Twitchy Twitter

Not actually wrong, mind you, but technically, something is wrong with twitter.  Reminds me of an old aphorism in teaching:  "In theory, practice and theory are the same, but in practice, they're not." It took me a while to unravel that, and I'm still not sure whether it's mundane, profound, a truism, or just plain nonsense.

Saturd80's

Men Without Hats, Antarctica:

Dream Academy, Life in a Northern Town:

The Clash, Rudie Can't Fail:

She Can See My Blog From Alaska

A screen capture from a few minutes ago.  I've noticed visitors from Wasilla before, and obviously I can't be certain it's the wicked witch of the north or her kin.  But I can hope, and I can joke.

Feral Cat

I learned, first from EB Misfit, then from Balloon Juice, that today is National Feral Cat Day. Okay, sometimes I wish we'd just go with National Everything Day (Week/Month) and be done with it.  This week has been National Earth Science Week; Monday was National Fossil Day and yesterday was International Water Day.  I didn't post on any of those, not because I have anything against them- quite the contrary- but because I couldn't think of anything interesting to say.  And if I do think of something interesting to say about them, I'm not going to worry about whether it's the "right" day.

On the other hand, sometimes I appreciate the reminder that something is important, such as National Coming Out Day, or at least important to me... like National Feral Cat Day. See, my companion animal is a feral.  I moved into my current location about five and a half years ago, and she and her siblings were around that spring. I remember them dashing out from the dumpster when someone would walk by.  A neighbor and I took to feeding them occasionally at first, then regularly, then dependably. Over a period of three years, Ozma and sibs became more tolerant of human proximity and even contact.  Sure, I expected to be swatted and scratched at first, and I was. We went through a hilarious period, for about a month, where the obvious attitude on the cats part was exasperation- "Would you Just...Cut... That... OUT!? We're tryin' to eat here." My occasional gales of laughter were much more frightening to the cats than my hand, by that point.

Patience.  Quiet and calm. Gentleness and persistence.

Then in April three years ago, I held the door open when they were done eating, and Ozma walked into my apartment as if it was the most natural thing ever.  Her sister, a little black fluff ball, disappeared shortly afterward, though for over a year I would see her occasionally- she was almost as affectionate as Ozma, and I suspect she adopted another human. Her brother, a gorgeous black and gray cat with a white bib and paws, was always the least comfortable with me, and never warmed to being touched.  He's still around- he and Ozma were cuddling in the hall just a couple of days ago, and I generally set out some food for him when I see him, but I make no effort to lure him in anymore.  He looks quite healthy.

So she walked in, carefully inspected the apartment for forty-five minutes, then headed under the desk and curled up and went to sleep by my feet.  There have been lots of entertaining, exasperating and warm moments since.  The latest being that, despite having a bin with kitty litter in it for over two years now, Ozma has just in the last week figured out what it's good for.  She is apparently delighted.  After finishing her business, she spends five to ten minutes burying it, over and over and over.

She spends most of her time inside now, but during the summer, I leave the porch door propped open.  Most days days since spring, she chose not to leave with me in the morning. She was there when I came home too, and I was worried she wasn't getting out at all.  But a couple of times I came home early, and she showed up about 4:30.  I generally come home between 5 and 7, so she obviously has her own schedule. She is extraordinarily affectionate; I don't think I've ever met a cat that has been as deliriously happy to be petted, scratched and rubbed as she is.

On the other hand, she's downright terrified of other people- which may not be a bad thing in a neighborhood full of frat boys. When I have visitors, she either bolts out the porch door, or hides quivering in my bedroom.  So she's not "domesticated" in the normal sense of the word, and despite the fact that I've been a powerless possession for over three years now, she will always be feral in a way. Corvallis has a program to catch, neuter and give shots to feral cats, then release them in the neighborhood where they were caught, so I imagine most of her other interactions with people have been scary and traumatic. To this program, and the people who volunteer and staff it, I say "Thanks!" You have contributed to some of my happiest moments of the last few years.

