Dogs run free...

Miscellaneous links

From reddit (via Josh) come some interesting links.

Here is a good link if you like music (popular). Go and type in the name of a band or musician. Watch as a floating map of related groups appears and arranges itself. Click on any of the names to make a new map with the clickee at the center.

Or here is one if you have been yearning for a handy way to estimate sizes and distances with little more than your thumb.

Or, if you have been suffering through the Fool's SOTU speech, try this link to a preemptive response. I may not totally agree, but lines like, "...your Republican president and Congress ... have engaged in the fiscal equivalent of a crack binge...," are hard to ignore.

Pictures to come before too long.

Yes, Lib.

Lib, we know just what you mean about watching the youngest finish high school. It brings to mind the old spiritual that I think you know ... Freedom, oh, freedom! The oldest in the family can laugh, too. Ha, ha, I laugh.

Good luck on the last term ever at MHS. At least you have your gym points all set, unlike some of your friends. Do you think Yale will really allow someone to enter as a freshman without all of their gym points?

Micque

On Saturday we took little Micque to the vet's to find out why she was having such trouble eating and walking, not to mention crapping. She couldn't do much but lie around on her cushion. She had gotten into the garbage earlier in the week. There she found some tasty baby diapers, among other snacks. We assumed she had some kind of intestinal blockage that would surely clear up in due course, but thought she should be looked at. Almost immediately the vet said she was afraid Micque had either cancer or organ failure. Sure enough, the little dog had lost 5 of her 35 pounds. A blood sample was taken, which I took to Central Vermont Hospital lab for testing. A few hours later word came back from the vet that Micque had serious problems - either terminal cancer or advanced autoimmune disease. In either case, nothing could be done for her. The short of it is that Micque had to be put down, as we say. We are all far sadder about this than anticipated, but I am sure we will pull through. Her ashes will arrive sometime this week. Libby (she of "Micque has had a good life" fame) thinks the ashes should be put in a jar on the mantle.

The cat, on the other hand, appears to be in fine health.