Les marmottes-tôt de Février

A dilemma: chocolate chips or currants for the paws?

These early groundhogs will be going to my French class.

Getting Ready for February 2

How do you like my groundhog faces?

Free range poultry at Loblaws

There was a pigeon swooping around inside the Loblaws on Rideau Street this afternoon.

This was not an advertised special.

As I far as I could tell, I was the only one who noticed it. I've seen little birds like sparrows in grocery stores before, but this was the first time I've seen a pigeon.

Maybe it's time they brought in some hawks or falcons.

Bonus link: Pigeon Photographers

Uses for Binder Clips: Laser Pencil

Woodsy who is on a bit of a roll at Coloured Marbles lately has developed an excellent new use for a single binder clip. She says:

I unintentionally came up with another use for binder clips while fiddling during a long meeting.

I can now:

• easily pick up my pencil (great for anyone with arthritis),
• prevent the pencil from rolling off the meeting table,
• prevent chewing my pencil (see the bite marks?), and
• subtly aim it at speakers that are boring me and pretend it is a silencing laser!

One reason I check my spam folder

Do you remember an old pre-internet letter we all used to get every couple of years? The letter had been around the world nine times and good luck would come if you copied it and mailed it to 20 people. The letter reported how various people with names like Constantine Dias and Aria Daddit had terrible things happen when they failed to forward the letter but then good things happened when they remembered the letter and followed the instructions.

This message that wound up in my spam folder today somehow reminded me of that old letter and made me wistful for it:

From: Detective Yasushi Uzawa Subject: RE:ARE YOU DEAD OR STILL ALIVE ???? To: Date: Sunday, November 13, 2011, 2:54 AM I am Detective Yasushi Uzawa, a Japanese, I am in charge of scammed victims compensation scheme propagated by the United Nations.My appointment came as a result of the meeting held by the United Nation Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon and African Leaders.

After series of meetings and deliberations, it was concluded that a foreigner should be the chairman, as the African citizens that held the post in the past made no difference; instead they worsen the situation, by defrauding the scammed victims more.

You are enlisted as one of scammed victms that shall will recieve a compensation of $800,000.00 US Dollars (Eight Hundred Thousand United State Dollars) The commission has mapped out modalities and procedures that shall enable you recieve the compensation . (i) You are to forward all the names and telephone numbers of people you have sent money in the past, this will enable us apprehend them and try to get the money you sent to them back. (ii)You are advised to stop forth contact with any government agencies, ministers, commissions, panels of any sort, apex banks or commercial banks, as the continuous contact with these agencies will complicate your transactions. (iii) Reconfirm the following information (a) Your full name and address, (b) Phone, fax and mobile #.

On this note, you are advised to indicate your interest by applying for the Deduction Certificate. This is the only chance to rightly get what belong to us from African Government; we have gone through a lot from Africans. Contact us now. Detective Yasushi Uzawa Executive Chairman scammed victims compensation scheme (SVCS)

A cursory Google search on Yasushi Uzawa turns up a scam email from 2009. It is good to see that he has now gone legitimate and is working for the other side. Unfortunately, I don't believe I've ever been scammed, so have no honest claim on the $800,000.00 US Dollars (Eight Hundred Thousand United State Dollars) he is offering.

Uses for Binder Clips: Cat Doors and ODD

When you install your screened-in porch, you may find that your cat is reluctant to use her new swinging cat door.

At first, our cat Magi did not at all seem to like the idea of pushing against the screen flap.

Holding her and pushing her through resulted in very unpleasant struggles.

Young Zander tried to demonstrate by pushing his own head through. But perhaps because the rest of his body would not go through or perhaps because Magi suffers from Oppositional Defiance Disorder like everyone else in this household, Magi still did not take to the new door.

After Manon put a binder clip on the flap to keep it partly open, Magi got the idea she could enter and leave the porch on her own with no assistance. The binder clip was adjusted to have the flap lower and lower and now, Magi is in and out like she owns the place. With no assistance and no binder clip.

This should cut down on scratching damage to the screen door and demonstrates that sometimes the best way to deal with the oppositionally defiant is to let them come to the right decision in their own time.

Looks like Steampunk is mainstream

Bad news for all you kids who thought steampunk is the cool insider cult thing. It's gone mainstream.

How do I know? What's my proof?

Judge the evidence for yourself.

Steampunk is costume idea #8 in Value Village's Alter your Ego campaign. It comes with its own little info sheet on a rack in between "Cowboy" and "Ninja".