The Great Separation

Sega's Robotic Pet Cat

Meow-oddity - Some news items make me want to scratch my head and ask, "Whaaat?"

For those of you who don't want all the hassle of pet care:

Sega Toys' Dream Cat Venus is sure to be your favorite fake pet ever

Dream Cat Venus -- as this one's been dubbed -- has sensors in its forehead, and touch sensors in its body so that it can react when petted. Apparently more lifelike than previous version Smile, Venus also purrs when certain words are spoken. Sega Toys says this is the right choice for those who just don't have the time for a real pet. We're also pretty sure it's non-allergenic (unlike real felines), cheaper to own (doesn't eat or need to see the vet), and totally won't mind if you head out on vacation for three weeks at a pop without telling him. We'll still feel the guilt though. This kitty's going to be available starting July 30th in Japan for about $110. 

I suppose our government might think about about getting some of these robotic cats for all those elderly women we are reading.

What are the Odds of Being Struck by a Meteorite?

That's got to hurt - Well for Gerrit Blank those odds were pretty high. Talk about oddities.

Boy Hit by Meteorite

A 14-year old German boy was hit in the hand by a pea-sized meteorite that scared the bejeezus out of him and left a scar.

"When it hit me it knocked me flying and then was still going fast enough to bury itself into the road," Gerrit Blank said in a newspaper account. Astronomers have analyzed the object and conclude it was indeed a natural object from space,

If you're wondering what the odds really are,The Harvard Crimson says the odds of being struck by a meteorite during this century are three in one hundred.

I guess that makes Gerrit one down and two to go.

Something about Libraries I didn't know.

Ewwww - Ok. I learned something last night from a friend who works at a library something I didn't know.

Librarians sniff books.

LOL Weird right. Well, it's to protect the public from people who don't care for those checked out books very well.

Apparently some books come back wet or with stains and the like and the librarians need to know how to treat the book before putting it back on the shelf. Sometimes it never makes it back on the shelf.

Two words:

Cat Pee.

God bless those librarian noses.

Is That a Railroad Tie on Mars?

Is this the depot? - Here's an oddity for you. This is a shot from the Mars Rover that seems to feature a rock that looks strangely like a railroad tie.

Here's the link to the full picture on Nasa's site.

Should a kiss be a deal killer?

Grow up! - I figured it must be a slow news week if the media folk were going to make such a big deal of the story about the couple who saved their first kiss for the altar, but in reality it isn't. After all, Hillary has been named to Obama's cabinet, India suffered a horrible terrorist attack, and we just went through Black Friday where a man and an unborn child lost their lives to a stampede of consumers.

Nope, not a slow week, but the Fox Sunday Morning news crew were certainly bent out of shape over a kiss, or rather the lack there of in the relationship of two people they don't even know.

The question is, why?

You can read here about the two abstinence teachers who just committed their lives together in Holy Matrimony and how they saved not only sex, but kissing till they were married.

You can see the video of the Fox morning crews' reaction here .

What stunned me most when I first heard it was the sheer immaturity of the anchors. I was willing to concede that maybe it was just my lack of kissing experience that lead me to that notion but later in the day I chatted with my married friend Stacy and she had the same reaction to the news anchors.

One news anchor said he'd give the couple six months before they got a divorce.

What? Just because they spent three years talking and getting to know each other's desires, loves, and characteristics, and not the way they kiss? You must be kidding me. Whatever happened to "growing" together?

The argument they tried to make their stand upon was that the way a person kisses you that first time can determine "chemistry" and "fit". Oh and of course, the age old argument from Satan that uses this basic structure, "You can't buy it till you test drive it."

My immediate thought to those arguments was a question.

If their arguments are true, how in the world has prostitution survived for so long?

After all, if a mere first kiss can turn you sexually off then prostitutes should have trouble finding people willing to chance being turned off by someone who makes her or his income by giving passionate kisses and sexual favors.

On one hand the world says we must grow and learn and experiment sexually and on the other it says it's a lock and key thing (either it fits or it doesn't). Now which is it? Can not a person fall in love with another for their mind, likes, loves, and passions? Should a kiss be a deal killer? What if that first kiss was bad because of nerves and the over reaching desire to impress because one valued the other so highly for other reasons? What if they've never kissed another in passion before? Or do you want someone who has experimented and perfected their kiss with many others?

The real problem that the world seems to have against those people who wait, people who frankly are typically devote folk who value saving themselves as gifts for that one special person, is selfishness. They are so wrapped up in self-centeredness that making sexual sacrifices for others is absurd and even offensive because it raises a mirror before their altar to self. And that is an altar that stands in opposition to the temple of Christ.

You might try to make the argument that, "It's just a kiss." Well, if it's just a kiss would you kiss your pet the same way? A baby? Your child? Face it, we're talking kisses that arouse and that is sexual.

