Darkora - Nik's Blog

Day Four - Someone I love

It'll probably come as a surprise to... absolutely no-one... that my subject for this post is none other than my girlfriend of nearly a year - Amanda.

As I mentioned - we've been together for nearly a year (11 months as of the 4th of Feb) but strangely it feels like much less, we're still learning things about each other and making each other laugh with our foibles and little in jokes that are growing daily in both complexity and quantity.

Amanda herself is the most amazing girlfriend I could ask for - both physically beautiful and the most wonderful and kind person I have ever met. She's not afraid to be different from most of the other women her age - keeping a level head and logical mind that I've not seen from many adults whilst still able to do the cutest and craziest things without much shifting of mental gear. Her kindness and consideration knows no limit - she truly is a beautiful person inside and out.

Apologies to anyone who may think I waffled somewhat - perhaps that's what love does to a person.

All that's left to say is: I LOVE YOU AMANDA!!

Nik.

RIP Christopher Hitchens 13/4/49 – 15/12/11

"What can be asserted without proof - Can be dismissed without proof"

...no-one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away... The span of someone's life, they say, is only the core of their actual existence.”

Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man

Do you consider cat declawing to be unethical, and if so, what would you consider to be the best alternative?

yeah declawing is ABSOLUTELY unethical from a medical standpoint, and I'll tell you why!

so this is what a cat's paw looks like on the inside:

take a quick second to look it over, and note which parts of it are actually touching the ground and bearing the cat's weight.

it's the "palm" and the ends of the toes, right?

well, that's the problem. so you probably ALSO noticed that the cat's claws are actually attached to those last toe bones, which is why when a cat is declawed, they remove that entire last toe joint like this:

so the issue is, the bone that was bearing the cat's weight is gone. it no longer exists. this forces the weight of the cat's body onto the end of the second bone, here:

and that's a HUGE fucking problem. that bone was never meant to touch earth, the ends of it are covered in nerves and connective tissue instead of padding! putting weight on it WILL cause the cat pain, chronic-for-the-rest-of-your-life pain!

cats are terrible about actually expressing pain, but if you pay attention to how declawed and non-declawed cats walk, you'll notice that declawed cats put their feet down much more gingerly and are more hesitant with their first steps.

and this is because it hurts.

please don't declaw your cat. just use claw caps or keep their nails trimmed.

thanks for attending my TED talk bye

Day Six - Recommended Books

I used to spend quite a lot of time reading books, so here's my highlights;

Good Omens (Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman)

The Truth (Terry Pratchett)

Carpe Juguluum (Terry Pratchett)

The Fifth Elephant (Terry Pratchett)

The Janus Man (Colin Forbes)

Snow White and the Seven Samurai (Tom Holt)

Magic Kingdom For Sale - SOLD! (Terry Brooks)

The Bible According to Spike Milligan

Puckoon (Spike Milligan)

The Northern Lights (Phillip Pullman)

The Founding - A Gaunt's Ghosts Omnibus (Dan Abnett)

Of Mice & Men (John Steinbeck)

Fullmetal Alchemist (Manga) (Hiromu Arakawa)

I've had the pleasure of reading pretty much all of the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett and I would happily recommend them to anyone that likes fantasy comedy. If you haven't read one of his books, do it! (And then read the rest... and tell them Nik sent ya)

Nik

dont support industries that are driving animals to extinction thank you!

What do you think has changed in the mind of American workers?

The Lannisters send their regards…

We mourn. We remember.  We stand with the LGBTQ community against hate and violence.

Some call it cheating, I just call it winning.

via XKCD