Herbal Medicine

it's that time of year when everybody is coughing and spluttering and talking about the bugs and colds that are doing the rounds. most people i know have had an awful cold, but i have managed to dodge it. how could i be so fortunate?

my immune system was quite low a few months back, a midge bit me and my forearm swelled quite considerably, not what you want happening during Scottish midge season. coupled with the usual body pains i get it wasn't much fun, so i went to see a herbalist. even though it didn't fix the rest of me, the unexplained sore skin was alleviated a little. also the herbal medicine treatments that i received seem to have boosted my immune system to ward off the usual bout off flu like ailments - thank goodness.

as well as being a herbalist, Erika also sings. you can hear her sing lion's shadow. i was really impressed.

Help! Apple Powerbook Screen Problems

help! the picture above of my powerbook is not a lovely stripy desktop background, a la Paul Smith but a picture of my wonky powerbook screen. last night while watching a film, labyrinth starring David Bowie, it developed some weird brown stripes, which looked great but gave me just more than a little casuse for concern. the right half of the screen is separated into a light half and a dark half, which changes from time to time. sometimes there are white stripes resembling a spectrum 48k game loading.

maybe it was the goblins, or the Goblin king, but if you have any other suggestions, i'd very much appreciate hearing from you.

The Cat Came Back

Raku's remains were returned to us from the pet crematorium. my sister wanted that done so we can scatter his ashes on the heather where he used to lie. there is still a patch there which he carved, or nudged out for himself. we used to look out the window and laugh to see his little head pop up from the rockery.

i would have been just as happy burying him out in the back garden, with a little marker to say he was there, or even the notion of taxidermy, one of Derren Brown's pursuits, crossed my mind momentarily. you don't see that done a lot, i don't even think i've ever seen a taxidermy shop. but that idea creeps most people out, and the possibility of a taxidermist not getting your pet just right is quite probable, as they didn't know him/her. cremation was probably the right option though, seeing as Raku is the word for a Japanese ceramic firing process.

it's still strange around the house, everyone still misses him and we often think we catch a glimpse of a little black and white face at the window, or under the table. he was a very cool cat as i said before, but it's a little bizarre just how much his quiet little presence is missed. my mother especially misses him so as a birthday present recently i made a sculpey version of Raku to site there quietly. she was very happy with it saying i captured his personality. it is strangely comforting to have a plastic memento of him. here is the sculpture unpainted and baking in the oven.
i don't have painted up pics just yet. will try and get some soon.

this was just my second proper sculpey attempt (first being the Shoemoney head) and i'm quite pleased the way it turned out. the fur was interesting to form.

maybe one day i should take a cast of it and make a proper raku ceramic figure out of Raku.

The Rules - blog tag!

Summer blog tagged me for a second time with a meme:

from answers.com

In modern times, the advent of the Internet — and more specifically of email — has provided memes with a high-fidelity propagation medium that enables highly prolific memes to propagate quickly. Chain emails furnish a significant example, and in-depth studies have examined their evolution and mutation based on their differential survival rate. Paper-based chain letters, predecessors to this meme-distribution net, have also attracted study, but they have a lower propagation-rate due to the higher copying effort, and a higher mutation-rate may have occurred due to manual transcription or degraded photocopying, thus potentially reducing their lifespan. It seems plausible that the first email chain letters started when recipients transcribed paper-based chain-letters to email, suggesting that memes can move from one propagation medium to another (more efficient) one.

she posted her rules, well one big rule. here are mine:

1. never say never.
2. don't be afraid to give negative feedback to bawbags on ebay or to scammers on forums to retain your 100% record. that is rooted in fear. chances are they will give you a negative in return. so what? others may follow your lead and the internet will be a better place.
3. write "lol" only if you did.
4. do as you would be done by. yes, even if you are a masochist, have some consistency :).
5. always carry a flashlight.

dem's da rules. now who shall i tag? i know, Mike Dammann (with 2 Ns).