anniemiz

Howdy, Neighbor!

This little guy is the cutest neighbor evar!!1!  I've been trying to get a picture of him for some time now, but I never have my camera handy, but yesterday the stars aligned and I got these pictures.

 

This groundhog has been hanging around for a while now, munching his way through various yards' vegetation.  That's the neighbor's shed in the picture above.  Doesn't it look like Mr. Groundhog is heading home after a long day of eating?

At this point, I think he heard me as I was taking pictures of him from my back porch.  He started to go under the shed...he often goes under there...but then he hung out front a little longer.

Here he's all, 'Just hanging out in mah front yard, enjoying the crisp autumn day.'

He eventually moseyed on past the shed...

...and around the corner...

...no doubt to work that part of his back four.  I guess he's getting ready for winter.  You should see him when he hurries...galump, galump!  So cute.  I wonder if his fur is very soft...maybe it's rough or coarse.  For some reason, I think of him as a male, although I suppose it could be a female.  I've already designated as female a neighbor's pretty cat who also hangs out in our backyards.  She's probably a female bco coloring usually occurs in female cats.  So I'll make this critter Mr. Groundhog.
 

oink

Cute Overload has found the swine flu's Patient Zero!

Patient Zero

by Meg on April 30, 2009

A-HA!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Flapper Duck!

Today is Mr. Flapper Duck's 5th birthday.  Mr. Flapper Duck is...you guessed it...a duck.  Somehow I stumbled upon his blog and let me tell you I have learned soooo much about ducks!  First and foremost, they are a lot of work.  I had no idea that ducks reach full size in just 5 weeks and that they can live 10-20 years!

So head on over to his blog, read about Flapper and his fellow ducks, his peeps, his new aviary and, if that's not enough duck for you, there's Flapper-Cam!

Here's a portrait of the duck as a young duck (all pix are from Flapper's website):

And here's the handsome fellow today:

 

Listen, I don't know much about ducks, but I know for An Indisputable Fact that Flapper is one good looking duck (and what beautiful pictures Tiffany [his person] takes).  Happy birthday, big guy!  Quack on!

Dinner and a Dog

 Our friend Carol treated us to a delicious Third Saturday Dinner meal and I'm here to tell you all about it.  I'm late posting about this, so Carol may need to correct me on the details.  First up was a chilled avocado soup from this NYTimes recipe.

The just-cooked shrimp was a tasty garnish.  It was also visually appealing the way the little shrimp gave off big steam from being nestled in the chilled soup.  The soup is very rich and very thick; that big ol' bowl would be more than enough for a meal.

Next up was a delicious chicken and shrimp paella which I think is also a Mark Bittman recipe.

 

It was my favorite part of the dinner, I must admit.  The dish is especially attractive bc it's a one-dish dish: everything cooks in that one dish.  Awesome! 

Dessert was a seasonal appropriate (this was during the summer, mind you) strawberry cream pie.

 

And now for the dog part of Dinner and a Dog.  Carol was dog-sitting the friendly and lovable Chip.

 

Chip is a complete and total mushball.  He will cuddle with anyone.  Anyone.  If Stalin were around, he'd cuddle with Stalin.  Here Chip poses with the eminently wonderful Tara, daughter of Stephanie, who stopped by during dinner.

 

Besides a dee-lish dinner, there was lively banter, good conversation and a repectable amount of wine consumption.

It's Carol's turn again soon.  That means it was our turn, but what the heck did we make?  That's not a good sign, that I can't remember it!

Friday Cat Skunk Blogging: Frankie Comes to Town

Today, we bring  you a Very Special Episode of Friday Cat Blogging.  Kevin has an affinity for the neighborhood critters, such as skunks, possums, birds, chipmunks, the occasional fox, groundhogs, etc.   He likes to see them happy and healthy.   To that end, he occasionally puts out eats for some of them.  He put up a new bird feeder earlier this summer.  It provides daily eats to numerous of our feathered friends while simultaneously providing entertainment to our cats.

He's not that crazy about squirrels bc, I suspect, they can be such ungrateful little gluttons, eating anything and everything in sight.

A new favorite is 'Frank', who looks to be a perfect example of Mephitis mephitis, the striped skunk.  Here he's eating some peanuts Kevin put out for him.

