Simple Toys

I've already written about toys I don't like which, to summarize, is anything made of cheap plastic, with batteries, with a character on it, that makes excessive noise, and that can only be played with in one way...but I'm not a total scrooge. Here is a post that I kept me saying "Yes, that is just how I feel." Either way though, Craig has already made me promise that the only thing we will get for Nigel next Christmas is a box.* Because everyone knows babies like boxes more than toys that you spend money on.

Apparently, so do cats. Zeeba is not normally a super playful cat. She is more of a curl up next to you on the couch kinda cat, which suits me just fine. But every once in a while she gets feisty and wants to play. She just doesn't want to play with any official cat toys. Well, there is one toy she likes, a little Christmas tree some of our friends got us after we first got her. And while people may give us looks when they see a stuffed Christmas tree in our living room in the middle of July, at least right now it works with the decor.

But other than that one two, she likes homemade toys better. Her favorites:

- A ribbon, but only when we hold it above her. It's actually quite tiring on your arms but when we bought her a toy with ribbons on the end of a stick, it scared her. I tried to convince her it was the same thing only less of a work-out for me, but she didn't buy it.

- A rubber band. We discovered this about a month ago when I was using them to hold up my pants. I get nervous that she will swallow it so I only let her play when I'm watching but that isn't hard since it is hilarious. The best is when she has it under her foot and tries to pull it up with her teeth. Inevitably, it comes loose and snaps her paw, they she gets mad at it and pulls harder. It's a vicious cycle. I'd stop her, but every time she sees a rubber band she gets excited so it must not hurt that bad.

- A gum ball. The large kind you get for a quarter from a little vending machine. Craig got one last week and despite the fact that she finds her official cat balls with cute little bells inside boring, she loved the gumball. Alas, it disappeared, probably under some piece of furniture. Luckily it is wintertime or we might be having a major ant issue right now.

- The snoogle. Well, not so much the snoogle itself, but what the snoogle does to the bed. Left under the comforter, it makes the bed all hilly and lumpy and improves her pouncing ability (It's actually quite creepy if you want past the room with the lights off, more than once I scared myself thinking someone was sleeping in my bed). Just put a sock on the bed and she is entertaining for quite a while, pouncing and attacking it. But only when the snoogle is in place. Maybe on a flat bed the sock can see her coming so she doesn't bother? Who knows the mind of a cat?

Are there any weird "toys" your pets like to play with. Or is our cat just really weird?

*Can you keep a secret? - I might try to sneak around that rule by putting something in a stocking though. Everyone knows stocking presents don't count as real presents - just don't tell Craig!

Lifestyle Choices

I was perusing National Geographic the other day (I read it for the articles, really) and I came across an interesting quote. It was from Jared Diamond (#42 on this list), who has written some enjoyable books. It was relayed in the NG article like this:

Jared Diamond, the UCLA professor and writer, has called the adoption of agriculture nothing less than "the worst mistake in human history"—a mistake, he suggests, from which we have never recovered.

The author of this piece, Michael Finkel, lays out some of the argument for this:

The Hadza [a Tanzanian hunter-gatherer people] do not engage in warfare. They've never lived densely enough to be seriously threatened by an infectious outbreak. They have no known history of famine... The Hadza diet remains even today more stable and varied than that of most of the world's citizens. They enjoy an extraordinary amount of leisure time. Anthropologists have estimated that they "work"—actively pursue food—four to six hours a day.

I have thought at times that it would have been enjoyable to be a Plains Indian in the early 19th century. Riding horses, hunting, fighting non-lethal battles with other tribes, lounging around, etc. would have been my daily activities. The leisure aspect of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle is indeed enviable.

Some of the benefits of the agricultural lifestyle and everything it spawned, on the other hand, are as follows:

• Longer life expectancy, better medical care, lower infant mortality
• All kinds of comforts and conveniences (house, car, air conditioning, etc.)
• Access to technology (for work, travel, leisure)
  

The switch to agriculture was inevitable, because societies that did so were able to outgrow and subsequently dominate hunter-gatherers. But Diamond posits a provocative suggestion that is interesting to consider.

Unions Pushing Their Luck

Union membership has been declining in this country for quite some time. However, union leaders placed hope in President Obama (as so many have) that he would help usher in a union resurgence. The execrable "card check" bill pending in Congress is one potential avenue. Another is the sweet deal Obama gave auto unions, at the expense of bondholders, in the GM bailout. However, actions the unions, which are seen by many as only interested in stumping for Democrats and protecting incompetent workers, have taken lately should threaten any traction they may be gaining. Here are three stories:

• "Grinchlike union bosses are blocking at least 200 of Boston’s best teachers from pocketing bonuses for their classroom heroics in a puzzling move that gets a failing grade from education experts." The union wants all teachers to share this money, not just the good ones, which defeats the entire purpose of a bonus.

