Sharm El Shark....

Come Tuesday, I am off to Sharm El Sheikh. Sharks or no sharks, it doesn't make me 'afraid' or 'weary' about going. The only thing that makes me weary is the fact that we may not be able to get to the airport due to the snow, or that the flight might be delayed for hours! I did book the holiday to be able to get in the water and see all the nice little tropical fishies and do a bit of snorkelling, but due to all the shark attacks recently, that might not happen too often. When I get the chance however, I will be in the water! So, lets give a little insight into sharks...

Sharks are the apex predators in the marine world, and though they are viewed as oppressing animals, they are actually the oppressed. Despite being quite intelligent animals, they are hunted by us humans in many countries for their meat and for shark fin soup, for which we kill millions per year. Their payback is by attacking how many of us each year? 60-70 shark attacks on humans annually, of which only a few result in death. If you ask me, that is quite reasonable compared to what we do to them! Its like winning the lottery....you probably have more chance of being shot, or be fatally hit on the head by a coconut falling from a palm tree, and will always end up saying "It will never happen to me."

Sharks have extremely keen olfactory senses allowing them to detect up to one part per million of blood in the water. Using their Ampullae of Lorenzini (sensory pores in their head) and lateral lines, they can detect movement and electromagnetic fields from possible prey from from miles away! However, they are usually deep water hunters as said, not a particular threat to humans, unless you look like a nice juicy seal at the surface. Those thought to be doing the damage in Sharm El Sheikh are white tip sharks, usually only found in deep water, but have recently been driven into the shallow reefs....sucks for the poor critters at their peril! Reef sharks are usually pretty 'friendly.'

Humans are not part of every sharks diet. The bull shark and tiger shark may be a bit more inclined to munch on us, but generally we do not 'contain' enough fat to provide enough energy for these magnificent creatures. What made us frightened of them where films such as Jaws... come on, are there really any sharks that size with a human killing spree the only thing on its mind? They are not mindless killing machines with humans as their number one choice!  Attacks are merely a curious animals way of investigating something it thinks might be food, and the problem with having no hands to do this, a bite is the only way possible. There is a few minutes grace after a 'bite', which usually poses the risk of the loss of a limb, and if the shark thinks 'yummy' or decides no. This is when someone should make for shore, but would usually mean splashing about a bit, thus leading to a bit of extra bleeding. Thrashing and bleeding makes someone seem more appetising and...hey hey!

So, even though we should learn to "understand the sea in all its beauty, mystery and power" (Peter Benchley), if you are in the water and are bitten by a shark, try not to splash about or bleed to much! Also, don't wear bright coloured swimwear!

Oceanic Whitetip Shark

Source: Educated Marine Scientist.... :P

Take a step back and look....

When do we ever do this??? When is the last time you ever have taken a step back and looked at yourself or just at the world in general. I know there doesn't seem to be anything exciting about the world, but stuff still happens, and its not always bad and stuff you don't want to hear, you just need to look closer. As random as this post seems, it was something I overheard 2 women and an old biddy rambling about at work one day last week that got me thinking. I will get back to that in a minute.

So when is it you would take a step back a look at yourself....a sort of re-evaluation in a manner of speaking??? How about these few things....

When you meet or lose someone
Making new friends and meeting new people
Losing someone close to you
Having some sort of accident
Being diagnosed with some sort of chronic disease
Starting a new job or leaving a job (or being sacked)
Moving out of home
Buying/renting your first house
Moving to another country
Reading something tragic happen to someone you know (like in a newspaper or on the news)

Most of the stuff here would make you think about life in general and what will happen if any of them happen to you. You will, probably without knowing, take a good look at yourself and all the people around you, whether it be your family, friends or both. most of them would make you think 'OMG' and give you a bit of a fright, or a shake. So next time you meet someone or lose someone, or start a job or leave one, realise that you wonder to yourself 'Do they like me' or 'Can I do this?'

Anyway, back to the women and biddy that lead to the creation of this blog...one woman was reading a newspaper, and there was something in it about a boy committing suicide. Queue woman 2...the conversation went something like this....

W2: Isn't that awful. Poor young chap...
W1: Aye, I know. You'd wonder what would make a person do that...
W2: He must have been going through a while lot
W1: God love his family...
W2: Auk ano...

Queue biddy...

Biddy: Well personally I think he took the cowards way out!

