RIP Eddie!

I was very sad to read that Eddie (the dog from Frasier) died....

It may have been a dog's life, but Moose, the Jack Russell terrier of Frasier fame, wasn't one to complain.
Kelsey Grammer's canine sidekick, known as Eddie on the long-running show, died Thursday at the ripe old age of 16 and a half, his trainer, Mathilde Halberg told People magazine.
"[H]e just had an incredible charisma and was such a free spirit," Halberg told the magazine of the dog some called the Lassie of the '90s.
Moose played Eddie for 10 years on the former NBC must-see TV staple and was known for his ability to steal scenes from his human costars.
"He was always trying to put Frasier in uncomfortable circumstances," Halberg said.
Other career highlights included landing a starring role in the film My Dog Skip, as an older version of Skip (who was played by his son, Enzo), gracing the covers of Life, TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly, and penning his autobiography, My Life As a Dog, with a little help from TV writer Brian Hargrove (Wanda At Large, Titus).
In 2003, Animal Planet ranked Eddie the Dog fifth in its 50 Greatest TV Animals special, behind only Lassie, Kermit the Frog, Flipper and Mr. Ed.
However, the precocious pup wasn't always destined for greatness. His first family found him to be more of a challenge than they were willing to handle, as the youthful Moose was destructive, barked a lot, refused to be house-trained and even killed a neighbor's cat.
When he was two and a half, Moose was put on a plane from Florida to Los Angeles, where he got a second chance under Halberg's tutelage.
"I saved him from the pound. His owners called me as a last resort," Halberg told People. "He was extremely mischievous, always escaping, chewing up things and running off."
After six months of training, Moose proved he had what it took to make it in Hollywood when he went on his first audition and beat out his canine competition for the Frasier role.
"Moose had a great disposition for training," Halberg said in a 1994 interview with Animal Press. "He loved it right away...it calmed him down a little. It?s as if all of a sudden he had a purpose in his life."
At the age of 10, Moose retired from show business, turning over the role of Eddie to Enzo and settling into doggy old age.
"The retirement of Moose was gradual," Halberg said in a 2002 interview with The Pet Press. "For a couple of years Enzo was doing all the fast-action, jumping up and down, retrieving or running moves. Anything that I thought was becoming a little too strenuous for Moose."
Even so, Moose still managed to outlive the Emmy-winning series, which came to an end in May 2004.

Rain Rain Rain

Well its has been a horrible day. I hate the rain. Was looking back at my holiday photos of Orlando. Days like these make you want to jump on a plane and head to the sunshine. This was the view we had from our hotel in Orlando. We stayed at the Sheraton Studio City Hotel. It was an amazing hotel. They put us on the 16th floor so we had amazing views. I would love to go back to Orlando soon as there is so much we didnt get round to doing.

It was great that England won their match today. I am watching Portugal v Holland at the moment. Its so frustrating that Cristiano Ronaldo has got injured. All the Man U players seem to be getting injured at the moment. First Rooney then Vidic, Neville, Ferdinand and now Ronaldo.

Happiest day of the year

According to the news reports today is the happiest day of the year. Hmmm not too sure on that one. Yes its a Friday but we still have to work. Maybe a Saturday or Sunday would have been more appropriate. Especially if England win their match.

Whenever I go on my computer now my cat Lucy seems to like sitting on the chair next to me. I think its very sweet. She seems very attached to me. She even sleeps on me at night which isnt the nicest of things during the summer and your hot enough already. Lucy is very sweet though she is a little overweight. She doesnt eat much she is just lazy.

Speaking of cats I have noticed that since getting my new kitten Tilly, Barney has been much friendlier. He is actually turning into a sweetie. He is one now and finally starting to grow up. He is one of the largest cats I have seen. The only problem we have with him nowdays is that he loves to chew. He chews clothes, wires, carpet. I think the house is cat proofed now. They are all so spoilt. I have just ordered a new cat condo it will go nearly to the ceiling. I think they will love that. The current one is about shoulder height and is very popular.

Rib Trip

First of all what a poor performance by England. They are never going to win the World Cup playing like that.

Anyway we got to go on the Rib Voyage today. It was brilliant. We went on the joint island trip which was basically going round Herm and Sark for two hours. The time flew by. Round by Herm on The Humps we actually got to see Puffins. They are such cute little creatures.

Also saw a seal bobbing up and down in the water. After that we went round Sarks coastline. Its amazing to see. The large cliff faces and hundreds of birds. Its just so lovely. I was thinking that you could start filming a version of lost there because it looks so empty. There are numerous caves in the cliffs so one day I will travel to Sark and explore some. Our guide said that its possible to explore them. If the tide had been slightly higher they could have got the Rib in one.

