The last day of the school holiday was marked by a visit to the aquarium. The new exhibit, which we had only ever seen unfinished, is amazing. We spent a long while there, just drinking coffee (slush for the kids) and watching the turtles and pilchards doing their thing.
Photos will follow.
But not tonight. Because a horribly early morning is beckoning tomorrow.
Warning: This post contains some naughty words.
With a Snoopy birthday party happening in our household Real Soon Now™, all things Peanuts® are en vogue. Thus, it was no surprise when, in addition to a plethora of other Snoopy-related requests, I was asked by my 7 8-year-old daughter if I could please find some Snoopy music on my phone.
I had a look on simfy.
Everything seemed to be going just fine for the first six songs.
But then if this meme was ever needed, it’s right here:
We listened to the first song, but then we stopped listening to any further songs in order to leave a suitable buffer zone between us and anything after song six.
Safety first.
Remember the Caracal (Caracal caracal) that was eating penguins?
Good news from the Urban Caracal Project this morning – they think that they have caught it:
This is Disa – a “healthy adult female” – who will now be radio-collared and relocated some distance away from Boulders Beach.
Yes, it’s a bit dark, but isn’t she beautiful? Look at that shiny coat – that’s the Omega 3 oils from all those penguins she’s been eating. There’s a lesson here for all of us, and it’s only a matter of time until someone (Tim Noakes) launches the LCHP (Low Carbohydrate, High Penguin) Diet cookbook.
After all, extensive studies in caracal populations (n=1) have shown the obvious benefits of this eating plan.
Everybody is talking about it – the new AR app which is sweeping the world. It’s ruining neighbourhoods in Australia:
The place is in complete chaos with crowds of well over 1,000 per night. There is a massive level of noise after midnight, uncontrollable traffic, excessive rubbish, smokers, drunk people, people who are ‘camping’ in the site, and even people peddling mobile phone chargers.
It’s already the biggest mobile game in US history, and it’s heading for the UK. There’s a lot of chatter about it here too, and even though it’s not officially available in SA, people have tweaked the system and there are already groups arranging meetings to play together.
It’s… it’s not for me. But I’m willing to appreciate that it might be for others in the same way that 5-a-side football might not be for them. And as long as these Pokemon “trainers” don’t affect my life (see Sydney news article above), I have no problem with it. Even if I’m sick of hearing about it already. Very much like my approach to religious people then. And talking of them…
Religious people aren’t happy. Imams in Turkey want the app banned there, citing that it
…undermines the prominence and significance of mosques, which are the most beautiful worship places in Islam.
While in the US, according to right-wing Christian pastor Rick Wiles, there’s a real danger that ISIS might get hold of the app, in which you have to find and capture imaginary fantasy creatures, and adapt it to find and capture (or worse) real live Christians.
What if this technology is transferred to Islamic jihadists, and Islamic jihadists have an app that shows them where Christians are located geographically?
It’s a worrying point. But, if you are concerned about Christians being located geographically, then maybe all gathering together at one particular spot at 9am each Sunday isn’t your best plan ever. And neither is having your address publicly available on the internet simply by googling “Rick Wiles Address”.
But even if the “Jihadists” don’t get hold of the app, there’s still the ongoing risk of attracting demonic powers through your phone:
The enemy, Satan, is targeting churches with virtual, digital, cyber-demons. I believe this thing is a magnet for demonic powers.
And we all know that one minute, you’re looking for a Jigglypuff and then the next… well…
At what point does this game go live and the Pokemon masters are telling people to kill people in those buildings?
Quite.
To be fair, there was quite a lot of this going on in the US before Satan started playing with your AR-enabled smartphones, though.
We’ll give the good Pastor one last burst, shall we?
They’re spawning demons inside your church. They’re targeting your church with demonic activity. This technology will be used by the enemies of the cross to target, locate and execute Christians.
Either that, or they just found a Bulbasaur by your lychgate.
Or something…
Much as the theme music of the pisspoor Sunday evening offering of Carte Blanche heralds the end of the weekend in Checkers-shopping households all over the country, so tomorrow morning’s alarm clock will be the last “late” weekday wake up call as the kids head back to school on Monday after 4 (four) weeks off.
I say “late” in inverted commas because we’re not talking a nice long lie-in or anything. Just an extra (and ever so welcome) hour under the covers. That’s all over now – at least until a week in late September.
I will have to do the switch over the alarm setting on the phone from School Holiday to School Day as soon as I wake up in the morning, or I will forget. Good bye, Holi.
And back also, I fear, will be the traffic. Journeys to and from work will take three times longer next week than they did this. Also, it’s nearly August, so several or more of those journeys will be in the rain.
There is no upside to all of this, by the way. There doesn’t always have to be a light at the end of the tunnel, although a tunnel might help with the trip to work.
Normal positivity returns tomorrow. After that last early morning hour in bed.