Advice #40

Feed dogs dog food. They are apparently allergic to raisins/grapes, and maybe other things (I don't know, look it up). Dog food is meant for dogs. Dogs will eat human food even if it is not good for them. They could die. Watch out!

A friend of mine claims he killed a dog by a moment of negligence where a dog ate human food. Do not give dogs any food that is made for humans

Life goal achieved

Or one of them, anyway. And not a very important one. But I have felt an earthquake. Today, 27th February 2008 (at 1am), an earthquake. Nobody knows what is going on because earthquake websites are crashing. Just imagine what would happen if there was a real crisis, because then websites would have even more problems! I've been chatting about it with Housemate Louisa, but sadly nobody else is awake (unless it woke them up)

It seems to have been felt across the country and been 4.7 on the Richter scale. Just so you know. Hope you felt it too, it's exciting! Centred on Hull, as far as the American Geological Survey knows at this point

Our guide on the river Kinabatangan

Sam was our guide on the trip, and he was fantastic. He had an ability to see monkeys, birds, lizards, crocodiles, wild boar, orang utans and elephants (borneo pygmy ones) from miles away. He directed our boat towards the right tree, and we sat squinting for a minute or so before we saw anything. But once we saw it, it was fantastic watching the animals in the wild. The monkeys come to the river at night, because there are fewer predators, and a whole family sits on a tree overlooking the river. We watched the young ones playing around, and the male making its funny nasal call to shut them up.


Sam is 26. He has never been off Borneo. His family are farmers, and he has a brother and three sisters (I think). He went to his sister's house for christmas, and was really looking forward to it for the days beforehand. He supports Man United. He plays a lot of poker in the evenings. He has only ten days off ever year. He is a legend. A real funky dude, and I'm sure he'd fit in well in a city as well. It was really upliting to get to know a real person from the area and see what they like and how they live. There was a danger in our holiday that we wouldn't manage that, but 3 days with Sam was a good start!

Ornithology

I am coming to the conclusion that either University is very bad for birds, or home is very good. In five days at home revising for exams last June I saw all of these birds:
Blackbird ... Wren ... Blue tit ... Sparrow ... Carrion crow ... Greenfinch ... Chaffinch ... Great tit ... Robin ... Pigeon ... Pied wagtail ... Barn Owl ... Starling ... Swallow ... Kestrel ... Goldfinch ... Thrush

At university I have not seen that many types of bird in three years. The only ones I am likely to see on 5 randomly picked days are pigeons, ducks and blackbirds, with a possiblity of crows, starlings, moorhens and swans. So admittedly, it does win on water birds.

But today university won some respectability. A green woodpecker was hopping along the ground, looking into the air for danger, or maybe looking for insects to catch. I followed it across the grass in the brick-walled court, keeping my distance as I did so. I had a duck on each side of me, pecking at the grass, doing the ineffectual scooping motion that they do with their beaks (made for water, I tell you). Then down a tree came a squirrel, which bounded joyfully across the grass. It came so close to the woodpecker that the woodpecker had to jump out of the way, giving a couple of flaps of its wings, just to make sure. It seemed unreal to see animals packed in such a small area in the concrete jungle of university. But for just a moment, university beat home for wildlife

Update on previous entries

Firstly, the book about the English mentioned in "Das Klassensystem in England" was probably "Watching the English" by Kate Fox. I haven't read it, but it sounds like it analyses English or British behaviour in an entertaining way, telling you things that you kind-of knew before but hadn't ever realised or analysed.

Secondly, I can update you on the squirrel from "Seed Protection". I thought I had beaten it and saved some nuts for the birds, but a few days after the last post, it got its revenge. I had been out in town and came back to find the feeder on the ground in tatters. It had been gnawed away quite considerably, and was in 3 pieces, with the cord used to tie it to the tree also severed. I would have liked to see the shock on its face when the feeder fell out of the tree, probably with the squirrel attached. But ultimately it won and I can tell you that I won't be messing with squirrels again any time soon

Seed protection

For the second time this term, I have found myself wasting most of the morning watching a squirrel. I like squirrels, and enjoy watching them nibbling on things, running up and down trees, and generally enjoying being outside. But this one is a silly squirrel...

