~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
October 20, 2014

★~ Today’s Quote: “I have noticed that even people who claim everything is predetermined and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.” Steve Hawking

★~Brandied Fruit Day: 

Brandied fruit is easy to make and can be enjoyed anytime of the year. Storing fruits in brandy is a simple way to preserve the tastes of the harvest season without the hassle of canning.

To make your own brandied fruit, all you need is ripened fruit, sugar, and brandy (the higher the quality, the better). Wash the fruit, peel off any skin, and slice if necessary. Fill half a container with brandy and add the fruit. For each cup of fruit you add, stir in 1/6 cup of sugar. Make sure all the fruit is submerged in the mixture, cover the container, and store it in a dark place. You can continue to add fruit at any time. Your brandied fruit will be cured after a couple of months.

Serve a spoonful of brandied fruit over ice cream, with a dollop of whipped cream.

★~ Today in History:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/SOFCQ2bfmHw[/youtube]

♥~ 1910 – A baseball with a cork center was used in a World Series game for the first time.

♥~ 1955 – “Day-O. Day-ay-ay-ay-o!” One of the most popular of the Harry Belafonte hits was recorded — for RCA Victor. Day-O didn’t make it to the pop charts for over a year (January 1957),

♥~ 1962 – Bobby “Boris” Picket and the Crypt Kickers reached the top of the charts (for two weeks) with The Monster Mash.

♥~ 2002 – 22-year-old Yao Ming, 7-foot-5-inch basketball player from China, arrived in Texas to join the Houston Rockets.

♥~ 2003 – A 40-year-old man survived a 150-foot plunge over the fast-flowing Canadian side Niagara Falls — without a safety device.Kirk Joneswas charged with mischief and “unlawfully performing a stunt.” Jones said he was driven by depression, not a desire to become a daredevil. In other words he failed at killing himself. C

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1882 – Bela Lugosi (Blasko) actor: Dracula, One Body Too Many, The Ghost of Frankenstein, Murders in the Rue Morgue, Night Monster, Chandu the Magician, The Ape Man, The Body Snatcher; died Aug 16, 1956

♥~ 1932 – William Christopher actor: Father Mulcahy M*A*S*H, Aftermash, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., With Six You Get Eggroll

★~ Guinea Pig Gallimaufry:

For time immemorial, people have been keeping animals as pets. While the choice of pet may differ by region and of course, by individual tastes, the reasoning for taking in a pet is typically similar, and often there’s some sense of companionship involved. In Western societies, the guinea pig is a common pet for this reason — they are low-upkeep animals which are docile, do not tend to stray from their cages (even if open), and as Wikipedia describes, “become amenable to being picked up and carried, and seldom bite or scratch.”

And that’s great for the human in the relationship — the guinea pig is there when the person needs a little bit of company. But what about the guinea pig’s feelings? Switzerland was concerned about that question. So in 2008, they did something about it.

In June of that year, Veterinary Economics (a niche professional magazine) published a report of a new law in Switzerland, aiming at curbing animal abuse. The country took a broader-than-usual view of what constituted “abuse,” though: “Animals classified as ‘social species’ — such as guinea pigs and parrots — will be considered victims of abuse if they don’t live or interact regularly with others of their species,” per the magazine. Effectively, it became illegal to own just one guinea pig — by law, each guinea pig owner was required to provide his or her pet with a friend. (Or, at least, a housemate; there was no requirement that the two guinea pigs actually like each other.)

As Veterinary Economics further noted, there were not going to be door-to-door spot checks to make sure the pets had a bunkmate — Switzerland required “mandatory training” and hoped that public sentiment would help push others to comply. They were apparently correct. Public awareness of the rule was strong enough where a problem started to arise — guinea pigs, even though they’re a “social species,” don’t follow each other into death. (As an aside, contrary to popular belief, neither do lemmings.) When one guinea pig died, its owner would be stuck in an endless cycle, as Spiegel perfectly encapsulated in a 2011 report:

The owner would have to purchase a new, probably younger guinea pig as a companion to the aging survivor, whose eventual death would force the purchase of yet another guinea pig, locking the owner into an endless cycle of guinea pig purchases in order to adhere to Swiss law — even though he or she may only ever have wanted one guinea pig in the first place.

And nobody wants that.

But problems lend themselves to creative solutions, and the guinea pig one is no different. The Spiegel piece centered on the business of a then 41-year-old named Priska Kung, a self-described “animal lover,” who decided to rent out guinea pigs to owners who needed a companion for their companion. For about $50 or $60, Ms. Kung lends out a guinea pig for as long as the renter wished. When (if) the guinea pig is returned, the renter receives half of the fee back — think of it is a refundable deposit. Some rented-out guinea pigs were returned within a few weeks, while others never made the return trip home.

Ms. Kung’s business wasn’t a big money maker — she described it as a hobby — and, in fact, she claimed it cost her money in the end.

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I love the guinea pig story, and despite the fact that Guinea Pig rental wasn’t a big money maker I love the creativity behind the idea. However,  I would have made it more like a matching service. When someone was down too one Guinea pig it could be advertised as a companion Guinea pig to the family whose kids were begging them to buy a Guinea pig.  Because, really, when one of those suckers finally passes and has been properly grieved and immortalized by the child (grief 1 hour, funeral 1 day) most families don’t want another one – Think of the happiness of sharing the guinea pig experience with another family and finally being guinea pig free! Heck,  I bet most families would be happy to include the cage too – so their once beloved pet would feel right at home, in their new happy home and role as companion guinea pig!

After a stormy start to the day the sun is shining! Hopefully my yard will have time to dry out before the next rain fall. We are expecting a new truckload of wood chips any day and can’t wait. No more mud!

Have a Merry Monday.

Odd Loves Company,