• "In pursuit of an Eagle Scout badge, Kevin Anderson, 17, has toiled for more than 200 hours hours over several weeks to clear a walking path in an east Allentown park. Little did the do-gooder know that his altruistic act would put him in the cross hairs of the city's largest municipal union." The union would prefer that government employees do this work, not some punk kid. The union leader who raised hell about the Eagle Scout was forced to resign, though, so some sanity is prevailing.

• In New York City, 700 teachers get paid to do nothing while they wait for their disciplinary cases to be heard. Unions have worked to make it nearly impossible to fire bad teachers.
  

This is the kind of stuff that hurts one's credibility quite quickly. One thing I will compliment Obama for is that, contrary to his support for other unions, Obama has been making a serious effort to reform public schools, and doing so in ways that unions have long opposed. This includes increasing charter schools and basing teacher performance ratings on student results and test data. The egregious record of teachers' unions, which is probably more indefensible than that of any other unions, is likely a factor in Obama's willingness to defy them. That being the case, I say keep up the craziness, unions.

Goodbye Emma

Dear Emma,

I'm going to miss you so much. When mom called this morning to tell me the bad news, I just wasn't expecting it at all. You weren't very old and you only got sick on Friday and I didn't know it was so serious. You had a weak stomach and were sick a lot (just like me) and

after that bad car accident your limp meant you never really did get to run and play too hard so your health wasn't the best and I figured this was just another case of you being sickly. When you were a puppy and we would take you on walks and about half way through you would just decide you were done and we would have to carry you home. But even with your bad health you still seemed to love life, enjoying your daily walks and curling up on the couch for a nap (another thing we had in common) with your head on my lap.
I remember going to get you when I was in highschool and you were just a little puppy. I had to sleep on the couch for at least a month until you were big enough to make it through the night without a trip outside. And then we started puppy training and you got so excited to see the other dogs. Every single time we walked into the building you had an accident! I know it wasn't that you weren't housetrained, you were just so passive. But even so, you were never skittish. You were a typical golden retriever, you loved everyone.

Even once I left home, you were always "my dog" and I looked forward to your greeting me at the door whenever I came home. I practically had to push you back so I could make it through the doorway sometimes. Craig and I were even hoping to find a dog-friendly place for our next move so you could come stay with us.

It will be hard coming home later this month knowing you won't be there. And taking those strolls with Mom walking Kip knowing that I won't have your leash in my hand.

Your life wasn't long or even very easy at times but I hope it was still good. I'm so sorry I wasn't there with you at the end but I think you know that I loved you and will miss you.

Linky Love for Married Folks

I've wanted to share both of these for a while and since they are kinda similar, I thought I would kill two birds with one post.

THE GREAT DATE EXPERIMENT:
Sorry, I didn't mean to yell, but a name like that just seemed to demand it. (And be careful opening that link, the opening video is loud and incredible cheesy, probably not something you would want a co-worker to overhear). Craig and I started being more regular with our date nights this fall and did these for our first two in August and September. Then Nigel came along and we haven't had a date since... but we will try to fit the next one in this month sometime now that I'm up to it and I am determined to get all 6 done by May.

Basically, it is a set of 6 "dates" for you and your husband (or wife) to go one. The "date" is really just a printout of instructions...questions/conversations starters, little fun activities, challenges, etc. I'll warn you, some of it is pretty corny and/or embarrassing but you can always skip something if you don't want to (example: Craig didn't want me to scream "My husband is hot" in public, so I didn't - aren't I nice?) If you are a bold couple, you would probably have even more fun, but we do not fit that category and still want to do the rest.

Another thing I like about them is that it really does help those budget conscious couples have a fun night. They are pretty vague about a lot of things so you can pick whether you want to eat someplace fancy or just grab a burger. Even with lots of stops and things to do, you can still come under the price of a typical dinner and a movie date.

The Peasant Princess:
I think I mentioned earlier that I've been listening to Mark Driscoll sermons online lately. This series on the Song of Solomon is what got me started. While I still haven't finished it, I've already learned and laughed a lot. I did a good study about the Song of Solomon with a group of girlfriends several years ago but we were all single/engaged so this time, I'm getting different stuff out of it this time...but now that I think about it, Driscoll does a good job of aiming his sermons at both married and single so everyone really should listen to it.

Disclaimer #1: I do realize that Mark Driscoll is somewhat controversial. Some of that is because he feels very strongly about what the Bible says. I happen to like most of what he says. But having said that, I don't agree with everything he says, and more importantly, how he says even the stuff I do agree with. So don't yell at me when he makes fun of you, because he will.

Disclaimer #2: I also realize that not everyone who reads this blog shares my religious convictions, so I want to be open. The G.D.E. is put out by a church/ministry but their purpose is to strengthen marriages and the focus is really on that. There are some "bibley" type questions such as "How would you like your spouse to pray for you?" but only a few per date and they would be easy enough to skip if you want. The Driscoll series is also put out by a church but as it is a sermon series on a book of the Bible, it is very "bibley" so if you aren't into that, well, you might not enjoy it. It's still funny though so you might.