(no subject)

[lethargic_man]

Gamma-ray burst implicated in Ordovician mass extinction. Truth is stranger than fiction. Well, nearly as strange. Well, partially as strange. Ah, forget it. :o)

---

Meanwhile, Livio, the guy who got me the bell, has emailed me a couple of links trying to sell me pair of pedals for £50 and a pair of cycling shoes also for £50. Not bloody likely, I told him. Then he showed me his, and pointed out how the shoes clip onto the pedals, so you can put effort into lifting the pedal as well as pushing it down. Hmmm, given how he seems to be able to cycle much further than me without getting worn out, and also maintains a considerably higher average speed, maybe there's something to it after all. I wonder if there's a way of taking advantage of this that doesn't require £100 of expenditure...

---

My father laughed at me a while back when he discovered I'd kept every receipt I'd ever used my debit card for; he says he throws his away after a few years. I don't think he can blame me for being cautious; not after he got the taxman investigating his financial affairs twenty years ago (all in order, mind). Still, that was several months ago, and I'm yet to throw a receipt out. (ObTermPickedUpFromlivredor: Just what is a packrat anyway?)

---

And finally, does anyone know if there's an Israeli equivalent of streetmap.co.uk?

Comments

Packrat

[liv]

I got the word from loreid and I don't have a very clear idea myself what its origin is.

Re: Packrat

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

Mr Ears to the rescue (see downthread):



More information about Neotoma cinerea than you can shake a stick at (http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Neotoma_cinerea.html).

Funny it doesn't seem to be in Wikipedia... *search*search*search* Oh yes it is, I was looking in the wrong place.

Whoa, did you know cholla is a type of cactus? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholla)

[hairyears.livejournal.com]

It's a small rodent, correctly named the bushy-tailed woodrat Neotoma cinerea which piles a heap of debris over its nest. It is also said to heard all kinds of odds and ends and shiny things inside the nest.