She came into the courtyard where I live, pausing once in a while to look around, checking for predators. When she stopped, her tail took a moment to catch up, finally ending up curling back on itself so it stood almost upright. She knew her target. She moved round the base of the tree, checking how it looked from all angles. She wouldn't want to make a mistake and end up in a bad situation. But she has been here before, and knows this tree is worth the dangers that come with it. This tree has seeds. What the squirrel did not realise is that the seeds are actually intended for birds, and not for little squirrels like her. Nevertheless, she eventually took the bold move of going onto the tree. The clouds looked down on her from the sky, they probably realised that the seeds are not for her! But they didn't say anything, they just grew and darkened, preparing themselves for the shower that came later.

With the seeds in sight, she dashed up the trunk, and climbed onto the bird feeder. She lost her inhibitions, but I had to tell her that she is not allowed seeds. So I dashed downstairs, and out across the grass towards the tree. She was occupied with her seeds so she didn't realise until I got right up to her. But just as I reached the tree, she heard me suddenly, as if woken from a dream, and dashed up the tree.

Determined to make my point, I dashed after her. I don't often climb trees, but it's fun, so I moved as quickly from branch to branch, getting as high as I dared until the branches get so thin that they bent perilously as I put my weight onto them. I looked up. The squirrel was perched on a tiny twig at the top of the tree, being buffered from side to side by the wind. There's always a wind up high, but particularly today, it was very gusty. But she had beaten me. I tried to stare her out for a while, but she won that too and I went inside.

Thinking I had gone completely, she edged (a little more cautiously than before) to the seeds and started eating again.

The process repeated itself again before she realised the point I was making and ran away. In the meantime, there are very few seeds left for the birds, but there aren't many birds either, so it'll probably be fine.

Jo has watched me with the squirrel on both occasions, and finds it very funny. She knows a lot about animals and thinks the squirrel is pregnant, so I trust her. She is going out with Chris, who is a Southampton fan. Southampton were unlucky not to get promoted to the Premiership this year, and will no doubt succeed next year (or so Chris hopes). Chris likes economics, sport and musicals. Jo likes musicals too, but prefers physics to economics. She lives near me, even when we go home from Uni, since we are from the same area. I thought I should introduce you to these people, because they are pretty amazing, and I will probably mention them again in future posts...

The environment, Part I

I am at home from university for a couple of weeks, which means coming out into the countryside. I go out walking the dog, which means I can enjoy the fresh air and think at the same time...

I want to save the environment, and a lot of people think like me. I look at the countryside, and I think it's a shame that even in the countryside, every square inch is managed farmland or there for some economic purpose.

I do my best not to leave things on that use up power - all those things on stand-by get turned off if I am away for any length of time. I get very frustrated that you can only get rid of stand-by on some things by turning them off at the wall. For instance, my stereo is plugged in behind a chest of drawers, so it's very difficult to turn off completely. And there are lots of things we can do, like using public transport instead of a car, and recycling.

I think the best thing we can do for the environment is to put money into researching "green technology". I'd love all our power to be wind power, solar power, or even nuclear fusion in future. And if we can do that, we can produce hydrogen with no costs to the environment, for all these hydrogen cars and things.

There is no doubt in my mind that environmental problems are real. Global warming is real, over-fertilistion leading to eutrophication is real, pollution is real, the hole in the ozone layer is a real problem, extinctions and loss of habitats are real problems. And the list goes on.

I would like to see some section of the world that is unaffected by humans so we know what it would be like, and because I find that beautiful. Just seeing the birds, rabbits and foxes in the hedgerows and fields is a great experience, and I am pleased to be able to experience it. It is something worth protecting.