Is “actually” the new “um”?
I have caught myself at it, and now I can’t seem to stop hearing it in conversation over and over. It’s the word “actually” and it’s overuse is close to driving me mad! I enjoy listening to talk radio, and when a guest comes on and seems to stumble with what to say, or gets over-excited on the topic, they will use “actually” over and over. I took a computer class a few weeks ago, and I couldn’t concentrate on the lesson, the instructor was repeating it with almost every sentence. I decided to see how many times she said the word “actually” in ten minutes, I counted 26. People used to have a nice little meaningless “um” but have substituted it with actually. I can’t fathom why.
Hamster: “It’s more than my leetle brain can take!”
Actually is a perfectly good word when used appropriately in the context of emphasis, provided it is used sparingly. Listen to other people talk and you will probably hear it over and over throughout the day. Is our world that captivating that we need to emphasize every other sentence? If you do need the emphasis why use the same one over and over and over? It is almost as bad as listening to political ads during the noon news. It’s a trap!
Hamster: “Oh, no! Say it isn’t so!”
Please, good people everywhere, consider using some new words in your speech. I suggest; certainly, positively, probably, undoubtedly, indubitably and assuredly. I would actually appreciate it. Thank you.
Hamster: “This is indubitably a yummy cob of corn.”
World Hamster Day!
It is time to celebrate!
April 12th is World hamster day because it’s the day the first Syrian Hamsters were found and bred which led to people having domestic hamsters! Hamsters also participate in science and make our lives much better.
It is time to give your hamster the appreciation they deserve.
Mathijs van der Paauw at the Hamster Tracker site has a book on cooking for hamsters. Great stuff!
There is a certain bylaw in our area that states that we can only have four hamsters per house. JSVB has a post explaining the discriminatory civic law. History has shown us that the practice keeping multiple hamsters can give rise to greater genetic variation. Perhaps this is going a bit overboard…
So lets celebrate by stuffing your cheeks with your favorite treats and eating them in the comfort of your bed.
The end.
Lick Your Rats!
Okay, I have diverted a little from hamsters on this one, but I find the information very interesting and the game if short and fun.
A website from the University of Utah has a page where you can learn about how a mother rat can affect the future path her pups will have by her behavior with them in the first week of life. How much she grooms and licks them will decide if they will be anxious rats when stress comes along, or if they will calm quickly after stressful situations, even when they are adults. She has the power to change then epigenomes, their genetics and how they behave.
I find it fascinating to uncover how we have such an impact on the genetics of others, beyond the sperm and egg. It makes me wonder how our society is changing how we adapt to our environment.
Are you an attentive rat mother? Click on LICK YOUR RAT to find out and learn more.
How to Thoroughly Spoil your Hamster
So you brought home your hamster and you love your little rodent to bits. But how do you express your love? Give it tons of sunflower seeds? Redesign an Ikea shelf system into a hamster habitation unit called Buok? Or maybe you pick up the ultimate hamster exercise unit for your little princess…
The Super Pet Dazzle Exercise Carriage available in pink and blue. For those magical moments when they have to go to the ball.
Already Tired of Winter.
Winter is making its way to my area of the planet, and I am not too pleased. Some things I love about winter in Canada, like parties, and getting together with family, and hot yummy food and treats. Most of the winter accessories I don’t like, especially cold, dark days and snow. I would be happiest if the snow just stayed on the mountains, then those snow loving people could go and visit it any time they liked, and I wouldn’t have to deal with it.
All the same, we are purchasing snow tires for our car this winter. Snow tires can be helpful driving on cold rainy days as well and I am all for that. I have been doing some shopping and I found a really great website on winter tires that can be helpful if you are considering getting some for your automobile as well. Winter Tires: All you need to know. It has several articles on selecting and choosing the right tires for you, and I even learned a quarter test for wear. To find out if your winter tires are going to have enough tread to last out 10,000 kms or the rest of the winter season, take a 25 cent piece with the caribou on it and stick it into a groove with his nose down. If you see the tip of its nose, it means the tread depth no longer meets 6/32 of an inch, so the tire probably won’t last all winter, or 10,000 kilometres. Clever!
Happy is so sad.
That’s it, 100 Grey Cups are now in the books, and the Toronto Argonauts have bookends on the trophy. They defeated the Calgary Stampeders today at Rogers Center in front of a home town Toronto town to clinch the Canadian Football league trophy, the Grey Cup. In 1909 it was a Toronto team that won the inaugural Grey Cup championship as well. This year I was disappointed that my favorite team, the BC Lions and my other favorite team the Saskatchewan Roughriders didn’t make it into the final game. My little friend, Happy the horse was cheering for his horse friendly buddies, the Calgary Stampeders to win, but was bummed out when they lost. As they say in Saskatchewan most years (they have lost a few), we will get them next year!
Drop in on us for Thanksgiving
Earlier this year my cousin came for a visit and we took a trip to Hell’s Gate tramway. Because we were locals they gave us a ticket to come back to visit again this season. I have been meaning to visit again, but time seems to slip away and this weekend is the last opportunity. I went to their website and found that they are having a pumpkin drop contest!
How can I resist it? They let you drop a pumpkin from the tram and try to hit a target!! See you there! Hell’s Gate Airtram. click to visit their site.