I've Been Thinking About This All Day

It was so deeply moving. All those lemmings, just jumping off the cliff after each other. Sorry, just writing this brings tears to my eyes.

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Double Whammy

Yesterday, not only did I wake up and get a late start on my surfing of the innertubes, but the wifi got stinky in the mid-afternoon.  As a result, no blogging yesterday, and mostly catching up with news, science, humor, et cetera, today.  Yesterday's Big Picture was of scenes from the Chilean mine rescue, which I found moving- except for some of the pictures of the men in the capsule, which made me feel claustrophobic. And CNN dismissed persistent reports that "the Chilean miners would have to have their clavicles broken to fold themselves" on The Daily Show's moment of zen.

Inspiring and amazing as the rescue was, though, I think I have to give the "mind-blowing" nod to this proposed explanation for how Saturn's moon Iapetus came to have its bizarre equatorial ridge.

Unlike Saturn's other spherical or ellipsoid moons, Iapetus has a unique, slightly squashed shape with an 8-mile-high (13-kilometer-high) mountain range running around much of its middle, like the cusp where the halves of a walnut shell join.

I was dubious about the idea of damping rotational spin as I started, but by the time I finished, I was convinced it was the best explanation I've seen.  This is one strange feature, and it's going to require some strange things happening to cause it.  This seems to work... but don't assume it's the "right" answer yet. I don't doubt it'll have challengers and problems.  That's science, and that's why I love it.

Soon. Very Soon.

I'm approaching cognitive saturation for the day, and once I leave for home, I'm disconnected from the rest of the world.  No internet, and I refuse to turn on the tube. But sometime in the next hour or so, the first of the trapped Chilean miners is expected to return to the surface. The duration of the rescue phase of the operation is expected to be one to two days. The Guardian has posted a continuously updated news page, with notes added as events unfold.  There is also a live video feed. I'd like to express my admiration and good wishes for these folks, and offer gratitude to those who have worked so hard to pull off this miracle.  The only thing I can think of that rivals this for knuckle-biting suspense was Apollo 13, and I was too young to really empathize with that situation.

Followup: Almost forgot this- a nice graphic explaining the logistics and engineering of the extraction at NYT.

Tuesday Tits

Cinnamon-breasted tit, Parus rufiventris pallideventris, from South African National Parks

"A Bit Unconventional, Out of The Box"

 

Sarah Palin said she would 'take on the establishment on both sides of the aisle'. Photograph: Aaron M Sprecher/EPA 

That would be Sarah Palin... I'm tempted to say "out of her mind," but like dubya, I think that misunderestimates her canniness with respect to the things in which she's interested. Obviously, the English language is not one of those things: "I just think that anyone is foolish to prematurely close any door that perhaps will be open for them." I think it would indeed be foolish to try to close a door that might (or might not) be open in the future, however, I doubt she has any real interest in running for the presidency, let alone- again noting dubya- carrying out the duties of that office.

I read recently that with his much-publicized plummet in favorability ratings, Obama stands at a miniscule 48%.  Palin's grass-roots popularity is an astronomically high 22%.  She's a shoe-in.

Snark aside, what is Palin interested in?  She's an egotistical narcissist: She wants attention. She wants the media spotlight and cash that go with attention.  I predict she will announce a run for the nomination, though she will make a lot of fuss about how the Republican good ol' boys club is sidelining her- which they will.  She will raise a lot of money and get a lot of air time- that's what she's interested in. Then, when it crumbles around her, as it inevitably will- she's not interested in doing the work to run a real campaign- she'll bow out and blame the "liberal, lamestream media."  Then go back to her job at faux news.  As an aside, if you were a candidate on the R side of the last presidential nomination, not currently holding office, and not named Mitt Romney, you are currently employed by faux news.  True story.

