Sunday, December 28, 2008

They Blinded Me With Science!

Introducing our current batch of foster kittens!

These four boys and one girl were found by nice lady in Northern Illinois who called Kindred Kitties and we got them.
This is our second batch of black & white kittens in a row.
As I have mentioned several times in the past, it's sometimes hard to name kittens, but not this time.
As soon as the kittens got here and we let them out, they were tearing around the rooms exploring. One of them found the plastic ring with the ball inside of it and was spinning around and around so fast I was worried he would create a black hole. He was instantly dubbed "Fermi". I looked to my right and saw another boy playing with a small stuffed monkey and he became "Darwin". The other three quickly acquired the names of other famous scientists - hence the last video post :)


This is Marie who we named after the Polish chemist and physicist Marie Curie. Marie is almost totally black, with only white hairs in her ears. Two sisters, aged 15 and 16, from Kenosha pooled their Christmas money and adopted Marie on December 27th from Petco. Marie's last name is now Schultz.


This is Einstein who we named after the German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein.
He is the most fearless member of the family, first up on the sink, first jumping onto the dresser, first out the door into the loft to visit with Wooster and Sunshine and Gitana. He has a lightning bolt shaped white mark down the center of his back.


This is Pasteur, named after the French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur. Louis Pasteur is best known to the general public for inventing a method to stop milk and wine from causing sickness - this process came to be called pasteurization. This was a very important discovery for kittens too!

Einstein and Pasteur were both adopted by our friends Pete and Julie on December 28th.

From left: Julie, Osty (aka Pasteur), Pete, Lynx (aka Einstein)

The other two kittens have not gotten permanent homes yet but are showing no signs of being in a hurry to leave.


Fermi, named after Enrico Fermi, the Italian physicist most noted for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor is a very laid-back kitten with a huge purr. He follows me around whenever I am in the room.


Darwin aka Monkey Cat is named after Charles Darwin the English naturalist who first realised and demonstrated the process of natural selection, which has lead to the modern evolutionary theory. Darwin is a climber who spends his time either sitting on top of the dressers or on the kitty condo staring out the window watching the birds.

Both Darwin and Fermi will be at the Kenosha Petco this Saturday and Sunday and will be available for adoption for a tax-deductible contribution of $80 for one or $120 for both!

Update 1/3/2009
Darwin got adopted today!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

She Blinded Me With Science!

And now a blast from the past!
From the depths of the 80s....




Thomas Dolby's 1982 Top 5 Hit

You can listen to another great version of this song by New England Folk Singer Bill Parsons here.

Why am I posting this? Check back soon!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Brrr

Current conditions per the Weather Channel








Friday, December 19, 2008

Snow Day!

It snowed today.
*A Lot*
Michelle got home from work about 2:30am and shoveled the driveway and by the time we went out this morning at 7 you could not tell she had done anything.
So we shoveled half of the driveway - enough to get my little Kia Spectra 5 out to the street, which took about 1/2 an hour.
I backed out and got stuck in the middle of Sunshine Lane, but was able to rock back and forth and get going again.
I went around the corner, down the block and was making the second turn and got stuck so bad in the middle of the intersection that I called Michelle to come down and help me out.
The Spectra was too light and too low to travel without it being plowed.
At this point I decided to not go to work today which is probably the first time weather has stopped me since I was living in Hales Corners - roughly '92 or '93.
Then it was 10 below zero with wind chills in the negative 30s and my car would not start for 3 days, even with a new battery.
After I shoveled the car out today with the help of a nice lady who had a snow blower we got the Spectra 5 turned around and back to the garage.
The plows came through about 11:30 so I ate lunch, went out and shovelled again and hit the road around 12:30.
I made it to Rockwell at 1:45, a trip that normally takes about 30 minutes.
I put in 4 hours and came home and had to shovel again and will be heading out shortly to shovel a 4th time today so Michelle can get in easier after work.
I'll try and take some pictures of the piles of snow and post them tomorrow.