Little Dustbin

I had forgotten how great dogs are for clearing up leftovers.  We had pork curry for dinner last night.  Sadly, pork is bad for the little guy but he gobbled down the leftover rice with great enthusiasm.  I gave him some cooked liver yesterday but it gave him a dose of the trots, so maybe he is not ready for such rich offerings.  Some dog owners have to deal with mud.  I get to deal with sand, because Wendell has discovered the joys of digging on the beach.  He loves snorting about in piles of seaweed, so he smells pretty awful at times, too.  He thinks he smells wonderful, of course.

Ain’t technology grand

I am writing this whilst watching Crufts and recording the Show simultaneously.  How is this possible?  I am watching Crufts on a small viewer on Firefox and downloading it with Real Player.  I have the window reduced so I can either use my desktop or explorer.  Ain’t technology grand.  Terry is taking Wendell for his hike today, because I am glued to my desk, in case anything goes wrong.

The sun is shining brightly today.  New neighbours have moved in.   Not the side that has been boarded up but the other.  They are French which makes a change from the Polish that have flooded Margate.  I hope they are clean and quiet. 

Learning to live on a pittance is proving an interesting challenge.  Our tobacco runs out today and we have to wait until next Tuesday, before we can buy more.  We have plenty of pet food, sundries, coffee, gas and electric but food is becoming a bit thin on the ground.  I shall need to stretch what I have in interesting ways, in order to get by.  Should be a different way of fulfilling my New Year’s resolutions.  See ya, Pen.

First Swim

Wendell had his first doggy paddle yesterday, when the rock pool he was paddling in became quite deep suddenly.  He did not panic, like me but swam back to safe ground like a seasoned professional.  We came home straight after because it was a bit cold for a now soaking wet puppy.  He was very hyper all the way home; trying to keep warm I guess.  Once towelled and fed, he slept for hours, giving the cats a bit of extra dog free time.  They have shown great tolerance towards Wendell but I fear their patience is wearing thin.  Right then, off to make yet another coffee.

The Perfect Puppy

I have finally managed to get my hands on a copy of The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey.  What a brilliant read for anyone even contemplating getting a puppy.  Already I am finding mistakes I have made.  Armed with this wonderful book I hope to become the perfect puppy owner.  Thank you Jane, for telling me about the book. 

A Spare Place

A Spare Place

 

I sit in a chair and gaze

At the faces opposite me;

Our hands trembling in unison

My keepers will never see

The shame I feel as I sit in

Soiled underwear, pervading

My soul, turning hope to dust

And I shall never leave this place

Of death and despair; ‘till a bag

Is zipped; they’ll cover my face

For fear I may cause offence.

 

Somebody said we have fish

For lunch; like a Mexican wave

Our frail excitement undulates

And we smile. No one is brave

Enough to ask” Is the fish fresh?”

Thus risking censorial frowns;

It pays to not rock the boat.

Mrs. Baker died yesterday.

Not one person lamented this,

No feelings in disarray;

A spare place at the table.

Twist in the tube

Not long after leaving school, I got the job of lab. assistant, for ABM.  My job was to analyze grains for the production of beer and whiskey.  I was very puffed up with self importance, even though I was constantly having to leave the lab, walk down the hall to my boss and ask how to do the calculations.  {this being pre computer days}  I had a bank of test tubes over burners, into which I had to put some grain and five drops of hydrochloric acid, which I then cooked.  The steam went up and over the equipment, via lengths of rubber tubing and the resultant distilled liquid collected in another set of test tubes, ready for analysis.  Well, one day, feeling a tad groggy from the night before, I got one of my rubber tubes twisted.  You could hear the resultant explosion down the hall, where I was, once again pestering my boss.  I had destroyed the apparatus and we had acid dripping from the ceiling for a day.  I should have been sacked but I think my boss had a soft spot for me.  I never lived it down, though.I got married a year later and never went back to that sort of work…..no surprise really.

Get a Life

A psychologist is urging people to get off Facebook and other social networking sites, and get a life instead.

Dr Aric Sigman says the amount of time we spend with each other has slumped dramatically and in turn is damaging our health.

He says our devotion to such sites could alter the way genes work, upset immune responses, hormone levels, and the function of arteries, and influence mental performance.

Levels of hormones such as the "cuddle chemical" oxytocin, which promotes bonding, altered according to whether people were in close contact or not.

This could increase the risk of health problems as serious as cancer, strokes, heart disease, and dementia.

Dr Sigman spells out his warning in the latest issue of Biologist, the journal of the Institute of Biology, and maintains that social networking sites have played a significant role in people becoming more isolated.

He said: "Social networking is the internet's biggest growth area, particular among young children.

"A quarter of British children have a laptop or computer in their room by the age of five and they have their own social networking sites, like the BBC's myCBBC. It's causing huge changes."

Dr Sigman said 209 "socially regulated" genes have been identified, including ones involved in the immune system, cell proliferation and responses to stress.

Electronic media is also undermining the ability of children and young people to learn vital social skills and read body language, he said.

Dr Sigman continued: "One of the most pronounced changes in the daily habits of British citizens is a reduction in the number of minutes per day that they interact with another human being.

"In less than two decades, the number of people saying there is no one with whom they discuss important matters nearly tripled.

"Parents spend less time with their children than they did only a decade ago. Britain has the lowest proportion of children in all of Europe who eat with their parents at the table. The proportion of people who work at home alone continues to rise.

"I am worried about where this is all leading. It's not that I'm old fashioned in terms of new technology, but the purpose of any new technology should be to provide a tool that enhances our lives.

"Social networking sites should allow us to embellish our social lives, but what we find is very different. The tail is wagging the dog. These are not tools that enhance, they are tools that displace."

Research suggests the number of hours people spend interacting face-to-face has fallen dramatically since 1987 as electronic media use increases.