Today’s otter comes via National Geographic. An otter species thought to be wiped out from Borneo, Lutra sumatrana (the hairy-nosed otter), has been captured on film in Sabah. One of the world’s most endangered otters, the last time a hairy-nosed otter was spotted in Borneo was as roadkill in 1997. The conservation camera traps have also spotted the first video footage of the otter civet.
Please feel free to use this thread to natter about anything your heart desires. Is there anything great happening in your life? Anything you want to get off your chest? Reading a good book (or a bad one)? Anything in the news that you’d like to discuss? What have you created lately? Commiserations, felicitations, temptations, contemplations, speculations?
Categories: Life
Soggy here, innit? 
In memoriam: Diana Rigg 
Getting out the ‘yes’ 
100 books by women in 2016 
Hoyden About Town 
I’ve had a bugger of a week!
First, I found out my uncle in Scotland died. I’d not met him, and he was very ill (he’d just had surgery to amputate a leg in the hopes that would stave off what ended up killing him – I don’t have a lot of detail), but Dad’s pretty down about it. The only upside is that after not seeing him for over 50 years (when Dad’s family came out to Australia Uncle George got called up for National Service), Dad actually managed to go back to Scotland and visit a couple of times in the last decade.
Also discovered I get to have adventures in surgery in September – ulnar nerve release/transposition at the left elbow. Upside to my job is I get to know who the good surgeon’s are, and this one’s good, and quite lovely, if Thursday’s consult is anything to go by. Surgery shouldn’t be complicated and I won’t be out of action for long, but surgery in itself not usually fun.
And to round out the trilogy; my mother had to be hospitalised for a bleeding stomach ulcer on Thursday afternoon. She seems to be okay; they had to transfuse last night, but she is back to her cranky self from what dad tells me, understandably cranky given she was supposed to be flying out to China this morning to visit her siblings.
This week is fired, in my books. I hope other folks’ week went better.
{{{{{{{Jennifer}}}}}}}
Bugger. I’ve just been hugely busy with PITA tech stuff, so merely tedious. I hope next week is a vast improvement for you, or I vote firing the calendar and bringing in one with a better supply of Weeks That Do Not Suck.
BTW Lauredhel, I saw that same otter come up in my newsfeed and had planned to use it this week if you were still out of action. Excellent news from Borneo!
Thinking of you, Jennifer. That’s a lot to deal with all at once, and none of it easy for anyone.
I had a busy week: 1st week of semester and an ethics workshop to present. The workshop went very well, and I got some lovely feedback – There were so many positive comments about your presentation style, the content and pace – and the way you made a difficult topic much more accessible than they were expecting. Two of the participants said they were so inspired that they were going to seek out a university course in ethics as a result of the session!.
It made me feel all floaty and happy on the inside.
All the best, Jennifer. I hope you have a speedy recovery! Surgery is never fun. My sympathies for your Dad.
This noise about the elections and Liberals getting a surge is freaking me the hell out. I’m on disability and I had to fight hard to get on it. Tony Abbott mentioned cutting the number of people on disability pensions, and I just know I’d be one of the people thrown off it. I don’t look disabled, you see. And I can technically walk around, just not for very long.
I also have a date tomorrow. I think it’s a date. I’m pretty sure. I’m nervous cause he’s younger than me, and I feel all old and “past my use-by” as it were. I know such notions are nonsense, but I’m a total worrier, I worry about everything!
I hope everyone’s having a great weekend! ❤
This week has been a neutral week.
The AEC gave me a job! I am going to be a spiffy polling person on election day. So! Money money money money money. Moneymoneymoney. I’ve been struggling a bit since the kittens’ vaccinations, but now I’m going to treat myself to an avocado.
Medical stuff has been happening too but that’s not very interesting except to say I’m running out of ways to keep soup interesting.
@Jennifer *hugs* That is one hell of a week 😦
@Kim Yay! for money, enjoy the avocado!
I’ve had pretty crap day so far. Woke up with a thumping headache, dragged myself out of bed, yelled at grumpy uncooperative kids who were refusing to get ready to go to the Opera House to see “Just Macbeth” because it “was dumb” and we’d forgotten to prime them to expect to leave the house. Ended up pissed off with myself for being even grumpier than the grumpy kids.