He doesn't always put food out for him bc he doesn't want Frank to become dependent.  A better view of his stripage:

Frank is the successor to Odie, a beautiful skunk who used to frequent our backyard.  Unfortunately, we have not seen Odie in several months.  The University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web page about the striped skunk tells us that:

Up to 90% of skunks die in their first winter. In the wild skunks may live to be 2 to 3 years old. In captivity they have been known to survive for up to 15 years.

It's possible that Odie is no longer with us since we saw him (or at least we think it was him) last year and this year.  Our friend Carol down a few blocks tells us that her neighbor tells her that they saw a fluffy white skunk recently.  Odie does look a little different from Frank and most skunks we've seen in these parts in that Odie appeared a lot fluffier and a lot whiter.  Perhaps Odie has moved closer to town?  Perhaps the sighting was of a a relative of Odie's?

The first link in this post is from the NJ Audubon Society and tells us that the striped skunk is the only skunk in NJ.  Here's a picture of a striped skunk from the UMich site:

That's a little closer to what Odie looks like: more white, fluffier fur.  This post on the blog, Nature In My Yard, has a lovely picture of a striped skunk who looks very much like Odie in that his stripes were so wide they almost merged.

Check out the spotted skunk:

Spirogale putorius (Eastern spotted skunk):

Spirogale gracilis (Western spotted skunk):

Now those are some fine looking skunks.

This concludes our Very Special Broadcast of Friday Cat Blogging.  Normal broadcasts will resume next Friday.

Kittens and puppies and bikers and bears, oh my!

From the About page on their website, Rescue Ink:

You may find us hanging out together at a hot rod show, tattoo parlors, or even hitting up the blacktop together on our bikes for a little road trip, but the main thing that brings us together is our love of animals. We met because we were all doing the same thing on our spare time: rescuing and finding homes for abandoned and abused animals. None of us did it for money; we did it because we cannot stand by while anyone mistreats an animal!

We formed Rescue Ink™ because the problem of animal abuse and neglect has grown beyond the resources of the existing animal welfare agencies. We love the work done by some of the local shelters, but they cannot possibly keep pace with the volume of problems that need to be addressed.

That's where Rescue Ink™ comes in. We will stop at nothing within the bounds of the law to protect animals at risk. We will intercede without hesitation when we are informed of a situation that needs to be addressed, and we will address it. If we need to convince people to do the right thing ... we can be very convincing, we'll even buy animals if that's what it takes to get them away from abusers.

Rescue Ink™ is all about zero tolerance when it comes to animal abuse and neglect. Our ranks are growing every day, as Americans from coast to coast are reaching out to join in our efforts. If you know something we should know, give us a call... NOW!

Kittens!

Puppies!

Bikers!  I love this picture; it's like out of a movie.

Bears!  Oh my!

The bear is $17.99 at the group's Stuff page.  Of course, there's the requisite thong for $10.99.

Via Cute Overload.

Plan B

Well, Dear Readers, I've decided to go with Plan B.  No, not that Plan B.  Plan A was to get a philosophy PhD and then get a job teaching philosophy (that's the highly abridged version, btw).  I've been working at Plan A for some time now, yet have decided to switch to Plan B.  Plan B is to work with animals, most likely as a veterinary technician, and preferably in a veterinary hospital, veterinary specialist, a shelter or in a research lab (i.e., a lab working on vet drugs, not a lab testing human drugs on animals).

A number of factors went into this decision; I'll just do a brain dump here.

