If you've ever had any doubts about the varied and magnificent species that is Homo sapiens, might I suggest you head to your nearest movie theater? There, even the most casual of viewer can meet many of our species' most colorful and interesting specimens…

…and want to kill them all.Some anthropological notes from our previous expeditions follow. Some of these breeds are flighty, rarely seen, and must be observed with the greatest of care.

Captain and Mrs. Obvious

I am very, very tired of sending out variations on these emails. At least they're already written, and I don't have to try to write them from scratch each time. Option #1 is for the first-time offenders:

Dear [you]:

I've just received [number of] emails in quick succession that appear to be virus-generated emails from you. They look like emails generated by the Klez virus. The emails match viral patterns, include random images from my site, and are addressed to email addresses that are only available in the 'skin your website' tutorial that's available on my site (domesticat.net).

I checked your site, and you've recently posted that you plan on skinning your site, which probably means you've read the tutorial. The Klez virus (among others) scans files contained on your computer (including common web page extensions) and fires emails out to the email addresses it finds on the page.

Righto.  So let's take a moment out from the coding and talk Quarto for a minute or two.

Geof likes to remind me that all journeys begin with a single step. 

"The books we love do ruthlessly disclose something about us, as do the books we do not. And despite everything above, I am not certain I want to know what exactly my inability to read some great writers says about me."
- Tom Bissell, 'I'd prefer not to,' an essay published for Salon.com

I honestly thought I was the only one.I found the list of what someone, somewhere, decided was the 'hundred greatest books of the twentieth century' and, like the dutiful child I am, set out to 'better myself.'

Hello, and welcome to the fifteenth edition of My Kitties Are Cuter Than Yours! I'm domesticat, and I'll be your host tonight. In this edition of the show we'll explore the general silliness that abounds when two thoroughly spoiled rotten felines (total combined weight: 29 pounds) have to be sedated in time for their yearly vet visit.

Common side effects of feline sedation:

• inability to jump from the floor to the couch
• inability to walk without falling over
• crossed eyes
• extreme lethargy
• complete limpness when picked up by favorite human
• inability to lie down gracefully ("thump!" was heard a lot)
• inability to meow properly ("meh?" and "sque….." were heard a lot)

Exhibit A: Before Sedation