It’s Tuesday: another gray and chilly day in Boston. I must Skype to Singapore this morning, as there’s an evolution class there that has read my book (English is the national language of that country) and wishes to talk to the author. Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is again fixated on noms, though I seriously doubt that a cat can eat a bird egg. Does anyone know if a cat can even open an egg without batting it against a wall to crack it?
Hili: Do you hear birds chirping?
A: I do.
Hili: There will be fresh eggs.
In Polish:
Hili: Słyszysz jak ptaki śpiewają?
Ja: Słyszę.
Hili: Będą świeże jaja.
Just a minor point – there are 4 national languages in Singapore – English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. Would love to hear how your talk with the students goes.
But English is certainly the language if instruction in schools and universities.
That sounds like an interesting mass call. Any opportunity for listeners-in? Or is it a paid junket.
The wife has, on occasions, made mutterings about using Skype as a medium got tutoring people in Russian, but she never really got organised for it.
Having had a horrible couple of trips with atrocious connectivity (thank you, Mr Crane Driver, whichever one of 6 potential guilty parties it was), and having to spend literally hours of every day struggling with VOIP calls that won’t complete, drop out half way through yadda-yadda, it would probalby be a good idea to double-check that you’ve got a second internet connection set up already to go on the computer. I keep a tablet with a 3G account on it set up ready to turn on and act as a WiFi hotspot. Which is likely to work better in central Chicago than it would 100km offshore. YMMV.
Bribing that IT person at the college to get your IT needs sorted before retirement sounds an increasingly good idea. Dad’s post-retirement IT suffered since I moved 500 miles away and my sister (Win2k through Vista SysAdmin) moved 350 miles away. Now he pays someone from a shop to do it.
Farm cats often develop a taste for eggs. They probably find cracked or broken ones, or very crafty cats may discover how to tip them out of the nesting box onto the floor. Hili may be hoping that one will fall out of the nest and break.
And I’m sure we’ve all seen cats play soccer with various egg-sized toys. Do that with a real egg and it won’t be long before the cat’s got a tasty (if messy) snack.
b&
I suppose that a big enough cat could swallow a small enough egg whole but that doesn’t seem like cat behavior. But the whacking it around part sure could happen.
This seems like a cool gig. I’d love to see what kind of questions the students will ask.
Interesting. It’s useful to note that Singapore recently lost their beloved founder, Lee Kuan Yew who was most instrumental in shaping the country into a ‘first world’ country. They’ve been in mourning for a couple of weeks now.
It’s fantastic that WEIT (the book) continues to make impressions on students everywhere. Such a source for enlightenment!
Would a cat standing on an egg be enough weight to crack it? Or pouncing on it?
“…though I seriously doubt that a cat can eat a bird egg. Does anyone know if a cat can even open an egg without batting it against a wall to crack it?”
The Internet answers all questions: Cat Eating Egg from Shell
Thank you! We were overlooking the sharp teeth. This is why some farm cats get early retirement from their barn duties and end up with somebody’s aunt in town!