Tonight is Napster's last night until further notice.

Better start downloading like maniacs, kids!!!! The US congress might be shutting off the MP3 tap soon.

Well, now I have a white page and a banner.

Thanks Freeservers, for complicating my life far beyond what I ever thought possible.

Some blogs are best read while smoking dope.

And, dontcha know it, my site is down again.

Listen here Freeservers, my patience is running out!! Either get your SHIT TOGETHER, or I'm taking my site elsewhere!!!!

~growl snarl~

So anyway, this whole William thing on Big Brother has raised some questions for me.

When did being polite suddenly come to mean being fake? And when did being an asshole suddenly come to mean being real?

I don't know William, and I don't judge William. What baffles me, though, is how many people are applauding him for "keeping it real". Keeping it real? By making Brittany cry? Hey, I don't care much more for Brittany, but aren't there better ways of speaking one's mind?

Ech, whatever. I've already devoted too much energy to this topic.

I fully admit to being a reality TV addict.

Thankfully, I don't have cable, so this has not turned into a tragedy. It all started with The Real World, which I glimpsed a few times on my parents' satellite a very long time ago.

Then it was The Discovery Channel's A Bridal Story. Not that A Bridal Story is an exceptional example of reality TV, but I'm a sick and twisted voyeur, so shoot me.

Now there's Survivor and Big Brother. Well colour me smitten, people! I could watch Big Brother all day, and they don't even do anything. Yes, I am that sad.

Well, now blogs and reality TV have been brought together in Reality Blurred. I love this man. This man understands my needs. He is my pusher . . . I am but a reality TV junkie. I don't care what his critics say.

Why would I want to pay to use Net2Phone? Dialpad already offers free calling in the US, and somewhere down the road they may offer it for Canada as well.

Stupid.

When I get tired of listening to the same monotonous pop songs over and over again, CKUA offers an exotic alternative. Instead of having to choose between Britney Spears or Bach, I can listen to everything from the Tragically Hip to John Lee Hooker to Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.

Eclectic, just how I like it. :)

CKUA in streaming audio

Bourbon and Rosewater by Jerry Douglas and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt

Buy the album from Amazon


Buy the album from Sam the Record Man

Holy crap . . . they are big!!!

From The Capybara Club

Your words for today are Joopy and Bling.

Share and enjoy.

Hey, wanna know what animals are not allowed as pets in Alberta? Did you know that the Alberta government listed all the controlled animals? Did you know that they didn't list the capybara?

Am I the only one who thinks they're smoking crack in the legislature?

Get yer legal fix here.

You'll find the controlled animals listed in Schedule 5 (Section 4(h) of the regulation). Have fun sifting, or send me an email and I'll send you the list.

Boy . . it's a 150-200 lb. guinea pig.

Don't make that thing mad . . . it'll take your hand clean off.

More rodent weirdness:

The Perpetual-Capybara Machine

The machine in action

All capybara links and pics thus far are from The Capybara Page

I guess they are rather a lot like 150 lb. guinea pigs . . . ^_^

Ah, the sweet sound of a capybara vocalizing . . .

Okay, so I adopted Mochi and Koji on June 21st. Mochi and Koji must have been anywhere from 5 weeks old to 8 weeks old when I got them. That would mean that they were born anywhere between April 26 - May 17. I need to decide on a birthday for them, but which day? Mochi seems younger, but is he really? Maybe Mochi's birthday should be May 17, and Koji's birthday should be April 26.

Any suggestions?

Keeping unusual pets can be habit forming.

I can't help but think how amazing it would be to adopt a capybara (giant South American rodent). They stand 2 feet tall and weigh close to 100 lbs. An adult capybara would dwarf my cat. How cute!!!

Oh sure . . . and they just happen to have a link to a chinchilla page too. Right.

I'm sorry . . . WHAT?

I'm not the original Limegirl? There's a band called Lime Girls??? Is this some kind of sick joke????

YAY! Bonnie's chinchilla Misha is Chin of the Month!

Zoocheck Canada is "a national animal protection charity established to protect wildlife in captivity and in the wild". It also has a great deal of valuable information and commentary on exotic pets and zoo animals.

Much to my surprise, in adopting two chinchillas, I have found myself caught up in the exotic pets debate.

Legally speaking, chinchillas are considered exotic pets in most parts of Canada. Although they are sold in pet stores, legislation regarding exotic animals include chinchillas and other exotic pets that can be found in pet stores.

Suddenly, I am in the same group as owners of primates, large and small wild cats, reptiles, and many others. I don't know how I feel about this.

Part of me understands the irresistible pull of owning an exotic animal. Being able to interact with an otherwise wild animal is a dazzling experience. However, part of me is deeply concerned by the number of people who are able to adopt these animals, and the horrendous lack of understanding and education on the part of many of them.

A chinchilla is a small rodent, and compared to a marsupial, it has very simple husbandry requirements. However, if I hadn't done extensive research, I would not have known that cedar chips could be deadly for them. I would not have known that if they do not have enough to chew on, they can develop lethal over-growth of their incisors.

Pet store staff often know little to nothing about the animals they sell, and yet we as consumers depend on them for a large part of our pet knowledge.

What if we're talking about a orangutan, or a cougar? How many people are knowledgable enough and financially capable of giving these animals everything they need? Beyond their dietary requirements, what about their living conditions? Their enclosures? Are they happy? Are they challenged and entertained?

I don't feel that there should be a ban on the ownership of exotic animals, but there must be restrictions, if only for the welfare of these animals. Animals such as chinchillas, degus, hedgehogs and sugar gliders are becoming commonplace even in Edmonton, and yet the individuals purchasing these animals often don't know enough about their pets to give proper care.

I think I may need to start a blog just for exotic pet information.

I don't want to go to the doctor.

It's not that I have a problem with doctors, it's just that I hate sitting in a crowded waiting room with screaming children just to get a few pills.

I mean, I have a sore throat. I know I need antibiotics. I also have a urinary tract infection. Also requires antibiotics. So somebody just give me a freakin' prescription so I can get on with my life.

~sigh~ I have so many other things I'd rather be doing.

Thanks Freeservers. This is just super. Good to see it hasn't taken long to rearrange the servers.

I have a white page . . . AGAIN. :P

Image by me.

Okay, mystery solved. Freeservers, the site that hosts my website, was doing some alterations:

"As you know, we were having problems with uploading because the server you were located on had a sudden increase of volume and reached its maximum capacity. This is why you were receiving file sizes of zero, incomplete uploads, or blank pages. We are adding new equipment and hope to have the problem solved soon. Any information that is now not appearing has not been saved and will need to be uploaded or replaced again. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience."

Sorry Blogger, it wasn't your fault.