Well, I spoke too soon. Had to work all day on this still (fixing a last minute technical issue) and now the same error that happened two weeks ago, where once-created external links disappear into the ether, has happened.

I have quit crying long enough now that I can actually type. I'll be back in the office at 6, to spend the day re-creating over 2000 links.

ETA: I have been told by the software company not to restore the rest of the links today, but to instead wait for a script to run in the database to restore the links. Still, I am stress case. But at least I get to watch the Niners game and do 300 errands today.

The Californinans may be aware of this story. [link]

There was a sand dune collapse at a State Park. One child is dead and one is in critical condition. The critical one is a family friend and I have known him since he was a baby. His Mother who dug him out I have known all my life. Please pray for A, and for his little brother R who saw more than a 7 year old ought to. Please pray for the family who's child was lost.

And please thank who or whatever you thank that the third child was able to dig himself out and run for help.

If you have any to spare, a fresh infusion of your-job-is-safe~ma would be very much appreciated for DH today.

My mom is having a hip replacement Tuesday morning. Please send some of that famous Buffista-ma Texasward to ensure her surgery goes without a hitch. Soon, she'll have a bionic hip!

A is conscious and breathing on his own. His brain function appears to be good. NOW I'm going to start crying.

That is some powerful ~ma peoples. I have chocolate and glitter for you all. DH thanks you. I thank you and love each and every one of you. He doesn't have to reapply.

Returning the job~ma to the pot.

Now all I need is for a bunch of tests to come back with "nothing wrong, just chill ok?"

Seriously, thank you.

Jobma~~ for My Matt please. he has two second interviews today -- o9ne at 930, one at 4.

He would like to find something soon, I'd like him to find something interesting soon.

OK, turns out we had innacurate information about A's condition. He is conscious but he's not breathing on his own.

They performed surgery and he's gone from the lung bypass to breathing with his actual lungs albeit with help from a machine. So its still a big improvement.

Oh! Coolness -- part of the reason for confusion is that he "spoke"... but it was with sign language. Handy him knowing some sign, huh?

The most prolific breeder in the animal world is not my brother, it's the tapeworm. Some species can lay over a million eggs in a day. Most of these, of course, will never reproduce themselves; their life cycle is convoluted, and hitting the right chain of events is a matter of chance. Nonetheless, with so many starters, the next generation is pretty much assured.

Stable populations need to give its members about even odds of replacing themselves. That means that the number of offspring a fertile female can produce is inversely proportional to the odds of survival of any one of them. It's no doubt apparent too that if you have thousands of young, you won't be tucking them all in at night. You spawn, leave them to go their merry way, and hope that a couple of them won't wind up getting eaten.

At the other extreme, of course, you can have only a few offspring, but lavish enough care and attention on them that their odds improve dramatically. This can mean a massive investment. White-winged choughs, birds native to Australia, have chicks so demanding that a mated pair isn't enough to bring up baby. They need other family members - siblings, former young who've reached adulthood - even members of other chough extended families that they've lured away - to help meet the needs of their chick.

In such species, parents offer a lot to their offspring: food, protection and shelter are the obvious benefits. But where animals have taken this option, the young also have the chance to learn from their parents. It's a hallmark of predators, whose parents teach them how to hunt. Opportunists have a lot to learn too, of what's good to eat, where to find it and how to secure it once found. Some animals can master technical skills like using tools, and they need to pick it up from the previous generation. Egyptian vultures are one of my favourite examples. They use rocks to break into ostrich eggs. This isn't instinctive - they need to learn how to do it from other vultures. What is inherited is the capacity to learn this trick. Other vultures in the region never even attempt it, not matter how often they witness their technologically advanced cousins.

Primates top the scales in learning, of course. It's not just technical competence in dealing with their environment that needs to get passed on. Primates tend to be social animals - and it takes skill to navigate the social complexities of the group. Where lions, deer and kangaroos secure their breeding rights by tests of strength, and peacocks by tests of awesomeness, for baboons and chimps, if you want to get any action then you'd better know your politics.

At the apex is Homo sapiens - our technical learning literally fills libraries, we live in larger social groups than any other primate, with more complex customs and mores; and we are born more helpless than any other, incapable even of raising our heads. Our childhood is long, rich and (for the parent)demanding indeed.

All of which explains why, as with the emperor penguin, Biyi and I have decided to take it one at a time. We're expecting our first child at the end of April next year.

Hey all. Some dog~ma for my baby girl, who is in her last hours as a four-legger. Surgery is scheduled for this afternoon, and I get to pick her up and take her home tomorrow, cancer-free.

Here she is getting a pre-surgery workout to strengthen her other hind leg and get ready for life as a tripod: [link]