Adam announced he couldn’t find the confirmation email for our tickets and that he must have accidentally deleted it. I quashed my pessimism and off we went. Got to the Box Office – no tickets waiting for us.
Adam explains to me half a dozen times over how he’s sure the money went out of the account. Can’t get the ANZ netbanking page to load on either of our mobiles. Can’t afford to buy tickets (and wouldn’t be able to sit together anyway). Give up and come home. Adam eventually works out that the transaction he thought was him buying “Just Macbeth” tickets was actually me buying ArtsNorth Choral concert tickets (it being on my card number should have been dead give-away) and when I finally crack and ask how he would feel if it had been me that had been responsible for this debacle, says he’s sorry and goes back to bed.
Which brings us to the next little stress in my life. He had the snip on Wednesday and he’s been completely shattered ever since. Falling asleep at the drop of a hat, grouchy, not himself at all. I can’t decide if I’m more worried about his physical or his mental health.
@ Jennifer – sorry to hear your week has been so sucky and hope your Mum is up and able to travel soon.
@ Mimbles sorry to hear it all went so horribly wrong. On ‘the snip’ did your hubby spend the next day in bed (or was he advised to by his doc?). If he hasn’t he probably should have and may still need to. My dearest took a couple of days of complete rest to fully recover. This idea of having it done at lunchtime and going back to work in the afternoon is a complete crock.
@AK – congrats on the job. Hope the avocados are nice and ripe when you go to choose one.
@ napalmnacey – I read on LP this morning someone saying that the election polls don’t accurately reflect the result, the polls before the election is called being more accurate. So based on that it would mean Labor returned to govt. I’m clinging to that.
@ Tigtog and Deborah (and Mr Tog and Mr Strangeland *waves*- Your last night! Do you have a special dinner planned for tomorrow or will you just open a bottle of wine and see how it goes?
@Mindy, we’re planning something with a robust but well-aged red. Possibly (probably!) followed by some vintage port.
@Mimbles, oh no, what a day! You were looking forward to to it, I remember from Tuesday night. Also 😦 for Adam re reaction to the snip – I remember mr tog found that the icepack was his best friend for several days afterwards.
@AK, yay for the AEC!
@napalmnacey – the poll that’s getting so much attention is at least partly an outlier, and Labor have had a week where they simply haven’t managed to be the spinners rather than the spun. They have the potential to do so much better. It’s not all over yet.
We had been threatening the girls with bubbly wine in bed tomorrow morning… but the more likely first drink will be at 5pm tomorrow, when we go to see our friends’ new house, which they took possession of last Friday.
I am so sorry, Jen, that is just…. that’s just a horrible week.
Nice one, Deborah! 🙂
Best with that, napalmnacey! 🙂
Avocados are the best, Kim. I hope medical stuff goes well.
Well, shit, mimbles. Um, um, I am not sure how to help except you’re welcome to a coffee on me sometime, if you want one. 🙂
tigtog and Deborah: I am very impressed at you both, and I’ve been loving the stars series, Deborah!!
Well, I myself have had a mixed week! My purse got stolen, and it’s been a HORRIBLE week moderating Feministe. But uni started, which is good! Except for this homophobic comment from someone I had quite liked… and also I am pretty sure two of my lecturers are not going to be so cool with accommodations I want. I can do without them, they would just make my life so. much. easier. Anyway, I’ll contact the disability dept on Monday if they don’t get back to me. Friday last I finished some work for a magazine I’m really proud of, so that was big for me. And I have lots of chocolate :D. So I guess more good stuff than bad? I’m trying to think of it that way.
{{{{{{Chally}}}}}}
Oh, how I hear you on the Feministe meltdown. Bah for homophobia and inconsiderate lecturers. Chocolate, however, is an unalloyed good.
The All-Blacks just beat the Wallabies. Boo.
Deborah: a contrasting moment in the world of student feedback, I got (on one of those ghastly end-of-semester anonymous forms) “give less boring lectures, and PLEASE wear more make-up.” Ha!
Thankyou for the good wishes and hugs, everyone. They’re most appreciated.
I spent yesterday finally getting around to starting True Blood, which is hilarious and quite ridiculous but generally quite fun. Halfway through season 1 at the moment.
@Deborah: That’s some great feedback! Congrats!