These news anchors and their like are focused upon their own physical lusts. They stated pretty emphatically that it was silly to not try the car out first so as to see if it met their needs. That is the mantra of the world. The focus is on "me", on what that other person is able to do for "me."

It's the same mantra Satan used to get Adam and Eve to sin and lose their place in the Garden of Eden. It's the self-centeredness that caused the murder of the unborn child and the Walmart employee who was trampled to death by shoppers racing to get "theirs."

It's a mantra that no longer has power over we Christians because of the work of Christ Jesus on the Cross.

“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honourable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no-one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.” (1Th 4:3-8 NIV)

The Great Separation continues.

Bird Eating Spiders and Bees that Count.

That creepy crawly world - Here are two oddities that I just couldn't pass up posting about. Both my father, knowing my proclivity for such things, sent to me.

The first is real creepy and for the squeamish and arachnophobic I would suggest closing your eyes to read the rest.

Okay, since you're not listening, go ahead and click over to this news item about a spider big enough to eat a sizable bird.

In this case the spider is a golden orb weaver and the bird pictured here is a Chestnut-breasted Mannikin.

This next oddity is about bees. And as of late I've had a certain affinity for bees I find it interesting, particularly since I've been stung three times in the past two weeks, the last sting causing my arm and hand to swell up. You might be interested in seeing my post before this for video of the bees in my backyard.

That said, did you know that bees can count? Apparently they can. I wonder if they've been keeping track of how many times I've been stung?

Here's the link to the article: Australia scientists say bees can count to four.

Very interesting. I always knew bees were smart.

God sure is creative.

Religion is Compared to Smoking in Public Place.

Light'em if you got 'em. - Good grief, it's amazing what papers will print in their opinion pages. The nwfDailyNews has an opinion article where the writer compares religion to smoking. It's apparently a reaction to A lawsuit brought upon the Escambia schools for having prayer in schools.

The writer of the opinion piece, Religious addiction, draws the analogy that religion is like smoking in public places. And so, like the laws governing smoking in public places, religion should also be eradicated in public places.

Religion is like smoking. In moderation, it can be very satisfying; in excess, it becomes an addiction. Those of us who don't smoke or practice a religion just want to go about our lives being smoke-free and religion-free. Smoking laws and religion laws do not stop their practitioners from doing either - they just protect those of us who think the habit is unhealthy, yet still allow those who want to do so to continue in their own environment.

Of course the problem I see with this analogy is that there are a number of people not satisfied to keep people from smoking in public places, they also insist that people be kept from smoking in their cars and in their homes. I wonder if that same path will eventually be taken for those practicing religion?

The Great Separation continues.

Man Lands Record Cat Fish with Toy Barbie Fishing Rod.

Did Barbie load the cricket? - Here's a funny and weird news item that caught my eye. A three year old girl was fishing with her grandpop but had to step away to the restroom.

When she did Grandpop took over and a record setting catfish swallowed the cricket bait attached to the toy Barbie fishing rod.

Ananova reports:

Alyssa returned to find her grandad battling with the monster fish.

"She said, 'Papa, you're going to break my rod,' because it was bent double," said Mr Hayes.

After 25 minutes, the pink plastic toy prevailed and Mr Hayes landed the 21 lbs,1oz catfish on the 6 lbs test line.

The catfish was thirty-two inches long and two inches longer then the fishing rod!

Now that's a fishing story.

PETA Wants to Buy SeaWorld.

Freeing all the Willys - With the sale of Anheuser-Busch there is talk of the ten theme parks the company owns being sold off because InBev doesn't want those as part of the deal.

Well, here is a big surprise. PETA apparently is offering to buy one of the SeaWorld parks. Guess what they want to do with the animals.

Michael Stetz reports for UNION-TRIBUNE: PETA: Nothing fishy about SeaWorld bid.

The animal rights advocates said they have a donor willing to put up the bucks to buy at least one of the three SeaWorld parks – in Orlando, San Antonio or, of course, San Diego – put the animals in marine sanctuaries and perhaps return some to the wild one day.

The group wouldn't close the joint. Instead, it would replace the killer whales, dolphins, stingrays and other animals with virtual reality exhibits.

The viability of a PETA theme park to me seems ludicrous. I'm fine with the group, crazy though they be, raising funds to buy something they want, but frankly most of those animals would not survive in the wild. Which I guess is why they are talking about marine sanctuaries. But isn't that basically what SeaWorld is to a degree anyway?

Another Four Eared Cat.

Can you hear me now? - Okay this is weird and cute all at once. Though I'm not sure exactly who I find this cute. I mean, for pity sake that is one spooky looking cat but I find myself mesmerized by it's cuteness.

You can see the picture of this striking cat named, Yoda, here: Meet Yoda the cat with FOUR ears.

It's something else.

Update:
Here's a picture I found via flickr

related post:
Cat with Four Ears?!