Odds and sods

Temporary respite in the gales lashed on us the last two days. Maybe now it's safe to go outside without being menaced by street furniture. Her Catness is happy enough, for one of the aerial cables strung from the tenement roof has been severed and is snaking invitingly outside the window, requiring Her full attention. She fails the test for Cat Mastermind because She attempts repeatedly to catch it through the glass. That could be my fault for crumbling the last of H.'s homegrown catnip for Her this morning, giving Her madly dilated pupils. Her associates know better than to try to engage when She has 'big eyes'.

To keep in my scientific hand, I conducted the withdrawal phase of my n=1 study this last fortnight. Method; suspend topical antifungal treatment for M. furfur for 10 days. Results: Experiment suspended at day 10 when itching and follicular rash returned. Conclusions: PF confirmed, and GP is a twat.

Misanthropy reaches its height this month, for I fucking hate both Xmas and New Year. Normally this attitude is controlled (if not eliminated) by regular dogwalks, but the weather's been keeping me in. We'll be taking refuge on Xmas with H. and Peter Ballocks, when H. and I are planning a fish extravaganza. We're all anti- turkey, though stuffing is one of my favourite foods. My local folks are thankfully low-key through a mixture of anti-consumerism and Judaism. My dad often involves the kiddos in Channukah; a candlelit, story-filled festival of the chosen people.

On a gastropod theme, some may (like me) enjoy this site on Giant African Land Snails. I was pressured by the kiddos last year to acquire one such as a pet, but resisted despite a love of invertebrates. Reminded them of the outcome on Sticky-Boy and Sticky-Girl some years ago. I particularly recommend the section on anatomy, including diagrams of snail internal organ arrangement. Once one realises the diversity of reproductive stategies on this planet, one can never think of sex the same way.