#109: Spend a whole day in a bookshop
Fine. I admit it. I stole this idea from http://wordgardening.blogspot.com.
Today I took my insatiable-book-loving partner and myself to Canberra’s biggest bookstore: Borders. We spent many hours there, and stopped for a hot chocolate and a chocolate caramel slice partway through. Before we even left the house, we had decided to buy one book each. No more, no less.
(Before I go any further, I should mention that my fish are all still alive, and I’ve now mastered that wacky pH thing, plus given the non-danios toys and places to hide from their manic companions.)
I spent large chunks of time reading – everything from “Lofts” (other people’s incredibly pretentious and clean-yet-uncomfortable looking living spaces) to “Up the Duff” by Kaz Cooke (giggling maniacally throughout, and wincing rather a lot at what I’ll be facing a few years from now). I finished “Deep Water” by Pamela Freeman last night, which is the second book in her Castings trilogy, so it was the perfect time to allow myself just one book to buy. Only one problem (other than wanting about nine other books before even looking at anything): Borders had sold out. In the end, we went and bought it from Dymocks. I definitely couldn’t wait until it came into the library. That could be weeks!
An interesting side effect of browsing is that I literally salivate. Ah, books. . . how wonderful you are.
My partner bought “Leviathan” by Scott Westerfeld, which he’s just read (borrowed from a friend), and wanted to own, “Because it’s not just a book, it’s an artifact”.
He’d give it a G or PG rating, and I’d give the Casting trilogy an M rating (nothing gratuitous, but there’s sex and rape, plus various other violence, and supernatural stuff involving gods and at least one goddess). Both are EXCELLENT speculative fiction books (“Leviathan” is steampunk, and the Casting trilogy is fantasy). Pamela Freeman is Australian, and Scott Westerfeld spends half his year in Sydney and the other half in New York.
Tomorrow: A whole meal in one colour.
Play along at home: Go hide in a Borders armchair and read whatever you like. Or spend a chunk of time at your library (sneaking snacks inside when you go). Or, if you have money, go on a wild shopping spree at a bookshop near you. But make sure you spend such a long time there that you start getting physically hungry. Alternately, raid a friend’s well-stocked bookshelves. It’s a technique that has served me well for many years (until I married someone who had over three hundred books. . . not the only reason I married him, I swear).
Internet, I trust you more than anyone
The title is true, but not because I’m an idiot (or not just because of that, anyways). I went to three different fish shops, and each one told me vastly different advice. The internet also gives me vastly different advice, but it’s pretty easy to find (a) a consensus, and (b) one that correlates with what I’ve observed.
My neon tetras are stressed. They’re not as pale as they are at night, but they’re not as bright as they should be. I’ll be focusing on the pH level to fix that (and possibly also buying more fish once the pH is respectable – like all nerds, they need a large group of their own kind to feel secure).
My danios should not be fighting (I KNEW it!) A lot of people consider them “peaceful” fish, which is directly opposed to this guy: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/McKane_Zebra_Danios.html who also says that they fight when their school isn’t big enough. My tank is only two-thirds full at the moment (I’ve been VERY slowly adjusting the water) so I’ll see if they settle down once there’s a full 15.6 litres in there. If not, I guess I’ll buy more. He also recommends NOT putting them with anyone who has decorative fins (like, obviously, the Siamese fighting fish – which is usually the first fish everyone recommends to put them with) which, since they’ve bitten him at least twice, is clearly good advice. Other than that, they and the fighter are fine, so I’m happy to see how things work out once the tank is full. It’s not life-threatening behaviour. If necessary, I can put the fighter in a separate tank – but I think he enjoys having room to move.
That web site also describes NORMAL aggressive behaviour between danios (which I’d long since called the jocks of the aquarium):
Typically, the display fights involve nothing more than two male danios staring at each other and straightening their pectoral fins. It will last for about twenty seconds until one of the danios gets scared off, forgets what it is doing or simply gets bored.
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In other news, I think I’ll go with a Lord of the Rings theme for the naming. The fighter is, obviously, Gandalf. The danios are the warriors – Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn (although I think one is female, because she hasn’t been biting anyone. . . I’ll research that a bit more – or just call that one Legolas, since no-one is REALLY sure about him). And the neon tetras are hobbits.
