Phlegmatic

We’re well overdue a phligm phlagm post, so here’s a load of links to keep you occupied over Christmas…

 

Chester Zoo's new Sumatran tiger cubs

The Daily Telegraph seems to think Alan Partridge is real.

We get big waves here in Cornwall.

A pretty clear (but fairly minor) case of political corruption. Will Andy Burnham be the new Neil Hamilton?

The last battle against foreign invaders on mainland British soil.

Calculate how much you get for your tax. (If your calculated number comes out positive, then you don't have much right to complain about spending cuts.)

American Samoa (world's worst country at football) gets first ever win, beating Tonga 2-1.

The world's best videogame for cats...played by tigers...and servals!

Good article on the 'Oxbridge' (wherever that is) interview. (Even if Mary Beard looks increasingly like a caricature of what an old classics don should look like...)

This upcoming film by Cameron Crowe and starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson is based on the true story of a bloke called Benjamin Mee who bought our local zoo (Dartmoor Zoo, just outside Plymouth). We asked him to come along to the You're Hired! final to be our guest speaker, and he was brilliant. (Unfortunately I missed most of his talk because the guest speaker is basically there to occupy the contestants while the judges are deciding on the winners. I did speak to him later, and he's keen to get involved more in this year's competition. We're even thinking of holding the final there next summer.

It was only a small one (although it squealed loud enough that we thought it was a dying rabbit from the living room). One of two cats brought it in. Big, impressive-looking Kjetil (see userpic) is usually the culprit when it comes to rabbits, but he seemed scared of it. While it was running away from bunn, me and my two wellies* the rat ran towards him and Kjetil dashed out through the cat flap. Yamamayaa on the other hand (our smallest, weediest, but fiercest cat**) went for it and had to be pulled out from under the open dishwasher door. I'm pretty certain that this was Yama's prize. Hunting rats is of course not a bad thing for a cat** to do, but I would prefer that he killed them and ate them outside rather than bringing them into the kitchen to play with them.



* This is by far the best way to catch small rodents that come into the house.
** I say cat. That (literally) isn't entirely true since he's about one eighth Asian Leopard Cat. He may also be about one eighth pit fiend.

The idea is that someone picks five of your userpics and you have to explain what they are and why they are your userpics.

See the comments for my explanations.

Feel free to ask me about other userpics or ask me to pick five of yours.

'Voldemort' cat finds new home

Birmingham banker in badly-fitting suit turns into superhero at night to fight crime

The artisan and the freer market

Jack the Ripper: The Suspects

What's John McCain up to now? Trying to get a pardon for Jack Johnson.

Neal Stephenson on "What the strange persistence of rockets can tell us about innovation".

Bill Clinton was the only US president since Truman to reduce federal spending

"Britons face not being able to have everything they want."

"Twitter is giving a disproportionate voice to unpleasant but vocal minorities."

Private companies wary of hiring public sector workers.

Clever tool to compare digital cameras using actual photos

UK net immigration since 1997 "the equivalent of seven cities the size of Manchester"

The Mexicans are unhappy again, but this time not at Richard Hammond

Carl Sagan worked on project to "nuke the Moon"