RIP Steve Jobs

"Your time on this earth is limited, 
don’t live someone else's life, live by your vision." 
- Steve Jobs, 1955 - 2011

Glow in the Dark Cats???

I saw this today on the Yahoo Home Page.
The cats are cute but this is
pretty weird, I think...

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korean scientists have cloned cats by manipulating a fluorescent protein gene, a procedure which could help develop treatments for human genetic diseases, officials said Wednesday. In a side-effect, the cloned cats glow in the dark when exposed to ultraviolet beams.

A team of scientists led by Kong Il-keun, a cloning expert at Gyeongsang National University, produced three cats possessing altered fluorescence protein (RFP) genes, the Ministry of Science and Technology said.

"It marked the first time in the world that cats with RFP genes have been cloned," the ministry said in a statement.

"The ability to produce cloned cats with the manipulated genes is significant as it could be used for developing treatments for genetic diseases and for reproducing model (cloned) animals suffering from the same diseases as humans," it added.

Why is there a Woodpecker here???

This is our chimney.
It seems to have a woodpecker on it.
Actually it has a woodpecker on it almost every morning lately.
Suddenly in the house we hear:
"tat..tata.tatt..att.ttt.ataa.tttaat." throughout the house. Mr. Woodpecker,
you really need to find a different pecking place.

Springtime Flowers...

My mother-in-law has the most beautiful flowering trees ever.
Actually I am very bad at growing plants of any kind
so I am so impressed when someone can actually take care of plants
and make them grow.
My grandfather had the "green thumb"
and my mother is very skilled in plants.
Even my daughter can grow, and not kill flowering plants.
So, here is my m-i-l's back yard!~~~~~
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Sammawow's 1 year Blogoversary Today!

Today is sammawow's one year blogoversary!First of all a BIG thank you for reading my posts for the past year.
~~~~~
One year ago I started this blog and throughout this year
I learned a lot about blogging and html, templates
and lots of words I never heard of before.

I didn't know if blogging was something I would like doing
and if I would be able to write posts
that would be interesting enough for people to read.
But I decided to give it a try and and then see how it would turn out.
After a while I kind of got addicted to blogging.
I really enjoyed reading other blogs
(particularly food blogs and cat blogs)
but I had never written anything in a public forum.

It was rather thrilling when I first started getting comments.
These were the first three blogs to link to me last year:
DaisyMae Maus & the Feline Americans, Little Catzee,
and Cat Banter with Kimo & Sabi.
Their early comments were very encouraging
and kept me blogging;
they were and still are very much appreciated.
And I still enjoy reading what they are writing about in their blogs!

So, today is my one year blog anniverary!
I have enjoyed getting to know so many different people all over the world.
Blogging sure makes the world seem smaller!~~~~~
- Get Your Own

Suprised to be a Violet...

I found this from DaisyMae Maus. Try it and see what kind of flower are you?
This is what mine said:

"You have a shy personality. You tend to hesitate before trying new things or meeting new people. But once people get to know you, you open up and show the world what you are really all about."

I don't know about that...

I am a Violet What Flower Are You?

What Sammawow means...

I found this at Dragonheart's Domain today.
Dragonheart is a sphynx cat so he has no fur.
He lives in Germany and has quite an interesting blog.

~~~~~

What Sammawow Means

S is for Sensitive A is for Abstract M is for Mystical M is for Mesmerizing A is for Alert W is for Wired O is for Old W is for Wonderful

What Does Your Name Mean?

More Driving and Astrology...

Previously I found the "Best to Worst" List of drivers re: astrological signs according to InsuranceHotline.com. Interestingly enough, I just found another one.

Here's the surprise - the list done by Allstate Insurance was totally different
than the other one.
The Allstate Study was analyzed by Carol Allen, Vedic Astrologer.
(I don't actually know what a "vedic" astrologer is???)
The article was written by Hilary Kramer and was also found on AOL, as was the first list.
It was stated in her article that there are quite contradictory results in many of these studies.
~~~~~
I like this one better as it shows Aquarius as #10 as opposed to the other one where I was listed as #11. Eventually I will find a list that says that Aquarius is the best driver! I was also interested to note that Aries (both my husband and son-in-law are Aries), which placed 10th before, has now become #1 as the best driver. So they will both like this list better also!
~~~~~

Best - Aries: Rams tend to be in a rush to get to every destination but are great drivers because they take care of themselves and stay out of trouble.
No. 2 - Cancer: Crabs prefer a minivan to a Maserati, with space for everyone from grandma to the many lost dogs and homeless people they may find.
No. 3 - Taurus: Bulls drive the nicest, most luxurious cars and can be found travelling along the scenic route, listening to their state-of-the-art sound system.
No. 4 - Gemini: These natural multitaskers can be found behind the wheel of a car while simultaneously checking their palms, on their cell phones and shaving.
No. 5 - Sagittarius: These adventurous souls can be found happily zipping along in a luxury business sedan on their way to a power luncheon or corporate takeover.
No. 6 - Capricorn: These punctual, fastidious drivers can be recognized for their perfect road etiquette (i.e. driving exactly the speed limit) or lecturing those who lack it.
No. 7 - Pisces: Most likely to pick up a hitchhiker or be a hitchhiker. However, these water lovers usually travel by boat -- or astral projection.
No. 8 - Scorpio: If they must leave home, they prefer to take the secret way to a destination, in a vehicle with tinted windows and unmarked plates.
No. 9 - Libra: Most likely to apply makeup when driving, which perhaps is why they're also most likely found getting phone numbers of other drivers at red lights.
No. 10 - Aquarius: These are the drivers most likely to have electric cars or those powered by potato juice and believe driving studies are a scam to raise premiums.
No. 11 - Leo: Leos are the most likely to not be driving at all, as it is beneath their dignity. They prefer to employ a chauffeur -- or better yet, have others come to them.
No. 12 - Virgo: These persnickety drivers can be observed tooling around town in their spotless, hand-waxed, air-freshened vehicles.