Fish Politics
I have three types of fish: a siamese fighting fish (which isn’t interested in smaller fish), two neon tetras, and three zebra danios. (I wrote about them all yesterday at http://twittertales.wordpress.com.) I’m constantly worried about them, and I miss them when I don’t go and say hello every few hours. Presumably both effects will soon wear off.
The danios are bullies. Two have been fighting each other (definitely biting – and jerking as they are bitten) and at least one has bitten the fighting fish’s tail more than once. The neon tetras are much smaller, and they’re the only ones that don’t seem happy (despite their relatively peaceful existence), but I think I now (thanks to Google) know how to help them (it’s a pH thing – and they want more of their own kind, which I’m happy to do).
I haven’t seen fish fight before. Being accustomed to cats, I just want to reach into the tank and give them a good slap.
#122: Someone else’s tradition (and twitter)
Today’s awesomeness is to dive into someone else’s tradition (especially if it’s food). I tried tsoureki, a traditional Greek bread served at Easter. This is a picture of some with a boiled egg dyed red added:
There’s a recipe here: http://greekfood.about.com/od/greekbreadspitas/r/tsoureki.htm
The lady who gave me my taste said that it was very difficult to make, since it has to be cooked three times (unlike in the above recipe, which clearly is for wimps). It was heavy and subtley sweet, with an almond glaze. I didn’t think it was worth all that much trouble, so I suspect this is one of those traditions (like Turkey at Christmas) which grew out of the need to use a culinary invention, but to also make sure it doesn’t get eaten too often.
Today is Friday, so here’s “Bridezilla” so far:
1.
It’s pay day, so I buy pillows. Luckily my wedding dress makes a good maternity dress. I hope this plan works. Tomorrow, here I come.
2.
I dress as a VERY expectant bride and go to the bakery store. As I order a huge pile of hot cross buns, I put one hand to my giant stomach.
*
“Oh you poor dear!” says the matronly type I’ve been observing for days. “Don’t bother paying for those buns.”
*
She winks, “And may I STRONGLY recommend entering our restaurant-dinner-for-two competition?”
I obey her while silently applauding my act.
S#78: Adopt a Pet
Generally, if you want to improve your mental health, a cat or dog is best. But since I already have two lovely/neurotic/deadly cats, I chose to get fish.
Like most awesome things, it was more difficult than it seemed. Last time I had fish, no-one said I needed a filter or a heater or a pH balancer. All I had to do was let water sit for a day before putting it with the fish. And I fed them every so often. Although I had zebra danios both then and now, I apparently now need all those things. So getting fish costs around $200 if you want a choice of more than one or two super-hardy fish. I chose the semi-tropical route, meaning that my fish need to live in an environment between 22 and 28 degrees Celsius. Since this is the year-round temperature of me and any room I’m in, I may not need a heater. I’ll get a thermometer and monitor the tank carefully.
It turns out that photographing fish is difficult, so here’s my best effort:
The male fighting fish is definitely the old man of the tank. Fighting fish are generally introverted, placid types (when they’re not killing each other, but since I only bought one it’s chilled out) who don’t mind having no other fish around. He takes his time investigating, and is smarter than the others (I put a mug in so they could have privacy if they wanted, and he’s the only one who realised you can swim inside it). If he could speak, he’d say: “Hmm. . . *snore*.”
The neon tetras are the nerds, clearly stuck in the 80s and even more perpetually wide-eyed than the other fish. “Are we the ONLY ONES wearing orange?! I hope no-one beats us up. . .”
The zebra danios are the jocks. They spend every waking moment racing around, running into each other and the other fish, and bashing their heads against the glass as they catch sight of their reflections. They stick in a close group, which gives me the thrill of knowing I have a whole school of fish, not just several fish in the same tank. I’ve always loved danios, so I bought three. “What is it? Kill it! Race you! Race you again! Hey what’s that? Kill it!”
Play along at home: Adopt your own pet, or borrow someone else’s (especially if they need a dog or cat sitter, or their dog is bored).
My six fish lack names. . . suggestions welcome!
Felicity Banks 