The other side of the news

Greetings. Below is a story I received from a guide dog related email list. Note that though the suspect of said crime appears to be a German Shepherd, the crime could have been committed by any high energy breed from any guide dog school. Enjoy.*** Seeing Eye Dog prime Suspect in Toy Slaying Virginia, April 10, 2009. The body of Mr. Toy Octopus was discovered yesterday in his Charlottesville home under suspicious circumstances. "[Mr. Octopus] was the least judgmental toy I ever knew," said Mr. Stuffed Lamb, a close friend of the deceased. "He welcomed everyone he met with at least two open arms." The cause of death remains unknown, but officials say evidence suggests homicide. The prime suspect is one Yani Gg. Shepherd, also ofCharlottesville. Ms. Shepherd, who works as a Seeing Eye dog for a law student at the university, was unavailable for comment. Glaze Y. Labrador, Shepherd's roommate and a retired guide herself, has another theory: "I firmly believe Mr. Octopus's demise was the unfortunate result of a botched squeakectomy," she stated in a press conference yesterday. "Yani is young, and squeakectomies can be messy in the best of circumstances." Shepherd, whose owner is not yet licensed to practice law, is seeking legal representation. "Normally, she'd have a hard time finding an attorney who would work for kibble," said the labrador-poodle mix of a local defense lawyer, who wished to remain anonymous. "But given the state of the economy, all bets are off." Meanwhile, the toys who knew Octopus continue to grieve. Perhaps they can find some small comfort in the knowledge that their friend's rattle and squeaker were recovered and are suitable for transplantation.

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

Domestic cats are excellent hunters, always stalking and in many cases catching garden birds. They may then present the caught bird to their owners, as if to repay them for the care and food. An earlier post details how a cat caught one of a pair of kingfisher. Mynas normally alert other birds whenever a cat is in my garden and we have also been told that cats are a definite no-no in Australia.There are many cases of cats killing birds but there are just as many cases of the birds being rescued by the owners, to be nursed back to health and then released. This is a case where the bird ultimately found freedom when the owners intervened.Teo Lee Wei has two cats in her house. Kitty the tortoise-shell cat and Meatball, the cat with the tuxedo suit and white socks (top). Well, in November 2006 Kitty (above) ran up very furtively to her bedroom with a strange bird in its mouth to be followed by Meatball.Lee Wei’s husband Kais ran after the cats and managed to prise the bird from Kitty's jaw and took it away. The bird was in deep shock but did not appear to have any injuries (above). It was placed in a bird cage and both of them nursed it for a day (below). They then locked up their two cats before setting the bird free, giving it ample time to make a getaway before releasing the cats again. The strange bird was later identified as the Asian Paradise-flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi).Input and images by Teo Lee Wei.

Best man is a bear

On the 28th, British "Daily Mail" reported , when the naturalist Kasi Anderson marry, his best man was a big grizzly bear of about 362 kilograms weight, "Brutus."

Insulin injections

Do not be taken in the same part .


The feeling of pain will be greatly reduced:
① injection before gently pinch the skin
② injection needle to be determined. Needle ,maintain the same direction
③ the timely replacement of the injection site
④ alcohol, dry the skin .

80s TV Themes

Whatever.Lastly, I am happy to say that I will be doing a GIVEAWAY tomorrow of a fun, sensual product. (For real!) I would have done it sooner, but I've been knee-deep in all kinds of weird house, car, exhaustion, and a cappella stuff.(Notice how I didn't say "packing"? I mean, I've been thinking about packing and dreaming about packing...that's practically the same thing, right? Besides, I'm pretty positive the Packing Gnomes are coming tonight while I sleep, so we're all good...)* * * * * * * * * * * *One of the things I promised myself I'd do before time got totally away from me was arrange a medley of 80s TV Theme Songs. I'm pretty sure we've narrowed down the list, but just in case I might be missing/forgetting something...I open up the floor to you.Update: I have looked on Google and have polled the group, but really, I'm looking for the most popular songs -- the ones the (non-existent) audience would really want to hear. What would we be crazy to skip over? Please bear in mind that we're all female, and that the oldest member of our group is only 33 (hi) and that the youngest member of our group was born in 1986 (I know, ouch). So the mix has to be broad and both adult- and child-oriented. Themes without words won't work as well.Looking forward to your thoughts...* * * * * * * * * * *In the meantime, I will share with you that I was IMing Ish and my friend, Ben, about The Facts of Life. Ish and Ben were rather surprised that none of the Facts of Life stars ended up in softcore porn. (Quoth Ish, "That's an upset.") And then I was waxing poetic about the fate of the show, and IMed the following, in exactly the lines below, which Ben thought would make an amazing poem.I concur. I call it..."Not Even Skinemax"Fame smiled on the set of Facts of Lifebut, like that episode of 90210when they were like,"Someone is going to DIE"and then it was a character no one liked and didn't really know,Fame smiled, but not on any of the girlsor Ednaor Andy or whatsherfaceor even GeriFame accidentally hit the handymanoh well

Mark Turner

Now that Time Warner Cable feels secure enough in its near-monopoly of high-speed Internet access to greatly raise its rates, it has turned its attention to strengthening its monopoly by effectively blocking any N.C. city from providing alternatives. N.C. Rep. Ty Harrell of Wake County has sponsored just such a bill, known as House Bill 1252. Just when high-speed Internet users stuck with Time Warner Cable (or its partners such as Earthlink) were dreaming of one day having what our neighbors in Wilson have, Time Warner Cable seeks to take that away. I know Ty and consider him a friend, so it makes it all the more distressing to know he’s sponsoring this. Please contact Ty and other representatives and let them know how you feel. Also, if you can attend Wednesday morning’s N.C. Science and Technology committee meeting, please do so. And add the Save North Carolina’s Broadband site to your daily reads!

No typing day

An old friend popped into an IRC channel and said: “Sorry I’ve been out of touch; I’ve been away travelling on business.” Interesting contrast. When I’m on business travel I tend to be more in contact. Or, perhaps it’s just that I’m just more conscious of it, since one has to go to extra trouble to get email in airports, retrieve messages from hotel rooms, and find ways to make affordable phone calls (instead of succumbing to the temptation to just using your mobile at the cost of having to sacrifice a major organ to pay the roaming fees), etc. I’ve noticed that it actually takes me going off trekking to get away from the curse of modern communications. Being up in the mountains is about as uplifting an experience as you get, but I’m sad to say that at least part of it must be the freedom from not having to check your email. Half way up Grotto Mountain near Banff, Alberta, Canada. Even harder — but essential — is that once in a while you need to have a “no typing day”. It’s should be easy to just decide not to do any typing tomorrow, but it’s astoundingly difficult to actually schedule such a day — especially when you’re an Open Source hacker and all you want to do with your spare time is work on the things you love. But just as serious athletes need to take rest days to prevent over-use injuries, so does anyone who spends huge numbers of hours in front of a computer need to take a day off once in a while. We all need to give the tendons and fine motor muscles in our fingers, wrists, and forearms a rest. I’m not talking about “typing breaks” periodically though the day (I mean, jeesh, just get up and go for a glass of water), but an entire day with no keyboard, no mouse, and no being hunched over starting at the screen. If you can, take a no typing day once every two weeks. It may not seem like much, but makes a wonderful difference to well-being. And since you’re not sitting at your computer, you might as well head up into the mountains instead. :) That I had to type this is an irony that does not escape me. AfC