Friday, and a bibulous Christmas party for Professor Ceiling Cat and his colleagues. As always, I was the Official Wine Buyer for the Party™ (5 cases of assorted reds and whites), ensuring that the libations are good, even for the many who will overindulge. Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili continues to show an amazing erudition, speaking today in Aramaic:
Hili: Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.A: What did you say?Hili: Nothing, just that I gained weight.
In Polish:
Hili: Mane, tekel, fares…
Ja: Co mówiłaś?
Hili: Nic, że przybrałam na wadze.
I prefer the Mitanni to the Babylonians, but they didn’t make it into the bible as far as I know…!
Well I am feeling almost as pleased as a Hili this a.m. as the team I was on came 4th= in the British Library Christmas Science Quiz last night (curses Blue LED which we didn’t get!). You should have a have a departmental quiz like that – great fun!
That sounds lovely…:-)
Either Hili is not well versed in Bible translations or the Polish version is somewhat different from what Wikipedia makes of it.
Wikipedia: “Numbered, weighed, divided”
with the sense: “numbered, weighed, found to be wanting” or “numbered, weighed, found to be too light”.
Certainly not weight gain!
The Polish version is absolutely the same. Hili just stopped at “weighed” and started to worry. She does know that she has trouble to squeeze through the opening in the bathroom door to reach her litter box.
Get her a hamster wheel!
With a hamster to chase?
🙂
(There, there, Hili… you just got fluffier.)
And here I thought Hili was making a reference to Belshazzar’s Feast.
It’s just like the squirrels: a little extra something to help you through the winter.
My cats are always a bit fatter in winter. In spring, the extra fat disappears.
Well, this could be one of those spooky coincidences Michael Shermer was referring to.
Just got back from Baihu’s annual physical. He’s in perfect condition save for a minor bit of plaque buildup on his rear teeth. He won’t let me go to bed until after I’ve brushed his teeth, but, even still, it’s hard to get the brush back there, and I already knew that a dental cleaning was forthcoming this year.
But, that aside…his weight this year was 10.84 pounds. His weight last year? Also exactly 10.84 pounds.
Don’t ask me how a cat manages to keep his weight exact to the hundredth of a pound (0.16 ounce / 4.5 grams). It does seem to be his ideal weight, though….
b&
Reminds me of a childhood story.
For the summer holidays, various quantities of cousins would go and stay at our grandmother’s farm, pets in tow.
One day one of the more placid cats came racing out of a hallway, across the lounge, skidding on the dining room floor scrabbling his paws as he turned the corner into the kitchen, and flew out the back door. A few seconds later my cousin came from the same hallway saying, “Fred weighs …”. He’d been weighing him on the bathroom scales.
Funny! 😀
Hili’s not fat. She’s just fluffeh! (=^･ｪ･^=)
Mene, Tekel, Upharsin, Pierce Fenner & Smith.