Peculiar Artistocratic Titles

I found this link when visiting Leslie's Omnibus
for Carnival of the Cats.
Her Divine Miss Marilyn found her Peculiar Aristocratic Title
so I wanted to find what Sammawow would turn out to be.
~~~~~
And here it is...

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Most Noble and Honourable Sammawow the Prickly of Happy Bottomshire Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I wasn't sure if I really liked this name as Sammawow
so I tried again as Samantha, which of course was her real name!

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Lady Madame Samantha the Saturnine of Lesser Wobbleton Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

ASPCA's Mission: Orange Today

Today the ASPCA begins Mission: Orange.
They are partnering with target animal welfare and community organizations around the country. "It will be a focused effort to create a country of humane communities, one community at a time, where animals receive the compassion and respect due to them as sentient beings, and where there is no more unnecessary euthanasia of adoptable animals simply because of a lack of resources or awareness."
~~~~~
The ASPCA President & CEO is Ed Sayres.He implemented a model of his plan in San Francisco.
After it was successful there, he brought it to New York City.
For 2007, the partner communities will be Austin, Texas;
Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
and Tampa, Florida.
~~~~~

Here is the FAQ for ASPCA's Mission: Orange.
~~~~~
The ASPCA will even send you this free sticker to alert rescue people
that there are animals inside your house in the event of an emergency.
For the official launch today,
here are China Cat and Willow
in and with orange boxes!

Good/Bad Driving and Astrological Signs

As usual, whenever I'm looking for something online I invariably find something else of interest. This is what I found today. It was an article dated December 13th from Toronto (Reuters Life!) regarding car accidents and astrological signs called Drivers by Sign.
~~~~~
A study was done by InsuranceHotline.com which looked at
100,000 North American drivers' records for the past six years.
They found certain astrological signs were more likely
to get ticketed and have accidents.
~~~~~
Not surprising to my friends and family,
in the Best to Worst list, Aquarius is second to last!
~~~~~
Best to Worst
~~~~~

1. Leo
2. Gemini
3. Cancer
4. Virgo
5. Capricorn
6. Sagittarius
7. Taurus
8. Scorpio
9. Pisces
10. Aries
11. Aquarius
12. Libra

Dona Nobis Pacem

Announcing BlogBlast For Peace
Christmas Eve 2006
This is from Mimi Writes

It's Election Day Today

ELECTION DAY TODAY

I heard on the news that there was a line at my polling area of at least one hour's wait. So I packed my huge purse full of magazines, and the new TV Guide that came in the mail today, and headed over to vote. At 3:35 pm I got out of my car. Inside I waited in a line with only 9 people in front of me. I gave the lady my driver's license and received my piece of paper that sent me to the next line. I gave that lady the paper and license, signed my name in the book, and went to the next line for the new touch screen machine ballots. After voting there I was back in my car at 4:09 pm.
So it only took thirty-four minutes.

So, Go Vote, all you people and then you can nap.

Dona Nobis Pacem

Peace Globe Day

Here is where you can view lots of globes

And here is where I found the beginning of the information for "Dona Nobis Pacem".

There is even a list of the Peace Bloggers listed here.

I saw that there were quite a few Cat Peace Bloggers included!

more cats

Your Brain

I just found this Brain Quiz. It shows you 9 different patterns
and you pick the one that most appeals to you.
I couldn't decide between the following 2 patterns
so I picked them both.

Your Brain's Pattern

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy. You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts. People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused. But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

Your Brain's Pattern

Your mind is a creative hotbed of artistic talent. You're always making pictures in your mind, especially when you're bored. You are easily inspired to think colorful, interesting thoughts. And although it may be hard to express these thoughts, it won't always be.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

Try it -- it's fun!

Yesterday was Friday the 13th

Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the Fear of Friday the 13th.
Did you have a bad day?????
Of course Halloween is almost here with the Fear of Black Cats

Top in Grilling - Who Knew?

I just read online today that on May 14, 2006 St. Louis was named the "Top Grilling City". It was reported in the St. Louis Fine Restaurant Guide here. And last year St. Louis was in second place! Jackson, Mississippi was first in 2005.

Here are the top 10 Grilling Cities in 2006:

• St. Louis, Missouri
  
• Des Moines, Iowa
• Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla.
• Grand Rapids, Mich.
• New Orleans/Mobile, Ala.
• Jacksonville, Fla.
• Jackson, Miss.
• Memphis, Tenn.
• Atlanta
• Charlotte, N.C
  

Kingsford Charcoal ranked 60 different cities across the United States based on the annual sales of charcoal, barbecue sauce, grills and picnic items. They said that in one year places like Grand Rapids, Michigan and Des Moines, Iowa (which were in the lower 20 grilling cities) are now in the top 10. This shows that Americans are grilling year round regardless of the weather.