It Has Not Escaped Our Notice

One assumes that this one is meant to deter Spiderman, or some other gravity-defying superhero.

It Has Not Escaped Our Notice

This one was sent to me years ago by Mr O. E. of Derby. I came across it yesterday by accident while looking for a picture I thought I had, of Professor J. L. of Los Angeles and I, dressed in evening wear, surrounded by orcs. Another time, perhaps.

Ladies everywhere. You just can't get enough Ladies, it seems.

Heidi the Dog (2007-2019)

Heidi, as I'd like to remember her. Picture courtesy of Ms. G. P. of Cromer

Heidi the Dog, social media influencer, movie legend and beloved family pet, died on Saturday 12 October. Having just turned twelve years old, she had been in failing health, and although happy enough at the front end, her back half suddenly gave way and, so paralysed, she had to be put to sleep.

She shot to stardom among the online science community and appeared as herself in a film made during the Cromer Is So Bracing Un-Conference of 2009. The film was premiered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, no fewer less. Here is the cast list ...

... and here is the film in extenso, and, what's more, in full. Scroll to 2'22" to see a very youthful Heidi:



 Heidi was born on in mid-Norfolk on 6 October, 2007, one of a large litter of fluffballs when the union of one Nancy Travis and a Gentleman was blessed with issue.

Heidi as a Very Young Fluffball

She joined the Gee family in Cromer just before Christmas that year. She enjoyed beach walks from an early age. Being a retriever, she loved nothing more than retrieving tennis balls from the sea, whatever the weather, and viewed storm-wracked breakers and millpond-smooth tidepools in the same phlegmatic manner. Nothing, but nothing, would keep her from that ball.

 She was also very fond of relaxation...

.... and food, especially when combined with being on the beach, and relaxation, as at this beach picnic.

 She was kind, laid-back, loving and friendly...

... to the extent that she raised three of our four cats to be honorary dogs.

She also enjoyed gardening...

... and playing in the snow.

In her later years, increasing arthritis meant that sea bathing was supplemented by weekly sessions at Four Paws Canine Hydrotherapy ...

With her therapist Mr A. F. of Weybourne

 ... where she enjoyed a swim, shampoo and blow-dry with her therapist and best friend Mr A. F. of Weybourne, who became one of her most devoted admirers.

She is mourned by Gees of several different species and her many fans around the world.

Thanks to Mr G. S. of Glasgow for additional research.

Science and Poetry, Part Two

You'll both recall that a little while ago I wrote about the surprisingly close alignment between science and poetry. This was brought home to me today after I was deluged with a message from my colleague Dr C. S. of Cambridgeshire who'd been leafing through a collection of poems entitled Spanish Fly by Neil Rollinson, and found a poem called Santa Claus as Macroscopic Quantum Object Delivers His Presents On Time, in which the poet prefaces the poem with a quote from me that runs

It is a feature of the Quantum World that particles can be in more than one place at a time, provided that no one is watching.

This quotation comes from a humorous piece I had written in the Guardian some time ago hypothesizing that Santa must be a quantum macroscopic object, as this enables him to be in more than one place at once (explaining how he can deliver all those gifts in a single night), but explains the taboo against seeing him at work, and, notwithstanding inasmuch as which, why he lives in very cold places.

Never thought that anything I might write would inspire others to poetry. I have to say I'm touched. Wherever you are, Mr Rollinson, thank you.

The Road to Mental Health

Today is World Mental Health day. It also just happened to be a morning when my work tzores chores were relatively light, as was the wind; my friend Mr M. P. of Cromer had a day off; the Sun was shining; the tide was out; and it was one of those perfect October days when everything is well with the world.

So we gathered our gang of Jack Russell Terriers (two each) and headed for Cromer East Beach.

Cromer East Beach, looking West. Earlier today.

A Stack O' Jacks on Cromer East Beach. Mr M. P. of Cromer, for scale.

The dogs loved it, especially Dog#3 (A Jack Russell working under Deep Cover as a Dachshund), who is younger than the other Jacks and rarely gets a chance to run free, off the lead.

As you can see, she could hardly believe it.

The  beach is heaven for dogs. It's not bad for people, either. It's a strange thing that no religion, as far as I know, places Heaven on a beach, given that people flock to the seashore for relaxation in their millions for recreation. But what the beach is good for is mental health - especially on a day like today when we had it almost all to ourselves.

I did do some work when I got home, but mostly I had a nap. I had my nap in aid of World Mental Health Day. I claim this did more to improve mental health (especially mine) than going on Climate Strike and marching up and down with a placard would do any good for the climate. On the whole, then, a positive.

Heidi the Dog is Twelve Years Old Today

Heidi the Dog, Earlier Today

Dog! Who has passed your Grand Climacteric
How many soft furnishings have you in your days
Destroyed? How many scraps scarfed up? Gaze
Dimly with those large brown eyes, and prick
Those velvet ears - but please don't stick
Your tongue in my ear, just after
You've enjoyed a snack from the cat-litter tray.
Nay not look down - I've hoovered all the crumbs
From the floor. For all that your hips are worn
Your knees are knackered, your body's covered in lumps,
You spend most days at rest, unmoving,
And on walking you are prone to stall,
Still is that fur as soft as when the surging sea
You first braved to retrieve that scruffy tennis ball.

(With apologies to John Keats)