W1 and W2: What????
Biddy: He was a coward. What could be so bad that you would have to take your own life?
W2: How can you say something like that? You didn't know him so how can you possibly ask what could be so bad....
W1: It must have been bad....
Biddy: You didn't know him either so you can't say it was that bad...
W1, in a I-can't-believe-you-voice: He didn't do it for fun!

W1 and W2 walk away....

If I was part of this conversation, I would have told the old biddy to shove her comments, keep her opinions to herself and clear off! What about suicide makes you a coward? In my opinion, it is one of the most rational decisions anyone can make....they are choosing to end their own life!

Anyway, that my rant for the day....

Catch ya!

My cat is trying to kill me...

Recently while using google for god knows what, I came across a page on how to tell if your cat is trying to kill you. Yes, you read that right, trying to kill you, and as I thought it was good, I thought I would throw it on here...

How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you by Matthew Inman


It was a look at what cats usually do on a day to day basis and how this contributes to them plotting to kill you. I thought it was quite funny...

So, when I look at all of the things Chewi does, it makes me wonder.While she doesn't knead on me, she has a habit of walking up and down me, or over the top of me during the night. Sometimes she stops and sits down, while staring at me. Maybe this is a sign that she has found an epic weak spot and is contemplating her next move! This would also contribute to the staring contests she puts on while sitting usually in high places with eyes that look like two little slits in her face. The bringing of pressies and throwing up grass doesn't happen with Chewi as she doesn't go outside on her own. However if she did, I doubt any would occur as she is lazier than your average cat and is a very fussy eater, putting the grass out the window! Therefore, there is a lot more shovelling of kitty litter, which I have to brush up from all over the room....does this mean I am helping her dig my grave :o.... Hiding in random places is a Chewi special, from which she usually jumps out landing on an unsuspecting passer by's leg! Its not really 'hiding' either as her ass, tail or ears is usually stickin out from somewhere! I have already mentioned what she does while I am lying down, or asleep and rudely awakened by her, but Chewi usually konks out beside me and sleeps there until she is woke. She does like to sit right in front of the computer screen while it is being used and again, do a bit of staring...as for the sprinting out of the room, this happens all the time, and it is more of a bolt instead of a sprint, so there are many failed ambushes in Chewi's case. This also leads to a session of darting at high speed from room to room while I just..watch. So either she is confused or is pretty useless at trying to ambush anyone.

So after taking all of this into consideration and knowing that my cat can be pretty lazy, I reckon I am quite safe and that this particular cat is not plotting to kill me just now. Either that or she is just not making a very good job of it. Anyway, I will love her until she succeeds, but I loved the How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you webpage! Great job :D

Its cold, there's snow

Snow. It has been lying on the ground now for nearly a week, the longest I ever remember snow staying without beginning to melt before another layer or just coming and going. To be honest, it's quite nice unless you have to drive in it, but looking at it and being out in it is soo fun! We gots a new layer today, so after I built Mr. Chills the last day, today it was time for an igloo...well, any hut feature made out of snow and ice has to be classed as an igloo right, not just the icy ones the little Eskimos create. I sadly had to...recycle...Mr. Chills to to so, but he was beginning to look like something from 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' so, he was happy not to just, melt away. So, it took me nearly all day, and by the time I went in home, it was dark(ish) and I suddenly realised that it was 4.30 and I had forgotten to eat...imagine that, snow and fun makes you forget that you have a stomach, good job huh? So I warmed up with a nice chinese. Anyway, I like walking in the snow too, looking at the nice sights and getting to wear my wellies and ski wear without looking like a complete idiot :). Look at the blog page and there should be snow falling!

However, with the snow comes the cold, and with the cold comes snow, sometimes. Now, the temperatures are sitting in the minuses, and that is not nice let me tell ya, and the snow is turning to ice and going nowhere. During the night the temperatures get to -10 and to around -2 or 2 during the day. Nice. I end up wearing so many layers I look like a sumo wrestler when I am at work. More hateful is when I have to get up in the morning. Do I get up though...nah. Wake up, stick a toe out, straight back into bed and back to sleep until it is absolutely necessary to get up. Even more hateful is having to pee during the night. OMFG...and rolling over to a more comfy position doesn't even work because if you move, you end up in a cold place in the bed...not nice! That's the cold....it makes you pee, so much more!

That's the body's way of....trying....to keep us warm. Keep blood away from the surface, higher blood pressure and no sweat = pee much! What else does the cold make you do?....Shiver, shake, curl up in a ball, fall on your ass in the ice, fry in front of a fire, lay in bed etc etc. But that's what winter is and its nice....in its own way...

Toot-a-loo...