So I worked on something last week which involved a lot of salary information. I've now had it twice impressed on me how sensitive that information is. Which I totally get, but... apparently people missed the fact that a whole lot of salary information goes through me every month. This is not new territory. Were there a temptation, I'd already know how to resist it. As it is, I don't give a rat's ass. They make tons more than me -- hello, they're doctors!

It was a side-link to an article about an arrest of a man who'd been abusing his girlfriend and her children, oh, and he'd been keeping a black bear in her house for about a year.

Oh yeah - that was in the Globe magazine. I knew I'd read something recently that listed the animals you could and couldn't keep. And, yeah, what's up with the camels?

I love on the way to my sister's in North Yarmouth, ME, that there's a farm with llamas. They make me smile, but I have no idea what noise I should make out the window at them (ala mooing at cows).

I know prairie dogs are illegal to keep as pets in Massachusetts. I know this because my new housemate-to-be has one.

It's apparently legal in this part of the country, 'cause that's how everyone caught the monkey pox last summer.

A llama once vomited on my cousin (in Maine, no less).

you're on your own. Which I admire.

Yup, me too. Where I grew up there is a lot of BLM and/or Nature Conservancy land with little to no infrastructure. Which I like.

Of course, the fact that people are idiots is also why my dad can be part of 2 volunteer S&R teams for the region, and has had at least 1 callout a week since May. (Some get cancelled before he actually has to go anywhere, but still.)

What would these labels say? "Object is not immune to the laws of physics"? Will someone who doesn't understand gravity actually comprehend a warning label?

Near my parents' home is a big transformer box with a warning label that shows a frowny lightning bolt electrocuting someone: [link]

I can't help but look at it and think "Do not tamper with the Krell machine!"

It's apparently legal in this part of the country, 'cause that's how everyone caught the monkey pox last summer.

You sure you just don't live near Gus?

Just one state over - and they had the monkey pox in Wisconsin, too. Though Gus claims he had nothing to do with it.

A llama once vomited on my cousin (in Maine, no less).

Vomit or spit? Because I know llamas are like camels in that regard (spitting when annoyed, and a lot of it).

Also, a moose once bit your sister, right?

Oh, excellent. Now I have to worry about coming down with monkey pox, although it's quite a bit more likely that I'll die of cat-scratch fever first. (Does anyone get cat-scratch fever anymore?)