardly:
School Board members adopted a three-point policy that says teachers who want to show the movie must ensure that a 'credible, legitimate opposing view will be presented,' that they must get the OK of the principal and the superintendent, and that any teachers who have shown the film must now present an 'opposing view."

Inconvenient Truth co-producer Laurie David responded:
I am shocked that a school district would come to this decision. There is no opposing view to science, which is fact, and the facts are clear that global warming is here, now.

See - Seattle Post-Intelligencer of 11 January 2007

*Don't forget to check out Shamus for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Today was another warm day. Not much to report. I finally had my weekend afternoon on the couch together with my human.

random footy pic

round 17, 2006 - Josh Drummond

giant bunnies

Rabbits have a similar bone structure to us cats. In certain butchers' markets in Europe, the fur on the tail is left intact to prove that it is indeed rabbit that is being sold and not cat.

Rabbits are also of a similar size to us cats. That is, except for the giant bunnies called German Gray Giant.

These giant bunnies are about double my size and weight. Now Kim Jong Il, that dictator from North Korea, wants them to help 'alleviate food shortages'.

See - Der Spiegel of 10 January 2007.







*for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog, check out Shamus (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Today wasn't as hot as yesterday, but it was still warm. I also had visitors today. Woohoo! Tim and Toni, whom I had never met before, came to visit for about an hour in the afternoon. And I managed to sit on their laps.

Aside from that, not much else to report. Not even a nap on the couch together with my human today.

spend it like Beckham

US$250 million to kick a ball is just obscene.

Posh and Becks will have enough money to adopt all the other Malawian orphans that Madonna rejected. Indeed, probably every African orphan...

You should check out the welcome message to them from Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan etc

*for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog, check out Shamus (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

It was really hot today. 40.5 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit).

Even so, I had visitors this afternoon. Jack's human Malgosia came home with my human (Jack is a dog), then Jazz's human Laurine came over. Jazz is a three year old black cat. I enjoyed lying on both their laps while they had some wine and cheese.

Laurine also gave me a present of cat treats. Woohoo. She sure knows how to give feline massage.

Anyway, it is still hot tonight, so I am just going to lie on the wooden floor. I ate my dinner though.

Witch's Broom Nebula

I haven't written about a celestial object for a while.

The Witch's Broom Nebula is part of the Veil Nebula which is also known as the Cygnus Loop.

It is 1400 light years away and the result of a supernova 20,000 years ago.

I think it looks amazing.



*for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog, check out Shamus (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Today has been a really hot day, peaking at 38 degrees Celsius. And we still don't have air conditioning!

When my human returned home from work today, Neil also came over for a beer. I tried to jump up on Neil's lap but he wouldn't let me as he was wearing good work trousers. Not fair.

It's still warm tonight, so I'm just going to lie on the floor.

2006 Word of the Year

The American Dialect Society recently voted “plutoed” as the word of the year 2006.

"To pluto" or "be plutoed" is to demote or devalue someone or something, as happened to the former planet Pluto when the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided Pluto no longer met its definition of a planet.

*for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog, check out Shamus (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

I begged my human to stay home with me this morning. I just sat on the floor and looked at him trying to make him feel guilty for leaving me, but it didn't work.

Anyway, Emily came over tonight. She also cooked dinner of Hokkien noodles with duck, tofu and greens. Then I spent a lot of time on lying on her lap. She also took out my stitches. Wednesday nights are returning to normal.

another year, another calendar

The unveiling of a new calendar is a big deal at my place.

My human also waits until they are heavily reduced in price (like by 75 per cent) before he buys any, so the selection becomes limited.

He has still been on the hunt for a Tintin calendar (like we had in 2005) but none were available. The calendar of my football team (like we had in 2006) was also not available, although my human did see some for sale in Melbourne last August but he declined to buy one then as we didn't know who would be in the team. As it was, it featured players who were retired or left the club in bad circumstances.

So this year, my human bought me a calendar of Frank Lloyd Wright (woo, FLW is one of my favourite architects).


He also showed me the other calendar. It is one of Newfoundland DOGS. I am absolutely appalled.


*for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog, check out Shamus (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Not much to report today.

Passing of the noodle king

The person who is the saviour of poverty stricken students and people worldwide, Mr Momofuku Ando, who invented (modern) instant noodles died on 5 January 2007, aged 96.



He introduced instant (Ramen) noodles to Japan and the world in 1958, and the cup noodle (just add boiling water) in 1971.

See
- Sydney Morning Herald
- BusinessWeek
- The Japan Times

My human told me that in his final undergraduate year at college/university (as with many students worldwide), he subsisted primarily on instant noodles.

Of course, he still occasionally has noodles in soup for dinner (if he is being lazy), but now he cooks the dried udon, ramen or somen noodles in home cooked chicken stock, with leaf vegetables and meat.

*for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog, check out Shamus (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

My human left me today, insisting that he had to go to work.

Anyway, when he came home, Sue B was with him and she stayed for an hour for a drink and some snacks. I wanted to sit on her lap, but changed my mind. Anyway, I didn't really feel like visitors today.

Tonight, we watched Smallville in which Clark Kent loses someone he loves (who dies). It was really sad.

circus water torture

I hate water torture baths. Why would I need to have a water torture bath when I can give myself a tongue bath?

I won't write about the very few times that I was subjected to water torture. Unfortunately, it is not against the law.