• Time: It will take a long time to get the PhD.  I'm working on a MA part-time now; that will take a couple of years.  The PhD takes 5 years, at a minimum.  We're looking at at least 8 years before I can look for a job.  Edited to add: If we take into consideration the speed at which I've been progressing, we're looking at >8 years.
• Financial: My MA is self-funded.  One course = $2,500.  I have to take 8 or 10 courses for the MA.  At 8 courses, that's $20,000.  (The PhD programs are generally funded; it's unwise to pay for a PhD yourself, unless you have $100,000 to spare; job prospects and pay are not so good as to warrant taking on $100,000 in loans).
• Job market: As mentioned above, there are quite a few more candidates than there are jobs.
• Qualification: Because the job market is so tight, I could expect that most and best jobs go to graduates of the top institutions.  Most people use The Philosophical Gourmet Report's ranking of PhD departments.  (There are certainly disagreements about The Report.)  So I'd want to be a graduate of a top institution.  A couple of years ago, I was fortunate enough to get into 3 institutions on the Report's list of the approximately 50 top departments.  Unfortunately, all the offers were unfunded.  I don't expect that I will do any better in the future; i.e., I think that's the closest I will get to securing a funded PhD position. 
• Chance: I've often read/heard people talk about the role of chance in philosophy PhD graduate admissions and job hiring.  E.g., I've heard the former described as a 'crapshoot', a 'roll of the dice', etc.  I have no idea how much chance has played a role in my experience, if at all, but I'll put it out there as something the possibility of which I would need to accept if I were to continue.
• Personality: I'm not sure I'm a good fit for academic philosophy.  I sense an atmosphere of competitiveness; I think I'm ill-suited to such an environment.  I'm quite content competing with myself; I have no interest in competing with others.  Years ago, in my corporate life, one Big Shot Exec asked Another Big Shot Exec (they had very different styles) if they thought the firm benefits more from competition between employees or cooperation between employees.  Another Big Shot Exec was quite certain that competition was more beneficial (and that was reflected in his style), while One Big Shot Exec was quite certain it was cooperation (and that was reflected in her style).  I agree with the latter and, fortunately, I was working for her at the time.  I'd much rather work with someone else as opposed to compete against them.  There has been some discussion about the field's atmosphere, so let me be explicit about:
• My comments reflect my experiences and perceptions only.
• My comments do not describe the entire field, departments, sub-departments, etc.  To be sure, there are great collaborations in the field.  And I have met many wonderful people; some have been exceedingly helpful and generous with their time and advice; others are perpetually interesting; some are flat out just great people; and many are all kinds of good things put together.
• So, while I am delighted to note the very positive experiences I have had these last few years, I must also admit that I do not feel as comfortable as I would like to feel, especially if I'm going to be doing this for the rest of my life.
• Bottom line re: these caveats: It's not you, it's me.
• Fun: The fun parts, for me, are reading and thinking about stuff (which is basically done alone) and talking with other people. I do not imagine myself enjoying certain other responsibilities of the academic philosopher.  It's a rare person who enjoys every aspect of their job, however, I think that working at the less enjoyable aspects within an environment to which I am not well-suited is a recipe for significant and recurring unhappiness.  I don't need/want that. I think I may be better suited to the life of an armchair philosopher, rather than an academic philosopher.

As to why go into veterinary work:

• Time: It will take approximately 2 years to complete 70 credits (see here for one program's curriculum).  There are a lot of courses, but most are <2 credits.  Also, some programs are online (see the linked curriculum).  NJ has two vet tech programs.  One is at Camden Community College.  That would be really far to drive on a regular basis and, sorry Camden people, but Camden is, shall we say, less friendly than optimal, so I wouldn't go there for personal safety reasons.  The other one is at Bergen Community College.  That's also a bit of a haul to drive on a to and through a very congested area on a regular basis.  True, I used to drive to classes before a couple of times a week, but I imagine that drive was much simpler than the drive to Bergen.  Now, IIUC, the program there is some kind of joint program with other county colleges, including the county I live in.  They probably offer some of the requisite courses there and that's about a half hour drive away.  Thing is, the Bergen program has probational accreditation and that makes me a little nervous.  I'm totally open to going to school online.  The program at Purdue looks interesting.  Now, they do say that online students typically take longer to complete the program bc they're working full-time and/or have family obligations (probably why they chose to do it online in the first place), but I don't think those factors are as significant for me as it is for others.  And I'll guess that I have any humanities requirements well covered. 
• Financial: Well, I thought it would be less expensive than a philosophy MA, but 70 credits at $255 each = $17,850.  Hmmph.  I certainly expect to be able to work more while following the online program so that should help financially.
• Job Market: Excellent, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.  Earnings aren't great, but a) they're more than I'd make as an unemployed philosopher (although some have found other ways of making a living); b) I live in one of the highest paying areas of the country so I'll earn toward the higher end; and c) if I specialize (which I expect I'll want to do, maybe oncology), I'll earn more.
• Qualification: I really don't expect to have much problem completing the program.  I hope I don't end up having to remove both feet from my mouth.
• Personality: I think I'm a good fit for the veterinary field.  I'm very comfortable with animals; I like animals and animal people; it strikes me as more of a team effort (note, however, that, as someone pointed out to me, 'There's no team without ME') and I'm very good in cooperative efforts.  I've also had the opportunity to be a consumer of advanced and unusual veterinary services, what with the various illnesses of our cats, and I think it's fascinating.
• Fun: I expect that I will enjoy veterinary work more than I would enjoy the life of an academic philosopher.  When I imagine myself doing the different types of work, I imagine more enjoyment and reward (which, for me, produces enjoyment) from veterinary work.  In fact, I find myself smiling at many prospects.  Of course, I could be way off; I hope I'm not.
• Edited to add: Physicality: I like doing stuff with my hands, as readers may have noticed from posts about cooking, knitting, doing stuff around the house, gardening, etc.

