I now have a favorite cephalopod

An octopus in a Coburg, Germany aqaurium gets frisky.

"We knew that he was bored as the aquarium is closed for winter, and at two feet, seven inches Otto had discovered he was big enough to swing onto the edge of his tank and shoot out a the 2000 Watt spot light above him with a carefully directed jet of water."

"Otto is constantly craving for attention and always comes up with new stunts so we have realised we will have to keep more careful eye on him - and also perhaps give him a few more toys to play with.

"Once we saw him juggling the hermit crabs in his tank, another time he threw stones against the glass damaging it. And from time to time he completely re-arranges his tank to make it suit his own taste better - much to the distress of his fellow tank inhabitants."

Aw, he's bored. More hermit crabs, stat!

This is really how every democratic politician should react

to all the gibberish questions they're asked in interviews.



I mean, really. Sometimes all you can do is ask "Are you serious?"

It is finished

At about 3:15 PM on Thursday, October 23, I agreed that it was for the best that the vet should sedate him and then administer the euthanizing agents. I had to do it over the phone, I don't think I could bear being there. The husband had said his goodbyes before I drove Phlyd to the vet, and I took a few minutes while they were pulling his file to try to say goodbye without wailing uncontrollably.

I know he was surrounded by people who loved him-- he was always treated like a rockstar. I am sure he felt safe and loved.

But I am always anthropomorphizing everything-- especially my own cats-- and I can't shake that I should have been there. I should have been sitting with him, cradling his head and scritching his ears. I didn't because I can't even think of him without bawling, and I really really didn't want to break down in front of the vets and techs.

I let my cat die alone because I didn't want to cause a scene.

I know it's all for the best: he was old and he lived a good life, once where he was loved and fed and lavished with anything he wanted.

But I let my cat die thinking I had abandoned him.

I tear up every time his name is brought up. I don't feel smushed enough when the cats sit on my lap. 2 cats seems too few.

I thought I would feel better once this whole thing was over. I thought I would be relieved finally knowing that he was out of pain.

But I let my cat die wondering where I went.

And this continues to break my already broken heart. It feels like I won't ever stop crying.

Jesus, I miss him.

So it's been decided. His red blood cell count is 9% and he's very very weak.

We could start him on a therapy of injections 3 times a week, but that wouldn't necessarily take effect for another month. We don't want to put him through the stress of more vet appointments.

I can't justify putting him to sleep because he's still himself and he's not in pain.

. . .

. . .

. . .

So now we just wait.

Sarah Palin is a dick and John McCain is Henry Kane

Although I haven't met her personally, I am convinced, based on her sneering stump speeches to the already brainwashed, that Sarah Palin is a mean, vindictive, small-minded person who doesn't deserve to be parodied by someone as smart and as talented as Tina Fey.

I don't know if she believes all the bullshit she says. She obviously knows how to play to the bigots in the crowd, by memorizing and regurgitating the soundbytes crafted for her by her most cynical speechwriters.

But she's not smart enough, I think, not to believe at least some of it, which means she must have a cognitive dissonance so profound it's as if her skull has an extra bone straight down the middle of it, separating her reality from real reality.

This is not a man who sees America as you and I see America. We see America as a force for good in this world. We see America as a force for exceptionalism . . . Our opponents see America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who would bomb their own country.

Palling around with terrorists?




America as a force for good?




Sarah Palin is a dick and John McCain is a stereotype. His habit of using "my friend" seems like he's trying to imbue every phrase with a menacing tone, but it just makes him sound like a poorly-acted bad guy in a crappy movie.

JOHN MCCAIN, I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND

So shut the fuck up, asshole.

When the wars came

We are witness to many battles in America right now. Not just Democrat v. Republican, Bush administration v. reality, McCain v. relevance, Congress v. Foresight and Palin v. direct inquiries. Sure, those are important and I'm keeping at least one eye on each of them. But here are the conflicts that have been keeping me too busy to write (no, really!):

The Battle at Alvioli

I have had pneumonia for the past month, but you'd never know it from my work schedule. No, that's not true, I was out about a week (two and a half days one week and four another), but mostly I've been up and out and about, spreading my pathogens, coughing in fits and generally existing in a phlegmy phog. I was given 10 days' worth of antibiotics 10 days ago, and went in for my recheck this afternoon. The lungs sounded clear, my cute brown-eyed doctor told me as he thumped my back with one hand and listened with the stethescope with both ears, though my coughing may stick around a little longer. He thought maybe my asthma was adding some hassle, so I got some free Advair and a prescription for sudafed (which, if I get me chemistry right could score me a meth rock of about .02 mcg. Hot dog). Expected outcome: I think the Alvioli will come out on top, but they may never be completely rid of the terrorism of post-nasal drip.

The Wars of the Stereotypes

I work with a woman who runs our state's SCA, and you can tell. She dresses like a goth at a temp job: dark but without the boots and black leggings (though I should talk-- I don't dress much better). She is loud and opinionated and, like me, not well-versed in the art of constructive criticism. I get along with her well enough, but she is both annoying and easily annoyed. She is pretty competent at her job, although some of her methods I choose not to emulate.

We recently hired a guy for the open help desk position, and he has the familiar attitude of an IT guy at a new job, meaning he insists on relating everything you are training him to how things used to be at his old job. He is still uncomfortable in his position both as the lowest guy on the totem pole and the only guy in our tiny room. He is easily affronted, but won't take on the affronter directly, so he spends a lot of his time sitting at his desk frowning.

These two don't really get along, and today the sparring started over an incident in training. We are all sitting in on this training this week so we can train on it later, and the trainer is our SCA Baroness. Her hackles were raised at one point when IT guy quietly left the room and didn't come back for 10 minutes. While he was gone I had a coughing fit and left the room to spit up goop and get a cough drop.

At the break, the Baroness summoned us to her shire near the InFocus machine and scolded us for leaving the classroom. I protested that I was coughing uncontrollably and she forgave me. She then turned to IT guy and scolded him even more for not having an obvious reason to leave. He went back to his seat and began to stew. When she went to smoke, he turned to me in a minor fury and proceeded to tell me that he left because something he ate at lunch hadn't agreed with him but, he added, there was no way he was going to tell her that.

So, color me Swiss. I get to hear way too much opinion from both sides. As neither side looks like it will back down, I think I may be in for the passive-aggressive long haul. Yay. Expected outcome: Outlook not so good.

The Attack on Meninges

I just have a headache. Probably related to The War of Stereotypes. Oh, and whatever the doctor's office had floating at the time. Ooh, is it Flu? Sinus infection? Pink eye? Rabies?

Probably all of them. Expected outcome: once the Vicodin division arrives to help the dry eyes squadrons and cyclobenzaprine patrol things should be OK.