Otter-Monkeys

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A couple of things today, but first a Poll. vegemitelover got an ant farm a few weeks ago. The thing about Uncle Milton's Ant Farms is that they do not come with the ants when you buy them–ants have a very short shelf life. You must send away for them in the mail and wait a couple of weeks. Vegemitelover got this ant farm and set it up on his desk, which is within earshot of my desk, and is now waiting for the ants. During this time, a number of people have wandered over to his desk and say “oh, you're waiting for the ants in the mail? You can just have the ants from my house. I have been trying to get rid of them forever.” This will be “Price Is Right” style, trying to get as close to the actual number without going over. Your price, should you win, is the good praise of everyone. If you want something more substantial, I can give you a swift kick to the teeth.

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Today, there were more layoffs at the company where Vegemitelover and I work. Fortunately, they did not lay off the developers and course-builders (the people who do the actual work), they laid off some of the higher-salary people. Amongst the layoffs was the co-founder of the company. Ouch. The informal projection, within the software development department, of the life expectancy of the company is still about “February.” With what we expect the sales to be (as opposed to the optimism of the sales department, who are just trying to save their own necks), we should be running out of money about that time.

My Sea-Monkeys at work have gone unreported in this journal for a little while. The two oldest (the big males) ended up dying. The two smaller ones (females) have grown very large and have now developed egg sacks. I do not know if the eggs were fertilized by the males or by themselves (the females can fertilize themselves–do not ask me how the details work, they just can). As I write this, I am looking over into the tank and I see a couple of babies. I guess one already laid a few eggs and they hatched.

Another weird thing to note about the Sea-Monkeys is that the tank has started to grow all sorts of nasty looking blue-green algae. The FAQ says that not only is this okay, but it is like a tasty all-you-can-eat salad bar treat for them. Supposedly, they love it. Already, one has broken off a little bit of algae and is swimming around on its back, playing with it between its belly and its little arms–it looks highly amusing if you were to see it, kind of like an otter. Someone should teach them not to play with their food.

Posted in: Dear Diary Work

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