@mimbles: I’m so sorry *hugs*
@napalmnacey: I hear you on the freakout. I started the election cycle with this plan about how I’d read everything and write letters to ppl and stuff, and by the debate I was just wanting to stick my fingers in my ears because whilst I’d greatly prefer ALP over LibNats, they’re all being so frelling horrible it makes me want to cry. :C
@AK: Congrats on the job, and good luck with your medical stuff.
@Chally *hugs* boo for the bad things, hooray for the good, and extra hurrahs for chocolate 😀
@orlando: urgh. I remember when I was an undergrad it honestly took the lecturer being pretty terrible before I would give them lower scores or write critical things, but I know a couple of the other students in my classes would just write horrible things for the hell of it, and didn’t really get why I thought they were being douchey.
Here’s hoping for a better week ahead for everyone.
It seems Adam’s snoozy day yesterday did the trick. He’s just fine this morning 😛
Good news, Mim.
Jennifer, True Blood marathon is a most excellent plan.
In this weekend’s minor news, the cat has convinced herself that making an enormous fuss every time I wander past that Special cupboard in the kitchen must eventually convince me that I didn’t really feed her earlier, nuh-uh no-way I musta just imagined it, oh dear I really should rectify that omission Right Now. Nice try cat, but my memory is actually better than yours.
Both our cats are terrible liars, every time someone walks in through the front door they assure them that they have never been fed EVAR and will die of starvation right now unless the new arrival comes to their rescue. On a particularly busy evening with Adam and I coming and going to meetings and classes they have been known to wrangle 3 feeds. Apparently we occasionally have shorter memories than they do.
@Chally I think they should pay the Feministe mods in extra years of life, to compensate for the ones lost reading through the comments.
Perhaps you could start a chocolate-credit scheme where you eat lots of chocolate, then when someone else wants some, they can buy chocolate-eaten credits from you?
@Deborah For what it’s worth, students really don’t like filling in those forms either.
Thanks everyone for the congratulations, and hope all your problems get solved by Monday morning.
Notable student evaluation comments:
”I like the way she tells us what her view is, but tells us about the alternatives and makes it clear that it’s fine to go with one of the alternatives.”
and from the very next student:
”She only ever thinks that she is right and you’re not allowed to argue anything else.”
Sigh….
Also, in a completely different course: ”Too feminist for my liking.” To which I thought, “Diddums.” Especially because the feminism mostly consisted in pointing out when political theorists didn’t even see women, other than as mothers, wives and servants.
HOMG THE DATE WAS SO GOOD. SERIOUSLY YOU FOLKS. IT WAS LIKE… *SIGH*
I also got a very cute video of otters preening each other at the zoo today, just for Tig and Lauredhel. 😀 😀
@napalmnacey Squee! How exciting! I wish you all the very best, and hope the future brings you a succession of similarly spiffy dates.
Kim, I’m like, in shock, because I never have good dates. The horror stories I could tell you about the dates I’ve had, you wouldn’t believe it! So I’m sort of, “Wait, I had a date with a guy I’m attracted to, who’s attracted to me, who I had heaps of fun with? And didn’t freak out over? What the frig?!”
@napalmnacey: hooray!!!!! Good dates are awesome 😀 I hope they continue to be so.
Also eee preeningotters! 😀 😀
(((((((Jennifer)))))))
and (((((((mimbles)))))))
and (((((((anyone else whose had such a week)))))))
Nick
Do you want to know how much it’s costing to replace my student/transport concession card? Do you want to know how much??
FIFTY DOLLARS.
I just wish the person who took my wallet had taken the money and given the wallet in…
In other news, I will have that life and hugs and choklit plz. 🙂
I salute you all and wish you an excellent Monday.
My old cat learnt to fake a limp to get sympathy and food. We think by the time he died at least 3 of our neighbours also thought of him as their cat. He was a genius, in cat terms.
Hugs to everyone who needs them. I hope things get better soon.
In good news Thomas Beattie and his wife have just welcomed their third child.
Just wanted to let you know, I’m accessing the blog today via Safari, and the right hand nav is all stuffed up – recent comments are hidden behind the about us for some reason
Thanks Bek – there seemed to be an extraneous
</div>hanging around in the About Us widget which I’ve now removed – does that look any better?Yes, thanks tigtog, looks perfect now!