Unfortunately we didnt see any dolphins. Our guide said some were spotted off Sark on the Sunday and we did have a look but obviously they had moved on.

Anyway I would recommend this trip to anyone. We will probably try and do it again later on in the summer and see if the wildlife has changed any. I am one for getting seasick but handled it very well. Two hours sped past.

One tip would be wear sunscreen. They provide you with nice warm jackets and as it was a cloudy day I didnt think of putting something on my face. Well that was a big mistake.

First day of holiday

I have taken a couple of days off to enjoy the World Cup and generally relax.

Took my kitten Tilly to the vets this morning. She is 12 weeks old and very small but is finally big enough for her injections. Its quite hard to get a good picture of her because she is so fast.

Also popped down to A Piece of Cake in Mill Street. I have got to say their food is great. A filling lunch with drinks was only 10.95. Now that was good value.

Going on a rib voyage tomorrow. That will be interesting. The forcast is force 3 to 4 so hopefully wont be too rough. Will report back on it tomorrow. Hopefully will get to see lots of wildlife around the islands.

Good day all round

Well its been a sunny day in Guernsey for a change. Hopefully it will be this nice next week when I am off work.

England won their match thankgoodness. Although not convincingly.

Its nice to see Rooney back and have a good match. Aaron Lennon was man of the match without a doubt. He turned it around. I still dont think England have too much chance of winning but you never know. They really need to step up a gear.

I love the world cup. Its so entertaining. Football everyday!! Its fantastic. I really dont know how I will cope when it finishes and I have a whole month to wait for more football. Oh well fixtures are out next week so thats something to look forward to.

Mission to Space

I read this today on Yahoo news

A family whose 4-year-old son died after riding Mission Space at Epcot filed a lawsuit against Disney on Tuesday.
Exactly one year after Daudi Bamuwamye died at Epcot, his parents filed the wrongful-death lawsuit, WESH 2 News reported.
The lawsuit claims there was not enough warning about the ride, and it criticizes Disney's emergency response after the incident.
Disney responded with a statement that said while they sympathize with the family, they disagree with the assertions in the lawsuit.
Disney also pointed out that a medical examiner's report concluded Daudi suffered from pre-existing heart disease.
Disney has since offered a less-intense version of Mission Space to sensitive riders that doesn't spin, but company officials said that's simply to make the ride available to more people.

Now it seems to me that this was just a tragic accident. I cannot see that it is Disney's fault.

There are so many warnings at the start of the ride (or there was when I was there).

Its so sad that they lost their child but I really cannot see what a lawsuit is going to do.

Football

And you thought British fans were dedicated:

Two World Cup fans from Uzbekistan cycled 4,000 miles across Europe to get an autograph from German goalie Oliver Kahn.
Akram Marufshonow and Musadshon Chornidow left Tashkent in March to meet their idol.
Kahn heard about their 4,000-mile journey through a German journalist who was covering their trip and agreed to meet the pair in Berlin.
When the three came face to face both Marufshonow and Chornidow burst into tears and hugged the German star while repeating in Russian: "Mr. Kahn you do not know what an honour this is for us."
The goalie gave them both an autograph and said: "I just can't believe this. It's amazing."

Saying that, if I could afford it I would go to every Man United match possible.

First Post

Well for someone who usually has a lot to say I am not too sure what to put.

I thought I would mention this article from bbc website which is pretty interesting:

Childless or childfree? Not so long ago, all women without children were known as childless, with its implication of a state of loss. Nowadays, a growing number of women are insisting on the term childfree - with its emphasis on liberation.

In the UK, the most commonly cited statistic is that by 2010, one in four will be either childfree or childless.

Jonathan McCalmont is the founder of Kidding Aside (The British Childfree Association), which was first set up on the internet to lobby for equality for people without children.
He is fed up with the way the government is wooing parents with longer maternity pay, paternity leave, flexible hours and family tax breaks. He describes the latter as "simply a middle-class tax break masquerading as social policy."
He is angry at what he says is a redistribution of money from people without children to those with.
He contends that childfree people who have other responsibilities - such as looking after an elderly parent - should get the same benefits.
"We believe it is up to the individual to decide what constitutes a family," he says. "It's not up to the state."

So it appears there are more of us than people seem to realise.

I seem to know more people without children than with them. That may change as I am only in my early twenties but here is hoping it wont.