Why Can't My Cats Be More Funny?

   That well known feline face is, of course, "Grumpy Cat". The cat has a form of dwarfism, which gives it it's unique appearance. It's also made it's owner very, very wealthy. To the tune of 100 million dollars. It started when a picture of the cat was taken by the owner's brother, and posted on a social media site. From there, it took off, and meme's of Grumpy Cat are now everywhere.
   Then, there's this guy:

   He's named "Maru", and lives in Japan. His you-tube videos have been viewed more than 200 million times, and he's got hundreds of thousands of followers. Not bad for a Scottish Fold kitty!
   We've got 3 cats

   But they haven't yet made us any money, and likely never will. As you can see, all they seem to do is sleep, eat and hawk up fur-balls, although the silver-grey one does enjoy a quick gallop around the house. Usually at 1:30 a.m. But sadly, no fame (or fortune) will likely come from these kitties. And you know what? I'm actually o-kay with that. Although, making a little extra cash from their shenanigans would be nice!

TTFN

Godzilla Is Back Home

   Toho pictures in Japan is going to re-launch the king-sized monster with his original producers. Godzilla stomped into Tokyo more than 60 years ago in 1954, and has made 28 appearances since. Toho cut all ties with Godzilla in 2004. So why the decision to bring him back? Simple. The latest version (Godzilla 2014) has made 500 million dollars.
   Will I be watching the Japanese re-launch? Is sushi made with seaweed? I loved the vast majority of those old movies, the ones made in Japan at least. In fact, the night before my wedding, I was up watching the original black and white Godzilla. With a guy in a rubber suit, and that rubber foot smashing down on "Tokyo".
   I'll admit, I've never been a fan of the American re-boots, but if Toho is going to bring him back (hopefully closer to the original), then yeah! I'll watch it!.
   And a note for trivia fans: Godzilla's "roar" was someone drawing a rosined up leather glove over the de-tuned strings of a stand-up bass fiddle.

TTFN

People Are Getting Lazier

   So it would seem after a co-worker had this posted on one of the facebook pages we're on. It was relating to a selfie she had with her dog. She wanted to find out if other people took selfies with their pets.
   She got this as one of the responses: "Good pic wit da dog....glad it's Not wit 20 - 50 Cats..Lol". Now, I'm not an English professor, and don't pretend I am. But really? Why not simply use proper English and say "Good picture with the dog....glad it's not with 20 - 50 cats.. Lol"
   It's just as easy to do, and doesn't make you look like someone who needs a remedial course in our language.
   In this case, I don't think it was a simple spelling error (I've seen "wit" used instead of "with" many times on facebook). This is intentional, and, I guess, supposedly a time-saver. It's not. It didn't even take me an extra 2 seconds to write the same sentence with the correct spelling.
    I hate to say it, but computers and social media do seem to be dumbing down people.

TTFN

A Sad Day In Canadian History

   It was December 6, 1989, and Canada was shocked by what happened in Montreal that Wednesday. A heavily armed 25 year old Marc Lepine walked into Ecole polytechnique and started shooting. His targets were mostly women. Lepine claimed he was fighting feminism, and calling women a bunch of feminists.
   When the shooting ended, 28 people had been hit, and 14 women killed. Lepine killed himself. The massacre sent shock waves around this country and the world, not only for its savagery, but the fact women were the targets.
   In the aftermath, the fight on violence against women has grown, and now the week commemorating the tragedy also includes other victims of violence, including bullying. It also forced our nation to grow up, and spurred the call for tighter gun control. Lepine legally obtained the Ruger mini-14 .223 calibre rifle he used in the attack.
   Lets never forget those killed in this senseless attack:
Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault,Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.
   Lets also hope their tragic deaths continue to spur action on the issue of violence against women.

TTFN

Still Getting Spam

   It's been about 5 months since I blogged about new rules governing spam e-mails, where corporations and/or entities doing so could face things like fines. The whole idea was to keep in-boxes from being flooded with garbage like this:

Costco

       WHOLESALE

Our online store Costco.com received an order and the personal data of the recipient coincide with yours.

You may get your order in the nearest Local Store.

Attention! Your order can be reserved within 4 days.

   And this:

You are still able to qualify! Affordable coverage has not expired yet. Act now to get a quote at no commitment.

- Quick and Fast Quotes

- Health Care Plans For All Situations

- The Nation's Top Healthcare Providers

- Protect yourself and your family..

Get coverage here right now: 

   Which I've been getting quite a bit of just this week alone. I have not (nor ever would) signed up to be on their mailing list of these and other spammers, and yet the legislation enacted this summer is supposed to keep these at bay. I have, in fact, made good use of the "unsubscribe" tab on an awful lot of other email, but the examples I gave don't have it. And I'm not about to hit "reply" on any of them, over concerns about inadvertently downloading a nasty bug or something.
   I simply mark them as "junk", which doesn't really help, since they come from different senders. I guess I'll have to talk to my techie to see what, if anything, he can do to keep this stuff out of my in-box.

TTFN

A Huge Blaze

   And it happened last night in my new hometown of Yorkton. Crews were called out about 9:00 last night to what's known locally as the Robert Place Apartments, where flames and smoke were billowing out of the building. The building in question is the old hospital here in the city, which was converted to apartments years ago.
   I've heard a lot of people managed to evacuate with just the clothes on their backs, and lost everything else to the flames. Coming just weeks before Christmas, it's the last thing anyone needs.
   Already, the community has stepped forward to help those displaced. The Red Cross is offering food and shelter through their emergency measures line. And a local organization, Yorkton Manor Helping Hand is accepting donations. As well several Samaritans were handing out coffee and hot food to displaced residents
   Major fires, and fires of any kind, in this city are rare.
   Thanks to GX94 morning man Danny Ismond for the photo he snapped on the way into work this morning.

TTFN

The High Cost Of Giving

   As hard as it is to believe, Christmas 2014 is now just over 3 weeks away. People will be flocking to their malls and stores looking for that "ideal" gift for their someone special.
   And for those who have the means, why not get all 364 items mentioned in "The 12 Days Of Christmas", which has become somewhat of a benchmark for holiday spending. Or overspending as the case may be.
   Were you to actually go out and purchase them all, you'd be paying $116,273.00 U.S. And here's where you'll spend more. The cost of a partridge is up 5 dollars to 20 bucks this year, a pear tree is 188 dollars, up from 184. 3 French hens will now cost 181 bucks. They were 165 in 2013. 6 gees a-laying will go for 360 dollars, up 150, and 10 Lords a-leaping will cost you (per performance) 5,348 dollars, up from 5,243.
   Everything else stayed at 2013 values. 2 turtle doves cost $125, 4 calling birds (canaries) were $600, 5 gold rings $750, 7 swans a-swimming $7,000, 8 maids milking $58, 9 ladies dancing (per performance) $7,553, 11 pipers piping (per performance) $2,635 and 12 drummers drumming (per performance) $2,855.

TTFN.