Another year, Piggy, another year. Locations have changed, but you are still up to the same thing:
What do you have to say for yourself?
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Happy Birthday to MonkeyPig!!
Go, Cards!!!
61 years, people! Arizona has waited 61 years to get to the NFC Championships. The bird has matured--it might have lost that insane "That's it, now you've gone too far" glint in its eyes, but it is replaced by a reasoned determination.
OMG! TOUCHDOWN CARDINALS!!
UPDATE:
(artwork by Nonny Nu, copyright 2009)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Most Dangerous Thing About Rabbits...
...is that they like to silflay. Here is an account of what happens when kitties are removed from the environment and rabbits are left to silflay without interruption:
(From Yahoo!)
Removing cats to protect birds backfires on island
BANGKOK, Thailand – It seemed like a good idea at the time: Remove all the feral cats from a famous Australian island to save the native seabirds.
But the decision to eradicate the felines from Macquarie island allowed the rabbit population to explode and, in turn, destroy much of its fragile vegetation that birds depend on for cover, researchers said Tuesday.
Removing the cats from Macquarie "caused environmental devastation" that will cost authorities 24 million Australian dollars ($16.2 million) to remedy, Dana Bergstrom of the Australian Antarctic Division and her colleagues wrote in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology.
"Our study shows that between 2000 and 2007, there has been widespread ecosystem devastation and decades of conservation effort compromised," Bergstrom said in a statement.
The unintended consequences of the cat-removal project show the dangers of meddling with an ecosystem — even with the best of intentions — without thinking long and hard, the study said.
"The lessons for conservation agencies globally is that interventions should be comprehensive, and include risk assessments to explicitly consider and plan for indirect effects, or face substantial subsequent costs," Bergstrom said.
Located about halfway between Australia and the Antarctic continent, Macquarie was designated a World Heritage site in 1997 as the world's only island composed entirely of oceanic crust. It is known for its wind-swept landscape, and about 3.5 million seabirds and 80,000 elephant seals arrive there each year to breed.
The cats, rabbits, rats and mice are all nonnative species to Macquarie, probably introduced in the past 100 years by passing ships. Authorities have struggled for decades to remove them.
The invader predators menaced the native seabirds, some of them threatened species. So in 1995, the Parks and Wildlife Service of Tasmania that manages Macquarie tried to undo the damage by removing most of the cats.
Several conservation groups including the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Birds Australia said the problem was not the original eradication effort itself — but that it didn't go far enough. They said the project should have taken aim at all the invasive mammals on the island at once.
"What was wrong was that the rabbits were not eradicated at the same time as the cats," University of Auckland Prof. Mick Clout, who also is a member of the Union's invasive species specialist group. "It would have been ideal if the cats and rabbits were eradicated at the same time, or the rabbits first and the cats subsequently."
Liz Wren, a spokeswoman for the Parks and Wildlife Service of Tasmania, said authorities were aware from the beginning that removing the feral cats would increase the rabbit population. But at the time, researchers argued it was worth the risk considering the damage the cats were doing to the seabird populations.
"The alternative was to accept the known and extensive impacts of cats and not do anything for fear of other unknown impacts," Wren said. "Since cats were eradicated, the grey petrel successfully bred on the island for the first time in a century and the recovery of Antarctic prions has continued since the eradication of feral cats."
Now, the parks service has a new plan to finish the job, using technology and poisons that weren't available a decade ago.
Wren said plans to eradicate both rabbits as well as rats and mice from the island will begin in 2010. Helicopters using global positioning systems will drop poisonous bait that targets all three pests. Later, teams will shoot, fumigate and trap the remaining rabbits, she said.
Some of the earlier critics are now behind this latest eradication effort, saying it should help the island's ecosystem fully recover because it would remove the last remaining invasive species.
"Without this action, there will be serious long-term consequences for the majestic seabirds which nest on the island including the four threatened albatross species, and for the health of the island ecosystem as a whole," said Dean Ingwersen, Bird Australia's threatened bird network coordinator.
"We believe that the process they are going to follow uses best practice for this type of work," Ingwersen said. "And that all possible ramifications have now been considered."
(emphasis added)
tsk tsk...
Monday, January 12, 2009
What's going to be in Nonny Nu's office?
by Cl. Panic, guest blogger and bearer of gifts
Our friendly rabbit isn't usually one to brag. But over a Nu, Nu & Nu, LLP, she was recently promoted to Grand Moff of Sector Group Delta. Along with the distinction comes the promise of long hours and Cup-O-Noodle feasts.
To recognize her achievement, and since she'll be in need of companionship, I intend to present her with this gift on Wednesday at noon (GMT-8).
But since everything on TWoNN requires a twist ... the TWoNN community is eligible to steal the package (white elephant style) by guessing its contents (in the comments) before Wednesday.
食粥食飯睇你.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Rotten Robbie
I have a question about the Rotten Robbie gas stations. Is this a major brand name chain or something? Because I've noticed that they charge even more than, say, Shell or Chevron. Check it out.
Exhibit A
There's a Rotten Robbie on Saratoga that's just down the street from a 76 station and a Chevron station. The 76 and Chevron stations are both in the heart of a busy shopping center, yet Rotten Robbie is selling their gas for 4 cents more per gallon than either the 76 and Chevron stations.