At any rate, let's let Sarah get the almost last word: "A nuclear weapon in that country's [Iran's] hands is not just Israel's problem or America's problem – it is the world's problem. It could lead to Armageddon. It could lead to World War III that could decimate so much of this planet."  This could be rephrased to point out that this country in SP's hands could well be much, much worse than simply reducing so much of this planet by a tenth.

Interzone People in the News

One of my Interzone friends was interviewed by KVAL for a story on National Coming Out Day.  Way to go, Kevin!  Here's the summary:

Oregon State and the University of Oregon were both recently named gay-friendly campuses by a national advocacy group, and a new program at OSU helps recruit queer students to study engineering and science.

And the closing sentence- a very powerful position in text journalism- is given to Kevin, as well: "This day is here to symbolize that people will accept themselves," he said, "and the rest of the world, whether they accept it or not - we will be gay."

So homophobes, grow up and get over it.  As I mentioned earlier elsewhere, "I promise not to worry about your sexuality if you don't worry about mine. Today is National Coming Out Day. I'm sorry we need one."

Followup: here's the video.

How to Win

Pundit Kitchen... click for full size.

The Solution:

Oxygen has a liberal bias.

Give that time to sink in, then take whatever action you feel is appropriate. Based on a passing comment at Some Guy With a Website's fun comic this week.

Followup/clarification: some might choose a boycott.  That's entirely up to them.  Also, fresh water conforms to Islam's dietary guidelines.

10/10/10

(EpicPonyz) Also, according to an article in yesterday's NYT, 39,000 couples have chosen today to get married:

Sunday is the big day for saying “I do.”

More than 39,000 couples chose 10/10/10 as their wedding day — a nearly tenfold increase over the number of nuptials on Oct. 11, 2009, the comparable Sunday last year, according to figures gathered by David’s Bridal, the wedding superstore chain.

The reason for the surge is a blend of superstition and symbolism, said Maria McBride, the wedding style director at Brides Magazine. “You cross your fingers and hope it lasts a lifetime,” she said, and so “a perfect 10, times 3” suggests good luck.

Good luck and best wishes to all the newlyweds.

Sunday Funnies: Meaning of Life, Universe, and Everything Edition

It's 10/10/10. 101010 in binary is 42, so today is the answer to the question of Life, The Universe, and Everything.  Next one is in a century... I wonder if they'll remember.

Demeur

Sofa Pizza

Sofa Pizza

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Bits and Pieces

Non Sequitur

Bits and Pieces

Great White Snark

EpicPonyz

Bits and Pieces

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Sober in a Nightclub

Sober in a Nightclub

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

see more Engrish. Posted with the title, "I Can’t Believe It’s Not “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter.”"

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see more Acting Like Animals

EpicPonyz

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Criggo

see more Historic LOL

Sober in a Nightclub

Pygalgia... I've been meaning to get to that.

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see more Political Pictures

Sofa Pizza

see more So Much Pun... Feel the excitement!

Amazing Super Powers

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Criggo- after discussion, Iris and I think this may be a polite way of specifying "No Children Need Apply."

see more Gifs. As you may have always suspected, Pandas are jerks...

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EpicPonyz

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EpicPonyz

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Clay Bennett

Sofa Pizza... creepy or funny? I repost, you decide.

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Luke Surl

Skull Swap

see more Celeb Look-A-Likes

see more Gifs. And now you know how to get through the coming zombie apocalypse.

Blackadder

Blackadder

Darius Whiteplume's Tumblr

Sofa Pizza

Sofa Pizza

What Would Jack Do?

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Sofa Pizza

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see more Lol Celebs. My life is complete.  I can now watch this scene on continuous loop.

Criggo. Comment on site says, "Don’t joke about that. It was a perilous journey for the three ships and their crews, in an era of unrestricted submarine warfare."

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see more Funny Graphs

How's That for a Slice of Fried Gold?

Darius Whiteplume's Tumblr

Sofa Pizza

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What Would Jack Do?

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Criggo

Engrish Funny

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