h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Marv, my son then aged around had pneumonia, he was in hospital for two weeks and kept asking if he was ever going to feel better It's very nasty in the young, there was one other child (in the next bed) with it also. I hope your meds start working soon so it doesn't escalate.

GDZ, I hope you feel better soon also .

Teuchter, I know what you mean about losing glasses. I've 'lost' mine several times and I need to find them to go and look for them I've got 'reading' glasses now so it's not that much of a problem to find the ones that are missing I tend to 'wear' both pairs at the weekend - reading the weekend papers and looking at 'puter screen mean I need both. I have one pair on the top of my head and others in the normal place - sometimes feel I've got them on the top of my head even though I haven't

I must read things properly, it was Titania who lost her glasses! Didn't mean to confuse. I have wandered all round the house looking for mine when they were on the top of my head at least several times before.

I still go to push up my glasses when I'm wearing contact lenses.
For most things that are absolutely necessary I have spares at home. Glasses (even if they're prescription sunglasses they'll do if I need it), contact lenses, insulin pens, blood glucose meter, insulin. Yes there have been times when I've had to break out the spare set of diabetes stuff because I've left my kit at work. Survivable but very much a panic inducing moment.

I always have at least 4 biodegradable dog waste bags in my coat pocket, at all times, even when I don't have the with me.

Three pairs of glasses and I can still waste 5 minutes of a morning looking for the particular pair I need. At least, thanks to recent ocular events, I know that my prescription is still good.

But my photography career seems to be over, at least temporarily. The dragon is getting between me and the diopter. A whole set of pics I took last week are totally indifferent and the lighting is poor. I hadn't realised how much the camera is designed around the right eye until now.

Oh, and re what Irv said -- >>People used to come to this part of the U.S. to get away from lung ailments like pneumonia. I've never figured out why they thought it was a good idea to bring everything that was causing the problems with them.<<

Like Billy the Kid's mother; she came out to the Southwest Territories because she had TB -- consumption -- and thought the air would be better. So they moved to Silver City, site of copper mining...

Exactly, Lil.

I recently had a pair of glasses break. I'm very near sighted so I definitely know what you mean about not being able to find a pair of glasses when you aren't wearing one. My new problem is that while my new glasses are fine, my most recent pair is still busted. Which means that the next time I lose the ones I'm wearing -- or when they break -- I'll be wearing a spare pair that is at least two prescriptions off.

Here's a loobrush, Marv. I hope you get well soon.

Today is Wednesday so it must be dog-training night. Max is working for his Bronze Award of the Kennel Club's Good Citizen Dog scheme. The first test is always to ask the dog owner to produce their poo-bag. ("It's in the car" is not an acceptable response)

>> I always have at least 4 biodegradable dog waste bags in my coat pocket, at all times, even when I don't have the dogs with me.<<

Empty ones, I trust

Does anyone remember a discussions, several conversations ago, about Bink-bink birds?
I've discovered the identity of our local bink-bink bird. He's a blue-tit. I'm assuming it's a he, since they usually make most noise, but he doesn't half make a large racket for such a small bird.

At the moment, he's sitting in my apple tree, binking his heart out in celebration of the fine day we have here in SE Englandshire.

This has been Teuchter, ornithology reporter temporaire, returning you now to normal programming.

All of my symptoms are gone except one and I seem to have added another one. I still have a sore throat which none of the over the counter drugs I have so much as touched. I am now getting an ear ache. I have an appointment with the in an hour and a half then it is off to work with me.

*comes hobbling in from the guest rooms*

Anyone else having problems with the site today?

So my doctor moved up my appointment from next tuesday to friday morning to talk about my blood work. Apparently there is something worisome about my white blood cell count.

That doesn't sound good, Marv. I hope s/he's got answers and not just bad news.

My bink-bink bird turned out to be a Robin with its metalic sound. The blue Tit is a more twinkly sound and possibly a little quieter.
The noisest bird, to me, and more confusing is the Great Tit as can have a wide ranging sound. I had a two note call that went on for hours near my flat window which I couldn't make head nor tail of as not on my DVDs. It turned out to be a Great Tit in end and have heard the call again all over the place since then.
.
It is odd but sometimes in past I have thought there were loads of birds around hiding in trees but it is winter now so trees are bare and went to a local park today and realised that now I can see which birds are in the bare branches and recognise bird calls more, that actually just a few birds are making a lot of the calls. A lot of the noise is actually coming from Blue Tits, Great Tits and Robins. Sure there are other birds around but those three seem to make a high percentge of the noise.

For months outside my apartment in Tucson there was a bird that I *swear* was immitating the sounds of ambulances, police sirens, and car alarms. It would cycle through it's repetoire every morning.

That is entirely possible as even a Jay in UK has been filmed actually impersonating another bird. I think, but not 100% certain, that it is Starlings in UK that have impersonated alarms, etc.

Although I'm not a birder, I've heard that there are some Mocking Birds in Arizona. Don't they get their name from a tendency to mimick the sounds of other birds?