I'm not so concerned with the pain, I've had tattoos and the pain once it's done is relatively minor. I'm more concerned that 1) doing anasthesia on an animal is not to be done lightly and the people doing it are far from professionals, they could easily kill the cat and 2) there is a much higher chance of infection setting in on an animal than on a human, we can at least bandage it and tend it properly, the cat can't.

It's mean.

lisah, can you give me the skinny on the Alameda? I don't know so much.

(It's weird because I grew up right off an Alameda, went to Alameda Elementary and just have cog. diss. that there is one in Baltimore.)

billytea - when you are around again, Mo Willems wrote a children's book for you. It's called "Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed" and it is currently Emeline's favorite bedtime book. Last night she eschewed "Madeline" for "NAKED MOLE RAT, MOMMA!"

Oh wow. That is awesome. I've never come across this author before. His other books look interesting too. Apparently there's this pigeon, found a hot dog or something. We should look into that.

Is that the same pigeon who has issues regarding the desirability of it driving a bus?

I really think it's a bad idea to let the pigeon have control of the bus. I don't even see why it's a question.

It's not a mature pigeon.

And it doesn't have opposable thumbs.

I don't even see why it's a question.

I dunno - a book was written. They must have figured people needed warning.

I think the book endorses the principle.

Bad thing. Bad bad thing.

Is that the same pigeon who has issues regarding the desirability of it driving a bus?

Do you know, I think it might be. The question is, does driving a bus make it easier or harder to find a hot dog? You can cover more ground, but it would be painfully easy to miss any hot dogs on offer.

On a related note, Wallybee found driving around Tasmania last summer to be periodically interspersed with me hitting on the brakes, pulling over and jumping out of the car.

"Where are you going?"
"Echidna. About a metre off the road. Get the camera."
"...How do you even see them at this speed?"

I think the book endorses the principle.

Oh, that's just wrong, and could lead to misadventure.

Yeah, when violence is two-way I'm less...shocked, I guess?...which is more what Liese seems to be describing.

That goes for me too. My parents had one physical fight (over the issue of corporal punishment for me) when I was little, but neither they nor I regard it as an abuse situation. It was a hot-tempered person getting in a tiff with a bottle-it-up cold anger type whose protective instincts were triggered. Then Dad limped back the next day after Mom had established herself firmly at the top of the pecking order, and all was well from that point on.