Virtual Quill

Last week I went for a morning swim. (Morning in my case being 5 p.m.) Dad took Coney to the neighborhood pool, and for the first time I went along. I'd never swum before, but I always knew from the bathtub that my quills kept me buoyant. Hedgehogs aren't exactly known for water sports, but it was a nice change of pace.

Coney seems to be a good swimmer, so there's a whole new environment of creatures who need to look out for her. She goes into the water during Carnivore Swim which initially concerned my folks, but word has gotten around to even aquatic predators like sharks to avoid the little bunny. Self-preservation will do that.

I remember reading about a U.S. President who encountered a threatening rabbit in a pond while he was fishing. The rabbit swam up to him baring its teeth, and he had to fight it off with an oar. Perhaps Coney isn't so unique, after all.

As for my swimming experience, I won't be trying the low diving board again anytime soon.

Science took another hit from the tide of religious conservatives this week, as President "Butterfly Ballot" vetoed the stem cell research bill passed by his own party. (I know this is usually a politics-free blog, but I'm not exactly a disinterested spectator on this matter.)

I've been IMing the rest of Professor Antlerhead's research team, and for now we'll just make do with the status quo: those of us on the stem cell project have to be completely segregated from the other federally-funded projects. As I've said here before, that can be a major logistical hassle. (When I eat a bug, I have to make sure it didn't escape from a federally-funded vending machine.)

While I return for the fall semester I'll also be working on adult stem cells and umbilical-cord-blood stem cells. There are some promising leads on those fronts, but the net effect is still that I'm doing my work with one paw tied behind my back. I'm not a person to rush into things (as Fenton knows from his multiple rejected marriage proposals) but I can't help thinking of the lives that will be lost due to the cures that will be be unnecessarily delayed.

Thanks for the use of the soapbox. Next week's blog will be funnier.

Fenton and I went to a gaming convention this weekend, and we got roped into doing a Human LARP. I'm always nervous about anything having to do with humans (with the attendent risk of instinct loss) but we emerged with our natural inclinations intact.

Afterward, though, my grasshoppers bernaise tasted funny, and Fenton almost hit a low-flying traffic helicopter on the way home.

Humans are still prevalent in pop culture due to Rudy's old online comic, even though he hasn't drawn it in so long. He's since moved on to the strip based on Fiona, although he doesn't update that frequently due to his focus on the hunting team.

I hope he doesn't give up cartooning, since he seems to enjoy and it got him some much-needed acclaim. I think one of the reasons he found it easy to walk away from the human strip was that I provided the inspiration and he wanted something completely his own.

...Like a strip starring his girlfriend. snort

It seems summer just started and I'm already getting ready for the fall semester. I never really unpacked, as my room is full of boxes of my dorm stuff that I don't need while living at home. (Food preparation items, utensils, bug zapper...)

I'll be rooming with Rhonda again, as we've established a pretty close friendship. The big change is that we'll now be in a coed dorm, with Fenton living a floor below with a roommate he found on MyTree.

His roommate is a bird, which could actually work out nicely since the schedules of bats and avians don't overlap. It's not an uncommon pairing; I know a bat-girl named Stellaluna who find the arrangement quite acceptable.

Every individual in the Hare-Link office has their own MyTree profile, except for one. I took it upon myself to construct one for him, since he's a little indisposed at the moment. It was a challenging assignment, since so few images exist of him.

I'm talking of Danielle's unborn baby, of course. (MyTree used to have an age limit, but that left out mayflys.)
Danielle is five months along, and starting to show. The morning sickness is gone, and she's experiencing the second-trimester burst of energy. (...Otherwise known as the nesting stage; I hear that's quite spectacular for avian species.)

Speaking of species, we still don't know if he's a rabbit or fennec fox. The ultrasounds show enormous ears, but that could apply to either parent's influence. Danielle seems to be getting tired of Gran and Elanor constantly pouring over the latest ultrasound as if they were spy plane reconnaissance.

At least we know Danielle isn't giving birth to a human. For obvious reasons, that's a great relief to me.