Cyclothymia

No more nippy cockles.

Not your average snuggle fest: a baby hippo orphaned by the tsunami has been adopted by a giant tortoise. Teh snuggwy wuggwy cuteness is making my eyes ache. I realize I'm a bit behind the curve on this, since a book about the two of them was on the NYT bestseller list last March, but what the fuck, is it my fault that my team of cute-animal-story-trackers didn't alert me promptly to this goldmine?

In other animal news, I am currently deeply and totally consumed with lust for marine fish tanks. Yes, I still love my freshwater one, and no, I'm not a disloyal bitch as some people have implied, kicking my poor little wet babies to the curb. See, here I am, showing them some love.

However, since I'm a diver, I've always also wanted a saltwater one. There was just the minor problem of saltwater tanks being ridiculously expensive to put together, expensive to maintain and fill with animals, difficult at times to manage, and had so much equipment associated with them that they were either an eyesore, or required, yes, a lot of expensive cabinetry to conceal all of the supporting crap.

But now I've come across the Red Sea Max Aquarium, an all-in-one 34 gallon saltwater aquarium. It's designed to make keeping a saltwater tank as simple as possible: no fretting about what equipment to choose, how to hide it, how to fit it all together - they figured that all out and neatly packaged it for you, and by all accounts the product is extremely high quality. It is not cheap for its size, but everything is included, and is nicely concealed. Unfortunately, to get the tank and stock it would run a minimum of $1000, and that is too much right now. I wonder if there are saltwater aquarium scholarships I can apply for? I even did little layouts for the tank in photoshop to figure out where everything would go. Sigh.

Here is one of my favorite "Tank of the Month" tanks from ReefKeeping.com.

That one is a smidge larger than 34 gallons.

Last One, I Swear

This will be the last political post, since I'm preaching to the choir and all. And because it's the last one, it's a novel. Hehe. I realize I've been a little giddy, and very ungracious about the recent elections. You have to keep in mind, however, that during the 2000 elections I was living in Omaha, NE. I have to say, the people there were very nice about our political differences, but they sure as hell didn't disguise their unbridled joy at installing Bush. I suppose some of them might even say that their joy then was the same in nature as my joy now. They were so anti-Clinton that I think a monkey could have won their vote if it identified as republican and born-again christian. Of course, monkeys are smarter than that, so we got Bush instead.

Wascally Wittle Animal Shelter

To the animal shelter that just sent me an email requesting the rights to use this picture of Luger I have on flickr:

I can't say I have a clear reason to have a problem with this - although it's obviously a unique and kick-ass picture, I'm pretty sure there is nothing truly nefarious you can do with it - but in the least it does strike me as an odd request.

Seeings as you are an animal shelter, I would figure you would want to promote your own animals, no? Or are you planning a bait-and-switch manuever, of the sort real estate agents pull?

"Well folks, the german shepherd juuuuuuust went, but we do have this wonderful option that is basically the same, except it's called a cocker spaniel."

Because I have to tell you, most people can identify a german shepherd, even from a picture. Or is it that you don't have a camera, and you just want to show a representative pet? You will have to add a disclaimer, of course:

"May be substituted with model of similar value."

In that case, you should know that we consider Luger to be priceless, which might make substitutions of equal value tricky.

Now With 30% Less Enjoyment

Preggers has been on a feline version of atkins for something like six months now, and I'm pleased to report that she has gone from a very chubby twelve pounds to a relatively svelte eight and a half. That is a 30% loss, people! The final goal is seven pounds, so she still has a way to go, but it's still an amazing change. All three cats have lost weight, but the difference in Preggers is amazing. Did you know she has hips? And shoulder blades?! SHOULDER BLADES, people, pointy parts!

I am so happy for her; she's definitely healthier, she doesn't knock the wind out of herself jumping off the couch anymore, she doesn't wheeze when she plays, and I'm definitely glad we'll likely be able to avoid the whole diabetes management plan. I do have a confession, however. It's hard to admit. I'm embarrassed, but I need to get it off my chest. Here goes - I liked cuddling with her better when there was more to love. I'm a chubby chaser. I don't like the pointy parts, it's like petting a picket fence. Sigh.

Anything you can do, I can do better.

One of the best aspects of having a mac is all of the free creative software that comes with it - garage band is cool, but iMovie has really allowed me to take my sick obsession with my cats to a whole new level. Frightening for everyone else, but very entertaining for me.

Don't you judge me, I can't help myself.

How Awkward

I've been wondering what sex my two african dwarf frogs are - mostly because males do a cool singing thing that I was looking forward to hearing. Well, that question was answered on Sunday when I walked in on the two of them in flagrante delicto. "Aw, cute," I said. Now that they've apparently been at it for 24+ hours, I'm a little less enchanted. Awed, but not enchanted.