Humans and canines on the other paw, are not so fortunate and are dirty creatures so they must resort to water torture to keep clean.

In fact, many humans find pleasure in being partially submerged in a bath full of water. They are seriously out of their minds.

Which brings me to the topic of this entry. The Sydney Festival is underway and in one of the shows (what humans call performing arts), a silly person in a circus tent goes into a bath and all the people watching applause.

It's called La Clique and comes from The Famous Spiegeltent. See review.





You call this fun? This guy needs his head read.

*for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog, check out Shamus (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Not much to report today. My human stayed home with me all day, and we even had an afternoon nap together. Oh, there was also a brief rain shower which I looked at through the front security door.

random footy pic

Round 20, 2006 - Luke Power disposing with a handball as he is tackled

the £7m tidy desk plan

From UK Newcastle's The Journal:
The Government was last night accused of spending more than £7m of taxpayers' money on consultants to tell North-East civil servants how to tidy their desks.

Workers at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs at the Longbenton complex, in North Tyneside, are having their desks marked with tape to indicate where their office equipment should be placed.

The exercise, which involves markers for items including computer keyboards, telephones and stationery, is designed to improve efficiency by making desks neater.

However, one worker last night described the system, being implemented by logistics company Unipart, as "demeaning".

More here



Uniformity is one thing and needed in maintaining records such as files and databases, and in best practice processes. A person's work area on the other paw would vary from one another depending on an individual's working style.

Such an idea is too Sir Humphrey Appleby (Yes Minister) to be serious.


Minister Jim Hacker: "So how much did we save on efficiency from the tidy desk policy?"
Cabinet Secretary Bernard Woolley: "Minister, we estimate the savings to be £100 annually"
Minister Jim Hacker: "And how much did we spend on the policy?"
Cabinet Secretary Bernard Woolley: "Err, £7 million actually"

*for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog, check out Shamus (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

It was a really warm day today, but I ate my dinner.

cleaning up Congress

From Bloomberg:
The U.S. House of Representatives, after installing its new Democratic leadership, voted to ban lawmakers from flying on corporate jets and accepting gifts and meals from lobbyists.

What? Before this new rule, legislators could be influenced by gifts and fancy meals? Now, what is that called? Oh yeah, CORRUPTION.

*for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog, check out Shamus (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

I haven't been feeling like eating much today.

Emily came over to visit tonight though which was great as I laid on her lap a lot. She and my human had T-bone steak for dinner and didn't share. After dinner we all watched the first two episodes of Prison Break (though it hasn't been on TV here yet).

I want a credit card

A cat living in Melbourne called Messiah was issued with his own credit card by the Bank of Queensland.

When the card arrived, his human Katherine Campbell made a big fuss about it. Silly Messiah. He should have checked the letterbox himself first and hidden the letter from the bank.



See - Courier Mail of 3 January 2007

Now, he can't do his own shopping on the internet!

Next time, I think he should apply for the Hello Kitty credit card.

I want my own credit card. I wonder if pet stores do home delivery of pet mice?

*for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog, check out Shamus (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Not much to report today, except that the weather is warming up again.

new pics

New photos taken on 1 January 2007

voice actors

Voice actors are heard and not seen!

They play an important role in countries where film and television programs are dubbed (purrsonally, I think subtitles are a better idea).

In Germany, most English language programs are dubbed into German by German voice actors.

So if they broadcast the Academy Awards, do they use voice actors to dub it into German and do these voice actors also receive an award?

*for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog, check out Shamus (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

No sign of the black cat today. Another boring day home alone, though I did get into the catnip.

This evening, Kettles' humans Klaudia and Sally came over for a lamb Rogan Josh curry dinner. I had a great time lying on their laps after dinner when they watched TV. Kettles went to the farm with Sally over the break. She went in a C-A-R! What a silly cat.

the black cat

Black cats are cool cats.

Salem Saberhagen from Sabrina the Teenage Witch TV show is a black cat.

There are some superstitions involving black cats. In the US and some countries in Europe, a black cat crossing a person's path foretells bad luck. On the other paw, if that happened in Britain or Japan, it would be good luck.

In Scotland, a strange black cat on your porch brings prosperity.

I think black cats are lucky.

*for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog, check out Shamus (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

A black cat called Gus turned up at the front porch/doorstep this morning. He was very young. Actually my human decided to name him Gus as I wouldn't tell him Gus' real cat name.



I meowed and yowled at him and warned him that this is my home so he turned around and sat on the driveway for a few minutes where I kept an eye on him from the window. Keeping watch on a black cat is quite boring, so decided to have a nap instead.



My human went to work today and left me alone at home. About time too, as I haven't done any secret cat business like hopping up on furniture without being yelled at, for over a week!

hey Microsoft, where is mine?

Microsoft has given away 'free' laptops to a number of bloggers. Where is mine?

*for The Ongoing Barks of a Well Read Dog, check out Shamus (who is continuing Cammie's legacy)

.........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo..........

Today was another good day, though my human spent too much time doing chores again, including too much time in the kitchen.

This evening, Jimmy and Lily's humans Brian and Jackie came over, along with special guests David and Sheila who are visiting all the way from England. Poor Jimmy and Lily have also had to share their house with young children, Gemma and Owen, who stayed behind with their parents. I don't think I would have been ready for them to visit me.

Anyway, I had fun sitting and lying on everyone's laps, even if they did have roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for dinner without sharing any with me.