Now, this isn't a done deal bc I do need to do some more research on the veterinary side of things.  I've done some preliminary research, but I want to make sure I have a complete picture of things before I go hurtling down that path.  I do have some misgivings about making this switch, but that's a whole 'nuther post.  Right now, I have to have lunch, do some other stuff and head off to work.

Holy Baby Bats, Batman!

Via Cute Overload, the story:

The orphaned baby fruit bats are being raised at a rescue centre after a plague of poisonous ticks swept through their colony.

...

Normally adults carry their baby on their back but as those which have been infected slowly die, the youngsters, with no mother to feed them, also perish.

"We walk around the bat colony in the Bush every day and you can hear the young bats crying for their mothers," said Jenny Maclean, who runs the rescue centre on the Atherton Tablelands in northern Queensland.

*****

Huh.  I can't seem to get back to the left margin.  The excerpts above are pretty much the whole story, but the important thing is the pictures!  Check out the little feller in the middle: he's all 'I got my blankie and my binky...things are looking up.'  And that lady looks pretty darn happy.

Hmmm, what is it like to be a baby bat?

Fun with Falcons

My bro sent me this link to Pitt's Falconcam.  The cam has been turned off until next year bc the chicks have left the nest, but click here for a slideshow of highlights from this season. Neat.

Vacay By The Bay

I meant to be back blogging, but our intarwebbery connection is all kinds of funky so I've not been able to log on enough.  I'm not sure what's going on; the current theory is that there's something wrong w/the wireless adapter in my laptop, which is the pc that was used to set up the wireless for Kevin & my pc's.  I hope to resolve that soon.  Being w/o a connection to world wide webbery is like having withdrawal symptoms.  It's not pretty.

Kevin & I had a lot of fun in San Francisco a coupla weeks ago.  He had some conference to go to there for a couple of days, so I tagged along and we added a couple more days.  We got there Tuesday afternoon and left Saturday morning.  Kevin was conferring all day Wednesday and part of Thursday, so we only had Tuesday evening, Thursday afternoon and Friday together there.

Kev often moans and groans about how I sleep in.  What can I say?  I'm not a morning person.  I've tried and tried to be a morning person and I stink at it.  I don't even mean especially early; 9:00 AM is pretty darn early for me.  So anyway Kevin expressed his concern, on several occasions pre-vacation, that I'd end up snoozing the days away in SF.  Well, not to worry.  I did snooze in a bit on Wednesday and Thursday, but I packed  our time together full of stuff.

Tuesday evening we walked down to and waddled along Fisherman's Wharf.  Checked out the sea lions.  Had dinner.  Then dessert at some chocolate store which I can't locate on the web at the moment.  Walked around some more.  Then back to our hotel.  Our hotel, btw, was very much businessperson-oriented.  It's the one Kevin's company encourages them to use bc they have some kind of membership thingie w/the hotel, plus there's a reduced rate for the conference attendees, etc., etc..  I'd never stayed in such a focussed hotel.  You go in, there are staff there at a front desk, but you can pretty much check yourself in at a kiosk.  The rooms are very small and very utilitarian.  Double bed.  Shower, no tub.  Our view was of an alley; I doubt other views were much better.  Desk with all kinds of hookups.  Fridge with bottled water and a bottled water station with refillable plastic bottles on each floor.  A lounge area with pcs and printers.  Wireless everywhere.  Sun deck on the roof.  Small gym.  Separate entance to the restaurant next door.  Even though it was very streamlined and businesslike, I kinda liked it.  You come, you go, you do your thing, you call the guy at the front if you need anything and they take care of it, etc.  I like that, which is weird bc I also like staying at cozy little B&Bs.  Anyway.  Moving on.

