I had my house cleaned today – a little luxury to help me start off the year right. The lady who cleaned piled all the pillows on my bed. Even the pillows that I’d meant to throw out ages ago because they don’t go with the newish bedspread. This seems to have upset Freya’s day as she often sleeps at the top of my unmade bed. She had a bit of a problem finding a place to curl up.
Month: December 2005
Spot the kittie!
Posted by miri On 30 December, 2005
37th Street Christmas Lights
Posted by miri On 30 December, 2005
For years, the lights on 37th Street in Austin have been legendary. I’ve visited many times. I heard on the news last night that the fellow who started them is moving out of town and that this would be his last Christmas on 37th Street. So, I paid them a last visit.
Baby Hippo Love
Posted by miri On 28 December, 2005
A picture and story that might rival the baby panda for cuteness. Might.
As soon as he was placed in his enclosure, the orphaned youngster immediately ran to the giant tortoise also housed in that space. The tortoise, named Mzee (Swahili for “old man”) and estimated to be between 100 and 130 years old, was not immediately taken with the brash newcomer — he turned and hissed, forcing the hippo to back away. Yet Owen persisted in following the tortoise around the park (and even into a pool), and within days the pair had forged a friendship, eating and sleeping together. Owen has even been seen to lick the tortoise, whom he regards as his new mother. (Wildlife workers speculated that Owen may have been attracted to Mzee as a parental figure because the tortoise’s shape and color are similar to those of an adult hippopotamus.)
Oh, who am I kidding. Tai Shan and his little tub is the cutest ever. He even looks darn cute (and quite sure of said cuteness) when mom is grooming him.
CNN Year in Review
Posted by miri On 26 December, 2005
This little gem has now produced one of my favorite CNN caption/crawl quotes ever:
Some analysts say it’s been a rough year for Pres. Bush.
Ya think? Do you have to be an “analyst” to figure that out?
Happy Stinky Christmas
Posted by miri On 25 December, 2005
So, it’s Christmas eve, I’ve come back from opening presents at my mom’s, I just finished the ridiculously difficult puzzle my aunt gave me for Christmas, and I’m relaxing, watching TiVo and eating Christmas cookies. What’s that smell? Oh my god; that smells awful. Mishka! Get your tail out of the candle! Yep. Smart kittie that he is, he’d managed to set himself on fire and not even realize it. I had to grab his tail out of the fire and smother the flames. (Okay, so “flames” is a bit dramatic – it was more like smothering the smoking fur.) My whole house smells of burnt cat fur (a truly lovely holiday scent) and he’s leaving little charred pieces of hair everywhere he goes. *sigh*
Tai Shan goes outside
Posted by miri On 23 December, 2005
Eeeee! I love the first bit. Mom goes strolling by – ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump. And then comes junior – plinkity, plinkity, plinkity – with a wonderful little bounce in his step
Baby Penguin Is Stolen From Zoo
Posted by miri On 20 December, 2005
Just how sick do you have to be to want to nab a baby penguin from a zoo?
Zoo manager Kath Bright said the bird, who was taken from a compound where he lived with his parents and four other penguins, would probably die of malnutrition if not urgently returned.
“Toga is very, very vulnerable. The penguin is still being fed by his parents and we don’t believe it could survive more than five days,” she told The Associated Press.
A Christmas New York
Posted by miri On 18 December, 2005
I just got back from yet another trip to NY to watch yet another finale of The Amazing Race. I also spent some time wondering around Central Park and going to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.
Science and Race
Posted by miri On 16 December, 2005
Scientists Find A DNA Change That Accounts For White Skin
The work suggests that the skin-whitening mutation occurred by chance in a single individual after the first human exodus from Africa, when all people were brown-skinned. That person’s offspring apparently thrived as humans moved northward into what is now Europe, helping to give rise to the lightest of the world’s races.
Leaders of the study, at Penn State University, warned against interpreting the finding as a discovery of “the race gene.” Race is a vaguely defined biological, social and political concept, they noted, and skin color is only part of what race is — and is not.
In fact, several scientists said, the new work shows just how small a biological difference is reflected by skin color. The newly found mutation involves a change of just one letter of DNA code out of the 3.1 billion letters in the human genome — the complete instructions for making a human being.
“It’s a major finding in a very sensitive area,” said Stephen Oppenheimer, an expert in anthropological genetics at Oxford University, who was not involved in the work. “Almost all the differences used to differentiate populations from around the world really are skin deep.”
Race is such a touchy issue – even to scientists.
National Smiles?
Posted by miri On 11 December, 2005
Do Americans and Brits smile differently? According to this article they do.