His response to me was "your examples were mostly twins, so they don't count."

Eww. I got nothing. He's nuts.

Burrell, chinchillas are... moderate-maintenance, I think? I was just reading an article about them a couple of weeks ago. They're happy in cages as long as you give them something to climb, they can tolerate and thrive in cooler temperatures than some other small pets, which makes them ideal for drafty foggy SF apartments, and they also live about 20 years, which is either high-maintenance (long time commitment) or low-maintenance (if you're a parent, it gives you a decent chance of dodging the Why Pets Suffer and Die discussion with your child until after the child is old enough to withstand the shock).

I desperately (stupidly) want groundhogs. We have two in the hill outside our building, now named Lefty and Righty thanks to Sara, and they're the cutest. things. ever. Watching them run is HYSTERICAL, mostly because they are completely ungraceful but not slow.

They pop up out of their burrow from time to time and graze or stroll or, you know, occasionally gallop, and they sit up on their haunches sometimes to sniff the breeze. We rarely see them together, so I'm guessing they take turns guarding the homefront.

Every time I see them I get "I'm all right ..." playing in my head, too.

t /Caddyshack

Yeah, I'm backing out. He doesn't like reading or thinking or reality, so we don't have much in common.

Now I'm visualising him as 13 and wrecked. "MOOOOOOOOOOOM, someone on the internet told me that incest!" Poor dear. It's all so shocking out here.

I had a conversation with a guy once where I had to explain why I wouldn't have sex with a clone of myself, which is basically the twins scenario.

(The reasons: I'm not generally into women, and am not the most attractive (to me) woman I've ever seen, anyway.)

Your reading confirms mine, JZ, although I'm calling cages high maintenance since it involves cleaning said cage, and while Franny has proven herself capable of cleaning the litter box, she has yet to demonstrate the ability to remember to clean it regularly. Hrm. I also hear that they are nocturnal and tend to be loud and active at night. But they are cute, and they are super soft and cuddly, and they get very attached to their humans.

Timelies all!

Just realized that it's three weeks until the big family trip and I still have a lot of things to get. That's what weekends are for, right?

So, I want to take vacation in September. New boss starts in September. Should I give her two weeks before I leave her to muddle through on her own? I don't think not being here during her first week would be good, but how long until she settles in should I expect to not have everything die if I'm not here?

You wouldn't want to know if sexxing (by) a clone is better than masturbation? That question would linger, and if you didn't want to tell, no one would be told.

Pretty handy.

Or something.

I'd have sex with my clone. At least I'd know exactly what I like! I would NOT have sex with a my twin. Nope, nope, nope.

And in a weird segue, but heartfelt....

All the surgery-ma for Grace, Kat.