The beaver is a proud and noble animal

So here I was this morning, making myself a lunch to bring to the office, when I feel something tugging at my pant leg.

I mean… how can you not just laugh at that sight. Fricassee of cat, anyone?

He's also discovered how to climb up on my dresser, so basically, from now on, I'll be picking shit up off the floor on a daily basis:

 

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On a completely different note, I've been hacking my LJ client for fun. I'm basically doing this to hone up on my C# skills, but it's really, really fun :D

Urgh. Boris has discovered the joy of jumping up on my desk when I'm home. He was really cute this morning, sitting on my keyboard chasing the cursor on my screen. The bad side of this is that I can't really browse and or type with a keyboardful of cat, so I usually dump him on my bed.

These days, he's flexing his kitty muscles and trying to jump on everything, which includes the back of my computer chair. That's always a tad worrisome, as he's not coordinated for beans, and I'm always afraid he's going to misjudge the jump and claw me in the back – where my freshly healing tat is located. So anyway, this morning, he tried to jump on my lap as a prelude to reach the desk. At this point, I'm just wearing my kimono as I just got out of the shower… You can see this one coming. He jumps, the fabric slips from under him, and I wind up with two huge gashes on my hip. Sexay, indeed. Bugger.

Was talking Tia about how weird some elements of Japanese culture can seem, which reminded me of Chindogu. She'd never heard of it, so I thought I might use a little blog entry to bring laughter to those people who might wander across it.

Chindogu are inventions that seem like they're going to make life a lot easier, but don't. dogu is Japanese for “tool” and chin is Japanese for “weird” (not to be confused with the Japanese for “penis”, which is also chin). Thus, a chindogu is a weird tool.

The following ten tenets define the gentle art and philosophy of Chindogu

1. A Chindogu cannot be for real use

It is fundamental to the spirit of Chindogu that inventions claiming Chindogu status must be, from a practical point of view, (almost) completely useless. If you invent something which turns out to be so handy that you use it all the time, then you have failed to make a Chindogu. Try the Patent Office.

2. A Chindogu must exist

You're not allowed to use a Chindogu, but it must be made. You have to be able to hold it in your hand and think 'I can actually imagine someone using this. Almost.' In order to be useless, it must first be.

3. Inherent in every Chindogu is the spirit of anarchy

Chindogu are man-made objects that have broken free from the chains of usefulness. They represent freedom of thought and action: the freedom to challenge the suffocating historical dominance of conservative utility; the freedom to be (almost) useless.

4. Chindogu are tools for everyday life

Chindogu are a form of nonverbal communication understandable to everyone, everywhere. Specialised or technical inventions, like a threehandled sprocket loosener for drainpipes centred between two under-the-sink cabinet doors (the uselessness of which will only be appreciated by plumbers), do not count.

5. Chindogu are not for sale

Chindogu are not tradable commodities. If you accept money for one you surrender your purity. They must not even be sold as a joke.

6. Humour must not be the sole reason for creating a Chindogu

The creation of Chindogu is fundamentally a problem-solving activity. Humour is simply the by-product of finding an elaborate or unconventional solution to a problem that may not have been that pressing to begin with.

7. Chindogu is not propaganda

Chindogu are innocent. They are made to be used, even though they cannot be used. They should not be created as a perverse or ironic comment on the sorry state of mankind.

8. Chindogu are never taboo

The International Chindogu Society has established certain standards of social decency. Cheap sexual innuendo, humour of a vulgar nature, and sick or cruel jokes that debase the sanctity of living things are not allowed.

9. Chindogu cannot be patented

Chindogu are offerings to the rest of the world – they are not therefore ideas to be copyrighted, patented, collected and owned. As they say in Spain, mi Chindogu es tu Chindogu.

10. Chindogu are without prejudice

Chindogu must never favour one race or religion over another. Young and old, male and female, rich and poor – all should have a free and equal chance to enjoy each and every Chindogu.

Examples of Chindogu

The partner who offers to scratch your back is a friend indeed. Except it all goes horribly wrong when they just can't seem to locate the maddening itch. The hand-held miniature grid-map allows accurate scratch-target specification.

Finally the essential accessory of the businessman's uniform, the neck tie, is of practical use.

And, of course, my personal favourite,

Running out of hankies while suffering from hay fever is true hell. This great hat allows you to sneeze from dawn till dusk. Completely pointless and truly avantgarde.

Just a little random entry, between bouts of code debugging. This song came up, and I always stop and listen to it when I hear it play. There's an inherent… sadness about the song that really gets to me.

On dort les uns contre les autres
On vit les uns avec les autres
On se caresse, on se cajole
On se comprend, on se console
Mais au bout du compte
On se rend compte
Qu'on est toujours tout seul au monde

There are certain songs like that that, for reasons or others, always make me stop and listen. Stevie Ray Vaughan's rendition of Little Wing always brings me a sense of hope. Isobel, by Dido, has made me cry more than once. Dixie, by Harmonium, always makes me chair dance – often to the bewilderment of my coworkers.

Ok, back to work. Just wanted to write that down.

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This is one of the most bizarre video games i've ever seen, and so of course it must be Japanese. The object of the game appears simple, you have to jam a big plastic finger up someone's rear end. Why? I have no idea. Built into the cabinet is a bent over backside, and on the screen in front of you appears the expression of the person as you shove the finger inside. The harder you shove the finger inside, the more points you score.

Original link: http://www.syberpunk.com/cgi-bin/index.pl?page=boonga

More from the brochure:

“Characters include: Ex Girlfriend, Ex Boyfriend, Gangster, Mother-In-Law, Gold Digger, Prostitute, Child Molester, Con Artist.”

… never get a tattoo done in the middle of friggin' summer. My back hurts like a sunovabitch, and my tshirts (and bedsheets) are stained black with all the ink that's rubbing off.

Poo I say, poo!

Outlook downloaded all my mail – twice. For some reason, every message I got this weekend was doubled. My email is reproducing by binary fission.

Evil.

Ok conspiracy theorists, gather round.

Old and busted: Irak. New hotness: Iran.

Washington has long regarded Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism; President George W Bush famously included it in his “axis of evil”.

Am I the only one that fears where this is going?

Original link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3905509.stm

…except when you hear a lot of scratching and then a flomp.

Kitty was investigating my desk, when he slipped off my printer and fell in my clothes hamper:

Michel and Isabelle came over to see the kitty, and spend a nice evening chatting. Good time, good times.

Going to bed now.