Dancing About Architecture

Random Thoughts From Today

Last night I was reading Jew FAQ (Lelak is Jewish) and I was reading the 613 Mitzvot (commandments) that all good orthodox Jews should follow. One of the commandments is ” Not to castrate the male of any species; neither a man, nor a domestic or wild beast, nor a fowl”. This got me thinking, what if you are an Orthodox Jewish vet, would this mean that you can not desex any male dogs or cats? If it does (and I think it does), what would you do if your clients want their male animals desexed? Obviously if you have set up your practice in an area with a large Orthodox Jewish community, you wouldn’t get asked to do this, but if you haven’t do you then employ a non-Jew (gentile) to do your male desexes? Is this okay? Or are you breaking some rule by letting the desexing proceed? Yes, this is actually a concern of mine.

Yesterday it was a warm, almost summer’s day where the temperatures got up to 27C (80.5F). Today it was a cooler 17C (62.5F). However, when I left work at 5:30pm, it had plummeted to 12.6C (54.6F) with a ‘feels-like’ temperature of 3.6C (38.4F). It was bloody freezing and I was not dressed to deal with it being so cold. The forecast also said there would be “a wintry shower or not”. What the hell is a wintry shower and how is it different from a normal shower? Is the rain colder? The BOM really needs a glossary if they are going to start using weird terms.

We calculated the distance of our morning dog walk - and it is 4.6km which we cover in 55 minutes. I told my co-workers this and they were shocked that I walk so far every morning. Is this because it is a long distance or do I look like I wouldn’t be able to do it? What are your thoughts, is about 5km a long way to walk on a daily basis? I used to think that I really didn’t do much exercise, but I may need to revise this line of thought.

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Buy Now, Pay Later

Some pet stores in Australia are now introducing payment plans for animals, where you pay a 40% deposit and pay the rest over 6 months. This is absolutely disgusting. I am already against the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores because so many people impulse buy and then dump the poor animal when it becomes no longer cute. But now, to be able to buy a pet using a payment plan is just going to make the whole situation even worse.

If you can not afford the initial cost of an animal then you have no business owning one. Yes, I know this sounds harsh, but owning a dog or a cat is expensive. You have to be able to afford not only food but their vet bills as well. In the first year, the vet bills for a dog is approximately $600 - that is for three vaccinations and desexing. It does not include flea treatment, worming or heartworm treatment - for that add on about another $150. So, all up, you are looking at about $750 in standard vet bills for the first year alone and then about $200 a year for the next 15 or so years. If your animal gets sick, this amount will increase quite substantially. For food you are looking at a minimum of $30 a month, which is $360 a year. Therefore, in the first year of your dog’s life, you will pay no less than $1,110 for its food and medical bills. However, this is something that impulse buyers do not give a single thought to when they see the cute puppy in the window and the staff at the pet store certainly do not inform them.

So, go ahead, give these people a payment plan and then watch the number of dogs and cats being killed in pounds every day increase. The pet stores most certainly do not give a shit about them, all they care about is making a sale.

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Starting weight training

I have been talking about doing some weight training for a while now after watching Lelak lift heavy things night after night.  I have been doing a lot of talking and absolutely no doing.  So, last night, Lelak dropped a not so subtle hint that it was time to do what I have been saying I would, by leaving some dumbbells in the living room.  I could have left them there, but I thought, what the heck, let’s start getting into shape.

I followed this exercise plan for an upper body weight workout for women with my puny 2kg weights.  I did two sets of 10 reps and came through it not too shabby.  I feared, thanks to my fibro, that I was going to be in a world of pain today, but was pleasantly surprised that all I had was some general muscle soreness.   I need to find some lower body stuff to get my butt and thighs all toned up or else my top half is going to look gorgeous whilst my bottom half will be all flabby.   My aim is to do weights every second day and to keep up my dog walking every day.  Hopefully, this will put me on the path to looking and feeling fit and healthy.

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The Age of Terrorism

My mind has obviously been infected by hyped up media reports about terrorism.  I saw an abandoned suitcase lying in the supermarket carpark this afternoon.  My first thought was not, “Oh look, an abandoned suitcase.”  It was “An abandoned suitcase, I wonder if it is a bomb.”

Fuck you, world media and governments.  I want my innocence back.  I want not to be worried about abandoned suitcases wondering if they are going to explode any second.

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The Fat Just Walks Away

We got some episodes from the new season of Doctor Who currently screening in the UK. Doctor Who is one of those shows I forget how much I love until I see an episode and then I fall in love with it once again. Last season, I wasn’t all that impressed with it, but this season it looks like it is back to the Doctor Who I fell in love with. Great story lines, silly one liners and in episode one, the cutest bad critters ever.

Aren’t they just adorable? They are adipose babies, formed from human fat. Who knew your flabby bits could be so cute. If the Doctor Who guys don’t make them into soft toys they will be missing a huge marketing opportunity.

Also episode one featured an familiar face, which I won’t say any more about, but I almost went all fangirl with giddy delight. I do so love my sci-fi TV shows.

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