Kevin conferred all day next day, all through dinner.  True to my nature, I slept in a bit.  Before I headed out that day, I called the Marine Mammal Center that oversees the care of the sea lions at Pier 39.  The day before when we had been watching the sea lions, there was one youngish sea lion all by himself, far away from any other sea lion.  He didn't move much, which wasn't unusual bc they were all lying around like lazy layabouts.  But something didn't seem right with this fella.  When he did move, he moved differently from the others.  He moved using his rear more than his front.  The others moved by raising their front and using their front appendages to go forward.  This guy kinda moved like a half-inchworm (i.e., like he was half inchworm, not that he was a half-inch worm).  I figured the Center must know about it bc it seemed quite obvious that there are a lot of people and agencies concerned about the sea lions, but then I thought, what if everyone wondering about that sea lion figured someone else must have said something, but no one did?  So I called.  And yes, they were aware of and were watching that sea lion.  The woman I spoke with very kindly answered my questions, providing a little insight into caring for those sea lions.  IIUC, it's very difficult to get to a sea lion that's out there on the floating docks.  It's much easier if they beach themselves, but they kinda have to get themselves in a good position to receive help.

So I waddled up a big long street -- I think it was Market St. -- up to where it meets Van Ness.  I was going to see a play thereabouts, but wanted to stop somewhere for a nice dinner and then stop in at the main library branch for a program before going to the play.  The dinner pickings got slimmer the further up the street I went.  There was always a donut or fast food place, but I was on vacation and wanted someone to wait on me, dammit.  But first things first: it was early evening and it was cold.  I rummaged in my tote bag only to find that I had left my coat at the hotel.  I was not turning around, but figured it should be easy enough to find a place to buy an inexpensive light coat.  Not true; light coats were hard to come by.  I finally found a cheapo place called Gold Diggers that had about 5 light coats, one of which fit me.  It didn't match and I wouldn't have bought it otherwise, seeing as I didn't like it, but it kept me warm.

I took my mismatched self over to The Market Street Grill at the Hotel Whitcomb aka the Ramada.  It was pretty nice for a Ramada; looks like it's an old hotel bought up by the Ramada chain.  I felt fairly underdressed, but the few others there (it was early for dinner: five o'clock) didn't look very fancy, although their clothes matched.  I enjoyed my meal so much I that I decided to linger and skip the library program.  I started w/a mushroom bisque that had a small piece of seared salmon and a grilled shrimp in the middle of the bisque.  There was also a thin swirl of something white -- cream? -- in the bisque.  I decided right away to eat a little of everything so I would have room for a little of everything.  Next was a chicken pepperdalle (sp?).   Wide, sturdy homemade noodles, chicken, tiny vegetable cuts, raisins (I think), and some other yummy stuff in a thin to medium white sauce.  Finished up w/a nice pot o' tea and something chocolate and decadent (okay, I almost finished that).  I had a table near the window, allowing me to people-watch the leaving-work crowd when I wasn't enjoying my book.  I enjoyed being waited on, including the waiter flourishing the napkin onto my lap.  That works.

Having skipped the library program, I did take a few minutes to waddle through the main branch.  Quite overwhelming, compared to my little libraries.  Then I noodled over to the theatre, which was a small affair, at least physically speaking; don't know about its reputation, draws, etc..  Small is often very nice.  Pretty much every seat is a good seat, you can see the actors' expressions, it feels intimate, etc.  The play, 'Take Me Out', was fun.  Obviously, I'm not a big theatre person bc I hadn't heard of it even though it won the 2003 Tony Award for Best Play (along w/a coupla other Tonys).  I'll further embarrass myself as a non-aficionado of the theatre by noting that one of the most memorable things about my night at the theatre was that there was NO line at the womens' restroom during intermission (me and one other woman used the bathroom during the break), but there was QUITE the line at the mens' room.  Women take soooo fucking long in the bathroom.  If you're peeing, just get in and get out.  There's nothing to agonize over in there.  You can smooth your top down over your butt once you're out of the stall and that way you can even stand up tall and straight as you look at yourself sideways in the mirror as you perform the smoothing ritual.  You know what I'm talking about.

Okay, that's enough vacation chat for now.  More later, but bottom line: we really enjoyed our time there, short though it was.  Pictures will be up after I figure out what my freakin' internet problem is.