Exhibit B
There's a Rotten Robbie on DeAnza with a Chevron just a block away. Chevron has a carwash where actual people hand wash your car for you. Yet, Rotten Robbie is again selling its gas for 4 cents more per gallon, even though it is farther away from the 85 than the Chevron. Sure, there are the Arco and US Gas stations that are selling the gas for $2.05 (6 cents more per gallon) than Rotten Robbie, but they are right off of the 85.
So, how is Rotten Robbie getting away with this and why would people go there instead of the cheaper Chevron down the road? Do they offer massages while you wait or free tote bags? What gives?
Random Stuff (courtesy of Mr. Nonny Nu)
If you work at Nu Nu & Nu LLP, and if you walk past my door, you will sometimes hear me laugh out loud. The reason is because I receive stuff like the photos below from Mr. Nonny Nu.
OMG, cute sloth!
Secret Project: Girl Name
Okay, I need a girl name. Choose one from below or choose the "other" option and suggest one in a comment. The girl name has to be of a girl that I don't know. The only exception is "Carrie," but I like that one.
Poll closes Jan. 13, 2009 at 12:15 AM (PST).
Monday, January 5, 2009
Calendars
It's time to create the calendars. I need twelve nouns. You can post one noun per comment, limit 2 nouns per person. Go.
Chinese Idiom of the Day V
Other editions of Chinese Idiom of the Day:
Chinese Idiom of the Day I
Chinese Idiom of the Day II
Chinese Idiom of the Day III
Chinese Idiom of the Day IV
Chinese New Year is January 26. In honor of the occasion, I will be posting a Chinese idiom each day until CNY in the scrolling marquee at the top of the blog. I've done the first one (畫蛇添足) and provided the literal translation (Draw snake, add legs.). I have also provided the meaning (You are being unnecessarily extravagant and spoiling the whole thing in the process.).
Now, it's your turn--guess its meaning! (Good luck to the non-Cantonese speakers out there, mwahahahahahahahaa!!!)
P.S. There will be a "click me" link in the marquee that will bring you to this blog entry.
Sample: 畫蛇添足 (Draw snake, add legs.)
Meaning: You are being unnecessarily extravagant and spoiling the whole thing in the process. (credit: Nonny Nu)
Jan. 5: 食得鹹魚, 抵得渴 (Eat the salted fish, stand the thirst.)
Meaning: You've made your bed, now lie in it. (credit: Freelance Midget)
Jan. 5: 等你, 蛇都死 (Wait for you? Even a snake will die.)
Meaning: ...take a long time... (credit: Mr. Nonny Nu)
Jan. 5: 我食鹽多過你食米 (I eat salt more than you eat rice.)
Meaning: I have more experience than you. Or sadly, I am older than you. (credit: Q-Ma)
Jan 6: 塞錢入你袋 (Put money into your pocket.)
Meaning: Give someone advice or tip. (credit: Cl. Panic)
Jan 12: 過橋抽板 (Cross bridge, pick up and retain board)
Hint: This refers to a bridge that consists of a single board.
Meaning: To abandon or screw over someone. (credit: Q-Ma)
Jan. 15: 先斬後奏 (Execute first, and then notify the king.)
Meaning: _____
Update on the Non
I'm sure you're wondering what the hell has happened to the rabbit, aren't you? Well, I've been wondering whether I should talk about it on the blog because you people actually know me. But, I'm secure enough in our friendship that I've decided to come out with it.
I guess I'm a bit bummed. Have been for a while. Not sure why. It's just a feeling of being lost and a failure and a fraud. A general feeling of malaise. Last night, on The History Channel, they had a thing on the Seven Deadly Sins and the one I'm committing right now is sloth, btw. Anyhow, there you have it. That's why I haven't been writing. I am normally a very optimistic person, and even when I have slumps, they usually disappear within 3-4 hours. A day, max. But, I'm just not sure why I am not shaking this.
Mr. Nonny Nu says that I should make an effort to actually make this a new year, a new beginning. I'm trying. But all that is just reminding me of how old I am and that time is marching on.
I am betting that you've all heard of Twilight (the movie) and have also heard of the Twilight series (the books). (Wow, I'm really spilling all my guts now, but that will be my New Year Resolution--to be more truthful and write more about my feelings this year on the blog.) I have a very rich imagination and the only thing I have not been able to fantasize about are married and unavailable men (I just don't feel right doing that). I'm talking about the innocuous fantasies like when Christian Bale opens the door for you or has dinner with you. Get your minds out of the gutter. The girls will know what I'm talking about.
Okay, back to the story. So, Midge and I went to see Twilight in early December. I had low hopes for it, thinking that it was a teeny bopper flick, which it was. But, the story itself was so interesting, that I bought the book that night and finished it the next day. I then finished the entire series in the next week (three additional books).
Alright, don't laugh, but I'm gonna let you in a ridiculous secret. I am not waiting for some vampire to bite my neck. What is troubling me is that I can't even imagine myself in that storyline because those characters are so dang young. I mean, I feel completely ridiculous. Wow, that has never happened to me before, not being able to put myself in a storyline, no matter how removed from reality it is. And because of what? Age. I'm 33.5, and absolutely nothing exciting has ever happened to me. No hostage situation, no bank robbery, no nothing. I can't even say it's going to go downhill from here because there is no lower score on the Excitement Scale than the one my life has right now. And, no, I'm not talking about my life at this point. I'm talking about my entire life.
Kill me now.
On a lighter note, I am starting a new project and will be running some polls throughout the next several months to ask for your opinions on the project's direction. Your input will be greatly appreciated.
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