Random Weekend Thoughts

We had a normal Saturday. Waffle House in the morning, Church in the evening, working on the bed in between. Sunday has been all working on the bed. All the pieces are cut now and today I’m routing out molding and rounding edges. That means I’ll do finishing sanding and begin (and maybe finish) assembly this coming week. The plan is to have at least the bed finished by Sophie’s birthday. Once the bed is finished I’ll start on the other projects for the room.

I’m listening to podcasts I saved up from last month – Fresh Air, Science Friday, Stuff You Should Know, Stuff You Missed in History, 60 Minutes and off course Car Talk. The shows give me thinking material, information and entertainment. They also provide some needed exposure to the liberal views that most of these shows portray as well as insight into the current entertainment arts and literature world.

I enjoyed hearing that scientists have unearthed evidence of the domestication of cats from 9,500 years ago. They found a cat buried “in the same orientation” as the body of a woman. It goes to show that even early humans loved their critters as much as we do now.

It is also likely that you can say goodbye to the banana as we know it within about 5 years. The same fungus that wiped out the Cavendish banana that my grandparents ate has now infected the current banana species and there is no replacement. We may be eating red bananas in 2015.

On a brighter note scientists think they have a fountain of youth pill on the way based on Resveratrol (from red wine), maybe within 5 years. No bananas but longer life.

Another way to live longer is to exist on a very low calorie diet. It makes your survival genes kick in.

One story discussed the effects of concrete on global warming. It’s quite interesting—its manufacture has a large carbon footprint but concrete can also absorb CO2 over its entire lifetime.

Did you know that the only charge that stuck against Joan D’Arc and what they burned her for was cross-dressing and that her body was burned 3 times?

Kitty Update—The cat feeder is still feeding without being refilled for a month. That is partially due to the fact that on most days only 1 or 2 are out there. We also have a less-greedy raccoon showing up. He doesn’t eat everything and Penny thinks he’s more interested in wet food.

The reason for low attendance is likely a bushy tailed gray cat that is staging ambushes on our cats and keeping them too scared to hang around. I had to feed Velcro on the roof for 2 nights because he is too wary of leaving that apparently safe ground. I’m going to have to try to catch Mr Grey. I’ve got to figure out how to do that without catching our 4 .
If I catch him I guess I bring him in to PAWS. That may be my subject in a future kitty update.

The garden is about done. I picked and ate 1 big tomato yesterday and there are a couple more potential ones out there.